Musar su Proverbi 28:36

A gift in the right place is a treasure put aside. It perisheth not in the course of time, but abideth with the ages. This is the opinion of Solomon, peace be upon him, who said (Eccl. xi. i), "Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days." This verse evidently exhorts to generosity, for if man be generous and bountiful, he will reap the fruit thereof. Thus spake the poet: "Sow thou generosity in the field of gifts, and noble deeds shall be harvested by thee early." Wherefore man ought to know that if he be in a prosperous condition, then his generosity will not impair his prosperity, and if he be in a straitened condition, his adversity will not continue on that account. It is peculiar to this noble quality, that he who employs it never feels the want of anything; on the contrary, his abundance is much increased. Thus it is said (Prov. xxviii. 27): "He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack." Furthermore, David the Saint, peace be upon him, says of generous and liberal men (Ps. cxii. 9), "He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor: his righteousness endureth forever." What is your opinion with reference to the use of this gracious virtue? It is like lending unto God, exalted and magnified is He. Thus the saying (Prov. xix. 17), "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord." Thus it was said in the book on Ethics: "Bestow kindness on those who are worthy and upon those who are unworthy. In the case of the worthy, thy kindness will be in the right place; and in the case of the unworthy, prove thou thy worth." Again it was said with reference to liberality, "It is a part of the noble qualities to give liberally to him who asks."

The second principle is leaving the sin: That he should leave his evil ways and decide with all of his heart that he will not continue to return this way again. And if he did evil, he shall not do [it any] more, like the matter that is stated, (Ezekiel 33:11), "Return, return from your evil ways"; and [likewise] stated (Isaiah 55:17), "Let the wicked give up his ways." But know that [in the case of] one who sins by happenstance because he had a desire and his impulse overpowered him and attacked him, whereas his ideas and senses did not rescue him when he encountered it; so they were not quick to rebuke him in the sea of desire, to dry it up - hence the impulse dragged him into its nets and he fell into its snares at that particular time and instant, at the time that the spirit of the evil impulse kicked him down, but not because of his [own] desire and will to find his iniquity and to do like this afterwards: The beginning of the repentance of this man is regret; to place sorrow into his heart about his sin, to have his soul be afflicted and bitter like wormwood. Afterwards, he should increase the fear of sin in his heart every day, and put the dread of God into his heart at all times, until his heart becomes steady in the trust of God. As if the impulse comes across him again - like it does from time to time - and his desire become fanned like the first case, his heart will not be seduced by it and he will abandon its path. [This is] as it is stated (Proverbs 28:13), "but one who confesses and abandons [them] will find mercy" - it mentions "confesses" first, about the regret and the confession; and afterwards, "abandons." However [in the case of] one who is constantly positioned on the path that is not good, and the man who treads on his sins every day and repeats them in his foolishness; and who runs after it many times in his race, loves his evil all the time, places the trap of his iniquity in front of his face - meaning his desire and impulse - and his craving is his occupation; he does not prevent himself from doing anything that he wants to do: For such a man, the beginning of his repentance is to abandon his evil way and thoughts, and to agree, resolve and accept upon himself to not continue sinning. Afterwards, he should regret and return to God, as it is stated (Isaiah 55:7), "Let the wicked give up his ways, the sinful man his plans; let him turn back to the Lord, and He will pardon him." And the parable for this is about one who holds a sherets (an impure crawling animal) and comes to immerse and become pure. For he must first leave the sherets, and then immerse and become purified. But all the time that the sherets is in his hand, his impurity is still with him and the immersion is ineffective. And behold that leaving the thoughts of sin is [equivalent to] throwing out the sherets; and the regret of that which he sinned, the confession and the prayer are in place of the immersion. And when afflictions and aches come upon the evildoer for whom all of his plans are to continue with his crimes, he is first afflicted. And then he repents from the evil thoughts that he thought and cuts off the actions from his hands. And the parable for this is about a calf which they hit with a cow prod to direct his [work on the] furrows. So is one who is positioned on a path that is not good. He should take the chastisement first, to abandon the ways of death and to walk in a straight path - as it is written (Jeremiah 31:18), "I can hear Ephraim lamenting, 'You have chastised me, and I am chastised like a calf that has not been broken.'" And it is further stated after it (Jeremiah 31:19), "Now that I have turned back, I am filled with remorse." [This] means to say, "After you chastised me, and I was chastised and returned from my evil ways; I was filled with remorse afterwards and regretted what occurred with my iniquities." So behold that all of this matter that we have explained has been clarified for you.

The fifth principle is worry: As he will worry and fear from the punishment of his iniquities. For there are iniquities for which the repentance has the atonement depend upon cleansing afflictions, as it is stated (Psalms 38:19), "I acknowledge my iniquity; I am fearful over my sin." The content of grief is about the past, whereas the content of worry is about the future. And he will also doubly worry - maybe he is falling short in his obligation of repentance with pain, bitterness, fasting and crying. And even if he has multiplied the pain and multiplied the crying, he should crawl and fear - maybe corresponding to this had he multiplied his guilt; so that all of his affliction and having his soul cry in its fast did not fill his measure. And one who examines the greatness of the service to the Creator upon his creatures and that there is no end to the evil of one who rebels against His word [will know that even with] all of what he adds to his service and in the ways of repentance, is it not small? Behold it is like a little in his eyes. And King Solomon, peace be upon him, said (Proverbs 14:16), "A wise man is afraid and turns away from evil." And its explanation is that even though a wise man turns away from evil with all of the efforts of his ability, he should crawl and fear - maybe he did not complete his measure, and he was not careful according to the standard of what needs to be done. And like this is (Proverbs 28:6), "than a rich man whose ways are crooked" - even though he is rich. And likewise did our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, say in Yilamdeinu (Tanchuma, Lech Lecha, 15), "Do not explain [it as] 'A wise man is afraid and turns away from evil'; but rather, 'A wise man turns away from evil and is afraid.'" And the end of the verse (Proverbs 14:16) proves this - "but a fool rushes and is confident." He states abut the traits of a fool, that they are the opposite of the traits of a wise man. For a fool rushes, but is nevertheless confident that iniquity and damage will not come to him. Yet the angry person is given to sins and open to damages, as it is stated (Proverbs 29:22), "A hot-tempered man commits many offenses." And it is [also] stated (Proverbs 25:28), "Like an open city without walls is a man whose temper is uncurbed."

And King Solomon, peace be upon him, spoke about the matter of repentance and specified this topic. And he surely opened his words and said (Proverbs 28:12), "When the righteous exult there is great glory, but when the wicked rise up, men will be sought." The explanation [of this] is that the righteous will exalt and honor people about all the good traits that are found with them; but the wicked seek peoples' blemishes and their mistakes, to put them down - even when they have already left these actions and returned in repentance. Afterwards he said (Proverbs 28:13), "He who covers up his faults will not succeed; but he who confesses and gives them up will find mercy." For even though a penitent should not reveal his iniquities to people - as is to be understood from that which is stated, "but when the wicked rise up, men will be sought" - he is obligated to confess them [privately], like the matter that is stated (Psalms 32:5), "Then I acknowledged my sin to You; I did not cover up my guilt." And it is [also] stated (Jeremiah 2:35), "Lo, I will bring you to judgment for saying, 'I have not sinned.'" But the Sages of Israel, may their memory blessed, explained (Yoma 86b) [that] there are times when he who covers up his faults will not succeed - like with sins between a man and his fellow. As he does not attain atonement until he returns what was stolen, extorted or taken unjustly; and until he asks to be pardoned for that which he annoyed him, embarrassed him or spoke evil speech about him. [Likewise must he not cover up his] sins between a man and the Omnipresent that have become known to people. For one who sins publicly desecrates [God's] name (but Rashi, may his memory be blessed, in the Chapter [entitled] Yom HaKippurim, understands it in a different way. See there.) So he is obligated to grieve and mourn about it in front of people to sanctify [God's] name. And this is [the meaning of] that which is written (Jeremiah 31:19), "Now that I have turned back, I am filled with remorse; now that I am made aware, I strike my thigh." The meaning of, "I am filled with remorse," is regret and pain. For the essence of repentance is bitterness of the heart, as we have explained. And [the meaning of,] "now that I am made aware, I strike my thigh," is after people have been made aware and my iniquities have been publicized, I mourned with actions that were visible to people. [This is] like (Ezekiel 21:17), "strike the thigh"; and it is [also] stated (Job 33:27), "He declares to men, 'I have sinned; I have perverted what was right.'"

And King Solomon, peace be upon him, spoke about the matter of repentance and specified this topic. And he surely opened his words and said (Proverbs 28:12), "When the righteous exult there is great glory, but when the wicked rise up, men will be sought." The explanation [of this] is that the righteous will exalt and honor people about all the good traits that are found with them; but the wicked seek peoples' blemishes and their mistakes, to put them down - even when they have already left these actions and returned in repentance. Afterwards he said (Proverbs 28:13), "He who covers up his faults will not succeed; but he who confesses and gives them up will find mercy." For even though a penitent should not reveal his iniquities to people - as is to be understood from that which is stated, "but when the wicked rise up, men will be sought" - he is obligated to confess them [privately], like the matter that is stated (Psalms 32:5), "Then I acknowledged my sin to You; I did not cover up my guilt." And it is [also] stated (Jeremiah 2:35), "Lo, I will bring you to judgment for saying, 'I have not sinned.'" But the Sages of Israel, may their memory blessed, explained (Yoma 86b) [that] there are times when he who covers up his faults will not succeed - like with sins between a man and his fellow. As he does not attain atonement until he returns what was stolen, extorted or taken unjustly; and until he asks to be pardoned for that which he annoyed him, embarrassed him or spoke evil speech about him. [Likewise must he not cover up his] sins between a man and the Omnipresent that have become known to people. For one who sins publicly desecrates [God's] name (but Rashi, may his memory be blessed, in the Chapter [entitled] Yom HaKippurim, understands it in a different way. See there.) So he is obligated to grieve and mourn about it in front of people to sanctify [God's] name. And this is [the meaning of] that which is written (Jeremiah 31:19), "Now that I have turned back, I am filled with remorse; now that I am made aware, I strike my thigh." The meaning of, "I am filled with remorse," is regret and pain. For the essence of repentance is bitterness of the heart, as we have explained. And [the meaning of,] "now that I am made aware, I strike my thigh," is after people have been made aware and my iniquities have been publicized, I mourned with actions that were visible to people. [This is] like (Ezekiel 21:17), "strike the thigh"; and it is [also] stated (Job 33:27), "He declares to men, 'I have sinned; I have perverted what was right.'"

"But he who confesses and gives them up will find mercy" (Proverbs 28:13): The explanation is that even though there are three foundations of repentance - regret, confession and leaving the sin - (and here it only appears like two,) regret and confession are [both] included in "he who confesses." For one who confesses, regrets. But there is no repentance without these three - as one who regrets and confesses but does not leave the sin is like one who immerses with a sherets in his hand. However, "he who confesses and gives them up will find mercy" - for he is a penitent. [This is the case,] even though there are many levels of repentance, as we have explained.

He said after this (Proverbs 28:14), "Happy is the man who is always afraid, but he who raises his heart falls into misfortune." [Its] explanation is, even though he "confesses and gives them up," he should always be afraid [that] maybe he has not filled the [required] measure of repentance. For it requires many levels, so he should increase his fortitude every day to attain [these] levels. He should also be afraid [that] maybe his impulse will return to him. So he should guard against it every instant, always add fear of God to his soul and always pray to God to help him towards repentance and to save him from his impulse. "But he who raises his heart falls into misfortune": One who says in his heart, "I have filled my measure of repentance," and does not always make efforts to acquire [higher] levels of repentance and to add fear to his soul will be punished for this. For he is of a raised heart and does not recognize the deficiency of his spirit. And if he does not recognize the greatness of his obligation to refine his ways with great refinement, he will also not guard himself from his impulse, which always ambushes him. Hence he will fall into the hands of his impulse.

את חטאי אני מזכיר היום . The Chief Butler was of course, a pagan. He exposed himself to the death penalty by confessing his sins in order to be of assistance to his king, to Pharaoh. It is in the nature of people that when they confess sins they expose themselves to death. What can man do? If he does confess he takes a chance, if he does not confess he is guilty of death anyway. From a Jewish point of view we must say: אשרי אדם מודה על חטאיו ירוחם. "Praised be he who confesses his sins, he will experience mercy." We have proof from scripture (Proverbs 28,13) ומודה, ועזב ירוחם, "He who confesses and abandons [sin] will find mercy." This teaches one to regularly make confessions of one's sins in honor of the King of Kings, G–d Almighty. Provided that such confessions are accompanied by repentance and the forsaking of one's sins, the sins will be swept away to the depths of the sea.

The modest person has charm, as it is said: "And He gives grace to the humble" (Prov. 3:34). The prayer of the modest person is received before the Holy One, Blessed be He, for he, the modest person, is always generous and waives his claims against others. And it is because of this that the prayer of Rabbi Akiba was received when he began, "Our Father, our King" as is commented upon in Ta'anith 25b. The modest man merits increasing wisdom, for he is humble in the presence of the wise and sits at their feet, as it is said: "He that walks with wise men shall be wise" (Prov. 13:20). Heaven has mercy upon the humble person, as it is said: "He who confesses his wrongs and forsakes them shall obtain mercy" (Prov. 28:13).

Of these two dispositions the sage saith (Prov. xxviii. 14), "Happy is the man that feareth always; but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief." But as regards the great men who are mentioned as possessors of this quality, heavenly signs gave evidence of their possessing this power, thus Joshua, Gideon, Samson, Saul, David, Jonathan, Joab, and Abner, and others like them, whose power gave evidence of the quality of valor, were praised therefor; and those whose weakness, in contradistinction to the former, gave evidence of the quality of cowardice, were not commended for it, as I will show in regard to them in the following chapter.

The second section: The flatterer who praises the evildoer in front of people - whether in front of him or not in front of him - even though he does not justify him for his extortion or lie about his trial, but says about him that he is a good man. About this is it stated (Proverbs 28:4), “Those who forsake Torah praise the wicked.” For had he not forsaken the Torah, he would not have praised one who transgressed its words and breached its commandments. Even if he only praises the evildoer for that which he finds that is good about him and he defends him to people to tell them of his righteousness, but he does not mention the bad - this too is a sore evil. For in his mentioning the good and not mentioning the bad and covering up all of his transgression, he will be thought of as a righteous man by those listening and they will give him honor and elevate him. And we have already mentioned [and] let you know the stumbling blocks and the destruction that is found in honoring evildoers. Hence it is incorrect to mention their righteousness without mentioning their evil and foolishness as well, as it is stated (Proverbs 10:7), “But the fame of the wicked rots.” And it is [also] stated (Isaiah 57:12), “I hereby pronounce judgment upon your deeds; your deeds shall not help you.” The explanation is [that] your good deeds will not help to save you from your evil when you will come to judgement and in My evaluation for eternity - since the matters of your iniquities finished off [their merit]. And it is like our Rabbis said (Rosh Hashanah 16b), “One whose iniquities are greater than his merits is written and sealed for death.” And evildoers are recognizable by their speech and behavior, as we discussed earlier with you, in the Gates of the Fear of Sin (no longer extant).

He who has the trait of impudence commits sins in great quantities and yet considers himself righteous. And it is in this vein that we confess our sins by declaring, "We are not impudent and stiff-necked to say before Thee O Lord our Lord 'We are altogether righteous and we have not sinned.' " And this is a very wretched and evil quality — one who is wicked and yet says "I have not sinned." And for this the Holy One, Blessed is He, judges him and has no mercy upon him, as it is written: "Behold I will enter into judgment with you because you say 'I have not sinned' " (Jer. 2:35). And He has said: "He that covers his transgressions shall not prosper, but who so confesses and forsakes them shall obtain mercy" (Prov. 28:13). And this path of the hard and impudent is far indeed from the paths of repentance. And of the harlot it is said in Proverbs 7:13: "With an impudent face she said to him…". This quality is very evil, for it brings man to shaming his companion and the poor, as it is said: "The poor pleads but the rich answer impudently" (Prov. 18:23). And how much more evil is it when he shames his teachers and acts impudently towards them, and hardens his neck to those who rebuke him because of his excessive rudeness — then this evil quality can remove him from the world. It is proper that a man should far remove any touch of impudence from his soul.

Therefore, they will choose only to maximize these means and to be stringent in all of their details, finding no rest or peace due to worry lest they possibly lack what will bring them to the perfection that they desire. This is what King Shlomo, peace be unto him, said: "fortunate is the man that fears always" (Mishlei 28:14), which our Sages explained (Berachot 60a) refers to matters of Torah.

Regarding worldly involvement and preoccupation, we have already spoken about this earlier. For while a man is occupied in his worldly affairs, his thoughts are bound by the chains of the burden that weighs on them and it is impossible for him to give thought to his deeds.

Tears come from sorrow and great worry. And we have learned that "the gates of tears are not locked" (Baba Mezi'a 59a). And it is written, "Mine eyes run down with rivers of water because they observe not Thy Torah" (Ps. 119:136). And it is written, "For I do declare mine iniquity : I am full of care because of my sin" (Ps. 38:19). A man ought always to be concerned with what has passed, worry as to what lies ahead and always be fearful that perhaps he will not fulfill the full measure of repentance. "Happy is the man that feareth always" (Prov. 28:14).

The Rekanati on our verse explains that the importance of the verbal confession is also stressed by Solomon in Proverbs 28,13: ומודה ועזב ירוחם, "but he who confesses and abandons [sin] will find mercy." Confession is part of the attribute of mercy, and repentance helps to restore things to the way they had been prior to the sin, i.e. to remove the forces of impurity from the house of G–d, and to enable G–d to "irrigate" it with the waters of kindness and mercy. I have seen opinions expressed which claim that all that is needed is forsaking sin, remorse, confession and a resolution to do better in the future. Those people hold that there is no need to impose any sufferings on oneself in order to expiate for one's sins. I feel strongly that I must oppose such misconceptions. It is clearly the intent of the Torah and the position of all our sages who are loyal to the Torah that every repentant sinner has to flagellate himself, to fast, and to cause himself such pain as is commensurate with the severity of his sin and the satisfaction the sin had afforded him when he committed it.

You should know that zeal is the very beginning of all ethics. For no man can be perpetually bent over his book. He must eat, sleep and perform his bodily functions. Therefore, it requires eagerness and care to return to one's book and to study. One should not muse "the day is still long and the year is still long." Concerning this our Sages, of blessed memory, said : "Do not say, 'when I have some free time, I will study' — perhaps you will never be free" (Aboth 2:4). Nor should a man say, : "It is already evening — if I start studying now, I will have to stop in a little while to pray," for it is better to spend one hour in study even if only to learn one saying, than to do any other thing in the world. Concerning this it is said, "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination" (Prov. 28:9). And thus it is written : "The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver" (Ps. 119:72). And thus it is also written, "For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand" (Ps. 84:11), on which the Talmud comments : The Holy One, Blessed be He, said, "I prize one day of your studying Torah more than the thousand sacrifices which your son Solomon will offer upon the altar" (Shabbath 30a).

Know, that a gift in the right circumstances, for example, alms to the poor who revere God — is a treasure which is stored up and will never be lost but will remain forever. This was the intent of King Solomon, when he said, "Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days" (Eccl. 11:1). The verse refers literally to generosity : he who sows charity will reap its products, and he who has this quality will prosper. As it is said, "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth" (Prov. 11:24). It is also written, "He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack" (Prov. 28:27). David said concerning generous men, "He hath given to the needy; his righteousness endureth forever" (Ps. 112:9).

This is what Shlomo said: "those who forsake the Torah praise the wicked, but those who keep the Torah contend with them" (Mishlei 28:4). For those who praise the wicked on his wickedness and do not rebuke his deeds to his face, behold, they are the "forsakers of Torah" who abandon it to be desecrated, G-d forbid. But the guardians of the Torah who strengthen themselves to strengthen it, will certainly contend with the wicked and be unable to restrain themselves and be silent. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Iyov: "Scatter forth the wrath of your anger; see every arrogant man and submit him; tread down the wicked in their place; press them in the earth together, push their faces in the ground" (Iyov 40:11-13). For this is the intense love that he who truly loves His Creator can demonstrate, and it is written: "those who love G-d hate evil" (Tehilim 97:10).

HATING RABBANUT: Hating Rabbanut (authority over others) and fleeing from honor: This is an explicit Mishna (Avot 1:10): "love work, hate Rabbanut". They further said: "One whose heart is frivolous in handing down rulings is a fool, wicked and arrogant" (Avot 4:7), and "whoever chases after honor, honor flees from him" (Eruvin 13b), and "'Do not go out quickly to quarrel (Riv)' (Mishlei 25:8) - do not run after rulership, Why not? [the verse continues:] 'for what will you do in the end' (ibid), the next day people will put questions to you, and what will you answer them?" (Pesikta Rabati 22:4);

At the head of all the detriments to humility is foolishness and lack of true knowledge. You can observe that arrogance is found most prevalently among those who are most foolish.

And our sages, of blessed memory, said "a sign of arrogance is poverty of Torah" (Sanhedrin 24a). And likewise they said: "a sign of not knowing anything is self-praise" (Zohar Balak 49b); and "one coin in a pitcher cries out 'rattle, rattle'" (Bava Metzia 85b); and "the barren trees were asked: 'why are your voices heard?' they replied: 'would that it were that our voices will be heard and we will be remembered'" (Bereishis Raba 16:3).

The second category is where the flatterer praises a wicked man before people, whether in his presence or not, even though the flatterer does not justify him in his evil deeds but makes a general statement, "He is a good man." Concerning this it is said, "They that forsake the law, praise the wicked" (Prov. 28:4). For if the one who praises the wicked man had not abandoned the Torah he would not praise the wicked man who transgresses the Torah and its words. Nor should he defend the wicked man before people and say "He did a good act (on another occasion), therefore have pity on him (in this case)." He who does this is very evil, for those who hear him will think that he is really a righteous man and will honor him. And there are many stumbling blocks caused by paying honor to the wicked. For when honor is given to the righteous sages and they are held in the highest regard, then all the people listen to their counsel. Then, too, others will envy them their good deeds and will continue to seek instruction and knowledge will increase, and from studying Torah not for its own sake they will be led to studying Torah for its own sake.

This is why it is called "fear of sin", for its primary matter is fear of sin (not G-d), that it not enter and mix in his deeds due to some negligence or laxness or due to forgetfulness for whatever reason. On this it was said: "Fortunate is the man that fears always" (Mishlei 28:14), which our sages of blessed memory explained: "that verse refers to words of Torah" (Berachot 60a). For even when one does not see a stumbling block before his eyes, his heart must feel dread within lest there be one hidden at his feet and he did not guard [from it].

This is what our sages said: "Know what is above you: an eye that sees, an ear that hears, and all your deeds are inscribed in a book" (Avot 2:1). For since the Holy One, blessed be He, watches over every thing, and He sees everything and hears everything, certainly every action will leave an impression. And all of them are inscribed in a book, whether for merit or for debt (punishment).

This residual pollutant returned to infect Israel as soon as they had made the golden calf. Whatever negative influences were found in the serpent were present also in the golden calf. This applies to the overall influence of the serpent or the golden calf respectively, and to some specific manifestations. To illustrate: Our sages say that most of mankind is guilty of robbery whereas a minority is guilty of sexual aberrations. All of mankind is guilty of אבק לשון הרע, different shades of slander. The truth of this statement is demonstrated when we look at what happened during the episode of the golden calf. The slander became manifest when the perpetrators described the golden calf as "these are your gods, O Israel" (32,4). The sin of sexual excesses is alluded to in 32,6 where the Torah tells us: ויקומו לצחק, "they rose to dance" (the implication is an erotic one, compare Rashi). Regarding the sin of robbery, the Talmud tells us in Berachot 35 that anyone who enjoys the pleasures of this world without first reciting a benediction acknowledging and thanking G–d as the Provider of these pleasures is considered as having robbed both G–d and Israel (alternate version: father and mother). We also have a verse in Proverbs 28,24, which describes a person who robs father and mother -while claiming that such action is no sin- as a companion to a destroyer. The Talmud goes on to describe G–d as our "father," and the כנסת ישראל, "the spiritual concept of the people of Israel," as the mother. As a practical example of such a destroyer the Talmud cites king Jerobam who destroyed the affinity of the people of Israel with their Heavenly Father by placing golden calves on the way to Jerusalem, preventing the pilgrims from making the pilgrimage to the Temple without first making an obeisance to these calves. We therefore see that the construction of the golden calf was an act of robbery vis-a-vis G–d. It robbed Israel of the abundance that G–d used to shower upon them. Expressed differently; The שפע, abundance from on high, was withheld because of פשע, sin. Our failure to acknowledge G–d's gifts would make us guilty of a similar sin. As a result of such considerations Moses explained to the Levites who were charged with carrying out the executions of the idol worshippers that by killing the guilty they were actually the cause of G–d bestowing His blessing on them (32,29). We therefore notice that the three sins we mentioned were all part of the episode of the golden calf. We find an allusion to this in the text in the very letters of the word עגל as acronyms for the three types of sin, i.e. עריות, גזל, לשון הרע. When our sages stated that there is no sin for which the penalty does not include some part of the punishment for the sin of the golden calf (Sanhedrin 102), they simply meant that since every sinner belongs to the ones guilty of either the sins most people are guilty of, or to the ones a minority are guilty of, such a person has once again become guilty of part of the sin committed by the Jews during the episode of the golden calf. We find the same in the story of the encounter between the serpent and man in גן עדן. Adam and Eve took fruit which did not belong to them; they were guilty of robbery. Eve was guilty of a sexual offence because the serpent mated with her. The serpent was guilty of slander and seduction, a sin which is irreversible.

Adam enjoyed the fruit of this world without pronouncing a benediction prior to tasting it, i.e. without thanking the Lord for what he was about to partake of. The letter ב, in the word בראשית, symbolises that G–d created the universe with a blessing, ברכה, as we know from Bereshit Rabbah 1,10. When Adam ate from the tree of knowledge without a prior benediction he removed himself from the region of blessing by listening to the curse of the serpent, and he gratified himself from the allure of the tree which appeared good to eat (Genesis 3,6). The Talmud Berachot 35, says that anyone who indulges himself in this world without benediction, i.e. without acknowledging it as a gift from G–d, steals both from G–d and from the Jewish people, since we read in Proverbs 28,24, "whoever robs his father and mother and says that this is not sinful is a companion of the destroyer."

The linking of G–d and Israel in that Midrash is due to the fact that such theft is known in the Celestial Spheres. First man (whose father and mother was literally G–d Himself), had committed this crime of theft. The close connection in the Heavenly Regions between כנסת ישראל, and G–d is well known. It is there that Adam disturbed the equilibrium with his sin. This is why the kidnapper, גונב נפש, is mentioned in the Torah in connection with cursing or hitting mother or father.

To quote the Talmud verbatim: "We read in Proverbs 28,8 that 'he who increases his wealth through interest and usury only gathers in for him who is gracious to the needy.' Who is meant by 'the one who is gracious to the needy?' Rav says it is someone like King Shevor [since the money eventually will wind up in the king's treasury]. Rabbi Nachman says that he was told by Rav Hunna that it applies to someone who charged interest to a Gentile [for he will ultimately not benefit thereby]. This statement is challenged by Rava who questions the meaning of the word לנכרי תשיך, suggesting that it means: "you must charge interest,” only to be answered that the meaning is" "you must pay interest." Thereupon the Talmud queries whether it is conceivable that the Torah wishes to encourage us to take loans from Gentiles and to pay them interest?! The Talmud answers that the verse tells us not to pay interest to a fellow Jew. The Talmud counters that we already have an explicit statement governing this eventuality in Deut. 23,21: "You must not charge interest to your brother!" The Talmud answers that the reason the Torah writes two verses on the same subject is to make us culpable for violating both a positive and a negative commandment when charging interest to a fellow Jew.

Tossaphot also elaborate on this segment of the discussion in the Talmud. They understand that the Talmud's question לא סגי דלאו הכי, "isn't it sufficient that you must not collect interest from the Gentile?" means that the Torah tells us we should even pay him interest when borrowing from him? The prohibition to loan him without interest is based on Deut. 7,2 "do not give them any gifts" (Avodah Zarah 20). the Torah adds that one must lend the Gentiles money only against interest so as to weaken them economically. Should you ask why the Talmud chose to raise this query from the verse of Proverbs 28,8, seeing that that verse is only the basis for a Rabbinic injunction namely to prevent people from learning from the ways of the Gentiles? The answer is that since the Torah writes that one should charge a Gentile interest on his loan, the Rabbis felt that they could not countermand the Torah. By referring to the verse in Mishley however, the sages felt justified in banning a practice that appeared already to have been forbidden by a decree of Solomon. The reason for the prohibition of loaning to the Gentiles was to discourage trade with them and learning from their amoral ways. So far Tossaphot.

If a man has been guilty of wasting seed he must repent without delay and remedy the blemish he imparted to the covenant of circumcision, as I will explain later (in this chapter and in Chapter 68). Even if he transgressed numerous times he should know that the Holy One Blessed is He is a merciful King who accepts the penance of those who return to him wholeheartedly, as it is written, “But he who confesses and desists (from sinning) will receive mercy” (Mishlei 28:13). Moreover, he will be granted an increase in awe and holiness. Thus, by repenting a person accomplishes two things: First of all he receives atonement for his iniquity, and secondly he inherits the World to Come. This is only true, however, if he also clings to the Torah, immersing himself in its study with diligence. To this end he must set aside fixed times for study, on his own and with others. If he is incapable of studying on his own he must at least set aside fixed times to listen to words of Torah. For after a person dies, he is granted a position in the next world commensurate with his merit. In that world there is neither eating nor drinking nor commerce, but only Torah study. Whoever loved listening to words of Torah in this world will merit hearing them from the Ancient of Days in the World to Come. But if he reviled them in this world, he will be unable to relate to them in that world either. Moreover, he will undoubtedly be banished from his partition.