3 The
Oral Teachings
Our ancestors passed the details of the Torah orally from the time of
Moses. New circumstances require new interpretations of the laws, which become
part of the Oral Law. The laws of the Written Torah are D’raissa from the
first writings, and those of the Oral Torah are D’rabbanan from the
teachers—the former having precedent over the later.
Text
3-1: Talmud - Mas. T'murah 14b
I would have written a letter and sent it to R. Joseph [in Babylon] to say
that he should not delete the case of drink-offerings [from the above
Baraitha],(1) and yet there is no contradiction.(2) Here,(3) we are dealing with
drink-offerings which accompany a sacrifice,(4) while there(5) we are dealing
with drink-offerings which are brought by themselves.(6) And if he had found
[someone] could he have written the letter? Did not R. Abba the son of R. Hiyya
b. Abba report in the name of R. Johanan: Those who write the
traditional teachings(7) [are punished](8) like those who burn the Torah,(9) and
he who learns from them [the writings] receives no reward. And R. Judah
b. Nahman the Meturgeman(10) of Resh Lakish gave the following [as exposition]:
The verse says: Write thou these words(11) and then says: For after the tenor of
these words,(11) thus teaching you that matters received as
oral traditions you are not permitted to recite from writing and that written
things [Biblical passages] you are not permitted to recite from
memory.(12) And the Tanna of the School of R. Ishmael
taught: Scripture says, ‘Write thou these words’, implying that
‘these’ words you may write but you may not write traditional
laws!(13) — The answer was given: Perhaps the case is different in
regard to a new interpretation.(14) For R. Johanan and Resh Lakish used to
peruse the book of Aggadah(15) on Sabbaths(16) and explained [their attitude] in
this manner: [Scripture says:] It is time for the Lord to work, they have made
void thy law,(17) explaining this as follows: It is better
that one letter of the Torah(18) should be uprooted than that the whole Torah
should be forgotten.
(1) That drink-offerings are indeed offered by day.
(2) With the text cited above: ‘Their meal-offering and
drink-offering, which was explained above as meaning that drink-offerings may be
offered by night.
(3) In the Baraitha above which includes the case of drink-offerings as
being offered by day.
(4) The offering up of a sacrifice rendered the drink-offerings sacred so
that they cannot be offered by night, like the sacrifice itself.
(5) The text, ‘Their meal-offering etc.’.
(6) Which were not hallowed by the killing of the sacrifice but were
dedicated after the sacrifice had been offered up. In such a case,
drink-offerings may be offered for ten days, including the nights.
(7) Halachahs, v. Glos.
(8) V. R. Gershom.
(9) For it is forbidden to retain oral traditions which
have been committed to writing, since they belong to the Oral Law (Rashi).
Another explanation of Rashi: These writings are not saved on Sabbath in case of
fire.
(10) Lit., ‘interpreter’; his Amora who expounded his lectures,
v. Glos. s.v. Amora.
(11) Ex. XXXIV, 27.
(12) Tosaf. asks how then do we recite psalms, and
answers that we are only particular as regards the Pentateuch. Furthermore the
restriction only applies when we are desirous of acting on behalf of
others.
(13) How therefore could R. Dimi have written down the
oral tradition with reference to drink-offerings?
(14) The analogy quoted above: ‘And just as peace-offerings are
offered by day etc.’ (R. Gershom). Another explanation (Rashi): Any new
interpretation which reconciles conflicting Baraithas. Sh. Mek. adds: Another
version: The answer was given. The Rabbis rely on what they learn, but since
there is forgetfulness, they reduce to writing and when the occasion arises they
look into the book.
(15) Homiletic literature.
(16) In order that the Aggadahs might not be forgotten.
(17) Ps. CXIX, 126. When a thing is done in the name of
God it is sometimes necessary to nullify the Law. The reason for the prohibition
of reducing to writing oral tradition has so far not been satisfactorily
explained. For a full discussion of the problem, as well as an attempt to
explain the term halachahs mentioned in this connection, v. Kaplan, J. The
Redaction of the Talmud, pp. 261ff.
(18) I.e., the passage: ‘For after the tenor of
these words’ which prohibits the committing to writing of oral
traditions.Because the Oral Law was written down as the lesser of
two evils rather than be lost, the Jewish population is on the decline. For
example, Judaism has not adapted to the environment of Jewish singles trying to
marry and procreate. For example Kohanim are prohibited from marrying converts
because they are considered influenced by immorality, yet many converts have
even less tolerance for immorality. There is a shortage of Jewish women in
remote areas of the world, but the recorded Oral Law would have men remain
single even when there are non-Jews who would adopt traditional Judaism, but no
Bet Dins to facilitate conversion. There is a surplus of Jewish women in
cities, but the recorded Oral Law would have them remain single rather than
procreate and raise Jewish
families.
[477] From the story of
Ruth we learn how Judaism operated in remote places, acquiring Jewish converts
by adherence to family as opposed to Bet Din conversion. Jewish identity by
mother vs. father does not address the case where these families have
successfully raised Jewish children that are being ostracized by orthodox
congregations because there is not a Bet Din to facilitate conversions. Also
there are numerous women of matrilineal Jewish descent that have no interest in
being Jewish, usually due to a dilution of identity through a history of
generations of intermarriage.
[478]
The fear seems to be greater that losing a drop of the Torah, i.e. allowing the
Oral Law to function freely again is better than the risk of losing the
“entire Torah”. Yet, how can a Jewish child be sacrificed for a
falsified oral law? Rav Kook taught that the Torah applies in the Land of
Israel, but outside we are only practicing. If the Oral Law functioned again,
the Land of Zion would flourish throughout the world.
Nevertheless, the
record of the Oral Torah is a great gift for it reveals the Truth of the Torah.
Humans are by nature flawed and the Written Torah contains their stories while
the Oral Torah reveals their flaws. The Oral Torah enables us to understand the
Written Torah if and when the simple written words are flawed by the speaker or
even out of context. Examples include Isaiah’s vision of God which we
know is prohibited by the Torah and hence, an overstatement by this prophet.
Other cases included the giving of sins to a goat when we know this is a
symbolic ritual transforming physical action into spiritual manifestation. Also
we know that God forgives sins without the shedding of blood extending
Leviticus’ 17:11. The Oral Torah explains the Written Torah’s
context and True meaning. It is simply impossible to know the Truth without it.
There are many techniques in expounding the Written Torah with the Oral
Torah. Many of the derivations are read into the text in ways that may not be
significant. This is a creative manner as it is taught, the law is not in
heaven that you should go up and seek it there, but man decrees and G-d
fulfills. Truth evolves even absolute truth. This is the nature of Talmud.
Right and wrong can change over time with interpretation. Absolute truth
changes accordingly.
In observance, we strive to be the best we can be
and follow the axiom ‘
Less guilt, more
joy.’[479]
3.1 Midrash
The Midrash is a commentary on the Bible and part of the Oral Torah. The
Midrash is rich in lessons and reveals the endless depth of meaning in Torah.
It consists mostly of the Agadah—they are the legends surrounding and
explaining the stories in the Torah.
It is important that we not become
depressed in daily sufferings. Remember the teaching of R. Akiba:
Text
3-2: Eternal Reward for Daily Suffering
He deals strictly with both, even to the great deep. He deals strictly
with the righteous, calling them to account for the few wrongs which they commit
in this world, in order to lavish bliss upon and give them a goodly reward in
the world to come; He grants ease to the wicked and rewards them for the few
good deeds which they have performed in this world in order to punish them in
the future
world.[480]King David
wrote similarly in the Psalms:
Why do the wicked prosper in this world, so that they may be destroyed
forever. Similarly, the righteous, suffer, in order that they may live forever
in the world to come.
There is a midrash that states that ones food in heaven will be
according to ones Torah learning, ones clothes in heaven will be according to
the mitzvot kept, and ones drink in heaven will be according to the prayers one
uttered.
[481] Yet, in the
physical world, a tzaddik such as Moses could ‘be a channel for the influx
of three kinds of blessing, which come into the world: food – “the
manna,” clothing – “the cloud of glory,” and drink
– “the
well”.’
[482] Heaven
on Earth is to answer the inexplicable questions as Moses taught. The
inexplicable questions are brought forth and answered in the Midrash.
3.1.1 Midrash Rabbah Deuteronomy
3.1.1.1 And This is the Blessing - Ve’zot
ha’Bracha
This is the last Torah portion and is read on the Shabbas before Simchat
Torah which renews the yearly
cycle.
[483]Text
3-3: Midrash Rabbah - Deuteronomy 9:9
9. BEHOLD, THY DAYS APPROACH THAT THOU MUST DIE. R. Aibu said: Moses said:
‘Master of the Universe, with the word [behold](3) with which I
have praised Thee in the midst of sixty myriads who hallowed
____________________
(1) E V. ‘For this is the whole of man’.
(2) It is not clear to what this refers. Radal and ‘E.J. explain: that I
may enter Eretz Israel. It is more likely, however, that he is referring to
death: that I may enter the future life.
(3) Cf. supra, IX, 9.
Deut. 179
Thy name, hast Thou decreed death upon me, as it is said, BEHOLD, THY DAYS
APPROACH THAT THOU MUST DIE. In all Thy acts [one sees] measure for measure;
[then why dost Thou repay me] a bad measure for a good measure, a short measure
for a full measure, a grudging measure for an ample measure? ' Whereupon the
Holy One, blessed be He, answered: ' Moses, My use of the expression "behold" is
also a good measure, as it is said, Behold, I send an angel before thee (Ex.
XXIII, 20); Behold, the righteous shall be requited in the earth (Prov. XI,
31); Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet (Mal. III, 23). And just as you
have exalted Me before sixty myriads of people, so too will I exalt you in the
time to come in the midst of fifty-five myriads of altogether righteous
men,’ as it is said, hen (behold), the numerical value of hen being as
follows, [the letter] he, five and nun, fifty.
Text
3-4: Midrash Rabbah - Deuteronomy XI:10
10. R. Johanan said: Scripture refers ten times to the death of Moses, as
follows: Behold, thy days approach that thou must die (Deut. XXXI, 14); And die
in the mount (ib. XXXII, 50); But I must die (ib. IV, 22); For I know that after
my death (ib. XXXI, 29); And how much more after my death (ib. XXXI, 27); Before
his death (ib. XXXIII,I);A hundred and twenty years old when he died (ib. XXXIV,
7); So Moses the servant of the Lord died there (ib. 5); Now it came to pass
after the death of Moses (Josh. I,1);Moses My servant is dead (ib. 2). This
teaches that ten times was it decreed that Moses should not enter Eretz Israel,
but the harsh decree was not finally sealed until the High Court1
revealed itself to him and declared: ' It is my decree that you should not pass
over,’ [as it is said,] For thou shalt not go over this Jordan (Deut.
III, 27). Moses, however, made light of this, saying: ' Israel have many times
committed great sins, and whenever I prayed for them, God immediately answered
my prayer, as it is said, Let Me alone, that I may destroy them (ib. IX, 14);
yet what is written there? And the Lord repented of the evil (Ex. XXXII, 14); I
will smite them
____________________
(1) I.e. God as Head of the Court on High.
Deut. 180
with the pestilence, and destroy them (Num. XIV, 12); What is written there?
And the Lord said: I have pardoned, etc. (ib. 20). Seeing then that I have not
sinned from my youth, does it not stand to reason that when I pray on my own
behalf God should answer my prayer?’ And when God saw that Moses made
light of the matter and that he was not engaging in prayer, He seized the
opportunity to swear by His great Name that Moses should not enter Eretz Israel,
as it is said, Therefore (laken) ye shall not bring this assembly (ib. XX, 12),
and ’laken’ always implies an oath, as it is said, And therefore
(laken) I have sworn unto the house of Eli (I Sam. III, 14). When, however,
Moses saw that the decree against him had been sealed, he took a resolve to
fast, and drew a small circle(l) and stood therein, and exclaimed: '
I will not move from here until Thou annullest that
decree.’[484] What else did
Moses do then? He donned sackcloth and wrapped himself with sackcloth and rolled
himself in the dust and stood in prayer and supplications before God, until the
heavens and the order of nature were shaken. Said they: ' Perhaps it is the
desire of God to create His world anew.’ Whereupon a heavenly voice was
heard proclaiming: ‘It is not yet God's desire to renew His world... but,
In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all
mankind--ish’ (Job XII,10), and ‘man’ must surely refer to
Moses, as it is said, Now the man Moses was very meek, above all men that were
upon the face of the earth (Num. XII, 3). What did God do? At that hour He had
it proclaimed in every gate of each of the heavens,(2) and in every
Court, that they should not receive Moses’ prayer, nor bring it before
Him, because the decree against him had been sealed. Now at that hour God
hastily summoned the Angel in charge of Proclamations, Achzeriel -
אכזראל
by name, and He commanded the ministering angels: ' Descend quickly, bolt all
the gates of every heaven, because the voice of the prayer threatens to force
its way to heaven.’ And the angels sought to ascend to heaven because of
the
____________________
(1) This is reminiscent of the exploits of Honi the Circle Drawer, cf. Ta'an.
23a.
(2) There are seven heavens.
Deut. 181
sound of Moses’ prayer, for his prayer was like a sword which tears and
cuts its way through everything, and spares nothing, seeing that his prayer was
of the nature of the Ineffable Name – Sham haMeforesh –
שם
המפורש which he had learnt
from Zagzagel -
זגזגאל
the Master Scribe of the children of heaven –
רב
וסופר של בני
מרום. It is to that hour that [the prophet]
alludes when he says, And I heard behind me the voice of a great rushing:
Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place (Ezek. III, 12); and
‘rushing’ surely means trembling, and ’great’ surely
refers to Moses, as it is said, Moreover the man Moses was very great in the
land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the
people (Ex. XI, 3). What is the meaning of, ’Blessed be the glory of the
Lord from His place’? When the wheels of the Chariot and the fiery
Seraphim saw that God commanded that Moses’ prayer should not be accepted
and that He did not respect [Moses’] person, nor grant him more life, nor
bring him into Eretz Israel, they exclaimed: ’ Blessed be the glory of the
Lord from His place,’ for before Him there is no respecting of persons,
great or small. And whence do we know that Moses prayed at this juncture five
hundred and fifteen times? For it is said, And I besought (wa-ethhanan) the Lord
at that time, saying (Deut. III, 23), the numerical value of
’wa-ethhanan’ is this number. Moses said to God: ' Master of the
Universe, the labour and the pains which I have devoted to making Israel believe
in Thy name are manifest and known to Thee, to what trouble have I gone with
them in connection with the precepts in order to fix for them Torah and
precepts. I thought, just as I witnessed the woe, so too will I behold their
weal; but now that the weal of Israel has come, Thou sayest to me, " Thou shalt
not go over this Jordan" (Deut. XXXI, 2); lo, Thou makest of Thy Torah a fraud.
Therein it is written, In the same day thou shalt give him his hire, neither
shall the sun go down upon it, for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it;
lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin in thee (ib. XXIV, I5). Is
this the reward for the forty years’ labor that I went through in order
that [Israel] should become a holy and faithful people, as it is said, But Judah
yet ruleth with God, and is
____________________
Deut. 182
faithful with the saints’ (Hos. XII, 1)?(1)
Samech-Mem[485] the wicked angel,
the chief of all the accusing angels, was awaiting the death of Moses every
hour, saying, ‘When will the time or the moment arrive for Moses to die,
so that I may descend and take away his soul from him.’ And it is of him
that David said, The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him (Ps.
XXXVII, 32). There is no one among the accusing angels so wicked as Samech-Mem
and there is none so righteous among the prophets as Moses, as it is said, And
there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord
knew face to face (Deut. XXXIV, 10). He was like a man who has been invited to
a wedding feast, and looks forward to it, saying: ‘When will their
rejoicing come that I may share therein.’ So, Samech-Mem the wicked was
waiting for Moses’ soul saying, ' When will Michael(2) be
weeping and I be filling my mouth with laughter? ' Whereupon Michael replied: '
What, you wicked one, I shall cry, and you laugh!’ as it is said, Rejoice
not against me, O mine enemy; though I am fallen, I shall arise; though I sit in
darkness, the Lord is a light unto me (Micah VII, 8). ’ Though I am
fallen,’ because of the demise of Moses, yet, ’I shall arise,’
on account of the leadership displayed by Joshua when he shall have defeated the
thirty one kings.(3) ' Though I sit in darkness,’ because of
the destruction of the first and the second Temples, yet, ' The Lord is a light
unto me, in the days of Messiah. Meanwhile there remained unto Moses only one
hour. Whereupon Moses said to God: ' Master of the Universe, if Thou wilt not
bring me into Eretz Israel, leave me in this world so that I may live and not
die.’ God thereupon said to Moses: ' If I will not slay you in this world,
how can I bring you back to life in the World to Come? And what is more, you
make of My Torah a fraud, for in My Torah it is written by your hand, And
there is none that can deliver out of My hand ' (Deut. XXXII, 39). Said
Moses to God: ' Master of the Universe, if Thou wilt not bring me into Eretz
____________________
(1) The A.V. has been retained here, as the Midrash obviously understands it in
that sense.
(2) Michael is one of the angels who save people. Cf. Ex. R. XVIII, 5.
(3) Cf. Josh. XII.
Deut. 183
Israel, let me become like the beasts of the field that eat grass and drink
water and live and enjoy the world; likewise let my soul be as one of
them.’ Whereupon God replied:’ Let it suffice thee ' (ib. III,
26). Moses then prayed: ' Master of the Universe, if not, let me become in
this world like the bird that flies about in every direction, and gathers its
food daily, and returns to its nest towards evening; let my soul likewise become
like one of them.’ Whereupon God answered: ‘Let it suffice
thee.’ What is the meaning of ’Let it suffice thee ‘? God said
to him: ' You have spoken sufficiently.’ When Moses saw that no creature
could save him from the path of death, he thereupon exclaimed, ’ The Rock,
His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice; a God of faithfulness and
without iniquity, just and righteous is He’ (ib. XXXII, 4). What did Moses
do? He took a scroll and wrote down upon it the Ineffable Name, nor had the Book
of Song(1) been completely written down when the moment of
Moses’ death arrived. At that hour God said to Gabriel: ' Gabriel, go
forth and bring Moses’ soul.’ He, however, replied: ' Master of the
Universe, how can I witness the death of him who is equal to sixty myriads, and
how can I behave harshly to one who possesses such qualities?’ Then [God]
said to Michael: ‘Go forth and bring Moses’ soul.’ He,
however, replied: ‘Master of the Universe, I was his teacher, and he my
pupil, and I cannot therefore witness his death.’ [God] then said to
Samech-Mem the wicked: ' Go forth and bring Moses’ soul.’
Immediately he clothed himself with anger and girded on his sword and wrapped
himself with ruthlessness and went forth to meet Moses. When Samech-Mem saw
Moses sitting and writing down the Ineffable Name, and how the radiance of his
appearance was like unto the sun and he was like unto an angel of the Lord of
hosts, he became afraid of Moses and declared: ‘Of a surety, angels cannot
take away Moses’ soul.’ Now before Samech-Mem showed himself to
Moses, Moses knew of his coming, and when Samech-Mem caught sight of Moses
trembling, fear took hold of him, as of a
____________________
(1) Name applied to Deut. XXXII
Deut. 184
woman in travail, and he had not the effrontery to speak to Moses, until Moses
said to Samech-Mem,’ There is no peace, saith God, concerning the wicked
(Isa. LVII, 21). What are you doing here? ' He replied: ' I have come to take
away your soul.’ Moses asked him: ' Who sent you? ' He replied: ' He who
created all the creatures.’ Moses then said to him: ‘You shall not
take away my soul.’ Whereupon he replied: ‘The souls of all who come
into this world are delivered into my hands.’ Whereupon Moses said:
‘I have greater strength than all who come into this world.’ He then
asked: ‘And wherein lies your strength?’ Moses replied: ‘I am
the son of Amram,(l) and came out from my mother's womb without
prepuce, and had no need to be circumcised; and on the very day on which I was
born I found myself able to speak and was able to walk and to converse with my
father and mother, and I did not even take suck of [my mother's] milk; and when
I was three months old I prophesied and declared that I was destined to receive
the law from the midst of flames of fire; and [once] when I was walking in the
street I entered the palace of the king and removed the crown from his head; and
when I was eighty years old I wrought signs and wonders in Egypt and brought
forth sixty myriads before the eyes of all Egypt; and I divided the sea into
twelve divisions, and I made the bitter waters sweet; and I ascended heaven and
trod out a path there, and engaged in battle with the angels, and received the
law of fire, and sojourned under [God's] Throne of fire, and took shelter under
the pillar of fire, and spoke with God face to face; and I prevailed over the
heavenly Familia,(2) and revealed unto the sons of man their
secrets,(3) and received the Law from the right hand of God, and
taught it to Israel; and I made war on Sihon and Og,(4) the two
giants of the heathens to whose ankles the waters of the flood did not reach
because of their [great] stature; I caused sun and moon to stand still on high,
and I smote them(5) with the staff in my hand and killed them
(6); is there
____________________
(1) Cf. Sot. 12a.
(2) Cf. Ex. R. XXVXII, 1.
(3) Cf. Shab. 89a.
(4) Cf. Deut. II, 17-III, II.
(5) I.e. Sihon and Og.
(6) Cf. Sifre on Deut. par. 101.
Deut. 185
any one amongst mankind who is able to do likewise? Away, wicked one, from here,
you must not speak thus, go, flee before me, I will not surrender my soul to
you.’ Immediately Samech-Mem went back and reported to God. Whereupon God
commanded Samech-Mem, ‘Go, and bring Moses’ soul.’ Straightway
he drew his sword from the sheath and placed himself at the side of Moses.
Immediately Moses became wroth, and taking hold of the staff on which was
engraven the Ineffable Name he fell upon Samech-Mem with all his strength until
he fled from before him, and he pursued him with the Ineffable Name and removed
the beam of glory [halo] from between his eyes and blinded him. Thus much did
Moses achieve. At the end of a moment, a heavenly voice was heard, declaring:
‘The end, the time of your death has come.’ Said Moses to God:
‘Master of the Universe, remember the day when Thou didst reveal Thyself
unto me in the bush and didst say to me, Come now therefore, and I will send
thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth My people the children of Israel
from Egypt (Ex.III, 10); remember the time when I abode on Mount Sinai for forty
days and forty nights, I implore Thee, do not hand me over into the hand of the
Angel of Death.’ Thereupon a heavenly voice was heard saying to him: '
Fear not, I myself will attend to you and your burial.’ At that hour,
Moses arose and sanctified himself like the Seraphim, and God came down from the
highest heavens to take away the soul of Moses, and with Him were three
ministering angels, Michael, Gabriel, and Zagzagel. Michael laid out his bier,
Gabriel spread out a fine linen cloth at his bolster, Zagzagel one at his feet;
Michael stood at one side and Gabriel at the other side. God said: ' Moses, fold
your eyelids over your eyes,’ and he did so. He then said: ‘Place
your hands upon your breast,’ and he did so. He then said: ' Put your feet
next to one another,’ and he did so. Forthwith the Holy One, blessed be
He, summoned the soul from the midst of the body, saying to her: ‘My
daughter, I have fixed the period of thy stay in the body of Moses at a hundred
and twenty years; now thy end has come, depart, delay not.’ Whereupon she
replied: ‘Master
____________________
Deut. 186
of the Universe, I know that Thou art the God of all spirits and all souls,
the souls of the dead and the living are in Thy keeping, and Thou hast created
and formed me and placed me within the body of Moses for a hundred and twenty
years. And now, is there a body in the world purer than the body of Moses in
which there has never been an offensive smell, nor worm nor maggot, nor any kind
of vermin; therefore I love him and I do not desire to leave him.’
Whereupon God exclaimed: ‘Soul, go forth, do not delay, and I will raise
thee to the highest heavens and will place thee under the Throne of Glory next
to the Cherubim, Seraphim, and other troops of angels.’ Thereupon the soul
replied: ‘Master of the Universe, two angels, Uzah and Azael, came down
from near Thy divine Presence and coveted the daughters of the earth and they
corrupted their way upon the earth until Thou didst suspend them between earth
and heaven. But the son of Amram from the day Thou didst reveal Thyself unto him
at the Bush has had no marital relations with his wife,’ as it is said,
And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he
had married; for he had married a Cushite woman (Num. XII, 1).(1)
‘I implore Thee let me remain in the body of Moses.’ Thereupon
God kissed Moses and took away his soul with a kiss of the mouth, and God, if
one might say so, wept [as it is said], Who will rise up for me against the
evil-doers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? (Ps. XCIV,
16) And the Holy Spirit said, And there hath not arisen a prophet since in
Israel like unto Moses (Deut. XXXIV, 10). The heavens wept and said, The godly
man is perished out of the earth (Micah VII, 2). The earth wept and said, And
the upright among men is no more (ib.). And when Joshua was looking for his
master and did not find him, he also wept and said, Help, Lord; for the godly
man ceaseth, for the faithful fail from among the children of men (Ps. XII, 2).
And the ministering angels said, He executed the righteousness of the Lord
(Deut. XXXIII, 21). And Israel said, And His ordinances with Israel (ib.).
These
____________________
(1) V. Shab. 87a; Yeb. 62a; Ex. R. XIX, 3
Deut. 187
and those said, He entereth into peace, they rest in their beds, each one that
walketh in his uprightness (Isa. LVII, 2); The memory of the righteous shall be
for a blessing (Prov. X, 7), and his soul for the life of the World to Come.
Amen. May this be His will. Blessed be the Lord for ever. Amen and amen.
____________________
Deut. 188
The soul is very attached to the body and is female. The
love of the soul for the body teaches us that we need to take care of the body.
When the body is unclean the soul is displeased. A healthy, fit, clean body is
a joy for the soul.
3.1.2 Midrash Rabbah Shir haShirim
The following story is referred there.
[486] Text
3-5: Midrash on celebrating divorce
A woman was married for many years to her husband, but had not had
children. Her husband decided to divorce her, so he went to Rabbi Shimon bar
Yochai, of blessed memory.
Rabbi Shimon told him that just as they celebrated with joy their mutual
bond when they got married, so should the severance of their mutual bond be
celebrated in joy.
The husband therefore prepared a great feast, at the height of which he
called his wife and asked her in his joy to choose whatever she desired of his
possessions to be hers, and said that he would not refuse her
anything.
What did she do? She served him so much wine that he got drunk and fell
asleep on his bed. She then told her servant to take him on his bed into her
bedroom in her father's house.
The following morning, when he awoke and found himself in his wife's
home, he asked her why he was brought there -- wasn't it clear that he intended
to divorce her? She replied, "Didn't you tell me that I could take whatever I
wanted? I desire not gold, nor silver, nor precious gems, nor pearls. All I want
is you. You yourself are the sole object of my desire."
When the husband heard this, he became once again enamored of his wife,
and took her back as before. And in this merit, the Holy One, blessed be He,
granted them children.The story is more accurately translated
here:
[487]
It happened in Tziddon that someone married a woman and they were
married for ten years without children. They came before Rabbi Shimon bar
Yochai, and the husband wanted to divorce his wife [so he could marry to have
children].
The man to his wife, "take any article you want from my house [as a
token of gratitude] and go live with your parents."
Rabbi Simon bar Yochai said to the husband, "just as you were married
with a feast and a wedding, so too shall you be separated with a
feast.
What did the wife do? She made a big feast for her husband and got him
to drink too much until eventually he became drunk. Then she called to her maids
and said to them, "Take him to my parents' house".
In the middle of the night he woke up and asked his wife, "Where am I?
What am I doing here?"
She said, "Did you not say to me, 'any article that I have in my house,
you can take to your parent' house?' and hence, I took you because I have no
article more precious than you."
When Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai heard of this incident he prayed for them,
and they had children.
(YALKUT 16, par. Maase, from psikte)
Text
3-7: Midrash Rabbah - The Song of Songs I:30
30. Another explanation: WE WILL BE GLAD AND REJOICE IN THEE. We have
learnt elsewhere5: If a man has married a wife and lived with her ten years and
she has not borne him a child, he is not at liberty to neglect the duty [of
begetting children]. R. Idi said: It happened once that a woman in Sidon had
lived ten years with her husband without bearing him a child. They came to R.
Simeon b. Yohai and requested to be parted from one another. He said to them: I
adjure you,
____________________
(1) Lit. ‘come
and’.
(2) Job XL, XLI.
(3) Ezek. I.
(4) In all these verses the
verbs are of the same root as the substantive.
(5) Yeb.
64a.
S.S. 48
just as you have always shared a festive board together, so do
not part save with festivity. They took his advice and kept holiday and made a
great feast and drank very freely. Feeling then in a good humour he said to her:
‘My daughter, pick out any article you want in my house and take it with
you to your father's house.’ What did she do? When he was asleep she gave
an order to her servants and handmaids to lift him up on the bed and take and
carry him to her father's house. At midnight he awoke from his sleep, and when
the effects of the wine passed from him he said: ' My daughter, where am I? '
She replied: ' You are in my father's house.’ ‘And what am I doing
in your father's house?’ he said. She replied: did you not say to me last
night, "Take any article you like from my house and go to your father's house "?
There is nothing in the world I care for more than you.’ They again went
to R. Simeon b. Yohai and he went and prayed for them, and they became fertile.
This shows that just as God makes barren women fertile, so the righteous can
make barren women fertile. And is not the lesson clear: If a woman on saying to
a mere mortal like herself, ‘There is nothing I care for more in the world
than you, ' was visited, does it not stand to reason that Israel who wait for
the salvation of God every day and say ‘We care for nothing in the world
but Thee ‘, will certainly be visited? Hence it is written, WE WILL BE
GLAD AND REJOICE IN THEE. They are like a queen whose husband the king, whose
sons and sons-in-law went abroad. When they come and tell her, ‘Your sons
have returned,’ she replies, ‘What is that to me? Let my
daughters-in-law rejoice.’ When her sons-in-law return and they tell her,
' Your sons-in-law are here,’ she replies, ' What is that to me? Let my
daughters rejoice.’ But when they say to her ' The king your husband has
returned’, she says, ‘This is a real pleasure, joy on joy.’ So
in the time to come the prophets will come and say to Jerusalem, Thy sons come
from far (Isa. LX, 4), and she will reply, What is that to me? When they say,
And thy daughters are borne on the side (ib.), she will say, What is that to me?
But when they will say to her, Behold, thy
____________________
S.S. 49
king cometh unto thee, he is triumphant, and victorious (Zech.
IX, 9), she will say, ' This is a real joy,’ as it is written, Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion (ib.), and it is also written, Sing and rejoice, O
daughter of Zion (ib. II, 14). At that moment she will say, I will greatly
rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God (Isa. LXI,
10).
3.1.3 Mechilta of
Rabbi Ishmael
An halachic midrash as opposed to one of aggadah on the Book of
Exodus.
The following is an example of how a poor translation leads to
false conclusions.
From
Text
3-9: Faith in the tzaddikim:
...
whoever
believes in Hashem is as if he believes in the true shepherd,
‘Moshe’ {Misquote, should be
speech against Hashem is speech against
Moshe} , and
whoever believes in the true shepherd is as if he believes in Hashem, Creator
of the world (mekhilta, BeShalakh) ... {
The
underlined leads to false conclusions, i.e. faith in two powers à}
Thus, an integral
part of achieving faith in Hashem is only by having faith in the
Tzaddik. {sufficient but, not
a necessary condition} ...Belief in G-d certainly did not require
having faith in any man including Moses. The Mikhilta actually stated,
“
-- if they murmured on God, kal vechomer on
Moshe”, not the above underlined. Faith in Hashem is available to
each of us directly. While Moshe served to bring the words of G-d to Israel, he
did not serve in the place of Israel's faith in Hashem nor as a second
destination. This is a very important principle in Judaism. “The words
of the wise men are of greater importance than the wise men themselves. There
has never been a Sage entirely free of error for there is no perfect wisdom
except G-d’s.”
[488]
Hence, we are fortunate to have the Targum Onkelos and other works that clarify
the obvious while preserving the original meaning of the Torah text.
________________________________________
Sent: Wednesday, August 05, 2009
8:44 AM
To: Jeff Spiegel
Subject: Re: Emunah Hochamim
good
stuff
http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/vl/mehilta/mehilta03.pdf
on page 9 of
the pdf [daf 13],10th line from bottom
Text
3-8: Mechilta Ishmael, p.13
"And they believed in Hashem" -- before He passed over Mitzrayim they
did not fear Hashem, but here, "the people feared Hashem and believed in Hashem
and in Moshe his servant" --
if they believe in Moshe
kal vechomer in Hashem. This comes to teach you that
whoever believes in the Faithful Shepherd, it is as if he
believes in accordance with the statement "He who spoke and the world came to
be" etc. Similarly you
[might
incorrectly] say "And the people murmured against God and Moshe"
(Numbers 21:5) --
if they murmured on God kal vechomer
on Moshe --
but [conversely] rather, this
comes to teach you that whoever talks against the Faithful Shepherd, is as if he
talks against "He who spoke and the world came to
be."[489] Faith is a
great thing, for Israel believed on He Who spoke and the world came to be, that
as a reward for Israel believing in Hashem the Holy Spirit rested on them and
they said the Song, as it is said, "And they believed in Hashem and in Moshe His
Servant" [daf 14 now] and it is said, "Then Moshe and the children of Israel
will sing." And likewise you find that Our Father Abraham did not acquire this
world and the coming world except in the merit of faith that he believed in
Hashem, for it is said, "And he believed in Hashem and it was counted to him for
righteousness."
מכילתא
דרבי
ישמעאל
בשלח
- מס' דויהי
בשלח פרשה ו
ד"ה וירא ישראל
וירא
ישראל את היד
הגדולה, מיתות
חמורות מיתות
משונות זו מזו
לפי שהביא
עליהם כמה
מיתות בים. ר'
יוסי הגלילי
אומר מנין
שלקו המצרים
במצרים עשר
מכות ועל הים
לקו חמשים
מכות, במצרים
מה הוא אומר
ויאמרו
החרטמים אל
פרעה אצבע וגו'
ועל הים מהו
אומר וירא
ישראל את היד
הגדולה וגו'
כמה לקו באצבע
עשר מכות אמור
מעתה במצרים
לקו עשר מכות
ועל הים לקו
חמשים מכות. ר'
אליעזר אומר
מנין אתה אומר
שכל מכה ומכה
שלקו המצרים
במצרים היתה
של ארבע מכות
וגו'. ר' עקיבא
אומר מנין אתה
אומר שכל מכה
ומכה שלקו
המצרים
במצרים היתה
של חמש מכות
וכו' ועל הים
לקו מאתים
וחמשים מכות:
ויראו העם את
ה', לשעבר
במצרים לא היו
יראים ה' אבל
כאן ויראו העם
את ה' ויאמינו
בה' ובמשה עבדו
אם
במשה האמינו
קל וחומר
בה'.
בא זה ללמדך
שכל
מי שמאמין
ברועה נאמן
כאלו מאמין
במאמר מי שאמר
והיה
העולם.
כיוצא בדבר
אתה אומר
וידבר העם
באלהים ובמשה
(במדבר כא ה)
אם
באלהים דברו
קל וחומר
במשה
אלא
זה בא ללמדך
שכל מי שמדבר
ברועה נאמן
כאלו מדבר במי
שאמר והיה
העולם:
ויאמינו בה',
גדולה האמונה
שהאמינו
ישראל במי
שאמר והיה
העולם שבשכר
שהאמינו
ישראל בה' שרתה
עליהם רוח
הקדש ואמרו
שירה שנא'
ויאמינו בה'
ובמשה עבדו
ונאמר אז ישיר
משה ובני
ישראל. וכן אתה
מוצא שלא ירש
אברהם אבינו
העולם הזה
והעולם הבא
אלא בזכות
אמנה שהאמין
בה' שנ' והאמין
בה' ויחשבה לו
צדקה (בראשית
טו) :
chazaq weematz beavodatekha
Na Nach Nachma Nachman
Me'Uman!
________________________________
From: Jeff Spiegel
Sent: Tuesday, August 4, 2009 8:08:10 PM
Subject: FW: Emunah
Hochamim
Looks like it is from Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael, a distinguished
halachic midrash on the Book of Exodus.
It would be interesting to double
check the commentary on Exodus 14:31 with the quoted text below. One who
believes in the words of Moshe would certainly believe in Hashem, but the
reverse doesn't seem necessary.
To believe that Moshe and G-d are
comparable in faith seems heretical, certainly to misread the intention of Ex:
14:31.
________________________________________
From: Jeff
Spiegel
Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 2009 12:44 PM
Subject: Emunah
Hochamim
Nissim,
I found the following on
http://yeshmalasot.com/jsite/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/limit,12/limitstart,24/
. The following verse is where?, "whoever believes in Hashem is as if he
believes in the true shepherd, 'Moshe', and whoever believes in the true
shepherd is as if he believes in Hashem, Creator of the world" (mekhilta,
BeShalakh)."
Do you know where in the Midrash this comes from? I am not
sure about the following author. Have you heard of
him?
-------------------------------------
Midrash Rabbah
Exodus 22:3 is:
And they believed in the Lord, and in His servant Moses
(ib. XIV, 31). Because of this faith, they were privileged to recite the Song
and to have the Shechina rest upon them, for the words Then sang Moses (ib.
XV,1) follow immediately. For this reason should a man recite the prayer for
redemption(1) immediately before the amidah, just as they recited the
Song immediately after their [declaration of] faith and the division of the Red
Sea. Just as they purified their hearts and uttered Song, for it says, And the
people feared the Lord, and they believed, and immediately afterwards ’
Then sang Moses’, so must a man first purify his heart and then pray. This
is what Job said, Although there is no violence in my hands, and my prayer is
pure (XVI, 17). R. Joshua the priest, son of R. Nehemiah, said: Is there, then,
an impure prayer? No; but he who prays unto God with hands soiled
from
____________________
(1) The prayer ending gaal Israel just
before the
’amidah.
-------------------------------------
The
key principle of Emunah Hochamim is to believe in the teachings of the sages,
but one can still question
them.
---------------------------------
The following takes the
literal interpretation of “faith in the tzaddik.” While the text in
brown is not correct, the blue text suggests that one can increase ones belief
in Hashem by believing in the true shepherd Moses.
Text
3-9: Faith in the tzaddikim
הדפסה
שליחהנכתב
ע"י R. Nati
"And they believed in Hashem and
in His servant Moshe" (Shemot 14:31).The Midrash
(
Misquoted, but homer
vkol[490])
tells us:
"whoever believes in Hashem is as if he believes
in the true shepherd,
'Moshe',[491]
and whoever believes in the true
shepherd is as if he believes in Hashem, Creator of the
world"
(Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael, BeShalakh). The Talmud
teaches: The Torah is acquired by means of 48 qualities. One of these is Emunahs
chachamim, "faith in the tzaddikim" (Avot 6:6) (Hasidic
interpretation)The vast majority of these qualities
focus on one's diligence and efforts in pursuing Torah study and rectifying bad
character traits. However right in the middle of all of these 48 is faith in the
Tzaddikim. The Tzaddikim are the ones who transmit the Torah to us, so without
faith in their teachings
(Correct) we will never be able to
acquire the Torah. That being the case of what value is intellectual pursuit and
diligent study?Thus, an integral part of
achieving faith in Hashem is only by having faith in the
Tzaddik. (
Sufficient but, not a
necessary condition) How can we with our defective Sekal and
lack of Daat in this ever confusing and chancing world ever hope to come to
choosing right from wrong, what is correct? All the codes of law how do we
choose from pure and tamei, kosher from traif, for all this we have to rely on
the Tzaddik.These righteous individuals they who have risen above
the mundane and physical restraints and limitations of the defective human sekal
they know. We can rely on them, much in the same way as a child relies on a
parent whom he look up as all knowing."Most sea men are
Chassidim" (kiddushin 82a). " this is because they are in constant danger and
are always turning to Hashem" (Rashi, ad. loc.) we can relate this to the
crossing of the sea of reeds. The Jews believed in Moshe, the Tazddik, and
followed him across. The sea was spilt like walls raising between the tribes.
this was symbolic of the "sea of Knowledge" and to dangerous to navigate across
it without proper tools 'navigational aides' these are the advice of the Tzaddik
who guides us on the proper course. Pharaoh on the other hand, did not have any
belief, in the Tzaddik, Yet he felt that he had the tools with which to cross on
his own. As is the case with many today as Artscroll and of the many
translations we have a ready access to the deep Ocean of the Torah, we have to
be even more careful than before as we sit at home without a Rav to teach us.
Which was the way until 60 years ago. We will, like Paraoh, who discovered
otherwise. Being ill trained and ill equipped to handle the this turbulent sea,
the walls came crashing down upon him and the Mitzrim (Likutey Halakhot, Netilat
Yadayim Li'seudah 6:39).Rebbe Nachman said, “From me you
can begin to get a glimpse of the greatness of Hashem" (Tzaddik
#284).The Tzaddik is one who has attained Torah and has acquired
Ruach Ha Kodesh. Through our faith in the Tzaddikim, their Holiness can descend
upon us and help us achieve greatness in spirituality, and closeness to Hashem.
"Even mentioning their names helps us draw from their Holiness (Likutey
Halakhot, Netilat Yadayim li'Seudah 4:6).Man was created in the
image of G-d and the tzaddik at his best tries to represent this
image.
[492] The relationship
between G-d and the Tzaddik Emet ideally is that of G-d and his
reflection.
[493] L’havdil,
the pharaoh or king of a country was often considered a deity or the son of a
god. Judaism purified this paradigm, but traces remained within the concept of
a belief in Moses as the tzaddik or a messiah. There is some resemblance to
Gnosticism and the concept of a greater and lesser deity.
Here, Aruch
Anpin, the personality of G-d as long-faced (patient) is reflected in the
suffering messiah as alluded to in Bereshit Rabbati, by Moses ha-Darshal of
Narbonne (11
th century). Here is a semblance of the special
relationship existing between the
twine.
[494]
Text
3-10: Suffering Messiah
... Are you prepared to assume these burdens? If you take these
sufferings upon yourself, well and good; if not, I shall eradicate those [future
sinners].”
Answered the Messiah: “Lord of the universe, happily will I take
upon myself these sufferings if I know that you will restore to life all those
who have died since the days of the first man. And that all those should see
salvation who have been devoured by wild animals, and all those who have drowned
in oceans and rivers. And that your salvation be extended also to those who
have been born prematurely and to those whom you plan to create but have not yet
created.”
Thereto the Holy One said: “So be it.” Then took the
Messiah lovingly all the sufferings upon himself, as it is said: “He was
oppressed but he humbled himself” (Isa. 53:7).
3.2 Mishnah
3.2.1 Berachot
Memorizing mishnayot strengthens the memory. One learns the use of
mnemonics. For example, a mnemonic to remember the following Mishnah is to see
three statement pairs.
[495]
Text
3-11: Mishnah Berachot 6:1
WHAT BLESSINGS ARE SAID OVER FRUIT?
OVER FRUIT OF THE
TREE ONE SAYS, WHO CREATEST THE FRUIT OF THE
TREE,
[496]
EXCEPT FOR WINE, OVER WHICH ONE SAYS, WHO CREATEST THE FRUIT
OF THE VINE.
[497]
OVER THAT WHICH GROWS FROM THE GROUND ONE SAYS: WHO CREATEST
THE FRUIT OF THE
GROUND,
[498]
EXCEPT OVER BREAD, FOR WHICH ONE SAYS, WHO BRINGEST FORTH
BREAD FROM THE EARTH.
[499]
OVER VEGETABLES ONE SAYS, WHO CREATEST THE FRUIT OF THE
GROUND;
[500]
R. JUDAH, HOWEVER, SAYS: WHO CREATEST DIVERS KINDS OF
HERBS.
[501]The term
for tree here is Elon, which has the same gematria (91) as the name of G-d,
Adonai Havayah. But the blessing is ‘borei pri ha’etz’
– who creates the fruit of the tree. The exception is wine that has the
blessing ‘borei pri ha’gaphen’ – who creates the fruit
of the vine. However, the blessing over grapes is ‘borei pri
ha’etz’. This is because the vine is a perennial that is a tree in
Torah classification. The fruit comes from the tree, hence this is the source
of its blessing.
Vegetables have their source in the Earth as they are
close to the ground. Tubers like carrots or potatoes grow within the ground.
The vegetables are annuals and their blessing is ‘borei pri
ha’adamah’ – who creates the fruit of the earth. However, for
bread one says, ‘hamotzei lechem m’een ha’aretz’ –
who brings bread forth from the land. The Mishnah uses the word
‘pas’ for bread, but in the blessing it is ‘lechem’.
What do bread and wine have in common that they have distinguished blessings?
They are products
[502] of God and
man together. Partnership is the higher purpose for following the
commandments.
The third pair refers to the ‘yarakot’ –
the greens or vegetables. They are annuals and come out of the earth. Hence,
the blessing is ‘borei pri ha’adamah’. But, Rabbi Yehudah has
an additional insight and suggests the blessing is ‘borei menai
d’sha’eem’ – who creates diverse grasses. Rabbi Yehudah
recognized the greater diversity in the healing properties of herbs and grasses
versus the tubers and fruits. Hence, he desired to distinguish them.
Nevertheless, the majority say, “borei pri ha’adamah” which
determines the law, so as not to make matters too difficult.
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art
clothed with honour and majesty.
2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out
the heavens like a curtain:
3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the
clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for
ever.
6 Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood
above the mountains.
7 At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted
away.
8 They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place
which thou hast founded for them.
9 Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not
again to cover the earth.
10 He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the
hills.
11 They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench
their thirst.
12 By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing
among the branches.
13 He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with
the fruit of thy works.
14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service
of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;
15 And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to
shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.
16 The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he
hath planted;
17 Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are
her house.
18 The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the
conies.
19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going
down.
20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the
forest do creep forth.
21 The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from
God.
22 The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in
their dens.
23 Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the
evening.
24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all:
the earth is full of thy riches.
25 So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable,
both small and great beasts.
26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to
play therein.
27 These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due
season.
28 That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are
filled with good.
29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath,
they die, and return to their dust.
30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the
face of the earth.
31 The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in
his works.
32 He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and
they smoke.
33 I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my
God while I have my being.
34 My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the
LORD.
35 Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no
more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.
This psalm recognizes the beauty of this world.
G-d
answered, “Should not I favor them since I commanded the Jews,
‘You should eat and be satisfied and bless,’ and they bless
even on an amount equal to the size of an olive or egg, although they are not
satisfied.”
[503] Most
learn to say a blessing before a meal, this is a rabbinical command, but after a
meal is from the Torah. My explanation for the commandment is that one may take
for granted the food that he has enjoyed and is thus, reminded to thank G-d,
lest he be guilty of theft. Nevertheless the reason of the sages “is that
an earthly person finds it hard to appreciate something unless he is first
satisfied. Therefore G-d commanded us to praise Him with grace after
eating.”
[504] My
explanation presumes a selfish inclination in man while the sages judge man
favorably presuming he needs only to be satisfied to appreciate G-d in the final
blessing. Perhaps the later view is
greater.
[505]
3.2.2 Perkei Avot
In Avot 4:15 Rabbi Matya ben Harash said, “Be the first to greet
every man; and be a tail amongst lions and be not a head to foxes.”
The Midrash on the Book of Samuel says: “Whereas the lion
habitually raises his tail above his head, the fox lowers his head below his
tail. And so it is with men: The gentleman respects his inferiors and discerns
in them good qualities, whereas the lowbred despises and humiliates his
superiors in honor and
rank.”
[506] Ultimately the
gentleman is distinguished by his temperance and by his absence of
anger.
Text
3-13: Source Text for the Principle of Ten Sefirot from
Avot 5:1
By ten utterances was the world created. And what does this teach us?
Surely the world could have been created by one utterance. It means to
emphasize that “G-d will exact punishment from the wicked who destroy the
world” | “the wicked have ten chances to be repaid for destroying
the world”[507] which
was created by ten utterances; and will richly reward the righteous who sustain
the world which was created by ten utterances.
This teaches that G-d has magnified the creation of the world so that
the wicked cannot destroy it in a single step. While this increases the
punishment of the wicked, it also permits them a “chance” to repent
at each step before they reach ten. G-d rewards the righteous with additional
opportunities for good, but these bring additional chances to
fall.
Text
3-14: Ten Sayings by which God Created the
World
- “In the beginning G-d created the heaven
and the earth”
- “Let there be light”
- “Let there be a firmament”
- “Let the waters be gathered”
- “Let the earth put forth grass”
- “Let there be luminaries in the
firmament”
- “Let the waters swarm with living
creatures”
- “Let the earth bring forth living
creatures”
- “Let us make man in our image”
- “Behold I have given you every herb.”
- “It is not good for man to be
alone”
The first and the eleventh are one and the
same as the end is “imbedded in the
beginning.”
[508]
Correspondingly, Keter is the first and Daat, the eleventh, in the Tree of Life.
Keter refers to the crown or first thought of creation. Daat refers to the
knowledge between husband and wife.
Text
3-15: Ten Generations from Avot 5:2
There were Ten Generations from Adam to Noah, to make known how great is
G-d’s patience – aruch apayim –
ארך
אפים, for all these generations provoked
him until he brought upon them the waters of the flood. There were Ten
Generations from Noah to Abraham to make known how great is G-d’s patience
for all these generations provoked Him until our Father Abraham came and
received the reward that would have been theirs.
At the highest
level, G-d is Aruch Anpin, long face, which alludes to Aruch Apayim, long
breaths. G-d is breathing heavy but withholds his anger. He is long faced in
patience for the return of his children. Aruch Anpin corresponds to Keter, the
crown, the Will of G-d, and that which is most unknown. What is most unknown?
G-d’s sefirah Hesed manifests kindness and mercy. The sefirah of
Tiferet is also Rahamim – mercy, since there is a proper degree of
forgiveness in Truth, which Jacob practiced with his children. What is unknown
is that above Tiferet at the highest level, Hashem exhibits an infinite level of
mercy towards his creation. This is the incomprehensible mercy of the Crown of
G-d. It is the Aruch Anpin, a long face withholding anger that we cannot know
the thoughts behind. The next Mishnah explains that even when G-d provides us
with obstacles, there is only love.
Text
3-16: Ten Trials from Avot 5:3
With Ten Trials was our father Abraham tried, and he stood firm through
all of them; to make known “how great was the love of our father
Abraham” | “how much He loved Abraham, our
father”.There are two possible ways of translating the last
stanza of the Mishnah. In the first translation, it is how great
Abraham’s love is for G-d, for he maintained it through all trials.
Similarly this is the greatness of Abraham’s love for humanity and Israel.
In the second translation, we see how great the love of G-d is for Abraham.
The trials are a gift for teaching Abraham, and show the concern of a father for
training a son.
There is a duality in the ten steps sometimes leading up
to G-d, at other times appearing to lead the other way, but in reality providing
opportunity for repentance. There is a duality in the reciprocal love of Israel
for G-d and G-d for Israel. The names of Hashem with twelve and seventy-two
letters have dual forms as
well.
[509] As the tefillin of man
contain praises of G-d so the tefillin of G-d speak of praises of Israel.
The Bahir discusses the Ten
Sayings:
Text
3-17: Bahir on the Ten
Sayings of Creation
Bahir 118: Yud is the Ten Sayings with which the world was created.
What are they? They are the Torah of Truth, which includes all worlds. What is
the Shin? He said: It is the root of the tree. The letter Shin is like the
root of a
tree.[510]
Bahir 119: What is this tree that you mentioned? He said: It
represents the Powers of the Blessed Holy One, one above the other. Just like a
tree brings forth fruit through water, so the Blessed Holy One increases the
Powers of the Tree through water. What is the water of the Blessed Holy One?
It is
wisdom.[511]
It is the souls of the righteous. They fly from the fountain to the great pipe,
ascend and attach themselves to the Tree. Through what do they fly? Through
Israel. When they are good and righteous, the Divine Presence dwells among
them. Their deeds then rest in the bosom of the Blessed Holy One, and He makes
them fruitful and multiplies
them.[512]
Bahir 138: What is the meaning of “a Torah of Truth?” It
is that which teaches the Truth of worlds, as well as His deeds in thought. He
erected Ten Sayings, and with them the world stands. It is one of them. In man
He created ten fingers, paralleling these Ten Sayings. Moses raised his hands
and concentrated to some degree on the Attribute that is called Israel, which
contains the Torah of Truth. With his ten fingers, he alluded that he was
upholding the Ten. For if [G-d] would not help Israel, then the Ten Sayings
would not endure every day. For this reason, “Israel
prevailed.”
Bahir 179: We learned that there are Ten Spheres
and Ten Sayings. Each Sphere has its Saying. It is not surrounded by it, but
rather, it surrounds it. This world is like a mustard seed inside a ring. Why?
Because of the Spirit that blows upon it, through which it is sustained. If
this spirit were to be interrupted for even a moment, the world would be
annihilated.The Ten Sayings sustain our world
and creation and also allude to the Ten Sefirot. These are the attributes of
G-d manifesting in our world. There is duality, reflection, and partnership
here. We beseech G-d, and G-d sustains the
world.
The Talmud presents the Ten Sayings of
creation in two
accounts:
[513]
Text
3-18: Ten Creations of the First Day
Rab Judah further said that Rab said: Ten things
were created the first day, and they are as follows: heaven
and earth, Tohu [chaos], Bohu [desolation], light
and darkness, wind and water, the measure of day
and the measure of night. Heaven and earth, for it is written: In the
beginning God created heaven and earth. Tohu and Bohu, for it is written: And
the earth was Tohu and Bohu. Light and darkness: darkness, for it is written:
And darkness was upon the face of the deep; light, for it is written: And God
said, Let there be light. Wind and water, for it is written: And the wind of God
hovered over the face of the waters. The measure of day and the measure of
night, for it is written: And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
It is taught: Tohu is a green line that encompasses the whole world, out of
which darkness proceeds, for it is said: He made darkness His hiding-place round
about Him. Bohu, this means the slimy stones that are sunk in the deep, out of
which the waters proceed, for it is said: And he shall stretch over it the line
of confusion [Tohu] and the plummet of emptiness [Bohu].
...
R. Zulra b. Tobiah said that Rab said: by ten things was the world
created: By wisdom
–
חכמה and by
understanding
–תבונה
, and by reason –
דעת,
and by strength –
כח,
and by rebuke
–גערה
, and by might
–גבורה
, by righteousness
–צדק
and by judgment
–משפט
, by lovingkindness
–חסד
and by compassion –
רחמים.
By wisdom and understanding, for it is written: The Lord by wisdom founded the
earth; and by understanding established the heavens. By reason, for it is
written: By His reason the depths were broken up. By strength and might, for it
is written: Who by His strength setteth fast the mountains, Who is girded about
with might. By rebuke, for it is written: The pillars of heaven were trembling,
but they became astonished at His, rebuke. By righteousness and judgment, for it
is written: Righteousness and judgment are the foundation of Thy throne. By
loving kindness and compassion, for it is written: Remember, O Lord, Thy
compassions and Thy mercies; for they have been from of old. Rab Judah further
said: At the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, it went
on expanding like two clues of warp, until the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked
it and brought it to a standstill, for it is said: ‘The pillars of heaven
were trembling, but they became astonished at His rebuke’. And that, too,
is what Resh Lakish said: What is the meaning of the verse, I am God Almighty?
[It means], I am He that said to the world: Enough! Resh Lakish said: When the
Holy One, blessed be He, created the sea, it went on expanding, until the Holy
One, blessed be He, rebuked it and caused it to dry up, for it is said: He
rebuketh the sea and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the
rivers.
Text
3-19: Ten Creations of Erev Shabbat
Ten things were created on the eve of the [first] Shabbat at twilight:
[514]
- The Mouth of the Earth
- The Mouth of the Well
- The Mouth of the Donkey
- The Rainbow
- The Manna
- The Staff
- The Shamir
- The Written Characters
- The Writing
- The Tablets of the Law.
Others include the Demons,
the Grave of Moshe, the Ram of our Father Abraham. Others say: also the Tongs
made by tongs.
3.2.2.1 Emunah
Hochamim
3.2.2.1.1 Mainstream
To believe in the passing down of the teachings or words of the sages is
the principle here. This idea has been distorted into an almost idolatrous
belief in blindly following the advice of rabbis, or Hasidim following their
tzaddikim or even the idea that one is saved by faith in a
messiah.
[515] Text
3-20: Nachum Eliezer Rabinowitch
“Torah is greater than priesthood or kingship, for kingship
is
acquired with thirty attributes, priesthood with twenty-four, and
Torah with
forty-eight.”
[516]Among the forty-eight attributes, the twenty-third is
“emunat
ḥakhamim.” Since this Baraita is not part of the
Mishnah, there are few
commentaries from the rishonim that explain it. Maḥzor
Vitri,
however, explains briefly: “... to believe in the words of
the
ḥakhamim, unlike the Sadducees and Boethusians.” Others
explain
similarly, that “emunat ḥakhamim” is to believe
that we received the
Oral Torah and that it was passed down to us through an unbroken
chain of tradition.
That one should not trust or place ones faith in
man is a Torah principle so we know Emunah Hochamim does not mean this. See the
discussion on the similarity of
spirit.
[517],[518]Text
3-21: R. Yehiel Yaacov Weinberg
“Our Sages listed, among the forty-eight attributes through
which
Torah is acquired, “pilpul hatalmidim” (deliberation
amongst the
students) and “emunat ḥakhamim,” two concepts
which seem to
contradict each other. And, what does emunat ḥakhamim have to
do
with acquiring Torah?
“What it means is as follows: If one lacks faith in the words of
the
ḥakhamim, he tends to skim over them casually, and
arrogantly
dismisses them saying “The Sages just didn’t understand.”
The
result is that such a person does not struggle to probe beneath
the
surface and to confirm their words. In the end, it becomes clear
that it was he who erred, not they. Indeed, it is a characteristic
of
intelligence to believe that it is not they who err, Heaven
forbid,
but we, with our short-sightedness and limited knowledge, who are
mistaken. However, to trust simplistically and not exert our
minds
with investigative, concentrated thinking, to say blandly
“They
knew; we can rely on them without thinking,” is also wrong.
Rather, one must challenge their words with any contradictions or
uncertainties, as if their author is one of us. Through this we
arrive
at a more profound and analytic understanding. These two
attributes, emunat ḥakhamim together with unhampered
pilpul,
provide the path to acquiring the knowledge of
Torah.”
“He must believe the authenticity of their teaching,
and not be a scoffer like the Sadducees and the
Boethusians.”
[519] This
does not mean that one has to agree, but one must consider their
teachings.
[520]Text
3-22: Nachum Eliezer Rabinowitch
Thus, the roots of emunat ḥakhamim are in wisdom.
The
ḥakhamim were masters of wisdom; therefore a person of wisdom
can
38 : Ḥakirah, the Flatbush Journal of Jewish Law and
Thought
plumb the depths of their words and extract their true meaning.
Concerning this, the Gemara in Bava Batra 12a states, “A
wise person is
greater than a prophet...Rav Ashi says, this fact can be seen when it
happens
that a great person issues a ruling, and then it is learned that a
halakhah
consistent with his ruling was given [by prophecy] to Moshe from
Sinai.” Rav
Ashi was asked, “Perhaps it is like a blind person [who finds his
way out] via
the arruba1?” i.e., that
it happened by chance. They answered, “Did he
not give a reason?” Since he gives an acceptably logical
reason for what
he said, it is not like a blind person who chanced upon the opening
to
let himself out. He arrived at the correct answer by using his
powers
of reasoning, and he merited that his understanding conforms to “the
halakhah of Moshe from Sinai.”
...
The distinction between a prophet and a ḥakham is clear
enough. When a prophet instructs on divrei reshut - non-obligatory
matters, not only are we commanded to obey, but “it is forbidden to have
any thoughts of doubt or to contemplate the possibility that the prophecy never
took place, and it is forbidden to challenge him excessively” (10:6).
With a ḥakham, however, emunat ḥakhamim requires us
to clarify and elucidate his every word, and one who does not do so is simply a
“fool who believes anything.” If this is true for Torah, then
even more so for
divrei reshut. “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but
one who acts with wisdom will prevail.”
Hazal hold that prophecy only exists in the land of Israel and since
the destruction of the 2nd Temple, prophecy does not exist. Others
have considered even outside of Israel that some tzaddikim are prophets,
particularly when such leaders are considered messiahs equivalent to Moses, i.e.
the Lubavitcher Rebbe, or the Breslover Rebbe.
In the case of a sage like
Rabbi Nachman, some of his followers may consider him the Messiah. On the basis
of the Messiah being greater than Moshe Rabenu, his followers may accept his
words on faith; nevertheless, this is the not the concept of emunat
ḥakhamim.
Text
3-23: Nachum Eliezer Rabinowitch on Yeshaya the Elder of
Trani
One who has achieved the level of “studying Torah for its
own exalted sake” (
לשמה ) will have
absolute emunat hạkhamim and,
precisely because of this, has a greater obligation to decide
between
opposing halakhic views. It is worthwhile to cite the responsa of
a
rishon, R. Yeshaya the Elder of Trani
z”l:
“First, I would like to reply to Your Honor concerning what
you
wrote to me that I should not dispute the great rav,
Rabbeinu
Yitzhak zẓ”l. Heaven forbid that I do this! I never saw
myself as
disagreeing with him. Who am I? Compared to his disciple I am
but a flea ("
פרעוש
אחד "), a
simpleton. How could I dare speak
after the king! Nevertheless, this is my approach: Something that
seems incorrect to me, even if Yehoshua ben Nun had stated it I
would disobey him (see Ḥullin 124a). I will not refrain
from
speaking my mind, limited though it is, applying to myself the
verse
“I state your laws unabashedly even before kings.” Heaven is
my
eternal Witness that even when it appears to me that my view is
more correct than that of our predecessors z”l, Heaven forbid
that
it should occur to me that “my wisdom has stood by me”
(Kohelet
2:9). Rather, I see myself ... as but a midget riding on the
shoulders
of these giants. We have been exposed to their great wisdom; we
are taller only by adding a bit of knowledge on top of theirs.
Only
by drawing upon their wisdom have we learned to say what we say,
not because we are greater than they.
“But, if because of this we were to say that we may not evaluate
the
words of our predecessors, then what should we do when they
themselves disagree; when one prohibits and the other permits? On
whom do we rely? Can mountains be measured on a scale to
determine which is greater? Our only option is to analyze
what
each has said, for “both are the words of the living G-d”
(Eruvin
13b). We must delve into their words and draw the
appropriate
conclusion... the words of the wise men are of greater
importance
than the wise men themselves. There has never been a Sage
entirely
free of error for there is no perfect wisdom except
G-d’s.”
“The words of the wise men are of greater
importance than the wise men themselves,” is a principle of emunat
hạkhamim.
3.2.2.1.2 Another
Stream
The alternative approach seems to ignore the fallibility of all people
including Moshe who struck the rock. R. Nachman Z”L in his desire to
overcome the three desires leading to sin, 1) Taivas nashon (woman), 2) Taivas
mammon (money), 3) Taivas Achilus (eating) chose the last while he was
young,
[521] perhaps leading to a
weaker constitution later in life. Also we know that it is a sin to harm ones
own body. Nevertheless, this would not preclude him from being the tzaddik emet
or the soul of Moshe rabbenu. R. Nachman said that his soul was no different
than any other and that he had the same struggle with Taivas – desires, so
that anyone should know that they too can master their evil inclination. Also
R. Nachman said that his intellect was even less than average contributing to
his struggle to grasp Gemara. Here also he taught that eventually one can
succeed. Clearly he was a very humble person, possessing the same quality as
Moshe Rabbenu.
3.2.2.1.2.1 Belief
in the Tzaddikim
While we are permitted to seek the advice and believe the
recommendations of rabbis and tzaddikim, the Torah never intended this to be a
second faith.
Text
3-24: Torah Exodus 14:31
And Israel saw the great work, which the Lord did upon the Egyptians; and
the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant
Moses.
שמות
פרק יד פסוק לא
וירא
ישראל את היד
הגדלה אשר עשה
ידוד במצרים
וייראו העם את
ידוד ויאמינו
בידוד ובמשה
עבדו:
פ
A little crack like believing in the servant
Moses would lead almost to apostasy for those who wished to have faith in a
human leader like an assistant G-d throughout history. For example, the
Samaritans used this text in a marriage formula, “in Moses and his
writings, we believe”, already influenced by the crack in faith for G-d
alone with faith in the tzaddik emet of G-d.
[522]
Later translators such as Onkelos would qualify this as, “The
people feared the Lord. They believed in the
memra of the Lord and in
the prophecy of Moses his servant.”
Memra would be idolized into
the Christian savior from
logos.
Text
3-25: Targum Onkelos Exodus 14:31
And Israel saw the great work, which the Lord did upon the Egyptians, and
the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the word - memra
of the Lord and in the prophecy of Moses his servant.
אונקלוס
שמות פרק יד
פסוק לא
(לא)
וחזא ישראל ית
גבורת ידא
רבתא דעבד יי
במצרים
ודחילו עמא מן
קדם יי
והימינו
במימרא דיי
ובנביאות
[ובנביות] משה
עבדיה:
3.2.2.1.2.2 Midrash
Exodus 22:3
Text
3-26: Midrash Rabbah - Exodus XXII:3
3. AND THE PEOPLE FEARED THE LORD (XIV, 31). Our Rabbis taught: He who
recites the shema’ must mention the division of the Red Sea and the plague
of the firstborn in the paragraph beginning with ' True and
firm’(1); but if he does not do so, then he need not be made to
repeat it. If he omits, however, to make mention of the departure from Egypt,
then he must repeat it, for it says, That thou mayest remember the day when thou
camest forth out of the land of Egypt (Deut. XVI, 3). What is the difference
between the departure from Egypt and the dividing of the Red Sea? The departure
from Egypt was more difficult, as it says, Or hath God assayed, etc. (ib.IV,
34); also, But you hath the Lord taken, and brought forth out of the iron
furnace (ib. 20). A proof that one was more difficult than the other is that in
the case of the departure from Egypt it says, I am the Lord thy God (Ex. XX,
2),(2) but in the case of the division of the Red Sea, the name of
God is not mentioned at all. Why must he make mention of the division of the Red
Sea in the paragraph of ‘True and firm’? Because since it was
through His dividing the sea for them that they believed in Him, as it says: And
they believed in the Lord, and in His servant Moses (ib. XIV, 31). Because of
this faith, they were privileged to recite the Song and to have the Shechinah
rest upon them, for the words Then sang Moses (ib. XV,1) follow immediately.
For this reason should a man recite the prayer for redemption(3)
immediately before the Amidah, just as they recited the Song immediately after
their [declaration of] faith and the division of the Red Sea. Just as they
purified their hearts and uttered Song, for it says, And the people feared the
Lord, and they believed, and immediately afterwards ’ Then sang
Moses’, so must a man first purify his heart and then pray. This is what
Job said, Although there is no violence in my hands, and my prayer is pure
(XVI, 17). R. Joshua the priest, son of R. Nehemiah, said: Is there, then, an
impure prayer? No; but he who prays unto God with hands soiled from violence, is
not answered. Why? Because such a prayer is sinful, as it says, And God said
unto Noah: The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with
violence (Gen. VI, 13)(4); but since Job never committed any
violence, his prayer was pure. For this reason does it say: ’ Although
there is no violence in my hands,’ that is to say, because there is no
violence in my hands or in my toil, ’my prayer is pure.’ R. Hama b.
Hanina said: Whence do we know that the prayer of one who has committed violence
is impure? Because it says, And when ye spread forth your hands,... I will not
hear (Isa. 1, 15), because your hands are full of blood (ib.). Whence do we know
that the prayer of him who removes himself from violence(5) is pure?
Because it says, He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart (Ps. XXIV, 4); and
what does it say after this? He shall receive a blessing from the Lord (ib.
5).Such is the generation of them that seek after Him
(ib.6).
____________________
(1) The paragraph immediately following
the shema’ in the morning. These events are also mentioned in the
paragraph ' True and faithful ' following the evening recitation of the
shema’.
(2) Since God at Revelation only mentions that He brought
Israel out of Egypt and not the miracle of the Red Sea, the former must have
been the greater miracle.
(3) The prayer ending gaal Israel –
redeem Israel, just before the ’amidah.
(4) The idea is apparently:
therefore even prayer will not avail.
(5) ‘Violence’ in this
whole passage connotes robbery and theft.
3.3 Talmud
3.3.1 Rules
Rabbi Ishmael listed thirteen principles by which the written Torah is
expounded. These are principles of logic for forming Oral Laws from the Written
Law:
[523],[524]Text
3-27: Rabbi Ishmael’s Thirteen Rules for Torah
Exposition
- Kal Vhomer –
קל
וחומר
If a rule applies in a lighter case, in a more serious case the rule applies.
For example, if an act is forbidden on an ordinary festival than it is also
forbidden on Yom Kippur. The reverse applies if an act is permitted on Yom
Kippur than it is permitted on an ordinary festival.
- Gzera Shav –
גזרה
שוה If there is
similarity of words or phrases in two passages, than what is expressed in one
applies in the other. This is the logical inference. For example Ex 21:2 says
“Hebrew slave” and from Deut. 14:12 where it says, “If your
Hebrew brother is sold to you”, we infer that “Hebrew slave”
means a slave who is a Hebrew as opposed to a Hebrew who owns a slave.
- Binyan Av –
בנין
אב A principle in a
biblical law is applicable to all related laws.
- Klal vPrat –
כלל
ופרט A
general proposition followed by a specifying particular. The particular is the
rule.
- Prat vKlal –
ומפרט
וכלל A
particular term followed by a general proposition. This is general rule
derived from a specific rule.
- Klal vPrat vKlal ee atah dan eleh cayn haPrat –
כלל
ופרט
וכלל
אי
אתה
דן
אלא
כעין
הפרט A
general law limited by a specific application, and then treated again in general
terms, must be interpreted according to the tenor of the specific limitation.
If there is a specific application of the law in Torah and only one than the
general is limited to the specific.
Wherever G-d gives us a
prohibition, there is something permissible, which is similar enough to satisfy
any inclination we may have. There are always permissible foods that have
similar flavors to non-kosher
foods.
[525]Here are the
last words of Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai while he was with his
disciples:
[526]Text
3-28: Last Words of Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai
They said to him: Master, bless us. He said to them:
“May it be [God's] will that the fear of heaven shall be upon you
like the fear of flesh and blood.”
His disciples said to him: “Is that all?” He said to them:
“If only [you can attain this]!
You can see [how important this is], for when a man wants to commit a
transgression,
he says, I hope no man will see me.” At the moment of his
departure he said to them:
“Remove the vessels so that they shall not become
unclean,
and prepare a throne for Hezekiah the king of Judah who is
coming.”
Last words are spoken with truth. To heed them is
everything.
3.3.2 Ta’anit
The word for ‘open’ –
פתח in Hebrew is
a subset of the word for ‘key’ –
מפתח.
Based on this the Talmud quotes three verses as ‘keys’ that G-d has
not given over to the control of an angel.
Text
3-29: Keys of the Holy One Blessed Be He
R. Johanan said: Three keys the Holy One blessed be He has retained in
His own hands and not entrusted to the hand of any messenger, namely, the Key of
Rain, the Key of Childbirth, and the Key of the Revival of the Dead. The Key of
Rain, for It is written, The Lord will open unto thee His good treasure, the
heaven to give the rain of thy land in its
season,[527] The Key of
Childbirth, for it is written, And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to
her, and opened her womb. The Key of the Revival of the Dead, for it is
written, And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your
graves.[528] In Palestine they
said: Also the Key of Sustenance, for it is said, Thou openest thy hand etc.
Why does not R. Johanan include also this [key]? — Because in his view
sustenance is [included in]
Rain.[529]The passage
from Ezekiel is symbolic of the Israelites. The Key of the Revival of the Dead
is to know that this applies to us today who have lost hope. Whenever we see
these words in our prayers we must think about reviving our selves back to G-d.
3.3.3 Sotah
The Torah protects a person at the time he is studying from both physical
and spiritual dangers. The Mitzvah protects a person from physical harm, but
not from the yetzer hara, or the Satan. Women share equally in the reward of
Torah learning. By providing time for their husbands to learn or by seeing that
their children learn Torah gives them the same reward. Women divide equally the
reward of the Garden of Eden with their
husbands.
The Gemara gives the example of the
difference between mitzvah and Torah. A person is walking along on a dark way.
The person fears four things: thieves. These correspond to the four levels of
creation, domem – inorganic, tzomach – vegetation, chai –
animal life, human life.
One of the worst evils is atzmut –
sadness. The origin of this comes from domem – the pit. The lusts come
from vegetation. Evil words, lies, slander comes from chai, the animal level,
for this is an act of an animal. The forth, haughtiness or conceit, gaivah,
comes from human life.
When tragedy or suffering occurs it is also good.
This is because of G-d’s name, “Hashem Echad and Shemo
Echad”.
[530] The name
Elohim is for judgment. Hashem’s name is for mercy. Together, they are
still one, that is the gematria thirteen, which is ahavah, love. There are two
types of suffering of a love. One is when a person makes known his religious
identity in the work place and must deal with any prejudices. His example as a
proper Jew is a holiness to G-d. The other is the loss of wealth that happens
to a religious Jew who spends all his money for the sake of
Torah.
[531]When a person
commits a sin, has vshalom, any kind of sin, he goes against G-d’s word.
The act he does carves into his bones, also into his neshamah, soul. When a
person has this sin carved out in his bones, is repentance enough? Tshuvah
says only that he will not be punished for it. Rabbi Nachman says the way to
rid one of the carvings in the bones is to confess the sins before a Tzaddik, a
Talmud Hocham. When he speaks these words, the words come out of his bones.
This confession is the final solution. There are four types of evil than
emanate from the four types of creation. Say a person has the Atzmut –
sadness, he also has the Taavot – evil desires, Lashon Harah –
slander, and the Ga’avah – pride. These come from the
inorganic, the
vegetation life, the
animal, and the
human. How does the person get rid of them? He
comes before a Tzaddik and sees him. When the person in the example came to the
lantern, he was no longer afraid of the pits – domem or the thorns –
tzomach. When a person sees the Tzaddik, it is like seeing his mother, the
mother of the Jews. When he sees the Tzaddik he will drop all his evil ways,
drop his sadness, and come to rejoice with the Tzaddik. The second way is to
give tzedakah to a Tzaddik. This saves the person from evil words – his
fear of wild animals, haughtiness – human ways. This causes the light of
day to shine forth and saves the person from the evil tongue and haughtiness.
3.3.4 Sanhedrin
Here Adam Kadmon is described.
Text
3-30: Sanhedrin 38b
Rab Judah said in Rab's name: When the Holy One, blessed be He, wished to
create man, He [first] created a company of ministering angels and said to them:
Is it your desire that we make a man in our image? They answered: Sovereign of
the Universe, what will be his deeds? Such and such will be his deeds, He
replied. Thereupon they exclaimed: Sovereign of the Universe, What is man that
thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou thinkest of
him?(12) Thereupon He stretched out His little finger
among them and consumed them with fire. The same thing happened with a second
company. The third company said to Him: Sovereign of the Universe, what did it
avail the former [angels] that they spoke to Thee [as they did]? the whole world
is Thine, and whatsoever that Thou wishest to do therein, do it. When He came to
the men of the Age of the flood and of the division [of tongues] whose deeds
were corrupt, they said to Him: Lord of the Universe, did not the first [company
of angels] speak aright? Even to old age I am the same, and even to hoar hairs
will I carry,(13) He retorted.
Rab Judah said in Rab's name: The first man reached from one end of the
world to the other, as it is written, Since the day that God created man upon
the earth, even from the one end of Heaven unto the
other.14 But when he sinned, the Holy One, blessed be
He, laid His hand upon him and diminished him, as it is written, Thou hast
hemmed me in behind and before, and laid Thy hands upon me.15 R. Eleazar said:
The first man reached from earth to heaven, as it is written,
Since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from one end of the
Heaven [to the other].(16) But when he sinned,
the Holy One, blessed be He, laid His hand upon him and diminished him, for it
is written, Thou hast hemmed me in behind and before etc.15 But these verses
contradict each other! — Both measurements are
identical.(17)
Rab Judah also said in Rab's name: The first man spoke
Aramaic,(18) for it is written, How weighty are thy
thoughts unto me, God.(19) And that is what Resh Lakish
meant when he said: What is the meaning of the verse, ‘This is the book of
the generations of Adam?(20) It is to intimate that the
Holy One, blessed be He, showed him [Adam] every generation and its
thinkers,(21) every generation and its sages. When he
came to the generation of Rabbi Akiba, he [Adam] rejoiced at his learning but
was grieved at his death,(22) and said: How
weighty(23) are Thy
friends(24) to me, O
God.(19)
Rab Judah also said in Rab's name: Adam was a
Min,(25) for it is written, And the Lord God called
unto Adam and said unto him, Where art thou?(26) i.e.,
whither has thine heart turned? R. Isaac said: He practised
episplasm:(27) For here it is written, But like man,
[Adam] they have transgressed the covenant;(28) whilst
elsewhere it is said, He hath broken my covenant,(29)
R. Nahman said: He denied God.(30) Here it is written,
They have transgressed the covenant;(28) whilst
elsewhere it is stated, [He hath broken my
covenant,(31) and again,] Because they forsook the
covenant of the Lord their God.(32)
We learnt elsewhere:(33) R. Eliezer said: Be
diligent to learn the Torah and know how to answer an
Epikoros.(34) R. Johanan commented: They taught this
only with respect to a Gentile Epikoros; with a Jewish Epikoros, it would only
make his heresy more pronounced.(35)
R. Johanan sad: In all the passages which the Minim have taken [as
grounds] for their heresy,(36) their refutation is
found near at hand. Thus: Let us make man in our
image,(37) — And God created [sing.] man in His
own image;(38) Come, let us go down and there confound
their language,(39) — And the Lord came down
[sing.] to see the city and the tower;(40) Because
there were revealed [plur.] to him God,(41) —
Unto God who answereth [sing.] me in the day of my
distress;(42) For what great nation is there that hath
God so nigh [plur.] unto it, as the Lord our God is [unto us] whensoever we call
upon Him [sing.];(43) And what one nation in the earth
is like thy people, [like] Israel, whom God went [plur.] to redeem for a people
unto himself [sing.],(44) Till thrones were placed and
one that was ancient did sit.(45)
Why were these
(46) necessary? To teach R.
Johanan's dictum; viz.: The Holy One, blessed be He, does nothing without
consulting His Heavenly Court,
(47) for it is written,
The matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the sentence by the word of the
Holy Ones.
(48) Now, that is satisfactory for all [the
other verses], but how explain Till thrones were placed? —
One [throne]
was for Himself and one for David.(49) Even as
it has been taught: One was for Himself and one for David: this is R. Akiba's
view. R. Jose protested to him: Akiba, how long will thou profane the
Shechinah?(50) Rather, one [throne] for justice,
and the other for mercy. Did he accept [this answer] from him or not? Come and
hear! For it has been taught: One is for justice and the other for charity; this
is R. Akiba's view. Said R. Eleazar b. Azariah to him: Akiba, what hast thou
to do with Aggada? Confine thyself to [the study of] Nega'im and
Ohaloth.
(51) But one was a throne, the other a
footstool: a throne for a seat and a footstool in support of His
feet.
(12) Ps. VIII, 5.
(13) Isa. XLVI, 4. I.e., I shall suffer
mankind under all conditions.
(14) Deut. IV, 32.
(15) Ps. CXXXIX,
5.
(16) Rashal rightly deletes the bracketed passage, because on this dictum
the verse must be read: He created man upon the earth and reaching up to the end
of Heaven, i.e., he reached from earth to Heaven.
(17) [The gigantic stature
of Adam plays an important part in the system of many Gnostic sects, v.
Ginzberg, op. cit. V, 79.]
(18) [This may have been said in justification of
the abandonment by the Babylonian Jews of the Hebrew language in favour of
Aramaic.]
(19) Ps. CXXXIX, 17. This Psalm deals with the creation of man. reh
‘weighty’, and lhgr ‘thoughts’ are Aramaisms.
(20)
Gen. V, 1.
(21) Lit., ‘exponents’.
(22) R. Akiba was executed
by Tineius Rufus after being most cruelly tortured. Cf. Ber. 61b.
(23)
Perhaps to be understood here with a twofold meaning: weighty = honoured; and
weighty = a source of heaviness and grief.
(24) lhgr is probably here taken
in its usual Hebrew meaning, "Thy friends’,
(25) V. Glos. V. p. 234, n.
4; it is to be observed that Min is contrasted (in the next passage) with
unbeliever.
(26) Gen. III, 9.
(27) I.e., he removed the mark of
circumcision.
(28) Hos. VI, 7.
(29) Gen. XVII, 14. with reference to
circumcision.
(30) Lit. ‘the fundamental (principle)’.
(31)
Gen. XVII, 14. Ms. M. omits the bracketed passage; rightly so, for it is
irrelevant.
(32) Jer. XXII, 9, referring to belief in God.
(33) Aboth II,
14.
(34) Who endeavours to draw support from the Torah for his beliefs.
[xuruehpt is derived from the personal name, Epicurus, and is adopted by the
Talmud for the sake of the play upon the word rep ‘to be free from
restraint’. To denote one who denies God and his commandments, v. Herford,
Christianity in Talmud p. 120.]
(35) Lit., ‘He is more lawless.’
With him, therefore, discussion is not advised since he is deliberate in his
negation and not therefore easily dissuaded (Rashi).
(36) E.g., where God is
spoken of in the plural.
(37) Gen. I, 26.
(38) Ibid. 27.
(39) Gen. XI,
7.
(40) Ibid. 5.
(41) Ibid. XXXV, 7.
(42) Ibid. 3.
(43) Deut. IV,
7.
(44) II Sam. VII, 23.
(45) Dan. VII, 9.
(46) Plural forms.
(47)
thknp, ‘family'v. p. 675.
(48) Dan. IV, 14.
(49) The
Messiah.(50) By asserting that a human being sit beside
Him.(51) Names of Treatises in the Seder Tohoroth, the most difficult in
the whole of the Talmud. V. infra 67b. R. Akiba was a great authority on these
laws, whereas his Haggadic interpretations were not always acceptable. [This
interpretation involved the same danger as that of R. Akiba's first
interpretation in that it tended to obscure the true monotheistic concept of
God.]
See
26.10.2 Early messianic ideas in the
blue.
3.3.5 Yevamoth
The Talmud is not a collection of True sayings, but of opinion and
reason. There are statements that are incorrect, there are suggestions of law
that are not law; nevertheless all was included so that it would not be
forgotten.
Text
3-31: Yevamoth 62b - 63a
R. Tanhum stated in the name of R. Hanilai: Any man who has no
wife lives without joy, without blessing, and without goodness. ‘Without
joy’. for it is written. And thou shalt rejoice, thou and thy house.27
‘Without blessing’, for it is written, To cause a blessing to rest
on thy house.28 ‘Without goodness’, for it is written, It is not
good that the man should be alone.29
In the West30 it was stated:31
Without Torah and without a [protecting] wall. ‘Without Torah’, for
it is written. Is it that I have no help32 in me, and that sound wisdom33 is
driven quite from me.34 ‘Without a [protecting] wall’, for it is
written, A woman shall encompass a man.35
Raba b. ‘Ulla said:31
Without peace, for it is written, And thou shalt know that thy tent36 is in
peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation and shalt miss nothing.37
R. Joshua b. Levi said: Whosoever knows his wife to be a God-fearing woman and
does not duly visit her is called a sinner; for it is said, And thou shalt know
that thy tent is in peace38 etc.39
R. Joshua b. Levi further stated:
It is a man's duty to pay a visit to his wife when he starts on a journey; for
it is said, And thou shalt know that thy tent is in peace etc.37 Is this40
deduced from here? Surely it is deduced from the following:41 And thy desire
shall be to thy husband42 teaches that a woman yearns for her husband when he
sets out on a journey! — R. Joseph replied: This43 was required only in
the case where her menstruation period was near.44 And how near? Rabbah45
replied: Twelve hours.46 And this47 applies only [when the journey is] for a
secular purpose, but when for a religious purpose [it does not apply, since
then] people are in a state of anxiety.48 Our Rabbis taught: Concerning a man
who loves his wife as himself, who honours her more than himself, who guides his
sons and daughters in the right path and arranges for them to be married near
the period of their puberty, Scripture says, And thou shalt know that thy tent
is in peace.49 Concerning him who loves his neighbours, who befriends his
relatives, marries his sister's50 daughter,
____________________
(1) Infra
70a. It is now assumed that whenever one's own child died the grandchild may
take his place in exempting his grandfather from the duty of propagation. From
this it follows that only living children or grandchildren exempt a man from the
duty of further propagation. How then could R. Huna maintain that dead children
also exempt one from this duty?
(2) If a man had only one son he is exempt
from the duty of propagation if his son had a daughter. If, however, he once had
a male and a female who subsequently died he is in any case exempt.
(3) V.
Glos.
(4) Tosef. Yeb. VIII.
(5) Cf. supra note 1, final clause.
(6)
I.e., a granddaughter cannot take the place of a son to exempt one from the duty
of further propagation.
(7) Isa. XLV, 18.
(8) Lit., ‘all the
world’, i.e., Abaye and Raba.
(9) Son or daughter.
(10) Others,
‘Abba b. Zabda’. V. She'iltoth. Sec. ha-Berakah.
(11) The
discourses being long, R. Shesheth, in his desire not to interrupt them,
suppressed his needs and thus impaired his generative organs. V. Bek.
44b.
(12) Gen. XXXI, 43.
(13) Lit., ‘from here’.
(14) I
Chron. II, 21.
(15) Judges V, 14.
(16) Ps. LX, 9. As this text implies
that the lawgivers were descendants of Judah, Machir (Judges V, 14), a
descendant of Manasseh, could not have been the paternal, but only the maternal
ancestor of the lawgivers that descended from him. The lawgivers were thus the
offspring of the union mentioned in I Chron. II, 21, between Hezron, a
descendant of Judah, and a daughter of Machir. This then proves that the sons of
one's daughter are also regarded as one's own sons.
(17) Which permits
abstention from further propagation after the birth of the prescribed number of
children.
(18) I.e., ‘the morning of life’, youth.
(19) I.e.,
‘old age’. V. supra n. 5.
(20) Eccl. XI, 6.
(21) Gibbethon, in
the territory of Dan.
(22) N.N.W. of Jerusalem.
(23) Through lack of
learning.
(24) The disciples of R. Akiba.
(25) vrfxt (rt. rfx ,
‘stop’, ‘choke’).
(26) Supra, that the duty of
propagation never ceases.
(27) Deut. XIV, 26. House, ,hc refers to one's
wife. Cf. Yoma 2a.
(28) Ezek. XLIV, 30. Cf. supra n. 3.
(29) Gen. II,
18.
(30) Palestine.
(31) Concerning the unmarried man.
(32) I.e.,
‘a wife’. Cf. A help meet for him, Gen. II, 18.
(33) vhau, , the
Torah.
(34) Job VI, 13.
(35) Jer. XXXI, 22. Cf. R.V.
(36) I.e., wife.
Cf. M.K. and supra note 3.
(37) Job V, 24.
(38) I.e., ‘that thy wife
is in peace with God’ sc. ‘chaste’, or. reading ouka as oka ,
‘perfect’.
(39) Ibid., then thou shalt visit etc.
(40) The
duty of visiting prior to setting out on a journey.
(41) Lit., ‘from
there’.
(42) Gen. III, 16.
(43) The statement as to the duty of
visiting.
(44) At the time he sets out on his journey. When no journey is
contemplated one must keep away from his wife when the menstruation period is
near. V. Shebu. 18b.
(45) Cur. edd., ‘Raba’.
(46) vbug lit.,
‘period’. i.e., a whole day or a whole night. If the menstruation
occurs during the day, he must keep away throughout that day, and if during the
night, he must keep away during all that night.
(47) The duty of visiting
prior to setting out on a journey.
(48) Or, ‘they might be
preoccupied’ and thus delay the journey and neglect the performance of the
religious act.
(49) Job V, 24.
(50) This is a meritorious act, because the
affection a man has for his sister will be extended to her daughter, his wife.
Talmud - Mas. Yevamoth 63a
and lends a sela’1 to a poor man
in the hour of his need, Scripture says, Then shalt thou call, and the Lord will
answer; thou shalt cry and He will say: ‘Here I am’.2
(Mnemonic: Woman and land help this two shoots, tradesmen inferior.)3
R. Eleazar said: Any man who has no wife is no proper man; for it is said, Male
and female created He them and called their name Adam.4
R. Eleazar
further stated: Any man who owns no land is not a proper man; for it is said,
The heavens are the heavens of the Lord; but the earth hath he given to the
children of men.5
R. Eleazar further stated: What is the meaning of
the Scriptural text, I will make him a help meet for him?6 If he was worthy she
is a help to him;7 if he was not worthy she is against him.8 Others say: R.
Eleazar pointed out a contradiction: It is written kenegedo9 but we read
kenegedo!10 — If he was worthy she is meet for him;10 if he was not worthy
she chastises him.9
R. Jose met Elijah and asked him: It is written,
I will make him a help;11 how does a woman help a man? The other replied: If a
man brings wheat, does he chew the wheat? If flax, does he put on the flax?12
Does she not, then, bring light to his eyes and put him on his feet!
R. Eleazar further stated: What is meant by the Scriptural text, This is now
bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh?
13 This teaches that Adam
dwelled -
שבא
upon every beast and animal but did not
know
satisfaction (
bore, spring forth,
have
intercourse) until he
laid
upon
Eve.
[532]
מלמד
שבא אדם
על
כל בהמה וחיה
ולא
נתקררה
דעתו
עד
שבא
על
חוה
Genesis
2:23
כג וַיֹּאמֶר,
הָאָדָם, זֹאת
הַפַּעַם
עֶצֶם
מֵעֲצָמַי,
וּבָשָׂר
מִבְּשָׂרִי;
לְזֹאת
יִקָּרֵא
אִשָּׁה, כִּי
מֵאִישׁ
לֻקְחָה-זֹּאת.
23 And the man said: 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my
flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of
Man.'
R. Eleazar further stated: What is meant by the text, And in
thee shall the families of the earth be blessed?14 The Holy One,
blessed be He, said to Abraham, ‘I have two goodly shoots to
engraft15 on you: Ruth the Moabitess and Naamah the
Ammonitess’.16 All the families of the earth,14 even
the other families who live on the earth are blessed only for Israel's sake. All
the nations of the earth,17 even the ships that go from Gaul to Spain
are blessed only for Israel's sake.
R. Eleazar further stated:
There will be a time when all craftsmen will take up agriculture;18 for it is
said, And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea,
shall come down from their ships; they shall stand upon the land.19
R. Eleazar further stated: No20 occupation is inferior to that of agricultural
labour; for it is said, And they shall come down.21
R. Eleazar once
saw a plot of land that was ploughed across its width.22 ‘Wert thou to be
ploughed along thy length also’,23 he remarked, ‘engaging in
business would still be more profitable’. Rab once entered among growing
ears of corn. Seeing that they were swaying24 he called out to them,
‘Swing as you will,25 engaging in business brings more profit than you can
do’.
Raba said: A hundred zuz26 in business means meat and wine
every day; a hundred zuz in land, only salt and vegetables.27 Furthermore it
causes him to sleep on the ground28 and embroils him in strife.29
R.
Papa said, ‘Sow30 but do not buy,31 even if the cost is the same; there is
a blessing in the former. Sell out32 to avoid disgrace;33 but only mattresses,
[not] however, a cloak, [since one] might not always again obtain [a suitable
one].34 Stop up35 and you will need no repair;36 repair37 and you will not need
to rebuild; for whosoever engages in building grows poor. Be quick in buying
land; be deliberate in taking a wife. Come down a step in choosing your wife;38
go up a step in selecting your shoshbin.39
R. Eleazar b. Abina40
said: Punishment comes into the world only on Israel's account; for it is said,
I have cut off nations, their corners are desolate; I have made their streets
waste,41 and this is followed by the text, ‘I said: Surely thou wilt fear
Me, thou wilt receive correction’.42
Rab was once taking leave
of R. Hiyya. The latter said to him, ‘May the All Merciful deliver you
from that which is worse than death’. ‘But is there’ [Rab
wondered] ‘anything that is worse than death’? When he went out he
considered the matter and found [the following text]: And I find more bitter
than death the woman etc.43
Rab was constantly tormented by his wife.
If he told her, ‘Prepare me lentils’, she would prepare him small
peas; [and if he asked for] small peas, she prepared him lentils. When his son
Hiyya grew up he gave her [his father's instruction] in the reverse order.44
‘Your mother’, Rab once remarked to him, ‘has
improved’!45 ‘It was I’, the other replied, ‘who
reversed [your orders] to her’. ‘This is what people say’, the
first said to him, ‘Thine own offspring teaches thee reason’;46 you,
however, must not continue to do so’ for it is said, They have taught
their tongue to speak lies, they weary themselves etc’.47
R.
Hiyya was constantly tormented by his wife. He, nevertheless, whenever he
obtained anything suitable wrapped it up in his scarf and brought it to her.
Said Rab to him, ‘But, surely, she is tormenting the Master!’
— ‘It is sufficient for us’, the other replied, ‘that
they rear up our children and deliver us
____________________
(1) A coin.
V. Glos.
(2) Isa. LVIII, 9. This refers to the preceding text: If then thou
seest the naked, that thou cover him (ibid. 7), i.e., helping the poor at the
hour of his need; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh (ibid.)
implies benefiting relatives including the marriage of a sister's daughter and
loving one's neighbours who are regarded as relatives.
(3) The words in the
mnemonic correspond to terms outstanding in the respective statements of R.
Eleazar, that follow.
(4) Gen. V, 2. Adam == man. Only when the male and
female were united were they called Adam.
(5) Ps. CXV, 16, emphasis on man
and earth.
(6) Gen. II, 18.
(7) rzg , ‘help’.
(8) usdbf ,
meet for him may also be rendered ‘against him’.
(9) usdbf (rt.
sdb , ‘to strike’).
(10) usdbf meet for him.
(11) Gen. II,
18.
(12) Obviously not. His wife grinds the wheat and spins the flax.
(13)
Gen. II, 23, emphasis on This is now.
(14) Ibid. XII, 3, ufrcbu.
(15)
lhrcvk in Hif. is of the same rt. ( lrc ) as ufrcbu in Nif.
(16) Both
belonged to idolatrous nations and were ‘grafted’ upon the stock of
Israel. The former was the ancestress of David (V. Ruth IV, 13ff), and the
latter the mother of Rehoboam (v. I Kings XIV, 31) and his distinguished
descendants Asa, Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah.
(17) Gen. XVIII, 18.
(18) Lit.,
‘they shall stand upon the land’.
(19) Ezek. XXVII, 29.
(20)
Lit., ‘not to thee’.
(21) V. supra note 11, emphasis on
down.
(22) Apparently as a measure of economy.
(23) I.e., were it to be
ploughed ever so many times.
(24) Suggestive of a swaggering motion;
pride.
(25) Other readings and interpretations: ‘Eh! thou desirest to
be winnowed with the fan’; ‘Thou swingest thyself like a
swing’; ‘Swing thyself’ i.e., ‘be as proud as thou
wilt’ (v. Aruk and Jast.).
(26) A coin. V. Glos.
(27) vrupj may be
compared with Arab. hafire ‘the beginning of a thing’, hence the
first stage in the ripening of the corn (cf. Levy), ‘unripe ears’
(v. Rashi); ‘grass’ (Golds.); ‘common vegetables’
(Jast.).
(28) Since he must remain in his field during the night to watch the
crops.
(29) With the owners of adjoining fields.
(30) Crops for the
requirements of one's household.
(31) Corn in the market.
(32) Possessions
or household goods.
(33) Of starvation or begging (v. Rashi). Other readings
and interpretations: ‘Buy ready-made cloth and do not wind skeins’
(read khush, for kuzh, ); ‘Buy etc. and do not spin’ (v. Jast. and
Aruk).
(34) V. Bah. a.l.
(35) A small hole in a building.
(36) Cf.,
‘a stitch in time saves nine’ (Eng. prov.).
(37) If it is too
late to stop up the cracks.
(38) A wife of superior position or rank might
put on airs. or not be contented with her husband's social or financial
position.
(39) The bridegroom's best man. By associating with superior men
one has a good example to emulate.
(40) The last two words are missing in
Yalkut.
(41) Zeph. III, 6.
(42) Ibid, 7.
(43) Eccl. VII, 26.
(44) So
that when his mother, as usual, did the reverse of what she was requested by
Hiyya in the name of his father, Rab had exactly what he had wished for.
(45)
Lit., ‘improved for you’, (dative of advantage).
(46) The
expedient had not occurred to him before his son had thought of it.
(47) Jer.
IX, 4.
[477] Recently in Israel
there has been an allowance for artificial insemination of aging Jewish women
provided the semen is from a Jewish
donor.
[478] This is the case
in the state of Utah where for many generations the LDS religious has included
Jewish women and their children from Mormon
men.
[479] Judaism is a
communal and family oriented religion. A single Jewish person who is alone
should follow this axiom always since s/he does not have the support of a group
for encouragement.
[480]
Midrash Rabbah Genesis, Ch. 33. Noach
.
[481] See
2.4 Numbers – In the Wilderness –
Bamidbar p.97
[482] Advice
- Likutey Etzot, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, trans. Avraham Greenbaum,
p.216
[483] Soncino Midrash
Rabbah Deuteronomy, p.179,
1983
[484] Move outside the
circle; similar to a summoning circle of protection.
[485] ‘Sammael -
סמאל’—this
name should not be pronounced to not invoke his wrath, has vshalom. Lambs, baby
sheep dissolve the
influence.
[486] http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/475984/jewish/A-Joyous-Divorce.htm,
Excerpted from
The Mystery of Marriage by Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh
[487] http://www.shemayisrael.co.il/parsha/feinhandler/archives/bereish2.htm
[488] http://www.hakirah.org/Vol%205%20Rabinovitch.pdf
[489] See
3.3.1 Rules and
Text 3-27: Rabbi Ishmael’s
Thirteen Rules for Torah
Exposition[490] http://yeshmalasot.com/jsite/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/limit,12/limitstart,24/
[491] Contrarily the text
denies the statement, “whoever murmurs against Hashem is as if he murmured
against Moshe, kal vhomer”; since this is not from a lesser to a stricter
condition.
[492] See
11.14 Messianic Euphoria and Spiritual Similarity
and
11.15 Tzaddik
Emet[493] See Blue
Text
2-79[494] The
Judaic Tradition, Nahum N. Glatzer, pp.
467-468
[495] Rabbi Psachyah
Lichtenstein, Salt Lake City, August 7,
2005
[496] pri
haatz
[497] pri
hagafen
[498] pri
hadamah
[499] hamotzeh lehem
meen haaretz
[500] pri
hadamah
[501] minai
m’zonot
[502] The English
word ‘product’ is from the Hebrew word ‘P’ri’
– fruit.
[503] Berachot
20 quoted in Sefer Hamitzvos Hakotzer,
p.44
[504]
Ibid.
[505] My wife’s
insight
[506] Mishnah Avot,
Pinchas Kehati, Department for Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora,
Jerusalem, Page 130.
[507]
Yaakov Neuman, Salt Lake City, UT, alternatively “the wicked have ten
chances for
repayment.”
[508]
Bahir
, Kaplan, Part 2:118, p.
169.
[509] see Names of G-d
[TABLES]
[510] Shoresh means
root. The Shin all physically looks like a root extending into
branches.
[511] Hochmah, the
second sefirah
[512]
Righteousness leads to fruitfulness either physically or
spiritually.
[513] Chagigah
12a
[514] Perkei Avos
5:6
[515] http://www.hakirah.org/Volume%205.htm[516]
Perkei Avos 6:6
[517] See
11.14 Messianic Euphoria and Spiritual
Similarity[518] http://www.hakirah.org/Volume%205.htm
[519] Vitry commentary on
Perkei Avot 6:6:23
rd
point
[520] http://www.hakirah.org/Volume%205.htm “What is
“Emunat Ḥakhamim?”, Nachum Eliezer Rabinovitch, Fall 2007,
Hakira – The Flatbush Journal on Jewish Law and Thought, ISBN:
0-9765665-4-0
[521] Rabbi Aryeh
Rosenfeld, Sichos HaRan, tape
1
[522] http://books.google.com/books?id=Zdam8_8t5x8C&pg=PA247&lpg=PA247&dq=%22Faith+in+Moses%22&source=bl&ots=s6jcZ-3dgN&sig=vLIVjPYYIRpfoysa0xOZYOlQdCM&hl=en&ei=dPZ5SpTxEcaGtgeD89SWCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=%22Faith%20in%20Moses%22&f=false
7.6 Jewish Faith in Moses, “The New Testament Moses”, John
Lierman—Due to the misappropriation of Christianity, the idea of simply
believing in Moses became detailed as believing in the words of
Moses.
[523] For forming
realities from truth, World of Prayer, Elie Munk, Vol. 1, pp.
54-56
[524] Encyclopedia of
Jewish Concepts, Philip Birnbaum, pp
331-334.
[525] Rabbi Raphael
Lapin ‘Chulin Gemara Class’, San Jose,
CA.
[526] Berachot
28B
[527] Deuteronomy
28:12
[528] Ezekiel
37:13
[529] Ta’anit
2A-2B
[530] From the prayer
Shema Israel.
[531]
Breslov
, Counting the Omer Tape from Los Angeles in
1986.
[532] Adam slept next to
the animals in loneliness. The Hebrew word for intercourse is from bed
משכב or
מטה or better
mashmaesh –
משמש, which
means to handle. He did not have intercourse until he slept with Eve.