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- ב"ה - Today in Judaism - Today is Thursday, Av 4, 5777 · July 27, 2017Torah ReadingDevarim: Deuteronomy 1:1-11
Deuteronomy 1:1 These are the words Moshe spoke to all Isra’el on the far side of the Yarden River, in the desert, in the ‘Aravah, across from Suf, between Pa’ran and Tofel, Lavan, Hatzerot and Di-Zahav. 2 It is eleven days’ journey from Horev to Kadesh-Barnea by way of Mount Se‘ir.
3 On the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year, Moshe spoke to the people of Isra’el, reviewing everything Adonai had ordered him to tell them. 4 This was after he had defeated Sichon, king of the Emori, who lived in Heshbon, and ‘Og, king of Bashan, who lived in ‘Ashtarot, at Edre‘i. 5 There, beyond the Yarden, in the land of Mo’av, Moshe took it upon himself to expound this Torah and said:
6 “Adonai spoke to us in Horev. He said, ‘You have lived long enough by this mountain. 7 Turn, get moving and go to the hill-country of the Emori and all the places near there in the ‘Aravah, the hill-country, the Sh’felah, the Negev and by the seashore — the land of the Kena‘ani, and the L’vanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates River. 8 I have set the land before you! Go in, and take possession of the land Adonai swore to give to your ancestors Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov, and their descendants after them.’
9 “At that time I told you, ‘You are too heavy a burden for me to carry alone. 10 Adonai your God has multiplied your numbers, so that there are as many of you today as there are stars in the sky. 11 May Adonai, the God of your ancestors, increase you yet a thousandfold and bless you, as he has promised you!
Today's Laws & Customs:
• "Nine Days'
During the “Nine Days" from Av 1st to the Ninth of Av, we mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple. We abstain from meat and wine, music, haircutting, bathing for pleasure, and other joyous (and dangerous) activities. (The particular mourning customs vary from community to community, so consult a competent halachic authority for details.)
Consumption of meat and wine is permitted on Shabbat, or at a seudat mitzvah (obligatory festive meal celebrating the fulfillment of certain mitzvot) such as a brit (circumcision), or a siyum celebrating the completion of a course of Torah study (i.e., a complete Talmudic tractate). The Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory initiated the custom of conducting or participating in a siyum on each of the Nine Days (even if one does not avail oneself of the dispensation to eat meat).
Citing the verse "Zion shall be redeemed with mishpat [Torah] and its returnees with tzedakah," (Isaiah 1:27) the Rebbe urged that we increase in Torah study (particularly the study of the laws of the Holy Temple) and charityduring this period.
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Nine Days laws and customs
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Learn about the Holy Temple in Jerusalem
Daily Quote:
Today's Laws & Customs:
• "Nine Days'
During the “Nine Days" from Av 1st to the Ninth of Av, we mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple. We abstain from meat and wine, music, haircutting, bathing for pleasure, and other joyous (and dangerous) activities. (The particular mourning customs vary from community to community, so consult a competent halachic authority for details.)
Consumption of meat and wine is permitted on Shabbat, or at a seudat mitzvah (obligatory festive meal celebrating the fulfillment of certain mitzvot) such as a brit (circumcision), or a siyum celebrating the completion of a course of Torah study (i.e., a complete Talmudic tractate). The Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory initiated the custom of conducting or participating in a siyum on each of the Nine Days (even if one does not avail oneself of the dispensation to eat meat).
Citing the verse "Zion shall be redeemed with mishpat [Torah] and its returnees with tzedakah," (Isaiah 1:27) the Rebbe urged that we increase in Torah study (particularly the study of the laws of the Holy Temple) and charityduring this period.
Links:
Nine Days laws and customs
Daily live siyum broadcasts
Learn about the Holy Temple in Jerusalem
Daily Quote:
"The voice is the voice of Jacob"--no prayer is effective unless the seed of Jacob has a part in it. "The hands are the hands of Esau"--no war is successful unless the seed of Esau has a share in it. [Talmud]
Daily Torah Study:
Daily Torah Study:
Chumash: Devarim, 5th Portion Deuteronomy 2:2-2:30 with Rashi
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• Daily Wisdom (short insight)
• Hebrew text
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• English Text (Lessons in Tanya)
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Thursday,Menachem Av 4, 5777 · July 27, 2017
Today's Tanya Lesson
Iggeret HaKodesh, middle of Epistle 1
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אך מי הוא הנותן כח ועוז לבחינת מתנים להעמיד ולקיים הראש והזרועות
But what gives the power and strength to the “loins” (i.e., faith) to support and sustain the “head” (i.e., the intellect that contemplates G‑d’s greatness) and the “arms” (i.e., the love and fear of G‑d)?
הוא עסק ולימוד הלכות בתורה שבעל פה
It is one’s involvement in — and study of — the laws of the Oral Torah, for the Torah is the food1 that nourishes the soul’s faith,
שהיא בחינת גילוי רצון העליון
and [the Oral Torah] is the manifestation of the Supreme Will.
Only the Oral Torah manifestly reveals the Supreme Will in all its ramifications; the Written Torah does not elaborate on the detailed laws concerning the performance of the commandments. On the mitzvah of tefillin, for example, the Written Torah merely states that2 “You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall serve as a reminder between your eyes.” It is not at all clear exactly what shall be bound, how it shall serve as a sign, and precisely where it shall be placed “between your eyes.” All these particulars are elaborated upon in the Oral Torah; it is there that G‑d’s specific intentions regarding tefillin are revealed.
So too with the other commandments: the Oral Torah reveals the Supreme Will, as will be explained in more detail below, in Epistle 29.
The Alter Rebbe now goes on to say that Torah may indeed be said to be the revelation of G‑d’s Will, a level that transcends His wisdom, notwithstanding the fact that3 “Torah proceeds from Chochmah,” i.e., from Divine wisdom. This is so because:
דאורייתא מחכמה היא דנפקת
Torah [merely] proceeds i.e., unfolds from Chochmah: it is merely revealed through Divine wisdom;
אבל מקורה ושרשה הוא למעלה מעלה מבחינת חכמה
its source and root, however, surpass by far the rank of Chochmah,
והוא הנקרא בשם רצון העליון, ברוך הוא
being that which is referred to as the Blessed One’s Supreme Will, which encompasses and sustains Chochmah.
וכמו שכתוב: כצנה רצון תעטרנו
Thus it is written, — and the following proof text is cited here to illustrate the effect of Torah upon the soul,4 “As with a shield You crown5 [the righteous man] with favor.” (The word here translated “favor” is ratzon, the same word that has been rendered as “Will”.)
So, too, the study of Torah encompasses and protects the soul of the Torah student,
כעטרה שהיא על המוחין שבראש
like a crown which is placed above the brains which are within the head.
Since the study of the Oral Torah reveals G‑d’s Will (i.e., the “crown” that transcends the level of wisdom), it is therefore able to strengthen the “loins” (i.e., faith), whose purpose it is to support the “head” (i.e., intellect) and the “arms” (i.e., the love and fear of G‑d — the spiritual emotions that are the fruits of intellect).
וכנודע ממה שכתוב על פסוק: אשת חיל עטרת בעלה
[This teaching] parallels the familiar exposition of the verse,6 “A woman of valor is the crown of her husband.”
The Alter Rebbe explains below, in Epistle 29, that “a woman of valor” alludes to the Oral Torah. Its numerous laws serve as a “crown” for her “husband” — the intellective faculty of Chochmah.
וכל השונה הלכות בכל יום כו׳
[This teaching] likewise [recalls the Rabbinic teaching, that]7 “whoever studies Torah laws every day [is assured of life in the World to Come],” for it is the study of the Oral Torah that enables one to be receptive to Divine revelation in the World to Come, as is explained at greater length in Epistle 29.
וזהו: חגרה בעוז מתניה
This, then, is the meaning of the verse, “She girds her loins with strength”:
אין עוז אלא תורה
“There8 is no strength but Torah,”
שהיא נותנת כח ועוז לבחינת מתנים החגורים ומלובשים בה
for it gives power and strength to the “loins”, i.e., the faith of the soul, which are girded and embodied in it,
לחזק ולאמץ זרועותיה, הן דחילו ורחימו שכליים או טבעיים
to strengthen and fortify its “arms”, namely the intellectually-generated or innate awe and love
כל חד לפום שיעורא דיליה
in each man according to his measure.
One individual generates a love or awe of G‑d through his own intellectual endeavor, through study and meditation; another merely draws on his inborn reservoir of love and awe; in all cases, however, these spiritual emotions are strengthened by the study of Torah laws.
In the spirit of the above we can understand the metaphor of the verse, “She girds her loins with strength”: Just as a warrior gathers strength by girding his loins, so does the soul become more powerful by being enveloped with the encompassing radiance of the Divine light, which is drawn down upon it from the Supreme Will that is revealed in the laws of the Torah.
(ועל העמדת וקיום בחינת הראש שבנפש, הוא השכל המתבונן כו׳, אמר: טעמה כי טוב סחרה גו׳, ומבואר במקום אחר)
(9As regards supporting and sustaining the “head” of the soul, i.e., the intellect that contemplates, [Solomon] said:10 “She perceives that her trade is good,” [a metaphor which is] explained elsewhere.)
What mainly concerns the Alter Rebbe here is “girding one’s loins” in order to arouse a love and fear of G‑d; as he will soon explain, the ideal time for this is during prayer. He therefore only briefly notes in passing that the intellect is also strengthened through the study of Torah laws.
אך עת וזמן החיזוק ואימוץ הזרועות והראש היא שעת תפלת השחר
However, the occasion and time for the strengthening and fortification of the “arms” (i.e., the spiritual emotions) and the “head” (i.e., the intellect) is the time of morning prayer,
שהיא שעת רחמים ועת רצון העליון למעלה
for Above, that is a time of compassion, a time at which the Supreme Will is revealed.11
Since the Supreme Will strengthens the “arms” and “head”, it follows that the time of prayer — an hour of favor when the Supreme Will is manifest — is an especially propitious time to strengthen both one’s intellectual grasp of G‑dliness and one’s spiritual emotions. Prayer is thus the ideal opportunity to meditate upon the greatness of G‑d and to create within oneself a feeling of awe and love of Him.
ולזאת אותה אבקש ממבקשי ה׳
Therefore, says the Alter Rebbe, this is what I would ask of those who seek to draw close to G‑d:
יבינו וישכילו יחדיו, ולהיות לזכרון בין עיניהם, כל מה שכתבתי אליהם אשתקד בכלל
Let them both understand and contemplate, and have as a [constant] reminder between their eyes,12 all that I wrote them last year13 in general,
ובפרט מענין כוונת התפלה מעומקא דלבא
and especially with respect to devout concentration during prayer from the depths of their heart.
יום יום ידרשון ה׳ בכל לבם ובכל נפשם
Day after day let them seek G‑d and desire to cleave to Him with all their heart and with all their soul;14
ונפשם תשתפך כמים נוכח פני ה׳
let them pour out their soul like water15 in the presence of G‑d.
וכמאמר רז״ל בספרי: עד מיצוי הנפש כו׳
In this spirit our Sages, of blessed memory, taught in Sifrei, commenting upon the verse, “and with all your soul”16 — that [prayer should be intense] “to the extent of pressing out the soul”; i.e., until the soul bursts forth and expresses itself in an outpouring of love for G‑d.
The wine that is forced out through the cracks of an absolutely full barrel is no more than a trickle. Yet what forces it through is the very fullness of the entire quantity of wine within. So, too, “pressing out the soul” refers to a state in which the entire essence of the soul is bursting forth with its love for G‑d, yet only a trickle of this love is visible externally.
1. Cf. Mishlei 9:5.
2. Devarim 6:8.
3. Zohar II, 121a et passim.
4. Tehillim 5:13.
5. The Rebbe notes: “Though tzinah generally denotes a shield that protects the body from three sides, our verse concludes with the verb ‘crowned’ (rather than ‘surrounded’; see commentary of Rashi here), signifying that this shield also serves as a ‘crown’.”
6. Mishlei 12:4.
7. Conclusion of Niddah and loc. cit.
8. Sifri on Parshat Haazinu, and elsewhere.
9. Parentheses are in the original text.
10. Mishlei 31:18.
11. Zohar I, 247b; III, 204a.
12. Cf. Shmot 15:9.
13. In the epistle beginning “You shall reprove” that appears at the conclusion of Kuntres Acharon.
14. Cf. Devarim 4:29.
15. Cf. I Shmuel 1:15.
16. Devarim 6:5.
Rambam:
• Sefer Hamitzvot:
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Today's Mitzvah
Thursday, Menachem Av 4, 5777 · July 27, 2017
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
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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 236
Personal Injury
"If men quarrel, and one strikes the other..."—Exodus 21:18.
The courts are commanded to adjudicate cases that involve personal injury cause by one person to another. [Monetary penalties are assessed to compensate for devaluation of the injured individual, pain sustained, medical bills, unemployment due to the injury, and shame incurred.]
Only an ordained court in the Land of Israel can adjudicate such cases [with the exception of medical bills and unemployment, that can be adjudicated by all rabbinical courts no matter the location].
Full text of this Mitzvah »
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Deuteronomy Chapter 2
2And the Lord spoke to me, saying, בוַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר:
3You have circled this mountain long enough; turn northward. גרַב לָכֶם סֹב אֶת הָהָר הַזֶּה פְּנוּ לָכֶם צָפֹנָה:
turn northward: Turn along the eastern side [of Moab], from the south to the north, facing northward. Consequently, they were traveling in an easterly direction, and this is what is meant by “And they came from the sun rise [i.e., east side] to the land of Moab” (Jud. 11:18).
פנו לכם צפנה: סובו לכם לרוח מזרחית מן הדרום לצפון, ופניכם לצפון, נמצאו הולכין את רוח מזרחית. וזהו שנאמר (שופטים יא, יח) ויבואו ממזרח שמש לארץ מואב:
4And command the people saying, You are about to pass through the boundary of your kinsmen, the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, and they will be afraid of you. Be very careful. דוְאֶת הָעָם צַו לֵאמֹר אַתֶּם עֹבְרִים בִּגְבוּל אֲחֵיכֶם בְּנֵי עֵשָׂו הַיֹּשְׁבִים בְּשֵׂעִיר וְיִירְאוּ מִכֶּם וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּם מְאֹד:
Be very careful: And what is this “being careful”? “You shall not provoke them.”
ונשמרתם מאד: ומהו השמירה, אל תתגרו בם (פסוק ה):
5You shall not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land not so much as a foot step, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau for an inheritance. האַל תִּתְגָּרוּ בָם כִּי לֹא אֶתֵּן לָכֶם מֵאַרְצָם עַד מִדְרַךְ כַּף רָגֶל כִּי יְרֻשָּׁה לְעֵשָׂו נָתַתִּי אֶת הַר שֵׂעִיר:
not so much as a foot step: meaning, even only for the sole of the foot to tread a single step, I do not permit you to enter their land without permission. An Aggadic interpretation is: [I will not give you of their land] until the day arrives when the foot will tread upon the Mount of Olives [the Messianic era], as it said: “And His [God’s] feet will [figuratively] stand [on that day upon the Mount of Olives]” (Zech. 14:4).
עד מדרך כף רגל: אפילו מדרך כף רגל, כלומר אפילו דריסת הרגל איני מרשה לכם לעבור בארצם שלא ברשות. ומדרשי אגדה, עד שיבא יום דריסת כף רגל על הר הזיתים שנאמר (זכריה יד, ד) ועמדו רגליו וגו':
[I have given Mount Seir] to Esau for an inheritance: from Abraham. I gave ten nations to Abraham, seven of them for you [the seven of Canaan], and the Kenites, the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites (Gen. 16:18-21), who are Ammon, Moab, and Seir. One of them is for Esau, and the other two are for the children of Lot (Gen. Rabbah 44). As a reward [for Lot] for going with him [Abraham] to Egypt and for keeping silent when Abraham said, regarding his wife, “She is my sister,” He treated him [Lot] as his [Abraham’s] son [to inherit part of the land promised to Abraham] (Gen. Rabbah 44).
ירשה לעשו: מאברהם, עשרה עממים נתתי לו, שבעה לכם וקיני וקנזי וקדמוני הן עמון ומואב ושעיר, אחד מהם לעשו והשנים לבני לוט, בשכר שהלך אתו למצרים ושתק על מה שהיה אומר על אשתו, אחותי היא, עשאו כבנו:
6You shall buy food from them with money, that you may eat, and also water you shall buy from them with money, that you may drink. ואֹכֶל תִּשְׁבְּרוּ מֵאִתָּם בַּכֶּסֶף וַאֲכַלְתֶּם וְגַם מַיִם תִּכְרוּ מֵאִתָּם בַּכֶּסֶף וּשְׁתִיתֶם:
you shall buy: Heb. תִּכְרוּ. This is an expression of purchase. Similar is (Gen. 50:5),“which I have purchased (כָּרִיתִי) for myself.” In the coastal cities, for“selling” (מְכִירָה) , they use the word“ כִּירָה” (Rosh Hashanah 26a).
תכרו: לשון מקח. וכן (בראשית נ, ה) אשר כריתי לי, שכן בכרכי הים קורין למכירה כירה:
7For the Lord, your God, has blessed you in all the work of your hand; He knows of your walking through this great desert; these forty years that the Lord your God has been with you, you have lacked nothing. זכִּי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בֵּרַכְךָ בְּכֹל מַעֲשֵׂה יָדֶךָ יָדַע לֶכְתְּךָ אֶת הַמִּדְבָּר הַגָּדֹל הַזֶּה זֶה | אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ עִמָּךְ לֹא חָסַרְתָּ דָּבָר:
For the Lord, your God, has blessed you: Therefore you should not be ungrateful for His goodness [to you] by acting as though you were poor. Rather, show yourselves as rich people.
כי ה' אלהיך ברכך: לפיכך לא תכפו את טובתו להראות כאלו אתם עניים, אלא הראו עצמכם עשירים:
8And we departed from our kinsmen, the children of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, by way of the plain from Elath and from Etzion Geber, and we turned and passed through the way of the desert of Moab. חוַנַּעֲבֹר מֵאֵת אַחֵינוּ בְנֵי עֵשָׂו הַיּשְׁבִים בְּשֵׂעִיר מִדֶּרֶךְ הָעֲרָבָה מֵאֵילַת וּמֵעֶצְיֹן גָּבֶר וַנֵּפֶן וַנַּעֲבֹר דֶּרֶךְ מִדְבַּר מוֹאָב:
and we turned and passed: towards the north; we turned to proceed on the eastern side.
ונפן ונעבור: לצד צפון הפכנו פנים להלוך רוח מזרחית:
9And the Lord said to me, Do not distress the Moabites, and do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land [as] an inheritance, because I have given Ar to the children of Lot [as] an inheritance. טוַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֵלַי אַל תָּצַר אֶת מוֹאָב וְאַל תִּתְגָּר בָּם מִלְחָמָה כִּי לֹא אֶתֵּן לְךָ מֵאַרְצוֹ יְרֻשָּׁה כִּי לִבְנֵי לוֹט נָתַתִּי אֶת עָר יְרֻשָּׁה:
and do not provoke them to war: God forbade Israel only to wage war against Moab. However, Israel did frighten them, appearing before them, armed for battle. Therefore, it is written,“And Moab was very frightened of the people” (Num. 22:3) because Israel plundered and looted them. Regarding the children of Ammon, however, it says (verse 19),“Do not provoke them”-with any kind of provocation, as a reward for the modesty shown by their ancestress [Lot’s younger daughter], who did not publicize her father’s conduct, as did his elder daughter, who named her son Moab [מוֹאָב like מֵאָב, from the father] (Baba Kamma 38b).
ואל תתגר וגו': לא אסר להם על מואב אלא מלחמה, אבל מיראים היו אותם ונראים להם כשהם מזויינים, לפיכך כתיב (במדבר כב, ג) ויגר מואב מפני העם שהיו שוללים ובוזזים אותם. אבל בבני עמון נאמר (פסוק יט) ואל תתגר בם, שום גרוי, בשכר צניעות אמם שלא פרסמה על אביה כמו שעשתה הבכירה, שקראה שם בנה, מואב:
Ar: The name of the province.
ער: שם המדינה:
10The Emim dwelt there formerly, a great and numerous people, and tall [in stature], as the Anakim; יהָאֵמִים לְפָנִים יָשְׁבוּ בָהּ עַם גָּדוֹל וְרַב וָרָם כַּעֲנָקִים:
The Emim dwelt there formerly: You might think that this is the land of Rephaim which I gave [promised] to Abraham (Gen. 15:20), because the Emim, who are Rephaim, dwelt there before, but this is not that one, for those Rephaim I drove out and made the children of Lot settle there in their stead.
האמים לפנים וגו': אתה סבור שזו ארץ רפאים שנתתי לו לאברהם לפי שהאמים שהם רפאים ישבו בה לפנים, אבל לא זו היא כי אותם רפאים הורשתי מפני בני לוט והושבתים תחתם:
11They also are considered Rephaim, as the Anakim; but the Moabites call them Emim. יארְפָאִים יֵחָשְׁבוּ אַף הֵם כַּעֲנָקִים וְהַמֹּאָבִים יִקְרְאוּ לָהֶם אֵמִים:
They… are considered Rephaim…: These Emim were considered Rephaim, just as the Anakim, who were called Rephaim, because whoever beheld them-his hands became weak (מִתְרַפּוּת) (Gen. Rabbah 26).
רפאים יחשבו וגו': רפאים היו נחשבים אותם אמים כענקים הנקראים רפאים על שם שכל הרואה אותם ידיו מתרפות:
Emim: so called, because their fear (אֵימָה) was cast over mankind. And similarly (verse 12),“The Horites dwelt in Seir” and [just as I gave the Rephaim over to the children of Lot,] I gave them [the Horites] over to the children of Esau.
אמים: על שם שאימתם מוטלת על הבריות, וכן (פסוק יב) ובשעיר ישבו החורים ונתתים לבני עשו:
12And the Horites formerly dwelt in Seir, and the children of Esau were driving them out, and they exterminated them from before them and dwelt in their stead, just as the Israelites did to the land of their inheritance, which the Lord gave them. יבוּבְשֵׂעִיר יָשְׁבוּ הַחֹרִים לְפָנִים וּבְנֵי עֵשָׂו יִירָשׁוּם וַיַּשְׁמִידוּם מִפְּנֵיהֶם וַיֵּשְׁבוּ תַּחְתָּם כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יִשְׂרָאֵל לְאֶרֶץ יְרֻשָּׁתוֹ אֲשֶׁר נָתַן יְהֹוָה לָהֶם:
were driving them out: Heb. יִירָשׁוּם [This is expressed in] the present tense, as if to say, I gave them power to go on constantly driving them out.
יירשום: לשון הווה, כלומר נתתי בהם כח שהיו מורישים אותם והולכים:
13Now get up and cross the brook of Zered. So we crossed the brook of Zered. יגעַתָּה קֻמוּ וְעִבְרוּ לָכֶם אֶת נַחַל זָרֶד וַנַּעֲבֹר אֶת נַחַל זָרֶד:
14And the days when we went from Kadesh barnea, until we crossed the brook of Zered, numbered thirty eight years, until all the generation of the men of war expired from the midst of the camp, just as the Lord swore to them. ידוְהַיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר הָלַכְנוּ | מִקָּדֵשׁ בַּרְנֵעַ עַד אֲשֶׁר עָבַרְנוּ אֶת נַחַל זֶרֶד שְׁלשִׁים וּשְׁמֹנֶה שָׁנָה עַד תֹּם כָּל הַדּוֹר אַנְשֵׁי הַמִּלְחָמָה מִקֶּרֶב הַמַּחֲנֶה כַּאֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע יְהֹוָה לָהֶם:
15Also the hand of the Lord was upon them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp, until they were consumed. טווְגַם יַד יְהֹוָה הָיְתָה בָּם לְהֻמָּם מִקֶּרֶב הַמַּחֲנֶה עַד תֻּמָּם:
[Also the hand of the Lord] was against them: to quickly destroy them within a period of forty years, so that they would not cause their children to tarry any longer in the desert.
היתה בם: למהר ולהומם בתוך ארבעים שנה שלא יגרמו לבניהם עוד להתעכב במדבר:
16So it was, when all the men of war finished dying from among the people, טזוַיְהִי כַאֲשֶׁר תַּמּוּ כָּל אַנְשֵׁי הַמִּלְחָמָה לָמוּת מִקֶּרֶב הָעָם:
So it was, when [all the men of war] finished: …
ויהי כאשר תמו וגו'. :
17that the Lord spoke to me saying, יזוַיְדַבֵּר יְהֹוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר:
that the Lord spoke to me: But since the spies were sent until now, the word וַיְּדַבֵּר [denoting God’s speaking to Moses with endearment] is not mentioned in [this] section, only וַיֹּאמֶר [denoting a less endearing form of communication], to teach us that during those entire thirty-eight years during which time the Israelites were under ban by God, the Divine speech was not directed towards him in an expression of affection, face to face, and with peace of mind-to teach us that the Divine Presence rests upon the prophets only for Israel’s sake (Sifrei , Lev. 6).
וידבר ה' אלי וגו': אבל משלוח המרגלים עד כאן לא נאמר בפרשה (זו), וידבר, אלא ויאמר, ללמדך, שכל ל"ח שנה שהיו ישראל נזופים לא נתייחד עמו הדבור בלשון חבה פנים אל פנים וישוב הדעת, ללמדך, שאין השכינה שורה על הנביאים אלא בשביל ישראל:
the men of war: [i.e.,] men from twenty years of age, who go forth to war. \b 18-19\b0
אנשי המלחמה: מבן עשרים שנה היוצאים בצבא:
Today you are crossing the boundary of Moab… And when you approach opposite the children of Ammon: from here [we deduce] that the land of Ammon was towards the north.
אתה עובר היום את גבול מואב וגו' וקרבת מול בני עמון וגו': מכאן שארץ עמון לצד צפון:
18Today you are crossing the boundary of Moab at Ar. יחאַתָּה עֹבֵר הַיּוֹם אֶת גְּבוּל מוֹאָב אֶת עָר:
19And when you approach opposite the children of Ammon, neither distress them, nor provoke them, for I will not give you of the land of the children of Ammon as an inheritance, because I have given it to the children of Lot as an inheritance. יטוְקָרַבְתָּ מוּל בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן אַל תְּצֻרֵם וְאַל תִּתְגָּר בָּם כִּי לֹא אֶתֵּן מֵאֶרֶץ בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן לְךָ יְרֻשָּׁה כִּי לִבְנֵי לוֹט נְתַתִּיהָ יְרֻשָּׁה:
20It too is considered a land of Rephaim; Rephaim dwelt therein formerly, and the Ammonites call them Zamzummim. כאֶרֶץ רְפָאִים תֵּחָשֵׁב אַף הִוא רְפָאִים יָשְׁבוּ בָהּ לְפָנִים וְהָעַמֹּנִים יִקְרְאוּ לָהֶם זַמְזֻמִּים:
It too is considered a land of Rephaim: It too is considered a land of Rephaim because the Rephaim dwelt there formerly, but this is not the one I gave to Abraham.
ארץ רפאים תחשב: ארץ רפאים נחשבת אף היא לפי שהרפאים ישבו בה לפנים, אבל לא זו היא שנתתי לאברהם:
21A great, numerous and tall people as the Anakim, but the Lord exterminated them before them, and they drove them out and dwelt in their stead. כאעַם גָּדוֹל וְרַב וָרָם כַּעֲנָקִים וַיַּשְׁמִידֵם יְהֹוָה מִפְּנֵיהֶם וַיִּירָשֻׁם וַיֵּשְׁבוּ תַחְתָּם:
22As He did to the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, when He exterminated the Horites from before them; and they drove them out and dwelt in their stead even to this day. כבכַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לִבְנֵי עֵשָׂו הַיּשְׁבִים בְּשֵׂעִיר אֲשֶׁר הִשְׁמִיד אֶת הַחֹרִי מִפְּנֵיהֶם וַיִּירָשֻׁם וַיֵּשְׁבוּ תַחְתָּם עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה:
23But the Avim, who dwell in open cities, up till Gaza -- the Caphtorites, who came forth of Caphtor, exterminated them, and dwelt in their stead. כגוְהָעַוִּים הַיּשְׁבִים בַּחֲצֵרִים עַד עַזָּה כַּפְתֹּרִים הַיֹּצְאִים מִכַּפְתֹּר הִשְׁמִידֻם וַיֵּשְׁבוּ תַחְתָּם:
But the Avim who dwell in open cities: The Avim are of the Philistine people, for they are listed together with them in the Book of Joshua (13:3), as it says,“The five Philistine lords. The Gazites, the Ashdodites, the Ashkelonites, the Gittites, the Ekronites, and the Avim." But because of the oath which Abraham had sworn to Abimelech, (Gen. 21:23-24), the Israelites were unable to take their land away from them; so I brought the Caphtorites against them, and they destroyed them and dwelt in their stead. Now, you are permitted to take it [the land of the Avim] from their [the Caphtorites’] possession (Chullin 60b).
והעוים היושבים בחצרים וגו': עוים מפלשתים הם, שעמהם הם נחשבים בספר יהושע, שנאמר (יהושע יג, ג) חמשת סרני פלשתים העזתי והאשדודי האשקלוני הגתי והעקרוני והעוים. ומפני השבועה שנשבע אברהם לאבימלך לא יכלו ישראל להוציא ארצם מידם, והבאתי עליהם כפתורים והשמידום וישבו תחתם, ועכשיו אתם מותרים לקחתה מידם:
24Get up, journey, and cross the river Arnon. Behold, I have delivered into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: Begin to possess it, and provoke him to war. כדקוּמוּ סְּעוּ וְעִבְרוּ אֶת נַחַל אַרְנֹן רְאֵה נָתַתִּי בְיָדְךָ אֶת סִיחֹן מֶלֶךְ חֶשְׁבּוֹן הָאֱמֹרִי וְאֶת אַרְצוֹ הָחֵל רָשׁ וְהִתְגָּר בּוֹ מִלְחָמָה:
25Today I will begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you upon the nations that are under the entire heaven, who will hear reports of you and shake and be in trepidation because of you. כההַיּוֹם הַזֶּה אָחֵל תֵּת פַּחְדְּךָ וְיִרְאָתְךָ עַל פְּנֵי הָעַמִּים תַּחַת כָּל הַשָּׁמָיִם אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁמְעוּן שִׁמְעֲךָ וְרָגְזוּ וְחָלוּ מִפָּנֶיךָ:
under the entire heaven: This [statement that nations under the whole heaven will fear the Israelites] teaches that the sun stood still for Moses on the day of the battle with Og, [Other editions: Sihon,] and the matter became [consequently] known under the entire heaven [that is, to the whole world] (Avodah Zarah 25a).
תחת כל השמים: למד שעמדה חמה למשה ביום מלחמת עוג ונודע הדבר תחת כל השמים:
26So I sent messengers from the desert of Kedemoth to Sihon, king of Heshbon, with words of peace, saying, כווָאֶשְׁלַח מַלְאָכִים מִמִּדְבַּר קְדֵמוֹת אֶל סִיחוֹן מֶלֶךְ חֶשְׁבּוֹן דִּבְרֵי שָׁלוֹם לֵאמֹר:
[And I sent messengers] from the desert of Kedemoth: Even though the Omnipresent had not commanded me to call to Sihon in peace, I learned to do so from the incident at the desert of Sinai, i.e., relating to the Torah which preceded (קָדְמָה) the world. When the Holy One, blessed be He, was about to give the Torah to Israel, He took it to Esau and Ishmael. Although it was clear to Him that they would not accept it, nevertheless, He began with them in peace. So too, I first called to Sihon with words of peace. Another explanation מִמִּדְבַּר קְדֵמוֹת Moses said to God,“I learned this from You, Who preceded (קָדַמְתָּ) the world. You could have sent one flash of lightning to consume the Egyptians, but instead, You sent me from the desert to Pharaoh. saying, (Exod. 5:1) ‘Let my people go’ patiently.” (Midrash Tanchuma)
ממדבר קדמות: אף על פי שלא צוני המקום לקרא לסיחון לשלום, למדתי ממדבר סיני מן התורה שקדמה לעולם. כשבא הקב"ה ליתנה לישראל חזר אותה על עשו וישמעאל, וגלוי לפניו שלא יקבלוה ואף על פי כן פתח להם בשלום, אף אני קדמתי את סיחון בדברי שלום. דבר אחר ממדבר קדמות, ממך למדתי שקדמת לעולם [בדברים]. יכול היית לשלוח ברק אחד ולשרוף את המצריים, אלא שלחתני מן המדבר אל פרעה לאמר (שמות ה א) שלח את עמי, במתון:
27"Allow me to pass through your land: I will go along by the highway, I will turn neither to the right nor to the left." כזאֶעְבְּרָה בְאַרְצֶךָ בַּדֶּרֶךְ בַּדֶּרֶךְ אֵלֵךְ לֹא אָסוּר יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאול:
28You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat; and give to me water for money, that I may drink; I will only pass through by my feet. כחאֹכֶל בַּכֶּסֶף תַּשְׁבִּרֵנִי וְאָכַלְתִּי וּמַיִם בַּכֶּסֶף תִּתֶּן לִי וְשָׁתִיתִי רַק אֶעְבְּרָה בְרַגְלָי:
29Just as the children of Esau who dwell in Seir, and the Moabites who dwell in Ar, did for me; until I cross the Jordan to the land which the Lord our God is giving us." כטכַּאֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ לִי בְּנֵי עֵשָׂו הַיּשְׁבִים בְּשֵׂעִיר וְהַמּוֹאָבִים הַיּשְׁבִים בְּעָר עַד אֲשֶׁר אֶעֱבֹר אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ נֹתֵן לָנוּ:
Just as the children of Esau…did for me: This is not referring to permission to pass through their land, [for Edom refused,] rather it refers to the selling of food and water.
כאשר עשו לי בני עשו: לא לענין לעבור את ארצם אלא לענין מכר אוכל ומים:
until I cross the Jordan: This refers to [Moses’ earlier request]“Allow me to pass through your land.” (verse 27)
עד אשר אעבור את הירדן: מוסב על אעברה בארצך:
30But Sihon, king of Heshbon, did not wish to let us pass by him, for the Lord your God caused his spirit to be hardened and his heart to be obstinate, in order that He would give him into your hand, as this day. לוְלֹא אָבָה סִיחֹן מֶלֶךְ חֶשְׁבּוֹן הַעֲבִרֵנוּ בּוֹ כִּי הִקְשָׁה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶת רוּחוֹ וְאִמֵּץ אֶת לְבָבוֹ לְמַעַן תִּתּוֹ בְיָדְךָ כַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה:
Tehillim: Psalms Chapters 23 - 28• Hebrew text
• English text
Chapter 23
When King David was in the forest of Cheret and nearly died of starvation, God provided nourishment for him with a taste of the World to Come. David then composed this psalm, describing the magnitude of his trust in God.
1. A psalm by David. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall lack nothing.
2. He lays me down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters.
3. He revives my soul; He directs me in paths of righteousness for the sake of His Name.
4. Though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff-they will comfort me.
5. You will prepare a table for me before my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup is full.
6. Only goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the House of the Lord for many long years.
Chapter 24
If the fulfillment of one's prayer would result in the sanctification of God's Name, he should pray that God act for the sake of the holiness of His Name. One should also invoke the merit of his ancestors, for we know that "the righteous are greater in death than in life"
1. By David, a psalm. The earth and all therein is the Lord's; the world and its inhabitants.
2. For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the rivers.
3. Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord, and who may stand in His holy place?
4. He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not used My Name in vain or sworn falsely.
5. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and kindness from God, his deliverer.
6. Such is the generation of those who search for Him, [the children of] Jacob who seek Your countenance forever.
7. Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, eternal doors, so the glorious King may enter.
8. Who is the glorious King? The Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord, mighty in battle.
9. Lift up your heads, O gates; lift them up, eternal doors, so the glorious King may enter.
10. Who is the glorious King? The Lord of Hosts, He is the glorious King for all eternity.
Chapter 25
The verses in this psalm are arranged according to the alphabet, excluding the letters Bet, Vav, and Kuf, which together equal the numerical value of Gehenom (purgatory). One who recites this psalm daily will not see the face of purgatory.
1. By David. To You, Lord, I lift my soul.
2. My God, I have put my trust in You. May I not be put to shame; may my enemies not gloat over me.
3. Indeed, may all who hope in You not be put to shame; let those who act treacherously without reason be shamed.
4. O Lord, make Your ways known to me; teach me Your paths.
5. Train me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; I yearn for You all day.
6. O Lord, remember Your mercies and Your kindnesses, for they have existed for all time.
7. Do not recall the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; remember me in accordance with Your kindness, because of Your goodness, O Lord.
8. Good and upright is the Lord, therefore He directs sinners along the way.
9. He guides the humble with justice, and teaches the humble His way.
10. All the paths of the Lord are kindness and truth for those who observe His covenant and testimonies.
11. For the sake of Your Name, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
12. Whoever is a God-fearing man, him will He teach the path that he should choose.
13. His soul will abide in well-being, and his descendants will inherit the earth.
14. The secret of the Lord is to those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them.
15. My eyes are always turned to the Lord, for He releases my feet from the snare.
16. Turn to me and be compassionate to me, for I am alone and afflicted.
17. The sufferings of my heart have increased; deliver me from my hardships.
18. Behold my affliction and suffering, and forgive all my sins.
19. See how numerous my enemies have become; they hate me with a violent hatred.
20. Guard my soul and deliver me; may I not be put to shame, for I place my trust in You.
21. Let integrity and uprightness guard me, for my hope is in You.
22. Redeem Israel, O God, from all its afflictions.
Chapter 26
In this psalm King David inundates God with prayers and acts of piety, because he envies those who are his spiritual superiors, saying, "If only I were on their level of piety and virtue!"
1. By David. Judge me, O Lord, for in my innocence I have walked, and in the Lord I have trusted-I shall not falter.
2. Try me, O Lord, and test me; refine my mind and heart.
3. For Your kindness is before my eyes, and I have walked constantly in Your truth.
4. I did not sit with men of falsehood, and with hypocrites I will not mingle.
5. I detested the company of evildoers, and with the wicked I will not sit.
6. I wash my hands in purity, and circle Your altar, O Lord,
7. to give voice to thanks, and to recount all Your wonders.
8. I love the shelter of Your House, O Lord, and the place where Your glory resides.
9. Gather not in my soul with sinners, nor my life with men of bloodshed,
10. In whose hands are schemes, and whose right hand is filled with bribes.
11. But I walk in my innocence; redeem me and show me favor.
12. My foot stands on level ground; in assemblies I will bless the Lord.
Chapter 27
King David acknowledges and praises God, placing his trust in Him because of his victories in war. "Nevertheless, it is not wars that I desire, for I cannot gain perfection with them. Only one thing do I ask: to abide day and night in the study hall studying Torah, to gain perfection so that my soul may merit the life of the World to Come."
1. By David. The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life-whom shall I dread?
2. When evildoers approached me to devour my flesh, my oppressors and my foes, they stumbled and fell.
3. If an army were to beleaguer me, my heart would not fear; if war were to arise against me, in this I trust1
4. One thing I have asked of the Lord, this I seek: that I may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the pleasantness of the Lord, and to visit His Sanctuary.
5. For He will hide me in His tabernacle on a day of adversity; He will conceal me in the hidden places of His tent; He will lift me upon a rock.
6. And then my head will be raised above my enemies around me, and I will offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of jubilation; I will sing and chant to the Lord.
7. Lord, hear my voice as I call; be gracious to me and answer me.
8. In Your behalf my heart says, "Seek My countenance"; Your countenance, Lord, I seek.
9. Do not conceal Your countenance from me; do not cast aside Your servant in wrath. You have been my help; do not abandon me nor forsake me, God of my deliverance.
10. Though my father and mother have forsaken me, the Lord has taken me in.
11. Lord, teach me Your way and lead me in the path of righteousness, because of my watchful enemies.
12. Do not give me over to the will of my oppressors, for there have risen against me false witnesses, and they speak evil.
13. [They would have crushed me] had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14. Hope in the Lord, be strong and let your heart be valiant, and hope in the Lord.
FOOTNOTES
1.I trust that “the lord is my light and salvation” etc. (Rashi)
Chapter 28
A prayer for every individual, entreating God to assist him in walking the good path, to prevent him from walking with the wicked doers of evil, and that He repay the wicked for their wickedness and the righteous for their righteousness.
1. By David. I call to You, O Lord; my Strength, do not be deaf to me; for should You be silent to me, I will be like those who descend to the pit.
2. Hear the sound of my pleas when I cry out to You, when I raise my hands toward Your holy Sanctuary.
3. Do not draw me along with the wicked, with evildoers who speak of peace with their companions, though evil is in their heart.
4. Give them according to their deeds, and the evil of their endeavors; give them according to their handiwork, render to them their just desserts.
5. For they pay no heed to the acts of the Lord, nor to the work of His hands; may He destroy them and not rebuild them.
6. Blessed is the Lord, for He has heard the voice of my pleas.
7. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusted and I was helped; my heart exulted, and with my song I praised Him.
8. The Lord is a strength to them; He is a stronghold of deliverance to His anointed.
9. Grant salvation to Your people and bless Your heritage; tend them and exalt them forever.
Tanya: Iggeret HaKodesh, middle of Epistle 1• English Text (Lessons in Tanya)
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Thursday,Menachem Av 4, 5777 · July 27, 2017
Today's Tanya Lesson
Iggeret HaKodesh, middle of Epistle 1
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אך מי הוא הנותן כח ועוז לבחינת מתנים להעמיד ולקיים הראש והזרועות
But what gives the power and strength to the “loins” (i.e., faith) to support and sustain the “head” (i.e., the intellect that contemplates G‑d’s greatness) and the “arms” (i.e., the love and fear of G‑d)?
הוא עסק ולימוד הלכות בתורה שבעל פה
It is one’s involvement in — and study of — the laws of the Oral Torah, for the Torah is the food1 that nourishes the soul’s faith,
שהיא בחינת גילוי רצון העליון
and [the Oral Torah] is the manifestation of the Supreme Will.
Only the Oral Torah manifestly reveals the Supreme Will in all its ramifications; the Written Torah does not elaborate on the detailed laws concerning the performance of the commandments. On the mitzvah of tefillin, for example, the Written Torah merely states that2 “You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall serve as a reminder between your eyes.” It is not at all clear exactly what shall be bound, how it shall serve as a sign, and precisely where it shall be placed “between your eyes.” All these particulars are elaborated upon in the Oral Torah; it is there that G‑d’s specific intentions regarding tefillin are revealed.
So too with the other commandments: the Oral Torah reveals the Supreme Will, as will be explained in more detail below, in Epistle 29.
The Alter Rebbe now goes on to say that Torah may indeed be said to be the revelation of G‑d’s Will, a level that transcends His wisdom, notwithstanding the fact that3 “Torah proceeds from Chochmah,” i.e., from Divine wisdom. This is so because:
דאורייתא מחכמה היא דנפקת
Torah [merely] proceeds i.e., unfolds from Chochmah: it is merely revealed through Divine wisdom;
אבל מקורה ושרשה הוא למעלה מעלה מבחינת חכמה
its source and root, however, surpass by far the rank of Chochmah,
והוא הנקרא בשם רצון העליון, ברוך הוא
being that which is referred to as the Blessed One’s Supreme Will, which encompasses and sustains Chochmah.
וכמו שכתוב: כצנה רצון תעטרנו
Thus it is written, — and the following proof text is cited here to illustrate the effect of Torah upon the soul,4 “As with a shield You crown5 [the righteous man] with favor.” (The word here translated “favor” is ratzon, the same word that has been rendered as “Will”.)
So, too, the study of Torah encompasses and protects the soul of the Torah student,
כעטרה שהיא על המוחין שבראש
like a crown which is placed above the brains which are within the head.
Since the study of the Oral Torah reveals G‑d’s Will (i.e., the “crown” that transcends the level of wisdom), it is therefore able to strengthen the “loins” (i.e., faith), whose purpose it is to support the “head” (i.e., intellect) and the “arms” (i.e., the love and fear of G‑d — the spiritual emotions that are the fruits of intellect).
וכנודע ממה שכתוב על פסוק: אשת חיל עטרת בעלה
[This teaching] parallels the familiar exposition of the verse,6 “A woman of valor is the crown of her husband.”
The Alter Rebbe explains below, in Epistle 29, that “a woman of valor” alludes to the Oral Torah. Its numerous laws serve as a “crown” for her “husband” — the intellective faculty of Chochmah.
וכל השונה הלכות בכל יום כו׳
[This teaching] likewise [recalls the Rabbinic teaching, that]7 “whoever studies Torah laws every day [is assured of life in the World to Come],” for it is the study of the Oral Torah that enables one to be receptive to Divine revelation in the World to Come, as is explained at greater length in Epistle 29.
וזהו: חגרה בעוז מתניה
This, then, is the meaning of the verse, “She girds her loins with strength”:
אין עוז אלא תורה
“There8 is no strength but Torah,”
שהיא נותנת כח ועוז לבחינת מתנים החגורים ומלובשים בה
for it gives power and strength to the “loins”, i.e., the faith of the soul, which are girded and embodied in it,
לחזק ולאמץ זרועותיה, הן דחילו ורחימו שכליים או טבעיים
to strengthen and fortify its “arms”, namely the intellectually-generated or innate awe and love
כל חד לפום שיעורא דיליה
in each man according to his measure.
One individual generates a love or awe of G‑d through his own intellectual endeavor, through study and meditation; another merely draws on his inborn reservoir of love and awe; in all cases, however, these spiritual emotions are strengthened by the study of Torah laws.
In the spirit of the above we can understand the metaphor of the verse, “She girds her loins with strength”: Just as a warrior gathers strength by girding his loins, so does the soul become more powerful by being enveloped with the encompassing radiance of the Divine light, which is drawn down upon it from the Supreme Will that is revealed in the laws of the Torah.
(ועל העמדת וקיום בחינת הראש שבנפש, הוא השכל המתבונן כו׳, אמר: טעמה כי טוב סחרה גו׳, ומבואר במקום אחר)
(9As regards supporting and sustaining the “head” of the soul, i.e., the intellect that contemplates, [Solomon] said:10 “She perceives that her trade is good,” [a metaphor which is] explained elsewhere.)
What mainly concerns the Alter Rebbe here is “girding one’s loins” in order to arouse a love and fear of G‑d; as he will soon explain, the ideal time for this is during prayer. He therefore only briefly notes in passing that the intellect is also strengthened through the study of Torah laws.
אך עת וזמן החיזוק ואימוץ הזרועות והראש היא שעת תפלת השחר
However, the occasion and time for the strengthening and fortification of the “arms” (i.e., the spiritual emotions) and the “head” (i.e., the intellect) is the time of morning prayer,
שהיא שעת רחמים ועת רצון העליון למעלה
for Above, that is a time of compassion, a time at which the Supreme Will is revealed.11
Since the Supreme Will strengthens the “arms” and “head”, it follows that the time of prayer — an hour of favor when the Supreme Will is manifest — is an especially propitious time to strengthen both one’s intellectual grasp of G‑dliness and one’s spiritual emotions. Prayer is thus the ideal opportunity to meditate upon the greatness of G‑d and to create within oneself a feeling of awe and love of Him.
ולזאת אותה אבקש ממבקשי ה׳
Therefore, says the Alter Rebbe, this is what I would ask of those who seek to draw close to G‑d:
יבינו וישכילו יחדיו, ולהיות לזכרון בין עיניהם, כל מה שכתבתי אליהם אשתקד בכלל
Let them both understand and contemplate, and have as a [constant] reminder between their eyes,12 all that I wrote them last year13 in general,
ובפרט מענין כוונת התפלה מעומקא דלבא
and especially with respect to devout concentration during prayer from the depths of their heart.
יום יום ידרשון ה׳ בכל לבם ובכל נפשם
Day after day let them seek G‑d and desire to cleave to Him with all their heart and with all their soul;14
ונפשם תשתפך כמים נוכח פני ה׳
let them pour out their soul like water15 in the presence of G‑d.
וכמאמר רז״ל בספרי: עד מיצוי הנפש כו׳
In this spirit our Sages, of blessed memory, taught in Sifrei, commenting upon the verse, “and with all your soul”16 — that [prayer should be intense] “to the extent of pressing out the soul”; i.e., until the soul bursts forth and expresses itself in an outpouring of love for G‑d.
The wine that is forced out through the cracks of an absolutely full barrel is no more than a trickle. Yet what forces it through is the very fullness of the entire quantity of wine within. So, too, “pressing out the soul” refers to a state in which the entire essence of the soul is bursting forth with its love for G‑d, yet only a trickle of this love is visible externally.
* * *
FOOTNOTES1. Cf. Mishlei 9:5.
2. Devarim 6:8.
3. Zohar II, 121a et passim.
4. Tehillim 5:13.
5. The Rebbe notes: “Though tzinah generally denotes a shield that protects the body from three sides, our verse concludes with the verb ‘crowned’ (rather than ‘surrounded’; see commentary of Rashi here), signifying that this shield also serves as a ‘crown’.”
6. Mishlei 12:4.
7. Conclusion of Niddah and loc. cit.
8. Sifri on Parshat Haazinu, and elsewhere.
9. Parentheses are in the original text.
10. Mishlei 31:18.
11. Zohar I, 247b; III, 204a.
12. Cf. Shmot 15:9.
13. In the epistle beginning “You shall reprove” that appears at the conclusion of Kuntres Acharon.
14. Cf. Devarim 4:29.
15. Cf. I Shmuel 1:15.
16. Devarim 6:5.
Rambam:
• Sefer Hamitzvot:
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Thursday, Menachem Av 4, 5777 · July 27, 2017
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
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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 236
Personal Injury
"If men quarrel, and one strikes the other..."—Exodus 21:18.
The courts are commanded to adjudicate cases that involve personal injury cause by one person to another. [Monetary penalties are assessed to compensate for devaluation of the injured individual, pain sustained, medical bills, unemployment due to the injury, and shame incurred.]
Only an ordained court in the Land of Israel can adjudicate such cases [with the exception of medical bills and unemployment, that can be adjudicated by all rabbinical courts no matter the location].
Full text of this Mitzvah »
Personal Injury
Positive Commandment 236
Translated by Berel Bell
The 236th mitzvah is that we are commanded regarding someone who wounds another person.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement1 (exalted be He), "[This is the law] when two men fight, and one hits the other..." These laws are called dinei k'nasos ["the laws of fines"].
There is one general verse which includes all these laws, namely G‑d's statement2 (exalted be He), "[If one maims his neighbor,] whatever he did must be done to him in return." The Oral Tradition explains that [it does not mean that he is literally to be harmed in return, but that] he must pay the monetary equivalent of the damage he has caused to the other person. Even if he merely shamed him, he must pay appropriate damages.
You should be aware that all these laws involve damage that one person causes to another. They may be judged and determined only by a High Court which was ordained in Israel. The same applies for cases when an animal damages a person or another animal.
The details of this mitzvah are explained in the 8th chapter of tractate Bava Kama.
FOOTNOTES
1.Ex. 21:18.
2.Lev. 24:19.
• 1 Chapter A Day: Sanhedrin veha`Onashin haMesurin lahem Sanhedrin veha`Onashin haMesurin lahem - Chapter 20
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Sanhedrin veha`Onashin haMesurin lahem - Chapter 20
1
A court does not inflict punishment on the basis of conclusions which it draws, only on the basis of the testimony of witnesses with clear proof. Even if witnesses saw a person pursuing a colleague, they gave him a warning, but then diverted their attention, punishment is not inflicted on the basis of their testimony. Or to give a graphic example, the pursuer entered into a ruin, following the pursued and the witnesses followed him. They saw the victim slain, in his death throes, and the sword dripping blood in the hand of the killer, since they did not see him strike him, the court does not execute the killer based on this testimony. Concerning this and the like, Exodus 23:7 states: "Do not kill an innocent and righteous person."
Similarly, if two people testified that a person served a false deity in different circumstances, e.g., one saw him serve the sun and warned him, while the other saw him serve the moon and warned him, their testimonies are not combined. This can also be inferred from the verse: "Do not kill an innocent and righteous person." Since there is a rationale on which basis he could be held innocent and righteous, he should not be executed.
א
אין בית דין עונשין באומד הדעת אלא על פי עדים בראיה ברורה אפילו ראוהו העדים רודף אחר חבירו והתרו בו והעלימו עיניהם או שנכנסו אחריו לחורבה ונכנסו אחריו ומצאוהו הרוג ומפרפר והסייף מנטף דם ביד ההורג הואיל ולא ראוהו בעת שהכהו אין בית דין הורגין בעדות זו ועל זה וכיוצא בו נאמר ונקי וצדיק אל תהרוג וכן אם העידו עליו שנים שעבד ע"ז זה ראהו שעבד את החמה והתרה בו וזה ראהו שעבד את הלבנה והתרה בו אין מצטרפין שנאמר ונקי וצדיק אל תהרוג הואיל ויש שם צד לנקותו ולהיותו צדיק אל תהרגוהו:
2
Whenever a person violates a prohibition punishable by execution by the court under duress, the court should not execute him. Even in situations where the transgressor was commanded to sacrifice his life and not transgress, if he sinned under duress, although he desecrated God's name, he should not be executed. This is derived from Deuteronomy 22:26: "To the maiden, you should not do anything." This verse is a warning to the court not to punish a person who transgresses under duress.
ב
כל מי שעשה דבר שחייבין עליו מיתת בית דין באונס אין בית דין ממיתין אותו ואף על פי שהיה מצווה שיהרג ואל יעבור אע"פ שחלל את השם והוא אנוס אינו נהרג שנאמר ולנערה לא תעשה דבר זו אזהרה לבית דין שלא יענשו את האנוס:
3
When a man is compelled to engage in relations with a woman forbidden to him, he is liable for execution by the court. The rationale is that an erection can only come about willingly. When a woman is raped, by contrast, she is absolved. This applies even if, in the midst of the rape, she says: "Allow him to continue." It is her natural inclination that overcame her.
ג
איש שאנסוהו עד שבא על הערוה חייב מיתת בית דין שאין קישוי אלא לדעת אבל האשה הנבעלת באונס אפילו אמרה אחר שנאנסה הניחו לו הרי היא פטורה מפני שיצרה נתגבר עליה:
4
It is forbidden for the court to have compassion for the killer. The judges should not say: "Since this person has already been killed, what advantage is there in killing another person," and thus be lax in executing him. This is implied by Deuteronomy 19:13: "Do not allow your eyes to take pity. You shall eliminate innocent bloodshed."
Similarly, it is forbidden for the court to take pity on a person who was obligated to pay a fine. They should not say: "He is poor. He acted unintentionally." Instead, they should exact the entire payment from him without compassion, as Ibid.:21 states: "You shall not take pity."
Similarly, in questions of monetary law, one should not show mercy to the poor, saying: "He is indigent and the other litigant is wealthy. Since both I and the wealthy man are obligated to provide for the poor person's livelihood, I will vindicate him in judgment and thus he will derive his livelihood with honor." With regard to this, the Torah warned Exodus 23:3: "Do not glorify the indigent in his dispute," and Leviticus 19:15: "Do not show favor to the poor."
It is forbidden to show favor to a person of stature. What is implied? Two people come before one for judgment, one a wise man of stature and one, an ordinary person. One may not ask about the welfare of the person of stature first, nor treat him with favor, nor show him honor, lest this cause the other litigant to become tongue-tied. Instead, the judge should not turn to either of them in a personal manner until the judgment is concluded. This is derived from [Ibid.: "Do not glorify the countenance of a person of stature." Our Sages said: One should not say: "This man is affluent; he is the son of people of stature, how can I embarrass him and witness his humiliation." With regard to this, it is written: "Do not glorify the countenance of a person of stature."
ד
אסור לבית דין לחוס על ההורג שלא יאמרו כבר נהרג זה ומה תועלת יש בהריגת האחר ונמצאו מתרשלין בהריגתו שנאמר ולא תחוס עינך ובערת דם הנקי וכן אסור לבית דין לחוס על מי שנתחייב קנס שלא יאמרו עני הוא זה שלא בכוונה עשה אלא מגבין ממנו כל שיש לו בלא חנינה שנאמר ולא תחוס עינך וכן בדיני ממונות אין מרחמין על הדל שלא תאמר עני הוא זה ובעל דינו עשיר הואיל ואני והעשיר חייבין לפרנסו אזכנו בדין ונמצא מתפרנס בכבוד על זה הזהירה תורה ודל לא תהדר בריבו ונאמר לא תשא פני דל אסור להדר פני גדול כיצד הרי שבאו לפניך שנים לדין אחד חכם גדול ואחד הדיוט לא תקדים לשאול בשלומו של גדול ולא תסביר לו פנים ולא תכבדנו כדי שלא יסתתמו טענותיו של אחר אלא אינו נפנה לאחד מהן עד שיגמר הדין שנאמר לא תהדר פני גדול אמרו חכמים אל תאמר עשיר הוא זה בן גדולים הוא זה היאך אביישנו ואראה בבושתו לכך נאמר לא תהדר פני גדול:
5
If two people come before a judge one observant and one wicked, he should not say : "Since he is wicked and it can be presumed that he is lying and conversely, it can be assumed that the other litigant does not falsify his statements, I will be biased against the wicked in judgment." With regard to this, Exodus 23:7 states: "Do not be biased in the judgment of the poor person." The intent is even if a person is poor in the observance of mitzvot, do not be biased in his judgment.
ה
באו לפניך שנים אחד כשר ואחד רשע אל תאמר הואיל ורשע הוא וחזקתו משקר וחזקת זה שאינו משנה בדברו אטה הדין על הרשע על זה נאמר לא תטה משפט אביונך בריבו אף על פי שהוא אביון במצות לא תטה דינו:
6
Leviticus 19:15: "Do not act perversely in judgment" refers to a person who distorts the judgment and vindicates the litigant who should be held liable and obligates the litigant who should be vindicated. Similarly, a person who delays rendering judgment and extends his deliberations even though the matter is clear-cut in order to aggravate one of the litigants is also considered as one who acts perversely.
ו
לא תעשו עול במשפט זה המעוות את הדין ומזכה את החייב ומחייב את הזכאי וכן המענה את הדין ומאריך בדברים ברורים כדי לצער אחד מבעלי דינים הרי זה בכלל עול:
7
A person who is haughty when rendering judgment and hurries to deliver a judgment before he examines the matter in his own mind until it is as clear as the sun to him is considered a fool, wicked, and conceited. Our Sages commanded: "Be patient in judgment." And similarly, Job 29:16 states: "When I did not understand a complaint, I would investigate."
ז
הגס לבו בהוראה וקופץ וחותך את הדין קודם שיחקרהו בינו לבין עצמו עד שיהא לו ברור כשמש הרי זה שוטה רשע וגס רוח כך צוו חכמים הוו מתונין בדין וכן איוב הוא אומר וריב לא ידעתי אחקרהו:
8
A judge who begins comparing a judgment that is brought before him to a judgment that was already rendered with which he was familiar is considered as wicked and haughty when rendering judgment if there is a scholar in his city who is wiser than him and he fails to consult him. Our Sages comment: "May evil upon evil befall him." For these and similar concepts stem from haughtiness which leads to the perversion of justice.
Proverbs 7:26: "She cast down many corpses" refers to a student who has not reached the level where he can deliver rulings, but does so. Awesome are all she has slain" Ibid. refers to a scholar who has reached the level where he can deliver rulings, but does not do so.
The latter denunciation applies provided his generation requires his services. If, however, he knows that there is another scholar capable of rendering decisions, and therefore he refrains from doing so, he is praiseworthy. Whenever a person refrains from becoming involved in a judgment, he removes the responsibility for antagonism, theft, and false oaths from himself. A person who is haughty in rendering judgment is foolish, wicked, and arrogant.
ח
כל דיין שבא לפניו דין והתחיל לדמותו בדין פסוק שכבר ידע אותו ויש במדינה גדול ממנו בחכמה ואינו הולך ונמלך בו הרי זה בכלל הרשעים שלבם גס בהוראה ואמרו חכמים רעה על רעה תבא לו שכל הדברים וכיוצא בהן מגסות הרוח הן המביאות לידי עוות הדין כי רבים חללים הפילה זה תלמיד שלא הגיע להוראה ומורה ועצומים כל הרוגיה זה שהגיע להוראה ואינו מורה והוא שיהיה הדור צריך לו אבל אם ידע שיש לשם ראוי להוראה ומנע עצמו מן ההוראה הרי זה משובח וכל המונע עצמו מן הדין מונע ממנו איבה וגזל ושבועת שוא והגס לבו בהוראה שוטה רשע וגס רוח:
9
A student should not give a ruling in the presence of his teacher unless he is three parseot removed from him. This distance is the length of the encampment of the Jews in the desert.
ט
תלמיד אל יורה הלכה לפני רבו אא"כ היה רחוק ממנו שלש פרסאות כנגד מחנה ישראל:
10
A person should not say: "All of the above applies with regard to a judgment that involves the expropriation of a large sum of money from one person to another." Instead, a judgment involving 1000 maneh and one involving a p'rutah should be regarded as identical with regard to all matters.
י
אל תאמר שכל אלו הדברים בדין שיש בו הוצאת ממון הרבה מזה ונתינתו לזה לעולם יהי דין אלף מנה ודין פרוטה אחת שוין בעיניך לכל דבר:
11
Judges should not sit down to adjudicate a case involving less than a p'rutah. If, however, they were required to adjudicate a complaint involving a p'rutah, they render a judgment even if ultimately, the outcome concerns less than a p'rutah.
יא
אין הדיינין יושבין לדין בדין פחות משוה פרוטה ואם הוזקקו לשוה פרוטה גומרין את דינו אפילו לפחות משוה פרוטה:
12
Anyone who perverts a judgment against another Jew transgresses a negative commandment, as Leviticus 19:15 states: "Do not act perversely in judgment." If the litigant was a convert, he transgresses two negative commandments, as Deuteronomy 24:17 states: "Do not distort the judgment of a convert." If he was an orphan, the transgressor violates three negative commandments as that verse continues: "...the judgment of an orphaned convert."
יב
כל המטה משפט אחד מישראל עובר בלאו אחד שנאמר לא תעשו עול במשפט ואם היה גר עובר בשני לאוין שנאמר לא תטה משפט גר ואם היה יתום עובר בשלשה לאוין שנאמר משפט גר יתום:
• 3 Chapters A Day: Shechenim Shechenim - Chapter Four, Shechenim Shechenim - Chapter Five, Shechenim Shechenim - Chapter Six
English Text | Hebrew Text
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English Text | Hebrew Text
Audio: Listen | Download | Video Class
Shechenim - Chapter Four
1
The following rules apply when a person owns a loft that is situated above a house belonging to a colleague. If one of the walls of the house falls, the owner of the loft is not required to pay any of the costs incurred by the owner of the house in repairing it. And he may compel the owner of the house to repair it as it was originally. If, by contrast, one of the walls of the loft falls, the owner of the house cannot compel the owner of the loft to repair it.
The ceiling is the responsibility of the owner of the house. The plaster above it is the responsibility of the owner of the loft.
א
מי שהיתה לו עלייה למעלה מביתו של חבירו ונפל כותל מכותלי הבית אין בעל העלייה נותן לו כלום ביציאותיו וכופה את בעל הבית לבנותו כשהיה אבל אין בעל הבית כופה לבעל העלייה לבנות כותל עלייה שנפל והתקרה של בית הרי היא של בעל הבית והמעזיבה שעל התקרה הרי היא של בעל העלייה:
2
If both the house and the loft fall, both owners share equally in the wood, the stones and the sand.
If some of the stones are broken, we determine which of the stones were more likely to have broken, the stones of the house or the stones of the loft. This can be determined by the manner in which the stones fell: whether the upper stones fell on the lower stones and destroyed them or the lower stones slipped out and the upper stones fell and were destroyed. If it cannot be determined how the stones fell, both the whole stones and the broken stones should be divided equally.
ב
נפלו שניהם הבית והעלייה הרי שניהם חולקין בעצים ובאבנים ובעפר ואם נשתברו מקצת האבנים רואין אי זו ראויה להשתבר אם אבני הבית או אבני העלייה ודבר זה ידוע מדרך הנפילה אם נפל העליון על התחתון והרסו או נשמט התחתון ונפל העליון ונהרס ואם אינן יודעין כיצד נפל חולקין האבנים השלימות והשבורות:
3
The following rule applies when both structures fall, and the owner of the loft tells the owner of the house to rebuild his home so that he can build his loft upon it, but the owner of the home refuses to do so. The owner of the loft may rebuild the home to its original size and live inside it until the owner of the home reimburses him for all his costs. Then he must leave, and he may build his loft upon it if he desires.
ג
אמר בעל העלייה לבע"ה לבנות כדי שיבנה עלייתו על גביו והוא אינו רוצה הרי בעל העלייה בונה את הבית כשהיה ויושב ודר בתוכו עד אשר יתן כל יציאותיו ואח"כ יצא ויבנה עלייתו אם רוצה:
4
If neither of them is able to rebuild the building, the owner of the loft receives one third of the land, and the owner of the house receives two thirds of the land.
ד
ואם אין אחד מהן יכול לבנות בעל העלייה נוטל שליש הקרקע ובעל הבית שני שלישים:
5
If the owner of the house desires to rebuild his home, he should rebuild it as it was originally. The following laws apply if he desires to change the structure of the walls: If he desires to strengthen them and increase their width beyond their previous measures, his desire is heeded. If he desires to make them narrower or weaker - e.g., originally, they had been made from stone, and now he wants to make them from bricks - his desire is not heeded.
If he desires to build the ceiling with heavier and stronger beams, his desire is heeded. If he desires to make them narrower than they were originally, his desire is not heeded.
If he desires to add more windows or increase the height of the house, his desire is not heeded. If he desires to reduce the number of windows or diminish the height of the house, his desire is heeded.
Similarly, the owner of the loft should rebuild it as it was originally. If he desires to change the structure of the walls, to increase their width and strengthen them, his desire is not heeded, because he places an additional burden on the lower walls. If he desires to make them narrower, his desire is heeded.
Similar laws apply with regard to the beams of the ceiling of the loft. If he desires to exchange them for lighter ones, his desire is heeded. If he desires to use heavier beams, his desire is not heeded.
If he desires to add more windows or diminish the height of the loft, his desire is heeded. If he desires to reduce the number of windows or increase the height of the house, his desire is not heeded.
ה
רצה בעל הבית לבנות ביתו בונה כשהיה ואם בא לשנות בכותלים אם חיזק אותן והרבה ברחבן יותר ממה שהיו שומעין לו רצה למעט ברחבן או לפחות מחזקן כגון שהיו אבנים וביקש להחזיר לבנים וכיוצא בהן אין שומעין לו בא לשנות את התקרה לקורות כבדין וחזקין שומעין לו לפחות ברחבן פחות ממה שהיו אין שומעין לו הרבה בחלונות או שהוסיף בגובה הבית אין שומעין לו מיעט בחלונות או שמיעט בגובה הבית שומעין לו וכן בעל העלייה בונה אותה אם רצה כשהיתה ואם בא לשנות הכותלים להרחיב ולהחזיק אין שומעין לו מפני שהוא מכביד על כותל התחתון אבל למעט שומעין לו וכן בקורות תקרה העליונה אם שינה אותם לקלים ממה שהיו שומעין לו לכבדים מהן אין שומעין לו הרבה בחלונות או שמיעט בגובה העלייה שומעין לו אבל אם מיעט בחלונות או הרבה בגבהה אין שומעין לו:
6
The following rules apply when the beams of the ceiling sink lower and descend into the space of the house. If they reach within ten handbreadths of the ground, the owner of the house may destroy and rebuild the entire structure. If they do not reach that low, the owner of the loft may prevent him from doing so. Even if the owner of the house tells the owner of the loft: "I will rent you another place to live until I repair the ceiling," his desire is not heeded. For the owner of the loft will tell him: "I do not want the difficulty of moving from place to place so that you can repair your home."
ו
נתדלדלו קורות הבית וירדו לאויר הבית אם הגיעו לתוך עשרה טפחים סותר ובונה ואם לא הגיעו יכול בעל העלייה לעכב עליו ואפילו אמר לו בעל הבית אני אשכור לך מקום כדי שתדור בו עד שאתקן התקרה אין שומעין לו שהרי אומר לו איני רוצה שאטרח ממקום למקום כדי שתתקן את ביתך:
7
If an agreement was made between the two of them that as long as the house is high enough that a person can enter while carrying an ordinary sized burden on his head despite the fact that the beams have bent lower, the owner may not tear it down. If, however, he cannot enter while carrying such a burden unless he bends his head, he may tear it down, repair it and rebuild it, then the owner of the loft may not prevent him. For this was the agreement they made at the outset.
ז
התנו ביניהם דבר זה אם נשאר בגובה הבית כדי שיקח אדם חבילה בינונית על ראשו ויכנס בה תחת קורות אלו שנעקמו אינו סותר ואם אינו יכול להכנס בה עד שיכוף את ראשו סותר ומתקן ובונה ואין בעל העלייה יכול לעכב שהרי התנו ביניהם תחלה:
8
The following rule applies when an olive press is built in the midst of a mountain, a garden is located upon it, and then the top of the olive press becomes opened four handbreadths or more. The owner of the garden may descend and sow the earth of the olive press until the owner of the olive press makes a covering for the olive press, so that the owner of the higher property can restore the earth of his garden and sow it.
ח
בית הבד שהוא בנוי בעובי ההר וגינה אחת על גביו ונפחתו שמי בית הבד כארבעה טפחים או יותר הרי בעל הגינה יורד וזורע למטה עד שיעשה זה לבית בדו כיפין ויתקן העליון קרקע גינתו ויזרע כל גינתו:
9
The following rules apply when there are two gardens, one on top of the other on the slope of a mountain, and there are vegetables growing on the surface of the earth between them. Any vegetables to which the owner of the higher property can extend his hand and pull out by their roots belong to him, provided he does not strain himself. The remainder belong to the owner of the lower property.
If the owner of the higher property can reach the leaves of the vegetables, but cannot reach their roots, he should not take them. If, however, he does take them, they should not be expropriated from his possession.
Different laws apply with regard to a tree that stands on the boundary line between two properties. Even though it leans into the field belonging to one of them, both of them may divide the fruits.
ט
שתי גנות זו על גב זו והירק בינתיים בגובה עובי הארץ שביניהם כל שהעליון יכול לפשוט את ידו וליטול אותו מעיקרו הרי הוא שלו ובלבד שלא יאנוס את עצמו והשאר של תחתון היה מגיע לנופו ואינו מגיע לעיקרו לא יטול העליון ואם נטל אין מוציאין אותו מידו אבל האילן העומד על המצר אע"פ שהוא נוטה לתוך שדה אחת מהן הרי שניהם חולקין בפירותיו:
10
The following rules apply if a river washes away olive trees belonging to one person and plants them in a field belonging to another. If the owner of the trees says: "I want to take my olive trees, his desire is not heeded, in order that the land be settled. Instead, they should remain in their place.
If the river uproots the trees together with their earth when it replants them, the owner of the field and the owner of the olive trees should divide the fruit for the first three years. After three years, all the produce belongs to the owner of the field. If they were not uprooted together with their earth, the owner of the field is entitled to the entire benefit immediately.
י
שטף נהר את זיתיו ושתלם בתוך שדה חבירו ואמר הלה זיתי אני נוטל אין שומעין לו משום יישוב הארץ אלא יעמדו במקומן ואם עקרן הנהר בגושיהן כששתלן יחלקו הפירות בעל השדה עם בעל הזיתים כל ג' שנים ולאחר ג' הכל לבעל השדה ואם לא נעקרו בגושיהן הכל לבעל הקרקע מיד:
11
Similar concepts apply when a person sells his olive trees to be used as wood. If the agreement was that he would cut them down immediately, all the fruit they produce belongs to the owner of the land. If the agreement was that he could cut them down whenever he desires, all the fruit they produce belongs to the owner of the trees.
The following rules apply when the trees were sold without a specific agreement. If they produce no more than a revi'it per se'ah beyond the costs involved, they belong to the owner of the olive trees. If they produce more than a revi'it per se'ah beyond the costs involved, they should be divided.
יא
כיוצא בו המוכר זיתיו לעצים אם פסק עמו לקוץ מיד כל הפירות שיעשו הרי הן לבעל הקרקע ואם התנה עמו לקוץ כל זמן שירצה כל הפירות שיוציאו לבעל העצים מכר סתם אם עשו פחות מרביעית לסאה חוץ מן ההוצאה הרי אלו של בעל הזיתים עשו רביעית לסאה חוץ מן ההוצאה הרי אלו יחלוקו:
Shechenim - Chapter Five
1
When a courtyard is jointly owned by partners, each one may compel the other to build a gate-keeper's room, a door, and any other element that is sorely needed for a courtyard or anything that is customary for the local people to build. He cannot compel him with regard to other matters - paintings and designs and the like. If one of the partners in the courtyard made such an addition on his own initiative, and then another demonstrated that he appreciated what his colleague did, he is held responsible for his share in the entire project and must pay his portion of the costs.
א
חצר השותפין כל אחד מהן כופה את חבירו לעשות בה בית שער ודלת וכן כל הדברים שהחצר צריכה להם צורך גדול או דברים שנהגו בני המדינה לעשותם אבל שאר הדברים כגון ציור וכיור וכיוצא בו אינו כופהו עשה אחד מהן מעצמו אם גילה השני דעתו שנוח לו במה שעשה חבירו מגלגלין עליו את הכל ונותן חלקו בהוצאה:
2
When a person has a house in another courtyard besides the one in which he lives, the inhabitants of the courtyard in which he does not live, can force him to contribute toward the building of a door, a bolt and a lock. However, he cannot be compelled to contribute to other matters. If he dwells with them in the courtyard, he can be forced to contribute to everything.
ב
מי שיש לו בית בחצר אחרת בני החצר משעבדין אותו לעשות עמהם דלת ונגר ומנעול אבל בשאר הדברים אין משעבדין אותו ואם היה שרוי עמהם באותה חצר משעבדין אותו על הכל:
3
When one of the owners of a house in the courtyard seeks to put an animal or a mill in the courtyard or to raise chickens there, his colleagues can prevent him from doing so. Similarly, with regard to other things that people are not accustomed to doing in their courtyards, the partners can prevent him from doing this.
There is an exception: doing laundry. For it is not the custom of the daughters of Israel to shame themselves by doing laundry at the riverside.
ג
אחד מן השותפין בחצר שביקש להעמיד בה בהמה או רחיים או לגדל בה תרנגולין חבירו מעכב עליו וכן שאר הדברים שאין דרך אנשי המקום לעשותן בחצרותיהן בכולן השותפין מעכבין זה על זה חוץ מן הכביסה לפי שאין דרכן של בנות ישראל להתבזות על גב הנהר:
4
In a courtyard owned jointly by several owners or a lane that ends in a cul-de-sac, all the inhabitants of the lane or the courtyard can restrain one of their number so that he makes use of the lane only in a manner in which other people living in that country make use of lanes.
ד
אחד חצר השותפין ואחד מבוי שאינו מפולש כל בני המבוי מעכבין זה על זה שלא להשתמש במבוי אלא בדברים שדרך בני המדינה להשתמש בהן במבואות:
5
If one of the partners in a courtyard put an animal, a mill or the like into a courtyard, and the other partner did not protest against him, he may prevent him from doing so at any time. If he erected a partition ten handbreadths high in front of the animal or the like, he has established his claim to it. For partners will protest if one erects a partition. Since the partner did not protest, but instead allowed the partition to remain, he forgoes his right to protest.
When does the above apply? In a courtyard that is jointly owned by partners. If, however, a person placed an animal in a courtyard belonging to another person, even if he erects a partition, he has not established his claim to it. For it is known that the owner only lent him the space. Similar laws apply if one brought in an oven or a range, or raised chickens or the like. This is certainly the law. For if one would say that the visitor establishes his claim to the space, a person will never lend space to a colleague.
ה
אחד מן השותפין בחצר שהעמיד בהמה או רחיים וכיוצא בהן בחצר ולא מיחה בו שותפו ה"ז מעכב עליו כ"ז שירצה ואם העמיד בפני בהמה זו וכיוצא בה מחיצה גבוהה עשרה טפחים החזיק שהשותפין מקפידין על המחיצה והואיל והניחו מחל במה דברים אמורים בחצר השותפין אבל בחצר חבירו אפי' העמיד בהמתו ועשה לו מחיצה לא החזיק שהדבר ידוע שאין זה אלא דרך שאלה וה"ה לכל מעמיד תנור וכיריים ומגדל תרנגולין וכיוצא בהן שאם תאמר החזיק אין לך אדם שמשאיל מקום לחבירו:
6
If one of the partners in a courtyard desires to open up a new window from his house overlooking the courtyard, his colleague may prevent him from doing so, for this allows him the possibility of looking at him at all times. If he opens such a window, he must close it.
Similarly, partners in a courtyard should not open the entrance of a house opposite the entrance of a colleague's house, or a window opposite a colleague's window. In the public domain, by contrast, a person may open an entrance opposite a colleague's entrance and a window opposite a colleague's window. For if the colleague would protest, he could tell him: "I am just like one of the people in the public domain who see you."
ו
אחד מן השותפין שביקש לפתוח לו חלון בתוך ביתו לחצר חבירו מעכב עליו מפני שמסתכל בו ממנו ואם פתח יסתום וכן לא יפתחו השותפים בחצר פתח בית כנגד פתח בית או חלון כנגד חלון אבל פותח אדם לרשות הרבים פתח כנגד פתח וחלון כנגד חלון מפני שאומר לו הריני כאחד מבני ר"ה שרואין אותך:
7
Nevertheless, even in the public domain, a person should not open up a store opposite the entrance to a colleague's courtyard, for this represents an ongoing damage. The passersby in the public domain go to and fro, while this person will sit in his store the entire day and look at his colleague's entrance.
ז
ואעפ"כ לא יפתח אדם חנות כנגד פתח חצר חבירו שזה היזק קבוע תמיד שהרי בני ר"ה עוברים ושבים וזה יושב בחנותו כל היום ומביט בפתח חבירו:
8
When one of the partners in a courtyard purchases a home in another courtyard, he may not open an entrance from his new home into the courtyard that he shares.
Even if he built a loft over his home, he is not entitled to open a new entrance for it to his courtyard, for he is making passage through the courtyard slower. It is as if the other partners in the courtyard had only one neighbor, and suddenly they were given many neighbors. One may, however, build an entrance to the loft within one's own home. And if a person desires to divide his apartment into two, he may.
ח
אחד מן השותפין בחצר שלקח בית בחצר אחרת אינו יכול לפתוח פתחו לחצר השותפין שלו אפילו בנה עלייה על גבי ביתו לא יעשה לה פתח לתוך החצר לפי שמרבה עליהן את הדרך נעשה כמי שהיה לזה שכן אחד ונעשו לו שכנים הרבה אבל פותח הוא פתח עלייה לתוך ביתו ואם רצה לחלוק חדרו לשנים חולק:
9
From this, one may deduce that if one of the partners in a courtyard brings people from another house to his house, the partners in the courtyard may prevent him from doing so, because he makes passage through the courtyard slower.
Similarly, if a person rents his house to the master of another household, who later brings his relatives and friends to dwell with him together in this one house, the owner who rents out the house can prevent him from doing so.
ט
מכאן אתה למד שאחד מן השותפין שהביא אצלו לביתו אנשי בית אחרת יש לחבירו לעכב עליו מפני שמרבה עליו את הדרך וכן המשכיר ביתו לבעל בית אחד ואחר כך הביא עמו קרוביו או מיודעיו לשכון עמו כאחד בבית זה הרי המשכיר מעכב עליו:
10
If the entrance to a courtyard from the home of one of the partners was small, he may not enlarge it, for another partner may protest: "When your entrance is small, I could hide from you when making use of the courtyard. I cannot hide from you when your entrance is large."
Similarly, if a person has a large entrance, he may not divide it in two, for another person may protest: "I am able to hide myself when there is only one entrance. If there are two entrances, I will not be able to hide myself."
י
היה פתח של אחד מן השותפין קטן אינו יכול להרחיבו שהרי שותפו אומר לו בפתח קטן אני יכול להסתר ממך בשעת תשמיש ואיני יכול להסתר ממך בפתח גדול ואם היה הפתח גדול לא יעשנו שנים שהרי אומר לו בפתח אחד אני יכול להסתר בשנים איני יכול:
11
When, by contrast, a person has a small entrance from his house to the public domain and he desires to enlarge it, or he has a wide entrance and he would like to divide it into two, a person who lives opposite him - and needless to say, the people within the public domain - cannot prevent him from doing so.
יא
אבל מי שהיה לו פתח קטן לר"ה ורצה להרחיבו או היה רחב ורצה לעשותו שנים אין חבירו שכנגדו מעכב עליו ואצ"ל בני ר"ה שאינן יכולין לעכב עליו:
12
The inhabitants of a lane may compel each other to share in the construction of a pole or a beam for the lane.
יב
כופין בני מבוי זה את זה לעשות להן לחי או קורה למבוי:
13
When a person has an entrance from his private domain to a lane, the inhabitants of the lane do not have the right to compel him to erect a gate for that entrance to the lane, for he can tell them: "I want to enter carrying my burden up to my entrance."
When a lane has entrances to the public domain at either of its ends, and the inhabitants of the lane desire to erect gates at the entrance to the lane, the people in the public domain may prevent them from doing so, for at times people in the public domain are pressed for space and enter the lane.
יג
מי שיש לו פתח למבוי אין בני מבוי כופין אותו לעשות דלת למבוי שיכול לומר רצוני שאכנס בחבילתי עד פתחי ומבוי המפולש לר"ה ובקשו בני המבוי להעמיד להם דלתות בני ר"ה מעכבין עליהם מפני שפעמים דוחקין הרבים ונכנסין בו:
14
When a person seeks to open an entrance from his home to a lane that ends in a cul-de-sac, the inhabitants of the lane may prevent him from doing so, because he makes passage through the courtyard slower. If the lane has openings to the public domain on either side, he may at the outset open any opening he desires.
יד
מי שביקש לפתוח פתח במבוי שאינו מפולש בני מבוי מעכבין עליו מפני שמרבה עליהם את הדרך ואם היה מבוי מפולש פותח כל פתח שירצה לכתחלה:
15
If a person has an entrance to his home that has been closed in a lane that ends in a cul-de-sac, he may open it at any time. If, however, he had destroyed the door frames, the inhabitants of the lane can prevent him from doing so.
Similarly, when one of the inhabitants of a lane desires to close the entrance to his home and transfer it to another lane, the inhabitants of the first lane may prevent him from doing so. For perhaps a tax will be levied against the lane, and the presence of another person reduces the share of the tax each of the inhabitants of the lane must pay.
Accordingly, when there is no fixed tax levied on the inhabitants of the lane, the person may close his entrance whenever he desires.
טו
היה לו פתח סתום במבוי שאינו מפולש ה"ז פותחו בכל עת שירצה ואם פרץ את פצימיו בני מבוי מעכבין עליו וכן אחד מבני מבוי שבקש לסתום פתחו ולהחזירו למבוי אחר בני מבוי מעכבין עליו שמא יבא עליהם מס ומתמעט מחלקן מן המס הקצוב על בני המבוי לפיכך מקום שאין המס קצוב על בני המבוי ה"ז סותם פתחו בכל עת שירצה:
16
The following laws apply when there are five courtyards that open up to a lane ending in a cul-de-sac. All of the inhabitants of the courtyards use the portion of the lane near the outer courtyard, while the inhabitants of the outer courtyard use only the portion of the lane near their own property. Similarly, the inhabitants of the second courtyard use the portion of the lane near their own property and the outer courtyard, but they do not use the portion of the lane near the others. Thus, the inhabitants of the innermost courtyard use use the portion of the lane near all the others as well as that near their own property.
Therefore, if the owner of the second courtyard built a bench in front of his entrance, blocking it, the owner of the outer courtyard may not prevent him from doing so. The inhabitants of the inner courtyards may prevent him from doing so for he is lengthening their path, by making them walk around the bench.
Similarly, if the owner of the second courtyard opens a second entrance between his courtyard and the outer courtyard, the owner of the outer courtyard may not prevent him from doing so, for he is allowed to use only the land that is outside that entrance. If, however, the owner of the second courtyard opens a second entrance between his courtyard and the third courtyard, the owners of the inner courtyard may prevent him from doing so, for the owner of the second courtyard is allowed to use only the land in the lane that is outside his first entrance and to its exterior. The same laws apply with regard to all the other owners.
טז
חמש חצרות הפתוחות למבוי שאינו מפולש כולן משתמשות עם החיצונה והחיצונה משתמשת לעצמה וכן השנייה משתמשת לעצמה ומשתמש עם החיצונה ואינה משתמשת עם השאר נמצאת הפנימית משתמשת עם כולן ומשתמשת לעצמה לפיכך אם בעל השנייה בנה איצטבא כנגד פתחו וסתמו אין החיצונה יכולה לעכב עליו אבל כל הפנימיות מעכבין עליו מפני שמרבה עליהן את הדרך באורך שהרי מקיפין האיצטבא וכן בעל השנייה שפתח לחצרו פתח שני בינו ובין החיצונה אין החיצונה מעכבת עליו שאין לו להשתמש אלא מפתחו ולחוץ אבל אם פתח הפתח השני בינו ובין השלישי הפנימית מעכבת עליו שאין לו להשתמש במבוי אלא מפתח חצרו הראשון ולחוץ וכן הדין בכולן:
Shechenim - Chapter Six
1
The inhabitants of a city may compel each other to participate in the building of a wall, gates, a bolt, to build a synagogue for the inhabitants and to purchase a Torah scroll, and scrolls of the Prophets and Writings, so that any member of the community who desires may read from it.
א
כופין בני העיר זה את זה לעשות חומה דלתים ובריח לעיר ולבנות להן בית הכנסת ולקנות ס"ת ונביאים וכתובים כדי שיקרא בהן כל מי שירצה לקרות מן הצבור:
2
When a person buys a city in Eretz Yisrael, the court may compel him to purchase a path to the city from all four directions for the sake of the settlement of Eretz Yisrael.
People who own fields among a stretch of fields in a valley may compel each other to dig a trench and a smaller trench around the valley.
ב
מי שלקח עיר בארץ ישראל כופין אותו ב"ד ליקח לו דרך מד' רוחותיה משום יישוב ארץ ישראל וכופין בני בקעה זה את זה לעשות ביניהם חריץ ובן חריץ:
3
Although a person owns a courtyard in one city, if he also owns property in another city, the inhabitants of the latter city can compel him to participate in the digging of cisterns, caverns and irrigation ditches. He is not, however, compelled to join in other communal matters. If he dwells together with them in that city, he is compelled to participate in all matters.
ג
מי שיש לו חצר בעיר אחרת בני העיר משעבדין אותו לחפור עמהם בורות שיחין ומערות ואמת המים אבל בשאר כל הדברים אין משעבדין אותו ואם היה שרוי עמהם באותה העיר משעבדין אותו על הכל:
4
When a levy is placed upon a city's inhabitants for the construction of the wall, the levy is made according to the proximity of the houses to the wall. Those whose homes are closer to the wall must pay more.
ד
כשהן גובין מאנשי העיר לבנות החומה גובין לפי קריבת הבתים מן החומה כל הסמוך לחומה נותן יותר:
5
Whenever a person lives in a city for twelve months or buys a dwelling there, he must contribute together with all the inhabitants of the city for the improvements that must be made - e.g., the walls, the gates, the wages of the soldiers who guard the city and all similar matters that are necessary for the protection of the city.
ה
וכל הדר בעיר י"ב חדש או שקנה בה בית דירה נותן עם בני העיר בכל הדברים הצריכין לתקון החומה והדלתות ושכר הפרשין השומרין את המדינה וכל כיוצא בדברים אלו ששומרין את העיר:
6
Payment for all the things necessary for the protection of a city is collected from all of its inhabitants, even from orphans, with the exception of Torah scholars. For Torah scholars do not require protection; their Torah study protects them. Payment for the improvement of the thoroughfares and the streets, by contrast, is collected even from the scholars.
If the people go out and fix the streets themselves, the Torah scholars should not go out to work with them. For it is not the practice of Torah scholars to demean themselves in the presence of common people.
ו
כל הדברים שצריכין לשמירת העיר לוקחין מכל אנשי העיר ואפילו מן היתומים חוץ מתלמידי חכמים שאין ת"ח צריכין שמירה שהתורה שומרתן אבל לתקון הדרכים והרחובות אפי' מן החכמים ואם כל העם יוצאין ומתקנין בעצמן לא יצאו תלמידי חכמים עמהן שאין דרך תלמידי חכמים להזדלזל לפני עם הארץ:
7
If the inhabitants of a city contracted workers to dig a river to bring water to a city, we collect even from orphans. For this is to their benefit, so that their fields and vineyards are watered.
Therefore, if it transpired that despite the work, the water did not come, since the orphans did not benefit, everything that was taken from them should be returned to them. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations.
ז
היו חופרין נהר להביא בו מים למדינה גובין אף מן היתומים שזו זכות להם כדי שישקו ממנו שדותיהם וכרמיהם לפיכך אם אירע להם דבר שלא באו המים הואיל ולא נהנו מהן היתומים מחזירין להם כל מה שנלקח מהן וכן כל כיוצא בזה:
8
The inhabitants of a lane can compel each other to prevent a tailor, a leather craftsman or any other craftsman from opening a business in the lane.
If a craftsman lived in the lane, and no protest was lodged against his practice of his craft, or there was a bathhouse, a store or a mill in the lane, and another person came and built another bathhouse opposite it or built another mill, the owner of the first establishment cannot prevent him, claiming: "You are destroying my livelihood."This applies even if he comes from another lane, for this trade is already practiced in this lane.
If, however, a stranger from another city comes to establish a store next to a person's store, or a bathhouse next to this person's bathhouse, they can prevent him from doing so. If, however, he pays the head-tax of the king together with them, they cannot prevent him from establishing his business.
ח
כופין בני מבוי זה את זה שלא להושיב ביניהן לא חייט ולא בורסי ולא אחד מבעלי אומניות היה שם במבוי אחד מבני מבוי אומן ולא מיחו בו או שהיתה שם מרחץ או חנות או רחיים ובא חבירו ועשה מרחץ אחרת כנגדו או טחון אחרת אינו יכול למנעו ולומר לו אתה פוסק חיי ואפילו היה מבני מבוי אחר אינן יכולין למנעו שהרי יש ביניהם אותה אומנות אבל גר ממדינה אחרת שבא לעשות חנות בצד חנותו של זה או מרחץ מצד מרחץ של זה יש להן למנעו ואם היה נותן עמהם מנת המלך אינו יכול למנעו:
9
When perfume merchants travel from city to city, the inhabitants of a city may not prevent them from selling their wares. For it is one of the ordinances established by Ezra for these merchants to travel in this manner so that perfume will be easily available for Jewish women. They may not, however, establish a fixed place where they sit and sell their wares unless the inhabitants of the city consent. If, however, the merchant is a Torah scholar, he may establish a fixed place wherever he desires.
ט
רוכלין המחזירין בעיירות אין בני המדינה יכולין לעכבן שתקנת עזרא היא שיהיו מחזירין כדי שיהיו הבשמים מצויין לבנות ישראל אבל אינן קובעין מקום ויושבין בו אלא מדעת בני העיר ואם תלמיד חכם הוא קובע מקום בכ"מ שירצה:
10
When merchants bring their wares to sell in cities, the inhabitants of the city may prevent them from doing so. If, however, they would sell their wares only on the market day, they cannot prevent them, provided they sell their wares only in the marketplace. They may not, however, go from door to door selling them, even on the market day.
If they have an outstanding loan in the city, they are permitted to sell what is necessary for their livelihood, even on days other than market day, until they repay their loan and move on.
י
הסוחרים שמביאין סחורתם למכור בתוך העיירות בני העיר מעכבין עליהם ואם מכרו ביום השוק בלבד אין מונעין אותם והוא שימכרו בשוק אבל לא יחזרו על הפתחים אפילו ביום השוק ואם יש להן מלוה בעיר מוכרין כדי פרנסתם אפילו בלא יום השוק עד שיפרעו חובן וילכן להן:
11
When one of the inhabitants of a lane that ends in a cul-de-sac desires to open up a profession as a blood letter, a weaver or a teacher of gentile children, the inhabitants of the lane may prevent him, for he increases the number of people coming in and going out of the lane.
Similarly, a person who owns a house in a courtyard shared by others may not rent it to a doctor, a blood letter, a weaver, a Jewish scribe who writes legal contracts or a teacher of gentile children.
יא
אחד מבני מבוי שאינו מפולש שביקש להעשות רופא אומן או גרדי או מלמד תינוקות של עכו"ם בני מבוי מעכבין עליו מפני שמרבה עליהם הנכנסין והיוצאין וכן מי שיש לו בית בחצר השותפין לא ישכירנו לא לרופא ולא לאומן ולא לגרדי ולא לסופר יהודי שכותב השטרות ולא למלמדי תינוקות של עכו"ם:
12
When a store is located in a courtyard, the neighbors can protest, telling the owner: "We cannot sleep because of the noise made by the people going in and out. " Instead, he should perform his work at home and sell it in the marketplace.
They may not, however, protest against him and say: "We cannot sleep because of the noise made by your hammer, " or "your mill, " for he has already established his right to perform these activities.
Similarly, a person may teach Jewish children Torah in his house. The other partners in his lane may not protest against him, saying: "We cannot sleep because of the noise made by the school children."
יב
חנות שבחצר יכולין השכנים למחות בידו ולומר לו אין אנו יכולין לישן מקול הנכנסים והיוצאין אלא עושה מלאכתו בחנותו ומוכר בשוק אבל אינן יכולין למחות בידו ולומר לו אין אנו יכולין לישן מקול הפטיש או מקול הרחיים שהרי החזיק לעשות כן וכן יש לו ללמד תינוקות של ישראל תורה בתוך ביתו ואין השותפין יכולין למחות בידו ולומר לו אין אנו יכולין לישן מקול התינוקות של בית רבן:
13
When one person owns a cistern within a house belonging to a colleague, he may enter only when it is customary for people to enter, and must depart when it is customary for people to depart. He may not bring his animal through his colleague's home to provide him with water from the cistern. Instead, he should fill up buckets with water and water it outside.
They both are entitled to make a lock on the entrance to the cistern: the owner of the cistern to protect his water, and the owner of the home, because of his suspicions concerning his wife, so that she will be able to enter there only when he knows.
יג
מי שיש לו בור לפנים מביתו של חבירו נכנס בשעה שדרך בני אדם נכנסין ויוצא בשעה שדרך בני אדם יוצאין ואינו מכניס בהמתו ומשקה מבורו אלא ממלא ומשקה מבחוץ ושניהם עושין פותחת על הבור בעל הבור כדי לשמור את מימיו ובעל חצר משום חשד אשתו שלא תכנס לשם אלא מדעתו:
14
When one person owns a garden whose entrance is within a garden belonging to a colleague, he may enter only when it is customary for people to enter, and must depart when it is customary for people to depart. He may not bring merchants through his colleague's garden, nor may he enter it to go to another field. The owner of the outer garden may sow vegetables on the path.
If both agree to move the path to the side of the garden, the owner of the inner garden may enter and depart when he desires, and he may bring merchants in. He may not, however, enter it to go to another field, Either of the parties can prevent the other from sowing vegetables in the path that was placed on the side,
יד
מי שיש לו גינה לפנים מגינתו של חבירו נכנס בשעה שדרך בני אדם נכנסין ויוצא בשעה שדרך בני אדם יוצאין ואין מכניס לתוכה תגרים ולא יכנס מתוכה לשדה אחרת והחיצון זורע את הדרך החזירו את הדרך מן הצד מדעת שניהם ה"ז נכנס ויוצא בשעה שהוא רוצה ומכניס לתוכה תגרים ולא יכנס מתוכה לשדה אחרת וכל אחד מהן יש לו לעכב על חבירו בזריעת הדרך שנתנו מן הצד:
Thursday, Menachem Av 4, 5777 · 27 July 2017
"Today's Day"
Thursday, Menachem Av 4, 5703
Torah lessons: Chumash: Devarim, Chamishi with Rashi.
Tehillim: 23-28.
Tanya: The praise and blessing (p. 381) ...granted forthwith. (p. 383).
No matter how much effort is exerted, no-one can earn one cent more than G-d has ordained that he - this particular person - shall earn. One must do what is necessary, but one must remember that all his work is but an adjunct. The main thing is G-d's blessing, and that blessing is earned by being observant of G-d's commands: Davening with a minyan, observing Shabbat b'hidur (beyond the minimum, with "beauty"), meticulous observance of kashrut, having children instructed by sincerely religious teachers.1
FOOTNOTES
1.The Rebbe means simply and without equivocation, teachers who are personally observant. He was horrified and deeply grieved by "teachers" of Torah who do not keep Torah and the destructive effects they have on their pupils.
Daily Thought:
A Glass Case
There is a place in the heart only G‑d knows. It is not something of which you are aware, or can be aware. It is just there, and for its sake you were formed.
All of you must become transparent, a nothingness. Then this treasure will shine forth. [Maamarei Admor Hazaken Haketzarim, p. 370.]
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