בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה
אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶך–הָעולָם
אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָנוּ בְּמִצְותָיו
וְצִוָּנוּ לַעֲסק בְּדִבְרֵי-תורָה.
Blessing Over the Study of Torah
Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu laasok b’divrei Torah.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who hallows us with mitzvot, commanding us to engage with words of Torah.
Before every session, we'll begin with this prayer together.
(ה)... לְפִיכָךְ נִבְרָא אָדָם יְחִידִי, לְלַמֶּדְךָ, שֶׁכָּל הַמְאַבֵּד נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִלּוּ אִבֵּד עוֹלָם מָלֵא. וְכָל הַמְקַיֵּם נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִלּוּ קִיֵּם עוֹלָם מָלֵא.
(5) ... Therefore but a single person was created in the world, to teach that if any man has caused a single life to perish from Israel, he is deemed by Scripture as if he had caused a whole world to perish; and anyone who saves a single soul from Israel, he is deemed by Scripture as if he had saved a whole world.
From Sefaria.org: Composed in Talmudic Israel (c.190 - c.230 CE). Sanhedrin (The Synod) belongs to the fourth order, Nezikin (The Order of Damages) and discusses the rules of court proceedings in the Sanhedrin, the death penalty, and other criminal matters. It has eleven chapters.
(מ) וּלְקַחְתֶּ֨ם לָכֶ֜ם בַּיּ֣וֹם הָרִאשׁ֗וֹן פְּרִ֨י עֵ֤ץ הָדָר֙ כַּפֹּ֣ת תְּמָרִ֔ים וַעֲנַ֥ף עֵץ־עָבֹ֖ת וְעַרְבֵי־נָ֑חַל וּשְׂמַחְתֶּ֗ם לִפְנֵ֛י יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖ם שִׁבְעַ֥ת יָמִֽים׃
(40) On the first day you shall take the product of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
Leviticus (Vaiykra) is the third book of the Five Books of Moses, the Torah.
(ד) ולקחתם לכם כו' פרי עץ הדר כו'. כי בסוכות השי"ת מקרב בנ"י כמ"ש פורס סוכת שלום ומגין עלינו מצד שנק' בנים למקום. ובנ"י מצד עצמם חפצים להתדבק בו ושיעשו מעשים טובים לפניו שלא יהי' מצד החסד בלבד. וזהו ולקחתם לכם מצדכם.
Take unto yourselves the fruit of the goodly tree" (Leviticus 23:40). On Sukkot, God draws Israel near, as it says Hapores sukat shalom, "who spreads forth a sukkah of peace." God protects us because we are called God's children. Israel too wants to be attached to God; they seek to do good deeds so that it [the protection] not be on account of God's kindness alone. This is the meaning of "take unto yourselves"--of your own accord.
--Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter, Poland
(1847-1905)
Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter was a Hasidic rabbi, known as the Gerrer Rebbe in Poland, but more widely known by the title of his main work Sefat Emet (the language of truth). His works deal with the Talmud (the oral tradition and the commentary on it), Midrash (creative commentary on gaps in the Tanakh) and mystical writings.
(יב) הִלֵּל וְשַׁמַּאי קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם. הִלֵּל אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל אַהֲרֹן, אוֹהֵב שָׁלוֹם וְרוֹדֵף שָׁלוֹם, אוֹהֵב אֶת הַבְּרִיּוֹת וּמְקָרְבָן לַתּוֹרָה:
(12) Hillel and Shammai received [the oral tradition] from them. Hillel used to say: be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving mankind and drawing them close to the Torah.
Pirkei Avot is a collection of writings from rabbinic sages for how to live practical Judaism without a Temple. In Chapter 1 of Pirkei Avot it delineates the line of Oral Torah from G-d to Moses to the elders and so on until we arrive at one of our most famous pairings, Hillel and Shammai. Generally in the Jewish tradition, we tend to follow Hillel's teaching over Shammai's.
Rabbi Abba said that Shmuel said: For three years Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel disagreed. These said: The halakha is in accordance with our opinion, and these said: The halakha is in accordance with our opinion. Ultimately, a Divine Voice emerged and proclaimed: Both these and those are the words of the living God. However, the halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Beit Hillel. The Gemara asks: Since both these and those are the words of the living God, why were Beit Hillel privileged to have the halakha established in accordance with their opinion? The reason is that they were agreeable and forbearing, showing restraint when affronted, and when they taught the halakha they would teach both their own statements and the statements of Beit Shammai. Moreover, when they formulated their teachings and cited a dispute, they prioritized the statements of Beit Shammai to their own statements, in deference to Beit Shammai.
Eruvin is a book in the series of Moed (dealing with holiday observances) in the Babylonian Talmud that deals with ritual enclosures that permit Jewish residents to carry certain objects outside their homes on Shabbats and Festivals.
(ג) הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, אַל תְּהִי בָז לְכָל אָדָם, וְאַל תְּהִי מַפְלִיג לְכָל דָּבָר, שֶׁאֵין לְךָ אָדָם שֶׁאֵין לוֹ שָׁעָה וְאֵין לְךָ דָבָר שֶׁאֵין לוֹ מָקוֹם:
((3) He used to say: do not despise any man, and do not discriminate against anything, for there is no man that has not his hour, and there is no thing that has not its place.
[Simeon] Ben Azzai was a tanna, a rabbinic sage whose views were recorded in the Mishnah. He lived in the early 2nd century CE. He was an extraordinary student who was known for his tenacity and dedication to the study of Torah along with his extreme piety to G-d.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה אֲדֹנָי מִשְׁנֶה הַבְּרִיּוֹת
A Reminding Blessing...
Baruch atah Adonai mishneh ha'briot.
Thank you, God, for making Your creations varied.