Torah Reading
Lech-Lecha: Genesis 12:1 Now Adonai said to Avram, “Get yourself out of your country, away from your kinsmen and away from your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, I will bless you, and I will make your name great; and you are to be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, but I will curse anyone who curses you; and by you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
4 So Avram went, as Adonai had said to him, and Lot went with him. Avram was 75 years old when he left Haran. 5 Avram took his wife Sarai, his brother’s son Lot, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, as well as the people they had acquired in Haran; then they set out for the land of Kena‘an and entered the land of Kena‘an.
6 Avram passed through the land to the place called Sh’khem, to the oak of Moreh. The Kena‘ani were then in the land. 7 Adonai appeared to Avram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to Adonai, who had appeared to him.
8 He left that place, went to the hill east of Beit-El and pitched his tent. With Beit-El to the west and ‘Ai to the east, he built an altar there and called on the name of Adonai. 9 Then Avram traveled on, continuing toward the Negev. 10 But there was a famine in the land, so Avram went down into Egypt to stay there, because the famine in the land was severe.
11 When he came close to Egypt and was about to enter, he said to Sarai his wife, “Here now, I know that you are a good-looking woman; 12 so that when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife,’ and kill me but keep you alive. 13 Please say that you are my sister, so that it will go well with me for your sake, and so that I will stay alive because of you.”
(ii) 14 When Avram entered Egypt, the Egyptians did notice that the woman was very beautiful. 15 Pharaoh’s princes saw her and commended her to Pharaoh, so the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 He treated Avram well for her sake, giving him sheep, cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels.
17 But Adonai inflicted great plagues on Pharaoh and his household because of Sarai Avram’s wife. 18 Pharaoh called Avram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my own wife? Now therefore, here is your wife! Take her, and go away!” 20 So Pharaoh gave orders concerning him to his men, and they sent him on his way with his wife and everything he had.
13:1 Avram went up from Egypt — he, his wife and everything he had, and Lot with him — into the Negev. 2 Avram became wealthy, with much cattle, silver and gold. 3 As he went on his travels from the Negev, he came to Beit-El, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beit-El and ‘Ai, 4 where he had first built the altar; and there Avram called on the name of Adonai.
(iii) 5 Lot, who was traveling with Avram, also had flocks, herds and tents. 6 But the land could not support their living together, because their possessions were too great for them to remain together. 7 Moreover, quarreling arose between Avram’s and Lot’s herdsmen. The Kena‘ani and the P’rizi were then living in the land. 8 Avram said to Lot, “Please, let’s not have quarreling between me and you, or between my herdsmen and yours, since we’re kinsmen. 9 Isn’t the whole land there in front of you? Please separate yourself from me — if you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.” 10 Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Yarden was well watered everywhere, before Adonai destroyed S’dom and ‘Amora, like the garden of Adonai, like the land of Egypt in the direction of Tzo‘ar. 11 So Lot chose all the plain of the Yarden for himself, and Lot traveled eastward; thus they separated themselves from each other. 12 Avram lived in the land of Kena‘an; and Lot lived in the cities of the plain, setting up his tent near S’dom. 13 Now the men of S’dom were evil, committing great sins against Adonai.
14 Adonai said to Avram, after Lot had moved away from him, “Look all around you from where you are, to the north, the south, the east and the west. 15 All the land you see I will give to you and your descendants forever, 16 and I will make your descendants as numerous as the specks of dust on the earth — so that if a person can count the specks of dust on the earth, then your descendants can be counted. 17 Get up and walk through the length and breadth of the land, because I will give it to you.” 18 Avram moved his tent and came to live by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hevron. There he built an altar to Adonai.
14:1 (iv) When Amrafel was king of Shin‘ar, Aryokh king of Elasar, K’dorla‘omer king of ‘Elam and Tid‘al king of Goyim; 2 they made war together against Bera king of S’dom and against Birsha king of ‘Amora, Shin’av king of Admah, Shem’ever king of Tzvoyim, and the king of Bela (which is the same as Tzo‘ar). 3 All the latter kings joined forces in the Siddim Valley, where the Dead Sea is. 4 They had served K’dorla‘omer twelve years, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
5 In the fourteenth year K’dorla‘omer and the kings with him came and defeated the Refa’im in ‘Asht’rot-Karnayim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Eimim in Shaveh-Kiryatayim 6 and the Hori at Se‘ir, their mountain, all the way to Eil-Pa’ran by the desert. 7 Next they turned back, came to ‘Ein-Mishpat (which is the same as Kadesh), and defeated all the country of the ‘Amaleki, and also the Emori, who lived in Hatzatzon-Tamar. 8 Then the kings of S’dom, ‘Amora, Admah, Tzvoyim and Bela (that is, Tzo‘ar) came out and arrayed themselves for battle in the Siddim Valley 9 against K’dorla‘omer king of ‘Elam, Tid‘al king of Goyim, Amrafel king of Admah and Aryokh king of Elasar, four kings against the five.
10 Now the Siddim Valley was full of clay pits; and when the kings of S’dom and ‘Amora fled, some fell into them; while the rest fled to the hills. 11 The victors took all the possessions of S’dom and ‘Amora and all their food supply; then they left. 12 But as they left, they took Lot, Avram’s brother’s son, and his possessions; since he was living in S’dom. 13 Someone who had escaped came and told Avram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Emori, brother of Eshkol and brother of ‘Aner; all of them allies of Avram. 14 When Avram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, who had been born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 During the night he and his servants divided his forces against them, then attacked and pursued them all the way to Hovah, north of Dammesek. 16 He recovered all the goods and brought back his nephew Lot with his goods, together with the women and the other people. 17 After his return from slaughtering K’dorla‘omer and the kings with him, the king of S’dom went out to meet him in the Shaveh Valley, also known as the King’s Valley.
18 Malki-Tzedek king of Shalem brought out bread and wine. He was cohen of El ‘Elyon [God Most High], 19 so he blessed him with these words:
“Blessed be Avram by El ‘Elyon,
maker of heaven of earth.
20 and blessed be El ‘Elyon,
who handed your enemies over to you.”
Avram gave him a tenth of everything.
(v) 21 The king of S’dom said to Avram, “Give me the people, and keep the goods for yourself.” 22 But Avram answered the king of S’dom, “I have raised my hand in an oath to Adonai, El ‘Elyon, maker of heaven and earth, 23 that I will not take so much as a thread or a sandal thong of anything that is yours; so that you won’t be able to say, ‘I made Avram rich.’ 24 I will take only what my troops have eaten and the share of the spoil belonging to the men who came with me — ‘Aner, Eshkol and Mamre; let them have their share.”
15:1 Some time later the word of Adonai came to Avram in a vision: “Don’t be afraid, Avram. I am your protector; your reward will be very great.” 2 Avram replied, “Adonai, God, what good will your gifts be to me if I continue childless; and Eli‘ezer from Dammesek inherits my possessions? 3 You haven’t given me a child,” Avram continued, “so someone born in my house will be my heir.” 4 But the word of Adonai came to him: “This man will not be your heir. No, your heir will be a child from your own body.” 5 Then he brought him outside and said, “Look up at the sky, and count the stars — if you can count them! Your descendants will be that many!” 6 He believed in Adonai, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
(vi) 7 Then he said to him, “I am Adonai, who brought you out from Ur-Kasdim to give you this land as your possession.” 8 He replied, “Adonai, God, how am I to know that I will possess it?” 9 He answered him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a dove and a young pigeon.” 10 He brought him all these, cut the animals in two and placed the pieces opposite each other; but he didn’t cut the birds in half. 11 Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, but Avram drove them away.
12 As the sun was about to set, a deep sleep fell on Avram; horror and great darkness came over him. 13 Adonai said to Avram, “Know this for certain: your descendants will be foreigners in a land that is not theirs. They will be slaves and held in oppression there four hundred years. 14 But I will also judge that nation, the one that makes them slaves. Afterwards, they will leave with many possessions. 15 As for you, you will join your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 Only in the fourth generation will your descendants come back here, because only then will the Emori be ripe for punishment.”
17 After the sun had set and there was thick darkness, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared, which passed between these animal parts. 18 That day Adonai made a covenant with Avram: “I have given this land to your descendants — from the Vadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River — 19 the territory of the Keni, the K’nizi, the Kadmoni, 20 the Hitti, the P’rizi, the Refa’im, 21 the Emori, the Kena‘ani, the Girgashi and the Y’vusi.”
16:1 Now Sarai Avram’s wife had not borne him a child. But she had an Egyptian slave-girl named Hagar; 2 so Sarai said to Avram, “Here now, Adonai has kept me from having children; so go in and sleep with my slave-girl. Maybe I’ll be able to have children through her.” Avram listened to what Sarai said.
3 It was after Avram had lived ten years in the land of Kena‘an that Sarai Avram’s wife took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave-girl, and gave her to Avram her husband to be his wife. 4 Avram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she conceived. But when she became aware that she was pregnant, she looked on her mistress with contempt. 5 Sarai said to Avram, “This outrage being done to me is your fault! True, I gave my slave-girl to you to sleep with; but when she saw that she was pregnant, she began holding me in contempt. May Adonai decide who is right — I or you!” 6 However, Avram answered Sarai, “Look, she’s your slave-girl. Deal with her as you think fit.” Then Sarai treated her so harshly that she ran away from her.
7 The angel of Adonai found her by a spring in the desert, the spring on the road to Shur, 8 and said, “Hagar! Sarai’s slave-girl! Where have you come from, and where are you going?” She answered, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of Adonai said to her, “Go back to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” 10 The angel of Adonai said to her, “I will greatly increase your descendants; there will be so many that it will be impossible to count them.” 11 The angel of Adonai said to her, “Look, you are pregnant, and you will give birth to a son. You are to call him Yishma‘el [God pays attention] because Adonai has paid attention to your misery. 12 He will be a wild donkey of a man, with his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, living his life at odds with all his kinsmen.”
13 So she named Adonai who had spoken with her El Ro’i [God of seeing], because she said, “Have I really seen the One who sees me [and stayed alive]?” 14 This is why the well has been called Be’er-Lachai-Ro’i [well of the one who lives and sees]; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.
15 Hagar bore Avram a son, and Avram called the son whom Hagar had borne Yishma‘el. 16 Avram was 86 years old when Hagar bore Yishma‘el to Avram.
17:1 When Avram was 99 years old Adonai appeared to Avram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai [God Almighty]. Walk in my presence and be pure-hearted. 2 I will make my covenant between me and you, and I will increase your numbers greatly.” 3 Avram fell on his face, and God continued speaking with him: 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: you will be the father of many nations. 5 Your name will no longer be Avram [exalted father], but your name will be Avraham [father of many], because I have made you the father of many nations. 6 I will cause you to be very fruitful. I will make nations of you, kings will descend from you.
(vii) 7 “I am establishing my covenant between me and you, along with your descendants after you, generation after generation, as an everlasting covenant, to be God for you and for your descendants after you. 8 I will give you and your descendants after you the land in which you are now foreigners, all the land of Kena‘an, as a permanent possession; and I will be their God.”
9 God said to Avraham, “As for you, you are to keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation after generation. 10 Here is my covenant, which you are to keep, between me and you, along with your descendants after you: every male among you is to be circumcised. 11 You are to be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; this will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 Generation after generation, every male among you who is eight days old is to be circumcised, including slaves born within your household and those bought from a foreigner not descended from you. 13 The slave born in your house and the person bought with your money must be circumcised; thus my covenant will be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who will not let himself be circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin — that person will be cut off from his people, because he has broken my covenant.”
15 God said to Avraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are not to call her Sarai [mockery]; her name is to be Sarah [princess]. 16 I will bless her; moreover, I will give you a son by her. Truly I will bless her: she will be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” 17 At this Avraham fell on his face and laughed — he thought to himself, “Will a child be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah give birth at ninety?” 18 Avraham said to God, “If only Yishma‘el could live in your presence!” 19 God answered, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you are to call him Yitz’chak [laughter]. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 But as for Yishma‘el, I have heard you. I have blessed him. I will make him fruitful and give him many descendants. He will father twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Yitz’chak, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.” 22 With that, God finished speaking with Avraham and went up from him.
23 Avraham took Yishma‘el his son, all the slaves born in his house and all who had been bought with his money, every male among the people in Avraham’s household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin that very day, just as God had said to him.
(Maftir) 24 Avraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, 25 and Yishma‘el his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 Avraham and Yishma‘el his son were circumcised on the same day; 27 and all the men in his household, both slaves born in his house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
Isaiah 40:27 Why do you complain, Ya‘akov;
why do you say, Isra’el,
“My way is hidden from Adonai,
my rights are ignored by my God”?
28 Haven’t you known, haven’t you heard
that the everlasting God, Adonai,
the Creator of the ends of the earth,
does not grow tired or weary?
His understanding cannot be fathomed.
29 He invigorates the exhausted,
he gives strength to the powerless.
30 Young men may grow tired and weary,
even the fittest may stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in Adonai will renew their strength,
they will soar aloft as with eagles’ wings;
when they are running they won’t grow weary,
when they are walking they won’t get tired.
41:1 “Keep silence before me, coastlands!
Let the peoples replenish their strength!
Let them approach; then let them speak.
Let us assemble for judgment.”
2 Who has raised from the east one who is just
and called him to be in his service?
He hands nations over to him
and subjects kings to him;
his sword reduces them to dust,
his bow to driven straw.
3 He pursues them, passing on unscathed,
hardly touching the path with his feet.
4 Whose work is this? Who has brought it about?
He who called the generations from the beginning,
“I, Adonai, am the first;
and I am the same with those who are last.”
5 The coastlands have seen and became afraid.
The ends of the earth have trembled.
They have approached, and now they have come.
6 Every one helps his fellow workman,
everyone says to his brother, “Be strong!”
7 The woodworker encourages the goldsmith,
the polisher encourages the hammerer;
he says of the soldering, “Yes, that’s good,”
then puts nails in [the idol] to keep it from moving.
8 “But you, Isra’el, my servant;
Ya‘akov, whom I have chosen,
descendants of Avraham my friend,
9 I have taken you from the ends of the earth,
summoned you from its most distant parts
and said to you, ‘You are my servant’ —
I have chosen you, not rejected you.
10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you;
don’t be distressed, for I am your God.
I give you strength, I give you help,
I support you with my victorious right hand.
11 All those who were angry with you
will be disgraced, put to shame;
those who fought against you
will be destroyed, brought to nothing.
12 You will seek them but not find them,
those who contended with you;
yes, those who made war with you
will be brought to nothing, nothing at all.
13 For I, Adonai, your God,
say to you, as I hold your right hand,
‘Have no fear; I will help you.
14 Have no fear, Ya‘akov, you worm,
you men of Isra’el!’
I will help you,” says Adonai;
“Your redeemer is the Holy One of Isra’el.
15 “I will make you into a threshing-sledge,
new, with sharp, pointed teeth,
to thresh the mountains and crush them to dust,
to reduce the hills to chaff.
16 As you fan them, the wind will carry them off,
and the whirlwind will scatter them.
Then you will rejoice in Adonai,
you will glory in the Holy One of Isra’el.
Today in Jewish History:
• Passing of Methuselah (2105 BCE)
Methuselah, the longest-lived human being of all time, died at the age of 969 years on the 11th of Cheshvan of the year 1656 from creation (2105 BCE) -- exactly seven days before the beginning of the Great Flood. Methuselah was Adam's great-great-great-great-great-grandson and Noah's grandfather.
• Passing of Rachel (1553 BCE)
The matriarch Rachel died in childbirth on the 11th of Cheshvan of the year 2208 from creation (1553 BCE) while giving birth to her second son, Benjamin.
Rachel was born in Aram (Mesopotamia) approximately 1585 BCE. Her father was Laban, the brother of Jacob's mother, Rebecca. Jacob came to Laban's home in 1576 BCE, fleeing the wrath of his brother Esau. He fell in love with Rachel and worked for seven years tending Laban's sheep in return for her hand in marriage. But Laban deceived his nephew, and on the morning after the wedding Jacob discovered that he had married Rachel's elder sister, Leah. Laban agreed to give him Rachel as a wife as well in return for another seven years' labor.
Rachel was childless for many years, while her elder sister and rival gave birth to six sons and a daughter in succession. Finally, in 1562 BCE, she gave birth to Joseph. Nine years later, while Jacob and his family were on the road to Jacob's ancestral home in Hebron (after a 22-year absence), she gave birth to a second son, but died in childbirth. Jacob buried her by the roadside, in Bethlehem; there, "Rachel weeps over her children, for they are gone [in exile]" (Jeremiah 31:14). Her tomb has served as a place of prayer for Jews for more than 35 centuries.
• Passing of R. Nachum of Chernobyl (1797)
Rabbi Nachum of Chernobyl was a disciple of the second leader of the Chassidic movement, Rabbi DovBer of Mezeritch, and the founder of the Chernobyl dynasty of Chassidic Rebbes.
Chitas and Rambam for today:
Chumash: Lech-Lecha, 7th Portion Genesis 17:7-17:27 with Rashi
• Genesis Chapter 17
7And I will establish My covenant between Me and between you and between your seed after you throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant, to be to you for a God and to your seed after you. זוַֽהֲקִֽמֹתִ֨י אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֜י בֵּינִ֣י וּבֵינֶ֗ךָ וּבֵ֨ין זַרְעֲךָ֧ אַֽחֲרֶ֛יךָ לְדֹֽרֹתָ֖ם לִבְרִ֣ית עוֹלָ֑ם לִֽהְי֤וֹת לְךָ֙ לֵֽאלֹהִ֔ים וּלְזַרְעֲךָ֖ אַֽחֲרֶֽיךָ:
And I will establish My covenant: And what is that covenant? To be to you for a God. והקמותי את בריתי: ומה הוא הברית, להיות לך לא-להים:
8And I will give you and your seed after you the land of your sojournings, the entire land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, and I will be to them for a God." חוְנָֽתַתִּ֣י לְ֠ךָ֠ וּלְזַרְעֲךָ֨ אַֽחֲרֶ֜יךָ אֵ֣ת | אֶ֣רֶץ מְגֻרֶ֗יךָ אֵ֚ת כָּל־אֶ֣רֶץ כְּנַ֔עַן לַֽאֲחֻזַּ֖ת עוֹלָ֑ם וְהָיִ֥יתִי לָהֶ֖ם לֵֽאלֹהִֽים:
for an everlasting possession: And there I will be to you for a God (Gen. Rabbah 46:9), but if one dwells outside the Holy Land, it is as though he has no God (Keth. 110b). לאחוזת עולם: ושם אהיה להם לא-להים, אבל הדר בחוצה לארץ דומה כמי שאין לו אלוה:
9And God said to Abraham, "And you shall keep My covenant, you and your seed after you throughout their generations. טוַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֔ם וְאַתָּ֖ה אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֣י תִשְׁמֹ֑ר אַתָּ֛ה וְזַרְעֲךָ֥ אַֽחֲרֶ֖יךָ לְדֹֽרֹתָֽם:
And you: Heb. וְאַתָּה. This “vav” connects [this verse] to the preceding matter. “As for Me, behold My covenant is with you,” and you must be careful to observe it. Now what does its observance entail?“This is My covenant, which you shall observe…that every male among you be circumcised.” ואתה: וא"ו זו מוסיף על ענין ראשון אני הנה בריתי אתך, ואתה הוי זהיר לשמרו, ומה היא שמירתו, (פסוק י) זאת בריתי אשר תשמרו המול לכם וגו':
10This is My covenant, which you shall observe between Me and between you and between your seed after you, that every male among you be circumcised. יזֹ֣את בְּרִיתִ֞י אֲשֶׁ֣ר תִּשְׁמְר֗וּ בֵּינִי֙ וּבֵ֣ינֵיכֶ֔ם וּבֵ֥ין זַרְעֲךָ֖ אַֽחֲרֶ֑יךָ הִמּ֥וֹל לָכֶ֖ם כָּל־זָכָֽר:
between Me and you: those living now. ביני וביניכם וגו': אותם של עכשיו:
and between your seed: who are destined to be born. ובין זרעך אחריך: העתידין להוולד:
be circumcised: Heb. הִמּוֹל, is like לְהִמּוֹל, to circumcise [the infinitive], as you might say עֲשוֹת in place of לַעֲשוֹת, to do. המול: כמו להמול כמו שאתה אומר עשות, כמו לעשות:
11And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be as the sign of a covenant between Me and between you. יאוּנְמַלְתֶּ֕ם אֵ֖ת בְּשַׂ֣ר עָרְלַתְכֶ֑ם וְהָיָה֙ לְא֣וֹת בְּרִ֔ית בֵּינִ֖י וּבֵֽינֵיכֶֽם:
And you shall circumcise: וּנְמַלְתֶּם is like וּמַלְתֶּם, and the “nun” is superfluous, a radical that sometimes appears in it, like the“nun” of נוֹשֵׁךְ and the “nun” of נוֹשֵׂא. וּנְמַלְתֶּם has the same form as וּנְשָׂאתֶם, (i.e., the Kal form). But יִמּוֹל is in the passive form (the Nifal), like יֵעָשֶׂה (it will be done), יֵאָכֵל (it will be eaten). ונמלתם: כמו ומלתם והנו"ן בו יתירה ליסוד הנופל בו לפרקים, כגון נ' של נושך ונ' של נושא. ונמלתם, כמו ונשאתם, אבל ימול לשון יפעל כמו יעשה, יאכל:
12And at the age of eight days, every male shall be circumcised to you throughout your generations, one that is born in the house, or one that is purchased with money, from any foreigner, who is not of your seed. יבוּבֶן־שְׁמֹנַ֣ת יָמִ֗ים יִמּ֥וֹל לָכֶ֛ם כָּל־זָכָ֖ר לְדֹרֹֽתֵיכֶ֑ם יְלִ֣יד בָּ֔יִת וּמִקְנַת־כֶּ֨סֶף֙ מִכֹּ֣ל בֶּן־נֵכָ֔ר אֲשֶׁ֛ר לֹ֥א מִזַּרְעֲךָ֖ הֽוּא:
one that is born in the house: whom the maidservant bore in the house. יליד בית: שילדתו השפחה בבית:
one that is purchased with money: whom he bought after he was born. ומקנת כסף: שקנאו משנולד:
13Those born in the house and those purchased for money shall be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. יגהִמּ֧וֹל | יִמּ֛וֹל יְלִ֥יד בֵּֽיתְךָ֖ וּמִקְנַ֣ת כַּסְפֶּ֑ךָ וְהָֽיְתָ֧ה בְרִיתִ֛י בִּבְשַׂרְכֶ֖ם לִבְרִ֥ית עוֹלָֽם:
Those born in the house… shall be circumcised: Here Scripture repeated it [the commandment to circumcise a slave born in the house;] but did not state [that it is to be] on the eighth day, to teach you that there is a slave born in the house who is circumcised after eight days [other editions: at the age of one day], as is delineated in Tractate Shabbath (135b). המול ימול יליד ביתך: כאן כפל עליו ולא אמר לשמונה ימים, ללמדך שיש יליד בית נמול לאחר שמנה ימים, כמו שמפורש במסכת שבת (דף קלה ב):
14And an uncircumcised male, who will not circumcise the flesh of his foreskin-that soul will be cut off from its people; he has broken My covenant." ידוְעָרֵ֣ל | זָכָ֗ר אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־יִמּוֹל֙ אֶת־בְּשַׂ֣ר עָרְלָת֔וֹ וְנִכְרְתָ֛ה הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַהִ֖וא מֵֽעַמֶּ֑יהָ אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֖י הֵפַֽר:
And an uncircumcised male: Here Scripture teaches that circumcision is in that place that distinguishes between male and female. וערל זכר: כאן למד שהמילה באותו מקום שהוא ניכר בין זכר לנקבה:
who will not circumcise: When he reaches the age when he becomes liable for punishment, then [his soul] will be cut off (Shab. 133b), but his father [who does not circumcise him] is not punishable by “kareth” (spiritual excision), but is guilty of transgressing a positive commandment (Yeb. 70b). אשר לא ימול: משיגיע לכלל עונשין ונכרתה, אבל אביו אין ענוש עליו כרת אבל עובר בעשה:
that soul will be cut off: He goes childless (Yeb. 55a) and dies prematurely (Moed Katan 28a). ונכרתה הנפש: הולך ערירי ומת קודם זמנו:
15And God said to Abraham, "Your wife Sarai-you shall not call her name Sarai, for Sarah is her name. טווַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֔ם שָׂרַ֣י אִשְׁתְּךָ֔ לֹֽא־תִקְרָ֥א אֶת־שְׁמָ֖הּ שָׂרָ֑י כִּ֥י שָׂרָ֖ה שְׁמָֽהּ:
you shall not call her name Sarai: which means “my princess,” for me, but not for others. But Sarah, in an unqualified sense, shall be her name, that she will be a princess over all. — [from Ber. 13a] לא תקרא את שמה שרי: דמשמע שרי לי ולא לאחרים כי שרה סתם שמה, שתהא שרה על כל:
16And I will bless her, and I will give you a son from her, and I will bless her, and she will become [a mother of] nations; kings of nations will be from her. " טזוּבֵֽרַכְתִּ֣י אֹתָ֔הּ וְגַ֨ם נָתַ֧תִּי מִמֶּ֛נָּה לְךָ֖ בֵּ֑ן וּבֵֽרַכְתִּ֨יהָ֙ וְהָֽיְתָ֣ה לְגוֹיִ֔ם מַלְכֵ֥י עַמִּ֖ים מִמֶּ֥נָּה יִֽהְיֽוּ:
And I will bless her: And what is the blessing? That she returned to her youth, as it is said (below 18:12): “My skin has become smooth.” - [from B.M. 87a] וברכתי אותה: ומה הוא הברכה, שחזרה לנערותה, שנאמר (לקמן יח יב) אחרי בלותי היתה לי עדנה:
and I will bless her: with breast feeding, when she required it, on the day of Isaac’s feast, for people were murmuring against them, that they had brought a foundling from the street and were saying, “He is our son.” So each one brought her child with her, but not her wet nurse, and she (Sarah) nursed them all. That is what is said (below 21:7): “Sarah has nursed children.” Gen. Rabbah (53:9) alludes slightly to this. — [from B.M. 87a] וברכתיה: בהנקת שדים, כשנצרכה לכך ביום משתה של יצחק, שהיו מרננים עליהם שהביאו אסופי מן השוק ואומרים בננו הוא, והביאה כל אחת בנה עמה ומניקתה לא הביאה, והיא היניקה את כולם, הוא שנאמר (כא ז) היניקה בנים שרה. בראשית רבה (נג ט) רמזו במקצת:
17And Abraham fell on his face and rejoiced, and he said to himself, "Will [a child] be born to one who is a hundred years old, and will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth?" יזוַיִּפֹּ֧ל אַבְרָהָ֛ם עַל־פָּנָ֖יו וַיִּצְחָ֑ק וַיֹּ֣אמֶר בְּלִבּ֗וֹ הַלְּבֶ֤ן מֵאָֽה־שָׁנָה֙ יִוָּלֵ֔ד וְאִ֨ם־שָׂרָ֔ה הֲבַת־תִּשְׁעִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה תֵּלֵֽד:
And Abraham fell on his face and rejoiced: Heb. וַיִּצְחָק. Onkelos renders this as an expression of joy, וַחֲדִי “and he rejoiced,” but the one [וַתִּצְחָק] in the case of Sarah (below 18:12) [he renders] as an expression of laughter. You learn that Abraham believed and rejoiced, but Sarah did not believe and ridiculed, and for this reason, the Holy One, blessed be He, was angry with Sarah, but was not angry with Abraham. ויפל אברהם על פניו ויצחק: זה תירגם אנקלוס וחדי, לשון שמחה, ושל שרה לשון מחוך. למדת שאברהם האמין ושמח, ושרה לא האמינה ולגלגה. וזהו שהקפיד הקב"ה על שרה ולא הקפיד על אברהם:
Will [a child] be born to on, etc.: There are questions which are positive assertions, like (I Sam. 2:27): הֲנִגְלֹה נִגְלֵיתִי, “Did I appear?” [meaning: “of course I appeared!”]; (II Sam. 15:27): הֲרֹאֶה אַתָּה, “Do you see?” [meaning: “of course you see!”] This too is a positive assertion, and so did he say to himself, “Was such kindness done to anyone else, that the Holy One, blessed be He, is doing for me?” הלבן: יש תמיהות שהן קיימות כמו (ש"א ב כז) הנגלה נגליתי, (ש"ב טו כז) הרואה אתה, אף זו היא קיימת, וכך אמר בלבו הנעשה חסד זה לאחר מה שהקב"ה עושה לי:
and will Sarah, who is ninety years old: Shall she be worthy of giving birth? Now although the first generations begot children at the age of five hundred, in Abraham’s time, the years were already lessened, and weakness had come to the world. Go out and learn this from the ten generations from Noah to Abraham, who hastened to beget children at the age of sixty and seventy. ואם שרה הבת תשעים שנה: היתה כדאי לילד. ואף על פי שדורות הראשונים היו מולידין בני חמש מאות שנה, בימי אברהם נתמעטו השנים כבר ובא תשות כח לעולם, וצא ולמד מעשרה דורות שמנח ועד אברהם שמיהרו תולדותיהן בני ששים ובני שבעים:
18And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael will live before You!" יחוַיֹּ֥אמֶר אַבְרָהָ֖ם אֶל־הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים ל֥וּ יִשְׁמָעֵ֖אל יִֽחְיֶ֥ה לְפָנֶֽיךָ:
If only Ishmael will live: If only Ishmael will live! I do not deserve to receive such a reward as this. לו ישמעאל יחיה: הלואי שיחיה ישמעאל, איני כדאי לקבל מתן שכר כזה:
will live before You: [This means]: [“Let him] live in fear of You,” as in (verse 1): “Walk before Me,” [which Onkelos renders:]“Serve Me.” [following Targum Jonathan] יחיה לפניך: יחיה ביראתך, כמו (פסוק א) התהלך לפני, פלח קדמי:
19And God said, "Indeed, your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac, and I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his seed after him. יטוַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֗ים אֲבָל֙ שָׂרָ֣ה אִשְׁתְּךָ֗ יֹלֶ֤דֶת לְךָ֙ בֵּ֔ן וְקָרָ֥אתָ אֶת־שְׁמ֖וֹ יִצְחָ֑ק וַֽהֲקִֽמֹתִ֨י אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֥י אִתּ֛וֹ לִבְרִ֥ית עוֹלָ֖ם לְזַרְע֥וֹ אַֽחֲרָֽיו:
Indeed: אֲבָל is an expression of a confirmation of a statement, and likewise (below 42:21): “Indeed (אֲבָל), we are guilty”; (II Kings 4:14): “Indeed (אֲבָל), she has no son.” - [from Targumim] אבל: לשון אמתת דברים, וכן (לקמן מב כא) אבל אשמים אנחנו, (מ"ב ד יד) אבל בן אין לה:
and you shall name him Isaac: Heb. יִצְחָק, because of the rejoicing (צְחוֹק) (Mid. Chaseroth v’Yetheroth). And some say: because of the ten (י) trials, and Sarah’s ninety (צ) years, and the eighth (ח) day on which he was circumcised, and Abraham’s hundred (ק) years. (Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer , ch. 32). (Other editions: “And My covenant.” Why is this written? Is it not already written (verse 9): “And you shall keep My covenant, you and your seed, etc.?” But because He said (verse 7): “And I will establish, etc.,” one might think that the sons of Ishmael and the sons of Keturah are included in the establishment [of the covenant]. Therefore, Scripture states: “And I will establish My covenant with him,” and not with others. Now, why does it say [again in verse 21]: “But My covenant I will establish with Isaac?” This teaches us that he was holy from the womb. Another explanation [for the repetition of verse 19]: Said Rabbi Abba: Scripture here derives an a fortiori conclusion regarding the son of the mistress from [what is written regarding] the son of the handmaid. It is written here: “Behold I have blessed him, and I will make him fruitful, and I will multiply him.” This refers to Ishmael. How much more so, “But My covenant I will establish with Isaac!” (Gen. Rabbah 47:5). וקראת את שמו יצחק: על שם הצחוק. ויש אומרים על שם י' נסיונות, וצ' שנה של שרה, וח' ימים שנימול, וק' שנה של אברהם. והקימותי את בריתי למה נאמר, והרי כבר כתיב (פסוק ט) ואתה את בריתי תשמור אתה וזרעך וגו' אלא לפי שאומר (פסוק ז) והקמותי וגו', יכול בני ישמעאל ובני קטורה בכלל הקיום, תלמוד לומר והקמותי את בריתי אתו, ולא עם אחרים. ואת בריתי אקים את יצחק, למה נאמר, [אלא למד שהיה קדוש מבטן]. דבר אחר אמר ר' אבא מכאן למד קל וחומר בן הגבירה מבן האמה, כתיב (פסוק כ) כי הנה ברכתי אותו והפריתי אותו והרביתי אותו, זה ישמעאל וקל וחומר ואת בריתי אקים את יצחק:
My covenant: The covenant of circumcision shall be given over [only] to the seed of Isaac. See Sanh. 59. את בריתי: ברית המילה תהא מסורה לזרעו של יצחק:
20And regarding Ishmael, I have heard you; behold I have blessed him, and I will make him fruitful, and I will multiply him exceedingly; he will beget twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. כוּלְיִשְׁמָעֵאל֘ שְׁמַעְתִּ֒יךָ֒ הִנֵּ֣ה | בֵּרַ֣כְתִּי אֹת֗וֹ וְהִפְרֵיתִ֥י אֹת֛וֹ וְהִרְבֵּיתִ֥י אֹת֖וֹ בִּמְאֹ֣ד מְאֹ֑ד שְׁנֵֽים־עָשָׂ֤ר נְשִׂיאִם֙ יוֹלִ֔יד וּנְתַתִּ֖יו לְג֥וֹי גָּדֽוֹל:
twelve princes: Heb. נְשִׂיאִים. They will disappear like clouds, as (Prov. 25:14): Clouds (נְשִׂיאִים) and wind. — [from Gen. Rabbah 47:5] שנים עשר נשיאם: כעננים יכלו, כמו (משלי כה יד) נשיאים ורוח:
21But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year." כאוְאֶת־בְּרִיתִ֖י אָקִ֣ים אֶת־יִצְחָ֑ק אֲשֶׁר֩ תֵּלֵ֨ד לְךָ֤ שָׂרָה֙ לַמּוֹעֵ֣ד הַזֶּ֔ה בַּשָּׁנָ֖ה הָֽאַחֶֽרֶת:
22And He finished speaking with him, and God went up from above Abraham. כבוַיְכַ֖ל לְדַבֵּ֣ר אִתּ֑וֹ וַיַּ֣עַל אֱלֹהִ֔ים מֵעַ֖ל אַבְרָהָֽם:
from above Abraham: This is a euphemism used in reference to the Shechinah, and we learn that the righteous are the chariot of the Omnipresent. — [from Gen. Rabbah 47:6, 82:6] מעל אברהם: לשון נקיה הוא כלפי שכינה, ולמדנו שהצדיקים מרכבתו של מקום:
23And Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house and all those purchased with his money, every male of the people of Abraham's household, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on that very day, as God had spoken with him. כגוַיִּקַּ֨ח אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֶת־יִשְׁמָעֵ֣אל בְּנ֗וֹ וְאֵ֨ת כָּל־יְלִידֵ֤י בֵיתוֹ֙ וְאֵת֙ כָּל־מִקְנַ֣ת כַּסְפּ֔וֹ כָּל־זָכָ֕ר בְּאַנְשֵׁ֖י בֵּ֣ית אַבְרָהָ֑ם וַיָּ֜מָל אֶת־בְּשַׂ֣ר עָרְלָתָ֗ם בְּעֶ֨צֶם֙ הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֔ה כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֛ר דִּבֶּ֥ר אִתּ֖וֹ אֱלֹהִֽים:
on that very day: On the very day that he was commanded (Mid. Ps. 112:2), during the day and not at night. He was afraid neither of the heathens nor of the scorners. [He circumcised in the light of day] so that his enemies and his contemporaries would not say,“Had we seen him, we would not have allowed him to circumcise and to fulfill the commandment of the Omnipresent” (Gen. Rabbah 47:9). בעצם היום: בו ביום שנצטוה, ביום ולא בלילה, לא נתיירא לא מן הגוים ולא מן הלצנים, ושלא יהיו אויביו ובני דורו אומרים אילו ראינוהו לא הנחנוהו למול ולקיים מצותו של מקום:
and he circumcised: Heb. וַיָמָל, an expression in the וַיִפְעַל form, (the active [kal] form.) וימל: לשון ויפעל:
24And Abraham was ninety-nine years old, when he was circumcised of the flesh of his foreskin. כדוְאַ֨בְרָהָ֔ם בֶּן־תִּשְׁעִ֥ים וָתֵ֖שַׁע שָׁנָ֑ה בְּהִמֹּל֖וֹ בְּשַׂ֥ר עָרְלָתֽוֹ:
when he was circumcised: Heb. בְּהִמֹּלוֹ, when it was done to him, like (above 2:4): “when they were created (בְּהִבָּרְאָם).” בהמולו: בהפעלו, כמו (ב ד) בהבראם:
25And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised of the flesh of his foreskin. כהוְיִשְׁמָעֵ֣אל בְּנ֔וֹ בֶּן־שְׁל֥שׁ עֶשְׂרֵ֖ה שָׁנָ֑ה בְּהִ֨מֹּל֔וֹ אֵ֖ת בְּשַׂ֥ר עָרְלָתֽוֹ:
when he was circumcised of the flesh of his foreskin: Concerning Abraham, it does not say אֵת, because he was lacking only the severing of the flesh, because it had already been flattened out by intercourse, but Ishmael, who was a youth, required that the foreskin be severed and the corona be uncovered. Therefore, in his case, it is אֵת. Gen. Rabbah (47:8). בהמולו את בשר ערלתו: באברהם לא נאמר את, לפי שלא היה חסר אלא חתוך בשר, שכבר נתמעך על ידי תשמיש, אבל ישמעאל שהיה ילד הוזקק לחתוך ערלה ולפרוע המילה, לכך נאמר בו את:
26On that very day, Abraham was circumcised, and [so was] Ishmael his son. כובְּעֶ֨צֶם֙ הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֔ה נִמּ֖וֹל אַבְרָהָ֑ם וְיִשְׁמָעֵ֖אל בְּנֽוֹ:
On that very day: when Abraham reached the age of ninety-nine and Ishmael [reached the age of] thirteen,“Abraham was circumcised, and [so was] Ishmael his son.” בעצם היום הזה: שמלאו לאברהם תשעים ותשע שנה ולישמעאל שלש עשרה שנים נמול אברהם וישמעאל בנו:
27And all the people of his household, those born in his house and those bought with money from foreigners, were circumcised with him. כזוְכָל־אַנְשֵׁ֤י בֵיתוֹ֙ יְלִ֣יד בָּ֔יִת וּמִקְנַת־כֶּ֖סֶף מֵאֵ֣ת בֶּן־נֵכָ֑ר נִמֹּ֖לוּ אִתּֽוֹ:
Daily Tehillim: Psalms Chapters 60-65
• Chapter 60
This psalm tells of when Joab, David's general, came to Aram Naharayim for war and was asked by the people: "Are you not from the children of Jacob? What of the pact he made with Laban?" Not knowing what to answer, Joab asked the Sanhedrin. The psalm includes David's prayer for success in this war.
1. For the Conductor, on the shushan eidut. A michtam by David, to instruct,
2. when he battled with Aram Naharayim and Aram Tzovah, and Joab returned and smote Edom in the Valley of Salt, twelve thousand [men].
3. O God, You forsook us, You have breached us! You grew furious-restore us!
4. You made the earth quake, You split it apart-heal its fragments, for it totters!
5. You showed Your nation harshness, You gave us benumbing wine to drink.
6. [Now] give those who fear You a banner to raise themselves, for the sake of truth, Selah.
7. That Your beloved ones may be delivered, help with Your right hand and answer me.
8. God said with His Holy [Spirit] that I would exult; I would divide Shechem, and measure out the Valley of Succot.
9. Mine is Gilead, mine is Menasseh, and Ephraim is the stronghold of my head; Judah is my prince.
10. Moab is my washbasin, and upon Edom I will cast my shoe; for me, Philistia will sound a blast [of coronation].
11. Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will lead me unto Edom?
12. Is it not You, God, Who has [until now] forsaken us, and did not go forth with our legions?
13. Grant us relief from the oppressor; futile is the salvation of man.
14. With God we will do valiantly, and He will trample our oppressors.
Chapter 61
David composed this prayer while fleeing from Saul. The object of all his thoughts and his entreaty is that God grant him long life-not for the sake of pursuing the pleasures of the world, but rather to serve God in awe, all of his days.
1. For the Conductor, on the neginat, by David.
2. Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer.
3. From the end of the earth I call to You, when my heart is faint [with trouble]: Lead me upon the rock that surpasses me!
4. For You have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength in the face of the enemy.
5. I will dwell in Your tent forever; I will take refuge in the shelter of Your wings, Selah.
6. For You, God, heard my vows; You granted the inheritance of those who fear Your Name.
7. Add days to the days of the king; may his years equal those of every generation.
8. May he sit always before God; appoint kindness and truth to preserve him.
9. Thus will I sing the praise of Your Name forever, as I fulfill my vows each day.
Chapter 62
David prays for the downfall of his enemies. He also exhorts his generation that their faith should not rest in riches, telling them that the accumulation of wealth is utter futility.
1. For the Conductor, on the yedutun,1 a psalm by David.
2. To God alone does my soul hope; my salvation is from Him.
3. He alone is my rock and salvation, my stronghold; I shall not falter greatly.
4. Until when will you plot disaster for man? May you all be killed-like a leaning wall, a toppled fence.
5. Out of their arrogance alone they scheme to topple me, they favor falsehood; with their mouths they bless, and in their hearts they curse, Selah.
6. To God alone does my soul hope, for my hope is from Him.
7. He alone is my rock and salvation, my stronghold; I shall not falter.
8. My salvation and honor is upon God; the rock of my strength-my refuge is in God.
9. Trust in Him at all times, O nation, pour out your hearts before Him; God is a refuge for us forever.
10. Men are but vanity; people [but] transients. Were they to be raised upon the scale, they would be lighter than vanity.
11. Put not your trust in exploitation, nor place futile hope in robbery. If [corrupt] wealth flourishes, pay it no heed.
12. God spoke one thing, from which I perceived two: That strength belongs to God;
13. and that Yours, my Lord, is kindness. For You repay each man according to his deeds.
FOOTNOTES
1.A musical instrument (Metzudot).
Chapter 63
Hiding from Saul, and yearning to approach the place of the Holy Ark like one thirsting for water, David composed this prayer on his behalf and against his enemy.
1. A psalm by David, when he was in the Judean desert.
2. O God, You are my Almighty, I seek You! My soul thirsts for You, my flesh longs for You; [like one] in a desolate and dry land, without water,
3. so [I thirst] to see You in the Sanctuary, to behold Your might and glory.
4. For Your kindness is better than life; my lips shall praise You.
5. Thus will I bless you all my life, in Your Name I will raise my hands [in prayer].
6. As with fat and abundance my soul is sated, when my mouth offers praise with expressions of joy.
7. Indeed, I remember You upon my bed; during the watches of the night I meditate upon You.
8. For You were a help for me; I sing in the shadow of Your wings.
9. My soul cleaved to You; Your right hand supported me.
10. But they seek desolation for my soul; they will enter the depths of the earth.
11. They will drag them by the sword; they will be the portion of foxes.
12. And the king will rejoice in God, and all who swear by Him will take pride, when the mouths of liars are blocked up.
Chapter 64
The masters of homiletics interpret this psalm as alluding to Daniel, who was thrown into the lion's den. With divine inspiration, David foresaw the event and prayed for him. Daniel was a descendant of David, as can be inferred from God's statement to Hezekiah (himself of Davidic lineage), "And from your children, who will issue forth from you, they will take, and they (referring to, amongst others, Daniel) will be ministers in the palace of the king of Babylon."
1. For the Conductor, a psalm by David.
2. Hear my voice, O God, as I recount [my woes]; preserve my life from the terror of the enemy.
3. Shelter me from the schemes of the wicked, from the conspiracy of evildoers,
4. who have sharpened their tongue like the sword, aimed their arrow-a bitter word-
5. to shoot at the innocent from hidden places; suddenly they shoot at him, they are not afraid.
6. They encourage themselves in an evil thing, they speak of laying traps; they say: "Who will see them?”
7. They sought pretexts; [and when] they completed a diligent search, each man [kept the plot] inside, deep in the heart.
8. But God shot at them; [like] a sudden arrow were their blows.
9. Their own tongues caused them to stumble; all who see them shake their heads [derisively].
10. Then all men feared, and recounted the work of God; they perceived His deed.
11. Let the righteous one rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in Him, and let them take pride-all upright of heart.
Chapter 65
This psalm contains awe-inspiring and glorious praises to God, as well as entreaties and prayers concerning our sins. It declares it impossible to recount God's greatness, for who can recount His mighty acts? Hence, silence is His praise.
1. For the Conductor, a psalm by David, a song.
2. Silence is praise for You, O God [Who dwells in] Zion; and to You vows will be paid.
3. O Heeder of prayer, to You does all flesh come.
4. Matters of sin overwhelm me; You will pardon our transgressions.
5. Fortunate is [the nation] whom You choose and draw near, to dwell in Your courtyards; may we be sated with the goodness of Your House, with the holiness of Your Sanctuary.
6. Answer us with awesome deeds as befits Your righteousness, O God of our salvation, the security of all [who inhabit] the ends of the earth and distant seas.
7. With His strength He prepares [rain for] the mountains; He is girded with might.
8. He quiets the roar of the seas, the roar of their waves and the tumult of nations.
9. Those who inhabit the ends [of the earth] fear [You] because of Your signs; the emergences of morning and evening cause [man] to sing praise.
10. You remember the earth and water it, you enrich it abundantly [from] God's stream filled with water. You prepare their grain, for so do You prepare it.
11. You saturate its furrows, gratifying its legions; with showers You soften it and bless its growth.
12. You crown the year of Your goodness [with rain], and Your clouds drip abundance.
13. They drip on pastures of wilderness, and the hills gird themselves with joy.
14. The meadows don sheep, and the valleys cloak themselves with grain; they sound blasts, indeed they sing.
Tanya: Iggeret HaKodesh, beginning of Epistle 27
• Lessons in Tanya
• Today's Tanya Lesson
• Shabbat, 11 Cheshvan, 5777 · 12 November 2016
• Iggeret HaKodesh, beginning of Epistle 27
• Part (a)
• Rambam: Sefer Hamitzvos:
• Shabbat, 11 Cheshvan, 5777 · 11 November 2016
• Today's Mitzvah
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
• Important Message Regarding This Lesson
The Daily Mitzvah schedule runs parallel to the daily study of 3 chapters of Maimonides' 14-volume code. There are instances when the Mitzvah is repeated a few days consecutively while the exploration of the same Mitzvah continues in the in-depth track.
Positive Commandment 10
The Shema
"And you shall talk of them ... when you lie down and when you rise up"—Deuteronomy 6:7.
We are commanded to recite the Shema twice daily: morning and night. Women are not obligated in this time-bound mitzvah.
Full text of this Mitzvah »• The Shema
Positive Commandment 10
Translated by Berel Bell
The 10th mitzvah is that we are commanded to recite the Shema1 daily, both in the evening and in the morning.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement (exalted be He),2 "And you shall speak of them when you sit in your house [and when you walk on the road, when you lie down and when you rise.]"
The details of this mitzvah have been explained in the tractate Berachos. There3 it is explained that reciting Shema is a Biblical requirement.4
The Tosefta5 explains [regarding the mitzvah of prayer]: "Just as the Torah established the time for reciting Shema, so our Sages established a time for prayer." The meaning of this statement is as follows: Although prayer itself is ordained by the Torah, as explained above,6 the set times for prayer are not. The Sages established the times for prayer. This is also the meaning of the statement,7 "The prayers were established to correspond to the tamid sacrifices."8 This means that the Sages established the times of prayer to correspond to the times of the sacrifices.9
Women are not obligated in this mitzvah.
FOOTNOTES
1.Deut. 6:4.
2.Deut. 6:7.
3.Berachos 21a.
4.The Rambam brings this to prove that this mitzvah, since it is Biblical in origin, counts among the 613.
5.Berachos, beginning of Ch. 3.
6.P5.
7.Berachos 26a.
8.See P39.
9.These passages prove that not only is the recital of Shema itself ordained by the Torah, but that the times are also ordained by the Torah. This makes reciting Shema a mitzvah she'ha'zman groma — a mitzvah connected with a set time — from which women are exempt. See Yad HaLevi on Sefer Hamitzvos, P10, note 1.
• Positive Commandment 5
Prayer
"And you shall serve the L-rd, your G-d"—Exodus 23:25.
We are commanded countless times throughout the Torah to serve G-d. Although this is a general commandment, it does contain a very specific application: prayer, service of the heart as expressed through the mouth.
Full text of this Mitzvah »
• Lessons in Tanya
• Today's Tanya Lesson
• Shabbat, 11 Cheshvan, 5777 · 12 November 2016
• Iggeret HaKodesh, beginning of Epistle 27
• Part (a)
The Alter Rebbe wrote this letter of condolence to his chassidim in 1788 after the passing of his colleague and mentor, the saintly R. Mendele of Vitebsk (or Horodok), who had settled in the Holy Land in 1777. It concludes by rousing them to the mitzvah of tzedakah in general, and particularly of maintaining the family of R. Mendel.
The Alter Rebbe is here addressing chassidim who in the past had benefited from their connection with the tzaddik both through his advice and blessings on material matters, and through his guidance in matters of the spirit. He comforts them, therefore, with the teaching of the Zohar that a tzaddik is to be found in this world after his passing to a greater extent than while he was physically alive. His disciples are thus able to receive his guidance in their Torah study and divine service to an even greater degree than before. Materially, too, the tzaddik protects this world after his passing even more effectively than he did during his lifetime.
מה שכתב ליושבי ארצנו הקדושה, תבנה ותכונן במהרה בימינו, אמן
This letter was written [by the Alter Rebbe] to the [chassidic] inhabitants of the Holy Land (May it speedily be rebuilt and reestablished in our own days, Amen!),1
לנחמם בכפליים לתושיה
to console them with redoubled support2
על פטירת הרב הגאון המפורסם, איש אלקים קדוש, נר ישראל, עמוד הימין, פטיש החזק, מורנו הרב ר׳ מנחם מענדל, נשמתו עדן
over the passing of the celebrated rabbi and Gaon, holy man of G‑d,3 “lamp of Israel, pillar of the right hand, mighty hammer,”4 our mentor R. Menachem Mendel (May his soul rest in Eden!).
* * *
אהוביי אחיי ורעיי אשר כנפשי כו׳
My beloved, my brethren and friends, who are [as dear] and so forth [to me] as my soul.
Likkutei Haggahot on Tanya likens the opening three terms of address to the three Scriptural terms of endearment successively addressed by a king to his beloved daughter in the parable cited by the Midrash:5 “My beloved” recalls the paternal love expressed by the phrase “my daughter”; “my brethren” recalls the fraternal love expressed by the phrase “my sister”; and “my friends” recalls the filial love expressed by the phrase “my mother.” The further phrase “as my soul” indicates the love that one has for his own life, as in the phrase of the Zohar,6 “he called her by his own name”; while “and so forth” indicates a love even greater — a bond with the ultimate soul-level of Yechidah.
ה׳ עליהם, יחיו חיים עד העולם
May [the Name of] G‑d be upon you,7 and may you live forever,
According to the above interpretation of Likkutei Haggahot, the Alter Rebbe’s blessing that “the Name of G‑d be upon you” is intended to elicit a transcendent mode of Divine benevolence, while the blessing “may you live forever” is intended to draw down this transcendent benevolence so that it can be internalized within its finite recipients. (Or, in the terms of Chassidut, it is intended “to be mamshich the makkif into the pnimi.”)
וצאצאיהם אתם, זרע אמת
and your children with you, the seed of truth;
ברוכי ה׳ המה, מעתה ועד עולם
may you be blessed by G‑d for evermore.
אחרי דרישת שלומם, כמשפט לאוהבי שמו
Having first duly inquired after the welfare of those who love [G‑d’s] Name,
באתי לדבר על לב נדכאים, הנאנחים והנאנקים, ולנחמם בכפליים לתושיה
I have come to speak to the heart of the smitten, who are sighing and groaning over the passing of R. Mendele,and to console you with redoubled support
אשר שמעה אזני, ותבן לה
with what my ear has heard from others and with what I have understood myself,8
על מאמר רז״ל, דשבק חיים לכל חי
regarding the idiom used by our Sages9 to signify the passing of a tzaddik, “He has left life for all the living.”
If this simply means that others have remained alive after his passing, what are we to make of the expression “left life”? Did he leave them life? Surely, the life they are living is their own.
The Alter Rebbe will explain below that the idiom means quite literally that the tzaddik left something of his own life to others. For the true core of a tzaddik’s life is not fleshly; rather, it comprises the spiritual qualities of faith, awe and love of G‑d. When a tzaddik departs from this world he leaves over his faith, fear and love to all those who are bound to him, so that they will be able to receive even more than they received from him while he lived his physical life together with them. All three qualities are alluded to as “life” in the verses enumerated below:
כי צדיק באמונתו יחיה
For10 “a tzaddik lives by his faith,”
וביראת ה׳ לחיים
and by11 “the awe of G‑d [which leads] to life,”
וברשפי אש שלהבת אהבתו מחיים
and by12 the flashing and fiery sparks of his love [for G‑d, that is even greater] than life,
לכל בהן חיי רוחו [ונשמתו] כל ימי חלדו
investing in them — in his faith and awe and love — the life of his Ruach [13V.L.: and, moreover, of his Neshamah] throughout his life.
As the Alter Rebbe will soon say, disciples receive their influence from the soul-level of the tzaddik which is called Ruach. In addition, as explained in Likkutei Haggahot, those disciples who are also [as close as] children receive their influence from the higher soul-level called Neshamah.
ויהי בהעלות ה׳ רוחו
When, at the time of his passing, G‑d elevates his Ruach
ונשמתו אליו יאסוף
and gathers up his soul unto Himself14
ויעלה בעילוי אחר עילוי, עד רום המעלות
and he ascends from one elevation to the next, to the very highest of levels,
שבק חיי רוחו
he [then] leaves over the life of his Ruach,
פעולתו אשר עבד בה לפנים בישראל
the deeds in which he has formerly labored with Israel, i.e., the faith, fear and love which he drew down to them from his Ruach,
On a less literal level, the Hebrew word lefanim (here translated “formerly”) can also be understood to mean “to the inwardness”; i.e., the tzaddik infused and integrated this faith, fear and love into the innermost core of his disciples, this being׳—
פעולת צדיק לחיים
“the labor of a tzaddik for life,”15
Or, less literally, “a tzaddik’s labor for the living,” to provide them with life. At any rate, at the time of his passing, the tzaddik bequeaths the fruit of his lifelong labors —
לכל חי, היא נפש כל חי
to every living being, that is, to the soul of every living being who lives a life of Torah and mitzvot,
הקשורה בנפשו בחבלי עבותות אהבה רבה ואהבת עולם, בל תמוט לנצח
who is bound to his soul by the thick ropes of a magnanimous love, and an eternal love, that will not be moved forever.
אשר מי האיש החפץ חיים, לדבקה בה׳ חיים
For any man who eagerly desires life16 [and who seeks] to cleave to the living G‑d,
בעבודתו תדבק נפשו
through his service (i.e., through the divine service of the tzaddik) his soul will cleave
והיתה צרורה בצרור החיים את ה׳
and will be bound up in the bond of life with G‑d,17
בחיי רוח אפינו
in the life of the Ruach (literally, the life-giving “breath”) of our nostrils
אשר אמרנו: בצלו נחיה בגוים
of which we have said, “In its [protective] shadow we shall live among the nations.”18
This alludes to the Chayah of the tzaddik, the soul-level which is even loftier than the soul-level called Neshamah, and which infuses the followers of the tzaddik with a transcendent mode of life-force which enables them to withstand challenges from non-Jewish (i.e., unholy) sources.
אשר שבק לנו, בכל אחד ואחד
[This] he left unto us, in each and every individual,
כפי בחינת התקשרותו באמת, ואהבתו אהבת אמת הטהורה, מקרב איש ולב עמוק
corresponding to the degree of his genuine alliance with the tzaddik and his true and pure love of him, from the innermost core of man and from the depths of his heart.19
To the extent of each individual’s bond with the tzaddik, so does the tzaddik share with him his Ruach, and his faith, fear and love of G‑d.
כי כמים הפנים וכו׳
For20 “as in water, face [answers to face, so is the heart of man to man]”: the individual’s love for the tzaddikreflects back to him, eliciting a love of the tzaddik for him,
ורוח אייתי רוח ואמשיך רוח
and21 “spirit rouses spirit and brings forth spirit” — the spirit of love that one has for the tzaddik draws down the Ruach, the superior spirit of the tzaddik.
ורוחו עומדת בקרבינו ממש
For his Ruach remains truly in our midst, within those of us who are bound to him,
כי בראותו ילדיו, מעשה ידיו בקרבו, יקדישו שמו יתברך
when he sees his children, i.e., his disciples,22 who embody the work of his hands, sanctifying [G‑d’s] blessed Name.
אשר יתגדל ויתקדש, כאשר נלך בדרך ישרה אשר הורנו מדרכיו
For [His Name] is magnified and sanctified when we walk in the straight path that he has shown us of his paths,
ונלכה באורחותיו נצח סלה ועד
and we will walk in his ways forevermore.
With regard to the above sentence, the Rebbe notes that the Zohar (Part II, p. 215a; and Part III, end of Parshat Kedoshim) distinguishes between a “path” (derech) and a “way” (orach). “Path” signifies a well-trodden track which the tzaddik has cleared for common use, while “way” suggests a trail that is presently being blazed, according to the spiritual needs of the individual’s divine service. The Rebbe refers the reader to Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim (12b).
The reason that the Alter Rebbe characterizes the tzaddik’s life as consisting of faith, fear and love, is that (as explained in the very first Epistle in this series) faith is the underpinning, the “loins” that support the entire body of a man’s divine service, and this finds expression in his fear and love of G‑d, his “arms”.
* * *
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. | The Rebbe notes in his Luach HaTikkun that this letter was in fact written to chassidim in the Diaspora. The introductory statement that it was written “to the inhabitants of the Holy Land” is a copyist’s error, “since the conclusion of this letter (published in Ginzei Nistarot — Or Rav, ch. 6) urges his readers not to diminish, ‘Heaven forfend, the sacred monies that they sanctify to G‑d annually...for our masters in the Holy Land.’ He continues, moreover, that the money should be ready to be sent promptly to the Holy Land.” In a later addendum the Rebbe concludes: “The difficulty with all the above is readily understandable, for this introductory statement is found in all the editions and was seen by the Rebbeim over the generations, beginning with the author’s children and the Tzemach Tzedek.“ It would therefore seem that both things are true: The appropriate section (that which is printed here, minus the line about ‘the bearer of this letter,’ from which we also understand that this letter was edited for publication) was sent to the Holy Land, while the letter in its entirety was sent to the ‘heartbroken...of our country.’ For in any event it is reasonable to assume that the Alter Rebbe wrote a letter of consolation to the ‘heartbroken...of the Holy Land.”’ |
| 2. | Cf. Iyov 11:6. |
| 3. | Cf. II Melachim 4:9. |
| 4. | Cf. Berachot 28b. |
| 5. | Shmot Rabbah, end of Parshat Pekudei. |
| 6. | I, 154b. |
| 7. | Following the conventions of classical Hebrew, the original letter addresses its readers indirectly in the polite third person; here, for clarity’s sake, this has been rendered in the second person. |
| 8. | Cf. Ezekiel 9:4. |
| 9. | Often used in halachic responsa. Addendum of the Rebbe: “Likewise in Rambam, Hilchot Yibum, end of ch. 4, in the text of a get chalitzah and a ketubbat yevamin, [the deceased is referred to as having] ‘left life to our Rabbis and to all of Israel.’” |
| 10. | Chavakuk 2:4. |
| 11. | Mishlei 19:23. |
| 12. | Cf. Shir HaShirim 8:6, where the connection with “life” is implied by the context. |
| 13. | Brackets are in the original text. |
| 14. | Iyov 34:14. |
| 15. | Mishlei 10:16. |
| 16. | Cf. Tehillim 34:13. |
| 17. | Cf. I Shmuel 25:29. |
| 18. | Note of the Rebbe: “Quoting Eichah 4:20.” |
| 19. | Cf. Tehillim 64:7. |
| 20. | Mishlei 27:19. |
| 21. | Zohar II, 166b, et al. |
| 22. | Sifrei (quoted in Rashi) on Devarim 6:7. |
• Shabbat, 11 Cheshvan, 5777 · 11 November 2016
• Today's Mitzvah
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
• Important Message Regarding This Lesson
The Daily Mitzvah schedule runs parallel to the daily study of 3 chapters of Maimonides' 14-volume code. There are instances when the Mitzvah is repeated a few days consecutively while the exploration of the same Mitzvah continues in the in-depth track.
Positive Commandment 10
The Shema
"And you shall talk of them ... when you lie down and when you rise up"—Deuteronomy 6:7.
We are commanded to recite the Shema twice daily: morning and night. Women are not obligated in this time-bound mitzvah.
Full text of this Mitzvah »• The Shema
Positive Commandment 10
Translated by Berel Bell
The 10th mitzvah is that we are commanded to recite the Shema1 daily, both in the evening and in the morning.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement (exalted be He),2 "And you shall speak of them when you sit in your house [and when you walk on the road, when you lie down and when you rise.]"
The details of this mitzvah have been explained in the tractate Berachos. There3 it is explained that reciting Shema is a Biblical requirement.4
The Tosefta5 explains [regarding the mitzvah of prayer]: "Just as the Torah established the time for reciting Shema, so our Sages established a time for prayer." The meaning of this statement is as follows: Although prayer itself is ordained by the Torah, as explained above,6 the set times for prayer are not. The Sages established the times for prayer. This is also the meaning of the statement,7 "The prayers were established to correspond to the tamid sacrifices."8 This means that the Sages established the times of prayer to correspond to the times of the sacrifices.9
Women are not obligated in this mitzvah.
FOOTNOTES
1.Deut. 6:4.
2.Deut. 6:7.
3.Berachos 21a.
4.The Rambam brings this to prove that this mitzvah, since it is Biblical in origin, counts among the 613.
5.Berachos, beginning of Ch. 3.
6.P5.
7.Berachos 26a.
8.See P39.
9.These passages prove that not only is the recital of Shema itself ordained by the Torah, but that the times are also ordained by the Torah. This makes reciting Shema a mitzvah she'ha'zman groma — a mitzvah connected with a set time — from which women are exempt. See Yad HaLevi on Sefer Hamitzvos, P10, note 1.
• Positive Commandment 5
Prayer
"And you shall serve the L-rd, your G-d"—Exodus 23:25.
We are commanded countless times throughout the Torah to serve G-d. Although this is a general commandment, it does contain a very specific application: prayer, service of the heart as expressed through the mouth.
Full text of this Mitzvah »
• Prayer
Positive Commandment 5
Translated by Berel Bell
The 5th mitzvah is that we are commanded to serve G‑d (blessed be He). This commandment is repeated many times: And you shall serve G‑d, your L‑rd";1 "And you shall serve Him";2 "And to serve Him."3
Although this commandment is of a general nature,4 as explained in the Fourth Principle,5 [and apparently should not be included in the count of the 613 mitzvos,] nevertheless it has a specific quality, since it is the commandment to pray.
[We see that "service" is not just a general command from the following statements:] The Sifri6 says, "The verse, 'And to serve Him' means prayer." The Sages also said, "The verse, 'And to serve Him' means Torah study.
In the Mishnah of Rabbi Eliezer, the son of Rabbi Yosi HaG'lili,7 the Sages said, "What is the biblical source to include prayer among the mitzvos? From the verse, 'You shall fear G‑d, your L‑rd, and you shall serve Him.' "8
They also said,9 "Serve Him through His Torah; serve Him in His Temple." This [statement, 'serve Him in His Temple,'] means that one's goal should be to pray in the Temple or in the direction of the Temple, as King Solomon explained.10
FOOTNOTES
1.Ex. 23:25.
2.Deut. 13:5. Some versions of Sefer Hamitzvos include here Deut. 6:13, "And you shall serve Him."
3.Deut. 11:13.
4.I.e. "serving" G‑d includes performance of all the mitzvos, rather than a specific act.
5.In the Introductory section of Sefer Hamitzvos. This Principle states that a mitzvah must be of a specific nature in order to be counted among the 613 mitzvos.
6.Deut 11:13.
7.Also quoted in Migdal Oz, beginning of Hilchos Tefilah.
8.Deut. 10:20.
9.Sifri Medrash Tenaim.
10.Kings I, 8:23,35. Chronicles II, 6:32.
• Rambam - 1 Chapter a Day: Kelim - Chapter 14
• Kelim - Chapter 14
• Kri'at Shema - Chapter Three
• Shabbat, 11 Cheshvan, 5777 · 12 November 2016
• "Today's Day"
• Tuesday, Cheshvan 11, 5704
Torah lessons: Chumash: Vayeira, Shlishi with Rashi.
Tehillim: 60-65.
Tanya: XXVII. My beloved (p. 563) ...his paths forevermore. (p. 565).
(At this point there appears in the Hebrew text emendations of Torah Or on this week's sedra, meaningful only in Hebrew. Translator).
The maamar Patach Eliyahu has glosses1 by my father that he began writing in the winter of 5652 (1891-2).
FOOTNOTES
1.They have since been published by Kehot Publication Society, 5741.
• Daily Thought:
Traveling to Yourself
G‑d said to Abram, “Go to yourself, from your land, from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you.”[Genesis 12:1]
If you were not you, if you saw yourself from the eyes of another, how would you see your journeys through life?
You would see how each journey leads away from home. Away from your birthplace, from those who nurtured you and that which made you what you are. Outwards, away from yourself in so many directions.
But you see your journey from within. From within, every journey leads in one direction: Towards within. Towards yourself. Closer and yet closer.
To the land in which G‑d shows you yourself.[Maamar Lech Lecha 5738.]
-------
Positive Commandment 5
Translated by Berel Bell
The 5th mitzvah is that we are commanded to serve G‑d (blessed be He). This commandment is repeated many times: And you shall serve G‑d, your L‑rd";1 "And you shall serve Him";2 "And to serve Him."3
Although this commandment is of a general nature,4 as explained in the Fourth Principle,5 [and apparently should not be included in the count of the 613 mitzvos,] nevertheless it has a specific quality, since it is the commandment to pray.
[We see that "service" is not just a general command from the following statements:] The Sifri6 says, "The verse, 'And to serve Him' means prayer." The Sages also said, "The verse, 'And to serve Him' means Torah study.
In the Mishnah of Rabbi Eliezer, the son of Rabbi Yosi HaG'lili,7 the Sages said, "What is the biblical source to include prayer among the mitzvos? From the verse, 'You shall fear G‑d, your L‑rd, and you shall serve Him.' "8
They also said,9 "Serve Him through His Torah; serve Him in His Temple." This [statement, 'serve Him in His Temple,'] means that one's goal should be to pray in the Temple or in the direction of the Temple, as King Solomon explained.10
FOOTNOTES
1.Ex. 23:25.
2.Deut. 13:5. Some versions of Sefer Hamitzvos include here Deut. 6:13, "And you shall serve Him."
3.Deut. 11:13.
4.I.e. "serving" G‑d includes performance of all the mitzvos, rather than a specific act.
5.In the Introductory section of Sefer Hamitzvos. This Principle states that a mitzvah must be of a specific nature in order to be counted among the 613 mitzvos.
6.Deut 11:13.
7.Also quoted in Migdal Oz, beginning of Hilchos Tefilah.
8.Deut. 10:20.
9.Sifri Medrash Tenaim.
10.Kings I, 8:23,35. Chronicles II, 6:32.
• Rambam - 1 Chapter a Day: Kelim - Chapter 14
• Kelim - Chapter 14
1
Any entity that protects from ritual impurity as a sealed covering in a structure that is impure because of a human corpse, protects from ritual impurity as a sealed covering in the inner space of an earthenware container. If it can prevent an entity from contracting ritual impurity from a severe form of impurity, i.e., a structure that is impure because of a human corpse, it can be assumed that it will also prevent impurity in the more lenient instance of an earthenware container. Any entity that does not protect from ritual impurity in a structure that is impure because of a human corpse, does not protect from ritual impurity in the inner space of an earthenware container.
א
כל המציל בצמיד פתיל באהל המת מציל בצמיד פתיל באויר כלי חרס אם הציל במת החמור דין הוא שיציל בכלי חרס הקל וכל שאינו מציל באהל המת אינו מציל באויר כלי חרס:
2
Just as a sealed covering does not prevent impurity from escaping in a structure that is impure because of] a human corpse, so too, it does not prevent impurity from escaping into the inner space of an earthenware container.
What is implied? If a pot was filled with food and liquids and sealed closed and placed in an impure oven, the pot and its contents are pure. When the pot contained the carcass of a crawling animal or impure liquids, even though it is sealed closed, if it is placed in the inner space of an oven, the oven contracts impurity. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations.
ב
וכשם שאין צמיד פתיל לטומאה באהל המת כך אין צמיד פתיל לטומאה באויר כלי חרס כיצד קדירה שהיא מליאה אוכלין ומשקין ומוקפת צמיד פתיל ונתונה בתוך התנור הטמא הרי הקדירה וכל מה שבתוכה טהורין היה השרץ או משקין טמאין בתוכה ומוקפת צמיד פתיל ונתונה באויר התנור נטמא התנור [וכן כל כיוצא בזה]:
3
When an impure ring was enclosed within a brick or an impure needle was enclosed within a block of wood that fell into the inner space of an earthenware container, it contracts impurity. Even though a loaf of bread that is terumah that would touch this wood or brick would be pure, these articles impart impurity to an earthenware container by virtue of their presence in its inner space.
ג
טבעת טמאה שמובלעת בתוך הלבינה או מחט טמאה שמובלעת בתוך העץ ונפלו לאויר כלי חרס נטמא אע"פ שאם נגע ככר תרומה בעץ זה או בלבינה זו טהור הרי הן מטמאין כלי חרס מאוירו:
4
When a rooster swallows the carcass of a crawling animal or flesh from a human corpse and falls into the inner space of an oven, the oven is pure. If the rooster dies there, the oven contracts impurity. The rationale is that the fact that these entities were swallowed by a living being generates protection from the impurity in an earthenware container, just as it generates protection from impurity in a structure that is impure because of a human corpse.
ד
תרנגול שבלע שרץ או בשר מת ונפל לאויר התנור ה"ז טהור ואם מת שם התרנגול נטמא התנור שהבלועין בחי מצילין מיד כלי חרס כדרך שמצילין באהל המת:
5
Entities in a person's mouth or in the folds of his body are not considered as swallowed.
What is implied? A person had impure liquids in his mouth. If he closes his mouth and inserts his head into the inner space of an earthenware container, he imparts impurity to it. Similarly, if a pure person who had food and liquids in his mouth inserted his head into the inner space of an impure oven, the food and the liquids in his mouth contract impurity. If he had a lentil-sized portion of the carcass of a crawling animal and inserted it in the inner space of an oven, the oven contracts impurity even though the source of impurity is found in the folds of the person's body.
ה
דברים שבתוך הפה או בתוך הקמטין אינן כבלועין כיצד אדם שהיו משקין טמאין בתוך פיו וקפץ פיו והכניס ראשו לאויר כלי חרס טמאהו וכן טהור שהיו אוכלין ומשקין לתוך פיו והכניס ראשו לאויר תנור טמא נטמאו אוכלים שבפיו היה לו בתוך קומטו כעדשה מן השרץ והכניסו לאויר התנור נטמא התנור אף על פי שהטומאה בתוך הקמט:
6
When a sponge absorbed impure liquids, even though its surface is dry, if it fell into the inner space of an earthenware container, it imparts impurity to the container, because ultimately, the impurity will emerge. Similar laws apply to a piece of turnip or a reed.
When shards that were used for impure liquids became dry and fell into the inner space of an earthenware container, they do not impart impurity to it. If they fell into an oven and it was heated, they impart impurity to it, because ultimately, the liquids will emerge.
When does the above apply? With regard to impure liquids of a lesser severity. When, however, the impurity of the liquids is severe, e.g., the blood of a woman in the nidah state or her urine, if it is possible that they will emerge and the person is concerned that they emerge, they impart impurity to the oven even if was not heated. If he is not concerned that they emerge, they do not impart impurity until the oven is heated and the liquid emerges.
Similarly, when new olive dregs that come from impure liquids are used as kindling fuel for an oven, it contracts impurity, for, ultimately, the liquids will emerge. If, however, the olive dregs are old, the oven is pure. When are dregs considered old? After twelve months. When, however, it is known that liquids will emerge from the dregs when the oven will be heated, the oven contracts impurity when heated even if the dregs are three years old.
ו
ספוג שבלע משקין טמאין אע"פ שהוא נגוב מבחוץ אם נפל לאויר כלי חרס טימאה שסוף משקה לצאת וכן חתיכה של לפת ושל גמי חרסים שנשתמשו בהן משקין טמאין ונגבו ונפלו לאויר כלי חרס לא טמאוהו נפלו לתנור והוסק נטמא שסוף משקה לצאת במה דברים אמורים במשקין קלין אבל בחמורין כגון דם הנדה ומימי רגליה אם היו יכולין לצאת והקפיד עליו שיצא הרי זה מטמא התנור אף על פי שלא הוסק ואם אינו מקפיד עליו אינו מטמא עד שיוסק ויצא המשקה וכן בגפת חדשה הבאה ממשקין טמאין שהוסק בה התנור נטמא שסוף משקה לצאת אבל בישנה טהור איזו היא ישנה לאחר שנים עשר חדש ואם ידוע שיצא ממנה משקה בשעת היסק אפילו לאחר שלש שנים נטמא התנור כשיוסק:
7
Even though an earthenware container was divided with a partition extending from its rim until its bottom, if impurity enters the inner space of one of the portions, the entire container contracts impurity. The rationale is that it is not common practice for people to divide earthenware containers as they divide structures. Therefore, if an oven is divided with boards or curtains and the carcass of a crawling animal is found in one place, the entire oven is impure.
ז
כלי חרס שחלקו במחיצה משפתו עד קרקעיתו ונכנסה טומאה באויר אחד משני החלקים נטמא הכלי כולו לפי שאין דרך בני אדם לחלק כלי חרס כדרך שחולקין האהלים לפיכך תנור שחצצו בנסרים או ביריעות ונמצא השרץ במקום אחד הכל טמא:
8
When a container in which impurity was located was inserted into the inner space of an earthenware container, if the edge of the impure container extends outside the earthenware container, the earthenware container is ritually pure even though the impurity is positioned inside of it, for Leviticus 11:33 states: "Into whose inner space one of these will fall." Implied is that the presence of impurity in the inner space of a container conveys impurity but not its presence in the inner space of a container in the inner space of a second container.
ח
כלי שהיתה הטומאה בתוכו והכניס הכלי לאויר כלי חרס ושפת הכלי הטמא חוץ לכלי חרס אע"פ שהטומאה מכוונת בתוך כלי חרס הרי זה טהור שנאמר אל תוכו לא אל תוך תוכו:
9
A similar concept applies if there was an impure earthenware container and another container holding food or liquids was inserted into its inner space. If the edges of the other container extend beyond the impure earthenware container, the food and the liquids remain pure. This is derived from the continuation of the above verse: "Everything in its inner space shall contract impurity," i.e., "in its inner space," and not in the inner space of a container in its inner space.
What is implied? When a bee-hive shaped container, a basket, a pot, a flask, or the like contained the carcass of a crawling animal and then one lowered the basket or the like into the inner space of a barrel or into the inner space of an oven, even though the carcass of the crawling animal is positioned inside the inner space of the barrel or the oven since the edge of the basket or the flask extends above the edge of the barrel or the edge of the oven, the barrel or the oven is pure. In such a situation, if there were pure food or liquids in a flask, in a pot, or the like and one lowered them into the inner space of an impure oven or barrel, the food and liquids are pure.
If, however, the bee-hive shaped container, the basket, the flask, or the like had a hole, they do not save entities from ritual impurity. Instead, if they contained the carcass of a crawling animal and they were lowered into the inner space of a pure earthenware container, it contracts impurity. If there were pure food or liquids and one lowered them into the inner space of an impure earthenware container, the food and the liquids contract impurity.
How large must the hole be for these laws to apply? In keilim that can be purified by immersion: large enough for an olive to fall out. If it was an earthenware container made to hold foods, the measure of the hole is: enough for olives to fall out. If it was intended to hold liquids, the measure is: enough for liquids to seep in when the container is placed in them. If it was made for both these purposes, it is judged stringently and when this earthenware container has a hole large enough for liquids to seep in, it does not save entities from impurity when inserted in the inner space of an earthenware container.
ט
וכן אם היה כלי חרס טמא והכניס לאוירו כלי אחר שיש בו אוכלים ומשקין ושפת הכלי האחר חוץ לכלי חרס אף על פי שהאוכלין והמשקין מכוונין בתוך כלי חרס הטמא הרי אלו טהורין שנאמר כל אשר בתוכו יטמא ולא שבתוך תוכו כיצד כוורת או קופה או קדירה או חמת וכיוצא בהן שהיה השרץ בתוכה ושלשל הקופה לאויר החבית או לאויר התנור אף על פי שהשרץ מכוון בתוך אויר החבית הואיל ושפת הקופה או החמת למעלה משפת החבית או משפת התנור הרי אלו טהורין ואם היה בתוך החמת או בתוך הקדירה וכיוצא בהן אוכלין או משקין ושלשלן לאויר התנור או לאויר החבית הטמאין הרי הן טהורין היתה הכוורת או הקופה או החמת וכיוצא בהן נקובין אינן מצילין אלא אם היה השרץ לתוכן ושלשלן לאויר כלי חרס הטהור נטמא ואם היו אוכלין או משקין לתוכן ושלשלן לאויר כלי חרס הטמא נטמאו וכמה יהיה בנקב אם היה בכלי שטף במוציא זיתים ואם היה בכלי חרס העשוי לאוכלין שיעורו כזיתים והעשוי למשקין שיעורו בכונס משקה והעשוי לכך וכך מטילין אותו לחומרו וכשינקב כלי חרס זה בכונס משקה אינו מציל מיד כלי חרס:
10
The following rules apply if one sealed a hole in an earthenware container with tar. If the carcass of a crawling animal was in such a container and it was lowered into the inner space of a pure oven, the oven contracts impurity. For a sealed covering does not protect entities from contracting impurity, as we explained.
If, however, this container held pure food or liquids and it was lowered into the inner space of an impure oven, the food and the liquids are pure, because the hole has been sealed. When holes in all other types of containers were sealed close with tar and the like, they do not protect their contents from contracting ritual impurity from an earthenware container.
י
סתם נקב כלי חרס בזפת אם היה השרץ בכלי זה ושלשלו לאויר התנור הטהור נטמא שאין הצמיד מציל על הטומאה מלטמא כמו שביארנו אבל אם היה בכלי זה אוכלין או משקין ושלשלו לאויר התנור הטמא הרי הן טהורין שהרי הנקב סתום ושאר כל הכלים שסתמן בזפת וכיוצא בו אינו מציל מיד כלי חרס:
11
When a bee-hive shaped container has an opening, even though the opening was closed with straw, it no longer protects its contents from contracting impurity from an earthenware container, because it is not a container.
יא
כוורת פחותה אע"פ שסתם הפחת בקש אינה מצלת מיד כלי חרס שהרי אינה כלי:
12
Although a flask or stone container was opened to the extent that a pomegranate would fall from them - and thus they were no longer considered in the category of keilim - they still save entities from contracting impurity due to their presence in the inner space of an earthenware container, provided the opening is above the outer edge of the earthenware container and the receptacle is lowered within the inner space of the earthenware container.
יב
החמת והכפישה שנפחתו במוציא רמון אף על פי שבטלו מתורת כלי הרי אלו מצילין מיד כלי חרס והוא שיהיה הפחת למעלה משפת כלי חרס מבחוץ ויהיה בית קבול שלהן משולשל לתוך כלי חרס:
13
When a simple hide or the like is hanging into the inner space of an earthenware container or into the inner space of an oven and there is a carcass of a crawling animal on the hide, the oven contracts impurity. If the carcass was inside the oven, any food or liquids on the hide are impure. The rationale is that the only type of entity that can prevent impurity from spreading due to the inner space of an earthenware container is a container that has a receptacle, e.g., a basket, a bin, or a flask.
יג
עור פשוט וכיוצא בו שהיה שקוע לאויר כלי חרס או לאויר התנור והשרץ בתוך העור הרי התנור טמא ואם היה השרץ בתנור אוכלין ומשקין שבתוך העור טמאין שאין מציל מיד כלי חרס אלא כלים שיש להן תוך כגון הסל והקופה והחמת:
14
When there is impurity in the inner space of an earthenware container and there was another pure earthenware container turned upside and resting on the impure container, even though their inner space is combined, the impure one is impure and the pure one is pure. This same ruling applies if the impurity was attached to the wall of one container and it was overturned and resting on a pure container. The rationale is that the impurity itself has not entered the inner space of the pure earthenware container.
Therefore, if a barrel that was filled with pure liquids was found below an oven and the carcass of a crawling animal fell into the oven, the barrel and the liquids are pure, even though the inner space of the oven is combined with the inner space of the barrel. Similarly, if the barrel is turned facing the opening of the oven and its mouth opens to the inner space of the oven, even the liquid at the base of the barrel is pure.
יד
כלי חרס שהיתה טומאה בתוכו והיה כלי חרס טהור כפוי ע"פ הכלי הטמא או שהיה הכלי שהטומאה דבוקה בתוכו כפוי על פי הכלי הטהור אע"פ שאויר שניהן מעורב הטמא בטומאתו והטהור בטהרתו שהרי לא נכנסה הטומאה עצמה לאויר כלי חרס הטהור לפיכך חבית שהיתה מליאה משקין טהורין ונתונה למטה מנחושתו של תנור ונפל שרץ לתוך התנור הרי החבית והמשקין טהורין אף על פי שאויר התנור מעורב עם אויר החבית וכן אם היתה החבית כפויה על פי התנור ופיה לאויר התנור אפילו המשקה שבשולי החבית טהור:
• Kri'at Shema - Chapter Three
In the second chapter, the Rambam discussed various halachot regarding the proper state of mind necessary for the reciting of the Shema. In Chapter 3, the discussion centers on the proper physical surroundings required for the performance of the mitzvah and those situations that preclude its fulfillment.
Deuteronomy 23:10-15 discusses the laws regarding army camps, giving as a fundamental guiding principle: "God walks among your camp, therefore,... your camp must be holy" (ibid.., 15). Included in that guideline is the obligation for every soldier to carry a spade in order to cover his excrement (ibid.. 23:14). (See Positive Commandments 192 and 193 in Sefer HaMitzvot of the Rambam, Hilchot Melachim 6:14-15.)
Since these laws were instituted because "God walks among your camp," it follows that they are also relevant when the Jews attempt to relate to God through prayer. Thus, these verses also serve as the source for the laws regarding the prohibition of reciting the Shema in the presence of feces as discussed in this chapter.
Commenting on the above verses, the Sifri states: "From here, we are taught that one should not recite the Shemanext to the soakings of the clothes washers" - i.e., that one should not recite the Shema in a place where there is a foul odor or an unclean substance.
1
One who recites the Shema should wash his hands with water before reciting it.
If the time for reciting the Shema arrives and he cannot find water, he should not delay his recitation in order to search for water. Rather, he should clean his hands with earth, a stone, or a beam [of wood] or a similar object, and then recite.
א
הקורא את שמע רוחץ ידיו במים קודם שיקרא הגיע זמן קריאתה ולא מצא מים קודם שיקרא לא יאחר קריאתה וילך לבקש מים אלא מקנח ידיו בעפר או בצרור או בקורה וכיוצא בהן וקורא:
2
One should not recite the Shema in a bathhouse or latrine - even if there is no fecal material in it - nor in a graveyard or next to a corpse. If he distances himself four cubits from the grave or the corpse, he is permitted to recite it. Anyone who recites in an improper place must recite the Shema again.
ב
אין קורין לא בבית המרחץ ולא בבית הכסא אע"פ שאין בו צואה ולא בבית הקברות ולא בצד המת עצמו ואם הרחיק ארבע אמות מן הקבר או מן המת מותר לקרות וכל מי שקרא במקום שאין קורין בו חוזר וקורא:
3
The Shema may be recited facing, but not inside, a latrine that has been newly built, but not used as of yet. [In contrast,] the Shema may be recited in a new bathhouse.
In the case of two buildings, one of which was designated for use as a latrine and, concerning the other, the owner said: "And this..." - a doubt remains regarding the latter: whether it also was appropriated for a similar use or not.
Therefore, one should not deliberately recite the Shema there. However, after the fact, if he recited it there, he has fulfilled his obligation.
If the owner said: "Also this," both have been designated for this use, and the Shema may not be recited in them.
It is permissible to recite the Shema in the courtyard of the bathhouse, i.e., the place where people stand clothed.
ג
בית הכסא החדש שהוכן ועדיין לא נשתמש בו מותר לקרות קריאת שמע לנגדו אבל לא בתוכו מרחץ החדש מותר לקרות בתוכו היו שני בתים זימן אחד מהם לבית הכסא ואמר על השני וזה הרי השני ספק אם הזמינו לכך אם לא לפיכך אין קורין בו לכתחלה ואם קרא יצא אמר גם זה הרי שניהם מזומנין ואין קוראין בהן חצר המרחץ והוא המקום שבני אדם עומדין בו לבושין מותר לקרות בו קריאת שמע:
4
Not only Kri'at Shema, but nothing pertaining to matters of sanctity may be uttered in a bathhouse or latrine, even in a language other than Hebrew.
Not only speech, but even thoughts pertaining to the words of Torah are forbidden in a bathhouse, latrine or other unclean places - i.e., a place where feces or urine is found.
ד
ולא קריאת שמע בלבד אלא כל ענין שהוא מדברי הקדש אסור לאומרו בבית המרחץ ובבית הכסא ואפילו אמרו בלשון חול ולא לאמרו בלבד אלא אפילו להרהר בלבו בדברי תורה בבית הכסא ובבית המרחץ ובמקום הטנופת והוא המקום שיש בו צואה ומי רגלים אסור:
5
Secular matters may be discussed in a latrine, even in Hebrew. Similarly, the terms used to express Divine attributes, such as merciful, gracious, faithful and the like, may be uttered in a latrine.
However, the specific names of the Almighty - i.e., those which may not be erased - may not be mentioned in a latrine or bathhouse that has been used. If a situation arises where it is necessary to restrain someone from wrongdoing, this should be done, even in Hebrew and even concerning matters of sanctity.
ה
דברים של חול מותר לאמרן בלשון קדש בבית הכסא וכן הכנויים כגון רחום וחנון ונאמן וכיוצא בהן מותר לאמרן בבית הכסא אבל השמות המיוחדים והן השמות שאינן נמחקין אסור להזכירן בבית הכסא ובבית המרחץ ישן ואם נזדמן לו להפריש מן דבר האסור בבית המרחץ או בבית הכסא מפריש ואפילו בלשון קודש ובעניני קודש:
6
The Shema may not be recited in the presence of human feces, or in the presence of dog or pig excrement while skins are soaking in it, or in the presence of any other feces like these that have a foul odor. This is also the case regarding human urine, but not animal urine.
One need not distance oneself from the feces or urine of a child unable to eat the weight of an olive of grain cereal, in the time in which an adult could eat an amount equivalent to the weight of three eggs.
ו
צואת האדם וצואת כלבים וחזירין בזמן שיש בתוכן עורות וכל צואה שריחה רע כגון אלו אסור לקרות קריאת שמע כנגדן וכן כנגד מי רגלים של אדם אבל מי רגלים של בהמה קורין כנגדן קטן שאינו יכול לאכול כזית דגן בכדי שיאכל הגדול כשלשה ביצי דגן אין מרחיקין לא מצואתו ולא ממי רגליו:
7
One may not recite the Shema next to feces, even if they are as dry as a shard. However, if they were so dry that, if thrown away, they would crumble, one may recite the Shema facing them.
If urine that has been soaked up into the ground is still sufficiently wet to moisten one's hand, the Shema should not be recited facing it. If it has dried sufficiently, the Shema may be recited.
ז
היתה צואה יבשה כחרש אסור לקרות כנגדה ואם היתה יבשה יותר מחרש עד שאם זרקה תתפרך הרי היא כעפר ומותר לקרות כנגדה מי רגלים שנבלעו בקרקע אם היו מרטיבין היד אסור לקרות כנגדן ואם לאו מותר:
8
How far must a person distance himself from feces or urine in order to recite the Shema? Four cubits. This applies when they are at his side or behind him, but if they are in front of him, he should move until he cannot see them, and then recite [the Shema].
ח
כמה ירחיק אדם מצואה וממי רגלים ואחר כך יקרא ארבע אמות במה דברים אמורים בזמן שהם מלאחוריו או מצדיו אבל אם היו כנגד פניו מרחיק מהן עד שלא יראה אותן ואח"כ יקרא:
9
When does the above apply? When he is in an enclosure with them, and they are on the same level. However, if they are 10 handbreadths higher or lower than he, he may sit next to them and recite the Shema, since there is a space separating them.
The above applies provided no foul smell reaches him. Similarly, if he were to cover the feces or urine with a vessel, it would be considered as buried, even though it would still be in the room, and it is permitted to recite [the Shema] next to it.
ט
בד"א כשהיה עמהן בבית במקום שוה אבל אם היה שם מקום גבוה מהן עשרה טפחים או נמוך מהם עשרה טפחים יושב בצד המקום וקורא שהרי נפסק ביניהם והוא שלא יגיע לו ריח רע וכן אם כפה כלי על הצואה או על מימי רגלים אף על פי שהן עמו בבית הרי אלו כקבורין ומותר לקרות כנגדן:
10
A person who is separated from feces by a glass partition, may recite the Shema next to them even if he can still see them. If a quarter log of water is added to the urine of one micturition, the Shema may be recited within four cubits of it.
י
היה בינו ובין הצואה מחיצה של זכוכית אע"פשהוא רואה אותה מאחרי הזכוכית מותר לקרות בצדה נתן רביעית מים לתוך מי רגלים של פעם אחת מותר לקרות עמהן בתוך ד' אמות:
11
If feces are found in a hole in the ground, a person may stand with his shoe over the hole and recite the Shema. However, his shoe may not touch the feces.
If one finds very small feces, the size of a drop, he may expectorate thick saliva upon it to cover it, and then recite the Shema.
When there is a residue of feces on one's skin or one's hands are dirty from the washroom, if - because of the small quantity or its dryness - there is no foul odor, he may recite the Shema, since there is no foul odor.
However, if it is still in its place, even if not visible when he stands, since it is visible when he sits, he is forbidden to recite the Shemauntil he cleans himself very well. This is because of the moist nature and foul smell of the feces.
Many Geonim taught that one is forbidden to recite the Shema if one's hands are soiled, and it is proper to heed their teaching.
יא
היתה צואה בגומא עומד בסנדלו על הגומא וקורא והוא שלא יהיה סנדלו נוגע בה היתה כנגדו צואה מעוטה ביותר כמו טיפה רוקק עליה רוק עבה עד שתתכסה וקורא היתה נטישת צואה על בשרו או ידיו מטונפות מבית הכסא ולא היה להן ריח רע כלל מפני קוטנן או יבשותן מותר לקרות לפי שאין להן ריח רע אבל אם היתה במקומה אף ע"פ שאינה נראית כשהוא עומד הואיל ונראית כשהוא יושב אסור לקרות עד שיקנח יפה יפה מפני שהצואה לחה היא ויש לה ריח רע וכמה גאונים הורו שאסור לו לקרות אם היו ידיו מטונפות וכך ראוי לעשות:
12
[When the source of] a foul odor has substance, one may distance himself four cubits and recite the Shema provided the odor has subsided. If it has not subsided, he should distance himself further until it ceases.
If [the odor] is not emanating from an actual substance - e.g., it is the result of someone passing gas - he should distance himself until the odor ceases and [then] recite.
It is forbidden to recite the Shema in front of a cesspool or chamber pot, even if it is empty and has no foul smell, as it is similar to a latrine.
יב
ריח רע שיש לו עיקר מרחיק ד' אמות וקורא אם פסק הריח ואם לא פסק הריח מרחיק עד מקום שפסק הריח ושאין לו עיקר כגון מי שיצא ממנו רוח מלמטה מרחיק עד מקום שתכלה הריח וקורא גרף של רעי ועביט של מימי רגלים אסור לקרות קריאת שמע כנגדן ואף על פי שאין בהן כלום ואין להם ריח רע מפני שהם כבית הכסא:
13
It is forbidden to recite the Shema while facing moving excreta - e.g., excreta floating on the water. The mouth of a pig is regarded as moving excreta. Therefore, the Shema may not be recited facing it, until it has moved four cubits away.
יג
צואה עוברת כגון שהיתה שטה על פני המים אסור לקרות כנגדה ופי חזיר כצואה עוברת דמי ואסור לקרות כנגדו עד שיעברו ממנו ארבע אמות:
14
A person who reaches an unclean place while he is walking and reciting the Shema, should not place his hand over his mouth and [continue] his recitation. Rather, he should stop reciting until he has passed this particular place.
Similarly, if one is reciting [the Shema] and passes gas, he should stop until the odor subsides and resume his recitation afterwards. The same applies to one studying Torah.
When another person passes gas, even though one should stop reciting the Shema, he need not interrupt his Torah study.
יד
היה קורא והגיע למקום הטנופת לא יניח ידו על פיו ויקרא אלא יפסיק עד שיעבור מאותו מקום וכן הקורא שיצתה ממנו רוח מלמטה יפסיק עד שתכלה באשה וחוזר לקריאתו וכן בדברי תורה יצתה רוח מחבירו אע"פ שמפסיק לקריאת שמע אינו פוסק לדברי תורה:
15
A person is permitted to continue reciting the Shema if a doubt arises whether feces or urine is found in the house in which he is located.
In contrast, a person reading the Shema in a garbage heap is not permitted to continue reading if a doubt arises regarding the presence of feces until he checks [that it is clean] because a garbage heap may be presumed to contain feces. If the doubt exists only regarding urine, however, the Shema may be recited even in a garbage heap.
טו
היה קורא קריאת שמע בבית ונסתפק לו אם יש שם צואה או מימי רגלים או אין שם הרי זה מותר לקרות היה קורא באשפה ונסתפק לו אם יש שם צואה או אין שם לא יקרא עד שיבדוק שחזקת האשפה שהיא מקום הטנופת אבל ספק מי רגלים אפילו באשפה מותר לקרות:
16
Just as it is forbidden to recite the Shema where there are feces or urine until one distances himself from it, so, too, the Shema may not be recited in the presence of nakedness, unless one turns his face away.
This applies also to a non-Jew or a child. Even if a glass partition separates him from them - since he sees them - he must turn his face away in order to recite the Shema.
Any part of a woman's body is regarded as ervah. Therefore, one should not gaze at a woman, even his wife, while reciting the Shema. If even a handbreadth of her body is uncovered, he should not recite the Shema facing her.
טז
כשם שאסור לקרות כנגד צואה ומי רגלים עד שירחיק כך אסור לקרות כנגד הערוה עד שיחזיר פניו אפילו כותי או קטן לא יקרא כנגד ערותן אפילו מחיצה של זכוכית מפסקת הואיל והוא רואה אותה אסור לקרות עד שיחזיר פניו וכל גוף האשה ערוה לפיכך לא יסתכל בגוף האשה כשהוא קורא ואפילו אשתו ואם היה מגולה טפח מגופה לא יקרא כנגדה:
17
Just as one may not recite the Shema in the presence of another's nakedness, so, too, is he forbidden to do so when he himself is naked. Therefore, one may not recite the Shema when he is naked until he covers his nakedness.
If his loins are covered with cloth, leather or sack, even though the rest of his body is exposed, he may recite the Shema, as long as his heel does not touch his genitalia.
If he is lying under his sheet, but is otherwise naked, he should make a separation by placing his sheet below his heart, and [then] recite the Shema. He should not, however, make a separation from his neck [downward] and recite, because his heart will see his nakedness, and it is as if he is reciting without any loin covering.
יז
וכשם שהוא אסור כנגד ערות אחרים כך הוא אסור לקרות כנגד ערותו ולא יקרא כשהוא ערום עד שיכסה ערותו היתה חגורה של בגד או עור או שק על מתניו אף על פי ששאר גופו ערום מותר לו לקרות קריאת שמע והוא שלא יהיה עקבו נוגע בערותו היה ישן בטליתו והיה ערום חוצץ בטליתו מתחת לבו וקורא אבל לא יחוץ צוארו ויקרא מפני שלבו רואה את הערוה ונמצא כמי שקורא בלא חגורה:
18
When two people are lying under one sheet, each is forbidden to recite the Shema even if he has covered himself below his heart, unless the sheet also separates between them in a manner that prevents their bodies from touching from the loins downward.
If he is sleeping with his wife, children or other young members of his household, their bodies are considered like his own, and he is not affected by them. Therefore, even though his body is touching theirs, he may turn away his face, separate below his heart and recite [the Shema].
יח
שנים שהיו ישנים בטלית אחת כל אחד מהן אסור לקרות אף על פי שיכסה מתחת לבו עד שתהא טלית מפסקת ביניהן עד שלא יגע בשר זה בבשר זה ממתניו ולמטה ואם היה ישן עם אשתו או בניו ובני ביתו הקטנים הרי גופן כגופו ואינו מרגיש מהן לפיכך אע"פ שבשרו נוגע בהם מחזיר פניו וחוצץ מתחת לבו וקורא:
19
Until when is one considered a child concerning this matter? A boy, until 12 years and one day; a girl, until 11 years and one day.
[When they reach that age, they are only excluded when] their physical characteristics are like those of adults - i.e., developed breasts and pubic hair. From this time onwards, one may not recite the Shema unless he has first separated himself from them with the sheet.
However, if they have not yet developed breasts or pubic hair, he may still recite [the Shema while lying] in physical contact with them, and need not separate from them until the boy is 13 years and one day, and the girl 12 years and one day.
יט
עד אימתי הם קטנים לענין זה עד שיהא הזכר בן שתים עשרה שנה ויום אחד והנקבה בת אחת עשרה שנה ויום אחד והוא שיהא תבניתם כתבנית גדולים שדים נכונו ושערך צמח ואחר כך לא יקרא עד שתפסיק טלית ביניהן אבל אם עדיין לא היו שדים נכונו ושערך צמח קורא עמהן בקירוב בשר ואינו צריך הפסק עד שיהיה הזכר בן י"ג שנה ויום אחד והנקבה בת שתים עשרה שנה ויום אחד:
Kri'at Shema - Chapter Four
1
Women, slaves and children are exempt from Kri'at Shema. We should teach children to recite it at the proper time with the blessings before and after it, in order to educate them regarding the commandments.
One who is preoccupied and in an anxious state regarding a religious duty is exempt from all commandments, including Kri'at Shema. Therefore, a bridegroom whose bride is a virgin is exempt from Kri'at Shema until he has consummated the marriage, because he is distracted lest he not find her a virgin.
However, if he delays until Saturday night after the wedding and does not have relations with her, he is obligated to recite the Shema from that time onward, since his mind has settled and he is familiar with her even though they have not consummated the marriage.
א
נשים ועבדים וקטנים פטורים מקריאת שמע ומלמדין את הקטנים לקרותה בעונתה ומברכין לפניה ולאחריה כדי לחנכן במצות מי שהיה לבו טרוד ונחפז לדבר מצוה פטור מכל המצות ומקריאת שמע לפיכך חתן שנשא בתולה פטור מקריאת שמע עד שיבא עליה לפי שאין דעתו פנויה שמא לא ימצא לה בתולים ואם שהה עד מוצאי שבת ולא בעל חייב לקרות ממוצאי שבת ואילך שהרי נתקררה דעתו ולבו גס בה אף על פי שלא בעל:
2
However, one who marries a woman who is not a virgin is obligated to recite the Shema, because even though he, too, is involved in the performance of a mitzvah, it is not so distracting. The same principle applies to similar cases.
ב
אבל הנושא את הבעולה אע"פ שעוסק במצוה חייב לקרות הואיל ואין לו דבר שמבלבל דעתו וכן כל כיוצא בזה:
3
One who is bereaved of a relative for whom he is obligated to mourn is exempt from Kri'at Shema until he has buried him, because his attention is distracted from reciting [the Shema].
A person who is watching a body is also exempt, even if it is not the body of a relative. When there are two watchers, one should continue watching while the other withdraws and recites the Shema. [When the latter] returns, the other should depart and recite [the Shema].
A gravedigger is also exempt from Kri'at Shema.
ג
מי שמת לו מת שהוא חייב להתאבל עליו פטור מקריאת שמע עד שיקברנו מפני שאין דעתו פנויה לקרות ואם היה משמר את המת אף על פי שאינו מתו פטור מקריאת שמע ואם היו השומרים שנים האחד משמר והשני נשמט למקום אחר וקורא וחוזר ומשמר ונשמט האחר וקורא וכן החופר קבר למת פטור מקריאת שמע:
4
A body should not be taken out for burial close to the time for reciting the Shema, unless the deceased was a great man.
If they do begin to remove the deceased and the time for reciting the Shema arrives while they are accompanying the body, anyone required to [carry] the coffin - e.g., the bearers of the coffins and their replacements and those who, in turn, relieve the replacements - whether they are before the coffin or after it, are exempt [from Kri'at Shema].
The rest of those accompanying the body who are not required to [carry] the coffin are obligated [to recite the Shema].
ד
אין מוציאין את המת לקוברו סמוך לזמן קריאת שמע אלא אם כן היה אדם גדול ואם התחילו והוציאו והגיע זמן הקריאה והן מלוין את המת כל שיש למטה צורך בהן כגון נושאי המטה וחילופיהן בין שהיו לפני המטה בין שהיו לאחר המטה פטורין ושאר המלוין שאין למטה צורך בהן חייבין:
5
Should they be involved in eulogies when the time for Kri'at Shema arrives, if they are in the presence of the deceased they should withdraw singly and recite, and then return to the eulogy.
If the deceased is not present, all the people should recite the Shema except the mourner, who remains silent, because he is not obligated to recite the Shema until he buries his relative.
ה
היו עסוקים בהספד והגיע זמן קריאת שמע בזמן שהמת מונח לפניהן נשמטים אחד אחד וקוראין וחוזרין להספד אין המת מוטל לפניהם כל העם קורין קריאת שמע והאבל יושב ודומם לפי שאינו חייב לקרות עד שיקבור את מתו:
6
After the burial, the mourners return to receive condolences and the people follow them from the gravesite to the place where they form a line to receive condolences. If the people are able to start and finish even one verse [of Kri'at Shema] before they arrive at the line, they should do so. If not, they should not start until they have consoled the mourners.
After they have taken their leave they should commence reciting. Those standing in the inner line - i.e., they can see the faces of the mourners - are exempt from Kri'at Shema. Those at the outside, since they cannot see the mourner, are obligated to recite the Shema where they are.
ו
קברו את המת וחזרו האבלים לקבל תנחומין וכל העם הולכים אחריהם ממקום הקבר למקום שעומדים בו האבלים לעשות שורה לקבל תנחומין אם יכולין העם להתחיל ולגמור אפילו פסוק אחד קודם שיגיעו לשורה יתחילו ואם לאו לא יתחילו אלא ינחמו את האבלים ואחר שיפטרו מהן יתחילו לקרות בני אדם העומדין בשורה הפנימיים שהן רואין פני האבלים פטורין מקריאת שמע והחיצונים הואיל ואינן רואין את האבלים חייבין בקריאת שמע במקומן:
7
Anyone who has an exemption from Kri'at Shema, but nevertheless desires to be strict with himself and recite, may do so. This is conditional upon the fact that his mind is not distracted. However, if this exempted person is in a confused state, he is not permitted to recite [the Shema] until he composes himself.
ז
כל מי שהוא פטור מלקרות קריאת שמע אם רצה להחמיר על עצמו לקרות קורא והוא שתהא דעתו פנויה עליו אבל אם היה זה הפטור מלקרות מבוהל אינו רשאי לקרות עד שתתיישב דעתו עליו:
8
All those ritually impure are obligated to read the Shema and recite the blessings before and after it in their impure state. This applies even when it is possible for them to purify themselves that day - e.g., one who has touched [the carcass of] a שרץ (crawling animal), a menstrual woman, a זבה, or the couch on which these people have laid, and the like.
Ezra and his colleagues decreed that a man who had a seminal emission was forbidden to read the words of the Torah. Thus, they separated him from the other ritually impure until he immersed himself in a mikveh. This ordinance was not universally accepted among the Jewish people. Most were unable to observe it and it was therefore negated.
The Jewish people accepted the custom of reading the Torah and reciting the Shema even after a seminal emission, because the words of Torah cannot contract ritual impurity. Rather, they stand in their state of purity forever, as [Jeremiah 23:29] states: "Are not my words like fire, declares the Lord." Just as fire is incapable of becoming ritually impure, so, too, the words of Torah are never defiled.
ח
כל הטמאין חייבין בקריאת שמע ומברכין לפניה ולאחריה והן בטומאתן אף על פי שאפשר להן לעלות מטומאתן בו ביום כגון הנוגעין בשרץ או בנדה וזבה ומשכבה וכיוצא בהן ועזרא ובית דינו תקנו שלא יקרא בדברי תורה בעל קרי לבדו והוציאוהו מכלל שאר הטמאין עד שיטבול ולא פשטה תקנה זו בכל ישראל ולא היה כח ברוב הציבור לעמוד בה לפיכך בטלה וכבר נהגו כל ישראל לקרות בתורה ולקרות קריאת שמע והן בעלי קריין לפי שאין דברי תורה מקבלין טומאה אלא עומדין בטהרתן לעולם שנאמר הלא כה דברי כאש נאם יי' מה אש אינה מקבלת טומאה אף דברי תורה אינם מקבלין טומאה:
Tefilah and Birkat Kohanim - Chapter One
Introduction to Hilchos Tefilah and Birkas Kohanim
[This text describes] two positive commandments:
a) Serving God daily with prayer;
b) For the priests to bless the Jewish People each day.
The elucidation of these two commandments is contained in the following chapters:
a) Serving God daily with prayer;
b) For the priests to bless the Jewish People each day.
The elucidation of these two commandments is contained in the following chapters:
1
It is a positive Torah commandment to pray every day, as [Exodus 23:25] states: "You shall serve God, your Lord." Tradition teaches us that this service is prayer, as [Deuteronomy 11:13] states: "And serve Him with all your heart" and our Sages said: Which is the service of the heart? This is prayer.
The number of prayers is not prescribed in the Torah, nor does it prescribe a specific formula for prayer. Also, according to Torah law, there are no fixed times for prayers.
א
.'מצות עשה להתפלל בכל יום שנאמר ועבדתם את ה' אלהיכם מפי השמועה למדו שעבודה זו היא תפלה שנאמר ולעבדו בכל לבבכם אמרו חכמים אי זו היא עבודה שבלב זו תפלה ואין מנין התפלות מן התורה ואין משנה התפלה הזאת מן התורה ואין לתפלה זמן קבוע מן התורה:
2
Therefore, women and slaves are obligated to pray, since it is not a time-oriented commandment.
Rather, this commandment obligates each person to offer supplication and prayer every day and utter praises of the Holy One, blessed be He; then petition for all his needs with requests and supplications; and finally, give praise and thanks to God for the goodness that He has bestowed upon him; each one according to his own ability.
ב
ולפיכך נשים ועבדים חייבין בתפלה לפי שהיא מצות עשה שלא הזמן גרמא אלא חיוב מצוה זו כך הוא שיהא אדם מתחנן ומתפלל בכל יום ומגיד שבחו של הקדוש ברוך הוא ואח"כ שואל צרכיו שהוא צריך להם בבקשה ובתחנה ואחר כך נותן שבח והודיה לה' על הטובה שהשפיע לו כל אחד לפי כחו:
3
A person who was eloquent would offer many prayers and requests. [Conversely,] a person who was inarticulate would speak as well as he could and whenever he desired.
Similarly, the number of prayers was dependent on each person's ability. Some would pray once daily; others, several times.
Everyone would pray facing the Holy Temple, wherever he might be. This was the ongoing practice from [the time of] Moshe Rabbenu until Ezra.
ג
אם היה רגיל מרבה בתחנה ובקשה ואם היה ערל שפתים מדבר כפי יכלתו ובכל עת שירצה וכן מנין התפלות כל אחד כפי יכלתו יש מתפלל פעם אחת ביום ויש מתפללין פעמים הרבה והכל יהיו מתפללין נכח המקדש בכ"מ שיהיה וכן היה הדבר תמיד ממשה רבינו ועד עזרא:
4
When Israel was exiled in the time of the wicked Nebuchadnezzar, they became interspersed in Persia and Greece and other nations. Children were born to them in these foreign countries and those children's language was confused.
The speech of each and every one was a concoction of many tongues. No one was able to express himself coherently in any one language, but rather in a mixture [of languages], as [Nehemiah 13:24] states: "And their children spoke half in Ashdodit and did not know how to speak the Jewish language. Rather, [they would speak] according to the language of various other peoples."
Consequently, when someone would pray, he would be limited in his ability to request his needs or to praise the Holy One, blessed be He, in Hebrew, unless other languages were mixed in with it. When Ezra and his court saw this, they established eighteen blessings in sequence.
The first three [blessings] are praises of God and the last three are thanksgiving. The intermediate [blessings] contain requests for all those things that serve as general categories for the desires of each and every person and the needs of the whole community.
Thus, the prayers could be set in the mouths of everyone. They could learn them quickly and the prayers of those unable to express themselves would be as complete as the prayers of the most eloquent. It was because of this matter that they established all the blessings and prayers so that they would be ordered in the mouths of all Israel, so that each blessing would be set in the mouth of each person unable to express himself.
ד
כיון שגלו ישראל בימי נבוכדנצר הרשע נתערבו בפרס ויון ושאר האומות ונולדו להם בנים בארצות הגוים ואותן הבנים נתבלבלו שפתם והיתה שפת כל אחד ואחד מעורבת מלשונות הרבה וכיון שהיה מדבר אינו יכול לדבר כל צורכו בלשון אחת אלא בשיבוש שנאמר ובניהם חצי מדבר אשדודית וגו' ואינם מכירים לדבר יהודית וכלשון עם ועם ומפני זה כשהיה אחד מהן מתפלל תקצר לשונו לשאול חפציו או להגיד שבח הקדוש ברוך הוא בלשון הקדש עד שיערבו עמה לשונות אחרות וכיון שראה עזרא ובית דינו כך עמדו ותקנו להם שמנה עשרה ברכות על הסדר שלש ראשונות שבח לה' ושלש אחרונות הודיה ואמצעיות יש בהן שאלת כל הדברים שהן כמו אבות לכל חפצי איש ואיש ולצרכי הציבור כולן כדי שיהיו ערוכות בפי הכל וילמדו אותן ותהיה תפלת אלו העלגים תפלה שלימה כתפלת בעלי הלשון הצחה ומפני ענין זה תקנו כל הברכות והתפלות מסודרות בפי כל ישראל כדי שיהא ענין כל ברכה ערוך בפי העלג:
5
They also decreed that the number of prayers correspond to the number of sacrifices - i.e., two prayers every day, corresponding to the two daily sacrifices. On any day that an additional sacrifice [was offered], they instituted a third prayer, corresponding to the additional offering.
The prayer that corresponds to the daily morning sacrifice is called the Shacharit Prayer. The prayer that corresponds to the daily sacrifice offered in the afternoon is called the Minchah Prayer and the prayer corresponding to the additional offerings is called the Musaf Prayer.
ה
וכן תקנו שיהא מנין התפלות כמנין הקרבנות שתי תפלות בכל יום כנגד שני תמידין וכל יום שיש קרבן מוסף תקנו בו תפלה שלישית כנגד קרבן מוסף ותפלה שהיא כנגד תמיד של בקר היא הנקראת תפלת השחר ותפלה שכנגד תמיד של בין הערבים היא הנקראת תפלת מנחה ותפלה שכנגד המוספין היא נקראת תפלת המוספין:
6
They also instituted a prayer to be recited at night, since the limbs of the daily afternoon offering could be burnt the whole night, as [Leviticus 6:2] states: "The burnt offering [shall remain on the altar hearth all night until morning]." In this vein, [Psalms 55:18] states: "In the evening, morning and afternoon I will speak and cry aloud, and He will hear my voice."
The Evening Prayer is not obligatory, as are the Morning and Minchah Prayers. Nevertheless, the Jewish people, in all the places that they have settled, are accustomed to recite the Evening Prayer and have accepted it upon themselves as an obligatory prayer.
ו
וכן התקינו שיהא אדם מתפלל תפלה אחת בלילה שהרי איברי תמיד של בין הערבים מתעכלין והולכין כל הלילה שנאמר היא העולה וגו' כענין שנאמר ערב ובקר וצהרים אשיחה ואהמה וישמע קולי ואין תפלת ערבית חובה כתפלת שחרית ומנחה ואף ע"פ כן נהגו כל ישראל בכל מקומות מושבותיהם להתפלל ערבית וקבלוה עליהם כתפלת חובה:
7
Similarly, they instituted a prayer after the Minchah Prayer [to be recited] close to sunset on fast days only, its purpose being to increase supplication and pleading because of the fast.
This is called the Ne'ilah prayer, as if to say that the gates of Heaven are closed behind the sun, which becomes hidden, since it is recited only close to [the time of] sunset.
ז
וכן תקנו תפלה אחר תפלת מנחה סמוך לשקיעת החמה ביום התענית בלבד כדי להוסיף תחנה ובקשה מפני התענית וזו היא התפלה הנקראת תפלת נעילה כלומר ננעלו שערי שמים בעד השמש ונסתרה לפי שאין מתפללין אותה אלא סמוך לשקיעת החמה:
8
Thus, three prayers are recited daily: the Evening Prayer, the Morning Prayer, and the Minchah Prayer. There are four on Sabbaths, festivals and Rosh Chodesh: the three that are recited daily and the Musaf Prayer. On Yom Kippur, there are five: these four and the Ne'ilah prayer.
ח
נמצאו התפלות בכל יום שלש ערבית ושחרית ומנחה ובשבתות ובמועדים ובראשי חדשים ארבע שלש של כל יום ותפלת המוספין וביום הכיפורים חמש ארבע אלו ותפלת נעילה:
9
The number of these prayers may not be diminished, but may be increased. If a person wants to pray all day long, he may.
Any prayer that one adds is considered as a freewill offering. Therefore, one must add a new idea consistent with that blessing in each of the middle blessings. [However], making an addition of a new concept even in only one blessing is sufficient in order to make known that this is a voluntary prayer and not obligatory.
In the first three [blessings] and the last three [blessings], one must never add, detract or change anything at all.
ט
תפלות אלו אין פוחתין מהן אבל מוסיפין עליהם אם רצה אדם להתפלל כל היום כולו הרשות בידו וכל אותן התפלות שיוסיף כמו מקריב נדבות לפיכך צריך שיחדש דבר בכל ברכה וברכה מן האמצעיות מעין הברכות ואם חידש אפילו בברכה אחת דיו כדי להודיע שהיא נדבה ולא חובה ושלש ראשונות ושלש אחרונות לעולם אין מוסיפין בהן ולא פוחתין מהן ואין משנין בהן דבר:
10
The community should not recite a voluntary prayer, since the community does not bring a freewill offering. Even an individual should not recite the Musaf Prayer twice, once as the obligation of the day and the other as a voluntary prayer, because the additional offering is never a freewill offering.
One of the Geonim taught that it is forbidden to recite a voluntary prayer on Sabbaths or holidays, since freewill offerings were not sacrificed on these days, but only the obligatory offerings of the day.
י
אין הציבור מתפללין תפלת נדבה לפי שאין הציבור מביאין קרבן נדבה ולא יתפלל אפילו יחיד מוסף שתים אחת חובת היום ואחת נדבה לפי שאין מתנדבין קרבן מוסף ויש מן הגאונים מי שהורה שאסור להתפלל תפלת נדבה בשבתות וימים טובים לפי שאין מקריבין בהן נדבה אלא חובת היום בלבד:
• Shabbat, 11 Cheshvan, 5777 · 12 November 2016
• "Today's Day"
• Tuesday, Cheshvan 11, 5704
Torah lessons: Chumash: Vayeira, Shlishi with Rashi.
Tehillim: 60-65.
Tanya: XXVII. My beloved (p. 563) ...his paths forevermore. (p. 565).
(At this point there appears in the Hebrew text emendations of Torah Or on this week's sedra, meaningful only in Hebrew. Translator).
The maamar Patach Eliyahu has glosses1 by my father that he began writing in the winter of 5652 (1891-2).
FOOTNOTES
1.They have since been published by Kehot Publication Society, 5741.
• Daily Thought:
Traveling to Yourself
G‑d said to Abram, “Go to yourself, from your land, from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you.”[Genesis 12:1]
If you were not you, if you saw yourself from the eyes of another, how would you see your journeys through life?
You would see how each journey leads away from home. Away from your birthplace, from those who nurtured you and that which made you what you are. Outwards, away from yourself in so many directions.
But you see your journey from within. From within, every journey leads in one direction: Towards within. Towards yourself. Closer and yet closer.
To the land in which G‑d shows you yourself.[Maamar Lech Lecha 5738.]
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