Long time no see

After some encouragement from the baal Harambam System, I will be endeavoring to post new material on this site. I admit that I have been more than lax in posting or thinking of posting for the blog and the realization that there are some who were waiting on that is encouraging. Currently I have about 15 posts that have been half done for some time including on : Mila, Tehillim 119 ( part of the larger project), Sukkos, Hakaras Hatov and Mezuza. I think the Mezuza post might appear in some form shortly.

Meir of Rothenburg and the appropriate way to treat your wife

A few months ago I found this teshuva from the Maharam Merutenberg, one of the Baalei Tosafos and a major figure in the Torah world in Medieval Ashkenaz, he is famous outside of the Torah world for his steadfast refusal to allow his student Rabbeinu Asher ben Yechiel ( the Rosh), to ransom him after his capture and detention in the Ensesisheim fortress in Alsace. That ruling may become the focus of a separate post, but I saw this teshuva recently and thought it was worthwhile posting it .

כל בן ברית חייב לכבד את אשתו יותר מגופו, עולה עמו ואינה יורדת עמו, 'בעולת בעל' כתיב, בעלייתו ולא בירידתו, לחיים נתנה ולא לצער ומספר הכתובה נלמד 'אנא אפלח ואוקיר ואיזון'

אני אעבוד ואכבד ואפרנס אותך, והמכה את אשתו מקובלני שיש יותר להחמיר בו מבמכה את חברו דבחברו אינו חייב בכבודו ובאשתו חייב בכבודה ודרך הגויים בכך, אבל חלילה וחלילה לשום בן ברית מעשות זאת והעושה יש להחרימו ולנדותו ולהלקותו ולעונשו בכל מיני רידוי ואף לקוץ את ידו אם רגיל בכך...

(שו"ת מהר"ם מרוטנבורג, דפוס פראג, סי' פא)

I did not really have anything to say about the teshuva itself, just that I think it is very interesting, I wonder under what circumstances he issued this.

Tosafists

If anyone still reads this blog they would notice that for the last few months I have been absent without leave from this page. The product of those many months was a paper on the Baalei Tosafos. I am beginning to think that this paper will mark a new phase in my learning and probably this blog ( well at least some of my learning).


http://www.scribd.com/doc/27037062/Tosafist-chiddush-final-1

And he called out there in the Name of the Lrd King of the Universe- II

I will admit that this post is taking a very long time to complete. I do not really care about that because, well, what I am trying to understand is pretty large, and I am pretty small. I have gone back and forth about how to approach this a few times, it is something that I do with trepidation. If I end up changing my mind on presentation or order, I will change

What does the argument over the well have to do with anything? Why do we care about Abraham's border conflicts?

How did Abimelech see that " G' was with Abraham" and what did he mean?

Why is the first thing that Abraham does, after settling the covenant with Abimelech, planting an Eshel ( It remains to be seen what an Eshel even is)?

And of course, how does the planting of the Eshel correspond to the last part of the verse " and he called there in the name of the Lrd King of the World" and what does that mean?


What strikes me here is the interaction of Abimelech and his general, with Abraham. It is clear that Abraham was not as militarily powerful as Abimelech and yet Abimelech takes him very seriously, from the beginning. Sure, he says that he has seen that G' is with him but what does this mean? Why would anyone with such a powerful army fear Abraham enough to cede territory to him?

I think that what you have to say here is that the interaction of Abimelech and Abraham was a manifestation of the idea of " Magen Avraham", that is, that the politcal dealings of Abraham were within the realm of Hashgacha. Abimelech saw that Hashgacha saved Abraham from Sodom ( Rashi) and it impacted his view of, and dealings with him. What then is the Eshel and its connection to this episode? Rashi brings down a machlokes in the Talmud between Rav and Shmuel, one holding that the Eshel was an orchard that bore fruit and one holding it was an inn that provided many forms of fruit to its guests. Rashi explains further that through this orchard G's name will be recognized as the Judge of the universe, because they will contemplate the source of the food and realize that it was from he who spoke and brought the world into existance.

So why then did Abraham plant the Eshel, what does it have to do with anything? I think this is a demonstration of what the proper philosophy of ownership is. Abraham was not concerned with his territorial control over the wells qua the wells themselves. What he was concerned with was the ability to control the wells in so far as they were sources of Bracha which leads to reflection. That is to say, that after he secures the wells, he rushes to actualize their potential for yedias Hashem, and he plants the Orchard/ builds the Inn so that he can foster the reflection on the source of Good. The wells provide water which in turns provides sustenance to plants , the plants in turn feed Man. Man then must recognize the true source of the sustenance, the true purpose of the wells, recognition of shem Hashem.

So according to what I am saying so far, the verse focuses on Abrahams utilization of the territory towards a yisod of the universe and not towards his own material gain. He recognizes Hashgacha as manifest in his acquisition, which forces him to reflect on the purpose of property, this causes him to dedicate the property towards Yedia.

Fine, but what does any of this have to do with the Mishneh Torah?

And Abraham planted a tamarisk-tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the L-rd, the Everlasting Gd

As I have mentioned in previous posts, the Rambam heads the entire Mishneh Torah with two verses. The first is Genesis 21:33. The following is the parasha that contains this verse ( Hebrew and English). It would seem based on the stucture of the Mishneh Torah that this verse is necessary to an overall understanding of the Mishneh Torah. I wanted to first present the verse in its context, the following is the entire section in the original and then the english translation from JPS.



כב וַיְהִי, בָּעֵת הַהִוא, וַיֹּאמֶר אֲבִימֶלֶךְ וּפִיכֹל שַׂר-צְבָאוֹ, אֶל-אַבְרָהָם לֵאמֹר: אֱלֹהִים עִמְּךָ, בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר-אַתָּה עֹשֶׂה. כג וְעַתָּה,

הִשָּׁבְעָה לִּי בֵאלֹהִים הֵנָּה, אִם-תִּשְׁקֹר לִי, וּלְנִינִי וּלְנֶכְדִּי; כַּחֶסֶד אֲשֶׁר-עָשִׂיתִי עִמְּךָ, תַּעֲשֶׂה עִמָּדִי, וְעִם-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר-גַּרְתָּה בָּהּ. כד וַיֹּאמֶר, אַבְרָהָם, אָנֹכִי, אִשָּׁבֵעַ. כה וְהוֹכִחַ אַבְרָהָם, אֶת-אֲבִימֶלֶךְ, עַל-אֹדוֹת בְּאֵר הַמַּיִם, אֲשֶׁר גָּזְלוּ עַבְדֵי אֲבִימֶלֶךְ. כו וַיֹּאמֶר אֲבִימֶלֶךְ--לֹא יָדַעְתִּי, מִי עָשָׂה אֶת-הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה; וְגַם-אַתָּה לֹא-הִגַּדְתָּ לִּי, וְגַם אָנֹכִי לֹא שָׁמַעְתִּי--בִּלְתִּי הַיּוֹם. כז וַיִּקַּח אַבְרָהָם צֹאן וּבָקָר, וַיִּתֵּן לַאֲבִימֶלֶךְ; וַיִּכְרְתוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם, בְּרִית. כח וַיַּצֵּב אַבְרָהָם, אֶת-שֶׁבַע כִּבְשֹׂת הַצֹּאן--לְבַדְּהֶן. כט וַיֹּאמֶר אֲבִימֶלֶךְ, אֶל-אַבְרָהָם: מָה הֵנָּה, שֶׁבַע כְּבָשֹׂת הָאֵלֶּה, אֲשֶׁר הִצַּבְתָּ, לְבַדָּנָה. ל וַיֹּאמֶר--כִּי אֶת-שֶׁבַע כְּבָשֹׂת, תִּקַּח מִיָּדִי: בַּעֲבוּר תִּהְיֶה-לִּי לְעֵדָה, כִּי חָפַרְתִּי אֶת-הַבְּאֵר הַזֹּאת. לא עַל-כֵּן, קָרָא לַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא--בְּאֵר שָׁבַע: כִּי שָׁם נִשְׁבְּעוּ, שְׁנֵיהֶם. לב וַיִּכְרְתוּ בְרִית, בִּבְאֵר שָׁבַע; וַיָּקָם אֲבִימֶלֶךְ, וּפִיכֹל שַׂר-צְבָאוֹ, וַיָּשֻׁבוּ, אֶל-אֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים. לג וַיִּטַּע אֶשֶׁל, בִּבְאֵר שָׁבַע; וַיִּקְרָא-שָׁם--בְּשֵׁם ה', אֵ--ל עוֹלָם. לד וַיָּגָר אַבְרָהָם בְּאֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים, יָמִים רַבִּים.



22 And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phicol the captain of his host spoke unto Abraham, saying: 'God is with thee in all that thou doest. 23 Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son; but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.' 24 And Abraham said: 'I will swear.' 25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of the well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away. 26 And Abimelech said: 'I know not who hath done this thing; neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to-day.' 27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and they two made a covenant. 28 And Abraham set seven ewe-lambs of the flock by themselves. 29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham: 'What mean these seven ewe-lambs which thou hast set by themselves?' 30 And he said: 'Verily, these seven ewe-lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that it may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.' 31 Wherefore that place was called Beer-sheba; because there they swore both of them. 32 So they made a covenant at Beer-sheba; and Abimelech rose up, and Phicol the captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines. 33 And Abraham planted a tamarisk-tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days.


I want to let this section sit alone before I put my two cents in. Due to the extreme import that verse 33 seems to have in the Mishneh Torah, I would not want to 'jump the gun' but I felt that perhaps I could open the investigation up to any readers for some mutually beneficial reflection.

What is the cure for diseases of the soul?- ומה היא תקנת חולי נפשות

An anonymous comment on the last post asked what the proper method for perfecting one's self in the area of shtika would be. The comment caused me to focus back on the method of perfecting Deos. I realize that I dont normally like to post out of order in a perek, but alas, it demands its own post .

משוך חסדך, ליודעיך; וצדקתך, לישרי לב תהילים לו,יא
O continue Thy lovingkindness unto them that know Thee; and Thy righteousness to the upright in heart.

א חולי הגוף, טועמים המר מתוק והמתוק מר. ויש מן החולים מי שמתאווה ותאב למאכלות שאינן ראויין לאכילה, כגון העפר והפחם, ושונא המאכלות הטובים, כגון הפת והבשר--הכול לפי רוב החולי. כך בני אדם שנפשותיהם חולות, מתאווים ואוהבים הדעות הרעות; ושונאים הדרך הטובה, ומתעצלים ללכת בה, והיא כבדה עליהן למאוד, לפי חוליים. וכן ישעיהו אומר באנשים הללו, "הוי האומרים לרע טוב, ולטוב רע: שמים חושך לאור ואור לחושך, שמים מר למתוק ומתוק למר" (ישעיהו ה,כ). ועליהם נאמר "העוזבים, אורחות יושר--ללכת, בדרכי חושך" (משלי ב,יג).
ב ומה היא תקנת חולי נפשות--ילכו אצל החכמים, שהם רופאי הנפשות, וירפאו חוליים בדעות, שמלמדין אותם עד שיחזירום לדרך הטובה. והמכירים בדעות הרעות שלהם, ואינם הולכים אצל החכמים לרפא אותם--עליהם אמר שלמה, "ומוסר, אווילים בזו" (משלי א,ז).
ג [ב] וכיצד היא רפואתם: מי שהוא בעל חמה--אומרים לו להנהיג עצמו שאם הוכה וקולל, לא ירגיש כלל, וילך בדרך זו זמן מרובה, עד שתיעקר החמה מליבו. ואם היה גבה לב--ינהיג עצמו בביזיון הרבה, ויישב למטה מן הכול, וילבוש בלויי סחבות המבזין את לובשיהן, וכיוצא בדברים אלו: עד שייעקר גובה הלב ממנו, ויחזור לדרך האמצעית, שהיא דרך הטובה; ולכשיחזור לדרך האמצעית, ילך בה כל ימיו.

The sick of the body taste bitter things as sweet and sweet things as bitter. There are some sicknesses which cause a desire to eat things which are not suitable for eating, such as dust and coal, and also cause a dislike of normal foods, such as bread and meat - it all depends upon the seriousness of the sickness in question. So too man who's soul is sick, desire and love the bad temperaments, and hate the good ways and try to avoid going in those ways, for the sickness makes it difficult. About such people Isaiah said, "Woe to those people who call bad good and good bad, put dark for light and light for dark and put the sweet for bitter and the bitter for sweet", and about them it is written, "...who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness".
So what is a remedy for sicknesses of the soul? Go next to wise people, for they are healers of the soul, healing it by means of temperaments which they teach until they have returned the soul to the good ways. Concerning those who recognise in themselves bad temperaments but do not go amongst wise people Solomon said, "Fools despise wisdom and instruction".

How do they cure? They tell someone who is of an angry disposition to establish himself, and that if he is hit or cursed he should not react, and he should follow this way until his angry disposition has left him. If he was haughty, he should subject himself to a lot of disgrace and sit low down, and should dress in torn rags which are a discredit to normal clothes, and do similar things until his haughtiness has left him and he returns to the middle way, which is the good way. Once he has returned to the middle way he should follow it for the rest of his life. Other temperaments should be treated in this manner - if one was far over to one extreme, one should move oneself to the other extreme and accustom oneself to it for a long time, until one has returned to the good way, which is the intermediate characteristic that each and every temperament has.

I wanted to clarify something that I know personally I often overlook. Most people are aware that the Rambam advises that one must go to the opposite extreme in order to address a character defect and then moderate himself. What is sad is that this halacha is often learned while ignoring the prior law. The essential cure for deos diseases is consulting a Chacham. ומה היא תקנת חולי נפשות--ילכו אצל החכמים and not rashly changing one's deos on their own.

The derech chachma of adjusting deos is to go to a chacham and speak with him. This is Not a rash self diagnosis but rather a careful consultation with an expert. The Rambam does not advocate hasty pendulum swings in deos. Halacha 2 ( 3) must be viewed in the context of the prior statement, that the cholei hanefesh must go to a Rofeh Nefashos to heal them, and the method that the Doctor will proscribe will involve a careful adjustment of the character through the method described.

לעולם ירבה אדם בשתיקה Man should always maximize silence

משוך חסדך, ליודעיך; וצדקתך, לישרי לב תהילים לו,יא
O continue Thy lovingkindness unto them that know Thee; and Thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
ח [ד] לעולם ירבה אדם בשתיקה, ולא ידבר אלא בדבר חכמה או בדברים שהוא צריך להן לחיי גופו. אמרו על רב תלמיד רבנו
הקדוש, שלא שח שיחה בטילה כל ימיו--וזו היא שיחת רוב כל אדם. ואפילו בצורכי הגוף, לא ירבה אדם דברים. ועל זה ציוו חכמים ואמרו, כל המרבה דברים, מביא חטא; ואמרו לא מצאתי לגוף טוב, אלא שתיקה.
ט וכן בדברי תורה ובדברי חכמה--יהיו דברי החכם מועטים, וענייניהם מרובים. והוא שציוו חכמים ואמרו, לעולם ישנה אדם לתלמידו דרך קצרה. אבל אם היו הדברים מרובים והעניין מועט, הרי זו סכלות; ועל זה נאמר "כי בא החלום, ברוב עניין; וקול כסיל, ברוב דברים" (קוהלת ה,ב).
י [ה] סייג לחכמה, שתיקה. לפיכך לא ימהר להשיב, ולא ירבה לדבר; וילמד לתלמידים בשובה ונחת, בלא צעקה, בלא אריכות לשון. הוא ששלמה אומר, "דברי חכמים, בנחת נשמעים" (קוהלת ט,יז).

" Man should always maximize silence, he should only speak words of chachama or things which are necessary for the life of his body. It is said about Rav the talmid of Rabbeinu Hakadosh ( Rabbi Judah the Prince), that he did not converse in meaningless conversation his entire life, this is the conversation of the majority of Mankind. Even with regards to physical needs, Man should not maximize his words. On this commandment the Sages said " All who increase their words bring sin. They said, there is nothing found that is better for the body than silence.

This applies also to words of Torah and words of wisdom. The words of a chacham should be minimal and the concepts widespread.This is what the sages commanded and said 'Man should always teach his students in a concise manner'. However, if the words are many and the concept small,this is foolishness. Regardung this it says : "For a dream cometh through a multitude of business; and a fool's voice through a multitude of words."( Ecclesiastes 5:2)

Silence is a protection to chachma, therefore one should not rush to answer, nor increase his words, and one should teach his students quietly,without shouting, without lengthy words, this is as Solomon said "The words of the wise spoken in quiet are more acceptable than the cry of a ruler among fools."( Ecclesiastes 9:17)

Questions:

A) What is the Rambam's concept of " Shtika"( silence)
B) What is the perfection of Shtika?
C) Why should man limit even the words of chachama that he speaks?

Perhaps the best way to define Silence and answer our questions is to define the opposite, namely speech. I believe that speech is a declarative action about reality. The speaker conveys his or her vision for reality, or of reality to the world. I know this sounds a bit far fetched, why dont we try it out. " I am tired", the person who makes this statement usually wishes that he was not tired, that he had an alternative reality. " I have work Tomorrow", again , the person is bearing testimony to a reality. ( I can keep going on with these examples , but in the interest of brevity, and not going on anymore, I will stop). Every phrase that the speaker utters is a reflection of the speakers view of reality. This is so because the fact that the person speaks about something means that his view of anything is important in and of itself.
The speaking itself, let alone what is being spoken reflects the worldview of the speaker, one who occupies himself with discussing chachma makes a different statement than one who talks about that beautiful loaf that he found at the market, or the latest gossip. Again, the subject that we choose to speak about reflects our notion of the good on one level, ( the person who only speaks about food clearly values food above all else, he declares that the reality of the universe exists for his tase experience). The fact that we choose to speak is itself also our very own declaration of what reality is. Speaking acts as a stamp on reality, a declaration that something IS or Should be.
If this is the case what is the problem with speaking words of chachma ( or speaking too much)? Surely, words of chachma ARE reality, what harm can be done with lengthy discourse in matters of reality? The problem with over speaking with chachma is the same as it is with anything else, speaking is a declaration or commentary on reality by the speaker. When one is engaged in chachma it has to be clear that the davar is not "his" reality but Realities Reality. The speaker who goes overboard even speaking chachma makes the statement that reality is as he perceives it and is no other way, ( definitively, in explaining an idea you are declaring that the idea IS as YOU see it) this is itself a distortion of reality. We know that no man can perceive reality as it really is and as such lengthening words is muddying the waters.

Therefore, shtika, allows for the removal of man from his desire and practice of making declarations about reality. Shtika allows the person to appreciate reality without imprinting himself on reality or confirming or denying reality. Silence is a defense to wisdom because it helps to slow or prevent the distortions created when we speak.

I found an interesting halacha in the first chapter of the Yisodei HaTorah:
יד ואין לו לא מוות ולא חיים כחיי הגוף החי, ולא סכלות ולא חכמה כחכמת האיש החכם, לא שינה ולא הקיצה, ולא כעס ולא שחוק, ולא שמחה ולא עצבות, ולא שתיקה ולא דיבור כדיבור האדם. כך אמרו חכמים, אין למעלה לא ישיבה ולא עמידה, לא עורף ולא עיפוי

"He does not have death, nor life like that of a body that is living, nor foolishness nor wisdom like the wisdom of a Man who is a sage, neither sleep nor waking, neither anger nor levity, and not happiness or sadness, Not silence and not speech like the speech of a man. Thus said the sages, there is no sitting nor standing no back and no fatigue"

This halacha is of course from the very first chapter of the laws of the foundations of the Torah. I found it interesting that the Rambam uses the anthropomorphisms that he does. Particularly " no shtika and no Speech like that of a Man". The " attributes" are phrases that we use to attempt to understand G' by comparing him to our experiential data. It is interesting that we do not have an idea of " Shtika" in terms of G' but we do have an idea of "Dibur". I think, that this could be pointing to the potential idea of shtika from hilchos deos. Dibur of G' is the manifestation of chachma. Chachmas Hashem is manifest in the creation, Neviim experience chachma manifested even further because they are at highly perfected levels of thought and deed, " and G' spoke to Moses saying". " Dibur" in terms of G' is reality.Shtika could not be appropriated to G' because there is no alternative to Reality being manifest.

שאין העולם מתקיים, אלא בהבל פיהם של תינוקות של בית רבן. The world is only sustained because of the breath of children in the house of study

משוך חסדך, ליודעיך; וצדקתך, לישרי לב

In Matt's comment on the last post he quoted the following Midrash from Kallah Rabbasi :

Every day a malach goes out before the Kadosh Baruch Hu to destroy the world, but once the Kadosh Baruch Hu gazes upon the tinokos shel beis rabban and the talmidei chachamim, immediately His anger turns to mercy.



Matt also pointed to the gemara in Shabbos 119b which says: "The world is only sustained by the breath of the tinokos shel beis rabban."

What does these two Midrashim mean? What is the benefit of the Tinokos shel Beis Rabban that we can say that the world is saved because of them?

This idea is brought down by the Rambam in the second chapter of the laws of Talmud Torah ( first halacha):

א מושיבין מלמדי תינוקות בכל מדינה ומדינה, ובכל פלך ופלך. וכל עיר שאין בה תינוקות של בית רבן--מחרימין את אנשי העיר, עד שמושיבין מלמד תינוקות; ואם לא הושיבו, מחריבין את העיר: שאין העולם מתקיים, אלא בהבל פיהם של תינוקות של בית רבן.
" You establish childhood educators in each and every province and each and every town. Any city that does not have an educator for its children- the men of the city are placed in excommunication until they sit an educator for the children. If they do not seat an educator, you destroy the city, because the world is only sustained through the breath of the mouths of the children in the study house"

Again, we see that the " world is only sustained through the breath of the children in the house of study". The Rambam is quite clear that every city must have an educator for its children or risk excommunication or loss of the city. What is the importance of this?

I find it interesting that the midrash states that the Kadosh Baruch Hu gazes at the children and the Talmidei Chachamim and his " anger" is assuaged. In the other two formulations I have presented only the children are emphasized. I think this is a hint.

The world is only sustained through the breath of the children in the study house. I believe that this is refering to the Mesorah of yedias Hashem. In other words the world is only sustained if there is a system of training humanity to be knowers of G'. Humanity as a species has a goal of recognizing and " knowing" G' , Am Israel is tasked with being humanities teachers. If Am Israel does not create and maintain a system of education in this concept then Humanity will not live in line with its purpose. As such the world will not be sustainable since it's purpose is no longer fulfilled ( that is, it will fall within another realm of law since it has failed to foster Yedia { " Hashem's Anger"}). This is why the Rambam includes the law that a city that does not seat an educator is excommunicated and then risks destruction. It has failed to perform its most important goal as a city which is to be a tool of perpetuating Yedias Hashem and when it has relinquished this priority it has relinquished its hold on existance.

Why then is there a slight difference between the aggadita in Shabbos ( as quoted also by the Rambam) which states that only the breath of the children sustains the world, and the midrash in Kallah Rabasi which mentions the image of Tinnokos and Talmidei Chachamim "assuaging" the Kadosh Baruch Hu? These two phrases are in reality two expressions of one idea. Talmidei Chachamim are the active and current teachers of humanity, they are the ones with the greatest understanding and those who are most capable of spreading Yedia. Children in the house of study are not yet active tools of yedia, rather they are the material from which Yodei Hashem are formed. In other words the "sight" of Talmidei chachamim and Tinokos is really the expression that Humanity as a SPECIES is engaged in the recognition of G' and not merely as a generational occupation. The inclusion of both Talmidei Chachamim and Tinokos, demonstrates that humanity is engaged perpetually in the process of Yediah. Both generations point to our essential purpose. The world is only sustained through the Human species' recognition of Yedias Hashem, and this can only be accomplished through being maishiv melamdei Tinokos and fostering the " Hevel Pihem shel Tinokos shel Beis Rabban"

I wanted to take this opportunity with this idea on my lips, to be personally Meshabeach the Kadosh Baruch Hu for a great blessing he has bestowed on me,the birth of my niece,Meora Lila, the first of her generation. May it be his will that she grow into a woman of valor , one with yedias Hashem, a true expression of the verse in Micah 6
"ח הִגִּיד לְךָ אָדָם, מַה-טּוֹב; וּמָה-יְהוָה דּוֹרֵשׁ מִמְּךָ, כִּי אִם-עֲשׂוֹת מִשְׁפָּט וְאַהֲבַת חֶסֶד, וְהַצְנֵעַ לֶכֶת, עִם-אֱלֹ-ֶךָ.
It hath been told thee, O man, what is good, and what the LORD doth require of thee: only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk modestly with thy G.

Vnahafoch hu

As some of you may know, I am a substitute teacher in a local yeshiva. Most days you can find me teaching Science or Math, English or History, ( or trying to impart some sort of valuable lesson in the short time I know I have with the students). Last week I had the unusual opportunity to sub for a Rebbi who normally teaches Mishna and Navi. The Rebbi was very nice and told me that I could teach whatever I felt comfortable with. Since I had no time to prepare, I decided to whip out a Tanach and begin Megillat Estair. What happened afterward was astonishing.

I open my Tanach and ask that the students turn to the beginning of Megillat Estair so we can start reading. Before I began I asked if anyone knew the story, no hands went up. I asked, " Wait a minute guys, you mean to tell me that you have never learned Megillat Estair?". The hands went up with the realization that maybe they did know. After a brief investigation into their prior knowledge I made the following statement, " Ok, what I want to do is read the pesukim and see what the pesukim alone say, lets try and read this like a story".

I began reading, "א וַיְהִי, בִּימֵי אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ: הוּא אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ, הַמֹּלֵךְ מֵהֹדּוּ וְעַד-כּוּשׁ--שֶׁבַע וְעֶשְׂרִים וּמֵאָה, מְדִינָה. ב בַּיָּמִים, הָהֵם--כְּשֶׁבֶת הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ, עַל כִּסֵּא מַלְכוּתוֹ, אֲשֶׁר, בְּשׁוּשַׁן הַבִּירָה. ג בִּשְׁנַת שָׁלוֹשׁ, לְמָלְכוֹ, עָשָׂה מִשְׁתֶּה, לְכָל-שָׂרָיו וַעֲבָדָיו: חֵיל פָּרַס וּמָדַי, הַפַּרְתְּמִים וְשָׂרֵי הַמְּדִינוֹת--לְפָנָיו. ד בְּהַרְאֹתוֹ, אֶת-עֹשֶׁר כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ, וְאֶת-יְקָר, תִּפְאֶרֶת גְּדוּלָּתוֹ; יָמִים רַבִּים, שְׁמוֹנִים וּמְאַת יוֹם

At this point I made sure that everyone understood what we had just read. Then I read the following pesukim:

וּבִמְלוֹאת הַיָּמִים הָאֵלֶּה, עָשָׂה הַמֶּלֶךְ לְכָל-הָעָם הַנִּמְצְאִים בְּשׁוּשַׁן הַבִּירָה לְמִגָּדוֹל וְעַד-קָטָן מִשְׁתֶּה--שִׁבְעַת יָמִים: בַּחֲצַר, גִּנַּת בִּיתַן הַמֶּלֶךְ. ו חוּר כַּרְפַּס וּתְכֵלֶת, אָחוּז בְּחַבְלֵי-בוּץ וְאַרְגָּמָן, עַל-גְּלִילֵי כֶסֶף, וְעַמּוּדֵי שֵׁשׁ; מִטּוֹת זָהָב וָכֶסֶף, עַל רִצְפַת בַּהַט-וָשֵׁשׁ--וְדַר וְסֹחָרֶת. ז וְהַשְׁקוֹת בִּכְלֵי זָהָב, וְכֵלִים מִכֵּלִים שׁוֹנִים; וְיֵין מַלְכוּת רָב, כְּיַד הַמֶּלֶךְ. ח וְהַשְּׁתִיָּה כַדָּת, אֵין אֹנֵס: כִּי-כֵן יִסַּד הַמֶּלֶךְ, עַל כָּל-רַב בֵּיתוֹ--לַעֲשׂוֹת, כִּרְצוֹן אִישׁ-וָאִישׁ. {ס}
ט גַּם וַשְׁתִּי הַמַּלְכָּה, עָשְׂתָה מִשְׁתֵּה נָשִׁים--בֵּית, הַמַּלְכוּת, אֲשֶׁר, לַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ. י בַּיּוֹם, הַשְּׁבִיעִי, כְּטוֹב לֵב-הַמֶּלֶךְ, בַּיָּיִן--אָמַר לִמְהוּמָן בִּזְּתָא חַרְבוֹנָא בִּגְתָא וַאֲבַגְתָא, זֵתַר וְכַרְכַּס, שִׁבְעַת הַסָּרִיסִים, הַמְשָׁרְתִים אֶת-פְּנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ. יא לְהָבִיא אֶת-וַשְׁתִּי הַמַּלְכָּה, לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ--בְּכֶתֶר מַלְכוּת: לְהַרְאוֹת הָעַמִּים וְהַשָּׂרִים אֶת-יָפְיָהּ, כִּי-טוֹבַת מַרְאֶה הִיא. יב וַתְּמָאֵן הַמַּלְכָּה וַשְׁתִּי, לָבוֹא בִּדְבַר הַמֶּלֶךְ, אֲשֶׁר, בְּיַד הַסָּרִיסִים; וַיִּקְצֹף הַמֶּלֶךְ מְאֹד, וַחֲמָתוֹ בָּעֲרָה בוֹ.

As I read I asked the students small story related questions. Nothing too dificult.

First I asked " What was the reason according to the pasuk that Achashverosh wanted to throw a party?"

The answers flooded in: " Well, Achashverosh wanted to make the Jews eat off of the keilim of the Beit Hamikdash", another child says " No your wrong! He wanted to make the Jews eat non kosher!" . At this point I gently reminded the students that our focus was on what we were reading in the verses and not Midrashim, I just wanted the reasons given in the verses at first.

Why would Achashverosh make two parties?

Again, the first round was a flood of Midrashim, or Midrashim filtered from a Rebbi to fifth graders. Again I prompt them to only read the verses themselves, listen to my translation, tell me what the story says first and then tell me according to what the story says what the explanation could be.

Finally I ask them to close their eyes and picture they are the most powerful political leader in the known world. What would you want to make sure you did first?

Suddenly like it was an entirely different question than what I was asking from the pesukim, the students come alive with excitement. " Well, " Rabbi", the first thing I would do would be to make sure the people knew how rich I was!", I ask why? " Because you need to show them you are powerful".

The reason why I went through this whole story is to illustrate two things which blew me away.

The first is the tremendous lacking in my opinion, in the way we teach our students in the normative Yeshiva/ day School setting. The sum total of the students knowledge of Megillat Estair was Midrashic. They did not even know the simple story of the first few lines without the midrashic attachments. Please understand why I believe this is a problem. Midrashim are divrei Chazal and should be studied. However, they are also ripe with esoterica and psychological ideas that a) must be understood and b) do not belong in a 5th grade class room. Also, let us never confuse the fact that the Pshuto shel Mikrah is NOT THE SAME AS THE MIDRASH. I never fully understood the impact that premature exposure to midrashim had on students until this episode. The students were unable to work with the verses separate from the Midrashim. Even when asked to translate the verses they resorted to giving a midrashic translation! It was not until I removed them from the verses and had them imagine themselves in my constructed scenarion that they could give a non midrash influenced explanation for anything.

Second was the amazing potential for actual thought that these students posess at such a young age. When finally removed from the world of the Midrash they were fully able to think about an explanation for what I was asking. ( I was not intending for them to give grandiose sevaras, simply to understand the story better). When the students were unleashed from the chains of what they had been taught their little minds were quick to answer all of the questions posed to them. This was a sheer delight to witness.

In short, my brief experience in the trenches of chinuch was eye opening. Never in my wildest dreams could I believe that 5th grade exposure to Midrashim was so ripe. ( Bear in mind that not too long ago I was in a very similar situation as these 5th graders, which has me really wondering about Midrashic impact on my learning) I always knew we taught too many midrashim and too early, but I had assumed this as an abstraction, I never bothered to think about its practical educational impact. The fact that these midrashim handicapped the students from learning the pshat of the text!

On the opposite side, I was very happy to see that if in fact the students were prompted to think and not spit forth misunderstood midrashic pablum, then in fact they were quite capable of energetic and appropriate learning.

Cool Breezes

Today is a beautiful day outside. I have my windows open and the cool breeze is filling my room. I do not have a point to this post other than to state my gratitude for such an experience and to still be alive to smell the air. To think about what an amazing system we are part of is truly something to smile about.

Format Change

Ok so clearly I have opted to change the color scheme on the blog
I must admit though that I have very little idea as to what colors everything is
so,
if it is totally strange looking and that is a distraction
please dear readers,
tell me.

To my Readers ( all 3 of you)

Ok Ladies and Gents, I have recently had some requests for a color change on the blog, some are having a hard time reading the posts on the blog as the blog is and since a) I want people to read it and b) it is a blog and not a chore, I want to know what people think

Please Keep the Following in mind,

I like the current format and the current color scheme

I am Color Blind so this one is easy for me to read, the Ochre has a font that just doesnt work with my eyes, if someone wants to fiddle with permutations let me know but I cant do it.

Feynman and Ahavah through Matter

Growing up my oldest brother was a physics buff. He would read physics textbooks for fun and it is from his mouth that I first heard the name Richard Phillips Feynman (1918-1988). Feynman was a particularly interesting individual who has my eternal love for teaching me every bit of physics that I know. This morning on the train I started re-reading the great work Six Easy Pieces- Essentials of Physics Explained by its most Brilliant Teacher. I always expect to get blown away by something in Feynman's work and this morning was no exception, the passage reproduced below is almost exactly the description that my Rebbi gave me of the way an Ohev Hashem views creation and I wanted to share Feynmans description in hopes of assisting with an ahavah reflection.

Matter is made of Atoms

"If, in some cataclysm, all scientific knowledge were to be destroyed, and only one sentence passed on to the next generations of creatures, what statement would contain the most information in the fewest words? I believe it is the atomic hypothesis ( or the atomic fact , or whatever you wish to call it) that all things ae made of atoms- little particles that move around in perpetual motion, attracing each other when they are a little distance apart , but repelling upon being squeezed into one another. In that one sentence, you will see, there is an enormous amount of information about the world, if just a little imagination and thinking are applied.

To illustrate the power of the atomic idea, suppose that we have a drop of water a quarter of an inch on the side. If we look at it very closely we see nothing but water- smooth, continuous water. Even if we magnify it with the best optical microscope available- roughly two thousand times- then the water drop will be roughly forty feet across, about as big as a large room, and if we looked rather closely, we would still see relatively smooth water- but here and there smal football shaped things swimming back and forth. Very interesting. These are paramecia. You may stop at this point and get so curious about the paramecia with their wiggling cilia and twisting bodies that you go no further, except perhaps to magnify the paramecia still more and see inside. This, of course, is a subject for biology, but for the present we pass on and look still more closely at the water material itself, magnifying it two thousand times again. Now the drop of water extends about fifteen miles across, and if we look very closely at it we see a kind of teeming, something which no longer has a smooth appearance- it looks something like a crowd at a football game as seen from a very great distance. In order to see what this teeming is about, we will magnify it another two hundred fifty times and we will see something similar to what is shown in Figure 1-1( not shown). This is a picture of water magnified a billion times, but idealized in several ways... Notice that there are two kinds of " blobs" or circles to represent the atoms of oxygen and hydrogen, and that each oxygen has two hydrogens tied to it. ( Each little group of an oxygen with its two hydrogens is called a molecule) The picture is idealized further in that the real particles in nature are continually jiggling and bouncing, turning and twisting around one another. You will have to imagine this as a dynamic rather than a static picture. Another thing that cannot be illustrated in a drawing is the fact that the particles are " stuck together"- that they attract each other, this one pulled by that one etc. The whole goup is " glued together", so to speak. On the other hand, the particles do not squeeze through each other. If you try to squeeze two of them too close together, they repel.

The atoms are one or two times ten to the neagative 8th cm in radius. Now ten to the negative eight cm is called an angstrom ( just as another name), so we say 1 or 2 angstroms ( A) in radius. Another way to remember their size is this: if an apple is magnified to the size of the earth , then the atoms in the apple are approximately the size of the original apple.

Now imagine this great drop of water with all of these jiggling particles stuck together and tagging along with each other. The water keeps its volume; it does not fall apart, because of the attraction of the molecules for each other. If the drop is on a slope, where it can move from one place to another , the water will flow, but it does not dissappear- things do not just fly apart- because of molecular attraction. Now the jiggling motion is what we reoresent as heat: when we increase the temperature, we increase the motion. If we heat the water, the jiggling increases and the volume between the atoms increases, and if the heating continues there comes a time whrn the pull between the molecules is not enough to hold them together and the fo fly apart and become separated from one another. Of course , this is how we manufacture steam out of water, by increasing the temperature; the particles fly apart becayse of the increased motion."

Feynman continues in this vein throughout the entire book , I thought his ability to illustrate the idea through zooming in on it was particularly useful.

The Highways of Perfection

The following is also posted on Rambamsystemreview.blogspot.com and was the result of my ride home this evening:

So I was driving home tonight from the Beis Hatzelamim, ( Brooklyn not YU). I am on the Southern State Parkway and I look into my mirror. What I saw behind me struck me although its nothing I haven't seen before. It was a long line of headlights stretching as far as I could see.Then I looked at the other lane, the Westbound lanes and it was the same thing. Then I looked at my GPS and saw the long expanse of highway.

These cars seemed to go on forever , until you look at the Highway itself which is so much bigger. The great thing about the GPS is you can literally "zoom" out and when I got home just now that's what I did. First all of Long Island appears then New York and New Jersey, then the East Coast then the entire Country . As much as these cars seemed to go on forever, the highway was bigger. As long as the Highway seemed to be the State was bigger as expansive as the State is it pales in comparison to the Continent, the Planet and the Universe. Think about it! That is insane. And every part of this huge universe is governed by law from me sitting in my car at 80 mph to the Planets revolving at their speeds and everything in between.

In short: Wow.

How I Use the Mishneh Torah

My last post on Bizui Talmidei Chachamim violated some fundamental rules of my understanding of the operating system of the Mishneh Torah. Thanks to Matt for catching it. I wanted to detail what I think the proper way in general to approach the work is and then delineate the misstep that I took in the last post.

The Basic Organization of the Mishneh Torah
As I stated in the presentation of Psalms 119 earlier, the Rambam had a very specific organizational scheme in the writing/ presentation of the Mishneh Torah. The work is comprised of 14 books. The entire Mishneh Torah is headed by two verses,

בשם ה', אל עולם בראשית כא,לג
אז, לא אבוש--בהביטי, אל כל מצוותיך תהילים קיט,ו

33 {And Abraham planted a tamarisk-tree in Beer-sheba}, and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God

6 Then should I not be ashamed, when I have regard unto all Thy commandments.

Immediately after the initial two verses the Rambam places his Hakdamah, his preface to the entire work.The Hakdamah itself has multiple parts, first the preface, then the minyan Hamitzvot the numbering of the commandments both aseh and Lo Ta'aseh and the chalukas haSeforim the delineation and division of each book including the theme of each book and the entire list of every commandment in each book. Following the end of the Hakdamah there again is a verse which heads the first book sefer HaMada'a.[ Sefer HaMada'a I believe is the first book because of its fundamental necessity to the entire corpus of knowledge to follow]. After the verse at the head of each book is the listing of the Halachik sections that are included in the book, these are divided into the mitzvot in each section. Each Halachik section is titled and headed. The heading counts the number of commandments included and lists them. After the heading "Koteret" the chapters begin. Each chapter is divided into laws, each progressing into the next.

How to utilize the Organization

To my knowledge and according to my understanding of the training I have recieved from the scholar of Maimonides' System I have come up with the following rules to properly using the Mishneh Torah.

The Hakdamah is of utmost importance. This is true of any work of a chacham and especially true with Maimonides. The Rambam wrote the preface to give a background and explanation for the necessity of the Mishneh Torah. Within the Hakdamah the numbering of the commandments and divison of the books are carefully written to instruct about the organization of the system. Before using the Mishneh Torah it is highly important to carefully study the preface.

Each book starts with an initial verse. [ This paragraph applies to the two verses before the hakdamah as well] These verses give a general guidline for what the book is about. For example, the verse at the head of Sefer Hamada'a is :
משוך חסדך, ליודעיך; וצדקתך, לישרי לב
This verse " continue your kindness to those who know you and your Justice to the upright of heart" contains ideas that are necessary to the understanding of each and every law contained in the book.

Each Halachik section contains the heading with the number and formulation of the commandments contained in it. It is necessary to read through this section carefully noting the formulation of the commandments. Each Law will fit into one of the commandments listed.

Each chapter is a progression Law into Law principle into principle. Therefore , it is necessary to read the ENTIRE CHAPTER in order and NEVER to CHERRY PICK an individual law.

The order of each chapter is itself intentional. Ideally one should read the entire section thoroughly and see a progression from chapter to chapter.

In other words, the verse at the head of the work contains a general idea into which the entire work will fit, each and every law. The individual book in turn has a verse that contains the principle that the entire book, each and every law will fall in line with. Each section's heading contains the commandments that will be dealt with in that section. Each law must follow from one of the listed commandments. It is possible to go from the verse at the head of the work to the verse at the head of the book to the section, commandment, chapter and eventually down to the very individual law and they will all fall into a hierarchichal system. [ Or vice versa, it is possible, and a good excersize that I was shown by the scholar of Maimonides' System to go from law, to chapter, to commandment to verse all the way up the ladder to the core principle of the work]


It could be that one who carefully studies the Mishneh Torah will come to see that the system works differently than I have described. I would not be surprised. It is clear however, that there IS a system of the Mishneh Torah. If one fails to study this system they will be failing to utilize the work as was intended. If you do not think this is important look at it like this. You go to the dealership and buy a brand new sports car. Its a hot little number and you can not wait to go out on the highway and get it up to speed, Oh to think about just how much joy this little blue car will give you! There is only one problem. The car is a stick shift and Alas!, you only know how to drive automatic. You would not risk ruining your investment , burning out the clutch and ending up a heaping wreck on the side of the road after deciding not to learn how to drive a manual. What you would do is go to a teacher and make very sure that you know how to drive that car so that you ensure that you get the maximum returns on your investment and G' forbid destroy it before you even got to enjoy it. I think the same is true with the Mishneh Torah. The author carefully organized and formulated the entire work. It is important to understand what the organizational scheme of the work is and how it is meant to be used so that you ensure the proper functioning and maximum returns.

Bizui Talmidei Chachamim-וכל המבזה את החכמים--אין לו חלק לעולם הבא Repost to illustrate faulty Methodology

I have left this post as is to illustrate the OPPOSITE of what I was explaining in the post immediately above this. The major mistake that I committed was to ingore the end of the chapter. I read the entire chapter , as I should have and then conveniently forgot it. Thus, I violated one of my rules and " CHERRY PICKED" a halacha. What resulted was a 'problem' that did not exist.


משוך חסדך, ליודעיך; וצדקתך, לישרי לב
" O continue Thy lovingkindness unto them that know Thee; and Thy righteousness to the upright in heart

The laws pertaining to Talmidei Chachamim are codified by the Rambam in the Laws of Talmud Torah. There are two commandments in this section:

יש בכללן שתי מצוות עשה--(א) ללמוד תורה; (ב) לכבד מלמדיה ויודעיה. וביאור שתי מצוות אלו בפרקים אלו
A) to Learn Torah B) To honor its teachers and those who know it.

Chapter Six law 13:
יג [יא] עוון גדול הוא לבזות את החכמים, או לשנוא אותן: לא חרבה ירושלים, עד שביזו בה תלמידי חכמים--שנאמר "ויהיו מלעיבים, במלאכי האלוהים, ובוזים דבריו, ומיתעתעים בנביאיו" (דברי הימים ב לו,טז), כלומר בוזים מלמדי דבריו. וכן זה שאמרה תורה, "אם בחוקותיי תמאסו" (ויקרא כו,טו)--מלמדי חוקותיי תמאסו. וכל המבזה את החכמים--אין לו חלק לעולם הבא, והרי הוא בכלל "כי דבר ה' בזה" (במדבר טו,לא

" It is a tremendous sin to denegrate Chachamim, or to hate them. Jerusalem was only destroyed after Talmidei Chachamim were denegrated in it, as the verse states ,'16 but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets,{ until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy}' Which means the degradation of the teachers of his word. This is like what the Torah states, '15 and if ye shall reject My statutes, {and if your soul abhor Mine ordinances, so that ye will not do all My commandments, but break My covenant}', the teachers of my ordinances you reject. Anyone who degrades Chachamim has no portion in the World to Come, and he is in the category of '31 Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken His commandment; that soul shall utterly be cut off, his iniquity shall be upon him.'

It would appear that the degradation of a Talmid Chacham is a major infraction. It is such an imperfaction that the person who commits this act loses his share in the world to come. What is the sin in denegrating a Chacham?Furthermore, the Rambam delineates those who lose thier portion in the world to come in the laws of repentance and does not mention " Hamevazeh talmideai Chachamim" how do we resolve this discrepancy.
יד [ו] ואלו שאין להן חלק לעולם הבא, אלא נכרתין ואובדין, ונידונין על גודל רשעם וחטאתם, לעולם ולעולמי עולמים: המינים, והאפיקורוסים, והכופרים בתורה, והכופרים בתחיית המתים, והכופרים בביאת הגואל, והמשומדים, ומחטיאי הרבים, והפורשים מדרכי ציבור, והעושה עבירות ביד רמה בפרהסיה כיהויקים, והמוסרים, ומטילי אימה על הציבור שלא לשם שמיים, ושופכי דמים, ובעלי לשון הרע, והמושך עורלתו

The following types of people have no share in the World to Come, and are cut off, destroyed and excommunicated for ever on account of their very great sins and wickedness: A Min; am Apikores; one who denies the Torah; one who denies that there will be a Resurrection; one who denies that there will be a Redemption; one who converts from Judaism; one who causes a lot of people to sin; one who withdraws from communal ways; one who publicly sins in a defiant way like Jehoiakim did; an informer [against Jews]; one who instills fear in the congregation but not in the Name of God; a murderer; one who relates loshan ho'rah; and one who pulls back his foreskin.

The Rambam details the definition of each and everyone of the types of person that lose their portion in the later laws. However, he does not mention the previously stated law of one who disgraces Talmidei Chachamim. What is the general concept of Chelek Olam Habah and what would it mean to lose the Chelek. Additionally what is the principle governing the Rambam's listing?

To be continued...

The Foxes walk upon it

"And at the same time they will come to understand and see that it is the Rebbe who runs this world, until he comes to take us out of galus."

The author of the above statement is one Rabbi Boruch Shalom Cunin. Rabbi Cunin was personally appointed shaliach to the West Coast of the United States by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late leader of the Lubavitch movement.This statement is astonishing in its sadness and terrifying in its explicitness.

I would like to contrast this statement to one of Zecharia that many have the minhag of saying at the end of the Aleinu.

ט והיה יהוה למלך, על-כל-הארץ; ביום ההוא, יהיה יהוה אחד--ושמו אחד.
"And it will be that the Lrd is King over all the Land, on that day he and his name will be unified"
This is the idea of Yimos Hamashiach according to Zechariah . It is a period of time when the entire world recognizes the reality of the Kingship of G and serves him accordingly. His name and He will be unified, in other words the entire world will desire to serve only the true conception of G. No longer will man serve the desires of his heart nor the lusts of his eyes. Currently there are those that serve G and those that serve a distorted notion of G, I believe that the unification at the end of the pasuk refers to an era when there will be no more distortions of the real Name of G and everyone will serve the Creator of Heaven and Earth.

The statement of Rabbi Cunin is disturbing in its fundamental denial of G and its sheer brazenness. What Rabbi Cunin is saying has reached a new pinnacle in heresy. " At the same time", similar phraseology as Zecharia, Cunin is longing for the day when," they will come to understand", presumably he means the world, this would I suppose include those who accept the 13 Ikkarim," that it is the Rebbe who runs the world until he comes to take us out of Galus".

Rabbi Cunin has replaced G with the Rebbe, he longs for the day that mankind will pervert themselves into believing that Menachem Mendel Schneerson is G, and at that time the Rebbi will return and save Rabbi Cunin from Galus.


So it is quite clear. The G of Israel is not the G of Rabbi Cunin. This is sad enough. It is a tragedy that one person has a faulty idea but this tragedy is magnified when we consider who he is. Rabbi Cunin is in the position to influence thousands upon thousands of Jews via his work as the head of Chabad in California and Nevada. This is the real tragedy, not only does Rabbi Cunin believe the most despicable of beliefs but he is a teacher and advisor to thousands of Jews. I do not know if Rabbi Cunin is alone in his belief, I pray that he is although I suspect he is not. This makes a clear statement about his movement however. Any movement that will allow one of its leaders to harbor these ideas is clearly not dedicated to the ikkarim. The presence of what would seem like authentic Jewish leaders declaring these perversions is the real tragedy of our time.

The crown is fallen from our head; woe unto us! for we have sinned.For this our heart is faint, for these things our eyes are dim;For the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it.

Psalms 119 and the Code of Maimonides

The Mishneh Torah is divided into 14 books. Before the 14 books is the Hakdamah. The Rambam organized each book in a logical order halacha following from halacha, perek from perek, section from section. At the head of each book there is a pasuk from Nach, this is a heading for the entire book to follow ( and is the essential 'theme'). Following the Pasuk is the table of contents for that book, what halacha sections are where, each of these sections is prefaced by a Koteres, a heading that lists and categorizes all the commandments in that section ( aseh or Lo Ta'aseh). The following chapter is Psalms 119 the Rambam heads 8 of his 14 books with verses from this chapter, as such a keen understanding of this section will no doubt open worlds within the Mishneh Torah. Below is the chapter with the heading verses hyperlinked to their sefer to ease reference.

א אַשְׁרֵי תְמִימֵי-דָרֶךְ-- הַהֹלְכִים, בְּתוֹרַת יְהוָה.ב אַשְׁרֵי, נֹצְרֵי עֵדֹתָיו; בְּכָל-לֵב יִדְרְשׁוּהוּ.ג אַף, לֹא-פָעֲלוּ עַוְלָה; בִּדְרָכָיו הָלָכוּ.ד אַתָּה, צִוִּיתָה פִקֻּדֶיךָ-- לִשְׁמֹר מְאֹד.ה אַחֲלַי, יִכֹּנוּ דְרָכָי-- לִשְׁמֹר חֻקֶּיךָ.ו אָז לֹא-אֵבוֹשׁ-- בְּהַבִּיטִי, אֶל-כָּל-מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ.ז אוֹדְךָ, בְּיֹשֶׁר לֵבָב-- בְּלָמְדִי, מִשְׁפְּטֵי צִדְקֶךָ.ח אֶת-חֻקֶּיךָ אֶשְׁמֹר; אַל-תַּעַזְבֵנִי עַד-מְאֹד.
ט בַּמֶּה יְזַכֶּה-נַּעַר, אֶת-אָרְחוֹ-- לִשְׁמֹר, כִּדְבָרֶךָ.י בְּכָל-לִבִּי דְרַשְׁתִּיךָ; אַל-תַּשְׁגֵּנִי, מִמִּצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ.יא בְּלִבִּי, צָפַנְתִּי אִמְרָתֶךָ-- לְמַעַן, לֹא אֶחֱטָא-לָךְ.יב בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה-- לַמְּדֵנִי חֻקֶּיךָ.יג בִּשְׂפָתַי סִפַּרְתִּי-- כֹּל, מִשְׁפְּטֵי-פִיךָ.יד בְּדֶרֶךְ עֵדְו‍ֹתֶיךָ שַׂשְׂתִּי-- כְּעַל כָּל-הוֹן.טו בְּפִקּוּדֶיךָ אָשִׂיחָה; וְאַבִּיטָה, אֹרְחֹתֶיךָ.טז בְּחֻקֹּתֶיךָ אֶשְׁתַּעֲשָׁע; לֹא אֶשְׁכַּח דְּבָרֶךָ.
יז גְּמֹל עַל-עַבְדְּךָ אֶחְיֶה; וְאֶשְׁמְרָה דְבָרֶךָ.יח גַּל-עֵינַי וְאַבִּיטָה-- נִפְלָאוֹת, מִתּוֹרָתֶךָ.יט גֵּר אָנֹכִי בָאָרֶץ; אַל-תַּסְתֵּר מִמֶּנִּי, מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ.כ גָּרְסָה נַפְשִׁי לְתַאֲבָה-- אֶל-מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ בְכָל-עֵת.כא גָּעַרְתָּ, זֵדִים אֲרוּרִים-- הַשֹּׁגִים, מִמִּצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ.כב גַּל מֵעָלַי, חֶרְפָּה וָבוּז: כִּי עֵדֹתֶיךָ נָצָרְתִּי.כג גַּם יָשְׁבוּ שָׂרִים, בִּי נִדְבָּרוּ-- עַבְדְּךָ, יָשִׂיחַ בְּחֻקֶּיךָ.כד גַּם-עֵדֹתֶיךָ, שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי-- אַנְשֵׁי עֲצָתִי.
כה דָּבְקָה לֶעָפָר נַפְשִׁי; חַיֵּנִי, כִּדְבָרֶךָ.כו דְּרָכַי סִפַּרְתִּי, וַתַּעֲנֵנִי; לַמְּדֵנִי חֻקֶּיךָ.כז דֶּרֶךְ-פִּקּוּדֶיךָ הֲבִינֵנִי; וְאָשִׂיחָה, בְּנִפְלְאוֹתֶיךָ.כח דָּלְפָה נַפְשִׁי, מִתּוּגָה; קַיְּמֵנִי, כִּדְבָרֶךָ.כט דֶּרֶךְ-שֶׁקֶר, הָסֵר מִמֶּנִּי; וְתוֹרָתְךָ חָנֵּנִי.ל דֶּרֶךְ-אֱמוּנָה בָחָרְתִּי; מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ שִׁוִּיתִי.לא דָּבַקְתִּי בְעֵדְו‍ֹתֶיךָ; יְהוָה, אַל-תְּבִישֵׁנִי.לב דֶּרֶךְ-מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ אָרוּץ: כִּי תַרְחִיב לִבִּי.
לג הוֹרֵנִי יְהוָה, דֶּרֶךְ חֻקֶּיךָ; וְאֶצְּרֶנָּה עֵקֶב.לד הֲבִינֵנִי, וְאֶצְּרָה תוֹרָתֶךָ; וְאֶשְׁמְרֶנָּה בְכָל-לֵב.לה הַדְרִיכֵנִי, בִּנְתִיב מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ: כִּי-בוֹ חָפָצְתִּי.לו הַט-לִבִּי, אֶל-עֵדְו‍ֹתֶיךָ; וְאַל אֶל-בָּצַע.לז הַעֲבֵר עֵינַי, מֵרְאוֹת שָׁוְא; בִּדְרָכֶךָ חַיֵּנִי.לח הָקֵם לְעַבְדְּךָ, אִמְרָתֶךָ-- אֲשֶׁר, לְיִרְאָתֶךָ.לט הַעֲבֵר חֶרְפָּתִי, אֲשֶׁר יָגֹרְתִּי: כִּי מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ טוֹבִים.מ הִנֵּה, תָּאַבְתִּי לְפִקֻּדֶיךָ; בְּצִדְקָתְךָ חַיֵּנִי.
מא וִיבֹאֻנִי חֲסָדֶךָ יְהוָה; תְּשׁוּעָתְךָ, כְּאִמְרָתֶךָ.מב וְאֶעֱנֶה חֹרְפִי דָבָר: כִּי-בָטַחְתִּי, בִּדְבָרֶךָ.מג וְאַל-תַּצֵּל מִפִּי דְבַר-אֱמֶת עַד-מְאֹד: כִּי לְמִשְׁפָּטֶךָ, יִחָלְתִּי.מד וְאֶשְׁמְרָה תוֹרָתְךָ תָמִיד-- לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד.מה וְאֶתְהַלְּכָה בָרְחָבָה: כִּי פִקֻּדֶיךָ דָרָשְׁתִּי.מו וַאֲדַבְּרָה בְעֵדֹתֶיךָ, נֶגֶד מְלָכִים; וְלֹא אֵבוֹשׁ.מז וְאֶשְׁתַּעֲשַׁע בְּמִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ, אֲשֶׁר אָהָבְתִּי.מח וְאֶשָּׂא-כַפַּי--אֶל-מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ, אֲשֶׁר אָהָבְתִּי; וְאָשִׂיחָה בְחֻקֶּיךָ.
מט זְכֹר-דָּבָר, לְעַבְדֶּךָ-- עַל, אֲשֶׁר יִחַלְתָּנִי.נ זֹאת נֶחָמָתִי בְעָנְיִי: כִּי אִמְרָתְךָ חִיָּתְנִי.נא זֵדִים, הֱלִיצֻנִי עַד-מְאֹד; מִתּוֹרָתְךָ, לֹא נָטִיתִי.נב זָכַרְתִּי מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ מֵעוֹלָם יְהוָה; וָאֶתְנֶחָם.נג זַלְעָפָה אֲחָזַתְנִי, מֵרְשָׁעִים-- עֹזְבֵי, תּוֹרָתֶךָ.נד זְמִרוֹת, הָיוּ-לִי חֻקֶּיךָ-- בְּבֵית מְגוּרָי.נה זָכַרְתִּי בַלַּיְלָה שִׁמְךָ יְהוָה; וָאֶשְׁמְרָה, תּוֹרָתֶךָ.נו זֹאת הָיְתָה-לִּי: כִּי פִקֻּדֶיךָ נָצָרְתִּי.
נז חֶלְקִי יְהוָה אָמַרְתִּי-- לִשְׁמֹר דְּבָרֶיךָ.נח חִלִּיתִי פָנֶיךָ בְכָל-לֵב; חָנֵּנִי, כְּאִמְרָתֶךָ.נט חִשַּׁבְתִּי דְרָכָי; וָאָשִׁיבָה רַגְלַי, אֶל-עֵדֹתֶיךָ.ס חַשְׁתִּי, וְלֹא הִתְמַהְמָהְתִּי-- לִשְׁמֹר, מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ.סא חֶבְלֵי רְשָׁעִים עִוְּדֻנִי; תּוֹרָתְךָ, לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי.סב חֲצוֹת-לַיְלָה--אָקוּם, לְהוֹדוֹת לָךְ: עַל, מִשְׁפְּטֵי צִדְקֶךָ.סג חָבֵר אָנִי, לְכָל-אֲשֶׁר יְרֵאוּךָ; וּלְשֹׁמְרֵי, פִּקּוּדֶיךָ.סד חַסְדְּךָ יְהוָה, מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ; חֻקֶּיךָ לַמְּדֵנִי.
סה טוֹב, עָשִׂיתָ עִם-עַבְדְּךָ-- יְהוָה, כִּדְבָרֶךָ.סו טוּב טַעַם וָדַעַת לַמְּדֵנִי: כִּי בְמִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ הֶאֱמָנְתִּי.סז טֶרֶם אֶעֱנֶה, אֲנִי שֹׁגֵג; וְעַתָּה, אִמְרָתְךָ שָׁמָרְתִּי.סח טוֹב-אַתָּה וּמֵטִיב; לַמְּדֵנִי חֻקֶּיךָ.סט טָפְלוּ עָלַי שֶׁקֶר זֵדִים; אֲנִי, בְּכָל-לֵב אֶצֹּר פִּקּוּדֶיךָ.ע טָפַשׁ כַּחֵלֶב לִבָּם; אֲנִי, תּוֹרָתְךָ שִׁעֲשָׁעְתִּי.עא טוֹב-לִי כִי-עֻנֵּיתִי-- לְמַעַן, אֶלְמַד חֻקֶּיךָ.עב טוֹב-לִי תוֹרַת-פִּיךָ-- מֵאַלְפֵי, זָהָב וָכָסֶף.
עג יָדֶיךָ עָשׂוּנִי, וַיְכוֹנְנוּנִי; הֲבִינֵנִי, וְאֶלְמְדָה מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ.עד יְרֵאֶיךָ, יִרְאוּנִי וְיִשְׂמָחוּ: כִּי לִדְבָרְךָ יִחָלְתִּי.עה יָדַעְתִּי יְהוָה, כִּי-צֶדֶק מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ; וֶאֱמוּנָה, עִנִּיתָנִי.עו יְהִי-נָא חַסְדְּךָ לְנַחֲמֵנִי-- כְּאִמְרָתְךָ לְעַבְדֶּךָ.עז יְבֹאוּנִי רַחֲמֶיךָ וְאֶחְיֶה: כִּי-תוֹרָתְךָ, שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי.עח יֵבֹשׁוּ זֵדִים, כִּי-שֶׁקֶר עִוְּתוּנִי; אֲנִי, אָשִׂיחַ בְּפִקּוּדֶיךָ.עט יָשׁוּבוּ לִי יְרֵאֶיךָ; וידעו (וְיֹדְעֵי), עֵדֹתֶיךָ.פ יְהִי-לִבִּי תָמִים בְּחֻקֶּיךָ-- לְמַעַן, לֹא אֵבוֹשׁ.
פא כָּלְתָה לִתְשׁוּעָתְךָ נַפְשִׁי; לִדְבָרְךָ יִחָלְתִּי.פב כָּלוּ עֵינַי, לְאִמְרָתֶךָ-- לֵאמֹר, מָתַי תְּנַחֲמֵנִי.פג כִּי-הָיִיתִי, כְּנֹאד בְּקִיטוֹר-- חֻקֶּיךָ, לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי.פד כַּמָּה יְמֵי-עַבְדֶּךָ; מָתַי תַּעֲשֶׂה בְרֹדְפַי מִשְׁפָּט.פה כָּרוּ-לִי זֵדִים שִׁיחוֹת-- אֲשֶׁר, לֹא כְתוֹרָתֶךָ.פו כָּל-מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ אֱמוּנָה; שֶׁקֶר רְדָפוּנִי עָזְרֵנִי.פז כִּמְעַט, כִּלּוּנִי בָאָרֶץ; וַאֲנִי, לֹא-עָזַבְתִּי פִקֻּדֶיךָ.פח כְּחַסְדְּךָ חַיֵּנִי; וְאֶשְׁמְרָה, עֵדוּת פִּיךָ.
פט לְעוֹלָם יְהוָה-- דְּבָרְךָ, נִצָּב בַּשָּׁמָיִם.צ לְדֹר וָדֹר, אֱמוּנָתֶךָ; כּוֹנַנְתָּ אֶרֶץ, וַתַּעֲמֹד.צא לְמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ, עָמְדוּ הַיּוֹם: כִּי הַכֹּל עֲבָדֶיךָ.צב לוּלֵי תוֹרָתְךָ, שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי-- אָז, אָבַדְתִּי בְעָנְיִי.צג לְעוֹלָם, לֹא-אֶשְׁכַּח פִּקּוּדֶיךָ: כִּי בָם, חִיִּיתָנִי.צד לְךָ-אֲנִי, הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי: כִּי פִקּוּדֶיךָ דָרָשְׁתִּי.צה לִי קִוּוּ רְשָׁעִים לְאַבְּדֵנִי; עֵדֹתֶיךָ, אֶתְבּוֹנָן.צו לְכָל-תִּכְלָה, רָאִיתִי קֵץ; רְחָבָה מִצְוָתְךָ מְאֹד.
צז מָה-אָהַבְתִּי תוֹרָתֶךָ: כָּל-הַיּוֹם, הִיא שִׂיחָתִי.צח מֵאֹיְבַי, תְּחַכְּמֵנִי מִצְו‍ֹתֶךָ: כִּי לְעוֹלָם הִיא-לִי.צט מִכָּל-מְלַמְּדַי הִשְׂכַּלְתִּי: כִּי עֵדְו‍ֹתֶיךָ, שִׂיחָה לִי.ק מִזְּקֵנִים אֶתְבּוֹנָן: כִּי פִקּוּדֶיךָ נָצָרְתִּי.קא מִכָּל-אֹרַח רָע, כָּלִאתִי רַגְלָי-- לְמַעַן, אֶשְׁמֹר דְּבָרֶךָ.קב מִמִּשְׁפָּטֶיךָ לֹא-סָרְתִּי: כִּי-אַתָּה, הוֹרֵתָנִי.קג מַה-נִּמְלְצוּ לְחִכִּי, אִמְרָתֶךָ-- מִדְּבַשׁ לְפִי.קד מִפִּקּוּדֶיךָ אֶתְבּוֹנָן; עַל כֵּן, שָׂנֵאתִי כָּל-אֹרַח שָׁקֶר.
קה נֵר-לְרַגְלִי דְבָרֶךָ; וְאוֹר, לִנְתִיבָתִי.קו נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי וָאֲקַיֵּמָה-- לִשְׁמֹר, מִשְׁפְּטֵי צִדְקֶךָ.קז נַעֲנֵיתִי עַד-מְאֹד; יְהוָה, חַיֵּנִי כִדְבָרֶךָ.קח נִדְבוֹת פִּי, רְצֵה-נָא יְהוָה; וּמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ לַמְּדֵנִי.קט נַפְשִׁי בְכַפִּי תָמִיד; וְתוֹרָתְךָ, לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי.קי נָתְנוּ רְשָׁעִים פַּח לִי; וּמִפִּקּוּדֶיךָ, לֹא תָעִיתִי.קיא נָחַלְתִּי עֵדְו‍ֹתֶיךָ לְעוֹלָם: כִּי-שְׂשׂוֹן לִבִּי הֵמָּה.קיב נָטִיתִי לִבִּי, לַעֲשׂוֹת חֻקֶּיךָ-- לְעוֹלָם עֵקֶב.
קיג סֵעֲפִים שָׂנֵאתִי; וְתוֹרָתְךָ אָהָבְתִּי.קיד סִתְרִי וּמָגִנִּי אָתָּה; לִדְבָרְךָ יִחָלְתִּי.קטו סוּרוּ-מִמֶּנִּי מְרֵעִים; וְאֶצְּרָה, מִצְו‍ֹת אֱלֹהָי.קטז סָמְכֵנִי כְאִמְרָתְךָ וְאֶחְיֶה; וְאַל-תְּבִישֵׁנִי, מִשִּׂבְרִי.קיז סְעָדֵנִי וְאִוָּשֵׁעָה; וְאֶשְׁעָה בְחֻקֶּיךָ תָמִיד.קיח סָלִיתָ, כָּל-שׁוֹגִים מֵחֻקֶּיךָ: כִּי-שֶׁקֶר, תַּרְמִיתָם.קיט סִגִים--הִשְׁבַּתָּ כָל-רִשְׁעֵי-אָרֶץ; לָכֵן, אָהַבְתִּי עֵדֹתֶיךָ.קכ סָמַר מִפַּחְדְּךָ בְשָׂרִי; וּמִמִּשְׁפָּטֶיךָ יָרֵאתִי.
קכא עָשִׂיתִי, מִשְׁפָּט וָצֶדֶק; בַּל-תַּנִּיחֵנִי, לְעֹשְׁקָי.קכב עֲרֹב עַבְדְּךָ לְטוֹב; אַל-יַעַשְׁקֻנִי זֵדִים.קכג עֵינַי, כָּלוּ לִישׁוּעָתֶךָ; וּלְאִמְרַת צִדְקֶךָ.קכד עֲשֵׂה עִם-עַבְדְּךָ כְחַסְדֶּךָ; וְחֻקֶּיךָ לַמְּדֵנִי.קכה עַבְדְּךָ-אָנִי הֲבִינֵנִי; וְאֵדְעָה, עֵדֹתֶיךָ.קכו עֵת, לַעֲשׂוֹת לַיהוָה-- הֵפֵרוּ, תּוֹרָתֶךָ.קכז עַל-כֵּן, אָהַבְתִּי מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ-- מִזָּהָב וּמִפָּז.קכח עַל-כֵּן, כָּל-פִּקּוּדֵי כֹל יִשָּׁרְתִּי; כָּל-אֹרַח שֶׁקֶר שָׂנֵאתִי.
קכט פְּלָאוֹת עֵדְו‍ֹתֶיךָ; עַל-כֵּן, נְצָרָתַם נַפְשִׁי.קל פֵּתַח דְּבָרֶיךָ יָאִיר; מֵבִין פְּתָיִים.קלא פִּי-פָעַרְתִּי, וָאֶשְׁאָפָה: כִּי לְמִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ יָאָבְתִּי.קלב פְּנֵה-אֵלַי וְחָנֵּנִי-- כְּמִשְׁפָּט, לְאֹהֲבֵי שְׁמֶךָ.קלג פְּעָמַי, הָכֵן בְּאִמְרָתֶךָ; וְאַל-תַּשְׁלֶט-בִּי כָל-אָוֶן.קלד פְּדֵנִי, מֵעֹשֶׁק אָדָם; וְאֶשְׁמְרָה, פִּקּוּדֶיךָ.קלה פָּנֶיךָ, הָאֵר בְּעַבְדֶּךָ; וְלַמְּדֵנִי, אֶת-חֻקֶּיךָ.קלו פַּלְגֵי-מַיִם, יָרְדוּ עֵינָי-- עַל, לֹא-שָׁמְרוּ תוֹרָתֶךָ.
קלז צַדִּיק אַתָּה יְהוָה; וְיָשָׁר, מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ.קלח צִוִּיתָ, צֶדֶק עֵדֹתֶיךָ; וֶאֱמוּנָה מְאֹד.קלט צִמְּתַתְנִי קִנְאָתִי: כִּי-שָׁכְחוּ דְבָרֶיךָ צָרָי.קמ צְרוּפָה אִמְרָתְךָ מְאֹד; וְעַבְדְּךָ אֲהֵבָהּ.קמא צָעִיר אָנֹכִי וְנִבְזֶה; פִּקֻּדֶיךָ, לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי.קמב צִדְקָתְךָ צֶדֶק לְעוֹלָם; וְתוֹרָתְךָ אֱמֶת.קמג צַר-וּמָצוֹק מְצָאוּנִי; מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ, שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי.קמד צֶדֶק עֵדְו‍ֹתֶיךָ לְעוֹלָם; הֲבִינֵנִי וְאֶחְיֶה.
קמה קָרָאתִי בְכָל-לֵב, עֲנֵנִי יְהוָה; חֻקֶּיךָ אֶצֹּרָה.קמו קְרָאתִיךָ הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי; וְאֶשְׁמְרָה, עֵדֹתֶיךָ.קמז קִדַּמְתִּי בַנֶּשֶׁף, וָאֲשַׁוֵּעָה; לדבריך (לִדְבָרְךָ) יִחָלְתִּי.קמח קִדְּמוּ עֵינַי, אַשְׁמֻרוֹת-- לָשִׂיחַ, בְּאִמְרָתֶךָ.קמט קוֹלִי, שִׁמְעָה כְחַסְדֶּךָ; יְהוָה, כְּמִשְׁפָּטֶךָ חַיֵּנִי.קנ קָרְבוּ, רֹדְפֵי זִמָּה; מִתּוֹרָתְךָ רָחָקוּ.קנא קָרוֹב אַתָּה יְהוָה; וְכָל-מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ אֱמֶת.קנב קֶדֶם יָדַעְתִּי, מֵעֵדֹתֶיךָ: כִּי לְעוֹלָם יְסַדְתָּם.
קנג רְאֵה-עָנְיִי וְחַלְּצֵנִי: כִּי-תוֹרָתְךָ, לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי.קנד רִיבָה רִיבִי, וּגְאָלֵנִי; לְאִמְרָתְךָ חַיֵּנִי.קנה רָחוֹק מֵרְשָׁעִים יְשׁוּעָה: כִּי חֻקֶּיךָ, לֹא דָרָשׁוּ.קנו רַחֲמֶיךָ רַבִּים יְהוָה; כְּמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ חַיֵּנִי.קנז רַבִּים, רֹדְפַי וְצָרָי; מֵעֵדְו‍ֹתֶיךָ, לֹא נָטִיתִי.קנח רָאִיתִי בֹגְדִים, וָאֶתְקוֹטָטָה-- אֲשֶׁר אִמְרָתְךָ, לֹא שָׁמָרוּ.קנט רְאֵה, כִּי-פִקּוּדֶיךָ אָהָבְתִּי; יְהוָה, כְּחַסְדְּךָ חַיֵּנִי.קס רֹאשׁ-דְּבָרְךָ אֱמֶת; וּלְעוֹלָם, כָּל-מִשְׁפַּט צִדְקֶךָ.
קסא שָׂרִים, רְדָפוּנִי חִנָּם; ומדבריך (וּמִדְּבָרְךָ), פָּחַד לִבִּי.קסב שָׂשׂ אָנֹכִי, עַל-אִמְרָתֶךָ-- כְּמוֹצֵא, שָׁלָל רָב.קסג שֶׁקֶר שָׂנֵאתִי, וַאֲתַעֵבָה; תּוֹרָתְךָ אָהָבְתִּי.קסד שֶׁבַע בַּיּוֹם, הִלַּלְתִּיךָ-- עַל, מִשְׁפְּטֵי צִדְקֶךָ.קסה שָׁלוֹם רָב, לְאֹהֲבֵי תוֹרָתֶךָ; וְאֵין-לָמוֹ מִכְשׁוֹל.קסו שִׂבַּרְתִּי לִישׁוּעָתְךָ יְהוָה; וּמִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ עָשִׂיתִי.קסז שָׁמְרָה נַפְשִׁי, עֵדֹתֶיךָ; וָאֹהֲבֵם מְאֹד.קסח שָׁמַרְתִּי פִקּוּדֶיךָ, וְעֵדֹתֶיךָ: כִּי כָל-דְּרָכַי נֶגְדֶּךָ.
קסט תִּקְרַב רִנָּתִי לְפָנֶיךָ יְהוָה; כִּדְבָרְךָ הֲבִינֵנִי.קע תָּבוֹא תְּחִנָּתִי לְפָנֶיךָ; כְּאִמְרָתְךָ, הַצִּילֵנִי.קעא תַּבַּעְנָה שְׂפָתַי תְּהִלָּה: כִּי תְלַמְּדֵנִי חֻקֶּיךָ.קעב תַּעַן לְשׁוֹנִי, אִמְרָתֶךָ: כִּי כָל-מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ צֶּדֶק.קעג תְּהִי-יָדְךָ לְעָזְרֵנִי: כִּי פִקּוּדֶיךָ בָחָרְתִּי.קעד תָּאַבְתִּי לִישׁוּעָתְךָ יְהוָה; וְתוֹרָתְךָ, שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי.קעה תְּחִי-נַפְשִׁי, וּתְהַלְלֶךָּ; וּמִשְׁפָּטֶךָ יַעְזְרֻנִי.קעו תָּעִיתִי-- כְּשֶׂה אֹבֵד, בַּקֵּשׁ עַבְדֶּךָ:כִּי מִצְו‍ֹתֶיךָ, לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי

Din and Rachamim Recap, or How Zaqui can Say what I mean concisely

Since I started thinking about the previous post because of Zaqui, ( May the Merciful One protect and establish him), I decided to send it to him. The following is his clarification of my point:

Midat HaDin and Midat HaRachamim are two levels of how nature interecats with man. Midat HaDin is the system of natural laws, and Midat HaRachamim is the system of laws that apply to certain individuals who are more in line with reality. Both midot are part of nature its just that Chachamim benefit more from both aspects whereas normal people only experience/benefit from one.In Noach's case, since the world became corrupted, it had to be destroyed according to natural law (Midat HaDin) but since Noach was a tzadik and lived in line with reality he was subject to another form of law which is why only he and his family was saved. So when the mefarshim point out an exmaple of Hashem's Midat HaRachamim it just means that the certain individuasl benefited from the second sub-system of Hashem's law.

Rachamim and Din

משוך חסדך, ליודעיך; וצדקתך, לישרי לב
O continue Thy lovingkindness unto them that know Thee; and Thy righteousness to the upright in heart

A few weeks back, I had the great blessing to have spent a shabbat in Rockville Maryland with my good friends the Maroofs, ( Rabbi Josh Maroof is the author of vesomsechel.blogspot.com, a personal favorite as well as the Rav of Magen David Sephardic Congregation). I had the opportunity to see my other good friend Zaqui and he asked me a vey good question.

How can we say that there exists Midat Hadin and Midat Harahamim , whilst maintaining the idea of Achduso, his oneness?

The question is of fundamental significance to our belief system. As you know we are told many times that G' is one . Maimonides explains that the knowledge of the existance of G' is the fundamental truth that all other knowledge is based on and that he is a unity that is incomparable to any conception of One that we could have.( Laws of the fundamentals of the Torah chapter 1 law 5{7})

ה [ז] אלוה זה אחד הוא--אינו לא שניים ולא יתר על שניים, אלא אחד, שאין כייחודו אחד מן האחדים הנמצאים בעולם: לא אחד כמין שהוא כולל אחדים הרבה, ולא אחד כגוף שהוא נחלק למחלקות ולקצוות; אלא ייחוד שאין ייחוד אחר כמותו בעולם.

Clearly the two attributes of Rachamim and Din cannot exist in such a way that they would imply a duality within G'!

This may be a simple point but I will state it anyway. The midot that we mention with regards to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, are not separate parts within G' but rather they are linguistic mechanisms that we use so that we can best describe an idea that we are utterly incapable of fully grasping. As Maimonides states further on in the Laws of the foundations of the Torah:

ט אם כן מה הוא זה שנאמר בתורה "ותחת רגליו" (שמות כד,י), "כתובים באצבע אלוהים" (שמות לא,יח; דברים ט,י), "יד ה'" (שמות ט,ג; במדבר יא,כג; דברים ב,טו), "עיני ה'" (דברים יא,יב), "אוזני ה'" (במדבר יא,א; במדבר יא,יח), וכיוצא בדברים הללו--הכול לפי דעתן של בני אדם הוא, שאינן מכירין אלא הגופות; ודיברה תורה כלשון בני אדם. והכול כינויים הם, כמו שנאמר "אם שנותי ברק חרבי" (דברים לב,מא), וכי חרב יש לו ובחרב הוא הורג; אלא משל, והכול משל

9) If so, (That it is explained in the Torah that G' is incorporeal)what does the Torah mean when it says things like, "under His feet" (Exodus 31:18), "written with the finger of God" (ibid), "the hand of the Lord" (Exodus 9:3), "the eyes of the Lord" (Genesis 38:7), "the ears of the Lord" (Numbers 11:1), et cetera? These phrases are in line with the level of understanding of people, who can only comprehend physical existence, and the Torah speaks in terms that we can understand. All examples of this nature are merely attributory. For example, when it says, "If I whet My glittering sword" - does God really have a sword and does He really kill with one?! Such phrases are Mashal, ( parables).

G' does not have parts, however, what is the idea of the two Midot, Din and Rachamim?( Bearing in mind that this is not THE idea or THE explanation since those are impossible).
Midat Hadin can be understood as Natural Law. This is the system that governs planetary motion as well as human interaction. In terms of Midat hadin the laws are set. If you light a match it will burn, if you drop something off of a platform, it will fall.In Parashat Noah it was Midat Hadin that the world be destroyed.The natural system had been abrogated to the extent that the law would have a clear A- B corrolation of corruption to destruction. However, out of Midat Harachamim Noah was permitted to build the Ark and preserve both humanity and the ecosystem, and the world was not destroyed. The question is what is Midat Harachamim such that it can supercede Midat Hadin and it is not a change in G'? In other words, we know that the two attributes are not two parts of G' , what is the relationship of Din to Rachamim such that it is within one idea and not a change?

I believe that the answer, or an approach to one, can be found in a similar question regarding Tefillah. The question in the area of Tefillah is, " How does tefillah work such that you can pray for something and we say that your prayer can be answered and yet it is not a change in G'

Tefillah is not a change in G', as those who worship the stars and their own psyches wish . G' does not change, since G' does not change our prayers can not be attempting the impossible. Tefilla, is a refocusing of Man to be in line with Chachama. In other words Tefilla is a change in Man not G'. When one changes themselves to fit inline with the Briah, they have new laws which are open to them. The system of creation operates differently depending on how you operate with in it, ( this is obvious, nature will deal differently with someone who looks both ways before crossing the street than someone who does not, the first will be protected whilst the second will very likely end up splattered on Madison Avenue, it is the same here if the causes are changed the effects can be assumed to change to suit). In other words, there is one system of laws created by G'. Within this system there are laws of the universe that we percieve like gravity which only demands mass to operate, and there are other laws which only apply to those that are of a certain stature. The second class of laws are just as unchanging as the first but they are also much more demanding. ( Again, if you act in a responsible way you will have a different outcome)

So to in Parashat Noah. The Midas Harachamim of Parashat Noah is that since Noah was at a level of human perfection it meant that he was subject to additional laws.

"And the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. 7 And the LORD said: 'I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and creeping thing, and fowl of the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them.' 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. "

The Midat Harachamim is not that G' changes and allows something to slip by. Rather, the creation of the system of Law in such a way that it has tiers, laws which apply to everyone, and laws which apply to smaller subsets is Midat Harachamim. Both Midat Hadin and Midat Harachamim are systems of cause and effect.The Creator Does Not change, Man changes and if he does he can become subject to new effects, the creation of the World in such a way to provide for Man's perfection is ( as I understand it) Midat harachamim.