דף נושא: חורף

You fixed all the boundaries of the earth;summer and winter—You made them.

[In Winter] Bless for us, L·rd, our G·d, this year, & all types of its produce for good, & provide dew & rain for blessing on the entire face of the land & quench the face of the earth, & satiate the entire world with Your good, & fill our hands from Your blessings & the wealth of the gifts of Your hands. Protect & save this year from any bad thing, & any kind of destruction, & any kind of retribution, & make for it good hope, & an ending of peace. Have compassion & mercy upon it & upon all of its produce & fruits, & bless it with rains of goodwill, blessing & benevolence, & let its end be with life, & satiety & peace, like the good years of blessing, for You are a good & benevolent G·d & You bless the years. Blessed are You L·rd, Who blesses the years.

They said about Hillel the Elder that each and every day he would work and earn a half-dinar, half of which he would give to the guard of the study hall and half of which he spent for his sustenance and the sustenance of the members of his family. One time he did not find employment to earn a wage, and the guard of the study hall did not allow him to enter. He ascended to the roof, suspended himself, and sat at the edge of the skylight in order to hear the words of the Torah of the living God from the mouths of Shemaya and Avtalyon, the spiritual leaders of that generation. The Sages continued and said: That day was Shabbat eve and it was the winter season of Tevet, and snow fell upon him from the sky. When it was dawn, Shemaya said to Avtalyon: Avtalyon, my brother, every day at this hour the study hall is already bright from the sunlight streaming through the skylight, and today it is dark; is it perhaps a cloudy day? They focused their eyes and saw the image of a man in the skylight. They ascended and found him covered with snow three cubits high. They extricated him from the snow, and they washed him and smeared oil on him, and they sat him opposite the bonfire to warm him. They said: This man is worthy for us to desecrate Shabbat for him. Saving a life overrides Shabbat in any case; however, this great man is especially deserving. Clearly, poverty is no excuse for the failure to attempt to study Torah.

It [a cloud] is called by five names: Av (Judges 5:4), ed (Genesis 2:6), anan (Genesis 9:13), nesiim (Jeremiah 10:13), ḥaziz (Zechariah 10:1). Av – because it darkens [me’abev] the face of the firmament. Ed – because it ruins the celebration [eid] of the price gougers. Anan – because it makes people tolerant [anavim] of one another. Nesiim – because it makes people regard each other as aristocrats [nesiim]. Ḥaziz – because it creates [colorful] spectacles [ḥezyonot] in the heavens, and because it causes the divine spirit to rest upon the people, as it says: “The vision [ḥazon] of Isaiah son of Amotz” (Isaiah 1:1). Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: Earth is called by four names, corresponding to its four seasons: Eretz (Genesis 1:1), tevel (I Samuel 2:8), adama (Genesis 1:25), arka (Jeremiah 10:11). Eretz – corresponding to the season of Nisan [spring], because it accelerates [meritza] production of its produce. Tevel – corresponding to the season of Tamuz [summer], because it brings flavor [metabelet] to its produce. Adama – corresponding to the season of Tishrei [autumn], as the ground becomes disparate clods of earth [adama]. Arka – corresponding to the season of Tevet [winter], because it causes its produce to wither [moreket].

When I was in my prime,When God’s company graced my tent,

Observe the difference between the deeds of men and of God. If a man owes his fellowman a hundred, or two hundred, or three hundred, and the latter says to him: “Pay me what you owe me.” And he replies: “I have nothing,” they quarrel and abuse each other forthwith. The Holy One, blessed be He, does not act in that fashion, however. You find that during the summer, in the interval between Tevet and Tammuz (when the days grow longer and the nights shorter), the day borrows from the night, and in the interval between Tammuz and Tevet (when the reverse happens), the night borrows from the day, Yet there is no speech, there are no words, neither is their voice heard (Ps. 19:4). Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, warned Moses to tell the Israelites: If you lend money to one of My people, do not embarrass him, for he is with Me. Even to the poor with thee (Exod. 22:24). Consider yourself as though you were among the poor of your people. Even to the poor with thee. The sages concluded from this verse that between the poor of your family and the poor of your city, the poor of your family must take precedence, and between the poor of your city and another city, the poor of your city must take precedence.

Whence was the earth created? He took of the snow (or ice) which was beneath His Throne of Glory and threw it upon the waters, and the waters became congealed so that the dust of the earth was formed, as it is said, "He saith to the snow, Be thou earth" (Job 37:6).