Halakhah zu Schemot 34:6

(Kof) “Robbing an ordinary person is more severe than robbing the Most High, (i.e., taking consecrated property). As with [robbing an ordinary person, the Torah] has sin precede me’ilah (trespass), [whereas with robbing the Most High], it has me’ilah preceding sin.” With robbing an ordinary person, it is written (Lev. 5:21), “If any one sin, and commit a trespass, etc.” But with one who misuses consecrated items, it is written (Lev. 5:15), “If any one trespasses in misuse (timol ma’al) and sins unwittingly, etc.” And this is a statement of Rabbi Levi in the chapter [entitled] HaSfina (Bava Batra ).⁵⁸Only the first part of this appears in our standard text of the Talmud, but the meaning is the same. And it requires explanation – as [just] because it had sin precede me’ilah, [does that mean] it is more severe? As both [terms] appear in both. And it appears to me that it can be explained according to that which is written by Rabbi Yitschak Arama in Parashat Chukkat of Akeidat Yitschak, that even the most complete person sins in something, etc. Indeed, he is compelled by his nature, as the verse states (Ecclesiastes 7:20), “For there is no man who is righteous in the world [… who does not sin].” But when it is in the manner of either being from the light sins or after complete repentance, he will certainly not be punished; as the Sages, may their memory be blessed, said (Rosh Hashanah 12b) “I am He before he sins, and I am He after he sins and repents.”⁵⁹The Talmud (the wording of which is slightly different than the quote) is referring to God’s attributes of mercy in Exod. 34:6). However we do not understand from this that no sinner is ever punished. As even though – in his not being God – he is compelled to sin, he is not compelled to wallow in sin and have it become habitual. See there. And [so] it is elucidated that man is not fitting to be punished for sinning, since he is compelled to it – and especially if it is from the lighter sins. Rather the main punishment comes in his wallowing in it and making it habitual, and not repenting. As anyone [can repent]; as it is written (Deut. 30:11), “it is not a wonder […] and not distant, etc.” – and the Sages, may their memory be blessed, say this is referring to repentance.⁶⁰The first known source for this is actually Ramban on this verse. And that is because while the [fulfillment of all the] actual commandments [is] a wonder for man and distant from him since he is a man and not divine, and is [so] compelled to sin – especially with the lighter sins – he is not compelled to wallow in them and make them habitual. And he needs to regret and repent, [as] the commandment of repentance is not a wonder and distant. And it is because of this that Rabbi Levi decides that stealing from an ordinary person is more severe than from the Most High. For with stealing from the Most High, [the Torah] had trespass precede sin; as since it is from the lighter sins, it is not called a sin for a man, given that “there is no man who is righteous in the world who only does good.” And the main sin [here] is because he wallows in it and does not immediately regret [it] after doing it. And that is why it has trespass before sin; as the sin is [afterwards] when he does not regret [it]. For this reason, it is written (Num. 5:7), “and they shall confess,”⁶¹In another section dealing with misusing sanctified property. such that they shall repent. But the trespass itself is not in the category of sin, since man is compelled to do such a light sin; which is not the case with robbing an ordinary person. [As] that is more severe, since a man can withstand [its temptation]. Even though he is not divine, he is not compelled to rob his fellow – [something that is] in the category of friendship and brotherhood. Hence with robbing an ordinary person, the trespass itself is the sin. And for this reason it had sin precede trespass.

(Lamed) According to our approach, this is the intention of the statement of [the Sages] may their memory be blessed, in Avot, “Do not be evil in front of yourself (bifnei atsmecha)” – the explanation of which is in your essence. As we are holy seed and we will not change in essence. And all of the sins of the Children of Israel are only their appearance, which will not be permanent, but only present from time to time. And that which they said, “But even if the whole world tells you that you are righteous, you should be like an evildoer in your eyes” – the explanation of [“in your eyes”] is in your appearance. [This is] like “and its appearance (literally, eye) was like the appearance of bdellium” (Num. 11:7) – the explanation of which is the appearance, and that is the description. And so you should increase courage, have much soap, whiten your clothes and fulfill the desire of your Creator who says, “Show me your appearance.”⁸⁵This literary allusion is also from Song of Songs (Shir HaShirim 2:14). And behold anything that is not in the essence is only in the appearance. And [that] which is in the appearance is only incidental, and that which is incidental will not be permanent. Therefore [with] the seed of Avraham, even if their hands are charred, the blackness will not be permanent; and they will necessarily be whitened and return to their beauty and their essence. Rather [it is] their good deeds [which] are their essence. And [so] behold, something impermanent is called deception (khazav), as in (Isaiah 58:11), “whose waters do not fail (yekhazvu).” And this is the intention of the midrash that said, “the deceptions and vanities that Israel does are worthwhile.” [It] means all of the sins – [both] light and severe – are only deception, since they are incidental. As their essence is pure and clean, like Avraham their bequeather, and as mentioned. And this is the intention of the statement of [the Sages], may their memory be blessed, in Chapter 1 of Tractate Rosh Hashanah⁸⁶Rosh Hashanah 17b., “Ilfa brought up [a contradiction]: It is written [about God], ‘and abundant in kindness’ (Exod. 34:6); and [yet in the same verse], it is written ‘and truth.’  He answered, ‘Initially [He judges in] truth, but in the end, abundant in kindness.’” And also there (Rosh Hashanah 17a), “Beit Hillel say, ‘[He who is] abundant in kindness inclines towards kindness.’” [This is] meaning [that] since the good deeds are essential, they are lasting and they are [therefore] true; but the sins are deception. And just like ‘a little bit of light pushes off much of the darkness,’ so does a little bit of truth push off much deception. And therefore He inclines towards kindness, because of the truth.

They do not “prostrate themselves” (i.e., they do not say the taḥanun¹⁰The taḥanun, תחנון, prayer is the name of a prayer which is a confession of sins and a petition for grace. It is normally part of the daily Morning, Shaḥarit (see footnote 17), and Afternoon, Minḥah (see footnote 40), Services. It is recited after the reader’s repetition of the Amidah (see footnote 43). The taḥanun begins silently with a selection from II Samuel 24:14 which was uttered by King David after he was rebuked by the prophet Gad for sinning by numbering the people: “let us fall, I pray thee, into the hand of the Lord, for his mercies are many, but let me not fall into the hands of man.” The prayer is referred to literally as the “prostration prayer” because the Bible mentions the fact that one prostrates oneself during petitions (Deuteronomy 9:18; Joshua 7:6), and the prayer taḥanun was therefore customarily recited in the prostrate position. Today the prayer is recited while one is seated with one’s head bowed into the bend of one’s arm when a Torah Scroll is present to indicate the sanctity of the location. The Sephardi ritual begins the taḥanun with a silent confession of sins, viddui (see footnote 39) followed by the verse from II Samuel 24:14. The central part of the prayer for the Ashkenazim is Psalm 6 and for the Sephardim the penitential psalm, Psalm 25. In addition to this there are penitential prayers of piyyutim, or liturgical poems (see footnote 149). The taḥanun prayer is omitted on the Sabbath, festivals, semiholidays, New Moons, and from the Minḥah Service preceding these special days, during the month of Nisan and on the Ninth of Av. The taḥanun is also omitted at a circumcision in a synagogue, when a bridegroom attends the service during the first seven days following his wedding, and at the prayers held at the homes of mourners since the theme “I have sinned before thee” is deemed inappropriate.
Meir Ydit, E. J., v. 15, p. 702. prayers) on the Eve of Yom Kippur.
Hagah: They also do not say “למנצח¹¹למנצח, “For the Chief Musician, a Psalm of David” is Psalm 19, and it is recited normally during the Shaḥarit, Morning prayers on the Sabbath and festivals (see footnote 17). The theme of the prayer is the double revelation of God in nature, in religion and in Torah.
Dr. Joseph H. Hertz, The Authorized Daily Prayer Book, New York, Bloch Publishing Company, 1957, p. 60” and “מזמור לתודה¹²מזמור לתודה, “A Psalm of Thanksgiving” is Psalm 100. The theme of the psalm is to let all the world join in the worship of God. The psalm is normally recited during the Shaḥarit Morning prayers on the weekday (see footnote 17). In addition to the day before Yom Kippur, it is also omitted on Sabbaths, festivals, the day before Passover, and on the intermediate days of Passover.”, (מנהגים).¹³Minhagim, מנהגים, “customs” when used by Isserles denotes an anonymous collection of Ashkenazi customs in his glosses that were not part of the customs practiced by the Sephardi Jewish community. Additions such as these gave Ashkenazi Jewry the possibility of accepting the Shulḥan Arukh as a binding and authoritative code of Jewish law in that the additions of Isserles enabled the total Shulḥan Arukh to be a work common to all of world Jewry. There was no one book from which Isserles drew his minhagim, his customs, but rather he drew them from various minhagim books available to him and from customs he was familiar with in daily life. Many of the minhagim from which Isserles drew were contained in a book entitled Minahage Maharil or Sefer Maharil published in 1556 in Sabionetta which was compiled by Zalman of Saint Goar. It contained halakhic statements, explanations, and customs that Zalman heard from his great teacher the Maharil, Jacob ben Moses Moellin (see footnote 8). Also they do not say before dawn many “seliḥot¹⁴Seliḥot, סליחות, means “prayers of forgiveness”. When this word is used in its singular form seliḥah, סליחה, it means “forgiveness” and it usually refers to a liturgical poem, piyyut (see footnote 149), who’s subject is a plea for forgiveness. When the term is used in the plural, seliḥot, it refers to a special order of service which consists of non-statuatory additional prayers which are recited on all fast days, on occasions of special intercession, and during the Penitential season which begins with a special Seliḥot Service usually held at midnight on the Saturday night immediately preceding Rosh HaShanah and concludes with Yom Kippur. The Mishna (Ta’an 2:1-4) gives the order of the service for public fasts which were often proclaimed during periods of drought and it provided for six additional blessings inserted into the daily Amidah after the sixth blessing which is a prayer for forgiveness of sins (see footnote 43).
The first mention of any kind of definite order of Seliḥot is found in Tanna de-Vei, Eliyahu Zuta (23 end). The order of Sheliḥot was not found until the ninth century in the Seder of R. Amram which included “May He Who answered” and the biblical verse “Thee Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious longsuffering and abundent in goodness and truth” (Exodus 34:6) along with others.
Over the centuries many more piyyutim with the theme of forgiveness have been added to the Seliḥot prayers. Because of the many liturgical poems added at various times, many Jewish communities have had their own distinct rites evolve. It became a Palestinian custom not to say the Seliḥot prayers during the Amidah but after it, and this became the custom generally accepted (Shulḥan Arukh, Oraḥ Ḥayyim, 566:4).
Seliḥot prayers were originally confined to fast days. God was just, and it was felt that if one confessed one’s sins and prayed for forgiveness, calamities which were the result of Israel’s sins, would be averted. In modern times the Seliḥot prayers were first recited in conjunction with the six fast days prior to Rosh HaShanah and then they were extended to include the ten days of Penitence including Yom Kippur but not Rosh HaShanah in the Ashkenazi ritual. Among Sephardi Jews it was a custom to recite Seliḥot for forty days from Rosh Ḥodesh Elul (the New Moon of the month of Elul, the last month of the Hebrew year preceding the New Year beginning with Rosh HaShanah on the New Moon of Tishrei) until Yom Kippur. The Ashkenazi custom was evolved in our day to recite Seliḥot from midnight on the Saturday night prior to Rosh HaShanah or the week before that should Rosh HaShanah fall on a Monday or a Tuesday. (Shulḥan Arukh, Oraḥ Ḥayyim, 581 with the Isserles). Only on the first night is Seliḥot recited at midnight. On all other days it is recited in the Morning Service.
Present day customs also allow individuals to recite Seliḥot on semi-official voluntary fasts.
Louis Isaac Rabinowitz, E. J., v. 14, pp. 1133-34.” (prayers of forgiveness), but there are places where it is customary to increase seliḥot. All (this should be done) according to the (local) custom. But concerning the matter of the saying of “אבינו מלכנו¹⁵Avinu Malkhenu, אבינו מלכנו “Our Father our King” is a prayer recited during the ten days of Penitence between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur immediately after the Amidah (see footnote 43). The prayer is not said during Friday Minḥah Afternoon, on the Sabbath, or on the day before Yom Kippur. If the day before Yom Kippur is a Friday then the prayer is recited during the Morning, Shaḥarit Service (see footnote 17). Each of the forty-four invocations of the prayer begins “Avinu Malkhenu”, “Our Father our King”. This litancy has the elements of a confessional and petitionary prayer. The prayer is quite old and the Talmud attributes some of the lines to Rabbi Akiba when they were spoken on a fast day due to a drought. The prayer was expanded over the centuries to include prayers for life, pardon, and the needs and trials of human existence. Toward the end are references to the terrible massacres during the Black Death in the fourteenth century where much of German Jewry was annihilated.
Hertz, op. cit., pp. 161-67.”, (Our Father, our King”), on the Eve of Yom Kippur, there is a disagreement among the aḥronim¹⁶Aḥronim, אחרונים, the later scholars or authorities. This term is used to designate the later rabbinic authorities as opposed to the rishonim or the earlier authorities. There is no clear line of demarkation separating the aḥronim from the rishonim. Some scholars date the aḥronim as early as the tosafists in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries while others start the period in the beginning of the fourteenth century where the appearance of the Sha’arei Dura of Isaac ben Meir Dueren. Most scholars agree that the period of the rishonim ends with the death of Israel Isserlein in 1460 (see footnote 96) and that the aḥronim begin with the Shulḥan Arukh including the glosses of Isserles (1525-30-1572). The later authorities are therefore thought of as the collection of all the predecessors of the Jewish world of sages in both the Sephardi and Ashkenazi communities included by both Caro and Isserles. When Isserles then referred to the aḥronim, he referred to his contemporaries and those authorities immediately preceding him.
Some of the greatest aḥronim were produced in Poland during the end of the sixteenth century where the study of the Torah and Talmud became quite intensive.
Aḥronim is a term now used to refer to all rabbinic authorities after 1500 who decide halakhah even to this day.
Yehoshua Horowitz, E. J., v. 1973 Year Book, pp.153-57., (later scholars). The custom in my city is not to say it unless Yom Kippur falls on Shabbat; since we do not say on the Shabbat “אבינו מלכנו”, therefore we say it in the Shaḥarit¹⁷Shaḥarit, שחרית Morning Service, or actually the dawn prayer. The Shaḥarit prayers are the most elaborate of the three daily prayer services (the Shaḥarit, Morning; Minḥah, Afternoon; and Aravit, Evening). It has been traditionally attributed to Abraham. “And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord,” (Genesis 19:27). After the destruction of the Temple the rabbis made the recitation of the Shaḥarit prayer obligatory to replace the daily morning sacrafice called the Tamid which had been performed in the Temple (Ber. 26b).
There are basically eight parts to the Shaḥarit Service and they are the following: (1) The Morning Benedictions or Birkhot ha-Shaḥar, ברכות השחר, these are preliminaries to the Morning Service and they consist of hymns, blessings, and meditations, the themes of which are generally concerned with the change of night to day and of sleep to wakefulness. There are also readings from the Torah and rabbinical writings to get the soul ready for worship. Originally this part of the service was to be read at home before coming to the synagogue for communal prayer.
Hertz, op. cit., p. 4.
(2) The Psalms and Passages of Song or Pesukai de-Zimra, פסוקי דזמרא. This section of psalms and anthems is intended to serve as the transference from private worship in the first section to public prayer. The tradition says that pious men during the days of the Second Temple would completely read the entire Book of Psalms everyday. This was an ideal that men with necessary work could never emulate, thus it became the custom to read at least six psalms in the morning, Psalms 145-150. There have been additions to this nucleus. Prior to the above mentioned psalms, are recited other psalm-like selections, I Chronicles 16:8-36, a collection of Biblical verses, Psalm 100, and more Biblical verses. Psalms 145-150 are followed by responses of adoration (“doxologies”), the benediction of David, I Chronicles 29:10-13; the prayer of Nehemiah 9:6-11; and the Song of Moses, Exodus 14:30 - 15:18. Therefore this section contains no formal prayers but only psalm-like material. It was brought into the Morning Service by Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg (1230-1293).
ibid., pp. 50-1.
(3) Reading of the Shema, קריאת שמע, and its benedictions. This is truely the central part of the Morning (and the Evening) Service. It is Israel’s confession of faith in the One God. The worshipper, by reciting it, proclaims his allegiance to the Kingdom of Heaven and his submission to God’s commandments. The Shema is preceded by two blessings; (1) The Yotzer, יוצר, Prayer which is a prayer of thanksgiving for the creation of physical life, for the actual light of day and for God’s renewal of creation which is demonstrated by the fact that the sun, the light, returns; and (2) The Ahavah Rabbah, אהבה רבה, a gracious prayer of thanksgiving, gives thanks to God for the light of Torah which he gave to Israel and its moral teachings.
The Shema in the Shaḥarit Service is followed by two prayers; (1) the Emet Veyaẓiv, אמת ויציב, which means (True and Firm). The prayer confirms the faith in the declarations that were made in the Shema. (2) and the prayer Go’el Israel, גואל ישראל, the Redeemer of Israel which praises God.
ibid., p. 108.
The Shema itself consists of three Torah sections, Deuteronomy 6:4-8; 11:13-22; and Numbers 15:37-42. It is a proclamation of God’s Unity and Oneness, Israel’s total loyalty to God and his commandments, the belief in Divine Justice, the rememberance of the liberation from Egypt, and the choosing of Israel. Together these form the foundation of Jewish faith.
ibid., p. 116.
(4) The Amidah, עמידה, is the most central and important part of the service next to the Shema. It is also referred to as the Tefillah, התפילה, “The Prayer” and the Shemoneh Esreh. שמונה עשרה, or eighteen benedictions because it originally contained eighteen separate benedictions but which has come down to us as a prayer consisting of nineteen benedictions during the regular daily worship service. The Prayer is recited three times a day silently while standing, therefore the name Amidah which means “standing” became associated with it. The benedictions contain expressions of praise, thanksgiving, confession, and petition to God.
The Amidah contains three basic parts. The first part consists of three opening benedictions which are praises. They glorify God, His everlasting love and His infinite holiness. The second part of the weekday Amidah contains thirteen blessings (which were originally only twelve) which are petitions for the individual as well as for the nation. This middle section of the Amidah is different on the Sabbath and festivals. On the Sabbath there is only one benediction in the middle of the Amidah (therefore only a total of seven benedictions) and it concerns the special nature of the day. A Kedusha or a sanctification of the name of God, is included in this section of the Sabbath morning Amidah. On the festivals this is also the case with a special middle benediction which concerns the unique nature of the holiday. This is true of all festivals except Rosh HaShanah which contains three central blessings in its Musaf Amidah (see footnote 166), thus making a total of nine benedictions.
The third part of the Amidah consists of three closing benedictions whose theme is one of thanksgiving. The first three and last three benedictions never change regardless of which service the Amidah is found in or on what day it is recited. The prayer is first recited privately in silence and it is then repeated out loud by the reader (except for the Evening Service, see footnote 144) for the benefit of those who are unable to say it themselves (see also footnote 42).
ibid., pp. 130-31.
(5) The Taḥanun, תחנון, prayers of confession; see footnote 10.
(6) The Torah reading on the mornings that it is required, namely on the Sabbath, festivals, Mondays, Thursdays, New Moons, the intermediate days of Passover and Succot, Purim and public fast days. Normally, that is on most Sabbaths, Mondays and Thursdays the Torah is read according to its regular weekly division of fifty-four (on a leap year and fifty on a non-leap year) portions. On special Sabbaths, festivals, and other occasions specially designated portions are read which have a relationship with that particular occasion.
(7) Ashrei. אשרי, “Happy are they” is basically Psalm 20 and a collection of Biblical quotations. It is in essence a prophetic lesson and a second sanctification.
(8) Aleinu le-Shabbe’aḥ, עלינו לשבח, “It is our duty to praise the Lord” is recited at the conclusion of the Morning Service. It is usually preceded by a full Kaddish (see footnote 177) read by the reader and it is followed by a Mourner’s Kaddish. The Aleinu or adoration prayer since the fourteenth century has been a proclaimation of God as the Supreme King of the Universe and the God of a United Humanity. In the first part Israel aknowledges that it has been selected for service to God and the second half proclaims Israel’s faith and hope that all idolatry will disappear and that all activity will be turned to God. All will be united under the Kingship of God.
Hertz, op. cit., p. 208.
The Shaḥarit Service remains fairly constant in the prayers recited every morning except for the Amidah which changes according to the occasion as described above. There are also additions to the pesukei de-zimra (2) on Sabbaths and festivals, and on festivals and New Moons the Hallel (special psalms of praise and thanksgiving which consist of Psalms 113-118 with various Psalms omitted on certain festivals) is added. Special piyyutim (see footnote 149) are also inserted on certain Sabbaths and festivals during the Shaḥarit Service.
The Mishna and Talmud discuss when the Shaḥarit Service should be recited. The Shema must be recited from the period of time which begins with daybreak and ends after a quarter of the day has passed (Ber. 1:2; Shulḥan Arukh, Oraḥ Ḥayyim, 58:1). One must recite the Amidah during the hours encompassed by sunrise and a third of the day (Ber. 4:1; Shulḥan Arukh, Oraḥ Ḥayyim, 89:1). If by chance the recitation of the daily prayers was delayed they could be recited until midday (Ber. 4:1; Shulḥan Arukh, Oraḥ Ḥayyim 89:1). If the Shaḥarit Amidah is not recited, an extra Amidah is added during the Minḥaḥ, Afternoon Service.
During the daily weekday Shaḥarit Service the tallit, prayer shawl, and the tefillin, phylacteries, are worn. On the Sabbath and festivals only the tallit is worn. One wears neither tallit nor tefillin on the Ninth day of Av for the Shaḥarit Serivce but wears them instead for the Minḥah Service. One must not interupt one’s prayer by speaking from the prayer “Barukh she-Amar” which precedes the pesukei de-zimra until after the Amidah.
Editorial Staff, E. J., v. 14, pp. 1257-58. (Morning Prayers) on the Eve of Yom Kippur.