LEV184 See [[LEV58]] Leviticus 5:24 repay GATES 481-3

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LEV185 When the Ten Days of Repentance arrive, every man must arouse his heart and tremble before the Day of Judgment, reflecting that all of his deeds are inscribed in a book and that during that period God brings into judgment every deed and every hidden thing, good or evil. For a man is judged on Rosh Hashanah and his judgment is sealed on Yom Kippur (Rosh Hashanah 16a). When a man is brought before a judge of flesh and blood does he not begin trembling greatly and start devising defenses for himself, and does he think of anything else but finding some merit to rescue himself from judgment? How foolish and simple, then, are those who, unaware of their judgment, occupy themselves with matters other than that of repentance, to the end of finding favor before the Great Judge! Therefore, it befits every God-fearing man to minimize his affairs and humble his thoughts and set aside times in the daytime and in the evening to be alone in his rooms to seek out and examine his ways, and to rise before the morning watches to occupy himself in the ways of repentance. We should not be as those who fast and arise early to pray, but do not wage battle against their sins to eradicate all ugliness from their deeds. For every man who prays and fasts and confesses, but still clings to his former deeds, is not pursuing the path of repentance. A man should rouse himself to complete repentance, for the Ten Days of Repentance are a time of favor (Yeshayahu 49:8): "In a time of favor I have answered you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you." And our Sages of blessed memory have said (Rosh Hashanah 18a): "'Seek Hashem while He may be found (Yeshayahu 55:6) -- these are the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur." And our Rabbis of blessed memory have said (Yoma 85b) that Yom Kippur atones in conjunction with repentance. Scripture therefore exhorts us to repent and purify ourselves before the Blessed One through our repentance, as it is written [this verse]: "From all of your sins shall you be clean before Hashem." And He will grant us atonement on this day and cause us to be clean.

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LEV186 See [[LEV178]] Leviticus 16:29 day WESOR 320-1

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LEV187 The fifth way [of repentance] is [as follows]: During the Ten Days of Repentance, one who fears Hashem will be filled with trepidation, knowing that all his deeds are "inscribed in the book" (Avos 2:1), and that at that time He will bring him to judgment for all his actions, for all that is hidden, whether good or bad [Koheles 12:14] This refers to even slight sins (Chagigah 5a) -- for man is judged on Rosh Hashanah and his sentence is sealed on Yom Kippur. When one knows that his judgment will be brought before a king of flesh and blood, he is seized with great trembling, takes counsel with himself, and will assiduously hasten to find a way to save himself [Tehillim 55:9]. It will never enter his mind to turn right or left and be occupied with his other [mundane] concerns. He will disregard [the need] to develop and till his plot of land and to tend to his vineyards [Iyov 24:18]. When troubled times befall him, he will not relax from his readiness to rescue himself, like a deer from the [trapper's] hand (Mishlei 6:5]. As such, how foolish are those who go out to work and to their laborers until evening [Tehillim 104:23] during the Days of Awe [I.e., the Ten Days of Repentance], the days of justice and judgment, not knowing what their judgment will be. Indeed, their hearts should be dwelling on what to answer on the day when their sentence will be rendered, as the pasuk says (Shir haShirim 8:8), "What shall we do for our sister, on the day she is spoken of?" (I.e., a reference to the neshamah, on the Day of Judgment). It is befitting for every God-fearing individual to limit his [mundane] affairs and fill his thoughts with trepidation. He should set aside times, both day and night, to be alone in his chambers, to examine his ways and to analyze them. He should arise during the [latter part of the] night (I.e., the "latter watch of the night (Berachos 3b), when he can more readily find favor in Hashem's eyes (Zeh Hasha'ar), and occupy himself with the pathways of repentance and with improving his deeds. He should pour forth in supplication, offer prayer and psalm, and plead for clemency--for this time is one of finding favor, when prayer is heard, as the pasuk says (Yeshayahu 49:8), "At the time of favor I have answered you, and on a day of salvation I have assisted you." Our Sages, z"l, said (Rosh Hashanah 18a): "'Seek Hashem when he is to be found' (Yeshayahu 55:6)--these are the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur." It is a positive commandment of the Torah that one arouse his spirit to repentance on Yom Kippur, as the pasuk says: [this verse]. Therefore, the pasuk exhorts us to purify ourselves before Hashem by repenting, that he may grant us atonement on this day, which will lead to our [complete] purification.

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LEV188 Offerings shall not be slaughtered outside of the courtyard of the Beis HaMikdash. Hashem fixed one place where His nation would bring offerings and have their hearts particularly stirred to serve Him with devotion. Once designated, this place’s holiness and importance would inspire great fear of Heaven, so that more than anywhere else, people who would enter there would be influenced to the good. When bringing offerings there, people’s hard hearts would be softened and humbled to the Divine Will. There would be readiness to fully accept the Kingdom of Heaven, and for these reasons those who sinned would be able to gain complete atonement there. If someone brings an offering elsewhere, “it is considered as if he shed blood.” Hashem does not allow mankind to slaughter animals except for the sake of atonement for sin, or for the sake of food, medicinal purposes or other essential needs. On the other hand, to kill an animal for no reason is sinful destruction. Someone who does so is guilty of “shedding blood.” The same applies to someone who slaughters an offering outside of the courtyard of the Beis HaMikdash. His act serves no constructive purpose and his punishment is kares, “cutting off” of the soul.

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LEV189 [Another example of those whom the Mishnah lists as incurring misah bidei Shamayim (death at the hands of Heaven): one who robs the poor, as the pasuk says (Mishlei 22:2-23), "Do not rob the destitute because he is destitute … For Hashem will take up their grievance, and will exact life from those who rob them." We have already elaborated upon this in the Third Level (See Paragraph 24). Our Sages, z"l, said (Bava Kama 119a) that whoever robs a poor person is as if he had taken his life from him, as the pasuk says (Mishlei 1:19), "Such is the way of everyone who robs; it takes away the soul of its owner" [(Although Rabbi Yonah interpreted the verse in paragraph 24 to mean that robbery takes away the soul of the thief, it can the same time be understood as he explains here: because the thief is likened to a murderer, he forfeits his own life (Zeh Hasha'ar).) (Sometimes one deprives another of his livelihood, even though the theft of something valued at less than that of a perutah. As such, it is considered for that man as bloodshed--he has spilled blood [this verse] -- if he robbed him of a perutah's worth.

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LEV190 See [[LEV244]] Leviticus 18:22 abhorrence FREUND 281-2

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LEV191 See [[LEV244]] Leviticus 18:22 abhorrence FREUND 281-2

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LEV192 Cover the blood of ritually slaughtered fowl and wild beasts. A live being’s soul resides in its blood, as noted above (See [[LEV80]] Leviticus 7:26 blood CHINUCH 101-2). Accordingly, before a creature's meat, which is its body, is eaten, it is fitting to cover and conceal its soul--its blood. If we were to eat the flesh while the soul is strewn before us, it might incline us towards the negative treat of cruelty. One wonders why we are not commanded to cover the blood of domesticated animals after we slaughter them. The reason is that blood of these species is brought upon the Altar to achieve atonement for ourselves. For this reason, this blood cannot be covered. [Although the blood of some types of birds, too, serves for atonement on the Altar, these types represent a small minority of birds so the Torah, which rules according to the majority, requires that this blood, too, be covered after ritual slaughter].

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LEV194 Man's need to use animals must be a legitimate and not a frivolous one. Thus, hunting for sport is not considered legitimate (Responsa of Noda B'Yehudah, Yoreh De'ah 10) and is not only discouraged in the Talmud, but is also prohibited in Jewish law (Avodah Zarah 18b). In fact, the two people depicted in the Torah as hunters, both Nimrod (Gen. 10:9) and Esau (Gen 25:27), are clearly characterized as evil. Yet, in another place, the Torah seems to permit hunting, using the word yatzud [this verse], the Hebrew term for hunting. Upon further investigation, however, it is clear that the Torah's permission to hunt is referring only to the capture of kosher meat for eating. The method the Torah speaks about, although similar to the general term for hunting, signifies in this case trapping with nets to capture the food, thereby minimizing pain to the animal (Mishnah, Betzah 3:1-2).

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