Halakhah sa Josue 7:25: Seder HaYom & Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De'ah

And one should say [Aleinu LeShabeach]; and he needs to say it standing up (the numerical count of aleinu is the same as, and standing (oumeumad); and he needs to say it with great intention. Moreover, it has several secrets and hints, and it has great power. And some are careful to say it seven times every day, both day and night, seven times in order and seven times backwards, alternating once in order and one backwards. Such that they begin [else, none, below, the earth, upon, etc.] And Yehoshua arranged this great praise when he conquered Yericho. And he said it seven times, in order and backwards; and with that, he brought down the walls of Yericho. So it is able to do any thing or matter, [and to remove] distress and anguish - [though such] should not come and should not happen - when said forwards and backwards. And he hinted to the name, Yehoshua, at the beginning of the ideas [there]. But due to his great humility, he did not hint to his full name, but rather Hoshea; and he did not inscribe it in order, but rather backwards in this way: The ayin of aleinu, the shin of she'lo samenu, the vav of ve'anachnu mistachavim, etc., the hay of hu Eloheinu, etc. And one must intend with it to accept the Kingdom of the Heavens and [God's] unification and divinity. And just like in the verse, Shema Yisrael, there is a large ayin and a large dalet (spelling out, witness), the ayin [at the end of the word], shema, and the dalet [at the end of the word, echad, to hint that it is necessary to testify about His unification, may He blessed and may His name be blessed; so too is it hinted in the praise which begins with an ayin and ends with a dalet (aleinu leshabeach, etc. ein od. And afterwards, he should say (al ken nekaveh Lecha...), which is about the matter of Kingship, to crown our Maker upon ourselves. And it it similar to the praise in Aleinu LeShabeach. And [the word,] witness is hinted in it also, since it begins with an ayin (al ken) and ends with a dalet (oule'olmei Timlokh bekavod). And the beginning of its words hint to Akhan - al ken nekaveh. And it is possible that when [Akhan] justified the judgement upon himself and knew that he had sinned, he then said in his prayer: ["That He will quickly remove the idols from the earth, to turn all the evildoers in the earth towards You."] And the idea is is that He will move the heart of stone from our flesh, since it is what makes us err and stumble from the service of God, may He blessed and may His name be blessed. And there will come a time when they recognize and know God, and the earth will be full with the knowledge of God. Then He shall give us a heart of flesh, so that we not return to the foolishness and stumbling of iniquity. So he took upon himself the yoke of the Kingdom of the Heavens before his death. And so Yehoshua told him at that time that all of his iniquities were atoned with [his] death. So he merited life in the world to come, as it is written (Joshua 7:25), "the Lord shall trouble you this day" - this day you are troubled, but you are not troubled for the world to come. Afterwards [one praying] should wait a little before he leaves [the synagogue].

If one feels death approaching, he is instructed, 'Confess [your sins]!'¹Shab. 32a and Tur a.l. This applies only when he feels death approaching. Otherwise, he will think that he is dangerously ill and his heart will be broken — BaḤ and ShaK contra Perisha. Sifre, Num. V, 6: ‘R. Nathan says, “and that soul be guilty; then they shall confess their sin which they have done.” this (verse) forms the rule for all dead that they require confession of sin (prior to death).’ And they say to him, 'Many confessed [their sins] and died not, and many who have not confessed, died; and as a reward, should you confess, you will live;²T.H., derived from Sem. de R. Ḥiyya(H) I, 2. Cf. supra § 337, n. 2. and he who confesses [his sins] has a portion in the world to come.'³As we find written in the case of Achan, ‘Joshua said unto him, my son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and make confession unto Him’ (Josh. VII, 19). ‘And Achan answered Joshua and said, of a truth I have sinned against the Lord, God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done’ (ibid. 20). The confession of Achan made atonement for him, as is written (ibid. 25), ‘The Lord shall trouble thee THIS DAY,’ i.e., only this day, but not in the world to come — Mishna, San. 43b. And if he is unable to make confession with his mouth, he should confess in his heart.²T.H., derived from Sem. de R. Ḥiyya(H) I, 2. Cf. supra § 337, n. 2. If he knows not what to confess, they instruct him, say, 'My death should be an expiation for all my sins.'⁴Tur — G. Mishna, San. ibid. All these instructions are given to him, not in the presence of illiterate people, nor women, nor minors, lest they cry and break his heart.²T.H., derived from Sem. de R. Ḥiyya(H) I, 2. Cf. supra § 337, n. 2.

An excommunicant who died, is adjudged as one who committed suicide wilfully.¹⁴N in T.H. Since he is put to shame by the stone which is placed upon his coffin (v. infra n. 15), it follows that no honour should be extended to him. However, honour which accrues to the living is extended, viz., forming the line of comforters in order to console the mourners. With respect to burial and shrouds he is considered like all other dead — ShaK. They rend no [garments], nor bare [the shoulder in mourning], nor make a lamentation for him,¹⁴N in T.H. Since he is put to shame by the stone which is placed upon his coffin (v. infra n. 15), it follows that no honour should be extended to him. However, honour which accrues to the living is extended, viz., forming the line of comforters in order to console the mourners. With respect to burial and shrouds he is considered like all other dead — ShaK. and they place a stone on his coffin.¹⁵M.K. 15a in accord with R. Judah. Cf. also Sem(H). V, 13. This is done in order to carry out the ordinance of stoning. Josh. VII, 25. This ruling obtains in [a case where the person was excommunicated for] sheer contumacy,¹⁶Cf. M.K. 16a. [i.e.,] where one transgresses the teachings of the Law [out of contempt], but in [a case where one was excommunicated because of refusal to pay] indemnities, — [the law is that] as soon as he¹⁷The excommunicant. dies, he is declared free from their¹⁸The Rabbis. decree, and they do not place a stone on his coffin, and they make a lamentation for him as is fit.¹⁹This entire ruling is found supra § 334, 3.