Today's Laws & Customs:
• Sanctification of the Moon
Once a month, as the moon waxes in the sky, we recite a special blessing called Kiddush Levanah, "the sanctification of the moon," praising the Creator for His wondrous work we call astronomy.
Kiddush Levanah is recited after nightfall, usually on Saturdaynight. The blessing is concluded with songs and dancing, because our nation is likened to the moon—as it waxes and wanes, so have we throughout history. When we bless the moon, we renew our trust that very soon, the light of G‑d's presence will fill all the earth and our people will be redeemed from exile.
Though Kiddush Levanah can be recited as early as three days after the moon's rebirth, the kabbalah tells us it is best to wait a full week, till the seventh of the month. Once 15 days have passed, the moon begins to wane once more and the season for saying the blessing has passed.
Links:
Brief Guide to Kiddush Levanah: Thank G‑d for the Moon!
More articles on Kiddush Levanah from our knowledgebase.
Today in Jewish History:
• Passing of Rabbi Pinchas Horowitz (1805)
Rabbi Pinchas HaLevi Horowitz of Nikelsburg (1730-1805) was the rabbi of Frankfurt and the author of Sefer Hafla'ah and Sefer HaMikneh -- commentaries on the Talmud -- and Panim Yafot, an exegesis on the Torah. Rabbi Pinchas and his brother Rabbi Shmuel Shmelke were students of the Mezritcher Maggid. They were amongst the first adherents to the Chassidic movement to hold rabbinic posts in Germany. The famed Rabbi Moshe Sofer, known as the Chatam Sofer, considered Rabbi Pinchas to be one of his main teachers.
Link: The Rabbi and the Ox
Daily Quote:
If you wait until you find the meaning of life, will there be enough life left to live meaningfully?[The Lubavitcher Rebbe]
Daily Study:
Chitas and Rambam for today:
Chumash: Chukat, 4th Portion Numbers 20:14-20:21 with Rashi
• Chapter 20
14Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: "So says your brother, Israel, 'You know of all the hardship that has befallen us. ידוַיִּשְׁלַח משֶׁה מַלְאָכִים מִקָּדֵשׁ אֶל מֶלֶךְ אֱדוֹם כֹּה אָמַר אָחִיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל אַתָּה יָדַעְתָּ אֵת כָּל הַתְּלָאָה אֲשֶׁר מְצָאָתְנוּ:
your brother Israel: Why did he see fit to mention brotherhood here? However, he said to him, “We are brothers, sons of Abraham, to whom it was said, 'your descendants will be strangers [in a land which is not theirs’]” (Gen. 15:13). And both of us are responsible for fulfilling that obligation. — [Midrash Tanchuma Chukath 12, Num. Rabbah 19:15] אחיך ישראל: מה ראה להזכיר כאן אחוה, אלא אמר לו אחים אנחנו בני אברהם, שנאמר לו (בראשית טו, יג) כי גר יהיה זרעך, ועל שנינו היה אותו החוב לפורעו:
You know of all the hardship: Therefore, your father parted from our father, as it says, “He went to a land because of Jacob his brother” (Gen. 36:6), [that is] because of the debt that was imposed upon them, and he [Esau] cast it onto Jacob. — [Gen. Rabbah 82:13] אתה ידעת את כל התלאה: לפיכך פירש אביכם מעל אבינו (שם לו, ו) וילך אל ארץ מפני יעקב אחיו, מפני השטר חוב המוטל עליהם והטילו על יעקב:
15Our fathers went down to Egypt, and we sojourned in Egypt for a long time. And the Egyptians mistreated us and our forefathers. טווַיֵּרְדוּ אֲבֹתֵינוּ מִצְרַיְמָה וַנֵּשֶׁב בְּמִצְרַיִם יָמִים רַבִּים וַיָּרֵעוּ לָנוּ מִצְרַיִם וְלַאֲבֹתֵינוּ:
mistreated us: We endured many hardships. וירעו לנו: סבלנו צרות רבות:
and our forefathers: From here [we learn] that when Israel is afflicted with punishment, the Patriarchs grieve in the grave. - [Midrash Tanchuma Chukath 12, Num. Rabbah 19:15] ולאבותינו: מכאן שהאבות מצטערים בקבר, כשפורענות באה על ישראל:
16We cried out to the Lord and He heard our voice. He sent an angel, and he took us out of Egypt, and now we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border. טזוַנִּצְעַק אֶל יְהֹוָה וַיִּשְׁמַע קֹלֵנוּ וַיִּשְׁלַח מַלְאָךְ וַיֹּצִאֵנוּ מִמִּצְרָיִם וְהִנֵּה אֲנַחְנוּ בְקָדֵשׁ עִיר קְצֵה גְבוּלֶךָ:
and He heard our voice: through the blessing that our father [Isaac] gave: “The voice is the voice of Jacob” (Gen. 27:22). When we cry out we are answered. — [Midrash Aggadah . See also Midrash Tanchuma Beshallach 9] וישמע קלנו: בברכה שברכנו אבינו (בראשית כז, כב) הקול קול יעקב, שאנו צועקים ונענים:
an angel: This refers to Moses. From here [we derive] that the prophets are called “angels,” and it says, “They mocked the angels of God” (II Chron. 36:16). - [Midrash Tanchuma Vayikra 1, Lev. Rabbah 1:1] מלאך: זה משה מכאן שהנביאים קרואים מלאכים, ואומר (ד"ה ב' לו, טז) ויהיו מלעיבים במלאכי הא-להים:
17Please let us pass through your land; we will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink well water. We will walk along the king's road, and we will turn neither to the right nor to the left until we have passed through your territory.'" יזנַעְבְּרָה נָּא בְאַרְצֶךָ לֹא נַעֲבֹר בְּשָׂדֶה וּבְכֶרֶם וְלֹא נִשְׁתֶּה מֵי בְאֵר דֶּרֶךְ הַמֶּלֶךְ נֵלֵךְ לֹא נִטֶּה יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאול עַד אֲשֶׁר נַעֲבֹר גְּבֻלֶךָ:
Please let us pass through your land: You have no right to contest the inheritance of the Land of Israel, since you did not pay the debt. Help us a little, and let us pass through your land. — [Midrash Tanchuma Chukath 12, Num. Rabbah 19:15] נעברה נא בארצך: אין לך לעורר על הירושה של ארץ ישראל, כשם שלא פרעת החוב. עשה לנו עזר מעט לעבור דרך ארצך:
nor will we drink well water: He should have said, “water from cisterns.” However, Moses said, “Though we have manna to eat and a well from which to drink, we will not drink from it, but we will buy food and drink from you, for your benefit.” From here [we learn] that even if a guest has his own provisions, he should buy from the shopkeeper [or householder] to benefit his host. — [Midrash Tanchuma Chukath 12, Num. Rabbah 19:15] ולא נשתה מי באר: מי בורות היה צריך לומר אלא כך אמר משה אף על פי שיש בידינו מן לאכול ובאר לשתות, לא נשתה ממנו אלא נקנה מכם אוכל ומים להנאתכם, מכאן לאכסנאי שאף על פי שיש בידו לאכול, יקנה מן החנוני כדי להנות את אושפיזו:
We will walk along the king’s road: We will muzzle our animals so they should not turn to either side to eat. — [Midrash Tanchuma Chukath 12, Num. Rabbah 19:15] דרך המלך נלך וגו': אנו חוסמים את בהמתנו ולא יטו לכאן ולכאן לאכול:
18Edom replied to him, "You shall not pass through me, lest I go out towards you with the sword!" יחוַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אֱדוֹם לֹא תַעֲבֹר בִּי פֶּן בַּחֶרֶב אֵצֵא לִקְרָאתֶךָ:
lest I go out towards you with the sword: You pride yourselves with the ‘voice’ your father bequeathed you, and declare, “We cried out to the Lord, and He heard our voice” (verse 16). But we will go out against you with what my father bequeathed me: “You shall live by the sword” (Gen. 27:40) - [Midrash Tanchuma Beshallach 9] פן בחרב אצא לקראתך: אתם מתגאים בקול שהורישכם אביכם, אמרתם (דברים כו, ז) ונצעק אל ה' וישמע קולנו, ואני אצא עליכם במה שהורישני אבי (בראשית כז, מ) ועל חרבך תחיה:
19The children of Israel said to him, "We will keep to the highway, and if we drink your water, either I or my cattle, we will pay its price. It is really nothing; I will pass through on foot." יטוַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּמְסִלָּה נַעֲלֶה וְאִם מֵימֶיךָ נִשְׁתֶּה אֲנִי וּמִקְנַי וְנָתַתִּי מִכְרָם רַק אֵין דָּבָר בְּרַגְלַי אֶעֱבֹרָה:
It is really nothing: There is nothing to harm you. רק אין דבר: אין שום דבר מזיקך:
20But he said, "You shall not pass through!" and Edom came out toward them with a vast force and with a strong hand. כוַיֹּאמֶר לֹא תַעֲבֹר וַיֵּצֵא אֱדוֹם לִקְרָאתוֹ בְּעַם כָּבֵד וּבְיָד חֲזָקָה:
and with a strong hand: With our grandfather’s promise: “the hands are the hands of Esau” (Gen. 27:22). - [Midrash Aggadah] וביד חזקה: בהבטחת זקננו והידים ידי עשו:
21Edom refused to allow Israel to cross through his territory; so Israel turned away from him. כאוַיְמָאֵן | אֱדוֹם נְתֹן אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל עֲבֹר בִּגְבֻלוֹ וַיֵּט יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵעָלָיו:Daily Tehillim: Psalms Chapters 39 - 43
• Chapter 39
David's prayer bewailing his suffering. But it is not suffering itself that pains him, rather he is saddened by its disturbing his Torah study. For man's days are few, "and if not now, when (will he study)?" for he may die, today or tomorrow. He therefore requests that his suffering be removed, to enable him to study Torah and acquire a place in the World to Come.
1. For the Conductor, for yedutun,1 a psalm by David.
2. I said that I would guard my ways from sinning with my tongue; I would guard my mouth with a muzzle, [even] while the wicked one is before me.
3. I became mute with stillness, I was silent [even] from the good, though my pain was crippling.
4. My heart grew hot within me, a fire blazed in my utterance, as I spoke with my tongue.
5. O Lord, let me know my end and what is the measure of my days, that I may know when I will cease.
6. Behold, like handbreadths You set my days; my lifetime is as naught before You. But all is futility, all mankind's existence, Selah.
7. Only in darkness does man walk, seeking only futility; he amasses riches and knows not who will reap them.
8. And now, what is my hope, my Lord? My longing is to You.
9. Rescue me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of the degenerate.
10. I am mute, I do not open my mouth, for You have caused [my suffering].
11. Remove Your affliction from me; I am devastated by the attack of Your hand.
12. In reproach for sin You chastened man; like a moth, You wore away that which is precious to him. All mankind is nothing but futility, forever.
13. Hear my prayer, O Lord, listen to my cry; do not be silent to my tears, for I am a stranger with You, a sojourner like all my forefathers.
14. Turn from me, that I may recover my strength, before I depart and I am no more.
Chapter 40
The psalmist speaks of the numerous wonders that God wrought for the Jewish people, asking: "Who can articulate His might? I would relate and speak of them, but they are too numerous to recount!" He created the world and split the sea for the sake of Israel, [yet] He desires no sacrifices, only that we listen to His voice.
1. For the Conductor, a psalm by David.
2. I put my hope in the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.
3. He raised me from the turbulent pit, from the slimy mud, and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps.
4. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn to our God; multitudes will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord.
5. Fortunate is the man who has made the Lord his trust, and did not turn to the haughty, nor to those who stray after falsehood.
6. You have done much, O You, Lord my God-Your wonders and thoughts are for us; none can compare to You; should I relate or speak of them, they are too numerous to recount!
7. You desired neither sacrifice nor meal-offering, but [obedient] ears You opened for me; You requested neither burnt-offering nor sin-offering.
8. Then I said, "Behold, I come with a Scroll of the Book written for me."1
9. I desire to fulfill Your will, my God; and Your Torah is in my innards.
10. I proclaimed [Your] righteousness in a vast congregation; behold I will not restrain my lips-O Lord, You know!
11. I did not conceal Your righteousness within my heart; I declared Your faithfulness and deliverance; I did not hide Your kindness and truth from the vast congregation.
12. May You, Lord, not withhold Your mercies from me; may Your kindness and truth constantly guard me.
13. For countless evils surround me; my sins have overtaken me and I cannot see; they outnumber the hairs of my head, and my heart has abandoned me.
14. May it please You, Lord, to save me; O Lord, hurry to my aid.
15. Let those who seek my life, to end it, be shamed and humiliated together; let those who desire my harm retreat and be disgraced.
16. Let those who say about me, "Aha! Aha!" be desolate, in return for their shaming [me].
17. Let all those who seek You exult and rejoice in You; let those who love Your deliverance always say, "Be exalted, O Lord!”
18. As for me, I am poor and needy; my Lord will think of me. You are my help and my rescuer; my God, do not delay!
Chapter 41
This psalm teaches many good character traits, and inspires one to be thoughtful and conscientious in giving charity-knowing to whom to give first. Fortunate is he who is thoughtful of the sick one, providing him with his needs.
1. For the Conductor, a psalm by David.
2. Fortunate is he who is thoughtful of the poor, [for] the Lord will save him on the day of evil.
3. The Lord will guard him and keep him alive; he will be praised throughout the land; You will not deliver him to the desires of his enemies.
4. The Lord will support him on the bed of illness; You will turn him over in his bed all throughout his sickness.
5. I said, "Lord, be gracious to me! Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You!”
6. My foes say that evil [awaits] me: "When will he die, and his name perish?”
7. And if one comes to see [me], he speaks insincerely, for his heart gathers iniquity for himself, and when he goes out he speaks of it.
8. Together they whisper against me-all my enemies; against me they devise my harm, [saying]:
9. "Let his wickedness pour into him; now that he lies down, he shall rise no more.”
10. Even my ally in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has raised his heel over me.
11. But you, Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up, and I will repay them.
12. With this I shall know that You desire me, when my enemies will not shout gleefully over me.
13. And I, because of my integrity, You upheld me; You set me before You forever.
14. Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, to all eternity, Amen and Amen.
Chapter 42
This psalm awakens the hearts of the Children of Israel who do not feel the immense ruin, loss, and bad fortune in their being exiled from their Father's table. Were they wise, they would appreciate their past good fortune in coming thrice yearly, with joy and great awe, to behold God during the festivals, free of adversary and harm. May God place mercy before us from now to eternity, Amen Selah.
1. For the Conductor, a maskil1 by the sons of Korach.
2. As the deer cries longingly for brooks of water, so my soul cries longingly for You, O God!
3. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When will I come and behold the countenance of God?
4. My tears have been my bread day and night, when they say to me all day, "Where is your God?”
5. These do I recall, and pour out my soul from within me: how I traveled [to Jerusalem] in covered wagons; I would walk leisurely with them up to the House of God, amid the sound of rejoicing and thanksgiving, the celebrating multitude.
6. Why are you downcast, my soul, and why do you wail within me? Hope to God, for I will yet thank Him for the deliverances of His countenance.
7. My God! My soul is downcast upon me, because I remember You from the land of Jordan and Hermon's peaks, from Mount Mitzar.2
8. Deep calls to deep3 at the roar of Your channels; all Your breakers and waves have swept over me.
9. By day the Lord ordains His kindness, and at night His song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
10. I say to God, my rock, "Why have You forgotten me? Why must I walk in gloom under the oppression of the enemy?”
11. Like a sword in my bones, my adversaries disgrace me, when they say to me all day, "Where is your God?”
12. Why are you downcast, my soul, and why do you wail within me? Hope to God, for I will yet thank Him; He is my deliverance, [the light of] my countenance, and my God.
Chapter 43
A significant prayer concerning the magnitude of the troubles we have suffered at the hands of the impious nations. May it be God's will to send Moshiach and Elijah the Prophet, who will lead us to the Holy Temple to offer sacrifices as in days of old.
1. Avenge me, O God, and champion my cause against an impious nation; rescue me from the man of deceit and iniquity.
2. For You are the God of my strength; why have You abandoned me? Why must I walk in gloom under the oppression of the enemy?
3. Send Your light and Your truth, they will guide me; they will bring me to Your holy mountain and to your sanctuaries.
4. Then I will come to the altar of God-to God, the joy of my delight-and praise You on the lyre, O God, my God.
5. Why are you downcast, my soul, and why do you wail within me? Hope to God, for I will yet thank Him; He is my deliverance, [the light of] my countenance, and my God.
Tanya: Igeret HaTeshuva , beginning of Chapter 1• Lessons in Tanya
• Wednesday, Tammuz 7, 5775 · June 24, 2015
Today's Tanya Lesson
Igeret HaTeshuva , beginning of Chapter 1
Introduction
By way of introduction to Iggeret HaTeshuvah it should be noted that the Alter Rebbe is known as1 “Master of the Tanya and Shulchan Aruch.” The Rebbe once remarked that “Master of the Tanya” means that the Alter Rebbe is2 an arbiter in the esoteric dimension of the Torah, and “Master of the Shulchan Aruch” signifies that3 his halachic rulings are authoritative.
Furthermore, the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe once stated in a public address4 that the four parts of Tanya correspond to the four sections of the Shulchan Aruch. In this connection the Rebbe gives an explanation — both according to Chassidut and according to the revealed strata of the Torah — of the relation between the third part of Tanya, Iggeret HaTeshuvah, and the third section of the Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer.
According to Chassidut the relation between the two is clarified by a statement in ch. 4 ofIggeret HaTeshuvah — that the lower and higher levels of teshuvah (which together encompass all the degrees of repentance) are respectively indicated by the lower and higher letters hei of the ineffable Name of G‑d. In terms of their spiritual personality, so to speak, these two letters are feminine: both are receptors, the higher hei (representing the level of Binah) being impregnated by Chochmah, and the lower hei (representing Malchut) being impregnated by the six emotive Sefirot. This feminine element connects Iggeret HaTeshuvah with Even HaEzer, which codifies the laws involving women.
As to the revealed plane of the Torah, we find that the Talmudic Tractate Gittin, which deals with the laws of divorce, precedes Tractate Kiddushin, which deals with the laws of marriage. In the introduction to his commentary on the Mishnah, Maimonides explains this order by quoting the verse,5 “When she leaves his house she may go and marry another man”; here, too, divorce precedes marriage. Historically, as well, the Midrash6 points out that the root of the word used by the Torah to say that G‑d7 banished Adam from the Garden of Eden ( ויגרש) is the same as the root of the word for divorce ( גרושין). Accordingly, the Sages compare his state to that of “a Jewish divorcee,” who is permitted to remarry her former husband. And indeed, when G‑d later gave the Torah to the Jewish people he8 “sanctified us ( קדשנו) with His commands.” In the Holy Tongue this verb shares a common root with the word for marriage, or betrothal ( קדושין). In this connection the Alter Rebbe said above9 that G‑d’s having “sanctified us with His commands” parallels what a man declares when betrothing a wife: “You are hereby consecrated unto me.”
This dynamic — marriage in the wake of divorce — is echoed in the spiritual use of these terms. The connection to teshuvah is thus readily apparent: A “marriage” is conceivable after a state of “divorce” only when there was teshuvah in the interim. For as the Alter Rebbe stated earlier on,10 “Indeed, it is impossible for the wicked to begin to serve G‑d without first repenting for their past.”
In Scripture, too, we find repentance depicted as the reconcilement of a divorced couple, culminating in remarriage. For sin banishes the Shechinah, the Divine Presence, the Mother of all souls. In the words of the prophet,11 ובפשעיכם שלחה אמכם — “Because of your transgressions was your Mother sent away.” This is the selfsame verb that the Torah uses for divorce:12 ושלחה מביתו — “And he will send her away from his house.” And it is repentance that undoes this spiritual divorce, to the point that G‑d can ask His people the rhetorical question:13 “Where is your mother’s bill of divorce?” — for as a result of His people’s repentance, the divorce is annulled.
In the plainly manifest levels of the Torah as well, there is explicit evidence in the Gemarathat repentance resembles remarriage following divorce. R. Yochanan teaches14 that repentance overrides a prohibition stated in the Torah, and cites the following verse:15 “If a man sends away his wife and she leaves him for another man, will he return to her again?.... Yet though you have strayed..., return to Me!” Thus, argues R. Yochanan, G‑d is saying here that repentance overrides the prohibition that16 “her first husband...may not remarry her” [if she married another man in the interim]. Here too, then, remarriage following divorce is a paradigm of repentance.
Thus, there is a clear correspondence between the third part of Tanya, Iggeret HaTeshuvah, and the third section of the Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer, which deals with the laws involving women.
תניא בסוף יומא: שלשה חלוקי כפרה הם
It has been taught in a Beraita at the end of Tractate Yoma:17 There are three types of atonement, varying according to the different categories of transgression,
ותשובה עם כל אחד
and repentance [necessarily] accompanies each of them.
עבר על מצות עשה ושב, אינו זז משם עד שמוחלין לו
If one failed to fulfill a positive commandment and repented, he is forgiven forthwith.
עבר על מצות לא תעשה ושב, תשובה תולה ויום הכפורים מכפר
If one violated a prohibitive commandment and repented, his repentance is tentative, and Yom Kippur atones.
In this instance repentance alone does not suffice to secure complete forgiveness; it only guarantees that he will not be punished until the arrival of Yom Kippur, at which time he is completely forgiven.
פירוש: דאף על גב דלענין קיום, מצות עשה גדולה, שדוחה את לא תעשה
(18This means that though, in terms of fulfillment, a positive commandment is superior, for which reason it supersedes19 a prohibitive commandment,
When positive and negative commands conflict, the positive command takes precedence and overrides the prohibition. (For example: the wearing of tzitzit made of an admixture of wool and linen, despite the prohibition of kilayim, or shaatnez.) Since observing a positive command thus appears to be of more value than observing a prohibition, why do we say that if one transgresses a positive command repentance alone suffices, whereas if one transgresses a prohibition forgiveness cannot be secured by repentance alone, and one must await the advent of Yom Kippur?
The Alter Rebbe will now address himself to this question. His answer will also enable us to understand the spiritual effects of the performance of a positive command and the spiritual blemish that results from transgressing a negative command. Insight into the mitzvot from this perspective will in turn enable us to understand why a positive command supersedes a negative command, and why it is nevertheless more difficult to attain atonement for transgressing a negative command.
Briefly, the answer is as follows: When one performs a positive command he not only fulfills G‑d’s Will, but also draws down a flow of Divine light into the higher spiritual realms and upon his own soul. The reason: each positive command is likened to a bodily organ. (Note of the Rebbe: “As our Sages, of blessed memory, have said:20 ‘The 248 organs correspond to the 248 positive commands.’”)
This means to say that just as a bodily organ is a receptacle for the life-force which it elicits from the soul, so, too, is each positive commandment a vessel that draws down Divine effluence and vitality from the infinite Ein Sof-light. Moreover, just as the life-force of the soul is enclothed within the various limbs, so, too, does the life-force drawn down through the performance of a positive command become enclothed (i.e., internalized) within the worlds.
Fulfilling a negative command — by not committing the transgression — is also a fulfillment of the Divine Will. As our Sages, of blessed memory, have said:21 “If one passively refrains all his days from sin, he is rewarded (Note of the Rebbe: ‘but only’) as though he had actively performed a command.” However, since such performance does not result from any action on his part as in the case of a positive command — he merely fulfills G‑d’s Will by not transgressing — its result is of lesser spiritual value. For the purpose of Torah and mitzvot is to draw down Divine illumination through the performance of the 248 positive commands, and to dispel the spirit of impurity through the observance of the 365 prohibitions (as explained earlier in Part I, ch. 37, p. 492-3).
Thus, in a situation where positive and negative precepts clash and the question is which one is to be set aside, the positive command supersedes the negative. For it is impossible that doing the prohibited deed will impart a spirit of impurity, inasmuch as its prohibition is being overruled because the Torah so dictates. Conversely, (even) if the Torah were to direct that one should neglect the positive command, the action that would draw down Divine illumination would still be lacking.
For this reason a positive command supersedes a prohibition: the deficiency normally wrought by transgressing a prohibition does not result when the Torah commands that it be set aside, while the dividend gained by fulfilling a positive command — the drawing down of the Divine light — is realized.
However, in light of the above, it would seem that the same reasoning should apply with regard to transgressions: a higher degree of repentance should be necessary for violating a positive command than for transgressing a negative command — yet according to the above quotation from the Gemara in Yoma the opposite is true.
The explanation is as follows. The advantage of the positive command — the G‑dly light that it draws into the soul — cannot be won through repentance in any event; all that repentance can now secure is forgiveness for the transgression. Not so with regard to transgressing a prohibition, where repentance can rectify the misdeed entirely. Furthermore, since the misdeed actively blemished the individual’s soul and the celestial realms as well, mere repentance does not suffice: only Yom Kippur can completely obliterate the blemish that it brought about.
This is what the Alter Rebbe now goes on to say:
היינו משום שעל ידי קיום מצות עשה, ממשיך אור ושפע בעולמות עליונים מהארת אור אין סוף ברוך הוא
this superiority of the positive command that makes it supersede a negative command is so because by performing a positive command one precipitates an illumination and flow into the higher worlds from the reflected [infinite] Ein Sof-light
כמו שכתוב בזהר: דרמ״ח פיקודין, אינון רמ״ח אברין דמלכא
The 248 positive commands are equated with the emotive attributes of Atzilut which are collectively termed “the King”. Just as an organ serves as a vessel to the soul-faculty enclothed within it, so, too, is each positive command an organ and vessel for a particular effluence of the emotive attributes of Atzilut that are drawn down through the performance of that particular commandment. Thus, through performing positive commands one draws down G‑dliness into the higher worlds.
וגם על נפשו האלקית
and also through the performance of a positive command one draws G‑dliness on to his Divine soul,
כמו שאומרים: אשר קדשנו במצותיו
as we say in the blessings that precede the performance of many mitzvot, “…Who has hallowed us with His commandments.”
I.e., fulfilling a positive command has the effect of drawing down Divine light and holiness upon the soul, for which reason it surpasses and supersedes conformity to a negative command.
אבל לענין תשובה
But concerning repentance, which would seek to rectify the transgression of a positive command,
אף שמוחלין לו העונש על שמרד במלכותו יתברך, ולא עשה מאמר המלך
though through repentance the punishment for rebelling against G‑d’s rule and not fulfilling the King’s word is commuted,
מכל מקום האור נעדר וכו׳
nonetheless, the illumination which would have been drawn down through the performance of the positive command is lacking — even after repentance, so that the sin remains only partially rectified.
וכמאמר רז״ל על פסוק: מעות לא יוכל לתקן, זה שביטל קריאת שמע של ערבית או וכו׳
On the verse,24 “A crookedness that cannot be corrected,” i.e., even through repentance, our Sages accordingly comment:25 “This relates to one who neglected the evening [or morning] reading of Shema, or [the evening or morning prayer].”
דאף שנזהר מעתה לקרות קריאת שמע של ערבית ושחרית לעולם
For though he be scrupulous henceforth about reading the morning and eveningShema forevermore, thereby demonstrating his regret,
אין תשובתו מועלת לתקן מה שביטל פעם אחת
his repentance is ineffectual in correcting what he once neglected.
For after all is said and done, the world will forever be lacking the unique gift of Divine light that he could have drawn down through reading the Shema on that particular occasion. Thus, all that repentance can accomplish he is now able to accomplish through repentance alone. No other steps can secure him any further atonement.
So much for him who transgressed a positive precept.
והעובר על מצות לא תעשה, על ידי שנדבק הרע בנפשו, עושה פגם למעלה בשרשה ומקור חוצבה
If one violates a prohibition in thought, speech or action, since thereby evil cleaves to his soul, he [also] impairs its Supernal root and source
בלבושים די׳ ספירות דעשיה, כמו שכתוב בתקוני זהר: לבושין תקינת לון, דמינייהו פרחין נשמתין לבני נשא וכו׳
(26in the garbs of the Ten Sefirot of Asiyah; as Tikkunei Zohar writes,27 “You have fashioned garbs for [the Sefirot], from which fly forth souls for man...”).
We thus see from Tikkunei Zohar that it is from the “garments”of the Sefirot that souls emanate; when a soul is blemished through sin, these garments are blemished as well.
לכך אין כפרה לנפשו, ולא למעלה, עד יום הכפורים
Therefore there is no atonement for his own soul nor Above until Yom Kippur,
As will be explained a little later, “atonement” means cleansing that which was blemished. This requires not only repentance, but in addition Yom Kippur:
כמו שכתוב: וכפר על הקדש מטומאות בני ישראל ומפשעיהם וכו׳, לפני ה׳ תטהרו
concerning which it is written,28 “He shall atone for the holy place because of the impurities of the Children of Israel and because of their sins...; beforeHavayah shall you be purified.”
לפני ה׳ דייקא
“Before G‑d” is stressed.
I.e., the purification granted by Yom Kippur emanates from a level that transcends the Divine Name Havayah, and can even atone for a blemish that resulted from transgressing a prohibitive command.
At any rate, we have seen that in certain respects transgressing a positive command has more serious consequences than transgressing a negative command.
ולכן אין ללמוד מכאן שום קולא, חס ושלום, במצוות עשה
Hence, one should not (G‑d forbid) infer any leniency in the positive commandments from this Beraita which states that one is immediately forgiven after repenting for having transgressed a positive command, while transgressing a negative command requires in addition the atonement of Yom Kippur;
ובפרט בתלמוד תורה
particularly ought one not infer any leniency in Torah study.
ואדרבה אמרו רז״ל: ויתר הקב״ה על עבודה זרה וכו׳, אף שהן כריתות ומיתות בית דין, ולא ויתר על ביטול תלמוד תורה
On the contrary, our Sages assert,29 “G‑d has in certain instances glossed over [even] idolatry, [incest and murder], though excision and capital punishment are involved, but did not excuse the neglect of Torah study.”)30
The Beraita with which this chapter opened is now resumed:
עבר על כריתות ומיתות בית דין, תשובה ויום הכפורים תולין, ויסורים ממרקין
If one commits a sin [punishable by] excision or execution, repentance and Yom Kippur are tentative, so that the individual is not punished, and sufferings scour
פירוש: גומרין הכפרה, והוא מלשון מריקה ושטיפה, לצחצח הנפש
(31i.e., they complete the atonement. [The verb] memarkin denotes the final stage, namely, scouring and rinsing, in order to “polish” the soul,
כי כפרה היא לשון קינוח, שמקנח לכלוך החטא
for kaparah (“atonement”) is the term for the preceding stage of cleaning, removing the uncleanness of the sin),
Sins punishable by excision or execution are not cleaned away through repentance and Yom Kippur alone: the soul must also be scoured and rinsed through suffering, heaven forfend.
שנאמר: ופקדתי בשבט פשעם, ובנגעים עונם
as it is written,32 “With a rod shall I remember their sin, and with afflictions their iniquity.”
עד כאן לשון הברייתא
Thus far the Beraita with which this chapter opened.
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. | “Master of the Tanya” is the literal translation of the Heb. term, Baal HaTanya, meaning “author of the Tanya.” |
| 2. | An arbiter...Torah: In the original, א פוסק אין פנימיות התורה. |
| 3. | His halachic...authoritative: In the original, א פוסק אין נגלה דתורה. |
| 4. | Sefer HaSichot 5701, p. 142ff. |
| 5. | Devarim 24:2. |
| 6. | Bereishit Rabbah 21:8. |
| 7. | Bereishit 3:24. |
| 8. | From the liturgy, passim. |
| 9. | Ch. 46; this is further explained in ch. 10, below. |
| 10. | Ch. 17. |
| 11. | Yeshayahu 50:3. |
| 12. | Devarim 24:3. |
| 13. | Yeshayahu, loc. cit. |
| 14. | Yoma 86b. |
| 15. | Yirmeyahu 3:1. |
| 16. | Devarim 24:2. |
| 17. | Cf. 86a. |
| 18. | Parentheses are in the original text. |
| 19. | Yevamot 3b. |
| 20. | Makkot 23b. |
| 21. | Makkot 3:15. |
| 22. | Parentheses are in the original text. |
| 23. | Tikkunei Zohar 30. |
| 24. | Kohelet 1:15. |
| 25. | Cf. Berachot 26a. |
| 26. | Parentheses are in the original text. |
| 27. | Introduction. |
| 28. | Vayikra 16:16 and 16:30. |
| 29. | Yerushalmi, Chagigah 1:7. |
| 30. | The opening counterpart of this closing parenthesis appeared at the very beginning of the chapter: “(This means....” |
| 31. | Parentheses are in the original text. |
| 32. | Tehillim 89:23. |
Rambam:
• Sefer Hamitzvos:
• 1 Chapter: Kiddush HaChodesh Kiddush HaChodesh - Chapter Fourteen
Hayom Yom:
• Wednesday, Tammuz 7, 5775 · 24 June 2015
"Today's Day"
Shabbat Tamuz 7 5703
Torah lessons: Chumash: Chukat, Shevi'i with Rashi.
Tehillim: 39-43.
Tanya: Ch. 11. The Ten (p. 333) ...in his heart. (p. 335).
My father said: In Chassidus the "beginning is wedged into the end and the end is wedged into the beginning."1 This is the state of igulim, "circles," without beginning or end. Nonetheless, order and system are crucial.
The Baal Shem Tov was systematic and orderly. The Maggid, his successor, insisted on order. And my great-grandfather - the Alter Rebbe - taught chassidim to be orderly. We see this in his maamarim, letters and melodies. Chassidim who had set times to come to the Rebbe in Lyozna - and later to Liadi - were not permitted to change this schedule without permission from the Rebbe.2 Any request for a change had to be justified with a reason.
The Rebbe had a special committee headed by his brother, R. Yehuda Leib, charged with overseeing order among chassidim. Another committee, under the Miteler Rebbe, directed the younger chassidim.
FOOTNOTES
1. See 16 Adar I.
2. See Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi p. 109 (Kehot).
• Sefer Hamitzvos:
Daily Mitzvah
Positive Commandment 74 (Digest)
Offering of the Zav
"And when the zav is cleansed from his discharge... And on the eighth day, he shall take for himself two turtledoves..."—Leviticus 15:13-14.
A man who is a zav [one who suffers an abnormal seminal discharge] must, after the disorder has been cured, bring an offering—two pigeons or two turtledoves, one as a Burnt Offering and one as a Sin Offering.
Until he brings this offering, his purification process is not complete and he may not partake of sacrificial flesh.
The 74th mitzvah is that we are commanded that a man who is a zav1 must bring an offering after being healed from his discharge.
This offering, known as a korban zav, consists of two doves or two young pigeons, one for a sin-offering and one as a burnt-offering. His atonement is incomplete2 until they are sacrificed.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement3 (exalted be He), "When the man is rid of his discharge...on the eighth day he shall take for himself two doves..."
Rabbi Berel Bell is a well-known educator, author and lecturer. He and his family reside in Montreal, Canada.
From "Sefer Hamitzvot in English," published by Sichos in English.
FOOTNOTES
1.A man who emits a thin sort of seed as a result of an illness. See P104. Hilchos Mechusarei Kapparah 2:1.
2.See note to P75, above.
3.Lev. 15:13-15.
_____________________________________________________________
Positive Commandment 77 (Digest)
Offering of the Metzora
"On the eighth day, he shall take two unblemished male lambs and one female ewe"—Leviticus 14:10.
A metzora [one who suffers from the biblical disease known as tzara'at] must, after the disorder has been cured, bring an offering: Three animals – one as a Burnt Offering, one as a Sin Offering, and one as a Guilt Offering – and a log of oil. If his financial means do not allow for this, he can instead bring one lamb as a guilt offering and two pigeons or two turtledoves, one as a Burnt Offering and one as a Sin Offering.
Until he brings this offering, his purification process is not complete and he may not partake of sacrificial flesh.
The 77th mitzvah is that we are commanded that every leper1 must bring an offering after his condition heals.
It consists of three animals — a burnt-offering, a sin-offering, and a guilt-offering — and one log of oil. If he is poor, his offering consists of a sheep as the guilt-offering and two doves or two young pigeons — one for a burnt-offering and the other for a sin-offering. This is the fourth category of "those whose atonement is incomplete" [as long as the sacrifice has not yet been brought].2
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement3 (exalted be He), "On the eighth day, he shall take two unblemished male sheep and one unblemished yearling female sheep."
Perhaps someone will ask: why don't you count the sacrifices brought by all "those whose atonement is incomplete" as one mitzvah? This is because they all share the same idea — that they lack atonement, and would then be [one mitzvah] like one of the purification procedures. You would then say: "the following mitzvah is the commandment not to consider the purification of certain categories complete until the sacrifices have been brought — [those categories being] zav, zavah, a woman who has just given birth, and a leper. This seems to be similar to counting the purification of the mikvah as one mitzvah, that each person who is tameh must fulfill, regardless of the type of impurity. So too, you could count the sacrifices of "those who lack atonement" as one mitzvah, regardless of the type of impurity!
G‑d knows that this would be absolutely true if the identical sacrifice was brought for each of the four categories of "those whose atonement is incomplete." Then it would be similar to purification with water, which is a purification procedure which applies to [virtually] all who are tameh. But since, as you can see, the type of sacrifice varies, we are forced to count each one separately; because what completes the purification for this category does not work for another category. These categories are like the water of the red heifer, a mikvah, and the four species used to purify a leper — which, although they are all used for purification, nevertheless count as three mitzvos, as will be later explained.4
The laws regarding the four categories of "those whose atonement is incomplete" and the laws of their sacrifices are discussed — in general and in detail — in the first two chapters of tractate Kerisus, the second chapter of Erachin and Zevachim, the 8th chapter of Nazir, the end of Negaim, tractate Kinim, and sprinkled throughout various passages in the Talmud. The vast majority, though, are found in the places I've noted.
Rabbi Berel Bell is a well-known educator, author and lecturer. He and his family reside in Montreal, Canada.
From "Sefer Hamitzvot in English," published by Sichos in English.
FOOTNOTES
1.Although the word metzora is commonly translated "leper," it is not an accurate translation. The metzora is afflicted by a condition that in some cases turns the skin white, in other cases affects the hair. The term "leprosy" is used because it is the contemporary condition that most closely resembles tzora'as, since the lesions are often lighter than the skin's natural color.
2.See P75.
3.Lev. 14:10.
4.P110.
Translation of (the unabridged text of) Sefer Hamitzvot by Rabbi Berel Bell, member of the Rabbinical Court of Montreal and director of Teacher Training for the Jewish Learning Institute.
From "Sefer Hamitzvot in English," published by Sichos in English.
____________________________________________________________• 1 Chapter: Kiddush HaChodesh Kiddush HaChodesh - Chapter Fourteen
Kiddush HaChodesh - Chapter Fourteen
Halacha 1
There are two mean rates of progress [that are significant] with regard to the moon, for the moon revolves in a small orbit that does not encompass the earth. Its mean progress within this orbit is referred to as the mean within its path.
The small orbit [within which the moon revolves] itself rotates in a larger orbit that encompasses the earth.1 The mean progress of the small orbit within the large orbit that encompasses the earth is referred to as the moon's mean. The rate of progress for the moon's mean in one day is 13 degrees, 10 minutes and 35 seconds, in symbols 13° 10' 35".2
Halacha 2
Thus, its progress in ten days will be 131 degrees, 45 minutes and 50 seconds, in symbols 131° 45' 50". The remainder [of the sum]3of its progress in one hundred days will be 237 degrees, 38 minutes and 23 seconds, in symbols 237° 38' 23".4
The remainder [of the sum] of its progress in one thousand days is 216 degrees, 23 minutes and 50 seconds, in symbols 216° 23' 50". The remainder [of the sum] of its progress in ten thousand days is 3 degrees, 58 minutes and 20 seconds, in symbols 3° 58' 20".
The remainder [of the sum] of its progress in twenty-nine days is 22 degrees, 6 minutes and 56 seconds, in symbols 22° 6' 56".5The remainder [of the sum] of its progress in a regular year is 344 degrees, 26 minutes and 43 seconds, in symbols 344° 26' 43". Following these guidelines, you can multiply these figures for any number of days or years you desire.
Halacha 3
The distance travelled by the mean within its path in a single day is 13 degrees, 3 minutes and 54 seconds, in symbols 13° 3' 54".6 Thus, its progress in ten days will be 130 degrees, 39 minutes and no seconds, in symbols 130° 39'. The remainder [of the sum] of its progress in one hundred days will be 226 degrees, 29 minutes and 53 seconds, in symbols 226° 29' 53".7
The remainder [of the sum] of its progress in one thousand days is 104 degrees, 58 minutes and 50 seconds, in symbols 104° 58' 50". The remainder [of the sum] of its progress in ten thousand days is 329 degrees, 48 minutes and 20 seconds, in symbols 329° 48' 20".
The remainder [of the sum] of its progress in twenty-nine days is 18 degrees, 53 minutes and 4 seconds, in symbols 18° 53' 4".
Halacha 4
The remainder [of the sum] of its progress in a regular year is 305 degrees, no minutes and 13 seconds, in symbols 305° 13".8
The position of the moon's mean on Wednesday night, [the third of Nisan, 4938,] the starting point for these calculations, was 1 degree, 14 minutes and 43 seconds, in figures 1° 14' 43", in the constellation of Taurus. The mean within its path at this date was 84 degrees, 28 minutes and 42 seconds, in symbols 84° 28' 42".
Since you know the mean rate of progress for the moon's mean, and you know its position on the date of the starting point, you [will be able to calculate] the position of the moon's mean on any date that you desire, as you did with regard to the mean position of the sun.
After calculating [the position of] the moon's mean on the beginning of the night that you desire, [the next step in calculating where the moon can be sighted] is to focus on the sun and see the constellation in which it will be located [at that time].9
Halacha 5
If the sun is located between midway in the constellation of Pisces and midway in the constellation of Aries, the moon's mean should be left without emendation.10 If the sun is located between midway in the constellation of Aries and the beginning of the constellation of Gemini, 15 minutes should be added to the moon's mean.11 If the sun is located between the beginning of the constellation of Gemini and the beginning of the constellation of Leo, 30 minutes should be added to the moon's mean.12 If the sun is located between the beginning of the constellation of Leo and midway in the constellation of Virgo, 15 minutes should be added to the moon's mean.13
If the sun is located between midway in the constellation of Virgo and midway in the constellation of Libra, the moon's mean should be left without emendation.14 If the sun is located between midway in the constellation of Aries and the beginning of the constellation of Sagittarius, 15 minutes should be subtracted from the moon's mean.15 If the sun is located between the beginning of the constellation of Sagittarius and the beginning of the constellation of Aquarius, 30 minutes should be subtracted from the moon's mean.16 If the sun is located between the beginning of the constellation of Aquarius and midway in the constellation of Pisces, 15 minutes should be subtracted from the moon's mean.17
Halacha 6
The figure that remains after these additions or subtractions have been made, or when the mean was left without emendation, is the mean of the moon approximately 20 minutes after the setting of the sun18 for the time when this mean was calculated. This is referred to as the mean of the moon at the time of the sighting.
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. |
As mentioned in Chapter 11, the rate of the advance of the sun, the moon, and the other planets does not appear to be uniform. For the sun, the deviation is relatively minor and can be resolved by postulating that the Earth is not at the center of the sun's orbit. The deviations of the moon from its mean rate of advance, however, are larger than that of the sun, and more irregular. (According to modern science, these deviations result from the gravitational pull of the sun and other celestial bodies.)
To resolve this difficulty, some ancient astronomers (Ptolemy and Aristotle, among others) postulated that with regard to the moon, two orbits were involved: One orbit encompassed the Earth, although the Earth was not at its center. Around this orbit existed one (and according to some opinions, more than one) smaller orbit, within which the moon rotated. This smaller orbit is referred to as an epicycle. Because of the moon's position in this smaller orbit, it would appear to be either ahead of or behind the mean position of the center of this orbit.
|
| 2. |
This refers to the rate of progress that is apparent to an observer on the Earth. In theory, however, this figure is a result of two different motions. The entire orbit of the moon is moving in the heavens. (The orbit of the sun is also moving, as reflected in the movement of the sun's apogee, as mentioned in Chapter 12, Halachah 2. The sun's orbit is moving at a very slow pace, one and a half seconds a day. In contrast, the moon's orbit moves much faster, slightly more than 11 degrees each day. This movement is from east to west, opposite to the movement of the heavenly sphere.)
Within this larger orbit revolves the epicycle, the smaller orbit around which the moon revolves. The epicycle is revolving at approximately 24 1/2 degrees a day, from west to east. Thus, an observer on the Earth would see the epicycle as moving 13 degrees and a fraction (i.e., 24 1/2 - 11 1/5) forward (eastward) in the heavenly sphere every day, as the Rambam states.
|
| 3. |
I.e., after the multiples of 360 have been subtracted.
|
| 4. |
It appears that the Rambam has added three seconds. This addition was made because the rate of progress also includes three thirds not mentioned in the original figure, but included in this calculation.
|
| 5. |
On this basis, we can understand why a lunar month is slightly longer than 29 1/2 days. The mean distance traveled by the sun in 29 days is approximately 28 1/2 degrees (Chapter 12, Halachah 1), approximately 6 1/2 degrees more than the remainder of the progress of the moon's mean. This distance (and the additional approximately almost half a degree traveled by the sun during this time) is travelled by the moon's mean in slightly longer than twelve hours on the following day.
|
| 6. |
This distance is figured east to west, opposite to the movement of the heavenly sphere.
|
| 7. |
It appears that the Rambam has subtracted seven seconds. This subtraction was carried out because his figure for the rate of progress had been rounded off. In fact, the rate is seven thirds less than the figure mentioned originally. The lack of these thirds was taken into consideration in this calculation.
|
| 8. |
Although we have followed the standard printed text of the Mishneh Torah and included this paragraph in Halachah 4, it is clearly part of the previous halachah.
|
| 9. |
As mentioned in Chapter 12, Halachah 2, and notes, the sun does not always reach its mean position at sunset. In the summer, when the days are longer, it reaches its mean position slightly earlier, and in the winter slightly later. In the following halachah, the Rambam states the values that allow us to compensate for these differences.
|
| 10. |
This corresponds to the month of Nisan, the time of the vernal equinox, when the sun sets at approximately 6 PM. Hence, there is no need to adjust the position of the moon's mean.
|
| 11. |
This corresponds to the beginning of the summer, when the days are longer. Since the moon is moving slightly more than thirteen degrees per day away from the sun, its rate of progress per hour is thus slightly more than 30 minutes. When the sun's rate of progress per hour - for it is moving (eastward) in the same direction as the moon - is also taken into consideration, it is proper to consider the moon's progress as thirty minutes per hour. Thus, the Rambam is saying that in these months, the sun will set approximately half an hour after 6 PM.
|
| 12. |
This corresponds to the middle of the summer, the longest days of the year. To compensate for the further delay in the setting of the sun, an additional fifteen minutes should be added to the moon's mean. [It must be noted that the number 30 in our translation is based on authentic manuscripts of the Mishneh Torah. Most of the standard published texts mention 15 minutes in this clause as well.]
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| 13. |
At this time of year, the summer days are beginning to become shorter. Hence, an adjustment of only fifteen minutes is necessary.
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| 14. |
This corresponds to the month of Tishrei, the time of the autumnal equinox, when the sun sets at approximately 6 PM. Hence, there is no need to adjust the position of the moon's mean.
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| 15. |
This represents the beginning of the winter, when the sun sets at an earlier time. Hence, rather than add minutes to the moon's mean, we subtract them.
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| 16. |
This period represents the middle of the winter, the shortest days of the year. To compensate for the further precipitance of the setting of the sun, an additional fifteen minutes should be subtracted from the moon's mean. [It must be noted that, in this instance as well, the number 30 in our translation is a deviation from the standard published texts, based on authentic manuscripts of theMishneh Torah.]
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| 17. |
At this point, the days are beginning to get longer. Therefore, only a fifteen-minute adjustment is necessary.
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| 18. |
This is the time when the stars begin to appear in Eretz Yisrael.
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Mechussarey Kapparah - Perek 3
Halacha 1
During all the days when a zav experiences zav discharges, he is ritually impure. When the zav discharges cease, he counts seven clean days, like azavah must, immerses himself on the seventh day, and waits until nightfall. On the eighth day, he brings his sacrifice if he had experienced three discharges.
If he experienced a zav discharge even at the end of the seventh day after he immersed himself, he negates his entire counting and must begin to count seven clean days from the day of his last discharge.
Halacha 2
When a zav has a seminal emission during the seven clean days he counts, he only nullifies that day. From the following day onward, he completes the seven days and then brings his sacrifice.
What is implied? He had a seminal emission on the fifth day, He counts another three clean days afterwards, immerses himself on the third day and brings his sacrifice on the fourth day.
Halacha 3
When a zav checks himself on the first day of his counting and finds himself pure and does not check himself for the remainder of the seven days until the seventh day when he checks himself and finds himself pure, he may rely on the presumption that he is pure. Even if he checked on the day when he had an impure discharge and saw that he was pure and that the discharge had ended and he did not check himself throughout the seven days, but did check himself on the seventh dayor the eighth day, should he find himself pure, the days of counting are significant and he may rely on the presumption that he is pure.
Halacha 4
Any discharge that causes the counting of the days to be nullified does not bring about an obligation for a sacrifice.
What is implied? A man experienced two discharges and than had an interruption for a day or two and thus he began counting his seven clean days. Although he experienced a zav discharge in the midst of the seven days, it is not combined with the previous two. Instead, it nullifies the counting and he must begin to count over again, as we explained.
Moreover, even if he experienced three consecutive discharges in the midst of the counting - even if he experienced them on one day, and even if that was on the conclusion of the seventh day of the seven clean days - he should not bring a sacrifice. For these discharges are considered as nullifying the clean days that were being counted. If he experienced three discharges on the night of the eighth day, he must bring a sacrifice, because these discharges do not nullify the previous counting.
To whom does the above apply? To a zav who has experienced two discharges. A zav who experienced three discharges previously, by contrast, who experiences three discharges on the eighth night after the seven clean days does not bring a second sacrifice because of these three discharges, only one sacrifice for the first three discharges. Although these three discharges do not nullify the clean days that were counted, the man has not entered a time when it is fit for him to bring a sacrifice, since the preceding night is considered as "lacking in time," with regard to all Torah laws, with the exception of a woman after childbirth who miscarried on the night of the eighty-first day. She brings a second sacrifice, as we explained. This concept was communicated by the Oral Tradition.
Halacha 5
If a man experienced one discharge on the eighth night and two discharges on the eighth day, they are linked together and he is required to bring a sacrifice because of the two latter discharges. The rationale is that a zav's first discharge is considered as a seminal emission. If he experiences two others afterwards, it is combined together with them to obligate him for a sacrifice. If, however, he experienced two discharges on the eighth night and one on the eighth day, they are not linked together and he is not required to bring a second sacrifice because of the latter zav discharges.
Halacha 6
Every male can contract zav impurity, even an infant on the day of his birth, a convert, a servant, a deafmute, and an intellectually and/or emotionally unstable person. It appears to me that atonement is brought for them so that it is possible for them to partake of sacrificial food. Their sin-offering should be eaten, for they are like a child who is not intellectually capable.
A person who was castrated or one who is born sexually impotent may contract impurity because of a zav discharge like other men.
Halacha 7
The stringencies that apply both to males and females are placed upon atumtum and an androgynus They contract ritual impurity because of uterine bleeding like a woman or because of clear discharges like a man. Their impurity is of questionable status. Therefore if one such person had three zavdischarges or discovered zavah bleeding for three consecutive days, he must bring a sacrifice, but it is not eaten. If he was counting seven clean days to purify himself from a zav discharge and he experienced uterine bleeding or he was counting to purify himself from uterine bleeding and experienced a zavdischarge, the counting is not disrupted.
Mechussarey Kapparah - Perek 4
Halacha 1
When a person afflicted by tzara'at is healed of his affliction, and he has been purified with a cedar branch, a hyssop, a crimson thread, and two birds, all of his flesh is shaved and he is immersed in a mikveh. After this entire process, he may enter Jerusalem. He then counts seven days and on the seventh day, he shaves a second time like the first shaving. He then immerses himself. His status is then that of a t'vul yom. He waits until the evening. On the morrow, on the eighth day, he immerses a second time and then he brings his sacrifices.
Why must he immerse himself on the eighth day if he immersed himself previously? Because he had become habituated to contracting lesser types of impurity during the days that he was identified as one afflicted by tzara'at and he would not show care not to contract impurity and perhaps he contracted impurity after he immersed. Therefore, he would immerse himself on the eighth day in the Women's Courtyard, in the Chamber for those Afflicted byTzara'at,even though he did not divert his attention after his immersion.
Halacha 2
If he delayed and did not shave on the seventh day, but instead, shaved on the eighth day or after several days, on the day that he shaves, he should immerse and wait until the evening. On the following day, he brings his sacrifices after immersing himself a second time, as we explained.
What are the rites performed for him? The person who had been afflicted withtzara'at stands outside the Courtyard of the Israelites, in front of the eastern entrance, at the lintel of the Gate of Nicanor, facing west. There all those who require atonement stand at the time they are being purified and a sotah is forced to drink the bitter waters there.
The priest takes the sheep to be offered as the guilt-offering of the afflicted person while it is alive and performs tenufah with it together with the log of oil in the eastern portion of the Temple Courtyard where all tenufot are performed. Iftenufah was performed with the sheep and the oil each separately, the person fulfills his obligation.
Afterwards, the guilt-offering of the afflicted person is brought to the entrance to the Temple Courtyard. The afflicted person inserts his two hands into the Courtyard and places them on his sheep. It is then slaughtered immediately. Two priests receive its blood. One receives it in a receptacle and casts it on the altar and one receives it in his right hand. He pours it into his left hand and sprinkles it with the index finger of his right hand. If he deviated and received it in his left hand first, it is disqualified.
The priest who received a portion of the blood in a receptacle should carry it and cast it on the altar first. Afterwards, the priest who received the blood in his palm should approach the afflicted person at the entrance. The priest stands inside and the afflicted person outside. The afflicted person inserts his head and the priests applies some of the blood in his hand on the middle lobe of his right ear. Afterwards, the afflicted person inserts his right hand and the priest applies the blood to his thumb. Afterwards, he inserts his right foot and the priest applies the blood to his large toe. If he applies it the left organs, the afflicted person does not fulfill his obligation. Afterwards, his sin-offerings and burnt-offering are sacrificed.
After he applied the blood to his thumb and toe, the priest takes the log of oil and pours it into the left palm of a colleague. If he pours it into his own palm, the person fulfills his obligation. He dips his right index finger in the oil in his palm and sprinkles seven times toward the Holy of Holies. Each time he sprinkles the oil, he dips his finger into it. If he sprinkled it, but did not direct it toward the Holy of Holies, it is acceptable.
Afterwards, he approaches the afflicted person and applies the oil to the place where he applied the blood on the middle lobe of his ear, his thumb, and his large toe. He then applies the remainder of the oil to the head of the person seeking purification. If he did not apply it, he does not achieve atonement. The remainder of the log is divided among the priests.
Halacha 3
The remainder of the log of oil may be eaten only in the Temple Courtyard by males of the priestly family like other sacrifices of the most holy order,for an association was established between it and the guilt-offering. It is forbidden to partake of the log of oil until after the seven sprinklings and the application of blood to the thumbs and toes were performed. If one partakes of it, he is liable for lashes, like one who partook of the meat of sacrifices of the most holy order before their blood was cast upon the altar.
Mechussarey Kapparah - Perek 5
Halacha 1
What is meant by the term "the tinuch of the ear"? The middle lobe.
If the priest applied the oil to the sides of the thumb and the large toe, it is acceptable. If he applied it to their lower surface, it is invalid. Whether the priest applies the oil to the blood of the guilt-offering directly above it or he applied it at the side of the blood, even if the blood was cleaned off before he placed the oil on the thumb and the toe, he fulfills his obligation, as implied by Leviticus 14:28 which states that the oil must be applied "on the place of the blood of the guilt-offering."
If an afflicted person does not have a right hand, a right foot, or a right ear, he can never regain ritual purity.
Halacha 2
When a guilt offering of an afflicted person was slaughtered without the proper intent or its blood was not applied to the person's thumb and toe, it should be brought to the altar and it requires additional offerings like those offered for a guilt-offering of one afflicted with tzara'at. The afflicted person must bring another guilt-offering for his purificiation.
Halacha 3
If the afflicted person's sin-offering was offered before his guilt-offering, we do not say that one should stir the blood of the sin-offering until the guilt-offering was offered. Instead, it should be left overnight and then taken to the place where sacrifices are burnt.
Halacha 4
A person may bring his guilt-offering one day and his log of oil even after ten days. If he desires to alter the designation of the log and designate it for the guilt-offering of another afflicted person, he may although he has already had it consecrated in a sacred utensil. If the amount of oil decreased before it was poured into the priest's hand and was less than a log, the measure should be refilled. If it decreased after it was poured, another log should be brought instead.
Halacha 5
The following laws apply if the oil was poured into the priest's hand, his colleague began to sprinkle it and then the log spilled. If it spilled before he completed the seven sprinklings, he should bring another log of oil and begin the seven sprinklings. If he completed the seven sprinklings and then the log of oil spilled, he should bring another log and begin applying the oil to the thumb and toe. If he already began applying the oil to the thumb and toe and the logspilled before he could complete it, he should bring another log and begin applying the oil to the thumb and toe. If he completed applying the oil to the thumb and toe and the log spilled before he placed the remainder of the oil on the head of the person being purified, he does not have to bring another log, for the application of the oil to his head is not an indispensable requirement, as implied by Leviticus 14:17, 18 which mentions "the remainder of the oil," and "the additional oil."
Halacha 6
If the priest applied the oil before he applied the blood, he should fill the logcontainer with additional oil and apply the oil after the blood. If the oil was applied to the thumb and toe before the seven sprinklings were made, the logcontainer should be filled with additional oil which should be applied to the thumb and toe after the seven sprinklings. These laws are derived fromLeviticus 14:2 which states: "This is the law applying to one afflicted withtzara'at." Implied is that the entire law should be carried out according to the prescribed sequence.
Halacha 7
If the seven sprinklings were made without the proper intent, the offering does not find favor Above, but the afflicted person regains his status of purity.
Halacha 8
When a person who had been afflicted with tzara'at becomes afflicted again after bringing his guilt-offering, he must bring another set of sacrifices for the second affliction. Similarly, if he brings his guilt-offering for the second affliction and becomes afflicted again, he must bring a sacrifice for every time he became afflicted. If, however, he became afflicted and was healed and brought the birds and then became afflicted again, when he was healed a second time and brings his birds, it is sufficient to bring one set of sacrifices for all the times he was afflicted.
Halacha 9
The following laws apply when an afflicted person brings the sacrifices required of a poor person and then he becomes rich, or he brought the sacrifices required of a rich person and he became poor. Everything depends on his status at the time he brings his guilt-offering. If he was wealthy at the time the guilt-offering was slaughtered, he should complete the offering of a wealthy person. If he was poor at that time, he should complete the offering of a poor person.
Halacha 10
There were two afflicted persons whose sacrifices became intermingled and the blood of one of the sin-offerings was sprinkled on the altar and then one of the afflicted persons died. What should the afflicted person who is alive do? He may not bring an animal as a sin-offering, for perhaps the sin-offering whose blood was cast on the altar was his and we follow the principle: an animal is not brought as a sin-offering when there is a doubt whether one is liable. He may not bring a sin-offering of fowl, because a rich man who brings a poor man's offering does not fulfill his obligation.
What then should he do? He should sign all his property over to another person. Thus he will be poor. Hence he may bring a sin-offering of fowl, because of the doubt. It is not eaten, as we explained. He may then partake of sacrificial foods.
Halacha 11
When a rich man says: "I take responsibility for the sacrifices of this afflicted person," and the afflicted person was poor, he must bring the sacrifices of a wealthy man, for the person who took the vow has the financial capacity. If a poor person said: "I take responsibility for the sacrifices of this afflicted person," and the afflicted person was wealthy, he must bring the sacrifices of a wealthy man, for the person who took the vow obligated himself to bring the sacrifices of a wealthy man.
Blessed be the Merciful One Who grants assistance.
• Wednesday, Tammuz 7, 5775 · 24 June 2015
"Today's Day"
Shabbat Tamuz 7 5703
Torah lessons: Chumash: Chukat, Shevi'i with Rashi.
Tehillim: 39-43.
Tanya: Ch. 11. The Ten (p. 333) ...in his heart. (p. 335).
My father said: In Chassidus the "beginning is wedged into the end and the end is wedged into the beginning."1 This is the state of igulim, "circles," without beginning or end. Nonetheless, order and system are crucial.
The Baal Shem Tov was systematic and orderly. The Maggid, his successor, insisted on order. And my great-grandfather - the Alter Rebbe - taught chassidim to be orderly. We see this in his maamarim, letters and melodies. Chassidim who had set times to come to the Rebbe in Lyozna - and later to Liadi - were not permitted to change this schedule without permission from the Rebbe.2 Any request for a change had to be justified with a reason.
The Rebbe had a special committee headed by his brother, R. Yehuda Leib, charged with overseeing order among chassidim. Another committee, under the Miteler Rebbe, directed the younger chassidim.
FOOTNOTES
1. See 16 Adar I.
2. See Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi p. 109 (Kehot).
Daily Thought:
Messing In
Even the wrong road eventually takes you closer to the truth.
Even closer.[Likkutei Sichot, vol. 5, Lech Lecha.]
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