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- ב"ה Today in Judaism - Today is Shabbat, Av 13, 5777 · August 5, 2017Torah Reading:
Va'etchanan: Deuteronomy 3:23 - 7:11
Isaiah 40:1-26
Deuteronomy 3:23 “Then I pleaded with Adonai, 24 ‘Adonai Elohim, you have begun to reveal your greatness to your servant, and your strong hand — for what other god is there in heaven or on earth that can do the works and mighty deeds that you do? 25 Please! Let me go across and see the good land on the other side of the Yarden, that wonderful hill-country and the L’vanon!’ 26 But Adonai was angry with me on account of you, and he didn’t listen to me. Adonai said to me, ‘Enough from you! Don’t say another word to me about this matter! 27 Climb up to the top of Pisgah and look out to the west, north, south and east. Look with your eyes — but you will not go across this Yarden. 28 However, commission Y’hoshua, encourage him and strengthen him; for he will lead this people across and enable them to inherit the land that you will see.’ 29 So we stayed in the valley across from Beit-P‘or.
4:1 “Now, Isra’el, listen to the laws and rulings I am teaching you, in order to follow them, so that you will live; then you will go in and take possession of the land that Adonai, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 In order to obey the mitzvot of Adonai your God which I am giving you, do not add to what I am saying, and do not subtract from it. 3 You saw with your own eyes what Adonai did at Ba‘al-P‘or, that Adonai destroyed from among you all the men who followed Ba‘al-P‘or; 4 but you who stuck with Adonai your God are still alive today, every one of you. (ii) 5 Look, I have taught you laws and rulings, just as Adonai my God ordered me, so that you can behave accordingly in the land where you are going in order to take possession of it. 6 Therefore, observe them; and follow them; for then all peoples will see you as having wisdom and understanding. When they hear of all these laws, they will say, ‘This great nation is surely a wise and understanding people.’ 7 For what great nation is there that has God as close to them as Adonai our God is, whenever we call on him? 8 What great nation is there that has laws and rulings as just as this entire Torah which I am setting before you today? 9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves diligently as long as you live, so that you won’t forget what you saw with your own eyes, so that these things won’t vanish from your hearts. Rather, make them known to your children and grandchildren — 10 the day you stood before Adonai your God at Horev, when Adonai said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, and I will make them hear my very words, so that they will learn to hold me in awe as long as they live on earth, and so that they will teach their children.’ 11 You approached and stood at the foot of the mountain; and the mountain blazed with fire to the heart of heaven, with darkness, clouds and thick mist. 12 Then Adonai spoke to you out of the fire! You heard the sound of words but saw no shape, there was only a voice. 13 He proclaimed his covenant to you, which he ordered you to obey, the Ten Words; and he wrote them on two stone tablets. 14 At that time Adonai ordered me to teach you laws and rulings, so that you would live by them in the land you are entering in order to take possession of it.
15 “Therefore, watch out for yourselves! Since you did not see a shape of any kind on the day Adonai spoke to you in Horev from the fire, 16 do not become corrupt and make yourselves a carved image having the shape of any figure — not a representation of a human being, male or female, 17 or a representation of any animal on earth, or a representation of any bird that flies in the air, 18 or a representation of anything that creeps along on the ground, or a representation of any fish in the water below the shoreline. 19 For the same reason, do not look up at the sky, at the sun, moon, stars and everything in the sky, and be drawn away to worship and serve them; Adonai your God has allotted these to all the peoples under the entire sky. 20 No, you Adonai has taken and brought out of the smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of inheritance for him, as you are today.
21 “But Adonai was angry with me on account of you and swore that I would not cross the Yarden and go into that good land, which Adonai your God is giving you to inherit. 22 Rather, I must die in this land and not cross the Yarden; but you are to cross and take possession of that good land. 23 Watch out for yourselves, so that you won’t forget the covenant of Adonai your God, which he made with you, and make yourself a carved image, a representation of anything forbidden to you by Adonai your God. 24 For Adonai your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
25 “When you have had children and grandchildren, lived a long time in the land, become corrupt and made a carved image, a representation of something, and thus done what is evil in the sight of Adonai your God and provoked him; 26 I call on the sky and the earth to witness against you today that you will quickly disappear from the land that you are crossing the Yarden to possess. You will not prolong your days there but will be completely destroyed. 27 Adonai will scatter you among the peoples; and among the nations to which Adonai will lead you away, you will be left few in number. 28 There you will serve gods which are the product of human hands, made of wood and stone, which can’t see, hear, eat or smell. 29 However, from there you will seek Adonai your God; and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and being. 30 In your distress, when all these things have come upon you, in the acharit-hayamim, you will return to Adonai your God and listen to what he says; 31 for Adonai your God is a merciful God. He will not fail you, destroy you, or forget the covenant with your ancestors which he swore to them.
32 “Indeed, inquire about the past, before you were born: since the day God created human beings on the earth, from one end of heaven to the other, has there ever been anything as wonderful as this? Has anyone heard anything like it? 33 Did any other people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of a fire, as you have heard, and stay alive? 34 Or has God ever tried to go and take for himself a nation from the very bowels of another nation, by means of ordeals, signs, wonders, war, a mighty hand, an outstretched arm and great terrors — like all that Adonai your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? 35 This was shown to you, so that you would know that Adonai is God, and there is no other beside him. 36 From heaven he caused you to hear his voice, in order to instruct you; and on earth he caused you to see his great fire; and you heard his very words coming out from the fire. 37 Because he loved your ancestors, chose their descendants after them and brought you out of Egypt with his presence and great power, 38 in order to drive out ahead of you nations greater and stronger than you, so that he could bring you in and give you their land as an inheritance, as is the case today; 39 know today, and establish it in your heart, that Adonai is God in heaven above and on earth below — there is no other. 40 Therefore, you are to keep his laws and mitzvot which I am giving you today, so that it will go well with you and with your children after you, and so that you will prolong your days in the land Adonai your God is giving you forever.”
(A: iii) 41 Then Moshe separated three cities on the east side of the Yarden, toward the sunrise, 42 to which a killer might flee, that is, someone who kills by mistake a person whom he did not previously hate, and upon fleeing to one of these cities might live there. 43 The cities were Betzer in the desert, in the flatland, for the Re’uveni; Ramot in Gil‘ad for the Gadi; and Golan in Bashan for the M’nashi.
44 This is the Torah which Moshe placed before the people of Isra’el — 45 these are the instructions, laws and rulings which Moshe presented to the people of Isra’el after they had come out of Egypt — 46 beyond the Yarden River, in the valley across from Beit-P‘or, in the land of Sichon king of the Emori, who lived at Heshbon, whom Moshe and the people of Isra’el defeated when they came out of Egypt; 47 and they took possession of his land and the land of ‘Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Emori, who were beyond the Yarden toward the sunrise; 48 from ‘Aro‘er on the edge of the Arnon Valley to Mount Si’on,” that is, Mount Hermon, 49 “with all the ‘Aravah beyond the Yarden eastward, all the way to the Dead Sea at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah.
5:1 (A: iv, S: iii) Then Moshe called to all Isra’el and said to them, “Listen, Isra’el, to the laws and rulings which I am announcing in your hearing today, so that you will learn them and take care to obey them. 2 Adonai our God made a covenant with us at Horev. 3 Adonai did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us — with us, who are all of us here alive today. 4 Adonai spoke with you face to face from the fire on the mountain. 5 At that time I stood between Adonai and you in order to tell you what Adonai was saying; because, on account of the fire, you were afraid and wouldn’t go up onto the mountain. He said,
א 6 “‘I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you lived as slaves.
ב 7 “‘You are to have no other gods before me. 8 You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline — 9 you are not to bow down to them or serve them; for I, Adonai your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents, also the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot.
ג 11 “‘You are not to misuse the name of Adonai your God, because Adonai will not leave unpunished someone who misuses his name.
ד 12 “‘Observe the day of Shabbat, to set it apart as holy, as Adonai your God ordered you to do. 13 You have six days to labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Shabbat for Adonai your God. On it you are not to do any kind of work — not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your ox, your donkey or any of your other livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property — so that your male and female servants can rest just as you do. 15 You are to remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Adonai your God brought you out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore Adonai your God has ordered you to keep the day of Shabbat.
ה 16 “‘Honor your father and mother, as Adonai your God ordered you to do, so that you will live long and have things go well with you in the land Adonai your God is giving you.
ו 17 “‘Do not murder.
ז (18) “‘Do not commit adultery.
ח (19) “‘Do not steal.
ט (20) “‘Do not give false evidence against your neighbor.
י 18 (21) “‘Do not covet your neighbor’s wife; do not covet your neighbor’s house, his field, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’
(A: v, S: iv) 19 (22) “These words Adonai spoke to your entire gathering at the mountain from fire, cloud and thick mist, in a loud voice; then it ceased. But he wrote them on two stone tablets, which he gave to me. 20 (23) When you heard the voice coming out of the darkness, as the mountain blazed with fire, you came to me, all the heads of your tribes and your leaders, 21 (24) and said, ‘Here, Adonai our God has shown us his glory and his greatness! We have heard his voice coming from the fire, and we have seen today that God does speak with human beings, and they stay alive. 22 (25) But why should we keep risking death? This great fire will consume us! If we hear the voice of Adonai our God any more, we will die! 23 (26) For who is there of all humanity that has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the fire, as we have, and stayed alive? 24 (27) You, go near; and hear everything Adonai our God says. Then you will tell us everything Adonai our God says to you; and we will listen to it and do it.’
25 (28) “Adonai heard what you were saying when you spoke to me, and Adonai said to me, ‘I have heard what this people has said when speaking to you, and everything they have said is good. 26 (29) Oh, how I wish their hearts would stay like this always, that they would fear me and obey all my mitzvot; so that it would go well with them and their children forever. 27 (30) Go, tell them to return to their tents. 28 (31) But you, stand here by me; and I will tell you all the mitzvot, laws and rulings which you are to teach them, so that they can obey them in the land I am giving them as their possession.’
29 (32) “Therefore you are to be careful to do as Adonai your God has ordered you; you are not to deviate either to the right or the left. 30 (33) You are to follow the entire way which Adonai your God has ordered you; so that you will live, things will go well with you, and you will live long in the land you are about to possess.
6:1 “Now this is the mitzvah, the laws and rulings which Adonai your God ordered me to teach you for you to obey in the land you are crossing over to possess, 2 so that you will fear Adonai your God and observe all his regulations and mitzvot that I am giving you — you, your child and your grandchild — as long as you live, and so that you will have long life. 3 Therefore listen, Isra’el, and take care to obey, so that things will go well with you, and so that you will increase greatly, as Adonai, the God of your ancestors, promised you by giving you a land flowing with milk and honey.
(A:vi, S: v) 4 “Sh’ma, Yisra’el! Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad [Hear, Isra’el! Adonai our God, Adonai is one]; 5 and you are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, all your being and all your resources. 6 These words, which I am ordering you today, are to be on your heart; 7 and you are to teach them carefully to your children. You are to talk about them when you sit at home, when you are traveling on the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them on your hand as a sign, put them at the front of a headband around your forehead, 9 and write them on the door-frames of your house and on your gates.
(S: vi) 10 “When Adonai your God has brought you into the land he swore to your ancestors Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov that he would give you — cities great and prosperous, which you didn’t build; 11 houses full of all sorts of good things, which you didn’t fill; water cisterns dug out, which you didn’t dig; vineyards and olive trees, which you didn’t plant — and you have eaten your fill; 12 then be careful not to forget Adonai, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you lived as slaves. 13 You are to fear Adonai your God, serve him and swear by his name. 14 You are not to follow other gods, chosen from the gods of the peoples around you; 15 because Adonai, your God, who is here with you, is a jealous God. If you do, the anger of Adonai your God will flare up against you and he will destroy you from the face of the earth. 16 Do not put Adonai your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah [testing]. 17 Observe diligently the mitzvot of Adonai your God, and his instructions and laws which he has given you. 18 You are to do what is right and good in the sight of Adonai, so that things will go well with you, and you will enter and possess the good land Adonai swore to your ancestors, 19 expelling all your enemies ahead of you, as Adonai said.
20 “Some day your child will ask you, ‘What is the meaning of the instructions, laws and rulings which Adonai our God has laid down for you?’ 21 Then you will tell your child, ‘We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and Adonai brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand. 22 Adonai worked great and terrible signs and wonders against Egypt, Pharaoh and all his household, before our very eyes. 23 He brought us out from there in order to bring us to the land he had sworn to our ancestors that he would give us. 24 Adonai ordered us to observe all these laws, to fear Adonai our God, always for our own good, so that he might keep us alive, as we are today. 25 It will be righteousness for us if we are careful to obey all these mitzvot before Adonai our God, just as he ordered us to do.’”
7:1 (vii) “Adonai your God is going to bring you into the land you will enter in order to take possession of it, and he will expel many nations ahead of you — the Hitti, Girgashi, Emori, Kena‘ani, P’rizi, Hivi and Y’vusi, seven nations bigger and stronger than you. 2 When he does this, when Adonai your God hands them over ahead of you, and you defeat them, you are to destroy them completely! Do not make any covenant with them. Show them no mercy. 3 Don’t intermarry with them — don’t give your daughter to his son, and don’t take his daughter for your son. 4 For he will turn your children away from following me in order to serve other gods. If this happens, the anger of Adonai will flare up against you, and he will quickly destroy you. 5 No, treat them this way: break down their altars, smash their standing-stones to pieces, cut down their sacred poles and burn up their carved images completely. 6 For you are a people set apart as holy for Adonai your God. Adonai your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his own unique treasure. 7 Adonai didn’t set his heart on you or choose you because you numbered more than any other people — on the contrary, you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 Rather, it was because Adonai loved you, and because he wanted to keep the oath which he had sworn to your ancestors, that Adonai brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from a life of slavery under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Maftir) 9 From this you can know that Adonai your God is indeed God, the faithful God, who keeps his covenant and extends grace to those who love him and observe his mitzvot, to a thousand generations. 10 But he repays those who hate him to their face and destroys them. He will not be slow to deal with someone who hates him; he will repay him to his face. 11 Therefore, you are to keep the mitzvot, laws and rulings which I am giving you today, and obey them.
Isaiah 40:1 “Comfort and keep comforting my people,” says your God.
2 “Tell Yerushalayim to take heart; proclaim to her
that she has completed her time of service,
that her guilt has been paid off,
that she has received at the hand of Adonai
double for all her sins.”
3 A voice cries out:
“Clear a road through the desert for Adonai!
Level a highway in the ‘Aravah for our God!
4 Let every valley be filled in,
every mountain and hill lowered,
the bumpy places made level
and the crags become a plain.
5 Then the glory of Adonai will be revealed;
all humankind together will see it,
for the mouth of Adonai has spoken.”
6 A voice says, “Proclaim!”
And I answer, “What should I proclaim?”
“All humanity is merely grass,
all its kindness like wildflowers:
7 the grass dries up, the flower fades,
when a wind from Adonai blows on it.
Surely the people are grass!
8 The grass dries up, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand forever.”
9 You who bring good news to Tziyon,
get yourself up on a high mountain;
you who bring good news to Yerushalayim,
cry out at the top of your voice!
Don’t be afraid to shout out loud!
Say to the cities of Y’hudah,
“Here is your God!
10 Here comes Adonai Elohim with power,
and his arm will rule for him.
Look! His reward is with him,
and his recompense is before him.
11 He is like a shepherd feeding his flock,
gathering his lambs with his arm,
carrying them against his chest,
gently leading the mother sheep.”
12 Who has counted the handfuls of water in the sea,
measured off the sky with a ruler,
gauged how much dust there is on the earth,
weighed the mountains on scales, or the hills in a balance?
13 Who has measured the Spirit of Adonai?
Who has been his counselor, instructing him?
14 Whom did he consult, to gain understanding?
Who taught him how to judge,
taught him what he needed to know,
showed him how to discern?
15 The nations are like a drop in a bucket,
they count like a grain of dust on the scales.
The islands weigh as little as specks of dust.
16 The L’vanon would not suffice for fuel
or its animals be enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations are like nothing.
He regards them as less than nothing.
18 With whom, then, will you compare God?
By what standard will you evaluate him?
19 An image made by a craftsman,
which a goldsmith overlays with gold,
for which he then casts silver chains?
20 A man too poor to afford an offering
chooses a piece of wood that won’t rot,
then seeks out a skilled artisan
to prepare an image that won’t fall over.
21 Don’t you know? Don’t you hear?
Haven’t you been told from the start?
Don’t you understand how the earth is set up?
22 He who sits above the circle of the earth —
for whom its inhabitants appear like grasshoppers —
stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 He reduces princes to nothing,
the rulers of the earth to emptiness.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely their stem taken root in the ground,
when he blows on them, they dry up,
and the whirlwind carries them off like straw.
25 “With whom, then, will you compare me?
With whom am I equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Turn your eyes to the heavens!
See who created these?
He brings out the army of them in sequence,
summoning each by name.
Through his great might and his massive strength,
not one of them is missing.
Today's Laws & Customs:• Shabbat Nachamu ("Shabbat of Consolation")
The Shabbat after the Ninth of Av is called Shabbat Nachamu ("Shabbat of Consolation") after the opening words of the day's reading from the prophets ("haftara"). This is the first of the series of readings known as "The Seven of Consolation" read in the seven weeks from the Ninth of Av to Rosh Hashanah.
Links:
Seven Degrees of Consolation
Consolation
Shabbat Nachmu
• Ethics of the Fathers: Chapter 4During the summer months, from the Shabbat after Passover until the Shabbat before Rosh Hashahah, we study a weekly chapter of the Talmud's Ethics of the Fathers ("Avot") each Shabbat afternoon; this week we study Chapter Four.
Link: Ethics of the Fathers, Chapter 4
Daily Torah Study:
Links:
Seven Degrees of Consolation
Consolation
Shabbat Nachmu
• Ethics of the Fathers: Chapter 4During the summer months, from the Shabbat after Passover until the Shabbat before Rosh Hashahah, we study a weekly chapter of the Talmud's Ethics of the Fathers ("Avot") each Shabbat afternoon; this week we study Chapter Four.
Link: Ethics of the Fathers, Chapter 4
Daily Torah Study:
Chumash: Va'etchanan, 7th Portion Deuteronomy 7:1-7:11 with Rashi
• English / Hebrew Linear Translation
• Video Class
• Daily Wisdom (short insight)
• Hebrew text
• English text
• English Text (Lessons in Tanya)
• Hebrew Text
• Audio Class: Listen | Download
• Video Class
Shabbat, Menachem Av 13, 5777 · August 5, 2017
Today's Tanya Lesson
Iggeret HaKodesh, beginning of Epistle 5
AUDIO & VIDEO CLASSES
• VIDEO CLASS: Rabbi Yehoshua B. Gordon Watch • Listen
• AUDIO CLASS: Rabbi Manis Freidman Listen • Download MP3ויעש דוד שם
“And David made a name.”1
The simple meaning of the verse is either (as Rashi explains) that David gave the Jewish people a good name by burying the dead of their enemies, or (as other commentators explain) that David made a name for himself through his heroism.
ופירש בזוהר הקדוש, משום שנאמר: ויהי דוד עושה משפט וצדקה לכל עמו כו׳
The holy Zohar2 relates the above phrase to the verse:3 “And David executed justice and tzedakah with all his people.”
The “name” that he thereby made is thus the Divine Name. In the words of the Zohar:
בכה רבי שמעון ואמר: מאן עביד שמא קדישא בכל יומא, מאן דיהיב צדקה למסכני כו׳
“Rabbi Shimon wept and said: ‘Who makes the Holy Name every day? He who gives charity unto the poor.’ ”
Two questions, however, present themselves: (a) How can we possibly say that the Holy Name is “made”? (b) How is the Name “made” through the giving of charity?
ויובן בהקדים מאמר רז״ל על פסוק: כי ביה ה׳ צור עולמים
This may be understood in the light of the comment of our Sages,4 of blessed memory, on the verse,5 “For by [the Divine Name that is composed of the letters] yud-hei, G‑d is the strength of the worlds.”
The Hebrew word here translated “strength” (lit.: “rock”) is צור, whose root letters imply an additional meaning, namely (in this context): “By means of [the Divine Name that is composed of the letters] yud-hei, G‑d formed (or created) the worlds.”6
בה׳ נברא עולם הזה, ביו״ד נברא עולם הבא
On the above-quoted verse the Sages comment: “This world was created by the letter hei [of the Divine Name yud-hei]; the World to Come was created by the letter yud [of the Divine Name yud-hei].”
In what respect is this world connected with the letter hei and the World to Come with the letter yud? The Alter Rebbe answers this question by first explaining the concept of the World to Come and Gan Eden, the Garden of Eden.
פירוש: שהתענוג שמתענגים נשמות הצדיקים, ונהנין מזיו השכינה המאיר בגן עדן עליון ותחתון
This means that the delight which the souls of the righteous experience, as they enjoy the splendor of the Shechinah which radiates in the upper and lower Gardens of Eden,
הוא שמתענגים בהשגתם והשכלתם
consists of their pleasure in their apprehension and conception,
שמשכילים ויודעים ומשיגים
for they conceive (with the faculty of Chochmah), know (with the faculty of Daat) and understand (with the faculty of Binah)
איזה השגה באור וחיות השופע שם מאין סוף ברוך הוא, בבחינת גילוי, לנשמתם ורוח בינתם
some degree of apprehension of the light and vitality which effuses there, in a revealed manner, from the blessed Ein Sof unto their soul and their spirit of understanding,
Spiritual life-force finds its way down into this world in so concealed a manner that all we know of it is the mere fact of its existence (yediat hametziut). In Gan Eden, by contrast, the spiritual life-force issues forth in such a manner that its very essence is apprehended (hassagat hamahut),
להבין ולהשיג איזה השגה, כל אחד ואחד לפי מדרגתו ולפי מעשיו
so that each and every one can understand and attain some perception according to his level and his deeds.
Likkutei Levi Yitzchak, authored by the saintly father of the Rebbe, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, explains the distinction between “his level” and “his deeds” as follows.
“His level” alludes to those souls which are to be found in the Upper Garden of Eden, whose comprehension is commensurate with the level of their devout intent and the level of their re’uta delibba (lit., “the desire of the heart”), i.e., the unbounded yearning of the innermost point of their souls to cleave rapturously to their Maker. This state of divine service results from intellectual endeavor, which is denoted by the term “level”. (In ch. 9 of Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, for example, the Alter Rebbe adds this term to the phrase that speaks of the intellectual activity known by its acronym as ChaBaD.)
“His deeds,” by contrast, refers to those souls in the Lower Garden of Eden, which earn the above-described spiritual delights through the actual performance of practical mitzvot. These souls, therefore, are rewarded “according to their deeds.”7
In either case, it is clear that the delight that souls experience in Gan Eden is the intellectual delight of the apprehension of G‑dliness.
ולכן נקרא עולם הבא בשם בינה, בזוהר הקדוש
That is why in the Zohar8 the World to Come is referred to as Binah (“understanding”), for that world is permeated by the light of the Sefirah of Binah,9 which enables souls to apprehend and understand G‑dliness.
והשפעה זו נמשכת מבחינת חכמה עילאה
This flow issues from the plane of Supernal Chochmah,
שהוא מקור ההשכלה וההשגה הנקרא בשם בינה
which is the source of the conception and apprehension known as Binah.
Chochmah is the initial, intuitive, seminal flash of perception; Binah is the process of mental gestation that systematically develops and expands that inspiration into comprehensive understanding.
והוא קדמות השכל, קודם שבא לכלל גילוי השגה והבנה
For [Chochmah] is the primordial stage of the intellect, before apprehension and understanding become manifest;
רק עדיין הוא בבחינת העלם והסתר
rather, [Chochmah] at this stage is still in a state of obscurity and concealment,
The Alter Rebbe is speaking here of the particular level of Chochmah that transcends intellect and comprehension. It differs from the more external level of Chochmah which is the germ of intellect and is already illumined by it, though it too is as yet the unparticularized seminal point of a concept which is still to be analyzed and comprehended by the faculty of Binah. Preceding this, the primordial level of Chochmah discussed here utterly transcends revealed intellect; it is still obscure,
רק שמעט מזעיר שם זעיר שם שופע ונמשך משם לבחינת בינה
except for some miniscule measure that here and there flows forth and issues from it to the faculty of Binah,
The dual form of the Biblical idiom borrowed here (cf. Yeshayahu 28:10) implies that the light of this primordial level of Chochmah undergoes two distinct stages of tzimtzum, or self-contraction. The first stage limits this light; the second attenuates it so that it is able to descend into Binah,
להבין ולהשיג שכל הנעלם
making it possible [for a soul] to understand and apprehend a concept which is [intrinsically] concealed.
This higher form of Supernal intellect is the “radiance of the Shechinah,” a ray of G‑d’s infinitude that illuminates Gan Eden. Ordinarily, no created being — even a soul of such stature that it inhabits the Upper Gan Eden — could possibly fathom this degree of intellect. In order for it to be understood by mortal man’s soul, it must undergo the twofold descent mentioned above. Nonetheless, even after this descent it still pertains to the very essence (mahut) of G‑dliness that is comprehended by the soul in Gan Eden.
ולכן נקרא בשם נקודה בהיכלא, בזוהר הקדוש
In the holy Zohar,10 therefore, [Chochmah] is referred to as “the dot in the palace.”11
Chochmah is the “dot” or “point” of intellect that illumines the “palace” of Binah. Nevertheless, even when already housed in Binah, it still remains a seminal point of intellect that transcends the details that constitute the comprehension of Binah.
וזו היא תמונת יו״ד של שם הוי׳
[Indeed,] this is the shape of the yud of the Four-Letter Name of G‑d.
The letter yud is shaped like a point, alluding12 to the Sefirah of Chochmah, which is a mere point.
ונקרא עדן, אשר עליו נאמר: עין לא ראתה גו׳
[Chochmah] is also referred to as Eden, of which it is said:13 “No eye has beheld it”; i.e., it is a kind of illumination that transcends and defies comprehension.
ונקרא: אבא יסד ברתא
Moreover, [Chochmah] is referred to14 as “the ‘father’ who founded the ‘daughter’.”
Chochmah is the “father”, or source, of the letters of speech, which are called the “daughter”, the level of Malchut.
One might have expected the letters of speech to derive from the emotive faculties (the middot) or from Binah, for surely a person articulates letters of speech when he seeks to express an emotion or to speak of an idea that he has comprehended. The Alter Rebbe, however, now goes on to explain that the letters of speech in fact derive from Chochmah, which transcends comprehension.
פירוש: כי הנה התהוות אותיות הדבור היוצאות מה׳ מוצאות הפה אינה דבר מושכל
This means: The formation of the letters of speech which proceed from the five organs of articulation15 is not an intellectual process.
The letters do not emanate from the soul as a result of any intellectual imperative.
ולא מוטבע בטבע מוצאות הללו להוציא מבטא האותיות
It is also not inherent in the nature of these organs [that they must] pronounce the letters
על ידי ההבל והקול המכה בהן
— by means of the breath and the sound that strikes them —
על פי דרך הטבע, ולא על פי דרך השכל
by either a natural faculty or by an intellectual faculty.
כגון השפתיים, על דרך משל, שאותיות בומ״פ יוצאות מהן
With the lips, for example, by means of which the letters beit, vav, mem and pei are uttered,
Since the lips are the most visible of the organs of speech, the Alter Rebbe chooses for his example the letters which they form; one can readily see that pronouncing these letters is impelled neither by the nature of the lips themselves nor by the faculty of intellect.
אין הטבע ולא השכל נותן ליציאת מבטא ארבע חלקי שינויי ביטוי אותיות אלו על פי שינויי תנועת השפתים
neither nature nor the intellect compels the utterance of the four varying types of pronunciation of these letters in accordance with variations in the movement of the lips,
שמתנוענעות בהבל אחד וקול אחד, הפוגע בהן בשוה
which are moved by the same breath and the same sound that strikes them equally.
Since the letter beit and the letter vav, for example, are both formed by the same breath and the same sound, the distinction between them must be made by the movements of the lips: when the letter beit is pronounced the lips are pursed in one way and when the letter vav is pronounced they are pursed differently. This being so, one would expect that it would take a conscious mental effort to move the lips in one specific manner to pronounce the letter beit and in another specific manner to pronounce the letter vav.16 Alternatively, if it were dependent on nature, the speaker would naturally want to move his lips in the different ways necessary for the formation of one letter or the other.
ואדרבה, שינוי התנועות שבשפתים הוא לפי שינוי ביטוי האותיות שברצון הנפש לבטא בשפתים כרצונה
On the contrary: the change in the movements of the lips depends on the difference in pronunciation of the letters the soul wishes to utter by means of the lips,
כרצונה לומר אות ב׳ או ו׳ או מ׳ או פ׳
when it desires to pronounce the letter beit, or vav, or mem, or pei, and the lips will instinctively and spontaneously move accordingly.
ולא להיפך, שיהיה רצון הנפש וכונתה לעשות שינוי תנועות השפתים
It is not the other way around, that it is the will and intention of the soul to make a change in the motions of the lips
כמו שהן מתנענעות עתה בביטויי ד׳ אותיות אלו
as they are moving now in the utterance of these four letters.
וכנראה בחוש, שאין הנפש מתכוונת ויודעת לכוין כלל שינוי תנועות השפתים בשינויים אלו
As is empirically evident, the soul does not at all intend or know how to intend the change in the motions of the lips [which articulate] those distinctions [between the various letters].
Since the soul neither intends nor even knows how to direct the lips to move in the manner required to form particular letters, it is obviously the mere desire to utter certain letters that results in the automatic movement of the lips in the appropriate manner.
ויותר נראה כן בביטוי הנקודות
This is even more evident with the pronunciation of the vowels.
שכשהנפש רצונה להוציא מפיה נקודת קמץ, אזי ממילא נקמצים השפתים
For when the soul wishes to utter the kamatz vowel, the lips spontaneously become compressed,
ובפתח נפתחים השפתים
and with the patach vowel the lips open17 — of their own accord,
ולא שרצון הנפש לקמוץ ולא לפתוח כלל וכלל
and not at all because of the will of the soul to compress or to open [them].
ואין להאריך בדבר הפשוט ומובן ומושכל לכל משכיל
There is no need to go any further into a matter which is simple, comprehensible, and intelligible to every intelligent person,
שמבטא האותיות והנקודות הוא למעלה מהשכל המושג ומובן
namely, that the pronunciation of the letters and vowels transcends the apprehended and comprehended intellect,
אלא משכל הנעלם וקדמות השכל שבנפש המדברת
but rather derives from the hidden intellect, and the primordial stage of the intellect which is in the articulate soul.
ולכן אין התינוק יכול לדבר, אף שמבין הכל
This is why an infant cannot speak, even though it understands everything, for speech does not result from revealed and apprehended intellect, but from the more rarefied “hidden intellect” which in the infant has yet to be developed.
We thus see that the letters of speech derive from Chochmah. This, then, is the meaning of “the ‘father’ who founded the ‘daughter’”: Chochmah is the “father” or source of the letters of speech, which are called the “daughter”, or the Sefirah of Malchut.
1. II Shmuel 8:13.
2. III, 113b.
3. II Shmuel 8:15.
4. Menachot 29b; Yerushalmi, Chagigah 2:1.
5. Yeshayahu 26:4.
6. This additional interpretation rests on an alternative version of our text from Tractate Menachot, which is supplied by Tosafot on Berachot 51a (s.v. זוכה).
7. “See Iggeret HaKodesh, Epistle 29 (p. 150b): The garments [of the soul] in the Upper Gan Edenare produced by this yearning (re’uta) and this devout intent (kavanah), while in the Lower Gan Eden they are produced by the actual performance of practical mitzvot. So, too, in Kuntres Acharon, beginning of p. 155a et al. See also Likkutei Torah, Parshat Vaetchanan, at the beginning of the maamar entitled VeZot HaMitzvah.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.)
8. II, 158a; Zohar Chadash 93a.
9. “[The influence of this Sefirah is felt] in the Lower Gan Eden as well, (although in relation to the Upper Gan Eden it is the Sefirah of Malchut). See Or HaTorah, Chayei Sarah (p. 114a); Likkutei Torah, Vaetchanan, p. 10b, et al.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.)
10. I, 6a, et al.
11. “This is discussed at length in Likkutei Torah, beginning of Parshat Re’eh; see the sources cited there.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.)
12. “Cf. the Note at the beginning of ch. 12 of Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah: ‘The shape of each letter indicates the pattern of the flow and manifestation of the light.’ ” ( — Note of the Rebbe.)
13. Yeshayahu 64:3.
14. Zohar III, 248a.
15. The larynx, palate, tongue, teeth and lips.
16. “This is analogous to the musical notes of a harp, that are produced by plucking different strings. (Cf. Hemshech 5666, p. 447).” ( — Note of the Rebbe.)
17. The Hebrew names for the vowels קמץ and פתח respectively mean “compressing” and “opening”.
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Today's Mitzvah
Shabbat, Menachem Av 13, 5777 · August 5, 2017
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
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Positive Commandment 235
The Gentile Slave
"You shall have them serve you forever"—Leviticus 25:46.
One who acquires a gentile slave must retain his services for perpetuity. The slave is only granted freedom in the event that the master causes him irreversible personal injury.
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Returning a Runaway Slave who Flees to Israel
"You shall not deliver a servant to his master"—Deuteronomy 23:16.
It is forbidden to return a non-Jewish slave to his master (even if he is Jewish) if he has escaped and fled to Israel. Rather, the slave must be given his freedom, and he must compensate his former master for his loss (i.e., his own monetary value). This because the slave has come to find refuge in the pure land that G‑d chose for His esteemed nation.
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Hurtful Words to the Runaway Slave
"He shall dwell with you do not oppress him"—Deuteronomy 23:17.
It is forbidden to verbally distress or humiliate a runaway slave. Though it is forbidden to humiliate anyone, especially a convert, one who does so to a runaway slave transgresses this additional prohibition, too.
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Deuteronomy Chapter 7
1When the Lord, your God, brings you into the land to which you are coming to possess it, He will cast away many nations from before you: the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivvites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and powerful than you. אכִּי יְבִיאֲךָ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה בָא שָׁמָּה לְרִשְׁתָּהּ וְנָשַׁל גּוֹיִם רַבִּים | מִפָּנֶיךָ הַחִתִּי וְהַגִּרְגָּשִׁי וְהָאֱמֹרִי וְהַכְּנַעֲנִי וְהַפְּרִזִּי וְהַחִוִּי וְהַיְבוּסִי שִׁבְעָה גוֹיִם רַבִּים וַעֲצוּמִים מִמֶּךָּ:
He will cast away: Heb. וְנָשַׁל. This is an expression meaning casting away, and causing to fly. Similarly is (Deut. 19:5),“and the iron [axe blade] will cause to fly [from the tree].”
ונשל: לשון השלכה והתזה, וכן (דברים יט, ה) ונשל הברזל:
2And the Lord, your God, will deliver them to you, and you shall smite them. You shall utterly destroy them; neither shall you make a covenant with them, nor be gracious to them. בוּנְתָנָם יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְפָנֶיךָ וְהִכִּיתָם הַחֲרֵם תַּחֲרִים אֹתָם לֹא תִכְרֹת לָהֶם בְּרִית וְלֹא תְחָנֵּם:
nor be gracious to them: Heb. וְלֹא תְחָנֵּם This means, you must not show them any grace (חֵן) . It is forbidden for a person to say,“How handsome is this heathen!” Another explanation: Do not grant them a settlement (חֲניָּה) in the land. (Avodah Zarah 20a)
לא תחנם: לא תתן להם חן. אסור לו לאדם לומר כמה נאה גוי זה. דבר אחר אל תתן להם חנייה בארץ:
3You shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughter to his son, and you shall not take his daughter for your son. גוְלֹא תִתְחַתֵּן בָּם בִּתְּךָ לֹא תִתֵּן לִבְנוֹ וּבִתּוֹ לֹא תִקַּח לִבְנֶךָ:
4For he will turn away your son from following Me, and they will worship the gods of others, and the wrath of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will quickly destroy you. דכִּי יָסִיר אֶת בִּנְךָ מֵאַחֲרַי וְעָבְדוּ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים וְחָרָה אַף יְהֹוָה בָּכֶם וְהִשְׁמִידְךָ מַהֵר:
For he will turn away your son from following Me: i.e., the heathen’s son, if he marries your daughter, will turn away your [grand]son whom your daughter will bear to him, from following Me. This teaches us that your daughter’s son, born of a heathen man, is called “your son,” but your son’s son, born of a heathen woman, is not called “your son,” but “her son.” For Scripture [first says, “Do not give your daughter to his son, and do not take his daughter for your son.” Then it follows with “For he will turn away your son….” However], referring to “do not take his daughter,” it does not say“For she will turn away your son…” [because he is considered her son, not yours (Kid. 68b).
כי יסיר את בנך מאחרי: בנו של גוי כשישא את בתך יסיר את בנך אשר תלד לו בתך מאחרי. למדנו שבן בתך הבא מן הגוי קרוי בנך, אבל בן בנך הבא מן הגויה אינו קרוי בנך אלא בנה, שהרי לא נאמר על בתו לא תקח כי תסיר את בנך מאחרי, אלא כי יסיר את בנך וגו':
5But so shall you do to them: You shall demolish their altars and smash their monuments, and cut down their asherim trees, and burn their graven images with fire. הכִּי אִם כֹּה תַעֲשׂוּ לָהֶם מִזְבְּחֹתֵיהֶם תִּתֹּצוּ וּמַצֵּבֹתָם תְּשַׁבֵּרוּ וַאֲשֵׁירֵהֶם תְּגַדֵּעוּן וּפְסִילֵיהֶם תִּשְׂרְפוּן בָּאֵשׁ:
their altars: Heb. מִזְבְּחֹתֵיהֶם [A מִזְבֵּח is a structure] built up [of several stones].
מזבחתיהם: של בנין:
and… their monuments: Heb. וּמַצֵּבֹתָם [A מַצֵּבָה is a structure made] of one stone. \b their asherim trees Trees that are worshipped (\b0Avodah Zarah 48a).
מצבותם: אבן אחת:
and… their graven images: [These are] images (i.e., idols).
ואשירהם: אילנות שעובדין אותן:
6For you are a holy people to the Lord, your God: the Lord your God has chosen you to be His treasured people, out of all the peoples upon the face of the earth. וכִּי עַם קָדוֹשׁ אַתָּה לַיהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּךָ בָּחַר | יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לִהְיוֹת לוֹ לְעַם סְגֻלָּה מִכֹּל הָעַמִּים אֲשֶׁר עַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה:
7Not because you are more numerous than any people did the Lord delight in you and choose you, for you are the least of all the peoples. זלֹא מֵרֻבְּכֶם מִכָּל הָעַמִּים חָשַׁק יְהֹוָה בָּכֶם וַיִּבְחַר בָּכֶם כִּי אַתֶּם הַמְעַט מִכָּל הָעַמִּים:
Not because you were [more] numerous: [This is to be understood] according to its simple meaning. But its midrashic explanation [understanding וְלֹא מֵרֻבְּכֶם as “not because you are great”] is: Because you do not boast about yourselves when I shower good upon you. This is why I delighted in you [says God].
לא מרבכם: כפשוטו. ומדרשו לפי שאין אתם מגדילים עצמכם כשאני משפיע לכם טובה לפיכך חשקתי בכם:
For you are the least [of all the peoples]: You humble yourselves as, e.g., Abraham, who said, “For I am dust and ashes” (Gen. 18:27), and Moses and Aaron, who said, “but of what [significance] are we?” (Exod. 16:7) Unlike Nebuchadnezzar, who said, “I will liken myself to the Most High,” (Isa. 14:14), and Sennacherib, who said, (Isa. 36:20), “Who are they among all the gods of thelands [who saved their land from my hand]?” and Hiram, who said,“I am a god, I have sat in a seat of God” (Ezek. 28:2). (Chul. 89a)
כי אתם המעט: הממעטין עצמכם, כגון אברהם, שאמר (בראשית יח, כז) ואנכי עפר ואפר, וכגון משה ואהרן שאמרו (שמות טז, ח) ונחנו מה, לא כנבוכדנצר שאמר (ישעיה יד, יד) אדמה לעליון, וסנחריב שאמר (שם לו, כ) מי בכל אלהי הארצות, וחירם שאמר (יחזקאל כח, ב) אל אני מושב אלהים ישבתי:
for you are the least: Heb. כִּי-אַתֶּם הַמְעַט Here כִּי is an expression of“because.”
כי אתם המעט: הרי כי משמש בלשון דהא:
8But because of the Lord's love for you, and because He keeps the oath He swore to your forefathers, the Lord took you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. חכִּי מֵאַהֲבַת יְהֹוָה אֶתְכֶם וּמִשָּׁמְרוֹ אֶת הַשְּׁבֻעָה אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֵיכֶם הוֹצִיא יְהֹוָה אֶתְכֶם בְּיָד חֲזָקָה וַיִּפְדְּךָ מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים מִיַּד פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶךְ מִצְרָיִם:
But because of the Lord’s love: Heb. כִּי מֵאַהֲבַת ה׳ Here, [however,] כִּי is an expression of “but.” [Thus, the verses read] Not because you were more numerous… did the Lord delight in you, but because of the Lord’s love for you.
כי מאהבת ה': הרי כי משמש בלשון אלא. לא מרובכם חשק ה' בכם, אלא מאהבת ה' אתכם:
and because He keeps the oath: Heb. וּמִשָּׁמְרוֹ means, “and because of His keeping the oath” [not “and from His keeping the oath”].
ומשמרו את השבועה: מחמת שמרו את השבועה:
9Know, therefore, that the Lord, your God He is God, the faithful God, Who keeps the covenant and loving kindness with those who love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations. טוְיָדַעְתָּ כִּי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים הָאֵל הַנֶּאֱמָן שֹׁמֵר הַבְּרִית וְהַחֶסֶד לְאֹהֲבָיו וּלְשֹׁמְרֵי מִצְוֹתָיו (כתיב מצותו) לְאֶלֶף דּוֹר:
to a thousand generations: But earlier, (verse 5:10) it says: “To thousands [of generations].” [Why the difference?] Here, where it is adjacent to “those who keep His commandments,” it says: “to a thousand generations” [because it is referring to those who obey God out of fear] but previously, where it is adjacent to those who love Him, it says:“for thousands [of generations].” (Sotah 31a)
לאלף דור: ולהלן הוא אומר (דברים ה, ט) לאלפים, כאן שהוא סמוך אצל לשומרי מצותיו, העושין מיראה, הוא אומר לאלף, ולהלן שהוא סמוך אצל לאוהביו, העושין מאהבה, ששכרם יותר גדול, הוא אומר לאלפים:
with those who love Him: Those who perform [the commandments] out of love.
לאוהביו: אלו העושין מאהבה:
and keep His commandments: Those who perform [the commandments] out of fear.
ולשומרי מצותיו: אלו העושין מיראה:
10And He repays those who hate Him, to their face, to cause them to perish; He will not delay the one who hates Him, but he will repay him to his face. יוּמְשַׁלֵּם לְשׂנְאָיו אֶל פָּנָיו לְהַאֲבִידוֹ לֹא יְאַחֵר לְשׂנְאוֹ אֶל פָּנָיו יְשַׁלֶּם לוֹ:
And He repays those who hate Him to their face: During his lifetime, He pays him his good reward, in order to cause him to be lost from the World to Come.
ומשלם לשנאיו אל פניו: בחייו משלם לו גמולו הטוב כדי להאבידו מן העולם הבא:
11You shall therefore, observe the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances, which I command you this day to do. יאוְשָׁמַרְתָּ אֶת הַמִּצְוָה וְאֶת הַחֻקִּים וְאֶת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם לַעֲשׂתָם:
this day to do them: But in the future, in the World to Come, you will receive their reward (Eruvin 22a).
היום לעשותם: ולמחר לעולם הבא ליטול שכרם:
Tehillim: Psalms Chapters 69 - 71• Hebrew text
• English text
Chapter 69
1. For the Conductor, on the shoshanim,1 by David.
2. Deliver me, O God, for the waters have reached until my soul!
3. I have sunk in muddy depths without foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the current sweeps me away.
4. I am wearied by my crying, my throat is parched; my eyes pined while waiting for my God.
5. More numerous than the hairs on my head are those who hate me without reason. Mighty are those who would cut me off, those who are my enemies without cause. What I have not stolen, I will then have to return.
6. O God, You know my folly, and my wrongs are not hidden from You.
7. Let not those who hope in You be shamed through me, O my Lord, God of Hosts; let not those who seek You be disgraced through me, O God of Israel,
8. because for Your sake I have borne humiliation, disgrace covers my face.
9. I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's sons,
10. for the envy of Your House has consumed me, and the humiliations of those who scorn You have fallen upon me.
11. And I wept while my soul fasted, and it was a humiliation to me.
12. I made sackcloth my garment, and became a byword for them.
13. Those who sit by the gate speak of me, and [of me] are the songs of drunkards.
14. May my prayer to You, Lord, be at a gracious time; God, in Your abounding kindness, answer me with Your true deliverance.
15. Rescue me from the mire, so that I not sink; let me be saved from my enemies and from deep waters.
16. Let not the current of water sweep me away, nor the deep swallow me; and let not the pit close its mouth over me.
17. Answer me, Lord, for Your kindness is good; according to Your abundant mercies, turn to me.
18. Do not hide Your face from Your servant, for I am in distress-hurry to answer me.
19. Draw near to my soul and liberate it; redeem me, so that my enemies [not feel triumphant].
20. You know my humiliation, my shame, and my disgrace; all my tormentors are before You.
21. Humiliation has broken my heart, and I have become ill. I longed for comfort, but there was none; for consolers, but I did not find.
22. They put gall into my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
23. Let their table become a trap before them, and [their] serenity, a snare.
24. Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and let their loins continually falter.
25. Pour Your wrath upon them, and let the fierceness of Your anger overtake them.
26. Let their palace be desolate, let there be no dweller in their tents,
27. for they persecute the one whom You struck, and tell of the pain of Your wounded ones.
28. Add iniquity to their iniquity, and let them not enter into Your righteousness.
29. May they be erased from the Book of Life, and let them not be inscribed with the righteous.
30. But I am poor and in pain; let Your deliverance, O God, streng-then me.
31. I will praise the Name of God with song, I will extol Him with thanksgiving!
32. And it will please the Lord more than [the sacrifice of] a mature bull with horns and hooves.
33. The humble will see it and rejoice; you seekers of God, [see] and your hearts will come alive.
34. For the Lord listens to the needy, and He does not despise His prisoners.
35. Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and all that moves within them,
36. for God will deliver Zion and build the cities of Judah, and they will settle there and possess it;
37. and the seed of His servants will inherit it, and those who love His Name will dwell in it.
FOOTNOTES
1.A musical instrument shaped like a shoshana, a rose (Metzudot).
Chapter 70
David prays that his enemies be shamed and humiliated for their shaming him and reveling in his troubles. Then the righteous will rejoice, and chant songs and praises always.
1. For the Conductor, by David, to remind.
2. O God, [come] to rescue me; O Lord, hurry to my aid.
3. Let those who seek my life be shamed and disgraced; let those who wish me harm retreat and be humiliated.
4. Let those who say, "Aha! Aha!" be turned back in return for their shaming [me].
5. Let all who seek You rejoice and delight in You, and let those who love Your deliverance say always, "May God be exalted!”
6. But I am poor and needy; hurry to me, O God! You are my help and deliverer; O God, do not delay!
Chapter 71
In this awe-inspiring prayer, David speaks of his enemies' desire to kill him, declaring him deserving of death.
1. I have taken refuge in You, O Lord; I will never be shamed.
2. Rescue me and deliver me in Your righteousness; incline Your ear to me and save me.
3. Be for me a sheltering rock, to enter always. You have ordered my salvation, for You are my rock and my fortress.
4. O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked, from the palm of the scheming and violent.
5. For You are my hope, O my Lord, God, my security since my youth.
6. I have relied on You from the womb; You drew me from my mother's innards; my praise is of You always.
7. I became an example to the masses, yet You were my mighty refuge.
8. Let my mouth be filled with Your praise, all day long with Your glory.
9. Do not cast me aside in old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails;
10. for my enemies say of me, and those who watch my soul conspire together,
11. saying, "God has forsaken him. Give chase and catch him, for there is no rescuer.”
12. O God, do not distance Yourself from me; my God, hurry to my aid.
13. Let the adversaries of my soul be shamed and consumed; let those who seek my harm be enwrapped in disgrace and humiliation.
14. But as for me, I will always hope; I will add to all Your praises.
15. My mouth will tell of Your righteousness, all day long of Your deliverance, for I do not know their number.
16. I come with the strength of my Lord, God; I mention Your righteousness, Yours alone.
17. O God, You have taught me since my youth, and to this day I tell of Your wonders.
18. Even into old age and hoariness, O God, do not abandon me, until I tell of Your might to the generations, and of Your strength to all who are to come.
19. Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens, for You do great things; O God, who is like You!
20. You, Who has shown me many and grievous troubles, You will revive me again; You will lift me again from the depths of the earth.
21. You will increase my greatness; You will turn and console me.
22. I too1 will thank You on the lyre for Your faithfulness, My God; I will sing to You on the harp, O Holy One of Israel.
23. My lips will rejoice when I sing to you, as well as my soul which You have redeemed.
24. My tongue will also utter Your righteousness all day, for those who seek my harm are shamed and disgraced.
FOOTNOTES
1.As you increase my greatness, so will I increase your praise (Metzudot).
Tanya: Iggeret HaKodesh, beginning of Epistle 5• English Text (Lessons in Tanya)
• Hebrew Text
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Shabbat, Menachem Av 13, 5777 · August 5, 2017
Today's Tanya Lesson
Iggeret HaKodesh, beginning of Epistle 5
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“And David made a name.”1
The simple meaning of the verse is either (as Rashi explains) that David gave the Jewish people a good name by burying the dead of their enemies, or (as other commentators explain) that David made a name for himself through his heroism.
ופירש בזוהר הקדוש, משום שנאמר: ויהי דוד עושה משפט וצדקה לכל עמו כו׳
The holy Zohar2 relates the above phrase to the verse:3 “And David executed justice and tzedakah with all his people.”
The “name” that he thereby made is thus the Divine Name. In the words of the Zohar:
בכה רבי שמעון ואמר: מאן עביד שמא קדישא בכל יומא, מאן דיהיב צדקה למסכני כו׳
“Rabbi Shimon wept and said: ‘Who makes the Holy Name every day? He who gives charity unto the poor.’ ”
Two questions, however, present themselves: (a) How can we possibly say that the Holy Name is “made”? (b) How is the Name “made” through the giving of charity?
ויובן בהקדים מאמר רז״ל על פסוק: כי ביה ה׳ צור עולמים
This may be understood in the light of the comment of our Sages,4 of blessed memory, on the verse,5 “For by [the Divine Name that is composed of the letters] yud-hei, G‑d is the strength of the worlds.”
The Hebrew word here translated “strength” (lit.: “rock”) is צור, whose root letters imply an additional meaning, namely (in this context): “By means of [the Divine Name that is composed of the letters] yud-hei, G‑d formed (or created) the worlds.”6
בה׳ נברא עולם הזה, ביו״ד נברא עולם הבא
On the above-quoted verse the Sages comment: “This world was created by the letter hei [of the Divine Name yud-hei]; the World to Come was created by the letter yud [of the Divine Name yud-hei].”
In what respect is this world connected with the letter hei and the World to Come with the letter yud? The Alter Rebbe answers this question by first explaining the concept of the World to Come and Gan Eden, the Garden of Eden.
פירוש: שהתענוג שמתענגים נשמות הצדיקים, ונהנין מזיו השכינה המאיר בגן עדן עליון ותחתון
This means that the delight which the souls of the righteous experience, as they enjoy the splendor of the Shechinah which radiates in the upper and lower Gardens of Eden,
הוא שמתענגים בהשגתם והשכלתם
consists of their pleasure in their apprehension and conception,
שמשכילים ויודעים ומשיגים
for they conceive (with the faculty of Chochmah), know (with the faculty of Daat) and understand (with the faculty of Binah)
איזה השגה באור וחיות השופע שם מאין סוף ברוך הוא, בבחינת גילוי, לנשמתם ורוח בינתם
some degree of apprehension of the light and vitality which effuses there, in a revealed manner, from the blessed Ein Sof unto their soul and their spirit of understanding,
Spiritual life-force finds its way down into this world in so concealed a manner that all we know of it is the mere fact of its existence (yediat hametziut). In Gan Eden, by contrast, the spiritual life-force issues forth in such a manner that its very essence is apprehended (hassagat hamahut),
להבין ולהשיג איזה השגה, כל אחד ואחד לפי מדרגתו ולפי מעשיו
so that each and every one can understand and attain some perception according to his level and his deeds.
Likkutei Levi Yitzchak, authored by the saintly father of the Rebbe, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, explains the distinction between “his level” and “his deeds” as follows.
“His level” alludes to those souls which are to be found in the Upper Garden of Eden, whose comprehension is commensurate with the level of their devout intent and the level of their re’uta delibba (lit., “the desire of the heart”), i.e., the unbounded yearning of the innermost point of their souls to cleave rapturously to their Maker. This state of divine service results from intellectual endeavor, which is denoted by the term “level”. (In ch. 9 of Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, for example, the Alter Rebbe adds this term to the phrase that speaks of the intellectual activity known by its acronym as ChaBaD.)
“His deeds,” by contrast, refers to those souls in the Lower Garden of Eden, which earn the above-described spiritual delights through the actual performance of practical mitzvot. These souls, therefore, are rewarded “according to their deeds.”7
In either case, it is clear that the delight that souls experience in Gan Eden is the intellectual delight of the apprehension of G‑dliness.
ולכן נקרא עולם הבא בשם בינה, בזוהר הקדוש
That is why in the Zohar8 the World to Come is referred to as Binah (“understanding”), for that world is permeated by the light of the Sefirah of Binah,9 which enables souls to apprehend and understand G‑dliness.
והשפעה זו נמשכת מבחינת חכמה עילאה
This flow issues from the plane of Supernal Chochmah,
שהוא מקור ההשכלה וההשגה הנקרא בשם בינה
which is the source of the conception and apprehension known as Binah.
Chochmah is the initial, intuitive, seminal flash of perception; Binah is the process of mental gestation that systematically develops and expands that inspiration into comprehensive understanding.
והוא קדמות השכל, קודם שבא לכלל גילוי השגה והבנה
For [Chochmah] is the primordial stage of the intellect, before apprehension and understanding become manifest;
רק עדיין הוא בבחינת העלם והסתר
rather, [Chochmah] at this stage is still in a state of obscurity and concealment,
The Alter Rebbe is speaking here of the particular level of Chochmah that transcends intellect and comprehension. It differs from the more external level of Chochmah which is the germ of intellect and is already illumined by it, though it too is as yet the unparticularized seminal point of a concept which is still to be analyzed and comprehended by the faculty of Binah. Preceding this, the primordial level of Chochmah discussed here utterly transcends revealed intellect; it is still obscure,
רק שמעט מזעיר שם זעיר שם שופע ונמשך משם לבחינת בינה
except for some miniscule measure that here and there flows forth and issues from it to the faculty of Binah,
The dual form of the Biblical idiom borrowed here (cf. Yeshayahu 28:10) implies that the light of this primordial level of Chochmah undergoes two distinct stages of tzimtzum, or self-contraction. The first stage limits this light; the second attenuates it so that it is able to descend into Binah,
להבין ולהשיג שכל הנעלם
making it possible [for a soul] to understand and apprehend a concept which is [intrinsically] concealed.
This higher form of Supernal intellect is the “radiance of the Shechinah,” a ray of G‑d’s infinitude that illuminates Gan Eden. Ordinarily, no created being — even a soul of such stature that it inhabits the Upper Gan Eden — could possibly fathom this degree of intellect. In order for it to be understood by mortal man’s soul, it must undergo the twofold descent mentioned above. Nonetheless, even after this descent it still pertains to the very essence (mahut) of G‑dliness that is comprehended by the soul in Gan Eden.
ולכן נקרא בשם נקודה בהיכלא, בזוהר הקדוש
In the holy Zohar,10 therefore, [Chochmah] is referred to as “the dot in the palace.”11
Chochmah is the “dot” or “point” of intellect that illumines the “palace” of Binah. Nevertheless, even when already housed in Binah, it still remains a seminal point of intellect that transcends the details that constitute the comprehension of Binah.
וזו היא תמונת יו״ד של שם הוי׳
[Indeed,] this is the shape of the yud of the Four-Letter Name of G‑d.
The letter yud is shaped like a point, alluding12 to the Sefirah of Chochmah, which is a mere point.
ונקרא עדן, אשר עליו נאמר: עין לא ראתה גו׳
[Chochmah] is also referred to as Eden, of which it is said:13 “No eye has beheld it”; i.e., it is a kind of illumination that transcends and defies comprehension.
ונקרא: אבא יסד ברתא
Moreover, [Chochmah] is referred to14 as “the ‘father’ who founded the ‘daughter’.”
Chochmah is the “father”, or source, of the letters of speech, which are called the “daughter”, the level of Malchut.
One might have expected the letters of speech to derive from the emotive faculties (the middot) or from Binah, for surely a person articulates letters of speech when he seeks to express an emotion or to speak of an idea that he has comprehended. The Alter Rebbe, however, now goes on to explain that the letters of speech in fact derive from Chochmah, which transcends comprehension.
פירוש: כי הנה התהוות אותיות הדבור היוצאות מה׳ מוצאות הפה אינה דבר מושכל
This means: The formation of the letters of speech which proceed from the five organs of articulation15 is not an intellectual process.
The letters do not emanate from the soul as a result of any intellectual imperative.
ולא מוטבע בטבע מוצאות הללו להוציא מבטא האותיות
It is also not inherent in the nature of these organs [that they must] pronounce the letters
על ידי ההבל והקול המכה בהן
— by means of the breath and the sound that strikes them —
על פי דרך הטבע, ולא על פי דרך השכל
by either a natural faculty or by an intellectual faculty.
כגון השפתיים, על דרך משל, שאותיות בומ״פ יוצאות מהן
With the lips, for example, by means of which the letters beit, vav, mem and pei are uttered,
Since the lips are the most visible of the organs of speech, the Alter Rebbe chooses for his example the letters which they form; one can readily see that pronouncing these letters is impelled neither by the nature of the lips themselves nor by the faculty of intellect.
אין הטבע ולא השכל נותן ליציאת מבטא ארבע חלקי שינויי ביטוי אותיות אלו על פי שינויי תנועת השפתים
neither nature nor the intellect compels the utterance of the four varying types of pronunciation of these letters in accordance with variations in the movement of the lips,
שמתנוענעות בהבל אחד וקול אחד, הפוגע בהן בשוה
which are moved by the same breath and the same sound that strikes them equally.
Since the letter beit and the letter vav, for example, are both formed by the same breath and the same sound, the distinction between them must be made by the movements of the lips: when the letter beit is pronounced the lips are pursed in one way and when the letter vav is pronounced they are pursed differently. This being so, one would expect that it would take a conscious mental effort to move the lips in one specific manner to pronounce the letter beit and in another specific manner to pronounce the letter vav.16 Alternatively, if it were dependent on nature, the speaker would naturally want to move his lips in the different ways necessary for the formation of one letter or the other.
ואדרבה, שינוי התנועות שבשפתים הוא לפי שינוי ביטוי האותיות שברצון הנפש לבטא בשפתים כרצונה
On the contrary: the change in the movements of the lips depends on the difference in pronunciation of the letters the soul wishes to utter by means of the lips,
כרצונה לומר אות ב׳ או ו׳ או מ׳ או פ׳
when it desires to pronounce the letter beit, or vav, or mem, or pei, and the lips will instinctively and spontaneously move accordingly.
ולא להיפך, שיהיה רצון הנפש וכונתה לעשות שינוי תנועות השפתים
It is not the other way around, that it is the will and intention of the soul to make a change in the motions of the lips
כמו שהן מתנענעות עתה בביטויי ד׳ אותיות אלו
as they are moving now in the utterance of these four letters.
וכנראה בחוש, שאין הנפש מתכוונת ויודעת לכוין כלל שינוי תנועות השפתים בשינויים אלו
As is empirically evident, the soul does not at all intend or know how to intend the change in the motions of the lips [which articulate] those distinctions [between the various letters].
Since the soul neither intends nor even knows how to direct the lips to move in the manner required to form particular letters, it is obviously the mere desire to utter certain letters that results in the automatic movement of the lips in the appropriate manner.
ויותר נראה כן בביטוי הנקודות
This is even more evident with the pronunciation of the vowels.
שכשהנפש רצונה להוציא מפיה נקודת קמץ, אזי ממילא נקמצים השפתים
For when the soul wishes to utter the kamatz vowel, the lips spontaneously become compressed,
ובפתח נפתחים השפתים
and with the patach vowel the lips open17 — of their own accord,
ולא שרצון הנפש לקמוץ ולא לפתוח כלל וכלל
and not at all because of the will of the soul to compress or to open [them].
ואין להאריך בדבר הפשוט ומובן ומושכל לכל משכיל
There is no need to go any further into a matter which is simple, comprehensible, and intelligible to every intelligent person,
שמבטא האותיות והנקודות הוא למעלה מהשכל המושג ומובן
namely, that the pronunciation of the letters and vowels transcends the apprehended and comprehended intellect,
אלא משכל הנעלם וקדמות השכל שבנפש המדברת
but rather derives from the hidden intellect, and the primordial stage of the intellect which is in the articulate soul.
ולכן אין התינוק יכול לדבר, אף שמבין הכל
This is why an infant cannot speak, even though it understands everything, for speech does not result from revealed and apprehended intellect, but from the more rarefied “hidden intellect” which in the infant has yet to be developed.
We thus see that the letters of speech derive from Chochmah. This, then, is the meaning of “the ‘father’ who founded the ‘daughter’”: Chochmah is the “father” or source of the letters of speech, which are called the “daughter”, or the Sefirah of Malchut.
* * *
FOOTNOTES1. II Shmuel 8:13.
2. III, 113b.
3. II Shmuel 8:15.
4. Menachot 29b; Yerushalmi, Chagigah 2:1.
5. Yeshayahu 26:4.
6. This additional interpretation rests on an alternative version of our text from Tractate Menachot, which is supplied by Tosafot on Berachot 51a (s.v. זוכה).
7. “See Iggeret HaKodesh, Epistle 29 (p. 150b): The garments [of the soul] in the Upper Gan Edenare produced by this yearning (re’uta) and this devout intent (kavanah), while in the Lower Gan Eden they are produced by the actual performance of practical mitzvot. So, too, in Kuntres Acharon, beginning of p. 155a et al. See also Likkutei Torah, Parshat Vaetchanan, at the beginning of the maamar entitled VeZot HaMitzvah.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.)
8. II, 158a; Zohar Chadash 93a.
9. “[The influence of this Sefirah is felt] in the Lower Gan Eden as well, (although in relation to the Upper Gan Eden it is the Sefirah of Malchut). See Or HaTorah, Chayei Sarah (p. 114a); Likkutei Torah, Vaetchanan, p. 10b, et al.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.)
10. I, 6a, et al.
11. “This is discussed at length in Likkutei Torah, beginning of Parshat Re’eh; see the sources cited there.” ( — Note of the Rebbe.)
12. “Cf. the Note at the beginning of ch. 12 of Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah: ‘The shape of each letter indicates the pattern of the flow and manifestation of the light.’ ” ( — Note of the Rebbe.)
13. Yeshayahu 64:3.
14. Zohar III, 248a.
15. The larynx, palate, tongue, teeth and lips.
16. “This is analogous to the musical notes of a harp, that are produced by plucking different strings. (Cf. Hemshech 5666, p. 447).” ( — Note of the Rebbe.)
17. The Hebrew names for the vowels קמץ and פתח respectively mean “compressing” and “opening”.
Rambam:
• Sefer Hamitzvot:
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Shabbat, Menachem Av 13, 5777 · August 5, 2017
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
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Positive Commandment 235
The Gentile Slave
"You shall have them serve you forever"—Leviticus 25:46.
One who acquires a gentile slave must retain his services for perpetuity. The slave is only granted freedom in the event that the master causes him irreversible personal injury.
Full text of this Mitzvah »
The Gentile Slave
Positive Commandment 235
Translated by Berel Bell
The 235th mitzvah is that we are commanded regarding the treatment of Canaanite servants:1 that we should have them serve us forever, going free only in [a case where the master struck them and caused them to lose] a tooth or [use of] an eye. The same applies to any exposed organ which does not grow back, as explained in the Oral Tradition.2
The source of this commandment are G‑d's statement3 (exalted be He), "You shall have them serve you forever" and,4 "If a person strikes [his male or female servant in the eye...the tooth...he shall set the servant free...in compensation for his eye...in compensation for his tooth]."
In the words of the Talmudic tractate Gittin5: "Anyone who frees his servant transgresses a positive commandment, as it is written, 'You shall have them serve you forever.' " The words of the Written Torah itself show that he must be freed upon loss of a tooth or an eye.
The details of this mitzvah are completely explained in tractates Kiddushin6 and Gittin.
FOOTNOTES
1.This term, eved Canaani, is used not only for servants from Canaan, but for any non-Jewish servant who has been circumcised and immersed in a mikvah with the intention of becoming a servant.
2.Kiddushin 25a. These organs are the fingers, toes, ears, the tip of the nose, and the male organ.
3.Lev. 25:46.
4.Ex. 21:26
5.38a.
6.22b; 24a.
Negative Commandment 254Returning a Runaway Slave who Flees to Israel
"You shall not deliver a servant to his master"—Deuteronomy 23:16.
It is forbidden to return a non-Jewish slave to his master (even if he is Jewish) if he has escaped and fled to Israel. Rather, the slave must be given his freedom, and he must compensate his former master for his loss (i.e., his own monetary value). This because the slave has come to find refuge in the pure land that G‑d chose for His esteemed nation.
Full text of this Mitzvah »
Returning a Runaway Slave who Flees to Israel
Negative Commandment 254
Translated by Berel Bell
The 254th prohibition is that we are forbidden from returning to his master a servant who has fled to Israel. This applies even if his master is Jewish — since he has run to Israel from outside Israel, he should not be returned1 to him. Rather, he must be freed, with his remaining value written down as a debt [owed by the former servant to his former master].
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement2 (exalted be He), "You must not turn him back over to his master."
It is explained in the 4th chapter of tractate Gittin3 that this verse refers to a servant who has run to Israel from outside Israel; that a document is written regarding his monetary value; that a get cherus (liberation document) is written for him; and that since he has come to dwell in the pure land which was chosen for the holy people, he shall never be returned to servitude. The details of this mitzvah are explained there.
FOOTNOTES
1.The prohibition applies even to the master living outside Israel. See Kapach, 5731, footnote 86. Chavel translates, "delivered," implying that the prohibition is exclusively on the one in Israel.
2.Deut. 23:16.
3.45a.
Negative Commandment 255Hurtful Words to the Runaway Slave
"He shall dwell with you do not oppress him"—Deuteronomy 23:17.
It is forbidden to verbally distress or humiliate a runaway slave. Though it is forbidden to humiliate anyone, especially a convert, one who does so to a runaway slave transgresses this additional prohibition, too.
Full text of this Mitzvah »
Hurtful Words to the Runaway Slave
Negative Commandment 255
Translated by Berel Bell
The 255th prohibition is that we are forbidden from hurting the feelings of this servant1 who has run away to us.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement2 (exalted be He), "He must be allowed to live alongside you wherever he chooses in your settlements. You must do nothing to hurt his feelings."
In the words of the Sifra3: "The phrase 'You must do nothing to hurt his feelings' refers to ona'as devarim."4 In the case of a convert, G‑d (exalted be He), added an extra prohibition of ona'as devarim due to his feeling of extreme humility and his status as a convert. In this case of a servant, who feels even more lowly and humble than a [regular] convert, G‑d added a third prohibition,5 in order that we should not say that "this servant doesn't mind ona'as devarim."6
It is clear that the servant referred to by the verse and the convert mentioned in the prohibition of ona'as devarim have both accepted upon themselves the Torah, i.e. they are gerei tzedek.7
FOOTNOTES
1.See previous mitzvah.
2.Deut. 23:17.
3.Sifri. See Kapach, 5731, footnote 91.
4.See N251, N252 (Lessons 267 and 271).
5.For ona'as devarim against any Jew, one violates prohibition 251. For ona'as devarim against a convert, one violates both N251 and N252. For ona'as devarim against the servant mentioned in this mitzvah, since he is also a convert, one violates N251, N252, and N255. Hilchos Avodim 8:11.
6.One might possibly think this because of the statement of R. Yehudah (Bava Kama 87a), "servants have no shame." However, this applies only while they are still servants, not after they have been freed. See Yad Halevi, note 5.
7.When a non-Jew becomes an eved Canaani, he becomes obligated in all prohibitions of the Torah and positive commandments which are not connected with a specific time. After the eved Canaani is freed, he becomes a full-fledged convert.
• 1 Chapter A Day: Edut Edut - Chapter 3
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Edut - Chapter 3
1
The questioning and interrogation of witnesses is required with regard to cases involving both monetary law and capital punishment, as Leviticus 24:22 states: "You shall have one judgment." Nevertheless, our Sages ordained that witnesses in cases involving financial law not be questioned or interrogated, lest this prevent loans from being given.
What is implied? If witnesses say: "So-and-so lent so-and-so a maneh in this year," their testimony is allowed to stand even though they did not specify the month or the place in which the maneh was given, nor did they say of which coinage the maneh was.
א
אחד דיני ממונות ואחד דיני נפשות בדרישה וחקירה שנאמר משפט אחד יהיה לכם אבל אמרו חכמים כדי שלא תנעול דלת בפני לוין אין עדי ממון צריכין דרישה וחקירה כיצד אמרו העדים בפנינו הלוה זה את זה מנה בשנה פלונית אף על פי שלא כיוונו את החדש ולא את המקום שהלוה בו ולא את המנה אם היה ממטבע פלוני או ממטבע פלוני עדותן קיימת:
2
When does the above apply? With regard to admissions of liability, loans, presents, sales, and the like. Cases involving fines, by contrast, require the full process of questioning and interrogation. Needless to say, this applies with regard to cases involving the penalties of lashes and exile. Similarly, if a judge perceives that a claim may be contrived and his suspicions are aroused, questioning and interrogation is necessary even with regard to cases involving financial matters.
ב
במה דברים אמורים בהודאות והלואות מתנות ומכירות וכיוצא בהן אבל בדיני קנסות צריכין דרישה וחקירה ואין צריך לומר במלקות ובגלות וכן אם ראה הדיין שהדין מרומה וחשש לו צריך דרישה וחקירה:
3
Although there is no requirement to subject witnesses in cases involving monetary law to the full process of questioning and interrogation, if the witnesses contradict each other with regard to the derishot or the chakirot, their testimony is nullified. If the witnesses contradict each other with regard to the bedikot, their testimony is allowed to stand.
What is implied? One witness says: "He borrowed from him in Nissan," and the other witness says: "No, he borrowed in Iyar," their testimony is nullified. Or one says: "The loan was given in Jerusalem," and the second says: "No; we were in Lod," their testimony is nullified. Similarly, if one says: "He lent him a barrel of wine," and the other says: "It contained oil," their testimony is nullified, for they contradicted themselves with regard to the fundamental questions.
If, by contrast, one said: "He lent him a black maneh," while the other said: "It was a white maneh. One said: "They were in the upper storey when he made the loan," and the other said: "They were in the lower storey," their testimony is allowed to stand. Moreover, even if one said: "He lent him a maneh and the other, "He lent him two hundred," the defendant is obligated to pay him at least a maneh, because 200 contains 100. Similarly, if one said: "He owes him the cost of a barrel of wine," and the other says: "...a barrel of oil," the defendant is required to pay the lesser amount of the two. Similar concepts apply in all analogous situations.
ג
אע"פ שאין עדי ממונות צריכין דרישה וחקירה אם הכחישו העדים זה את זה בדרישות או בחקירות עדותן בטילה ואם הכחישו העדים זה את זה בבדיקות עדותן קיימת כיצד אחד אומר בניסן לוה ממנו והשני אומר לא כי אלא באייר או שאמר האחד בירושלים והשני אומר לא כי אלא בלוד היינו עדותן בטילה וכן אם אמר האחד חבית של יין הלוהו והשני אומר של שמן היתה עדותן בטילה שהרי הכחישו בדרישה אבל אם אמר האחד מנה שחור והשני אומר מנה לבן היה זה אומר בדיוטא העליונה היו כשהלוהו והשני אומר בדיוטא התחתונה היו עדותן קיימת אפילו אמר האחד מנה הלוהו והשני אומר מאתים חייב לשלם מנה שיש בכלל מאתים מנה וכן אם אמר האחד דמי חבית של יין יש לו בידו וזה אומר דמי חבית של שמן משלם בפחות שבדמים וכן כל כיוצא בזה:
4
According to Scriptural Law, we do not accept testimony - neither in cases involving financial matter, nor in cases involving capital punishment - except orally from the witnesses, as implied by Deuteronomy 17:6: "On the basis of two witnesses...." Implied is that testimony is accepted only orally, and not on the basis of their written statements.
According to Rabbinic Law, however, we decide cases involving financial matters on the basis of testimony recorded in a legal document even if the witnesses are no longer alive. This measure was enacted lest the alternative prevent loans from being given. We do not adjudicate cases involving fines on the basis of testimony recorded in a legal document. Needless to say, cases involving lashes or exile are decided only on the basis of verbal testimony, not on the basis of a written document.
ד
דין תורה שאין מקבלין עדות לא בדיני ממונות ולא בדיני נפשות אלא מפי העדים שנאמר על פי שנים עדים מפיהם ולא מכתב ידן אבל מדברי סופרים שחותכין דיני ממונות בעדות שבשטר אף על פי שאין העדים קיימים כדי שלא תנעול דלת בפני לוין ואין דנין בעדות שבשטר בדיני קנסות ואין צריך לומר במכות ובגלות אלא מפיהן ולא מכתב ידן:
5
In both cases involving financial matters and cases involving capital punishment, once a witness has testified and has been questioned in court, he cannot retract.
What is implied? If the witness state: "I testified in error," "I inadvertently forgot the details and now remembered that it was not so," or "I testified only out of fear of him" we do not heed him, even if he provides an explanation for his statements. Similarly, he cannot add that any of the matters he mentioned in his testimony were conditional.
The general principle is: Any statement made by a witness after his testimony was delivered and questioned that will lead to the nullification of that testimony or that adds a condition to the points stated is not heeded.
ה
כל עד שנחקרה עדותו בבית דין בין בדיני ממונות בין בדיני נפשות אין יכול לחזור בו כיצד אמר מוטעה הייתי שוגג הייתי ונזכרתי שאין הדבר כן לפחדו עשיתי אין שומעין לו אפילו נתן טעם לדבריו וכן אינו יכול להוסיף בעדותו תנאי כללו של דבר כל דברים שיאמר העד אחר שנחקרה עדותו שיבא מכללן ביטול העדות או הוספת תנאי בה אין שומעין לו:
6
Witnesses who sign a legal document are considered as if their testimony was delivered and questioned by a court of law. They cannot retract it.
When does the above apply? When the authenticity of the document can be verified without their testimony, e.g., other witness who could testify that it was their signatures were present or their signatures were found on other legal documents. If, however, the authenticity of the document could not be verified without their testimony and they said: "This is our handwriting, but we were compelled to do it," "...We were below majority at the time," "...We were related to the litigants," "...We were deceived," their statements are accepted and the legal document is nullified.
ו
עדים החתומים על השטר הרי זה כמי שנחקרה עדותן בבית דין ואין יכולין לחזור בהן בד"א כשאפשר לקיים השטר שלא מפיהן כגון שהיו שם עדים שזה כתב ידן או שהיה כתב ידן יוצא ממקום אחר אבל אם אי אפשר לקיים את השטר אלא מפיהן ואמרו כתב ידינו הוא זה אבל אנוסים היינו קטנים היינו קרובים היינו מוטעים היינו הרי אלו נאמנים ויבטל השטר:
7
If the witnesses say: "We were not acceptable as witnesses because of a transgression we violated," or "We took a bribe to testify on this document," their word is not accepted. The rationale is that a person's own testimony can never be used to have him considered as wicked. Instead, two witnesses must testify that he is wicked.
Similarly, if the witnesses say: "Our words were given on faith, their words are not accepted. For a person who signs as a witness on a promissory note given on faith is considered as if he gave false testimony.
ז
אמרו פסולי עדות היינו בעבירה או שוחד לקחנו על עדות זו אין נאמנים שאין אדם משים עצמו רשע עד שיעידו עליו עדים שהוא רשע וכן אם אמרו אמנה היו דברינו אין נאמנים שהמעיד על שטר אמנה כמעיד בשקר:
8
If witnesses say: "A protest was made by the seller to us with regard to this deed of sale," their words are accepted even though their signatures were found on other legal documents.
ח
אמרו העדים שטר מכר זה מודעה נמסרה לנו עליו אע"פ שכתב ידן יוצא ממקום אחר הרי אלו נאמנין:
9
When the witnesses signed on the document say: "The legal document was composed conditionally," their word is not accepted if their signatures were found on other legal documents. If, however, the authenticity of the document could not be verified without their testimony, their statements are accepted and we tell the litigants: "Fulfill the condition and then bring the matter to judgment."
ט
אמרו על תנאי היה שטר זה אם היה כתב ידן יוצא ממקום אחר אין נאמנין ואם אין השטר מתקיים אלא מפיהם נאמנים ואומר לבעלי הדין קיימו התנאי ובואו לדון:
10
If one of the witnesses says: "The transaction was made conditionally," and the other says, "There was no condition involved," the testimony of the one witness is of consequence.
י
אמר אחד מן העדים על תנאי היו הדברים והשני אומר לא היה שם תנאי הרי כאן עד אחד:
11
Also in laws involving financial matters, we receive testimony only in the presence of the litigants. If, however, the plaintiff was deathly ill or the witnesses desired to travel overseas and the defendant was summoned and yet did not come, we receive the testimony outside his presence.
When does the above apply? To testimony given orally. The authenticity of the signatures of a legal document, by contrast, may be verified outside the defendant's presence. Moreover, even if the defendant is present and protests vociferously: "This document is a forgery," "They are false witnesses," or "They are unacceptable witnesses," we pay no heed to him. Instead, we verify the authenticity of the document. If the defendant brings proof which disqualifies the document, it is disqualified.
יא
גם בדיני ממונות אין מקבלין עדות אלא בפני בעל דין אם היה בעל דין חולה או שהיו העדים מבקשים לילך למדינת הים ושלחו לבעל דין ולא בא הרי אלו מקבלים עדים שלא בפניו במה דברים אמורים בעדות על פה אבל בשטר מקיימין בית דין את עדיו שלא בפני בעל דין ואפילו היה עומד וצווח ואומר שטר מזוייף הוא עדי שקר הן פסולי עדות הן אין משגיחין בו אלא מקיימין את השטר ואם יש לו ראיה לפסול יפסול:
12
Whenever a plaintiff has witnesses who will testify to prove his claim, he must tend to the witnesses until he brings them to court. If the court knows that the defendant is a strong and stubborn person and the plaintiff claims that the witnesses are afraid to come and testify on behalf of the plaintiff, the court compels the defendant to bring the witnesses. We adjudicate cases involving strong and stubborn people according to these and other analogous principles.
יב
כל מי שיש לו ראיה בעדים מטפל בעדים עד שיביאם לבית דין ואם ידעו בית דין שבעל דינו אלם וטען התובע שהעדים מתפחדים מבעל דינו שיבואו ויעידו לו הרי בית דין כופין את בעל דינו שיביא הוא העדים וכן כל כיוצא בדברים אלו דנין בהן לאלם:
• 3 Chapters A Day: Avadim Avadim - Chapter Seven, Avadim Avadim - Chapter Eight, Avadim Avadim - Chapter Nine
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Avadim - Chapter Seven
1
The wording of a bill of release must connote that it is severing the connection between the slave and his master, so that his master no longer has any rights with regard to him. Therefore, if a master writes to his slave: "You and everything I own except for such and such a property or such and such a garment are now your property," the connection between them is not severed. The bill of release is nullified. And since the bill of release is not effective, the slave is not freed and he does not acquire any of the property. The same principles apply in all analogous situations.
א
גט שחרור צריך שיהיה עניינו דבר הכורת בינו לבין אדוניו ולא ישאר לאדון בו זכות לפיכך הכותב לעבדו עצמך וכל נכסי קנויין לך חוץ ממקום פלוני או חוץ מטלית פלונית אין זה כורת והגט בטל ומתוך שאינו גט אין העבד משוחרר ולא קנה מן הנכסים כלום וכן כל כיוצא בזה:
2
When a slave brings a bill of release that states: "Your person and my property are acquired by you," he acquires his own person and becomes a free man immediately. He does not, however, acquire the property until the authenticity of the signatures to the document are verified, as is the law with regard to other legal documents.
Similarly, if the document states: "All my property is acquired by you," he acquires his own person, but does not, however, acquire the property until the authenticity of the signatures to the document is verified. We divide the content of the document and say: "He acquires his own freedom, for we trust him when he brings his own bill of release, and he does not have to verify the authenticity of the document. With regard to property, a person does not acquire it unless he has clear proof of his ownership. Therefore, he does not acquire it until the authenticity of the document is verified.
ב
עבד שהביא גט וכתוב בו עצמך ונכסי קנויין לך עצמו קנה והרי הוא בן חורין אבל הנכסים לא קנה עד שיתקיים הגט בחותמיו כשאר השטרות וכן אם היה כתוב בו כל נכסי קנויין לך קנה עצמו ולא קנה הנכסים עד שיתקיים הגט בחותמיו שחולקים הדבור ואומרים עצמו קנה מפני שהוא נאמן להביא גט שחרורו ואינו צריך לקיימו אבל הנכסים שאין אדם קונה אותם אלא בראיה ברורה לא יקנה אותם עד שיתקיים השטר:
3
When a master frees two slaves with one bill of release, they do not acquire their freedom. Instead, one must write a bill of release for each slave individually.Therefore, if a person writes a single legal document transferring all his property to two slaves, they do not acquire even their own persons. If the master wrote two documents, one for each slave, they acquire the property and free each other.
When does the above apply? When the master wrote in each legal document: "All my property is given to so and so and so and so, my slaves." If, however, he writes: "Half of my property is given to so and so, my slave, and the other half is given to so and so, my slave," even if the owner wrote two documents, the slaves do not acquire anything. For the slaves are included in the master's property, and possession of half of each one is retained. Thus, this is not a valid release, and since the slave was not freed, he does not acquire any of the property.
ג
המשחרר שני עבדים בשטר אחד לא קנו עצמן אלא כותבין שטר לכל אחד ואחד לפיכך הכותב כל נכסיו לשני עבדיו בשטר אחד אף עצמן לא קנו ואם כתב בשני שטרות קנו ומשחררין זה את זה במה דברים אמורים בשכתב בכל שטר משניהם כל נכסי נתונים לפלוני ופלוני עבדי אבל אם כתב חצי נכסי לפלוני עבדי וחצי נכסי לפלוני עבדי אף בשני שטרות לא קנו כלום שהעבד מכלל נכסים והרי שייר בו חציו ואין זה שחרור וכיון שלא נשתחרר לא קנה מן הנכסים כלום:
4
When a person seeks to release half of his slave with a bill of release, the slave does not acquire half of his person, and he is a slave just as he was before. If, by contrast, he releases half of a slave, because of a monetary payment - e.g., he took money for half his worth with the intent of freeing that half - the transaction is binding. Thus, he is half slave and half free man.
When does the above apply? When the master released half of the slave and retained half. If, however, he freed half of the slave with a legal document and sold the other half, or he freed half with a legal document and gave the other half as a present, since the slave leaves his domain entirely, the slave acquires half of his person, and he is half a slave and half a free man.
Similarly, when a slave is owned by two partners, and one frees his half - whether through money or through a legal document - the slave acquires his half, and he is half slave and half free man.
ד
המשחרר חצי עבדו בשטר לא קנה העבד חציו והרי הוא עבד כשהיה אבל אם שחרר חציו בכסף כגון שלקח חצי דמיו על מנת לשחרר חציו קנה ונמצא חציו עבד וחציו בן חורין בד"א בששחרר חציו בשטר והניח חציו אבל אם שחרר חציו ומכר חציו או ששחרר חציו ונתן חציו במתנה הואיל ויצא העבד כולו מרשותו קנה העבד חציו והרי זה חציו עבד וחציו בן חורין וכן עבד של שני שותפין ושחרר אחד מהן חלקו בין בכסף בין בשטר קנה העבד חציו והרי הוא חציו עבד וחציו בן חורין:
5
When a master composes a bill of release for his maid-servant who is pregnant, stating "You are free, but your child-to-be remains a slave," his words are binding. If, however, it states: "You remain a maid-servant, but your child- to-be is free," it is of no consequence. For this is as if he freed half of the maid-servant using a legal document.
ה
הכותב לשפחתו מעוברת הרי את בת חורין וולדך עבד דבריו קיימין הרי את שפחה וולדך בן חורין לא אמר ולא כלום שזה כמי שמשחרר חציה:
6
With regard to a shifchah charufah: If the master desires to free her other half, making her a woman who is consecrated entirely, he may free her - whether with money or with a legal document. For even money completes her release.
ו
שפחה חרופה אם רצה לשחרר חציה הנשאר ותיעשה אשת איש גמורה ה"ז משחרר בין בכסף בין בשטר שאף הכסף גומר שחרורה:
7
A person who is half slave and half free is not permitted to marry a Canaanite maid-servant, nor a free woman. Therefore, we compel his master to make him a free man. And we have a promissory note composed stating that the slave owes the master half his value.
When does the above apply? For a male slave. For a male is commanded to be fruitful and multiply. A maid-servant, however, should remain in her immediate state and serve her master one day, and herself the next. If sinners treat her loosely, we compel her master to free her. And we have a promissory note composed stating that she owes the master half her value.
ז
מי שחציו עבד וחציו בן חורין הואיל ואינו מותר לא בשפחה ולא בבת חורין כופין את רבו ועושה אותו בן חורין וכותב שטר עליו בחצי דמיו במה דברים אמורים בעבד מפני שהאיש מצווה על פריה ורביה אבל השפחה תשאר כמות שהיא ועובדת את רבה יום אחד ואת עצמה יום אחד ואם נהגו בה החוטאים מנהג הפקר כופין את רבה לשחרר וכותב עליה שטר בחצי דמיה:
8
When a person is half slave and half free, and his master transferred the half he owns to his son who is below majority, so that the court would not be able to compel him to release him, the court appoints a guardian for the minor, and the guardian writes a bill of release. And we have a promissory note composed stating that the slave owes the master half his value.
If the minor needs the slave and has pangs of yearning for the slave, we separate him from him with money, for a minor has a great attraction for money.
ח
מי שחציו עבד וחציו בן חורין שעמד רבו והקנה חציו לבנו הקטן כדי שלא יכופו אותו בית דין לשחררו מעמידין ב"ד לקטן אפוטרופוס וכותב לו האפוטרופוס גט שחרור וכותב לו שטר חוב בחצי דמיו ואם נצטרך הקטן בעבד ויש לו געגועין עליו מפליגין אותו ממנו במעות שדעתו של קטן קרוב אצל מעות:
9
When a dying man who had a legal document composed, transferring all of his property to a servant, recovers, he regains possession of the property. He does not, however, regain possession of the servant, for he has already acquired the reputation of being a free man.
ט
שכיב מרע שכתב כל נכסיו לעבדו ועמד חוזר בנכסים ואינו חוזר בעבד שהרי יצא עליו שם בן חורין:
Avadim - Chapter Eight
1
When a person sells his slave to a gentile, the slave is released as a free man. We compel the previous owner to buy him back from the gentiles at even ten times his value. He then composes a bill of release for him, and the slave is released.
If the gentile purchaser does not desire to sell the slave back at even ten times his value, we do not require the owner to make another offer. This fine is only collected and brought to judgment in a court of expert judges. If the seller dies, we do not require his heir to return the slave so that he can free him.
א
המוכר את עבדו לעכו"ם יצא בן חורין וכופין את רבו לחזור ולקנותו מן העכו"ם עד עשרה בדמיו וכותב לו גט שחרור ויוצא ואם לא רצה העכו"ם למכרו אפילו בעשרה בדמיו אין מחייבין אותו יתר וקנס זה אין גובין אותו ודנין אותו אלא בבית דין מומחין ואם מת המוכר אין קונסין את היורש להחזיר את העבד לשחרור:
2
The following rules apply when a person borrows money from a gentile and offers a slave as collateral. If the borrower fixed a time and told the gentile: "If this and this date arrives and I have not paid you, you acquire the body of this slave," the slave must be released immediately. If he told him: "Acquire the proceeds of his work," the slave is not released.
If the gentile expropriated the slave as payment for the debt, or attackers came upon the master and sought to kill him, and he redeemed himself from them by giving them his slave, the slave is not freed, for he was taken from his master against his will.
ב
לוה על עבדו מן העכו"ם אם קבע לו זמן ואמר לו אם הגיע זמן פלוני ולא אשלם לך תקנה גוף עבד זה ה"ז יצא לחירות מיד ואם אמר לו תקנה מעשה ידיו לא יצא לחירות גבאו עכו"ם בחובו או שבאו על האדון מצירים ובקשו להרגו ופדה עצמו מידן בעבדו לא יצא לחירות מפני שנלקח ממנו שלא ברצונו:
3
If a person sells his slave to one of the servants of a king or his officers, despite the fact that the seller fears them, the slave receives his freedom. For he could have appeased them with other money.
ג
מכר עבדו לאחד מעבדי המלך או מגדוליו אע"פ שהוא מתיירא מהם יצא העבד לחירות מפני שהיה יכול לפייסו בממון אחר:
4
In the following instances - a person sold his slave to a gentile for 30 days, sold him except for his work, sold him except for the mitzvot, or sold him except for the Sabbaths and festivals - there is an unresolved question whether the slave is free or not. Therefore, if the slave seizes property belonging to his former master that equals his worth, so that he can purchase his freedom from the gentile, it is not expropriated from him.
ד
מכרו לעכו"ם לשלשים יום מכרו חוץ ממלאכתו חוץ מן המצות חוץ משבתות וימים טובים ה"ז ספק אם נשתחרר או לא נשתחרר לפיכך אם תפס העבד כדי דמיו לרבו כדי שיצא בהן לחירות מיד עכו"ם אין מוציאין מידו:
5
Whether a Jew sells his slave to a gentile who serves idols, a ger toshav, or even to a kuti, the slave is granted his freedom. If he sells his slave to an apostate Jew, there is an unresolved question regarding the matter. Therefore, if the slave seizes property belonging to his former master that equals his worth, so that he can purchase his freedom from the apostate, it is not expropriated from him.
ה
אחד מוכר עבדו לעכו"ם עובד ע"ז או שמכרו לגר תושב אפילו לכותי הרי זה יצא לחירות מכרו לישראל מומר הרי זה ספק לפיכך אם תפס כדי דמיו מרבו ראשון כדי לצאת בהן מיד המומר אין מוציאין מידו:
6
When a person living in Eretz Yisrael sells his slave to a master from the diaspora, the slave is granted his freedom. We compel his new master to compose a bill of release for him, and his money is forfeited.
Why did our Sages penalize the purchaser alone in this instance? Because if he had not purchased the slave, this slave would not have left Eretz Yisrael for the diaspora. Selling a slave to Syria or to Acre is considered as selling him to the diaspora.
ו
המוכר עבדו לחוצה לארץ יצא בן חורין וכופין את רבו השני לכתוב לו גט שחרור ואבדו הדמים ומפני מה קנסו כאן הלוקח לבדו שאילו לא לקח זה לא יצא העבד לחוצה לארץ המוכר עבדו לסוריא ואפילו לעכו כמוכר לחוצה לארץ:
7
There is an unresolved question when an inhabitant of Babylonia marries a woman in Eretz Yisrael with the intent of returning to Babylonia, and the woman brings slaves and maid-servants to his household. There is a doubt whether they are considered as having been sold to the diaspora, for the husband has the right to the fruits of their labor, or they are not considered as having been sold to him, since their physical person belongs to the woman.
ז
בן בבל שנשא אשה בארץ ישראל ודעתו לחזור והכניסה לו אשתו עבדים ושפחות הרי אלו ספק אם הם כמי שמכרה אותם לחוצה לארץ הואיל ויש לו הפירות או אינן כמכורין לו שהרי הגוף שלה:
8
When a slave follows his master to Syria, and his master sells him there, the slave is considered to have forfeited his privilege.
When does the above apply? When his master took him to the diaspora with the intent not to return to Eretz Yisrael. If, however, his master's intent was to return, and the slave followed him with that intent, should the master sell him there, he is granted his freedom, and we compel the purchaser to release him.
ח
עבד שיצא אחר רבו לסוריא ומכרו שם אבד את זכותו בד"א כשיצא רבו על מנת שלא לחזור לארץ ישראל אבל אם דעת רבו לחזור ויצא אחריו ומכרו שם יצא לחירות וכופין את הלוקח לשחררו:
9
When a slave asks his master to move to Eretz Yisrael, we compel his master to move there with him or to sell him to someone who is moving there. When a master living in Eretz Yisrael desires to move to the diaspora, he cannot compel the slave to move with him against his will. This law applies in all times, even in the present era, when the land is ruled by gentiles.
ט
עבד שאמר לעלות לארץ ישראל כופין את רבו לעלות עמו או ימכור אותו למי שיעלוהו לשם רצה האדון לצאת לחוצה לארץ אינו יכול להוציא את עבדו עד שירצה ודין זה בכל זמן אפילו בזמן הזה שהארץ ביד עכו"ם:
10
When a slave flees from the diaspora to Eretz Yisrael, he should not be returned to slavery. Concerning such a person, the Torah Deuteronomy 23:16 states: "Do not return a slave to his master."
His master is told to compose a bill of release for him, and he writes a promissory note for his master for his worth, which the master holds until the freed slave earns that money and gives it to him. If the master does not desire to free him, the court invalidates his ownership of him, and the slave is free to go on his way.
י
עבד שברח מחוצה לארץ לארץ אין מחזירין לו לעבדות ועליו נאמר לא תסגיר עבד אל אדוניו ואומר לרבו שיכתוב לא גט שחרור ויכתוב לו שטר חוב בדמיו עד שתשיג ידו ויתן לו ואם לא רצה האדון לשחררו מפקיעין ב"ד שיעבודו מעליו וילך לו:
11
This slave who fled to Eretz Yisrael is a righteous gentile. Scripture adds a specific warning for anyone who would desire to deride him, for he is even more humble-spirited than a convert. Therefore, Scripture Deuteronomy 23:17 issues a command with regard to him: "He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in one of your cities that he desires. You shall not abuse him." Abusing him refers even to verbal derision.
Thus, a person who derides this convert transgresses three negative commandments: "A person should not abuse his colleague" (Leviticus 25:14), "Do not abuse a convert" (Exodus 22:20), and "You shall not abuse him." He also transgresses the commandment: "Do not oppress him" (Exodus, Ibid.), as explained with regard to the laws of ona'ah.
יא
עבד זה שברח לארץ הרי הוא גר צדק והוסיף לו הכתוב אזהרה אחרת למי שמאנה אותו מפני שהוא שפל רוח יותר מן הגר וצוה עליו הכתוב שנאמר עמך ישב בקרבך באחד שעריך בטוב לו לא תוננו זו אף הוניית דברים נמצאת למד שהמאנה את הגר הזה עובר בשלשה לאוין משום ולא תונו איש את עמיתו ומשום וגר לא תונה ומשום לא תוננו וכן עובר משום ולא תלחצנו כמו שביארנו בענין הונייה:
12
When a person purchases a slave from a gentile without making a stipulation beforehand, and the slave does not desire to be circumcised or to accept the mitzvot incumbent upon slaves, he is given leeway for twelve months. If at the end of this period, he still does not desire, the master must sell him to a gentile or to the diaspora.
If the slave made a stipulation with the master at the outset that he did not have to circumcise himself, the owner may maintain him as a gentile for as long as he desires and may sell him to a gentile or the diaspora.
Similarly, even when a slave who has been circumcised and immersed himself to become a slave, but afterwards caused himself to be captured by a group of brigands, if his master cannot expropriate him - neither through the laws of the Jews, nor through the laws of the gentiles - he may accept payment for him from the gentile and formalize the sale through the gentile authorities, for he is preserving his money from the gentiles.
יב
הקונה עבד מן העכו"ם סתם ולא רצה למול ולקבל מצות העבדים מגלגלין עמו כל שנים עשר חדש ואם לא רצה חוזר ומוכרו לעכו"ם או לחוצה לארץ ואם התנה העבד עליו תחלה שלא ימול ה"ז מותר לקיימו כל זמן שירצה בגיותו ומוכרו לעכו"ם או לח"ל וכן עבד שמל וטבל לשם עבדות ואח"כ הפיל עצמו לגייסות ואין רבו יכול להוציאו לא בדיני ישראל ולא בדיני אומות העולם הרי זה מותר לו ליטול דמיו מן העכו"ם וכותב ומעלה בערכאות של עכו"ם מפני שהוא כמציל מידם:
13
When a person declares a slave ownerless, the slave is granted his freedom. A bill of release must be composed for him. If the master who declared him ownerless dies, his heir should compose the bill of release.
יג
המפקיר עבדו יצא לחירות וצריך גט שחרור ואם מת האדון שהפקירו היורש כותב לו גט שחרור:
14
The following rules apply when a slave who was imprisoned flees from jail. If his master despaired of regaining ownership of him, he is granted his freedom. His master is compelled to compose a bill of release for him.
יד
עבד שברח מבית האסורין אם נתייאש ממנו רבו יצא לחירות וכופין את רבו וכותב לו גט שחרור:
15
The following rules apply when a slave is taken captive by gentiles. If his first master despaired of regaining ownership of him, anyone who redeems him with the intent that he remain a slave may subjugate him, and he becomes his property. If he redeemed him with the intent that he become free, he is granted his freedom.
If the slave's first owner did not despair of regaining ownership, a person who redeems the slave with the intent that he remain a slave should take back the money he spent to redeem him from his owner, and the slave is returned to his original owner. If he redeemed him with the intent of freeing him, he is returned to his original owner without any payment.
טו
עבד שנשבה אם נתייאש ממנו רבו ראשון כל הפודה אותו לשם עבד ישתעבד בו והרי הוא שלו ואם פדהו לשם בן חורין הרי זה בן חורין ואם לא נתייאש ממנו רבו ראשון הפודה אותו לשם עבד נוטל פדיונו מרבו וחוזר לרבו ואם פדהו לשם ב"ח חוזר לרבו הראשון בלא כלום:
16
If a master makes a slave an apotiki for his creditor and then frees the slave, the slave is freed. We also compel the creditor to free him as well. This is a measure enacted for the correction of society, lest the creditor encounter the slave at a later time and say: "You are my slave."
טז
עבד שעשאו רבו אפותיקי לבעל חובו ושחררו הרי זה משוחרר וכופין את בעל חובו לשחררו גם זה מפני תיקון העולם שלא יפגע בו לאחר זמן ויאמר לו עבדי אתה:
17
When a master marries his slave to a free woman, places tefillin on his head, or tells him to read three verses from a Torah scroll in public, or the like - i.e., matters in which only a freed person is obligated - he is considered to be free. We compel his master to compose a bill of release for him.
Similar rules apply when 1the slave took a vow that we compel slaves to fulfill, as we have stated with regard to vows, and instead of compelling him, his master said: "The vow is annulled." Since he did not compel him in a situation in which he should have compelled him, he indicated that he was concluding his subjugation of him.
From this, I conclude that if a person frees a slave while speaking in any language and utters statements that indicate that his intent is that he does not retain any authority over him at all, and he has resolved to accept this step, he cannot retract. We compel him to write a bill of release even though he has not written one already.
If, however, a person borrows money from his slave, makes him a guardian, the slave puts on tefillin in his master's presence, or reads three verses in the synagogue in his master's presence, and his master does not rebuke him, he does not obtain his freedom.
יז
עבד שהשיאו רבו בת חורין או שהניח לו רבו תפילין בראשו או שאמר לו רבו לקרות שלשה פסוקין בספר תורה בפני צבור וכן כל כיוצא באלו הדברים שאינו חייב בהן אלא בן חורין יצא לחירות וכופין את רבו לכתוב לו גט שחרור וכן אם נדר נדר שכופין עליו את העבדים כמו שביארנו בנדרים ואמר לו רבו מופר לך יצא לחירות שכיון שלא כפה אותו במקום שיש לו לכפותו גילה דעתו שהפקיע שעבודו מכאן אני אומר שהמשחרר עבדו בכל לשון והוציא דברים מפיו שמשמען שלא נשאר לו עליו שעבוד כלל ושגמר בלבו לדבר זה שאינו יכול לחזור בו כופין אותו לכתוב לו גט שחרור אע"פשעדיין לא כתב אבל אם לוה מעבדו או שעשהו אפוטרופוס או שהניח תפילין בפני רבו או שקרא שלשה פסוקים בבית הכנסת בפני רבו ולא מיחה בו לא יצא לחירות:
18
It is forbidden for a person to teach his slave Torah. If he teaches him, he is not granted his freedom.
יח
ואסור לאדם ללמד את עבדו תורה ואם למדו לא יצא לחירות:
19
If a person purchases a slave from a gentile, and the slave takes the initiative and immerses himself with intent of becoming free in the presence of his master, he attains his freedom. If he does this outside his master's presence, he must explicitly state his intent. Accordingly, the slave's master must push him into the water.
יט
הלוקח עבד מן העכו"ם וקדם העבד וטבל בפני רבו לשם בן חורין יצא לחירות שלא בפני רבו צריך לפרש לפיכך צריך רבו לתקפו במים:
20
If a Jew seizes possession of a gentile who was a minor, or finds a gentile child and has him immersed with the intent that he become a convert, he becomes a convert. If his intent was that the gentile become a slave, he becomes a slave. If his intent was that he become a free man, he becomes a free man.
כ
ישראל שתקף עכו"ם קטן או מצא תינוק עכו"ם והטבילו לשם גר הרי זה גר לשם עבד הרי זה עבד לשם בן חורין הרי זה בן חורין:
21
When the slaves and maid-servants of a convert take the initiative and immerse themselves in his presence, they attain their freedom.
כא
גר שקדמו עבדיו ושפחותיו וטבלו לפניו קנו עצמן בני חורין:
Avadim - Chapter Nine
1
When a Jew has relations with a Canaanite maid-servant - even if she is his own maid-servant - the offspring is considered a Canaanite slave with regard to all matters. And one may use him for service forever as any other slave.
א
ישראל שבא על שפחה כנענית אף על פי שהיא שפחתו ה"ז הולד כנעני לכל דבר ונמכר ונקנה ומשתמשים בו לעולם כשאר העבדים:
2
The laws applying to a Canaanite slave apply whether the master purchases the Canaanite slave from a fellow Jew, a resident alien, a gentile living under our jurisdiction or a person from another nation.
Similarly, a resident alien, a gentile living under our jurisdiction or a person from another nation has the prerogative of selling himself to a Jew as a slave, and then he is a slave with regard to all matters. Similarly, when a gentile sells his sons and his daughters they become Canaanite slaves. This is reflected by Leviticus 25:45: "From the children of the residents from them and from their families who are with you who give birth in your land may you purchase." All of these are Canaanite slaves with regard to all matters.
ב
אחד הקונה עבד כנעני מישראל או מן גר תושב או מן עכו"ם שהוא כבוש תחת ידינו או מאחד משאר האומות יש לו למכור את עצמו לישראל לעבד והרי הוא עבד כנעני לכל דבר וכן מוכר בניו ובנותיו שנא' מהם תקנו וממשפחתם אשר עמכם אשר הולידו בארצכם וכל אחד מאלו הרי הוא כעבד כנעני לכל דבר
3
If a person from another nationality engages in relations with one of our Canaanite maid-servants, a son who is conceived is a Canaanite slave, as implied by the phrase Ibid.: "Who give birth in your land." If, however, one of our slaves has relations with a gentile woman, the offspring is not a slave, as implied by the phrase: "Who give birth in your land." For a slave is not considered to have any genealogical connection to his offspring.
ג
אחד מן האומות שבא על שפחה כנענית שלנו הרי הבן עבד כנעני שנאמר אשר הולידו בארצכם אבל העבד שלנו שבא על אחת מן האומות אין הבן עבד שנאמר אשר הולידו בארצכם ועבד אין לו יחס:
4
When a gentile king wages war, brings captives and sells them, a slave who is purchased in this manner is considered a Canaanite slave with regard to all matters. The same laws apply if such a king grants permission for anyone who desires to go and kidnap people from the nation with whom he is waging war and sell them as slaves, or if his laws state that whoever does not pay his taxes - or does such and such or fails to do such and such - may be sold as a slave, the laws he ordains are binding, and these individuals are considered Canaanite slaves.
ד
מלך עכו"ם שעשה מלחמה והביא שביה ומכרה וכן אם הרשה לכל מי שירצה שילך ויגנוב מאומה שהיא עושה עמו מלחמה שיביא וימכור לעצמו וכן אם היו דיניו שכל מי שלא יתן המס ימכר או מי שעשה כך וכך או לא יעשה ימכר הרי דיניו דין ועבד הנלקח בדינין אלו הרי הוא כעבד כנעני לכל דבר:
5
When a gentile purchases another gentile as a slave, he does not purchase his physical person, but only the fruits of his labor. Nevertheless, if the gentile sells this slave to a Jew, his physical person is acquired by the Jew.
ה
עכו"ם שקנה עכו"ם לעבדות לא קנה גופו ואין לו בו אלא מעשה ידיו אעפ"כ אם מכרו לישראל הרי גופו קנוי לישראל:
6
A woman may purchase maid-servants, but she should not purchase slaves - even those below the age of majority, lest suspicions of her modesty arise. If she does purchase them, she acquires their physical person as a man would. It appears to me that she is forbidden only to purchase slaves that are nine years old or older.
Similarly, it is forbidden for a person to free a Canaanite slave. Anyone who frees such a slave violates a positive commandment, for Leviticus 25:46 states: "And you shall have them work for you forever." Nevertheless, if the master frees him, he attains his freedom, as we have explained. And once he frees him, we compel his master to compose a bill of release for him conforming to all the laws we have described.
It is permitted to free a slave for the sake of a mitzvah, even a mitzvah of Rabbinic origin - e.g., if ten free men were not present in the synagogue, a person may free his slave to complete the quorum. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations. Similarly, if people are treating a person's maid-servant in a licentious manner and she presents a stumbling block to sinful people, we compel her master to free her so that she will marry and thus remove the stumbling block. The same principles apply in all analogous situations.
ו
האשה קונה שפחות ואינה קונה עבדים אפילו קטנים מפני החשד ואם קנתה אותם ה"ז קנתה גופם כאיש ויראה לי שאינה אסורה לקנות אלא עבד בן ט' שנים ומתשע ולמעלה וכן אסור לאדם לשחרר עבד כנעני וכל המשחררו עובר בעשה שנאמר לעולם בהם תעבודו ואם שחררו משוחרר כמו שביארנו וכופין אותו לכתוב גט שחרור בכל הדרכים שביארנו ומותר לשחררו לדבר מצוה אפילו למצוה של דבריהם כגון שלא היו עשרה בבית הכנסת ה"ז משחרר עבדו ומשלים בו המנין וכן כל כיוצא בזה וכן שפחה שנוהגין בה העם מנהג הפקר והרי היא מכשול לחוטאים כופין את רבה ומשחררה כדי שתנשא ויסור המכשול וכן כל כיוצא בזה:
7
A master may tell his Canaanite slave: "Work for me, but I will not provide you with sustenance," and the slave must instead, go and beg from door to door and derive his sustenance from charity. For the Jews are obligated to support the slaves that live among them.
When does the above apply? To a man's own slaves. For the court does not take any steps to protect the property of adults. If a person does not provide food and drink for his slaves in a fitting manner, they will flee or die. And a person has greater concern for his own money than anyone else. Different rules apply, however, to slaves that his wife brought to his household as nichsei m'log. He is obligated to provide for their sustenance, for this is one of the conditions of bringing them to his household. For if the husband does not provide them with sustenance, they will die or flee, and he is not responsible for them.
ז
יכול הרב לומר לעבדו כנעני עשה עמי ואיני זנך אלא ילך וישאל על הפתחים ויתפרנס מן הצדקה שישראל מצווין להחיות העבדים שביניהם במה דברים אמורים בעבדיו שאין ב"ד נזקקין לגדולים לשמור ממונם ואם לא יאכיל לעבדיו וישקם כראוי הם יברחו או ימותו ואדם חס על ממון עצמו יתר מכל אדם אבל עבדים שהכניסה לו אשתו בתורת נכסי מלוג חייב במזונותיהן שעל מנת כן הכניס אותם שאם לא יזון אותם ימותו ויברחו והרי אינו חייב באחריותן:
8
It is permissible to have a Canaanite slave perform excruciating labor.Although this is the law, the attribute of piety and the way of wisdom is for a person to be merciful and to pursue justice, not to make his slaves carry a heavy yoke, nor cause them distress. He should allow them to partake of all the food and drink he serves. This was the practice of the Sages of the first generations who would give their slaves from every dish of which they themselves would partake. And they would provide food for their animals and slaves before partaking of their own meals. And so, it is written Psalms 123:2: "As the eyes of slaves to their master's hand, and like the eyes of a maid-servant to her mistress' hand, so are our eyes to God."
Similarly, we should not embarrass a slave by our deeds or with words, for the Torah prescribed that they perform service, not that they be humiliated. Nor should one shout or vent anger upon them extensively. Instead, one should speak to them gently, and listen to their claims. This is explicitly stated with regard to the positive paths of Job for which he was praised Job 31:13, 15: "Have I ever shunned justice for my slave and maid-servant when they quarreled with me.... Did not He who made me in the belly make him? Was it not the One who prepared us in the womb?"
Cruelty and arrogance are found only among idol-worshipping gentiles. By contrast, the descendants of Abraham our patriarch, i.e., the Jews whom the Holy One, blessed be He, granted the goodness of the Torah and commanded to observe righteous statutes and judgments, are merciful to all.
And similarly, with regard to the attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He, which He commanded us to emulate, it is written Psalms 145:9: "His mercies are upon all of His works." And whoever shows mercy to others will have mercy shown to him, as implied by Deuteronomy 13:18: "He will show you mercy, and be merciful upon you and multiply you."
ח
מותר לעבוד בעבד כנעני בפרך ואע"פ שהדין כך מדת חסידות ודרכי חכמה שיהיה אדם רחמן ורודף צדק ולא יכביד עולו על עבדו ולא יצר לו ויאכילהו וישקהו מכל מאכל ומכל משתה חכמים הראשונים היו נותנין לעבד מכל תבשיל ותבשיל שהיו אוכלין ומקדימין מזון הבהמות והעבדים לסעודת עצמן הרי הוא אומר כעיני עבדים אל יד אדוניהם כעיני שפחה אל יד גבירתה וכן לא יבזהו ביד ולא בדברים לעבדות מסרן הכתוב לא לבושה ולא ירבה עליו צעקה וכעס אלא ידבר עמו בנחת וישמע טענותיו וכן מפורש בדרכי איוב הטובים שהשתבח בהן אם אמאס משפט עבדי ואמתי בריבם עמדי הלא בבטן עושני עשהו ויכוננו ברחם אחד ואין האכזריות והעזות מצויה אלא בעכו"ם עובדי ע"ז אבל זרעו של אברהם אבינו והם ישראל שהשפיע להם הקדוש ברוך הוא טובת התורה וצוה אותם בחקים ומשפטים צדיקים רחמנים הם על הכל וכן במדותיו של הקב"ה שצונו להדמות בהם הוא אומר ורחמיו על כל מעשיו וכל המרחם מרחמין עליו שנאמר ונתן לך רחמים ורחמך והרבך:
Hayom Yom:
• English Text | Video Class
Full Moon
What can we learn from the cycle of the moon, how she ever waxes and wanes and waxes again?
That a time of smallness is a time to become great;
And a time of greatness is a time to become small.
For in smallness lies the power to receive
and in receiving lies the power to become great. [And greatness endures only through its power to be small.
Vayakhel-Pekudei 5732:1. 5740:5. Torat Menachem 5742, vol. 3, p. 1372.]
• English Text | Video Class
Shabbat, Menachem Av 13, 5777 · 05 August 2017
"Today's Day"
Shabbat, Menachem Av, 13 5703
During the reading of the Ten Commandments, stand facing the sefer-Torah.
Torah lessons: Chumash: Va'etchanan, Shevi'i with Rashi.
Tehillim: 69-71.
Tanya: IV. Israel shall (p. 401) ...through tzedakah." (p. 405).
"Speak of them when you sit..."1 Our sages2 explain that "speak of them" refers to words of Torah. However, in Torah-study itself there are many gradations, and all these gradations are here explained:
"When you sit at home," refers to the soul's occupation with Torah when it is in the trove of souls, before its descent to this lowly world.
"When you go on the way," refers to the time during which the soul descends from world to world, from plane to plane, until it comes below to this lowest world to be invested in a physical body. There the soul "goes in the way" of this world until the time of old age, until -
"When you lie down," when man's appointed time arrives. Then, too, the Torah will protect him, as explained in Chapter Six of Avot,3 until -
"When you rise up," as it is said, "When you awaken (it shall be your discourse)."4
FOOTNOTES
1.Devarim 6:7.
2.Yoma 196. Cf. Sifri on this verse.
3.Mishna 9.
4.Mishlei 6:22. The reference is to the time when the dead will come to life ("when you rise up...etc.").
Daily Thought:Full Moon
What can we learn from the cycle of the moon, how she ever waxes and wanes and waxes again?
That a time of smallness is a time to become great;
And a time of greatness is a time to become small.
For in smallness lies the power to receive
and in receiving lies the power to become great. [And greatness endures only through its power to be small.
Vayakhel-Pekudei 5732:1. 5740:5. Torat Menachem 5742, vol. 3, p. 1372.]
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