Excerpt Browser

This page displays the full text of excerpts.  When viewing a single excerpt, its “Share,” “Switch Article,” and “Comment” functions are accessible.

EXODUS — 14:31 power

EXOD207 The greatest favor that the Creator has bestowed on man, and the strongest proof of His existence, is the Torah, given to Moshe His prophet, and the miraculous signs that were revealed through him-- the changes in the normal course of things and in the natural order--and the revelation of the awesome wonders to induce faith in the Creator, make He be exalted, and in the prophet, as it says: “Israel saw the great power which God had unleashed against Egypt, and the people were in awe of God; they believed in God and in Moshe His servant” (Shemos 14:31); “You have been shown, that you might know that Hashem is God, and there is no other beside Him. From the heavens He let you hear His voice, to discipline you; and on earth He showed you His great fire, and out of the fire you heard His words” (Devarim 4:35-36).

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXODUS — 15:26 sickness

EXOD238 In how many ways should a person hold himself to an accounting before God? I say that there are a multitude of ways in which to make such an accounting. Of these, I will point out thirty. They can clarify to a person what he owes God, if he will bring them to mind and undertake to reflect on them and remember them always. Contemplating God's grace in sparing one from harm. … 19. One should make an accounting with himself of how the Creator spares him from the mishaps and troubles of this world, [from] the various ailments to which human beings are subject, and from other ordeals and crises-- such as imprisonment, hunger, thirst, cold, heat, poisoning, attacks by wild animals, leprosy, insanity, failure of the various senses, and the like-- while being aware that he deserves these and is liable to them, because of past transgressions and sins before God; because of the severity of his transgression and rebelling against his God; for making light of His word; for neglecting to thank and praise Him; for leaving His service; and for failing to repent and confess before God, having prolonged his disobedience despite God's constant favors to him and ongoing kindness toward him. When the intelligent individual considers this and thinks of the afflictions with which God tries human beings in this world, as we have described; and how God spares him from them and he escapes all of them, though he deserves them, he will then be full of praise for God's goodness toward him and will hasten to repent and ask forgiveness for past transgressions and sins, which the Creator put out of sight for so long. He will hasten to attach himself to God’s service, for fear of these [afflictions], so as to avoid them, as it says: “If you listen carefully to Hashem your God... then I will not bring upon you all the sickness which I brought upon Egypt” (Shemos 15:26); “God will remove from you all sickness; He will not bring upon you any of the dreadful diseases of Egypt, which you know of” (Devarim 7:15).

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXODUS — 16:4 portion

EXOD246 Trust in God in regard to livelihood. The way one should trust in God in regard to one's livelihood is as follows. If it is withheld from him on occasion, he should say in his heart: The One Who brought me into this world at a certain time and at a certain moment, neither earlier nor later, He is the One Who withholds from me my livelihood until a certain moment and day, knowing what is best for me. So too, when his income is very limited and does not exceed the basic minimum by even the slightest, he should reflect in his heart and say: He provided me, at the start of my life, with my daily food at my mother's breasts, according to my need and enough to sustain me, until replacing it with something better; and the limited supply did not harm me in the least. In the same way, I will suffer no harm on account of the limited, minimal income He now gives me, to the end of my days. He will be rewarded for this, as the Creator said of our forefathers in the wilderness, who were in a similar situation: “The people shall go out and gather that day’s portion each day” (Shemos 16:4).

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXODUS — 19:4 did

EXOD313 It is widely recognized that a man's obligation of service corresponds to the degree of favor bestowed upon him. In every generation there are events which occasion one people to be singled out from all other peoples for God's special favor. They, in turn, must distinguish themselves in the service of the Creator, May He be exalted, to a greater degree than all of the other peoples. But there is no way to know this by the intellect alone. For instance: God chose us by bringing us out of the land of Egypt, dividing the Red Sea, and the other favors which followed, which are too well known to be mentioned. [Correspondingly] the Creator, May He be exalted, singled us out from all other nations for service, which He bound us to so that we might express our thanks to Him. For accepting this service He promised us reward -- in this world and the next -- that is indescribable, a grace and a kindness from Him, made He be exalted. Now, all this becomes clear only through the Torah, as it says in Scripture: “You have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Me. Now, if you listen carefully to My voice and keep My covenant, you will be for Me a special treasure among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine. And you will be for Me a Kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Shemos 19:4-6).

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXODUS — 20:2 other

EXOD354 When I searched for the most essential principle, the cornerstone of our religion, I found the wholehearted acknowledgement of God's unity to be its root and foundation. It is the very first of the Torah’s gates, and it is the acknowledgement of God's unity that separates the believer from the nonbeliever. It is the central truth of the religion; Whoever deviates from it will be unable to practice [his religious duties] properly or hold on to any belief. For this reason, the first words of God directed to us on Mount Sinai were: “I am Hashem your God.... Do not have any other gods” (Shemos 20:2-3), and later on He exhorted us through His prophet, saying: “Listen [Shema], Israel: Hashem is our God, Hashem is one” (Devarim 6:4). You must understand this section (the “Shema”) until its end, and see how its words proceed from subject to subject, covering ten subjects, corresponding to [the number of] the Ten Commandments. First, we are commanded to believe in the Creator, as it says: “Listen, Israel: Hashem.” The word “listen” [shema] is used here not in the sense of listening with the ear, but in the sense of believing in the heart, as in the verses: “We will do and we will listen” (Shemos 24:7); “Listen, Israel, and be careful to do it” (Devarim 6:3). Whenever the word “listen” is used in this way, the intended meaning is none other than to believe and accept. After being commanded to believe in the reality of Hashem's existence, we are then commanded to believe that He is our God, as it says: “... is our God.” Then we are commanded to believe that He is truly one, as it says: “Hashem is one.” After commanding us to believe in and accept the three fundamentals just mentioned, Scripture then moves on to what we must add to them, namely, the wholehearted love of God, in the inner life and the outer life, with our souls and with our might, as it says: “Love Hashem, your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (ibid. 6:5). I will explain this, with the Almighty's help, in the Gate of Love of God. Scripture then goes on to caution us about the duties of the heart, saying: “These words which I command you this day must be on your heart” (ibid. 6:6), meaning that one should keep them always in one's heart and believe in them in the depth of one's being. Then Scripture proceeds to those duties of the limbs which require both knowledge and action, as it says: “Teach them to your children and [if you have no children] speak of them” (ibid. 6:7); to educate a child is not the only reason why an adult should study. Scripture then continues: “…when you are at home, when you are traveling on the road, when you lie down, and when you get up” (ibid.), for there is never anything to keep the heart and tongue from fulfilling their duties, as may happen to the other limbs. We have already discussed, in the Introduction, how the duties of the heart are perpetually binding. All this serves to reinforce what was stated in the previous verse (“These words which I command you this day must be on your heart”): By keeping these words on one’s lips continually, they are ever in one's consciousness, and one’s thoughts are never empty of God. This is like what was said by King David: “I have placed God always before me” (Tehillim 16:8), and by Scripture: “It is a thing very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you can do” (Devarim 30:14). Scripture then proceeds from duties of the limbs [which require both knowledge and deed] to those which consist of action alone, and gives three examples: “[1] Bind them as a sign on your hand and [2] let them be a frontlet in the center of your head. [3] Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates” (ibid. 6:8-9). The references here are to the tefillin, worn on the hand and head, and to the mezuzah, which bring one to remember the Creator, to love Him wholeheartedly, and to long for Him, just as lovers keep their love in mind. ... Scripture gives three [ways of remembering God], so that they be stronger and more lasting [in effect], as the Wise One [King Solomon] said: “A threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Koheles 4:12). This section thus covers ten subjects; five of them are spiritual, and five of them physical. The spiritual ones are: (1) Hashem exists; (2) He is our God; (3) He is one; (4) We should love him with all our hearts; (5) We should serve him wholeheartedly. The five physical ones are: (1) “teach them to your children”; (2) “speak of them”; (3) “bind them as a sign on your hand”; (4) “let them be a frontlet in the center of your head”; (5) “write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.” Our Masters come of blessed memory, have said “Why is [the section of] ‘Shema’ placed before [the section] ‘if, then, you carefully obey [my commandments]’ (Devarim 11:13-21)? So that one first except accept upon oneself the yoke of God's kingship, and then accept upon oneself the yoke of the commandments.” (Yerushalmi, Berachos 2:2). It is for this reason that I have placed the Gate of the Unity of God before any other of the book’s gates.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

RSS
123456789101112131415161718
Back To Top