Bibbia Ebraica
Bibbia Ebraica

Chasidut su Salmi 45:11

שִׁמְעִי־בַ֣ת וּ֭רְאִי וְהַטִּ֣י אָזְנֵ֑ךְ וְשִׁכְחִ֥י עַ֝מֵּ֗ךְ וּבֵ֥ית אָבִֽיךְ׃

Ascolta, figlia mia, considera e inclina il tuo orecchio; Dimentica anche il tuo stesso popolo e la casa di tuo padre;

Sefat Emet

(a) In the name of my grandfather and teacher, of blessed memory: He explained the disagreement between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel as to whether one increases day by day or decreases. He explained that, in the lamp, there is an aspect of illumination and one of combustion, that being to burn the waste material and to purge the inside by the fire of desire for Him, may He be blessed. And Beit Shammai are of the view that, initially, it is necessary to "depart from evil [and (then) do good]" (Ps. 34:14), and thus the practice of decreasing day by day. And Beit Hillel are of the view that the main idea is to increase day by day, such that the enthusiasm that illuminates through him will purify his body and will automatically purge the waste material. (b) And this is also what is written that Yosef placed Menashe first, while Ya'akov placed Efraim first. For the name Menashe is from "God has made me forget [nashani] ... my travail" (Gen. 41:51), as with "forget your people and your father's house" (Ps. 45:11), and he thought this about Ya'akov. But Ya'akov our ancestor, peace be on him, realized that not everyone is prepared for this, and he placed Efraim first [see Gen. 41:52: Efraim "for God has made me fertile (hifrani)"], corresponding to the view of Beit Hillel. Thus far [my grandfather's] statement, may his memory be for a blessing. (c) And according to this, both the formulation "increases day by day" and the formulation "decreases day by day" make sense, for they are in truth two paths. There are those who proceed by diminishing the subjugation of the body, and there are those who proceed by increasing the light of the spirit and of the insides. And this is a matter of "Ehad marbeh v'ehad mam'it" [originally, it is all the same whether one does much or one does little, provided that one directs one's mind towards Heaven. Ber. 5b, 17a]. And these two aspects are of Hallel and Thanksgiving, as we have said elsewhere.
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