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13

Likutei Moharan II 48: וְדַע, שֶׁהָאָדָם צָרִיך לַעֲבר עַל גֶּשֶׁר צַר מְאד מְאד וְהַכְּלָל וְהָעִקָּר שֶׁלּא יִתְפַּחֵד כְּלָל‏ According to Wikipedia, the song adaptation was composed by Boruch Chait of The Rabbi's Sons. Likutei Moharan II 24: מִצְוָה גְּדוֹלָה לִהְיוֹת בְּשִׂמְחָה תָּמִיד


9

It's in אמרו לאלקים for Yom Kippur Shacharis. (I thought it's also in the Yotzer for Shabbos Shekalim, and the idea is indeed there, but not the exact phrase.)


9

There is a letter by the Lubavitcher Rebbe zt"l (original Hebrew text available online at chabadlibrary.org; an English translation is at chabad.org) in which he discusses this. (He also provides a list of places in Chabad Chassidic writings that talk about tzimtzum.) To summarize: The two key variables here are: (a) whether tzimtzum means "contraction" ...


8

Because thats when Moshe Rabenu lived until and no one can Live longer than him two sources that discus this reason and its shortcomings: THE REBBETZIN'S HUSBAND and Wolfish Musings


8

Hashem is the author of the Torah. Generally the author of a work writes it. Actually nowadays the author generally types it, nevertheless, we still say so and so "wrote" it. Who transcribed it or how they did so is incidental to who authored it. In other words saying Hashem wrote the Torah is just a generic way to convey in English that Hashem is its ...


8

"Yelchu Mchail el Choil" (Thilim 84:8) "They advance from strength to strength". ח יֵלְכוּ, מֵחַיִל אֶל-חָיִל; יֵרָאֶה אֶל-אֱלֹהִים בְּצִיּוֹן. They go from strength to strength, every one of them appeareth before God in Zion.


7

Zechariah 3 (7): כֹּה-אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, אִם-בִּדְרָכַי תֵּלֵךְ וְאִם אֶת-מִשְׁמַרְתִּי תִשְׁמֹר, וְגַם-אַתָּה תָּדִין אֶת-בֵּיתִי, וְגַם תִּשְׁמֹר אֶת-חֲצֵרָי--וְנָתַתִּי לְךָ מַהְלְכִים, בֵּין הָעֹמְדִים הָאֵלֶּה. 'Thus saith the LORD of hosts: If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My charge, and wilt also judge My house, and ...


7

Interestingly (but unsurprisingly), there is a Wikipedia page about this! They give the spelling ןאוייעך, which is how the word would be transcribed into Yiddish based on sound alone.


6

It is a paraphrasing of Igeres Teman (pg. 42 in this edition).


6

The argument went much earlier. There were students of the Arizal who held that Tzimtzum is literal. For example, Yosher Levav (the author of the Mishnas Chassidim) wrote that it is based on both logic (that it is disgraceful for Hashem to be found in a dirty place) and because it is also what the Arizal taught him. The Alter Rebbe (Baal Hatanya) ...


6

It appears in the Babylonian Talmud (c. 350) several times; one such occurrence is in the last chapter of Yoma, which addresses the notion of repentance. (Page 87a): דאמר רב הונא אמר רב כיון שעבר אדם עבירה ושנה בה הותרה לו הותרה לו סלקא דעתך אלא נעשית לו כהיתר "As Rav Huna said in the name of Rav, once a person sins once and repeats it, it becomes ...


6

Rabbi Re'uven Brauner wrote a pamphlet indexing verses used in prayer called "Shimush Pesukim" (in halakhah.com): http://halakhah.com/rst/pesukim.pdf However, the specific verse you quoted is not found in that index (nor do I remember it), except for a haftarah.


6

When I was young, my older brother and I counted a bunch of pomegranates. Some totaled 607, 624, and other numbers in that area. Although none totaled exactly 613, in our series of counting the average came out to 613! Thanks to msh, at the bottom of R. Zivotofsky's article I found that someone has an ongoing experiment regarding just this question and so ...


6

We say חזק חזק ונתחזק when we finish each Chumash. יהושע: כג. ו. וחזקתם מאד לשמר ולעשות את כל הכתוב בספר תורת משה לבלתי סור ממנו ימין ושמאול ישעיהו: מא. ו. איש את רעהו יעזרו ולאחיו יאמר חזק עזרא: י. ד. קום כי עליך הדבר ואנחנו עמך חזק ועשה דברי הימים א: יט. יג. חזק ונתחזקה בעד עמנו ובעד ערי אלהינו ויהוה הטוב בעיניו יעשה


4

Regarding the first quote "The whole world is a very narrow bridge..." I can only find "A man must traverse a very narrow bridge...". Perhaps the songwriter wrote the song based on those words which are attributed to Rabbi Nachman. Regarding "It is a great mitzvah to be happy constantly". This is mentioned in Likuteh Morahan Tinyana 24 מצוה גדולה להיות ...


4

I also used to think it had to do with Moshe's age. But then this made me wonder why we say "You should live till 120", since it sounds more like a curse than a blessing to limit someone's potential age to a set number of years. Then it was pointed out to me that it isn't a curse, but a determination made by HaShem, explicitly stated in the Torah. In ...


4

A possible source is Proverbs (9:8) אַל תּוֹכַח לֵץ פֶּן יִשְׂנָאֶךָּ הוֹכַח לְחָכָם וְיֶאֱהָבֶךָּ "Criticize not the scoffer lest he hate you; criticize the wise and he will love you." Another close one (26:4) אַל תַּעַן כְּסִיל כְּאִוַּלְתּוֹ פֶּן תִּשְׁוֶה לּוֹ גַם אָתָּה "Answer not the fool with his foolishness lest you too resemble him."


4

I can't vouch for the reliability of this source, but the story is found in Warren Kozak, The Rabbi of 84th Street: The Extraordinary Life of Haskel Besser (HarperCollins, 2004), pp. 176-7 (cited in the Wikipedia article on the Shanghai Ghetto): When the Germans pressed the Japanese to turn over the entire Jewish community [in Shanghai], the Japanese ...


2

Just to contribute a tiny bit of data (while agreeing with the other answers that the count varies): Tonight I was dismantling a pomegranate while waiting for dinner to cook, and one thing led to another, and I found that this single data point had exactly 613 seeds. I only eat about one or two pomegranates a year, so I am unlikely to collect a ...


2

I heard that "filled with mitzvot as a pomegranate" is not a reference to a certain number, or even an abundance, but the "fullness". The phrase אפילו ריקים שבכם מלאים מצוות כרימון is explained as being full like a pomegranate. When a pomegranate grows, its seeds fill it up leaving no space, as opposed to other fruit we know that have some extra space or ...


2

Issac Moses's comment about Mishlei, made it remember that Kohelet has some quotes, though they are not very pithy. Kohelet 1:16: טז דִּבַּרְתִּי אֲנִי עִם-לִבִּי, לֵאמֹר--אֲנִי הִנֵּה הִגְדַּלְתִּי וְהוֹסַפְתִּי חָכְמָה, עַל כָּל-אֲשֶׁר-הָיָה לְפָנַי עַל-יְרוּשָׁלִָם; וְלִבִּי רָאָה הַרְבֵּה, חָכְמָה וָדָעַת I spoke with my heart, saying: 'I have ...


1

I second DoubleAA's comment - I'm hard pressed to think of a navi who doesn't talk about justice. The most immediate quote for me is Amos 5:24: Let justice roll down like waters, righteousness like a mighty stream. Other candidates include: Micah 6:8: It has been told to you, O mortal, what is good and what the L!RD seeks from you: only to do justice, to ...


1

This smacks of Mishlei thematically. Perhaps you're thinking of 22:17-18, in terms of wisdom being quid pro quo, although there is no treasure here: הַט אָזְנְךָ וּשְׁמַע דִּבְרֵי חֲכָמִים וְלִבְּךָ תָּשִׁית לְדַעְתִּי. כִּי נָעִים כִּי תִשְׁמְרֵם בְּבִטְנֶךָ יִכֹּנוּ יַחְדָּו עַל שְׂפָתֶיךָ JPS: Incline thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, ...


1

Perhaps Mishlei 25:12: יב נֶזֶם זָהָב, וַחֲלִי-כָתֶם-- מוֹכִיחַ חָכָם, עַל-אֹזֶן שֹׁמָעַת. 12 As an ear-ring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear. In other words, the rebuke of a wise man is gold to those who will accept it.


1

How about Leviticus 19 (2) “kedoshim tihiyu” which the Ramban understands to mean "sanctify yourself by withdrawing from that which is permissible to you". See Rav Frand at http://www.torah.org/learning/ravfrand/5765/kedoshim.html especially the last three paragraphs where he says amongst other things that the Torah wants the holiness of complete human ...


1

I've heard it as well; the version I heard is that a Japanese officer had called in one of the students who had fled with the Mir yeshiva from Mir, Eastern Europe, to Shanghai. "Why do the Germans want us to ship you back?" "Because we're Asian." My understanding is that part of the geopolitics involved Shanghai being an internationalized city as a result ...


1

It isn't true. In terms of the Malbim about 613 seeds in a pomegranate, see it inside, as well as a nice discussion by me and others, here: http://parsha.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-many-seeds-in-pomegranate.html


1

This Mahlokes ultimately seems to stem from an earlier Mahlokes between Rabeinu Yosef Gikatelia (Shaarei Orah) and the Rashash (the Kabbalist). The SO holds that Keser of Atzilus (Keser Elyon) is the Ein Sof Himself and the Rashash holds that Keser of Atzilus is the Ohr of the Ein Sof. If the K.E. is the Ohr E.S. then He Maintains His presence, but is ...


1

I hope I'm understanding and presenting this correctly; someone please correct me if I'm getting this wrong. I heard a talk from Rabbi Yaacov Haber about this. If I understand correctly, he contrasted the Tanya with a similar work by Ramchal known as "Adir BaMarom" or "Adir BiMromim." It's well-known that the Vilna Gaon thought highly of Ramchal. ...



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