העורך Editor

Does anyone have the private email of a well-known rabbi or Rosh Yeshiva (But not so private he would object to an over the transom email)?

If you do, please contact me.

Rabbi Dovid Lichtenstein has a new podcast out, titled “The Great 250 Year Machlokes about Torah Lishma“. I didn’t listen at all (I prefer reading text), but here’s something related.

The Gra’s Remez commentary on Esther 8:6:

יש שתי מדות רעות, אחד, שאדם לומד בפניות, והוא הבל וריק, וזה שנאמר ותם לריק כחכם, כי הוא לומד כל ימיו והכל לריק. והשני, שלומד לשם שמים ואחר כך אינו לומד כלל, ועל זה אנו מתפללין לא ניגע לריק, דהיינו נגד הלומד בפניות רעות, ולא נלד לבהלה, הוא נגד הלומד במחשבה טובה ואחר כך פורש, וזהו לבהלה…

There originated at some point a common expression among Chassidim themselves for those among their number who stopped learning: “He started learning Torah Lishma…”

Bechoros 44b:

אמר רבי אבא בריה דרבי חייא בר אבא משתינין מים בפני רבים ואין שותין מים בפני רבים ותניא נמי הכי משתינין מים בפני רבים ואין שותין מים בפני רבים ומעשה באחד שביקש להשתין מים ולא השתין ונמצא כריסו צבה. שמואל איצטריך ליה בשבתא דרגלא נגדו ליה גלימא אתא לקמיה דאבוה א”ל אתן לך ד’ מאה זוזי וזיל אהדר עובדא את דאפשר לך דלא אפשר ליה ליסתכן…

What does “Ahadar Uvda” mean?

Rashi explains:

אהדר עובדא, דרוש שאסור להמתין מלהטיל מים עד שיהא לו צניעות.

If retraction is just oral, such a large sum of money seems excessive as a reward for doing his clear duty. Rather, it appears the retraction referred to here means to do Teshuvas Hamishkal: Teach again and urinate without a mechitza. Perform a Ma’aseh Rav to counteract the faulty one.

Soncino agrees with me, for what that’s worth:

R. Abba b. R. Hiyya b. Abba reported in the name of R. Johanan: It is permitted to urinate in public, whereas it is not permitted to drink water in public. So indeed it has been taught: It is permitted to urinate in public, whereas it is not permitted to drink water in public. And it once happened that someone wanted to urinate and forewent it, and it was found that his belly was swollen.

Samuel needed to urinate on a Sabbath preceding a Festival. He spread his cloak [as a screen between his audience and himself]. He came before his father [and reported this to him]. He [the latter] then said to him: ‘I will give you four hundred zuz to retract* this ruling, for you were able to spread a cloak, but one who is not able to do so, shall he delay and expose himself to the danger?’

* To urinate in their presence and thus proclaim that it was not necessary to exercise privacy when requiring to urinate.

Maybe that’s why the sum is exactly 400 Zuz (the fine paid for shaming a Jew).

בראשית י”ד א’:

ויהי בימי אמרפל מלך שנער אריוך מלך אלסר כדרלעמר מלך עילם ותדעל מלך גוים. עשו מלחמה…

וז”ל בראשית רבה מ”ב ד’:

ויהי בימי אמרפל מלך שנער זו בבל ואריוך מלך אלסר זה (יון) אנטיוכס כדרלעומר מלך עילם זה מדי ותדעל מלך גוים זו מלכות אדום שהיא מכתבת טירוניא מכל אומות העולם.

אמר רבי אלעזר בר אבינא, אם ראית מלכיות מתגרות אלו באלו צפה לרגלו של משיח תדע שכן שהרי בימי אברהם על ידי שנתגרו המלכיות אלו באלו באה הגאולה לאברהם.

I quote “Reb Simcha Speaks“, ArtScroll 1994.

From p. 80:

A Torah scholar causes all of the Jewish people to become rich. In economics, there is the sphere of the individual’s domain and the sphere of the community’s domain. When it comes to the total national wealth, it does not make a difference to the wealth of the nation, in one particular sense, whether that wealth is concentrated in a few hands or distributed equally among everyone. The nation is still wealthy. And a wealthier nation can accomplish more. Even a poor man who is living in a wealthy nation has certain advantages.

It is exactly the same in the Jewish community. When someone is learning, he is adding to the public good with his learning. The Torah scholar adds to the accumulation of Torah and causes the whole nation to be rich. When the Chafetz Chaim lived, all the Jewish people were rich. When he passed away, the entire nation became poorer.

We have a responsibility to the Jewish people to become great in Torah…

From p. 85:

“You open your hand and You give to every living being…”

The Master of the World has organized everything so that we have all that we need. But that is not enough; if we have food but we have no appetite, we will starve. So the Master of the World gave us also the will to eat.

…

This appetite and ambition is what Hashem has instilled in us. A shoemaker makes shoes not because he does not want people to walk barefoot. He makes shoes because he has an appetite to eat. But Hashem uses him in order to provide shoes for people. He has given us ambition, but the wise ones realize that, in truth, we are not working for ourselves, but for others.

Sounds like the famous passage in Adam Smith to me…

And from p. 105:

The Jew doesn’t ask for a blessing for his bread. He says, “Thank You, G-g, for giving me the bread.” He’s not asking G-d to serve him; he realizes that he has to be grateful to -d for giving him this.

That is the difference between the giver and the taker. Idol worshippers are takers. A person would like to have everything, but there are some things which are not in his reach, so he conjures up a mysterious power that can give him whatever is beyond his reach.

Children are very much like this. They are concerned with who is going to bring them a gift and give them toys. A truly mature person is interested in more than simply receiving gifts. The realities of life teach him that if he want to consume, he has to produce. Only the child thinks he can take and not give. He would like to have things, so he dreams that maybe there will be a miracle.