The Book

 Shevet Mussar

  שבט-מוסר The Book Shevet Mussar

Volume I.

Written by: Rabbi Eliyahu Hacohen

from the City of Ismir, Turkey

(An English Translation)

*

            The Shevet Mussar was composed by, Rabbi Eliyahu Hacohen, one of the greatest rabbis from the City of Ismir, Turkey, about 300 years ago.  The book Shevet Mussar is divided into 52 Chapters, the numerical value of the Hebrew letters of the name, Eliyahu; and, the 52 Chapters coincide with the weekly Torah portions throughout the 52 weeks of the year.  Therefore, if someone learns it every day, he would be able to finish the book once a year.  In fact, it is written in the book Yado BaKol that righteous Jews used to keep the Shevet Mussar in their tallis bag, and learned it every day after the morning prayers, thereby finishing it every year.

            Since then, Shevet Mussar has become a widely accepted text. In fact, it was mentioned by the printer in his introduction to the book, Yado Bakol (written by the author of Shevet Mussar).  There were places in which rabbis would read from the text for the public in the study halls, every day between the Mincha and Maariv services. Even today, there remain a few very honest rabbis, who, on Sabbath afternoons, learn from this text.  The Holy Gaon, Rabbi Hillel Kolomeier, may he be remembered for good, once said “Shevet Mussar made me into a Jew.”  Therefore Shevet Mussar has been revised, and has been translated it into many different languages, in order for facilitate its learning for everyone who desires to warm their hearts with the words of this holy book.

            This book was written to provide moral guidance. It has influenced many Jews, byproviding them with lessons in mussar, and as a result many have returned to a life of Torah both as Baal Teshuvah, and by making teshuvah itself.  He forged an opening like that of an entrance to a banquet hall, in order to achieve these ends. He invited all to adopt the ethics of Hashem and His straight pathways.

Table of Contents

With Hashem’s help let us enumerate the content of this text:

Chapter 1:        To warm the hearts of people – to lead them to repent.

Chpater 2:        Corrections for transgressions.

Chapter 3:        Advice on one’s behavior.

Chapter 4:        How one should conduct himself in his own home.

Chapter 5:        Guidance for righteous women.

Chapter 6:        Guidance for the education of children.

Chapter 7:        Guidance for every occasion, such as weddings, circumcisions, bar mitzvahs, etc.

Chapter  8:       How to learn a moral lesson from every event.

Chapter 9:        Why some are poor and others rich.

Introduction by the author – page 53 (Yiddish edition), page 34 (Hebrew edition)

 

Introduction by the Rabbi, the author,

may he be remembered for good

       These are the words from the young Eliyahu, the son of the wise and the complete learned person who is exalted in Chassidus, our respected teacher and rabbi Shlomo Avraham HaKohen, may he be remembered for good. I have composed and carefully compiled this text, which is called Shevet Mussar to teach mussar and morality, to myself and to other people like me. Perhaps, Hashem will grant me the merit to improve myself and to aid other Jews along the path of repentance. I pray that Hashem will have compassion upon me, receiving my supplications favorably, and that my repentance will be acceptable in His eyes.

       I have not omitted anything, large or small, from this text. In striving to teach mussar to every person, this text subjugates the sinner and tries to bring him to repentance to his Maker and to seek protection under the wings of the indwelling of Hashem; therefore, in addition to the chapters of Mussar, I have added three more themes.

       In the first one, I have quoted ways of repairing one’s transgressions, as they have been cited in the Holy Books. Some of this content has been graciously come to me through Hashem's influence, as our Sages, may they be remembered for good, say, “If a person who works to purify himself, Hashem helps from Heaven.” The person who wants to cleanse himself is granted assistance.

 The second item: I have organized three speeches on the theme of repentance. In these three particular speeches or discourses, I have introduced many new ideas and concepts, while citing discourses from various sources, on the theme of repentance. Because the person who learns mussar and wants to repent, must know how to repent, and how he can correct his transgressions. He has to know the advantages of repentance and the greatness of a Jew who repents. Everything is in a language of supplication and of prayer, and it is relevant for everyone who desires to repent.

       At the end of the text, I have cited wonderful new concepts that have not been printed elsewhere.  I also wrote an explanation of Avinu Malkeinu, which we recite in the Ten Days of Teshuva (Repentance); an explanation of Adir V’Naor, which we recite at night in Slichos and on Yom Kippur; and an explanation on L’man Eliyahu, which is recited before every hakafa (circuit) on Simchas Torah. Since these are all supplications and requests, they are relevant to everyone who does repentance. In the end of the book, I wrote wondrous new concepts that did not originally appear in the wonderful book, Midrash Tapios.  And may Hashem give me the meritorious privilege to publish everything which I have written from the time I became an author, and to purify and give merit to the masses.  I supplicate to the Almighty that He help me publish this text, and also the other texts that I have composed, which are the following:

1. Midrash Eliyahu
2. Haitam Haitmali
3. a commentary on Tehillim (the Psalms)
4. Smuchim L'ad
5. Eizor Eliyahu
6. Minchas Eliyahu – an explanation of the Sayings of our Fathers
7. a commentary on Haggada shel Pesach

8        Mitzvos – explaining the reasons for the the commandments

9. A text of Questions and Answers
10. The Methodology on the Masseches Avoda Zara (idol-worship)
11. Massechet Taanis – commentary on all the Massechet's difficult discourses concerning fasting
12. a commentary on the legends (Aggados) in the Yerushalmi Talmud
13. a commentary on the Haftaros
14. Original Concepts and Ideas
15. Yado BaKol: a text called Megalitz Tzefunos, an explanation on Torah, and the sayings of our Sages men, may they be remembered for good
16. a commentary on The Song of Songs, Ruth and Achashveyrosh, and Megillas Esther
17. Cloak of Tzedakah (charity)
18. Midrash Tapios
19. Sefer Perush HaEichos
20. Massechet Derech Eretz

            It is explained that “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Hashem”, therefore, I first published Shevet Mussar, a text which infuses one with the fear of Heaven, in order to give merit to the Jewish People; may it be so. Amen v’Amen.

[Shevet Mussar, page 53]

Wonderful Aspects About the Author of Shevet Mussar

            The author of Shevet Mussar, Rebbe Eliyahu HaKohen, zecher tzadik livracha, one of the rabbis from the city of Ismir, was a very holy, righteous man. Everyone called him “Mikudash Mikudash” Holy of Holy, and they readily testified to his utmost greatness. (See the approbation of the rabbis from the city of Ismir.)  The author was born more than 300 years ago. His father was the great Gaon, Rabbi Avraham Shlomo, z”l, known as the “Ismari.”

            According to the testimony of Chaim Yosef Dovid Azulai, the “Chida”, z”l, Rabbi Eliyahu composed close to 40 sacred books, most of them narrative discourses and themes related to moral conduct.  The most famous of all his books is Shevet Mussar, which we are discussing.  There have been printings in 60 editions over hundreds of years. A portion of these publications have been translated into different languages.  Moreover, the Chida, who later served as rabbi in Ismir for 30 years following the demise of the composer of Shevet Mussar, testifies about him in his support of the sacred book Midrash Eliyahu: “I remember when I was young, in this particular city. There sat the heads of the Sanhedrin, and among them, there seemed to be an angel from heaven, the leader of the generation, the one who is able to enact healing.  What rabbi can be compared to an angel, our master, Rabbi Eliyahu? For in this whole world there does not exist a Jew more important than him; even half as important as him; even a third or a fourth, because of his holy stature and greatness.

            As a young man the author was already a great scholar in both the revealed and mystical parts of the Torah, and was recognized as a holy man and a great distributor of charity. In his relentless striving to support the poor, he made frequent visits to the homes of the wealthy, requesting their contributions. He also composed a sacred book on the commandments of charity called M’eel Tzedakah – a collection of sayings of our wise men, concerning the mitzva (commandment) of charity. (See also the author’s introduction.)

            He gave moral teachings to wealthy people who had been successful in building houses for themselves. He stated that instead of spending so much in furnishing and decorating their houses, they should rather give a certain amount of money for charity. He writes, among other things, “Many times I criticized the people for constructing buildings that would eventually be destroyed; such great expense for nothing. They would be able to buy the Next World if they distributed even half of their expenditures for poor people, or other mitzvos, as a demonstration of thanks to the Almighty, for enabling them to build houses for themselves.” (Midrash Talpios, “Anaf Hevel”, page 119, side 3.)

            He, also, did not even allow the heads of the kahal (community), and the big contributors of the city to overspend money to renovate and beautify the synagogues instead of supporting the poor people. He writes, “…and especially those idiots who build impressive synagogues and waste money with these expenditures. It would be the right and better thing to do, to distribute these aforementioned funds for the poor people from the congregation … many times I argued with them, but I was not always successful. The Almighty should forgive them, for in the end, they really intend to do these things for the glory of Heaven.”

                        It is important to note that the words of Rabbi Eliyahu Ha-Kohen were heeded and his discourses influenced the lives of many listeners, solely because he possessed great merit, derived from conducting his life in a holy and pure manner.  His every action was performed for the sake of Heaven, and from Heaven grace descended upon him. He included realistic examples and descriptions in his teachings on morality so that the words would remain engraved in the minds of the listeners.

                        Those are his strengths, those are his wonders. The command of the King is heard through this righteous man. And throughout his lifetime, he was a great giver of discourses, and a zealot for Hashem, the Hashem of Hosts, and a man of war. He declared a hatred against the wicked, and was able to turn many people away from their transgressions, helping them to become righteous people through his words of morality.

            The composer himself gives testimony, that on a certain Sabbath afternoon, a Jew came to him and confessed that he had wanted to transgress a very grave sin that very day (may Hashem save him). But having heard Rabbi Eliyahu’s discourse in the synagogue and being greatly affected, he had held back from performing the sin. He then came to thank the rabbi for saving him from the sin, and kissed his hand.

            The first book that the composer published in print was the book called Shevet Mussar, as he writes at the end of the text: “Since the fundamental wisdom is the fear of Hashem, the book Shevet Mussar was published first. It infuses its listeners with the fear of Heaven.” He also writes that his goal with this holy book is to give merit to the majority and to encourage repentance among the many Jews who have sinned, as he writes in the beginning of chapter 44 (also please see the introduction of the composer).

            The sources used by the author in composing this holy book were many, and included midrashim from our Sages, z”l, the Zohar, and the holy books of, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, the Ari z”l, and his disciples. The most important sources utilized were the great holy books called Reishis Chochmah and the holy Sh’la.

It wasn't for naught that Rabbi Eliyahu HaKohen merited "d'varav nishmaim" – that people would heed his words. It was due to the fact that he conducted himself in holiness and purity, and did everything in the name of Heaven. Because of that his holy words had an effect, and were heeded, and in Heaven miracles were performed on his behalf.

He did not only give lectures to men and teach them morality, but he was also concerned with issues pertaining to women. He never hesitated to recite words of morality to them, especially regarding matters of modesty. He testified about himself, "On numerous occasions I argued with the women who sat at their gates in plain sight in the middle of the day. Every passerby could gaze at them, overcome by their evil inclinations and passion, and as a result many transgressions occurred. (Shevet Mussar, chapter 27).

As a dayan (judge) in the city of Ismir, he fought, as if in a war, against those people who attempted to collect interest on loans. In fact, this custom was common among the people of the city. Says the writer, “In every case, concerning interest, that came before me, I girded myself like a man of war, and I revoked the whole transaction. Even if the lender was an orphan, a widow or a poor man, I paid them back only the principal; the interest I ignored. I gave no heed to their outcries, because Hashem is the Father of the orphans, the Dayan of the widows, and a provider for the poor people; He guards and protects them, and grants them their sustenance in a way that is permitted by Jewish Law. I informed them about the prohibition of taking interest: that whoever collects interest will not be resurrected in the future, as our wise men say. Because the Jews are a holy people, they were very happy and thankful to me that I had saved them from such a grave sin.”

(Yado B'Kol, end of section 474, page 83, column 4)

            In addition to being a holy Jew, Rabbi Eliyahu was also a man who could perform wonders. Jews appealed to him to chase away bad spirits that had entered people. He tells us of a spirit that entered a woman in the month of Av, in the year 5748. He also tells about two dibbukim – diabolic spirits, that entered a young man and his sister, a girl six years of age. In all three instances he succeeded in chasing away the evil spirits.

Please refer to the holy book V'lo Od Eleh, pages 45, 72: The publishers omitted three stories because they were already included in his holy book Minchat Eliyahu, which was printed in the year 5584, in Saloniki. Refer to that book on page 6, the second side of the page.)

Rabbi Eliyahu also writes: “I saw many spirits as they entered the bodies of various people. They told me about the punishment to which they had been subjected from the day of their demise, until they entered that specific body. One’s hair would be seen standing on end if he listened to the confessions of that spirit.” In another place, he writes, “I saw many spirits that entered a person, and I was able to speak with them. They told me about the 'bad waters', the bitter encounters that they suffered while flying through the air and the other wondrous things about their punishment.  They described what they had seen as they drifted in space over the world, and similar things. [This sacred book is not an appropriate place to record such occurrences. Also, I have many accounts of this topic in other compositions. Nevertheless, I will relate a wondrous occurrence that I witnessed in forcing a spirit out of a person.  After I had employed various methods, the spirit exited from the body in order to fulfill the requirements of avoiding excommunication. The stubborn spirit, however, remained on a portion of the hair on the person’s head, causing it to stand on end, intermingled with the other hair. The strands thus affected were stiff and as sharp as a knife’s edge. I advised the person to cut off the stiff hair with a sharp knife, but when the knife was brought near, the hair pushed away the knife so forcefully that the two of us were able to cut it off only with great difficulty. As we cut the hair a good deal heat was emitted, and finally, the spirit flew out. We never saw or heard of a comparable happening.]"

            Our author was also a religious poet and singer. In addition to his words of morality teaching, he wrote holy songs which were printed in his books. In the seventh discourse there is a moral teaching and a song according to order of the reverse Aleph-Bais, Tav-Shin-Resh-Kof, which begins with the words, “Man is born of woman” and in Shevet Mussar, chapter 21, pages 162-165, there is a confession, a supplication and a request that begins with the words, “Hashem is my Lord that has formed me.” About 20 songs from this composer have been printed in “Kur l’Zahav” (a small text from this author, may be remembered for good, sent to us by the Almighty), found at the end of his text Yado Bakol, page 231.

            When his father departed this world, on the 27th day of Elul 5419 (1648), Reb Eliyahu was very young. He composed a song and engraved it upon the monument at his father’s grave. It reads, “Upon the holy menorah tears were shed, numerous enough to fill a lake. A source of understanding and light, a righteous man, strong like a lion in Torah. Hashem shone His light upon him, and when everlasting slumber befell him, this close friend of the awe inspiring and awesome Lord, he planted His portion b’rash v’yachad.” [see Kur l’Zahav, page ??]"… a song that I engraved on the monument of my father, may he be remembered for good. He originates from holy seeds, formed with complete wise men, the chasid and the humble one, our holy teacher Rabbi Shlomo Avraham HaKohen."

            Rabbi Eliyahu Ha-Kohen, the author of Shevet Mussar, used to wear his tallis and tefillin all day. He did not perform any religious task without his gartel [prayer sash], and putting it on before he recited a blessing, when he prayed, etc. Once, Reb Eliyahu HaKohen rose from sleep in the very early morning hours, when it was still dark, as was his custom. He immediately wanted to recite the blessings of the morning and began to feel his way about in the darkness for his gartel. He felt for it in the place where he normally put it down, and coming upon a thick and long object, he took what he supposed to be his gartel, wound it around his waist and proceeded to recite the blessings. When the author of Shevet Mussar finished his blessings, he sat down to learn orally, without a text, until there would be natural sunlight with the coming dawn.

            As the sun’s light finally began to enter the room, a great fear came upon Reb Eliyahu, as he saw that the “gartel”, with which he had encircled himself, was nothing less than a long snake! In another moment he watched, dumbfounded, as the snake slithered down from his waist and quickly disappeared outside. Only then did he realize the great miracles that had been wrought on his account: a “gartel” had been provided, especially for him, so he would not have to recite the blessings without one, and the poisonous snake had not harmed him. In thanks to Hashem for this double miracle, Reb Eliyahu Ha-Kohen composed a religious text and named it Eizor Eliyahu, “The Girding of Eliyahu” – Eliyahu’s gartel.

The Wondrous Story of How Shevet Mussar Descended from Heaven

            One day the holy rebbe, Reb Simcha Bunim of Pshischa, may his merit be upon us, was sitting in his room immersed in deep thoughts. From time to time the Rebbe glanced at the holy book that was before him. As his thoughts wandered, following his enlightened eyes, he suddenly said, "There is not a wise man in our generation to whom one would give a kilo of gold as means of being pardoned, if he had embarrassed or insulted the wise man." (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 143:2) Then, in a very low voice he whispered, “How is it possible? What of my holy rabbis, the righteous rabbis of this generation, who did not make the smallest movement without the knowledge of Torah, without holy intentions? They who cleaved to their Creator, may His name be blessed, every minute of the day. At the dust of their feet I attempted to gain understanding, serving them days and years, pondering their every action. I saw and understood their greatness of spirit and their holiness: my rabbis, the Chozeh (Seer) of Lublin and the Yid HaKadosh (the Holy Jew), may their merits be upon us. With scholars such as these in our generation, how can we say that there are no wise men in the category stated in the Shulchan Aruch? If not they, who is on that level?”

            In this manner, Reb Simcha Bunim of Pshischa sat a long time, immersed in his holy thoughts, not making the slightest sound. Outside he appeared calm, but in his inner thoughts he was boiling.

            Suddenly, the door of his study opened. Reb Bunim raised his eyes and saw that a small girl had entered the room. The child, walking with the unsteady gait of a toddler, he recognized as the daughter of the holy Reb Yerachmiel of Pshischa, the son of the Yid HaKadosh, may their merits be upon us. Before Reb Bunim was able to ask the child what she was doing there, and how she, being such a young child, had entered his room through the locked door, she approached the table with a book in her hands. She placed it on the table before Reb Bunim, then immediately left the room without uttering a single word.

            Reb Bunim opened the book. To his great bewilderment, he saw that it was the famous holy book called Shevet Mussar, The Staff of Morality, from the great genius, Rabbi Reb Eliyahu Ha-Kohen, from the city of Ismir, Turkey. The Rebbe turned the pages of the holy text, and noticed that one page was folded over; it was surely a sign for him to study that particular place in the text. The Rebbe read the page carefully, from beginning to end. At the end of the page, he observed the words, “… and we shall return to the high level and the quality of the Torah and shall speak about the wisdom of the wise men. Hashem revealed to them hidden things, and they were versed in the whole Torah. ?? Chochmei HaTalmud. Their greatness and stature are greater than that of the serving angels, and that of the wise men in every generation.” [Quoted from the text, Shevet Mussar, chapter 11.]

(Page 53, last section – translated from Hebrew, in commentary, from the book Shevet Mussar)

It wasn't only in the time of the Gemara that the wise and righteous sages were on a higher level than the ministering angels, but in every generation there are wise and righteous sages on such a level. As it is written in Shevet Mussar, "Even wise men who live in every generation." But this was very bewildering to the Rebbe.

How did this little girl know to bring him this holy book called Shevet Mussar, with that particular page marked? Reb Bunim surmised that the father of the child, HaRav HaKadosh Yerachmiel of Pshischa, had sent the holy text to him, though it was still unclear to him how Reb Yerachmiel knew to send him this particular holy text, and to mark that spot, since he had spoken to no one about his quandary.

A short time afterwards, when Reb Bunim and Reb Yerachmiel met, Reb Bunim said to Reb Yerachmiel, “I want to thank you for sending me the holy text, Shevet Mussar, and for marking the topic that I was grappling with just then.” In great bewilderment and surprise, Reb Yerachmiel responded to him, “What are you talking about? I did not send any text to you. In fact, I have not seen that particular book for a great while.”

Reb Bunim answered, “Your daughter, the little girl, brought me this holy text.”

“But I did not send her with it,” Reb Yerachmiel said. They decided to call the little girl, and asked her who had given her the text to bring to Reb Bunim. She answered, “An elderly Jew with a long beard gave me this book and told me to give it to Rabbi Bunim of Pshischa.”

Rabbi Yerachmiel said to his friend, “He was most likely Elijah the Prophet, may he be remembered for good. Because he could not tolerate seeing you in such distress, he brought you this holy book, with the very page you needed to study marked, so that this matter would be clarified for you.”

Reb Bunim pondered the possibility that the aged man had in fact been Elijah the Prophet, about whom it is said, “The man who is empowered to give all the good tidings”, and also, that “Tishbi”, another name for Elijah the Prophet, “…will explain the hard portions and the problematic parts of the Torah.” But perhaps, he thought, it had been the great scholar, the Gaon, Reb Eliyahu of Ismir, may he be remembered for peace, the composer of the holy text Shevet Mussar, himself.

When Reb Hanoch of Alexander, may this righteous man be remembered for good, related this wondrous happening, he added, “With my own eyes I saw this very text of Shevet Mussar. It always lay on the table of Reb Bunim. From time to time, I even learned from it.” The disciples of Reb Hanoch of Alexander related that Reb Bunim, before his descent to Heaven, had commanded that the book be given to Reb Hanoch, who, thereafter, arranged a daily lesson in its holy teachings.

[end of page 56, regular shiur]

כאן נגמר דף סו שיעור קבוע

[Here, from page 71, I want the text below]

כאן מדף פא קטע למטה איך וויל אני רוצה

I want to thank the Almighty that I had the merit to give merit to the majority of the Jewish people, once again printing this holy text, Shevet Mussar. Now it has been 262 years since he was sent to Heaven, on the 24th day of Adar, (5489 / 1729), until. (5751 / 1991).

The author writes in chapter 28:24, “There is a reason why we sometimes see two scholars studying from the same holy text, and each one feels a different 'taste' or interest in it. One feels a very inviting taste, almost like a delicious meal, while learning, but his partner does not sense the same quality.” The composer writes, “The profound interest the former scholar experiences when learning the text springs from the roots of his soul, which have a spiritual connection to the soul of the composer. Hence, the words are indelibly engraved in his mind. The latter, however, does not have this direct soul-to-soul connection, and so the strength of the bond cannot possibly reach that of his partner. It is also possible that the first scholar composed this particular holy book in a previous incarnation, which would explain the bond and pleasing taste he experiences when learning it.”

May it be Hashem’s will that the merits of the holy author should protect me and my family and everyone who helped publish this holy text. May the Almighty help them with all of their endeavors; grant them good health, long life and ample sustenance. He should aid them in the Torah education of their children, leading them to the chuppa (canopy) in a Jewish wedding, according to the Torah, and to good deeds. The prophecy of Isaiah should materialize, and become a reality in our days:

We hope that this holy book will illuminate the hearts of Jews with holiness and the fear of Heaven, and may we merit to witness the Redemption of Israel, and their joy. And may the prophecy of Yeshayahu be fulfilled (chapter 52, verses 7 – 10):

How beautiful are the feet of the herald on the mountains, announcing peace, heralding good tidings, announcing salvation, saying to Zion, "Your Lord has manifested His kingdom." The voice of your watchmen- they raised a voice, together they shall sing, for eye to eye they shall see when the Lord returns to Zion… and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our Lord.

 

 

Chapter One.

w   Parshas Breishis   w

(explains the theme dealing with man’s creation and how he can learn things from the first man, called Adam HaRishon, How One transgression can spoil much.)

Table of Contents:

1. Everything that the Almighty created in this world He created in man. If mankind spoils it, or harms one part of his body, then he harms the part that is hinted in that particular part.
2. An explanation of the saying of our wise men, I will sin and I will repent.
3. Man has to make an effort to do the good deed which he finds himself most lazy in doing and the most difficult in performing. He should do that in particular, because it is the reason he came down to this world.
4. Man should see that wicked people have departed from the world and no evidence of their existence remains.
5. You should study even though you do not understand what you are learning.
6. Man has to learn that which his heart lusts for, because it is for this learning that he has come to this world.
7. Man descends to the world to do that particular commandment which the evil inclination tries to prevent him from doing. He has to overcome it like a champion and like a hero, since the evil inclination tries its utmost to prevent him from doing that commandment, which is his mission……….
8. If you do not learn when you are young, how can you correct it when you are older?
9. One should sacrifice himself in order that his children may learn Torah.
10. A rich man should support financially the poor people and the wise men who dedicate their days to the study of Torah.
11. Why was a rich man granted wealth?
12. If a rich man does not do what he is supposed to, with his wealth, it is taken away. An interesting concept.
13. When he gives charity, the wealthy man attains for himself the World to Come, and is forgiven all of his transgressions.
14. King Solomon, peace be upon him, left on the earth his worldly wealth and took with him to the celestial spheres only his soul intact.
15. If King Solomon, peace be upon him, had not written the three holy books, we would not have known that he had even existed. As it says in the holy text, Kohelet, And even more than this, my son, you should be careful to compose many holy texts without end.
16. You wealthy men, be careful that your wealth does not become your worst enemy; one should not chop your woods and trees thereby expanding your wealth and making a greater fire for you in Gehinnom.
17. An answer for the evil inclination that tries to convince someone that he cannot refine himself and attain the highest levels.
18. Righteous people have refined themselves and have ascended, soul and body, to the celestial spheres, and after burial their bodies do not decompose in the grave, because their bodies had become so refined.

Chapter One

 

1. 1. Praise the Lord, and may His name be blessed. He created His world in six days. He created darkness, and from the darkness drew out light, differentiating between the light and the darkness. He created the Heavens and inserted the sun, the moon and the stars, to shine upon the earth. On the land He made seas, oceans and lakes, commanding the fertile earth to sprout forth grass and all manner of blooming things; flowers and trees and their fruits. He further commanded that each of the fruits have its own distinct taste, color and smell. He created and placed on the earth domestic and wild animals and animals that fly (i.e. the birds), and all the various types of fish, placing them in the depths of the seas and lakes.

In this way, He prepared everything for Man. He then created Man, the best of all creatures, as he is created in the image of Hashem, and was granted dominion over all other creatures.

Hashem commanded Man to serve Him, to guard His Torah and perform the divine commandments, in order to bestow benefit and goodness upon mankind. As stated above, thereupon He will seat man higher than the angels (called seraphim), who burn with the desire to be close to Hashem, and ofanim, another kind of angel, and angels known as messenger angels.

He created him with 248 bodily organs and 365 veins, the same as the number of commandments that are positive and prohibitive, known in Hebrew as Taaseh and Lo Taaseh.

2. 2. He prepared for Him, with His great wisdom, beautiful organs and a beautiful physique, as it written in the book, Sefer Mitzvot Gadol: “The Almighty, may He be blessed, created man with many openings; with eyes that he should see; with brows over the eyes so he would be able to close his eyes and sleep, and in order to avoid gazing at bad things”. As the verse says, “He closed his eyes so that he should not see evil.” He created him with ears with which to hear, nostrils with which to smell, and to emit the excess humidity from his cranium; the mouth to eat and to speak; teeth to chew food; the tongue to knead food in the mouth and to allow him to speak clearly. He created him with an organ through which food descends, to allow him to swallow food. He made the throat through which breath from the heart and lungs, nose and mouth is inhaled and exhaled. He also created a voice which enables man to speak, which originates in the veins of the lungs. He created within him the heart: a place for breath and the well of thought.
3. 3. He created him a cavity in which food is stored and digested, enabling him to ingest food and drink, nourishing the body, providing fuel for man to live.

On the right side He created the liver with the red gall, and blood in the liver, which heats the cavity that stores and digests food in the stomach. Because of this heat, food is “cooked” in that cavity of the stomach. He created entrails to conduct the part of food that is not digestible through the cavity in the stomach. He created two kidneys, one on each side, which emit the heat of humidity, thereby warming and strengthening the inner skin, enabling man to do his needs. Our wise men, may they be remembered for good, said that the heart thinks and the kidneys give man advice.

On the left side He created in man the spleen with black gall to cool the entrails inside the stomach, in order for the food to become shrunken and dry from the heat emitted from the blood and the liver. Our Sages also said that the spleen removes old blood cells.

He created him with a spinal cord and the rest of his bones so that the frame of his body would be strong. He made flesh upon him to warm his bones. He created veins which circulate his blood throughout and humidify the body. He created the cartilage to hold together the bones and the veins. He created appendages [vertebrae] in the spinal cord and joints in the hands, arms and feet. And the veins from the neck and the shoulders are bound together. All in order to enable man to stretch, kneel, stand erect and sit.

He cloaked the body with skin to cover it, to maintain its warmth and to protect the humidity of the body, including the innermost organs. He made for man a head, enabling it to be the ruler over the organs. He created in him the brain, in which rest his intelligence and the wisdom of his soul.

4. He created humidity which surrounds the brain in order to prevent the brain and the eyes from becoming dry from the entrails’ heat, which rises from the stomach to the head. He created hair upon his head to warm him, so he would not catch cold, because between the skin and the bones of the head there is no flesh. He created for him the beard, in order that he would possess a shining countenance, and be physically differentiated from women. He created the navel which nourishes the unborn baby in its mother’s womb, up until its birth into the world, since up until then his mouth is closed. He created hands enabling him to hold things, touch, feel his way around and do work. He created for him feet to support his body, and to bring him to the places he wishes to go. And when man goes out into the world, He causes him to grow and helps him in various ways.

Everything that the Lord created in this world, He created in man.

If he spoils one of the organs, he spoils that portion of creation

that is hidden in that organ

 

5. 5. Since this is so, how can man fulfill enough commandments to thank the Lord, Blessed be He, for what He has done for him continually, since his very birth? How can he transgress the words of the Lord, thereby abolishing even one commandment from those He commanded? His transgressing would amount to the destruction of some very dear thing belonging to Creation, something that Hashem created for him, to his benefit.

The total number of the organs of man correspond to the number of commandments. When he causes a defect to occur in one of his organs, he, in essence, destroys the portion of Creation that is hidden in that organ. Because, as stated above, everything that the Creator has created in this world He created in man, as it is written in the text entitled, Avot d’ Rabbi Natan: “Hashem, Blessed be He, created the world with wisdom and understanding, and He created Heaven and Earth and celestial creations, angels and all creatures from the earth, and He created in man everything that He created in His world”.

6. 6. He created woods of forests in this world, and He created woods of forests in man himself; these are hair. He created a bad wild beast in the world; He created a bad wild beast in man. This is the product of his bowels. He created caves in the world, and He created caves in man; these are ears. He created an aroma in the world and He created a sense of smell in man. He created the sun in the world and a sun in man, and its counterpart in man are his eyes. He created impure water in the world and impure water in man, which is emitted through his nose. He created salt water in the world and salt water in man; tears. He created walls of cities in the world, and in man the lips that protect his tongue. He created doors in the world, and in man teeth which close his mouth.
7. 7. He created sweet water in the world and also in man, which is saliva. He created towers in the world and in man, a neck. He created axes in the world and in man, the fingers. He created mills in the world and in man the cavity of the stomach that grinds food. He created well water in the world, and in man, urine. He created a life energy in the world and a counterpart in man: the reproductive energy in the world and in man the ability to reproduce. He create horses in the world and in man the horses are his shins. He created the Angel of Death in the world and in man, his feet. The feet conduct him to the place he should leave this world; mountains and canyons in the world, and mountains and canyons in man, when he stands he is just like a mountain and when he falls, he is like a canyon.

From all of this we can learn that everything Hashem has created in the world, He created in man. This is to let mankind know that man is the world, that because of him the world was created. When he harms even one of his organs, he puts a defect in the portion of the world to which that part corresponds. Likewise, when he transgresses all the commandments he puts a defect into and destroys the entire world, as it was in the generation of the flood. At that time, the inhabitants said to Hashem, “Remove Yourself from us. We do not want to know Your ways.” They cast off from themselves the Divine yoke of the commandments, and for this the world was destroyed.

What will a man answer on the day that Hashem stands in judgment over him and all of the sins he has committed before Hashem, which have destroyed the world which was created for his benefit?

Example: This is compared to a king who gave his most beloved servant a sharp sword to protect the servant from harm. The beloved servant went out and destroyed the king's palace with this very sword. He smote the walls and shattered its columns. Is there a limit to the punishment that the king must decree upon him?

Similarly, a man is a microcosm of the world. His Creator does everything to guard his life and decreed that a man should be the most important of all creations, as mentioned beforehand. Nevertheless, with the very goodness that Hashem bestows upon him, he angers his Creator. Can there then be any pardon for this transgression?

8. 8. And yet, in His great goodness, He continues to work wonders for him, which are all for the good. When a person repents, Hashem forgives him and he is purified and the cleanliness that he possessed at his birth is restored. Let us look at Adam, the first man. Hashem prepared his food before He created him – good food. He removed a rib from Adam and created Eve to be of assistance to him and positioned her before him. In the East of Garden of Eden He created a place with all sorts of trees on which food grew. The food was very tasty and aesthetically beautiful. He provided these for Adam to derive pleasure.

He caused angels to descend from Heaven to serve him. They broiled meat and poured wine for him. Afterwards, He made Adam master over all good things. He commanded him to fulfill a small mitzvah: that he should not eat from the Tree of Knowledge, yet Adam could not resist the urge to violate this commandment. He heeded the advice of the ancient snake, which in turn incited him against Hashem. As our wise men, may they be remembered for good, have said, “The snake said to Eve: ‘The order of things is: every worker hates another worker of the same category and from this tree He ate and created worlds. That is why He says to you that you should not eat; in order that you will not be like Him.’.”

This first step led Adam to other transgressions. After he ate from the Tree of Knowledge, he dared to speak against Hashem and said, “The woman that You gave me is the one who gave me this food, and I ate it. I am going to continue to eat it.” Is there a greater arrogance and impudence than this? Aside from this, he was not appreciative of the goodness that Hashem had granted him, which is illustrated by fact that he said to his Creator, “The woman You gave me gave it to me. By giving me this woman, You did a bad thing to me. You did a bad act in creating this woman for me.”

The opposite is true. He did not listen to Hashem, and instead did what his heart dictated to him. As our Sages say, Adam, the first man, denied the kingship of Hashem, thereby causing a great defect in all the worlds and caused death to come into this world. Is there a greater sinner than him? And nevertheless, when he repented, Hashem forgave him for everything, and abolished that which He had decreed: “In the day that you eat from the Tree of Knowledge, you will die.” He did not kill Adam that same day. Now, see how great the strength of repentance is.

An explanation of the saying of our wise men,

may they be remembered for good:

“I will sin and then I will repent”

 

9. 9. A man may say, “I have transgressed and repentance cannot help, I will sin and then I will repent.” Regarding this, other wise men have said, “When someone states that he will sin intentionally, and then subsequently repent upon the sin, Heaven creates obstacles to hinder his ability to repent. “The reason is that repentance is an escape for the sinner, the method he must utilize to save himself. Repentance is a spokesperson. But if man sins and depends on the fact that he is going to repent, he transforms the repentance itself into the root of his transgressions. Had he not depended on his ability to repent, he would not have sinned. Therefore the repentance itself becomes a prosecutor for him. Where will he plead for help when he wishes to repent?

Instead of searching out ways to sin and afterwards save himself from this punishment of the sin through repentance, a man should rather search out ways to prevent himself from transgressing in the first place. He should imagine that the pleasure from this transgression is just momentary, but that the duration of the punishment for this sin will be immeasurable. In addition, he should realize that the ruin and the defects that the transgression will cause in the world will harm others.

10. 10. Look what it says about Eve: “The woman saw that the Tree was good for eating and very inviting to the eyes. It was a method to become wise. She took one of its fruits and she ate from it, and she also gave to her husband and he ate.”

The longing for this fleeting pleasure and its momentary enjoyment led to her death, the death of her husband, and introduced the reality of death to all mankind to the end of generations, and also to domestic animals, wild animals, flying animals (animals with wings), and all curses that were extended and the damage that they caused in the reality of the world itself. As a result of this sin everything was cursed.

Mankind should make an effort to do that mitzvah which

he finds difficult to do, because for this particular mitzvah

which he finds difficult to do or tends to neglect for

some reason, he descended, soul into body to this earth

11. 11. See with your own eyes how much harm one transgression can bring. If a man would imagine this, he could calculate the amount of the damage that would be caused with the sin, and realize that his punishment would be proportionate. He would then guard himself against sin, and would repent for any sins he had already committed. If he was slothful in performing the commandments, he should gird himself with all of his might to fulfill them, especially a commandment that he likes more than others. He can then be sure that he was reincarnated into this world to fulfill this mitzvah. Furthermore, if he does not strengthen himself to fulfill it, then it will become necessary for him to be reincarnated until he fulfills this particular

In comprehending these principles, we understand that each time a man departs only to be reincarnated later, he experiences the taste of death and the pain which he must endure; pain of the soul, fear of the Angel of Death, pain from the casting about in the grave and similar phenomena. His soul demands to know why he always brings her pain when she (his soul) only longs to do good because she was carved out of a holy place. But man, with his free will, chooses to sin and brings about this punishment for his very own soul. For even one hour of deriving pleasure from wasting valuable time that could be spent fulfilling the commandments will bring your soul such punishment and pain for a long time.

Man should see that wicked people have departed from the world

 and no evidence of their existence remains

12. That is why the person whom Hashem endowed with eyes to see and a heart to understand the things that happen to the wicked people – how they departed from this world and what benefit they had at the end from their pleasures that they habitually pursued, and from the gourmet food that they lusted after, and from all their promises and the licentious words and the mimicking that they spewed with their mouth and teeth, and from all the property and finances that they collected, that they captured and they stole – from all these people did you find one that even took a small thing, from all these things, into his grave? But we see that the reality is that they depart from this world with great pain and shame, because they leaves the comfort in which they lived and were accustomed to, and go in sadness into the earth inhabited by worms. Layers of worms make their homes under them and worms cover them, and then where are all their pleasures and the sweetness from their passions? And look, you, dear reader, when you see what other people have experienced, why do you do precisely these things? And as a result of that you feed your soul with bitterness and you give your soul over to the prosecuting angels. Why don’t you have pity upon your soul, on the sweet stature of your body, so Divinely formed? Why do you give over both of these to the burning coals of Hell, to the pain of Hell, and make everything black and dark, to melt like lava melts in front of a flame? So therefore, I will give you advice to choose the path of life; the teachings of the Torah and the commandments, and also a clean and pure occupation. You can feel pain at pre-ordained times, and these are the years that you live in order to hopefully have a lot of pleasure for a long time, time that is endless.

You should learn even though you do not understand what you are studying

 

13. You should not think the way that so many people think – to the point they lost themselves when they said, "I know that I don’t have the intellect or understanding to comprehend the Torah, therefore, I am not going to learn." Such a person makes a mistake. Because he is obligated to do that which he was commanded. And if he understands, he will understand. Because it is written that you should make an effort in studying Torah day and night. But it does not say that you should understand the Torah. And the Tanna, the great scholar, said that if you study a lot of Torah you are going to get a lot of reward, and he does not say "if you understood a lot of Torah". But they say that you should really make an effort to understand, and if you do, that is great. And if you don’t, you have the reward for your learning, as the Tanna has said, "According to the pain that you caused yourself with the efforts of studying Torah, you will be rewarded in an equal measure." They also said the person who does not study because he does not understand has listened to the evil inclination, and he should study continuously and with great determination, and in the end he will probably understand. Because Hashem will see his desire and his will to understand the Torah, and then He will open for him the wells of wisdom, as it is written in the verse: "For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and discernment."

Every man should study that which his heart dictates him,

that area of study for which he has a passion, because

for that reason he has come down to this world

14. 14. And I will give over to you one thing that you should hold on to. This will be invigorating, it will vitalize your soul. It will be like the decoration of jewelry around your neck. The main bulk of your learning should be subjects that bring pleasure to your heart longs for and enjoys. If you long to learn Gemara, then you should learn Gemara. If you long to learn discourses called drush, then you should learn drush. Or if it's the portion of the Torah that just hints at other knowledge that attracts you, then you should learn the remez. And if Kabbala, mysticism, then you should learn Kabbala. And the proof of this is the verse, "If you shall desire in the Torah…" Meaning that Hashem's Torah is dependent upon what a person wants to study." As the Arizal writes is his book Drushei Haneshamot v'Hagilgulim, chapter 3: There are people that have an inclination to study just the simple part of the Torah and there are other people whose learning is in drush – discourses, others study the part of the Torah that just hint at something, and others focus their learning on Gematria – numerology, and others whose main lust and desire for learning is Kabbala- mysticism. This all has to do with a type of learning that he was meant and reincarnated to occupy himself, because in previous incarnations or past lives, he completed the other type of learning. Therefore, today he does not have to study that type of learning, and he does not have to learn everything in one reincarnation. Only that portion that he really loves the most; that he has to learn.
15. Don’t listen to the words of the people who say to you, "Why do you spend all your days with one sort of learning?" If you listen to them, you will have to be reincarnated again and your soul will have to pass through the sharp sword of the Angel of Death, and you will have to taste the pain of death again. So do not listen to the words from those people that want to spoil your soul. Know that Satan clothes himself in these particular people, who bring you to a state of worry and anguish, and make it painful for you to learn – so that he can take you away from learning, and so that your soul will not be able to correct that which it has descended to correct in this world, and so that you will be reincarnated again.

Man descends to this world to perform the particular mitzvah

which the evil inclination urges him not to perform

16. And when there are things which man lusts after and longs to learn, he should conclude that he has been reincarnated specifically to study that – to correct that particular thing or to become an expert and understand it. Thus, when a person comes to know the root of his soul, from which place he originates and why he was created – for what he was created in this life, in this incarnation – that is what he must work to correct. In order that he should understand this, he should see in which commandment the evil inclination becomes strong and girds himself in order to detract him. So in that particular commandment he should strengthen himself, perform it and fulfill it. Because he was certainly reincarnated that he should fulfill this commandment, and the evil inclination stands between him and his performance, to abolish this correction through this commandment, in order that he should not do the correction. And you will find that the perfect, wise men of the Talmud, as a result of their great wisdom, understood which commandment they had been reincarnated to perform or fulfill, and they paid attention and concentrated on this mitzvah more than any other. As the Gemara says in Massechet Shabbat (118b): "R. Joseph asked R. Joseph son of Rabbah: Of what is thy father most observant? Of fringes[tzitzit]… And others were drawn to be stringent other commandments because they knew with their wisdom why they had come to this world and what they had to correct.

If you don’t learn when you are young,

how can you correct things when you are older?

17. And if it happened that a person did not learn in his younger years, and married and takes care of his children and has no time to learn, he should not get discouraged and say, "Because I did not learn, then I have no hope." He should, Heaven forbid, not think that way, because man always has hope through learning Torah from a righteous wise man. Because he who listens to Torah is comparable to the person who learns. As it is written in the verse, “Listen and your soul will be revived.” Listen to Torah from the wise disciple and you will remain alive. That is why he should always go to listen to Torah from the mouths of the wise men, and at the time that the wise man gives his discourses he should always listen carefully to receive and absorb it, and to increase his desire to listen to it. And he should say in the depths of his heart, "May it be the will of my Creator, and the Creator of my parents, that that which I hear now, this Torah, should be accounted to me as if I learned by myself, because I have been worried for a long time about the fact that I have not learned. Please grant me common sense; please give me sons who will sit and learn day and night, so that they can correct that which I have not learned." And he should think, when his sons are engaged in learning, "Hashem will consider it as if I myself have learned. Because my sons are verily a part of me."

He should sacrifice himself
that his children should learn Torah

18. 18. He should make a great effort to enable his sons to continuously engage themselves in Torah. And he should love wise men who are students of Torah, to hear from them how one should fulfill the commandments. And if he is wealthy, then he should take from his finances and donate it to the wise men, the students of Torah, in order that he should have a share in the rewards of their learning, as Zevulun and Issachar did. Shevet Issachar learned Torah day and night and Shevet Zevulun financed them and had a portion in their learning.

And he should not regret spending his money, because when he departs from this world with empty hands, and leaves his possessions for others, what good is it to him if other people have pleasure in the possessions that he strived to acquire and collect, while he is wallowing in Gehinnom, in Hell?

The wise man should support with his money

poor people and wise students of Torah

19. 19. And if the wise man says: It is not for no reason that Hashem has given me this wealth and made me rich. Hashem probably loves me, and with this money I am going to take pleasure in everything He created in His world. Why shouldn't I do as my heart desires rather that act as if I disregard the good He gave me?

He should understand that he is mistaken, because he knows about all the bad deeds that he has done – so how could it be that Hashem made him wealthy because He loves him? He knows he transgressed many things, and it is even possible that Hashem hates him because of his bad deeds. But he performed one mitzvah, one commandment, and Hashem does not withhold reward from any creature. That is why He made him rich, and He paid him the reward for that one commandment in this world, so that he will not be rewarded in the future world.

Why should the rich man say that Hashem, with all of His great compassions, had pity on him and made him rich only because he claimed that due to his poverty he had no mitzvot, that he had not fulfilled any commandment because of his poverty? So Hashem therefore made him rich so that he would be able to fulfill the commandments, and through them be able to make a correction for his soul.

Why do they give the wise man wealth?

20. 20. So, we see that wealth is given in two manners. One manner, in order that the rich man should get his reward for his mitzvos that he performed in this world, and should not enjoy reward the next world. Or, in another manner, that he should through this money acquire the next world. Therefore, the rich man should judge himself and say, "If the wealth to help me acquire the next world, then I should study more Torah, perform more mitzvos and give more charity, and save my body from Hell, from Gehinnom." As it is written in the verse, "A person can save his body from Hell through his wealth." And if his wealth was provided as a means of correcting his soul then he must do just that; fulfill the mitzvah of studying Torah, and doing mitzvos with my wealth.

If the rich man does not do what he has to,

then his wealth is removed.
An interesting story.

21. 21. He should also harbor the thought in his heart that Hashem made him rich in order to transform him into His protégé, a supporter of poor people. But if he is not a good supporter and eats from the money that belongs to the poor people, than he will no longer be Hashem's protégé, and someone else will take over for him. A story is written in Yalkut Shimoni, Ruth, 607 about the verse …"Hashem will give the woman…" It happened that a chassid became poor and his wife was a very honest woman. At the end he became so poor that he hired himself out to work in a stranger's fields. Once when he was harvesting and planting in a field, Eliyahu the Prophet appeared to him in the form of an Arab and said to him, "You are going to have seven good years. When do you want to have them? Now or when you are old?" The chassid said to him, "You are a fortune teller. And maybe you want me to pay you something for this information. I have nothing to give you. Depart in peace." The chassid did not know that this was Eliyahu the Prophet, and Eliyahu came to him three times. On the third time, the chassid said to him, "I am going to talk this over with my wife." He went home to his wife and he said to her, "Somebody has come to me three times, and told me I would seven good years. And he asked me if I want to have them now or in my old age. So what do you say?" His wife answered, "Tell him you want them now."

So the chassid told him that very thing. Then Eliyahu said to the chassid, "Go home, and before you even reach your door from your yard, you will already see a blessing in your home." In the meantime, his children sat down to search with their hands in the earth and they found money. And with this money they would be able to sustain themselves for seven years. So they called their mother and they told her. When the s came, the woman ran out to him and she told him. The chassid immediately praised the L-rd. Then the wife said to her husband, "If Hashem did such a kind thing with us and gave us money, let us do chessed with it, a good deed, during these years. Maybe Hashem will even extend the possession of this money for a longer time." Then she said to her young son, "You record how much charity we give."

At the end of seven years, Eliyahu came and said, "The time has come to take away your wealth." The chassid said, "When I took this wealth, I did not want to take it in just any circumstances, but rather, only with my wife’s knowledge. And now, once again, I am not going to do anything without her knowledge." Then the chassid told his wife that the old man had come to take away their money. She said, "Tell him that if he finds anyone more honest than we are, he should give the money to them." Hashem heard their words and saw the good deeds that they had performed and gave them more good things.

When a rich man gives charity – tzedakah,

he purchases the next world for himself.

And this rich man is pardoned for all his transgressions

 

22. 22. It is written explicitly that Hashem made the rich man as a protégé, a protector, a supporter of the poor people. And when Hashem sees that a rich man only consumes his wealth, this money, he takes away this wealth from him and gives it to someone else. Therefore, the rich man, to whom Hashem has granted intellect, should think about how with the money that was handed to him he can purchase the Next World and he can distance from himself all of the Celestial prosecutors, and cleanse his soul from all blemishes, from all transgressions that cleave to him. He can cleanse them and turn them white, just like snow. As it is written, "If your sins are as red as a thread, I will make them as white as snow."

And how can man dare to stand tall with such arrogance, with such money that is not his in this world? He is just like a shadow that passes by; today he is here and tomorrow he is carried to the grave. And why shouldn't the rich man visualize the wise King Solomon, peace be upon him, standing before him with all his wealth? For we know that King Solomon was wiser than any other man upon this earth. He was so rich that silver was not even important to him during his lifetime. And Hashem made him a ruler over all the princes and over all the creatures, and he could see from one end of the world to the other. And all the domestic animals and wild animals and winged animals, and demons and spirits were all submissive to him, to serve him. And all angels listened to him, as it says in the Targum Kohelet:  And when he already had all of these qualities, he still was not arrogant, and he was submissive to his Creator, to serve him with his whole heart and with his body, and he made an effort to see Hashem as his father, just as his father, David, had commanded him: "Know the G-d of your fathers, that He is only one G-d and you should serve Him and pray to Him." And he spent all of his days in study, composing many holy books and revealing in them hidden things, and he performed all the mitzvos, commandments. That is why our wise men have said that he who says that Solomon the King sinned is gravely mistaken.

            King Solomon, peace be upon him, left all his wealth in this world and arrived in the other world with his soul intact

23. 23. And with his wealth and his qualities, he nonetheless left this world without his riches. And he did not bring along to the other world anything but his soul, whole and intact. And the soul was in this perfect condition because he corrected himself through wealth. So why do most people remember him for his wisdom and his wealth, and thus praise his name? This is only because he attained the World to Come through this, and prepared for himself a high place in the Garden of Eden. And he used his tremendous wisdom only to nourish his soul, and his holy writings and his teaching of morality were left to correct other people.

If it were not for King Solomon, peace be upon him, the one who wrote three holy texts, we would not have known that in the past there was such a great man as King Solomon. As he says in Koheles: “And more than this, my son, take heed to compose holy writings without limit, as many as you can”

24. 24. Although he was the smartest of all the wise men and richer than all the wealthy men, when he passed on he had to leave everything behind. And if he would have spent his time with pleasures of the flesh, and if he had not attained through his way of life wholeness for his soul, who would have remembered him? And who would have remembered him for good things? And who would have spoken about his greatness? Because from those other things, they would not have learned anything worthwhile. They would have spent their time admiring him for nothing. But this was not so with regard to Solomon. All of the days of his life he was occupied with elevating his soul, as it is written in his three holy texts.

 

 

111

25. חסר כל האות כ"ה מדף כ"ג

All of 25 is missing from page 23

And you, wealthy man, always keep in mind that the money in your hands should not become an axe with which you cut down all the trees in forest in order to build a greater bonfire in Gehenom, to intensify the flames which consume ever good organ in your body, or to increase the amount of smoke until it blinds your eyes and blackens your face. And don't use it to buy accusations that will lead to your downfall, that will bring vengeance upon your soul – causing damage far worse than what any foe or assailant could incur! Don't use it to dig a bottomless pit – deeper than what all the workers in the world could dig if they all dug together until the end of time – just so you can fall into it when you leave this world, only to drift through it to the sea of strange judgments and rulings! And what will be left for those who come after you? If you say that they will remember you for the wells you dug and the buildings you constructed, and the vineyards you planted and the expensive clothing you wore, what use will you have for all that when you are thrown into the garbage dump of Gehenom like a mangy dog? Will all those memories of you save you from that place, or give your soul peace? For if you earn a name for yourself with physical actions you worked hard to complete, be prepared to scream with the pangs of your soul, with moaning and mourning, for you will not be redeemed! After the Holy One, blessed be he invested so much effort in creating you in your mother's womb, and guarded you from miscarriage for nine months, and then delivered you safely, and raised you with His kindnesses for your entire life, and with his influence and abundance cared for you – you didn't take the trouble to honor Him in any way. And with all the goodness he showered you with, you only angered Him, and failed to pay heed to His commandments, or His affairs, or His desire that you follow the path of pleasantness. As it is written in the Torah of Moshe: "and walk in His ways" (Devarim 28:9).  "…just as He is gracious and compassionate, so be thou gracious and compassionate." (Masechet Shabbat 133b).

After He has provided you with more than everyone else your age [with your astrological sign], and made you wealthy with money and property, then why don't you buy with your riches a "home within a walled city" in the Eternal World, in the place of precious stones and angels. And arrange for slaves to serve you there – the lofty angels created by your good deeds, and with the breath the passes through your lips as you comforted mourners, and with the words of appeasement you spoke to the poor and the downtrodden, and when you fulfilled all of your obligations in order to improve yourself. And when you leave this world and ascend to Heaven, to the house of spiritual pleasure you carved out for yourself, you will be like a king strolling from hall to hall where no Satan or evil blights can walk from place to place. No blight will follow you when you leave this world, because they will all run away from you when they see that the flame of your holy soul will burn them – the flame created as a result of you serving your Lord, Hashem, who is compared to a burning flame.

Let us go back to the mussar regarding every man, rich and poor alike, which states unequivocally: how can a man who is made of molded material, and who is formed out of a putrid drop, able to purify himself and rise to high spiritual levels, and understand mysterious concepts relating to matters of utmost importance? Is it conceivable that black will be transformed into white? "Will a Cushite [Moor] change his skin, or a leopard his spots?" (Yirmiyahu 13:23). Is it possible to imagine that lead might be transformed into gold from the land of Ofir, or that stones forming a wall might be transformed into diamonds and sapphires – even if certain actions were taken or changes were made to them? It cannot be comprehended that man, whose foundation and origin is from the earth, should be transformed to a spiritual entity like the angels. This is only the way the evil inclination tries to convince someone, and he does so by putting an obstacle before his eyes, thereby blocking his intellect. One is not equal to the other. Man is compared to a diamond: at the time that a diamond is unearthed it does not shine, because all manner of accumulation is upon it. But when the craftsman makes an effort and takes off the outer layers which make it dark, removes the negative forces that are upon it, only then he uncovers the very dear and expensive stone underneath. He makes it burst forth in light and its beauty dazzles the eyes. So is man compared to this: The soul that is within him is very expensive, precious stone, and the body that surrounds him, a negative force. The craftsman that engages in removing the negative forces is the Torah and the commandments. The outer layers are cleaned until the shine is uncovered, revealing a “diamond stone”, man’s pure soul.

The righteous have refined themselves and have risen,

with their souls and bodies alive, into the heavens. There are others who have

died and are buried, and their bodies have not deteriorated,

because they refined themselves during their lifetimes

27. 27. Look at Chanoch, and Eliyahu and our teacher, Moshe, peace upon them, who were alive when they ascended into the heavens and penetrated the flame of fire. Chanoch became the head of all angels, Eliyahu became the angel of the Covenant, and Moshe was able to fight the strong angels and was victorious over them, and he brought down the Torah for the Jewish people. Our wise men, may they be remembered for good, tell us of many righteous men who entered the Garden of Eden with their body and their soul: Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, and Rabbi Yehoshua, the son of Levi. There are also many righteous people who did not enter with body and soul into the Garden of Eden, but are buried in their graves and do not deteriorate; the natural forces of deterioration do not have power over them, because their bodies were converted to clear light which give light to the souls. Spoilage and deterioration cannot have power over their bodies because each one was transformed into spiritual energy.

   So we see that man, even though he is simply flesh and blood, still has the ability to refine his body and bring it to a higher level, converting it to total spirituality. That can only happen if he occupies himself with Torah and the commandments. Because when he engages in the pursuit of Torah and commandments, he casts away all badness from the physical part of himself. The perspiration that is emitted by his body while he is engaged in Torah and the commandments washes away the crudeness from his body and refines him, just as the sun, with its great heat, sends its rays onto the parts of the earth where gold is found, and the sun converts the earth to gold. This also alludes to the emission of heat that comes through Torah, for Torah is compared to fire. When a man engages himself in Torah and the commandments, he converts his body to a spiritual strength. This concept is one which man must be conscious of always, never forgetting its significance. For then he will merit to see the sweetness of Hashem and sit in His chamber, the World to Come. He who likes wisdom likes words of punishment. He who likes words of punishment, likes Torah. He who likes Torah likes fear. And he who likes fear likes love, and love brings him to seek after the L-rd’s paths, to connect to Hashem, to serve Him with his whole heart and his whole might, and to sacrifice himself for the sanctification of the Name, because love changes the order of things. Because he connects his love to the Creator, he has no worries; not about health, including the health of his body, and also not the fact that the form of his body becomes blackened, because he learns Torah. He does not worry that his body will be destroyed for the sanctification of Hashem’s name. On the contrary, this even brings him joy. Just like Rabbi Akiva, when they combed his flesh with iron combs, was even happy even then. Like our wise men relate, many righteous men who died for the sanctification of Hashem’s Name merited to have a high position in the Garden of Eden (a place where no other creature can reach); a place attainable only because they lusted after Hashem from the time that their intellect developed until their departure from this earth. May their merit protect us and all Jews, may it be so, amen v’amen.

Chapter Two

w   Parshas noach   w

a

In this chapter we discuss how the Creator delays the expression of His anger, the manifestation of His anger, holding it back in order for the wicked to have an opportunity to repent. This chapter speaks about the author; also on the qualities of the good trait of humility and the shameful trait of arrogance.  This holy text has, during the hundreds and years it has existed, guided and educated thousands of Jewish children in the correct path

Chapter two

 

111

The qualities of Noach, the righteous man, and the wickedness of his generation.

1. 1. May the Heavens and earth be happy that the righteous man known as Noach was saved from the disastrous Flood, and that he is the foundation of the world, because if he were not a righteous man, he would not have been saved from the deluge; all Creation would have been turned into nothingness because of the sin. The people of the generation of the Flood said to the L-rd, “Go away from us, we do not want to know Your ways.” They turned the stars into idols which they worshiped and cast off yoke of the One who had created them. They followed the evil inclination or rule of their heart; everything they chose to do was wicked. They plotted to plant numerous vineyards in order to drink wine and become drunk, then following the lust of their evil inclination, doing everything their hearts desired. They committed all of the abominations that Hashem despises, but the Lord, blessed be He, nonetheless, gave them many good things, with the thought that they would feel sorry and want to repent so as not to lose the entirety of the good and peacefulness that the L-rd had given them and had empowered them with. When the L-rd saw that they did not repent, he mobilized the mountains to storm against them. “Maybe they will be afraid and will repent." But even upon this occurrence, they paid no attention. So the L-rd elevated Noach, instructing him to tell them the bad tidings that were about to befall them. They calculated the time that remained for them to be 120 years, (it took that long for Noach to construct the ark), and their calculations revealed that they would have time to repent. But they turned away from the L-rd and sinned even more. Afterwards, the L-rd gave them more time; the seven days of mourning for Metushelach, the righteous man. Heaven made this known to all the people of the earth, that the good words said at the graveside were really composed in Heaven for Metushelach, the righteous man, and the tears of the holy wild animals descended upon Metushelach himself, as the Yalkut writes. And the purpose of this was thus: the L-rd did all of this in hopes that the wicked ones would recognize the quality of a righteous man; how good and how important he is to the world, and in seeing this, they would come to repent.

When the L-rd saw that they did not repent He said to Noach, “There has come an end to all flesh before the L-rd, etc. The end of all creations has come before Me. I saw their end, that no righteous man will come out from them, not even one. That is why I am obliterating them from the earth them from the earth. But you, Noach, I saw as a righteous man in this particular generation. Therefore, make for yourself an ark from gopher wood. Hide in it from the harsh decree, from the whole generation. You and your children will be saved, because your children are as righteous as you. Your wife and your sons’ wives will be saved with you; all the creatures that did not spoil themselves in their ways will be saved by Me, and from you the world will develop just like before.” (Bereishit 6: 13-22)

How the L-rd withholds the expression of His anger from the wicked man,

in order that he may repent and not die a wicked man. An answer to the

non-believers who say that man was created so that, Hashem forbid,

Hashem should not be able to take revenge on him

2. And you, dear reader, strive toward this thing with your heart, to see and recognize the great compassion that Hashem, blessed be He, has for mankind, and how long He waits in order that mankind would not die without repentance. Look how long the L-rd, blessed be He, waited for the people of the generation of the Flood in order that they would not die as wicked people. This negates the idea of the non-believers who say that man was created only to suffer. As it is written by Rabbi Baruch ben Baruch in the book, Kehilas Yaakov, that there exist such creatures who say that the only reason man was created was in order that the L-rd should take revenge upon him. They say that If a man is at times granted greatness, this is done only to throw him down later from the high level, so that the descent that he will have afterwards will be difficult for him. You see that man is without rest upon this earth, and all his days and years are only pain and fear. And he is wastes his time and is afraid that Hashem’s workings, Hashem forbid, or his mazal brings all of his suffering upon him. He also thinks that all the spheres of the zodiac brings bad things and great spoilage in the world. The non-believers then ask, "How can such a person who is so beaten and tortured then be expected to reach such a high level?"

The great humility of Hashem

3. And now learn a lesson from everything that we have written, how the L-rd, Hashem, blessed be He, waited during the whole generation of the Flood to give them the opportunity to repent. This negates the dark and wicked concept of these non-believers, may their names be erased, and proves that Hashem is good to everyone. The L-rd is good to everyone and His pity is upon all of His creations. His compassion is upon all of His creations. A wise man composed discourses about this, stating that besides having pity on His creatures, He also sustains them. Our wise men have given discourses on this, stating that besides His compassion for His creations, He also bestows on them His pity so that they will imitate this quality by having pity for their fellow man’s predicament, pain and problems. The world was not created for anything else, except that each man should perform good deeds for His creatures. And if a man, Hashem forbid, has a problem, he screams to the L-rd and the L-rd saves him from this predicament.

The whole Torah and the Prophets elicit great compassion, and the Gemara and the Midrash relate the honor of the L-rd, may His Name be blessed, His great humility,  stating that He has great pain, as it were, if something bad happens to a man. As the verse states, “If pain comes upon a man, Hashem Himself is also sorry for this and the L-rd has great joy when He is able to influence and do good things for mankind. The reason is that He is angry at the wicked people is only because they disturb Him from granting this celestial flow of good things to the world. For Hashem's essential quality is that He is giving, and when people prevent Him from giving and multiplying the good it causes Him  great pain. This is what the verse says, “Hashem takes revenge and He gets angry. The L-rd takes revenge and He is the master of pain.” This describes the wicked man, because the quality of the good man is always to do good. A division is caused and the bounty cannot descend, as a result of the transgressions of the wicked. Hashem gets filled with anger and tells them to take revenge upon them because they do not repent, in order that the bounty should descend and and He will increase the good he does for his Creation. He created man that he should always fear Him, performing His service, in order that He should do good with him. If man sins before Hashem, He infuses him with fear and pain to cause him to repent, and all this is for man’s good.

  One should learn from his own qualities in order to serve the L-rd, and this being so, is there not a person who loves his friend, who makes great efforts to do good for him, while hoping that the other man will pay him back with good things? Is there not a brother who loves his sibling, who has things to give to him and supports him, and though they were born from the same mother, hopes that his brother will help him a little? Is there not a father or mother who make great efforts for good to help their children even though they hope that they will give them honor and pleasure and feed them when they are old? Is it possible that all these make an effort like the Lord, blessed be He, Who was good to mankind even though He derives no benefit from it, as the verse states, “If you are righteous what will you give Me?” When you are good and religious you benefit yourself, because Hashem, blessed be He, does not need it for Himself. He created everything and does good for everyone, even when one has not performed any good deeds yet. Do we have in this world such a compassionate person, a compassionate being like our Hashem, blessed be He?

   Man should always see to it that he approaches the level of the angels. Why should man not be ashamed to transgress against the commandment of Hashem, Hashem forbid? Man has to take an example from his own behavior, and comport himself in a like manner, as he is serving the Lord. For example, does a man want anyone to be against him? How can he be against the Lord? Man wants to have a lot of honor, especially from his children, so why should he not he give great honor to the Lord? Why should man be jealous of other men? He should be jealous of the angels, for they are at a great level. When man strengthens himself in Torah and mitzvos, he can rise to an even higher level than the angels. Knowing you have the strength to reach such heights, why should you tarry in your ascent? Even more so, through your bad deeds you broke the steps of the ladder with an ax, because bad deeds break and cut like a sharp sword. How will your soul be able to ascend after your departure from this earth? When she wants to ascend she will fall down from the heights onto the earth with such force that she will not be able to uplift herself. Upon whom will you call to help you, to stand you up erect? Will the transgressions that you have committed help you; or the angels that accuse you, whom you have created with your sins? If you would want to call out to your friends who convinced you to sin, who will be there to help? When they hear the bitter voice with which you will scream, they will run away and hide. Since you have the possibility of being saved, why do you not motivate yourself to search for what will benefit your soul? Take a good look at the wicked people who are lost from the world and see what they have achieved, and separate yourself from their path. Look at the generation of the Flood, whose main transgression was that they were arrogant, as the Midrash (Bereishit) states, “Because arrogance is the root of all sins.” For the Almighty Himself says, “I and the One who is arrogant cannot dwell together.” And gird yourself in the matter of not listening to the evil inclination that persuades you to be arrogant. If you conquer him in the matter of arrogance then you will be able to conquer him in all matters that he will try to persuade you. Because if the root disintegrates (the arrogance) as a matter of fact, the branches (the rest of the transgressions) fall by the way.

Fifteen things that distance a person from arrogance

I will teach you how not to fall into and meet as an obstacle the impure manifestation of the sin of arrogance.

   First, imagine that there is a ruler over you and you are its slave. So it is really a joke that the slave should have arrogance.

Secondly, if you dress with silk clothing and you are arrogant because of that, you should realize that's ridiculus. You are holding yourself up very high in arrogance with something that originated in worms, as if wearing it makes you important. In this way, you make the worm more important that yourself. And if you are dressed with wool clothing and you are arrogant because of that, do you believe that the domestic animal is more important than you? Only because you are so arrogant. And if you are dressed with flax clothing, you should know that it sprouts out of the earth, and you are a person who can speak, so you are certainly more important. How can you be arrogant with all of the aforementioned?

   The third thing: Remember that you will not always be so attractive or strong, and when you become old, when you won’t be able to continue to conduct your life in arrogance. Everyone who knows you will make fun of you. They will say, “This is the person who used to praise himself always. Now look how he has fallen to a lowly level.”

   Fourth, you should think of the time when you have to take care of your needs, when you are just like an animal; a body that converts everything good and tasty to garbage. Do you have anything to be so proud about?

   The fifth thing: think about the days that are coming upon you, when your heart will be broken and your strength will be taken away from you, when your tongue will stick to your palate, when you will feel bitterness in your mouth, and you will fall upon your bed in pain. You will have trouble breathing, the blood from your heart will be diminished and the Angel of Death will be hovering at your door.

   Sixth, consider in your heart that if a person’s thin skin that covers his body, which is his main attractiveness, is turned inside out or removed, everyone upon seeing it would close his eyes, and would not want to look upon such an ugly thing. How arrogant can  person be if he always has this in mind?

   Seventh, think about a man who has leprosy, how ugly he is to look upon, what a shame it is to gaze at him, and how anyone ca contract this disease. How can he hold himself arrogant?

Eighth, we should remember: Your strength is not everlasting. Is there anyone who can promise you that you can conduct yourself in arrogance as long as you will live? And if today or tomorrow you will fall from your stature, you will see that everyone has become your enemy, no one will console you, no one will have pity on you, and that which you have done to them, they will do to you.

   Ninth, imagine before your eyes all those people whom you saw acting with arrogance. What was their end? They were put to shame in front of all the people that they knew. Look what happened with Nevuchadnezzar, how his arrogance caused him to be transformed into a wild beast. And Haman, because of his overflowing arrogance, was lowered into the lowest grave in hell. And the generation of the Flood became a curse word among all people born since, because anyone who does not keep his words… He who punished the generation of the flood, He who gave castigation to that generation, that same One will punish a person who goes back on his word.

   Tenth, visualize that you can conduct your life with arrogance only when you are awake. But when you are asleep, people can surround you and make fun of you, and you are lying there like a stone. Is there a greater shame than this?

   Eleventh, when you become hungry, does your arrogance have the strength to make you stronger and keep you alive without eating or drinking? You know it is not so. Your face changes and your strength is removed from you. Can such a person, whose life hangs on a piece of bread, present himself as so big and arrogant?

   Twelfth, he who is arrogant because of his wisdom, should think about the wisdom of the Rishonim, like Rabbi Akiva, who offered countless halachic commentaries just about the crowns added to the Hebrew letters. And Doeg and Afitofel, who asked 300 halachic questions regarding the height of the Hebrew letter lamed. And the wisdom of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, who during his life did not miss learning anything, who went through all of knowledge and wisdom, the words of the angels, of the demons, of the trees. How our wise men marveled at his Torah and his wisdom. He should also think about the wisdom of all the righteous people who studied the Gemara. If he thinks about all of these wise people, he will recognize his own lack, his lowliness, his darkness, and that will diminish his arrogance.

The great benefit of viewing oneself as low and humble

If he is arrogant with regard to his wealth, he should look at the wealth of monarchs all around the world, and see that he is not at all important with all his riches. And if he is arrogant regarding his strength, he should think about this: If I have not attained the physical strength of Judah and Shimshon, the great champions, whose voices alone destroyed great cities and moved a huge rock away from its place – what kind of strength do I have that I should view myself so great in comparison? Also, one should keep in mind that his strength and his championship is not something eternal. If he is arrogant about having many children, he should think, "Are they all wise? All understanding? All wealthy? All without defect? Is he sure that they will not die during his lifetime? We find that Rabbi Yochanan proclaimed, “This is the bone of my tenth son, who died during my lifetime.” If man could be sure that his children would live to a ripe old age and die normally, then he could be happy with that. But it is possible that one should fall into the water and drown, or fall off a roof or something similar, and all of these things can happen in the world. And if he is arrogant with his beauty, he should think: "Can I be more attractive than Joseph?" And he was not arrogant about his beauty. And if he is unusually beautiful, he should know that when he gets old his face will change, and his wrinkles will multiply, and young children will make fun of him, because he will look like a monkey – as our wise men say in Midrash Koheles.

Thirteenth, he should always think about his roots, that he was born from woman and is blood and flesh. How can man remain arrogant after realizing this?

The fourteenth point is more important than the rest.  He should remember the day of his death, and then surely his heart will become submissive and his arrogance will depart from him.

   Fifteenth, he should think that after death one is transformed into worms, so how can this man be arrogant? A person should not be arrogant when he knows for a fact that the Almighty Hashem gives him all the goods that he needs.

   There are 15 different things in accordance with the gematria [numerical value] of the word ga’ava (arrogance), and a person should keep these 15 things in mind to break his arrogance. Also, the person should think that anything low cannot fall very far. For example, if a person sits on the ground, he cannot fall as far as a person who sits on a chair and can break his arm if he falls. He should also think that the roots of the tree that are in the earth are the most important and strongest part of it, while the branches that go out from the tree are soft and can be torn off. Look at the shamir worm that could cut through boulders and rocks which are very hard, but it could not break out of a box made of lead – which is very soft.  He should look carefully at both domestic and wild animals, how strong they are. Nonetheless, they are overpowered by man. And mosquitos and earthworms, that are very delicate and small, but nevertheless can cause damage and cannot easily be caught by man. Look at the tall cedar trees that because of their height are chopped down and used to construct buildings, while no one touches the grass growing on rooftops. Look at fine dust and feathers – they are so light that wind can lift them up, and the tops of trees that are so high lean downwards. Look in the Torah, how Avraham, our father, may peace be upon him, who compared himself to dust and ashes (which is not useful for anything, as a mix of dust and ashes gives nobody pleasure, as it is written "although I am dust and ashes") merited to be a "chariot for the Shechina". Nevuchadnezzar was arrogant, and said, “I will rise to the heavens.” So the prophet said, “You will go down into hell.” Look at Noach – because he did not hold himself in high regard, because he wasn't arrogant, he merited to reach the level of Adam, the first man, who was the father of all humanity. Also, all people are called “the people of Noach”, because he who holds himself low is uplifted to the heavens. As it is stated in the Zohar, Chayei Sarah, page 122b, Tosefta: Hashem fulfills all the desires of those who degrade themselves. It is good for he that holds himself humble in this world, therefore, he is great in the World to Come. This is what Rosh Hayeshiva stated: “He who is small is big, and he who is big is small.” Hashem, blessed be He, makes big the one who is small and makes small the one who is big. It is good for a person who regards himself as small in this world – he is big in the World to Come.

Open criticism against those who drink wine

10. A person should not say, “I am going to conduct myself according to humility because humility is very dear, but at the same time I will do whatever my heart desires; partaking of pleasures and a lot of wine drinking, and my humility will protect me so that Hashem will not punish me.” Take a look at Noach. He was a complete righteous man, a tzaddik, and he regarded himself as very low, very humble. Nonetheless, when he drank a lot of wine he was shamed and to the point where the verse calls him an earthy man, crude. Look at what Rev Alshich writes: “It is a criticism of those who drink excessive wine and eat meat excessively in their own homes, and even more so of those who gather in restaurants. One calls the other and says to him, ‘Get up, let us go and satiate ourselves until the morning with wine. We are going to be happy with goblets of wine, because through that we will know that we are friends. Only through that, that we will drink wine together, because wine gladdens the heart. Between you and me there will be an everlasting love. We will remember the times we sat and drank a lot of wine, the love will never be forgotten.’”

   And so they carry on like that, and become aroused when they begin to drink, and they guzzle the wind until their hearts feel light, and each one of them becomes as important to himself just as Pharaoh because wine makes him talk and he says, “To whom can I be compared?” And each man continues to drink with gusto, feeling heroic in the amounts they consume. And just as they bless each other over the first goblet, they continue to bless each other over every goblet after that. This one says on the goblet of wine, “You should live to next year and be well.” And the other one answers him, “You should also live many hundreds of years and have many hundreds of blessings.” Afterwards, when they are satiated from the wine, they lose their sense of judgement, and they begin to drink in even bigger goblets. Then they praise one the other and say, “Who is stronger than I, who can drink wine in such a large goblet?” And each man tries to outdo the other, until the wine runs from their noses, and the tables become covered with vomit and feces. And then one falls and lies in the mess, while another begins to hit his friend with a rock or his fists, and yet another begins to curse the very person who sat to get drunk with him – until all their joy and love for each other is gone. At that point the honor they accorded each other is traded for the respect earned by a pig lying in its own filth. Their tables are so foul there is no empty place on them – all because they followed their evil inclinations in seeking pleasure. But that is only to their disadvantage, for what is tender and delicate about them turns bitter as a result of their evil pursuance of delights. And because of the wine they fell into stealing and illicit relations. Because when a man drowns himself in wine, he will eventually steal a loaf of bread. Our G-d, blessed be He, commanded us to execute a rebellious son, for it is preferable for him to die innocent, etc. Also, one who partakes of wine is a scorner, because with wine he pampers his body. And the uncouth part of a person will be overcome with desire for illicit relations, and when he casts his soul behind him he is compared to a silenced beast etc. until they raise their voices together. For those loathsome ones will rejoice in everything they spew from their mouths, like the disgraceful women speak. And what will their eyes hint at when they go astray, when their hearts are covetous and their non-Jewish trait will become active. For who can partakes of wine and remain guiltless? Our first ancestor sinned with wine – as our Sages wrote, "Rabbi Meir holds that the tree of which Adam ate was the vine". She squeezed grapes and gave it to him, and he and all his offspring died. And Noach  found favor in Hashem's eyes – and then transgressed with wine and was found guilty. And the noble members of the Jewish nation (the sons of Aharon) drank wine and entered the Mishkan. They sinned and were punished, and became alienated from the nation, just like the other sinners.

It is true that when they first began to drink, when the home and the palace were in order, their sin was not very great, because their good natures kept them in check and they only drank a small amount. But now, due to our numerous transgressions, they drink a lot. "Rejoice not, O Israel, on joyous occasions, like the peoples, for you have strayed from your God… when He sees that the strength is dwindling, the crown has fallen from our head and we have been exiled from our land, and our mighty Shechina dwells among the nations. Who is the man who desires life, who loves days to see evilness and shamefulness on such a day. For our soul is cast down to the dust, our belly clings to the earth.

והן זאת רעתם כי מר הרכה והענוגה שברעותיהם במנעמיהם, זולת שתים רעות אשר אלה ביין שגו – בגזל ועריות, כי ממשוך איש ביין את בשרו – יבא עד ככר לחם וילסטם את הבריות, כי על כן צוה לנו יתברך להמית בן סורר ומורה, כי מוטב שימות זכאי וכו', וגם לץ היין הומה זימה כי מפנק ביין את בשרו, האספסוף אשר בקרבו יתאוה תאוה לגלות בשר ערוה, כי בהשליך נפשו אחרי גוו נמשל כבהמות נדמו וכו' עד יחדיו ירננו, כי ישישו בני מעיהם בכל היוצא מפיהם, כדבר אחת הנבלות, ומה ירמזון עינים אשר הם זונים אחריהם, כי יחמדו לבותם ויפעלו גויותם, כי מי שלח ידו ביין ונקה, כי אבינו הראשון חטא בו כאמרם חז"ל, גפן היתה וכו' סחטה ענבים ונתנה לו, וימת הוא וכל זרעו, ונח מצא חן בעיני ה' ופשע ביין ונאשם, ואצילי בני ישראל (בני אהרן) שתויי יין נכנסו, עברו ונענשו, ומורם מהם כיוצא בהם. והן אמת כי אשר שתו וישכרו בימים ראשונים אשר היו לפנינו כאשר נכון היה הבית וארמון על משפטו, וחטאתם לא כבדה מאד כי רוב טובתם התעה אותם, ועל כן רבים שתו נימא, אך עתה כי הנה בעונותינו הרבים רבים ישתו לא נימא, כי אל ישמח ישראל אל גיל כעמים כו' כי יראה כי אזלת יד, כי נפלה עטרת ראשינו וגלינו מארצנו ושכינת עוזנו בקרב העמים, ומי האיש החפץ חיים אוהב ימים לראות ברע ובושת הפנים כיום הזה, כי שחה לעפר נפשנו דבקה לארץ בטננו. ואף לזאת יחרד כל לב, כי מה ראו על ככה ומה הגיע אליהם, השמחים אלי גיל ישישו כי ימצאו יין להתהולל בו. ומי האיש אשר הוא יהודי ולו דמוע תדמע עינו לילה מאין הפוגות, כי עיניו רואות וכלות עכו"ם אשר הבל המה, מעשה תעתועים מינייהו היא מלכי ואפרכי ועבדי השם אשר לו הגדולה ואין זולתו כי יוצר הכל הוא, נתונים תחת און עובדי כוכבים ומזלות, ומבטן מי יצתה הרעה הגדולה הזאת אם לא מרוע מעללנו אנחנו ואבותינו, כי מידינו היתה שפחה כי תירש גבירתה, ולו חכמו נשכילה זאת, קרענו את בגדנו ונלבש שק ואפר, ונצא בתוך העיר ונזעק זעקה גדולה ומרה עד פור התפוררה אדמתינו וגוייתנו, ויקרא זה אל זה ויאמר לכו ונשובה אל ה' בצום ושק ואפר, ואל תתן פוגת לו עד יכונן ועד יקים את סוכת דוד הנופלת, ולא די שלא יעשה כן, כי אם שתחת היותם כאבלים כל ימיהם, ולבלתי מלא שחוק מפיהם

   Not enough that they do not do this, they go on to say, “Let us buy wine and let us get drunk with wine.” And the next day, they do the same thing, and are not afraid of the L-rd, because our sins have caused a division between us and our Creator, and we should be ashamed for this reason. We can say woe to the embarrassment and woe to the shame. We have to give wine to the person who is in a bad mood and to awaken compassion until the Creator will have pity to correct the world through His all encompassing kingdom, and the L-rd will be happy with His works, and all the Jews will be happy with our Creator.

   Also, see what the samech-mem-gimel writes about arrogance and humility: On the commandment, mitzva, “Guard yourself lest you forget the L-rd, your Hashem”, your Hashem, he writes that this is the commandment that the Jews should not be arrogant, that Hashem, Blessed be He, gives him bountiful goods, and they should not say that through their strength and efforts they gained all of this, and they will not show gratitude to the L-rd. And on this, it is written in the verse, “And there exists houses that are full of good that you have not filled, and houses you ate and you became satiated.” Guard yourself lest you forget and you will eat and drink. Guard yourself lest you forget your L-rd.” And the explanation for this is written in the verse, “Lest you eat and satiate yourself and you shall be satiated and you will have bountiful goods, and you will say in your heart, ‘My strength and my might have given me all these possessions.’” Remember, do not say this. But you must remember that Hashem gave you the strength to gather all these goods. From here is a warning that each individual should not be arrogant with that which the L-rd gave him money or beauty or wisdom; that he should be extremely humble and lowly in front of the Creator of the world and in front of people, and to thank his Creator that He gave him this talent or quality. And the verse lauds the quality of humility, in reference to Moshe, where it is written, “The man, Moshe, he was very humble.” In the Gemara Yerushalmi, it is written that wisdom is made as a crown upon one’s head, and humility was made as a knofel to your shoe. That it is written in the verse, “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the L-rd.” The fear for the L-rd is the main thing and the main ingredient in wisdom, and with humility it is written, “The fear of the L-rd are the steps of humility. Humility is greater than the fear of the L-rd” And the divine indwelling rests upon the humble, as it is written in the verse, “I will rest with he that has a lowly opinion about himself, humble though he recognizes his talents.”

   And, it is also explained in the Gemara that a person, who holds himself low, is compared as though he brought sacrifices. Because it is written, “The sacrifices of Hashem are a broken spirit.” He who has a broken spirit is compared to the one who slaughters sacrifices to honor the L-rd.And even more, their prayer is hearkened, as the verse says, “A broken heart and a depressed heart, Hashem does not shame” And we can explain that the L-rd listens even to their request that comes from the heart and fulfills their will, even though they do not pray for it. As it is written in the verse, “The last of the humble, Hashem hears.” The strong will of the humble, our L-rd you have heard, as it is said, “even though they do not ask for anything, but inwardly they yearn for it, Hashem is able to tune in on that inner yearning. Go out and see what King David said, “I am a worm and not a man.” Compare yourself to a worm that is in the earth. When a person passes away, the earth is higher than his head. And that is why he (David) held himself low before his Creator, as he said to his wife, Michal, “And I am low in my eyes before the L-rd”, and even before people, he was also low, because when shimi ben Gerah cursed him, he said, “Let him curse and do not kill him”. And our wise men, may they remembered for good, wrote many things against those people who have arrogance and they are called sinners and they will not see the consolation of Zion. And our wise men, may their remembrances be blessed, have said, “Be very lowly with yourself, because the hope of a person is to become a worm, or to be surrounded by worms, and that is that a man is better than a domestic animal, this means nothing, but if he serves the L-rd and causes Him pleasure, then he is more than a domestic animal. And why should man clothe himself with arrogance? Because that is the garment of a king, as it is written, “Hashem, blessed be He, reigns, He is just in pride”, and this shows that whoever dresses himself in the king’s clothing should be killed. So in the same way, he who holds himself arrogant kills himself. And he will be judged in Hell, Gehinnom, with all those who have killed themselves, suicides.

   Grasp this concept: that he who holds himself arrogant, suffers illness and worries all the time, since, because of his arrogance and pride, all people are against him and he tries to convince himself that everyone is obligated to serve him and rise up before him, just like a slave rises before his master; that he should sit higher than everyone. The truth is that he is important by those people who see him as the shell of a piece of garlic, and there is no one to ask about his welfare. When he comes among people and speaks no one wants to listen to him. And when he sees his shame he turns to go away and no one says to him, “Go in peace”. And when he sees this, the shame is noticeable on his face and from this shame he feels so bitter inside, like the taste of gall. Because according to how he estimated his importance and his arrogance, this all feels to him like thorns. So he is every time full of ??, and his heart is full of worry. This happens to him every day, and from this great pain he gets sick and lies on the sick bed. He screams, “Woe is to me!” and no one answers him. He confesses and screams and no one turns to him, because they say, “He is not confessing sincerely”. It is because he is sick that he confesses, leaves all other things behind. When he will arise from his sick bed he will return to his nonsense. Hence, they let him lie in fear and in shuddering, and he wonders about all the things that he is seeing and experiencing. He says to himself, “How should such a person as I lie alone?”

   When he sees that no one turns to help him he sends for doctors. And if he does not have money,  he sells his clothing, thinking that with the money he obtains he will heal himself from that which he himself caused with his own arrogance.

   And you, son of Hashem, man, why should you, through your arrogance, build a house that the doctors come to? The old wives will come to lament with their mouths and in their hearts they have other thoughts; with their eyes they cry, but inwardly they are happy. They say, “When will he finally die so that we will be able to fulfill the commandment of consoling the mourners?”

We will say to them: man is worth nothing, nonsense. Take a consolation into your heart; that the same thing that happens to an old person happens to a young one; to a wise one and also one lacking in intelligence. Therefore, man should not hold himself high or be arrogant.

And he will see them that they bless each other on every goblet. And then when they are satiated from the wine, and they begin to drink in bigger goblets. Then they begin to praise each other and they start asking, Who is stronger than I to drink wine in even a bigger goblet?, until, having drunk so much, the wine causes them to engage in foul language. And then one of them falls down and the other one stands up and beats his friend with a stone, or with his fist and the second one goes out and curses all those people who drank wine and who got drunk with him, until the joyous occasion is converted to mourning and their love becomes a non-love, and they change their honor into shame. Besides that, even worse things result from this. Stealing and adultery, because if man spends his time in such a negative way and immerses himself in drunkenness, he becomes very poor until he even has to beg for bread. And since he is used to drinking alcoholic beverages, he steals from people. That is why Hashem commanded that the rebellious son be killed, because he is used to eating too much and drinking too much, so in the end is will probably steal from people and he will be killed by the court of law. So the Torah says, Let him be killed when he is still innocent and not when he is condemned to death. And also to transgress with the opposite gender, that also comes from drunkenness, because of the fact that  he drinks a lot of wine, his evil inclination is aroused to transgress with the opposite gender. He is then just like an animal that has no shame. Because can you name anyone who has sunken to drinking and getting drunk and remained pure and without sin? Our first father, Adam, sinned through wine. As the wise men say, The Tree of Knowledge was a tree on which they grew grapes, and Chava squeezed the grapes and gave it to him as a drink, and with that he caused death for all humanity. And Noach found grace in the eyes of Hashem, then he sinned with wine, which he drank, and he was punished. Also Nadav and Avihu, the children of Aharon, entered the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple, and they were drunk with wine, and they were also punished. And even people who lived a long time ago, even though they drank wine, at that time the Temple was still standing, and they did a lot of good things, so the transgression was not that great because of the many good things in their merit. But today, because the Holy Temple was destroyed because of our many sins, so we understand that we surely should not drink. Not just saying that we should not get drunk, because the crown from our heads has fallen, that is the loss of the Temple of Solomon, and we were exiled. And he who wants to live and likes the days of his life, he has to see the negativity and the shame that reached us in days gone by, because our body is ?? to the earth and our stomach is also connected to the earth. And that is why every heart has to shudder. Also the people that are happy that they found wine to drink and are thinking of getting drunk with that same wine. May it be the will of Hashem that we should act with wisdom and we would say, Let us return to Hashem with fasting and repentance so that the Creator should prepare and repair the Holy Temple of Solomon.

   It is not enough that we do not do things. So they even continue to say, Let us buy wine and get drunk with old wine. And on the next day they do the same thing, and are not afraid of the L-rd, because our sins have caused a division between us and our Creator, something of which we should be very ashamed. We can say woe is to the shame and woe is to the embarrassment. We have to give wine to those who are in a bad mood, and we have to ask for the arousal of compassion until the L-rd will have pity to correct the world through His kingdom, and the L-rd will be happy with His creation and mankind will be happy with his Creator.

   Also, see what samech-mem-gimel writes about arrogance and humility. And those who see that they bless each other over every goblet, they give themselves many blessings, this one says over a goblet of wine that you should live next year and be well and the other answers him, You should also live and achieve 100 blessings and then after they have been satiated with the wine, their heart becomes numb and they begin to drink in bigger goblets and they praise each other and say, Who is strong like me?;  To drink wine in such a miraculous way?;  from such a big goblet, until the wine elicits from their mouth foul language.

   It cannot be comprehended that man, whose foundation and origin is from the earth, that he should be transformed to a spiritual entity like the angels. This is only the way the evil inclination tries to convince someone and he does so by putting an obstacle in front of his eyes to block his intellect. Because one is not equal to the other. Man is compared to a diamond. At the time that the diamond is unearthed it does not shine, because all manner of accumulation is upon it. But when the craftsman makes an effort and takes off the top layers which make it dark, and the negative forces that are on it, then he uncovers the very dear and expensive stone that was covered under it, and he makes it burst forth in light with its beauty and it dazzles the eyes. So is man compared to this. The soul that is within him, that is very expensive precious stone, and the body that surrounds him, that is the negative force, and the craftsman that engages in cleaning the negative forces, that is the Torah and the commandments. Until one uncovers the shine from the diamond stone and that is the pure soul. The righteous have refined themselves and have risen, soul and body alive, into the heavens. And there are others, when they pass on and are buried, it has become known that their body does not deteriorate because they have refined themselves. Look at the manner of education, and Eliyahu and our teacher, Moses, peace upon them, who in a live manner rose into the heavens and they penetrated the flame of fire. Chanoch was given the quality that he should be the head of all the angels; to Eliyahu, that he should be the angel of the Covenant; to Moses, that he should fight the strong angels and be victorious over them, and he brought down the Torah for the Jewish people. Many righteous men about whom our wise men, may they be remembered for good, tell us, that they entered the Garden of Eden with their body and their soul just as Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, Rabbi Yehoshua, the son of Levi. There are also many righteous people that did not enter body and soul into the Garden of Eden, but they are buried in their graves and they do not deteriorate, because the forces of our deterioration don’t have power over them, because their body was converted to clear light and even gives light to the soul and spoilage and deterioration cannot have power over their body because he became a spiritual energy. So we see that man, even though he is blood and flesh, he has the ability to refine his body and bring it to a higher level and convert it to total spirituality. That can only happen if he engages himself in Torah and the commandments, because of the efforts of that he engages in Torah and commandments, he casts away all badness from the material part of him. The perspiration that is emitted by his body while he is engaged in Torah and the commandments, this grinds away the crudeness from his body and refines him, just like the sun with its great heat sends his rays on those parts of the earth where gold is found, and the sun, with its heat, converts the earth to gold. This also refers to the emission of heat that comes through Torah. Torah is compared to fire. And when he engages himself in Torah and the commandments, he converts the body to a spiritual strength. All this man has to really think about, and should not stop thinking always, in good things, then he will merit to see the sweetness of Hashem and sit in His chamber, that is the World to Come. Because he who likes wisdom likes words of punishment. He who likes words of punishment, likes Torah. He who likes Torah likes fear. And he that has likes fear likes love, and love brings him to seek after the L-rd’s paths, to connect to Hashem, to serve Him with his whole heart and his whole might, and to sacrifice himself for the sanctification of the Name, because love changes the order of things. And because he connects his love to the Creator, he has no worries; not about health, not about the health of his body, and also not about the fact that the form of his body becomes blackened, because he learns Torah, and he has no worries about his body, that he should become destroyed for the sanctification of Hashem’s name. On the contrary, this even brings him joy. Just like Rabbi Akiva, when they combed his flesh with iron combs, he was even happy with this. Like our wise men tell, many righteous men that died for the sanctification of Hashem’s Name and merited to have a high position in the Garden of Eden, a place where no other creature can reach, that was only because they lusted after Hashem from the time that the intellect developed until their departure from this earth. Their merit should protect us and all Jews, may it be so, amen v’amen

He will see people pronounce many blessings for his companion on every goblet of wine, and he says, “You should live to next year and be healthy.” And his companion answers him, “You should also live to next year and I give you hundreds of blessings.” When they are satiated from the wine, they begin to drink in bigger goblets. Then they praise each other and they ask, “Who is strong enough to drink wine in a bigger goblet?” Soon, the abundance of wine causes them to engage in foul language. One of them falls down and the other rises up and beats his companion with a stone, or with his fist, then goes out and curses all people who drank wine or who got drunk with him. The joyous occasion is converted to mourning, their love is transformed into hatred, and their honor into shame.

Furthermore, worse things result including stealing and adultery, because if man spends his time in this negative way, immersing himself in drunkenness, he grows very poor and ultimately, he must beg for bread. Since he is used to drinking alcoholic beverages, he begins to steal from people. (Hashem commanded that the “rebellious son” be killed, because habitually eats and drinks too much, so in the end he will probably steal from people and will be executed by the Court of Law. So the Torah says, “Let him be killed when he is still innocent and not after he has been condemned to death.”) When one drinks a lot of wine, his evil inclination is aroused to transgress with the opposite gender. He is then like an animal that has no shame.

Can you name anyone who has fallen into the abyss of habitual drunkenness and remained pure and without sin? Our first father, Adam, sinned through wine, as the wise men say, “The Tree of Knowledge was a tree on which grapes grew, and Chava squeezed the grapes and gave it to Adam in the form of a drink, and with it caused death for all humanity.” Noach found grace in the eyes of Hashem. He then sinned with wine, which he had drunk, and was punished. Also Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aharon, entered the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple, while drunk with wine, and were also punished. People who lived long ago, at the time the Temple was still standing, drank wine, but the transgression was not as great because of the merit of their many good deeds. But today, after the the Holy Temple has been destroyed due to the abundance of our sins, we understand that we surely should not drink. That is not to say that we should not get drunk, because the crown from our heads has fallen, that is the loss of the Temple of Solomon, and we were exiled.??  He who wants to live and likes the days of his life, he must see the negativity and the shame that reached us in days gone by, because our body is ?? to the earth and our stomach is also connected to the earth. That is why every heart has to shudder. Also, the people that are happy that they found wine to drink are thinking of getting drunk with that same wine. May it be the will of Hashem that we should act with wisdom and we would say, “Let us return to Hashem with fasting and repentance” so that the Creator should prepare and repair the Holy Temple of Solomon.

It is not enough that we do not do things. So they even continue to say, “Let us buy wine and get drunk with old wine.” And on the next day they do the same thing, and are not afraid of the L-rd, because our sins have caused a division between us and our Creator, something of which we should be very ashamed. We can say woe is to the shame and woe is to the embarrassment. We have to give wine to those who are in a bad mood, and we have to ask for the arousal of compassion until the L-rd will have pity to correct the world through His kingdom, and the L-rd will be happy with His creation and mankind will be happy with his Creator.

Also, see what samech-mem-gimel writes about arrogance and humility. Those who see that they bless each other over every goblet, they give themselves many blessings, this one says over a goblet of wine that “you should live next year and be well” and the other answers him, “You should also live and achieve 100 blessings” and then after they have been satiated with the wine, their heart becomes numb and they begin to drink in bigger goblets and they praise each other and say, “Who is strong like me? To drink wine in such a miraculous way?”, from such a big goblet, until the wine forces foul language from their mouths

Chapter Three

w   Parshas lech lecho   w

In this chapter, we bring Words of teaching whereby a person

can straighten his ways, how you can turn bad inclinations

into good deeds, and receive a reward for them.  The holy gaon,

learned genius and righteous man, Rabbi Hillel Kolameyer,

may he be remembered for good, testifies that the text called

Shevet Mussar, made him into a real person, a mensch.

And in the same manner, great and righteous holy people

have told their children to always learn this holy book,

because it has brought them to the level which they have reached

Table of Contents

1. Words of teaching whereby a person can straighten his ways, how you can turn bad inclinations into good deeds, and receive a reward for them.

Chapter Three

A teaching how a person should infer from

happenings around him, thereby improving his path

1. He who learns my words of teaching and absorbs them into his heart will understand and become wise. One must raise his eyes and contemplate on his body, and from this he will learn how to improve his path. Let his eyes observe the wetness that emerges from his nostrils, and the ugly waters that accumulate in his body. When the temperature increases, psoriasis sometimes results, accompanied by skin heat. At this time he will observe that the face changes and his body becomes bent and swollen. A wound may form, or a bad aroma may be emitted from his body.

People will begin to run away from him and the flies crawl on him. The worms multiply in his bed, so he is not even able to lie down. He becomes very downtrodden, and yet no one is even sensitive to fact that he is speaking. He becomes like a piece of wood. No one recognizes him as he sighs from thirst. That results from the heat that is burning within him. And still his voice is not heard. His breathing is very faint because of the low oxygen level until, finally, his soul leaves him with great pain.

       If his illness lasts for a long time, he sees the tragedy and his body becomes shrunken until his bones protrude through his flesh, in the manner of a woman called a sotah. He is transformed and looks apelike. Those who see him do not recognize him. Even his wife and children deny that it is their father. The wife complains and says, “Woe unto me, he is not here anymore.” Because he is just like a child who has no human form. He lies in bed feeling as if his life has been nullified, until life itself is not worth living. They pray in the four corners of the house that he should die, so that they can clean him out of the home.

How can a person brag about his beauty and his money

and all his bad qualities and that he does the bad acts

of his life as if he had permission, that he should receive

reward even for these negative things

2. 2. A person who falls into this category, how can he brag and laud himself with this image? How can he be arrogant with his beautiful body and with his attractive height or his strength, to say, “Being strong is how I gathered all these good things”. How can he be arrogant with his great wealth? With the beautiful clothes, and how can he resist or tune out the other person that comes before him, to lead him astray? And how can he be happy with his possessions, with his many children, with honor from strangers? How can he persuade this so-called companion to stay away from him, and how can he accustom himself to eat sweet food and drink wine?And how should he yearn to take promenades in the gardens and hear the singing of the birds, and how should he enjoy the singing and the playfulness? How should he decorate himself with beautiful jewelry and cream himself with all the necessary creams and make himself aromatic with perfumes? How should he be happy with his beautiful articulation, and how should he run like a deer in the fields? How should he be full of laughter knowing that after all of this comes pain and worry and sadness, as aforementioned.

And now, listen to my voice and I will advise you and Hashem will be with you, and you will be able to live out your days and years in goodness and in sweetness, and you will receive a good reward for your toil in this world and in the World to Come. You should, Hashem willing, be able to derive benefit from all the aforementioned, that man should be happy with his image and he should praise the L-rd. blessed be He, that He created man just below the angels. Man should elevate himself with his body, that if some problem occurs that causes pain on the whole community, he should assist and he should scare those people who want to pain other people, and even one person. He should gird himself to support emotionally and otherwise those who are in a low or bad mood, which is negative, and to everyone who is pursued or persecuted by another person, to assist him and also to help poor people, the widow and the orphan. With his great wealth he should give charity to poor people, and he should support those who learn Torah. And he should do acts of kindness and clothe those who need clothes, and purchase holy books and lend them out for others to learn Torah. He should feed the needy who ask for food, establish yeshiva academies and in this manner he will be able to partake of the reward of those who learn Torah and will gain for himself the World to Come, just like the tribes of Zevulun and Yissachar. He should remember to tune out anyone who speaks out against the poor people, or against Torah or the like. He should be happy with his many children, with his accumulated goods that Hashem has granted him. He should remember that Hashem has helped him to raise and educate his children to learn Torah, in order that they should serve the L-rd and sanctify His name with their whole heart and whole soul. He should be happy with the honor that he receives after he has corrected his past, that people should say that they no longer see him performing any bad deeds, and they will stop honoring him. He should strengthen himself with all his energies to fulfill the verse, “And you shall study it (the Torah) day and night. You should think and speak matters of Torah day and night, and fulfill His commandments that are the basis of your life.” To serve students and wise men who engage in Torah, and to go forth in a mission of mitzva, and he should speak in anger when he must, in order to avoid a transgression. He should break the strength of the wicked man and to punish those that transgress the will of the L-rd. And he should satiate himself with sweet food and sweet drinks in order to praise Him who created all of this, and assign to each one of these drinks and good foods a special blessing, and to prepare for the Sabbath and the Holidays in a manner of pleasure, foodwise, drinkwise, ??-wise, as our wise men, may they be remembered for good, have said, “You shall sanctify the Sabbath and the Holidays with food and drink and beautiful clothes, and to drink wine at the festive meal as a mitzvah” as on Simchas Torah, Rejoicing in the Torah, and on a siyum-massechta, completing a massechta, at a circumcision, and at a wedding where a wise student of Torah marries a daughter of a Torah scholar who is wise, and similar things. He should feel like promenading in the gardens in solitude in order that he should be able to think about matters of Torah, to ??, and to hear the singing of the birds in order to laud the Creator of the world, who created everything for His honor, and all sing in praise of Him, with the melody of their mouth in order to let know that there is no other Hashem beside Him. He should make his bed with thin sheets on the Sabbath and on Holidays to honor the L-rd, and in honor of the Holy Sabbath and Holidays. He should enjoy his sleep in the morning if he had studied Torah the whole night, and served Hashem, and when he gets sleepy in the morning and falls down asleep, then, Hashem willing, He should grant him a sweet slumber. He should enjoy the song and praise for the L-rd, to say at least a portion of His wonders, and he should clothe himself with clean clothes that are decorative when he about to pray, and he should have in mind that there should be no stain on his clothes, and he should have separate clothes for the Sabbath and Holidays. He should be happy with his pure and clean language, that he should be able to speak before an audience of many people sweet words of Torah, and to say before the people the right words, and teach them the right path in which they should serve. With his proper articulation he should be victorious and gain in battle the atheists, and prove that their words are worthless. He should smear his skin with good oil and perfumes in order that the perspiration should be removed, so that people will not distance themselves form him, and will be able to hear his words of chastisement, and the new words that he says about the Torah should be clear. He should hurry to perform a mitzvah, and should run away very far from a transgression. He should run to save a person from a murderer who wants to rob him, and he should make himself happy in order to rejoice a bride and groom. He will receive help from Hashem and will hear the innovations of the Torah which are renewed through the wise men. If you do all of this you will be happy in this world and receive a good reward in the next world.

A person has to infer moral teaching from the day that has gone by,

and think what has remained for him from the whole day

3. 3. Bend your ears and try to learn moral teachings by yourself from yesterday, and how it applies to today. All the pleasures you did for yourself yesterday, what benefit do you derive from them today? If you do the same thing today, then what will you get tomorrow? And so it will go on until the end of your days, that things that you did the day before you will gain no benefit from them, and in such nonsense you will have spent all the days of your life. Go and judge yourself and say to yourself, “Can the earth tolerate that I prepare for myself such revenge that even the worst enemy would not be able to inflict upon me? I do have it in my power and in my hands to spend all my days in Torah and mitzvos, and to gather, little by little, according to my ability and understanding the knowledge that is found therein.”

How can a man prepare himself all the goods that he needs through his thought?

4. 4. If I do not understand matters of Torah, can I nonetheless have thoughts to do good deeds, mitzvos, and the Almighty connects the thought to a deed, and will receive a reward from the thoughts just as if I had done a deed? It results that anyway, I will gain such goods each day, but no eye has yet seen, only the L-rd alone. Such a place where no hand has power over, to satiate at that place my soul with clarity, that I will leave this world, and this will save me from all the horrors that endanger, and serve as an evil inclination for people, and it will announce to me, “May to be blessed in your outgoing and in peace is your return” until they bring me to that place that I have prepared for myself through my deeds and I will be under the Throne of Glory from my Creator and I will satiate my self at that place with the clarity and the strength of the Hashemly indwelling.

If you think in this manner you should know that, in truth, you search for the way that will give you rest for your soul. Since it is in man’s hands and in his ability to prepare for himself everything that is good, even through a good thought alone, as we have mentioned before, if he does not do it, is there an end to the anger that will be reached with his soul, then when she parts from the body which had given her this advice, to arrange for herself all the bad deeds, then the aforementioned will occur. That is why, fellow Jew, have pity upon yourself, because no created being will be able to save you from the judgment, the anger that you brought upon yourself from the day you came upon this world until the day when your soul will depart from your body. It is in your hands and in your permission to do repentance one day before your demise. Everything is in your hands, and you will be given a good reward for your efforts that you exerted yourself with words alone, because you have said, “I have sinned. Ihave done wrong. I have transgressed. Upon all the mitzvos that I have transgressed, I am liable.” You can save yourself from death with words alone, as it is written in the verse, “Take with you things and return to Hashem”. We could say that it means “Take with you words, and return to Hashem…”  If you are too lazy to do even this, can we count the pain that is prepared for your soul?

He should not try to kick away his temptations and pains,

that come, Hashem forbid, upon him. He should learn from Abraham,

our father, may peace be upon him, who, despite the fact\

that he went through many troubles and pain and suffering,

He did not remove himself from the path of Hashem,

even adding love to his previous love for the L-rd

5. 5. Take a glance and look at our father, Abraham, the first of the believers. He recognized his Creator when he was three years old and he took the trouble to fulfill the will of his Creator, and he surrendered himself to those who threw him intoa hot oven, because he loved the L-rd. Also temptations that he experienced that one thing that Hashem told him to go away from his homeland, from his family, from his father’s house. Despite the fact that He promised that in the place he would go he would have money, a good name and children, Abraham did not leave because of these promises; he went to fulfill the words of his Creator. He was not interested in the reward at all.

And even afterwards, when Hashem promised him all of the above-mentioned things, he suffered a lot of pain. He went down to Egypt and was in danger, as he said to Sarah, “I am afraid that they will kill me.” And his wife, Sarah, was indeed to taken to Pharaoh, and Hashem saved her, and smited Pharaoh with big plagues.

Afterward he also had no tranquility. He heard that his nephew Lot was captured, so he risked his life to save him. Then the L-rd let him know that his children would be sent into the diaspora, and that they would be enslaved and punished 400 years. Then he was told about other exiles that his descendants would endure, and he was pained at the thought of what his offspring would suffer.

After that a controversy arose in his home because of Sarah and Hagar, and there is nothing that causes more pain in a home than strife – it is even worse than the War of Gog and Magog. As our rabbis, blessed be their memories, said: it reached the point where Avraham's wife Sarah relegated her Heavenly decreed punishment to him, saying,  "May my injustice be upon you!" (Bereishit 16:5). And he suffered in silence. Concerning all of this he received the commandment of milah – to cut the flesh of his foreskin, and he accepted the commandment with love, and was not negligent in fulfilling it. Even after realizing how much suffereing he would experience after cutting his own flesh with a sharp knife, he still did not rebel against or question Hashem's intentions – even though it seemed just the opposite of all that he had been promised was happening. Furthermore, Avraham fulfilled Hashem's commandments with love, he didn't stray from the path Hashem assigned to him for his entire life, and he instructed his offspring to do the likewise. Look at how much of an effort Avraham Avinu made, may he rest in peace, in order to attain spiritual perfection. And you – even though you have been purusing folly for all of your life – if you repent and confess your transgressions, even at the end of days (Yerushalmi, Chagiga, 2, 1, Zohar Naso 123, 1), your soul will be complete. For in a place where repentants stand, the completely righteous cannot stand (Brachot 33,2). And if you don't heed this advice, consider whether there will be any cause for treating you with mercy when you are brought for Heavenly judgment.

 

Chapter Five

w   Parshas          w

In this chapter, we discuss how the Creator withholds

the expression of His anger, the manifestation of His anger,

holding it  back in order that the wicked have an opportunity

 to repent. This chapter speaks about the author;  also on the

qualities of the good trait of humility and the shameful  trait of

arrogance.  This holy text has, during the hundreds and years

it has existed, guided and educated thousands

of Jewish children in the correct path

Table of Contents

1. The qualities of Noach, the righteous man, and the wickedness of his generation.

Chapter Five

   And that is why He made these people poor and not others. Because He knows that they can tolerate poverty, but other people, perhaps, would have committed suicide because of the intolerable suffering of their poverty.

That is why Hashem created poor people and rich; that there should exist in the world servants and masters, because if this were not so, who would sow the fields, cut the harvest and also all labors in the world. That is why Hashem increases the shame and the respect  in this world; because the poor people honor the rich and are ashamed before them.

And do not ask why the poor are poor and the rich are rich. That is not a question, because if it were to be in the reverse manner, you would ask the reverse. And how should it be? Poor people have to exist and rich people, too, because of the aforementioned reasons that we described, and the merit of the poor people is increased more in the World to Come, moreso than the rich, and that is how the score is evened.

Also, when a rich man leaves the nonsensical pleasures of this world behind and learns Torah and busies himself with good deeds, his merit is not diminished in the World to Come Rabbeinu. HaKadosh, and we know he was a great and wealthy man, can we then say that because of his wealth that his merit in the World to Come was diminished?

But we can say that the L-rd created poor people so in case there comes upon the world, Hashem forbid, murder or hunger in some location, it is because the poor man was downcast and depressed. He cries unto the L-rd, may He be blessed, with a bitter heart, with his whole might and Hashem hearkens to the poor people and has compassion upon them. In the World to Come Hashem gives them merit because they are in this world like laborers that work and receive a salary, and they work in this world and receive their compensation in the World to Come. How great is their quality, because through them salvation comes upon the world.

  Despite this, when the poor man complains and says, “I am a superfluous creation in this world. I am sunken into poverty. I am like a stone that people kick around. I do not have the ability to fulfill any mitzvah or good deed, and the days just pass and I do not earn any money, and I do not earn the merit of fulfilling the mitzvos. I am like one who is evil to Hashem and to people.

A lot of mitzvos that a person fulfills every day

and he does not realize that he fulfills them

3. 3. Thou shalt know, says the author [to the poor man], that you are mistaken, because everyone who is a Jew, rich or poor, are equal in the performance of mitzvos, and I will enumerate them here. As soon as he gets up in the morning from his sleep, the poorest man praises the L-rd with the blessing, “Asher Yatzar…”, until the end of all the blessings, because this blessing he can say in the same manner as the rich man.

He fulfills the mitzvah of mezuzah, tzitzis and prayer, and responding to kedusha and bar’chu and amen, y’hei shmei rabba, and tallis and tefillin. Afterwards he learns Mishna and mikra according to his intelligence. He does the ritual washing before eating, says the ha-motzi, birkat ha-mazon, and if he attains the opportunity to do a good deed that does not cost money, he does it, and the fact that he sustains his wife and children it is accounted to him as if he did charity all the time, as our wise men, may they be blessed, have said, “And even that which he himself eats, he is called a chasid.” And the blessing from “Asher Yatzar”, when he performs his needs, and mincha and maariv, all the commandments that are called “Lo Taaseh”, he does not transgress upon them. It is just as he performed them.

   The following commandments may be fulfilled even by the poorest man, and the rest of the commandments that are called “Asey”, of commission, and he cannot fulfill without money like lulav and charity and the like, but if he has a thought to fulfill them, it is accounted to him before the L-rd as if he did fulfill them.

Consolation for the poor man

4. 4. And if this is so, the poor man should not say, “I cannot fulfill the mitzvos because of my poverty. What am I in this world?” The truth is that he increases his merit by the fact that every day he searches to fulfill the mitzvos and with the L-rd it is accounted after him as if he performed them. He thinks that he does not do the mitzvos because he cannot perform all the mitzvos, and when he cannot even perform a portion of the mitzvos because of his poverty, then Hashem connects a good thought to a deed, as our wise men, may they remembered for good, have said.

   You, poor man, even though you live in pain, why don’t you be happy with the mitzvos that you do every day. How would it be if you earned money one day? You would probably be happy, even though when you depart from this world you will leave everything behind. It is certain that you have to be happy and ask the L-rd to lengthen your years, that you will have the opportunity your merit in the World to Come.

   And knowing this, you have to suffer the poverty with love, and think that it is even too little compared to the reward in the World to Come that you are earning for yourself every day.

   If you feel bad that your poverty that your poverty is the reason that people do not give you respect, and embarrass you and hate you, know that you have a lot of respect reserved for you in the World to Come. What is the big deal of the respect that a man of flesh and blood can grant you? And having receiving that respect, how much of it can you take with you to the World to Come?

   And if they hate you because of your poverty, why does it bother you? It is enough that the L-rd loves you, as the verse says, “I dwell with the poor man and with he who is humble”. Why should you pain yourself because man does not give you honor or the fact that they hate you?

   If you have pain because people do not listen to you, as the verse says, “The wisdom of the miserable one is not heeded”, but you see that the L-rd hears you, as the verse says, “The L-rd hears the poor people, He listens to the poor people”. And if you are pained by the fact that human beings do not seek your company and to connect with you, you see that the indwelling of Hashem, the Shechina, accompanies you, and you have to be happy that you do not sit with the aforementioned people, because in this way you avoid speaking slander, lies and empty words.

   If you feel bad that you are not invited to any festive meals, think about the pleasures of the Garden of Eden that are reserved and prepared for you, and you know that the pleasure there is very great.

Words of chastisement for the poor man whose luck

turned out to be good, he became rich, but he

despises his poor friends that he had previously

5. 5. We see every day that two poor people loved each other as brothers, and if one of them becomes rich he does not inquire after the welfare of his friend, and makes believe that he never knew him. The truth is that he should thank and praise the L-rd that He gave him the ability and had compassion over him, and that now he is in a position to help his friend. Why does the rich man think that he is equal even now to his friend in all parts of his body? Did he change to the degree that wings grew out of him? Did he become as strong as a lion and as light as a deer?  And if he has a defect, were those defects healed? Did he become an angel, not having to eat and drink? Did he acquire wisdom and the holy spirit?

   Because none of these things occurred, we see that he is the same person that he was before, and if he becomes poor again, he will be just as before. So, he cannot be arrogant in front of his poor friend because of the money which is only a borrowed thing from Hashem. Because of his bad heart, because the evil inclination convinces him with smiling words in order to disturb and prevent his love, the love that he had, and tells him, “Go far away from the poor man. Do not let him into your house because of many reasons.

   One reason is the evil eye.  The eye of a poor man will harm you and all that you have, because he is jealous of you. You are all in the same circumstance and you became elevated and he remained poor. That is why it is better that you not see his face, because your life is dearer to you than his life.

   The second reason is if you invite him to a festivity and see him, you will be reminded about your previous poverty and you will sigh and your festivity will be spoiled.

   The third reason is, if you meet him once and do not greet him because you are preoccupied he is going to scream right away, and complain about you to the L-rd, and then you may get bad luck. That is why it is better that you act as a stranger toward him and give him a donation through other people.

   You should know that this is all part of the trickery of the evil inclination, in order that you will hate the one whom the L-rd, may He be blessed, loves. Hashem loves poor people. And then the evil inclination with other methods that you should not even give him a donation. When the evil inclination will have you entrapped in its net you will verily hate poor man who was your friend previously, he will concentrate on you so that you will commit all those transgressions that one can do with money.

   Therefore, my friend, listen to my words of chastisement. Do not hearken to the words of the evil inclination, praise the L-rd who made you rich, and think in your heart that it is not for nothing that the L-rd did this. He wants to test you to see if you will help the poor people and have pity on them with all your ability and always show them a happy face and bring them near to you, invite them to all the festivities that Hashem will send you, and to strengthen them with good words, to give them charity in a way that they will not be ashamed. In this way Hashem will leave the money in your hands, because you will meet the test and be successful.

   If you do the reverse it will not find favor in the eyes of Hashem, then Hashem will, Hashem forbid, make you poor again, and He will uplift the luck of your friend and with what kind of face will you come to him afterwards that he should have compassion over you? And how can you face him if you were so cruel to him at the time that you were rich? Even the rest of the wealthy people will have no compassion over you, because they will say to you, “The way you acted toward the poor people, so it will be with you.”

A teaching for anyone who marries off his daughter

to an ignorant person because of money

6. 6. Every day I see that he who has a daughter who is very beloved to him like the apple of his eye, he searches for the son of a wealthy man in order to give to that son his daughter, in order that she will have a lot of money, dowry, and gifts. He does not look for the son of a man who is able to learn Torah. That is why I tell you that you should not be jealous of the children of the wealthy people, who lack in the wisdoms of the Torah, and in good qualities and cannot even write or speak properly, but they are clothed beautifully and spend money to fulfill their lusts. Nevertheless, he who has such a daughter gives him a lot of money and gifts. But you, who go in the path of the L-rd, yearn for matters of Torah and good deeds are not lacking in wisdom. Nevertheless, you clothe yourself in inexpensive clothing. No one pays attention to you or desires to partake of your wisdom, maybe the evil inclination will convince you to complain about your destiny, because the son of the wealthy man who fills his time with nothing has a lot of good things, and you say to yourself that you are in the dark mazal, the dark as far as your luck is concerned.

            ? – Kaf Bais, Chapter 5 (repetition)

You should know the difference between you and him. Imagine that there is an orchestra, with a violin and the bow of the violin is made from hair of a horse. When you take the bow and move it back and forth across the strings, it emits a sweet melody, awakening the hearts of women and small children and inspires them to dance and be happy. They think that the sweet music is from the violin alone. They desire to have the instrument and they think, “How can I get this instrument into my house for day and night so that I can be happy with its melody?” When the musician has stopped his performance and has hung his violin in a corner, the person who had an attraction to it begins to speak to the violin in order to hear its sweet melody Because he thought that the violin had been playing by itself, he is puzzled when talking to it does not cause it to emit any sound. Then he understands that only the hair of the horse makes the sound. He finds out that the violin by itself does not have a voice at all. He immediately feels sorry about his idiotic opinion that he had held.

   The same manner is the son of the wealthy man, who has in him no wisdom. He is just like the violin, like the musician who moves his bow over the violin, and this causes the violin to play a sweet melody. Also in this manner the rich man clothes his son beautifully and he calls him and decorates him with gold, brings him along to festivities. The people who see him want him, because they think that his wisdom and qualities are as beautiful as his clothing. But if the father passes away or loses his wealth, his shame is revealed; he knows very little of the Torah and he remains a thin tree whose wood is of use only for cooking or ignite a fire.

   And if the son of the wealthy man does not have a source of income, he becomes a ??. The father-in-law and the mother-in-law then realize in to whom they have handed over their daughter, and for whom they have spent so much money and given so many gifts in order that their daughter should suffer and money should be lost. The daughter complains that they gave her such a husband, because there is no bread to be found in the house and no clothing. She does not have the opportunity to listen to kiddush and havdalah, and on Passover, she does not even hear the Haggadah.

The advantage of the poor man’s son,
who is a Torah scholar.

7. 7. But now the young man, the wise man, who can learn Torah, can be likened to a pearl, whose monetary estimation cannot be determined. He can be compared to diamonds that lie in a small wooden box, smeared with some kind of ??. He who sees this treads on it with his feet until a wise man comes or passes by and picks up the small box, and puts it in his lap. He wants to see what is inside. When he opens the small box the whole room is filled with light and he becomes very rich.

   With this wealth, he performed a lot of good deeds and mitzvot, he and his family were happy with the wealth and the good name. They passed away in joy to inherit the reward in the next world. Also the honest man who gives the hand of his daughter to a Torah scholar, even though he wears tattered clothing, he sees what is within the clothing. And when he removes the torn clothing he shows his real form and the light of his Torah. He sits among respected people and he gives discourses in holy congregations. Everyone is ready to serve and support him. He teaches the people the path they should follow and to serve their Creator, in order that he to find merit for them in the next world. He is praised in Heaven and is beloved by people. Blessed is the woman who has such a husband. Blessed is the father-in-law who chose such a son-in-law, and even though the latter may be a simple man, his son-in-law, the wise man, will uplift him and study Torah with him, and how to relate to people, and other such good ways. He will bring him among the wise people until he will also gain respect and people will rise before him.

   This will be during his life. When he departs from this earth, his son-in-law will give a eulogy about him and will speak his praises, until he will distance from him all of those who can do him any harm, with the strength of his Torah. He will hand him over to the peaceful angels, so they will lead him to eternal rest in Heaven. I address myself to the young man who is a scholar of Torah. How can you be jealous of the young man who is empty of good deeds just because he has beautiful clothes that he walks around in? The clothes are not a part of him, but your wisdom is a part of you. And now, even though no one pays attention to you, in the end, they will give you honor and the falsity will disappear and will not continue in existence.

How an evil woman can lead astray in these matters

8. You should know that the fact the rich man does not want to give his daughter in marriage to a Torah scholar, this is often the advice of his wife, because of the intelligence of the woman is light, and because of that they often do not realize the outcome. All they see is that the wealthy man dresses well and the poor man walks around tattered clothes. They choose the wealthy man, even though this will result in sighs.

   Afterwards, our wise men have said that he who follows his wife’s bad advice descends to Gehinnom, to hell, because the advice of the wife is only related to the pleasures of the body.

   Any man who fears the L-rd does not listen to the advice of his wife, and rather conforms to the opinions of the wise men, the scholars of Torah, to give their daughters in marriage to the students of these wise men, and he merits grandchildren who are also Torah scholars and in the least they will be learned in how to relate to other human beings, and they will fear the L-rd, and his daughter will not become poor, because it never happens that a Torah scholar should go begging in the houses. Our wise men have already written a lot on this theme.

The wedding Eof Yitzchak and Rivka

9. Look, Abraham, our father, who had a lot of gold and silver sent to Rivka only a small gift in order to give her the hint that she should not desire Isaac because of his great wealth, but only for his Torah wisdom, because in this manner she will merit good children who will want to accept the Torah and the commandments on Mount Sinai. As it is written in the Midrash, “If you will desire Isaac only because of his righteousness, good. If not, it is better that you do not join my household. ”The righteous woman, Rivka, understood and acted according to the bidding of Abraham, our father. Even though it was against the will of her brother and her mother who lusted after money, she did not ask them, in order that she should have children who would accept the Torah.

            The big transgression of the people who want to die

in the midst of pain and poverty

10. You, who are a wise man, you should know what a shame it is for a person, because of the pain of poverty desires to die, because this looks to him as an equal thing, as if he had fulfilled everything that he should fulfill and had completed his soul. And he causes the heavenly forces to look into the celestial book of accounting and it is found that he lacks everything, and pain is decreed upon him. Also, the one who wants to die makes fun of what our wise men have said: “Against your will you will die”. The dying is not with a person’s choice, and whoever makes fun of the words of the wise men is judged with a very severe punishment.

   Also, he who desires to die can be compared as if he despises, Hashem forbid, the commandments of the L-rd and His service, because if he would be happy to serve the L-rd, may His name be blessed, he would not think about any pain in this world, because there is not greater joy than that of a person who hopes to become rich after having worked for seven years and the work is accounted to him as nothing against the prospect that afterward he will become a wealthy man.

   When a person sees that the evil inclination gets the upper hand over him, he should pray to the L-rd and he may pray in this manner: “If my evil inclination were to convince me to sin, I would rather that you remove me from this world before my time so that I not be transformed into a wicked man even for one moment.” He who does this is called the servant of the L-rd. But one is not called the servant of the L-rd if he does this as a result of his bodily pain.

   The source of bad when someone says that death is better than life for me, he is really saying that the L-rd does him evil, since He does not kill him. But the truth is that the L-rd created this world in order to grant benefit to His creations, and all the pain that comes upon him is for the good, that he should suffer for all the transgressions that he committed, or to multiply his reward in order that he should be happy in the latter part of his life. And also those that hope to die do not believe in Mashiach and in the final judgment and reward and punishment, because if he hoped that Mashiach would come, it is possible that he should come right away, so he would instantly and automatically be saved from his problems.

   If he would believe in the reward for the righteous and the punishment for the wicked after their demise, how does he desire to die in order to save himself from the problems? In this manner he passes over to a pain that is much greater, and that is the judgment of hell, for the transgressions that he committed, because there is no man that does not sin. Especially the fear of the angel of death and the pain of the throwing back and forth in the grave, so it looks to be that he negates all of this.

   Even more so, he who wants to die, voices his complaints against the L-rd that He does not fulfill his wish, and this will bring him to regret the good deeds that he performed beforehand, and to come to despise the Torah and mitzvos. Because he despises his life, he no longer desires to serve the L-rd, and he is looked upon as a dead person, until he gets confused, and because of this stupidity he denies in public the existence of the L-rd and that which he had hidden in his heart until he dies without chastisement.

A person always has to be happy, remembering which commandment

he fulfills and the shame of spending his time engagig in foolish endeavors

11. That is why a person has to be happy when he performs a mitzvah. He should be happy with his life because he serves the Lord one more day, and he should think that the pain and the limitations that he has are much less than the reward that he earns from fulfillment of mitzvos which he does. And if he thinks that way, he will not question his pain and he will search for commandments in order to perform them, and he will spend his time emgaging in these activities and forget about his poverty. Go out and see the greatest of the prophets and the oldest of the wise men. Moshe, our teacher, peace be upon him, wanted the L-rd to let him live in this world in order to serve Him and to do commandments. Even though he did not omit even one commandment, he wanted to perform them again because of the great love he had for the L-rd. He prayed that Hashem would let him live in this world, because when a person dies he is free of the performance of commandments.

      What did Moshe, our teacher, blessed be his memory, want – he who fulfilled the entire Torah, and in his death went beneath the Throne of Honor and on it steps, where no other creature can stand? Rather than enjoy all of that, he preferred to undergo intense suffering in this world rather than dying, in order to serve his Creator for just a little longer. All the more so should be the case with average men, who are devoid of mitzvot and full of transgressions, and destined to receive numerous punishments. Even if a person faces all sorts of pain and suffering in this world, he should never ask to die. But he should rather ask for mercy on his life, and not to feel any more pain in this world – so that he can have the opportunity to fulfill another mitzvah – at least to pray the morning, afternoon, and evening prayers yet again.

And know that this sickness originates in a man because of idleness. When a man is suffering, even a pauper who begs – if he occupies himself with something then he will be too busy to think much about his pain, and he will stop wishing to be dead. Our holy rabbis, blessed be their memories, wrote at length about how disastrous idleness I, and they emphasized that a man must teach his son a trade. While their intention was that the son would have a way to earn a living, it was also in order to prevent him from having foreign thoughts and dwelling on his pain – to prevent him from ever expressing a desire to die.

A Torah scholar who occupies himself with Torah constantly, and who is never idle, will avoid all of that. For the Torah asked the Holy One, blessed be He, to ensure that people occupied themselves with it even under duress, as our rabbis wrote. And we have seen with our own eyes how they occupy themselves with the Torah and never leave it, and thus pay no heed to their suffering while they serve their Creator with Torah study.

עד כאן לבדוק

Shevet Musar – Chapter 24

 

In this chapter the advisable conditions and manners

of conduct of a good wife will be clarified

 

1. A man who chooses a good wife should be happy and joyful, for all of her offspring will be zealous, all will be righteous. For since she is descended from righteous ones, and the nature of a parent is impressed upon his children, she will therefore by nature be inclined towards goodness. And, "a virtuous woman is a crown to her husband" (Mishlei 12:4). She is adorned with the letters in the name י"ה, as our Sages z"l wrote (Masechet Sotah 17:1): When husband and wife are worthy, the Shechinah abides with them – the yud in "איש", and the hey in "אישה". For with this name Hashem created two worlds: this world and the next world (Masechet Menachot 29:2). And see how great is the virtue of a good woman, for she is a treasure of goodness, and blessing, and happiness. And one who has not a wife is denied all of that, as our Sages z"l wrote (Masechet Yabamot 62:2): Any man who has no wife lives without joy, without blessing, and without goodness. And just as it is impossible to acquire the life of the World to Come without this world as the Tana wrote (Avot 4:16) “Prepare yourself in the hallway so that you enter the Palace” – similarly it is impossible for a man to obtain completeness for his soul in order to merit the World to Come, other than through a good woman. For with a good woman, who brings the letter hey in her name, with which the world was created, as aforementioned. For she is man's preparation for attaining substance, she is the Torah with which a man earns the World to Come, and causes the Shechina to abide with them, "When husband and wife are worthy", as our Sages z"l wrote (Sotah, ibid). And she guides him along the good path, and when a man heeds his wife's rebuke. As it is a fact (Bereishit Rabba 17:7) that an evil man who had a good wife was transformed into a chassid, and a chassid who had an evil wife, was made evil by her. For a man follows in the path of his wife, and he will be influenced by all her desires. A good and modest woman is equal to a man in every respect, even though she is exempt from the positive commandments defined by time, and from Torah study. And that is because they are the cause for man to occupy himself with the Torah and observing the Mitzvot, as we know (Masechet Brachot 17a, Yabamot 77a, Yabamot 63a). And as our Rabbis z"l said (Yabamot 62b): Any man who lives without a wife, lives without Torah. And the Torah causes us to observe the Mitzvot. The Gemara thus concludes (Masechet Kedoshim 40b), the study of them is great, for it leads him to take action.
2. These are the traits of a good wife, so that she will find favor in her husband's eyes, so he will not think about another woman, Heaven forbid, for that is the cause of contemptible offspring (Mesechet Nedarim 20b).
3. First trait – A woman should be immaculate in her manner of dress, and her clothing should be clean at all times, so that no filth will be found upon them, lest her husband be repulsed by her, for this is reason enough for her husband to lose his love for her and for him to think about other women, Hashem forbid. And even if she is poor and lacking sufficient clothing, whatever faded rags she wears should still be clean of any stains.
4. Second trait – All her words with her husband should be calm and pleasant, and in a delicate tone, and never in a loud voice. And all the more so never in anger or fury lest the anger of her husband will burn against her, and he should come to curse her, humiliate her, and hit her. And once he has done this once, it will become something habitual and cause division between them. And then each one will choose his own path, he to think about another woman and she about another man, and the children who are born from them are children conceived through evil thoughts (See Nedarim 20b). And children learn from the actions of their parents, and when they see their father hit their mother, they will also curse her and hit her. Therefore the woman must be patient and not prone to anger, for because of one moment of anger at her husband, she causes all these bad things to befall her. And even if her husband gets angry at her, she should be tolerant for the short time he is angry – just for a moment, for her husband, even though he is angry at her, will soon try to placate and reconcile her, for man is created out of the dust and softens quickly, as our Sages z"l wrote (Bereshit Rabba 17:8, Nidda 31b).
5. Third trait – If she sees that her husband is having financial difficulties, she shouldn't ask him lots of questions. Even though she has many household needs, she should minimize those needs. For if she sees that he is not able to provide – what is the use of her requesting? And if he sees that she is treating him inconsiderately, his love for her will wane and he will also treat her cruelly, and he will hate her incessantly. And if he is humiliated by her – he will be forced to go out and rob or steal in order to fulfill her requests, or to travel for long periods across the seas and deserts, or fall from a mountain [endanger himself] and die, or perhaps a wild animal will overcome him and he will be buried by the wayside with nobody to account for him. And she will be a widow for the rest of her life, and her children will be orphans. Therefore, when a woman sees that her husband is experiencing financial difficulties, she should pray morning, noon, and night for God to have mercy on him – mercy on account of her, or on account of his children, or on account of all of them together. In fact, during those difficult times she should greet him with a happy face, and appease him with kind words, and strengthen him with assurances. And when a man recognizes his wife's love for him, even though he is lacking everything, joy will fill his heart and banish all worries, and his star will therefore rise, bringing him luck with offspring, life, and sustenance.
6. Fourth trait – If a woman sees that her husband experiences mishap, or has been swindled out of money, and he is depressed – she should console him and make light of what is distressing him, by speaking to him of things that gratify his heart, sweet words with a pleasant countenance. And she should say to him, "Love of my life! Your face appears to me like the face of an angel, and therefore I came looking for you, to see your face, and I have found you! My dearly beloved, let us be together until the morning, let us make love!" And when her husband hears such pleasant words, the sorrow will be banished from heart. And if he has relations with her, they will produce good and wise sons. And just the opposite is true – if he is sad and worried when he has relations with his wife – the child they create will be indifferent and dumb, as Chachmei Hamechkar said (see Igeret HaRamban, in the section on sexual relations – the fourth path).
7. Fifth trait – A woman should not be lazy, not with regard to the household chores, and all the more so with regard to her husband's requests. For laziness causes the household to suffer from poverty, since laziness negates cleanliness, and she and her home will be dirty, and the poverty will be a unbearable burden. For even when there are clothes and utensils in her home, since they are torn and dirty as a result of her laziness, they will resemble the clothing and utensils of the poor. And when her husband comes home, even though he comes back from his errands in a good mood – he will see the filth and dirt all over the house: in the middle of the house bedding and pitchers and bottles, and in very corner dirty dishes left from the last night's cooking. And that will cause him to covet his friend's house, which is clean of all clutter and stench. And from coveting his friend's house, he will come to covet his friend's wife, who is so meticulous in the care of her home. And thus it is the lazy wife who causes her husband to transgress the prohibition "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife." (Shemot 20:14). And her husband will constantly pray for Hashem to answer him, and cause her to leave this world as soon as possible, and they will quarrel and fight, which will cause the destruction of their home and possessions. Therefore, a woman must overcome her laziness, and be nimble in all she does. And she most pay attention to all the household needs, so that her home will be as clean as that of a king, no matter whether they have much or little. And she must take not of her husband's and children's clothes, making sure they are always clean and folded away, so that her husband and children will not be ridiculed by others. For if they are seen in a humiliating state, nobody will respect them, and she will have brought a curse upon her household: Cursed is the woman who does not launder the clothing of her husband and children. And laziness also causes a woman to be careless with regard to menstrual stains, which will cause her children to be blemished for they are sons of a woman in a state of Nidda. And she drives herself and her husband to from this world and from the World to Come. And her punishment is very great, for she is the cause of all this.
8. Sixth trait – A woman should have her husband's image in her mind, as though he is always before her. And she will engrave his image in her heart, as though he is royalty. And if he is poor, with torn clothing, she will think of him as a prince who changed his clothing in order to disguise himself, the way people once did, as we learned about Shaul (Shmuel 1, 28:8) when he went to see the sorceress. And all this will increase his love for her, and it will cause her to give birth to sons, as Rabbeinu Bechaye z"l wrote (Tazriya, page 19, column two), that if a woman gives seed initially, she gives birth to a male (Masechet Nida 31a), because the woman was overcome with love for her husband, and she sees his image before her eyes, and as a result of her great desire for him she issues seed first, and the fetus is created in the form of the image she held before her eyes, which is her husband, and a boy is created, like him (see the source for further explanation). In addition – when the woman thinks of her husband and sees his image in her mind, even though he is outside she will imagine he is standing before her, and that will prevent her from doing anything bad that her husband would not like to see her doing. Also – when she thinks of her husband, it distracts her from thinking about anything else, from having immoral or frivolous thoughts that lead to promiscuity (Avot 3:13). As our Sages z"l wrote (see Bereishit Raba 73:10), that her imagination leads her to believe that her husband can see her. Therefore, all of a woman's thoughts should be about nothing other than the needs of her household, and she should draw an image of her husband in her mind as though he is before her in the house, and in that manner she will not come to conversing excessively with any other man, and not even with her relatives.
9. Seventh trait – A woman should not talk too much in front of her husband, but rather she should behave as a bride under her wedding canopy. Lest her husband think that because she is capricious in her thinking there is no logic to her words, and that most of what she says is incomprehensible and insignificant. For if her husband discovers her lack of sophistication, he will come to hate her and wish for her death, in hopes that he will find a smarter woman, one whose words are more measured. But he doesn't know that all women are alike, because he has no experience with them. And how can this be remedied? She should take care not to speak too much before her husband, as was explained above. And all the more so, she shouldn't speak of despicable things before him, and shouldn't speak of distasteful topics with her husband. And it is forbidden for women to raise their sons on love songs and lyrics that awaken desire, for these songs defile the body and soul. And also a women who is flighty, and imagines that the words of such promiscuous love songs were written about her, and she therefore allows foreign thoughts to fill her mind, and "…from the root of a snake shall emanate a venomous serpent" (Yishayahu 14:29) – promiscuity is a malignant lesion. And also – once a woman becomes accustomed to singing love songs, she will be drawn to distasteful topics of conversation and coarse language. And there are women who use coarse language when speaking with their young children in jest – may their names be obliterated, the ones who do that! For that is a sign of a bad personality, of a desire for promiscuity, and they cause terrible sickness. For their children grow up hearing and learning to speak the same filthy words, and they unknowingly defile their own mouths. Therefore, a woman should be very careful about everything she says, ensuring she speaks gracefully and kindly, with pleasant and high quality words. She should not be excessive in her speech, saying everything twice. And she should not mention anything despicable to her husband, despicable speech leads to despicable actions.
10. Eighth trait – A woman should not praise any other man before her husband, lest he suspects that she fancies that man, and lest he thinks she desires him, and he may want to kill that man just to prevent his wife from committing adultery with him. "for jealousy [shall arouse] the husband's wrath" (Mishlei 6:34). And she will have caused innocent blood to spill. She should also never discuss the beauty of any other person – including his own relatives – with her husband, for the same reason. She may only praise the beauty of his father or younger brother, but not the beauty of any woman – not even his mother or sister, so that her husband will not come to think about them. And in whatever way a women can minimize her speech, she will be more attractive to her husband, and more precious to him than pearls, and no material objects will be as valuable to him.
11. Ninth trait – A woman should be conscientious with regard to the care of her hair and nails, and nothing should be dripping from her nostrils. And if she has some blemish – she should hide it from her husband as much as she can be keeping it covered. And if she develops a rash or skin ailment – she should not show it to her husband, because she will become repulsive to him. And if she is sick – she should minimize the extent of her discomfort from the illness, and put on a show of being strong before him. For all of these things will cause her to be more attractive in his eyes, and she will never leave his thoughts, and they will thus merit respectable offspring who occupy themselves with Torah and Mitzvot. And a woman should also assume that there is no greater or more important man in town aside from her husband. Even if he is the lowliest of low and he holds a tanner [has a base occupation]. And she should strive to urge him to set aside times for Torah study when he has time off from work, and all of her thoughts should be focused on instructing her children in the ways of Hashem. See in "Reishit Chochma" on the Derech Eretz of women (Part 3, chapter 4a, section 4), which discusses these topics at length. And since that book is accessible to everyone, I have not quoted his words here, but rather read them there.