Rosh Hashanah Day 2
Today's Laws & Customs:
• SHEHECHEYANU (NEW FRUIT)
When lighting candles and making kiddush on the eve of the 2nd day of Rosh Hashanah, a "new fruit" (i.e., one that has not yet been eaten this season) is placed on the table; the fruit is then eaten after kiddush. This is to enable us to make the Shehecheyanu blessing praising G-d for "granting us life, sustaining us, and bringing us to this season" (because the two days of Rosh Hashanah are regarded as "one long day", the Shehecheyanu blessing, recited on the festivals by the women when lighting the candles and by the men in kiddush, requires an additional source of rejoicing).
• SHOFAR
As we did yesterday on the 1st day of Rosh Hashanah, we again sound the shofar (ram's horn) one hundred times, in various combinations of tekiah (a long blast), shevarim (a trio of broken sobs) and teruah (a staccato of short notes), in fulfillment of the primary mitzvah of Rosh Hashanah. The shofar serves to trumpet our coronation of G-d as King of the Universe, as a call to repentance, and to evoke the memory of the Binding ofIsaac.
Because we already made the "Shehecheyanu" blessing on yesterday's shofar blowing, the one sounding the shofar should wear a new garment (see Shehacheyanu above)
• TORAH READING
Bereshis/Genesis 21:1 And Hashem visited Sarah as He had said, and Hashem did unto Sarah just as He had spoken.
2 For Sarah conceived, and bore Avraham ben in his old age, at the mo’ed (set time) of which Elohim had given promise unto him.
3 And Avraham called the shem of bno that was born unto him, whom Sarah bore to him, Yitzchak.
4 And Avraham circumcised bno Yitzchak at age shemonat yamim, as Elohim had commanded him.
5 And Avraham was a hundred years old, when bno Yitzchak was born unto him.
6 And she said, Elohim hath brought me tzechok (laughter), so that all that hear yitzchak (will laugh) with me.
7 And she said, Who would have said unto Avraham, that Sarah should nurse banim? for I have borne him ben in his old age.
8 And the yeled grew, and was weaned; and Avraham made a mishteh gadol the same day that Yitzchak was weaned.
9 And Sarah saw the ben of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had borne unto Avraham, metzachek (mocking, scoffing).
10 Therefore she said unto Avraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her ben: for the ben of this bondwoman shall not be heir with beni (my son), even with Yitzchak.
11 And the thing was very grievous in the eyes of Avraham because of bno.
12 And Elohim said unto Avraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the na’ar, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, shema (pay heed) unto her voice; for in Yitzchak shall thy zera be called.
13 And also of the ben haamah will I make a nation, because he is thy zera.
14 And Avraham rose up early in the boker, and took lechem, and a skin of mayim, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the yeled, and sent her away; and she departed, and wandered in the midbar of Beer-Sheva.
15 And the mayim in the skin was done, and she cast the yeled under one of the bushes.
16 And she went off, and sat down about a bowshot away: for she thought, Let me not see the mot hayeled. And she sat there nearby, and lifted up her voice, and wept.
17 And Elohim heard the voice of the na’ar; and the Malach Elohim called to Hagar out of Shomayim, and said unto her, Mah lach, Hagar? fear not; for Elohim hath heard the voice of the na’ar where he is.
18 Arise, lift up the na’ar, and hold him in thine yad; for I will make him a goy gadol.
19 And Elohim opened her eyes, and she saw a be’er of mayim; and she went, and filled the skin with mayim, and gave the na’ar drink.
20 And Elohim was with the na’ar; and he grew, and dwelt in the midbar, and became a roveh keshet (an archer).
21 And he dwelt in the midbar of Paran: and his em got him an isha out of Eretz Mitzrayim.
22 And it came to pass at that time, that Avimelech and Phichol the sar tz’va of his spoke unto Avraham, saying, Elohim is with thee in all that thou doest:
23 Now therefore swear unto me here before Elohim that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my child, nor with my descendant: but according to the chesed that I have showed thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the eretz wherein thou hast sojourned.
24 And Avraham said, I will swear.
25 And Avraham reproved Avimelech because of a be’er hamayim, which Avimelech’s avadim had violently seized.
26 And Avimelech said, I know not who hath done this thing; neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but today.
27 And Avraham took tzon and oxen, and gave them unto Avimelech; and both of them made a brit.
28 And Avraham set apart seven ewe lambs of the tzon by themselves.
29 And Avimelech said unto Avraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set apart by themselves?
30 And he said, For these sheva ewe lambs shalt thou accept of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have dug this well.
31 Therefore he called that place Beer-Sheva; because there they swore an oath both of them.
32 Thus they made a brit at Beer-Sheva: then Avimelech rose up, and Phichol the sar tzeva of his, and they returned into eretz Pelishtim.
33 And Avraham planted an eshel (tamarisk tree) in Beer-Sheva, and called there on the Shem of Hashem El Olam.
34 And Avraham sojourned in eretz Pelishtim yamim rabbim.
22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that G-d did test Avraham, and said unto him, Avraham: and he said, Hineini (Behold, here I am).
2 And He said, Take now thy son, thine ben yachid (only son) Yitzchak, whom thou lovest, and get thee into eretz Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
3 And Avraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and took two of his servants with him, and Yitzchak his son, and cut the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which G-d had told him.
4 Then on Yom HaShlishi Avraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. [1C 15:3]
5 And Avraham said unto his servants, Abide ye here with the donkey; and I and the young man will go over there and nishtachaveh (we will worship) and we will come back again to you.
6 And Avraham took atzei haolah (the wood of the burnt offering), and laid it upon Yitzchak his son; and he took the eish (fire) in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
7 And Yitzchak spoke unto Avraham his father, and said, Avi (My father): and he said, Hineini, beni (Here am I, my son). And he said, Hinei, the eish (fire) and the wood: but where is the seh (lamb) for a burnt offering? [YESHAYAH 53:7]
8 And Avraham said, My son, G-d will provide Himself a seh (lamb) for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
9 And they came to the place which G-d had told him of; and Avraham built a mizbe’ach there, and laid the wood in order, and made the akedah (binding) of Yitzchak his son, and laid him on the mizbe’ach upon the wood.
10 And Avraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11 And the Malach Hashem called unto him out of Shomayim, and said, Avraham, Avraham: and he said, Hineini.
12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the young man, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest G-d, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine ben yachid from Me.
13 And Avraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and hinei behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Avraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering TAKHAT (instead of ) his son. [YESHAYAH 53:8]
14 And Avraham called the name of that place Hashem Yireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of Hashem it shall be provided.
15 And the Malach Hashem called unto Avraham out of Shomayim the second time,
16 And said, By Myself have I sworn, saith Hashem, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine ben yachid:
17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy zera as the stars of the skies, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy zera shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18 And in thy zera shall kol goyei ha’aretz be blessed; because thou hast obeyed My voice.
19 So Avraham returned unto his servants, and they rose up and went together to Beer Sheva; and Avraham dwelt at Beer Sheva.
20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Avraham, saying, Hinei, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nachor;
21 Utz his bechor (firstborn), and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,
22 And Kesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Yidlaph, and Betuel.
23 And Betuel fathered Rivkah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nachor, Avraham’s brother.
24 And his pilegesh, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tevach, and Gacham, and Tachash, and Maachah.
• TEN DAYS OF REPENTANCE
The 10-day period beginning on Rosh Hashahnah and ending on Yom Kippur is known as the "Ten Days of Repentance"; this is the period, say the sages, of which the prophet speaks when he proclaims (Isaiah 55:6) "Seek G-d when He is to be found; call on Him when He is near." Psalm 130, Avinu Malkeinu and other special inserts and add/itions are included in our daily prayers during these days.
The Baal Shem Tov instituted the custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms). Click below for today's three Psalms.
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Links: About the Ten Days of teshuvah; Voicemail; more on teshuvah
Today in Jewish History:
When lighting candles and making kiddush on the eve of the 2nd day of Rosh Hashanah, a "new fruit" (i.e., one that has not yet been eaten this season) is placed on the table; the fruit is then eaten after kiddush. This is to enable us to make the Shehecheyanu blessing praising G-d for "granting us life, sustaining us, and bringing us to this season" (because the two days of Rosh Hashanah are regarded as "one long day", the Shehecheyanu blessing, recited on the festivals by the women when lighting the candles and by the men in kiddush, requires an additional source of rejoicing).
• SHOFAR
As we did yesterday on the 1st day of Rosh Hashanah, we again sound the shofar (ram's horn) one hundred times, in various combinations of tekiah (a long blast), shevarim (a trio of broken sobs) and teruah (a staccato of short notes), in fulfillment of the primary mitzvah of Rosh Hashanah. The shofar serves to trumpet our coronation of G-d as King of the Universe, as a call to repentance, and to evoke the memory of the Binding ofIsaac.
Because we already made the "Shehecheyanu" blessing on yesterday's shofar blowing, the one sounding the shofar should wear a new garment (see Shehacheyanu above)
• TORAH READING
Bereshis/Genesis 21:1 And Hashem visited Sarah as He had said, and Hashem did unto Sarah just as He had spoken.
2 For Sarah conceived, and bore Avraham ben in his old age, at the mo’ed (set time) of which Elohim had given promise unto him.
3 And Avraham called the shem of bno that was born unto him, whom Sarah bore to him, Yitzchak.
4 And Avraham circumcised bno Yitzchak at age shemonat yamim, as Elohim had commanded him.
5 And Avraham was a hundred years old, when bno Yitzchak was born unto him.
6 And she said, Elohim hath brought me tzechok (laughter), so that all that hear yitzchak (will laugh) with me.
7 And she said, Who would have said unto Avraham, that Sarah should nurse banim? for I have borne him ben in his old age.
8 And the yeled grew, and was weaned; and Avraham made a mishteh gadol the same day that Yitzchak was weaned.
9 And Sarah saw the ben of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had borne unto Avraham, metzachek (mocking, scoffing).
10 Therefore she said unto Avraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her ben: for the ben of this bondwoman shall not be heir with beni (my son), even with Yitzchak.
11 And the thing was very grievous in the eyes of Avraham because of bno.
12 And Elohim said unto Avraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the na’ar, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, shema (pay heed) unto her voice; for in Yitzchak shall thy zera be called.
13 And also of the ben haamah will I make a nation, because he is thy zera.
14 And Avraham rose up early in the boker, and took lechem, and a skin of mayim, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the yeled, and sent her away; and she departed, and wandered in the midbar of Beer-Sheva.
15 And the mayim in the skin was done, and she cast the yeled under one of the bushes.
16 And she went off, and sat down about a bowshot away: for she thought, Let me not see the mot hayeled. And she sat there nearby, and lifted up her voice, and wept.
17 And Elohim heard the voice of the na’ar; and the Malach Elohim called to Hagar out of Shomayim, and said unto her, Mah lach, Hagar? fear not; for Elohim hath heard the voice of the na’ar where he is.
18 Arise, lift up the na’ar, and hold him in thine yad; for I will make him a goy gadol.
19 And Elohim opened her eyes, and she saw a be’er of mayim; and she went, and filled the skin with mayim, and gave the na’ar drink.
20 And Elohim was with the na’ar; and he grew, and dwelt in the midbar, and became a roveh keshet (an archer).
21 And he dwelt in the midbar of Paran: and his em got him an isha out of Eretz Mitzrayim.
22 And it came to pass at that time, that Avimelech and Phichol the sar tz’va of his spoke unto Avraham, saying, Elohim is with thee in all that thou doest:
23 Now therefore swear unto me here before Elohim that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my child, nor with my descendant: but according to the chesed that I have showed thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the eretz wherein thou hast sojourned.
24 And Avraham said, I will swear.
25 And Avraham reproved Avimelech because of a be’er hamayim, which Avimelech’s avadim had violently seized.
26 And Avimelech said, I know not who hath done this thing; neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but today.
27 And Avraham took tzon and oxen, and gave them unto Avimelech; and both of them made a brit.
28 And Avraham set apart seven ewe lambs of the tzon by themselves.
29 And Avimelech said unto Avraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set apart by themselves?
30 And he said, For these sheva ewe lambs shalt thou accept of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have dug this well.
31 Therefore he called that place Beer-Sheva; because there they swore an oath both of them.
32 Thus they made a brit at Beer-Sheva: then Avimelech rose up, and Phichol the sar tzeva of his, and they returned into eretz Pelishtim.
33 And Avraham planted an eshel (tamarisk tree) in Beer-Sheva, and called there on the Shem of Hashem El Olam.
34 And Avraham sojourned in eretz Pelishtim yamim rabbim.
22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that G-d did test Avraham, and said unto him, Avraham: and he said, Hineini (Behold, here I am).
2 And He said, Take now thy son, thine ben yachid (only son) Yitzchak, whom thou lovest, and get thee into eretz Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
3 And Avraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and took two of his servants with him, and Yitzchak his son, and cut the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which G-d had told him.
4 Then on Yom HaShlishi Avraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. [1C 15:3]
5 And Avraham said unto his servants, Abide ye here with the donkey; and I and the young man will go over there and nishtachaveh (we will worship) and we will come back again to you.
6 And Avraham took atzei haolah (the wood of the burnt offering), and laid it upon Yitzchak his son; and he took the eish (fire) in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
7 And Yitzchak spoke unto Avraham his father, and said, Avi (My father): and he said, Hineini, beni (Here am I, my son). And he said, Hinei, the eish (fire) and the wood: but where is the seh (lamb) for a burnt offering? [YESHAYAH 53:7]
8 And Avraham said, My son, G-d will provide Himself a seh (lamb) for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
9 And they came to the place which G-d had told him of; and Avraham built a mizbe’ach there, and laid the wood in order, and made the akedah (binding) of Yitzchak his son, and laid him on the mizbe’ach upon the wood.
10 And Avraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11 And the Malach Hashem called unto him out of Shomayim, and said, Avraham, Avraham: and he said, Hineini.
12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the young man, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest G-d, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine ben yachid from Me.
13 And Avraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and hinei behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Avraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering TAKHAT (instead of ) his son. [YESHAYAH 53:8]
14 And Avraham called the name of that place Hashem Yireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of Hashem it shall be provided.
15 And the Malach Hashem called unto Avraham out of Shomayim the second time,
16 And said, By Myself have I sworn, saith Hashem, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine ben yachid:
17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy zera as the stars of the skies, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy zera shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18 And in thy zera shall kol goyei ha’aretz be blessed; because thou hast obeyed My voice.
19 So Avraham returned unto his servants, and they rose up and went together to Beer Sheva; and Avraham dwelt at Beer Sheva.
20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Avraham, saying, Hinei, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nachor;
21 Utz his bechor (firstborn), and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,
22 And Kesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Yidlaph, and Betuel.
23 And Betuel fathered Rivkah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nachor, Avraham’s brother.
24 And his pilegesh, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tevach, and Gacham, and Tachash, and Maachah.
• TEN DAYS OF REPENTANCE
The 10-day period beginning on Rosh Hashahnah and ending on Yom Kippur is known as the "Ten Days of Repentance"; this is the period, say the sages, of which the prophet speaks when he proclaims (Isaiah 55:6) "Seek G-d when He is to be found; call on Him when He is near." Psalm 130, Avinu Malkeinu and other special inserts and add/itions are included in our daily prayers during these days.
The Baal Shem Tov instituted the custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms). Click below for today's three Psalms.
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Links: About the Ten Days of teshuvah; Voicemail; more on teshuvah
Today in Jewish History:
DAILY QUOTE:
DAILY STUDY:CHITAS AND RAMBAM FOR TODAY:
Chumash: Ha'Azinu, 5th Portion Deuteronomy 32:29-32:39 with Rashi
• Chapter 32
40. For I raise up My hand to heaven, and say, 'As I live forever.' מ. כִּי אֶשָּׂא אֶל שָׁמַיִם יָדִי וְאָמַרְתִּי חַי אָנֹכִי לְעֹלָם:
For I raise up My hand to heaven: For in My fury, I will raise up My hand to Myself, making an oath.
כי אשא אל שמים ידי: כי בחרון אפי אשא ידי אל עצמי בשבועה:
and say, “As I live…”: This is the expression of an oath, like the verse, “’As I live,’ says the Lord, 'if not for that which you have spoken in My ears’” (Num. 14:28). So too, here in our verse [the meaning is]:“I swear, just as I live [forever]…”.
ואמרתי חי אנכי: לשון שבועה הוא אני נשבע חי אנכי:
41. When I sharpen the blade of My sword, and My hand grasps judgment, I will bring vengeance upon My adversaries and repay those who hate Me. מא. אִם שַׁנּוֹתִי בְּרַק חַרְבִּי וְתֹאחֵז בְּמִשְׁפָּט יָדִי אָשִׁיב נָקָם לְצָרָי וְלִמְשַׂנְאַי אֲשַׁלֵּם:
When I sharpen the blade of My sword: If I sharpen the blade of My sword, so that it will shine (בְּרַק) [The word בְּרַק, literally lightning, means shine or flash] (see Ezek. 21:15), flandor in Old French.
אם שנותי ברק חרבי: אם אשנן את להב חרבי, כמו (יחזקאל כא, טו) למען היות לה ברק שפלנדו"ר [ברק]:
and My hand grasps judgment: leaving the attribute of mercy [and applying the attribute of justice] on My enemies who harmed Israel, for “I was angry only a little, but they helped to do harm” (Zech. 1:15). Another explanation: My hand will grasp the attribute of justice, sustaining it and exacting vengeance with it.
ותאחז במשפט ידי: להניח מדת רחמים באויבי שהרעו לכם, (זכריה א, טו) אשר אני קצפתי מעט והמה עזרו לרעה. דבר אחר ותאחז ידי את מדת המשפט להחזיק בה ולנקום נקם:
I will bring vengeance upon My adversaries: Our Rabbis learned in the Aggadah (Mechilta Shemoth 14:3): By virtue of the expression in the verse,“and grasp judgment in My hand,” we understand that the nature of a human being is not like that of the Holy One, Blessed is He. For it is the nature of a human to cast an arrow, but he is unable to retrieve it. The Holy One, blessed be He, however, shoots His arrows and He can indeed retrieve them, as if He were holding them in His hand. Now, lightning is His arrow, [alluded to here] by the phrase בְּרַק חַרְבִּי, literally “the lightning of My sword,” [and the verse continues,] “and grasping judgment in My hand.” here, “judgment” refers to retribution; justize in Old French.
אשיב נקם וגו': למדו רבותינו באגדה מתוך לשון המקרא שאמר ותאחז במשפט ידי, לא כמדת בשר ודם מדת הקב"ה, מדת בשר ודם זורק חץ ואינו יכול להשיבו, והקב"ה זורק חציו ויש בידו להשיבם, כאלו אוחזן בידו, שהרי ברק הוא חצו, ונאמר כאן ברק חרבי ותאחז במשפט ידי, והמשפט הזה לשון פורענות הוא בלע"ז יושטיצי"א [עונש]:
42. I will intoxicate My arrows with blood, and My sword will consume flesh, from the blood of the slain and the captives, from the first breach of the enemy.' מב. אַשְׁכִּיר חִצַּי מִדָּם וְחַרְבִּי תֹּאכַל בָּשָׂר מִדַּם חָלָל וְשִׁבְיָה מֵרֹאשׁ פַּרְעוֹת אוֹיֵב:
I will intoxicate My arrows with blood: of the enemy;
אשכיר חצי מדם: האויב:
and My sword will consume flesh: their flesh [i.e., of the enemy].
וחרבי תאכל בשר: בשרם:
from the blood of the slain and the captives: [All] this will happen to them, because of the sin of the blood of Israel’s slain, and of the captives they took from them.
מדם חלל ושביה: זאת תהיה להם מעון דם חללי ישראל ושביה ששבו מהם:
from the first breach of the enemy: From the very first breach the enemy made. For when the Holy One, Blessed is He, inflicts punishment upon the nations, He visits upon them their own sin and the sins of their ancestors, from the very first breach they made in Israel. — [Sifrei 32:42]
מראש פרעות אויב: מפשע תחלת פרצות האויב, כי כשהקב"ה נפרע מן האומות פוקד עליהם עונם ועונות אבותיהם מראשית פרצה שפרצו בישראל:
43. Sing out praise, O you nations, for His people! For He will avenge the blood of His servants, inflict revenge upon His adversaries, and appease His land [and] His people. מג. הַרְנִינוּ גוֹיִם עַמּוֹ כִּי דַם עֲבָדָיו יִקּוֹם וְנָקָם יָשִׁיב לְצָרָיו וְכִפֶּר אַדְמָתוֹ עַמּוֹ:
Sing out praise, O you nations, for His people: At that time, the nations will praise Israel, saying: "You see, now, what the praise of this nation is! That they cleaved to the Holy One, Blessed is He, through all the sufferings that befell them, and they did not forsake Him! They appreciated His goodness and His praise!
הרנינו גוים עמו: לאותו הזמן ישבחו האומות את ישראל ראו מה שבחה של אומה זו שדבקו בהקב"ה בכל התלאות שעברו עליהם ולא עזבוהו, יודעים היו בטובו ובשבחו:
and He will avenge the blood of His servants: i.e., [God will avenge] the shedding of their blood, as the phrase literally means.
כי דם עבדיו יקום: שפיכות דמיהם כמשמעו:
inflict revenge upon His adversaries: for the robbery and the violence [which they perpetrated against Israel], like the matter that is stated, “Egypt will be a desolation and Edom as a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah…” (Joel 4:19); and Scripture also states, “For the violence against your brother Jacob…” (Obad. 1: 10).
ונקם ישיב לצריו: על הגזל ועל החמס, כענין שנאמר (יואל ד, יט) מצרים לשמה תהיה ואדום למדבר שממה תהיה מחמס בני יהודה, ואומר (עובדיה א, י) מחמס אחיך יעקב וגו':
and appease His land and His people: And He will appease His land and His people for the distresses that they experienced, and that the enemy perpetrated against them.
וכפר אדמתו עמו: ויפייס אדמתו ועמו על הצרות שעברו עליהם ושעשה להם האויב:
and appease: Heb. וְכִפֵּר, an expression of conciliation and appeasement, as in the verse, אֲכַפְּרָה פָּנָיו, which is rendered in the Targum as: “I will appease his anger” (Gen. 32:21).
וכפר: לשון רצוי ופיוס, כמו (בראשית לב, כא) אכפרה פניו אנחיניה לרוגזיה:
and appease His land: And what is His land? His people. When His nation is comforted, His land is also comforted. Thus, Scripture says, “O Lord, You have appeased Your land” (Ps. 85:2). How have You appeased Your land? [That same verse continues:] “You have returned the captivity of Jacob.” This [section] is explained in different ways in Sifrei. Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Nehemiah differed regarding its explanation: Rabbi Judah explains the whole section as referring to Israel, while Rabbi Nehemiah explains the whole section as referring to the other nations. [Now Rashi proceeds to explain this whole section according to the two approaches.] Rabbi Judah explains it as referring to Israel, as follows: From “I said that I would make an end of them,” until “The Lord did none of this!” [verses 26-27], as I have explained above. [Verse 28:] “For that nation is lacking counsel” means that Israel lacks My Torah, because the Torah provides Israel with sound counsel; “and they have no understanding” means that they do not reflect on how one individual of the nations could pursue one thousand of them, unless it is “because their Rock had sold them over” (verse 30); “for their rock is not like our [Mighty] Rock” (verse 31). Everything is as I have explained it until the end. Rabbi Nehemiah explains the section as referring to the other nations, [as follows]: [Verse 28:] ”For they are a nation devoid of counsel,” until “Nevertheless, our enemies sit in judgment” (verses 28-31), he explains as I explained.
וכפר אדמתו: ומה היא אדמתו עמו. כשעמו מתנחמים ארצו מתנחמת, וכן הוא אומר (תהלים פה, ב) רצית ה' ארצך, במה רצית ארצך, שבת שבות יעקב. בפנים אחרים היא נדרשת בספרי, ונחלקו בה ר' יהודה ור' נחמיה. ר' יהודה דורש כולה כנגד ישראל, ור' נחמיה דורש כולה כנגד האומות. רבי יהודה דורשה כלפי ישראל אמרתי אפאיהם, כמו שפירשתי עד ולא ה' פעל כל זאת. כי גוי אובד עצות המה אבדו תורתי שהיא להם עצה נכונה. ואין בהם תבונה להתבונן איכה ירדוף אחד מן האומות אלף מהם אם לא כי צורם מכרם, כי לא כצורנו צורם, הכל כמו שפירשתי עד תכליתו. ור' נחמיה דורשה כלפי האומות כי גוי אבד עצות המה, כמו שפירשתי תחלה עד ואויבינו פלילים:
[32] For their vine is of the vine of Sodom: That of the nations,
כי מגפן סדום גפנם: של אומות:
and of the field of Gomorrah…: And the nations do not give any thought to attribute the greatness to Me.
ומשדמת עמורה וגו': ולא ישימו לבם לתלות הגדולה בי:
their grapes are grapes of rosh: This is what Scripture says, “Were it not that the enemy’s wrath was heaped up (verse 27)” against Israel, to poison and embitter them, and therefore (verse 32), “they have bitter clusters,” and they will be forced to eat them because of what they did to My children.
ענבמו ענבי רוש: הוא שאמר לולי כעס אויב אגור על ישראל להרעילם ולהמרירם, לפיכך אשכלות מרורות למו להלעיט אותם על מה שעשו לבני:
[33] Their wine is the bitterness of serpents: ready to give them [the nations] to drink because of what they did to them [Israel].
חמת תנינם יינם: מוכן להשקותם על מה שעושין להם:
[34] [Is it not] stored up with Me: i.e., this cup [of poison], as Scripture states, “For a cup is in the hand of the Lord […which all the wicked of the world will…drink]” (Ps. 75:9). [35]
כמוס עמדי: אותו הכוס, שנאמר (תהלים עה, ט) כי כוס ביד ה' וגו':
at the time their foot trips: [i.e., when the nations’ foot trips,] as Scripture says, “A foot will trample it,” [referring to the downfall of the wicked] (Isa. 26:6).
לעת תמוט רגלם: כענין שנאמר (ישעיה כו, ו) תרמסנה רגל:
[36] For the Lord will judge His people: when explaining the section according to this [Rabbi Nehemiah’s] explanation, [the word כִּי in the expression] כִּי יָדִין does mean “because,” and the judgment spoken of here does not refer to sufferings [of Israel], but rather, the verse means: Because God will plead the cause of Israel against those who have oppressed her, when “He sees that the [nations’] power is increasing…” [37]
כי ידין ה' עמו: בלשון זה משמש כי ידין בלשון דהא, ואין ידין לשון יסורין, אלא כמו כי יריב את ריבם מיד עושקיהם, כי יראה כי אזלת יד וגו':
Then he will say, “Where is their Deity?”: The enemy will say, “Where is Israel’s God?” just as the wicked Titus said, when he rent the veil [of the Holy Temple] (see Gittin 56b), as Scripture states, “And my enemy will see [God’s righteousness], and shame will cover her, who says to me, ‘Where is the Lord, your God?’” (Micah 7:10).
ואמר אי אלהימו: האויב יאמר אי אלהימו של ישראל, כמו שאמר טיטוס הרשע כשגדר את הפרכת, כענין שנאמר (מיכה ז, י) ותרא אויבתי ותכסה בושה האומרה אלי איו ה' אלהיך:
[39] See now that it is I!: Then the Holy One, Blessed is He, will reveal His salvation and say: “Now you see that it is I! I am the One!” From Me the evil befell you, and from Me good will come upon you;
ראו עתה כי אני וגו': אז יגלה הקב"ה ישועתו ויאמר ראו עתה כי אני אני הוא מאתי באת עליהם הרעה ומאתי תבא עליהם הטובה:
and no one can rescue from My Hand: i.e., who will rescue you from the disaster I will bring upon you.
ואין מידי מציל: מי שיציל אתכם מן הרעה אשר אביא עליכם:
[40] For I raise up My place to heaven: Heb. כִּי אֶשָּׂא אֶל שָׁמַיִם יָדִי. This is to be understood as, “I have raised up (נָשָׂאתִי).” My Divine Presence has always dwelt in the heaven, as the Targum renders it. And even if a weak one is above, and a strong one is below, the fear of the one above is upon the one below. How much more is this so, since the Mighty One is above, and the weak one is below?!
כי אשא אל שמים ידי: כמו כי נשאתי, תמיד אני משרה מקום שכינתי בשמים, כתרגומו אפילו חלש למעלה וגבור למטה, אימת העליון על התחתון, וכל שכן שגבור למעלה וחלש מלמטה:
My place: [According to this explanation, the word] יָדִי means “the [dwelling] place of My Divine Presence,” as in the verse, “every man in his place (יָדוֹ)” (Num. 2:17). [Continues God:] Now, it was within My power to punish you [nations] immediately, but I said, “As I live forever,” I will not hasten to exact punishment-there is time for this, because I live forever! I will exact the punishment [from the nations] in the latter generations. Furthermore, I have the power to exact punishment both from the living and the dead. A mortal king, who may die at any moment, hastens to avenge himself during his lifetime, because either he or his enemy may die without seeing his punishment being meted out upon him, but I, [says God,] live forever, so that if the enemy dies and I have not yet exacted punishment upon them, I will exact punishment from them when they are dead.
ידי: מקום שכינתי, כמו (במדבר ב, יז) איש על ידו, והיה בידי להפרע מכם, אבל אמרתי שחי אנכי לעולם, איני ממהר לפרוע, לפי שיש לי שהות בדבר, כי אני חי לעולם, ובדורות אחרונים אני נפרע מהם והיכולת בידי להפרע מן המתים ומן החיים. מלך בשר ודם שהוא הולך למות ממהר נקמתו להפרע בחייו, כי שמא ימות הוא או אויבו ונמצא שלא ראה נקמתו ממנו, אבל אני חי לעולם ואם ימותו הם ואיני נפרע בחייהם, אפרע במותם:
[41] When I sharpen the blade of my sword: There are instances in Scripture where the word אִם is not used conditionally [i.e., it does not mean “if”. Here, אִם means “when,” and thus, the verse means:] “When I sharpen the blade of My sword, and My hand grasps judgment…,” and all these remaining verses are as I have explained them above.
אם שנותי ברק חרבי: הרבה אם יש שאינם תלויין, כשאשנן ברק חרבי ותאחז במשפט ידי וכו', כמו שפירשתי למעלה:
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Daily Tehillim: Psalms Chapters 10 - 17
• Special Custom for the Month of Elul and High Holidays
The Baal Shem Tov instituted a custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms).
See below for today's additional chapters.
Chapter 10
This psalm tells of the wicked one’s prosperity and his boasting of it, until he says: “There is neither law nor judge. God pays no attention to the actions of mere mortals.”
1. Why, O Lord, do You stand afar, do You hide Yourself in times of distress?
2. The wicked man in his arrogance pursues the poor; they are caught by the schemes they have contrived.
3. For the wicked man glories in the desire of his heart, and the robber boasts that he has scorned the Lord.
4. The wicked one in his insolence [thinks], “He does not avenge”; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5. His ways always succeed; Your retribution is far removed from before him; he puffs at all his foes.
6. He says in his heart, “I shall not falter; for all generations no evil will befall me.”
7. His mouth is full of oaths, deceit and malice; mischief and iniquity are under his tongue.
8. He sits in ambush near open cities; in hidden places he murders the innocent; his eyes stealthily watch for the helpless.
9. He lurks in hiding like a lion in his lair; he lurks to seize the poor, then seizes the poor when he draws his net.
10. He crouches and stoops, then the helpless fall prey to his might.
11. He says in his heart, “God has forgotten, He conceals His countenance, He will never see.”
12. Arise, O Lord! O God, lift Your hand! Do not forget the lowly.
13. Why does the wicked man scorn God? Because he says in his heart, “You do not avenge.”
14. Indeed, You do see! For You behold the mischief and vexation. To recompense is in Your power; the helpless place their trust in You; You have [always] helped the orphan.
15. Break the strength of the wicked; then search for the wickedness of the evil one and You will not find it.
16. The Lord reigns for all eternity; the nations have vanished from His land.
17. Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; direct their hearts, let Your ear listen,
18. to bring justice to the orphan and the downtrodden, so that [the wicked] shall no longer crush the frail of the earth.
Chapter 11
This psalm declares that the suffering of the righteous one is for his own benefit, to cleanse him of his sins; whereas the wicked one is granted prosperity in this world-similar to the verse, "Wealth remains with its owner, to his detriment."
1. For the Conductor, by David. I have placed my trust in the Lord; [thus] how can you say of my soul, your mountain,1 that it flees like a bird?2
2. For behold, the wicked bend the bow, they have readied their arrow upon the bowstring, to shoot in darkness at the upright of heart.
3. They destroyed the foundations; 3 what [wrong] has the righteous man done?
4. The Lord is in His holy Sanctuary, the Lord's throne is in heaven, [yet] His eyes behold, His pupils probe [the deeds of] mankind.
5. The Lord tests the righteous, but He hates the wicked and the lover of violence.
6. He will rain down upon the wicked fiery coals and brimstone; a scorching wind will be their allotted portion.
7. For the Lord is righteous, He loves [the man of] righteous deeds; the upright will behold His countenance.
Chapter 12
This psalm admonishes informers, slanderers, and flatterers.
1. For the Conductor, upon the eight-stringed instrument, a psalm by David.
2. Help us, Lord, for the pious are no more; for the faithful have vanished from among men.
3. Men speak falsehood to one another; with flattering lips, with a duplicitous heart do they speak.
4. May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that speaks boastfully-
5. those who have said, "With our tongues we shall prevail, our lips are with us, who is master over us!”
6. Because of the plundering of the poor, because of the moaning of the needy, the Lord says, "Now I will arise!" "I will grant deliverance," He says to him.
7. The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in the finest earthen crucible, purified seven times.
8. May You, O Lord, watch over them; may You forever guard them from this generation,
9. [in which] the wicked walk on every side; when they are exalted it is a disgrace to mankind.
Chapter 13
A prayer for an end to the long exile. One in distress should offer this prayer for his troubles and for the length of the exile.
1. For the Conductor, a psalm by David.
2. How long, O Lord, will You forget me, forever? How long will You hide Your countenance from me?
3. How long must I seek counsel within my soul, [to escape] the grief in my heart all day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
4. Look! Answer me, O Lord, my God; give light to my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.
5. Lest my enemy say, "I have overcome him," [and] my oppressors rejoice when I falter.
6. I have placed my trust in Your kindness, my heart will rejoice in Your deliverance. I will sing to the Lord, for He has dealt kindly with me.
Chapter 14
This psalm speaks of the destruction of the two Holy Temples-the first by Nebuchadnezzar, and the second by Titus.
1. For the Conductor, by David. The fool says in his heart, "There is no God!" [Man's] deeds have become corrupt and abominable, no one does good.
2. The Lord looked down from heaven upon mankind, to see if there was any wise man who searches for God.
3. They have all gone astray together, they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.
4. Indeed, all the evildoers, who devour My people as they devour bread, who do not call upon the Lord, will [ultimately] come to know [the consequences of their actions].
5. There they will be seized with fright, for God is with the righteous generation.
6. You scorn the counsel of the lowly, that he puts his trust in the Lord.
7. O that out of Zion would come Israel's deliverance! When the Lord returns the captivity of His people, Jacob will exult, Israel will rejoice.
Chapter 15
This psalm speaks of several virtues and attributes with which one should conduct oneself. He is then assured that his soul will rest in Gan Eden.
1. A psalm by David. Who may abide in Your tent, O Lord? Who may dwell on Your holy Mountain?
2. He who walks blamelessly, acts justly, and speaks truth in his heart;
3. who has no slander on his tongue, who has done his fellowman no evil, and who has brought no disgrace upon his relative;
4. in whose eyes a despicable person is abhorrent, but who honors those who are God-fearing; who does not change his oath even if it is to his own detriment;
5. who does not lend his money at interest, nor accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never falter.
Chapter 16
When one is in need, he should not implore God in his own merit, for he must leave his merits for his children.
1. A michtam,1 by David. Watch over me, O God, for I have put my trust in You.
2. You, [my soul,] have said to God, "You are my Master; You are not obligated to benefit me.”
3. For the sake of the holy ones who lie in the earth, and for the mighty-all my desires are fulfilled in their merit.
4. Those who hasten after other [gods], their sorrows shall increase; I will not offer their libations of blood, nor take their names upon my lips.
5. The Lord is my allotted portion and my share; You guide my destiny.
6. Portions have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, a beautiful inheritance is mine.
7. I bless the Lord Who has advised me; even in the nights my intellect admonishes me.2
8. I have set the Lord before me at all times; because He is at my right hand, I shall not falter.
9. Therefore my heart rejoices and my soul exults; my flesh, too, rests secure.
10. For You will not abandon my soul to the grave, You will not allow Your pious one to see purgatory.
11. Make known to me the path of life, that I may be satiated with the joy of Your presence, with the bliss of Your right hand forever.
Chapter 17
A loftily person should not ask God to test him with some sinful matter, or other things. If one has sinned, he should see to reform himself, and to save many others from sin.
1. A prayer by David. Hear my sincere [plea], O Lord; listen to my cry; give ear to my prayer, expressed by guileless lips.
2. Let my verdict come forth from before You; let Your eyes behold uprightness.
3. You have probed my heart, examined it in the night, tested me and found nothing; no evil thought crossed my mind; as are my words so are my thoughts.
4. So that [my] human deeds conform with the words of Your lips, I guard myself from the paths of the lawbreakers.
5. Support my steps in Your paths, so that my feet shall not falter.
6. I have called upon You, for You, O Lord, will answer me; incline Your ear to me, hear what I say.
7. Withhold Your kindness-O You who delivers with Your right hand those who put their trust in You-from those who rise up against [You].
8. Guard me like the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings
9. from the wicked who despoil me, [from] my mortal enemies who surround me.
10. Their fat has closed [their hearts]; their mouths speak arrogantly.
11. They encircle our footsteps; they set their eyes to make us stray from the earth.
12. His appearance is like a lion longing to devour, like a young lion lurking in hiding.
13. Arise, O Lord! Confront him, bring him to his knees; rescue my soul from the wicked [who serves as] Your sword.
14. Let me be among those whose death is by Your hand, O Lord, among those who die of old age, whose portion is eternal life and whose innards are filled with Your concealed goodness; who are sated with sons and leave their abundance to their offspring.
15. Because of my righteousness, I shall behold Your countenance; in the time of resurrection, I will be sated by Your image.
Additional Three Chapters
The Baal Shem Tov instituted a custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms).
Today's Chapters are 91, 92 and 93.
Chapter 91
This psalm inspires the hearts of the people to seek shelter under the wings of the Divine Presence. It also speaks of the four seasons of the year, and their respective ministering powers, instructing those who safeguard their souls to avoid them.
1. You who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the Omnipotent:
2. I say of the Lord who is my refuge and my stronghold, my God in whom I trust,
3. that He will save you from the ensnaring trap, from the destructive pestilence.
4. He will cover you with His pinions and you will find refuge under His wings; His truth is a shield and an armor.
5. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day;
6. the pestilence that prowls in the darkness, nor the destruction that ravages at noon.
7. A thousand may fall at your [left] side, and ten thousand at your right, but it shall not reach you.
8. You need only look with your eyes, and you will see the retribution of the wicked.
9. Because you [have said,] "The Lord is my shelter," and you have made the Most High your haven,
10. no evil will befall you, no plague will come near your tent.
11. For He will instruct His angels in your behalf, to guard you in all your ways.
12. They will carry you in their hands, lest you injure your foot upon a rock.
13. You will tread upon the lion and the viper; you will trample upon the young lion and the serpent.
14. Because he desires Me, I will deliver him; I will fortify him, for he knows My Name.
15. When he calls on Me, I will answer him; I am with him in distress. I will deliver him and honor him.
16. I will satiate him with long life, and show him My deliverance.
Chapter 92
Sung every Shabbat by the Levites in the Holy Temple, this psalm speaks of the World to Come, and comforts the hearts of those crushed by suffering.
1. A psalm, a song for the Shabbat day.
2. It is good to praise the Lord, and to sing to Your Name, O Most High;
3. to proclaim Your kindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness in the nights,
4. with a ten-stringed instrument and lyre, to the melody of a harp.
5. For You, Lord, have gladdened me with Your deeds; I sing for joy at the works of Your hand.
6. How great are Your works, O Lord; how very profound Your thoughts!
7. A brutish man cannot know, a fool cannot comprehend this:
8. When the wicked thrive like grass, and all evildoers flourish-it is in order that they may be destroyed forever.
9. But You, Lord, are exalted forever.
10. Indeed, Your enemies, O Lord, indeed Your enemies shall perish; all evildoers shall be scattered.
11. But You have increased my might like that of a wild ox; I am anointed with fresh oil.
12. My eyes have seen [the downfall of] my watchful enemies; my ears have heard [the doom of] the wicked who rise against me.
13. The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, grow tall like a cedar in Lebanon.
14. Planted in the House of the Lord, they shall blossom in the courtyards of our God.
15. They shall be fruitful even in old age; they shall be full of sap and freshness-
16. to declare that the Lord is just; He is my Strength, and there is no injustice in Him.
Chapter 93
This psalm speaks of the Messianic era, when God will don grandeur-allowing no room for man to boast before Him as did Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh, and Sennacherib.
1. The Lord is King; He has garbed Himself with grandeur; the Lord has robed Himself, He has girded Himself with strength; He has also established the world firmly that it shall not falter.
2. Your throne stands firm from of old; You have existed forever.
3. The rivers have raised, O Lord, the rivers have raised their voice; the rivers raise their raging waves.
4. More than the sound of many waters, than the mighty breakers of the sea, is the Lord mighty on High.
5. Your testimonies are most trustworthy; Your House will be resplendent in holiness, O Lord, forever.
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Tanya: Iggeret HaKodesh, middle of Epistle 20
• Lessons in Tanya
• Today's Tanya Lesson
Friday, 2 Tishrei 5775 • 26 September 2014
Iggeret HaKodesh, middle of Epistle 20
והגם שהיש הנברא הוא גם כן כלא חשיב קמיה
And although created substance is also as naught before Him, for everything, including the created yesh, is as naught before Him —
דהיינו: שבטל במציאות לגבי הכח והאור השופע בו
that is, it is essentially non-existent (Insertion by the Rebbe: “not only in relation to G d’s Essence, which utterly transcends worlds and creation, but also within creation”) in relation to the energy and light that flow into it,
מהכלים דיו״ד ספירות דאבי״ע, שהקו אור אין סוף ברוך הוא מאיר בהם
this force and light deriving from the kelim of the Ten Sefirot of Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, into which the Kav of the [infinite] Ein Sof-light radiates,
Though we are speaking only of the creative force — the kelim of the Ten Sefirot — that animates created beings, this too may be termed “before Him,” since within these kelim is found the radiance of the Ein Sof-light.
כזיו השמש בשמש
and thus the degree of nullification of created beings is like that of a sunray while still in its source, within the sun,
While they are still in the orb of the sun, sunrays are essentially non-existent: there they contribute no independently identifiable illumination. Nothing exists there but their source, the orb of the sun, the luminary from which they derive.
כמו שכתוב בליקוטי אמרים, חלק ב׳
as explained in Likkutei Amarim (Tanya), Part II1 — that all created beings are truly nullified in relation to their source to the same degree as the sun’s rays are nullified within their source.
In light of the above, how can we possibly say that if creation were to result from ilah and alul, created beings would not exist in a manner of yesh but would be nullified to their source, when in truth, even after they were created ex nihilo they are still truly nullified within their source, like the sun’s rays within the sun?
היינו קמיה דוקא, שהיא ידיעתו יתברך, מלמעלה למטה
[The Alter Rebbe answers:] however, this is only “before Him,” as seen from the heavenly perspective (daat elyon) from which G d knows creation, His knowledge [perceiving] from above netherwards.
אבל בידיעה שממטה למעלה
But as seen from the earthbound perspective (daat tachton) of created beings, with a knowledge [that perceives] from below upwards,
היש הנברא הוא דבר נפרד לגמרי, בידיעה והשגה זו שממטה
created yesh is an altogether separate thing, in this knowledge and apprehension from below.
A created being perceives itself to be altogether separate and apart from the Source that creates it, not recognizing its ongoing dependence on it. Though aware that it came into being by virtue of a G dly Source, it nevertheless considers its own existence to be yesh (“being”), and its G dly Source, ayin (lit., “nothingness”).
This does not mean to imply, explains the Alter Rebbe, that a created being regards its Source is non-existent. Rather, the term ayin has a twofold connotation:
(a) “incomprehensible”: A created being is incapable of comprehending its Source. When it calls Him ayin, it means that He does not exist within its range of comprehension.
(b) “existing differently”: The Source exists so differently, so far beyond the pattern of existence familiar to the created being, that the latter calls its Source “non-existent” — He in fact does not exist within that earthbound frame of reference.
This is what the Alter Rebbe now goes on to say:
כי הכח השופע בו אינו מושג כלל וכלל
For the force that creates it and continuously flows into it is not understood [by the created being] at all.
The created being therefore calls its Source ayin since He does not exist in its world of comprehension.
Another reason for its calling the Source ayin, as the Alter Rebbe now continues, lies in the fact that He exists in an entirely different manner, there being no similarity between created and Creator.
וגם אין ערוך זה לזה כלל וכלל, לא מיניה ולא מקצתיה מהערך שמהעלול אל העילה
Moreover, there is no approximation whatever from the one to the other, from the yesh to the ayin, neither does the relation between them partially or minimally resemble the approximation between an effect (alul) and its cause (ilah).
The ayin does not exist at all in the same manner as does the yesh which it creates.
If, for example, intellection were to create a rock, the rock’s manner of existence would be so distant and so different from that of its source, that from its perspective it would be immaterial whether it had been created by intellection or from nothing at all. Intellection simply does not exist in the rock’s mode of existence.
שהעלול יודע ומשיג איזה השגה בעילתו
For an alul knows and has some apprehension of its ilah,
Since the ilah (cause) does exist in the world of comprehension of the alul (effect), the latter is affected by the comprehension of its ilah:
ובטל אצלו על ידי ידיעה והשגה זו
and it becomes nullified in relation to it (to the ilah) through this knowledge and apprehension.
A yesh, by contrast, has absolutely no apprehension of the ayin that is responsible for its creation.
וגם במהותם ועצמותם, אין הפרש גדול כל כך, רק שזה עילה וזה עלול
Even with respect to their intrinsic nature and essence there is not such a great distinction [between an ilah and its alul], except that one is a cause and the other is an effect;
The ilah and alul of intellect and emotion serve as a perfect example: Essentially, emotion is already to be found in its source, as “emotion within intellect” (middot shebaseichel), even before it exists alone as a distinct entity. But though “emotion within intellect” exists in a different manner from pure emotion, they are in essence the same.
ולא מיניה ולא מקצתיה מההפרש שבין מהות היש הנברא, למהות הכח והאור השופע בו, להוותו מאין ליש
yet [this distinction] neither partially nor minimally resembles the distinction between the essence of a created substance and the essence of the energy and light that flow into it, to create it from ayin to yesh.
Ayin and yesh are inherently and entirely different; the ayin does not exist at all in the manner that the yesh does.
ולכן נקרא יש מאין דוקא
This is why [creation] is called2 precisely yesh me’ayin — ex nihilo, “something out of nothing.”
For although even the created yesh is aware that “Everything derives from You,” it nevertheless calls its Source ayin for the two above-mentioned reasons: the Source “does not exist” in the limited world of the creature’s comprehension, and it “does not exist” in the same manner as the yesh.
***
Having explained in general terms why the creation of a substantial yesh from spirituality can only come about in a manner of ex nihilo (and not in a manner of ilah and alul), the Alter Rebbe now goes on to explain that the first stage of the created yesh is the kelim of the Ten Sefirot of the Worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.
For though they are considered Sefirot, and as such they constitute the Divinity in these three worlds, the kelim of these Sefirot already comprise an element of yesh. This is true even within the World of Atzilut, except that there the kelim are emanated (as a yesh hane’etzal, implying connectedness to their Source), rather than created (as a yesh hanivra, implying separateness from their Source).
As the Alter Rebbe will soon state, the creation of yesh as a distinct entity derives primarily from the Sefirah of Malchut in the World of Atzilut: it is specifically through this Sefirah that G d’s infinite ability to create yesh me’ayin is revealed.
והנה ראשית היש הנברא ותחילתו, הן הכלים דיו״ד ספירות דבריאה יצירה עשיה, וגם האורות נפש רוח
Now, the kelim of the Ten Sefirot of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, and also the orot — Nefesh and Ruach, are the first stage and the beginning of created substantiality (yesh).
The orot (“lights”) that vest themselves in the kelim and thereby animate them consist of Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah, which are simultaneously three levels in the soul, and three levels in the life-force (“light”) that animates the worlds at large.
The lower two of these, Nefesh and Ruach, also comprise an element of yesh.
ונבראו מבחינת הנשמה די״ס דבי״ע, שהוא אלקות
[The kelim] were created from the category of Neshamah of the Ten Sefirot of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, this [Neshamah of the Ten Sefirot] being Divinity.
I.e., the G dliness of the Sefirot creates the yesh of the kelim of the Sefirot and also their Nefesh and Ruach.
והן הלמ״ד כלים דמלכות דאצילות
And these [orot of the Sefirot] are the thirty kelim of [the Sefirah of] Malchut of [the World of] Atzilut.
In the World of Atzilut, even the external aspect of the kelim of Malchut is G dliness. It is this external aspect of the kelim of Malchut that vests itself in the Worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah and becomes their soul and life-force. These external kelim are composed of three tenfold levels — the innermost kelim, the intermediary kelim, and the outermost kelim — thirty in all.
וכן באצילות
It is likewise in Atzilut, that the emanated yesh derives from the external aspect of the kelim of Atzilut.
מחיצוניות הכלים דיו״ד ספירות דאצילות, שהן אלוקות, נבראו ההיכלות דאצילות
From the chitzoniyut (the external aspect) of the kelim of the Ten Sefirot of Atzilut, which are G dliness, were created the Heichalot (the Celestial Chambers) of Atzilut,
Unlike the kelim and Sefirot in which there is vested the internal level of the orot, these Heichalot are an external aspect of the World of Atzilut.
שמתלבש בהן בחינת העיגולים דיו״ד ספירות
in which the category of the Iggulim of the Ten Sefirot vests itself,
The term Iggulim (lit., “circles”) refers to the “encompassing” mode of influence (or makkif) of the Sefirot, which does not permeate the created beings which it illuminates. A penetrating mode of influence (or pnimi) would make the animated object resemble the life-force that animates it. The exterior or encompassing mode of influence called Iggulim, by contrast, allows the animated object to perceive itself as a yesh, albeit an emanated form of yesh.
וגם גופות המלאכים דאצילות, שהן בחינת יש
and also the bodies of the angels of Atzilut, which are a form of yesh, are created from the external kelim of the Sefirot of Atzilut,
וכמו שכתוב: ובמלאכיו ישים תהלה
as it is written,3 “And His angels He charges with deficiency,”4
The phrase “His angels” implies those nearest to G d, viz., the angels of the World of Atzilut. Yet even these are deficient in that they are yesh and not Divinity.
שאינן בבחינת ביטול לגמרי, כעלול לגבי עילתו
because they are not wholly in a state of nullification as the alul is in relation to its ilah, for they are created in a manner of yesh from ayin.
FOOTNOTES
1. Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, ch.3.
2. Note of the Rebbe: “[Not only from the perspective of the yesh, but] also according to the truth.”
3. Iyov 4:18.
4. The last word of the Hebrew quotation is vocalized with a kamatz, kamatz katan, and kamatz.
____________________________
Rambam:
Daily Mitzvah P247, N293, N297, P182 Sefer Hamitzvot
Today's Mitzvah
Thursday, 1 Tishrei 5775 • 25 September 2014
Daily Mitzvah P247, N293, N297, P182 Sefer Hamitzvot
Today's Mitzvah
Thursday, 1 Tishrei 5775 • 25 September 2014
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
Positive Commandment 247
Saving a Victim from an Attacker
"You shall cut off her hand; you shall not pity her"—Deuteronomy 25:12.
We are commanded to save a potential victim from the hands of one who is "chasing" him to kill him—even if this means killing the attacker. If it is possible to save the victim without killing the pursuer – through injuring the attacker, then that must be done. But if that is not possible, we are commanded to kill the pursuer rather than allow him to execute his dastardly intention.
Saving a Victim from an Attacker
Positive Commandment 247
Translated by Berel Bell
The 247th mitzvah is that we are commanded to save a person from someone who is trying to kill him, even by killing the attacker. I.e. if there is no other way to save the victim except by killing the attacker, we are commanded to kill him.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement1 (exalted be He), "[...if she grabs his attacker by his private parts,] you must cut off her hand [if necessary, to save her victim]; do not have any pity."
In the words of the Sifri: "[The reason the Torah uses the example of] 'his private parts' is because [an attack to] his private parts could endanger his life. In this case 'you must cut off her hand.' So too in any case where his life is in danger, 'you must cut off her hand.' [The reason the Torah says] 'you must cut off her hand' is because you must save him [even] at the cost of her hand. What is the source of the law that if you are unable to save him by cutting off her hand, that you must save him by killing her? The phrase, 'do not have any pity.' "
We have therefore explained the idea of this commandment. The verse2 describes the woman as "the wife of one of the men" fighting because it speaks of the most common case. It conveys the principle that one must save the victim even at the cost of the attacker's limbs, and if it is impossible to save him any other way, you must kill him.
The details of this mitzvah are explained in the 8th chapter of tractate Sanhedrin.3
FOOTNOTES
1.Deut. 25:12.
2.Ibid., 25:11.
3.73a.
Sparing an Attacker
"You shall cut off her hand; you shall not pity her"—Deuteronomy 25:12.
We are forbidden to have pity on one who is pursuing another to kill him. Instead we are commanded to try to stop the pursuer at all costs, and if the effort to stop him is unsuccessful, and the pursuer persists in acting upon his intentions, we must fight him. If possible, we try to prevent him from killing by amputating one of his limbs, blinding him [etc.], and if the only way to stop him is by killing him, then he must be killed.
The same rule applies to a man pursuing a woman (or man) to rape her (or him).
This only applies while the attacker is pursuing the victim. Once the crime has been perpetrated, the criminal may not be summarily executed, but must be brought to court and tried.
Saving a Person in Mortal Peril
Sparing an Attacker
Negative Commandment 293
Translated by Berel Bell
The 293rd prohibition is that we are forbidden from sparing the life of a rodef.
The explanation of this: we said in the previous mitzvah1 that witnesses may not kill someone who has performed a transgression until the High Court has sentenced him to death; but this applies only if he has already performed and completed the transgression that carries the death penalty. However, when he is still involved in trying to perform the act, he is termed a rodef, and we are then obligated to prevent him from doing the sin he has in mind. If he refuses and persists, we must attack him. If we can stop him by [merely] depriving him of use of a limb, such as cutting off his hand or foot, or blinding his eye, that is fine. But if the only way to restrain him is by killing him, he must be killed before he performs the act. In this case, there is a prohibition to have pity on the pursuer by refraining from killing him.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement,2 "You must cut off her hand [if necessary, to save her victim] and not have any pity."
In the words of the Sifri: "The phrase 'You must cut off her hand [if necessary]' teaches that you must save him [even] by cutting off her hand. What is the source of the law that if you cannot save him only through cutting off her hand, then you must kill her in order to save him? From the phrase, 'and not have any pity.' " There [in the Sifri] it also says: "[The reason the Torah uses the example of] 'his private parts' is because [an attack to] his private parts could endanger his life. In this case 'you must cut off her hand.' So too in any case where his life is in danger, 'you must cut off her hand.' "
Our previous statement that the rodef must be killed does not apply to all cases where a person is attempting to do a transgression. It applies only when one is chasing after another trying to kill him, even should [the rodef3] be a child; or trying to commit rape in a case the Torah terms gilui ervah,4 obviously includes [to rape] another man. [That the law of rodef applies also to rape is derived from] the G‑d's statement5 (exalted be He), "Even if the betrothed girl has screamed out, there would have been no one to come and save her." This implies that would there have been someone to save her, that he would do so with any means at his command. The Torah compares the law of an attempted rape of a betrothed girl and an attempted murder in the verse,6 "This is no different from the case where a man rises up against his neighbor and murders him."
The details of this mitzvah are explained in the 8th chapter of tractate Sanhedrin.
FOOTNOTES
1.N292.
2.Deut. 25:12.
3.See Kapach, 5731, footnote 36.
4.This includes a married woman, a relative, etc.
5.Deut. 22:27.
6.Ibid. 22:26.
Negative Commandment 297
Saving a Person in Mortal Peril
"You shall not stand [idly] by the blood of your neighbor"—Leviticus 19:16.
It is forbidden to abstain from offering assistance when perceiving one's fellow in mortal danger, or his property in danger of destruction.
Examples: One who knows how to swim who sees his fellow drowning, must jump into the water to save him; if one becomes aware of a plot against another's life, it is his responsibility to attempt to thwart it; one who has evidence that could support his fellow's monetary claim in court, must come forward and testify.
Negative Commandment 297
Translated by Berel Bell
The 297th prohibition is that we are forbidden from not saving a Jew's life in a case where we see that his life is in danger and we have the ability to save him. For example, when someone is drowning in the sea and we can swim well to be able to save him; or a non-Jew wants to kill him and we are able to change his mind or to protect him from harm. [In such cases] there is a prohibition to refrain from saving him.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement1 (exalted be He), "Do not stand still when your neighbor's life is in danger."
Our Sages say that even someone who denies that he has testimony is included in this prohibition, since he sees his brother's money being lost and is able to return it to him by testifying the truth. Another verse2 also refers to this: "and if he does not testify, he must bear his guilt." In the words of the Sifra: "What is the source of the law that when you can testify for someone, that you are forbidden from remaining silent? From the verse, 'Do not stand still when your neighbor's life is in danger.' What is the source of the law that if you see him drowning in the river, being attacked by robbers or by a wild animal that you are obligated to save him? From the verse, 'Do not stand still when your neighbor's life is in danger.' What is the source for the law that when a rodef is trying to kill someone, that you are obligated to save him even with the life [of the rodef]? From the verse, 'Do not stand still when your neighbor's life is in danger.' "
The details of this mitzvah are explained in tractate Sanhedrin.3
FOOTNOTES
1.Lev. 19:16.
2.Ibid. 5:1.
3.73a.
________________________________________
Positive Commandment 182
Designating Cities of Refuge
"Prepare for you the way, and divide the border of the land into three parts"—Deuteronomy 19:3.
We are commanded to designate six cities of refuge in the Land of Israel, and prepare unobstructed and direct routes leading to them. These cities provided refuge [against avenging relatives] for individuals guilty of manslaughter.
Designating Cities of Refuge
Positive Commandment 182
Translated by Berel Bell
The 182nd mitzvah is that we are commanded to designate six cities of refuge, to be available for a person who killed someone accidentally. We must fix the road and keep it straight, and make sure that nothing will impede the fleeing person from running there.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement1 (exalted be He), "[You must separate three cities in the land which G‑d your L‑rd is giving you to occupy.] Establish yourself a road, and divide your land into three parts."
The details of this mitzvah are explained in tractates Sanhedrin,2 Makkos,3 Shekalim,4 and Sotah.5
We have mentioned previously6 the statement of our Sages, "Cities of refuge are only in Israel."
FOOTNOTES
1.Deut. 19:3.
2.77b.
3.Ch. 2.
4.1:1.
5.See Kapach, 5731, footnote 17.
6.P176.
Positive Commandment 247
Saving a Victim from an Attacker
"You shall cut off her hand; you shall not pity her"—Deuteronomy 25:12.
We are commanded to save a potential victim from the hands of one who is "chasing" him to kill him—even if this means killing the attacker. If it is possible to save the victim without killing the pursuer – through injuring the attacker, then that must be done. But if that is not possible, we are commanded to kill the pursuer rather than allow him to execute his dastardly intention.
Saving a Victim from an Attacker
Positive Commandment 247
Translated by Berel Bell
The 247th mitzvah is that we are commanded to save a person from someone who is trying to kill him, even by killing the attacker. I.e. if there is no other way to save the victim except by killing the attacker, we are commanded to kill him.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement1 (exalted be He), "[...if she grabs his attacker by his private parts,] you must cut off her hand [if necessary, to save her victim]; do not have any pity."
In the words of the Sifri: "[The reason the Torah uses the example of] 'his private parts' is because [an attack to] his private parts could endanger his life. In this case 'you must cut off her hand.' So too in any case where his life is in danger, 'you must cut off her hand.' [The reason the Torah says] 'you must cut off her hand' is because you must save him [even] at the cost of her hand. What is the source of the law that if you are unable to save him by cutting off her hand, that you must save him by killing her? The phrase, 'do not have any pity.' "
We have therefore explained the idea of this commandment. The verse2 describes the woman as "the wife of one of the men" fighting because it speaks of the most common case. It conveys the principle that one must save the victim even at the cost of the attacker's limbs, and if it is impossible to save him any other way, you must kill him.
The details of this mitzvah are explained in the 8th chapter of tractate Sanhedrin.3
FOOTNOTES
1.Deut. 25:12.
2.Ibid., 25:11.
3.73a.
________________________________________
Negative Commandment 293Sparing an Attacker
"You shall cut off her hand; you shall not pity her"—Deuteronomy 25:12.
We are forbidden to have pity on one who is pursuing another to kill him. Instead we are commanded to try to stop the pursuer at all costs, and if the effort to stop him is unsuccessful, and the pursuer persists in acting upon his intentions, we must fight him. If possible, we try to prevent him from killing by amputating one of his limbs, blinding him [etc.], and if the only way to stop him is by killing him, then he must be killed.
The same rule applies to a man pursuing a woman (or man) to rape her (or him).
This only applies while the attacker is pursuing the victim. Once the crime has been perpetrated, the criminal may not be summarily executed, but must be brought to court and tried.
Saving a Person in Mortal Peril
Sparing an Attacker
Negative Commandment 293
Translated by Berel Bell
The 293rd prohibition is that we are forbidden from sparing the life of a rodef.
The explanation of this: we said in the previous mitzvah1 that witnesses may not kill someone who has performed a transgression until the High Court has sentenced him to death; but this applies only if he has already performed and completed the transgression that carries the death penalty. However, when he is still involved in trying to perform the act, he is termed a rodef, and we are then obligated to prevent him from doing the sin he has in mind. If he refuses and persists, we must attack him. If we can stop him by [merely] depriving him of use of a limb, such as cutting off his hand or foot, or blinding his eye, that is fine. But if the only way to restrain him is by killing him, he must be killed before he performs the act. In this case, there is a prohibition to have pity on the pursuer by refraining from killing him.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement,2 "You must cut off her hand [if necessary, to save her victim] and not have any pity."
In the words of the Sifri: "The phrase 'You must cut off her hand [if necessary]' teaches that you must save him [even] by cutting off her hand. What is the source of the law that if you cannot save him only through cutting off her hand, then you must kill her in order to save him? From the phrase, 'and not have any pity.' " There [in the Sifri] it also says: "[The reason the Torah uses the example of] 'his private parts' is because [an attack to] his private parts could endanger his life. In this case 'you must cut off her hand.' So too in any case where his life is in danger, 'you must cut off her hand.' "
Our previous statement that the rodef must be killed does not apply to all cases where a person is attempting to do a transgression. It applies only when one is chasing after another trying to kill him, even should [the rodef3] be a child; or trying to commit rape in a case the Torah terms gilui ervah,4 obviously includes [to rape] another man. [That the law of rodef applies also to rape is derived from] the G‑d's statement5 (exalted be He), "Even if the betrothed girl has screamed out, there would have been no one to come and save her." This implies that would there have been someone to save her, that he would do so with any means at his command. The Torah compares the law of an attempted rape of a betrothed girl and an attempted murder in the verse,6 "This is no different from the case where a man rises up against his neighbor and murders him."
The details of this mitzvah are explained in the 8th chapter of tractate Sanhedrin.
FOOTNOTES
1.N292.
2.Deut. 25:12.
3.See Kapach, 5731, footnote 36.
4.This includes a married woman, a relative, etc.
5.Deut. 22:27.
6.Ibid. 22:26.
________________________________________
Negative Commandment 297
Saving a Person in Mortal Peril
"You shall not stand [idly] by the blood of your neighbor"—Leviticus 19:16.
It is forbidden to abstain from offering assistance when perceiving one's fellow in mortal danger, or his property in danger of destruction.
Examples: One who knows how to swim who sees his fellow drowning, must jump into the water to save him; if one becomes aware of a plot against another's life, it is his responsibility to attempt to thwart it; one who has evidence that could support his fellow's monetary claim in court, must come forward and testify.
Negative Commandment 297
Translated by Berel Bell
The 297th prohibition is that we are forbidden from not saving a Jew's life in a case where we see that his life is in danger and we have the ability to save him. For example, when someone is drowning in the sea and we can swim well to be able to save him; or a non-Jew wants to kill him and we are able to change his mind or to protect him from harm. [In such cases] there is a prohibition to refrain from saving him.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement1 (exalted be He), "Do not stand still when your neighbor's life is in danger."
Our Sages say that even someone who denies that he has testimony is included in this prohibition, since he sees his brother's money being lost and is able to return it to him by testifying the truth. Another verse2 also refers to this: "and if he does not testify, he must bear his guilt." In the words of the Sifra: "What is the source of the law that when you can testify for someone, that you are forbidden from remaining silent? From the verse, 'Do not stand still when your neighbor's life is in danger.' What is the source of the law that if you see him drowning in the river, being attacked by robbers or by a wild animal that you are obligated to save him? From the verse, 'Do not stand still when your neighbor's life is in danger.' What is the source for the law that when a rodef is trying to kill someone, that you are obligated to save him even with the life [of the rodef]? From the verse, 'Do not stand still when your neighbor's life is in danger.' "
The details of this mitzvah are explained in tractate Sanhedrin.3
FOOTNOTES
1.Lev. 19:16.
2.Ibid. 5:1.
3.73a.
________________________________________
Positive Commandment 182
Designating Cities of Refuge
"Prepare for you the way, and divide the border of the land into three parts"—Deuteronomy 19:3.
We are commanded to designate six cities of refuge in the Land of Israel, and prepare unobstructed and direct routes leading to them. These cities provided refuge [against avenging relatives] for individuals guilty of manslaughter.
Designating Cities of Refuge
Positive Commandment 182
Translated by Berel Bell
The 182nd mitzvah is that we are commanded to designate six cities of refuge, to be available for a person who killed someone accidentally. We must fix the road and keep it straight, and make sure that nothing will impede the fleeing person from running there.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement1 (exalted be He), "[You must separate three cities in the land which G‑d your L‑rd is giving you to occupy.] Establish yourself a road, and divide your land into three parts."
The details of this mitzvah are explained in tractates Sanhedrin,2 Makkos,3 Shekalim,4 and Sotah.5
We have mentioned previously6 the statement of our Sages, "Cities of refuge are only in Israel."
FOOTNOTES
1.Deut. 19:3.
2.77b.
3.Ch. 2.
4.1:1.
5.See Kapach, 5731, footnote 17.
6.P176.
________________________________________
Rambam:
• 1 Chapter a Day: Chapter: Sanhedrin veha`Onashin haMesurin lahem Sanhedrin veha`Onashin haMesurin lahem - Chapter 2Sanhedrin veha`Onashin haMesurin lahem - Chapter 2
Halacha 1
We appoint to a Sanhedrin - both to the Supreme Sanhedrin and to a minor Sanhedrin - only men of wisdom and understanding, of unique distinction in their knowledge of the Torah and who possess a broad intellectual potential. They should also have some knowledge concerning other intellectual disciplines, e.g., medicine, mathematics, the fixation of the calendar, astronomy, astrology, and also the practices of fortune-telling, magic, sorcery, and the hollow teachings of idolatry, so that they will know how to judge them.
We appoint to the Sanhedrin only priests, Levites, and Israelites of lineage of fine repute who can marry into the priesthood. This is derived from Number 11:16: "And they shall stand there with you." Implied is that they should resemble you, Moses in wisdom, the fear of heaven, and in lineage.
Halacha 2
It is a mitzvah for there to be priests and Levites in the Supreme Sanhedrin, as Deuteronomy 17:9 states: "And you shall come to the priests and to the Levites. If appropriate ones are not found, it is permissible for all the judges to be Israelites.
Halacha 3
We should not appoint to a Sanhedrin a man of very old age or one who does not possess male physical attributes, for they possess the trait of cruelty, nor a man who is childless, so that the judges should be merciful.
Halacha 4
A king of Israel may not be included in the Sanhedrin, for we are forbidden to disagree with him and repudiate his words. The High Priest, by contrast, may be included in the Sanhedrin if his knowledge makes him fitting.
Halacha 5
Although the kings of the House of David may not be included in the Sanhedrin, they may sit in judgment over the people. Conversely, they may be called to judgment if a person has a complaint against them. The Kings of Israel, by contrast, may not serve as judges, nor may they be called to judgment. The rationale is that they do not humble themselves before the words of the Torah, and letting them serve as a judge or issuing a judgment against them may lead to a disaster.
Halacha 6
Just as the judges of a court must be on the highest level of righteousness; so, too, must they be unsullied by any physical blemishes.
An effort should be made that they all be white-haired, of impressive height, of dignified appearance, men who understand whispered matters, who understand many different languages so that the Sanhedrin will not need to hear testimony from an interpreter.
Halacha 7
We are not careful to demand that a judge for a court of three possess all these qualities. He must, however, possess seven attributes: wisdom, humility, the fear of God, a loathing for money, a love for truth; he must be a person who is beloved by people at large, and must have a good reputation.
All of these qualities are mentioned explicitly in the Torah. When relating Moses' statements concerning the appointment of judges, Deuteronomy 1:13 mentions: "Men of wisdom and understanding." This refers to wisdom.
The verse continues: "Beloved by your tribes." This refers to those who are appreciated by people at large. What will make them beloved by people? Conducting themselves with a favorable eye and a humble spirit, being good company, and speaking and conducting their business with people gently.
When relating Jethro's advice to Moses to appoint judges, Exodus 18:21 speaks of "men of power." This refers to people who are mighty in their observance of the mitzvot, who are very demanding of themselves, and who overcome their evil inclination until they possess no unfavorable qualities, no trace of an unpleasant reputation, even during their early manhood, they were spoken of highly. The phrase "men of power" also implies that they should have a courageous heart to save an oppressed person from the one oppressing him, as Exodus 2:17 states: "And Moses arose and delivered them."
Just as we see that Moses was humble; so, too, every judge should be humble. Exodus 18:21 continues: "God-fearing" - the intent is obvious. It mentions: "men who hate profit," i.e., people who do not become overly concerned even about their own money. They do not pursue the accumulation of money, for anyone who is overly concerned about wealth will ultimately be overcome by want.
The verse continues: "men of truth," i.e., people who pursue justice because of their own inclination; they love truth, hate crime, and flee from all forms of crookedness.
Halacha 8
Our Sages relate: From the Supreme Sanhedrin, they would send emissaries throughout the entire land of Israel to seek out judges. Whenever they found a person who was wise, sin-fearing, humble, modest, with a good reputation, and beloved by people at large, they have him appointed as a judge in his own city. From there, they promote him to the court which holds sessions at the entrance to the Temple Mount. From there, he is promoted to the court which holds sessions at the entrance to the Temple Courtyard, and from there, to the Supreme Sanhedrin.
Halacha 9
When one of the judges of a court of three is a convert, the court is disqualified. His mother must be a native-born Jewess. If, by contrast, one of the judges is a mamzer, even if all three of them are mamzerim, they are acceptable to pass judgment.
Similarly, if all of the members of a court of three were blind in one eye, it is acceptable. This does not apply with regard to a Sanhedrin. If, however, a judge is blind in both eyes, he is unacceptable to serve on all courts.
Halacha 10
Although a court requires no less than three judges, it is permissible for one judge to adjudicate a case according to Scriptural Law, as Leviticus 19:15 states: "Judge your fellow countryman with righteousness." According to Rabbinic Law, however, there should be three judges. When two judges adjudicate a case, their ruling is not binding.
11 When a judge is an expert and he is known by many to possess such knowledge or if he was granted permission by the court, he may adjudicate a case alone. Nevertheless, he is not considered as a court.
Even though it is permitted for such a person to issue judgments alone, it is a mitzvah from the Sages for him to have others sit in judgment with him, for our Sages said: "Do not act as a judge alone, for there is only One who judges alone."
Halacha 12
A person may execute judgment himself if he has the power to do so. If he acts according to the dictates of our faith and according to law, he is not obligated to take the trouble to come to the court. This applies even if he would not suffer any financial loss if he would delay and bring the matter to the court.
Consequently, should the other litigant lodge a complaint against him and bring him to court, if the court investigates and discovers that he acted according to law, i.e., the decision which he arrived at was true, we do not abrogate his decision.
Halacha 13
Although a court of three is considered as a complete entity, whenever there are more judges, it is praiseworthy. It is preferable to make a decision with 11 judges than with ten. All the judges who sit in court must be Torah scholars and of appropriate character.
Halacha 14
It is forbidden for a wise man to sit in judgment until he knows with whom he will be sitting. This restraint is observed lest he be coupled with men who are unsuitable. Thus he will be part of "a band of traitors," and not part of a court.
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Rambam:
• 3 Chapters a Day: Rotseah uShmirat Nefesh Rotseah uShmirat Nefesh - Chapter Five, Rotseah uShmirat Nefesh Rotseah uShmirat Nefesh - Chapter Six, Rotseah uShmirat Nefesh Rotseah uShmirat Nefesh - Chapter Seven
Rotseah uShmirat Nefesh - Chapter Five
Halacha 1
Whenever a person kills unintentionally, he should be exiled from the city in which he killed, to a city of refuge. It is a positive mitzvah to exile him, as implied by Numbers 35:25: "He shall dwell there until the death of the High Priest."
The court is admonished not to accept a ransom from the killer to enable him to remain in his city, as Ibid.:32 states: "You shall not accept a ransom so that he will not have to flee to his city of refuge."
Halacha 2
A person who kills unintentionally is not exiled unless the person whom he kills dies immediately. If, however, he wounds a person unintentionally - even though the court assesses that the victim will die - and the victim indeed falls sick and dies, the killer is not exiled. The rationale is that the death may not have been entirely the killer's fault; perhaps the victim in some way hastened his own death or wind entered his wound and caused him to die.
Even if the killer severed the victim's windpipe and esophagus, if the victim remained alive for a short while, the killer is not exiled on his accord. Therefore, it is only when the victim died without entering any death spasms at all, or was killed in a place that was not open to the wind - e.g., a closed marble building, or the like - that the killer is exiled.
Halacha 3
When a Jew unintentionally kills a servant or a resident alien, he must be exiled. Similarly, if a servant unintentionally kills a Jew or a resident alien, he should be exiled.
Similarly, a resident alien who kills another resident alien or a servant unintentionally should be exiled, for the passage concerning the cities of refuge, Numbers 35:15, describes them as being for "the children of Israel, an alien and the residents among you."
Halacha 4
When a resident alien kills a Jew unintentionally, he should be executed, even though he acted unintentionally. The rationale is that a person must always take responsibility for his conduct.
Similarly, if a resident alien kills another resident alien because he thought that it was permitted to kill, he is considered to be close to acting intentionally, and he should be executed, for he intended to kill.
When one gentile kills another gentile unintentionally, the cities of refuge do not serve as a haven for him, for the above verse states: "For the children of Israel."
Halacha 5
When a son unintentionally kills his father, he should be exiled. Similarly, when a father unintentionally kills his son, he should be exiled.
When does the above apply? When the father kills the son while not in the midst of Torah study, or when he was teaching his son a profession that is not necessary for him. If, however, he imposes punishment on his son while teaching him Torah, secular knowledge or a profession, and the son dies, the father is not liable for exile.
Halacha 6
Similarly, when a teacher strikes a student or an emissary of the court strikes a litigant who refuses to appear in courtand accidentally kills him, he is not liable for exile.
This concept is derived from Deuteronomy 19:5, which mentions the punishment of exile for a person who unintentionally kills a colleague while "chopping wood" - i.e., a permitted act. Thus, this punishment is not imposed when a father strikes a son, a teacher strikes a student, or an emissary of the court strikes a litigant, for they unintentionally killed while performing a mitzvah.
Halacha 7
At the outset, both a person who killed unintentionally and one who killed intentionally should flee to a city of refuge. The court in the city in which the killing took place sends for the killer and brings him back to that city, as ibid.:12 states: "And the elders of his city shall send and take him from there."
If the killer is condemned to execution, he should be executed, as ibid. continues: "And they shall give him to the hand of the blood redeemer." If a person is absolved, he should be released, as Numbers 35:25 states: "And the congregation shall save the killer from the hand of the blood redeemer." And if the killer is sentenced to exile, he should be returned to his previous place, as ibid. continues: "And the congregation shall return him to his city of refuge."
Halacha 8
When he is returned to his city of refuge, he is given two Torah sages to accompany him, lest the blood redeemer attempt to kill him on the way. They should tell him: "Do not deal with him in the manner of those who shed blood. It was unintentional that this happened."
Halacha 9
When a blood redeemer slays a person who killed unintentionally outside the Sabbath limits of his city of refuge, he is not held liable, as Deuteronomy 19:6 states: "He is not judged as liable to be executed."
Halacha 10
The above applies whether he kills him on the road before he enters his city of refuge or if he kills him when returning together with the two who are guarding him. If he enters his city of refuge and intentionally departs beyond its Sabbath boundaries,he has granted license for his life to be taken. The blood redeemer is permitted to kill him. And if another person kills him, that other person is not liable, as Numbers 35:27 states: "There is no liability for his blood."
Halacha 11
If the killer leaves his city of refuge unintentionally, whoever slays him - whether the blood redeemer or another person - should be exiled. If the killer is slain within the Sabbath limits of the city of refuge, the one who slayed him should be executed.
Halacha 12
The altar in the Temple serves as a haven for killers. This is derived from Exodus 21:14, which states with regard to a person who kills intentionally: "You shall take him from My altar to die." One can derive from this, that one who kills unintentionally should not be killed at the altar.
Thus, if a person kills unintentionally and takes refuge at the altar, and the blood redeemer kills him there, he should be executed as if he killed him in a city of refuge.
Halacha 13
What serves as a haven is only the top of the altar in the Temple. Moreover, it serves as a haven only for a priest who is in the midst of sacrificial worship. For a person other than a priest, a priest who is not involved in the sacrificial worship, or a priest who was involved in the sacrificial worship but was near the altar or holding on to its horns, the altar does not serve as a haven.
Halacha 14
If someone takes refuge on the altar, he is not left there. Instead, he is given guards and taken to a city of refuge.
When does the above apply? When one is obligated to be exiled. If, however, a person feared that a king will have him executed as is the king's authority, or that the court will execute him as an immediate directive, and fled to the altar and held on to it, he should be saved.
This applies even if he is a commoner. He should not be taken from the altar to die unless he was sentenced to death because of the testimony of witnesses who delivered a warning, as is always required with regard to those executed by the court.
Rotseah uShmirat Nefesh - Chapter Six
Halacha 1
There are three categories of unintentional killers.
Halacha 2
There is a person who kills unintentionally, without at all knowing that this will be the consequence of his actions. Concerning such a person, Exodus 21:13 says: "Who did not lay in ambush." The law applying to such a person is that he should be exiled to a city of refuge, as we have explained in the previous chapter.
Halacha 3
There is a person who kills unintentionally, whose acts resemble those caused by forces beyond his control - i.e., that the death will be caused by an extraordinary phenomenon that does not commonly occur. Such a person is not liable to be exiled, and if he is slain by the blood redeemer, the blood redeemer should be executed for killing him.
Halacha 4
There is a person who kills unintentionally, whose acts resemble those willfully perpetrated - e.g., they involve negligence or that care should have been taken with regard to a certain factor and it was not. Such a person is not sentenced to exile, because his sin is very severe and exile cannot bring him atonement, nor do the cities of refuge served as a haven for him. For they serve as a haven only for those obligated to be exiled. Therefore, if the blood redeemer finds this killer anywhere and slays him, he is not liable.
Halacha 5
What should such a person do? Sit and protect himself from the blood redeemer.
Similarly, if the blood redeemer slays any of the murderers whose acts were observed by only one witness, or who were not given a warning or the like, the blood redeemer is not liable for execution. Killing such individuals should not be considered more severe than killing a person who killed unintentionally.
Halacha 6
What does the above imply? When a person throws a stone into the public domain and it causes death or he tears down his wall into the public domain, and a stone falls and causes death - whether he tears down the wall during the day or during the night - he is considered to be close to having acted intentionally. A city of refuge does not serve as a haven for him. For he should have checked the surroundings and then thrown the stone or torn down the wall.
Halacha 7
The following rules apply if a person tears down a wall into a garbage dump at night. If it is likely that people are there, he is considered to be close to having acted intentionally, and a city of refuge does not serve as a haven for him. If people are never found there, the death is considered close to having been caused by forces beyond his control, and he is not liable for exile.
Halacha 8
Different rules apply if people would use a garbage dump to relieve themselves at night, but would not use it for this purpose during the daytime. If it happened that a person sat there during the day, and he was killed by a stone that came from a person tearing down his wall, the person who tore down his wall should be exiled.
If after the stone began to fall, the person came and sat down, and the stone struck him and caused his death, the person who tore down his wall is not liable to be exiled.
Halacha 9
Similarly, if a person threw a stone into the public domain, and after the stone left his hand, the victim stuck his head out from a window and was struck by it, the person who threw the stone is not liable for exile. This is derived from Deuteronomy 19:5, which states: "the iron slips from the wood and finds his fellow." This excludes an instance when the victim causes himself to be found by the iron or other object that causes death.
Halacha 10
When a person who hates the victim kills unintentionally, the city of refuge does not serve as a haven for him. This is implied by Numbers 35:23, which states that a person who is exiled: "is not the victim's enemy." We operate under the presumption that one who is an enemy is close to having acted willfully.
Who is considered to be an enemy? A person who did not speak to the victim for at least three days because of animosity.
Similarly, all the following individuals are considered close to having acted willfully, and a city of refuge does not serve as a haven for them:
a) a person who entered an intersection holding an open knife in his hand without realizing that the victim was approaching from the other side and unintentionally stabbed him, causing his death;
b) a person who unintentionally pushed a colleague to his death with his body and not with his hands;
c) a person who intended to throw a stone that could kill two cubits, and instead threw it four;
d) a person who thought that it was permitted to kill;
e) a person who intended to kill one person and instead killed another. This applies even if he intended to kill a gentile or an animal and instead killed a Jew.
Halacha 11
When a person enters a courtyard of a homeowner without permission, and the homeowner kills him unintentionally, the homeowner is not liable to be exiled as can be inferred from Deuteronomy 19:5, which, when describing a person who must be exiled speaks of one: "Who encounters his colleague in the forest." Our Sages commented: A forest is a place that the victim has the right to enter. Similarly, in all such places, and only in such places, is a killer liable to be exiled.
Therefore, if a person enters a carpenter's shop without permission, and a block of wood flies forth and strikes him in the face and kills him, and he dies, the carpenter is not liable to be exiled. If he entered with permission, the carpenter should be exiled.
Halacha 12
When a person was lifting a barrel with a pulley to bring it up to a roof, and the the rope broke, causing it to fall on a colleague, or a person was climbing up a ladder and fell on a colleague and killed him, the person who caused the death is not liable to be exiled. This is considered to be something beyond his control. For this is not something that is likely to happen, but is rather an extraordinary occurrence.
If, by contrast, a person was lowering a barrel with a rope and it fell on a colleague and killed him, he was descending on a ladder and fell on a colleague, or he was shining with a polisher and it fell on a colleague and killed him, the person responsible should be exiled.
This is derived from Numbers 35:23, which states: "And it fell upon him, and he died," implying that the article must descend in an ordinary manner. An object that descends frequently causes damage. Indeed, it is likely that this will happen, for the nature of a heavy object is to descend downward speedily. Therefore, if the person did not hurry and act appropriately and properly while the object descended, he is responsible and should be exiled. The same applies in other analogous situations.
Halacha 13
The following rules apply when a butcher was cutting meat and lifted his hands backward while holding a cleaver, and then brought them forward to break a bone, as butchers do. If anyone is killed while he draws the cleaver back - i.e., while he lifts it up in front of him or while he causes it to descend behind him, the butcher is not exiled. If anyone is killed when he brings the cleaver forward - i.e., while he lifts it up behind him or while he causes it to descend in front of him - the butcher should be exiled.
This is the governing principle. Whenever the object that kills is descending, the person responsible should be exiled. If it is not descending, he should not be exiled. Even a descent for the purpose of ascent does not cause the person to be exiled.
Halacha 14
What is an example of a "descent for the purpose of an ascent"? If a person was ascending on a ladder, and a rung gave way under his feet and fell and caused death, the person climbing is not obligated to be exiled.
Similarly, in the following situations, the death is considered close to having been caused by factors beyond the control of the individuals involved and they are not exiled:
a) a person intended to throw an article in one direction and it went in another direction,
b) a person had a stone in his bosom that he had never been made aware of and when he stood up it fell, or
c) a blind man killed someone unintentionally.
Halacha 15
If there was a stone in his bosom that he was aware of and he forgot it, and then he stood up, the stone fell and caused death, he is exiled, as implied by Numbers 35:15, which mentions the death taking place "unintentionally." From the use of that term, we can infer that he knew of the stone's existence beforehand.
If the iron slips from the axe rebounding from the tree he is chopping, he is not exiled, because this does not come from his own force, but from the effect generated by his force. Thus, it is like a factor that is beyond his control.
Similarly, if a person throws a stone into a date palm to knock down dates, and the dates fall on an infant and kill him, the person who throws the stone is not liable to be exiled, because the infant was killed, not by force that he generated, but from the effect generated by his force. Similar principles apply with regard to other blows brought about by analogous situations.
Rotseah uShmirat Nefesh - Chapter Seven
Halacha 1
When a Torah scholar is exiled to a city of refuge, his teacher is exiled together with him. This is derived from Deuteronomy 19:5, which states: "He shall flee to one of these cities, and he shall live." Implied, is that everything necessary for his life must be provided for him. Therefore, a scholar must be provided with his teacher, for the life of one who possesses knowledge without Torah study is considered to be death. Similarly, if a teacher is exiled, his academy is exiled with him.
Halacha 2
When a servant is exiled to a city of refuge, his master is not obligated to provide for his sustenance. The income from his labor, however, belongs to his master.
When a woman is exiled to a city of refuge, her husband is obligated to provide for her sustenance. For he cannot tell her: "Take the fruits of your labor in exchange for your sustenance," unless the woman is capable of earning a sufficient amount to provide for herself.
Halacha 3
When a killer was sentenced to exile and died before the sentence was implemented, his bones should be taken to a city of refuge and buried there.
When a killer dies in his city of refuge, he should be buried there. When the High Priest dies, the bones of the killer may be taken to his ancestral plot.
Halacha 4
When any of the other Levites who live in the city of refuge dies, he should not be buried within the city or within its Sabbath boundary. As Numbers 35:3 states: "Their open space will be for their animals, for their property and for all their life." Implied is that these cities were given for life, and not for burial.
Halacha 5
When a killer kills accidentally in a city of refuge, he should be exiled from one neighborhood to another. He should not depart from the city.
Similarly, when a Levite kills in one of his own cities, he should be exiled to another one of the cities of the Levites. For they all serve as a haven, as will be explained. If he killed outside the cities of the Levites and fled to his own city, that city serves as a haven for him.
Halacha 6
When the majority of the inhabitants of a city of refuge are killers, it no longer serves as a haven. This is derived from Joshua 20:4, which speaks of the designation of the cities of refuge and states: "And the killer will speak his words in the ears of the elders of the city." Implied is that there is a distinction between their words and his words.
Similarly, a city that does not have elders does not serve as a haven, for it is written: "The elders of that city."
Halacha 7
When a killer was exiled to a city of refuge, and the inhabitants of the city desire to show him honor, he should tell them: "I am a killer."
If they say, "We desire to honor you regardless," he may accept the honor from them.
Halacha 8
A person who was exiled to a city of refuge should never leave his city of refuge, not even to perform a mitzvah or to deliver testimony - neither testimony involving monetary matters, nor testimony involving a capital case. He should not leave even if he can save a life by delivering testimony, or he can save a person from gentiles, from a river, from a fire or from an avalanche. This applies even if he is a person like Yoav ben Tz'ruyah, upon whom the salvation of the entire Jewish people may depend. He should never leave the city of refuge until the death of the High Priest. If he departs, he has allowed for his death, as explained.
Halacha 9
When it is said that a killer may return after the death of the High Priest, the intent is a High Priest anointed with the anointing oil, one who assumed his office through wearing his vestments, one who performs the service of a High Priest, and one who was removed from his office. When any of these four die, a killer may return from his city of refuge.
When, by contrast, a priest anointed to lead the nation in war dies, a killer may not return, for this priest is considered to be an ordinary priest.
Halacha 10
The following individuals are exiled and never return from their exile:
a) a person who was sentenced to exile at a time when the office of High Priest was not filled;
b) a person who killed a High Priest unintentionally and there was no other High Priest; or
c) a High Priest who killed unintentionally and there was no other High Priest.
Halacha 11
If, however, the killer was sentenced, but the High Priest died before the killer was actually exiled, he is not required to go into exile.
If before the killer was sentenced, the High Priest dies, and another High Priest was appointed in his stead, and then the sentence of exile was delivered, the killer returns after the death of the second High Priest, the one in whose term of office he was sentenced.
Halacha 12
If a killer was sentenced and it was discovered that the High Priest was the son of a divorcee or the son of a woman who underwent chalitzah, the High Priesthood is negated. It is as if he were sentenced without there having been a High Priest; he may never leave his city of refuge.
Halacha 13
When a killer returns to his city after the death of the High Priest, he is considered to be an ordinary citizen. If the blood redeemer slays him, the blood redeemer should be executed, for the killer has already gained atonement through exile.
Halacha 14
Although the killer has gained atonement, he should never return to a position of authority that he previously held. Instead, he should be diminished in stature for his entire life, because of this great calamity that he caused.
Halacha 15
Although a person who intentionally injures his father is liable to be executed by the court just like a person who kills another person, if a person unintentionally injured his parents, he is not liable for exile. For the Torah prescribed exile only for a person who unintentionally killed another man, as we have stated.
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Hayom Yom:
Friday, 2 Tishrei 5775 • 26 September 2014
"Today's Day"
Friday, 2 Tishrei * 2nd day of Rosh Hashana, 5704
L'keil orech din is said at Musaf.
Torah lessons: Chumash: Ha'azinu, Shishi with Rashi.
Tehillim: 10-17. Also 91-93.
Tanya: (Such) created (p. 499) ...to its cause). (p. 501).
At Mincha do not say Hodu (p. 124); do say Patach Eliyahu (p. 125).
The statement in the Alter Rebbe's Siddur,1 (Shaar haKriat Sh'ma, in the maamar L'havin hahefresh, p. 74a of that siddur) that prior to sounding the shofar we say Ana b'choach,2 means this: In general terms they are the kavanot (mystical devotions) of the verses whose initial letters are the second Name of the Name mem-bet.3 However, some keep the kavanot of the words Ana b'choach in thought, but do not pronounce the letters or words. One who is involved with kavanot must study those subjects in the Arizal's4 writings until he knows them clearly, and then his kavanot are acceptable and favored.
FOOTNOTES
*. According to circumstantial evidence cited by the Rebbe of righteous memory (Sefer Hamaamarim 5711, p. 106), this day marks the yahrzeit in 5703 (1942), of Rebbetzin Sheina, daughter of the Previous Rebbe. May G-d avenge her blood. (She was married to R. Menachem Mendel Hakohein Horenstein.)
1. I.e. the "Siddur with Chassidus."
2. ...when we do not, in fact, actually say it. See Siddur pp. 280-1.
3. A mystical form of the Divine Name consisting of 42 letters. See Kidushin 71a.
4. "Arizal" is an acronym for Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of blessed memory (zal) whose kabalistic writings are basic for knowledge of mystical devotions.
Words and WorldFriday, 2 Tishrei * 2nd day of Rosh Hashana, 5704
L'keil orech din is said at Musaf.
Torah lessons: Chumash: Ha'azinu, Shishi with Rashi.
Tehillim: 10-17. Also 91-93.
Tanya: (Such) created (p. 499) ...to its cause). (p. 501).
At Mincha do not say Hodu (p. 124); do say Patach Eliyahu (p. 125).
The statement in the Alter Rebbe's Siddur,1 (Shaar haKriat Sh'ma, in the maamar L'havin hahefresh, p. 74a of that siddur) that prior to sounding the shofar we say Ana b'choach,2 means this: In general terms they are the kavanot (mystical devotions) of the verses whose initial letters are the second Name of the Name mem-bet.3 However, some keep the kavanot of the words Ana b'choach in thought, but do not pronounce the letters or words. One who is involved with kavanot must study those subjects in the Arizal's4 writings until he knows them clearly, and then his kavanot are acceptable and favored.
FOOTNOTES
*. According to circumstantial evidence cited by the Rebbe of righteous memory (Sefer Hamaamarim 5711, p. 106), this day marks the yahrzeit in 5703 (1942), of Rebbetzin Sheina, daughter of the Previous Rebbe. May G-d avenge her blood. (She was married to R. Menachem Mendel Hakohein Horenstein.)
1. I.e. the "Siddur with Chassidus."
2. ...when we do not, in fact, actually say it. See Siddur pp. 280-1.
3. A mystical form of the Divine Name consisting of 42 letters. See Kidushin 71a.
4. "Arizal" is an acronym for Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of blessed memory (zal) whose kabalistic writings are basic for knowledge of mystical devotions.
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Daily Thought:In the beginning, G‑d spoke and the world came into being.
On Rosh Hashanah, every year, we speak praises and prayers, petitions and pleas. We speak of ourselves and we speak of others.
On Rosh Hashanah, every word we speak counts. Because according to what we speak, and how we speak, so G‑d speaks. And our world comes into being.
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