Torah Reading
Nitzavim: Deuteronomy 29:9 (10) “Today you are standing, all of you, before Adonai your God — your heads, your tribes, your leaders and your officers — all the men of Isra’el, 10 (11) along with your little ones, your wives and your foreigners here with you in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water. 11 (12) The purpose is that you should enter into the covenant of Adonai your God and into his oath which Adonai your God is making with you today, (LY: ii) 12 (13) so that he can establish you today for himself as a people, and so that for you he will be God — as he said to you and as he swore to your ancestors, to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov.
13 (14) “But I am not making this covenant and this oath only with you. 14 (15) Rather, I am making it both with him who is standing here with us today before Adonai our God and also with him who is not here with us today. (LY: iii) 15 (16) For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we came directly through the nations you passed through; 16 (17) and you saw their detestable things and their idols of wood, stone, silver and gold that they had with them. 17 (18) So let there not be among you a man, woman, family or tribe whose heart turns away today from Adonai our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Let there not be among you a root bearing such bitter poison and wormwood. 18 (19) If there is such a person, when he hears the words of this curse, he will bless himself secretly, saying to himself, ‘I will be all right, even though I will stubbornly keep doing whatever I feel like doing; so that I, although “dry,” [sinful,] will be added to the “watered” [righteous].’ 19 (20) But Adonai will not forgive him. Rather, the anger and jealousy of Adonai will blaze up against that person. Every curse written in this book will be upon him. Adonai will blot out his name from under heaven. 20 (21) Adonai will single him out from all the tribes of Isra’el to experience what is bad in all the curses of the covenant written in this book of the Torah.
21 (22) “When the next generation, your children who will grow up after you, and the foreigner who arrives from a distant land, see the plagues of that land and the diseases with which Adonai has made it sick, 22 (23) and that the whole land has become burning sulfur and salt, that it isn’t being sown or bearing crops or even producing grass — like the overthrow of S’dom, ‘Amora, Admah and Tzvoyim, which Adonai overthrew in his furious anger — 23 (24) then all the nations will ask, ‘Why did Adonai do this to this land? What is the meaning of such frenzied, furious anger?’ 24 (25) People will answer, ‘It’s because they abandoned the covenant of Adonai, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. 25 (26) They went and served other gods, prostrating themselves before them, gods they had not known and which he had not assigned them. 26 (27) For this reason, the anger of Adonai blazed up against this land and brought upon it every curse written in this book; 27 (28) and Adonai, in anger, fury and incensed with indignation, uprooted them from their land and threw them out into another land — as it is today.’
28 (29) “Things which are hidden belong to Adonai our God. But the things that have been revealed belong to us and our children forever, so that we can observe all the words of this Torah.
30:1 (RY: ii, LY: iv) “When the time arrives that all these things have come upon you, both the blessing and the curse which I have presented to you; and you are there among the nations to which Adonai your God has driven you; then, at last, you will start thinking about what has happened to you; 2 and you will return to Adonai your God and pay attention to what he has said, which will be exactly what I am ordering you to do today — you and your children, with all your heart and all your being. 3 At that point, Adonai your God will reverse your exile and show you mercy; he will return and gather you from all the peoples to which Adonai your God scattered you. 4 If one of yours was scattered to the far end of the sky, Adonai your God will gather you even from there; he will go there and get you. 5 Adonai your God will bring you back into the land your ancestors possessed, and you will possess it; he will make you prosper there, and you will become even more numerous than your ancestors. 6 Then Adonai your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your children, so that you will love Adonai your God with all your heart and all your being, and thus you will live. (RY: iii, LY: v) 7 Adonai your God will put all these curses on your enemies, on those who hated and persecuted you; 8 but you will return and pay attention to what Adonai says and obey all his mitzvot which I am giving you today. 9 Then Adonai your God will give you more than enough in everything you set out to do — the fruit of your body, the fruit of your livestock, and the fruit of your land will all do well; for Adonai will once again rejoice to see you do well, just as he rejoiced in your ancestors.
10 “However, all this will happen only if you pay attention to what Adonai your God says, so that you obey his mitzvot and regulations which are written in this book of the Torah, if you turn to Adonai your God with all your heart and all your being. (LY: vi) 11 For this mitzvah which I am giving you today is not too hard for you, it is not beyond your reach. 12 It isn’t in the sky, so that you need to ask, ‘Who will go up into the sky for us, bring it to us and make us hear it, so that we can obey it?’ 13 Likewise, it isn’t beyond the sea, so that you need to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea for us, bring it to us and make us hear it, so that we can obey it?’ 14 On the contrary, the word is very close to you — in your mouth, even in your heart; therefore, you can do it!
(RY: iv, LY: vii) 15 “Look! I am presenting you today with, on the one hand, life and good; and on the other, death and evil — 16 in that I am ordering you today to love Adonai your God, to follow his ways, and to obey his mitzvot, regulations and rulings ; for if you do, you will live and increase your numbers; and Adonai your God will bless you in the land you are entering in order to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, if you refuse to listen, if you are drawn away to prostrate yourselves before other gods and serve them; (LY: Maftir) 18 I am announcing to you today that you will certainly perish; you will not live long in the land you are crossing the Yarden to enter and possess.
19 “I call on heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have presented you with life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore, choose life, so that you will live, you and your descendants, 20 loving Adonai your God, paying attention to what he says and clinging to him — for that is the purpose of your life! On this depends the length of time you will live in the land Adonai swore he would give to your ancestors Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov.”
Isaiah 61:10 I am so joyful in Adonai!
My soul rejoices in my God,
for he has clothed me in salvation,
dressed me with a robe of triumph,
like a bridegroom wearing a festive turban,
like a bride adorned with her jewels.
11 For just as the earth brings forth its plants,
or a garden makes its plants spring up,
so Adonai, God, will cause victory and glory
to spring up before all nations.
62:1 For Tziyon’s sake I will not be silent,
for Yerushalayim’s sake I will not rest,
until her vindication shines out brightly
and her salvation like a blazing torch.
2 The nations will see your vindication
and all kings your glory.
Then you will be called by a new name
which Adonai himself will pronounce.
3 You will be a glorious crown in the hand of Adonai,
a royal diadem held by your God.
4 You will no longer be spoken of as ‘Azuvah [Abandoned]
or your land be spoken of as ‘Sh’mamah [Desolate];
rather, you will be called Heftzi-Vah [My-Delight-Is-In-Her]
and your land Be‘ulah [Married].
For Adonai delights in you,
and your land will be married —
5 as a young man marries a young woman,
your sons will marry you;
as a bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
your God will rejoice over you.
6 I have posted watchmen
on your walls, Yerushalayim;
they will never fall silent,
neither by day nor by night.
You who call on Adonai,
give yourselves no rest;
7 and give him no rest till he restores Yerushalayim
and makes it a praise on earth.
8 Adonai has sworn by his right hand
and by his mighty arm:
“Never again will I give your grain
to your enemies as food;
nor will strangers drink your wine,
for which you worked so hard;
9 but those who harvest the grain will eat it
with praises to Adonai;
those who gathered the wine will drink it
in the courtyards of my sanctuary.”
10 Go on through, go on through the gates,
clear the way for the people!
Build up a highway, build it up!
Clear away the stones!
Raise a banner for the peoples!
11 Adonai has proclaimed to the end of the earth,
“Say to the daughter of Tziyon,
‘Here, your Salvation is coming!
Here, his reward is with him,
and his recompense is before him.’”
12 They will call them The Holy People,
The Redeemed of Adonai.
You will be called D’rushah [Sought-After],
‘Ir Lo Ne‘ezvah [City-No-Longer-Abandoned].
63:1 Who is this, coming from Edom,
from Botzrah with clothing stained crimson,
so magnificently dressed,
so stately in his great strength?
“It is I, who speak victoriously,
I, well able to save.”
2 Why is your apparel red,
your clothes like someone treading a winepress?
3 “I have trodden the winepress alone;
from the peoples, not one was with me.
So I trod them in my anger,
trampled them in my fury;
so their lifeblood spurted out on my clothing,
and I have stained all my garments;
4 for the day of vengeance that was in my heart
and my year of redemption have come.
5 I looked, but there was no one to help,
and I was appalled that no one upheld me.
Therefore my own arm brought me salvation,
and my own fury upheld me.
6 In my anger I trod down the peoples,
made them drunk with my fury,
then poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”
7 I will recall the grace of Adonai
and the praises of Adonai,
because of all that Adonai has granted us
and his great goodness toward the house of Isra’el,
which he bestowed on them in keeping with his mercy,
in keeping with the greatness of his grace.
8 For he said, “They are indeed my people,
children who are not disloyal.”
So he became their Savior.
9 In all their troubles he was troubled;
then the Angel of His Presence saved them;
in his love and pity he redeemed them.
He had lifted them up and carried them
throughout the days of old.
Today's Laws and Customs:
• Ethics of the Fathers: Chapters Five and Six
During the summer months, from the Shabbat after Passover until the Shabbat before Rosh Hashahah, we study a weekly chapter of the Talmud's Ethics of the Fathers ("Avot") each Shabbat afternoon. This week, we conclude this year's study cycle with the study of Chapters Five and Six.
Links: Ethics of the Fathers, Chapter 5 and Chapter 6
Ethics of the Fathers: Chapter Five1. The world was created with ten utterances. What does this come to teach us? Certainly, it could have been created with a single utterance. However, this is in order to make the wicked accountable for destroying a world that was created with ten utterances, and to reward the righteous for sustaining a world that was created with ten utterances.
2. There were ten generations from Adam to Noah. This is to teach us the extent of G‑d's tolerance; for all these generations angered Him, until He brought upon them the waters of the Flood.
There were ten generations from Noah to Abraham. This is to teach us the extent of G‑d's tolerance; for all these generations angered Him, until Abraham came and reaped the reward for them all.
3. With ten tests our father Abraham was tested and he withstood them all--in order to make known how great was our father Abraham's love [for G‑d].
4. Ten miracles were performed for our forefathers in Egypt, and another ten at the sea. Ten afflictions were wrought by G‑d upon the Egyptians in Egypt, and another ten at the sea. With ten tests our forefathers tested G‑d in the desert, as is stated (Numbers 14:22), "They tested Me these ten times, and did not hearken to My voice."
5. Ten miracles were performed for our forefathers in the Holy Temple: No woman ever miscarried because of the smell of the holy meat. The holy meat never spoiled. Never was a fly seen in the slaughterhouse. Never did the High Priest have an accidental seminal discharge on Yom Kippur. The rains did not extinguish the wood-fire burning upon the altar. The wind did not prevail over the column of smoke [rising from the altar]. No disqualifying problem was ever discovered in the Omer offering, the Two Loaves or theShowbread. They stood crowded but had ample space in which to prostrate themselves. Never did a snake or scorpion cause injury in Jerusalem. And no man ever said to his fellow "My lodging in Jerusalem is too cramped for me."
6. Ten things were created at twilight of Shabbat eve. These are: the mouth of the earth [that swallowed Korach]; the mouth of [Miriam's] well; the mouth of [Balaam's] ass; the rainbow; the manna; [Moses'] staff; the shamir; the writing, the inscription and the tablets [of the Ten Commandments]. Some say also the burial place of Moses and the ram of our father Abraham. And some say also the spirits of destruction as well as the original tongs, for tongs are made with tongs.
7. There are seven things that characterize a boor, and seven that characterize a wise man. A wise man does not speak before one who is greater than him in wisdom or age. He does not interrupt his fellow's words. He does not hasten to answer. His questions are on the subject and his answers to the point. He responds to first things first and to latter things later. Concerning what he did not hear, he says "I did not hear." He concedes to the truth. With the boor, the reverse of all these is the case.
8. Seven types of retribution come to the world, for seven types of sin. When some tithe and others don't, a hunger caused by turmoil ensues: some are hungry, others have their fill of food. When all are unanimous in their failure to tithe, a hunger by drought ensues. For not separating chalah, an annihilating hunger results.
Plagues come to the world for those capital crimes mentioned in the Torahthat have not been given over to the court, and for desecrating the produce of the sabbatical year.
The sword comes to the world for the procrastination of justice, the corruption of justice, and because of those who misinterpret the Torah.
9. Carnage by wild beasts comes to the world for false oaths and the desecration of G‑d's name.
Exile comes to the world for idol-worship, sexual promiscuity, murder and the failure to leave the land fallow on the sabbatical year.
There are four time-periods when plagues increase: on the fourth and seventh years [of the sabbatical cycle], on the year following the seventh, and following the festivals of each year. On the fourth year, because of [the neglect of] the tithe to the poor that must be given on the third year; on the seventh, because of the tithe to the poor that must be given on the sixth; on the year after the seventh, because of the produce of the sabbatical year; and following each festival, because of the robbing of the poor of the gifts due to them.
10. There are four types of people: One who says, "What is mine is yours, and what is yours is mine" is a boor. One who says "What is mine is mine, and what is yours is yours" -- this is a median characteristic; others say that this is the character of a Sodomite. One who says, "What is mine is yours, and what is yours is yours" is a chassid (pious person). And one who says "What is mine is mine, and what is yours is mine" is wicked.
11. There are four types of temperaments. One who is easily angered and easily appeased--his virtue cancels his flaw. One whom it is difficult to anger and difficult to appease--his flaw cancels his virtue. One whom it is difficult to anger and is easily appeased, is a chassid. One who is easily angered and is difficult to appease, is wicked.
12. There are four types of student. One who is quick to understand and quick to forget--his flaw cancels his virtue. One who is slow to understand and slow to forget--his virtue cancels his flaw. One who is quick to understand and slow to forget--his is a good portion. One who is slow to understand and quick to forget--his is a bad portion.
13. There are four types of contributors to charity. One who wants to give but does not want others to give--is begrudging of others. One who wants that others should give but does not want to give--begrudges himself. One who wants that he as well as others should give, is a chassid. One who want neither himself nor others to give, is wicked.
14. There are four types among those who attend the study hall. One who goes but does nothing--has gained the rewards of going. One who does [study] but does not go to the study hall--has gained the rewards of doing. One who goes and does, is a chassid. One who neither goes nor does, is wicked.
15. There are four types among those who sit before the sages: the sponge, the funnel, the strainer and the sieve. The sponge absorbs all. The funnel takes in at one end and lets it out the other. The strainer rejects the wine and retains the sediment. The sieve rejects the coarse flour and retains the fine flour.
16. Any love that is dependent on something--when the thing ceases, the love also ceases. But a love that is not dependent on anything never ceases. What is [an example of] a love that is dependent on something? The love of Amnon for Tamar. And one that is not dependent on anything? The love of David and Jonathan.
17. Any dispute that is for the sake of Heaven is destined to endure; one that is not for the sake of Heaven is not destined to endure. Which is a dispute that is for the sake of Heaven? The dispute(s) between Hillel andShamai. Which is a dispute that is not for the sake of Heaven? The dispute of Korach and all his company.
18. One who causes the community to be meritorious, no sin will come by his hand. One who causes the community to sin, is not given the opportunity to repent. Moses was meritorious and caused the community to be meritorious, so the community's merit is attributed to him; as is stated, "He did G‑d's righteousness, and His laws with Israel" (Deuteronomy 33:21). Jeroboam the son of Nebat sinned and caused the community to sin, so the community's sin is attributed to him; as is stated, "For the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and caused Israel to sin" (I Kings 15:30).
Ethics of the Fathers: Chapter Six1. The sages expounded in the language of the Mishnah (blessed is He who chose them and their learning):
Rabbi Meir would say: Whoever studies Torah for Torah's sake alone, merits many things; not only that, but [the creation of] the entire world is worthwhile for him alone. He is called friend, beloved, lover of G‑d, lover of humanity, rejoicer of G‑d, rejoicer of humanity. The Torah enclothes him with humility and awe; makes him fit to be righteous, pious, correct and faithful; distances him from sin and brings him close to merit. From him, people enjoy counsel and wisdom, understanding and power, as is stated (Proverbs 8:14): "Mine are counsel and wisdom, I am understanding, mine is power." The Torah grants him sovereignty, dominion, and jurisprudence. The Torah's secrets are revealed to him, and he becomes as an ever-increasing wellspring and as an unceasing river. He becomes modest, patient and forgiving of insults. The Torah uplifts him and makes him greater than all creations.
2. Said Rabbi Joshua the son of Levi: Every day, an echo resounds from Mount Horeb (Sinai) proclaiming and saying: "Woe is to the creatures who insult the Torah." For one who does not occupy himself in Torah is considered an outcast, as is stated (Proverbs 11:22), "A golden nose-ring in the snout of a swine, a beautiful woman bereft of reason." And it says (Exodus 32:16): "And the tablets are the work of G‑d, and the writing is G‑d's writing, engraved on the tablets"; read not "engraved" (charut) but "liberty" (chairut)---for there is no free individual, except for he who occupies himself with the study of Torah. And whoever occupies himself with the study of Torah is elevated, as is stated (Number 21:19), "And from the gift to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to The Heights."
3. One who learns from his fellow a single chapter, or a single law, or a single verse, or a single word, or even a single letter, he must treat him with respect. For so we find with David, king of Israel, who did not learn anything from Achitofel except for two things alone, yet he called him his "master," his "guide" and his "intimate," as is stated (Psalms 55:14), "And you are a man of my worth, my guide and intimate friend." Surely we can infer a fortiori: if David, king of Israel, who learned nothing from Achitofel except for two things alone, nevertheless referred to him as his master, guide and intimate, it certainly goes without saying that one who learns from his fellow a single chapter, a law, a verse, a saying, or even a single letter, is obligated to revere him. And there is no reverence but Torah, as is stated (Proverbs 3:35; 28:10), "The sages shall inherit honor" "and the integral shall inherit good"; and there is no good but Torah, as is stated (ibid. 4:2), "I have given you a good purchase; My Torah, do not forsake it."
4. Such is the way of Torah: Bread with salt you shall eat, water in small measure you shall drink, and upon the ground you shall sleep; live a life of deprivation and toil in Torah. If so you do, "fortunate are you, and good is to you" (Psalms 128:2): fortunate are you in this world, and it is good to you in the World To Come.
5. Do not seek greatness for yourself, and do not lust for honor. More than you study, do. Desire not the table of kings, for your table is greater than theirs, and your crown is greater than theirs, and faithful is your Employer to pay you the rewards of your work.
6. Torah is greater than the priesthood or sovereignty, for sovereignty is acquired with thirty virtues, the priesthood with twenty-four, and Torah is acquired with forty-eight qualities. These are: study, listening, verbalizing, comprehension of the heart, awe, fear, humility, joy, purity, serving the sages, companionship with one's contemporaries, debating with one's students, tranquility, study of the scriptures, study of the Mishnah, minimizing engagement in business, minimizing socialization, minimizing pleasure, minimizing sleep, minimizing talk, minimizing gaiety, slowness to anger, good heartedness, faith in the sages, acceptance of suffering, knowing one's place, satisfaction with one's lot, qualifying one's words, not taking credit for oneself, likableness, love of G‑d, love of humanity, love of charity, love of justice, love of rebuke, fleeing from honor, lack of arrogance in learning, reluctance to hand down rulings, participating in the burden of one's fellow, judging him to the side of merit, correcting him, bringing him to a peaceful resolution [of his disputes], deliberation in study, asking and answering, listening and illuminating, learning in order to teach, learning in order to observe, wising one's teacher, exactness in conveying a teaching, and saying something in the name of its speaker. Thus we have learned: One who says something in the name of its speaker brings redemption to the world, as is stated (Esther 2:22), "And Esther told the king in the name of Mordechai."
7. Great is Torah, for it gives life to its observers in this world, and in the World To Come. As is stated (Proverbs 4:22): "For they are life to he who finds them, and a healing to all his flesh." And it says (ibid. 3:8): "It shall be health to your navel, and marrow to your bones." And it says (3:18): "She is a tree of life for those who hold fast to her, and happy are those who support her." And it says (1:9): "For they shall be a garland of grace for your head, and necklaces about your neck." And it says(4:9): "She shall give to your head a garland of grace, a crown of glory she shall grant you." And it says (9:11): "With me, your days shall be increased, and years of life shall be added to you." And it says (3:16): "Long days in her right hand; in her left, wealth and honor." And it says (3:2): "For long days, years of life and peace, they shall add to you."
8. Rabbi Shimon the son of Judah would say in the name of Rabbi Shimon the son of Yochai: Beauty, strength, wealth, honor, wisdom, sageness, old age and children are becoming to the righteous and becoming to the world. As is stated (Proverbs 16:31): "Old age is a crown of beauty, to be found in the ways of righteousness." And it says (ibid. 20:29): "The beauty of youths is their strength, and the glory of sages is their age." And it says (ibid., 17:6): "The crown of sages are their grandchildren, and the beauty of children their fathers." And it says (Isaiah 24:23): "And the moon shall be abashed and the sun shamed, for the L-rd of hosts has reigned in Zion, and before his elders is glory."
Rabbi Shimon the son of Menasia would say: these seven qualities enumerated by the sages for the righteous were all realized in Rabbi [Judah HaNassi] and his sons.
9. Said Rabbi Yossei the son of Kisma: Once, I was traveling and I encountered a man. He greeted me and I returned his greetings. Said he to me: "Rabbi, where are you from?" Said I to him: "From a great city of sages and scholars, am I." Said he to me: "Rabbi, would you like to dwell with us in our place? I will give you a million dinars of gold, precious stones and pearls." Said I to him: "If you were to give me all the silver, gold, precious stones and pearls in the world, I would not dwell anywhere but in a place of Torah. Indeed, so is written in the book of psalms by David the king of Israel: `I prefer the Torah of Your mouth over thousands in gold and silver' (Psalms 119:72). Furthermore, when a person passes from this world neither silver, nor gold, nor precious stones, nor pearls accompany him, only Torah and good deeds, as is stated (Proverbs 6:22): `When you go it will direct you, when you lie down it will watch over you, and when you awaken it shall be your speech.' `When you go it will direct you'---in this world; `when you lie down it will watch over you'---in the grave; `and when you awaken it shall be our speech'---in the World To Come. Also it says (Chaggai 2:8): `Mine is the silver and Mine is the gold, so says the L-rd of Hosts.' "
10. G‑d acquired five acquisitions in his world. These are: one acquisition is the Torah, one acquisition are the heavens and the earth, one acquisition isAbraham, one acquisition is the people of Israel, and one acquisition is the Holy Temple. The Torah, as it is written (Proverbs 8:22), "G‑d acquired me as the beginning of His way, before His works of yore." The heavens and the earth, as it is written (Isaiah 66:1), "So says G‑d: The heavens are My throne and the earth is My footstool; what house, then, can you build for Me, and where is My place of rest?"; and it says (Psalms 104:25), "How many are your works, O G‑d, You have made them all with wisdom; the earth is filled with Your acquisitions." Abraham, as it is written (Genesis 14:19), "And he blessed him, and said: Blessed be Abram to G‑d Most High, acquirer of heavens and earth." Israel, as it is written (Exodus 15:16), "Till Your nation, O G‑d, shall pass, till this nation You have acquired shall pass"; and it says (Psalms 16:3), "To the holy who are upon earth, the noble ones, in whom is all My delight." The Holy Temple, as it is written (Exodus 15:17), "The base for Your dwelling that you, G‑d, have achieved; the Sanctuary, O L-rd, that Your hands have established"; and it says (Psalms 78:54), "And He brought them to His holy domain, this mount His right hand has acquired."
11. Everything that G‑d created in His world, He did not create but for His glory. As is stated (Isaiah 43:7): "All that is called by My name and for My glory, I created it, formed it, also I made it." And it says (Exodus 15:1): "G‑d shall reign forever and ever."
19. Whoever possesses the following three traits is of the disciples of our father Abraham; and whoever possesses the opposite three traits is of the disciples of the wicked Balaam. The disciples of our father Abraham have a good eye, a meek spirit and a humble soul. The disciples of the wicked Balaam have an evil eye, a haughty spirit and a gross soul. What is the difference between the disciples of our father Abraham and the disciples of the wicked Balaam? The disciples of our father Abraham benefit in this world and inherit the World To Come, and as is stated, "To bequeath to those who love Me there is, and their treasures I shall fill" (Proverbs 8:21). The disciples of the wicked Balaam inherit purgatory and descent into the pit of destruction, as is stated, "And You, G‑d, shall cast them into the pit of destruction; bloody and deceitful men, they shall not attain half their days. And I shall trust in you" (ibid., 55:24).
20. Judah the son of Teima would say: Be bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, fleeting as a deer and mighty as a lion to do the will of your Father in Heaven. He would also say: The brazen--to purgatory; the bashful--to paradise. May it be Your will, L-rd our G‑d and G‑d of our fathers, that the Holy Temple be rebuilt speedily in our days; and grant us our portion in Your Torah.
21. Ben Bag Bag would say: Delve and delve into it, for all is in it; see with it; grow old and worn in it; do not budge from it, for there is nothing better.
Ben Hei Hei would say: According to the pain is the gain.
22. He would also say: Five years is the age for the study of Scripture. Ten, for the study of Mishnah. Thirteen, for the obligation to observe the mitzvot. Fifteen, for the study of Talmud. Eighteen, for marriage. Twenty, to pursue [a livelihood]. Thirty, for strength, Forty, for understanding. Fifty, for counsel. Sixty, for sagacity. Seventy, for elderliness. Eighty, for power. Ninety, to stoop. A hundred-year-old is as one who has died and passed away and has been negated from the world.
• Elul Observances
As the last month of the Jewish year, Elul is traditionaly a time of introspection and stocktaking -- a time to review one's deeds and spiritual progress over the past year and prepare for the upcoming "Days of Awe" of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.
As the month of Divine Mercy and Forgiveness (see "Today in Jewish History" for Elul 1) it is a most opportune time for teshuvah ("return" to G-d), prayer, charity, and increased Ahavat Yisrael (love for a fellow Jew) in the quest for self-improvement and coming closer to G-d. Chassidic master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi likens the month of Elul to a time when "the king is in the field" and, in contrast to when he is in the royal palace, "everyone who so desires is permitted to meet him, and he receives them all with a cheerful countenance and shows a smiling face to them all."
Specific Elul customs include the daily sounding of the shofar (ram's horn) as a call to repentance. The Baal Shem Tov instituted the custom of reciting three additional chapters ofPsalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms). Click below to view today's Psalms.
Chapter 82 Chapter 83 Chapter 84
Psalms 82:(0) A psalm of Asaf:
(1) Elohim [God] stands in the divine assembly;
there with the elohim [judges], he judges:
2 “How long will you go on judging unfairly,
favoring the wicked? (Selah)
3 Give justice to the weak and fatherless!
Uphold the rights of the wretched and poor!
4 Rescue the destitute and needy;
deliver them from the power of the wicked!”
5 They don’t know, they don’t understand,
they wander about in darkness;
meanwhile, all the foundations of the earth
are being undermined.
6 “My decree is: ‘You are elohim [gods, judges],
sons of the Most High all of you.
7 Nevertheless, you will die like mortals;
like any prince, you will fall.’”
8 Rise up, Elohim, and judge the earth;
for all the nations are yours.
83:1 (0) A song. A psalm of Asaf:
2 (1) God, don’t remain silent!
Don’t stay quiet, God, or still;
3 (2) because here are your enemies, causing an uproar;
those who hate you are raising their heads,
4 (3) craftily conspiring against your people,
consulting together against those you treasure.
5 (4) They say, “Come, let’s wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Isra’el be remembered no more!”
6 (5) With one mind they plot their schemes;
the covenant they have made is against you —
7 (6) the tents of Edom and the Yishma‘elim,
Mo’av and the Hagrim,
8 (7) G’val, ‘Amon and ‘Amalek,
P’leshet with those living in Tzor; (Selah)
9 (8) Ashur too is allied with them,
to reinforce the descendants of Lot.
10 (9) Do to them as you did to Midyan,
to Sisra and Yavin at Vadi Kishon —
11 (10) they were destroyed at ‘Ein-Dor
and became manure for the ground.
12 (11) Make their leaders like ‘Orev and Ze’ev,
all their princes like Zevach and Tzalmuna,
13 (12) who said, “Let’s take possession
of God’s meadows for ourselves.”
14 (13) My God, make them like whirling dust,
like chaff driven by the wind.
15 (14) Like fire burning up the forest,
like a flame that sets the mountains ablaze,
16 (15) drive them away with your storm,
terrify them with your tempest.
17 (16) Fill their faces with shame,
so that they will seek your name, Adonai.
18 (17) Let them be ashamed and fearful forever;
yes, let them perish in disgrace.
19 (18) Let them know that you alone,
whose name is Adonai,
are the Most High over all the earth.
84:1 (0) For the leader. On the gittit. A psalm of the sons of Korach:
2 (1) How deeply loved are your dwelling-places,
Adonai-Tzva’ot!
3 (2) My soul yearns, yes, faints with longing
for the courtyards of Adonai;
my heart and body cry for joy
to the living God.
4 (3) As the sparrow finds herself a home
and the swallow her nest, where she lays her young,
[so my resting-place is] by your altars,
Adonai-Tzva’ot, my king and my God.
5 (4) How happy are those who live in your house;
they never cease to praise you! (Selah)
6 (5) How happy the man whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are [pilgrim] highways.
7 (6) Passing through the [dry] Baka Valley,
they make it a place of springs,
and the early rain clothes it with blessings.
8 (7) They go from strength to strength
and appear before God in Tziyon.
9 (8) Adonai, God of armies, hear my prayer;
listen, God of Ya‘akov. (Selah)
10 (9) God, see our shield [the king];
look at the face of your anointed.
11 (10) Better a day in your courtyards
than a thousand [days elsewhere].
Better just standing at the door of my God’s house
than living in the tents of the wicked.
12 (11) For Adonai, God, is a sun and a shield;
Adonai bestows favor and honor;
he will not withhold anything good
from those whose lives are pure.
13 (12) Adonai-Tzva’ot,
how happy is anyone who trusts in you!
Elul is also the time to have one's tefillin and mezuzot checked by an accredited scribe to ensure that they are in good condition and fit for use.
Links: More on Elul
Let Him In
So strange.
We trust that He is good, and that all He does is good.
Yet we pray. Because to us things don’t look so good. After all, His goodness is so distant from us. Beyond our understanding. Far beyond.
If so, shouldn’t we simply continue to trust? To surrender to a higher understanding?
Yet He asks us to pray. To complain and to kvetch. And He listens. And He answers our prayers.
Because this is what He most desires from us: that we make room for Him in our lives, in all that matters to us as flesh and blood human beings.
And that begins when we share with Him those things that touch us most deeply. Deep within our hearts.
“Serve G‑d, your G‑d, with all your heart,” the Torah says. The sages ask, “What kind of service do you do with your heart?”
And they answer, “Prayer.”
Pour out your heart to Him. It is the one place He can only enter once you let Him in.
-------Nitzavim: Deuteronomy 29:9 (10) “Today you are standing, all of you, before Adonai your God — your heads, your tribes, your leaders and your officers — all the men of Isra’el, 10 (11) along with your little ones, your wives and your foreigners here with you in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water. 11 (12) The purpose is that you should enter into the covenant of Adonai your God and into his oath which Adonai your God is making with you today, (LY: ii) 12 (13) so that he can establish you today for himself as a people, and so that for you he will be God — as he said to you and as he swore to your ancestors, to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov.
13 (14) “But I am not making this covenant and this oath only with you. 14 (15) Rather, I am making it both with him who is standing here with us today before Adonai our God and also with him who is not here with us today. (LY: iii) 15 (16) For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we came directly through the nations you passed through; 16 (17) and you saw their detestable things and their idols of wood, stone, silver and gold that they had with them. 17 (18) So let there not be among you a man, woman, family or tribe whose heart turns away today from Adonai our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Let there not be among you a root bearing such bitter poison and wormwood. 18 (19) If there is such a person, when he hears the words of this curse, he will bless himself secretly, saying to himself, ‘I will be all right, even though I will stubbornly keep doing whatever I feel like doing; so that I, although “dry,” [sinful,] will be added to the “watered” [righteous].’ 19 (20) But Adonai will not forgive him. Rather, the anger and jealousy of Adonai will blaze up against that person. Every curse written in this book will be upon him. Adonai will blot out his name from under heaven. 20 (21) Adonai will single him out from all the tribes of Isra’el to experience what is bad in all the curses of the covenant written in this book of the Torah.
21 (22) “When the next generation, your children who will grow up after you, and the foreigner who arrives from a distant land, see the plagues of that land and the diseases with which Adonai has made it sick, 22 (23) and that the whole land has become burning sulfur and salt, that it isn’t being sown or bearing crops or even producing grass — like the overthrow of S’dom, ‘Amora, Admah and Tzvoyim, which Adonai overthrew in his furious anger — 23 (24) then all the nations will ask, ‘Why did Adonai do this to this land? What is the meaning of such frenzied, furious anger?’ 24 (25) People will answer, ‘It’s because they abandoned the covenant of Adonai, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. 25 (26) They went and served other gods, prostrating themselves before them, gods they had not known and which he had not assigned them. 26 (27) For this reason, the anger of Adonai blazed up against this land and brought upon it every curse written in this book; 27 (28) and Adonai, in anger, fury and incensed with indignation, uprooted them from their land and threw them out into another land — as it is today.’
28 (29) “Things which are hidden belong to Adonai our God. But the things that have been revealed belong to us and our children forever, so that we can observe all the words of this Torah.
30:1 (RY: ii, LY: iv) “When the time arrives that all these things have come upon you, both the blessing and the curse which I have presented to you; and you are there among the nations to which Adonai your God has driven you; then, at last, you will start thinking about what has happened to you; 2 and you will return to Adonai your God and pay attention to what he has said, which will be exactly what I am ordering you to do today — you and your children, with all your heart and all your being. 3 At that point, Adonai your God will reverse your exile and show you mercy; he will return and gather you from all the peoples to which Adonai your God scattered you. 4 If one of yours was scattered to the far end of the sky, Adonai your God will gather you even from there; he will go there and get you. 5 Adonai your God will bring you back into the land your ancestors possessed, and you will possess it; he will make you prosper there, and you will become even more numerous than your ancestors. 6 Then Adonai your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your children, so that you will love Adonai your God with all your heart and all your being, and thus you will live. (RY: iii, LY: v) 7 Adonai your God will put all these curses on your enemies, on those who hated and persecuted you; 8 but you will return and pay attention to what Adonai says and obey all his mitzvot which I am giving you today. 9 Then Adonai your God will give you more than enough in everything you set out to do — the fruit of your body, the fruit of your livestock, and the fruit of your land will all do well; for Adonai will once again rejoice to see you do well, just as he rejoiced in your ancestors.
10 “However, all this will happen only if you pay attention to what Adonai your God says, so that you obey his mitzvot and regulations which are written in this book of the Torah, if you turn to Adonai your God with all your heart and all your being. (LY: vi) 11 For this mitzvah which I am giving you today is not too hard for you, it is not beyond your reach. 12 It isn’t in the sky, so that you need to ask, ‘Who will go up into the sky for us, bring it to us and make us hear it, so that we can obey it?’ 13 Likewise, it isn’t beyond the sea, so that you need to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea for us, bring it to us and make us hear it, so that we can obey it?’ 14 On the contrary, the word is very close to you — in your mouth, even in your heart; therefore, you can do it!
(RY: iv, LY: vii) 15 “Look! I am presenting you today with, on the one hand, life and good; and on the other, death and evil — 16 in that I am ordering you today to love Adonai your God, to follow his ways, and to obey his mitzvot, regulations and rulings ; for if you do, you will live and increase your numbers; and Adonai your God will bless you in the land you are entering in order to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, if you refuse to listen, if you are drawn away to prostrate yourselves before other gods and serve them; (LY: Maftir) 18 I am announcing to you today that you will certainly perish; you will not live long in the land you are crossing the Yarden to enter and possess.
19 “I call on heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have presented you with life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore, choose life, so that you will live, you and your descendants, 20 loving Adonai your God, paying attention to what he says and clinging to him — for that is the purpose of your life! On this depends the length of time you will live in the land Adonai swore he would give to your ancestors Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov.”
Isaiah 61:10 I am so joyful in Adonai!
My soul rejoices in my God,
for he has clothed me in salvation,
dressed me with a robe of triumph,
like a bridegroom wearing a festive turban,
like a bride adorned with her jewels.
11 For just as the earth brings forth its plants,
or a garden makes its plants spring up,
so Adonai, God, will cause victory and glory
to spring up before all nations.
62:1 For Tziyon’s sake I will not be silent,
for Yerushalayim’s sake I will not rest,
until her vindication shines out brightly
and her salvation like a blazing torch.
2 The nations will see your vindication
and all kings your glory.
Then you will be called by a new name
which Adonai himself will pronounce.
3 You will be a glorious crown in the hand of Adonai,
a royal diadem held by your God.
4 You will no longer be spoken of as ‘Azuvah [Abandoned]
or your land be spoken of as ‘Sh’mamah [Desolate];
rather, you will be called Heftzi-Vah [My-Delight-Is-In-Her]
and your land Be‘ulah [Married].
For Adonai delights in you,
and your land will be married —
5 as a young man marries a young woman,
your sons will marry you;
as a bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
your God will rejoice over you.
6 I have posted watchmen
on your walls, Yerushalayim;
they will never fall silent,
neither by day nor by night.
You who call on Adonai,
give yourselves no rest;
7 and give him no rest till he restores Yerushalayim
and makes it a praise on earth.
8 Adonai has sworn by his right hand
and by his mighty arm:
“Never again will I give your grain
to your enemies as food;
nor will strangers drink your wine,
for which you worked so hard;
9 but those who harvest the grain will eat it
with praises to Adonai;
those who gathered the wine will drink it
in the courtyards of my sanctuary.”
10 Go on through, go on through the gates,
clear the way for the people!
Build up a highway, build it up!
Clear away the stones!
Raise a banner for the peoples!
11 Adonai has proclaimed to the end of the earth,
“Say to the daughter of Tziyon,
‘Here, your Salvation is coming!
Here, his reward is with him,
and his recompense is before him.’”
12 They will call them The Holy People,
The Redeemed of Adonai.
You will be called D’rushah [Sought-After],
‘Ir Lo Ne‘ezvah [City-No-Longer-Abandoned].
63:1 Who is this, coming from Edom,
from Botzrah with clothing stained crimson,
so magnificently dressed,
so stately in his great strength?
“It is I, who speak victoriously,
I, well able to save.”
2 Why is your apparel red,
your clothes like someone treading a winepress?
3 “I have trodden the winepress alone;
from the peoples, not one was with me.
So I trod them in my anger,
trampled them in my fury;
so their lifeblood spurted out on my clothing,
and I have stained all my garments;
4 for the day of vengeance that was in my heart
and my year of redemption have come.
5 I looked, but there was no one to help,
and I was appalled that no one upheld me.
Therefore my own arm brought me salvation,
and my own fury upheld me.
6 In my anger I trod down the peoples,
made them drunk with my fury,
then poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”
7 I will recall the grace of Adonai
and the praises of Adonai,
because of all that Adonai has granted us
and his great goodness toward the house of Isra’el,
which he bestowed on them in keeping with his mercy,
in keeping with the greatness of his grace.
8 For he said, “They are indeed my people,
children who are not disloyal.”
So he became their Savior.
9 In all their troubles he was troubled;
then the Angel of His Presence saved them;
in his love and pity he redeemed them.
He had lifted them up and carried them
throughout the days of old.
Today's Laws and Customs:
• Ethics of the Fathers: Chapters Five and Six
During the summer months, from the Shabbat after Passover until the Shabbat before Rosh Hashahah, we study a weekly chapter of the Talmud's Ethics of the Fathers ("Avot") each Shabbat afternoon. This week, we conclude this year's study cycle with the study of Chapters Five and Six.
Links: Ethics of the Fathers, Chapter 5 and Chapter 6
Ethics of the Fathers: Chapter Five1. The world was created with ten utterances. What does this come to teach us? Certainly, it could have been created with a single utterance. However, this is in order to make the wicked accountable for destroying a world that was created with ten utterances, and to reward the righteous for sustaining a world that was created with ten utterances.
2. There were ten generations from Adam to Noah. This is to teach us the extent of G‑d's tolerance; for all these generations angered Him, until He brought upon them the waters of the Flood.
There were ten generations from Noah to Abraham. This is to teach us the extent of G‑d's tolerance; for all these generations angered Him, until Abraham came and reaped the reward for them all.
3. With ten tests our father Abraham was tested and he withstood them all--in order to make known how great was our father Abraham's love [for G‑d].
4. Ten miracles were performed for our forefathers in Egypt, and another ten at the sea. Ten afflictions were wrought by G‑d upon the Egyptians in Egypt, and another ten at the sea. With ten tests our forefathers tested G‑d in the desert, as is stated (Numbers 14:22), "They tested Me these ten times, and did not hearken to My voice."
5. Ten miracles were performed for our forefathers in the Holy Temple: No woman ever miscarried because of the smell of the holy meat. The holy meat never spoiled. Never was a fly seen in the slaughterhouse. Never did the High Priest have an accidental seminal discharge on Yom Kippur. The rains did not extinguish the wood-fire burning upon the altar. The wind did not prevail over the column of smoke [rising from the altar]. No disqualifying problem was ever discovered in the Omer offering, the Two Loaves or theShowbread. They stood crowded but had ample space in which to prostrate themselves. Never did a snake or scorpion cause injury in Jerusalem. And no man ever said to his fellow "My lodging in Jerusalem is too cramped for me."
6. Ten things were created at twilight of Shabbat eve. These are: the mouth of the earth [that swallowed Korach]; the mouth of [Miriam's] well; the mouth of [Balaam's] ass; the rainbow; the manna; [Moses'] staff; the shamir; the writing, the inscription and the tablets [of the Ten Commandments]. Some say also the burial place of Moses and the ram of our father Abraham. And some say also the spirits of destruction as well as the original tongs, for tongs are made with tongs.
7. There are seven things that characterize a boor, and seven that characterize a wise man. A wise man does not speak before one who is greater than him in wisdom or age. He does not interrupt his fellow's words. He does not hasten to answer. His questions are on the subject and his answers to the point. He responds to first things first and to latter things later. Concerning what he did not hear, he says "I did not hear." He concedes to the truth. With the boor, the reverse of all these is the case.
8. Seven types of retribution come to the world, for seven types of sin. When some tithe and others don't, a hunger caused by turmoil ensues: some are hungry, others have their fill of food. When all are unanimous in their failure to tithe, a hunger by drought ensues. For not separating chalah, an annihilating hunger results.
Plagues come to the world for those capital crimes mentioned in the Torahthat have not been given over to the court, and for desecrating the produce of the sabbatical year.
The sword comes to the world for the procrastination of justice, the corruption of justice, and because of those who misinterpret the Torah.
9. Carnage by wild beasts comes to the world for false oaths and the desecration of G‑d's name.
Exile comes to the world for idol-worship, sexual promiscuity, murder and the failure to leave the land fallow on the sabbatical year.
There are four time-periods when plagues increase: on the fourth and seventh years [of the sabbatical cycle], on the year following the seventh, and following the festivals of each year. On the fourth year, because of [the neglect of] the tithe to the poor that must be given on the third year; on the seventh, because of the tithe to the poor that must be given on the sixth; on the year after the seventh, because of the produce of the sabbatical year; and following each festival, because of the robbing of the poor of the gifts due to them.
10. There are four types of people: One who says, "What is mine is yours, and what is yours is mine" is a boor. One who says "What is mine is mine, and what is yours is yours" -- this is a median characteristic; others say that this is the character of a Sodomite. One who says, "What is mine is yours, and what is yours is yours" is a chassid (pious person). And one who says "What is mine is mine, and what is yours is mine" is wicked.
11. There are four types of temperaments. One who is easily angered and easily appeased--his virtue cancels his flaw. One whom it is difficult to anger and difficult to appease--his flaw cancels his virtue. One whom it is difficult to anger and is easily appeased, is a chassid. One who is easily angered and is difficult to appease, is wicked.
12. There are four types of student. One who is quick to understand and quick to forget--his flaw cancels his virtue. One who is slow to understand and slow to forget--his virtue cancels his flaw. One who is quick to understand and slow to forget--his is a good portion. One who is slow to understand and quick to forget--his is a bad portion.
13. There are four types of contributors to charity. One who wants to give but does not want others to give--is begrudging of others. One who wants that others should give but does not want to give--begrudges himself. One who wants that he as well as others should give, is a chassid. One who want neither himself nor others to give, is wicked.
14. There are four types among those who attend the study hall. One who goes but does nothing--has gained the rewards of going. One who does [study] but does not go to the study hall--has gained the rewards of doing. One who goes and does, is a chassid. One who neither goes nor does, is wicked.
15. There are four types among those who sit before the sages: the sponge, the funnel, the strainer and the sieve. The sponge absorbs all. The funnel takes in at one end and lets it out the other. The strainer rejects the wine and retains the sediment. The sieve rejects the coarse flour and retains the fine flour.
16. Any love that is dependent on something--when the thing ceases, the love also ceases. But a love that is not dependent on anything never ceases. What is [an example of] a love that is dependent on something? The love of Amnon for Tamar. And one that is not dependent on anything? The love of David and Jonathan.
17. Any dispute that is for the sake of Heaven is destined to endure; one that is not for the sake of Heaven is not destined to endure. Which is a dispute that is for the sake of Heaven? The dispute(s) between Hillel andShamai. Which is a dispute that is not for the sake of Heaven? The dispute of Korach and all his company.
18. One who causes the community to be meritorious, no sin will come by his hand. One who causes the community to sin, is not given the opportunity to repent. Moses was meritorious and caused the community to be meritorious, so the community's merit is attributed to him; as is stated, "He did G‑d's righteousness, and His laws with Israel" (Deuteronomy 33:21). Jeroboam the son of Nebat sinned and caused the community to sin, so the community's sin is attributed to him; as is stated, "For the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and caused Israel to sin" (I Kings 15:30).
Ethics of the Fathers: Chapter Six1. The sages expounded in the language of the Mishnah (blessed is He who chose them and their learning):
Rabbi Meir would say: Whoever studies Torah for Torah's sake alone, merits many things; not only that, but [the creation of] the entire world is worthwhile for him alone. He is called friend, beloved, lover of G‑d, lover of humanity, rejoicer of G‑d, rejoicer of humanity. The Torah enclothes him with humility and awe; makes him fit to be righteous, pious, correct and faithful; distances him from sin and brings him close to merit. From him, people enjoy counsel and wisdom, understanding and power, as is stated (Proverbs 8:14): "Mine are counsel and wisdom, I am understanding, mine is power." The Torah grants him sovereignty, dominion, and jurisprudence. The Torah's secrets are revealed to him, and he becomes as an ever-increasing wellspring and as an unceasing river. He becomes modest, patient and forgiving of insults. The Torah uplifts him and makes him greater than all creations.
2. Said Rabbi Joshua the son of Levi: Every day, an echo resounds from Mount Horeb (Sinai) proclaiming and saying: "Woe is to the creatures who insult the Torah." For one who does not occupy himself in Torah is considered an outcast, as is stated (Proverbs 11:22), "A golden nose-ring in the snout of a swine, a beautiful woman bereft of reason." And it says (Exodus 32:16): "And the tablets are the work of G‑d, and the writing is G‑d's writing, engraved on the tablets"; read not "engraved" (charut) but "liberty" (chairut)---for there is no free individual, except for he who occupies himself with the study of Torah. And whoever occupies himself with the study of Torah is elevated, as is stated (Number 21:19), "And from the gift to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to The Heights."
3. One who learns from his fellow a single chapter, or a single law, or a single verse, or a single word, or even a single letter, he must treat him with respect. For so we find with David, king of Israel, who did not learn anything from Achitofel except for two things alone, yet he called him his "master," his "guide" and his "intimate," as is stated (Psalms 55:14), "And you are a man of my worth, my guide and intimate friend." Surely we can infer a fortiori: if David, king of Israel, who learned nothing from Achitofel except for two things alone, nevertheless referred to him as his master, guide and intimate, it certainly goes without saying that one who learns from his fellow a single chapter, a law, a verse, a saying, or even a single letter, is obligated to revere him. And there is no reverence but Torah, as is stated (Proverbs 3:35; 28:10), "The sages shall inherit honor" "and the integral shall inherit good"; and there is no good but Torah, as is stated (ibid. 4:2), "I have given you a good purchase; My Torah, do not forsake it."
4. Such is the way of Torah: Bread with salt you shall eat, water in small measure you shall drink, and upon the ground you shall sleep; live a life of deprivation and toil in Torah. If so you do, "fortunate are you, and good is to you" (Psalms 128:2): fortunate are you in this world, and it is good to you in the World To Come.
5. Do not seek greatness for yourself, and do not lust for honor. More than you study, do. Desire not the table of kings, for your table is greater than theirs, and your crown is greater than theirs, and faithful is your Employer to pay you the rewards of your work.
6. Torah is greater than the priesthood or sovereignty, for sovereignty is acquired with thirty virtues, the priesthood with twenty-four, and Torah is acquired with forty-eight qualities. These are: study, listening, verbalizing, comprehension of the heart, awe, fear, humility, joy, purity, serving the sages, companionship with one's contemporaries, debating with one's students, tranquility, study of the scriptures, study of the Mishnah, minimizing engagement in business, minimizing socialization, minimizing pleasure, minimizing sleep, minimizing talk, minimizing gaiety, slowness to anger, good heartedness, faith in the sages, acceptance of suffering, knowing one's place, satisfaction with one's lot, qualifying one's words, not taking credit for oneself, likableness, love of G‑d, love of humanity, love of charity, love of justice, love of rebuke, fleeing from honor, lack of arrogance in learning, reluctance to hand down rulings, participating in the burden of one's fellow, judging him to the side of merit, correcting him, bringing him to a peaceful resolution [of his disputes], deliberation in study, asking and answering, listening and illuminating, learning in order to teach, learning in order to observe, wising one's teacher, exactness in conveying a teaching, and saying something in the name of its speaker. Thus we have learned: One who says something in the name of its speaker brings redemption to the world, as is stated (Esther 2:22), "And Esther told the king in the name of Mordechai."
7. Great is Torah, for it gives life to its observers in this world, and in the World To Come. As is stated (Proverbs 4:22): "For they are life to he who finds them, and a healing to all his flesh." And it says (ibid. 3:8): "It shall be health to your navel, and marrow to your bones." And it says (3:18): "She is a tree of life for those who hold fast to her, and happy are those who support her." And it says (1:9): "For they shall be a garland of grace for your head, and necklaces about your neck." And it says(4:9): "She shall give to your head a garland of grace, a crown of glory she shall grant you." And it says (9:11): "With me, your days shall be increased, and years of life shall be added to you." And it says (3:16): "Long days in her right hand; in her left, wealth and honor." And it says (3:2): "For long days, years of life and peace, they shall add to you."
8. Rabbi Shimon the son of Judah would say in the name of Rabbi Shimon the son of Yochai: Beauty, strength, wealth, honor, wisdom, sageness, old age and children are becoming to the righteous and becoming to the world. As is stated (Proverbs 16:31): "Old age is a crown of beauty, to be found in the ways of righteousness." And it says (ibid. 20:29): "The beauty of youths is their strength, and the glory of sages is their age." And it says (ibid., 17:6): "The crown of sages are their grandchildren, and the beauty of children their fathers." And it says (Isaiah 24:23): "And the moon shall be abashed and the sun shamed, for the L-rd of hosts has reigned in Zion, and before his elders is glory."
Rabbi Shimon the son of Menasia would say: these seven qualities enumerated by the sages for the righteous were all realized in Rabbi [Judah HaNassi] and his sons.
9. Said Rabbi Yossei the son of Kisma: Once, I was traveling and I encountered a man. He greeted me and I returned his greetings. Said he to me: "Rabbi, where are you from?" Said I to him: "From a great city of sages and scholars, am I." Said he to me: "Rabbi, would you like to dwell with us in our place? I will give you a million dinars of gold, precious stones and pearls." Said I to him: "If you were to give me all the silver, gold, precious stones and pearls in the world, I would not dwell anywhere but in a place of Torah. Indeed, so is written in the book of psalms by David the king of Israel: `I prefer the Torah of Your mouth over thousands in gold and silver' (Psalms 119:72). Furthermore, when a person passes from this world neither silver, nor gold, nor precious stones, nor pearls accompany him, only Torah and good deeds, as is stated (Proverbs 6:22): `When you go it will direct you, when you lie down it will watch over you, and when you awaken it shall be your speech.' `When you go it will direct you'---in this world; `when you lie down it will watch over you'---in the grave; `and when you awaken it shall be our speech'---in the World To Come. Also it says (Chaggai 2:8): `Mine is the silver and Mine is the gold, so says the L-rd of Hosts.' "
10. G‑d acquired five acquisitions in his world. These are: one acquisition is the Torah, one acquisition are the heavens and the earth, one acquisition isAbraham, one acquisition is the people of Israel, and one acquisition is the Holy Temple. The Torah, as it is written (Proverbs 8:22), "G‑d acquired me as the beginning of His way, before His works of yore." The heavens and the earth, as it is written (Isaiah 66:1), "So says G‑d: The heavens are My throne and the earth is My footstool; what house, then, can you build for Me, and where is My place of rest?"; and it says (Psalms 104:25), "How many are your works, O G‑d, You have made them all with wisdom; the earth is filled with Your acquisitions." Abraham, as it is written (Genesis 14:19), "And he blessed him, and said: Blessed be Abram to G‑d Most High, acquirer of heavens and earth." Israel, as it is written (Exodus 15:16), "Till Your nation, O G‑d, shall pass, till this nation You have acquired shall pass"; and it says (Psalms 16:3), "To the holy who are upon earth, the noble ones, in whom is all My delight." The Holy Temple, as it is written (Exodus 15:17), "The base for Your dwelling that you, G‑d, have achieved; the Sanctuary, O L-rd, that Your hands have established"; and it says (Psalms 78:54), "And He brought them to His holy domain, this mount His right hand has acquired."
11. Everything that G‑d created in His world, He did not create but for His glory. As is stated (Isaiah 43:7): "All that is called by My name and for My glory, I created it, formed it, also I made it." And it says (Exodus 15:1): "G‑d shall reign forever and ever."
19. Whoever possesses the following three traits is of the disciples of our father Abraham; and whoever possesses the opposite three traits is of the disciples of the wicked Balaam. The disciples of our father Abraham have a good eye, a meek spirit and a humble soul. The disciples of the wicked Balaam have an evil eye, a haughty spirit and a gross soul. What is the difference between the disciples of our father Abraham and the disciples of the wicked Balaam? The disciples of our father Abraham benefit in this world and inherit the World To Come, and as is stated, "To bequeath to those who love Me there is, and their treasures I shall fill" (Proverbs 8:21). The disciples of the wicked Balaam inherit purgatory and descent into the pit of destruction, as is stated, "And You, G‑d, shall cast them into the pit of destruction; bloody and deceitful men, they shall not attain half their days. And I shall trust in you" (ibid., 55:24).
20. Judah the son of Teima would say: Be bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, fleeting as a deer and mighty as a lion to do the will of your Father in Heaven. He would also say: The brazen--to purgatory; the bashful--to paradise. May it be Your will, L-rd our G‑d and G‑d of our fathers, that the Holy Temple be rebuilt speedily in our days; and grant us our portion in Your Torah.
21. Ben Bag Bag would say: Delve and delve into it, for all is in it; see with it; grow old and worn in it; do not budge from it, for there is nothing better.
Ben Hei Hei would say: According to the pain is the gain.
22. He would also say: Five years is the age for the study of Scripture. Ten, for the study of Mishnah. Thirteen, for the obligation to observe the mitzvot. Fifteen, for the study of Talmud. Eighteen, for marriage. Twenty, to pursue [a livelihood]. Thirty, for strength, Forty, for understanding. Fifty, for counsel. Sixty, for sagacity. Seventy, for elderliness. Eighty, for power. Ninety, to stoop. A hundred-year-old is as one who has died and passed away and has been negated from the world.
• Elul Observances
As the last month of the Jewish year, Elul is traditionaly a time of introspection and stocktaking -- a time to review one's deeds and spiritual progress over the past year and prepare for the upcoming "Days of Awe" of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.
As the month of Divine Mercy and Forgiveness (see "Today in Jewish History" for Elul 1) it is a most opportune time for teshuvah ("return" to G-d), prayer, charity, and increased Ahavat Yisrael (love for a fellow Jew) in the quest for self-improvement and coming closer to G-d. Chassidic master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi likens the month of Elul to a time when "the king is in the field" and, in contrast to when he is in the royal palace, "everyone who so desires is permitted to meet him, and he receives them all with a cheerful countenance and shows a smiling face to them all."
Specific Elul customs include the daily sounding of the shofar (ram's horn) as a call to repentance. The Baal Shem Tov instituted the custom of reciting three additional chapters ofPsalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms). Click below to view today's Psalms.
Chapter 82 Chapter 83 Chapter 84
Psalms 82:(0) A psalm of Asaf:
(1) Elohim [God] stands in the divine assembly;
there with the elohim [judges], he judges:
2 “How long will you go on judging unfairly,
favoring the wicked? (Selah)
3 Give justice to the weak and fatherless!
Uphold the rights of the wretched and poor!
4 Rescue the destitute and needy;
deliver them from the power of the wicked!”
5 They don’t know, they don’t understand,
they wander about in darkness;
meanwhile, all the foundations of the earth
are being undermined.
6 “My decree is: ‘You are elohim [gods, judges],
sons of the Most High all of you.
7 Nevertheless, you will die like mortals;
like any prince, you will fall.’”
8 Rise up, Elohim, and judge the earth;
for all the nations are yours.
83:1 (0) A song. A psalm of Asaf:
2 (1) God, don’t remain silent!
Don’t stay quiet, God, or still;
3 (2) because here are your enemies, causing an uproar;
those who hate you are raising their heads,
4 (3) craftily conspiring against your people,
consulting together against those you treasure.
5 (4) They say, “Come, let’s wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Isra’el be remembered no more!”
6 (5) With one mind they plot their schemes;
the covenant they have made is against you —
7 (6) the tents of Edom and the Yishma‘elim,
Mo’av and the Hagrim,
8 (7) G’val, ‘Amon and ‘Amalek,
P’leshet with those living in Tzor; (Selah)
9 (8) Ashur too is allied with them,
to reinforce the descendants of Lot.
10 (9) Do to them as you did to Midyan,
to Sisra and Yavin at Vadi Kishon —
11 (10) they were destroyed at ‘Ein-Dor
and became manure for the ground.
12 (11) Make their leaders like ‘Orev and Ze’ev,
all their princes like Zevach and Tzalmuna,
13 (12) who said, “Let’s take possession
of God’s meadows for ourselves.”
14 (13) My God, make them like whirling dust,
like chaff driven by the wind.
15 (14) Like fire burning up the forest,
like a flame that sets the mountains ablaze,
16 (15) drive them away with your storm,
terrify them with your tempest.
17 (16) Fill their faces with shame,
so that they will seek your name, Adonai.
18 (17) Let them be ashamed and fearful forever;
yes, let them perish in disgrace.
19 (18) Let them know that you alone,
whose name is Adonai,
are the Most High over all the earth.
84:1 (0) For the leader. On the gittit. A psalm of the sons of Korach:
2 (1) How deeply loved are your dwelling-places,
Adonai-Tzva’ot!
3 (2) My soul yearns, yes, faints with longing
for the courtyards of Adonai;
my heart and body cry for joy
to the living God.
4 (3) As the sparrow finds herself a home
and the swallow her nest, where she lays her young,
[so my resting-place is] by your altars,
Adonai-Tzva’ot, my king and my God.
5 (4) How happy are those who live in your house;
they never cease to praise you! (Selah)
6 (5) How happy the man whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are [pilgrim] highways.
7 (6) Passing through the [dry] Baka Valley,
they make it a place of springs,
and the early rain clothes it with blessings.
8 (7) They go from strength to strength
and appear before God in Tziyon.
9 (8) Adonai, God of armies, hear my prayer;
listen, God of Ya‘akov. (Selah)
10 (9) God, see our shield [the king];
look at the face of your anointed.
11 (10) Better a day in your courtyards
than a thousand [days elsewhere].
Better just standing at the door of my God’s house
than living in the tents of the wicked.
12 (11) For Adonai, God, is a sun and a shield;
Adonai bestows favor and honor;
he will not withhold anything good
from those whose lives are pure.
13 (12) Adonai-Tzva’ot,
how happy is anyone who trusts in you!
Elul is also the time to have one's tefillin and mezuzot checked by an accredited scribe to ensure that they are in good condition and fit for use.
Links: More on Elul
Daily Study:
Chitas and Rambam for today:
Chumash: Nitzavim, 7th Portion Deuteronomy 30:15-30:20 with Rashi
• Deuteronomy Chapter 30
15Behold, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil, טורְאֵ֨ה נָתַ֤תִּי לְפָנֶ֨יךָ֙ הַיּ֔וֹם אֶת־הַֽחַיִּ֖ים וְאֶת־הַטּ֑וֹב וְאֶת־הַמָּ֖וֶת וְאֶת־הָרָֽע:
life and good: Each one [life or death,] is dependent upon the other: If you do good, you will be granted life, while if you do evil, you will receive death. The verse now proceeds to explain how this is so [as follows]: את החיים ואת הטוב: זה תלוי בזה אם תעשה טוב הרי לך חיים, ואם תעשה רע הרי לך המות. והכתוב מפרש והולך היאך:
16inasmuch as I command you this day to love the Lord, your God, to walk in His ways, and to observe His commandments, His statutes, and His ordinances, so that you will live and increase, and the Lord, your God, will bless you in the land to which you are coming to take possession of it. טזאֲשֶׁ֨ר אָֽנֹכִ֣י מְצַוְּךָ֘ הַיּוֹם֒ לְאַֽהֲבָ֞ה אֶת־יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֨יךָ֙ לָלֶ֣כֶת בִּדְרָכָ֔יו וְלִשְׁמֹ֛ר מִצְוֹתָ֥יו וְחֻקֹּתָ֖יו וּמִשְׁפָּטָ֑יו וְחָיִ֣יתָ וְרָבִ֔יתָ וּבֵֽרַכְךָ֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בָּאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֥ה בָא־שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ:
Inasmuch as I am commanding you this day to love [the Lord your God]: This is “good” [referred to in the verse 15]; and upon this, is dependent: אשר אנכי מצוך היום לאהבה: הרי הטוב, ובו תלוי:
so that you will live and increase: This is “life” [referred to in the verse 15. After this, the verse continues]: וחיית ורבית: הרי החיים:
17But if your heart deviates and you do not listen, and you will be drawn astray, and you will prostrate yourself to other deities and serve them, יזוְאִם־יִפְנֶ֥ה לְבָֽבְךָ֖ וְלֹ֣א תִשְׁמָ֑ע וְנִדַּחְתָּ֗ וְהִשְׁתַּֽחֲוִ֛יתָ לֵֽאלֹהִ֥ים אֲחֵרִ֖ים וַֽעֲבַדְתָּֽם:
But if your heart deviates: This is “evil” [referred to in verse 15. The verse continues]: ואם יפנה לבבך: הרי הרע:
18I declare to you this day, that you will surely perish, and that you will not live long days on the land, to which you are crossing the Jordan, to come and take possession thereof. יחהִגַּ֤דְתִּי לָכֶם֙ הַיּ֔וֹם כִּ֥י אָבֹ֖ד תֹּאבֵד֑וּן לֹא־תַֽאֲרִיכֻ֤ן יָמִים֙ עַל־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר אַתָּ֤ה עֹבֵר֙ אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ן לָב֥וֹא שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ:
that you will perish: This is “death” [referred to in verse 15]. כי אבד תאבדון: הרי המות:
19This day, I call upon the heaven and the earth as witnesses [that I have warned] you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. You shall choose life, so that you and your offspring will live; יטהַֽעִדֹ֨תִי בָכֶ֣ם הַיּוֹם֘ אֶת־הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם וְאֶת־הָאָ֒רֶץ֒ הַֽחַיִּ֤ים וְהַמָּ֨וֶת֙ נָתַ֣תִּי לְפָנֶ֔יךָ הַבְּרָכָ֖ה וְהַקְּלָלָ֑ה וּבָֽחַרְתָּ֙ בַּֽחַיִּ֔ים לְמַ֥עַן תִּֽחְיֶ֖ה אַתָּ֥ה וְזַרְעֶֽךָ:
This day, I call upon the heaven and the earth as witnesses: For the heaven and earth exist for ever, and when the evil befalls you, they will be witnesses that I had warned you regarding all of this. Another explanation of “I call upon the heaven and the earth as witnesses, etc.” : The Holy One, Blessed is He, said to Israel, “Look at the heavens which I created to serve you. Have they ever changed their ways? Has the sphere of the sun ever failed to rise from the east to illuminate the entire world, as it is stated, ‘The sun rises, and the sun sets’ (Ecc. 1:5)? Look at the earth which I created to serve you. Has it ever changed its ways? Have you ever sown [in] it that it did not grow? Or have you ever sown wheat and it yielded barley? Now, they [heaven and earth] were created with neither reward nor loss in mind-for if they are meritorious [by fulfilling their purpose for which I created them], they nevertheless do not receive reward [for this]; and if they sin, they are not punished. And yet [even with this lack of incentive], they have never changed their ways! So you, who will receive reward if you are meritorious and who will be punished if you sin-how much more so [should you fulfill My will]!”- [Sifrei 32:1] העדתי בכם היום את השמים ואת הארץ: שהם קיימים לעולם וכאשר תקרה אתכם הרעה יהיו עדים שאני התרתי בכם בכל זאת. דבר אחר העידתי בכם היום את השמים וגו' אמר להם הקב"ה לישראל, הסתכלו בשמים שבראתי לשמש אתכם, שמא שנו את מדתם שמא לא עלה גלגל חמה מן המזרח והאיר לכל העולם, כענין שנאמר (קהלת א, ה) וזרח השמש ובא השמש, הסתכלו בארץ שבראתי לשמש אתכם, שמא שנתה מדתה, שמא זרעתם אותה ולא צמחה, או שמא זרעתם חטים והעלתה שעורים, ומה אלו שנעשו לא לשכר ולא להפסד אם זוכין אין מקבלין שכר ואם חוטאין אין מקבלין פורענות, לא שנו את מדתם, אתם שאם זכיתם תקבלו שכר ואם חטאתם תקבלו פורענות על אחת כמה וכמה:
you shall choose life: [God says: “Even though you have free choice, nevertheless,] I instruct you to choose the portion of life.” It is like a man who says to his son, “Choose for yourself a fine portion of my estate,” and then directs him to the best portion, saying to him, “This [is the portion which] you should choose for yourself!” And regarding this, the verse says,“The Lord is my allotted portion and my cup; You guide my destiny” (Ps. 16:5). [The last clause, אַתָּה תּוֹמִיךְ גּוֹרָלִי, literally means “You laid upon my lot.” That is to say:] “You laid my hand upon the good lot, saying, ‘Take this for yourself!’” ובחרת בחיים: אני מורה לכם שתבחרו בחלק החיים, כאדם האומר לחבירו בחר לך חלק יפה בנחלתי ומעמידו על חלק היפה ואומר לו את זה ברור לך, ועל זה נאמר (תהלים טז, ה) ה' מנת חלקי וכוסי אתה תומיך גורלי, הנחת ידי על גורל הטוב לומר את זה קח לך:
20To love the Lord your God, to listen to His voice, and to cleave to Him. For that is your life and the length of your days, to dwell on the land which the Lord swore to your forefathers to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob to give to them. כלְאַֽהֲבָה֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ לִשְׁמֹ֥עַ בְּקֹל֖וֹ וּלְדָבְקָה־ב֑וֹ כִּ֣י ה֤וּא חַיֶּ֨יךָ֙ וְאֹ֣רֶךְ יָמֶ֔יךָ לָשֶׁ֣בֶת עַל־הָֽאֲדָמָ֗ה אֲשֶׁר֩ נִשְׁבַּ֨ע יְהֹוָ֧ה לַֽאֲבֹתֶ֛יךָ לְאַבְרָהָ֛ם לְיִצְחָ֥ק וּלְיַֽעֲקֹ֖ב לָתֵ֥ת לָהֶֽם:
Daily Tehillim: Psalms Chapters 135 - 139
• Special Custom for the Month of Elul and High Holidays
The Baal Shem Tov instituted a custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms).
See below for today's additional chapters.
Chapter 135
1. Praise the Lord! Praise the Name of the Lord; offer praise, you servants of the Lord-
2. who stand in the House of the Lord, in the courtyards of the House of our God.
3. Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing to His Name, for He is pleasant.
4. For God has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel as His beloved treasure.
5. For I know that the Lord is great, our Master is greater than all supernal beings.
6. All that the Lord desired He has done, in the heavens and on earth, in the seas and the depths.
7. He causes mists to rise from the ends of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain; He brings forth the wind from His vaults.
8. It was He who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, of man and beast.
9. He sent signs and wonders into the midst of Egypt, on Pharaoh and on all his servants.
10. It was He who struck down many nations, and slew mighty kings:
11. Sichon, king of the Amorites; Og, king of Bashan; and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
12. And He gave their lands as a heritage, a heritage to His people Israel.
13. Lord, Your Name is forever; Lord, Your remembrance is throughout all generations.
14. Indeed, the Lord will judge on behalf of His people, and have compassion on His servants.
15. The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the product of human hands.
16. They have a mouth, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see;
17. they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouth.
18. Like them will their makers become-all who trust in them.
19. House of Israel, bless the Lord; House of Aaron, bless the Lord;
20. House of Levi, bless the Lord; you who fear the Lord, bless the Lord.
21. Blessed is the Lord from Zion, who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!
Chapter 136
This psalm contains twenty-six verses, corresponding to the twenty-six generations between the creation of the world and the giving of the Torah.
1. Praise the Lord for He is good, for His kindness is forever.
2. Praise the God of the supernal beings, for His kindness is forever.
3. Praise the Master of the heavenly hosts, for His kindness is forever.
4. Who alone performs great wonders, for His kindness is forever.
5. Who makes the heavens with understanding, for His kindness is forever.
6. Who spreads forth the earth above the waters, for His kindness is forever.
7. Who makes the great lights, for His kindness is forever.
8. The sun to rule by day, for His kindness is forever.
9. The moon and stars to rule by night, for His kindness is forever.
10. Who struck Egypt through its firstborn, for His kindness is forever.
11. And brought Israel out of their midst, for His kindness is forever.
12. With a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, for His kindness is forever.
13. Who split the Sea of Reeds into sections, for His kindness is forever.
14. And brought Israel across it, for His kindness is forever.
15. And cast Pharaoh and his army into the Sea of Reeds, for His kindness is forever.
16. Who led His people through the desert, for His kindness is forever;
17. Who struck down great kings, for His kindness is forever.
18. And slew mighty kings, for His kindness is forever.
19. Sichon, king of the Amorites, for His kindness is forever.
20. And Og, king of Bashan, for His kindness is forever.
21. And gave their land as a heritage, for His kindness is forever.
22. A heritage to Israel His servant, for His kindness is forever.
23. Who remembered us in our humiliation, for His kindness is forever.
24. And redeemed us from our oppressors, for His kindness is forever.
25. Who gives food to all flesh, for His kindness is forever.
26. Praise the God of heaven, for His kindness is forever.
Chapter 137
Referring to the time of the destruction of the Temple, this psalm tells of when Nebuchadnezzar would ask the Levites to sing in captivity as they had in the Temple, to which they would reply, "How can we sing the song of God upon alien soil?" They were then comforted by Divine inspiration.
1. By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept as we remembered Zion.
2. There, upon the willows, we hung our harps.
3. For there our captors demanded of us songs, and those who scorned us-rejoicing, [saying,] "Sing to us of the songs of Zion.”
4. How can we sing the song of the Lord on alien soil?
5. If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget [its dexterity].
6. Let my tongue cleave to my palate if I will not remember you, if I will not bring to mind Jerusalem during my greatest joy!
7. Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites the day of [the destruction of] Jerusalem, when they said, "Raze it, raze it to its very foundation!”
8. O Babylon, who is destined to be laid waste, happy is he who will repay you in retribution for what you have inflicted on us.
9. Happy is he who will seize and crush your infants against the rock!
Chapter 138
David offers awesome praises to God for His kindness to him, and for fulfilling His promise to grant him kingship.
1. By David. I will thank You with all my heart, in the presence of princes I shall praise You.
2. I will bow toward Your Holy Sanctuary, and praise Your Name for Your kindness and for Your truth; for You have exalted Your word above all Your Names.
3. On the day that I called out You answered me, You emboldened me, [You put] strength in my soul.
4. Lord, all the kings of the land will give thanks to You when they hear the words of Your mouth.
5. And they will sing of the Lord's ways, for the glory of the Lord is great.
6. For though the Lord is exalted, He sees the lowly; the High One castigates from afar.
7. If I walk in the midst of distress, keep me alive; against the wrath of my enemies stretch out Your hand, and let Your right hand deliver me.
8. Lord, complete [Your kindness] on my behalf. Lord, Your kindness is forever, do not forsake the work of Your hands.
Chapter 139
A most prominent psalm that guides man in the ways of God as no other in all of the five books of Tehillim. Fortunate is he who recites it daily.
1. For the Conductor, by David, a psalm. O Lord, You have probed me, and You know.
2. You know my sitting down and my standing up; You perceive my thought from afar.
3. You encircle my going about and my lying down; You are familiar with all my paths.
4. For there was not yet a word on my tongue-and behold, Lord, You knew it all.
5. You have besieged me front and back, You have laid Your hand upon me.
6. Knowledge [to escape You] is beyond me; it is exalted, I cannot know it.
7. Where can I go [to escape] Your spirit? And where can I flee from Your presence?
8. If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the grave, behold, You are there.
9. Were I to take up wings as the dawn and dwell in the furthest part of the sea,
10. there, too, Your hand would guide me; Your right hand would hold me.
11. Were I to say, "Surely the darkness will shadow me," then the night would be as light around me.
12. Even the darkness obscures nothing from You; and the night shines like the day-the darkness is as light.
13. For You created my mind; You covered me in my mother's womb.
14. I will thank You, for I was formed in an awesome and wondrous way; unfathomable are Your works, though my soul perceives much.
15. My essence was not hidden from You even while I was born in concealment, formed in the depths of the earth.
16. Your eyes beheld my raw form; all [happenings] are inscribed in Your book, even those to be formed in future days-to Him they are the same.
17. How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God! How overwhelming, [even] their beginnings!
18. Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sand, even if I were to remain awake and always with You.
19. O that You would slay the wicked, O God, and men of blood [to whom I say], "Depart from me!”
20. They exalt You for wicked schemes, Your enemies raise [You] for falsehood.
21. Indeed, I hate those who hate You, Lord; I contend with those who rise up against You.
22. I hate them with the utmost hatred; I regard them as my own enemies.
23. Search me, Lord, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.
24. See if there is a vexing way in me, then lead me in the way of the world.
Additional Three Chapters
The Baal Shem Tov instituted a custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms).
Today's Chapters are 82, 83 and 84.
Chapter 82
This psalm admonishes those judges who feign ignorance of the law, dealing unjustly with the pauper or the orphan, while coddling the rich and pocketing their bribes.
1. A psalm by Asaph. God stands in the council of judges; among the judges He renders judgment:
2. How long will you judge wickedly, ever showing partiality toward the evildoers?
3. Render justice to the needy and the orphan; deal righteously with the poor and the destitute.
4. Rescue the needy and the pauper; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5. But they do not know, nor do they understand; they go about in darkness, [therefore] all the foundations of the earth tremble.
6. I said that you are angels, supernal beings, all of you;
7. but you will die as mortals, you will fall like any prince.
8. Arise, O God, judge the earth, for You possess all the nations.
Chapter 83
A prayer regarding the wars against Israel in the days of Jehoshaphat, when the nations plotted against Israel.
1. A song, a psalm by Asaph.
2. O God, do not be silent; do not be quiet and do not be still, O God.
3. For behold, Your enemies are in uproar, and those who hate You have raised their head.
4. They plot deviously against Your nation, and conspire against those sheltered by You.
5. They say, "Come, let us sever them from nationhood, and the name of Israel will be remembered no more.”
6. For they conspire with a unanimous heart, they made a covenant against You-
7. the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites,
8. Geval and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.
9. Assyria, too, joined with them, and became the strength of the sons of Lot, Selah.
10. Do to them as to Midian; as to Sisera and Yavin at the brook of Kishon,
11. who were destroyed at Ein Dor, and were as dung for the earth.
12. Make their nobles like Orev and Ze'ev, all their princes like Zevach and Tzalmuna,1
13. who said, "Let us inherit the dwellings of God for ourselves.”
14. My God, make them like whirling chaff, like straw before the wind.
15. As a fire consumes the forest, and a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
16. so pursue them with Your tempest and terrify them with Your storm.
17. Fill their faces with shame, and they will seek Your Name, O Lord.
18. Let them be shamed and terrified forever; let them be disgraced and perish.
19. And they will know that You, Whose Name is the Lord, are alone, Most High over all the earth.
Chapter 84
In this psalm of prayers and entreaties, the psalmist mourns bitterly over the destruction of Temple from the depths of his heart, and speaks of the many blessings that will be realized upon its restoration. Fortunate is the one who trusts it will be rebuilt, and does not despair in the face of this long exile.
1. For the Conductor, on the gittit,1 a psalm by the sons of Korach.
2. How beloved are Your dwellings, O Lord of Hosts!
3. My soul yearns, indeed it pines, for the courtyards of the Lord; my heart and my flesh [long to] sing to the living God.
4. Even the bird has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she lays her young on the [ruins of] Your altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God.
5. Fortunate are those who dwell in Your House; they will yet praise You forever.
6. Fortunate is the man whose strength is in You; the paths [to the Temple] are in his heart.
7. For those who pass through the Valley of Thorns, He places wellsprings; their guide will be cloaked in blessings.2
8. They go from strength to strength; they will appear before God in Zion.
9. O Lord, God of Hosts, hear my prayer; listen, O God of Jacob, forever.
10. See our shield,3 O God, and look upon the face of Your anointed one.
11. For better one day in Your courtyards than a thousand [elsewhere]. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God, than dwell [in comfort] in the tents of wickedness.
12. For the Lord, God, is a sun and a shield; the Lord bestows favor and glory; He does not withhold goodness from those who walk in innocence.
13. O Lord of Hosts! Fortunate is the man who trusts in You.
Tanya: Iggeret HaKodesh, middle of Epistle 19
• Lessons in Tanya
• Today's Tanya Lesson
• Shabbat, 27 Elul, 5776 · 1 October 2016
• Iggeret HaKodesh, middle of Epistle 19
Chumash: Nitzavim, 7th Portion Deuteronomy 30:15-30:20 with Rashi
• Deuteronomy Chapter 30
15Behold, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil, טורְאֵ֨ה נָתַ֤תִּי לְפָנֶ֨יךָ֙ הַיּ֔וֹם אֶת־הַֽחַיִּ֖ים וְאֶת־הַטּ֑וֹב וְאֶת־הַמָּ֖וֶת וְאֶת־הָרָֽע:
life and good: Each one [life or death,] is dependent upon the other: If you do good, you will be granted life, while if you do evil, you will receive death. The verse now proceeds to explain how this is so [as follows]: את החיים ואת הטוב: זה תלוי בזה אם תעשה טוב הרי לך חיים, ואם תעשה רע הרי לך המות. והכתוב מפרש והולך היאך:
16inasmuch as I command you this day to love the Lord, your God, to walk in His ways, and to observe His commandments, His statutes, and His ordinances, so that you will live and increase, and the Lord, your God, will bless you in the land to which you are coming to take possession of it. טזאֲשֶׁ֨ר אָֽנֹכִ֣י מְצַוְּךָ֘ הַיּוֹם֒ לְאַֽהֲבָ֞ה אֶת־יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֨יךָ֙ לָלֶ֣כֶת בִּדְרָכָ֔יו וְלִשְׁמֹ֛ר מִצְוֹתָ֥יו וְחֻקֹּתָ֖יו וּמִשְׁפָּטָ֑יו וְחָיִ֣יתָ וְרָבִ֔יתָ וּבֵֽרַכְךָ֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בָּאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֥ה בָא־שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ:
Inasmuch as I am commanding you this day to love [the Lord your God]: This is “good” [referred to in the verse 15]; and upon this, is dependent: אשר אנכי מצוך היום לאהבה: הרי הטוב, ובו תלוי:
so that you will live and increase: This is “life” [referred to in the verse 15. After this, the verse continues]: וחיית ורבית: הרי החיים:
17But if your heart deviates and you do not listen, and you will be drawn astray, and you will prostrate yourself to other deities and serve them, יזוְאִם־יִפְנֶ֥ה לְבָֽבְךָ֖ וְלֹ֣א תִשְׁמָ֑ע וְנִדַּחְתָּ֗ וְהִשְׁתַּֽחֲוִ֛יתָ לֵֽאלֹהִ֥ים אֲחֵרִ֖ים וַֽעֲבַדְתָּֽם:
But if your heart deviates: This is “evil” [referred to in verse 15. The verse continues]: ואם יפנה לבבך: הרי הרע:
18I declare to you this day, that you will surely perish, and that you will not live long days on the land, to which you are crossing the Jordan, to come and take possession thereof. יחהִגַּ֤דְתִּי לָכֶם֙ הַיּ֔וֹם כִּ֥י אָבֹ֖ד תֹּאבֵד֑וּן לֹא־תַֽאֲרִיכֻ֤ן יָמִים֙ עַל־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר אַתָּ֤ה עֹבֵר֙ אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ן לָב֥וֹא שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ:
that you will perish: This is “death” [referred to in verse 15]. כי אבד תאבדון: הרי המות:
19This day, I call upon the heaven and the earth as witnesses [that I have warned] you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. You shall choose life, so that you and your offspring will live; יטהַֽעִדֹ֨תִי בָכֶ֣ם הַיּוֹם֘ אֶת־הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם וְאֶת־הָאָ֒רֶץ֒ הַֽחַיִּ֤ים וְהַמָּ֨וֶת֙ נָתַ֣תִּי לְפָנֶ֔יךָ הַבְּרָכָ֖ה וְהַקְּלָלָ֑ה וּבָֽחַרְתָּ֙ בַּֽחַיִּ֔ים לְמַ֥עַן תִּֽחְיֶ֖ה אַתָּ֥ה וְזַרְעֶֽךָ:
This day, I call upon the heaven and the earth as witnesses: For the heaven and earth exist for ever, and when the evil befalls you, they will be witnesses that I had warned you regarding all of this. Another explanation of “I call upon the heaven and the earth as witnesses, etc.” : The Holy One, Blessed is He, said to Israel, “Look at the heavens which I created to serve you. Have they ever changed their ways? Has the sphere of the sun ever failed to rise from the east to illuminate the entire world, as it is stated, ‘The sun rises, and the sun sets’ (Ecc. 1:5)? Look at the earth which I created to serve you. Has it ever changed its ways? Have you ever sown [in] it that it did not grow? Or have you ever sown wheat and it yielded barley? Now, they [heaven and earth] were created with neither reward nor loss in mind-for if they are meritorious [by fulfilling their purpose for which I created them], they nevertheless do not receive reward [for this]; and if they sin, they are not punished. And yet [even with this lack of incentive], they have never changed their ways! So you, who will receive reward if you are meritorious and who will be punished if you sin-how much more so [should you fulfill My will]!”- [Sifrei 32:1] העדתי בכם היום את השמים ואת הארץ: שהם קיימים לעולם וכאשר תקרה אתכם הרעה יהיו עדים שאני התרתי בכם בכל זאת. דבר אחר העידתי בכם היום את השמים וגו' אמר להם הקב"ה לישראל, הסתכלו בשמים שבראתי לשמש אתכם, שמא שנו את מדתם שמא לא עלה גלגל חמה מן המזרח והאיר לכל העולם, כענין שנאמר (קהלת א, ה) וזרח השמש ובא השמש, הסתכלו בארץ שבראתי לשמש אתכם, שמא שנתה מדתה, שמא זרעתם אותה ולא צמחה, או שמא זרעתם חטים והעלתה שעורים, ומה אלו שנעשו לא לשכר ולא להפסד אם זוכין אין מקבלין שכר ואם חוטאין אין מקבלין פורענות, לא שנו את מדתם, אתם שאם זכיתם תקבלו שכר ואם חטאתם תקבלו פורענות על אחת כמה וכמה:
you shall choose life: [God says: “Even though you have free choice, nevertheless,] I instruct you to choose the portion of life.” It is like a man who says to his son, “Choose for yourself a fine portion of my estate,” and then directs him to the best portion, saying to him, “This [is the portion which] you should choose for yourself!” And regarding this, the verse says,“The Lord is my allotted portion and my cup; You guide my destiny” (Ps. 16:5). [The last clause, אַתָּה תּוֹמִיךְ גּוֹרָלִי, literally means “You laid upon my lot.” That is to say:] “You laid my hand upon the good lot, saying, ‘Take this for yourself!’” ובחרת בחיים: אני מורה לכם שתבחרו בחלק החיים, כאדם האומר לחבירו בחר לך חלק יפה בנחלתי ומעמידו על חלק היפה ואומר לו את זה ברור לך, ועל זה נאמר (תהלים טז, ה) ה' מנת חלקי וכוסי אתה תומיך גורלי, הנחת ידי על גורל הטוב לומר את זה קח לך:
20To love the Lord your God, to listen to His voice, and to cleave to Him. For that is your life and the length of your days, to dwell on the land which the Lord swore to your forefathers to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob to give to them. כלְאַֽהֲבָה֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ לִשְׁמֹ֥עַ בְּקֹל֖וֹ וּלְדָבְקָה־ב֑וֹ כִּ֣י ה֤וּא חַיֶּ֨יךָ֙ וְאֹ֣רֶךְ יָמֶ֔יךָ לָשֶׁ֣בֶת עַל־הָֽאֲדָמָ֗ה אֲשֶׁר֩ נִשְׁבַּ֨ע יְהֹוָ֧ה לַֽאֲבֹתֶ֛יךָ לְאַבְרָהָ֛ם לְיִצְחָ֥ק וּלְיַֽעֲקֹ֖ב לָתֵ֥ת לָהֶֽם:
Daily Tehillim: Psalms Chapters 135 - 139
• Special Custom for the Month of Elul and High Holidays
The Baal Shem Tov instituted a custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms).
See below for today's additional chapters.
Chapter 135
1. Praise the Lord! Praise the Name of the Lord; offer praise, you servants of the Lord-
2. who stand in the House of the Lord, in the courtyards of the House of our God.
3. Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing to His Name, for He is pleasant.
4. For God has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel as His beloved treasure.
5. For I know that the Lord is great, our Master is greater than all supernal beings.
6. All that the Lord desired He has done, in the heavens and on earth, in the seas and the depths.
7. He causes mists to rise from the ends of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain; He brings forth the wind from His vaults.
8. It was He who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, of man and beast.
9. He sent signs and wonders into the midst of Egypt, on Pharaoh and on all his servants.
10. It was He who struck down many nations, and slew mighty kings:
11. Sichon, king of the Amorites; Og, king of Bashan; and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
12. And He gave their lands as a heritage, a heritage to His people Israel.
13. Lord, Your Name is forever; Lord, Your remembrance is throughout all generations.
14. Indeed, the Lord will judge on behalf of His people, and have compassion on His servants.
15. The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the product of human hands.
16. They have a mouth, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see;
17. they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouth.
18. Like them will their makers become-all who trust in them.
19. House of Israel, bless the Lord; House of Aaron, bless the Lord;
20. House of Levi, bless the Lord; you who fear the Lord, bless the Lord.
21. Blessed is the Lord from Zion, who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!
Chapter 136
This psalm contains twenty-six verses, corresponding to the twenty-six generations between the creation of the world and the giving of the Torah.
1. Praise the Lord for He is good, for His kindness is forever.
2. Praise the God of the supernal beings, for His kindness is forever.
3. Praise the Master of the heavenly hosts, for His kindness is forever.
4. Who alone performs great wonders, for His kindness is forever.
5. Who makes the heavens with understanding, for His kindness is forever.
6. Who spreads forth the earth above the waters, for His kindness is forever.
7. Who makes the great lights, for His kindness is forever.
8. The sun to rule by day, for His kindness is forever.
9. The moon and stars to rule by night, for His kindness is forever.
10. Who struck Egypt through its firstborn, for His kindness is forever.
11. And brought Israel out of their midst, for His kindness is forever.
12. With a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, for His kindness is forever.
13. Who split the Sea of Reeds into sections, for His kindness is forever.
14. And brought Israel across it, for His kindness is forever.
15. And cast Pharaoh and his army into the Sea of Reeds, for His kindness is forever.
16. Who led His people through the desert, for His kindness is forever;
17. Who struck down great kings, for His kindness is forever.
18. And slew mighty kings, for His kindness is forever.
19. Sichon, king of the Amorites, for His kindness is forever.
20. And Og, king of Bashan, for His kindness is forever.
21. And gave their land as a heritage, for His kindness is forever.
22. A heritage to Israel His servant, for His kindness is forever.
23. Who remembered us in our humiliation, for His kindness is forever.
24. And redeemed us from our oppressors, for His kindness is forever.
25. Who gives food to all flesh, for His kindness is forever.
26. Praise the God of heaven, for His kindness is forever.
Chapter 137
Referring to the time of the destruction of the Temple, this psalm tells of when Nebuchadnezzar would ask the Levites to sing in captivity as they had in the Temple, to which they would reply, "How can we sing the song of God upon alien soil?" They were then comforted by Divine inspiration.
1. By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept as we remembered Zion.
2. There, upon the willows, we hung our harps.
3. For there our captors demanded of us songs, and those who scorned us-rejoicing, [saying,] "Sing to us of the songs of Zion.”
4. How can we sing the song of the Lord on alien soil?
5. If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget [its dexterity].
6. Let my tongue cleave to my palate if I will not remember you, if I will not bring to mind Jerusalem during my greatest joy!
7. Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites the day of [the destruction of] Jerusalem, when they said, "Raze it, raze it to its very foundation!”
8. O Babylon, who is destined to be laid waste, happy is he who will repay you in retribution for what you have inflicted on us.
9. Happy is he who will seize and crush your infants against the rock!
Chapter 138
David offers awesome praises to God for His kindness to him, and for fulfilling His promise to grant him kingship.
1. By David. I will thank You with all my heart, in the presence of princes I shall praise You.
2. I will bow toward Your Holy Sanctuary, and praise Your Name for Your kindness and for Your truth; for You have exalted Your word above all Your Names.
3. On the day that I called out You answered me, You emboldened me, [You put] strength in my soul.
4. Lord, all the kings of the land will give thanks to You when they hear the words of Your mouth.
5. And they will sing of the Lord's ways, for the glory of the Lord is great.
6. For though the Lord is exalted, He sees the lowly; the High One castigates from afar.
7. If I walk in the midst of distress, keep me alive; against the wrath of my enemies stretch out Your hand, and let Your right hand deliver me.
8. Lord, complete [Your kindness] on my behalf. Lord, Your kindness is forever, do not forsake the work of Your hands.
Chapter 139
A most prominent psalm that guides man in the ways of God as no other in all of the five books of Tehillim. Fortunate is he who recites it daily.
1. For the Conductor, by David, a psalm. O Lord, You have probed me, and You know.
2. You know my sitting down and my standing up; You perceive my thought from afar.
3. You encircle my going about and my lying down; You are familiar with all my paths.
4. For there was not yet a word on my tongue-and behold, Lord, You knew it all.
5. You have besieged me front and back, You have laid Your hand upon me.
6. Knowledge [to escape You] is beyond me; it is exalted, I cannot know it.
7. Where can I go [to escape] Your spirit? And where can I flee from Your presence?
8. If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the grave, behold, You are there.
9. Were I to take up wings as the dawn and dwell in the furthest part of the sea,
10. there, too, Your hand would guide me; Your right hand would hold me.
11. Were I to say, "Surely the darkness will shadow me," then the night would be as light around me.
12. Even the darkness obscures nothing from You; and the night shines like the day-the darkness is as light.
13. For You created my mind; You covered me in my mother's womb.
14. I will thank You, for I was formed in an awesome and wondrous way; unfathomable are Your works, though my soul perceives much.
15. My essence was not hidden from You even while I was born in concealment, formed in the depths of the earth.
16. Your eyes beheld my raw form; all [happenings] are inscribed in Your book, even those to be formed in future days-to Him they are the same.
17. How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God! How overwhelming, [even] their beginnings!
18. Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sand, even if I were to remain awake and always with You.
19. O that You would slay the wicked, O God, and men of blood [to whom I say], "Depart from me!”
20. They exalt You for wicked schemes, Your enemies raise [You] for falsehood.
21. Indeed, I hate those who hate You, Lord; I contend with those who rise up against You.
22. I hate them with the utmost hatred; I regard them as my own enemies.
23. Search me, Lord, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.
24. See if there is a vexing way in me, then lead me in the way of the world.
Additional Three Chapters
The Baal Shem Tov instituted a custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms).
Today's Chapters are 82, 83 and 84.
Chapter 82
This psalm admonishes those judges who feign ignorance of the law, dealing unjustly with the pauper or the orphan, while coddling the rich and pocketing their bribes.
1. A psalm by Asaph. God stands in the council of judges; among the judges He renders judgment:
2. How long will you judge wickedly, ever showing partiality toward the evildoers?
3. Render justice to the needy and the orphan; deal righteously with the poor and the destitute.
4. Rescue the needy and the pauper; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5. But they do not know, nor do they understand; they go about in darkness, [therefore] all the foundations of the earth tremble.
6. I said that you are angels, supernal beings, all of you;
7. but you will die as mortals, you will fall like any prince.
8. Arise, O God, judge the earth, for You possess all the nations.
Chapter 83
A prayer regarding the wars against Israel in the days of Jehoshaphat, when the nations plotted against Israel.
1. A song, a psalm by Asaph.
2. O God, do not be silent; do not be quiet and do not be still, O God.
3. For behold, Your enemies are in uproar, and those who hate You have raised their head.
4. They plot deviously against Your nation, and conspire against those sheltered by You.
5. They say, "Come, let us sever them from nationhood, and the name of Israel will be remembered no more.”
6. For they conspire with a unanimous heart, they made a covenant against You-
7. the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites,
8. Geval and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.
9. Assyria, too, joined with them, and became the strength of the sons of Lot, Selah.
10. Do to them as to Midian; as to Sisera and Yavin at the brook of Kishon,
11. who were destroyed at Ein Dor, and were as dung for the earth.
12. Make their nobles like Orev and Ze'ev, all their princes like Zevach and Tzalmuna,1
13. who said, "Let us inherit the dwellings of God for ourselves.”
14. My God, make them like whirling chaff, like straw before the wind.
15. As a fire consumes the forest, and a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
16. so pursue them with Your tempest and terrify them with Your storm.
17. Fill their faces with shame, and they will seek Your Name, O Lord.
18. Let them be shamed and terrified forever; let them be disgraced and perish.
19. And they will know that You, Whose Name is the Lord, are alone, Most High over all the earth.
Chapter 84
In this psalm of prayers and entreaties, the psalmist mourns bitterly over the destruction of Temple from the depths of his heart, and speaks of the many blessings that will be realized upon its restoration. Fortunate is the one who trusts it will be rebuilt, and does not despair in the face of this long exile.
1. For the Conductor, on the gittit,1 a psalm by the sons of Korach.
2. How beloved are Your dwellings, O Lord of Hosts!
3. My soul yearns, indeed it pines, for the courtyards of the Lord; my heart and my flesh [long to] sing to the living God.
4. Even the bird has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she lays her young on the [ruins of] Your altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God.
5. Fortunate are those who dwell in Your House; they will yet praise You forever.
6. Fortunate is the man whose strength is in You; the paths [to the Temple] are in his heart.
7. For those who pass through the Valley of Thorns, He places wellsprings; their guide will be cloaked in blessings.2
8. They go from strength to strength; they will appear before God in Zion.
9. O Lord, God of Hosts, hear my prayer; listen, O God of Jacob, forever.
10. See our shield,3 O God, and look upon the face of Your anointed one.
11. For better one day in Your courtyards than a thousand [elsewhere]. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God, than dwell [in comfort] in the tents of wickedness.
12. For the Lord, God, is a sun and a shield; the Lord bestows favor and glory; He does not withhold goodness from those who walk in innocence.
13. O Lord of Hosts! Fortunate is the man who trusts in You.
Tanya: Iggeret HaKodesh, middle of Epistle 19
• Lessons in Tanya
• Today's Tanya Lesson
• Shabbat, 27 Elul, 5776 · 1 October 2016
• Iggeret HaKodesh, middle of Epistle 19
• כן על דרך זה ממש, היא בחינת חכמתו יתברך, מה שיוכל להתפשט ממנה להתלבש בתחתונים כולם
In a precisely like manner with respect to the Divine Chochmah, to the extent that can be diffused from it1to become vested in all the nether beings:
Since2 “You have made them all through Chochmah,” it follows that this Sefirah must be vested in all nether beings. However, this is merely the external level of Chochmah.
הוא כאין לגבי בחינת פנים, המיוחד במאציל ברוך הוא
it3 is as nothing compared to the panim (the inward or frontal aspect) of Chochmah, which is at one with the blessed Emanator.
דכולא קמיה כלא חשיב
For4 “All that is before Him (i.e., close and united with Him) is esteemed as naught.”
וההשפעה לכל הנבראים כולם, שהם בעלי גבול ותכלית, נחשבת ירידה וצמצום כביכול, לגבי המאציל, אין סוף ברוך הוא
The life-giving flow to all created beings, which are limited and finite, is regarded as a descent and a contraction, so to speak, with respect to the Emanator, the blessed Ein Sof,
על דרך משל, כמו שנחשבת ירידה וצמצום לשכל האדם המשכיל, המצומצם באיזו עשיה גשמית וחומרית ממש
just as, metaphorically speaking, it would be regarded as a descent and contraction for the intellect of an intelligent person to be contracted to some purely physical and material activity.5
ולכן משה רבינו עליו השלום, שהשיג עד אחוריים דחכמה, זכה שתנתן על ידו התורה
Moshe Rabbeinu, peace to him, who apprehended as high as the level [of Divinity] called the hindmost aspect of Chochmah, therefore merited that the Torah was given through him —
שהיא נובלות חכמה שלמעלה
the Torah being the novlot, the withered vestige, of Supernal Chochmah,
פירוש: מה שנובל ממנה ויורד למטה, ומתלבש בתורה גשמית שלנו
i.e., that which is sloughed off from it and descends below, and becomes vested in our physical Torah.6
שעיקרה ותכליתה הוא קיום המצות לא תעשה ועשה, בפועל ומעשה ממש
For [the Torah’s] core and ultimate object is the observance of the positive and prohibitory commandments, in actual deed and performance,
כמאמר: היום לעשותם
in the spirit of the verse,7 “To do them this day,” and, more specifically, in the spirit of the comment of our Sages on this phrase:8 “They are to be done today and not tomorrow” — in this world, and not in the World to Come.
וגדול תלמוד, שמביא לידי מעשה
Our Sages likewise taught,9 “The study of Torah is greater [than the observance of the commandments] because it leads to [their] performance.”
והלומד שלא לעשות, נוח לו שנהפכה שלייתו וכו׳
Similarly,10 “As to him who learns with the intent of not doing, it would have been better for him if his afterbirth had turned over....”
I.e., better had he never been born.
וכל אדם מוכרח להתגלגל עד שיקיים כל התרי״ג מצות בפועל ממש, כנודע מהאריז״ל
Indeed, every individual needs to become reincarnated until he has actually observed all the 613 commandments, as is known from R. Isaac Luria, of blessed memory.11
The Tzemach Tzedek makes the following comment12 on the above Epistle:
Although the Alter Rebbe opens this letter with the verse, “He wraps [Himself with] light as [with] a garment...,” he does not explain it here. However, it can be understood from his introduction that the achorayim of Chochmah, also known as thenovlot of the Supernal Chochmah, which is Torah, is the “garment” (i.e., the revealed aspect) of Torah, while the pnimiyut ofAbba, the inward aspect of Chochmah, is the esoteric depths of Torah.
(The latter aspect of Torah will be revealed mainly by Mashiach, as Rashi notes in his comment on the verse,13 “He kisses me with the kisses of His mouth.” Even now, however, a foretaste of the innermost dimensions of the Torah may be savored in the teachings of Chassidut. The present revelation of its insights serves as a preparation for the coming of Mashiach, in the spirit of the Friday afternoon custom14 of sampling the delicacies prepared for Shabbat, since the time of Mashiach is known as15 “a day that is entirely Shabbat.”)
The Tzemach Tzedek concludes: This is the “light” that is vested within the “garment”: it was created on the First Day and later hidden in the Torah — ultimately to be revealed to the righteous.16
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. | In the original Heb. text, parentheses around the word להשפיע indicate that it should be substituted by the bracketed word להתלבש. |
| 2. | Tehillim 104:24. |
| 3. | Heb. text emended above according to the Glosses and Emendations of the Rebbe. |
| 4. | Zohar I, 11b. |
| 5. | Heb. text emended above according to the Glosses and Emendations of the Rebbe. |
| 6. | Heb. text emended above according to the Glosses and Emendations of the Rebbe. |
| 7. | Devarim 7:11. |
| 8. | Eruvin 22a. |
| 9. | Kiddushin 40b. |
| 10. | Vayikra Rabbah 35:7. |
| 11. | See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, Hilchot Talmud Torah 1:4, and the sources cited in the glosses there. |
| 12. | In Yahel Or on Tehillim, p. 369. |
| 13. | Shir HaShirim 1:2. |
| 14. | See Likkutei Sichot, Vol. XV, p. 282, and sources cited in the footnotes there. |
| 15. | Conclusion of Tractate Tamid. |
| 16. | Likkutei Sichot, Vol. X, p. 10, and sources cited in the footnotes there. |
| Rambam: Sefer Hamitzvos: |
• Shabbat, 28 Elul, 5776 · 1 October 2016
• Today's Mitzvah
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
Negative Commandment 279
Pity for One who Murdered or Maimed
"And your eye shall not have pity"—Deuteronomy 19:21.
A judge may not have pity and show leniency on one who murdered or maimed another. He may not say, "This poor person unintentionally amputated his fellow's arm, or knocked out his eye," and then show leniency with regards to the requisite restitution. [And similarly with regards to showing mercy in a capital case.]
Full text of this Mitzvah »• Pity for One who Murdered or Maimed
Negative Commandment 279
Translated by Berel Bell
The 279th prohibition is that a judge is forbidden from having pity on a murderer, or on having a person who caused someone loss of limb to pay the penalty. He should not say, "This person is poor, and he cut off the other person's hand or blinded his eye unintentionally," and therefore out of pity be lenient regarding the full payment of damages.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement,1 "Do not have pity in such a case, [since you must take] a life for a life, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, and a foot for a foot." This prohibition is repeated in the verse,2 "Do not have pity on the [killer], and rid Israel of [those who shed] innocent blood."
FOOTNOTES
1.Deut. 19:21.
2.Ibid., 19:13.
Negative Commandment 277
Favoring an Indigent Defendant
"You shall not favor a poor man in his cause"—Exodus 23:3.
A judge may not have mercy on an indigent litigant and improperly rule in his favor. The judge may not think, "This litigant is poor, and both the rich person [who is suing him] and I are commanded to provide for his sustenance. I will therefore rule in his favor and he will thus have his needs met in an honorable fashion."
Rather, a judge may not differentiate between the wealthy and the destitute, and if the law calls for it, he must find the poor person guilty and require him to pay that which he owes.
Full text of this Mitzvah »• Favoring an Indigent Defendant
Negative Commandment 277
Translated by Berel Bell
The 277th prohibition is that a judge is forbidden from having pity on a poor person by favoring him unjustly in judgment. He must rather treat the rich and poor equally, and require them to pay whatever the judgment is.1
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement,2 "Do not favor [even] the poorest man in his lawsuit." This prohibition is repeated in the verse,3 "Do not give special consideration to the poor."
The Sifra4 says, "He should not say, 'He is poor, and since both I and the rich litigant are required to support him, I will rule in his favor, and he will be supported in an honorable way.' The Torah therefore says, 'Do not give special consideration to the poor.'"
FOOTNOTES
1.See Kapach, 5731, footnote 75.
2.Ex. 23:3.
3.Lev. 19:15.
4.Kedoshim 4:2.
Negative Commandment 275
Favoring a Litigant
"You shall not honor an important person"—Leviticus 19:15.
A judge may not show favoritism to one of the litigants in the course of a trial, even if that individual is a highly respected and great person. The judge may not accord him honor or demonstrate any sign of favoritism whatsoever.
Full text of this Mitzvah »• Favoring a Litigant
Negative Commandment 275
Translated by Berel Bell
The 275th prohibition is that a judge is forbidden from favoring one of the litigants during a trial. Even if he is very important and distinguished, he shall not accord him any honor when he comes to court with the other litigant, and not show him any special respect.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement1 (exalted be He), "Do not show respect to the great."
The Sifra2 says, "One should not think, 'He is wealthy and from a distinguished family — how can I embarrass him and witness his shame?' Certainly [one who thinks this way] will not shame him. The Torah therefore says, 'Do not show respect to the great.' "
The details of this mitzvah are explained in many passages in tractates Sanhedrin and Shavuos.3
FOOTNOTES
1.Lev. 19:15.
2.[Kedoshim 4:3.
3.30a.
Negative Commandment 278
Condemning an Evil Litigant
"You shall not pervert the judgment of the impoverished in his cause"—Exodus 23:6.
A judge is enjoined not to rule against a litigant due to the fact that he is known to be an evil sinner. In the words of our Sages, "An upright person and an evil person are standing before you in trial. You may not say, 'Since he is evil, I will rule against him.'"
(The Sages understand the word "impoverished" in the afore-cited verse as meaning "impoverished in good deeds.")
Full text of this Mitzvah »• Condemning an Evil Litigant
Negative Commandment 278
Translated by Berel Bell
The 278th prohibition is that a judge is forbidden from tilting judgment against one of the litigants whom he knows to be a wicked transgressor. G‑d (exalted be He), prohibits punishing him by ignoring his merits.1
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement2 (exalted be He), "Do not pervert justice against a poor person in his lawsuit."
The Mechilta3 says, "If a wicked man and an honest man stand before him in judgment, he should not say, 'Since he is wicked, I will rule against him.' The Torah therefore says, 'Do not pervert justice against a poor person in his lawsuit,' referring to someone who is 'poor' in mitzvos." This means that although he is "poor" in mitzvos, one should not tilt the judgment against him.
FOOTNOTES
1.See Kapach, 5731, footnote 78, that the Rav Kook edition writes ivus hadin instead of ibud z'chuso. Chavel translates, "wresting judgment."
2.Ex. 23:6.
3.Ibid.
Negative Commandment 273
Dispensing Proper Justice
"You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment"—Leviticus 19:15.
A judge is forbidden from distorting justice; he may not deviate from the Torah law regarding a case's verdict.
Full text of this Mitzvah »
• Dispensing Proper Justice
Negative Commandment 273
Translated by Berel Bell
The 273rd prohibition is that a judge is forbidden from judging unjustly.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement,1 "Do not pervert justice."
This prohibition means that the judge may not violate any rulings established by the Torah regarding when a person is guilty or innocent.
FOOTNOTES
1.Lev. 19:15.
• Today's Mitzvah
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
Negative Commandment 279
Pity for One who Murdered or Maimed
"And your eye shall not have pity"—Deuteronomy 19:21.
A judge may not have pity and show leniency on one who murdered or maimed another. He may not say, "This poor person unintentionally amputated his fellow's arm, or knocked out his eye," and then show leniency with regards to the requisite restitution. [And similarly with regards to showing mercy in a capital case.]
Full text of this Mitzvah »• Pity for One who Murdered or Maimed
Negative Commandment 279
Translated by Berel Bell
The 279th prohibition is that a judge is forbidden from having pity on a murderer, or on having a person who caused someone loss of limb to pay the penalty. He should not say, "This person is poor, and he cut off the other person's hand or blinded his eye unintentionally," and therefore out of pity be lenient regarding the full payment of damages.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement,1 "Do not have pity in such a case, [since you must take] a life for a life, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, and a foot for a foot." This prohibition is repeated in the verse,2 "Do not have pity on the [killer], and rid Israel of [those who shed] innocent blood."
FOOTNOTES
1.Deut. 19:21.
2.Ibid., 19:13.
Negative Commandment 277
Favoring an Indigent Defendant
"You shall not favor a poor man in his cause"—Exodus 23:3.
A judge may not have mercy on an indigent litigant and improperly rule in his favor. The judge may not think, "This litigant is poor, and both the rich person [who is suing him] and I are commanded to provide for his sustenance. I will therefore rule in his favor and he will thus have his needs met in an honorable fashion."
Rather, a judge may not differentiate between the wealthy and the destitute, and if the law calls for it, he must find the poor person guilty and require him to pay that which he owes.
Full text of this Mitzvah »• Favoring an Indigent Defendant
Negative Commandment 277
Translated by Berel Bell
The 277th prohibition is that a judge is forbidden from having pity on a poor person by favoring him unjustly in judgment. He must rather treat the rich and poor equally, and require them to pay whatever the judgment is.1
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement,2 "Do not favor [even] the poorest man in his lawsuit." This prohibition is repeated in the verse,3 "Do not give special consideration to the poor."
The Sifra4 says, "He should not say, 'He is poor, and since both I and the rich litigant are required to support him, I will rule in his favor, and he will be supported in an honorable way.' The Torah therefore says, 'Do not give special consideration to the poor.'"
FOOTNOTES
1.See Kapach, 5731, footnote 75.
2.Ex. 23:3.
3.Lev. 19:15.
4.Kedoshim 4:2.
Negative Commandment 275
Favoring a Litigant
"You shall not honor an important person"—Leviticus 19:15.
A judge may not show favoritism to one of the litigants in the course of a trial, even if that individual is a highly respected and great person. The judge may not accord him honor or demonstrate any sign of favoritism whatsoever.
Full text of this Mitzvah »• Favoring a Litigant
Negative Commandment 275
Translated by Berel Bell
The 275th prohibition is that a judge is forbidden from favoring one of the litigants during a trial. Even if he is very important and distinguished, he shall not accord him any honor when he comes to court with the other litigant, and not show him any special respect.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement1 (exalted be He), "Do not show respect to the great."
The Sifra2 says, "One should not think, 'He is wealthy and from a distinguished family — how can I embarrass him and witness his shame?' Certainly [one who thinks this way] will not shame him. The Torah therefore says, 'Do not show respect to the great.' "
The details of this mitzvah are explained in many passages in tractates Sanhedrin and Shavuos.3
FOOTNOTES
1.Lev. 19:15.
2.[Kedoshim 4:3.
3.30a.
Negative Commandment 278
Condemning an Evil Litigant
"You shall not pervert the judgment of the impoverished in his cause"—Exodus 23:6.
A judge is enjoined not to rule against a litigant due to the fact that he is known to be an evil sinner. In the words of our Sages, "An upright person and an evil person are standing before you in trial. You may not say, 'Since he is evil, I will rule against him.'"
(The Sages understand the word "impoverished" in the afore-cited verse as meaning "impoverished in good deeds.")
Full text of this Mitzvah »• Condemning an Evil Litigant
Negative Commandment 278
Translated by Berel Bell
The 278th prohibition is that a judge is forbidden from tilting judgment against one of the litigants whom he knows to be a wicked transgressor. G‑d (exalted be He), prohibits punishing him by ignoring his merits.1
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement2 (exalted be He), "Do not pervert justice against a poor person in his lawsuit."
The Mechilta3 says, "If a wicked man and an honest man stand before him in judgment, he should not say, 'Since he is wicked, I will rule against him.' The Torah therefore says, 'Do not pervert justice against a poor person in his lawsuit,' referring to someone who is 'poor' in mitzvos." This means that although he is "poor" in mitzvos, one should not tilt the judgment against him.
FOOTNOTES
1.See Kapach, 5731, footnote 78, that the Rav Kook edition writes ivus hadin instead of ibud z'chuso. Chavel translates, "wresting judgment."
2.Ex. 23:6.
3.Ibid.
Negative Commandment 273
Dispensing Proper Justice
"You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment"—Leviticus 19:15.
A judge is forbidden from distorting justice; he may not deviate from the Torah law regarding a case's verdict.
Full text of this Mitzvah »
• Dispensing Proper Justice
Negative Commandment 273
Translated by Berel Bell
The 273rd prohibition is that a judge is forbidden from judging unjustly.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement,1 "Do not pervert justice."
This prohibition means that the judge may not violate any rulings established by the Torah regarding when a person is guilty or innocent.
FOOTNOTES
1.Lev. 19:15.
• Rambam - 1 Chapter a Day She'ar Avot haTum'ah - Chapter 8
• She'ar Avot haTum'ah - Chapter 8
• Rambam - 3 Chapters a Day Sanhedrin veha`Onashin haMesurin lahem - Chapter 16, Sanhedrin veha`Onashin haMesurin lahem - Chapter 17, Sanhedrin veha`Onashin haMesurin lahem - Chapter 18
1
Whenever one touches a primary derivative of impurity with his hands, whether that primary derivative was an impure person, k'li, food, or liquid, his hands - until his joints - alone become impure. Similarly, if a person inserts his hands into the inner space of an earthenware container that contracted impurity from a primary source of impurity or he inserted his hands into a house that is deemed impure due to tzara'at, his hands become impure. The impurity of hands is a Rabbinic decree.
א
כל הנוגע בידיו בראשון לטומאה בין שהיה אותו ראשון אדם או כלי או אוכל או משקין טמאין נטמאו ידיו בלבד עד הפרק וכן המכניס ידיו לאויר כלי חרס שנטמא באב הטומאה או שהכניס ידיו לבית מנוגע נטמאו ידיו וטומאת הידים מד"ס:
2
Hands that contracted impurity are always considered as a secondary derivative according to Rabbinic Law. For their impurity is a Rabbinic decree, and when it was decreed that they would be impure, it was decreed that their status would be that of a secondary derivative. Even when one inserts his hands into a house that is deemed impure due to tzara'at or touches with his hands a person who imparts impurity to his garments before that person has separated himself from the source of his impurity, the person's hands are secondary derivatives.
ב
הידים שניות מד"ס לעולם שאין טומאתן אלא מדבריהם וכשגזרו טומאה עליהן גזרו שיהיו כשני לטומאה אפילו הכניס ידיו לבית המנוגע או שנגע בידיו באדם שמטמא בגדים עד שלא פירש ממטמאיו הרי ידיו שניות:
3
Piggul, notar, and remnants of flour from the meal offerings are considered as primary derivatives of impurity. Primary and secondary derivatives are counted if other entities come in contact with them. Therefore, an egg-sized portion of them imparts impurity to hands.
Piggul and notar may not be combined to reach an egg-sized measure even though they both share that same measure. The rationale is that the impurity of hands is a Rabbinic safeguard. Other impure foods, by contrast, are combined to reach that measure. For impure foods do not impart impurity unless there is an egg-sized portion present.
ג
הפיגול והנותר וצריד של מנחות הרי הן כראשון לטומאה ומונין בהן ראשון ושני לפיכך מטמאין את הידים בכביצה ואין הפיגול והנותר מצטרפין אע"פ ששיעורן שוה בכביצה הואיל וטומאת הידים מדבריהן אבל שאר האוכלין מצטרפין שאין אוכלים טמאין מטמאין את הידים עד שיהיו כביצה:
4
Even though the thigh bone of a sacrificial animal that was either piggul or notar is intact, when a person touches it with his hands, his hands contract ritual impurity. For the bones of sacrificial animals that became either piggul or notar impart impurity to hands, because they serve as the base for a forbidden entity.
ד
קולית הפיגול או הנותר אע"פשהיא סתומה הנוגע בה בידיו נטמאו ידיו שהעצמות של קדשים ששמשו נותר או פיגול מטמאין את הידים הואיל ונעשו בסיס לדבר האסור:
5
When sacrificial meat is taken outside its appropriate place, there is an unresolved question whether it imparts impurity to hands or not. Therefore, it does not impart impurity, for if there is a doubt with regard to the impurity of hands, they are considered pure, as will be explained. If meat from a Paschal sacrifice was taken outside the home where it is being eaten, it is pure. We assume that the members of the company are vigilant.
ה
בשר קודש שיצא חוץ למחיצתו הרי הוא ספק אם מטמא את הידים או לא לפיכך אינו מטמא שספק טומאת הידים טהור כמו שיתבאר ואם בשר פסח שיצא חוץ לבית הוא הרי הוא טהור בני חבורה זריזין הן:
6
The concept of impurity of hands does not apply in the Temple. At the time that Sages established their decree regarding the impurity of hands, they did not apply it to the Temple. Instead, if a person touches impure foods or the like - whether he touched them in the Temple or outside the Temple - and then touched sacrificial foods in the Temple, he does not impart impurity to them. If he touches sacrificial foods outside the Temple, he imparts impurity to them. Similarly, he disqualifies terumah, as will be explained.
ו
אין טומאת ידים במקדש שבשעה שגזרו טומאה על הידים לא גזרו במקדש אלא הנוגע באוכלין טמאים וכיוצא בהן בין שנגע במקדש בין שנגע חוץ למקדש ונגע בקדשים במקדש לא טמאן ואם נגע חוץ למקדש ה"ז מטמא את הקדש ופוסל את התרומה כמו שיתבאר:
7
When one of a person's hands become impure and he touches the other one, the other remains pure. It is sufficient for him to wash the impure hand.
When does the above apply? With regard to terumah. With regard to sacrificial foods, by contrast, if one of a person's hands become impure and he touches the other one, he imparts impurity to the other. Both of them must be immersed in a mikveh before touching sacrificial foods. For terumah, by contrast, it is sufficient to wash one's hands to purify them.
ז
מי שנטמאת ידו אחת ונגעה באחרת האחרת טהורה ונוטל את הטמאה ודיו במה דברים אמורים לתרומה אבל לקדש אם נטמאת ידו אחת ונגע בשנייה טימאה ושתיהן צריכות טבילה לקדש אבל לתרומה בנטילת ידים בלבד יטהרו ידיו:
8
King Solomon and his court decreed that hands are always considered as secondary derivatives of impurity, even if one does not know with certainty that they contracted impurity, for "hands are busy."
Solomon decreed that hands were impure only with regard to sacrificial foods. Afterwards, the later Sages extended the decree also with regard to terumah. Therefore it is necessary to wash one's hands before partaking of terumah. If one touched terumahbefore he washed his hands, the terumah is disqualified. It is burnt because of this impurity.
ח
שלמה המלך ובית דינו גזרו על כל הידים שיהיו שניות ואף על פי שלא ידע בודאי שנטמאו מפני שהידים עסקניות ולא גזר שלמה על הידים טומאה אלא לקדש ואחר כך גזרו חכמים שאחריו אף לתרומה ולפיכך צריך נטילת ידים לתרומה ואם נגע בתרומה קודם שיטול ידיו פסולה ונשרפת על טומאה זו:
9
A person may wrap his hands in a napkin and partake ofterumah without washing his hands. We do not suspect that he will touch the terumah. He should not do this when partaking of ordinary food that is being eaten under the stringencies that apply to the purity of sacrificial food or terumah, lest he touch it, for he is not that careful with regard to it.
ט
לט אדם ידיו במפה ואוכל תרומה בלא נטילת ידים ואין חוששין שמא יגע אבל לא יעשה כן בחולין שנעשו על טהרת הקדש או על טהרת תרומה גזירה שמא יגע לפי שאינו מקפיד עליהן:
10
Since a person's hands are considered second degree derivatives of impurity, if they touch liquids, they cause them to be considered as primary derivatives. If such liquids touch foods, they cause them to be considered as secondary derivatives. If such liquids touch other liquids, they cause them to be considered as primary derivatives, for liquids are always considered as primary derivatives, as we explained. Such liquids that contracted impurity due to contact with hands do not impart impurity to keilim, for the fundamental impurity of the hands is of Rabbinic origin.
Similarly, our Sages decreed that any person who partook of impure foods - whether the foods were primary or secondary derivatives of impurity - or who drank impure liquids should be considered as a secondary derivative of impurity until he immerses in a mikveh. If he touches foods, he causes them to be considered as a tertiary derivative. If he touches liquids, even ordinary liquids, he causes them to be considered as a primary derivative and they impart impurity to other foods and liquids. They do not impart impurity to keilim, because the impurity contracted by this person is fundamentally a Rabbinic decree.
Why was it decreed that a person who partakes of impure foods contracts impurity? For perhaps he will partake of food that is a primary or secondary derivative of impurity and, at the same time, drink a liquid that is terumah. The liquid that is terumah will contract impurity from the food in his mouth. Similarly, if a person is drinking impure liquids, there was concern that he might eat food that isterumah with them and impart impurity to it because of the liquids in his mouth. We have already explained in Hilchot Terumah that it is forbidden to partake of impure terumah.
י
הואיל והידים שניות אם נגעו במשקה עשאום תחילה ואם נגעו משקין אלו באוכלין עושין אותן שני ואם נגעו במשקין אחרים עושין אותן תחילה שהמשקין תחלה לעולם כמו שביארנו אבל אין משקין אלו שנטמאו מחמת הידים מטמאין כלים שעיקר טומאת הידים מדבריהם וכן גזרו חכמים על כל אדם שיאכל אוכלין טמאין בין שאכל אוכל ראשון או אוכל שני ועל כל השותה משקין טמאים שיהיה שני לטומאה עד שיטבול ואם נגע באוכלין עשאן שלישי ואם נגע במשקין אפילו משקה חולין עשאן תחלה לטמא אוכלין ומשקין אחרים אבל לא לטמא כלים הואיל ועיקר טומאת אדם זה מדבריהם ומפני מה גזרו טומאה על האוכל אוכלין טמאים שמא יאכל אוכל ראשון או שני וישתה עליו משקה תרומה ונמצא המשקה תרומה טמא באוכל שבפיו וכן השותה משקין טמאים שמא יאכל עמהן אוכל תרומה ונמצא טמא במשקין שבפיו וכבר ביארנו בתרומות שאסור לאכול תרומה טמאה:
11
A person who contracts impurity because he partook of impure foods does not contract impurity unless he partakes of a quarter of a loaf of bread which is the size of an egg and a half when judged generously. Similarly, one who contracts impurity from drinking does not contract impurity unless he drinks a revi'it of impure liquids. All types of foods can be combined to comprise the sum of a quarter of a loaf that disqualifies the body of a person who partakes of them. And all liquids can be combined to comprise the sum of a revi'it. If one eats or drinks less than these measures, he is pure.
The following rule applies if one ate a small amount, then waited, and then ate some more. If he ate the required measure within the time it usually takes to eat half a loaf, the quantities are combined. If not, they are not combined. Similarly, if he drank a small amount, then waited, and then drank some more, if he drank the required measure] within the time it usually takes to eat half a loaf, the quantities are combined. If not, they are not combined.
The following rule applies if one ate less than the minimum measure, immersed in a mikveh, ascended, and immediately ate more. If he did not wait between eating and there is less time than it usually takes to eat half a loaf between the eating that preceded the immersion and the eating that followed it, they can be combined.
יא
אינו מתטמא עד שיאכל מאכלים טמאים כחצי פרס שהוא כביצה ומחצה שוחקת וכן השותה אינו מתטמא עד שישתה ממשקין טמאין רביעית וכל האוכלין מצטרפין לכחצי פרס לספול את הגוויה וכל המשקין מצטרפין לרביעית ואם אכל או שתה פחות משיעור זה טהור אכל מעט ושהה ואכל מעט אם יש מתחלה ועד סוף כדי אכילת פרס מצטרפין ואם לאו אין מצטרפין וכן אם שתה מעט ושהה ושתה מעט אם יש מתחלה ועד סוף כדי אכילת פרס מצטרפין ואם לאו אין מצטרפין אכל פחות מכשיעור וטבל ועלה ואכל מעט מיד אם לא שהה ביניהן והרי בין אכילה שלפני טבילה ושלאחר טבילה בכדי אכילת פרס הרי אלו מצטרפין:
12
When a woman who is a primary derivative of impurity nurses her son, her son is pure. The Sages did not decree that he would be impure. Even if one would say that the infant nursed a revi'it of milk, it is possible that from the beginning to the end, doing so took more time than it usually takes to eat half a loaf, for he does not nurse all at once.
יב
אשה שהיא ראשון לטומאה ומניקה את בנה הרי הבן טהור ולא גזרו עליו טומאה שאפילו תאמר שינק רביעית אפשר שיש מתחילה ועד סוף יתר מכדי אכילת פרס שהרי אינו יונק בבת אחת:
13
Because of the danger, our Sages granted a pregnant woman license to partake of less than the minimum measure, even though ultimately, she will partake of a larger amount. She does not need to immerse herself. Instead, she is pure.
יג
המעוברת התירו לה לאכול אוכלין טמאין פחות מכשיעור ואע"פ שהיא אוכלת הרבה מפני הסכנה ואינה צריכה טבילה אלא הרי היא טהורה:
• Sanhedrin veha`Onashin haMesurin lahem - Chapter 16
• Hayom Yom: Today's Hayom Yom
1
Just as it is a mitzvah to execute a person who is obligated to be executed; so, too, it is a positive commandment to give lashes to a person who is obligated to receive lashes, asDeuteronomy 25:2 states: 'And the judge should cause him to fall and will have him beaten in his presence.' Although transgressions punishable by lashes are adjudicated by three judges, lashes are equivalent to execution.
א
כשם שמצוה להמית את המחוייב מיתה כך מצות עשה להלקות את המחוייב מלקות שנאמר והפילו השופט והכהו לפניו ואף על פי שמלקות בשלשה במקום מיתה היא עומדת:
2
Lashes are administered in the present age in any place, according to Scriptural Law in the presence of three judges who were given semichah. This punishment is not, however, administered in the presence of three ordinary people.
ב
מלקין בזמן הזה בכ"מ מן התורה בפני שלשה סמוכין אבל לא בפני הדיוטות:
3
All the lashes that are administered by the judges of the diaspora in every place are 'stripes for rebellious conduct.'
ג
וכל מלקיות שמלקין דייני חוצה לארץ בכל מקום אינה אלא מכת מרדות:
4
A person is not punished by lashes unless his transgression was observed by witnesses and they administered a warning to him. The witnesses are questioned and cross-examined in the same manner as they are in cases involving capital punishment.
The following laws apply when a person transgresses a negative commandment that can be corrected by a positive commandment. Before the transgressor violates the negative commandment, witnesses must administer a warning, telling him: 'Do not perform this activity. If you perform it and do not fulfill the positive commandment associated with it, you will receive lashes.' If, after receiving such a warning, the transgressor violates the commandment and does not fulfill the positive commandment, he receives lashes. Although the warning involved uncertainty, - for if he fulfills the positive commandment, he will be released unpunished - an uncertain warning is considered as a warning.
ד
אין אדם לוקה אלא בעדים והתראה ובודקין העדים בדרישה ובחקירה כדרך שעושים בדיני נפשות עבר על לאו שניתק לעשה והתרו בו ואמרו לו אל תעשה דבר זה שאם תעשנו ולא תקיים עשה שבו תלקה ועבר ולא קיים העשה הרי זה לוקה אף על פי שהתראה בספק היא שאם יקיים יפטר התראת ספק התראה היא:
5
The following rules apply when a person performs a prohibited act that is punishable both by lashes and execution by the court, e.g., he slaughtered an animal and its offspring on the same day as a sacrifice to a false divinity. If he was warned that his act is punishable by execution, he is stoned to death and is not given lashes, for he is obligated for a more severe judgment. If he was given a warning only for lashes, he receives lashes.
ה
עבר עבירה שיש בה מלקות ומיתת בית דין כאחת כגון ששחט אותו ואת בנו לעבודה זרה אם התרו בו למיתה סוקלין אותו ואינו לוקה שהרי נתחייב בדין גדול מזה ואם התרו בו למלקות בלבד לוקה:
6
There is no need for the two witnesses who obligate a person for lashes, to observe other than at the time the transgression is committed. The prohibition itself, by contrast, can be established on the basis of one witness.
What is implied? One witness said: 'This substance is fat from the kidneys, 'These grapes were grown together with grain in a vineyard, 'This woman is a divorcee or a zonah." If a person partook of this food or had relations with these women after he was warned, he receives lashes, despite the fact that the essence of the prohibition was established by one witness.
When does the above apply? When he did not contradict the witness when he established the prohibition. If, however, he said: "This is not fat," "She is not a divorcee," and then he partook of the food or had relations with the woman after his denial, he does not receive lashes until the prohibition was established through the testimony of two witnesses.
ו
אינו צריך שני עדים למלקות אלא בשעת מעשה אבל האיסור עצמו בעד אחד יוחזק כיצד אמר עד אחד חלב כליות הוא זה כלאי הכרם הם פירות אלו גרושה או זונה אשה זו ואכל או בעל בעדים אחר שהתרה בו הרי זה לוקה אע"פ שעיקר האיסור בעד אחד במה דברים אמורים שלא הכחיש העד בעת שקבע האיסור אבל אם אמר אינו חלב זה וזו אינה גרושה ואכל או בעל אחר שהכחיש אינו לוקה עד שיקבעו האיסור שני עדים:
7
If the person remained silent when the one witness testifies to establish the prohibition, and after he violated the transgression and was warned, he issued a claim to contradict the witness, his words are not accepted. Instead, he receives lashes.
ז
שתק בעת שהעיד העד האחד בקביעות האיסור ואחר שעבר והתרו בו טען להכחיש העד אין שומעין לו אלא לוקה:
8
How are lashes administered? The transgressor's two hands are bound to a pillar on either side. The community attendant takes hold of his clothes and pulls downward. If they tear at the front, that is satisfactory; if the tear at the sides, that is satisfactory. He continues until he uncovers his heart. The rationale is that he should not administer lashes on his garment, as indicated byDeuteronomy 25:2: "And he shall strike him," i.e., "him," and not his garment.
A stone is placed behind him. The attendant who administers the lashes stands on it. He holds a strap of calf's leather that is folded into two, and a second one, making four, and two straps of donkey leather attached to it that rise and descend with it.
The strap is a handbreadth wide and it is long enough to reach the transgressor's belly. The handle of the strap is a handbreadth wide.
ח
כיצד מלקין אותו כופת שתי ידיו על העמוד אילך ואילך וחזן הכנסת אוחז בבגדיו אם נקרעו נקרעו ואם נפרמו נפרמו עד שהוא מגלה את לבו שאינו מכהו על כסותו שנאמר והכהו ולא לכסותו והאבן נתונה מאחוריו שהחזן המכה עומד עליה ורצועה של עגל בידו כפולה לשנים ושנים לארבעה ושתי רצועות של חמור עולות ויורדות בו ורוחב הרצועה טפח וארכה כדי שתהא מגעת עד פי כריסו ויד של רצועות שאוחז בה ארכה טפח:
9
The man administering the lashes should be heavily endowed with knowledge and minimally endowed with physical power. He should lift up the strap with both his hands and strike him with one hand, with all his power.
He should strike him with a third of the lashes on his front, i.e., on his breast, between his nipples, and two thirds of the lashes on his back, one third on one shoulder and the other third on the other shoulder.
ט
האיש המכה צריך להיות יתר בדעה וחסר בכח ומגביה את הרצועות בשתי ידיו ומכה בידו אחת בכל כחו ומלקהו שליש מלפניו [על חזהו] בין דדיו ושני שלישים מאחוריו שליש על כתף זה ושליש על כתף זה:
10
The person receiving the lashes should not stand, nor should he sit. Instead, he should bend over asDeuteronomy 25:2 states: "The judge shall cast him down." The verse continues: "And he shall strike him before him." This implies that the attention of the judge should be focused upon him. He should not look at other matters while having him lashed. From this, we learn that two people are never lashed at the same time.
י
המוכה אינו עומד ולא יושב אלא מוטה שנאמר והפילו השופט והכהו לפניו שיהו עיניו של שופט בו לא שיהיה מביט בדבר אחר ומכהו מכאן שאין מכים שנים כאחד:
11
Through the time the person is being lashed, the judge of the highest stature reads the passage Deuteronomy 28:58ff: "If you are not careful to heed and to perform... in an extraordinary way, God will increase the blows against you and your offspring...." He should have the intent to complete the passage with the lashes. If the lashes are not completed, he should return to the beginning of the passage and read it again - and again if necessary until all the lashes are administered.
The judge of intermediate stature counts the lashes and the third judge tells the attendant before each blow: "Strike him." Throughout the entire time he administers the lashes, he does so following the judge's instruction.
יא
הגדול שבדיינים קורא כל זמן שזה לוקה אם לא תשמור לעשות והפלא ה' את מכותך ומתכוין שיגמור הפסוקים עם המלקיות ואם לא גמר חוזר לתחילת המקרא וקורא וחוזר וקורא עד שתגמר כל ההכאה והשני שבדיינים מונה והשלישי אומר לחזן הכה כל זמן שמכה על פיו הוא מכה:
12
If the person receiving the lashes dies while receiving them, the attendant administering them is not liable. If he added another blow to the estimate arrived at by the judges and the person receiving the lashes dies, the attendant is exiled. If he does not die, the attendant is held liable for transgressing a negative commandment, as Deuteronomy 25:3 states: "Do not add."
Similarly, any other person who strikes a colleague violates a negative commandment. If a person who was given permission by the Torah to strike a colleague is warned not to strike him more than is required to punish his wickedness, certainly, this applies with regard to other people. For this reason, whenever a person strikes a colleague - even a servant - with a blow for which the victim would not receive a p'rutah in damages, the offender should be lashed. If, however, the blow is worth a p'rutah in damages, the offender is not lashed. The rationale is that he is obligated to make financial restitution, and a person never both receives lashes and is required to make financial restitution, as explained previously in several places.
יב
מת תחת ידו פטור ואם הוסיף רצועה אחת על האומד ומת הרי החזן גולה ואם לא מת הרי החזן עבר על מצות לא תעשה שנאמר לא יוסיף והוא הדין לכל מכה את חבירו שהוא בלא תעשה ומה אם זה שנתנה תורה רשות להכותו צוה הכתוב שלא להכותו על רשעו קל וחומר לשאר כל האדם לפיכך כל המכה את חבירו אפילו הכה עבד הכאה שאין בה שוה פרוטה לוקה אבל אם יש בה שוה פרוטה הואיל והוא חייב לשלם ממון אין אדם משלם ולוקה כמו שביארנו בכמה מקומות:
Sanhedrin veha`Onashin haMesurin lahem - Chapter 17
1
How are lashes administered to a person liable to receive them? According to his strength, as indicated by Deuteronomy 25:2: "According to his wickedness by number." The number 40 stated in the following verse is mentioned to teach that more than 40 lashes are never administered even if the person is as healthy and as strong as Samson. When, by contrast, a person is weak, the amount of lashes is reduced. For if a weak person is given many lashes, he will certainly die. Therefore our Sages said: that even a very healthy person is given only 39 lashes. For if accidentally an extra blow is administered, he will still not have been given more than the 40 which he was required to receive.
א
כיצד מלקין את המחוייב מלקות כפי כחו שנאמר כדי רשעתו במספר וזה שנאמר ארבעים שאין מוסיפין על הארבעים אפילו היה חזק ובריא כשמשון אבל פוחתין לחלש שאם יכה לחלש מכה רבה בודאי הוא מת לפיכך אמרו חכמים שאפילו הבריא ביותר מכין אותו שלשים ותשע שאם יוסיף לו אחת נמצאת שלא הכהו אלא ארבעים הראויות לו:
2
When the court estimates how many lashes the condemned is able to bear, the estimation is made in numbers that are divisible by three. If it was estimated that he could bear 20, we do not say that he should be given 21, so that the number of lashes will be divisible by three. Instead, he is given 18 lashes.
If the court estimated that he could bear 40 lashes, but when they began lashing him, they saw that he was weak and that he would not be able to bear more than the nine or twelve lashes that he already received, he is released. If they estimated that he could bear twelve and after he was lashed, they saw that he was strong and could bear more, he is released. He is not lashed more than the original estimate.
ב
כשאומדין את החוטא כמה הוא יכול לקבל אין אומדין אלא במכות הראויות להשתלש אמדוהו שיכול לקבל עשרים אין אומרין ילקה עשרים ואחת כדי שיהיו יכולין להשתלש אלא ילקה שמונה עשרה אמדוהו לקבל ארבעים ומשתחיל ללקות ראוהו חלש ואמרו אינו יכול לקבל יותר על אלו התשע או השתים עשרה שלקה הרי זה פטור אמדוהו לקבל שתים עשרה ואחר שלקה ראוהו חזק ויכול לקבל יותר הרי זה פטור ואינו לוקה יותר על האומד:
3
If, on a specific day, it was estimated that he could bear twelve lashes to be given on that day, but he was not lashed until the following day, and on the following day, he is able to bear eighteen, he receives only twelve.
If it was estimated on one day that if he was lashed on the following day, he could bear twelve and he was not lashed until the third day, at which time he was strong enough to bear eighteen, he should be given eighteen lashes. The rationale is that at the time the estimation was made, it was reckoned that he would not be lashed until a later date. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations.
ג
אמדוהו היום שילקה שתים עשרה ולא הלקוהו עד למחר והרי הוא למחר יכול לקבל שמונה עשרה אינו לוקה אלא שתים עשרה אמדוהו שילקה למחר שתים עשרה ולא לקה עד יום שלישי והרי הוא חזק לקבל שמונה עשרה לוקה שמונה עשרה שהרי בשעת האומד לא אמדוהו ללקות אלא לאחר זמן וכן כל כיוצא בזה:
4
The following rules apply when a person was obligated to receive several sets of lashes whether for the transgression of several sins, or he performed one deed that involved several transgressions and hence, caused him to be liable for several sets of lashes. Everything depends on the judges. If they made one estimation for both transgressions, he receives lashes and is absolved. If not, he is given lashes, given time to recuperate, and then given lashes again.
What is implied? He was held liable for two transgressions punishable by lashes. The court estimated that he could bear 45 lashes, once he receives these 45, he is absolved from further punishment. If, however, they estimated the amount of lashes he could bear for one transgression, and they gave him three, nine, or thirty lashes according to their estimation, we wait until he is healed, and estimate how many lashes he can bear for the second lashing until he is given all the lashings for which he is obligated.
ד
מי שנתחייב מלקיות הרבה בין על עבירות הרבה בין על מעשה אחד שחייבין עליו מלקיות הרבה אם אמדוהו אומד אחד לוקה ופטור ואם לאו לוקה ומתרפא וחוזר ולוקה כיצד נתחייב שתי מלקיות ואמדו שיכול הוא לקבל ארבעים וחמש כיון שלקה ארבעים וחמש נפטר אבל אם אמדוהו למלקות אחת והכהו שלש או תשע או שלשים כמו האומד הרי זה מתרפא וחוזרין ואומדין אותו למלקות שנייה עד שילקה לכל מלקיות שהוא חייב בהן:
5
When it was estimated that a person could bear a specific number of lashes, they began lashing him and he became discomfited because of the power of the blows and either defecated or urinated, he is not given any more lashes. This is derived from Deuteronomy 25:3: "and your brother will be degraded before your eyes." Since he was discomfited, he is absolved.
If, however, he became discomfited from fear before being beaten, even if he became discomfited when he was taken out from the court to be lashed, and even if he became discomfited on the previous evening, he is given all the lashes that it was estimated that he could bear.
If one estimation was made for two transgressions punishable by lashes, and he becomes discomfited, whether in the midst of the first set of 40 or the second set of 40, he is absolved. If the lash became severed in the midst of the second lashing, he is absolved. If it became severed in the midst of the first lashing, he is absolved from the first set of lashes, but is given the lashes of the second set.
ה
מי שאמדוהו וכשהתחיל ללקות נתקלקל מכח ההכאה בין בריעי בין במימי רגלים אין מכין אותו יותר שנאמר ונקלה אחיך לעיניך כיון שנקלה פטור אבל אם נתקלקל מן הפחד מקודם ההכאה אפילו נתקלקל משיצא מבית דין ללקות ואפילו מבערב הרי זה לוקה כל האומד שאמדוהו אמדוהו לשתי מלקיות ולקה ונתקלקל בין בראשונה בין בשנייה פטור נפסקה הרצועה בשנייה פוטרין אותו נפסקה בראשונה נפטר ממלקות ראשונה ולוקה האומד השני:
6
If they bound him to the pillar to be lashed, and he severed the ties and fled, he is absolved. We do not force him to return.
ו
כפתוהו על העמוד ללקות וכרת את המיתרים וברח פטור ואין מחזירין אותו:
7
Whenever a person sins and is lashed, he returns to his original state of acceptability, as implied by the verse: "And your brother will be degraded before your eyes." Once he is lashed, he is "your brother."
9Similarly, all those obligated for kerait who received lashes are absolved for kerait.
ז
כל מי שחטא ולקה חוזר לכשרותו שנאמר ונקלה אחיך לעיניך כיון שלקה הרי הוא אחיך אף כל מחוייבי כרת שלקו נפטרו מידי כריתתן:
8
When a High Priest sins, he is lashed on the basis of the judgment of a court of three like people at large. Afterwards, he returns to his position of eminence.
ח
כהן גדול שחטא לוקה בשלשה כשאר כל העם וחוזר לגדולתו:
9
When, by contrast, the head of the academy transgresses, he is given lashes in the presence of a court of three, but does not return to his position of authority. He also is not reinstated as one of the other judges of the Sanhedrin. The rationale is that we ascend higher in matters of holiness, and do not descend.
ט
אבל ראש הישיבה שחטא מלקין אותו ואינו חוזר לשררותו גם אינו חוזר להיות כאחד משאר הסנהדרין שמעלין בקודש ולא מורידין:
Sanhedrin veha`Onashin haMesurin lahem - Chapter 18
1
These are the individuals who receive lashes:
a) anyone who transgresses a negative commandment punishable by kerait, but which is not punishable by execution by the court, e.g., a person who eats either fats, blood, or chametz on Passover,
b) anyone who transgresses a negative commandment punishable by death at the hand of heaven, e.g., a person who eats tevel, or a priest who eats terumah that is ritually pure, while he is in a state of ritual impurity,
c) anyone who involves a negative prohibition that involves a deed, e.g., a person who eats milk and meat or who wears sha'atnez.
When, however, a prohibition does not involve a deed, i.e., a gossiper, a person who takes revenge, or who bears a grudge, and a judge who hears a false report, a violator does not receive lashes.
א
אלו הן הלוקין כל העובר על לא תעשה שחייבין עליו כרת ואין בו מיתת בית דין כגון אוכל חלב ודם וחמץ בפסח וכן כל העובר על לא תעשה שחייבין עליו מיתה בידי שמים כגון אוכל טבל וכהן טמא שאכל תרומה טהורה וכן כל העובר על לאו שיש בו מעשה כגון אוכל בשר בחלב או לובש שעטנז אבל לאו שאין בו מעשה כגון הולך רכיל ונוקם ונוטר ונושא שמא שוא אינו לוקה:
2
Whenever a prohibition does not involve a deed, it is not punishable by lashes except for a person who takes a false oath, a person who transfers the sanctity of one sacrificial animal to another, and one who curses a colleague using God's name. Similarly, any prohibition punishable by execution by the court, e.g., "Do not commit adultery," or do not perform labor on the Sabbath is not punishable by lashes.
Whenever a prohibition requires financial recompense, e.g., "Do not rob," or "Do not steal," it is not punishable by lashes. Whenever a prohibition can be corrected by the performance of a positive commandment, e.g., "Do not take the mother together with the offspring," or "Do not complete the reaping of the corners of your field," it is not punishable by lashes, unless one does not perform the positive commandment.
Similarly, a prohibition of a general nature is not punishable by lashes. All other Scriptural prohibitions are punishable by lashes.
ב
כל לאו שאין בו מעשה אין לוקין עליו חוץ מנשבע ומימר ומקלל את חבירו בשם וכל לאו שניתן לאזהרת מיתת בית דין כגון לא תנאף לא תעשה מלאכה בשבת אין לוקין עליו וכל לאו שניתן לתשלומין כגון לא תגזול ולא תגנוב אין לוקין עליו וכל לאו שניתק לעשה כגון לא תקח האם על הבנים לא תכלה פאת שדך אין לוקין עליו אלא אם לא קיים עשה שבהן ועל לאו שבכללות אין לוקין עליו ושאר כל הלאוין שבתורה לוקין עליהן:
3
What is meant by a prohibition of a general nature? A prohibition that includes many matters, e.g., Leviticus 19:26,: "Do not eat over the blood." Similarly, if the Torah states: "Do not do this and this," since a prohibition was not explicitly stated with regard to each deed, these prohibitions are not punishable by lashes unless the Torah divides them into separate prohibitions or it is conveyed via the Oral Tradition that they have been divided.
What is implied? Exodus 12:9 states: "Do not partake of it partially roasted or cooked." If a person partakes of a portion of the Paschal sacrifice while it is partially roasted and another portion that has been cooked at the same time, he does not receive two sets of lashes, only one.
With regard to chadash, Leviticus 22:14 states: "You shall not partake of bread, roasted grain, or fresh grain...." A violator is liable for three sets of lashes for these three transgressions. According to the Oral Tradition, we learned that a distinction is to be made.
It is also written: "There shall not be found among you one passes his son or daughter through the fire, one who divines...." Even though all the matters are included in one prohibition, in other places, the Torah distinguishes them as separate prohibitions, asLeviticus 19:26 states: "Do not augur and do not read omens." This teaches that each one is a separate prohibition. Similar principles apply in all analogous situations.
ג
אי זהו לאו שבכללות זה לאו אחד שכולל עניינים הרבה כגון לא תאכלו על הדם וכן אם נאמר לא תעשה דבר פלוני ופלוני הואיל ולא ייחד לו לאו לכל אחד ואחד מהן אין לוקין על כל אחד ואחד אלא אם כן חלק אותה בלאוין אחרים או נאמר מפי השמועה שנחלקו כיצד כגון זה שנאמר אל תאכלו ממנו נא ובשל מבושל אינו לוקה על הנא והמבושל שתים אלא אחת ובחדש הוא אומר ולחם וקלי וכרמל לא תאכלו וחייב על שלשתן שלש מלקיות מפי השמועה למדו שזה לחלק הרי נאמר לא ימצא בך מעביר בנו ובתו באש קוסם קסמים ואף על פי שכלל כל העניינים בלאו אחד הרי חלק אותם בלאוין אחרים ואמר לא תנחשו ולא תעוננו מלמד שכל אחד מהן בלאו בפני עצמו וכן כל כיוצא בזה:
4
The following rules apply when a person receives lashes in a court because of the violation of a prohibition punishable bykerait, and then received lashes a second time for the violation of that same prohibition - e.g., he ate forbidden fat, received lashes for it, and then ate forbidden fat again and received lashes for it. If he eats such fat a third time, he is not given lashes. Instead, he is compelled to enter a kipah, a narrow place that is his height where he cannot lie down. He is given meager portions of bread and water until his digestive tract contracts and he becomes ill. Afterwards, we feed him barley until his stomach bursts.
ד
מי שלקה בבית דין על איסור כרת ולקה פעם שנייה על אותו כרת עצמו כגון שאכל חלב ולקה עליו ואכל חלב פעם שנייה ולקה עליו אם אכל פעם שלישית אין מלקין אותו אלא מכניסין אותו לכיפה והוא מקום צר כפי קומתו ואינו יכול לשכב בו ונותנין לו לחם צר ומים לחץ עד שיצרו מעיו ויכלה ואח"כ מאכילין אותו שעורים עד שכריסו נבקעת:
5
When a person violates a prohibition punishable by kerait or by execution by the court and received a warning beforehand, if he nodded his head, or remained silent and did not acknowledge the warning, we do not execute him, as explained above, nor do we give him lashes. If he repeats this transgression, receives a warning, nods his head, or remains silent, we neither execute him or give him lashes. If he repeats this transgression a third time, receives a warning, even though he merely nodded his head or remained silent, he is placed in a kipah until he dies.
All these individuals who did not acknowledge the warning they received are given "stripes for rebellious behavior" for they did at least commit a sin. Even a person who violates a Rabbinic prohibition is given "stripes for rebellious behavior."
ה
מי שעבר על איסור כרת או מיתת בית דין והתרו בו והרכין בראשו או שתק ולא קבל עליו התראה אין הורגין אותו כמו שביארנו ואין מלקין אותו חזר ועשה כך והתרו בו והרכין בראשו או שתק אין ממיתין אותו ואין מלקין אותו חזר פעם שלישית ועבר והתרו בו אע"פ שהרכין בראשו או שתק כונסין אותו לכיפה עד שימות וכל אלו שלא קבלו עליהן ההתראה מכין אותן מכת מרדות הואיל וחטאו מכל מקום אפילו על איסור של דברי סופרים מכין אותו מכת מרדות:
6
When a person steals one of the sacrificial vessels from the Temple, curses God's name using the name of a false divinity, or has relations with an idolatrous gentile woman, the court does not deal with this matter. Instead, the zealous strike them. Whoever slays them merits. Similarly, when a priest served in the Temple while ritually impure, his priestly brethren would not bring him to court. Instead, the young priests take him out of the Temple Courtyard and crack his head open with logs.
It is a Scriptural decree that the court does not execute a person or have him lashed because of his own admission. Instead, the punishments are given on the basis of the testimony of two witnesses. Joshua's execution of Achan and David's execution of the Amalekite convert because of their own statements was a directive of immediate relevance only or was by royal fiat. TheSanhedrin, however, may not execute or lash a person who admits committing a transgression, lest he become crazed concerning this matter. Perhaps he is one of those embittered people who are anxious to die and pierce their reins with swords or throw themselves from the rooftops. Similarly, we fear that such a person may come and admit committing an act that he did not perform, so that he will be executed. The general principle is the disqualification of a person's own testimony is a decree of the king.
ו
הגונב כלי שרת מן המקדש והמקלל בקוסם והבועל ארמית אין בית דין נזקקין להן אלא הקנאין פוגעין בהן וכל שהורגן זכה וכן כהן ששמש בטומאה לא היו אחיו הכהנים מביאין אותו לבית דין אלא פרחי כהונה היו מוציאין אותו חוץ לעזרה ופוצעין את מוחו בגזירין גזירת הכתוב היא שאין ממיתין בית דין ולא מלקין את האדם בהודאת פיו אלא על פי שנים עדים וזה שהרג יהושע עכן ודוד לגר עמלקי בהודאת פיהם הוראת שעה היתה או דין מלכות היה אבל הסנהדרין אין ממיתין ולא מלקין המודה בעבירה שמא נטרפה דעתו בדבר זה שמא מן העמלין מרי נפש הוא המחכים למות שתוקעין החרבות בבטנם ומשליכין עצמן מעל הגגות שמא כך זה יבא ויאמר דבר שלא עשה כדי שיהרג וכללו של דבר גזירת מלך היא:
• Shabbat, 28 Elul, 5776 · 1 October 2016
• "Today's Day"
• Tuesday, Elul 28, 5703
Torah lessons: Chumash: Ha'azinu, Shlishi with Rashi.
Tehillim: 135-139. Also 82-84.
Tanya: In a precisely (p. 495) ...of blessed memory. (p. 495).
"G-d's blessing brings wealth."1 This is so in general, but especially to whoever gives of his time to occupy himself with the community's needs in matters of charity and strengthening Judaism; as the saying goes, "G-d does not remain in debt". For every good thing a person does, he is recompensed grandly by G-d, with children, health and livelihood, in abundance.
FOOTNOTES
1.Mishlei, 10:22.
• Daily Thought:• "Today's Day"
• Tuesday, Elul 28, 5703
Torah lessons: Chumash: Ha'azinu, Shlishi with Rashi.
Tehillim: 135-139. Also 82-84.
Tanya: In a precisely (p. 495) ...of blessed memory. (p. 495).
"G-d's blessing brings wealth."1 This is so in general, but especially to whoever gives of his time to occupy himself with the community's needs in matters of charity and strengthening Judaism; as the saying goes, "G-d does not remain in debt". For every good thing a person does, he is recompensed grandly by G-d, with children, health and livelihood, in abundance.
FOOTNOTES
1.Mishlei, 10:22.
Let Him In
So strange.
We trust that He is good, and that all He does is good.
Yet we pray. Because to us things don’t look so good. After all, His goodness is so distant from us. Beyond our understanding. Far beyond.
If so, shouldn’t we simply continue to trust? To surrender to a higher understanding?
Yet He asks us to pray. To complain and to kvetch. And He listens. And He answers our prayers.
Because this is what He most desires from us: that we make room for Him in our lives, in all that matters to us as flesh and blood human beings.
And that begins when we share with Him those things that touch us most deeply. Deep within our hearts.
“Serve G‑d, your G‑d, with all your heart,” the Torah says. The sages ask, “What kind of service do you do with your heart?”
And they answer, “Prayer.”
Pour out your heart to Him. It is the one place He can only enter once you let Him in.
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