DEUT1301 See [[NUM355]] Numbers 30:3 pledge GATES 369

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DEUT1327 See [[EXOD630]] Exodus 22:10 oath GATES 421

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DEUT1426 See [[EXOD45]] Exodus 2:13 strike GATES 253-5

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DEUT1427 That which our Sages, z"l, said (Yoma 86a) concerning one who has committed a desecration of Hashem's Name, that repentance together with Yom Kippur suspend [the atonement] in death purges--this is because death purges any sin, after full repentance [Lit., "excellent repentance." Without repentance, even death cannot atone.] If one is killed and confesses his sins before death [I.e., including the sin of desecrating Hashem's Name (Sha'arei Teshuvah Hameforash)], from the moment that the fear of death falls upon him he is atoned for [It would appear that according to Rabbeinu Yonah, it is the fear of death that atones, even before death itself (Zeh Hasha'ar). Thus, the murderer has killed a pious person] and his murderer is regarded as having spilled the blood of an innocent and pious person, as the pasuk says (Tehillim 79:2), "[They have given...] the flesh of Your pious ones to the beasts of the earth." [This chapter in Tehillim refers to the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash by the Babylonians]. Our Sages, z"l, explained (Midrash Tehillim 79) that ["pious ones"] refers also to the wicked among them, on whom the pasuk says (Yirmeyahu 5:8), "They were well-fed horses, arising early." [The rest of the verse reads, "each one neighing to his neighbor's wife," I.e., they were adulterers. Even so, the verse calls them pious, lamenting what the Babylonians did to them.] They were regarded as pious because they received the justice due them, as the pasuk says [this verse], "[Lest he beat him more than these…] And your brother [will thus] be degraded in your eyes"--once lashes have been administered, he is like your brother. [The Torah prohibits giving the sinner even one lash more than required by law. Once he has received his lashes, he is no longer a sinner, but "your brother." Here too, once the wicked adulterers repented and were faced with eminent death, they were considered "pious ones."]

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DEUT1499 Concerning neglecting [the mitzvah of] respect for one's father and mother, which is a positive commandment, the pasuk says [this verse], "Cursed is he who shames his father or his mother." "Shame's" means that he shows them disrespect and contravenes the [requirements of] awe due them, as our Sage's, z"l said, (Kidushin 31b), "'Every man shall fear his mother and father' (Vayikra 19:3). What is the nature of awe for one's father? One must not sit in his father's place, not contradict his words, nor support an opposing viewpoint."

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DEUT1500 It is true that among the tzaddikim there are those who sometimes succumb to sin, as the pasuk says (Koheles 7:20), "For there is no righteous man on earth who does [only] good and does not sin." Yet tzaddikim will subdue their yetzer a hundred times over, and if they fall prey to sin even once, they will not allow it to reoccur, for it leaves them deeply troubled [Yechezkel 6:9], and they repent. Nonetheless, one who is not heedful regarding a known sin, and has not committed to caution concerning it, even if it is one of the more lenient of transgressions, although he may be heedful of all other transgressions within the Torah – – the Sages of Israel have referred to him as (Chulin 4b), "an apostate regarding one matter," who is counted among the evildoers [He is similar to a mumar lehach'is, an apostate who acts out of spite, since he shows no concern for that one prohibition (see Zeh Hasha'ar).], and whose transgression will be too great to bear. For if a servant explicitly tells his master: "I am willing to fulfill whatever you ask of me, with the exclusion of one thing," he has already divested himself of the yoke of servitude to his master [since he arbitrarily chooses which mitzvos to fulfill and which not to, he is referred to as a porek ol -- one who has divested himself of the yoke of servitude to Hashem", and he will do as he sees fit. Regarding this matter the pasuk says [this verse], "Cursed is he who does not uphold the words of this Torah to do them." This means: who is not committed to the fulfillment of all the words of the Torah, from beginning to end. [The expression] "who does not uphold… to do" attests to this--for it does not [simply] say, "who does not do them." [The curse is not directed to any sinner, but only to one who is not committed to full mitzvah observance. See Ramban and Seforno, ad loc.]

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DEUT1511 Our Sages, z"l, said (Arachin 15b), "One who speaks lashon hara is as if he denies Hashem, as the pasuk says (Tehillim 12:5), 'With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?'" ["Our lips are with us"--to speak lashon hara. "Who is master over us?"--This denies Divine providence (Malbim)]. The reason he is regarded as one who has denied Hashem is the following: Such a person affects and causes great harm and much evil to his peers by tarnishing their reputation in the eyes of others, or by other types of damage; and it cannot be that one prepares for his peers utensils of destruction and harm more bitter than death itself without any personal benefit or economic gain, unless his yetzer [I.e., evil inclination] has overcome his soul, he has divested himself of the yoke of Heaven, and has severed his bonds [to Hashem]. This is as the pasuk says in the psalm, "when the Ziphim came and said to Shaul..." (ibid., 54:5): [The people of Ziph revealed David's hiding place to Shaul, therefore endangering his life (see I Shmuel 23:19)] "For strangers have risen up against me, and violent men have sought my soul; they have not set God before themselves." Our Sages, z "l, expanded upon this as follows (Midrash Tehillim 54): "They have not set God before themselves'--for their intent was for Shaul to bless them, just as he [subsequently did when he] said to them (I Shmuel 23:21), 'Blessed are you unto Hashem, for you have shown me compassion.'' They have not set God before themselves'--for the Torah states [this verse], 'Cursed is he who is secretly strikes his fellow man.'" [Secretly strikes his fellow man" – – this refers to lashon hara (Rashi). Thus, the Ziphim spoke against David merely to receive Shaul's blessing, and were not concerned with God's curse. This shows their denial of Hashem and His providence.] The pasuk also says (Koheles 10:11), "There is no gain for one who has an [evil] tongue." [I.e., who speaks lashon hara; see Arachin 15b].

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DEUT1533 See [[DEUT646]] Deuteronomy 13:18 compassion GATES 211

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DEUT1545 The second [reason] [I.e., For the mitzvah to eat a set meal on the day before Yom Kippur]--on every other Yom Tov we eat a set meal for the joy of the mitzvah. The reward for feeling joy in fulfilling the mitzvos is very great and exalted, as the pasuk says (I Divrei Hayamim 29:17), "Now I have seen Your people, who are present here; with joy they have donated to You." [This is referring to the outpouring of donations for the building of the Beis HaMikdash. The next pasuk goes on to say, "Hashem...keep this forever," and Rashi comments, "Evoke, on our behalf, this donation as a great mitzvah."] The pasuk also says [this verse], "[These curses will come upon you…] because you did not serve Hashem, your God, with joy and goodness of heart." [We can infer from this that great blessing comes to those who fulfill the mitzvos out of joy.] Since we must fast on Yom Kippur, we are required to eat the set meal [that is associated] with the joy of the mitzvah [I.e., The mitzvah of observing the Yom Tov of Yom Kippur] instead.

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DEUT1554 (Continued from [[LEV379]] Leviticus 19:14 curse GATES 225-7). Our Sages said (Shevuos 35a) that one who curses his fellowman or himself with Hashem's Name is punishable with lashes. Furthermore, his punishment administered by Heaven is very severe, as the pesukim say [this and next verse]; [Although the Gemara in Temurah (3b) states that "plagues" means the punishment of lashes administered by beis din, Rabbeinu Yonah appears to include the simple meaning of the word as well, which implies Heavenly punishment (Zeh Hasha'ar). Alternatively, he could be referring to the end of the pasuk, "...and severe and persistent illnesses."]. Our Sages, z"l, explained (Temurah 3b) that this pasuk is referring to one who curses another individual or himself using Hashem's Name.

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