GEN612 The fate of the Generation of the Flood was sealed only over theft, as (this verse) says “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth has become filled with larceny.”  Although the sin of illicit relations is graver than that of theft, the punishment of theft has the quality of bringing the day of catastrophe closer and speeding up the unfolding of [calamitous] future events.  They also said, Ecclesiastes Rabbah 1:13, “In a ‘se’ah [a measure of volume] filled with sins – there is none among them that prosecutes as much as theft.’”  [Translated in TZADIK 153 as “In a measure full of sins there is none more incriminating than that of theft.”]  GATES 195

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GEN620 See [[EXOD1062]] Exodus 35:13 showbread GATES 443

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GEN759 See [[LEV107]] Leviticus 11:29 unclean GATES 21

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GEN805 … one is obligated to observe and understand children, and to distinguish between one who is perverse and warped (Deuteronomy 32:5) and one who goes upright--all of this for an exalted purpose ... [presumably, to protect one's children from negative influences (see Zeh Hasha'ar)].When you see gluttonous people who disregard the need to wash their hands before meals, who sit and eat bread without reciting the brachach [blessing] before and after the meal, (Grace after Meals is derived from the Torah Deuteronomy 8:10) and flout the restrictions of many other such Rabbinic rulings and enactments – through this they can be appraised, and through this you will be able to know and discern their ways, tor they re exceedingly evil and sinful towards Hashem [this verse] and their end will be eternal ruin Numbers 24:20.  It is in respect to these that the Sages said: “Anyone who violates a Rabbinic ruling is punishable with death.”  This is because these actions are not forced by one’s yetzer – these people are not swayed to sin as a result of their earthiness, through their physical desire.  They emerge solely from one’s evil disposition and the desire to throw off the yoke of Heaven from their necks.  Indeed, they are like the throng of that class of evil-doers who say to God: “Leave us alone; we have no desire to know Your ways.” Job 21:14. These, too, are far from the way of truth.  GATES 169-171

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GEN1009 The repentant has been exhorted to examine his ways, and [to know] the number of sins and transgressions he has [committed]. (See the First Gate, paragraph 36 (the eleventh principle of repentance)). Upon completion of his examination, he has [further] been exorted to investigate the severity of every single sin, as the pasuk [this verse] says Eichah 3:40, “Let us examine our ways and analyze [them].”   He must become aware of the seriousness of the offense for each sin, since the severity of some offences reaches the very heavens [E.g., this verse and Yonah 1:2 (Sha'arei Teshuvah Hameforash), and one evil may equal many grave sins (e.g. the sin of lashon hara) [evil speech] see paragraph 201.   The quality of one's repentance is commensurate with the scale of his self-analysis, for in accordance with his awareness of the magnitude and severity of the sin, he will be distressed. "Perhaps, then, their uncircumcised heart (See the Second Gate, note 8) will be humbled, and they will gain appeasement for their transgression [this verse]. GATES 159

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GEN1042 (Continued from [[DEUT1709]] Deuteronomy 32:47 empty GATES 315). Anybody who forsakes [even] one principle of the Torah, refusing to acknowledge it, is one who treats the Torah with impudence, such as a person who says, “What have we gained by having Torah scholars? If they amass knowledge, they do so for themselves, and we receive no share in their reward.”   These people have denied what is written in the Torah [this verse], i.e. righteous people in the city would have saved Sodom from destruction.   GATES 315-6

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GEN1082 If one has caused anguish to another and has harassed him, embarrassed him, or spoken badly of him, he cannot attain atonement without [first] asking forgiveness from him.  So our Sages, of blessed memory, said Baba Kama 92a: Even though he has monetarily compensated the other for his shame and the suffering inflicted through beating, he is not atoned for these wrongs until he asks his forgiveness, i.e. even after returning Abraham’s wife, Avimelech needed forgiveness.   Abraham’s willingness to pray for Avimelech testifies to his having forgiven him.  (Peirush Mar”d)  GATES 74-5

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GEN1218 One who has been blessed by God with intelligence must impress upon himself that Hashem has sent him into this world to keep His restrictions, instructions, statutes, and commandments.  He should close his eyes to everything but the fulfillment of his mission.   At the end of days, if he fulfills his mission faithfully, he will return and come in song, crowned with eternal joy, Isaiah 31:10, Isaiah 51:11, like the servant whose king has sent him overseas, whose eyes and heart are entirely bent on his mission until he returns to his master.  Similarly, Shlomo [HaMelech], a”h, said Proverbs 22:19, 21, “Let your trust remain with Hashem…to teach you the certainty of truthful words, so that you may bring back words of truth to those who have sent you.”   GATES 141-3

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GEN1219 When one studies Torah for its own sake and labors and exerts himself for the sake of Heaven, his two kidneys become like two springs and he produces reasons and halachos himself, what he had never learned and what had not even been given to Moshe on Sinai, as we find in respect to Avraham of blessed memory Genesis Rabbah 95:3, who never was taught by any man, but who sat and reflected by himself concerning mitzvos and in this way derived the whole of Torah and mitzvos, the Scripture testifying about him [this verse.].   GATES 577

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GEN1220 [Included in the class of flatterers is] one whose words are believed by others and who is relied upon by all who hear him, who then, with the intention of elevating a particular person or one of his close relatives whom he likes, asserts that he is a wise man, when in actuality he is a child without wisdom. Hosea 13:13  [This “wise man”] will be a hindrance and stumbling block, for people will rely on his decisions, disputes will be adjudicated by him – and he will pervert justice and destroy the world. Ethics of the Fathers 5:8.   GATES 385

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