Daily Quote:
As one person, with one heart[Midrash Mechilta (describing the Jews' encampment at Sinai to receive the Torah)]
Daily Study:
Chitas and Rambam for today:
Chumash: Va'etchanan, 4th Portion Deuteronomy 5:1-5:18 with Rashi
• Chapter 5
1And Moses called all Israel and said to them, "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances which I speak in your ears this day, and learn them, and observe [them] to do them. אוַיִּקְרָא משֶׁה אֶל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת הַחֻקִּים וְאֶת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי דֹּבֵר בְּאָזְנֵיכֶם הַיּוֹם וּלְמַדְתֶּם אֹתָם וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם לַעֲשֹׂתָם:
2The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. ביְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ כָּרַת עִמָּנוּ בְּרִית בְּחֹרֵב:
3Not with our forefathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, we, all of whom are here alive today. גלֹא אֶת אֲבֹתֵינוּ כָּרַת יְהֹוָה אֶת הַבְּרִית הַזֹּאת כִּי אִתָּנוּ אֲנַחְנוּ אֵלֶּה פֹה הַיּוֹם כֻּלָּנוּ חַיִּים:
Not with our forefathers: Alone did the Lord make [this covenant], but with us. לא את אבתינו: בלבד כרת ה' וגו' כי אתנו:
4Face to face, the Lord spoke with you at the mountain out of the midst of the fire: דפָּנִים | בְּפָנִים דִּבֶּר יְהֹוָה עִמָּכֶם בָּהָר מִתּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ:
Face to face: Rabbi Berechiah said, “So said Moses: 'Do not say that I am misleading you about something that does not exist, as an agent does, acting between the seller and the buyer, [because] behold, the seller Himself is speaking with you.’” (Pesikta Rabbathi). פנים בפנים: אמר ר' ברכיה כך אמר משה אל תאמרו אני מטעה אתכם על לא דבר, כדרך שהסרסור עושה בין המוכר ללוקח, הרי המוכר עצמו מדבר עמכם:
5(and I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to tell you the word of the Lord, for you were afraid of the fire, and you did not go up on the mountain) saying, האָנֹכִי עֹמֵד בֵּין יְהֹוָה וּבֵינֵיכֶם בָּעֵת הַהִוא לְהַגִּיד לָכֶם אֶת דְּבַר יְהֹוָה כִּי יְרֵאתֶם מִפְּנֵי הָאֵשׁ וְלֹא עֲלִיתֶם בָּהָר לֵאמֹר:
saying: This refers back to (verse 4), “the Lord spoke with you at the mountain out of the midst of the fire… saying, ‘I am the Lord…,’ and I stood between the Lord and you”. לאמר: מוסב על (פסוק ד) דבר ה' עמכם בהר מתוך האש לאמר אנכי ה' וגו' ואנכי עומד בין ה' וביניכם:
6"I am the Lord your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ואָנֹכִי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים:
7You shall not have the gods of others in My presence. זלֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים עַל פָּנָי:
in My presence: Heb. עַל-פָּנָי, lit. before Me, i.e., wherever I am, and that is the entire world. Another explanation: As long as I exist [i.e., forever] (Mechilta). I have already explained the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20:1-14). על פני: בכל מקום אשר אני שם וזהו כל העולם. דבר אחר כל זמן שאני קיים. עשרת הדברות כבר פירשתים:
8You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness which is in the heavens above, which is on the earth below, or which is in the water beneath the earth. חלֹא תַעֲשֶׂה לְךָ פֶסֶל כָּל תְּמוּנָה אֲשֶׁר בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל וַאֲשֶׁר בָּאָרֶץ מִתָּחַת וַאֲשֶׁר בַּמַּיִם מִתַּחַת לָאָרֶץ:
9You shall not prostrate yourself before them, nor worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a zealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons, upon the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me. טלֹא תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לָהֶם וְלֹא תָעָבְדֵם כִּי אָנֹכִי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֵל קַנָּא פֹּקֵד עֲוֹן אָבוֹת עַל בָּנִים וְעַל שִׁלֵּשִׁים וְעַל רִבֵּעִים לְשׂנְאָי:
10And [I] perform loving kindness to thousands [of generations] of those who love Me and to those who keep My commandments. יוְעֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד לַאֲלָפִים לְאֹהֲבַי וּלְשֹׁמְרֵי מִצְוֹתָי(כתיב מצותו) :
11You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain, for the Lord will not hold blameless anyone who takes His name in vain. יאלֹא תִשָּׂא אֶת שֵׁם יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לַשָּׁוְא כִּי לֹא יְנַקֶּה יְהֹוָה אֵת אֲשֶׁר יִשָּׂא אֶת שְׁמוֹ לַשָּׁוְא:
12Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord your God commanded you. יבשָׁמוֹר אֶת יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת לְקַדְּשׁוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוְּךָ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ:
Keep [the Sabbath day]: But in the first set [of Ten Commandments] (in Exod. 20) it says: “Remember [the Sabbath day]!” The explanation is: Both of them (“Remember” and “Keep”) were spoken simultaneously as one word and were heard simultaneously. (Mechilta 20:8) שמור: ובראשונות הוא אומר (שמות כ, ז) זכור שניהם בדבור אחד ובתיבה אחת נאמרו ובשמיעה אחת נשמעו:
just as [the Lord your God] commanded you: Before the giving of the Torah, at Marah (Shab. 87b). כאשר צוך: קודם מתן תורה במרה:
13Six days may you work, and perform all your labor, יגשֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תַּעֲבֹד וְעָשִׂיתָ כָּל מְלַאכְתֶּךָ:
14but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall perform no labor, neither you, your son, your daughter, your manservant, your maidservant, your ox, your donkey, any of your livestock, nor the stranger who is within your cities, in order that your manservant and your maidservant may rest like you. ידוְיוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שַׁבָּת לַיהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה כָל מְלָאכָה אַתָּה | וּבִנְךָ וּבִתֶּךָ וְעַבְדְּךָ וַאֲמָתֶךָ וְשׁוֹרְךָ וַחֲמֹרְךָ וְכָל בְּהֶמְתֶּךָ וְגֵרְךָ אֲשֶׁר בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ לְמַעַן יָנוּחַ עַבְדְּךָ וַאֲמָתְךָ כָּמוֹךָ:
15And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord your God took you out from there with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm; therefore, the Lord, your God, commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. טווְזָכַרְתָּ כִּי עֶבֶד הָיִיתָ בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם וַיֹּצִאֲךָ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ מִשָּׁם בְּיָד חֲזָקָה וּבִזְרֹעַ נְטוּיָה עַל כֵּן צִוְּךָ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת:
And you shall remember that you were a slave…: God redeemed you on the condition that you will be His slave and keep His commandments. וזכרת כי עבד היית וגו': על מנת כן פדאך שתהיה לו עבד ותשמור מצותיו:
16Honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God commanded you, in order that your days be lengthened, and that it may go well with you on the land that the Lord, your God, is giving you. טזכַּבֵּד אֶת אָבִיךָ וְאֶת אִמֶּךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוְּךָ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְמַעַן | יַאֲרִיכֻן יָמֶיךָ וּלְמַעַן יִיטַב לָךְ עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ:
as the Lord your God commanded you: Also regarding the honoring of father and mother they were commanded at Marah, as it is said: (Exod. 15:25),“There He gave them a statute and an ordinance.” (San. 56b) כאשר צוך: אף על כבוד אב ואם נצטוו במרה שנאמר (שמות טו כה) שם שם לו חוק ומשפט:
17You shall not murder. And you shall not commit adultery. And you shall not steal. And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. יזלֹא תִרְצַח ס וְלֹא תִנְאָף ס וְלֹא תִגְנֹב ס וְלֹא תַעֲנֶה בְרֵעֲךָ עֵד שָׁוְא:
And you shall not commit adultery: Adultery applies only [to relations] with a married woman. ולא תנאף: אין לשון ניאוף אלא באשת איש:
18And you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor shall you desire your neighbor's house, his field, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. יחוְלֹא תַחְמֹד אֵשֶׁת רֵעֶךָ ס וְלֹא תִתְאַוֶּה בֵּית רֵעֶךָ שָׂדֵהוּ וְעַבְדּוֹ וַאֲמָתוֹ שׁוֹרוֹ וַחֲמֹרוֹ וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר לְרֵעֶךָ:
nor shall you desire: Heb. וְלֹא תִתְאַוֶּה. [As the Targum [Onkelos] renders:] וְלֹא תֵרוֹג,“you shall not desire.” This too is an expression of coveting (חֶמְדָּה) , just as“pleasant (נֶחְמָד) to see” (Gen. 2:9), which the Targum [Onkelos] interprets as“desirable (דִּמִרַגֵּג) to see.” ולא תתאוה: לא תירוג אף הוא לשון חמדה, כמו (בראשית ב, ט) נחמד למראה, דמתרגמינן דמרגג למחזי:
Daily Tehillim: Psalms Chapters 69 - 71
• Chapter 69
1. For the Conductor, on the shoshanim,1 by David.
2. Deliver me, O God, for the waters have reached until my soul!
3. I have sunk in muddy depths without foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the current sweeps me away.
4. I am wearied by my crying, my throat is parched; my eyes pined while waiting for my God.
5. More numerous than the hairs on my head are those who hate me without reason. Mighty are those who would cut me off, those who are my enemies without cause. What I have not stolen, I will then have to return.
6. O God, You know my folly, and my wrongs are not hidden from You.
7. Let not those who hope in You be shamed through me, O my Lord, God of Hosts; let not those who seek You be disgraced through me, O God of Israel,
8. because for Your sake I have borne humiliation, disgrace covers my face.
9. I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's sons,
10. for the envy of Your House has consumed me, and the humiliations of those who scorn You have fallen upon me.
11. And I wept while my soul fasted, and it was a humiliation to me.
12. I made sackcloth my garment, and became a byword for them.
13. Those who sit by the gate speak of me, and [of me] are the songs of drunkards.
14. May my prayer to You, Lord, be at a gracious time; God, in Your abounding kindness, answer me with Your true deliverance.
15. Rescue me from the mire, so that I not sink; let me be saved from my enemies and from deep waters.
16. Let not the current of water sweep me away, nor the deep swallow me; and let not the pit close its mouth over me.
17. Answer me, Lord, for Your kindness is good; according to Your abundant mercies, turn to me.
18. Do not hide Your face from Your servant, for I am in distress-hurry to answer me.
19. Draw near to my soul and liberate it; redeem me, so that my enemies [not feel triumphant].
20. You know my humiliation, my shame, and my disgrace; all my tormentors are before You.
21. Humiliation has broken my heart, and I have become ill. I longed for comfort, but there was none; for consolers, but I did not find.
22. They put gall into my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
23. Let their table become a trap before them, and [their] serenity, a snare.
24. Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and let their loins continually falter.
25. Pour Your wrath upon them, and let the fierceness of Your anger overtake them.
26. Let their palace be desolate, let there be no dweller in their tents,
27. for they persecute the one whom You struck, and tell of the pain of Your wounded ones.
28. Add iniquity to their iniquity, and let them not enter into Your righteousness.
29. May they be erased from the Book of Life, and let them not be inscribed with the righteous.
30. But I am poor and in pain; let Your deliverance, O God, streng-then me.
31. I will praise the Name of God with song, I will extol Him with thanksgiving!
32. And it will please the Lord more than [the sacrifice of] a mature bull with horns and hooves.
33. The humble will see it and rejoice; you seekers of God, [see] and your hearts will come alive.
34. For the Lord listens to the needy, and He does not despise His prisoners.
35. Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and all that moves within them,
36. for God will deliver Zion and build the cities of Judah, and they will settle there and possess it;
37. and the seed of His servants will inherit it, and those who love His Name will dwell in it.
Chapter 70
David prays that his enemies be shamed and humiliated for their shaming him and reveling in his troubles. Then the righteous will rejoice, and chant songs and praises always.
1. For the Conductor, by David, to remind.
2. O God, [come] to rescue me; O Lord, hurry to my aid.
3. Let those who seek my life be shamed and disgraced; let those who wish me harm retreat and be humiliated.
4. Let those who say, "Aha! Aha!" be turned back in return for their shaming [me].
5. Let all who seek You rejoice and delight in You, and let those who love Your deliverance say always, "May God be exalted!”
6. But I am poor and needy; hurry to me, O God! You are my help and deliverer; O God, do not delay!
Chapter 71
In this awe-inspiring prayer, David speaks of his enemies' desire to kill him, declaring him deserving of death.
1. I have taken refuge in You, O Lord; I will never be shamed.
2. Rescue me and deliver me in Your righteousness; incline Your ear to me and save me.
3. Be for me a sheltering rock, to enter always. You have ordered my salvation, for You are my rock and my fortress.
4. O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked, from the palm of the scheming and violent.
5. For You are my hope, O my Lord, God, my security since my youth.
6. I have relied on You from the womb; You drew me from my mother's innards; my praise is of You always.
7. I became an example to the masses, yet You were my mighty refuge.
8. Let my mouth be filled with Your praise, all day long with Your glory.
9. Do not cast me aside in old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails;
10. for my enemies say of me, and those who watch my soul conspire together,
11. saying, "God has forsaken him. Give chase and catch him, for there is no rescuer.”
12. O God, do not distance Yourself from me; my God, hurry to my aid.
13. Let the adversaries of my soul be shamed and consumed; let those who seek my harm be enwrapped in disgrace and humiliation.
14. But as for me, I will always hope; I will add to all Your praises.
15. My mouth will tell of Your righteousness, all day long of Your deliverance, for I do not know their number.
16. I come with the strength of my Lord, God; I mention Your righteousness, Yours alone.
17. O God, You have taught me since my youth, and to this day I tell of Your wonders.
18. Even into old age and hoariness, O God, do not abandon me, until I tell of Your might to the generations, and of Your strength to all who are to come.
19. Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens, for You do great things; O God, who is like You!
20. You, Who has shown me many and grievous troubles, You will revive me again; You will lift me again from the depths of the earth.
21. You will increase my greatness; You will turn and console me.
22. I too1 will thank You on the lyre for Your faithfulness, My God; I will sing to You on the harp, O Holy One of Israel.
23. My lips will rejoice when I sing to you, as well as my soul which You have redeemed.
24. My tongue will also utter Your righteousness all day, for those who seek my harm are shamed and disgraced.
Tanya: Iggeret HaKodesh, beginning of Epistle 5• Lessons in Tanya
• Wednesday, Menachem Av 13, 5775 · July 29, 2015
Today's Tanya Lesson
Iggeret HaKodesh, beginning of Epistle 5
ויעש דוד שם
“And David made a name.”1
The simple meaning of the verse is either (as Rashi explains) that David gave the Jewish people a good name by burying the dead of their enemies, or (as other commentators explain) that David made a name for himself through his heroism.
ופירש בזוהר הקדוש, משום שנאמר: ויהי דוד עושה משפט וצדקה לכל עמו כו׳
The holy Zohar2 relates the above phrase to the verse:3 “And David executed justice and tzedakah with all his people.”
The “name” that he thereby made is thus the Divine Name. In the words of the Zohar:
בכה רבי שמעון ואמר: מאן עביד שמא קדישא בכל יומא, מאן דיהיב צדקה למסכני כו׳
“Rabbi Shimon wept and said: ‘Who makes the Holy Name every day? He who gives charity unto the poor.’ ”
Two questions, however, present themselves: (a) How can we possibly say that the Holy Name is “made”? (b) How is the Name “made” through the giving of charity?
ויובן בהקדים מאמר רז״ל על פסוק: כי ביה ה׳ צור עולמים
This may be understood in the light of the comment of our Sages,4 of blessed memory, on the verse,5 “For by [the Divine Name that is composed of the letters] yud-hei, G‑d is the strength of the worlds.”
The Hebrew word here translated “strength” (lit.: “rock”) is צור, whose root letters imply an additional meaning, namely (in this context): “By means of [the Divine Name that is composed of the letters] yud-hei, G‑d formed (or created) the worlds.”6
בה׳ נברא עולם הזה, ביו״ד נברא עולם הבא
On the above-quoted verse the Sages comment: “This world was created by the letter hei [of the Divine Nameyud-hei]; the World to Come was created by the letter yud [of the Divine Name yud-hei].”
In what respect is this world connected with the letter hei and the World to Come with the letter yud? The Alter Rebbe answers this question by first explaining the concept of the World to Come and Gan Eden, the Garden of Eden.
פירוש: שהתענוג שמתענגים נשמות הצדיקים, ונהנין מזיו השכינה המאיר בגן עדן עליון ותחתון
This means that the delight which the souls of the righteous experience, as they enjoy the splendor of theShechinah which radiates in the upper and lower Gardens of Eden,
הוא שמתענגים בהשגתם והשכלתם
consists of their pleasure in their apprehension and conception,
שמשכילים ויודעים ומשיגים
for they conceive (with the faculty of Chochmah), know (with the faculty of Daat) and understand (with the faculty ofBinah)
איזה השגה באור וחיות השופע שם מאין סוף ברוך הוא, בבחינת גילוי, לנשמתם ורוח בינתם
some degree of apprehension of the light and vitality which effuses there, in a revealed manner, from the blessed Ein Sof unto their soul and their spirit of understanding,
Spiritual life-force finds its way down into this world in so concealed a manner that all we know of it is the mere fact of its existence (yediat hametziut). In Gan Eden, by contrast, the spiritual life-force issues forth in such a manner that its very essence is apprehended (hassagat hamahut),
להבין ולהשיג איזה השגה, כל אחד ואחד לפי מדרגתו ולפי מעשיו
so that each and every one can understand and attain some perception according to his level and his deeds.
Likkutei Levi Yitzchak, authored by the saintly father of the Rebbe, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, explains the distinction between “his level” and “his deeds” as follows.
“His level” alludes to those souls which are to be found in the Upper Garden of Eden, whose comprehension is commensurate with the level of their devout intent and the level of their re’uta delibba (lit., “the desire of the heart”), i.e., the unbounded yearning of the innermost point of their souls to cleave rapturously to their Maker. This state of divine service results from intellectual endeavor, which is denoted by the term “level”. (In ch. 9 of Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, for example, the Alter Rebbe adds this term to the phrase that speaks of the intellectual activity known by its acronym asChaBaD.)
“His deeds,” by contrast, refers to those souls in the Lower Garden of Eden, which earn the above-described spiritual delights through the actual performance of practical mitzvot. These souls, therefore, are rewarded “according to their deeds.”7
In either case, it is clear that the delight that souls experience in Gan Eden is the intellectual delight of the apprehension of G‑dliness.
ולכן נקרא עולם הבא בשם בינה, בזוהר הקדוש
That is why in the Zohar8 the World to Come is referred to as Binah (“understanding”), for that world is permeated by the light of the Sefirah of Binah,9 which enables souls to apprehend and understand G‑dliness.
והשפעה זו נמשכת מבחינת חכמה עילאה
This flow issues from the plane of Supernal Chochmah,
שהוא מקור ההשכלה וההשגה הנקרא בשם בינה
which is the source of the conception and apprehension known as Binah.
Chochmah is the initial, intuitive, seminal flash of perception; Binah is the process of mental gestation that systematically develops and expands that inspiration into comprehensive understanding.
והוא קדמות השכל, קודם שבא לכלל גילוי השגה והבנה
For [Chochmah] is the primordial stage of the intellect, before apprehension and understanding become manifest;
רק עדיין הוא בבחינת העלם והסתר
rather, [Chochmah] at this stage is still in a state of obscurity and concealment,
The Alter Rebbe is speaking here of the particular level of Chochmah that transcends intellect and comprehension. It differs from the more external level of Chochmah which is the germ of intellect and is already illumined by it, though it too is as yet the unparticularized seminal point of a concept which is still to be analyzed and comprehended by the faculty of Binah.Preceding this, the primordial level of Chochmah discussed here utterly transcends revealed intellect; it is still obscure,
רק שמעט מזעיר שם זעיר שם שופע ונמשך משם לבחינת בינה
except for some miniscule measure that here and there flows forth and issues from it to the faculty ofBinah,
The dual form of the Biblical idiom borrowed here (cf. Yeshayahu 28:10) implies that the light of this primordial level ofChochmah undergoes two distinct stages of tzimtzum, or self-contraction. The first stage limits this light; the second attenuates it so that it is able to descend into Binah,
להבין ולהשיג שכל הנעלם
making it possible [for a soul] to understand and apprehend a concept which is [intrinsically] concealed.
This higher form of Supernal intellect is the “radiance of the Shechinah,” a ray of G‑d’s infinitude that illuminates Gan Eden. Ordinarily, no created being — even a soul of such stature that it inhabits the Upper Gan Eden — could possibly fathom this degree of intellect. In order for it to be understood by mortal man’s soul, it must undergo the twofold descent mentioned above. Nonetheless, even after this descent it still pertains to the very essence (mahut) of G‑dliness that is comprehended by the soul in Gan Eden.
ולכן נקרא בשם נקודה בהיכלא, בזוהר הקדוש
Chochmah is the “dot” or “point” of intellect that illumines the “palace” of Binah. Nevertheless, even when already housed in Binah, it still remains a seminal point of intellect that transcends the details that constitute the comprehension ofBinah.
וזו היא תמונת יו״ד של שם הוי׳
[Indeed,] this is the shape of the yud of the Four-Letter Name of G‑d.
The letter yud is shaped like a point, alluding12 to the Sefirah of Chochmah, which is a mere point.
ונקרא עדן, אשר עליו נאמר: עין לא ראתה גו׳
[Chochmah] is also referred to as Eden, of which it is said:13 “No eye has beheld it”; i.e., it is a kind of illumination that transcends and defies comprehension.
ונקרא: אבא יסד ברתא
Moreover, [Chochmah] is referred to14 as “the ‘father’ who founded the ‘daughter’.”
Chochmah is the “father”, or source, of the letters of speech, which are called the “daughter”, the level of Malchut.
One might have expected the letters of speech to derive from the emotive faculties (the middot) or from Binah, for surely a person articulates letters of speech when he seeks to express an emotion or to speak of an idea that he has comprehended. The Alter Rebbe, however, now goes on to explain that the letters of speech in fact derive from Chochmah, which transcends comprehension.
פירוש: כי הנה התהוות אותיות הדבור היוצאות מה׳ מוצאות הפה אינה דבר מושכל
This means: The formation of the letters of speech which proceed from the five organs of articulation15 is not an intellectual process.
The letters do not emanate from the soul as a result of any intellectual imperative.
ולא מוטבע בטבע מוצאות הללו להוציא מבטא האותיות
It is also not inherent in the nature of these organs [that they must] pronounce the letters
על ידי ההבל והקול המכה בהן
— by means of the breath and the sound that strikes them —
על פי דרך הטבע, ולא על פי דרך השכל
by either a natural faculty or by an intellectual faculty.
כגון השפתיים, על דרך משל, שאותיות בומ״פ יוצאות מהן
With the lips, for example, by means of which the letters beit, vav, mem and pei are uttered,
Since the lips are the most visible of the organs of speech, the Alter Rebbe chooses for his example the letters which they form; one can readily see that pronouncing these letters is impelled neither by the nature of the lips themselves nor by the faculty of intellect.
אין הטבע ולא השכל נותן ליציאת מבטא ארבע חלקי שינויי ביטוי אותיות אלו על פי שינויי תנועת השפתים
neither nature nor the intellect compels the utterance of the four varying types of pronunciation of these letters in accordance with variations in the movement of the lips,
שמתנוענעות בהבל אחד וקול אחד, הפוגע בהן בשוה
which are moved by the same breath and the same sound that strikes them equally.
Since the letter beit and the letter vav, for example, are both formed by the same breath and the same sound, the distinction between them must be made by the movements of the lips: when the letter beit is pronounced the lips are pursed in one way and when the letter vav is pronounced they are pursed differently. This being so, one would expect that it would take a conscious mental effort to move the lips in one specific manner to pronounce the letter beit and in another specific manner to pronounce the letter vav.16 Alternatively, if it were dependent on nature, the speaker would naturally want to move his lips in the different ways necessary for the formation of one letter or the other.
ואדרבה, שינוי התנועות שבשפתים הוא לפי שינוי ביטוי האותיות שברצון הנפש לבטא בשפתים כרצונה
On the contrary: the change in the movements of the lips depends on the difference in pronunciation of the letters the soul wishes to utter by means of the lips,
כרצונה לומר אות ב׳ או ו׳ או מ׳ או פ׳
when it desires to pronounce the letter beit, or vav, or mem, or pei, and the lips will instinctively and spontaneously move accordingly.
ולא להיפך, שיהיה רצון הנפש וכונתה לעשות שינוי תנועות השפתים
It is not the other way around, that it is the will and intention of the soul to make a change in the motions of the lips
כמו שהן מתנענעות עתה בביטויי ד׳ אותיות אלו
as they are moving now in the utterance of these four letters.
וכנראה בחוש, שאין הנפש מתכוונת ויודעת לכוין כלל שינוי תנועות השפתים בשינויים אלו
As is empirically evident, the soul does not at all intend or know how to intend the change in the motions of the lips [which articulate] those distinctions [between the various letters].
Since the soul neither intends nor even knows how to direct the lips to move in the manner required to form particular letters, it is obviously the mere desire to utter certain letters that results in the automatic movement of the lips in the appropriate manner.
ויותר נראה כן בביטוי הנקודות
This is even more evident with the pronunciation of the vowels.
שכשהנפש רצונה להוציא מפיה נקודת קמץ, אזי ממילא נקמצים השפתים
For when the soul wishes to utter the kamatz vowel, the lips spontaneously become compressed,
ובפתח נפתחים השפתים
and with the patach vowel the lips open17 — of their own accord,
ולא שרצון הנפש לקמוץ ולא לפתוח כלל וכלל
and not at all because of the will of the soul to compress or to open [them].
ואין להאריך בדבר הפשוט ומובן ומושכל לכל משכיל
There is no need to go any further into a matter which is simple, comprehensible, and intelligible to every intelligent person,
שמבטא האותיות והנקודות הוא למעלה מהשכל המושג ומובן
namely, that the pronunciation of the letters and vowels transcends the apprehended and comprehended intellect,
אלא משכל הנעלם וקדמות השכל שבנפש המדברת
but rather derives from the hidden intellect, and the primordial stage of the intellect which is in the articulate soul.
ולכן אין התינוק יכול לדבר, אף שמבין הכל
This is why an infant cannot speak, even though it understands everything, for speech does not result from revealed and apprehended intellect, but from the more rarefied “hidden intellect” which in the infant has yet to be developed.
We thus see that the letters of speech derive from Chochmah. This, then, is the meaning of “the ‘father’ who founded the ‘daughter’”: Chochmah is the “father” or source of the letters of speech, which are called the “daughter”, or the Sefirah ofMalchut.
* * *
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. | II Shmuel 8:13. |
| 2. | III, 113b. |
| 3. | II Shmuel 8:15. |
| 4. | Menachot 29b; Yerushalmi, Chagigah 2:1. |
| 5. | Yeshayahu 26:4. |
| 6. | This additional interpretation rests on an alternative version of our text from Tractate Menachot, which is supplied byTosafot on Berachot 51a (s.v. זוכה). |
| 7. | “See Iggeret HaKodesh, Epistle 29 (p. 150b): The garments [of the soul] in the Upper Gan Eden are produced by this yearning (re’uta) and this devout intent (kavanah), while in the Lower Gan Eden they are produced by the actual performance of practical mitzvot. So, too, in Kuntres Acharon, beginning of p. 155a et al. See also Likkutei Torah, Parshat Vaetchanan, at the beginning of the maamar entitled VeZot HaMitzvah.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.) |
| 8. | II, 158a; Zohar Chadash 93a. |
| 9. | “[The influence of this Sefirah is felt] in the Lower Gan Eden as well, (although in relation to the Upper Gan Eden it is theSefirah of Malchut). See Or HaTorah, Chayei Sarah (p. 114a); Likkutei Torah, Vaetchanan, p. 10b, et al.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.) |
| 10. | I, 6a, et al. |
| 11. | “This is discussed at length in Likkutei Torah, beginning of Parshat Re’eh; see the sources cited there.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.) |
| 12. | “Cf. the Note at the beginning of ch. 12 of Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah: ‘The shape of each letter indicates the pattern of the flow and manifestation of the light.’ ” ( — Note of the Rebbe.) |
| 13. | Yeshayahu 64:3. |
| 14. | Zohar III, 248a. |
| 15. | The larynx, palate, tongue, teeth and lips. |
| 16. | “This is analogous to the musical notes of a harp, that are produced by plucking different strings. (Cf. Hemshech 5666, p. 447).” ( — Note of the Rebbe.) |
| 17. | The Hebrew names for the vowels קמץ and פתח respectively mean “compressing” and “opening”. |
• Sefer Hamitzvos:Wednesday, Menachem Av 13, 5775 · July 29, 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 98
Ritual Impurity of Food and Drink
We are commanded regarding food and drink that have contracted ritual impurity. [I.e., one must follow all the laws associated with this impurity.]
Ritual Impurity of Food and Drink
Ritual Impurity of Food and Drink
Positive Commandment 98
Translated by Berel Bell
The 98th mitzvah is that we are commanded to rule according to the appropriate laws regarding the tumah of food and drink.1 This mitzvah includes all the laws of tumas ochlin u'mashkin.2
FOOTNOTES
1.Lev. 11:34.
2.See Hilchos Ochlin 1:1-4.
Ishut - Chapter Twenty One
Halacha 1
A husband is entitled to [any ownerless objects] discovered by [his] wife,1 and the proceeds of her labor.2 What [type of work] must she perform on his behalf? Everything follows the custom of the country. In a place where it is customary for women to weave, she should weave. [In a place where they] embroider, she should embroider. [In a place where they] spin wool or flax, she should spin.
If it is not customary for women in that place to perform these labors, he may compel her only to spin wool; [wool, but not flax,] because flax damages [a woman's] mouth and lips. [This occupation is chosen because] spinning is a task designated for women, as [implied by Exodus 35:25]: "And all the skilled women put their hands to spinning...."
Halacha 2
If a woman exerts herself and produces more than would be expected of her,3her husband is entitled to the extra amount.4
Even when her husband5 is very wealthy and even when the woman has several maids, she may not sit idle, without work. For idleness leads to lewdness. [Her husband] may not, however, compel her to work for the entire day. Instead, according to the extent of his wealth, her obligation to work is minimized.
Halacha 3
When a mantakes a vow that prevents his wife from doing any work at all, he is obligated to divorce her and pay her [the money due her by virtue of her]ketubah. [The rationale is that] idleness leads to lewdness.6
Every wife is obligated [to perform the following household tasks] on behalf of her husband: to wash his face, feet and hands, to pour him beverages, to make his bed,7 and to do his bidding - e.g., to bring him water or a utensil, to remove an article from his presence, or to perform similar tasks. She is not, however, required to do the bidding of his father or his son.
Halacha 4
These tasks should be performed only by a man's wife alone.8 Even if she possesses several maids, these tasks are performed for a man only by his wife.
Halacha 5
There are other tasks that a woman performs for her husband when they are poor; they are: to bake bread in an oven9 - Ezra ordained that a woman get up early and bake bread so that there will be bread available to give the poor.
She should cook food, wash clothes, nurse her child, place straw before her husband's beast10 - but not before his cattle - and grind [flour].
What does grinding [flour] involve? [Not that the woman actually operates the mill herself,] but that she stays at the mill, sifts11the flour and prods the animal [who turns the mill], so that [the operation of] the mill will not be hampered. If it is the [local] custom, for women to grind [flour] using a hand mill, [a woman] should grind [flour in this manner].
Halacha 6
When does the above apply? With regard to a poor [couple]. If, however, a woman brings a maid to [the household] or property with which a maid could be purchased, or if the man possesses a maid or funds with which a maid could be purchased, the wife is not required to grind [flour], to bake, to do laundry or to place straw before her husband's beast.
If the wife brings two maids to [the household] or property with which two maids could be purchased, or if the man possesses two maids or is [wealthy] enough to purchase two maids, the wife is not required to cook or to nurse her child. Instead, she gives him to a maid to nurse.12
Halacha 7
Thus, there are five tasks that every woman must perform on behalf of her husband: to spin [thread], to wash his face, hands and feet, to pour beverages for him, to make his bed and to do his bidding. And there are six tasks that some women perform and some women do not perform. They are: to grind [flour], to cook, to bake, to do laundry, to nurse, and to place straw before her husband's beast.
Halacha 8
All the tasks that a woman must perform on behalf of her husband must also be performed by a woman while she is in the niddah state, with the exception of pouring beverages, making his bed and washing his face, hands and feet. [The rationale for the exceptions is that] this is a decree, [enacted] lest [sexual] thoughts arise, and the husband be prompted to engage in relations.
Therefore, when she is in the niddah state, she should make his bed when he is not present. When pouring a beverage for him, she should not place it in his hand as is her usual practice, but rather leave it on the ground, on a utensil or on a table, and he will take it.13
Halacha 9
When a woman breaks utensils while performing household tasks,14 she is not held liable. This ruling does not reflect the dictates of the law, but is instead an enactment [of our Sages]. For if this were not the case, there would never be peace in a household. For a woman would be overly cautious and would refrain from performing many tasks, and there would thus be strife between [the couple].15
Halacha 10
Whenever a woman refrains from performing any of the tasks that she is obligated to perform, she may be compelled to do so, even with a rod.16 When a husband complains that [his wife] does not perform [her required tasks], and [the wife] claims that she does, [the dispute should be clarified by having] a [neutral] woman dwell with them or [by asking] the neighbors.17 The judges should clarify the matter in the best way they see fit.
Halacha 11
During the time a woman nurses her child, she is not compelled to perform as many tasks [as usual], and wine and foods that are beneficial to nursing are added to her support.
If, despite the fact that she was allotted the foods appropriate for her, she desires to eat more or desires to eat other foods, because of the craving in her stomach, she is entitled to eat everything she desires [provided she pays for the additional food] from her own funds. The husband cannot prevent her, saying: "Perhaps she will overeat or eat harmful foods18 and the child will die." [The rationale is] that the physical pain the woman feels takes priority.
Halacha 12
When a woman bears twins, she cannot be compelled to nurse both of them. Instead, she is required to nurse one, while the husband is required to hire a nursemaid for the second child.19
If a woman desires to nurse another woman's child together with her own, her husband may object and restrict her to nursing only her own child.20
Halacha 13
Although a woman takes a vow not to nurse her child, she may be compelled to do so until the child - whether a boy or a girl - is 24 months old.21
If a woman desires to nurse her child, but her husband objects, claiming that this will mar her beauty, she is given this prerogative, for it is painful for her to part from her child.22 [This law applies] even if she owns several maids.
Halacha 14
If she is poor and would thus be obligated to nurse her child, but her husband is rich, and it is appropriate that his wife not be obligated to nurse his child - if his wife does not desire to nurse, he must hire a nursemaid or buy a maid, even if he did not possess any maidservants beforehand. [The rationale is] that the woman's social standing rises together with that of her husband and does not descend with his.
Halacha 15
If a woman claims that [her husband] is of [a social standing that] requires him to hire or purchase a maid, and he claims that he is not, the burden of proof is on the woman. [The husband] is not [required] to take an oath.
Halacha 16
When a woman is divorced, she cannot be compelled to nurse [her child]. If she desires to nurse the child, [her ex-husband] must pay her a wage.23 If she does not desire [to nurse], she should give the son to his father, and he should care for him.24
When does the above apply? When she did not nurse the child long enough for him to recognize her. If, however, [the child is able] to recognize his mother, even if [the child] is blind,25 he should not be separated from his mother because of the [possible] danger [the separation will cause] the child.26 Instead, the woman is compelled to nurse the child for a wage until he reaches the age of 24 months.
Halacha 17
[A husband] is not [obligated to] support his divorcee, even when she is nursing his child. In addition to the wage she receives [as a nursemaid], he must, however, provide her with those things that the child needs for clothing, food, drink, salves and the like. A woman who is pregnant is not entitled to any [payment] at all [from her ex-husband].
[The following rules apply after the 24] months have been completed, and the child has been weaned. If the divorcee desires that her son remain in her custody, he is not separated from her until he completes his sixth year [of life].27Instead, his father is compelled to provide him with his sustenance while he lives with his mother.
After the child completes his sixth year, the father has the right to say: "If [my son] is in my custody, I will support him. If, however, he continues to live with his mother,28 I will not give him anything."29
A mother, by contrast, is given custody of her daughter forever, even after [she passes] the age of six.30
Halacha 18
What is implied? If the father is [wealthy enough] to be obligated to give charity, the money necessary for his daughter's support should be expropriated from him and used to support the daughter, while she is in her mother's custody.
Even if the mother marries another [man], her daughter remains in her custody, and the father is obligated to provide for her sustenance until his death, as an act of charity. [Moreover, even if the girl's] father dies, she is entitled to receive her sustenance from his estate, as a provision of [her mother's] ketubah, although she remains in his mother's custody.
If a mother does not want her children - either males or females - to remain in her custody after she weans them, she has this prerogative, and she can give their father their custody, or make them wards of the community if there is no father, and [the community] must care for them.31
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. |
Ketubot 47a states that since a woman's husband supports her, he might object if she were granted ownership over the items that she discovers. The Jerusalem Talmud (Ketubot 6:1) offers a slightly different explanation: that if women were entitled to the objects that they discover, a woman might conceal her earnings and later claim that the funds came to her for ownerless objects that she discovered.
|
| 2. |
As mentioned in Chapter 12, Halachah 4, in exchange for the obligation incumbent on the man to support his wife, our Sages granted him the right to the income she generates.
|
| 3. |
There are two interpretations of "more than would be expected of her": a) that she worked overtime, more hours than common custom requires, b) that she performed several tasks at one time.
|
| 4. |
There are authorities who differ with the Rambam and maintain that a woman is entitled to keep the additional amount she earns. The Bayit Chadash (Even HaEzer 80) states that it is not Ashkenazic custom to require a woman to give her husband any of her additional earnings.
|
| 5. |
Literally, "he is." Many manuscript copies and early printings of the Mishneh Torah state "he and she are," instead of "he is."
|
| 6. |
Hence, rather than compel a woman to follow a course of conduct that will lead to wanton behavior, Ketubot 59b requires the husband to divorce his wife.
|
| 7. |
The commentaries discuss whether the intent is to make her husband's bed or to make all the beds in the house. The difference is with regard to a rich woman, who could have maids perform household services. She is, nevertheless, obligated to make her husband's bed as a reflection of their personal closeness. The question is whether this applies to making the other beds in the house. Ketubot 61a uses the expression "makes the bed for him," indicating that the emphasis is on the husband's bed.
|
| 8. |
I.e., they are a reflection of their personal closeness.
|
| 9. |
In contrast to bread baked in a pan or over coals - i.e., the woman must bake in an ordinary manner (Ma'aseh Rokeach).
|
| 10. |
I.e., the animal on which he rides. This reflects the version of Ketubot 61b possessed by the Sephardic authorities. The Shitah Mekubetzet explains that this is included in a woman's household duties, because those duties involve tasks that affect her husband's person. The standard printed text of that Talmudic passage reverses the decisions regarding his beast and cattle. (See the rationale offered by Rashi.)
|
| 11. |
Alternatively, guards the flour (Tur, Even HaEzer 80).
|
| 12. |
The commentaries mention the importance of selecting a Jewish nursemaid. For milk that comes from non-kosher food will breed undesirable tendencies in the son's character.
|
| 13. |
The Rambam does not mention washing her husband, because his wife is forbidden to touch him while in the niddah state. (See Hilchot Issurei Bi'ah 11:18-19.)
|
| 14. |
The Chelkat Mechokek 80:29 states that based on the Jerusalem Talmud, this law applies even when she breaks household articles while she is not in the midst of her household chores.
|
| 15. |
While he accepts the Rambam's ruling, the Ra'avad offers a different rationale. The commentaries, however, justify the Rambam's view.
|
| 16. |
Rav Kapach emphasizes that the Rambam's intent is not that the husband should beat his wife himself, but that he should bring her to the court, which should administer corporal punishment if they see fit.
The Ra'avad objects to this ruling, explaining that it is unheard of to compel a woman by corporal punishment. Instead, her support should be cut back until she accepts her household duties. The Rashba offers other options - to place her under a ban of ostracism or to sell her ketubah and use the proceeds to hire a maid.
When quoting this law, the Shulchan Aruch (Even HaEzer 80:15) mentions that the woman is compelled to perform her tasks, but omits reference to the means of compulsion employed. The Ramah quotes the opinion of the Rambam together with that of the Ra'avad and the Rashba, but appears to favor the latter views.
|
| 17. |
The woman is not required to support her claim with an oath, because a pattern of the husband's complaining and the woman's being compelled to take an oath would arise, and peace would not reign within the household (Chelkat Mechokek 80:28).
|
| 18. |
Although a woman is enjoined not to eat foods that would harm her milk supply, she is allowed to do so if she feels physical pain, because her needs take priority over those of the child. In hisKessef Mishneh, Rav Yosef Karo objects to the Rambam's ruling; in the Shulchan Aruch (Even HaEzer 80:11), he quotes dissenting views together with that of the Rambam, without favoring either view.
Note the Chelkat Mechokek 80:22, who emphasizes that when there is a real danger to the child's life, and no danger to the mother, the woman must adjust her diet to help the child.
|
| 19. |
Rabbenu Asher states that she is required to nurse both children, but this view is not accepted by the later authorities.
|
| 20. |
The Ramah (Even HaEzer 80:14) quotes the Tur, which states that a husband may even prevent a woman from nursing her own child who was born to her from a previous husband.
|
| 21. |
Implied in the marital contract is that the woman will nurse her children. Hence, she may not object.
|
| 22. |
Rashi (Ketubot 61a) mentions another rationale: having milk without nursing causes pain.
|
| 23. |
For a father is obligated to pay for his child's sustenance until the age of six, as stated in Chapter 12, Halachah 14.
|
| 24. |
The husband cannot, however, be compelled to pay for a nursemaid if the mother is given custody.
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| 25. |
For even a blind child can recognize his mother from her smell and the flavor of her milk.
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| 26. |
The pain of separation from his mother could cause the child to undergo travail that might lead to weakness. Rashi (Ketubot 59b) states that it is possible that the infant might reject another nursemaid and hence starve to death.
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| 27. |
The Ra'avad objects to the Rambam's decision, explaining that a father is obligated to begin educating his child at an early age, and this is impossible when the child is in the mother's custody. The Maggid Mishneh refutes that argument, explaining that the amount of teaching that the father is obligated to give the child can be communicated at visits.
It must be emphasized, however, that the Rambam is referring to a situation in which the mother shares the same standards of observance as the father. If that is not the case, and the mother's observance is lacking, the father should be given the right to custody.
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| 28. |
From the Rambam's wording, it appears that if a son desires to stay in his mother's custody, and the mother is willing to support him, he is entitled to do so. (See Chelkat Mechokek 82:9.)
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| 29. |
At present, there are many courts that require the father to continue supporting his son, even if he desires to remain with his mother.
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| 30. |
For her mother is more prepared to train her to grow up as a woman.
The Ramah (Even HaEzer 82:7) states that this law applies only when the court feels that it is in the daughter's best interests to remain in her mother's custody. If, however, it appears that the daughter's interests will be served better when she is in her father's custody, he is awarded that privilege.
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| 31. |
The Maggid Mishneh states that this implies that a woman does not have any responsibility to raise her children. The Ma'aseh Rokeach maintains that if the mother has means, she is required to provide for her children's support and cannot cast the burden on the community. She need not, however, raise them in her home, lest this deter other men from desiring to marry her. This latter opinion is not, however, mentioned in the Shulchan Aruch (Even HaEzer 82:8) or its commentaries when dealing with this situation.
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Tum'at Okhalin - Chapter 10
Halacha 1
We already explained that there are only seven liquids that contract impurity and make foods susceptible to impurity. Other liquids are referred to as fruit juices and they neither contract impurity, nor make foods susceptible to impurity. The derivatives of the seven liquids that we mentioned are governed by the same laws as they are.
Halacha 2
The derivatives of water are: fluids secreted by the eye, the ear, the nose, and the mouth, and human urine whether from adults or minors. Anything excreted by man is considered as a liquid whether it was excreted consciously or unconsciously. The urine of animals and salt that was liquefied are considered as fruit juices. They neither contract impurity, nor make substances susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 3
The blood that is counted as a liquid is the blood that flows from a kosher domesticated or undomesticated animal or fowl at the end of its slaughter. Blood that flows at the beginning of the slaughter, by contrast, does not make food susceptible to ritual impurity, because the animal is still alive. It resembles the blood of a wound or blood that is let.
When a person slaughters an animal and its blood sputters on to food, but that blood is cleaned between the slitting of one of the signs and the other, there is a doubt concerning the matter. Therefore the ruling is held in abeyance. The food is neither eaten, nor is it burnt.
A derivative of blood is blood let by a human being that was released with the intent of it being drunk. If, however, it was released as a medical treatment, it is pure and it does not make foods susceptible to impurity. Similarly, the blood released during the slaughter of non-kosher domesticated or undomesticated animal or fowl, the blood that is released with mucous or with feces, or the blood of boils, blisters, and blood concentrated in flesh, all neither contract impurity, nor make substances susceptible to impurity. Instead, they are like other fruit juices.
The blood of a crawling animal is like its flesh, it imparts impurity, but does not make foods susceptible to impurity. There are no entities analogous to it.
Halacha 4
Whey is considered like milk. Human milk that is not needed is not placed in the halachic category of a liquid. It does not make foods susceptible to impurity, nor does it contract impurity. Therefore, milk excreted by a male is not placed in the halachic category of a liquid. This also applies to the milk of a domesticated or undomesticated animal that was released without human intent, e.g., it flowed out from the animal's teats spontaneously or it was milked without intent. The milk of a woman, whether it was released intentionally or unintentionally, is generally placed in the halachic category of a liquid. It makes foods susceptible to impurity and it can contract impurity, because it is fit to be drunk by an infant.
Halacha 5
Liquids released by those impure people whose impurity causes these liquids to be considered as a primary source of impurity, impart impurity even though the foods had not been made susceptible to ritual impurity beforehand. For the food's susceptibility to impurity and that impurity come simultaneously. They are: the secretion of a zav, his semen, and his urine, a revi'it of blood from a human corpse, and the blood of a nidah.
Similarly, the blood of the wound of a zav and others like him, the milk of such a woman, their tears and the other derivatives of water that they release impart impurity like impure liquids which impart impurity without any specific intent. For impure liquids impart impurity when they are brought into contact with food intentionally or when they come into contact unintentionally. Accordingly, if milk drips from the breast of a nidah or a zavah into the inner space of an oven, the oven and all its contents contract impurity.
Halacha 6
We have already explained that the liquids released by a person who immersed that day do not impart impurity. Therefore, even if they fall on a loaf of bread that is terumah, it does not become susceptible to impurity unless they fall on it intentionally, as is the law regarding other pure liquids which do not make food susceptible to impurity unless they fall on it intentionally.
Halacha 7
Sweat, pus or vomit, feces, the liquids released by a fetus born in the eighth month, the diarrhea of a person who drank the waters of the hot springs of Tiberias or the like, even if it is clear, are all not placed in the halachic category of liquids. They do not contract impurity, nor do they make foods susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 8
When a person drinks other liquids and releases them, they are considered liquids as they were previously, for other liquids do not regain purity in a person's body.
What is implied? If one drank impure water and then regurgitated it, it is still impure. It did not become purified when released. If one drank impure water, immersed in a mikveh and then regurgitated it, or it became loathsome and then he regurgitated it, or it was released as urine, even if he did not immerse himself, it is pure.
If one drank other impure liquids or ate other impure foods, even though he immersed and then regurgitated them, they are still impure. They do not become purified in a person's body. If they became loathsome or were released as urine or as feces, they are pure.
Halacha 9
We already explained that sweat is not placed in the halachic category of liquids. Even if a person drank impure liquids and excreted them by sweating, his sweat is pure. If, however, a person bathes in drawn water and then sweated, his sweat is impure. If he dried himself from the water and then sweated, his sweat is pure.
Halacha 10
Moisture that collects on the walls of homes, trenches, caves, and cisterns is not placed in the halachic category of liquids. Even if the house is impure, the moisture that collects is pure. The moisture that collects in a bathhouse, by contrast, is considered as water. If water in the bathhouse was impure, the moisture that collects there is also impure. If one brought produce into such a house and moisture collects upon it, it becomes susceptible to impurity. If he brings containers there and moisture collects upon them, the moisture is considered as separated intentionally and it makes foods susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 11
When there is a pool in a house and moisture collects on the walls of the house because of it, if the pool contains impure water, all the moisture that collects in the house because of it is impure.
Halacha 12
When there are two pools in a house, one containing impure water and one containing pure water, if moisture collects close to the impure pool, it is impure. If it collects close to the pure one, it is pure. If it is equidistant from the two of them, it is impure.
Halacha 13
The black liquid that flows from olives without their being pressed is considered like oil. The liquid that drips from the baskets of olives and grapes when they are harvested is not placed in the halachic category of liquids. It does not contract impurity, nor does it make foods susceptible to impurity unless it is collected in a container.
Halacha 14
When a person weighs grapes in a weighing pan, the wine left in the weighing pan is not placed in the halachic category of liquids unless it is poured into a container. It resembles the liquid that drips from the baskets of olives and grapes mentioned in the previous halachah.
Halacha 15
When a person pushes grapes that are terumah into a jug, even though the wine flows over his hands, everything is pure.
Halacha 16
The liquids that flow in the butchering area in the Temple Courtyard, i.e., the blood of the sacrificial animals and the water used to clean them, are always considered as pure. They do not contract impurity, nor do they make foods susceptible to ritual impurity. This matter is a halachah conveyed by the Oral Tradition. Therefore all the blood of the sacrificial animals is not susceptible to ritual impurity, nor does it make foods susceptible to ritual impurity.
Since the blood of the sacrificial animals does not make food susceptible to ritual impurity, the sacrificial animals that were slaughtered in the Temple Courtyard were not made susceptible to ritual impurity through the blood of their slaughter. The meat of these sacrificial animals does not become susceptible to ritual impurity unless liquids other than those of the butchering area of the Temple come into contact with them.
Halacha 17
When a cow that was consecrated as a sacrificial animal was made to cross a river and was then slaughtered while it still had tangible moisture on it, it has become susceptible to impurity. Therefore, if an impure pin was found in its flesh, the meat is impure.
Similarly, if the cow's mouth was sealed closed outside of Jerusalem, even though the status of the pin found in its meat is unknown, the meat is impure. The rationale is that it touched implements outside of Jerusalem. If the pin was found in its wastes, the meat is pure. In either instance, the hands of the people involved in cutting up the animal are pure, because the decree involving the impurity of hands does not apply in the Temple, as we explained. In which context does the above apply? For the meat to be considered impure according to Scriptural Law. To incur impurity of Rabbinic origin, by contrast, consecrated food does not require exposure to liquids to make it susceptible to ritual impurity. Instead, the cherished nature of consecrated foods itself makes the meat susceptible to impurity. If any impurity, whether minor or severe, touches it, it becomes disqualified, even though it was not exposed to liquids, as we explained.
Tum'at Okhalin - Chapter 11
Halacha 1
When one harvests grapes to sell in the marketplace or dry, they do not become susceptible to impurity unless they come into contact with liquids when the owner desires that they do, as other foods.
If, by contrast, one harvests grapes to crush them and make wine, they become susceptible to impurity even if they had no contact with liquids at all. If they were touched by an impure object, they contract impurity. This a decree of Rabbinic origin.
Why did the Sages decree that when one harvests grapes for the wine press, they become susceptible to impurity? For there are times when a person enters into his vineyard to see if the grapes are ready to harvest. He will squeeze a cluster of grapes to check them and then cast it on the grapes that have already been harvested, for all of the grapes are prepared to be crushed for their juice. Moreover, he is not careful regarding the cluster and will allow it to be pressed by the other grapes, causing its liquid to flow out. He is careful concerning the liquid, desiring that it not flow out on the ground. Thus all the grapes will become susceptible to impurity because of it. Therefore our Sages decreed that when anyone harvests grapes for the wine press, they become susceptible to ritual impurity.
Halacha 2
When a person harvests grapes with the intent that, if he will not find purchasers for them, he will bring them back to the wine press, they do not become susceptible to ritual impurity until they are brought into the wine press. Similarly, olives that are brought into the olive press become susceptible to impurity, as will be explained.
Halacha 3
When a person harvests grapes and places them in a storage pit or spreads them out on leaves, they become susceptible to impurity because of the liquids that are released by them, since he is concerned with the liquids. That is the reason he placed them on leaves or in a storage pit that is like a cistern. Therefore, if someone who was impure or merely whose hands were impure takes some of them, he imparts impurity to them.
If, however, he harvested the grapes and placed them in baskets or spread them out on the earth, they do not become susceptible to impurity, because he is not concerned with the liquid they release. Therefore an impure person may take them and partake of them. Even though they have split open and juice is dripping from them into the wine press, the grapes in the wine press are pure, because the grapes from which the liquid dripped were not made susceptible to impurity and were harvested for the purpose of consumption.
A similar ruling applies in the following instance. A person took the grapes from the baskets or from the earth where they were spread out and partook of them, leaving over a se'ah or two which he cast into the winepress. Even though the juice is sprinkled over the grapes in the wine press, they are not made susceptible to ritual impurity.
Halacha 4
When one takes grapes that were in baskets or spread out on the earth to crush for wine, they become susceptible to ritual impurity. Hence they must be taken with pure hands, lest an impure person take from them and impart impurity to them.
Halacha 5
When a vineyard grows in a beit hapras and one harvests the grapes for the wine press, they are not considered as susceptible to impurity as long as they are in the beit hapras. The rationale is that since the impurity of a beit hapras is a Rabbinic decree and the concept that when a person harvests grapes for the wine press they become susceptible to ritual impurity is a Rabbinic decree, the Sages were lenient regarding this decree in this instance and did not consider the grapes as susceptible to ritual impurity until they were taken out of the beit hapras.
Accordingly, a person who desires to harvest grapes growing in a beit haprasfor the wine press in a state of ritual purity must do the following. He must purify the harvesters and the utensils, having the ashes of the red heifer sprinkled upon them on the third and seventh day. They must wait until nightfall of the seventh day so that it is obvious that leniency is being taken with the impurity of a beit hapras, only because it is a doubtful situation. Afterwards, they enter, harvest the grapes, and take them outside the beit hapras. Other pure porters receive the grapes from them and take them to the wine press. If the harvesters touch the porters, the porters contract ritual impurity and make the grapes impure. For the people in the beit hapras are impure and they impart impurity to those outside, causing them to be considered as primary derivatives of impurity. They then impart impurity to the grapes, for they became susceptible to ritual impurity when they were taken out of the beit hapras.
Halacha 6
When a person harvests olives with the intent of pickling them or selling them on the market place, they do not become susceptible to ritual impurity unless they come into contact with liquids as desired by their owner, as is the law with regard to other foods. Similarly, when a person harvests olives to crush in an olive press, they do not become susceptible to ritual impurity until the work required to prepare them for pressing is complete.
Why are olives susceptible to ritual impurity when the work required to prepare them for pressing is complete? Because it can be assumed that they became susceptible to impurity because of contact with the fluid of the olives, for the owner desires it so that the olives will soften and be easier to crush. Before the work required to prepare them for pressing is complete, the fluid released by the olives does not make them susceptible to ritual impurity, because it is not desired.
Accordingly, when the work required to prepare olives for pressing has not been completed and impure liquids fall upon them, only the places touched by the liquids contract impurity, as is the law regarding all foods that have not become susceptible to impurity. When impure liquids fall upon them after the work required to prepare them for pressing has been completed, all the olives contract impurity. The rationale is that the impure liquids impart impurity to the fluid that flows from them and that fluid imparts impurity to all of them, for the fluid that is released by them after the work required to prepare them for pressing has been completed is considered as a liquid in the context of the laws of impurity and makes foods susceptible to impurity and imparts impurity to them.
Halacha 7
When there is a jug of olives that are salted and pressed together, it is necessary to make a hole in the jug so that that fluid will drain off. If he does not make such a hole, the olives become susceptible to ritual impurity. If he made a hole for the liquid to drain off, but it became plugged by olive dregs and thus the olives became saturated with this fluid, they are not susceptible to impurity for their exposure to liquids was not desired by the owner, as indicated by his making the hole.
Halacha 8
When is the work to prepare olives for pressing considered to be completed? When the entire harvest has been completed and they are deposited in one place, prepared to be pressed. Even though liquids did not fall upon them and liquids did not emerge from them, since the work necessary to prepare them was completed, they become susceptible to ritual impurity. Before the work necessary to prepare them was completed, by contrast, even though they were crushed, secreted liquids, and became stuck together because of the liquids, they do not become susceptible to impurity.
If one completed harvesting his olives, but intended to purchase other olives in the future and add them to them, even if only a kab or two kabbim, they are not susceptible to ritual impurity. If, however, he acts with guile, they become susceptible to ritual impurity.
If he completed his purchase of olives, but intended to borrow money and purchase more, but he was prevented by forces beyond his control or he became involved in a celebration and therefore did not add more, it is still considered as if the work necessary to prepare the olives for pressing was not completed and the olives are not susceptible to ritual impurity. Even thoughzavim and zavot tread upon them, they remain pure.
Halacha 9
When a person stores his olives in two olive presses, when he completes loading one of them, the olives in that press become susceptible to ritual impurity.
Halacha 10
When a person harvests his olives in the Upper Galilee and he has the intent to bring them to the Lower Galilee in the future, they do not become susceptible to ritual impurity until he brings them there. This applies provided he had this intent before he harvested them. If he does not have this intent until after he harvests them, his intent is of no consequence and they become susceptible to impurity. If he completed storing his olives, but had the intent of selling them in the future, they do not become susceptible to impurity. If he had the intent of covering them with leaves, they become susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 11
The following law applies when a person purchases a storage vat of olives from a gentile. Even if there are olives to harvest on the earth, he should process the olives in a state of impurity, for it can be assumed that the gentile completed the harvest of that vat.
The word of an unlearned person is accepted when he says: "I did not complete storing olives in this vat."
Halacha 12
When a person wishes to take and crush for oil some olives from a storage vat that has not been completely filled, he may take them while ritually impure, bring them to the olive press in a state of ritual impurity, and cover the olives remaining in the storage vat in a state of ritual impurity, because the olives in the storage vat had not become susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 13
When a person places his olives in an olive press, so that they will soften and be easy to crush, they become susceptible to ritual impurity. If he left them to soften, so that he will salt them after they soften, they do not become susceptible to ritual impurity, for his intent is to pickle them.
Halacha 14
When a person rubs or breaks apart olives that are terumah with impure hands, he disqualifies them, because breaking them open completes the work associated with them. If, however, he broke open the olives with the intent of salting them, they do not become susceptible to impurity. Similarly, if he broke them open in order to check them to see whether they have oil and are ready to be harvested, they do not become susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 15
When a person leaves olives on a roof for them to desiccate and dry out, they do not become susceptible to impurity even if they are cubit high. If he brought them into the house to spoil some even though he will take them to the roof in the future or he brought them to the roof in a mound to spoil, even though he will break it open and spread them out to dry in the future, they become susceptible to ritual impurity. If he brought them into his house until he will make his roof fit for them or until he takes them to another place, they do not become susceptible to ritual impurity, because the work involved in their preparation has not been completed.
Halacha 16
When a person stores his olives in a domain belonging to an unlearned person, and locks and seals the door, he need not suspect that the unlearned person has another key and seal. Even if he discovers the seal broken and the lock open, the olives are pure. The seal mentioned could be even a stone or a sliver of wood.
If there were holes and cracks in the storeroom, he need not suspect that the unlearned person inserted a rod and moved the olives. If there are windows four handbreadths by four handbreadths, they are considered as an entrance.
Halacha 17
How should a person who crushed his olives in a state of impurity and, afterwards, sought to purify the utensils in the olive-press and the borders from the impure liquids that were absorbed in them act?
Keilim made of wood or stone should be washed thoroughly. If they are from reeds or the like, they should be dried. If they are from resinous cane, they should be left for twelve months, exposed to hot water or water in which olives were cooked, or placed under a drainpipe of running water or into a stream of flowing water for 12 hours.
Afterwards, he should immerse in a mikveh those keilim that require immersion and use them in a state of purity.
Tum'at Okhalin - Chapter 12
Halacha 1
All the laws involving making foods susceptible to ritual impurity originate in the Oral Tradition. According to that tradition, it was taught that the verse Leviticus 11:38: "When water will be placed on seeds," refers not only to water, but to all the other seven liquids as well. And it applies only when the crops were exposed to the liquids willfully by the owner after the crops were uprooted from the earth. This is logical, for it is well known that there are no crops that were not exposed to water while they were connected to the ground. "When water will be placed..." applies only after the crops were uprooted and the liquids also were displaced.
Halacha 2
When a liquid fell on food and originally, it was desired by the owner, but ultimately, he was not pleased, or ultimately, he would be satisfied, even though initially, he was not, it becomes susceptible to impurity. If the food was exposed to liquids against his will, it does not make them susceptible to impurity. Even if the owner exposed his foods to liquids because of danger or out of necessity, but he does not desire that they become wet, they do not become susceptible to impurity.
What is implied? When a person hides his crops in water because of thieves or places them in a flowing river to transport them with him, they do not become susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 3
When liquids were uprooted from the ground against a person's will, they do not impart impurity to foods. Therefore if a person, a k'li, or produce became wet with moisture and then was picked up from the ground against the person's will, even though foods came in contact with those liquids willfully, they do not become susceptible to ritual impurity. The rationale is that the water was uprooted from the ground against the person's will. Thus it is as if it is still on the ground and it does not make foods susceptible to impurity.
If there was water on a person, on a k'li, or foods that were uprooted willfully and foods touched them willfully, the foods become susceptible to impurity.
What is implied? If a person turns a bowl upside down on a wall so that it would be washed, the water it collects can make foods susceptible to impurity. If produce was placed in the water intentionally, it becomes susceptible to impurity, because the water was intentionally caused to enter the bowl. If he placed the bowl there so that the water would not damage the wall, the water the bowl contains is not considered to have been uprooted from the ground. Therefore if he placed foods in it, they do not become susceptible to impurity.
Different laws apply if he turned the bowl over with the intent that the wall be washed. If the wall was the wall of a house, the water makes foods susceptible to impurity. The rationale is that the walls of the house are considered as an independent entity, even though they are connected to the ground, because an entity that was separate and then connected to the ground, is considered as separate from the ground with regard to making foods susceptible to impurity. Thus the water on this wall is like water in containers. If it is the wall of a cave which was not built, but instead, it is part of the ground itself, the water on it is not considered as uprooted from the ground.
Halacha 4
When a person bends down to drink, the water that ascends on his mustache and mouth is considered to have been uprooted willfully, for it is well known that one who drinks will raise up water on his mouth and mustache. Water that ascends on his nose, his beard, and his head, is not considered as having been uprooted willfully.
Halacha 5
When a person fills a jug from a well, the water that ascends after it, on the rope that is wrapped around its opening, and on the portion of the rope that is required to lift it up is considered as having been uprooted willfully. The water on the portion of the rope that is not required to lift it up are not considered as having been uprooted willfully.
If a person placed a jug beneath a drainpipe, all of the water on its outside and on the rope are not considered as having been uprooted willfully. Therefore water found there does not make foods susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 6
When rain falls upon a person, even if he is a primary source of impurity, the water on his body is pure, even though it runs down from the upper portion to the lower portion, provided he shakes it off immediately with all of his power. If, however, the water flows and runs down slowly, it does contract impurity at the time it is separated from him. If the water is pure, while it is on his body or clothes, it does not make foods susceptible to ritual impurity, for it did not flow on to him willfully. If he shakes the water off his clothes, it is considered as willful.
If he stood under a drainpipe to cool off or to wash himself, he is considered to have come into contact with water willfully. If he was impure, the water that is on his body is impure.
Halacha 7
When a barrel was filled with produce and water from a drainpipe from a roof spilled into it, the owner should pour the water off the produce. It is not considered as susceptible to impurity even though he desired that the water be in the barrel until he pours it off.
Halacha 8
When water from a drainpipe flows into a kneading trough, the drops that sputter off and the water that flows over the edge are not considered as having been uprooted willfully. Even if the owner picks up the kneading trough to pour out the water, the water it contains is not considered as having been uprooted willfully. If he left the trough for the water to drain into it, the drops that sputter off and the water that flows over the edge are not considered as having been uprooted willfully. If he picks up the kneading trough to pour out the water, it makes foods susceptible to impurity. The rationale is that since he did not overturn it and pour the water out in its place, it is considered as having been uprooted willfully.
Halacha 9
When a person immerses his keilim in a mikveh or washes his clothes in a cave, the water that ascends on his hands is considered as drawn willfully. The water on his feet is not considered as having been uprooted willfully.
Halacha 10
When fruits fell into water and one extended his hand and took them, they do not become susceptible to impurity. If he intended that his hand would be rinsed while picking them up, they become susceptible to impurity because of the water on his hand. For the water on his hand and on the produce are considered as having been uprooted willfully.
Halacha 11
When a person willfully placed his produce in water, if the water is on the ground, the produce does not become susceptible to impurity as long as it is in the water. If he removed the produce, it becomes susceptible to impurity because of the water on it or on his hands, because it was uprooted willfully.
What is implied? If there were radishes or turnips in water in a cave, a woman who is a nidah, may wash it there and it is still pure. If she raised it out of the water at all, it became impure because of her touch.
Halacha 12
When a container was filled with turmos beans and placed in a mikveh, a person who is impure may extend his hand and take beans from it and they are pure. The rationale is that they were not made susceptible to impurity inside of it and he does not desire the water that is upon them.
If he lifted the entire container from the water, the beans that are touching the container are impure, because they became susceptible to impurity due to the water in the container that was willfully raised from the mikveh. The remainder of the beans in the container are pure.
• Wednesday, Menachem Av 13, 5775 · 29 July 2015
"Today's Day"
Shabbat Menachem Av 13 5703
During the reading of the Ten Commandments, stand facing the sefer-Torah.
Torah lessons: Chumash: Va'etchanan, Shevi'i with Rashi.
Tehillim: 69-71.
Tanya: IV. Israel shall (p. 401) ...through tzedakah." (p. 405).
"Speak of them when you sit..."1 Our sages2 explain that "speak of them" refers to words of Torah. However, in Torah-study itself there are many gradations, and all these gradations are here explained:
"When you sit at home," refers to the soul's occupation with Torah when it is in the trove of souls, before its descent to this lowly world.
"When you go on the way," refers to the time during which the soul descends from world to world, from plane to plane, until it comes below to this lowest world to be invested in a physical body. There the soul "goes in the way" of this world until the time of old age, until -
"When you lie down," when man's appointed time arrives. Then, too, the Torah will protect him, as explained in Chapter Six of Avot,3 until -
"When you rise up," as it is said, "When you awaken (it shall be your discourse)."4
FOOTNOTES
1. Devarim 6:7.
2. Yoma 196. Cf. Sifri on this verse.
3. Mishna 9.
4. Mishlei 6:22. The reference is to the time when the dead will come to life ("when you rise up...etc.").
Not Is
How could it be?
How could a human ego know it is nothing but a figment of a greater mind—and yet remain a human being?
How could a physical eye see infinite light—and yet remain an eye?
How could a stone scream out that there is nothing else but G‑d—and yet remain a stone?
It must be that the true reality of all things is not to be, but to know.
There is nothing else but knowing that there is nothing else but G‑d.[Hemshech 5672, part 2, p. 1003; Maamar Asher Bara 5739]
____________________________
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