Chabad - Today in Judaism: Today is: Tuesday, Shvat 14, 5775 · February 3, 2015
Today in Jewish History
• Passing of Pnei Yehoshua (1755)
Shevat 14 is the anniversary of the passing of Rabbi Yaakov Yehoshua Falk Katz (1680-1755), author of the Talmudic work "P'nei Yehoshua." He served as rabbi of Lemberg (Lvov) in 1718, Berlin in 1730, Metz in 1734 and Frankfurt in 1740.
Daily Quote:
One who causes his fellow to sin is worse than one who kills him[Midrash Rabbah, Bamidbar 21:5]
Daily Study
Chitas and Rambam for today:
Chumash: Yitro, 3rd Portion Exodus 18:24-18:27 with Rashi
• Chapter 18
24. Moses obeyed his father in law, and he did all that he said. כד. וַיִּשְׁמַע משֶׁה לְקוֹל חֹתְנוֹ וַיַּעַשׂ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר אָמָר:
25. Moses chose men of substance out of all Israel and appointed them as heads of the people, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, and leaders of tens. כה. וַיִּבְחַר משֶׁה אַנְשֵׁי חַיִל מִכָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּתֵּן אֹתָם רָאשִׁים עַל הָעָם שָׂרֵי אֲלָפִים שָׂרֵי מֵאוֹת שָׂרֵי חֲמִשִּׁים וְשָׂרֵי עֲשָׂרֹת:
26. And they would judge the people at all times; the difficult case they would bring to Moses, but any minor case they themselves would judge. כו. וְשָׁפְטוּ אֶת הָעָם בְּכָל עֵת אֶת הַדָּבָר הַקָּשֶׁה יְבִיאוּן אֶל משֶׁה וְכָל הַדָּבָר הַקָּטֹן יִשְׁפּוּטוּ הֵם:
And they would judge: וְֹשָפְטוּ. [Onkelos renders:], וְדַייְנִין יַתעַמָּא, And they judge the people. [Unlike this word in verse 22, which denotes the imperative, this denotes the present.] ושפטו: ודיינין ית עמא:
they would bring: Heb. יְבִיאוּן. [Onkelos renders:] מַייְתִין, they bring [in the present tense and not in the future tense]. יביאון: מייתין:
they themselves would judge: Heb. יִשְׁפּוּטוּ, same as יִשְׁפֹּטוּ, and similarly [we find the verb תעבורי,], “neither shall you go away (לֹא תַעִבוּרִי)” (Ruth 2:8), like לֹא תַעֲבוֹרִי. The Targum [Onkelos] renders: דַּייְנִין אִינוּן, they judge. The earlier passages(verse 22) were in the imperative form. Therefore, they are rendered: וִִידוּנוּן, יַיְתוּן, יְדוּנוּן, but these passages [here in verse 26] are expressions of doing [and are not imperative]. ישפוטו הם: כמו ישפוטו וכן (רות ב ח) לא תעבורי, כמו לא תעברי ותרגומו דיינין אינון. מקראות העליונים הם לשון צווי, לכך מתורגמין וידונון ייתון, ידונון, ומקראות הללו לשון עשייה:
27. Moses saw his father in law off, and he went away to his land. כז. וַיְשַׁלַּח משֶׁה אֶת חֹתְנוֹ וַיֵּלֶךְ לוֹ אֶל אַרְצוֹ:
and he went away to his land: to convert the members of his family. — [from Mechilta] וילך לו אל ארצו: לגייר בני משפחתו:
Daily Tehillim: Psalms Chapters 72 - 76
• Chapter 72
David composed this psalm for Solomon, praying that he be granted the wisdom to provide justice for the poor.
1. For Solomon. O God, impart Your justice to the king, and Your righteousness to the son of the king.
2. May he judge Your people with righteousness, Your poor with justice.
3. May the mountains bear peace to the nation, also the hills, in [reward for their] righteousness.
4. May he judge the nation's poor, save the children of the destitute, and crush the oppressor,
5. so that they will fear You as long as the sun [shines] and the moon endures, generation after generation.
6. May [his words] descend like rain upon cut grass, like raindrops that water the earth.
7. In his days may the righteous flourish, with much peace until the moon is no more.
8. And may he rule from sea to sea, and from the river until the ends of the earth.
9. May nobles kneel before him, and may his enemies lick the dust.
10. The kings of Tarshish and the islands will return tribute, the kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts.
11. All kings will bow to him, all nations will serve him;
12. for he rescues the needy one who cries out, the poor one who has no one to help him.
13. He pities the impoverished and needy, and saves the souls of the destitute.
14. He redeems their soul from deception and violence, and their blood is precious in his eyes.
15. He revives [the poor], and gives him of the gold of Sheba; and so [the poor] pray for him always, and bless him all day.
16. May there be abundant grain in the land, upon the mountaintops; may its fruit rustle like the [cedars of] Lebanon, and may [people] blossom from the city like the grass of the earth.
17. May his name endure forever; may his name be magnified as long as the sun [shines]. And all nations will bless themselves by him, they will praise him.
18. Blessed is the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who alone performs wonders.
19. Blessed is His glorious Name forever, and may the whole earth be filled with His glory, Amen and Amen.
20. The prayers of David, son of Jesse, are concluded
1
Chapter 73
This psalm addresses the question of why the righteous suffer while the wicked prosper, and prays for an end to our long exile. Read, and you will find repose for your soul.
1. A psalm by Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, to the pure of heart.
2. But as for me, my feet nearly strayed; in an instant my steps would have been swept aside.
3. For I envied the revelers when I saw the tranquility of the wicked.
4. For there are no bonds1 to their death, and their health is sound.
5. They have no part in the toil of men, nor are they afflicted like other mortals;
6. therefore they wear pride as a necklace; their bodies are enwrapped in violence.
7. Their eyes bulge from fat; they surpassed the fantasies of their heart.
8. They consume [others], and talk wickedly of oppression-from on high do they speak.
9. They set their mouths against Heaven, while their tongues walk upon the earth.
10. Therefore His people return here,2 and suck the full [cup of bitter] waters.
11. And they say, "How can it be that God knows? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12. Behold these are the wicked, and they are ever tranquil, they have gained much wealth.
13. Surely in vain have I purified my heart, and washed my hands in cleanliness;
14. for I was afflicted all day, and my rebuke came each morning.
15. Were I to say, "I shall tell it like it is," behold I would turn the generation of Your children to rebels.
16. And when I pondered to understand this, it was unjust in my eyes;
17. until I came to the sanctuaries of God, and perceived their end.
18. Only on slippery places do You set them, You cast them into darkness.
19. How they have become desolate in an instant! They came to an end, they were consumed by terrors,
20. like a dream upon awakening. O my Lord, disgrace their image in the city.
21. When my heart was in ferment, and my mind was sharpened,
22. I was a boor and did not understand, like an animal was I with You.
23. Yet I was always with You; You held my right hand.
24. Guide me with Your counsel, and afterward, receive me with honor.
25. Whom do I have in heaven [besides You]? And when I am with You I desire nothing on earth.
26. My flesh and my heart yearn; God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.
27. For behold, all those who are far from You perish, You cut down all who stray from You.
28. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have put my trust in my Lord, God, that I may recount all Your works.
Chapter 74
The psalmist mourns and weeps over all the synagogues and study halls that have been burned: the Philistines destroyed the Tabernacle of Shiloh; Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the first Temple. We have been in exile for so long, without seeing any signs of redemption! When will the redemption come? Read, and you will find lamentation and consolation.
1. A maskil1 by Asaph. Why, O God, have You abandoned us forever, does Your wrath fume against the sheep of Your pasture?
2. Remember Your congregation which You acquired long ago, the tribe of Your inheritance whom You redeemed [and brought to] Mount Zion, where You rested Your Presence.
3. Lift Your steps to inflict eternal ruin, because of all the evil done by the enemy in the Sanctuary.
4. Your foes roared in the midst of Your meeting place; they considered their omens to be [genuine] signs.
5. The axes in the thicket of trees2 were reckoned as bringing [an offering] to the Above.
6. And now, all her ornaments together are smashed by hammer and hatchet.
7. They set Your Sanctuary on fire; they desecrated the Abode of Your Name to the ground.
8. Their rulers thought together in their hearts; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9. We have not seen our signs; there is no longer a prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long.
10. How long, O God, will the adversary disgrace, will the enemy blaspheme Your Name forever!
11. Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand? Cast it out from within Your bosom!
12. For God is my King from long ago, working salvations in the midst of the earth.
13. In Your might, You divided the sea; You shattered the heads of the sea-monsters on the waters.
14. You crushed the heads of the Leviathan,3 leaving him as food for the nation [wandering in] the wilderness.
15. You split [the rock, bringing forth] fountain and brook; You dried up mighty streams.
16. Yours is the day, the night is also Yours; You established the moon and the sun.
17. You set all the boundaries of the earth; summer and winter-You created them.
18. Remember this, how the enemy reviled the Lord, and the vile nation blasphemed Your Name.
19. Do not give the soul of Your turtledove to the wild beast; do not forget the life of Your poor forever.
20. Look to the covenant, for the dark places of the earth are filled with dens of violence.
21. Do not turn back the oppressed in disgrace; [then] the poor and needy will praise Your Name.
22. Arise, O God, champion Your cause; remember Your insults from the perverse all day long.
23. Forget not the voice of Your adversaries; the tumult of Your opponents ascends always.
Chapter 75
How great is Israel! During their holidays they do not engage in frivolity, but in song and praise, and the study of the holiday's laws. Also, when they proclaimed (at the giving of the Torah), "We will do and we will hear!" they allowed the world to remain in existence. This psalm also admonishes those who indulge in worldly pleasures and attribute their prosperity to their own efforts.
1. For the Conductor, a plea not to be destroyed. A psalm by Asaph, a song.
2. We gave thanks to You, O God, we gave thanks; and Your Name was near [when] they1 told of Your wonders.
3. When I choose the appointed time, I will judge with fairness.
4. When the earth and all its inhabitants were melting, I established its pillars forever.
5. I said to the perverse, "Do not pervert [Israel]," and to the wicked, "Do not raise your pride.”
6. Do not raise your pride heavenward, nor speak with an arrogant neck
7. For not from the east or the west, nor from the desert does greatness come.
8. For God is Judge; He humbles one, and elevates the other.
9. For there is a cup [of punishment] in the hand of the Lord, with strong wine of full mixture; He pours from this, and all the wicked of the earth will drink, draining even its dregs.
10. But as for me, I will tell of it forever; I will sing to the God of Jacob.
11. I will cut off all glory of the wicked, but the glory of the righteous will be raised up.
Chapter 76
This psalm contains the prophecy of when the vast army of Sennacherib was seized with a deep slumber that rendered the hands of the soldiers powerless to raise their weapons; thus did they all fall in battle.
1. For the Conductor, with instrumental music, a psalm by Asaph, a song.
2. God is known in Judah, His Name is great in Israel.
3. His Tabernacle was in Shalem,1 and His dwelling place in Zion.
4. There He broke the flying arrows of the bow, the shield, the sword and battle-forever.
5. You are illumination, mightier than the mountains of prey.
6. The stout-hearted were without sense, they slept their sleep, and all the warriors were unable to find their strength.
7. At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, chariot and horse were stunned.
8. You, awesome are You! Who can stand before You once You are enraged.
9. From heaven You let the verdict be heard; the earth feared and was still,
10. when God rose to pass judgement, to save all the humble of the earth forever.
11. The anger of man will cause us to thank You;2 You will restrain the residue of wrath.
12. Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; all who surround Him will bring tribute to the Awesome One.
13. He cuts down the spirit of nobles; He is awesome to the kings of the earth.
Tanya: Likutei Amarim, beginning of Chapter 24
• Tuesday, Shevat 14, 5775 · February 3, 2015
Today's Tanya Lesson
Likutei Amarim, beginning of Chapter 24
In ch. 18 the Alter Rebbe began to explain how it is very near and accessible to each of us to serve G‑d out of a feeling of love and awe, by means of awakening the hidden love latent in us all. To clarify how this hidden love can lead to the observance of all the mitzvot, the Alter Rebbe proceeded to discuss the relationship of all the mitzvot to the precept of belief in G‑d’s unity and to the prohibition against idolatry. The unity of G‑d, he explained, means not only that there is but one G‑d; rather that G‑d is the only existing being, and all else is contained within Him. Conversely, idolatry does not necessarily mean a denial of G‑d’s existence, or of His being unique. Any assertion that something exists beyond and separate from G‑d also constitutes idolatry.
In ch. 23, the Alter Rebbe went on to state that through Torah and mitzvot, in which the Divine Will stands revealed, one reaches a perfect union with G‑d. In this chapter he explains that a transgression has exactly the opposite effect of a mitzvah. Whereas a mitzvah joins one to G‑d, a transgression severs one from Him; whereas a mitzvah attests to G‑d’s unity, a transgression implies idolatry.
וזה לעומת זה
Since everything in the realm of holiness has its counterpart in the unholy realms of thesitra achra, there is also an unholy counterpart to the observance of the mitzvot and to Torah study, which produce union with G‑d. Their counterpart is:
הן שס״ה מצות לא תעשה דאורייתא, וכל איסורי דרבנן
the 365 prohibitions stated in the Torah, and all the Rabbinical prohibitions.
מאחר שהן נגד רצונו וחכמתו יתברך והפכם ממש, הם נפרדים מיחודו יתברך ואחדותו יתברך בתכלית הפירוד ממש
Since they are contrary to and the very opposite of G‑d’s Will and wisdom, they represent total and complete separation from His unity and oneness.
כמו הסטרא אחרא והקליפה הנקראת עבודה זרה ואלקים אחרים, מחמת הסתר פנים של רצון העליון כנ״ל
They are the same as the sitra achra and the kelipah which are called “idolatry” and “other gods,” since the internal aspect of the Divine Will is concealed from them, as explained above1 — that they receive their life-force from the “hinder-part” of the Divine Will, the level of ,אחוריים and for this reason they are called אלקים אחרים — “other gods.”
וכן ג‘ לבושי הנפש שמקליפת נוגה שבישראל, שהם מחשבה דבור ומעשה המלובשים בשס״ה לא תעשה דאורייתא ודרבנן
Just as the forbidden actions themselves represent separation from G‑dliness so too the three garments of a Jew’s animal soul, which stems from the kelipah of nogah — namely, the thought, speech and action that are clothed in i.e., that think, speak or act in violation of the 365 Torah-prohibitions, or any of the Rabbinic injunctions,
וכן מהות הנפש עצמה המלובשת בלבושיה
and similarly the essence of the soul itself which is clothed in its garments, since it is the soul itself, after all, which thinks, speaks and acts through its “garments” — the faculties of thought, speech and action,
כולם מיוחדים ממש בסטרא אחרא וקליפה זו הנקראת עבודה זרה
— all of them become completely united with this sitra achra and kelipah called“avodah zarah,” i.e., idolatry.
ולא עוד אלא שבטלים וטפלים אליה, וגרועים ופחותים ממנה מאד
Not only are they united with the kelipah, and thus equal to it, but furthermore they become secondary and subordinate to it, and much lower and more debased than it.
כי היא אינה מלובשת בגוף חומרי, ויודעת את רבונה ואינה מורדת בו לפעול פעולתה במשלחת מלאכי רעים שלה, שלא בשליחותו של מקום, ברוך הוא, חס ושלום
For the kelipah is not clothed in a corporeal body and hence is more exposed to the divine light; it knows its Master and does not rebel against Him (G‑d forbid) by any independent act of sending its evil messengers, other than in the service of G‑d.
Any evil act of the sitra achra is performed only in the service of G‑d. Thus, the kelipot that are not clothed in a body cannot rebel against G‑d’s Will; only the animal soul clothed in the human body can do so. Hence, it is even lower than the kelipah.
וכמאמר בלעם: לא אוכל לעבור את פי ה’ וגו‘
So did Bilaam say: 2 “I cannot violate the Word of G‑d”
Although Bilaam was a kelipah clothed in a body, yet when he spoke for the spiritualkelipah within him, viz., the unholy prophetic power with which he wished to curse the Jewish people, he said, “I cannot violate the Word of G‑d.”
ואף שנקרא עבודה זרה, הא קרו ליה אלקא דאלקיא
Although the kelipot are called avodah zarah, idolatry, which is a denial of G‑d, yet they refer to Him as “the G‑d of gods,” indicating that they do not deny Him completely.
ואינם יכולים לעבור כלל על רצונו יתברך, כי יודעים ומשיגים שהוא חיותם וקיומם, שיונקים מבחינת אחוריים דאחוריים של רצון העליון, ברוך הוא, המקיף עליהם
They cannot violate G‑d’s Will, for they know and perceive that He is their life and sustenance, since they derive their nurture from the “hindermost aspect” of the Divine Will which encompasses them.
אלא שיניקתם וחיותם היא בבחינת גלות בתוכם, להחשיב עצמן אלקות, והרי זו כפירה באחדותו
It is only the sustenance and life-force that is within them, i.e., the internal life-force which constitutes the identity of every created being, as explained in ch. 22, that is in a state of exile, so that they regard themselves as gods — which is a denial of G‑d’s unity.
אבל מכל מקום אינן כופרים וכחשו בה’ לגמרי ולומר לא הוא, אלא דקרו ליה אלקא דאלקיא, דהיינו חיותם וקיומם הנמשך ויורד עליהם מרצונו יתברך
But they are not so completely heretical as to deny G‑d and to assert that He does not exist. On the contrary, they regard Him as “the G‑d of gods,” recognizing that their life and existence ultimately derive from His Will.
ולכן אינן עוברין רצונו יתברך לעולם
Therefore they never rebel against G‑d’s Will.
ואם כן האדם העובר על רצונו יתברך הוא גרוע ופחות הרבה מאד מהסטרא אחרא וקליפה הנקראת עבודה זרה ואלקים אחרים
It follows, then, that the person who does violate G‑d’s Will is greatly inferior to and more debased than the kelipah and sitra achra which are called avodah zarah and “other gods.”
והוא בתכלית הפירוד מיחודו ואחדותו של הקב״ה יותר ממנה, וכאלו כופר באחדותו יותר ממנה, חס ושלום
He is separated completely from G‑d’s unity and oneness even more than they are, as though denying His unity even more radically than they, G‑d forbid.
וכמו שכתוב בע‘ חיים שער מ״ב סוף פרק ד’, שהרע שבעולם הזה החומרי הוא שמרי הקליפות הגסות כו‘, והוא תכלית הבירור וכו’
This is similar to what is written in Etz Chayim, Portal 42, end of ch. 4, that the evil in this corporeal world is the dregs of the coarse kelipot; it is the sediment of the purifying process, and so on.
I.e., after whatever sparks of good that are found in the kelipot have been isolated and elevated, what remains is kelipah in its lowest, coarsest form. This kelipah is the evil found in this material world.
ולכן כל מעשה עולם הזה קשים ורעים, והרשעים גוברים בו וכו‘
For this reason, all matters of this world are harsh and evil, and the wicked prevail in it, and so forth.
FOOTNOTES
1. Ch. 22.
2. Bamidbar 22:18.
Rambam:
• Sefer Hamitzvos:
Positive Commandment 159
Resting on the First Day of Passover
"And on the first day, there shall be a holy convocation"—Exodus 12:16.
We sanctify the fifteenth of Nissan, the first day of Passover, by resting on that day—defined as abstaining from any creative work, with the exception of work needed for food purposes.
Resting on the First Day of Passover
Positive Commandment 159
Translated by Berel Bell
The 159th mitzvah is that we are commanded to refrain from doing melachah on the first day1 of Pesach.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement (exalted be He),2 "The first day [of Pesach] shall be a sacred holiday."
Keep in mind the following introduction: in every case where the Torah says, "sacred holiday" [mikra kodesh], our Sages explain that the intention is, "one must sanctify it" [kadsheihu]. This means that one may not do any melachah unless it involves preparation of food, as explained in Scripture.3
We have already explained4 the statement of our Sages, "The term Shabbason indicates a positive commandment," i.e. for every day which is called Shabbason, it is as if it is written, "rest," or "you shall rest," all being commands to cease melachah. [A similar phrase,] Shabbsos Hashem,5 is used to refer to all the "special times," i.e. the Yomim-Tovim.
In many places in the Talmud6 it is said, "Yom-Tov is both a positive and a negative commandment." This means that refraining from melachah on every Yom-Tov is a positive commandment, and doing a prohibited melachah on Yom-Tov is a prohibition. Therefore, anyone who performs a melachah on Yom-Tov transgresses both a positive and a negative commandment.
The details of refraining from these types of melachah are explained in Tractate Yom-Tov [i.e. Beitzah].
FOOTNOTES
1.Outside of Israel, this mitzvah is for two days. This applies for all other Yomim Tovim as well.
2.Lev. 16:29.
3.Ex. 12:16. "The only [work] that you may do is that which is needed so that everyone will be able to eat." Nevertheless, there are many laws regarding the conditions necessary in order to be able to perform such a melachah. See the Shulchan Aruch for the relevant details.
4.See P165, notes and footnotes there.
5.Lev. 23:38.
6.Shabbos 25a. Beitzah 8b.
Negative Commandment 323
Working on the First Day of Passover
"No manner of work shall be done"—Exodus 12:16.
It is forbidden to engage in creative work -- with the exception of work needed for food purposes -- on the fifteenth of Nissan, the First Day of Passover.
Working on the First Day of Passover
Negative Commandment 323
Translated by Berel Bell
Negative Commandment 324
The 323rd prohibition is that we are forbidden to perform melachah on the first day1 of Pesach.
The source of this commandment is G-d's statement,2 "No melachah may be done on these days" [i.e. the first and the seventh days of Pesach].
FOOTNOTES
1.Ex. 12:16.
2.Outside of Israel, this mitzvah is for two days.
"And on the seventh day [of Passover] there shall be a holy convocation"—Exodus 12:16.
We are commanded to rest on the 21st of Nissan, the Seventh Day of Passover, by abstaining from any creative work, with the exception of work needed for food purposes.
Resting on the Seventh Day of Passover
Positive Commandment 160
Translated by Berel Bell
The 160th mitzvah is that we are commanded to refrain from doing melachah on the seventh1 day of Pesach.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement,2 "The seventh day [of Pesach] shall be a sacred holiday."
FOOTNOTES
1.Outside of Israel, this mitzvah is for the seventh and eighth day.
2.Ibid.
Negative Commandment 324
Working on the Seventh Day of Passover
"No manner of work shall be done"—Exodus 12:16.
It is forbidden to engage in creative work -- with the exception of work needed for food purposes -- on the 21st of Nissan, the Seventh Day of Passover.
Working on the Seventh Day of Passover
Negative Commandment 324
Translated by Berel Bell
The 324th prohibition is that we are forbidden to perform melachah on the seventh day of Pesach.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement,1 "No melachah may be done on these days," i.e. the first and the seventh days [of Pesach].
FOOTNOTES
1.Ibid.
"Today's Day"Today in Jewish History
• Passing of Pnei Yehoshua (1755)
Shevat 14 is the anniversary of the passing of Rabbi Yaakov Yehoshua Falk Katz (1680-1755), author of the Talmudic work "P'nei Yehoshua." He served as rabbi of Lemberg (Lvov) in 1718, Berlin in 1730, Metz in 1734 and Frankfurt in 1740.
Daily Quote:
One who causes his fellow to sin is worse than one who kills him[Midrash Rabbah, Bamidbar 21:5]
Daily Study
Chitas and Rambam for today:
Chumash: Yitro, 3rd Portion Exodus 18:24-18:27 with Rashi
• Chapter 18
24. Moses obeyed his father in law, and he did all that he said. כד. וַיִּשְׁמַע משֶׁה לְקוֹל חֹתְנוֹ וַיַּעַשׂ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר אָמָר:
25. Moses chose men of substance out of all Israel and appointed them as heads of the people, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, and leaders of tens. כה. וַיִּבְחַר משֶׁה אַנְשֵׁי חַיִל מִכָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּתֵּן אֹתָם רָאשִׁים עַל הָעָם שָׂרֵי אֲלָפִים שָׂרֵי מֵאוֹת שָׂרֵי חֲמִשִּׁים וְשָׂרֵי עֲשָׂרֹת:
26. And they would judge the people at all times; the difficult case they would bring to Moses, but any minor case they themselves would judge. כו. וְשָׁפְטוּ אֶת הָעָם בְּכָל עֵת אֶת הַדָּבָר הַקָּשֶׁה יְבִיאוּן אֶל משֶׁה וְכָל הַדָּבָר הַקָּטֹן יִשְׁפּוּטוּ הֵם:
And they would judge: וְֹשָפְטוּ. [Onkelos renders:], וְדַייְנִין יַתעַמָּא, And they judge the people. [Unlike this word in verse 22, which denotes the imperative, this denotes the present.] ושפטו: ודיינין ית עמא:
they would bring: Heb. יְבִיאוּן. [Onkelos renders:] מַייְתִין, they bring [in the present tense and not in the future tense]. יביאון: מייתין:
they themselves would judge: Heb. יִשְׁפּוּטוּ, same as יִשְׁפֹּטוּ, and similarly [we find the verb תעבורי,], “neither shall you go away (לֹא תַעִבוּרִי)” (Ruth 2:8), like לֹא תַעֲבוֹרִי. The Targum [Onkelos] renders: דַּייְנִין אִינוּן, they judge. The earlier passages(verse 22) were in the imperative form. Therefore, they are rendered: וִִידוּנוּן, יַיְתוּן, יְדוּנוּן, but these passages [here in verse 26] are expressions of doing [and are not imperative]. ישפוטו הם: כמו ישפוטו וכן (רות ב ח) לא תעבורי, כמו לא תעברי ותרגומו דיינין אינון. מקראות העליונים הם לשון צווי, לכך מתורגמין וידונון ייתון, ידונון, ומקראות הללו לשון עשייה:
27. Moses saw his father in law off, and he went away to his land. כז. וַיְשַׁלַּח משֶׁה אֶת חֹתְנוֹ וַיֵּלֶךְ לוֹ אֶל אַרְצוֹ:
and he went away to his land: to convert the members of his family. — [from Mechilta] וילך לו אל ארצו: לגייר בני משפחתו:
Daily Tehillim: Psalms Chapters 72 - 76
• Chapter 72
David composed this psalm for Solomon, praying that he be granted the wisdom to provide justice for the poor.
1. For Solomon. O God, impart Your justice to the king, and Your righteousness to the son of the king.
2. May he judge Your people with righteousness, Your poor with justice.
3. May the mountains bear peace to the nation, also the hills, in [reward for their] righteousness.
4. May he judge the nation's poor, save the children of the destitute, and crush the oppressor,
5. so that they will fear You as long as the sun [shines] and the moon endures, generation after generation.
6. May [his words] descend like rain upon cut grass, like raindrops that water the earth.
7. In his days may the righteous flourish, with much peace until the moon is no more.
8. And may he rule from sea to sea, and from the river until the ends of the earth.
9. May nobles kneel before him, and may his enemies lick the dust.
10. The kings of Tarshish and the islands will return tribute, the kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts.
11. All kings will bow to him, all nations will serve him;
12. for he rescues the needy one who cries out, the poor one who has no one to help him.
13. He pities the impoverished and needy, and saves the souls of the destitute.
14. He redeems their soul from deception and violence, and their blood is precious in his eyes.
15. He revives [the poor], and gives him of the gold of Sheba; and so [the poor] pray for him always, and bless him all day.
16. May there be abundant grain in the land, upon the mountaintops; may its fruit rustle like the [cedars of] Lebanon, and may [people] blossom from the city like the grass of the earth.
17. May his name endure forever; may his name be magnified as long as the sun [shines]. And all nations will bless themselves by him, they will praise him.
18. Blessed is the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who alone performs wonders.
19. Blessed is His glorious Name forever, and may the whole earth be filled with His glory, Amen and Amen.
20. The prayers of David, son of Jesse, are concluded
1
Chapter 73
This psalm addresses the question of why the righteous suffer while the wicked prosper, and prays for an end to our long exile. Read, and you will find repose for your soul.
1. A psalm by Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, to the pure of heart.
2. But as for me, my feet nearly strayed; in an instant my steps would have been swept aside.
3. For I envied the revelers when I saw the tranquility of the wicked.
4. For there are no bonds1 to their death, and their health is sound.
5. They have no part in the toil of men, nor are they afflicted like other mortals;
6. therefore they wear pride as a necklace; their bodies are enwrapped in violence.
7. Their eyes bulge from fat; they surpassed the fantasies of their heart.
8. They consume [others], and talk wickedly of oppression-from on high do they speak.
9. They set their mouths against Heaven, while their tongues walk upon the earth.
10. Therefore His people return here,2 and suck the full [cup of bitter] waters.
11. And they say, "How can it be that God knows? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12. Behold these are the wicked, and they are ever tranquil, they have gained much wealth.
13. Surely in vain have I purified my heart, and washed my hands in cleanliness;
14. for I was afflicted all day, and my rebuke came each morning.
15. Were I to say, "I shall tell it like it is," behold I would turn the generation of Your children to rebels.
16. And when I pondered to understand this, it was unjust in my eyes;
17. until I came to the sanctuaries of God, and perceived their end.
18. Only on slippery places do You set them, You cast them into darkness.
19. How they have become desolate in an instant! They came to an end, they were consumed by terrors,
20. like a dream upon awakening. O my Lord, disgrace their image in the city.
21. When my heart was in ferment, and my mind was sharpened,
22. I was a boor and did not understand, like an animal was I with You.
23. Yet I was always with You; You held my right hand.
24. Guide me with Your counsel, and afterward, receive me with honor.
25. Whom do I have in heaven [besides You]? And when I am with You I desire nothing on earth.
26. My flesh and my heart yearn; God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.
27. For behold, all those who are far from You perish, You cut down all who stray from You.
28. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have put my trust in my Lord, God, that I may recount all Your works.
Chapter 74
The psalmist mourns and weeps over all the synagogues and study halls that have been burned: the Philistines destroyed the Tabernacle of Shiloh; Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the first Temple. We have been in exile for so long, without seeing any signs of redemption! When will the redemption come? Read, and you will find lamentation and consolation.
1. A maskil1 by Asaph. Why, O God, have You abandoned us forever, does Your wrath fume against the sheep of Your pasture?
2. Remember Your congregation which You acquired long ago, the tribe of Your inheritance whom You redeemed [and brought to] Mount Zion, where You rested Your Presence.
3. Lift Your steps to inflict eternal ruin, because of all the evil done by the enemy in the Sanctuary.
4. Your foes roared in the midst of Your meeting place; they considered their omens to be [genuine] signs.
5. The axes in the thicket of trees2 were reckoned as bringing [an offering] to the Above.
6. And now, all her ornaments together are smashed by hammer and hatchet.
7. They set Your Sanctuary on fire; they desecrated the Abode of Your Name to the ground.
8. Their rulers thought together in their hearts; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9. We have not seen our signs; there is no longer a prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long.
10. How long, O God, will the adversary disgrace, will the enemy blaspheme Your Name forever!
11. Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand? Cast it out from within Your bosom!
12. For God is my King from long ago, working salvations in the midst of the earth.
13. In Your might, You divided the sea; You shattered the heads of the sea-monsters on the waters.
14. You crushed the heads of the Leviathan,3 leaving him as food for the nation [wandering in] the wilderness.
15. You split [the rock, bringing forth] fountain and brook; You dried up mighty streams.
16. Yours is the day, the night is also Yours; You established the moon and the sun.
17. You set all the boundaries of the earth; summer and winter-You created them.
18. Remember this, how the enemy reviled the Lord, and the vile nation blasphemed Your Name.
19. Do not give the soul of Your turtledove to the wild beast; do not forget the life of Your poor forever.
20. Look to the covenant, for the dark places of the earth are filled with dens of violence.
21. Do not turn back the oppressed in disgrace; [then] the poor and needy will praise Your Name.
22. Arise, O God, champion Your cause; remember Your insults from the perverse all day long.
23. Forget not the voice of Your adversaries; the tumult of Your opponents ascends always.
Chapter 75
How great is Israel! During their holidays they do not engage in frivolity, but in song and praise, and the study of the holiday's laws. Also, when they proclaimed (at the giving of the Torah), "We will do and we will hear!" they allowed the world to remain in existence. This psalm also admonishes those who indulge in worldly pleasures and attribute their prosperity to their own efforts.
1. For the Conductor, a plea not to be destroyed. A psalm by Asaph, a song.
2. We gave thanks to You, O God, we gave thanks; and Your Name was near [when] they1 told of Your wonders.
3. When I choose the appointed time, I will judge with fairness.
4. When the earth and all its inhabitants were melting, I established its pillars forever.
5. I said to the perverse, "Do not pervert [Israel]," and to the wicked, "Do not raise your pride.”
6. Do not raise your pride heavenward, nor speak with an arrogant neck
7. For not from the east or the west, nor from the desert does greatness come.
8. For God is Judge; He humbles one, and elevates the other.
9. For there is a cup [of punishment] in the hand of the Lord, with strong wine of full mixture; He pours from this, and all the wicked of the earth will drink, draining even its dregs.
10. But as for me, I will tell of it forever; I will sing to the God of Jacob.
11. I will cut off all glory of the wicked, but the glory of the righteous will be raised up.
Chapter 76
This psalm contains the prophecy of when the vast army of Sennacherib was seized with a deep slumber that rendered the hands of the soldiers powerless to raise their weapons; thus did they all fall in battle.
1. For the Conductor, with instrumental music, a psalm by Asaph, a song.
2. God is known in Judah, His Name is great in Israel.
3. His Tabernacle was in Shalem,1 and His dwelling place in Zion.
4. There He broke the flying arrows of the bow, the shield, the sword and battle-forever.
5. You are illumination, mightier than the mountains of prey.
6. The stout-hearted were without sense, they slept their sleep, and all the warriors were unable to find their strength.
7. At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, chariot and horse were stunned.
8. You, awesome are You! Who can stand before You once You are enraged.
9. From heaven You let the verdict be heard; the earth feared and was still,
10. when God rose to pass judgement, to save all the humble of the earth forever.
11. The anger of man will cause us to thank You;2 You will restrain the residue of wrath.
12. Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; all who surround Him will bring tribute to the Awesome One.
13. He cuts down the spirit of nobles; He is awesome to the kings of the earth.
Tanya: Likutei Amarim, beginning of Chapter 24
• Tuesday, Shevat 14, 5775 · February 3, 2015
Today's Tanya Lesson
Likutei Amarim, beginning of Chapter 24
In ch. 18 the Alter Rebbe began to explain how it is very near and accessible to each of us to serve G‑d out of a feeling of love and awe, by means of awakening the hidden love latent in us all. To clarify how this hidden love can lead to the observance of all the mitzvot, the Alter Rebbe proceeded to discuss the relationship of all the mitzvot to the precept of belief in G‑d’s unity and to the prohibition against idolatry. The unity of G‑d, he explained, means not only that there is but one G‑d; rather that G‑d is the only existing being, and all else is contained within Him. Conversely, idolatry does not necessarily mean a denial of G‑d’s existence, or of His being unique. Any assertion that something exists beyond and separate from G‑d also constitutes idolatry.
In ch. 23, the Alter Rebbe went on to state that through Torah and mitzvot, in which the Divine Will stands revealed, one reaches a perfect union with G‑d. In this chapter he explains that a transgression has exactly the opposite effect of a mitzvah. Whereas a mitzvah joins one to G‑d, a transgression severs one from Him; whereas a mitzvah attests to G‑d’s unity, a transgression implies idolatry.
וזה לעומת זה
Since everything in the realm of holiness has its counterpart in the unholy realms of thesitra achra, there is also an unholy counterpart to the observance of the mitzvot and to Torah study, which produce union with G‑d. Their counterpart is:
הן שס״ה מצות לא תעשה דאורייתא, וכל איסורי דרבנן
the 365 prohibitions stated in the Torah, and all the Rabbinical prohibitions.
מאחר שהן נגד רצונו וחכמתו יתברך והפכם ממש, הם נפרדים מיחודו יתברך ואחדותו יתברך בתכלית הפירוד ממש
Since they are contrary to and the very opposite of G‑d’s Will and wisdom, they represent total and complete separation from His unity and oneness.
כמו הסטרא אחרא והקליפה הנקראת עבודה זרה ואלקים אחרים, מחמת הסתר פנים של רצון העליון כנ״ל
They are the same as the sitra achra and the kelipah which are called “idolatry” and “other gods,” since the internal aspect of the Divine Will is concealed from them, as explained above1 — that they receive their life-force from the “hinder-part” of the Divine Will, the level of ,אחוריים and for this reason they are called אלקים אחרים — “other gods.”
וכן ג‘ לבושי הנפש שמקליפת נוגה שבישראל, שהם מחשבה דבור ומעשה המלובשים בשס״ה לא תעשה דאורייתא ודרבנן
Just as the forbidden actions themselves represent separation from G‑dliness so too the three garments of a Jew’s animal soul, which stems from the kelipah of nogah — namely, the thought, speech and action that are clothed in i.e., that think, speak or act in violation of the 365 Torah-prohibitions, or any of the Rabbinic injunctions,
וכן מהות הנפש עצמה המלובשת בלבושיה
and similarly the essence of the soul itself which is clothed in its garments, since it is the soul itself, after all, which thinks, speaks and acts through its “garments” — the faculties of thought, speech and action,
כולם מיוחדים ממש בסטרא אחרא וקליפה זו הנקראת עבודה זרה
— all of them become completely united with this sitra achra and kelipah called“avodah zarah,” i.e., idolatry.
ולא עוד אלא שבטלים וטפלים אליה, וגרועים ופחותים ממנה מאד
Not only are they united with the kelipah, and thus equal to it, but furthermore they become secondary and subordinate to it, and much lower and more debased than it.
כי היא אינה מלובשת בגוף חומרי, ויודעת את רבונה ואינה מורדת בו לפעול פעולתה במשלחת מלאכי רעים שלה, שלא בשליחותו של מקום, ברוך הוא, חס ושלום
For the kelipah is not clothed in a corporeal body and hence is more exposed to the divine light; it knows its Master and does not rebel against Him (G‑d forbid) by any independent act of sending its evil messengers, other than in the service of G‑d.
Any evil act of the sitra achra is performed only in the service of G‑d. Thus, the kelipot that are not clothed in a body cannot rebel against G‑d’s Will; only the animal soul clothed in the human body can do so. Hence, it is even lower than the kelipah.
וכמאמר בלעם: לא אוכל לעבור את פי ה’ וגו‘
So did Bilaam say: 2 “I cannot violate the Word of G‑d”
Although Bilaam was a kelipah clothed in a body, yet when he spoke for the spiritualkelipah within him, viz., the unholy prophetic power with which he wished to curse the Jewish people, he said, “I cannot violate the Word of G‑d.”
ואף שנקרא עבודה זרה, הא קרו ליה אלקא דאלקיא
Although the kelipot are called avodah zarah, idolatry, which is a denial of G‑d, yet they refer to Him as “the G‑d of gods,” indicating that they do not deny Him completely.
ואינם יכולים לעבור כלל על רצונו יתברך, כי יודעים ומשיגים שהוא חיותם וקיומם, שיונקים מבחינת אחוריים דאחוריים של רצון העליון, ברוך הוא, המקיף עליהם
They cannot violate G‑d’s Will, for they know and perceive that He is their life and sustenance, since they derive their nurture from the “hindermost aspect” of the Divine Will which encompasses them.
אלא שיניקתם וחיותם היא בבחינת גלות בתוכם, להחשיב עצמן אלקות, והרי זו כפירה באחדותו
It is only the sustenance and life-force that is within them, i.e., the internal life-force which constitutes the identity of every created being, as explained in ch. 22, that is in a state of exile, so that they regard themselves as gods — which is a denial of G‑d’s unity.
אבל מכל מקום אינן כופרים וכחשו בה’ לגמרי ולומר לא הוא, אלא דקרו ליה אלקא דאלקיא, דהיינו חיותם וקיומם הנמשך ויורד עליהם מרצונו יתברך
But they are not so completely heretical as to deny G‑d and to assert that He does not exist. On the contrary, they regard Him as “the G‑d of gods,” recognizing that their life and existence ultimately derive from His Will.
ולכן אינן עוברין רצונו יתברך לעולם
Therefore they never rebel against G‑d’s Will.
ואם כן האדם העובר על רצונו יתברך הוא גרוע ופחות הרבה מאד מהסטרא אחרא וקליפה הנקראת עבודה זרה ואלקים אחרים
It follows, then, that the person who does violate G‑d’s Will is greatly inferior to and more debased than the kelipah and sitra achra which are called avodah zarah and “other gods.”
והוא בתכלית הפירוד מיחודו ואחדותו של הקב״ה יותר ממנה, וכאלו כופר באחדותו יותר ממנה, חס ושלום
He is separated completely from G‑d’s unity and oneness even more than they are, as though denying His unity even more radically than they, G‑d forbid.
וכמו שכתוב בע‘ חיים שער מ״ב סוף פרק ד’, שהרע שבעולם הזה החומרי הוא שמרי הקליפות הגסות כו‘, והוא תכלית הבירור וכו’
This is similar to what is written in Etz Chayim, Portal 42, end of ch. 4, that the evil in this corporeal world is the dregs of the coarse kelipot; it is the sediment of the purifying process, and so on.
I.e., after whatever sparks of good that are found in the kelipot have been isolated and elevated, what remains is kelipah in its lowest, coarsest form. This kelipah is the evil found in this material world.
ולכן כל מעשה עולם הזה קשים ורעים, והרשעים גוברים בו וכו‘
For this reason, all matters of this world are harsh and evil, and the wicked prevail in it, and so forth.
FOOTNOTES
1. Ch. 22.
2. Bamidbar 22:18.
Rambam:
• Sefer Hamitzvos:
Positive Commandment 159
Resting on the First Day of Passover
"And on the first day, there shall be a holy convocation"—Exodus 12:16.
We sanctify the fifteenth of Nissan, the first day of Passover, by resting on that day—defined as abstaining from any creative work, with the exception of work needed for food purposes.
Resting on the First Day of Passover
Positive Commandment 159
Translated by Berel Bell
The 159th mitzvah is that we are commanded to refrain from doing melachah on the first day1 of Pesach.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement (exalted be He),2 "The first day [of Pesach] shall be a sacred holiday."
Keep in mind the following introduction: in every case where the Torah says, "sacred holiday" [mikra kodesh], our Sages explain that the intention is, "one must sanctify it" [kadsheihu]. This means that one may not do any melachah unless it involves preparation of food, as explained in Scripture.3
We have already explained4 the statement of our Sages, "The term Shabbason indicates a positive commandment," i.e. for every day which is called Shabbason, it is as if it is written, "rest," or "you shall rest," all being commands to cease melachah. [A similar phrase,] Shabbsos Hashem,5 is used to refer to all the "special times," i.e. the Yomim-Tovim.
In many places in the Talmud6 it is said, "Yom-Tov is both a positive and a negative commandment." This means that refraining from melachah on every Yom-Tov is a positive commandment, and doing a prohibited melachah on Yom-Tov is a prohibition. Therefore, anyone who performs a melachah on Yom-Tov transgresses both a positive and a negative commandment.
The details of refraining from these types of melachah are explained in Tractate Yom-Tov [i.e. Beitzah].
FOOTNOTES
1.Outside of Israel, this mitzvah is for two days. This applies for all other Yomim Tovim as well.
2.Lev. 16:29.
3.Ex. 12:16. "The only [work] that you may do is that which is needed so that everyone will be able to eat." Nevertheless, there are many laws regarding the conditions necessary in order to be able to perform such a melachah. See the Shulchan Aruch for the relevant details.
4.See P165, notes and footnotes there.
5.Lev. 23:38.
6.Shabbos 25a. Beitzah 8b.
Negative Commandment 323
Working on the First Day of Passover
"No manner of work shall be done"—Exodus 12:16.
It is forbidden to engage in creative work -- with the exception of work needed for food purposes -- on the fifteenth of Nissan, the First Day of Passover.
Working on the First Day of Passover
Negative Commandment 323
Translated by Berel Bell
Negative Commandment 324
The 323rd prohibition is that we are forbidden to perform melachah on the first day1 of Pesach.
The source of this commandment is G-d's statement,2 "No melachah may be done on these days" [i.e. the first and the seventh days of Pesach].
FOOTNOTES
1.Ex. 12:16.
2.Outside of Israel, this mitzvah is for two days.
Positive Commandment 160
Resting on the Seventh Day of Passover"And on the seventh day [of Passover] there shall be a holy convocation"—Exodus 12:16.
We are commanded to rest on the 21st of Nissan, the Seventh Day of Passover, by abstaining from any creative work, with the exception of work needed for food purposes.
Resting on the Seventh Day of Passover
Positive Commandment 160
Translated by Berel Bell
The 160th mitzvah is that we are commanded to refrain from doing melachah on the seventh1 day of Pesach.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement,2 "The seventh day [of Pesach] shall be a sacred holiday."
FOOTNOTES
1.Outside of Israel, this mitzvah is for the seventh and eighth day.
2.Ibid.
Negative Commandment 324
Working on the Seventh Day of Passover
"No manner of work shall be done"—Exodus 12:16.
It is forbidden to engage in creative work -- with the exception of work needed for food purposes -- on the 21st of Nissan, the Seventh Day of Passover.
Working on the Seventh Day of Passover
Negative Commandment 324
Translated by Berel Bell
The 324th prohibition is that we are forbidden to perform melachah on the seventh day of Pesach.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement,1 "No melachah may be done on these days," i.e. the first and the seventh days [of Pesach].
FOOTNOTES
1.Ibid.
• 1 Chapter: Teshuvah Teshuvah - Chapter Three
Teshuvah - Chapter Three
Halacha 1
Each and every person has merits and sins. A person whose merits exceed his sins is [termed] righteous. A person whose sins exceed his merits is [termed] wicked. If [his sins and merits] are equal, he is termed a Beinoni.
The same applies to an entire country. If the merits of all its inhabitants exceed their sins, it is [termed] righteous. If their sins are greater, it is [termed] wicked. The same applies to the entire world.
Halacha 2
If a person's sins exceed his merits, he will immediately die because of his wickedness as [Jeremiah 30:14] states: "[I have smitten you...] for the multitude of your transgressions."
Similarly, a country whose sins are great will immediately be obliterated as implied by [Genesis 18:20]: "The outcry of Sodom and Amorah is great....
In regard to the entire world as well, were its [inhabitants'] sins to be greater than their merits, they would immediately be destroyed as [Genesis 6:5] relates: "God saw the evil of man was great... [and God said: `I will destroy man....']"
This reckoning is not calculated [only] on the basis of the number of merits and sins, but also [takes into account] their magnitude. There are some merits which outweigh many sins as implied by [I Kings 14:13]: "Because in him, there was found a good quality." In contrast, a sin may outweigh many merits as [Ecclesiastes 9:18] states: "One sin may obscure much good."
The weighing [of sins and merits] is carried out according to the wisdom of the Knowing God. He knows how to measure merits against sins.
Halacha 3
Anyone who changes his mind about the mitzvot he has performed and regrets the merits [he has earned], saying in his heart: "What value was there in doing them? I wish I hadn't performed them" - loses them all and no merit is preserved for him at all as [Ezekiel 33:12] states "The righteousness of the upright will not save him on the day of his transgression." This only applies to one who regrets his previous [deeds].
Just as a person's merits and sins are weighed at the time of his death, so, too, the sins of every inhabitant of the world together with his merits are weighed on the festival of Rosh HaShanah. If one is found righteous, his [verdict] is sealed for life. If one is found wicked, his [verdict] is sealed for death. A Beinoni'sverdict remains tentative until Yom Kippur. If he repents, his [verdict] is sealed for life. If not, his [verdict] is sealed for death.
Halacha 4
Even though the sounding of the shofar on Rosh HaShanah is a decree, it contains an allusion. It is as if [the shofar's call] is saying:
Wake up you sleepy ones from your sleep and you who slumber, arise. Inspect your deeds, repent, remember your Creator. Those who forget the truth in the vanities of time and throughout the entire year, devote their energies to vanity and emptiness which will not benefit or save: Look to your souls. Improve your ways and your deeds and let every one of you abandon his evil path and thoughts.
Accordingly, throughout the entire year, a person should always look at himself as equally balanced between merit and sin and the world as equally balanced between merit and sin. If he performs one sin, he tips his balance and that of the entire world to the side of guilt and brings destruction upon himself.
[On the other hand,] if he performs one mitzvah, he tips his balance and that of the entire world to the side of merit and brings deliverance and salvation to himself and others. This is implied by [Proverbs 10:25] "A righteous man is the foundation of the world," i.e., he who acted righteously, tipped the balance of the entire world to merit and saved it.
For these reasons, it is customary for all of Israel to give profusely to charity, perform many good deeds, and be occupied with mitzvot from Rosh HaShanah until Yom Kippur to a greater extent than during the remainder of the year.
During these ten days, the custom is for everyone to rise [while it is still] night and pray in the synagogues with heart-rending words of supplication until daybreak.
Halacha 5
When a person's sins are being weighed against his merits, [God] does not count a sin that was committed only once or twice. [A sin] is only [counted] if it was committed three times or more.
Should it be found that [even] those sins committed more than three times outweigh a person's merits, the sins that were committed twice [or less] are also added and he is judged for all of his sins.
If his merits are equal to [or greater than the amount of] his sins committed which were committed more than three times, [God] forgives his sins one after the other, i.e., the third sin [is forgiven because] it is considered as a first sin, for the two previous sins were already forgiven. Similarly, after the third sin is forgiven, the fourth sin is considered as a "first" [sin and is forgiven according to the same principle].
The same [pattern is continued] until [all his sins] are concluded.
When does the above apply? In regard to an individual as can be inferred from [Job 33:29] "All these things, God will do twice or three times with a man." However, in regard to a community, [retribution for] the first, second, and third sins is held in abeyance as implied by [Amos 2:6] "For three sins of Israel, [I will withhold retribution,] but for the fourth, I will not withhold it." When a reckoning [of their merits and sins] is made according to the above pattern, the reckoning begins with the fourth [sin].
[As mentioned above,] a Beinoni [is one whose scale is equally balanced between merit and sin]. However, if among his sins is [the
neglect of the mitzvah of] tefillin [to the extent that] he never wore them even once, he is judged according to his sins. He will, nevertheless, be granted a portion in the world to come.
Similarly, all the wicked whose sins are greater [than their merits] are judged according to their sins, but they are granted a portion in the world to come for all Israel have a share in the world to come as [Isaiah 60:21] states "Your people are all righteous, they shall inherit the land forever." "The land" is an analogy alluding to "the land of life," i.e., the world to come. Similarly, the "pious of the nations of the world" have a portion in the world to come.
Halacha 6
The following individuals do not have a portion in the world to come. Rather, their [souls] are cut off and they are judged for their great wickedness and sins, forever:
the Minim,
the Epicursim,
those who deny the Torah,
those who deny the resurrection of the dead and the coming of the [Messianic] redeemer,
those who rebel [against God],
those who cause the many to sin,
those who separate themselves from the community,
those who proudly commit sins in public as Jehoyakim did,
those who betray Jews to gentile authorities,
those who cast fear upon the people for reasons other than the service of God,
murderers,
slanderers,
one who extends his foreskin [so as not to appear circumcised].
Halacha 7
Five individuals are described as Minim:
a) one who says there is no God nor ruler of the world;
b) one who accepts the concept of a ruler, but maintains that there are two or more;
c) one who accepts that there is one Master [of the world], but maintains that He has a body or form;
d) one who maintains that He was not the sole First Being and Creator of all existence;
e) one who serves a star, constellation, or other entity so that it will serve as an intermediary between him and the eternal Lord.
Each of these five individuals is a Min.
Halacha 8
Three individuals are described as Epicursim:
a) one who denies the existence of prophecy and maintains that there is no knowledge communicated from God to the hearts of men;
b) one who disputes the prophecy of Moses, our teacher;'
c) one who maintains that the Creator is not aware of the deeds of men.
Each of these three individuals is an Epicurus.
There are three individuals who are considered as one "who denies the Torah":
a) one who says Torah, even one verse or one word, is not from God. If he says: "Moses made these statements independently," he is denying the Torah.
b) one who denies the Torah's interpretation, the oral law, or disputes [the authority of] its spokesmen as did Tzadok and Beitus.
c) one who says that though the Torah came from God, the Creator has replaced one mitzvah with another one and nullified the original Torah, like the Arabs [and the Christians].
Each of these three individuals is considered as one who denies the Torah.
Halacha 9
Among Israel, there are two categories of apostates: an apostate in regard to a single mitzvah and an apostate in regard to the entire Torah.
An apostate in regard to a single mitzvah is someone who has made a practice of willfully committing a particular sin [to the point where] he is accustomed to committing it and his deeds are public knowledge. [This applies] even though [the sin] is one of the minor ones. For example, someone who has made a practice of constantly wearing sha'atnez or cutting off his sideburns so that it appears that, in regard to him, it is as if this mitzvah has been nullified entirely. Such a person is considered an apostate in regard to that matter. This applies [only] if he [commits the sin] with the intent of angering God.
An example of an apostate in regard to the entire Torah is one who turn to the faith of the gentiles when they enact [harsh] decrees [against the Jews] and clings to them, saying: "What value do I have in clinging to Israel while they are debased and pursued. It's better to cling to those who have the upper hand." Such an individual is an apostate in regard to the entire Torah.
Halacha 10
[The category of] "those who cause the many to sin" includes those who cause them to commit a severe sin like Jeroboam, Tzadok, or Beitus; and also, those who cause them to commit a slight sin, even the nullification of a positive command.
It includes [both] those who force others to sin like Menasheh who would kill the Jews if they did not worship idols and those who entice others and lead them astray.
Halacha 11
A person who separates himself from the community [may be placed in this category] even though he has not transgressed any sins. A person who separates himself from the congregation of Israel and does not fulfill mitzvot together with them, does not take part in their hardships, or join in their [communal] fasts, but rather goes on his own individual path as if he is from another nation and not [Israel], does not have a portion in the world to come.
"Those who proudly commit sins in public as Jehoyakim did," whether they commit slight sins or severe ones, have no portion in the world to come. Such behavior is referred to as "acting brazen-facedly against the Torah," for he acted insolently, in open [defiance], without feeling any shame despite the Torah's words.
Halacha 12
There are two categories of "those who betray Jews to gentiles:" one who betrays a colleague to the gentiles so that they may kill him or beat him; and one who gives over a colleague's money to gentiles or to a person who commandeers property and is, therefore, considered like a gentile.
Neither of the two has a portion in the world to come.
Halacha 13
"Those who cast fear upon the people for reasons other than the service of God" - This refers to one who rules the community with a strong hand and [causes] them to revere and fear him. His intent is only for his own honor and none of his desires are for God's honor; for example, the gentile kings.
Halacha 14
All the twenty four individuals listed above will not receive a portion in the world to come even though they are Jewish.
There are other sins which are less severe than those mentioned. Nevertheless, our Sages said that a person who frequently commits them will not receive a portion in the world to come and [counseled] that these [sins] be avoided and care be taken in regard to them. They are:
one who invents a [disparaging] nickname for a colleague; one who calls a colleague by a [disparaging] nickname;
one who embarrasses a colleague in public;
one who takes pride in his colleague's shame;
one who disgraces Torah Sages;
one who disgraces his teachers;
one who degrades the festivals; and
one who profanes sacred things.
When does the statement that these individuals do not have a portion in the world to come apply? When they die without having repented. However, if such a person repents from his wicked deeds and dies as a Baal-Teshuvah, he will merit the world to come, for nothing can stand in the way of Teshuvah.
Even if he denies God's existence throughout his life and repents in his final moments, he merits a portion in the world to come as implied by [Isaiah 57:19] "`Peace, peace, to the distant and the near,' declares God. `I will heal him.'"
Any wicked person, apostate, or the like, who repents, whether in an open, revealed manner or in private, will be accepted as implied by [Jeremiah 3:22] "Return, faithless children." [We may infer] that even if one is still faithless, as obvious from the fact that he repents in private and not in public, his Teshuvah will be accepted.
Shevitat Yom Tov - Chapter One
Halacha 1
The six days on which the Torah forbade work are the first and seventh days of Pesach, the first and eighth days of the festival of Sukkot, the festival of Shavuot, and the first day of the seventh month.1 They are referred to as holidays.
The [obligation to] rest is the same on all these days; it is forbidden to perform all types of servile labor,2 with the exception of those labors necessary for [the preparation of] food, as [implied by Exodus 12:16]: "Only that [labor] from which all souls will eat [may you perform]."
Halacha 2
Anyone who rests from "servile labor" on one of these days fulfills a positive commandment,3 for [the Torah] describes them as Sabbaths - i.e., days of rest.4
Whoever performs a labor that is not for the sake of [the preparation of] food on one of these days - e.g., he builds, destroys, weaves, or the like5 - negates [the performance of] a positive commandment and violates a negative commandment6, as [Leviticus 23:7] states: "You shall not perform any servile labor," and [Exodus 12:6] states: "You shall not perform any work on them."
If a person performs [a forbidden labor when observed] by witnesses and [after] receiving a warning, the Torah prescribes that he receive lashes [as punishment].7
Halacha 3
When a person performs several forbidden labors on a holiday after being warned once - e.g., he sows, builds, destroys, and weaves - after receiving a single warning,8 he receives only a single [set of] lashes. There is a distinction between the categories of forbidden labor on the Sabbath, but there is no such distinction on the holidays.9
Halacha 4
A person may be [punished by] lashes for performing on a holiday any labor for which he is liable on the Sabbath, if it is not necessary for the preparation of food, with the exception of the transfer of articles from one domain to another and the kindling of a fire.10
[With regard to these two forbidden labors, an exception is made.11] Since it is permitted to transfer articles for the sake of [the preparation of] food [on holidays], [this activity] was permitted even when it is not necessary for [the preparation of] food. Therefore, it is permitted to transfer an infant, a Torah scroll, a key, or the like from one domain to another. Similarly, it is permitted to kindle a fire, even though it is not for the purpose of [the preparation of] food.12
With regard to the other forbidden labors, [the following principles apply:] Whenever the activity is necessary for [the preparation of] food - e.g., slaughter, baking, kneading, or the like - it is permitted. If it is not necessary for [the preparation of] food - e.g., writing, weaving, building, and the like - it is forbidden.
Halacha 5
Whenever it is possible to perform a labor on the day prior to the holiday without causing any loss or inadequacy, our Sages forbade13 performing such a labor on the holiday itself, even if it is performed for the sake of [the preparation of] food.
Why was this forbidden? This was a decree [instituted], lest a person leave for the holiday all the labors that he could have performed before the holiday, and thus spend the entire holiday performing those labors. Thus, he will be prevented from rejoicing on the holidays and will not have the opportunity to [take pleasure in] eating and drinking.14
Halacha 6
For this very reason, [our Sages] did not forbid transferring articles on a holiday, although the transfer of all [articles] is a task that could be performed before the holiday.
Why was this not forbidden? To increase our festive joy, so that a person can send and bring anything he desires, and thus fulfill his wants, and not feel like someone whose hands are tied.15 With regard to other labors that are possible to be performed on the day before the holiday, since they involve [prolonged] activity, they should not be performed on a holiday.
Halacha 7
What is implied? On a holiday, we do not harvest, thresh, winnow, separate, or grind grain, nor do we sift [flour].16 For all these and any similar activities can be performed on the day prior to the holiday without causing any loss or inadequacy.
Halacha 8
We may, however, knead, bake, slaughter, and cook on a holiday, since if these activities had been performed on the previous day, the taste would be adversely affected. For warm bread or food that is cooked today does not [taste] the same as bread or food that was cooked the day before. Similarly, meat that is slaughtered today does not [taste] the same as meat slaughtered on the previous day. The same rules apply in all analogous situations.17
Similarly, when it would be detrimental for subsidiary activities [involved in the preparation] of food to be performed on the day [before the holiday] - e.g., grinding spices and the like - they may be performed on the holiday.
Halacha 9
It is forbidden to bake or cook food on a holiday [that one intends] to eat during the week,18 because work necessary for [the preparation of] food was permitted solely so that pleasure could be derived from it on a holiday. If, however, one [cooks food] to be eaten on the holiday, and there is food left over, the remainder may be eaten during the week.19
Halacha 10
A woman may fill a pot with meat although she needs only one piece.20 A baker may fill an entire drum with water [to boil] although he needs only one jug.21And a woman may bake an entire oven full of bread although she needs only a single loaf, for when there is a large quantity of bread in an an oven, it bakes better.22
Halacha 11
When a person cooks or bakes on a holiday with the intent of eating the food on that day, or he has invited guests and they did not come, and cooked food or bread remains, [the food] is permitted to be eaten on the following day, whether it is a weekday or the Sabbath,25 provided one does not act with guile.26
If, however, one acts with guile, he27 is forbidden [to partake of the food], even on a Sabbath that follows the holiday. For greater stringency is shown with one who acts with guile than with one who violates the prohibition [against preparing food for the following day on a holiday] intentionally.28
Halacha 12
A person who has an animal that is dangerously ill29 should not slaughter it on a holiday unless he knows that he will be able to eat30 [at least] an olive-sized [portion] of roasted meat before the holiday is completed. [In this way,] he will not be slaughtering [an animal] on a holiday to partake of its meat on an ordinary day. The same principles apply in other similar situations.
Halacha 13
We may not bake and cook on a holiday in order to feed gentiles31 or dogs, as [indicated by Exodus 12:16]:32 "This alone is permitted for you" - i.e., [the leniency is] "for you" and not for gentiles, "for you" and not for dogs.
For this reason, it is permitted to invite a gentile [to share one's meal] on the Sabbath, but not on a holiday, lest one add [more food] for him.33 If, however, a gentile comes [to a Jewish household on a holiday] on his own initiative, he may eat [the food] they eat together with them, for it has already been prepared.
Halacha 14
On a holiday, it is permissible to slaughter an animal that is owned partially by a Jew and partially by a gentile. [This is permitted although the gentile benefits,] because it is impossible [for the Jew] to partake of an olive-sized portion [of the meat belonging to him] without slaughtering the animal.
When, by contrast, dough is owned partially by a Jew and partially by a gentile, it is forbidden to bake it [on a holiday], because the dough can be divided.
[The following rule applies when] the soldiers [of a gentile army] give flour to a Jew and request that he bake them bread on a holiday: If they do not object to giving some of the bread to a baby, it is permitted for him to bake on the holiday. For every loaf of bread is fit to be given to the baby.34
When the shepherds also eat from the loaves they give to the dogs, these loaves may be baked on a holiday.35
Halacha 15
A person who cooks on a holiday for gentiles, for an animal or to keep for a weekday should not be given lashes, because if guests came, the cooked food would be fit to serve them.36 If a person prepares [food] for himself and [food] remains, he is permitted to give it to a gentile or to an animal.
Halacha 16
Bathing and anointing37 oneself are considered in the general category of eating and drinking. They are permitted on a holiday [as indicated by Exodus 12:16]: "Only that [labor] from which all souls will eat [may you perform]" - i.e., all the needs of the body [are permitted].38
Halacha 17
All [activities] that are forbidden on the Sabbath, whether because they resemble a [forbidden] labor, might lead to a forbidden labor, or are placed in the category of sh'vut,43 are forbidden on a holiday unless they are necessary for the preparation of food and the like, or for other purposes that are permitted on a holiday, as will be explained in these laws.
Everything that is forbidden to be carried on the Sabbath,44 is forbidden to be carried on a holiday, except for the purpose [of the preparation] of food and the like. Whatever [activities] may be carried out on the Sabbath may be carried on the holidays. There is, however, [a category of prohibitions] that apply on the holidays, but do not apply on the Sabbath: the prohibitions against muktzeh.45
Muktzeh is forbidden on a holiday, but permitted on the Sabbath. [The rationale is] since the [restrictions pertaining to] the holidays are more lenient than those of the Sabbath, [our Sages] forbade muktzeh, lest one come to treat the holidays with disrespect.46
Halacha 18
What is implied? When a chicken is set aside to lay eggs, an ox is set aside to plow, and doves in a dovecote47 or produce are set aside for sale, these and any similar articles are considered to be muktzeh and may not be eaten on a holiday.
[For them to be permitted,] it is necessary to prepare them on the previous day and have the intent that one will partake of them.48On the Sabbath, by contrast, everything is considered to be prepared and there is no need for preparation.
Just as muktzeh is forbidden on a holiday, so too, an object that first came into existence on the holiday is forbidden.
Halacha 19
[Food] may be prepared49 on a weekday for the Sabbath and [food] may be prepared on a weekday for a holiday, but [food] may not be prepared on a holiday for the Sabbath, nor may [food] be prepared on the Sabbath for a holiday.
Therefore, an egg that was laid on a holiday that follows the Sabbath is forbidden50 - even though the chicken is set aside to be eaten51 - since the egg was finished on the previous day and thus the Sabbath would be preparing for a holiday.
[Our Sages] forbade [eating] an egg that was laid on any holiday. [This is] a decree, [lest one eat an egg laid] on a holiday that follows the Sabbath. Similarly, [our Sages] forbade [eating] an egg that was laid on any Sabbath. [This is] a decree, lest one eat an egg laid] on a Sabbath that follows a holiday.52
Halacha 20
Just as it is forbidden to partake of this [egg], so too, is it forbidden to carry it.53Even if it becomes mixed with a thousand [other eggs], they are all forbidden. For on the morrow, they will all be permitted, and [the existence of] any forbidden article that will ultimately become permitted is never considered inconsequential, even when mixed with thousands of thousands.54
When a person slaughters a chicken on a holiday and within the chicken finds eggs that already have a shell, it is permitted [to partake of] them, for this is not a frequent circumstance. And [our Sages] did not institute decrees regarding infrequent circumstances that occur only incidentally.55
Halacha 21
Our celebration of every holiday for two days in the diaspora is merely a custom.56 For the second day of the holiday is a Rabbinic institution, innovated during the exile. The inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael observe a holiday for two days only on Rosh HaShanah.57
In Hilchot Kiddush HaChodesh in this volume the fundamental principles pertaining to this custom and the rationale why Rosh HaShanah is universally observed for two days will be explained.
Halacha 22
Although the second day of a holiday is merely a Rabbinic institution, everything that is forbidden on the first day is forbidden on the second. Whoever desecrates the second day of a holiday, even the second day of Rosh HaShanah,58 whether with regard to a prohibition in the category of sh'vut, the performance of a forbidden labor, or by proceeding beyond the [2000-cubit city] limits should be punished by stripes for rebelliousness or should be placed under a ban of ostracism,59 unless [the violator] was a student [of the Torah].60
Just as it is forbidden to deliver eulogies or to fast on the first day of a holiday and we are obligated to rejoice on that day,61 so too, [these same prohibitions and obligations apply] on the second day. There is no difference between them except with regard to [the care of] a corpse.
Halacha 23
What is implied? On the first day of a holiday gentiles should be involved62 with the burial of a corpse,63 and on the second day these activities should be performed by a Jew.64
Everything necessary [for the burial] may be performed - e.g., making a bier, sewing shrouds, picking herbs, and the like. With regard to a corpse, the second day of a holiday is considered to be an ordinary weekday. This applies even to the second day of Rosh HaShanah.
Halacha 24
The two days observed in the diaspora are considered two separate expressions of holiness and are not considered to be a single [extended] day.65Therefore, an entity that was considered muktzeh on the first day, or first came into existence on the first day, is permitted on the second day if it was designated [for use on that day].
What is implied? An egg that was laid on the first day of a holiday may be eaten on the second. [Similarly,] beast or fowl that were trapped on the first day may be eaten on the second day. [Produce] that was attached to the ground on the first day and separated from it [on that day] may be eaten on the second day. Similarly, one may paint one's eyes on the second day,66 even though one does not feel infirmity.
When does the above apply? To the second days of holidays observed [only] in the diaspora. The two days of Rosh HaShanah are considered to be a single expression of holiness; they are considered to be one [long] day67 with regard to all matters, with the exception of [burying] the dead. An egg that is laid on the first day of Rosh HaShanah is forbidden on the second day. The same applies in all similar instances.
When either the Sabbath or a holiday follows directly after the other, an egg laid on one is forbidden on the other. The same applies with regard to all similar situations.68 Even if an egg was laid on the second day [of a holiday, and that second day] is followed by the Sabbath, the egg should not be eaten on the Sabbath.
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. |
I.e., Rosh HaShanah, the first of Tishrei, which is the seventh month when counting from Nisan. Significantly, the name Rosh HaShanah is not mentioned in the Torah at all.
|
| 2. |
Our interpretation of the words מלאכת עבודה as "servile labor" is based on the gloss of the Maggid Mishneh on Halachah 5. There he interprets it as referring to tasks that a person would hire a servant to do rather than perform himself.
In his commentary on the Torah (Leviticus 23:7), the Ramban explains that with the expression "servile labor," the Torah intends to distinguish between work performed to prepare food (which he terms "gratifying labor") and the other forms of labor. According to the Ramban, the Torah never forbade the performance of the activities included in the labors necessary for the preparation of food. Any restrictions placed on them are Rabbinic in nature.
The Ramban's conception is also reflected in the statements of Rashi (Beitzah 12a), who interprets the Talmud's ruling (see Halachah 4), "Since [these labors] were permitted for the sake [of preparing food], they are permitted even when [they are performed] without such an intent," as meaning that, according to the Torah, there is no prohibition against performing these labors at all.
Tosafot (Beitzah, loc. cit.) differs and explains that for the performance of a labor to be allowed by the Torah, it must in some way contribute to the pleasure of the holiday. Otherwise, it is forbidden. According to this conception, all the thirty-nine labors forbidden on the Sabbath are prohibited on the holidays as well. There is, however, special dispensation to perform these labors when doing so will increase our holiday pleasure.
The Maggid Mishneh interprets the Rambam's citation of the expression "servile labor" as an indication that he follows the perspective shared by Rashi and the Ramban. Other authorities (e.g., the Lechem Mishneh and the Pri Chadash) do not agree with the Maggid Mishneh'sinterpretation and explain that the Rambam favors the other position. [See also the Chemdat Yisrael, who explains that the Rambam's statements in Sefer HaMitzvot (Negative Commandment 328) do not concur with the Maggid Mishneh's conception of the Rambam's position.] Note the treatment of this subject in the Or Sameach and in Likkutei Sichot, Vol. XI. (See also the notes on Halachah 4.)
|
| 3. |
Sefer HaMitzvot (Positive Commandments 159-160, 162-163, 166-167) and Sefer HaChinuch(Mitzvot 297, 300, 308, 310, 318, 321) include these six in the reckoning of the Torah's 613 mitzvot.
|
| 4. |
Note Sefer HaMitzvot (Positive Commandment 159), which in addition to the term shabbaton, "day of rest," also mentions the phrase mikra kodesh, "holy convocation," as indicating that one is commanded to sanctify the day by ceasing to perform labor.
|
| 5. |
I.e., any of the 28 of the 39 labors forbidden on the Sabbath that do not involve the preparation of food. (See Hilchot Shabbat 7:1.)
|
| 6. |
Sefer HaMitzvot (Negative Commandments 323-326, 328-329) and Sefer HaChinuch (Mitzvot 298, 301, 309, 311, 319 and 323) include these six in the reckoning of the Torah's 613 mitzvot.
|
| 7. |
This is the minimum punishment given for the violation of a negative commandment that involves a deed.
|
| 8. |
Pesachim 48a, moreover, states that even if a person is given separate warnings for each forbidden labor, each activity is not considered to be a separate violation.
|
| 9. |
The Rambam is referring to the ruling (Hilchot Shabbat 7:7-8) that requires a person who performs activities that fall into two different categories of forbidden labor on the Sabbath to bring two different sin offerings. The performance of an activity from each category of forbidden labor is considered to be a separate violation. Such a distinction does not apply with regard to the performance of forbidden labors on the holidays.
|
| 10. |
The Maggid Mishneh explains the Rambam's position as follows: All the labors forbidden on the Sabbath that involve preparation of food are not prohibited on the holidays. In addition, there are two forbidden labors, kindling a flame and transferring articles, which do not necessarily involve the preparation of food. Nevertheless, since they are sometimes necessary for the preparation of food, they are permitted without any restriction.
Other authorities (e.g., Pri Chadash, Pri Megadim) interpret the Rambam's statements as meaning that even the forbidden labors involved with the preparation of food are permitted only for that purpose. If, however, one performs one of these labors for other reasons - e.g., one cooks food solely to give to animals - one is liable. Moreover, if one performs a forbidden labor that is not usually involved in the preparation of food for the purpose of preparing food, one is liable.
There is a third interpretation, that of the Mabit. (In his Responsum 124, however, he follows the second view.) According to the view he expresses in Kiryat Sefer, even if one performs a forbidden labor (that is not usually involved in the preparation of food) for the purpose of preparing food, one is not liable. As proof, he cites the example of making cheese, an act that the Rambam (Hilchot Shabbat 10:13) considers a derivative of the forbidden labor of building. Nevertheless, making cheese on a holiday is not considered a violation of a forbidden labor and is forbidden only as a sh'vut.
|
| 11. |
The reason for these two exceptions is as follows: Both are often involved in the preparation of food. Alternatively, the transfer of articles is considered "an inferior labor" (Tosafot, Beitzah 12a), and Exodus 35:3: "Do not kindle fire... on the Sabbath day," is interpreted also as an exclusion, indicating that kindling fire is forbidden on the Sabbath, but not on holidays.
|
| 12. |
As mentioned in the notes on Halachah 1, Tosafot requires that the activity bring a person some pleasure. This view is also reflected in the Ra'avad's gloss.
|
| 13. |
The Maggid Mishneh quotes the Ra'avad as stating that this prohibition has its source in the Torah itself. Indeed, the Jerusalem Talmud (Beitzah 1:10) and certain passages in the Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat 95a; Chaggigah 18a) support this view. Nevertheless, most later authorities accept the Rambam's view that the prohibition is Rabbinic in origin.
|
| 14. |
The Ra'avad gives a different rationale: that the extra effort involved in the performance of these activities is out of place on a holiday.
|
| 15. |
The Ra'avad differs with the extent of the leniency granted by the Rambam, restricting it to sending containers and food. He also differs regarding the rationale, explaining that sending the articles on the holiday is a greater expression of honor and respect. The Rambam's ruling is quoted by the later authorities.
|
| 16. |
All these labors, although necessary for the preparation of food, are not intended for the preparation of a particular cooked dish or loaf of bread. Rather, one performs these activities for several days in advance. Therefore, our Sages desired that these activities should not be performed on the festival itself.
It must be noted that these forbidden labors are specifically mentioned in the passage from the Jerusalem Talmud cited above, which states that the prohibition against performing such activities stems from the Torah itself.
|
| 17. |
The Rambam's rationale depends on the concept of freshness. Food that is not fresh loses a certain amount of its flavor. The Ra'avad questions this principle, noting that produce harvested today is also fresher and tastier than produce harvested on the day before. Several authorities offer different observations to counter the Ra'avad's thesis.
|
| 18. |
See Tz'ror HaChayim, which mentions various opinions concerning whether this prohibition has its origin in the Torah itself or in Rabbinic decree. In conclusion, he favors the opinion that the prohibition is Scriptural in origin. (See also Halachah 15.) The doubt exists only with regard to the Rambam's position. Tosafot and others maintain that the prohibition is Scriptural in origin (Shulchan Aruch HaRav 503:1).
|
| 19. |
If, however, one cooked food on a holiday with the intent of eating it on the following day, many authorities (Shulchan Aruch HaRav 503:13) allow the food to be eaten after the holiday. (See also Halachah 11 and notes.)
|
| 20. |
The reason is that the meat is tastier when cooked with many pieces together (Maggid Mishneh).
|
| 21. |
This gives us a second rationale for the leniency of preparing a larger quantity of food than one needs immediately: when, as in the instance mentioned, there is no extra work involved in preparing a large quantity as compared to a small quantity. If either of these two rationales applies, leniency may be taken and the extra amount prepared.
Once, however, the water is left to boil, an additional amount may not be added (Ramah, Orach Chayim 103:2).
|
| 22. |
Rabbenu Yonah explains that this applied in Talmudic times, when the ovens were small. In such an instance, a large number of loaves were placed in the oven at the same time, and it took longer for them to bake, producing a better flavor. If, as was the case with regard to the larger ovens used in the medieval period, adding to the number of loaves does not increase the flavor, it is forbidden to do so. (See Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 507:6.)
|
| 23. |
The salting is intended to drain off the blood so that it is permitted to cook the meat, as stated inHilchot Ma'achalot Asurot, Chapter 6.
|
| 24. |
Here, also, the leniency is granted because there is no additional difficulty in salting the other pieces. Alternatively, the leniency is allowed so that the remainder of the meat will not spoil. Compare to Chapter 3, Halachah 4.
|
| 25. |
As explained in Chapter 6, just as it is forbidden to prepare food on a holiday for a weekday that follows, our Sages forbade preparing food on a holiday for a Sabbath that follows directly after the holiday, or for the second day of the holiday itself. Nevertheless, as explained in that chapter, our Sages did provide the leniency of establishing an eruv tavshilin.
|
| 26. |
I.e., invite guests although he knows that they will not come, or prepare a large quantity of food when one knows that one will be unable to eat it all, and then use the remainder for the following day.
Shulchan Aruch HaRav 503:7 notes that it has become common practice to cook a meal for the night of the second day of a holiday on the afternoon of the first day, relying on the leniency that one will taste some of the food. He criticizes this practice and explains that women should be taught to discontinue it and prepare the food before the commencement of the holiday.
|
| 27. |
He and the members of his family may not partake of it; other Jews, however, are not restricted (Mishnah Berurah 527:79).
|
| 28. |
The rationale for this stringency is that the example shown by a person with guile might be copied by others, while few will emulate brazen transgression. Moreover, even with regard to the person himself, if he were not punished, a person who acts with guile would never really appreciate the seriousness of his transgression, and would repeat it. When, however, a person willfully violates the Sages' decree, he will not be able to rationalize his conduct. Hence, there is the possibility he will recognize his error (Rashi, Beitzah 17b; Mishnah Berurah 527:78).
|
| 29. |
We are speaking about an instance where the person has already eaten, and hence would not ordinarily consider slaughtering the animal. Nevertheless, because it is dangerously ill, he fears that it will die before the conclusion of the holiday. Our Sages were fearful that he would slaughter the animal regardless, rather than suffer the loss of having it die without ritual slaughter. They therefore established directives that would allow slaughter in most instances (Maggid Mishneh; Rashi, Beitzah 25a). (See also Chapter 6, Halachah 10.)
|
| 30. |
Although the Rambam's wording might be interpreted as indicating that it is necessary to eat at least this amount of meat, the Maggid Mishneh and the later halachic authorities (Shulchan Aruch Harav 498:11; Mishnah Berurah 498:34) explain that it is not necessary to partake of the meat on the holiday.
|
| 31. |
See the Mishnah Berurah 512:2, which states that a Jew who worships false gods or desecrates the Sabbath is considered like a gentile in this regard.
|
| 32. |
The Rambam's citation of a verse from the Torah as a proof-text for this prohibition is interpreted as an indication that he follows the position (see the notes on Halachot 1 and 4) that the labors necessary to prepare food are forbidden by the Torah on the holiday unless one is preparing food for a Jew. As mentioned, others consider the prohibitions to be Rabbinic in origin.
|
| 33. |
This rationale is not applicable on the Sabbath, for then it is not permitted to cook at all.
|
| 34. |
I.e., as long as a portion of the loaf can be given to a baby, one is not cooking solely for the gentiles.
The Maggid Mishneh notes that many (e.g., Tur, Orach Chayim 512) have objected to the Rambam's ruling, based on Beitzah 21a, which appears to establish a correlation between the permission to bake bread for these soldiers and the laws mentioned in the previous halachah regarding inviting gentiles as guests. It appears from that passage that the Sages who forbid inviting guests also forbid baking bread for the soldiers, for the same principle is involved: one is cooking additional food for a gentile.
The Maggid Mishneh, however, explains that there is no contradiction and that the two views can be reconciled. The Jew can be considered to be baking for the sake of the child. For if he did not bake for the soldiers, they would not allow him to bake for the child.
The Rishon LeTzion amplifies the difference between the two situations, explaining that because the person is not baking solely for the gentiles, the prohibition against doing so is merely Rabbinic in origin and can be waived with regard to baking for a gentile army, since the person could suffer substantial financial loss if he refused. In contrast, when inviting guests, one does so on one's own volition, with no loss involved.
As emphasized by Shulchan Aruch HaRav 512:6, this leniency was granted only in this situation, because of the risk of confrontation with the military authorities. One should not apply it to other circumstances. (See also Mishnah Berurah 512:15.)
|
| 35. |
Here also, since one is not baking solely for the dogs, one may bake the bread on a holiday. Although one is adding to the loaf one is baking for the dogs, since it would be possible to satisfy them by giving them meat, it appears that the shepherds are baking the loaf because they want to partake of it themselves (Maggid Mishneh).
As emphasized by the Mishnah Berurah 512:22, this leniency applies even when one has no other food immediately available for the dogs.
|
| 36. |
The Rambam's wording appears to indicate that although the activity is forbidden by the Torah, punishment is not given, because it is possible that his activity might ultimately serve a permitted purpose.
|
| 37. |
The Maggid Mishneh states that anointing oneself is mentioned because it is often necessary to heat oil used to anoint oneself. Anointing oneself with cold oil for pleasure is permitted even on the Sabbath (Hilchot Shabbat 21:23).
|
| 38. |
The Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah (Beitzah 2:5) explains that the Hebrew יאכל has the connotation of all physical pleasure, not necessarily merely eating or drinking. Note the explanation in Sefer HaMitzvot, negative commandment 187.(See also the Yereim, section 113.)
|
| 39. |
The Jerusalem Talmud (Shabbat 3:3) appears to indicate that the prohibition has its source in the Torah itself. Although Tosafot (Shabbat 39b) accept this view, Rabbenu Yitzchak Alfasi and the Rashba differ and maintain that this prohibition is a Rabbinical decree.
|
| 40. |
As the Rambam explains in Hilchot Shabbat 22:2, our Sages instituted restrictions against bathing on the Sabbath because the attendants would heat up the water on the Sabbath and claim that they had done so on the preceding day. On holidays, although the rules are more lenient, certain restrictions remain. For a discussion concerning the laws of ritual immersion on a holiday, see the notes on Hilchot Shabbat 23:8.
|
| 41. |
Based on the position of Tosafot mentioned previously, the Ramah (Orach Chayim 511:2) forbids washing one's entire body on a holiday as a safeguard, even when the water was heated before the commencement of the holiday. The subsequent Ashkenazic authorities accepted the Ramah's ruling, but were slightly more lenient and allowed washing one's entire body, portion by portion. Greater leniency is, however, shown with regard to washing a baby.
|
| 42. |
See Hilchot Shabbat, loc. cit.
|
| 43. |
See Hilchot Shabbat, Chapters 21-23, which list activities forbidden by the Sages for every category of forbidden labor.
|
| 44. |
See Hilchot Shabbat, Chapters 25 and 26.
|
| 45. |
The term muktzeh as popularly used with regard to the Sabbath prohibitions is not a precise application of the term. Muktzeh literally means "set aside." As used in the context here, it applies to articles that a person did not intend to use on a holiday. Rather, he "set them aside" to be used in the future.
As the Rambam explains in the following halachah, on the Sabbath it is not necessary to have a specific intention to use an object on the Sabbath. As long as there is no reason that prevents one from using it on that day - e.g., the prohibitions mentioned in Hilchot Shabbat, Chapters 25 and 26 - one may carry it on the Sabbath.
|
| 46. |
The Ra'avad differs and states that there are authorities who maintain that articles that aremuktzeh are permitted to be carried on holidays. The Rambam's view is quoted by the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 495:4), while the Tur and the Ramah cite the more lenient view. Shulchan Aruch HaRav 495:13 states that although it is customary to follow the more lenient view, it would be preferable to follow the more stringent ruling.
|
| 47. |
See Chapter 2, Halachah 5.
|
| 48. |
See Chapter 2, Halachah 9.
|
| 49. |
The preparation we are speaking about here is preparation through natural means, and not preparation accomplished by man through performance of labor. As mentioned previously in the chapter, it is forbidden to perform any activities on a holiday that involve the preparation of food for the days that follow. (See the Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah, Beitzah 1:1.)
|
| 50. |
Based on Pesachim 47a, several Rabbis (Ramban; Shulchan Aruch HaRav 513:1; Mishnah Berurah 513:1) maintain that the prohibition against nolad is Scriptural in origin.
In his Commentary on the Mishnah (loc. cit.), by contrast, the Rambam explicitly states that it is a Rabbinic decree. Nevertheless, since the Commentary on the Mishnah was not widely studied, different perspectives about the Rambam's view have been offered, including that of the Minchat Chinuch (Mitzvah 295), who states that the Rambam would require a person to be punished by lashes for eating such an egg.
|
| 51. |
If the chicken is not set aside to be eaten on the holiday, the egg is forbidden regardless, because of the prohibition against muktzeh (Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah, loc. cit.).
|
| 52. |
There is no prohibition against eating an egg laid on a weekday that follows a holiday or on a Sunday. Since weekday meals are not significant, we are not concerned that a holiday or a Sabbath prepares for them.
|
| 53. |
The Tur and the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 513:1) state: "It is forbidden to touch it." Although the prohibition is ordinarily against moving muktzeh, and touching it is permitted, the prohibition is made more severe in the present instance because an egg is round, and even the slightest touch is likely to cause it to roll.
|
| 54. |
Generally, when a forbidden substance becomes mixed with a permitted substance, the presence of the forbidden substance is considered inconsequential (and the mixture permitted) when the taste of the forbidden substance can no longer be recognized, or when it is mixed with more than sixty times its weight of permitted food.
More stringent rulings are made, however, with regard to a forbidden substance that will ultimately become permitted (davar sheyesh lo matirin). The rationale is that since the entire mixture will be permitted within a short time, there is no reason to seek leniencies and partake of it while a portion (although inconsequential) is forbidden (Hilchot Ma'achalot Asurot, chapter 15).
|
| 55. |
The decrees our Sages instituted were meant to serve as safeguards, and a safeguard is necessary only when a situation occurs frequently.
|
| 56. |
See Hilchot Kiddush HaChodesh 5:5, which explains that in the time when the calendar was established on the basis of the testimony of witnesses, the observance of the second day of a holiday in the distant diaspora was necessary because of a doubt regarding the days on which the holidays were to be celebrated. Nevertheless, in the present era, when we use a fixed calendar, the observance of the second day of a holiday in the diaspora is merely a custom. (See also Chapter 6, Halachah 14.)
|
| 57. |
As explained in Hilchot Kiddush HaChodesh 5:7, even when the calendar was established on the basis of the testimony of witnesses, Rosh HaShanah was generally observed for two days throughout Eretz Yisrael. Since it is forbidden to travel beyond 2000 cubits on a holiday, only those living in the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem had the possibility of knowing whether or not the new month had been sanctified.
|
| 58. |
The word "even" has attracted the attention of the commentaries for, as mentioned in Halachah 24, the observance of the second day of Rosh HaShanah is more severe than that of the second day of other holidays. The Lechem Mishneh explains that the intent is that even the observance of the second day of Rosh HaShanah does not warrant a more severe punishment.
|
| 59. |
See Hilchot Talmud Torah, Chapters 6 and 7.
|
| 60. |
The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 496:1) quotes the Tur, who states "If [the violator] is a Torah scholar, we do not punish him so severely as to place him under a ban of ostracism. He is to be beaten." (See Sha'ar HaTziyun 496:5, which focuses on the difference between these two rulings.)
|
| 61. |
See Chapter 6, Halachah 17.
|
| 62. |
There is a difference of opinion among the Rabbis whether only the actual burial and those activities that involve performance of a forbidden labor must be performed by gentiles, or whether this involves all activities associated with the burial, including the ritual purification of the body, dressing it in shrouds and the like.
The Maggid Mishneh explains that all activities associated with the burial must be performed by a gentile. The Hagahot Maimoniot, by contrast, maintain that any activity that does not actually involve a forbidden labor should be performed by a Jew. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim526:1) follows this view.
|
| 63. |
Rashi (Shabbat 139b) and the Baal Halachot Gedolot explain that the leniency of allowing gentiles to bury a Jew on a holiday was instituted as a token of respect for the human body, the repository of the soul. If the body were left unburied, it would decompose and become an aspersion to the dignity of mankind. Therefore, they maintain that if the corpse is not likely to decompose, it should not be buried by gentiles.
Rabbenu Asher and others differ and maintain that the mitzvah of burying the corpse on the day the person dies is the source for this ruling (see Hilchot Sanhedrin 15:8). Therefore, even when the body is not likely to decompose, it should be buried on the first day. The Shulchan Aruch (loc. cit. 526:1) follows this view.
|
| 64. |
The Tur and the Ramah (loc. cit.:4) mention a custom practiced by Rabbenu Tam, which equates the first and second days of a holiday in this regard. The Ramah agrees to this custom when it is possible to find a gentile to perform these labors, but maintains that if it is impossible to perform these labors, they should be performed by Jews.
In practice at present, in some observant communities burials are conducted on the holidays. Nevertheless, the prevailing custom at large - particularly when burying the dead might lead to the unnecessary violation of the laws of the holidays by some - is to postpone the burial until the following day.
|
| 65. |
Originally, the observance of the holidays for two days came as a result of doubt: If the first day was actually the holiday, the second day was an ordinary day. Conversely, if the second day was actually the holiday, the first day was an ordinary day. Therefore, they were considered to be two different expressions of holiness. (See Chapter 6, Halachah 12.)
|
| 66. |
The Ramah (Orach Chayim 496:2) interprets this as referring to an irritation that does not involve any danger. As such, tending to it by a Jew is forbidden on the first day of a holiday. On the second day, because it brings a person relief from pain, leniency is shown. The same law applies to all other remedies of this nature.
|
| 67. |
Since they were universally observed, even within Eretz Yisrael.
|
| 68. |
I.e., all instances of nolad.
|
Shevitat Yom Tov - Chapter Two
Halacha 1
A chick that is hatched on a holiday is forbidden [to be handled], because it ismuktzeh.1 [A different rule applies,] however, when a calf is born on a holiday: If its mother was designated to be eaten, the calf is also permitted,2 for it is considered to be designated, because of its mother. If its mother had been slaughtered [on a holiday], the calf in her womb would also have been permitted [to be eaten] on the holiday, even though it had not been born.3
Halacha 2
When animals graze beyond the [2000-cubit] limits granted to a city, but return and spend the night inside the city, they may be designated [for our use on the holiday]. We may take these [animals] and slaughter them on a holiday.
When, by contrast, they both graze and spend the night4 beyond the [2000-cubit] limits granted to a city, we may not slaughter them on a holiday if they come to the city on that day. They are muktzeh, and the attention of the inhabitants of the city is not focused on them.
Halacha 3
Similarly, when a consecrated animal5 became blemished on a holiday, since one did not intend to eat the animal on the previous day, it may not be slaughtered on a holiday.
For this reason, it is forbidden to inspect the blemishes of a consecrated animal on a holiday.6 [This is] a decree, [instituted] lest the sage consider the blemish [permanent] and hence permit [the animal to be used for mundane purposes], and its owner will slaughter it immediately. When, however, a sage has inspected a blemish on the day prior to the holiday, he may [render a decision] on the holiday, permitting or forbidding [its use].
Halacha 4
When [on the day of a holiday] a firstborn animal is born with a blemish, it is considered as if it were prepared [to be slaughtered].7 Nevertheless, [the blemish] may not be inspected on the holiday.8 If, however, one transgressed and had the blemish checked, and [the sage ruled that] the animal is permitted to be slaughtered, one is permitted to slaughter it and partake of its meat.
When a firstborn animal falls into a cistern [on a holiday], one should give it the [necessary] nourishment while in the cistern. One is not allowed to pull it out, because it is not fit to be slaughtered on the holiday.9
[The following rules apply when] a cow and its calf both fall into a cistern [on a holiday]:10 We may take one out with the intent of slaughtering it, and then refrain from slaughtering it. One may then act with guile, and take the other out with the intent of slaughtering it, and then slaughter either of them that one desires.11 We are permitted to act with guile, because of the suffering the animal endures.12
Halacha 5
[All] ducks, chickens, and doves [kept] in one's home are considered to be prepared [to be slaughtered], and need not be designated. Doves [kept in] a dovecote, [wild] doves that nest in one's loft, and [other] fowl that nest in basins,15 on buildings, or in orchards, are considered muktzeh.16
[To slaughter them on a holiday,] it is necessary on the previous day to designate them and say, "I will take these and these." There is no need actually to shake [the nest or the doves].
Halacha 6
[The following rules apply when] one designated both black and white doves, and on the following day found the white doves in the place of the black ones and the black ones in the place of the white ones. It is forbidden to take them, because it is possible that [the doves that were designated] flew away and these are others. [Therefore, we follow the principle:] Whenever there is a doubt whether [doves] have been designated or not, they are forbidden.17
If he designated two and found three, they are all forbidden.18If he designated three and found two, they are permitted. If he designated doves inside the nest, but found them in front of the nest, he is permitted to take them, provided that these were the only doves in the nest, and they are unable to fly. Although there is another nest within fifty cubits19 at a diagonal, these doves are permitted, for doves that waddle, waddle only in a straight line to their nests.
Halacha 7
[The following rules apply to] fish in large ponds,20 beasts and fowl in large pens, and any other beast that has to be snared to the point where it is necessary to say, "Bring a net so that we can snare it": [Such a living creature] is considered muktzeh and may not be snared on a holiday.21 If it is snared, it may not be eaten.
[By contrast,] every [living creature that can be snared] without a net is considered to be designated. It may be snared on a holiday and we may partake of it.
Similarly, when a wild beast establishes its home in an orchard near a city,22 its small offspring that do not require [effort to] capture need not be designated, because one has in mind [to take] them [for food for the holiday].
Halacha 8
Although on the day before a holiday a [hunter] set snares for a beast, fowl, or for fish, on the holiday itself he should not take the living creatures that were captured unless he knows that they were captured before the holiday.23
When a person makes a dam in a water conduit24 on the day before the holiday, and gets up early the next morning and finds fish there, they are permitted. They were already trapped before the commencement of the holiday. [Hence,] they are considered to be designated [to be eaten].
Halacha 9
When a [closed] building was filled with produce that had been designated [for use] and was opened [by natural forces on a holiday], one is permitted to take [produce] from the opening.25
Halacha 10
[The following rules apply] when a gentile brings a present29 [of food] for a Jew on a holiday: If some of the type of produce that he brings is still attached to the ground30 [in the fields], or if he brought an animal, fowl, or fish that could possibly have been snared on the day [of the holiday], they are forbidden31 until the evening.32 [Moreover, one must wait] enough time for it to have been possible to perform [the forbidden activity after the conclusion of the holiday].33Even [if the gentile brings] a myrtle or the like, one should not smell its fragrance until the evening, after waiting the time necessary [to pick it].
If none of the type of produce that he brings remains attached to the ground, or it is clear from the form [of the produce] that it was picked on the previous day, or it is clear from the form [of the fish or the animal] that they were caught on the previous day, they are permitted, provided they were brought from within [the city's 2000-cubit] limit. If they were brought from outside [the city's 2000-cubit] limit, they are forbidden.
Food that was brought from outside [the city's 2000-cubit] limit for one Jew is permitted to be eaten by another.34
Halacha 11
When branches fall from a palm tree on a holiday, it is forbidden to use them as firewood, because of the prohibition of nolad. If, however, they fell [directly] into an oven, one may add a larger quantity of wood prepared [for kindling], and may kindle them.35
One may not begin taking from a pile of straw or a storage pile of wood36 [on a holiday] unless one prepared to do so on the previous day, for they aremuktzeh. If the straw is mixed with thorns it is permitted, for its only [possible] use is for kindling.
Halacha 12
It is forbidden to chop wood that had been placed in a pile of beams, for it ismuktzeh.37 Nor may one [chop wood] from a beam that broke on a holiday, because it is nolad.38Similarly, utensils that broke on a holiday may not be used for kindling,39 because they are nolad.40
However, one may use utensils that are intact41 or utensils that were broken before the commencement of a holiday for kindling, for they were prepared to be used for purposes [other than that for which they were originally suitable] before the holiday.
Similarly, when nuts or almonds were eaten before the commencement of a holiday, their shells may be used for kindling on the holiday. If, however, they were eaten on the holiday, their shells may not be used for kindling.42
There are, however, versions [of the Talmud] that read: If they were eaten before nightfall, we may not use their shells for kindling, because they have become muktzeh.43 If, by contrast, they were eaten on the holiday, they may be used for kindling, because they are considered to be designated for use, because of the food [they contained].44
Halacha 13
A freshly-cut thorny [branch] is muktzeh, because it is not fit for kindling.45Therefore, one may not use it as a spit for roasting meat. The same applies in all similar situations.
Halacha 14
We may take wood that is placed next to the walls46 of a hut47 to use for kindling, but we may not bring it from the field, even if it had been collected there on the day before [the holiday].48 One may, however, collect wood lying before him in the field and kindle it there.49
One may also bring [wood] that was stored in a private domain, even one that was not enclosed for the purpose of human habitation, provided it has a fence with a gate, and is located within the Sabbath limits. If even one of these conditions is not met,50 [the wood] is muktzeh.
Halacha 15
Although the leaves of reeds or vines have been collected in an enclosure, since they can be dispersed by the wind it is considered as if they have already been dispersed, and [using them] is forbidden.51 If, however, one placed a heavy utensil over them before the holiday, they are permitted [to be used].52
Halacha 16
[The following rules apply when] an animal dies on a holiday: If it was very ill on the day before the holiday, one may cut it up [and feed it] to the dogs.53 If not, since he had not had it in mind, it is muktzeh and should not be moved.
Halacha 17
Fish, fowl, and beasts that are muktzeh may not be given water on a holiday, nor is it permitted to place food before them.56 [This is a safeguard instituted] lest one come and take them.57
Any [objects or living creatures] that are forbidden to be eaten or used on a holiday because they are muktzeh are also forbidden to be carried.
Halacha 18
When a person brings earth into his domain on the day before a holiday, it is considered to be prepared for use, provided that he designates a corner of his courtyard as its place. It may then be carried and used for all his needs.58
Similarly, ash that [came from fuel] burned on the previous day is considered to be prepared for use. If it [came from fuel] burned on the holiday itself, it is permitted for use as long as it is warm enough to cook an egg, for it is still considered to be fire. If it is not [that warm], carrying it is forbidden, because it isnolad.59
[The following rules apply when] a person has an iron shaft implanted in the ground before the holiday, and he pulls it out60on the holiday, uprooting earth: If the earth is powdery,61 it may be used to cover [any spills], and it may be carried for that purpose. If, however, the person raised up a clod of earth, it may not be crumbled on the holiday.62
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. |
Since one could not know whether the chick would be hatched on the holiday itself or not, there is no way one could designate it as food. Hence, it falls into the category of muktzeh. Indeed, even the more lenient opinions that allow muktzeh to be used on a holiday forbid slaughtering such a chick, since before it was hatched it was not useful for any purpose whatsoever (Shulchan Aruch HaRav 513:19; Mishnah Berurah 513:36).
|
| 2. |
This applies only when we know that the calf has undergone a full period of gestation. If not, it is forbidden to be slaughtered on the day it was born (Hilchot Ma'achalot Asurot 4:4).
|
| 3. |
For the slaughter of the mother also causes the calf to be permitted (Ibid. 5:13-14).
|
| 4. |
The Rambam is employing the wording of the Mishnah, Beitzah 5:6. In his Commentary on the Mishnah (based on Beitzah 40a), the Rambam explains that this refers to animals that graze outside the city limits from the spring until the beginning of the rainy season. This interpretation also changes the definition of animals that "return and spend the night inside the city," to refer to those that return to the city occasionally. These definitions are reflected in the decisions ofShulchan Aruch HaRav 498:5 and the Mishnah Berurah 498:12,14.
|
| 5. |
This refers to a firstborn animal, which is consecrated by birth. Alternatively, the intent is the tenth animal after a herd has been tithed. These animals may not be offered as a sacrifice, because the Temple is destroyed. The law is that the firstborn must be given to a priest, who may not slaughter it until it acquires a permanent blemish. The tithed animal may be kept by its owner, who may slaughter it after it acquires a blemish. The designation of a blemish as permanent or not must be made by a sage trained in this field.
|
| 6. |
The Rambam maintains that even if the animal had acquired the blemish before the holiday, it must be inspected before the holiday, and not on the holiday itself (Maggid Mishneh).
|
| 7. |
For until birth, the animal could have been eaten by slaughtering its mother.
|
| 8. |
The animal may not be checked by an experienced sage to see whether the blemish is permanent or not. This restriction is an extension of the Rabbinic safeguard mentioned in the previous halachah.
|
| 9. |
As such, moving the animal is forbidden. Therefore, the only alternative is to wait until the conclusion of the holiday and in the interim, to feed the animal while it is in the cistern.
|
| 10. |
As Leviticus 22:28 states, it is forbidden to slaughter both these animals on the same day. Thus, it would seem that we could take only one out of the cistern, and the other would be consideredmuktzeh.
|
| 11. |
From the wording chosen by the Rambam, it appears that it is necessary to slaughter one of the animals. The Maggid Mishneh cites a passage from the Jerusalem Talmud (Beitzah 3:4), from which one might infer that this is not necessary, but he cites the opinion of the Rashba, who recommends slaughtering one of the animals.
|
| 12. |
See Hilchot Shabbat 21:9-10 for other examples of leniencies granted by our Sages in consideration of the suffering endured by an animal. See also the Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah (Beitzah 3:4), which states that consideration of the suffering endured by an animal is a Scriptural obligation.
|
| 13. |
Although this phrase appears in the standard printed texts of the Mishneh Torah, we have placed it in brackets, because a) it is omitted from many authoritative manuscripts and early printings, and b) it does not fit the Rambam's statements regarding the subject in Hilchot Shechitah 9:19.
One might justify the inclusion of the bracketed phrase by explaining that according to the Rambam, the possibility that the animal may not be kosher does not disqualify its slaughter on the festival. Nevertheless, the prevailing opinion (Shulchan Aruch HaRav 498:8) is that we are allowed to slaughter an animal on a festival only when it is likely to be kosher.
|
| 14. |
See Hilchot Shechitah 9:9,17, where the Rambam states that an animal that falls from a roof and is unable to walk afterwards must be inspected after it was slaughtered to see whether any of its vital inner organs were crushed.
|
| 15. |
In the Talmudic era, basins were built into the facades of homes for doves to nest.
|
| 16. |
The Maggid Mishneh states that there is a difference of opinion among the Rabbis regarding whether this law refers to large doves that are able to fly, or to small doves that are unable to do so.
The more stringent view maintains that since the doves are able to fly away, they must be snared, and this labor is forbidden. The more lenient view maintains that since the doves have nested in these places, great effort is not required to snare them, and this is permitted on a holiday. From the Rambam's wording, it appears that he subscribes to the more lenient view. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 497:9) follows the more stringent opinion.
|
| 17. |
As a rationale for this stringency, the Maggid Mishneh explains that the doves will be permitted for eating on the following day with no restrictions. Therefore, we are required to wait until then to partake of them, as explained in Chapter 1, Halachah 20.
|
| 18. |
In his Commentary on the Mishnah (Beitzah 1:3), the Rambam explains two reasons for this restriction:
a) It is possible that this entire group is made up of new doves that came from afar;
b) Even if two of the doves were the ones designated on the previous day, the entire group is forbidden because they were joined by a third dove who is not distinguished from them.
|
| 19. |
It is an accepted principle that doves will not waddle further than 50 cubits. Even within these 50 cubits, they will not walk on a diagonal.
|
| 20. |
The Ra'avad explains that this restriction also applies to fish in small ponds. Since fish cannot always be seen easily and are difficult to snare even in a small pond, greater stringency is applied with regard to them. His opinion is cited by the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 497:1).
|
| 21. |
It would appear that the reason that snaring is forbidden is not the fact that it is one of the 39 forbidden labors, for it is necessary for the preparation of food. Rather, it is forbidden as a result of the Rabbinic prohibition against muktzeh (Meiri, P'nei Yehoshua, Beitzah 23b).
|
| 22. |
This leniency does not apply when the animals make their home more than 70 cubits beyond the city limits (Shulchan Aruch, loc. cit.:8), for then a person would not be likely to have these animals in mind for his holiday meals.
|
| 23. |
This ruling depends on the principle mentioned in Halachah 6, that whenever there is doubt whether or not an article had been designated for use on a holiday, it is forbidden.
|
| 24. |
As explained by the Ramah (Orach Chayim 497:5), Shulchan Aruch HaRav 497:1 and theMishnah Berurah 497:14, this refers to a narrow waterway that has been dammed at both ends. Hence, there is no difficulty in catching the fish, and they can be considered to be designated before the commencement of the holiday.
|
| 25. |
We do not say that since the building was closed before the commencement of the holiday, the produce is no longer considered designated for use. There are authorities (Rashba, Rabbenu Asher) who follow a more stringent view, and maintain that the produce is permitted only when it appeared that the building would open. Nevertheless, according to the Rambam (as well as Rabbenu Yitzchak Alfasi and the Ramban), the fact that it is located in a closed building does not alter the status of the produce. When, as in the instance described, it is possible to take it, doing so is permitted. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 518:9) quotes the Rambam's ruling.
|
| 26. |
The Mishnah (Beitzah 4:7) mentions this instance with regard to the Sabbath. Since the Rambam maintains that the prohibitions against muktzeh do not apply on the Sabbath, he cites these laws with regard to the holidays.
|
| 27. |
The Sabbatical year is mentioned because there is no obligation to tithe in that year. In other years, the produce would not be considered to be designated for use until it had been tithed, and it is not customary to tithe fruit that has been set out to dry until it is fully dried. (See the Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah, Beitzah, loc. cit.)
|
| 28. |
I.e., the person must make a mark on the ground to designate the area from which he desires to take produce. In Halachah 5, the Rambam does not require a person to perform a deed while designating doves to be eaten (thus negating the opinion of the School of Shammai). In this instance, however, since people do not generally eat fruit left out to dry until it is completely dry, it is necessary for him to perform a deed to clarify his intent. The Ramah (495:4) differs and does not require that a deed be performed even in this instance.
|
| 29. |
The same laws apply with regard to gentile merchants who desire to sell produce or other types of food on a holiday.
|
| 30. |
When this type of produce is still growing in the ground, there is the possibility that the gentile harvested it on the holiday itself.
|
| 31. |
There are two reasons why these foods are prohibited: a) because a Jew may not have a gentile perform forbidden labors on the Jew's behalf on a holiday,
b) because the food he brings is muktzeh.
|
| 32. |
There is a difference of opinion among the Rabbis if, in the diaspora, an object that became forbidden for these reasons on the first day of a holiday is permitted to be used on the second day or not. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 515:1) allows it to be used on the second day of the holiday after one waits enough time to perform the forbidden labor. The Ramah requires the person for whom the gentile brought the produce to wait until after the conclusion of the holiday. In times of need, however, he enables the produce to be used by the person's guests on the second day.
|
| 33. |
This safeguard ensures that one will derive no benefit at all from the gentile's activity, nor ask him to perform such a labor again.
|
| 34. |
Although such food is also forbidden to all the members of the household of the person for whom it was brought.
|
| 35. |
Beitzah 4b explains that the restrictions applying to an entity that will become permitted at a later date do not apply with regard to this wood, since the benefit one receives from the wood comes after it has been consumed by the flames. It is permitted to add the larger quantity of permitted wood because we are allowed to nullify the existence of a prohibited entity if the prohibition is Rabbinic in origin. (See also Hilchot Ma'achalot Asurot 15:26.)
Rabbenu Nissim states that this leniency is granted only when there is also some permitted wood in the oven. If not, one may not nullify the prohibited wood. His opinion is quoted by the Shulchan Aruch HaRav 507:3 and the Mishnah Berurah 507:7).
|
| 36. |
This refers to straw or wood that has been set aside to be sold.
|
| 37. |
This refers to wood that has been set aside to be used for construction (Rashi, Beitzah 31b).
|
| 38. |
Before the holiday the beam was part of a building, and only on the holiday itself did the possibility of its being used for other purposes arise. Therefore, it is considered to be nolad.
|
| 39. |
If, however, it is still possible to use the pieces to perform the task originally performed with the utensil, the pieces are still permitted to be used for kindling or for any other purpose (Shulchan Aruch HaRav 501:11; Mishnah Berurah 501:29).
|
| 40. |
Although the utensil existed beforehand, no one considered using it for kindling while it was intact. Only when it became broken was it considered to be fit for kindling. Hence, it is considered to benolad.
|
| 41. |
If a person desires to use an intact utensil for kindling, there is no difficulty. Since the utensil is intact, carrying it is permitted.
|
| 42. |
Because the possibility of using them for kindling arose only on the holiday, they are considered to be nolad.
|
| 43. |
For it is uncommon to use nut shells for any material purpose. See Hilchot Shabbat 25:6,12.
|
| 44. |
The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 501:7) quotes the former version as halachah.
|
| 45. |
Wood is not fit for kindling until it dries out. (See Chapter 4, Halachah 11.)
|
| 46. |
We may not, however, take wood that is used for the walls themselves, for by doing so we would be destroying a building (Beitzah 30b).
|
| 47. |
We have translated the term sukkah as hut, because this law applies throughout the year, not only to the sukkot constructed on the holiday of that name. (See Kessef Mishneh; Mishnah Berurah 518:38.)
|
| 48. |
From the Rambam's mention of this law in the chapter dealing with the subject of muktzeh, it would appear that he considers muktzeh as the rationale for this restriction as well. Other authorities have offered other rationales; among them, that collecting wood in the field is forbidden because it is a mundane activity unfit for the sacred atmosphere of the holidays. Alternatively, it resembles the forbidden labor of me'amer, collecting sheaves (Mishnah Berurah 501:11).
|
| 49. |
Several later authorities (Rav Shlomo Luria; Shulchan Aruch HaRav 501:7) are more stringent, and rule that since it is usual to collect wood from a field, doing so on a holiday bears too close a resemblance to the forbidden labor of me'amer. Hence, this leniency is allowed only in an open courtyard.
|
| 50. |
I.e., it is forbidden if the wood is scattered in a courtyard, or the courtyard is beyond the Sabbath limits or lacks a fence with a gate.
|
| 51. |
In this instance as well, it appears that the Rambam considers this restriction as an outgrowth of the prohibition against muktzeh. Since it is possible that they will become dispersed, one does not rely on their remaining in their place.
Other authorities explain that the restriction is a safeguard against performing the forbidden labor of me'amer. (See Mishnah Berurah 501:18,20.)
|
| 52. |
Even if they are dispersed. By placing the heavy utensil upon them, the person indicated his intent that the leaves be used for kindling. This leniency is not accepted by the authorities who explain that the restriction is a safeguard against performing the forbidden labor of me'amer.
|
| 53. |
I.e., since it was ill, the person considered the likelihood that it would die. Even before the holiday began, he had it in mind to feed the carcass to his dogs.
|
| 54. |
A consecrated animal that dies may not be used for any mundane purposes; its corpse must be buried. Therefore, even if it was sick on the day before the holiday, it may not be moved on the holiday (Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah, Beitzah 3:5).
|
| 55. |
Terumah that becomes impure must be given to a priest, who can use it for kindling or feed it to his animals. Nevertheless, it is forbidden to perform either of these activities on a holiday. Hence, the impure terumah may not be used that day, and thus becomes muktzeh (Rashi, Beitzah 27b).
|
| 56. |
This applies even to living creatures for which the person is required to provide food. The restriction involves placing the food directly before the animals. It is permitted to place it far from the usual place, for this departure from the norm will remind one not to pick up the animals (Shulchan Aruch HaRav 497:5; Mishnah Berurah 497:5).
|
| 57. |
For this reason, this prohibition does not apply to feeding non-kosher animals (Maggid Mishneh).
|
| 58. |
As mentioned in the first halachah of the following chapter, earth was necessary for covering the blood of fowl and wild beasts that were slaughtered. In Talmudic times, when the homes had earthen floors, earth was also used to cover spills, excrement, and other filth. Since the earth was not flattened, we do not say that the person brought it in to use as part on the floor. Instead, we allow him to use it for other purposes (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 498:17).
|
| 59. |
The Shulchan Aruch (loc. cit.:15) states that, after the fact (בדבעיד), if one has already slaughtered a fowl or beast, it is preferable to use even cold ash, rather than negate the mitzvah of covering the blood.
|
| 60. |
The Rambam's statements should not be interpreted as license to, in fact, implant a shaft in the ground and pull it out on the holiday. The Rambam (as is his source, the Mishnah, Beitzah 1:2) is speaking after the fact (בדבעיד) - i.e., the person has already uprooted the earth and is questioning whether or not he may use it. This ruling is cited by the Shulchan Aruch (loc. cit.:14).
|
| 61. |
If the earth is powdery, uprooting it from the ground is not considered to be digging a hole (Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah, Beitzah 1:2). This powdery earth can - in contrast to clods of earth - be used to cover the blood.
|
| 62. |
Crumbling the earth is a derivative of the forbidden labor of grinding.
|
Shevitat Yom Tov - Chapter Three
Halacha 1
A person who has earth that has been prepared or ash that has been prepared and that may be carried1 may slaughter a fowl or a beast2 and cover their blood [on a holiday]. If he does not have earth that is prepared or ash that may be carried, he should not slaughter [a fowl or a beast on a holiday]. If he transgresses and does in fact slaughter [a fowl or a beast on a holiday], he should not cover its blood until the evening.3
Similarly, on a holiday one should not slaughter an animal concerning which there is a doubt whether it is a wild beast or a domestic animal.4 If a person does slaughter [such an animal on a holiday], he should not cover the blood until the evening.5 [This applies] even when one had earth that was prepared or ash [available],6 lest an observer conclude, "This animal is definitively categorized as a beast, and its blood was therefore covered on the holiday." The observer might then [err] and consider the fat of [this animal] to be permitted.7
Halacha 2
Similarly, if a person slaughtered a beast or a fowl before a holiday [and did not cover the blood at that time], he may not cover it on the holiday.
If a person slaughtered both a domestic animal and a beast or a fowl on a holiday,8 and their blood became mixed, he should not cover it until the evening [following the holiday]. If he had earth that was prepared or ash, and it is possible for him to cover all [the blood] with one shovelful,9 he should do so.
Halacha 3
A person who slaughters an animal on a holiday is permitted to pull off the wool by hand10 from the place where he wishes to slaughter it, provided he does not remove it from its place, but rather leaves it there tangled with the remainder of the wool of the animal's neck.
[When slaughtering] a fowl, by contrast, one may not pull out the feathers, for [doing so by hand] is the usual procedure. Thus, one would be performing [the forbidden labor of] pulling out [feathers] on a holiday.
Halacha 4
When a person skins the hide of an animal on a holiday, he should not salt it. For [salting] is one of the leather-making processes,11 and thus one would be performing a forbidden labor that is not necessary for [the preparation of] food.
One may, however, deposit it12 in a place where people will tread on it,13 so that it will not spoil.14 This leniency was permitted only for the sake of the holiday celebrations, so that a person will not refrain from slaughtering [an animal].15
It is permitted to salt meat to be roasted on this hide. One may act with guile regarding this matter. What is implied? One may salt a small portion of meat on this place, another small portion in another place, until the entire hide has been salted.
Halacha 5
When does the above apply? When one is salting the meat for roasting, and much salt is not required. If, however, one [is salting it for] cooking, [and much salt is required],16 it is forbidden to salt [the meat] on a hide.
Similarly, it is forbidden to salt fats, nor may one flip them or spread them on staves in the wind, because they are not fit to be eaten.17
Halacha 6
When a person skins an animal on a holiday, he should not employ the technique referred to as regol. What is meant by regol? The person removes all the meat from [a hole made] at one foot, leaving the entire hide intact, without being torn. [This is forbidden] because this means of skinning involves great effort, and it is not necessary for the holiday.
Halacha 7
We may pour hot water over the head and the feet [of a slaughtered animal] and singe it with fire [to remove its hair]. We may not, however, apply lime, clay, or loam [for that purpose]. Nor may we trim it with scissors.
We may not pare a vegetable in a decorative fashion. We may, however, trim food that has thorns - e.g., artichokes or cardoon - in a decorative fashion.
Halacha 8
It is permitted to knead a large dough on a holiday.20 If a person kneaded dough on the day before a holiday, he may not separate challah21 from it on the holiday.22 If he kneaded it on the holiday, he may separate challah and give it to a priest.23
If the dough is impure,24 or the challah became impure, the challah should not be baked, for we are allowed to bake on a holiday only for the sake of eating, and this [challah] must be burned.
We may not burn it on a holiday, because we do not burn sacred food that became impure on a holiday.25 For the burning of sacred food that became impure is a positive commandment, as [Leviticus 7:19] states: "And you shall burn it with fire"; and performing a [forbidden] labor [on a holiday] that is not necessary for the sake of [the preparation of] food and the like [nullifies] both a positive commandment and a negative commandment.26 And the fulfillment of a positive commandment does not override the fulfillment of both a positive commandment and a negative commandment.
Halacha 9
What should one do with [this impure challah]? Leave it until the evening and burn it [then].27
On the holiday of Pesach, when leaving [the challah unburned until the day after the holiday] will cause it to become leavened, one should not separate thechallah [from] the dough. Instead, one should bake the entire impure loaf, and then separate the challah after it has already [been baked as matzah].
Halacha 10
We may not bake in a new earthenware oven on a holiday. [This is] a decree [instituted] lest [the oven] crack open, spoiling the bread, and tainting the person's festive joy.
We may not rake out [the coals and ash28] of an oven or a range; we may, however, press them down.29 If baking or roasting in it is impossible unless we rake out [the coals and ash], it is permitted to do so.30
We may seal the opening of an oven with mud or sediment from a river bank, provided it was made soft on the previous day. It is forbidden to mix mud on a holiday. We may, however, mix ashes with water [to form a clay-like mixture] to seal the opening of an oven.31
Halacha 11
Halacha 12
We may not make cheese on a holiday. For cheese will not lose its flavor if it is prepared on the day before the holiday.36 In contrast, one may crush spices in the ordinary manner [on a holiday], for if they were crushed before the holiday, they would lose flavor. Salt, however, may not be crushed on a holiday unless one tilts the pestle, crushes it in a bowl, or deviates from the norm in another way. [This restriction was instituted] because salt will not lose its flavor if crushed before the holiday.
We may not grind pepper in a pepper mill.37 Instead, we must crush it in a pestle like other spices.
Halacha 13
We may not crush groats in a large grinder. We may, however, crush them in a small grinder,38 this being the [required] deviation from the norm. In Eretz Yisrael, it is forbidden to do so using even a small grinder, for the grain [that grows there] is of a higher quality, and will not lose [its flavor] if crushed before the holiday.39
Halacha 14
Although flour was sifted on the day prior to the holiday, and its bran removed, it may not be sifted again on a holiday unless a pebble, a sliver of wood, or the like fell into it.40 This is permitted, however, if one deviates from the norm by sifting with the back of the sifter,41 sifting over the table, or the like.
Halacha 15
One may remove grain from husks, remove legumes from their pods, and blow air over them [to cause the husks to fall], using both hands with all one's power, and then partake of them. One may use a tray, or a pot with compartments,42but not a sifter or a strainer.43
Similarly, a person who separates [the pods of legumes from] the legumes [themselves] on a holiday may separate them in an ordinary way44 in his bosom, and in a pot. He may not, however, use a strainer, a tablet, or a sifter.
Halacha 16
When does the above apply? When there is more food than waste.45 When, however, there is more waste than food, one should separate the food and leave the waste. If, however, more difficulty is involved in separating the waste from the food than in separating the food from the waste,46 one should separate the food from the waste even when there is more food than waste.
Halacha 17
We may not filter mustard using a filter designated for that purpose, since it appears that one is [performing the forbidden labor of] selecting.47 We may, however, [mix] a raw egg [with mustard] in a mustard strainer, and [the mustard] will undergo a process of refinement naturally.48
If a filter was already hanging [over a container before the commencement of the holiday], it is permitted to filter wine through it on the holiday. By contrast, a person may not hang a filter on a holiday, so that he will not be following his weekday practice. One may, however, act with guile, and hang the filter to hold pomegranates, use it for that purpose,49 and then hang the dregs of wine in it [so that the wine will filter through].
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. |
See the final halachah of the previous chapter.
|
| 2. |
In contrast to a behemah, a domesticated animal (e.g. a cow, sheep, or goat), when a fowl or wild animal (e.g., a deer) is slaughtered, its blood must be covered with earth. (See Hilchot Shechitah, Chapter 14.)
|
| 3. |
See the notes on the final halachah of the previous chapter, which touch on this issue.
|
| 4. |
Most authorities consider this to be referring to an animal that is a crossbreed between a goat and a deer. The Rambam (Commentary on the Mishnah, Chulin 6:1), however, considers this an independent species that the Sages were unable to classify as either an animal or a beast. (See also Hilchot Shechitah 14:4.)
|
| 5. |
The Ramah (Orach Chayim 498:18) states that this ruling applies only when the person slaughtered this animal in a corner. If, however, he slaughtered it in the middle of a courtyard and earth has been prepared and is available, it is permitted to cover its blood on the holiday, just as it is permitted to remove an unpleasant object from sight.
|
| 6. |
In his Commentary on the Mishnah (Bikkurim 2:9), the Rambam w rites that it is forbidden to take this earth, because there is a doubt regarding the animal's classification. This can be interpreted as an indication that even if earth was prepared for use, it may be carried only for a valid reason.
|
| 7. |
As the Rambam explains in Hilchot Ma'achalot Asurot 7:3, we are forbidden to eat only the fat of cows, sheep, and goats. The fat of all other kosher animals and beasts is permitted. Since the animal in question could be considered to be a goat, it is forbidden to eat its fat.
|
| 8. |
Although it is necessary to cover the blood of the beast or fowl, it is not necessary to cover the blood of the domestic animal.
|
| 9. |
Shulchan Aruch HaRav 498:36 and the Mishnah Berurah 498:103 explain that "one shovelful" need not be interpreted literally. The intent is that one would not have to engage in any additional effort to cover the extra blood coming from the animal.
|
| 10. |
This is the key to the leniency. Since one would normally cut the wool away with shears, pulling it away by hand represents a departure from one's ordinary procedure and is therefore permitted. Shearing the wool with a utensil is indeed prohibited.
The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 498:12) rules more stringently, and forbids intentionally tearing the wool away. According to this view, one may merely smooth it to the sides with one's hands. If, however, it is torn off in the process, that is of no consequence.
|
| 11. |
See Hilchot Shabbat 11:5.
|
| 12. |
A hide from an animal slaughtered on a holiday, in contrast to the hide of an animal slaughtered before the holiday began (Maggid Mishneh; Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 499:3).
|
| 13. |
By the people's treading on it, the tanning process will begin, and it will not spoil.
|
| 14. |
Similarly, one is permitted to place it in the shade or in a cool place so that it will not spoil (Shulchan Aruch HaRav 499:3; Mishnah Berurah 499:4).
|
| 15. |
Because of the fear that its hide will spoil. Our Sages feared that this financial loss would deter a person from slaughtering an animal on the holiday.
|
| 16. |
The Rambam describes the difference between the manner in which meat is salted for cooking and for roasting in Hilchot Ma'achalot Asurot 6:12.
|
| 17. |
Shulchan Aruch Harav 499:10 permits the fats to be carried to a cool shady place, lest their loss prevent the person from slaughtering.
|
| 18. |
To cut the meat in such a way that it will be easier for a customer to carry it home (Rashi, Beitzah28a).
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| 19. |
To distinguish meat purchased by one customer from that purchased by another (ibid.).
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| 20. |
Although the School of Shammai forbids this, the halachah follows the School of Hillel, which rules that baking such a loaf is permitted (Beitzah 22b). The rationale is that a loaf tastes better when cooked in an oven which is full.
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| 21. |
Numbers 15:20 requires us to separate a portion of dough and give it to the priest as challah. This offering is governed by the rules pertaining to terumah and hence may not be eaten when either the dough or the person partaking of it is impure. In such an instance, it must be burned.
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| 22. |
On a holiday, one may, however, bring a priest challah that had been separated before the holiday (Chapter 4, Halachah 26; Ramah, Orach Chayim 506:3).
The Ramah also mentions that in the present age, in the diaspora, dough that has been kneaded before the holiday is permitted to be baked on the holiday, and a small portion of bread is left over, from which challah will be separated on the following day.
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| 23. |
It is ordinarily forbidden to separate the consecrated articles that are due the priests on a holiday (Chapter 4, Halachah 26). Nevertheless, an exception was made in this instance, to allow people the option of eating fresh bread on a holiday.
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| 24. |
This is the ruling that must be followed in the present age, for we are all ritually impure, and convey ritual impurity to the dough.
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| 25. |
See Hilchot Pesulei HaMukdashim 19:5.
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| 26. |
See Chapter 1, Halachah 2.
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| 27. |
The Noda Biy'hudah (Vol. II, Orach Chayim, Responsum 96) notes that according to Hilchot Pesulei HaMukdashim, loc. cit., it is also forbidden to burn certain sacrificial meats that became disqualified - e.g., piggul and notar - at night. The Rambam does not mention such a restriction, however, with regard to consecrated articles that become impure.
There are, nevertheless, other authorities who differ and forbid the burning at night of consecrated articles that have become impure. (See Be'ur Halachah 506 and the sources mentioned there.)
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| 28. |
Our translation follows the Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah (Beitzah 4:5). Beitzah 32b and the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 507:4) speak of an instance where a brick or part of the lime covering of the oven wall fell and disturbed the cooking process.
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| 29. |
By hand (Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah, loc. cit.), seemingly implying that it is forbidden to use a utensil unless necessary.
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| 30. |
The Maggid Mishneh states that this is permitted even though in the process one will extinguish the coals. Although Chapter 4, Halachah 2, states that it is forbidden to extinguish a fire on a holiday, it is possible to explain that a distinction can be made in this instance, for by extinguishing the flame it becomes possible to cook.
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| 31. |
This follows the Rambam's position (Hilchot Shabbat 8:16) that one is not liable for mixing clay if one uses ashes. The Ra'avad differs with the Rambam both in Hilchot Shabbat and in this halachah. The Shulchan Aruch (loc. cit.:7) follows the Rambam's view.
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| 32. |
Contact with cold water after being heated will seal the walls of an earthenware oven.
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| 33. |
These prohibitions are instituted because these tasks are mundane matters that are not directly associated with the preparation of food on a holiday.
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| 34. |
All the commentaries see this as a reference to the Mishnah (Beitzah 4:7), which forbids heating "tiles." They question why the Rambam deviated from the wording used there.
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| 35. |
This refers to a cauldron used during the Talmudic period, made of heavy copper. It was made up of two receptacles, the upper one for water, and the lower one for the coals used to heat the water (Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah, Shabbat 3:3).
Since the cauldron is large and remains hot for a very long time, one might think that its use would be forbidden on a holiday, lest one create the impression that one is preparing hot water for the day following the holiday (Maggid Mishneh).
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| 36. |
As mentioned in Chapter 1, Halachot 5-7, our Sages forbade the performance of any labors on a holiday even for the sake of the preparation of food, if it is possible to perform these labors before the holiday begins.
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| 37. |
The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 504:1) states that this is forbidden because it is a mundane activity that is inappropriate for a holiday. Others explain that, as stated in Chapter 1, Halachah 7, grinding is forbidden on a holiday.
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| 38. |
The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 504:3) states that at present, we are unaware which is considered a small grinder and which a large grinder. Therefore, it is forbidden to use all grinders.
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| 39. |
Although he accepts the law stated by the Rambam, the Ra'avad differs with the rationale, and explains that in Eretz Yisrael it was always customary to use a small grinder. Therefore, employing one on a holiday is not considered to be a deviation from the norm.
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| 40. |
Although there are opinions that permit removing the pebble or the sliver by hand, Shulchan Aruch HaRav 506:4 and the Mishnah Berurah 506:12 forbid removing it by hand (for this would be removing waste matter from food as in Halachah 17), and require that the flour be sifted again.
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| 41. |
If, however, the flour had not been sifted on the previous day, it may not be sifted on the holiday (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 506:2). It is, however, permissible to have a gentile sift the flour, provided he deviates from the ordinary practice (Ramah).
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| 42. |
Our translation of these terms is taken from the Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah (Keilim16:3). Most other authorities follow different interpretations.
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| 43. |
The Maggid Mishneh explains that since it is customary to prepare a large quantity using these utensils, it appears as if the person were preparing on the holiday for the weekdays that follow. The Rashba offers another rationale: Since performing this function with these utensils on the Sabbath violates the prohibition against a forbidden labor, the Sages did not want to allow this leniency on the holidays. These reasons are also given for the prohibitions in the clause that follows.
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| 44. |
I.e., one is thus separating the waste matter from the food.
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| 45. |
And thus it is likely to be easier to separate the small amount of waste matter, than to separate all the food.
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| 46. |
When the waste matter is thin and difficult to separate.
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| 47. |
Which our Rabbis prohibited on a holiday, even when it is performed for the purpose of preparing food.
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| 48. |
In his Commentary on the Mishnah (Shabbat 20:2), the Rambam explains that when raw eggs are mixed with coarse foods, they cause the lighter matter to rise above the heavier, coarse matter. Thus, mixing the egg with the mustard will cause the dregs of the mustard to be separated.
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| 49. |
If, however, one does not use the filter for another purpose, one may not use it to filter wine afterwards.
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Torah lessons: Chumash: B'shalach, Revi'i with Rashi.
Tehillim: 72-76.
Tanya: Ch. 21. However, (p. 87)...their prophetic vision. (p. 87).
Tachanun (p. 103) is not said at Mincha.
Our Holy forebears, the Rebbe'im through the generations, appealed to G-d and evoked Divine compassion toward their Chassidim, those bound to them. This was not all; they also had an avoda of bringing their Chassidim to mind, inwardly, pondering their affection and attachment to the Rebbe, reciprocating that affection and attachment. Bringing someone to mind has the effect of arousing that person's innermost powers. We see that when one looks deeply and intently at another he will turn around and return the glance, because the penetrating gaze awakens the core of the soul. Thought has the same effect.
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Daily Thought
Dressed in G-d's Clothes
G‑d is not understandable.
But G‑d ponders Himself.
And this mode of pondering Himself He gave to us, dressed in many stories and rituals and ways of life.
Dressed in those clothes, we unite with G‑d in His pondering of Himself.[Maamar Gal Enai 5737.]
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