Be Silent!

(14) The LORD will battle for you; you hold your peace!”

What does being silent in this case entail? It’s two things: tefillah and loshon hora.

(35) It has been clearly demonstrated to you that the LORD alone is God; there is none beside Him.

If one can’t refrain from talking with his friends when he’s supposed to be conversing with Hashem, then how on earth can he expect to know our Creator?

If a person cannot control his talking in shul, it is better that he pray at home and not attend shul at all. [“If you come to shul to talk (to your friends), where do you go to daven?”]

(23) You shall consume the tithes of your new grain and wine and oil, and the firstlings of your herds and flocks, in the presence of the LORD your God, in the place where He will choose to establish His name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God forever.

(6) Now if I am a father, where is the honor due Me? And if I am a master, where is the reverence due Me?—said the LORD of Hosts to you, O priests who scorn My name. But you ask, “How have we scorned Your name?”

(8) When you present a blind animal for sacrifice—it doesn’t matter! When you present a lame or sick one—it doesn’t matter! Just offer it to your governor: Will he accept you? Will he show you favor?—said the LORD of Hosts. (9) And now implore the favor of God! Will He be gracious to us? This is what you have done—will He accept any of you? The LORD of Hosts has said:

(30) You shall keep My sabbaths and venerate My sanctuary: I am the LORD.

(2) You shall keep My sabbaths and venerate My sanctuary, Mine, the LORD’s.

(2) ומקדשי תיראו; the holy sites of the Jewish people during the years of their exile, such as Torah academies and synagogues. Ezekiel 11,15 describes such buildings as מקדש מעט, a “miniature Temple.” Our sages state that he referred by this definition to Torah academies and synagogues.

In explaining Abba Binyamin’s statement, Ravin bar Rav Adda said that Rabbi Yitzḥak said: From where is it derived that the Holy One, Blessed be He, is located in a synagogue? As it is stated: “God stands in the congregation of God; in the midst of the judges He judges” (Psalms 82:1). The congregation of God is the place where people congregate to sing God’s praises, and God is located among His congregation.

(6) Seek the LORD while He can be found...

Where can He be found? In synagogues and study halls...

you do not revere Shabbat itself, as reverence is not mentioned in this context, but rather, one reveres He Who warned about the observance of Shabbat, so too, the same applies to the reverence stated with regard to the Temple: You do not revere the Temple itself but He Who warned about the Temple. The baraita explains: And what is the reverence of the Temple? In deference to the Temple, a person may not enter the Temple Mount with his staff, his shoes, his money belt [punda], or even the dust on his feet. One may not make the Temple a shortcut [kappendarya] to pass through it, and through an a fortiori inference, all the more so one may not spit on the Temple Mount, as no disrespect is meant by the other actions, whereas spitting is repulsive even in one’s own private home, and certainly on the Temple Mount. And I have derived only that one is obligated to act in this manner when the Temple is standing. From where do I derive that the mitzva to revere the Temple is in force when the Temple is not standing, i.e., that it is prohibited to be disrespectful toward the place where the Temple stood? The verse states: “You shall keep My Shabbatot, and revere My Sanctuary” (Leviticus 19:30). Just as the keeping stated with regard to Shabbat applies forever, so too, the reverence stated with regard to the Temple is forever.

[Read Days Are Coming by Rabbi Moshe Silberstein, pages 22-24]

(26) May they always be of such mind, to revere Me...

(11) Serve the LORD in awe; tremble with fright,

How do we serve Hashem with fear? It’s one word: silence.

(2) To You, silence is praise.

When we are silent and only converse with our Creator, we are praising Him!

(1) R. Eliezer HaKappar beRabbi said, "The power of peace is great; as at the time that Israel makes itself one group, the trait of strict judgement does not reach them, even [if there is] idolatry among them,... But at the time that they are divided, the trait of strict judgement reaches them...

(1) Eleazar Haqappar says, “Peace is great, because even though Israel worships idols but [still] forms one fellowship (havurah), strict justice does not harm them.²¹Numb. R. 11:17; cf. Gen. R. 38:6

(2) R. Elazar the son of R. Elazar Hakappar says: Great is peace, for even if the idolators live in peace, the Holy One, as it were, does not "touch" them,... But when they were divided amongst themselves, what is written of them? (Ibid. 10:2) "Their hearts are divided — Now they will be laid waste!"

“The generation of Dovid was all righteous people, but because there were speakers of rechilus (spreading rumors about one another) among them, they would go out to war and suffer causalities… However, the generation of Achav was idolaters; yet because there was no rechilus among them, they would go out to war and win. Why? Because they didn’t say rechilus (or loshon hora) about one another - they were at peace with one another.

If one has transgressed lashon hora his prayer does not go up in front of G-d because there rests on it a spirit of defilement.

An example of this is tefillah which rises up to Heaven.

Connected to the emphasis on the need to bolster one’s effort in prayer, the Gemara notes that the Sages taught in a baraita: Four things require bolstering, constant effort to improve, and they are: Torah, good deeds, prayer, and occupation.

A person should strengthen himself in this constantly with all his energy.

[If one wants to] be saved from his evil inclination, then he should concentrate all his effort into specifically studying halacha in depth.

[see also Chovas HaShemirah by Yisrael Meir HaKohein, chapter 3 “ודע עוד”]