Today's Laws & Customs:
• "The Three Weeks"
During the Three Weeks, from 17th of Tamuz to the 9th of Av, we commemorate the conquest of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Holy Temple and the dispersion of the Jewish people.
Weddings and other joyful events are not held during this period; like mourners, we do not cut our hair, and various pleasurable activities are limited or proscribed. (The particular mourning customs vary from community to community, so consult a competent halachic authority for details.)
Citing the verse (Isaiah 1:27) "Zion shall be redeemed with mishpat [Torah] and its returnees with tzedakah," the Rebbe urged that we increase in Torah study(particularly the study of the laws of the Holy Temple) and charity during this period.
Links:
The Three Weeks
Today in Jewish History:
• Passing of Rabbi Yitzchak Herzog (1959)
Rabbi Yitzchak HaLevi Herzog (1889-1959) was born in Łomża, Poland, and moved to the United Kingdom with his family in 1898. He served as rabbi of Belfast from 1916 to 1919 and was appointed rabbi of Dublin in 1919. He went on to serve as Chief Rabbi of Ireland between 1922 and 1936, after which he immigrated to Israel to succeed the late Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook as Chief Rabbi of Israel. He served as Chief Rabbi until his death in 1959. He authored numerous works including Divrei Yitzchak, an anthology of Talmudic discourses, and the halachic work Hechal Yitzchak.
Daily Quote:
Accept the truth from wherever it comes[Maimonides]
Daily Study:
Chitas and Rambam for today:
Chumash: Pinchas, 2nd Portion Numbers 26:5-26:51 with Rashi
• Chapter 26
5Reuben, Israel's firstborn: The descendants of Reuben were: the family of the Hanochites from Hanoch; the family of the Paluites from Palu, הרְאוּבֵן בְּכוֹר יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּנֵי רְאוּבֵן חֲנוֹךְ מִשְׁפַּחַת הַחֲנֹכִי לְפַלּוּא מִשְׁפַּחַת הַפַּלֻּאִי:
the family of the Hanochites: Heb. מִשְׁפַּחַת הַחֲנֹכִי. Since the nations were denigrating them and saying, “How can they trace their lineage by their tribes? Do they think that the Egyptians did not exploit their mothers? If they mastered their bodies, all the more so [did they exercise authority over] their wives. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed is he, appended His Name to them, the [letter] ‘hey’ to one side and the ‘yud’ to the other side, as if to say, ”I bear witness for them, that these are the sons of their fathers.“ This is stated explicitly by David,”the tribes of God, (יָהּ) testimony to Israel" (Ps. 122:4)-this Name (יָהּ) testifies for them regarding their tribes. For this reason, in each of them Scripture writes, הַחִנֹכִי, הַפַּלֻּאֵי [the Hanochites, the Paluites in which each name begins with a ‘hey’ and ends with a 'yud’] (Song Rabbah 4:12; Pesikta d’Rav Kahana p.82b, 93a), but in the case of Jimnah יִמְנָה, it is unnecessary for it to say [for the family of the Jimnites,] מִשְׁפַּחַת הַיִּמְנִי [only הַיִּמְנָה מִשְׁפַּחַת], since the Divine Name is already affixed to it-the ‘yud’ at the beginning and the ‘hey’ at the end. — [Mid. Aggadah] משפחת החנכי: לפי שהיו האומות מבזין אותם ואומרים מה אלו מתיחסין על שבטיהם, סבורין הם שלא שלטו המצריים באמותיהם, אם בגופם היו מושלים קל וחומר בנשותיהם, לפיכך הטיל הקב"ה שמו עליהם, ה"א מצד זה ויו"ד מצד זה, לומר, מעיד אני עליהם שהם בני אבותיהם. וזהו הוא שמפורש ע"י דוד (תהלים קכב ד) שבטי יה עדות לישראל. השם הזה מעיד עליהם לשבטיהם, לפיכך בכולם כתיב החנכי הפלואי, אבל בימנה לא הוצרך לומר משפחת הימני, לפי שהשם קבוע בו יו"ד בראש וה"א בסוף:
6the family of the Hezronites from Hezron, and the family of the Carmites from Carmi. ולְחֶצְרֹן מִשְׁפַּחַת הַחֶצְרוֹנִי לְכַרְמִי מִשְׁפַּחַת הַכַּרְמִי:
7These were the families of the Reubenites, and they numbered forty three thousand, seven hundred and thirty. זאֵלֶּה מִשְׁפְּחֹת הָראוּבֵנִי וַיִּהְיוּ פְקֻדֵיהֶם שְׁלשָׁה וְאַרְבָּעִים אֶלֶף וּשְׁבַע מֵאוֹת וּשְׁלשִׁים:
8The sons of Palu were Eliab. חוּבְנֵי פַלּוּא אֱלִיאָב:
9The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan and Abiram they are Dathan and Abiram, the chosen of the congregation who incited against Moses and Aaron in the assembly of Korah, when they incited against the Lord. טוּבְנֵי אֱלִיאָב נְמוּאֵל וְדָתָן וַאֲבִירָם הוּא דָתָן וַאֲבִירָם קְרִיאֵי (כתיב קרואי) הָעֵדָה אֲשֶׁר הִצּוּ עַל משֶׁה וְעַל אַהֲרֹן בַּעֲדַת קֹרַח בְּהַצֹּתָם עַל יְהֹוָה:
who incited: Israel against Moses and Aaron. אשר הצו: את ישראל על משה:
when they incited: The people against the Lord. בהצתם: את העם על ה':
incited: Heb. הִצּוּ. They enticed Israel to quarrel with Moses, a causative term. הצו: השיאו את ישראל לריב על משה, לשון הפעילו:
10And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and Korah, when that assembly died, and when fire destroyed two hundred and fifty men, and they became a sign. יוַתִּפְתַּח הָאָרֶץ אֶת פִּיהָ וַתִּבְלַע אֹתָם וְאֶת קֹרַח בְּמוֹת הָעֵדָה בַּאֲכֹל הָאֵשׁ אֵת חֲמִשִּׁים וּמָאתַיִם אִישׁ וַיִּהְיוּ לְנֵס:
and they became a sign: A sign and a reminder,“so that no outsider, who is not of the seed of Aaron, shall approach” (above 17:5) to dispute the kehunah any more. ויהיו לנס: לאות ולזכרון (במדבר יז ה) למען אשר לא יקרב איש זר, לחלוק עוד על הכהונה:
11Korah's sons, however, did not die. יאוּבְנֵי קֹרַח לֹא מֵתוּ:
Korah’s sons, however, did not die: They were originally involved in the conspiracy, but during the dispute they contemplated repentance; therefore, an elevated area was set apart for them in Gehinnom, and they stayed there. — [Sanh. 110b] ובני קרח לא מתו: הם היו בעצה תחלה, ובשעת המחלוקת הרהרו תשובה בלבם, לפיכך נתבצר להם מקום גבוה בגיהנם וישבו שם:
12The descendants of Simeon according to their families: the family of the Nemuelites from Nemuel, the family of the Jaminites from Jamin, the family of the Jachinites from Jachin, יבבְּנֵי שִׁמְעוֹן לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לִנְמוּאֵל מִשְׁפַּחַת הַנְּמוּאֵלִי לְיָמִין מִשְׁפַּחַת הַיָּמִינִי לְיָכִין מִשְׁפַּחַת הַיָּכִינִי:
13the family of the Zerahites from Zerah, the family of the Shaulites from Shaul. יגלְזֶרַח מִשְׁפַּחַת הַזַּרְחִי לְשָׁאוּל מִשְׁפַּחַת הַשָּׁאוּלִי:
from Zerah: This was Zohar [see Exod. 6:15], a name derived from the word צֹהַר, which means shining [a synonym of זֶרַח, Zerah]. However, the family of Ohad [mentioned in Exodus] died out, as did five from the tribe of Benjamin. For he came to Egypt with ten sons, but only five are listed here. So it was with Ezbon of the tribe of Gad, so [altogether] seven families [no longer existed]. I found [the reason for this] in the Talmud Yerushlmi [Sotah 1:1]. When Aaron died, the clouds of glory withdrew, and the Canaanites came to fight against Israel. They [the Israelites] set their hearts on returning to Egypt, and they went back eight stages of their journey [compare 21:4], from Mount Hor to Moserah, as it says, “The children of Israel journeyed from the wells of Benei Yaakan to Moserah; there Aaron died” (Deut. 10:6). Now did he not die at Mount Hor? And [furthermore,] going back from Moserah to Mount Hor there are eight stages in the journey! However, they turned back, and the Levites pursued them to bring them back, killing seven of their families. The Levites lost four families [in the battle]: the families of the Shimeites and the Uzzielites, and of the three sons of Izhar, only the family of the Korahites is mentioned. I do not know [the identity of] the fourth one. R. Tanchuma expounds that they [the seven Israelite families] fell in the plague in connection with Balaam [see 25:9] (Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 5), but [this cannot be, for] according to the number missing from the tribe of Simeon in this census compared with the first census [which took place] in the Sinai desert, it would appear that all twenty-four thousand who fell [in the plague] were from the tribe of Simeon. - [Mid. Tanchuma Vayechi 10] לזרח: הוא צוחר, לשון צוהר. אבל משפחת אהד בטלה, וכן חמשה משבט בנימין, שהרי בעשרה בנים ירד למצרים וכאן לא מנה אלא חמשה, וכן אצבון לגד, הרי שבע משפחות. ומצאתי בגמ' ירושלמית, שכשמת אהרן נסתלקו ענני כבוד ובאו הכנענים להלחם בישראל ונתנו לב לחזור למצרים וחזרו לאחוריהם ח' מסעות מהר ההר למוסרה, שנאמר (דברים י, ו) ובני ישראל נסעו מבארות בני יעקן מוסרה שם מת אהרן, והלא בהר ההר מת, וממוסרה עד הר ההר שמונה מסעות יש למפרע, אלא שחזרו לאחוריהם ורדפו בני לוי אחריהם להחזירם, והרגו מהם שבע משפחות, ומבני לוי נפלו ארבע משפחות משפחת שמעי ועזיאלי, ומבני יצהר לא נמנו כאן אלא משפחת הקרחי, והרביעית לא ידעתי מה היא. ורבי תנחומא דרש שמתו במגפה בדבר בלעם, אבל לפי החסרון שחסר משבט שמעון במנין זה ממנין הראשון שבמדבר סיני, נראה שכל כ"ד אלף נפלו משבטו של שמעון:
14These were the families of the Simeonites twenty two thousand and two hundred. ידאֵלֶּה מִשְׁפְּחֹת הַשִּׁמְעֹנִי שְׁנַיִם וְעֶשְׂרִים אֶלֶף וּמָאתָיִם:
15The descendants of Gad according to their families: the family of the Zefonites from Zefon, the family of the Haggites from Haggi, the family of the Shunites from Shuni, טובְּנֵי גָד לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לִצְפוֹן מִשְׁפַּחַת הַצְּפוֹנִי לְחַגִּי מִשְׁפַּחַת הַחַגִּי לְשׁוּנִי מִשְׁפַּחַת הַשּׁוּנִי:
16the family of the Oznites from Ozni, the family of the Erites from Eri, טזלְאָזְנִי מִשְׁפַּחַת הָאָזְנִי לְעֵרִי מִשְׁפַּחַת הָעֵרִי:
from Ozni: I believe that this was the family of Ezbon (see Gen. 46:16), but I do not know why his family was not called after him. לאזני: אומר אני שזו משפחת אצבון, ואיני יודע למה לא נקראת משפחתו על שמו:
17the family of the Arodites from Arod, the family of the Arelites from Areli. יזלַאֲרוֹד מִשְׁפַּחַת הָאֲרוֹדִי לְאַרְאֵלִי מִשְׁפַּחַת הָאַרְאֵלִי:
18These were families of Gad according to those of them counted, forty thousand and five hundred. יחאֵלֶּה מִשְׁפְּחֹת בְּנֵי גָד לִפְקֻדֵיהֶם אַרְבָּעִים אֶלֶף וַחֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת:
19The sons of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. יטבְּנֵי יְהוּדָה עֵר וְאוֹנָן וַיָּמָת עֵר וְאוֹנָן בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן:
20The descendants of Judah according to their families: the family of the Shelanites from Shelah, the family of the Perezites from Perez, the family of the Zerahites from Zerah. כוַיִּהְיוּ בְנֵי יְהוּדָה לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְשֵׁלָה מִשְׁפַּחַת הַשֵּׁלָנִי לְפֶרֶץ מִשְׁפַּחַת הַפַּרְצִי לְזֶרַח מִשְׁפַּחַת הַזַּרְחִי:
21The descendants of Perez were: the family of the Hezronites from Hezron, the family of the Hamulites from Hamul. כאוַיִּהְיוּ בְנֵי פֶרֶץ לְחֶצְרֹן מִשְׁפַּחַת הַחֶצְרֹנִי לְחָמוּל מִשְׁפַּחַת הֶחָמוּלִי:
22These were the families of Judah according to those of them counted, seventy six thousand and five hundred. כבאֵלֶּה מִשְׁפְּחֹת יְהוּדָה לִפְקֻדֵיהֶם שִׁשָּׁה וְשִׁבְעִים אֶלֶף וַחֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת:
23The descendants of Issachar according to their families: the family of the Tolaites from Tola, the family of the Punites from Puvah, כגבְּנֵי יִשָּׂשכָר לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם תּוֹלָע מִשְׁפַּחַת הַתּוֹלָעִי לְפֻוָּה מִשְׁפַּחַת הַפּוּנִי:
24the family of the Jashubites from Jashub, the family of the Shimronites from Shimron. כדלְיָשׁוּב מִשְׁפַּחַת הַיָּשֻׁבִי לְשִׁמְרֹן מִשְׁפַּחַת הַשִּׁמְרֹנִי:
from Jashub: This is Iob listed among those who migrated to Egypt (Gen. 46:13), for all the families were named after those who migrated to Egypt, but as for those born from that time on, their families were not called after them except for the families of Ephraim and Manasseh-all of whom were born in Egypt-and Ard and Naaman, the sons of Bela the son of Benjamin. I found in the writings of R. Moshe Hadarshan [the preacher], that their [Ard and Naaman’s] mother migrated to Egypt while she was pregnant with them, and that is why they formed separate families just as did Hezron and Hamul-who were Judah’s grandsons-and Heber and Malchiel, who were Asher’s grandchildren. If this is an Aggadah, all well and good, [we must accept it,] but if not, I maintain that Bela had numerous grandchildren, and from two of them-Ard and Naaman-two large families issued, and the descendants of all the other children were called after Bela’s name, whereas the descendants of these two were called after them [i.e. Ard and Naaman]. Similarly, I maintain that the sons of Machir were divided into two families, one was called after him and one was called after his son Gilead. Five families are missing from the sons of Benjamin, and here the prophecy of his mother [Rachel] was partially fulfilled. She called him Ben Oni, the son of my mourning. As a result of the incident of the concubine at Gibeah (see Jud. 20: 35), it was completely fulfilled [as nearly the entire tribe was wiped out]. I found this in the writings of R. Moshe Hadarshan [the preacher]. לישוב: הוא יוב האמור ביורדי מצרים, כי כל המשפחות נקראו על שם יורדי מצרים. והנולדין משם והלאה לא נקראו המשפחות על שמם, חוץ ממשפחות אפרים ומנשה שנולדו כולם במצרים, וארד ונעמן בני בלע בן בנימין. ומצאתי ביסודו של רבי משה הדרשן שירדה אמן למצרים כשהיתה מעוברת מהם, לכך נחלקו למשפחות, כחצרון וחמול, שהיו בני בנים ליהודה, וחבר ומלכיאל שהיו בני בנים של אשר. ואם אגדה היא הרי טוב, ואם לאו, אומר אני, שהיו לבלע בני בנים הרבה, ומשנים הללו ארד ונעמן יצאה מכל אחד משפחה רבה ונקראו תולדות שאר הבנים על שם בלע, ותולדות השנים הללו נקראו על שמם. וכן אני אומר בבני מכיר, שנחלקו לשתי משפחות, אחת נקראת על שמו ואחת נקראת על שם גלעד בנו. חמש משפחות חסרו מבניו של בנימין, כאן נתקיימה מקצת נבואת אמו שקראתו בן אוני, בן אנינותי ובפלגש בגבעה נתקיימה כולה. זו מצאתי ביסודו של ר' משה הדרשן:
25These were the families of Issachar according to those of them counted: sixty four thousand and three hundred. כהאֵלֶּה מִשְׁפְּחֹת יִשָּׂשכָר לִפְקֻדֵיהֶם אַרְבָּעָה וְשִׁשִּׁים אֶלֶף וּשְׁלשׁ מֵאוֹת:
26The descendants of Zebulun according to their families: the family of the Sardites from Sered, the family of the Elonites from Elon, the family of the Jahleelites from Jahleel. כובְּנֵי זְבוּלֻן לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְסֶרֶד מִשְׁפַּחַת הַסַּרְדִּי לְאֵלוֹן מִשְׁפַּחַת הָאֵלֹנִי לְיַחְלְאֵל מִשְׁפַּחַת הַיַּחְלְאֵלִי:
27These were the families of Zebulun according to those of them counted, sixty thousand and five hundred. כזאֵלֶּה מִשְׁפְּחֹת הַזְּבוּלֹנִי לִפְקֻדֵיהֶם שִׁשִּׁים אֶלֶף וַחֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת:
28The descendants of Joseph according to their families: Manasseh and Ephraim. כחבְּנֵי יוֹסֵף לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם מְנַשֶּׁה וְאֶפְרָיִם:
29The descendants of Manasseh: the family of the Machirites from Machir and Machir's son was Gilead; the family of the Gileadites from Gilead. כטבְּנֵי מְנַשֶּׁה לְמָכִיר מִשְׁפַּחַת הַמָּכִירִי וּמָכִיר הוֹלִיד אֶת גִּלְעָד לְגִלְעָד מִשְׁפַּחַת הַגִּלְעָדִי:
30These were the family of the descendants of Gilead: The family of the Iezerites from Iezer, the family of the Helekites from Helek, לאֵלֶּה בְּנֵי גִלְעָד אִיעֶזֶר מִשְׁפַּחַת הָאִיעֶזְרִי לְחֵלֶק מִשְׁפַּחַת הַחֶלְקִי:
31the family of the Asrielites from Asriel, the family of the Shechemites from Shechem, לאוְאַשְׂרִיאֵל מִשְׁפַּחַת הָאַשְׂרִאֵלִי וְשֶׁכֶם מִשְׁפַּחַת הַשִּׁכְמִי:
32the family of the Shemidaites from Shemida, the family of the Hepherites from Hepher. לבוּשְׁמִידָע מִשְׁפַּחַת הַשְּׁמִידָעִי וְחֵפֶר מִשְׁפַּחַת הַחֶפְרִי:
33Now Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, only daughters, and the names of Zelophehad's daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. לגוּצְלָפְחָד בֶּן חֵפֶר לֹא הָיוּ לוֹ בָּנִים כִּי אִם בָּנוֹת וְשֵׁם בְּנוֹת צְלָפְחָד מַחְלָה וְנֹעָה חָגְלָה מִלְכָּה וְתִרְצָה:
34These were families of Manasseh, and those of them counted were fifty two thousand and seven hundred. לדאֵלֶּה מִשְׁפְּחֹת מְנַשֶּׁה וּפְקֻדֵיהֶם שְׁנַיִם וַחֲמִשִּׁים אֶלֶף וּשְׁבַע מֵאוֹת:
35These were the descendants of Ephraim according to their families: the family of the Shuthalhites from Shuthelah, the family of the Bachrites from Becher, the family of the Tahanites from Tahan. להאֵלֶּה בְנֵי אֶפְרַיִם לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְשׁוּתֶלַח מִשְׁפַּחַת הַשֻּׁתַלְחִי לְבֶכֶר מִשְׁפַּחַת הַבַּכְרִי לְתַחַן מִשְׁפַּחַת הַתַּחֲנִי:
36And these were the descendants of Shuthelah: the family of the Eranites from Eran. לווְאֵלֶּה בְּנֵי שׁוּתָלַח לְעֵרָן מִשְׁפַּחַת הָעֵרָנִי:
And these were the descendants of Shuthelah…: The descendants of the other sons of Shuthelah were called after Shuthelah. A large family issued from Eran, so they were called after him. Thus, the descendants of Shuthelah were considered two families. Go and figure it out and you will find that fifty-seven families [are listed] in this chapter, together with eight from the sons of Levi, totaling sixty-five. This is the meaning of what is said,“For you are the least (הַמְעַט) of all the peoples” (Deut. 7:7). [The word הַמְעַט denotes ‘five’ (ה) ‘less’ (מְעַט).] You are five less than the families of all the nations, since they are seventy [and you are sixty-five]. This too I expounded from the writings of R. Moshe Hadarshan [the preacher], but I had to delete some of his words and add to them. - [Mid. Aggadah.] ואלה בני שותלח וגו': שאר בני שותלח נקראו תולדותיהם על שם שותלח. ומערן יצאה משפחה רבה ונקראת על שמו. ונחשבו בני שותלח לשתי משפחות. צא וחשוב ותמצא בפרשה זו חמשים ושבע משפחות, ומבני לוי שמונה, הרי ששים וחמש, וזהו שנאמר (דברים ז ז) כי אתם המעט וגו', ה"א מעט, חמשה אתם חסרים ממשפחות כל העמים, שהן שבעים, אף זה הבנתי מיסודו של ר' משה הדרשן. אך הוצרכתי לפחות ולהוסיף בדבריו:
37These were the families of the descendants of Ephraim according to those of them counted, thirty two thousand and five hundred; these were the descendants of Joseph according to their families. לזאֵלֶּה מִשְׁפְּחֹת בְּנֵי אֶפְרַיִם לִפְקֻדֵיהֶם שְׁנַיִם וּשְׁלשִׁים אֶלֶף וַחֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת אֵלֶּה בְנֵי יוֹסֵף לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם:
38The descendants of Benjamin according to their families: the family of the Belaites from Bela, the family of the Ashbelites from Ashbel, the family of the Ahiramites from Ahiram, לחבְּנֵי בִנְיָמִן לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְבֶלַע מִשְׁפַּחַת הַבַּלְעִי לְאַשְׁבֵּל מִשְׁפַּחַת הָאַשְׁבֵּלִי לַאֲחִירָם מִשְׁפַּחַת הָאֲחִירָמִי:
from Ahiram: This is Ehi, who migrated to Egypt. Since he was named after Joseph, who was his [Benjamin’s] brother (אֲחִי), and greater (רָם) than he, he was called Ahiram (אֲחִירָם). - [Mid. Aggadah.] לאחירם: היא אחי שירד למצרים, ולפי שנקרא על שם יוסף שהיה אחיו ורם ממנו נקרא אחירם:
39the family of the Shuphamites from Shupham, the family of the Huphamites from Hupham. לטלִשְׁפוּפָם מִשְׁפַּחַת הַשּׁוּפָמִי לְחוּפָם מִשְׁפַּחַת הַחוּפָמִי:
from Shupham: This is Muppim, so named because Joseph was humbled (שָׁפוּף) among the nations. לשפופם: הוא מופים, על שהיה יוסף שפוף בין האומות:
40The sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman; the family of the Ardites [from Ard], the family of the Naamites from Naaman. מוַיִּהְיוּ בְנֵי בֶלַע אַרְדְּ וְנַעֲמָן מִשְׁפַּחַת הָאַרְדִּי לְנַעֲמָן מִשְׁפַּחַת הַנַּעֲמִי:
41These were the descendants of Benjamin according to their families, and those of them counted were forty five thousand and six hundred. מאאֵלֶּה בְנֵי בִנְיָמִן לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם וּפְקֻדֵיהֶם חֲמִשָּׁה וְאַרְבָּעִים אֶלֶף וְשֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת:
42The descendants of Dan according to their families: the family of the Shuhamites from Shuham. These were the families of Dan. מבאֵלֶּה בְנֵי דָן לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְשׁוּחָם מִשְׁפַּחַת הַשּׁוּחָמִי אֵלֶּה מִשְׁפְּחֹת דָּן לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם:
From Shuham: This is Hushim (see Gen. 46:23). לשוחם: הוא חושים:
43All the Shuhamite families according to those of them counted, were sixty four thousand and four hundred. מגכָּל מִשְׁפְּחֹת הַשּׁוּחָמִי לִפְקֻדֵיהֶם אַרְבָּעָה וְשִׁשִּׁים אֶלֶף וְאַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת:
44The descendants of Asher according to their families: the family of Jimnah from Jimnah, the family of the Ishvites from Ishvi, the family of the Beriites from Beriah. מדבְּנֵי אָשֵׁר לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְיִמְנָה מִשְׁפַּחַת הַיִּמְנָה לְיִשְׁוִי מִשְׁפַּחַת הַיִּשְׁוִי לִבְרִיעָה מִשְׁפַּחַת הַבְּרִיעִי:
45The descendants of Beriah: the family of the Heberites from Heber, the family of the Malchielites from Malchiel. מהלִבְנֵי בְרִיעָה לְחֵבֶר מִשְׁפַּחַת הַחֶבְרִי לְמַלְכִּיאֵל מִשְׁפַּחַת הַמַּלְכִּיאֵלִי:
46The name of Asher's daughter was Serah. מווְשֵׁם בַּת אָשֵׁר שָׂרַח:
The name of Asher’s daughter was Serah: Because she was still alive, she is mentioned here. — [Sotah 13a, Mid. Aggadah] ושם בת אשר שרח: לפי שהיתה קיימת בחיים מנאה כאן:
47These were the families of the descendants of Asher according to those of them counted, fifty three thousand and four hundred. מזאֵלֶּה מִשְׁפְּחֹת בְּנֵי אָשֵׁר לִפְקֻדֵיהֶם שְׁלשָׁה וַחֲמִשִּׁים אֶלֶף וְאַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת:
48The descendants of Naphtali according to their families: the family of the Jahzeelites from Jahzeel, the family of the Gunites from Guni. מחבְּנֵי נַפְתָּלִי לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְיַחְצְאֵל מִשְׁפַּחַת הַיַּחְצְאֵלִי לְגוּנִי מִשְׁפַּחַת הַגּוּנִי:
49The Jezerites from Jezer, the family of the Shillemites from Shillem. מטלְיֵצֶר מִשְׁפַּחַת הַיִּצְרִי לְשִׁלֵּם מִשְׁפַּחַת הַשִּׁלֵּמִי:
50These were the families of Naphtali according to their families, and those of them counted were forty five thousand and four hundred. נאֵלֶּה מִשְׁפְּחֹת נַפְתָּלִי לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם וּפְקֻדֵיהֶם חֲמִשָּׁה וְאַרְבָּעִים אֶלֶף וְאַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת:
51These are those counted of the children of Israel: six hundred and one thousand and seven hundred and thirty. נאאֵלֶּה פְּקוּדֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל שֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת אֶלֶף וָאָלֶף שְׁבַע מֵאוֹת וּשְׁלשִׁים:Daily Tehillim: Psalms Chapters 90 - 96
• Chapter 90
David found this prayer in its present form-receiving a tradition attributing it to MosesThe Midrash attributes the next eleven psalms to Moses (Rashi).-and incorporated it into the Tehillim. It speaks of the brevity of human life, and inspires man to repent and avoid pride in this world.
1. A prayer by Moses, the man of God. My Lord, You have been a shelter for us in every generation.
2. Before the mountains came into being, before You created the earth and the world-for ever and ever You are Almighty God.
3. You diminish man until he is crushed, and You say, "Return, you children of man.”
4. Indeed, a thousand years are in Your eyes like yesterday that has passed, like a watch of the night.
5. The stream of their life is as but a slumber; in the morning they are like grass that sprouts anew.
6. In the morning it thrives and sprouts anew; in the evening it withers and dries.
7. For we are consumed by Your anger, and destroyed by Your wrath.
8. You have set our wrongdoings before You, our hidden sins before the light of Your countenance.
9. For all our days have vanished in Your wrath; we cause our years to pass like a fleeting sound.
10. The days of our lives number seventy years, and if in great vigor, eighty years; most of them are but travail and futility, passing quickly and flying away.
11. Who can know the intensity of Your anger? Your wrath is commensurate with one's fear of You.
12. Teach us, then, to reckon our days, that we may acquire a wise heart.
13. Relent, O Lord; how long [will Your anger last]? Have compassion upon Your servants.
14. Satiate us in the morning with Your kindness, then we shall sing and rejoice throughout our days.
15. Give us joy corresponding to the days You afflicted us, the years we have seen adversity.
16. Let Your work be revealed to Your servants, and Your splendor be upon their children.
17. May the pleasantness of the Lord our God be upon us; establish for us the work of our hands; establish the work of our hands.
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.
Chapter 94
An awe-inspiring and wondrous prayer with which every individual can pray for the redemption. It is also an important moral teaching.
1. The Lord is a God of retribution; O God of retribution, reveal Yourself!
2. Judge of the earth, arise; render to the arrogant their recompense.
3. How long shall the wicked, O Lord, how long shall the wicked exult?
4. They continuously speak insolently; all the evildoers act arrogantly.
5. They crush Your people, O Lord, and oppress Your heritage.
6. They kill the widow and the stranger, and murder the orphans.
7. And they say, "The Lord does not see, the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8. Understand, you senseless among the people; you fools, when will you become wise?
9. Shall He who implants the ear not hear? Shall He who forms the eye not see?
10. Shall He who chastises nations not punish? Shall He who imparts knowledge to man [not know]?
11. The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are naught.
12. Fortunate is the man whom You chastise, O Lord, and instruct him in Your Torah,
13. bestowing upon him tranquillity in times of adversity, until the pit is dug for the wicked.
14. For the Lord will not abandon His people, nor forsake His heritage.
15. For judgment shall again be consonant with justice, and all the upright in heart will pursue it.
16. Who would rise up for me against the wicked ones; who would stand up for me against the evildoers?
17. Had the Lord not been a help to me, my soul would have soon dwelt in the silence [of the grave].
18. When I thought that my foot was slipping, Your kindness, O Lord, supported me.
19. When my [worrisome] thoughts multiply within me, Your consolation delights my soul.
20. Can one in the seat of evil, one who makes iniquity into law, consort with You?
21. They band together against the life of the righteous, and condemn innocent blood.
22. The Lord has been my stronghold; my God, the strength of my refuge.
23. He will turn their violence against them and destroy them through their own wickedness; the Lord, our God, will destroy them.
Chapter 95
This psalm speaks of the future, when man will say to his fellow, "Come, let us sing and offer praise to God for the miracles He has performed for us!"
1. Come, let us sing to the Lord; let us raise our voices in jubilation to the Rock of our deliverance.
2. Let us approach Him with thanksgiving; let us raise our voices to Him in song.
3. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King over all supernal beings;
4. in His hands are the depths of the earth, and the heights of the mountains are His.
5. Indeed, the sea is His, for He made it; His hands formed the dry land.
6. Come, let us prostrate ourselves and bow down; let us bend the knee before the Lord, our Maker.
7. For He is our God, and we are the people that He tends, the flock under His [guiding] hand-even this very day, if you would but hearken to His voice!
8. Do not harden your heart as at Merivah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9. where your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they had seen My deeds.
10. For forty years I quarreled with that generation; and I said, "They are a people of erring hearts, they do not know My ways.”
11. So I vowed in My anger that they would not enter My resting place.
Chapter 96
The time will yet come when man will say to his fellow: "Come, let us sing to God!"
1. Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2. Sing to the Lord, bless His Name; proclaim His deliverance from day to day.
3. Recount His glory among the nations, His wonders among all the peoples.
4. For the Lord is great and highly praised; He is awesome above all gods.
5. For all the gods of the nations are naught, but the Lord made the heavens.
6. Majesty and splendor are before Him, might and beauty in His Sanctuary.
7. Render to the Lord, O families of nations, render to the Lord honor and might.
8. Render to the Lord honor due to His Name; bring an offering and come to His courtyards.
9. Bow down to the Lord in resplendent holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth.
10. Proclaim among the nations, "The Lord reigns"; indeed, the world is firmly established that it shall not falter; He will judge the peoples with righteousness.
11. The heavens will rejoice, the earth will exult; the sea and its fullness will roar.
12. The fields and everything therein will jubilate; then all the trees of the forest will sing.
13. Before the Lord [they shall rejoice], for He has come, for He has come to judge the earth; He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with His truth.
Tanya: Igeret HaTeshuva , end of Chapter 6• Lessons in Tanya
• Monday, Tammuz 19, 5775 · July 6, 2015
Today's Tanya Lesson
Igeret HaTeshuva , end of Chapter 6
והנה: יעקב חבל נחלתו כתיב
על דרך משל: כמו החבל שראשו אחד למעלה וראשו השני למטה
The analogy [compares the soul of a Jew] to a rope, with one end above and the other end below.
אם ימשוך אדם בראשו השני, ינענע וימשך אחריו גם ראשו הראשון, כמה שאפשר לו להמשך
When one pulls the lower end he will move and pull after it the higher end as well, as far as it can be pulled.
וככה ממש בשרש נשמת האדם ומקורה מבחינת ה״א תתאה הנ״ל
It is exactly so with regard to the root of the soul of man and its source in the latter hei.
הוא ממשיך ומוריד השפעתה על ידי מעשיו הרעים ומחשבותיו
Through one’s evil deeds and thoughts one draws down the life-force [issuing from the latter hei]
עד תוך היכלות הסטרא אחרא, כביכול, שמשם מקבל מחשבותיו ומעשיו
into the chambers of the sitra achra, as it were, from which he receives his thoughts and deeds.
Although a person punishable by excision has severed his ropes, so to speak, he is still able to draw down the life-force issuing from the latter hei into the chambers of the sitra achra. The reason, as is explained elsewhere in the literature of Chassidut, is that even after the rope is severed, some external vestige of it survives. And it is through this remnant that the life-force of holiness is drawn down into the chambers of the kelipot.
ומפני שהוא הוא הממשיך להם ההשפעה, לכן הוא נוטל חלק בראש, וד״ל
Because it is he, the sinful individual, who draws the flow of vitality into [the chambers of the sitra achra], it is he who receives the greatest portion from them.
I.e., in even greater measure than do other living creatures. Nevertheless, it is explained in the literature of Chassidut3 that ultimately the sinner will cease to draw vitality from this flow, for the sitra achra can serve a Jew as a source only temporarily.
This will suffice for the understanding.
וזהו שאמרו רז״ל: אין בידינו לא משלות הרשעים וכו׳
Hence the statement of our Sages,4 of blessed memory: “It is not within our hands (i.e., it is not given us) to understand the reason for either the tranquillity of the wicked [or the suffering of the righteous].”
בידינו דוקא, כלומר: בזמן הגלות אחר החורבן
The quotation specifies “in our hands,” i.e., in this time of exile after the Destruction, when the wicked receive added vitality through the kelipot and sitra achra.
וזוהי בחינת גלות השכינה, כביכול
This is an expression of the “Exile of the Divine Presence,” as it were, during which time the life-force emanating from the latter hei flows into the kelipot,
להשפיע להיכלות הסטרא אחרא אשר שנאה נפשו ית׳
viz., [G‑d’s] granting [supplementary measures of] life-force to the chambers of the sitra achra that He despises.
וכשהאדם עושה תשובה נכונה, אזי מסלק מהם ההשפעה שהמשיך במעשיו ומחשבותיו
But when the sinner repents appropriately, he then removes from them the life-force that he had drawn into them through his deeds and thoughts,
כי בתשובתו, מחזיר השפעת השכינה למקומה
for by his repentance he returns the flow issuing from the Shechinah to its proper place.
וזהו תשוב ה״א תתאה מבחינת גלות
This, then, is the meaning of [the teaching of the Zohar, quoted in ch. 4, that “teshuvah is]tashuv hei, the return of the lower hei from exile” — that the lower level of repentance consists of returning the Shechinah, which is represented by the latter hei of the Tetragrammaton, from its state of exile.
וכמו שכתוב: ושב ה׳ אלקיך את שבותך
As the verse states,5 “The L‑rd, your G‑d (the source of your soul), will return (i.e., bring back) those of you who return”;
כלומר: עם שבותך
regarding the verb as being intransitive, this means [that G‑d Himself will return] withyour return.
וכמאמר רז״ל: והשיב לא נאמר וכו׳
As our Sages have commented6 on this verse, “Scripture does not say, ‘He shall bring back,’ [but that He Himself will return].”
The verse is thus telling every Jew: When through repentance you extricate yourself from your own spiritual exile, you will thereby liberate “your G‑d” — the Shechinah, the source of your soul — from His exile too.
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. | Devarim 32:9. |
| 2. | The Rebbe observes that the analogy of the rope is introduced here in terms that suggest that it is a novel thought, when in fact it occupied the whole of the previous chapter. By way of explanation, the Rebbe writes that the Alter Rebbe is indeed introducing a thought that is not only novel but even contrary to what was written in the previous chapter; moreover, this approach will explain much of the variance between the two chapters. In brief: The Alter Rebbe explained in ch. 4 how a soul is part of the Tetragrammaton. He went on to explain in ch. 5 how this soul-level descends into the body by way of “Jacob, ...the rope of His inheritance, ...whose upper end is bound above and the lower end below.” In ch.6, however, the Alter Rebbe emphasizes that the movements of the lower end of the rope also affect the upper end. Furthermore, as the Alter Rebbe goes on to say here, this rope not only descends as far as “Jacob” but even provides additional life-force to the chambers of unholiness; i.e., the effect of the rope is able to descend even lower than the level of “Jacob” which it itself embodies. This is the anomaly that the Alter Rebbe resolves, when he repeats that a person’s sins make him descend so sharply that he reaches the lowly level of the very kelipot and sitra achra “from which he receives his thoughts and deeds.” Since the sinful individual sinks to such a low level that in this respect he is a recipient from the kelipot, his “rope” descends there as well, and the kelipot and sitra achra are able to receive their life-force from its lower extremity. |
| 3. | Kuntres Uma‘ayon [English translation by Rabbi Zalman I. Posner; Kehot, N.Y., 1969], Discourse 8. |
| 4. | Avot 4:15. |
| 5. | Devarim 30:3. |
| 6. | Megillah 29a. |
• Sefer Hamitzvos:Monday, Tammuz 19, 5775 · July 6, 2015
Today's Mitzvah
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
Important Message Regarding This Lesson
The Daily Mitzvah schedule runs parallel to the daily study of 3 chapters of Maimonides' 14-volume code. There are instances when the Mitzvah is repeated a few days consecutively while the exploration of the same Mitzvah continues in the in-depth track.
Positive Commandment 113
The Red Heifer
"And it shall be as a keepsake for the congregation of the children of Israel"—Numbers 19:9.
We are commanded to prepare a red heifer [as detailed in the Torah], to have it ready for the procedure of purifying those who are ritually impure as a result of contact with a corpse.
The Red Heifer
Positive Commandment 113
Translated by Berel Bell
The 113th mitzvah is that we are commanded to prepare the red heifer1 to have it ready for the procedure of purifying those who are tameh as a result of tumas meis.2
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement3 (exalted be He), "[A ritually clean person shall gather up the cow's ashes and...] it shall be a keepsake for the congregation of the Jewish people."
The details of this mitzvah are found in the tractate devoted to this subject, tractate Parah.
FOOTNOTES
1.To slaughter it, burn it, gather the ashes, etc.
2.See P107.
3.Num. 19:9.
Megillah vChanukah - Chapter Two
Halacha 1
When a person reads the Megillah in improper sequence, he does not fulfill his obligation. If a person was reading, forgot a verse and read the following verse, went back and read the verse he forgot, and then read a third verse, he does not fulfill his obligation, because he read a verse in improper sequence. What should he do instead? He should begin from the second verse, the verse he forgot, and continue reading the Megillah in its proper order.
Halacha 2
Should one encounter a congregation that has already read half of the Megillah, one should not say, "I will read the latter half together with this congregation, and then go back and read the first half," for this is reading in improper sequence. Instead, one should read the entire Megillah from beginning to end in order.
When a person reads a portion and pauses and then goes back and continues reading, since he read in order, he fulfills his obligation, even though the entire Megillah could have been read while he had paused.
Halacha 3
A person who reads the Megillah by heart does not fulfill his obligation. A person who speaks a language other than Hebrew and hears the Megillah read in Hebrew written in the holy script fulfills his obligation, although he does not understand what is being read. Similarly, if the Megillah was written in Greek, a person who hears it, even one who speaks Hebrew, fulfills his obligation although he does not understand what is being read.
Halacha 4
If, however, it was written in Aramaic or in another language of gentile origin, one who listens to this reading fulfills his obligation only when he understands that language and only when the Megillah is written in that language.
In contrast, if the Megillah was written in Hebrew and one read in Aramaic for a person who understood that tongue, one does not fulfill one's obligation, for one is reading by heart. And since the reader cannot fulfill his obligation, the person hearing it read by him also cannot.
Halacha 5
A person who was reading the Megillah without the desired intent does not fulfill his obligation. What is implied? That he was writing a Megillah, explaining it, or checking it: If he had the intent to fulfill his obligation with this reading, his obligation is fulfilled. If he did not have this intent, he did not fulfill his obligation. Should one read while dozing off, he fulfills his obligation, since he is not sound asleep.
Halacha 6
When does the statement that a person can fulfill his obligation by reading when writing a Megillah apply? When he intends to fulfill his obligation to read it by reading from the scroll which he is copying. If, however, he intends to fulfill his obligation by reading the scroll that he is writing at present, he does not fulfill his obligation, for one can fulfill one's obligation only by reading from a scroll that was completely written at the time of the reading.
Halacha 7
A person who errs while reading the Megillah and reads in an inexact manner fulfills his obligation, for we are not required to read in a precise manner.
A person fulfills his obligation whether he reads it standing or sitting. This applies even when reading for a congregation. Nevertheless, at the outset, out of respect for the congregation, one should not read for the congregation while sitting.
If two, and even if ten, people read the Megillah in unison, both the readers and those who listen to the readers fulfill their obligation. An adult and a child can read the Megillah together, even for the community.
Halacha 8
We should not read the Megillah for a congregation from a scroll that contains the other Sacred Writings. Should one read for the congregation from such a scroll, no one fulfills their obligation, unless the portions of parchment on which it is written are larger or smaller than those of the remainder for the scroll, so that it will be distinct.
An individual reading for himself, by contrast, may read from such a scroll even though the portion containing the Megillah is not larger or smaller than the remainder of the scroll, and thus fulfill his obligation.
Halacha 9
A Megillah may be written only with ink on g'vil or on k'laf, like a Torah scroll. If it was written with gall-nut juice or vitriol it is acceptable, but if it was written with other tints it is not acceptable.
It must be written on ruled parchment like a Torah scroll. The parchment need not, however, be processed with the intent that it be used for the mitzvah. If it was written on paper or on an animal hide that was not processed or if it was written by a gentile or by a non-believer, it is not acceptable.
Halacha 10
The following rules apply when the letters of a Megillah are rubbed out or torn: If a trace of the letters is discernible, the scroll is acceptable, even if most of the letters have been rubbed out. If no trace of the letters is discernible, the scroll is acceptable if the majority of its letters are intact. If not, it is not acceptable.
If the scribe left out certain letters or verses and the reader reads them by heart, he fulfills his obligation.
Halacha 11
A Megillah must be sewn together - i.e., all the parchments on which it is written must be joined as a single scroll. It should be sewn only with animal sinews, as a Torah scroll is. If it is sewn with other thread, it is unacceptable.
It is not necessary, however, to sew the entire length of the parchment with animal sinews, as a Torah scroll is sewn. As long as one sews three stitches at one end of the parchment, three stitches in the middle, and three stitches at the other end, it is acceptable. This leniency is taken, because the Megillah is referred to as an "epistle" Esther 9:29.
Halacha 12
The reader should read the names of Haman's ten sons and the word which follows, asseret Esther 9:7-10, in one breath, to show the entire people that they were all hung and slain together.
It is a universally accepted Jewish custom that as the reader of the Megillah reads, he spreads the text out as an epistle (to show the miracle). When he concludes, he goes back, rolls up the entire text, and recites the concluding blessing.
Halacha 13
On these two days, the fourteenth and the fifteenth of Adar, it is forbidden to eulogize and to fast. This prohibition applies to all people in all places, to the inhabitants of the walled cities who celebrate only the fifteenth and to the inhabitants of the unwalled cities who celebrate only the fourteenth.
In a leap year, it is forbidden to eulogize and to fast on these two dates in the first Adar as well as in the second Adar. When the inhabitants of the villages read the Megillah earlier, on the Monday or Thursday before Purim, they are permitted to eulogize and to fast on the day they read the Megillah, and are forbidden to eulogize and to fast on these two dates, even though they do not read the Megillah on them.
Halacha 14
It is a mitzvah for the inhabitants of the villages and unwalled cities to consider the fourteenth of Adar - and for the inhabitants of the walled cities to consider the fifteenth of Adar - as a day of happiness and festivity, when portions of food are sent to one's friends and presents are given to the poor.
It is permitted to work on these days. It is not, however, proper to do so. Our Sages declared, "Whoever works on Purim will never see a sign of blessing."
Should the inhabitants of the villages read the Megillah earlier, on a Monday or a Thursday, and give monetary gifts to the poor on the day on which they read, they fulfill their obligation. The rejoicing and festivities of the Purim holiday, by contrast, should be held only on the day of the fourteenth. If they are held earlier, the participants do not fulfill their obligation. A person who conducts the Purim feast at night does not fulfill his obligation.
Halacha 15
What is the nature of our obligation for this feast? A person should eat meat and prepare as attractive a feast as his means permit. He should drink wine until he becomes intoxicated and falls asleep in a stupor.
Similarly, a person is obligated to send two portions of meat, two other cooked dishes, or two other foods to a friend, as implied by Esther 9:22, "sending portions of food one to another" - i.e., two portions to one friend. Whoever sends portions to many friends is praiseworthy. If one does not have the means to send presents of food to a friend, one should exchange one's meal with him, each one sending the other what they had prepared for the Purim feast and in this way fulfill the mitzvah of sending presents of food to one's friends.
Halacha 16
One is obligated to distribute charity to the poor on the day of Purim. At the very least, to give each of two poor people one present, be it money, cooked dishes, or other foods, as implied by Esther 9:22 "gifts to the poor" - i.e., two gifts to two poor people.
We should not be discriminating in selecting the recipients of these Purim gifts. Instead, one should give to whomever stretches out his hand. Money given to be distributed on Purim should not be used for other charitable purposes.
Halacha 17
It is preferable for a person to be more liberal with his donations to the poor than to be lavish in his preparation of the Purim feast or in sending portions to his friends. For there is no greater and more splendid happiness than to gladden the hearts of the poor, the orphans, the widows, and the converts.
One who brings happiness to the hearts of these unfortunate individuals resembles the Divine Presence, which Isaiah 57:15 describes as having the tendency "to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive those with broken hearts."
Halacha 18
All the books of the Prophets and all the Holy Writings will be nullified in the Messianic era, with the exception of the Book of Esther. It will continue to exist, as will the five books of the Torah and the halachot of the Oral Law, which will never be nullified.
Although all memories of the difficulties endured by our people will be nullified, as Isaiah 65:16 states: "For the former difficulties will be forgotten and for they will be hidden from My eye," the celebration of the days of Purim will not be nullified, as Esther 9:28 states: "And these days of Purim will not pass from among the Jews, nor will their remembrance cease from their seed."
Parah Adummah - Chapter 5
Halacha 1
All of those involved in offering the red heifer from the beginning to the end become impure and impart impurity to their garments as long as they are involved in its being offered. This concept is derived as follows: With regard to the one who slaughters the heifer and one who casts the cedar wood into its belly, Numbers 19:7 states: "The priest shall launder his clothes and wash his flesh." And with regard to the one who burns it, ibid.:8 states: "The one who burns it shall launder his clothes," and ibid.:10 states: "The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall launder...."
These verses teach that all those involved in offering it from the beginning until the end impart impurity to their clothes, must immerse themselves, and wait for nightfall to regain purity according to Scriptural Law. One who guards the heifer at the time it is being offered imparts impurity to his garments according to Rabbinic Law. This is a decree lest he move one of its limbs.
Halacha 2
Whenever the Torah states with regard to impurity: "One shall launder his clothes," it does not come merely to teach that the clothes on a person are impure. Instead, it teaches that every garment or implement that this impure person will touch while he is still in contact with the object that imparted impurity to him becomes impure. After he separates himself from the object that imparted impurity to him, he does not impart impurity to his garments or to other objects.
What is implied? A person who carries an animal carcass imparts impurity to the clothes he is wearing and to any implement he touches as long as he is carrying it. They are considered as a first degree derivative of impurity. Similarly, the one who carries the animal carcass is considered as impure to the first degree. If he ceased contact with the object that imparted ritual impurity, casting away the animal carcass, he remains impure to the first degree as before. If, however, he touches an implement or a garment, he does not impart impurity to it, for a derivative of ritual impurity does not impart impurity to implements, as we explained in the beginning of this text. Similar laws apply to all types of impurity analogous to that imparted by an animal carcass.
Similarly, with regard to all those involved in offering the red heifer: If they touch a garment or an implement at the time they are slaughtering or burning the heifer, it becomes impure. After such an individual ceased the tasks involved with it, however, even though he has not yet immersed, he does not impart impurity to an implement that he touches, because he is merely a derivative of impurity.
The red heifer itself does not impart impurity to a person or to implements that touch it. It is only those involved in its offering who become impure, must immerse themselves, and impart impurity to their garments, as long as they are involved in its offering.
Halacha 3
When does the above apply? When the red heifer was burnt as prescribed. If, however, it was disqualified, those involved in offering it are pure. If a disqualifying factor occurred during its slaughter, it does not cause a person's garments to become impure. If a disqualifying factor occurs during the sprinkling of its blood, those who were involved with its offering before it was disqualified impart impurity to their garments. Those involved after its disqualification do not impart impurity to their garments.
Halacha 4
When the collection of its ashes was completed, anyone who is involved with it - i.e., with the division of its ashes or with setting them aside for safekeeping - or who touches it, is pure.
These principles do not apply to the red heifer alone, but also to all the sin-offerings of bulls and goats that are burnt. One who burns them imparts impurity to his garments while he is burning them until they are reduced to ashes. For behold, with regard to the bull and the goat burned on Yom Kippur,Leviticus 16:25 states: "The one who burns them shall launder his garments." According to the Oral Tradition, it was taught that this is a general rule applying to all those who burn sacrificial offerings, teaching that they impart impurity to their garments until the offerings are reduced to ashes.
When does the above apply? When no disqualifying factor occurred and they were burned in the ashheap as prescribed. If, however, they were disqualified in the Temple Courtyard, they are burned there like disqualified offerings and the one who burns them is ritually pure. Similarly, one who is involved with these offerings after they have been reduced to ashes does not impart impurity to his garments.
Who is considered as "one who burns" it? Anyone who helps in burning it, for example, one who turns over the meat, one who places wood upon it, one who fans the fire, one who stirs the coals so that the fire will burn, and the like. In contrast, one who kindles the flame and one who builds the arrangement are pure.
According to the Oral Tradition, it was taught that one who carries the bulls and the goats that are burnt to transport them to the ashheap to burn them is ritually impure and imparts impurity to his garments according to Scriptural Law as long as he is involved in transporting them. To regain purity, he is required to immerse himself in a mikveh and wait until nightfall like the one who sends the goat to Azazel. The latter imparts impurity to all the garments and all the implements that he touches that are on him throughout the time he is involved in sending the goat to its destination, as ibid.:26 states: "The one who sends the goat to Azazel shall launder his garments."
Halacha 5
From when do those who carry the bulls and goats that are burnt impart impurity to their garments? When they take them out of the Temple Courtyard. If they carried them with poles and some of those carrying them left the walls of the Temple Courtyard and others did not depart, those that departed impart impurity to their garments. Those who did not yet depart do not impart impurity to their garments until they depart.
If they depart and then return to the Temple Courtyard and transfer the carcasses to others, the others who carry them in the Temple Courtyard are pure until they take them out.
If a person was standing outside the Courtyard and was pulling the poles on which the carcasses were hanging from the Courtyard after they were returned there, he is considered as being impure of doubtful status, since the sacrificial animals had already been taken outside and the one pulling them was standing outside.
Halacha 6
When does the person who sends the goat to Azazel impart impurity to his garments? From the time he departs Jerusalem until he pushes the goat off the cliff to Azazel. After he pushes it off the cliff, if he touches implements or garments, they are pure.
Halacha 7
When an entity - whether a person, an implement, food, or liquid - touches the bodies of the bulls and the goats that are burnt, even after they have been taken out of the Temple Courtyard, everything is pure. Similarly, if they would touch the goat sent to Azazel itself while it is being carried there, they would be pure. For these sacrificial animals impart impurity only to one who is involved with carrying them, as indicated by Leviticus 16:28: "The one who burns them shall launder his garments." One who touches, by contrast, is pure.
Parah Adummah - Chapter 6
Halacha 1
The water upon which the ashes of the red heifer are placed must be drawn only with a container and only from a spring or flowing river, as Numbers 19:17states: "And he shall place upon it living water in a vessel."
Placing the ashes of the heifer on the water that was drawn is called sanctification. The water on which the ashes were placed is called mei chatatand sanctified water. Scripture Numbers 19:9 refers to them as mei nidah, "sprinkling water."
Halacha 2
Everyone is acceptable to draw the water for the ashes of the red heifer, except a deafmute, an intellectually or emotionally compromised person, and a minor. Similarly, everyone is acceptable to sanctify the water except a deafmute, an intellectually or emotionally compromised person, and a minor.
One must draw such water and sanctify it only with a vessel and one may sprinkle the ashes only from a vessel. Drawing this water and sanctifying it is acceptable at night, but the sprinkling and the immersion of the hyssop in the water is acceptable only during the day. The entire day is fit for the sprinkling and this immersion.
Halacha 3
One may draw this water, sprinkle it when mixed with the ashes, and sanctify it with all vessels, even vessels made of animal turds, stone, or earth, or a ship. This applies to earthenware utensils and all other utensils. One may not, however, draw this water, sprinkle the water, or sanctify it with the walls of a vessel, the base of an earthenware distributor of water, the sealing of a jug, one's hands, an egg-shell, or a trough within a natural rock. One may, however, used an egg made by a potter, because it is considered as a vessel made from earth.
Halacha 4
We may not sanctify with the base of a wooden vessel, that of a glass vessel, or that of a bone vessel unless they were smoothed down, repaired, and made into vessels in their own right. Similarly, if the sealing of a jug was fixed to serve as a vessel, one may sanctify the water with it. An ostrich egg is acceptable for sanctification. Needless to say, it is acceptable to be used to draw this water and sprinkle from it.
Halacha 5
When a utensil was attached to the earth or to rock, even if it was attached with lime, one may sanctify in it or sprinkle from it. The following laws apply if one made a border of clay around such a container and the water in the container was filled beyond its limits until it is held within the border. If the border remains intact when the container is moved, the water in it is acceptable. It is as if it is in a container made from earth. If not, it is as if one formed a border of clay on a rock or on the earth and filled it with water. This would be unacceptable, because the water is not in a container.
Halacha 6
When an earthenware container has been perforated to the extent that water would enter it, one may not draw this water or sanctify it with it. If, however, its hole is smaller and water will leak out, but will not enter, one may sanctify with it.
Halacha 7
When a container has been perforated from below and plugged close with rags, it is invalid. The rationale is that the water in it is not resting on the base of the utensil, but on the plug. If it was perforated from the side and plugged, it is acceptable to draw this water, sanctify it, and sprinkle it using such a container.
Halacha 8
When someone splashes water from a spring with his hands or his feet or with shards, causing them to enter a barrel, the water is unacceptable to be used for a red heifer, because it was not drawn with a utensil. Even if one placed the barrel in the water and pushed the water with his hands or feet or with vegetable leaves so that it flows into the barrel, it is unacceptable. Similarly, if one submerged articles into water so that the water would rise and flow into the barrel, it is unacceptable. If one did the above with the leaves of reads or nut shells, the water is acceptable.
This is the general principle: If one uses something that is fit to contract ritual impurity to help move the water so that the container will become full, the water is unacceptable. If one used something that is not susceptible to ritual impurity, it is acceptable.
Halacha 9
If one causes a spring to flow into a vat or into a pool and then drew water with a container from that pool or vat, it is unacceptable. For at the outset, one must draw water from the spring with a container.
Halacha 10
The Great Sea is considered like a mikveh and not like a spring. Therefore water to be sanctified may not be drawn from it. Water from all of the rivers is unacceptable to be sanctified to serve as the water for the ashes of the red heifer. Other seas or lakes are like springs.
Halacha 11
Water that flows out from other seas is called running water and is unacceptable. Water flowing from a stream is considered as the stream itself and is acceptable.
Halacha 12
Spoiled springs and "lying" waters are unacceptable. The following types of springs are termed spoiled: salty springs or hot springs. "Lying" waters refer to springs that sometimes flow and sometimes, run dry and are arid. Even if they run dry only once in seven years, they are unacceptable. If, however, they run dry only in years of drought or less frequently than once in seven years, or their waters were, at times, abundant and, at times, sparse, but they do not run entirely dry, they are acceptable. When a stream is first discovered, it is deemed acceptable. There is no need to see whether it will run dry in certain years.
Halacha 13
Swamps and waters like those of the Jordan and the Yarmuch are unacceptable, because they are mixed waters. This is what is meant by the term "mixed waters": water that is fit to be sanctified that is mixed with water that is unfit. Water should not be drawn from such a mixture. When, by contrast, water that is acceptable becomes mixed with other water that is acceptable, e.g., the water of two streams become mixed and flow together, water for the ashes of a red heifer may be drawn from them.
Halacha 14
If the appearance or flavor of water changes because of itself, it is acceptable.
Halacha 15
If a shard or earth fell into a well and caused its water to become murky, one may still draw water for the ashes of a red heifer from it. It is not necessary to wait until the water clears. If a flow of rainwater falls into it, one should wait until the water becomes clear.
Halacha 16
It is acceptable to draw water for the ashes of the red heifer from an irrigation canal that brings water from a distance, since it originates in a wellspring, provided one is careful that a person does not interrupt the flow. Were that to happen, one would be drawing water that originated in a wellspring, but was interrupted; this is not acceptable.
Parah Adummah - Chapter 7
Halacha 1
The performance of work disqualifies water that was drawn for the ashes of the red heifer before it is sanctified, but it does not disqualify the sprinkling of the ashes. These rulings are stated in the Oral Tradition.
What is implied? If one draws water for sanctification with the ashes and was involved with another activity while drawing it, carrying the water that was drawn, or pouring it from one container to another, he disqualifies it.
The performance of an activity disqualifies the water until the ashes are placed on it. If one placed the ashes on the water and sanctified it, causing it to be fit for sprinkling, the performance of another activity does not disqualify it. If one carries sanctified water from place to place or pours it from one container to another while being occupied with another activity, it is of no consequence. This also applies if one sprinkles it with one hand and performs an activity with the other hand.
Halacha 2
The payment of a wage disqualifies the sanctification of the water and the sprinkling of it, but it does not disqualify the drawing of it.
What is implied? When one takes a wage for sanctifying the water for the ashes of the red heifer or sprinkling it, the water is considered as the water of a cavern and the ashes, as ashes from a range, which are of no halachic significance. One may, however, take a wage for drawing the water or transporting it. One should sanctify it without charge and the one who sprinkles it, should sprinkle it without charge.
If the one sanctifying or sprinkling the water was old and unable to walk and an impure person came and asked him to go with him to a distant place to sanctify such water or sprinkle it, he may have him ride on a donkey and pay him a wage as befits an unemployed worker who had previously worked at that profession. Similarly, if he was a priest and because he would accompany him, he would contract an impurity that prevents him from partaking of terumah, he should feed him, give him beverages, and oil to anoint himself during the time he travels with him to sanctify or sprinkle the water. If he causes him to cease working, he should pay him a wage as befits an unemployed worker who had previously worked at that profession.
The rationale is that all of these considerations are not wages he is being paid for sanctifying or sprinkling the water, for he did not profit at all. He only took compensation for what he lost.
Halacha 3
When a person draws water with one hand and performs work with his other hand, the water is unacceptable. Similarly, if he drew water for himself and for another person or he drew water for two people at the same time, both are unacceptable. For drawing water is considered as work. Thus during each of the drawings of water, it is as if he performed another task at that time. And we have already stated that the performance of an activity disqualifies the drawing of water, whether one draws for himself or for others.
Halacha 4
When a person draws water for the ashes of the red heifer for others - even if he filled one thousand barrels one after the other for one thousand different people - they are all acceptable. Each person should take his water and sanctify it.
The following rules apply if one drew water for himself, one barrel after another. If he intended to collect all the water in one container, cast the ashes upon it, and sanctify all at once, it is all acceptable, for it is all considered as one drawing of water. If, however, he intended to sanctify every barrel individually, they are all unacceptable except for the last one. The rationale is that the first becomes disqualified due to the work - i.e., the drawing of the second barrel - that was performed before it was sanctified. Similarly, the second is disqualified by the drawing of the third. Thus it is only the last which is acceptable.
Halacha 5
When five people fill five barrels with spring water to sanctify them for five different sanctifications, e.g., they intended to cast the ashes on each one individually and then changed their minds and decided to mix them all together and sanctify them at once; alternatively, they filled the barrels to sanctify them all in one container and then changed their minds and decided to sanctify each of the five independently, they are all acceptable, because the person drawing the water did not become involved in drawing other water afterwards. When, by contrast, an individual fills five barrels to sanctify each of the five independently, only the last one is acceptable,
If he filled the barrels to sanctify all the water in one container and he changed his mind and sanctified each of the five individually, only the one that he sanctified first is acceptable. Similarly, if a person told a colleague: "Sanctify these for yourself," only the bucket that is sanctified first is acceptable. If, however, he told him: "Sanctify these for me," they are all acceptable, because they were all filled to be sanctified in one container. Even though he changed his mind and decided to sanctify each of the five individually, he himself did not perform the sanctification, someone else did.
Halacha 6
When a person seeks to draw water to sanctify it and other water for his own purposes, he should draw the water he desires for his own purposes first and tie the barrels and load them behind him. Afterwards, he fills the buckets he intended to use for the water for the ashes of the red heifer so that he will not be involved in any work after drawing it. He places it in front of him, and proceeds.
Halacha 7
The following laws apply when two people were drawing water individually and one helped the other lift his water to load it on his back or one removed a thorn from the other's hand or body when he was drawing the water. If they both drew the water to sanctify it in a single container, all of the water is acceptable. If each of them drew the water to sanctify it independently, the one who helped his colleague lift his water or removed the thorn, disqualified his own water.
Halacha 8
When a person borrows a rope to draw water for the ashes of the red heifer, draws the water, takes the rope in his hand, and the water on his shoulders, and meets the owner of the rope while he is on his way, the water remains acceptable even though he give him the rope while he is walking. If he went out of his way to bring the rope to its owner, he disqualified the water.
Halacha 9
If someone who was drawing water for the ashes of the red heifer cast the rope he used to draw the water on the ground and after he drew the water gathered the rope in his hand, he disqualified the water. If, while drawing the water, he gathered the rope, winding it around his hand, the water is acceptable.
Halacha 10
When one was drawing water with a small jug and pouring the water into a larger barrel and he put aside the larger barrel so that it would not break while he was drawing the water or he turned it upside down to dry it so he could fill it, the water is acceptable, for these activities were performed for the sake of drawing the water. If, however, before sanctifying the water he had drawn, he set the barrel aside or dried it to transport the water he would sanctify, he disqualified the water, because he performed a task that was not for the purpose of drawing the water. Similar laws apply when one who was drawing water and pouring the water into a trough within a stone removed shards from the trough while filling it. If his intent was so that the trough would hold more water, the water is acceptable, for this is considered as for the purpose of drawing water. If his intent is that the shards should prevent the water from flowing out when he seeks to draw off the water with which he filled the trough, the water is unacceptable.
Halacha 11
The following rules apply when a person thinks of filling a bucket of water to drink and changes his mind and decides to use the water for the ashes of the red heifer]. If he changed his mind before the bucket reached the water, he must pour the water out, but he does not have to dry out the bucket. If he changed his mind after the bucket reached the water, he must pour it out and he must dry it. Only afterwards, may he fill it with water for the ashes of the red heifer.
If he lowered the bucket towards the water with the intent of using the water to drink and the rope broke away from his hand, if he changed his mind before the bucket reached the water, he must pour the water out, but he does not have to dry out the bucket. If he changed his mind while the bucket was still in the water and intended to use the water for the ashes of the red heifer, he must pour it out, but does not have to dry the bucket.
When a person drew water to use for the ashes of the red heifer and, after drawing it, thought to drink it, the water is disqualified from the time he inclined the container to drink from it, even though he did not drink from it at all.
• Monday, Tammuz 19, 5775 · 06 July 2015
"Today's Day"
Thursday Tamuz 19 5703
Torah lessons: Chumash: Pinchas, Chamishi with Rashi.
Tehillim: 90-96.
Tanya: The key will (p. 355) ...vivifying soul... (p. 357).
A practice of my father's: When travelling, even when spending months in one place, he would recite t'filat haderech, the prayer for travellers (p. 86) daily after davening, omitting G-d's name in the conclusion.
Daily Thought:
Egocentric
He does not appear greedy, nor haughty, but an egotist nonetheless. If there are opinions in the world other than his, then people are disregarding him. If something occurs not to his liking, it is a conspiracy against him. Whatever G‑d does in His world is either his reward or his punishment. All things are given meaning only as they relate to his self. He does not know of a world without him.
So we tell him: The first step in moving forward is to leave yourself behind.[Maamar Heichaltzu 5659; Hayom Yom, 10 Tevet; Torat Menachem, vol. 11, page 68.]
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