Halakhah zu Tehillim 118:78

It is already many years since I placed my heart to the investigation of the commandment of "Techelet", which in our many iniquities was withheld from us. And this is one of the goodly matters withheld from us in our exile, in our man wanderings, and was forsaken from our good soul, and we are not able to arise up and see, and bow down to G-d in the temple, in the House of our chosenness. For this indeed is the main suffering of the exile, as we mention in our prayers. And as Isaiah the prophet said (chapter 63), "Lord, why hast Thou made us to stray from Thy ways, and hardened our heart from Thy fear". And this also refers to the "Techelet", as is written in tractate Menachot 43b, "Rabbi Eliezer ben Yakov said, whosoever has "Tephillin" on his head, the "Tephillin" on his arm, the "Tzitzith" on his garment, and the "Mezuzah" on his doorpost, is in absolute security against sinning, etc." And it is also said there (Menachot 44a), "His four 'Tzitzith' came and grabbed him by the face," see there. This means that what we learnt in the Braitha (ibid 43b), "'That you may look upon it and remember (all the commandments of the Lord) and do them'; seeing brings to remembering, and remembering brings to doing," etc, see there. And the essence of the remembering of "Tzitzith" is brought by the "Techelet", which is likened to the Throne of Glory, as we have said (ibid 43b), "How is Techelet different from all other dyes? It is because Techelet is like unto the sea, and the sea is like unto the sky, and the sky to the Throne of Glory." And Rashi, of blessed memory, explained, "And through the Techelet one is reminded of the One who sits upon the throne," see there. And see also the Midrash in Bamidbar Rabbah (Nasso 14 regarding the Prince of he children of Ephraim) and Talmud Yerushalmi Brachot (Chapter 1 law 2) and as it is written in the Holy Zohar (volume 3, page 175b), "(And this Techelet is) one string that is imprinted with a dye, and the dye comes from a fish which can be found in the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret) and is called "Kinneret". There was a Kinnor (lyre) which hung over the bed of King David. For sure, this Kinneret (the fish from which the Techelet is extracted) is actually the Kinnor (lyre) of King David which played of its own accord in praise of the Most High King. Therefore, the color of Techelet reaches unto the firmament, and from the firmament unto the Heavenly Throne. And in this conjunction (i.e. the Techelet) the word "Commandment" is used. This is as it is written (Kings 2, chapter 18), 'It is the command of the King, why do your transgress the command of the King? For it is the command of the King (ie. the Schinah)'. And we have learnt, that the foundation and the root are encrowned together in the Kingdom. This is the memory, the crown, and the entrance way to all the other crowns, as it is written (Psalm 118), 'Open up for me, the Gates of Righteousness,' and it is written (ibid), 'This is the Gate for G-d,' and regarding this it is written (Numbers 15), ' And you will see Him, (Hebrew "OHTOH" can be translated it or him), and remember all of the commandments of he Lord.' And to include in this One all the other crowns, "etc, see there. It is also known that the first gate to all the gates is fear and awe. And through it do the righteous come to all the gates, as it is written (Psalm 111), "The beginning of wisdom is fear of G-d."

Repetition of complete verses of the psalms is, however, significantly different in nature. The meaning of the sentences uttered is not distorted by means of repetition. Since the psalms are not blessings, but are designed to extol the praises of God, repetition does not appear to constitute a hefsek. Indeed, the verses of Psalms 118:25-29 are regularly repeated in the course of hallel for reasons advanced by Rashi, Sukkah 38a. Similarly, Psalms 150:6 is repeated in the daily morning service to indicate that it constitutes the final verse of the section referred to in Shabbat 118b as "hallel."

Now the shmita year has arrived (according to the reckoning that we have). Owing to the poor situation of our settlements in the land, we will have to make do with the temporary expedient that was endorsed some time ago by the greatest authorities of the generation, who understood deeply the situation of the new settlement in our holy land.⁶³Rav Kook refers here to the heter mekhira device of selling the land for the duration of the shmita. They had a penetrating sense of what it could become in the future and knew not to belittle its smallness because they understood that plowing these first furrows on our land could be a “gateway of hope”⁶⁴Hosea 2:17. Rav Kook quotes from the passage that likens Israel’s turn to idolatry to a woman’s adultery, which he has previously cited in his introduction. This verse describes the lovers’ reconciliation. In Hebrew, the phrase is petaḥ tikva, which was the name given to one of the first modern agricultural settlements in Israel (founded in 1878) for similar reasons. for our people and portend the growth of a salvation that “came from the Lord.”⁶⁵Ps. 118:23. They realized their historical obligation to smooth the path of the new settlements and, as much as possible, not to let the mitzvot that are connected to the land be obstacles. God does not make tyrannical and unreasonable demands of His creatures. The circumstances that allow us to be lenient regarding mitzvot pertaining to the whole community when there is the likelihood of significant financial loss, or in a temporary situation of acute need, are all compounded in this case to an extent unparalleled in the annals of legal questions that have arisen throughout our lengthy exile. Despite the suspension of the mitzvah (of shmita) that is entailed by this temporary edict, there are still some halakhot pertaining to shmita that we are required to observe. And those who are especially God-fearing, whose holy love of the mitzvot connected to the land that we have long yearned to observe is so great, are not deterred by the trouble and loss they may incur through fully observing shmita as it should be—and they shall be blessed!

Despite the pathos in this communication, which reverberates from across the years and from behind the iron barriers, there is an element in the exchange which is most heartening. The document stands as eloquent testimony to the indomitable spirit of Russian Jewry and as an assurance that, whatever the obstacles, there will always be Jews to ask, Jews to respond, Jews to observe—Jews to affirm, together with the Psalmist, "I shall not die, but I shall live and proclaim the works of the Lord." (Ps. 118:17).

One should not say liturgical poems nor a "krovetz" (meaning "krovot l'Yotzeir" [close to the blessing of Yotzeir Or], and some say it is an acronym for "Kol Rina Vi-shua B'ohalei Tzadikim" [Psalms 118:15]) during the prayer [i.e. Amidah]. Gloss: And there are those who permit [them], since they are [considered] needs of the public (the Rosh; Tosefot; the Ri; and the Ran at the beginning of the last chapter of Tractate Rosh Hashana; and Hagahot Maimoni, chapter 10; and the Tur), and such it is practiced in all places to say them.