Halakhah su Salmi 119:331

And this is the intention of our rabbis z”l, when they say, “All who judge a judgement truthfully, it’s as if he is a partner with God in the creation of the world,” because God created the world to continue and the wicked who steal and commit acts of violence ruin the world through their actions. And similarly we find regarding the generation of the flood that the decree of their judgement was sealed only because of theft, as it is written, (Genesis 6:11) “For the earth is filled with violence,” and it says after this, (Genesis 6:13) “I will destroy them with the earth”. What emerges is that the judge who breaks the high arms of the wicked keeps the world going and completes the will of the Creator, blessed is His name, who created it to keep going, and it is as if they become partners with the Holy One ,Blessed Be He, in the creation. Abraham our forefather didn’t know God, and He called him (Isaiah 41:8) “My beloved” because he walked in the ways of justice and guided his children, as it is written, (Genesis 18:19) “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 God, to do righteousness and justice…” And Moses our teacher a”h, master of all prophets, took advice from Yitro with regards to justice, to establish judges to caution Israel and to command them through justice, and God agreed with this. And Joshua afterwards established a covenant with Israel to serve God, he left his last word as justice, as it is written, (Joshua 24:25) “On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them laws and justice.” [This is] because justice is the foundation and the great principle in the service of God, and following [Abraham] have each and every judge judged their generation, and bring them back from their evil ways to service of God to go in the way that Abraham paved to do righteousness and justice, and through this were they [i.e. the Jewish people] were saved from their enemies until Samuel the prophet came, God-faithful, (1 Samuel 7:15-16) “who judged Israel all the days of his life. And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places.” And our sages tell us that the path he took one year was not the one he took the next, so that he could turn the hearts of the entire nation toward service of God, and to walk in the way of Abraham our forefather a”h, and he anointed David to be the king of Israel, and he too walked in the ways of God from all that was in front of him, as it is written,(2 Samuel 8:15) “And David did justice and righteousness. (1 Chronicles 11:8) “And Joab restored the rest of the city.” And our sages tell us that in the merit of the justice and righteousness of David, Joab restored the rest of the city, and had his child [Solomon] continue after him, the “Yedid Hashem”, who loved to go in the laws of his father David and would ask from God an understanding, listening heart to judge his people, to understand between good and bad, and it was good in God’s eyes, that which he asked regarding this. And He gave him a wise and understanding heart which has never been before, and no one has been like him since, and all of Israel was afraid of him because they saw that the wisdom of God was in his heart to do justice. And also Jehoshaphat, who took the paths of his father and raised his heart in the ways of God, was strengthened in justice, and he appointed judges in every city, and he said to the judges, “See what you do, for you are not judging for man but for God, and with you shall be justice.” Josiah as well, that Scripture testifies about him, “And no king was like him before, who returned to God with all his heart.” And also the King Messiah, who will be revealed speedily in our days, is praised by Scripture regarding justice, and it is written, (Isaiah 11:4) “And he will judge the destitute with justice, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth…” And according to the greatness of his reward will be the punishment for those who void and pervert it, as it is taught, “Destruction comes to the word based on lack of law and on the perversion of law.” And so did David say, (Psalms 119:121) “I have done justice and righteousness, leave me not to my oppressors.” This implies that without justice, he would have been left in the hands off oppressors. And Jerusalem was only destroyed, and Israel only exiled, because of the neglecting of justice, as it is written, (Isaiah 1:21) “She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her-- but now murderers.”... And God wants it more than all the sacrifices, as it is written, “Doing righteousness and justice is choicier to God than the zevach offerings.” It does not says “than sin and burnt offerings,” but rather “than zevach offerings.”

The first blessing is al netilat yada’im -“over the washing of the hands”. Our rabbis z”l specifically fixed the form of this blessing with the word “netilah,” which literally means “raising high,” as the Targum translates “then a spirit lifted me up [va-tise’ni]”²Ez 3:12. – “raised me up” [va-nitaltni]. These two verbs are also used synonymously when it is written “He raised them and lifted them up [va-yitlem va-yinas’em] all the days of old.”³Is 63:9.It is necessary to raise up one’s hands when saying this blessing. Moreover this would include the point of raising hands in prayer, to concentrate one’s mind on them (i.e., the ten fingers of one’s hands) to be made holy by them from the ten sefirot. It is like someone who raises their hands upward to concentrate on opening the source above, pulling and drawing down the divine energy flow. This is what Scripture means when it says, “I reach up for your commandments which I love.”⁴Ps 119:48. This verse teaches you that in some of the commandments there is an imprint or picture above, which a person needs, in order to follow them below, so you should raise your hands toward them above. Even here over the table when you are eating, you ought to lift up your hands and raise them above.⁵Or “ought to perform the ritual of al netilat yada’im raising his hands upward …;” the Hebrew can mean either, or most likely, both. You should concentrate on the ten sefirot when you lift (or wash) before you eat, and likewise after you eat with the mayim aharonim [i.e., the washing after the meal]. Scripture talksabout this when it says, “Lift your hands toward the sanctuary and bless the Lord.”⁶Ps 134:2Similarly with the ten things that are necessary for a cup of blessing, according to the custom of those in the past.⁷R. Bahya is referring to b. Berakhot 51a:
Rabbi Zeira said in the name of Rabbi Abahu – others say it is taught in a beraita: “Ten things were said to have been required for of a cup of blessing: (1) washing and (2) rinsing it before use, (3) undiluted, (4) a full cup (5) closing it [itur] (6) covering with a cloth [ituf], (7) lifting it up with two hands and putting it in the right, and (8) elevating it at least a handbreadth from the ground, (9) looking at it; and some say, (10) sending it as a gift to household members.” Rabbi Yohanan said, “we know of only four: Washing, rinsing, undiluted, and full.”
Though R. Yohanan’s view became the accepted practice, R. Bahya is suggesting that there nevertheless was an ancient custom that did associate the rituals concerned with blessing a cup of wine with the ten sefirot. That is why Rabbi Zeira et al. specified ten, according to R. Bahya’s interpretation of his rationale. So Chavel in his notes explains R. Bahya’s reference to “the custom of those in the past.” See below, where R. Bahya discusses in more detail the ten things connected with the cup of blessing. See also the Zohar 2:157b. All this is to hint that the purpose of concentrating on our eating at the table is only for our body to be sustained and be able to serve theCreator so that our soul will merit to stand among “the ten,” and that the brilliant light be her food and hover protectively over her. And know the truth, that the structure of the body with ten fingers on the hands that can be raised above, and ten toes below, with our body in the middle – was designed this way, to get us to visualize the connection between heaven and earth. Just so, our body links our upper and lower ten digits.⁸In other words, the connection between our 10 toes and fingers with our body in the middle is analogous to the connection between our 10 fingers lifted up in netilat yada’imdown here on earth and the 10 sefirot in the upper world. This is the “imprint” of the cosmos in the human body to which R. Bahya just referred. Perhaps R. Bahya’s particular wording here to introduce this analogy, “Know the truth [ha-emet],” is an allusion to Ps. 85:11: “Truth [emet] will spring up from the ground.”

And you need to know that because the sages z”l said, “a bat kol went out and said that a cup of blessing is equal to forty pieces of gold, it is clear from this that each blessing of the hundred blessing equals ten pieces of gold.”²⁴⁰B. Hullin 87a. Since there are four blessings in birkat ha-mazon said over the cup of blessing – you do the math. This is also an allusion to the tradition that one said say at least a hundred blessings per day. And there’s support for this in the verse: “one ladle (kaf) of ten [shekels] of gold filled with incense,”²⁴¹Nu 7:14. that is to say, every “one from Ka”F,²⁴²Ka”F is numerically equivalent to 100. which are the one hundred blessings equal to “ten gold [pieces].” And you will also find in another place, “esreh zahav mishkalam” – “ten gold shekels in weight”²⁴³Gen 24:22, the value of the gold armbands Eliezer gave Rebekah as a present after she gave his camels water at the well. to which armbands Scripture follows with the phrase “Then I bowed low in homage to the Lord and blessed the Lord.”²⁴⁴Gen 24:48, immediately preceded in 24:27 with “And I put the ring on her nose, and the bands on her arms,” i.e., the ten shekel gold bands, which are equal to one blessing. The reason why every blessing is equal to ten shekels of gold is to hint that it is possible to include the 10 sefirot in each and every blessing. And the reason for 100 blessings every day is their correspondence to the 10 sefirot, ten blessings for each and every sefirah. And this what is written, “And now, O Israel, what (mah) does the Lord your God demand of you.”²⁴⁵Dt 10:12. And our sages z”l said, “Don’t read mah – “what,” but rather me’ah –“a hundred,”²⁴⁶B. Menahot 43b. that is to say, “A hundred the Lord your God demands of you.” And there are 99 letters in this verse; adding the letter aleph makes it 100.²⁴⁷That is, adding an aleph to the word mah, making it me’ah, give the verse 100 letters. In his commentary to the Torah R. Bahya brings this interpretation as the sod – “the mystical interpretation” of Dt. 10:12. And we found in King David (peace upon him), who said, “The utterance of the man set on high [‘al],”²⁴⁸2 Sam 23:1. The Hebrew word ‘al is numerically equivalent to 100. because one hundred men of Israel a day used to die in that generation, and deeply moved by this, David instituted [tiken]100 blessings.²⁴⁹Midrash Tanhuma Korah 12. Tiken – “instituted” of course also has the connotation of tikkun – “repair,” as in the sense of a cosmic repair through blessings of a world diminished by the loss of 100 lives. He didn’t institute them per se, but rather re-established them, since they had been forgotten, and David came along and re-established them.²⁵⁰Ibid. According to this midrash, Moses originally established the blessings, and afterwards, whne they had been forgotten, David came along and re-established them, and after David’s era they were forgotten again until the sages of the Talmud re-established them (Chavel). And thus is written, “So [ki khen] shall the man who fears the Lord be blessed [yivorakh].”²⁵¹Ps 128:4. The word yivorakh – “shall be blessed” is spelled without a vav, which means that by the numerical equivalent of K”I Khe”N – 100 – will the person who fears the Lord both bless and be blessed.²⁵²Lacking the vav, the Hebrew word can be read either actively as yivarekh – “he will bless,” or passively as yivorakh – “he will be blessed.” Therefore a person needs to recite 100 blessings and fulfill them each day. And on Shabbat, when it is not possible because the Amidah for Shabbat contains only seven blessings, as it is written, “I praise You seven times on theday,”²⁵³Ps 119:164. the day which is well-known and special, namely, Shabbat, our sages z”l already said, “one completes them with aromatic herbs and fancy fruits.”²⁵⁴B. Menahot 43b, i.e., one enjoys lots of extra snacks and aromas that require blessings to make up for the shortage of blessings.

The Men of the Great Assembly added two berakhot before and two after the recitation of Shema. The first, Ha-ma’ariv Aravim, praises God for the changing times. The second, Ahavat Olam, praises God for loving Israel and giving us the Torah. The third, Emet Ve-emuna, praises God as our Redeemer. In the fourth berakha, Hashkiveinu, we ask God to protect us at night and watch over us when we sleep. Hence, Birkhot Keri’at Shema are comprised of seven blessings, three in Shaḥarit and four in Ma’ariv. Y. Berakhot 1:5 states that they were instituted based on the verse “Sheva ba-yom hilaltikha” (“I praise You seven times daily”) (Tehilim 119:164; see above, 16:12).

And how much was King David peace be upon him, sorry from the heretics and from the Acre who would reply to the laws. And as long as they persecuted him in the false answers they made according to the shortness of man, he would add adherence to the Torah, which is said (Psalms Kit, set): With all my heart I will keep your precepts ", and it is said there (name Kit, Pooh):" All your commandments I believe a false persecutor lie ":

It is a mitzvah to rush when going to the synagogue, or to the Beis Midrash, or to perform any other mitzvah as it is said: "Let us run to know God."²⁹Hosea 6:3. It is also written: "In the way of Your commandments I will run."³⁰Psalms 119:32. Therefore, even on Shabbos³¹It is not proper to run on Shabbos except as mentioned here. it is permissable to run in order to do a mitzvah. However, in the synagogue or in the Beis Midrash, it is forbidden to run. Upon arriving at the entrance (of the synagogue), it is proper to pause slightly in order not to enter suddenly. You should tremble with awe before the splendor of His glory, Blessed be His Name, and recite the verse: "As for me, through Your abundant kindness etc.³²Psalms 5:8. The verse concludes with the words, “I shall enter your house.” which is like a request for permission to enter; and then you should enter and walk with reverence and fear as one who walks before a king. In those communities where the Jewish people have their own streets, it is a mitzvah to put on the tzitzis [talis] and tefillin at home, and proceed to the synagogue [in that attire.] In a place where they reside among the gentiles, or if a person must walk through filthy alleys, it is preferable to put on the tzitzis and tefillin in the corridor of the synagogue, because it is of great merit to enter the synagogue enwrapped in tzitzis and crowned with tefillin.

Throughout the millennia, when Jews were beset with adversity and devastating loss, they were raised from life-draining despair and despondency by the curative power of Torah: "If not Your Torah as my delight, I would then have been consumed by my afflictions" (Psalms 119:92). That is true for Jews collectively and for Jews as individuals.

Both Rabbi Rabinovitch and Dayan Rapoport show that the resolution of this question is contingent upon an analysis of a ruling of the Gemara, Gittin 60a. The Gemara asserts that, in transcribing any of the prophetic works, any single book of the Prophets must be written in its entirety, i.e., the writing of a partial book is forbidden. In this context the Gemara refers to a Sefer Aftarta, a book of haftorot, written on parchment in the manner of a Torah scroll, but containing only the prophetic selections read on the Sabbath to the exclusion of the remainder of the text of the books of the Prophets. Rabbah and Rav Yosef forbade not only the writing, but also the use, of such scrolls on the Sabbath. The Gemara, however, concludes that it is permissible to use such scrolls, explaining that since not every community can afford a set of complete scrolls, the requirement that only complete books be written is suspended. Rabbinic hermeneutics found sanction for this practice in Psalms 119:126 which was interpreted by the Sages as meaning, "At a time when it is necessary to work for the Lord, make void Thy law." The Sages understood this verse as granting dispensation to abrogate the prohibition against transcribing incomplete books of the Bible.

Certainly, it is permissible for any person to read or to study from a Torah scroll at any time. Indeed, the original biblical rule was that the Written Law may be studied only from a written text, which by definition means a Sefer Torah written on parchment in the prescribed manner. Two thousand years ago that would have been the only permissible way of studying the words of the Torah. But rabbinic exegesis renders Psalms 119:126 as "It is time to act on behalf of God; thwart Thy Torah." This verse is understood as teaching that when it becomes impossible to transmit the Oral Law without committing it to writing or when it becomes impossible to teach the Written Law solely by means of a properly written scroll, other methods may be used. Hence, today there is absolutely no cogent reason for utilizing a Torah scroll rather than a printed text for purposes of Torah study. On the contrary, use of an unvocalized text can only lead to error and yield misinformation.

Hokhmat Adam strongly decries the conduct of those who fail to serve a proper meal in conjunction with a circumcision but falls short of a condemnation for failure to fulfill a statutory obligation. Indeed, the halakhic origin and status of the meal offered guests upon the occasion of a circumcision is a matter of some controversy. As recorded in Pirkei de-Rabbi Eli'ezer, chapter 29, rabbinic interpretation of the phrase "beyom higamel et Yizḥak" in the verse "and Abraham made a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned" (Genesis 21:8) establishes that Abraham made a "great banquet" on the day of his circumcision of Isaac. Although this rabbinic comment does not unequivocally establish a normative obligation, Sha'arei Teshuvah, Oraḥ Hayyim 551:33, cites one authority who maintains that the repast is "a biblical mizvah." Sefer Haredim, chapter 40, section 3, records participation in a wedding banquet or a circumcision repast in his list of positive commandments derived "from the words of Holy Writ and from the words of the scholars." Yam shel Shlomoh, Bava Kamma 7:37, similarly writes that, in contradistinction to the celebratory meal accompanying the redemption of a first-born son, the circumcision repast constitutes a mizvah and is predicated upon the verse "I rejoice over your word like one who finds abundant spoils" (Psalms 119:162). On the other hand, Teshuvot Bet Ya'akov, no. 73, declares that the status of the repast is rabbinic in nature while Bi'ur ha-Gra, Oraḥ Hayyim 640:6, states that the repast "is not a biblical mizvah and there is no obligation of rejoicing."¹⁴See Sefer ha-Brit 265:159. Magen Avraham, Oraḥ Hayyim 640:13, interprets Teshuvot Maharik, no. 178, as asserting that the meal represents "a mere custom."¹⁵For a conflicting interpretation of Teshuvot Maharik see Eliyahu Rabbah 640:19. See also R. Shimon Konitz, Ot Brit 165:14. Elsewhere, Oraḥ Hayyim 546:5, Magen Avraham declares that a circumcision repast does not entail "rejoicing." However, Mordekhai, Mo'ed Katan, sec. 891, asserts that a mourner may not partake of a meal served in conjunction with a circumcision precisely because it involves rejoicing. That contention is based upon the interpretation by the Gemara, Shabbat 130a and Megillah 16b, of the verse "I rejoice in Your word as one who finds great spoil" (Psalms 119:162) as a reference to circumcision.

The laws of the commandment - for example, the Order (Seder) that Israel is obligated to do on this night in the matter of their meal; the cups of wine, their measurements, their pouring and their order; and the rest of their details - are [all] elucidated at the end of Pesachim (See Tur, Orach Chaim 469-482). And behold, my son, I will write for you the Seder in short - exactly as I have heard it from the sages of the generation: In the beginning, we bring water and wash one hand for the sake of the cup of Kiddush which needs to be held. And this is how it is in Berakhot 43a in the Chapter [entitled] Keitsad Mevarkhin - that with the cup, washing one hand is sufficient. And we do not recite a blessing on this washing. And if he wants to wash two hands for the cup, he washes them without a blessing. And afterwards, he washes both hands and recites the blessing, "upon the washing of the hands," and dips with a vegetable (the vegetable, according to the Vilna edition) and recites the blessing, "who creates the fruit of the ground," before [eating it]. But he does not recite the blessing, "who creates souls, etc.," after it - since he waits until he eats the marror; and then he recites the blessing, "who creates souls," upon the marror and upon the vegetable. And everything that he did is not an interruption, as we will explain. And after they ate from the vegetable in charoset (a thick sweet dip), we pour a second cup and read the Haggadah with two chapters of Psalms and recite the blessing, "who has redeemed us, etc.," upon the second cup, and we drink it. And we do not recite the blessing, "who creates the fruit of the vine," upon it, nor "upon the vine," after it. And after they drink the second cup, we wash our hands and recite the blessing, "upon the washing of the hands." And [then] we take half of a matsah and we place it on the complete one and recite the blessing upon the half, "who brings forth" and "to eat matsah." And we take bitter herbs and we recite the blessing, "to eat marror," and eat from it dipped in charoset; but we do not recite the blessing, "who creates the fruit of the ground," upon it, since he is exempted by the blessing that he recited upon the vegetable at the beginning. As this is how it is concluded in the Gemara (Pesachim 103b) - that it is never [considered] an interruption unless there is [one of] two things: That he removes his thoughts from the matter - for example when they say, "Let us bless (say Grace after the Meal)," and similar to it. And also that [he be engaged in something else, such] that it not be possible to do the two things together - for example that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Chullin 87a and Rashi there), "Drinking and blessing together is not possible." And after we eat from the marror with the dip, we wrap some of it on top of matsah and eat a little bit, in memory of the Pesach sacrifice that was eaten upon satiation. And we do not eat more the whole night, so as not to remove the taste of matsah from the mouth; as it is written (Psalms 113:103), "than honey to my mouth." But we can certainly drink water, since water does not spoil the taste. And we also drink the two cups of the commandment, as we do not push off the commandment [on account of] this reason. And afterwards, we wash our hands, but we do not recite the blessing, "upon the washing of the hands." And we pour the third cup and recite the Grace after the meals and "who has created the fruit of the vine" over it; but not "upon the vine," after it (see Baal HaMeor on the end of Arevei Pesachim). And afterwards, we pour the fourth cup and finish Hallel over it. And we do not recite the blessing, "who has created the fruit of the vine," upon it; but we do recite the blessing, "upon the vine," after it. And that is if he does not have in mind to still drink a fifth cup. It comes out according to this that we only recite the blessing, "who has created the fruit of the vine," twice - on the cup of Kiddush and on the cup of the Grace. And [we only recite the blessing,] "upon the vine," once, after all of the cups. And the four cups and the matsah of the commandment requires leaning.

If the place to be read was shown to the oleh and he recited the blessing, and then it was realized that it was not the [right] place, but, rather, another place is to be read, regardless if the reading has started or has not started, [the following must be considered:] if the place [in the Torah] that was to be read was also open before him, [during the berachah], even if it is in another column [as long as it was] past the place that was shown to him, he need not recite a second berachah, because his mind was on the place on which he intended the berachah as well as on whatever was opened before him. But, if the place was not open before him, and they must now roll the Seifer Torah [to the proper place], or even if the place was open before him, but it is located before the place that was shown to him; he must recite the berachah: asher bachar banu a second time. But, Barechu [es Hashem hamevorach] should not be said a second time. He must first (before repeating the berachah) say: Baruch sheim kevod malchuso leolam va'ed³⁶“Blessed is His Name, Whose glorious kingdom is forever and ever.” This is said to somewhat atone for the sin of having mentioned His Name in vain at the first berachah. on the first berachah which was recited in vain. If [the error was realized] when he had said only: Baruch atah Hashem. then he should conclude… lamdeinu chukecha.³⁷Resulting in his having said altogether: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' לַמְּדֵנִי חֻקֶּיךָ, “Blessed are You, Hashem, teach me Your statutes,” (Ps 119:12) which is a complete verse, thereby avoiding a בְּרָכָה לְבֵטָלָה—a berachah recited in vain. If the place to be read precedes the place shown him, but is close enough to it, and so situated to make it possible that three verses can also be read from the place [upon which] he said the berachah and further, [and with the condition that] it is all included in that day's portion, then this should be done in order to avoid a second berachah.

(Bet) In Sefer HaIkkarim 3:35,⁹⁰A classic work of Jewish philosophy written by Rabbi Yosef Albo (Spain, c. 1380-1444). [it is written about (Deut. 6:5), “And you shall love the Lord, your God”]: “A person cannot love two things or two persons with a perfect love, for if he loves them both, neither love is perfect since it is divided between two. It is impossible for the lover to be completely united with the loved – such as the idea of love requires – unless the loved is one. […] But since ‘the Lord is one,’⁹¹The reference is to the previous verse, Deut. 6:4. [‘you shall love the Lord, your God’].” See there. And this appears to be the intention of the Scripture (Gen. 22:2), [wherein] the Holy One, blessed be He, says to Avraham, “Please take, etc., whom you love”; but after his passing the test, it is said to him (Deut. 22:16), “Because you have done, etc., your only one from Me” – but it did not repeat, “whom you love.” As the essence of the test was that God, may He be blessed, saw that [Avraham] loved the son he fathered when he was a hundred. And because of this, his love was [divided] and not perfect with Him, may He be blessed. Hence He told him to slaughter his son that he loved. This was in order to negate the love from his son and make it perfect for [God], may He be blessed. And after he passed the test and made his love perfect for God – to the point that in his love, he wanted to slaughter his only son – then his love for his son was already negated; and all of its divisions became wholly for God, may He be blessed. And therefore it no longer mentioned “love” for Yitschak, just “his only one.” And one must dedicate [his] fear and love to His name, may His name be blessed, as we have elucidated. And behold, from undiluted fear, he came to total love. And they said in the Talmud (Shabbat 31a), “‘The fear of the Lord was its storage chest’ (Isaiah 33:6) [… There is] a parable about a man who said to his emissary, ‘Bring […] wheat up to the attic for me.’ [So] he went and brought it up for him. He said to [him], ‘Did you mix a kav of ḥomton into it?’ He said to him, ‘No.’ He said to him, ‘It would have been preferable had you not brought it up.’” And Rashi explains that ḥomton preserves produce from getting wormy. But [it is found] in the Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 30:14), “[‘The fear of the Lord was its storage chest’] – there is a parable about a man who said to his fellow, ‘I have a hundred kor of wheat, a hundred barrels of oil [and] a hundred barrels of wine.’ [The other] said to him, ‘Do you have storehouses to put [them into?’ He said to him, ‘No.’ He said to him, ‘Then] you will have no [benefit] from them.’” And in Tur Bareket,⁹²A commentary on the Shulchan Arukh written by R. Chaim HaKohen (Syria, 1585-1655). it is written that in our Talmud, it is a parable for internal fear, but in the midrash – which calls it storehouses – it is a parable for external fear. See there. And behold, certainly one who has more wheat or fruit will need to have more homton and to have more storehouses to put them in. And for this reason, one who is a master of Torah, the commandments and many good deeds, will need more storehouses and homton – according to the value of the grain and barrels of wine and oil that he has. And if so, he needs more fear of Him, which ‘is his storage chest.’ And for this, he needs cooperation and association with those that fear – those that fear the Lord. And [it is] just like there is cooperation between the one who has grain but does not have storage chests and the one has many storage chests. And with this, it is possible to explain (Ps. 119:63), “I am a companion to all who fear You, to those who guard Your precepts” – since through fear, the commandments will be guarded. And [it is also possible to explain], “Fear God and guard His commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13), – as through fear of Him, [a person’s fulfillment of the] commandments will be guarded, like the kav of ḥomton preserves the wheat, and as I wrote in Paragraph Yod adjacently (immediately above).

After the repetition of the Shemoneh esreih we are accustomed to say "Tzidkasecha tzedek …" ["Your righteousness is righteousness everlasting"] which consists of three verses³⁹Psalms 119: 142, 71: 19, 36: 7. This is the order of Nusach Ashkenaz. The order of Nusach Sefard is the reverse. that are similar to "Tzidduk Hadin."⁴⁰Tzidduk Hadin is a special prayer which is said at the graveside expressing God’s righteousness and our acceptance of the Divine decree. [These verses express our acceptance of Divine decree] on the death of three Tzaddikim [pious souls] who passed away at this time [Shabbos afternoon]: Yoseph, Moshe and Dovid.⁴¹Zohar, Vol. 2, 156a. (Parshas Terumah). If Shabbos occurs on a day where if it were a weekday Tachanun would not be said,⁴²See chapter 22. Tzidkassecha tzedek is not said. But when praying with a congregation in the house of a mourner, it is said,⁴³Even though ordinarily Tachanun is not said in a mourner’s house. for if it would not be said it would be a public demonstration of mourning⁴⁴Seifer Tosafos Shabbos. However, Yosef Da’as, responsum 400, maintains as does Peri Megadim 131: 10, that even in private it is said in a mourner’s house. and public mourning is not permitted on Shabbos.

It is well-known and famous among us - the people that accepted the commandments - that there are seventy faces to the Torah. And in each one of them, there are many great and numerous roots, and to each and every root, [is there] branches - each one supports a great cluster of fruits that are pleasant for hearts to ponder. Each day they put out a flower for those that are constant over them - flowers of wisdom and good reasoning. The depth of its wisdom enlightens the eyes, [it] is broad and surrounding, to the point that a man does not have the power to grasp its end; as the wise king testified (Ecclesiastes 7:23), "I said that I would fathom it, but it is far from me." And with all of this, the hands of the one who is involved with it should not tire, for whether he eats little or much, it is all sweet. And if there are many whose hand will not reach the fruit to take it, let them take the leaves for themselves as medication. And I - with the knowledge of its great value and enormous depth and that 'it is a wonder and sublime for me' - have opened my mouth to speak about it. And I will rely upon what my teachers have taught me (Avodah Zarah 19a), "Let a person recite (ligris), and even though he does not know what he said, as it is stated (Psalms 119:20), 'My soul is crushed (garsah) for desire.'"

“Thy statutes have been my songs” (Ps. 119:54). David leaves all the songs and poetry of the world to engage in Torah. He reads the signs¹The accents and notations for cantillating the Biblical Text. with appropriate tastefulness, accentuation and song.²Megillah 32a. But those who recite the passages in the manner of scorners, mouthing them as ribald songs, in the future Torah will cry over them and say, “Lord of the Universe, your children make use of me as a lute³Sanhedrin 101a. and at the time when they read from me with their arrogance, they do not read with the proper cantillation.” Also those who interrupt the versification with talk, Torah complains of them, saying, “You have divided me into eight thousand five hundred sentences,⁴Kiddushin 30a. Five thousand five hundred sentences would be nearer the true total. It is possible that a heh denoting five thousand instead of a het denoting eight thousand, was intended. None the less, the figure is only approximate. and they have divided me into more than six hundred thousand.⁵As a result of repeated interruptions they have intensified the division. Moreover, they have done to me that which is not even done in everyday talk. A person speaking of secular matters does not jump from one topic to another but they interrupt my words to engage in banal conversation.”

If you withstood a great test still do not be confident of yourself until the day of death,¹Aboth 2:5. to say, “Since I did not sin in this great matter, I will no longer sin.” Because the evil inclination today is not the same as yesterday, therefore perhaps in the very same matter (test) tomorrow you will be unable to endure. Behold David did not sin with Abigail²Megillah 14b. but he sinned with Bathsheba, David did not sin with his pursuers who sought to kill him³Berakoth 62b. and did not raise his hand upon the annointed of God and did not give permission to Avishai to strike him,⁴He allowed no one to strike Saul. but in the end he did sin with Uriah, who sought his (David’s) wellbeing.⁵Shabbath 56a. But if you say, “I can believe in myself since I was rescued from a great transgression,” then you hold yourself more righteous than those on high. Not only that, but you regard yourself and your wisdom superior to Him who created you, for it is said, “Behold, He putteth no trust in His holy ones” (Job 15:15), “And His angels He chargeth with folly” (Job 4:18). If the Holy One, blessed be He, who knows what the future will be, does not trust His angels and His holy ones, you, with your thoughts changing from good to evil all the more that you should not be confident in yourself, and thus it is said, “Happy is the man that feareth always” (Prov. 28:14) that he not sin. “Lamed,” signifies “Your heart, fill it with understanding,”⁶The lamed is used as an acrostic. The “l,” “m” and “d” serve as the first letters for each of the three words that comprise the passage. to know the fear of the Lord, and it is written, “ Teach me good discernment and knowledge … teach me Thy statutes” (Ps. 119:66-68).

And this commandment is practiced in every place and at all times by males. And it is also a commandment upon females to listen to the words of [Torah] sages, so that they will learn to know God. And one who transgresses it and does not associate with them and fix their love in his heart and strive for their good and their benefit at times when he has the ability in his hand to do so, has violated this positive commandment. And his punishment is very great, as they are [essential for] the existence of the Torah and a strong foundation for spiritual salvation; as anyone who is with them often will not sin quickly. And King Shlomo stated (Proverbs 13:20), "He who walks with the wise becomes wise." And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Avot 1:4), "Become dirty in the dust of their feet." And Ramban, may his memory be blessed, wrote (in his glosses to the Sefer HaMitzvot, Mitzvot Ase 7) that the essence of this commandment is to swear in His name, blessed be He, to fulfill a commandment. And the proof is from that which they said in Temurah 3b, "From where [do we know] that we swear to fulfill a commandment? As it is stated (Psalms 119:106), 'I have sworn to keep Your just statutes.'" And they answered there that it is derived from "to Him shall you cling," as it appears there.