• EREV SHABBAT EDITION
I hope you have Shabbat Shalom!
ADAR II 5, 5771 • 3-11, 2011
CHILDREN OF YISRA'EL: HONOR THE MOST HIGH! REMEMBER HIS LABORS!!
WHY REFUSE TO CALL THE DAYS BY THE NAME OF PAGAN DIETIES?
YHWH CREATED THEM, AND DID WONDROUS THINGS ON EACH!! WHY IS EACH DAY TO BE HELD IN SACRED AWE, AND WHY MUST WE AMONG ALL THE BLESSINGS HE GIVES OFFER PRAISE UNTO THE MOST HIGH YHWH EACH AND EVERY DAY?
CONSIDER:
Yom Ha´shee´shee ....Sixth day
כד וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, תּוֹצֵא הָאָרֶץ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה לְמִינָהּ, בְּהֵמָה וָרֶמֶשׂ וְחַיְתוֹ-אֶרֶץ, לְמִינָהּ; וַיְהִי-כֵן. 24
And God said: 'Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind.' And it was so.
כה וַיַּעַשׂ אֱלֹהִים אֶת-חַיַּת הָאָרֶץ לְמִינָהּ, וְאֶת-הַבְּהֵמָה לְמִינָהּ, וְאֵת כָּל-רֶמֶשׂ הָאֲדָמָה, לְמִינֵהוּ; וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים, כִּי-טוֹב. 25
And God made the beast of the earth after its kind, and the cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
כו וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ; וְיִרְדּוּ בִדְגַת הַיָּם וּבְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם, וּבַבְּהֵמָה וּבְכָל-הָאָרֶץ, וּבְכָל-הָרֶמֶשׂ, הָרֹמֵשׂ עַל-הָאָרֶץ. 26
And God said: 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.'
כז וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת-הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ, בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אֹתוֹ: זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה, בָּרָא אֹתָם. 27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.
כח וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתָם, אֱלֹהִים, וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם אֱלֹהִים פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ וּמִלְאוּ אֶת-הָאָרֶץ, וְכִבְשֻׁהָ; וּרְדוּ בִּדְגַת הַיָּם, וּבְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם, וּבְכָל-חַיָּה, הָרֹמֶשֶׂת עַל-הָאָרֶץ. 28
And God blessed them; and God said unto them: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth.'
כט וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת-כָּל-עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע אֲשֶׁר עַל-פְּנֵי כָל-הָאָרֶץ, וְאֶת-כָּל-הָעֵץ אֲשֶׁר-בּוֹ פְרִי-עֵץ, זֹרֵעַ זָרַע: לָכֶם יִהְיֶה, לְאָכְלָה. 29
And God said: 'Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed--to you it shall be for food;
ל וּלְכָל-חַיַּת הָאָרֶץ וּלְכָל-עוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּלְכֹל רוֹמֵשׂ עַל-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר-בּוֹ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה, אֶת-כָּל-יֶרֶק עֵשֶׂב, לְאָכְלָה; וַיְהִי-כֵן. 30
and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul, [I have given] every green herb for food.' And it was so.
לא וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת-כָּל-אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה, וְהִנֵּה-טוֹב מְאֹד; וַיְהִי-עֶרֶב וַיְהִי-בֹקֶר, יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי. {פ} 31 And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Today in Judaism
Cursing One's Fellow
Negative Commandment 317
The 317th prohibition is that we are forbidden from cursing any Jew.
The source of this prohibition is G d's statement,1 "You shall not curse the deaf."
I will now explain why only "the deaf" are mentioned.
• When a person, in accordance with his impression of the damage he has suffered, is aroused to take revenge against the person who harmed him, he will not rest until he takes revenge to match the damage he feels. Only then will his desire be put to rest and the impression erased from his mind.
• Some people will calm down after just cursing and shaming the other person, keeping in mind the extent of damage and shame that they feel is "due" the other person. Sometimes it is more serious, and he won't be calmed until he destroys all the person's possessions, realizing the pain he will cause him through this destruction. At times it is even more serious, and he won't be calmed until he takes physical revenge through beating the person, or causing him loss of limb. Sometimes it could reach the most serious level, when he won't be calmed until he kills the person and nullifies his very existence.
• And sometimes the transgression is so small that he doesn't even want to punish the other person. He will be calmed merely by yelling, getting angry at him or cursing him — even [so quietly] that if the person was present he wouldn't hear. It is well known that hot-tempered people will calm down even with this reaction when the offense was very minute, although the other person will not know of his anger nor hear his curse.
• We might think that the Torah prohibits cursing a Jew only when he will hear it, because of the shame and pain he feels, but there is nothing wrong with cursing a deaf person, since he doesn't hear it and doesn't feel any pain as a result. The Torah therefore told us that this too is forbidden, because it is concerned not only with the one who is being cursed, but with the one who is uttering the curse. A person is prohibited from gearing himself for revenge and becoming accustomed to getting angry.
• We indeed find that our Sages used this verse, "Do not curse the deaf," to prove that it is prohibited to curse any Jew. The Sifra2 says, "This verse speaks only of a deaf person. How do we know that all Jews are included? From the phrase,3 '[A Nasi] of your people do not curse.'4 If so, why does this verse mention specifically the deaf? To teach you that [cursing] the dead is excluded: Just as the deaf are alive, the prohibition likewise includes anyone who is alive." And the Mechilta5 says, "The phrase, 'Do not curse the deaf,' refers to even the most downtrodden human beings."
• When we say that this transgression is punishable by lashes, it is only when the curse was uttered using G d's Name.6 Even if a person curses himself, he is punished by lashes.
In summary, one who curses a person using G d's Name trans¬gresses the prohibition, "Do not curse the deaf." One who curses a judge transgresses two prohibitions and receives two sets of lashes.7 One who curses a Nasi receives three sets of lashes.8 The Mechilta9 says, "The phrase, 'A Nasi of your people [do not curse],' includes both a Nasi and a judge. Why does the Torah also say, 'Do not curse a judge'? To punish the person for each prohibition separately."
• From here our Sages said10 that a person could transgress four prohibitions with a single statement: the son of a Nasi who cursed his father. He transgresses the following four prohibitions: cursing his father,11 a judge,12 a Nasi,13 and a Jew.14
We have therefore explained what we set out to do.
• The details of this mitzvah are explained in the 4th chapter of tractate Shavuos.15
FOOTNOTES
1.
Lev. 19:14.
2.
Kedoshim 2:13.
3.
Ex. 22:27.
4.
The verse could have simply said, "A Nasi do not curse." The extra words, "of your people," comes to include everyone.
5.
Ex. 21:17.
6.
Any of the 7 Divine names or even a descriptive name, such as "Merciful One" (Chanun). See Hilchos Sanhedrin 26:3.
7.
One for cursing a Jew, and one for cursing a judge.
8.
The two above (since a Nasi is also a judge) and for cursing a Nasi.
9.
Parshas Mishpatim.
10.
Mechilta, ibid.
11.
N318.
12.
N315.
13.
N316.
14.
N317.
15.
35a.
Cursing One's Fellow
Negative Commandment 317
The 317th prohibition is that we are forbidden from cursing any Jew.
The source of this prohibition is G d's statement,1 "You shall not curse the deaf."
I will now explain why only "the deaf" are mentioned.
• When a person, in accordance with his impression of the damage he has suffered, is aroused to take revenge against the person who harmed him, he will not rest until he takes revenge to match the damage he feels. Only then will his desire be put to rest and the impression erased from his mind.
• Some people will calm down after just cursing and shaming the other person, keeping in mind the extent of damage and shame that they feel is "due" the other person. Sometimes it is more serious, and he won't be calmed until he destroys all the person's possessions, realizing the pain he will cause him through this destruction. At times it is even more serious, and he won't be calmed until he takes physical revenge through beating the person, or causing him loss of limb. Sometimes it could reach the most serious level, when he won't be calmed until he kills the person and nullifies his very existence.
• And sometimes the transgression is so small that he doesn't even want to punish the other person. He will be calmed merely by yelling, getting angry at him or cursing him — even [so quietly] that if the person was present he wouldn't hear. It is well known that hot-tempered people will calm down even with this reaction when the offense was very minute, although the other person will not know of his anger nor hear his curse.
• We might think that the Torah prohibits cursing a Jew only when he will hear it, because of the shame and pain he feels, but there is nothing wrong with cursing a deaf person, since he doesn't hear it and doesn't feel any pain as a result. The Torah therefore told us that this too is forbidden, because it is concerned not only with the one who is being cursed, but with the one who is uttering the curse. A person is prohibited from gearing himself for revenge and becoming accustomed to getting angry.
• We indeed find that our Sages used this verse, "Do not curse the deaf," to prove that it is prohibited to curse any Jew. The Sifra2 says, "This verse speaks only of a deaf person. How do we know that all Jews are included? From the phrase,3 '[A Nasi] of your people do not curse.'4 If so, why does this verse mention specifically the deaf? To teach you that [cursing] the dead is excluded: Just as the deaf are alive, the prohibition likewise includes anyone who is alive." And the Mechilta5 says, "The phrase, 'Do not curse the deaf,' refers to even the most downtrodden human beings."
• When we say that this transgression is punishable by lashes, it is only when the curse was uttered using G d's Name.6 Even if a person curses himself, he is punished by lashes.
In summary, one who curses a person using G d's Name trans¬gresses the prohibition, "Do not curse the deaf." One who curses a judge transgresses two prohibitions and receives two sets of lashes.7 One who curses a Nasi receives three sets of lashes.8 The Mechilta9 says, "The phrase, 'A Nasi of your people [do not curse],' includes both a Nasi and a judge. Why does the Torah also say, 'Do not curse a judge'? To punish the person for each prohibition separately."
• From here our Sages said10 that a person could transgress four prohibitions with a single statement: the son of a Nasi who cursed his father. He transgresses the following four prohibitions: cursing his father,11 a judge,12 a Nasi,13 and a Jew.14
We have therefore explained what we set out to do.
• The details of this mitzvah are explained in the 4th chapter of tractate Shavuos.15
FOOTNOTES
1.
Lev. 19:14.
2.
Kedoshim 2:13.
3.
Ex. 22:27.
4.
The verse could have simply said, "A Nasi do not curse." The extra words, "of your people," comes to include everyone.
5.
Ex. 21:17.
6.
Any of the 7 Divine names or even a descriptive name, such as "Merciful One" (Chanun). See Hilchos Sanhedrin 26:3.
7.
One for cursing a Jew, and one for cursing a judge.
8.
The two above (since a Nasi is also a judge) and for cursing a Nasi.
9.
Parshas Mishpatim.
10.
Mechilta, ibid.
11.
N318.
12.
N315.
13.
N316.
14.
N317.
15.
35a.
Today in Jewish History
• Moses' Last Day of Leadership (1273 BCE)
Moses passed away on the 7th of Adar. Following G-d's instruction that Joshua should succeed him and lead the Jewish nation into the Land of Israel, Moses transferred leadership duties to Joshua on the day before he passed away. Thus the fifth day of Adar was the last day of Moses' leadership.
Link: Moses' Passing
Daily Quote
We were in our own eyes as locusts, and so we were in theirs
- Numbers 13:33
Daily Study
Chitas and Rambam for today:
Chumash: Vayikra, 6th Portion Leviticus 4:27-5:10 with Rashi
Tehillim: Chapters 29 - 34
Tanya: Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 35
Rambam:
• Sefer Hamitzvos:
• 1 Chapter: She'ar Avot haTum'ah Chap. 11
• 3 Chapters: Sanhedrin veha`Onashin haMesurin lahem Chapter 25, Sanhedrin veha`Onashin haMesurin lahem Chapter 26, Edut Chapter 1
Hayom Yom:
*Today's featured article
Joseph Szigeti (1892–1973) was a Hungarian virtuoso violinist. Born into a musical family, he spent his early childhood in a small town in Transylvania. He quickly proved himself to be a child prodigy on the violin, and moved to Budapest with his father to study with the renowned pedagogue Jenő Hubay. After completing his studies with Hubay in his early teens, Szigeti began his international concert career. His performances at that time were primarily limited to salon-style recitals and the more overtly virtuosic repertoire; however, after making the acquaintance of pianist Ferruccio Busoni, he began to develop a much more thoughtful and intellectual approach to music that eventually earned him the nickname "The Scholarly Virtuoso". From the 1920s until 1960, Szigeti performed regularly around the world and recorded extensively. He also distinguished himself as a strong advocate of new music, and was the dedicatee of many new works by contemporary composers. Among the more notable pieces written for him are Ernest Bloch's Violin Concerto, Bartók's Rhapsody No. 1, and Eugène Ysaÿe's Solo Sonata No. 1. After retiring from the concert stage in 1960, he worked at teaching and writing until his death in 1973, at the age of 80.
*Did you know...
• ... that, in a British propaganda exercise during World War II, a Wellington bomber (pictured) was built in under 24 hours, setting a new world record?
• • ... that Harry Whitney was at the center of the Peary–Cook controversy over who had reached the North Pole first?
• • ... that, in 1869, Johannes Brahms conducted the chamber opera Le dernier sorcier (The Last Sorcerer), composed by Pauline Viardot to a French libretto by Ivan Turgenev?
• • ... that movement on the newly discovered Mount Lebanon thrust is the most likely cause of the 551 Beirut earthquake and resulting tsunami, which left all the coastal cities of Lebanon in ruins?
• • ... that authorization to use a company computer is not automatically conditional on the motives or loyalty of the employee, according to LVRC Holdings v. Brekka?
• • ... that the interior of the Stone Chamber in the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings was regarded as New Zealand architect Benjamin Mountfort's most impressive achievement?
• • ... that the iLoo was a cancelled Microsoft project by British subsidiary MSN UK to develop a Wi-Fi-enabled Internet portable toilet for summer festivals?
*In the news
• An 8.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Japan causes many injuries and deaths, and triggers a ten-metre-high tsunami (refinery fire pictured).
• • A 5.4-magnitude earthquake strikes Yunnan, China, severely damaging more than 18,000 houses and apartment buildings.
• • Amid a continued uprising in Libya, France becomes the first nation to recognize the National Transitional Council as Libya's legitimate government.
• • Belimumab becomes the first drug in over 50 years to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of lupus.
• • At least 25 people are killed and 127 others are wounded in a car bomb attack in Faisalabad, Pakistan.
• • The Supreme Court of India lays out guidelines for passive euthanasia.
• • Seiji Maehara resigns as Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan after a scandal over political donations.
*On this day...
• 3 11 2011: Independence Day in Lithuania (1990)
• 222 – Disgusted with Roman emperor Elagabalus's disregard for Roman religious traditions and sexual taboos, the Praetorian Guard assassinated him and his mother Julia Soaemias, mutilated their bodies, and threw them in the Tiber River.
• • 1879 – Shō Tai the last king of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, abdicated when the kingdom was annexed by Japan and converted to Okinawa Prefecture.
• • 1978 – After hijacking a bus north of Tel Aviv, members of Palestine Liberation Organization faction Fatah engaged in a shootout with the Israel Police, resulting in the deaths of 38 civilians and most of the perpetrators.
• • 1983 – Pakistan successfully conducted a cold test of a nuclear weapon.
• • 2006 – Michelle Bachelet was inaugurated as the first female President of Chile.
• EDITORIAL
• THE PEOPLE UNITED CAN NEVER BE DEFEATED! FREEDOM LOVING WORKERS EVERYWHERE UNITE! YOU ONLY HAVE YOUR CHAINS TO LOSE!
AMERICA MUST SUPPORT THE DEMOCRATIC ASPIRATIONS OF ALL FREEDOM LOVING PEOPLE, INCLUDING THOSE HERE IN AMERICA. AMERICA SHOULD ALSO SUPPORT THE ASPIRATION FOR EQUALITY OF ALL JEWS AND HEBREWS IN THE NATION OF ISRA’EL, INCLUDING HEBREWS AND MESSIANICS. THE LAW OF RETURN IS A FORM OF TYRANNY AND MUST BE CHANGED. AS TO AMERICA, WE MUST NOT PERMIT THE STOOGES OF THE BUSINESS OLIGARCHS TO STRIP AMERICAN WORKERS OF THEIR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS. FURTHER, WE MUST IF AMERICA IS PREPARED TO AID THE NEEDY THROUGH OUT THE WORLD, AS WELL AS TO BAIL OUT TROUBLED MEGA BUSINESS, WHEN IT WOULD SOMETHING TO AID STRUGGLING WORKERS? WHEN WILL IT TAKE REAL STEPS TO PREVENT CAPITALIST GANGSTERS FROM TAKING AWAY THE HOME OF WORKERS?
IN SUPPORTING THE NASCENT DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENTS OF THE ARAB PEOPLE WE MUST NOT PUT AMENRICAN LIVES AT STAKE, EVEN THOUGH IT IS HURTING OUR INTERESTS BY DRIVING UP THE COST OF OIL. WE ARE ALREADY INVOLVED IN TO MANY WARS. PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST! BLESSINGS ON YAHRUSHALAYYIM!!
I hope you have Shabbat Shalom!
ADAR II 5, 5771 • 3-11, 2011
CHILDREN OF YISRA'EL: HONOR THE MOST HIGH! REMEMBER HIS LABORS!!
WHY REFUSE TO CALL THE DAYS BY THE NAME OF PAGAN DIETIES?
YHWH CREATED THEM, AND DID WONDROUS THINGS ON EACH!! WHY IS EACH DAY TO BE HELD IN SACRED AWE, AND WHY MUST WE AMONG ALL THE BLESSINGS HE GIVES OFFER PRAISE UNTO THE MOST HIGH YHWH EACH AND EVERY DAY?
CONSIDER:
Yom Ha´shee´shee ....Sixth day
כד וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, תּוֹצֵא הָאָרֶץ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה לְמִינָהּ, בְּהֵמָה וָרֶמֶשׂ וְחַיְתוֹ-אֶרֶץ, לְמִינָהּ; וַיְהִי-כֵן. 24
And God said: 'Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind.' And it was so.
כה וַיַּעַשׂ אֱלֹהִים אֶת-חַיַּת הָאָרֶץ לְמִינָהּ, וְאֶת-הַבְּהֵמָה לְמִינָהּ, וְאֵת כָּל-רֶמֶשׂ הָאֲדָמָה, לְמִינֵהוּ; וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים, כִּי-טוֹב. 25
And God made the beast of the earth after its kind, and the cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
כו וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ; וְיִרְדּוּ בִדְגַת הַיָּם וּבְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם, וּבַבְּהֵמָה וּבְכָל-הָאָרֶץ, וּבְכָל-הָרֶמֶשׂ, הָרֹמֵשׂ עַל-הָאָרֶץ. 26
And God said: 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.'
כז וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת-הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ, בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אֹתוֹ: זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה, בָּרָא אֹתָם. 27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.
כח וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתָם, אֱלֹהִים, וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם אֱלֹהִים פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ וּמִלְאוּ אֶת-הָאָרֶץ, וְכִבְשֻׁהָ; וּרְדוּ בִּדְגַת הַיָּם, וּבְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם, וּבְכָל-חַיָּה, הָרֹמֶשֶׂת עַל-הָאָרֶץ. 28
And God blessed them; and God said unto them: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth.'
כט וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת-כָּל-עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע אֲשֶׁר עַל-פְּנֵי כָל-הָאָרֶץ, וְאֶת-כָּל-הָעֵץ אֲשֶׁר-בּוֹ פְרִי-עֵץ, זֹרֵעַ זָרַע: לָכֶם יִהְיֶה, לְאָכְלָה. 29
And God said: 'Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed--to you it shall be for food;
ל וּלְכָל-חַיַּת הָאָרֶץ וּלְכָל-עוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּלְכֹל רוֹמֵשׂ עַל-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר-בּוֹ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה, אֶת-כָּל-יֶרֶק עֵשֶׂב, לְאָכְלָה; וַיְהִי-כֵן. 30
and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul, [I have given] every green herb for food.' And it was so.
לא וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת-כָּל-אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה, וְהִנֵּה-טוֹב מְאֹד; וַיְהִי-עֶרֶב וַיְהִי-בֹקֶר, יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי. {פ} 31 And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Today in Judaism
Cursing One's Fellow
Negative Commandment 317
The 317th prohibition is that we are forbidden from cursing any Jew.
The source of this prohibition is G d's statement,1 "You shall not curse the deaf."
I will now explain why only "the deaf" are mentioned.
• When a person, in accordance with his impression of the damage he has suffered, is aroused to take revenge against the person who harmed him, he will not rest until he takes revenge to match the damage he feels. Only then will his desire be put to rest and the impression erased from his mind.
• Some people will calm down after just cursing and shaming the other person, keeping in mind the extent of damage and shame that they feel is "due" the other person. Sometimes it is more serious, and he won't be calmed until he destroys all the person's possessions, realizing the pain he will cause him through this destruction. At times it is even more serious, and he won't be calmed until he takes physical revenge through beating the person, or causing him loss of limb. Sometimes it could reach the most serious level, when he won't be calmed until he kills the person and nullifies his very existence.
• And sometimes the transgression is so small that he doesn't even want to punish the other person. He will be calmed merely by yelling, getting angry at him or cursing him — even [so quietly] that if the person was present he wouldn't hear. It is well known that hot-tempered people will calm down even with this reaction when the offense was very minute, although the other person will not know of his anger nor hear his curse.
• We might think that the Torah prohibits cursing a Jew only when he will hear it, because of the shame and pain he feels, but there is nothing wrong with cursing a deaf person, since he doesn't hear it and doesn't feel any pain as a result. The Torah therefore told us that this too is forbidden, because it is concerned not only with the one who is being cursed, but with the one who is uttering the curse. A person is prohibited from gearing himself for revenge and becoming accustomed to getting angry.
• We indeed find that our Sages used this verse, "Do not curse the deaf," to prove that it is prohibited to curse any Jew. The Sifra2 says, "This verse speaks only of a deaf person. How do we know that all Jews are included? From the phrase,3 '[A Nasi] of your people do not curse.'4 If so, why does this verse mention specifically the deaf? To teach you that [cursing] the dead is excluded: Just as the deaf are alive, the prohibition likewise includes anyone who is alive." And the Mechilta5 says, "The phrase, 'Do not curse the deaf,' refers to even the most downtrodden human beings."
• When we say that this transgression is punishable by lashes, it is only when the curse was uttered using G d's Name.6 Even if a person curses himself, he is punished by lashes.
In summary, one who curses a person using G d's Name trans¬gresses the prohibition, "Do not curse the deaf." One who curses a judge transgresses two prohibitions and receives two sets of lashes.7 One who curses a Nasi receives three sets of lashes.8 The Mechilta9 says, "The phrase, 'A Nasi of your people [do not curse],' includes both a Nasi and a judge. Why does the Torah also say, 'Do not curse a judge'? To punish the person for each prohibition separately."
• From here our Sages said10 that a person could transgress four prohibitions with a single statement: the son of a Nasi who cursed his father. He transgresses the following four prohibitions: cursing his father,11 a judge,12 a Nasi,13 and a Jew.14
We have therefore explained what we set out to do.
• The details of this mitzvah are explained in the 4th chapter of tractate Shavuos.15
FOOTNOTES
1.
Lev. 19:14.
2.
Kedoshim 2:13.
3.
Ex. 22:27.
4.
The verse could have simply said, "A Nasi do not curse." The extra words, "of your people," comes to include everyone.
5.
Ex. 21:17.
6.
Any of the 7 Divine names or even a descriptive name, such as "Merciful One" (Chanun). See Hilchos Sanhedrin 26:3.
7.
One for cursing a Jew, and one for cursing a judge.
8.
The two above (since a Nasi is also a judge) and for cursing a Nasi.
9.
Parshas Mishpatim.
10.
Mechilta, ibid.
11.
N318.
12.
N315.
13.
N316.
14.
N317.
15.
35a.
Cursing One's Fellow
Negative Commandment 317
The 317th prohibition is that we are forbidden from cursing any Jew.
The source of this prohibition is G d's statement,1 "You shall not curse the deaf."
I will now explain why only "the deaf" are mentioned.
• When a person, in accordance with his impression of the damage he has suffered, is aroused to take revenge against the person who harmed him, he will not rest until he takes revenge to match the damage he feels. Only then will his desire be put to rest and the impression erased from his mind.
• Some people will calm down after just cursing and shaming the other person, keeping in mind the extent of damage and shame that they feel is "due" the other person. Sometimes it is more serious, and he won't be calmed until he destroys all the person's possessions, realizing the pain he will cause him through this destruction. At times it is even more serious, and he won't be calmed until he takes physical revenge through beating the person, or causing him loss of limb. Sometimes it could reach the most serious level, when he won't be calmed until he kills the person and nullifies his very existence.
• And sometimes the transgression is so small that he doesn't even want to punish the other person. He will be calmed merely by yelling, getting angry at him or cursing him — even [so quietly] that if the person was present he wouldn't hear. It is well known that hot-tempered people will calm down even with this reaction when the offense was very minute, although the other person will not know of his anger nor hear his curse.
• We might think that the Torah prohibits cursing a Jew only when he will hear it, because of the shame and pain he feels, but there is nothing wrong with cursing a deaf person, since he doesn't hear it and doesn't feel any pain as a result. The Torah therefore told us that this too is forbidden, because it is concerned not only with the one who is being cursed, but with the one who is uttering the curse. A person is prohibited from gearing himself for revenge and becoming accustomed to getting angry.
• We indeed find that our Sages used this verse, "Do not curse the deaf," to prove that it is prohibited to curse any Jew. The Sifra2 says, "This verse speaks only of a deaf person. How do we know that all Jews are included? From the phrase,3 '[A Nasi] of your people do not curse.'4 If so, why does this verse mention specifically the deaf? To teach you that [cursing] the dead is excluded: Just as the deaf are alive, the prohibition likewise includes anyone who is alive." And the Mechilta5 says, "The phrase, 'Do not curse the deaf,' refers to even the most downtrodden human beings."
• When we say that this transgression is punishable by lashes, it is only when the curse was uttered using G d's Name.6 Even if a person curses himself, he is punished by lashes.
In summary, one who curses a person using G d's Name trans¬gresses the prohibition, "Do not curse the deaf." One who curses a judge transgresses two prohibitions and receives two sets of lashes.7 One who curses a Nasi receives three sets of lashes.8 The Mechilta9 says, "The phrase, 'A Nasi of your people [do not curse],' includes both a Nasi and a judge. Why does the Torah also say, 'Do not curse a judge'? To punish the person for each prohibition separately."
• From here our Sages said10 that a person could transgress four prohibitions with a single statement: the son of a Nasi who cursed his father. He transgresses the following four prohibitions: cursing his father,11 a judge,12 a Nasi,13 and a Jew.14
We have therefore explained what we set out to do.
• The details of this mitzvah are explained in the 4th chapter of tractate Shavuos.15
FOOTNOTES
1.
Lev. 19:14.
2.
Kedoshim 2:13.
3.
Ex. 22:27.
4.
The verse could have simply said, "A Nasi do not curse." The extra words, "of your people," comes to include everyone.
5.
Ex. 21:17.
6.
Any of the 7 Divine names or even a descriptive name, such as "Merciful One" (Chanun). See Hilchos Sanhedrin 26:3.
7.
One for cursing a Jew, and one for cursing a judge.
8.
The two above (since a Nasi is also a judge) and for cursing a Nasi.
9.
Parshas Mishpatim.
10.
Mechilta, ibid.
11.
N318.
12.
N315.
13.
N316.
14.
N317.
15.
35a.
Today in Jewish History
• Moses' Last Day of Leadership (1273 BCE)
Moses passed away on the 7th of Adar. Following G-d's instruction that Joshua should succeed him and lead the Jewish nation into the Land of Israel, Moses transferred leadership duties to Joshua on the day before he passed away. Thus the fifth day of Adar was the last day of Moses' leadership.
Link: Moses' Passing
Daily Quote
We were in our own eyes as locusts, and so we were in theirs
- Numbers 13:33
Daily Study
Chitas and Rambam for today:
Chumash: Vayikra, 6th Portion Leviticus 4:27-5:10 with Rashi
Tehillim: Chapters 29 - 34
Tanya: Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 35
Rambam:
• Sefer Hamitzvos:
• 1 Chapter: She'ar Avot haTum'ah Chap. 11
• 3 Chapters: Sanhedrin veha`Onashin haMesurin lahem Chapter 25, Sanhedrin veha`Onashin haMesurin lahem Chapter 26, Edut Chapter 1
Hayom Yom:
*Today's featured article
Joseph Szigeti (1892–1973) was a Hungarian virtuoso violinist. Born into a musical family, he spent his early childhood in a small town in Transylvania. He quickly proved himself to be a child prodigy on the violin, and moved to Budapest with his father to study with the renowned pedagogue Jenő Hubay. After completing his studies with Hubay in his early teens, Szigeti began his international concert career. His performances at that time were primarily limited to salon-style recitals and the more overtly virtuosic repertoire; however, after making the acquaintance of pianist Ferruccio Busoni, he began to develop a much more thoughtful and intellectual approach to music that eventually earned him the nickname "The Scholarly Virtuoso". From the 1920s until 1960, Szigeti performed regularly around the world and recorded extensively. He also distinguished himself as a strong advocate of new music, and was the dedicatee of many new works by contemporary composers. Among the more notable pieces written for him are Ernest Bloch's Violin Concerto, Bartók's Rhapsody No. 1, and Eugène Ysaÿe's Solo Sonata No. 1. After retiring from the concert stage in 1960, he worked at teaching and writing until his death in 1973, at the age of 80.
*Did you know...
• ... that, in a British propaganda exercise during World War II, a Wellington bomber (pictured) was built in under 24 hours, setting a new world record?
• • ... that Harry Whitney was at the center of the Peary–Cook controversy over who had reached the North Pole first?
• • ... that, in 1869, Johannes Brahms conducted the chamber opera Le dernier sorcier (The Last Sorcerer), composed by Pauline Viardot to a French libretto by Ivan Turgenev?
• • ... that movement on the newly discovered Mount Lebanon thrust is the most likely cause of the 551 Beirut earthquake and resulting tsunami, which left all the coastal cities of Lebanon in ruins?
• • ... that authorization to use a company computer is not automatically conditional on the motives or loyalty of the employee, according to LVRC Holdings v. Brekka?
• • ... that the interior of the Stone Chamber in the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings was regarded as New Zealand architect Benjamin Mountfort's most impressive achievement?
• • ... that the iLoo was a cancelled Microsoft project by British subsidiary MSN UK to develop a Wi-Fi-enabled Internet portable toilet for summer festivals?
*In the news
• An 8.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Japan causes many injuries and deaths, and triggers a ten-metre-high tsunami (refinery fire pictured).
• • A 5.4-magnitude earthquake strikes Yunnan, China, severely damaging more than 18,000 houses and apartment buildings.
• • Amid a continued uprising in Libya, France becomes the first nation to recognize the National Transitional Council as Libya's legitimate government.
• • Belimumab becomes the first drug in over 50 years to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of lupus.
• • At least 25 people are killed and 127 others are wounded in a car bomb attack in Faisalabad, Pakistan.
• • The Supreme Court of India lays out guidelines for passive euthanasia.
• • Seiji Maehara resigns as Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan after a scandal over political donations.
*On this day...
• 3 11 2011: Independence Day in Lithuania (1990)
• 222 – Disgusted with Roman emperor Elagabalus's disregard for Roman religious traditions and sexual taboos, the Praetorian Guard assassinated him and his mother Julia Soaemias, mutilated their bodies, and threw them in the Tiber River.
• • 1879 – Shō Tai the last king of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, abdicated when the kingdom was annexed by Japan and converted to Okinawa Prefecture.
• • 1978 – After hijacking a bus north of Tel Aviv, members of Palestine Liberation Organization faction Fatah engaged in a shootout with the Israel Police, resulting in the deaths of 38 civilians and most of the perpetrators.
• • 1983 – Pakistan successfully conducted a cold test of a nuclear weapon.
• • 2006 – Michelle Bachelet was inaugurated as the first female President of Chile.
• EDITORIAL
• THE PEOPLE UNITED CAN NEVER BE DEFEATED! FREEDOM LOVING WORKERS EVERYWHERE UNITE! YOU ONLY HAVE YOUR CHAINS TO LOSE!
AMERICA MUST SUPPORT THE DEMOCRATIC ASPIRATIONS OF ALL FREEDOM LOVING PEOPLE, INCLUDING THOSE HERE IN AMERICA. AMERICA SHOULD ALSO SUPPORT THE ASPIRATION FOR EQUALITY OF ALL JEWS AND HEBREWS IN THE NATION OF ISRA’EL, INCLUDING HEBREWS AND MESSIANICS. THE LAW OF RETURN IS A FORM OF TYRANNY AND MUST BE CHANGED. AS TO AMERICA, WE MUST NOT PERMIT THE STOOGES OF THE BUSINESS OLIGARCHS TO STRIP AMERICAN WORKERS OF THEIR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS. FURTHER, WE MUST IF AMERICA IS PREPARED TO AID THE NEEDY THROUGH OUT THE WORLD, AS WELL AS TO BAIL OUT TROUBLED MEGA BUSINESS, WHEN IT WOULD SOMETHING TO AID STRUGGLING WORKERS? WHEN WILL IT TAKE REAL STEPS TO PREVENT CAPITALIST GANGSTERS FROM TAKING AWAY THE HOME OF WORKERS?
IN SUPPORTING THE NASCENT DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENTS OF THE ARAB PEOPLE WE MUST NOT PUT AMENRICAN LIVES AT STAKE, EVEN THOUGH IT IS HURTING OUR INTERESTS BY DRIVING UP THE COST OF OIL. WE ARE ALREADY INVOLVED IN TO MANY WARS. PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST! BLESSINGS ON YAHRUSHALAYYIM!!
No comments:
Post a Comment