From JewishHistory.org
Tach V’Tat
The years 1648 and 1649 represent a watershed in Jewish history. In Jewish tradition they are referred to as “Tach V’tat” (which are the Hebrew letters representing the numbers 408 and 409, which correspond to the years 1648 and 1649 on the non-Jewish calendar). One can even say that Tach V’tatmarks the beginning of modern Jewish history. It is certainly the harbinger of enormous changes in and enormous destruction of the Jewish world.
By the 1600s, Jews had acclimated themselves in Poland, Lithuania and the Ukraine. For a period of about 250 years, they had achieved a level of economic stability, if not wealth. They were under the protection of their landlords, the non-Jewish nobility who used the Jews to collect taxes and do their other dirty work, but who in turn provided protection for the Jews from the peasants and other elements that were increasingly anti-Jewish.
The most anti-Jewish element in Eastern Europe was the Catholic Church. For reasons not completely clear, the Church saw its role as the agent of punishment for the Jewish people. As such, it never relaxed its pursuit of stirring up the population. This was especially true during the months of March and April of any given year, the period falling out around Easter time.
Church leaders regularly preached the guilt of the Jews in the crucifixion of Jesus — and the populous was always prepared to take vengeance. There is no vengeance like the vengeance that is blessed by religious fervor. There is no vengeance equal to the fury of vengeance when paradise is promised for the acts barbarity.
This is the backdrop to the events of 1648.
Messianic Portents
According to the reckonings of the Kabbalists, the year 1648 was supposed to be a special year. Therefore, Jews looked forward to the year not with dread but with expectation.
One has to also remember that, according to Jewish tradition, the Messianic Era is ushered in by a series of cataclysmic events. It is not something that happens quietly. The “birth pangs of the Messiah” are compared in the Bible literally to the birth pangs of a woman giving birth. Until the baby is born it is a time of pain and discomfort. Therefore, in the Talmud we already see many of the great sages saying, “Let the time of the Messiah come, but let me not see it.” I don’t want to be a witness to such times, because the time of the Messiah is apocalyptic. It’s a time of terrible events: war and dislocation, cruelty, death and destruction — and out of all of those pains a new world is ushered in.
Therefore, the messianic hopes for the year 1648 were tempered by the awareness that there would be negative developments. They were not wrong.
The First Cossack Rebellion
In 1637, there was a large uprising of local peasants and Cossacks in the Ukraine. Most of the land in the Ukraine was controlled by Polish landlords, who lived in Poland; they were absentee landlords. The feudalistic system exploited the peasants. They could never make enough money working the land to even pay their rent. Therefore, every year they went further and further into debt. The landlord literally owned them. Consequently, a large element of the population was completely downtrodden, exploited and lived under the worst circumstances possible.
In the Ukraine there were also a large number of Cossacks. These were a tribe of fearsome warriors – possibly of Asiatic origin – and especially known for their skill as great horsemen. They were also discriminated against and exploited. No matter who owned the land and ran the country the Cossacks would always be considered outsiders.
Therefore, in 1637 the Cossacks mounted a rebellion in the Ukraine. It was successful for two or three years. In the course the conflict, from 1637 to 1640, the Cossacks killed about 2,000 Jews. The Jewish victims were killed because they were employees of the Polish landlord. They were tax collectors, who enforced the will of the landlords. These were the typical Jewish jobs of the time. The Cossacks were not about to go to Poland to punish the landlords themselves. But they were happy to take their revenge against those in front of them, the ones who were the living symbols of the oppression – the Jews.
By 1640, the Polish landlords reasserted their power. The leaders of the rebellion were caught and executed, and the situation calmed down. At the time it seemed to be the end of the conflict.
The Abyss of Despair
The situation the Cossacks and the peasants was no different in 1648 than it was in 1640, but now they found a capable leader who organized them and unleashed a revolution that shook the throne of the Czar. That leader was Bogdan Chmielnicki (sometimes spelled: Khmelnitsky).
Chmielnicki was a soldier of fortune. He fought for the Poles and the Cossacks against the Turks. He was a great warrior, but he was too charismatic for his senior officers, who were frightened of him and never offered him advancement. By the age of 50, he had very little to show for his service.
He was a strong follower of Russian Orthodoxy and hated the Polish landlords not only for their exploitation of the people, but also for their Roman Catholicism. To a certain extent Chmielnicki’s revolution pitted Roman Catholic Polish landlords versus the Russian and Greek Orthodox peasants and Cossacks.
He organized bands of outlaws, which always existed, into a large army. In April 1648, he crossed the Dnieper River and headed westward. He proclaimed the independent state of the Ukraine and promised, as all revolutionaries do, that the rich would be despoiled and the poor would inherit the earth.
Chmielnicki was able to capture a number of large Polish castles. Each success further fueled his reputation. More and more people, peasants and Cossacks, came to join him. Finally, in the autumn of 1648, about five months after the revolution began, he crossed into Poland itself and captured the famous Polish city of Lvov. When that happened the Poles called a truce. In return Chmielnicki agreed to halt the war. In retrospect, he should have kept the war going. The truce gave the Poles time to reorganize. When they were ready, they repudiated all their deals and hounded Chmielnicki until his end.
Nevertheless, in that five month period during the autumn of 1648, he had let the proverbial genie out of the bottle. There were thousands and thousands peasants walking around armed. They had no discipline and had tasted blood. Therefore, instead of going back home to farm their fields, or instead of attempting to build the Cossack state, they turned into a mob of raging killers.
The killing was not only directed against the Jews. Roman Catholic clergymen were beheaded. Nuns were raped. Churches were burned and pillaged. Then they kidnapped noblemen and held them for enormous ransom. Even if the ransom was paid, most of the time the nobleman was sent home in pieces. It was a time of terrible, unimaginable anarchy.
However, as bad as the situation was, no one suffered the fate that the Jews did. It was estimated that between 1648 and 1653 some 300,000 Jews were killed. That was perhaps 30% of the total Jewish population. Also remember that it was a time that mass murder did not reach the industrial heights it has in our time. Everybody had to be killed by hand. There were no machines, tommy guns, gas chambers or weapons of mass destruction. No matter how dedicated one is to murder, the hand gets tired after a while. Therefore, in terms of the percentage of decimation in the Jewish world and in terms of cruelty and ferocity, the Tach V’tat massacres were akin to the carnage that took place in the Second World War during the Holocaust.
There is a book written by a witness to the events, Rabbi Nathan Hanover, called Yeven Metzulah. It is translated into English as, The Abyss of Despair. It is a gripping, first-hand account of the Chmielnicki massacres. The worst atrocities imaginable are described. Being killed was almost a blessing. Those that were not killed suffered fates far worse than death.
More Chaos and Horror
In the spring of 1649, Chmielnicki himself breached a truce and invaded Lithuania. Many of the Jews from Poland had escaped to Lithuania, which had a strong Jewish community. They thought that they had found refuge. However, the native population — who themselves were being persecuted by the Cossacks — turned against them. Instead of attempting to unite against the common enemy, the “common enemy” became the Jew.
But by the end of 1649, Chmielnicki’s fortunes started to change. His allies, the Tartars, had no loyalty. They were bought off by the Poles and switched sides. Instead of supporting the Cossacks, they now fought with the Poles against Chmielnicki.
Sensing defeat, Chmielnicki signed the Treaty of Zboriv. It called an end to the hostilities, legally solidified the gains he had made, gave autonomy to the Cossack state and promised that the war was over. However, the Cossacks were not ready to go home after almost three years of uninterrupted war, pillaging, robbery and murder. As a result, Chmielnicki lost control of his alleged army. In 1651, the Cossack army again attacked, but this time the Poles won. In the irony of all ironies, when the Poles won they came to the Jewish area and slaughtered the Jews. They accused the Jews of being traitors – of somehow being on the side of Chmielnicki!
In 1652, the Tartars changed their minds again — having milked the Poles for all that they could – and joined Chmielnicki. And the revolution started all over again. Then to further complicate the chaos, in 1652 an enormous plague of cholera swept Poland and Russia.
This cholera epidemic totally untethered any semblance of stability that might have remained in whatever surviving pockets of Jewish communities were left in Poland, Russia and Lithuania. The Jews now fled wherever they could. Many landed in Amsterdam. Other Jews moved further east into Russia. For the first time there grew sizable Jewish settlements deep into mother Russia.
Finally, in 1653, the rebellion came to an end. The Polish kings and the kings of Russia put down the rebellion in very convincing fashion. It’s estimated that they executed 10-12,000 Cossacks publicly. Chmielnicki himself was executed. The leadership of the revolution was destroyed and it no longer captured the imagination of the people.
That decade of upheaval – from 1648 to 1657 — cost approximately 500,000 lives, 300,000 which were Jewish. That makes Chmielnicki one of the leading butchers in the history of the world. He was a person with almost no redeeming social value. However, he is the hero of the Cossacks and the Ukrainians with a statue dedicated to him in Kiev.
This period of time — Tach V’tat — loosed forces within the Jewish world that are still present and it raised questions which have never been answered. Therefore, historically, it is the watershed in Jewish history. It marks the beginning of this new time. It marks the beginning of lost faith among the Jewish people. There are going to be more and more Jews who are willing to say it’s just not worth it anymore; we just can’t carry the burden any longer.
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Berel Wein adapted by Yaakov Astor
From OU.org:
The Chmielnicki Massacres of “Tach V’Tat” (1648-1649) produced many “agunos,” women whose husbands were missing with none to testify as to the actual death. Rabbi Heller did all that he could to find ways that they could re-marry.
From YIVOEncyclopedia.org:
Heller played a major role in the responses of Polish Jewish communities to the 1648–1649 massacres—for instance, the effort to free ‘agunot (wives of missing or disappeared husbands). He was also instrumental in creating the annual fast day of the twentieth of Sivan. Reluctantly, he wrote two liturgical poems (seliḥot) for that day. The first responds to messianic expectations for the year 1648 by emphasizing that the date of the Messiah’s coming is not predestined. The second focuses on the horrors of the massacres themselves. The details (such as images of cats sewn into women’s bellies) are mostly taken from Gavriel Schossburg’s chronicle, Petaḥ teshuvah. The character Benish Ashkenazi in Isaac Bashevis Singer’s novel Satan in Goray is based partly on Heller.
From IsraelNationialNews.com:
Remember the Twentieth of Sivan
The twentieth of Sivan has been designated by sages in two different eras to be a day of fasting and commemoration.
Larry Domnitch
The twentieth of Sivan has been designated by sages in two different eras to be a day of fasting and commemoration.
There are certainly other days devoted to Jewish remembrance. The ninth of Av commemorates many tragedies that befell the Jews - the destruction of the two Temples of Jerusalem and the fall of the Judean commonwealth to Rome. The twenty-seventh day of Nissan has been designated as the commemoration for the victims of the Holocaust.
The twentieth day of Sivan commemorates tragedies that befell the Jews of Europe in the Middle Ages up to the Holocaust. It was once communally observed as a fast day among European Jewry, until the Second World War.
The twentieth of Sivan as a day of fasting and commemoration was originally declared in 1171. Tragedy struck the Jewish community of Blois, France. The horrific blood libel accusation, which had been leveled on several occasions in England, had made its way to France. A local Christian claimed that he saw a Jew throw the corpse of a child into the river Loire. The corpse was never found, but the testimony was accepted. The town's approximately forty Jews were arrested, and offered the choice of accepting baptism or death. Despite the threats and torture, they did not yield. On the twentieth day of the month of Sivan, thirty-two Jews, seventeen of them women, were burnt at the stake.
In a letter written about this enormous tragedy by Ephraim ben Yaakov of Bonn, a rabbinic scholar from Germany, the twentieth of Sivan was decreed by the greatest Torah sage of that era, Rabbeinu ("our rabbi") Meir Tam as a fast day for Jews living in France, the Rhineland and England. The letter states that Rabbeinu Tam wrote letters to Jewish communities declaring this day to be one of "atonement".
The decree of Rabbeinu Tam was foreboding. The tragic events of Blois were the beginning of many more such events to follow. Blood libels would result in immense suffering and torment for Jewish communities throughout Europe. Many Jews migrated to Eastern Europe, where they continued to observe the twentieth of Sivan. Eventually, the Jews of Eastern Europe would also be compelled to observe this date of remembrance.
In 1648, the Ukrainian nationalist and Cossack leader Bogdan Chmielniski incited a rebellion against Poland and Polish landlords who ruled over the Ukraine. Chmielniski's forces, combined with Tatar allies of Mongolia, routed the Polish army at Yellow River on May 19, 1648, and Hard Plank on May 26. The Polish defeat was a disaster for the Jews of the Ukraine. They now faced a major catastrophe. Chmielniski's Cossacks attacked Polish forces and unleashed their fury against the Jews of the Ukraine and some surrounding areas, as well. Many Jewish communities were wiped out. Hundreds of thousands were murdered. The brutality of their attacks defies any description.
Rabbi Nathan Neta Hanover, a contemporary chronicler of the events of this era known as Tach VeTat, an acronym for the Hebrew equivalent of the years 1648-1649, wrote about the Chmielniski pogroms in a book entitled Yeven Metzulah (Abyss of Despair).
The first reported attack against a large Jewish community was in the city of Nemirov. Jews from surrounding villages had gathered there from smaller villages for refuge. Just days earlier, on the Sabbath, the head of the city's yeshiva, Rabbi Yechiel Michael, son of Rabbi Eliezer, addressed the community and told them that if the enemy should arrive, the people must defy them if they demand baptism; even at the cost of their lives.
As Cossack troops were nearing Nemirov, its Jews trembled in fear as they locked themselves within the city walls. As the soldiers drew nearer, they unfurled Polish flags to give the impression that they were Polish troops coming to their rescue. The Poles within the city were notified of this ruse and collaborated with the Cossacks in order to save their own lives. They falsely informed the Jews guarding the gates that the approaching soldiers were indeed Polish and that they should open the gates. As the Cossacks entered the city with drawn swords, slaughter ensued. Over six-thousand Jews were martyred on that day.
From Nemirov, the Cossacks attacked the city of Tulshin, Polannoe, and then Ostrog and Zaslow. At each city, horrors followed. After less than two years fighting, the Tatar allies withdrew from the conflict, forcing Chmielniski into a truce that lasted for eighteen months, followed by more violence that continued intermittently until Chmielniski's death in 1657.
In the winter of 1650, rabbinic and lay leaders known as the Council of the Four Lands gathered in Lublin and declared the twentieth of Sivan, the day the city of Nemirov was attacked, as a day of fasting and commemoration for the many martyrs of the Chmielniski pogroms.
After Chmielniski's death, massacres by Ukrainian nationalists continued - a series of attacks in the eighteenth century, including the massacre of 1767-1768, in which the Jewish community lost tens of thousands. In 1919, a civil war positioned Ukrainians in pursuit of independence against both the Red Army and the anti-Soviet Russians. The one million Jews of the Ukraine were devastated by attacks, starvation, disease and homelessness. Again, in 1942, Ukranian nationalists were there to assist the Nazis in conducting "actions" against the Jews. Most Ukrainians did not take part in these many attacks; there were also Ukrainians who saved Jewish lives, but those who did participate caused untold suffering.
The tragic events in France and the Ukraine are five hundred years apart, but famed rabbinic scholar Rabbi Yom Tov Lippmann Heller ordained that those selichot prayers composed in commemoration of the victims in France in the twelfth century be recited also for the victims of Chmielniski. He stated, "What has occurred now is similar to days of old. All that happened to the forefathers happened to their descendants."
Although the twentieth of Sivan is not currently observed communally in most communities, it is still a most appropriate time to remember those victims of persecution from France to Eastern Europe. The memory of their martyrdom may have diminished, overshadowed by the enormity of the Holocaust and the passage of time, but they perished because they were Jews. The twentieth of Sivan still gives an opportunity to pay homage to their memory.
Abraham Twerski, Jewish Action, Fall 2007
Following the devastating pogroms of 1648-1649, Rabbi Yom Tov Lipman Heller (author of Tosafos Yom Tov) had a dream in which it was revealed to him that the atrocities that had occurred were due to the transgression of conversing during prayer services. Rabbi Heller therefore composed a special prayer for those who refrain from talking during services.
“Why were these disasters [the pogroms of 1648-1649] laid at the door of those who spoke during services?” asked the Chafetz Chaim. “Were there not more serious sins that were committed? Weren’t there people who violated Shabbos and ate treif? We know that the righteous may suffer due to the sins of others. Why attribute these horrible events to talking during prayer services?”
The Chafetz Chaim then answered, citing Pirkei Avos (4:11) “He who fulfills even a single mitzvah gains himself a single [angelic] advocate, and he who commits even a single transgression gains himself a single [angelic] accuser.” The accusing angel born of a sin takes on the character of the sin; while eating treif is certainly a grave sin, it is nevertheless a “speechless sin,” and the accuser the sin creates is mute. So it is with all other sins that are of a silent character—the resulting accusing angels are mute and cannot bring charges against a person. However, a sin resulting from improper speech creates an accuser that can speak, and this accuser can then bring before the Heavenly Tribunal all the other sins that a person committed. The pogroms were therefore considered a consequence of a “talking sin.”
By Rabbi Yair Hoffman, 5TJT
Many people are aware that Rav Yom Tov Lippmnn Heller zt”l the Rav of Cracow and the author of the Tosfos Yom Tov composed a special prayer, a mi sh’bayrach, for those who refrain from talking during Davening. Unfortunately, not all of us have reached this ideal yet, which is why the Tefilah of the Tosfos Yom Tov was necessary.
The Shulchan Aruch (OC 124:7) discusses the terrible Aveira of talking during Shmoneh Esreh. Indeed, it is the only place in Shulchan Aruch where Rav Karo uses the expression, “ v’gadol avono minso — his sin is too great to carry.” It would seem that Rav Karo employed the language used by Rabbeinu Yona in his Igeres HaTeshuvah ( section 6). The Mishna Bururah (124:27) cites the Eliyahu Rabbah that a number of shuls ended up being destroyed on account of this violation.
The Tefilah of the Tosfos Yom Tov was composed during the Chmelnieki Massacres 1648-1649 (Gzeiras Tach v’tat) where some 300,000 Jews were murdered by Cossacks under his leadership. The Chida explains that it was revealed to the Tosfos Yom Tov from Heaven that the talking was the cause of the terrible tragedy. We still recite the special Mishebayrach to this day in many communities throughout the world.
The question arises, however, as to when the ideal time for this mishebayrach is to be recited. This was one of the questions that were recently posed to Rav Chaim Kanievsky Shlita during the visit of Mr. Larry Gordon, owner of the Five Towns Jewish Times, this past Sunday.
As background, many shuls recite it in between the Aliyos that are called on Shabbos morning. There are places that recite it after the silent Shmoneh Esreh, but before the reader repeats the Shmoneh Esreh. One can see both pluses and minuses in doing it then.
The plus side is that this is the time when the actual challenge for the people arises. It is bad and wrong to talk, converse, and disturb during the repetition of the Shmoneh Esreh. Wouldn’t it be best to recite this Tefilah right before the Chazan repeats the Shmoneh Esreh?
The down side is that the time between the Shmoneh Esreh and Chazaras HaShatz should not be one where we interrupt with a long item that is not necessary for Shmoneh Esreh.
The Alter of Slabodka zt”l addresses the fact that people engage in frivolous activity during this time between the Shmoneh Esrehs and (Or HaTzafun Bereishis p. 59) and he decries the situation.
On account of the fact that this time should have no interruptions,, Rabbeinu Yoseph of Posen zt”l (Likkutim on Shulchan Aruch p. 333), son-in-law of the Noda BiYehudah, ruled that one should not auction of the opening of the Aron Kodesh during this time.
There are also Poskim (Shulchan HaTahor cited in Binyan Ephrayim page 83) that hold that if one spoke during the weekday in between the two Shmoneh Esrehs then one does not do Nefilas Apayim for Tachanun. Other Poskim write that if one did so bdieved, we still do Nefilas Apayim. The halacha is like the latter Poskim, but still, we see that it is quite a serious matter.
Below we find the transcript of the written query to Rav Chaim:
Is it permitted for the Rabbi of a congregation to recite the special mishebayrach of the tosfos yom tov (for those who don’t talk during tefilah) before chazaras haShatz but after the shtilla shmoneh esreh?
Rav Chaim responded, “Why not! This is a good thing to do!”
It is clear that Rav Chaim is of the position that it is good and proper to say it when it would be most effective.
מי שברך אבותינו, אברהם יצחק ויעקב, משה ואהרן, דוד ושלמה, הוא יברך את כל מי ששומר פיו ולשונו שלא לדבר בעת התפילה, הקב"ה ישמרהו מכל צרה וצוקה ומכל נגע ומחלה, ויחולו עליו כל הברכות הכתובות בספר תורת משה רבינו ובכל ספרי הנביאים והכתובים, ויזכה לראות בנים חיים וקימים ויגדלם לתורה לחופה ולמעשים טובים, ויעבוד את ה' אלוה-ינו תמיד באמת ובתמים ונאמר אמן.
He who blessed our forefather Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, Moshe and Aaron, David and Shlomo, he will bless those who guard their mouth and tongue from speaking during prayers. the Holy One Blessed be He shall guard him from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and he shall be subject to all the blessings written in the Torah of Moshe and all the Prophets and Scriptures, and he will merit live and healthy children whom he shall educated to nurture them to [become] Torah [scholars], marry them off and educate them to do good deeds, and he shall eternally serve Hashem truthfully. Amen.
מי שברך כל שבת ושבת
מי שברך אבותינו אברהם יצחק ויעקב
משה אהרון דוד ושלמה
הוא יברך השומר פיו ולשונו מלהפסיק בשום דיבור
מן ״ברוך שאמר״ עד גמר התפילה ובשעת קריאת ספר תורה שבציבור
אפילו בדברי תורה ואיזה דבור כל שכן בשיחת חולין וסיפורי שמועות
ויחולו עליו כל הברכות הכתובות בתורת משה רבינו עליו השלום ובכל הנבואות
יראה זרע כשר חיים וקיימים
ויזכה לשני שלחנות שבשני עולמים
שהם העולם הזה שעליו נאמר ״והנה טוב״
והעולם הבא שהוא יו״ם שכלו ארוך גם טו״ב
ונאמר אמן
סליחות לכ׳ סיון
אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו
אלקים באזנינו שמענו אבותינו ספרו לנו
פועל פעלת בימי קדם למעננו
בכל דור ודור נוראות, שמת עבורנו
רבות עשית אתה ה׳ נפלאותיך ומחשבותיך אלינו.
גאלתנו בחוזק יד מנחש וצרים
מארי ודוב ונמר ושאר צוררים
דכאונו כמה רגלי חזירי יערים
כמעט נטיו רגלינו ושופכו אשורים.
הלוא אתה אלוקינו זנחתנו לשכחה
יותר מאלף (חמש מאות ושמונים ואחת) שנה ביגון ואנחה
ותזנח משלום נפשינו בפרץ וצווחה
כי עליך הורגנו כל היום נחשבנו כצאן טבחה.
זמן אחר זמן נפשינו חכתה
וארך הקץ וארוכה לא עלתה
חשבון ׳רנ״ו ליעקב׳ חכינו ישע בעתה
קוה לשלום ואין טוב לעת מרפא והנה בעתה.
טוב קוינו והנה אופל ואשמנים
במחזור רנ״ו אחת עשרה שנים
יחדיו נועצו לאחור ולא לפנים
להכחידנו ולמחות את שמינו כעבים וכעננים.
בחרות אפם בנו חיים בלעונו
טף ונשים כצאן לטבחה התקינו
להכרית עולל מחוץ בחורים מרחובותינו
פני כוהנים לא נשאו וזקנים לא חננו.
מלך עליון עד אנה עדי יתמלאון
נוהמים כלבאים וכמות ים ישאון
סגיא כח רמה ידך יחזיון ויראון
עדי כמהי ישעך מופתיך יתפלאון.
הרג רב ויום טבוח בתתנ״ו נגזרה גזירה
ונהרגו קהילות הקודש בזעם ועברה וצרה
זקן ובחור ובתולה ערומים נמשכו לקבורה
חפורות מלאים ילדים ולידות ותלמידי התורה.
טרם היה אזרחי בזרוז יחידו לעקרה
ישמיעוהו מן השמים אל תשלח ידך להשמידה
כמה עתה נשחטים בנים ובנות ביהודה
לא חש להושיע טבוחים ושרופים על מוקדה.
מתן שעשועים ספרי תורות ידועים
נטועים לאוהל פרועים עלי מוטות רקועים
סוף עשאום למנעל רגלי מצורעים
על אלה אני בוכיה ועיני כמים נובעים.
ספר התורה נתעוללה ביד צרים
וגם שכלו דורשיך מפנינים יקרים
עלבונך תבעי ועלבון נפש אדירים
כבתולה חגורת שק על בעל נעורים.
פולין ארץ מלוכה מאז ישבנו בה במנוחת שאננים
עד רבת המהומה נהיתה בתוכה בכמה אופנים
צרות רבות סבבונו במאדינו גלוים ומטמונים
ובנפשינו עד אין מספר להרוגים הגדולים עם הקטנים.
קמו יוונים נקבצו עלינו להשחיתנו והרחיבו כמה חורבנות
בתי כנסיות ובתי מדרשות עם קהילות הקודש נחרבו בעוונות
קדריים גם המה עזרו להרע רעות זו מזו שונות
וישבו ממנו שביה עניה לארץ נכריה באין רחמנות.
רעות הספורות כמוקדמות לא חסרו מהר דבר
הנהרגים נשטחו בארץ על פניה והחיים לתוכה השליכו להיקבר
רעשה הארץ ותהום כל קריה כי האויב גבר
פני זקנים לא נהדרו צוארם לטבח פשטו גאון עם חבר.
שנת ח״ת ושנת ט״ת הרבה מאוד לקינו בהם נחנו זרע אובהיך
אשר קיוינו שבשנת זא״ת ישוב איש אל אחוזתו מארץ שביך
תשלם לנו השנים אשר אכל המשחית עד למרבה המולק החסין הגוזם והטיב לנו בטובך
כהבטחת ׳ונתן לך רחמים ורחמך והרבך׳.
תוספות יהיה על העיקר בכפל רחמים ומרובה
יו״ם מחר כי תבוא על שכרי בזה ובבא
טו״ב ומטיב אתה לטובים אחד הממעיט ואחד המרבה
ה׳נני ל׳שמך ו׳לזכרך י׳חלנו נפש לעבדך ביראה ובאהבה רבה.
הנקר״א בהיותו קרוב ונמצא כי נדרשהו ונבקשנו
ל׳שולחי י׳דבר פ׳י ה׳ סלכחתי ולי ׳כדבריך׳ ישיב ויעננו
מ׳שיח וקל-יה השליח זה יגאלנו וזה יקדים לבוא ולבשרנו
נ׳ורא מרום וקדוש חי וקים ה׳ הוא אלוקינו.
ה׳יום אם בקולו נשמע נזכה ל׳אחישנה׳
ע׳דן עדנים פתרונים כלם כולו, הלא ב׳עתה׳ לא יאחרנה
ל׳ביה לפומיה לא גלה למתי יקימנה
ר׳וח אפינו משיח ה׳ על ידו התשועה ועינינו תראנה:
(Translation of above from Google Translate, unedited)
Slichot to K. Sivan
Elkino and Elki of our ancestors
God in our ears we heard our fathers told us
A worker you worked for in ancient times for us
In every generation and generation terrible, you died for us
You have done many of your wonderful wonders and thoughts to us.
We redeemed with the strength of a snake and narrow hand Marie and Bear and Tiger and other oppressors
We suppressed some wild boar legs
We almost tilted our legs and poured bees.
After all, you are our God, we have neglected to forget
More than a thousand (five hundred and eighty-one) years of grief and sigh
And forsake the peace of our souls in a burst and a shriek
Because we killed you all day, we were considered slaughtered sheep.
Time after time our souls waited
And the length of the end and long did not rise
The account of RNU to Yaakov was waiting for us at that time
Hope for peace and there is no good for a time of healing and here it is.
Well bought and here's opal and ashes
In the RNV cycle eleven years
Together they consulted backwards and not forwards
Exterminate us and wipe out our heavens and clouds.
In the freedom of their noses we built a life in his abode
Teff and women as sheep for slaughter installed
To pillow an infant outside guys from our streets
Priests' faces did not bear and elders did not pardon.
Supreme King to Anna Adi will be filled
Dogs growl and the amount of sea will rise
Sagia power level your hand vision and fear
Witness how much your masterpiece will be amazed.
A great massacre and a day of massacre in the Holy Land was decreed
And the holy churches were killed in wrath and past and trouble
A naked beard and guy and virgin were drawn for burial
Digs are full of children and births and Torah students.
He was not yet a single citizen in a hurry to barren
Hear it from heaven,
Do not stretch out your hand to destroy it
Boys and girls are now being slaughtered in Judea
He did not feel like rescuing massacres and burns on fire.
Providing amusement and well-known Torah books
Planted in a wild tent with stamped poles
End of ash to lock lepers' feet
For these I weep and my eyes like water flowing.
The Torah scroll was abused by a narrow hand
And also that your mind demands of precious pearls
Your insult is demanding and a tremendous mental insult
Like a virgin belt sack on a youthful husband.
Poland is a royal country since we sat there in complacency
Until the great commotion she was in it in several ways
Many troubles revolve around Madino visible and hidden
And in our souls there is no number of the great slain with the little ones.
Greeks arose and gathered around us to corrupt us and widened some ruin
Churches and seminaries with the Holy Congregations were destroyed in iniquity Pottery also what helped evil evil from each other different
And they dwelt from it a poor captive to a foreign land without mercy.
The few evils as early as nothing were quickly lacking
The dead were flattened in the land on its face and life into it was thrown into the grave
The earth shook and the abyss of every city that the enemy prevailed
The faces of old men were not great and their necks to the massacre raided genius with a friend.
The year 8: 9 and the ninth year are very many to lament in which the seed of your ancestors rested
Which we hoped that in that year a man would return to his estate from the land in your midst
You will pay us the years that the destroyer ate until the most pruned and pruned milk is good for us.
As a promise 'and I will give you mercy and your mercy and your blessing'.
Additions will be on the main thing in double mercy and multiple
Yom tomorrow that you will come on hire for this and that
Tov and benevolent you to the good one the less and one the most I am for your name's sake and for your remembrance.
Nakra being close and found that we were required and asked
To the senders of the word of the Lord I have forgiven and to me 'according to your word' he will answer and answer
From the Messiah and Kal-Ya the Messenger it will redeem us and it will come early and proclaim us Our God is exalted and holy, and God is our God.
The 'day if we hear his voice we will win'
Achishna ' Eden Eden Solutions
The whole thing, not in the 'now' will not be late L'Bia Lefumia did not reveal when he would establish it
The Spirit of the Lord is upon us by the salvation, and our eyes shall see:
(א) בֶּן זוֹמָא אוֹמֵר, אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם, הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים קיט) מִכָּל מְלַמְּדַי הִשְׂכַּלְתִּי כִּי עֵדְוֹתֶיךָ שִׂיחָה לִּי. אֵיזֶהוּ גִבּוֹר, הַכּוֹבֵשׁ אֶת יִצְרוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (משלי טז) טוֹב אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם מִגִּבּוֹר וּמשֵׁל בְּרוּחוֹ מִלֹּכֵד עִיר. אֵיזֶהוּ עָשִׁיר, הַשָּׂמֵחַ בְּחֶלְקוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים קכח) יְגִיעַ כַּפֶּיךָ כִּי תֹאכֵל אַשְׁרֶיךָ וְטוֹב לָךְ. אַשְׁרֶיךָ, בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה. וְטוֹב לָךְ, לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. אֵיזֶהוּ מְכֻבָּד, הַמְכַבֵּד אֶת הַבְּרִיּוֹת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמואל א ב) כִּי מְכַבְּדַי אֲכַבֵּד וּבֹזַי יֵקָלּוּ:
איזהו חכם. פירש הר"ב שראוי להתהלל בחכמתו. ויש להקשות ממה שאמר ירמיה [ט' כ"ב] . אל יתהלל חכם בחכמתו ואל יתהלל גבור בגבורתו ואל יתהלל עשיר בעשרו כי אם בזאת יתהלל המתהלל השכל וידוע אותי ונראה לי דלא קשיא דס"ל לתנא דידן שז"ש כי אם השכל וידוע אותי הוא עצמו בכלל החכמה והגבורה והעושר שזכר. וכך הוא אומר אל יתהלל חכם בחכמתו וגו' כי אם שהיא החכמה השכל וידוע אותי. ואל יתהלל הגבור כי אם שהיא הגבורה השכל וידוע אותי וכן העשיר לא יתהלל כי אם שהעושר הוא השכל וידוע אותי. ולכך שאל איזהו חכם וכו' וכן כולם דרך שאלה. לומר כיון שהכתוב אמר בדרך סתימה שיש חכם להתהלל וכן גבור ועשיר ויש לשאול איזהו שכיון בו הכתוב וחקר ומצא חכם שלומד מכל אדם. ופי' הר"ב שנמצא כוונתו לש"ש והיינו ממש השכל וידוע אותי. וגבור הכובש יצרו והוא גבורה לש"ש שלא יחטא לפניו. אין לך השכל וידוע אותי גדולה מזו. שתכלית הידיעה הזאת היא לירא מפניו ולשמור מצותיו. ועשיר השמח בחלקו ולא נבהל להון ונמצא פונה כל ימיו לעבודת שמים והיינו נמי השכל וידוע אותי. ולפיכך נאמר אשריך בעוה"ז וטוב לך לעוה"ב ואמרו בפ"ק דברכות [דף ח.] גדול מי שנהנה מיגיע כפו יותר מירא שמים וכו'. וזה גם כן מזה הטעם בעצמו שאם הוא ירא שמים. ואינו מסתפק ונבהל להון. לא יהיה פנוי לעבודת השי"ת:
(ב) בֶּן עַזַּאי אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי רָץ לְמִצְוָה קַלָּה כְבַחֲמוּרָה, וּבוֹרֵחַ מִן הָעֲבֵרָה. שֶׁמִּצְוָה גּוֹרֶרֶת מִצְוָה, וַעֲבֵרָה גוֹרֶרֶת עֲבֵרָה. שֶׁשְּׂכַר מִצְוָה, מִצְוָה. וּשְׂכַר עֲבֵרָה, עֲבֵרָה:
(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:
(ד) רַבִּי לְוִיטָס אִישׁ יַבְנֶה אוֹמֵר, מְאֹד מְאֹד הֱוֵי שְׁפַל רוּחַ, שֶׁתִּקְוַת אֱנוֹשׁ רִמָּה. רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן בֶּן בְּרוֹקָא אוֹמֵר, כָּל הַמְחַלֵּל שֵׁם שָׁמַיִם בַּסֵּתֶר, נִפְרָעִין מִמֶּנּוּ בְגָלוּי. אֶחָד שׁוֹגֵג וְאֶחָד מֵזִיד בְּחִלּוּל הַשֵּׁם:
לכך אני אומר שמה שהביא לכל המפרשים ז"ל שנתלבטו בפירוש המלה הזאת לפי שחשבו ששרשו קוה. ואינו כן. אבל שרשו קו מלשון קו לקו צו לצו (ישעיהו כ״ח:י׳) ואין תי"ו השנייה תמורת ה"א אבל לתוספת בלבד כמו תפארת תלבשת וכן אתה מוצא (יהושע ב׳:י״ח) תקות חוט השני ומזה נפרש קו לקו מלשון חוט המשיחה דהיינו מדה במדה בקו המדה ומזה עצמו נפרש תקות רשעים עברה. שנדונים בקו מדתם לעברה זעם וצרה. ומזה הוא שאמר תנא דידן שתקות אנוש רמה. כי קו מדתו הוא הרמה כך נראה לי [*ושוב ראיתי במדרש רבה פרשת בראשית יקוו המים. יעשה מדה למים היאך כמה דאת אמר (זכריה א' ט"ז) וקו ינטה על ירושלים]:
(ה) רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל בְּנוֹ אוֹמֵר, הַלּוֹמֵד תּוֹרָה עַל מְנָת לְלַמֵּד, מַסְפִּיקִין בְּיָדוֹ לִלְמֹד וּלְלַמֵּד. וְהַלּוֹמֵד עַל מְנָת לַעֲשׂוֹת, מַסְפִּיקִין בְּיָדוֹ לִלְמֹד וּלְלַמֵּד לִשְׁמֹר וְלַעֲשׂוֹת. רַבִּי צָדוֹק אוֹמֵר, אַל תַּעֲשֵׂם עֲטָרָה לְהִתְגַּדֵּל בָּהֶם, וְלֹא קַרְדֹּם לַחְפֹּר בָּהֶם. וְכָךְ הָיָה הִלֵּל אוֹמֵר, וּדְאִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בְּתָגָא, חָלָף. הָא לָמַדְתָּ, כָּל הַנֶּהֱנֶה מִדִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה, נוֹטֵל חַיָּיו מִן הָעוֹלָם:
מספיקין בידו ללמוד וללמד. כלומר מספיקין בידו שיהא לומד ושתעלה בידו מה שהיתה מחשבתו ללמד ולומד על מנת ללמוד לא אצטריך לאשמועינן דודאי שתתקיים מחשבתו הטובה שבקש ללמוד. אבל בנדון דידן רבותא אשמעינן דכשדעתו ע"מ ללמד שמספיקין בידו ללמד. וגם למודו שעם עצמו עולה בידו ולא יגרע דבר כי ה' יתן חכמה כ"כ במדרש שמואל. ובדרך חיים כתב דלומד על מנת ללמוד לעצמו בלבד. ולזה אין צריך הרבה למוד אין ה"נ דאין מספיקין כל מה שיחשב אבל בלומד הלכה אחת תסגי ליה והכ"מ בפ"ג [הלכה י'] מהלכות תלמוד תורה מפרש ע"מ ללמד. כלומר שאין כונת למודו לשמה רק להתכבד בהיותו ראש ישיבה כמ"ש בפרק קונם [דף ס"ב]. לאהבה את ה' שלא תאמר אקרא וכו' אשנה וכו' שאהא זקן ויושב בישיבה או שכוונתו על מנת ללמוד וליטול שכר כמו שלומד איזה אומנות מספיקין בידו ללמוד וללמד כפי כוונתו ולא יותר אבל הלומד על מנת לעשות הוי לומד לשמה וכו'. והיינו דר' צדוק אשמעינן דלומד ע"מ ללמוד בלבד הוא עון וז"ש אל תעשם עטרה וכו':
(ו) רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר, כָּל הַמְכַבֵּד אֶת הַתּוֹרָה, גּוּפוֹ מְכֻבָּד עַל הַבְּרִיּוֹת. וְכָל הַמְחַלֵּל אֶת הַתּוֹרָה, גּוּפוֹ מְחֻלָּל עַל הַבְּרִיּוֹת:
(ז) רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל בְּנוֹ אוֹמֵר, הַחוֹשֵׂךְ עַצְמוֹ מִן הַדִּין, פּוֹרֵק מִמֶּנּוּ אֵיבָה וְגָזֵל וּשְׁבוּעַת שָׁוְא. וְהַגַּס לִבּוֹ בַהוֹרָאָה, שׁוֹטֶה רָשָׁע וְגַס רוּחַ:
(ח) הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, אַל תְּהִי דָן יְחִידִי, שֶׁאֵין דָּן יְחִידִי אֶלָּא אֶחָד. וְאַל תֹּאמַר קַבְּלוּ דַעְתִּי, שֶׁהֵן רַשָּׁאִין וְלֹא אָתָּה:
(ט) רַבִּי יוֹנָתָן אוֹמֵר, כָּל הַמְקַיֵּם אֶת הַתּוֹרָה מֵעֹנִי, סוֹפוֹ לְקַיְּמָהּ מֵעשֶׁר. וְכָל הַמְבַטֵּל אֶת הַתּוֹרָה מֵעשֶׁר, סוֹפוֹ לְבַטְּלָהּ מֵעֹנִי:
(י) רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי מְמַעֵט בְּעֵסֶק, וַעֲסֹק בַּתּוֹרָה. וֶהֱוֵי שְׁפַל רוּחַ בִּפְנֵי כָל אָדָם. וְאִם בָּטַלְתָּ מִן הַתּוֹרָה, יֶשׁ לְךָ בְטֵלִים הַרְבֵּה כְנֶגְדָּךְ. וְאִם עָמַלְתָּ בַתּוֹרָה, יֶשׁ לוֹ שָׂכָר הַרְבֵּה לִתֶּן לָךְ:
ואם עמלת בתורה. ויגעת וטרחת בה יש שכר הרבה וכו' כי השכר לפי רבוי העמל והטורח לא לפי רבוי הלמוד. ולכן לא אמר ואם למדת אלא ואם עמלת כי הכל תלוי בעמל אחד המרבה ואחד הממעיט. סיוע לזה מתני' (דסוף פרק ה') דקתני לפום צערא אגרא. מד"ש בשם הר"י לירמא ועיין סוף פרק ב':
(יא) רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן יַעֲקֹב אוֹמֵר, הָעוֹשֶׂה מִצְוָה אַחַת, קוֹנֶה לוֹ פְרַקְלִיט אֶחָד. וְהָעוֹבֵר עֲבֵרָה אַחַת, קוֹנֶה לוֹ קַטֵּגוֹר אֶחָד. תְּשׁוּבָה וּמַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים, כִּתְרִיס בִּפְנֵי הַפֻּרְעָנוּת. רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן הַסַּנְדְּלָר אוֹמֵר, כָּל כְּנֵסִיָּה שֶׁהִיא לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, סוֹפָהּ לְהִתְקַיֵּם. וְשֶׁאֵינָהּ לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, אֵין סוֹפָהּ לְהִתְקַיֵּם:
בפני הפורענות. ואין להקשות ממה שבא בפרק בתרא דיומא [דף פ"ו] [כמ"ש הר"ב שם במשנה ח'] תשובה [ויוה"כ] תולה ויסורין ממרקין כי הכוונה באמרו כאן כתריס הוא מה שכיונו שם באמרם תולין שהוא שלא יפסדו ולא יאבדו האנשים לגמרי שהיסורים באים בענין שיכופר עונם וישובו לקדמות מעלתם כפי שקולו של אל דעות והכלל בו הוא שיהיה להם כתריס ומגן שלא ילך לאבדון. מד"ש בשם הרי"א ז"ל. ולי נראה דפורענות דמתני' לאו בפורענות הבא על חטא. אלא בפורענות ורעות המתרגשות ובאות כפי מנהגו של עולם. ותדע שכן הוא. דאי לא תימא הכי מעשים טובים שפירש הרמב"ם בתחלת הענין כלומר שלא חטא ואי הכי מה לו לתריס כיון שלא חטא ואין עליו עונש ופורענות אלא ודאי פורענות היינו המקרים והרעות ההווים בעולם. ובדרך חיים כתב דקיי"ל יש יסורין בלא עון. כדאיתא בפרק במה בהמה (שבת דף נ"ה). ואפי' אין יסורים בלא עון אין צריך עון גדול רק עון בעלמא כדמוכח בפ"ק דברכות [דף ה'] דבשביל דבר מה. יסורין באין. ובהכי התשובה כתריס בפני הפורענות ע"כ. [*והוצרך לפרש אפי' אין יסורין וכו' לפי דבמאי דאיתא התם (אין) [יש] יסורים בלא עון י"ל דאיידי (דאין) [דיש] מיתה בלא חטא דביה איתותב רב אמי דאמר (יש) [אין] מיתה בלא חטא נקט נמי אמלתיה דאמר (ויש) [ואין] יסורין בלא עון. (דאין) [דיש] יסורין בלא עון וכלומר דכי היכי דאיתותב בהא וליתא למלתיה הכי נמי ליתא למלתיה (ביש) [באין] יסורין וכו' אבל לפי האמת אפשר שאינו מוכרח ויוכל להיות שכדברי רב אמי (ביש) [דאין] יסורין וכו' כן הוא דהא לא איתותב בהא. וז"ל התוס' שם וש"מ יש מיתה בלא חטא ויש יסורין בלא עון ואע"ג דבמאי דקאמר אין יסורים בלא עון לא איתותב עכ"ל]:
(יב) רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן שַׁמּוּעַ אוֹמֵר, יְהִי כְבוֹד תַּלְמִידְךָ חָבִיב עָלֶיךָ כְּשֶׁלְּךָ, וּכְבוֹד חֲבֵרְךָ כְּמוֹרָא רַבְּךָ, וּמוֹרָא רַבְּךָ כְּמוֹרָא שָׁמָיִם:
(יג) רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי זָהִיר בַּתַּלְמוּד, שֶׁשִּׁגְגַת תַּלְמוּד עוֹלָה זָדוֹן. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, שְׁלשָׁה כְתָרִים הֵם, כֶּתֶר תּוֹרָה וְכֶתֶר כְּהֻנָּה וְכֶתֶר מַלְכוּת, וְכֶתֶר שֵׁם טוֹב עוֹלֶה עַל גַּבֵּיהֶן:
הוי זהיר בתלמוד. במד"ש כתב בשם הריטב"א שיש גורסין בתלמיד והכונה להזהיר שילמד לתלמיד כראוי ששגגת התלמיד בהוראתו עולה זדון לרב שמלמד אותו:
(יד) רַבִּי נְהוֹרַאי אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי גוֹלֶה לִמְקוֹם תּוֹרָה, וְאַל תֹּאמַר שֶׁהִיא תָבֹא אַחֲרֶיךָ, שֶׁחֲבֵרֶיךָ יְקַיְּמוּהָ בְיָדֶךָ. וְאֶל בִּינָתְךָ אַל תִּשָּׁעֵן (משלי ג):
(טו) רַבִּי יַנַּאי אוֹמֵר, אֵין בְּיָדֵינוּ לֹא מִשַּׁלְוַת הָרְשָׁעִים וְאַף לֹא מִיִּסּוּרֵי הַצַּדִּיקִים. רַבִּי מַתְיָא בֶן חָרָשׁ אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי מַקְדִּים בִּשְׁלוֹם כָּל אָדָם. וֶהֱוֵי זָנָב לָאֲרָיוֹת, וְאַל תְּהִי רֹאשׁ לַשּׁוּעָלִים:
(טז) רַבִּי יַעֲקֹב אוֹמֵר, הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה דּוֹמֶה לִפְרוֹזְדוֹר בִּפְנֵי הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. הַתְקֵן עַצְמְךָ בַפְּרוֹזְדוֹר, כְּדֵי שֶׁתִּכָּנֵס לַטְּרַקְלִין:
(יז) הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, יָפָה שָׁעָה אַחַת בִּתְשׁוּבָה וּמַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה, מִכָּל חַיֵּי הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. וְיָפָה שָׁעָה אַחַת שֶׁל קוֹרַת רוּחַ בָּעוֹלָם הַבָּא, מִכָּל חַיֵּי הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה:
(יח) רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן אֶלְעָזָר אוֹמֵר, אַל תְּרַצֶּה אֶת חֲבֵרְךָ בִשְׁעַת כַּעֲסוֹ, וְאַל תְּנַחֲמֶנּוּ בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁמֵּתוֹ מֻטָּל לְפָנָיו, וְאַל תִּשְׁאַל לוֹ בִשְׁעַת נִדְרוֹ, וְאַל תִּשְׁתַּדֵּל לִרְאוֹתוֹ בִשְׁעַת קַלְקָלָתוֹ:
(יט) שְׁמוּאֵל הַקָּטָן אוֹמֵר, (משלי כד) בִּנְפֹל אוֹיִבְךָ אַל תִּשְׂמָח וּבִכָּשְׁלוֹ אַל יָגֵל לִבֶּךָ, פֶּן יִרְאֶה ה' וְרַע בְּעֵינָיו וְהֵשִׁיב מֵעָלָיו אַפּוֹ:
(כ) אֱלִישָׁע בֶּן אֲבוּיָה אוֹמֵר, הַלּוֹמֵד יֶלֶד לְמַה הוּא דוֹמֶה, לִדְיוֹ כְתוּבָה עַל נְיָר חָדָשׁ. וְהַלּוֹמֵד זָקֵן לְמַה הוּא דוֹמֶה, לִדְיוֹ כְתוּבָה עַל נְיָר מָחוּק. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בַר יְהוּדָה אִישׁ כְּפַר הַבַּבְלִי אוֹמֵר, הַלּוֹמֵד מִן הַקְּטַנִּים לְמַה הוּא דוֹמֶה, לְאֹכֵל עֲנָבִים קֵהוֹת וְשׁוֹתֶה יַיִן מִגִּתּוֹ. וְהַלּוֹמֵד מִן הַזְּקֵנִים לְמַה הוּא דוֹמֶה, לְאֹכֵל עֲנָבִים בְּשֵׁלוֹת וְשׁוֹתֶה יַיִן יָשָׁן. רַבִּי אוֹמֵר, אַל תִּסְתַּכֵּל בַּקַּנְקַן, אֶלָּא בְמַה שֶּׁיֶּשׁ בּוֹ. יֵשׁ קַנְקַן חָדָשׁ מָלֵא יָשָׁן, וְיָשָׁן שֶׁאֲפִלּוּ חָדָשׁ אֵין בּוֹ:
(כא) רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר הַקַּפָּר אוֹמֵר, הַקִּנְאָה וְהַתַּאֲוָה וְהַכָּבוֹד, מוֹצִיאִין אֶת הָאָדָם מִן הָעוֹלָם:
(כב) הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, הַיִּלּוֹדִים לָמוּת, וְהַמֵּתִים לְהֵחָיוֹת, וְהַחַיִּים לִדּוֹן. לֵידַע לְהוֹדִיעַ וּלְהִוָּדַע שֶׁהוּא אֵל, הוּא הַיּוֹצֵר, הוּא הַבּוֹרֵא, הוּא הַמֵּבִין, הוּא הַדַּיָּן, הוּא עֵד, הוּא בַעַל דִּין, וְהוּא עָתִיד לָדוּן. בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁאֵין לְפָנָיו לֹא עַוְלָה, וְלֹא שִׁכְחָה, וְלֹא מַשּׂוֹא פָנִים, וְלֹא מִקַּח שֹׁחַד, שֶׁהַכֹּל שֶׁלּוֹ. וְדַע שֶׁהַכֹּל לְפִי הַחֶשְׁבּוֹן. וְאַל יַבְטִיחֲךָ יִצְרְךָ שֶׁהַשְּׁאוֹל בֵּית מָנוֹס לְךָ, שֶׁעַל כָּרְחֲךָ אַתָּה נוֹצָר, וְעַל כָּרְחֲךָ אַתָּה נוֹלָד, וְעַל כָּרְחֲךָ אַתָּה חַי, וְעַל כָּרְחֲךָ אַתָּה מֵת, וְעַל כָּרְחֲךָ אַתָּה עָתִיד לִתֵּן דִּין וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא:
(1) Ben Zoma said:Who is wise? He who learns from every man, as it is said: “From all who taught me have I gained understanding” (Psalms 119:99). Who is mighty? He who subdues his [evil] inclination, as it is said: “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that rules his spirit than he that takes a city” (Proverbs 16:3). Who is rich? He who rejoices in his lot, as it is said: “You shall enjoy the fruit of your labors, you shall be happy and you shall prosper” (Psalms 128:2) “You shall be happy” in this world, “and you shall prosper” in the world to come. Who is he that is honored? He who honors his fellow human beings as it is said: “For I honor those that honor Me, but those who spurn Me shall be dishonored” (I Samuel 2:30).
WHO IS WISE. Rav explains the question as “which wise person can take pride in his wisdom?” At first, this might seem like a contradictoin to what Jeremiah said: “Let not the wise man take pride in his wisdom, nor the strong man take pride in his strength, nor the rich man take pride in his riches—only in [Heb. ki im] this should one take pride: understanding and knowing Me” (Jeremiah 9:22). It is not, however, because our tanna understands the verse as follows. When Jeremiah says “only in this” he is speaking of the abovementioned things themselves. What he means to say is that the wise man should not take pride in his wisdom, unless [Heb. ki im]130The Hebrew can mean “only in” or “only if”, the latter rendered here as “unless”. it be to understand and know Me; the strong man should not take pride in his strength, unless it be to understand and know Me; the rich man should not take pride in his riches, unless they be to understand and know Me. Our tanna therefore asks “which is the wise person” and so on as a question in response to the verse—since the verse says that there are wise, strong, and rich people that can take pride in their accomplishments but does not specify who they are, we must now ask to whom the verse refers.
The tanna has investigated the matter and found that the wise person in question is the one who learns from every man. Rav explains that this shows that his intent in acquiring wisdom is purely for the sake of Heaven, which would be precisely in order to “understand and know Me.” The strong man is he who subdues his desires. This is strength for the sake of Heaven, i.e. in order that one not sin before G-d, and there can be no greater “understanding and knowing Me,” as the purpose of this “knowing” is to fear G-d and keep his commandments. And the rich man who is satisfied with his lot and does not chase after wealth uses his time to engage in the service of Heaven, which is also “understanding and knowing Me.” The mishna therefore says of him “you are praiseworthy in this world, and it will go well for you in the next.” And the Talmud says in Berachot 8a that “whoever eats the fruits of his labor is greater than one who fears Heaven” for the same reason: one who has fear of Heaven but is not content with what he has and chases after wealth will not have time for the service of G-d.
(2) Ben Azzai said: Be quick in performing a minor commandment as in the case of a major one, and flee from transgression; For one commandment leads to another commandment, and transgression leads to another transgression; For the reward for performing a commandment is another commandment and the reward for committing a transgression is a transgression.
(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.
(4) Rabbi Levitas a man of Yavneh said: be exceeding humble spirit, for the end of man is the worm. Rabbi Yohanan ben Berokah said: whoever profanes the name of heaven in secret, he shall be punished in the open. Unwittingly or wittingly, it is all one in profaning the name.
END OF MAN IS WORM.....
I say that what caused the commentators all this difficulty is their understanding of the word tikvah as coming from the root k.v.h, meaning “to hope”. But this is not so, and the root is in fact k.v, as in the verse “kav by kav” (Isaiah 28:10). The second tav in the word tikvat is not in place of a hey140If the word in our mishna is “hope” from the root k.v.h., “to hope”, then we understand tikvat as the word tikvah appearing in the construct state and we read tikvat enosh as “the hope of man”.; it is simply a suffix, of the kind that appears in the words tif’eret, tilboshet.141The roots of which are p.’.r. and l.b.sh., respectively—the tav at the end is a suffix added on to the root. Tosafot Yom Tov suggests that our word tikvat should be understood similarly, the tav being a suffix. We find this word in the verse “the line [Heb. tikvat] of scarlet cord” (Joshua 2:18). We understand the kav in Isaiah the same way—as a measuring cord, with the verse meaning that one receives measure for measure. We also explain the verse in Proverbs 11:23, tikvat enosh `evra, to mean that the wicked are judged by the measuring cord and condemned to the wrath and rage of G-d. And this is what our tanna means when he says tikvat enosh rimah: the measuring cord by which punishment will be dealt out to a person is the worm. [I later saw a passage in Bereshit Rabbah 5:1 on the verse yikavu hamayim, “let the waters be gathered” (Genesis 1:9): he shall make a measure for the water, as the verse says, “a kav [line] shall be stretched over Jerusalem.]
(5) Rabbi Ishmael his son said: He who learns in order to teach, it is granted to him to study and to teach; But he who learns in order to practice, it is granted to him to learn and to teach and to practice. Rabbi Zadok said: do not make them a crown for self-exaltation, nor a spade with which to dig. So too Hillel used to say, “And he that puts the crown to his own use shall perish.” Thus you have learned, anyone who derives worldly benefit from the words of the Torah, removes his life from the world.
IS GIVEN THE ABILITY TO BOTH STUDY AND TEACH. I.e., he is given the ability to study and to fulfill his plan of teaching. The mishna needs not speak of one who studies in order to learn, for his good intent to study will certainly come to fruition. Our case tells us something more: when his intent is to teach, he is given the ability to teach and his own studies will also succeed, so that neither will suffer, for G-d will give him wisdom146Based on Proverbs 2:6.—so Midrash Shmuel.
Maharal writes in Derech Chaim that one who studies only in order to learn for himself does not need much learning, and is indeed not given the ability to do all that he plans, for even if he learns a single law he has learnt.147If his only intent is to learn, he will not receive Divine assistance to do anything more than the bare minimum of learning. If his intent is to teach, however, he will be given much more; see Derech Chaim.
Kesef Mishne writes in Hilchot Talmud Torah 3:10 that “in order to teach” here means that he does not study for learning’s sake but to gain honor by becoming a rosh yeshiva, based on the Talmud in Nedarim 62a: “To love Hashem, your G-d, to listen to His word and cleave to Him”—a person should not say, “I will study Tanach in order that people call me chacham; I will study the Mishna and Talmud in order that people call me rabbi; I will continue my studies so that I will be one of the elders and sit in council.” Alternatively, his intent is to study and earn money the way that one would in learning any trade. In this case, he is given the ability to study and teach as he planned, but not more. Whereas one who studies in order to do is studying with pure intentions. R. Tzadok then tells us that it is sinful to study only in order to teach, which is what he means by “do not make them into a crown, etc.”
(6) Rabbi Yose said: whoever honors the Torah is himself honored by others, and whoever dishonors the Torah is himself dishonored by others.
(7) Rabbi Ishmael his son said: he who refrains himself from judgment, rids himself of enmity, robbery and false swearing; But he whose heart is presumptuous in giving a judicial decision, is foolish, wicked and arrogant.
(8) He used to say: judge not alone, for none may judge alone save one. And say not “accept my view”, for they are free but not you.
(9) Rabbi Jonathan said: whoever fulfills the Torah out of a state of poverty, his end will be to fulfill it out of a state of wealth; And whoever discards The torah out of a state of wealth, his end will be to discard it out of a state of poverty.
(10) Rabbi Meir said: Engage but little in business, and busy yourself with the Torah. Be of humble spirit before all men. If you have neglected the Torah, you shall have many who bring you to neglect it, but if you have labored at the study of Torah, there is much reward to give unto you.
IF YOU HAVE LABORED MUCH IN TORAH. And exerted yourself and expended great effort on it, “there is much reward, etc.”, because the reward is commensurate with the effort and exertion and not with the learning. This is why the mishna says “if you have labored,” not “if you have learned”; everything depends on the labor, whether one has learned much or little. The mishna in 5:23, “the reward is commensurate with the suffering,” is a proof to this—Midrash Shmuel in the name of R. Yehuda Lerma. See my comments on 2:16, s.v. if you have learned.
(11) Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob said: he who performs one commandment acquires for himself one advocate, and he who commits one transgression acquires for himself one accuser. Repentance and good deeds are a shield against punishment. Rabbi Yochanan Hasandlar said: every assembly which is for the sake of heaven, will in the end endure; and every assembly which is not for the sake of heaven, will not endure in the end.
FROM PUNISHMENT. The statement of the Talmud in Yoma 86a that “repentance and Yom Kippur 'suspend' the punishment and suffering completes the atonement” does not contradict our mishna, for the “shield” in the mishna is that very “suspension” the Sages were referring to. The idea is that people are not entirely destroyed, but suffer just enough for their sins to be atoned for and for them to return to their previous states, as much as is judged necessary by the account of the G-d who knows every individual's circumstances. In short, they serve as a shield that protects people from complete destruction—Midrash Shmuel in the name of Abarbanel.
I say that the “punishment” in our mishna is not the punishment for a sin but the afflictions and misfortunes of daily life, and I will prove that this is the case. We mentioned earlier that Rambam explains “good deeds” as referring to good deeds done before any sin has been done. If so, since he has not sinned and no punishment for sin is forthcoming, to what end would he need this shield? We must conclude that “punishment” here refers to the accidents and ills that occur in the world. Maharal writes in Derech Chaim that we follow the opinion in the Tamud, Shabbat 55b that “there is suffering without sin”. And even according to the opinion that “there is no suffering without sin” all that is required is a minor sin for punishment to come, as is evident from the Talmud in Berachot 5b; repentance is a shield from that punishment.
[*Maharal felt it necessary to justify his position even according to the opinion that “there is no suffering without sin” because when the Talmud concludes that “there is suffering without sin” it is doing so because this is one of two statements made by R. Ami, the other of which is “there is no death without sin”; the latter having been disproven, it was assumed that the former was as well. The truth of the matter, however, might be that since the former was never explicitly rebutted it stands. In fact, Tosafot write ad loc.: “We conclude there is death without sin and there is suffering without sin”—even though the statement “there is no suffering without sin” was not rebutted.
(12) Rabbi Elazar ben Shammua said: let the honor of your student be as dear to you as your own, and the honor of your colleague as the reverence for your teacher, and the reverence for your teacher as the reverence of heaven.
(13) Rabbi Judah said: be careful in study, for an error in study counts as deliberate sin. Rabbi Shimon said: There are three crowns: the crown of torah, the crown of priesthood, and the crown of royalty, but the crown of a good name supersedes them all.
BE CAREFUL IN YOUR STUDIES. Midrash Shmuel writes in the name of Ritva that some versions have “be careful with your student,” meaning that one should take care to teach the student well, because otherwise the student’s mistaken ruling will be considered intentional on the part of the one who taught him.
(14) Rabbi Nehorai said: go as a [voluntary] exile to a place of Torah and say not that it will come after you, for [it is] your fellow [student]s who will make it permanent in your hand and “and lean not upon your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
(15) Rabbi Yannai said: it is not in our hands [to explain the reason] either of the security of the wicked, or even of the afflictions of the righteous. Rabbi Mathia ben Harash said: Upon meeting people, be the first to extend greetings; And be a tail unto lions, and not a head unto foxes.
(16) Rabbi Jacob said: this world is like a vestibule before the world to come; prepare yourself in the vestibule, so that you may enter the banqueting-hall.
(17) He used to say: more precious is one hour in repentance and good deeds in this world, than all the life of the world to come; And more precious is one hour of the tranquility of the world to come, than all the life of this world.
(18) Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar said: Do not try to appease your friend during his hour of anger; Nor comfort him at the hour while his dead still lies before him; Nor question him at the hour of his vow; Nor strive to see him in the hour of his disgrace.
(19) Shmuel Hakatan said: “If your enemy falls, do not exult; if he trips, let your heart not rejoice, lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and avert his wrath from him” (Proverbs 24:17).
(20) Elisha ben Abuyah said: He who learns when a child, to what is he compared? To ink written upon a new writing sheet. And he who learns when an old man, to what is he compared? To ink written on a rubbed writing sheet. Rabbi Yose ben Judah a man of Kfar Ha-babli said: He who learns from the young, to what is he compared? To one who eats unripe grapes, and drinks wine from his vat; And he who learns from the old, to what is he compared? To one who eats ripe grapes, and drinks old wine. Rabbi said: don’t look at the container but at that which is in it: there is a new container full of old wine, and an old [container] in which there is not even new [wine].
(21) Rabbi Elazar Ha-kappar said: envy, lust and [the desire for] honor put a man out of the world.
(22) He used to say: the ones who were born are to die, and the ones who have died are to be brought to life, and the ones brought to life are to be judged; So that one may know, make known and have the knowledge that He is God, He is the designer, He is the creator, He is the discerner, He is the judge, He the witness, He the complainant, and that He will summon to judgment. Blessed be He, before Whom there is no iniquity, nor forgetting, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes, for all is His. And know that all is according to the reckoning. And let not your impulse assure thee that the grave is a place of refuge for you; for against your will were you formed, against your will were you born, against your will you live, against your will you will die, and against your will you will give an account and reckoning before the King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.