Torah Reading
Mishpatim (Parashah/Exodus 21:1 “These are the rulings you are to present to them:
Today's Laws & Customs:
2 “If you purchase a Hebrew slave, he is to work six years; but in the seventh, he is to be given his freedom without having to pay anything. 3 If he came single, he is to leave single; if he was married when he came, his wife is to go with him when he leaves. 4 But if his master gave him a wife, and she bore him sons or daughters, then the wife and her children will belong to her master, and he will leave by himself. 5 Nevertheless, if the slave declares, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children, so I don’t want to go free,’ 6 then his master is to bring him before God; and there at the door or doorpost, his master is to pierce his ear with an awl; and the man will be his slave for life.
7 “If a man sells his daughter as a slave, she is not to go free like the men-slaves. 8 If her master married her but decides she no longer pleases him, then he is to allow her to be redeemed. He is not allowed to sell her to a foreign people, because he has treated her unfairly. 9 If he has her marry his son, then he is to treat her like a daughter. 10 If he marries another wife, he is not to reduce her food, clothing or marital rights. 11 If he fails to provide her with these three things, she is to be given her freedom without having to pay anything.
12 “Whoever attacks a person and causes his death must be put to death. 13 If it was not premeditated but an act of God, then I will designate for you a place to which he can flee. 14 But if someone willfully kills another after deliberate planning, you are to take him even from my altar and put him to death.
15 “Whoever attacks his father or mother must be put to death.
16 “Whoever kidnaps someone must be put to death, regardless of whether he has already sold him or the person is found still in his possession.
17 “Whoever curses his father or mother must be put to death.
18 “If two people fight, and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist, and the injured party doesn’t die but is confined to his bed; 19 then, if he recovers enough to be able to walk around outside, even if with a cane, the attacker will be free of liability, except to compensate him for his loss of time and take responsibility for his care until his recovery is complete.
(ii) 20 “If a person beats his male or female slave with a stick so severely that he dies, he is to be punished; 21 except that if the slave lives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his property.
22 “If people are fighting with each other and happen to hurt a pregnant woman so badly that her unborn child dies, then, even if no other harm follows, he must be fined. He must pay the amount set by the woman’s husband and confirmed by judges. 23 But if any harm follows, then you are to give life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound and bruise for bruise.
26 “If a person hits his male or female slave’s eye and destroys it, he must let him go free in compensation for his eye. 27 If he knocks out his male or female slave’s tooth, he must let him go free in compensation for his tooth.
28 “If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox is to be stoned and its flesh not eaten, but the owner of the ox will have no further liability. 29 However, if the ox was in the habit of goring in the past, and the owner was warned but did not confine it, so that it ended up killing a man or a woman; then the ox is to be stoned, and its owner too is to be put to death. 30 However, a ransom may be imposed on him; and the death penalty will be commuted if he pays the amount imposed. 31 If the ox gores a son or daughter, the same rule applies. 32 If the ox gores a male or female slave, its owner must give their master twelve ounces of silver; and the ox is to be stoned to death.
33 “If someone removes the cover from a cistern or digs one and fails to cover it, and an ox or donkey falls in, 34 the owner of the cistern must make good the loss by compensating the animal’s owner; but the dead animal will be his.
35 “If one person’s ox hurts another’s, so that it dies, they are to sell the live ox and divide the revenue from the sale; and they are also to divide the dead animal. 36 But if it is known that the ox was in the habit of goring in the past, and the owner did not confine it; he must pay ox for ox, but the dead animal will be his.
37 (22:1) “If someone steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters or sells it, he is to pay five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.
22:1 (2) “If a thief caught in the act of breaking in is beaten to death, it is not murder; 2 (3) unless it happens after sunrise, in which case it is murder. A thief must make restitution; so if he has nothing, he himself is to be sold to make good the loss from the theft. 3 (4) If what he stole is found alive in his possession, he is to pay double, no matter whether it is an ox, a donkey or a sheep.
(iii) 4 (5) “If a person causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over or lets his animal loose to graze in someone else’s field, he is to make restitution from the best produce of his own field and vineyard.
5 (6) “If a fire is started and spreads to thorns, so that stacked grain, standing grain or a field is destroyed, the person who lit it must make restitution.
6 (7) “If a person entrusts a neighbor with money or goods, and they are stolen from the trustee’s house, then, if the thief is found, he must pay double. 7 (8) But if the thief is not found, then the trustee must state before God that he did not take the person’s goods himself. 8 (9) In every case of dispute over ownership, whether of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, clothing, or any missing property, where one person says, ‘This is mine,’ both parties are to come before God; and the one whom God condemns must pay the other one double.
9 (10) “If a person trusts a neighbor to look after a donkey, ox, sheep or any animal, and it dies, is injured or is driven away unseen, 10 (11) then the neighbor’s oath before Adonai that he has not taken the goods will settle the matter between them — the owner is to accept it without the neighbor’s making restitution. 11 (12) But if it was stolen from the neighbor, he must make restitution to the owner. 12 (13) If it was torn to pieces by an animal, the neighbor must bring it as evidence, and then he doesn’t need to make good the loss.
13 (14) “If someone borrows something from his neighbor, and it gets injured or dies with the owner not present, he must make restitution. 14 (15) If the owner was present, he need not make good the loss. If the owner hired it out, the loss is covered by the hiring fee.
15 (16) “If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price for her to be his wife. 16 (17) But if her father refuses to give her to him, he must pay a sum equivalent to the bride-price for virgins.
17 (18) “You are not to permit a sorceress to live.
18 (19) “Whoever has sexual relations with an animal must be put to death.
19 (20) “Anyone who sacrifices to any god other than Adonai alone is to be completely destroyed.
20 (21) “You must neither wrong nor oppress a foreigner living among you, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
21 (22) “You are not to abuse any widow or orphan. 22 (23) If you do abuse them in any way, and they cry to me, I will certainly heed their cry. 23 (24) My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword — your own wives will be widows and your own children fatherless.
24 (25) “If you loan money to one of my people who is poor, you are not to deal with him as would a creditor; and you are not to charge him interest. 25 (26) If you take your neighbor’s coat as collateral, you are to restore it to him by sundown, 26 (27) because it is his only garment — he needs it to wrap his body; what else does he have in which to sleep? Moreover, if he cries out to me, I will listen; because I am compassionate.
(iv) 27 (28) “You are not to curse God, and you are not to curse a leader of your people.
28 (29) “You are not to delay offering from your harvest of grain, olive oil or wine.
“The firstborn of your sons you are to give to me. 29 (30) You are to do the same with your oxen and your sheep — it is to stay with its mother seven days, and on the eighth day you are to give it to me.
30 (31) “You are to be my specially separated people. Therefore you are not to eat any flesh torn by wild animals in the countryside; rather, throw it out for the dogs.
23:1 “You are not to repeat false rumors; do not join hands with the wicked by offering perjured testimony. 2 Do not follow the crowd when it does what is wrong; and don’t allow the popular view to sway you into offering testimony for any cause if the effect will be to pervert justice. 3 On the other hand, don’t favor a person’s lawsuit simply because he is poor.
4 “If you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey straying, you must return it to him. 5 If you see the donkey which belongs to someone who hates you lying down helpless under its load, you are not to pass him by but to go and help him free it.
(v) 6 “Do not deny anyone justice in his lawsuit simply because he is poor. 7 Keep away from fraud, and do not cause the death of the innocent and righteous; for I will not justify the wicked. 8 You are not to receive a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clearsighted and subverts the cause of the righteous.
9 “You are not to oppress a foreigner, for you know how a foreigner feels, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
10 “For six years, you are to sow your land with seed and gather in its harvest. 11 But the seventh year, you are to let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor among your people can eat; and what they leave, the wild animals in the countryside can eat. Do the same with your vineyard and olive grove.
12 “For six days, you are to work. But on the seventh day, you are to rest, so that your ox and donkey can rest, and your slave-girl’s son and the foreigner be renewed.
13 “Pay attention to everything I have said to you; do not invoke the names of other gods or even let them be heard crossing your lips.
14 “Three times a year, you are to observe a festival for me. 15 Keep the festival of matzah: for seven days, as I ordered you, you are to eat matzah at the time determined in the month of Aviv; for it was in that month that you left Egypt. No one is to appear before me empty-handed. 16 Next, the festival of harvest, the firstfruits of your efforts sowing in the field; and last, the festival of ingathering, at the end of the year, when you gather in from the fields the results of your efforts. 17 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Lord, Adonai.
18 “You are not to offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread, nor is the fat of my festival to remain all night until morning.
19 “You are to bring the best firstfruits of your land into the house of Adonai your God.
“You are not to boil a young animal in its mother’s milk.
(vi) 20 “I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. 21 Pay attention to him, listen to what he says and do not rebel against him; because he will not forgive any wrongdoing of yours, since my name resides in him. 22 But if you listen to what he says and do everything I tell you, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. 23 When my angel goes ahead of you and brings you to the Emori, Hitti, P’rizi, Kena‘ani, Hivi and Y’vusi, I will make an end of them. 24 You are not to worship their gods, serve them or follow their practices; rather, you are to demolish them completely and smash their standing-stones to pieces.
25 “You are to serve Adonai your God; and he will bless your food and water. I will take sickness away from among you. (vii) 26 In your land your women will not miscarry or be barren, and you will live out the full span of your lives. 27 I will send terror of me ahead of you, throwing into confusion all the people to whom you come; and I will make all your enemies turn their backs on you. 28 I will send hornets ahead of you to drive out the Hivi, Kena‘ani and Hitti from before you. 29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, which would cause the land to become desolate and the wild animals too many for you. 30 I will drive them out from before you gradually, until you have grown in number and can take possession of the land. 31 I will set your boundaries from the Sea of Suf to the sea of the P’lishtim and from the desert to the [Euphrates] River, for I will hand the inhabitants of the land over to you, and you will drive them out from before you. 32 You are not to make a covenant with them or with their gods. 33 They are not to live in your land; otherwise they will make you sin against me by ensnaring you to serve their gods.”
24:1 To Moshe [Adonai] said, “Come up to Adonai — you, Aharon, Nadav, Avihu, and seventy of the leaders of Isra’el. Prostrate yourselves at a distance, 2 while Moshe alone approaches Adonai — the others are not to approach, and the people are not to go up with him.” 3 Moshe came and told the people everything Adonai had said, including all the rulings. The people answered with one voice: “We will obey every word Adonai has spoken.”
4 Moshe wrote down all the words of Adonai. He rose early in the morning, built an altar at the base of the mountain and set upright twelve large stones to represent the twelve tribes of Isra’el. 5 He sent the young men of the people of Isra’el to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings of oxen to Adonai. 6 Moshe took half of the blood and put it in basins; the other half of the blood he splashed against the altar. 7 Then he took the book of the covenant and read it aloud, so that the people could hear; and they responded, “Everything that Adonai has spoken, we will do and obey.” 8 Moshe took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which Adonai has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
9 Moshe, Aharon, Nadav, Avihu and seventy of the leaders went up; 10 and they saw the God of Isra’el. Under his feet was something like a sapphire stone pavement as clear as the sky itself. 11 He did not reach out his hand against these notables of Isra’el; on the contrary, they saw God, even as they were eating and drinking.
12 Adonai said to Moshe, “Come up to me on the mountain, and stay there. I will give you the stone tablets with the Torah and the mitzvot I have written on them, so that you can teach them.” 13 Moshe got up, also Y’hoshua his assistant; and Moshe went up onto the mountain of God. 14 To the leaders he said, “Stay here for us, until we come back to you. See, Aharon and Hur are with you; whoever has a problem should turn to them.” (S: Maftir) 15 Moshe went up onto the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. (A: Maftir) 16 The glory of Adonai stayed on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called to Moshe out of the cloud. 17 To the people of Isra’el the glory of Adonai looked like a raging fire on the top of the mountain. 18 Moshe entered the cloud and went up on the mountain; he was on the mountain forty days and nights.)
• Parshat Shekalim
When the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem, each Jew contributed an annual half-shekel to the Temple. The 1st of Adar marked the beginning of the collection of the shekalim. In commemoration, the Torah reading of the Shabbat that falls on or before Adar 1 is supplemented with the verses (Exodus 30:11-16) that relate G-d's commandment to Moses regarding the first giving of the half-shekel.
"Parshat Shekalim" is the first of four special readings added during or immediately before the month of Adar (the other three being "Zachor", "Parah" and "Hachodesh")
Links: The Shekalim Reading w commentary; Partner; Charity: an Anthology
• Blessing the New Month
This Shabbat is Shabbat Mevarchim ("the Shabbat that blesses" the new month): a special prayer is recited blessing the Rosh Chodesh ("Head of the Month") of upcoming month of Adar, which falls on Thursday and Friday of next week.
Prior to the blessing, we announce the precise time of the molad, the "birth" of the new moon. Click here for molad times.
It is a Chabad custom to recite the entire book of Psalms before morning prayers, and to conduct farbrengens (chassidic gatherings) in the course of the Shabbat.
Links: On the Significance of Shabbat Mevarchim; Tehillim (the Book of Psalms);The Farbrengen
Today in Jewish History:
• Passing of Rabbi Israel Salanter (1883)
Passing of Rabbi Israel Lipkin (1810-1883), known as "Rabbi Israel Salanter," founder of the "Mussar" (ethicist) movement.
Daily Study:
Chitas and Rambam for today:
Chumash: Mishpatim, 7th Portion Exodus 23:26-24:18 with Rashi
• Chapter 23
26There will be no bereaved or barren woman in your land; I will fill the number of your days. כולֹא תִהְיֶה מְשַׁכֵּלָה וַעֲקָרָה בְּאַרְצֶךָ אֶת מִסְפַּר יָמֶיךָ אֲמַלֵּא:
There will be no bereaved… woman: if you comply with My will. לא תהיה משכלה: אם תעשה רצוני:
bereaved… woman: Heb. מְשַׁכֵּלָה. [A woman who] miscarries or buries her children is called מְשַׁכֵּלָה. משכלה: מפלת נפלים או קוברת את בניה, קרויה משכלה:
27I will send My fear before you, and I will confuse all the people among whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. כזאֶת אֵימָתִי אֲשַׁלַּח לְפָנֶיךָ וְהַמֹּתִי אֶת כָּל הָעָם אֲשֶׁר תָּבֹא בָּהֶם וְנָתַתִּי אֶת כָּל אֹיְבֶיךָ אֵלֶיךָ עֹרֶף:
and I will confuse: Heb. וְהַמֹּתִי, like הָמַמְךְתִּי (I will confound), and its Aramaic translation is וֶאשַׁגֵּשׁ. Likewise, any word whose verb root has the last letter doubled, when it is converted to speak in the פָעַלְךְתִּי form [i.e., the first person past tense], in some instances the doubled letter is dropped [i.e., the third letter of the root], and a “dagesh” is placed into the [second] letter, and it is vowelized with a “melupum” [a “cholam”], like וְהַמֹּתִי [in this verse is] from the same root as in “and the wheel of his wagon shall be confused (וְהָמַם) ” (Isa. 28:28); “And I turned about (וְסַבּוֹתִי) ” (Eccl. 2:20), [which is] from the same root as “and go around (וְסָבַב) ” (I Sam. 7:16); “I was poor (דַּלוֹתִי)” (Ps. 116:6), from the same root as “became impoverished (דָלְלוּ)” (Isa. 19:6); “have I engraved you (חַקֹתִי) ” (Isa. 49:16), from the same root as “resolves of (חִקְקֵי) heart” (Jud. 5:15); “whom did I oppress (רַצֹּתִי)” (I Sam. 12:3), from the same root as “When he oppressed רִצַץ, he abandoned the poor” (Job 20:19). The one who translates וְהַמֹּתִי as וְאֶקְטַל, “and I will kill,” is in error, because if this was from the same root as מִיתָה, death, the “hey” of this word would not be vowelized with a “pattach,” and the “mem” would not be punctuated with a “dagesh” and not be vowelized with a “melupum,” rather וְהֵמַךְתִּי (with a “tzeirei,” ) like “and You will kill (וְהֵמַךְתָּה) this nation” (Num. 14:15), and the “tav” would be punctuated with a “dagesh,” because it would represent two “tav” s, one a root letter (מוּת) and one [“tav”] a suffix, like “I said, (אָמַרְךְתִּי) ” “I sinned (חָטָאתִי),” “I did (עָשִׂיתִי),” and so, in “and I will give (וְנָתַךְתִּי),” the “tav” is punctuated with a “dagesh,” because it comes instead of two [“tav” s], because there should have been three “tav” s, two of the root, like “on the day the Lord delivered up (ךְתֵּת) ” (Josh. 10:12), “it is a gift of (מַךְתַּת) God” (Eccl. 3:13), and the third [“tav”] as a suffix. והמתי: כמו והממתי ותרגומו ואשגש. וכן כל תיבה שפועל שלה בכפל האות האחרונה, כשתהפוך לדבר בלשון פעלתי, יש מקומות שנוטל אות הכפולה ומדגיש את האות ונוקדו במלאפום, כגון והמותי, מגזרת (ישעיה כח כח) והמם גלגל עגלתו, (קהלת ב כ) וסבותי, מגזרת (שמואל א' ז טז) וסבב בית אל, (תהלים קטז ו) דלותי, מגזרת (ישעיה יט ו) דללו וחרבו, (שם מט טז) על כפים חקותיך, מגזרת (שופטים ה טו) חקקי לב, (שמואל א' יב ג) את מי רצותי, מגזרת (איוב כ יט) רצץ עזב דלים. והמתרגם והמותי ואיקטל, טועה הוא, שאלו מגזרת מיתה היה, אין ה"א שלה בפת"ח, ולא מ"ם שלו מודגשת, ולא נקודה מלאפום, אלא והמתי, כגון (במדבר יד טו) והמתה את העם הזה, והתי"ו מודגשת, לפי שתבא במקום ב' תוי"ן, האחת נשרשת, לפי שאין מיתה בלא ת"ו, והאחרת משמשת, כמו אמרתי, חטאתי, עשיתי, וכן ונתתי, הת"ו מודגשת, שהיא באה במקום שתים, לפי שהיה צריך שלש תוי"ן, שתים ליסוד, כמו (יהושע י יב) ביום תת ה', (קהלת ג יג) מתת א-להים היא, והשלישית לשמוש:
their backs: That they will flee from before you and turn their backs to you. ערף: שינוסו מפניך ויהפכו לך ערפם:
28And I will send the tzir'ah before you, and it will drive out the Hivvites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. כחוְשָׁלַחְתִּי אֶת הַצִּרְעָה לְפָנֶיךָ וְגֵרְשָׁה אֶת הַחִוִּי אֶת הַכְּנַעֲנִי וְאֶת הַחִתִּי מִלְּפָנֶיךָ:
the tzir’ah: [This was] a kind of flying insect, which would strike them [people] in their eyes, inject venom into them, and they would die (Tanchuma 18). The tzir’ah did not cross the Jordan, and the Hittites and the Canaanites are [those of] the land of Sihon and Og. Therefore, out of all the seven nations [the Torah] did not count [any] but these. As for the Hivvites, although they were on the other side of the Jordan, in tractate Sotah (36a) our Rabbis taught: It stood on the bank of the Jordan and cast venom upon them. הצרעה: מין שרץ העוף, והיתה מכה אותם בעיניהם ומטילה בהם ארס והם מתים, והצרעה לא עברה את הירדן, והחתי והכנעני הם ארץ סיחון ועוג, לפיכך מכל שבע אומות לא מנה כאן אלא אלו. וחוי אף על פי שהוא מעבר הירדן והלאה, שנו רבותינו במסכת סוטה (סוטה לו א) על שפת הירדן עמדה וזרקה בהם מרה:
29I will not drive them away from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field outnumber you. כטלֹא אֲגָרְשֶׁנּוּ מִפָּנֶיךָ בְּשָׁנָה אֶחָת פֶּן תִּהְיֶה הָאָרֶץ שְׁמָמָה וְרַבָּה עָלֶיךָ חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה:
desolate: Empty of human beings, since you are few and there are not enough of you to fill it [the land]. שממה: ריקנית מבני אדם, לפי שאתם מעט ואין בכם כדי למלאות אותה:
and… outnumber you: Heb. וְרַבָּה, and will outnumber you. [The word וְרַבָּה is not an adjective, but a verb in the past tense. The “vav” converts it to the future.] ורבה עליך: ותרבה עליך:
30I will drive them out from before you little by little, until you have increased and can occupy the land. למְעַט מְעַט אֲגָרְשֶׁנּוּ מִפָּנֶיךָ עַד אֲשֶׁר תִּפְרֶה וְנָחַלְתָּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ:
until you have increased: Heb. ךְתִּפְרֶה. You will increase, an expression of fruit, similar to “Be fruitful (פְּרוּ) and multiply” (Gen. 1:28). עד אשר תפרה: תרבה, לשון פרי, כמו פרו ורבו:
31And I will make your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the river, for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hands, and you shall drive them out from before you. לאוְשַׁתִּי אֶת גְּבֻלְךָ מִיַּם סוּף וְעַד יָם פְּלִשְׁתִּים וּמִמִּדְבָּר עַד הַנָּהָר כִּי | אֶתֵּן בְּיֶדְכֶם אֵת ישְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ וְגֵרַשְׁתָּמוֹ מִפָּנֶיךָ:
And I will make: Heb. וְשַׁךְתִּי, an expression of הִשָׁתָה, [meaning] placing. The “tav” is punctuated with a “dagesh” because it represents two “tav” s, since there is no [expression of] placing [or making, שִׁיתָה] without a “tav,” and the second one is [needed] for a suffix. ושתי: לשון השתה, והת"ו מודגשת מפני שבאה תחת שתים, שאין שיתה בלא ת"ו, והאחת לשמוש:
to the river: [Meaning] the Euphrates. — [from targumim] עד הנהר: פרת:
and you shall drive them out: Heb. וְגֵרַשְׁךְתָּמוֹ, [the equivalent of] וּתְגָרְשֵׁם, and you shall drive them out. וגרשתמו: ותגרשם:
32You shall not form a covenant for them or for their gods. לבלֹא תִכְרֹת לָהֶם וְלֵאלֹהֵיהֶם בְּרִית:
33They shall not dwell in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me, that you will worship their gods, which will be a snare for you. לגלֹא יֵשְׁבוּ בְּאַרְצְךָ פֶּן יַחֲטִיאוּ אֹתְךָ לִי כִּי תַעֲבֹד אֶת אֱלֹהֵיהֶם כִּי יִהְיֶה לְךָ לְמוֹקֵשׁ:
that you will worship, etc.: Heb. תַעִבֹד וְגוֹ כִּי-יִהְיֶה וְגוֹ כִּי. These [instances of] כִּי are used instead of אִשֶׁר [i.e.,] that, and so it is in many places. This is [similar to] the usage of אִי, if, which is one of the four expressions for which כִּי is used (Rosh Hashanah 3a). We also find אִם used as an expression of כַּאִשֶׁר, when, in many places, such as “And when (וְאִם) you offer up an offering of first fruits (Lev. 2:14), which is obligatory [and not optional]. כי תעבד כי יהיה לך למקש: הרי אלו כי משמשין במקום אשר, וכן בכמה מקומות, וזהו לשון אי, שהוא אחד מארבע לשונות שהכי משמש. וגם מצינו בהרבה מקומות אם משמש בלשון אשר, כמו (ויקרא ב יד) ואם תקריב מנחת בכורים, שהיא חובה:
Chapter 24
1And to Moses He said, "Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and prostrate yourselves from afar. אוְאֶל משֶׁה אָמַר עֲלֵה אֶל יְהֹוָה אַתָּה וְאַהֲרֹן נָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא וְשִׁבְעִים מִזִּקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶם מֵרָחֹק:
And to Moses He said, “Come up…: ” This section was [actually] said before the Ten Commandments [were given] (Mechilta 19:10). On the fourth of Sivan, “Come up” was said to him [Moses]. [Midrash Lekach Tov, based on Mechilta and Mechilta d’Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai on Exod. 19:10, Shab. 88a] See also Midrash Hagadol on this. ואל משה אמר עלה: פרשה זו נאמרה קודם עשרת הדברות, ובארבעה בסיון נאמר לו עלה:
2And Moses alone shall approach the Lord but they shall not approach, and the people shall not ascend with him." בוְנִגַּשׁ משֶׁה לְבַדּוֹ אֶל יְהֹוָה וְהֵם לֹא יִגָּשׁוּ וְהָעָם לֹא יַעֲלוּ עִמּוֹ:
And Moses alone shall approach: to the opaque darkness. -[Midrash Lekach Tov] ונגש משה לבדו: אל הערפל:
3So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances, and all the people answered in unison and said, "All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do." גוַיָּבֹא משֶׁה וַיְסַפֵּר לָעָם אֵת כָּל דִּבְרֵי יְהֹוָה וְאֵת כָּל הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים וַיַּעַן כָּל הָעָם קוֹל אֶחָד וַיֹּאמְרוּ כָּל הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהֹוָה נַעֲשֶׂה:
So Moses came and told the people: on that day. ויבא משה ויספר לעם: בו ביום:
all the words of the Lord: The commandments of separation [of the men from the women] and setting boundaries [around the mountain so that people would not cross]. את כל דברי ה': מצות פרישה והגבלה:
and all the ordinances: The seven commandments that the Noachides were commanded [to observe], in addition to [keeping] the Sabbath, honoring one’s father and mother, [the laws of] the red cow, and laws of jurisprudence, which were given to them in Marah. -[Mechilta on Exod. 19:10, Sanh. 56b] [Since this was before the giving of the Torah, there were only these commandments and ordinances.] ואת כל המשפטים: שבע מצות שנצטוו בני נח. ושבת וכבוד אב ואם ופרה אדומה ודינין שניתנו להם במרה:
4And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and he arose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and twelve monuments for the twelve tribes of Israel. דוַיִּכְתֹּב משֶׁה אֵת כָּל דִּבְרֵי יְהֹוָה וַיַּשְׁכֵּם בַּבֹּקֶר וַיִּבֶן מִזְבֵּחַ תַּחַת הָהָר וּשְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה מַצֵּבָה לִשְׁנֵים עָשָׂר שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:
And Moses wrote: [the Torah’s text] from “In the beginning” (Gen 1:1), until the giving of the Torah. He [also] wrote the commandments that they were commanded in Marah. [Again, since all this took place before the giving of the Torah, Moses could write only up to that point.] ויכתב משה: מבראשית ועד מתן תורה, וכתב מצות שנצטוו במרה:
and he arose early in the morning: on the fifth of Sivan. -[From Mechilta on Exod. 19: 10, Shab. 88a] וישכם בבקר: בחמשה בסיון:
5And he sent the youths of the children of Israel, and they offered up burnt offerings, and they slaughtered peace offerings to the Lord, bulls. הוַיִּשְׁלַח אֶת נַעֲרֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּעֲלוּ עֹלֹת וַיִּזְבְּחוּ זְבָחִים שְׁלָמִים לַיהֹוָה פָּרִים:
the youths: Heb. נַעִרֵי, the firstborn. -[From targumim, Zev. 115b, Num. Rabbah 4:8] את נערי: הבכורות:
6And Moses took half the blood and put it into the basins, and half the blood he cast onto the altar. ווַיִּקַּח משֶׁה חֲצִי הַדָּם וַיָּשֶׂם בָּאַגָּנֹת וַחֲצִי הַדָּם זָרַק עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ:
And Moses took half the blood: Who [first] divided it [exactly in half]? An angel came and divided it. -[From Lev. Rabbah 6:5] ויקח משה חצי הדם: מי חלקו, מלאך בא וחלקו:
in the basins: Two basins, one for half the blood of the burnt offering and one for half the blood of the peace offering, [in order] to sprinkle them on the people. From here our Sages learned that our ancestors entered the covenant with circumcision, immersion [in a mikvah], and the sprinkling of the blood [of the sacrifice on the altar], for there is no sprinkling [of blood on a person] without immersion [preceding it]. -[From Yev. 46b, Kreis. 9b] באגנות: שני אגנות אחד לחצי דם עולה ואחד לחצי דם שלמים להזות אותם על העם. ומכאן למדו רבותינו שנכנסו אבותינו לברית במילה וטבילה והרצאת דמים שאין הזאה בלא טבילה:
7And he took the Book of the Covenant and read it within the hearing of the people, and they said, "All that the Lord spoke we will do and we will hear." זוַיִּקַּח סֵפֶר הַבְּרִית וַיִּקְרָא בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם וַיֹּאמְרוּ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהֹוָה נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע:
the Book of the Covenant: from “In the beginning” (Gen 1:1) until the giving of the Torah, and he [also wrote] the commandments that they were commanded in Marah. -[From Mechilta, Exod. 19: 10] ספר הברית: מבראשית ועד מתן תורה ומצות שנצטוו במרה:
8And Moses took the blood and sprinkled [it] on the people, and he said, "Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has formed with you concerning these words." חוַיִּקַּח משֶׁה אֶת הַדָּם וַיִּזְרֹק עַל הָעָם וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה דַם הַבְּרִית אֲשֶׁר כָּרַת יְהֹוָה עִמָּכֶם עַל כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה:
and sprinkled [it]: Heb. וַיִזְרֹק, an expression of sprinkling, and the Targum renders: and sprinkled it on the altar to atone for the people. ויזרק: ענין הזאה, ותרגומו וזרק על מדבחא לכפרא על עמא:
9And Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel ascended, טוַיַּעַל משֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן נָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא וְשִׁבְעִים מִזִּקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:
10and they perceived the God of Israel, and beneath His feet was like the forming of a sapphire brick and like the appearance of the heavens for clarity. יוַיִּרְאוּ אֵת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְתַחַת רַגְלָיו כְּמַעֲשֵׂה לִבְנַת הַסַּפִּיר וּכְעֶצֶם הַשָּׁמַיִם לָטֹהַר:
and they perceived the God of Israel: They gazed and peered and [because of this] were doomed to die, but the Holy One, blessed is He, did not want to disturb the rejoicing of [this moment of the giving of] the Torah. So He waited for Nadab and Abihu [i.e., to kill them,] until the day of the dedication of the Mishkan, and for [destroying] the elders until [the following incident:] “And the people were as if seeking complaints… and a fire of the Lord broke out against them and devoured at the edge (בִּקְצֵה) of the camp” (Num. 11:1). [בִקְצֵה denotes] the officers (בִקְצִינִים) of the camp [i.e., the elders]. -[From Midrash Tanchuma Beha’alothecha 16] ויראו את אלהי ישראל: נסתכלו והציצו ונתחייבו מיתה, אלא שלא רצה הקב"ה לערבב שמחת התורה, והמתין לנדב ואביהוא עד יום חנוכת המשכן, ולזקנים עד, (במדבר יא א) ויהי העם כמתאוננים וגו' ותבער בם אש ה' ותאכל בקצה המחנה, בקצינים שבמחנה:
like the forming of a sapphire brick: that was before Him at the time of the bondage, to remember Israel’s straits [i.e.,] that they were enslaved in the making of bricks. -[From Lev. Rabbah 23:8] כמעשה לבנת הספיר: היא היתה לפניו בשעת השעבוד לזכור צרתן של ישראל, שהיו משועבדים במעשה לבנים:
and like the appearance of the heavens for clarity: Since they were [finally] redeemed, there was light and joy before Him. -[From Lev. Rabbah 23:8] וכעצם השמים לטהר: משנגאלו היה אור וחדוה לפניו:
and like the appearance: Heb. וּכְעֶצֶם, as the Targum (Onkelos) renders וּכְמֶחֱזֵי : an expression meaning appearance. וכעצם: כתרגומו, לשון מראה:
for clarity: Heb. לָטֹהַר, an expression meaning clear and unclouded. -[From Lev. Rabbah 23:8] I.e., during the bondage of the Israelites, the sapphire brick clouded the heavens, but after the Exodus, the heavens became clear and not a cloud was in sight. -[Lev. Rabbah 23:8] לטהר: לשון ברור וצלול:
11And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand, and they perceived God, and they ate and drank. יאוְאֶל אֲצִילֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא שָׁלַח יָדוֹ וַיֶּחֱזוּ אֶת הָאֱלֹהִים וַיֹּאכְלוּ וַיִּשְׁתּוּ:
And upon the nobles: They are Nadab and Abihu and the elders. -[From Midrash Tanchuma Beha’alothecha 16] ואל אצילי: הם נדב ואביהוא והזקנים:
He did not lay His hand: This indicates that they deserved that a hand be laid upon them. לא שלח ידו: מכלל שהיו ראוים להשתלח בהם יד:
and they perceived God: They gazed at Him with levity, while [they were] eating and drinking. So is the [interpretation of] Midrash Tanchuma (Beha’alothecha 16). Onkelos, however, did not render [this clause] in this manner. אִצִילֵי means great ones, like [in the phrases:] “and from its nobles (וּמֵאִצִילֶיהָ) I called you” (Isa. 41:9); “and He magnified (וַיָּאצֶל) some of the spirit” (Num. 11:25); “six large cubits (אַצִּילָה) ” (Ezek. 41:8). ויחזו את הא-להים: היו מסתכלין בו בלב גס מתוך אכילה ושתיה, כך מדרש תנחומא. ואונקלוס לא תרגם כן. אצילי לשון גדולים, כמו (ישעיה מא ט) ומאציליה קראתיך, (במדבר יא כה) ויאצל מן הרוח, (יחזקאל מא ח) שש אמות אצילה:
12And the Lord said to Moses, "Come up to Me to the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets, the Law and the commandments, which I have written to instruct them." יבוַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל משֶׁה עֲלֵה אֵלַי הָהָרָה וֶהְיֵה שָׁם וְאֶתְּנָה לְךָ אֶת לֻחֹת הָאֶבֶן וְהַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוָה אֲשֶׁר כָּתַבְתִּי לְהוֹרֹתָם:
And the Lord said to Moses: After the giving of the Torah. ויאמר ה' אל משה: לאחר מתן תורה:
Come up to Me to the mountain and remain there: for forty days. עלה אלי ההרה והיה שם: ארבעים יום:
the stone tablets, the Law and the commandments, which I have written to instruct them: All 613 mitzvoth are included in the Ten Commandments. In the “Azharoth” that he composed for each commandment [of the Ten], Rabbenu Saadiah [Goan] explained the mitzvoth dependent upon it [each commandment]. [from Jonathan, Num. Rabbah 13:16] את לחת האבן והתורה והמצוה אשר כתבתי להורתם: כל שש מאות ושלש עשרה מצות בכלל עשרת הדברות הן, ורבינו סעדיה פירש באזהרות שיסד לכל דבור ודבור מצות התלויות בו:
13So Moses and Joshua, his servant, arose, and Moses ascended to the mount of God. יגוַיָּקָם משֶׁה וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ מְשָׁרְתוֹ וַיַּעַל משֶׁה אֶל הַר הָאֱלֹהִים:
So Moses and Joshua, his servant, arose: I do not know what business Joshua had here, but I would say that the disciple [Joshua] escorted his mentor [Moses] until the place of the limits of the boundaries of the mountain, for he was not permitted to go past that point. From there Moses alone ascended to the mountain of God. Joshua pitched his tent and waited there for forty days. So we find that when Moses descended, “Joshua heard the voice of the people as they shouted” (Exod. 32:17). We learn [from there] that Joshua was not with them. ויקם משה ויהושע משרתו: לא ידעתי מה טיבו של יהושע כאן. ואומר אני, שהיה התלמיד מלוה לרב עד מקום הגבלת תחומי ההר, שאינו רשאי לילך משם והלאה, ומשם ויעל משה לבדו אל הר הא-להים, ויהושע נטה שם אהלו ונתעכב שם כל ארבעים יום, שכן מצינו, כשירד משה (לקמן לב יז) וישמע יהושע את קול העם ברעה, למדנו שלא היה יהושע עמהם:
14And to the elders he said, "Wait for us here until we return to you, and here Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a case, let him go to them." ידוְאֶל הַזְּקֵנִים אָמַר שְׁבוּ לָנוּ בָזֶה עַד אֲשֶׁר נָשׁוּב אֲלֵיכֶם וְהִנֵּה אַהֲרֹן וְחוּר עִמָּכֶם מִי בַעַל דְּבָרִים יִגַּשׁ אֲלֵהֶם:
And to the elders he said: upon his departure from the camp. ואל הזקנים אמר: בצאתו מן המחנה:
Wait for us here: Wait here with the rest of the people in the camp [so that you will] be ready to judge each person’s quarrel. שבו לנו בזה: והתעכבו כאן עם שאר העם במחנה להיות נכונים לשפוט לכל איש ריבו:
Hur: He was Miriam’s son, and his father was Caleb the son of Jephunneh, as it is said: “and Caleb took to himself Ephrath, and she bore to him Hur” (I Chron. 2:19). Ephrath was Miriam, as is stated in Sotah (11b). חור: בנה של מרים היה, ואביו כלב בן יפנה, שנאמר (דברי הימים א' ב יט) ויקח לו כלב את אפרת ותלד לו את חור. אפרת זו מרים, כדאיתא בסוטה (יא ב):
whoever has a case: lit., whoever is a master of words, whoever has litigation. -[From targumim] מי בעל דברים: מי שיש לו דין:
15And Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. טווַיַּעַל משֶׁה אֶל הָהָר וַיְכַס הֶעָנָן אֶת הָהָר:
16And the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days, and He called to Moses on the seventh day from within the cloud. טזוַיִּשְׁכֹּן כְּבוֹד יְהֹוָה עַל הַר סִינַי וַיְכַסֵּהוּ הֶעָנָן שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים וַיִּקְרָא אֶל משֶׁה בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִתּוֹךְ הֶעָנָן:
and the cloud covered it: Our Sages disagree on the matter. Some say that these are the six days from the New Moon [until Shavuoth, the day of the giving of the Torah -(old Rashi)]. ויכסהו הענן: רבותינו חולקין בדבר. יש מהם אומרים אלו ששה ימים שמראש חודש עד עצרת יום מתן תורה:
and the cloud covered it: The mountain. ויכסהו הענן: להר:
and He called to Moses on the seventh day: to say the Ten Commandments, and [in fact] Moses and all Israel were standing [and listening to the Ten Commandments], but the text bestowed honor upon Moses [by mentioning only him]. Others say that the cloud covered Moses for six days after the Ten Commandments [were given], and they [these days] were at the beginning of the forty days that Moses ascended to receive the tablets (Yoma 4a). It teaches you that whoever enters the camp of the Shechinah requires six days separation [seclusion from society] (Yoma 3b). ויקרא אל משה ביום השביעי: לומר עשרת הדברות, ומשה וכל בני ישראל עומדים, אלא שחלק הכתוב כבוד למשה, ויש אומרים ויכסהו הענן למשה ששה ימים לאחר עשרת הדברות, והם היו בתחלת ארבעים יום שעלה משה לקבל הלוחות, ולמדך, שכל הנכנס למחנה שכינה טעון פרישה ששה ימים:
17And the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire atop the mountain, before the eyes of the children of Israel. יזוּמַרְאֵה כְּבוֹד יְהֹוָה כְּאֵשׁ אֹכֶלֶת בְּרֹאשׁ הָהָר לְעֵינֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:
18And Moses came within the cloud, and he went up to the mountain, and Moses was upon the mountain forty days and forty nights. יחוַיָּבֹא משֶׁה בְּתוֹךְ הֶעָנָן וַיַּעַל אֶל הָהָר וַיְהִי משֶׁה בָּהָר אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם וְאַרְבָּעִים לָיְלָה:
within the cloud: This cloud was a kind of smoke, and the Holy One, blessed is He, made a path (another version A canopy) within it. -[From Yoma 4b] בתוך הענן: ענן זה כמין עשן הוא, ועשה לו הקב"ה למשה שביל [חופה] בתוכו:
Daily Tehillim: Psalms Chapter 119, Verses 1-96
• Verses 1-96
David composed this prominent psalm in alphabetical sequence-eight verses for each letter. Every verse contains one of the following words (referring to different aspects of Torah): Way; Torah; Testimony; Precept; Commandment; Statement (translated here as Word or Promise); Word; Judgement (or Laws); Righteousness; Statute. Replete with morals and prayers, this psalm should be recited daily, as a powerful preparation for the service of God. (In verses beginning with one of the letters of the mnemonic PeReTZ BeN DaMaH, the word "עדותיך" is pronounced "eidvotecha.")
1. Fortunate are those whose way is artless, who walk with the Torah of the Lord.2. Fortunate are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with all their hearts.3. Indeed, they have not done iniquity; they walk in His ways.4. You have commanded Your precepts to be observed diligently.5. My wish is that my ways be directed to keep Your statutes.6. Then I will not be ashamed, when I behold all Your commandments.7. I will give thanks to You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments.8. I will keep Your statutes; do not utterly forsake me9. How can a young man keep his way pure? By observing Your word.10. With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments.11. I have harbored Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.12. Blessed are You, O Lord; teach me Your statutes.13. With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth.14. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as I would with all riches.15. I will speak of Your precepts, and gaze upon Your ways.16. I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.17. Deal kindly with Your servant, that I may live to keep Your word.18. Unveil my eyes, that I may behold wonders from Your Torah.19. I am a sojourner on earth; do not hide Your commandments from me.20. My soul is crushed with a longing for Your judgments every moment.21. You have rebuked the accursed scoffers, those who stray from Your commandments.22. Remove insult and contempt from me, for I have kept Your testimonies.23. Though princes sat and spoke against me, Your servant speaks of Your statutes.24. Indeed, Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counsellors.25. My soul cleaves to the dust; revive me in accordance with Your word.26. I have spoken of my ways, and You answered me; teach me Your statutes.27. Make me understand the way of Your precepts, and I will speak of Your wonders.28. My soul drips away out of grief; sustain me according to Your word.29. Remove from me the way of falsehood, and graciously endow me with Your Torah.30. I have chosen the way of faith; Your judgments have I laid before me.31. I held fast to Your testimonies, O Lord; put me not to shame.32. I will run on the path of Your commandments, for You will broaden my heart.33. Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, and I will keep it to the last.34. Grant me understanding and I will keep Your Torah; I will observe it with all my heart.35. Direct me in the path of Your commandments, for that is my desire.36. Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to greed.37. Avert my eyes from seeing vanity; by Your ways give me life.38. Fulfill for Your servant Your promise, which brings to the fear of You.39. Remove my shame which I fear, for Your judgments are good.40. Behold, I have longed for Your precepts; give me life in Your righteousness.41. And let Your kindness come to fruition for me, O Lord, Your salvation as You promised.42. I will offer a retort to those who taunt me, for I trust in Your word.43. Do not at all remove the word of truth from my mouth, for I hope [to fulfill] Your judgments.44. I will keep Your Torah continually, for ever and ever.45. And I will walk in spacious paths, for I seek Your precepts.46. I will speak of Your testimonies before kings, and I will not be ashamed.47. And I will delight in Your commandments, which I love.48. I will lift up my hands to Your commandments, which I love, and I will speak of Your statutes.49. Remember the word [promised] to Your servant, by which You gave me hope.50. This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life.51. [Though] the wicked ridicule me severely, I have not strayed from Your Torah.52. When I remember Your judgments of old, O Lord, I take comfort.53. Trembling seized me because of the wicked, those who forsake Your Torah.54. Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my wanderings.55. At night I remembered Your Name, O Lord, and I kept Your Torah.56. All this came to me because I kept Your precepts.57. The Lord is my portion; I pledged to keep Your words.58. I pleaded before You with all my heart: have compassion upon me according to Your word.59. I contemplated my ways, and returned my feet to Your testimonies.60. I hurried and did not delay to keep Your commandments.61. Bands of wicked men plundered me, [but] I did not forget Your Torah.62. At midnight, I rise to thank You for Your righteous judgments.63. I am a friend to all who fear You, and to those who keep Your precepts.64. Your kindness, O Lord, fills the earth; teach me Your statutes.65. You have dealt goodness to Your servant, O Lord, in accord with Your promise.66. Teach me the goodness and wisdom of the [Torah's] reasons, for I believe in Your commandments.67. Before I afflicted myself, I would blunder; but now I observe Your word.68. You are good and benevolent; teach me Your statutes.69. The wicked have smeared me with lies, [when in truth] I keep Your precepts with all my heart.70. Their hearts grew thick as fat; but as for me, Your Torah is my delight.71. It is for my good that I was afflicted, so that I might learn Your statutes.72. The Torah of Your mouth is better for me than thousands in gold and silver.73. Your hands have made me and prepared me; grant me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.74. Those who fear You will see me and rejoice, because I hoped in Your word.75. I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are just; righteously have You afflicted me.76. Let Your kindness be my comfort, as You promised to Your servant.77. Let Your mercies come upon me, that I may live, for Your Torah is my delight.78. Let the scoffers be shamed, for they have maligned me with falsehood; but I will meditate upon Your precepts.79. May those who fear You return to me, and those who know Your testimonies.80. May my heart be perfect in Your statutes, so that I not be shamed.81. My soul longs for Your salvation; I hope for Your word.82. My eyes long for Your promise, saying, "When will You comfort me?”83. Though I became [dried out] like a wineskin in smoke, I did not forget Your statutes.84. How many are the days of Your servant? When will You execute judgment upon my pursuers?85. The wicked have dug pits for me, in violation of Your Torah.86. All Your commandments teach truth, [yet] they pursue me with lies, help me!87. They nearly consumed me upon the earth, but I did not forsake Your precepts.88. As befits Your kindness, grant me life, and I will keep the testimony of Your mouth.89. Forever, O Lord, Your word stands firm in the heavens.90. Your faithfulness persists for all generations; You established the earth, and it stands.91. They stand ready today [to execute] Your judgments, for all are Your servants.92. Had Your Torah not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.93. Never will I forget Your precepts, for through them You have sustained me.94. I am Yours; save me, for I have sought Your precepts.95. The wicked hope to destroy me, but I meditate upon Your testimonies.96. To every goal I have seen a limit, but Your commandment is immensely broad.
Chumash: Mishpatim, 7th Portion Exodus 23:26-24:18 with Rashi
• Chapter 23
26There will be no bereaved or barren woman in your land; I will fill the number of your days. כולֹא תִהְיֶה מְשַׁכֵּלָה וַעֲקָרָה בְּאַרְצֶךָ אֶת מִסְפַּר יָמֶיךָ אֲמַלֵּא:
There will be no bereaved… woman: if you comply with My will. לא תהיה משכלה: אם תעשה רצוני:
bereaved… woman: Heb. מְשַׁכֵּלָה. [A woman who] miscarries or buries her children is called מְשַׁכֵּלָה. משכלה: מפלת נפלים או קוברת את בניה, קרויה משכלה:
27I will send My fear before you, and I will confuse all the people among whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. כזאֶת אֵימָתִי אֲשַׁלַּח לְפָנֶיךָ וְהַמֹּתִי אֶת כָּל הָעָם אֲשֶׁר תָּבֹא בָּהֶם וְנָתַתִּי אֶת כָּל אֹיְבֶיךָ אֵלֶיךָ עֹרֶף:
and I will confuse: Heb. וְהַמֹּתִי, like הָמַמְךְתִּי (I will confound), and its Aramaic translation is וֶאשַׁגֵּשׁ. Likewise, any word whose verb root has the last letter doubled, when it is converted to speak in the פָעַלְךְתִּי form [i.e., the first person past tense], in some instances the doubled letter is dropped [i.e., the third letter of the root], and a “dagesh” is placed into the [second] letter, and it is vowelized with a “melupum” [a “cholam”], like וְהַמֹּתִי [in this verse is] from the same root as in “and the wheel of his wagon shall be confused (וְהָמַם) ” (Isa. 28:28); “And I turned about (וְסַבּוֹתִי) ” (Eccl. 2:20), [which is] from the same root as “and go around (וְסָבַב) ” (I Sam. 7:16); “I was poor (דַּלוֹתִי)” (Ps. 116:6), from the same root as “became impoverished (דָלְלוּ)” (Isa. 19:6); “have I engraved you (חַקֹתִי) ” (Isa. 49:16), from the same root as “resolves of (חִקְקֵי) heart” (Jud. 5:15); “whom did I oppress (רַצֹּתִי)” (I Sam. 12:3), from the same root as “When he oppressed רִצַץ, he abandoned the poor” (Job 20:19). The one who translates וְהַמֹּתִי as וְאֶקְטַל, “and I will kill,” is in error, because if this was from the same root as מִיתָה, death, the “hey” of this word would not be vowelized with a “pattach,” and the “mem” would not be punctuated with a “dagesh” and not be vowelized with a “melupum,” rather וְהֵמַךְתִּי (with a “tzeirei,” ) like “and You will kill (וְהֵמַךְתָּה) this nation” (Num. 14:15), and the “tav” would be punctuated with a “dagesh,” because it would represent two “tav” s, one a root letter (מוּת) and one [“tav”] a suffix, like “I said, (אָמַרְךְתִּי) ” “I sinned (חָטָאתִי),” “I did (עָשִׂיתִי),” and so, in “and I will give (וְנָתַךְתִּי),” the “tav” is punctuated with a “dagesh,” because it comes instead of two [“tav” s], because there should have been three “tav” s, two of the root, like “on the day the Lord delivered up (ךְתֵּת) ” (Josh. 10:12), “it is a gift of (מַךְתַּת) God” (Eccl. 3:13), and the third [“tav”] as a suffix. והמתי: כמו והממתי ותרגומו ואשגש. וכן כל תיבה שפועל שלה בכפל האות האחרונה, כשתהפוך לדבר בלשון פעלתי, יש מקומות שנוטל אות הכפולה ומדגיש את האות ונוקדו במלאפום, כגון והמותי, מגזרת (ישעיה כח כח) והמם גלגל עגלתו, (קהלת ב כ) וסבותי, מגזרת (שמואל א' ז טז) וסבב בית אל, (תהלים קטז ו) דלותי, מגזרת (ישעיה יט ו) דללו וחרבו, (שם מט טז) על כפים חקותיך, מגזרת (שופטים ה טו) חקקי לב, (שמואל א' יב ג) את מי רצותי, מגזרת (איוב כ יט) רצץ עזב דלים. והמתרגם והמותי ואיקטל, טועה הוא, שאלו מגזרת מיתה היה, אין ה"א שלה בפת"ח, ולא מ"ם שלו מודגשת, ולא נקודה מלאפום, אלא והמתי, כגון (במדבר יד טו) והמתה את העם הזה, והתי"ו מודגשת, לפי שתבא במקום ב' תוי"ן, האחת נשרשת, לפי שאין מיתה בלא ת"ו, והאחרת משמשת, כמו אמרתי, חטאתי, עשיתי, וכן ונתתי, הת"ו מודגשת, שהיא באה במקום שתים, לפי שהיה צריך שלש תוי"ן, שתים ליסוד, כמו (יהושע י יב) ביום תת ה', (קהלת ג יג) מתת א-להים היא, והשלישית לשמוש:
their backs: That they will flee from before you and turn their backs to you. ערף: שינוסו מפניך ויהפכו לך ערפם:
28And I will send the tzir'ah before you, and it will drive out the Hivvites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. כחוְשָׁלַחְתִּי אֶת הַצִּרְעָה לְפָנֶיךָ וְגֵרְשָׁה אֶת הַחִוִּי אֶת הַכְּנַעֲנִי וְאֶת הַחִתִּי מִלְּפָנֶיךָ:
the tzir’ah: [This was] a kind of flying insect, which would strike them [people] in their eyes, inject venom into them, and they would die (Tanchuma 18). The tzir’ah did not cross the Jordan, and the Hittites and the Canaanites are [those of] the land of Sihon and Og. Therefore, out of all the seven nations [the Torah] did not count [any] but these. As for the Hivvites, although they were on the other side of the Jordan, in tractate Sotah (36a) our Rabbis taught: It stood on the bank of the Jordan and cast venom upon them. הצרעה: מין שרץ העוף, והיתה מכה אותם בעיניהם ומטילה בהם ארס והם מתים, והצרעה לא עברה את הירדן, והחתי והכנעני הם ארץ סיחון ועוג, לפיכך מכל שבע אומות לא מנה כאן אלא אלו. וחוי אף על פי שהוא מעבר הירדן והלאה, שנו רבותינו במסכת סוטה (סוטה לו א) על שפת הירדן עמדה וזרקה בהם מרה:
29I will not drive them away from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field outnumber you. כטלֹא אֲגָרְשֶׁנּוּ מִפָּנֶיךָ בְּשָׁנָה אֶחָת פֶּן תִּהְיֶה הָאָרֶץ שְׁמָמָה וְרַבָּה עָלֶיךָ חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה:
desolate: Empty of human beings, since you are few and there are not enough of you to fill it [the land]. שממה: ריקנית מבני אדם, לפי שאתם מעט ואין בכם כדי למלאות אותה:
and… outnumber you: Heb. וְרַבָּה, and will outnumber you. [The word וְרַבָּה is not an adjective, but a verb in the past tense. The “vav” converts it to the future.] ורבה עליך: ותרבה עליך:
30I will drive them out from before you little by little, until you have increased and can occupy the land. למְעַט מְעַט אֲגָרְשֶׁנּוּ מִפָּנֶיךָ עַד אֲשֶׁר תִּפְרֶה וְנָחַלְתָּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ:
until you have increased: Heb. ךְתִּפְרֶה. You will increase, an expression of fruit, similar to “Be fruitful (פְּרוּ) and multiply” (Gen. 1:28). עד אשר תפרה: תרבה, לשון פרי, כמו פרו ורבו:
31And I will make your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the river, for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hands, and you shall drive them out from before you. לאוְשַׁתִּי אֶת גְּבֻלְךָ מִיַּם סוּף וְעַד יָם פְּלִשְׁתִּים וּמִמִּדְבָּר עַד הַנָּהָר כִּי | אֶתֵּן בְּיֶדְכֶם אֵת ישְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ וְגֵרַשְׁתָּמוֹ מִפָּנֶיךָ:
And I will make: Heb. וְשַׁךְתִּי, an expression of הִשָׁתָה, [meaning] placing. The “tav” is punctuated with a “dagesh” because it represents two “tav” s, since there is no [expression of] placing [or making, שִׁיתָה] without a “tav,” and the second one is [needed] for a suffix. ושתי: לשון השתה, והת"ו מודגשת מפני שבאה תחת שתים, שאין שיתה בלא ת"ו, והאחת לשמוש:
to the river: [Meaning] the Euphrates. — [from targumim] עד הנהר: פרת:
and you shall drive them out: Heb. וְגֵרַשְׁךְתָּמוֹ, [the equivalent of] וּתְגָרְשֵׁם, and you shall drive them out. וגרשתמו: ותגרשם:
32You shall not form a covenant for them or for their gods. לבלֹא תִכְרֹת לָהֶם וְלֵאלֹהֵיהֶם בְּרִית:
33They shall not dwell in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me, that you will worship their gods, which will be a snare for you. לגלֹא יֵשְׁבוּ בְּאַרְצְךָ פֶּן יַחֲטִיאוּ אֹתְךָ לִי כִּי תַעֲבֹד אֶת אֱלֹהֵיהֶם כִּי יִהְיֶה לְךָ לְמוֹקֵשׁ:
that you will worship, etc.: Heb. תַעִבֹד וְגוֹ כִּי-יִהְיֶה וְגוֹ כִּי. These [instances of] כִּי are used instead of אִשֶׁר [i.e.,] that, and so it is in many places. This is [similar to] the usage of אִי, if, which is one of the four expressions for which כִּי is used (Rosh Hashanah 3a). We also find אִם used as an expression of כַּאִשֶׁר, when, in many places, such as “And when (וְאִם) you offer up an offering of first fruits (Lev. 2:14), which is obligatory [and not optional]. כי תעבד כי יהיה לך למקש: הרי אלו כי משמשין במקום אשר, וכן בכמה מקומות, וזהו לשון אי, שהוא אחד מארבע לשונות שהכי משמש. וגם מצינו בהרבה מקומות אם משמש בלשון אשר, כמו (ויקרא ב יד) ואם תקריב מנחת בכורים, שהיא חובה:
Chapter 24
1And to Moses He said, "Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and prostrate yourselves from afar. אוְאֶל משֶׁה אָמַר עֲלֵה אֶל יְהֹוָה אַתָּה וְאַהֲרֹן נָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא וְשִׁבְעִים מִזִּקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶם מֵרָחֹק:
And to Moses He said, “Come up…: ” This section was [actually] said before the Ten Commandments [were given] (Mechilta 19:10). On the fourth of Sivan, “Come up” was said to him [Moses]. [Midrash Lekach Tov, based on Mechilta and Mechilta d’Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai on Exod. 19:10, Shab. 88a] See also Midrash Hagadol on this. ואל משה אמר עלה: פרשה זו נאמרה קודם עשרת הדברות, ובארבעה בסיון נאמר לו עלה:
2And Moses alone shall approach the Lord but they shall not approach, and the people shall not ascend with him." בוְנִגַּשׁ משֶׁה לְבַדּוֹ אֶל יְהֹוָה וְהֵם לֹא יִגָּשׁוּ וְהָעָם לֹא יַעֲלוּ עִמּוֹ:
And Moses alone shall approach: to the opaque darkness. -[Midrash Lekach Tov] ונגש משה לבדו: אל הערפל:
3So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances, and all the people answered in unison and said, "All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do." גוַיָּבֹא משֶׁה וַיְסַפֵּר לָעָם אֵת כָּל דִּבְרֵי יְהֹוָה וְאֵת כָּל הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים וַיַּעַן כָּל הָעָם קוֹל אֶחָד וַיֹּאמְרוּ כָּל הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהֹוָה נַעֲשֶׂה:
So Moses came and told the people: on that day. ויבא משה ויספר לעם: בו ביום:
all the words of the Lord: The commandments of separation [of the men from the women] and setting boundaries [around the mountain so that people would not cross]. את כל דברי ה': מצות פרישה והגבלה:
and all the ordinances: The seven commandments that the Noachides were commanded [to observe], in addition to [keeping] the Sabbath, honoring one’s father and mother, [the laws of] the red cow, and laws of jurisprudence, which were given to them in Marah. -[Mechilta on Exod. 19:10, Sanh. 56b] [Since this was before the giving of the Torah, there were only these commandments and ordinances.] ואת כל המשפטים: שבע מצות שנצטוו בני נח. ושבת וכבוד אב ואם ופרה אדומה ודינין שניתנו להם במרה:
4And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and he arose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and twelve monuments for the twelve tribes of Israel. דוַיִּכְתֹּב משֶׁה אֵת כָּל דִּבְרֵי יְהֹוָה וַיַּשְׁכֵּם בַּבֹּקֶר וַיִּבֶן מִזְבֵּחַ תַּחַת הָהָר וּשְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה מַצֵּבָה לִשְׁנֵים עָשָׂר שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:
And Moses wrote: [the Torah’s text] from “In the beginning” (Gen 1:1), until the giving of the Torah. He [also] wrote the commandments that they were commanded in Marah. [Again, since all this took place before the giving of the Torah, Moses could write only up to that point.] ויכתב משה: מבראשית ועד מתן תורה, וכתב מצות שנצטוו במרה:
and he arose early in the morning: on the fifth of Sivan. -[From Mechilta on Exod. 19: 10, Shab. 88a] וישכם בבקר: בחמשה בסיון:
5And he sent the youths of the children of Israel, and they offered up burnt offerings, and they slaughtered peace offerings to the Lord, bulls. הוַיִּשְׁלַח אֶת נַעֲרֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּעֲלוּ עֹלֹת וַיִּזְבְּחוּ זְבָחִים שְׁלָמִים לַיהֹוָה פָּרִים:
the youths: Heb. נַעִרֵי, the firstborn. -[From targumim, Zev. 115b, Num. Rabbah 4:8] את נערי: הבכורות:
6And Moses took half the blood and put it into the basins, and half the blood he cast onto the altar. ווַיִּקַּח משֶׁה חֲצִי הַדָּם וַיָּשֶׂם בָּאַגָּנֹת וַחֲצִי הַדָּם זָרַק עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ:
And Moses took half the blood: Who [first] divided it [exactly in half]? An angel came and divided it. -[From Lev. Rabbah 6:5] ויקח משה חצי הדם: מי חלקו, מלאך בא וחלקו:
in the basins: Two basins, one for half the blood of the burnt offering and one for half the blood of the peace offering, [in order] to sprinkle them on the people. From here our Sages learned that our ancestors entered the covenant with circumcision, immersion [in a mikvah], and the sprinkling of the blood [of the sacrifice on the altar], for there is no sprinkling [of blood on a person] without immersion [preceding it]. -[From Yev. 46b, Kreis. 9b] באגנות: שני אגנות אחד לחצי דם עולה ואחד לחצי דם שלמים להזות אותם על העם. ומכאן למדו רבותינו שנכנסו אבותינו לברית במילה וטבילה והרצאת דמים שאין הזאה בלא טבילה:
7And he took the Book of the Covenant and read it within the hearing of the people, and they said, "All that the Lord spoke we will do and we will hear." זוַיִּקַּח סֵפֶר הַבְּרִית וַיִּקְרָא בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם וַיֹּאמְרוּ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהֹוָה נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע:
the Book of the Covenant: from “In the beginning” (Gen 1:1) until the giving of the Torah, and he [also wrote] the commandments that they were commanded in Marah. -[From Mechilta, Exod. 19: 10] ספר הברית: מבראשית ועד מתן תורה ומצות שנצטוו במרה:
8And Moses took the blood and sprinkled [it] on the people, and he said, "Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has formed with you concerning these words." חוַיִּקַּח משֶׁה אֶת הַדָּם וַיִּזְרֹק עַל הָעָם וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה דַם הַבְּרִית אֲשֶׁר כָּרַת יְהֹוָה עִמָּכֶם עַל כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה:
and sprinkled [it]: Heb. וַיִזְרֹק, an expression of sprinkling, and the Targum renders: and sprinkled it on the altar to atone for the people. ויזרק: ענין הזאה, ותרגומו וזרק על מדבחא לכפרא על עמא:
9And Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel ascended, טוַיַּעַל משֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן נָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא וְשִׁבְעִים מִזִּקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:
10and they perceived the God of Israel, and beneath His feet was like the forming of a sapphire brick and like the appearance of the heavens for clarity. יוַיִּרְאוּ אֵת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְתַחַת רַגְלָיו כְּמַעֲשֵׂה לִבְנַת הַסַּפִּיר וּכְעֶצֶם הַשָּׁמַיִם לָטֹהַר:
and they perceived the God of Israel: They gazed and peered and [because of this] were doomed to die, but the Holy One, blessed is He, did not want to disturb the rejoicing of [this moment of the giving of] the Torah. So He waited for Nadab and Abihu [i.e., to kill them,] until the day of the dedication of the Mishkan, and for [destroying] the elders until [the following incident:] “And the people were as if seeking complaints… and a fire of the Lord broke out against them and devoured at the edge (בִּקְצֵה) of the camp” (Num. 11:1). [בִקְצֵה denotes] the officers (בִקְצִינִים) of the camp [i.e., the elders]. -[From Midrash Tanchuma Beha’alothecha 16] ויראו את אלהי ישראל: נסתכלו והציצו ונתחייבו מיתה, אלא שלא רצה הקב"ה לערבב שמחת התורה, והמתין לנדב ואביהוא עד יום חנוכת המשכן, ולזקנים עד, (במדבר יא א) ויהי העם כמתאוננים וגו' ותבער בם אש ה' ותאכל בקצה המחנה, בקצינים שבמחנה:
like the forming of a sapphire brick: that was before Him at the time of the bondage, to remember Israel’s straits [i.e.,] that they were enslaved in the making of bricks. -[From Lev. Rabbah 23:8] כמעשה לבנת הספיר: היא היתה לפניו בשעת השעבוד לזכור צרתן של ישראל, שהיו משועבדים במעשה לבנים:
and like the appearance of the heavens for clarity: Since they were [finally] redeemed, there was light and joy before Him. -[From Lev. Rabbah 23:8] וכעצם השמים לטהר: משנגאלו היה אור וחדוה לפניו:
and like the appearance: Heb. וּכְעֶצֶם, as the Targum (Onkelos) renders וּכְמֶחֱזֵי : an expression meaning appearance. וכעצם: כתרגומו, לשון מראה:
for clarity: Heb. לָטֹהַר, an expression meaning clear and unclouded. -[From Lev. Rabbah 23:8] I.e., during the bondage of the Israelites, the sapphire brick clouded the heavens, but after the Exodus, the heavens became clear and not a cloud was in sight. -[Lev. Rabbah 23:8] לטהר: לשון ברור וצלול:
11And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand, and they perceived God, and they ate and drank. יאוְאֶל אֲצִילֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא שָׁלַח יָדוֹ וַיֶּחֱזוּ אֶת הָאֱלֹהִים וַיֹּאכְלוּ וַיִּשְׁתּוּ:
And upon the nobles: They are Nadab and Abihu and the elders. -[From Midrash Tanchuma Beha’alothecha 16] ואל אצילי: הם נדב ואביהוא והזקנים:
He did not lay His hand: This indicates that they deserved that a hand be laid upon them. לא שלח ידו: מכלל שהיו ראוים להשתלח בהם יד:
and they perceived God: They gazed at Him with levity, while [they were] eating and drinking. So is the [interpretation of] Midrash Tanchuma (Beha’alothecha 16). Onkelos, however, did not render [this clause] in this manner. אִצִילֵי means great ones, like [in the phrases:] “and from its nobles (וּמֵאִצִילֶיהָ) I called you” (Isa. 41:9); “and He magnified (וַיָּאצֶל) some of the spirit” (Num. 11:25); “six large cubits (אַצִּילָה) ” (Ezek. 41:8). ויחזו את הא-להים: היו מסתכלין בו בלב גס מתוך אכילה ושתיה, כך מדרש תנחומא. ואונקלוס לא תרגם כן. אצילי לשון גדולים, כמו (ישעיה מא ט) ומאציליה קראתיך, (במדבר יא כה) ויאצל מן הרוח, (יחזקאל מא ח) שש אמות אצילה:
12And the Lord said to Moses, "Come up to Me to the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets, the Law and the commandments, which I have written to instruct them." יבוַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל משֶׁה עֲלֵה אֵלַי הָהָרָה וֶהְיֵה שָׁם וְאֶתְּנָה לְךָ אֶת לֻחֹת הָאֶבֶן וְהַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוָה אֲשֶׁר כָּתַבְתִּי לְהוֹרֹתָם:
And the Lord said to Moses: After the giving of the Torah. ויאמר ה' אל משה: לאחר מתן תורה:
Come up to Me to the mountain and remain there: for forty days. עלה אלי ההרה והיה שם: ארבעים יום:
the stone tablets, the Law and the commandments, which I have written to instruct them: All 613 mitzvoth are included in the Ten Commandments. In the “Azharoth” that he composed for each commandment [of the Ten], Rabbenu Saadiah [Goan] explained the mitzvoth dependent upon it [each commandment]. [from Jonathan, Num. Rabbah 13:16] את לחת האבן והתורה והמצוה אשר כתבתי להורתם: כל שש מאות ושלש עשרה מצות בכלל עשרת הדברות הן, ורבינו סעדיה פירש באזהרות שיסד לכל דבור ודבור מצות התלויות בו:
13So Moses and Joshua, his servant, arose, and Moses ascended to the mount of God. יגוַיָּקָם משֶׁה וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ מְשָׁרְתוֹ וַיַּעַל משֶׁה אֶל הַר הָאֱלֹהִים:
So Moses and Joshua, his servant, arose: I do not know what business Joshua had here, but I would say that the disciple [Joshua] escorted his mentor [Moses] until the place of the limits of the boundaries of the mountain, for he was not permitted to go past that point. From there Moses alone ascended to the mountain of God. Joshua pitched his tent and waited there for forty days. So we find that when Moses descended, “Joshua heard the voice of the people as they shouted” (Exod. 32:17). We learn [from there] that Joshua was not with them. ויקם משה ויהושע משרתו: לא ידעתי מה טיבו של יהושע כאן. ואומר אני, שהיה התלמיד מלוה לרב עד מקום הגבלת תחומי ההר, שאינו רשאי לילך משם והלאה, ומשם ויעל משה לבדו אל הר הא-להים, ויהושע נטה שם אהלו ונתעכב שם כל ארבעים יום, שכן מצינו, כשירד משה (לקמן לב יז) וישמע יהושע את קול העם ברעה, למדנו שלא היה יהושע עמהם:
14And to the elders he said, "Wait for us here until we return to you, and here Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a case, let him go to them." ידוְאֶל הַזְּקֵנִים אָמַר שְׁבוּ לָנוּ בָזֶה עַד אֲשֶׁר נָשׁוּב אֲלֵיכֶם וְהִנֵּה אַהֲרֹן וְחוּר עִמָּכֶם מִי בַעַל דְּבָרִים יִגַּשׁ אֲלֵהֶם:
And to the elders he said: upon his departure from the camp. ואל הזקנים אמר: בצאתו מן המחנה:
Wait for us here: Wait here with the rest of the people in the camp [so that you will] be ready to judge each person’s quarrel. שבו לנו בזה: והתעכבו כאן עם שאר העם במחנה להיות נכונים לשפוט לכל איש ריבו:
Hur: He was Miriam’s son, and his father was Caleb the son of Jephunneh, as it is said: “and Caleb took to himself Ephrath, and she bore to him Hur” (I Chron. 2:19). Ephrath was Miriam, as is stated in Sotah (11b). חור: בנה של מרים היה, ואביו כלב בן יפנה, שנאמר (דברי הימים א' ב יט) ויקח לו כלב את אפרת ותלד לו את חור. אפרת זו מרים, כדאיתא בסוטה (יא ב):
whoever has a case: lit., whoever is a master of words, whoever has litigation. -[From targumim] מי בעל דברים: מי שיש לו דין:
15And Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. טווַיַּעַל משֶׁה אֶל הָהָר וַיְכַס הֶעָנָן אֶת הָהָר:
16And the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days, and He called to Moses on the seventh day from within the cloud. טזוַיִּשְׁכֹּן כְּבוֹד יְהֹוָה עַל הַר סִינַי וַיְכַסֵּהוּ הֶעָנָן שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים וַיִּקְרָא אֶל משֶׁה בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִתּוֹךְ הֶעָנָן:
and the cloud covered it: Our Sages disagree on the matter. Some say that these are the six days from the New Moon [until Shavuoth, the day of the giving of the Torah -(old Rashi)]. ויכסהו הענן: רבותינו חולקין בדבר. יש מהם אומרים אלו ששה ימים שמראש חודש עד עצרת יום מתן תורה:
and the cloud covered it: The mountain. ויכסהו הענן: להר:
and He called to Moses on the seventh day: to say the Ten Commandments, and [in fact] Moses and all Israel were standing [and listening to the Ten Commandments], but the text bestowed honor upon Moses [by mentioning only him]. Others say that the cloud covered Moses for six days after the Ten Commandments [were given], and they [these days] were at the beginning of the forty days that Moses ascended to receive the tablets (Yoma 4a). It teaches you that whoever enters the camp of the Shechinah requires six days separation [seclusion from society] (Yoma 3b). ויקרא אל משה ביום השביעי: לומר עשרת הדברות, ומשה וכל בני ישראל עומדים, אלא שחלק הכתוב כבוד למשה, ויש אומרים ויכסהו הענן למשה ששה ימים לאחר עשרת הדברות, והם היו בתחלת ארבעים יום שעלה משה לקבל הלוחות, ולמדך, שכל הנכנס למחנה שכינה טעון פרישה ששה ימים:
17And the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire atop the mountain, before the eyes of the children of Israel. יזוּמַרְאֵה כְּבוֹד יְהֹוָה כְּאֵשׁ אֹכֶלֶת בְּרֹאשׁ הָהָר לְעֵינֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:
18And Moses came within the cloud, and he went up to the mountain, and Moses was upon the mountain forty days and forty nights. יחוַיָּבֹא משֶׁה בְּתוֹךְ הֶעָנָן וַיַּעַל אֶל הָהָר וַיְהִי משֶׁה בָּהָר אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם וְאַרְבָּעִים לָיְלָה:
within the cloud: This cloud was a kind of smoke, and the Holy One, blessed is He, made a path (another version A canopy) within it. -[From Yoma 4b] בתוך הענן: ענן זה כמין עשן הוא, ועשה לו הקב"ה למשה שביל [חופה] בתוכו:
Daily Tehillim: Psalms Chapter 119, Verses 1-96
• Verses 1-96
David composed this prominent psalm in alphabetical sequence-eight verses for each letter. Every verse contains one of the following words (referring to different aspects of Torah): Way; Torah; Testimony; Precept; Commandment; Statement (translated here as Word or Promise); Word; Judgement (or Laws); Righteousness; Statute. Replete with morals and prayers, this psalm should be recited daily, as a powerful preparation for the service of God. (In verses beginning with one of the letters of the mnemonic PeReTZ BeN DaMaH, the word "עדותיך" is pronounced "eidvotecha.")
1. Fortunate are those whose way is artless, who walk with the Torah of the Lord.2. Fortunate are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with all their hearts.3. Indeed, they have not done iniquity; they walk in His ways.4. You have commanded Your precepts to be observed diligently.5. My wish is that my ways be directed to keep Your statutes.6. Then I will not be ashamed, when I behold all Your commandments.7. I will give thanks to You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments.8. I will keep Your statutes; do not utterly forsake me9. How can a young man keep his way pure? By observing Your word.10. With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments.11. I have harbored Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.12. Blessed are You, O Lord; teach me Your statutes.13. With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth.14. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as I would with all riches.15. I will speak of Your precepts, and gaze upon Your ways.16. I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.17. Deal kindly with Your servant, that I may live to keep Your word.18. Unveil my eyes, that I may behold wonders from Your Torah.19. I am a sojourner on earth; do not hide Your commandments from me.20. My soul is crushed with a longing for Your judgments every moment.21. You have rebuked the accursed scoffers, those who stray from Your commandments.22. Remove insult and contempt from me, for I have kept Your testimonies.23. Though princes sat and spoke against me, Your servant speaks of Your statutes.24. Indeed, Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counsellors.25. My soul cleaves to the dust; revive me in accordance with Your word.26. I have spoken of my ways, and You answered me; teach me Your statutes.27. Make me understand the way of Your precepts, and I will speak of Your wonders.28. My soul drips away out of grief; sustain me according to Your word.29. Remove from me the way of falsehood, and graciously endow me with Your Torah.30. I have chosen the way of faith; Your judgments have I laid before me.31. I held fast to Your testimonies, O Lord; put me not to shame.32. I will run on the path of Your commandments, for You will broaden my heart.33. Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, and I will keep it to the last.34. Grant me understanding and I will keep Your Torah; I will observe it with all my heart.35. Direct me in the path of Your commandments, for that is my desire.36. Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to greed.37. Avert my eyes from seeing vanity; by Your ways give me life.38. Fulfill for Your servant Your promise, which brings to the fear of You.39. Remove my shame which I fear, for Your judgments are good.40. Behold, I have longed for Your precepts; give me life in Your righteousness.41. And let Your kindness come to fruition for me, O Lord, Your salvation as You promised.42. I will offer a retort to those who taunt me, for I trust in Your word.43. Do not at all remove the word of truth from my mouth, for I hope [to fulfill] Your judgments.44. I will keep Your Torah continually, for ever and ever.45. And I will walk in spacious paths, for I seek Your precepts.46. I will speak of Your testimonies before kings, and I will not be ashamed.47. And I will delight in Your commandments, which I love.48. I will lift up my hands to Your commandments, which I love, and I will speak of Your statutes.49. Remember the word [promised] to Your servant, by which You gave me hope.50. This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life.51. [Though] the wicked ridicule me severely, I have not strayed from Your Torah.52. When I remember Your judgments of old, O Lord, I take comfort.53. Trembling seized me because of the wicked, those who forsake Your Torah.54. Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my wanderings.55. At night I remembered Your Name, O Lord, and I kept Your Torah.56. All this came to me because I kept Your precepts.57. The Lord is my portion; I pledged to keep Your words.58. I pleaded before You with all my heart: have compassion upon me according to Your word.59. I contemplated my ways, and returned my feet to Your testimonies.60. I hurried and did not delay to keep Your commandments.61. Bands of wicked men plundered me, [but] I did not forget Your Torah.62. At midnight, I rise to thank You for Your righteous judgments.63. I am a friend to all who fear You, and to those who keep Your precepts.64. Your kindness, O Lord, fills the earth; teach me Your statutes.65. You have dealt goodness to Your servant, O Lord, in accord with Your promise.66. Teach me the goodness and wisdom of the [Torah's] reasons, for I believe in Your commandments.67. Before I afflicted myself, I would blunder; but now I observe Your word.68. You are good and benevolent; teach me Your statutes.69. The wicked have smeared me with lies, [when in truth] I keep Your precepts with all my heart.70. Their hearts grew thick as fat; but as for me, Your Torah is my delight.71. It is for my good that I was afflicted, so that I might learn Your statutes.72. The Torah of Your mouth is better for me than thousands in gold and silver.73. Your hands have made me and prepared me; grant me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.74. Those who fear You will see me and rejoice, because I hoped in Your word.75. I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are just; righteously have You afflicted me.76. Let Your kindness be my comfort, as You promised to Your servant.77. Let Your mercies come upon me, that I may live, for Your Torah is my delight.78. Let the scoffers be shamed, for they have maligned me with falsehood; but I will meditate upon Your precepts.79. May those who fear You return to me, and those who know Your testimonies.80. May my heart be perfect in Your statutes, so that I not be shamed.81. My soul longs for Your salvation; I hope for Your word.82. My eyes long for Your promise, saying, "When will You comfort me?”83. Though I became [dried out] like a wineskin in smoke, I did not forget Your statutes.84. How many are the days of Your servant? When will You execute judgment upon my pursuers?85. The wicked have dug pits for me, in violation of Your Torah.86. All Your commandments teach truth, [yet] they pursue me with lies, help me!87. They nearly consumed me upon the earth, but I did not forsake Your precepts.88. As befits Your kindness, grant me life, and I will keep the testimony of Your mouth.89. Forever, O Lord, Your word stands firm in the heavens.90. Your faithfulness persists for all generations; You established the earth, and it stands.91. They stand ready today [to execute] Your judgments, for all are Your servants.92. Had Your Torah not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.93. Never will I forget Your precepts, for through them You have sustained me.94. I am Yours; save me, for I have sought Your precepts.95. The wicked hope to destroy me, but I meditate upon Your testimonies.96. To every goal I have seen a limit, but Your commandment is immensely broad.
Tanya: Likutei Amarim, end of Chapter 27
• Daily Tanya
Likutei Amarim, end of Chapter 27
Likutei Amarim, end of Chapter 27
The central point of the above discussion was that through the occurence of evil thoughts in one’s mind, and through one’s battle against them, the sitra achra is subdued, causing great pleasure above.
The Alter Rebbe now goes on to say that this subjugation of the sitra achraand the consequent Divine pleasure are brought about not only by one’s struggle against the sitra achra when it attempts to lead one to sin (as in our case, where the lack of a struggle against evil thoughts, and the continued meditation on them would constitute a sin). Rather, one produces the same effect by struggling with one’s nature in abstaining from permitted matters. For as explained in ch. 6, any permitted action done without the specific intention of leading one to the serving of G‑d (as, for example, eating in order to obtain strength for Torah study or performing the mitzvot) derives its vitality from thesitra achra. (This term simply means “the other side,” i.e., the absence of holiness.) Only an action so directed can draw its vitality from the realm of holiness. Therefore, whenever one refrains from doing even a permissible act (in which this intention is lacking) in order to subdue the sitra achra, he gives rise to Divine pleasure.
ולא עוד, אלא אפילו בדברים המותרים לגמרי
Furthermore, not only by fighting his evil thoughts does one subdue the sitra achra, buteven in matters that are fully permissible,
כל מה שהאדם זובח יצרו אפילו שעה קלה, ומתכוין לאכפיא לסטרא אחרא שבחלל השמאלי
every act of sacrificing one’s impulse, even if only for a short while i.e., if he delays partaking of even the permissible and essential, with the intention of subduing the sitra achra in the left part of his heart, achieves this end.
כגון שחפץ לאכול, ומאחר סעודתו עד לאחר שעה או פחות
For example: when he wants to eat but delays his meal for an hour or less,
ועוסק בתורה באותה שעה
and during that time he studies Torah.
For if he occupies himself with other physical matters, he does not subdue the sitra achra by postponing his meal, since he is in any case indulging his animal soul; but if he studies Torah during that time then even when the delay of his meal does not gain him any time for Torah study, for he would have studied Torah regardless (as will soon be stated), and despite the fact that he eventually does eat, yet he subdues the sitra achra by the mere effort of postponing his meal, and thereby he brings about the Divine pleasure caused by every subjugation of the sitra achra.
כדאיתא בגמרא: שעה רביעית מאכל כל אדם, שעה ששית מאכל תלמידי חכמים
As the Gemara states: 1 “The fourth hour [of the day] is when all men eat, but the sixth hour is the mealtime for scholars,”
והיו מרעיבים עצמם שתי שעות לכוונה זו
because they would go hungry for two hours with this intention,
אף שגם אחר הסעודה היו לומדים כל היום
although even after the meal they would study all day.
וכן אם בולם פיו מלדבר דברים שלבו מתאוה מאד לדברם מענייני העולם
So too if one restrains his mouth from saying things which he greatly desires to say, concerning mundane matters — even where is nothing wrong with the words per se, yet he refrains from speaking them precisely because he feels a desire to do so;
וכן בהרהורי מחשבתו
and likewise regarding the thoughts of his mind he suppresses an urge to think about some mundane matter.
אפילו במעט מזעיר דאתכפיא סטרא אחרא לתתא
Even by the slightest subjugation of the sitra achra here below,
אסתלק יקרא דקודשא בריך הוא וקדושתו לעילא הרבה
the glory of G‑d and His holiness is greatly elevated on high.
ומקדושה זו נמשכת קדושה עליונה על האדם למטה לסייעו סיוע רב ועצום לעבודתו יתברך
From this holiness, a sublime holiness issues forth upon man below, to assist him with a great and powerful aid in his service of G‑d.
וזהו שאמרו רז״ל: אדם מקדש עצמו מעט למטה, מקדשין אותו הרבה מלמעלה
This is what our Sages meant when they said: 2 “If a man consecrates himself in a small measure here below, he is sanctified greatly from above.”
לבד מה שמקיים מצות עשה של תורה: והתקדשתם וכו׳, כשמקדש עצמו במותר לו
This is apart from the fact that when one sanctifies himself in permissible matters, he thereby fulfills the positive commandment of the Torah: 3 “Sanctify yourselves, and be holy.”
Hence, apart from the consolation previously offered the Beinoni — that through “turning away from evil” by combating evil thoughts and desires, he affords G‑d a pleasure that tzaddikim cannot — his battle with the sitra achraalso contains a positive quality in the category of “doing good,” that is likewise not present in the divine service of tzaddikim. 4 This positive quality is the fulfillment of the mitzvah: “Sanctify yourselves…,” which applies only toBeinonim, not to tzaddikim. For the intention of the commandment is that even one’s personal, permissible, and mundane matters should not be attended to out of the desire of one’s animal soul, but for the sake of G‑d. This directive cannot apply to tzaddikim, who are unencumbered by desires of the animal soul, as the Alter Rebbe continues:
ופירוש והתקדשתם: שתעשו עצמכם קדושים
The meaning of “Sanctify yourselves” is: “You shall make yourselves holy.”
כלומר: אף שבאמת אינו קדוש ומובדל מסטרא אחרא
That is to say, although in truth one is not holy and separated from the sitra achra,
כי היא בתקפה ובגבורתה כתולדתה בחלל השמאלי
for the sitra achra of his animal soul is still, as at birth, at its full strength and might, in the left part of his heart — the seat of the animal soul and evil inclination,
The word kedushah (“holiness”) means “setting apart,” i.e., separation from the unholy. 5 The verse thus means: One should sanctify himself even if he must yet make himself holy and separate from the sitra achra, for at his present level his heart still desires those things that derive from it,
רק שכובש יצרו ומקדש עצמו
yet if even while at this level he subdues and masters his evil impulse and makes himself “holy”, separate from the sitra achra, then, continues the verse:
והייתם קדושים
“You will be holy.”
The words “be holy” which, in their simple sense, voice a command, can also be understood as conveying a promise,
כלומר: סופו להיות קדוש ומובדל באמת מהסטרא אחרא
meaning that ultimately he will be truly “holy” and removed from the sitra achra,
על ידי שמקדשים אותו הרבה מלמעלה
through his being “greatly sanctified from above,” as quoted earlier from the Gemara,
ומסייעים אותו לגרשה מלבו, מעט מעט
and through his being aided from above to expel [the sitra achra] from his heart, little by little, so that even in his heart he will no longer have any desire for anything originating in the realm of the sitra achra.
FOOTNOTES
1. Shabbat 10a.
2. Cf. Yoma 39a.
3. Vayikra 20:7.
4. Based on a comment by the Rebbe.
5. Cf. Rashi on Vayikra 19:2.Rambam:• Sefer Hamitzvos:
Daily Mitzvah
P153
Important Message Regarding This Lesson
The Daily Mitzvah schedule runs parallel to the daily study of 3 chapters of Maimonides' 14-volume code. There are instances when the Mitzvah is repeated a few days consecutively while the exploration of the same Mitzvah continues in the in-depth track.
Positive Commandment 153 (Digest)
Calculating Months and Years
"This month shall be to you the beginning of months"—Exodus 12:2.
We are commanded to establish a calendar and calculate its months and years. The months are lunar months, with a new month established when the new moon appears; the years follow the solar seasonal cycle, necessitating the periodic addition of an extra (thirteenth) month to a year – which then becomes a "leap year" – because twelve lunar months are several days short of a solar year. This mitzvah is known as Sanctifying the New Moon.
This mitzvah is entrusted to the Jewish Supreme Court that presides in Israel. Unlike the counting of six days and then observing the Shabbat, a mitzvah that is incumbent upon every individual, no individual can unilaterally decide that a new month has arrived simply because he espied the new moon, and no individual can decide to add a month to the calendar based on his personal (even Torah-based) calculations.
Only the Supreme Court can make these calculations, and only in the Land of Israel. We follow the rulings issued by the Supreme Court in Israel even if they inadvertently established the "wrong" day as the New Moon, even if they did so under duress.
In the event that there are no qualified rabbis remaining in Israel, these calculations can be made, and months and leap years established, by a court that was ordained in Israel—even if it finds itself in the Diaspora.
Today we no longer sanctify the months based on the testimony of witnesses who saw the new moon, because there is no longer a sitting rabbinical Supreme Court in Israel—much as we no longer offer sacrifices, because we lack a Holy Temple.
But under no circumstances can an individual or court outside of Israel establish a new month or a leap year. Our calculations today in the Diaspora are only to determine which days the Court in Israel established as the New Moon, and which years they established as leap years.
[Editor's Note: Nachmanides asks, if so, how do we have holidays and a calendar today, when there is no rabbinical Supreme Court in Israel? He answers that there is a tradition that Hillel the Prince, who resided in Israel, established a calendar until the arrival of Moshiach, and sanctified all the new months and leap years until that time. Therefore, we can use our calculations to determine exactly what he previously established.]
Some laws associated with this mitzvah:
The extra month added to a leap year is the one contiguous to the month of Passover—i.e. Adar.
The establishment of new months and leap years must be done during daylight hours.
A year must be comprised of complete months; a month must be comprised of complete days.
The 153rd mitzvah is that G‑d (exalted be He) commanded us to calculate the months and years.1 This is the mitzvah of Kiddush HaChodesh(Sanctifying the Moon).
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement2 (exalted be He), "[And G‑d said to Moshe and Aharon in the land of Egypt,] 'this month [Nissan] shall be the head month to you.' "
In their explanation of this mitzvah, the Sages said,3 "This testimony is given lochem ["you", plural]."4 The meaning of this statement: This mitzvahis not incumbent on every individual as is Shabbos, for example, where every single individual counts six days and rests on the seventh. In our case, it would mean that every individual who sees the appearance of the new moon would consider that day Rosh Chodesh [the first of the month]; Or that an individual could use the Torah-approved calculations to himself determine Rosh Chodesh; Or that he could himself estimate that the produce would not yet ripen [by Pesach]5, or consider any of the other factors6 which are used in determining [the calendar] — and then [himself declare a leap year and] add a month!
However, this mitzvah can only be performed by the Bais Din Hagadol, and only in Eretz Yisroel7. Therefore, since today there is no Bais Din HaGadol,we no longer determine the months on the basis of testimony, just as we no longer bring sacrifices because there is no Holy Temple.
The group of heretics known here in the East8 as Karaites have erred in this principle.9 Not even all of the Rabbis have grasped it, and as a result, grope around with them together in deep darkness.10
One must understand that the calculations which we use today to know11when Rosh Chodesh and the holidays occur, may only be done in Eretz Yisroel. Only in cases of dire need, when there are no Sages in Eretz Yisroel, and when the Bais Din outside Eretz Yisroel was previously ordained in Eretz Yisroel, is it permissible to declare a leap year or determine Rosh Chodesh outside Eretz Yisroel — as Rabbi Akiva did, as explained in the Gemara.12 This is a very extreme measure, and it is well known that in the majority of cases, it was done only in Eretz Yisroel. They [i.e. the Sages in Eretz Yisroel] are the ones to establish the months and declare a leap year, when they gather together and use the accepted methods.
There is a very important principle upon which the Torah's perspective13on this subject is based, which is only understood and fully realized by those who delve deeply into the Torah, as follows. This that we outsideEretz Yisroel use our system to make calculations and we declare that "this day is the first of the month," and "this day is a holiday," does not in any way mean that we are making this day based on our calculations. Rather, it is because the Bais Din in Eretz Yisroel has already established that the day is a holiday or Rosh Chodesh. The day becomes a holiday or Rosh Chodesh upon their declaration, "Today is Rosh Chodesh, or "Today is a holiday"; regardless of whether they based their actions on calculations or testimony.14
This [that the Bais Din HaGadol in Eretz Yisroel has absolute authority] is known to us through the verse15, "[Speak to the Israelites and tell them, 'These are the holidays] that you shall designate.' " Our Sages explain16, "These are the only holidays." The meaning of this statement, as passed down in the Oral Tradition: whatever they [i.e. the Bais Din] designate as holidays are considered holidays, even if they made an error, were forced [into making a declaration], or misled.
The calculations which we make today are only to know which day they established in Eretz Yisroel, since they use the exact same system to make calculations and to determine the day – not testimony. Therefore, we are really basing ourselves on their determination, rather than our own calculations, which are only used to reveal [what they already determined previously]. One must clearly understand this.
I will give some additional explanation: let us assume, for example, that there would be no Jewish inhabitants in Eretz Yisroel (G‑d forbid such a thing, since He has already promised that he will never completely wipe out or uproot the Jewish nation17); that there would be no Bais Din there, nor a Bais Din outside Eretz Yisroel which had been ordained in Eretz Yisroel. In such a case, our calculations would be totally futile,18 since we, who dwell outside Eretz Yisroel, may not make the calculations, nor declare leap years nor establish the months without the conditions mentioned above,19since, "For from Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the word of the L‑rd from Jerusalem."20 A person who fully understands the words of the Talmud in this subject will, upon meditation, undoubtedly agree with the abovementioned.
The Torah contains brief references to the basic principles which are relied upon to know when Rosh Chodesh and the leap years occur. Among them: "This law must therefore be kept at its designated time (l'moadah)."21 Our Sages said,22 "This teaches you that one may add on to the leap year only close to the holiday" [moed, i.e. Pesach23].
They also said,24 "From which verse do we derive that only during the daytime may we officially add on to the month or officially declare Rosh Chodesh? From the verse,25 'miyamim yamimah.' "26
[So too,] G‑d's statement27 (exalted be He), "[This month shall be the head month to you; the first month] of the months of the year." On this our Sages said,28 "The year must be composed of months, not of [odd] days", meaning that when adding on to the year, a complete month must be added.29
There is also a verse,30 "a month of days." Our Sages commented,31 "the month must be composed of days, not of [odd] hours". [So too] the verse,32 "safeguard the month of Aviv,"33 which implies that in calculating the year we must take into account the seasons. Therefore, they shall be years [based not only on the moon but also] based on the sun.
All the details of this mitzvah have been completely explained in the first chapter of Sanhedrin,34 in tractate Rosh Hashanah,35 and in Berachos.
Rabbi Berel Bell is a well-known educator, author and lecturer. He and his family reside in Montreal, Canada.
From "Sefer Hamitzvot in English," published by Sichos in English.
FOOTNOTES
1. The lunar month has approximately 29 1/2 days. Since, as mentioned later in this mitzvah, a month may only consist of complete days, one must determine whether a particular month has 29 or 30 days. This could be done either by witnesses, who testified that they saw the moon appear on the 30th day, or by making the astronomical calculations.
In addition, the holidays must fall out in the proper season: Pesach in the spring, etc. Since the lunar year is only 354 days and the solar year 365 days, each lunar year is 11 days short. Therefore, an additional lunar month must be periodically added in order to maintain the proper timing of the holidays.
2. Ex. 12:2.
3. Rosh Hashanah 22a.
4. I.e. to Moshe and Aharon. In later generations, it applies to the most important heads of the generation. See Rashi, ibid.
5. This would be a sign that Pesach is too early and therefore a month must be added.
6. Such as the spring solstice falling out later than the 16th of Nissan.
7. Unless there is no Sage in Eretz Yisroel of sufficient stature. See below.
8. I.e. Egypt. See Heller edition, note 10.
9. And therefore, even in the Rambam's times, they attempted to do this mitzvah by determining the calendar on the basis of testimony, each location individually. See Yad Halevi, note 8.
10.Trying to disprove the Karaites with faulty reasoning — saying, for example, that the primary mitzvah is to base everything on calculations, rather than testimony, even when the Bais Din HaGadol was in existence (unlike the Rambam's reasoning). See Kapach, 5731, note 40. The Rambam therefore proceeds to explain the function of the calculations.
11. See below for the preciseness of this wording — that today we use the calculations only to "know" what was previously established, not to ourselves establish Rosh Chodesh.
12. Berachos 63a.
13. This phrase can also be translated, "full understanding." See Kapach, 5731, note 44.
14. See note below regarding today's situation, where there is no Bais Din Hagadol in Eretz Yisroel.
15. Lev. 23:2.
16. Rosh Hashanah 25a.
17. For the source of this statement, see Tzafnas Paneach; Yermiyahu 31:35-36 and Guide to the Perplexed Part II, ch.28 (quoted in Kapach, 5731, note 51.)
18. The Ramban asks, if so, how can we have holidays and a calendar today?
However, there is a tradition (see Rashba, responsa, Vol.4, No.254) that Hillel HaNassi, inEretz Yisroel, established a calendar until the arrival of Moshiach. Therefore, we can use our calculations to determine exactly what was previously established. According to many commentaries (see, for example, Megillas Esther; Chinuch) this is also the opinion of theRambam. However, see Avnei Nezer, Orach Chaim, 310, 311; Maharam Shick, Mitzvah 4;Chasam Sofer, Yoreh Deah, 234.
19. I.e. in cases of dire need, when there are no Sages in Eretz Yisroel, and when the Bais Din outside Eretz Yisroel was previously ordained in Eretz Yisroel.
20. Yeshayahu 2:3.
21. Ex. 13:10.
22. Mechilta D'Rashbi.
23. The extra month of the leap must be an additional Adar, right before Nissan, the month of Pesach.
24. Mechilta D'Rashbi.
25. Ex. 13:10.
26. Literally, "from day to day." The standard translation of this verse, however, is "from year to year," or "every year."
27. Ex. 12:2.
28. Megilah 5a.
29. Unlike the solar leap year, where one day is added.
30. Num. 11:21.
31. Megillah 5a.
32. Deut. 16:1.
33. I.e. the spring solstice.
34. 11a.
35. 20a.
Translation of (the unabridged text of) Sefer Hamitzvot by Rabbi Berel Bell, member of the Rabbinical Court of Montreal and director of Teacher Training for the Jewish Learning Institute.
• 1 Chapter: Kri'at Shema Kri'at Shema - Chapter Four
• 3 Chapters: Kiddush HaChodesh Kiddush HaChodesh - Chapter Six, Kiddush HaChodesh Kiddush HaChodesh - Chapter Seven, Kiddush HaChodesh Kiddush HaChodesh - Chapter Eight
• Torah lessons: Chumash: Mishpatim, first parsha with Rashi.
Tehillim: 119, 1-96.
Tanya: Chapter 25. This then (p. 105)...idolatry, too. (p. 107).
Studying a parsha of Chumash with Rashi every day (Sunday until Sheini, Monday until Shlishi, etc.), saying Tehillim every day and the entire Tehillim on Shabbat m'varchim - be scrupulous about all of these. It is crucial for you, for your children and your children's children.
Compiled and arranged by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, in 5703 (1943) from the talks and letters of the sixth Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of righteous memory.
• Daily Tanya
Likutei Amarim, end of Chapter 27
Likutei Amarim, end of Chapter 27
The central point of the above discussion was that through the occurence of evil thoughts in one’s mind, and through one’s battle against them, the sitra achra is subdued, causing great pleasure above.
The Alter Rebbe now goes on to say that this subjugation of the sitra achraand the consequent Divine pleasure are brought about not only by one’s struggle against the sitra achra when it attempts to lead one to sin (as in our case, where the lack of a struggle against evil thoughts, and the continued meditation on them would constitute a sin). Rather, one produces the same effect by struggling with one’s nature in abstaining from permitted matters. For as explained in ch. 6, any permitted action done without the specific intention of leading one to the serving of G‑d (as, for example, eating in order to obtain strength for Torah study or performing the mitzvot) derives its vitality from thesitra achra. (This term simply means “the other side,” i.e., the absence of holiness.) Only an action so directed can draw its vitality from the realm of holiness. Therefore, whenever one refrains from doing even a permissible act (in which this intention is lacking) in order to subdue the sitra achra, he gives rise to Divine pleasure.
ולא עוד, אלא אפילו בדברים המותרים לגמרי
Furthermore, not only by fighting his evil thoughts does one subdue the sitra achra, buteven in matters that are fully permissible,
כל מה שהאדם זובח יצרו אפילו שעה קלה, ומתכוין לאכפיא לסטרא אחרא שבחלל השמאלי
every act of sacrificing one’s impulse, even if only for a short while i.e., if he delays partaking of even the permissible and essential, with the intention of subduing the sitra achra in the left part of his heart, achieves this end.
כגון שחפץ לאכול, ומאחר סעודתו עד לאחר שעה או פחות
For example: when he wants to eat but delays his meal for an hour or less,
ועוסק בתורה באותה שעה
and during that time he studies Torah.
For if he occupies himself with other physical matters, he does not subdue the sitra achra by postponing his meal, since he is in any case indulging his animal soul; but if he studies Torah during that time then even when the delay of his meal does not gain him any time for Torah study, for he would have studied Torah regardless (as will soon be stated), and despite the fact that he eventually does eat, yet he subdues the sitra achra by the mere effort of postponing his meal, and thereby he brings about the Divine pleasure caused by every subjugation of the sitra achra.
כדאיתא בגמרא: שעה רביעית מאכל כל אדם, שעה ששית מאכל תלמידי חכמים
As the Gemara states: 1 “The fourth hour [of the day] is when all men eat, but the sixth hour is the mealtime for scholars,”
והיו מרעיבים עצמם שתי שעות לכוונה זו
because they would go hungry for two hours with this intention,
אף שגם אחר הסעודה היו לומדים כל היום
although even after the meal they would study all day.
וכן אם בולם פיו מלדבר דברים שלבו מתאוה מאד לדברם מענייני העולם
So too if one restrains his mouth from saying things which he greatly desires to say, concerning mundane matters — even where is nothing wrong with the words per se, yet he refrains from speaking them precisely because he feels a desire to do so;
וכן בהרהורי מחשבתו
and likewise regarding the thoughts of his mind he suppresses an urge to think about some mundane matter.
אפילו במעט מזעיר דאתכפיא סטרא אחרא לתתא
Even by the slightest subjugation of the sitra achra here below,
אסתלק יקרא דקודשא בריך הוא וקדושתו לעילא הרבה
the glory of G‑d and His holiness is greatly elevated on high.
ומקדושה זו נמשכת קדושה עליונה על האדם למטה לסייעו סיוע רב ועצום לעבודתו יתברך
From this holiness, a sublime holiness issues forth upon man below, to assist him with a great and powerful aid in his service of G‑d.
וזהו שאמרו רז״ל: אדם מקדש עצמו מעט למטה, מקדשין אותו הרבה מלמעלה
This is what our Sages meant when they said: 2 “If a man consecrates himself in a small measure here below, he is sanctified greatly from above.”
לבד מה שמקיים מצות עשה של תורה: והתקדשתם וכו׳, כשמקדש עצמו במותר לו
This is apart from the fact that when one sanctifies himself in permissible matters, he thereby fulfills the positive commandment of the Torah: 3 “Sanctify yourselves, and be holy.”
Hence, apart from the consolation previously offered the Beinoni — that through “turning away from evil” by combating evil thoughts and desires, he affords G‑d a pleasure that tzaddikim cannot — his battle with the sitra achraalso contains a positive quality in the category of “doing good,” that is likewise not present in the divine service of tzaddikim. 4 This positive quality is the fulfillment of the mitzvah: “Sanctify yourselves…,” which applies only toBeinonim, not to tzaddikim. For the intention of the commandment is that even one’s personal, permissible, and mundane matters should not be attended to out of the desire of one’s animal soul, but for the sake of G‑d. This directive cannot apply to tzaddikim, who are unencumbered by desires of the animal soul, as the Alter Rebbe continues:
ופירוש והתקדשתם: שתעשו עצמכם קדושים
The meaning of “Sanctify yourselves” is: “You shall make yourselves holy.”
כלומר: אף שבאמת אינו קדוש ומובדל מסטרא אחרא
That is to say, although in truth one is not holy and separated from the sitra achra,
כי היא בתקפה ובגבורתה כתולדתה בחלל השמאלי
for the sitra achra of his animal soul is still, as at birth, at its full strength and might, in the left part of his heart — the seat of the animal soul and evil inclination,
The word kedushah (“holiness”) means “setting apart,” i.e., separation from the unholy. 5 The verse thus means: One should sanctify himself even if he must yet make himself holy and separate from the sitra achra, for at his present level his heart still desires those things that derive from it,
רק שכובש יצרו ומקדש עצמו
yet if even while at this level he subdues and masters his evil impulse and makes himself “holy”, separate from the sitra achra, then, continues the verse:
והייתם קדושים
“You will be holy.”
The words “be holy” which, in their simple sense, voice a command, can also be understood as conveying a promise,
כלומר: סופו להיות קדוש ומובדל באמת מהסטרא אחרא
meaning that ultimately he will be truly “holy” and removed from the sitra achra,
על ידי שמקדשים אותו הרבה מלמעלה
through his being “greatly sanctified from above,” as quoted earlier from the Gemara,
ומסייעים אותו לגרשה מלבו, מעט מעט
and through his being aided from above to expel [the sitra achra] from his heart, little by little, so that even in his heart he will no longer have any desire for anything originating in the realm of the sitra achra.
FOOTNOTES
1. Shabbat 10a.
2. Cf. Yoma 39a.
3. Vayikra 20:7.
4. Based on a comment by the Rebbe.
5. Cf. Rashi on Vayikra 19:2.Rambam:• Sefer Hamitzvos:
Daily Mitzvah
P153
Important Message Regarding This Lesson
The Daily Mitzvah schedule runs parallel to the daily study of 3 chapters of Maimonides' 14-volume code. There are instances when the Mitzvah is repeated a few days consecutively while the exploration of the same Mitzvah continues in the in-depth track.
Positive Commandment 153 (Digest)
Calculating Months and Years
"This month shall be to you the beginning of months"—Exodus 12:2.
We are commanded to establish a calendar and calculate its months and years. The months are lunar months, with a new month established when the new moon appears; the years follow the solar seasonal cycle, necessitating the periodic addition of an extra (thirteenth) month to a year – which then becomes a "leap year" – because twelve lunar months are several days short of a solar year. This mitzvah is known as Sanctifying the New Moon.
This mitzvah is entrusted to the Jewish Supreme Court that presides in Israel. Unlike the counting of six days and then observing the Shabbat, a mitzvah that is incumbent upon every individual, no individual can unilaterally decide that a new month has arrived simply because he espied the new moon, and no individual can decide to add a month to the calendar based on his personal (even Torah-based) calculations.
Only the Supreme Court can make these calculations, and only in the Land of Israel. We follow the rulings issued by the Supreme Court in Israel even if they inadvertently established the "wrong" day as the New Moon, even if they did so under duress.
In the event that there are no qualified rabbis remaining in Israel, these calculations can be made, and months and leap years established, by a court that was ordained in Israel—even if it finds itself in the Diaspora.
Today we no longer sanctify the months based on the testimony of witnesses who saw the new moon, because there is no longer a sitting rabbinical Supreme Court in Israel—much as we no longer offer sacrifices, because we lack a Holy Temple.
But under no circumstances can an individual or court outside of Israel establish a new month or a leap year. Our calculations today in the Diaspora are only to determine which days the Court in Israel established as the New Moon, and which years they established as leap years.
[Editor's Note: Nachmanides asks, if so, how do we have holidays and a calendar today, when there is no rabbinical Supreme Court in Israel? He answers that there is a tradition that Hillel the Prince, who resided in Israel, established a calendar until the arrival of Moshiach, and sanctified all the new months and leap years until that time. Therefore, we can use our calculations to determine exactly what he previously established.]
Some laws associated with this mitzvah:
The extra month added to a leap year is the one contiguous to the month of Passover—i.e. Adar.
The establishment of new months and leap years must be done during daylight hours.
A year must be comprised of complete months; a month must be comprised of complete days.
The 153rd mitzvah is that G‑d (exalted be He) commanded us to calculate the months and years.1 This is the mitzvah of Kiddush HaChodesh(Sanctifying the Moon).
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement2 (exalted be He), "[And G‑d said to Moshe and Aharon in the land of Egypt,] 'this month [Nissan] shall be the head month to you.' "
In their explanation of this mitzvah, the Sages said,3 "This testimony is given lochem ["you", plural]."4 The meaning of this statement: This mitzvahis not incumbent on every individual as is Shabbos, for example, where every single individual counts six days and rests on the seventh. In our case, it would mean that every individual who sees the appearance of the new moon would consider that day Rosh Chodesh [the first of the month]; Or that an individual could use the Torah-approved calculations to himself determine Rosh Chodesh; Or that he could himself estimate that the produce would not yet ripen [by Pesach]5, or consider any of the other factors6 which are used in determining [the calendar] — and then [himself declare a leap year and] add a month!
However, this mitzvah can only be performed by the Bais Din Hagadol, and only in Eretz Yisroel7. Therefore, since today there is no Bais Din HaGadol,we no longer determine the months on the basis of testimony, just as we no longer bring sacrifices because there is no Holy Temple.
The group of heretics known here in the East8 as Karaites have erred in this principle.9 Not even all of the Rabbis have grasped it, and as a result, grope around with them together in deep darkness.10
One must understand that the calculations which we use today to know11when Rosh Chodesh and the holidays occur, may only be done in Eretz Yisroel. Only in cases of dire need, when there are no Sages in Eretz Yisroel, and when the Bais Din outside Eretz Yisroel was previously ordained in Eretz Yisroel, is it permissible to declare a leap year or determine Rosh Chodesh outside Eretz Yisroel — as Rabbi Akiva did, as explained in the Gemara.12 This is a very extreme measure, and it is well known that in the majority of cases, it was done only in Eretz Yisroel. They [i.e. the Sages in Eretz Yisroel] are the ones to establish the months and declare a leap year, when they gather together and use the accepted methods.
There is a very important principle upon which the Torah's perspective13on this subject is based, which is only understood and fully realized by those who delve deeply into the Torah, as follows. This that we outsideEretz Yisroel use our system to make calculations and we declare that "this day is the first of the month," and "this day is a holiday," does not in any way mean that we are making this day based on our calculations. Rather, it is because the Bais Din in Eretz Yisroel has already established that the day is a holiday or Rosh Chodesh. The day becomes a holiday or Rosh Chodesh upon their declaration, "Today is Rosh Chodesh, or "Today is a holiday"; regardless of whether they based their actions on calculations or testimony.14
This [that the Bais Din HaGadol in Eretz Yisroel has absolute authority] is known to us through the verse15, "[Speak to the Israelites and tell them, 'These are the holidays] that you shall designate.' " Our Sages explain16, "These are the only holidays." The meaning of this statement, as passed down in the Oral Tradition: whatever they [i.e. the Bais Din] designate as holidays are considered holidays, even if they made an error, were forced [into making a declaration], or misled.
The calculations which we make today are only to know which day they established in Eretz Yisroel, since they use the exact same system to make calculations and to determine the day – not testimony. Therefore, we are really basing ourselves on their determination, rather than our own calculations, which are only used to reveal [what they already determined previously]. One must clearly understand this.
I will give some additional explanation: let us assume, for example, that there would be no Jewish inhabitants in Eretz Yisroel (G‑d forbid such a thing, since He has already promised that he will never completely wipe out or uproot the Jewish nation17); that there would be no Bais Din there, nor a Bais Din outside Eretz Yisroel which had been ordained in Eretz Yisroel. In such a case, our calculations would be totally futile,18 since we, who dwell outside Eretz Yisroel, may not make the calculations, nor declare leap years nor establish the months without the conditions mentioned above,19since, "For from Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the word of the L‑rd from Jerusalem."20 A person who fully understands the words of the Talmud in this subject will, upon meditation, undoubtedly agree with the abovementioned.
The Torah contains brief references to the basic principles which are relied upon to know when Rosh Chodesh and the leap years occur. Among them: "This law must therefore be kept at its designated time (l'moadah)."21 Our Sages said,22 "This teaches you that one may add on to the leap year only close to the holiday" [moed, i.e. Pesach23].
They also said,24 "From which verse do we derive that only during the daytime may we officially add on to the month or officially declare Rosh Chodesh? From the verse,25 'miyamim yamimah.' "26
[So too,] G‑d's statement27 (exalted be He), "[This month shall be the head month to you; the first month] of the months of the year." On this our Sages said,28 "The year must be composed of months, not of [odd] days", meaning that when adding on to the year, a complete month must be added.29
There is also a verse,30 "a month of days." Our Sages commented,31 "the month must be composed of days, not of [odd] hours". [So too] the verse,32 "safeguard the month of Aviv,"33 which implies that in calculating the year we must take into account the seasons. Therefore, they shall be years [based not only on the moon but also] based on the sun.
All the details of this mitzvah have been completely explained in the first chapter of Sanhedrin,34 in tractate Rosh Hashanah,35 and in Berachos.
Rabbi Berel Bell is a well-known educator, author and lecturer. He and his family reside in Montreal, Canada.
From "Sefer Hamitzvot in English," published by Sichos in English.
FOOTNOTES
1. The lunar month has approximately 29 1/2 days. Since, as mentioned later in this mitzvah, a month may only consist of complete days, one must determine whether a particular month has 29 or 30 days. This could be done either by witnesses, who testified that they saw the moon appear on the 30th day, or by making the astronomical calculations.
In addition, the holidays must fall out in the proper season: Pesach in the spring, etc. Since the lunar year is only 354 days and the solar year 365 days, each lunar year is 11 days short. Therefore, an additional lunar month must be periodically added in order to maintain the proper timing of the holidays.
2. Ex. 12:2.
3. Rosh Hashanah 22a.
4. I.e. to Moshe and Aharon. In later generations, it applies to the most important heads of the generation. See Rashi, ibid.
5. This would be a sign that Pesach is too early and therefore a month must be added.
6. Such as the spring solstice falling out later than the 16th of Nissan.
7. Unless there is no Sage in Eretz Yisroel of sufficient stature. See below.
8. I.e. Egypt. See Heller edition, note 10.
9. And therefore, even in the Rambam's times, they attempted to do this mitzvah by determining the calendar on the basis of testimony, each location individually. See Yad Halevi, note 8.
10.Trying to disprove the Karaites with faulty reasoning — saying, for example, that the primary mitzvah is to base everything on calculations, rather than testimony, even when the Bais Din HaGadol was in existence (unlike the Rambam's reasoning). See Kapach, 5731, note 40. The Rambam therefore proceeds to explain the function of the calculations.
11. See below for the preciseness of this wording — that today we use the calculations only to "know" what was previously established, not to ourselves establish Rosh Chodesh.
12. Berachos 63a.
13. This phrase can also be translated, "full understanding." See Kapach, 5731, note 44.
14. See note below regarding today's situation, where there is no Bais Din Hagadol in Eretz Yisroel.
15. Lev. 23:2.
16. Rosh Hashanah 25a.
17. For the source of this statement, see Tzafnas Paneach; Yermiyahu 31:35-36 and Guide to the Perplexed Part II, ch.28 (quoted in Kapach, 5731, note 51.)
18. The Ramban asks, if so, how can we have holidays and a calendar today?
However, there is a tradition (see Rashba, responsa, Vol.4, No.254) that Hillel HaNassi, inEretz Yisroel, established a calendar until the arrival of Moshiach. Therefore, we can use our calculations to determine exactly what was previously established. According to many commentaries (see, for example, Megillas Esther; Chinuch) this is also the opinion of theRambam. However, see Avnei Nezer, Orach Chaim, 310, 311; Maharam Shick, Mitzvah 4;Chasam Sofer, Yoreh Deah, 234.
19. I.e. in cases of dire need, when there are no Sages in Eretz Yisroel, and when the Bais Din outside Eretz Yisroel was previously ordained in Eretz Yisroel.
20. Yeshayahu 2:3.
21. Ex. 13:10.
22. Mechilta D'Rashbi.
23. The extra month of the leap must be an additional Adar, right before Nissan, the month of Pesach.
24. Mechilta D'Rashbi.
25. Ex. 13:10.
26. Literally, "from day to day." The standard translation of this verse, however, is "from year to year," or "every year."
27. Ex. 12:2.
28. Megilah 5a.
29. Unlike the solar leap year, where one day is added.
30. Num. 11:21.
31. Megillah 5a.
32. Deut. 16:1.
33. I.e. the spring solstice.
34. 11a.
35. 20a.
Translation of (the unabridged text of) Sefer Hamitzvot by Rabbi Berel Bell, member of the Rabbinical Court of Montreal and director of Teacher Training for the Jewish Learning Institute.
• 1 Chapter: Kri'at Shema Kri'at Shema - Chapter Four
Kri'at Shema - Chapter Four
Halacha 1
Women, slaves and children are exempt from Kri'at Shema. We should teach children to recite it at the proper time with the blessings before and after it, in order to educate them regarding the commandments.
One who is preoccupied and in an anxious state regarding a religious duty is exempt from all commandments, including Kri'at Shema. Therefore, a bridegroom whose bride is a virgin is exempt from Kri'at Shema until he has consummated the marriage, because he is distracted lest he not find her a virgin.
However, if he delays until Saturday night after the wedding and does not have relations with her, he is obligated to recite the Shema from that time onward, since his mind has settled and he is familiar with her even though they have not consummated the marriage.
Halacha 2
However, one who marries a woman who is not a virgin is obligated to recite theShema, because even though he, too, is involved in the performance of a mitzvah, it is not so distracting. The same principle applies to similar cases.
Halacha 3
One who is bereaved of a relative for whom he is obligated to mourn is exempt from Kri'at Shema until he has buried him, because his attention is distracted from reciting [the Shema].
A person who is watching a body is also exempt, even if it is not the body of a relative. When there are two watchers, one should continue watching while the other withdraws and recites the Shema. [When the latter] returns, the other should depart and recite [the Shema].
A gravedigger is also exempt from Kri'at Shema.
Halacha 4
A body should not be taken out for burial close to the time for reciting theShema, unless the deceased was a great man.
If they do begin to remove the deceased and the time for reciting the Shemaarrives while they are accompanying the body, anyone required to [carry] the coffin - e.g., the bearers of the coffins and their replacements and those who, in turn, relieve the replacements - whether they are before the coffin or after it, are exempt [from Kri'at Shema].
The rest of those accompanying the body who are not required to [carry] the coffin are obligated [to recite the Shema].
125. Should they be involved in eulogies when the time for Kri'at Shema arrives, if they are in the presence of the deceased they should withdraw singly and recite, and then return to the eulogy.
125. Should they be involved in eulogies when the time for Kri'at Shema arrives, if they are in the presence of the deceased they should withdraw singly and recite, and then return to the eulogy.
If the deceased is not present, all the people should recite the Shema except the mourner, who remains silent, because he is not obligated to recite theShema until he buries his relative.
Halacha 6
After the burial, the mourners return to receive condolences and the people follow them from the gravesite to the place where they form a line to receive condolences. If the people are able to start and finish even one verse [of Kri'at Shema] before they arrive at the line, they should do so. If not, they should not start until they have consoled the mourners.
After they have taken their leave they should commence reciting. Those standing in the inner line - i.e., they can see the faces of the mourners - are exempt from Kri'at Shema. Those at the outside, since they cannot see the mourner, are obligated to recite the Shema where they are.
Halacha 7
Anyone who has an exemption from Kri'at Shema, but nevertheless desires to be strict with himself and recite, may do so. This is conditional upon the fact that his mind is not distracted. However, if this exempted person is in a confused state, he is not permitted to recite [the Shema] until he composes himself.
Halacha 8
All those ritually impure are obligated to read the Shema and recite the blessings before and after it in their impure state. This applies even when it is possible for them to purify themselves that day - e.g., one who has touched [the carcass of] a שרץ (crawling animal), a menstrual woman, a זבה, or the couch on which these people have laid, and the like.
Ezra and his colleagues decreed that a man who had a seminal emission was forbidden to read the words of the Torah. Thus, they separated him from the other ritually impure until he immersed himself in a mikveh. This ordinance was not universally accepted among the Jewish people. Most were unable to observe it and it was therefore negated.
The Jewish people accepted the custom of reading the Torah and reciting theShema even after a seminal emission, because the words of Torah cannot contract ritual impurity. Rather, they stand in their state of purity forever, as [Jeremiah 23:29] states: "Are not my words like fire, declares the Lord." Just as fire is incapable of becoming ritually impure, so, too, the words of Torah are never defiled.
Commentary Halacha 1
Women - Berachot 20b relates:
A woman's exemption from Kri'at Shema is obvious. It is a time-oriented commandment [i.e., the Shema must be recited at specific times and is thus classified as "time-oriented" (see Chapter 1, Halachot 9 to 13)], and women are exempt from all such commandments.
What might I have thought? That since [Kri'at Shema] contains the acceptance of the sovereignty of Heaven [even women would be called upon to recite it.
It [i.e., the Mishnah] teaches that this is not so and that women are indeed exempt from Kri'at Shema.
What might I have thought? That since [Kri'at Shema] contains the acceptance of the sovereignty of Heaven [even women would be called upon to recite it.
It [i.e., the Mishnah] teaches that this is not so and that women are indeed exempt from Kri'at Shema.
In terms of actual halachic ruling, the Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 70:1 rules that although women have no obligation, even rabbinic, to recite the Shema, it is proper that they do so in order to accept upon themselves the yoke of the sovereignty of Heaven.
Women are also exempt from the blessings before Kri'at Shema, but are obligated to recite the blessings after it, because there is a mention of the Exodus from Egypt, which women are also obligated to remember and mention (Magen Avraham 70:1).
The Aruch Hashulchan (Orach Chayim 70:1) also mentions that women may recite all the blessings of Kri'at Shema and adds that the women of his area (Russia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century) were accustomed to do so, and that they should be blessed for their meritorious actions.
The responsa, Yabia Omer (2:6), states that women of Sephardic origin are not accustomed to recite the blessings. However, Kaf HaChayim rules that they may.
slaves - This refers to Canaanite slaves who have been sold to a Jewish owner and are obligated by all the commandments that women are obligated to perform. A halachic comparison between the two is found in Chaggigah 4a andKiddushin 23a.
The Jerusalem Talmud quotes a separate source for the exemption of slaves: "Hear O Israel, God our Lord, God is One" (Deuteronomy 6:4). He who has no master other than the Almighty [is obligated to recite the Shema], thus exempting the slave, who has another master.
Chaggigah 4a also derives the halachah in a similar fashion, albeit from a different verse.
and children - I.e., boys under the age of 13 years and one day. They are minors and exempt from all the Torah's commandments.
We should teach children to recite it at the proper time - The latter point represents a difference in opinion between Rashi and the Rambam. The Mishnah, Berachot 20a, states that children are free from the obligation to recite the Shema. Rashi states that they are entirely free of obligation even according to Rabbinic law because their parents may not be available at the specific times at which the Shema must be recited.
The Rambam and Rabbenu Tam differ and maintain that the mishnah is only referring to the obligations according to Torah law, but according to Rabbinic decree they are obligated. The Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 70:2 rules in accordance with the Rambam and Rabbenu Tam.
with the blessings before and after it, in order to educate them regarding commandments - - According to Rashi (Berachot 48a) and the Ramban (Milchamot Hashem, Berachot 20b), there is no obligation incumbent on the child himself. Rather, the child's father is obligated to educate him. If he has no father, the obligation falls on his mother and on the local Rabbinic court (Terumat Hadeshen 99).
Tosafot (Berachot 48a) differs and explains that the Sages placed the obligation on the minor himself. Support for this premise can be derived from the Rambam's decision in Hilchot Berachot 5:15-16, which states that an adult who ate a small meal can fulfill his obligation to recite grace by listening to a child reciting those blessings (for both are obligated by virtue of Rabbinic decree). Though others object on the grounds that the child himself is not obligated in the mitzvah, the Rambam states that such a practice is acceptable.
One who is preoccupied and in an anxious state regarding a religious duty - Berachot 16b differentiates between a bridegroom, who is exempt because of his involvement in a mitzvah, and one whose ship is sinking in the sea. Though the latter individual is also anxious, he is obligated to recite theShema, because his preoccupation is not with regard to a commandment.
is exempt from all commandments - This is based on the principle - העוסק במצוה פטור מן המצוה - One who is involved in one commandment is exempt from another (Sukkah 25a, Sotah 44b).
including Kri'at Shema. - I.e., even though it contains an acceptance of the yoke of the sovereignty of Heaven, he is still exempt.
The phrase, Deuteronomy 6:7, ובשבתך בביתך (and while you are sitting in your house) implies that the obligation is only incumbent on someone who is involved in his own personal affairs - "your house." Thus, it excludes one who is involved in the performance of a mitzvah (Berachot 11a and 16a).
Therefore, a bridegroom whose bride is a virgin is exempt from Kri'at Shema until he has consummated the marriage - The Mishnah, Berachot16a, explains the derivation of the bridegroom's exemption. The phrase ובלכתך בדרך - "and as you go in your way" implies that the obligation to recite theShema only applies to someone going on "your way," i.e., involved in his own personal affairs and not preoccupied with the fulfillment of a mitzvah as is a bridegroom. [In his commentary on that Mishnah, the Rambam mentions that the bridegroom is involved in the mitzvah of being fruitful and multiplying.]
Rashi explains that this concept could not be derived from the phrase בשבתך בביתך - "and while you are sitting in your house" because if there were only one verse, one would have thought that only one who is actually involved in the performance of a commandment is exempted. Thus, an additional phrase is necessary to exempt a bridegroom, who though not immediately involved in the performance of the mitzvah is in an anxious state, because of the possible problems inherent in the overall situation.
because he is distracted lest he not find her a virgin. - as explained above. Rabbenu Manoach writes in the name of the Ra'avad that the bridegroom is exempt from Kri'at Shema only if he is able to have relations with his wife. However, if she is menstruating or sick, he is obligated to recite the Shema.
Rabbenu Manoach also discusses the different views regarding the bridegroom's obligation to recite the Shema during the day if he does not engage in relations the first night. He concludes that he should be obligated since "the Jews are a holy people and the bridegroom will be able to divert his thoughts from his wife and concentrate on reciting the Shema."
And if he delays until Saturday night after the wedding - This is dependent on the Talmudic custom (Ketubot 2a), which relates that virgins would marry on Wednesday night.
and does not have relations with her, he is obligated to recite the Shema from that time onward, since - he has waited this long, we can assume that...
his mind has settled and he is familiar with her even though they have not consummated the marriage. - I.e., he is no longer nervous and distracted and can be expected to recite the Shema with the proper intention. In his commentary on the Mishnah, the Rambam mentions that by this time, his all-consuming desire to consummate the marriage has passed.
In this instance, the actual halachah does not reflect the Rambam's position. The Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 70:3, mentions that bridegrooms were originally exempt from Kri'at Shema the first three days (i.e., days and nights) after the wedding. However, today, because of the general lack of intention that everyone has regarding Kri'at Shema, even the bridegroom is obligated to recite the Shema.
The Mishnah Berurah (70:14) adds that a bridegroom who does not recite theShema appears haughty, because his actions appear to imply that he usually has a high level of intentions. The bridegroom is also obligated to recite the blessings before and after Kri'at Shema and to pray as usual (Magen Avraham; Mishnah Berurah). These positions are based on Tosafot in Berachot 17b.
Commentary Halacha 2
However, one who marries a woman who is not a virgin is obligated to recite the Shema, - on his wedding night
because even though he, too, is involved in the performance of a mitzvah, - the mitzvah of procreation
it is not so distracting. - for there is no question of the woman's virginity.
The same principle applies to similar cases.
Commentary Halacha 3
One who is bereaved of a relative for whom he is obligated to mourn -Leviticus 21:2-3 mentions the six relatives for whom a person is obligated to mourn: a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, a sister. The Rabbis also added the obligation to mourn for one's wife or husband. See Hilchot Eivel2:1.
is exempt from Kri'at Shema - and all the other mitzvot of the Torah (Hilchot Eivel 4:6).
until he has buried him - The Mishnah, Berachot 17b, states that one who has his dead one "lying in front of him" is exempt from Kri'at Shema. The Talmud (ibid. 18a) explains that any relative waiting to be buried is considered to be "lying in front of him." This is derived from Abraham's characterization of Sarah as being in front of him (Genesis 23:4), even though her body was not physically present.
because his attention is distracted from reciting [the Shema]. - I.e., even if he is not necessarily involved in dealing with the arrangements for the burial or the burial itself, he is exempt, because his mind is distracted (Kessef Mishneh).
The Jerusalem Talmud (Berachot 3:1) derives this halachah from Deuteronomy 16:3: "to remember the day you left Egypt all the days of your life." This implies "days that you are involved with the living and not days in which you are involved with the dead." Since the obligation to remember the Exodus (an integral part of Kri'at Shema - see Chapter 1, Halachot 2 and 3) does not apply on those days when one is involved in dealing with the burial of one's loved ones, one is also exempted from reciting the Shema.
Sukkah 25a explains that the exemption of a mourner cannot be derived from that of a bridegroom mentioned in Halachah 1. A bridegroom's lack of concentration stems from his involvement with a mitzvah. In contrast, the mourner's inability to concentrate is a personal matter. Rashi elaborates: Though mourning is a mitzvah, the pain associated with mourning is not.
The Jerusalem Talmud notes that a mourner should not voluntarily recite theShema. It is a sign of disrespect to the departed for their relatives to recite theShema before they have been buried.
A person who is watching the body - I.e., guarding the body from an animal or other damage. (See Berachot 18a.)
is also exempt, even if it is not the body of a relative - Since a person involved in one commandment is exempt from another. (See the commentary on Halachah 1.)
When there are two watchers, one should continue watching while the other withdraws and recites the Shema. [When the latter] returns, the other should depart and recite [the Shema]. - As opposed to the actual mourners, the guards are obligated to recite the Shema if they are able to. Their exemption is not based on their distracted condition, but on their involvement in the commandment. Therefore, if another is able to guard the body for a few moments, the guard must recite the Shema. However, if there is no one to relieve the guard, he is not allowed to recite the Shema (Mishnah Berurah on the Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 71:3).
The watchers must remove themselves in order not to recite the Shema within 6 feet of the dead person. (See Chapter 3, Halachah 2 and commentary.)
A gravedigger is also exempt from Kri'at Shema. - See Berachot 14b. His exemption is also based on the principle that one involved in a commandment is exempt from another. The Mishnah Berurah (Orach Chayim 71:5) points out that even while he is resting for a few moments, the gravedigger is still exempt, because his resting is also part of the mitzvah, since by resting he gains strength to continue his task.
Commentary Halacha 4
A body should not be taken out for burial close to the time for reciting the Shema - Rashi, Berachot 19a, explains that doing so will prevent many people from reciting the Shema.
unless the deceased was a great man. - Berachot, ibid., questions the above statement, noting that when Rav Yosef died he was taken out for burial close to the time of Kri'at Shema. The Talmud answers that a great man is different - i.e., for a man of Rav Yosef's stature, even Kri'at Shema is postponed in order to honor his greatness.
Neither Rav Yitzchak Alfasi or Rabbenu Asher mentions this passage, indicating that they do not feel that it is halachically relevant. The Tur (Orach Chayim 72) mentions the Rambam's view, but adds that his father, Rabbenu Asher, did not differentiate between important and normal people.
The Beit Yosef explains that, at present, there is no person of a stature that we would not delay his burial in order to recite the Shema at its proper time. Therefore, the halachah is not in force. The Shulchan Aruch also omits reference to it.
The Magen Avraham mentions that the prohibition against burying someone close to the time of Kri'at Shema relates only to Kri'at Shema in the morning. However, in the early evening, one should first bury the body and then recite the Shema, or recite the Shema early enough to allow the burial to take place before nightfall so that the person will be buried as close to the day of his death as possible.
If they do begin to remove the deceased and the time for reciting the Shema arrives while they are accompanying the body, - to the burial
anyone required to [carry] the coffin - e.g., the bearers of the coffin and their replacements and those who, in turn, relieve the replacements, whether they are before the coffin - I.e., they have yet to carry it
or after it - I.e., they have already carried it. It is customary for several people to carry the coffin, in order to involve themselves in the mitzvah.
are exempt [from Kri'at Shema] - The Mishnah, Berachot 17b, states:
The bearers of the coffin, their replacements and those who in turn will relieve the replacements, the ones before the coffin and the ones after the coffin - the ones who are before it and are required to [carry] the coffin are exempt. Those who are after it, even if they are required to [carry] the coffin, are obligated [to recite the Shema]."
This certainly seems to differentiate between those before and after the coffin, and indicates clearly that those who have already carried the coffin are indeed obligated to recite the Shema, unlike the halachah written by the Rambam.
Rashi explains that those who have already carried the coffin are obligated to recite the Shema, even though they may be needed to carry it again, because they have already fulfilled their obligation.
There is, however, another version of the Mishnah. See Tosafot in Berachot17b and most printed versions of the Mishnah (Rabbinic edition, Kahati, Mossad Harav Kook edition of the Rambam's commentary on the Mishnah). It states:
The bearers of the coffin and their replacements and those who in turn will relieve the replacements, the ones before the coffin and the ones after the coffin - the ones who are required to [carry] the coffin - are exempt. And those who are not required to [carry] the coffin are obligated to recite the Shema."
The Mishnah in this form can serve as the source for the Rambam's halachah. The "are exempt" term in the halachah refers back to all the cases written before it, including "the ones after the coffin."
The difference in the original Hebrew versions of the Mishnah is simply one word. Rashi's version:
ואת שלאחר המטה את שלפני המטה צורך בהם פטורים
the Rambam's version:
ואת שלאחר המטה שלמטה צורך בהם פטורים.
ואת שלאחר המטה את שלפני המטה צורך בהם פטורים
the Rambam's version:
ואת שלאחר המטה שלמטה צורך בהם פטורים.
The rest of those accompanying the body who are not required to [carry] the coffin are obligated [to recite the Shema], - because, as stated in the Mishnah: "And those who are not required to [carry] the coffin are obligated to recite the Shema." The people are accompanying the body simply as a token of honor for the dead person, but are not occupied in the performance of a mitzvah such that they would be exempt from Kri'at Shema. The Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 72:1 and Yoreh De'ah 358:1 quote the Rambam's position.
Commentary Halacha 5
Should they be involved in eulogies when the time for Kri'at Shema arrives - See Berachot 19a.
if they are in the presence of the deceased they should withdraw - in order not to recite the Shema in his presence (See Halachah 3)
singly and recite, - but not all at once, because this is lacking in respect for the deceased.
and then return to the eulogy.
If the deceased is not present, all the people should recite the Shema -I.e., there is then no problem of embarrassing the dead by performing commandments.
except the mourner, who remains silent, because he is not obligated to recite the Shema until he buries his relative. - This halachah also underscores the fact that the exception for mourners is not conditional on their involvement in the care for the deceased. In our case, the deceased is not present and the mourner is sitting silent, and yet he is still not obligated because of his distracted state (see Halachah 3).
Commentary Halacha 6
After the burial, when the mourners return to receive condolences and the people follow them from the gravesite to the place where they form a line to receive condolences. - The people form a שורה - a line (or lines) around the mourners. Afterwards, they offer their condolences one by one, as they pass before the mourners (Hilchot Aivel 13:1,2). Others interpret the שורה as two lines facing each other. The mourners then walk between these two lines, and as they pass, the people offer their condolences.
The people are generally accustomed to say: May God comfort you among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
If the people are able to start and finish even one verse [of Kri'at Shema] before they arrive at the line, - directly before the mourners
they should do so. If not, they should not start - the recitation of theShema.
The above is conditional upon there being enough time afterwards to recite theShema. However, if the third hour is passing, the Shema should be recited immediately (Kessef Mishneh). The Ramah quotes this halachah in Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 72:4. The Magen Avraham explains that one is allowed to recite the Shema before comforting the mourners, because he has not yet begun performing the mitzvah of comforting them.
until they have consoled the mourners. After they have taken their leave, they should commence reciting. - Rabbenu Yonah explains that not only the burial of the dead, but also the consoling of the mourners is part of the commandment of גמילות חסדים (acts of lovingkindness). In his commentary onMishnah Pe'ah 1:1, the Rambam divides acts of lovingkindness into two categories: a) those one does with his money, such as charity,
b) those one does with his body - e.g., comforting mourners and accompanying the dead to burial.
b) those one does with his body - e.g., comforting mourners and accompanying the dead to burial.
Rabbenu Yonah states explicitly that this is a Torah commandment. The Rambam, however, is of the opinion that burying the dead, comforting the mourners, and all acts of lovingkindness are Rabbinic commandments. InHilchot Eivel 14:1, he writes:
It is a positive commandment of Rabbinic origin to visit the sick, comfort those mourning, take out the dead, bring in the bride, accompany guests [from your house] and to involve oneself in those things necessary for burial - i.e., to carry [the coffin] on his shoulders, to walk before him, to eulogize him, to dig [the grave] and to bury him.
The Rambam's classification of these commandments as of Rabbinic origin creates a problem for us. How are we to understand the halachot we have just learned?
The Rambam has taught us that those involved in the burial of the dead and the comforting of the mourners are exempt from reciting the Shema, based on the principle that those involved in the performance of one commandment are exempt from another. According to Rabbenu Yonah, who understands גמילות חסד (acts of lovingkindness) to be Torah commandments, this is easily comprehended. However, according to the Rambam, how can involvement in a Rabbinic commandment exempt one from the fulfillment of a Torah obligation, especially one as central as Kri'at Shema?
The answer to this question depends on the continuation of Hilchot Eivel, ibid.:
Even though all these commandments are of Rabbinic origin, they are included [in the command] ואהבת לרעך כמוך (Love your fellow as yourself, Leviticus 19:18). All those things that you would want others to do for you in the realm of Torah and commandments, you should do for your colleague.
Thus, the Rabbinic commandments regarding acts of lovingkindness are the specific ways established by the sages to express the Torah commandment of "Love your fellow as yourself." Accordingly, although these commandments are Rabbinic in origin, since their ultimate source is found in a Torah commandment, the rule that "one performing one commandment is exempt from another" applies to them as well.
Those standing in the inner line - i.e., they can see the faces of the mourners - are exempt from Kri'at Shema. Those at the outside, since they cannot see the mourner, are obligated to recite the Shema where they are. - This is in accordance with the beraita quoted in Berachot 19b. The Ra'avad understands, however, that the words "inner line" in the beraita refer to the inner circle - i.e., the family of the mourners. It is the Rambam's position which is most widely accepted.
Commentary Halacha 7
Anyone who has an exemption from Kri'at Shema but nevertheless desires to be strict with himself and recite, may do so. - The Mishnah (Berachot 16b) records a difference of opinion whether a bridegroom may recite the Shema on the first night or not.
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel states: "Not everyone who wants to take the name may take it," (i.e., not everyone may pronounce God's name whenever he pleases). The Sages differ and allow the Shema's recitation.
This is conditional upon the fact that his mind is not distracted. - The Sages maintain that a person has the potential to compose himself to the extent that he can recite the Shema with proper intention. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel maintains that this is not possible for most people. Indeed, a person who does so is considered tobe acting haughtily, implying that he has the power to concentrate when most people cannot.
However, if this exempted person is in a confused state, he is not permitted to recite [the Shema] until he composes himself. - If he cannot compose himself, even the Sages agree that the Shema should not be recited.
The Rambam follows the majority position of the Sages. Rabbenu Asher accepts the opinion of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel. However, Tosafot (ibid.17b) explains that at present, our level of concentration has changed and all bridegrooms should recite the Shema. Any bridegroom who does not recite theShema would be acting haughtily by intimating that usually he has a very high level of concentration. The Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 70:3 acceptsTosafot's position. (See also the commentary on Halachah 2.)
As mentioned above, a mourner should not recite the Shema for it is disrespectful to the deceased to imply that one could still concentrate on theShema despite their passing.
Commentary Halacha 8
All those ritually impure are obligated to read the Shema and recite the blessings before and after it in their impure state. - The Mishnah (Berachot26a) mentions a difference of opinion concerning this issue and the Rambam accepts the more lenient view.
This applies even when it is possible for them to purify themselves - by immersing in the mikveh
that day - before the time for the Shema passes. It is not necessary to make that effort and the person may recite the Shema in an impure state.
e.g., one who has touched [the carcass of a] a sheretz (crawling animal), -Leviticus 11:39 deems such a person as ritually impure.
a menstrual woman - Leviticus 15:19 states that not only a menstrual women, but anyone or anything she touches contracts ritual impurity.
a זבה - The term refers to a woman with a venereal disease similar to syphliss or gonorrhea. Leviticus 15:25 equates the ritual impurity of such a woman with that of a menstrual woman.
or the couch on which these people have laid, - See Leviticus 15:10 which explains that even that which is sat upon by someone impure, may not be touched.
and the like. - e.g., one who touches either a man with discharges or someone who contracts ritual impurity by contact with a corpse.
Ezra and his colleagues decreed that a man who had a seminal emission -Leviticus 15:16 deems such a person as ritually impure. However, as above, that would not effect his ability to read the Shema.
was forbidden to read the words of the Torah. - This decree was one of 10 decrees issued by Ezra's court (Bava Kama 82a.).
Berachot 22a explains that the decree mentioned in our halachah was designed to restrain somewhat the physical relationships of the Torah scholars with their wives.
Thus, they separated him from the other ritually impure - who were not prevented from reading the Shema.
until he immersed himself in a mikveh. - Berachot 22a relates that since this was only a Rabbinic decree, certain leniencies could be observed regarding this immersion.
This ordinance was not universally accepted among the Jewish people. Most were unable to observe it - See also Hilchot Tefillah 4:4-6 and commentary.
It must be emphasized that though there is no need to immerse oneself in a mikveh, it is necessary to wash for it is forbidden to recite words of Torah with any traces of semen on his body. See Ramah, Orach Chayim 76:4.
and it was therefore negated. - i.e., because of the inability of the Jewish people to maintain this very high level of purity, the decree was never really accepted as law.
This explanation is significant. The Mishnah (Eduyot 1:5) teaches us that a court does not have the jurisdiction to override the ruling of another court unless it is greater in wisdom and number - i.e., unless the scholars are of a greater stature and more numerous. There was no later court with the stature of Ezra's, and, therefore, no one had the authority to abolish Ezra's ruling (Kessef Mishneh).
The Jewish people accepted the custom of reading the Torah - Berachot22a relates that one of Rabbi Yehudah ben Beteira's students was mumbling his words. When asked by Rabbi Yehudah to explain his behavior, he stated that he not been able to immerse himself after having a seminal emission. Rabbi Yehudah told him to speak up without embarrassment for the words of Torah cannot contract ritual impurity.
and reciting the Shema even after a seminal emission, because the words of Torah cannot contract ritual impurity. - I.e., even one in a state of ritual impurity may involve himself in Torah study and prayer, because the Torah is unaffected by his impurity (Berachot, ibid.).
The Kessef Mishneh differentiates between physical filth, which renders the recitation of the Shema impossible (as we learned in Chapter 3), and ritual impurity, which does not affect it.
Our awareness of the presence of physical filth produces a subjective response to its somewhat disgusting nature. This response, in turn, has ramifications regarding the honor of the Torah studied in such a place. Ritual impurity is, however, a wholly metaphysical reality, and that particular reality has no ability to affect the Torah.
Rather, they stand in their state of purity forever, as [Jeremiah 23:29] states: "Are not my words like fire, declares the Lord." - Thus, the differentiation made above has its basis, not on human logic, but on Divine decree. Deuteronomy 23:13 teaches: "And your camp shall be holy," forbidding the recitation of the Shema in the presence of physical filth. In contrast, the verse from Jeremiah quoted above clearly implies the inability of ritual impurity to exert its influence over the words of Torah (Kessef Mishneh).
Just as fire is incapable of becoming ritually impure, so, too, the words of Torah are never defiled. - This decision alludes to a fundamental concept regarding the nature of Torah study. On one hand, we see Torah study as being associated with the student, as obvious from the law, Hilchot Talmud Torah 5:11, that allows a Torah scholar to forgo the honor due him. Although that honor is not being paid to him personally, but to the Torah knowledge he possesses, that Torah is considered his to the extent that he can forego the honor. Nevertheless, even while Torah is associated with the person studying it, its essential Godly nature remains intact to the extent that it cannot contract ritual impurity.
Kiddush HaChodesh - Chapter Six
Halacha 1
When [the new moon] was sanctified [based on the testimony of witnesses regarding] the sighting of the moon, the court would calculate the time of the conjunction of the sun and the moon in an exact manner, as the astronomers do.1 [This enabled them] to know whether or not the moon would be sighted.
The first level of these calculations represent approximations of the time of the conjunction, and their accuracy is not great. This approximation of the time of the conjunction is calculated according to the mean rates of movements.2 The time of the conjunction as calculated in this manner is referred to as the molad.
The essentials of the calculations that are used when a court to sanctify [the new moon based on the testimony of witnesses of] the sighting [of the moon] does not exist - i.e., the calculations we use today - are referred to as ibbur. To explain:
Halacha 2
Day and night are constantly considered a twenty-four hour composite, [on the average:] twelve [hours] of daylight and twelve [hours] of night. An hour can be divided into 1080 units. This number was chosen because it can be divided in half, into fourths, eighths, thirds, sixths, ninths, and tenths.3 Each of these fractions contains many of these units.
Halacha 3
According to this calculation, [the interval] between one conjunction of the moon and the sun and the subsequent conjunction according to their mean movement is twenty-nine full days, twelve hours of the thirtieth day, and 793 units of the thirteenth hour. This is the interval between one conjunction and the next, [and thus,] the length of a lunar month.
Halacha 4
[Accordingly,] an [ordinary] lunar year, which includes twelve of these months, would include three hundred fifty-four days, eight hours, and eight hundred seventy-six units.
A leap year, which would include thirteen of these months, would include three hundred eighty-three days, twenty-one hours, and five hundred eighty-nine units.
A solar year is three hundred sixty-five days and six hours.4 Thus, a solar year exceeds an [ordinary] lunar year by ten days, twenty-one hours, and two hundred and four units.
Halacha 5
When the days of a lunar month are counted in groups of seven, according to the weekly cycle, there is a remainder of one day, twelve hours, and 793 units (in numerical terms, 1 - 12 - 793). This is the remainder for a lunar month.
Similarly, when the days of a lunar year are counted in groups of seven, according to the weekly cycle, there is a remainder of four days, eight hours, and 876 units (in numerical terms, 4 - 8 - 876). This is the remainder for an ordinary lunar year. The remainder for a leap year will be five days, twenty-one hours, and 589 units (in numerical terms, 5 - 21 - 589).
Halacha 6
When you know the time of the conjunction [of the sun and the moon] for any particular month, and add 1 - 12 - 793, you will arrive at the time of the conjunction of the following month. Thus, you will be able to determine on which day of the week and at which hour it will take place, and how many units of that hour will have passed.5
Halacha 7
What is implied? If the conjunction [of the moon and the sun] for the month of Nisan takes place on Sunday, five hours and 107 units after sunrise (in numerical terms 1 - 56 - 107), by adding the remainder for a lunar month, 1 - 12 - 793, you will be able to determine that the conjunction for the month of Iyar will take place on Tuesday night, five hours and 900 units after nightfall (in numerical terms, 3 - 5 - 900). One may follow this same method [of calculation] month after month for eternity.
Halacha 8
Similarly, if you know the time of the conjunction for a particular year and you add its remainder - either the remainder of an ordinary year or the remainder of a leap year - to the time of the conjunction, you will determine the time of the conjunction of the following year. This method [of calculation] may be followed year after year for eternity.
The first conjunction from which we begin, the conjunction of the first year of creation, was on Monday night, 5 hours and 204 units after nightfall7 (in numerical terms, 2 - 5 - 204). This is the starting point for these calculations.
Halacha 9
In all the calculations to determine the time of the conjunction, when the remainder [of one period] should be added to another remainder, [the following principles should be adhered to:] When a sum of 1080 units is reached, it should be counted as an hour, and added to the number of the hours. When a sum of twenty-four hours is reached, it should be counted as a day, and added to the number of days. When the number of days is greater than seven, [all multiples of] seven should be subtracted from the sum, and the remainder be focused on.
For the purpose of our calculations is not to know the number of days, but rather to know on which day of the week, and at what hour and after how many units will the conjunction take place.
Halacha 10
[The fixed calendar is structured in] a nineteen-year cycle, including seven leap years and twelve ordinary years. This is called a machzor.
Why was this [structure] chosen? Because when you total the number of days in twelve ordinary years and seven leap years together with their hours and their units, counting all [sums of] 1080 units as an hour, [all sums of] twenty-four hours as a day, and adding them to the number of days, the total will equal nineteen solar years, each of these years being 365 days and six hours.
The difference between the days of the solar calendar [and the lunar calendar] will be only one hour and 485 units (in numerical terms, 1 - 485).8
Halacha 11
Thus, in such a [nineteen-year] cycle, the months are lunar months, and the years are solar years. The seven leap years in each cycle should be the following: The third year of the cycle, the sixth year, the eighth year, the eleventh year, the fourteenth year, the seventeenth year, the nineteenth year9(in numbers, 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, 19).
Halacha 12
When you add the remainders of each of the twelve ordinary years, [the remainder of each year] being 4 - 8 - 876, and the remainders of the seven leap years, [the remainder of each year] being 5 - 21 - 589, and then divide the entire sum in groups of seven, there is a remainder of two days, sixteen hours, and 595 units (in numerical terms, 2 - 16 - 595). This is the remainder of a [nineteen-year] cycle.
Halacha 13
When you know the time of the conjunction of the beginning of a [nineteen-year] cycle, by adding 2 - 16 - 595 to it you will be able to determine the beginning of the next [nineteen-year] cycle, and similarly all the [subsequent nineteen-year] cycles for eternity. As stated above, the conjunction [marking] the beginning of the first [nineteen-year] cycle took place on 2 - 5 - 204. [The expression,] the conjunction of a year refers to the conjunction of the month of Tishrei for that year.10
Halacha 14
Using the above method, it is possible to know the conjunction [marking] the beginning of any particular year, or any particular month, whether for the years that have passed or for the years to come.
What is implied? One should take the number of years that have passed until Tishrei of the [desired] year and group them in nineteen- year cycles. Thus, one will be able to determine the number of nineteen-year cycles that have passed and the number of years that have passed within the [nineteen-year] cycle that has not been completed [until the desired year]. One should add 2 - 16 - 595 for each cycle, 4 - 8 - 876 for every ordinary year of the cycle that has not been completed, and 5 - 21 - 589 for every leap year [of the cycle that has not been completed].
One should then add together the entire sum, calculating [the groups of 1080] units as hours, the [groups of 24] hours as days, and the groups of seven days [as weeks]. [By adding] the remainder of the days, hours, and units [to 2 - 5 - 204], one can determine the time of the conjunction of the desired year.
Halacha 15
The time of the conjunction of a year determined through the above method is the conjunction of Rosh Chodesh Tishrei. By adding 1 - 12 - 793 to this figure, one can determine the conjunction of Marcheshvan, and by adding 1 - 12 - 793 to [the conjunction of] Marcheshvan, one can determine the conjunction of Kislev. Similarly, one can determine the conjunction of all subsequent months for eternity.
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. |
The term conjunction refers to the point when the sun, the moon and the earth are positioned in that order in a direct line. Therefore, as seen from the earth, the moon does not reflect the light of the sun. [When the sun and the moon have the same latitude (see Chapter 16) - i.e., when they are in the same plane - a conjunction is the cause of a solar eclipse. Ordinarily, however, there is a difference in latitude, and an alignment of this nature does not cause an eclipse.]
|
| 2. |
Our translation differs from the standard published text of the Mishneh Torah, and is based on the version found in authoritative manuscripts and early printings.
The term mean rate of movement refers to the average movement of the sun or the moon in angular degrees over a particular period. To explain: It was easy to calculate the number of conjunctions between one solar eclipse and another. Afterwards, this number would be multiplied by 360 (the number of degrees in a circle) and then divided by the number of years, months, days, or hours (depending on the mean one wanted to reach) that had passed between the two eclipses.
In fact, however, the sun - and to a much greater extent, the moon - would deviate from this mean rate of movement - i.e., the position in which they are located in the heavens differs from the position that would be reached by calculating the mean rate of progress. As is explained in the succeeding chapters, there are various ways of correcting and adjusting these mean calculations so that the actual position of these celestial bodies can be determined.
|
| 3. |
The only integer that cannot be divided into this sum is seven. The commentaries have noted that the number 360 also can be divided into all the fractions mentioned by the Rambam and question why he did not use this smaller figure.
|
| 4. |
See Chapter 9, Halachah 1, which explains that there are two views concerning whether this is an approximation or an exact figure. See also Chapter 10, Halachah 6.
|
| 5. |
As mentioned above, the Rambam is speaking about an average figure. Accordingly, this figure alone is not sufficient for the calculations of when the moon can be sighted. It is useful for structuring the fixed calendar, as explained in this and the following chapter.
|
| 6. |
Kinat Eliyahu suggests that the Rambam should have stated 1 - 17, since five hours after sunrise is seventeen hours after the beginning of the day.
|
| 7. |
Tosafot, Rosh HaShanah 8 a,b, explains that this follows the view of Rabbi Eliezer (Rosh HaShanah 10b), who states that the world was created in Tishrei. According to this conception, the conjunction for Rosh HaShanah, the day of Adam's creation, was the fourteenth hour of Friday (the second hour after sunrise). Since the first day of creation was the twenty-fifth of Elul, the year prior to that of Adam's creation is also significant. To calculate the conjunction of that year, we subtract the remainder of an ordinary year - 4 days, 8 hours, and 876 units - from six days and fourteen hours. This produces the figure cited by the Rambam.
|
| 8. |
As mentioned in Halachah 4, each ordinary lunar year is 10 days, 21 hours, and 204 units shorter than a solar year. Thus, the difference between the 12 ordinary lunar years of a nineteen-year cycle and the corresponding solar years is 130 days, 14 hours, and 288 units.
A lunar leap year is 18 days, 15 hours, and 589 units longer than a solar year. Thus, the difference between the seven leap years of a nineteen-year cycle and the corresponding solar years is 130 days, 12 hours, and 883 units. When this sum is subtracted from the figure mentioned in the previous paragraph, the remainder mentioned by the Rambam is reached.
As explained in Chapter 10, Halachah 1, there is another reckoning, which maintains that the nineteen-year cycle produces a more exact interrelation between the two calendars.
|
| 9. |
By structuring the pattern in this manner, an interrelation [albeit not a totally exact one] is established between the lunar and solar calendars in each of the years. After several years in which the number of days of the solar calendar exceeds those of the lunar calendar, a leap year reverses that pattern and establishes an approximate equivalence. In this way, we ensure that the Pesach is always celebrated after the vernal equinox.
|
| 10. |
This point of clarification is necessary, because there are certain halachic matters regarding which Nisan is considered the beginning of the year.
|
Kiddush HaChodesh - Chapter Seven
Halacha 1
[Rosh Chodesh is generally instituted on the day of the conjunction. Nevertheless,] Rosh Chodesh Tishrei1 should never be established on a Sunday, a Wednesday, or a Friday - in symbols, אד"ו - although, according to these calculations, [the conjunction for the month will occur on these days]. Instead, when the conjunction for the month of Tishrei occurs on any of these three days, Rosh Chodesh should be established on the following day.2
What is implied? When the conjunction occurs on Sunday, Rosh Chodesh Tishrei should be established on Monday. When the conjunction occurs on Wednesday, Rosh Chodesh Tishrei should be established on Thursday. When the conjunction occurs on Friday, Rosh Chodesh Tishrei should be established on the Sabbath.3
Halacha 2
Similarly, if the conjunction [for the month of Tishrei]4 takes place at noon or after noon, Rosh Chodesh should be established on the following day.5
What is implied? When the conjunction takes place on Monday, six hours after daybreak or later, Rosh Chodesh is established on Tuesday. If, however, the conjunction takes place before noon, even if only a single unit prior, Rosh Chodesh is established on the day of the conjunction, provided that day is neither Sunday, Wednesday, nor Friday.
Halacha 3
When the conjunction takes place at noon or after noon, and [Rosh Chodesh Tishrei would be] postponed to the following day - if that following day is either Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday, Rosh Chodesh is postponed again, and is established on the third day after the conjunction.
Halacha 4
Halacha 5
Halacha 6
If, however, the conjunction of an ordinary year occurs [even] one unit earlier - i.e., were it to be 3 - 9 - 203 or earlier - [Rosh Chodesh] should be established on Tuesday, [rather than postponed until Thursday as mentioned above].
Similarly, if the conjunction of a year following a leap year occurs [even] one unit earlier - i.e., were it to be 2 - 15 - 588 or earlier - [Rosh Chodesh] should be established on Monday.
Thus, the way to determine [the day on which] Rosh Chodesh Tishrei will be established according to these calculations is as follows: One should first determine the day [of the week], the hour of the day - or night - and the number of units of the hour when the conjunction takes place. The day of the conjunction will be the day of Rosh Chodesh, except in the following instances:
a) [The conjunction] takes place on Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday;
b) The conjunction takes place at noon or after noon;
c) In an ordinary year, [the conjunction] takes place on the night of the third day, after 204 units of the tenth hour have passed, or later [that day];
d) In an ordinary year that follows a leap year, the conjunction takes place on Monday past 589 units of the fourth hour after daybreak has passed or later [that day].
If the conjunction occurs in one of these four instances, [Rosh Chodesh] is not established on the day of the conjunction, but rather on the day that follows, or on the day following that, as explained.
Halacha 7
Why is [Rosh HaShanah] not established [on the day of the conjunction] when it falls on Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday? Because these calculations determine the conjunction of the sun and the moon only according to their mean [rate of] progress, and do not [necessarily] reflect the true position [of the sun and the moon in the celestial sphere], as explained. Therefore, they instituted that [on] one day [Rosh Chodesh] would be established and on the following day it would be postponed, so that they would ascertain the day when the true conjunction takes place.12
What is implied? [When according to our calculations, the conjunction occurs on] Tuesday, we establish [Rosh Chodesh]. [When it occurs] on Wednesday, we postpone it. [When it occurs] on Thursday, we establish [Rosh Chodesh]. [When it occurs] on Friday, we postpone it. [When it occurs] on the Sabbath, we establish [Rosh Chodesh]. [When it occurs] on Sunday, we postpone it. [When it occurs] on Monday, we establish [Rosh Chodesh].
Halacha 8
This same principle, that the calculations are based on the mean rate of progress, is also the motivating factor for the other four reasons for the postponement [of Rosh Chodesh]. As proof of this, there are times when [according to the calculations] the conjunction takes place on Tuesday, and [Rosh Chodesh] is postponed until Thursday,13 and yet the moon will not be seen Thursday night, nor even Friday night. This indicates that the true conjunction of the sun and the moon did not take place until Thursday.
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. |
Which is also Rosh HaShanah.
|
| 2. |
The Rambam mentions the reason for postponing Rosh Chodesh in Halachah 7.
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| 3. |
The first day of Rosh HaShanah is therefore celebrated frequently on Monday, Thursday, and the Sabbath, for the holiday is held on these days when the conjunction falls on the day itself or on the previous day. The first day of Rosh HaShanah is rarely celebrated on Tuesday, for the probability of the conjunction falling on that day is merely one out of seven, half that of the other days.
|
| 4. |
The principle mentioned in this halachah - and indeed, in the entire chapter - applies to Rosh Chodesh Tishrei alone, and not to the other months.
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| 5. |
This condition is referred to as a molad zaken, literally, "an aged conjunction." The rationale for postponing Rosh HaShanah in such a situation can be explained as follows: In principle, Rosh Chodesh is dependent on the sighting of the moon, not on the conjunction. As is explained in the subsequent chapters of the text, the new moon does not become visible until several hours after the conjunction between the moon and the sun. Thus, if the conjunction takes place after noon, it is impossible for the moon to be sighted on that day. Therefore, Rosh HaShanah is celebrated on the following day. (See Rosh HaShanah 20b and commentaries.)
There is a slight difficulty in the Rambam's statements, for based on Chapter 15, Halachah 2, it would appear that at certain times it is possible to sight the moon only five hours after conjunction.
|
| 6. |
I.e., after the eighteenth hour of the seventh day.
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| 7. |
It should not be established on the Sabbath, because of the principle of molad zaken. Nor should it be established on Sunday, as stated in Halachah 1.
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| 8. |
I.e., the night between Monday and Tuesday.
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| 9. |
The rationale for the postponement of Rosh HaShanah in such a situation can be explained as follows: As explained in the following chapter, the maximum length of a lunar year is 355 days. As mentioned previously, 4 days, 8 hours, and 876 units is the remainder of a normal year. To calculate the conjunction of Tishrei in the following year, this figure should be added to 3 - 9 - 204 (the day and the time mentioned by the Rambam above). The result is 12:00 noon on the Sabbath.
As explained above, when the conjunction takes place at 12:00 noon or later, the celebration of Rosh HaShanah is postponed to the following day. In this instance, however, the following day is Sunday, and Rosh HaShanah never begins on that day. Thus, the holiday would have to be celebrated on Monday. If Rosh HaShanah had been celebrated on Tuesday of the previous year, there would have been a six-day difference between the days on which the holiday was celebrated in these two successive years, producing a year of 356 days, one day longer than the maximum length of an ordinary year. To avoid this, Rosh HaShanah is not celebrated on Tuesday. Since it also is never celebrated on Wednesday, it is postponed until Thursday, producing a lunar year of 354 days (Tur, Orach Chayim 428).
|
| 10. |
For three hours after daybreak is 15 hours after the beginning of the day.
|
| 11. |
The rationale for the postponement of Rosh HaShanah in such a situation can be explained as follows: As explained in the following chapter, the minimum length of a lunar leap year is 383 days. As mentioned previously, the remainder of a leap year is five days, twenty-one hours, and 589 units. When, in an effort to calculate the time of the conjunction of the leap year, this figure is subtracted from 2 - 15 - 589 (the day and the time mentioned by the Rambam), the result is Tuesday at noon.
As mentioned, when the conjunction takes place at 12:00 noon or later, the celebration of Rosh HaShanah is postponed to the following day. In this instance, however, the following day is Wednesday, and Rosh HaShanah never begins on that day. Thus, in the leap year, Rosh HaShanah began on Thursday. If Rosh HaShanah were celebrated on Monday in the year after the leap year, this would produce only a four-day difference between the days on which the holiday was celebrated in these two successive years, causing the length of the year to be only 382 days. To avoid this, in the year following the leap year Rosh HaShanah is celebrated on Tuesday, rather than on Monday, causing the leap year to be 383 days long (Tur, Orach Chayim428).
|
| 12. |
The Rambam's statements have stirred the attention - and often the indignation - of the Ra'avad and other commentaries, because they appear to ignore the explanations given by Rosh HaShanah 20a why Rosh HaShanah never begins on these days. The Talmud states that if Rosh HaShanah falls on either Wednesday or Friday, Yom Kippur will fall on either Friday or Sunday, and thus there would be two consecutive days, Yom Kippur and the Sabbath, when it would be forbidden to bury the dead. In the Talmudic era, this could have caused a corpse to deteriorate, detracting from its honor and respect.
Alternatively, the Sages state that if Rosh HaShanah fell on any of these three days, there would be two successive days when it would be forbidden to pick fresh vegetables, and the people would be unable to celebrate the festivals or the Sabbath properly.
Sukkah 43a gives another reason why Rosh HaShanah is not held on Sunday: were this to be the case, Hoshana Rabbah, the seventh day of Sukkot, would fall on the Sabbath. In such an instance, restrictions were placed on the willow ritual in the Temple. (See Hilchot Shofar, Sukkah V'Lulav 7:21-22.) To avoid such an instance, the Sages structured the calendar so that Rosh HaShanah never falls on Sunday.
In defense of the Rambam's position, it must be noted that both earlier (Rabbenu Chanan'el) and subsequent (the P'nei Yehoshua) Talmudic commentaries understood the reasons given by the Talmud as being merely the external dimension of the rationale for the calendar's adjustment, while the inner meaning is associated with the actual position of the sun and the moon in the heavenly sphere.
Even according to this perspective, there is, however, a difficulty with the Rambam's statements. Although it is correct that the true positions of the sun and the moon often differ from the position determined by calculating their mean movement, the concept of postponing the celebration of Rosh HaShanah on these three days appears arbitrary and without any obvious connection to the movement of these bodies in the celestial sphere. The commentaries note that explanations why Rosh HaShanah is not celebrated on these days are found in the Kabbalah.
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| 13. |
The instance mentioned in Halachah 4.
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Kiddush HaChodesh - Chapter Eight
Halacha 1
A lunar month is twenty-nine and one half days, and 793 units, as we have explained.1 It is impossible for Rosh Chodesh to begin in the middle of the day - i.e., that a portion of the day would be part of the previous month and a portion of the day would be part of the following month - as [implied by Numbers 11:20]: "For a month of days...." According to the Oral Tradition,2 this was interpreted [to mean], "You count the days of a month; you do not count the hours [of a month]."
Halacha 2
Therefore, some lunar months are established as lacking [a day], and others as full. A month that is lacking has only twenty- nine days, even though a lunar month is several hours longer. A full month is thirty days, even though a lunar month is several hours shorter. In this manner, the months will be calculated according to complete days, not according to hours.
Halacha 3
If a lunar month were exactly twenty-nine and a half days [long], the years [would be divided evenly] into full and lacking months, and there would be exactly 354 days to a lunar year. Thus, there would be six full months and six lacking months. It is the units that exist in every month that exceed the half day - which ultimately add up to hours and days - that cause certain years to have more lacking months than full months, and other years to have more full months than lacking months.
Halacha 4
According to this reckoning, the thirtieth day of the month is always established as Rosh Chodesh. If the month is lacking, the thirtieth day will be Rosh Chodesh of the coming month.
If the month is full [the coming month will have two days that are Rosh Chodesh]. The thirtieth day will be Rosh Chodesh, since a portion of it is [fit to be] Rosh Chodesh. [Nevertheless,] it will be counted as the completion of the previous month, which was full. The thirty-first day also will be Rosh Chodesh, and the reckoning [of the days of the coming month] will start from it. It is the day established [as Rosh Chodesh].
Thus, according to this calculation, there are some months that have only one day Rosh Chodesh, and other months that have two days Rosh Chodesh.
Halacha 5
The following is the order of the full and lacking months according to [our] fixed calendar: Tishrei is always full. Tevet is always lacking. From Tevet on, there is one full month and one lacking month in sequence.
What is implied? Tevet is lacking; Shevat is full; Adar is lacking; Nisan is full; Iyar, lacking; Sivan, full; Tammuz, lacking; Av, full; Elul, lacking. In a leap year, the first Adar is full,3 and the second Adar is lacking.
Halacha 6
Two months remain: Marcheshvan and Kislev. Sometimes they are [both] full; sometimes they are [both] lacking; and sometimes Marcheshvan is lacking and Kislev is full.
A year in which both of these months are full is called a year of complete months. A year in which both these months are lacking is called a year of lacking months. And a year in which Marcheshvan is full and Kislev is lacking is called a year whose months [proceed] in order.4
Halacha 7
The way to know whether the months of a year will be lacking, will be complete, or will [proceed] in order [can be explained] as follows: First, determine the day on which Rosh HaShanah will fall in the year about whose months you desire to know, as explained in Chapter 7. Then determine the day on which Rosh HaShanah will fall in the year that follows.
Afterwards, count the number of days between them without including the day on which Rosh HaShanah falls in either of these years. If there are only two days between them,5 the months of the year will be lacking. If there are three days between them,6 the months of the year will proceed in order. And if there are four days between them,7 the months of the year will be complete.
Halacha 8
When does the above apply? When the year in question is an ordinary year. When, however, [the year in question] is a leap year [different rules apply]: If there are only four days between the day on which [Rosh HaShanah] is established [in the leap year] and the day on which it will be established in the following year, the months of the year will be lacking.8 If there are five days between these [two days], the months of the year will proceed in order. And if there are six days between them, the months of the year will be complete.
Halacha 9
What is implied? If we desire to know the order of the months of the present year, and [we know the following]: Rosh HaShanah falls on Thursday; it is an ordinary year; and in the following year Rosh HaShanah falls on Monday, there are three days between them and the months of the year proceed in order.9
If Rosh HaShanah falls on Tuesday in the following year, the months of the year will be complete.10 If Rosh HaShanah falls on the Sabbath in the present year, and on Tuesday in the following year, the months of the year will be lacking.11Similar concepts should be applied regarding the calculation [of the order of the months] of a leap year, as was explained.
Halacha 10
There are certain indications upon which one can rely, so that one will not err regarding the calculation of the order of the months of a year. These principles are based on the fundamental principles of the fixed calendar and the determination of the days on which Rosh HaShanah will be established and those that will cause it to be postponed, as we explained previously.
Whenever Rosh HaShanah is celebrated on a Tuesday, [the months of] the year will [proceed] in order. [This applies regardless of whether the year] is an ordinary year or a leap year.12
Whenever Rosh HaShanah is celebrated on the Sabbath or on a Monday, [the months of] the year will never [proceed] in order. [This applies regardless of whether the year] is an ordinary year or a leap year.13
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. |
Chapter 6, Halachah 3.
|
| 2. |
Megillah 5a.
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| 3. |
This supports the Rambam's contention that it is the first Adar that is the extra month of the year. (See the notes on Chapter 4, Halachah 1.)
|
| 4. |
For all the months of the year from Marcheshvan onward proceed in sequence, one full and one lacking.
|
| 5. |
The Rambam gives examples in Halachah 9 to illustrate this situation and those that follow. When there are two days between the days on which Rosh HaShanah is celebrated in successive years, the year is 50 weeks and three days - i.e., 353 days - long.
|
| 6. |
When there are three days between the days on which Rosh HaShanah is celebrated in successive years, the year is 50 weeks and four days - i.e., 354 days - long.
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| 7. |
When there are four days between the days on which Rosh HaShanah is celebrated in successive years, the year is 50 weeks and five days - i.e., 355 days - long. The remainder of an ordinary lunar year is slightly more than four days, producing a year whose months proceed in order. Frequently, however, the year will contain an extra day, if, because of the reasons mentioned in the previous chapter, the celebration of Rosh HaShanah is postponed. Similarly, it may lack a day, because the celebration of Rosh HaShanah was postponed in the previous year.
|
| 8. |
In such a situation, there will be 54 weeks and five days in the year, a total of 383 days.
|
| 9. |
For there are three days - Friday, the Sabbath, and Sunday - between the days on which Rosh HaShanah is celebrated in the years in question.
|
| 10. |
For there are four days - Friday, the Sabbath, Sunday, and Monday - between the days on which Rosh HaShanah is celebrated in these successive years.
|
| 11. |
For there are only two days between them.
|
| 12. |
As mentioned, Rosh HaShanah cannot fall on Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday. Therefore, in an ordinary year, if Rosh HaShanah falls on a Tuesday, the following year it cannot fall on a Thursday, for then there would be only one day between them, producing a year of only 352 days. Nor can it fall on a Monday, for then the year would be 356 days long. Thus, the only day on which it can fall is the Sabbath, producing a year of 354 days. In such a year, the months proceed in order.
When Rosh HaShanah falls on Tuesday in a leap year, it cannot fall on Thursday or the Sabbath in the following year, for that would produce a year that is too short (380 or 382) days. Nor can it fall on Tuesday itself, for Rosh HaShanah falls on Tuesday only when the conjunction takes place not later than Tuesday, before noon. When the remainder of a leap year - 5 days, 21 hours, and 589 units - is added to noon time on Tuesday, the result is that the conjunction of the following year will take place on Sunday. Since Rosh HaShanah is never celebrated on Sunday, the holiday will be postponed until Monday. Thus, the length of the leap year will be 384 days, the length of a year whose months proceed in order.
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| 13. |
For the months of an ordinary year to proceed in order, the year must be 354 days long. That means that if Rosh HaShanah fell on the Sabbath, it would have to fall on Wednesday in the following year, which is impossible. Similarly, if Rosh HaShanah fell on Monday, it would have to fall on Friday in the following year, which is also impossible.
For the months of a leap year to proceed in order, the year must be 384 days long. That means that if Rosh HaShanah had fallen on the Sabbath, in the following year it would have to fall on Friday, which is impossible. Similarly, if Rosh HaShanah had fallen on Monday, in the following year it would have to fall on Sunday, which is also impossible.
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| 14. |
When the months of an ordinary year are lacking, the year has only 353 days. Thus, if Rosh HaShanah fell on Thursday, it would have to fall on Sunday in the following year, which is impossible.
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| 15. |
When the months of a leap year are lacking, the year has 383 days. Thus, if Rosh HaShanah fell on Thursday, it would have to fall on Wednesday in the following year, which is impossible.
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• Torah lessons: Chumash: Mishpatim, first parsha with Rashi.
Tehillim: 119, 1-96.
Tanya: Chapter 25. This then (p. 105)...idolatry, too. (p. 107).
Studying a parsha of Chumash with Rashi every day (Sunday until Sheini, Monday until Shlishi, etc.), saying Tehillim every day and the entire Tehillim on Shabbat m'varchim - be scrupulous about all of these. It is crucial for you, for your children and your children's children.
Compiled and arranged by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, in 5703 (1943) from the talks and letters of the sixth Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of righteous memory.
Daily Thought:
Daily Refreshments
"I know this already."
But G‑d does not age! For Him, there is no "already." His wisdom is new each day.
"I live within time. Every day I am older."
Each day you are new! Each morning you are born into life again. Don’t you eat again each day as though you have never eaten before? Don’t you thirst as though you have never before drunk water?
"For food I hunger. For water I thirst. For wisdom I feel no thirst."
Look at those who are healthy. See how they swallow down Torah as though they have never eaten before. Just start and do the same as them—and soon you too will be healthy, and feel your thirst for wisdom.[Likutei Sichot vol. 19, pg. 295; Torat Menachem 5742 vol. 2, pg. 820. Maamar Tzion Bamishpat 5736.]
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