Where are we in the calendar? What is Cheshvan?
- Elul is when we begin shofar blowing. But what comes after Elul and Tishrei?
The Value of Consistency:
עין יעקב בהקדמת הכותב
בן זומא אומר מצינו פסוק כולל יותר והוא שמע ישראל וגו'. בן ננס אומר מצינו פסוק כולל יותר והוא ואהבת לרעך כמוך. שמעון בן פזי אומר מצינו פסוק כולל יותר והוא את הכבש האחד תעשה בבוקר וגו'. עמד ר' פלוני על רגליו ואמר הלכה כבן פזי.
Ben Zoma says: We have found a more inclusive verse, and it is, “Shema Yisrael.”
Ben Nanas says: We have found a more inclusive verse, and it is, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Shimon Ben Pazi says: We have found a more inclusive verse and it is, “The first lamb you shall sacrifice in the morning and the second lamb you shall sacrifice in the evening.”
Rabbi Ploni stood up and said: The halakha is in accordance with Ben Pazi.
...ומה שאמר בן פזי את הכבש האחד תעשה בבקר הוא כלל גדול בתורה יותר, רצה לומר מה שהאדם עובד הש"י בתמידות הגמור והוא עבדו, וכמו שהעבד לא סר עבודתו מן אדון שלו רק הוא עובדו תמידי, ולכך אמר את הכבש האחד תעשה בבוקר וגו' שזה נאמר על קרבן תמיד שחר וערב דבר זה הכלל בתורה, שתכלית המכוון שיהיה האדם עבד להקב"ה וכל שאר התורה פירושא שע"י המצות הוא עובד את בוראו לגמרי.
Maharal (Pozman and Prague, 1512-1609), Netivot Olam 2, Ahavat Re’a 1
And that which ben Pazi stated… he is saying that when someone serves God with consistency, and like a servant he does not leave his service of his master but always serves him... this relates to the verse he quoted about the everyday offering, since the entire objective is that a person should be a servant of God, and the rest of the Torah is commentary, because through the Mitzvot one serves God completely.
Why Consistency Matters:
וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים: מְבָרֵךְ עַל הַיַּיִן וְאַחַר כָּךְ מְבָרֵךְ עַל הַיּוֹם. שֶׁהַיַּיִן גּוֹרֵם לַקְּדוּשָּׁה שֶׁתֵּאָמֵר. דָּבָר אַחֵר: בִּרְכַּת הַיַּיִן תְּדִירָה, וּבִרְכַּת הַיּוֹם אֵינָהּ תְּדִירָה. תָּדִיר וְשֶׁאֵינוֹ תָּדִיר — תָּדִיר קוֹדֵם. וַהֲלָכָה כְּדִבְרֵי בֵּית הִלֵּל.
And Beit Hillel say: One recites a blessing over the wine and recites a blessing over the day thereafter, because the wine causes the sanctification to be recited. Were there no wine, kiddush would not be recited. Alternatively, Beit Hillel say: The blessing over wine is recited frequently, and the blessing over the day is not recited frequently, and there is a general principle: When a frequent practice and an infrequent practice clash, the frequent practice takes precedence over the infrequent practice. The Tosefta concludes: The halakha is in accordance with the statement of Beit Hillel.
- Why do you think frequency takes precedent?
שִׁמְעוּ נָא רַבּוֹתַי, דַּיָּנִים מֻמְחִים, כָּל נֶדֶר, אוֹ שְׁבוּעָה, אוֹ אִסָּר, אוֹ קוֹנָם, אוֹ חֵרֶם, שֶׁנָּדַרְתִּי, אוֹ נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי בְּהָקִיץ, אוֹ בַחֲלוֹם, אוֹ נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי בְּשֵׁמוֹת הַקְּדוֹשִׁים שֶׁאֵינָם נִמְחָקִים, וּבְשֵׁם הוי"ה בּ"ה, ... אוֹ שֶׁנָּדַרְתִּי וְגָמַרְתִּי בְלִבִּי לַעֲשׂוֹת שׁוּם מִצְוָה מֵהַמִּצְוֹת, אוֹ אֵיזוֹ הַנְהָגָה טוֹבָה, אוֹ אֵיזֶה דָבָר טוֹב, שֶׁנָּהַגְתִּי שָׁלשׁ פְּעָמִים וְלֹא הִתְנֵיתִי שֶׁיְהֵא בְּלִי נֶדֶר. הֵן דָּבָר שֶׁעָשִׂיתִי הֵן עַל עַצְמִי הֵן עַל אֲחֵרִים, הֵן אוֹתָם הַיְדוּעִים לִי, הֵן אוֹתָם שֶׁכְּבָר נִשְׁכְּחוּ מִמֶּנִּי, בְּכֻלְּהוֹן אִתְחֲרַטְנָא בְהוֹן מֵעִקָּרָא,
Listen my masters, expert judges! Any vow, oath, or prohibition, konom-vow, or consecration, that I have vowed or sworn, while awake or [even] in a dream, or which I swore [using] any of the hallowed Names [of God], [those] which are forbidden to be erased, or in the Ineffible Name of God, blessed is He; ..., and any expression I may have uttered, vowed or resolved in my heart, even to perform a certain commandment, or any good practice, or any worthwhile endeavor, which I performed three times but did not expressly state that I am doing so without the imposition of a vow, whether it is a commitment concerning myself, or concerning others, both those which are known to me or those which I have already forgotten— regarding all of these— I regret them in retrospect.
- What shifts after 3 times an action is performed?
- It's interesting to note that there is no official source for 3 times being significant. What do you think about that?
ואם תלכו עמי קרי. רַבּוֹתֵינוּ אָמְרוּ עֲרַאי, בְּמִקְרֶה, שֶׁאֵינוֹ אֶלָּא לִפְרָקִים, כֵּן תֵּלְכוּ עֲרַאי בְּמִצְווֹת; וּמְנַחֵם פֵּרֵשׁ לְשׁוֹן מְנִיעָה, וְכֵן "הֹקַר רַגְלְךָ" (משלי כ"ה), וְכֵן "יְקַר רוּחַ" (שם י"ז), וְקָרוֹב לָשׁוֹן זֶה לְתַרְגּוּמוֹ שֶׁל אֻנְקְלוֹס, לְשׁוֹן קֹשִׁי, שֶׁמַּקְשִׁין לִבָּם לִמָּנַע מֵהִתְקָרֵב אֵלַי:
ואם תלכו עמי קרי — Our Rabbis said (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 5 5): this word signifies “irregularly”, “by chance” (מקרה), which is a thing that happens only occasionally; thus this means: if you will follow the commandments irregularly. Menachem explains it as an expression for “refraining”. Similar is, (Proverbs 25:17) “Refrain (הוקר) thy foot [from thy neighbour’s house]”; (Proverbs 17:27) “of a refraining (יקר) spirit”. This meaning approximates to the translation given by Onkelos which is a term denoting “stubbornness” (קושי) — that they harden their hearts so as to refrain from coming near unto Me.
It was taught: On that day that they removed Rabban Gamliel from his position and appointed Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya in his place, they dismissed the guard at the door and permission was granted to the students to enter. The new approach asserted that anyone who seeks to study should be given opportunity to do so. [Unlike] Rabban Gamliel [who] would proclaim and say: Any student whose inside, his thoughts and feelings, are not like his outside, i.e., his conduct and his character traits are lacking, will not enter the study hall.
- Why do you think R' Gamliel preferred people with a sense of consistency in their beliefs and attitudes?
- Do you think it's fair to not welcome those who do not act otherwise?
The Problem of Consistency
Consistency isn't necessarily boring....or even dichotomous:
הַמֵּאִיר לָאָֽרֶץ וְלַדָּרִים עָלֶֽיהָ בְּרַחֲמִים וּבְטוּבוֹ מְחַדֵּשׁ בְּכָל־יוֹם תָּמִיד מַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית:
He illuminates the earth [and provides light] for those who dwell on it, with compassion; and in His goodness renews every day, continually, the work of creation.
אף שלמה גמר מלאכת המקדש בחודש מרחשון... ונעשה נעול שנים עשר חודש... והאלקים שחשב לערב שמחת בית המקדש בחודש שנולד בו אברהם... הפסיד מרחשון לאו אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא עלי לשלם לו ותשלם כל המלאכה
Similarly, Shlomo completed building the Beis Hamikdash in the month of Cheshvan... and it remained locked up for twelve months... for Hashem wanted to wait until Tishrei, the month in which Avraham was born. Cheshvan then lost out, and Hashem said He would repay it [with the building of the third Beis Hamikdash].