Halakhah zu Kohelet 10:78

And know indeed that what kind of person one is, is determined at the table, for there his qualities are revealed and made known. And thus our rabbis z”l said, “By three things a person is known: through his purse, through his cup, and through his anger.”³⁴B. Erubin 68b. The clever wordplay of be-kiso, be-koso, be-ka’aso of the saying is lost in the translation. For being drawn to wine and other pleasures – surely these are “the drippings of the honeycomb”³⁵Psalm 19:11, that is, the flowing “honey, the drippings of the honeycomb” than which the “fear of the Lord” and “judgments of the Lord” (19:10) “are sweeter.” – is one drawn to the drug of death, and by his grasping this path he will die an everlasting death. But whoever wants to live ought to keep far from this path; “he will eat and live forever.”³⁶Gen 3:22, an allusion to the immortality that would have come from eating from the Tree of Life. In other words, unlike the way Adam and Eve chose, there is another way one can and should eat to gain eternal life. And thus our rabbis z”l said in tractate Gittin of the Talmud, “A meal for your own enjoyment – pull your hand away from it,”³⁷B.Gittin 70a. and similarly said, “‘You shall be holy,’ that is, ‘you shall be abstemious (perushim),'”³⁸Sifra on Lev. 19:2. and “Make yourself holy through what is appropriate for you.”³⁹B. Yebamot 20a: “Make yourself holy through what is permitted to you.” And the author of Ecclesiastes said, “I said to myself, ‘Come, I will treat you to merriment. Taste mirth!’ That too, I found was futile.”⁴⁰Eccl. 2:1. And after that, he said, “I ventured to tempt [limshokh] my flesh with wine.”⁴¹Ibid. 2:3. Limshokh here is from the root of the same verb R. Bahya used above to refer to being drawn to wine, i.e., “being drawn [he-hamshekh] to wine and other pleasures…is one drawn [nemshakh] to the drug of death.” Thus, R. Bahya is using Eccl. 2:3 as a sort of prooftext for his point about wine. And in tractate Sanhedrin of the Talmud:⁴²B.Sanhedrin 70a. “Thirteen woes are said about wine, and they are specified in Parshat Noah. It is written, ‘Noah, the tiller of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard,’⁴³Gen 9:20. which means from the moment he began to plant, he made his holiness profane. That is the point of the expression va-yahel – “he began”- which includes both the connotations of “beginning” (tehilah) and “profanation” (hillul). And because of wine, one third of the world was cursed.⁴⁴That is, the descendents of Ham were condemned to serve the descendents of his brothers Shem and Japhet, because when Noah, after drinking his wine, fell asleep in a drunken stupor, Ham “saw his nakedness.” Normally this is a Biblical euphemism for having sexual relations, hence the severity of the curse. The curse was actually directed at Ham’s son Canaan, most likely to justify morally the Israelites’ subsequent subjugation of the Canaanites and their land. However, the whole account is ambiguous and full of apparent non-sequiturs, prompting a quite a fruitful growth of midrashic attempts to explain the story. One unfortunate stream of interpretation, that Ham’s curse not only involved eternal servitude but also the blackening of his skin color, was later adopted in Christian and Muslim traditions, and used to justify the enslavement of Black Africans well into the 19th century – the so-called “Curse of Ham.” And they also taught in a midrash, “Don’t eye the wine, as it reddens…,”⁴⁵Prov. 23:31. that is, it yearns for blood.⁴⁶B. Sanhedrin 70a. And likewise Bathsheba warned King Solomon not to tempt his flesh with wine,⁴⁷B. Sanhedrin 70b.when she said to him, “Wine is not for kings, O Lemuel; not for kings to drink, nor any beer for princes.”⁴⁸Prov. 31:4. The midrash above identifies “Lemuel’s mother” (Prov. 31:1) with Bathsheba, the mother of King Solomon. And so he said, “I ventured to tempt my flesh with wine,”⁴⁹Eccl. 2:3. and “for who eats, and who feels the pleasures of the senses but me?”⁵⁰Ibid., 2:25. and then remarks after that, “That too is futile.”⁵¹Ibid., 2:26. For it is well known that someone in whose heart reverence for HaShem and fear of Him is strong, will reject and separate himself from the pleasures of the world, and will scorn them to the utmost, for he knows and is familiar with their consequences, while others who are lesser or worthless will fill their bellies with what delights them, and their vessels will return empty; they’re empty because they lack sense “They neither know nor understand; they walk about in darkness.”⁵²Ps. 82:5. About this, Solomon said, “When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider well who is before you.”⁵³Prov. 23:1. He said, “If the wrath of the ruler rises up against you”⁵⁴Eccl. 10:4. and you go out to eat “the king’s food or the wine he drank”⁵⁵Dan. 1:8. in the house of the king who rules the land, understand well and look at those who were before you who chose this way- “what they saw in that matter and what had befallen them.”⁵⁶Esth. 9:26. Doesn’t the high status and greatness of most of them end up in humiliation and submission, “wholly swept away by terrors”?⁵⁷Ps. 73:19. Just what is written right afterwards in Proverbs, “Thrust a knife in your gullet!”⁵⁸Prov. 23:2.And our rabbis z”l said, “Do not yearn for the tables of kings, for your table is greater than their table, your crown greater than their crown.”⁵⁹M. Avot 6:5. Therefore, a person should not seek excessive gains and pursue them, for if he does, his days will be painful and he will never be satisfied, because there is no end to these gains, and whoever pursues things that have no end – is he not sick, blinded by his stupidity? For “every fool is embroiled.”⁶⁰Prov. 20:3. It goes without saying that he has no share in the Torah, because if he were rich and used to eating and drinking with silver dishes, he would be liable to think little of them and become unsatisfied until he had utensils of “turquoise, sapphire, and diamond,”⁶¹Ex 28:18. and as soon as he obtained one of them, he’d want two or three, and this would go on without out end. And therefore a person with good qualities must not in his heart crave for excessive gains, and should be satisfied with a little.

You should not walk with an upright [haughty] posture and an outstretched neck, as it is said: "And they walked with outstretched necks."¹³Isaiah 3:16. Nevertheless, you should not bend your head excessively, but only moderately so that you will be able to see anyone approaching you and also see where you are walking. (Rabbeinu Yonah in Sefer Hayirah). From the way a person walks we can tell if he is wise and intelligent, or if he is a fool and a boor. Thus said King Solomon in his wisdom: "Also in the manner that a fool walks his heart fails him, and he announces to all his foolishness,"¹⁴Koheles 10:3. thereby informing everyone that he is a fool.

(Vav) And see that which our teacher Rabbi Moshe Almosnino (Greece, 16th century) [writes] in his commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastes (on Ecclesiastes 10:1), “Dead flies turn the perfumer’s ointment fetid and putrid; so a little folly outweighs massive wisdom.” As he writes that those that have straight minds are not so incisive; as incisiveness comes as a result of confusion. [And] since those whose minds are not straight have limitations on their [thinking], when [they are therefore required to] push their minds, it brings great incisiveness. [This is] as we see with the burning of a fire – when a little water is poured upon it, the fire grows and has bigger flames; with ‘greater height and greater power’ [coming] from the bonfire than before, without the water. So is this thing: If the mind has a little bit opposing it – which is “the little folly” – then the mind will push against it and the mind will become more incisive. See there. And with this it appears that [we can] explain the statement of the Sages, may their memory be blessed, “‘And behold, it was very good’ (Gen. 1:31) – ‘good,’ that is the good impulse; ‘very good,’ that is the evil impulse” (Bereishit Rabbah 9:7). And that is because the evil impulse is called a fool and the good impulse is called a wise man.²⁷Kohelet Rabbah 4:13. Therefore when there is opposition from the side of folly, which is the evil impulse, against the approach of wisdom, which is the good impulse; the mind, which is the good impulse, pushes against the folly and rises to much [higher] levels than it was before. [And this] would not be the case if there was no evil impulse opposing it – there would [then] not have been this overcoming. And [so] it would have only been good from the angle of itself, but not “very [good].” However through the opposing evil impulse, the good impulse pushes and becomes “very good.” And this appears to be the intention of the statement of the Sages, may their memory be blessed, “‘Happy is the man who fears the Lord’ (Ps. 112:1) – happy is the man, but not the woman? Rav Amram said that Rav said, ‘Happy is he if he repents when he is [still a] man’” (Avodah Zarah 19a). [This is] meaning, that [when he is still young enough], he has opposition from the side of the evil impulse and overcomes it. For then he will very much desire His commandments. (Hence, this is “very good.”) But if he is old and his desires have withered and his impulse has become weak – even though he desires the commandments, it will not be [in a state of “very”], as mentioned above.

That we not believe in a god besides God alone: That we not believe in a god besides God, may He be blessed, alone, as it is stated (Exodus 20:3), "You shall have no other gods in front of Me." And its understanding is [that] you not believe in another god, except Me. And Ramban, may his memory be blessed wrote (Ramban on Exodus 20:3) [that] you will only find that Scripture states, "other gods," about belief of the heart. But concerning their making, it will never state, "do not make other gods," since the expression, "making," does not sit with others (since they cannot be made). And he, may his memory be blessed, was nicely precise [in this] - 'the words of the wise are grace!' And this commandment is the great fundamental principle of the Torah, as everything is dependent upon it - as they, may their memory be blessed, said (Sifrei Bamidbar 111:1), "Anyone who concedes to idolatry is as if he denied the whole entire Torah." And it is the same whether he accepts anything as a god besides only God, or whether he worships it according to its worship - meaning to say, in the way that those that believe in it worship it - or even not according to its worship, if he worships it according to the four well-known [forms of] worship, and they are sacrificing, bringing incense, pouring and bowing; he has transgressed upon "you shall have no." And pouring and sprinkling are one thing, and those that sprinkle are liable, [just] like those that pour.

And there are a few limbs in the beast [with] much blood, which all of Israel is accustomed to extract the blood in them with the power of fire before they cook them in the pot, and they did not want to rely on salting alone for them - and these are the brain and the liver. They roast them a little on the fire and afterwards cook them - whether they wanted to cook them on their own or with other meat. And the custom of Israel is Torah. If he transgressed and cooked them with other meat after salting alone, it is all permissible - and [that is] so long as he did not plan to do so at the outset, so that the matter return to [be permitted] for him ex post facto after the cooking. As with regards to anyone who does this with prohibitions, we forbid it all for him, as if it were at the outset. And I read upon him, 'one who breaches a fence will be bitten by a snake.'

¹The first three of the eighteen verses dealing with God-fearing are missing. The Perush suggests that the following verses be included: ( 1 ) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Prov. 1:7). (2) And did not choose the fear of the Lord (Prov. 1:29). (3) Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord (Prov. 2:5). “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride, arrogancy and the evil way, and the forward mouth, do I hate” (Prov. 8:13). “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the All-holy is understanding” (Prov. 9:10). “The fear of the Lord prolongeth days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened” (Prov. 10:27). “He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the Lord, but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth Him” (Prov. 14:2). “In the fear of the Lord a man hath strong confidence and his children shall have a place of refuge” (Prov. 14:26). “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death” (Prov. 14:27). “Better is a little with fear of the Lord, than great treasure and turmoil therewith” (Prov. 5:16). “The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom and before honor goeth humility” (Prov. 5:33). “By mercy and truth iniquity is expiated and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil” (Prov. 16:6). “The fear of the Lord tendeth to life and he that hath it shall abide satisfied, He shall not be visited with evil” (Prov. 19:23). “The reward of humility is the fear of the Lord, even riches, and honour, and life” (Prov. 22:4). “Let not thy heart envy sinners, but be in the fear of the Lord all the day” (Prov. 23:17). “Be not wise in thine own eyes; fear the Lord, and depart from evil” (Prov. 3:7). “My son, fear thou the Lord and the king, and meddle not with them that are given to change” (Prov. 24:21). “Grace is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised” (Prov. 31:30). Behold there are eighteen forms of “fear” corresponding to the eighteen forms of Trefa.²Hullin 42a. Terefah, Lit., torn. The term signifies flesh of clean beasts rendered unfit for food as a result of either being mauled or killed by beasts of prey, injured, found defective or unskillfully slaughtered although in valid fashion. This is to say, even if they take the life of an individual let him not rebel against Him who gives life and sends death.³Berakoth 61b. If you lose your life because of Him, He will resurrect you and if you remain alive in a situation where you are obliged (by law) to part with your life and be sanctified by His name, He will take your life, and who (none) will rescue you from His hand. And because life is dependent upon eighteen points in the body man is called “living”⁴Numerical value of the Hebrew word “living” is eighteen. for as long as there is no injury to them (eighteen points) he is able to live. Moreover, “eighteen fears” correspond to the eighteen points⁵Hullin 42a. upon which life is dependent, for if you fear the Holy One, blessed be He, He will guard your life and this is as it is said, “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death” (Prov. 14:27). When Abraham wished to take the life of his son Isaac, he was then called God-fearing, for it is said, “for now I know that Thou art a God-fearing man, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son” (Gen. 22:12). The “eighteen fears” correspond to the Eighteen Benedictions of the Silent Prayer. And if you say, what of the verse, “A wise man feareth and departeth from evil but the fool behaveth overbearingly and is confident” (Prov. 14:16) where the blessing of the Lord does not occur, there is, however, the blessing against the heretics.⁶“Fear” in Proverbs stands in apposition to the blessing against the heretics in the “Eighteen Benedictions.” This makes for Nineteen Benedictions! See Daily Prayer Book, ed. Hertz, p. 143. (And if you ask what of the verse) “Who so despiseth the word shall suffer thereby; But he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded” (Prov. 13:13), (it is) in apposition to the first blessing of the Eighteen Benedictions which commences with “Blessed be He.” Why are these “eighteen fears” made to correspond with the Eighteen Benedictions, for when a man prays, he must stand in fear,⁷Berakoth 30b.
/8/ Ibid., 29b. for it is said “Serve the Lord with fear, And rejoice with trembling” (Ps. 2:11), and it is written “They shall fear Thee while the sun endureth” (Ps. 72:5), which our Rabbis explained (to mean) “pray at the setting of the sun.” Moreover, why as against (in apposition to) “Fear of the Lord” does it state “Blessed is the Lord,” (it is to say) that he should not run in prayer as if (to show) he is happy that he is finished. But with every word and everything that he says let him concentrate to put devotedness into his heart. One should consider, if there is a matter to entreat and ask for of a king of flesh and blood, would he favor you or countenance you if you hurry your words before him? Let alone would he not do your bidding, but he will say that you can mean only to mock, and he would drive you away. Do not regard the Crowner of kings less than the kings who are beneath Him. If you come to praise and adore Him, consider this for a moment, if you were to hear a sweet voice and song of praise rushed and hurried without intonation, how acceptable would it be? Therefore it (prayer) is not to be done hurriedly, but with deliberation and a sweet and loud voice, for it is said “And many shouted aloud for joy” (Ezra 3:12). It is said⁹J. T. Berakoth 1:1. that when they walked in the temple court they walked heel to toe so that the worship of the Lord not appear as a burden. Concerning this it is said “And their course is evil and their force is not right” (Jer. 23:10). Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, created the cock’s crowing that we learn a lesson from him, for it is said, “And maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven” (Job 35:11). You would not be proper if you spoke before a king of flesh and blood, and your words were hurried, and if you sang for your pleasure you would prolong your voice, how then can you hurry before the supreme King of kings. You should therefore bless Him with your voice, and not make it as a chore that issues from your mouth. It is only right that when you utter words of supplication you say them in an entreating manner, for it is said “The poor useth entreaties” (Prov. 18:23). When a man entreats a ruler he does not hurry his words but on each matter he concentrates so as not to be mistaken with his words. Before he entreats a ruler or king he sets forth his petition orderly¹⁰Rosh ha-Shanah 35a. that he not falter nor forget nor skip a letter. So should you do, for it is written, “Will thy riches avail, that are without stint” (Job 36:19), and he says further, “Take with you words” (Hos. 14:3). When you recite blessings and praises, make it as though you stand before a king and he says to you, “Let me hear your voice.” Do not hurry your words and do not be anxious to speak. If you need sustenance, do not put your heart only to that blessing such as the blessing of “years.”¹¹Daily Prayer Book, ed. Hertz, p. 141. If you have an illness do not set your heart only to the blessing for “illness,”¹²Ibid., p. 140. because they (will) say about you on high, “This individual imagines that he has need only of this.”¹³Erubin 65a. Therefore let him (a person) be devoted in all the blessings. For behold the “eighteen fears of God” should be before him and he should be reverent of all the blessings. Do not direct your thoughts only to the supplications, for the essence of devotion is for the blessings and praises. They therefore said,¹⁴Berakoth 34b. let him direct his heart toward all of them. If it is impossible let him direct himself to the blessing of Ovos or toward the blessing of “thanksgiving.”¹⁵Daily Prayer Book, ed. Hertz, p. 148. For if you direct yourself only to the (personal) entreaties there will be a hindrance from above,¹⁶Sanhedrin 44b. it will be said that it is not proper to accept his prayer, for with the honor of the Lord he is not concerned to seek Him with devotedness and with supplication. How can we do his will if he is concerned only with his own welfare and not in adoration. Therefore it is good to pray and to direct oneself with joy and honor to the Holy One, blessed be He, to pray with devotion and not to speak to anyone before completing the service but recite those things that initially subdue the heart with mercy. And when you pray add in each and every blessing your request in keeping with the nature of the prayer ¹⁷Berakoth 29b. for they do best to prepare the heart. If you cannot add because the congregation already finished (the prayer), add in only one or two in order that you do not hurry in another blessing. You may add as we have outlined in the Order of Supplication.¹⁸See S. H. Bologna, Section 171. If you cannot add, search out for yourself other melodies and when you pray recite them (the prayers) in that melody which is pleasing and sweet in your eyes, in that melody recite your prayers and recite your prayers with devotion and let your heart be drawn after that which comes out of your mouth. For a matter of request and entreaty select a melody which prepares the heart. For praise, a melody which rejoices the heart, in order that your mouth brims with love and joy for Him who sees your heart. And you are to praise Him with broad love and rejoicing. All of those things prepare the heart.
Lamed, why is this letter called lamed? Because of the verse “That thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always”¹⁹The Hebrew word “to learn” shares a common root with the letter Lamed. (Deut. 14:23). For this reason David indicated with the letter lamed the teaching of fear “Come, ye children, harken unto me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord” (Ps. 34:12). Why does he say “children”? Because one who studies in childhood is not like one who learns in his old age. A son whose father led him in good deeds from his early years onward is like one who is accustomed to travel in a wilderness and is trained to find his way to the city. Similarly, he is like one who is accustomed to go by ship on the sea and knows how to direct the ship to the desired harbor. But he who does not know how to go, will go hither and yon, for it is said, “For he knoweth not how to go to the city” (Ecc. 10:15). And again, one who learns in his early years is likened to the sun, moon, stars, and zodiac, for they go in an upright path as it is said, “But they that love Him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might” (Judg. 5:31). And this is as it is said, “But unto you that fear My name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings” (Mal. 3:20). Therefore it is said, “Come, ye children, etc.… I will teach you the fear of the Lord” (Ps. 34:12). This is the teaching of the secret of fear. The letter lamed is larger than all the letters,²⁰Height-wise, lamed is taller than all other letters. for the discipline of fear is greater than all, for it is said, “O, that they had such a part as this always, to fear Me etc.…” (Deut. 5:26). Behold before him is the greatest of all, therefore lamed is greater than all the letters and its name is greater than all and it is written, “Happy is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in His commandments” (Ps. 1:12).

From the laws of the commandment is that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Sanhedrin 54a) that the prohibition of the mother is even if she was raped by his father, as behold she is his mother in any event. And so [too,] that which they said (Sanhedrin 53a) that one who has intercourse with his mother that is the wife of his father - meaning that she was not raped by him - is liable for two, on account of his mother and on account of the wife of his father. And there is no distinction in this whether he had intercourse in his father's lifetime or after his death, as she is always called the wife of his father, and [so] he is liable for two, as we said. And so [too,] that which our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, forbade (Yevamot 21a) as a fence of this prohibition of the mother, the mother of his mother - meaning to say, his grandmother - and likewise the mother of his grandmother, going way back even to a thousand generations if it was possible to see them all; they are all forbidden by the words of the [Rabbis]. And so [too] they forbade the mother of his father - meaning to say, his grandmother from the father's side - as a fence for the mother, and likewise the mother of his grandmother, going way back. And so [too,] they forbade just the mother of the father of his father, and just the mother of the father of his mother only, as a fence of this [prohibition] of the mother. And there are some (Rashi on Yevamot 21a s.v. dalet nashim) that explained that these are also forbidden way back. And if you ask why the prohibition extends way back with the first ones - according to the first opinion - more than with these last two; the reason is because the first ones approach the prohibition of the mother which is the main prohibition, as behold they have a forbidden grandmother, which is the mother of the mother or the mother of the father. And therefore is it fitting to decree about them even going way back. But with these last two, they do not have a forbidden grandmother. And since the matter does not approach the mothers which is the main prohibition, they, may their memory be blessed saw (said) that it is enough that we decree with these two alone. And 'the words of the Sages are grace.' And these that are forbidden rabbinically are called secondary ones - meaning to say, they are secondary to those sexual prohibitions that were prohibited by the Torah.

And this commandment is practiced by Torah writ in every place and at all times by males. And by females, it is a doubt among our Rabbis whether they are obligated by Torah writ or not. And a man that transgresses this and eats [nourishing] food but does not recite a blessing after it has nullified this positive commandment. And a woman who transgressed and did not recite a blessing has violated a rabbinic commandment, and maybe a Torah commandment. And so [too,] anyone who read Torah in the morning before he recited the blessings that were fixed over the Torah or the blessing 'Everlasting love' (which serves a substitute) has violated a Torah commandment. And therefore one who forgot if he recited the blessing over the Torah in the morning or not goes back and recites the blessing. And one who transgressed and did not recite any of the other blessings in the world besides the ones we mentioned has only violated a commandment of the Sages, but "one who breaches a fence will be bitten by a snake" (Ecclesiastes 10:8). And He, may He be blessed, warned about it, 'measure for measure.' And one must be very careful from mentioning a blessing in vain; since there is a severe punishment in the matter, as he mentions the name of [God] for no reason. And the Sages associated (Berakhot 33a) the thing with the negative commandment of "You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.' And come and see how careful the early generations were with this, as behold, Shimshon the Nazirite of God married a Philistine woman that he loved in the stream of Sorek. And [yet] he was so careful in mentioning the name of God, not to mention it at all - whether it was necessary or not necessary - that Delilah recognized that he told her everything [in] his heart, by his mentioning God in his words, when he said to her (Judges 16:17), "because I am a nazarite of God" - and as it is written after it (Judges 16:18), "And she saw that he had told her everything that was [in] his heart." And they, may their memory be blessed, said (Sotah 9b), "And from where did she know?" And there were those of them that [answered that] words of truth are recognizable, and some of them that said [it was] because Shimshon mentioned God among his words - and even though he did not say it by way of an oath, but by way of a narrative.

From the laws of the commandment is, for example, that which they, may their memory be blessed, expounded (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Rebels 1:2), "'According to the instruction that they instruct you' - these are the decrees and the practices; 'and to the judgement' - these are the things they shall teach from the [Torah] law, through one of the methods that the Torah is expounded; 'from the thing they tell you' - this is the tradition that they received, one man from the mouth of another man." And [also] that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Sanhedrin 88b) that at the time that the Great Court is in Jerusalem, any disagreement that existed in any court in its place is asked of the Great Court, and we act according to their word. But now that, on account of our iniquities, there is no court there, any disagreement that there be between the sages in our generations - and the ones that disagree be equal in wisdom - if we are not fit to decide among them and we do not know to where the judgement inclines, we should follow the stringent [opinion] concerning a Torah [law], and follow the lenient [opinion] in scribal (rabbinic) law. And that which they said (Mishnah Eduyot 1:5) that a court is not permitted to revoke that which was forbidden by a court that preceded it, even if it appears to its opinion that the thing is not forbidden according to the letter of the law - so long as it appears that the prohibition has spread in Israel - unless it is greater in wisdom and also in numbers (is composed of more judges) than the court that forbade the thing. And about what are these words speaking, that [the later court] can revoke [it] when [the later court] is greater than [the first court] in wisdom and numbers? When the earlier court did not forbid that thing in order to make a fence for the people for [other] prohibitions. And since this is the law, it is incumbent upon each and every court in its generation to examine the matter and investigate much and to pay attention to each [rabbinic] prohibition that it appears the generation is practicing, not to breach and instruct to be lenient about it (to permit it), lest the [court] that was before it forbade it to make a fence for the people, [and] knew that the thing is permissible by the letter of the law. And 'one who breaches a fence, etc.' And the rest of the details of the commandment are at the end of Sanhedrin (the chapter [entitled] HaNehenakin.)