Today's Laws & Customs:
• Count "Forty Days to the Omer" Tonight
Tomorrow is the fortieth day of the Omer Count. Since, on the Jewish calendar, the day begins at nightfall of the previous evening, we count the omer for tomorrow's date tonight, after nightfall: "Today is forty days, which are five weeks and five days, to the Omer." (If you miss the count tonight, you can count the omer all day tomorrow, but without the preceding blessing).
The 49-day "Counting of the Omer" retraces our ancestors' seven-week spiritual journey from the Exodus to Sinai. Each evening we recite a special blessing and count the days and weeks that have passed since the Omer; the 50th day isShavuot, the festival celebrating the Giving of the Torah at Sinai.
Tonight's Sefirah: Hod sheb'Yesod -- "Humility in Connection"
The teachings of Kabbalah explain that there are seven "Divine Attributes" --Sefirot -- that G-d assumes through which to relate to our existence: Chessed,Gevurah, Tifferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod and Malchut ("Love", "Strength", "Beauty", "Victory", "Splendor", "Foundation" and "Sovereignty"). In the human being, created in the "image of G-d," the seven sefirot are mirrored in the seven "emotional attributes" of the human soul: Kindness, Restraint, Harmony, Ambition, Humility, Connection and Receptiveness. Each of the seven attributes contain elements of all seven--i.e., "Kindness in Kindness", "Restraint in Kindness", "Harmony in Kindness", etc.--making for a total of forty-nine traits. The 49-day Omer Count is thus a 49-step process of self-refinement, with each day devoted to the "rectification" and perfection of one the forty-nine "sefirot."
Links:
How to count the Omer
The deeper significance of the Omer Count
Today in Jewish History:
• Germany Surrenders to Allied Forces (1945)
In Rheims, France, the Chief-of-Staff of the German Armed Forces High Command signed the unconditional surrender documents for all German forces to the Allies, thus marking the official end of World War II.
The surrender took place following a fierce seven days of battles and truces across Europe.
Daily Quote:
A shepherd went out to feed the king's flock, and the flock was abducted. When the shepherd sought to enter the royal palace, the king said to him: "If you come in now, what will people say? That it was you who have caused the flock to be carried off!" In the same way, G-d said to Moses: "Your greatness is that you have taken the 600,000 out of bondage. But you have buried them in the desert and you wish to bring into the Land a different generation! This being so, people will think that the generation of the desert have no share in the World to Come! No, better be beside them, and you shall in the time to come enter with them."[Midrash Rabbah]
Daily Study:
Chitas and Rambam for today:
Chumash: Behar-Bechukotai, 4th Portion Leviticus 25:39-26:9 with Rashi
• Chapter 25
39And if your brother becomes destitute with you, and is sold to you, do not work him with slave labor. לטוְכִי יָמוּךְ אָחִיךָ עִמָּךְ וְנִמְכַּר לָךְ לֹא תַעֲבֹד בּוֹ עֲבֹדַת עָבֶד:
slave labor: Degrading work, through which he is made to look like a slave (עֶבֶד), e.g., he must not carry his clothes after him to the bathhouse, or put on his shoes for him. — [Torath Kohanim 25:80] עבדת עבד: עבודה של גנאי, שיהא ניכר בה כעבד, שלא יוליך כליו אחריו לבית המרחץ ולא ינעול לו מנעליו:
40As an employee or a [hired] resident, he shall be with you; until the Jubilee year he shall work with you. מכְּשָׂכִיר כְּתוֹשָׁב יִהְיֶה עִמָּךְ עַד שְׁנַת הַיֹּבֵל יַעֲבֹד עִמָּךְ:
As an employee or a [hired] resident: [Give him dignified jobs, e.g.,] work in agriculture and craftsmanship; treat him like other employees. כשכיר כתושב: עבודת קרקע ומלאכת אומנות כשאר שכירים התנהג בו:
until the Jubilee year: i.e., if the Jubilee year occurs before the six years [of his servitude have elapsed (see Exod. 21:2)], the Jubilee [immediately] takes him out [of servitude]. עד שנת היבל: אם פגע בו יובל לפני שש שנים, היובל מוציאו:
41Then, he shall leave you he, and his children with him, and he shall return to his family and resume the status of his fathers. מאוְיָצָא מֵעִמָּךְ הוּא וּבָנָיו עִמּוֹ וְשָׁב אֶל מִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ וְאֶל אֲחֻזַּת אֲבֹתָיו יָשׁוּב:
he, and his children with him: Says Rabbi Simeon: If he was sold, who sold his children [that Scripture states that his children go free with him]? However, from here, [we learn] that his master is obligated to provide food for his children [and, in this sense, they are released with their father]. — [Kid. 22a] הוא ובניו עמו: אמר רבי שמעון אם הוא נמכר בניו מי מכרן, אלא מכאן שרבו חייב במזונות בניו:
the status of his fathers: To his fathers’ [former] honor, and he must not be degraded for it [i.e., for having been a servant]. - [Mak. 13a and Rashi there] [Thus,] אֲחֻזַּת - [means here:] “The status of.” - [Mak. 13a and Rashi there] ואל אחזת אבתיו: אל כבוד אבותיו, ואין לזלזלו בכך:
42For they are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt they shall not be sold as a slave is sold. מבכִּי עֲבָדַי הֵם אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִי אֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם לֹא יִמָּכְרוּ מִמְכֶּרֶת עָבֶד:
For they are My servants: My contract came first. - [Torath Kohanim 25:85] כי עבדי הם: שטרי קודם:
They shall not be sold in the way a slave is sold: namely, by public announcement, saying: “Here is a slave for sale!” Neither may they stand him up on an auctioning block [for public sale]. — [Torath Kohanim 25:85] לא ימכרו ממכרת עבד: בהכרזה כאן יש עבד למכור, ולא יעמידנו על אבן הלקח:
43You shall not work him with rigor, and you shall fear your God. מגלֹא תִרְדֶּה בוֹ בְּפָרֶךְ וְיָרֵאתָ מֵאֱלֹהֶיךָ:
You shall not enslave him through rigor: Unnecessary jobs, for the purpose of tormenting him. E.g., do not say to him: “Warm up this drink for me,” when you do not need it; or “Hoe under this vine until I come back” [and you may never come back there (Sifthei Chachamim on verse 53)]. Perhaps you will say, “No one really knows whether it is necessary or not, and I say that it is necessary!” This matter is held [secretly] in a man’s heart [for no one knows his true intentions]. Therefore, Scripture states, “and you shall fear [your God” for He is privy to all inner thoughts]. — [Torath Kohanim 25: 86] לא תרדה בו בפרך: מלאכה שלא לצורך, כדי לענותו. אל תאמר לו החם לי את הכוס הזה, והוא אינו צריך, עדור תחת הגפן עד שאבוא. שמא תאמר אין מכיר בדבר אם לצורך אם לאו, ואומר אני לו שהוא לצורך, הרי הדבר הזה מסור ללב, לכך נאמר ויראת:
44Your male slave or female slave whom you may have from the nations that are around you, from them you may acquire a male slave or a female slave. מדוְעַבְדְּךָ וַאֲמָתְךָ אֲשֶׁר יִהְיוּ לָךְ מֵאֵת הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבֹתֵיכֶם מֵהֶם תִּקְנוּ עֶבֶד וְאָמָה:
Your male slave or female slave that you have: If you say, “If so [that I may give my Jewish servant only skilled labor to do,] by whom shall I be served? Over my [Jewish] servants I do not have real power [as I must treat them like hired employees (see verse 40 above)]. Of the seven nations I am not allowed to possess [a slave], for You have warned me, ‘you shall not allow any soul to live’ (Deut. 20:16), So who will serve me [as a slave]?” [To this, God answers:] ועבדך ואמתך אשר יהיו לך: אם תאמר אם כן במה אשתמש. בעבדי איני מושל, באומות איני נוחל, שהרי הזהרתני (דברים כ טז) לא תחיה כל נשמה, אלא מי ישמשני:
from the nations: They will be slaves for you. מאת הגוים: הם יהיו לך לעבדים:
that are around you: But not from those [seven Canaanite nations] that are within the borders of your land, for indeed, regarding them, I said, “you shall not allow any soul to live” (Deut. 20:16). אשר סביבתיכם: ולא שבתוך גבול ארצכם, שהרי בהם אמרתי לא תחיה כל נשמה:
45And also from the children of the residents that live among you, from them you may acquire [slaves] and from their family that is with you whom they begot in your land, and they shall become your inheritance. מהוְגַם מִבְּנֵי הַתּוֹשָׁבִים הַגָּרִים עִמָּכֶם מֵהֶם תִּקְנוּ וּמִמִּשְׁפַּחְתָּם אֲשֶׁר עִמָּכֶם אֲשֶׁר הוֹלִידוּ בְּאַרְצְכֶם וְהָיוּ לָכֶם לַאֲחֻזָּה:
And also from the children of the residents: who came from surrounding lands to marry women in your land, who subsequently bore children to them. [In these cases,] the [lineage of the] child follows the father and thus, does not fall under [the commandment of], “ you shall not allow any soul to live” (Deut. 20:16). But, you are permitted to acquire him as a slave. — [Kid. 67b] וגם מבני התושבים: שבאו מסביבותיכם לישא נשים בארצכם וילדו להם, הבן הולך אחר האב, ואינו בכלל לא תחיה, אלא אתה מותר לקנותו כעבד:
from them you may acquire: [This might mean that we may acquire slaves by buying from their slaves. However, the true meaning is:] You may acquire them [i.e., the residents’ children, as slaves]. — [Sifthei Chachamim; Torath Kohanim 25:87] מהם תקנו: אותם תקנו:
46You shall hold onto them as an inheritance for your children after you, as acquired property, and may thus have them serve you forever. But as for your brethren, the children of Israel, a man shall not work his brother with rigor. מווְהִתְנַחַלְתֶּם אֹתָם לִבְנֵיכֶם אַחֲרֵיכֶם לָרֶשֶׁת אֲחֻזָּה לְעֹלָם בָּהֶם תַּעֲבֹדוּ וּבְאַחֵיכֶם בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אִישׁ בְּאָחִיו לֹא תִרְדֶּה בוֹ בְּפָרֶךְ:
You shall hold onto them as an inheritance for your children: You shall hold onto them as an inheritance for your children after you.“ But it would be incorrect to explain וְהִתְנַחַלְתֶּם אֹתָם לִבְנֵיכֶם as ”Bequeath them to your children“ [interpreting וְהִתְנַחַלְתֶּם as a causative,] for if so, then Scripture would have had to write וְהִנְחַלְתֶּם אֹתָם לִבְנֵיכֶם [Instead, Scripture writes:] וְהִתְנַחַלְתֶּם - [with the verb in the reflexive conjugation,] just like [the word] וְהִתְחַזַּקְתֶּם [and similarly, just as וְהִתְחַזַּקְתֶּם (in Num. 13:20) is an intransitive verb, so too, here, our verb וְהִתְנַחַלְתֶּם must be considered not to be causative but rather, reflexive (see preceding Rashi) and means ”You should keep them as an inheritance"]. — [Sefer Hazikkaron] והתנחלתם אתם לבניכם: החזיקו בהם לנחלה לצורך בניכם אחריכם. ולא יתכן לפרש הנחילום לבניכם, שאם כן היה לו לכתוב והנחלתם אותם לבניכם. והתנחלתם כמו והתחזקתם:
[But as for… children of Israel,] a man [shall not work] his brother [with rigor]: [But has this prohibition regarding a Jewish servant not already been stated in verse 43 above?- [Mizrachi] It is repeated here,] to include [in the prohibition] a leader over his people and a king over his attendants, i.e., that these [rulers] must not work with rigor. — see Be’er Basadeh] איש באחיו: להביא נשיא בעמיו ומלך במשרתיו שלא לרדות בפרך:
47If a resident non Jew gains wealth with you, and your brother becomes destitute with him and is sold to a resident non Jew among you or to an idol of the family of a non Jew. מזוְכִי תַשִּׂיג יַד גֵּר וְתוֹשָׁב עִמָּךְ וּמָךְ אָחִיךָ עִמּוֹ וְנִמְכַּר לְגֵר תּוֹשָׁב עִמָּךְ אוֹ לְעֵקֶר מִשְׁפַּחַת גֵּר:
a resident non-Jew: Heb. גֵּר וְתוֹשָׁב. A stranger (גֵּר) who is a resident (תּוֹשָׁב),“ [stranger here meaning non-Jew,] just as the Targum [Onkelos] renders: עֲרַל תּוֹתָב, an uncircumcised resident. And the end [of the verse] proves [that it is one person, when it continues:] וְנִמְכַּר לְגֵר תּוֹשָׁב [without a "vav"]. יד גר ותושב: גר והוא תושב, כתרגומו ערל תותב, וסופו מוכיח ונמכר לגר תושב:
If a resident non-Jew gains wealth with you: What caused him to become wealthy? His connection with you. [He gained wealth through the blessing of the Jewish people]. — [Torath Kohanim 25:93] וכי תשיג יד גר ותושב עמך: מי גרם לו שיעשיר, דבוקו עמך:
and your brother becomes destitute with him: What caused his destitution? His connection with him, because he learned from his deeds. — [Torath Kohanim 25:93] ומך אחיך עמו: מי גרם לו שימוך, דבוקו עמו, על ידי שלמד ממעשיו:
the family of a non-Jew: [Without the word לְעֵקֶר,] this [expression] means [the Jew is sold to] an idolater; but when Scripture says לְעֵקֶר [literally “to uproot,” making it לְעֵקֶר מִשְׁפַּחַת גֵּר], it refers to [a Jew] who is sold to the idol itself [לְעֵקֶר meaning “that which is to be uprooted”] - i.e., he becomes an attendant to it. He does not worship it as a deity, but to chop wood and draw water. — [Torath Kohanim 25:94] משפחת גר: זהו הגוי. כשהוא אומר לעקר זה הנמכר לעבודה זרה עצמה להיות לה שמש, ולא לאלהות, אלא לחטוב עצים ולשאוב מים:
48After he is sold, he shall have redemption; one of his brothers shall redeem him. מחאַחֲרֵי נִמְכַּר גְּאֻלָּה תִּהְיֶה לּוֹ אֶחָד מֵאֶחָיו יִגְאָלֶנּוּ:
he shall have redemption: immediately. Do not allow him to become assimilated [Sifthei Chachamim ; Torath Kohanim 25:95] until the Jubilee year. For the purchaser’s sole purpose here was to acquire this man so that he would serve him until the Jubilee, for [the servant] goes free in the Jubilee, as is stated below, “[And if he has not been redeemed…] he shall go out in the Jubilee year” (verse 54). [Obviously], Scripture is speaking of a non-Jew who is under the jurisdiction of Israel [and therefore obeys the law to free his slave in the Jubilee year]. Nevertheless, you shall not cheat him, because [this may cause] a desecration of God’s Name, but, when [the servant] is to be redeemed, he must be meticulous in his calculation, according to what is due for each year, and the non-Jew should then deduct this amount from his price. If there were twenty years since he was sold, until the Jubilee, and he had purchased him for twenty manehs -it turns out that the non-Jew had purchased each year’s work for a maneh . Now, if this [Jewish servant] had already spent five years with him, and he comes to be redeemed, he [the non-Jew] must deduct five manehs, and the servant must give him fifteen manehs. This, then, is the meaning of: “then, the purchase price shall be divided by the number of years” [in order to determine the annual hiring rate, as above]. — [Torath Kohanim 25:103; B.K. 113b] גאלה תהיה לו: מיד, אל תניחהו שיטמע עד שנת היובל, שהרי כל עצמו לא קנאו אלא לעובדו עד היובל, שהרי ביובל יצא, כמו שנאמר למטה (פסוק נד) ויצא בשנת היובל. ובגוי שתחת ידך הכתוב מדבר ואף על פי כן לא תבא עליו בעקיפין, מפני חלול השם, אלא כשבא ליגאל ידקדק בחשבון לפי המגיע בכל שנה ושנה ינכה לו הגוי מן דמיו, אם היו עשרים שנה משנמכר עד היובל וקנאו בעשרים מנה, נמצא שקנה הגוי עבודת שנה במנה, ואם שהה זה אצלו חמש שנים ובא ליגאל, ינכה לו חמשה מנים ויתן לו העבד ט"ו מנים, וזהו והיה כסף ממכרו במספר שנים:
49Or his uncle or his cousin shall redeem him, or the closest [other] relative from his family shall redeem him; or, if he becomes able to afford it, he can be redeemed [on his own]. מטאוֹ דֹדוֹ אוֹ בֶן דֹּדוֹ יִגְאָלֶנּוּ אוֹ מִשְּׁאֵר בְּשָׂרוֹ מִמִּשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ יִגְאָלֶנּוּ אוֹ הִשִּׂיגָה יָדוֹ וְנִגְאָל:
50He shall calculate with his purchaser [the number of years] from the year of his being sold to him until the Jubilee year; then, the purchase price shall be [divided] by the number of years; as the days of a hired worker, he shall be with him. נוְחִשַּׁב עִם קֹנֵהוּ מִשְּׁנַת הִמָּכְרוֹ לוֹ עַד שְׁנַת הַיֹּבֵל וְהָיָה כֶּסֶף מִמְכָּרוֹ בְּמִסְפַּר שָׁנִים כִּימֵי שָׂכִיר יִהְיֶה עִמּוֹ:
as the days of a hired worker, he shall be with him: He shall calculate the amount [of money] resulting for each year, “as if he had been employed by him for a maneh annually,” and he [the non-Jew] should then deduct it for him, [as explained in the preceding Rashi]. כימי שכיר יהיה עמו: חשבון המגיע לכל שנה ושנה יחשב כאלו נשכר עמו כל שנה במנה וינכה לו:
51If there are still many years, according to them, he shall return his redemption [money] out of the money for which he was purchased. נאאִם עוֹד רַבּוֹת בַּשָּׁנִים לְפִיהֶן יָשִׁיב גְּאֻלָּתוֹ מִכֶּסֶף מִקְנָתוֹ:
If there are still many years: until the Jubilee. אם עוד רבות בשנים: עד היובל:
according to them: Everything as I have explained. לפיהן: הכל כמו שפירשתי:
52But if only a few years remain until the Jubilee year, he shall make the [same] calculation; according to his years [that remain until Jubilee], he shall return the redemption [money]._ נבוְאִם מְעַט נִשְׁאַר בַּשָּׁנִים עַד שְׁנַת הַיֹּבֵל וְחִשַּׁב לוֹ כְּפִי שָׁנָיו יָשִׁיב אֶת גְּאֻלָּתוֹ:
53He shall be with him as an employee hired year by year; he shall not enslave him with rigor in your sight. נגכִּשְׂכִיר שָׁנָה בְּשָׁנָה יִהְיֶה עִמּוֹ לֹא יִרְדֶּנּוּ בְּפֶרֶךְ לְעֵינֶיךָ:
he shall not enslave him with rigor in your sight: That is to say, while you see this [i.e., a Jew must not see a non-Jew forcing this type of labor upon his Jewish servant without doing anything, but this is not a warning to the non-Jew (Gur Aryeh)]. — [Torath Kohanim 25:101] לא ירדנו בפרך לעיניך: כלומר ואתה רואה:
54And if he is not redeemed through [any of] these [ways], he shall go out in the Jubilee year he and his children with him. נדוְאִם לֹא יִגָּאֵל בְּאֵלֶּה וְיָצָא בִּשְׁנַת הַיֹּבֵל הוּא וּבָנָיו עִמּוֹ:
And if he is not redeemed through [any of] these [ways]: This [Jewish servant of a non-Jew] may be redeemed [only] through “these ways” [described in the verses here], but he may not be redeemed [i.e., released] through six [years]. — [see Exod. 21:2; Kid. 15b] ואם לא יגאל באלה: באלה הוא נגאל, ואינו נגאל בשש:
he, and his children with him: [But are his children also sold, that Scripture finds it necessary to state here that his children go free together with him? However, we learn from here that just like a Jewish master, so too], the non-Jewish [master] is obligated to provide food for the [servant’s] children, just as an Israelite is obligated [and in this sense, they are released, along with their father]. — [Kid. 22a; see Rashi verse 41 above] הוא ובניו עמו: הנכרי חייב במזונות בניו כישראל:
55For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants, whom I took out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord, your God. נהכִּי לִי בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עֲבָדִים עֲבָדַי הֵם אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִי אוֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם אֲנִי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם:
For the children of Israel are servants to Me: “My contract came before.” [And thus, when the Jubilee arrives, the servant must be released and revert to being God’s servant rather than man’s.]- [Torath Kohanim 25:85; see Rashi verse 42 above] כי לי בני ישראל עבדים: שטרי קודם:
I am the Lord, your God: Whoever subjugates them below [on this earth,] is as if he subjugates [them] above [in heaven, for as long as a Jew is enslaved to another human being, he is not free to do the holy service of God Above (Be’er Basadeh)]. — [Torath Kohanim 25:104] אני ה' אלהיכם: כל המשעבדן מלמטה כאלו משעבדן מלמעלה:
Chapter 26
1You shall not make idols for yourselves, nor shall you set up a statue or a monument for yourselves. And in your land you shall not place a pavement stone on which to prostrate yourselves, for I am the Lord, your God. אלֹא תַעֲשׂוּ לָכֶם אֱלִילִם וּפֶסֶל וּמַצֵּבָה לֹא תָקִימוּ לָכֶם וְאֶבֶן מַשְׂכִּית לֹא תִתְּנוּ בְּאַרְצְכֶם לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֹת עָלֶיהָ כִּי אֲנִי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם:
You shall not make idols for yourselves: [This] is addressed to the one who has been sold [as a servant] to a non-Jew, that he should not say, “Since my master has illicit relations, I will also be like him! Since my master worships idols, I will also be like him! Since my master desecrates the Sabbath, I will also be like him!” This is why these verses are stated here. - [Torath Kohanim 25:106]. Also, the passages [in this whole section (namely, from the beginning of Chapter 25 until the end of Behar),] are written in a meaningful order, [as follows]: At first, Scripture admonishes us to observe [the laws of] Shemittah [and Jubilee (25: 124)]; then, if one covets money and becomes suspect of [unlawfully doing business with produce of] Shemittah (Nachalath Ya’akov), he will eventually [become destitute and] have to sell his personal belongingstherefore, Scripture juxtaposes to it, “And when you make a sale [to your fellow-Jew]” (25:14) (What is written therein? “or make a purchase from the hand…,” something that is transferred from hand to hand). If he still does not repent, he will eventually have to sell his ineritance (25:25). If he even then does not repent, he will eventually have to sell his home, and if even then, he does not repent, he will eventually have to borrow money with interest (verses 25:35-38). Now, the later the scenario in this passage, the more severe it is [i.e., first he sells his belongings, then his property, then his home and then even borrowing with interest which is more severe than selling one’s property; (Nachalath Ya’akov) thus, the passage continues accordingly, for] if he still does not repent, he will eventually have to sell himself [to his fellow Jew as a servant] (verses 25:39-46); and [finally,] if he has still not repented, not enough that he had to be sold to his fellow Jew - but he will [be forced to sell himself] even to a non-Jew!- [25:47-55; Kidd. 20a] לא תעשו לכם אלילם: כנגד זה הנמכר לגוי, שלא יאמר הואיל ורבי מגלה עריות אף אני כמותו, הואיל ורבי עובד עבודה זרה אף אני כמותו, הואיל ורבי מחלל שבת אף אני כמותו, לכך נאמרו מקראות הללו. ואף הפרשיות הללו נאמרו על הסדר בתחלה הזהיר על השביעית, ואם חמד ממון ונחשד על השביעית סופו למכור מטלטליו, לכך סמך לה וכי תמכרו ממכר (ויק' כה יד), מה כתיב ביה או קנה מיד עמיתך (שם), דבר הנקנה מיד ליד. לא חזר בו, סוף מוכר אחוזתו. לא חזר בו, סוף מוכר את ביתו. לא חזר בו, סוף לוה ברבית. כל אלו האחרונות קשות מן הראשונות. לא חזר בו, סוף מוכר את עצמו. לא חזר בו, לא דיו לישראל אלא אפילו לגוי:
a pavement stone: אֶבֶן מַשְׂכִּית, an expression denoting a covering, as in “And I shall cover (וְשַׂכֹּתִי) [you with] My hand.” (Exod. 33:22). [And the meaning of “covering” is relevant here,] as people use a stone floor to make a covering over the ground. ואבן משכית: לשון כסוי, כמו (שמות לג כב) ושכותי כפי, שמכסין הקרקע ברצפת אבנים:
on which to prostrate yourselves: even to Heaven, for the expression הִשְׁתַּחֲוָאָה, prostration, denotes stretching one’s hands and feet out [on the ground], and the Torah prohibits one to do this outside the Holy Temple [where prostration on a stone floor is permitted]. — [Meg. 22b and see Rashi there] להשתחות עליה: אפילו לשמים, לפי שהשתחואה בפשוט ידים ורגלים היא, ואסרה תורה לעשות כן חוץ מן המקדש:
2You shall keep My Sabbaths and fear My Sanctuary. I am the Lord. באֶת שַׁבְּתֹתַי תִּשְׁמֹרוּ וּמִקְדָּשִׁי תִּירָאוּ אֲנִי יְהֹוָה:
I am the Lord: Who is faithful to give reward [to those who fulfill My Torah]. אני ה': נאמן לשלם שכר:
3If you follow My statutes and observe My commandments and perform them, גאִם בְּחֻקֹּתַי בחוקותי תֵּלֵכוּ וְאֶת מִצְוֹתַי תִּשְׁמְרוּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם:
If you follow My statutes: I might think that this refers to the fulfillment of the commandments. However, when Scripture says, “and observe My commandments,” the fulfillment of the commandments is [already] stated. So what is the meaning of “If you follow My statutes”? It means that you must toil in the study of Torah [for the word for “follow” here, תֵּלֵכוּ, literally means “walk,” which is a strenuous activity (Gur Aryeh)]. — [Torath Kohanim 26:2] אם בחקתי תלכו: יכול זה קיום המצות, כשהוא אומר ואת מצותי תשמרו, הרי קיום המצות אמור, הא מה אני מקיים אם בחקתי תלכו, שתהיו עמלים בתורה:
and observe My commandments: You shall toil in the study of Torah in order to observe and fulfill [the commandments (Torath Kohanim 26:2). This is similar to, “[Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances…] and learn them, and keep in mind to do them” (Deut. 5:1) [i.e., learn the Torah in order to keep them in your heart and perform them]. — [Sifthei Chachamim] ואת מצותי תשמרו: הוו עמלים בתורה על מנת לשמור ולקיים, כמו שנאמר (דברים ה א) ולמדתם אותם ושמרתם לעשותם:
4I will give your rains in their time, the Land will yield its produce, and the tree of the field will give forth its fruit. דוְנָתַתִּי גִשְׁמֵיכֶם בְּעִתָּם וְנָתְנָה הָאָרֶץ יְבוּלָהּ וְעֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה יִתֵּן פִּרְיוֹ:
[I will give your rains] in their time: at a time when people do not usually go out, for example, on Sabbath Eve. — [Ta’anith 23a] בעתם: בשעה שאין דרך בני אדם לצאת, כגון בלילי שבתות ובלילי ימים טובים:
the tree of the field: This refers to trees [planted in the field, as opposed to the orchard,] that do not bear fruit, but are destined to bear fruit in the future. — [Torath Kohanim 26:5] ועץ השדה: הן אילני סרק, ועתידין לעשות פירות:
5Your threshing will last until the vintage, and the vintage will last until the sowing; you will eat your food to satiety, and you will live in security in your land. הוְהִשִּׂיג לָכֶם דַּיִשׁ אֶת בָּצִיר וּבָצִיר יַשִּׂיג אֶת זָרַע וַאֲכַלְתֶּם לַחְמְכֶם לָשׂבַע וִישַׁבְתֶּם לָבֶטַח בְּאַרְצְכֶם:
Your threshing will last until the vintage [and the vintage will last until the sowing]: For the threshing will be so plentiful that you will be occupied with it until the vintage, and you will be occupied with the vintage until the sowing season. — [Torath Kohanim 26:6] והשיג לכם דיש את בציר: שיהא הדיש מרובה ואתם עסוקים בו עד הבציר, ובבציר תעסקו עד שעת הזרע:
you will eat your food to satiety: One will eat only a little [food], but it will become blessed in one’s innards. — [Torath Kohanim 26:6] ואכלתם לחמכם לשבע: אוכל קמעא והוא מתברך במעיו:
6And I will grant peace in the Land, and you will lie down with no one to frighten [you]; I will remove wild beasts from the Land, and no army will pass through your land; ווְנָתַתִּי שָׁלוֹם בָּאָרֶץ וּשְׁכַבְתֶּם וְאֵין מַחֲרִיד וְהִשְׁבַּתִּי חַיָּה רָעָה מִן הָאָרֶץ וְחֶרֶב לֹא תַעֲבֹר בְּאַרְצְכֶם:
And I will grant peace: You might say, “Here is food, and here is drink, but if there is no peace, there is nothing!” Scripture, therefore, states, after all this [blessing], “I will grant peace in the Land.” From here, [we learn] that peace is equal to everything else. And so, [this is illustrated in our morning prayers,] when we say: “[Blessed are You, O Lord…] Who… makes peace and creates everything” [a paraphrase of the verse] (Isaiah 45:7). - [see Ber. 11b; Torath Kohanim 26:7] ונתתי שלום: שמא תאמרו הרי מאכל והרי משתה, אם אין שלום אין כלום, תלמוד לומר אחר כל זאת ונתתי שלום בארץ, מכאן שהשלום שקול כנגד הכל. וכן הוא אומר עושה שלום ובורא את הכל:
and no army will pass through your land: It is unnecessary to state that they will not come to wage war, but [they will not come] even to pass through your land from one country to another. — [Torath Kohanim 26:9] וחרב לא תעבר בארצכם: אין צריך לומר שלא יבאו למלחמה, אלא אפילו לעבור דרך ארצכם ממדינה למדינה:
7You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you; זוּרְדַפְתֶּם אֶת אֹיְבֵיכֶם וְנָפְלוּ לִפְנֵיכֶם לֶחָרֶב:
[And they will fall] by the sword before you: each man [falling] by the sword of his fellow. — [Torath Kohanim 26:9] לפניכם לחרב: איש בחרב רעהו:
8Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you. חוְרָדְפוּ מִכֶּם חֲמִשָּׁה מֵאָה וּמֵאָה מִכֶּם רְבָבָה יִרְדֹּפוּ וְנָפְלוּ אֹיְבֵיכֶם לִפְנֵיכֶם לֶחָרֶב:
of you will pursue: [It will require only five] of your weakest [to pursue a hundred enemies], and not of your strongest [i.e., מִכֶּם means “the weakest (מָ) of you.”]- [Sifthei Chachamim; Torath Kohanim 26:10] ורדפו מכם: מן החלשים שבכם, ולא מן הגבורים שבכם:
Five… will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand: But is this calculation correct? [Since five will pursue a hundred, this means that each Jew will pursue twenty enemies;] therefore, should Scripture not have written here: “and a hundred of you will pursue two thousand”? But, [the Torah teaches us that] there is no comparison between a few who fulfill the Torah and many who fulfill the Torah [and thus, here, the larger the group of pursuers, the higher proportionately is the number pursued]. — [Torath Kohanim 26:10] חמשה מאה ומאה מכם רבבה: וכי כך הוא החשבון, והלא לא היה צריך לומר אלא מאה מכם שני אלפים ירדופו, אלא אינו דומה מועטין העושין את התורה למרובין העושין את התורה:
and your enemies will fall [by the sword before you]: [This promise, already stated in verse 7, is repeated here to teach us (Torath Kohanim 26:10)] that the enemy will fall before you, not in the usual manner [i.e., that many of them will fall by the hand of only a few. — [Rash MiShantz ad loc.] ונפלו איביכם וגו': שיהיו נופלין לפניכם שלא כדרך הארץ:
9I will turn towards you, and I will make you fruitful and increase you, and I will set up My covenant with you. טוּפָנִיתִי אֲלֵיכֶם וְהִפְרֵיתִי אֶתְכֶם וְהִרְבֵּיתִי אֶתְכֶם וַהֲקִימֹתִי אֶת בְּרִיתִי אִתְּכֶם:
I will turn towards you: “I will turn away (אֶפְנֶה) from all My affairs to pay your reward.” To what may this be compared? To a king who hired some workers [only one of whom worked for him for a long time, while all the others did not. When they presented themselves to receive payment, the king quickly paid the others a small amount, while to the one who had worked long, he said, “They worked merely a little for me, but with you, I must now turn my attention to calculate the substantial amount that I owe you.” Likewise, God will quickly pay the nations the small amount He owes them for their little good deeds, and then He will turn His attention, as it were, to the Jewish people, to calculate their great reward,] as is taught in Torath Kohanim 26:11.] ופניתי אליכם: אפנה מכל עסקי לשלם שכרכם, משל למה הדבר דומה, למלך ששכר פועלים וכו', כדאיתא בתורת כהנים:
and I will make you fruitful: [Unlike the usual expression of פִּרְיָה וְרִבְיָה in Scripture, here, the two parts of this expression are separated by the word אֶתְכֶם (Sifthei Chachamim quoting Maharai). The first part, וְהִפְרֵיתִי אֶתְכֶם, refers to the blessing of] being fruitful and multiplying. — [Torath Kohanim 26:12] והפריתי אתכם: בפריה ורביה:
and increase you: [while the second part,] וְהִרְבֵּיתִי אֶתְכֶם [refers to the blessing of having] dignity of stature [(הִתְרַבְרְבוּת) i.e., being able to hold one’s head up high due to dignity]. — [Mizrachi; Torath Kohanim 26:12] והרביתי אתכם: בקומה זקופה:
and I will set up My covenant with you: a new covenant, not like the first covenant, which you broke, but a new covenant, which will not be broken, as it is said, “I will form a new covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah-not like the covenant [that I formed with their forefathers… that they broke]” (Jer. 31:30-31). - [Torath Kohanim 26:12] והקימתי את בריתי אתכם: ברית חדשה, לא כברית הראשונה שהפרתם אותה, אלא ברית חדשה שלא תופר, שנאמר (ירמיה לא ל) וכרתי את בית ישראל ואת בית יהודה ברית חדשה לא כברית הראשונה:
Daily Tehillim: Psalms Chapters 113 - 118
• Chapter 113
This psalm recounts some of the wonders of the exodus from Egypt.
1. Praise the Lord! Offer praise, you servants of the Lord; praise the Name of the Lord.
2. May the Name of the Lord be blessed from now and to all eternity.
3. From the rising of the sun to its setting, the Name of the Lord is praised.
4. The Lord is high above all nations; His glory transcends the heavens.
5. Who is like the Lord our God, Who dwells on high
6. [yet] looks down so low upon heaven and earth!
7. He raises the poor from the dust, lifts the destitute from the dunghill,
8. to seat them with nobles, with the nobles of His people.
9. He transforms the barren woman into a household, into a joyful mother of children. Praise the Lord!
Chapter 114
This psalm explains why the tribe of Judah merited kingship.
1. When Israel went out of Egypt, the House of Jacob from a people of a foreign tongue,
2. Judah became His holy [nation], Israel, His domain.
3. The sea saw and fled, the Jordan turned backward.
4. The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like young sheep.
5. What is the matter with you, O sea, that you flee; Jordan, that you turn backward;
6. mountains, that you skip like rams; hills, like young sheep?
7. [We do so] before the Master, the Creator of the earth, before the God of Jacob,
8. Who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flintstone into a water fountain.
Chapter 115
A prayer that God bring this long exile to an end, for the sake of His Name-that it not be desecrated.
1. Not for our sake, Lord, not for our sake, but for the sake of Your Name bestow glory, because of Your kindness and Your truth.
2. Why should the nations say, "Where, now, is their God?”
3. Indeed, our God is in heaven; whatever He desires, He does.
4. Their idols are of silver and gold, the product of human hands.
5. They have a mouth, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see;
6. they have ears, but cannot hear; they have a nose, but cannot smell;
7. their hands cannot touch; their feet cannot walk; they can make no sound in their throat.
8. Those who make them will become like them-all who put their trust in them.
9. Israel, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield.
10. House of Aaron, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield.
11. You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield.
12. The Lord who is ever mindful of us, may He bless: May He bless the House of Israel; may He bless the House of Aaron;
13. may He bless those who fear the Lord, the small with the great.
14. May the Lord increase [blessing] upon you, upon you and upon your children.
15. You are blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
16. The heavens are the Lord's heavens, but the earth He gave to the children of man.
17. The dead cannot praise the Lord, nor any who descend into the silence [of the grave].
18. But we will bless the Lord from now to eternity. Praise the Lord!
Chapter 116
This psalm contains magnificent praises to God. It also describes David's love for God, in light of all the miracles He performed for him. David does not know how to repay God, declaring it impossible to pay back for all God has done for him.
1. I would love if the Lord would listen to my voice, to my supplications;
2. if He would turn His ear to me on the days when I call.
3. The pangs of death encompassed me and the misery of the grave came upon me; I encounter trouble and sorrow.
4. I invoke the Name of the Lord, "Lord, I implore you, deliver my soul!”
5. The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is compassionate.
6. The Lord watches over the simpletons; I was brought low, and He saved me.
7. Return, my soul, to your tranquility, for the Lord has bestowed goodness upon you.
8. For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
9. I shall walk before the Lord in the lands of the living.
10. I had faith even when I declared, "I am greatly afflicted";
11. [even when] I said in my haste, "All men are deceitful.”
12. How can I repay the Lord for all His beneficences to me?
13. I will raise the cup of deliverance and proclaim the Name of the Lord.
14. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people.
15. Grievous in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His pious ones.
16. I thank you, Lord, that since I am Your servant, I am Your servant the son of Your maidservant, You have loosened my bonds.
17. To You I will bring an offering of thanksgiving, and proclaim the Name of the Lord.
18. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people,
19. in the courtyards of the House of the Lord, in the midst of Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!
Chapter 117
This psalm of two verses alludes to the Messianic era, when the Children of Israel will enjoy their former glory. All will praise God, in fulfillment of the verse, "All will then call in the Name of God."
1. Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol Him, all you peoples.
2. For His kindness was mighty over us, and the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord!
Chapter 118
This psalm describes David's immense trust in God. It also contains many praises to God, Who has fulfilled that which He has promised us.
1. Offer praise to the Lord for He is good, for His kindness is everlasting.
2. Let Israel declare that His kindness is everlasting.
3. Let the House of Aaron declare that His kindness is everlasting.
4. Let those who fear the Lord declare that His kindness is everlasting.
5. From out of distress I called to God; with abounding relief, God answered me.
6. The Lord is with me, I do not fear-what can man do to me?
7. The Lord is with me among my helpers, and I will see [the downfall of] my enemies.
8. It is better to rely on the Lord than to trust in man.
9. It is better to rely on the Lord than to trust in nobles.
10. All the nations surrounded me, but in the Name of the Lord I will cut them down.
11. They surrounded me, they encompassed me, but in the Name of the Lord I will cut them down.
12. They surrounded me like bees, yet they shall be extinguished like fiery thorns; in the Name of the Lord I will cut them down.
13. You [my foes] repeatedly pushed me to fall, but the Lord helped me.
14. God is my strength and song, and He has been a help to me.
15. The sound of rejoicing and deliverance reverberates in the tents of the righteous, "The right hand of the Lord performs deeds of valor.
16. The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord performs deeds of valor!”
17. I shall not die, but I shall live and recount the deeds of God.
18. God has indeed chastised me, but He did not give me up to death.
19. Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter them and praise God.
20. This is the gate of the Lord, the righteous will enter it.
21. I offer thanks to You, for You have answered me, and You have been my deliverance.
22. The stone which the builders scorned has become the chief cornerstone.
23. From the Lord has this come about; it is wondrous in our eyes.
24. This is the day which the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice on it.
25. We implore You, Lord, deliver us. We implore You, Lord, grant us success.
26. Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord; we bless you from the House of the Lord.
27. The Lord is a benevolent God and He has given us light; bind the festival offering with cords until [you bring it to] the horns of the altar.
28. You are my God and I will praise You, my God-and I will exalt You.
29. Praise the Lord for He is good, for His kindness is everlasting.
Tanya: Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 51• Lessons in Tanya
• Wednesday, Iyar 24, 5775 · May 13, 2015
Today's Tanya Lesson
Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 51
והנה על המשכת כל התרי״ג מיני כוחות וחיות מהעלם הנשמה אל הגוף להחיותו
Now, concerning the flow of all the 613 kinds of functional powers and vital forces which are drawn from the concealment of the soul, where they are previously hidden, and from where they are now drawn to the body to animate it, —
עליה אמרו שעיקר משכנה והשראתה של המשכה זו וגילוי זה, הוא כולו במוחין שבראש
concerning this flow [the Sages] have said that the principal dwelling-place and abode of this flow and revelation of the previously concealed powers and forces is entirely situated in the brains of the head.
ולכן הם מקבלים תחלה הכח והחיות הראוי להם, לפי מזגם ותכונתם, שהן חב״ד, וכח המחשבה, וכל השייך למוחין
Therefore it is they, the brains, which first receive the power and life-force appropriate to them according to their composition and character — namely,intellect which is divided into the three intellectual faculties called ChaBaD (Chochmah, Binah, Daat), and the faculty of thought, and whatever pertains to the brain. All these receive their life-force from the soul before the other parts of the body.
ולא זו בלבד, אלא כללות כל המשכת החיות לשאר האברים גם כן כלולה ומלובשת במוחין שבראש
And not only this — that the brains receive their own life-force before the other organs —but also the overall flow of all the individual streams of vitality to the other organs, is also first included and enclothed in the brains of the head, before it becomes revealed in the individual organs,
ושם הוא עיקרה ושרשה של המשכה זו בבחינת גילוי האור והחיות של כל הנשמה כולה
and it is there, in the brain, that the core and source of the said flow exist in a form in which the light and vitality of the entire soul are revealed. In other words, when the general flow of vitality reaches the brain, then the “light” and vitality of the entire body begin to be revealed.
ומשם מתפשטת הארה לשאר כל האברים ומקבל כל אחד כח וחיות הראוי לו כפי מזגו ותכונתו: כח הראיה מתגלה בעין, וכח השמיעה באוזן, וכו׳
From there, the brain, radiance flows to all the other organs, each of which thenreceives the functional power and vital force appropriate to it according to its composition and character: the power of sight is revealed in the eye, the power of hearing in the ear, and so on.
In other words: At which point does a power of sight come into existence, ready to be revealed in the eye, and a power of hearing in the ear? Only after the overall life-force of the whole body is drawn into the brain in a general manner, then a “radiance” is drawn from there to each organ, a radiance which is already constituted in accordance with the particular character of the individual organ.
וכל הכוחות מתפשטים מהמוח, כנודע, כי שם הוא עיקר משכן הנשמה כולה בבחינת גילוי
But all functional powers flow from the brain, as is known,1 for there, in the brain, is located the principal dwelling-place of the entire soul, in a revealed form,
Although the soul actually exists all over the body equally, with no difference between one organ and another, yet the principal place in which the soul is revealed is in the brain.
שנגלית שם כללות החיות המתפשט ממנה. רק כוחותיה של כללות החיות מאירים ומתפשטים משם לכל אברי הגוף, כדמיון האור המתפשט ומאיר מהשמש לחדרי חדרים
since there, in the brain, the overall life-force which flows from the soul is revealed. It is only the individual faculties of the overall life-force which shine forth and radiate from there, the brain, to all the organs of the body, just as light radiates and shines from the sun into the innermost of rooms.
ואפילו הלב מקבל מהמוח, ולכן המוח שליט עליו בתולדתו, כנ״ל
(2Even the heart, which is a central organ from which all other organs receive vitality — “The heart diffuses to all organs” — receives its own vital force from the brain, which is why the brain naturally dominates the heart, as explained above.)
In ch. 12 it was explained that man is created with a natural supremacy of the brain over the heart, and the reason is explained here — because the heart, despite its centrality, must in turn receive its own vital force from the soul through the medium of the brain.
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. | The Rebbe notes that the Alter Rebbe goes on to use seemingly repetitive expressions, since each one refers to a different level of incorporation within the brain. This is explained in the Maamarim, Az Yashir 5670; UvaChodesh HaShevi‘i 5663; and in Hemshech Rosh HaShanah 5708, ch. 7. |
| 2. | Parentheses are in the original text. |
• Sefer Hamitzvos:Wednesday, Iyar 24, 5775 · May 13, 2015
Today's Mitzvah
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
Positive Commandment 22
Guarding the Temple
"And you [Aaron] and your sons with you, before the Tent of Testimony"—Numbers 18:2.
We are commanded to station guards in and around the Temple, and that these guards patrol the Temple all night. This honor guard is a way of demonstrating respect for the Temple, exalting and glorifying it. As the Midrash says, "One can not compare a palace that has guards to a palace that does not."
The priests guard the Temple from within and the Levites guard and patrol it from the outside.
Guarding the Temple
Positive Commandment 22
Translated by Berel Bell
The 22nd mitzvah is that we are commanded to guard the Holy Temple and patrol it each night, for the entire night. This is done in order to honor it, exalt it and show its greatness.1
The source of this mitzvah is G‑d's statement (exalted be He) to Aaron,2 "You shall be with your sons before the Testimony Tent," i.e. "You shall be before it constantly." This commandment is repeated in another verse,3 "They shall guard the Ohel Moed."
The Sifri4 states, "The verse, 'You shall be with your sons before the Testimony Tent,' indicates that the kohanim shall be inside and the levi'im outside," i.e. to guard it and patrol it. The Mechilta5 says it thusly: "The verse 'They shall guard the Ohel Moed,' is only a positive commandment. What verse provides the prohibition? The [next] verse,6 'They should guard the Sanctuary [...so that there not be any more Divine wrath directed at the Israelites.]' " From this it is clear that this guarding is a positive commandment.
There,7 our Sages also said, "Part of the greatness of the Holy Temple is that it has guards. A paltorin that has guards is much different than a paltorin that has no guards." It is known that paltorin refers to a palace. The meaning of this statement is that having guards standing watch is part of the palace's greatness and splendor.
The details of this mitzvah are explained in the first chapter of tractate Tamid and in [the first chapter of8] tractate Middos.
FOOTNOTES
1.It is not for protection against thieves, etc.
2.Num. 18:2.
3.Ibid., 18:4.
4.Ibid.
5.See Kapach, 5718, footnote 89, quoting Midrash HaGadol. Kapach, 5731, footnote 28, quoting Sifri Zuta, Horowitz edition.
6.Ibid., 18:5.
7.See Kapach 5718, footnote 91.
8.See Kapach, 5731, footnote 32.
Negative Commandment 67
Neglecting to Guard the Temple
"And you shall keep the charge of the Sanctuary"—Numbers 18:5.
We are forbidden to neglect supplying the Temple with an honor guard that watches and patrols the Temple at night.
Neglecting to Guard the Temple
Negative Commandment 67
Translated by Berel Bell
The 67th prohibition is that we are forbidden from omitting the guarding of the Holy Temple and patrolling it constantly each night.
The source of this mitzvah is G‑d's statement,1 "They should guard the Sanctuary [...so that there not be any more Divine wrath directed at the Israelites.]"
We have already explained in Positive Commandment 22 that guarding and patrolling the Holy Temple is a positive mitzvah. Similarly here we explain that its omission constitutes a prohibition.
The Mechilta says, "The verse2 'They shall guard the Ohel Moed,' is only a positive commandment. What verse provides the prohibition? The verse 'They should guard the Sanctuary [...so that there not be any more Divine wrath directed at the Israelites].' "
The details of this mitzvah are explained in the beginning of tractates Tamid and Middos.
FOOTNOTES
1.Num. 18:5.
2.Ibid., 18:4.
Positive Commandment 35
The Oil of Anointment
"And the high priest, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured"—Leviticus 21:10.
We are commanded to have an anointing oil, made of a special recipe [detailed in the Torah], ready to be used for anointing newly appointed high priests. Some kings are also anointed with this oil.
This oil was also used to anoint the Tabernacle and its utensils—but that was a one time occurrence.
The Oil of Anointment
Positive Commandment 35
Translated by Berel Bell
The 35th mitzvah is that we are commanded to have ready1 specially prepared oil in order to anoint a kohen gadol who is being appointed, as it is written,2 "The kohen who is greater than his brothers, upon whose head the anointing oil has been poured...." It is also used to anoint some kings [i.e. those from the House of Dovid], as explained in the laws regarding this mitzvah.3
The Tabernacle and all its vessels have already been anointed, but the anointing of vessels is not a commandment for subsequent generations. This is because of the specific statement of our Sages in Sifri,4 that the act of anointing the vessels of the Tabernacle sanctified all future vessels.
The source of this mitzvah is G‑d's statement5 (exalted be He), "This shall be the holy anointing oil to Me for all generations."
The details of this mitzvah are explained in the beginning of tractate Kerisus.6
FOOTNOTES
1.See Kapach, 5731, footnote 4, regarding whether the main mitzvah is making the oil or the actual anointing.
2.Lev. 21:10.
3.See beginning of Hilchos Klei HaMikdosh.
4.Num. 7:1.
5.Ex. 30:31.
6.5a.
Negative Commandment 83
Recreating the Oil of Anointment
"You shall not make any like it, according to its composition"—Exodus 30:32.
It is forbidden to make anointing oil using the same formula as the anointing oil described in the Torah.
Recreating the Oil of Anointment
Negative Commandment 83
Translated by Berel Bell
The 83rd prohibition is that we are forbidden from making oil similar to the anointing oil.1
The source of this mitzvah is G‑d's statement2 (exalted be He), "Do not duplicate it with a similar formula."
The punishment for intentionally transgressing this prohibition is kares, as stated in the verse,3 "If a person blends a similar formula [or places it on an unauthorized person, he shall be cut off from his people.]" If he did so unintentionally, he must bring a sin offering.
The details of this mitzvah are explained in the first chapter of tractate Kerisus.4
FOOTNOTES
1.See P35.
2.Ex. 30:32.
3.Ibid., 30:33.
4.5a.
Negative Commandment 84
Anointing a Foreigner with the Oil of Anointment
"Upon the flesh of a man it shall not be daubed"—Exodus 30:32.
It is forbidden to anoint any individual – other than high priests and kings – with the anointing oil manufactured by Moses.
a Foreigner with the Oil of Anointment
Negative Commandment 84
Translated by Berel Bell
The 84th prohibition is that we are forbidden from using the anointing oil which was made by Moshe to anoint anyone other than kohanim gedolim or kings.
The source of this mitzvah is G‑d's statement1 (exalted be He), "Do not pour it on the skin of any [unauthorized] person."
It is clear that the one who anoints himself2 is punished by kares, "[If a person blends a similar formula] or places it on an unauthorized person, he shall be cut off [from his people]." If he did so unintentionally, he must bring a sin offering.
The details of this mitzvah are explained in the beginning of tractate Kerisus.3
FOOTNOTES
1.Ex. 30:32.
2.See Kapach, 5731, footnote 25.
3.5a
Shevitat Yom Tov - Chapter One
Halacha 1
The six days on which the Torah forbade work are the first and seventh days of Pesach, the first and eighth days of the festival of Sukkot, the festival of Shavuot, and the first day of the seventh month.1 They are referred to as holidays.
The [obligation to] rest is the same on all these days; it is forbidden to perform all types of servile labor,2 with the exception of those labors necessary for [the preparation of] food, as [implied by Exodus 12:16]: "Only that [labor] from which all souls will eat [may you perform]."
Halacha 2
Anyone who rests from "servile labor" on one of these days fulfills a positive commandment,3 for [the Torah] describes them as Sabbaths - i.e., days of rest.4
Whoever performs a labor that is not for the sake of [the preparation of] food on one of these days - e.g., he builds, destroys, weaves, or the like5 - negates [the performance of] a positive commandment and violates a negative commandment6, as [Leviticus 23:7] states: "You shall not perform any servile labor," and [Exodus 12:6] states: "You shall not perform any work on them."
If a person performs [a forbidden labor when observed] by witnesses and [after] receiving a warning, the Torah prescribes that he receive lashes [as punishment].7
Halacha 3
When a person performs several forbidden labors on a holiday after being warned once - e.g., he sows, builds, destroys, and weaves - after receiving a single warning,8 he receives only a single [set of] lashes. There is a distinction between the categories of forbidden labor on the Sabbath, but there is no such distinction on the holidays.9
Halacha 4
A person may be [punished by] lashes for performing on a holiday any labor for which he is liable on the Sabbath, if it is not necessary for the preparation of food, with the exception of the transfer of articles from one domain to another and the kindling of a fire.10
[With regard to these two forbidden labors, an exception is made.11] Since it is permitted to transfer articles for the sake of [the preparation of] food [on holidays], [this activity] was permitted even when it is not necessary for [the preparation of] food. Therefore, it is permitted to transfer an infant, a Torah scroll, a key, or the like from one domain to another. Similarly, it is permitted to kindle a fire, even though it is not for the purpose of [the preparation of] food.12
With regard to the other forbidden labors, [the following principles apply:] Whenever the activity is necessary for [the preparation of] food - e.g., slaughter, baking, kneading, or the like - it is permitted. If it is not necessary for [the preparation of] food - e.g., writing, weaving, building, and the like - it is forbidden.
Halacha 5
Whenever it is possible to perform a labor on the day prior to the holiday without causing any loss or inadequacy, our Sages forbade13 performing such a labor on the holiday itself, even if it is performed for the sake of [the preparation of] food.
Why was this forbidden? This was a decree [instituted], lest a person leave for the holiday all the labors that he could have performed before the holiday, and thus spend the entire holiday performing those labors. Thus, he will be prevented from rejoicing on the holidays and will not have the opportunity to [take pleasure in] eating and drinking.14
Halacha 6
For this very reason, [our Sages] did not forbid transferring articles on a holiday, although the transfer of all [articles] is a task that could be performed before the holiday.
Why was this not forbidden? To increase our festive joy, so that a person can send and bring anything he desires, and thus fulfill his wants, and not feel like someone whose hands are tied.15 With regard to other labors that are possible to be performed on the day before the holiday, since they involve [prolonged] activity, they should not be performed on a holiday.
Halacha 7
What is implied? On a holiday, we do not harvest, thresh, winnow, separate, or grind grain, nor do we sift [flour].16 For all these and any similar activities can be performed on the day prior to the holiday without causing any loss or inadequacy.
Halacha 8
We may, however, knead, bake, slaughter, and cook on a holiday, since if these activities had been performed on the previous day, the taste would be adversely affected. For warm bread or food that is cooked today does not [taste] the same as bread or food that was cooked the day before. Similarly, meat that is slaughtered today does not [taste] the same as meat slaughtered on the previous day. The same rules apply in all analogous situations.17
Similarly, when it would be detrimental for subsidiary activities [involved in the preparation] of food to be performed on the day [before the holiday] - e.g., grinding spices and the like - they may be performed on the holiday.
Halacha 9
It is forbidden to bake or cook food on a holiday [that one intends] to eat during the week,18 because work necessary for [the preparation of] food was permitted solely so that pleasure could be derived from it on a holiday. If, however, one [cooks food] to be eaten on the holiday, and there is food left over, the remainder may be eaten during the week.19
Halacha 10
A woman may fill a pot with meat although she needs only one piece.20 A baker may fill an entire drum with water [to boil] although he needs only one jug.21And a woman may bake an entire oven full of bread although she needs only a single loaf, for when there is a large quantity of bread in an an oven, it bakes better.22
Halacha 11
When a person cooks or bakes on a holiday with the intent of eating the food on that day, or he has invited guests and they did not come, and cooked food or bread remains, [the food] is permitted to be eaten on the following day, whether it is a weekday or the Sabbath,25 provided one does not act with guile.26
If, however, one acts with guile, he27 is forbidden [to partake of the food], even on a Sabbath that follows the holiday. For greater stringency is shown with one who acts with guile than with one who violates the prohibition [against preparing food for the following day on a holiday] intentionally.28
Halacha 12
A person who has an animal that is dangerously ill29 should not slaughter it on a holiday unless he knows that he will be able to eat30 [at least] an olive-sized [portion] of roasted meat before the holiday is completed. [In this way,] he will not be slaughtering [an animal] on a holiday to partake of its meat on an ordinary day. The same principles apply in other similar situations.
Halacha 13
We may not bake and cook on a holiday in order to feed gentiles31 or dogs, as [indicated by Exodus 12:16]:32 "This alone is permitted for you" - i.e., [the leniency is] "for you" and not for gentiles, "for you" and not for dogs.
For this reason, it is permitted to invite a gentile [to share one's meal] on the Sabbath, but not on a holiday, lest one add [more food] for him.33 If, however, a gentile comes [to a Jewish household on a holiday] on his own initiative, he may eat [the food] they eat together with them, for it has already been prepared.
Halacha 14
On a holiday, it is permissible to slaughter an animal that is owned partially by a Jew and partially by a gentile. [This is permitted although the gentile benefits,] because it is impossible [for the Jew] to partake of an olive-sized portion [of the meat belonging to him] without slaughtering the animal.
When, by contrast, dough is owned partially by a Jew and partially by a gentile, it is forbidden to bake it [on a holiday], because the dough can be divided.
[The following rule applies when] the soldiers [of a gentile army] give flour to a Jew and request that he bake them bread on a holiday: If they do not object to giving some of the bread to a baby, it is permitted for him to bake on the holiday. For every loaf of bread is fit to be given to the baby.34
When the shepherds also eat from the loaves they give to the dogs, these loaves may be baked on a holiday.35
Halacha 15
A person who cooks on a holiday for gentiles, for an animal or to keep for a weekday should not be given lashes, because if guests came, the cooked food would be fit to serve them.36 If a person prepares [food] for himself and [food] remains, he is permitted to give it to a gentile or to an animal.
Halacha 16
Bathing and anointing37 oneself are considered in the general category of eating and drinking. They are permitted on a holiday [as indicated by Exodus 12:16]: "Only that [labor] from which all souls will eat [may you perform]" - i.e., all the needs of the body [are permitted].38
Halacha 17
All [activities] that are forbidden on the Sabbath, whether because they resemble a [forbidden] labor, might lead to a forbidden labor, or are placed in the category of sh'vut,43 are forbidden on a holiday unless they are necessary for the preparation of food and the like, or for other purposes that are permitted on a holiday, as will be explained in these laws.
Everything that is forbidden to be carried on the Sabbath,44 is forbidden to be carried on a holiday, except for the purpose [of the preparation] of food and the like. Whatever [activities] may be carried out on the Sabbath may be carried on the holidays. There is, however, [a category of prohibitions] that apply on the holidays, but do not apply on the Sabbath: the prohibitions against muktzeh.45
Muktzeh is forbidden on a holiday, but permitted on the Sabbath. [The rationale is] since the [restrictions pertaining to] the holidays are more lenient than those of the Sabbath, [our Sages] forbade muktzeh, lest one come to treat the holidays with disrespect.46
Halacha 18
What is implied? When a chicken is set aside to lay eggs, an ox is set aside to plow, and doves in a dovecote47 or produce are set aside for sale, these and any similar articles are considered to be muktzeh and may not be eaten on a holiday.
[For them to be permitted,] it is necessary to prepare them on the previous day and have the intent that one will partake of them.48On the Sabbath, by contrast, everything is considered to be prepared and there is no need for preparation.
Just as muktzeh is forbidden on a holiday, so too, an object that first came into existence on the holiday is forbidden.
Halacha 19
[Food] may be prepared49 on a weekday for the Sabbath and [food] may be prepared on a weekday for a holiday, but [food] may not be prepared on a holiday for the Sabbath, nor may [food] be prepared on the Sabbath for a holiday.
Therefore, an egg that was laid on a holiday that follows the Sabbath is forbidden50 - even though the chicken is set aside to be eaten51 - since the egg was finished on the previous day and thus the Sabbath would be preparing for a holiday.
[Our Sages] forbade [eating] an egg that was laid on any holiday. [This is] a decree, [lest one eat an egg laid] on a holiday that follows the Sabbath. Similarly, [our Sages] forbade [eating] an egg that was laid on any Sabbath. [This is] a decree, lest one eat an egg laid] on a Sabbath that follows a holiday.52
Halacha 20
Just as it is forbidden to partake of this [egg], so too, is it forbidden to carry it.53Even if it becomes mixed with a thousand [other eggs], they are all forbidden. For on the morrow, they will all be permitted, and [the existence of] any forbidden article that will ultimately become permitted is never considered inconsequential, even when mixed with thousands of thousands.54
When a person slaughters a chicken on a holiday and within the chicken finds eggs that already have a shell, it is permitted [to partake of] them, for this is not a frequent circumstance. And [our Sages] did not institute decrees regarding infrequent circumstances that occur only incidentally.55
Halacha 21
Our celebration of every holiday for two days in the diaspora is merely a custom.56 For the second day of the holiday is a Rabbinic institution, innovated during the exile. The inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael observe a holiday for two days only on Rosh HaShanah.57
In Hilchot Kiddush HaChodesh in this volume the fundamental principles pertaining to this custom and the rationale why Rosh HaShanah is universally observed for two days will be explained.
Halacha 22
Although the second day of a holiday is merely a Rabbinic institution, everything that is forbidden on the first day is forbidden on the second. Whoever desecrates the second day of a holiday, even the second day of Rosh HaShanah,58 whether with regard to a prohibition in the category of sh'vut, the performance of a forbidden labor, or by proceeding beyond the [2000-cubit city] limits should be punished by stripes for rebelliousness or should be placed under a ban of ostracism,59 unless [the violator] was a student [of the Torah].60
Just as it is forbidden to deliver eulogies or to fast on the first day of a holiday and we are obligated to rejoice on that day,61 so too, [these same prohibitions and obligations apply] on the second day. There is no difference between them except with regard to [the care of] a corpse.
Halacha 23
What is implied? On the first day of a holiday gentiles should be involved62 with the burial of a corpse,63 and on the second day these activities should be performed by a Jew.64
Everything necessary [for the burial] may be performed - e.g., making a bier, sewing shrouds, picking herbs, and the like. With regard to a corpse, the second day of a holiday is considered to be an ordinary weekday. This applies even to the second day of Rosh HaShanah.
Halacha 24
The two days observed in the diaspora are considered two separate expressions of holiness and are not considered to be a single [extended] day.65Therefore, an entity that was considered muktzeh on the first day, or first came into existence on the first day, is permitted on the second day if it was designated [for use on that day].
What is implied? An egg that was laid on the first day of a holiday may be eaten on the second. [Similarly,] beast or fowl that were trapped on the first day may be eaten on the second day. [Produce] that was attached to the ground on the first day and separated from it [on that day] may be eaten on the second day. Similarly, one may paint one's eyes on the second day,66 even though one does not feel infirmity.
When does the above apply? To the second days of holidays observed [only] in the diaspora. The two days of Rosh HaShanah are considered to be a single expression of holiness; they are considered to be one [long] day67 with regard to all matters, with the exception of [burying] the dead. An egg that is laid on the first day of Rosh HaShanah is forbidden on the second day. The same applies in all similar instances.
When either the Sabbath or a holiday follows directly after the other, an egg laid on one is forbidden on the other. The same applies with regard to all similar situations.68 Even if an egg was laid on the second day [of a holiday, and that second day] is followed by the Sabbath, the egg should not be eaten on the Sabbath.
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. |
I.e., Rosh HaShanah, the first of Tishrei, which is the seventh month when counting from Nisan. Significantly, the name Rosh HaShanah is not mentioned in the Torah at all.
|
| 2. |
Our interpretation of the words מלאכת עבודה as "servile labor" is based on the gloss of the Maggid Mishneh on Halachah 5. There he interprets it as referring to tasks that a person would hire a servant to do rather than perform himself.
In his commentary on the Torah (Leviticus 23:7), the Ramban explains that with the expression "servile labor," the Torah intends to distinguish between work performed to prepare food (which he terms "gratifying labor") and the other forms of labor. According to the Ramban, the Torah never forbade the performance of the activities included in the labors necessary for the preparation of food. Any restrictions placed on them are Rabbinic in nature.
The Ramban's conception is also reflected in the statements of Rashi (Beitzah 12a), who interprets the Talmud's ruling (see Halachah 4), "Since [these labors] were permitted for the sake [of preparing food], they are permitted even when [they are performed] without such an intent," as meaning that, according to the Torah, there is no prohibition against performing these labors at all.
Tosafot (Beitzah, loc. cit.) differs and explains that for the performance of a labor to be allowed by the Torah, it must in some way contribute to the pleasure of the holiday. Otherwise, it is forbidden. According to this conception, all the thirty-nine labors forbidden on the Sabbath are prohibited on the holidays as well. There is, however, special dispensation to perform these labors when doing so will increase our holiday pleasure.
The Maggid Mishneh interprets the Rambam's citation of the expression "servile labor" as an indication that he follows the perspective shared by Rashi and the Ramban. Other authorities (e.g., the Lechem Mishneh and the Pri Chadash) do not agree with the Maggid Mishneh'sinterpretation and explain that the Rambam favors the other position. [See also the Chemdat Yisrael, who explains that the Rambam's statements in Sefer HaMitzvot (Negative Commandment 328) do not concur with the Maggid Mishneh's conception of the Rambam's position.] Note the treatment of this subject in the Or Sameach and in Likkutei Sichot, Vol. XI. (See also the notes on Halachah 4.)
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| 3. |
Sefer HaMitzvot (Positive Commandments 159-160, 162-163, 166-167) and Sefer HaChinuch(Mitzvot 297, 300, 308, 310, 318, 321) include these six in the reckoning of the Torah's 613 mitzvot.
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| 4. |
Note Sefer HaMitzvot (Positive Commandment 159), which in addition to the term shabbaton, "day of rest," also mentions the phrase mikra kodesh, "holy convocation," as indicating that one is commanded to sanctify the day by ceasing to perform labor.
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| 5. |
I.e., any of the 28 of the 39 labors forbidden on the Sabbath that do not involve the preparation of food. (See Hilchot Shabbat 7:1.)
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| 6. |
Sefer HaMitzvot (Negative Commandments 323-326, 328-329) and Sefer HaChinuch (Mitzvot 298, 301, 309, 311, 319 and 323) include these six in the reckoning of the Torah's 613 mitzvot.
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| 7. |
This is the minimum punishment given for the violation of a negative commandment that involves a deed.
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| 8. |
Pesachim 48a, moreover, states that even if a person is given separate warnings for each forbidden labor, each activity is not considered to be a separate violation.
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| 9. |
The Rambam is referring to the ruling (Hilchot Shabbat 7:7-8) that requires a person who performs activities that fall into two different categories of forbidden labor on the Sabbath to bring two different sin offerings. The performance of an activity from each category of forbidden labor is considered to be a separate violation. Such a distinction does not apply with regard to the performance of forbidden labors on the holidays.
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| 10. |
The Maggid Mishneh explains the Rambam's position as follows: All the labors forbidden on the Sabbath that involve preparation of food are not prohibited on the holidays. In addition, there are two forbidden labors, kindling a flame and transferring articles, which do not necessarily involve the preparation of food. Nevertheless, since they are sometimes necessary for the preparation of food, they are permitted without any restriction.
Other authorities (e.g., Pri Chadash, Pri Megadim) interpret the Rambam's statements as meaning that even the forbidden labors involved with the preparation of food are permitted only for that purpose. If, however, one performs one of these labors for other reasons - e.g., one cooks food solely to give to animals - one is liable. Moreover, if one performs a forbidden labor that is not usually involved in the preparation of food for the purpose of preparing food, one is liable.
There is a third interpretation, that of the Mabit. (In his Responsum 124, however, he follows the second view.) According to the view he expresses in Kiryat Sefer, even if one performs a forbidden labor (that is not usually involved in the preparation of food) for the purpose of preparing food, one is not liable. As proof, he cites the example of making cheese, an act that the Rambam (Hilchot Shabbat 10:13) considers a derivative of the forbidden labor of building. Nevertheless, making cheese on a holiday is not considered a violation of a forbidden labor and is forbidden only as a sh'vut.
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| 11. |
The reason for these two exceptions is as follows: Both are often involved in the preparation of food. Alternatively, the transfer of articles is considered "an inferior labor" (Tosafot, Beitzah 12a), and Exodus 35:3: "Do not kindle fire... on the Sabbath day," is interpreted also as an exclusion, indicating that kindling fire is forbidden on the Sabbath, but not on holidays.
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| 12. |
As mentioned in the notes on Halachah 1, Tosafot requires that the activity bring a person some pleasure. This view is also reflected in the Ra'avad's gloss.
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| 13. |
The Maggid Mishneh quotes the Ra'avad as stating that this prohibition has its source in the Torah itself. Indeed, the Jerusalem Talmud (Beitzah 1:10) and certain passages in the Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat 95a; Chaggigah 18a) support this view. Nevertheless, most later authorities accept the Rambam's view that the prohibition is Rabbinic in origin.
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| 14. |
The Ra'avad gives a different rationale: that the extra effort involved in the performance of these activities is out of place on a holiday.
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| 15. |
The Ra'avad differs with the extent of the leniency granted by the Rambam, restricting it to sending containers and food. He also differs regarding the rationale, explaining that sending the articles on the holiday is a greater expression of honor and respect. The Rambam's ruling is quoted by the later authorities.
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| 16. |
All these labors, although necessary for the preparation of food, are not intended for the preparation of a particular cooked dish or loaf of bread. Rather, one performs these activities for several days in advance. Therefore, our Sages desired that these activities should not be performed on the festival itself.
It must be noted that these forbidden labors are specifically mentioned in the passage from the Jerusalem Talmud cited above, which states that the prohibition against performing such activities stems from the Torah itself.
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| 17. |
The Rambam's rationale depends on the concept of freshness. Food that is not fresh loses a certain amount of its flavor. The Ra'avad questions this principle, noting that produce harvested today is also fresher and tastier than produce harvested on the day before. Several authorities offer different observations to counter the Ra'avad's thesis.
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| 18. |
See Tz'ror HaChayim, which mentions various opinions concerning whether this prohibition has its origin in the Torah itself or in Rabbinic decree. In conclusion, he favors the opinion that the prohibition is Scriptural in origin. (See also Halachah 15.) The doubt exists only with regard to the Rambam's position. Tosafot and others maintain that the prohibition is Scriptural in origin (Shulchan Aruch HaRav 503:1).
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| 19. |
If, however, one cooked food on a holiday with the intent of eating it on the following day, many authorities (Shulchan Aruch HaRav 503:13) allow the food to be eaten after the holiday. (See also Halachah 11 and notes.)
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| 20. |
The reason is that the meat is tastier when cooked with many pieces together (Maggid Mishneh).
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| 21. |
This gives us a second rationale for the leniency of preparing a larger quantity of food than one needs immediately: when, as in the instance mentioned, there is no extra work involved in preparing a large quantity as compared to a small quantity. If either of these two rationales applies, leniency may be taken and the extra amount prepared.
Once, however, the water is left to boil, an additional amount may not be added (Ramah, Orach Chayim 103:2).
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| 22. |
Rabbenu Yonah explains that this applied in Talmudic times, when the ovens were small. In such an instance, a large number of loaves were placed in the oven at the same time, and it took longer for them to bake, producing a better flavor. If, as was the case with regard to the larger ovens used in the medieval period, adding to the number of loaves does not increase the flavor, it is forbidden to do so. (See Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 507:6.)
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| 23. |
The salting is intended to drain off the blood so that it is permitted to cook the meat, as stated inHilchot Ma'achalot Asurot, Chapter 6.
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| 24. |
Here, also, the leniency is granted because there is no additional difficulty in salting the other pieces. Alternatively, the leniency is allowed so that the remainder of the meat will not spoil. Compare to Chapter 3, Halachah 4.
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| 25. |
As explained in Chapter 6, just as it is forbidden to prepare food on a holiday for a weekday that follows, our Sages forbade preparing food on a holiday for a Sabbath that follows directly after the holiday, or for the second day of the holiday itself. Nevertheless, as explained in that chapter, our Sages did provide the leniency of establishing an eruv tavshilin.
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| 26. |
I.e., invite guests although he knows that they will not come, or prepare a large quantity of food when one knows that one will be unable to eat it all, and then use the remainder for the following day.
Shulchan Aruch HaRav 503:7 notes that it has become common practice to cook a meal for the night of the second day of a holiday on the afternoon of the first day, relying on the leniency that one will taste some of the food. He criticizes this practice and explains that women should be taught to discontinue it and prepare the food before the commencement of the holiday.
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| 27. |
He and the members of his family may not partake of it; other Jews, however, are not restricted (Mishnah Berurah 527:79).
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| 28. |
The rationale for this stringency is that the example shown by a person with guile might be copied by others, while few will emulate brazen transgression. Moreover, even with regard to the person himself, if he were not punished, a person who acts with guile would never really appreciate the seriousness of his transgression, and would repeat it. When, however, a person willfully violates the Sages' decree, he will not be able to rationalize his conduct. Hence, there is the possibility he will recognize his error (Rashi, Beitzah 17b; Mishnah Berurah 527:78).
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| 29. |
We are speaking about an instance where the person has already eaten, and hence would not ordinarily consider slaughtering the animal. Nevertheless, because it is dangerously ill, he fears that it will die before the conclusion of the holiday. Our Sages were fearful that he would slaughter the animal regardless, rather than suffer the loss of having it die without ritual slaughter. They therefore established directives that would allow slaughter in most instances (Maggid Mishneh; Rashi, Beitzah 25a). (See also Chapter 6, Halachah 10.)
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| 30. |
Although the Rambam's wording might be interpreted as indicating that it is necessary to eat at least this amount of meat, the Maggid Mishneh and the later halachic authorities (Shulchan Aruch Harav 498:11; Mishnah Berurah 498:34) explain that it is not necessary to partake of the meat on the holiday.
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| 31. |
See the Mishnah Berurah 512:2, which states that a Jew who worships false gods or desecrates the Sabbath is considered like a gentile in this regard.
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| 32. |
The Rambam's citation of a verse from the Torah as a proof-text for this prohibition is interpreted as an indication that he follows the position (see the notes on Halachot 1 and 4) that the labors necessary to prepare food are forbidden by the Torah on the holiday unless one is preparing food for a Jew. As mentioned, others consider the prohibitions to be Rabbinic in origin.
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| 33. |
This rationale is not applicable on the Sabbath, for then it is not permitted to cook at all.
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| 34. |
I.e., as long as a portion of the loaf can be given to a baby, one is not cooking solely for the gentiles.
The Maggid Mishneh notes that many (e.g., Tur, Orach Chayim 512) have objected to the Rambam's ruling, based on Beitzah 21a, which appears to establish a correlation between the permission to bake bread for these soldiers and the laws mentioned in the previous halachah regarding inviting gentiles as guests. It appears from that passage that the Sages who forbid inviting guests also forbid baking bread for the soldiers, for the same principle is involved: one is cooking additional food for a gentile.
The Maggid Mishneh, however, explains that there is no contradiction and that the two views can be reconciled. The Jew can be considered to be baking for the sake of the child. For if he did not bake for the soldiers, they would not allow him to bake for the child.
The Rishon LeTzion amplifies the difference between the two situations, explaining that because the person is not baking solely for the gentiles, the prohibition against doing so is merely Rabbinic in origin and can be waived with regard to baking for a gentile army, since the person could suffer substantial financial loss if he refused. In contrast, when inviting guests, one does so on one's own volition, with no loss involved.
As emphasized by Shulchan Aruch HaRav 512:6, this leniency was granted only in this situation, because of the risk of confrontation with the military authorities. One should not apply it to other circumstances. (See also Mishnah Berurah 512:15.)
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| 35. |
Here also, since one is not baking solely for the dogs, one may bake the bread on a holiday. Although one is adding to the loaf one is baking for the dogs, since it would be possible to satisfy them by giving them meat, it appears that the shepherds are baking the loaf because they want to partake of it themselves (Maggid Mishneh).
As emphasized by the Mishnah Berurah 512:22, this leniency applies even when one has no other food immediately available for the dogs.
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| 36. |
The Rambam's wording appears to indicate that although the activity is forbidden by the Torah, punishment is not given, because it is possible that his activity might ultimately serve a permitted purpose.
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| 37. |
The Maggid Mishneh states that anointing oneself is mentioned because it is often necessary to heat oil used to anoint oneself. Anointing oneself with cold oil for pleasure is permitted even on the Sabbath (Hilchot Shabbat 21:23).
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| 38. |
The Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah (Beitzah 2:5) explains that the Hebrew יאכל has the connotation of all physical pleasure, not necessarily merely eating or drinking. Note the explanation in Sefer HaMitzvot, negative commandment 187.(See also the Yereim, section 113.)
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| 39. |
The Jerusalem Talmud (Shabbat 3:3) appears to indicate that the prohibition has its source in the Torah itself. Although Tosafot (Shabbat 39b) accept this view, Rabbenu Yitzchak Alfasi and the Rashba differ and maintain that this prohibition is a Rabbinical decree.
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| 40. |
As the Rambam explains in Hilchot Shabbat 22:2, our Sages instituted restrictions against bathing on the Sabbath because the attendants would heat up the water on the Sabbath and claim that they had done so on the preceding day. On holidays, although the rules are more lenient, certain restrictions remain. For a discussion concerning the laws of ritual immersion on a holiday, see the notes on Hilchot Shabbat 23:8.
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| 41. |
Based on the position of Tosafot mentioned previously, the Ramah (Orach Chayim 511:2) forbids washing one's entire body on a holiday as a safeguard, even when the water was heated before the commencement of the holiday. The subsequent Ashkenazic authorities accepted the Ramah's ruling, but were slightly more lenient and allowed washing one's entire body, portion by portion. Greater leniency is, however, shown with regard to washing a baby.
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| 42. |
See Hilchot Shabbat, loc. cit.
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| 43. |
See Hilchot Shabbat, Chapters 21-23, which list activities forbidden by the Sages for every category of forbidden labor.
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| 44. |
See Hilchot Shabbat, Chapters 25 and 26.
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| 45. |
The term muktzeh as popularly used with regard to the Sabbath prohibitions is not a precise application of the term. Muktzeh literally means "set aside." As used in the context here, it applies to articles that a person did not intend to use on a holiday. Rather, he "set them aside" to be used in the future.
As the Rambam explains in the following halachah, on the Sabbath it is not necessary to have a specific intention to use an object on the Sabbath. As long as there is no reason that prevents one from using it on that day - e.g., the prohibitions mentioned in Hilchot Shabbat, Chapters 25 and 26 - one may carry it on the Sabbath.
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| 46. |
The Ra'avad differs and states that there are authorities who maintain that articles that aremuktzeh are permitted to be carried on holidays. The Rambam's view is quoted by the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 495:4), while the Tur and the Ramah cite the more lenient view. Shulchan Aruch HaRav 495:13 states that although it is customary to follow the more lenient view, it would be preferable to follow the more stringent ruling.
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| 47. |
See Chapter 2, Halachah 5.
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| 48. |
See Chapter 2, Halachah 9.
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| 49. |
The preparation we are speaking about here is preparation through natural means, and not preparation accomplished by man through performance of labor. As mentioned previously in the chapter, it is forbidden to perform any activities on a holiday that involve the preparation of food for the days that follow. (See the Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah, Beitzah 1:1.)
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| 50. |
Based on Pesachim 47a, several Rabbis (Ramban; Shulchan Aruch HaRav 513:1; Mishnah Berurah 513:1) maintain that the prohibition against nolad is Scriptural in origin.
In his Commentary on the Mishnah (loc. cit.), by contrast, the Rambam explicitly states that it is a Rabbinic decree. Nevertheless, since the Commentary on the Mishnah was not widely studied, different perspectives about the Rambam's view have been offered, including that of the Minchat Chinuch (Mitzvah 295), who states that the Rambam would require a person to be punished by lashes for eating such an egg.
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| 51. |
If the chicken is not set aside to be eaten on the holiday, the egg is forbidden regardless, because of the prohibition against muktzeh (Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah, loc. cit.).
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| 52. |
There is no prohibition against eating an egg laid on a weekday that follows a holiday or on a Sunday. Since weekday meals are not significant, we are not concerned that a holiday or a Sabbath prepares for them.
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| 53. |
The Tur and the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 513:1) state: "It is forbidden to touch it." Although the prohibition is ordinarily against moving muktzeh, and touching it is permitted, the prohibition is made more severe in the present instance because an egg is round, and even the slightest touch is likely to cause it to roll.
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| 54. |
Generally, when a forbidden substance becomes mixed with a permitted substance, the presence of the forbidden substance is considered inconsequential (and the mixture permitted) when the taste of the forbidden substance can no longer be recognized, or when it is mixed with more than sixty times its weight of permitted food.
More stringent rulings are made, however, with regard to a forbidden substance that will ultimately become permitted (davar sheyesh lo matirin). The rationale is that since the entire mixture will be permitted within a short time, there is no reason to seek leniencies and partake of it while a portion (although inconsequential) is forbidden (Hilchot Ma'achalot Asurot, chapter 15).
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| 55. |
The decrees our Sages instituted were meant to serve as safeguards, and a safeguard is necessary only when a situation occurs frequently.
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| 56. |
See Hilchot Kiddush HaChodesh 5:5, which explains that in the time when the calendar was established on the basis of the testimony of witnesses, the observance of the second day of a holiday in the distant diaspora was necessary because of a doubt regarding the days on which the holidays were to be celebrated. Nevertheless, in the present era, when we use a fixed calendar, the observance of the second day of a holiday in the diaspora is merely a custom. (See also Chapter 6, Halachah 14.)
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| 57. |
As explained in Hilchot Kiddush HaChodesh 5:7, even when the calendar was established on the basis of the testimony of witnesses, Rosh HaShanah was generally observed for two days throughout Eretz Yisrael. Since it is forbidden to travel beyond 2000 cubits on a holiday, only those living in the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem had the possibility of knowing whether or not the new month had been sanctified.
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| 58. |
The word "even" has attracted the attention of the commentaries for, as mentioned in Halachah 24, the observance of the second day of Rosh HaShanah is more severe than that of the second day of other holidays. The Lechem Mishneh explains that the intent is that even the observance of the second day of Rosh HaShanah does not warrant a more severe punishment.
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| 59. |
See Hilchot Talmud Torah, Chapters 6 and 7.
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| 60. |
The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 496:1) quotes the Tur, who states "If [the violator] is a Torah scholar, we do not punish him so severely as to place him under a ban of ostracism. He is to be beaten." (See Sha'ar HaTziyun 496:5, which focuses on the difference between these two rulings.)
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| 61. |
See Chapter 6, Halachah 17.
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| 62. |
There is a difference of opinion among the Rabbis whether only the actual burial and those activities that involve performance of a forbidden labor must be performed by gentiles, or whether this involves all activities associated with the burial, including the ritual purification of the body, dressing it in shrouds and the like.
The Maggid Mishneh explains that all activities associated with the burial must be performed by a gentile. The Hagahot Maimoniot, by contrast, maintain that any activity that does not actually involve a forbidden labor should be performed by a Jew. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim526:1) follows this view.
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| 63. |
Rashi (Shabbat 139b) and the Baal Halachot Gedolot explain that the leniency of allowing gentiles to bury a Jew on a holiday was instituted as a token of respect for the human body, the repository of the soul. If the body were left unburied, it would decompose and become an aspersion to the dignity of mankind. Therefore, they maintain that if the corpse is not likely to decompose, it should not be buried by gentiles.
Rabbenu Asher and others differ and maintain that the mitzvah of burying the corpse on the day the person dies is the source for this ruling (see Hilchot Sanhedrin 15:8). Therefore, even when the body is not likely to decompose, it should be buried on the first day. The Shulchan Aruch (loc. cit. 526:1) follows this view.
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| 64. |
The Tur and the Ramah (loc. cit.:4) mention a custom practiced by Rabbenu Tam, which equates the first and second days of a holiday in this regard. The Ramah agrees to this custom when it is possible to find a gentile to perform these labors, but maintains that if it is impossible to perform these labors, they should be performed by Jews.
In practice at present, in some observant communities burials are conducted on the holidays. Nevertheless, the prevailing custom at large - particularly when burying the dead might lead to the unnecessary violation of the laws of the holidays by some - is to postpone the burial until the following day.
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| 65. |
Originally, the observance of the holidays for two days came as a result of doubt: If the first day was actually the holiday, the second day was an ordinary day. Conversely, if the second day was actually the holiday, the first day was an ordinary day. Therefore, they were considered to be two different expressions of holiness. (See Chapter 6, Halachah 12.)
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| 66. |
The Ramah (Orach Chayim 496:2) interprets this as referring to an irritation that does not involve any danger. As such, tending to it by a Jew is forbidden on the first day of a holiday. On the second day, because it brings a person relief from pain, leniency is shown. The same law applies to all other remedies of this nature.
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| 67. |
Since they were universally observed, even within Eretz Yisrael.
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| 68. |
I.e., all instances of nolad.
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Beis Habechirah - Chapter 8
Halacha 1
Halacha 2
The mitzvah of guarding [the Temple] applies throughout the night.3
The priests and Levites shall serve as guards,4 as [Numbers 18:2] states: "And you and your sons [shall be] before the tent of the testimony,"5 i.e., you shall keep watch over it. Also, [ibid. 18:4] states: "And they [the Levites] shall watch over the Tent of Meeting,"6 and [ibid. 3:38] states: "And Moses,7 Aharon, and his sons8 shall camp before the Sanctuary towards the east, and they will be the guardians of the holy watch."9
Halacha 3
Anyone who nullifies this watch transgress a negative commandment,10 as [Numbers 18:5] states: "And you shall take care to keep the Holy Watch." Any form of the verb, shemar, "take care," implies a warning against transgressing a negative command.11
Thus, guarding [the Temple fulfills] a positive command and nullifying its watch [represents the violation of] a negative command.
Halacha 4
Halacha 5
Where did they keep watch? The priests kept watch in the Chamber of Avtinas, the Chamber of the Spark, and the Chamber of the Hearth.16
Halacha 6
Halacha 7
Halacha 8
Where would the Levites stand watch?35
Inside the five gates to the Temple Mount;36
At its four corners [of the wall surrounding the Temple Mount] from the inside;
At the outside of four corners of the Temple Courtyard, for it is forbidden to sit in the Temple Courtyard;37
At the outside of five [of the seven] gates to the Temple Courtyard, for the priests stood watch at [the remaining two gates], the Chamber of the Hearth and the Gate of the Spark;38
a total of eighteen locations.
Halacha 9
Halacha 10
An overseer was appointed over all the watches of guards. He was called: "The officer of the Temple Mount."42
Throughout the night, he checked on all the watches. Torches were lit before him.43 If a guard did not stand before him and greet him: "Peace be unto you, officer of the Temple Mount," he would assume that he was sleeping, and would strike him with his staff.44 He was even granted permission to burn [a sleeping guard's] clothing.45
Thus, it was commonly said in Jerusalem: "What is the noise in the Temple Courtyard [at night]? It must be the voice of a Levite being beaten and his clothes burned because he slept on his watch."46
Halacha 11
In the morning, shortly before dawn,47 the overseer of the Sanctuary48 came49and tapped50 to awaken the priests sleeping in the Chamber of the Hearth.51[When] they opened [the gate] for him, he took the keys52 and opened the small gate leading from the Chamber of the Hearth to the Temple Courtyard.53
[Then] he entered the Courtyard, and the priests followed him. They held two torches of fire in their hands and divided into two groups. One proceeded eastward and the other, westward.54
They walked on, checking the entire Temple Courtyard.55 Both groups [met when they] reached the Chamber of the Bakers of the Chavitin.56 When both groups reached [that point], they declared: "Peace be unto you. Everything is at peace."57 [Afterwards,] they prompted the bakers of the Chavitin to begin their work.58
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. |
The Rambam (Sefer HaMitzvot, positive commandment 22) and the Sefer HaChinuch (mitzvah 388) list this as one of the 613 commandments.
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| 2. |
The Kessef Mishneh mentions another reason for guarding the Temple: to prevent those who are forbidden to enter from entering.
The place where both the Mishnah and the Rambam describe the watch which the priests and the Levites kept over the Temple has aroused the attention of the commentaries: The Mishnah repeats its description of the watch in two places: at the beginning of the tractate of Tamid, which relates the order of the priests' service, and the beginning of the tractate of Middot, which defines the structure of the Temple. The Rambam describes this mitzvah in Hilchot Beit HaBechirah, which describes the construction of the Temple, but not the details of the priests' service.
On this basis, the commentaries explain, we can understand two dimensions implicit in this mitzvah:
a) The priests' responsibility to prevent those forbidden to enter from entering; and
b) The responsibility incumbent on the entire Jewish people to construct and maintain the Temple in the most fitting manner.
Since the presence of guards enhances the glory of the Sanctuary, the mitzvah of guarding the Sanctuary can be seen as an aspect of its very structure. See Likkutei Sichot, Vol. 13, p. 56-65.
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| 3. |
In his commentary to Tamid, the Ra'avad states that the priests and Levites also stood watch during the day. The Minchat Chinuch mentions that view, explaining that the Rambam explained that the reason for the priestly watch was to show deference to the Temple during the day as well. Just as a palace of an earthly king is guarded both at day and at night, so too, it is proper to keep watch over the Temple in this manner.
Nevertheless, the Tifferet Yisrael (Middot 1:1) explains that since the priests were involved in the Temple service throughout the entire day, that in itself is a clear sign of honor and respect to the Temple, and no further measures were necessary.
This view is supported by the commentary of the Rabbenu Asher at the beginning of the tractate of Tamid. He explains that the reason for keeping watch over the Temple was to have our attention focused on it at all times. That purpose is surely accomplished by the Temple service, and hence, watchmen are not required then.
Accordingly, it appears that the watch would be maintained until the service in the Temple began, with the removal of the Altar's ashes at dawn. Thus, we can understand the last halachah of this chapter, which deals with the preparation of the Sanctuary for the service of the following day, as describing the final aspects of the nightly watch. See Likkutei Sichot, loc. cit.
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| 4. |
The places where the priests and Levites kept watch are described in Halachot 4-9.
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| 5. |
This verse begins: "And the Lord said to Aaron," thus, indicating the responsibility of Aaron and his sons, the priests, to keep watch over the Sanctuary.
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| 6. |
Indicating that the Levites were also charged with that responsibility.
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| 7. |
A Levite.
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| 8. |
Priests.
|
| 9. |
Thus, this verse indicates that the task was shared by the Priests and Levites together (Tamid26a).
16It must be noted that, in order to emphasize the concept he wishes to communicate, the Rambam does not quote the latter verse exactly.
|
| 10. |
T(Sefer HaMitzvot (negattive commandment 67) and the Sefer HaChinuch (mitzvah 331) list this as one of the 613 commandments.
|
| 11. |
See Menachot 36b.
|
| 12. |
According to the simple meaning "inside" and "outside" refer to the Temple Courtyard. The Levites stood guard outside the Courtyard and the priests, inside. However, the Minchat Chinuch renders "inside" as within a building, and "outside" as in the open.
|
| 13. |
Tamid 27a explains the derivation of this practice as I Chronicles (26:17-18), which states:
Thus, there were a total of twenty-four guard positions. Even though this verse describes the watch over the Sanctuary constructed in David's time, and not the Temple itself, the same basic pattern was followed in the later structure.
|
| 14. |
As described in the following three Halachot.
Although the above verse specifically mentions Levites, the priests are sometimes (e.g., Ezekiel 44:15) referred to as Levites (Tamid, loc. cit.).
Tamid 26a offers two different explanations why the priests would be placed in three different positions. The first explains that the command to keep watch over the Sanctuary was originally given to Aharon and his sons, a total of three individuals. The second notes that the command to guard the Temple mentions the words "keep watch," three times in the same verse.
|
| 15. |
As described in Halachot 8 and 9.
|
| 16. |
See Tamid 1:1, Middot 1:1.
|
| 17. |
This structure was located on the south side of the Temple Courtyard, adjacent to the Water Gate.
|
| 18. |
This was the westernmost gate on the northern side of the Temple Courtyard. See Chapter 5, Halachah 4.
|
| 19. |
The reason why these were two-floor structures can be explained in terms of the Rambam's words above, Chapter 6, Halachah 7. There, the Rambam writes that the roofs and upper floors of the structures in the Temple Courtyard were not consecrated. This is very significant, for were they to have been consecrated, it would have been forbidden for the priests to sit or lie there, as stated in Chapter 7, Halachah 6.
|
| 20. |
According to Tamid 27a, the term, "young priests," refers to youth who were too young to participate in the Temple services. According to the Ra'avad, these youth were not even thirteen years of age.
The Mishneh LiMelech rejects that opinion, declaring that this Mitzvah would not be entrusted to children that young. He explains that until the age of twenty, priests were not granted the opportunity to take part in the Temple services. Thus, the "young priests" were youth below that age, but past majority. See also the Minchat Chinuch.
|
| 21. |
13See Chapter 5, Halachot 10 and 11.
|
| 22. |
As mentioned above, half of the Chamber of the Hearth was considered consecrated, while half was not. According to the principle that one could not lie or sit in the consecrated areas of the Courtyard, it would appear that only half of the chamber was surrounded by these projections.
|
| 23. |
13As mentioned in the commentary to Chapter 7, Halachah 4, there were 24 priestly watches. Each served in the Temple for a week, and then another watch was given a chance to serve. There was a set pattern of rotation.
Within these watches, there were further subdivisions. Each weekly watch was broken down into six daily watches for each day of the week. On the Sabbath, all the priests of that watch served together.
|
| 24. |
Tamid 26b explains that they slept on these protrusions, because it was disrespectful to bring beds into the Temple complex.
|
| 25. |
The gates to the Temple Courtyard were locked at night.
|
| 26. |
The Vilna Gaon renders this expression as "in their possession." This change is made on the basis of Middot 1:9, which states that the keys to the Temple Courtyard were kept on a special ring in the Chamber of the Hearth.
|
| 27. |
From the Rambam's statements, it appears that the priests would be permitted to sleep while on guard duty. This is difficult to accept, for the following reasons:
a) The purpose for posting guards around the Temple was to show respect. That objective is not fulfilled by sleeping.
b) Halachah 10, which quotes Middot 1:2, states that the guards would be punished for sleeping while on duty. Although the Rambam and the Mishnah specifically mention "Levites," it is reasonable to assume that term was used because the majority of the guards were Levites.
For these reasons, the Mishneh LiMelech explains that all of the guards were not required to remain awake the entire night. Rather, at any particular time, there would be one or two guards awake at each station and the others were permitted to sleep.
|
| 28. |
This refers to the four priestly garments which an ordinary priest was required to wear while serving in the Temple.
|
| 29. |
The priests could not place their priestly garments under their heads to serve as pillows, for they were forbidden to derive benefit from them. See Yoma 69a.
In his commentary to Tamid, Chapter 1, Mishnah 1, the Rambam explains that this prohibition was instituted because the priestly garments contained Sha'atnez, a mixture of linen and wool. Hence, though a priest was permitted to use them during the Temple service, once that service was concluded, he was forbidden to do so. See also the Kessef Mishneh.
|
| 30. |
Leviticus 15:16 explains that a man who has a seminal emission becomes ritually impure. To purify himself, he must immerse his entire body in a mikveh and wait until the end of the day.
|
| 31. |
Which lead to a natural mikveh positioned under the Temple Courtyard.
|
| 32. |
As explained in Chapter 6, Halachah 7. This passageway passed below the Courtyard. However, since it opened up to the portion of the Chamber of the Hearth that was not consecrated, there was no prohibition in entering while ritually impure.
|
| 33. |
There was no prohibition against remaining in the non-consecrated portion of the Chamber of the Hearth. As stated in Chapter 6, Halachah 17, a person who has already immersed himself in themikveh, but must wait for the day to pass before becoming ritually pure, may remain on the Temple Mount and proceed until the Women's Courtyard.
|
| 34. |
Though there was no prohibition against him remaining in the Chamber of the Hearth, it was proper for him to leave so that no one would think that he was prepared to participate in the Temple services (Tifferet Yisrael, Tamid 1:1).
|
| 35. |
This halachah is based on Middot 1:1.
|
| 36. |
See Chapter 5, Halachah 2, for a description of the gates to the Temple Mount.
|
| 37. |
See the commentary to Halachah 4.
|
| 38. |
See the commentary to Chapter 5, Halachah 4.
|
| 39. |
Tifferet Yisrael (Middot 1:1) explains that this refers to the Chamber of the Lambs, one of the four smaller chambers in the Chamber of the Hearth. See Chapter 5, Halachah 10.
|
| 40. |
This chamber is not mentioned in Chapter 5, Halachah 17, as one of the chambers within the Temple Courtyard. Similarly, Tifferet Yisrael (op. cit.) states: "I do not know where it was located."
|
| 41. |
As a sign of respect for the Shechinah.
|
| 42. |
He was given the keys to all the gates of the Temple complex.
|
| 43. |
Tifferet Yisrael (Middot 1:2) explains that the torches were not carried before him, but positioned as lights at the guard stations. Although there is no evidence that the Rambam accepts this view, a comparison with the following halachah indicates this possibility.
|
| 44. |
Chapter 7, Halachah 2, states that it was forbidden to enter the Temple Mount with a staff. Nevertheless, an exception was made to allow "the officer of the Temple Mount" to perform his task (Yeriot Shlomo).
|
| 45. |
Although generally, one may not destroy things of value (bal tashchit), an exception is made in this case to allow the Temple to be guarded properly.
The "officer of the Temple Mount" could be authorized to destroy private property on the basis of the principle: Hefker Beit Din, Hefker, i.e., a Jewish court may forfeit a person's ownership over an article (Rabbenu Asher, Commentary to Middot 1:1).
The Ezrat Kohanim does not accept this explanation because the prohibition against destroying things of value applies even in regard to ownerless articles.
Another possible explanation is that this step is taken for the watchmen's own good. A father or a teacher is allowed to hit a student to shape his character. Similarly, in this instance, "the officer of the Temple Mount" was entitled to burn a watchman's clothing so that he will perform his task more effectively (Likkutei Sichot, Vol. 18, p.465).
|
| 46. |
As mentioned in the commentary to Halachah 6, there is a debate among the Rabbis if the priests were allowed to sleep on their watch or not. Rav Ovadiah of Bartinura (Shekalim 5:1) states that both priests and Levites would be beaten for sleeping. However, the Tosafot Yom Tov argues that this punishment was only administered to Levites.
It would appear that the Rambam subscribes to the latter view. In Hilchot Klei HaMikdash (7:4), he writes: "The officer of the Temple Mount walked around, [checking on] the Levites..."
|
| 47. |
The Temple services began with the removal of the ashes from the Altar. Generally, this was done at dawn.
The term dawn, alot hashachar, refers to the time before sunrise when the first rays of the sun begin to illuminate the horizon. This is more than an hour before sunrise.
|
| 48. |
This does not refer to the "officer of the Temple Mount" mentioned above. In Hilchot Temidim U'Musafim 6:1, the Rambam describes this entire procedure a second time. There, he ascribes the waking of the priests to the priest responsible for delegating different sacrificial functions. See also Tamid 26a.
|
| 49. |
From the chayl.
|
| 50. |
On the external gate of the Chamber of the Hearth,
|
| 51. |
As explained in Halachot 5 and 6.
|
| 52. |
Middot 1:7 mentions that the keys to the Courtyard were hung on a ring in the Chamber of the Hearth. See also the notes to Halachah 5.
|
| 53. |
Tamid 28a relates that there was a small wicket next to the large gate leading from the Chamber of the Hearth to the Temple Courtyard. The large gate would not be opened until dawn. Therefore, the priests entered through the wicket to prepare the Courtyard for the service of the coming day.
|
| 54. |
As explained in Chapter 5, the Chamber of the Hearth was positioned on the north side of the Temple Courtyard, slightly beyond the entrance of the Temple building. From this point, one group would proceed westward, towards the western end of the Courtyard. The other group walked towards the east, in the direction of the Gate of Nicanor, the major entrance to the Courtyard. Both groups walked near the walls, so that they would make a complete circuit around the Courtyard.
|
| 55. |
To make sure all of the sacred utensils were in their proper places.
|
| 56. |
See Chapter 5, Halachah 17, where this chamber is described.
The Chamber of the Bakers of the Chavitin was located on the southern side of the Courtyard's eastern wall. Thus, the group of priests who turned westward had a much longer route than those who proceeded to the east.
|
| 57. |
The Ra'avad in his commentary to Tamid 28a explains that each group would greet the other in this manner.
|
| 58. |
The Chavitin was offered each day by the High Priest shortly after the morning sacrifice.
A general question may be asked concerning this and the following halachah: Why did the Rambam include them in Hilchot Beit HaBechirah which describes the construction of the Temple? It would appear more appropriate to mention them in Hilchot Temidim UMusafim, where the laws governing the daily service in the Temple are described. Indeed, we find that these laws are repeated there.
The reason is based on the explanation of Halachah 1. There, the Rambam states that the watch kept over the Temple was an act of deference, enhancing the glory of the Temple. Thus, maintaining that watch is part of the responsibility of the entire Jewish people to construct and maintain the Temple in the most fitting manner.
16A similar principle can be explained in regard to this inspection of the Courtyard. Over and above the need for checking to see that all the sacred utensils were in there appropriate positions, this inspection was an act of deference and honor which enhanced the importance of the Temple (Likkutei Sichot, Vol. 18, p. 244-249).
|
| 59. |
This is the final halachah of Hilchot Beit HaBechirah. There are a total of 7 halachot in the text. The latter figure matches the age of Levi when he passed away. Levi was the ancestor of the priests and the Levites who served in the Temple.
|
| 60. |
Because it is forbidden to carry a flame on the Sabbath.
|
| 61. |
The Kessef Mishnah, Tosafot Yom Tov, and other commentaries, question why they were not permitted to carry the torches with them. Although carrying fire is prohibited on the Sabbath, the prohibition is only Rabbinic in origin in the category of shvut. The Rambam states (Hilchot Shabbat21:27) that all Rabbinic prohibitions of this nature were suspended in the Temple.
Among the explanations offered are: Since it was possible to use candles which were lit before the Sabbath, there is no need to violate even a Rabbinic prohibition. Alternatively, this inspection was carried out in preparation for the service of the entire day to follow and, as above, it was an act of deference to the Temple. Therefore, to emphasize the holiness of the Temple, it was proper that it be carried out without violating any prohibition whatsoever.
The structure of the final chapter of Hilchot Beit HaBechirah can be explained homiletically: It begins with the obligation to guard the Temple at night, and concludes with the preparations for the Temple services at dawn.
As mentioned above (Halachah 2), the commentaries explain that the mitzvah of guarding the Temple was instituted so that the Temple would be prominent in our minds at all times. Thus, during the day, there was no necessity to stand guard, for that purpose was accomplished by the Temple service. However, at night, when there was no service, we were required to keep a watch around the Temple.
The period of exile is often described as night and the advent of the Messianic era, as dawn. By guarding the Temple at night, and studying the laws of its construction during the exile, we will merit the coming of the dawn, the coming of Mashiach.
A similar idea can be seen in the last halachah, which deals with the priests' procedure on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is described as me'ein olam haba'ah, a microcosm of the world to come, and the time of the coming of the Mashiach. On the Sabbath, in the Messianic age, the preparations for the Temple service will be carried out with the light kindled on the Sabbath eve, representing the present age - and before the coming of the Mashiach. Our service at present generates spiritual light. We will use that light to prepare for the sacrifices to be offered in the Third Temple.
May we merit the Messianic redemption and the rebuilding of the Temple speedily, and in our days. 47Then, shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasing to God, as in days of old and former years 48 (Malachi 3:4).
|
Kli Hamikdash - Chapter 1
Halacha 1
It is a positive commandment to prepare1 the anointing oil so that it will be ready [to use] for those articles that require anointing,2 as [Exodus 30:25] states: "And you shall make it3 as the oil of sacred anointment."
Halacha 2
While in the desert, Moses our teacher [had]4 it prepared. He took the equivalent of 500 shekel5 of the holy shekalim of musk, cinnamon, and costus6and the equivalent of 250 shekel of fragrant cane. The Torah's statement [ibid.:23]: "And fragrant cinnamon, half its measure, 250," implies that [the entire quantity] should be weighed out in two measures, 250 each time. Each one should be ground separately, mixed together7 and then soaked in pure, sweet water until all of its power was extracted into the water. A hin - which is equivalent to twelve log with each log comprising four revi'iot8 - of oil was placed above the water.9 The entire mixture was then cooked over fire until the water boiled off and only the oil remained.10 It was then set aside for [future] generations.
Halacha 3
Musk refers to the blood contained with a wild beast from India that is of universal renown which people everywhere use as a fragrance.11 Cinnamon is a tree that comes from the Indian islands which has a pleasant fragrance and which people use as incense. The term kidah refers to costus.12 Fragrant cane, this refers to thin canes13 like red straw that come from the Indian islands and have a pleasant fragrance. They are types of herbs which doctors place in balsam.
Halacha 4
One who willfully prepares anointing oil in this manner and with these measurements without adding or reducing [the quantity of the herbs] is liable forkaret.14 If he prepares it unknowingly, he must bring a fixed sin-offering,15 [asibid.:34] states: "One who makes such a compound shall be cut off from his nation." [The above applies] provided he prepared it for anointment. If, however, he prepared it for practice or to give to other people,16 he is exempt.17
Halacha 5
Halacha 6
[One is liable] whether he anoints himself or others,22 as [the prooftext] states: "And one who applies it to an unauthorized person." One who spreads it on utensils, an animal, a gentile - who is [halachicly equivalent] to an animal23 - or who spreads it on a corpse, is exempt, as [implied by ibid.:32]: "It should not be spread on the flesh of a man."24
Halacha 7
For all time,25 we do not [use this oil] except to anoint the High Priest, the priest who leads the nation in war,26 and kings from the House of David.27 Even a High Priest who is the son of a High Priest should be anointed,28 as [Leviticus 6:15] states: "The priest from his sons anointed in place of him...."
Halacha 8
Since there was no anointing oil [during] the Second Temple [era],29the High Priest was installed in his office by putting on the garments of the High Priest alone.
Halacha 9
How was the High Priest anointed? The oil should be poured on his head and applied between his eyes in the form of the Greek letter chi,30 like this C as [Leviticus 8:12] states: "And he poured the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him to sanctify him." The kings of the Davidic dynasty are anointed [with the oil] spread as a crown on their foreheads.31 They should not be anointed on other places [on their bodies], nor should one use an excessive amount of oil.
Halacha 10
A person who places the anointing oil on a king or High Priest who had been anointed previously is exempt, for [the prooftext] speaks of "one who applies it to an unauthorized person." And these individuals are not unauthorized with regard to this oil.32
If, however, one - even a king or a High Priest - spreads it [on his flesh], he is liable, for [the prooftext] states: "It should not be spread on the flesh of a man." This implies all men.33 When a High Priest takes the anointment oil from his head and spreads it on his belly, he is liable for karet,34 provided he spreads an olive-sized portion.35
Halacha 11
A king should only be anointed next to a spring.36 We do not anoint the king who is the son of a king, for the kingship is a hereditary position for the king for all time,37 as [Deuteronomy 17:20] states: "[Thus] he and his descendants [will prolong their reign] in the midst of Israel." If there is a controversy, he should be anointed to resolve the controversy and to notify to all that he alone is the king, as Solomon was anointed because of the controversy [stirred up by] Adoniyahu.38 Yoash was anointed because of Atal'ya,39 and Yehoachaz was anointed because of his brother Yehoyakim.40 When Elisha had Yehu anointed,41 he did not have him anointed with the anointment oil, but with balsam oil. This is an accepted tradition among the sages.
Halacha 12
All of the vessels of the Sanctuary that were fashioned [at the command] of Moses were sanctified only by being anointed with the anointing oil,42 as [Numbers 7:1] states: "And he anointed them and sanctified them." This practiced was not followed in the coming generations. Instead, all of the utensils became sanctified when they were used for their purpose in the Temple, as [implied by Numbers 4:12] "...that they will serve with them in the Sanctuary," i.e., through service, they are sanctified.
Halacha 13
The spoons and the bowls used to contain the meal offerings and similarly, the basins used to receive the blood, and the other vessels used [in the Sanctuary] were all made of silver and gold. It was permitted to make them from other metals, as we explained.43 They receive their holiness by being used for the [desired] tasks. If they were broken, they should be smelted down and another utensil made from them,44 for their holiness never departs from them.
Halacha 14
If the sacred utensils became perforated or cracked, the cracks are not plugged close. Instead, the utensils should be smelted down and new utensils made.45
Halacha 15
When a knife has become dislodged from its shaft or blemished, it is not returned to its shaft, nor is it sharpened. Instead, it should be entombed on the side of the Temple, between the Sanctuary and the Entrance Hall on the south46 and new ones should be made. For [conduct bespeaking] poverty is not [appropriate] in a place where wealth [is in place].
Halacha 16
Halacha 17
There were seven containers of liquid measure: a hin,50 a half a hin, a third of ahin, a fourth of a hin, a log, a half a log, and a fourth of a log. 51
Why were there measures of a half a hin, a third of a hin, a fourth of a hin? To measure out the wine libations for the sacrifices.52 A log was necessary to measure the oil for the meal offerings.53 A half a log was necessary to measure out the oil for every lamp of the lamps of the Menorah.54 And a fourth [of a log] to divide the oil for [the High Priest's] chavitan offering.55
Halacha 18
There is nothing that is measured with a hin. Why [then] was it there? [It remained, because] it had been in the Sanctuary from the time of Moses who used it to measure the oil for the anointing oil.56 With the measure of a half alog that was in the Temple, water was measured for the Sotah water57 and oil for the thanksgiving offerings.58 With the measure of a fourth [of a log], oil was measured for the bread brought by a nazirite59 and water for the purification of a metzora.60 It is not that through these deeds the measures became sanctified,61 but rather because of the tasks [performed] in the Sanctuary that were mentioned [in the preceding halachah].
Halacha 19
All of these measures are consecrated and are considered as sacred utensils. [There is, however a difference between them.] The liquid measures were anointed on both the inside and the outside, while the dry measures were anointed only on the inside. Therefore the overflow of the liquid measures was consecrated,62 and the overflow of the dry measures was not consecrated.63
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. |
The Rambam's wording here represents a change from his wording in Sefer HaMitzvot (positive commandment 35) where he describes the mitzvah in passive terms: "having the oil made in a unique fashion available for anointing." Perhaps he chose that wording for, as explained in Halachah 5, after the oil was made at Moses' command, no other such oil was ever made and the mitzvah was merely "to have it."
|
| 2. |
Sefer HaMitzvot (ibid.) and Sefer HaChinuch (mitzvah 107) includes this commandment among the 613 mitzvot of the Torah. See the gloss of the Radbaz who explains that anointing the kings and the High Priest is not considered one of the mitzvot, for there were times when this anointment was not practiced.
|
| 3. |
The mixture of spices mentioned in the previous verses.
|
| 4. |
This addition is necessary, for as indicated by Exodus 37:29, Moses himself did not prepare the anointment oil. It was prepared by Betzalel and the other craftsmen working with him.
|
| 5. |
According to Scriptural Law, based on the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Bechorot 8:8), in modern measure a shekel of the Torah is equivalent to 16 grams of pure silver. Nevertheless, as the Rambam states in Hilchot Shekalim 1:2, in the era of the Second Temple, our Sages increased its measure by almost a fourth. Accordingly, the measure of silver required for the redemption of the firstborn and other obligations were a shekel is required is significantly larger.
|
| 6. |
The Rambam describes these spices in the following halachah.
|
| 7. |
The Kessef Mishneh states that the obligation to grind the herbs is derived from a comparison to the incense offering. The order in which they are ground and then mixed is a logical deduction. If they are ground first, they will be mixed more thoroughly and more effectively.
|
| 8. |
A common halachic measure equivalent to approximately 86 cc according to Shiurei Torah and approximately 150 cc according to Chazon Ish. Thus a hin is 48 times this amount.
|
| 9. |
For the oil will float above the water.
|
| 10. |
Otherwise, the amount of oil used would not be sufficient to soak all the herbs (Rashi, in his commentary to Exodus 30:24).
|
| 11. |
The Rambam is referring to a secretion of the abdominal gland of the male musk deer, a large animal that roams the mountains of Nepal and Tibet. The secretion is reddish-brown, with a honeylike consistency and a strong fragrance. After the gland is cut open, the secretion hardens, assumes a blackish-brown color, and when dry becomes granular.
The Ra'avad objects to the Rambam's definition, stating that it is improper that the blood of a beast - and certainly, a non-kosher beast - be used in the Sanctuary. He interprets the term mor as referring to the fragrant herb, myrrh. The Kessef Mishneh supports the Rambam's view, explaining that the loathsome quality one would associate with the blood of a beast departs from it when the secretion dries and becomes granular. See also the Ramban's commentary to Exodus 30:23, where he discusses both positions.
|
| 12. |
It is the root of a tall herb, whose botanical name is Saussurea lappa, which even today grows only in the highlands of Kashmir.
|
| 13. |
In his notes to his translation of the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Keritot 1:1), Rav Kapach identifies this as the acorus calamus plant. In his Living Torah, Rav Aryeh Kaplan identifies this as the cymbopogon martini or palmarosa plant.
|
| 14. |
Literally, the soul's being cut off. This involves premature death in this world (before the age of 50,Mo'ed Kattan 28a) and the soul not meriting a portion in the world to come (Hilchot Teshuvah 8:1).
Sefer HaMitzvot (negative commandment 83) and Sefer HaChinuch (mitzvah 109) includes the prohibition against making such oil among the 613 mitzvot of the Torah.
|
| 15. |
The term "fixed sin-offering" is used to differentiate between this offering and "an adjustable guilt offering" in which instance, the offering the person brings changes according to his financial capacity. See Hilchot Shegagot 1:4.
|
| 16. |
Even if those people desire to use it for anointment. As long as he personally does not intend to use it for anointment, he is not liable (Radbaz).
|
| 17. |
I.e., the act is forbidden, but he is not liable.
|
| 18. |
For to be liable, one must benefit from a minimum measure and that minimum measure is, as is true with regard to partaking of forbidden substances, an olive-sized portion.
|
| 19. |
I.e., someone other than a High Priest, a king, and the priest who lead the people in war, as stated in Halachah 7.
|
| 20. |
And not a copy, even if it was made in the exact same manner.
|
| 21. |
That oil remained throughout the majority of the First Temple period until it was entombed by King Josiah together with the ark, as the Rambam relates in Hilchot Beit HaBechirah 4:1. From that point onward, neither the High Priests or kings were anointed.
On the surface, one might ask: Since no other oil was ever made, why is making the oil considered one of the 613 mitzvot? For as the Rambam clarifies several times in Sefer HaMitzvot, if an obligation is not ongoing, it is not appropriate to consider it as a mitzvah. On that basis, a number of commands, for example, the command to wage war against Midian (Numbers 7:2), were excluded from this reckoning.
The Minchat Chinuch (positive mitzvah 107) notes that the prooftext quoted by the Rambam concludes "for your generations," i.e., for all time. The mitzvah was to have the oil made by Moses available at all time. After the oil was entombed by King Josiah, new oil was not made, because the oil which Moses made is still available. At the coming of Mashiach, that oil will surface and again be used.
|
| 22. |
The Radbaz maintains that if the others willfully allow the oil to be applied to their flesh, they are also liable. The Tosefta, Makkot, ch. 3, also rules in this manner.
|
| 23. |
See Kiddushin 68a; Hilchot Eruvin 2:9.
|
| 24. |
And none of the above are halachicly equivalent to a man.
|
| 25. |
I.e., in contrast to the era of Moses where this oil was also used to anoint the priestly garments and the vessels of the Sanctuary, as stated in Halachah 12.
|
| 26. |
See Hilchot Melachim, ch. 7, which states that a priest is appointed to speak before the nation and inspire them in war.
|
| 27. |
The kings of the ten tribes, by contrast, were not anointed with this anointing oil, only balsam oil, as stated in Hilchot Melachim 1:10. According to the Rambam (ibid.:7), King Saul was also anointed with this oil. He is not mentioned, because his regal line did not continue for posterity.
|
| 28. |
In contrast, the kings were anointed only when there is a dispute over the inheritance or during a civil war (ibid.:12 and Halachah 11 of this chapter).
|
| 29. |
As mentioned above, the anointing oil was entombed toward the conclusion of the First Temple Era.
|
| 30. |
Our text follows the manuscript versions of the Mishneh Torah and the manuscript versions of the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Menachot 6:3). Most of the later printings of the Mishneh Torah replace the C with an X, for in fact, this is the form of the Greek letter. Kin'at Eliyahusuggests that although the Rambam speaks about the Greek letter, perhaps his intent was the Roman letter.
|
| 31. |
The translation of rosho as "forehead" rather than "head," is based on the Rambam's Commentary to the Mishnah (Keritot 1:1).
|
| 32. |
For we are obligated to apply it to them.
|
| 33. |
Including a High Priest or king.
|
| 34. |
Even though the oil was placed on his flesh, since it should not have been applied to this portion of the body, doing so is included in the above prohibition.
|
| 35. |
The Ra'avad objects to this qualification, maintaining that once he places an olive-sized portion of the oil on his skin, he is liable even if he spreads a smaller measure. The Radbaz and the Kessef Mishneh note that the simple meaning of Keritot 6b appears to support the Ra'avad's position. Nevertheless, they also provide interpretations that support the Rambam's understanding.
|
| 36. |
Horiot 12a explains that the king was anointed there as an sign that his dynasty should be perpetuated, just as a stream continues in a never-ending flow. This symbolism is only appropriate for kings of the Davidic dynasty, whose dynasty will continue for-ever. In contrast, the dynasties of the kings of Israel will eventually be interrupted [see Hilchot Melachim 1:9 (Kessef Mishneh)].
Accordingly, King David ordered that Solomon be anointed at the Gichon Stream (1 Kings 1:33).
|
| 37. |
When mentioning this law, Hilchot Melachim 1:7 continues: "Not only the monarchy, but all other positions of authority and appointments in Israel, are transferred to one's children and grand-children as inheritances forever." The order of inheritance of the crown follows the order of inheritance of property as explained in Hilchot Nachalot, ch. 1. The first in line for the monarchy are the deceased king's sons, in order of age. Should none of his sons be alive, the right is passed to his grandchildren. The children of the elder son are granted preference. If the king has no male descendents, the monarchy is given to his brothers. If they are not alive, it is granted to their sons. From them, the right to the throne passes to the deceased king's nephews (his sister's sons), then to his uncles, to his first cousins.
|
| 38. |
1 Kings, Chapter l, describes Adoniyahu's abortive attempt to declare himself as David's successor.
|
| 39. |
II Kings, Chapter 11, describes Atal'ya's murder of the children of King Achazyahu, her assumption of the throne, and the revolt which established Yoash as king.
|
| 40. |
Yehoachaz was younger than Yehoyakim. Nevertheless, he was given the throne, because he was more capable than his brother, and better suited to serve in his father's position. See the commentaries to II Kings, ch. 23.
|
| 41. |
See II Kings, ch. 9.
|
| 42. |
The Radbaz uses this concept to reinforce his thesis that the Rambam does not consider applying the anointing oil as a mitzvah, because it did not apply for all time.
|
| 43. |
Hilchot Beit HaBechirah 1:18-19. There the Rambam explains that it is preferable to make them from precious metals. Nevertheless, if this is beyond the financial capacity of the community, they can be made from base metals. Indeed, when the Hasmoneans conquered Jerusalem, it is said that they first made a Menorah of iron coated with tin.
|
| 44. |
Note a similar ruling in Hilchot Ma'aseh HaKorbanot 8:21.
|
| 45. |
For patchwork is not becoming to the Temple.
|
| 46. |
This portion of the Temple was called Beit HaChalafot, "the Chamber of the Knives," for this reason (Middot 4:7).
|
| 47. |
An isaron is the size of 43.2 eggs. According to modern measure, the size of an egg is considered to be 57.6 cc according to Shiurei Torah and 99.5 cc according to Chazon Ish.
|
| 48. |
For as stated in Hilchot Ma'aseh HaKorbanot 12:5, the meal offerings were measured out using anisaron as the basic measure.
|
| 49. |
As stated in ibid. 12:4, 13:2, each day the High Priest would bring a meal offering and he would divide it in half. Half was offered in the morning, and half in the afternoon.
|
| 50. |
See Halachah 2.
|
| 51. |
As mentioned above, a revi'it, a fourth of a log, is a common halachic measure equivalent to approximately 86 cc according to Shiurei Torah and approximately 150 cc according to Chazon Ish.
|
| 52. |
As Numbers 28:14 states, the wine libation for a bull was half a hin, for a ram, one third of a hin, and for a ewe, one fourth of a hin. See also Hilchot Ma'aseh HaKorbonot 2:4.
|
| 53. |
As stated in Hilchot Ma'aseh HaKorbonot 12:7, a log of oil is poured over all the different meal offerings.
|
| 54. |
For as stated in Hilchot Temidim UMusafim 3:11, this quantity of oil was placed in the lamps every day of the year.
|
| 55. |
For as indicated by Hilchot Ma'aseh HaKorbanot 13:3, a fourth of a log of oil is poured on each of the cakes the High Priest brings.
|
| 56. |
As stated in Halachah 2 above.
|
| 57. |
A sotah, a woman accused of adultery, was forced to drink water in which a scroll containing a curse with God's name had been blotted out. See Hilchot Sotah 3:9.
|
| 58. |
As stated in Hilchot Ma'aseh HaKorbonot 9:20, a log of oil was used in the baking processes of the different types of wafers used for this offering. Kin'at Eliyahu asks: Since there were specific measures employed in making each type of wafer, why weren't smaller measures used to measure out this oil?
|
| 59. |
As stated in Hilchot Ma'aseh HaKorbanot 9:23, a fourth of a log of oil was used in the preparation of this bread.
|
| 60. |
A person with a physical affliction similar to - but not identical with - leprosy. As related in Hilchot Tuma'at Tzara'at 11:1, as part of such a person's purification process, a bird was slaughtered and its blood poured over water.
|
| 61. |
I.e., receiving the blood of a sacrificial animal is an act of service. Therefore it consecrates the container. Preparing the meal offerings, by contrast, is not an act of service. Therefore it does not sanctify the container.
|
| 62. |
Because it had touched a sacred utensil, the outside of the measure. These liquids were collected and used as libations or sold and the proceeds used to bring sacrifices for the altar. See Hilchot Ma'aseh HaKorbonot 2:9-11.
See also Hilchot Pesulei HaMukdashim 3:20.
|
| 63. |
Because it never touched a sacred utensil.
|
Kli Hamikdash - Chapter 2
Halacha 1
The incense offering was prepared every year. Preparing it fulfills a positive commandment,1 as [Exodus 30:34] states: "And you take spices...." Four of the spices are explicitly mentioned in the Torah. They are balsum,2 onycha, storax, and frankincense. The others were communicated as a halachah communicated to Moses at Sinai.
Halacha 2
[The requirement for] eleven spices was communicated to Moses at Sinai.3 The would prepare them with an exact weight and add to them - without weighing them: Salt of Sodom,4 Jordanian amber,5 and an herb that would produce smoke. Only select people would know its identity and that knowledge was conveyed as halachah from person to person.
Halacha 3
This is the weight of the eleven spices: balsam, onycha, storax, frankincense, 70 maneh from each one. A maneh is 100 dinarim,6musk, cassia, spikenard, and saffron, 16 maneh, costus, 12 maneh, cinnamon, 9 maneh, Ceylonese cinnamon 3 maneh. The weight of the entire mixture was 368 maneh.
The entire mixture was ground very thin. A fourth of a kab7 of the salt of Sodom and a small amount of Jordanian amber and the smoke raising herb were added. A maneh of it was burned every day8 on the golden altar. There were 365 maneh, corresponding to the 365 days of the year. The three remainingmaneh were ground again on the day before Yom Kippur very finely for [the High Priest] to take a handful to offer on Yom Kippur.9 The remainder is the remainder of the incense that was mentioned in [Hilchot] Shekalim.10
Halacha 4
Nataf mentioned by the Torah are the balsam trees that produce balsam oil.11Onycha is tziporen12 which people include in incense. Storax is like black honey and it produces a disagreeable odor. It comes from the sap of the trees grown in Greece. These are the names of the spices in Arabic: od balasan, atzpar tiv, miyah,13 lican,14 muski,15 ketziyah,16 sanbali alnaturin,17 saffron, kosht,18 od,19kesser silica,20 and anber.21
Halacha 5
How is the incense offering prepared? Nine kabbin of vetch lye are brought and the onycha is rubbed with it.22 Afterwards, the onycha is soaked in 21 kabbin of caper wine23 or a very strong, aged white wine. Afterwards each of the spices is ground very finely alone. While he is grinding, he should say: "Grind thoroughly. Grind thoroughly," for the entire time that he is grinding.24 Then he mixes them all together.
Halacha 6
All of the acts involved in its preparation are performed in the Sanctuary, in the Temple Courtyard, [using ingredients that] have been consecrated.25 When one prepares the incense offering from unconsecrated ingredients or in an unconsecrated utensil, it is unacceptable.
Halacha 7
Twice a year, the incense would be returned to the grinder.26 In the summer, it would be spread out so that it would not become musty. In the rainy season, it is stored away lest its fragrance be weakened.
Halacha 8
If one included any honey in it, it is disqualified.27 If one omits any of its spices, he is liable for death, for it is considered as foreign incense. If one prepared it little by little in appropriate proportions, it is acceptable. Even if one prepared half [a maneh] in the morning and half in the afternoon, [it is acceptable].
Halacha 9
When a person prepares incense from these eleven spices according to these proportions to smell its fragrance, he is liable for karet for its preparation28if he prepared it willfully, even if he did not actually smell its fragrance. If he did so inadvertently, he is liable for a fixed sin offering. Even if he did not prepare the entire quantity [of 368 maneh], but merely a half or a third, since he prepared it according to the above proportions, he is liable for karet, as [Exodus 30:38] states: "You shall not make [incense] for yourselves according to its formula. Anyone who prepares [incense] like this to smell its fragrance shall be cut off from his people."
Halacha 10
If he prepared it to learn or with the intent of giving it to the community, he is not liable. If he smelled its fragrance, but did not prepare it, he is not liable for karet. Instead, he is bound by the laws applying to all of those who derive benefit from consecrated property.29 The Torah obligated a person for karet only when he prepared it according to its formula for the sake of smelling it.
Halacha 11
The incense offering is offered on the Golden Altar in the Temple each day. No other entity is offered on it. If one offered any incense other than this or offered this incense, but it was donated by an individual or a group,30 or one offered a sacrifice on it,31 or poured a libation on it, one is liable for lashes,32 as [ibid.:9] states: "You shall not offer upon it foreign incense, a burnt offering, or a meal offering."
Halacha 12
When the ark is transported from place to place, it should not be transported on an animal or on a wagon. Instead, it is a mitzvah for it to be carried on one's shoulders.33Since David forgot and had it transported on a wagon, there was an outbreak [of Divine anger] at Uzzah.34 Instead, it is a mitzvah to carry it on one's shoulders, as [Numbers 7:9] states: "For the holy task is their obligation. They shall carry it on their shoulders."
Halacha 13
When [the Levites] carry the ark on their shoulders, they should carry it face to face, with their backs pointed outward and their faces inward.35 They must be careful that the staves of the ark are not removed from the rings. Anyone who removes one of the staves36 from the rings is liable for lashes,37 as [Exodus 25:15] states: "The staves shall be in the rings of the ark. They shall not be removed from it."
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. |
As the Radbaz states, the Rambam does not consider the preparation of the incense offering as a separate mitzvah. Indeed, in his Sefer HaMitzvos, General Principle 10, he explains that preparing the incense offering should not be considered as a separate mitzvah, for until it is actually offered it is an incomplete act. The mitzvah of bringing the incense offering is mentioned in Hilchot Temidim UMusafim 3:1.
|
| 2. |
The Rambam defines the terms mentioned here in Halachah 4.
|
| 3. |
I.e., through the principles of Biblical exegesis, our Sages (Keritot 8b) derived that the incense offering contained this number of spices.
|
| 4. |
Although a measure of volume was mentioned for Salt of Sodom (see the following halachah), a measure of weight was not.
|
| 5. |
Amber is the fossilized resin from ancient forests. The resin becomes buried and fossilized through a natural polymerization of the original organic compounds. Heating amber will soften it and eventually it will burn, producing a pleasant fragrance. Others identify kipat hayardein with roses. Living Torah refers to it as cycla men, an attractive flower that grows in the Mediterranean region.
|
| 6. |
A dinar is 76.8 grams (81.6 grams according to a more stringent view) in modern measure.
|
| 7. |
A measure of volume equal to 1376 cc according to Shiurei Torah, 2400 cc according to Chazon Ish.
|
| 8. |
Half a maneh in the morning and half in the afternoon.
|
| 9. |
In the Holy of Holies. See Hilchot Avodat Yom HaKippurim 4:1.
|
| 10. |
365 portions of incense were prepared although an ordinary lunar year has 353, 354, or 355 days. Hence, at the end of the year, there was a certain amount left over. In Hilchot Shekalim 4:12, the Rambam writes that on Rosh Chodesh Nissan, the remainder of the incense was redeemed and then given to the craftsmen who prepared it. Afterwards, it was repurchased from them. Thus when a leap year was declared, there was enough incense.
|
| 11. |
Balsalm is an evergreen tree whose sap has a very pleasant fragrance.
|
| 12. |
The claw or nail of the strombus or wing-shell, a shell-fish common in the Red Sea. When burned, they emit a strong fragrance.
|
| 13. |
These terms refer to balsam, onycha, and storax.
|
| 14. |
Frankincense is the gum resin of a tree found growing in tropical regions, a member of the Burseraceae family. This resin exudes as a milky liquid and hardens into yellowish droplets, known as frankincense tears. It gives off a warm, slightly citrine perfume.
|
| 15. |
Musk, see Chapter 1, Halachah 3.
|
| 16. |
In his Commentary to the Mishnah (Keritot 1:1), the Rambam states that this is an herb that he cannot identify. Some have identified it with cassia, an aromatic bark, similar to cinnamon, but differing in strength and quality.
|
| 17. |
Spikenard is obtained from an Indian plant, found in the Himalaya mountains, the Nardostachys jatamansi.
|
| 18. |
Costus, see Chapter 1, Halachah 3.
|
| 19. |
Cinnamon.
|
| 20. |
Ceylonese cinnamon.
|
| 21. |
Jordanian amber.
|
| 22. |
This cleanses it thoroughly and improves its appearance.
|
| 23. |
Alternatively, wine from Cyprus.
|
| 24. |
For the chanting improves the spices (Keritot 6b).
|
| 25. |
Keritot 6b derives this concept from the description of the anointment oil in Exodus 30:32: "It is holy; it shall be holy for you." The repetition of the term "holy" implies that all of the activity to prepare it must be performed with entities that are consecrated. An equation is established between that oil and the incense offering.
|
| 26. |
To grind it again, lest it have solidified.
|
| 27. |
Although this would greatly improved its fragrance, there is an explicit Biblical prohibition (Leviticus 2:11; Hilchot Issurei Mizbeiach 5:2) against burning any such incense.
|
| 28. |
Sefer HaMitzvot (negative commandment 85) and Sefer HaChinuch (mitzvah 110) consider the prohibition against preparing incense for its fragrance as one of the Torah's 613 commandments.
|
| 29. |
This is speaking about a person who smells the fragrance of the communal incense offering. A person who smells the incense of a private individual who copied the formula of the incense offering is not liable.
See Hilchot Meilah 1:2 for the details of one's liability. See also ibid. 5:16 which states that this applies only when the column of smoke from the incense is rising. Once it has already risen, the prohibition no longer applies.
|
| 30. |
But not to the community as a whole.
The Radbaz quotes Rashi (Keritot 6a) which states that one is liable for death at the hand of heaven for bringing such an incense offering. (The death of Aaron's sons, Nadav and Avihu, are cited as proof for this thesis.)
|
| 31. |
The blood of certain sacrifices is, however, sprinkled on it, as stated in Hilchot Ma'aseh HaKorbanot 5:13; Hilchot Avodat Yom HaKippurim 4:2.
|
| 32. |
Sefer HaMitzvot (negative commandment 82) and Sefer HaChinuch (mitzvah 104) consider the prohibition against making such offerings on this altar as one of the Torah's 613 commandments.
|
| 33. |
Sefer HaMitzvot (positive commandment 34) and Sefer HaChinuch (mitzvah 379) consider this mitzvah as one of the Torah's 613 commandments.
The prooftext cited by the Rambam refers to the ark being carried by the Levites, the descendants of the family of Kehot. In Sefer HaMitzvot, however, the Rambam writes that the mitzvah for all time was to have the ark carried by the priests and not the Levites. Indeed, the narrative of the ark being carried in Joshua 3:6 and II Samuel 15:25 corroborates this thesis. (The Ramban explains that this does not contradict the Biblical command, because the priests are also descendants of Kehot.) The reason the mitzvah was fulfilled by the Levites while the Jews journeyed through the desert is because there were not enough priests to carry the ark at that time.
|
| 34. |
As the Bible relates, II Samuel, ch. 6, God vented His anger for the transgression on Uzzah, causing his death.
|
| 35. |
Thus those in the front will be walking backwards. This is necessary so that they will not be turning their backs to the ark (Bamidbar Rabbah, ch. 5).
|
| 36. |
Although the prooftext quoted by the Rambam speaks of the staves, using the plural term, he understands the prohibition as applying even to one of them. See the Minchat Chinuch (mitzvah 96) which discusses this issue.
|
| 37. |
Sefer HaMitzvot (negative commandment 86) and Sefer HaChinuch (mitzvah 96) consider the prohibition against removing the staves as one of the Torah's 613 commandments.
|
• Wednesday, Iyar 24, 5775 · 13May 2015
Iyar 24, 39th day of the omer
Bless Rosh Chodesh Sivan; say the entire Tehillim in the early morning. Day offarbrengen. At Shlishi, the Torah-reader says the brachot without being called to the Torah. Say av harachamim (p. 191).
Torah lessons: Chumash: B'chukotai, Shevi'i with Rashi.
Tehillim: 113-118.
Tanya: Ch. 51. To return (p. 265)..has been explained above.) (p.267).
"If you go in My statutes."1 Our Sages interpret the word "if" as a plea,2 in the sense of "if only you would go in My statutes." G-d's pleading (as it were) with Israel to keep the Torah, in itself aids man and gives him the ability to remain steadfast in his choice of the good. Moreover, "...you go in My statutes" - the soul then becomes a mehaleich, it progresses.3
* * *
With the advent of Mashiach, there will be revealed the superior quality of the traits of simplicity and wholeheartedness found in the avoda of simple folk who daven and recite Tehillim with simple sincerity.
FOOTNOTES
1. Vayikra 26:3.
2. Avoda Zara 5a.
3. To higher levels of achievement. See Iyar 6.
Daily Thought:
Working Lessons
If all the world is a classroom and all of life is a lesson, then certainly your profession and workplace are included.
After all, He has unlimited ways to provide your livelihood—why did He direct you to this way of life?
What sparks of the divine await you here?[Hayom Yom, 9 Iyar.]
____________________________
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