Les Nombres 15:31 Halakha : Mishneh Torah, Leavened and Unleavened Bread, Mishneh Torah, Torah Study, Chafetz Chaim & Mishneh Torah, Repentance

Anyone who volitionally eats a kazayit (the size of a large olive) of chamets (leavened foods) on Passover - from the beginning of the night of the 15th until the end of the day of the 21st of Nissan is liable for excision - as it is stated (Exodus 12:15), "for anyone who eats chamets, [that soul] will be cut off." Inadvertently - one is liable for a fixed sin-offering. It is the same [for] one who eats [it] and one who liquefies [it] and drinks [it].

Although it is mandatory to study by day and by night, no man acquires most of his wisdom at any but during night-time. Therefore, whosoever desires to attain the crown of the Torah should take care of all of his nights, not to spend even one of them in sleeping, eating, drinking, conversation, or in like matters, but in study of the Torah and in matters of wisdom. The sages said: "The voice of the Torah cannot be heard save at night, as it is said 'Arise and speak loud in the night'" (Midrash Raba, Song of Songs, 5.11; Erubin, 65a; Lam. 2.19. Whosoever pursues the study of the Torah by night has a thread of God's lovingkindness drawn upon himself by day, as it is said: "By day the Lord will command His lovingkindness and in the night His song shall be with a prayer unto the God of my life" (Abodah Zarah, 3b; Ps. 42.9). Any house wherein the words of the Torah are not heard by night, fire consumes it, even as it is said: "All darkness is laid up for his treasures, a fire not blown by man shall consume him" (Sanhedrin, 92; Job. 20. 26). "Because he had despised the word of the Lord, is one who hath not at all observed the words of the Torah" (Num. 15. 31; Sanhedrin, 99a). Likewise, he who has the means to pursue the Torah and does not pursue it, or he who studied and became proficient in the Torah but separated himself from it for the sake of the vanities of the world and abandoned his studies and deserted them is included among those who "had despised the word of the Lord." The sages said: "he who abandons the Torah because of wealth will end up by abandoning it because of poverty, but whosoever continues to study the Torah in poverty will in the end continue its study in wealth" (Pirke Abot, 4.11.). This subject is, moreover, defined in the Torah, for, it says: "Because thou didst not serve the Lord thy God with joyfulness and with greatness of heart by reason of the abundance of all things: therefore shalt thou serve thine enemy" (Deut. 28.47–48); and it is furthermore said: "That He might afflict thee to do thee good at thy latter end" (Deut. 8.16).¹⁴Hagigah, 9. C.

And know that the issur of speaking lashon hara applies even against an ignoramus [am ha'aretz]. For he, too, is in the category of "the people of the L–rd and His hosts" that He took out of Egypt. How much more so, if someone speaks lashon hara against a Torah scholar is his sin extremely severe! And Chazal have said (Berachoth 19a): "All who speak [lashon hara] after the [burial] litter of a Torah scholar fall into Gehinnom." And many times he comes through this to shaming a Torah scholar. And the greatness of the punishment of shaming a Torah scholar is well known (viz. Sanhedrin 99b and Yoreh Deah 243:6) to the effect that shaming a Torah scholar is in the category of (Bamidbar 15:31): "For the word of the L–rd has he shamed… Cut off shall be that soul. "But the evil inclination entices men [into believing] that the din of shaming a Torah scholar applies only in the time of the Gemara, when they were exceptionally wise, but not to those in our times. And this is a great error; for every "Torah scholar" is [called thus] relative to the generation. And even in our generation, if he is only fit to teach and toils in Torah, he is called a Torah scholar. And if one shames him, even with words in general, even not to his face, he has committed a grave sin and is liable to excommunication (viz. Yoreh Deah 243:7 and Shach 68): How much more so if this Torah scholar is the Posek of the city, in which case the issur of one who shames him is even greater. For aside from the fact that he must regard him as a sage and accord him honor since he relies upon his rulings, when he speaks demeaningly of him, he keeps the public from the service of the L–rd. For through this [lashon hara], the rest of the people will say: "Why should we go and ask him to rule upon the Torah disputes between us, when he cannot even mediate between us!" And because of this everyone will build a "sacrificial mound" for himself! (along with other corruptions, too numerous to mention, the L–rd protect us!)