Podcasts about maharsha

A few notes: 1) As the Maharsha and others point out, there are in fact many sources that attribute the mitzva of אותו ואת בנו to compassion on the animal. The specific question of Tosfos is that the Kalir instituted it to be said by the שליח ציבור during שמונה עשרה, which is precisely what the Gemara forbids and tells us to silence such a person! 2) Now that we have the full text of the קדושתא, it turns out that מחשבותיך לרחמנו is in fact an entirely unrelated phrase, designed to link the last word of the last pasuk (מאוד עמקו מחשבותיך) to the conclusion of the bracha. 3) Even on Rosh Hashana, we do in fact include מעין החתימה סמוך לחתימה by adding the words מלך עוזר ומושיע ומגן after זכרנו. In its original form though, the מעין החתימה of the Kalir substituted מלך עוזר...

Welcome to our Bitachon class. We now discussing the Haggadah of Pesach. We're in the stanza of Yechol Rosh Hodesh, that we might have thought that the right time for the Seder is Rosh Hodesh. And the pasuk says, ב יום ההוא, B'Yom HaHu/on that day. Well, that day , may mean during the day . And as we said last class, anytime we have a thought, there has to be a basis for it. We don't just say maybe. The fact that we even thought that the Seder should be on Rosh Hodesh Nissan means there's a strong reason to think so. And the fact that we thought that the time to do it is during the day and not the nighttime means there's a strong reason to think that as well. So what happened during the day of the 14 th of Nissan that would warrant saying the Hagaddah of Pesach during the day ? The answer is, that's the day when they slaughtered the Korban Pesach. What was the ultimate revelation that caused the need to do the Haggadah? You might have thought it was the Korban Pesach. So exactly what does the Korban Pesach symbolize and teach us? This is very important information-The Egyptians worshipped the sheep. That's why it was considered an abomination to be a shepherd in Egypt, as is clearly stated in the pesukim. Furthermore, Moshe told Paroah that they could not slaughter the sheep in the local town of Egypt; they'd have to go out to the desert, because they'd be stoned if they were seen slaughtering sheep, the Egyptian god. Why did the Egyptians worship the sheep? It wasn't random. There are 12 symbols in the horoscope. These 12 symbols are not just for palm readers or the newspaper horoscope column. These are real concepts rooted in our Torah literature. The Ramban, for example, tells us that the symbol of Tishre, Libra is a scale , which he says is a sign in the heavens that we're being judged that month. And the Mazal of Adar is a fish, or Pisces, as fish are above the Ayin Hara.. The Mazal of Elul אלול אני לדודי ודודי לי, I am to my beloved, and my beloved to me is Virgo, which is a young maiden. All of these symbols are real and have to do with specific times. The sheep is the head of all 12 Mazalot . That's why Rabbenu Bachye says this month is called Aviv/ אביב is a contraction of אב י"ב, the father (or chief) of the other 12. Therefore, the Egyptians worshipped the sheep as the so- called Bechor , or first born of the Mazalot . (After the sheep comes the ox, the Taurus. One of the commentaries say the reason why the Jewish people worshipped the golden calf was because they said Now that we brought down the sheep, we have to go on to the next symbol, which is the ox. ) So the Egyptians worshipped the sheep and felt it had a power in the heavens and when we slaughtered the sheep, our actions down here were impacting the mazal of the sheep in heaven. We were going to overcome the mazal , based on the principle of אין מזל לישראל/ We Jewish people are not impacted by the horoscope. We're not impacted by any of these signs. As Hashem told Avraham, Go outside. Says Rashi , this means leave your soothsayers, leave all of that stuff. We the Jewish people are above all that. God tells Avraham, Go in front of Me and you will be perfect. And that's the Brit Milah. And there's another Mitzvah later on, which is תמים תהיה,Tamim Tihyeh be perfect with Hashem and go away from all the soothsayers and stargazers. So the Brit , the deal that we made with Hashem was to be Tamim , to be complete with Him , to rely on Him and to be above all that nonsense. We're above nature, we don't follow nature. Today we'll call mazal nature . So that was the symbolism. We slaughtered the sheep down here and the mazal of the sheep in the heavens comes down and everything falls with it. Additionally, the Jewish people tied the Korban to the bedposts on the 10th of Nissan, which was Shabbat HaGadol. It was a miracle, it says, that the Egyptians did not kill them when they did that. The midrash says further, quoted by Tosafot, that the pasuk in Tehilim lומכה מצרים בבכוריהם / Hashem hit the Egyptians with their firstborn. Shouldn't it be, He hit the firstborn Egyptians ? Tosafot explains that when Moshe announced that we'd be slaughtering the sheep, a civil war broke out among the Egyptians. The Egyptian first- borns all said, Let them out already! What are you doing , and there was a civil war between the firstborn and the rest of Egypt, about whether they should let them out before the 14th, before they slaughter the sheep. Why were the firstborn so concerned? The Maharsha says, because there was a connection between them, almost like the concept of a voodoo doll , a little doll that is supposed to resemble a particular person and if you stuck pins in the doll's ankle, suddenly that guy would get a pain in his ankle. Likewise, the firstborn sheep was like a voodoo doll of the First born Egyptians. How so? When you slaughter the sheep down here, it impacts the mazal in the heavens of the firstborn, and the firstborn would die. That's why slaughtering the sheep was actually the impetus of Makat Bechorot . That's why the firstborn said, Don't let them slaughter the sheep! It's going to bring us down. And that was what the war was about. So Korban Pesach illustrated, in a very vivid way, the power of the Hashem over the mazal, but En Mazal L'Yisrael. We ignore Mazalot . The Ramban, in many places, discusses the important rule of תמים תהיה. In Bereshit 17,1, he quotes the pasuk in Devarim 18,13, and says that This is one and the same, which is, יאמין בלבו, believe in your heart. כי הקדוש ברוך הוא לבדו, הוא בעל היכולת בתחילה ובסוף,. הוא יכול לעשות, לבטל. Only God is in charge. He can do or annul. And therefore, when you hear any soothsayer or any predictor, לא יאמין שיבואו דברים על כל פנים, don't say it has to happen. When you hear predictions, financial, health or otherwise, you should say in your heart, הכל ביד עליון, עליונים. It's all in the power of God. And he says, וכפי שיתהלך אדם לפניו, and the more I connect to Him, מפרוטות, I will undo these signs , and he says that's what it means when Hashem told Avraham Avinu, in Shabbat 156a, Leave the soothsayers. He repeats this in Devarim 18,13, where he says, When you hear what they say (tariffs or anything else), you know what your response should be? הכל בידי שמים, it's up to God. הוא אלוהי אלוהים, He's the God above all, עליון על הכל. And believe, שכל הבלות תהיינה, everything that happens to me is כפי יתקרב אדם לבדו תול, the more I connect to God in His service. This is an important rule, and this is the message of the Korban Pesach. And lastly, he says this in his השגות on the Sefer Mitzvot , Mitzvat Aseh 8, where he discusses things that he believes should be on the list, that the Rambam left out, and he believes that תמים תהיה was one of the 613. We have to believe that He alone does everything, He knows what's going to happen in the future, and if we have a problem, we look to Him. He says, שכל הכל תהיינה, We have to believe that all forces happen, as we connect to Him. And this is why we might have thought, מבעוד יום, " The message of the Korban Pesach? wow, we should make the סדר right then and there!"

Someone whose Talmudic commentary has completely dominated Torah study for four centuries, Rav Shmuel Eliezer Aidel's (circa 1555-1631), better known as the Maharsha, emerged as a leading rabbinical figure and teacher during the golden age of Polish Jewry in the late 16th & early 17th centuries. Financially supported by his mother in law Aidel for many years, the Maharsha was able to both teach Torah to his students, as well as author his all-encompassing commentary to both the the Halachic as well as Aggadic passages of the entire Shas. Following his mother in law's passing, he assumed several successive rabbinical positions, before finally settling in the prominent community of Ostroh, where he remained until his passing. There he opened a yeshiva, and served the needs of the community. He also served in a broader leadership capacity within the autonomous governing council known as the Vaad Ha'arbah Aratzos – the Council of the Four Lands, recognized by the government in the old Polish Kingdom. The Maharsha's influence on Torah scholarship remains prominent until this very day.   Cross River, a leading financial institution committed to supporting its communities, is proud to sponsor Jewish History Soundbites. As a trusted partner for individuals and businesses, Cross River understands the importance of preserving and celebrating our heritage. By sponsoring this podcast, they demonstrate their unwavering dedication to enriching the lives of the communities in which they serve. Visit Cross River at https://www.crossriver.com/   Subscribe to Jewish History Soundbites Podcast on: PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/ or your favorite podcast platform Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites For sponsorship opportunities about your favorite topics of Jewish history or feedback contact Yehuda at:  yehuda@yehudageberer.com  

We read in Parashat Vayehi the special berachot that Yaakov gave to his sons just before his passing. He addressed each son individually, and delivered a specific blessing that was appropriate for each one. After telling us of all the berachot , the Torah summarizes this event by stating, ויברך אותם, איש אשר כברכתו ברך אותם – "He blessed them; each one according to his [appropriate] blessing did he bless them" (49:28). The Or Ha'haim takes note of the last word in this pasuk – אותם . Rather than say, ברך אותו – that Yaakov blessed each son with the blessing that was appropriate for him , the Torah instead says that ברך אותם – Yaakov blessed them with the blessing that was appropriate for each of the sons. The Or Ha'hahim 's explanation of this nuance is exceedingly powerful, and so relevant to us. He writes that each son's blessing was a blessing for all the other sons, as well. When the tribe of Gad is blessed, this is a blessing for the entire Jewish Nation. When the tribe of Asher is blessed, this is a blessing for the entire Jewish Nation. And the same is true of every other tribe. When any of the tribes succeeds and prospers, the entire nation benefits. A blessing for one group is a blessing for all the others, because, at the end of the day, we are a single nation. This is so crucial for us to remember today, when Am Yisrael is fragmented into so many different groups and subgroups. We often make the terrible mistake of assigning labels and names to different groups of Jews, regarding them as lower and less significant. Each group within the Jewish Nation, understandably, sees itself as exceptional, and as the most correct group. There is nothing wrong with this kind of pride, but this does not mean that we can or should assign derogatory labels to other groups. We are all in this together. And in case we may have forgotten that we're all in this together, our enemies have given us a very stark reminder of this fact over the past year. Our adversaries really don't care about our different customs, different prayer texts, different positions on important religious issues, different levels of observance, different countries of origin, different modes of dress, or the many other differences between the various groups of Jews. They see us as all the same – and this is how we must see ourselves, as well. Instead of looking down on other groups, or dismissing them as inferior, we need be helping and looking out for them – with the understanding that one group's success is a win for our entire nation. This is true also within our community. Our community has numerous different groups and subgroups, all of whom must be committed to one another. Each group has what to contribute to all of us, and can be a blessing to all of us and to all Am Yisrael . Too often, shidduch suggestions are turned down because the young man or young woman is from "the wrong kind of family," which is "not like us." This is a terrible mistake. We all know people who come from difficult backgrounds but grew to become the most wonderful people. The labels we given to a group within our community, or to certain families in our community, are so damaging. The Gemara in Masechet Baba Metzia (58b) teaches that people who refer to someone by a nickname, even if the person is not embarrassed by that nickname, are sentenced to Gehinam , and never rise from there. The Maharsha explains that assigning someone a nickname is akin to מוציא שם רע – slander. When we label a person or a group, we are basically announcing to the world that the person or group is bad, and irredeemable. That person or group is then dismissed and rejected. And this should never happen. We need to stop labelling, and to start respecting. We need to remember that we're all in this together, that every group bring our nation great blessing, and we must therefore all help one another achieve and succeed – realizing that every group's achievement is our achievement, and their success is our success.

Today is the song of the Pered/Mule . As we know, a horse and a donkey make a mule. That doesn't even sound like a creature to me. What is his greatness? His song is: פֶּרֶד אוֹמֵר. יוֹדוּךָ יְיָ כָּל מַלְכֵי אָרֶץ כִּי שָׁמְעוּ אִמְרֵי פִיךָ: (תהילים קלח ד) All the kings of the world will praise You, because they heard the words of Your mouth. What does this refer to? We need to go to the Gemara in Kiddushin 31A, where it says the great Ulah made a derasha on why it says Imrei ficha / Words of Your mouth and not Ma'Amareh Ficha When Hashem said, Anochi V'Lo Yiheh Lecha, I am Hashem, there is no one but Me, the nations heard about that and thought He only cares about Himself. But when they heard Kabed et Aviva V'et Imecha, they reverted to belief in the original statements. The Maharsha explains the word Imre comes from imra , which is the end of a garment. So when they got to the end of the first half of the Luchot and they heard, on the side of ben Adam L'Makom , that Hashem brought in parents, they said, " So He's not just out for Himself." Moreover, the Chatam Sofer says, simply speaking, Kibud Av V'Em is between man and man. Only the first four commandments, so to say, concerned Hashem. The other six were for people. So when they saw that Hashem gave the majority to Ben Adam L'Chavero, that impressed them. That's our pasuk. The next piece of information is a Tosafot in Hagiga 2B that quotes a Tosefta in the fifth perek that a certain Tanna said You're not allowed to ride on a mule because a mule is kilayim . It's a mixture of a donkey and a horse, and therefore you can't benefit from it. Although we don't hold like that, they questioned, "What about the pasuk in Melachim 1,1 that says Shlomo Hamelech was on a mule? How can it be forbidden? To which the Yerushalmi says (in the perek of Kilayim) that this mule was created at the beginning of time, according to the opinion that God created mules as well. So, what exactly is the purpose of Hashem creating a mule from the beginning of time- just for Shlomo Hamelech to ride on? What's going on? The Chatam Sofer, in his sefer Torat Moshe on sefer Likutim, says that a horse symbolizes arrogance, as we said in a previous lesson. And the Ramban writes this on Ki Gaoh Gaah Sus V'Rochbo Rama B'Yam , that Hashem was more arrogant or more powerful than the horse and its rider. And the hamor/donkey symbolizes humility . The donkey keeps his head down, he doesn't bother anybody. That's why Abraham Avinu, Moshe Rabbenu, and Mashiach, BeH b'yamenu, all ride on donkeys, which symbolize humility. The king has a mixture. On one hand, he has to be arrogant. It says He can't forgo his honor because he's the king. The king has to be in charge of the country, he has to be tough. On the other hand, internally, his heart has to be broken, as it says, he is not allowed be externally arrogant. On one hand, externally, he has to show a royal appearance. There are many laws about his kavod. He can't bathe with people.. etc. It says that he has to be the king above you, and upon you. The Gemara in Ketubot 17 says, if a king forgives his honor, the honor is not forgiven. The Torah tells us, You shall place the king upon you. Which the Gemara says means, fear has to be upon you. So on one hand, the king has to be feared. He has to have a presence. But inside, he can't be arrogant. Therefore, God wanted Shlomo Hamelech to ride on this mule. It has the blend of the horse, which has a little bit of arrogance, and the donkey, which has humility. Beautiful. That's what the mule represents. And Hashem is similar. On one hand, Hashem is the king. Ge'ut Lavesh/He wears arrogance. On the other hand, it says, wherever you find Hashem's greatness, you find His humility. We see this in the Aseret HaDibrot. Hashem says four things about Himself, and then suddenly tells us, Respect your parents, and so on. And that's when the nations of the earth said, " יוֹדוּךָ יְיָ כָּל מַלְכֵי אָרֶץ All the kings will praise God." Why the kings? Because the kings look to God and say, " Look at how, how God acts. He has a blend of arrogance and humility. And therefore, the song of the mule is the song of the blend of arrogance and humility. His song is, " Listen, oh, kings of the world, listen and look at the way Hashem acts." And our first major king, (David Hamelech was the first king, but it says Shlomo Hamelech was the full strength, he was the 15th generation from Avraham Avinu. He was the moon in its fullest phase. And that is the ultimate- even with all his wives and his wealth and his power, with that, he still had a blend of humility. That's the message of the mule. And that's the message to all of us, to have this blend and appreciate these Middot.

Yahrtzeit Yomi #1281!! ה כסלו (Friday) The Maharsha רב שמואל אליעזר ב״ר יהודה הלוי איידעל׳ס מהרש״א (1555 - 1631)

Welcome to our Perek Shira class. Today's class is on a bird called the Rachama , which says, אֶשְׁרְקָה לָהֶם וַאֲקַבְּצֵם כִּי פְדִיתִים וְרָבוּ כְּמוֹ רָבוּ: (זכריה י ח) I will whistle to them and I will gather them in because I have redeemed them. This is God talking, saying that He will redeem the Jewish people. Eshrika is a whistling sound of sorts that gathers people in, as in this case of when Mashiach is going to come. The Tur, on Or HaChaim רפו in explaining on Shabbat, says we know that if we keep two Shabbatot , Mashiach will come. And in Musaf Shabbat, we say Tikanta Shabbat Ratzita Korbanoteha / You you set up Shabbat, You wanted, its Korbanot. If you pay attention to the Rashei Tevot, it goes backwards alphabetically, from Taf to Shin to Resh , to Kuf . That's called TaShRaK . And the Tur says it's based on this pasuk of ' Eshrika/I will whistle.' because when we keep Shabbat, it brings in the exile. So we hint to the whistling of this pasuk in Zachariah 10,8 every time we say Musaf Shabbat. Many siddurs have these letters bolded, to hint to this concept. Do what does this pasuk have to do with this specific bird? Why is this bird singing this song? The Gemara in Hulin 63A says the Aramaic name for this bird is the Sharakrok , because it makes this whistling sound. And why is it called Racham ? Rav Yochanan explains that when the Racham comes, mercy comes, and Rashi and the Maharsha quote Rav Bebe who says that when he makes this whistling sound while perched on a fence or the like, it means that rain is going to come, which is a level of mercy. But , he says, we have a tradition that if he's on the ground (which is not the normal place for him to stand) when he makes this whistling sound, it's a sign that Mashiach is coming. So now we have a deeper insight. This bird is literally the bird that's going to announce Mashiach, with its whistling sounds. So the Racham is the one that sings about the whistling of Mashiach because he also whistles, to indicate God's mercy. In today's day and age, the mercy of God is symbolized through rain, and the ultimate rain, the ultimate mercy will be in Mashiach's time. Therefore, the song of this bird is the song of the in-gatherings of Mashiach. The Maharsha on Hulin adds a beautiful thought on the pasuk, (ישעיהו נ״ב:ז׳) מה נאוו על ההרים רגלי מבשר משמיע שלום. / How beautiful are the mountains and the feet of the one that's going to announce Mashiach. We in the Sephardic world say this in our Hoshana Raba and Simchat Torah prayers: מבשר , מבשר ואמר we will have the sound of the one announcing, referring to the announcing of Mashiach. And right before that, we say "Like it says, מה נאוו על ההרים רגלי מבשר how nice it will be on the mountains, the feet of the mevaser/ which refers to this bird, says the Maharsha. We're happy when we see this bird on the mountains . Because normally, he's on the fence whistling. When he whistles on the fence, it means rain is coming. But when we see him whistling on the ground , that's really beautiful. That's the sign that Mashiach is coming. How beautiful and how deep the words of Perek Shira ! The bird called the Rachama , the bird of mercy, in Aramaic, the Shararok bird makes the 'shararok ' sound of whistling, because he is the indicator of Mashiach. And again, we hint to him, according to the Tur, every time we say musaf Shabbat, where we say Tikanta Shabbat Ratzita Korbanoteha- TaShRaK The Sefer Lekutei Amarim says something interesting about this bird in the name of the Yavetz, that rain sometimes comes without warning. Nowadays we have weather apps, but in the old days they had no idea. They used signs of nature to know when rain was coming but it could just come suddenly. And the same is true with Mashiach. There are many simanim that the Gemara gives us, such as when there is inflation etc, but we have to know that Mashiach can come suddenly, just like the rain comes suddenly without any warning. It says, ופתאום יבא אל היכלו האדון Suddenly our master will come to His courtyard. God will come suddenly, without a warning. Rav Chaim Volozhin once told his wife, " You know what's going to be when Mashiach comes? I'm going to be sitting, one day, eating my breakfast and you'll come running into the room and say, "Chaim, Chaim! What are you doing? Mashiach is here! " That's how sudden it's going to be. We have to be hoping and looking forward. When we see these signs, we have to say, it could happen, Mashiach could come. That's the beautiful song of the Sharakrok whistling and letting us know that at any moment the rain can come, and at any moment Mashiach can come. Have a wonderful day.

Yesterday we spoke about the domesticated goose, and today is the song of the Avaz Habar , which is the wild goose . The word bar is Aramaic for outside, like bariyta in Gemara, which means that it's something that was left out, or mil bar which means outside. The outdoor, non- domesticated goose says, הַמְּשׁוֹטֶטֶת בַּמִּדְבָּר. כְּשֶׁרוֹאֵה אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל עוֹסְקִים בַּתּוֹרָה אוֹמֶרֶת. /As it's hovering over the desert, when it sees the Jewish people toiling in Torah, it says, קוֹל קוֹרֵא בַּמִּדְבָּר, פָּנוּ דֶּרֶךְ יי, יַשְׁרוּ בַּעֲרָבָה מְסִלָּה לֶאֱלֹהֵינוּ, /There's a voice calling out in the desert, Open up/smooth out the path. Make straight in the plains a path for our God A cryptic statement from the wild goose. To explain, many commentaries cite a story in Gemara in Masechet Baba Batra, 73B, which tells many stories from Rabba BarHana, many of them difficult and cryptic. This is the 10th of those stories: " Raba BarHana says, Once upon a time, I was in the desert and I saw these geese. They were so fat that their feathers fell out and a river of fat flowed out from under them. ( so, these are very fat geese) And I told them, ' Are we sadikim going to eat from you in Olam Haba?' And one of them picked up his wing (as if to say yes), and the other one picked up his thigh. When I came to Rev Eliezer, he said, ' The Jewish people are going to be held responsible for this. '" Responsible for what ? The Rashbam explains that because the Jewish people are sinning and not allowing Mashiach to come, these poor geese are suffering. They're so fat because they're waiting for us to eat them, so we are going to be held responsible for Tsar Baalei Chaim , the pain that we're causing them. The Maharsha says the lesson of this story is the great reward waiting for the sadikim in the times of the Mashiach, and that great day is referred to as the midbar , as Yehezkiel 20,35 says, וְהֵבֵאתִ֣י אֶתְכֶ֔ם אֶל־מִדְבַּ֖ר הָעַמִּ֑ים וְנִשְׁפַּטְתִּ֤י אִתְּכֶם֙ ׃ / I will bring you to the desert of the nations, and I will judge. So the wild geese of the midbar refer to the time of Mashiach, And though we believe happened these stories occurred, theres always a deeper message. This story is talking about physical pleasures, but the message refers to the spiritual enjoyment for the one that will merit it in the times of tremendous wisdom, like it says in Yeshaya 11,9, כִּֽי־מָלְאָ֣ה הָאָ֗רֶץ דֵּעָה֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֔ה כַּמַּ֖יִם לַיָּ֥ם מְכַסִּֽים The land will be full of knowledge like the oceans are covered with water. As we mentioned previously, the Gemara in Berachot 57A says that geese are a hint to wisdom of the Torah, and when one dreams of a goose, it means he's going to have wisdom. The oil flowing also is a hint to spiritual pleasures. (Oil always hints to the spiritual, like the oil in the Menorah) When Raba, who was a wise man, asked these geese, ' Will I have a portion of this great pleasure in the world to come, ' they hinted to him that it's not enough just to learn. You also have to do , That is why one of them picked up his wing and the other picked up his foot, to show learning is important, but you also have to do-you have to move forward, with your feet. Hashem wants to bring the Mashiach, to give us reward, but we aren't chasing the the spiritual. We are a little too involved in the physical, and that's holding us back. So, getting back to our cryptic pasuk, When the wild goose sees the Jewish people learning Torah, he says, " Oh, they're learning Torah, they're bringing the Mashiach, קוֹל קוֹרֵא בַּמִּדְבָּר /We're going to announce in the desert , referring to Mashiach's times. He says, פָּנוּ דֶּרֶךְ יי, יַשְׁרוּ בַּעֲרָבָה מְסִלָּה לֶאֱלֹהֵינוּ, Clear the way. Get a path ready God, Mashiach is going to come, because he sees the Jews learning Torah. He will no longer have to suffer, waddling around in pain, because he's so fat. That's why it says Mishotetet - he hovers- he doesn't fly because he's so fat. That's the message of the wild goose. What unbelievable, hidden wonders are found in Perek Shira ! Finally, the Chida, in Kikar LaAden, adds a beautiful point in his commentary. Why is it that we need Oskim B'Torah ? He tells us that Moshe Rabbenu died in the desert, not because he deserved to die, but because when the ship goes down, the captain goes down with the ship. Since the Jewish people sinned, Moshe Rabbenu went down with them. When Mashiach comes and the people in the desert get up for Tehiyat Hametim , Moshe Rabbenu is going to bring them back. We're going to be saved in the merit of Moshe Rabbenu. He quotes the Zohar Hadash that Moshe Rabbenu is the one that gave the Torah. He demands the honor and respect of Torah, and therefore, Mashiach will only come when there's a proliferation of Torah. That's why when the goose sees us learning Torah, and he knows that's what Moshe Rabbenu wants, he starts to sing the song that Mashiach is coming.

The Chidush of the Maharsha. Source Sheet: https://res.cloudinary.com/ouinternal/image/upload/outorah%20pdf/nmwrivax6ilojdaejbop.pdf --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yechezkel-hartman/support

The unique place where we find the Maharsha addressing the Maharal. Source Sheet: https://res.cloudinary.com/ouinternal/image/upload/outorah%20pdf/e0h9ng5j2bn2egw5cncy.pdf --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yechezkel-hartman/support

SIGN UP!: UPCOMING LIVE Q&A! https://bit.ly/RBQALIVE   Dedication opportunities are available for episodes and series at  https://ohr.edu/donate/qa   Questions? Comments? podcasts@ohr.edu   Yeshivat Ohr Somayach located in the heart of Jerusalem, is an educational institution for young Jewish English-speaking men. We have a range of classes and programs designed for the intellectually curious and academically inclined - for those with no background in Jewish learning to those who are proficient in Gemara and other original source material. To find the perfect program for you, please visit our website https://ohr.edu/study_in_israel​ whatsapp us at https://bit.ly/OSREGISTER or call our placement specialist at 1-254-981-0133 today!   Subscribe to the Rabbi Breitowitz Q&A Podcast at https://plnk.to/rbq&a   Submit questions for the Q&A with Rabbi Breitowitz https://forms.gle/VCZSK3wQJJ4fSd3Q7   Subscribe to our YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/OhrSomayach/videos   00:00 - 21:14 The controversy of the Ralbag 21:15 - 30:39 What is a higher spiritual level, to learn Torah or to bring others closer to Hashem? 30:40 - 32:39 The Gemoro says it is forbidden to fill one's mouth with laughter, what does this mean today? 32:40 - 42:17 What is the role of Mussar in Rosh Hashana? 42:18 - 51:54 Why does the Torah prohibit continued social contact with former spouses and significant others? 51:55 - 1:02:07 Why does the Yeshivah world put more emphasis on Gemoro than other learnings? 1:02:08 - 1:04:47 Can you count a person who breaks Shabbas for a Minyan or give them an Aliyah? 1:04:48 - 1:08:00 What is the pshat of the Maharsha of Rebi Yehuda who was cholek on his Rebi? 1:08:01 - 1:12:11 How should we approach Sha'ar Yichud of Chovos HaLevavos? 1:12:12 - 1:16:00 In Elul, how does a person know if he's going too fast or too slow? 1:16:01 - If a Kohen is getting an Aliyah and he is still in Tachanun, what should he do? 1:17:00 - 1:18:55 In what was said above about the Ralbag, could that be related to the idea that ‘history repeats itself' 1:18:56 - 1:20:03 If I come late to the Minyan should I skip Pesukei D'Zimra? 1:20:04 - 1:23:12 If Olam Haba is such a fundamental principle of Judaism, why is not mentioned in the Torah? 1:23:13 - 1:26:08 If Olam Haba is the greatest point, what can one's relationship be with their body? 1:26:09 - 1:30:03 ‘God loves me I don't have to do Mitzvahs anymore', how would the Rav respond to this? 1:30:04 - 1:31:14 Is one allowed to work in cash advance jobs?   You can listen to this and many other Ohr Somayach programs by downloading our app, on Apple and Google Play, ohr.edu and all major podcast platforms. Visit us @ https://ohr.edu  PRODUCED BY: CEDAR MEDIA STUDIOS  

Hashem is in charge and present in Bogota just as He is in the Holy of Holies in the Beis Hamikdash. The Rebbe explains a Maharsha. https://www.torahrecordings.com/rebbe/igroskodesh/011/010/3676

Welcome to our special Musaf Rosh Hashanah Pesukim series. We're now in the fourth pasuk of Shofarot. As we discussed, the first three pesukim of Shofarot refer to the shofar of Har Sinai. The next three refer to our shofar, that we blow on Rosh Hashanah, and the last three refer to the shofar of the times of Mashiach. Our pasuk today is from Tehilim 47,6 עָלָ֣ה אֱ֭לֹהִים בִּתְרוּעָ֑ה יְ֝הֹוָ֗ה בְּק֣וֹל שׁוֹפָֽר׃ Hashem/Elokim (in His trait of justice) goes up in the Teruah, Hashem (with His trait of mercy) b'kol shofar. The Teruah , which is a broken blast of the shofar, refers to Hashem's justice, and that's why the term Elohim , which is God's justice, is used, whereas Shofar refers to the straight sound of the Tekiyah , and that refers to Hashem's trait of mercy. This is quoted by the Maharsha in Rosh Hashanah 32B and indicated in a famous Midrash brought down the Pisikta Rabbati parashat מ - David Hamelech tells us there is no greater force than the shofar that removes God's trait of justice and brings Him close to mercy. On Rosh Hashanah God sits down on the chair of justice and when we blow the shofar, God switches from His justice to His mercy. That's why it starts off, Elohim - God plans on going up as an Elohim , and the power of the shofar turns Him into Hashem . So God switches from His chair of justice to His chair of mercy. The Slah, also known as the Noda BiYehuda (his real name was Rabbi Yehuda Landau), was one of the Gedolim of a few hundred years ago. In his sefer on Hagigah 14A, he shares something fascinating: What are these two chairs? What's this chair of mercy? Does Hashem have a separate mercy chair? He cites the Yalkut Shimoni in Malachim 2,46 which talks about the wicked king Menashe. Menashe caused a lot of idol worship. His father Chizkiyah saw, with Ruach Hakodesh , how bad he would be, and therefore he didn't want to get married, until the prophet came and told him, " You're going to die because you don't want to have children." He married the prophet's daughter and ended up having this Menashe. Menashe was extremely wicked. He actually killed the prophet, his grandfather! Ultimately , Menashe was caught by the enemy and was placed in a copper cauldron. They were about to boil him alive. After calling out to all the idols and not getting answered, he said, " I remember my father taught me a pasuk, 'When you are in pain and all difficulties are happening, return to Hashem, your God.' I'm going to try it." So he called out to God, but the angels were blocking the windows of the heaven, so as not to allow his prayer to go up. They said, " God, this man put an idol into the Bet HaMikdash! We're going to let him return in Teshuva?!" But God, so of say, has to follow the rules. God made a tunnel under the Kiseh Hakavod and allowed his Teshuva to sneak in. Says the Slah, That is the Kiseh Rachamim/the chair of mercy. When God wants to, so to say, circumvent the angels and let somebody in, He lets them in . What exactly does that mean for us? How are we to understand this? The Yaarot Devash , Rav Yonatan Eybeshutz says something fascinating ( helek rishon derush 15) He says, Chizkiyah didn't want to get married because he saw Menashe with Ruach Hakodesh . But, he says, Ruach Hakodesh comes through angels, and therefore he was not privy to the final, happy ending of Menashe being chozer B'Teshuvah, because the angels didn't believe Menashe was deserving. Based on the angelic knowledge of the future, there was no hope for Menashe. That's why Chizkiyah didn't want to have children. But what he didn't know was that Menashe would be accepted by God. It says he ended up becoming the chief of all Baalei Teshuva in Gan Eden!. Chizikiyah didn't realize what he brought into the world through Menashe. Fascinating . What's even more fascinating is this chair of mercy, where God looks down and doesn't just see where we are right now, what we're fit for right now. God sees the Teshuva in the person, and the greatness of our future. This is different than what we learn from Yishmael, about the way you are now. He quotes a midrash in Bereshit 53,14 that says that when the angels wanted to kill Yishmael, Hashem said, I see what you don't see. I see the Yishmael is going to make Teshuva . The angels didn't know that. They knew his wickedness. They didn't know his Teshuvah. And that's the concept of the chatira . The Yaarot Dvash says, look at how much Hashem does for us, that there can be someone that even the angels don't see any hope for, and Hashem, with His mercy, opens a special door for him. He says, This is one of the miracles that God does for us, and quotes the Pasuk in Tehilim, Even Maasu HaBonim Hayeta L'Rosh Pinah/The rock that the builders despised becomes great, and says it refers to Baalei Teshuva. The angels despised him, yet he became the chief, even greater than Sadikim. That is M'Et Hashem Hayta Zot/This is a miracle of God . It's one of the wonders that God does for us, that He's able to see what's going to happen and accept even the most distant person in Teshuva , which is aroused at the time of the shofar. So, whoever you are and whatever you are, that's what happens at the time of Shofar .

Gemara Bava Kamma 38b- positive/negative aspects of each daughter and the resulting reward/punishment, as explained by Maharsha

The deep explanations of the Maharsha and the Vilna Gaon. Source Sheet: https://res.cloudinary.com/ouinternal/image/upload/outorah%20pdf/rz1x9baxjbtwq8efi4uw.pdf --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yechezkel-hartman/support

We continue with part two of Yeshaya, 50, 10. מִ֤י בָכֶם֙ יְרֵ֣א יְהֹוָ֔ה שֹׁמֵ֖עַ בְּק֣וֹל עַבְדּ֑וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר ׀ הָלַ֣ךְ חֲשֵׁכִ֗ים וְאֵ֥ין נֹ֙גַהּ֙ ל֔וֹ יִבְטַח֙ בְּשֵׁ֣ם יְהֹוָ֔ה וְיִשָּׁעֵ֖ן בֵּאלֹהָֽיו׃ Who amongst you is fearful of God, that listens to the voice of his servant, that went in the darkness without any shining. Rely on the name of God and lean on your God . The Gemara in Berachot 6B explains this pasuk in a Midrashic way. Who are we talking about? We're talking about a man who usually comes to shul but didn't come one day. God takes attendance and says, Where's this fellow? What happened to him? מִ֤י בָכֶם֙ יְרֵ֣א יְהֹוָ֔ה / Where are you, oh God-fearing man שֹׁמ ֵ֖עַ בְּק֣וֹל עַבְדּ֑וֹ / You usually listen to the voice of the servant (referring to the Hazan. Just like the kohen is the servant of Hashem, so too, the hazan is like the kohen in the Bet Hamikdash, says the Maharsha). We're asking, What happened to you? Where are you? You missed a day. Why did you miss ? First of all, אֲשֶׁ֣ר ׀ הָלַ֣ךְ חֲשֵׁכִ֗ים /you're going in the dark. What does “going in the dark” mean ? According to this explanation, ‘going in the dark' means you didn't go to shul. In sefer Chefetz Hashem , Rav Chaim Ben Atar, famous for his commentary Or HaChaim Hakadosh, tells us that whenever you go to shul, there's a light in shul. The Gaon of Vilna says this too, in his sefer Imrei Noam . When a person walks into shul, there's a light there, and you are surrounded by that light every time you go to shul. So, what happened to you? Why didn't you come to shul? The Gemara continues, If you went to do another mitzvah, that's ok. You'll shine from that mitzvah. So if you were on a Hatzolah call or had some emergency that had to be taken care of, and that's why you couldn't come to shul, that Mitzvah will give you the shine. So, we understand from this pasuk that God comes to shul in the morning and takes attendance. If you're not there, He says, Where are you? You're in the dark because you didn't come to shul. But if it was because you did a mitzvah, you're shining. If you didn't do a mitzvah, וְאֵ֥ין נֹ֙גַהּ֙ ל֔ו /there's no shining . And if you say, “ I'll tell you what my mitzvah was. I went to work early to support my family. That's my mitzvah- that's my excuse for not being in shul. ” Hashem will say, “ No, that's not an excuse . יִבְטַח֙ בְּשֵׁ֣ם יְהֹוָ֔ה וְיִשָּׁעֵ֖ן בֵּאלֹהָֽיו You should have relied on God. You should have leaned on God. Why did you miss shul? You do not have the mitzva right now of parnasa. The Gaon of Vilna says, Yes, parnasa is mitzva. When you go to work after shul, you could say, Leshem Yichud, I'm now going to support my family. That's a wonderful thing. But , he says, not during the time of prayer . Because during the time of prayer, what God wants you to do is pray for your parnasa. He told you, Go to work, but before you go to work, go pray. Work is a mitzvah after prayer, not before prayer. Why didn't you take off from work to pray? Obviously , says God, because you weren't relying on Me enough. You thought you had to get there earlier. That's a mistake. This a very, very important concept for us shul-goers. When you're in high school, the rabbi takes attendance. He gives out detention for missing Shaharit, and there's a Hot Cocoa club if you come on time… But now you may think, I'm not in high school anymore. I'm free. But that's a mistake. God takes attendance . God says, Where are you? You're missing in shul. That in itself is an honor. You're a shul-goer. Rashi says the way to read the pasuk is, מִ֤י בָכֶם֙ יְרֵ֣א יְהֹוָ֔ה / Who is that God-fearing man? The God-fearing man is the man that goes to shul. He goes to shul every day. This is a nice, positive twist. If you are a consistent shul goer, you're in God's roll book. You're a God-fearing man. But what happened to you? Where are you today? Why didn't you come to shul? Some people like to feel missed and noticed. Hashem is asking about you. That's also a beautiful concept, because you may think, So many people go to shul, does anyone miss me? Nobody called me. I was out for a few days. Sometimes people are missing for a few days, and you think they went on a trip, but really, they weren't feeling well, and no one even called for them. Or worse, no one even knew they were missing. Well, you should know that when you don't come to shul, God knows you're missing and He's checking on you. Where are you? Hopefully, you have a good excuse, that you were involved in a mitzvah. There are a lot of beautiful messages and concepts to take away from this pasuk- -When you walk into shul, you're basking in the light of God, and when you don't go to shul, you're missing that light. If you do another mitzva or you're on a Hatzolah call, that's a different light. These are wonderful, wonderful lessons. We just don't see these things. I remember many years ago, Rabbi Ades got onto the Torah bus that went from Deal to the city one day when we were still in Deal, and he said, “ If you had eyes to see it, you'd see a shining light coming out of this bus. Here you are, 20-30 men going to and from the city, learning there and back. ” We don't see it, but there's a light coming out of shul. The shul is like the Bet Hamikdash. The Bet Hamikdash had windows that were made in a way that the light came out of them, not into them. A shul is a house of light. You get cloaked in light when you come to shul. And if you're not there, God says, What happened to this man? He's missing ? Where's his light? There are many beautiful lessons here to appreciate. Have a great day.

The Maharsha's explanation here, and the great cry of the Maharal.  Source Sheet: https://res.cloudinary.com/ouinternal/image/upload/outorah%20pdf/bfuqluvlmmumw7zwvazf.pdf --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yechezkel-hartman/support

The Gemara says we don't say Hallel on Purim because the reading of the Megilah takes the place of Hallel. On the surface level, this is difficult to understand. Hallel is words of praise to Hashem while reading the Megila just tells a story. In fact, the name of Hashem is not written there at all, so where exactly is the praise? One answer is that precisely because Hashem's name is not there, and we are reading the story with the understanding that He is behind everything that was happening, that itself is the praise of Hashem- recognizing that He's behind the scenes in every occurrence, and there's a master plan in motion. Whenever someone relates a Hashgacha Peratit story, it's the same kind of praise. They're understanding that the seemingly regular events that took place in their lives were completely orchestrated by Hashem. They put Hashem's name into every sentence and turn a mundane story into a great mitzvah. The more a person can recognize Hashem's involvement, the greater the praise becomes. Rabbi Menashe Reizman quoted a Chatam Sofer who brought to light an unbelievable praise of Hashem in Megillat Esther. It says there that Ahashverosh had seven close advisors, and when Vashti refused his request, he advised with them on how to go about punishing her. As we know, Vashti being killed is what paved the way for Esther to come in and bring about salvation to Klal Yisrael. It was this meeting that was deciding the fate of Vashti. There was already a prosecution in heaven on Vashti, being the granddaughter of Nevuchadnezer who destroyed the Beit Hamikdash, but that was not enough to seal her fate. The Gemara says that each of the names of the seven advisors hinted to a different aspect of the service of the Beit Hamikdash, and that brought the angels in heaven to ask Hashem to have mercy on His nation, in the merit of the service of the Beit Hamikdash. כרשנא (Karshena), the name of the first advisor, sounds like the words Kar Ben Shana, which the Maharsha says refers to the daily offerings in the Beit Hamikdash. The angels in heaven said to Hashem, ‘If you don't save the Jews, who is going to bring the Kar Ben Shana?' The next advisor's name was שתר (Shetar), which sounds like the words שתי תורין (Sheteh Torin), the two turtle doves that were brought for certain offerings. And once again, the angels said to Hashem, ‘If you don't save the Jews, who is going to bring those offerings to You?' The third advisor's name was אדמתא (Admata), which hints to the Mizbe'ach Adama, the altar made of earth upon which all of the Korbanot were brought. The next advisor's name was תרשיש (Tarshish), which alludes to the Tarshish stone that was put into the breastplate of the Kohen Gadol, who worked in the Beit Hamikdash. The next advisor's name was מרס (Meres), which alludes to the stirring of the blood of certain bird offerings. The next advisor's name was מרסנא (Marsina), which alluded to the stirring of the oil and flour in a flour offering. The last advisor's name was ממוכן (Memuchan), which alludes to the preparation of the Shulchan upon which the 12 loaves of bread were placed. For each of these things, the angels asked Hashem, ‘Who is going to continue them if Your nation will perish?' Because of those advocating angels, who were prompted because of the names of those advisors, the fate of Vashti was sealed for death, and the pathway of salvation was paid for the Jews. Says the Chatam Sofer, Look at the unbelievable Hashgacha of Hashem here, and how much He loves and cares for us. He knew that one day these seven people would be meeting together in a room, and the Jews would need zechuyot at that time to have judgment in their favor. So, He put into the minds of the parents of these seven goy advisors, decades before, to name their children those specific names that would allude to the service in the Beit Hamikdash. Hashem was planning our salvation from decades before, even going deep into the minds of those Persian parents to make sure they name their children accordingly. The Hashgacha of Hashem is mind blowing! Every time we expose another aspect of His Hashgacha, we are also singing a type of Hallel and giving Him praise.

Can you lie about being drunk on Purim? See the Maharsha on today's Daf for an incredible Purim connection! For more on the topic of Ad D'Lo Yada...*Real-Talk Torah: Bringing Our Kids to the Level of Ad D'Lo Yada (without an Ounce of Wine)

The Mishnah Berurah writes that we fast on Ta'anit Esther because on the 13th of Adar the Jewish people gathered together to fight for their lives and they needed to cry out to Hashem and fast to get Heavenly help to defeat their enemies. The fast is to remind us that whenever a person is in trouble and he fasts and makes teshuva and cries out to Hashem in tefila, Hashem will hear his prayers and bring him salvation. Rabbenu Bachya writes in parashat V'etchanan that tefilah is so great, it has the ability to change nature. Tefila is so great, it has the ability to save someone from potential harm. And tefila is so great, it has the ability to nullify any decree. The Me'iri and the Maharsha both write, tefila could change a person's mazal , which means even if a person was destined not to have something, tefila could change that destiny. The Kav HaYashar writes that specifically on Ta'anit Esther there's a segula that prayers are readily accepted in the merit of Mordechai and Esther. A person must always believe that no matter how bleak a situation appears to be, prayer can take him out of it. Sometimes it may require dozens of tefilot, sometimes it may require hundreds of tefilot, the main thing is that the prayers are said with sincerity and kavanah and belief that Hashem is listening and waiting to help. It is never too late to be helped. Recently, a Rosh Yeshiva in Eretz Yisrael was zocheh to have his first child at the age of 88. He did not merit to have children with his first wife, who passed away about six years ago. And now, after five years of marriage with his second wife, she gave birth to a baby boy at the age of 57. About a year ago, a woman got married at the age of 39. It was a tremendous simcha. Before the chuppah , a woman whose youngest child is 10 years old went over to the kallah and said, “I know that tefilot under the chuppah are very precious. Please, I'm begging you, pray for me. I've been trying to have a child for the last 10 years without success.” The kallah told her, of course she would pray, and then she said she's also going to need heavenly mercy to have children and asked that woman to pray for her. At that moment, they both exchanged names and agreed to pray for each other to have a child. And now, within a year of that chuppah , baruch Hashem, both of them were zocheh to have a baby. If the story ended there, it would be a very nice story, but there's more. Amazingly, both of these women delivered their babies on the exact same day. This is Hashem telling all of us. “I am here. I am listening to your tefilot and I can bring you salvation in an instant. It's up to us to continue believing and continue praying with heartfelt emotion, even if it's been so long without receiving what we have been asking for. B'ezrat Hashem, everyone's tefilot should be mekubal b'ratzon .

We continue in Pesukei Bitachon and as we mentioned, there are very few that actually show up in the Torah. One of them is the Pasuk where Moshe Rabbenu is talking to Hashem after the Jewish people complained (Bamidbar 11) that they wanted to have meat. Moshe says to Hashem, I don't have meat for them. Where am I going to get meat for them? I can't handle this. Hashem says to Moshe, ‘ They're not going to eat for one day. They're not going to eat for two days. They're not gonna eat for five days, for 10 days, for 20 days. They're going to eat meat for a month until it comes out of their noses.' And Moshe says, 600,000 people are going to have meat for a month? If you slaughter the sheep and the cattle and you get the fish together, there's still not going to be enough for them , to which Hashem says, “ היד ה׳ תקצ ר /Is the hand of Hashem short? Hayad Hashem Tiksar? That's all you have to know, those three words. “ And you'll see ,” Hashem tells Moshe, “If what I say will happen or not. ” The question is, obviously Moshe Rabbenu knows God's abilities. Is he saying that Hashem can't do this? The Maharal explains that Moshe Rabbenu thought Hashem wouldn't do a miracle if it meant causing the Jewish people to sin. And more so, they were actually sinners at the moment, so would He commit a miracle for sinners? The answer is obviously yes. The Ramban explains that Moshe thought that Hashem was not going to do a miracle, and so, could this happen in a non-miraculous way? And God says to Moshe, “ You'll see I can make things happen in a non-miraculous way, even the most improbable thing like, a wind comes from God and brings the quail . It wasn't something supernatural, it wasn't a crazy wind. There are things that God can bring about in a natural way. When you think you need a miracle, God says, you don't need a miracle. That's the Ramban's lesson of Ha'Yad Hashem Tiksar. There are situations in life where you think, O nly a miracle will save me . And Hashem says, You don't think I can't take care of you in a natural way? Ha'Yad Hashem Tiksar? This is an important lesson- number one, that God doesn't need miracles. Lesson two, the Ramban's son says, in his Sefer Hamaspik L'Ovdeh Hashem, is a lesson in Hashem's involvement and knowledge in everybody's individual daily lives. Even within nature, Hashem's hand is what makes things happen, although it looks like natural events, because as he says, God doesn't work directly. God has causes, intermediaries and intermediaries after intermediaries to bring things about. And when Moshe says to Hashem , Can this happen? God's answer is, Ha'Yad Hashem Tiksar Is My hand too Short ? My ability extends to everything in every detail of every person's life . Hashem is involved. That's what it means, Ha'Yad Hashem Tiksar I'm not limited. I'm not limited. And I have all of nature at my disposal in the most odd ways that thing can happen. There's a story in the Gemara (Nedarim 41 A) where a rabbi sees a scorpion walking quickly to a river. And seemingly, scorpions don't swim, so it isn't going to get it across the river. But just then a turtle comes by and the scorpion jumpes on the back of the turtle. The turtle then goes across the river with the scorpion on his back. The scorpion jumps off and stings somebody, and they die. When Shmuel saw this, he said, “ They're all your servants.” What does that have to do with our story? The Ran says that when something is supposed to happen, all of creation are God servants . Therefore, that scorpion, or that turtle will make it happen. This wasn't a miracle , this was nature . But, Hayad Hashem Tiksar? We'll find that terrorist wherever he is. Another example the Gemara brings is Kayin. The Gemara says, “ Once a man's time comes…” Kayin said, “ Whoever finds me will kill me.” He was afraid. He was Hayav Mitah. He had a death warrant. So God put a sign on Kayin to protect him from the animals. But in the end, says the Maharsha, how does Kayin get killed? He doesn't get killed by an animal. He gets killed by a blind man shooting, with his son is directing him. The son thinks that he's an animal, and he gets shot by his own descendant, a blind man! So Kayan could run, could be protected from all the animals, but when your time comes, a blind man will shoot you. Ha'Yad Hashem Tiksar God says, I have no shortage of ways to do things in the most natural of ways. I don't need miracles. That's this lesson of Ha'Yad Hashem Tiksar.

Yahrtzeit Yomi #849!! ז כסלו Death of King Herod יום שמת הורדוס (מגילת תענית פרק ט) ------------------------------------------------------------- Shalom u'vracha Rabboisai!! Ah freilichin ז כסלו!! In light of today's Yahrtzeit Yomi edition, I am sharing a very illuminating and insightful “Q&A” from HaRav Avigdor Miller ZTL. His approach is in complete agreement what we presented today from the Maharsha (as the editor points out at the bottom of the text)!! I found it very encouraging to learn that our Rebbi ZTL approached the topic in the same way as we had presented, and I thought that the oilam would likewise find it enlightening. זייט געבענשט!! ------------------------------------------------------------- Rav Avigdor Miller on Why We Say Half-Hallel on Pesach Q: On the last days of Pesach we say only Half-Hallel. Isn't that because of מעשה ידי טובעים בים ואתם אומרים שירה (Megillah 10b)? Aren't we sad that Egyptians were drowned and we therefore don't want to sing to Hashem?  A: The answer is no, it's not because of this; it's not because of מעשה ידי טובעים בים. There is no gemara that says that this is the reason for not saying Hallel on Pesach. I know that it's frequently quoted and people think it's a Gemara, but there is no Gemara to that effect. And even if you show me a medrash that says it, you're misinterpreting the medrash. The reason why we say only half-Hallel is because there was a takana that on the first day of Pesach – for us the first two days – that we have to say Hallel. There is no reason, no takana, to say Hallel on the other days. The other days it was only a minhag to say Hallel. And therefore, because there was no takana, they couldn't say the whole Hallel, so they said half-Hallel. Half-Hallel is only a minhag –  the takana was only the first day. Now, on Sukkos the takana was to say Hallel every day, because on Sukkos every day there was a different korban tzibur brought in the Beis Hamikdash. Because every day was something new and special, like its own Yom Tov, so each day was also made special with the whole Hallel. Pesach, however, has the same korban every day and that's the difference, that's why we say only half-Hallel on all the other days of Pesach. But this reason that you give, you heard it from others, and I've heard it as well many times, but there is no real talmudic authority that says that. Maybe in some sefer it's written, but we have a right to discount it. TAPE #26 (April 1973) (Additional sources shared on WhatsApp group) Editor's Note: In private, the Rav told talmidim that although the reason of “maaseh yadai toiv'im ba'yam” is quoted by the Beis Yosef, the Mishna Berura and others, it is only a drush and the actual reason is the one brought in the gemara in Arachin. The Maharsha (Sanhedrin 39b) clearly says that the gemara in Arachin rejects the angel paradigm as the reason for half-Hallel. The Aruch Hashulchan (490:1) also makes note of the the fact that the actual reason is the Talmudic one as does his son in his Torah Temimah (Shemos 14:20) and many others. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ To dedicate or sponsor, please contact 917-841-5059. First come, first served. Monthly sponsorships are $540. Weekly sponsorships are $180. Daily sponsorships are as follows: Dedications (l'Zecher Nishmas, Zechus shidduch/refuah/yeshuah, etc.) are $50. Sponsorships (fliers, advertising, promotions, additional links, etc.) are $100. The cost to request and sponsor a Tzaddik that is not included on the following list is $180. Kislev Yahrtzeits!! 1. The Rebbe Recovers 2. Rav Aharon Kotler/Rav Nosson Meir Wachtfogel 3. Rav Yaakov Moshe Kulefsky 4. Nevuas Zechariah 5. Maharsha/Rav Boruch Ber 6. Rav Michoel Dov Weissmandel 7. Megillas Taanis 8. Rav Eliezer Geldzahler 9. Mitteler Rebbe 10. Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer ...(see WhatsApp group for full list) Share the Yahrtzeit Yomi link with your contacts!! https://chat.whatsapp.com/JimbwNtBaX31vmRDdnO3yk

Yahrtzeit Yomi #848!! ה כסלו (Shabbos) The Maharsha רב שמואל אליעזר ב״ר יהודה הלוי איידעל׳ס מהרש״א (1555 - 1631) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ To dedicate or sponsor, please contact 917-841-5059. First come, first served. Monthly sponsorships are $540. Weekly sponsorships are $180. Daily sponsorships are as follows: Dedications (l'Zecher Nishmas, Zechus shidduch/refuah/yeshuah, etc.) are $50. Sponsorships (fliers, advertising, promotions, additional links, etc.) are $100. The cost to request and sponsor a Tzaddik that is not included on the following list is $180. Kislev Yahrtzeits!! 1. The Rebbe Recovers 2. Rav Aharon Kotler/Rav Nosson Meir Wachtfogel 3. Rav Yaakov Moshe Kulefsky 4. Nevuas Zechariah 5. Maharsha/Rav Boruch Ber 6. Rav Michoel Dov Weissmandel 7. Megillas Taanis 8. Rav Eliezer Geldzahler 9. Mitteler Rebbe 10. Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer 11. “Kislev Providence” 12. Maharshal/Bas Ayin 13. Ravina brei D'rav Huna 14. Reuven ben Yaakov Avinu 15. Rabi Yehudah HaNasi 16. 2nd Modzhitzer Rebbe 17. Alter of Novardok/Rav Shlomo Heiman 18. Bostoner Rebbe 19. Mezeritcher Maggid 20. Rav Yitzchak Hutner 21. Yom Har Gerizim/Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank 22. Rav Shalom Mordechai Schwadron 23. Galya Masechta 24. Chaggai perek 2/Sdei Chemed 25. Aruch LaNer 26. Ra'avad III 27. Pri Chadash 28. Rav Eliyahu Meir Bloch 29. Cheshek Shlomo

The Tzvi L'Tzaddik writes that chodesh Kislev is a preparation for the Geula HaAtida . It is the month in which the Chanukah candles reveal the light of Mashiach . The Maharsha writes in Masechet Baba Metzia (80b) that Rosh Chodesh in general is a day that is designated to pray for the Mashiach . There are numerous requests in the tefila for Hashem to rebuild the Bet HaMikdash and reestablish the mizbe'ach once again to bring korbanot upon. We need to utilize the day to pray with all our hearts for the Geula . We say in Halel, כל גוים סבבוני – all of the goyim surround us. The Brisker Rav explained, this is referring to Yishmael, who completely surrounds Eretz Yisrael on all sides. How do we defeat them? The pasuk says, בשם ה' כי אמילם – only with the name of Hashem will we be able to cut them down. The pasuk in Melachim 19, describing the powers of Hashem, uses the words מפרק הרים ומשבר סלעים – smashing mountains and breaking rocks. The word סלעי"ם in that pasuk is rosheh tevot (acronym) for סוריה, לבנון, עזה, ירדן, מצרים – Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Jordan and Egypt, the five Yishmael nations surrounding us. It says further, סבבוני גם סבבוני – there are also those surrounding those who surround us. This refers to Turkey, Iran and Iraq. How do we defeat them? בשם ה' כי אמילם – also with the name of Hashem. It says further, סבוני כדבורים דעכו כאש קוצים – they surround us like bees. And Rashi in Devarim , perek 1, says the characteristic of the bee is it strikes man and immediately dies. So too סבוני כדבורים , these nations surrounding us strike like the bee. They don't care to die as long as they sting. How do we defeat them? Once again, the pasuk continues בשם ה' כי אמילם . This means our best weapon in defeating this enemy is by using our voices to cry out to Hashem. The Ramban writes, there is the מצות עשה from the Torah to cry out to Hashem in times of trouble and the Maharam Shik writes, the greater the trouble, the bigger the mitzvah is to pray. As we are witnessing with our own eyes, the trouble extends across the globe, our enemies are everywhere we turn. The only advice is to call out to Hashem. The mefarshim tell us, when Hashem defeats our enemies at the Final Geula , it will become obvious to the entire world that He runs it, and everyone else is powerless. There will be no doubt that the victory belongs to Hashem and, from then on, there will never be persecution again. The Zohar HaKadosh writes, in the End of Days, one of the terrible rasha'im who will rise up against us is named Armilus and he is going to be obliterated. The Malbim writes, at that time it will not be clear from people's names who are the ones referred to in the Nevi'im and in the Midrashim , for example, Gog U'Magog . However, Rabbi Menashe Reisman pointed out that Nasrala is the same gematria as Armilus. We aren't sure who is who, but it doesn't matter. All we need to know is that we need Hashem to help us. It is incumbent upon everyone to use our greatest weapon, our mouths. We need to learn more Torah, we need to cry out more in tefila. And then, b'ezrat Hashem, we will see the fulfillment of the pasuk בשם ה' כי אמילם .

Season 2 of Rav Chaim's Seforim Explored with Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Brodt has been generously sponsored by L'ilui Nishmas Moshe Chaim Ben Yitzchok Dovid. For information about the All Torah apps and websites please visit alltorah.org 0:00 Introduction 2:40 - Additions to previous episodes 7:45 - What if the newly discovered Rishon has a new Girsa in the Gemarah? 8:51 - Beis Medrash and Otzar Midrashim Collections 12:35 - Rashi and Girsos: Based on what sources were his changes made? 17:41 - Sefer HaYashar of Rabbenu Tam 19:48 - Siddur Of R' Shabsi Sofer and manuscripts 21:28 - Maharshal, his Chochmas Shlomo, and manuscripts 25:00 - Maharsha and Bach's corrections: is it based on manuscripts? 26:00 - Was the Vilna Gaon's corrections based on manuscripts? 28:10 - Early usage of manuscripts and the Korban Nesanel 30:22 - Chida and Manuscripts 32:15 - Beis Nosson of R Nosson Krongol 35:30 - The Story of the Dikdukei Sofrim

Approaches of Rambam, Radbaz, Maharsha, Rav Dessler and the Rav to the dispute, or not, about the relative priority of baalei teshuvah and tzaddikim gemurim. Contextualizes the Rav with Rupture and Reconstruction Sourcesheet is here

Length of the article: 2 pagesLength of the audio: 8 minutes 45 secondsSynopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 9/5/23, entitled: Ki Tavo: Lone Learning vs. Group Learning. In this (late) dvar Torah article, we examine a drashah from Chazal about the superiority of group-learning, as interpreted by the Maharal with some help from Ralbag and Maharsha.-----The Torah Content for the month of Elul has been sponsored anonymously in loving memory of Henya bas Tzirel - a mother who cared deeply about her children's engagement with Judaism.-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

Tefila is one of the areas in which we constantly need chizuk . We must remind ourselves from time to time what it says in the Kad HaKemach that tefila is so great, it has the power to even change nature. We must remind ourselves of the Meiri who writes that we should feel confident in the power of one good tefila to break a decree. The effectiveness of any tefila depends on the amount of mesirut nefesh a person is willing to put into it. The more we put in, the more powerful it becomes. And a truly powerful tefila can do wonders. I read a story about a boy named Shimshi Gelles who had outstanding middot and a very strong drive to learn, but he just didn't have the brain power to understand what he was learning. His rebbe in elementary school watched him toil every single day and even shed tears, frustrated, that he just couldn't understand. The rebbe was willing to stay after school and clarify the Gemara for Shimshi, but after many weeks and months of trying, the boy just could not understand. The rebbe was deeply pained, seeing this boy suffer so much. He decided to bring him to Bnei Brak to get a beracha and guidance from Rav Chaim Kaniensky, zatzal . When they arrived, the boy's rebbe praised the boy's yirat Shamayim , sincere tefilot and great efforts in trying to learn, to the Gadol . Rav Chaim smiled and said, “Looks like you need a little more yegia (effort) in Torah.” The rebbe assured Rav Chaim that the boy was putting in every last bit of effort he was capable of. Rav Chaim then asked the boy himself if he davened for hatzlacha in learning, to which the boy replied that he did, and even with tears sometimes. Rav Chaim told the boy to accept upon himself to never miss tefila with a minyan , even if it would require mesirut nefesh . Then he gave him a beracha and the meeting ended. The months and years passed and Shimshi always made sure to never miss minyan . When it was time for him to apply to yeshiva gedola , everyone was surprised when Shimshi got accepted to an excellent yeshiva, although it was due to his yirat Shamayim and exceptional character, as opposed to his learning skills. A few years later, when Shimshi was 19, he came back to his old rebbe and handed him a pamphlet entitled Chidusheh Torah al Masechet Yevamot . The rebbe looked through it and was very impressed by the clarity and depth of each chiddush there. It was obvious that the author was a brilliant talmid chacham . The rebbe asked Shimshi who wrote this? And with a shy smile, Shimshi said, “Hashem helped me put this out. I have so much hakarat hatov to you for putting so much effort into me and now I wanted to show you the fruits of your labor. The rebbe couldn't believe what he was hearing, reminding Shimshi how he couldn't even grasp a simple Tosafot . “What changed?” he asked. Shimshi's eyes shone as he shared the events of the past few years with his rebbe . His first year in yeshiva gedola was very difficult. Sitting in the shiur every day, not understanding a word the Rabbi was saying. At the end of the winter's zeman , the yeshiva went on a trip to holy places in the North of Israel. And by the time they got home that night and this boy walked into his house in Ramot, it was very late. His parents waited up for him, served him dinner and they talked for a while. He was finally getting ready to go to bed at 1:30 am when he realized he didn't say Arbit yet. He knew there were no minyanim in his neighborhood, but he also had the words of Rav Chaim ringing in his head to never miss minyan even if it would require mesirut nefesh . The only definite option he knew of was Zichron Moshe in Geula . He didn't even have a car and there was no public transportation at that time of night. So with tremendous self-sacrifice, he managed to get there close to an hour later. When he arrived, there were six others and they were waiting for a minyan . They waited a long time until close to 3:00 am in the morning and they finally got the tenth. “It was the most special tefila in my life,” Shimshi exclaimed. “From the moment the chazan said Barchu , I felt an overwhelming wave of kavana and passion that I never felt before. Yet it wasn't until I reached אתה חונן לאדם דעת that I felt a change. It was as if a dam opened in my heart and, suddenly, I cried harder than I ever cried before. I stood there in the corner of the shul for about 45 minutes, begging Hashem to open my heart to Torah and to fully understand everything I learn.” After he finished, he looked at the clock and saw that the netz minyan would be starting soon and decided to stay and wait for it and borrow a pair of tefillin . While waiting, he opened a Gemara to the spot they were learning in yeshiva and began to review. For the first time in his life, he actually understood everything he was reading. He then learned Rashi, Tosafot, Maharsha and it was all crystal clear. He cried the entire Shacharit, thanking Hashem for the incredible gift He had just given him. From that day on, he learned with such diligence for hours and hours straight with no interruption. And that is how he was able to write this pamphlet on Masechet Yevamot . He had prayed for years to have success in his learning, but this one extremely powerful tefila was the one that broke nature and changed his life forever. This is the awesome power of a truly heartfelt tefila .

The Maharsha רב שמואל אליעזר ב״ר יהודה הלוי איידעל׳ס מהרש״א (1555 - 1631)

We've been talking about the concept of כל העושה עבירה קונה לו קטגור אחד Whoever does a sin buys (or creates) a negative force. But since we don't like to end on a negative, let's flip to the positive side of this: When a person does a mitzvah, he creates a positive force. As the Mishna says, he gets a defense attorney. As we say in our prayers, “ There should stand up, a defense attorney for us .” An angel that's a defense attorney is created from our Mitzvot. The Sefer Ya'avetz, from one of the great rabbis that survived the Spanish Inquisition, says Listen to the the story of Masechet Chagiga: There was a man that only knew one tractate- Chagiga, and he reviewed and reviewed it anytime he had an opportunity, his entire life. He never stopped. When he passed away, he was not near his family. So God sent an angel that looked like a lady, and this lady was crying, “ My husband, my husband .” Everyone gathered around as the lady cried so bitterly, and said, “ My husband respected me. He never forsook me my whole life. He treated me properly…bury him with great respect.” They asked her what her name was and she said, “ Chagiga .” An interesting name. They did some research and found out that this was not his wife. They found out that he had been learning Masechet Chagiga his entire life. This man had created an angel from all his Torah learning. And he says, that's what it means that הָעוֹשֶׂה מִצְוָה אַחַת, קוֹנֶה לוֹ פְרַקְלִיט אֶחָד. He who does one Mitzvah, acquires one advocate. The Maharsha points out that the pasuk says, “ Someone who comes to do good, to purify himself, they help him.” He says it should say God helps him. Who is they ? And he explains that when a person thinks of doing a good deed, that in itself creates positive angels. In plural- 2 angels. It says, “ They help him.” How? They help him to continue the act fully. And that is the positive side of our ability to create forces-it may not be directly connected to Ahavat Yisrael, but it's an important lesson, nevertheless. We should not just focus on the negative angels we create with our Averot , but focus on the positive angels we create with our mitzvot. Have a wonderful day.

Moshe says if the people rebelled even during his lifetime, then Kal Vachomer after his death they would. Maharsha ask from Sanhedrin 37a that we see the Baryonim said the opposite, once Rabbi Zeira was no longer there to daven for them, they had better shape up. Some thoughts on those who daven for us.

The Maharsha was a descendent of Rabi Yehuda hachasid and yet his name is Shmuel Eliezer and his father's name was Yehuda https://www.torahrecordings.com/rebbe/igroskodesh/009/013/2890

There is a Gemara in Masechet Yoma (9b) that tells us that the first Bet Hamikdash was destroyed because of the three cardinal sins, whereas the second Bet Hamikdash didn't have any of that. They had Torah and they had Gemilut Hasadim, and yet it was destroyed because of Sinat Hinam/ Baseless Hatred. The Gemara tells us that Sinat Hinam weighs in more than the three cardinal sins, and ends off with, “They were wicked in the time of the first Bet Hamikdash, but they relied on Hashem.“ From this Gemara, the Gaon of Vilna proves (in his Sefer Even Shlomo chapter 3) that the main thing is Bitachon. If you are lacking Bitachon, your Torah does not last. He says that a person who is strong in Bitachon, even though he might transgress sins, is better than one who lacks Bitachon. Because the one who lacks Bitachon comes to jealousy and hatred. Even though he is involved in Torah and Hessed, he's only doing it to get a good name. It is not being done with sincerity. If he really believed, he would not feel hatred and he would not feel jealousy. So obviously, the Mitzvot that he's doing are being done out of rote. This is an important concept. A person who really believes doesn't have any hatred or jealousy. As the Sefer Chinuch writes ( in mitzvah 241), When a person realizes that everything that happens is from Hashem directly, and there's nothing that your friend can do to you, In his words, “From a man or his brother, nothing can happen unless it's the Will of God.” Therefore, “When a person pains or hurts him, he has to know in his heart that it is his sins that caused it. God decreed it, and “That is why there is no room for hate or jealousy..” Hate and jealousy are indicators that, deep down, full belief is lacking. The Gaon of Vilna reiterates this when he says, “During the time of the first Bet Hamikdash, their hearts were very good.” And Hashem wants our hearts. From the Gaon of Vilna, we see that a healthy heart is a heart full of Bitachon. In the times of the second Bet Hamikdash, they didn't have bitachon, and that is what caused the Sinat Hinam. He says clearly that the lack of V'Ahavta L'Reecha was a lack of reliance on Hashem, and all hatred and jealousy comes from there. That is all on the negative side. On the positive side, the power of Bitachon, can bring the redemption, as the Yalkut Shemoni says in Tehilim (remez 736) “In the future, we will say on that day, This is our God, and we will point to Him. We hoped to Him, and He saved us.” On that, the Midrash says, “All we need to have is hope to God, that (reward of hoping to Him) is enough. As we say every day, “To you're salvation we hoped everyday.” The Yalkut Shemoni says in another place, on Eicha (remez 1096), “A generation that is looking forward to God's kingdom, immediately they'll be saved, as it says, “There is a hope to your end.” It's the hope that brings it about. The Midrash Raba on Bereshit (Parasha 98) says, “Rabbi Yitzhak says, Everything comes out through hope.“ On that, the Etz Yosef says, “It's as if to say that even though a person is not worthy, he can merit to all the gifts of God, in the merit of his hoping to Hashem,” which means, in the zechut of his Emunah and Bitachon. We might not be worthy of redemption, except for in the merit of our hope and reliance on Hashem. The Ben Ish Chai, in his Sefer Ben YoYada, regarding the Gemara in Masechet Yoma quoted above, that they were wicked but they relied on Hashem, says, “Why is it that God didn't destroy them? We all know that God had mercy and he let out his wrath on the wood and stones. It was because of their reliance on Hashem.“ And the Maharsha says that they should have been wiped out totally, but their Bitachon saved them. In essence, he says, it should have been like Sedom v'Amora, if not for their Bitachon. How far does this go- that Bitachon saves a person? In the three days of darkness in Mitzrayim, the wicked Jews died out. But the Rosh, in his commentary on the Torah (Parashat Bo) asks that if that was the case, why did Datan and Aviram survive? They were Resha'im/wicked. He answers that they were Resha'im, but they didn't despair from the redemption. They were extremely wicked, but they still relied on Hashem for the geula, and that is why they were saved. How unbelievable are the negative forces of a lack of Bitachon, and the positive effects of having Bitachon. B'Ezrat Hashem, we are working on this midah, and we should be zoche to the Geula, Bimhera.

Rabbi Akiva's opinion that the years of one's life cannot be increased, and the question of the Maharsha from Moshe Rabeinu. Source Sheet: https://res.cloudinary.com/ouinternal/image/upload/outorah pdf/yzf7stkgxgxzb8ubyuty.pdf --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yechezkel-hartman/support

Introducing DAF YOMI B'HALACHA Dirshu is starting a new cycle of Mishna Berurah Yomi This Sunday, February 20 th Rabbi David Ashear Will be offering a Sefardi Version- using the Ohr Hamizrach edition Following the same schedule- Sunday thru Thursday (Friday & Shabbat designated for review) Classes will uploaded daily on iTorah.com (LearnTorah Banner) or to receive via whatsapp click the link below https://chat.whatsapp.com/ EJFtV50LPJq44X7o0nthnN The pasuk says in this week's parasha Ki Tisa,'ונתנו איש כופר נפשו לה – the Jewish People were commanded to give machatzit hashekel as a form of tzedakah. The Ba'al HaTurim writes, the word ונתנו, which means to give, is a palindrome, to teach us whatever we give to Hashem, Hashem gives us back. A man recently passed away, Don Hertzel ben Haviva Machbuba. His sister told that on one occasion he saw a young boy who just lost his father, lo alenu . He himself had no children and he pitied this little boy. Although he was not a man of means, he pulled out 200 shekel from his pocket and he handed it to the boy, trying to bring him some joy. He told his sister afterward, who was with him, he was sure Hashem would pay it back to him. Indeed, right after that he got some unexpected business for exactly 200 shekel. The Torah also uses the word כופר , which means atonement, to teach us that tzedakah acts as kapara , purifying the individual who gives it, which enables him to become a better receptacle to receive Hashem's blessing. Chazal also tell us צדקה תציל ממוות – tzedaka could even add years to a person's life. The Gemara [ Baba Batra 10a] tells us that Rabbi Binyamin HaTzaddik was once asked by a woman for charity, as he was in charge of the town's charity fund. But he told her, unfortunately there was no money left in the account. She then said to the Rabbi, “If you don't give us money now, a woman and her seven children are going to die of starvation.” Immediately, Rabbi Binyamin went to get his own money and gave them all that they needed. Some days later, Rabbi Binyamin became deathly ill. The angels in Shamayim advocated on his behalf to extend his life because he extended himself and gave tzedakah to save other's lives. Hashem said he was going to grant Rabbi Binyamin 22 more years of life. The Vilna Gaon explained where the number 22 came from. The Gemara says in Masechet Sotah that a zechut can add 3 months to a person's life. The Gemara also says that when somebody gives money to a poor person, he is blessed with 6 blessings, but if he cheers up the poor person and makes him feel good, then he gets 11 blessings. For sure when Rabbi Binyamin gave that tzedakah, he must have done it with a shining countenance and he must have offered divrei chizuk to that woman in need. He helped a total of 8 people – that's 11 blessings times 8 or 88 berachot . Each beracha is a zechut that gives 3 months of life – that's 264 months, or 22 years. The more difficult it is to give, the greater the zechut is. When the yeshiva of the Maharsha became too small to fit the growing number of students there, the leaders of the community decided they needed to build a new, bigger yeshiva. When the collection began, a humble individual approached the gabai in charge of the collections and said to him he wanted to buy the cornerstone, but wanted to remain anonymous. The donation he gave was extremely large and everyone wanted to know who it was who gave such a big donation, but the gabai would not reveal it. The Maharsha himself wanted to know who the individual was. He understood that to make the zechut even greater it should be kept quiet, but he asked if just he could know. The donor agreed and the Maharsha asked to meet him. The donor said he is not a wealthy man, but because he never had any children, he wanted to use his money to buy something holy and permanent that would give him everlasting zechuyot . The Maharsha was very impressed. He blessed this man on the spot saying, “May the zechut of this tzedakah enable you to have a baby boy who will one day learn in this yeshiva that you are helping build. And so it was. The man had a baby the following year, miraculously. And when that boy grew up, he learned in the yeshiva of the Maharsha. When someone gives with mesirut nefesh , he is zocheh to great yeshuot . Shabbat Shalom.

Why did Aharon agree to help with the Chet HaEgel, rather than die Al Kiddush Hashem? Could there be a worse thing than participating in an Avodah Zarah? Based on the Maharsha in Sanhedrin and the Orchos Yosher.

The great Chidush of the Maharsha regarding Mishlei. Source Sheet: https://res.cloudinary.com/ouinternal/image/upload/outorah pdf/jqi1j9xlrmiza3g8ileo.pdf --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yechezkel-hartman/support

Welcome to Embrace Shabbat. The Gemara in Masechet Shabbat 117b teaches: כָּל הַמְעַנֵּג אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת נוֹתְנִין לוֹ נַחֲלָה בְּלִי מְצָרִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״אָז תִּתְעַנַּג עַל ה׳ … וְהַאֲכַלְתִּיךָ נַחֲלַת יַעֲקֹב אָבִיךָ וְגו ֹ׳ Anyone who delights in Shabbat gets a boundless inheritance, as it says, “when you rejoice in Hashem … then I will give you the potion of the inheritance of Yaakov your father.” The Gemara continues to explain that the reward for delighting in Shabbat is specifically the portion of Yaakov, and not that of Avraham and Yitzchak, because the latter avot received brachot that gave a boundary to the land. Rather, a person who observes Shabbat merits to receive the blessing of Yaakov- וּפָרַצְתָּ יָמָּה וָקֵדְמָה וְצָפוֹנָה וָנֶגְבָּה - and you will spread out in all four directions. The Maharsha explains this reward to be measure for measure: when a person spends money on Shabbat without any concern for boundaries, he receives a reward without boundaries. Sefer Anaf Yosef on the Ein Yaakov quotes that there are two kinds of working people. The first invests in his parnassah excessively; he believes that he alone is in charge of his income. For such a person, Shabbat is not an oneg, but a waste of time because a person cannot make any money on that day. This man's parnassah is bound by his ability to invest hishtadlut - his income reflects the hishtadlut he invests and nothing more. A second type of person works during the week to fulfil the command of Hashem. However, he knows that the efforts that he invests has no bearing on the income that he receives- it is just a fulfillment of Hashem's command. Such a person is מענג את השבת , he enjoys Shabbat and it serves as a rest for him, as he never wanted to work in the first place! Because this person has bitachon and relies on Hashem, Who has no bounds, his parnassah consequently has no bounds, as well. The mitzvah of Shabbat is not just to observe the day, but to feel a sense of relaxation, knowing that parnassah comes from Hashem. When a person is able to take the day off and forget about their work, it shows that they are relying on Hashem. In short, one who relies on his own handiwork is limited to his own handiwork, as the Chovot HaLevavot teaches in Shaar Bitachon. For example, if one places their trust in a lawyer who has a 60% success rate, that becomes the person's probability for success, as they are bound by laws and confines of nature. However, one who relies on HaKadosh Baruch Hu has no bounds- his success is unlimited. The litmus test to a person's bitachon is their state on Shabbat. Do they feel the need to rush back to the office to finish their work or be the last to leave on Friday afternoon, or do they know that their efforts are not what bear fruit, but a basic level of hishtadlut. This is the middah k'neged middah : for one who is מענג את השבת , his boundaries are limitless. Have a Shabbat Shalom.

There's a well-known segula that when a person is in a pressing situation, he should give or pledge tzedaka and then say אלקא דמאיר ענני . There's a source for this segula in the Gemara where Rabbi Meir told somebody else to say it and it would save him from harm. The Maharsha asked, how was Rabbi Meir able to associate his own name with Hashem's in his lifetime. Don't Chazal tell us Hashem does not attach His Name to a tzaddik until after the tzaddik passes away? One of the answers the Maharsha gives is that Rabbi Meir was not referring to himself when he said those words, rather he was referring to the nes Chanukah as the word מאיר means to shine. He was saying, May Hashem who caused the lights of the menorah to shine for eight days answer me and bring me a salvation as well. Look at how powerful the days of Chanukah are. We could even pray during the rest of the year that Hashem should answer us in the zechut of the ner Chanukah. And if that's the power of the nerot Chanukah the rest of the year, imagine their power on Chanukah itself. The Rama rules that if a person misses Al HaNisim in Birkat HaMazon on Chanukah, he can make an insert in the HaRachamans to make it up. And he begins with the words הרחמן הוא יעשה לנו ניסים כמו שעשה לאבותינו בימים – Hashem, please do miracles for us like You did for our ancestors in the past. The Bechor Shor asks, how can we make that request? Doesn't it say in the Gemara we are not supposed to ask Hashem to make open miracles? The Shoel U'Meshiv answered that during the rest of the year when Hashem runs the world naturally, we are not supposed to ask Him to break nature, but during these days of Chanukah, the world down here, as well as the Upper Worlds are operated on a system above nature, and since that is the norm during these days, we are allowed to ask Hashem for open miracles. Rabbi Elimelech Biderman related a story that a man from England told him. The man said fifty years ago he had a baby girl who, lo alenu , was born without intestines. The doctors told him that, in all probability, she would not survive more than a few days. He went to Rav Itzikel from Poshivarsk to tell him what happened and asked him if he should give her a name right away, being that she might not make it until Shabbat. The Rebbe told him he should wait until Shabbat and she would still be alive. Every day this baby survived was another miracle. Then, on the first day of Chanukah the doctors told her parents they had just witnessed a miracle – she had the beginning of intestines growing inside of her. יש מאין – something from nothing. A little more grew until two weeks later she was pronounced healthy. And baruch Hashem, today she is alive and well. The next time the father went to the Rebbe, he told him about the miracle. The Rebbe said he waited until the Days of Miracles to ask Hashem for a miracle to save his daughter and on the first night of Chanukah his prayers pierced the Heavens and indeed brought about a miracle. Let us take advantage of these glorious days to pray with all our heart and soul for Hashem to bring about yeshuot for all of Klal Yisrael.

Welcome to Embrace Shabbat. The Gemara in Masechet Brachot teaches that there are three things in this world that are microcosms of Olam Habah, one of which is Shabbat. Similarly, the Zohar relates that HaKadosh Baruch Hu wanted to provide an example of Olam Habah in this world, and He therefore gifted the Jewish people with Shabbat. Furthermore, the Medrash אותיות דרבי עקיבא‎ says that at the time of Matan Torah, HaKadosh Baruch Hu called to the Jewish people and said that He was giving them the Torah and if they observed the mitzvah of Shabbat, they would be rewarded with Olam Habah. They asked for an example of the reward, and HaKadosh Baruch Hu answered them, “Shabbat. Olam Habah is entirely Shabbat, and the example is Shabbat.” Shabbat is מעין עולם הבא- a taste of the world to come. The Gemara teaches: מתנה טובה יש לי בבית גנזי ושבת שמה, [Hashem said] I have a good gift in My treasure house and Shabbat is its name. The Marharal asks why Shabbat is the only mitzvah that is considered a “gift from the treasure house.” The Maharsha explains that G-d's “treasure house” is Olam Habah, and Shabbat is the only mitzvah that emanates from that “treasure house.” However, the Maharal is still bothered about why Shabbat is singled out. He explains that generally, Olam Habah is given as a reward for performing a particular mitzvah; it is an outcome of a person's actions. However, Shabbat is Olam HaBah itself- it is not an outcome of the mitzvah. Therefore, this term is used to highlight that the reward for Shabbat is above all. אות היא בני ובניכם, [Shabbat] is a sign betweeen Me and you. The Ohr HaChaim explains that Shabbat is merely an אות, a symbol, of the Shabbat to come. When Hashem grants us with a נשמה יתירה on Shabbat, He is providing us with a flavor of Olam Habah that will come in the future. סידורו של שבת explains in his introduction that the exact measurement given for Shabbat is 1/60th of Olam Habah. He explains that anything less than this amount would be batel b'shishim and not exist. Shabbat is the smallest possible amount of Olam HaBah, and the true reward is much greater. Rav Wolbe used to say that if a person wanted to “take his Olam Habah pulse,” he should check his connection to Shabbat. The more pleasure and enjoyment that a person gets from Shabbat, the greater their connection to Olam Habah. Olam Habah will be an entirely spritual experience, just like our experience with Shabbat. Yes, a person can connect with the eating and drinking of the day, but they should connect more on a spiritual level. Learn Torah and see “Wow! If this is how delicious learning Torah tastes, imagine what Olam Habah is going to taste like.” B'ezrat Hashem, we should all experience that great flavor of מעין עולם הבא, a microcosm of Olam Habah that Shabbat has to offer. Shabbat Shalom.

We continue in our study of Ahavat Yisrael/Loving your fellow Jew with the Avot D'Rebi Natan that explains the verse, Veahavta LeRe'echa Kamocha Ani Hashem /Love your friend like you love yourself, I am Hashem. It says I am Hashem because Hashem created that person. The Bet HaLevi adds that this explains the strictness of the sin. If Hashem created him, that means Hashem loves him. He's Hashem's child. So how can a person have the audacity to hate the son, the beloved one, of God Himself? It's like hating God Himself. He quotes a Gemara in Maesechet Sanhedrin ( נח , ב ) that says that someone who slaps a Jewish person across the face, it's as if he's giving God Himself a slap . The Maharsha explains that Adam HaRishon was made in the image of God, and Yaakov Avinu ended up in the image of Adam HaRishon; he perfected himself to the extent that he is the picture of man on the Kiseh HaKavod. Therefore, when someone slaps a Jewish person, he is slapping a picture of the Shechina . There is a halacha that says that a person that kills or is Mehallel Shabbat is deserving of the death penalty, and is hung up, but one is not allowed to leave the body hanging overnight. He is hung up on a pole only moments before sunset, he stays up a minute and then they take him down. Rashi gives a mashal to explain why they can't leave the body hanging: There were twin brothers, one was a king and the other was a thief. The thief got caught, but to leave him out in public would be a disgrace to his brother, the king. So too, when a person sins and is hanging on a pole, it's a disgrace to God, because that person was created in God's image. We have to think about that whenever we look at any person. One of Rabbi Miller's secrets to greatness is that when you look at a Jewish face, you should think, ‘ This person was created in the image of God; I have to to love; God loves him. ' And if I hate him, I am really hating God. That's a very heavy concept. It says Love your friend like you love yourself, Ani Hashem/I am Hashem - I created him, I love him, because that is part of the equation. Hashem is saying , I created him, so how dare you hate someone that I love?

It is in the best interest of a person to utilize the gift of tefila as much as possible. There are many yeshuot and berachot that Hashem wants to give us, and the way for us to access them is through tefila . The Ramban writes, the reason that Hashem did not heal the speech impediment of Moshe Rabbenu is because Moshe never asked for it. We don't want to deprive ourselves of potential blessings that were potentially within our reach. Prayer can even give us what is conceivably beyond our reach as well. The Gemara says in Masechet Nida daf 70b, if a person wants to become wise, he needs to spend time learning Torah and also ask Hashem for wisdom, and both are equally necessary. The Maharsha there explains the Gemara to be speaking about a person who is naturally unintelligent as Hashem decreed how much brain power that person would be given. Which means, even a person who is physically unable to comprehend certain concepts, with prayer and a lot of effort in learning, Hashem will change the person's capacities and enable him to understand things that he previously was unable to understand. As well, Rashi in Masechet Avodah Zara daf 8 writes, if a person forgets his learning, he should elongate his prayers during the beracha of chonen hadaat in the Amida . That is a medication that can heal deficiencies that no doctor has the ability to heal. Of course, along with prayer a person needs to make hishtadlut and review his learning, but for us to know that prayer is a wondrous segula for wisdom and memory is a very valuable piece of information. The better our kavana is, the better the prayer will be. The Taz writes, the main kavana in tefila is to remove all thoughts of distraction and to imagine oneself standing right in front of the Shechina. Before we start the Amida , it's so important to keep that in mind and, as we know, tefila is not bound by the three prayers a day, we can make use of it any time we want. Rabbi Zilberstein told a story of a taxi driver in Israel who earned enough money just to put food on the table for his family and pay his basic expenses. He had to pay rent for the taxi he used and if he didn't get enough jobs on any given day, he would come home that night with less money than he started with. One day, he had so few jobs he was embarrassed to come home and face his wife. He pulled over to the side of the road in the late afternoon and began talking to Hashem. He lifted up his hands in prayer and begged Hashem to provide sustenance for his large family. He poured out his heart and before he even had a chance to finish his tefila , there was already a knock on his window. Initially, he thought he was being told to move his vehicle from an illegal parking spot, but then he saw it was a potential customer. The man asked how much it would be to go from where they were in Teveria to Ashdod and then back. The driver said he hadn't had a job like that in a very long time. He told the man it would cost 1500 shekel. The man then asked how much it would be for the waiting time there. The driver said, “Well, it goes by half hour increments.” The man said, “What if I give you a total of 2000 shekel, no matter how long I make you wait. Would that be okay?” The driver thought in his mind he'd wait all night for that price and he said, “sure, no problem.” In the end, the man only made him wait for an hour. It was an hour and 45 minutes each way and 4 and a half hours later, this man came home with 2000 shekel, thanking Hashem for immediately answering his tefila . Tefila is always beneficial. The benefits are not always immediate and they are not always readily obvious, but for sure every prayer will benefit us.

As a conclusion to our discussion, the Shulchan Aruch rules that a woman makes a blessing on Torah despite the fact that they are not obligated to learn. The Maharsha says Hashem tells Moshe to command the Jewish people that the women should strain themselves and be intimately involved in their families success in learning. The Chasan Sofer based on this Maharsha explains that the reason women make the blessing on Torah because they are commanded to be "involved" in Torah. Shulchan Aruch 47:14 נשים מברכות ברכת התורה: Sotah 21, Maharsha Ibid. Chasan Sofer

Aggadeta: Berachot 3a - Perspectives of Maharsha, Riaf, and Maharal - Class 35 Class highlights: Perspectives based on the writings of the Maharsha, the Riaf, and the Maharal; a tangent on Mevushal wine; and more! (7/15/2021) — If you wish to volunteer with our video team and help add a more detailed description to this YouTube Shiur, please send us an email to info@shiviti.org. Tizku L'Mitzvot! — The Shiviti Night Kollel has expanded with a unique Talmud Track! Join us as we delve into the non-Halachic segments of the Talmud, otherwise known as Aggadeta! — Google Classroom Please email info@shiviti.org if you wish to join the Google Classroom. Please do not join the Classroom out of curiosity as inactive members will be removed. — Shiviti's official YouTube channel! Subscribe for the newest audio and video coming out of Shiviti/Kehillat Shaar HaShamayim!

Was the מקושש עצים really guilty of the death penalty? Maharsha and Rebbe

Chazal tell us "שלוחי מצוה אינם ניזוקים-לא בהליכתן ולא בחזרתן" – someone on his way to do a mitzvah will not be harmed, not on his way there nor on his way back. People have asked, we have seen with our own eyes people who were damaged or even who have died during their performance of a mitzvah. How do we understand this? It is important to note, we don’t always have immediate answers to questions, but part of emunah is to believe, even when things appear to be contradictory. In this particular instance, there are answers. Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlita , asked this question regarding Sarah Imenu passing away from the news of Akedat Yitzchak. There, Avraham and Yitzchak were involved in a mitzvah and, seemingly, they were damaged as a result by losing a wife and a mother from it. Rav Chaim quoted the Maharsha in Masechet Shabbat (118b) who said that the principle of שלוחי מצוה אינם ניזוקים means that a person will not get damaged as a result of his performance of a mitzvah, but if it’s his time to die, the mitzvah will not prolong his life. In the case of Sarah Imenu, she was destined to live 127 years and that’s exactly how long she lived. She was going to die at the moment she heard the news either way. It was not the news of the mitzvah that caused her to die. If Hashem in fact takes a person from this world during the performance of a mitzvah, it is the greatest zechut for him. Perhaps, even on par with dying al kiddush Hashem. Rabbi Yossi said in Masechet Shabbat (118), “יהי חלקי ממתי בדרך מצוה” – he prayed that his portion in the Next World should be next to those who died on their way to perform a mitzvah. On Chol HaMoed Sukkot about 22 years ago, there was a fire in a sukkah in Israel and two brothers passed away from it. Everyone was asking, שלוחי מצוה אינם ניזוקים and at that time Rav Chaim said, their allotted time in this world was up, either way they were going to die, but Hashem gave them the zechut to die in the middle of the performance of a mitzvah to give them greater rewards in the Next World. When Yaakov Avinu told Yosef to go to Shechem and check up on his brothers, Yosef was following the instructions of his father, doing the mitzvah of kibbud av . But yet, seemingly, he was damaged from it, first being thrown into a pit of snakes and scorpions and then being sold as a slave to Mitzrayim . How do we understand that? The Or HaChaim writes, “נזק שתחילתו הטבה אינו חשוב נזק – a damage whose function is to produce something good is not called damage. In that instance, Yosef was being taken to eventually become the viceroy of Egypt. He was able to bring his family down to Mitzrayim during a time of hunger and give them the royal treatment there. What appears to be damage could be a blessing in disguise. A man once told me that he wanted to do a mitzvah but it entailed traveling through a potentially dangerous area in Israel. He asked a great rabbi if he should go. The rabbi told him it was not so dangerous and he should go. On his way there, he was ambushed by three people who stabbed him in the back. Baruch Hashem, he survived. After he recuperated and was released from the hospital, he began asking rabbis how that could happen to him, being that he was on the way to do a mitzvah and according to da’at Torah , the area was not considered dangerous. None of the answers he got satisfied him. Months later, he figured out the answer on his own. He told me, “that episode ended up changing my entire life for the better in so many ways. I have had many traumatic experiences over the course of my life that I could never get over. They had been disturbing my peace of mind and this allowed me to get past it all. I now appreciate every day of my life immensely.” He went on to describe many other benefits that resulted from that experience. And he concluded, “It is 100% true that a person does not get damaged when doing a mitzvah. What I thought was damage was actually my greatest blessing.” Emunah requires us to see beyond what meets the eye. There’s an answer to every question, some of them we have now and some will be explained l’atid lavo.

Chazal tell us "שלוחי מצוה אינם ניזוקים-לא בהליכתן ולא בחזרתן" – someone on his way to do a mitzvah will not be harmed, not on his way there nor on his way back. People have asked, we have seen with our own eyes people who were damaged or even who have died during their performance of a mitzvah. How do we understand this? It is important to note, we don’t always have immediate answers to questions, but part of emunah is to believe, even when things appear to be contradictory. In this particular instance, there are answers. Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlita , asked this question regarding Sarah Imenu passing away from the news of Akedat Yitzchak. There, Avraham and Yitzchak were involved in a mitzvah and, seemingly, they were damaged as a result by losing a wife and a mother from it. Rav Chaim quoted the Maharsha in Masechet Shabbat (118b) who said that the principle of שלוחי מצוה אינם ניזוקים means that a person will not get damaged as a result of his performance of a mitzvah, but if it’s his time to die, the mitzvah will not prolong his life. In the case of Sarah Imenu, she was destined to live 127 years and that’s exactly how long she lived. She was going to die at the moment she heard the news either way. It was not the news of the mitzvah that caused her to die. If Hashem in fact takes a person from this world during the performance of a mitzvah, it is the greatest zechut for him. Perhaps, even on par with dying al kiddush Hashem. Rabbi Yossi said in Masechet Shabbat (118), “יהי חלקי ממתי בדרך מצוה” – he prayed that his portion in the Next World should be next to those who died on their way to perform a mitzvah. On Chol HaMoed Sukkot about 22 years ago, there was a fire in a sukkah in Israel and two brothers passed away from it. Everyone was asking, שלוחי מצוה אינם ניזוקים and at that time Rav Chaim said, their allotted time in this world was up, either way they were going to die, but Hashem gave them the zechut to die in the middle of the performance of a mitzvah to give them greater rewards in the Next World. When Yaakov Avinu told Yosef to go to Shechem and check up on his brothers, Yosef was following the instructions of his father, doing the mitzvah of kibbud av . But yet, seemingly, he was damaged from it, first being thrown into a pit of snakes and scorpions and then being sold as a slave to Mitzrayim . How do we understand that? The Or HaChaim writes, “נזק שתחילתו הטבה אינו חשוב נזק – a damage whose function is to produce something good is not called damage. In that instance, Yosef was being taken to eventually become the viceroy of Egypt. He was able to bring his family down to Mitzrayim during a time of hunger and give them the royal treatment there. What appears to be damage could be a blessing in disguise. A man once told me that he wanted to do a mitzvah but it entailed traveling through a potentially dangerous area in Israel. He asked a great rabbi if he should go. The rabbi told him it was not so dangerous and he should go. On his way there, he was ambushed by three people who stabbed him in the back. Baruch Hashem, he survived. After he recuperated and was released from the hospital, he began asking rabbis how that could happen to him, being that he was on the way to do a mitzvah and according to da’at Torah , the area was not considered dangerous. None of the answers he got satisfied him. Months later, he figured out the answer on his own. He told me, “that episode ended up changing my entire life for the better in so many ways. I have had many traumatic experiences over the course of my life that I could never get over. They had been disturbing my peace of mind and this allowed me to get past it all. I now appreciate every day of my life immensely.” He went on to describe many other benefits that resulted from that experience. And he concluded, “It is 100% true that a person does not get damaged when doing a mitzvah. What I thought was damage was actually my greatest blessing.” Emunah requires us to see beyond what meets the eye. There’s an answer to every question, some of them we have now and some will be explained l’atid lavo.

Shiur from Rabbi Elimelech Kohn Ztl on פרשת אחרי מות. Discussed: - R' Yaakov Emden brings a historical account written by a Roman who describes the Avodah of the Kohen Gadol in the Bais Hamikdash on Yom Kippur. - The Gemara says that a ממזר Talmid Chochom comes before a Kohen Gadol who is an עם הארץ. This can be illustrated with the story brought in the Gemara about Sh'maya & Avtalyon who met a Kohen Gadol on Motzei Yom Kippur, as explained by the Maharsha. - R' Yisrael Salanter points out that the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur in the Kodesh Hakodashim, is the holiest person in the holiest place during the holiest time, and that the Torah is more precious even than that!

Today's learning sponsored by Sponsor a day's learning (thousands of minutes!) for only $72 click here *https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/ODUwOTU=* Summary We'll see that Rabbi Eliezer has different opinions about many principles of the sukkah. Mishna: Rabbi Eliezer: One is obligated to eat 14 meals in the sukkah, mornings and nights for 7 days. Chachomim: He doesn't have to eat any meals at all except for the first night of sukkos. Rabbi Eliezer: If one didn't eat on the first day (text amended as per Maharsha), he can make it up [Shemini Atzeres]. Chachomim: The first meal is obligatory and cannot be made up. This is one of the things meant by the verse “When something is twisted crooked, you can never straighten it out. Something that's missing can never be filled in again”. (While you can do teshuva for doing a sin you can never gain a mitzvah that you skipped). Gemara: Question: What is Rabbi Eliezer's reasoning? Response: It states “You should live in the sukkah” [Teishvu k'ein taduru (21.2)]. All things you would do in your dwelling place [including eating 14 meals over 7 days], you must do in the sukkah. Question: How do the Chachomim explain this verse? Response: Just as one is not compelled to eat meals in his house, he can skip meals in the sukkah. Challenge: Then the first night shouldn't be obligatory either? Rabbi Yochanan from Rabbi Shimon bar Yehotzadak: Regarding Sukkos it states “The fifteenth”, and regarding eating Matzoh it states “The fifteenth”. Just as there, the first night is an obligation and then it's optional for the remainder of Yom Tov, so too here*, the first night a meal is obligatory, and afterwards it is optional**. Question: How do we know that eating matzoh the first night of Pesach is obligatory? Response: The possuk states “On that night you must eat matzoh”, the verse imposes it as an obligation. Rabbi Eliezer: If one didn't eat on the first day, he can make it up Shemini Atzeres. Challenge: But Rabbi Eliezer holds that one must eat meals in the sukkah on all 7 days? [And on the eighth day he can no longer eat in the sukkah (in Eretz Yisroel, we do eat in the sukkah), so when can he make up for what he missed]? Rabbi Ami: Rabbi Eliezer retracted. (His opinion is that only the first night's meal must be in the sukkah. On all other days he must eat a meal, but it is not related to the law of sukkah. It is only these 13 meals that can be made up on Shemini Atzeres [Tosfos]). Click here to listen to the shiur with Tosfos https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RaOnrRZoD9_qrOK88iGSxF9fOQ7SlmIx/view?usp=sharing _________ * Tosfos quotes from the Yerushalmi a different method of deriving these laws from the pesukim. Additionally the Yerushalmi adds that eating in the sukkah should be similar to Pesach in two aspects. 1. One must build up an appetite for the meal in the sukkah. 2. He must eat at least a kezayis of one of the five grains. * *Tosfos : It seems from here that the obligation of a meal Yom Tov is only for the first night of Yom Tov. Thus, if one omits yaaleh v'yavo he need not repeat birkas hamazon. But the Poskim don't accept this opinion of Tosfos.

Tosfos, Ritva, Meiri, Maharsha

Yevamos 63 , Maharsha, Yam Shel Shlomo

Maharsha, Rav Akiva Eiger

What prayer did Avrohom Avinu say on Har Hamoryiah? - מי שענה לאברהם אבינו בהר המורי׳. The Shelah Hakodosh and the Maharsha

The Daf from a Psychological Perspective For Mareh Mekomos Click Below Eruvin is an interesting Masechta in that it essentially a discussion of a rabbinic solution to a rabbinic problem. In other words, the idea that one cannot carry in a “Carmelis” (a shared domain, or semi-pubpic domain), is only asur rabbinically, and what permits it is an eruv, which is also a rabbinic construct to have it resemble a private domain. Keep in mind, an eruv is not a sufficient boundary to allow carrying in a public domain medoraysa. If so, most of Maseches Eruvin is not just Torah sheba'al peh, but a study of minutiae of rabbinic edicts. Is THIS Torah study? It must be - no authority ever saw Eruvin as less worthy of study than say, Bava Metzia. So then, what is the definition of Torah? Possibility Number One: עבודה זרה י״ט,ב ועלהו לא יבול אמר רב אחא בר אדא אמר רב ואמרי לה אמר רב אחא בר אבא אמר רב המנונא אמר רב שאפילו שיחת חולין של ת"ח צריכה תלמוד שנאמר (תהלים א, ג) ועלהו לא יבול One should know that even the ordinary conversation of Torah scholars require analysis...even the ordinary conversation of a Torah scholar..has great significance. רש״י שם שיחת חולין - של חכמים צריכה תלמוד כדי להתלמד לדבר בלשונם שהוא בלשון נקיה ועושר ומרפא: מהרש״א שם שאפילו שיחת חולין וכו'. פרש"י כדי להתלמד לדבר בלשונם וכו'. אבל בפרק הישן נראה לפרש דצריכה תלמוד דמתוך שיחתן תבין דבר מה מדברי תורה וק"ל: There seems to be a machlokes Rashi and Maharsha on exactly what is learned from the ordinary conversions of sages. According to Rashi, one does not really learn Torah per se, but instead one learns appropriate speech and manner of relating. So it's a source of Middos. According to Maharsha, one actually can learn by inference “real” Torah, so to speak. Regardless, from this we see at the very least, learning and engaging in a study of rabbinic enactments cannot be less than studying their sichas chulin ordinary speech, and of course much greater than that. Perhaps in this situation, even Rashi would follow the Maharsha's interpretation that one will derive many Torah ideas from the effort and study of the methodology of the rabbis, and so there is Torah contained within. But we can do better than that, and find more convincing explanations: Sefer Hachinuch Mitzvah 419 מצות תלמוד תורה - מצות עשה ללמד חכמת התורה וללמדה, כלומר כיצד נעשה המצות, ונשמר ממה שמנענו האל ממנו, ולדעת גם כן משפטי התורה על כוון האמת The commandment of Torah study: The positive commandment to study the wisdom of the Torah and to teach it; meaning to say how we should perform the commandments, guard ourselves from that which God prevented us and to also know the laws of the Torah according to their true intention. The process of understanding Torah to it's “True Intention” may very well include understanding the methods, processes and takanos of our sages. רמב״ם הלכות ממרים א:ב Whether their direction is based upon what they have learned from tradition, referred to as the Oral Torah, or it is derived from what they have independently discovered by means of any of the rules whereby the Torah is interpreted, and meets with their approval, or it is in the form of temporary regulations designed to preserve the biblical laws, measures consisting of decrees and ordinances and customs, we are biblically commanded to obey our sages with regard to any of these three categories. Whoever disregards one of them breaks a prohibitive command.— — ספר המצות להרמב״ם שרש א ...היותנו מברכין אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו. ושאלת התלמוד (שבת כ"ג) היכן צונו ואמרו מלא תסור According to Rambam, studying any rabbinic mitzvah is essentially a pirush on the mitzvah of lo tasur. But Ramban (ibid) holds that lo tasur does not apply to mitzvos derabanan. השגות הרמב״ן ...ומ"מ כללי הרב משתבשין אבל הדבר האמיתי המנוקה מכל שבוש הוא שנודיע, שאין הלאו הזה לא תסור אלא במה שאמרו בפירוש התורה כגון הדברים הנדרשים בגזרה שוה או בבנין אב ושאר שלש עשרה מדות שהתורה נדרשת בהן או במשמעות לשון הכתוב עצמו וכן במה שקבלו הלכה למשה מסיני תורה שבעל פה שאם יראו הם שזה הדבר אסור או מותר מן התורה לפי מדרש הכתוב או לפי פירושו או הלכה מפי השמועה ממשה ויראה הוא הפך חייב לבטל דעתו ולהאמין במה שאמרו הם, ... אבל הגזרות והתקנות שעשו חכמים למשמרת התורה ולגדר שלה אין להם בלאו הזה אלא סמך בעלמא According to Ramban not all mitzvos derabanan are lo tasur only ones that come from derashos or halakha lemoshe misinai. But Megillah, Chanukah etc not. But he does say they rhetorically include them in Taryag mitzvos because עשו חיזוק לדבריהם. What then is the mitzvah of studying the laws of Eruvin according to the Ramban? Perhaps Ramban will hold learning Eruvin is the mitzvah of Talmud Torah Derabanan, much as the second day Rosh Hashana is Yom Hadin Derabanan. Such is the power of our חכמים. על פי התורה אשר יורוך אלו הגזרות והמנהגות שיורו בהם לרבים כדי לחזק הדת ולתקן העולם

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Yoreh Deah Siman 98 12- Seif 4 

Parshas Vayishlachקָטֹנְתִּי מִכֹּל הַחֲסָדִים וּמִכָּל הָאֱמֶת אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ אֶת עַבְדֶּךָ כִּי בְמַקְלִי עָבַרְתִּי אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן הַזֶּה וְעַתָּה הָיִיתִי לִשְׁנֵי מַחֲנוֹת:הַצִּילֵנִי נָא מִיַּד אָחִי מִיַּד עֵשָׂו כִּי יָרֵא אָנֹכִי אֹתוֹ פֶּן יָבוֹא וְהִכַּנִי אֵם עַל בָּנִים: וְאַתָּה אָמַרְתָּ הֵיטֵב אֵיטִיב עִמָּךְ וְשַׂמְתִּי אֶת זַרְעֲךָ כְּחוֹל הַיָּם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יִסָּפֵר מֵרֹב:(בראשית לב/יא-יג)“I have been diminished by all the kindness and by all of the truth that You have done Your servant; for with my staff alone I crossed this Yarden and I now I have become two camps. Rescue me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Eisav; else, I fear, he may come and strike me down, mother and children alike. And You said, ‘I will deal bountifully with you and I will make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which is too numerous to count'." (Bereishis 32/11-13)Zera Shimshon is bothered by the order of these pessukim. In the first possuk, Yaakov Avinu expresses to Hashem that since Hashem has been so good to him, he is afraid that Hashem will not save him from Eisav because he has used up his merits. In the next possuk, Yaakov Avinu prays to be saved from Eisav.After that Yaakov Avinu concludes his prayer by reminding Hashem that He promised to do good to him.Zera Shimshon asks, it would seem more appropriate for Yaakovto pray to be saved from Eisav after he mentioned that Hashem promised to be good to him and not after he expresses his fear that he has no merits!Zera Shimshon answers in light of a concept set forth by Torahs Chaim (Babba Metziah 106/A). Hashem performs three types of miracles for three different types of people. For a tzaddik, Hashem performs clear unmistakable miracles that the person does nothing and Hashem changes nature to help the tzaddik.For a person with fewer merits there are two types of miracles.The first type is a miracle completely clothed in nature or in common daily events. For instance, the enemy gets lost on the way, or the animal finds another animal to quell his hunger. In this type of miracle the recipient of Hashem's kindness doesn't even realize that a miracle took place!For the third type of miracle, the person participates slightly but the outcome does not really have too much to do with him. For instance, a weak person kills an attacking lion or conquers a whole army. For such a miracle even though the person took action, since it is obvious that he is not the cause of his being saved he recognizes that Hashem is the One that saved him and is then able to gives thanks to Hashem for His kindness.In light of this, Zera Shimshon explains that Yaakov knew that since Hashem promised to protect him Hashem would surely fulfill His promise. Yaakov was only uncertain in which of the three ways Hashem would do this. Yaakov was afraid that he had sinned and therefore only merited a small miracle, that Hashem would protect him from Eisav in some natural way. This is what he thought in the first possuk, "I have been diminished by all the kindnesses and by all the truth that Y.u have done Your servant".Yaakov saw, however, that Eisav actually came and was ready to fight. Yaakov therefore thought Hashem wants to perform a miracle for which he will pray and thank Hashem. Hetherefore davvened, "Save me from the hand of my brother, from the hands of Eisav, because I'm afraid of him..."On the other hand Yaakov might not have sinned and therefore merited a full open miracle. To cover this possibility Yaakov simply reminded Hashem of the promise, "And Y.u said, "I will surely do good with you and I will make your offspring...."To summarize: Zera Shimshon initially understood that Yaakov requested only one thing from Hashem, to be saved from Eisav. In the first possuk Yaakov expressed his fear of not being saved and in the last possuk Yaakov expresses why he felt Hashem should save him. If this was the case, Yaakov should have made his request to be saved after he expressed why Hashem should save him, not after Yaakov mentioned that he felt he wasn't worthy of being saved.Zera Shimshon concludes; Yaakov only had one prayer to be saved from the hands of Eisav. Yaakov was sure that Hashem would save him, as Hashem had promised him, but he was unsure in what manner Hashem would execute His promise. Therefore, Yaakov davened three different prayers, one for each of the three different possibilities. In the first possuk "I have been diminished by all the kindness..." Yaakov expressed to Hashem that he thought he used up all his merits and Hashem would save him in a natural way.Yaakov then had a second thought that if this would be the case then Hashem would have caused Eisav not to have come at all. Yaakov concluded that it must be that Hashem wants him to pray. He therefore prayed, "Rescue me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Eisav..."Yaakov wasn't one hundred percent sure that his merits were diminished by all the kindness Hashem had done for him and therefore there existed a possibility that Hashem will perform an open miracle for him. To cover this possibility Yaakov mentioned to Hashem, "And You said, ‘I will deal bountifully with you ...".Since each of these three pessukim are referring to three distinct and unconnected situations there is nothing wrong for Yaakov praying to be saved from Eisav after he mentioned that he was afraid that he had no merits.--------------------------2 --------------------------וַיְצַו אֹתָם לֵאמֹר כֹּה תֹאמְרוּן לַאדֹנִי לְעֵשָׂו כֹּה אָמַר עַבְדְּךָ יַעֲקֹב עִם לָבָן גַּרְתִּי וָאֵחַר עַד עָתָּה (בראשית לב/ד)And Yaakov sent (heavenly messengers) malachim before him to Eisav his brother... (Braishis 32/4)On this possuk the Medrash comments, "Rav Chama the son of Chanina said, 'We can understand why Yaakov merited to have heavenly messengers (malachim) assist him with the following logic, If five malachim appeared to Hagar, who was merely the maid servant of Sarah, then it is certainly reasonable that they come to aid Yaakov who was a beloved family member. Another proof is, if Eliezer, who was merely the servant of Avraham's family, merited malachim, when he went to look for a wife for Yitzchok, it is certainly reasonable that they come to assist Yaakov who was a beloved family member.'"Zera Shimshon asks why does Rav Chama the son of Chanina bring two sources to explain why Yaakov merited malachim to assist him when he met Eisav?Zera Shimshon answers; Hashem sent malachim to help Hagar and to help of Eliezer for two completely different reasons.The malachim that appeared to Hagar came to comfort her and to relieve her from the humiliation that she suffered under Sarah. Hashem wanted to comfort her, even though she deserved to be humiliated because she was very disrespectful to Sarah.The malachim that traveled with Eliezer served an entirely different purpose. They went so that, in the event that Lavan and Besuel would object to Rivkah marrying Yitzchak, they would convince them to change their mind until they would willingly agree with the shidduch. In actuality this wasn't so crucial. Firstly, Rivkah was willing to marry Yitzchak even if her father and brother didn't agree (as Rashi writes). And secondly, even if she wouldn't consent to go, Eliezer had the choice of taking a shidduch from Anar, Eshkol, and Mamrei. Even though it wasn't so crucial, Hashem still sent malachim to help him.Yaakov hoped to gain these two very same things when he met with Eisav. Firstly, he wanted Eisav to stop humiliating him for taking the Berochos and, secondly but more important, he wanted Eisav to "scrap" his plan to kill him.----------------------------------------3----------------------------------------וַיִּשָּׂא יַעֲקֹב עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה עֵשָׂו בָּא וְעִמּוֹ אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת אִישׁ וַיַּחַץ אֶת הַיְלָדִים עַל לֵאָה וְעַל רָחֵל וְעַל שְׁתֵּי הַשְּׁפָחוֹת:(בראשית לג/א)R ' Yitzhak said; Why did Ovadiyah receive the gift of prophecy? R ' Yitzhak answered because he hid a hundred prophets in caves, as it is written "For it was so when Izzevel cut off the prophets of Hashem that Ovadiyah took a hundred prophets and hid them, fifty in a cave. The Gemara continues; why fifty in two caves and not a hundred in one cave? R' Eliezer said: He learnt this lesson from Yaakov, who split up his family and belongings into two camps. As it is written, 'The camp which is left, shall escape.' R' Avuhah said: It was because one cave wasn't big enough to hold more than fifty prophets. (Sanhedrin 39b)Zera Shimshon asks in the name of the Maharsha why is the Gemara so sure that Ovadiyah learnt to split the remaining prophets into two groups from Yaakov? Maybe he thought of the idea himself just like Yaakov did?Zera Shimshon answers in light of the Yerushalmi that says; in the Days of Achav there were no informers! On Har Carmel, Eliyahu Hanavi declared that he was the only life prophet left from Achav's massacre. Even though everyone knew that Ovadiyah hid one hundred prophets and Eliyahu lied, no one said anything!This being so, there was no real reason to divide the prophets into two caves. If there was one informer, he would squeal to Achav no matter in how many places Ovadiyah hid them. And if there were no informers, then surely there was no reason to divide them!Since there was no reason for him to split them up, he could not have thought to do it himself but it must be that he did only because he emulated Yaakov Avinu.According to this, Zera Shimshon explains the meaning of the Gemara's question, "Why only fifty?" since there was nothing to gain, why did Ovadiyah split the prophets into two groups?Zera Shimshon explains R' Eliezer's answer in light of a Medrash (Bereishis Rabah 76/3) The fact that Yaakov split up his camp teaches us derech eretz, the proper way of conduct, that one should not put all of his money in one corner. We see from this Medrash, explains Zera Shimshon, that Yaakov's splitting up the camps was not a one-time behavior, suitable only in his situation, but rather it is the way to act in all situations and in all times.Zera Shimshon goes even one step farther. It was not only derech eretz to split up the prophets, but if Ovadiyah would not have split up the prophets; the people might have made a big mistake. They may have thought that there really were informers in their midst but Ovadiyah did not hide them in two places because he had complete bitachon (faith) in Hashem even though there was eminent danger. This would be a COMPLETE contradiction to Yaakov Avinu. HaRav Shimshon Nachmani, author of Zera Shimshon lived in Italy about 300 years ago in the time of the Or HaChaim HaKodesh. The Chida writes that he was a great Mekubal and wrote many sefarim including sefarim about “practical kabbolo" and asked that all of his sefarim be buried after he passes away except for Zera Shimshon and Niflaos Shimshon on Avos.HaRav Shimshon Nachmani had one child who died in his lifetime (hence the name "Zera Shimshon") and in the preface he promises for people who learn his sefarim after he dies “... And your eyes will see children and grandchildren like the offshoots of an olive tree around your tables, wise and understanding with houses filled with all manner of good things... and wealth and honor...”If you would like to automatically receive a d'var Torah of the Zera Shimshon every week send an email to Shevachp@gmail.com.If you are interested in buying your own copy of the Hebrew version of Zera Shimshon Call 05271-66-450 in Eretz Yisroel or 347-496-5657 in the U.S.A.You can now HEAR shiurim of Zera Shimshon on Kol Halashon: In E. Yisroel (Hebrew, English, Yiddish) 02-80-80-600 In U.S.A. 716-229-4808 London: 0333-300-2515 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This podcast is powered by JewishPodcasts.org. Start your own podcast today and share your content with the world. Click jewishpodcasts.fm/signup to get started.

Welcome to Embrace Shabbat. This week's strategy is to learn Hilchot Shabbat. The sefer Yismach Moshe brings a beautiful peirushon one of the zemirot of Shabbat, which gives us insight into the importance of learning Hilchot Shabbat. It is a famous song written by the author of the Kuzari, Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi, called “יום שבתון אין לשכוח”-the day of Shabbat, don't forget.The zemercontinues, זִכְרוֹ כְר ֵֽיחַ הַנִיח ֵֽחַ -remember it like the good fragrance that comes from a Korban. What is the connection between these two beginning statements?Yismach Moshe explains that by remembering Shabbat, we bring the Kedusha of Shabbat into the week. This concept is even stronger when a person learns Hilchot Shabbat. The Gemara in מנחותtells us: עולהזאת תורת ה, this is the law of the Olah. This teaches us that if you learn the laws of the Olah, it is considered as if you brought the Olah. This concept is called ונשלמה פרים שפתינו, we can bring the bulls with our mouth. We don't have the Beit HaMikdash anymore, so when we learn the laws of the korbanot, it is considered like we brought the Korban. Similarly, the Chiddush brought here by Yismach Moshe is that when you learn the laws of Shabbat, it is like you kept Shabbat then and there, even if you are learning on a Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday! Therefore, says the יום שבתון אין לשכוח,פייטן. If we do not forget Shabbat during the week, then it will be as if we actually had Shabbat during the week! זִכְרוֹ, it is the remembrance of Shabbat, חַ כְר ֵֽיחַ הַנִיח ֵֽ that will bring the fragrance like the Korban. Just like when I discuss a Korban and it is considered as if I brought it, so too when I remember Shabbat, it is as if I brought Shabbat down. This is a tremendous concept-the Kedusha of Shabbat can be there during the week. A further advantage is brought by the Sefer Egli Tal. He tells us that there are certain sins that are so severe that simple Teshuva does not help. Even so, those severe sins can be atoned for with learning Hilchot Shabbat. It says about Shabbat, כל השומר שבת כהלכתו אפילו עובד עבודה זרה כדור אנוש, someone who keeps Shabbat properly, even though he worships idols like the generation of Enosh, he will be forgiven. The power of Shabbat brings that Kapparah. When a person toils to learn and understand Hilchot Shabbat, that will bring him Kapparah as well. So we have another advantage: learning Hilchot Shabbat gives us Kapparah from sins. One can say, “Do I really have to learn Hilchot Shabbat every single week?” The Sefer Otzrot Yerushalayim brings down an idea from one of the tzaddikim of the Jerusalem of Old, Rabbi David Baharan. He said that before Pesech, everyone is careful to learn Hilchot Pesach because the Shulchan Aruch tells us שואלים בהלכות פסח קודם לפסח שלושים יום, we need to spend thirty days before Pesach learning the intricacies of Hilchot Pesach. He added that Hilchot Shabbat is no different. Pesach only comes once a year, but Shabbat comes every single week! He says that three days before Shabbat, which is when Shabbat is supposed to be on your mind, you are supposed to be שואלין ודורשין בהלכות שבת. Rabbi Chaim Palagi says that if a person dedicates himself to learning Shabbat by diligently learning from a sefer, אני ערב בדבר, I am the co-signer, מובטח לו, he is guaranteed,שלא יבוא תקלה על ידו, he will not stumble in the laws of Shabbat. That is the power of Hilchot Shabbat-if you learn with the right intention of knowing the laws, the learning itself will protect you. שומר שבת כהלכתוbrings Kaparah. Lastly for this week's installment on the importance of learning Hilchot Shabbat, the sefer Divrei Emuna tells us that when a person learns Hilchot Shabbat, he creates angels that will protect him from sinning. He gives a deeper understanding of what we learned from Rabbi Chaim Palagi (ie. that learning Hilchot Shabbat will protect you because it creates angels of protection.) The Maharsha quotes the Gemara (Mesechet Makkot) that says, בדרךרוצה לילךשהאדם , on a path that a man wants to take, בה מוליכין אותו, they escort him. If you want to go on the right path, they will escort you. The Maharsha asks, who is the they? It should say “if you want to go on the right path, He (ie. Hashem) escorts you.” What is the they? When you have a desire to do something right, that ratzoncreates positive angles and that will aid you to finish what you started, even though you did not do an action or even speak yet! Rav Wolbe says that you can have a fleeting ratzon, that is not real. For example, a person can say, “I want to finish shastonight.” Tonight is not a ratzon; it is a fantasy. A ratzon is real when you see something come out of it. Real will comes to fruition. If a person says that they want to keep Hilchot Shabbat, that is very nice. When they start learningHilchot Shabbat that is a real ratzon. That shows you are serious about your will to keep Shabbat. Now that you have the ratzon to keep Shabbat, you have created angels and those angels will protect you. In review, we have quite a few incentives for the important of learning Shabbat:1.When you learn Hilchot Shabbat during the week, it brings the Kedusha of Shabbat to the week. 2.Learning Hilchot Shabbat brings Kapparah, atonement, for previous sins, even serious sins. 3.Learning Hilchot Shabbat will create angels that will protect you from sinning on Shabbat. With all of these incentives, we should dedicate ourselves to learning Hilchot Shabbat. Go out and buy a sefer in English, learn it by the table or before the meal, and review. B'ezrat Hashem we will get all of those benefits of learning Hilchot Shabbat. Have a Shabbat Shalom.

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The Butcher's Secret The Gemara in Masechet Shabbat (119a) tells that Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba once spent Shabbat in the home of a wealthy man in a town called Ludkiya. When Shabbat began, he related, a magnificent golden table was brought into the room. It was so large and ornate that 16 people were needed to carry it. It had 16 silver chains attached to it, and it had scores of beautiful utensils – bowls, cups, dishes and pitchers – and all different types of delicacies. When the table was brought, the people there recited the verse, לה' הארץ ומלואה – “The earth and its fill are G-d's” (Tehillim 24:1). Later, when they removed this table, they announced the verse, השמיים שמיים לה' והארץ נתן לבני אדם – “The heavens, the heavens are G-d's, but the earth He has given to people” (Tehillim 115:16). (The Maharsha explains that after everybody took their food from this large table, it was removed, and people ate on smaller tables.) Rabbi Hiyya marveled at this man's opulence, and he turned to him and asked in what merit he earned such luxury. The man replied that he was a butcher, and whenever he saw an especially high-quality animal, he designated it for Shabbat. Rabbi Hiyya said, “Fortunate are you for earning this privilege, and blessed is the Almighty who granted you such a privilege.” The Gemara tells this story to provide proof for a statement which the Gemara had cited earlier regarding wealthy Jews in the Diaspora. Outside Eretz Yisrael , Jews do not have the merit provided by the mitzvot of tithing ( תרומות ומעשרות ), which are rewarded with wealth, but they have other mitzvot which they can perform through which to earn material blessing. One such mitzva is giving honor to Shabbat, as evidenced by this beautiful story of the butcher of Ludkiya. Additionally, however, there is a deeper lesson conveyed by this story. The work Shomreh Shabbat (by Rav Nachman Zev Orbach) offers a profound approach to understanding Rav Hiyya's experiences in this man's home, explaining that the golden table symbolizes Torah. The Hebrew word for “gold” – זהב – consists of the letters ז,ה,ב , which correspond to the numbers 7, 5, and 2, which represent the three days of the week when the Torah is read: Shabbat (the seventh day), Thursday (the fifth day), and Monday (the second day). This table was carried by 16 people and had 16 chains to symbolize the 16 aliyot that are read from the Torah each week (3 on Monday, 3 on Thursday, 7 Shabbat morning, and 3 Shabbat afternoon). When Shabbat began, Torah was brought to this butcher's home. All week long, he worked hard to earn a living and support his family. On Shabbat, he finally had the opportunity to learn Torah, sing zemirot and devote time to his relationship with Hashem. And thus the people announced, לה' הארץ ומלואה – expressing the fact that the Shechinah , the Divine Presence which fills the earth, was now entering this man's home, as he would be devoting his Shabbat to Torah. The Shomreh Shabbat explained that the table was taken away at the end of Shabbat, when the man again needed to tend to his butcher shop so he could earn a living. At this point, we would expect the Shechinah to depart from his home. But instead, the people announced, השמיים שמיים לה' – expressing the fact that the Shechinah would be remaining with this man even during the week. Rabbi Hiyya therefore turned to the man and asked, “How did you earn this?” He wondered how the butcher earned this special privilege of having G-d's presence remain with him even after Shabbat, throughout the workweek, when he devoted his time to his business, rather than to Torah. The man explained that he earned this blessing by having Shabbat in mind throughout the week. He was always thinking about Shabbat, eagerly anticipating his weekly break from his mundane affairs, and the opportunity to devote his time to Torah and prayer. During the week, he occasionally turned to G-d and prayed that G-d bless him with success so that he could enjoy true peace of mind and serenity on Shabbat and devote the day to Torah. This is how he was able to extend the great blessing of Shabbat into the entire workweek. As he thought about and looked forward to Shabbat throughout the week, he lived with the Shechinah even as he tended to his worldly affairs during the week. We all need and long for Hashem's presence, assistance and guidance throughout our lives. This story teaches us that we earn His presence by having Shabbat in mind even during the week, by living all week in eager anticipation of Shabbat, longingly awaiting the opportunity to devote ourselves to Torah. If Shabbat is on our minds during the week, then its special sanctity and blessing will be with us during the week, as well, and we will be worthy of Hashem's special assistance. This is the great secret of the butcher of Ludkia – a secret that we are all well-advised to learn from and make good use of.

SERIE 31) La Sinagoga Pinkus De Praga, “El Maharsha”, Rab Menashe Ben Israel Y Los Judios De Holanda.