Torah Reading
Devarim: Deuteronomy 1:1 These are the words Moshe spoke to all Isra’el on the far side of the Yarden River, in the desert, in the ‘Aravah, across from Suf, between Pa’ran and Tofel, Lavan, Hatzerot and Di-Zahav. 2 It is eleven days’ journey from Horev to Kadesh-Barnea by way of Mount Se‘ir.
3 On the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year, Moshe spoke to the people of Isra’el, reviewing everything Adonai had ordered him to tell them. 4 This was after he had defeated Sichon, king of the Emori, who lived in Heshbon, and ‘Og, king of Bashan, who lived in ‘Ashtarot, at Edre‘i. 5 There, beyond the Yarden, in the land of Mo’av, Moshe took it upon himself to expound this Torah and said:
6 “Adonai spoke to us in Horev. He said, ‘You have lived long enough by this mountain. 7 Turn, get moving and go to the hill-country of the Emori and all the places near there in the ‘Aravah, the hill-country, the Sh’felah, the Negev and by the seashore — the land of the Kena‘ani, and the L’vanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates River. 8 I have set the land before you! Go in, and take possession of the land Adonai swore to give to your ancestors Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov, and their descendants after them.’
9 “At that time I told you, ‘You are too heavy a burden for me to carry alone. 10 Adonai your God has multiplied your numbers, so that there are as many of you today as there are stars in the sky. 11 May Adonai, the God of your ancestors, increase you yet a thousandfold and bless you, as he has promised you!
Today's Laws & Customs:
• "Nine Days'
During the “Nine Days" from Av 1st to the Ninth of Av, we mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple. We abstain from meat and wine, music, haircutting, bathing for pleasure, and other joyous (and dangerous) activities. (The particular mourning customs vary from community to community, so consult a competent halachic authority for details.)
Consumption of meat and wine is permitted on Shabbat, or at a seudat mitzvah (obligatory festive meal celebrating the fulfillment of certain mitzvot) such as a brit (circumcision), or asiyum celebrating the completion of a course of Torah study (i.e., a complete Talmudic tractate). The Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory initiated the custom of conducting or participating in a siyum on each of the Nine Days (even if one does not avail oneself of the dispensation to eat meat).
Citing the verse "Zion shall be redeemed with mishpat [Torah] and its returnees with tzedakah," (Isaiah 1:27) 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:
Today in Jewish History:
• First Temple Invaded (423 BCE)
After nearly a month of fierce fighting inside Jerusalem (see "Today in Jewish History" forTammuz 9), the armies of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia broke through into the Temple compound, where they feasted and vandalized until the afternoon of Av 9, when they set the Holy Temple aflame.
Links: The Destruction of the Holy Temple
Daily Quote:
Fear not afraid a sudden terror, nor the ruin of the wicked when it comes. [They may] take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak words, and it shall not stand; for G-d is with us.[Proverbs 3:25; Isaiah 8:10]
Daily Study:
Chitas and Rambam for today:
Chumash: Parshat Devarim, 5th Portion Deuteronomy 2:2-2:30 with Rashi
• Deuteronomy Chapter 2
2And the Lord spoke to me, saying, בוַיֹּ֥אמֶר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֵלַ֥י לֵאמֹֽר:
3You have circled this mountain long enough; turn northward. גרַב־לָכֶ֕ם סֹ֖ב אֶת־הָהָ֣ר הַזֶּ֑ה פְּנ֥וּ לָכֶ֖ם צָפֹֽנָה:
turn northward: Turn along the eastern side [of Moab], from the south to the north, facing northward. Consequently, they were traveling in an easterly direction, and this is what is meant by “And they came from the sun rise [i.e., east side] to the land of Moab” (Jud. 11:18). פנו לכם צפנה: סובו לכם לרוח מזרחית מן הדרום לצפון, ופניכם לצפון, נמצאו הולכין את רוח מזרחית. וזהו שנאמר (שופטים יא, יח) ויבואו ממזרח שמש לארץ מואב:
4And command the people saying, You are about to pass through the boundary of your kinsmen, the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, and they will be afraid of you. Be very careful. דוְאֶת־הָעָם֘ צַ֣ו לֵאמֹר֒ אַתֶּ֣ם עֹֽבְרִ֗ים בִּגְבוּל֙ אֲחֵיכֶ֣ם בְּנֵֽי־עֵשָׂ֔ו הַיֹּֽשְׁבִ֖ים בְּשֵׂעִ֑יר וְיִֽירְא֣וּ מִכֶּ֔ם וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּ֖ם מְאֹֽד:
Be very careful: And what is this “being careful”? “You shall not provoke them.” ונשמרתם מאד: ומהו השמירה, אל תתגרו בם (פסוק ה):
5You shall not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land not so much as a foot step, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau for an inheritance. האַל־תִּתְגָּ֣רוּ בָ֔ם כִּי לֹֽא־אֶתֵּ֤ן לָכֶם֙ מֵֽאַרְצָ֔ם עַ֖ד מִדְרַ֣ךְ כַּף־רָ֑גֶל כִּֽי־יְרֻשָּׁ֣ה לְעֵשָׂ֔ו נָתַ֖תִּי אֶת־הַ֥ר שֵׂעִֽיר:
not so much as a foot step: meaning, even only for the sole of the foot to tread a single step, I do not permit you to enter their land without permission. An Aggadic interpretation is: [I will not give you of their land] until the day arrives when the foot will tread upon the Mount of Olives [the Messianic era], as it said: “And His [God’s] feet will [figuratively] stand [on that day upon the Mount of Olives]” (Zech. 14:4). עד מדרך כף רגל: אפילו מדרך כף רגל, כלומר אפילו דריסת הרגל איני מרשה לכם לעבור בארצם שלא ברשות. ומדרשי אגדה, עד שיבא יום דריסת כף רגל על הר הזיתים שנאמר (זכריה יד, ד) ועמדו רגליו וגו':
[I have given Mount Seir] to Esau for an inheritance: from Abraham. I gave ten nations to Abraham, seven of them for you [the seven of Canaan], and the Kenites, the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites (Gen. 16:18-21), who are Ammon, Moab, and Seir. One of them is for Esau, and the other two are for the children of Lot (Gen. Rabbah 44). As a reward [for Lot] for going with him [Abraham] to Egypt and for keeping silent when Abraham said, regarding his wife, “She is my sister,” He treated him [Lot] as his [Abraham’s] son [to inherit part of the land promised to Abraham] (Gen. Rabbah 44). ירשה לעשו: מאברהם, עשרה עממים נתתי לו, שבעה לכם וקיני וקנזי וקדמוני הן עמון ומואב ושעיר, אחד מהם לעשו והשנים לבני לוט, בשכר שהלך אתו למצרים ושתק על מה שהיה אומר על אשתו, אחותי היא, עשאו כבנו:
6You shall buy food from them with money, that you may eat, and also water you shall buy from them with money, that you may drink. ואֹ֣כֶל תִּשְׁבְּר֧וּ מֵֽאִתָּ֛ם בַּכֶּ֖סֶף וַֽאֲכַלְתֶּ֑ם וְגַם־מַ֜יִם תִּכְר֧וּ מֵֽאִתָּ֛ם בַּכֶּ֖סֶף וּשְׁתִיתֶֽם:
you shall buy: Heb. תִּכְרוּ. This is an expression of purchase. Similar is (Gen. 50:5),“which I have purchased (כָּרִיתִי) for myself.” In the coastal cities, for“selling” (מְכִירָה) , they use the word“ כִּירָה” (Rosh Hashanah 26a). תכרו: לשון מקח. וכן (בראשית נ, ה) אשר כריתי לי, שכן בכרכי הים קורין למכירה כירה:
7For the Lord, your God, has blessed you in all the work of your hand; He knows of your walking through this great desert; these forty years that the Lord your God has been with you, you have lacked nothing. זכִּי֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ בֵּֽרַכְךָ֗ בְּכֹל֙ מַֽעֲשֵׂ֣ה יָדֶ֔ךָ יָדַ֣ע לֶכְתְּךָ֔ אֶת־הַמִּדְבָּ֥ר הַגָּדֹ֖ל הַזֶּ֑ה זֶ֣ה | אַרְבָּעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֗ה יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֨יךָ֙ עִמָּ֔ךְ לֹ֥א חָסַ֖רְתָּ דָּבָֽר:
For the Lord, your God, has blessed you: Therefore you should not be ungrateful for His goodness [to you] by acting as though you were poor. Rather, show yourselves as rich people. כי ה' אלהיך ברכך: לפיכך לא תכפו את טובתו להראות כאלו אתם עניים, אלא הראו עצמכם עשירים:
8And we departed from our kinsmen, the children of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, by way of the plain from Elath and from Etzion Geber, and we turned and passed through the way of the desert of Moab. חוַנַּֽעֲבֹ֞ר מֵאֵ֧ת אַחֵ֣ינוּ בְנֵֽי־עֵשָׂ֗ו הַיּֽשְׁבִים֙ בְּשֵׂעִ֔יר מִדֶּ֨רֶךְ֙ הָֽעֲרָבָ֔ה מֵֽאֵילַ֖ת וּמֵֽעֶצְיֹ֣ן גָּ֑בֶר וַנֵּ֨פֶן֙ וַנַּֽעֲבֹ֔ר דֶּ֖רֶךְ מִדְבַּ֥ר מוֹאָֽב:
and we turned and passed: towards the north; we turned to proceed on the eastern side. ונפן ונעבור: לצד צפון הפכנו פנים להלוך רוח מזרחית:
9And the Lord said to me, Do not distress the Moabites, and do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land [as] an inheritance, because I have given Ar to the children of Lot [as] an inheritance. טוַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֵלַ֗י אַל־תָּ֨צַר֙ אֶת־מוֹאָ֔ב וְאַל־תִּתְגָּ֥ר בָּ֖ם מִלְחָמָ֑ה כִּ֠י לֹֽא־אֶתֵּ֨ן לְךָ֤ מֵֽאַרְצוֹ֙ יְרֻשָּׁ֔ה כִּ֣י לִבְנֵי־ל֔וֹט נָתַ֥תִּי אֶת־עָ֖ר יְרֻשָּֽׁה:
and do not provoke them to war: God forbade Israel only to wage war against Moab. However, Israel did frighten them, appearing before them, armed for battle. Therefore, it is written,“And Moab was very frightened of the people” (Num. 22:3) because Israel plundered and looted them. Regarding the children of Ammon, however, it says (verse 19),“Do not provoke them”-with any kind of provocation, as a reward for the modesty shown by their ancestress [Lot’s younger daughter], who did not publicize her father’s conduct, as did his elder daughter, who named her son Moab [מוֹאָב like מֵאָב, from the father] (Baba Kamma 38b). ואל תתגר וגו': לא אסר להם על מואב אלא מלחמה, אבל מיראים היו אותם ונראים להם כשהם מזויינים, לפיכך כתיב (במדבר כב, ג) ויגר מואב מפני העם שהיו שוללים ובוזזים אותם. אבל בבני עמון נאמר (פסוק יט) ואל תתגר בם, שום גרוי, בשכר צניעות אמם שלא פרסמה על אביה כמו שעשתה הבכירה, שקראה שם בנה, מואב:
Ar: The name of the province. ער: שם המדינה:
10The Emim dwelt there formerly, a great and numerous people, and tall [in stature], as the Anakim; יהָֽאֵמִ֥ים לְפָנִ֖ים יָ֣שְׁבוּ בָ֑הּ עַ֣ם גָּד֥וֹל וְרַ֛ב וָרָ֖ם כַּֽעֲנָקִֽים:
The Emim dwelt there formerly: You might think that this is the land of Rephaim which I gave [promised] to Abraham (Gen. 15:20), because the Emim, who are Rephaim, dwelt there before, but this is not that one, for those Rephaim I drove out and made the children of Lot settle there in their stead. האמים לפנים וגו': אתה סבור שזו ארץ רפאים שנתתי לו לאברהם לפי שהאמים שהם רפאים ישבו בה לפנים, אבל לא זו היא כי אותם רפאים הורשתי מפני בני לוט והושבתים תחתם:
11They also are considered Rephaim, as the Anakim; but the Moabites call them Emim. יארְפָאִ֛ים יֵחָֽשְׁב֥וּ אַף־הֵ֖ם כַּֽעֲנָקִ֑ים וְהַמֹּ֣אָבִ֔ים יִקְרְא֥וּ לָהֶ֖ם אֵמִֽים:
They… are considered Rephaim…: These Emim were considered Rephaim, just as the Anakim, who were called Rephaim, because whoever beheld them-his hands became weak (מִתְרַפּוּת) (Gen. Rabbah 26). רפאים יחשבו וגו': רפאים היו נחשבים אותם אמים כענקים הנקראים רפאים על שם שכל הרואה אותם ידיו מתרפות:
Emim: so called, because their fear (אֵימָה) was cast over mankind. And similarly (verse 12),“The Horites dwelt in Seir” and [just as I gave the Rephaim over to the children of Lot,] I gave them [the Horites] over to the children of Esau. אמים: על שם שאימתם מוטלת על הבריות, וכן (פסוק יב) ובשעיר ישבו החורים ונתתים לבני עשו:
12And the Horites formerly dwelt in Seir, and the children of Esau were driving them out, and they exterminated them from before them and dwelt in their stead, just as the Israelites did to the land of their inheritance, which the Lord gave them. יבוּבְשֵׂעִ֞יר יָֽשְׁב֣וּ הַֽחֹרִים֘ לְפָנִים֒ וּבְנֵ֧י עֵשָׂ֣ו יִֽירָשׁ֗וּם וַיַּשְׁמִידוּם֙ מִפְּנֵיהֶ֔ם וַיֵּֽשְׁב֖וּ תַּחְתָּ֑ם כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֧ר עָשָׂ֣ה יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל לְאֶ֨רֶץ֙ יְרֻשָּׁת֔וֹ אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥ן יְהֹוָ֖ה לָהֶֽם:
were driving them out: Heb. יִירָשׁוּם [This is expressed in] the present tense, as if to say, I gave them power to go on constantly driving them out. יירשום: לשון הווה, כלומר נתתי בהם כח שהיו מורישים אותם והולכים:
13Now get up and cross the brook of Zered. So we crossed the brook of Zered. יגעַתָּ֗ה קֻ֛מוּ וְעִבְר֥וּ לָכֶ֖ם אֶת־נַ֣חַל זָ֑רֶד וַנַּֽעֲבֹ֖ר אֶת־נַ֥חַל זָֽרֶד:
14And the days when we went from Kadesh barnea, until we crossed the brook of Zered, numbered thirty eight years, until all the generation of the men of war expired from the midst of the camp, just as the Lord swore to them. ידוְהַיָּמִ֞ים אֲשֶׁר־הָלַ֣כְנוּ | מִקָּדֵ֣שׁ בַּרְנֵ֗עַ עַ֤ד אֲשֶׁר־עָבַ֨רְנוּ֙ אֶת־נַ֣חַל זֶ֔רֶד שְׁלשִׁ֥ים וּשְׁמֹנֶ֖ה שָׁנָ֑ה עַד־תֹּ֨ם כָּל־הַדּ֜וֹר אַנְשֵׁ֤י הַמִּלְחָמָה֙ מִקֶּ֣רֶב הַמַּֽחֲנֶ֔ה כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֛ר נִשְׁבַּ֥ע יְהֹוָ֖ה לָהֶֽם:
15Also the hand of the Lord was upon them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp, until they were consumed. טווְגַ֤ם יַד־יְהֹוָה֙ הָ֣יְתָה בָּ֔ם לְהֻמָּ֖ם מִקֶּ֣רֶב הַמַּֽחֲנֶ֑ה עַ֖ד תֻּמָּֽם:
[Also the hand of the Lord] was against them: to quickly destroy them within a period of forty years, so that they would not cause their children to tarry any longer in the desert. היתה בם: למהר ולהומם בתוך ארבעים שנה שלא יגרמו לבניהם עוד להתעכב במדבר:
16So it was, when all the men of war finished dying from among the people, טזוַיְהִ֨י כַֽאֲשֶׁר־תַּ֜מּוּ כָּל־אַנְשֵׁ֧י הַמִּלְחָמָ֛ה לָמ֖וּת מִקֶּ֥רֶב הָעָֽם:
So it was, when [all the men of war] finished: … ויהי כאשר תמו וגו'. :
17that the Lord spoke to me saying, יזוַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֵלַ֥י לֵאמֹֽר:
that the Lord spoke to me: But since the spies were sent until now, the word וַיְּדַבֵּר [denoting God’s speaking to Moses with endearment] is not mentioned in [this] section, only וַיֹּאמֶר [denoting a less endearing form of communication], to teach us that during those entire thirty-eight years during which time the Israelites were under ban by God, the Divine speech was not directed towards him in an expression of affection, face to face, and with peace of mind-to teach us that the Divine Presence rests upon the prophets only for Israel’s sake (Sifrei , Lev. 6). וידבר ה' אלי וגו': אבל משלוח המרגלים עד כאן לא נאמר בפרשה (זו), וידבר, אלא ויאמר, ללמדך, שכל ל"ח שנה שהיו ישראל נזופים לא נתייחד עמו הדבור בלשון חבה פנים אל פנים וישוב הדעת, ללמדך, שאין השכינה שורה על הנביאים אלא בשביל ישראל:
the men of war: [i.e.,] men from twenty years of age, who go forth to war. \b 18-19\b0 אנשי המלחמה: מבן עשרים שנה היוצאים בצבא:
Today you are crossing the boundary of Moab… And when you approach opposite the children of Ammon: from here [we deduce] that the land of Ammon was towards the north. אתה עובר היום את גבול מואב וגו' וקרבת מול בני עמון וגו': מכאן שארץ עמון לצד צפון:
18Today you are crossing the boundary of Moab at Ar. יחאַתָּ֨ה עֹבֵ֥ר הַיּ֛וֹם אֶת־גְּב֥וּל מוֹאָ֖ב אֶת־עָֽר:
19And when you approach opposite the children of Ammon, neither distress them, nor provoke them, for I will not give you of the land of the children of Ammon as an inheritance, because I have given it to the children of Lot as an inheritance. יטוְקָֽרַבְתָּ֗ מ֚וּל בְּנֵ֣י עַמּ֔וֹן אַל־תְּצֻרֵ֖ם וְאַל־תִּתְגָּ֣ר בָּ֑ם כִּ֣י לֹֽא־אֶ֠תֵּ֠ן מֵאֶ֨רֶץ בְּנֵֽי־עַמּ֤וֹן לְךָ֙ יְרֻשָּׁ֔ה כִּ֥י לִבְנֵי־ל֖וֹט נְתַתִּ֥יהָ יְרֻשָּֽׁה:
20It too is considered a land of Rephaim; Rephaim dwelt therein formerly, and the Ammonites call them Zamzummim. כאֶֽרֶץ־רְפָאִ֥ים תֵּֽחָשֵׁ֖ב אַף־הִ֑וא רְפָאִ֤ים יָֽשְׁבוּ־בָהּ֙ לְפָנִ֔ים וְהָ֣עַמֹּנִ֔ים יִקְרְא֥וּ לָהֶ֖ם זַמְזֻמִּֽים:
It too is considered a land of Rephaim: It too is considered a land of Rephaim because the Rephaim dwelt there formerly, but this is not the one I gave to Abraham. ארץ רפאים תחשב: ארץ רפאים נחשבת אף היא לפי שהרפאים ישבו בה לפנים, אבל לא זו היא שנתתי לאברהם:
21A great, numerous and tall people as the Anakim, but the Lord exterminated them before them, and they drove them out and dwelt in their stead. כאעַ֣ם גָּד֥וֹל וְרַ֛ב וָרָ֖ם כַּֽעֲנָקִ֑ים וַיַּשְׁמִידֵ֤ם יְהֹוָה֙ מִפְּנֵיהֶ֔ם וַיִּֽירָשֻׁ֖ם וַיֵּֽשְׁב֥וּ תַחְתָּֽם:
22As He did to the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, when He exterminated the Horites from before them; and they drove them out and dwelt in their stead even to this day. כבכַּֽאֲשֶׁ֤ר עָשָׂה֙ לִבְנֵ֣י עֵשָׂ֔ו הַיּֽשְׁבִ֖ים בְּשֵׂעִ֑יר אֲשֶׁ֨ר הִשְׁמִ֤יד אֶת־הַֽחֹרִי֙ מִפְּנֵיהֶ֔ם וַיִּֽירָשֻׁם֙ וַיֵּֽשְׁב֣וּ תַחְתָּ֔ם עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה:
23But the Avim, who dwell in open cities, up till Gaza -- the Caphtorites, who came forth of Caphtor, exterminated them, and dwelt in their stead. כגוְהָֽעַוִּ֛ים הַיּֽשְׁבִ֥ים בַּֽחֲצֵרִ֖ים עַד־עַזָּ֑ה כַּפְתֹּרִים֙ הַיֹּֽצְאִ֣ים מִכַּפְתֹּ֔ר הִשְׁמִידֻ֖ם וַיֵּֽשְׁב֥וּ תַחְתָּֽם:
But the Avim who dwell in open cities: The Avim are of the Philistine people, for they are listed together with them in the Book of Joshua (13:3), as it says,“The five Philistine lords. The Gazites, the Ashdodites, the Ashkelonites, the Gittites, the Ekronites, and the Avim." But because of the oath which Abraham had sworn to Abimelech, (Gen. 21:23-24), the Israelites were unable to take their land away from them; so I brought the Caphtorites against them, and they destroyed them and dwelt in their stead. Now, you are permitted to take it [the land of the Avim] from their [the Caphtorites’] possession (Chullin 60b). והעוים היושבים בחצרים וגו': עוים מפלשתים הם, שעמהם הם נחשבים בספר יהושע, שנאמר (יהושע יג, ג) חמשת סרני פלשתים העזתי והאשדודי האשקלוני הגתי והעקרוני והעוים. ומפני השבועה שנשבע אברהם לאבימלך לא יכלו ישראל להוציא ארצם מידם, והבאתי עליהם כפתורים והשמידום וישבו תחתם, ועכשיו אתם מותרים לקחתה מידם:
24Get up, journey, and cross the river Arnon. Behold, I have delivered into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: Begin to possess it, and provoke him to war. כדק֣וּמוּ סְּע֗וּ וְעִבְרוּ֘ אֶת־נַ֣חַל אַרְנֹן֒ רְאֵ֣ה נָתַ֣תִּי בְ֠יָֽדְךָ֠ אֶת־סִיחֹ֨ן מֶֽלֶךְ־חֶשְׁבּ֧וֹן הָֽאֱמֹרִ֛י וְאֶת־אַרְצ֖וֹ הָחֵ֣ל רָ֑שׁ וְהִתְגָּ֥ר בּ֖וֹ מִלְחָמָֽה:
25Today I will begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you upon the nations that are under the entire heaven, who will hear reports of you and shake and be in trepidation because of you. כההַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֗ה אָחֵל֙ תֵּ֤ת פַּחְדְּךָ֙ וְיִרְאָ֣תְךָ֔ עַל־פְּנֵי֙ הָֽעַמִּ֔ים תַּ֖חַת כָּל־הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם אֲשֶׁ֤ר יִשְׁמְעוּן֙ שִׁמְעֲךָ֔ וְרָֽגְז֥וּ וְחָל֖וּ מִפָּנֶֽיךָ:
under the entire heaven: This [statement that nations under the whole heaven will fear the Israelites] teaches that the sun stood still for Moses on the day of the battle with Og, [Other editions: Sihon,] and the matter became [consequently] known under the entire heaven [that is, to the whole world] (Avodah Zarah 25a). תחת כל השמים: למד שעמדה חמה למשה ביום מלחמת עוג ונודע הדבר תחת כל השמים:
26So I sent messengers from the desert of Kedemoth to Sihon, king of Heshbon, with words of peace, saying, כווָֽאֶשְׁלַ֤ח מַלְאָכִים֙ מִמִּדְבַּ֣ר קְדֵמ֔וֹת אֶל־סִיח֖וֹן מֶ֣לֶךְ חֶשְׁבּ֑וֹן דִּבְרֵ֥י שָׁל֖וֹם לֵאמֹֽר:
[And I sent messengers] from the desert of Kedemoth: Even though the Omnipresent had not commanded me to call to Sihon in peace, I learned to do so from the incident at the desert of Sinai, i.e., relating to the Torah which preceded (קָדְמָה) the world. When the Holy One, blessed be He, was about to give the Torah to Israel, He took it to Esau and Ishmael. Although it was clear to Him that they would not accept it, nevertheless, He began with them in peace. So too, I first called to Sihon with words of peace. Another explanation מִמִּדְבַּר קְדֵמוֹת Moses said to God,“I learned this from You, Who preceded (קָדַמְתָּ) the world. You could have sent one flash of lightning to consume the Egyptians, but instead, You sent me from the desert to Pharaoh. saying, (Exod. 5:1) ‘Let my people go’ patiently.” (Midrash Tanchuma) ממדבר קדמות: אף על פי שלא צוני המקום לקרא לסיחון לשלום, למדתי ממדבר סיני מן התורה שקדמה לעולם. כשבא הקב"ה ליתנה לישראל חזר אותה על עשו וישמעאל, וגלוי לפניו שלא יקבלוה ואף על פי כן פתח להם בשלום, אף אני קדמתי את סיחון בדברי שלום. דבר אחר ממדבר קדמות, ממך למדתי שקדמת לעולם [בדברים]. יכול היית לשלוח ברק אחד ולשרוף את המצריים, אלא שלחתני מן המדבר אל פרעה לאמר (שמות ה א) שלח את עמי, במתון:
27"Allow me to pass through your land: I will go along by the highway, I will turn neither to the right nor to the left." כזאֶעְבְּרָ֣ה בְאַרְצֶ֔ךָ בַּדֶּ֥רֶךְ בַּדֶּ֖רֶךְ אֵלֵ֑ךְ לֹ֥א אָס֖וּר יָמִ֥ין וּשְׂמֹֽאול:
28You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat; and give to me water for money, that I may drink; I will only pass through by my feet. כחאֹ֣כֶל בַּכֶּ֤סֶף תַּשְׁבִּרֵ֨נִי֙ וְאָכַ֔לְתִּי וּמַ֛יִם בַּכֶּ֥סֶף תִּתֶּן־לִ֖י וְשָׁתִ֑יתִי רַ֖ק אֶעְבְּרָ֥ה בְרַגְלָֽי:
29Just as the children of Esau who dwell in Seir, and the Moabites who dwell in Ar, did for me; until I cross the Jordan to the land which the Lord our God is giving us." כטכַּֽאֲשֶׁ֨ר עָֽשׂוּ־לִ֜י בְּנֵ֣י עֵשָׂ֗ו הַיּֽשְׁבִים֙ בְּשֵׂעִ֔יר וְהַמּ֣וֹאָבִ֔ים הַיּֽשְׁבִ֖ים בְּעָ֑ר עַ֤ד אֲשֶֽׁר־אֶֽעֱבֹר֙ אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ן אֶל־הָאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ נֹתֵ֥ן לָֽנוּ:
Just as the children of Esau…did for me: This is not referring to permission to pass through their land, [for Edom refused,] rather it refers to the selling of food and water. כאשר עשו לי בני עשו: לא לענין לעבור את ארצם אלא לענין מכר אוכל ומים:
until I cross the Jordan: This refers to [Moses’ earlier request]“Allow me to pass through your land.” (verse 27) עד אשר אעבור את הירדן: מוסב על אעברה בארצך:
30But Sihon, king of Heshbon, did not wish to let us pass by him, for the Lord your God caused his spirit to be hardened and his heart to be obstinate, in order that He would give him into your hand, as this day. לוְלֹ֣א אָבָ֗ה סִיחֹן֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ חֶשְׁבּ֔וֹן הַֽעֲבִרֵ֖נוּ בּ֑וֹ כִּֽי־הִקְשָׁה֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ אֶת־רוּח֗וֹ וְאִמֵּץ֙ אֶת־לְבָב֔וֹ לְמַ֛עַן תִּתּ֥וֹ בְיָֽדְךָ֖ כַּיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה:
Daily Tehillim: Chapters 39 - 43
• Chapter 39
David's prayer bewailing his suffering. But it is not suffering itself that pains him, rather he is saddened by its disturbing his Torah study. For man's days are few, "and if not now, when (will he study)?" for he may die, today or tomorrow. He therefore requests that his suffering be removed, to enable him to study Torah and acquire a place in the World to Come.
1. For the Conductor, for yedutun,1 a psalm by David.
2. I said that I would guard my ways from sinning with my tongue; I would guard my mouth with a muzzle, [even] while the wicked one is before me.
3. I became mute with stillness, I was silent [even] from the good, though my pain was crippling.
4. My heart grew hot within me, a fire blazed in my utterance, as I spoke with my tongue.
5. O Lord, let me know my end and what is the measure of my days, that I may know when I will cease.
6. Behold, like handbreadths You set my days; my lifetime is as naught before You. But all is futility, all mankind's existence, Selah.
7. Only in darkness does man walk, seeking only futility; he amasses riches and knows not who will reap them.
8. And now, what is my hope, my Lord? My longing is to You.
9. Rescue me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of the degenerate.
10. I am mute, I do not open my mouth, for You have caused [my suffering].
11. Remove Your affliction from me; I am devastated by the attack of Your hand.
12. In reproach for sin You chastened man; like a moth, You wore away that which is precious to him. All mankind is nothing but futility, forever.
13. Hear my prayer, O Lord, listen to my cry; do not be silent to my tears, for I am a stranger with You, a sojourner like all my forefathers.
14. Turn from me, that I may recover my strength, before I depart and I am no more.
FOOTNOTES
1.A musical instrument (Metzudot).
Chapter 40
The psalmist speaks of the numerous wonders that God wrought for the Jewish people, asking: "Who can articulate His might? I would relate and speak of them, but they are too numerous to recount!" He created the world and split the sea for the sake of Israel, [yet] He desires no sacrifices, only that we listen to His voice.
1. For the Conductor, a psalm by David.
2. I put my hope in the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.
3. He raised me from the turbulent pit, from the slimy mud, and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps.
4. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn to our God; multitudes will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord.
5. Fortunate is the man who has made the Lord his trust, and did not turn to the haughty, nor to those who stray after falsehood.
6. You have done much, O You, Lord my God-Your wonders and thoughts are for us; none can compare to You; should I relate or speak of them, they are too numerous to recount!
7. You desired neither sacrifice nor meal-offering, but [obedient] ears You opened for me; You requested neither burnt-offering nor sin-offering.
8. Then I said, "Behold, I come with a Scroll of the Book written for me."1
9. I desire to fulfill Your will, my God; and Your Torah is in my innards.
10. I proclaimed [Your] righteousness in a vast congregation; behold I will not restrain my lips-O Lord, You know!
11. I did not conceal Your righteousness within my heart; I declared Your faithfulness and deliverance; I did not hide Your kindness and truth from the vast congregation.
12. May You, Lord, not withhold Your mercies from me; may Your kindness and truth constantly guard me.
13. For countless evils surround me; my sins have overtaken me and I cannot see; they outnumber the hairs of my head, and my heart has abandoned me.
14. May it please You, Lord, to save me; O Lord, hurry to my aid.
15. Let those who seek my life, to end it, be shamed and humiliated together; let those who desire my harm retreat and be disgraced.
16. Let those who say about me, "Aha! Aha!" be desolate, in return for their shaming [me].
17. Let all those who seek You exult and rejoice in You; let those who love Your deliverance always say, "Be exalted, O Lord!”
18. As for me, I am poor and needy; my Lord will think of me. You are my help and my rescuer; my God, do not delay!
FOOTNOTES
1.Upon recovery, David expresses thanks, not through sacrifices, by dedicating himself to Torah (Radak).
Chapter 41
This psalm teaches many good character traits, and inspires one to be thoughtful and conscientious in giving charity-knowing to whom to give first. Fortunate is he who is thoughtful of the sick one, providing him with his needs.
1. For the Conductor, a psalm by David.
2. Fortunate is he who is thoughtful of the poor, [for] the Lord will save him on the day of evil.
3. The Lord will guard him and keep him alive; he will be praised throughout the land; You will not deliver him to the desires of his enemies.
4. The Lord will support him on the bed of illness; You will turn him over in his bed all throughout his sickness.
5. I said, "Lord, be gracious to me! Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You!”
6. My foes say that evil [awaits] me: "When will he die, and his name perish?”
7. And if one comes to see [me], he speaks insincerely, for his heart gathers iniquity for himself, and when he goes out he speaks of it.
8. Together they whisper against me-all my enemies; against me they devise my harm, [saying]:
9. "Let his wickedness pour into him; now that he lies down, he shall rise no more.”
10. Even my ally in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has raised his heel over me.
11. But you, Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up, and I will repay them.
12. With this I shall know that You desire me, when my enemies will not shout gleefully over me.
13. And I, because of my integrity, You upheld me; You set me before You forever.
14. Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, to all eternity, Amen and Amen.
Chapter 42
This psalm awakens the hearts of the Children of Israel who do not feel the immense ruin, loss, and bad fortune in their being exiled from their Father's table. Were they wise, they would appreciate their past good fortune in coming thrice yearly, with joy and great awe, to behold God during the festivals, free of adversary and harm. May God place mercy before us from now to eternity, Amen Selah.
1. For the Conductor, a maskil1 by the sons of Korach.
2. As the deer cries longingly for brooks of water, so my soul cries longingly for You, O God!
3. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When will I come and behold the countenance of God?
4. My tears have been my bread day and night, when they say to me all day, "Where is your God?”
5. These do I recall, and pour out my soul from within me: how I traveled [to Jerusalem] in covered wagons; I would walk leisurely with them up to the House of God, amid the sound of rejoicing and thanksgiving, the celebrating multitude.
6. Why are you downcast, my soul, and why do you wail within me? Hope to God, for I will yet thank Him for the deliverances of His countenance.
7. My God! My soul is downcast upon me, because I remember You from the land of Jordan and Hermon's peaks, from Mount Mitzar.2
8. Deep calls to deep3 at the roar of Your channels; all Your breakers and waves have swept over me.
9. By day the Lord ordains His kindness, and at night His song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
10. I say to God, my rock, "Why have You forgotten me? Why must I walk in gloom under the oppression of the enemy?”
11. Like a sword in my bones, my adversaries disgrace me, when they say to me all day, "Where is your God?”
12. Why are you downcast, my soul, and why do you wail within me? Hope to God, for I will yet thank Him; He is my deliverance, [the light of] my countenance, and my God.
FOOTNOTES
1.A psalm intended to enlighten and impart knowledge. (Metzudot)
2.My heart aches when I remember the pilgrims from lands east of Jordan, and those from distant Hermon and Mitzar, who would travel to Jerusalem for the festivals (Radak)
3.Before one misfortune has ended, another is already upon us; as if one calls the other to come (Metzudot).
Chapter 43
A significant prayer concerning the magnitude of the troubles we have suffered at the hands of the impious nations. May it be God's will to send Moshiach and Elijah the Prophet, who will lead us to the Holy Temple to offer sacrifices as in days of old.
1. Avenge me, O God, and champion my cause against an impious nation; rescue me from the man of deceit and iniquity.
2. For You are the God of my strength; why have You abandoned me? Why must I walk in gloom under the oppression of the enemy?
3. Send Your light and Your truth, they will guide me; they will bring me to Your holy mountain and to your sanctuaries.
4. Then I will come to the altar of God-to God, the joy of my delight-and praise You on the lyre, O God, my God.
5. Why are you downcast, my soul, and why do you wail within me? Hope to God, for I will yet thank Him; He is my deliverance, [the light of] my countenance, and my God.
Tanya: Iggeret HaKodesh, beginning of Epistle 1
• Lessons in Tanya
• Today's Tanya Lesson
• Thursday, 7 AV , 5776 · 11 August 2016
• Iggeret HaKodesh, beginning of Epistle 1
Chitas and Rambam for today:
Chumash: Parshat Devarim, 5th Portion Deuteronomy 2:2-2:30 with Rashi
• Deuteronomy Chapter 2
2And the Lord spoke to me, saying, בוַיֹּ֥אמֶר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֵלַ֥י לֵאמֹֽר:
3You have circled this mountain long enough; turn northward. גרַב־לָכֶ֕ם סֹ֖ב אֶת־הָהָ֣ר הַזֶּ֑ה פְּנ֥וּ לָכֶ֖ם צָפֹֽנָה:
turn northward: Turn along the eastern side [of Moab], from the south to the north, facing northward. Consequently, they were traveling in an easterly direction, and this is what is meant by “And they came from the sun rise [i.e., east side] to the land of Moab” (Jud. 11:18). פנו לכם צפנה: סובו לכם לרוח מזרחית מן הדרום לצפון, ופניכם לצפון, נמצאו הולכין את רוח מזרחית. וזהו שנאמר (שופטים יא, יח) ויבואו ממזרח שמש לארץ מואב:
4And command the people saying, You are about to pass through the boundary of your kinsmen, the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, and they will be afraid of you. Be very careful. דוְאֶת־הָעָם֘ צַ֣ו לֵאמֹר֒ אַתֶּ֣ם עֹֽבְרִ֗ים בִּגְבוּל֙ אֲחֵיכֶ֣ם בְּנֵֽי־עֵשָׂ֔ו הַיֹּֽשְׁבִ֖ים בְּשֵׂעִ֑יר וְיִֽירְא֣וּ מִכֶּ֔ם וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּ֖ם מְאֹֽד:
Be very careful: And what is this “being careful”? “You shall not provoke them.” ונשמרתם מאד: ומהו השמירה, אל תתגרו בם (פסוק ה):
5You shall not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land not so much as a foot step, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau for an inheritance. האַל־תִּתְגָּ֣רוּ בָ֔ם כִּי לֹֽא־אֶתֵּ֤ן לָכֶם֙ מֵֽאַרְצָ֔ם עַ֖ד מִדְרַ֣ךְ כַּף־רָ֑גֶל כִּֽי־יְרֻשָּׁ֣ה לְעֵשָׂ֔ו נָתַ֖תִּי אֶת־הַ֥ר שֵׂעִֽיר:
not so much as a foot step: meaning, even only for the sole of the foot to tread a single step, I do not permit you to enter their land without permission. An Aggadic interpretation is: [I will not give you of their land] until the day arrives when the foot will tread upon the Mount of Olives [the Messianic era], as it said: “And His [God’s] feet will [figuratively] stand [on that day upon the Mount of Olives]” (Zech. 14:4). עד מדרך כף רגל: אפילו מדרך כף רגל, כלומר אפילו דריסת הרגל איני מרשה לכם לעבור בארצם שלא ברשות. ומדרשי אגדה, עד שיבא יום דריסת כף רגל על הר הזיתים שנאמר (זכריה יד, ד) ועמדו רגליו וגו':
[I have given Mount Seir] to Esau for an inheritance: from Abraham. I gave ten nations to Abraham, seven of them for you [the seven of Canaan], and the Kenites, the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites (Gen. 16:18-21), who are Ammon, Moab, and Seir. One of them is for Esau, and the other two are for the children of Lot (Gen. Rabbah 44). As a reward [for Lot] for going with him [Abraham] to Egypt and for keeping silent when Abraham said, regarding his wife, “She is my sister,” He treated him [Lot] as his [Abraham’s] son [to inherit part of the land promised to Abraham] (Gen. Rabbah 44). ירשה לעשו: מאברהם, עשרה עממים נתתי לו, שבעה לכם וקיני וקנזי וקדמוני הן עמון ומואב ושעיר, אחד מהם לעשו והשנים לבני לוט, בשכר שהלך אתו למצרים ושתק על מה שהיה אומר על אשתו, אחותי היא, עשאו כבנו:
6You shall buy food from them with money, that you may eat, and also water you shall buy from them with money, that you may drink. ואֹ֣כֶל תִּשְׁבְּר֧וּ מֵֽאִתָּ֛ם בַּכֶּ֖סֶף וַֽאֲכַלְתֶּ֑ם וְגַם־מַ֜יִם תִּכְר֧וּ מֵֽאִתָּ֛ם בַּכֶּ֖סֶף וּשְׁתִיתֶֽם:
you shall buy: Heb. תִּכְרוּ. This is an expression of purchase. Similar is (Gen. 50:5),“which I have purchased (כָּרִיתִי) for myself.” In the coastal cities, for“selling” (מְכִירָה) , they use the word“ כִּירָה” (Rosh Hashanah 26a). תכרו: לשון מקח. וכן (בראשית נ, ה) אשר כריתי לי, שכן בכרכי הים קורין למכירה כירה:
7For the Lord, your God, has blessed you in all the work of your hand; He knows of your walking through this great desert; these forty years that the Lord your God has been with you, you have lacked nothing. זכִּי֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ בֵּֽרַכְךָ֗ בְּכֹל֙ מַֽעֲשֵׂ֣ה יָדֶ֔ךָ יָדַ֣ע לֶכְתְּךָ֔ אֶת־הַמִּדְבָּ֥ר הַגָּדֹ֖ל הַזֶּ֑ה זֶ֣ה | אַרְבָּעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֗ה יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֨יךָ֙ עִמָּ֔ךְ לֹ֥א חָסַ֖רְתָּ דָּבָֽר:
For the Lord, your God, has blessed you: Therefore you should not be ungrateful for His goodness [to you] by acting as though you were poor. Rather, show yourselves as rich people. כי ה' אלהיך ברכך: לפיכך לא תכפו את טובתו להראות כאלו אתם עניים, אלא הראו עצמכם עשירים:
8And we departed from our kinsmen, the children of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, by way of the plain from Elath and from Etzion Geber, and we turned and passed through the way of the desert of Moab. חוַנַּֽעֲבֹ֞ר מֵאֵ֧ת אַחֵ֣ינוּ בְנֵֽי־עֵשָׂ֗ו הַיּֽשְׁבִים֙ בְּשֵׂעִ֔יר מִדֶּ֨רֶךְ֙ הָֽעֲרָבָ֔ה מֵֽאֵילַ֖ת וּמֵֽעֶצְיֹ֣ן גָּ֑בֶר וַנֵּ֨פֶן֙ וַנַּֽעֲבֹ֔ר דֶּ֖רֶךְ מִדְבַּ֥ר מוֹאָֽב:
and we turned and passed: towards the north; we turned to proceed on the eastern side. ונפן ונעבור: לצד צפון הפכנו פנים להלוך רוח מזרחית:
9And the Lord said to me, Do not distress the Moabites, and do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land [as] an inheritance, because I have given Ar to the children of Lot [as] an inheritance. טוַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֵלַ֗י אַל־תָּ֨צַר֙ אֶת־מוֹאָ֔ב וְאַל־תִּתְגָּ֥ר בָּ֖ם מִלְחָמָ֑ה כִּ֠י לֹֽא־אֶתֵּ֨ן לְךָ֤ מֵֽאַרְצוֹ֙ יְרֻשָּׁ֔ה כִּ֣י לִבְנֵי־ל֔וֹט נָתַ֥תִּי אֶת־עָ֖ר יְרֻשָּֽׁה:
and do not provoke them to war: God forbade Israel only to wage war against Moab. However, Israel did frighten them, appearing before them, armed for battle. Therefore, it is written,“And Moab was very frightened of the people” (Num. 22:3) because Israel plundered and looted them. Regarding the children of Ammon, however, it says (verse 19),“Do not provoke them”-with any kind of provocation, as a reward for the modesty shown by their ancestress [Lot’s younger daughter], who did not publicize her father’s conduct, as did his elder daughter, who named her son Moab [מוֹאָב like מֵאָב, from the father] (Baba Kamma 38b). ואל תתגר וגו': לא אסר להם על מואב אלא מלחמה, אבל מיראים היו אותם ונראים להם כשהם מזויינים, לפיכך כתיב (במדבר כב, ג) ויגר מואב מפני העם שהיו שוללים ובוזזים אותם. אבל בבני עמון נאמר (פסוק יט) ואל תתגר בם, שום גרוי, בשכר צניעות אמם שלא פרסמה על אביה כמו שעשתה הבכירה, שקראה שם בנה, מואב:
Ar: The name of the province. ער: שם המדינה:
10The Emim dwelt there formerly, a great and numerous people, and tall [in stature], as the Anakim; יהָֽאֵמִ֥ים לְפָנִ֖ים יָ֣שְׁבוּ בָ֑הּ עַ֣ם גָּד֥וֹל וְרַ֛ב וָרָ֖ם כַּֽעֲנָקִֽים:
The Emim dwelt there formerly: You might think that this is the land of Rephaim which I gave [promised] to Abraham (Gen. 15:20), because the Emim, who are Rephaim, dwelt there before, but this is not that one, for those Rephaim I drove out and made the children of Lot settle there in their stead. האמים לפנים וגו': אתה סבור שזו ארץ רפאים שנתתי לו לאברהם לפי שהאמים שהם רפאים ישבו בה לפנים, אבל לא זו היא כי אותם רפאים הורשתי מפני בני לוט והושבתים תחתם:
11They also are considered Rephaim, as the Anakim; but the Moabites call them Emim. יארְפָאִ֛ים יֵחָֽשְׁב֥וּ אַף־הֵ֖ם כַּֽעֲנָקִ֑ים וְהַמֹּ֣אָבִ֔ים יִקְרְא֥וּ לָהֶ֖ם אֵמִֽים:
They… are considered Rephaim…: These Emim were considered Rephaim, just as the Anakim, who were called Rephaim, because whoever beheld them-his hands became weak (מִתְרַפּוּת) (Gen. Rabbah 26). רפאים יחשבו וגו': רפאים היו נחשבים אותם אמים כענקים הנקראים רפאים על שם שכל הרואה אותם ידיו מתרפות:
Emim: so called, because their fear (אֵימָה) was cast over mankind. And similarly (verse 12),“The Horites dwelt in Seir” and [just as I gave the Rephaim over to the children of Lot,] I gave them [the Horites] over to the children of Esau. אמים: על שם שאימתם מוטלת על הבריות, וכן (פסוק יב) ובשעיר ישבו החורים ונתתים לבני עשו:
12And the Horites formerly dwelt in Seir, and the children of Esau were driving them out, and they exterminated them from before them and dwelt in their stead, just as the Israelites did to the land of their inheritance, which the Lord gave them. יבוּבְשֵׂעִ֞יר יָֽשְׁב֣וּ הַֽחֹרִים֘ לְפָנִים֒ וּבְנֵ֧י עֵשָׂ֣ו יִֽירָשׁ֗וּם וַיַּשְׁמִידוּם֙ מִפְּנֵיהֶ֔ם וַיֵּֽשְׁב֖וּ תַּחְתָּ֑ם כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֧ר עָשָׂ֣ה יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל לְאֶ֨רֶץ֙ יְרֻשָּׁת֔וֹ אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥ן יְהֹוָ֖ה לָהֶֽם:
were driving them out: Heb. יִירָשׁוּם [This is expressed in] the present tense, as if to say, I gave them power to go on constantly driving them out. יירשום: לשון הווה, כלומר נתתי בהם כח שהיו מורישים אותם והולכים:
13Now get up and cross the brook of Zered. So we crossed the brook of Zered. יגעַתָּ֗ה קֻ֛מוּ וְעִבְר֥וּ לָכֶ֖ם אֶת־נַ֣חַל זָ֑רֶד וַנַּֽעֲבֹ֖ר אֶת־נַ֥חַל זָֽרֶד:
14And the days when we went from Kadesh barnea, until we crossed the brook of Zered, numbered thirty eight years, until all the generation of the men of war expired from the midst of the camp, just as the Lord swore to them. ידוְהַיָּמִ֞ים אֲשֶׁר־הָלַ֣כְנוּ | מִקָּדֵ֣שׁ בַּרְנֵ֗עַ עַ֤ד אֲשֶׁר־עָבַ֨רְנוּ֙ אֶת־נַ֣חַל זֶ֔רֶד שְׁלשִׁ֥ים וּשְׁמֹנֶ֖ה שָׁנָ֑ה עַד־תֹּ֨ם כָּל־הַדּ֜וֹר אַנְשֵׁ֤י הַמִּלְחָמָה֙ מִקֶּ֣רֶב הַמַּֽחֲנֶ֔ה כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֛ר נִשְׁבַּ֥ע יְהֹוָ֖ה לָהֶֽם:
15Also the hand of the Lord was upon them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp, until they were consumed. טווְגַ֤ם יַד־יְהֹוָה֙ הָ֣יְתָה בָּ֔ם לְהֻמָּ֖ם מִקֶּ֣רֶב הַמַּֽחֲנֶ֑ה עַ֖ד תֻּמָּֽם:
[Also the hand of the Lord] was against them: to quickly destroy them within a period of forty years, so that they would not cause their children to tarry any longer in the desert. היתה בם: למהר ולהומם בתוך ארבעים שנה שלא יגרמו לבניהם עוד להתעכב במדבר:
16So it was, when all the men of war finished dying from among the people, טזוַיְהִ֨י כַֽאֲשֶׁר־תַּ֜מּוּ כָּל־אַנְשֵׁ֧י הַמִּלְחָמָ֛ה לָמ֖וּת מִקֶּ֥רֶב הָעָֽם:
So it was, when [all the men of war] finished: … ויהי כאשר תמו וגו'. :
17that the Lord spoke to me saying, יזוַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֵלַ֥י לֵאמֹֽר:
that the Lord spoke to me: But since the spies were sent until now, the word וַיְּדַבֵּר [denoting God’s speaking to Moses with endearment] is not mentioned in [this] section, only וַיֹּאמֶר [denoting a less endearing form of communication], to teach us that during those entire thirty-eight years during which time the Israelites were under ban by God, the Divine speech was not directed towards him in an expression of affection, face to face, and with peace of mind-to teach us that the Divine Presence rests upon the prophets only for Israel’s sake (Sifrei , Lev. 6). וידבר ה' אלי וגו': אבל משלוח המרגלים עד כאן לא נאמר בפרשה (זו), וידבר, אלא ויאמר, ללמדך, שכל ל"ח שנה שהיו ישראל נזופים לא נתייחד עמו הדבור בלשון חבה פנים אל פנים וישוב הדעת, ללמדך, שאין השכינה שורה על הנביאים אלא בשביל ישראל:
the men of war: [i.e.,] men from twenty years of age, who go forth to war. \b 18-19\b0 אנשי המלחמה: מבן עשרים שנה היוצאים בצבא:
Today you are crossing the boundary of Moab… And when you approach opposite the children of Ammon: from here [we deduce] that the land of Ammon was towards the north. אתה עובר היום את גבול מואב וגו' וקרבת מול בני עמון וגו': מכאן שארץ עמון לצד צפון:
18Today you are crossing the boundary of Moab at Ar. יחאַתָּ֨ה עֹבֵ֥ר הַיּ֛וֹם אֶת־גְּב֥וּל מוֹאָ֖ב אֶת־עָֽר:
19And when you approach opposite the children of Ammon, neither distress them, nor provoke them, for I will not give you of the land of the children of Ammon as an inheritance, because I have given it to the children of Lot as an inheritance. יטוְקָֽרַבְתָּ֗ מ֚וּל בְּנֵ֣י עַמּ֔וֹן אַל־תְּצֻרֵ֖ם וְאַל־תִּתְגָּ֣ר בָּ֑ם כִּ֣י לֹֽא־אֶ֠תֵּ֠ן מֵאֶ֨רֶץ בְּנֵֽי־עַמּ֤וֹן לְךָ֙ יְרֻשָּׁ֔ה כִּ֥י לִבְנֵי־ל֖וֹט נְתַתִּ֥יהָ יְרֻשָּֽׁה:
20It too is considered a land of Rephaim; Rephaim dwelt therein formerly, and the Ammonites call them Zamzummim. כאֶֽרֶץ־רְפָאִ֥ים תֵּֽחָשֵׁ֖ב אַף־הִ֑וא רְפָאִ֤ים יָֽשְׁבוּ־בָהּ֙ לְפָנִ֔ים וְהָ֣עַמֹּנִ֔ים יִקְרְא֥וּ לָהֶ֖ם זַמְזֻמִּֽים:
It too is considered a land of Rephaim: It too is considered a land of Rephaim because the Rephaim dwelt there formerly, but this is not the one I gave to Abraham. ארץ רפאים תחשב: ארץ רפאים נחשבת אף היא לפי שהרפאים ישבו בה לפנים, אבל לא זו היא שנתתי לאברהם:
21A great, numerous and tall people as the Anakim, but the Lord exterminated them before them, and they drove them out and dwelt in their stead. כאעַ֣ם גָּד֥וֹל וְרַ֛ב וָרָ֖ם כַּֽעֲנָקִ֑ים וַיַּשְׁמִידֵ֤ם יְהֹוָה֙ מִפְּנֵיהֶ֔ם וַיִּֽירָשֻׁ֖ם וַיֵּֽשְׁב֥וּ תַחְתָּֽם:
22As He did to the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, when He exterminated the Horites from before them; and they drove them out and dwelt in their stead even to this day. כבכַּֽאֲשֶׁ֤ר עָשָׂה֙ לִבְנֵ֣י עֵשָׂ֔ו הַיּֽשְׁבִ֖ים בְּשֵׂעִ֑יר אֲשֶׁ֨ר הִשְׁמִ֤יד אֶת־הַֽחֹרִי֙ מִפְּנֵיהֶ֔ם וַיִּֽירָשֻׁם֙ וַיֵּֽשְׁב֣וּ תַחְתָּ֔ם עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה:
23But the Avim, who dwell in open cities, up till Gaza -- the Caphtorites, who came forth of Caphtor, exterminated them, and dwelt in their stead. כגוְהָֽעַוִּ֛ים הַיּֽשְׁבִ֥ים בַּֽחֲצֵרִ֖ים עַד־עַזָּ֑ה כַּפְתֹּרִים֙ הַיֹּֽצְאִ֣ים מִכַּפְתֹּ֔ר הִשְׁמִידֻ֖ם וַיֵּֽשְׁב֥וּ תַחְתָּֽם:
But the Avim who dwell in open cities: The Avim are of the Philistine people, for they are listed together with them in the Book of Joshua (13:3), as it says,“The five Philistine lords. The Gazites, the Ashdodites, the Ashkelonites, the Gittites, the Ekronites, and the Avim." But because of the oath which Abraham had sworn to Abimelech, (Gen. 21:23-24), the Israelites were unable to take their land away from them; so I brought the Caphtorites against them, and they destroyed them and dwelt in their stead. Now, you are permitted to take it [the land of the Avim] from their [the Caphtorites’] possession (Chullin 60b). והעוים היושבים בחצרים וגו': עוים מפלשתים הם, שעמהם הם נחשבים בספר יהושע, שנאמר (יהושע יג, ג) חמשת סרני פלשתים העזתי והאשדודי האשקלוני הגתי והעקרוני והעוים. ומפני השבועה שנשבע אברהם לאבימלך לא יכלו ישראל להוציא ארצם מידם, והבאתי עליהם כפתורים והשמידום וישבו תחתם, ועכשיו אתם מותרים לקחתה מידם:
24Get up, journey, and cross the river Arnon. Behold, I have delivered into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: Begin to possess it, and provoke him to war. כדק֣וּמוּ סְּע֗וּ וְעִבְרוּ֘ אֶת־נַ֣חַל אַרְנֹן֒ רְאֵ֣ה נָתַ֣תִּי בְ֠יָֽדְךָ֠ אֶת־סִיחֹ֨ן מֶֽלֶךְ־חֶשְׁבּ֧וֹן הָֽאֱמֹרִ֛י וְאֶת־אַרְצ֖וֹ הָחֵ֣ל רָ֑שׁ וְהִתְגָּ֥ר בּ֖וֹ מִלְחָמָֽה:
25Today I will begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you upon the nations that are under the entire heaven, who will hear reports of you and shake and be in trepidation because of you. כההַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֗ה אָחֵל֙ תֵּ֤ת פַּחְדְּךָ֙ וְיִרְאָ֣תְךָ֔ עַל־פְּנֵי֙ הָֽעַמִּ֔ים תַּ֖חַת כָּל־הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם אֲשֶׁ֤ר יִשְׁמְעוּן֙ שִׁמְעֲךָ֔ וְרָֽגְז֥וּ וְחָל֖וּ מִפָּנֶֽיךָ:
under the entire heaven: This [statement that nations under the whole heaven will fear the Israelites] teaches that the sun stood still for Moses on the day of the battle with Og, [Other editions: Sihon,] and the matter became [consequently] known under the entire heaven [that is, to the whole world] (Avodah Zarah 25a). תחת כל השמים: למד שעמדה חמה למשה ביום מלחמת עוג ונודע הדבר תחת כל השמים:
26So I sent messengers from the desert of Kedemoth to Sihon, king of Heshbon, with words of peace, saying, כווָֽאֶשְׁלַ֤ח מַלְאָכִים֙ מִמִּדְבַּ֣ר קְדֵמ֔וֹת אֶל־סִיח֖וֹן מֶ֣לֶךְ חֶשְׁבּ֑וֹן דִּבְרֵ֥י שָׁל֖וֹם לֵאמֹֽר:
[And I sent messengers] from the desert of Kedemoth: Even though the Omnipresent had not commanded me to call to Sihon in peace, I learned to do so from the incident at the desert of Sinai, i.e., relating to the Torah which preceded (קָדְמָה) the world. When the Holy One, blessed be He, was about to give the Torah to Israel, He took it to Esau and Ishmael. Although it was clear to Him that they would not accept it, nevertheless, He began with them in peace. So too, I first called to Sihon with words of peace. Another explanation מִמִּדְבַּר קְדֵמוֹת Moses said to God,“I learned this from You, Who preceded (קָדַמְתָּ) the world. You could have sent one flash of lightning to consume the Egyptians, but instead, You sent me from the desert to Pharaoh. saying, (Exod. 5:1) ‘Let my people go’ patiently.” (Midrash Tanchuma) ממדבר קדמות: אף על פי שלא צוני המקום לקרא לסיחון לשלום, למדתי ממדבר סיני מן התורה שקדמה לעולם. כשבא הקב"ה ליתנה לישראל חזר אותה על עשו וישמעאל, וגלוי לפניו שלא יקבלוה ואף על פי כן פתח להם בשלום, אף אני קדמתי את סיחון בדברי שלום. דבר אחר ממדבר קדמות, ממך למדתי שקדמת לעולם [בדברים]. יכול היית לשלוח ברק אחד ולשרוף את המצריים, אלא שלחתני מן המדבר אל פרעה לאמר (שמות ה א) שלח את עמי, במתון:
27"Allow me to pass through your land: I will go along by the highway, I will turn neither to the right nor to the left." כזאֶעְבְּרָ֣ה בְאַרְצֶ֔ךָ בַּדֶּ֥רֶךְ בַּדֶּ֖רֶךְ אֵלֵ֑ךְ לֹ֥א אָס֖וּר יָמִ֥ין וּשְׂמֹֽאול:
28You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat; and give to me water for money, that I may drink; I will only pass through by my feet. כחאֹ֣כֶל בַּכֶּ֤סֶף תַּשְׁבִּרֵ֨נִי֙ וְאָכַ֔לְתִּי וּמַ֛יִם בַּכֶּ֥סֶף תִּתֶּן־לִ֖י וְשָׁתִ֑יתִי רַ֖ק אֶעְבְּרָ֥ה בְרַגְלָֽי:
29Just as the children of Esau who dwell in Seir, and the Moabites who dwell in Ar, did for me; until I cross the Jordan to the land which the Lord our God is giving us." כטכַּֽאֲשֶׁ֨ר עָֽשׂוּ־לִ֜י בְּנֵ֣י עֵשָׂ֗ו הַיּֽשְׁבִים֙ בְּשֵׂעִ֔יר וְהַמּ֣וֹאָבִ֔ים הַיּֽשְׁבִ֖ים בְּעָ֑ר עַ֤ד אֲשֶֽׁר־אֶֽעֱבֹר֙ אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ן אֶל־הָאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ נֹתֵ֥ן לָֽנוּ:
Just as the children of Esau…did for me: This is not referring to permission to pass through their land, [for Edom refused,] rather it refers to the selling of food and water. כאשר עשו לי בני עשו: לא לענין לעבור את ארצם אלא לענין מכר אוכל ומים:
until I cross the Jordan: This refers to [Moses’ earlier request]“Allow me to pass through your land.” (verse 27) עד אשר אעבור את הירדן: מוסב על אעברה בארצך:
30But Sihon, king of Heshbon, did not wish to let us pass by him, for the Lord your God caused his spirit to be hardened and his heart to be obstinate, in order that He would give him into your hand, as this day. לוְלֹ֣א אָבָ֗ה סִיחֹן֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ חֶשְׁבּ֔וֹן הַֽעֲבִרֵ֖נוּ בּ֑וֹ כִּֽי־הִקְשָׁה֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ אֶת־רוּח֗וֹ וְאִמֵּץ֙ אֶת־לְבָב֔וֹ לְמַ֛עַן תִּתּ֥וֹ בְיָֽדְךָ֖ כַּיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה:
Daily Tehillim: Chapters 39 - 43
• Chapter 39
David's prayer bewailing his suffering. But it is not suffering itself that pains him, rather he is saddened by its disturbing his Torah study. For man's days are few, "and if not now, when (will he study)?" for he may die, today or tomorrow. He therefore requests that his suffering be removed, to enable him to study Torah and acquire a place in the World to Come.
1. For the Conductor, for yedutun,1 a psalm by David.
2. I said that I would guard my ways from sinning with my tongue; I would guard my mouth with a muzzle, [even] while the wicked one is before me.
3. I became mute with stillness, I was silent [even] from the good, though my pain was crippling.
4. My heart grew hot within me, a fire blazed in my utterance, as I spoke with my tongue.
5. O Lord, let me know my end and what is the measure of my days, that I may know when I will cease.
6. Behold, like handbreadths You set my days; my lifetime is as naught before You. But all is futility, all mankind's existence, Selah.
7. Only in darkness does man walk, seeking only futility; he amasses riches and knows not who will reap them.
8. And now, what is my hope, my Lord? My longing is to You.
9. Rescue me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of the degenerate.
10. I am mute, I do not open my mouth, for You have caused [my suffering].
11. Remove Your affliction from me; I am devastated by the attack of Your hand.
12. In reproach for sin You chastened man; like a moth, You wore away that which is precious to him. All mankind is nothing but futility, forever.
13. Hear my prayer, O Lord, listen to my cry; do not be silent to my tears, for I am a stranger with You, a sojourner like all my forefathers.
14. Turn from me, that I may recover my strength, before I depart and I am no more.
FOOTNOTES
1.A musical instrument (Metzudot).
Chapter 40
The psalmist speaks of the numerous wonders that God wrought for the Jewish people, asking: "Who can articulate His might? I would relate and speak of them, but they are too numerous to recount!" He created the world and split the sea for the sake of Israel, [yet] He desires no sacrifices, only that we listen to His voice.
1. For the Conductor, a psalm by David.
2. I put my hope in the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.
3. He raised me from the turbulent pit, from the slimy mud, and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps.
4. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn to our God; multitudes will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord.
5. Fortunate is the man who has made the Lord his trust, and did not turn to the haughty, nor to those who stray after falsehood.
6. You have done much, O You, Lord my God-Your wonders and thoughts are for us; none can compare to You; should I relate or speak of them, they are too numerous to recount!
7. You desired neither sacrifice nor meal-offering, but [obedient] ears You opened for me; You requested neither burnt-offering nor sin-offering.
8. Then I said, "Behold, I come with a Scroll of the Book written for me."1
9. I desire to fulfill Your will, my God; and Your Torah is in my innards.
10. I proclaimed [Your] righteousness in a vast congregation; behold I will not restrain my lips-O Lord, You know!
11. I did not conceal Your righteousness within my heart; I declared Your faithfulness and deliverance; I did not hide Your kindness and truth from the vast congregation.
12. May You, Lord, not withhold Your mercies from me; may Your kindness and truth constantly guard me.
13. For countless evils surround me; my sins have overtaken me and I cannot see; they outnumber the hairs of my head, and my heart has abandoned me.
14. May it please You, Lord, to save me; O Lord, hurry to my aid.
15. Let those who seek my life, to end it, be shamed and humiliated together; let those who desire my harm retreat and be disgraced.
16. Let those who say about me, "Aha! Aha!" be desolate, in return for their shaming [me].
17. Let all those who seek You exult and rejoice in You; let those who love Your deliverance always say, "Be exalted, O Lord!”
18. As for me, I am poor and needy; my Lord will think of me. You are my help and my rescuer; my God, do not delay!
FOOTNOTES
1.Upon recovery, David expresses thanks, not through sacrifices, by dedicating himself to Torah (Radak).
Chapter 41
This psalm teaches many good character traits, and inspires one to be thoughtful and conscientious in giving charity-knowing to whom to give first. Fortunate is he who is thoughtful of the sick one, providing him with his needs.
1. For the Conductor, a psalm by David.
2. Fortunate is he who is thoughtful of the poor, [for] the Lord will save him on the day of evil.
3. The Lord will guard him and keep him alive; he will be praised throughout the land; You will not deliver him to the desires of his enemies.
4. The Lord will support him on the bed of illness; You will turn him over in his bed all throughout his sickness.
5. I said, "Lord, be gracious to me! Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You!”
6. My foes say that evil [awaits] me: "When will he die, and his name perish?”
7. And if one comes to see [me], he speaks insincerely, for his heart gathers iniquity for himself, and when he goes out he speaks of it.
8. Together they whisper against me-all my enemies; against me they devise my harm, [saying]:
9. "Let his wickedness pour into him; now that he lies down, he shall rise no more.”
10. Even my ally in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has raised his heel over me.
11. But you, Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up, and I will repay them.
12. With this I shall know that You desire me, when my enemies will not shout gleefully over me.
13. And I, because of my integrity, You upheld me; You set me before You forever.
14. Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, to all eternity, Amen and Amen.
Chapter 42
This psalm awakens the hearts of the Children of Israel who do not feel the immense ruin, loss, and bad fortune in their being exiled from their Father's table. Were they wise, they would appreciate their past good fortune in coming thrice yearly, with joy and great awe, to behold God during the festivals, free of adversary and harm. May God place mercy before us from now to eternity, Amen Selah.
1. For the Conductor, a maskil1 by the sons of Korach.
2. As the deer cries longingly for brooks of water, so my soul cries longingly for You, O God!
3. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When will I come and behold the countenance of God?
4. My tears have been my bread day and night, when they say to me all day, "Where is your God?”
5. These do I recall, and pour out my soul from within me: how I traveled [to Jerusalem] in covered wagons; I would walk leisurely with them up to the House of God, amid the sound of rejoicing and thanksgiving, the celebrating multitude.
6. Why are you downcast, my soul, and why do you wail within me? Hope to God, for I will yet thank Him for the deliverances of His countenance.
7. My God! My soul is downcast upon me, because I remember You from the land of Jordan and Hermon's peaks, from Mount Mitzar.2
8. Deep calls to deep3 at the roar of Your channels; all Your breakers and waves have swept over me.
9. By day the Lord ordains His kindness, and at night His song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
10. I say to God, my rock, "Why have You forgotten me? Why must I walk in gloom under the oppression of the enemy?”
11. Like a sword in my bones, my adversaries disgrace me, when they say to me all day, "Where is your God?”
12. Why are you downcast, my soul, and why do you wail within me? Hope to God, for I will yet thank Him; He is my deliverance, [the light of] my countenance, and my God.
FOOTNOTES
1.A psalm intended to enlighten and impart knowledge. (Metzudot)
2.My heart aches when I remember the pilgrims from lands east of Jordan, and those from distant Hermon and Mitzar, who would travel to Jerusalem for the festivals (Radak)
3.Before one misfortune has ended, another is already upon us; as if one calls the other to come (Metzudot).
Chapter 43
A significant prayer concerning the magnitude of the troubles we have suffered at the hands of the impious nations. May it be God's will to send Moshiach and Elijah the Prophet, who will lead us to the Holy Temple to offer sacrifices as in days of old.
1. Avenge me, O God, and champion my cause against an impious nation; rescue me from the man of deceit and iniquity.
2. For You are the God of my strength; why have You abandoned me? Why must I walk in gloom under the oppression of the enemy?
3. Send Your light and Your truth, they will guide me; they will bring me to Your holy mountain and to your sanctuaries.
4. Then I will come to the altar of God-to God, the joy of my delight-and praise You on the lyre, O God, my God.
5. Why are you downcast, my soul, and why do you wail within me? Hope to God, for I will yet thank Him; He is my deliverance, [the light of] my countenance, and my God.
Tanya: Iggeret HaKodesh, beginning of Epistle 1
• Lessons in Tanya
• Today's Tanya Lesson
• Thursday, 7 AV , 5776 · 11 August 2016
• Iggeret HaKodesh, beginning of Epistle 1
• In their Approbation to Tanya,1 the author’s sons write that the discourses and open letters together entitled Iggeret HaKodesh2 (“The Holy Epistle”), as well as the further discourses entitled Kuntres Acharon (“Later Pamphlet”), were all “recorded personally by [the Alter Rebbe’s] own holy hand in his own saintly expression. These discourses are [collectively] entitled Iggeret HaKodesh, being mostly epistles sent by his holy emi-nence to teach the people of G‑d the way by which they should walk and the deed which they should do.”
• Rambam:• Sefer Hamitzvos:
Accordingly, the author’s learned sons saw fit to publish them together with the preceding sections of the Tanya.
* * *
The first epistle opens with a reference to the chassidic custom (a custom that thrives to this day) of apportioning the tractates of the Talmud for study among the members of each congregation or community, so that the entire work is completed in the course of a year. The conclusion of the year’s study and the reallocation of tractates are traditionally celebrated on Yud-Tes Kislev, the anniversary of the Alter Rebbe’s liberation from imprisonment and capital sentence in S. Petersburg in 1798.
The Rebbe has noted on a number of occasions that the collective completion of the Talmud by a number of individuals is considered as if each one of the group had completed the entire Talmud himself. He explains that this is similar to the law with regard to performing a prohibited labor on Shabbat: If doing the labor requires the efforts of two individuals, each of them is considered to have performed the entire labor.3 So, too, since the various individuals partake in the collective study of theTalmud for they cannot complete it single-handed in the course of a year, it is considered as if each one of them had studied the entire Talmud.
* * *
To return to the central theme of this opening epistle. The Alter Rebbe explains here that the study of the laws set out in the Oral Torah elevates a Jew’s soul and assists him in his spiritual service — of meditating upon G‑d’s greatness, and arousing within himself a love and awe of Him.
On the circumstances of its composition, the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of blessed memory, has conveyed to us the following:4 “During a Simchat Beit HaShoevah gathering in the year 5648 (תרמ״ח; 1887), my revered father related that the epistle opening with ‘We begin with a benediction’ was written by the Alter Rebbe in three stages in three different years.
“The first stage: When the Alter Rebbe decided to make the journey to study at the feet of the Maggid of Mezritch, he presented his disciples with a ‘note of arousal.’ It opened with ‘We begin with a benediction,’ and concluded, ‘And these [faculties] are the arms and the body of the soul.’
“The second stage was when the Alter Rebbe returned from Mezritch, having had revealed to him by the Maggid — at the behest of his mentor, the Baal Shem Tov, and with the blessing of his mentor, Achiyah HaShiloni — his spiritual identity, the purpose of his holy soul’s descent into this world, and the great responsibility and danger that his mission entailed. At that time the Alter Rebbe wrote the second part of this epistle, beginning with ‘But what gives the power,’ and concluding, ‘To the extent of pressing out the soul.’
“Speaking to his son, the Mitteler Rebbe, and to his grandson, the Tzemach Tzedek, the Alter Rebbe once described his inner feelings during the first few years after his mentor, the Maggid of Mezritch, had revealed to him the message of the Baal Shem Tov [regarding his soul’s mission].
“These were the Alter Rebbe’s words: ‘The simple faith that we, the disciples of the Maggid, had in him, and our self-sacrificing devotion to him, provided us with the potent strength to obey all his directives with extreme precision, with inner and essential self-sacrifice. In the course of several years, when my young married students settled in various towns and villages, I added three paragraphs to this epistle — from “And now” until “there is no goodness but Torah.” This I did in view of the burden placed upon me by my master, the Maggid, and in order to be able to realize, with G‑d’s help, the inner intent of my soul’s descent into this world.’ ”
פותחין בברכה, לברך ולהודות לה׳ כי טוב
We begin with a benediction, to bless and to give thanks to G‑d, for He is good.5
שמועה טובה שמעה ותחי נפשי
My soul has heard and been revived by good tidings —
אין טוב אלא תורה
and “good” signifies Torah, as our Sages state in Tractate Avot.6
תורת ה׳ תמימה
More specifically, it signifies7 “G‑d’s Torah [which] is a perfect whole,” for it is the Torah in this state that the same verse describes as “reviving the soul.”
זו השלמת כל הש״ס כולו ברוב עיירות ומנינים מאנ״ש
[The above remarks] refer to the completion of the whole8 Talmud,9 in its entirety,10 in most towns and congregations of Anash, the men of our [chassidic] brotherhood.
הודאה על העבר ובקשה על העתיד
[So much for] gratitude in respect of past accomplishments. And [now,] a request for the future:
כה יתן וכה יוסיף ה׳ לאמץ לבם בגבורים מדי שנה בשנה בגבורה של תורה
May G‑d thus continue from year to year to grant added strength to your hearts among the mighty,11 with the might of the Torah,
I.e., may G‑d increase that which He has previously granted — His increase being even greater than the original blessing12— so that the hearts of those who study Torah be strengthened to such a degree that they will be considered mighty even among the mighty, with their strength deriving from the Torah.
ולהודיע לבני אדם גבורתה של תורה שבעל פה וכחה עוז
and make known to mankind the might of the Oral Torah13 and its power which is great.
The might (Gevurah) of Torah relates specifically to the Oral Law. For with regard to the source of the Torah in the Supernal Sefirot, the Written Torah derives from the Sefirah of Chochmah, which is aligned with the “right side” of the universe — the attribute of Chesed, kindness and benevolence; the Oral Torah derives from the Sefirah of Binah,14 which is aligned with the “left side” of the universe — the attribute of Gevurah, stern judgment and severity.15 (This relationship between Binah and Gevurah is alluded to in the verse,16 “I am Binah, Gevurah is mine.”)
פירש שלמה המלך, עליו השלום: חגרה בעוז מתניה גו׳
On the strength that the Oral Law gives the soul of a Jew, King Solomon (peace be to him) explained:17 “She girds her loins with strength.”
The “woman of valor” lauded by King Solomon at the opening of the relevant chapter is an allegorical allusion to Knesset Yisrael — the Congregation of Israel, which comprises all Jewish souls. In the verse quoted, she “girds her loins with strength.” “Strength” refers to the Torah,18 as in the teaching,19 “There is no strength other than the Torah.” Thus, the Torah strengthens the loins of the soul, just as a warrior girds his loins to gather maximal strength. But what is meant by “girding the loins of the soul”?
מתנים הם בחינת דבר המעמיד כל הגוף, עם הראש הנצב ועומד עליהם
The loins are the underframe that supports the whole body, including the head that is positioned over them;
והם המוליכים ומביאים אותו למחוז חפצו
it is they that lead and bring [the body] to its desired destination.
וכמו שהוא בגשמיות הגוף, כך הוא בבחינת רוחניות הנפש האלקית
And just as it is with the corporeality of the body, so it is with the spirituality of the Divine soul.
Just as the loins support the corporeal body and head, so do the soul’s loins support and lead the “body” and “head” of the soul to its desired spiritual destination.
האמונה האמיתית בה׳ אחד, אין סוף ברוך הוא
[The soul’s loins are] the true belief in the One G‑d, the blessed Ein Sof,
דאיהו ממלא כל עלמין וסובב כל עלמין
Who permeates all worlds with a vitality which is indwelling (pnimi), a vitality which is contracted and tailored to the capacity of each individual creature, and Who encompasses all worlds with a vitality that is transcendent (makkif), and which cannot therefore clothe itself within created beings in an indwelling manner,
ולית אתר פנוי מיניה
there being no place or level of existence void of Him,
למעלה עד אין קץ
above to no end, for there is no end to the degree of His exalted transcendence beyond all worlds,
ולמטה עד אין תכלית
and below to no limit, for there is no limit to His ability to descend to the very lowest levels of creation and clothe Himselfwithin the world even to the point that the world conceals the G‑dliness that is within it,
וכן לד׳ סטרין, בבחינת אין סוף ממש
and likewise in all four directions — east, west, north and south — truly in a state of infinitude.
All the above refers to the dimension of space.
וכן בבחינת שנה ונפש, כנודע
The same applies to the dimensions of “year” and “soul”, as is known.
Creation embraces the three dimensions known as “world”, “year” and “soul”, as is explained in Sefer Yetzirah.20 “World” alludes to space, “year” refers to time, and “soul” denotes life. Just as G‑d is one and infinite within the realm of space, so too is He one and infinite within the realms of time and life.
הנה אמונה זו נקראת בשם בחינת מתנים, דבר המעמיד ומקיים את הראש
Now this faith, this belief in G‑d as outlined above, is referred to as the “loins” which uphold and sustain the “head”,
הוא השכל המתבונן ומעמיק דעת בגדולת אין סוף ברוך הוא, בבחינת עולם שנה נפש
meaning the intellect that contemplates and concentrates on the greatness of the blessed Ein Sof in the dimensions of “world”, “year” and “soul”,
Thus, this faith sustains the “head”, for the foundation of one’s comprehension of G‑d’s greatness is one’s belief in His unity.
וברוב חסדו ונפלאותיו עמנו
and [that meditates] on the magnitude of His loving-kindness and His wonders with us,
להיות עם קרובו, ולדבקה בו ממש
וכנודע ממאמר: יפה שעה אחת בתשובה ומעשים טובים בעולם הזה מכל חיי עולם הבא
Thus it is known from the teaching,23 “One hour of repentance and good deeds in this world surpasses all the life of the World to Come.”
שהוא רק זיו והארה מבחינה הנקראת שכינה
For [the World to Come] is a mere gleam and reflection of the level [of Divinity] called Shechinah,
השוכן כו׳
which is so called because it is the Shechinah (שכינה) “Who dwells”(השוכן) within created beings, and so on,
Since the Shechinah bears a certain relationship to created beings, it is therefore this level of Divinity that is revealed inGan Eden — the World to Come, which is but a pale reflection of the Shechinah.
ונברא ביו״ד אחד משמו יתברך כו׳
and [the World to Come] was created by the single letter yud of [G‑d’s] blessed Name, and so on, as explained by the Sages24 in their exposition of the verse,25 ביה ה׳ צור עולמים.
אבל תשובה ומעשים טובים מקרבין ישראל לאביהם שבשמים ממש
Repentance and good deeds, however, truly bring Israel near to their Father in Heaven,
למהותו ועצמותו כביכול, בחינת אין סוף ממש
unto (as it were) the very Being and Essence of Him Who is absolute infinitude.
וכמו שכתוב: הודו על ארץ ושמים, וירם קרן לעמו גו׳
As it is written,26 “His radiance is upon earth and heaven”: heaven and earth derive their life-force from a mere glimmer or gleam of G‑d’s Essence; not so the Jewish people, of whom the following verse27 continues: “He raises glory upon His nation.”
The word קרן, here translated “glory”, signifies a thing’s essence.28 The verse thus implies that the Jewish people derive their life-force from G‑d’s infinite Essence.
אשר קדשנו במצותיו וציונו כו׳
Similarly, before fulfilling many of the mitzvot, we say:29 “Who has sanctified us [unto Himself] through His commandments, and commanded us [to perform the mitzvah at hand].”
By granting us the ability to perform His commandments, G‑d elevates us to His level — to the encompassing level of holiness that utterly transcends the degree of holiness that permeates the worlds.
וכמים הפנים גו׳
And reflecting upon G‑d’s infinite kindness to us, in that He chose us to be “His nation, the people close to Him,” will result in a reaction of “waters reflecting the face.”30
להוליד מתבונה זו דחילו ורחימו שכליים או טבעיים
From this contemplation are born the intellectually-generated or the natural awe and love — the awe and love of G‑d that are naturally found within the heart of all Jews and need but be revealed through contemplation,31
להיות בחינת צעק לבם אל ה׳
giving rise [either] to (a) a mode of love in which32 “their heart cried out unto G‑d” in its yearning to cleave to Him,
או בחינת רשפי אש ושלהבת עזה
or to (b) a mode of love characterized by33 “flashes of fire, a mighty flame.”
בבחינת רצוא
The latter mode of love is the first stage of a dual dynamic34 — ratzo (“advance”), loving G‑d so fiercely and rapturously that the soul almost flees the body;
ואחר כך בבחינת שוב
this longing to expire, to lose one’s independent identity in G‑d’s all-encompassing unity, [must be] followed by thesecond stage — shov (“retreat”), a sober and self-effacing return to the Divinely-ordained reality of living as a soul enclothed in a body,
להיות פחד ה׳ בלבו
so that there be the fear of G‑d in one’s heart,
וליבוש מגדולתו כו׳
specifically, the superior order of fear whereby [the individual] is abashed by His greatness.
This abashedness restrains him from doing anything that G‑d finds displeasing.
והוא בחינת שמאל דוחה
This level of awe, fear and shame [results from]35 “the left hand that parries,”
The Divine “left hand” represents Gevurah, the Supernal attribute of severity. It holds the worshiper at arm’s length, so to speak, curbing the intense love that would result from his sensation of G‑d’s nearness as represented in the phrase,36 viyemino techabkeini — “His right hand embraces me.”
כמו שכתוב במתן תורה: וירא העם וינועו, ויעמדו מרחוק
as it is written concerning the Giving of the Torah:37 “The people saw and they trembled, and they stood from afar.”
The Divine revelation at the Giving of the Torah produced a feeling of awe and self-nullification which found expression in the Jews’ “standing from afar,” fearing as they did to draw close to G‑d.
והן בחינת הזרועות והגוף שבנפש
And these [faculties] — love and fear — are the arms and the body of the soul; love and kindness are the “right arm,” fear and severity are the “left arm.”38
* * *
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. | See Vol. I of the present series, p. 10. |
| 2. | The Rebbe remarks that one would have expected this anthology to be entitled Igrot Kodesh (“Holy Epistles”), in the plural. The Rebbe goes on to suggest that a possible (and not entirely satisfactory) explanation might be an intended parallel to the preceding component of Tanya, which is entitled Iggeret HaTeshuvah (“Epistle on Repentance”), in the singular. |
| 3. | Shabbat 93a; see Likkutei Sichot, Vol. XVIII, p. 267. |
| 4. | In a talk on 2 Nissan 5708, recorded in Sefer HaMaamarim 5708, p. 170. |
| 5. | “The occasion was the receipt of good news, which is a reason for expressing gratitude (Rashi on Bereishit 24:52, based on Bereishit Rabbah 58:6).” ( — Note of the Rebbe.) |
| 6. | 6:3. |
| 7. | Tehillim 19:8. |
| 8. | “This indicates that the tractates apportioned should include those that [consist only of Mishnah and] are lacking Gemara.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.) |
| 9. | “The intent [of the seemingly superfluous word כולו, here translated ‘in its entirety’] is to negate the possibility of covering the Talmud nearly enough to have it considered completely covered, in the spirit of the principle of רובו ככולו (cf. Taz andAcharonim, Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 582:7). I.e., the apportioning of the Shas is to include those tractates in the Orders of Zeraim and Taharot (as mentioned above [that consist only of Mishnah and are lacking Gemara]), as well as [the tractates] Tamid and Middot (which do no more than describe [the Beit HaMikdash and related subjects]; cf. the Commentary [of the Rambam] on the Mishnah, cited in Tosafot Yom Tov, ad loc.).” ( — Note of the Rebbe.) |
| 10. | “It is then ‘whole’ in this [literal] sense as well.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.) |
| 11. | “Perhaps this phrase is intended to point out that this public study intensifies the learning of each individual participant, insofar as he is part of a multitude, and intensifies its effect upon him, by fortifying his heart.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.) |
| 12. | Bereishit Rabbah 61:4. |
| 13. | “This being the subject at hand — the [study of the] Talmud.” ( —Note of the Rebbe.) |
| 14. | “In accordance with the conclusion of Epistle 29 of Iggeret HaKodesh.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.) |
| 15. | “The following interpretation appears to be preferable: The Written Torah and the Oral Torah correspond respectively to the Six Middot and to the attribute of Malchut. The former Sefirot are predominantly Chassadim; the latter Sefirah is dominated by Gevurot.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.) |
| 16. | Mishlei 3:2. |
| 17. | Ibid. 31:17. |
| 18. | “See Torah Or (and Or HaTorah) at the conclusion of Parshat Yitro.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.) |
| 19. | Sifri, Haazinu 32:2 et al. |
| 20. | 3:3 et al. |
| 21. | Tehillim 148:14. |
| 22. | Devarim 11:22. |
| 23. | Avot 4:17. |
| 24. | Menachot 29b. |
| 25. | Yeshayahu 26:4. |
| 26. | Tehillim 148:13. |
| 27. | Ibid., v. 14. |
| 28. | “As in the [Talmudic] phrase keren vachomesh.” [Here keren signifies the principal, the capital value of an object, as opposed to an added payment; cf. Kerisos 26b.] ( — Note of the Rebbe.) |
| 29. | Cf. Siddur, p. 6. |
| 30. | “As explained above, in Part I, ch. 49.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.) Cf. Mishlei 27:19. |
| 31. | “As explained above, in Part I, ch. 44.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.) |
| 32. | Cf. Eichah 2:18. |
| 33. | Cf. Shir HaShirim 8:6. |
| 34. | Cf. Yechezkel 1:14. |
| 35. | Cf. Sotah 47a. |
| 36. | Shir HaShirim 8:3. |
| 37. | Shmot 20:15. |
| 38. | Tikkunei Zohar, Introduction II. |
• Thursday, 7 AV , 5776 · 11 August 2016
• Today's Mitzvah
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
Negative Commandment 251
Hurtful Words
"You shall not wrong one another and you shall fear your G‑d"—Leviticus 25:17.
It is forbidden to verbally distress or humiliate another.
Examples:
Full text of this Mitzvah »• Hurtful Words
Negative Commandment 251
Translated by Berel Bell
The 251st prohibition is that we are forbidden from verbally wronging another person by telling him things that will distress and humiliate him, and make him discouraged.1 For example, when a person has sinned in his youth, but changed his ways, and someone tells him, "Thank G‑d who has taken you away from that path to this good path," or similar indirect references to faults that cause him pain.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement2 (exalted be He), "V'lo sonu one another and you shall fear your G‑d." Our Sages3 said that this refers to verbally causing him pain (ona'as devarim). 4
In the words of the Sifra, "The verse 'V'lo sonu one another' refers to ona'as devarim. What does this mean? If the person is a baal teshuvah, do not tell him, 'Remember your previous deeds...'; if there was illness...[do not say as Job's friends did, 'has anyone perished who was totally innocent?']; if you see donkey drivers...[who are seeking grain to buy, do not say that they can obtain it by a certain person, who in reality has nothing to sell and the drivers will be disappointed]; do not ask, 'how much does this cost?' [when you don't intend to make a purchase, since it will cause disappointment to the seller]."
Our Sages said,5 "Ona'as devarim is more serious than ona'as mamon, since regarding the former, the Torah says, 'and you shall fear your G‑d.'"6
The details of this mitzvah are explained in the 4th chapter of tractate Bava Metzia.
FOOTNOTES
1.Literally, "make him unable to encourage himself."
2.Lev. 25:17.
3.Bava Metzia 58b.
4.Causing verbal pain, as opposed to ona'as mamon, which is cheating someone financially. See N250.
5.Bava Metzia 58b.
6.From this statement it is obvious that ona'as devarim is a distinct mitzvah, not just a subcategory of ona'as mamon.
• Rambam - 1 Chapter: Parah Adummah Parah Adummah - Chapter 1
Hurtful Words
"You shall not wrong one another and you shall fear your G‑d"—Leviticus 25:17.
It is forbidden to verbally distress or humiliate another.
Examples:
- If a person has sinned in his youth and then repented, one may not tell him, "Thank G‑d who has taken you away from that path to this good path!" or similar indirect references to his earlier faults that may cause him pain.
- [If a person is suffering from illness, one may not say (as Job's friends did), "Has anyone perished who was totally innocent?"
- If you see people who seek to purchase grain, do not tell them that they can obtain it by a certain person, who in reality has nothing to sell.
- Do not enter a store and ask, "How much does this item cost?" when you have no intention to make a purchase.]
Full text of this Mitzvah »• Hurtful Words
Negative Commandment 251
Translated by Berel Bell
The 251st prohibition is that we are forbidden from verbally wronging another person by telling him things that will distress and humiliate him, and make him discouraged.1 For example, when a person has sinned in his youth, but changed his ways, and someone tells him, "Thank G‑d who has taken you away from that path to this good path," or similar indirect references to faults that cause him pain.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement2 (exalted be He), "V'lo sonu one another and you shall fear your G‑d." Our Sages3 said that this refers to verbally causing him pain (ona'as devarim). 4
In the words of the Sifra, "The verse 'V'lo sonu one another' refers to ona'as devarim. What does this mean? If the person is a baal teshuvah, do not tell him, 'Remember your previous deeds...'; if there was illness...[do not say as Job's friends did, 'has anyone perished who was totally innocent?']; if you see donkey drivers...[who are seeking grain to buy, do not say that they can obtain it by a certain person, who in reality has nothing to sell and the drivers will be disappointed]; do not ask, 'how much does this cost?' [when you don't intend to make a purchase, since it will cause disappointment to the seller]."
Our Sages said,5 "Ona'as devarim is more serious than ona'as mamon, since regarding the former, the Torah says, 'and you shall fear your G‑d.'"6
The details of this mitzvah are explained in the 4th chapter of tractate Bava Metzia.
FOOTNOTES
1.Literally, "make him unable to encourage himself."
2.Lev. 25:17.
3.Bava Metzia 58b.
4.Causing verbal pain, as opposed to ona'as mamon, which is cheating someone financially. See N250.
5.Bava Metzia 58b.
6.From this statement it is obvious that ona'as devarim is a distinct mitzvah, not just a subcategory of ona'as mamon.
• Rambam - 1 Chapter: Parah Adummah Parah Adummah - Chapter 1
• Parah Adummah - Chapter 1
Included in this text are two positive commandments. They comprise the following:
1) the laws of the red heifer;
2) the laws of the impurity and purity brought about by the water used for the sprinkling of its ashes.
These mitzvot are explained in the ensuing chapters.
1
The commandment involving the red heifer is to offer such an animal in its third or fourth year of life. If it is older, it is acceptable, but we do not wait for it to age longer, lest its hairs become black.
The Jewish community does not purchase a calf and raise it, forNumbers 19:2 states: "And you shall take unto yourselves a heifer," i.e., a heifer, not a calf. If only a calf was found, a price is established for it and it should remain in its owner's possession until it matures and becomes a cow. It should be purchased with money from the Temple treasury.
א
מצות פרה אדומה שתהיה בת שלש שנים או בת ארבע ואם היתה זקנה כשירה אלא שאין ממתינין לה שמא תשחיר ותפסל ואין לוקחין עגלה ומגדלין אותה שנאמר ויקחו אליך פרה ולא עגלה לא מצאו אלא עגלה פוסקין עליה דמים ותהיה אצל בעליה עד שתגדיל ותעשה פרה ולוקחין אותה מתרומת הלשכה:
2
The Torah's description of this heifer as "perfect" means "perfectly red," not perfect in stature. Even if it is dwarfsize, it is acceptable, as is the law regarding other sacrifices. If it had two white hairs or black hairs growing from one follicle or from two cavities and they are lying on top of each other, it is unacceptable.
ב
זה שנאמר בתורה תמימה תמימת אדמימות לא תמימת קומה אלא אם היתה ננסה כשירה כשאר הקדשים היו בה שתי שערות לבנות או שחורות בתוך גומא אחת או בתוך שני כוסות והן מונחות זו על זו פסולה:
3
If there were two hairs, their roots reddish and their heads blackish, or their roots blackish and their heads reddish, their status follows the roots entirely. One should cut off the blackish head with scissors. He need not be concerned about the prohibition against shearing consecrated animals, because his intention not to shear.
ג
היו בה שתי שערות עיקרן מאדים וראשן משחיר עיקרן משחיר וראשן מאדים הכל הולך אחר העיקר וגוזז במספרים את ראשן המשחיר ואינו חושש משום גיזה בקדשים שאין כוונתו לגוז:
4
Enough of the red hair must remain so that it can be pulled out by tweezers. For if a hair is not large enough to be pulled out by tweezers, it is considered as if it does not exist. Therefore if there were two white or black hairs that are so small that they cannot be pulled out by tweezers, it is acceptable.
ד
וצריך שישאר מן המאדים כדי שינטל בזוג שכל שערה שאינה ניטלת בזוג הרי היא כאילו אינה לפיכך אם היו בה שתי שערות לבנות או שחורות שאינן נלקטין בזוג הרי זו כשירה:
5
If its horns or hooves are black, they may be cut off and it is acceptable. The color of the eyeballs, the teeth, and the tongue do not disqualify a heifer.
ה
היו קרניה או טלפיה שחורים יגוד גלגל העין והשינים והלשון אין מראיהן פוסלים בפרה:
6
If it had an abnormal growth of another color and one cut it off, even though red hair grew in its place, it is unacceptable.
ו
היתה בה יבלת וחתכה אף על פי שצמח במקומה שיער אדום פסולה:
7
All of the physical blemishes that disqualify sacrificial animals, also disqualify a red heifer, for the prooftext cited above states: "Which does not possess a blemish." If the heifer was born by Caesarian section, was exchanged for a dog, was a present given a prostitute, was treifah, or had been sodomized, it is unacceptable. For any factor that invalidates a sacrificial animal for the altar invalidates the red heifer even though it is considered only as consecrated for the upkeep of the Temple, for Scripture has called it a sin-offering. It is permitted to purchase a red heifer from a gentile. We do not suspect that the gentile sodomized it, for he would not destroy the value of his animal.
There is a more severe element to the red heifer than to animals consecrated as sacrifices: work disqualifies it, for Numbers 19:2states: "upon which a yoke was never placed." Now concerning a calf whose neck is broken, Deuteronomy 21:3 states: "With which no work was performed and which was not led with a yoke." Just as with regard to the yoke mentioned in connection with this calf, the Torah equated other labor with a yoke, so too, with regard to the red heifer, other forms of labor also disqualify it like a yoke does. There is, however, a greater stringency that applies with regard to a yoke. A yoke disqualifies the heifer whether it was placed upon it during work or not during work and other forms of labor disqualify it only when work was actually performed.
What is implied? If one tied a yoke upon it, it is disqualified even if one did not plow with it. If one placed it in a threshing team, it is not disqualified unless it actually threshed. Similar principles apply in analogous situations.
If one rode upon it, leaned upon it, hung on to its tail, crossed a river using it for support while swimming, folded its lead rope on top of it, placed his garment on it, placed a covering of sacks on it, it is disqualified. If one tied it with a rope because it was rebellious and required to be safeguarded, it is acceptable. If not, it is disqualified, for any safeguarding that is unnecessary is a burden.
If one shod its hooves so that it would not slip or spread his garment over it to protect it from flies, it is acceptable. This is the general principle: If anything is done for its own needs, it remains acceptable. If it is performed for another purpose, it is disqualified.
When work was performed with it as a matter of course or a yoke was placed over it as a matter of course, if the owner is pleased, it is disqualified. The rationale is that the verse above states: "With which no work was performed." The implication is that if work was performed with it and the owner would be satisfied, it is as if he performed work with it. Therefore, if a bird rested upon it, it is acceptable. If a male mounted it, it is unacceptable. Needless to say, a pregnant heifer is unacceptable.
If one placed it among a team of animals and it threshed grain on its own accord, it remains acceptable. If he placed it among the team so that it would nurse and thresh, it is disqualified, for he is satisfied that the work is performed. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations.
ז
כל המומין הפוסלין בקדשים פוסלין בפרה שנאמר אשר אין בה מום היתה יוצא דופן או מחיר או אתנן או טרפה או שנרבעה פסולה שכל הפוסלין את הקדשים למזבח פוסלין את הפרה ואף ע"פ שהיא כקדשי בדק הבית הואיל וקראה הכתוב חטאת ומותר ליקח אותה מן העכו"ם ואין חוששין שמא רבעה העכו"ם שאינו מפסיד בהמתו יתירה פרה על הקדשים שהעבודה פוסלת בה שנאמר אשר לא עלה עליה עול ובעגלה ערופה אומר אשר לא עובד בה אשר לא משכה בעול מה עול האמור בעגלה עשה שאר עבודות כעול אף עול האמור בפרה יפסול בה שאר עבודות כעול אלא שהעול פוסל בין בשעת עבודה בין שלא בשעת עבודה ושאר עבודות אין פוסלות אלא בשעת עבודה כיצד קשר עליה העול אע"פ שלא חרש בה פסולה הכניסה לדוש אינה נפסלת עד שידוש בה וכן כל כיוצא בזה רכב עליה נשען עליה נתלה בזנבה ועבר בה את הנהר קפל עליה את המוסירה נתן טליתו עליה נתן עליה כסות של שקים פסולה קשרה במוסרה אם היתה מורדת וצריכה שמירה כשירה ואם לאו פסולה שכל שמירה שאינה צריכה משוי הוא עשה בה סנדל שלא תחלק פירש טליתו עליה מפני הזבובין כשירה זה הכלל כל שהוא לצרכה כשירה לצורך אחר פסולה נעשית בה מלאכה מאליה או שעלה עליה עול מאליו אם לרצונו פסולה שנאמר אשר לא עובד בה שאם עובד בה לרצונו ה"ז כמי שעבד בה לפיכך אם שכן עליה העוף כשירה עלה עליה זכר פסולה ואצ"ל שהמעוברת פסולה הכניסה לרבקה ודשה מאליה כשירה הכניסה כדי שתינק ותדוש פסולה שהרי עשה לרצונו וכן כל כיוצא בזה:
8
When a disqualifying factor invalidates a red heifer, it should be redeemed. Similarly, if it dies, it should be redeemed so that its hide can be used. This, however, should not be done in order to feed its meat to the dogs.
ח
פרה שנולד בה פיסול תפדה וכן אם מתה תפדה מפני עורה אבל לא להאכיל בשרה לכלבים:
9
If it was slaughtered to be used as an ordinary animal, it should be redeemed and it does not bring about atonement. If it was slaughtered on top of the arrangement of wood set up for burning it, it can never be redeemed.
ט
נשחטה לשם חולין תפדה ואינה מכפרת נשחטה על גב מערכתה אין לה פדיון עולמית:
10
If a red heifer was purchased and then one found a more attractive one, the first may be redeemed even if it does not have a blemish.
י
לקחו פרה ומצאו אחרת נאה ממנה ה"ז תפדה שלא במום:
11
Even an ordinary priest is acceptable to perform the burning of the red heifer, as Numbers 9:3 states: "And you shall give it to Elazar, the priest." At that time, Aaron was still alive. According to the Oral Tradition, it was taught: That red heifer was offered by Elazar. The remainder of the red heifers could be offered either by a High Priest or an ordinary priest.
יא
אף כהן הדיוט כשר לשרפת הפרה שנאמר ונתתם אותה אל אלעזר הכהן ועדיין אהרן היה קיים ומפי השמועה למדו זו נעשית באלעזר ושאר כל הפרות בין בכהן גדול בין בכהן הדיוט:
12
The person offering the red heifer should wear the four garments of an ordinary priest. This applies whether it was offered by an ordinary priest or a High Priest.
יב
והעושה אותה לובש ארבעה כלים של כהן הדיוט בין שעשאה כהן הדיוט בין שעשאה כ"ג:
13
All of those who were involved in the offering of the red heifer from the beginning to the end who had immersed that day are acceptable for the services associated with the red heifer, to consecrate the water used for sprinkling, and for sprinkling its ashes even though they did not wait until the nightfall after their immersion. The rationale is that the term "a pure man" used throughout that passage refers to one who is pure with regard to partaking of the second tithe, even though he is not pure with regard to partaking of terumah until nightfall. Such a person is pure with regard to the red heifer.
יג
כל העוסקין בפרה מתחלה ועד סוף שהיו טבולי יום כשירים למעשה הפרה ולקדש ולהזות מאפרה ואף ע"פ שעדיין לא העריב שמשן שזה שנאמר בכל הפרשה איש טהור הוא הטהור למעשר שני אף על פי שאינו טהור לתרומה עד שיעריב שמשו הרי זה טהור לפרה:
14
The Sadducees would say that the offering of the red heifer was acceptable only when those bringing it had waited until nightfall after immersion. Therefore in the Second Temple, the court would cause the priest who burned the red heifer to become ritually impure through contact with the carcass of a crawling animal or the like. He would immerse and then offer the red heifer to nullify the words of these brazen ones who issue rulings according to their whims without basis in the received tradition. Similarly, all of the containers into which the ashes of the red heifer were placed were all immersed that day.
יד
הצדוקין היו אומרים שאין מעשה הפרה כשר אלא במעורבי שמש לפיכך היו ב"ד בבית שני מטמאין את הכהן השורף את הפרה בשרץ וכיוצא בו וטובל ואח"כ עוסק בה כדי לבטל דברי אלו הזדים שמורים מהעולה על רוחם לא מן הקבלה וכן כל הכלים שמכניסין לתוכם אפר הפרה כולם טבולי יום:
15
For the same reason, a person who cuts the stalk of a reed to place the ashes of a red heifer upon it so they can be placed in water to consecrate it for sprinkling, should make it impure, immerse it, and then place the ashes in it. The one who cuts it and the one who immerses it must immerse themselves, because that reed was considered as an entity that came in contact with a corpse on the seventh day of its purification process. Therefore it does not need to have the ashes of the red heifer sprinkled on it. Instead, it is made impure to show the Sadducees that the Oral Tradition should be upheld. It is then immersed and the ashes of the red heifer are placed in it.
טו
החותך שפופרת של קנה להניח בה אפר חטאת יטמא אותה ויטבלנה ואחר כך יניח בה והחותכה והמטבילה טעון טבילה מפני שעשאוה כטמא מת בז' שלו ולפיכך אינה צריכה הזאה שלישי ושביעי אלא מטמאה כדי להראות לצדוקין ומטבילה ונותן בה:
• Rambam - 3 Chapters: Mechirah Mechirah - Chapter Thirteen, Mechirah Mechirah - Chapter Fourteen, Mechirah Mechirah - Chapter Fifteen
• Mechirah - Chapter Thirteen
• Mechirah - Chapter Thirteen
1
When a person exchanges one article for another, or one animal for another, the laws of ona'ah do not apply. This is true even when he exchanges a needle for a necklace, or a lamb for a donkey. This person may desire the needle more than the necklace.
When, however, a person exchanges produce for produce, the laws of ona'ah do apply, regardless of whether the produce is evaluated before the sale or after the sale.
א
המחליף כלים בכלים או בהמה בבהמה אפילו מחט בשיריים או טלה בסוס אין לו הונייה שזה רוצה במחט יותר מן השיריים אבל המחליף פירות בפירות בין ששמו אותם קודם המכירה בין ששמו אותם אחר מכירה יש להן הונייה:
2
When a person purchases an article with coins without measuring their number, volume or weight - e.g., he took a handful of coins and said: "Sell me your cow for these" - this is considered an exchange. The transaction is completed, and the unfair gain must be returned, as explained above.
This law also applies if someone purchases fruit without measuring its number, volume or weight for a sela or two. The transaction is completed and the unfair gain must be returned. When a homeowner sells his personal belongings, the laws of ona'ah do not apply. For a man would not sell his personal belongings unless he were offered an exorbitant amount of money.
ב
הלוקח בדמים אכסרה כגון שחפן ממעות ואמר לו מכור לי פרתך באלו אף על פי שקונה בחליפין קנה ומחזיר הונאה כמו שביארנו והוא הדין ללוקח פירות אכסרה בסלע או בשתים שקנה ומחזיר אונאה בעל הבית שמכר כלי תשמישו אין לו הונייה שאלולי לא הרבו לו הדמים לא היה מוכר לו כלי תשמישו:
3
Although a person tells a colleague, "We are completing this transaction on the condition that you do not hold me responsible for the unfair gain," the laws of ona'ah apply.
When does the above apply? When the statements are made without being explicit. In such an instance, the other party does not know how much money he is forgoing in favor of his colleague. Needless to say, this is the law when one tells the other: "We are completing this transaction on the condition that there is no ona'ahinvolved," for ona'ah is involved.
If, however, one explicitly mentions the amount of unfair gain, the laws of ona'ah do not apply, because all conditions that are accepted by both parties are binding in cases of financial law.
ג
האומר לחבירו על מנת שאין לך עלי אונייה יש לו עליו הונייה במה דברים אמורים בסתם שאין יודע כמה הונייה יש בו כדי שימחול ואין צריך לומר אם אמר לו על מנת שאין בו הונייה שהרי יש בו אבל במפרש אין לו הונייה שכל תנאי שבממון קיים:
4
What is implied? If the seller tells the purchaser: "I am selling you this article for 200 zuz although I know it is worth only 100. I am selling it to you on the condition that you do not hold me responsible for the unfair gain," the laws of ona'ah do not apply.
Similarly, if the purchaser tells the seller: "I am purchasing this article from you for a maneh although I know it is worth 200. I am purchasing it from you on the condition that you do not hold me responsible for the unfair gain," the laws of ona'ah do not apply.
ד
כיצד מוכר שאמר ללוקח חפץ זה שאני נותן במאתים יודע אני שאינו שוה אלא מנה על מנת שאין לך הונייה אני מוכר לך אין לו עליו הונייה וכן לוקח שאמר למוכר חפץ זה שאני לוקח ממך במנה יודע אני ששוה מאתים על מנת שאין לך עלי הונייה אני לוקח ממך אין לו עליו הונייה:
5
When a person buys and sells in a faithful manner, the laws ofona'ah do not apply.
What is implied? The seller tells the purchaser: "I purchased this article for such and such, and I am making this and this amount of profit," the laws of ona'ah do not apply.
ה
הנושא והנותן באמונה אין לו עליו אונייה כיצד חפץ זה בכך וכך לקחתיו כך וכך אני משתכר בו אין לו עליו הונייה:
6
When a person buys and sells in a faithful manner and purchases many different utensils and garments in one lot, he should not calculate and sell the inferior items in a faithful manner, and the superior items according to their value. Instead, he should sell either the entire lot in a faithful manner, or the entire lot according to its value.
The seller may include the cost of porters, donkey drivers and his lodgings in the cost of the article. He may not, however, add his own wages as a worker to the cost. Instead, he must say: "I am taking this and this amount as profit," and be specific about that amount.
ו
והנושא והנותן באמונה אם לקח כלים רבים או בגדים בממכר אחד לא יחשוב את הרע באמונה ואת היפה בשוה אלא זה וזה באמונה או זה וזה בשווין ויש לו להעלות על המקח שכר הכתף ושכר החמר ושכר פונדק אבל שכר עצמו מפני שהוא כפועל אינו מוסיף אותו על המקח אלא מפרש ואומר לו כך וכך אני משתכר:
7
The laws of ona'ah do not apply with regard to a gentile. This is implied by Leviticus 25:14, which states: "When you sell an entity... or purchase an entity..., one man should not cheat his brother."
If a gentile takes unfair advantage of a Jew, he is required to return the unfair gain according to our laws. Dealings with a gentile should not be more severe than dealings with a fellow Jew.
ז
העכו"ם אין לו הונייה שנאמר איש את אחיו ועכו"ם שהונה את ישראל מחזיר הונייה בדינין שלנו לא יהיה זה חמור מישראל:
8
The laws of ona'ah do not apply with regard to the following objects: landed property, servants, promissory notes and consecrated property. Even if one sells one of these entities that is worth one thousand zuz for one zuz, or an entity worth one zuz for one thousand zuz, the laws of ona'ah do not apply.This is derived from Leviticus 25:14, which states: "Or when you purchase an entity from the hand of your colleague." "From the hand of indicates that the verse is referring to an article whose ownership is transferred from hand to hand, thus excluding landed property. And this also excludes servants, for an association has been established linking the laws governing them to those governing landed property. It also excludes promissory notes, since one is not purchasing the note itself. It merely serves as proof of the obligation it records.
"Your colleague" excludes consecrated property.
ח
אלו דברים שאין להם הונייה הקרקעות והעבדים והשטרות וההקדשות אפילו מכר שוה אלף בדינר או שוה דינר באלף אין בהן הונייה שנאמר או קנה מיד עמיתך דבר הנקנה מיד ליד יצאו הקרקעות ויצאו עבדים שהוקשו לקרקעות ויצאו שטרות שאין גופן קנוי אלא לראיה שבהן עמיתך ולא הקדש:
9
When does the above apply? When one sells one's own property. When, by contrast, an agent makes the slightest error with regard to the value of either movable property or landed property, the transaction is nullified.
It appears to me that the same laws apply to a guardian entrusted with the property of orphans. If he makes the slightest error with regard to the value of either movable property or landed property, the transaction is nullified. He is not considered comparable to a court, because he is merely one individual.
ט
בד"א במוכר נכסי עצמו אבל השליח שטעה בכל שהוא בין במטלטלין בין בקרקעות חוזר ונראה לי שכן הדין באפוטרופוס שטעה בכל שהוא בין במטלטלין בין בקרקעות חוזר ואינו דומה לב"ד מפני שהוא יחיד:
10
The following laws apply when a court sells either movable property or landed property belonging to orphans, and errs. If they erred with regard to less than one sixth of the value of the object, it is considered as if the unfair gain is waived, as is the law with regard to an ordinary person. If they erred with regard to one sixth, the transaction is nullified.
If the court did not desire to nullify the transaction, but instead have the unfair gain returned, they may. For the legal power of an ordinary person should not be greater than that of a court.
י
בית דין שמכרו נכסי יתומים וטעו בין בקרקעות בין במטלטלין אם טעו בפחות משתות הרי זו מחילה כהדיוט טעו בשתות בטל המקח ואם רצו שלא לבטל הממכר ויחזירו ההונייה מחזירין לא יהיה כח הדיוט חמור מהן:
11
It appears to me that if a court sold landed property or servants belonging to orphans at an unfair price, selling entities worth 100 zuz for 200, the purchaser cannot retract. For the legal power of an ordinary individual should not be greater than that of orphans. Similarly, if a guardian of orphans sells landed property or servants at an unfair profit, the purchaser cannot retract because of the unfair profit, as is the law with regard to an ordinary individual.
יא
נראה לי שבית דין שמכרו קרקע או עבדים של יתומים שוה מנה במאתים אין הלוקח יכול לחזור בהן לא יהיה כח הדיוט חמור מכח היתומים וכן הדין באפוטרופוס שמכר קרקע ועבדים שאין הלוקח יכול לחזור בהונייה כדין ההדיוט:
12
When brothers or partners divide movable property, they are considered like purchasers. If there is unfair gain less than one sixth of the article's value, the transaction is completed, and there is no need to return anything. If the unfair gain exceeds one sixth, the transaction is nullified. If it is an even sixth, the transaction is completed and the unfair gain must be returned.
If the involved parties made an agreement to divide the property according to the evaluation of judges, and the judges erred with regard to a sixth or more, the division is nullified. For when judges who make an evaluation reduce or increase the value of an article by a sixth, the transaction is nullified.
יב
האחין והשותפין שחלקו המטלטלין הרי הן כלקוחות פחות משתות נקנה מקח ואין מחזיר כלום יתר על שתות בטל מקח שתות קנה ומחזיר אונאה ואם התנו ביניהם שיחלקו בשום הדיינין וטעו בשתות בטלה חלוקה שהדיינין ששמו ופחתו שתות או הותירו שתות מכרן בטל:
13
Livestock, pearls, a sword, and a Torah scroll are considered like other movable property, and the laws ofona'ah apply to transactions involving them. There are no entities in which the laws of ona'ah do not apply, except the four entities mentioned by our Sages. And even with regard to these entities, this is true provided the person is buying or selling his own property, as we have explained.
יג
הבהמה והמרגלית והסייף וספר תורה הרי הן כשאר מטלטלין ויש בהן הונייה אין לך דבר שאין בו הונייה חוץ מארבעה דברים שמנו חכמים והוא שיהיה מוכר קונה בנכסי עצמו כמו שביארנו:
14
Just as the laws of ona'ah do not apply to the purchase of landed property, so too, these laws do not apply to the rental of landed property. Even if one rents a large hall for only onedinar a year, or a small coop for a dinar a day, the laws of ona'ahdo not apply.
יד
כשם שאין לקרקעות הונייה כך שכירות קרקע אין לו הונייה אפילו שכר טרקלין גדול בדינר בשנה או רפת קטנה בדינר בכל יום אין לו הונייה:
15
When a person hires a worker to work for him - whether with regard to movable property or with regard to landed property - the laws of ona'ah do not apply. It is as if he is purchasing him for that time, and the laws of ona'ah do not apply with regard to servants.
טו
השוכר את הפועל לעשות עמו בין בקרקע בין במטלטלין אין לו הונייה מפני שהוא כקונה אותו לזמן ועבדים אין בהם הונייה:
16
There is an unresolved doubt in the following situation. A person hires a contractorto sow a field, the contractor claims to have sowed it in a proper manner, and witnesses testify that the contractor sowed fewer seeds than are supposed to be sown. We are unsure whether the laws of ona'ah apply because of the seeds, or whether these laws do not apply because of the land."
Therefore, the funds should not be expropriated from the defendant, nor is he required to take anything but a Rabbinic oath, because of the connection the dispute has to landed property.
טז
שכרו לזרוע לו קרקע ואמר זרעתי בה זריעה הראוי בה ובאו עדים שזרע בה פחות מן הראוי לה הרי זה ספק אם יש לו הונייה מפני הזרע או אין לו הונייה מפני הקרקע לפיכך אין מוציאין מיד נתבע וכן אין משביעין אותו אלא שבועת היסת מפני צד הקרקע שיש כאן:
17
The laws of ona'ah apply with regard to the rental of a utensil or an animal. For rental is considered to be a sale for a day. Thus, if there is an unfair gain of one sixth or more - regardless of whether this unfair gain is taken at the advantage of the owner or the person who rents the article - the unfair gain must be returned. This applies even when a lengthy period of time has passed since the transaction.
יז
השוכר את הכלים או את הבהמה יש להם אונייה שהשכירות מכירה בת יומה היא ואם יש בה הונייה שתות או יותר בין שנתאנה שוכר בין שנתאנה משכיר הרי זה מחזיר הונייה ואפילו לאחר זמן מרובה:
18
It appears to me that the laws of ona'ah apply with regard to a contractor.
What is implied? A person agreed to weave a particular garment for ten zuzim, or to sew a particular cloak for two zuzim. If there is unfair profit involved, the laws of ona'ah apply. Either the contractor or the owner of the garment may always retract as a seller may.
יח
נראה לי שהקבלן יש לו הונאה כיצד כגון שקבל עליו לארוג בגד זה בעשרה זוזים או לתפור חלוק זה בשני זוזים הרי זה יש לו הונייה וכל אחד משניהם בין קבלן בין בעל הבגד חוזר לעולם כמוכר:
Mechirah - Chapter Fourteen
1
We have already explained that if a person buys and sells in a faithful manner, saying "This is the extent of profit that I am making," the laws of ona'ah do not apply. Even if he says: "I purchased the article for a sela, and I am selling it for ten," this is permitted.
Nevertheless, the court is obligated to regulate prices and appoint officers of the law, so that people at large will not be able to reap whatever profit they desire. Instead, the court should regulate that a person should earn only a profit of a sixth. A seller should not profit more than a sixth of his investment.
א
כבר ביארנו שהנושא ונותן באמונה ואמר כך וכך אני משתכר אין לו הונייה ואפילו אמר זה לקחתי בסלע ובעשר אני מוכר מותר אבל בית דין חייבין לפסוק השערים ולהעמיד שוטרין לכך ולא יהיה כל אחד ואחד משתכר כל מה שירצה אלא שתות בלבד יפסקו להם בשכרם ולא ישתכר המוכר יתר על שתות:
2
When does the above apply? With regard to articles on which our lives depend - e.g., wine, oil and fine flour. With regard to herbs - e.g., costus, frankincense, and the like - by contrast, a set limit is not established by the court. The seller may take any measure of profit he desires.
ב
במה דברים אמורים בדברים שיש בהם חיי נפש כגון יינות שמנים וסלתות אבל העיקרין כגון הקושט והלבונה וכיוצא בהן אין פוסקין להם שער אלא ישתכר כל מה שירצה:
3
Profit may not be taken twice when selling eggs. The first merchant who sells them may take a profit, and the person who buys them from him must sell them at cost.
ג
ואין משתכרין פעמים בביצים אלא התגר הראשון הוא מוכרן בשכר והלוקח ממנו מוכרן בקרן בלבד:
4
It is forbidden to do business in Eretz Yisrael with articles on which our lives depend. Instead, one person should bring from his produce heap, and another person should bring from his produce heap, so that they sell cheaply. In places where oil is abundant, it is permitted to do business with oil.
ד
אסור לעשות סחורה בארץ ישראל בדברים שיש בהן חיי נפש אלא זה מביא מגרנו ומוכר וזה מביא מגרנו ומוכר כדי שימכרנו בזול ובמקום שהשמן מרובה מותר להשתכר בשמן:
5
Produce on which our lives depend should not be stored for the future in Eretz Yisrael or in any place that is predominantly inhabited by Jews, for this causes anxiety for the Jewish people.
When does the above apply? When a person purchases such produce in the market place. When a person stores his own produce, he may store the kav that he possesses.
ה
אין אוצרין פירות שיש בהן חיי נפש בארץ ישראל וכן בכל מקום שרובו ישראל שהרי מגיע מדבר זה צער לישראל בד"א בלוקח מן השוק אבל המכניס משלו מותר לעשות לו קבו אוצר:
6
It is permitted to store produce during three years: the year before the Sabbatical year, the Sabbatical year and the year following the Sabbatical year.
In a year of drought, one should not store even a small measure of carobs, because one brings a curse on the market prices. Whoever causes prices to rise or who stores produce in Eretz Yisrael or in a place primarily inhabited by Jews is likened to one who lends money at interest.
ו
מותר לאצור פירות שלש שנים ערב שביעית ושביעית ומוצאי שביעית ובשני בצורת אפילו קב חרובין לא יאצור מפני שמכניס מארה בשערים וכל המפקיע שערים או שאצר פירות בארץ או במקום שרובו ישראל הרי זה כמלוה ברבית:
7
When does the above apply? With regard to produce on which our lives depend. It is, however, permitted to store spices like cumin and pepper in Eretz Yisrael and to transport them from place to place like other herbs.
ז
במה דברים אמורים בפירות שיש בהן חיי נפש אבל התבלין כגון כמון ופלפלין מותר לאצור אותן בארץ ישראל ולהוציא אותן ממקום למקום כשאר העיקרין:
8
We may not take produce on which our lives depend - e.g., wine, oil and fine flour - from Eretz Yisrael to the diaspora or to Syria. Nor may such produce be taken from the domain of one king to the domain of another king in Eretz Yisrael.
ח
אין מוציאין פירות שיש בהן חיי נפש כגון יינות שמנים וסלתות מארץ ישראל לחוצה לארץ או לסוריא ולא מרשות מלך זה לרשות מלך אחר בארץ ישראל:
9
The inhabitants of a city are permitted to establish fixed prices for any commodities they desire, even meat and bread. They may establish conditions stating that anyone who violates these guidelines will be punished in such and such a fashion.
ט
רשאין בני העיר לקוץ להם שער לכל דבר שירצו ואפילו בשר ולחם ולהתנות ביניהם לכל מי שיעבור יענשו אותו כך וכך:
10
Similarly, craftsmen in a specific profession may establish provisions and agree that one should not work on the day on which another is working or the like, and that anyone who violates these guidelines will be punished in such and such a fashion.
י
רשאין אנשי אומניות לפסוק ביניהם שלא יעשה אחד ביום שיעשה חבירו וכיוצא בזה וכל מי שיעבור על התנאי יענשו אותו כך וכך:
11
When does the above apply? In a city where there is not a distinguished sage to correct the conduct within the city and improve the ways of its inhabitants. If, however, there is such a distinguished sage, a condition established by craftsmen is not effective without the ruling of the sage.
They may not punish or inflict loss on anyone who does not accept their stipulation, unless that stipulation was made with the consent of the sage. Whoever causes a colleague a loss because of a stipulation that was not made with the consent of the sage is liable to pay.
יא
בד"א במדינה שאין בה חכם חשוב לתקן מעשה המדינה ולהצליח דרכי יושביה אבל אם יש בה אדם חכם חשוב אין התנאי שלהן מועיל כלום ואין יכולין לענוש ולהפסיד על מי שלא קיבל התנאי אא"כ התנה עמהם ועשו מדעת החכם וכל מי שפהסיד לפי התנאי שאינו מדעת החכם משלם:
12
Just as the prohibition against ona'ah applies with regard to business transactions, it applies with regard to speech, asLeviticus 25:17 states: "A person should not abuse his colleague, and you shall fear your God. I am the Lord"; this refers to verbal abuse.
יב
כשם שהונייה במקח ממכר כך יש הונייה בדברים שנאמר ולא תונו איש את עמיתו ויראת מאלהיך אני ה' זה הוניית דברים:
13
What is implied? If a person is one who has repented, one should not say: "Remember your initial deeds." If a person is a descendant of converts, one should not tell him: "Remember your ancestors' deeds."
If a convert comes to study the Torah, one should not tell him: "Should a mouth that ate meat from animals that were not ritually slaughtered and that were trefah come and study the Torah that was given by the Almighty?"
If a person was afflicted by illness and suffering or he is forced to bury his children, one should not speak to him in the manner that Job's friends addressed him Job 4:6-7: "Your fear of God was for your own security.... Can you recall anyone who was innocent who perished?"
יג
כיצד היה בעל תשובה לא יאמר לו זכור מעשיך הראשונים ואם היה בן גרים לא יאמר לו זכור מעשה אבותיך היה גר ובא ללמוד תורה לא יאמר לו פה שאכל נבילות וטריפות יבא וילמוד תורה שניתנה מפי הגבורה היו חלאים ויסורים באין עליו או שהיה מקבר את בניו לא יאמר לו כדרך שאמרו חבריו לאיוב הלא יראתך כסלתך זכור נא מי הוא נקי אבד:
14
If donkey drivers are seeking grain, one should not tell them: "Go to so and so," if one knows that this person has never sold grain.
If a question regarding a point of knowledge was raised, one should not ask a person who has never studied that field of knowledge: "How would you answer this question?" or "What do you think about this matter?" The same applies to other matters of this like.
יד
היו חמרין מבקשין תבואה לא יאמר להם לכו אצל פלוני והוא יודע שלא מכר תבואה מעולם נשאלה שאלה על דבר חכמה לא יאמר למי שאינו יודע אותה חכמה מה תשיב בדבר זה או מה דעתך בדבר זה וכן כל כיוצא בדברים הללו:
15
Whoever abuses a convert, whether in financial transactions or verbally, transgresses three prohibitions, asExodus 22:20 states: "Do not abuse a convert..." this refers to verbal abuse- "and do not oppress him" - this refers to taking unfair financial advantage of him.
This teaches that anyone who verbally abuses a convert transgresses three negative prohibitions: "A person should not abuse his colleague," and "One man should not take unfair advantage of his brother," "Do not abuse a convert."
טו
כל המאנה את הגר בין בממון בין בדברים עובר בשלשה לאוין שנאמר וגר לא תונה זה הוניית דברים ולא תלחצנו זה הוניית ממון הא למדת שכל המאנה את הגר עובד בשלשה לאוין משום לא תונו איש את עמיתו ומשום אל תונו איש את אחיו ומשום וגר לא תונה:
16
Similarly, if a person oppresses a convert and takes unfair financial advantage of him, he transgresses three negative prohibitions: "A person should not abuse his colleague," "One man should not take unfair advantage of his brother," and "Do not oppress him."
טז
וכן אם לחצו והונהו בממון עובר בשלשה לאוין משום אל תונו איש את אחיו ומשום ולא תונו איש את עמיתו ומשום ולא תלחצנו:
17
Why does a person transgress the prohibition against verbal abuse when he takes unfair financial advantage of a convert, and the prohibition against taking unfair financial advantage if he verbally abuses him? Because the Torah uses the word ona'ah with regard to both these prohibitions, without being more specific, and repeats these two prohibitions with regard to a convert explicitly: "Do not abuse" and "do not oppress him."
יז
ומפני מה עובר בגר על לאו של הוניית דברים אף בהניית ממון ועל לאו של הוניית ממון אף בהונאת דברים מפני שהוציא הכתוב את שניהם בלשון הונייה סתם וכפל לאוין בגר בשני הדברים בפירוש לא תונו ולא תלחץ:
18
Verbally abusing a person is more severe than taking unfair advantage of him financially. For the latter can be repaid, while the former can never be repaid. The latter involves only the person's possessions, while the former involves his person.
And with regard to verbal abuse, Leviticus 25:17 states: "And you shall fear your God," for the matter is one of feelings. With regard to all matters of feeling, the Torah states: "And you shall fear your God."
Whenever a person cries out because of verbal abuse, he is answered immediately, as implied by the conclusion of the above verse: "...I am God."
יח
גדולה הוניית דברים מהוניית ממון שזה ניתן להשבון וזה לא ניתן להשבון וזה בממונו וזה בגופו והרי הוא אומר בהוניית דברים ויראת מאלהיך לפי שהדבר מסור ללב הא למדת כל דבר שהוא מסור ללב נאמר בו ויראת מאלהיך וכל הצועק מהוניית דברים נענה מיד שנאמר כי אני ה':
Mechirah - Chapter Fifteen
1
When a person sells an item to a colleague by measure, by weight or by number, and errs to the slightest degree, the colleague may seek redress at any time.
The principles of ona'ah apply only with regard to an object's value. An error in calculation, by contrast, is always reason to seek redress.
א
המוכר לחבירו במדה במשקל או במניין וטעה בכל שהוא חוזר לעולם שאין הונייה אלא בדמים אבל בחשבון חוזר:
2
What is implied? A person sold a colleague 100 nuts for adinar, and then it was discovered that he gave him 101 or 99. The transaction is binding, and the extra or missing nut must be returned. This applies even if several years have passed.
Similarly, if it is discovered that more or less money was given than the amount originally agreed upon the error should be corrected. This applies even if he performed a kinyan attesting to the fact that his colleague does not owe him anything. For the kinyan was performed under mistaken premises. Similar principles apply in all analogous situations.
ב
כיצד מכר לו מאה אגוזים בדינר ונמצאו מאה ואחד או תשעים ותשעה נקנה המקח ומחזיר את הטעות ואפילו לאחר כמה שנים וכן אם נמצאו המעות חסר או יתר מן המנין שפסקו חוזר ואפילו לאחר שקנו מידו שלא נשאר לו אצל חבירו כלום חוזר שקניין בטעות הוא וכן כל כיוצא בזה:
3
Similarly, when a person sells a colleague landed property, a servant, an animal or movable property, and there is a defect in the property that the purchaser was not aware of, he may return it, even though several years have passed. For the transaction was concluded under erroneous premises.
The above applies provided he did not use the purchased article after he discovered the blemish. If, however, he made use of it after he discovered the blemish, he is considered to have forfeited his right to retract, and he may not return the article.
ג
וכן המוכר לחבירו קרקע או עבד או בהמה או שאר מטלטלין ונמצא במקח מום שלא ידע בו הלוקח מחזירו אפילו לאחר כמה שנים שזה מקח טעות הוא והוא שלא ישתמש במקח אחר שידע במום אבל אם נשתמש בו אחר שראה המום הרי זה מחל ואינו יכול להחזיר:
4
We do not evaluate the diminution in value caused by the blemish. Instead, even if one sold a colleague a utensil worth ten dinarim, and a blemish was discovered that reduced its value by an isar the purchaser may return the utensil. The seller may not tell him: "Here is an isar, the decrease in value caused by the blemish." For the purchaser may say: "I desire a perfect article." Conversely, if the purchaser desires that the transaction stand, but seeks to be reimbursed for the diminution in value caused by the blemish, the option is given to the seller. He may tell him: "Either purchase the utensil as is for the full price, or take your money and depart.
ד
אין מחשבין פחת המום אפילו מכר לו כלי שוה עשרה דינרין ונמצא בו מום המפחיתו מדמיו איסר מחזיר את הכלי ואינו יכול לומר לו הילך איסר פחת המום שהלוקח אומר בחפץ שלם אני רוצה וכן אם רצה הלוקח ליקח פחת המום הרשות ביד המוכר שהוא אומר לו או תקנה אותו כמו שהוא או טול דמים שלך ולך:
5
Whenever there is a blemish that the people of a city agree is serious enough to warrant the nullification of a transaction, the article should be returned. Whenever the people agree that a fault is not considered to be a blemish, the article should not be returned unless the purchaser explicitly stated that he refused to accept even the slightest blemish. The rationale is that whenever a person conducts business without making any specific demands, it is assumed that he is following the prevailing customs of the community.
ה
כל שהסכימו עליו בני המדינה שהוא מום שמחזיר בו מקח זה מחזירין וכל שהסכימו עליו שאינו מום הרי זה אינו מחזיר בו אלא אם פירש שכל הנושא ונותן סתם על מנהג המדינה הוא סומך:
6
Whenever a person purchases an article without making any specific statements, it is assumed that he desired to purchase an article that is perfect, without any blemish.
Even if the seller explicitly said: "This article is sold to you on the condition that you do not return it as blemished," the purchaser may nevertheless return the article unless the purchaser says: "I accept any blemish that I will discover in this article although it causes it to be worth such and such less." For when a person waives money that is due him, he must know how much he is waiving and make an explicit statement to that effect, as applies with regard to the laws of ona'ah.
ו
כל הלוקח סתם אינו לוקח אלא הדבר השלם מכל מום ואם פירש המוכר ואמר על מנת שאין אתה חוזר עלי במום הרי זה חוזר עד שיפרש המום שיש בממכרו וימחול הלוקח או עד שיאמר לו כל מום שימצא במקח זה הפוחת דמיו עד כך וכך קבלתי אותו שהמוחל צריך לידע הדבר שימחול לו בו ויפרש אותו כמו המפרש בהונייה:
7
When a person sells a cow to a colleague and states that it has some blemishes that are obvious and some blemishes that are not obvious, and the cow does not possess any of the blemishes that are obvious, but does possess one of the blemishes that are not obvious, the transaction is considered to have been concluded under erroneous premises. The cow may be returned although the blemish that was discovered was mentioned explicitly. The rationale is that the purchaser will say: "Since I saw that the cow did not possess any of the apparent blemishes that you mentioned, I said to myself: 'In the same manner, it does not have any of the blemishes that are not apparent. Why did the seller mention them? To make me feel good about my purchase.' "
ז
המוכר פרה לחבירו ומנה בה מומין גלויים ומומין שאין ניכרין ולא היה בה מאותן המומין הגלויין שמנה ונמצא בה מום מאותן שאינן ניכרין הרי זה מקח טעות וחוזר ואע"פ שפירש המום שנמצא שהרי הלוקח אומר כשראיתי שאין בה אלו המומין שנראין שמנה אמרתי כך אין בה אלו שאינן נראין שמנה ואינו מפרש מומין אלו אלא כדי להשביח דעתי:
8
What is implied? The seller says: "This cow is blind; it is lame; it bites and it crouches suddenly," and it is discovered that the cow only bites or only crouches suddenly, the transaction is considered to have been concluded under erroneous premises.
If the cow possesses all the blemishes the seller mentioned, the transaction is not considered to have been concluded under erroneous premises. Similarly, if the cow is lame but not blind, and it is discovered that it bites, the transaction is not considered to have been concluded under erroneous premises.
ח
כיצד פרה זו עורת היא חגרת היא נשכנית היא רבצנית היא ונמצאת רבצנית בלבד או נשכנית הרי זה מקח טעות היו בה כל המומין שמנה אין זה מקח טעות וכן אם היתה חגרת ונמצאת נשכנית אף על פי שאינה עורת אין זה מקח טעות:
9
The following rule applies if the seller shows the purchaser a blemish that the cow possesses and tells him: "It has this blemish and also these other blemishes." Although the cow possesses all or several of the non-obvious blemishes that the seller mentioned, the transaction is not considered to have been conducted under false premises.
ט
הראה לו המום שיש בה ואמר לו מום זה יש בה ומום פלוני [ומום פלוני] אף על פי שאותן המומין שמנה נראין ונמצאו בה כולן או מקצתן אין זה מקח טעות:
10
Similarly, if a person sells a maidservant to a colleague and says: "She has only one hand; she limps; she is blind; she is a maniac; she is an epileptic," and she does not possess any of the blemishes the seller mentioned, but she is epileptic, the transaction is considered to have been conducted under false premises. The same principles apply in all analogous situations.
י
וכן המוכר שפחה לחבירו ואמר לו גדמת היא חגרת היא סומא היא שוטה היא נכפית היא ולא היה בה מום מאלו המומין שמנה ונמצאת נכפית הרי זה מקח טעות וכן כל כיוצא בזה:
11
On this basis, I maintain that if a person sells an article to a person for 100 dinarim and tells him: "This article is not worth more than one zuz, and I am selling it to you on the condition that the laws of ona'ah do not apply to me," the laws of ona'ah do apply. For the purchaser will say: "Since I saw the seller say that it was only worth a zuz, I realized that he was only trying to make me feel good about my purchase."The above holds true until the seller explicitly mentions the amount of unfair gain involved in this purchase - or mentions a figure that is close to that, concerning which a person could possibly err. For then we know that the purchaser certainly waived his right to this money.It is fitting to rule according to this logic.
יא
מכאן אני אומר שהמוכר חפץ לחבירו במאה דינרין ואמר לו חפץ זה אינו שוה אלא זוז אחד על מנת שאין לך עלי אונאה הרי זה יש לו עליו אונאה שהרי אומר כיון שראיתי שאמר שאינו שוה אלא זוז ידעתי שאינו מתכוין אלא להשביח דעתי עד שיפרש כדי ההונייה שיש במקחו בודאי או קרוב לה בכדי שהדעת טועה שהרי ידע בודאי הדבר שמחל בו וכזה ראוי לדון:
12
When a person sells a manservant or a maidservant, the purchaser may not return it because it possesses blemishes that do not prevent the man or woman from working. These blemishes are called simpon. If the simpon was evident, the purchaser saw it at the time of purchase.If it was not always evident - e.g., a mole in its flesh, a scar from a dog-bite or a foul odor coming from the mouth or the nose - he may not return it, for these blemishes do not prevent the servant from working. And servants are not for the purpose of physical intimacy, but to perform work.
יב
המוכר עבד או שפחה אין הלוקח יכול להחזירו מפני מומין שאין מבטלין אותו ממלאכתו והן הנקראין סמפון שאם היה זה סמפון גלוי כבר ראהו ואם אינו נראה כגון שומא בבשר או נשיכת כלב או ריח הפה או החוטם וכיוצא בהן הואיל ואינו מבטלו ממלאכתו אינו מחזיר שאין העבדים לתשמיש המטה אלא למלאכה:
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If the servant has extremely uncomfortable boils or a sickness that weakens his strength, or if he is epileptic or insane, it is considered to be a blemish, because this prevents him from working. Similarly, if he has tzara'afi or other conditions that are revolting, it is considered to be a blemish, because a person is repelled by them, and therefore he will not use this servant to serve food or drink.
Similarly, if he is discovered to be an armed robber, this is considered to be a blemish that destroys his entire worth. For the ruling authorities will seize him and execute him.
Similarly, if he has been conscripted by the ruling authorities, this is considered to be a blemish for which the servant can be returned, for the king will seize him to work for him whenever he desires. If, however, the servant is discovered to be a thief, a pilferer, a kidnapper, one who constantly tries to escape, a glutton or the like, the purchaser may not return him unless he explicitly stated that he refused to accept a servant with any of these qualities. For all servants can be assumed to possess these undesirable attributes.
יג
נמצא בו שחין רע או חולי המתיש את כחו או שהיה נכפה או משועמם הרי זה מום מפני שמבטלו ממלאכתו וכן אם נמצא בו צרעת וכיוצא בה מדברים אלו המגואלים הרי זה מום מפני שנפשו של אדם אוננת מהם ונמצא שאינו מתעסק לו במלאכת אכילה ושתייה וכן אם נמצא ליסטים מזויין הרי זה מום המאבד את כולו מפני שהמלך תופס אותו והורגו וכן אם נמצא מוכתב למלכות הרי זה מום ומחזירו מפני שהמלך תופשו למלאכתו בכל עת שירצה אבל אם נמצא גנב או חוטף או גונב נפשות או בורח תמיד או זולל וסובא וכיוצא בדברים אלו אינו יכול להחזיר שכל העבדים בחזקת שיש בהן כל הדעות הרעות אלא אם כן פירש:
Hayom Yom: Today's Hayom Yom
• Thursday, 7 AV , 5776 · 11 August 2016
• "Today's Day"
• Sunday, Menachem Av 7, 5703
Torah lessons: Chumash: Va'etchanan, first parsha with Rashi.
Tehillim: 39-43.
Tanya: I. We begin (p. 389) ...and the body of the soul. (p. 391).
The (sacred) letter beginning Potchin bivracha1 was written ten years before the letter which begins Katonti.2
FOOTNOTES
1."We begin with a blessing..."; this letter is the first in Igeret Hakodesh ("Sacred Epistles"), Part IV of Tanya, and is the Tanya Torah-lesson for the day.
2."I have become small..."; second letter in Igeret Hakodesh, written by the Alter Rebbe on his return from his arrest in Petersburg (in 5559).
• Daily Thought:
The Lost Ark
In Solomon’s Temple, there were two places reserved for the Holy Ark:
One in the Chamber of the Holy of Holies,
and one hidden deep beneath that chamber.
There are two places to find G‑d’s presence in all its glory.
One is in the most holy of chambers, beyond the place of light and heavenly incense. There G‑d Himself could be found by the most perfect of mortals on the most sublime day of the year.
Today, we cannot enter that place. But there is another place, beyond catacombs and convoluted mazes, deep within the bowels of the earth—and yet always accessible to those who will make the journey.
There, those whose faces are charred with the ashes of failure, their hands bloody from scraping through dirt and stone, their clothes torn from falling again and again, and their hearts ripped by bitter tears—there, in that subterranean darkness, they are blinded by the light of the hidden things of G‑d . . .
. . . until that Presence will shine for all of us, forever.[Likkutei Sichot, vol. 26, pp. 156ff.]
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Torah lessons: Chumash: Va'etchanan, first parsha with Rashi.
Tehillim: 39-43.
Tanya: I. We begin (p. 389) ...and the body of the soul. (p. 391).
The (sacred) letter beginning Potchin bivracha1 was written ten years before the letter which begins Katonti.2
FOOTNOTES
1."We begin with a blessing..."; this letter is the first in Igeret Hakodesh ("Sacred Epistles"), Part IV of Tanya, and is the Tanya Torah-lesson for the day.
2."I have become small..."; second letter in Igeret Hakodesh, written by the Alter Rebbe on his return from his arrest in Petersburg (in 5559).
• Daily Thought:
The Lost Ark
In Solomon’s Temple, there were two places reserved for the Holy Ark:
One in the Chamber of the Holy of Holies,
and one hidden deep beneath that chamber.
There are two places to find G‑d’s presence in all its glory.
One is in the most holy of chambers, beyond the place of light and heavenly incense. There G‑d Himself could be found by the most perfect of mortals on the most sublime day of the year.
Today, we cannot enter that place. But there is another place, beyond catacombs and convoluted mazes, deep within the bowels of the earth—and yet always accessible to those who will make the journey.
There, those whose faces are charred with the ashes of failure, their hands bloody from scraping through dirt and stone, their clothes torn from falling again and again, and their hearts ripped by bitter tears—there, in that subterranean darkness, they are blinded by the light of the hidden things of G‑d . . .
. . . until that Presence will shine for all of us, forever.[Likkutei Sichot, vol. 26, pp. 156ff.]
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