Torah Reading
Shoftim (Devarim/Deuteronomy 16:18 Shofetim and shoterim shalt thou appoint thee in all thy she’arim, which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee, throughout thy shevatim: and they shall judge HaAm with mishpat-tzedek.
19 Thou shalt not pervert mishpat; thou shalt not show partiality, neither take a shochad: for a bribe doth blind the eyes of the chachamim, and twist the devarim of the tzaddikim.
20 Tzedek tzedek (that which is altogether just) shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit ha’aretz which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee.
21 Thou shalt not set up any tree as an Asherah near unto the Mizbe’ach of Hashem Eloheicha, which thou shalt make thee.
22 Neither shalt thou set thee up any matzeivah (pillar); which Hashem Eloheicha hateth.
17:1 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto Hashem Eloheicha any ox, or sheep, wherein is mum (blemish), or any evil thing, any defect: for that is a to’avat (abomination) unto Hashem Eloheicha.
2 If there be found among you, within any of thy she’arim which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee, ish or isha, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of Hashem Eloheicha, in transgressing His Brit,
3 And hath gone and served elohim acherim, and worshiped them, either the shemesh, or yarei’ach, or any of the tz’vah HaShomayim, which I have not commanded;
4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and inquired diligently, and, hinei, it be emes, and the thing nakhon (certain, correct), that such to’evah (abomination) is wrought in Yisroel,
5 Then shalt thou bring forth that ish or that isha, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy she’arim, even that ish or that isha, and shalt stone them with avanim, till they die.
6 At the mouth of shneym edim, or shloshah edim, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of ed echad (one witness) he shall not be put to death.
7 The hands of the edim shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of kol haAm. So thou shalt put harah (the evil) away from among you.
8 If there arise a matter too hard for thee in mishpat, between dahm and dahm, between din and din, and between nega and nega, being matters of controversy within thy she’arim, then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which Hashem Eloheicha shall choose;
9 And thou shalt come unto the kohanim, who are the Levi’im, and unto the Shofet that shall be in those days, and inquire; and they shall show thee the devar hamishpat (word of judgment);
10 And thou shalt do according to the devar, which they of that place which Hashem shall choose shall show thee; and thou shalt be shomer to do according to all that they teach thee;
11 According to the pi hatorah which they shall teach thee, and according to the mishpat which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do; thou shalt not turn aside from the devar which they shall show thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.
12 And the ish that will do presumptuously, and will not give heed unto the kohen that standeth to minister there before Hashem Eloheicha, or unto the Shofet, even that ish shall die; and thou shalt put away harah from Yisroel.
13 And kol haAm shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.
14 When thou art come unto ha’aretz which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a melech over me, like Kol HaGoyim that are about me;
15 Thou shalt in any wise set him as melech over thee, whom Hashem Eloheicha shall choose; one from among thy achim shalt thou set as melech over thee; thou mayest not set an ish nokhri over thee, which is not achicha (thy brother, i.e., a fellow Hebrew).
16 But he shall not multiply susim to himself, nor cause the people to return to Mitzrayim, to the end that he should multiply the sus; forasmuch as Hashem hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
17 Neither shall he multiply nashim to himself, that his lev turn not away; neither shall he greatly multiply to himself kesef and zahav.
18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the kisei mamlakhto (throne of his kingdom), that he shall write him a mishneh hatorah hazot (copy of this torah) in a sefer out of that which is before the kohanim, the Levi’im;
19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear Hashem Elohav, to be shomer over kol divrei hatorah hazot and these chukkim, to do them;
20 That his lev be not lifted up in pride above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the mitzvah, to the right hand, or to the left; to the end that he may prolong his days in his mamlachah, he, and his banim, in the midst of Yisroel.
18:1 The kohanim, who are Levi’im, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no chelek nor nachalah with Yisroel; they shall eat the offerings of Hashem made by eish, even His nachalah.
2 Therefore shall they have no nachalah among their achim; Hashem is their nachalah, as He hath said unto them.
3 And this shall be the mishpat hakohanim (the right of the kohanim) from the people, from them that offer the zevach, whether it be shor or seh; and they shall give unto the kohen the shoulder, and the two jowls, and the stomach.
4 The reshit also of thy grain, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the reshit of the shearing of thy tzon, shalt thou give him.
5 For Hashem Eloheicha hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the Shem of Hashem, he and his banim kol hayamim.
6 And if a Levi come from any of thy she’arim (gates, i.e., towns) out of kol Yisroel, where he is living, and come with all the earnestness of his nefesh unto the place which Hashem shall choose;
7 Then he shall minister in the Shem of Hashem Elohav, as all his achim the Levi’im do, which stand there before Hashem.
8 They shall have chelek k’chelek (like portions) to eat, beside that which cometh of the sale of his patrimony.
9 When thou art come into ha’aretz which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to imitate the to’avot (abominations) of those Goyim.
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his ben or his bat to pass through the eish (i.e., be burned as an idol’s offering) or kosem kesamim (a diviner of divination) or a m’onen (soothsayer, astrologer), or a m’nachesh (one who interprets omens), or a mekhashshef (witch).
11 Or one who casts spells, or one who inquires of a ghost or a familiar spirit, or a doresh el hamesim (a consulter of the dead ones, i.e., a necromancer).
12 For all that do these things are a to’avat Hashem; and because of these to’evot, Hashem Eloheicha is about to drive them out before thee.
13 Thou shalt be tamim (blameless) before Hashem Eloheicha.
14 For these Goyim, which thou shalt dispossess, paid heed unto soothsayers, and unto diviners; but as for thee, Hashem Eloheicha hath not suffered thee so to do.
15 Hashem Eloheicha will raise up unto thee a Navi from among thee, of thy achim, kamoni (like me [Moshe, Ex 32:30]); unto him ye must listen;
16 According to all that thou desiredst of Hashem Eloheicha in Chorev in the Yom HaKahal, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of Hashem Elohav, neither let me see this eish hagedolah any more, that I die not.
17 And Hashem said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
18 I will raise them up a Navi from among their achim, like unto thee, and will put My words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him [Yn 10:18].
19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not listen unto My words which he shall speak Bishmi (in My Name), I will require it of him.
20 But the navi, which shall presume to speak a word Bishmi (In My Name), which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the shem of elohim acharim, even that navi shall die.
21 And if thou say in thine lev, How shall we know the word which Hashem hath not spoken?
22 When a navi speaketh b’Shem Hashem, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which Hashem hath not spoken, but the navi hath spoken it bezadon (in zadon [presumption, arrogance]); thou shalt not be afraid of him.
19:1 When Hashem Eloheicha hath cut off the Goyim, whose land Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee, and thou dispossess them, and dwellest in their towns, and in their batim (houses),
2 Thou shalt separate shalosh arim (three towns) for thee in the midst of thy land, which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee to possess it.
3 Thou shalt prepare yourselves roads, and divide the territory of thy land, which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee there.
4 And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee there, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbor without da’as, whom he hated not in time past;
5 As when an ish goeth into the wood with his neighbor to cut wood, his hand swings a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, the head slippeth from the handle, and strikes upon his neighbor, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those towns, and live;
6 Lest the Go’el HaDahm pursue the slayer, while his lev is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past.
7 Therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate shalosh arim for thee.
8 And if Hashem Eloheicha enlarge thy territory, as He hath sworn unto Avoteicha, and give thee kol ha’aretz which He promised to give unto Avoteicha;
9 If thou shalt be shomer over all these mitzvot to do them, which I command thee today, to love Hashem Eloheicha, and to walk ever in His ways; then shalt thou add three towns more for thee, beside these three;
10 That dahm naki (innocent blood) be not shed in thy land, which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee for a nachalah, and so dahmim be upon thee.
11 But if any ish hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and strike him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these towns;
12 Then the zekenim of his town shall send and have him taken from there, and deliver him into the yad of the Goel HaDahm, that he may die.
13 Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of dahm naki from Yisroel, that it may go well with thee.
14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine nachalah, which thou shalt inherit in the eretz that Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee to possess it.
15 Ed echad shall not rise up against an ish for any avon (iniquity), or for any chattat (sin), in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of shney edim, or at the mouth of shloshah edim, shall the matter be established.
16 If an ed chamas (malicious, false witness) rise up against any ish to testify against him that which is wrong;
17 Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before Hashem, before the kohanim and the shofetim, which shall be in those days;
18 And the shofetim shall make diligent inquiry; and, hinei, if the witness be an ed sheker (false witness), and hath testified falsely against his brother;
19 Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put harah away from among you.
20 And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such rah among you.
21 And thine eye shall not pity; but nefesh shall go for nefesh, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, yad for yad, regel for regel.
20:1 When thou goest out to milchamah against thine enemies, and seest sus (horses), and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them; for Hashem Eloheicha is with thee, which brought thee up out of Eretz Mitzrayim.
2 And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the milchamah, that the kohen shall approach and speak unto the people,
3 And shall say unto them, Shema, Yisroel, ye approach today unto milchamah against your enemies; let not your hearts faint; fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them;
4 For Hashem Eloheicha is He that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
5 And the shoterim shall speak unto the people, saying, What ish is there that hath built a bais chadash, and hath not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his bais, lest he die in the milchamah, and another ish dedicate it.
6 And what ish is he that hath planted a kerem (vineyard), and hath not yet eaten of it? Let him also go and return unto his bais, lest he die in the milchamah, and another ish eat of it.
7 And what ish is there that hath betrothed an isha, and hath not taken her? Let him go and return unto his bais, lest he die in the milchamah, and another ish take her.
8 And the shoterim shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What ish is there that is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return unto his bais, lest his brethren’s lev faint as well as his lev.
9 And it shall be, when the shoterim have made an end of speaking unto the people that they shall appoint sarei tzvaos to lead the people.
10 When thou comest nigh unto a town to fight against it, then proclaim an offer of shalom unto it.
11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of shalom, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that kol haAm that is found therein shall be servants, placed under tribute unto thee, and they shall serve thee.
12 And if it will make no shalom with thee, but engages in milchamah against thee, then thou shalt besiege it;
13 And when Hashem Eloheicha hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt strike every male thereof with the edge of the cherev;
14 But the nashim, and the little ones, and the behemah, and all that is in the town, even all the plunder thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the plunder of thine enemies Hashem Eloheicha hath given thee.
15 Thus shalt thou do unto all the towns which are very far off from thee, which are not of the towns of these Goyim.
16 But of the towns of these people, which Hashem Eloheicha doth give thee for a nachalah, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth;
17 But thou shalt utterly put them under cherem of destruction; namely, the Chitti, and the Emori, the Kena’ni, and the Perizzi, the Chivi, and the Yevusi; as Hashem Eloheicha hath commanded thee;
18 That they teach you not to do after all their to’evot (abominations) which they have done unto their elohim; so that ye would sin against Hashem Eloheichem.
19 When thou shalt besiege a town yamim rabbim, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them; although thou mayest eat of them, thou shalt not cut them down. Are the etz hasadeh men that they should come under your siege?
20 Only the trees which thou knowest that they be not trees for food, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build siege works against the town that maketh milchamah with thee, until it be subdued.
21:1 If one be found slain in ha’adamah which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee to possess it, lying in the sadeh, and it be not known who hath slain him;
2 Then thy zekenim and thy shofetim shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the towns which are round about him that is slain;
3 And it shall be, that the town which is next unto the slain man, even the zekenim of that town shall take a heifer, which hath not been worked with, and which hath not pulled the ol (yoke);
4 And the zekenim of that town shall bring down the heifer unto a wadi with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the wadi;
5 And the kohanim the Bnei Levi shall come near; for them Hashem Eloheicha hath chosen to minister unto Him, and to bless in the Shem of Hashem; and by their word shall every controversy and every assault be tried;
6 And all the zekenim of that town, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley;
7 And they shall answer and say, Yadeinu (our hands) are not guilty of shefach dahm (shedding blood), neither have our eyes seen it.
8 Kapper (atone), O Hashem, for Thy people Yisroel, whom Thou hast redeemed, and lay not dahm naki (innocent blood) unto the charge of Thy people Yisroel. And the shefach dahm shall be atoned for.
9 So shalt thou put away the guilt of dahm naki from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of Hashem.)
Today's Laws & Customs:
• ELUL OBSERVANCES
As the last month of the Jewish year, Elul is traditionaly a time of introspection and stocktaking -- a time to review one's deeds and spiritual progress over the past year and prepare for the upcoming "Days of Awe" of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.
As the month of Divine Mercy and Forgiveness (see "Today in Jewish History" for Elul 1) it is a most opportune time for teshuvah ("return" to G-d), prayer, charity, and increased Ahavat Yisrael (love for a fellow Jew) in the quest for self-improvement and coming closer to G-d. Chassidic master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi likens the month of Elul to a time when "the king is in the field" and, in contrast to when he is in the royal palace, "everyone who so desires is permitted to meet him, and he receives them all with a cheerful countenance and shows a smiling face to them all."
Specific Elul customs include the daily sounding of the shofar (ram's horn) as a call to repentance. The Baal Shem Tov instituted the custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms). Click below to view today's Psalms.
Chapter 7</ br> Chapter 8 </ br> Chapter 9
Elul is also the time to have one's tefillin and mezuzot checked by an accredited scribe to ensure that they are in good condition and fit for use.
Links: More on Elul
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Ethics: Chapter 1
During the summer months, from the Shabbat after Passover until the Shabbat before Rosh Hashahah, we study a weekly chapter of the Talmud's Ethics of the Fathers ("Avot") each Shabbat afternoon; this week we study Chapter One.
Link: Ethics of the Fathers, Chapter 1
Elul Observances
As the last month of the Jewish year, Elul is traditionaly a time of introspection and stocktaking -- a time to review one's deeds and spiritual progress over the past year and prepare for the upcoming "Days of Awe" of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.
As the month of Divine Mercy and Forgiveness (see "Today in Jewish History" for Elul 1) it is a most opportune time for teshuvah ("return" to G-d), prayer, charity, and increased Ahavat Yisrael (love for a fellow Jew) in the quest for self-improvement and coming closer to G-d. Chassidic master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi likens the month of Elul to a time when "the king is in the field" and, in contrast to when he is in the royal palace, "everyone who so desires is permitted to meet him, and he receives them all with a cheerful countenance and shows a smiling face to them all."
Specific Elul customs include the daily sounding of the shofar (ram's horn) as a call to repentance. The Baal Shem Tov instituted the custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms). Click below to view today's Psalms.
Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12
Elul is also the time to have one's tefillin and mezuzot checked by an accredited scribe to ensure that they are in good condition and fit for use.
Links: More on Elul
As the last month of the Jewish year, Elul is traditionaly a time of introspection and stocktaking -- a time to review one's deeds and spiritual progress over the past year and prepare for the upcoming "Days of Awe" of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.
As the month of Divine Mercy and Forgiveness (see "Today in Jewish History" for Elul 1) it is a most opportune time for teshuvah ("return" to G-d), prayer, charity, and increased Ahavat Yisrael (love for a fellow Jew) in the quest for self-improvement and coming closer to G-d. Chassidic master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi likens the month of Elul to a time when "the king is in the field" and, in contrast to when he is in the royal palace, "everyone who so desires is permitted to meet him, and he receives them all with a cheerful countenance and shows a smiling face to them all."
Specific Elul customs include the daily sounding of the shofar (ram's horn) as a call to repentance. The Baal Shem Tov instituted the custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms). Click below to view today's Psalms.
Chapter 7</ br> Chapter 8 </ br> Chapter 9
Elul is also the time to have one's tefillin and mezuzot checked by an accredited scribe to ensure that they are in good condition and fit for use.
Links: More on Elul
___________________________________
Ethics: Chapter 1
During the summer months, from the Shabbat after Passover until the Shabbat before Rosh Hashahah, we study a weekly chapter of the Talmud's Ethics of the Fathers ("Avot") each Shabbat afternoon; this week we study Chapter One.
Link: Ethics of the Fathers, Chapter 1
Elul Observances
As the last month of the Jewish year, Elul is traditionaly a time of introspection and stocktaking -- a time to review one's deeds and spiritual progress over the past year and prepare for the upcoming "Days of Awe" of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.
As the month of Divine Mercy and Forgiveness (see "Today in Jewish History" for Elul 1) it is a most opportune time for teshuvah ("return" to G-d), prayer, charity, and increased Ahavat Yisrael (love for a fellow Jew) in the quest for self-improvement and coming closer to G-d. Chassidic master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi likens the month of Elul to a time when "the king is in the field" and, in contrast to when he is in the royal palace, "everyone who so desires is permitted to meet him, and he receives them all with a cheerful countenance and shows a smiling face to them all."
Specific Elul customs include the daily sounding of the shofar (ram's horn) as a call to repentance. The Baal Shem Tov instituted the custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms). Click below to view today's Psalms.
Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12
Elul is also the time to have one's tefillin and mezuzot checked by an accredited scribe to ensure that they are in good condition and fit for use.
Links: More on Elul
Today in Jewish History:
• PASSING OF RABBI A. I. KOOK (1935)
Elul 3 is the yahrtzeit of the first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi (in modern times) of the Religious Zionist Jewish community in the Holy Land, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, who assumed his position upon the formation of the British Mandate in 1920. A leading philosopher and mystic, Rabbi Kook authored many books and letters, and is a founding father of the "Religious Zionist" movement.
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• PASSING OF RABBI A. I. KOOK (1935)
Elul 3 is the yahrtzeit of the first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi (in modern times) of the Religious Zionist Jewish community in the Holy Land, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, who assumed his position upon the formation of the British Mandate in 1920. A leading philosopher and mystic, Rabbi Kook authored many books and letters, and is a founding father of the "Religious Zionist" movement.
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DAILY QUOTE:
That which emerges from your lips, you shall keep and do(Deuteronomy 23:24)
____________________________That which emerges from your lips, you shall keep and do(Deuteronomy 23:24)
DAILY STUDY:
CHITAS AND RAMBAM FOR TODAY:
Chumash: Parshat Shoftim, 6th Portion (Deuteronomy 19:14-20:9) & Parshat Shoftim, 7th Portion (Deuteronomy 20:10-21:9) with Rashi
• Chapter 19
14. You shall not pull back your neighbor's landmark, which the earlier ones have set as borders in your inheritance, which you will inherit in the land that the Lord, your God gives you, to possess. יד. לֹא תַסִּיג גְּבוּל רֵעֲךָ אֲשֶׁר גָּבְלוּ רִאשֹׁנִים בְּנַחֲלָתְךָ אֲשֶׁר תִּנְחַל בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ לְרִשְׁתָּהּ:
You shall not pull back [your neighbor’s] landmark: Heb. לֹא תַסּיג, an expression similar to, “they shall turn back (נָסֹגוּ אָחוֹר)” (Isa. 42:17). [Here therefore, it means] that he moves the boundary-mark of the land backwards into his neighbor’s field, thereby enlarging his own [property]. But has it not already been stated, “You shall not rob” (Lev. 19:13) ? Why then, is it stated here: “You shall not pull back [the landmark]?” [The answer is that this verse] teaches that the person who removes his neighbor’s boundary mark transgresses two negative commandments, “You shall not rob (לֹא תִגְזֹל)” and “You shall not pull back [the landmark]” (לֹא תַסִּיג). Now I might think that [this applies] outside Eretz Israel as well. Therefore it says, “in your inheritance, which you will inherit [in the land],” [indicating that] in [only] Eretz Israel one transgresses two negative commandments, whereas outside Eretz Israel, one transgresses only the commandment of “you shall not rob.” - [Sifrei]
לא תסיג גבול: לשון נסוגו אחור (ישעיה מב יז), שמחזיר סימן חלוקת הקרקע לאחור לתוך שדה חבירו למען הרחיב את שלו. והלא כבר נאמר (ויקרא יט, יג) לא תגזול, מה תלמוד לומר לא תסיג, למד על העוקר תחום חבירו שעובר בשני לאוין. יכול אף בחוצה לארץ, תלמוד לומר בנחלתך אשר תנחל וגו', בארץ ישראל עובר בשני לאוין, בחוצה לארץ אינו עובר אלא משום לא תגזול:
15. One witness shall not rise up against any person for any iniquity or for any sin, regarding any sin that he will sin. By the mouth of two witnesses, or by the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be confirmed. טו. לֹא יָקוּם עֵד אֶחָד בְּאִישׁ לְכָל עָוֹן וּלְכָל חַטָּאת בְּכָל חֵטְא אֲשֶׁר יֶחֱטָא עַל פִּי | שְׁנֵי עֵדִים אוֹ עַל פִּי שְׁלשָׁה עֵדִים יָקוּם דָּבָר:
One witness [shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity]: This verse establishes a general principle [i.e., from here it is derived] that wherever the term“witness” (עֵד) appears in the Torah, it means two [witnesses], unless the Torah specifies [that] one witness is meant. — [San. 30a]
עד אחד: זה בנה אב כל עד שבתורה שנים, אלא אם כן פרט לך בו אחד:
for any iniquity, or for any sin: where his testimony would lead to the accused being punished, either with corporal punishment or with or monetary punishment. However, one [witness] may rise up to [compel his fellow to take] an oath, as follows: If one says to his fellow, “Give me the maneh [100 zuzim] that I lent you,” and his fellow replies, “I have nothing of yours,” and one witness testifies for him [the plaintiff] that he [the defendant] owes him [the money], [the defendant] is required to swear [that he did not borrow any money]. — [Shev. 40a]
לכל עון ולכל חטאת: להיות חבירו נענש על עדותו, לא עונש גוף ולא עונש ממון, אבל קם הוא לשבועה. אמר לחבירו תן לי מנה שהלויתיך אמר לו אין לך בידי כלום ועד אחד מעיד שיש לו, חייב להשבע לו:
By the mouth of two witnesses [… the matter will be established]: [The expression,“by the mouth” means here that only the direct, verbal testimony suffices,] but they should not write their testimony in a letter and send it to the court, or have an interpreter stand between the witnesses and the judges. - [Sifrei]
על פי שני עדים: ולא שיכתבו עדותם באגרת וישלחו לבית דין, ולא שיעמוד תורגמן בין העדים ובין הדיינים:
16. If a false witness rises up against a man, to bear perverted testimony against him, טז. כִּי יָקוּם עֵד חָמָס בְּאִישׁ לַעֲנוֹת בּוֹ סָרָה:
to bear perverted testimony against him: Heb. סָרָה [That is, he testifies about] a thing which is not so, that this witness is removed (הוּסַר) from the whole testimony [meaning that he could not possibly have been a witness,] such as if [a second set of witnesses] said [to the first set of witnesses], “But weren’t you with us on that day in such and such a place [and not with the defendant, as you claim to have been]?” - [Mak. 5a]
לענות בו סרה: דבר שאינו, שהוסר העד הזה מכל העדות הזאת, כגון, שאמרו להם והלא עמנו הייתם אותו היום במקום פלוני:
17. Then the two men between whom the controversy exists shall stand before the Lord, before the kohanim and the judges who will be in those days. יז. וְעָמְדוּ שְׁנֵי הָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר לָהֶם הָרִיב לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה לִפְנֵי הַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַשֹּׁפְטִים אֲשֶׁר יִהְיוּ בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם:
Then the two men… shall stand: The text is referring to the witnesses, and it teaches us that there is no testimony by women. It also teaches us that witnesses must submit their testimony while standing. — [Shev. 30a]
ועמדו שני האנשים: בעדים הכתוב מדבר, ולמד שאין עדות בנשים, ולמד שצריכין להעיד עדותן מעומד:
between whom the controversy exists: These are the litigants.
אשר להם הריב: אלו בעלי הדין:
before the Lord: It should seem to them as though they are standing before the Omnipresent, as it says:“in the midst of the judges He will judge” (Ps. 82: 1). - [San. 6b]
לפני ה': יהי דומה להם כאילו עומדין לפני המקום, שנאמר בקרב אלהים ישפוט (תהלים פב, א):
who will be in those days: [Now could one stand in front of those who are not in his day? Rather, it means that] Jephthah [one of the less important judges] in his generation, is [to be considered] as Samuel [the greatest judge] in his generation; you must treat him with respect.
אשר יהיו בימים ההם: יפתח בדורו כשמואל בדורו, צריך אתה לנהוג בו כבוד:
18. And the judges shall inquire thoroughly, and behold, the witness is a false witness; he has testified falsely against his brother; יח. וְדָרְשׁוּ הַשֹּׁפְטִים הֵיטֵב וְהִנֵּה עֵד שֶׁקֶר הָעֵד שֶׁקֶר עָנָה בְאָחִיו:
And the judges shall inquire thoroughly: By means of the testimony of [the new set of witnesses] who rebut them, that they investigate and examine those who come to prove that they [the first pair] are עֵדִים זוֹמְמִין,“plotting witnesses,” by diligent inquiry and examination.
ודרשו השופטים היטב: על פי המזימין אותם, שבודקים וחוקרים את הבאים להזימם בדרישה ובחקירה:
and behold, the witness is a false witness: Wherever עֵד, witness , is written, Scripture is speaking of two [witnesses]. — [San. 30a]
והנה עד שקר: כל מקום שנאמר עד, בשנים הכתוב מדבר:
19. then you shall do to him as he plotted to do to his brother, and you shall [thus] abolish evil from among you. יט. וַעֲשִׂיתֶם לוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר זָמַם לַעֲשׂוֹת לְאָחִיו וּבִעַרְתָּ הָרָע מִקִּרְבֶּךָ:
as he plotted: But not as he did. From here [our Rabbis] said that if the first set of witnesses [before being proven false,] already killed the defendant [by their testimony], they are not to be put to death. — [Mak. 5b]
כאשר זמם: ולא כאשר עשה. מכאן אמרו, הרגו אין נהרגין:
to do to his brother: Why does Scripture state, “to his brother?” To teach, that in the case of witnesses who conspired against a married daughter of a kohen [by accusing her of adultery], that they are not executed with burning [the form of execution to which she would have been subjected], but rather, by strangulation, the form of execution of the adulterer. For it says [regarding such a woman] “she shall be burnt with fire” (Lev. 21:9) -“she,” but not her paramour [who is dispatched by strangulation]; therefore it says here, “to his brother”-“as he plotted to do to his brother,” but not as he plotted to do to his sister. With other crimes, however, Scripture regards women equally with men, and conspiring witnesses against a woman are executed in the same way as those who conspired against a man. For instance, if they testified that a women killed a person, or that she desecrated the Sabbath [and they are revealed to be false witnesses before she is executed], then they are executed in the form that they intended for her, for Scripture does not exclude his sister [by stating “brother”] except in a case where one may carry out the punishment of the conspiring witnesses by the form of execution of the adulterer [as opposed to the adulteress]. — [Sifrei and San. 90a]
לעשות לאחיו: מה תלמוד לומר לאחיו, למד על זוממי בת כהן נשואה שאינן בשריפה, אלא כמיתת הבועל שהוא בחנק, שנאמר היא באש תשרף (ויקרא כא, ט) היא ולא בועלה. לכך נאמר כאן לאחיו, כאשר זמם לעשות לאחיו, ולא כאשר זמם לעשות לאחותו. אבל בכל שאר מיתות השוה הכתוב אשה לאיש, וזוממי אשה נהרגין כזוממי איש. כגון שהעידוה שהרגה את הנפש, שחללה את השבת, נהרגין במיתתה. שלא מיעט כאן אחותו אלא במקום שיש לקיים בהן הזמה במיתת הבועל:
20. And those who remain shall listen and fear, and they shall no longer continue to commit any such evil thing among you. כ. וְהַנִּשְׁאָרִים יִשְׁמְעוּ וְיִרָאוּ וְלֹא יֹסִפוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת עוֹד כַּדָּבָר הָרָע הַזֶּה בְּקִרְבֶּךָ:
shall listen and fear: From here, [we derive the law] that a public announcement is required: “So-and-so and so-and-so are to be executed because they were proven by the court to be plotting witnesses.” - [San. 89a] [Note that Rashi on Mak. 5a and San. 89a writes that the proclamation is made after the perpetrators have been executed.]
ישמעו ויראו: מכאן שצריכין הכרזה, איש פלוני ופלוני נהרגין על שהוזמו בבית דין:
21. You shall not have pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. כא. וְלֹא תָחוֹס עֵינֶךָ נֶפֶשׁ בְּנֶפֶשׁ עַיִן בְּעַיִן שֵׁן בְּשֵׁן יָד בְּיָד רֶגֶל בְּרָגֶל:
Eye for eye: i.e., financial compensation; and similarly, “tooth for tooth, etc.” - [Sifrei, B.K. 87a]
עין בעין: ממון, וכן שן בשן וגו':
Chapter 20
1. When you go out to war against your enemies, and you see horse and chariot, a people more numerous than you, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord, your God is with you Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. א. כִּי תֵצֵא לַמִּלְחָמָה עַל אֹיְבֶךָ וְרָאִיתָ סוּס וָרֶכֶב עַם רַב מִמְּךָ לֹא תִירָא מֵהֶם כִּי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ עִמָּךְ הַמַּעַלְךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם:
When you go out to war: Scripture juxtaposes the departure for war alongside this [“eye for eye etc.”] to teach us that a person with a missing limb does not go out to war. - [Sifrei] Another explanation: It teaches that if you execute righteous judgment, you can be sure that when you depart for war you will be victorious. Similarly, David says, “I performed justice and righteousness; do not leave me to my oppressors” (Ps. 119: 121). - [Tanchuma]
כי תצא למלחמה: סמך הכתוב יציאת מלחמה לכאן, לומר לך, שאין מחוסר אבר יוצא למלחמה. דבר אחר לומר לך, אם עשית משפט צדק אתה מובטח שאם תצא למלחמה אתה נוצח. וכן דוד הוא אומר (תהלים קיט, קכא) עשיתי משפט וצדק בל תניחני לעושקי:
against your enemies: Let them be in your eyes as enemies; have no pity on them, for they will have no pity upon you.
על איבך: יהיו בעיניך כאויבים, אל תרחם עליהם כי לא ירחמו עליך:
horse and chariot: In My eyes, they are all like one horse. Similarly, it says, “and you shall strike Midian as one man.” (Jud. 6:16) And similarly, it says,, “When Pharaoh’s horse… came [into the sea]” (Exod. 15:19). - [Sifrei]
סוס ורכב: בעיני כולם כסוס אחד, וכן הוא אומר (שופטים ו, טז) והכית את מדין כאיש אחד. וכן הוא אומר (שמות טו, יט) כי בא סוס פרעה:
a people more numerous than you: In your eyes, they are numerous, but in My eyes, they are not numerous. — [Sifrei]
עם רב ממך: בעיניך הוא רב, אבל בעיני אינו רב:
2. And it will be, when you approach the battle, that the kohen shall come near, and speak to the people. ב. וְהָיָה כְּקָרָבְכֶם אֶל הַמִּלְחָמָה וְנִגַּשׁ הַכֹּהֵן וְדִבֶּר אֶל הָעָם:
when you approach the battle: When you are on the point of leaving the border.
כקרבכם אל המלחמה: סמוך לצאתכם מן הספר מגבול ארצכם:
that the kohen shall come near: This refers to the kohen anointed for this purpose, and he is called “the one anointed for war.”
ונגש הכהן: המשוח לכך. והוא הנקרא משוח מלחמה:
and speak to the people: in the Holy Tongue. — [Sotah 42a]
ודבר אל העם: בלשון הקדש:
3. And he shall say to them, "Hear, O Israel, today you are approaching the battle against your enemies. Let your hearts not be faint; you shall not be afraid, and you shall not be alarmed, and you shall not be terrified because of them. ג. וְאָמַר אֲלֵהֶם שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל אַתֶּם קְרֵבִים הַיּוֹם לַמִּלְחָמָה עַל אֹיְבֵיכֶם אַל יֵרַךְ לְבַבְכֶם אַל תִּירְאוּ וְאַל תַּחְפְּזוּ וְאַל תַּעַרְצוּ מִפְּנֵיהֶם:
“Hear, O Israel”: Even if you have no merit other than the reading of the Shema , you are worthy that He [God] save you. — [Sotah 42b]
שמע ישראל: אפילו אין בכם זכות אלא קריאת שמע בלבד, כדאי אתם שיושיע אתכם:
against your enemies: These are not your brothers, for if you fall into their hands, they will not have pity on you; this is not like the war of Judah with Israel, of which the verse states, “And the men, who were mentioned by name, rose up and took hold of the captives, and, and clothed all their nakedness from the spoils, and they dressed them and shod them, and fed them and gave them to drink, and anointed them, and led them on donkeys, every feeble one, and they brought them to Jericho, the city of the palms, beside their brothers, and they returned to Samaria” (II Chron. 28:15). You, however, are going against your enemies; therefore strengthen yourselves for battle. — [Sifrei ; Sotah 42a]
על איביכם: אין אלו אחיכם, שאם תפלו בידם אינם מרחמים עליכם, אין זו כמלחמת יהודה עם ישראל, שנאמר (דה"י ב' כח טו) ויקומו האנשים אשר נקבו בשמות ויחזיקו בשביה, וכל מערומיהם הלבישו מן השלל וילבישום וינעילום ויאכילום וישקום ויסוכום וינהלום בחמורים לכל כושל, ויביאום ירחו עיר התמרים אצל אחיהם, וישובו שומרון, אלא על אויביכם אתם הולכים, לפיכך התחזקו למלחמה:
Let your hearts not be faint; you shall not be afraid, you shall not be alarmed, and you shall not be terrified: Four warnings, corresponding to four practices in which the kings of the nations engage [during battle]: They hold their shields close together to strike them against one another, thereby producing a loud noise to alarm those confronting them, so that they should flee; they stamp [the ground heavily] with their horses and make them neigh, sounding the beating of their horses’ hoofs, and they shout loudly and blow horns and [other] kinds of noisy instruments.
אל ירך לבבכם אל תיראו ואל תחפזו ואל תערצו: ארבע אזהרות כנגד ארבעה דברים שמלכי האומות עושים. מגיפים בתריסיהם כדי להקישן זה לזה כדי להשמיע קול שיחפזו אלו שכנגדם וינוסו, ורומסים בסוסיהם ומצהילין אותם להשמיע קול שעטת פרסות סוסיהם, וצווחין בקולם ותוקעין בשופרות ומיני משמיעי קול:
Let your hearts not be faint: Because of the neighing of the horses;
אל ירך לבבכם: מצהלות סוסים:
you shall not be afraid: of the noise made by the fastening of the shields;
אל תיראו: מהגפת התריסין:
and you shall not be alarmed: At the sounds of the horns;
ואל תחפזו: מקול הקרנות:
and you shall not be terrified: By the noise of the shouting. — [Sifrei ; Sotah 42a]
ואל תערצו: מקול הצווחה:
4. For the Lord, your God, is the One Who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. ד. כִּי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם הַהֹלֵךְ עִמָּכֶם לְהִלָּחֵם לָכֶם עִם אֹיְבֵיכֶם לְהוֹשִׁיעַ אֶתְכֶם:
For the Lord, your God…: They are coming with the victory of flesh and blood, whereas you approach with the victory of the Omnipresent. The Philistines came with the victory of Goliath-What was his end? He fell, and they fell with him.
כי ה' אלהיכם וגו': הם באים בנצחונו של בשר ודם ואתם באים בנצחונו של מקום. פלשתים באו בנצחונו של גלית, מה היה סופו, נפל ונפלו עמו:
Who goes with you: This refers to the camp of the ark. — [Sotah 42a]
ההלך עמכם: זה מחנה הארון:
5. And the officers shall speak to the people, saying, What man is there who has built a new house and has not [yet] inaugurated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war, and another man inaugurate it. ה. וְדִבְּרוּ הַשֹּׁטְרִים אֶל הָעָם לֵאמֹר מִי הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר בָּנָה בַיִת חָדָשׁ וְלֹא חֲנָכוֹ יֵלֵךְ וְיָשֹׁב לְבֵיתוֹ פֶּן יָמוּת בַּמִּלְחָמָה וְאִישׁ אַחֵר יַחְנְכֶנּוּ:
[What man is there who has built a new house] and has not [yet] inaugurated it: i.e., has not yet lived in it. The term חִנּוּךְ denotes beginning.
ולא חנכו: לא דר בו. חנוך לשון התחלה:
[Lest he die in the war,] and another man inaugurate it: This would be a source of great grief.
ואיש אחר יחנכנו: ודבר של עגמת נפש הוא זה:
6. And what man is there who has planted a vineyard, and has not [yet] redeemed it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war, and another man redeem it. ו. וּמִי הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר נָטַע כֶּרֶם וְלֹא חִלְּלוֹ יֵלֵךְ וְיָשֹׁב לְבֵיתוֹ פֶּן יָמוּת בַּמִּלְחָמָה וְאִישׁ אַחֵר יְחַלְּלֶנּוּ:
[And what man is there that has planted a vineyard,] and has not [yet] redeemed it: Heb. וְלֹא חִלְּלוֹ. He has not redeemed the vineyard in the fourth year [of its growth], for the fruits [of the fourth year] have to be eaten in Jerusalem or redeemed [by exchanging them] for money, and to eat [food purchased with] the money in Jerusalem.
ולא חללו: לא פדאו בשנה הרביעית, שהפירות טעונין לאכלן בירושלים או לחללן בדמים ולאכול הדמים בירושלים:
7. And what man is there who has betrothed a woman and has not [yet] taken her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war, and another man take her." ז. וּמִי הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר אֵרַשׂ אִשָּׁה וְלֹא לְקָחָהּ יֵלֵךְ וְיָשֹׁב לְבֵיתוֹ פֶּן יָמוּת בַּמִּלְחָמָה וְאִישׁ אַחֵר יִקָּחֶנָּה:
lest he die in the war: He should return lest he die, for if he does not obey the kohen , he deserves to die. — [Sifrei]
פן ימות במלחמה: ישוב פן ימות, שאם לא ישמע לדברי הכהן כדאי הוא שימות:
8. And the officers shall continue to speak to the people and say, "What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, that he should not cause the heart of his brothers to melt, as his heart." ח. וְיָסְפוּ הַשֹּׁטְרִים לְדַבֵּר אֶל הָעָם וְאָמְרוּ מִי הָאִישׁ הַיָּרֵא וְרַךְ הַלֵּבָב יֵלֵךְ וְיָשֹׁב לְבֵיתוֹ וְלֹא יִמַּס אֶת לְבַב אֶחָיו כִּלְבָבוֹ:
And the officers shall continue: Why does it say here: “shall continue” [lit. shall add]? They add this [statement] to the words of the kohen , for the kohen speaks and announces aloud to the people from “Hear, O Israel” (verse 3) until “to save you,” (end of verse 4) while “What man is there” (verse 5), and the second and third one [with the same beginning (verses 6 and 7)], the kohen speaks, and an officer announces aloud [to the people]. This verse, however, an officer speaks, and an officer announces aloud. - [Sotah 43a] According to several incunabula editions of Rashi , “a kohen announces aloud.” [See Yosef Hallel.]
ויספו השוטרים: למה נאמר כאן ויספו, מוסיפין זה על דברי הכהן, שהכהן מדבר ומשמיע מן (פסוק ג - ד) שמע ישראל עד להושיע אתכם, ומי האיש ושני ושלישי כהן מדבר ושוטר משמיע, וזה שוטר מדבר ושוטר משמיע:
[What man is there] who is fearful and fainthearted: Rabbi Akiva says: [This verse is to be understood] according to its apparent meaning, that he cannot stand in the closed ranks of battle and look upon a drawn sword. Rabbi Jose the Galilean says that [it means] one who is afraid of his sins [that they will cause him to fall in war, as he is unworthy], and therefore, the Torah gives him the excuse of attributing his return home because of a house, a vineyard, or a wife, to cover up for those who return because of their sins, so that people should not understand that they are sinners. [Consequently,] one who sees this person returning would say,“Perhaps he has built a house, or planted a vineyard, or betrothed a woman.” - [Sotah 44a]
הירא ורך הלבב: רבי עקיבא אומר כמשמעו, שאינו יכול לעמוד בקשרי המלחמה ולראות חרב שלופה. רבי יוסי הגלילי אומר הירא מעבירות שבידו, ולכך תלתה לו תורה לחזור על בית וכרם ואשה לכסות על החוזרים בשביל עבירות שבידם, שלא יבינו שהם בעלי עבירה, והרואהו חוזר אומר שמא בנה בית או נטע כרם או ארש אשה:
9. And it shall be, that when the officials finish speaking to the people, they shall appoint officers of the legions at the edges of the people. ט. וְהָיָה כְּכַלֹּת הַשֹּׁטְרִים לְדַבֵּר אֶל הָעָם וּפָקְדוּ שָׂרֵי צְבָאוֹת בְּרֹאשׁ הָעָם:
[They shall appoint] officers of the legions: This means that they place (זַקָּפִין) guards in front of them and behind them, with iron arrows in their hands, and if anybody attempted to retreat, the guard had the authority to strike his legs. זַקָּפִין are people who stand at the edge of the battle array to pick up (לִזְקֹף) the fallen and to encourage them with words: “Return to the battle and do not flee, for flight is the beginning of defeat.” - [Sifrei , Sotah 44a]
שרי צבאות: שמעמידין זקפין, מלפניהם ומלאחריהם וכשילין של ברזל בידיהם וכל מי שרוצה לחזור הרשות בידו לקפח את שוקיו. זקפין, בני אדם עומדים בקצה המערכה לזקוף את הנופלים ולחזקם בדברים שובו אל המלחמה ולא תנוסו, שתחלת נפילה ניסה:
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• Chapter 20
10. When you approach a city to wage war against it, you shall propose peace to it. י. כִּי תִקְרַב אֶל עִיר לְהִלָּחֵם עָלֶיהָ וְקָרָאתָ אֵלֶיהָ לְשָׁלוֹם:
When you approach a city [to wage war against it]: Scripture is speaking of an optional war, as is explicit in the context of this section (verse 15), “Thus you will do to all the cities which are very far away [from you]….” - [Sifrei]
כי תקרב אל עיר: במלחמת הרשות הכתוב מדבר, כמו שמפורש בענין (פסוק טו) כן תעשה לכל הערים הרחוקות וגו':
11. And it will be, if it responds to you with peace, and it opens up to you, then it will be, [that] all the people found therein shall become tributary to you, and they shall serve you. יא. וְהָיָה אִם שָׁלוֹם תַּעַנְךָ וּפָתְחָה לָךְ וְהָיָה כָּל הָעָם הַנִּמְצָא בָהּ יִהְיוּ לְךָ לָמַס וַעֲבָדוּךָ:
all the people found therein [shall become tributary]: Even if you find in it people of the seven nations, whom you have been commanded to exterminate, you are permitted to spare their lives. — [Sifrei]
כל העם הנמצא בה: אפילו אתה מוצא בה משבעה אומות שנצטוית להחרימם, אתה רשאי לקיימם:
tributary [to you], and they shall serve you: [You shall fight them] until they accept upon themselves both tribute and bondage. — [Sifrei]
למס ועבדוך: עד שיקבלו עליהם מסים ושעבוד:
12. But if it does not make peace with you, and it wages war against you, you shall besiege it, יב. וְאִם לֹא תַשְׁלִים עִמָּךְ וְעָשְׂתָה עִמְּךָ מִלְחָמָה וְצַרְתָּ עָלֶיהָ:
But if it does make no peace with you, and it wages war against you: Scripture is informing you that if it does not make peace with you, then, if you let it be and go away, [this city] will ultimately wage war against you.
ואם לא תשלים עמך ועשתה עמך מלחמה: הכתוב מבשרך שאם לא תשלים עמך סופה להלחם בך אם תניחנה ותלך:
you shall besiege it: Even to starve it out, and cause them to [die of] thirst and to kill [the inhabitants of the city] through diseases. — [Sifrei]
וצרת עליה: אף להרעיבה ולהצמיאה ולהמיתה מיתת תחלואים:
13. and the Lord, your God, will deliver it into your hands, and you shall strike all its males with the edge of the sword. יג. וּנְתָנָהּ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּיָדֶךָ וְהִכִּיתָ אֶת כָּל זְכוּרָהּ לְפִי חָרֶב:
and the Lord your God will deliver it into your hands: If you have done all that is stated in this section, the Lord will ultimately deliver it into your hands. — [Sifrei]
ונתנה ה' אלהיך בידך: אם עשית כל האמור בענין, סוף שה' נותנה בידך:
14. However, the women, the children, and the livestock, and all that is in the city, all its spoils you shall take for yourself, and you shall eat the spoils of your enemies, which the Lord, your God, has given you. יד. רַק הַנָּשִׁים וְהַטַּף וְהַבְּהֵמָה וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בָעִיר כָּל שְׁלָלָהּ תָּבֹז לָךְ וְאָכַלְתָּ אֶת שְׁלַל אֹיְבֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר נָתַן יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לָךְ:
And the children [… you shall take for yourself]: Even the male children. But, how then, am I to explain “and you shall strike all its males”? (verse 13) It refers to adult males. — [Sifrei]
והטף: אף טף של זכרים. ומה אני מקיים (פסוק יג) והכית את כל זכורה, בגדולים:
15. Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations. טו. כֵּן תַּעֲשֶׂה לְכָל הֶעָרִים הָרְחֹקֹת מִמְּךָ מְאֹד אֲשֶׁר לֹא מֵעָרֵי הַגּוֹיִם הָאֵלֶּה הֵנָּה:
16. However, of these peoples' cities, which the Lord, your God, gives you as an inheritance, you shall not allow any soul to live. טז. רַק מֵעָרֵי הָעַמִּים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ נַחֲלָה לֹא תְחַיֶּה כָּל נְשָׁמָה:
17. Rather, you shall utterly destroy them: The Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivvites, and the Jebusites, as the Lord, your God, has commanded you. יז. כִּי הַחֲרֵם תַּחֲרִימֵם הַחִתִּי וְהָאֱמֹרִי הַכְּנַעֲנִי וְהַפְּרִזִּי הַחִוִּי וְהַיְבוּסִי כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוְּךָ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ:
as [the Lord your God] has commanded you: [This is] to include the Girgashites [the seventh nation, not mentioned here, but you were commanded to destroy them]. — [Sifrei]
כאשר צוך: לרבות את הגרגשי:
18. So that they should not teach you to act according to all their abominations that they have done for their gods, whereby you would sin against the Lord, your God. יח. לְמַעַן אֲשֶׁר לֹא יְלַמְּדוּ אֶתְכֶם לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּכֹל תּוֹעֲבֹתָם אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ לֵאלֹהֵיהֶם וַחֲטָאתֶם לַיהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם:
so that they will not teach you to do [like all] their abominations]: But if they repent and wish to convert, you are allowed to accept them. — [Sifrei]
למען אשר לא ילמדו: הא אם עשו תשובה ומתגיירים, אתה רשאי לקבלם:
19. When you besiege a city for many days to wage war against it to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them, for you may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Is the tree of the field a man, to go into the siege before you? יט. כִּי תָצוּר אֶל עִיר יָמִים רַבִּים לְהִלָּחֵם עָלֶיהָ לְתָפְשָׂהּ לֹא תַשְׁחִית אֶת עֵצָהּ לִנְדֹּחַ עָלָיו גַּרְזֶן כִּי מִמֶּנּוּ תֹאכֵל וְאֹתוֹ לֹא תִכְרֹת כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה לָבֹא מִפָּנֶיךָ בַּמָּצוֹר:
[When you besiege a city for many] days: The word “days” implies two days. [But when it says
ימים: שנים:
many: [this means] three [days]. From here our Rabbis derived [the ruling that] the siege of a heathen city may not be initiated less than three days before the Sabbath (Sifrei , Shab. 19a), and this verse teaches us that the offer of peace (verse 10) must be repeated for two or three days. Similarly, it says:“that David dwelt in Ziklag for two days” (II Sam. 1:1). Scripture is speaking here of an optional war. — [Sifrei]
רבים: שלשה. מכאן אמרו אין צרין על עיירות של נכרים פחות משלשה ימים קודם לשבת. ולמד שפותח בשלום שנים או שלשה ימים. וכן הוא אומר (שמואל ב' א, א) וישב דוד בצקלג ימים שנים, ובמלחמת הרשות הכתוב מדבר:
Is the tree of the field a man, to go into the siege before you]?: The word כִּי here means“perhaps:” Is the tree of the field perhaps a man who is to go into the siege by you, that it should be punished by the suffering of hunger and thirst like the people of the city? Why should you destroy it?
כי האדם עץ השדה: הרי כי משמש בלשון דלמא. שמא האדם עץ השדה להכנס בתוך המצור מפניך להתייסר ביסורי רעב וצמא כאנשי העיר למה תשחיתנו:
20. However, a tree you know is not a food tree, you may destroy and cut down, and you shall build bulwarks against the city that makes war with you, until its submission. כ. רַק עֵץ אֲשֶׁר תֵּדַע כִּי לֹא עֵץ מַאֲכָל הוּא אֹתוֹ תַשְׁחִית וְכָרָתָּ וּבָנִיתָ מָצוֹר עַל הָעִיר אֲשֶׁר הִוא עֹשָׂה עִמְּךָ מִלְחָמָה עַד רִדְתָּהּ:
until its submission: Heb. רִדְתָּהּ, an expression of רִדּוּי, subjugation, [meaning] that it becomes submissive to you.
עד רדתה: לשון רדוי, שתהא כפופה לך:
Chapter 21
1. If a slain person be found in the land which the Lord, your God is giving you to possess, lying in the field, [and] it is not known who slew him, א. כִּי יִמָּצֵא חָלָל בַּאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ לְרִשְׁתָּהּ נֹפֵל בַּשָּׂדֶה לֹא נוֹדַע מִי הִכָּהוּ:
2. then your elders and judges shall go forth, and they shall measure to the cities around the corpse. ב. וְיָצְאוּ זְקֵנֶיךָ וְשֹׁפְטֶיךָ וּמָדְדוּ אֶל הֶעָרִים אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבֹת הֶחָלָל:
then your elders… shall go out: the distinguished ones of your elders, [namely] the Great Sanhedrin. — [Sotah 44]
ויצאו זקניך: מיוחדים שבזקניך, אלו סנהדרי גדולה:
and they shall measure: from the place where the corpse lies.
ומדדו: ממקום שהחלל שוכב:
to the cities around the corpse: in every direction, in order to ascertain which is the nearest.
אל הערים אשר סביבות החלל: לכל צד לידע איזו קרובה:
3. And it will be, [that from] the city closer to the corpse, the elders of that city shall take a calf with which work has never been done, [and] that has never drawn a yoke, ג. וְהָיָה הָעִיר הַקְּרֹבָה אֶל הֶחָלָל וְלָקְחוּ זִקְנֵי הָעִיר הַהִוא עֶגְלַת בָּקָר אֲשֶׁר לֹא עֻבַּד בָּהּ אֲשֶׁר לֹא מָשְׁכָה בְּעֹל:
4. and the elders of that city shall bring the calf down to a rugged valley, which was neither tilled nor sown, and there in the valley, they shall decapitate the calf. ד. וְהוֹרִדוּ זִקְנֵי הָעִיר הַהִוא אֶת הָעֶגְלָה אֶל נַחַל אֵיתָן אֲשֶׁר לֹא יֵעָבֵד בּוֹ וְלֹא יִזָּרֵעַ וְעָרְפוּ שָׁם אֶת הָעֶגְלָה בַּנָּחַל:
to a rugged valley: Heb. אֵיתָן, hard, [a valley] that was never tilled.
אל נחל איתן: קשה שלא נעבד:
shall decapitate: He breaks its neck with a hatchet [i.e., from the back]. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: Let the calf which is in its first year and has, therefore, produced no fruits, come and be decapitated at a place [the valley that was not tilled] which has not produced fruits, in order to atone for the murder of this man, whom they [the murderers] did not allow to produce fruit [i.e., to perform mitzvoth]. — [Sotah 46a]
וערפו: קוצץ ערפה בקופיץ. אמר הקב"ה תבא עגלה בת שנתה שלא עשתה פירות ותערף במקום שאינו עושה פירות, לכפר על הריגתו של זה שלא הניחוהו לעשות פירות:
5. And the kohanim, the sons of Levi, shall approach, for the Lord, your God, has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the Name of the Lord, and by their mouth shall every controversy and every lesion be [judged]. ה. וְנִגְּשׁוּ הַכֹּהֲנִים בְּנֵי לֵוִי כִּי בָם בָּחַר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְשָׁרְתוֹ וּלְבָרֵךְ בְּשֵׁם יְהֹוָה וְעַל פִּיהֶם יִהְיֶה כָּל רִיב וְכָל נָגַע:
6. And all the elders of that city, who are the nearest to the corpse, shall wash their hands over the calf that was decapitated in the valley; ו. וְכֹל זִקְנֵי הָעִיר הַהִוא הַקְּרֹבִים אֶל הֶחָלָל יִרְחֲצוּ אֶת יְדֵיהֶם עַל הָעֶגְלָה הָעֲרוּפָה בַנָּחַל:
7. And they shall announce and say, "Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see [this crime]." ז. וְעָנוּ וְאָמְרוּ יָדֵינוּ לֹא שָׁפְכוּ אֶת הַדָּם הַזֶּה וְעֵינֵינוּ לֹא רָאוּ:
Our hands did not shed [this blood]: But would it enter one’s mind that the elders of the court are murderers? Rather, [they declare:] We [ourselves] did not see him and let him depart without food or escort [which would have indirectly caused his death, leaving this man to the elements and to robbers]. — [Sifrei ; Sotah 45a] The kohanim then say:
ידינו לא שפכה: וכי עלתה על לב שזקני בית דין שופכי דמים הם, אלא לא ראינוהו ופטרנוהו בלא מזונות ובלא לויה. והכהנים אומרים כפר לעמך ישראל:
8. "Atone for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, O Lord, and lay not [the guilt of] innocent blood among your people Israel." And [so] the blood shall be atoned for them. ח. כַּפֵּר לְעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר פָּדִיתָ יְהֹוָה וְאַל תִּתֵּן דָּם נָקִי בְּקֶרֶב עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְנִכַּפֵּר לָהֶם הַדָּם:
Atone for Your people Israel,… And [so] the blood will be atoned for them: Scripture informs them that from the time they complete all this, their sin is atoned. — [Sifrei]
ונכפר להם הדם: הכתוב מבשרם שמשעשו כן יכופר להם העון:
9. And you shall abolish the [shedding of] innocent blood from among you, for you shall do what is proper in the eyes of the Lord. ט. וְאַתָּה תְּבַעֵר הַדָּם הַנָּקִי מִקִּרְבֶּךָ כִּי תַעֲשֶׂה הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינֵי יְהֹוָה:
and you shall abolish: This tells [us] that if the murderer is found after the calf is decapitated, the murderer must be executed, and that is “what is proper in the eyes of the Lord.” - [Sotah 47b, Keth. 37b]
ואתה תבער: מגיד שאם נמצא ההורג אחר שנתערפה העגלה הרי זה יהרג, והוא הישר בעיני ה':
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Daily Tehillim: Psalms Chapters 18-22 & Chapters 23-28
• Special Custom for the Month of Elul and High Holidays
The Baal Shem Tov instituted a custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms).
See below for today's additional chapters.
Chapter 18
If one merits a public miracle, he should offer a song to God, including in his song all the miracles that have occurred since the day the world was created, as well as the good that God wrought for Israel at the giving of the Torah. And he should say: "He Who has performed these miracles, may He do with me likewise."
1. For the Conductor. By the servant of the Lord, by David, who chanted the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.
2. He said, "I love You, Lord, my strength.
3. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my rescuer. My God is my strength in Whom I take shelter, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
4. With praises I call upon the Lord, and I am saved from my enemies.
5. For the pangs of death surrounded me, and torrents of evil people terrified me.
6. Pangs of the grave encompassed me; snares of death confronted me.
7. In my distress I called upon the Lord, I cried out to my God; and from His Sanctuary He heard my voice, and my supplication before Him reached His ears.
8. The earth trembled and quaked; the foundations of the mountains shook-they trembled when His wrath flared.
9. Smoke rose in His nostrils, devouring fire blazed from His mouth, and burning coals flamed forth from Him.
10. He inclined the heavens and descended, a thick cloud was beneath His feet.
11. He rode on a cherub and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind.
12. He made darkness His concealment, His surroundings His shelter-of the dense clouds with their dark waters.
13. Out of the brightness before Him, His clouds passed over, with hailstones and fiery coals.
14. The Lord thundered in heaven, the Most High gave forth His voice-hailstones and fiery coals.
15. He sent forth His arrows and scattered them; many lightnings, and confounded them.
16. The channels of water became visible, the foundations of the world were exposed-at Your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
17. He sent from heaven and took me; He brought me out of surging waters.
18. He rescued me from my fierce enemy, and from my foes when they had become too strong for me.
19. They confronted me on the day of my misfortune, but the Lord was my support.
20. He brought me into spaciousness; He delivered me because He desires me.
21. The Lord rewar-ded me in accordance with my righteousness; He repaid me according to the cleanliness of my hands.
22. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not transgressed against my God;
23. for all His laws are before me, I have not removed His statutes from me.
24. I was perfect with Him, and have guarded myself from sin.
25. The Lord repaid me in accordance with my righteousness, according to the cleanliness of my hands before His eyes.
26. With the kindhearted You act kindly, with the upright man You act uprightly.
27. With the pure You act purely, but with the crooked You act cun- ningly.
28. For the destitute nation You save, but haughty eyes You humble.
29. Indeed, You light my lamp; the Lord, my God, illuminates my darkness.
30. For with You I run against a troop; with my God I scale a wall.
31. The way of God is perfect; the word of the Lord is pure; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
32. For who is God except the Lord, and who is a rock except our God!
33. The God Who girds me with strength, and makes my path perfect.
34. He makes my feet like deers', and stands me firmly on my high places.
35. He trains my hands for battle, my arms to bend a bow of bronze.
36. You have given me the shield of Your deliverance, Your right hand upheld me; Your humility made me great.
37. You have widened my steps beneath me, and my knees have not faltered.
38. I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back until I destroyed them.
39. I crushed them so that they were unable to rise; they are fallen beneath my feet.
40. You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued my adversaries beneath me.
41. You have made my enemies turn their backs to me, and my foes I cut down.
42. They cried out, but there was none to deliver them; to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
43. I ground them as the dust before the wind, I poured them out like the mud in the streets.
44. You have rescued me from the quarrelsome ones of the people, You have made me the head of nations; a nation I did not know became subservient to me.
45. As soon as they hear of me they obey me; strangers deny to me [their disloyalty].
46. Strangers wither away, they are terrified in their strongholds.
47. The Lord lives; blessed is my Rock; exalted is the God of my deliverance.
48. You are the God Who executes retribution for me, and subjugates nations under me.
49. Who rescues me from my enemies, Who exalts me above my adversaries, Who delivers me from the man of violence.
50. Therefore I will laud You, Lord, among the nations, and sing to Your Name.
51. He grants His king great salvations, and bestows kindness upon His anointed, to David and his descendants forever."
Chapter 19
To behold God's might one should look to the heavens, to the sun, and to the Torah, from which awesome miracles and wonders can be perceived--wonders that lead the creations to tell of God's glory.
1. For the Conductor, a psalm by David.
2. The heavens recount the glory of the Almighty; the sky proclaims His handiwork.
3. Day to day speech streams forth; night to night expresses knowledge.
4. There is no utterance, there are no words; their voice is inaudible.
5. Their arc extends throughout the world; their message to the end of the earth. He set in them [the heavens] a tent for the sun,
6. which is like a groom coming forth from his bridal canopy, like a strong man rejoicing to run the course.
7. Its rising is at one end of the heavens, and its orbit encompasses the other ends; nothing is hidden from its heat.
8. The Torah of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, making wise the simpleton.
9. The precepts of the Lord are just, rejoicing the heart; the command of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes.
10. The fear of the Lord is pure, abiding forever; the judgments of the Lord are true, they are all righteous together.
11. They are more desirable than gold, than much fine gold; sweeter than honey or the drippings of honeycomb.
12. Indeed, Your servant is scrupulous with them; in observing them there is abundant reward.
13. Yet who can discern inadvertent wrongs? Purge me of hidden sins.
14. Also hold back Your servant from willful sins; let them not prevail over me; then I will be unblemished and keep myself clean of gross transgression.
15. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable before You, Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer.
Chapter 20
If a loved one or relative is suffering-even in a distant place, where one is unable to help-offer this prayer on their behalf.
1. For the Conductor, a psalm by David.
2. May the Lord answer you on the day of distress; may the Name of the God of Jacob fortify you.
3. May He send your help from the Sanctuary, and support you from Zion.
4. May He remember all your offerings, and always accept favorably your sacrifices.
5. May He grant you your heart's desire, and fulfill your every counsel.
6. We will rejoice in your deliverance, and raise our banners in the name of our God; may the Lord fulfill all your wishes.
7. Now I know that the Lord has delivered His anointed one, answering him from His holy heavens with the mighty saving power of His right hand.
8. Some [rely] upon chariots and some upon horses, but we [rely upon and] invoke the Name of the Lord our God.
9. They bend and fall, but we rise and stand firm.
10. Lord, deliver us; may the King answer us on the day we call.
Chapter 21
One who is endowed with prosperity, and whose every desire is granted, ought not be ungrateful. He should praise and thank God, recognize Him as the cause of his prosperity, and trust in Him. For everything comes from the kindness of the One Above.
1. For the Conductor, a psalm by David.
2. The king rejoices in Your strength, Lord; how greatly he exults in Your deliverance!
3. You have given him his heart's desire, and You have never withheld the utterance of his lips.
4. You preceded him with blessings of good; You placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
5. He asked of You life, You gave it to him-long life, forever and ever.
6. His glory is great in Your deliverance; You have placed majesty and splendor upon him.
7. For You make him a blessing forever; You gladden him with the joy of Your countenance.
8. For the king trusts in the Lord, and in the kindness of the Most High-that he will not falter.
9. Your hand will suffice for all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You.
10. You will make them as a fiery furnace at the time of Your anger. May the Lord consume them in His wrath; let a fire devour them.
11. Destroy their offspring from the earth, their descendants from mankind.
12. For they intended evil against You, they devised evil plans which they cannot execute.
13. For You will set them as a portion apart; with Your bowstring You will aim at their faces.
14. Be exalted, O Lord, in Your strength; we will sing and chant the praise of Your might.
Chapter 22
Every person should pray in agony over the length of the exile, and our fall from prestige to lowliness. One should also take vows (for self-improvement) in his distress.
1. For the Conductor, on the ayelet hashachar, a psalm by David.
2. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me! So far from saving me, from the words of my outcry?
3. My God, I call out by day, and You do not answer; at night-but there is no respite for me.
4. Yet You, Holy One, are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
5. In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You saved them.
6. They cried to You and were rescued; they trusted in You and were not shamed.
7. And I am a worm and not a man; scorn of men, contempt of nations.
8. All who see me mock me; they open their lips, they shake their heads.
9. But one that casts [his burden] upon the Lord-He will save him; He will rescue him, for He desires him.
10. For You took me out of the womb, and made me secure on my mother's breasts.
11. I have been thrown upon You from birth; from my mother's womb You have been my God.
12. Be not distant from me, for trouble is near, for there is none to help.
13. Many bulls surround me, the mighty bulls of Bashan encircle me.
14. They open their mouths against me, like a lion that ravages and roars.
15. I am poured out like water, all my bones are disjointed; my heart has become like wax, melted within my innards.
16. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my palate; You set me in the dust of death.
17. For dogs surround me, a pack of evildoers enclose me; my hands and feet are like a lion's prey.
18. I count all my limbs, while they watch and gloat over me.
19. They divide my garments amongst them; they cast lots upon my clothing.
20. But You, Lord, do not be distant; my Strength, hurry to my aid!
21. Save my life from the sword, my soul from the grip of dogs.
22. Save me from the lion's mouth, as You have answered me from the horns of wild beasts.
23. I will recount [the praises of] Your Name to my brothers; I will extol You amidst the congregation.
24. You that fear the Lord, praise Him! Glorify Him, all you progeny of Jacob! Stand in awe of Him, all you progeny of Israel!
25. For He has not despised nor abhorred the entreaty of the poor, nor has He concealed His face from him; rather He heard when he cried to Him.
26. My praise comes from You, in the great congregation; I will pay my vows before those that fear Him.
27. Let the humble eat and be satisfied; let those who seek the Lord praise Him-may your hearts live forever!
28. All the ends of the earth will remember and return to the Lord; all families of nations will bow down before You.
29. For sovereignty is the Lord's, and He rules over the nations.
30. All the fat ones of the earth will eat and bow down, all who descend to the dust shall kneel before Him, but He will not revive their soul.
31. The progeny of those who serve Him will tell of the Lord to the latter generations.
32. They will come and relate His righteousness-all that He has done-to a newborn nation.
Additional Three Chapters
The Baal Shem Tov instituted a custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms).
Today's Chapters are 7, 8 and 9.
Chapter 7
Do not rejoice if God causes your enemy to suffer—just as the suffering of the righteous is not pleasant. David, therefore, defends himself intensely before God, maintaining that he did not actively harm Saul. In fact, Saul precipitated his own harm, while David’s intentions were only for the good.
1. A shigayon 1 by David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Kush the Benjaminite.
2. I put my trust in You, Lord, my God; deliver me from all my pursuers and save me.
3. Lest he tear my soul like a lion, crushing me with none to rescue.
4. Lord, my God, if I have done this, if there is wrongdoing in my hands;
5. if I have rewarded my friends with evil or oppressed those who hate me without reason—
6. then let the enemy pursue and overtake my soul, let him trample my life to the ground, and lay my glory in the dust forever.
7. Arise, O Lord, in Your anger, lift Yourself up in fury against my foes. Stir me [to mete out] the retribution which You commanded.
8. When the assembly of nations surrounds You, remove Yourself from it and return to the heavens.
9. The Lord will mete out retribution upon the nations; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity.
10. Let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous—O righteous God, Searcher of hearts and minds.
11. [I rely] on God to be my shield, He Who saves the upright of heart.
12. God is the righteous judge, and the Almighty is angered every day.
13. Because he does not repent, He sharpens His sword, bends His bow and makes it ready.
14. He has prepared instruments of death for him; His arrows will be used on the pursuers.
15. Indeed, he conceives iniquity, is pregnant with evil schemes, and gives birth to falsehood.
16. He digs a pit, digs it deep, only to fall into the trap he laid.
17. His mischief will return upon his own head, his violence will come down upon his own skull.
18. I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness, and sing to the Name of the Lord Most High
Chapter 8
This psalm is a glorious praise to God for His kindness to the lowly and mortal human in giving the Torah to the inhabitants of the lower worlds, arousing the envy of the celestial angels. This idea is expressed in the Yom Kippur prayer, “Though Your mighty strength is in the angels above, You desire praise from those formed of lowly matter.”
1. For the Conductor, on the gittit,1 a psalm by David.
2. Lord, our Master, how mighty is Your Name throughout the earth, You Who has set Your majesty upon the heavens!
3. Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings You have established might, to counter Your enemies, to silence foe and avenger.2
4. When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have set in place—
5. what is man that You should remember him, son of man that You should be mindful of him?
6. Yet, You have made him but a little less than the angels, and crowned him with honor and glory.
7. You made him ruler over Your handiwork, You placed everything under his feet.
8. Sheep and cattle—all of them, also the beasts of the field;
9. the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea; all that traverses the paths of the seas.
10. Lord, our Master, how mighty is Your Name throughout the earth.
Chapter 9
One should praise God for saving him from the hand of the enemy who stands over and agonizes him, and for His judging each person according to his deeds: the righteous according to their righteousness, and the wicked according to their wickedness.
1. For the Conductor, upon the death of Labben, a psalm by David.
2. I will thank the Lord with all my heart; I will recount all Your wonders.
3. I will rejoice and exult in You; I will sing to Your Name, O Most High.
4. When my enemies retreat, they will stumble and perish from before You.
5. You have rendered my judgement and [defended] my cause; You sat on the throne, O righteous Judge.
6. You destroyed nations, doomed the wicked, erased their name for all eternity.
7. O enemy, your ruins are gone forever, and the cities you have uprooted—their very remembrance is lost.
8. But the Lord is enthroned forever, He established His throne for judgement.
9. And He will judge the world with justice, He will render judgement to the nations with righteousness.
10. The Lord will be a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
11. Those who know Your Name put their trust in You, for You, Lord, have not abandoned those who seek You.
12. Sing to the Lord Who dwells in Zion, recount His deeds among the nations.
13. For the Avenger of bloodshed is mindful of them; He does not forget the cry of the downtrodden.
14. Be gracious to me, O Lord; behold my affliction at the hands of my enemies, You Who raises me from the gates of death,
15. so that I may relate all Your praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion, that I may exult in Your deliverance.
16. The nations sank into the pit that they made; in the net they concealed their foot was caught.
17. The Lord became known through the judgement He executed; the wicked one is snared in the work of his own hands; reflect on this always.
18. The wicked will return to the grave, all the nations that forget God.
19. For not for eternity will the needy be forgotten, nor will the hope of the poor perish forever.
20. Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail; let the nations be judged in Your presence.
21. Set Your mastery over them, O Lord; let the nations know that they are but frail men, Selah.
____________________________
• Special Custom for the Month of Elul and High Holidays
The Baal Shem Tov instituted a custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms).
See below for today's additional chapters.
Chapter 23
When King David was in the forest of Cheret and nearly died of starvation, God provided nourishment for him with a taste of the World to Come. David then composed this psalm, describing the magnitude of his trust in God.
1. A psalm by David. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall lack nothing.
2. He lays me down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters.
3. He revives my soul; He directs me in paths of righteousness for the sake of His Name.
4. Though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff-they will comfort me.
5. You will prepare a table for me before my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup is full.
6. Only goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the House of the Lord for many long years.
Chapter 24
If the fulfillment of one's prayer would result in the sanctification of God's Name, he should pray that God act for the sake of the holiness of His Name. One should also invoke the merit of his ancestors, for we know that "the righteous are greater in death than in life"
1. By David, a psalm. The earth and all therein is the Lord's; the world and its inhabitants.
2. For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the rivers.
3. Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord, and who may stand in His holy place?
4. He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not used My Name in vain or sworn falsely.
5. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and kindness from God, his deliverer.
6. Such is the generation of those who search for Him, [the children of] Jacob who seek Your countenance forever.
7. Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, eternal doors, so the glorious King may enter.
8. Who is the glorious King? The Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord, mighty in battle.
9. Lift up your heads, O gates; lift them up, eternal doors, so the glorious King may enter.
10. Who is the glorious King? The Lord of Hosts, He is the glorious King for all eternity.
Chapter 25
The verses in this psalm are arranged according to the alphabet, excluding the letters Bet, Vav, and Kuf, which together equal the numerical value of Gehenom (purgatory). One who recites this psalm daily will not see the face of purgatory.
1. By David. To You, Lord, I lift my soul.
2. My God, I have put my trust in You. May I not be put to shame; may my enemies not gloat over me.
3. Indeed, may all who hope in You not be put to shame; let those who act treacherously without reason be shamed.
4. O Lord, make Your ways known to me; teach me Your paths.
5. Train me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; I yearn for You all day.
6. O Lord, remember Your mercies and Your kindnesses, for they have existed for all time.
7. Do not recall the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; remember me in accordance with Your kindness, because of Your goodness, O Lord.
8. Good and upright is the Lord, therefore He directs sinners along the way.
9. He guides the humble with justice, and teaches the humble His way.
10. All the paths of the Lord are kindness and truth for those who observe His covenant and testimonies.
11. For the sake of Your Name, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
12. Whoever is a God-fearing man, him will He teach the path that he should choose.
13. His soul will abide in well-being, and his descendants will inherit the earth.
14. The secret of the Lord is to those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them.
15. My eyes are always turned to the Lord, for He releases my feet from the snare.
16. Turn to me and be compassionate to me, for I am alone and afflicted.
17. The sufferings of my heart have increased; deliver me from my hardships.
18. Behold my affliction and suffering, and forgive all my sins.
19. See how numerous my enemies have become; they hate me with a violent hatred.
20. Guard my soul and deliver me; may I not be put to shame, for I place my trust in You.
21. Let integrity and uprightness guard me, for my hope is in You.
22. Redeem Israel, O God, from all its afflictions.
Chapter 26
In this psalm King David inundates God with prayers and acts of piety, because he envies those who are his spiritual superiors, saying, "If only I were on their level of piety and virtue!"
1. By David. Judge me, O Lord, for in my innocence I have walked, and in the Lord I have trusted-I shall not falter.
2. Try me, O Lord, and test me; refine my mind and heart.
3. For Your kindness is before my eyes, and I have walked constantly in Your truth.
4. I did not sit with men of falsehood, and with hypocrites I will not mingle.
5. I detested the company of evildoers, and with the wicked I will not sit.
6. I wash my hands in purity, and circle Your altar, O Lord,
7. to give voice to thanks, and to recount all Your wonders.
8. I love the shelter of Your House, O Lord, and the place where Your glory resides.
9. Gather not in my soul with sinners, nor my life with men of bloodshed,
10. In whose hands are schemes, and whose right hand is filled with bribes.
11. But I walk in my innocence; redeem me and show me favor.
12. My foot stands on level ground; in assemblies I will bless the Lord.
Chapter 27
King David acknowledges and praises God, placing his trust in Him because of his victories in war. "Nevertheless, it is not wars that I desire, for I cannot gain perfection with them. Only one thing do I ask: to abide day and night in the study hall studying Torah, to gain perfection so that my soul may merit the life of the World to Come."
1. By David. The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life-whom shall I dread?
2. When evildoers approached me to devour my flesh, my oppressors and my foes, they stumbled and fell.
3. If an army were to beleaguer me, my heart would not fear; if war were to arise against me, in this I trust
4. One thing I have asked of the Lord, this I seek: that I may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the pleasantness of the Lord, and to visit His Sanctuary.
5. For He will hide me in His tabernacle on a day of adversity; He will conceal me in the hidden places of His tent; He will lift me upon a rock.
6. And then my head will be raised above my enemies around me, and I will offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of jubilation; I will sing and chant to the Lord.
7. Lord, hear my voice as I call; be gracious to me and answer me.
8. In Your behalf my heart says, "Seek My countenance"; Your countenance, Lord, I seek.
9. Do not conceal Your countenance from me; do not cast aside Your servant in wrath. You have been my help; do not abandon me nor forsake me, God of my deliverance.
10. Though my father and mother have forsaken me, the Lord has taken me in.
11. Lord, teach me Your way and lead me in the path of righteousness, because of my watchful enemies.
12. Do not give me over to the will of my oppressors, for there have risen against me false witnesses, and they speak evil.
13. [They would have crushed me] had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14. Hope in the Lord, be strong and let your heart be valiant, and hope in the Lord.
Chapter 28
A prayer for every individual, entreating God to assist him in walking the good path, to prevent him from walking with the wicked doers of evil, and that He repay the wicked for their wickedness and the righteous for their righteousness.
1. By David. I call to You, O Lord; my Strength, do not be deaf to me; for should You be silent to me, I will be like those who descend to the pit.
2. Hear the sound of my pleas when I cry out to You, when I raise my hands toward Your holy Sanctuary.
3. Do not draw me along with the wicked, with evildoers who speak of peace with their companions, though evil is in their heart.
4. Give them according to their deeds, and the evil of their endeavors; give them according to their handiwork, render to them their just deserts.
5. For they pay no heed to the acts of the Lord, nor to the work of His hands; may He destroy them and not rebuild them.
6. Blessed is the Lord, for He has heard the voice of my pleas.
7. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusted and I was helped; my heart exulted, and with my song I praised Him.
8. The Lord is a strength to them; He is a stronghold of deliverance to His anointed.
9. Grant salvation to Your people and bless Your heritage; tend them and exalt them forever.
Additional Three Chapters
The Baal Shem Tov instituted a custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms).
Today's Chapters are 10, 11 and 12.
Chapter 10
This psalm tells of the wicked one’s prosperity and his boasting of it, until he says: “There is neither law nor judge. God pays no attention to the actions of mere mortals.”
1. Why, O Lord, do You stand afar, do You hide Yourself in times of distress?
2. The wicked man in his arrogance pursues the poor; they are caught by the schemes they have contrived.
3. For the wicked man glories in the desire of his heart, and the robber boasts that he has scorned the Lord.
4. The wicked one in his insolence [thinks], “He does not avenge”; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5. His ways always succeed; Your retribution is far removed from before him; he puffs at all his foes.
6. He says in his heart, “I shall not falter; for all generations no evil will befall me.”
7. His mouth is full of oaths, deceit and malice; mischief and iniquity are under his tongue.
8. He sits in ambush near open cities; in hidden places he murders the innocent; his eyes stealthily watch for the helpless.
9. He lurks in hiding like a lion in his lair; he lurks to seize the poor, then seizes the poor when he draws his net.
10. He crouches and stoops, then the helpless fall prey to his might.
11. He says in his heart, “God has forgotten, He conceals His countenance, He will never see.”
12. Arise, O Lord! O God, lift Your hand! Do not forget the lowly.
13. Why does the wicked man scorn God? Because he says in his heart, “You do not avenge.”
14. Indeed, You do see! For You behold the mischief and vexation. To recompense is in Your power; the helpless place their trust in You; You have [always] helped the orphan.
15. Break the strength of the wicked; then search for the wickedness of the evil one and You will not find it.
16. The Lord reigns for all eternity; the nations have vanished from His land.
17. Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; direct their hearts, let Your ear listen,
18. to bring justice to the orphan and the downtrodden, so that [the wicked] shall no longer crush the frail of the earth.
Chapter 11
This psalm declares that the suffering of the righteous one is for his own benefit, to cleanse him of his sins; whereas the wicked one is granted prosperity in this world-similar to the verse, "Wealth remains with its owner, to his detriment."
1. For the Conductor, by David. I have placed my trust in the Lord; [thus] how can you say of my soul, your mountain,1 that it flees like a bird?2
2. For behold, the wicked bend the bow, they have readied their arrow upon the bowstring, to shoot in darkness at the upright of heart.
3. They destroyed the foundations; 3 what [wrong] has the righteous man done?
4. The Lord is in His holy Sanctuary, the Lord's throne is in heaven, [yet] His eyes behold, His pupils probe [the deeds of] mankind.
5. The Lord tests the righteous, but He hates the wicked and the lover of violence.
6. He will rain down upon the wicked fiery coals and brimstone; a scorching wind will be their allotted portion.
7. For the Lord is righteous, He loves [the man of] righteous deeds; the upright will behold His countenance.
Chapter 12
This psalm admonishes informers, slanderers, and flatterers.
1. For the Conductor, upon the eight-stringed instrument, a psalm by David.
2. Help us, Lord, for the pious are no more; for the faithful have vanished from among men.
3. Men speak falsehood to one another; with flattering lips, with a duplicitous heart do they speak.
4. May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that speaks boastfully-
5. those who have said, "With our tongues we shall prevail, our lips are with us, who is master over us!”
6. Because of the plundering of the poor, because of the moaning of the needy, the Lord says, "Now I will arise!" "I will grant deliverance," He says to him.
7. The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in the finest earthen crucible, purified seven times.
8. May You, O Lord, watch over them; may You forever guard them from this generation,
9. [in which] the wicked walk on every side; when they are exalted it is a disgrace to mankind.
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Tanya: Iggeret HaKodesh, end of Epistle 10 & Iggeret HaKodesh, Epistle 11
• Lessons in Tanya
• Today's Tanya Lesson
Friday, Elul 3, 5774 • 29 August 2014 & Shabbat, Elul 4, 5774 • 30 August 2014
Iggeret HaKodesh, end of Epistle 10
The Alter Rebbe now returns to the verse quoted at the outset of this Iggeret HaKodesh: חסדי ה׳ כי לא תמנו וגו׳ — “The kindnesses of G d have surely not ended....”
There he had asked: If the verse refers only to G d’s kindness, why does it use the verb tamnu (in the first person plural), which would make the phrase mean, “we have not been brought to an end,” rather than tamu (in the third person plural), which would mean that “the kindnesses have not ended”?
He answers this by saying that חסדי ה׳ (“the kindnesses of G d”) refers also to the giving of tzedakah without limitation. Accordingly, the verse may be understood, as he now goes on to explain:
והנה מדת חסד זו, בלי גבול ומדה, נקראת על שמו של הקב״ה
Now, since this is G d’s manner of practicing benevolence, this mode of unlimited kindness is known by the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He, [viz.,]
חסדי ה׳
“The kindnesses of G d,”
כדכתיב: וחסד ה׳ מעולם ועד עולם כו׳
as it is written,1 “and G d’s Chesed is everlasting....”
כי הגם שכל ישראל הם רחמנים וגומלי חסדים
For though2 “All of Israel are compassionate and practice kindly deeds,”
ברם יש גבול ומדה לרחמי האדם
nevertheless there is a limit and measure to man’s compassion.
אבל הקב״ה נקרא אין סוף ברוך הוא
But the Holy One, blessed be He, is called the Ein Sof — “the Infinite One,”
ולמדותיו אין סוף
and His attributes (like Himself) have no end,
כדכתיב: כי לא כלו רחמיו
as it is written,3 “...for His mercies never cease.”
When a Jew echoes G d’s boundless kindness and compassion, his actions are thus termed “G d’s acts of kindness.”
וזהו שאמר הנביא אחר החורבן והגלות: חסדי ה׳, כי לא תמנו
And this is the meaning of the prophet’s words,4 after the Destruction and the exile: “The kindnesses of G d have surely not ended (ki lo tamnu).”
פירוש: לפי שלא תמנו, שאין אנו תמימים ושלמים, בלי שום חטא ופגם בנפש ובעולמות עליונים
That is: “Because we are not perfect,5 inasmuch as we are not perfect (temimim) and whole, without any sin or blemish in our soul nor in the higher worlds,
על כן צריכין אנו להתנהג בחסדי ה׳, שהם בלי גבול ותכלית
we therefore need to conduct ourselves in accordance with ‘G d’s kindnesses,’ that are without limit or end,
כדי לעורר עלינו רחמים וחסד עילאה, שהוא רב חסד ורחמים, בלי גבול ותכלית
in order to call down upon ourselves Supreme compassion, i.e., rav Chesed, and unlimited, infinite compassion,
כמו שכתוב: כי לא כלו רחמיו
as it is written, at the conclusion of this verse, ‘for His mercies never cease....’”
Since we are in need of drawing down this level of compassion, our own practice of kindness must echo “G d’s kindness.”
Thus the Prophet is telling the generations that follow the Destruction that they should practice unbounded kindness because they are not in a state of tamnu. Being imperfect, we need to arouse G d’s infinite kindness and compassion in order to rectify any sins and blemishes.
(Moreover, since these latter generations are too weak to engage in fasting and self-mortification, the only means now available to secure full atonement is through tzedakah.6)
וזהו שאמרו רז״ל: אין ישראל נגאלין אלא בצדקה
And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, meant by saying that7 “Israel will be redeemed only through charity.”
שיעשו גם אם יהיו פטורים מדינא
[This refers to the charity] that they will perform even if they are legally not obligated,
כי אין בן דוד בא כו׳
for8 “[Mashiach] the son of David will not come [until the pocket will be empty of even the smallest coin].”
I.e., even if (Heaven forfend) there will not be a solitary coin left in one’s pocket, tzedakah will still be given. And it is this boundless level of tzedakah that secures a complete atonement for the sins of our people, after which9 “they will immediately be redeemed.”
The Rebbe explains that the Alter Rebbe does not conclude the above-mentioned quotation about the precondition for the coming of Mashiach because it is quite possible that he did not want to write out the last words (viz., “until the pocket will be empty of even the smallest coin”); and this precondition of the Sages can be fulfilled on the spiritual level, by conducting oneself with the humility of the destitute.
This could also explain why the Alter Rebbe does not say...כשיהיו (“when they are legally not obligated”), but rather...אם יהיו (“if they are legally not obligated”).
FOOTNOTES
1. Tehillim 103:17.
2. Yevamot 79a.
3. Eichah 3:22.
4. See above, footnote 3.
5. Note of the Rebbe: “The proof being the Destruction and the exile.”
6. This is explained at length in Iggeret HaTeshuvah, ch. 3 (in Vol. III of the present series).
7. See above, Epistle 9, footnote 16.
8. Sanhedrin 97a.
9. Rambam, Hilchot Teshuvah 7:5.
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Iggeret HaKodesh, Epistle 11
Like most of the components of Iggeret HaKodesh, this pastoral letter too was addressed to the chassidic community as a whole. Why, then, echoing the words first addressed to Daniel (“To enlighten you with understanding”),1 does the Alter Rebbe open it in the singular?
In this letter the Alter Rebbe demands spiritual service of a caliber so seemingly formidable as to be attainable only by a chosen few. For in it he calls upon the reader not to desire physical things, even those things that are essential for his wellbeing and utilized in his service of G‑d.
Even such essentials, states the Alter Rebbe, should not be desired for their physicality but for their spirituality, for the spark of G‑dliness found within them. So much so, that even if a person finds that he is lacking (G‑d forbid) life’s essentials, he should not be pained by their absence; rather he should rejoice in his belief that this is indeed for his good, as shall soon be explained. Such a lofty response to deprivation would seem to be within the reach of only a very restricted elite.
The Alter Rebbe therefore begins this letter in the singular, indicating that every single individual can attain this level of divine service. For it requires only an absolute faith in G‑d, and this lies hidden within every Jew; let him but unveil this faith, and he will be able to live by it.
להשכילך בינה
“To enlighten you with understanding”
כי לא זו הדרך ישכון אור ה׳
that not by this path will the light of G‑d dwell within [one],2
להיות חפץ בחיי בשרים, ובני ומזוני
i.e., by desiring the3 “life of flesh,” and children, and sustenance,
The Alter Rebbe is negating a desire that emanates from a craving for pleasure, rather than a desire that results from purposeful need.
כי על זה אמרו רז״ל: בטל רצונך כו׳
for on this our Sages, of blessed memory, said,4 “Nullify your will [out of deference to His will].”
דהיינו, שיהיה רצונו בטל במציאות, ולא יהיה לו שום רצון כלל בעניני עולם הזה כולם
This means not that one should set aside his own will because it does not coincide with G‑d’s will, but that from the outset one’s will should be [so] nullified that he has no desire whatever for any worldly matters
הנכללים בבני, חיי ומזוני
that are incorporated within the three general categories of5 “children, life, and sustenance.”
Although these are essentials, and though they affect one’s divine service, they should be desired not for themselves, but only insofar as they further the accomplishment of one’s spiritual tasks.
The above directive to “nullify” thus implies bittul bimetziut, an utter nullification of the self. Confronted by a scholar of stature, a lesser scholar may experience self-effacement — but he still remains a self-assertive personality. Utter nullification, by contrast, means that this sensation of self ceases to exist. In similar vein, nullifying one’s own wishes before G‑d connotes the absence of any wishes other than G‑d’s.
וכמאמר רז״ל: שעל כרחך אתה חי
[One should thus live] in the spirit of the teaching of our Sages, of blessed memory, that6 “Against your will do you live.” I.e., one should view the corporeal aspects of his life as being contrary to his will, and surely so with regard to the corporeal aspects of children and sustenance.
The Alter Rebbe now goes on to explain how a Jew can achieve a total lack of yearning for the physicality of things, even things that are essential. According to the explanation that follows, it will be seen that one can go beyond this, and even not be pained by their absence. Indeed, this equanimity in the face of deprivation proves that he derives no pleasure from these things when he does have them.
For it is possible for a person not to derive (conscious) pleasure from something7 and still delight in it subconsciously; the proof of this is that he grieves mightily at its loss, and pain is the exact counterpart of pleasure.
וביאור הענין
The clarification of this matter, how one can achieve a state of not desiring the physicality of even those things most crucial to his existence, [is as follows]:
הוא רק אמונה אמיתית ביוצר בראשית
This [can be achieved] only [when there is] an absolute belief in the Yotzer Bereishit.
Literally, as in the opening words of the Aleinu prayer,8 this phrase refers to G‑d as “the One Who formed the first beginnings of Creation.” In the Kabbalistic lexicon, however, reishit also connotes the Sefirah called Chochmah (lit., “wisdom”). The Alter Rebbe hence uses this phrase here to allude to G‑d as “the One Who created [everything] by means of reishit,” i.e., by means of the Sefirah of Chochmah.
דהיינו שהבריאה יש מאין, הנקראת ראשית חכמה
This means that the creation of yesh (“that which exists”) out of the state of ayin (lit., “nothingness”) which is called reishit Chochmah,
Loosely, the phrase yesh me’ayin means “something from nothing,” i.e., creation ex nihilo. Here, however, the meaning of ayin is not “non-being” or “non-existence”, for we cannot say that the source of creation is “non-being” when9 “Everything is from You”: all of creation comes from G‑dliness, the only entity that has true existence. Rather, ayin here means “incomprehensible”, for that which a created being understands he terms “existing” while that which totally transcends his understanding he denotes as “non-existing”, inasmuch as it does not exist within the world of his understanding.
Yesh me’ayin thus describes the creation of something that comes into existence from the ayin of Chochmah. Chochmah in turn is known as reishit (lit., “first”), as in the verse,10 “Reishit chochmah....” The level of emanation called Chochmah is deemed to be “first” because it is the first of the Sefirot and as such serves as a source of creation, unlike the levels of Divinity preceding it which are too high, so to speak, to emanate down to the level of creation.
והיא חכמתו שאינה מושגת לשום נברא
i.e., the Divine [Sefirah of] Chochmah which is not apprehensible to any created being, and which is the level of Divinity described above as Yotzer Bereishit, that refers to G‑d as “the One Who created [everything] by means of reishit,” i.e., by means of the Sefirah of Chochmah, —
הבריאה הזאת היא בכל עת ורגע
this creation occurs at every time11 and moment
שמתהוים כל הברואים יש מאין
at which all created beings come into being ex nihilo (yesh me’ayin)
מחכמתו יתברך המחיה את הכל
through G‑d’s wisdom which animates everything.12
G‑d not only vitalizes all beings but also creates them, and since creation takes place ex nihilo it must occur constantly.
For it is explained at length in the teachings of Chassidut that the relationship between Creator and created differs from the ilah ve’alul (“cause and effect”) relationship of, for example, intellect and emotions. Once emotions are brought about by the intellect, they can then continue to exist independently, because in truth the intellect merely serves to reveal pre-existing emotions; it does not actually create them.
Creation ex nihilo however, involves creating a being that previously did not exist at all. The ayin that creates must therefore continuously vest itself within the created being, so as to constantly effect the phenomenon of creation. (This is explained in Shaar HaYichud VeHaEmunah,13 a priori from the splitting of the Red Sea.)
This is also the meaning of the statement,14 “He Who in His goodness renews each day, continuously, the work of creation....” G‑d constantly creates the universe anew from the ayin of Chochmah.
וכשיתבונן האדם בעומק הבנתו
Now when a man will contemplate in the depths of his understanding
ויצייר בדעתו הווייתו יש מאין בכל רגע ורגע ממש
and will [moreover] picture in his mind how he comes into being ex nihilo at every single moment, so that he is affected at every moment of his existence by G‑d’s wisdom,
האיך יעלה על דעתו כי רע לו
how can he entertain the thought that he is suffering,
או שום יסורים מבני, חיי ומזוני
or has any afflictions related to “children, life, i.e., health, and sustenance,”
או שארי יסורין בעולם
or whatever other worldly sufferings?
הרי האין, שהיא חכמתו יתברך, הוא מקור החיים והטוב והעונג
For the ayin which is G‑d’s Chochmah is the source of life, goodness and delight.
והוא העדן שלמעלה מעולם הבא
It is the Eden that transcends the World to Come,
The World to Come — the Garden of Eden — is the most sublime form of bliss experienced by the soul in apprehending G‑dliness. This level, lofty as it may be, is however but a garden, a stage once removed from the spiritual delights which flow to it from the source which is called Eden. It is this level of Divinity that constantly creates and vitalizes all living beings.
רק מפני שאינו מושג, לכן נדמה לו רע או יסורים
except that, because it is not apprehensible, one imagines that he is suffering, or afflicted.
אבל באמת, אין רע יורד מלמעלה, והכל טוב
In truth, however,15 “No evil descends from above,” and everything is good,
רק שאינו מושג, לגודלו ורב טובו
though it is not apprehended [as such] because of its immense and abundant goodness, at a level which is inconceivable to man.
The life-force of all things, even those that we perceive as evil, as found within its source is truly good. In fact, it is such a lofty manner of good that it remains faithful to its source, and as such is not apprehensible to man as good. In this it differs from the other form of good that is able to descend to so low a level that even mortals can perceive its goodness. This higher form of goodness, because it retains its status at the outset of its revelation, is clothed in this world in a garb of pain and evil, inasmuch as its goodness has yet to be revealed to man.
This may be more fully understood in light of the Alter Rebbe’s explanation16 of the verse,17 “Happy is the man whom You, G‑d, chasten.” (In the original of this verse in the Holy Tongue, the Divine Name is spelled with yud and hei, which are also the first two letters of the Four-Letter Divine Name.) The Alter Rebbe explains there that suffering stems from the revelation of these first two letters “in the hidden world” (i.e., on a plane which is hidden from our understanding), before the revelation of the latter two letters (vav and hei) descends into the “revealed world.” Thus, suffering as found within its source is truly good.
In this spirit, the Alter Rebbe explains18 the conduct of Nachum Ish Gamzu, whose response to all occurrences was the remark,19 Gam zu letovah — “This, too, is for the good.” This remark not only meant that an event that seemed to be evil would eventually evolve into good, but that the event itself, by virtue of its source, was good in its present form as well; its inherent goodness would be revealed at some later date.
וזהו עיקר האמונה שבשבילה נברא האדם
And this is the essence20 of the faith for which man was created:21
להאמין דלית אתר פנוי מיניה
to believe that22 “There is no place void of Him” — i.e., G‑d is everywhere —
ובאור פני מלך, חיים
and23 “In the light of the King’s countenance there is life.”
When one encounters the King face to face, he is granted life. If in this temporal world a man sentenced to death should encounter his king, his sentence may be commuted and he is granted life, for “In the light of the king’s countenance there is life.” The same is true Above: the omnipresence of G‑d, the King of the world, provides everything with life.
ועל כן עוז וחדוה במקומו
Accordingly,24 “Strength and gladness are in His place,”
The fact that G‑d is found everywhere should encourage a man by strengthening his trust, and thereby fill him with joy, for whatever predicament he finds himself in, G‑d is there too. And wherever G‑d is present, there is “strength and gladness.”
הואיל והוא רק טוב כל היום
because He is but good all the time.
ועל כן, ראשית הכל, שישמח האדם ויגל בכל עת ושעה
Therefore, first of all,25 man ought to be happy and joyous at every time26 and hour,
ויחיה ממש באמונתו בה׳, המחיה ומטיב עמו בכל רגע
and truly live by his faith27 in G‑d, Who animates him and acts kindly towards him at every moment.28
ומי שמתעצב ומתאונן
But he who is grieved and laments
מראה בעצמו שיש לו מעט רע ויסורין
demonstrates29 that he is undergoing some hardship and suffering,
וחסר לו איזה טובה
and lacks some goodness;
והרי זה ככופר, חס ושלום
he is (heaven forfend) like a heretic, who denies G‑d’s omnipresence.
For if he would truly believe, he would realize (as above) that “In the light of the King’s countenance there is life,” and “Strength and joy are in His place,” so that he indeed lacks nothing.
ועל כן הרחיקו מדת העצבות במאד חכמי האמת
This is why the Sages of Truth, the Kabbalists, strongly rejected the trait of sadness, for it contradicts a Jew’s true faith that “There is no place devoid of Him.”
אבל המאמין לא יחוש משום יסורין בעולם
The truly faithful, however, is not perturbed30 by any suffering whatever,
ובכל עניני העולם, הן ולאו שוין אצלו בהשוואה אמיתית
and with respect to all mundane matters, “yes” and “no” are all the same to him, in true equality.
ומי שאין שוין לו
But he to whom they are not the same,
מראה בעצמו שהוא מערב רב, דלגרמייהו עבדין
demonstrates31 that he is one of the eirev rav, who act but for themselves;32
ואוהב את עצמו לצאת מתחת יד ה׳ ולחיות בחיי הגוים
he loves himself to the extent that33 he removes himself from under the hand (i.e., the authority) of G‑d, and lives the life of the gentiles, —
בשביל אהבת את עצמו
[all] because of his self-love.
ועל כן הוא חפץ בחיי בשרים ובני ומזוני
This is why he desires the “life of the flesh,”34 and “children and sustenance,”
כי זה טוב לו
for that is his good.
ונוח לו שלא נברא
[Indeed,] it would have been better for him had he not been created.
כי עיקר בריאת האדם בעולם הזה
For the main purpose of man’s creation in this world
הוא בשביל לנסותו בנסיונות אלו
is to test him by these trials and physical tribulations,
ולדעת את אשר בלבבו
to ascertain what is in his heart:35
אם יפנה לבבו אחרי אלהים אחרים
whether his heart will turn towards other gods,
שהם תאוות הגוף, המשתלשלים מסטרא אחרא, ובהם הוא חפץ
namely the passions of the body which evolve from the sitra achra, and desire these,
Since the kelipot and sitra achra, the forces of evil and unholiness, are termed “other gods,” the passions that they generate are likewise termed “other gods.”
או אם חפצו ורצונו לחיות חיים אמיתים, המשתלשלים מאלקים חיים
or whether his desire and wish is to live the true life which evolves from the living G‑d.36
ויאמין שבאמת הוא חי בהם
One must believe that he really lives it, i.e., the true life,
וכל צרכיו וכל עניניו משתלשלים באמת בפרטי פרטיותיהם שלא מסטרא אחרא
and that all his needs, and everything related to himself, truly evolve in all their details not from the sitra achra,
כי מה׳ מצעדי גבר כוננו
for37 “By G‑d are the steps of man made firm,”38
ואין מלה גו׳
and39 “While there is [yet] no word [on my tongue, You, G‑d, know it all].”
Thus, G‑d is aware of all man’s thoughts, words and deeds, even before man thinks, speaks or does them.
ואם כן, הכל טוב בתכלית, רק שאינו מושג
Accordingly, everything is absolutely good, except that it is not apprehended as such by man.
ובאמונה זו באמת, נעשה הכל טוב גם בגלוי
When one believes this truly, everything becomes good even on a revealed level.
שבאמונה זו, שמאמין שהרע הנדמה בגלוי
For by such a faith, in which one believes that what manifestly seems to be evil
כל חיותו הוא מטוב העליון
in fact receives its entire vitality from the Supreme Good,
שהיא חכמתו יתברך, שאינה מושגת
(i.e., from G‑d’s Chochmah which is not apprehensible,
שהיא העדן שלמעלה מעולם הבא
and which is the Eden that transcends the World to Come40), —
הרי באמונה זו נכלל ומתעלה באמת הרע המדומה בטוב העליון הגנוז
by this faith the imagined evil is truly absorbed and sublimated in the concealed Supreme Good, so that the good becomes palpably revealed to the physical eye.
FOOTNOTES
1. Daniel 9:22.
2. Cf. Iyov 38:19.
3. Cf. Mishlei 14:30.
4. Avot 2:4.
5. Cf. Moed Katan 28a.
6. Avot 4:22.
7. Note of the Rebbe: “In the words of the adage, ‘A constant delight is no delight.’”
8. Siddur Tehillat HaShem, p. 84.
9. I Divrei HaYamim 29:14.
10. Tehillim 111:10; Mishlei 4:7.
11. See footnote 25, below.
12. Note of the Rebbe: “As above in Shaar HaYichud Veha Emunah, ch. 2.”
13. Loc. cit.
14. Morning prayers; Siddur Tehillat HaShem, p. 44.
15. Cf. Bereishit Rabbah 51:3.
16. In ch. 26 of Part I, above.
17. Tehillim 94:12.
18. Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 62a.
19. Taanit 21a.
20. Note of the Rebbe: “Cf. Raaya Mehemna, Zohar II, 25a; the beginning of the [Mishneh Torah of the] Rambam; and above, p. 83b [i.e., Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, ch. 7].”
21. Note of the Rebbe: “From this phrase one may understand that from here on the Alter Rebbe adds a vital emphasis regarding the conclusion drawn from the above contemplation: (a) it should affect one at every moment and hour, and (b) one should truly live with it.”
22. Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 57.
23. Mishlei 16:15.
24. I Divrei HaYamim 16:27.
25. Note of the Rebbe: “For, as explained above, we are speaking of the Yotzer Bereishit [‘the One Who formed the first beginnings of Creation’].”
26. Note of the Rebbe: “This may be seen as a hint that [one should maintain this happy frame of mind at all times, despite the vagaries of life’s] 28 different and opposite ‘times’ (as listed in Kohelet 3:2 ff.). The same hint may also be perceived at the beginning of the present Epistle (‘at every time and moment’).”
27. Note of the Rebbe: “Since it is for the sake of [his faith] that he was created — and he is alive at all times and hours.”
28. Note of the Rebbe: “This is another reason why [the above-described train of thinking] should be maintained at all times and hours.”
29. Note of the Rebbe: “[The second word in the Hebrew phrase מראה בעצמו (here translated “demonstrates”; lit., “shows concerning himself”)] is seemingly superfluous and also unexpected. Perhaps it suggests that [such a response to hardship] runs contrary to the very essence (עצם) of one’s creation and existence (for [a faith in G‑d’s ever-present goodness is] the purpose, as stated above, for which he was created).”
30. Note of the Rebbe: “This echoes Yeshayahu 28:16; see the Targum there [which translates לא יחיש as לא יזדעזעון — ‘...will not be agitated’]. In our text, too, the verb should perhaps be spelled thus [with a yud replacing the vav]. See also the Targum of Kohelet 2:25 [which translates ומי יחוש as דאית ליה חששא... — ‘...who is apprehensive’].”
31. Note of the Rebbe: “As above, footnote 29.”
32. Note of the Rebbe: “Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 6, end of p. 22a; cf. Iggeret HaKodesh, beginning of sec. 22; see also Part I [of Tanya], conclusion of ch. 1 (with regard to gentiles).”
33. The explanatory phrase “to the extent that” was inserted by the Rebbe.
34. Note of the Rebbe: “This [reason] was not stressed above for it is self-understood, and is the simple meaning of the expression as often quoted by our Sages. This, however, is not the case here: after the Alter Rebbe has focussed on life in the light of the King’s countenance, it is obvious that this is what should have been desired.”
35. Cf. Devarim 8:2.
36. In the text here follow the words, אף שאינו יכול — “though he is unable.” A gloss, inserted at this point by the original publishers of this Hebrew edition, notes the anomalous nature of this phrase and comments that it does not appear in some manuscripts. An alternative version reads, “...or whether his desire and wish — though he is unable [to actually do so] — is to live the true life.” According to this version the phrase is parenthetical.
37. Tehillim 37:23.
38. Note of the Rebbe: “The choice of this particular verse here might appear problematic, when numerous verses about Divine Providence appear in Scripture before this one. [Its relevance to our context] becomes clear, however, in light of a comment of our Sages specifically on this verse (Chullin, end of p. 7b): [‘A man does not (even have something trivial happen to him, such as)] bruise [his finger, without its having been decreed from Above’].“
Here too, then, we observe the extreme precision of the Alter Rebbe’s writing, even with regard to words that might seem to be mere stylistic embellishments.”
39. Tehillim 139:4.
40. Note of the Rebbe: “Cf. the teaching of our Sages in Berachot 34b.”
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Rambam:
• Daily Mitzvah P101 & P99 - Sefer Hamitzvos:
Friday, Elul 3, 5774 • 29 August 2014 & Shabbat, Elul 4, 5774 • 30 August 2014
Today's Mitzvah
Elul 3, 5774 • August 29, 2014
Today's Mitzvah
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
Positive Commandment 101
Ritual Impurity of a Metzora
The mitzvah regarding the ritual impurity of the metzora (a person suffering from tzaraat, a skin discoloration described in the Torah). This mitzvah includes all the laws applicable to this impurity: what types [of discolorations render a person] impure, and [what types do not]; which types of this impurity require quarantine, and which do not; the laws associated with the quarantine, i.e., shaving [the hair surrounding a tzaraat lesion in an area of hair]; and all other laws associate with tzaraat and the gradations of its impurity.
Ritual Impurity of a Metzora
Positive Commandment 101
Translated by Berel Bell
The 101st mitzvah is that we are commanded regarding the tumah of leprous person. This mitzvah includes all the laws regarding a leper — which cases are tameh and which tahor; when and when not the person is placed in quarantine; when shaving, known as tiglachas hanesek,1 is required along with the quarantine and the other details including how the tumah is conveyed.
FOOTNOTES
1.One shaves the hair surrounding the affected area to determine if it has grown.
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Positive Commandment 99 (Digest)
Ritual Impurity of a Menstruating Woman
We are commanded regarding the ritual impurity associated with menstruation. [I.e., when contracted, one must follow all the laws associated with this impurity.]
The 99th mitzvah is that we are commanded regarding the tumah of niddah. This mitzvah includes tumas niddah and all of its laws.1
Rabbi Berel Bell is a well-known educator, author and lecturer. He and his family reside in Montreal, Canada.
From "Sefer Hamitzvot in English," published by Sichos in English.
FOOTNOTES
1.See Hilchos M'tamei Mishkav U'Moshav.
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Ritual Impurity of a Menstruating Woman
We are commanded regarding the ritual impurity associated with menstruation. [I.e., when contracted, one must follow all the laws associated with this impurity.]
The 99th mitzvah is that we are commanded regarding the tumah of niddah. This mitzvah includes tumas niddah and all of its laws.1
Rabbi Berel Bell is a well-known educator, author and lecturer. He and his family reside in Montreal, Canada.
From "Sefer Hamitzvot in English," published by Sichos in English.
FOOTNOTES
1.See Hilchos M'tamei Mishkav U'Moshav.
________________________________________
Rambam:
• 1 Chapter a Day: To`en veNit`an - Chapter 1 & To`en veNit`an - Chapter 2To`en veNit`an - Chapter 1
The Laws Pertaining to Disputes between Plaintiffs and Defendants
It contains one mitzvah, the laws when a person issues a claim against a colleague and he either admits or denies the claim.
This mitzvah is explained in the following chapters.
Halacha 1
When a person who issues a claim against a colleague with regard to movable property, and the defendant acknowledges a portion of the claim, he must pay what he acknowledged, and take an oath with regard to the remainder. This is a Scriptural obligation, as Exodus 22:8 states: "That this is it."
Similarly, if the defendant denies the entire obligation and says: "Such a thing never happened," and one witness testifies that the defendant is obligated to the plaintiff, the defendant is obligated by Scriptural Law to take an oath. The Oral Tradition teaches: Whenever two witnesses would obligate the person to pay money, one witness obligates him to take an oath.
Similarly, it was derived through the Oral Tradition that one witness shall not rise up against any man for any iniquity or any sin. He may, however, rise up against him to obligate him to take an oath.
Halacha 2
There are only three individuals who are obligated by Scriptural Law to take an oath: a person who denied a portion of a claim of movable property, a person obligated by one witness, and a watchman. For with regard to a watchman, Exodus 22:10 states: "The oath of God shall be between them." We have already explained the oath required of watchman in Hilchot Sechirut.
Each of these three individuals takes an oath and becomes free of his obligation to pay. In contrast, those who take an oath and collect the money they claim, e.g., an employee, a person who was injured, a person who impairs the legal power of his promissory note and the like, and similarly, those who take an oath because there is a possibility of a claim being lodged against them, e.g., partners and sharecroppers, all take oaths because of our Sages' ordinances. Although all these oaths were ordained by Rabbinic decree, they all resemble a Scriptural oath, and all must be taken while holding a sacred article.
Halacha 3
A defendant is not liable to take a Scriptural oath when a colleague claims that he owes movable property and the defendant:
a) denies the entire matter, saying: "Such a thing never occurred";
b) admitted a portion of the claim and gave it to him immediately, saying: "This is all I owe you; here it is";
c) admits that he had originally owed the plaintiff the debt, but claims that the plaintiff waived payment, gave him the object claimed as a present, or that he already returned the debt;
d) admits owing barley, while the plaintiff owes wheat.
Nevertheless, the Sages of the Gemara ordained that in all these situations, the defendant should take a sh'vuat heset, before being freed of liability. This oath does not resemble a Scriptural oath, because one need not hold a sacred article while taking it. We have already described the process of taking a Scriptural oath and that of taking a sh'vuat heset in Hilchot Sh'vuos.
Halacha 4
Whenever anyone is required to take an oath by Scriptural Law, he may take the oath and free himself of obligations. If he does not desire to take the oath, we attach his property and expropriate everything the plaintiff claims. For the plaintiff will say: "I will not budge from the Torah's ruling. Either take the oath or pay me." He may, however, have a conditional ban of ostracismissued against anyone who makes a false claim. He must then pay.
Different laws apply when, by contrast, a person is obligated to take an oath by Rabbinic degree. If he was one of those who must take an oath and collect his due, he cannot reverse the oath and require the defendant to take it. For the defendant will tell him: "Take the oath and collect as the Sages ordained for you." If he does not desire to take an oath, he should depart.
My masters ruled that if the plaintiff says: "I do not desire the ordinance which the Sages ordained on my behalf. Instead, I am no different than any other plaintiff," he may require the defendant to take a sh'vuat heset. If the defendant desires to reverse this oath and require the plaintiff to take it, we obligate the plaintiff to take the oath or to depart.
Halacha 5
If a defendant was obligated by Rabbinic decree to take an oath to be released from responsibility, e.g., those who must take an oath because of a doubt or those required to take a sh'vuat heset, and he did not want to take an oath, he is placed under a ban of ostracism for 30 days. If he does not come and seek to be released from his ban, he is given stripes for rebellious conduct.
Similarly, whenever a person has been placed under a ban of ostracism for 30 days, he is given stripes for rebellious conduct and then his ban is lifted. His property is not attached, because he is not required to take an oath by Scriptural Law.
Halacha 6
Whenever a person is obligated to take a sh'vuat heset, if he desires, he may reverse the oath and obligate the plaintiff. The plaintiff may take the sh'vuat heset and then collect his claim from his colleague.
There is no other person who takes a sh'vuat heset and collects his claim from his colleague except this person for whom the obligation to take a sh'vuat heset. A Scriptural oath and a Rabbinic oath that resembles a Scriptural oath may not be reversed.
Halacha 7
A person cannot be required to take a sh'vuat heset unless a definite claim is lodged against him. If, however, the plaintiff's claim is doubt, the defendant is not liable for the oath.
What is implied? The plaintiff says: "It appears to me that you owe me a maneh," "I lent you a maneh, it appears to me that you did not repay me," "My father said that you owe me a maneh, "My father declared to me in the presence of witnesses that you owe me a maneh," "A certain article was stolen from my house. You were the only person there. In my eyes, it is likely that you stole it," "I calculated the money I have and I found that I was lacking some. Perhaps you caused me to err in the accounting," and to all these complaints, the defendant states: "I do not owe you anything," he is not liable even for a sh'vuat heset. The same applies in all analogous situations.
Halacha 8
The defendant is required to take a sh'vuat heset in the following situations. The plaintiff claims: "You definitely owe me a kor of wheat," and the defendant replies: "I don't know. Maybe I owe you, maybe I do not owe you," the defendant must take a sh'vuat heset that he does not know of the obligation. He is then released. He is not liable, because he did not definitely obligate himself. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations.
Similarly, if the plaintiff claims: "You definitely owe me a kor of wheat," and the defendant replies: "I don't know whether I owe you a kor of wheat or barley," the defendant must take a sh'vuat heset that he does not know and pay the plaintiff a kor of barley. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations.
Halacha 9
Different rules apply when the plaintiff claims: "You definitely owe me a maneh," and the defendant replies: "I did owe you a maneh. I do not know, however, if I returned it to you or did not return it to you yet." The defendant is obligated to pay. The plaintiff is not obligated to take an oath at all, not even a sh'vuat heset.
The rationale is that the defendant knows that he was liable and the plaintiff is lodging a definite claim against him, and he does not know whether he fulfilled his obligation or not. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations.
This stringency does not apply if there is no plaintiff, i.e., on his own initiative, the defendant said: "I stole from you...", "You lent me a maneh...", "Your father entrusted me with a maneh, and I do not know if I returned it to you or not, he is not liable at all. If he desires to fulfill his moral and spiritual obligations, he is liable to make restitution.
Halacha 10
As mentioned above, a sh'vuat heset can be reversed. Thus if a plaintiff claims: "You owe me a maneh," and the defendant responds: "I do not owe you anything," the plaintiff may tell him: "Take a sh'vuat heset and go on your way." And the defendant may respond: "You take the sh'vuat heset and collect your claim." If the plaintiff says: "I do not desire to take the oath," the defendant may tell him: "Either take the oath and collect your claim or go away without anything." The obligation to take the oath may not be reversed again. The plaintiff may, however, have a conditional bill of ostracism issued against anyone who owes him money and refuses to pay.
Halacha 11
My masters ruled that anyone who is obligated to take an oath - whether a Scriptural oath or a Rabbinic oath, even a sh'vuat heset - may, before taking the oath, have a conditional ban of ostracism issued against anyone who lodges a claim against him for money which he does not owe so that he will have to take an oath unnecessarily. The person requiring him to take the oath must answer Amen. Afterwards, the defendant must take that oath.
This is a proper ordinance for litigants so that they will refrain from making false claims and not cause God's name to be mentioned for no purpose, thus preventing them from lodging spurious suits.
Halacha 12
Whenever a person is required to take an oath - whether a Scriptural oath or a Rabbinic oath - the plaintiff can require him to include in his oath a denial of any other claim that he desires which would obligate the defendant financially.
To what extent can he be forced to include a claim? Until the plaintiff has him include in the oath that he was not sold to the plaintiff as a Hebrew servant and is still under his bond.
As mentioned, a worker who is required to take an cannot be forced to include other claims in that oath.
Halacha 13
The following principle applies whenever a person is obligated to take an oath, even a sh'vuat heset, and the plaintiff begins to demand that he include in the oath matters which were not included in the original claim. If the defendant sees this and says: "I do not desire to take the oath. Instead, I will pay the original claim whose denial obligated me to take the oath," we do not accept his request. Instead, we tell him: "Either pay all the definite claims he asked you to include in the oath or take the oath and be released of responsibility."
Halacha 14
When a person lodges many claims against a colleague, the defendant cannot be forced to take an oath on each claim individually. Instead, he includes all the claims in one oath. If a person was obligated to take two oaths on two different claims, one lenient and one more severe, he is required to take the more severe oath and include in it the other claims based on the principle of gilgul sh'vuah.
Halacha 15
When a person lodges a claim against a colleague which would not result in a financial obligation if he would acknowledge its truth, even if the defendant denies the claim, we do not require him to take a sh'vuat heset, nor do we issue a conditional ban of ostracism.
What is implied? The plaintiff claims: "You promised to give me a maneh," and the defendant states: "That never happened," the defendant is not required to take a sh'vuat heset, nor is a conditional ban of ostracism issued against him. The rationale is that even were he to have acknowledged making such a promise, he would not be obligated to fulfill it. Similarly, if a plaintiff claimed: "You cursed me," or "You spread a disparaging report about me," and the defendant replied: "That never happened," a ban of ostracism is not issued in such a situation. Similar principles apply in all analogous situations.
Halacha 16
If a plaintiff claims: "You injured me," and the defendant states: "That never happened," the defendant is required to take a sh'vuat heset. The rationale is although the defendant is not liable to pay a k'nas because of his own admission alone, he would be liable to pay the injured party for his unemployment, his medical expenses, and the embarrassment he suffered.
The following rule applies when a plaintiff claims: "You embarrassed me," and the defendant states: "That never happened." If they were in a place where claims involving k'nasot were collected, the defendant is required to take a sh'vuat heset, for if he would acknowledge the truth of the claim, he would be required to pay for the embarrassment he caused.
Halacha 17
When do we apply the above statement: "A person who admits his guilt with regard to a claim involving a k'nas is not liable"? When the defendant says: "I injured this person."
If, however, the defendant says: "I injured this person. He brought witnesses against me in court and it obligated me to pay so and so much for his damages," he is liable. Accordingly, were the plaintiff to claim that a court obligated the defendant to pay him 100 dinarim because he injured him, and the defendant denied the claim, the defendant would be required to take a sh'vuat heset. Similar principles apply in all analogous situations.
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To`en veNit`an - Chapter 2
Halacha 1
Whenever it is suspected that a person might take a false oath,no oath - neither a Scriptural oath, a Rabbinic oath, nor a sh'vuat heset - is administered to him. Even if the plaintiff desires that he take this oath, we do not heed his request.
Halacha 2
A person who took a false oath - whether a sh'vuat bitui,a sh'vuat edut, or a sh'vuat hapikadon - or an unnecessary oath, he is considered suspect to take a false oath.
Similarly, a person who is not acceptable to serve as a witness because he committed a transgression, whether disqualified because of a Scriptural prohibition, e.g., a person who lends at interest, one who eats meat from an animal that was not ritually slaughtered, or a thief, or because of a Rabbinic prohibition, e.g., a dice-player or a dove racer, is considered suspect to take a false oath and we do not administer an oath to him.
Halacha 3
A person is not deemed suspect to take a false oath until witnesses testify that he violated the transgression for which he is disqualified. Different rules apply, however, if a person himself admits that he is suspect to take a false oath, because he committed a transgression that disqualifies him.
We consider him under suspicion and it is not appropriate to make him a witness at the outset. Nevertheless, if he is obligated to take an oath, we administer that oath. For we tell him: "If you are telling the truth, take the oath. The fact that you committed a sin does not make it forbidden for you to take a truthful oath. And if you are lying, acknowledge the other litigant's claim." When a person is deemed suspect because of the testimony of witnesses, we do not believe that he will take a truthful oath.
Halacha 4
Our Sages ordained that whenever a person who is suspect to take a false oath is obligated to take a Scriptural Oath because of a definite claim, the plaintiff is given the option of taking a Rabbinic oath and may then collect what he claims.
If they were both suspect, the responsibility for taking the oath returns to the one obligated to take it, i.e., the defendant. Since he cannot take the oath, he is required to pay.
If the person who was suspect was a watchman who claims that the entrusted article was lost or stolen, the plaintiff cannot take an oath, because he does not have a definite claim that the watchman consumed it. Therefore, if the owner of the entrusted object claims: "He used my entrusted article for his own purposesin my presence," or "I know that he was negligent," the plaintiff may take an oath as ordained by our Sages and collect the money he claims.
Halacha 5
The following laws apply if the person suspect to take a false oath was liable to take a Rabbinic oath. If he is one of those who takes an oath and collects, he may not take the oath and collect. Instead, the defendant is allowed to take a sh'vuat heset and then is freed of liability.
Similarly, when a person who is suspect impairs the legal power of his promissory note or the like and the borrower claims to have paid and requires the plaintiff to take an oath, the defendant is given the option of taking the oath, and in that way becoming released from the obligation of the promissory note.
Halacha 6
If the person who is suspect was one of those who is required to take an oath because of an indefinite claim, he is not allowed to take the oath, nor does the plaintiff take the oath. The rationale is that the defendant was not obligated to take an oath by Scriptural Law and the plaintiff is not lodging a definite claim against him that he could support with an oath.
Halacha 7
When a person who is suspect becomes obligated to take a sh'vuat heset, the plaintiff is not given the option of taking the oath and collecting what he claims. The rationale is that a sh'vuat heset is itself a measure ordained for the benefit of the plaintiff. Therefore we did not ordain a second measure for his benefit. Instead, the defendant is released from liability without taking an oath.
Halacha 8
When a person is obligated to take a sh'vuat heset and the plaintiff is suspect to take a false oath, the defendant does not have the option of reversing the responsibility to take the oath. For the plaintiff is unable to take the oath. Instead, the defendant must pay the claim or take a sh'vuat heset.
We do not accept his request to make the judgment dependant on an impossible factor. This is comparable to a person who seeks to reverse the responsibility of an oath and place it upon a minor. We do not heed him. Instead, he must either take a sh'vuat heset or pay.
Halacha 9
The following principle applies when a person was obligated to take an oath - whether of Scriptural or Rabbinic origin - and he took the oath and either collected his claim or was released and afterwards, witnesses came and testified that he was suspect to take a false oath. The oath which he took is of no consequence. The other litigant may expropriate the money which the person who was suspect collected from him or the other litigant may take an oath and collect his claim.
Halacha 10
These principles are applied with regard to a person suspect of taking a false oath until he receives lashes in court. If there are witnesses that he received lashes and repented, his status is restored and he is acceptable both as a witness and to take an oath.
Halacha 11
The following rules apply when a person lodges a claim against a colleague, the defendant denies the claim and supports his denial by taking either a Scriptural oath or a Rabbinic oath. If afterwards, witnesses come and testify that he took a false oath, he must pay the claim and is deemed suspect of taking a false oath.
We already explained in Hilchot Sh'vuot, that anyone who takes a false oath with regard to money belonging to his colleague and repents must add an additional fifth.
Halacha 12
The following rule applies when a plaintiff claims that a defendant owes him a debt which was undertaken in the presence of witnesses and affirmed by a kinyan, and the defendant agrees that originally this was so, but claims to have paid the debt, or the defendant says: "I do not owe you anything," and takes an oath to support either of these claims. If, afterwards, witnesses to the kinyan testify or the plaintiff produces a promissory note and verifies its authenticity, the defendant is obligated to pay. He is not, however, considered as suspect to take a false oath. For the witnesses did not testify that he did not pay. And the defendant did not say: "This never happened." Similar principles apply in all analogous situations.
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Rambam:
• 3 Chapters a Day: Kelim - Chapter 9, Kelim - Chapter 10, Kelim - Chapter 11 & Kelim - Chapter 12, Kelim - Chapter 13, Kelim - Chapter 14
Kelim - Chapter 9
Halacha 1
All metal keilim that have independent names are susceptible to impurity except a door, a bolt, a lock, a holder for a door hinge a hinge, a beam, and a drainpipe. The latter are not susceptible to impurity, because they serve the earth or wood. This applies even before they are affixed to a building or to wood.
Any metal k'li that has an auxiliary name does not contract impurity independently because it is only part of a k'li. What is implied? The "scorpion" of a muzzle is impure and the iron plates placed on the cheeks of the animal on both sides are pure, because they do not have an independent name. When all these articles are connected to the reins, everything is susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 2
When metal plates are placed on a person's cheeks for protection at the time of battle, they are not susceptible to impurity, because they do not have an independent name. If, however, they have a receptacle for water, they are susceptible to impurity like all receptacles.
Halacha 3
When a ring is fashioned like a bowl from below and a lentil from above, and the bowl becomes detached, it is susceptible to impurity in its own right, for it has a receptacle. The lentil is susceptible to impurity, because it has an independent name. The ring's wire, i.e., the portion that enters the ear or the nose, is not susceptible to impurity in its own right.
If a ring is made like a cluster of grapes and it becomes separated, it is pure. The rationale is that it does not have a receptacle, none of the "berries" has an independent name, and while broken up, it is not fit to be used as an ornament.
Halacha 4
A ring worn by young girls around a leg is referred to as a birit. It is not susceptible to impurity, because it does not have the form of an ornament. Instead, it is like a ring of a k'li or a ring one ties between his shoulders. The set of two rings which young girls put around their legs with a chain connecting one to the other is susceptible to ritual impurity. The rationale is that it is an ornament for young girls. This set is called kevalim.
Halacha 5
When there is a necklace with metal links on a string of wool or linen and the string snaps, each of the links is susceptible to impurity, because each is considered as a k'li independently. If the strand was of metal and the links of jewels, pearls, or glass and the links broke, but the chain remained, the chain is susceptible to impurity independently. The remnants of a necklace continue to impart impurity and to be susceptible to impurity as long as they are large enough to go around the neck of a young girl.
Halacha 6
All of the metal coverings of receptacles are pure. They are not susceptible to impurity, because they do not have an independent name with the exception of the covering of a samovar and the covering of doctor's prescription box. Since bandages are placed in it, it becomes a receptacle.
Halacha 7
When one scrapes down and polishes the metal cover of a container, making it into a mirror, it is susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 8
All metal weights are susceptible to impurity. They are called unkiyot. The wooden crossbeam of a scale is susceptible to impurity, because of the weights hanging from it.
When does the above apply? To the crossbeams of the scales of flax merchants and wool merchants. The crossbeams of the scales of private persons are not susceptible to impurity unless the weights are permanently affixed to it.
Halacha 9
When weights have been broken, even though one brought the pieces together and weighed objects with them, they are not susceptible to impurity. If one designated the broken pieces as half-litra weights, one-third-litra weights, or one-quarter-litra weights, they are susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 10
When a sela was disqualified, if it was adjusted to use as a weight, it is susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 11
A porter's hook is pure. Hooks used by perfume salesmen are susceptible to impurity. The hooks of bed-poles are pure. Those of a small platform are susceptible to impurity.
The hooks of the bee-hived-shaped snare used by fishermen to catch fish are pure. Those of a chest are susceptible to impurity. The hooks of wooden lamps are pure. Those of a table are susceptible to impurity.
This is the general principle: Whenever a k'li is susceptible to impurity in and of itself according to Scriptural Law, its metal hook and its chain are susceptible to impurity. Whenever a k'li is not susceptible to impurity, e.g., flat wooden keilim, oversized wooden keilim, and the like, its metal hook and its chain are not susceptible to impurity. When either of them is considered independently, it is pure, because neither a hook or a chain is considered as a k'li in its own right; they are only as parts of a k'li. Even hooks on the wall upon which keilim, clothes, and the like are hung are pure.
Halacha 12
When a chain has a lock, it is susceptible to impurity. If it is meant to secure an entity, it is pure.
Halacha 13
Chains used by wholesalers are susceptible to impurity, because they are used to lock the stores. Those owned by private persons are pure, because they are meant only as ornaments.
Halacha 14
The chains of the measurers of land and the pegs that they insert into the ground at the time they conduct their measurement are susceptible to impurity. Those used by gatherers of wood are pure, because they serve wood.
Halacha 15
The four handbreadths of a chain for a large bucket that are closest to the bucket contract impurity with the bucket for it is necessary for its use. The remainder is pure, because it does not have an independent name. Ten handbreadths of the chain of a small bucket are susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 16
All of the following: a metal ball, an anvil, an iron shaft of a builder, a carpenter's leveling tool, a smith's "donkey," plumb-weights used by builders, the iron beams used to press olives, a metal dispenser for a mill, the blade with which scribes cut of the tips of the reeds with which they write, a metal pen, a stylus and a ruler with which scribes rule lines are all susceptible to impurity. For each one of these articles has an independent name.
Kelim - Chapter 10
Halacha 1
Pegs that reinforce a ceiling that are made to be pounded into wood are not susceptible to impurity. Similarly, this ruling applies to pegs that are pounded into walls to serve as hangers. If they are made to serve as an independent k'li, they are susceptible to impurity.
What is implied? A hook that was installed to enable one to open and lock a door, to remove a wick, or it was placed in a handmill or a mill powered by a donkey is susceptible to impurity. If it was made to open a barrel, it is pure unless its point is sharpened.
Halacha 2
A peg that is made as a sign to guard an entrance is not susceptible to impurity. Similarly, the peg of a money-changer on which he hangs his scale and his purse is pure. Similarly, pegs for metal brushes are pure even though these pegs have a different form than other pegs used as hangers.
Halacha 3
A bloodletter's needle, i.e., the utensil with which he draws blood, is susceptible to impurity. The pointer of a sundial is pure.
Halacha 4
A weaver's needle, i.e., the long needle that is like a spit which the weaver inserts into a cylinder coming from a reed or wood around which he winds the threads is susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 5
These are the metal keilim in a wagon that are susceptible to impurity: the metal shaft, the wooden yoke, the wings into which the straps are inserted, the metal rod below the necks of the animals, the support, the "limper," the containers, the bell, the hook, and the pegs which attach all the different parts of the wagon together.
These are the components of a wagon that are pure: a plated wooden shaft, the wings that are made only as ornamental articles, a reed that makes a sound, a lead plate hanging from the neck of an animal, the metal rimming of a wheel, ornamental plates, and coatings. Similarly, all other pegs it contains are pure.
Halacha 6
The scorpion of the olive press is susceptible to ritual impurity. Even though a chest for ground lentils is pure, if there is a metal carriage below it, it is susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 7
A pepper mill is susceptible to ritual impurity because of each of the three keilim of which it is comprised: one is susceptible to impurity because it is a metal k'li, another, because it is a receptacle, and the third, because it is a sieve.
Halacha 8
A metal door in a cabinet of a homeowner is not susceptible to impurity. Such a door in a cabinet of a doctor is susceptible to impurity, because bandages are placed there and scissors are hung from it.
Halacha 9
Metal plates on which a hot pot is placed are susceptible to impurity. Those that are affixed to a range are pure.
Halacha 10
Tongs with which one squeezes the wick are susceptible to impurity. The metal bars that hold up a mill from its front are not susceptible to impurity, because they are made only in order to reinforce the mill.
Halacha 11
A bolt that locks double-doors: if it is made of metal, it is impure. If it is made of wood coated with metal, it is pure
Halacha 12
The pointed end of a lock and the base of a lock are impure.
Halacha 13
The ball of a weaving needle is pure, because it serves the wood.
Halacha 14
A weaving needle, a spindle, a walking stick, and a symphonia or flute of metal are susceptible to impurity. If they are made of wood and coated with metal, they are pure with the exception of a symphonia which, if it has a receptacle for wings, is impure even if it is coated.
Halacha 15
With regard to a trumpet that is split up into different pieces: If only a craftsman would know how to put it together, it is susceptible to impurity while the pieces are connected. If anyone can take it apart and reconstruct it, it is not susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 16
The end of the round trumpet on which one places his mouth when blowing is susceptible to impurity independently. The wide portion is not susceptible to impurity independently. While they are connected, everything is susceptible to impurity.
A similar ruling: The branches of a candelabrum are not susceptible to impurity, because they have an accompanying name. Its flower and its base are susceptible to impurity. While they are connected, all the components are susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 17
A target for arrows that has metal strips is susceptible to impurity. A metal boot placed on prisoners' feet is pure. A metal collar is susceptible to impurity.
A saw whose teeth were inserted into a slit in a lintel and project into the doorway is not susceptible to impurity even though one makes use of it. If he inserted it in the slit of the doorway after it became impure, it remains impure until one affixes it with a nail. If he turned it over, whether from above, from below or from the sides, it is pure.
Kelim - Chapter 11
Halacha 1
To what degree must metal keilim be broken so as not to be susceptible to ritual impurity or to be purified from ritual impurity? Everything depends on the nature of the k'li involved.
Halacha 2
As long as the k'li can be used in a way resembling its intended task, it is considered as a k'li and is considered like a complete k'li.
What is implied? A metal bucket that was broken but still can be used to draw water is considered a k'li as it was before. An urn is still susceptible to impurity if it can be used to heat water; a samovar, if it can contain selaim; a large pot, if it can contain metal pitchers; a metal pitcher, if it can contain perutot, wine measures, if they can measure wine; oil measures, if they can measure oil.
When three holes, one next to the other, in the bottom of a strainer for mustard seed, were widened, it is pure, because it is no longer fit for its original task. When the hollow of a builder's shovel is removed, it is pure, even though it appears like a hammer, for it is no longer useful for its original purpose, but instead, as a hammer, and it was not made to pound objects as a hammer does. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations.
Halacha 3
When the teeth of a comb for wool have been removed, it is impure as long as three teeth remain in one place. If, however, one of the external teeth was one of the three, it is pure, because it is no longer useful for combing flax, because the exterior tooth is not effective when combing. Hence we follow the principle: Whenever a metal k'li can no longer be used for its intended purpose, it is pure.
If two teeth were taken and made into tweezers, they are impure. If one was removed and it is used for the sake of a lamp or for thread to be wound around it for weaving, it is susceptible to impurity. If it was a thick and large tooth, even though it was not prepared for a particular function, it contracts impurity independently.
Halacha 4
When the teeth of a comb for flax were removed, but two remained, it is impure. If only one remains, it is pure.
Halacha 5
When a kedum is broken, but its hooks are intact, they are still impure, because it is possible to use them to remove a bucket from a well as before.
Halacha 6
When the teeth of a saw are removed in an alternating pattern, it is pure. If a portion the full length of a sit remained intact in one place, it is impure, because it is possible to saw with the portion that remains.
Halacha 7
A hatchet, a blade, a plane, a drill, that have been damaged are still susceptible to impurity. If their steel portion is removed, they are pure. If any of them is divided into two, they are impure with the exception of the drill, because it is no longer possible to make holes with it. A runkey alone is not susceptible to impurity, because it is only part of a k'li.
Halacha 8
When a sword, a knife, a knife that is curved like a sickle, a spear, a hand sickle, a harvesting sickle, a small household scissors, or a larger barber's scissors are divided in two, each of their components is susceptible to impurity, because it is still able to be used for a task resembling its primary function.
Halacha 9
When a shaver is divided into two, it is pure, because in that state it can only remove hair with difficulty.
Halacha 10
When armor is divided along its length, it is pure. When divided along its width, if it still can serve its initial purpose, it is impure. When does it become pure? When it becomes worn out to the extent that it can no longer perform its original task.
The following rules apply if it became worn out, but its major portion remained intact. If the upper portion remains, it is impure. If it covers the lower portion, it is pure. If one cut of part of the armor and made it a link for an ornament, it is susceptible to ritual impurity.
Halacha 11
A bellows used by goldsmiths, glassmakers, blacksmiths, and glaziers that was divided into two lengthwise, is pure. If it is split widthwise, when it can serve its initial purpose, it is impure. If not, it is pure.
Halacha 12
When tongs used by barbers, doctors, or glassmakers are divided into two, they are impure. Those used by blacksmiths that are divided are pure. The rationale is that at the outset, they are used to stir coals and in their present state, they can be used to stir coals.
Halacha 13
When a metal mirror was broken or became scratched, if it does not reflect the majority of the face, it is pure. If it reflects the majority of the face, it is still considered a k'li as it was previously.
Halacha 14
When either the eye or the point of a needle was removed, it is pure. If an adjustment was made with it so that thread could be wound around it and it could be used as an embroidery needle, it is impure. In contrast, when the eye of a sackmaker's needle is removed, it is impure, because the other end can still be used as a stylus.
Halacha 15
Different rules apply to a needle around which scarlet thread, gold thread, or the like is wound as is the practice of embroiderers. Whether the eye or the point is removed, it is still impure, because it is not used to sew.
Halacha 16
When a needle has become rusty, if the rust prevents sewing, it is pure. If not, it is impure.
Halacha 17
When a sword or a knife become rusty, they are pure. If they are then smoothed or sharpened, they return to their initial impurity. Similarly, the hook on top of a flax spindle that was straightened is pure. If it was bent back again, it returns to its initial impurity.
Halacha 18
A key that is curved like a knee which is broken in the middle of its curve is pure. Similarly, a key that is shaped like a gamma which is broken at its vertex is pure. In both instances, they can no longer be used to open locks and thus they are not able to be used for their initial purpose.
If the broken portion has teeth and holes, it is impure, because it still can be used as a key. If its teeth are removed, it is impure because of the holes. If the holes are filled, it is impure because of the teeth. If the teeth were removed and the holes filled or the holes were expanded until they were joined, it is pure.
Halacha 19
The following rules apply when a k'li consists of a rod with a cup on one side used to pick up ash and a fork on the other side used to roast meat. If the cup was removed, it is impure because of the fork's teeth. If the fork's teeth are removed, it is impure because of the cup. Similarly, with regard to a utensil used to paint one's eyes, if the cup with which the dye is collected is removed, it is impure because of the applier used to dye the eye. If the applier is removed, it is impure because of the cup.
Halacha 20
Similar laws apply with regard to a k'li that has an iron net on one end on which food is roasted and teeth to remove meat from a pot or from a fire on the other end. If the net was removed, it is impure because of the teeth. If the teeth are removed, it is impure because of the net.
The same principles apply with regard to a metal pen which has one end that is used to write and another end that is used to erase. If the writing utensil is removed, it is impure, because of the eraser. If the eraser is removed, it is impure because of the writing utensil. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations provided the remaining instrument can still be used for its initial purpose.
What is implied? When the eraser is removed from a pen, but the writing utensil remains, if it is long enough to reach his knuckles, it is impure because it is possible to hold it and write with it. When the writing instrument is removed and the eraser remains, if its length matches the width of one's hand, it is impure, because one can erase with it. If less remains, it is pure. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations.
Halacha 21
When the narrow edge of a hatchet - i.e., the side that a carpenter uses to carve - is removed, it is impure, because of the side used to chop. If the side used to chop is removed, it is impure because of the narrow edge. If the socket into which the handle is inserted is broken, it is pure.
Halacha 22
When a lance is damaged, it is still considered as a k'li until its major portion is removed. If, however, the socket into which the head of the lance is inserted is removed, it is pure.
Halacha 23
A plow is also called a malmad. It is comprised of a long, thick beam with something like a sharp peg implanted in its end from above. This metal peg is called a darvan. On the other end below is a metal projection like a spear. The wood that is inserted into it and this iron piece is called a lance.
Halacha 24
When a metal pipe which is like a tube becomes impure, if it is affixed to a staff or a door and is thus attached to wood, it becomes pure. If it did not contract impurity and it was affixed to a staff or a door, it is susceptible to impurity in its place. For any metal k'li that was fixed to a beam or a wall is susceptible to impurity until its function is changed. Therefore a metal baker's sheet that was affixed to a wall is impure. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations involving other metal objects that were affixed to wooden objects whether containers or flat keilim. They are susceptible to impurity as they were beforehand.
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Kelim - Chapter 12
Halacha 1
When wood keilim, leather keilim, or bone keilim are broken, they are purified of their ritual impurity. If one then made a k'li from the broken pieces or one collected the broken pieces and made other keilim from them, these are considered like other pure keilim that had never contracted impurity previously and are susceptible to impurity from the time they were fashioned onward.
All metal keilim that are broken after they contracted impurity regain purity. If one melted them down and made other keilim from them, they return to their previous impurity. A metalk'li cannot become utterly pure unless it was immersed in a mikveh while intact or it remains broken.
Halacha 2
The return of metal keilim to ritual impurity is a Rabbinic decree. Why did the Sages decree that metal keilim should return to their former impurity? This is a decree, enacted as a safeguard lest a person'sk'li contract impurity and he melt it down and make it into a newk'li on that day. If it is considered as pure as is its status according to Scriptural Law, one might come to say: Breaking a k'li purifies it and immersing it purifies it. Just as when it is broken, melted down and fashioned into a newk'li, it is pure on that day, so too, if it is immersed, even though it is intact, one may mistakenly think that it is pure on that day and he will say that it is not necessary to wait until nightfall for keilim to regain purity. Due to this concern, the Sages decreed that they are impure.
Halacha 3
Whether a k'li contracted impurity from a corpse or another type of impurity and was then melted down, it returns to its former impurity until the ashes of the red heifer are sprinkled upon it and/or it is immersed in a mikveh.
If a k'li contracted impurity from a corpse and the ashes of the red heifer were sprinkled upon it on the third day and afterwards, it was melted down, anotherk'li was made from it and then ashes were sprinkled on it on the seventh day and it was immersed, it is still considered impure. The sprinkling before it was melted down is not linked to the sprinkling after it was melted down. It cannot regain purity unless ashes were sprinkled on it on the third and seventh days and it was immersed while it was a k'li before it was melted down or ashes would be sprinkled on it on the third and seventh days and it was immersed once it was made into a new k'li after it was melted down.
Halacha 4
The following laws apply when impure iron was mixed with pure iron. If the majority was from the impure metal, it is considered as impure. If the majority was from the pure metal, it is pure. If there were equal amounts, it is impure. Similarly, when mud is mixed with turds and the mixture was fired in a kiln and made into a k'li, if the majority was from the mud, it is susceptible to impurity, because it is an earthenwarek'li. If the majority was from the turds, it is not susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 5
When pure metal keilim were coated with an impure coating, they are impure. If, however, one fashions keilim from an impure coating, they are pure.
Halacha 6
When the thick side of a hatchet was made from pure iron and its blade from impure metal, it is impure. If the blade was made from pure metal and the thick side from impure metal, it is pure. The status of the entire tool is determined by that of the portion with which work is performed.
Halacha 7
A pure hatchet that was coated with impure iron is pure.
Halacha 8
When the mouth of a pitcher was made from impure metal and its base from pure metal, it is pure. When it was made of pure metal and its base from impure metal, it is impure, because the status of the entire implement is determined by that of the container, for it is the portion with which the task is performed.
Halacha 9
When a metalk'li contracted impurity of Rabbinic origin, e.g., it contracted impurity from a false divinity or the like, then it was broken, melted down, and fashioned into a differentk'li, there is an unresolved doubt whether it returns to its former impurity or not.
Halacha 10
When glass keilim became impure and then broke, they are pure like all other keilim. Even if they were melted down and new keilim were made from them, they do not return to their former impurity. The rationale is that, as we explained, their impurity is primarily of Rabbinic origin. Hence, it was not decreed that they return to their former impurity.
Similarly, if glass utensils were broken, even though the broken pieces are themselves keilim and fit to be used, since they are components of broken utensils, they are not susceptible to impurity, because they do not resemble earthenware keilim.
What is implied? When a glass bowl is broken and one made its base fit to be used as a k'li, the base is not susceptible to impurity, even though it is like a bowl. If one leveled the broken portion and filed it down, it is susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 11
When the mouth of a small bottle that can be carried with one hand is removed, it is still susceptible to impurity, because one does not use it by inserting one's hand in it, but by pouring from it. By contrast, when the mouth of a large bottle that is held with both hands is removed, it is pure, because it will injure one's hand when it is inserted within it. Similarly, even though a flask of perfume is small, if its mouth is removed, it is pure, because it would injure one's finger when one removes the perfume from it.
Halacha 12
Large pitchers whose mouths were removed are still considered keilim because they are used for pickling.
Halacha 13
When the major portion of a glass cup is damaged, it is pure. If a third of the circumference over the major portion of its height is damaged, it is pure. If a hole was made in it and he plugged it with tin or tar, it is pure. When a hole was made in a cup or a bottle, whether in its upper portion or its lower portion, it is pure.
Halacha 14
When a hole was made in the upper portion of a large pot or a bowl, it is impure. If it is in its lower portion, it is pure. If such utensils are cracked, but can still contain hot liquids just as cold liquids, they are impure. If not, they are pure.
Halacha 15
Large containers whose mouths were removed are still considered as keilim because they are used to pickle produce.
Halacha 16
A glass dispenser is pure, because it is like a distributor, for it is not a container.
Halacha 17
When a glass item is used as a pane, it is pure, even if it can contain liquids, because it was not made to serve as a container. A glass ladle is considered as a container even though when it is placed on a table, it will turn to its side and not serve as a container; it is still susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 18
When a glass pot is made into a pane, it remains susceptible to impurity. If it was made intentionally for the purpose of sight, i.e., that the objects placed inside of it could be seen from its other side, it is pure. All glass utensils are not susceptible to ritual impurity until the tasks to fashion them are completed, as is true with regard to other utensils.
Kelim - Chapter 13
Halacha 1
In several places, we have already explained that an earthenware container contracts impurity only from its inner space or when moved by a zav. In contrast, all other keilim contract impurity when touched by impurity, but if impurity enters their inner space without touching them, they remain pure.
Thus what makes an earthenware container impure leaves other keilim pure. And what makes other keilim impure, leaves an earthenware container pure, for an earthenware container contracts impurity only from its inner space, as Leviticus 11:33 states: "Any earthenware container into whose inner space one of these will fall." It contracts impurity from its inner space and not from its outer side.
Halacha 2
Just as it contracts impurity from its inner space, so too, it imparts impurity to food and liquids from its inner space. What is implied?
When food and/or liquids enter the inner space of an earthenware container that contracted impurity, they contract impurity even though they never touched, as ibid. states: "Everything inside it shall contract impurity." Other impure keilim do not impart impurity to an impure k'li unless they touch it.
Halacha 3
An earthenware container does not impart impurity to keilim - whether earthenware keilim or other keilim - through their entry into its inner space.
What is implied? When there is a large earthenware container with other containers in it and impurity enters its inner space, it contracts impurity, but all the containers inside of it remain pure. If there also were liquids inside of them, the liquids contract impurity because of their presence within the inner space of the large container and they then impart impurity to the smaller containers. It is as the smaller containers say: "The one that imparted impurity to you did not impart impurity to me, but you imparted impurity to me."
Halacha 4
When impure liquids touch only the outer surface of an earthenware container, its outer surface contracts impurity like other keilim.
When does the above apply? When it is a container that has inner space. If, however, it is an implement that does not have inner space and impure liquids touch it, it is pure. For the outer surface of any earthenware k'li that does not have inner space does not contract impurity from liquids.
If foods or liquids touch the outer surface of an impure earthenware container, they are impure. Earthenware containers and other keilim are governed by the same laws in this context. For when foods or liquids touch any impure utensil whether on its inner surface or its outer surface, they contract impurity.
Halacha 5
The same laws that apply when impurity enters the inner space of an earthenware container apply when one turns it over, covering impurity that is lying on the ground and serving as a tent over it, for the impurity is within its inner space. According to the Oral Tradition, it was taught that the phrase, ibid., "into whose inner space" also includes containers that serve as tents.
Halacha 6
When there is a pit with the carcass of a crawling animal inside of it and an earthenware container is turned over the pit, it does not contract impurity. For the phrase "Within its inner space" implies that the impurity itself must enter its inner space.
For this reason, if the carcass of a crawling animal is found beneath the earth below an oven, the oven is pure, for we assume that it was alive when it fell into the pit and it died while in that pit. Similarly, if a needle or a ring is found beneath the earth below an oven, the oven is pure even though any keilim that are found are considered impure, as we explained. For we assume that the keilim were there before the oven was placed there and the oven was built over them without them having fallen inside of it. If these keilim were found in the ash removed from the oven, the oven is impure, because there is nothing on which the person can base a supposition for leniency.
The following laws apply if these keilim were found in the earth below an oven; they were visible, but did not enter the inner space of the oven. If when one bakes dough, they will touch it, the oven is impure as if they were within its inner space. If not, the oven is pure as if they were beneath the earth below it. Concerning what type of dough was this said? An ordinary dough that was neither overly soft, nor overly firm.
Halacha 7
The following laws apply if the carcass of a crawling animal was found in the eye of an oven, the eye of a range for two pots, or the eye of a range for one pot. If the crawling animal was within the inner edge of the hole or further toward the outside, the oven or range is pure, because it did not enter the inner space of the oven or the range. Instead, it is suspended below the thickness of its walls. The oven or the range is pure even if an olive-sized portion of a human corpse is found in that place unless the opening of the eye is a handbreadth. In the latter instance, the oven would be impure because a hole of that size brings impurity to the inner space of the oven, as explained with regard to the impurity of a human corpse.
Halacha 8
When the carcass of a crawling animal is found in the place where wood is placed, if it is found from the inner edge of the range and further outward, the range is pure. If it is found in the place where the bath attendant sits or the dyer sits, or the place where those who cook olives sit, everything is pure.
Halacha 9
Neither an oven, a range, nor other places of cooking contract impurity unless the impurity is found from the sealing and inward.
Halacha 10
There are earthenware containers from which homeowners drink water that have an earthenware screen in their center and projections like a comb above that screen. It is called a tzirtzur. If impurity entered the space enclosed by the comb above the screen, the entire k'li is impure, for this is "the inner space" of this container.
Halacha 11
The following laws apply when there is an earthenware container that has three walls, one further inside than the other. If the interior wall was the highest and impurity entered its inner space, all foods and liquids that are in the space between the inner wall and middle wall or the outer wall are pure. If the middle wall was the highest and its inner space became impure, the area from this wall inward is impure. The area outside of it is pure. If the exterior wall was the highest and its inner space became impure, everything is impure. If the walls are of the same height, any enclosure whose inner space contracts impurity is impure and the remainder are pure.
Halacha 12
If several frying pans are placed one inside the other and their rims are of the same height, should the carcass of a crawling animal be found in the uppermost frying pan or the lowest one, the frying pan containing the carcass is impure and the other frying pans and the food inside of them are pure.
If all of the frying pans had a hole that would allow liquid to seep in and the carcass was in the uppermost one, all of the foods and liquids in all the frying pans are impure, because the impurity is considered in the inner space of all of them, as will be explained. If the impurity was in the bottom one, it is impure and all the others are pure, because the carcass of the crawling animal did not enter the inner space of the uppermost one and the rim of the lowest one is not higher than it, so that it would impart impurity to all the food and liquids contained in it.
If the carcass was located in the uppermost one and the rim of the lower one was higher, the uppermost one is impure, because the carcass is located within it. Similarly, the bottom one is impure, because its rim is higher and thus the carcass is in its inner space. The remainder of the frying pans that are located in the bottom one are pure, because an earthenware container does not impart impurity to other keilim inside of it. If there was liquid that could be felt between the frying pans, any pan that has liquid on it contracts impurity. For the liquid contracts impurity because of its presence in the inner space of the bottom pan whose edges extend above the higher pan. It then imparts impurity to the pan that it touches.
Halacha 13
When an earthenware tabletop had bowls attached to it from the time that it was initially made, although it is all a single k'li, if one bowl contracts impurity, they all do not contract impurity. If the table top has an upraised border, all of the bowls are considered in its inner space. Thus if one contracts impurity, they all become impure. Similar laws apply to an earthenware spice box and a split inkwell that are made in analogous manner.
Halacha 14
When one of the compartments of a wooden spice box contracts impurity from liquids, the remainder of its compartments do not contract impurity. If it has an upraised border and thus all of the compartments are considered within its inner space and one of them contracts impurity from liquids, they all contract impurity, for it is considered as a single container and when the inner space of a container contracts impurity from liquids, the entire container becomes impure.
If the compartments were attached to it by nails, they are considered as joined both with regard to contracting impurity and with regard to sprinkling the ashes of the red heifer. If they are merely wedged together, they are considered as joined with regard to contracting impurity, but not with regard to sprinkling the ashes of the red heifer. If the compartments could be easily removed and returned, they are not considered as joined, neither with regard to contracting impurity, nor with regard to sprinkling the ashes of the red heifer.
Kelim - Chapter 14
Halacha 1
Any entity that protects from ritual impurity as a sealed covering in a structure that is impure because of a human corpse, protects from ritual impurity as a sealed covering in the inner space of an earthenware container. If it can prevent an entity from contracting ritual impurity from a severe form of impurity, i.e., a structure that is impure because of a human corpse, it can be assumed that it will also prevent impurity in the more lenient instance of an earthenware container. Any entity that does not protect from ritual impurity in a structure that is impure because of a human corpse, does not protect from ritual impurity in the inner space of an earthenware container.
Halacha 2
Just as a sealed covering does not prevent impurity from escaping in a structure that is impure because of] a human corpse, so too, it does not prevent impurity from escaping into the inner space of an earthenware container.
What is implied? If a pot was filled with food and liquids and sealed closed and placed in an impure oven, the pot and its contents are pure. When the pot contained the carcass of a crawling animal or impure liquids, even though it is sealed closed, if it is placed in the inner space of an oven, the oven contracts impurity. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations.
Halacha 3
When an impure ring was enclosed within a brick or an impure needle was enclosed within a block of wood that fell into the inner space of an earthenware container, it contracts impurity. Even though a loaf of bread that is terumah that would touch this wood or brick would be pure, these articles impart impurity to an earthenware container by virtue of their presence in its inner space.
Halacha 4
When a rooster swallows the carcass of a crawling animal or flesh from a human corpse and falls into the inner space of an oven, the oven is pure. If the rooster dies there, the oven contracts impurity. The rationale is that the fact that these entities were swallowed by a living being generates protection from the impurity in an earthenware container, just as it generates protection from impurity in a structure that is impure because of a human corpse.
Halacha 5
Entities in a person's mouth or in the folds of his body are not considered as swallowed.
What is implied? A person had impure liquids in his mouth. If he closes his mouth and inserts his head into the inner space of an earthenware container, he imparts impurity to it. Similarly, if a pure person who had food and liquids in his mouth inserted his head into the inner space of an impure oven, the food and the liquids in his mouth contract impurity. If he had a lentil-sized portion of the carcass of a crawling animal and inserted it in the inner space of an oven, the oven contracts impurity even though the source of impurity is found in the folds of the person's body.
Halacha 6
When a sponge absorbed impure liquids, even though its surface is dry, if it fell into the inner space of an earthenware container, it imparts impurity to the container, because ultimately, the impurity will emerge. Similar laws apply to a piece of turnip or a reed.
When shards that were used for impure liquids became dry and fell into the inner space of an earthenware container, they do not impart impurity to it. If they fell into an oven and it was heated, they impart impurity to it, because ultimately, the liquids will emerge.
When does the above apply? With regard to impure liquids of a lesser severity. When, however, the impurity of the liquids is severe, e.g., the blood of a woman in the nidah state or her urine, if it is possible that they will emerge and the person is concerned that they emerge, they impart impurity to the oven even if was not heated. If he is not concerned that they emerge, they do not impart impurity until the oven is heated and the liquid emerges.
Similarly, when new olive dregs that come from impure liquids are used as kindling fuel for an oven, it contracts impurity, for, ultimately, the liquids will emerge. If, however, the olive dregs are old, the oven is pure. When are dregs considered old? After twelve months. When, however, it is known that liquids will emerge from the dregs when the oven will be heated, the oven contracts impurity when heated even if the dregs are three years old.
Halacha 7
Even though an earthenware container was divided with a partition extending from its rim until its bottom, if impurity enters the inner space of one of the portions, the entire container contracts impurity. The rationale is that it is not common practice for people to divide earthenware containers as they divide structures. Therefore, if an oven is divided with boards or curtains and the carcass of a crawling animal is found in one place, the entire oven is impure.
Halacha 8
When a container in which impurity was located was inserted into the inner space of an earthenware container, if the edge of the impure container extends outside the earthenware container, the earthenware container is ritually pure even though the impurity is positioned inside of it, for Leviticus 11:33 states: "Into whose inner space one of these will fall." Implied is that the presence of impurity in the inner space of a container conveys impurity but not its presence in the inner space of a container in the inner space of a second container.
Halacha 9
A similar concept applies if there was an impure earthenware container and another container holding food or liquids was inserted into its inner space. If the edges of the other container extend beyond the impure earthenware container, the food and the liquids remain pure. This is derived from the continuation of the above verse: "Everything in its inner space shall contract impurity," i.e., "in its inner space," and not in the inner space of a container in its inner space.
What is implied? When a bee-hive shaped container, a basket, a pot, a flask, or the like contained the carcass of a crawling animal and then one lowered the basket or the like into the inner space of a barrel or into the inner space of an oven, even though the carcass of the crawling animal is positioned inside the inner space of the barrel or the oven since the edge of the basket or the flask extends above the edge of the barrel or the edge of the oven, the barrel or the oven is pure. In such a situation, if there were pure food or liquids in a flask, in a pot, or the like and one lowered them into the inner space of an impure oven or barrel, the food and liquids are pure.
If, however, the bee-hive shaped container, the basket, the flask, or the like had a hole, they do not save entities from ritual impurity. Instead, if they contained the carcass of a crawling animal and they were lowered into the inner space of a pure earthenware container, it contracts impurity. If there were pure food or liquids and one lowered them into the inner space of an impure earthenware container, the food and the liquids contract impurity.
How large must the hole be for these laws to apply? In keilim that can be purified by immersion: large enough for an olive to fall out. If it was an earthenware container made to hold foods, the measure of the hole is: enough for olives to fall out. If it was intended to hold liquids, the measure is: enough for liquids to seep in when the container is placed in them. If it was made for both these purposes, it is judged stringently and when this earthenware container has a hole large enough for liquids to seep in, it does not save entities from impurity when inserted in the inner space of an earthenware container.
Halacha 10
The following rules apply if one sealed a hole in an earthenware container with tar. If the carcass of a crawling animal was in such a container and it was lowered into the inner space of a pure oven, the oven contracts impurity. For a sealed covering does not protect entities from contracting impurity, as we explained.
If, however, this container held pure food or liquids and it was lowered into the inner space of an impure oven, the food and the liquids are pure, because the hole has been sealed. When holes in all other types of containers were sealed close with tar and the like, they do not protect their contents from contracting ritual impurity from an earthenware container.
Halacha 11
When a bee-hive shaped container has an opening, even though the opening was closed with straw, it no longer protects its contents from contracting impurity from an earthenware container, because it is not a container.
Halacha 12
Although a flask or stone container was opened to the extent that a pomegranate would fall from them - and thus they were no longer considered in the category of keilim - they still save entities from contracting impurity due to their presence in the inner space of an earthenware container, provided the opening is above the outer edge of the earthenware container and the receptacle is lowered within the inner space of the earthenware container.
Halacha 13
When a simple hide or the like is hanging into the inner space of an earthenware container or into the inner space of an oven and there is a carcass of a crawling animal on the hide, the oven contracts impurity. If the carcass was inside the oven, any food or liquids on the hide are impure. The rationale is that the only type of entity that can prevent impurity from spreading due to the inner space of an earthenware container is a container that has a receptacle, e.g., a basket, a bin, or a flask.
Halacha 14
When there is impurity in the inner space of an earthenware container and there was another pure earthenware container turned upside and resting on the impure container, even though their inner space is combined, the impure one is impure and the pure one is pure. This same ruling applies if the impurity was attached to the wall of one container and it was overturned and resting on a pure container. The rationale is that the impurity itself has not entered the inner space of the pure earthenware container.
Therefore, if a barrel that was filled with pure liquids was found below an oven and the carcass of a crawling animal fell into the oven, the barrel and the liquids are pure, even though the inner space of the oven is combined with the inner space of the barrel. Similarly, if the barrel is turned facing the opening of the oven and its mouth opens to the inner space of the oven, even the liquid at the base of the barrel is pure.
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Hayom Yom:
Friday, Elul 3, 5774 • 29 August 2014 & Shabbat, Elul 4, 5774 • 30 August 2014
"Today's Day"
Friday, Elul 3, 5703
Torah lessons: Chumash: Shoftim, Shishi with Rashi.
Tehillim: 18-22. Also 7-9.
Tanya: Now, this type (p. 445) ...come until..." (p. 445).
Whoever has faith in individual Divine Providence knows that "Man's steps are established by G-d,"1 that this particular soul must purify and improve something specific in a particular place. For centuries, or even since the world's creation, that which needs purification or improvement waits for this soul to come and purify or improve it. The soul too, has been waiting - ever since it came into being2 - for its time to descend, so that it can discharge the tasks of purification and improvement assigned to it.
FOOTNOTES
1. Tehillim 37:23.
2. Lit. "...ever since its emanation and creation..." The highest of the four general planes of the spiritual cosmos are Atzilut, "Emanation," and B'ria, "creation." See Translator's Notes p. 121 in printed version.
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Shabbat, Elul 4, 5703
Torah lessons: Chumash: Shoftim, Shevi'i with Rashi.
Tehillim: 23-28. Also 10-12.
Tanya: XI. To make you (p. 445) ...Supreme Good. (p. 449).
The order of birchot haTorah:1 With the tallit touch the beginning and ending of the reading, kiss the tallit where it touched the Torah, roll up the Torah, turn your face slightly to the right, say the b'racha, open the Torah and read.
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In describing the unique qualities of humankind, four terms are used: Adam refers to the quality of mind and intellect; ish to the quality of heart and emotion; enosh, weakness in either intellect or emotion or both; gever, who overcomes inner weakness and removes obstacles and hindrances to the attainment of an intellectual or emotional quality. I.e. gever works upon enosh to elevate him to the plane of ish or adam.
Since it is possible to turn enosh into ish or adam, it is obvious that enosh already possesses2 the qualities found in ish and adam.
Compiled and arranged by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, in 5703 (1943) from the talks and letters of the sixth Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of righteous memory.
FOOTNOTES
1. The b'rachot pronounced by the person called to the Torah.
2. In latent or undeveloped state.
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Daily Thought:Friday, Elul 3, 5703
Torah lessons: Chumash: Shoftim, Shishi with Rashi.
Tehillim: 18-22. Also 7-9.
Tanya: Now, this type (p. 445) ...come until..." (p. 445).
Whoever has faith in individual Divine Providence knows that "Man's steps are established by G-d,"1 that this particular soul must purify and improve something specific in a particular place. For centuries, or even since the world's creation, that which needs purification or improvement waits for this soul to come and purify or improve it. The soul too, has been waiting - ever since it came into being2 - for its time to descend, so that it can discharge the tasks of purification and improvement assigned to it.
FOOTNOTES
1. Tehillim 37:23.
2. Lit. "...ever since its emanation and creation..." The highest of the four general planes of the spiritual cosmos are Atzilut, "Emanation," and B'ria, "creation." See Translator's Notes p. 121 in printed version.
____________________________
Shabbat, Elul 4, 5703
Torah lessons: Chumash: Shoftim, Shevi'i with Rashi.
Tehillim: 23-28. Also 10-12.
Tanya: XI. To make you (p. 445) ...Supreme Good. (p. 449).
The order of birchot haTorah:1 With the tallit touch the beginning and ending of the reading, kiss the tallit where it touched the Torah, roll up the Torah, turn your face slightly to the right, say the b'racha, open the Torah and read.
__________
In describing the unique qualities of humankind, four terms are used: Adam refers to the quality of mind and intellect; ish to the quality of heart and emotion; enosh, weakness in either intellect or emotion or both; gever, who overcomes inner weakness and removes obstacles and hindrances to the attainment of an intellectual or emotional quality. I.e. gever works upon enosh to elevate him to the plane of ish or adam.
Since it is possible to turn enosh into ish or adam, it is obvious that enosh already possesses2 the qualities found in ish and adam.
Compiled and arranged by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, in 5703 (1943) from the talks and letters of the sixth Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of righteous memory.
FOOTNOTES
1. The b'rachot pronounced by the person called to the Torah.
2. In latent or undeveloped state.
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The Path of the Humble
If we were truly humble, we would not be forever searching higher paths on the mountaintops. We would look in the simple places, in the practical things that need to be done.
True, all these places lie in a world of falsehood. With only a little more light, we would all realize that none of this is really necessary.
But the soul that knows its place knows that the great and lofty G‑d can most be found in the simple act of lending a hand or a comforting word in a world of falsehood and delusions.(Reshimat Nefesh Hashefeilah, cited and elucidated in Likutei Sichot volume 16, page 41ff.)
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The Path of the Humble
If we were truly humble, we would not be forever searching higher paths on the mountaintops. We would look in the simple places, in the practical things that need to be done.
True, all these places lie in a world of falsehood. With only a little more light, we would all realize that none of this is really necessary.
But the soul that knows its place knows that the great and lofty G‑d can most be found in the simple act of lending a hand or a comforting word in a world of falsehood and delusions.(Reshimat Nefesh Hashefeilah, cited and elucidated in Likutei Sichot volume 16, page 41ff.)
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