NUM341 According to rabbinic tradition, Moses exemplifies the tov ayin, the person whose acts are prompted by a "good eye." A story from the midrashic collection, Numbers Rabbah, points out that Moses generously accepts Joshua as his successor in leadership, never an easy task: "Adonai said to Moses, 'Single out Joshua, the son of Nun, a man who has spirit in him, and place your hand [sic] on him' [Numbers 27:18). But Moses responds with such nedivut that 'he placed both his hands on Joshua' [this verse] (Num. R. 21:15). So too, R. Yose b. R. Hanina teaches: "The Torah was originally given only to Moses and his descendants. But Moses generously shared it with all Israel. Thus the Bible refers to Moses when it says: 'He that has a generous eye shall be blessed' [Proverbs 22:9]" (Ned. 38a). Few of us will have the chance to emulate such extraordinary netivut; however, Yehiel b. Yekutiel provides us with an example of a tov ayin in more routine circumstances: "If a mitzvah presents itself, [such a person] summons his resources so that he may do it with a good eye, specifically including the humility not to do it for the sake of receiving a reward (and therefore being proud in his heart), or making a show of his merit before others" (Sefer Maalot Hamiddot). In other words, a person with a "good eye" recognizes the opportunity to do a good deed as soon as it appears, and then matter-of-factly acts on it.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

NUM342 See [[NUM152]] Numbers 15:2 speak OXFORD 13-4

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

NUM343 Bring communal offerings daily in the Beis HaMikdash. The mitzvah of bringing offerings is explained [See [[EXOD940]] Exodus 25:8 sanctuary CHINUCH 62-5]. Those words can be applied to the tamid offering, too. This avodah is an obligation for us twice a day--at sunrise and in the afternoon--so that through its performance we will be inspired to focus all of our thoughts toward the Holy One. By nature, for the sake of his physical wellbeing, a person needs to eat twice a day, morning and evening. To ensure that our efforts for our bodies do not exceed our efforts for our souls, the Torah commands that twice a day we focus all our thoughts and energies on serving the Holy One. Through the mitzvah of the tamid offering, we are inspired to think of our Maker all the time, for a person is awakened only by means of his actions, while mere thoughts do not suffice. By always turning our desires and spirit towards our Maker, we merit His blessings.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

NUM344 Bring a musaf offering on Shabbos in the Beis HaMikdash. The mitzvah of the musaf offering is explained in [See [[LEV918]] Leviticus 23:8 offering CHINUCH 187], with reference to the festivals. Similarly, bringing the musaf offering of Shabbos impresses upon us the importance and great sanctity of Shabbos. We are reminded that Hashem created the heavens and earth in six days, and on the seventh day He rested.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

NUM345 Bring a musaf offering on every first of the month. As it is known, the Creator vested the moon and the sun with power to influence the physical world, the bodies of people, animals and all plant life. For this reason, at the time of the renewal of the moon, people refrain from acts that are potentially dangerous, such as setting out to sea or letting blood. At the time of the renewal of the moon, since the moon exerts such influences, it is fitting that we, too, do something new and different from what we do on other days, and it is most appropriate to bring additional offerings to honor Hashem. This way, we take to our hearts that all changes in the world and new phenomena are from Him exclusively, and so, too, every influence exerted on the world by the celestial bodies. When this pure and true thought occupies our minds, our souls are elevated, and Hashem's blessings descend upon us.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

NUM346 Earlier, we referred to an act of free will as a truly creative act. What is it we are creating? The very important answer is that man is creating himself. A person's character is never complete. Until a person's very last breath, his self is constantly in the process of developing and changing. At every age and at every stage of development, an individual's own personality, as so far formed with his habits and attitudes, restricts the range of choice and influences further development. The self, however, can sit in judgment on his own personality As so far formed and can disapprove and can decide to change it. Character-building may be the most important area of human creativity. Noting a difference in the wording of the Rosh Hashanah law, which says to "make [yourselves] an offering" instead of the usual "bring an offering," the rabbis interpreted God to be saying: "on Rosh Hashanah I consider it as if you are making yourselves" [this verse]. It has been noted that the "I"--the human self – – – is most intermittent and erratic. It is elusive and transitory. No other organism known to man can recite the apparently simple first-person pronoun "I" and comprehend it significance. Both the divine Anokhi and the human "I" are best known by their actions. But from the outside we only see activity without an actor. Both create worlds, and both are mysterious sources of self-creation. The "I" must always create itself. Kant showed that all proofs of God's existence are flawed, and Descartes was unsuccessful in proving the existence of the "I". As per subjectivity, both can only be known from within. But the human "I" does appear in response to the moral challenge of a given situation. Only in the moment of moral decision, when the "I" makes a choice , engages in a struggle, and assumes responsibility, it is, through and through, "I"; is it all self, spiritual and free (Israel Efros, Ancient Jewish Philosophy (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1964), pp.120 and 132).

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

NUM347 Sound the shofar on the New Year. People are physical beings, and due to the coarseness of the material that comprises our makeup, we are not awakened and stirred into action except by means of an outside stimulus. In wartime, for example, at the start of a battle, it is necessary to blow trumpet blasts and shout in order to arouse the soldiers that they need to fight for their lives. It is no different on Rosh Hashanah--Judgment Day for all beings. If a person's merits outweigh his sins, he emerges from the judgment safely, but if, God forbid, his sins outweigh his merits, he is subject to the death penalty or some other frightening decree. Accordingly, it is fitting for a person to fight his nature and arouse himself to ask Hashem to have mercy and forgive him for his sins, for Hashem is the Master of Mercy. The sound of the shofar has great power to stir the human heart. All the more so the note that we call the teruah, for its shrill, broken, staccato sound when it breaks the air has unique power to open one's heart. In addition to this aspect of stirring the heart, when a man hears broken notes emitting from the shofar, he is reminded of his obligation to break the hold that his evil inclination tries to put on him by enticing him to indulge his lusts for worldly pleasures. Furthermore, as explained in [See [[LEV956]] Leviticus 25:9 shofar CHINUCH 202-3], the blast from the shofar call to our minds Akeidas Yitzchak [i.e., “The Binding of Isaac—AJL]. We are moved to be as Yitzchak, who was ready to sacrifice his very being out of love for his Maker. As a result of such thoughts of supreme devotion, our remembrance arises before Hashem for the good.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

NUM348 See [[GEN1549]] Genesis 44:18 please DORFFBOD 88

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

NUM349 In his book of Jewish law, Maimonides shows that Judaism not only tolerates non--Jews, but even offers the ultimate reward to non-Jews. While no other religions promise reward for those who do not follow that faith, Judaism declares that non-Jews who keep the seven basic Noahide laws (basic ideas and laws for all societies) attain the World to Come, without doing anything specifically "Jewish" (Maimonides, Hilchot Melachim 8:11). Moreover, the sacrifices brought to the Temple during one major Jewish holiday are not for the benefit of Jews, but are for the non-Jewish nations of the world. Thus, the seventy sacrifices on the seven days of Sukkoth are brought to help all of the non-Jews in the world (Numbers 29:12-24; Sukkah 55b). The Midrash says that if the non-Jews had been aware of this fact, they would never have destroyed the Holy Temple (Midrash, Bamidbar Rabbah 1:3).

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

NUM350 "That which is gone out of thy lips, Thou shalt observe and do…"; "… he shall do according to all that proceeded out of his mouth." (Deuteronomy 23:24; this verse]. Although both of these passages are parts of commandments that seem to be talking about formal vows made to God, Maimonides sees in these imperatives a general obligation to keep one's promises to one's fellow man, honor one's word and carrying out one's pledge even if expressed in an informal way (Sefer ha-Mitzvot le-Rambam, positive command 94; see comments of Ramban. See also Sefer ha-Chinnukh, mitzvot 407 and 575).

SHOW FULL EXCERPT