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EXODUS — 2:13 strike

EXOD43 One must remember that it is extremely desirable to free oneself from the company of men whenever it is possible to do so and sit in his room alone, for most transgressions take place between two people--such as adultery, slander, lying, and flattery. He who sits alone will escape all these, for he will not vaunt himself over others and will not hear their scoffing. And when he is together with them, he must chastise them in three ways: in striking them, as in the case of Pinchas, who took a spear in his hand (Bemidbar 25:7); in word, as in the case of Moshe our teacher, may peace be upon him, who said to the wicked one [this verse]: "Why do you strike your friend?"; In thought, as in the case of King David, who said (Tehillim 26:5): "I hate the company of evil doers, and I will not sit with the wicked." And who can always contend with them, since they are always transgressing? But when you sit alone, you remove this responsibility from yourself and you are spared many transgressions. But one should befriend the saintly and the wise and sit in their company and learn from them, as it is written (Mishlei 13:20): "He who walks with the wise will become wise."

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EXODUS — 5:2 who

EXOD95 … one who has the trait of pride must exert himself and rid himself of it, for it is a bad defect. Its potential harm is great and ever-present, and its potential benefit very slight. Therefore, one must remove himself very far from it. For pride brings one to destruction, as it is written (Mishlei 16:18): "Pride goes before destruction," and it also brings him to lowliness, as it is written (ibid. 29:23): "A man's pride will lower him." We are all well aware of what happened to Pharaoh because he said [this verse]: "Who is Hashem that I should listen to His voice?" And to Golias the Philistine, who said (I Shemuel 17:10): "I have reviled the armies of Israel," to Sancherev, who said (Yeshayahu 36:20) "Who, among the gods of all these lands, rescued their lands from my hand?" And to Nevuchadnetzar, who said (Daniel 3:15): And who is the god that shall deliver you out of my hands?" -- and all of the others who spoke the same way and whose end was shame and disgrace. One who possesses this trait is not rescued from sin and transgression, as Shelomo wrote (Mishlei 21:24): "The proud scorner is called a mocker; he acts in the fury of malice."

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EXODUS — 12:17 matzos

EXOD155 (Continued from [[DEUT863]] Deuteronomy 16:20 righteousness TZADIK 291). Rabbi Yehudah ben Tema said (Avos 5:20): "Be bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a deer, and strong as a lion to do the will of your Father in Heaven." See how the Sages have exhorted us to make ourselves light and strong for mitzvos! And this did David say (Tehillim 119:60): "I was quick and did not delay to heed Your mitzvos." And so did our Rabbis of blessed memory expound: "'And you shall heed the matzos' [this verse]--do not read it matzos, but mitzvos. If a mitzvah comes to hand, do not allow it to go stale, but do it immediately (Mechilta). And one must be extremely light, zealous, and strong to combat the wicked, to be as stouthearted as Moshe our teacher, may peace be upon him, who said (Shemos 32:27): "And Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon the priest, saw and he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand." Therefore, take great care to be extremely zealous to separate yourself from the company of the wicked, not to participate in their counsels and in their accords. Above all, one must be zealous to repent. He must make haste and not delay the process of repentance, so that he not remain wicked in Hashem' presence for even one moment. See how the ministers of kings and princes are swift in their embassies and services. How much more zealous must one be in the service of the King of kings, the Holy One Blessed be He!

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EXODUS — 15:26 sicknesses

EXOD239 One must remember the lovingkindness of Hashem in rescuing him from the world's calamities. He sees many men perishing under terrible affliction--through hunger, thirst, poison, leprosy, by the sword, by water, and by fire – – and he knows within himself that he is deserving of all these afflictions because of his many transgressions whereby he violated God's mandates. But in spite of his being absolutely wicked, the Blessed God has shown mercy on him and rescued him from all these afflictions. And he should know how humble he should be before his Creator and ask pardon every day on all occasions, and be heedful of His service and His praise, and implore Him to guard him against all of the afflictions that descend upon the world, as it is written [this verse]: "If you hear the voice of Hashem your God... all of the sicknesses which I brought upon Egypt I will not bring upon you, for I am Hashem Who heals you." (Devarim 7:15): And Hashem will remove from you every sickness, and all the terrible afflictions of Egypt which you knew, He will not bring upon you." And our Rabbis of blessed memory have said (Berachos 33a): "It is not the serpent, but the sin, that slays."

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EXODUS — 19:5 heed

EXOD315 It is a very beautiful trait in a man to be full of goodwill and cancel his own will before that of his fellow man. This will cause him to be loved by all in doing the will of all men. Such a man is very close to the ways of repentance, for if he is in the grips of an evil act and his friend comes to chastise him, he at once acquiesces in forsaking the evil and he returns to the righteous path. The result is that he gratifies himself by acknowledging and abandoning his evil ways, and that he is a source of gratification to those who befriend him. And King Shelomo likewise said (Mishlei 12:15): "And he who listens to counsel is wise." "Listens" here applies not to the listening of the ear alone, but hearing the counsel of the wise man and acquiescing in what he tells him. We find the entire Torah to be subsumed in the trait of willingness, as well as all of the chastisement and all of the blessings. How so? At the giving of the Torah it is written [this verse]: "And now, if you surely hear my voice and heed my covenant, then you shall be chosen for me from among all the peoples." The meaning of "surely hear" is "take it upon yourselves and acquiesce in them," and they answered (ibid. 24:7): "we shall do, and we shall hear," and they acquiesced. (Continued at [[DEUT1537]] Deuteronomy 28:15 curses TZADIK 253-5).

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EXODUS — 20:5 children

EXOD366 (Continued from [[DEUT650]] Deuteronomy 13:18 merciful TZADIK 161). And if you wish to be merciful to your children and your relatives and to accord them great honor, then occupy yourselves with Torah study and good deeds in love and kindness. This will result in great honor and good to them, for they will be honored and not shamed through you. There is no greater shame than having parents and relatives who are wicked. If one's father is a thief or a robber or is guilty of a blatant transgression that is despised in the eyes of the world, all of his children are condemned after him for generations to follow, being branded as "the descendants of that wicked man." Also, children die because of the sins of the fathers, as it is written [this verse]: "Visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children until the third and fourth generation of those who hate me." Reflect--is there anyone more cruel than he who brings death to his children because of his sin? And there is no one more merciful to his children than the righteous man, for his merits endure for 1,000 generations. For Avraham bound his son for the sacrifice and the Holy One Blessed Be He swore to remember that merit for his children throughout the generations; and when the Jews sinned with the golden calf, Moshe our teacher may peace be upon him, arose in prayer and said (Shemos 32:13): "Remember Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, Your servants." Likewise, King Shelomo said (II Divrei Hayamim 6:42): "Remember the kindness of David, your servant"--and they were answered. Similarly, we mention the merits of the Fathers every day. Therefore, know that there are none so cruel as those who transgress.

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EXODUS — 20:12 honor

EXOD431 The love of father and mother should take the form of loving one's parents for having raised him and for having labored with him, and for having taught him God's ways, and for having shown him and guided him in Torah and mitzvos, and for having enabled him to fulfill the Blessed One's mitzvah [this verse]: "Honor your father and mother." And as to his brothers, sisters and other relatives, he should love them in consideration of their occupying themselves with him to elevate his character and to aid him in Divine service. And he should occupy himself with them, to teach them and to chastise them, without playing favorites. He will thereby receive great reward and he will be manifesting a great trait, as it is written (Tehillim 15:3): And he has not borne shame because of his relatives." A man derives much benefit from his relatives. Witness the case of Lot, whom Avraham rescued from the kings (Bereshis 14: 14-16) and for whom he fought and who was rescued even from Sodom in Avraham's merit (ibid. 19:29). And one should love his friends and all other Jews with perfect love, as it is written (Vayikra 19:18): "And you should love your fellow man as yourself." And this is a great principle in the Torah: "What you hate, do not do to your friend (Shabbos 31a). And even greater than this (Bereshis 9:6) "For in God's image did He make man" (Yerushalmi Nedarim 9:4).

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EXODUS — 20:14 covets

EXOD487 Envy is a branch of anger, and no one escapes it. For we all see all men being pulled one after the other. When one man sees his neighbor acquiring one of the worldly acquisitions, whether it be a type of food or clothing, or building a house, or accumulating money, he exerts himself to do likewise, thinking: My friend has this; I will have it, too. This was intimated by King Shelomo (Koheles 4:4): "And I saw that all labor and all excellent workmanship was one man's envy of another." One who is overpowered by this trait is extremely despicable. For envy brings one to lust, for when a man does not take to heart what others have, he does not lust; but when his heart is drawn on and he envies what others have, he covets and desires, and the Torah has said [this verse]: "Do not covet your neighbor's wife... and all that belongs to your neighbor." And when he covets, he steals, as it is written (Michah 2:2): "And they coveted fields and they stole them." And one in whom lust mounts is close to transgressing the Ten Commandments. By way of illustration: there was once a man who had a wicked neighbor whose property was separated from his own by a wall. This wicked man lusted after his neighbor's wife and some of his possessions. One Friday, he heard his neighbor telling his wife: "I want to go away for the day on business," and he did so. What did this wicked man do? On Sabbath eve, he went and broke down the wall between them, thus transgressing "Remember and observe" [the Shabbos]. He then forced the woman whom he lusted to possess, transgressing "Do not covet," and lay with her, transgressing "Do not commit adultery." Afterwards, when he began to steal the money, the woman cried out and he rose up against her and killed her, thus transgressing "Do not kill," and when he robbed and stole what he lusted after, he transgressed "Do not steal" and "Do not covet." The next day his father and mother rose up and reproved him, and he rose up against them and struck them, thus transgressing "Honor your father and your mother." Afterwards he was brought before the court and testified falsely with his friends that these things that he took were pledges which had been given him by his neighbor and which he had, in turn, entrusted to him and had not been able to reclaim until now that the robbers had broken the wall and killed his wife, hearing of which, he, too, had gone in and taken his pledge--thus transgressing "Do not testify falsely." And wherever he came he swore that he had committed no offense, thus transgressing "Do not swear falsely." In the end, his evil was revealed and his offense publicized. His shame was so great that he gave himself up to corruption and denied the Living God, thus transgressing "I am Hashem your God." Finally, he became addicted to idol worship and bowed down to and served idols, thus transgressing "Do not have any other gods besides me" and "Do not bow down to them and do not serve them." And all this was caused by lust. We see, then, that he who is lustful is close to transgressing the entire Torah.

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EXODUS — 22:21 afflict

EXOD658 … the best and worthiest mercy of a father to his son is that which brings him to Divine service, as it is written (Yeshayahu 38:19): "A father will educate his sons to Your truth." He must pity his soul more than his body. And he must strike him with the rod of chastisement to guide him in the right path though it may seem cruel to do so, for such cruelty is mercy. And if one withholds the rod of chastisement from his son, his mercies having "kindled" against his striking him, and he allows him to follow the evil promptings of his heart, such a pity despoils him and deprives him of life in the World-to-Come. Similarly, even if one rears an orphan, concerning whom it is written [this verse]: "Do not affect any widow or orphan," it is a mitzvah to beat him to turn him to the right path. One must still treat an orphan more mercifully than others--but he must not allow him to do whatever he wishes. One must also not be too merciful with himself, but he must afflict himself and suppress his evil inclination.

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