Correspondence between Iraqi Government and President of the Jewish Community about Jewish Citizens
View interactive document pageThis item contains requests from the Iraqi government to the President of the Jewish Community about Baghdadi Jewish community members that have passed away or abrogated their citizenship. Correspondence also confirms citizenship, religion, and marriages. There is legal paperwork regarding the endowment of Ezra Menahem Daniel. Included is an unrelated part of a book with commentary on the Talmud.
Presidency of the Jewish Community in Baghdad Number T/483/77 Date 14 / 12 / 1977 ⟦83⟧ Subject / ⟦line⟧ Respected General Secretariat of Frozen Assets Rights After greetings Reference to your letter numbered 35833 and dated 1 / 12 / 1977, we do not have information about the heirs of Khedouri Yaqoub Youssef Baqqal. Please accept our highest respect. ⟦signature⟧ On behalf of the Presidency of the Jewish Community ⟦illegible⟧
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful General Secretariat for Frozen Assets Number / Date / / 197 Rights / Rights Presidency of the Mosaic Community ⟦illegible⟧ Date ⟦illegible⟧ Number ⟦illegible⟧ General Directorate of Income Tax / Estates Subject / The deceased Khedouri Yaquob Youssef Baqqal We refer you to the letter of the Wasit Governorate Income Tax Directorate No. 3/K/2333 on 14 / 11 / 1977 and we hope to be informed of the result. A copy of it to / Wasit Income Tax Directorate - your letter above for information Supervision of Frozen Assets in Wasit - we confirm our letter 23761 on 2 / 11 / 1977 and we request follow-up on the release of the estate of the deceased above and the issuance of the legal inheritance certificate for him and providing us with a certified copy of it and informing us. Provincial Properties / Confirmation of Ownership / In addition to our letter above concerning plot 104 / 2 District 28 ⟦Huwaif⟧ copy for information please. Presidency of the Mosaic Community / Baghdad / We refer you to the letter of the General Directorate of Nationality / IDs 11281/683 on 14 / 11 / 1977 and we request speed in providing us with the witness statement regarding the names of the heirs of the deceased above and his place of death as quickly as possible please. Rights / File / 531 for information Rights papers / for filing Estates / for follow-up On behalf of / The Secretary-General ⟦illegible signature⟧ He has no cars ⟦...⟧ workshop Samira 30 / 11
4/212 In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful General Secretariat for Frozen Assets No. / Date / / 197 Rights / Rights 1919 12/18/1977 Monitoring of Frozen Assets in Wasit Province Subject: The deceased Khuduri Yaqub Yusuf Baqal Your letter 18465 on 11/15/1977 Please note our letter 25544 on 8/14/1977 in which we requested the Accounts Secretariat in the General Secretariat to disburse an advance of / 25 Dinars to the Monitoring of Frozen Assets in Wasit Province and to settle the aforementioned advance after providing receipts supporting the expenditure submitted by Mr. Sail Spahi Hassan his fees as a result of accompanying the inspection committee in the Income Tax Directorate of Wasit Province and following up on extracting the legal inheritance certificate for the deceased mentioned above. Please note that and respond to us. For / General Secretary ⟦illegible⟧ A copy of it to /- Accounts / with reference to our letter above for your information please Provincial Estates / Property Confirmation - Following up on our letter 35832 on 12/1/1977 for your information please Presidency of the Mosaic Community / Baghdad - We confirm our letter 35832 on 12/1/1977 and hope you provide us with what is required as quickly as possible. Rights / News / 521 for information Rights papers ⟦in the name of⟧ heirs Halima 12/14
Presidency of the Mosaic Community In Baghdad No. T / 476 / 77 Date 30 / 11 / 1977 Telephone 83531 4/212 Subject / General Secretariat for Frozen Assets, Respected The Drop After greetings With reference to your letter No. 33172 dated 26 / 10 / 1977 and your letter No. 35171 dated 17 / 11 / 1977, the late Sassoon Saleh Khalil passed away in Heist on 25 / 5 / 1976 and we confirm what was stated in the letter of the Directorate of General Nationality / Emigrants that the heirs of the deceased are only those mentioned in the aforementioned letter. Please accept our highest respect. p.p. Presidency of the Mosaic Community A copy to: General Directorate of Nationality, Respected / For your information please.
4/213 In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful General Secretariat of Frozen Assets Rights / Forfeiture Number / 35 (71) Date: 17 / 11 / 1977 1895 24 / 11 / 977 Secretariat of Provincial Properties / Establishment of Ownership Subject / Heirs of a Jew Following up on our letter No. 33172 dated 26 / 10 / 1977 The Directorate of General Nationality/IDs informed us in its letter 659 / 11169 on 13 / 11 / 1977 that upon checking the heirs of the deceased Jew (Sassoon Saleh Khalil), the following was revealed: 1- His wife (Malka Khader Haroun) still retains Iraqi nationality at the present time 2- His children / Najah Sassoon Saleh Khalil } still retain Iraqi 3- = = = Salim } nationality at the present time 4- / Maqbula Dawood Haroun / from the second wife ) and the Anbar Nationality Directorate confirmed (Naeema Ezra Moussa) } their presence in Hit 5- Salima Sassoon Saleh Khalil - deceased on 1 / 6 / 1972 according to the death certificate Number 4 / Volume / 3362 on 8 / 6 / 1972. 6- His siblings / Khalil Attiya Saleh Khalil } still retain Iraqi nationality at the present 7- / Saniya = = } time, and the Anbar Nationality Directorate confirmed their presence 8- / Asher = = } in Hit It is not known whether there are other heirs or not. For the Secretary General Ahmed Shaker Copy to: Presidency of the Mosaic Community/ Baghdad / We confirm our letter 33172 on 26 / 10 / 977 hoping you will provide us with all information available to you regarding the Jew deceased above, while providing us with the legal distribution of estate (Al-Qassam Al-Shar'i) for his heirs or its number, hoping for a speedy response. Directorate of General Nationality/ IDs / Your letter above for information, please. Secretariat of Rights / Forfeiture / File ( 881 ) for follow-up Khaled / 16 / 11 / 977
4/212 General Secretariat for Frozen Funds Rights / Forfeiture In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful No. / ⟦2712⟧ / ⟦illegible⟧ Date / 23 / 10 / 1977 Presidency of the Mosaic Community Special No. 2/1873 Date 27 / 10 / 1977 General Directorate of Nationality / Identification Cards Subj / Heirs of a Jew Reference to your letter numbered 659 / 10244 on 15 / 10 / 1977 Please inform us of the names of the heirs of the deceased Jew Sasson Saleh Khalil and the nationality status of each of them. ⟦signature⟧ ⟦Shaker⟧ p/ Secretary General A copy to / Presidency of the Mosaic Community in Baghdad / Please provide us with all information available to you regarding the heirs of the aforementioned deceased Jew, while providing us with the legal certificate of inheritance pertaining to his heirs or its number and date, hoping for a prompt response. Provincial Estates / Title Registry / Your marginal note on 22 / 10 / 1977, please wait until the response arrives. Rights / Forfeiture / File / 881 Salah 25 / 10 25/10/1977
Benayahu Chapter 1 Rosh Hashanah R.H.L. which is the laws of the morning that the Priest created the luminaries as mentioned above for Shach"ar (dawn) is the letters of Rach"am (mercy). Also, to hint further with the help of Heaven that the man of the year is Rosh Chodesh and it is also a Yom Tov called Shabbat as our Sages of blessed memory said on the verse "from the morrow of the Shabbat" and they counted fifty days, for the scripture calls Yom Tov by the name Shabbat, and therefore also on Yom Tov we say a Psalm Song for the Shabbat day, and R.H. Rosh Chodesh Shabbat is Rach"am which is revealed therein the name Rach"am to drive away the external accusers. Also, I said the day of R.H. is Rosh Chodesh and it is also Rosh Hashanah, and therefore Rosh Chodesh Shanah initials are Rach"am, and everything aligns together: And according to what was said, on R.H. the name Rach"am will be revealed, whose name is to drive away the external ones and the accusers, for the difficulty of the descent to this by the illumination of Binah which drives away the external ones, therefore on the day of R.H. three righteous women were remembered and visited: Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah, whose initials of their names are Rach"am which is revealed and shines on this day, and Sarah was visited first because she is the sea for it, a connection and a hold in this name more, for the letter He' in her name is exchanged with the letter Chet in A"ch H"e, and automatically Sarah is the letters of Rach"am, and according to what the Rabbi of blessed memory wrote above, this name is auspicious for memory, therefore on this day when the illumination of the mentioned name is revealed, they were remembered and visited, those three righteous women, for this name is in the secret of memory. And it seems to me with the help of Heaven this reason also why the Tanna on the day of R.H. not Joseph from the prison house, and also work ceased from our ancestors in Egypt, for this name Jacob our father peace be upon him proclaims and its virtue is to save man from trouble as mentioned above, and it seems this name equals the numerical value of "Avodat Hashem" (Service of G-d) through which they went out from the service of Pharaoh and entered the service of G-d: There. Joshua says in Nisan the world was created. In the holy book Ben Yehoyada part 2, I brought the words of our teacher the Ari of blessed memory in Sha'ar HaKavanot, who wrote that they do not disagree, for they are speaking of the matter of the worlds spiritual, for R.A. speaks of the externality of the worlds and R.Y. speaks of the interiority, and what was said after that, R.A. stated from where that in Tishrei was created the world, as it is said, "And G-d said, let the earth bring forth grass," which brings proof for his words from a verse speaking of the creation of this world, meaning each one brings a mere support for his words and this is not an actual proof, and the rest of the things that the Talmud weighs and trades in their words that this one stands disagreeing and etc. this is nothing but a way of pilpul (analysis) to magnify the Torah and make it glorious, as they analyze according to the plain meaning appearing from their words, so I wrote there with the help of Heaven: And now for the one who says what was taught R.A. says from where that in Tishrei etc. R.Y. says in Nisan etc. this too the Talmud says it to him according to the revealed, from the plain meaning of their words it implies that R.A. has to bring proof for his words thus, and R.Y. has to bring proof thus but they themselves did not mention these proofs in their words, and greater than this we found in the Gemara of Chullin regarding the law of a giver of taste son of a giver of taste, where the Talmud says Rav says it is forbidden and Shmuel says it is permitted, and the Talmud concludes this of Rav was not stated explicitly but was stated by implication from that oil of a bowl of clay and Rav said upon the name it gives taste so much and the listener reasoned in Rav's mind from these words of his regarding the law of N"T bar N"T that he holds forbidden, and so here the Talmud says according to the plain meaning of their words it seems that R.A. proves evidence from this verse and R.Y. brings evidence from this verse: And behold, there in the mentioned holy book I brought the words of the pupils of the Ari of blessed memory who are the Kabbalists who decided the words of R.A. and R.Y. in another way which is that the pregnancy was in Tishrei, and therefore they say Today is the birth of the world, and the birth in Nisan, but there I wrote their words in brief and here I will bring their words as they are with an added touch, and it is just as there is for a man an aspect of conception and an aspect of birth, so there is for the world an aspect of conception and an aspect of birth, and it is because first this world was created in potential so that its materiality is not seen to the appearance of eyes, and only if another comes to hold it he feels a bit of its essence and grabs some thing in his hand like a man who feels a strong wind at the time it blows on him, but he does not see it with his eyes, and this was in Tishrei and afterwards in Nisan it was formed and materialized so that it appeared to the sight of the eyes, the earth and its fullness, and this is the aspect of birth. And behold when a person is still in his mother's womb, if one says about his mother she has a child in the world, he tells the truth for her belly is between her teeth and if he holds her belly he will feel that there is a child within her, and if another comes and says she still does not have a child in the world, this too speaks the truth because still the child is not seen to the appearance of eyes for only its existence now is in potential specifically and not in action, and therefore R.A. who considers the creation of the world in Tishrei a creation speaks a word of truth, and R.Y. who considers only the aspect of the birth which was in Nisan a creation is also a word of truth: And now regarding the Mishnah that our teacher the Ari of blessed memory and the mentioned Kabbalists disagree, this certainly also our teacher the Ari of blessed memory knows that the words of the mentioned Kabbalists are correct, and only it is known that all the sayings of our Sages of blessed memory have in them an intention for the secret and they have an intention for the revealed, and our teacher the Ari of blessed memory did not explain to us except the intention that they have in the secret of this saying where he said R.A. speaks of the externality of the worlds and R.Y. of the interiority, also he knows that they have another intention in their words and it is by way of the plain meaning, and it is as the mentioned Kabbalists wrote that both of them speak of the lower world, and one speaks of the time of conception which was in Tishrei, and one speaks of the time of birth as stated which was in Nisan: And now according to the words of the Kabbalists of blessed memory who explained the plain meaning of their words speaking of this lower world, therefore R.A. brings proof for his words that there was a creation of conception for this world in Tishrei, and R.Y. brings proof for his words that there was a creation for this world in birth in Nisan, and what the Talmud weighs and trades is for the analysis to magnify the Torah and make it glorious: There. In Tishrei the world was created. They object to what we said to bring this verse where it is written "Take words," and in the holy book Ben Yehoyada I answered with the help of Heaven on this according to. And now it seems to me with the help of Heaven that his difficulty is how it says Today is the birth of the world and who is my merit and who is still alive, for since he is still alive it turns out his days are not yet full and how can it say they are full for it should say they will be full, therefore he brought the verse "the number of your days I will fulfill," to say the quota of days will be full until the end of the day entirely for the day is not considered full except until its end and we do not say in this part of the day is like the whole of it, and therefore since Moses our teacher died on the Shabbat day at the time of Mincha for therefore we say "Your righteousness" at Mincha as in the holy Zohar, it turns out he did not complete that whole day, and the scripture says "the number of your days I will fulfill" that the day should be full and that is until its very end, therefore one must say that that day on which Moses our teacher died is not counted with the number of fixed days since it is not a full day, and for this one must say thus he said to them on the Shabbat day today my days and years are full, meaning they were already full since yesterday, for this day he will pass away in its middle for it is not counted in the general quota of his days that was not more than the quota since it is not a full day: Page 12. And from its plain meaning it implies that the Holy One blessed be He would calculate the paths and bring up the constellation Kimah by day. It is difficult for R.C. who holds this was in Cheshvan that it would be more agitated to bring up the constellation Kimah by day how does it say that a novelty was made not according to the custom of the world that He brought it up by day and is this not its nature and custom that it rises by day. And it seems to me with the help of Heaven that although in Cheshvan the constellation Kimah rises by day its entry to rise is only at the end of the day as Rashi of blessed memory wrote, and the Holy One blessed be He changed His custom and brought it up at the beginning of the day because the flood came at the end of the day but its beginning for it was in the hiddenness of the day, for behold we learn that the flood was by day from what is written "on this very day Noah came" etc. And it is known Noah did not enter until he saw the flood descending as our Sages of blessed memory said, and it is known wherever it is written "on the very day" it means the essence of the day which is the beginning, and as our Sages said on the verse "on this very day Abraham was circumcised" and they interpret from this that they precede the circumcisions that are done at the beginning of the day: However this is difficult for in the Gemara they object to R.C. what is the reason and it is difficult for surely He changed for Kimah's way is to rise at the end of the day and He brought it up at the beginning of the day. And it seems to me with the help of Heaven that this King changed, but R.C. holds that He changed in two, one in the constellation Kimah and one regarding the constellations
46 With the name of G-d we shall act and succeed. To unify the Holy One, Blessed be He, and His Shekhinah Rosh Hashanah Chapter One. Page 2. "Sihon is Arad is Canaan." It appears to me, with the help of Heaven, he has three names by which he is called, which are the initials just as he is a level of [sh-z-r], so too all these names of his are interpreted to his detriment and disgrace; namely, Sihon, letters of [nisuach] which is a language of removal, as in the matter of [hesech hadaat], for the Holy One Blessed be He removed him and passed him from his kingdom and from his place; and Arad is [d' ra], an allusion to four husks [klipot] alluded to in the four primary categories of damages; and Canaan is [na ken], meaning [ken] refers to a seat as in Kings, for his end was to be a wanderer and a nomad from his place and his city, and the children of Israel inherited his strength and dwelt in it, and man shall increase. Page 8. "Slaves were not released to their homes nor did they serve their masters." It appears to me, with the help of Heaven, in this way there was freedom and redemption for Israel in the days of old; for on Rosh Hashanah labor ceased for our forefathers and in Nisan they departed from Egypt. It is found that from Tishrei until the 15th of Nisan they were not released and did not go out to complete freedom from Egypt, but were still in Egypt yet they were not enslaved there; and similarly it will be in the future in the redemption destined to be speedily in our days; for several years before the redemption there will be freedom to Israel (the ⟦illegible⟧) strong in several things, such that they will have status and honor like they are children of kings, and also they will not be entirely oppressed and when King Messiah comes speedily in our days there will be actual freedom and Israel will be kings and return to their space and their birthplace ⟦may the merit of Israel be uprooted⟧. Page 14. "In Tishrei the world was created, in Tishrei the Patriarchs were born, in Tishrei the Patriarchs died." They ask: why didn't he include them in a single clause? For he should have said: "In Tishrei the world was created and the Patriarchs were born and died." And in Shitah Mekubetzet Ben Yehoyada I answered this, see there. And furthermore it appears to me, with the help of Heaven, that if he had included them thus, I would have said all three of those things were on the same day—that on the day the world was created the Patriarchs were born and died; and because it was not so, for the Tanna established that they were born on one day and died on another day; and what our Sages of blessed memory said, "The Holy One Blessed be He completes the years of the righteous" etc., I have already explained a correct matter in this with the help of Heaven elsewhere and therefore he took them in three clauses to teach that each one happened on a single day. And furthermore it appears to me, with the help of Heaven, that he stated "In Tishrei" in each and every one to allude in his way to another matter; and it is known that there are two [Shin] letters in the Tefillin, one with three heads and one with four heads, and I explained with the help of Heaven the reason for this, for we find in the first chapter of Avot, Shimon the Righteous says: On three things the world stands: on the Torah, on the Service, and on acts of loving-kindness; and at the end of the chapter it says: On three things the world exists: on Justice, on Truth, and on Peace. And it is difficult, why did Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel omit the three things that Shimon the Righteous said and took three others? And I answered with the help of Heaven that Shimon the Righteous took the standing of the Heavens which requires four pillars due to its great level; and therefore he took three which are four, for one of them is "acts of loving-kindness" [gemilut chasadim], which implies two, as he did not say "on kindness" [chesed] but "kindnesses" [chasadim], and they are one kindness with a person's body and one with his money; thus they are four pillars, and corresponding to this is the [Shin] of the Tefillin of four heads. However, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel spoke of the existence of the Earth, for which three pillars suffice, which are Justice, Truth, and Peace, for it does not have the importance of the Heavens, and corresponding to this is the [Shin] of three heads in the Tefillin. And it seems that to allude to these two mentioned [Shin] letters in the word [Tishrei], which is the letters [Trei Shin] (two Shins); and regarding this he said "In Tishrei the world was created," meaning in [Trei Shin] it was created, for the standing of the world which includes the Heavens and the Earth. And he said further, "In Tishrei the Patriarchs were born," this is another matter where he alluded in his way to another concept; for the Rav of [Tikunei Zohar] of blessed memory wrote in the name of Rabbi Moshe, Parashat Pinchas page 246: a [Shin] with three faces is [Binah], of which it is said "The night has three watches"; a [Shin] of four faces corresponds to [Malkhut], of which it is said "The night has four watches," see there. Thus there is a [Shin] alluding to Binah and there is a [Shin] alluding to Malkhut. And it is known that the Higher Union is in Binah and the Lower Union is in Malkhut; and for the sake of the birth of the Patriarchs there was made above in the Sefirot a Higher Union in Binah and a Lower Union in Malkhut. And this too is alluded to in the letters of [Tishrei], which is [Trei Shin], and ⟦this is what is written⟧ "In Tishrei the Patriarchs were born," meaning in [Trei] [Shin], which are Binah and Malkhut, the Patriarchs were born. And he said further, "In Tishrei they died," this is another matter in which he alluded to another concept in his way, which is: it is known the order of [A-B-G-D] is Direct Light [Or Yashar] and the order of [T-Sh-R-K] is Returning Light [Or Chozer]. And when the righteous person is born, such that his soul comes to this world, behold the coming of his soul to this world so that it may be in its vitality in this world, it will be in the aspect of the secret of Direct Light from above to below. But when the righteous person passes away, that his soul returns to ascend above, ascending from below to above, it is in the secret of Returning Light. And it is known what is said in the Tikunim, that Tishrei is the secret of [T-Sh-R-K], which is Returning Light. And this is what is said: "In Tishrei the Patriarchs died," meaning in Tishrei which is [T-Sh-R-K] Returning Light the Patriarchs died, for their souls ascended from below to above in the secret of Returning Light. And in the word of the Tanna, he teaches us in each clause another matter in the word Tishrei, and therefore he took "In Tishrei" in three clauses. Ibid. "On Rosh Hashanah Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah were remembered [nifkadu]." It appears to me, with the help of Heaven, the reason for the language "they were remembered" on Rosh Hashanah is found in the book Nava Tehillah on Ecclesiastes on Psalm 119, a single note in the name of the Rav the Honorable Teacher Rabbi Yaakov Antebi, may his memory be for a blessing in the life of the world to come; for it is written in the book Shaarei Gan Eden page 73 on the verse "My heart overflows [rachash] with a good theme" that there is a holy name and full, and it is the name [R-Ch-Sh] which drives away the external forces [chitzonim], and every man needs to intend this name before his prayer in the ⟦incense service⟧ and it comes out from the initials of "from refined flour, pure, holy," and it is also good for memory. Further he wrote there that he found in the book Mekor HaShemot that the name [Rachash] was handed over by Jacob our father, peace be upon him, at the time of his passing to his sons in order to mention it in time of trouble and from it they shall be saved, see there. And in [Me'orei Chayim] I wrote that the beginning of the Ten Days of Repentance in which the illumination of Binah is revealed is the day of Rosh Hashanah and their end is ⟦Yom Kippur⟧. However, the revelation of the illumination of Binah at the beginning of the ten days of repentance, which is the day of Rosh Hashanah, is not similar to the revelation of the illumination of Binah at their end, which is ⟦Yom Kippur⟧; for the comparison is thus: the beginning of the ten days of repentance is similar to the light of dawn and their end which is ⟦Yom Kippur⟧ is similar to the ⟦high sun⟧. And I said on Rosh Hashanah, which is dawn, in which the light of Binah is revealed like the light of dawn, this name called [R-Ch-Sh] will be awakened and revealed there. Benayahu Chapter 4, 5 Beitzah his own, for he is a king, poor and temporary, as the Rabbi wrote in 'Emet LeYaakov' Gittin 30, the system of the T-Y-N of mitzvah gates, letter 19, in the name of the Gaon Maharan, of blessed memory, that the 'Gemer' (completion) of the power of a mamzer is that when the lioness seeks the male to copulate with her, she turns her face to the wall and stands thus for a measure of time until the male passes and sees her and lies with her, and sometimes it happens that before the male passes, a forest boar passes and comes upon her and there is born from them a leopard which is brazen-faced, and therefore anyone who has brazenness of face, there is a concern of mamzerut in him, and this is the 'Gemer' of the kelipah etc. see there. It follows that the leopard's brazenness comes to it from the power of its lineage which is the mamzerut within it, and therefore he did not mention the leopard here, because here he is dealing with the brazenness of a king ⟦who is agitated and proud⟧: Chapter Four. Page 32. Anyone who sifts for his fellow's tablecloth. In the holy book Ben Yehoyada Part 2, I explained with Heaven's help specifically one who sifts for the tablecloth, such as where his fellow promised him that what remains after eating he would give to him, for since he promised him regarding this remnant it is a doubt, for perhaps they will leave nothing, but if he promised to send from his pot there is no doubt in this because in a pot there is certainly some, and when they take from the pot to bring to the table they leave some for him too, for the cooked food has not yet been eaten from at all, and since he will certainly eat, the world is not dark for him, such was his intention as I wrote there, and the matters were proven there briefly: And that which he used the language 'dark'. It seems to me with Heaven's help that our Sages, of blessed memory, said in the Gemara of Shabbat Gimel Dalet - Gemol Dalim (repay the poor), and why does the Dalet turn its face toward the Gimel? Because it is the way of the one who repays the poor to turn his face so that the poor person will not be ashamed by him; it follows that the letters Gimel Dalet belong to the wealthy man, the owner of the table who repays the poor, and behold in the two letters G-Z there is the letter L, meaning the letter Lamed which stands tall above the letters and this indicates the letter L of Gimel ⟦which signifies the king's height to bring him he hid it⟧ below and I ⟦rose⟧ above, and the second letter L which is in the letter Dalet contains a hint to what was further said ⟦of the king's height to bring him he hid it in a place⟧ where the hand ruled over it, and I ⟦rose⟧ in a place where the hand does not rule, for anything high, no hand rules over it. It follows there are two L's in the letters Gimel Dalet hinted at regarding the wealthy man who repays the poor, hinted in them are the aforementioned advantages, and this one who sifts at the table of others who has no table of his own, the letter L will be missing from his 'Shulchan' (table) corresponding to the lack of the letter Lamed of the Gimel, and also the number 30 will be missing which corresponds to the second L of the Dalet from the number Nun of 'Shulchan', it follows the letters of 'Shulchan' became 'Choshech' (darkness) for him, and for this he said 'the world is dark for him': Chapter Five. Page 39. Five things were said regarding a coal. This is difficult, he should have said six things, for there is one thing that is said in the Yerushalmi: one blesses 'Who creates the lights of fire' over the flame and one does not bless over the coal. And it seems to me with Heaven's help that here he counted things that are significance in the coal and inferiority in the flame which has no substance, but this matter that we bless is the opposite, which is an inferiority in the coal and a superiority in the flame, therefore he did not count this with the five aforementioned: Page 40. Our Rabbis taught: which are desert [animals] and which are domestic [animals]. This is difficult, why did he lengthen it so much? He should have said: Our Rabbis taught, desert ones are all that go out etc., domestic ones are all that go out etc. And it seems to me with Heaven's help that one should not say if there is in that custom that they have those that go out and graze outside the boundary and come and sleep within the boundary, then those that go out at Passover and graze in the meadow and enter at the first rain are considered desert ones, but if they do not have animals that go out and graze outside the boundary and come and sleep within the boundary, then those that go out at Passover and graze in the meadow and enter the city at the first rain are also considered domestic since they enter at the first rain; and further we would say specifically if in that place they do not have animals that go out and graze in the meadow and do not enter the settlement neither in the summer days nor in the rainy days, then this one that enters the city at the second rain is considered desert, but if they have animals that do not enter the city neither in the summer days nor in the rainy days, then this one that goes out at Passover and grazes in the meadow and enters the city at the first rain is considered domestic; therefore he first used the language of negation for both: which are desert and which are domestic, meaning in any way it may be, these are considered desert, and in any way it may be, these are considered domestic: And it seems to explain by way of hint in the Baraita that the people of Israel are divided into two groups: one group are Torah scholars, and these are called 'desert' because their business and work is in 'dibur' (speech), and as written in the holy Zohar in the introduction to Bereshit page 10 on the verse 'Who can express the mighty acts of the Lord', speech which he divided the language of speech, as it is said 'and your speech is comely' in the mountains and these are called men of ⟦...⟧ etc. see there. And the second group are householders who are the wealthy ones occupied with the needs of their household livelihood, and these are called 'domestic'. And he said 'desert ones', these are the scholars, all that go out at 'Pesach', meaning in 'Peh Sach' (a speaking mouth) as is written regarding the masters of Torah 'for they are life to those who find them' - to those who bring them out with the mouth, 'and graze in the meadow (Efer)' - their livelihood is poor and very lean as it is said ⟦regarding the way of the Torah⟧ bread with salt you shall eat and water by measure you shall drink and on the ground you shall sleep and in the Torah you toil, and so we find explicitly regarding several Tannaim that their food was the least of foods and they did not benefit from this world ⟦...⟧, and Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa's food was a kab of carobs from Sabbath eve to Sabbath eve, and Hezekiah ⟦...⟧ his meal was vegetables, and so with ⟦...⟧, and this is 'in the meadow' - a diminished meal, or 'in the meadow' (Efer) in reversed letters like 'Pe'er' (glory) for they suckle from the Tiferet in the secret of 'and you who cleave to the Lord your God', 'and enter at the first rain (Revi'ah)', for it is known there are four parts to the Torah which are P-R-D-S, and thus is their order according to their level: the Secret (Sod) is the first rain, the Homiletic (Drash) is the second rain and it is in the revealed, the Hint (Remez) is the third rain, and the Plain Meaning (Pshat) is the fourth rain, and ⟦the body⟧ are in the revealed part and they, besides being occupied in the revealed part in the three aforementioned, also enter the first rain which is the part of the hidden Secret, 'and if they are domestic', these are the wealthy householders, all that go out and graze outside the boundary for their business is in ⟦this world⟧ which is outside the boundary of Torah study which was given to us from Binah which is called boundary, seal, wall as is known, but by their business in faith and also supporting the hands of Torah scholars, they come and sleep within the boundary for they have a portion in the business of Torah, as our Sages said: In the future the Holy One, blessed be He, will make a shade and a canopy for the masters of mitzvot along with the masters of Torah, as it is said 'for in the shadow of wisdom is the shadow of money', for they too have their portion in life: ⟦line⟧
What In the name of the Lord we will do and succeed For the sake of the unification of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and His Shekhinah Beitzah Chapter Two Folio 16. Rabbi Eliezer: A person has nothing on Yom Tov but to either eat and drink or sit and study. The Rabbi Maharikash, of blessed memory, questioned: Why did he use a negative phrasing to say 'A person has nothing on Yom Tov but etc.' He should have said 'A person on Yom Tov either eats and drinks or sits and studies,' see there. And it seems to me, with the help of Heaven, for we say in Sukkah folio 27: It happened with Rabbi Eliezer who went to greet Rabbi Eliezer his teacher on the festival in Lydda, he said to him: even though you are not among those resting on the festival, and the reason given there is because Rabbi Eliezer used to say: I praise the lazy ones who do not go out of their houses on the festival, as it is said: 'And you shall rejoice in your festival, you and your household,' see there. Therefore Rabbi Eliezer himself said here 'A person has nothing on Yom Tov but etc.' so as not to include one who says that he has pleasure in walking away from his house, except to greet [others] and his relatives, for he is not permitted to do so. And similarly where he goes to greet the face of his teacher, Rabbi Eliezer also holds he is not permitted, for behold Rabbi Eliezer was his student, and even so he told him this. And this is why [he used] the negative phrasing: not to eat and drink but rather to stroll, or to sit and study in his house. : However, it should be asked: why did he specify 'sit and study' and he should have said 'or study'. And it seems to me, with the help of Heaven, for they said in the Gemara regarding Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, when he stood at Sinai: Torah from the mouth of the Holy One Blessed be He, that he would learn the difficult matters while sitting and the easy ones while standing, and by this the verses were settled, and so too one must learn in the synagogues, see there. And it is known that the difficult matters involve great exertion, and one might say one should not study difficult matters on Yom Tov because of the exertion, as written regarding Hillel that it is permitted Torah to students on Shabbat. Therefore he said 'sit and study', meaning he should study even the difficult matters which require sitting, and we are precise about 'sitting'. : Folio 16. One who gives a gift to his fellow does not need to inform him, as it is said: 'And Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone.' It is difficult: perhaps Moses our teacher, where He did not inform him, is different, because it was necessary that he would know by its appearance since they were afraid to approach him, and certainly he [the Lord] would have told him the reason that the skin of his face shone; but a person who will not eventually know must be informed. And it seems to me, with the help of Heaven, that he learns this from what the verse needed to say and specify: 'And Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone.' And what does it come to teach us? Behold, certainly he did not know on his own, for a person does not see his own face unless others tell him what they see in him. Therefore he learns that the verse came to teach us this law: that the one who gives a gift does not need to inform him. : And behold the reason it would have entered our mind that he must inform him, Rashi wrote: so that he should not be a sinner and regretful, and concludes [that the giver] tells him this matter. And see Maharikash what he wrote regarding the intention of Rashi of blessed memory, and it seems there is a lack of some words in the printing of Rashi's words. But regarding the matter itself, it seems to me that when it says 'does not need to inform him,' the meaning is that he doesn't need to inform him for what purpose he gave him the gift: whether for pleasure he received from him in the past or for the future or for the necessity of love. And thus the language is precise: 'the one who gives a gift to his fellow,' which implies he gives it to him directly so his fellow knows who is giving to him, and he learns from Moses our teacher that the Holy One Blessed be He did not inform him for what his face was shining: whether for his merit or for the honor of Israel. : Folio 21. He said to him: 'the trouble has flown.' It seems to me, with the help of Heaven, that initially too he did not intend to say something else and also did not let a lie out of his mouth, rather his intention was not to say 'trouble' meaning a bird of trouble [exhaustion] it was not a pleasant language, and it is a metaphorical language meaning the pleasantness of my body has flown from me due to the trouble, and I do not have peace of mind to answer a matter that requires a reason that one needs to look into deeply. : Chapter Three. Folio 24. In the ⟦hollow of a hole⟧ they are permitted to be moved; in the ⟦flight of a hole⟧ they are permitted to be received. It is difficult: how can he say contradictory things? And it seems to me, with the help of Heaven, that regarding the ⟦hollow⟧ he did not say 'permitted to be moved' explicitly, but he said as written in the Mishnah that Rabban Gamliel said: they are permitted because they were not sent to ⟦me⟧ to receive from him, and there they were precise: 'these are permitted to be moved.' For if in moving alone, it is difficult: how can a thing forbidden to be moved be permitted to be moved? For once it is forbidden to be moved, it becomes Muktzah. And furthermore, since it is forbidden to be moved, if he moves it we fear perhaps he will eat it. Therefore certainly he means permitted for eating. But regarding 'the flight of a hole' [the flying birds], the words are explicit that he said: they are forever forbidden for eating but permitted for moving, because since they are 'perhaps prepared' they were not so stringent with it as to forbid it in moving, and it is enough to be stringent to forbid it in eating alone. : Folio 25. A person shall not eat ⟦coarse food⟧ and a dog salt his ⟦intestines⟧. Explanation: if he eats from its head he does not need to delay there, he can eat immediately, but if he eats from the side attached to the leaves he must delay until he cuts the leaves, and therefore if he eats from its head it looks like ⟦business⟧ for the one who sees him says that he eats from this side in order to eat by chance. : Ibid. Like this lupine that they boil seven times and eat it as a dessert to a meal, we do not do [so] with it. Explanation: they served seven types of idolatry that the verse counts, and thus they were defiled with seven types of impurity, and the purities of the lupine is a metaphor for the impurity of the idolatry, and the boiling of the lupine is a metaphor for the retribution and suffering that He brought upon them so that through these sufferings the bitterness of impurity would be removed from them, and the eating of the lupine after its boiling is a metaphor for the repentance that Israel needs to do after the ending of the sufferings upon them. And he said: even like this lupine which they boil—a casual eating after its boiling, since a dessert is a casual eating—we do not do with it. Because these [people], I removed them [the bitterness] with sufferings to remove the bitterness of the seven types of impurity of idolatry from them, so that through it they would perform complete, permanent repentance, and they did not even perform a light, casual repentance after the sufferings that I brought upon them. : Ibid. Three are bold: Israel among the nations, the dog among the animals. It is difficult: behold Yehuda ben Teima says 'be bold as a leopard,' and if so, all of them he should have said the leopard among the animals. And it seems to me, with the help of Heaven, that here it speaks of those who are bold by their nature and temperament, but the leopard's boldness is from its ⟦mixture⟧ its 23 Benayahu Chapter 5 Sukkah In life and [he shall stone], etc. [for a memorial] to the son, and as written in [his assistance] on the saying do not be with us alone, and in this I explained [with the help of heaven] ⟦...⟧ and the Lord's house after you build it for me and ⟦...⟧ this is the place of my rest: Ibid. page b. At the hour when David dug the pits etc. Behold Rashi of blessed memory In the commandment of Assembly, David our master, peace be upon him, protected that it was The location of the altar from the abyss was after the death of Ahithophel, and he answered That he dug the pits before he purchased, and see Maharsha of blessed memory who multiplied Difficulties with the words of Rashi of blessed memory, see there. And it seems to me with the help of heaven that David our master, peace be upon him, at the time he grasped with his wisdom the location of the Temple in the time of Samuel our master, peace be upon him, by the reason learned from the scriptures in the Book of Joshua, he grasped through the Holy Spirit the location of the altar that it would be in the possession of the strip of Judah, but he did not tell or reveal this so that they would not say he seeks his own honor because he is from the tribe of Judah, and furthermore they would not believe in this matter as they say that the whole Temple is in the portion of Benjamin, and how would it not be proven also regarding the location of the altar, and who would force them to reveal the location of the Temple to be built directly adjacent to that strip of Judah so that the altar would be within the strip of Judah, therefore even though he saw through the Holy Spirit the building of the location of the Temple and the location of the altar that it is in the threshing floor of Araunah, he did not reveal this matter, and also did not want to buy the threshing floor so as not to publicize the matter, and only dug the pits because he said perhaps I will not merit that the matter be revealed in my days by the prophet that the altar will be in his portion of the place so that I may dig and hollow out the pits with my hands, and perhaps this revelation will be by a prophet in a time afterwards, therefore he preceded to dig the pits and did not reveal his reason to any person, and this was during the time that Ahithophel was still alive. And know that according to the one who says that the cavity of the pits was created from the six days of creation, it seems it did not remain hollow but was filled with earth, and David our master, peace be upon him, dug the earth and cleared it from within the cavity, and behold the end of the matter resulted in the thing being revealed that this is the location of the altar, because he saw the angel standing at the threshing floor of Araunah and the prophet told by the word of the Lord that the altar must be built there, and then David our master, peace be upon him, said to all of Israel: this is the house of God and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel, and indeed he himself knew this matter from before long ago and dug the pits there as stated: Page 55. On the third [day] what does one say? Who will rise up for me against evildoers? On the fourth what does one say? Understand, O dullards among the people. It seems according to this that the third day and the fourth day are in one psalm. And so is the reason because both of them are in the aspect of the soul, for on the third day is the removal of the soul from the previous Sabbath, and the fourth day is the preparation for the soul of the coming Sabbath, therefore both of them are from one psalm: Ibid. On the sixth what does one say? All the foundations of the earth are shaken. Rashi explains in the psalm 'God stands in the congregation of God', and one says the whole psalm. It seems certainly here and on all days one says the whole psalm entirely, and as for why the Tanna took these verses, even though there is no beginning of the psalm there, because all these psalms are said with a long melody and very important, and the structure of this melody begins low, and when they reach these verses then the melody rises with a great voice, for from the beginning of the psalm until these verses they are like an opening to the melody and it is similar as if the melody starts from these verses, therefore the Tanna mentions the reading at the beginnings of these verses, for from here on the sweetness of the melody and its strength is heard, and before this they are called like an opening to the melody, for so there are melodies in musical tunes and such where the musician first places a low tune and somewhat simple, and afterwards begins with the essence of the melody and its sweetness which rises and falls with high degrees, and it was established for the Tanna that this was the same melody of those psalms there in the time of the Temple as he received from his teachers: Page 56. That Bilgah always divides in the south and Jeshebeab in the north. Explanation: The way of their walking from the Temple at the end of their days of service in it they divide in the south, and those entering to serve in their days divide in the north which is the choice place and they give them praise in this because they are now entering the service of the altar, and as is explained in the Mishnah: those entering divide in the north and those exiting in the south. And why was it done? I have said a sign for this matter from what is said in the tradition: 'Goes toward the south and turns toward the north', for it is known that the service of the altar is referred to by the name 'turning' as it is written: 'I will wash my hands in purity and turn around Your altar, O Lord', and that is, before the service one needs sanctification of the hands from the laver, and this is: first 'I will wash my hands in purity' from the laver, and afterwards 'I will turn around Your altar, O Lord' to perform the service of the altar, behold he refers to the entry of the priests to the service of the altar with the term 'turning', and this is 'Goes toward the south', meaning one who goes and exits from the Temple divides to the south, but the 'turning' one who enters the service of the altar which is referred to by the term 'turning', this is to the north, for he divides in the north for life: ⟦line⟧
Benayahu Chapter 4, 5 Sukkah 44 Chesed. It seems to me, with the help of Heaven, that this judgment is regarding the judgment of charity itself, meaning that a person can judge and force himself into the mitzvah of charity because he says, behold the Holy One Blessed be He gives me everything, therefore I am obligated to give charity from my money, even though I am not being asked, and then he shall set aside charity from his money, and this charity will be beneficial against loss, assembly, anger and insult, and it will be placed with him as a deposit, and when the collectors need to collect, he will give them from it, as Rabbeinu Meir Shapir of blessed memory wrote regarding this on the verse "and they shall take for me an offering," see there. And behold, if he does so, and this will be a complete mitzvah of charity in deed, speech, intent, and thought, which correspond to the four letters of the Name (HVYH) and the four worlds ABY"A, and it is known that thought is in the secret of the world of Atziluth, and whoever whose thought is good and correct draws abundance from the world of Atziluth, and it is known that the abundance of the world of Atziluth is in the secret of the Name HVYH with the filling of Yudis which equals the numerical value of Chesed (Grace), and this is what is meant by "everyone who performs charity and justice," meaning the judgment of charity, that he should be the judge to force himself in the act of charity even though he is not asked, it is certain that he will be complete in this mitzvah in the part of thought, and since the part of thought, which is the secret of Atziluth, is completed, he is considered as if he filled the entire world with grace for the abundance of Atziluth is through the Name HVYH of Yudis which is the numerical value of Chesed: And with this it will be understood, with the help of Heaven, the reason why the letters of Tzedakah (Charity) are great in their full spelling in this ' Tzadi Dalet Kof He ' the letters of the filling are Yud Lamed Tav Yud Vav Aleph, and it is known in Atziluth it is the number of thousands, and it is found that 700 hands is the abundance of Atziluth, to hint that although charity is in action nonetheless the worker who acts draws abundance from Atziluth which is 700 hands, and this will be understood, with the help of Heaven, from what is said: Happy is the one who learns, everyone who comes to jump, jumps, meaning everyone who comes to jump from the world of Asiyah, which is the place of the mitzvah of charity, jumps to the world of Atziluth to draw the abundance of 700 hands, it is said how precious is Your grace, which means the abundance of Atziluth which is called by the name Chesed, for there is the HVYH in the filling of Yudis which equals Chesed, it is precious and not everyone is able to jump there, one might think even a God-fearing person, meaning one who possesses awe of majesty, which is called fear of heaven, a quality that this fear relates to the heavens and not to the earth as is known, meaning even for one who possesses this fear the jump to Atziluth would be difficult and precious for him, the verse says "And the grace of Hashem" it is the abundance of Atziluth which is in the Name HVYH in its numerical value of Chesed which from the world unto the world, meaning from the world of Atziluth until the world of Asiyah, behold it is present with those who fear Him, those who possess the awe of majesty whose fear relates to Him, blessed be He, and not for their own benefit, and that is specifically "those who fear Him": And in another way, it seems to me with the help of Heaven, "everyone who performs charity and justice" from the language of the judgment of the path, meaning his way and custom, because charity and its judgment and custom should be done with ultimate joy, and furthermore that which he gives should not be considered as anything in his eyes so that he does not become proud of it, he should also think that he is giving from His, blessed be He, and not from his own, and further he should give according to his ability, and if he performs charity with its judgment then it is considered to him that the small amount he gave is equivalent to everything that everyone gave, and as we wrote regarding a rich man who gave a very large amount of charity and saw in a dream his name written in the ledger of charity in heaven after the charity given by a certain poor man which was a small thing, and he wondered about the matter and they answered him thus the importance of the mitzvah is according to the joy and according to the person's mind and his thought, and according to his ability, and as it is said "A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before great men," and this is what is meant by "everyone who performs charity and its judgment" for it was done properly in all these matters we mentioned, he is considered as if he filled the world entirely with grace, meaning he is credited as if he gave against all those who act entirely, happy is the one who learns, everyone who comes to jump jumps, meaning to jump from the end and the bottom of the ledger to the top of the ledger he can achieve this easily, it is said how precious is Your grace which is, meaning this grace which is complete which brings him to this jumping is precious and not every man merits this, one might think even a God-fearing person, meaning a person who merited the awe of majesty, it is also difficult for him to achieve this thing, it is said "And the grace of Hashem is from world unto world," meaning grace that can ascend from the lower world to the upper world is present with those who fear Him, the possessors of the awe of majesty, as it is written etc: Chapter Five. Page 52. And even the Holy One Blessed be He wonders with them, as it is said "for it will be a wonder in the eyes of this people, also in My eyes it will be a wonder." It seems to me with the help of Heaven to explain in this a hint of the scripture, "fearful in praises, doing wonders," the explanation is we praise You that You also perform a wonder with us that You shall wonder also to our eyes in order to lower us and to show us that we conquered in the war of this inclination, even though the quality of fear received: Ibid. If this repulsive one meets you. It seems to me with the help of Heaven he calls him repulsive for the letters of 'menuval' (repulsive) are the letters 'lo manu', and the letters 'manu' in Gematria are 40, which is the sum of the years of his days that he rules over you. And what is said at first drag him, and at the end in their midst, the explanation is at first when he is in the category of a traveler drag him to engage in the straight path and to go in the other evil path, and at the end when he is in the category of a man then he dwells in their midst which is in Gematria And what is said there is a small organ in man, he who satisfies it is hungry, he who starves it is satisfied, it is found that this organ is sometimes hungry, sometimes satisfied, and these two things are hinted in its name which is 'ever' (organ), and that is 'Aleph' for 'ever' in the Atbash exchange is 'Tet' it is found that 'ever' was the letters of 'rasha' (wicked), and if you also exchange the letter 'Resh' of 'ever' in Yudis for 'Shin', 'ever' will be the letters of 'shava' (satisfied): Ibid. Great as it is said these verses the feet of Israel faltered. It seems to me with the help of Heaven that the intention is attributed in the Torah to three names of man which are Yeshurun, Yaakov, Yeshurun, which are white which hint to the repentance that whitens the sins of Israel, and therefore 'Lavan' (white) is the Gematria of 'Im Im' which was inclusive of repentance from fear, these are the beginning of kingdom, and repentance from love these are the ascent of understanding, and this is what is meant by "the feet of Israel faltered," their feet a hint to repentance which is hinted at in the leg, the legs. It is also their feet, a hint to the group of the wicked which is nicknamed by the name 'foot' as is known that in it is the essence of the power of the desire of the Evil Inclination. And this is why Rav Acha did not bring the verse of "and I will remove my spirit in your midst" which Rav Pappa brought, because he holds this is included in that same verse of "and I will remove the heart of stone" for it is the conclusion of its matter "and I will remove" and the end was the memory of this verse, and Rav Pappa said even from this verse which is the conclusion of the verse "and I will remove" we hear something new, for he said "I will give a new spirit" through which they will overcome their physical matter and they will not be obedient to the Evil Inclination even though they are still flesh: Page 53. They said about Hillel the Elder when he would rejoice in the Joy of the Water-Drawing. It seems to me with the help of Heaven Hillel the Elder was a chariot for the victory (Netzach) of Moses our Teacher, peace be upon him, therefore he lived 120 years like the life of Moses as is known, and this is what is said they said about him, about Hillel the Elder, meaning they said about the Netzach of Moses our Teacher which was upon Hillel the Elder that these words are coming out from the Netzach of Moses our Teacher who was riding upon Hillel the Elder, and therefore he would say "If I am here everyone is here," for Moses our Teacher was equivalent to 600,000 of Israel who are the measure to bless over them "Blessed is the Knower of secrets," and if I am not here who is here, for it is impossible that 600,000 of Israel should gather together in this place. And further it seems to me with the help of Heaven "If I am here" meaning there is no service complete and perfect in complete thought, not only action which is in Malchut which is called 'Ani' (I), then the 'all' is the Yesod here, that they merit to do in a pair the union of Yesod in Malchut, but if I am not here, meaning service complete which is deed, speech, intent, thought, and the will of the heart which are from Keter called 'Ayin' (Nought) until the Malchut called 'Im' (If), then 'Mi' (Who) is here, they perform the upper union of Binah called 'Mi': The rooster crowed, they blew (Tekiah), sounded a blast (Teruah), and blew again, they reached the tenth step, they blew, sounded a blast, and blew. It is found that in the Court of Israel they blow at the first step, for first they stand at the upper gate at the first step and wait there until the rooster crows and afterwards they blow at the tenth step. And it seems to me with the help of Heaven the reason that they blow at the first step and the tenth step is to hint that in the Joy of the Water-Drawing they draw water from the two springs, and through this they unify the letters Aleph-Yud of the Name Adonai which are Grace with the letters Dalet-Nun of the Name Adonai which are Judgment, and this is they connect Dalet-Nun with Aleph-Yud Benayahu Chapter 4 Sukkah They sell pillows and bolsters of humans there like horses and donkeys and so he did and returned to his father's city, and he said to his father I will not go again And his father rejoiced that his son returned in peace, and his father and mother embraced that girl and they raised her with them exactly like their daughter, and the girl was of very beautiful form and also possessed wonderful intelligence and knew several languages and also the language of the sages of that city she knew. And she tells them how she was the daughter of a king of the kings who are in the overseas country, and through war they captured her and she was the only child to her father and mother, and then they thought of her [as] Makhluf to this man and brought her to the city of Kushta to sell her. And when she saw the custom and ⟦creeping thing⟧ she had the love for the religion of Israel very much and she sought to convert and they converted her according to the law and the halacha and when he became twenty years old the marriage [was with] a girl of 17 years, and the congregation gathered to marry off his only son for free, and he [the father] grew old in his mind to marry this girl to him because there is none like her beauty and there is no possessor of intelligence in the world like her and she is complete in every way of the land, and she had already converted and her deeds are upright, therefore he approached the sage to his son and said to him my son I must marry you to a wife because it is impossible to delay longer because you have entered the twentieth year and I have not found a woman more suitable for you than this girl. And the son answered and said to his father one who is worthy of all the honor in the world and I would not exchange the likes of her, but since this is a daughter of kings and she was a captive and I redeemed her, behold surely her father and mother sit in great grief for her and how shall I take her and leave her father and mother in great grief forever, therefore just as I redeemed her so I am obligated to lead her to her father and if her father wants to give her to me for a wife I will take her and come, and if not she will remain with her father and mother and I will return. And his father was alarmed at this thing and said to him my son, the city of her father is not like the city of Kushta which is very far away four ⟦portions⟧ as it is in the overseas country and that sea is difficult and how would you want to go there, but since you want the daughter to return to her father and mother I will sell every object for you until [the end] and I will send with her a multitude of men and a multitude of women who will deliver her into the hand of her father and mother, and the son refused and swore a severe oath that he himself would lead her to her father and mother and his father was forced to do his will because he saw that if he delayed him he would die from the greatness of his worry, and he sent him with the daughter and made her many jewels and he delivered for him one ship and sent with him several men seafaring who know how to guard in the heart of the seas and they went on their way, and after four months they arrived near the royal city of the girl's father and when they approached the dry land and they were all in the midst of the sea, a great storm wind floated over them: and it was strong and the ship broke ⟦...⟧ and the sea the son of the rich man and the girl clinging to each other and flying in the sea, and behold a ⟦fisherman⟧ threw himself into the sea and ⟦bound them in a great name⟧ and brought them up from the sea in peace and they said to him what shall we pay you as a reward for this ⟦decreer says and it shall be established⟧ ⟦for you⟧, and he said to them I want neither money nor ⟦...⟧ clothes only this thing, which is that now you go to this side for two hours on your feet and you will find one large and wide-handed inn, enter it and send from there a runner to the king the girl's father that you are staying at the inn, and then the king will come in a chariot and a force with great honor toward them because from the inn to the city there are only three hours, and tomorrow when he receives you the king and you come to the royal courtyard certainly you will marry ⟦one another⟧ because the king will give his daughter to you and you will make a wedding canopy there, and on the night of the wedding after the completion of the meal when the invited guests go each to his place and ⟦...⟧ the king also each one will enter his room, then before you take the daughter of the king you and she alone shall accompany from the room and come at night to the priest near me, for the path is straight before you and you will not stray in it, and bring with you a ⟦hoe and a shovel⟧ and also leaves and a mat, for the end of his work is at hand and he wants to make one ⟦pit⟧ inside the ground deep and cover it with leaves in order to place the fish in it to keep them in it, and only in this he wants and not in any other way, and you are not permitted to allow any person with you but only you alone shall come, and this is my reward for your rescue that I rescued you from the sea, therefore his heart to rob and ⟦diminish as kindness⟧ I spoke to you, and they wondered at his words and against their will they did ⟦as kindness spoke⟧, and they went a straight path until the inn as the hunter said, and the rich man's son sent a runner from the inn to the king's house to awaken them, and he said to him behold your daughter is with me whom I took from the captives waiting for you at the inn, and the king and queen rejoiced a very great joy, and the king went out in a precious chariot with all the sages of the army and all kinds of music, and he came to the inn and saw his daughter and kissed her and embraced her, and she told him all the good that the rich man's son did with her, and they told the king stories that he saved [them] in the sea and they went up to the dry land by way of a miracle, and they did not tell him at all of the matter of the hunter for so he commanded them. And the king took ⟦to awaken them⟧ and sat a great feast, and after a week he gave his daughter to him for a wife, and on the night of the wedding from midday they began the meal and kinds of music and they ate and drank, and at the second hour of the night each one went to his place, and also the members of the king's household each one entered his room, and the groom and bride also entered within their wedding chamber, and after they knew that they were all sleeping in their rooms the groom and bride went out from their room and took with them a ⟦hoe and a shovel⟧ and leaves and a mat which they prepared from the day they went in the king's courtyard in one quiet, and they sneaked out and put everything on their shoulders and went out from the city and went a straight path on the highway until they arrived at night at the place of the hunter and he rejoiced toward them and blessed them, and he said to them he is ⟦...⟧ old and weak, and he cannot dig with his hand, therefore you shall dig a deep pit, and afterwards for the sake of guarding the fish in it, and they dug ⟦as was lacking to him⟧, and when ⟦he illuminated to them the exchange⟧ afterwards he said cover it with leaves and only put an open entrance for it on one side and they did so, afterwards he said place the mat on the leaves and they placed [it], and he said put earth on the mat and they put [it], afterwards he said he wants to enter inside it to know if it is well made, and he entered and lay inside it, and said that he remains inside it he said to them listen now to my words he is not a hunter and is not of the living who live on the face of the earth but he is that same man for whom you paid in the city of Kushta to the creditors two gold pieces and you merited to rescue him from the search and insults and curses of the creditors, and you did not allow to bury ⟦...⟧ until you paid his debts and he was buried in honor by your hand, and that day when a storm wind passed in the sea and the ship sank and all that was in it also you were prepared to sink, but that charity which you did with me protected you and the girl who is your mate to rescue you from this evil, but they said in the heavenly court the miracle of your rescue must be through that same anonymous man with whom you did this great kindness to pay for him two good gold pieces, and not only that but you paid everything and immediately before he was buried so that he would be buried in honor, and therefore that man in the appearance that he was they returned his spirit to his corpse that was buried in Kushta, and he came here in the form of a hunter and rescued you, and now since he returned and died and came here I need a new burial here, and therefore as I did kindness with you in your rescue so you do kindness with me for now and complete my burial to cover the entrance of the pit with leaves and earth, and further add earth on the heap and go to your home in peace. This is the end of the story: See now how many wonders are in this matter that not only in the merit of the charity which he did with the pious man that they would do a miracle for him to rescue him from drowning ⟦...⟧ to have this miracle distinguished in form of ways, but a more wondrous thing was done that this pious man with whom he did the charity is he who lives and rises from his grave and comes by way of a miracle from Kushta and rescues this master of charity he himself measure for measure, and were it not for the eye of the excessive charity ⟦...⟧ according to the acts of kindness in it which is that ⟦in paying it⟧ measure for measure, and in its repayment there will be things directed toward the act of kindness done in it and look well, and what is written in Song of Songs Rabbah things greater is acts of kindness than charity, it seems to me with heaven's help therefore the word is pointed in kindness it is a segol which is three points because in three things is the advantage of kindness over charity: There, everyone who does charity and justice as if they filled the whole world kindness
43 Builder Chapter 4 to leave the matter. And when he refused at first, the son began to become ill from grief because this desire had entered his heart, and he did not eat and he would not survive long that way, then he would fall into a sickness of black bile and madness, and who knows what would become of him; and he was forced to grant him his request and handed over to him chests full of ten thousand gold dinars and sent with him his steward to guard him on the way and to lead him, for he had not yet tried to leave the entrance of his house. And they went down in a ship and reached the city of Kushta (Constantinople), and before they took the items out of the ship, both of them went out alone to find a respectable house to live in, and this man temporarily settled the son of the wealthy man in a place for a stroll where all the wealthy people sit to stroll, and he went to look for a good lodging house. And behold, that day a certain righteous and pious man passed away in the city of Kushta, who was worthy of being escorted by the entire congregation, including the wealthy and the great. And the beadle proclaimed a voice in the markets and in the streets that the entire congregation should come to perform the mitzvah of escorting the pious man [so-and-so], and the voice passed also in that seating area, and the son of the wealthy man heard what this one was proclaiming, and they told him etc. [...] And he said, the thing is good, I too will perform the mitzvah of escorting, and he rose to go with those who were going from there, and what [...] and [...] quickly came the leader and wanted to prevent him from going because he had just come from the journey, but he could not, and the man also went with him to escort the pious man. And as they were going to escort him, the son of the wealthy man heard from the people walking with him that they were praising that pious man, and he wondered and said, why are they praising this pious man who has now passed away, has such a thing been heard? And they said to him, or those praising, Tuvia [...] money, and they knew and understood now that he did not leave anything after him, and it is a great thing that they lost their money. And he was very angry and he halted the bier and did not let them bury him until he sent the man, his leader, to bring, and he brought money and gold coins in sight and paid every debt that was upon him to every person, such that the debt amounted to two thousand gold pieces, and then that pious man was buried with great honor. And after he returned from the cemetery, he did not want to stay in the city of Kushta for even one hour because the people of the city were loathsome in his eyes when he heard that they cursed that pious man for no violence in his palm, for he did not eat their money or his house was not burned and the merchandise within it were food for fire, and what was in his hand to do, why should they curse him? And he agreed to return to his city, and the man urged him much that he stay there four or five days to see new things and precious things that are in the city, but he did not want to, and he returned in a ship and came to his father's city and the man told his father the story, and his father rejoiced with great joy that his son had returned in peace quickly, and he did not care about the money that went because he is a very extraordinarily wealthy man, and the son returned to the Study Hall. And it was one day and those friends sent to the Study Hall for the sake of a stroll for a while and they reached him and said [...] to his face, have you seen such a fool who went to the big city and did not buy anything, and what of it if he found empty people there, are they all like that? And furthermore, what did the city sin? He should have bought merchandise and come and profited four thousand gold pieces, and what is it to him if the people of the city are evil and sinners. And their words entered his ears, and he desired from his heart to return to that big city with the principal that was in his hand to trade there, and his father, seeing that his words were strong in this, was forced to do his will and sent him with that man and handed him principal as at first, and when they reached the city of Kushta both of them went out alone, and the man settled the son of the wealthy man in the strolling seat near the place of the ships until he would go and look for a good lodging house, and while he was sitting there in the strolling seat, he saw a broker holding in his hand a very beautiful young girl and proclaiming, and he heard what this one was proclaiming, and they told him this girl was captured from the war, and the captor is selling her through this broker, and it was bitter to him over this matter how a very beautiful girl would be terribly telling of her that she is a daughter of kings and princes being sold like a donkey, sold like a Cushite maidservant, and he heard how much the captor wanted to take for her value, and said the broker, five hundred gold pieces. And he said, I will give five hundred gold pieces for her value and do not proclaim further, and he stood her with him until the man came and told him to bring five hundred gold pieces from the ship and he took her and returned to the ship in order to return to his father, and he agreed that he would not go anymore to this city which it is mentioned in the memory of the righteous in Etz Chaim Gate 47 and 44 Chapter 14, that the letters Aleph-Heh-Heh-Ayin are 63 and Gimmel-Yod-Kaph-Koph are five kindnesses, and even though the letters [...] are not the body of the four letters Ayin-Bet-Zayin they are five and I did not receive his reasoning etc. And the Maharshak of blessed memory wrote in Yafeh Sha'ah the reason that Nun-Heh are included in one letter because they are two halves of the body and are considered as one, see there. It is found in the throat there are Aleph-Heh-Heh-Ayin which are five severities, and it is known that the wine is the secret of the severities, and therefore for your anger satiated [...] from my throat seven for there is his aspect: Ibid. And what things that are usually done in public the Torah said ⟦to walk humbly⟧. Behold the modesty that needs to be done in bringing in the bride and the funeral, see in the commentary of Rashi of blessed memory, and it seems to me in Heaven's help to further explain this and that is because bringing in the bride is at the time of the chuppah when they stand and many reveal themselves there and bless seven blessings, and those who come there there are among them those who come for the honor of the groom and bride, so that they will hold it as a favor to them for their coming to them at that time, and if their intention is for that even though those who come are many they intend to show themselves to the father of the groom or the father of the bride, so that they will know that they came there for their honor and will hold it as a favor, and there are those who come for the sake of Heaven in order to hear the seven blessings of the groom and bride and to stand there, and these are not particular about showing themselves that they came there, and to this it says and walk humbly that you shall go and stand in concealment and not be particular to come there in public so that they will recognize you and hold it as a favor to you, and so the matter in taking out [the dead] there is one who goes there so that they will hold it as a favor to him, and therefore he is particular to sit there in public, and there is one who goes for the sake of Heaven and this is his intention it is recognizable in this that if he goes and sits in concealment then this proves that the intention was for the sake of Heaven: Ibid. Charity is not rewarded except according to the kindness (Gemilut Hasadim) within it. I explained with Heaven's help in the holy book Ben Yair on the word Grace: it is rewarded according to the value of the money given but according to the action of the kindness that will be sent from it for there is one who gives a hundred gold pieces for the needs of the poor and there was no saving of life in it, and there is one who gives one dinar and it was a cause in this to sustain one soul of Israel, as it is written in the Holy Zohar about Rabbi Isaac who sustained the soul of one poor man with half a zuz that he gave him, and so because if he had not given it to him he would have died, heaven forbid, and so our Sages of blessed memory said about that wealthy man who did not give charity all his days and only at the time of his death they brought him an egg to eat and he heard the voice of a hungry poor man knocking on the door and he said that they should give him the egg that they brought for him and they gave it to him and it caused life for that poor man with this egg and then he merited all the Torah and mitzvot that the poor man occupies himself with afterwards, and as in the book Meil Tzedakah. Also it may happen for one who is ill whose existence was dependent on one miracle of a good dinar and this one gave him the dinar and he bought the medicine and was healed and lived, and to this it says charity is not rewarded except according to the kindness within it: And in another way it seems to me with Heaven's help according to a story they tell about a wealthy man who had an only son who frequented the Study Hall to study Talmud and Gemara, and when he was eighteen years old all the boys who were studying with him together left their study and sat in shops to do business according to their ability for their livelihood, and he because his father was very wealthy and did not need this remained in the Study Hall occupied with his study, and it was one day and those boys came to the Study Hall for a stroll and said to him until when will you be a fool like moles whose eyes have not opened, behold your father has treasures full of silver and gold, take from him a principal of ten thousand gold dinars and go with them to the city of Kushta, it is the big city and you will buy from there merchandise [so-and-so] and merchandise [so-and-so] and bring them here and profit in them forty percent on one leg (easily), and also you will see with your eyes there a new world and you will know what is in the world, and if we had in our hand the body of a gold dinar we would not sit in this city for one day. And their words entered his ears and went down into his inner chambers and he added to this matter a complete agreement and he requested from his father for this matter, and his father was very distressed over this matter to send his only son to a far city by way of the sea, and he does not need the profit of this trade even if the profit will be many times over the principal, and he saw that he could not appease him 22 sellers Benayahu Chapter 4 Sukkah Why was he buried upright? Because he was certainly buried so according to their inheritance to him from Heaven, they brought it about to be thus. And why is this? And I said with the help of Heaven for this, because every righteous person's merit protects his generation when he is alive with them because he is shared with them, but after he passes away the partnership ceases and he does not protect them like the time of his life when he was alive with them, and the gap is great in this, as the commentators of blessed memory wrote, and therefore they eulogize and weep at the passing of the righteous person for the lack that they have lost, but the Rambam ⟦may his merit protect us⟧, according to the greatness of his soul, his merit protects the world after his passing just as it protected in his life while he was with them, for it was not for nothing that it became the custom in all the communities of Israel to set boundaries in the name of the Rambam ⟦may his merit protect us⟧ to awaken mercy so that his merit will protect them, and therefore his merit is found to be similar to a planted tree that stands in its place and is not similar to a detached tree which is laid on the ground, and the known difference between a planted tree and a detached tree is this, that a planted tree is always still in its strength and its power and is not dry and withered, but a detached tree is dry and withered, and therefore they buried the Rambam ⟦may his merit protect us⟧ upright to hint that his merit is similar to a planted tree that stands, and is not similar to a detached tree that is laid on the ground, and therefore they did not bury him lying down. And with this it is also settled the words of the statement here, that every thing that a mitzvah was done with [must be in] that manner of its growth, meaning at the time it was planted in the ground, to hint that the mitzvah must be similar to a tree that is planted which remains existing in its strength and its power, so the mitzvah needs to remain existing in its strength and its power from beginning to end to perform it with full intent and great enthusiasm and strength and it shall not be decreasing but rather the wholeness of the one who does it from the beginning etc. Ibid. Another matter: standing, that they give over their tops. Rashi of blessed memory explained that it was not dealing with a long one of gold like the measure of the board that it would stand on its own, and this covering of gold was very thin that it does not stand on its own except by the wood that the covering is fixed [to] with nails of gold, see there. It is found according to this that the species stands by the combination of the wood and the gold together, for the gold covering does not have enough sufficiency on its own to stand, since it is thin it cannot stand alone, and the reason it seems to me with the help of Heaven is because the gold is Gevurah and the wood is Chesed, and by using them in the combination of both of them together there will be a sweetening of the Gevurah by the Chesed, and similarly to this I explained the reason that the verse said: "And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife," for the wood is Chesed, and Isaac his son is Gevurah, and Abraham our father is the master of Chesed, and the fire and the knife are Gevurah, and with this is done the sweetening of the Gevurah by the Chesed, and so is the matter here: Ibid. To Him and to you, O altar; to Him and to you, O altar. It seems to me with the help of Heaven the reason that they chose to compose the praise on the letters Y-H and the letters Lach (to you) because the letters L-Y-H are the letters of Hechal (Palace) which are the reverse of the letters Lach and the letters Y-H: Page 48. And for the water libation, how? With a golden flask. It is difficult later on it says: "and on that day the altar was damaged," and how would it enter with the citrons? Unless it is forced that they used stones, as Rashi wrote later that they pelted him with stones that they threw at him, and here it says that they pelted him with their citrons and perforce we must say that they threw at him stones and also citrons, and therefore it is difficult that since they threw stones at him to kill him, as it says in the Jerusalem Talmud that that Sadducee died from that pelting, why did they throw citrons at him as well? And it seems to me that some threw citrons and some who did not have citrons in their hand brought stones and threw at him, but this is a stretch for it says: "and all the people pelted him with their citrons," which implies specifically the citrons were from everyone, and it seems to me that they wanted to kill him, and therefore they threw stones at him, but afterwards they also threw citrons at him so that a mound of citrons was made over him to show that what they pelted him and killed him for was that which is written in the Oral Torah which is the secret of Malchut, and it is known that the citron hints at Malchut which is the secret of the Oral Torah. Alternatively, our Sages of blessed memory said the four species are similar to four types of people, there are those who possess wisdom and possess commandments and this is hinted at in the citron, and there are those who possess commandments and do not possess Torah and this is hinted at in the palm branch which only has eating and has no smell, and there are those who possess Torah and do not possess commandments and this is hinted at in the myrtle which has only smell, and there are neither this nor that, and this is hinted at in the willow, and these Sadducees separated and withdrew from the Sages of Israel who are possessors of Torah and possessors of commandments like the citron and disagreed with them therefore they pelted them with citrons which hint at the Sages of Israel who are possessors of Torah and possessors of commandments: And furthermore it seems to me with the help of Heaven that they wanted to kill him, but if they had prepared stones to put to death to kill him the Sages would not have let them therefore they brought small stones and rocks like clusters of gunpowder and tied them to the stem of the citron and threw the stones at him, and the Sages when they saw them throwing citrons at him did not protest against them because they said with citrons he will not die, and they did not know that there were small rocks tied to them that had the measure to kill, and therefore the altar was also damaged: Ibid. It is said on the second day: "and their libations," on the sixth: "and its libations," on the seventh: "according to their rule," it is found added on the second and on the sixth and on the seventh three letters [forming] Mayim (water), to hint at the water libation, and with this the secret of the Sadducees who deny the Oral Torah is broken, and therefore they do not admit to the water libation, for what will they answer to the three letters of Mayim that were added on the second and on the sixth and on the seventh which are the letters M-Y, and it is known that the Written Torah is Chesed and the Oral Torah is Chochmah, and the Oral Torah is Gevurah which is called Yirah (fear), and therefore the letters of Yirah and Halakha are included in each other from top to bottom as written in the holy Zohar because the Written and Oral Torah are included in this, and all were given from one shepherd, one God said them, and with this it will be understood with the help of Heaven: "If a man give all the substance of his house for love," meaning that he does not admit to the Written Torah which is the secret of love, for he denies through this the water libation they would utterly despise him, for that which is hinted at in the days of M-Y which are the second, sixth, and seventh they would despise him, [they] command him, for what will he answer to the addition of the letters of water that were added in these days, it is found there is a hint for the water libation written in it from the Torah: Page 49. And also one wine-press in it toward the Shittin. Behold the Shittin have [a hole for] water and have [a hole for] wine that there are two holes, one for water and one for wine, and it is known water hints at the Written Torah and wine at the Oral Torah which are Chesed and Gevurah, a hint to the sweetening that the Gevurot which are the secret of wine are sweetened by the Chasadim which are the secret of water, and therefore it is hinted in the legality of the wine-press which is a wine-press which is the secret of the number of Havayah [Tetragrammaton] Chesed and the number of the name which is the secret of that which is judgment: Ibid. At the time when they pour wine on the altar they plug the Shittin. It seems to my humble opinion that the Shittin are hollow and their hollow descends to the abyss the width of the hollow is not equal from its beginning to its end but at the top of the Shittin the measure of a height of three handbreadths the hollow was wide, and after three handbreadths there is a sealed floor in it, and within that floor there is a small hollow hole and it descends to the abyss like this, The lip of the Shittin Floor around Hole descending to the abyss And there they plug this hole, and it is found the wine stands in the wide hollow whose height is about three handbreadths or more for this hollow is considered like the throat of the Shittin that the wine is seen in it by those standing above and it will stand thus for a measure of some time, afterwards he inserts his hand and removes the plug, and then the wine descends in the hole to the abyss, and all the time that the hole is closed and the wine stands in that same wide upper hollow which is in the likeness of the throat it appears in the Shittin drinking and satiation according to the meaning of the two versions that are in the Babylonian [Talmud], and it appears that they do so in order to learn a moral for man regarding the matter of the good of this world and its pleasures that he should be satiated and quenched by the influence that the Holy One blessed be He bestowed upon him like every single time in them to him a new thing that he was not quenched by it for man is not satiated and quenched except by a new thing that comes to him: Ibid. For seven [measures of] wheat, a wine [measure] from its kernels seven. And the reason that was said specifically in this statement, it seems to me with the help of Heaven that it is known that the letters A-H-Ch-E are in the throat and G-Y-K-K are in the palate, and it is known according to our master Maharchu ⟦may his memory be for a blessing⟧
Chapter 3, 4 Sukkah 42 together to Rabban Gamliel, and perhaps at the beginning R. Yehoshua entered alone to Rabban Gamliel and he gave it to him, and afterward R. Elazar ben Azariah entered, and truly if both of them had been standing together he would have prioritized giving it to R. Elazar ben Azariah, and furthermore I have doubted this proof from another side and also the essence of the doubt, and here is not the place to elaborate: Page 42. Before what. Interpretation: R. Hamnuna said: a strip of wool for us from there. That it is not enough with the verse Shema Yisrael for both of them Torah and Recitation of Shema, because for an adult one requires two, for even though R. Shimon bar Yochai said if he only recited Shema he has fulfilled his obligation in the commandment of "And you shall meditate on it," nevertheless it is forbidden to say this thing before an unlearned person, and therefore they instructed him regarding the small child whom they come to train that he requires a verse of Torah because of "And you shall meditate on it," besides the verse of Shema which is for Recitation of Shema: Chapter Four. Page 43. That which we learned in the Mishnah: on that day they circle the altar seven times so said your father in the name of R. Elazar with the Lulav. It seems with the help of Heaven that for this reason it is called a superior matter that the place was repeated in it where he was saying one word which is the word "with the Lulav", and it interpreted for us the reason why on 그 day they circle seven times, and that is that we need seven to complete thirteen circuits, for on the other days they did six, and in the Lulav there are four species, it turns out they did thirteen circuits for each of the four species, behold the total is fifty-two circuits for all four species as the numerical value of the Name of Havayah with the filling of "He"s which equals 52, and it is known what our master the Ari z"l wrote in Shaar HaKavanot that the Lulav is the secret of the Name of Havayah with the filling of "He"s which equals 52 (Ban), and so one must intend in it, see there, and therefore on what the Mishnah says "and on that day they circle seven times" he said "with the Lulav" and with this word he said that the circling is with the Lulav, he hinted to us also the reason that they circle seven times on that day to complete thirteen circuits, look closely "with the Lulav", meaning you shall look into the secret of the Lulav and you will find a reason for this, and for this it is called a superior matter: Page 45. All the species, a person does not fulfill his obligation with them except the way they grow. It is necessary to understand what reason there is in this. And it seems to me with the help of Heaven according to what the Gaon Mahar"i z"l wrote in Yoreh Deah that anything that comes out from a place where its identity is before another has a higher status over that other which was delayed in the place of its existence, and therefore the souls that were removed through the sin of the first generation inside the husks, there is a great status for the first souls in the early generations over souls that came to this world in the later generations, because the first ones came out from the husk a time before and then those who came last were submerged in the husk a longer time, and he explained at length in this the passage in Sanhedrin where Menashe said to R. Ashi, your colleague and your father's colleague you called us ⟦...⟧, and he did not know ⟦...⟧ that they swallow from a place where the cooking finishes, see there, and behold it is known that the wood and the plant comes out from within the inanimate and it is more superior and refined than the inanimate very much and the inanimate is considered compared to it like filth and a husk, and it is known that the tree and every species of wood that sprouts and grows and comes out from the inanimate which is the dust, its beginning comes out a little and a tiny bit, and it goes on growing and coming out slowly until its size becomes five or six cubits, but it grows from below and not from above, and as it says in the Gemara of Nazir ⟦...⟧ ⟦...⟧ for when the elders' beards turn white the roots of the hair grow white, and so is the matter regarding leaves and trees that come out from the ground, and ⟦...⟧ the head of the tree that sprouts and rises from the inanimate which is the dust that was hidden in it is more superior than its bottom because this upper part in it rose before the time its bottom rose, and therefore it is fitting that it should be honored with this status to stand it the way it grows so that its upper part always stands upwards in performing the commandment with it: And furthermore it seems to me with the help of Heaven a reason for the matter according to what I explained with help of Heaven a correct reason regarding Ram"a z.y.a. that he visited for his reason, and as it says in Shaar HaGilgulim, our master Mahar"hu z"l asked our master the Ari z"l: is this thing true that the world says that for Ram"a z.y.a. a convert is buried, and he said to him: so is the matter, see there, and a reason is needed for this why one does not finalize his wage with him, he does not engage ⟦...⟧ and after he finishes the engagement they give him his wage, ⟦...⟧ or two thirds, and what is in his hand to do since he already worked and was coming to take out and against his will he will receive what they give him, and then they are called "engaging in hired wages", and there are those who do so that they do not finalize at the beginning, and afterward the worker says: give me my wage so and so, and this one will say the ⟦...⟧ until ⟦...⟧ and he is not worth in the instance and he pressures him with go and return until they agree, and it turns out he delays his wage with him several days, and then they are called "withholders of hired wages", and these claims will be between workers or between craftsmen of tailors or goldsmiths and the like: Chapter Three. Page 30. Mishnah: Let wayfarers learn that they should not smuggle themselves from the tax. It seems to me with the help of Heaven the intention is that those who smuggle from the tax even though they know that it is forbidden to rob even from a gentile they permit it for themselves saying as long as they do not demand of us to pay the tax there is no robbery in this, because we are not taking money by hand from the king and it is a cancellation of debt that they do, therefore the king said to his servants: give tax to the tax-collectors, for in this certainly there is no one who demands of them tax from the king's servants, and even so he said give tax and let them learn from this that even if they do not demand it from him because he is a smuggler and they do not recognize him, he is obligated to pay the tax and he has no permission with that claim: Page 36. R. Akiva said: I was watching Rabban Gamliel and R. Yehoshua that all the people were waving their lulavs (meaning according to Beit Shammai) and they did not wave except at "Please, Hashem, save now". It can be said: why did he need to explain in his words that all the people were waving according to Beit Shammai, let him say: I was watching Rabban Gamliel and R. Yehoshua that they did not wave except at "Please, Hashem, save now" alone. And it seems to me with the help of Heaven that he came to teach us in this two lessons, the first: that following the view of Beit Shammai in ⟦...⟧ is not doing a prohibition, for it is not like that of Rabbi Tarfon in the matter of blessings who leaned to recite like Beit Shammai and was endangered, because here they waved at "Please, Hashem, save now" and they added to wave also at "grant success now", and what of it, for even if he waves in other verses still they do not protest against him, and therefore he said at the time he saw Rabban Gamliel and R. Yehoshua waving, they were not alone waving but also the rest of the people had in their hand a lulav and were also waving, and if so Rabban Gamliel and R. Yehoshua saw the people waving also at "grant success now" and they did not protest against them. And furthermore he came to teach us even though all the people were waving at "save" and also at "grant success" and there was in them a prohibition because they acted like Beit Shammai, we do not say <del>a person should</del> change from the custom because of controversy as we say in other places he cannot change from his good custom that he should not wave except at "save now", for behold Rabban Gamliel and R. Yehoshua even though they saw the people waving also at "grant success" they did not wave except at "save": There. In order to encourage evil spirits. It seems to me also Riba agrees with this that R. Yochanan said: he moves it back and forth for the one to whom the four winds belong, but he says that the intention in the movement back and forth is not to show that he does this this for the sake of the Name to whom the four winds belong, but the intention in this movement back and forth is to request from the Blessed Name to whom the four winds belong that He should stop evil winds, and so up and down, that is to request from the Blessed Name that the heavens and the earth are His to stop bad dews: Page 41. Rabban Gamliel took it and fulfilled the obligation with it and gave it to R. Yehoshua as a gift and R. Yehoshua took it and fulfilled the obligation with it and gave it to R. Elazar ben Azariah etc. Behold in the controversy of the sixth year, volume 4, it is written in the name of a Rav and Teacher of the city of Karlsdak ⟦...⟧ who doubted regarding the community's assembly to bless with the community's etrog if there applies to this the positive commandment of "And you shall sanctify him" to give to a Kohen to bless first, and he learned from here that one need not be particular in this, for behold R. Elazar ben Azariah was a Kohen and Rabban Gamliel should have prioritized him over R. Yehoshua, rather it must be that the positive commandment of "And you shall sanctify him" does not apply to this, end of his words, and I was able when I saw these words in the supplement when it reached my hand, I wondered at his words for there is no proof from here at all, for from where do we know that R. Yehoshua and R. Elazar ben Azariah were both standing Sukkah Chapter 2 Benayahu Gemara: The reading of the greeting letter is permitted etc., see there, and according to the words of the Rabbi Tosefet Shabbat, our [ruling] is settled, for in tefillin there is no wearing of tefillin of a voluntary nature, rather all is a commandment, and for this reason they did not decree against it: I also saw in the words of the Rabbi Birkei Yosef z"l in Siman 275 who brought a difficulty on the Magen Avraham z"l from Siman 586 regarding the scribe of R"K he may not climb a tree and may not float in water to save it, and since it is for a commandment, why do we not permit two to climb or float just as we permit two to read by the light of a candle, see there. And I, the servant, resolved [it] with Heaven's help for this difficulty, for it is not a difficulty at all, for there they are hanging in a tree or floating in water, since they climb together and float together, perhaps this guard will also need a branch or to make a swimmer's raft, for if we were to say it is permitted in a manner where this one stands on the riverbank and sees his friend floating, and similarly this one climbs a tree and this one stands under the tree to guard him, then the decree of the Sages would not be upheld in this, and it is necessary to forbid in every manner whether if he floats with him to guard him and climbs with him to guard him, or if he stands under the tree to guard him and stands on the riverbank to guard him, which is not the case by one who reads by the light of a candle, for this guard does not have a book in his hand to read and is not reading at all, certainly he can guard this reader for there is no concern that perhaps this guard will need to read and will forget and tilt [the lamp], for this concern is only for the one being guarded, which is not the case with the tree and floating, for just as there is concern for the guarded there is concern for the guard, by reason of his climbing with him into the tree or floating with him in the river, and if they were to make a distinction in the permission by reason of his standing on the riverbank and it is a small river that does not have much volume, the Sages did not differentiate, and furthermore regarding climbing a tree, certainly if he does not climb with him, there is reason to fear if he tilts a large tree with many branches, for it is possible he will cut and the guard will not see him, therefore they decreed in every manner: It remains for us to explain what was difficult for us in the words of Rav Machshira who holds 'your guarantor needs a guarantor' for perhaps the guard will sleep, if so, in that case of the candle why did they permit with a guard and did not decree perhaps the guard will sleep. And it seems to me with Heaven's help that regarding the candle there are two types of decrees, for regarding the reader the decree is perhaps he will tilt, and regarding the guard the decree is perhaps he will sleep and it would be like a decree upon a decree and they do not decree as such, but regarding tefillin it is one type of decree both regarding the wearer and the guard it is one type of decree, which is perhaps the guard will sleep: Page 29. Our Rabbis taught: When the sun is eclipsed it is a bad omen for the whole world. In my holy book Ben Yehoyada I explained with Heaven's help even though the eclipse is natural and known to astronomers years before it happens, the intention is not to say that the body of the eclipse itself indicates a bad omen but the intention is to say at the time when the eclipse occurs then that time is prone to have some bad omen, Heaven protect us, also the intention is that at the time when there is an eclipse the accusers will be awakened to accuse the generation, such is their custom and nature and attribute, that when they see its appearance leaning toward blood they are awakened to accuse for the sins of the generation to bring a sword to the world, and if they see its appearance resembling black they are awakened to accuse for the sins of the generation to bring famine to the world, and if it appears as this and that they accuse to bring this and that. And I subsequently saw the Rabbi Kaporei Yaakov z"l who explained similarly and it is that he derived this explanation from what it says 'at the time when the sun is eclipsed it is a bad sign', and they did not say 'a sun eclipse is a bad sign', in order to inform that not the body of the eclipse comes as a bad sign, but the intention is that at the time when there is an eclipse the accusers will be awakened to accuse regarding a bad thing, and then there will be a sign bad, Heaven protect us, see there: Ibid. For four things the sun is eclipsed. It does not say these eclipses seen in the sun are done because of these four things, for in truth this eclipse is natural, rather this is what it says: for four things it would be fitting for the sun to be eclipsed because of some bad sign, Heaven protect us, meaning there would not be in it a natural eclipse specifically but an eclipse for a bad sign as well, and with this language it is settled in the Prophets as what David A.H. said 'As the L-rd lives, for the man is worthy of death', and Radak z"l explained the intention is he is fitting to be a son of death, but the line of justice does not obligate him in death, for he only owes him money, and similarly our Sages z"l spoke in their stringency regarding an ignoramus that it is permitted to stab him even on Yom Kippur that falls on Shabbat, and the intention is not that it is permitted to do so to him, and so is the matter here, i.e., it is fitting that the sun should be eclipsed: And behold in my holy book Ben Yehoyada I explained with Heaven's help a correct reason for the connection there is for the four things or with the sun, and here I will add to explain more with Heaven's help regarding the fourth matter which is for two brothers whose blood was spilled as one, for it seems the greater concern is because they are two brothers, and also for that which their blood was spilled as one and not one after another, and seemingly there is no apparent difference in this. And it seems to me with Heaven's help by prefacing what our master the Arizal said in Shaar HaGilgulim Introduction 26 regarding the two brothers Pappus and Lulianus who are called the Martyrs of Lod that they were from the spark of the afternoon [Mincha] time which are very harsh judgments, therefore this event happened to them that they were killed together, end of quote, see there, and it is known that the revealed and simple reason that the two aforementioned righteous men were killed is because the king's daughter was killed and they made a libel to kill all the Jews if the killer was not found and it was not known who he was, and therefore they said they killed them for the sake of saving Israel who were saved thereby as Rashi z"l wrote, and seemingly it is difficult according to this matter that Rashi z"l brought it would have been enough for one of them to say he killed and why were both of them needed and according to the words of our master z"l it is settled for these two brothers came from two drops of the afternoon [Mincha] time which are very harsh judgments, and therefore the Heavens were the cause that both of them would be killed, and it is possible each one ran to the king's palace to tell about himself and did not know and did not think that his brother also came to confess, and all this was a cause from Heaven, so that both of them would be killed together since both were from a place of harsh judgment, and about this it says 'and there are those swept away without judgment' for it was sufficient for the saving of Israel with one and both were killed. And behold similar to this will be found in other generations that there will be two righteous men who are like brothers for they are from one root, killed to atone for the sin of the generation, and even though it would have been sufficient to atone with one of them as mentioned 'there are those swept away without judgment', and therefore regarding this matter and its like it says it is fitting that the sun which is the letters of 'Chemah' [Wrath] should be eclipsed because it is found in this 'there are those swept away without judgment', and what it says 'brothers' does not mean specifically brothers from father and mother, but brothers who are in one root and resemble each other in matters and their aspect. And why it took this regarding the sun I explained in the holy book Ben Yehoyada because the sun shines to the world, and also the sun has a sister which is the moon that nurtures from it: Ibid. For four things the property of householders is handed over to the government. The intention is not to say that they take their money for the royal treasury for this is recognized afterwards in the four things that go out for money that he paid the debt for money to the king's treasury, and I have addressed this matter in several places see there, therefore one must understand what the intention is in this where it says 'handed over to the government'. And the intention seems to be that the courts appointed by the government take all his money and property and deeds, and also his ledgers because he has small orphans or another reason, and immediately all his matters are revealed to the eyes of all, and all that he has and how much his wealth is, and this will happen whether while he is alive or after his death, and therefore he was not careful and would cover [conceal] paid deeds that he did not tear and delayed the person he trusted with him to tear them, and he told him to tear them and he lied, and he now has great shame in the eyes of all for they know that he covers paid deeds and they will suspect him that he did so intentionally in order to rob, and similarly one who lends with interest to an Israelite and says they belong to a gentile, and now when they open his ledgers it is known that from his own money he lent to an Israelite with interest, and took fixed interest, and those who pledged in their hand for charity and did not protest wanting to increase friends for themselves now it will happen to them that all will be their enemies, and those who pledge charity in public and do not give, their intention is to increase honor for themselves through falsehood, behold now their ledgers are opened and it is known that they do not have money of their own but all their business is of others and they will be lost Heaven protect us: Ibid. Regarding those who withhold the wages of a worker and regarding those who oppress the wages of a worker. See Rashi's z"l explanation and the Maharsha's difficulty. And it seems to me with Heaven's help there are workers like the artisans who hire a worker to engage on some day in labor ⟦illegible⟧
Benayahu on Sukkah Chapter 1, 2 which is a handbreadth, so too the last with the heads corresponds to the Written Torah in which the letters are the Written Torah, for all of the Written Torah is hinted at in the Ten Commandments on the Tablets, and therefore the height of the Ark-cover is a handbreadth, which is 4 thumb-breadths corresponding to the 4 parts of Pardes that are in the Oral Torah, and corresponding to the 4 times a teacher must repeat the Oral Torah to his student, as our Sages of blessed memory said on the verse: "Then He saw and declared it; He prepared it and also searched it out." However, this measure was given to prevent it from being less than 4 times, but above that it has no limit, and whoever increases in repeating it more, behold he is praiseworthy. Do not learn from Rabbi Perida who would repeat it for his student four hundred times because he could not learn it in less than that, and with this the reason is understood why the measure of the walls of the Torah being 4 times was not written explicitly, to teach that this is not an absolute measure, as whoever adds to this, behold he is praiseworthy: And it also seems to me with the help of Heaven that the verse hinted at the measure of the Ark-cover, to learn it from the measure of the Table, for it is known that the Table hints at wealth, as our Sages of blessed memory said: "He who wants to become wealthy should turn northward," and your sign is the Table in the north, and the verse hinted at the measure of the Ark-cover of the Ark which hints at the Torah, as is known from the measure of the Table which hints at wealth, to teach that a person should be there in words of Torah like one who is there in wealth, as David, Peace be upon him, said: "I rejoice over Your word like one who finds great spoil," and he should set his heart to guard words of Torah in his heart just as he sets his heart to guard his wealth from all loss and damage. And it also seems to me with the help of Heaven that the verse left one thing regarding the Ark-cover which hints at the Oral Torah unexplained, which we must learn from the lowliest of vessels which is a clay vessel, as stated in the Gemara of Ta'anit page 7a, Rabbi Oshaya said: Why are words of Torah compared to these three liquids: water, wine, and milk? To tell you that just as these three liquids are only preserved in the lowliest of vessels, meaning in clay vessels, so words of Torah are not preserved except in one whose mind is humble, see there. Therefore he left one thing in the Ark-cover which hints at the Oral Torah, to learn it from the lowliest of vessels, so that they should humble themselves to learn one thing regarding pride and greatness in words of Torah from the lowliest of vessels which is a clay vessel, so that the mind of a person should be humble like words of Torah: There [9a], and what is a 'Cherub'? Rabbi Abbahu said: Like a child [K-Ravya], for so in Babylon they call a child 'Ravya'. It can be said that 'Cherub' is a small face and 'Man' is a large face. Why by 'Man' did it take 'face of a man' and did not take it with the letter Kaf of comparison, but by the small face it took 'Cherub' which means 'like a Cherub' with the letter Kaf of comparison? It should have said 'face of a child' or 'face of a youth'. Why did it take the Kaf of comparison? And it seems to me with the help of Heaven that in 'Cherub' which is a small face there is a hint that at a time when they do the will of the Omnipresent, He will act with them in kindness to judge them as children who are not legally responsible, as the commentators said on the verse: "For Israel is a youth and I love him," though they are adults ⟦...⟧, yet in His kindness He judges them as a youth, therefore by the small face it took 'Cherub' which means 'like a Cherub' with the Kaf of comparison. But the large face hints that when they do the will of the Omnipresent they are given by the Holy One Blessed be He the reward for the mitzvah, and there is no Kaf of comparison there, for in truth they are adults and are legally responsible and they have the reward for following the law, therefore it took 'face of a man' and did not take the Kaf of comparison: Page 9a. The verse says: "The Festival of Sukkot seven days to the Lord," a Sukkah made for the sake of the festival. Rashi of blessed memory explained: as it is written "Sukkot to the Lord," for the sake of the King's commandment. It seems to me with the help of Heaven that Rashi was precise to say "for the sake of the King's commandment," because the verse says "to the Lord," and the Maharsha of blessed memory wrote that the letters of 'Mitzvah' are ⟦derived from⟧ the name Havayah, for Y-H in AT-BaSh is M-Tz, and therefore Rashi wrote "for the sake of the King's Mitzvah [commandment]" since the verse took the name Havayah, the Mitzvah was hinted at: Page 14a. The overturning of Sodom and of the Holy One Blessed be He, the attribute of anger to the attribute of mercy. Meaning they overturn Nega [affliction] to Oneg [delight], and Negaf [plague] to Gefen [vine], and Pesha [transgression] to Shefa [abundance]. And so Isaac, Peace be upon him, washed ⟦...⟧ the letters of Rebecca his wife, letters ⟦...⟧ which hint that she remained barren who required a divorce, and he prayed that she would conceive, and he turned the ⟦divorce⟧ to the combination of ⟦intertwined⟧ which is an expression of connection like "they are intertwined, they go up upon my neck," and so the verse ⟦...⟧ the work of ⟦...⟧ is translated as ⟦...⟧ ⟦...⟧, and like the language of our Sages of blessed memory we bless the mitzvot etc. ⟦...⟧ for a woman who conceived will have a connection of law with her husband and will not have a divorce: But they ask: Rebecca's barrenness, even though it was not from the ⟦intention⟧ Heaven forbid, but from the cause so that he would pray, for the Holy One Blessed be He desires the prayers of the righteous. And it seems to me with the help of Heaven that the Patriarchs' way was not to pray for any lack for themselves alone; first, because a prisoner does not release himself, and further, they did not want to benefit from miraculous acts alone for themselves. Rather, they would pray for others regarding that same lack and automatically they would be remembered and saved. And so here, Isaac, Peace be upon him, did not pray for his wife alone, rather he prayed for all barren ones in the world and automatically his wife was remembered. And with this it is comfortable to answer one question, for what does it come to teach us? Twenty years? It is enough to wait ten years and take ⟦...⟧, and with this it is comfortable, for he wanted to pray generally for all barren ones in the world, and before twenty years he did not find through the Holy Spirit that the barren ones of that generation were worthy of his prayer that he should pray for them, and after twenty years he found it so through the Holy Spirit, and he began to pray for the barren ones in the world, and automatically his wife was remembered. And so our Sages of blessed memory said, "Sarah was remembered, and many barren ones were remembered with her; Rebecca was remembered, and many barren ones were remembered with her": Chapter Two. Page 22a. Those men, who were they? The Ritva of blessed memory asked: What was difficult for him as to who they were? Did it enter his mind that there were not among Israel those impure by a corpse? See there. And it seems to me with the help of Heaven that the verse has extra language stating "And there were men who were [Asher Hayu] impure by a human soul," and the words "who were" are extra, as it would suffice to say "And there were men impure by a human soul." Therefore he was precise to say that they were well-known impure ones, whose impurity was known and famous to all: either those carrying the coffin of Joseph, or Mishael and Elzaphan who became impure by Divine command and their impurity was known to all Israel. And it also seems to me with the help of Heaven that he had a difficulty from the verse following it where they said "Why should we be diminished?" for the word "Why" is a language of grievance, and if they were impure by a corpse in the way of all the earth, why were they complaining, for their luck caused the impurity and they ⟦changed/erred⟧ and were not careful to guard themselves from the impurity of a corpse, or by the necessity of impurity for relatives which is a decree of the verse that an impure person shall not offer, and it is not appropriate to complain about this and say "Why should we be diminished?" Therefore he explained either they were those carrying the coffin of Joseph, who became impure by the word of the mission of God to carry his coffin, or they were Mishael and Elzaphan, who also were commanded to become impure by Divine command, and therefore they said "Why should we be diminished?" for this thing we lost through the fulfillment of the commandment of the Holy One Blessed be He, and why should we be diminished to lose through this the precious commandment of the Passover offering? Is it because I was ⟦quick⟧ to fulfill a commandment that I lost another commandment? And further, for this is a commandment and this is its reward, that we should lose through it another precious commandment: Page 26a. One who sells his Sukkah to others. It seems to my humble opinion that it said "to others" in the plural language, though one is sufficient, as Rashi of blessed memory wrote. But with two it is not because each one relies on his fellow and does not turn his mind to it to sit, and ⟦...⟧. Rather, "your guarantor needs a guarantor." And it seems to me with the help of Heaven that Rabbi Yose holds since this is a matter of a commandment, for one who loves Tefillin they did not decree lest the guard lie down and sleep, as ⟦...⟧ to the Rav Magen Avraham of blessed memory sign 275 regarding the law of one who reads by the light of a lamp on Friday night, that he ⟦...⟧ to add the Maharil according to this logic who wrote that specifically for reading they permitted, but matters of permission [voluntary] they did not, see there. And so held Rav Yosef, but Rav Mesharshiya holds that one should not distinguish between one commandment and another: And I saw the Rav Tosefet Shabbat in sign 605 who wrote on the words of the Magen Avraham of blessed memory that this is not sufficient, for if so riding for the purpose of a commandment, such as one who wants to go for a commandment, should be permitted, and it is forced to say that regarding riding it is different, since there is riding of permission [voluntary], but reading is not relevant to a commandment ⟦...⟧, for behold there is 21 sons In the name of the L-rd, we shall do and succeed For the sake of the unification of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and His Shekhinah Sukkah First Chapter Page 3a. And Rabbi Yehuda holds that her sons were sitting with her. Rashi explained: they were sitting at the table to eat and drink, and not reclining nor upright. It is necessary to understand what Rashi is teaching us in this matter by writing "and not reclining nor upright," and why he needed to explain thus. And it seems to me, with the help of Heaven, that one could ask: since it said her table was inside a large Sukkah and his head and most of him were at the table, how can you find a situation where his head and most of him are inside the Sukkah and a minority of his body is outside the Sukkah inside the small room? Therefore he explained: "not reclining and not upright," meaning when they were sitting near the mother on the chair or on the bed at the edge of the small room adjacent to the table, for then his upper half-body is in the small room on the chair, and his lower half-body, which is from the beginning of the legs downward, descends into the airspace of the Sukkah, for the table is in its full extent and they were not literally reclining on the table at the time of eating, for then also his upper half-body would be pushed and enter the airspace of the Sukkah at the time of eating which is over the table, for in that case his whole body would be inside the Sukkah; and also they were not sitting upright, for then his entire upper half-body including the head would be entirely in the airspace of the small room, for his head and neck would be separated slightly from the chair, but his upper body would remain stuck and standing on the chair or the bed outside the Sukkah, and only his head would be tilted and drawn into the airspace of the Sukkah over the table at the time of eating, for in that case now his head and most of his body is in the airspace of the Sukkah, for his head and neck are separated slightly from the chair and enter the airspace of the Sukkah, and there remains only a part of his upper half-body which is the seat of his buttocks and above it standing outside the Sukkah, and the matter was in such a way that they would not leave the small room entirely to sit all of them at the table inside the Sukkah explicitly because it was a mother who sits in the small room and wants her sons to be close to her and near her at the time of eating so she can send them as they wish and speak with them what needs to be spoken to them regarding the matter of eating: Page 5a. The Shekhinah never descended below, and Moses and Elijah never ascended to the height, as it is said: "The heavens are the heavens of the L-rd, and the earth He gave to the sons of man." It is difficult: from where do we know this? Perhaps this is what it means: the heavens are the heavens of the L-rd alone and no man ascends to the height, but the earth—the Shekhinah descends to the earth, and the verse did not come but to exclude humans from the heavens alone. And it seems to me, with the help of Heaven, that he learns from the end of the verse which says: "and the earth He gave to the sons of man." For what was it necessary to say this? And what do we see that the earth He gave to the sons of man? It certainly comes to teach that the Shekhinah does not descend to the earth, and this is what it means: the heavens are the heavens of the L-rd specifically, and the earth is absolute to the sons of man specifically: And it is still difficult: if the verse comes to teach thus, that the heavens are a precious seat for the Blessed Name alone, how is it possible to say so, behold there are angels in the heavens? And it seems to me, with the help of Heaven, that the verse corrected all this in the reason of its words well, for regarding the heavens it said "The heavens are the heavens of the L-rd," but regarding the earth it did not take "and the earth is the earth of the sons of man," but it said "and the earth to the sons of man," and that is to teach that the seat of the angels also is called heavens, for relative to us dwellers of the earth, the place of the angels is considered heavens, but relative to the place of His Blessed Shekhinah it is considered earth, as written in the opening of Tikkun Zechor LeTov, an explanation on this, which said to sanctify Him Himself relative to the external ones that cover the upper, therefore the place designated for His Blessed Shekhinah alone is the heavens of the Place, which is not called also by the name heavens, and for this it says: "The heavens are the heavens of the L-rd," meaning the heavens of heavens, or that spiritual part which belongs to the Blessed Name alone, and the entire earth He gave to the sons of man: Ibid. But it is written: "And the L-rd descended upon Mount Sinai." Why did he not ask from the verse: "And the L-rd descended to see the city and the tower which the sons of man built," because there it is simple that He descended in the air of the end above ten handbreadths, which is considered an exempt place in the laws of Shabbat, and Rabbi Yose said it did not descend into the airspace of the Sukkah below ten handbreadths above the ground. However, it is difficult that he thought to ask from the verse in Parashat Lech Lecha where it is written "And He descended to speak with him" and He appeared to Abraham above the ground, which implies it was literally on him, and similarly from the verse "And behold the L-rd stood over him." And it seems to me, with the help of Heaven, that the proof of the Shekhinah being on the earth in the space of the Altar and the Sukkah and Yom Kippur specifically—this is a separate matter, and R.Y. did not worry about this, but worried about the necessity of the presence of the Shekhinah in the vitality of the ⟦illegible⟧ place. And know that the ⟦illegible⟧ corrected the answer to the verse "And the L-rd descended upon Mount Sinai" which is considered literally "upon," that this too is above ten handbreadths. These are his words. He asked him from "And His feet shall stand on that day," for the expression "And His feet shall stand" implies on the ground, for the language of standing does not fall upon the standing of feet in the air, for standing implies resting with the attachment of the light on the place, and he who prepares ⟦...⟧ it is possible for him above, for he held that the ⟦...⟧ was guarded of the earth, as it is written: "And I will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth," and nevertheless he answered him here too: it can be said above ten handbreadths, and the acquisition of standing in the language of the concept, and that is the concept: Ibid. And Rav Tanchum said: this teaches that He spread His cloud over His Shekhinah. The Rez"h, of blessed memory, asked: why did he bring this teaching of Rabbi Tanchum, behold his question is from the verse itself? And it seems to me, with the help of Heaven, that it is found in the Gemara, first Tanna on page 13, on the verse "And the visions of the Chayot, and behold one wheel on the earth next to the Chayot," Rav said: it is one angel who stands on the earth and his head reaches between the Chayot, see there. And afterwards He descended to this angel who reaches the Chayot, called ⟦...⟧ the Throne, to say the verse about him ⟦...⟧ the face of the Throne he is, spreading the cloud of our master Moses completely. Thus also one can explain regarding the angel Metatron, Prince of the Presence, the verse calls him the angel of the Presence, and at the end of the spreading of our master Moses his cloud, therefore he brought the words of Rabbi Tanchum who said explicitly: He spread His cloud over His Shekhinah: Ibid. ⟦line⟧ And learn from the opening of the Ark, as it is said: "And you shall make for it a border of a handbreadth all around." It is difficult: from the root of the law, why for all the vessels did He specify the measure of their length and width, but for the veil He left it undefined, and our Sages needed to learn its height from the mouth of the table? And it seems to me, with the help of Heaven, according to what is written in the holy book Ben Yehoyada, that the Kaporet spread over the Ark corresponds to the Oral Torah, and therefore the Kaporet of the Chayot... corresponds to the ⟦...⟧ Torah.
Benayahu Chapter 8 Yoma 40 Reminiscent of rams, indicating that this entire matter ⟦speaks of the animal's soul/desire⟧ his mouth against it, and he called out to the ends of the earth, gatherings of the hands for the needy, and this is 'hands' [Yadayim] letters of 'Jeremiah' [Yirmiyah] of the days [Yemei], and with the inclusive count of the letters of 'hands' and the inclusive count of the word, it is two Jeremiahs: Ibid. To let us hear at the foot ⟦of⟧ the living, the sons, and the holy ones. The fact that he had his death in this manner, that the head turned backward and struck him in his head, it seems to me in my humble opinion that certainly that one who was struck was at that time in a state of great drunkenness, for if he were not very drunk, certainly when all these saw him they would immediately go out and be humbled before him, and it is known that drunkenness is caused by the wine or the intoxicant that generates it for the ⟦unnamed one⟧, it turned backward to ascend to the brain in the head and confuses it, as our teacher the Maharsha, may his memory be for a blessing, wrote in Proverbs on the verse 'When it gives its eye in the cup, it moves smoothly,' and therefore because the one who struck at that time was due to the drunkenness of the light of the wine backwards, so was his death, that the head which he had generated at the hour upon the head of the beast before us, the iron turned backward and ascended to the head of the pole and struck him there: Ibid. Rav went to him twelve Eves of Yom Kippur. The fact that he was precise to go 12 times, it seems to me in my humble opinion that G.H. B.S. was a son of great men in the Torah for several generations, and it is known that one who slights the honor of a sage who is a son of great men, the degradation reaches three generations, him and his father and his grandfather and no more, and they all were great sages who presumably occupied themselves in the four parts of Pardes, therefore he went 12 times corresponding to three times four: Page 88. In the West they say: Sufficient is life, plenty and more plenty. It seems to me in my humble opinion he chose this corresponding to the three Havayahs whose numerical value is 'Bread' [Lechem], of which it is said 'Not on bread alone shall man live' as mentioned in the writings of the Ari in the discourse on Yom Kippur, see there, and this is 'Sufficient is life' corresponding to one Havayah, and 'Plenty' corresponding to a second Havayah, and 'More plenty' corresponding to a third Havayah, for they are three Havayahs in the numerical value of 'Bread', by which all the days of the year we live. Or also 'Sufficient is life' in its simple sense, which is life, 'Plenty' in sustenance which is life through the name SAG, as it is written in the verse 'Cast your burden upon Hashem and He will sustain you,' which is 20 plus the numerical value of the name Havayah the numerical value of 'your burden' [Yihavecha] which is 37, which joined with this is the numerical value of SAG, and then 'He will sustain you', and 'More plenty' the multiplication of children, for children, life, and sustenance possess the perfection of life, and the perfection of these three is their being doubled physically and spiritually, thus twice 'Children, Life, Sustenance' in physical and spiritual aspects amount to the numerical value of 'Days' [Yamim], and this is 'He shall see seed he shall prolong days' precisely, Children, Life, Sustenance physically, and Children, Life, Sustenance spiritually which are the numerical value of 'Days' [Yamim], and this is what he said 'he shall prolong days' everyone written for life: ⟦line⟧ Yoma Benayahu Chapter 8 He said: Speaking with an am ha'aretz (unlearned person) is a difficult thing, Gabriel is annulled. The reason is that an am ha'aretz is 103 (Kasi"g) flavors as written in the Sefer HaLikutim regarding the matter of the Mem of 'Daniel' and 'the Ancient of Days sat' who is ancient of his flavors, and it seems that Mem is in the secret of the Ruach (Spirit) for Gabriel is the scribe above, and he is the Law, meaning he is appointed to carry out the judgment decreed in the heavenly court he is Gabriel who annulled the flavors: There. He said: Woe, woe, and they did not pay attention to him. It seems to me with the help of Heaven that sages are called eyes as our Rabbis of blessed memory said on the verse 'and if it be from the eyes of the congregation', but then they stood against the right eye and the believers the left eye and it is Jacob, woe for this eye and woe for this eye, and this is 'Oi Oi' meaning woe eye, woe eye: There. From the shoes of your feet being barefoot, withhold yourself from sin so that your feet do not come to be barefoot. It seems to me with the help of Heaven this refers to sins that a person treads on with his heels which are associated with the feet, and according to the Maharsha z"l who explains 'your feet' regarding the sin of licentiousness, it is well understood what is written afterward 'withhold your tongue from idle words', for the covenant of the tongue is aligned against the covenant of the organ, and if one errs in this, he will err in that, and as written by my father and teacher z"l 'and my covenant shall be upon your mouth': Page 83. Rabbi Meir said to them: This name Kidur is a wicked man, for it is written 'for they are a generation (ki dor) of perversions'. In the Gemara it does not read 'he said to them' because at the end they said to him 'when did you not tell us sir'. And it seems to me with the help of Heaven to uphold the version that he did not tell them explicitly that he is a wicked man, but rather told them things that implied both, such as telling them to be precise with his name and they did not realize, and certainly this verse was not hidden from them but they said 'this is his name Kidur, one word' and the verse says 'for a generation (ki dor) of perversions they are', divided into two words, and therefore they said to him afterward 'when did we not check (avadku) the name' and did not say 'when did we not be precise in the name', rather they said 'avadku' from the language of 'bedek habayit' (house repair), meaning you should have divided the name Kidur into two words which are 'Ki Dor' and then you would have seen that his name aligns with the verse 'for they are a generation (ki dor) of perversions', and they said to him 'when did you not tell us sir' this thing about the division you made in his name which implies he is a wicked man, and it seems they failed in him at first because they saw him hosting guests and spending his money on others, if so, it implies he has no desire for money, but Rabbi Meir understood well in this that he applied this verse to him 'they are a generation of perversions', meaning this is the desire of the covetous 'mine is yours and yours is mine' who behave in perversion, and therefore there is no proof from what he spends on hosting guests because he says 'mine is yours', but the problem is saying also 'yours is mine': And that which Rabbi Meir entered at first and did not check the name, it seems that this was the house they merited to hold in two words, but it was not his house for then it belonged to others and he was sitting there in rental and the name of the first homeowner whose it was, and they answered them 'of a person so-and-so who is the owner of the courtyard', for the responder informed them of the name of the courtyard owner and did not inform them of the name of the dweller in it, and in that name of the courtyard owner there was no disgrace, therefore they entered, but after they entered they knew that the dweller in this courtyard, his name is Kidur and he dwells there in rental, therefore Rabbi Meir did not want to deposit his purse with him: There. They saw lentils (talpahi) in his beard. It seems from Heaven they brought about the return of the purses through the lentils which are round like a wheel to hint that they should see and they should be pained for in the future the purses will roll and return to their owners, and also in his name Kidur which is the language of 'kadur' (ball/sphere) there is this hint, and it seems that they could have sued him in law that there would be two witnesses and one claimant, but this way to sue in law takes a long time, and from Heaven they assisted that the purses returned without the burden of a lawsuit: Page 86. 'And you shall return to the Lord your God' so that the Name shall be appeased by your hand, see Maharsha z"l. And it seems to me to understand also here the same, but this derivation he brings from the letter Vav which comes to include in every place, and here it comes to include that besides taking repentance to the Holy One blessed be He, so shall the Name be appeased among others through you: There. They take and give in the market... bride. He explained that he does not hold back merchandise to make it expensive even though by law they do not protest against him, nevertheless people curse and complain about him and this business is not pleasing in the eyes of people, and do not ask about an item of food, but even in other things that all people need even if the life of the soul does not depend on them. And that which is written 'and he carries and gives in faith' is not to exclude robbery and theft but 'in faith of speech' that once he gave his word he does not retract it, and like the matter of Samuel's father with the silk merchandise who gave his word to R.B.S. to sell to him and the price went up: There. Rav Yehuda showed in his weariness the place and the woman and his limb. I explained with the help of Heaven in the book 'Ben Yehoyada' showed in his finger regarding a window and they said 'and internal' etc. see there and there frightening things were heard and here I will explain them with the help of Heaven, for the organ of the soul is prepared in the language of the Sages by the name 'Etzba' (finger), and as it is said 'not all fingers are equal', and the repair of the blemish of this organ which was blemished by licentiousness must be in three divisions which are 'that place', 'that woman', 'that time' corresponding to the three divisions that are in the finger which has three joints, and that is because the power of impurity clinging there is also divided into three powers which are external, middle and internal, and these three powers are changed through the combination of three divisions to him which are that place and that woman and that time: There. We publicize the hypocrites because of the desecration of the Name. Rashi explained that they are wicked and show themselves as if they are righteous. And it seems to me with the help of Heaven the reason they were called by the name hypocrites (hanefim) for 'hanefim' in reverse letters is 'nefuhim' (swollen), and that is the bellows and their good deeds are like swollen meat that has no fat but is full of air. An act involving a poor man who came before the wealthy man to ask for charity saying that he is dying of hunger, the wealthy man mocked him and saw his body was fat four times more than the body of the wealthy man himself, he said to him 'he who is hungry does not have such fat meat', the poor man said to him 'my lord, do not look at the fatness of my flesh until you hold it in your hand', the poor man approached and the wealthy man placed his hand on his flesh and saw the flesh was swollen and there was no fat in it but it was like a skin-bottle full of air. So these hypocrites who are wicked and show themselves as righteous, behold they are like a skin-bottle full of air, so they show themselves righteous and this appearance is like swollen meat and a skin-bottle full of air, therefore they are called 'hanefim' letters of 'nefuhim' (swollen) who have no substance: Page 87. Anyone who brings merit to the many, sin does not come through his hand. It seems to me with the help of Heaven according to what the Rabbi the Ari z"l wrote at the beginning of Parashat Matot, that the great ones in Israel from their great love for the Holy One blessed be He do not swear to verify their words except by the name of God because they have no thing as dear as His Name may He be blessed, therefore David peace be upon him said 'as the Lord lives', and Boaz said 'as the Lord lives, lie down until morning', and the masses of the people when they see the great ones swearing by the Name they also swear, but the problem is the great ones swear in truth and these swear falsely, therefore they commanded that the great ones should remind Israel of the gravity of the oath for they are the ones who cause them see there, it is found that a person does a good thing and this good will be a cause for others to sin and to be severe, to this he says 'anyone who brings merit to the many' this righteousness of his stands for him that no sin comes to others through his hand, meaning by his cause as said. Alternatively, there is one who causes in his rebuke hatred for many so that they err more, rebelling and being angry willfully more, and as our Sages said 'if there is in this generation one who knows how to rebuke', but all this is if his intention is to rule over the public, but if his intention is to merit the public no sin comes through his hand. And my son my friend the honorable Rabbi Yaakov may his light shine explained 'no sin comes through his hand' to permit in secret an Agunah where they testified that her husband died, and according to the truth they erred in imagination and he is alive and when they told such a thing about the Gaon Mishneh Lamelech and about the R.S.G. Mahar"m Suzin z"l that they did not want to sign on a verdict of permitting an Agunah and she was permitted by the sages in the city and in the end the husband came all these are the words of [my son] may his light shine: There. Asehel said: 'Asafah' and read 'Anfasiah' 'from the heaps (me'ashpot) He lifts the needy'. It seems to me with the help of Heaven that he chose the name Asafah, to hint that with this pain it will be atoned for him for 'im peh' (with mouth) letters of Asafah, for it filled the...
Benayahu Yoma Chapter 8 39 That the angel Metat-t, who is Enoch son of Jared who ascended above and became great and important among the angels, is called by the name Michael, and see in Kehilot Yaakov, of blessed memory. And according to this, it is well that he said to him, 'Prince of your nation,' for he was originally a human from the lower beings, and he hinted to him by this to be aroused to advocate well for them since he was one of them, and about him they say in mission: 'And an angel will stand advocating well to tell of his righteousness.' Ibid. 'And fill your hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim.' It seems to me with the help of Heaven, he hinted to him in the gathering of the coals that he should go to the ⟦shrine⟧ of the three patriarchs so that they would be ⟦beseeching⟧ and praying for Israel, and as Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, did at the time of the destruction, when he went to the patriarchs and awakened them to pray for Israel, and he hinted this to him in 'coals' (gechalim) which are the letters of G' chalim (3 beseechers), meaning that the 3 patriarchs should be beseeching and praying. And he mentioned there the cherubim to teach him a claim to save Israel, as our Sages of blessed memory said: they are called cherubim because they are like a 'ke-ravya' (like a youth), as they call a youth 'ravya,' and that is 'cherubim,' meaning 'like a youth,' and he taught him by this a claim to judge Israel with the law of a minor who is not held liable because he is small and not complete in his intellect, and as the verse says: 'For Israel is a youth and I love him,' meaning I love them as a youth who is small, and if he sins, there is no judgment of law upon him. And behold in Midrash Eichah on the verse 'He sent fire into my bones,' it is stated: this is what the scripture said, 'And Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,' just as the lower beings need to perform charity with one another, so the upper beings need to perform charity with each other, for the Holy One, Blessed be He, told the angel to take coals from between the wheel, and the angel said to the cherub, 'Even though the Holy One, Blessed be He, decreed upon me to take the coals, I cannot enter inside your boundary; perform charity with me and give me two coals from there so that I do not get burned.' This is what is written, 'And he sent and gave into the hands of the one clothed in linen,' what is 'and he sent and gave'? Rabbi Isaac said: he cooled them and placed them in his palm, see there. And it seems that the one clothed in linen knew that afterward he would be punished for changing [the command] by not taking the coals with his own hand, but he did so for the benefit of Israel and did not intend to save himself from the burn. And what it says 'and he sent and gave,' means he sent the intensity of the heat away from the coals and then 'gave.' Or it can be understood as hinted by 'and he sent' the letter Yod there, meaning the exchange would have made a complete 10, but he sent away from the intensity of the heat from the coals and gave afterward. Ibid. 'And there will be for him 108 kings and the fruit/port of Shamshig.' It seems the fruit/port of Shamshig is the place they now call by the name Bahrain, where they extract pearls from the sea which they call 'lulu,' and now the kingdom of Persia claims that this place is theirs and the kingdom of England claims the place is theirs and they have not agreed between them and the place remains in the hands of the owners who dwell in it, and neither has rights to it or its fruits, neither this one nor that one. And know that now the kingdom of Persia rules over the kingdom of Togarma (Turkey), but previously the kingdom of Persia were idolaters and even so the name Persia remained upon that kingdom. Ibid. 'And at that hour, fiery rods (pulsi de-nura).' Behold, the matter of this lashing that they do to an angel and the number sixty, there is in all this a secret deep and things said in the language of parable and metaphor, and it seems that he called the lashings by the name 'pulsi' because the filling of the letters of Esh (Fire - Aleph Shin) - Shef (Shin Pe) is Peles (Scales), and he called them 'pulsi' according to the rule of the language speaking in plural like Gevar-Gevri, Ish-Ishi, and similar to this. Ibid. 'At that hour, they brought into the chamber the prince of Persia',' and they stood him in the ⟦thresholds⟧.' It seems the intention is according to what is written in Kehilot Yaakov of blessed memory in the name of Sodai Raza, as follows: Gabriel is the scribe above, as it is written 'The scribe's inkhorn at his loins,' and he is like a judge before the Throne of Glory and every place where it is said an angel came and ⟦instructed⟧, it is Gabriel who is the judge, end of quote. Therefore, he was pushed so they 'stood him in the thresholds' or in his place, meaning that he would be the scribe of the Heavenly Court, and therefore since he became the scribe in place of Gabriel for 21 days, he said to the Heavenly Court: 'Write for me thus and write for me thus.' And know that all this is in the World of Asiyah (Action) because there is no ⟦ambassadorship⟧ and seat for the princes of the nations except only in the World of Asiyah as is known, and it is known that there is an angel Michael and an angel Gabriel in the World of Asiyah, and there is in Yetzirah (Formation) also an angel Michael and an angel Gabriel, and this angel Gabriel said: Every place where ⟦it is said⟧ he was eating meat that descends from heaven, and this one below, who can eat meat descending from heaven? And he replied: Yes, like that of Rabbi Shimon ben Chalafta who was walking on the road and those lions met him etc. two thighs of meat descended for him from heaven and they ate etc. we learn that it is possible that two thighs descended, one for the lions and one for Rabbi Shimon, and this is what Isaac the father of the academy asked about: is it an impure thing or, or a pure thing? They said to him: nothing impure descends from heaven. And it is known that 'amat-chata' means a thigh, like the 'amat-chat' that is ⟦mentioned⟧ in Chullin page 9 which means pieces of the wall and as in the Arukh, and there is more to say on this matter and God willing in Sanhedrin we will write on this. Page 77. Abaye said: learn from this that the cup of David for the World to Come holds and ⟦overflows⟧ and holds one 'log.' One should say this expression 'learn from this' is obscure, for it implies it refers to this matter spoken of, that they serve Michael thus over the cup of David, peace be upon him, and seemingly there is no connection in this. And it seems to me with the help of Heaven that he says here from the Manna that descended for Israel it would ⟦rise⟧ 60 cubits, and how does Ben Yehuda say it becomes strong and rises until the kings of the East and West see it? He explained: kings dwelling in the East and West of the Land of Israel, and this thing is wondrous, for was not the Manna descending and standing at a 'gulgoret' (per head) and every Omer was separate by itself so that the Omers did not mix together and become a mound? And also it is known that the Omer is a tenth of an Ephah, and how could an Omer which is a tenth of an Ephah be a height of 60 cubits, and also kings dwelling around the Land of Israel see it? Therefore, one must say every Omer which is a tenth of an Ephah would swell in its place at the beginning of its descent by way of a miracle, just as dough bread swells when one places in it ⟦yeast⟧, it swelled in its descent until its volume increased the measure of sixty cubits so that those far away would see it and the Name of Heaven would be sanctified by this, and ⟦nonetheless⟧ when each one comes to carry his Omer, its swelling would rest and subside to the measure of a tenth of an Ephah and he would carry it in his vessel. And since this manner is necessary to say regarding the Manna, therefore he made a comparison to this power in the cup of David, peace be upon him, that there would be a miracle like this in it, for in reality he only places wine in his cup a 'revi'it' (quarter-log) but the cup is large holding 221 logs and after they place in it a revi'it of wine there was in it a volume that would increase and that wine would rise and fill the whole cup which is entirely of its kind, because they do not place in his cup [more than] a revi'it because it is the essence of Malchut (Kingdom), which is the fourth in the letters of the Name Havayah which is the final 'He' in the Name, and there are other reasons for this as is known, and here the verse hinted in the word 'Revayah' (Saturated) at the measure of 221 as the numerical value of Revayah, and how could it receive a revi'it of the measure of 221, for a cup of blessing must be full to its very brims as it is written 'And full of the blessing of the Lord'? Take this also as the way stated regarding the Manna whose weight was a tenth of an Ephah, but its quantity was pushed to a height of 60 cubits, so here the weight of the wine is a revi'it, but its quantity was the measure of 221 logs through the swelling like ⟦large gourd⟧ dough, and by filling in this the weight of the revi'it, the entire cup holding 221 logs would be filled due to the boiling and swelling of the wine. Ibid. Why is it called 'Tirosh' and called 'Yayin' (Wine)? Explanation: Wine and Tirosh are distinct names, sometimes it is called by the name Wine, and sometimes it is called by the name Tirosh, and here why did he mention two names together at once when speaking of two types? And Rabbi Isaac said these two names were mentioned together, one for the meritorious and one for the non-meritorious. For the name Yayin (Wine) indicates that it brings 'yelalah' (wailing) to the world, for Yayin is gematria 70 and 'yelal' is gematria 70. And they said: if he merits he is made 'Rosh' (Head/Chief), meaning if he merits to drink it for the joy of the heart and he was ⟦diligent⟧ in Torah he is made 'Rosh' as the letter Yod is stood up between the letters Resh-Shin [forming Reish-Yod-Shin - Rosh], and if not, that he drinks it to get drunk, the letter Yod departs and 'Rash' (Poor) remains, and this is hinted in the letters 'Shechar' (Liquor) in which there is 'Kaf Rash' for in the fillings there are two 'Kaf's, one 'Kaf' that is from the right in which is the ⟦counterweight⟧ which is a stone or iron that is worth nothing, and one 'Kaf' from the right in which is the thing they are weighing and this is the 'rich' Kaf. Page 77. Michael the prince of your nation. As for calling Israel the nation of Michael, it seems to me with the help of Heaven as is stated by the Kabbalists In the name of the Lord we shall act and succeed For the sake of the unification of the Holy One, Blessed be He and His Shekhinah Pesachim Chapter One Folio 2. A person should always enter when the sun is good and exit when the sun is good. This means, with the help of Heaven, by saying "always," meaning whether he is going for a matter of a commandment or whether he is going for a mundane matter, for even if he is going for a commandment he must be careful in this. Or by saying "always," whether during the days of miracles in Adar and Nisan, or during bad days like between the straits and the like: Folio 3. A person should always never let an unseemly thing exit his mouth. This means, with the help of Heaven, regarding what was said "always" because there are two kinds of unseemliness: the first which was good at its beginning and became unseemly through a cause, such as a treif animal and a carcass that was good and kosher at its beginning and through man became unseemly, and likewise a person who is pure at his beginning and impurity came to him afterwards and he became unseemly by it, for this kind is worse than a thing that is unseemly by the decree of the scripture which the Holy One, Blessed be He, decreed upon an animal that does not bring up its cud and does not have cloven hooves that it shall be impure, and this kind is better than that kind, and therefore he said "always let a person never let an unseemly thing exit his mouth," that is, whether in this kind of unseemliness or the second kind of unseemliness. And my son, my beloved, the honorable Rabbi Jacob, may his light shine, interpreted the word "always" comes to teach that even though he is speaking with a woman where he needs to shorten his words as is said in the Gemara of Eruvin that a woman rebuked Rabbi Yosei the Galilean because he lengthened his question to her when he said "By which way shall we go to Lod?", and she called him "Foolish Galilean," for you should have said "By which to Lod?", because the Sages said do not multiply conversation with a woman, and therefore he said here "always let a person never let an unseemly thing exit his mouth," that he should lengthen his speech so as not to let an unseemly thing exit even though he is speaking with a woman, up to here are his words, may his light shine: However, it can be said regarding this statement that said "let a person not let an unseemly thing exit his mouth," that it should have said "let a person not say an unseemly thing," and my son my beloved, the honorable Rabbi Jacob, may his light shine, interpreted that it should have said that a person needs to speak according to the language of his teacher, and to this it said "let a person not let an unseemly thing exit his mouth," for specifically in matters that he innovates and brings out of his mouth he must be careful in this, that he should say at length so as not to mention an unseemly thing, but a matter of his teacher which are words that his teacher said and brought out of his mouth, this he is compelled to say them exactly as he heard them from the mouth of his teacher, and he shall not change in order not to mention an unseemly thing, up to here are his words, may his light shine: Ibid. He said to him: No, and it was lacking for the horses and for the donkeys, as it is written "the barley and the straw for the horses and for the steeds." The explanation is although barley is human food as well for there are many who eat barley bread, nevertheless they are designated for animals for the scripture weighed them in one weight with the straw which is not human food at all, saying "the barley and the straw for the horses": Ibid. What should he have said? ⟦I saw⟧ you kissing fine wheat. It seems to me, with the help of Heaven, all their meticulousness with him is that he needs to bring out of his mouth the term "fine" regarding human food, and even though it stands in a bad state in that year, nevertheless if he opens his mouth with a good thing it will help the bad to become good, for a covenant is cut to the lips whether for good or for the opposite, and the bad can be good if the land yields a little the Holy One Blessed be He will send His blessing and the little will suffice for many and they will eat and have left over. A story of a great notable horses who had two sons and wanted them not to be idle but to engage in businesses from which they would profit, and even though he does not need their profit for he has rented lands from which he will receive rent a hundred fold upon the birth of his daughter, nevertheless he wanted them to be engaged and not be idlers due to idleness, and therefore he gave into the hand of each of them a principal of two hundred gold coins that each would engage alone in money-changing tables, and he stipulated with them that they should spend these every Friday before Mincha, and if they tell him that they profited in that week he would give a gift of five gold coins from his pocket to the one who profited, and if they did not profit he would not give them ⟦pittance⟧, and certainly if they lost he would not give them anything, and they practiced this for several weeks, and each would take from him five gold coins according to the condition, and behold one week both of them lost, and one came to his father on Friday and told him that he lost in this week and he gave him nothing, and his second companion said why should I say I lost and open my mouth to bad fortune, rather I will inform him in this way so that he won't give anything, and therefore he said to him "I profited last week," and then he will understand by this that this week he lost, and since he opened his mouth with good, it was brought about from Heaven that his father since he heard him say "I profited," did not pay attention to the end of his words which he concluded regarding that week, and gave him five gold coins, it turns out the opening of his mouth for good brought him relief, and therefore here they were meticulous that he should bring out of his mouth the word "fine" regarding human food: Folio 4. They checked and found that they come from the tribe of ⟦the disrespectful⟧. They ask why in that statement of "Doy Doy" they established on their own that they come from ⟦them⟧, and did not need to check, and here they needed to check. And it seems to me there it was his way to say so even for a small thing less than the value of a perutah, which the court does not attend to, and it is not the way to sue for it before a court, therefore it was clear to them that they come from ⟦them⟧, but in this matter that he said "at the edge of the sea" etc. there is in these words no obligation of novelty or wonder to decide that they come from ⟦the disrespectful⟧, rather they only set his words to ⟦shame⟧ his heart to check after him. Or it will be understood with the help of Heaven that he who came from ⟦them⟧ would speak all his words in a foreign language and only was regular on his tongue these two things in the Holy Tongue and they would say them in a foreign language, and since they were this sign which is a wondrous change, that even though he speaks in another language he says "Doy Doy" in the Holy Tongue, therefore they decided that he comes from ⟦them⟧ and did not need to check unlike that one who comes from ⟦the disrespectful⟧ they did not find in his words anything different from customs, therefore they did not decide but checked and found: And it further seems to me with the help of Heaven, but first I will precede with the help of Heaven a certain detail that I have a difficulty with what forced them to check, for what comes out to them from this regarding any law so that they would sit to check, and it seems to me with the help of Heaven the checking was for the sake of something else, for it is possible that there was a land called by the name of Joseph son of Simeon who was four generations prior, and he is established as coming from ⟦the disrespectful⟧, and now this man whose way it was to say "at the edge of the sea" etc. sued in court for inheritance of this land which was called by the name of Joseph son of Simeon the father of his grandfather, and this Joseph son of Simeon the plaintiff of the land was not known to us if he is the heir of the first Joseph son of Simeon the owner of the land 15
ל Chapter 3 Pesachim Benayahu About the one who finished, and since he posed a question from a Baraita for Rabbi Yochanan on Shabbat page 115, for this he asked there on what Rabbi Yochanan said: a daughter of a Priest to an Israelite brings him to poverty, for he took the daughter of a Priest simply, which implies even a scholar Priest, and he answered: one is a Scholar, the other is an ignoramus, meaning that which R. Yochanan said: he who wants to become wealthy should cling to the seed of Aaron, refers to priesthood which is a Scholar, for then his Torah and the importance of his wife enrich him and there is no concern because of the three, for even if she were the daughter of a Priest who is not a scholar, he becomes wealthy because he himself is a Scholar, and that which he says the daughter of a Priest to an Israelite is an unsuccessful match, that is when married to an Israelite who is an ignoramus, and for this he took the daughter of a Priest simply, for even if she were the daughter of a scholar Priest it would not help, because because of the merit of the Torah we follow the husband, and the questioner has this deduction that he deduces from his taking the seed of Aaron and did not say a Priestess: There. He said it is not pleasing to the Priest to cling to his seed for he is Rav Kahana, and for this. It can be said that certainly he was not delayed because he married a Priestess, for he was wise and righteous, and certainly it was pleasing to Aaron to be related to him in this, and already for R. Yochanan if he is a Scholar their match is successful, rather one is forced to say that because of the constellation it was so decreed upon him, and if so, how can it be said that these words came from the mouth of a person, for in truth he was not delayed because he married a Priestess. and it seems to me in my humble opinion that it is found in the Gemara of Shabbat page 33, p. 3, there are three types of dropsy, of sin is thick, and of hunger is swollen, and of sorcery is thin, the small stomach... etc., R. Shimon b. Gamliel said who will reveal it and it was revealed, and Rashi z"l explained: he had it due to hunger, but he argued who will disclose to know that this is not of sin, now they will say he committed a sin, for not everyone knows the three signs mentioned above and sometimes they are mistaken, and therefore with this argument he was revealed from Heaven etc., and so here Rav Kahana certainly was not delayed because he married a Priestess, rather so it was decreed upon him by the constellation or some reason, but he argued since people know that not every man is fit to marry a Priestess, and if he is not fit she buries him or he buries her etc., now they will say that it is not pleasing to Aaron to be clings to his seed for he is Rav Kahana because I am not worthy, and thus his delay is found in shame, and therefore it is proper that you heal me and prolong my days so as to be cleared of suspicion, and with this argument he was revealed, and Rav Kahana argued that the small stomach etc. and was revealed: There. He married a Priestess and had two ordained sons. The difficulty is from where is it proven that he had two ordained sons because he married a Priestess, for most Sages all their sons are Scholars or fit to be at least, and go and see today in families how many sons of Sages... etc. Rav Pappa. and it seems to me in my humble opinion that perhaps it was known to the speakers of the Talmud that Rav Adi bar Abin at first married another woman and fathered sons from her and there was no wise son among them, and after he married a Priestess he fathered from her two ordained sons, and from this it became known that she caused it for him: There. If it were not that I believed Priestess I would not have been exiled. It can be said what relevance is there to exile in this matter. and it seems to me he means: I was not exiled and this is the known exile mentioned in the chapter 'He who steals and feeds', for he became a figure like a dead person and then R. Yochanan revived him, and since it caused him death from this he judged that he is considered a husband of a Priestess, for it says concerning him either she buries him or he buries him etc.: There. Except for those of Miheis Hatiri. It seems that there was one person who goes and turns to all the homeowners to buy appropriate sized ovens, and there they bake or cook in the ovens, and they give him the reward for his trouble in the supply from every house of bread or cooked food, and therefore this one who increases his meal in every place that he eats from this one and eats from that one, they compare him to a heater of ovens, and behold he by virtue of his Torah is fit to be called by the name Sage (Chakham), and now that he disgraces himself to increase his meal from all homeowners he will break the letter 'Kaf' of Sage into two and add a 'Yod' and then the letters of Chakham will be the letters of 'Yachmi' meaning similar to the heater of ovens. and what he called him 'Son of King Panakhi', behold he according to his Torah is fit to be called a Disciple of a Sage (Talmid Chakham), and now because of his actions the letters of Talmid Chakham are reversed for him for the worse, and those are the letters 'Melekh' (King) from 'Talmid' with the letters 'Kaf' and 'Chet' of Chakham will be a combination of 'Melekh', and the letters 'Mem' and 'Samekh' 'Tav' of Talmid Chakham is the acronym of 'Miheis Hatiri', and the letters 'Mem' and 'Kaf' of Chakham are 'Makh Rasha' (Crushed Wicked): There. This one bites and breaks bone. Behold the matter of biting is not biting literally, but it refers to the body that it harms him like a bite and one needs to understand the matter of breaking the bone what it is, and it seems to me in my humble opinion according to what is written in Yalkut Reuveni in Parshat Vayechi in the name of the Zohar that they should not make any vessels from the bones of a person so that that person shall have no rest and at the end of the story with a certain queen who made combs from the teeth of the Khivim because of the law called ⟦illegible⟧ or ⟦illegible⟧ so that they should have no rest, and therefore it is written in Jeremiah on that day they shall take out the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of his princes and the bones of the priests and the bones of the prophets and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves and spread them out to the sun and to the moon etc. and this spreading is so that the humidity should go out of them and they will make from them vessels to use them for then they will have no rest etc., and they of blessed memory said: this one bites and breaks a bone and the comparison in this is that not only does he hate the Scholar with total hatred, he not only makes his life miserable but also after his death he desires to break his bone to make from it vessels as that queen did with the bones of the Khivim so that he should have no rest: There. Just as a lion tramples and eats and has no shame. Explanation: it eats them while they are still alive before death, as our Sages of blessed memory said regarding the bird that it tramples and eats, meaning it eats the limbs while they are alive before death, and so the lion does so, and this speed that he eats them immediately before death, proves that he is afraid lest another beast should come and overpower him and snatch it from him, and therefore he hurries to eat it and has no shame about the matter that it turns out that he is afraid lest another beast overpower him, and he does not care for he is the king of beasts, and also this one strikes and kicks and does not wait until the lust passes and he does as he wishes, and he has no shame in this: Page 56. Rabbi Yochanan said this is light that is essentially for turning and being thick for the world to come. Behold seemingly it appears that this interpretation belongs according to the written form 'Yekarot Yekappaun' (precious things shall be congealed) which is the future tense, for according to the reading that we read 'Yekarot' and 'Ve-Kippaon', that 'Yekarot' is for one time and 'Ve-Kippaon' for another time, this interpretation would not be established, and since this interpretation is on the written form he should not have said this interpretation simply on the written form, for we do not interpret simply except on the reading, and it seems to me that this interpretation is established on the reading as well that we read 'Ve-Kippaon' in a language of 'turning', and that is because now the light at the beginning of the day is turning and thick and so it is at the end of the day, and only in the middle of the day is it precious, and the reason is because the eyesight of human beings is weak and they cannot go out from a strong and precious light suddenly to total darkness, and as it is said 'Who illuminates the earth and those who dwell upon it with mercy', and all this is now but in the future all the senses of human beings will be strengthened and they will be able to endure two extremes from one side, and then the light of the day will be equal, for even at the beginning of the day and so at its end it will be a strong and powerful precious light, and this is the secret: on that day in the future it will not be light and turning, meaning two levels of light in a day, the beginning of the day and its end separately and its middle separately, rather from its beginning until its end it will be precious. and according to the one who explains it regarding the light of Torah it also follows the interpretation of the reading that we read 'Ve-Kippaon', for now there are Sages for whom things are as simple as plagues and slight tents, and there are Sages for whom things are precious as R. Yochanan said 'In four etc. I do not find my legs', but in the future everything will be easy for all, for 'the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord', there will not be for this one preciousness and for this one turning. and according to the one who explains it regarding the light of glory that shines on human beings from the side of wealth, behold now not all human beings are equal in wealth, and therefore their glory is not equal, rather for this one it is precious and for this one it is turning, for Reuven even though he is wealthy is considered compared to Levi poor, but in the future all will be equal in the glory of wealth, as it is said 'And I will make thy windows of rubies and all thy borders of pleasant stones', and he brings an example close to this from the words of R. Yehoshua ben Levi: There. A clear world you saw. Explanation: he saw in a world that is... etc. Benayahu Chapter 1 2 3 Pesachim The land, and there is another claimant whose name is also Yosef ben Shimon, and the severity of the disqualification of the lineage of Yosef as well whom they distanced, and the witnesses testify that they know clearly that there is the first Yosef ben Shimon and there is his name is Yosef ben Shimon and they do not know which is which, and therefore since they saw that this other claimant's way is to say to the bank of the sea etc. and there occurred Sages since that first one is clear to them that he is cheapened, behold it appears that this claimant whose way is to say to the bank etc. is the known one of that first Yosef ben Shimon, but they will not decide so based on this logic, therefore they troubled and labored to check, and they checked and found that this matter is clear that this claimant is cheapened, it comes, and if so he is the known one of that old Yosef ben Shimon the owner of the land, since it is clear to them that the old man who owns the land is not cheapened: Folio 8. Why are the hot springs of Tiberias not in Jerusalem? So that the festival pilgrims should not say, if we had only ascended to bathe in the hot springs of Tiberias, it would have been enough for us. I heard some questioning, from here it implies that there did not happen to be in Jerusalem a spring whose waters are hot like the hot springs of Tiberias, and it is difficult for further on folio 48 Rabbi Hisda said, a Pesach sacrifice that was cooked in the hot springs of Tiberias is liable for it passed ⟦the law of⟧ roasting in the Pesach ⟦sacrifice⟧ revealed and did not cook, and this cooking it is, and how is there relevance for this law in the world, for if in Jerusalem there are no hot waters like the hot springs of Tiberias, and if they cook in the actual hot springs of Tiberias it is ⟦difficult⟧ for it is very far from Jerusalem and the Pesach is slaughtered on the fourteenth, and when will he give him time to be exempt to the booths of the hot springs of Tiberias and cook them in a moment by steam, if he takes the loss with him the Pesach to Tiberias in a moment and spend his heat there people, and as written in Shinnushin folio 43 that even there who uses the Talmud wonderfully in praise before Rav Hisda in Sura, and in two faces of Shabbat came our Rabbi in Pumbedita, and concludes in the Gemara perhaps Yosef the Demon was their companion see there. Novelty by water via a drug that they did by folding the path in one moment from Jerusalem to Tiberias, and as we found with our Holy Rabbi z"l who went from Jerusalem to Damascus by folding the path in a moment, when that minister asked him to open the waters of Gihon, and as specified there, and furthermore it can be said that there is no beginning to this question, for R"H ⟦where⟧ he makes us hear ⟦there was⟧ in Jerusalem water of a spring like the hot springs of Tiberias, because due to the heat of the city he could change in a loaf, and as written in the Midrash Solomon knew this thread goes to Kush and he would know in it peppers, this thread goes to India and he would know in it ginger as it is said Jerusalem built as a city that was joined together see there, and if so Solomon the King a"h could change hot waters in Jerusalem like the hot springs of Tiberias, that he would dig in one place that its thread extends to the hot springs of Tiberias and between drugs in that excavation hot like the actual hot springs of Tiberias only that he did not do so because of the festival pilgrims, and it is possible to be so in the future in Jerusalem and they will not be concerned for this matter for the honor of a resident, and not all of them will be strict, therefore this law of R"H regarding the cooking of the Pesach can be said: Second Chapter. Folio 25. What did you see that your blood is redder, they question from the strength of what was stated in the Gemara regarding stringencies for the soul and this swallowed more is it not person P' and we will kill him and if not we will kill all of you they should all be killed and not hand over to them a human creature, and it is difficult why is this claim relevant that what did you see that the blood of the many is redder than the blood of the individual. And it can be said that there stringencies what did you see for each and every one by himself, that if they go to hand over a human creature for the sake of saving himself we say to him what did you see that your blood is redder, and if they go to hand it over in order to save the many we say to him who placed you as their blood redeemer, and who brought you into this matter to save these with the blood of this one: Folio 26. Sound and sight and smell are not subject to sacrilege. It seems to me with the help of Heaven, behold the sound its enjoyment is in the sense of hearing and sight in the sense of the eye and the smell in the sense of the nose and these since they have no substance there is no lack of sacrilege, and it is said in ⟦dream⟧ except the taste there is in it a lack of sacrilege for ⟦concern for all⟧ that he sanctified he trespassed, and except hearing also there is in it sacrilege for ⟦concern for all garments⟧ if he warmed up with an object of sanctity he trespassed, and this is the rule of the minority of its conduct the feeling of its minority versus the pleasures pleasures are permitted and behold deficiencies, and with this it will be understood with the help of Heaven the statement of Rava five senses of life for its smell three from the right and two from the left, its smell a hint to ⟦Z.B.M.K.⟧ as it is written in it all your males shall appear, and my senses i.e. powers of the soul like my strength and the beginning of my ⟦wealth⟧, three from the right because every ⟦precious⟧ thing relates to the right and two from the left every deficient thing relates to the left: And behold the soul the conduct of these ⟦appointed ones⟧ the occupation of the Almighty in them they are into three parts, for Moses our Teacher a"h was given power in sight eyes that justified the warrior ⟦concern for the righteous see not⟧ in the warrior, as it is written and you were ⟦finished⟧ from all the people, and Solomon the King a"h in sound this speech that he was given an understanding heart to check the ⟦dream⟧ via his speech and as he did in the judgment of two harlots, and more many similar stories, and the King Messiah who will come ⟦speedily in our days⟧ will be given power in smell and it is written and his scent shall be in the fear of the Lord not by the sight of his eyes shall he judge etc. for he smells and judges: Folio 39. Even bitter herbs lettuce soft and its end is hard. It seems to me with the help of Heaven before the destruction of Egypt there are ⟦letters⟧ light ⟦escape⟧ and that is the light of jealousy and escape escape, and the end of Egypt there are ⟦letters⟧ their vengeance an expression of thorn and thorns. And my son my friend the honorable Rabbi Yaakov n"v explained therefore ⟦they reveal for a nest⟧ at first the essence of the plagues and at the sea at the end ⟦to a nest⟧ fifty plagues and for each one ⟦a door for him⟧, because they were smooth to you and their end hard and it became measure for measure, up to here are his words n"v: Third Chapter. Folio 49. A daughter of a Kohen to an Israelite ⟦H.Z.N.⟧ his match goes well, so is the version in Ein Yaakov. And it seems to me with the help of Heaven ⟦the match⟧ ⟦letters⟧ Kohen with ⟦letters⟧ Israelite will be water Yosef remains vessels. And if ⟦H.Z.⟧ buries her ⟦H.Z.⟧ she buries him ⟦or⟧ brings him to poverty the reason is because the Priesthood which has in it the service of incense incense has in it a charm for wealth, as it is written they shall place incense in Your nostrils and adjacent to it bless, O Lord, his substance, and as ⟦etc.⟧ in the Gemara and so wrote Maharsha z"l, also it is known that it has in it a charm for life, and therefore drugs in ⟦moist B.H.⟧ life, and since this one took a priestess a great charm from him in lineage and it is possible to say that ⟦what is for the sake of⟧ the charm of wealth found in the Kohanim offerers of the incense ⟦H.Z.⟧ for the sake of life, and therefore ⟦H.Z.⟧ buries her ⟦H.Z.⟧ she buries him ⟦if slaughtered⟧ for the sake of attaining life, ⟦H.Z.⟧ brings him to poverty ⟦if slaughtered⟧ for the sake of attaining wealth, however all this is ⟦if the small one⟧ an ignoramus of the time of the former ones, but ⟦if life of⟧ an ignoramus ⟦A.T.P.⟧ that G-d forbid a Torah scholar ⟦not his oven on it⟧ these words and as the Talmud concludes: Ibid. ⟦L.H. K.H. H.Z.⟧ in a Torah scholar ⟦H.Z.⟧ in an ignoramus. It is difficult and ⟦forgive⟧ this thing is explicit in the words of Rabbi Akiva, as he said all the more so that Torah and Priesthood join together, if so it is proven ⟦that liable⟧ in a Torah scholar, and what is difficult for the Talmud that ⟦shabbat to the master in grandfathers⟧, and further that he said ⟦all⟧ in a Torah scholar we all covet a new thing, and truly so ⟦R. Yochanan⟧ explicitly, and Maharsha z"l felt this and was pressed. And it seems to me with the help of Heaven, that the Talmud deduced from the words of R"Y ⟦that liable⟧ in the matching of a daughter of a Torah scholar and silver, and on this it said the merit of Torah and Priesthood join for this one who marries her, and not ⟦liable in a cover that now⟧ he is a Torah scholar, and he deduces it from that he said he who wants to become wealthy should cling to the seed of Aaron. And it is difficult ⟦S.W.L.L.⟧ he who wants to become wealthy should take a priestess, and why did he labor to specify the seed of Aaron, therefore certainly the intent of Rabbi Yochanan is to say he should take a daughter of a Kohen Chaver i.e. a Torah scholar, for so it is in the Gemara of Sanhedrin folio 4 regarding Terumah that they do not give it to a Kohen who is an ignoramus, as it is written and you shall give it to Aaron the Kohen, and is Aaron forever alive but rather ⟦L.H.⟧ Kohen ⟦L.H.⟧ Chaver but rather so it says like Aaron, just as Aaron was a Chaver so too his sons are Chaverim see there, and ⟦L.A.H. all in the seed of Aaron⟧ i.e. a daughter of a Kohen Chaver Sukkot
Pesachim Benayahu Chapter 3, 4 Like the descent of the flood, which is absolute evil, destroying the entire world. And after that, the splitting of the depths which were in place of the betrothal money for Israel, and the betrothal money is not needed except for its moment, which is the moment it is given from the man to the hand of the woman, whereas all those [items] there was a need for them for a long time. And then he mentioned the grave of Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, which is a private need and furthermore, its fullness in a hidden way was difficult for Israel for certainly they would prefer that it be like the meat of common graves that would be known to them, and he should have mentioned the cave before the grave, and he changed to mention the cave after his burial, in order to awaken us to derive this homily and to say: just as his standing in the cave was alive, so his standing in the grave is alive, and as it is written in the Gemara: Moses our teacher did not die, just as here he stands and serves, so too here he stands and serves. And then he took a thing done for the multitude of living creatures, and then he took a thing done for the stone which is part of the inanimate, because living creatures precede the inanimate in level. Furthermore, the opening of the mouth of the donkey was for good, and the opening of the mouth of the earth is punishment, and we do not move up punishments: There. It taught from it: Rabbi Nehemiah says: even the light. The Rif, of blessed memory, questioned: perhaps the one who says light was created at the conclusion of Sabbath holds like the First Tanna who did not count light among the things created on the eve of Sabbath, and only Rabbi Nehemiah is the one who said: even the light. And it seems to me with heaven's help that the order of the Talmud is wherever it is possible to minimize a dispute, we minimize it, and therefore he holds that the First Tanna and Rabbi Nehemiah do not disagree about the light, for to both of them it was created on the eve of Sabbath, and only the First Tanna holds he did not include twilight with those things, and Rabbi Nehemiah holds he included twilight with those ten things, for it was not pleasing to him to explain that the First Tanna holds it was created at the conclusion of Sabbath and Rabbi Nehemiah holds it was created on the eve of Sabbath which is a different day, for that would be a very distant dispute: There. And he took two stones and ground them against each other and light came out of them. It seems to me with heaven's help the reason that the Holy One, Blessed be He, wanted there to be a revelation of this reality in the world, that there should be light from the grinding of two stones against each other by Adam the first man to whom He gave understanding to perform this craft in the world, and it is because it is known that the bodies of human beings are called by the name of stones and also the intimacy of man and woman in the cleaving of body to body is compared by necessity to grinding where stones are ground against each other, as it is written: Let my wife grind for another, and therefore the craft of this thing, that light comes out through the grinding of two stones against each other was done by Adam the first man to hint to him that the intimacy of body to body even though the woman is pregnant or old, such that it is not fitting for an actual child to come from this as if it does not go to waste, but rather souls are born from it, and as written by our master the Ari, of blessed memory, in Sha'ar Ta'amei HaMitzvot, and the Gaon Chida, of blessed memory, in Midbar Kadmot, entry H-R-Y-N, sign 4, brought in the name of a manuscript Zohar that when Adam the first man rectified his reincarnations, it was rectified ⟦...⟧, that the Holy One, Blessed be He, matches bodies to these souls and in them he ate the eating that begets them, and regarding this the father who begets them says: Who bore me these etc. and these who raised them, for they will recognize their father and come to him in the future, and this is from one generation in which these drops grow that a person inseminated in a sin that happened to him [with a woman] pregnant or nursing or old, see there, and therefore this craft that light came out from two stones that he grinds against each other is to hint to him that all intimacy of cleaving body to body does not go to waste but rather out of them comes light, which is the soul created from this union and it becomes a complete creature. And that which he brought two animals and mounted them upon each other and out of them came the mule which does not reproduce, he hinted to him in this even if a person begets a barren son like a mule, he fulfilled his duty in the commandment of procreation: And saying He gave understanding to Adam the first man as a sort of example of what is above, one must understand what is the matter of this example that he took here, and it seems to me with heaven's help according to what our master the Ari, of blessed memory, wrote in Etz Chaim Sha'ar HaKlallim chapter 9, the secret of the striking from the upper union into the lower fortune and from the power of this striking come forth from there five kindnesses and five severities etc. see there, and this is what is said: He gave understanding to Adam the first man to perform an action as a sort of example of what is above, that is, like the striking that is done above from the upper fortune into the lower fortune through which come forth five lights and five severities: The pen ⟦...⟧ sons of Torah, there are people whom he recognizes who were wealthy and joyful in ⟦...⟧ who gave charity to the poor, and those poor people who received charity from those wealthy people, they sit higher than those wealthy people who gave them charity, and this is an upside-down world, he said to them, and his father said: this is not upside down but clear, for thus the line of justice obligates, as our Sages of blessed memory said: more than what the homeowner does with the poor person, the poor person does with the homeowner, and automatically the poor have more merit and their honor in the Garden of Eden is according to the extra merit they have: There. Fortunate is he who comes here with his learning in his hand. It seems to me with heaven's help if there is no flour there is no Torah, yet there is one who learns Torah because others support him and gave him a reward to be sustained by, and there is one who learns Torah because he was sustained by the toil of his hands as it is written: the toil of your hands when you eat the bread of Torah, fortunate are you, because the good of the Torah which is called good will be attributed to you, and this is what is said: and his learning was dependent on his hand on the toil of his hands and not through the sustenance of others. Or it may be understood according to what is written: This is the way of Torah: a piece of bread with salt you shall eat, and water in a measure you shall drink, and on the ground you shall sleep, and in Torah you toil, and if you do so, fortunate are you, and the Maharâm Shif, of blessed memory, explained: if you in your status have money and food to eat the delicacies of the world, and even so you do so, then fortunate are you etc. And this is what is said: and his learning, meaning his conduct and his measure that he would conduct himself in the service of heaven was given into his hand not to be forced by poverty, but rather he would ⟦...⟧ the desires of this world and bend his shoulder to bear the yoke of Torah, as is written about Hezekiah, peace be upon him, who was a king and ate vegetables every day and engaged in Torah: And further it seems to me with heaven's help that it is known that through the engagement in Torah the five severities hinted at in the left hand are sweetened by the five kindnesses hinted at in the right hand in the final letters (M-N-Z-P-Ch), and with this I explained with heaven's help what is written: 'his hands are enough for him' in the battle of Torah, and so they expounded in David's lament, peace be upon him, over Abner: 'your hands were not bound', meaning not bound from Torah, and if so, what is the matter of engaging in Torah with the hands, but according to what was said it is correct, through the engagement in Torah the five severities hinted at in the left hand are sweetened by the five kindnesses hinted at in the right hand, and therefore the Torah is five books because through it the five are sweetened by the five, and that is why: everyone who engages in Torah for its sake for the sake of the name Y-H to unite the Holy One, Blessed be He, and His Shekhinah, and this is what is said: and his learning in his hand, meaning his learning performed an action in the sweetening hinted at in his hand which are five and five. And my son, my dear, the honorable Rabbi Jacob, may his light shine, explained according to what our Sages of blessed memory said on the verse: 'Length of days is in its right hand, in its left hand riches and honor', for those who go right in it there is length of days and certainly riches and honor, for those who go left riches and honor there is, length of days there is not, it is found that one who learns Torah for its sake merits the reward hinted at in two hands, and this is what is said: 'and his learning in his hand' (yado), read as two hands (yadav), meaning that he learned for its sake so he merited with two hands, thus far his words, may his light shine: Chapter Four. Page 54. Ten things were created on the eve of Sabbath at twilight. It could be said that these are listed not in their order as they were given on earth, for the rainbow was given before everything and should have been first, and then he would mention what was given first on this earth. And it seems to me with heaven's help he took first the well because it was a benefit for all Israel that He gave them water to drink in the wilderness, and at the time that they entered, the well also entered with them and until now it is in the sea of Tiberias and there is no one who recognizes it, but our master the Ari, of blessed memory, recognized it and gave the Maharchu, of blessed memory, to drink from it so that he would have the power of memory. And after it he took bread which is the life of the body, but it is not similar to the life of water, for a person can endure hunger more than thirst, and furthermore satiation from thirst can only be by water, but eating nourishes a person with all kinds of grain and fruits and milk. And afterwards he mentioned the rainbow, as it itself has no benefit, but is only a sign for a sign and ⟦...⟧ on the absence of evil so that a flood will not come to the world. And after that he took the writing which is a thing given for the sake of preserving things so they should not be forgotten, and the forgetting of things is not absolute evil, and also it is not certain, like 62 Benayahu Chapter 4, Pesachim Ibid. Anah was flawed, therefore he brought flaws into the world. This thing is a wonder, for if so, how will the words of Rabbi Yose be settled, who holds that Adah the first made the mule, that he crossbred two animals with one another and from them came out the mule, for Adah the first was fit and how did he bring flaws into the world. And it seems to me with the help of Heaven that Adah the first did not crossbreed two species, but rather crossbred two animals of one species, and even so there came from them a barren offspring that does not reproduce, and since it is barren and does not reproduce, he called it a mule, as it is similar in this to a mule, or a person who is intimate with his wife and begets a barren child, and so the people called Manoah a 'mulish woman' who did not give birth, and the Holy One Blessed be He did not want that with the animals there should be created a barren animal that does not give birth which would be in the likeness of the mule, for the Holy One Blessed be He will not create a creature with such a great deficiency of barrenness that it does not have the power of reproduction and the power of seeding, and He left this for Adah the first to do, that he crossbred two animals of one species and from them came a barren animal that is similar to a mule, and this too was by His decree, blessed be He, who decreed upon the drop of those two animals, to give birth to a barren offspring: And it further seems to me with the help of Heaven that in reality Adah the first crossbred two animals of two species that are mixed breeds (Kilayim) with one another, however there is no prohibition of Kilayim applicable to them, nor does the law of Kilayim apply to them in their mating, because all the animals of the six days of creation were not born from a father and mother but rather came out from the earth, as it is written 'Let the earth bring forth a living soul', it turns out they are all of one ⟦...⟧ and one ⟦...⟧ and they were all created from the earth, and therefore even though in their form and nature they are many species, there is not in them the law of Kilayim, for we follow the mother, and they were born from one mother, for we established in Bekhorot: a pure animal that gave birth to a species of impure animal is permitted for eating, for all that comes out from the pure is pure, and see Yoreh Deah Siman 236 regarding the law of Kilayim in the mating of animals, and see Mishnah Torah Malveh 244 see there. And I said, a mare that gave birth from a horse an offspring in the likeness of a donkey, behold this is considered a complete horse, even though it looks like a donkey, and it is permitted to mate it with a mare, and only because of appearances, that it looks like a donkey, it is forbidden to mate it initially, and regarding Adah the first who was alone in the world there is no prohibition of appearances, and even initially it is permitted to mate, and all the more so according to this reason that they all have one mother, and from one mother they came out, for the base of the earth is one, however Anah who mated a donkey with a mare, and the like, performed a prohibition of Kilayim, and brought a flaw into the world: Ibid. This teaches that he came upon his mother and fathered Anah from her. They ask: from where does the Talmud know to hang the disgrace on a perversion to say that he came upon his mother? Let it be by mistake, and say clearly he came upon his daughter-in-law, the wife of Zibeon, and she gave birth to Anah, and it turns out Anah is the brother of Zibeon by power of Seir his father, and also he is considered the son of Zibeon because he is his wife's son, for now according to the words of the Talmud which said Zibeon came upon his mother, it is difficult: how does it say about Anah that he is the son of Seir, one must say that his wife's son is considered his son, and all the more so in this that he is considered Anah the son of Zibeon, because he is his wife's son, and they answer in the name of Rabbi Ralof Ahavah of blessed memory that in reality his wife's son is not considered his son, and that which he counts Anah with the sons of Seir, is not because he is his wife's son but because he is his son's son, for grandchildren are as children, so far his words, and further they answer in the name of Rabbi Yesharesh Yaakov of blessed memory, that which it said Zibeon came upon his mother and she bore him Anah, so that he is his actual father, it is from the power of the inference of the verse, which says 'He is Anah who found the hot springs in the desert as he pastured the donkeys for Zibeon his father,' and it is difficult: it should have said 'as he pastured the donkeys for Zibeon,' and why did it specify 'his father,' or it should say 'as he pastured the donkeys for his father,' therefore learn from it that the redundancy of the verse comes to teach that Zibeon was his actual father, and if he is his wife's son he is not his actual father, so far his words: However, this is difficult for me: let us say clearly he came upon the daughter of his son Zibeon and she bore him Anah, so that Anah is the brother of Zibeon by power of Seir his father and he considers him as his son, because his daughter bore him, for grandchildren are as children. And it seems to me that the Talmud holds this rule was only stated regarding male grandchildren, but regarding the children of daughters who are females, for the father with the seed of his daughter there is a connection to their existence that whether his son's mother [gave birth to] a male offspring or his son's mother [gave birth to] a female offspring they are all called his sons, but that which the daughter gives birth to, her seed is not attributed to her father, and this is a great logical reasoning, and therefore Anah the son of the daughter of Zibeon was not considered the son of Zibeon: Ibid. And the day of consolation. See Rashi of blessed memory, and further it seems to me with the help of Heaven: the day of consolation of Jerusalem which is the time of the promise of the verse 'Console, console my people, says your God, speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call out','aie for her host is filled etc.' and as it is written elsewhere 'and in Jerusalem you shall be consoled' and this is not the knowledge of the kingdom of the House of David when it will return to its place, for this is at a time of its own, and the time of the building of Jerusalem is of its own, and in the Eighteen Benedictions as well they are divided into two blessings: one 'May You dwell etc.' and one 'the sprout of David etc.' And our saying 'the depth of judgment' seems to me with the help of Heaven: if they perform from Heaven sufferings that appear as if they are judgment, it is impossible for a person to imagine the depth of them to know in his intellect if they are judgment and punishment, or if they are a cause for great good, and like the matter of the selling of Joseph, peace be upon him, who was sold to Egypt where the fortune required him to be a slave for a time and not lift his head, and how is it possible for a person to understand and imagine in his mind that this is for the sake of a great good, and as it is written 'you thought it for evil, God thought it for good' to keep alive a great nation. And that which is written 'no man knows by what he will profit' is so that all types of businesses and all types of trade and all types of work will find people to engage in them and everyone will not engage in one thing or two or three, for then many types of business would be completely void, and from the natural cause of profit there would be none for those engaged because everyone is engaged in one thing and few businesses, thus their profit from everything would be null and lost. And that which is written 'and he does not know what is in his fellow's heart' also this was done for the repair of the world, for if so, the merchant could not sell and the buyer could not buy and many such things: Ibid. And some say: even on the coin ⟦...⟧. It seems the intention is: every king makes coins in the provinces of his kingdom, but his way is to engrave on them images, that is a silver coin that is valued at ten ⟦...⟧ if you break it, it will not have silver in it worth ten Grush, and the world knows this and even so they receive the coin at the value of twenty Grush for the sake of the engraving of the king's coin. And this can further be explained regarding the coin of papers that the king gives a piece of paper in place of items of gold, and because of the 'he' that is on the paper they receive them. And my son, my beloved, the honorable Rabbi Jacob, may his light shine, explained 'the depth of judgment' that was hidden from them: whether the sufferings that come upon a person are because of the deeds of this body itself, or if because of a past reincarnation as it was with Job, or if for the sake of protecting the generation. And he further explained the depth of the judgment of the final exile, so far his words, may his light shine: Page 54b. Our Rabbis taught: six things Hezekiah did. It seems to me with the help of Heaven: the essence of his name is Hezekiah and he was called Hezekiahu with the addition of the letter Vav to hint at the six things that he did which are the number of the Vav, but since regarding three they agreed with him and regarding three they did not agree, therefore the Vav is sometimes revealed sometimes hidden, for he is called by the name Hezekiah: Ibid. He dragged his father's bones on a bed of ropes. It seems to me with the help of Heaven: a hint to the injuries (havalot) he did to his soul, they brought him to this disgrace, for 'ropes' (havalim) is the language of injury (havalah). And it further seems to me with the help of Heaven that he hinted in this that he is saved from the heretics in Chapter Helek, because he was standing between two righteous people: his father Jotham and his son Hezekiah, and as it is written in the Gemara of Sanhedrin and it is known that the rope (hevel) is three strands twisted with one another, a hint to the matter 'Jacob is the lot (hevel) of His inheritance' for he was the third twisted with Abraham and Isaac and so here Ahaz is one strand twisted with two strands, Jotham and Hezekiah, that in this a complete rope was made, and therefore he is removed from the count. And this is why it took ⟦...⟧ for all his flesh was existing because they dragged him immediately when he passed away, that is that the ⟦...⟧ bones of the son are from the father and this is the saying to hint at the ⟦...⟧ of Hezekiah, peace be upon him. Even though his own bones are part of his father, he did not worry for his honor and dragged him on a bed 16
Benayahu Chapter 5, 6 Pesachim 32 Introductions in the section of Secret [Sod], and regarding this he said thus following their answer: Page 64. Whatever remains is taken and we rely on a miracle. In the book Mikraei Kodesh he brought a difficulty from the R.B. z"l to the B.Y. who holds we rely on a miracle here, if so, why did they make a 'raven-killer' [spikes] so that the meat would not fly [off], and why did they make a table of marble before the ramp to arrange upon it the limbs and fats so they would not spoil if it were of gold, as it is in Shekalim chapter 1 and 6, and as explained in Rabbeinu Ovadia z"l there, see there. and it seems to me with G-d's help that regarding the raven-killer and the tables if we rely on a miracle, one would need to rely on a miracle every day and year every single time, and for such a great [extent] we do not rely, whereas here we do not rely on a miracle except for only one hour and one moment on the eve of Passover which is one day in the year. Or it can be understood with G-d's help regarding the Passover offering the matter is done at the time of service and for the purpose of service, and for this the commandment of the service is great enough to protect and perform the miracle, but the raven-killer is for the need of the night as well when there is no service, and also this has no connection to the service and similarly the tables, they arrange the meat on them also at night when there is no service, for sacrifices whose blood was sprinkled by day, their fats are burned at night until the pillar of dawn rises, and similarly the limbs of burnt offerings are burned at night until the pillar of dawn rises, and the Sages decreed until midnight because of negligence, and as the Rambam z"l wrote in Laws of the Act of the Sacrifices chapter 4, law 2, see there; it turns out that even though there is no service in the Temple at night, limbs and fats remain on the table, and for this they did not rely on a miracle because at night there is no service to protect: And it further seems to me with G-d's help the eve of Passover is different, for miracles were performed for Israel and also at that time they say the Hallel which is established to be said because of the miracle, and for this we rely on a miracle. Or it can be understood with G-d's help here if they do the thing it is noticeable that they do not rely on a miracle even in the place of the Temple in which ten miracles were performed, but regarding the table that they made of marble it is not noticeable, as it can be said they did not want to make it of gold because they did not want to lose money, and similarly with the raven-killer also it is not noticeable, as it can be said they did not make spikes for the sake of the raven-killer but for beauty they made them. And my dear son K.H.R. Yaakov n.r.v. answered, that here the miracle was performed for the honor of the community and the merit of the many is preferable, and not only that but the miracle was performed at the time they are occupied with the commandment, and we say regarding those who bring First Fruits that they are guarded from them and one does not stand before a Torah scholar because the commandment is precious in its time, therefore we rely on a miracle, thus far his words n.r.v.: Ibid. And they do not call it 'Swollen Passover'. It can be said it means calling it Swollen Passover and why did they choose this language of 'Swollen' [Me'uvin]. And it seems to me with G-d's help since prior to this was that Passover which passed and in which was crushed one old man and they used to call it 'Crushed Passover' [Me'uchin] according to the P.H. because of the disturbances, therefore now on this Passover where there were no disturbances, no harm, though they were many and not one was crushed, they chose to call it 'Me'uvin' which are like the letters of 'Me'uchin', and only in them there is a 'Khaf' and here there is a 'Beit', and that is 'Khaf' [as in] Destruction [Kelaya], 'Beit' [as in] Blessing [Beracha]: Chapter Six. Page 66. Who caused you to ascend from Babylon and be a prince over you. It can be said for what purpose does it go [to say] 'to ascend from Babylon', it would be enough to say who caused you to be a prince over you. And it seems to me with G-d's help his intention is to say do not say that by chance this thing happened, for I was not sitting in the Land of Israel and available to you so that you could attribute it to chance, but in truth I went down to Babylon which is a distant land and I ascended from there in order to rule over you, and he also hinted to them in the weight of 'Ascended from Babylon', for in the filling of the letters of Babylon [Babel] like this, Beit Beit Lamed there are the letters of 'Tadmit' [perpetuity], meaning that the tradition of the Torah which is its praise eternally became the cause for him to rule over you, and I ascended by the power of the H from the power of the letters hinted within the letters of Babel: Ibid. Immediately they seated him at the head and appointed him prince over them. Behold just as the Sons of Bathyra did to Hillel that immediately upon their recognition of his wisdom they seated him at the head, so did the pious Rabbi, Rabbi Gedalia Hayon z"l to our master the Rashash z"l in the testament of the sages of Yemen to the Holy City Jerusalem t.u.b.b. that he did not make himself known at the beginning of his arrival that he was a sage but showed himself as a simple man from the common people, and became a sexton in the house of the Yeshiva, which is the place that was the study hall of the pious Rabbi, Rabbi Gedalia Hayon z"l who was the teacher of the pious at that time, and through an act he recognized him, and straight away seated him at the head and made him the teacher of the pious in the study hall of the House of the Yeshiva: And know that our fathers told us about our master the Rashash z"l, when he came from the land of Yemen he came by way of Egypt and in the path to our city in Baghdad a wayfarer, in order to go to the Holy City Jerusalem by way of Damascus (Shamiah), and this was in the time of the honorable elder G-d-fearing man H.R. Chaim Katz the father of the R.B.G. mor my grandfather our master Moshe z.l.h.h., and when our master the Rashash z"l came he was hidden for he did not make himself known that he was a sage but in the category of a simple man, a stranger wayfarer, and he delayed here until there chanced a caravan going to Damascus and during his stay here in the city he would go by day in the Yeshiva of Sh.K. Yitzchak Gaon z"l, where there was his gathering place inside the city, and elders would study there in the Book of the Zohar every day, and they would take a stipend from the city treasury, and he went and sat to study the holy Zohar with them until there chanced a caravan going to Damascus, and he went with them, and mentioned them in his name to say Zohar there, behold one day he was studying in the Zohar portion of Balak page 210b thus it is 'Koh' which is ready to bless them, 'Koh' shall you speak a blessing that is needed etc., Balaam said take if sorceries are in your hand in order to ⟦...⟧ here to this 'Koh' etc., what is written 'Stand by Koh' on your burnt offerings with this and these sorceries you shall delay her, and I will be called 'Koh', meaning that he uproots her from these matters etc., what is written crowns and G-d met Balaam, and that word of G-d was easy in the filling of 'Koh' and He said return to Balak and 'Koh' shall you speak, 'Koh' shall you speak certainly etc. etc., and our master was studying the Zohar with enthusiasm and in a loud voice, and when he would say the word 'Koh' in those matters he would bring the word 'Koh' from his mouth with strength and the intensity of his heart with great power, and the elders said to him who were sitting there why do you cry out the word 'Koh' with the strength ⟦...⟧ great and call it with a very strong power, and he said to them in the language ⟦...⟧ of of Yemen in this language: 'A'hadi al-Koh ma'akhah balbi' [this 'Koh' is striking in my heart], so far we heard from our fathers. It turns out this righteous man before he came back in Jerusalem t.u.b.b., came to our land and his feet trod upon the streets of our city, but his honor was not known to the sages of our city so that they would place him as a crown at the head, and happy is the eye that saw him z.i.u.a.: Ibid. Anyone who is haughty, if he is a sage his wisdom departs from him. It seems to explain this with the letters of Wisdom [Chochmah] which is 'Koach Mah' [the power of What], for the reason that he is humbled by the name 'Mah' [What] as M.R.A.H. said 'and we are what', and in hint in the letters of Wisdom, to say that it is dependent on the power of 'Mah', for if there is humility with it there is wisdom and if there is not humility with it there is no wisdom: Ibid. From where do we have it regarding Eliab. This thing is wondrous, could it be to think that initially the kingship was given to Eliab, and because he was prone to anger it was taken from him and given to David, but surely David A.H. merited the kingship from the six days of creation from the side of his aspect and root. And it seems to me with G-d's help that 'greatness' [Gedulah] does not refer to the essence of kingship, but to another importance belonging to kingship, and that is that Eliab had a handsome appearance and high stature so that all who saw him would say this one is worthy of kingship, and as Samuel A.H. said when he saw him 'Surely before the Lord is His anointed', for he did not say this is the king whom the Blessed Name chose, but said he is worthy of kingship from the side of his form and his glory and his stature, and even after David A.H. was anointed everyone who saw Eliab gave him this praise saying this one is worthy and fitting for kingship, and only after he became angry was this praise of his taken from the mouths of people, for from Heaven it was thus so that they would not praise him so to say this one is worthy of kingship, but Samuel Moshe to whom the Blessed Name said 'Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature' etc. ceased this praise from his mouth, and accordingly what is said here 'even if they decree for him greatness they lower him', speaks in such a case, that the Holy One Blessed be He made him with a handsome head so that everyone who sees him says this one is worthy of kingship and certainly Benayahu Chapter 4, 5, Pesachim A parable of flies, and it seems that the way is "A time to act for the Lord, they have voided Your Torah," for through this comes the rectification of the world, that many wicked people were struck in its midst: There. He ground up the copper serpent. The matter is that some people were errantly following it, thinking it worthy of worship, because they saw that anyone bitten by a snake who looked at it was healed, and even though our teacher Moses, peace be upon him, made it, he did not fear as the former ones before him feared, and it seems therefore that the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to our teacher Moses, peace be upon him, "Make for yourself a seraph"—for you specifically and not for other generations because they would err by it, and as indeed happened. And what is said in the Gemara regarding the Book of Remedies, I explained in the holy book Ben Yehoyada on Tractate Berakhot, that it is a book composed by King Solomon with the wisdom of herbs useful for healing, and it deals with recognizable herbs in that book so they would know them and he writes this is beneficial for this illness and this for that illness, and people were occupying themselves with them and removing their trust from the Holy One, Blessed be He: There. Q"R are four perutot, the reason he called them perutot and did not say "matters," it seems to me with the help of Heaven that peruta is an expression of tearing, as stated in the Gemara Bava Kamma page 110, "a thread of a peruta that remained," and Rashi of blessed memory explained it as his lip was torn by a needle, see there, and therefore he called them perutot, meaning that these are continuously torn, for tearing is a matter of loss and destruction, that these shall be lost from the hand of their owners so that they shall not fulfill any blessing through them: There. And all who engage in the work of Heaven after the sellers of tekhelet. It seems to me with the help of Heaven according to what our Rabbis of blessed memory said, "tekhelet is similar to the sea, and the sea is similar to the firmament," and therefore he called the sellers of tekhelet those who engage in the work of Heaven. And why he did not combine them with the sellers of tefillin, mezuzot, and scrolls, it seems because sellers of tekhelet are not common in this time while those are common always, therefore he took them separately; however, sellers of tekhelet does not refer except to those who buy the tekhelet from the tribe of Zebulun and sell it to the rest of the tribes of Israel, but the tribe of Zebulun themselves who are the owners of the tekhelet, which is found in their portion, certainly see in it a sign of blessing, for the blessing of the tribe is in it, and also in the tekhelet itself the Holy One, Blessed be He, blessed it that he said to him it is all prepared for you by means of the snail, and Zebulun said Master of the Universe perhaps the Murex sons will steal from me, and He said to him a sign shall be for you that whoever takes from you without money will not benefit in his merchandise, and this is mentioned in the Gemara of Megillah page 6, see there. And behold, Rashi of blessed memory explained regarding the sellers of tekhelet that they will become wealthy and not be occupied, and it is difficult—who will be showered with wealth, and it seems because there is great effort in hunting them, for it is possible that a man would toil all day and nothing would come into his hand, therefore they were light in effort and did not engage in it, and according to the words of the Gemara in Megillah that I brought, perhaps for this reason they do not see a sign of blessing because it is possible those who bought the tekhelet did not give the money to the tribe of Zebulun and the Holy One, Blessed be He, had already decreed that anyone who takes without money will not succeed in his merchandise, and therefore those who engage in this do not succeed: Page 56. At Malbah and Malpachah they would give, Malbah said a kid is better. One should say, why did the Talmud need to preface these words and say "at Malbah and Malpachah they would give," and it seems to me with the help of Heaven that it comes to teach us, that we should not say this thing happened by chance due to a cause that the King and Queen were eating at the table, that they brought before them kid meat and lamb meat and while the meat was between their teeth they spoke of it, therefore the author of the statement came to inform us, that the King and Queen were sitting in their leisure in silence in a place of sitting, and it was not a time of eating and the time did not cause them to speak of matters of eating and they were not occupied with these things, and nevertheless they spoke of these matters because it was from Heaven in order that Issachar of Barkai should receive his punishment, and this matter is proven that it was brought about from Heaven since they were giving in silence without speech and without words, rather they gave in a place of sitting and these words were revealed among them: Her merit is hinted at in her name which is called Beruriah which is Berur Yah which are the secret of Chochmah and Binah, and also another sign in the "Be-Yahu" of "Libei Nachur," the wife of a great companion, the Master of Miracles, for certainly her husband's merit will protect her to succeed in study, for our Holy Rabbi said, "The reason I am wise is because I saw Rabbi Meir from behind, and if I had seen him from the front I would have been much wiser," and also further she was the daughter of Hananiah ben Teradion whose merit is great as he gave himself to be burned for the sake of the Torah, for certainly her father's merit was great that it should protect her to succeed in her study, and furthermore that in truth she is established as a wise woman and a great rebbetzin and in her youth she ⟦learned⟧ the tradition very easily that she starts on a winter day with three hundred traditions, for certainly this thing is a great wonder, for if the student persists under one teacher then the teacher knows the student's temperament and the student knows the teacher's temperament it is possible he will absorb the Talmud and achieve it, whereas Beruriah was learning from three hundred sages in a day, so it turns out that for each and every one it was the beginning of study, and it is difficult to absorb and she ⟦learned⟧ the tradition well from all of them, and nevertheless the Book of Lineage was not extended, to be saved from such an evil death: There. He said to him since you are a ⟦weakling and a commoner⟧ why do you ride, come and I will tell you. It is difficult: did he not know that he was a ⟦weakling and a commoner⟧ from the outside since he came to learn the Book of Lineage, and furthermore he had already agreed to teach him, and how could they say to him he does not agree willingly. And it seems to me with the help of Heaven according to what is written in the holy book Ben Yehoyada that what they asked him, what is the difference between "for its sake" and "not for its sake," with great wisdom he spoke with him, for the Holy One, Blessed be He, disgraced him for his words that he said to him "all the more so since you are from Lod and your dwelling is in Nehardea," for the translation of Rabbi Yochanan ⟦the step and the status⟧ of the difference that exists between this and that, because this one's disqualification is in itself, and therefore he came to question his words on this, and therefore he said to him now that I know that you are a ⟦scholar⟧ who can speak correct things in hints, come and I will tell you new reasons for the question, besides the reason you knew that you intended to awaken regarding my words, and it is the ⟦fifth⟧ reason that you know that this one's disqualification is in itself and that one's disqualification is not in itself, and furthermore this it is possible to clarify its prohibition and that it is impossible to clarify its prohibition, and furthermore this exists in four services and that does not exist in four services, and furthermore this exists in public as in private and that does not exist in public as in private, behold you have four reasons for this matter: There. Between Atzel and Atzel we erred four hundred camels of exposition. I explained in the holy book Ben Yehoyada meaning 400 tablets, for "gamla" in the language of the Talmud means a tablet, see there, and this is certain. And behold Rashi of blessed memory explained that in Chronicles I chapter 8 it is written "and to Atzel six sons and these are their names, Azrikam his firstborn and Ishmael and Sheariah and Obadiah and Hanan, all these were the sons of Atzel," and at the end of chapter 9 it concludes "all these were the sons of Atzel," and according to the words of Rashi which refer to the beginning of the verse, "and to Atzel six sons" it should have said between "And to Atzel" and "Atzel," and according to his words one must struggle to say that the Talmud takes from the end to the beginning, meaning between Atzel that is at the end of chapter 9 between to Atzel that is in chapter 8. And it seems to me with the help of Heaven that the Talmud took the boundaries of 400 camels of exposition, the words Atzel from here and Atzel from here, to hint according to its way a certain deep matter, and it is what our teacher the Ari of blessed memory wrote in Sha'ar Ha-FP"N, and this whole is ⟦erased in the neck⟧, and all the ⟦Bet⟧ is drawn and made from the light of the name Eheyeh of the filling of the He's. And this whole is ⟦erased in the neck⟧ in the ⟦neck⟧, and a man does not die until this whole departs from him of the ⟦neck in the neck⟧, see there. And here Mar Zutra hinted according to his way, between Atzel and Atzel, the explanation is between the A and L added from the light of Eheyeh of the Alephs and between the A to L added from the name Eheyeh of the He's there is a measure of 400 tablets of exposition speaking in the secret of the difference that exists between this and that. And what he said "from the day they were exiled etc. weakened etc. dimmed etc." it seems that those words of exposition are built upon many and great introductions in the Oral Torah, and they contain introductions in the revealed part through which reasons of Torah and its laws will be revealed in the Plain part, and corresponding to this he said "the strength of the sages weakened" as they lacked knowledge of these introductions through which the words of Torah would be clarified for them in many places, and they contain introductions Chapter Five. Page 52. And what of Beruriah who was the ⟦wife⟧ of Rabbi Meir daughter of Hananiah ben Teradion. He explained: And what of Beruriah who was a woman of stature
Pesachim Benayahu Chapters 6, 7, 8 Love, and what changed 'shot' the number 36 which is the count of 'Chai' [Life], 'Shai' [Gift], equal to 'Chai' for eating, 'Chai' for drinking : Seventh Chapter. Page 75a. Mitzraf [Refining/Combining] to include all 'Treifot' [defects] absorbed from the board. They explained in the Tosafot <del>it shall be torn</del> [Titref] for it is on the day that it was warm in them etc. And it further seems to me with the help of Heaven that it should have said 'it shall be burned' [Tisharef] alone, and why did it say 'meat shall be torn' [Bassar Titref], because it comes to include all 'Treifot' absorbed from the board. And it further seems to me with the help of Heaven that in the Gemara it says and it mentions the pieces that are joined together as it is written in them 'and he shall burn' etc. Is that so? There it is written 'bread' and then 'it shall be burned' to include all 'Treifot' absorbed because of the bread, here it is written 'and he shall burn it upon the legs with bread' at the end if, to say if there is nothing else, no, see there, and this is the intention of the study here that they are there for the verse said 'with bread it shall be burned', 'it shall be burned' to include all 'Treifot' absorbed from the bread, meaning that the verse said 'with bread it shall be burned' and did not say 'it shall be burned with bread' for it comes to include in the word 'it shall be burned' which stands on the word 'with bread' all 'Treifot' absorbed because of the bread. And behold, Rashi wrote 'from that which is not written with bread and let us be silent', and it is difficult if it does not write 'it shall be burned' but only writes 'with bread', it has no meaning, and it seems that Rashi's intention of blessed memory is to say let it not write 'it shall be burned' after 'with bread', rather let it write 'it shall be burned' before 'with bread' and after 'with bread' let it write nothing, as the word 'it shall be burned' is written now : Page 86a. We do not say that morning purchase is expensive, sweet, and my belly is wide. It is difficult if the wine is sweet it is even more so that it would be gluttonous if they drink it at one time. And it seems to me with the help of Heaven that he holds it does not appear gluttonous then with intoxicating wine, but if the wine is sweet and it is not intoxicating, behold it is similar to water that for flavors a person will drink much water for his thirst and this is not included in gluttony since it is for ⟦...⟧ and satiety to quench his thirst. And further it seems to me with the help of Heaven that this 'expensive sweet' is not a reason in and of itself, but it is the conclusion of 'morning purchase' which has the reason in it that this is not gluttony, and so that it should not appear from his words that he is suspected of a narrow eye, by saying that he bought a small cup, therefore he concluded 'expensive sweet' meaning that you were forced to bring a small cup because it is 'expensive sweet', and anything very sweet a person does not drink much of it at once, because one loathes its sweetness, and he said another second reason that 'my belly is wide' : Eighth Chapter. Page 87a. The Holy One Blessed be He said to Hosea: Israel has sinned. Behold, according to this version that we do not read 'your children have sinned', but rather He said 'Israel has sinned', for He called them by the name 'Israel', in order to teach him an argument in their favor, that even though they sinned they are 'Israel', for they have no cancellation forever, for the name Israel indicates thus that it is the letters 'Li Rosh' [To me a head], and everything about which it is said 'Li' [To me], has no cancellation forever. And furthermore the name 'Israel' has a connection with the name 'Ehyeh', in the manner of the connection of 'Shim' in letters of 'Yira' [Fear] in letters of 'Ahava' [Love] as written in the Holy Zohar, and I wrote this introduction in the Holy Book 'Adderet Ehu' on the Haftarah of Masei on the verse 'what wrong did your fathers find in me'. 'That they went far from me', see there : Ibid. He should have said 'they are your children' etc. He took four divisions of merit which are four rhetorical points, the 1st 'they are your children', the 2nd 'they are your nurslings', the 3rd 'they are the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob', the 4th 'roll upon them your attribute of mercy', and those are four things of good and merit corresponding to four implications of good that are in his good name, the 1st is from the name 'Hosea' a language of 'Yeshuah' [Salvation], that He should have performed for them salvation by the law of children, for He should have said 'they are your children', and the 2nd 'Hosea' letters of 'Assah' [Made/Repaired], which is a language of repair like 'and also the cattle which he made', for it is written 'is He not your father who acquired you', put for yourself the status of a son and He, blessed be He, is a father, and we hold a father who forgave his honor, his honor is forgiven, and the 3rd is 'He made you and established you', meaning He made you in trial and testing that He did for you in the acceptance of the Torah, and furthermore that he was already clarified to you as established with him, and if the sin in idolatry and ⟦...⟧ is not his And for certain this Sabbath is the great principle, that there is greatness for a person who distinguishes it with strength, and it is found here even though the Holy One Blessed be He created him in splendor that is worthy to praise him for it, and the creatures had already begun to praise him even so after it was diminished this praise ceased from their mouths, and began to serve this world that the Sabbath day ⟦...⟧ : Page 68a. Just as I have struck two thousand so I have carried ⟦...⟧ Rashi's commentary on this to the verse saying 'and from your wounds I will heal you', how so? It happened with one man who was very pressed and stricken in his ⟦...⟧ and in ⟦...⟧, and the ground split under the legs of his cow and she fell into the pit and her legs were broken, he began to cry for now with what will he plow and earn a living for his hand has no power to extract the legs of his cow from the pit, and he found inside a vessel full of gold dinars, and he rejoiced greatly and said 'the leg of my cow was broken for my good'. It turns out the blow itself became a cure for him behold 'and from your wounds I will heal you'. It happened with one who wanted great life departing for the overseas province, he ran to his house to bring his merchandise to go down with it to the overseas province, and before he reached the ship a nail entered his foot, and he could not move from his place, and ⟦...⟧ the ship set sail and went on its way, he began to cry and to lament over his bad luck because there is no other ship departing for the overseas province until the next year, and his merchandise was seen going before him, and after three days it became known that that ship sank in the sea, he began to clarify and to rejoice over his good luck, and he was standing and cheering over the nail that entered his foot, and kissing it because through it he and his money were saved, it turns out his blow was the cause for his healing, behold 'and from your wounds I will heal you'. There is a man who has a new knife in his hand to cut something with it, and it fell and cut the flesh of his arm, and it ⟦...⟧ much blood from him, and they brought him a doctor to heal the wound, and the doctor observed the appearance of the blood and said to him 'rejoice over your wound that it was for your healing, for this blood that came out of you was bad blood and ⟦...⟧ and spoiled, and if it had remained inside there would have come out upon you a blow great in the place of the flesh of the wound, and that blow would not be ⟦...⟧ to be ⟦illegible⟧, until now before the blood became a wound it came out and went away', it turns out his blow itself was his cure, therefore it is said 'and from your wounds I will heal you'. And an example of this exists in death which is known from what our Rabbi the Ari of blessed memory said, that on the day of death a great clarification is made in the holy sparks by the death in the secret of 'the righteous are greater in their death more than in their lives', and it may happen that that day the time arrived for the birth of several parts of the sparks reincarnated in the ⟦...⟧ to go out, and then by that same death there will be assistance for those sparks to be clarified and to go out in the secret of what our Sages of blessed memory said 'Sarah was remembered, remembered several barren women with her, Rebecca was remembered, several barren women were remembered with her', and there is a merit for that man who died with all those sparks that were clarified and went out by the power of his death, and it turns out that his death preceded which is today for his benefit for he gained in this a great merit in several sparks, and if it had been delayed to the second day which was not on the second day a time for birth and ⟦...⟧ of sparks many like this and then another person would have merited them, and ⟦...⟧ in the name that I struck, I will heal that I ⟦...⟧ it will be a cause for healing, so when I put the person to death I give him life on the day of death with several sparks whose time has come to go out on that day that he merits them and if he had not died on that day he would not have merited, and it is exactly the example of the ⟦...⟧ that we wrote regarding the matter of the blow and the wound, that it was a cause for the benefit of the person and his gain : Ibid. Rav Chisda thought either all of it for God or all of it for you. It seems to me with the help of Heaven 'Yom Tov' [Holiday] equals the number 73, and the Torah is called 'Wisdom' [Chokhmah] as it is written 'and wisdom gives strength to the wise' and 'Chokhmah' is the number 73, also letters 'be-halilah' equals the number 73, and for this Rav Chisda said regarding Yom Tov whose number is 73 either all of it for God, to engage in Torah which is called 'Chokhmah' which is the number 73 like the count of Yom Tov, or all of it for you that he should spend the whole day in 'halilah' whose number is 73 like the count of Yom Tov, but Rabbi Joshua thought divide it half for God and half for you, the number of Yom Tov which is 73 you shall divide it into two, and the half will be the number 36 like the count of 'Degel' [Banner] for the Torah is called 'Degel', as our Sages of blessed memory said on the verse 'He brought me to the wine house and his banner over me' Benayahu Chapter 5, Pesachim 33 A good lodging from which they had a canopy, and it is written here "No evil shall befall you," "You shall not spend the night" She would not count money, if so, this is not a common prostitute, but she is called a prostitute by way of inquiry, but if she gives payment to others then this is a common prostitute, as our master Maharam Alshich z"l wrote on Ezekiel on the verse "And in your giving payment, and payment was not given to you, and it was the reverse," therefore she merits "Hear the word of Hashem" see there, and behold the bad report of this one is called an evil report because it is certainly evil, for it cannot be attributed to another cause of money and the like, and behold this Gomer daughter of Diblaim was an evil report daughter of an evil report she was, and why were they common prostitutes where they give payment in order to commit adultery with her, and the verse taught this matter to say, do not say this one was a prostitute for the sake of payment because she was poor and was forced to commit adultery to receive payment, but now that she married a very wealthy man, for the prophet is very wealthy, and therefore certainly the children she will bear are secure, these of Hosea even though they are not children of harlotry because now she will not commit adultery for she does not need money to take payment, therefore it said "Daughter of Diblaim" an evil report daughter of an evil report for she gives payment and it proves that this is called an evil report, and if so conduct with her that has more money in her pocket, she will commit more adultery: Ibid. That everyone finishes through her. Meaning even an old man and a sick person whose desire is minimal, and even a deaf-mute who does not have such manly strength even so, from the greatness of her beauty, a heating of desire will come to them and they finish with her a complete act of intercourse like the way of all the earth. And my dear son, the Honorable Rabbi Yaakov n"y explained that one person will desire more food and imaginations and does not pay attention to the features of the face and form, and one will desire and covet the features of the face and the form, and even though she is black it does not matter to him, and one will desire the height of stature, and there are those for the fatness and thickness of the body, and this, all those who desire differing in their opinions will finish their desire through her because everything is present in her these are the words of my son n"y: Ibid. He stood and requested mercy to cancel the decrees. It seems to me with G-d's help he stood in prayer and requested mercy in the plural, that he drew down mercy from two names of ⟦illegible⟧ in their fullness, which are 370 lights hinted at in his name Hosea which is the letters 370 [Sh"a] and 5-6 [V"h], meaning 370 lights that are drawn to the aspect of T"u and M"u which are the secret of V"h as mentioned in the secret of the Shofar blowing, and by the illumination of these two names the end of the word "not give to her Ruchamah" and the word "not give to her Ami" and there will remain only Ruchamah and Ami. And what he said one of four acquisitions and likewise his saying he shall root out one acquisition, and thus hold the fountain in all of them, my dear son the Honorable Rabbi Yaakov n"y explained to say that they are a matter of number that even in anger is not nullified: Ibid. Woe to lordship for it buries its masters. Rashi explained because they became physical in their lordship they would die. And it is difficult, for Jotham and Hezekiah were completely righteous, and it seems to me that even though they were worthy to live like Isaiah and so too Hezekiah, but Jotham if he were to prolong days like Isaiah, Ahaz would not have reigned, for he would have already died in his father's lifetime and so too Hezekiah if he lived like Isaiah, Manasseh would not have reigned. And what he said so that proselytes would be added to them, it seems that it refers to souls. Reincarnated in those places where they were exiled, for these are called proselytes since they are outside their place: Page 88. Her weaning, the entire feast depended on R.G. It is difficult, what does he come to tell us in this, the king ⟦line⟧ with the queen and the queen with R.G, and does not every person understand this on his own from the narration of the matter, and it is further difficult why did the king say we asked the queen, is she a Rabbanit who knows the law, and if we say she was a Rabbanit, certainly they know her that much and initially they should ask her and for what did they come to the king, and if they did not know behold before the incident of the lodging another act occurred and the king said they should ask the queen, and if so they knew that the king relies on her, and they should have asked her again initially, and it seems to me with G-d's help that our Sages said blessing is not found in a man's house except for the sake of his wife as it is said "And to Abram he did good for her sake," they also said, Jacob and Esau divided the worlds, and Esau took this world, and therefore Israel has nothing in this world and it was hers for the sake of the Torah by the law of ⟦illegible⟧ the sustenance of ⟦line⟧, and therefore behold ⟦line⟧ not inwards, and therefore "And He shall establish you" exactly so that you shall not have destruction, and so here they hinted in his good name the letters of oppression [Osheq], for he should have oppressed and said they are my children within for You have already acquired them by promise and redemption, and in this the intention of those that it became clear to you correctly with you, and if they sinned they did not sin inwards, and the law of destruction does not apply to them G-d forbid. And the 3rd Hosea letters of "made He [Asu H']", for they will be like the laws acquired the letter He which is like the opening of the hedge and by the hint of this letter He in the name of Abraham our father a"h that initially his name was Abram and afterwards he was called Abraham, and also Isaac and Jacob corrected the letter He, and the reason it is hinted in the name of Abraham alone is because he was the first who corrected this, and as our master the Ari z"l wrote in Sha'ar HaPesukim. And the letter He that the patriarchs corrected in it the opening of repentance is open, and I wrote elsewhere the reason why repentance did not help not for Israel specifically, for they are the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they have merit in the letter He in which is the opening of repentance, unlike other nations, and they hinted this in the name Hosea which is the letters "made He", meaning he would finish the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, they are the ones who made and acquired the letter He in which is the opening of repentance, therefore even though they sinned they have a remedy in repentance and they will not have destruction G-d forbid. And the 4th Hosea is letters of "cry out [Shu'ah]" which is a language of prayer, for he should have prayed for them and said roll upon them Your attribute of mercy through prayer, and it turns out that all four divisions of merit hinted in his good name he did not take them but just opened from the four directions and said pass them to another nation which are those Babylonians G-d forbid: Ibid. They are the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is difficult, since he said they are your children that usually are children to the Place, furthermore for what does he need to say that they are the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for it is established for them like Rava. And it seems to me with G-d's help in the way of two that the agent brought ⟦line⟧ a great merchant to buy merchandise, and one of them did not have capital in his hand to buy with it and the merchant sold to him on credit for a period of six months merchandise in the amount of seven thousand dinars, and the second did not want to buy merchandise except for the amount of one hundred dinars which is capital that he has in his hand, the agent said to him you should buy on credit like the first for the merchant sells to you on credit like him, in order that you should profit much, but the profit of merchandise worth a hundred dinars what is it considered, he said to him the merchandise it is possible it will be ten per hundred and it is possible it will lose twenty per hundred, and if I buy for three thousand it is true if the profit will be a great profit, but if it loses twenty per hundred the loss will reach six hundred dinars, and he has no capital but a hundred, and from where will he bring the five hundred, and he will be forced to be ⟦illegible⟧ in the prison, but the first even though he has no capital of his own to pay if he lost, behold his father is very wealthy and if he lost and they put him in prison his father will pay for him and he will go out. And so is the matter here for he should have argued another claim to Hashem that they sinned in idolatry and lost all the Torah entirely, they are the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who are very wealthy in commandments and they have great merit beyond investigation, and they in their merit will save them from destruction and pay for the evil thing: Ibid. Roll upon them Your attribute of mercy. It seems to me with G-d's help that the name Havayah b"h has twelve permutations, for the letters roll to flip the upper to the lower and lower to the upper and to the middle to the upper and the middle to the lower, and so on, and in every month one permutation rules and Israel are twelve tribes, and every tribe is held in one permutation, and so the matter in the name Eh-yeh that also has in it twelve permutations and they rule in this way and for this it says "roll upon them Your attribute of mercy", it is the name Havayah which is the attribute of mercy, and so it is in the name Eh-yeh "roll" precisely so that the twelve permutations will be awakened to influence and illuminate in them and save them from destruction. And what he said pass them to another nation, perhaps his intention is regarding the nation of Esau he is Edom, who have already been exiled called another, and his powers are divided into four hundred in the secret of "and behold Esau came and four hundred men with him," and this is another [Acheret] Acher T [Another 400], meaning a nation of another whose powers are divided the number 400: Ibid. An evil report daughter of an evil report. It seems with G-d's help that it is known that there is a prostitute who commits adultery for the sake of payment, and regarding this they say
34 Pesachim Chapter 10 Ibid. Because people sleep by you and they wait for you in the night. It is difficult, for could it enter your mind that the household attendants are his young children after Kleinis went to accompany them for this? And it seems to me, with help from Heaven, there are people who come before the Sage to ask him questions that are current in their hearts in order to complain through them in this matter. For one wicked wealthy man came before the Rabbi of his city, and asked him: one who enters the bathhouse and sits naked to wash, and a Gentile prostitute entered naked and sat before him to wash, how should he act? Should he close his eyes and wash, or stand up naked and go out to the outer room? He further asked: I heard people saying if a man comes upon his wife and she started her menstruation during the act of intercourse, he should not separate from her with a live organ; he shall not die until the organ dies and he separates. If it happened that a cat was in the room with him, a foreign woman ⟦...⟧, and without intent he lay with her thinking she was his wife, and in the middle of the intercourse he felt due to the wrinkling that she was not his wife, what should he do? Should he separate immediately with a live organ or wait? He further asked: a man enters a room where his wife is sleeping and other women are also sleeping with her, and it was Sabbath eve and there is no lamp there, is it permissible to light a lamp on Sabbath in order to know which one is his wife to lie with her? He further asked: a man who has no livelihood except for the wages of writing that he writes for a merchant, and this one compels him to write on Sabbath, is he permitted to write on Sabbath, for the Sages said: Make your Sabbath as a weekday and do not be dependent on creatures? And he further asked questions like these that he fabricated from his heart to complain about laws and words of Torah. And perhaps then it was the way of people to ask questions that were current in their hearts in order to complain. And he told him to separate from them because they wait for you with nighttime questions, meaning their intent is not to know the law but only to complain, and you in your righteousness think they need to know the law and you will waste time on answers to such questions that they invent from their hearts to complain. Ibid. Do not sleep in the shadow of a K.P. It is difficult, for the K.P. [Shema] upon the bed was a great obligation by which one effects a rectification, and it would complete four K.P. according to the words of our Master the Ari, of blessed memory, and here it implies that it is a matter of piety. And it seems to me, with help from Heaven, his intention is if he goes to sleep after midnight, for then the time for the rectification of the K.P. upon the bed has passed, and nevertheless it is loathsome that he should read the K.P. and sleep. And that which is said "Do not flee from the customs tax" is difficult, for is this not forbidden by law to flee from the customs tax? And it seems to me that it deals with a tax collector who robs and plunders and takes more than the assessment set by the King, where it is permitted to flee, and see in the holy book Rav Berachot. Page 112. A Kav from the gate and not a Kor from the roof. It seems to me, with help from Heaven, it is known that the Good Inclination is referred to by the name Chesed and the name Day, and the Other Side is referred to by another name and the name Day, as it is written regarding the verse "And He called the light Day and the darkness He called Night," and in the realm of Good which is referred to by the name Light, all are wealthy and there is no poor person there. However, in the realm of Evil which is referred to by the name Darkness, there is wealth and there is poverty, Heaven protect us, and the grain and food of the realm of Evil is not eaten equally, but rather the wealthy is nourished in a large and bountiful measure, and the poor is nourished in a small measure and a small amount. And I said a proper hint because this world is called by the name Darkness, and the numerical value of Darkness (Choshek) is the numerical value of Kor and the numerical value of Kav, for the Kor is a large measure and the Kav is a small measure. It hints that a man is nourished in a large measure and he is the wealthy one, and there is one nourished in a small measure and he is the poor one. And these Kor and Kav are two boundaries, one above and one below, for the Kor is the boundary of the plenty for the wealthy and the Kav is the small boundary for the poor. However, the World to Come is referred to by the name Light which is the numerical value of Geder (boundary), for there are not two boundaries there, one high and one small, but rather one boundary equal to all. According to this, Kor and Kav are two amounts, and two measures of food in this world, one for the wealthy and one for the poor which are Kor and Kav. And it comes to teach us a moral, that it is good for a person to be satisfied with a small amount to obtain it nearby, namely in his city and his place, and not to pursue a large amount to obtain it from a far place, such that he would need to go overseas and on land in order to earn his food in the large amount. And for a man's place it refers to it by the name Gate which is close to the person, and for a far place which is in a far city it refers to it by the name Roof which is far from the person, and it costs him much effort until he goes up there. And for this it says: A Kav from the gate, meaning, be satisfied with the amount of the Kav hinted at in the nickname of this world when you obtain it in your place without effort; it is better than the amount of the Kor which you would toil over to obtain from a far place referred to as Roof which is high and far from you. And regarding what my teacher and father, of blessed memory, wrote in his book the clear Midrash Eliyahu explained: that a man cannot draw down lights of abundance from above unless he first proceeds to raise lights of Kav that run from Malchut which is referred to by the name Earth in the secret of Feminine Waters. And this is what is said: A Kav from the gate, meaning you shall begin to raise lights of Kav from the Gate, which is Malchut, and do not do the opposite that you start to cut a Kor from the roof, meaning the light of abundance from above, because you cannot perform from above and afterward start to raise from below, thus far are his words and ⟦line⟧. And I said according to his words, of blessed memory, therefore it calls the abundance drawn from above by the name Kor, which are the letters Or (Light) and K, because Kaf is Keter (Crown) as our Master the Ari, of blessed memory, wrote in the intention of "He will recognize your son and they will know that from You is their judgment," that one needs to intend the word Keter punctuated, and the complete supernal abundance will evolve from the Keter. And my son, my friend, the honorable Rabbi Yaakov, may his light shine, explained: it is good for a man to be sustained by the toil of his palms even to be a worker of the land, which cleanses the one who works it and its reward is small, and he should not pursue having authority with which he would be sustained in ease by taking a large prize. And he further explained according to what they said in the Midrash that they said to King Agrippa: the two birds that the poor man offered preceded the thousand burnt offerings that you offered on that day, for according to his value his offering is more significant than yours. He further explained according to what the Tanna said in the Mishnah of Avot: better is one hour in Torah and good deeds in this world than all, etc. Thus far are his words, may his light shine. Ibid. Three the Holy One, Blessed be He, loves them. It seems to me, with help from Heaven, it is known that anyone who is angry strengthens the power of the S.M. as our Sages of blessed memory said: anyone who is angry is as if he worships idols, as it is said "There shall not be in you a foreign god." And it is known what is said in M.A.C. of blessed memory that S.M. is called Viper (Ef'eh), and according to this they correctly said that anyone who is angry strengthens the power of S.M., for angry (Ko'es) has the numerical value of 156 like the value of Viper (Ef'eh). Therefore, the angry one's remedy is to perform an appeasement (Piyum) immediately, for if he is appeased immediately the anger is canceled and automatically the power of S.M. will be canceled. And therefore you will find Piyum (appeasement) amounts to 156 like the value of Ef'eh (Viper), for the appeasement cancels the power of the viper. And it is known that there are healers in the name Havayah and every combination is the number 26 [of] flame, and 12 combinations are 24 times flame, but ⟦illegible⟧ it is enough for the world that it be satisfied with half the Name, thus now there are 12 times flame which are half of the 24. And behold 12 times flame amounts to 156, and with this I explained, with help from Heaven, the hint of the verse "As an eagle stirs up its nest (Kino), hovers over its young," meaning as an eagle which is merciful stirs up 156 (K.N.V.) lights of 12 times flame over its young which are Israel and hovers, for 12 times flame corresponds to the 12 tribes of Israel. And therefore one who is not angry so that he does not strengthen the power of the Viper who is S.M. whose number is 156, then his power is great to draw down 156 lights which are 12 times flame from 156 healers of the name Havayah. And therefore one who is not angry, then measure for measure, the Holy One, Blessed be He, loves him because his power is great to draw down the lights of 12 times flame from the 12 healers of the name Havayah. And likewise one who does not get drunk, meaning one who drinks liquor (Shechar) that brings him to levity and sin, for this is called getting drunk (Mishtaker), which is Met-Shechar (Dead from liquor), for the liquor caused him to have the name "dead" called upon him, regarding whom it is said "Give liquor to the perishing (Oved)," for if he does not get drunk he is not called perishing which is the number 13; therefore he merits Love (Ahavah) which is the number 13, that the Holy One, Blessed be He, should be with him. And likewise one who does not stand on his traits [insist on his rights] has no worry, for whatever they degrade him is not considered degradation in his eyes and he is not worried or pained in his heart at all, as it is written in ⟦...⟧, on the verse "vile in his eyes despised," and then since he has no worry (De'agah) whose number is 13, he merits Love (Ahavah) whose number is 13, that the Holy One, Blessed be He, should be with him. Ibid. Three things are given in the sense. It seems to me, with help from Heaven, that it teaches us regarding the law in buying and selling, that if a person bought a horse from his fellow and conditioned with him that it be clean of every blemish and deficiency, behold if these things are found in it, this is not a blemish but rather they are merits in a horse, for thus so Benayahu Chapter 10 Pesachim Regarding these two incidents, they were compelled to ask the king first, out of respect for etiquette because he is the head of the household, and the king was required to tell them to ask Rabban Gamliel, who is the wise teacher, however he told them to ask the queen so that she would tell them to ask Rabban Gamliel. The reason is because since these two incidents are regarding eating, and every matter of eating a man is blessed in it for the sake of his wife, he said the queen is considered the head of the household in these matters of eating, and the feast was attributed to her and not to him. And she said "ask Rabban Gamliel," she also intended to speak in a manner of etiquette, as if saying: it is true that the blessing is present in the house because of the woman, but I am not the owner of the feast, rather Rabban Gamliel and his colleagues who engage in Torah, through which we merit the good of this world by the law of ⟦extracting one's sustenance from the sea⟧, they are called the owners of the feast and therefore you should ask Rabban Gamliel who is the owner of the feast, and he will instruct you what to do. Therefore the Talmud needed to explain "The king depends on the queen," meaning the king found a reason for himself to attribute the feast to the queen, and the queen found a reason to attribute the feast to Rabban Gamliel: Chapter Ten. Page 104. Why did they call him "the son of holy ones" because he did not look at the form of a coin. This is difficult, as this piety is his own, so why did they attribute holiness to his ancestors? Furthermore, they said "son of a holy one," and why did they use "holy ones" in the plural? And it seems to me, with Heaven's help, as it is found in Midrash Tanchuma on the verse "You shall be holy," the gentiles asked Rabbi Simlai: What is this plural language of "holy ones"? Are you not saying there are multiple powers? Lo, it implies two authorities from this verse. He said to them, "Fools of the world, had it said 'for a man of holy ones are they,' you would say so, now it is written 'He' in the singular, and what is the meaning of 'a man of holy ones'? What is 'holy ones'? That He is holy in all kinds of holinesses etc." see there. And so it is the matter here, there is holiness in the looking of the heart, and there is holiness in the looking of the eyes, and there is holiness in the hearing of ears that they shall not hear the voice of a woman of forbidden relation, and there is holiness in the touch of hands not to hold a woman of forbidden relation, and certainly in hugging and kissing. And here Rabbi Menachem was sanctified in all types of these holinesses which he was careful in. And therefore they called him ⟦a branch⟧ of holy ones, meaning the ⟦branch⟧ of holy ancestors, for this is the intent: he is the son who is sanctified in all types of holinesses, in the manner the Midrash said about "for a man of holy ones is He." And it brought an example of his piety that he did not look at the form of a coin, and if so, how much more so that he was in holiness regarding forbidden relations, whether in eyes, in heart, in hearing of the ear, or in touch of hands: Page 110. This is how we specifically version it with a Vav. Rashbam explained: ⟦It seems the sun in Babylon is torn and picked at specifically.⟧ There is a slight error in the printing and it should be "Babylonians braiding and standing specifically" for the letter Vav is after the Kof in ⟦braiding⟧, and the letter Vav is after the Zayin in ⟦standing⟧, but according to another version that Rashbam brought on page 2, he wrote "torn baskets," referring the tear to the baskets, as written in Rosh Mashbir, of blessed memory, see there: Ibid. Rav said: ⟦Trouble⟧, bowls and loaves do not have the concern of pairs. Meaning two bowls of two cooked dishes, and two loaves of two kinds, for example one of wheat and one of barley. And Rabbeinu Menashe versions "bowls and cups," and the intent is cups of two kinds, such as one of wine and one of beer: And the statement "The general rule of the matter: everything completed by human hands does not have the concern of pairs, and completed by the hands of Heaven in types of food, we are concerned." Meaning, there is no concern of pairs in two kinds, such as two cups of wine and beer, and two bowls of food of two kinds, and two loaves of wheat and barley which are two kinds. But in what is completed by the hands of Heaven, even though it is of two kinds, we are concerned. And the reason is explained in Rashbam, of blessed memory: since that "other thing" for which they decreed all the pairs was established for them to be a fruit completed by the hands of Heaven, therefore they decreed for it regarding what is completed by the hands of Heaven, whether in one kind or in two kinds. But regarding what is completed by human hands, they did not decree for it because of that "other thing," except only in one kind, and they were not stringent to decree also in two kinds, because originally there was no reason to decree in things completed by human hands at all, since it was established for them that that "other thing" was not completed by human hands but rather completed by the hands of Heaven such as fruits, and only as a stringency and fence did they work to decree in it. Therefore they were not stringent to decree also in two kinds. And therefore two bowls which are two kinds of cooked dishes, since the dish was completed by human hands, they did not decree on them. And so too two cups of two drinks completed by human hands, they did not decree on them, but two cups of wine which are one kind, or bowls of food of one kind, they decreed on them: Page 112. Teach him from a corrected book, ⟦from the life⟧ etc., Rav said ⟦regarding the measure⟧. My dear son, the honored Rabbi Yaakov, may his light shine, explained that we are asking: What does this come to teach us? Would it enter our mind that he should teach him from a spoiled error? And he answered ⟦regarding the measure⟧, referring to a small child whose way is to be taught first the gathering of letters into words, which they call "Gimil," that he should know how to gather the letters and make them words without cantillation marks and without vowel points. And I might have thought that since this is not the primary study of Scripture, for afterwards they will learn with points and cantillation and then surely he would teach him from a corrected book, even so, that study of gathering letters into words should be taught from a corrected book, for "once an error enters, it enters," for it is possible in the gathering that he read to him the joining of letters into words in error, so that the letters get stuck for him, such as ⟦Simla for Shlomo and Kevesh for Kasheb⟧ and the like, and then the word will be fluent in the child's mouth in the verse according to the error. Even when he learns it afterwards in a corrected book, the reading of the error will be fluent in his mouth; these are his words, may his light shine. And what is written "Do not sit in the heights of the city and study," because many voices are heard there and he will sometimes be confused, these are his words, may his light shine: Page 113. ⟦Flip a carcass and do not flip words⟧. It seems to me, with Heaven's help, the matter is called a "carcass" (nevelah), as it is written "for a carcass (villainy) in Israel," and a person through repentance flips the opposite, the sin to merit, as it is written "If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow." It is found that the fixing of sin is referred to by the scripture as whiteness, and that is because the sin is called "nevelah," and flip the letters of "nevelah" and it will be "HaLavan" (The White). However, this flipping is not sufficient to be in words specifically, rather it must be through action as well. And this is what is said: "Flip the carcass"—that you should flip the sin called nevelah to become white, "and do not flip in words," meaning it is not sufficient to do this flipping in words specifically, for this requires action and charity as well: Ibid. Skin a carcass in the marketplace and receive a reward. It seems to me, with Heaven's help, sin is called a carcass and from it follows a filthy garment for the soul, a name that was not of his own ⟦razor⟧, for to fix it through repentance from flipping to make it ⟦pure⟧, for then he has a garment defiled by sin that others did and he did not rebuke them, for then he too will wear this defiled garment, as it says: the cow of Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah would go out with a strap between its horns, and a Tanna taught: it was not his, rather it was his neighbor's, and since he did not protest against her it was called by his name. It is found that a man wears a defiled garment from the sin of others that he did not rebuke. And it is impossible to fix this garment to flip it to pure, but rather it is possible that he strips this garment from upon him by rebuking them. And it is known that this world is likened to a marketplace and is called a marketplace, as it is written "and the mourners go about the marketplace," and as the Rabbi of Olalot Ephraim wrote. And this is what is said: "Skin a carcass in the marketplace"— in this world strip the defiled garment made from the sin of others by rebuking them, and by this you will receive a reward as well from Heaven. and do not say "what is the great benefit," rather, as it is written in it "and many he returned from sin," for he is obligated to purify others, or "I am a great man" who is the leader of the generation who is obligated in this. And furthermore, if he rebukes, he should rebuke and not like ⟦a shadow⟧, that they should belittle him and mock him saying "who placed you as a wise man and judge over us?" For every man of Israel is obligated to rebuke his friend until hitting, until cursing, and it will be considered charity for him. And with this I explained with Heaven's help, "Rebuke, you shall surely rebuke your fellow and do not bear a sin because of him (alav)," the word "alav" is divided in two and read as "Al Yud-Vav," Yud-Vav is the secret that there are 16 chapters in them, which are: if you do not rebuke, behold you bear the sin on your hand, and if you rebuked, you cast the sin off your hand: ⟦line⟧
Benayahu Chapter 10 Pesachim Thus all his satiety and sustenance are from the hand of the Blessed Name in these things: Page 118. Praise Him who collects His debt from His person with His goodness. The explanation is that He does not collect from the body of a person or from his soul, but collects from the money that is His, blessed be He, as it is written: 'Mine is the silver and Mine is the gold, said the Lord of Hosts,' and it is found that the Holy One, Blessed be He, collects from His own and not from the person's own. And the secret of this is the goodness that the Holy One, Blessed be He, does with a person to collect the debt from the good that is in the person's hand, which is His, blessed be He, for they are the merits of the good itself. For every word has a number [gematria], and the word 'sar' [minister/ruler] has a number that includes the person. And if you add the number of this 'sar' to the letter 'chet' [8] of 'tov' [good], it will be 9, and the word 'tov' [good] will be 'tuv' [goodness]. For the Holy One, Blessed be He, collects the 'tov' that is His from the 'tuv' that is His, blessed be He: And behold, it is known that the Holy One, Blessed be He, his attributes are measure for measure, therefore this 'sar' who separated the 'tov' from the 'tuv' and not from the body of the person, the Blessed Name will only do so for a person who does good with the creatures. Then the Holy One, Blessed be He, will improve His own with him to do for him this goodness, measure for measure. But a person who does not do good with the creatures, He will not do for him this goodness in the same way with the addition of the 'sar' to the letters of 'tov', which is that He should collect the 'tov' from the 'tuv'. And this is understood in the Zohar: He who does not do good with the creatures, he has no 'sar' to add to 'tov' to make it 'tuv', which indicates this 'sar': Ibid. 'Koli' [my voice] is written, 'lo' [not] is read. It seems that this is in accordance with the explanation of the Maharsha, of blessed memory, in the Gemara of Makkot, who explained this 'sar' as an expression of a secret in his mouth, but an expression of connection, for the donation is the connecting 'sar'. And therefore we do not learn from this verse except regarding the recipient of Lashon Hara [evil speech], and therefore 'Koli' is written, 'lo' is read, in order to reference the narrator of Lashon Hara, and for the witness of a false testimony that causes the others to receive from him Lashon Hara and false testimony, etc.: Ibid. The resurrection of the dead, as it is written: 'I shall walk before the Lord in the lands of the living.' The explanation is that the name 'Havayah' [Y-H-V-H] precedes the letters of the name 'Havayah', blessed be He, which is the name 'Kuz-u'. And it is known by this name that the entrances of the burials are opened at the resurrection of the dead. And it is the number of 'Al-Levovot' [on hearts], as it is written: 'For on the generations of a king.' And some say 'before the Lord' specifically. And the name of the Messiah as it is written: 'Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us.' And this is the subjugation of the kingdoms. The explanation is that in the kings they were destined to sit [suffer] 400 years in the hardship of the subjugation to sweeten the five names of 'Elo-him' [E-L-O-H-I-M], but it says the number 'lanu' [unto us, 86]. and He did kindness with them and they did not have the hardship of the subjugation except for 86 years according to the count of 'Ad-u' [86], which is the number of the name 'Elo-him' of 'Hasad-i' [My kindnesses]. And this 'sar' is added to the subjugation of the kingdoms, that by them will be the reward of the Messiah, which is in place of the names of 'Elo-him', which is the number 400. And regarding this they said, 'Not unto us, O Lord,' let it be sweetened the name 'Elo-him' which is 'lanu' 'lanu' [86, 86] through the name 'He' which is in 'chesed', as it is written: 'The kindness of God is all the day.' And also through the name 'Havayah'. And some say 'He' and 'Y-H' will be 'lanu' [86], meaning the name 'He' and the name 'Y-H' will be in the name 'Elo-him' which is 'Ploni' gematria 'lanu'. And therefore they said 'Not unto us, O Lord'. And this verse was said by the sons who were acknowledging the Indwelling of the Presence, may its name be blessed, that the name 'Elo-him' will be sweetened. And Ezra, who is Ezer-Yah [Help of God], said this because he relied on the Creator. If so, how many letters in the praises of the heart, and this is the secret of 'H-H Y-H': Ibid. When shall I be a beloved before You? At the time that You hear the voice of my supplications. It seems to me, in the Zohar, it is known that 'voice' is the Written Torah which is called 'voice', as it is written: 'Moses would speak and God would answer him with a voice.' And in the Zohar that 'voice' is 'voice of Jacob'. Also 'hen' [behold/grace] refers to the Oral Torah as it is in the Midrash: 'And He will be gracious to you' - these are the words of Torah, as it is written: 'The song of the lovers and she will find grace.' And it is known that Israel were called by this name [Zu], as it is written: 'This [Zu] nation I formed for Myself.' And in the Zohar: 'This [Zu] nation is beloved.' And I found that Israel were called 'Zu' because they received the Written Torah which is 6 [Vav] books, and the Oral Torah which is 36 [L-V] tractates, which is this [Zu, 7+6=13, but here 6 and 36 refer to Z-V]. And if you connect the letter 'Zayin' [7] to the letter 'He' [5] it will be the letter 'Bet' [2] and 'He' [5] [Be-ha]. And if you split the letter 'Lamed-Vav' [36] to letters it will be the letters 'L-V' [36]. And thus the two letters of 'Zu' will be the letters of 'Ahavah' [Love]. And this is: When shall I be a beloved before You? May there be drawn to me from You love at the time that You hear the 'voice' - this is the Written Torah; the 'supplication' - the Oral Torah, the language of 'hen' [grace] and 'techinah' [supplication]. These two Torahs are the secret of 'Zu' [This], that they will transform and become the letters of 'Ahavah' [Love], for which the Holy One, Blessed be He, loves you: Ibid. Although a person is poor from the beginning, but I and my God [Eli] are there to save. It seems to me, in the Zohar, it is known that the root of the souls of Israel is attached to the root of the Sefirot. And therefore it is written: 'And you who cling to the Lord your God.' And it is known that the root of the souls is in the creation which is the secret of Binah [Understanding], which is the intent of the person. And as it is written: 'A man is remembered for good' - Binah is her name. And it is known that although a person is obligated to fulfill all the commandments in action, nonetheless it will be accounted to the person as a whole through the person, who intends to do and it is as if he did it. And this is the secret: 'Although a person is poor from the beginning' - even if he did not fulfill all the 613 commandments, nonetheless 'but I' [Ach Ani] - 'Ach' specifically because your clingness is in it, for the root of our souls is in the creation which is there, and therefore the person will be a fulfiller of all 613 commandments. And therefore 'Eli' [my God] is there to save, the word 'Eli' because it is known that the name 'Havayah' in the filling of the names is 80 [Pa], and the word 'Gevurah' [Strength] is the number 86. And therefore all 86 which is the word 'Elo-him' are the letters of 'Gevurah'. However, through the rectification the letters will be the letters of the name 'Eli'. The letters 'L-V' [36] will be 'H-H' [10] and it hints to the sweetening. And this is: 'and my God [Eli] is there to save' - 'there' specifically: Ibid. Cut off the hand and give him a leaf. The explanation is similar to what is written that the hand is the secret, and the verse said: 'Behold, the hand of the Lord is upon the horses.' The explanation is that that hand is 'Y-H'. That is, it goes out from the 10 [Y] forces in the secret of the verse: 'And behold Esau came and four hundred men were with him.' And therefore it is written: 'And the house of Esau shall be straw' [Kash, 300+300=600? no, Kash is 320 or 700]. Gematria 400. And this is the secret: 'Cut off the hand' of the person between the hands. It seems to me, in the Zohar, that 'Shalom' [Peace] is 'Shalom'. His back is the letters 'S-M' [Samael], and his front is the letters of 'He'. And the peace is between the two sides of the evil which are 'S-M', which together are the gematria of 'Kash' [Straw] which is the number of 'Hand' [Yad]: Ibid. All your deeds in written are signed for after. The explanation is three kinds of 'House' [Beit] and there is the government. The first is called 'Bereishit' [In the beginning], and it is the table of the Presence [Shekhinah] before everything. And the second is called 'Asher-tik' and it is the table of that Presence in the second house. And the third is called 'Hamiz' and it is the table of that Presence in the final one. And they are all signed for after to guard them, for we do not rely on this thing for the destruction, for they all rise in one wisdom to the heavens. And this is the secret: This 'house' of his generations will not be remembered by the spirit of life. The explanation is his body and his head will not be converted to be Israel. And this 'house' of treasures or 'Salki' of lips will not be reckoned, for the good that was in his husk [Kelipah] will not return in reincarnation in our way, that they should be reincarnated as righteous ones and be called by the name Israel. And the righteous ones who sit before the Lord who occupy themselves in the Torah in four parts which are P-R-D-S [Pshat, Remez, Drash, Sod], they are corresponding to the 4 letters of the name 'Havayah', blessed be He: Page 119. This one who recognizes the place of his friend in the yeshiva. It seems to me, in the Zohar, according to what our Rabbi the Ari, of blessed memory, wrote in Sha'ar HaGilgulim [Gate of Reincarnations], page 17, as follows: Know that you will not find in a generation a person who recognizes the souls from the root of another person's soul unless they are in two vessels that will be both of them loving and cherishing each other by nature without knowledge. For even though their speech did not see, their constellations saw, because both of them are a part of the same root that is more than its friend, and they are connected to each other by nature. And therefore if they merit to know clearly that the roots of both of them from one root they went out, then they will see and recognize from which root they went out. And this is 'in the yeshiva', they will not forget each other, but they will be loving each other: Ibid. Every word that Moses said, the Holy One, Blessed be He, said it as flesh and blood. As if to say 'as if and as such'. It seems to me, in the Zohar, the intent: these things are not to say but rather words of Kabbalah that you yourself came to investigate and to know regarding this matter, and it was revealed in your eyes that these things are for the prophets, for if they had seen it, it would be an 'olah' [burnt offering]. And since we find the truth of the Holy One, Blessed be He, his table and his name, it is found that he is not like flesh and blood who said to him 'chai' [living] 'chai' [living]: ⟦line⟧ 35 In the name of the Lord we shall do and succeed For the sake of the union of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and His Shekhinah Yoma Chapter One Page 4. It was taught: Moses ascended in a cloud, and was covered by a cloud, and was sanctified by a cloud. One could ask, it should have said ascended and was covered and was sanctified in a cloud or say ascended in a cloud and was covered and was sanctified in a cloud, for being covered and being sanctified come as one, and why was it necessary to say "in a cloud" in each and every one. And it seems to me with the help of Heaven that each "in a cloud" has a meaning and a hint of its own, therefore it is full of saying it, and that is because it is known that Moses our Teacher, peace be upon him, merited the higher fear which is the fear of majesty, i.e., [not] setting his heart on reward or punishment, but rather he fears the Blessed Name because He is great and rules over all, and everything that he understands and looks more into His greatness and His exaltedness, blessed be He, he adds more fear, and as our Sages of blessed memory said on the verse 'And now Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear', that fear is a small thing for Moses our Teacher, peace be upon him, that is the lower fear where a person looks at punishment or a good reward, and therefore he fears that it is, and it does not refer to the fear of majesty, and it is known what the commentators of blessed memory said on the statement of our Sages of blessed memory: if Israel merits, he comes with the clouds of heaven, if they do not merit, a poor man riding on a donkey, and they explained the intent that the Messiah comes through the perfection of Israel in fear, but if they merit he will come through them having the fear of majesty as they look at His greatness, blessed be He, and are filled with fear, and this is 'with the clouds of heaven he comes', if they do not merit 'a poor man riding on a donkey' that they will have lower fear which is the need of the enjoyment of the human physical matter, thus far their words of blessed memory, it follows that 'clouds of heaven' hint at fear of majesty, and this is what is said: Moses our Teacher, peace be upon him, was elevated in a cloud, meaning he had fear of majesty and this was his elevation, and this was praised that he merited the fear of majesty which is the higher fear hinted at in the clouds of heaven: And saying 'he was sanctified in a cloud' is another matter, for it is known that Moses our Teacher, peace be upon him, merited the illumination of the Foundation of Wisdom which is called 'Holy', and also called a 'Source' (ma'ayan) which is the numerical value of 'Cloud' (anan), which are 780 lights of the 'Who' (mi) of the source for one letter which is Nun, or 'source' is 'cloud' and for this it says 'and was sanctified in a cloud' it is the Foundation of Wisdom called 'Source' which is hinted in the letters Anan (cloud), and therefore in this it uses 'sanctified' for it is the aspect of Holy and is called Holy, so too to receive the Torah for Israel in holiness, for all seventy hinted at in the cloud are sufficient reasons that he specifically must receive the Torah for Israel and not another. And it seems therefore Moses our Teacher, peace be upon him, merited the gates of prayer for his strength was in his mouth that his prayer did not return empty, and that is because the numerical value of Moses and the numerical value of Cloud equals 576 as the value of Prayer (Tefillah), and therefore he prayed 576 prayers as the count of 'Va'etchanan', and also merited to say the Song at the Sea which is called by his name, as it is written 'Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord' and that is 'Song' (Shirah) amounts to the number 576: Page 9. And why so much? Because they would buy it with money. It is difficult, since they know themselves that the names for our lives are not in his soul, how would they give money and bring themselves into danger. And it seems that these were Sadducees, who had many things they disagreed on with the Sages and among them was the offering of the incense which was the main service on Yom Kippur, for the Sadducees hold that one must place the incense in the Hall and enter the Holy of Holies in the cloud of the incense, and this is the opposite of the truth that our Sages of blessed memory received, but in the opinion of the Sadducees so is the truth, therefore they stand and give much money to be a Sadducee High Priest, who was recognizable and not known to the Sages of Israel that he is a Sadducee, in order to do the service according to their reasoning, and according to their opinion they think they are doing something that the Holy One, Blessed be He, desires, therefore even though they were proper in other things, and the loss of names they did not care about in this entrant, and they were also wealthy and received money from their connections in order to teach the King to appoint this Sadducee as High Priest who was not recognized or known to be a Sadducee: And because he was elevated in a cloud which is the fear of majesty he merited to be covered in a cloud, a hint to the illumination of the name A-H-Y-H whose numerical value is 'Good' (Tov), and every holy thing is comprised of ten, behold this name is the numerical value of 'Cloud' (Anan), for ten times 'Good' (Tov) equals the value of 'Cloud' (Anan), and therefore Moses our Teacher, peace be upon him, is called 'Good' as it is written 'and she saw him that he was good', and our Sages of blessed memory said 'Good' is his name, and also he merited to receive the Torah which is called 'Good', and it is known that the name A-H-Y-H [squared] is hinted in the initial letters of 'et Hashamayim ve'et Ha'aretz' (the heavens and the earth), and from here this name comes out in the Torah, and the reason seems to be because the Torah which is called 'Good' as the numerical value of this name is the aspect of heaven and the aspect of earth, for the Written Torah is heaven and the Oral Torah is earth, and as our Sages of blessed memory said on the verse 'And I put my words in your mouth and in the shadow of my hand I covered you to plant heaven and to lay the foundation of earth', heaven is the Written Torah, earth is the Oral Torah, and therefore this name whose value is 'Good' is hinted in the initial letters of 'the heavens and the earth'. And behold if you join the letters of Anan (cloud) which hint at the name A-H-Y-H which is the value of Anan as stated, with the letters of Moshe (Moses), it will form from this the combination of the word Nishmana (we will hear) which is the matter of Moshe, meaning the Torah 'we will hear it' through Moses our Teacher, peace be upon him, who was covered in the illumination of the name A-H-Y-H which is hinted in the letters Anan, and for this it says here 'and was covered in a cloud' meaning covered in the illumination of the name A-H-Y-H which is in Knowledge (Da'at) hinted in the cloud for in its completion in ten it was the numerical value of 'Cloud', it follows that the first 'Cloud' hints at one thing and the second 'Cloud' hints at another thing, therefore it uses 'in a cloud' in both of them: Ibid. He said to them, set your eyes on the palace, Rabbi [X] said, he said to them, your witnesses are the palace. It seems to me with the help of Heaven the difference for the one who said 'he said to them set your eyes on the palace' the intent is that from the first beginning it is called a palace which is the [dwelling] of the Lord, set greatness to the first sanctified thing in five things, and there is also in this an advantage over the secret of the bed above, and he reveals the runners are superior who merited thus in their days, and for the one who said 'your witnesses are the palace', the intent is that it returned to the first ones and did not return to the later ones, and if so the advantage is from one side: Ibid. If you made yourselves like a wall. It seems to me with the help of Heaven the intent is, that a wall stands in truth, for it is fixed and does not move from its place, but the door made to close the opening, its closing is not fixed for every time the opening is closed in it once it is opened, so Israel if they all ascended their ascent would be there in truth, like the wall, that they would not move from the Land of Israel to go to the Diaspora, but since they did not all ascend, they are similar in this to a door once closed once open, so they once ascend to the Land of Israel once they remain in the Diaspora, and their dwelling in the Land of Israel is not 18
Benayahu Yoma Chapter 1, 2, 3 36 12 s' and above the Yod there is a He, which makes 25, the number of "Thus (Koh) shall you bless." And above the Lamed of "Olah" (burnt offering) there is a Kaf, and above the He of "Olah" there is a Dalet, which makes 24, a hint to the 24 escorts of the name ADNY. Thus it is found in the letters preceding "Olah," the name ADNY is hinted in its numerical value and the number of its escorts, which is in Malchut, for the rectification of the sacrifices is within it, and for 18 "And he shall arrange the burnt offering upon it and burn the fat of the peace offerings upon it"—upon it complete all the sacrifices entirely, specifically "upon it," meaning in the hint alluded to above it of the burnt offering, which is the name ADNY, complete all the sacrifices entirely for they all come to rectify the Name: Chapter Two. Page 35. She said to him: "Behold, I will confine you in the prison house," etc. It seems to me, with the help of Heaven, that these matters come and go from her according to the order of her conduct with him, for she wanted him to be before her all day long in the inner courtyard and in her chamber even when he had no business there, and he would slip away and go out every hour to the outer chamber so that she would not see him. And because he caused her distress in this, she said to him: "Behold, I will confine you in the prison house" so that you shall not move from your place even once and shall not see the face of any man anymore outside. And he said to her: "The Lord releases the imprisoned." Also, she further wanted him to walk before her with an upright stature so that the appearance of his face could be seen clearly, and as a digger he was forced to walk before her for some business, and therefore he would bend his stature so that his eyes would look at the ground and the appearance of his face would not be seen well by her. Therefore, because he caused her distress in this, she would say to him: "Behold, I will bend your stature with a bar of iron that I will place upon you," and he replies to her: "The Lord straightens the bent." Also, further, when she would speak with him for some necessity or if he was forced to raise his head from looking at the ground to have his face toward her to hear her words and to see what she was indicating to him with her fingers, he would either close his eyes or open them slightly so that he would not look at her closely, and only open them as much as necessary. But she wanted him to open his eyes wide; therefore, because he caused her distress in this, she would say to him: "Behold, I will gouge out your eyes which you close before me," and he replies: "The Lord opens the eyes of the blind." Page 36. There: "Give greatness to the finger"—meaning you shall say "with His finger" (Be-etzba'o). It should be asked: From where is it known that it refers to "with His finger"? And it seems to me, with the help of Heaven, as the commentators of blessed memory wrote, the Tablets "with His finger" are enlarged from the Name of Havayah (YHVH), for these Tablets are adjacent to the Name of Havayah in the verses, namely the letter Bet in the verse "and they believed in the Lord (Hashem)," and the letter Shin in the verse "that the Lord" ⟦...⟧, and the letter Kaf in the verse "as the Lord our God," and the letter Mem "from the Lord the matter came forth," and the letter Gimmel "I will sing to the Lord," and the letter Vav in the verse "and the Lord went before them by day," and there is no action of these words if there are no letters attached to the Name Havayah, blessed be He, from before it. Thus it is found that the letters of the Name, blessed be He, were enlarged, for these letters also shall be prior so that they are not erased. According to this, it is well explained that they said "Give greatness to the finger" regarding "with His finger," because in the letters there is an enlargement to the Name, namely in the matter of the sanctity of the Name. And what is written there, "Give a blessing," it seems to me, with the help of Heaven, "Berakhah" (Blessing) is Rav (great) Koh (25); this is the unification of "with His finger," which is the unification of Malchut which is called Koh, in which she will be blessed and grow: Page 38. They sought to appease His glory and to ⟦...⟧ the glory of the Place (God). It is difficult: Did they not send a hint to teach? Their gathering was for the sake of the glory of the Place, so that they should not do so in houses of idolatry. And further, he says now the glory of the Place stands in its place, but is the Holy Temple not now destroyed and they do not fulfill the commandment of the incense? And it seems to me, with the help of Heaven, what is written "they sought to diminish the glory of the Place" refers to when the Sages later sent to them that they should come and engage [in the work] and they did not come until they doubled their wages. And what ⟦...⟧ the commandment of the incense was darkened due to the lack of the "smoke-raising herb," because they set their eyes on money to increase their reward. And what is written "now the glory of the Place is in its place," is because even though the Temple is destroyed, they perform the offering in the Temple above, and furthermore, the study of all of them here below is like the actual deed, as it is written: "And we will render the bullocks of our lips," and it is written: "This is the Torah of the burnt offering"—anyone who reads the section of the burnt offering, it is as if he offered a burnt offering etc. and thus the glory of the Place is in its place: Ibid. And we do not mention their names. The Tosafot Yeshanim questioned from Ishmael see there. And it seems to me, with the help of Heaven, that Ishmael is different, since Abraham our father, peace be upon him, Here it opens and says: "We were on the way before the crowing of the rooster (Gever)" ⟦...⟧ in the first, which implies that one crowing is sufficient. According to this, these three opinions are hinted at in the name of the rooster which is called "Gever": the First Tanna holds until it crows the first voice, and this is hinted in the letter Resh of Gever which is an acronym for Rishon (First). And for Rabbi Yose until it repeats (yishneh), hinted in the letter Bet (2) of Gever. And for some until it triples (yishalesh), and this is the Gimmel (3) of Gever. and it seems that the words of all of them are truth, for Rabbi Yose agrees with the First Tanna that the first voice is sufficient, but he holds if he waits until it repeats it is better, and for some if he waits until it triples it is even better: Page 22. ⟦...⟧ thus ⟦...⟧. It seems to me, with the help of Heaven, if you add the smallest number of numbers, which is the number one, to the smallest letter of the letters, which is the letter Yod, it will become the letter He, and then the letters of Tzaddik (righteous) will be the letters of Nokeph (striking). A hint that if the Tzaddik comes in matters of subtlety even one degree from the greatness proper to him, then he will fall into Nokeph. And so was the matter with King Saul, peace be upon him, who fell away slightly from the greatness and fell into Nokeph, for the Shin was broken for his kingdom. And their saying: "Do not be overly wicked," for in the letters of Rasha (wicked) there is no number of ones, and the smallest letter placed there is in the tens, which is seven tens (Ayin). And if you add ten to it to make it 80 (Pe). And every ten will be the letter Pe, and then the letters of Rasha will be Resheph (spark/demon), and the damaging spirits are called Resheph, and so afflictions are called Resheph as it says in the Gemara Berakhot page 5 on the verse "and the sons of Resheph fly high" ⟦...⟧ Resheph is nothing but damaging spirits, and they also interpreted there that Resheph is nothing but afflictions. And since we interpret both of them as flying more than the limit of the wicked customary in the world, he will be taken by damaging spirits and be struck by afflictions, Heaven protect us. And to this he said: "Do not be overly wicked": Chapter Three. Page 28. To that of Abraham from when the walls darken. The Tosafot of blessed memory questioned: Did not Isaac establish the Mincha (afternoon) prayer? It should have said to that of Isaac. And it seems to me, with the help of Heaven, according to what our Rabbi the Ari of blessed memory wrote in Sha'ar HaKavanot, that what is written in the Zohar regarding 310 worlds that ⟦...⟧ below the Throne are 206 ⟦...⟧ on the right and 103 on the left side, the sum of those 103 worlds is the numerical value of Mincha (103), because they are awakened after midday when the left of Isaac is awakened. And therefore it is called the Mincha prayer, and our intention is to rectify 103 worlds which are the secret of Mincha to make them Chesed (kindness) on the side of Abraham, see there. And with this it is settled why he calls the Mincha prayer after the name of Abraham, for such is our intention and its existence to make it Chesed on the side of Abraham. And in the holy book Ben Yehoyada I explained, with the help of Heaven, that the Mincha is linked to Abraham who established the morning prayer because it is known that there is no Shema in Mincha, but the morning Shema which is before the Amidah suffices for the Mincha prayer as well, as our Rabbi the Ari of blessed memory wrote. Therefore, he linked the Mincha to Abraham who established the morning prayer, see there. And with this it will be understood, with the help of Heaven, what Abraham said: "And I and the youth"—who is Isaac— "will go until Koh (25)," this is the morning Shema which has 25 letters of unification in the verse "Shema Yisrael," "and we will prostrate" in the morning prayer to draw the rectification and the lights through the Shema for the needs of the morning, "and we will return to you" in the Mincha prayer with that same Shema which will suffice for both of you: Page 29. Even for the righteous, as long as they increase their prayer, their prayer is heard. It seems to me, with the help of Heaven, the intention is regarding the obligatory prayer which is the Eighteen (Shemoneh Esrei) ⟦...⟧ the supernal union above. And great is the power of the righteous whenever they increase their prayer during the day by praying a voluntary prayer besides the obligation, their prayer is also heard above so that through it there shall be a supernal union just like in the obligatory prayer: Ibid. Upon it complete all the sacrifices entirely. It seems to me, with the help of Heaven, it is known that all the sacrifices are a rectification of Malchut, which is the aspect of the name ADNY whose numerical value is 65 and it has 24 escorts, and this is hinted in the letters adjacent to the letters of Olah (burnt offering) which is the daily offering, for above the Ayin Yoma Chapter 1 Benayahu L.N.L. Ch.I. in the Sanctuary. It seems to me, with G-d's help, that regarding the matter of their ascent like a wall, that even though it was built of very precious stones, some of which were twenty-five cubits long, so too you, had you ascended all together as one, it would have been compared to silver; for there would not have been over you the power of exile. Now that you have ascended as doors, meaning in the way one enters a door that is open to let many people in at once or little by little, in groups; so too you ascended in groups at different times, therefore you were compared to a cedar that rot rules over, so too ruled over you the exile and the decrees: Page 10a. Cyrus the king had a ⟦...⟧ built by the hands of destroyers. It seems to me, with G-d's help, that the reason for this decree was to make known that the builders, even though their building was completed with a desirable and good action, their building of the Temple, which was fit to stand forever, this merit for eternal generations would have protected them in all their wars; but their merits were lost from the moment of building, since there was evil thought, for they thought to destroy this building afterwards. And regarding all the nations, there was evil thought from the beginning of the building, as we find in the Gemara of Bava Kamma that the reason Cyrus was careful in the letter he gave to Herod [Cyrus's aid] Ezra the Scribe, to the effect that they should build three rows of stone and a row of wood, as it is written: 'With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber,' because either because of the fire to burn it all if the Jews rebel against him, for he did not remove from the Temple evil thought to lay a hand on it. And therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, decreed that those builders who had this evil thought of destroying the Temple should fall at the hand of the destroyers, to make known that they too are counted among the destroyers. And know that now Persia has changed to a new religion which is Islam, and all the Ishmaelites are now idolaters as they were in their beginning, these became part of the Ishmaelite religion. And it is possible that these matters also changed as several matters regarding the footsteps of the Messiah changed due to the length of the exile, and the Blessed One knows. And so too regarding what is said here, that the son of David does not come until the wicked kingdom of Persia spreads over the whole world, one cannot know if this matter changed with the length of time, since the kingdom of the son of David has expanded which is the kingdom, just as the things said regarding the matters of the Messiah changed in this time, or if there is still fulfillment to these things said here, and the Blessed One knows. And the essence of this matter itself of the spread of the Persian kingdom, is not known to us clearly in truth, for it can be interpreted in different ways, and the Blessed One knows: Page 18a. That he be greater than his brothers in beauty, in strength, in wealth, and in wisdom. It seems to me, with G-d's help, that these four were hinted at in the four letters of the Priest (Kohen), for the first 'K' in its numerical value is 20, which is wisdom; and the 'H' is strength; and the second 'K' which is 20, that is wealth; and the letter 'Y' is beauty. And in the letter 'N' there are still more in the Midrash. And our Talmud does not disagree there regarding the completion of beauty, for it refers to the structure of the limbs, that he be handsome in structure and appearance, white and red; but the improvement of the world, why did he bring here the words of 'Others' who said, 'Make him greater than all his brothers,' for this does not touch upon the difficulty which was only from the words of the First Tanna. And also it seems to me, with G-d's help, that these words of 'Others' are interpreting the words of the First Tanna who said, 'greater than his brothers' in beauty and wisdom, referring to his brother priests. And according to this, what is the difficulty, how do we appoint him? For one could say at the time they appointed him, all his brother priests were lacking in wisdom and he was better than them; but he is still lacking and it is necessary to teach him and strengthen him lest he did not learn it. Therefore he brought the words of 'Others' who say that his brother priests make him great. And it is difficult, why did they need to specify in their words 'his brother priests,' they should have just said 'his brothers make him great,' as the First Tanna said, 'that he be greater than his brothers in beauty' etc., and did not specify 'his brother priests.' There it is certainly proven that the First Tanna refers in his saying 'his brothers' to all of Israel, for he calls all of Israel his brothers, and requires that he be greater in wisdom than all the sages found in Israel at this time. Therefore 'Others' who interpret 'his brothers' as the priests did not say except if he has no brothers they make him great, they interpreted their words and said that these priests make him great, if so, it implies that the 'brothers' mentioned by the First Tanna refers to all of Israel. And according to this it is well questioned: if he is not a sage, how did they appoint him, since we require him to be wiser than all the sages of Israel, and if he is greater than all those found, if so, there are no sages greater than him so that they should be teaching him now: Ibid. Faintness of mind. Interpreted as meaning that they were worried because there were many goats and the accusers descended to accuse him, lest he should not be successful in his actions in the service of the day: Page 19a. There they would separate and weep, etc., for anyone who speaks ⟦...⟧ receives a blow to his body. It appears that the numerical value of 'blows' is 500, similar to the word 'flesh' (Basar), therefore they wept lest they had eaten ⟦...⟧ flesh: Page 20a. On the Day of Atonement, the accuser (Satan) has no permission to prosecute, and it is explained in the Midrash that instead he teaches merit and speaks in praise of Israel. And with this it will be understood, with G-d's help, the hint in the verse 'Who can produce a clean thing out of an unclean?' meaning 'clean' or 'meritorious' from the 'unclean' one [Satan]; except for one [G-d] in the heavens, which is Yom Kippur, which is a day of kindness established in the year: Ibid. And his voice was heard in three parsa-lengths. The Ritva, of blessed memory, questioned this from what is said in Tractate Tamid, that from Jericho they would hear the voice of Gevini the herald, which means his voice was heard for ten parsa-lengths. And it can be said, with G-d's help, that what is said here, 'and his voice was heard for three parsa-lengths,' refers to every person; and what is said in Tamid, that it was heard from Jericho, is not for every person, but only for those who are strong in hearing, who hear from afar those who are inside found there without any weakness and hear his voice, and also this is by virtue of him raising his voice more. But it is difficult: since this was his usual way that his voice was heard for three parsa-lengths, what was the novelty that King Agrippa was amazed when he heard it for three parsa-lengths, and gave him gifts? And it can be said, with G-d's help, that Agrippa was coming on the road and was very tired, and whoever is tired and weary will have a weakening of all his senses; therefore, since he was tired and heard from a distance of three parsa-lengths, he estimated in his mind that if he were not tired, he would hear his voice from a distance of six parsa-lengths, and therefore he was amazed by it and gave him gifts. And the reason for the gift was that it was upright in his eyes because of this labor, he honors G-d with this announcement without need, for the announcement was for those found in Jerusalem, and what need is there to make his voice heard to a distant place and to strain himself in this: Ibid. And even though there is weakness here and there is weakness here. The Maharsha, of blessed memory, interpreted that here there is the weakness of the fast and here there is the weakness of the fast, that because of this Agrippa was like a commoner, and as the Maharsha explained. There is a difficult point here, for one must be precise in this logic, for if this event did not happen on Yom Kippur, why interpret it so? One could say that this event of Agrippa was with the herald of Yom Kippur, and he was walking on the road on the eve of Yom Kippur, and could not reach Jerusalem on the day so that it would be evening time, and he was forced to stay on the night of Yom Kippur in a place that was three parsa-lengths away, and in that place he heard the herald that was on Yom Kippur. And as for what it says 'there is weakness here,' for the herald was at night, and there is not yet the weakness of the fast, since several hours were still in the day. And it seems to me, with G-d's help, that it's difficult to interpret that at night there is no weakness, for even though there is weakness from the whole night, there is weakness from the whole night, for a person will feel more weakness at night after his meal than during the day; and therefore regarding the voice, the weakness of the night is harder for him, for his tongue will be dry and his tongue will stick to his palate. And furthermore, the herald was at the end of the night, and since he knows that the whole day will be in fasting, he will also feel the pain of eating due to the worry, as is seen by experience that a person on a fast day feels the pain of worry from the morning. And furthermore, if his intention is to say that the night is close to the meal and there is no weakness of the fast, if so, both things are included in one thing, for he said here it is day and here it is night: Ibid. And that is what Nebuchadnezzar said, 'and all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing.' He explained that one should not interpret this 'Lo' (nothing/no) that he said also as an expression of absence, like the matter of 'Lo' in the Scripture which means they have no importance, for if so, he should have said 'and all the inhabitants of the earth are not (lo) important,' and since he said that he said 'Kala' (as nothing), it implies that this 'Lo' is a thing, and that is referring to the numerical value of 'Lo' which is 31: Ibid. Rabbi Yehuda says: until he sleeps; and R.Y. says: until he sleeps. It is found that there are three opinions in this: the First Tanna holds: until he reads the language of the...
Yoma Chapter 3 which is his general rule, it corresponds to the hours of a person's life, in which there is a number of worlds corresponding to the total hours of his life and his days. And it is known that man is divided into two parts, which are body and soul, and the part called body is from the shoulders to the feet; all this part is called his body, and above it is called the head. However, this part called the body, most of this part is called by the name 'legs', because the legs start from the buttocks, the thigh and the leg until the ankle and the heel, and it is found that most of this part of his body relates to the legs, and behold the legs are the majority of the body. And according to what has been said, that within the body, called by the name Image (Tzelem), there are worlds corresponding to the number of hours and days of a man, it is found that in this part which relates to the legs, there are worlds corresponding to the majority of his years and days. And therefore, since the scripture says 'The feet of His pious ones He shall keep,' mentioning the legs which contain worlds corresponding to the majority of a man's days, we learn that it says: since the majority of a man's days have passed and he did not sin, he will not sin again, for the Holy One, Blessed be He, guards him. Ibid. One who comes to be defiled, they open for him; one who comes to be purified, they assist him. It is difficult: if they open for him, then they are assisting him in his defilement, for one who opens a breach for a thief is considered to be assisting him in the theft. And it seems to me with Heaven's help that this refers to such a case as the story that occurred and its ability as recorded in Nachal Eshkol in the chapter of Circumcision, which was full of ⟦...⟧ for Rabbi Y. Yaavetz: Reuben and Simeon went down alive into a pit to the land of their opening, and there was a great storm in the sea, and the sailors hurried to reach the shore of the land of the lowly at the time of the destruction. And they said in their hearts, the ruin of the two brothers, for many days we have been restrained in the restraint to a desolate land. And Reuben encountered a crowded house at the wall of the city, and they took pity on him and gave him meat there to eat, and his eyes were enlightened, and Simeon also went to another house in the city and he set before him food and he ate. And the desolate ones were weary, mute, and without legs; they stayed there for a few days without telling that they were Jews because of the decree. And it was when their spirit returned and they knew they had the strength to go, they packed the bundles of the houses that had shown them kindness and they left. And before they separated, the owner of the house who had shown him kindness made himself known to Reuben, and said to him: The recognition of your face has answered for you that you are a Jew. Know, my brother, that I am like you, and I am of the forced Jews (Anusim), and I and all my household keep the commandments of the Lord in secret, and in a cellar underground I slaughter and inspect, and I separate meat from milk. And now do not be grieved because of the table in my house, for abominable meat did not enter your mouth. But Simeon knew that in a foreigner's house he sat, for he saw with his teeth their food was carrion and torn (not kosher) and meat with milk, and he ate there because of saving a life. And it was when they went out to their city, Simeon went to the wise man of his city and asked him: what is this that was done, that I had to be cast into a foreigner's house and eat impure and forbidden meat, and for my companion He did well in His kindness to invite him into a kosher house. And he answered him, tell me please if you ever feared me, if you ever ate something forbidden without compulsion. And he said: the truth is established, once I went with youths into the forest and I saw them eating bread and cheese and wine of foreigners, and I desired a great desire for the cheese and the wine, and I tasted a little of them, and I said, may the Lord forgive your servant in this matter. And the wise man answered and said, The Lord is precise in all His ways; behold your companion is better than you, for never did a forbidden thing enter his mouth, and the Holy One Blessed be He guarded him from stumbling, even in time of trouble and compulsion, but you have already transgressed the word of the Lord without compulsion, it was not precious in His eyes to perform a miracle for you to provide for you a Jewish home among the many foreign houses, etc., see there. And with this, it is understood with Heaven's help the scripture, 'Happy is the man who did not walk in the counsel of the wicked and in the way of sinners did not stand'. And the intention was because he did not walk in the counsel of the wicked from the start to transgress the words of the Torah governing the soul without compulsion, therefore in the way of sinners in time of compulsion he did not stand, for the Holy One Blessed be He provided him a kosher house to enter, and he would not eat a forbidden thing. And with this I explained with Heaven's help the matter of Abraham our father's coming to Egypt, and he said to Sarah, 'Behold now I know that you are a woman of beautiful appearance,' for the question here is known: how Sarah our mother, who was one of the four most beautiful women in the world, and was secured with Abraham our father for many years, even though ⟦he...⟧ him, meaning he will not listen to your words, and the Holy One Blessed be He replied to him ⟦...⟧ that I have given you, behold I have blessed him. It is found there this was blessed from the mouth of the Holy One Blessed be He, and also the calling of his name was from the Holy One Blessed be He through the angel who said to Hagar, 'and you shall call his name Ishmael because the Lord has heard your affliction.' Therefore, this name is not like other names of the wicked, even if we return to her, he did repentance afterwards. Ibid. Rabbi Elazar said: for naught from his own, a wicked man from his companion. It seems to me with Heaven's help the intention: The righteous man, even though he has a Good Inclination which guides him for good and therefore he walks in the good path, and furthermore because truly the Holy One Blessed be He is the one who helps him, as our Sages of blessed memory said, 'a man's inclination overcomes him every day and if not for the Holy One Blessed be He helping him, he could not overcome it.' Even so, it is considered for him as if all was done for naught, meaning from his own power and the toil of his hand without help. And as our Sages of blessed memory said in the Gemara Sukkah: in the future, the Evil Inclination will appear to the righteous as a mountain and they weep and say 'how did we conquer this mountain?' and the Holy One Blessed be He says: my sons, I also wonder how you were able to conquer such a mountain. And for this it says 'for naught', the Holy One Blessed be He does kindness with him that He considers it for him as if it were for naught from his own, meaning from his power and the toil of his hand, and thereby He gives him a full reward. But the wicked man, in order to lighten the punishment from him, He considers it for him that he became wicked because of his companion; this is the Evil Inclination which is called a companion to this sinning man who associated with him, as it is written: 'he is a companion to a man of destruction.' And as I said above, may he be remembered for good to Rav Yehuda regarding Rav Sela the Pious, who said Messiah will not come etc., because He will not forgive those who are ungrateful for favors, and for the violation of many virgins in Israel. He said to him, what did the Holy One Blessed be He say? He said to him, 'sin crouches at the entrance.' Rashi of blessed memory explained: the Evil Inclination is what makes them sin against their will. It is found that the wickedness of the wicked is hung upon the Evil Inclination in order to lighten his punishment and hangs the merit more upon the Evil Inclination which becomes habit, for this comes from birth and is called his companion literally. And my dear son, the honorable Rabbi Jacob, may his light shine, explained: 'for naught from his own', they do not judge him relative to one greater than him, for if so he would be found lacking much; and the wicked, they judge him relative to a wicked person greater than him so that his wickedness will not be great, and all this is by His Blessed kindness, etc., may his light shine. Ibid. From the curse of the wicked you learn the blessing of the righteous. With this it will be understood with Heaven's help, 'Who can produce a clean thing from an unclean?' that you should learn the blessing of the clean one who is the righteous, from the curse of the unclean one who is the wicked. Not one that he killed, meaning from the blessing called one, as it is written 'on one day' alone, you learn the blessing of a righteous man from the curse of a wicked man. Ibid. Even for the sake of one righteous man the world was created, as it is written 'And God saw the light that it was good.' Explanation: the creation of the world was with the separation that God separated between the light and the darkness, and the scripture says: 'And God saw the light that it was good and God separated between the light and the darkness.' Explanation: 'And God saw the light that it was good' — this is the righteous man who is light called good, and for his sake the world was created in the separation that He separated between the light and the darkness, for the creation was completed in this separation. And the literal meaning of the statement is thus: God created the heavens and the earth because 'And God saw the light that it was good' — this is the righteous man, for his sake He created the heavens and the earth. Ibid. Since the majority of a man's years have passed and he did not sin, he will no longer sin, as it is said 'He shall keep the feet of His pious ones.' Maharsha explained that 'feet' (raglei) is from the language of 'habit' (regilut), since a man has accustomed himself to be pious. But it is a stretch, for from where do we know that it requires the majority of his days? Perhaps in two years or three years he is habituated, for generally in two or three times it is considered habit, and so here in three years that he was careful and did not sin he is considered habituated, and at most let us say ten years, and from where do we know it depends on the majority of his days? And it seems to me with Heaven's help that it is known that a man has an Image (Tzelem) that clothes his body from his head to his feet, and this Image is like his body literally, for everything that is in the body — head, hands, feet, and all the limbs — is in this Image. And it is known what our master the Arizal of blessed memory said in Etz Chaim, Gate of the Image, Chapter 1, that this Image is called the measure of a man's days, for according to the number of worlds of this Image, such is the number of hours of that man's life, and the day on which he does not perform a commandment, the spark of the Image which corresponds to that day remains flawed, see there. It is found that the part of a man's body within
4/229 In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful General Secretariat for Frozen Assets Rights / Drops No. / 121 Date / 1 / 4 / 1978 Presidency of the Mosaic Community No. 1998 Date 9 / 4 / 1978 Presidency of the Mosaic Community in Baghdad Subject / The deceased Tuba Eliyahu Ishaq Nouriel. Reference to the letter of the Directorate of General Citizenship / Identities 1 / 3 / 2824 Please provide us with the required certification as quickly as possible. On behalf of / Secretary-General Copy to / Secretariat of Frozen Assets in Babylon / Your letter 675 on 27 / 3 / 978 to await what ⟦...⟧ us Please. Rights / Lawsuits / Reference to the letter of the Secretariat of Frozen Assets in Babylon mentioned above to await the result and notification Rights / Drops / File 278. Abdul Aziz / 4 / 4