DAILY QUOTE:
Who is the man who desires life, who loves days to see goodnes? Guard your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceitfully(Psalms 34:13-14)
DAILY STUDY:
CHITAS AND RAMBAM FOR TODAY:
Chumash: Shoftim, 1st Portion Deuteronomy 16:18-17:13 with Rashi
• Chapter 16
18. You shall set up judges and law enforcement officials for yourself in all your cities that the Lord, your God, is giving you, for your tribes, and they shall judge the people [with] righteous judgment. יח. שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים תִּתֶּן לְךָ בְּכָל שְׁעָרֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ לִשְׁבָטֶיךָ וְשָׁפְטוּ אֶת הָעָם מִשְׁפַּט צֶדֶק:
Judges and law-enforcement officials: Heb. שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים. שֹׁפְטִים are judges who decide the verdict, and שֹׁטְרִים are those who chastise the people in compliance with their order, (who strike and bind [not found in early editions]) with rods and straps, until he [the guilty party] accepts the judge’s verdict.
שופטים ושוטרים: שופטים, דיינים הפוסקים את הדין. ושוטרים, הרודין את העם אחר מצותם. שמכין וכופתין במקל וברצועה עד שיקבל עליו את דין השופט:
in all your cities: Heb. בְּכָל-שְׁעָרֶיךָ, in every city.
בכל שעריך: בכל עיר ועיר:
for your tribes: [This phrase] refers back to “You shall set up… for yourself.” Thus, the understanding of the verse is “You shall set up judges and law-enforcement officials for yourself, for your tribes, in all your cities that the Lord, your God, is giving you.”
לשבטיך: מוסב על תתן לך. שופטים ושוטרים תתן לך לשבטיך בכל שעריך אשר ה' אלהיך נותן לך:
for your tribes: This teaches us that judges must be appointed for every tribe, and for every city. — [Sifrei, San. 16b]
לשבטיך: מלמד שמושיבין דיינין לכל שבט ושבט ובכל עיר ועיר:
and they shall judge the people [with] righteous judgment: Appoint judges who are expert and righteous so that they will judge justly. — [from Sifrei]
ושפטו את העם וגו': מנה דיינין מומחים וצדיקים לשפוט צדק:
19. You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show favoritism, and you shall not take a bribe, for bribery blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts just words. יט. לֹא תַטֶּה מִשְׁפָּט לֹא תַכִּיר פָּנִים וְלֹא תִקַּח שֹׁחַד כִּי הַשֹּׁחַד יְעַוֵּר עֵינֵי חֲכָמִים וִיסַלֵּף דִּבְרֵי צַדִּיקִם:
You shall not pervert justice: [This is to be understood] according to its apparent meaning.
לא תטה משפט: כמשמעו:
you shall not show favoritism: Even during the statement of pleas [by the litigants]. This is an admonition addressed to the judge, that he should not be lenient with one litigant and harsh with the other, [e.g., ordering] one to stand [while allowing] the other to sit, because as soon as one notices that the judge is showing more respect toward his opponent, he cannot plead his case any longer [because he thinks that it will be of no use].
לא תכיר פנים: אף בשעת הטענות. אזהרה לדיין שלא יהא רך לזה וקשה לזה, אחד עומד ואחד יושב. לפי שכשרואה שהדיין מכבד את חבירו מסתתמין טענותיו:
and you shall not take a bribe: Even [if you intend] to judge justly - [from Sifrei].
ולא תקח שחד: אפילו לשפוט צדק:
for bribery blinds: As soon as he [the judge] accepts a bribe from him [a litigant], it is impossible for him not to be favorably disposed towards him, to decide the judgment in his favor.
כי השחד יעור: משקבל שחד ממנו אי אפשר שלא יטה את לבו אצלו להפוך בזכותו:
just words: Heb. דִּבְרי צַדִּיקִים, just words, true judgments.
דברי צדיקים: דברים המצודקים, משפטי אמת:
20. Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live and possess the land the Lord, your God, is giving you. כ. צֶדֶק צֶדֶק תִּרְדֹּף לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה וְיָרַשְׁתָּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ:
Justice, justice shall you pursue: Seek out a good court. (Sifrei; San. 32b)
צדק צדק תרדוף: הלך אחר בית דין יפה:
that you may live, and you possess [the land]: The appointment of fitting judges is sufficient merit to keep Israel alive and settled in their land. — [from Sifrei]
למען תחיה וירשת: כדאי הוא מנוי הדיינין הכשרים להחיות את ישראל ולהושיבן על אדמתן:
21. You shall not plant for yourself an asherah, [or] any tree, near the altar of the Lord, your God, which you shall make for yourself. כא. לֹא תִטַּע לְךָ אֲשֵׁרָה כָּל עֵץ אֵצֶל מִזְבַּח יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר תַּעֲשֶׂה לָּךְ:
You shall not plant for yourself an asherah: [This admonition is] to make one liabl e [to punishment] from the time of planting it, and even though he did not worship it, he transgresses a prohibition for its planting. — [from Sifrei]
לא תטע לך אשרה: לחייבו עליה משעת נטיעתה ואפילו לא עבדה עובר בלא תעשה על נטיעתה:
You shall not plant…any tree, near the altar of the Lord your God: This is a prohibition addressed to one who plants a tree or builds a house on the Temple Mount. — [Sifrei]
לא תטע לך אשרה כל עץ אצל מזבח ה' אלהיך: אזהרה לנוטע אילן ולבונה בית בהר הבית:
22. And you shall not set up for yourself a monument, which the Lord, your God hates. כב. וְלֹא תָקִים לְךָ מַצֵּבָה אֲשֶׁר שָׂנֵא יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ:
And you shall not set up for yourself any monument: A monument of one stone, to sacrifice on it even to Heaven.
ולא תקים לך מצבה: מצבת אבן אחת, להקריב עליה אפילו לשמים:
which [the Lord your God] hates: God has commanded you to make an altar of stones and an altar of earth. This, however, He hates, because this was a [religious] statute of the Canaanites, and although it was dear to Him in the days of the Patriarchs, now He hates it, since these [people] made it a statute for idolatry. (See Sifrei)
אשר שנא: מזבח אבנים ומזבח אדמה צוה לעשות, ואת זו שנא כי חק היתה לכנענים. ואף על פי שהיתה אהובה לו בימי האבות עכשיו שנאה, מאחר שעשאוה אלו חק לעבודה זרה:
Chapter 17
1. You shall not sacrifice to the Lord, your God, an ox or a sheep that has in it a blemish or any bad thing, for that is an abomination to the Lord, your God. א. לֹא תִזְבַּח לַיהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ שׁוֹר וָשֶׂה אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בוֹ מוּם כֹּל דָּבָר רָע כִּי תוֹעֲבַת יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ הוּא:
You shall not sacrifice… or any bad thing: Heb. דָּבָר רַע. This is an admonition to one who would make sacrifices disqualified (פִּגּוּל) through an evil [improper] utterance דִּבּוּר רַע. And from this [expression] our Rabbis derived other explanations as well, as they appear in [the tractate] Shechitath Kodashim [early name for Zevachim]. — [Zev. 36]
לא תזבח וגו' כל דבר רע: אזהרה למפגל בקדשים על ידי דבור רע. ועוד נדרשו בו שאר דרשות בשחיטת קדשים:
2. If there will be found among you, within one of your cities which the Lord, your God is giving you, a man or woman who does evil in the eyes of the Lord, your God, to transgress His covenant, ב. כִּי יִמָּצֵא בְקִרְבְּךָ בְּאַחַד שְׁעָרֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ אִישׁ אוֹ אִשָּׁה אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה אֶת הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לַעֲבֹר בְּרִיתוֹ:
to transgress His covenant: which He made with you, namely, not to worship idols.
לעבור בריתו: אשר כרת אתכם שלא לעבוד עבודה זרה:
3. and who will go and worship other gods and prostrate himself before them, or to the sun, the moon, or any of the host of the heavens, which I have not commanded; ג. וַיֵּלֶךְ וַיַּעֲבֹד אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ לָהֶם וְלַשֶּׁמֶשׁ | אוֹ לַיָּרֵחַ אוֹ לְכָל צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא צִוִּיתִי:
which I have not commanded: to worship them. — [Meg. 9b]
אשר לא צויתי: לעבדם:
4. and it will be told to you, and you will hear it, and investigate thoroughly, and behold, the matter coincides; this abomination has been perpetrated in Israel. ד. וְהֻגַּד לְךָ וְשָׁמָעְתָּ וְדָרַשְׁתָּ הֵיטֵב וְהִנֵּה אֱמֶת נָכוֹן הַדָּבָר נֶעֶשְׂתָה הַתּוֹעֵבָה הַזֹּאת בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל:
[the matter] coincides: Heb. נָכוֹן הַדָּבָר, the testimony coincides. [I.e., the testimony of one witness coincides with that of the other.]
נכון: מכוון העדות:
5. Then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has committed this evil thing, to your cities, the man or the woman, and you shall pelt them with stones, and they shall die. ה. וְהוֹצֵאתָ אֶת הָאִישׁ הַהוּא אוֹ אֶת הָאִשָּׁה הַהִוא אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ אֶת הַדָּבָר הָרַע הַזֶּה אֶל שְׁעָרֶיךָ אֶת הָאִישׁ אוֹ אֶת הָאִשָּׁה וּסְקַלְתָּם בָּאֲבָנִים וָמֵתוּ:
Then you shall bring out that man… to your cities: Heb. אֶל-שְׁעָרֶיךָ. One who translates אֶל-שְׁעָרֶיךָ as לִתְרַע בֵּית דִינָךְ, “to the gate of your court,” is mistaken, for we have learned the following: when the verse [here] says אֶל-שְׁעָרֶיךָ, this refers to the city where [the accused] worshipped idols. Or does it refer to the gates [of the court] where he was judged [since the courts were located at the gates]? [In answer to this,] the verse here says שְׁעָרֶיךָ, and above (verse 2), it says שְׁעָרֶיךָ. Just as שְׁעָרֶיךָ mentioned there [clearly] refers to the city where he worshipped [idols] [and not to the gates of a court], so too, the word שְׁעָרֶיךָ mentioned here refers to the city where he worshipped [idols]. Thus the correct version of the Targum is לְקִרְוָיךְ, to your cities.
הוצאת את האיש ההוא אל שעריך וגו': המתרגם אל שעריך, לתרע בית דינך, טועה, שכן שנינו אל שעריך זה שער שעבד בו, או אינו אלא שער שנדון בו, נאמר שעריך למטה ונאמר שעריך למעלה (פסוק ב) מה שעריך האמור למעלה שער שעבד בו אף שעריך האמור למטה שער שעבד בו. ותרגומו לקרויך:
6. By the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall the one liable to death be put to death; he shall not be put to death by the mouth of one witness. ו. עַל פִּי | שְׁנַיִם עֵדִים אוֹ שְׁלשָׁה עֵדִים יוּמַת הַמֵּת לֹא יוּמַת עַל פִּי עֵד אֶחָד:
two witnesses, or three: But if testimony can be executed through two witnesses, why then does Scripture specify “or three”? [It does so] to draw a comparison between [testimony of] three to that of two; just as two witnesses are considered one unit, so too, are three witnesses considered one unit, and they are not subject to the laws of“plotting witnesses” עֵדִים זוֹמְמִין, unless all of them are proven to be “plotting witnesses.” - [Mak. 5b] (See Deut. 19:16-21.)
שנים [עדים] או שלשה: אם מתקיימת עדות בשנים למה פרט לך בשלשה, להקיש שלשה לשנים, מה שנים עדות אחת, אף שלשה עדות אחת, ואין נעשין זוממין עד שיזומו כולם:
7. The hand of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people, and you shall abolish evil from among you. ז. יַד הָעֵדִים תִּהְיֶה בּוֹ בָרִאשֹׁנָה לַהֲמִיתוֹ וְיַד כָּל הָעָם בָּאַחֲרֹנָה וּבִעַרְתָּ הָרָע מִקִּרְבֶּךָ:
8. If a matter eludes you in judgment, between blood and blood, between judgment and judgment, or between lesion and lesion, words of dispute in your cities, then you shall rise and go up to the place the Lord, your God, chooses. ח. כִּי יִפָּלֵא מִמְּךָ דָבָר לַמִּשְׁפָּט בֵּין דָּם | לְדָם בֵּין דִּין לְדִין וּבֵין נֶגַע לָנֶגַע דִּבְרֵי רִיבֹת בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ וְקַמְתָּ וְעָלִיתָ אֶל הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בּוֹ:
If a matter eludes you [in judgment]: Heb. כִּי יִפָּלֵא. [The term] הַפְלְאָה always denotes detachment and separation; [here it means] that the matter is detached and hidden from you.
כי יפלא: כל הפלאה לשון הבדלה ופרישה, שהדבר נבדל ומכוסה ממך:
between blood and blood: Between ritually unclean blood [of menstruation], and ritually clean blood. — [Niddah 19a] (See Rashi on Lev. 12:1-5.)
בין דם לדם: בין דם טמא לדם טהור:
between judgment and judgment: Between a judgment of innocent and a judgment of guilty.
בין דין לדין: בין דין זכאי לדין חייב:
between lesion and lesion: Between a ritually unclean lesion, and a ritually clean lesion.
בין נגע לנגע: בין נגע טמא לנגע טהור:
words of dispute: whereby the Sages of the city [the judges] differ in their opinion on the matter, one declaring it impure, the other pure, one ruling guilty, the other innocent.
דברי ריבות: שיהו חכמי העיר חולקים בדבר, זה מטמא וזה מטהר זה מחייב וזה מזכה:
then you shall rise and go up: [This] teaches [us] that the Temple [the seat of the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court] was on a higher elevation than all other places. — [Sifrei ; San. 87a]
וקמת ועלית: מלמד שבית המקדש גבוה מכל המקומות:
9. And you shall come to the Levitic kohanim and to the judge who will be in those days, and you shall inquire, and they will tell you the words of judgment. ט. וּבָאתָ אֶל הַכֹּהֲנִים הַלְוִיִּם וְאֶל הַשֹּׁפֵט אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם וְדָרַשְׁתָּ וְהִגִּידוּ לְךָ אֵת דְּבַר הַמִּשְׁפָּט:
[And you shall come to] the Levitic kohanim: i.e., the kohanim, who are descended from the tribe of Levi.
הכהנים הלוים: הכהנים שיצאו משבט לוי:
and to the judge who will be in those days: Although this judge may not be [of the same stature] as other judges who preceded him, you must listen to him, for you have only the judge [who lives] in your time. — [R.H. 25b]
ואל השופט אשר יהיה בימים ההם: ואפילו אינו כשאר שופטים שהיו לפניו אתה צריך לשמוע לו. אין לך אלא שופט שבימיך:
10. And you shall do according to the word they tell you, from the place the Lord will choose, and you shall observe to do according to all they instruct you. י. וְעָשִׂיתָ עַל פִּי הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר יַגִּידוּ לְךָ מִן הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהֹוָה וְשָׁמַרְתָּ לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר יוֹרוּךָ:
11. According to the law they instruct you and according to the judgment they say to you, you shall do; you shall not divert from the word they tell you, either right or left. יא. עַל פִּי הַתּוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר יוֹרוּךָ וְעַל הַמִּשְׁפָּט אֲשֶׁר יֹאמְרוּ לְךָ תַּעֲשֶׂה לֹא תָסוּר מִן הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר יַגִּידוּ לְךָ יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאל:
either right or left,: Even if this judge tells you that right is left, and that left is right. How much more so, if he tells you that right is right, and left is left!- [Sifrei]
ימין ושמאל: אפילו אומר לך על ימין שהוא שמאל ועל שמאל שהוא ימין, וכל שכן שאומר לך על ימין ימין ועל שמאל שמאל:
12. And the man who acts intentionally, not obeying the kohen who stands there to serve the Lord, your God, or to the judge that man shall die, and you shall abolish evil from Israel. יב. וְהָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה בְזָדוֹן לְבִלְתִּי שְׁמֹעַ אֶל הַכֹּהֵן הָעֹמֵד לְשָׁרֶת שָׁם אֶת יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אוֹ אֶל הַשֹּׁפֵט וּמֵת הָאִישׁ הַהוּא וּבִעַרְתָּ הָרָע מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל:
13. And all the people shall listen and fear, and they shall no longer act wantonly. יג. וְכָל הָעָם יִשְׁמְעוּ וְיִרָאוּ וְלֹא יְזִידוּן עוֹד:
And all the people shall listen: From here we derive [the ruling] that they postpone his execution [i.e., of the זְקַן מַמְרֵא, the rebellious sage] until the Festival [when all Israel appears in Jerusalem], and they execute him on the Festival. — [San. 89a]
וכל העם ישמעו: מכאן שממתינין לו עד הרגל וממיתין אותו ברגל:
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Daily Tehillim: Psalms Chapters 135 - 139
• Chapter 135
1. Praise the Lord! Praise the Name of the Lord; offer praise, you servants of the Lord-
2. who stand in the House of the Lord, in the courtyards of the House of our God.
3. Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing to His Name, for He is pleasant.
4. For God has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel as His beloved treasure.
5. For I know that the Lord is great, our Master is greater than all supernal beings.
6. All that the Lord desired He has done, in the heavens and on earth, in the seas and the depths.
7. He causes mists to rise from the ends of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain; He brings forth the wind from His vaults.
8. It was He who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, of man and beast.
9. He sent signs and wonders into the midst of Egypt, on Pharaoh and on all his servants.
10. It was He who struck down many nations, and slew mighty kings:
11. Sichon, king of the Amorites; Og, king of Bashan; and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
12. And He gave their lands as a heritage, a heritage to His people Israel.
13. Lord, Your Name is forever; Lord, Your remembrance is throughout all generations.
14. Indeed, the Lord will judge on behalf of His people, and have compassion on His servants.
15. The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the product of human hands.
16. They have a mouth, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see;
17. they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouth.
18. Like them will their makers become-all who trust in them.
19. House of Israel, bless the Lord; House of Aaron, bless the Lord;
20. House of Levi, bless the Lord; you who fear the Lord, bless the Lord.
21. Blessed is the Lord from Zion, who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!
Chapter 136
This psalm contains twenty-six verses, corresponding to the twenty-six generations between the creation of the world and the giving of the Torah.
1. Praise the Lord for He is good, for His kindness is forever.
2. Praise the God of the supernal beings, for His kindness is forever.
3. Praise the Master of the heavenly hosts, for His kindness is forever.
4. Who alone performs great wonders, for His kindness is forever.
5. Who makes the heavens with understanding, for His kindness is forever.
6. Who spreads forth the earth above the waters, for His kindness is forever.
7. Who makes the great lights, for His kindness is forever.
8. The sun to rule by day, for His kindness is forever.
9. The moon and stars to rule by night, for His kindness is forever.
10. Who struck Egypt through its firstborn, for His kindness is forever.
11. And brought Israel out of their midst, for His kindness is forever.
12. With a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, for His kindness is forever.
13. Who split the Sea of Reeds into sections, for His kindness is forever.
14. And brought Israel across it, for His kindness is forever.
15. And cast Pharaoh and his army into the Sea of Reeds, for His kindness is forever.
16. Who led His people through the desert, for His kindness is forever;
17. Who struck down great kings, for His kindness is forever.
18. And slew mighty kings, for His kindness is forever.
19. Sichon, king of the Amorites, for His kindness is forever.
20. And Og, king of Bashan, for His kindness is forever.
21. And gave their land as a heritage, for His kindness is forever.
22. A heritage to Israel His servant, for His kindness is forever.
23. Who remembered us in our humiliation, for His kindness is forever.
24. And redeemed us from our oppressors, for His kindness is forever.
25. Who gives food to all flesh, for His kindness is forever.
26. Praise the God of heaven, for His kindness is forever.
Chapter 137
Referring to the time of the destruction of the Temple, this psalm tells of when Nebuchadnezzar would ask the Levites to sing in captivity as they had in the Temple, to which they would reply, "How can we sing the song of God upon alien soil?" They were then comforted by Divine inspiration.
1. By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept as we remembered Zion.
2. There, upon the willows, we hung our harps.
3. For there our captors demanded of us songs, and those who scorned us-rejoicing, [saying,] "Sing to us of the songs of Zion.”
4. How can we sing the song of the Lord on alien soil?
5. If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget [its dexterity].
6. Let my tongue cleave to my palate if I will not remember you, if I will not bring to mind Jerusalem during my greatest joy!
7. Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites the day of [the destruction of] Jerusalem, when they said, "Raze it, raze it to its very foundation!”
8. O Babylon, who is destined to be laid waste, happy is he who will repay you in retribution for what you have inflicted on us.
9. Happy is he who will seize and crush your infants against the rock!
Chapter 138
David offers awesome praises to God for His kindness to him, and for fulfilling His promise to grant him kingship.
1. By David. I will thank You with all my heart, in the presence of princes I shall praise You.
2. I will bow toward Your Holy Sanctuary, and praise Your Name for Your kindness and for Your truth; for You have exalted Your word above all Your Names.
3. On the day that I called out You answered me, You emboldened me, [You put] strength in my soul.
4. Lord, all the kings of the land will give thanks to You when they hear the words of Your mouth.
5. And they will sing of the Lord's ways, for the glory of the Lord is great.
6. For though the Lord is exalted, He sees the lowly; the High One castigates from afar.
7. If I walk in the midst of distress, keep me alive; against the wrath of my enemies stretch out Your hand, and let Your right hand deliver me.
8. Lord, complete [Your kindness] on my behalf. Lord, Your kindness is forever, do not forsake the work of Your hands.
Chapter 139
A most prominent psalm that guides man in the ways of God as no other in all of the five books of Tehillim. Fortunate is he who recites it daily.
1. For the Conductor, by David, a psalm. O Lord, You have probed me, and You know.
2. You know my sitting down and my standing up; You perceive my thought from afar.
3. You encircle my going about and my lying down; You are familiar with all my paths.
4. For there was not yet a word on my tongue-and behold, Lord, You knew it all.
5. You have besieged me front and back, You have laid Your hand upon me.
6. Knowledge [to escape You] is beyond me; it is exalted, I cannot know it.
7. Where can I go [to escape] Your spirit? And where can I flee from Your presence?
8. If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the grave, behold, You are there.
9. Were I to take up wings as the dawn and dwell in the furthest part of the sea,
10. there, too, Your hand would guide me; Your right hand would hold me.
11. Were I to say, "Surely the darkness will shadow me," then the night would be as light around me.
12. Even the darkness obscures nothing from You; and the night shines like the day-the darkness is as light.
13. For You created my mind; You covered me in my mother's womb.
14. I will thank You, for I was formed in an awesome and wondrous way; unfathomable are Your works, though my soul perceives much.
15. My essence was not hidden from You even while I was born in concealment, formed in the depths of the earth.
16. Your eyes beheld my raw form; all [happenings] are inscribed in Your book, even those to be formed in future days-to Him they are the same.
17. How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God! How overwhelming, [even] their beginnings!
18. Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sand, even if I were to remain awake and always with You.
19. O that You would slay the wicked, O God, and men of blood [to whom I say], "Depart from me!”
20. They exalt You for wicked schemes, Your enemies raise [You] for falsehood.
21. Indeed, I hate those who hate You, Lord; I contend with those who rise up against You.
22. I hate them with the utmost hatred; I regard them as my own enemies.
23. Search me, Lord, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.
24. See if there is a vexing way in me, then lead me in the way of the world.
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Tanya: Iggeret HaKodesh, beginning of Epistle 9
• Lessons in Tanya
• Today's Tanya Lesson
Sunday, Menachem Av 28, 5774 • August 24, 2014
Iggeret HaKodesh, beginning of Epistle 9
Like the preceding Epistle, the present one too centers on the theme of tzedakah.
If it is to be performed properly, tzedakah ought to be given unstintingly, and not only after all one’s own needs and desires have been satisfied. Ideally, it should be given in the spirit of an aphorism that was current among the chassidim of the Alter Rebbe:1 “Inside my slice of bread there is your share too; G d is providing for you through me.”
A man should thus feel obligated to share with others and provide for their needs to the very same degree that he provides for his own wife and children. Performing tzedakah in this manner can only be achieved when one distributes one’s earnings in an utterly selfless manner, doing so entirely for G d’s sake. Then, even when one provides for his own family’s needs he will do so because they are Jewish souls who are part of G d Above,2 and as such he bears a responsibility towards them.
When one acts in this way, he will realize that all needy folk are also Jewish souls and part of G d Above; he must therefore concern himself with their needs as well. Though the Torah rules that providing for one’s own wife and children takes precedence over providing for the needs of others, the essential sense of obligation remains the same.
אהוביי אחיי ורעיי אשר כנפשי
My beloved ones,3 my brethren and friends, who are unto me like my soul:
The previous Lubavitcher Rebbe explains in one of his talks, that when the Alter Rebbe seeks to imbue his followers with the love of their fellow Jews he addresses them as “my beloved friends,” for by befriending a fellow Jew one becomes a “beloved friend” of the Alter Rebbe.
Accordingly, it may be said that by heeding the Alter Rebbe’s instructions with regard to tzedakah one becomes one of the Alter Rebbe’s “beloved brethren.”
באתי כמזכיר ומעורר ישנים בתרדמת הבלי הבלים
I come [herewith] as one who reminds and awakens those who sleep the slumber of “vanities of vanities,”
Physical things at any time are deemed hevel: being airy and insubstantial, they have no true existence. When they serve no loftier purpose than themselves, they may be given the double epithet used above — havlei havalim,4 airy and foolish trivialities.
ולפקוח עיני העורים
and to open the eyes of the blind.
When the soul finds itself within the body and allows itself to be led by it, it resembles a sighted person whose eyes are bound, and who, intelligent though he may be, is then led about like an imbecile. If the soul, a part of G d Above, descends within a body but cannot restrict it from fulfilling its desires, it is considered to be blinded by the body, as the Tzemach Tzedek writes in Or HaTorah, at the conclusion of Parshat Behar.5 The “blindness” caused by the body must be healed, so that the soul may once again behold the truth.
יביטו לראות, להיות כל ישעם וחפצם ומגמתם, לכל בהם חיי רוחם
6Let them look and see to it that all their striving, longing and aiming, in7 everything on which the life of their spirit depends,8 should be bound up
במקור מים חיים, חיי החיים
in9 “the [Divine] Source of the living waters,” the10 “Fountainhead of all life,”
כל ימי חייהם, מנפש ועד בשר
throughout all the days of their lives, with respect11 to the soul as well as to the flesh.
Not only during prayer or Torah study or while performing mitzvot is a Jew to be bound to G d, but even while going about his mundane affairs he should be attached to Him as well.
דהיינו, כל מילי דעלמא ועסקי פרנסה לא יהיה כאלו דעבדין לגרמייהו
I.e., in all mundane matters and in the means by which one earns one’s livelihood, one should not be like those who do everything for their own sake, acting only out of their desire to satisfy themselves and their families, rather than for G d’s sake.
ולא יהיה בית ישראל ככל הגוים
Let not the House of Israel be like all the gentiles,12
דזנין ומפרנסין ומוקרין לנשייהו ובנייהו מאהבה
who13 feed, provide for and esteem their wives and children out of [self-] love.
I.e., since one loves himself he also loves his wife and children, who are a part of him. Rather, his love should be holy in its selflessness.
כי מי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ, כתיב
For it is written:14 “Who is like Your people Israel, a unique nation on earth?”
דהיינו שגם בעניני ארץ לא יפרידו מאחד האמת, חס ושלום
This means that even in mundane (“earthly”) matters they will not, heaven forfend, separate15 [them] from G d’s true Unity,
The concept of the Unity of G d signifies that apart from Him nothing truly exists.
להעיד עדות שקר, חס ושלום, בקריאת שמע ערב ובוקר, בעינים סגורות
to bear false witness, heaven forfend, while reciting the Shema every evening and morning with closed eyes,
ה׳ אחד, בד׳ רוחות ובשמים ממעל ובארץ מתחת
[saying,]16 “G d is One” — in the four directions, and in the heavens above and on earth below,17 thus attesting to G d’s Unity even in the mundane realm,
ובפקוח עיני העורים
while as the eyes of the blind are opened, and here the Alter Rebbe addresses those whose eyes are blinded by corporeal matters:
התעיף עיניך בו ואיננו, חס ושלום
“Can you close your eyes upon Him, as if He is no more?”18 (heaven forfend).
This means to say that immediately upon opening his eyes after reciting the Shema, such a person can view the world as if it were a self-sufficient entity, separate and distinct from its Creator; accordingly, moreover, he conducts his affairs in a selfish manner rather than for the sake of heaven.
אך בזאת יאות לנו
Rather, this [approach] shall be befitting us —
להיות כל עסקינו במילי דעלמא לא לגרמייהו
that19 all our involvement with mundane affairs should be [conducted] not for its own sake,
כי אם להחיות נפשות, חלקי אלוה
but in order to animate souls, (i.e., to provide sustenance for fellow Jews, whose souls are veritably, so to speak,) portions of G d,
ולמלאות מחסוריהם בחסד חנם
and to supply what they lack, out of gratuitous kindness.
שבזה אנו מדמין הצורה ליוצרה, ה׳ אחד
In this way we make the form (the soul) resemble Him Who formed it, viz., “G d [Who] is One”;
אשר חסד אל כל היום, חסד של אמת
for20 “the Chesed of G d endures throughout the day,” i.e., at all times — a21 true Chesed, without thought of reward,
להחיות העולם ומלואו בכל רגע ורגע
that animates the universe and all that fills it, at every single moment.
In imitation of G d, Who thus dispenses kindness and ani-mates all created beings, man too should act kindly toward others and sustain those in need. Indeed, this should be his ultimate purpose when engaging in his work or in commerce: to be able to provide sustenance for the souls of his fellow Jews.
According to the above, however, one should provide for the needs of others to the very same degree that he provides for his own family. Why, then, should the needs of one’s own family take precedence over the needs of others? The Alter Rebbe answers this by saying:
רק שאשתו ובניו של אדם קודמין לכל, על פי התורה
It is only that according to the Torah22 a man’s wife and children take precedence over all others,
The Alter Rebbe wrote this Epistle in connection with the tzaddikim, R. Mendele Vitebsker and R. Avraham Kalisker, as well as their colleagues and disciples, who at the time of writing had already left the diaspora and were living in the Holy Land. The Alter Rebbe therefore goes on to say:
חוץ מצדיקים שבדור, שהן קודמין לבניו
except23 for the tzaddikim of the generation, who take precedence over one’s children;
וצדיקים שבארץ ישראל קודמין לצדיקים שבחוץ לארץ
moreover, the tzaddikim in the Land of Israel take precedence over the tzaddikim in the diaspora,
לבד מזאת שלא הניחו כמותם בחוץ לארץ
apart from the fact that they did not leave anyone in the diaspora comparable to themselves.
ודי למבין
This will suffice for the discerning.
FOOTNOTES
1. See Igrot Kodesh (Letters of the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe), Vol. VIII, p. 606, and references cited there.
2. Likkutei Amarim, Part I, beginning of ch. 2.
3. Note of the Rebbe: “Cf. Iggeret HaKodesh, Epistles 16, 22 (Parts a & b), 24.”
4. Cf. Kohelet 1:2.
5. Or HaTorah, Vayikra, Vol. I, p. 191.
6. Cf. Yeshayahu 42:18.
7. This clause has been translated according to Rashi on Yeshayahu 38:16.
8. Note of the Rebbe: “See Part I, conclusion of ch. 31.”
9. Cf. Yirmeyahu 2:13.
10. Lit., “the Life of life.”
11. Cf. Yeshayahu 10:18.
12. The standard text of the Tanya has כעוע״ג (“like heathens”), which has been emended here according to its Luach HaTikkun (“Table of Corrections”).
13. The remainder of this sentence is paraphrased from the Ketubbah (the marriage contract), though the emphasis here, of course, is on a possibly selfish motivation.
14. I Divrei HaYamim 17:21.
15. V.L.: לא יפרדו (“they will not become separated”).
16. Devarim 6:4.
17. Cf. Beit Yosef, Orach Chayim, sec. 61, citing the Sefer Mitzvot Katan.
18. Cf. Mishlei 23:5.
19. V.L.: בהיות (“when all our involvement...is [conducted]”).
20. Tehillim 52:3.
21. Rashi on Bereishit 47:29.
22. See Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah, sec. 251, and references indicated there.
23. The passage beginning “Except for the tzadikkim...” and concluding “...for the discerning,” is added above to the standard printed text according to its Luach HaTikkun (“Table of Corrections”).
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Rambam:
• Daily Mitzvah P98 - Sefer Hamitzvos:
Sunday, Menachem Av 28, 5774 • August 24, 2014
Today's Mitzvah
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
Important Message Regarding This Lesson
The Daily Mitzvah schedule runs parallel to the daily study of 3 chapters of Maimonides' 14-volume code. There are instances when the Mitzvah is repeated a few days consecutively while the exploration of the same Mitzvah continues in the in-depth track.
Positive Commandment 98
Ritual Impurity of Food and Drink
We are commanded regarding food and drink that have contracted ritual impurity. [I.e., one must follow all the laws associated with this impurity.]
Ritual Impurity of Food and Drink
Positive Commandment 98
Translated by Berel Bell
The 98th mitzvah is that we are commanded to rule according to the appropriate laws regarding the tumah of food and drink.1 This mitzvah includes all the laws of tumas ochlin u'mashkin.2
FOOTNOTES
1.Lev. 11:34.
2.See Hilchos Ochlin 1:1-4.
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Rambam:
• 1 Chapter: Malveh veLoveh Malveh veLoveh - Chapter 23 Malveh veLoveh - Chapter 23
Halacha 1
Promissory notes that are predated are invalid, because they will be used to expropriate property from purchasers in an unlawful manner. Accordingly, our Sages penalized the lender, ruling that he may expropriate only property in the debtor's possession with a predated promissory note. This is a decree, enacted lest he expropriate property from the first, earlier, date.
Halacha 2
Postdated promissory notes are acceptable. For the legal power of the possessor of the promissory note has been diminished, for the lender can expropriate only property from the date of the promissory note. Even if the document does not state that it was postdated, it is acceptable.
Halacha 3
When a promissory note is written during the day and signed in the night that follows it, it is unacceptable, because it is predated. If, however, the borrower and the lender were involved in negotiating the matter until night fell and then they signed, it is acceptable, even when the kinyan was made at night.
Halacha 4
When a promissory note is dated on the Sabbath or on the tenth of Tishrei, we assume that it was postdated and that it is acceptable. We do not suspect that perhaps it is predated and that it was written on Sunday or on the eleventh of Tishrei. Instead, we accept the presumption that the promissory note is acceptable. The rationale is that it is known that legal documents are not composed on the Sabbath. Therefore, it was postdated.
Halacha 5
We may compose a promissory note for the borrower even though he is not accompanied by the lender. We do not, however, compose a promissory note for the lender unless he is accompanied by the borrower.
When does the above apply? With regard to a promissory note that was affirmed by a kinyanJ For from the time the kinyan was carried out, the borrower's property was on lien. When, however, a promissory note was not affirmed by a kinyan, we do not compose the note even for the borrower, unless he is accompanied by the lender and he gives the note to the lender in our presence. The rationale is that we suspect that the borrower may have the document composed at this time so that he can take a loan in Nissan, but in fact the loan will not be given until Tishrei. Thus, the lender will be able to use this promissory note to expropriate property that was in the borrower's possession unlawfully from Nissan, although the promissory note did not enter his possession until Tishrei.
Halacha 6
The following rules apply when witnesses performed a kinyan with the borrower, the seller, or another person involved in a business agreement, but the composition of the legal document was delayed extensively. If they remembered the date on which the kinyan was established, they should write the date of the kinyan in the legal document, even though it was not the date that they signed the legal document. It is not necessary for them to state in the document: "Our signatures were delayed until this-and-this date." If the witnesses do not know the date on which the kinyan was performed, they should date the legal document from the day on which it was composed.
Similarly, witnesses who observed a business transaction in one country and composed a legal document in another country should not record the place where they observed the testimony in the legal document. Instead, they should record the place where they signed the legal document.
Halacha 7
When deeds of sale are not dated with the date of the transaction, even those that are postdated are not acceptable. The rationale is that the purchaser may use them to expropriate property in an unlawful manner.
What is implied? For example, the seller could have repurchased the field from the purchaser before the date of the postdated deed of sale. The purchaser could then produce the postdated deed of sale and say: "I returned and purchased it from you a second time." He could thus expropriate property from a purchaser unlawfully.
Why don't we harbor the same suspicions with regard to a postdated promissory note? It is possible that the borrower paid the lender before the date stated in the promissory note, the lender will write him a receipt, and then produce the promissory note and expropriate property unlawfully. We do not harbor such suspicions, because whenever a person composes a postdated promissory note, he can protect himself by having the receipt composed without a date. Thus, whenever the lender will produce the promissory note, the borrower can nullify it by producing this receipt. If the borrower did not do this and allowed the receipt to be composed dated the day when the debt was repaid, he caused himself a loss.
Halacha 8
When a person was compelled to sell his field against his will and issued a protest, or hurried and sold the field or gave it away to another person before he sold it to the person who compelled him to sell it, the money that the person who compelled him to sell it gave him is considered to be a loan supported by a verbal commitment alone. He may not use that deed of sale to expropriate any property that had been sold by the seller to others. This law was stated, because this deed of sale should not have been written, and it was written only under compulsion. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations.
Halacha 9
It is possible for a person to expropriate property without a legal document, merely on the basis of verbal testimony.
What is implied? If a person has witnesses who will testify that property was stolen from his father. He can expropriate the property on the basis of this testimony, although there is no legal document. Similarly, if witnesses testify that a judgment was concluded for his father to expropriate property from so-and-so, for this-and-this amount, at this-and-this time, and his father died without expropriating the property, the son may expropriate property on the basis of this testimony.
Halacha 10
Therefore, we should never compose two deeds of sale for the same property, lest the purchaser perpetrate deception together with the creditor and expropriate property unlawfully.
What is implied? This person will expropriate this field from the purchaser based on testimony that his father had the right to expropriate it. The purchaser will then use one deed of sale that he possesses to expropriate property from people who purchased property after he did from the borrower who sold him the property. The court will tear up the deed of sale that the initial purchaser possesses.
For the sake of deception, the person who expropriated the field will allow the purchaser to take possession of it again. He will then expropriate it again on the basis of the testimony of his witnesses. The purchaser will then produce the second deed of sale and expropriate property from other purchasers unlawfully.
If so, what should a person who has lost his deed of sale to a property do if the witnesses to the sale are still alive? A second deed of sale should be composed, saying: "This deed of sale may not be used to expropriate property that has been sold, or property that is in the possession of the seller. We have composed it only to establish so-and-so, the purchaser, as the owner of the field, so that the seller or his heirs cannot expropriate it from him."
Halacha 11
This principle does not apply with regard to promissory notes. Even though the witnesses to the loan are alive and entered into a kinyan with the borrower, if the lender returns immediately and tells the witnesses: "The promissory note that you composed for me is now lost or was burnt," they should not compose a second promissory note for him. 5 We suspect that the debt was paid or that he waived payment.
The above applies even if the loan was given for a period of time. The lender cannot collect any money on the basis of the testimony of these witnesses, unless the borrower states: "The loan was never given." In that instance, he is established as a liar through their testimony, as will be explained.
Halacha 12
When a promissory note in a person's possession is worn and it is beginning to become effaced, the lender should have witnesses look at it. He should then come to the court, and the court will validate it. The witnesses who signed the promissory note itself, however, may not compose another promissory note on their own initiative, even when the promissory note was blotted out in their presence. Instead, they should go to the court, and the court will validate the promissory note.
Halacha 13
How should this promissory note be validated? The court composes a new document that states: "We the court composed of so-and-so, so-and-so, and so-and-so, saw how so-and-so, the son of so-and-so, produced a promissory note that was effaced in our presence. It was dated on this-and-this date. So-and-so, and so-and-so are his witnesses."
If they composed such a document and required the testimony of the witnesses, and their testimony was corroborated, the lender may collect the debt with this document that was composed for him. No further validation is required.
If the court did not compose such a document ,56 if the debtor protests that the document is a forgery, the lender must also bring proof regarding the signatures of the original witnesses, so that their testimony will be validated.
Halacha 14
When a promissory note is torn, it is acceptable. If its wording is in the process of being rubbed out or muddled, as long as the form of the original letters are recognizable, it is acceptable.
If it is torn as the court tears a legal document, it is unacceptable. In which manner does the court tear a legal document? Both horizontally and vertically.
Halacha 15
The following laws apply when a person repays a portion of a debt recorded in a promissory note. If the lender desires, he may exchange the original promissory note, and the court composes a new document for him for the remainder of the debt, with the lien beginning on the original date. The witnesses to the original promissory note may not take this initiative. If he desires, he may write the borrower a receipt.
Halacha 16
When a person comes to pay his debt, and the lender tells him: "I lost my promissory note," the lender should compose a receipt for him and then the borrower should pay the entire debt. The borrower may, however, have a ban of ostracism issued against anyone who hides his promissory note and claims that it is lost.
If the borrower lodges a definite claim, saying: "The promissory note is in his possession. He just placed it in his pocket," my masters have ruled that the lender should take a sh'vuat hesset that the promissory note was lost. Afterwards, the borrower should pay the debt and a receipt should be composed.
Halacha 17
When a lender produces a promissory note for a maneh and asks that two promissory notes for 50 zuz be composed, we do not comply. The rationale is that it is of benefit for the borrower to have the entire debt recorded in a single promissory note. For if he pays him a portion of the debt, the legal power of the promissory note will be impaired.
Conversely, if the lender produced two promissory notes, each one for 50 zuz, and asks that one promissory note for 100 be composed, we do not comply. Instead, we validate both of them individually. The rationale is that it is of benefit for the borrower to have two promissory notes, so that the lender cannot compel him to pay the entire sum at one time.
Halacha 18
When a lender produces a promissory note for 100 zuz and says: "Tear it up and compose another promissory note for 50," we do not heed his request. We fear that perhaps the borrower repaid the entire amount, and the lender wrote a receipt for him. If the lender authenticated the new promissory note for 50 zuz and the borrower produced the receipt, he would tell the borrower: "This is another promissory note."
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Rambam:
• 3 Chapters: Tum'at Okhalin Tum'at Okhalin - Chapter 10, Tum'at Okhalin Tum'at Okhalin - Chapter 11, Tum'at Okhalin Tum'at Okhalin - Chapter 12
Tum'at Okhalin - Chapter 10
Halacha 1
We already explained that there are only seven liquids that contract impurity and make foods susceptible to impurity. Other liquids are referred to as fruit juices and they neither contract impurity, nor make foods susceptible to impurity. The derivatives of the seven liquids that we mentioned are governed by the same laws as they are.
Halacha 2
The derivatives of water are: fluids secreted by the eye, the ear, the nose, and the mouth, and human urine whether from adults or minors. Anything excreted by man is considered as a liquid whether it was excreted consciously or unconsciously. The urine of animals and salt that was liquefied are considered as fruit juices. They neither contract impurity, nor make substances susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 3
The blood that is counted as a liquid is the blood that flows from a kosher domesticated or undomesticated animal or fowl at the end of its slaughter. Blood that flows at the beginning of the slaughter, by contrast, does not make food susceptible to ritual impurity, because the animal is still alive. It resembles the blood of a wound or blood that is let.
When a person slaughters an animal and its blood sputters on to food, but that blood is cleaned between the slitting of one of the signs and the other, there is a doubt concerning the matter. Therefore the ruling is held in abeyance. The food is neither eaten, nor is it burnt.
A derivative of blood is blood let by a human being that was released with the intent of it being drunk. If, however, it was released as a medical treatment, it is pure and it does not make foods susceptible to impurity. Similarly, the blood released during the slaughter of non-kosher domesticated or undomesticated animal or fowl, the blood that is released with mucous or with feces, or the blood of boils, blisters, and blood concentrated in flesh, all neither contract impurity, nor make substances susceptible to impurity. Instead, they are like other fruit juices.
The blood of a crawling animal is like its flesh, it imparts impurity, but does not make foods susceptible to impurity. There are no entities analogous to it.
Halacha 4
Whey is considered like milk. Human milk that is not needed is not placed in the halachic category of a liquid. It does not make foods susceptible to impurity, nor does it contract impurity. Therefore, milk excreted by a male is not placed in the halachic category of a liquid. This also applies to the milk of a domesticated or undomesticated animal that was released without human intent, e.g., it flowed out from the animal's teats spontaneously or it was milked without intent. The milk of a woman, whether it was released intentionally or unintentionally, is generally placed in the halachic category of a liquid. It makes foods susceptible to impurity and it can contract impurity, because it is fit to be drunk by an infant.
Halacha 5
Liquids released by those impure people whose impurity causes these liquids to be considered as a primary source of impurity, impart impurity even though the foods had not been made susceptible to ritual impurity beforehand. For the food's susceptibility to impurity and that impurity come simultaneously. They are: the secretion of a zav, his semen, and his urine, a revi'it of blood from a human corpse, and the blood of a nidah.
Similarly, the blood of the wound of a zav and others like him, the milk of such a woman, their tears and the other derivatives of water that they release impart impurity like impure liquids which impart impurity without any specific intent. For impure liquids impart impurity when they are brought into contact with food intentionally or when they come into contact unintentionally. Accordingly, if milk drips from the breast of a nidah or a zavah into the inner space of an oven, the oven and all its contents contract impurity.
Halacha 6
We have already explained that the liquids released by a person who immersed that day do not impart impurity. Therefore, even if they fall on a loaf of bread that is terumah, it does not become susceptible to impurity unless they fall on it intentionally, as is the law regarding other pure liquids which do not make food susceptible to impurity unless they fall on it intentionally.
Halacha 7
Sweat, pus or vomit, feces, the liquids released by a fetus born in the eighth month, the diarrhea of a person who drank the waters of the hot springs of Tiberias or the like, even if it is clear, are all not placed in the halachic category of liquids. They do not contract impurity, nor do they make foods susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 8
When a person drinks other liquids and releases them, they are considered liquids as they were previously, for other liquids do not regain purity in a person's body.
What is implied? If one drank impure water and then regurgitated it, it is still impure. It did not become purified when released. If one drank impure water, immersed in a mikveh and then regurgitated it, or it became loathsome and then he regurgitated it, or it was released as urine, even if he did not immerse himself, it is pure.
If one drank other impure liquids or ate other impure foods, even though he immersed and then regurgitated them, they are still impure. They do not become purified in a person's body. If they became loathsome or were released as urine or as feces, they are pure.
Halacha 9
We already explained that sweat is not placed in the halachic category of liquids. Even if a person drank impure liquids and excreted them by sweating, his sweat is pure. If, however, a person bathes in drawn water and then sweated, his sweat is impure. If he dried himself from the water and then sweated, his sweat is pure.
Halacha 10
Moisture that collects on the walls of homes, trenches, caves, and cisterns is not placed in the halachic category of liquids. Even if the house is impure, the moisture that collects is pure. The moisture that collects in a bathhouse, by contrast, is considered as water. If water in the bathhouse was impure, the moisture that collects there is also impure. If one brought produce into such a house and moisture collects upon it, it becomes susceptible to impurity. If he brings containers there and moisture collects upon them, the moisture is considered as separated intentionally and it makes foods susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 11
When there is a pool in a house and moisture collects on the walls of the house because of it, if the pool contains impure water, all the moisture that collects in the house because of it is impure.
Halacha 12
When there are two pools in a house, one containing impure water and one containing pure water, if moisture collects close to the impure pool, it is impure. If it collects close to the pure one, it is pure. If it is equidistant from the two of them, it is impure.
Halacha 13
The black liquid that flows from olives without their being pressed is considered like oil. The liquid that drips from the baskets of olives and grapes when they are harvested is not placed in the halachic category of liquids. It does not contract impurity, nor does it make foods susceptible to impurity unless it is collected in a container.
Halacha 14
When a person weighs grapes in a weighing pan, the wine left in the weighing pan is not placed in the halachic category of liquids unless it is poured into a container. It resembles the liquid that drips from the baskets of olives and grapes mentioned in the previous halachah.
Halacha 15
When a person pushes grapes that are terumah into a jug, even though the wine flows over his hands, everything is pure.
Halacha 16
The liquids that flow in the butchering area in the Temple Courtyard, i.e., the blood of the sacrificial animals and the water used to clean them, are always considered as pure. They do not contract impurity, nor do they make foods susceptible to ritual impurity. This matter is a halachah conveyed by the Oral Tradition. Therefore all the blood of the sacrificial animals is not susceptible to ritual impurity, nor does it make foods susceptible to ritual impurity.
Since the blood of the sacrificial animals does not make food susceptible to ritual impurity, the sacrificial animals that were slaughtered in the Temple Courtyard were not made susceptible to ritual impurity through the blood of their slaughter. The meat of these sacrificial animals does not become susceptible to ritual impurity unless liquids other than those of the butchering area of the Temple come into contact with them.
Halacha 17
When a cow that was consecrated as a sacrificial animal was made to cross a river and was then slaughtered while it still had tangible moisture on it, it has become susceptible to impurity. Therefore, if an impure pin was found in its flesh, the meat is impure.
Similarly, if the cow's mouth was sealed closed outside of Jerusalem, even though the status of the pin found in its meat is unknown, the meat is impure. The rationale is that it touched implements outside of Jerusalem. If the pin was found in its wastes, the meat is pure. In either instance, the hands of the people involved in cutting up the animal are pure, because the decree involving the impurity of hands does not apply in the Temple, as we explained. In which context does the above apply? For the meat to be considered impure according to Scriptural Law. To incur impurity of Rabbinic origin, by contrast, consecrated food does not require exposure to liquids to make it susceptible to ritual impurity. Instead, the cherished nature of consecrated foods itself makes the meat susceptible to impurity. If any impurity, whether minor or severe, touches it, it becomes disqualified, even though it was not exposed to liquids, as we explained.
Tum'at Okhalin - Chapter 11
Halacha 1
When one harvests grapes to sell in the marketplace or dry, they do not become susceptible to impurity unless they come into contact with liquids when the owner desires that they do, as other foods.
If, by contrast, one harvests grapes to crush them and make wine, they become susceptible to impurity even if they had no contact with liquids at all. If they were touched by an impure object, they contract impurity. This a decree of Rabbinic origin.
Why did the Sages decree that when one harvests grapes for the wine press, they become susceptible to impurity? For there are times when a person enters into his vineyard to see if the grapes are ready to harvest. He will squeeze a cluster of grapes to check them and then cast it on the grapes that have already been harvested, for all of the grapes are prepared to be crushed for their juice. Moreover, he is not careful regarding the cluster and will allow it to be pressed by the other grapes, causing its liquid to flow out. He is careful concerning the liquid, desiring that it not flow out on the ground. Thus all the grapes will become susceptible to impurity because of it. Therefore our Sages decreed that when anyone harvests grapes for the wine press, they become susceptible to ritual impurity.
Halacha 2
When a person harvests grapes with the intent that, if he will not find purchasers for them, he will bring them back to the wine press, they do not become susceptible to ritual impurity until they are brought into the wine press. Similarly, olives that are brought into the olive press become susceptible to impurity, as will be explained.
Halacha 3
When a person harvests grapes and places them in a storage pit or spreads them out on leaves, they become susceptible to impurity because of the liquids that are released by them, since he is concerned with the liquids. That is the reason he placed them on leaves or in a storage pit that is like a cistern. Therefore, if someone who was impure or merely whose hands were impure takes some of them, he imparts impurity to them.
If, however, he harvested the grapes and placed them in baskets or spread them out on the earth, they do not become susceptible to impurity, because he is not concerned with the liquid they release. Therefore an impure person may take them and partake of them. Even though they have split open and juice is dripping from them into the wine press, the grapes in the wine press are pure, because the grapes from which the liquid dripped were not made susceptible to impurity and were harvested for the purpose of consumption.
A similar ruling applies in the following instance. A person took the grapes from the baskets or from the earth where they were spread out and partook of them, leaving over a se'ah or two which he cast into the winepress. Even though the juice is sprinkled over the grapes in the wine press, they are not made susceptible to ritual impurity.
Halacha 4
When one takes grapes that were in baskets or spread out on the earth to crush for wine, they become susceptible to ritual impurity. Hence they must be taken with pure hands, lest an impure person take from them and impart impurity to them.
Halacha 5
When a vineyard grows in a beit hapras and one harvests the grapes for the wine press, they are not considered as susceptible to impurity as long as they are in the beit hapras. The rationale is that since the impurity of a beit hapras is a Rabbinic decree and the concept that when a person harvests grapes for the wine press they become susceptible to ritual impurity is a Rabbinic decree, the Sages were lenient regarding this decree in this instance and did not consider the grapes as susceptible to ritual impurity until they were taken out of the beit hapras.
Accordingly, a person who desires to harvest grapes growing in a beit hapras for the wine press in a state of ritual purity must do the following. He must purify the harvesters and the utensils, having the ashes of the red heifer sprinkled upon them on the third and seventh day. They must wait until nightfall of the seventh day so that it is obvious that leniency is being taken with the impurity of a beit hapras, only because it is a doubtful situation. Afterwards, they enter, harvest the grapes, and take them outside the beit hapras. Other pure porters receive the grapes from them and take them to the wine press. If the harvesters touch the porters, the porters contract ritual impurity and make the grapes impure. For the people in the beit hapras are impure and they impart impurity to those outside, causing them to be considered as primary derivatives of impurity. They then impart impurity to the grapes, for they became susceptible to ritual impurity when they were taken out of the beit hapras.
Halacha 6
When a person harvests olives with the intent of pickling them or selling them on the market place, they do not become susceptible to ritual impurity unless they come into contact with liquids as desired by their owner, as is the law with regard to other foods. Similarly, when a person harvests olives to crush in an olive press, they do not become susceptible to ritual impurity until the work required to prepare them for pressing is complete.
Why are olives susceptible to ritual impurity when the work required to prepare them for pressing is complete? Because it can be assumed that they became susceptible to impurity because of contact with the fluid of the olives, for the owner desires it so that the olives will soften and be easier to crush. Before the work required to prepare them for pressing is complete, the fluid released by the olives does not make them susceptible to ritual impurity, because it is not desired.
Accordingly, when the work required to prepare olives for pressing has not been completed and impure liquids fall upon them, only the places touched by the liquids contract impurity, as is the law regarding all foods that have not become susceptible to impurity. When impure liquids fall upon them after the work required to prepare them for pressing has been completed, all the olives contract impurity. The rationale is that the impure liquids impart impurity to the fluid that flows from them and that fluid imparts impurity to all of them, for the fluid that is released by them after the work required to prepare them for pressing has been completed is considered as a liquid in the context of the laws of impurity and makes foods susceptible to impurity and imparts impurity to them.
Halacha 7
When there is a jug of olives that are salted and pressed together, it is necessary to make a hole in the jug so that that fluid will drain off. If he does not make such a hole, the olives become susceptible to ritual impurity. If he made a hole for the liquid to drain off, but it became plugged by olive dregs and thus the olives became saturated with this fluid, they are not susceptible to impurity for their exposure to liquids was not desired by the owner, as indicated by his making the hole.
Halacha 8
When is the work to prepare olives for pressing considered to be completed? When the entire harvest has been completed and they are deposited in one place, prepared to be pressed. Even though liquids did not fall upon them and liquids did not emerge from them, since the work necessary to prepare them was completed, they become susceptible to ritual impurity. Before the work necessary to prepare them was completed, by contrast, even though they were crushed, secreted liquids, and became stuck together because of the liquids, they do not become susceptible to impurity.
If one completed harvesting his olives, but intended to purchase other olives in the future and add them to them, even if only a kab or two kabbim, they are not susceptible to ritual impurity. If, however, he acts with guile, they become susceptible to ritual impurity.
If he completed his purchase of olives, but intended to borrow money and purchase more, but he was prevented by forces beyond his control or he became involved in a celebration and therefore did not add more, it is still considered as if the work necessary to prepare the olives for pressing was not completed and the olives are not susceptible to ritual impurity. Even though zavim and zavot tread upon them, they remain pure.
Halacha 9
When a person stores his olives in two olive presses, when he completes loading one of them, the olives in that press become susceptible to ritual impurity.
Halacha 10
When a person harvests his olives in the Upper Galilee and he has the intent to bring them to the Lower Galilee in the future, they do not become susceptible to ritual impurity until he brings them there. This applies provided he had this intent before he harvested them. If he does not have this intent until after he harvests them, his intent is of no consequence and they become susceptible to impurity. If he completed storing his olives, but had the intent of selling them in the future, they do not become susceptible to impurity. If he had the intent of covering them with leaves, they become susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 11
The following law applies when a person purchases a storage vat of olives from a gentile. Even if there are olives to harvest on the earth, he should process the olives in a state of impurity, for it can be assumed that the gentile completed the harvest of that vat.
The word of an unlearned person is accepted when he says: "I did not complete storing olives in this vat."
Halacha 12
When a person wishes to take and crush for oil some olives from a storage vat that has not been completely filled, he may take them while ritually impure, bring them to the olive press in a state of ritual impurity, and cover the olives remaining in the storage vat in a state of ritual impurity, because the olives in the storage vat had not become susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 13
When a person places his olives in an olive press, so that they will soften and be easy to crush, they become susceptible to ritual impurity. If he left them to soften, so that he will salt them after they soften, they do not become susceptible to ritual impurity, for his intent is to pickle them.
Halacha 14
When a person rubs or breaks apart olives that are terumah with impure hands, he disqualifies them, because breaking them open completes the work associated with them. If, however, he broke open the olives with the intent of salting them, they do not become susceptible to impurity. Similarly, if he broke them open in order to check them to see whether they have oil and are ready to be harvested, they do not become susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 15
When a person leaves olives on a roof for them to desiccate and dry out, they do not become susceptible to impurity even if they are cubit high. If he brought them into the house to spoil some even though he will take them to the roof in the future or he brought them to the roof in a mound to spoil, even though he will break it open and spread them out to dry in the future, they become susceptible to ritual impurity. If he brought them into his house until he will make his roof fit for them or until he takes them to another place, they do not become susceptible to ritual impurity, because the work involved in their preparation has not been completed.
Halacha 16
When a person stores his olives in a domain belonging to an unlearned person, and locks and seals the door, he need not suspect that the unlearned person has another key and seal. Even if he discovers the seal broken and the lock open, the olives are pure. The seal mentioned could be even a stone or a sliver of wood.
If there were holes and cracks in the storeroom, he need not suspect that the unlearned person inserted a rod and moved the olives. If there are windows four handbreadths by four handbreadths, they are considered as an entrance.
Halacha 17
How should a person who crushed his olives in a state of impurity and, afterwards, sought to purify the utensils in the olive-press and the borders from the impure liquids that were absorbed in them act?
Keilim made of wood or stone should be washed thoroughly. If they are from reeds or the like, they should be dried. If they are from resinous cane, they should be left for twelve months, exposed to hot water or water in which olives were cooked, or placed under a drainpipe of running water or into a stream of flowing water for 12 hours.
Afterwards, he should immerse in a mikveh those keilim that require immersion and use them in a state of purity.
Tum'at Okhalin - Chapter 12
Halacha 1
All the laws involving making foods susceptible to ritual impurity originate in the Oral Tradition. According to that tradition, it was taught that the verse Leviticus 11:38: "When water will be placed on seeds," refers not only to water, but to all the other seven liquids as well. And it applies only when the crops were exposed to the liquids willfully by the owner after the crops were uprooted from the earth. This is logical, for it is well known that there are no crops that were not exposed to water while they were connected to the ground. "When water will be placed..." applies only after the crops were uprooted and the liquids also were displaced.
Halacha 2
When a liquid fell on food and originally, it was desired by the owner, but ultimately, he was not pleased, or ultimately, he would be satisfied, even though initially, he was not, it becomes susceptible to impurity. If the food was exposed to liquids against his will, it does not make them susceptible to impurity. Even if the owner exposed his foods to liquids because of danger or out of necessity, but he does not desire that they become wet, they do not become susceptible to impurity.
What is implied? When a person hides his crops in water because of thieves or places them in a flowing river to transport them with him, they do not become susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 3
When liquids were uprooted from the ground against a person's will, they do not impart impurity to foods. Therefore if a person, a k'li, or produce became wet with moisture and then was picked up from the ground against the person's will, even though foods came in contact with those liquids willfully, they do not become susceptible to ritual impurity. The rationale is that the water was uprooted from the ground against the person's will. Thus it is as if it is still on the ground and it does not make foods susceptible to impurity.
If there was water on a person, on a k'li, or foods that were uprooted willfully and foods touched them willfully, the foods become susceptible to impurity.
What is implied? If a person turns a bowl upside down on a wall so that it would be washed, the water it collects can make foods susceptible to impurity. If produce was placed in the water intentionally, it becomes susceptible to impurity, because the water was intentionally caused to enter the bowl. If he placed the bowl there so that the water would not damage the wall, the water the bowl contains is not considered to have been uprooted from the ground. Therefore if he placed foods in it, they do not become susceptible to impurity.
Different laws apply if he turned the bowl over with the intent that the wall be washed. If the wall was the wall of a house, the water makes foods susceptible to impurity. The rationale is that the walls of the house are considered as an independent entity, even though they are connected to the ground, because an entity that was separate and then connected to the ground, is considered as separate from the ground with regard to making foods susceptible to impurity. Thus the water on this wall is like water in containers. If it is the wall of a cave which was not built, but instead, it is part of the ground itself, the water on it is not considered as uprooted from the ground.
Halacha 4
When a person bends down to drink, the water that ascends on his mustache and mouth is considered to have been uprooted willfully, for it is well known that one who drinks will raise up water on his mouth and mustache. Water that ascends on his nose, his beard, and his head, is not considered as having been uprooted willfully.
Halacha 5
When a person fills a jug from a well, the water that ascends after it, on the rope that is wrapped around its opening, and on the portion of the rope that is required to lift it up is considered as having been uprooted willfully. The water on the portion of the rope that is not required to lift it up are not considered as having been uprooted willfully.
If a person placed a jug beneath a drainpipe, all of the water on its outside and on the rope are not considered as having been uprooted willfully. Therefore water found there does not make foods susceptible to impurity.
Halacha 6
When rain falls upon a person, even if he is a primary source of impurity, the water on his body is pure, even though it runs down from the upper portion to the lower portion, provided he shakes it off immediately with all of his power. If, however, the water flows and runs down slowly, it does contract impurity at the time it is separated from him. If the water is pure, while it is on his body or clothes, it does not make foods susceptible to ritual impurity, for it did not flow on to him willfully. If he shakes the water off his clothes, it is considered as willful.
If he stood under a drainpipe to cool off or to wash himself, he is considered to have come into contact with water willfully. If he was impure, the water that is on his body is impure.
Halacha 7
When a barrel was filled with produce and water from a drainpipe from a roof spilled into it, the owner should pour the water off the produce. It is not considered as susceptible to impurity even though he desired that the water be in the barrel until he pours it off.
Halacha 8
When water from a drainpipe flows into a kneading trough, the drops that sputter off and the water that flows over the edge are not considered as having been uprooted willfully. Even if the owner picks up the kneading trough to pour out the water, the water it contains is not considered as having been uprooted willfully. If he left the trough for the water to drain into it, the drops that sputter off and the water that flows over the edge are not considered as having been uprooted willfully. If he picks up the kneading trough to pour out the water, it makes foods susceptible to impurity. The rationale is that since he did not overturn it and pour the water out in its place, it is considered as having been uprooted willfully.
Halacha 9
When a person immerses his keilim in a mikveh or washes his clothes in a cave, the water that ascends on his hands is considered as drawn willfully. The water on his feet is not considered as having been uprooted willfully.
Halacha 10
When fruits fell into water and one extended his hand and took them, they do not become susceptible to impurity. If he intended that his hand would be rinsed while picking them up, they become susceptible to impurity because of the water on his hand. For the water on his hand and on the produce are considered as having been uprooted willfully.
Halacha 11
When a person willfully placed his produce in water, if the water is on the ground, the produce does not become susceptible to impurity as long as it is in the water. If he removed the produce, it becomes susceptible to impurity because of the water on it or on his hands, because it was uprooted willfully.
What is implied? If there were radishes or turnips in water in a cave, a woman who is a nidah, may wash it there and it is still pure. If she raised it out of the water at all, it became impure because of her touch.
Halacha 12
When a container was filled with turmos beans and placed in a mikveh, a person who is impure may extend his hand and take beans from it and they are pure. The rationale is that they were not made susceptible to impurity inside of it and he does not desire the water that is upon them.
If he lifted the entire container from the water, the beans that are touching the container are impure, because they became susceptible to impurity due to the water in the container that was willfully raised from the mikveh. The remainder of the beans in the container are pure.
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Hayom Yom:
• Sunday, Menachem Av 28, 5774 • 24 August 2014
"Today's Day"
Sunday, Menachem Av 28, 5703
Torah lessons: Chumash: Shoftim, first parsha with Rashi.
Tehillim: 135-139.
Tanya: IX. My beloved, (p. 435) ...for the initiated. (p. 437).
There are two general approaches in healing a bodily illness: a) To heal the particular organ or faculty that is defective, sick or weak; b) to strengthen the healthy organs and faculties so that they may overcome and heal the sick organ or faculty.
The parallel in illnesses of the soul are the two approaches in service of G-d - teshuva and good deeds.
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Daily Thought:Reality in Untidy Boxes
Tell me you found G‑d in a tidy package—I will tell you that it is not G‑d, that it is a product of a clever mind.
Tell me you found G‑d in the limitless beyond—beyond space, beyond time. That too is not G‑d. That is just a greater mind.
Where the boundless dwells within a bounded space, where darkness shines, silence sings, bitterness is sweet and a moment lives forever, where a man and a woman live in harmony, an adult learns from a child, a warrior spreads kindness, and enmity subsides to make room for friendship and love,
where the body embraces the soul
and the soul the body,
in the union of all opposites—
—there is G‑d; there is the essence of all that is real.(an underlying theme in the Rebbe’s thought.)
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