Halakhah su Esodo 19:78

However, when it comes to the general connection to the Torah, we find that women precede men. For example, when the Torah was given Moshe was instructed to address the women first. It is written: “Thus you shall say (tomar) to the house of Yaakov and tell (tageid) the sons of Israel” (Shemot 19:3). The Sages teach, “The house of Yaakov” (“Beit Yaakov”) refers to the women, who he must address in a gentle voice. “The sons of Israel” refers to the men, to whom he must speak more harshly, telling them of punishments and particular details. The word “tageid” alludes to the body’s tough sinews (“gidin”), connoting harshness. Further, the Sages derive from the introductory phrase “Thus you shall say” that God instructed Moshe to be meticulous about this sequence, namely, first the women and then the men (Mekhilta, cited in Rashi).

If the wine is changed, one must say a blessing, because even though he has already said “boray peri ha-gafen” when he was about to drink in the beginning, he is required to say a blessing for this change of wine, and this is the blessing “ha-tov ve-ha-metiv.”⁹⁴B.Berakhot 59b; Tur and Orah Hayim 175:1. So why did they say this for a change a wine, and not for a change of loaf or other things? For many reasons: (1) The crucial component for rejoicing at a meal is none other than wine. The way of kings is to change their wine, but not their loaf, and the people Israel are “the sons of kings.”⁹⁵B. Shabbat 67a. (2) Every table onto which they bring wine after wine is an expression of the multiplication of joy, but a person should not multiply his joy too much in this world, as it is said, “Our mouths shall be filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. They shall say among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them!’”⁹⁶Ps 126:2: Az yimalay s’hok pinu ulshonenu rinah az yomru ba-goyim. Higdil Adonai la’asot im eleh,” from Shir Ha-ma’a lot that we recite on holidays and Shabbat before birkat ha-mazon.Our rabbis taught in a midrash,⁹⁷B.Berakhot 31a. “When ‘will our mouths be filled with laughter’? When the nations (i.e., the Gentiles) say, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ Another verse completes this thought, “They will rejoice with trembling.”⁹⁸Ps. 2:11 They said, “In a place of rejoicing there will be trembling.” The explanation is that even in a place where there is rejoicing and joy from doing a mitzvah, there it is necessary that there be some trembling, too, to remember how the world is subject to the evil inclination and is shaken by it, so that it should not be shaken by our joy. Therefore it is a custom in a few Jewish communities at life cycle celebrations and meals celebrating a mitzvah to break there a vessel of glass or “flagons of grapes”⁹⁹Assisay ‘anavim, from Hos. 3:1– variously translated as “cups of the grapes” (JSB); “flagons of grapes (KJB); or even “cakes of raisins.” (RSV). to sadden those rejoicing, so that the simhah be mixed a little bit with trembling. And there is no greater simhah than Israel’s rejoicing at receiving the Torah [Simhat Ha-Torah] on Mt. Sinai, in the presence of the Holy One, about which it is written “like the Mahanayim dance,”¹⁰⁰Song of Songs 7:1. Mahana’im (lit., “two camps”) is the dual form of the word for “camp” – mahaneh. When Israel “married God” as it were at Mt. Sinai, the dancing at that “wedding,” that is the joy they expressed then, was like no other joy experienced on earth. Even the angels came down from heaven to celebrate and dance with them! This is an allusion to a midrash that applies this verse to Ex. 19:17 (M. Tanhuma Titzaveh 11), which R. Bahya brings in his Commentary on the Torah to Ex. 19:17: “Moses led the people out of the camp [mahaneh] toward God.” He says there
Our rabbis taught in a midrash, “600,000 ministering angels descended there corresponding to the 600,000 Israelites. And about them Jacob hinted, “He named that place Mahana’im.” (Gen 32:3), for there were two camps, one next to the other. And it is about this that King Solomon (peace be upon him) was talking when he said “like the Mahanai’m dance.” (S.S. 7:1). It was because the Israelites have been enslaved to four empires, and each one of them says that the Israelites should turn from their own faith and believe in them, which is why the verse in Song of Songs (7:1) repeats the imperative “turn” four times. And we today are subject to the fourth empire, who says, “Turn and let us seek out from among you” [nehezeh bakh], that is, “Let us make some of you political authorities, and give you all kinds of ruling power,” with the expression “nehezeh bakh” [literally, “let us gaze upon you”] having the same connotation a similar phrase has in Ex. 18:21: “You shall seek out from among all the people – tehezeh mikol ha-‘am – [all the capable men … to set them over the people as chiefs of thousands, hundreds, etc.”]. And our rabbis also taught this midrash (Song of Songs Rabbah 7:1): “’The Shulammite’ –is ha-ummah she-shalom ha-olamim dar be-tokhah– the people within whom the peace of the world resides [i.e., the Israelites], and she replies, ‘What would you ‘seek out’ [for leaders] from the Shulammite? [Mah tehezah ba-Shulamit?], that is, “What ruling power, status, and glory could you give to the Shulammite that you could ever find comparable to the state of joy the Israelites experienced at Mt. Sinai. This is “like the Mahanai’m dance:” two camps that would go out one before the other. And they compared the pleasure of the experience they achieved at the revelation there to a dance. To the same point our rabbis z”l taught, “In the future the Holy One Blessed be He will arrange a dance for the righteous in the Garden of Eden, so that I will never be able to turn to your [Gentile] faith, because I remember this dance – that is, like the one at Mt. Sinai. (Chavel, 2:173).
And yet, even at this peak of joy, there was the breaking of the tablets, like the breaking of the glass now to temper the pure joy at weddings. yet you know that even there, the tablets of the covenant were broken. And if you would think hard and lift up your eyes to “ever since God created human beings on the earth,”¹⁰¹Dt. 4:32. you will find in the Holy One Blessed Be He His boundless joy: “May the Glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works!”¹⁰²Ps. 104:31.But His joy has a limit with respect to the human race, “because he too is flesh.”¹⁰³Gen 6:3. That is, humans are mortal. That is what is written about Him when it says: “And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and His heart was saddened.”¹⁰⁴Ibid. 6:6. Even in the Mishkan, which was a microcosm of the world, on the eight day of the priests’ assigned service, which was the day of the New Moon for the month of Nisan, on that very day there was nothing like it in its degree of joy, its intensity multiplied tenfold, to what our sages z”l referred when they said, “On that very day they got ten crowns”¹⁰⁵Sifra Shemini. – you already knew what happened, and to what end that joy came. On that very day Nadab and Abihu died, like whom, after Moses and Aaron, there were none among the Israelites to compare. And this is what Scripture meant when it said, “Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel ascended.”¹⁰⁶Ex 24:9. I.e., in that order was their “ascendence,” their status, relative to one another. And see also what Ecclesiastes says about the joy of this world: “Of revelry I said, ‘It is mad!’ Of joy (simhah), ‘What good is that?’”¹⁰⁷Eccl 2:2. And the explanation of this statement is that because joy and sorrow are brothers attached to one another like day is attached to night, just as a person is sure in the day that night will come after it, and as sure at night that the day will come after it, so is he sure that joy will come after sorrow, and likewise sorrow after joy. And so he said, “The heart may ache even in laughter, and joy may end in grief,”¹⁰⁸Prov 14:13. to explain about sorrow after joy, and he said, “From all grief there is some gain,”¹⁰⁹Prov 14:23. “Grief” (‘etzev) here and “sorrow” (‘itzavon) in 14:13 come from the same Hebrew root. to explain about joy after sorrow. From this you learn that the joy of this world can never be complete, but rather any good in it and contentment with it is “futile and pursuit of the wind,”¹¹⁰Eccl 1:14. all glory in it is to be mocked,¹¹¹An allusion to Ps 4:3. its “glorious beauty is but wilted flowers.¹¹²Is 28:1, referring specifically to the fleeting pleasures of the table: “Ah the proud crowns of the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is but wilted flowers on the heads of men bloated with rich food, who are overcome by wine!” For right at the moment when a person’s hopes are highest in the midst of joy, it stops, flickers out, and goes away. For this reason they ruled that the blessing over a change in wine should be “ha-tov ve-ha-metiv” (“Who is good and Who does good”), the same blessing they added to the grace after meals to remember the martyrs of Beitar when they were permitted to bury them.¹¹³B. Berakhot 48b. The battle at Beitar was the Bar Kochba revolt’s unsuccessful “last stand” against the Romans in 135 CE. The explanation: Ha-tov – “Who is good” – because He didn’t let the bodies putrefy; ha-metiv – “Who did good” – by letting the bodies be buried.¹¹⁴Ibid. And all this is to make human beings feel sadness, being fashioned from clay, composed of natural elements which are dead bodies, sunken in the desires of our senses – so that we’re brought back from a surfeit of joy to the middle way.

The clear truth in the human species is that which most people in the world have agreed about - and the opinion of all people has already agreed with it - to believe the testimony of people. And with the proliferation of those testifying about a thing about which they are testifying, the thing is more established in the eyes of its hearers. And in those testifying being few, a bit of doubt develops in the thing for those that are sharp. And this matter has become so strong among people to the point that they fixed it in the practices of each and every nation to kill a man according to the testimony of two or three witnesses. And since three is more honored [than two], the perfect Torah also [mentioned it]. And from this reason also did the opinion of all agree to accept from the mouths of the testimony of their fathers, their elders, about that which they tell them that happened in their days or in the days of their fathers or in the days of the fathers of their fathers. And there is no doubt that in the fathers testifying being many - and in the ones that the event happened in their days being many - the thing is strengthened in the hearts of the children that hear [it]. Therefore when God wanted to give the Torah to His people, Israel, He gave it to them in the eyes of six hundred thousand adult men, besides the many infants and women, that they all be believable witnesses about the things. Also in order that the testimony be stronger and more believable, they all merited prophecy [at that time]. As doubt never develops about that which one knows by way of prophecy. And that is [the meaning of] that which God said to Moshe, "in order that the people hear My speaking to you, and they also believe in you forever" (Exodus 19:9) - meaning to say, they and their children will believe in you and your prophecy forever. As they will then know [with] a trustworthy knowledge that God speaks with a man and he can live, and that all of your prophecy is true. And had it not been that they merited prophecy, a claimant could have argued about all of the signs that Moshe did in the eyes of Pharaoh and in their eyes and said, "Who knows if he did it with machinations of the wisdom of demons or with the power of the names of the angels. And even though the wise men of Egypt and all of its magicians, who were more expert in the wisdom of demons and magic than all the rest of the world, conceded to Moshe against their will and said to Pharaoh that it it was through the power of God that he did [it] - as it is written (Exodus 8:15), "it is the finger of God" - nonetheless, one who wants to be stubborn will say it was from his greater wisdom that he did it and they conceded to him. But after the prophecy, no type of hesitation remained about the matter. And [so] they knew clearly that all of the events were done by the command of the Master of the world, and that everything come to them from His hand. And they - who saw with their eyes and knew the thing with a true knowing that people do not have any stronger truth than this - testified to their children that were born afterwards that all the words of the Torah, from the [first letter] bet of the [first word], Bereshit to the lamed [at the end of the final words] le'einei kol Yisrael, that they received from Moshe in the eyes of all of Israel were true and clear without any hesitation in the world. And their children also testified to their children and their children to their children until [it reached] us. It comes out that the Torah that is in our hands is a true Torah according to six hundred thousand believable witnesses - which is the tally that includes all the opinions of the men, besides the infants and the women. And now if a seducer, 'whose heart turns away from the Lord, our God,' would claim to us and say, "What is it with you, Jew-man, and your tradition? And what is with you to 'ask your father and your elder?' Investigate and search well with your intellect and establish your reasoning. 'Open your eyes and see' what is in your world - the movement of the sphere and the four basic elements of the land. From them you will you will see and understand the hidden things of wisdom. And investigate with your reason and you shall learn how the One unified"; we would [then] respond to him: From the angle of our investigation, we could never grasp anything of the word of God. As even in matters of the lowly world, all the wise men of science have not been able to come to fullness [of understanding]. As through the wisdom of investigation, who will reveal the mystery of the grasses and the fruit, the mystery of precious stones and vegetables and the cause of the movement of iron with magnetic rocks? As all of the wise men of science and all the men of understanding have stood wondering [about these things]. Even more [would they not be helpful] if we would say to understand from them the glorious wisdoms and the knowledge of God's existence. God forbid for us, God forbid, to come behind the King in our arrogance and to raise our hand and to think thoughts from that which is above our thoughts and for which we have no need. As behold our ancestors, may their memory be blessed, set up a table in front of us - they probed deeply and they come to the fullness of true knowledge. They grasped knowing that God speaks to a man and he can live. And [hence] what is it to us after this to investigate and to examine if the truth is with them? Rather [it is] for us to drink their words with thirst, according to their words and according to their expressions. And the parable for this is one to whom it has been testified by thousands of thousands of people to not drink from the waters of a river, because they have seen these waters kill its drinkers. And the thing was experienced a thousand times at different time periods and with people [from] different lands. And a sage expert physician said to him, "Do not believe all of them, as I am informing you from the perspective of wisdom that these waters are not fitting to kill, since they are clear and light and the dirt that goes through them is goodly. Drink them until your soul is satiated." Would it be good for this one to leave the famous testimony of all and to do like the words of the sage? Truly the matter is not good and an intelligent person will not listen to him and will not do like his words. This is the matter that we have prefaced - that the truth of matters of the world is known by the multitude of people that testify about it more than by those that prove their words from the angle of their intellect and investigation. Since because man is lacking perfection, his intellect does not grasp the fullness of things. And therefore the chosen path is for a man to fulfill all the words of the Torah, which was received by trustworthy witnesses, which the Master of wisdom gave to people. And in it is included all precious knowledge and all glorious wisdom.

And behold by this is understood the jealousy of the nachash/serpent who was jealous of Adam Harishon before the chet and provoked him to make him stumble, because he was jealous of his ketonet ohr since he saw he had a great ohr makif around him according to the value of the ketonet ohr, and he had no grip on the ohr makif, in the sod/secret, and the nachash was `arum/bare as it says, and therefore he provoked him to make him stumble and he caused that the ketonet ohr be removed from him and for `or to be instead of ohr, as it is written, "Vaya`as Hashem Elohim le'adam ve'ishto kotnot `ohr vayalbishem/And Hashem Elohim made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them," and they said in the Holy Zohar that serpent skin clung to him, and with this I explained the remez of the scripture in the word "vayalbishem," reading it as "vai levusham/Woe for their clothing!", it was the serpent skin; it was "vai" because it clung to them, which was all due to the chet, and it seems to me, bsd, the the difference between "ohr" and "`or" is a gematria of 69, gematria of yagon/grief, and it is known that grief is from the side of the sitra achra as is known is the intention in vehaser mimenu yagon ve'anachah<sup>[1]</sup> from hashiva shofteinu in the `Amidah prayer which is the force of impurity aliased yagon and the force of impurity aliased anachah, as mentioned in the siddur of the Rashash z"l, and therefore we find that evyon/impoverished and yagon are the same gematria, because someone who becomes evyon of mitzvot, yagon clings to him, as the two letters aleft-vet become gimel, and then the letters of evyon become the letters of yagon, but in the future when the tikkun/perfection is completed the yagon will be removed completely and then the count of yagon will be missing from the letter `ayin of `or/skin, and what will remain is aleph, and then there will be the reunion of ohr/light as the crown returns to its old place: What follows from the above is that the chitzonim ["outside;" forces that are outside of kedushah] have no grip on the ohr hamakif, which is why the serpent was jealous of Adam Harishon because of his ohr hamakif which he was bare of since he had no grip on it, behold from this is understood bsd the reason that the mitzvah of tzitzit is effective in remembering the mitzvot of Hashem as it is written, "u're'item oto u'zechartem et kol mitzvot Hashem/and you shall see it and remember all the mitzvot of Hashem"^[2]Num. 15. The reason is the tzitzit are aspect of ohr makif as Rabeinu the Arizal wrote, and therefore it has power to repel the klipot and since it repels the klipot therefore it aids memory, for it is known what Rabeinu z"l wrote in the Kavanot regarding the secret of the garments that a man wears, that it is necessary to be careful to not put on two garments simultaneously, and doing so breeds forgetfulness, and the secret of the thing is that each garment has an aspect of ohr hamakif, and nothings repels the klipot like the ohr hamakif, since they are unable to feed from them and grip them, and therefore one who joins two garments and dons them together does not leave a space for the ohr hamakif to enter between the two garments to surround each garment, and thereby the klipot are not repelled from there, and it is known that forgetfulness does not happen except because of the klipot, because memory is from the side of kedushah in the sod of "ein shikhechah lifnei kise kevodekha/nothing is forgotten before Your throne of glory,"^[3]Berakhot 32b and Yamim Nora'im prayers end quote, q.v.. And from this it is understood the beautiful reason why the tzitzit because it is the aspect of ohr makif therefore it has power to push off the klipot and thereby forgetfulness is repelled and memory dominates, by one's seeing and remembering the mitzvot of Hashem, because by seeing it, via the contemplations related to it the illumination of the ohr hamakif is stimulated which is the sod of the tzitzit. And therefore tzitzit is gematria "beit ya`akov", of which we say "beit ya`akov lekhu ve nelekhah be'ohr Hashem/House of Ya`akov go and let us walk in the light of Hashem"<sup>[4]</sup>Isa. 2:5, recited in morning prayers, because the grip of the ohr hamakif which is the sod of tzitzit is only for Yisrael who are the Beit Ya`akov, and on this we say "va'esa etchem `al kanfei nesharim/And I shall lift you up on wings of eagles..."^[5]Ex. 19:4 but when the tikkun is finished "...ve'avi etchem elai/and I shall bring you to Me," i.e. you will perceive everthying, even regarding the tallit; [also] elai is spelled el-yud (to the yud) which is the sod of chokhmah.

You should know that that which they said (Makkot 23b), "613 commandments were stated to Moshe at Sinai," indicates that this is the number of the commandments that are practiced for [all] generations. For commandments that are not practiced for [all] generations do not have a connection to Sinai - whether they were stated at Sinai or elsewhere. However their intention in saying, "at Sinai," was that the main giving of the Torah was at Sinai. And that was His, may He be elevated, saying, "Come up to Me on the mountain and be there, and I will give [it] to you" (Exodus 24:12). And in explanation, they said, "What is the verse [that alludes to this]? 'Moshe commanded us the Torah, an inheritance of the congregation of Yaakov' (Deuteronomy 33:4)" - meaning to say - "the numerical value of [the word,] Torah is 611. In addition, 'I am the Lord your God' and 'You shall have no other gods' (Exodus 20:2, 3), that we heard from the mouth of the Almighty." And with them, the total of the commandments is 613. They wanted to say with this indication that the thing that Moshe commanded us - and that we did not hear from anyone but him - was the number of 611 commandments. And he called it, "an inheritance of the congregation of Yaakov." And a commandment that is not practiced for [all] the generations is not an inheritance for us. For it is indeed only that which will be continuous for the generations - as it is stated (Deuteronomy 11:21), "like the days of the heavens upon the earth" - that will be called an inheritance for us. And likewise, their statement (Tanchuma, Ki Tetzeh), that it is as if each and every limb commands a person to do a commandment; and it is as if each and every day is warning a person from sin. This is a proof that the number will never be lacking. But if commandments that are not practiced for [all] generations were included in the count of the commandments, behold that the number would be lacking once the obligation of such a commandment ceased. And then this statement would only be correct for a limited time. However someone besides us already erred in this principle as well and counted - because he was forced by a need - "But let them not go inside and witness the dismantling of the sanctuary" (Numbers 4:20); and "he shall serve no more" (Numbers 8:25), concerning the Levites. Yet these were also only practiced in the wilderness. And even though they said (Sanhedrin 81b:18), "From where is there a hint about one who steals a jar for the Temple service (that he is killed)? 'But let them not go inside and witness the dismantling of the sanctuary'" - there is enough [clarification here] in their saying, "a hint." But the simple understanding of the verse is not like this; and it is not even included in those liable for the death penalty at the hands of the Heavens - as is explained in the Tosefta (Tosefta Keritot 1) and in Sanhedrin (Sanhedrin 83a). And I am wondering about this, why they mentioned these negative commandments. Why did they not [also] count about the manna, "Let no one leave any of it over until morning" (Exodus 16:19); or that which He, may He blessed said, "Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war" (Deuteronomy 2:9), and likewise the prohibition that came about the the Children of Ammon, "do not harass them or start a fight with them" (Deuteronomy 2:19). And likewise should he count among the positive commandments, "Make a seraph figure and mount it on a standard" (Numbers 21:8); and its saying, "Take a jar and put one omer of manna in it" (Exodus 16:33) - like he counted the tithe of the [booty] (Numbers 31) and the dedication of the altar (Numbers 7). And he should have also counted, "Be ready for the third day" (Exodus 19:15); "neither shall the flocks and the herds graze" (Exodus 34:3); "they shall not destroy, to come up" (Exodus 19:24); and many like these. And no intelligent person will doubt that all of these commandments were given to Moshe at Sinai as commands and [prohibitions; however they were all temporary and not practiced for [all] generations. And therefore they were not counted. And because of this principle, it is inappropriate to count the blessings and the curses that they were commanded at Gerizim and Eval; nor to count the building of the altar that we were commanded to build when we entered the Land of Canaan - for all of these were temporary commandments. And likewise, not the command that we were commanded to sacrifice any animal, from which we want to eat, as peace-offerings - as this was only a temporary command. And that was its saying, "and you shall bring them to the Lord" (Leviticus 7:8)." And they said in Sifrei, Achrei Mot, "'And you shall bring them' is a positive commandment" - but it was only so in the wilderness. For the dispensation to eat meat for pleasure is explained in [Deuteronomy]; and that is its saying, "you may eat meat whenever you wish" (Deuteronomy 12:20). And had it been appropriate to count everything of this type - meaning all that Moshe was commanded from the day he was appointed to be a prophet until the day he died - there would be more than three hundred commandments, besides the commandments that are practiced for [all] generations. This is when we count all the commands that came in Egypt, everything about the preparations [for the tabernacle service], and the other ones besides them - some are positive commandments and some are negative commandments, but they are all written in the Torah. And since he did not count all of them, he is perforce also obligated not to count any of them; and not like this other man, who took [only] some of these things to help him, when he toiled to find the [right] tally. And this is the critique we wanted to make about him regarding this principle.

You should know that that which they said (Makkot 23b), "613 commandments were stated to Moshe at Sinai," indicates that this is the number of the commandments that are practiced for [all] generations. For commandments that are not practiced for [all] generations do not have a connection to Sinai - whether they were stated at Sinai or elsewhere. However their intention in saying, "at Sinai," was that the main giving of the Torah was at Sinai. And that was His, may He be elevated, saying, "Come up to Me on the mountain and be there, and I will give [it] to you" (Exodus 24:12). And in explanation, they said, "What is the verse [that alludes to this]? 'Moshe commanded us the Torah, an inheritance of the congregation of Yaakov' (Deuteronomy 33:4)" - meaning to say - "the numerical value of [the word,] Torah is 611. In addition, 'I am the Lord your God' and 'You shall have no other gods' (Exodus 20:2, 3), that we heard from the mouth of the Almighty." And with them, the total of the commandments is 613. They wanted to say with this indication that the thing that Moshe commanded us - and that we did not hear from anyone but him - was the number of 611 commandments. And he called it, "an inheritance of the congregation of Yaakov." And a commandment that is not practiced for [all] the generations is not an inheritance for us. For it is indeed only that which will be continuous for the generations - as it is stated (Deuteronomy 11:21), "like the days of the heavens upon the earth" - that will be called an inheritance for us. And likewise, their statement (Tanchuma, Ki Tetzeh), that it is as if each and every limb commands a person to do a commandment; and it is as if each and every day is warning a person from sin. This is a proof that the number will never be lacking. But if commandments that are not practiced for [all] generations were included in the count of the commandments, behold that the number would be lacking once the obligation of such a commandment ceased. And then this statement would only be correct for a limited time. However someone besides us already erred in this principle as well and counted - because he was forced by a need - "But let them not go inside and witness the dismantling of the sanctuary" (Numbers 4:20); and "he shall serve no more" (Numbers 8:25), concerning the Levites. Yet these were also only practiced in the wilderness. And even though they said (Sanhedrin 81b:18), "From where is there a hint about one who steals a jar for the Temple service (that he is killed)? 'But let them not go inside and witness the dismantling of the sanctuary'" - there is enough [clarification here] in their saying, "a hint." But the simple understanding of the verse is not like this; and it is not even included in those liable for the death penalty at the hands of the Heavens - as is explained in the Tosefta (Tosefta Keritot 1) and in Sanhedrin (Sanhedrin 83a). And I am wondering about this, why they mentioned these negative commandments. Why did they not [also] count about the manna, "Let no one leave any of it over until morning" (Exodus 16:19); or that which He, may He blessed said, "Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war" (Deuteronomy 2:9), and likewise the prohibition that came about the the Children of Ammon, "do not harass them or start a fight with them" (Deuteronomy 2:19). And likewise should he count among the positive commandments, "Make a seraph figure and mount it on a standard" (Numbers 21:8); and its saying, "Take a jar and put one omer of manna in it" (Exodus 16:33) - like he counted the tithe of the [booty] (Numbers 31) and the dedication of the altar (Numbers 7). And he should have also counted, "Be ready for the third day" (Exodus 19:15); "neither shall the flocks and the herds graze" (Exodus 34:3); "they shall not destroy, to come up" (Exodus 19:24); and many like these. And no intelligent person will doubt that all of these commandments were given to Moshe at Sinai as commands and [prohibitions; however they were all temporary and not practiced for [all] generations. And therefore they were not counted. And because of this principle, it is inappropriate to count the blessings and the curses that they were commanded at Gerizim and Eval; nor to count the building of the altar that we were commanded to build when we entered the Land of Canaan - for all of these were temporary commandments. And likewise, not the command that we were commanded to sacrifice any animal, from which we want to eat, as peace-offerings - as this was only a temporary command. And that was its saying, "and you shall bring them to the Lord" (Leviticus 7:8)." And they said in Sifrei, Achrei Mot, "'And you shall bring them' is a positive commandment" - but it was only so in the wilderness. For the dispensation to eat meat for pleasure is explained in [Deuteronomy]; and that is its saying, "you may eat meat whenever you wish" (Deuteronomy 12:20). And had it been appropriate to count everything of this type - meaning all that Moshe was commanded from the day he was appointed to be a prophet until the day he died - there would be more than three hundred commandments, besides the commandments that are practiced for [all] generations. This is when we count all the commands that came in Egypt, everything about the preparations [for the tabernacle service], and the other ones besides them - some are positive commandments and some are negative commandments, but they are all written in the Torah. And since he did not count all of them, he is perforce also obligated not to count any of them; and not like this other man, who took [only] some of these things to help him, when he toiled to find the [right] tally. And this is the critique we wanted to make about him regarding this principle.

The host enters first into the house, then the guest after him. And when the guest leaves, the guest leaves first, then the host after him.¹⁷Derekh Eretz Rabba 4. One must beware of saying birkat ha-mazon if one’s father, or teacher, or someone greater in wisdom than he is at the table, unless he gets permission from them. And if there is a kohen among them, one should defer to the kohen, for thus it is written, “And you shall make him holy,”¹⁸Lev. 21:8 and the sages interpreted this in a midrash to mean, “you shall make him holy in everything that involves holiness, such as letting him open first, say a blessing first, take the nicest portion first, since a person is required to bestow honors upon the seed of Aaron.¹⁹B.Gittin 59b. And if there’s a kohen who’s a talmid hakham (i.e., a Torah scholar)²⁰Lit., “disciple of a sage,” i.e., someone learned in rabbinic Torah. and an ordinary Jew who’s a talmid hakham, and the kohen wishes to bestow an honor on him, he may. For it is said about a kohen, “You shall make him holy [ve-kidashto]” but it is also said about ordinary Israelites “Set bounds about the mountain and make it holy [ve-kidashto],” and in the entire Torah there are only these two occurrences of “ve-kidashto:” one at the beginning of the verse, the other at the end of the verse.²¹Lev. 21:8 and Ex. 19:23. In Ex. 19:23, Moses says to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you warned us saying, “set bounds about the mountain and make it holy [ve-kidashto].” However, R. Bahya takes the “it” in the pronominal suffix of ve-kidashto to refer to “the people [ha-‘am],” i.e., the Israelites, not the mountain. Grammatically both are masculine singular. This comes to teach about the kohen, that his greatness comes when he begins things, like opening first, or saying a blessing first. But the talmid hakham, his greatness comes at the end, which we derive from what is written, “to the holy ones [la-kedoshim] who are in the land,”²²Ps. 16:3. which the sages interpret in a midrash to mean the holy ones are not called “holy ones” until they have been given their “land.”²³Midrash Tehillim on Ps. 16:3. as it is said, “they become holy ones [la-kedoshim]- those who are in the land.”²⁴The midrash seems to read la-kedoshim (“to the holy ones) as if it were in the Hebrew grammatical construction “hayu le-:” “they became holy ones.” But about them during their lifetime it is written, “He should not trust that he is among His holy ones.”²⁵Job 15:15, as R. Bahya creatively reads the verse, which the JSB translates “He puts no trust in His Holy ones.”

Behold that there are commands and warnings that appear in the Torah that are not about a specific thing, but rather include all of the commandments. It is as if it says, "Do everything I have commanded you to do and be careful about anything from which I have prohibited you"; or "Do not transgress anything of what I have commanded you about." And there is no room to count this command on its own - as it does not command us to do a specific act, such that it should be a positive commandment; nor does it warn us from doing a specific act, such that it should be a negative commandment. And this is like its saying, "Be on guard concerning all that I have told you" (Exodus 23:13); and what is stated, "And you shall keep my statutes" (Leviticus 19:19); "And you shall keep my judgements" (Leviticus 18:4); "and you shall keep My covenant" (Exodus 19:5); "And you shall keep My charge" (Leviticus 18:30), and many like these. And [others] have already erred in this principle, such that they counted, "You shall be holy" (Leviticus 19:2), to be included among the positive commandments. And they did not know that "You shall be holy," and "you shall sanctify yourselves and be holy" (Leviticus 11:44) are commands to keep the whole Torah. It is as if it said, "Be holy by doing everything I have commanded you and being careful about anything I have prohibited to you." And the words of the Sifra (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 1:1) are, "'You shall be holy' - you shall be separated - meaning to say, separate from all the disgraceful things that I have prohibited to you." And in the Mekhilta (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 22:30:1), "Issi ben Yehudah says, 'When the Holy One, Blessed be He, originates a commandment for Israel, He adds holiness to them'" - meaning to say this command is not a command in itself, but rather follows from the commands that they have been commanded. So one who fulfills this command will be called, holy. And there is no difference between it saying, "You shall be holy," or if it had said, "Do my commandments." Would you see that that which is being said [here] is a positive commandment, in addition to the commandments that it is referring back to, that we have been commanded? Likewise should we not say that "You shall be holy," and that which is similar to it, is a commandment - for it has not commanded us to do anything besides what we [already] know. And the words of the Sifrei (Sifrei Bamidbar 115:1): "'You shall be holy' - that is the holiness of the commandments.' Hence behold what we have been working around is clear. And also based on this principle is its saying, "Cut away the thickening about your hearts" (Deuteronomy 10:16) - meaning to say, that one accept and obey all of the commandments already mentioned. And so too, "and stiffen your necks no more" (Deuteronomy 10:16) - meaning to say, do not harden your heart and accept that which I commanded you, and do not transgress it.

Likewise, we find that in all the great events which occurred to the Jewish people, the great virtue of women was manifested, for they preceded men in choosing the path of faith. It seems, then, that masculine intellectual analysis is sufficient under normal circumstances; however, where additional spirituality and more faith are required, it is specifically the feminine attributes which are necessary. “R. Akiva preached, ‘In the merit of righteous women, the people of Israel left Egypt’” (Yalkut Shimoni, Tehilim 795, and see Rashi on Shemot 38:8). At the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, the women were addressed first (Rashi on Shemot 19:3, based on a midrash). Similarly, we learn how to honor the Torah from women (below, 7:1). Men even learn Torah in the merit of women’s profound insight (see Berakhot 17a and below, 7:1). Additionally, women did not participate in the sin of the Golden Calf (Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer §45) or the sin of the Spies (Tanḥuma Pinḥas §7). Concerning the future, the Sages say “Generations are only redeemed in the merit of its righteous women” (Midrash Zuta, Ruth 4:11).¹It seems that from the standpoint of the human intellectual virtue, men are more universal, whereas from the standpoint of the perception of the divine idea and faith, as expressed via intuitive vitality, women are more universal. Therefore, women grasp momentous historical divine processes to a greater degree.

(Chet) [Yet] I saw ‘difficult visions’: Behold, it is written in Parashat Behaalotecha (Num. 11:35-12:1), “Then the people set out from Kivrot-Hataavah to Hatserot and were in Hatserot. Miriam and Aharon spoke against Moshe because of the Cushite woman he had married.” And Tosafot on Yevamot 62a (s. v. dekhtiv emor lehem) asked why it is that they waited a long time after the giving of the Torah to speak about Moshe (since their problem was that he had separated from his wife earlier, from when the Torah was given). And they answered that – according to that which is found in the Talmud Yerushalmi³¹The common text of Tosafot has the citation as Sifrei and presumably refers to the account in Sifrei Zuta 12:1. – the seventy elders were chosen at Kivrot-Hataavah. And [at that time] Miriam said to Tsipporah, “Happy are the wives of these [men] that were chosen for greatness.” Tsipporah [however answered], “Woe to them, as behold my husband Moshe separated from me from the day that the Holy One, blessed be He, started speaking to him.” And then the matter became known to them. See there. And it appears [that this is connected to] that which we find there (Num. 11:4-7) that “they desired a desire […] and they said, ‘Who will feed us meat? We remember the fish that we used to eat free in Egypt, etc. Now our souls are dry; there is nothing at all but this manna in our eyes.’ And the manna was like coriander seed, and in color it was like bdellium.” And Rashi (Rashi on Numbers 11:7) explained, “He who said that (i.e. the previous verse) did not say this […]; but rather [it is] the Holy One, blessed be He, who had, ‘And the manna was like coriander seed,’ written in the Torah (even though no one said it).” And it is [further] written (Num. 11:10), “And Moshe heard the people weeping, each family apart, each person at the entrance of his tent.” And Rashi (on this verse) explained [that] “each family apart”³²Le’mishpechoteichem, which can also be read as, for their families. [means], “because of family affairs – because of the sexual prohibitions [of blood-relatives] that had been forbidden to them.” See there. And that is astonishing; as what does the quarrel of the manna have to do with matters of sexual prohibitions? And it appears that it can be explained according to what the Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said about that which is found in the Gemara (Shabbat 88a), “‘And they stood at the lowermost part of the mountain’³³Be’tachtit haHar, which can also be read as, in the lowermost part of the mountain. (Exod. 19:17) – […] teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, overturned the mountain above [the Jews] like a tub, [and said to them], ‘If you accept the Torah, excellent; but if not, there will be your burial.’” And it was asked [that] behold, they already assented and said (Exod. 24:7), “We will do and hear!”³⁴While this is essentially the same question that he cites from the Midrash Tanchuma in Paragraph Zayin, he will now proceed to give a different answer. And it is written in Gur Aryeh³⁵Gur Aryeh on Exodus 19:17. that it is not possible for the Torah to be received by choice – that they would accept it if they wanted to, and not accept it if they did not want to – but rather the Holy One, blessed be He, is showing them that the Torah is imperative for them (that it had to be accepted by them). And something imperative exists permanently; as it is found in the Midrash, that concerning a [woman] forced [to have sexual relations], it is written (Deut. 22:19), “he may not send her away all of his days.”³⁶This midrash is unknown. See Yehoshua Hartman’s edition of Gur Aryeh ad loc., Note 273; and M. Kasher’s Torah Shelemah ad loc., Note 224. See there. And behold we have found that they desired a desire; meaning that they did not have any physical desire and – as is written by (Rabbi Moshe) Alshekh (on Num. 11:4) – they desired that they would have desire. See there. And according to what I have written, the reason is that on account of the manna – that was from the minister of the Torah, and was the bread of mighty ones – all of their wish and yearning was only for Torah. And ‘their souls were dry’ and empty from all physical desire. And [so] they desired desire, such that the receiving of the Torah could be of their wish and wanting, like [when] they said, “We will do and hear” – as no one wishes forced love. Therefore they quarreled about the manna and its forcing the love of Torah [upon them]. And [when] they said, “We remember the fish that we used to eat free (chinam) in Egypt,” its explanation is [that it was] without force, but rather that [it was that] which we chose and which appealed to us. As this is the understanding of the word chinam, as is elucidated in Radak’s³⁷R. David Kimchi (Provence, 1160-1235) was a Biblical commentator and grammarian. Book of Roots under the root, chanan (graced). [And the meaning of] “Now our souls are dry; there is nothing at all but this manna,” is that we were forced, and we want that the choice be in our hands. However we would also eat the manna by choice. As if the manna were not ‘good to eat and appealing to the sight,’ we would have needed force; but in fact, “the manna was like coriander seed and in color it was like bdellium,” and we would certainly eat of it.³⁸In this way, one no longer has to resort to Rashi’s answer that this phrase was added by God to the quote of the people which accordingly ended abruptly. However all of the desires would [then] not be removed from us and the receiving of the Torah would be with wanting and choice – as [when] they said, “We shall hear and do.”

It is common today for observant Jews to attend ball games while openly displaying their identity by wearing kippot and modest dress. Since it is very noticeable when someone has moved to seats for which he did not pay, the potential for creating a chillul Hashem is great. Moving seats is generally regarded as unrefined behavior so one should avoid doing so, unless there is a clear custom in that stadium for the owners to permit fans to move to better seats at an advanced point in the game. It is certainly reprehensible to bribe an usher to gain access to better seats. Our mission to act as a “holy nation” (Shemot 19:6) compels us to act in the most upright manner especially at times when we are in close contact with nochrim.

As it is required for the house of Israel to read from the scrolls, and to teach in the Torah, and to conclude with the prophets, on each day according to its subject matter — laws of Pesaḥ on Pesaḥ, laws of Shavuot on Shavuot, laws of Sukkot on Sukkot, as it is written "And Moses spoke the appointed-times of haShem to the children of Israel" (Leviticus 23:44), and it is commanded to read every matter at its time and extrapolate on the subject of the day, as taught, "Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says:¹In our manuscripts, it says "The Rabbis taught" here. Moses ordained for Israel that they would investigate and extrapolate on the matter of the day — laws of Pesaḥ on Pesaḥ, laws of Shavuot on Shavuot, laws of Sukkot on Sukkot" (Megillah 32a:17). On Ḥanukkah we read the princes (Numbers 7). On Purim we read "And Amalek came" (Exodus 17:8—16). When Rosh Ḥodesh Adar falls on Shabbat we read the portion of the sheqalim (Exodus 30:11—16). "And Rabbi Yitzḥaq Nappaḥa said: when Rosh Ḥodesh Adar falls on Shabbat, bring three Torah scrolls, and read one for the matter of the day, and one for the new moon, and one from Ki Tissa. And Rabbi Yitzḥaq Nappaḥa said: when Rosh Ḥodesh Tevet falls on Shabbat, bring three Torah scrolls, and read one for the matter of the day, and one for Rosh Ḥodesh, and one for Ḥanukkah" (Megillah 29b:22). On Ḥanukkah and on Purim three people read, on Rosh Ḥodesh and on Ḥol ha-Moed four people read — since there is Musaf, we add [mosifin] a person. When Rosh Ḥodesh Adar falls on Shabbat, we read the portion of the sheqalim (Exodus 30:11—16). When it falls on another day of the week, we advance the reading of the portion of the sheqalim, and interrupt the special readings. On the second² Shabbat of the month we read 'Remember' (Deuteronomy 25:17—17). On the third, the red heifer (Numbers 19:1—22). On the fourth, 'This month' (Exodus 12:1—20). If it falls on the sixth, then 'This month' is on the fifth. After that they return to the regular order. And everyone interrupts the order for Rosh Hodesh, Ḥanukah, Purim, fast days, festival days, and Yom Kippur (Mishnah Megillah 3:5). On Pesaḥ they read the portion of the festivals. And a mnemonic is: "during the bull, sanctify with money, cut in the desert, send the firstborn." On Shavuot, "On the third day" (Exodus 19:1–20:23), and on the second day, "Every firstborn" (Deuteronomy 15:19—16:37). On Rosh Hashanah, "And haShem remembered Sarah" (Genesis 21:1–34) and on the second day, "And God tested Abraham" (Genesis 22:1—24). On Yom Kippur, "after the death" (Leviticus 16:1—34). On Sukkot, the offerings for Sukkot (Numbers 29:12—34). On Ḥanukkah, the princes (Numbers 7). On Purim, "And Amalek came" (Exodus 17:8—16). On Rosh Hodesh, "And on your new months" (Numbers 28:1–15). On the watches, the matter of creation (Genesis 1:1—2:3). On fast days, "And Moses petitioned" (Exodus 32:11—14, Exodus 34:1–10). On Mondays and Thursdays and on Shabbat in the afternoon they read according to the order, but they are not counted in the order. As it is said, "And Moses spoke the appointed-times of haShem to the children of Israel" (Leviticus 23:44) — it's commanded that they read each and every one at its time.

In a number of places, the Torah presents us with the mission of serving as a role model for other nations.¹⁴See Shemot 19:6, Seforno’s comments ad. loc., and Devarim 4:6. Indeed, part of every Jew’s role is to emulate the kiddush Hashem created by Avraham Avinu, who is referred to by his Hittite neighbors as “a prince of God amongst us” (Bereishit 23:6). Chazal regard a chillul Hashem as such a major infraction (see, for example, Yoma 86a) because setting a positive example for others is at the core of the mission of the Jewish people.

To not remove the poles of the ark from it: To not remove the poles of the ark from the rings, as it is stated (Exodus 25:15), "The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it." And it is elucidated that this commandment is among the commandments practiced throughout the generations. As the understanding of 'practiced throughout the generations' is not that the doing of that commandment never cease from Israel ever at any time. Rather the matter is like this: Any commandment that was only commanded to do at a specific time and not more - such as that which is written (Exodus 19:15), "Be in preparation for three days"; and so [too,] the warning of Sinai (Exodus 34:3), "neither shall the flocks and the herds graze across from that mountain"; and all that is similar to it, wherein the command was only temporary - those are called commandments that are not practiced throughout the generations. But any commandment that we were not commanded about [only] for a specific time - even though there is a pause at any given time because of our exile or by reason of something else, such as now when, on account of our sins, we do not have the ark - is called a commandment practiced throughout the generations. As any time that we have the ark, we are obligated not to remove its poles from it, so that the Levites [may] take [the ark] out with them, if we need to bring it from one place to another place as a result of war or from whatever reason that [may] arise.

After the conclusion of Ne'ilah, even if it is Shabbos, and Ne'ilah ended while it is still daytime, nevertheless, we say Avinu Malkeinu. We then say "Shema Yisrael" one time, Baruch sheim kevod malchuso le'olam va'ed, [Blessed is His name, whose glorious kingdom is forever and ever] is said three times; Hashem hu haElokim [Hashem is God] is said seven times, to honor the departure of the Divine Presence as it ascends to the spiritual heights upward of above the seven heavens. The Chazzan then sings the whole kaddish with a joyous melody. After that,²³In some places the shofar is sounded before the Kaddish is said. (Ramah 623:6) one Tekiah is sounded on the shofar, as a sign that the Shechinah has risen on high, as was done at the Giving of the Torah. For when the Shechinah ascended, it is said, "When the ram's horn is blown" etc. (Exodus 19:13), and it is also said, "God ascended amidst Teruah sounds." It is also a reminder of the blowing of the shofar on the Yom Kippur of the Jubilee Year. It is permitted to blow the shofar even though the stars have not yet appeared and it is still twilight, even on Shabbos. But when it is yet daytime, the shofar should not be blown. After the Tekiah everyone says three times,²⁴In many places it is said only once. (Mateh Ephraim) Leshanah haba'ah birushalayim [Next year [may we be] in Jerusalem].

It is from the roots of the commandment that God, blessed be He, created His world with wisdom, with understanding and with knowledge, and [so] He made and formed all of the forms according to that which it was fitting for its matter to be, to be designed [according to] the design of the world - and blessed is He that knows [this]. And this is what is stated about the story of creation (Genesis 1:31), "And God saw everything that He had done, and behold, it was very good." And His seeing, blessed be He, is His knowledge and contemplation about things; as He, blessed be He, does not need seeing things with the eye after the act, due to His great level; since everything is revealed and known and apparent in front of Him before the act, [just] like after the act. But the Torah speaks to people with words directed to them, and it calls things by the name of things that are aimed at them, as it only possible to speak with a creature with what is known to him - as who can understand what he does not have the power to understand? And about what is similar to this, they, may their memory be blessed, said (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 19:18:2), [it is] in order to break [to assuage] the ear to that which it can hear. And in that God knew that everything He made was designed perfectly for its matter that it needed in His world, He commanded to each and every specie to make its 'fruit' for its specie - as it is written in the Order of Bereshit - and that the species not mix, lest it will take away from their perfection and He [therefore] not command His blessing upon them. And according to what it seems in our thoughts, it is from this root that we were prevented from mating beasts [in a] forbidden mixture. And likewise from this reason were we warned about this, combined with another reason that we already wrote about species of seeds and trees (Sefer HaChinukh 62).

It is from the roots of the commandment from the angle of the simple understanding that God, may He be blessed, wanted to inform His nation that everything is His; and in the end everything will return to those to whom He wanted to give it at first - for the earth is His, as it is written (Exodus 19:5), "for all the earth is Mine." And with this commandment of the counting of forty-nine years, they will distance themselves from stealing land of their fellows and they will not covet it in their hearts; in that they know that everything returns to the one that God wishes it to be his.

At the end of the prayers of forgiveness²¹⁷Prayers of forgiveness, seliḥot, סליחות; see footnote 14. we say seven times, “He is the God,” (and one time the “שמע ישראל”), and three times the, “Blessed be His glorious kingdom forever and ever,”²¹⁸See the end of the footnote on the Ne'ilah Service, number 191. This is how the Ne'ilah Service ends. (see above section 61,²¹⁹In the Shulḥan Arukh, Oraḥ Ḥayyim, chapter 61, there are twenty-six paragraphs which contain the laws concerned with how one is to pronounce it and what is to be one's personal conviction when reciting the Shema prayer. (מנהגים).²²⁰Minhagim, מנהגים; see footnote 13.) and we blow the shofar, (תקיעה, שברים, תרועה, תקיעה).²²¹The shofar, שופר, is a ram's horn which has been prepared to use as a musical instrument. The word is mentioned sixty-nine times in the Bible as well as numerous times in talmudic and post-talmudic literature.
The shofar was used to proclaim significant events in Judaism. It proclaimed the Jubilee Year (Leviticus 25:9-11) every fiftieth year proclaiming freedom throughout the land. Its most noted use is on Rosh HaShanah which is also called yom teru'ah, "a day of blowing", (Numbers 29:1). It was also used to declare war (Judges 3:27) and to induce fear (Amos 3:6).
In Temple times the shofar was not exclusively a ram's horn. Any curved animal's horn from a sheep, goat, mountain goat, antelope, or a gazelle was possible. The use of the ram's horn became popular because of its association with the Akedah, the sacrifice of Isaac read on Rosh HaShanah when the shofar is sounded. A ram was substituted for Isaac in the biblical account (Genesis 22) which is read on the second day of Rosh HaShanah. The shofar may have carved designs on it as long as the mouthpiece is natural. It may not be painted. It may not have a hole.
The Bible only refers to two trumpet sounds, teki'ah and teru'ah (Numbers 10: 5-8) the Mishna (RH. 4:9) describes teki'ah as one long blast and teru'ah as three wavering crying blasts. It prescribes three sets of shofar sounds since the word teru'ah is mentioned three times in the Bible, (Leviticus 23:24, 25:9, and Numbers 29:1). In talmudic times there was a disagreement about what exactly the sounds of the shofar should be and Rabbi Ahbahu decided the issue by compromise. The shofar was to be sounded three times which included different notes of shevarim, which are broken sounds and teru'ah, nine staccato notes. The sounding is one set of teki'ah, shevarim - teru'ah, teki'ah, and two sets of the following: teki'ah, shevarim, teki'ah, and teki'ah, teru'ah, teki'ah. The teki'ah begins as a low note swelling to a higher one. The teru'ah is a series of staccato blasts and the shevarim alternates higher and lower notes. The concluding note of each of the two series is a teki'ah gedolah, a great, long blast, which derives its origin from Exodus 19:13, "When the ram's horn soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount."
The shofar used to be sounded on the second day of the month of Elul marking the beginning of the penitential season. Today it is sounded daily except for the last day of the month of Elul at the Morning Service until Rosh Ha-Shanah is over and it is sounded at the end of the Ne'ilah Service at the conclusion of Yom Kippur.
On Rosh HaShanah, Psalm 47 is recited seven times before the shofar is sounded. This is a reminder of the walls of Jericho being circled seven times before they fell to the sound of the shofar.
The shofar may only be sounded during the day. It is not sounded when Rosh HaShanah falls on the Sabbath, lest one violate the laws of the Sabbath by carrying the shofar into the synagogue. When the Temple was in existence the shofar was blown there on the Sabbath.
Throughout Jewish history the shofar was blown to announce a death, on fasts, at excommunications (see footnote 29), and at funerals. On Friday afternoons it was sounded six times to announce various work stopping times and the times to light the candles and usher in the Sabbath. Today it is used to inaugurate a new president in Israel.
According to the Sephardi rite the shofar is sounded at the end of the Ne'ilah Service as follows: teki'ah, one rising blast; shevarim, three blasts alternating high and low; teru'ah, seven staccato blasts; and teki'ah, one rising note.
Albert L. Lewis, E. J., v. 14, pp. 1442-47.
The following comment is given by Magen Avraham, (see footnote 33.): 623:4 - "And they blow (the shofar)": Even though they still have not "separated" (said Havdalah, see footnote 226) in the prayer (and it is still not actually night), nevertheless since (the blowing of the shofar is a matter of) wisdom (art and know-how) and not work, and the rabbis were not too strict about it, (did not prohibit it at this occasion), since the day has already passed (Tur, טור, see footnote 23). And even though he wrote that one should complete it (the shofar blowing) close to sunset, this should complete it (the shofar blowing) close to sunset, this means that the stars still have not come out (indicating nightfall), nevertheless this is twilight, and see the end of chapter 299, (in the Shulḥan Arukh, Oraḥ Ḥayyim).
Hagah: There are those who say that we only blow the shofar once (תקיעה),²²²The Ashkenazi rite states that at the end of the Ne'ilah Service only one long shofar blast is sounded, teki'ah gedolah, תקיעה גדולה. (מרדכ והגהות מיימוני סוף הלכות ואגור י״כ),²²³Mordekhai and Hagahot Maimuniyyot, the end of the Laws of Yom Kippur, and Agur, מרדכי והגהות מיימוניי סוף הלכות י״כ ואגור.
For Mordekhai, מרדכי; see footnote 24.
For Hagahot Maimuniyyot, הגהות מיימוני; see footnote 27.
Agur, אגור, is a halakhic work that deals basically with the subject matter found in Tur Oraḥ Ḥayyim and Yoreh De'ah, (see footnote 23). It was written by Jacob b. Judah Landau, a fifteenth century German talmudist. He was educated in Germany by his famous father Judah who died in 1464. Judah was a favorite pupil of Jacob Moellin (see footnote 8) and a relative of Jacob Weil (see footnote 27) who was the head of a large yeshivah and a well respected posek, an halakhic decision maker.
Jacob emigrated at some time in his life to Italy along with the great wave of Jewish emigration from Germany and in Pavia in 1460 he met Joseph Colon from whom he drew many rulings and quotes. While in Pavia he wrote Ḥazon a work introduced by the words "How could it be?" In 1487 Jacob went to Naples. He worked there as a proofreader for the new Hebrew Press established there, which published his work, Ha-Agur along with Ḥazon.
Ha-Agur is an anthology and a summation of German-Jewish scholarship on the laws contained in Oraḥ Ḥayyim and Yoreh De'ah down to Jacob's own time. He based himself on the Tur of Jacob b. Asher (see footnote 23). Jacob wanted to assemble all the data on a particular halakhah, (but omitted the arguments), lay down the halakhah, and then include any new rulings by people such as Israel Isserlein (see footnote 96), Jacob Weil (see footnote 27), Joseph Colon, and particularly his father Judah. The work is organized similar to the Tur and is distinguished by the interweaving of varied material from many different works. Landau, who was well versed in Kabbalah interlaced those theories together with the halakhic material as an aid to arriving at decisions. The work reveals a great deal of the teachings of the German scholars in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
Israel Moses Ta-Shma, E. J., v. 10, p. 1393. and thus we do it in these lands, we sound the shofar after we say the Kaddish²²⁴Kaddish, קדיש; see footnote 177. after the Closing Service, but in a few places the custom is to blow the shofar before the Kaddish.