Musar sobre Deuteronómio 6:26

Pride is the coin which the Great King, Blessed be He, voided, and about which He warned us in His Torah, as it is said: "Take care lest you forget the Lord your God and fail to keep His commandments" (Deut. 8:11). For the arrogant person forgets his Maker, as it is written, "… and (when) your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold have increased, and everything you own has prospered, beware lest your heart grow haughty and you forget the Lord your God … and you say to yourselves, 'My own power and the might of my own hand have won this wealth for me'" (Ibid. 8:13-18). And in the case of a king it is said: "Thus he will not act haughtily towards his fellows or deviate from the Instruction to the right or to the left…" (Ibid. 17:20). If the Torah warned against pride even in the case of a king, so much more does it warn ordinary men that they should not attempt to lord over one another.

And in Sifrei, Parshath Ekev we find (Mishlei 5:16): "'Then your springs [of Torah] will spread outwards': Words of Torah are compared to water. Just as water lives forever, so, words of Torah live forever, as it is written (Ibid. 4:2): 'For they are life to him who finds them, and to all of his flesh, healing.' And just as water raises the unclean one from his uncleanliness, so, words of Torah raise one from uncleanliness to purity, as it is written (Psalms 19:10): 'The fear of the L-rd is pure.' [And, just as water purifies a man, though the uncleanliness has spread through all of his limbs, so, Torah purifies a man from the uncleanliness of his sins, even if it has spread throughout him, from the soul of his foot until his head. And just as a man is not purified until the water rises over all of his limbs, and there be nothing intervening between his limbs and the water, so, he must subject all of his body and his limbs, in truth, to Torah, with nothing intervening, as it is written (Devarim 6:6): 'And these words shall be … upon your heart']. And just as water restores a man's soul, so do words of Torah restore a man's soul from the way of evil to the way of good, as it is written (Psalms 19:8): 'The Torah of the L-rd is complete, restoring the soul,.' And just as water is free for the world, so is Torah free for the world, as it is written (Isaiah 55:1): "Ho! all who are thirsty, go to the water [of Torah]." Lest you say: 'Just as water has no valuation, so, Torah has no valuation; it is, therefore, written [to negate this] (Mishlei 3:15): 'It is more precious than pearls and all of your desires cannot be compared to it.'"

Then when a person leaves his house let him pray this short prayer: “Master of the Universe! Please have pity upon me and spare me from the evil impulse and all its minions, Amein.” Or else let him recite the first paragraph of the Shema: “Hear, Yisroel, Hashem is our God, Hashem is one” until the verse “You shall write them upon the door posts of your house and upon your gates” (Devarim 6:4-9). Then he will be spared that day from all iniquity and guilt.

I have come, further, to awaken ourselves to what is written in the Gemara (Berachoth 14b): "Ulla said: 'If one recites the Shema without tefillin, it is as if he testifies falsely against himself.'" (For he says (Devarim 6;8): "And you shall tie them [the tefillin]," and he has not tied them.) And even though he intends to do so afterwards, this does not avail, since he does not tie them immediately. And, ostensibly, this is the din, too, with (Ibid. 5): "And you shall love the L-rd your G-d." He should see to it [at that time] to plant the love of the L-rd in his heart. And this is as the Chovoth Halevavoth writes in the Gate of the Love of the L-rd, Chapter III, that one should reflect upon the greatness of the Creator and His exaltedness, [His sustaining all the world], and, conversely, upon his own smallness and insignificance and the like. And then he should recognize the great good of the Blessed One to him in the continuation of His benefactions to him from the day of his birth, not according to his deeds, and hiding his sins from men and extending [his life]. And if it is difficult for him to do all this while reading the Shema, he should see to it in any event to reflect upon it at least once a day. Should it be that just because it is a constant mitzvah that is not dependent upon time that it should not be fulfilled even once a day? And it is good that he think about it after praying, before going home to eat, for it is similar to the other mitzvoth incumbent upon a man, like tefillin, or 'taking' the lulav and its species on Succoth, where one does not eat before he fulfills them.

We find that his service was out of love and not out of fear and this is the highest service. The Creator, blessed be He, did not praise him for fearing Him, nor did he say, “The seed of Abraham who fears me or is terrified,” but he said (Isaiah 41:8), “The seed of Abraham, My friend.” We have already said that fear is contained in love. Know that the service of the Creator, blessed be He, out of fear is not the service of the truly pious, but it is the service of the wicked or the nations of the world, as He has said to the wicked (Jeremiah 5:22), “Fear ye not Me?”, and He says concerning the Egyptians (Exodus 9:20), “He that feared the word of the Lord,” for they were not doing His command out of love, but out of fear. But to the pious he says (Deuteronomy 6:5), “And thou shalt love the Lord, thy God,” and (ibid., 11:13), “To love the Lord your God.” But he says in Job (Job 1:8), “A wholehearted and an upright man, one that feareth God, and shunneth evil,” and He did not say concerning him, “a lover of God.” And similarly it is said (Psalms 34:10), “O fear the Lord, by His holy ones,” and this is said of the wicked. For when the wicked cleave to the service of God and sanctify and cleanse themselves from their uncleanliness, they are called “holy ones” as it is said (Numbers 11:18), “Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow.” Whereas of the pious ones, whose heart is pure from the first day of their existence, it is said (Psalms 31:24), “O love the Lord all ye His godly ones; the Lord preserveth the faithful.” And of Enoch, it is said (Genesis 5:22), “And Enoch walked with God,” and it is not said, “And Enoch feared God.” And concerning Noah it is said (Genesis 6:9), “Noah was in his generations a man righteous and whole-hearted.”¹⁷Job was regarded by Jewish tradition as a gentile, as were Enoch and Noah. The latter two lived prior to the time of Abraham, the founder of Judaism. Thus the service of God through fear is not like the service of God through love.

These then are the foundations of love. And every man who has in him these ten qualities, his love can be called a complete love. And concerning these qualities, it is said (Deut. 6:5), “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy, might.” And know that according to the love of man for God may He be exalted, such is the love of God for him. And thus they asked one of the wise men and said to him, “A man serves God with all his might and when does God, may He be extolled, desire to see him?” He said to them, “When a man casts the world behind his back and all its delights and abhors his life and longs for his own death²⁰This example sounds like Socrates’ saying that the philosopher is always seeking death. . In such a case, God may yearn to see him. That is to say, if a man loves the Creator exceedingly, then the Creator will love him exceedingly.”

Now that it has been made clear that our intent is to further the service of the Creator, blessed be He, for because of that the world was created, we say that the service of God is an obligation upon us to fulfill, both from Scripture and from reason. From Scripture, we learn that the Creator, blessed be He, created the world for no other reason than for the Torah, as it is said (Jeremiah 33:25), “If My covenant be not with day and night, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth.” And it says further (Proverbs 3:19), “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens.” And it says further (Proverbs 8:22), “The Lord made me the beginning of His way, the first of His works of old.” We can say that the service of God is an obligation upon us, for the Creator gave the Torah to Israel at Mount Sinai, only as the means to serve Him, as it is said (Exodus 20:17), “God is come to prove you, and that His fear may be before you, that ye sin not.” And it is written (ibid., 3:12), “When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.” And it is said (Deuteronomy 6:13), “Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; and Him shalt thou serve.” Scripture placed “fear” before “service” to teach that if there is no fear there can be no serving of God. Thus it is said (ibid., 10:12), “And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God… .” Now that we know that the world was created only for the sake of the Torah, we also know that the world was created for no other purpose than the service of God. As long as service to God and righteousness stand, the world will stand upon them. As it is said (Proverbs 10:25), “But the righteous is an everlasting foundation.” Since it has been explained that the service of God is what we are obligated to do according to Scripture, we will now explain how it is derived by way of reason. We will say that it is well known that with regard to a mortal king, his kingdom is not firmly established except by the faithful service of his servants. If his servants do not serve him or fear him, then he has no sway over them, and there is no way in which his authority over them can be known. We see that such a king rewards his servants according to their service and their fear of him. If a king of flesh and blood must show his dominion and authority over his servants who are creatures such as he, and who may even be better than he, how much more is it fitting that the dominion of the Creator, blessed be He, should be apparent from our fear of Him. In what way can it be known that He is our Creator and we His servants, and that He endures forever, while we are transitory? How can we make all of this known except by doing His will and by our fear of Him? In this way, we will know what we are and what our lives are.

These commandments are divided into three groups of which some aim at perfecting our souls, some at perfecting our bodies, and others at ensuring that our property will be "pure", i.e. that we will not be guilty of robbery and dishonesty. Concerning these three aspects of perfection, the Torah says: "Love the Lord your G–d with all your heart, i.e. the seat of your physical life, with all your soul, i.e. the seat of your spiritual life, and with all your might, i.e with all your economic assets" (Deut 6,4).

We must strive to attain perfection in the following areas: 1) perfection of one's soul; 2) perfection of one's body; 3) perfection of one's belongings, money matters. Regarding these three areas, the Torah says: "You shall love the Lord your G–d with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might" (Deut 6,5). The life of the body depends on the heart. The word נפש, refers to the נשמה, soul. When we speak about someone as being שלם בגופו, שלם בתורתו, שלם בממונו see Rashi's commentary on Genesis 33,18, we view תורה as well as study and achievements (in study) as elements the soul depends on.

These commandments are divided into three groups of which some aim at perfecting our souls, some at perfecting our bodies, and others at ensuring that our property will be "pure", i.e. that we will not be guilty of robbery and dishonesty. Concerning these three aspects of perfection, the Torah says: "Love the Lord your G–d with all your heart, i.e. the seat of your physical life, with all your soul, i.e. the seat of your spiritual life, and with all your might, i.e with all your economic assets" (Deut 6,4).

The warning to remove all vestiges of idol-worship is part of the overall directive of סור מרע, "stay away from evil." The wording of the prohibition not to covet appurtenances of former idolatry is a reminder that once one covets something one is liable to take steps to acquire it. When the Torah says: לא תביא תועבה אל ביתך, this is not the same as saying: לא תביא תועבה לביתך. The wording of the Torah teaches that the transport of the item is culpable, even before its arrival in your house. Following examples of distancing oneself from evil, the Torah continues to urge us ועשה טוב, to actively engage in doing good. An example of the latter is the commandment to love the stranger, i.e. the one who has forsaken the path of idol-worship. These converts are so beloved by G–d that He associates one's loving them with loving G–d Himself. This is why the Torah uses the word אהבה both for the feelings we are to harbor towards G–d as well as for the feelings we are to harbor and display towards the stranger who has embraced Judaism.

And know that there are sublime virtues given over in the positive commandments such as: The virtues of free choice, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 30:19), “and choose life”; and the virtues of Torah study, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:7), “and you shall speak about them;” and the virtues of walking in the ways of the Lord, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 28:9), “and you shall walk in His ways;” and the virtues of contemplation of the greatness of the Lord, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 4:39), “Know therefore this day and keep in mind that the Lord alone is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other,” and David said (Psalms 14:2), “The Lord looks down from heaven on mankind to find a man of understanding, a man who seeks God”; and the virtues of remembrance of His kindnesses,” as it is stated (Deuteronomy 8:2), “Remember the whole way,” and it is [also] stated (Deuteronomy 8:6), “And you shall know that the Lord your God disciplines you just as a man disciplines his son,” and David said (Psalms 107:43), “he will contemplate the kindnesses of the Lord,” and said (Psalms 26:3), “For Your kindness is across from my eyes”; and the virtues of holiness, as it is stated (Leviticus 11:44), “and you shall sanctify yourselves and you shall be holy”; and the virtues of worship, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 10:20), “and He shall you worship;” and the virtues of fear, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 10:20), “And you shall fear the Lord”; and the virtues of love, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:5), “And you shall love the Lord, your God;” and the virtues of clinging, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 10:20), ”to Him shall you cling.” There are several levels to each of these, as will be explained, with God’s help. And man was created for the sake of these virtues, as it is stated (Isaiah 43:7), “All who are linked to My name, whom I have created for My glory.” And what is the hope of a creation if it does not make the things for which it was created, the toil of his soul and his main occupation?

And one who takes care to study [words of] Torah and to place them upon his heart merits loving the Blessed L-rd, as we find in Sifrei on (Devarim 6:6): "And let these things that I command you this day be upon your heart," viz.: "From (Ibid. 5): 'And you shall love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart,' I would not know by what means one comes to love the Holy One Blessed be He; it is, therefore, written (5): 'And let these things [(words of Torah)] … be upon your heart.' For by these you come to recognize the Holy One Blessed be He and to cleave to His ways."

And know that there are sublime virtues given over in the positive commandments such as: The virtues of free choice, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 30:19), “and choose life”; and the virtues of Torah study, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:7), “and you shall speak about them;” and the virtues of walking in the ways of the Lord, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 28:9), “and you shall walk in His ways;” and the virtues of contemplation of the greatness of the Lord, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 4:39), “Know therefore this day and keep in mind that the Lord alone is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other,” and David said (Psalms 14:2), “The Lord looks down from heaven on mankind to find a man of understanding, a man who seeks God”; and the virtues of remembrance of His kindnesses,” as it is stated (Deuteronomy 8:2), “Remember the whole way,” and it is [also] stated (Deuteronomy 8:6), “And you shall know that the Lord your God disciplines you just as a man disciplines his son,” and David said (Psalms 107:43), “he will contemplate the kindnesses of the Lord,” and said (Psalms 26:3), “For Your kindness is across from my eyes”; and the virtues of holiness, as it is stated (Leviticus 11:44), “and you shall sanctify yourselves and you shall be holy”; and the virtues of worship, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 10:20), “and He shall you worship;” and the virtues of fear, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 10:20), “And you shall fear the Lord”; and the virtues of love, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:5), “And you shall love the Lord, your God;” and the virtues of clinging, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 10:20), ”to Him shall you cling.” There are several levels to each of these, as will be explained, with God’s help. And man was created for the sake of these virtues, as it is stated (Isaiah 43:7), “All who are linked to My name, whom I have created for My glory.” And what is the hope of a creation if it does not make the things for which it was created, the toil of his soul and his main occupation?

“Do not try the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 6:16). And we are warned with this that a man should not say, “I will make a trial with my service of charity [whether] the Lord will make my way successful; and I will test through the properness of my actions, whether my gold and silver will grow.” But the good man will not slacken from his toil in wisdom, knowledge and proper action when his path in the matter of his money and the rest of the goods of the body are not successful. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Taanit 9a) that only with tithes of the storehouse is testing [God] permitted, as it is stated (Malachi 3:10) “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, and let there be food in My House, and thus put Me to the test.” King Solomon, peace be upon him, said (Proverbs 3:9-10), “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first of all your produce. And your barns will be filled with grain, [etc.].” Its explanation is, if you do not have like this - to be filled with grain when you give from your wealth and from the first of all your produce - but you are rather seized by days of poverty, “Do not reject the discipline of the Lord” (Proverbs 3:11), and know that this is also for your good. “For whom the Lord loves, He rebukes” (Proverbs 3:12), to do good for him in his end; that the reward in this world and his honor be exchanged for the good that is hidden and continues forever.

And they, may their memory be blessed, explained about the matter of the apikoros (Sanhedrin 99b), that he is a man who does not act in a manner of awe and exaltation towards Torah scholars, even though he does not spurn them. For example, he spurns his fellow in front of a Torah scholar, and he does not pay attention to the honor of the sage’s Torah status. For since the Torah is not exalted in his eyes - to act with honor towards it - he has no share in the world to come. For this one too will be considered as one of those that profane the Torah. Therefore, our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Pesachim 22b), “‘Fear the Lord, your God’ (Deuteronomy 6:13) - [this is] to include Torah scholars.”

Another among the qualities of the soul is fear. One should fear God and the wrath of God and his parents and his teachers, as it is said (Deuteronomy 6:13), “Thou shalt fear the Lord, thy God.” And he should fear places that are sacred to God (see Leviticus 19:30). He should fear the vicissitudes of time and the troubles that beset man. And he should fear the day of death. And he should fear his wrongdoings. He should be in fear lest he merit not to behold the face of his God.

Chapter 5 - How a person can accustom himself with the trait of kindness (chesed): [Its] essence is love of God - the main entrance for a person to the secret of kindness is to love God with the fullest love, such that he will not leave His service for any reason. [This is] on account of there being nothing at all as beloved to him, relative to his love of Him, may He be blessed. And so, he [should] first fix all the needs of His service; and what remains afterwards will be for other needs. And this love [should] be fixed in his heart. Whether he receives goodnesses from the Holy One, blessed be He, or whether he receives afflictions and upbraidings, he [should] consider them [to be products of His] love for him, as it is written (Proverbs 27:6), "Faithful are the wounds of a friend." And it is as it is [also] written (Deuteronomy 6:5), "and with all your might (meodecah)" - and they explained (Berakhot 54a), "With each and every trait (midah), etc., so as to include all of the traits in Kindness. And it comes out that the secret of His governance is from Kingship (Malkhut); and even as it acts with judgement, it is connected to Kindness. And this is the trait of Nachum, the man of Gamzo, who would say, "This too (Gam zo) is for the good." He wanted to always connect [occurrences] to the side of Kindness that is called good, and [so] he would say, "This too," that appears to be with the 'left' that is connected to Severity (Gevurah), "is" nothing but "for the good," [which is] connected to Kindness. And he would put his mind to the side of the good with this trait and hide its judgments. And this is a great practice, always to connect with Kindness.

The quality of love involves more deeds than all the other qualities. And when a man uses the quality of love for evil there is not a single quality so evil. But when a man uses the quality of his love for good, then that quality is higher than all others, as it is written : "And you shall love the Lord your God" (Deut. 6:5). And there is no greater virtue in the Service of the Creator than he who serves Him out of love.

Let a man abandon all other loves and cleave to love of the Creator, Blessed be He. For the Love of God, Blessed be He, is the goal of all good qualities, and the final purpose of all worthy traits in the ladder of ascent of all men who serve God and of those with generous souls among men of kindness and mercy and of the Prophets and the Pharisees — yes, this is the ultimate goal and there is no goal that is higher than this.

He who serves God out of love occupies himself with the Torah and the Commandments, and walks in the paths of wisdom. Have you seen how he will carry out all the mitzvoth out of love and how he will love God, Blessed be He with a great love, for no worldly reason — not out of fear of evil befalling him, and not out of expectation of good resulting from his conduct, but doing the true deed because it is true, and the good will come in the end. This virtue is very great indeed and not every man can attain it. And this was the virtue of Abraham our father, whom the Holy One, Blessed is He, called "My loving friend" (Is. 41:8) for he served God only out of love. This is the quality that the Holy One, Blessed be He, commanded us to attain through Moses our Teacher, upon him is peace, as is said: "And you shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might" (Deut. 6:5). And when a man loves the Lord, Blessed is He, with the proper love, he will, at once, do all the commandments out of love.

And what is "the proper love"? It is that he must love the Lord with a great, mighty and supreme love until his very soul is bound up in the love of the Lord, may He be Blessed, and he is in the ecstasy of that love always, as though he were love sick and his mind cannot for a moment be free, as when a man is infatuated with a woman, and he thinks of her with constant ecstasy, where sitting, rising, eating or drinking. Even more than this must the love of the Lord, Blessed be He, be in the heart of those who love him, ecstatic with longing for Him, as He commanded: "with all your heart and with all your soul" (Ibid.). And this is what Solomon said by way of a parable in the song of Songs: "For I am love sick" (2:5) and the entire Song of Songs is a parable of this love of God.

It is clear and well known that the love for the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not securely bound in the heart of a man until he feels its ecstasy constantly as indeed he should, and he forsakes all else in the world outside of it as He commanded and said "With all your heart and with all your soul" (Deut. 6:5). And he loves the Holy One, Blessed be He, through knowing His ways and according to his knowledge of God is his love whether it be little or great. Therefore, a man must concentrate on understanding and grasping mentally those wisdoms and insights which make him know his Creator as much as it lies within the power of man to understand and attain.

God glorious and awesome — it is a command to love and revere Him, as it is said: "And you shall love the Lord your God" (Ibid.), and it is further said: "The Lord your God you shall revere" (Ibid: 13). And this is the way to attain to love of the Lord, Blessed is He : When a person contemplates the great and wondrous works and creations and sees from them how God's wisdom is unparalleled, and infinite, he, at once, loves God, Blessed be He, and praises and extols Him and is filled with a great longing to know His Great Name, as David said "My soul thirsts for God — for the living God" (Ps. 42:3). And when he considers these things profoundly he immediately trembles and is startled, he is fearful and terrified, and he realizes that he is a small, lowly, obscure creature, standing with his little, finite mind before the Perfect in All Knowledge, as David said: "When I behold Thy Heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars which Thou hast established, what is man that Thou art mindful of him?" (Ibid. 8:4-5).

Commandment 418 legislates that we love the Lord our G–d, as per 6,5. I have explained the meaning of our love for G–d at length in my treatise בעשרה מאמרות. This commandment is in effect literally at all times. Whenever a person is preoccupied with advancing his ego in this world in any shape or form, he does so at the expense of neglecting his love for G–d and becomes guilty of neglecting to fulfil this commandment. His punishment will be severe. Only by constantly promoting the well-being of people and institutions dedicated to G–d and to Judaism does one consistently demonstrate one's love for G–d.

Commandment 419 requires us to diligently teach the Torah to our children (6,7).

If an outstanding Torah giant such as Moses saw fit to seek elucidation from G–d concerning any doubts he entertained, how much more must we learn how important it is for us – who do not compare to Moses in the slightest degree – to constantly review the text we study in order to be certain that we have not misunderstood any of it. Moses, of course, exhorted the people to be sure to have the right intentions when studying Torah, as we know from 4,39: "Know therefore this day and keep in mind that the Lord alone is G–d in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other."

And concerning one who deliberately places himself in danger and says, "I trust in the Lord, may He be Blessed," about him it is said : "But the fool behaves overbearingly and is confident" (Prov. 14:16). And the Torah has warned us concerning this as it is written : "You shall not try the Lord your God" (Deut. 6:16). And he who places himself in danger and kills himself through his folly, his punishment is greater than that of a man who kills others.

כי נר מצוה ותורה אור, ודרך חיים תוכחת מוסר, We have already mentioned that the weekly perusal of the relevant Torah portion has to include three distinct approaches. First and foremost, one must study the relevant commandments contained in the פרשה, be they positive or negative. This part of the weekly study comes under the heading of כי נר מצוה, “for the commandment is a lamp." Secondly, one must try to understand both the obvious and the more mystical significance of these commandments and their influence on our relationship with the "higher" world, each person according to his ability. In that connection it is important to be aware that no one part of the Torah is less important than any other part. If the Torah tells us for instance, that "the concubine of Eliphaz was called Timnah" (Genesis 36,12), this is no less important a sentence than שמע ישראל ה' אלוקינו ה' אחד, "Hear O Israel the Lord our G–d the Lord is One" (Deut 6,4). Every single part of the Torah reveals matters relevant to our world as well as matters relevant to the "higher" world. Our sages have given us an example of the importance of the verse quoted from Genesis by showing that the name of that concubine תמנע is composed of the first letters of certain words in the verse תורת השם תמימה משיבת נפש, עדות השם נאמנה מחכימת פתי (Psalms 19,8). The implication is that "the Torah is so perfect in totality" i.e. תורת ה' תמימה, that any part of it is מחכימת פתי, "makes the simple wise." All of Torah from beginning to end is משיבת נפש "renews life." The "life" referred to is the life in the "higher" regions. Anyone endowed by G–d with wisdom, חכמה, will be granted the kind of intelligence that enables him to touch base with חכמה-תבונה-ודעת. This is all included in the concept of תורה אור, that Torah is light. Any recipient of this "light," will discover in Torah the three dimensions of knowledge we have mentioned.

And even so, let the dear reader know that even if this book finds favor in his eyes with the help of the Blessed L-rd, let him not think that it is sufficient to know the third part alone. For the first two parts also ("The Laws of Lashon Hara" and "The Laws of Rechiluth" are essential for the man who wants life, as stated in Midrash Mishlei 1:2): "To know wisdom and mussar" — If a man has wisdom, he can learn mussar [chastisement]; but if he does not have wisdom, he cannot learn mussar." The plain meaning is: If one errs in the din itself, no mussar can help him. As, for example, if one thinks about something in his business that it is not in the category of theft. What will it avail him to learn all the teachings of mussar, to inflame his heart with the greatness of the issur of theft, if he holds that what he is doing is not in the category of theft? And the same, in all the other areas of Torah. Therefore, one must learn the dinim of the Torah to know what is forbidden and what is permitted [And he must also learn those areas of mussar which bring a man to the fear of the Blessed L-rd, in order to spur his soul to fulfill the Torah], aside from fulfilling thereby the mitzvah of (Devarim 6:13): "The L-rd your G-d shall you fear." And the same [is true] in our area [of guarding one's tongue]. For what will avail him all the mussar in the world, which speaks of the gravity of the issur of lashon hara and rechiluth if he has permitted his soul to say that this thing is not in the category of lashon hara or that for such and such a man the Torah did not prescribe the issur of lashon hara? It is, therefore, essential for a man to know which thing falls into the category of lashon hara according to the din. And in order to overcome his yetzer and to fulfill what he has learned, he must see to it to study mussar. And that [i.e., mussar] is the [heightening of the awareness of the] greatness of the punishment and of the reward that inheres in this area.

I am nonetheless inclined to go more deeply into the meaning of that statement in the Sifri and to take it literally. We will find that it is quite possible to understand it. In this connection we need to consider a statement that we find in Baba Batra 14b, that "Moses wrote his book and that of Bileam and Job." How are we to understand this? Is there a single letter in the Torah that is not "Torah," not of Divine origin? If so, what could the Talmud have had in mind with that statement? Rashi comments on this: "His prophecies and parables, even though Moses did not need to, and the Torah would have been complete without them." I have not understood this comment of Rashi. All the stories in the Torah e.g. the slaying of Abel by Cain, are all at first glance not "necessary" parts of the Torah, and yet they are all part of the fabric of תורת השם תמימה, "that the Torah of G–d is complete, perfect", i.e. there is nothing in it that is redundant. Our sages usually point to Genesis 36,12: "and Timnah was the concubine of Esau's son Eliphaz" as an example that there is no word in the Torah that is not of enduring and meaningful significance. Sanhedrin 99, even concludes that we are to learn from this that it is better to be a lowly maidservant to a nation that has blood ties with Israel than to be a Lady in a family that has no ties with the Jewish people. Timnah the daughter of a nobleman, had chosen to demote herself in order to be associated with Abraham's descendants in some way. This verse in the Torah is equal in importance to the "Hear O Israel the Lord our G–d the Lord is One."

Great is charity — it is this quality for which the Holy One, Blessed be He, will be praised when he brings salvation to Israel, as it is said, "I that speak in victory, mighty to save" (Is. 63:1). Great is charity — it brings honor and life to those who practice it, as it is said "He that followeth after righteousness and mercy, findeth life, prosperity and honour" (Prov. 21:21). Great is charity — with this quality, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will redeem Israel, as it is said, "Zion shall be redeemed with justice and they that return of her with righteousness" (Is. 1:27). Great is charity — with this quality Abraham, our father, was praised, as it is said, "And he trusted in God and He reckoned it to him for righteousness" (Gen. 15:6), and it is said further, "For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice" (Gen. 18:19). Great is charity — with this quality, David, King of Israel, was praised, as it is said, "And David executed justice and righteousness unto all his people" (II Sam. 8:15). Great is charity — with this quality King Solomon was praised, as it is said. "Blessed be the Lord thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel; because the Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore made He thee king, to do justice and righteousness" (I Kings 10:9). Great is charity — it reaches up to the very Throne of Glory, as it is said, "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Thy throne" (Ps. 89:15). Great is charity — through it Israel was praised, as it is said, "And it shall be righteousness unto us" (Deut. 6:25). Great is charity — with it, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will in future be praised on the Day of Judgment, as it is said, "But the Lord of hosts is exalted through justice, and God the Holy One, is sanctified through righteousness" (Is. 5:16). Great is charity — it accompanies those who practice it at the hour of their departure from the world, as it is said, "And thy righteousness shall go before thee, the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward" (Is. 58:8). Great is kindness — with it the world was built, as it is said, "The world on mercy is built" (Ps. 89:3). Wherefore a man should cleave to the quality of generosity which brings about all these good things (Mekhilta on Ex. 15:13).

We have completed our brief list of the things a man ought to remember always. But everyone should continue to meditate on these according to his wisdom, and he will learn from them all sorts of good and pure qualities, and these will cleanse the soul and will beautify its ugliness. Be ever alert to remember them, and this will bring out in you a superior strength you never knew before. And a man is obligated to keep all of these thoughts in mind constantly, at every hour, at every moment. And he should be careful to remember them with his every breath so that he may never lose his awe and fear and shame before God, who looks upon him at all times. Go forth and learn from what the Torah warned the king to do, as it is written, … "that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life" (Deut. 17:18-19). And it is written, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night" (Josh. 1:8). And it is written, "And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates" (Deut. 6:6—9). And he has emphasized this matter in connection with the fringes, for it is written, "And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them" (Num. 15:39—40). And according to this it is proper to remember God at every moment. And it is written, "Let thy garments be always white" (Eccl. 9:8).

The test of this type of love comes during times of difficulties and troubles. As our sages, of blessed memory, said (Berachot 54a): "'You shall love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul [and with all your might]' (Devarim 6:5): 'with all your soul' - even if He takes your soul. 'with all your might' - with all your possessions."

In some places in the Bible (a mention of) the hearing occurs, followed by urging; thus the expression (Deut. vi. 4, 5), "Hear, O Israel," and after that it is said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God," etc. Furthermore (Gen. xxiv. 52), "When Abraham's servant heard "; it is said immediately following, "He who worshiped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth "; and again (Gen. xxix. 13), "And it came to pass that when Laban heard the tidings, he embraced him and kissed him."

As a result of benefitting from all those miracles, the ערב רב were required to celebrate the Passover and to observe all the prohibitions connected with the leavened bread. You have already been made aware that the ערב רב do have a mystical bond with the emanation דעת עליון, or בינה. The mystical dimension of the מלכות של בינה contains the secret of the significance of המצה השמורה העליונה which is symbolised by the enlarged letter ד in the word אחד of Deuteronomy 6,4, as I have explained when discussing the deeper meaning of that מצוה. This is why the Jewish people were commanded to eat unleavened bread. This is also where you find the secret of why the Talmud (Shabbat 33) considers נשים דעתן קלה עליהן, "the minds of women are shallow." The numerical value of the word מצה is 135, the same as of the word קלה. Moses said to the ערב רב: "You are leaving Egypt this day," היום אתם יוצאים ממצרים. The reason Moses added these apparently superfluous words was to make them understand that there is one commandment which will be addressed only to the children of Israel and not to them. They should not be surprised at this, since they did not need this commandment; G–d did not select them as His people. They had already been given the commandment of מצה because that commandment had a significance which related to them. The reason that the original Jewish people needed the commandment of sanctifying their first-born was that G–d saved the first-born of the Jewish people when He slew the first-born of the Egyptians. An expression of eternal gratitude by those who were spared was indicated as a result. The ערב רב had not been spared; those surviving had joined the Jewish people only on the morrow at the time of their departure, i.e. היום!

To what can this be compared? To [the instance of] a wealthy man, a merchant in precious gems, who, journeying from home, asks one of his companions to take care of his possessions, permitting him first to see his beautiful gems. Upon opening the chest, he sees them, and, beside them rotted earth. At this, he says to himself: "This wealthy one is a fool! How can he leave rotted earth together with such beautiful jewels!" The analogue is self-explanatory. Is it not obvious that all the dead things of the world, in the course of years, all turn to dust, both he himself and all the things he yearned for in his lifetime, as it is written (Koheleth 3:20): "All came from dust and all returns to dust." And he will be astonished at himself forever. How could he have combined in his chest [i.e., in his heart] two loves together? Love of the L-rd and His Torah, the true gems, more desirable than gold and fine gold, and the love of dust — together! Did he not know in his lifetime that in the end all would return to dust? Therefore, one must take great care to drive out of his mind, thoughts of lust for the desires of the world. This is the intent of "And make our hearts one … and let us not be ashamed, forever." And this is the intent, in the recital of Shema, of (Devarim 6:5): "And you shall love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart, etc."

The words השכל וידוע אותי in that verse, mean that "when these attributes originate with Me, then they are something worth boasting about." The fact that the prophet seems to repeat himself by saying השכל וידוע, may be an allusion to the perfection of these attributes personified by our patriarch Jacob, of whom the Torah testified in Genesis 33,18, that he arrived at the city of Shechem שלם, perfect, which Rashi there interprets as whole in body, i.e. physical prowess, גבורה; whole in money, i.e. he was well satisfied with his lot, i.e. עשיר; and finally, whole in his Torah, i.e. he was a חכם. These three kinds of perfection or wholeness, are also described in Deut. 6,5, which tells us how to love G–d, i.e. בכל לבבך, ובכל נפשך, ובכל מאדך. The heart represents physical life, and it was Yehudah ben Teima who when he said "be mighty like the lion," referred to performing G–d's commandments with all the power of one's heart, according to the introduction of Tur Orach Chayim. When the Torah continues: “בכל נפשך,” the reference is to the abstract life-force, the mind. This means that the mind, which normally craves recognition, should be put at the disposal of G–d's commands. The expression "ובכל מאדך," refers to one's financial wealth, i.e. putting that which is normally subject to one's greed at G–d's disposal. We find that these attributes can be employed in one's relationship with G–d, since many of the commandments of religious ritual require the expenditure of money, such as contributions to Temple maintenance, purchase of communal sacrifices, etc. Other commandments require that one exerts one's body, such as all the laws involving forbidden foods. Still other commandments can be performed only if one uses one's mental faculties.

And the Torah leads one to good deeds. For when a man occupies himself with Torah, and learns what is the punishment for sins and the reward for good deeds, then he sets his heart to do good. And the effort required in studying the Torah causes him to forget and restrains him from sin, while idleness leads to sin and brings him down to the nether world. Therefore, a man should be alert to occupy himself always with the Torah — day and night — even when he walks along the road or when he lies in his bed. And if he is not able to study by heart, let him think in his heart about what he has learned and let his mind be on his study, so as not to remove the thought of it from his heart, and then he will have fulfilled "But thou shalt meditate therein day and night" (Josh. 1:8); for the Scripture does not say, "You shall speak about it day and night," but "You shall meditate about it," and meditation is in the heart. And concern ing this it is said, "And shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up" (Deut. 6:7, 11:19). And our Sages took pride in the fact that they did not walk four cubits without discussing the Torah. Either they would learn and study or they would think in their hearts about what they had heard concerning the Torah, or about their studies.

After this, because of the greatness of our sins, troubles multiplied and our academies of study diminished. And the later Tosafot became very difficult for them to understand and they could not bear the burden. Then came other great ones and abridged those Tosafot, everyone according to his wisdom, to make this study easier for the man of his generation. And even in those days there were still men who knew all of the Talmud completely and knew the commandments from their knowledge of the Talmud, until it came about that the Jews were driven from France (1391), where they were holding strongly to the Torah and were studying it with great diligence, just as the Early Sages had done in the days of the Talmud, when the principal goal of study was to review the Talmud over and over again in order to fulfill what they said (Sifré to Deut. 6:7, Kiddushin 30a), "And ye shall teach them diligently to thy children": "May the words of the Torah be sharp in your mouth, so that if anyone should ask you a matter of law you will not stutter and give him any answer but you will give him the corect answer at once." For it is impossible that the commandments will be on the tip of a man's tongue, so that he can readily respond to a questioner, unless he has reviewed many times, as they said, "He who has repeated his chapter one hundred times is not to be compared with him who has repeated it a hundred and one times" (Hagigah 9b).

Also consider that the Holy One, Blessed be He, has given permission to no people in the world to tell His praises other than Israel, as it is said, "The people which I have formed for Myself, that they might tell of My praise" (Is. 43:21). And it is written, "For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God" (Deut. 7:6). And it is written, "And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be His own treasure" (Deut. 26:18). And it is written "To make thee high above all nations" (Deut. 26:19). And the Holy One, Blessed be He, did not give any creature the ability to know the Name, Blessed be He, save to Israel, as it is written, "Unto thee it was shown, that thou mightest know that the Lord, He is God; there is none else beside Him" (Deut. 4:35). And it is written, "And what great nation is there, that hath statutes, and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day" (Deut. 4:8). And it is written, "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; and Him shalt thou serve" (Deut. 6:13).

And therefore David said (see Lev. Rabbah 4:8), just as the soul fills the body and carries the body and outlives the body and is unique in the body and does not eat things of the body, sees and is not seen, and is pure within the body and does not sleep, so does the Holy One, Blessed be He, fill His world, as it is said, "Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord" (Jer. 23:24). And He bears His world, as it is said, "I have made, and I will bear; Yea, I will carry and will deliver" (Is. 46:4). And He outlasts His world as it is said, "They shall perish, but thou shalt endure" (Ps. 102:27). And He is alone and unique in His world, as it is said, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One" (Deut. 6:5). And eating does not apply to Him, as it is said, "Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?" (Ps. 50:13). And He sees and is not seen, as it is said, "Which are the eyes of the Lord, that run to and fro through the whole earth" (Zech. 4:10). And He is pure in His world, as it is said, "Thou that art of eyes too pure to behold evil" (Hab. 1:13). And He does not sleep as it is said, "Behold, He that keepeth Israel doth neither slumber, nor sleep" (Ps. 121:4). Therefore the soul which has within it all these qualities should come and praise the Holy One, Blessed be He, Who has within Himself all these qualities.

Fear without love is for the wicked and the Gentiles, not for the righteous ones, to whom “Thou shalt love the Lord” (Deut. 6:5) is addressed.¹⁸Brull ib. p. 81 n.7

The letter ק in the word יצחק is an allusion to the gift of עולם הבא. That gift is perceived as the reward for performing G–d's commandments in this world. Torah observance became a practical consideration only at the time Abraham and Sarah began converting (12,5). Only then did the 2000 year period described by our sages as Tohu, come to an end. Whereas this process of revealing the "Torah" began with Abraham, it was concluded only at the time the Jewish people, the descendants of Jacob who had not sired any פסולת, stood at the bottom of Mount Sinai. Of the Torah's commandments it is said in Eiruvin 22: היום לעשותם ומחר לקבל שכרם, "the commandments are to be performed today, (in this world) and their reward will be received tomorrow" (in the World to Come). The letter, (number) ק alludes to the age of Abraham at the time Isaac was born when he began to contemplate all aspects of the Torah. When that letter is spelled as a word, i.e. קוף, its numerical value equals 186 or מקום. The word מקום is another name of G–d seeing that it is made up of the letters in the Ineffable Name being squared, thus: 10 ,י-ה-ו-ה times 10, +5 times 5, +6 times 6, +five times 5=186. The "upper" earth [in the Celestial Regions] is holy "soil," i.e. the מקום is holy, and when Isaiah 60,21 says: ועמך כלם צדיקים לעולם ירשו ארץ, "your people who are all holy, they will inherit an eternal earth," the reference is to the עולם הבא. That is the region where G–d directs blessings which continue indefinitely. This is the mystical dimension in which the one hundred blessings are rooted, the hundred gates in the spiritual world which we discussed on pages 159-160. When you look at the numerical value of the name יעקב, which equals 182, and add 4 for his four wives with whom he sired all the children who were loyal to Torah precepts, you have the number 186, the same as the letter קוף, or the name for G–d when His celestial dimension מקום is described. The Torah describes יעקב as part of G–d in Deut. 32,9:. כי חלק ה' עמו, יעקב חבל נחלתו.

Midrash Shemuel on Avot quotes the opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben Tzadok to the effect that the Rabbi Shimon who told us about the advantages of silence in the above quoted Mishnah was one of the Ten Martyrs. All these martyrs sanctified not only their souls but also their bodies. There are two methods of sanctifying the body. 1) The way of Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues who died on קדוש השם, a martyr's death.This kind of holiness is referred to in the Torah as: והייתם קדושים (11,45). The second method of achieving holiness of the body is referred to in the Torah as: אני ה' מקדשם (21,23). Nadav and Avihu acquired holiness of the body via the second method, i.e. their souls were burned whereas their bodies remained intact. Their departure from this world was similar to that of Chanoch (Genesis 5,24), and Elijah (Kings II 2,11). This is why I believe that the reason their bodies remained intact was that their death was due to the intimacy they had established with G–d. When Rabbi Shimon said that he had not found anything better for the body than silence, he alluded to the instruction given to Rabbi Akiva and the other Martyrs to be silent and accept G–d's decree without question. Only after having made this point does Rabbi Shimon explain in detail what this silence is all about. The Talmud (Berachot 61b) reports that when he was about to die, Rabbi Akiva told his students that he had wanted to fulfill the instruction (Deut. 6,5) to "love your G–d with all your heart, all your soul and all your might," as we recite three times daily. He had wondered when he would finally be able to fulfill the part of "loving G–d with all your soul." By dying a martyr's death he was satisfied that he had finally been granted the opportunity to also fulfill that dimension of loving G–d. It was in this connection that Rabbi Shimon – who was also to become a martyr – said: "study is not of the essence whereas practice is." He referred to the difference between displaying one's love for G–d in theory and displaying it in practice. He also wanted to teach that when the practical opportunity to die a martyr's death does not arise (as in 99% of all lives), G–d will consider the intention to do so, i.e. the fact that one has mentally and emotionally prepared oneself to love G–d to the point where one is ready to die for His Name, as if one had actually done so. This is the deeper meaning of: אני ה' מקדשם "I, the Lord, sanctify them."

Although the phylacteries are placed on the left arm, this does not denigrate the right arm; it is required in order that the phylacteries may be placed on the left arm. The right hand is the hand with which both the writing of the portions of Torah within the phylacteries and the tying of the knots is performed. The right hand thus has in no way been denigrated when it comes to the performance of the מצוה of תפילין.

It is stated, “And you shall teach them sharply to your sons, etc.” (Deuteronomy 6:7). This is an admonition to fathers that they must study with their sons personally and sharpen their wits so that they do not approach the Torah in a dull manner. And if the father is not himself a scholar, he is commanded, “And you shall speak of them.” That is, let him speak with teachers to persuade them to study with his sons. He must also guide his children in the ways of business and proper conduct and in all these matters he must see to it that they do not to transgress the Torah by so much as a hairsbreadth, Heaven forbid.

It is well known that in order to rehabilitate oneself spiritually one must exercise תשובה, תפלה וצדקה, repentance, prayer and the performance of charitable deeds. All of these three factors of man's rehabilitation depend on his mouth. Prayer and the reciting of G–d's praises are, of course, functions of the mouth. We know that repentance has to include verbalizing one's confession and one's resolution not to sin again. The Torah in 30,14 mentions that Torah is easy of access, i.e. בפיך ובלבבך לעשות. Rabbi Yitzchak says (Eruvin 54) that the Torah is easy to fulfill, לעשות, once one has repented both by mouth and in one's heart. Confession of one's sins with a broken heart is the principal ingredient of repentance. Charity, too, involves the mouth. Our sages (Baba Batra 9b) say that anyone who gives charity acquires six blessings; if someone also tries to make the recipient feel better by kind and encouraging words he will qualify for eleven blessings. Interestingly enough we have three words which symbolize three aspects of repentance, i.e. צום, קול, ממון, each one of which has a numerical value of 136. This suggests that all three aspects of תשובה are of equal importance. Stated differently, תשובה, צדקה, and תפלה equal קול. The very first part of our פרשה alludes to all the three ingredients of repentance. The Torah speaks about going to war, the plain meaning of which refers, of course, to actual warfare and battles with the enemy. Over and beyond this, however, the paragraph refers to the ongoing battle between man and his evil urge. Many of our commentators are at pains to point this out in their commentary on the relevant section in פרשת שופטים when they comment on the verse discussing the siege laid to a city (20,19). In actual fact, the war with his evil urge is the greatest battle man has to fight in this life. The matter is illustrated in the Talmud by the story of the elderly sage who met soldiers of the army of Alexander the Great at the time of his victorious return from a major battle. These soldiers were in a very exuberant frame of mind. The sage, while he congratulated them on their victory, pointed out that the victory they had won was minor, and that they had to get ready for the battle of their lives against the evil urge. This is what the sages meant when they described the whole paragraph of the יפת תואר as an illustration of man's ongoing battle against his baser instincts (Kidushin 21). By extending this allegory a little further we may come to understand the whole reason why a מלחמת רשות, a war which is expansionary, is allowed: We are always permitted to conduct aggressive action against our evil urges. We can be sure of G–d's ongoing support in that undertaking once we make the first move in the struggle against the evil urge. Our sages point out that we would be unable to subdue the יצר הרע without G–d's active assistance, but that we have G–d's promise: ונתנו בידו, "He will deliver him (the evil urge) into your hand" (21,10). It is significant that the Torah here employs the singular whereas in פרשת שופטים it speaks in the plural (20,2—20,3--20,4). This may be a reminder that the fight against the evil urge can only be fought on a person-to-person basis. We have a tradition that a nation neither succumbs to another nation nor to the Jewish people unless its protective spirit in the Celestial Regions had first suffered defeat. We have pointed out examples of this such as Israel observing "Egypt" instead of "Egyptians" "dead on the beaches of the sea" (Exodus 14,30). We learn from all this that our enemy (the evil urge), assumes many guises, i.e. attacks us in the plural, and this is why the Torah always describes our enemy in the plural (אויביכם, אל תערצו מפניהם). We have to battle all these manifold "enemies" because each transgression we commit creates a negative force in the world which comes back to haunt us. All of these negative forces created by our very selves are presided over and directed against us by Samael/Satan/Angel of Death, etc. The Torah describes victory over this multifaceted but essentially single force with the words: ונתנו ה' אלוקיך בידך ושבית שביו, "The Lord your G–d will deliver him into your hand and you will take him captive." Taking this enemy prisoner is possible only with the help of Torah study and מצוה observance. David describes this victory over the evil works in Psalms 68,19: He speaks about: עלית למרום שבית שבי, "You went up to the heights, having taken captives."

In this connection I find the words of Rabbi Yitzchak Arama, the author of עקדת יצחק, most astonishing. The author of this book [chapter 90, see my translation. Ed.] questions how the Torah can command us to remember something at all; after all, man is subject to lapses of memory, and therefore such a commandment is beyond his control to observe! How can the Torah command us to perform acts beyond our control? Torah precepts involving vision do not apply to the blind because they cannot see, neither do Torah precepts involving hearing apply to the deaf since they cannot hear! The same rule should apply to precepts involving memory. Rabbi Arama answers this question saying that every remembrance has been preceded by an actual happening. It is the happening which triggers one's memory, and therefore the Torah is entitled to command us to use our memory. He quotes as an example the remembrance of the Sabbath legislation in the Kiddush. The mere fact that one observes the commandment of שמירת שבת, abstains from work, etc., acts as a memory jogger. It is therefore not true to say that the Torah commands only our memory. When we put on the phylacteries, that very act helps us to remember what the phylacteries stand for, as demanded by the Torah (Deut. 6,8); the same is true when we wear the ציצית, another commandment which the Torah has linked to memory (Numbers 15,39-40). The sages of the Great Assembly acted in consonance with this principle when they wanted to insure that the miracle which occurred in the days of Mordechai and Esther should be commemorated for all times. Since the Torah had not fixed a specific day for remembering Amalek, they decided to anchor this remembrance by some easily recognisable act and they instituted the reading of פרשת זכור in conjunction with the holiday of Purim. As long as the commandment was not connected with the anniversary of an anti-Jewish act committed by a descendant of Amalek, the commandment itself was in danger of being forgotten. According to the explanation by the Baal Akeydah the question is why the sages of the Great Assembly did not arrange to have the reading of פרשת זכור after Purim, after we had all remembered what the evil Haman had planned?