Is Bechirah A Good Thing

The Gemarah Sotah (36b) says באתה דיוקנו של אביו ונראת לו בחלון.  Yosef had a glimpse of Yaakov's face and that is what stopped him from sinning.  If Yosef had an external experience which stopped him from sinning why is he given credit for withstanding the test of Potiphar's wife?  

One approach of some seforim is to say this was not an external revelation of the face of Yaakov being conjured up before him but was a reflection of an internal resolve on the part of Yosef not to sin.  Yosef looked within himself and saw that he bears a resemblance to the holy face of Yaakov, etched on the כסא הכבוד and he realized it is not worth throwing it all away to do a sin.  That is the חלון that Chazal mention, a window can reflect that face of the one who looks into it.  Yosef saw a reflection of his potential face, of the face of kedusha that he will obtain if he refrains from sin.  When Yosef had this thought process, he received the fortitude to abstain from sin (from sefer הגיון לבי.)   

The Sfas Emes (5636) has a chiddush which he uses to explain this problem.  As an introduction, one school of thought (I think the common understand,) is that bechirah is a positive quality of man (as some understand לם אלוקים means,) a reflection of the Godliness within mankind.  Choice is what elevates mankind over animals who act purely based upon instinct.  Mankind is endowed with the girt of choice, one is given the ability to control their natural tendencies and choose a path of action.  The Sfas Emes here says the total opposite is the truth.  In the thought of the Sfas Emes, bechirah is an outgrowth of golus.  "עיקר הגלות הוא תוס' הבחירה כי אם לא הי' הבחירה כלל לאדם הי' ממש בן חורין"  In other words, naturally man should be like a malach, automatically programmed to do the desire of Hashem.  It is the sin of Adam that brings bechirah into the world and man is thrust into a life of choice, a life of distinguishing good from bad, of peeling away layers of falsehood to try to reach the truth.  The Sfas Emes says the test of Yosef was such that it was not humanly possible to overcome.  The only way Yosef was stopped from sinning was "רק ע"י רצון ולב אמת וצדק שיש להצדיק. זוכה שיקחו ממנו הבחירה שיצא מהנסיון. ופי' שיסייענו משמים." a removal of bechirah.  The removal of bechirah from Yosef is a harbinger of the geulah from the golus of Mitzraim and the geulah from all of the goliout which occurs when bitachon is removed.  The Sfas Emes (Bo 5638) says that was the message of bechirah being removed from Pharoah.  The message is that bechirah, the darkness of golus, is also under control of Hashem and can only go so far as Hashem allows it.  The Sfas Emes does not quote this Chazal in this piece but it fits in light of his approach.  Yosef did not have it within himself to withstand sin and indeed it was only through an external removal of his bechirah that he was able to avoid sin (see Sefer שערים אל הפנימיות Chapter 4.)  

See another approach in Likutay Moharan (#72 and volume 2 #150,) I'm not sure what he means. 

Internal Beauty

Zechariah (9:13)  כִּֽי־דָרַ֨כְתִּי לִ֜י יְהוּדָ֗ה קֶשֶׁת מִלֵּ֣אתִי אֶפְרַ֔יִם וְעֽוֹרַרְתִּ֚י בָנַ֙יִךְ֙ צִיּ֔וֹן עַל־בָּנַ֖יִךְ יָוָ֑ן וְשַׂמְתִּ֖יךְ כְּחֶ֥רֶב גִּבּֽוֹר.  Why are the conquerors of יון referred to as the people of ציון specifically?  The Alshich says since the battle of Chanukah was waged by the Chasmoniam who were the bearers of the Torah which is associated with ציון as in כי מציון תצא תורה.  And it is the Torah which the possuk concludes is the great sword which will be used to smite Javan.  

However, even though the Alshich notes the beginning of the possuk notes Yehuda and Efraim and then continues to the בני ציון indicating a third group, there are seforim that point out a connection between ציון and יוסף.  The word ציון itself can be broken into צ יון in which the צ stands for צדיק, Yosef is called tzaddik.  Closer to the point, the gematria of יוסף and ציון is exactly the same, 156, see much ado about this in Kol Hator.  Why is the power of Yosef used to defeat יון and what is its connection to ציון?  

Yosef is the only man in Chumash described as יפה תואר ויפה מראה.  Rashi tells us in Vayetzeh when the same expression appears in the Torah's description of Rachel, that תאר is צורת הפרצוף and מראה is זיו קלסתר.  In other words, תאר refers to the actually form of the face, how everything comes together to create a beautiful image and מראה refers to the internal shine that radiates of the face.  חכמת אדם תאיר פניו, the face expresses the internal wisdom that exists within the individual.  The תאר is an external beauty but it is even deeper when accompanied by מראה, a reflection of an internal purity. Why is it significant to know that Yosef was handsome and why is he the only man in Chumash given this description?  צִיּוֹן כְּלִילַת יֳפִי or as the possuk (Tehillim 50:2) says מציון מכלל יפי.  Zion is also called יופי, why? 

In its purest form יופי is an expression of the heavenly dimension meeting earth.  Zion is the meeting place of heaven and earth.  Yosef is the midah of yesod, כל כל בשמים ובארץ, the midah which combines heaven and earth.  The beauty is a reflection of the gashmi being used for the proper designated, ruchni purpose.  When the gashmi is inline with the ruchni purpose it was created for the internal purity shines though.  The יופי is not a maaleh on its own accord but is a mirror of the internal beauty of something being used for its designated purpose.     

The Greeks were known for their appreciation of aesthetics.  The beauty of Yefes is meant to adorn the אהלי שם.  It is a means to accentuate the spiritual usage of Shem.  However, they appreciated beauty but not as a means to an end but rather as an end in of itself.  The root of such a mistake shares the same roots as the origins of the sin of idolatry.  They also started with noble intensions to serve Hashem through His messengers but in the end they worshipped the means, they viewed that as an end in its own right an missed the bridge to the connect back to Hashem.  They got stuck in יפה תואר but it was not יפה מראה, there was no reflection of an inner, genuine truth shining through.  (This part is based upon shiurim from Rav Moshe Shhapira.)     

Rav Kook writes (see as an example his letters volume 4) that Zion refers to Yerushalayim as the capital of the nation of Klal Yisrael.  It is the term used to describe the seat of the malchus of Yisrael, of the mundane power of government.  Yerushalayim refers to the place of kedusha, the place of the Mikdash, the place that parallels the spiritual realm above.  That is why, as Rav Kook explains in the letter, he wished to move away from Mizrachi, and Zionism to form דגל ירושלים, a movement devoted to bring kedusha to the settling of Zion.  

This is why Zion is called יופי.  Its יופי is a mirror of the usage of the mundane force of the government body to facilitate the kedusha of Yerushalayim to to shine.  This midah is embodied by Yosef.  It is precisely because Yosef had the capability to live in the depths of Egypt, the טומאת הארץ, that he did not get lost in the externalities of beauty, that he is described as being handsome. 

3,4 and 19 Kislev

The Gra (Aderes Eliyahu) in the beginning of Ha'azinu has many dikdukim in the possuk, האזינו השמים ואדברה ותשמע הארץ אמרי פי.  One of the points he raises it why the heavens is only afforded three words, האזינו השמים ואדברה while the earth gets four, ותשמע הארץ אמרי פי?  He explains that שמים refers to the Torah שבכתב and the ארץ refers to Torah שבעל פה.  He says the 4 and the 3 parallel the two types of שין on the tefillin of the head, the right side has a four pronged שין and the left side has a three pronged.  These also correspond to the three ברכת השחר in the morning and 4 in the evening.  How do these ideas all come together, what does the written Torah have to do with the number 4 and the oral Torah with the number 3?   

The Gemarah Shabbas (104a) says ג,ד stands for גומל דלים.  In the terminology of Chassidus ג refers to the middah of yesod which is the giver and the letter ד refers to malchut, the recipient.  The written Torah is the giver, it is given to Klal Yisrael from Hashem.  That is why it matches up with the number 3, the giver.  The oral Torah is the Torah composed by the recipients, Klal Yisrael.  The 4 pronged שין is on the right side of the tefillin, the side of chesed, the masculine side, the giver.  The 3 pronged שין in on the left side, that of gevurot, the feminine side, the recipient.  That is why there are 3 avos, three givers and 4 imahot, 4 receivers.  The morning is the time of chesed as well, there is a possibility of a bright new day.  The evening is the time of gevurot, of the time of taking in the events of the day.  That is the matchup of 3 to the written Torah, שמים and 4 to the oral Torah, ארץ.   

The name of the Alter Rebbe is שניאור which according to the Maharshal refers to שני אור, two forms of light.  The avodah of chassidus is to  take the ארץ and align it with שמים.  When the recipient is willing to acknowledge the giver that is the ultimate tikkun.  This is is hinted to by the fact that the original 19-20 Kislev liberation happened on a Tuesday- Wednesday, יום ג ויום ד.  The day is to celebrate the spreading forth of the recognition of the  complete presence of the שמים, the נותן in the ארץ. 

The Bas Ayin notes the the fact that Kislev is three months after Tishray and parallels this to the story of Yehuda and Tamar.  Rav Levi Yitzchak notes that there are two forms of three which correspond with two forms of giving the Torah.  The Torah was given in Sivan, the third month from the count from Nissan.  The Gemarah Shabbas (88a and Rav Nissan Gaon ad loc.) note many forms of three that were present at the giving of the Torah.  Moshe was the third child from the third shevet, Levi.  This is present at the giving of the written Torah from Hashem, the אתערותא דלעילא which happens in the third month from the method of counting from Nissan, the month of the greatest אתערותא דלעילא.  Chanukah is the holiday which is the precursor to the oral Torah and hence it happens in the third month counting from Tishray.  In other words, the count from אתערותא דלתתא, from man's own actions.  That is why Chanukah happened only through mesiras nefesh, it had to happen through the actions of man.  And the miracle happened through the חשמונאים, the descendants of Levi, the third tribe.  It is the oral Torah that leads us through the golus.  It is what distinguishes us from the gentiles.  While they may have the Septuagint, access to the written Torah, they do not have access to the oral Torah.  This is the three that leads to four, when the recipients, Klal Yisrael play an active role, and it is that fusion that guides us through the centuries. 

The "Sin" Of Reuvain

The Gemarah Shabbas (55b) says כל האומר ראובן חוטא אינו אלא טועה.  So why does the Torah write that Reuvain did a grave sin?  Rav Ruderman (Yeshuran volume 17) explains that every issur contains many layers to the prohibition.  There is the actual translation of the words prohibition and then there are degrees and levels to the prohibition.  As an example he says there is an issur not to kill and Chazal equate embarrassing another person to killing them.  In other words, to a degree, embarrassing a person is included in the issur of killing.  With this idea he answers a contradiction.  Rashi in the parsha (37:7) says וכן לא יעשה שהאומות גדרו עצמן מן העריות ע"י המבול.  He says even gentiles were careful about arayot.  But the Midrash  (V'zos Haberacha) says that Amon and Moav didn't take the Torah because they couldn't accept לא תנאף, but they kept the issur of arayot?  They kept the basic law of not having a forbidden relationship but all the extensions of the issur, הרהור, הסתכלות, וכו that they did not keep.  This is the peshat in the story of Reuvain as well.  According to his level his act was an act that was a degree of the issur of לשכב פילגש אביו.  He says this is the yesdo to explain many of the sins mentioned in Tanach.  

Rav Neventzal is מדייק the Gemarah doesn't say האומר ראובן חוטא טועה, that person is wrong for thinking Reuvain sinned but the Gemrah is very verbose and says  האומר ראובן חוטא אינו אלא טועה, why the extra words אינו אלא?  He explains the Gemarah is telling us that one is not just making a mistake in understanding a possuk but one's entire philosophy, one's entire outlook on understanding Tanach is wrong.  אינו אלא טועה means the entire person, his whole approach is mistaken.  Why?  Because it is self understood that such great people can not stumble in such a depraved an immoral sin.  Reuvain, who's name in engraved on the choshen, could not possibly have violated such a great sin.  Someone who doesn't understand that does not know how to read Tanach properly.  So, why does the Torah write it in such a manner?  He gives a משל from a precious diamond that even a small scratch makes the value diminish greatly since the more precious the item is, the greater the perfection demanded from it.  One will tolerate a small scratch in a regular stone but in a precious diamond than more is at stake.  So too for the great figure of Tanach, even there small miscues are cast as great sins for according to their level any lack of perfection taints to the level of a great sin for an ordinary person.     

The Dot In The Middle

In honor of the yima geulah of the month and connected to the parsha. 

Gemarah Berachot (8a)

כתיב פדה בשלום נפשי מקרב לי וגו' אמר הקב"ה כל העוסק בתורה ובגמילות חסדים ומתפלל עם הצבור מעלה אני עליו כאילו פדאני לי ולבני מבין אומות העולם.  

How are these things as if one is redeemed?  The Maharal explains (Netzach Ch. 10, Or Chadash 4:16) that golus means separation as Haman said מפוזר ומפורד, a state of division, a lack of cohesiveness.  On the national level that means that Klal Yisrael is not together but is scattered among various nations.  There is a lack of a concentration of everyone being together in the same land.  On an individual level it means פיזור הנפש where one is not able to put all of one's efforts concentrated into a task but instead one is always distracted by other nags and worries.  As the Chovot HaLevavot writes (into. to Shaar Habitachon) the pious one prays הרחמן יצילני מפיזור הנפש for that is the biggest distraction from being able to live properly in the present.  The antidote to golus, the פדיון, is joining together.  That is the tefillah bitzibbur, when a congregation can come together in prayer that is the opposite of golus.  Gemilas chasadim as well is an act of joining together with another individual to help them out.  Learning Torah is the antidote to פיזור הנפש, throwing one's self into the study of Torah purifies man's mind and allows him to see things in a clearer light (see Maharal himself who explains gemilas chasadim and Torah differently.)      

The root of all division and separation comes from the very forming of the world itself.  The Midrash (2:4) relates the words תהו ובהו חושך על פני תהום as a reference to the 4 גליות.  This means that the root of all the separations of golus stem from the very creation and concealment that exists from the very fact that the world is in existence. The existence of separation from one's source is an outgrowth of  the world's apparent separation from Hashem.  The world was created with a ה.  That is the 4 directions plus a middle point.  The 4 directions are the points of separation from the middle which was the point connected to Hashem and from there the world expands into the 4 directions of concealment to cover over the middle point. 

Esau's essence was to be lost in the world of the concealment.  Esau is Edom.  He sees red and that is taken in by it.  He is taken in by what meets the eye.  Yaakov's face was similar to that of Adam's.  His essence was compared to the essence of Adam, the צלם אלוקים reflected in man.  Esau takes the בגדי חמודות, he is taken in by the external glory of man, he doesn't grasp there is an internal beauty underneath.   

This is why Esau took along 400 men with him in order to combat Yaakov.  He wishes to bring the full power (4*10) of degrees of separation from the midpoint, the extreme of expansion, to drown Yaakov in being מפוזר ומפורד.  This is the קש of Esau (קש = 400.)  He is enthralled by the קד, the externality, the expansion of the physical world.  

The gematria of the word נשים is 400.  Woman take the seed of man and expand it.  They are given the creative capability of expansion.  That is why there are 4 אמהות to properly harness this power of expansion and tie it back to its source. 

The antidote to the number 4 of separation is the connection to the middle point, the number 5.  The ה inside עולם הזה.  The number 5 corresponds to the 5 levels of the neshama.  The greatest level is that of יחידה, the point of unification.  The yechida is the driving force behind action of mesiras nefesh.  To give own's self over totally to Hashem comes from the point of the soul that retains a connection despite all the concealments and that is the yechida.  When one uses mesiras nefesh then not only is the yechida accessed but all the levels of the neshama and the person himself throughout any great state of פיזור one may be in become illuminated by the light of the yechida.  The Gemarah cites the possuk of פדה בשלום.  Shalom is the point of unification of warring factors when they become united as one.  When the acts of Torah, chesed, tefillah bitzubbur are done, it elevates a person beyond the golus and then one is able to unite the concealment of the 4 directions of the world with their middle point. And the Rebbe adds in a maamer (Padah Beshalom 5741) every act of service of Hashem is also connected to mesiras nefesh and the yechida, 

ועפ"ז יובן הקשר דפדי' שבדרך מלחמה [העבודה שמצד חי', ולמטה יותר העבודה שמצד נר"נ] לפדה בשלום נפשי (יחידה), כי בכל עבודה ועבודה יש בה (בהעלם) המס"נ שמצד יחידה. וכדאיתא בתניא דעסק התורה והמצוות והתפלה הוא ענין מס"נ ממש. דכיון שאמיתית הענין דמס"נ (מס"נ ממש) הוא המס"נ שמצד יחידה, הרי נמצא, שבכל ענין דתורה ומצוות [אפילו הענינים הפשוטים דתומ"צ שאלמלא ניתנה תורה (ח"ו) היו למדים אותם מבהמת הארץ] יש כח המס"נ דיחידה.        

Self Defense

וַיִּירָ֧א יַֽעֲקֹ֛ב מְאֹ֖ד וַיֵּ֣צֶר ל֑וֹ.  What was he so afraid and worried about?  Rashi says וַיִּירָא שֶׁמָּא יֵהָרֵג, וַיֵּצֶר לוֹ אִם יַהֲרֹג הוּא אֶת אֲחֵרִים.  The Moshav Zekanim asks why is Yaakov afraid that he may kill, he can kill first in self defense?  He answers that he was afraid that he could have saved himself by merely inflicting damage and he may kill instead. 

The Mizrachi however is clear that in regard to Esau himself, who that was coming to kill Yaakov, there would be no limitations on Yaakov to try to avoid killing Easua for the rule of השכם והורגו gives free reign to kill the assailant.  He cites a Midrash that Yaakov was worried that if he kills Esau that his father would curse him, not because of the act of killing itself.  He adds that for the soldiers approaching with Esau however, he indeed would only have been allowed to maim them to protect himself as they were not coming solely to kill Yaakov.  According to the Mizrachi there seems to be a dispensation due to the rule of השכם והורגו that one who is being threatened to be killed is not bound by the rules of rodaf to limit the damage to the attacker but is given free reign to kill the attacker.  What is it about השכם והורגו that allows one to represe an attacker in self-defense without making any effort of avoiding killing? 

Rav Shmuel Rozovsky elaborates on this idea in Zichron Shmuel siman 83 and develops that there are two distinct parshios regarding stopping an attacker.  One halacha is that of a rodaf which obligates anyone that can to step in and save the attacked in order to save the individual being attacked.  This is not due to the rodaf forfeiting his life due to his act of attack but rather it is totally a law to protect the chased (see Rav Chayim law of Rotzeach Ch. 1.)  In regard to this law, there is no heter to kill the rodaf, it is only if it is the only means available to save the person under threat.  However, the law of השכם והורגו derived from בא במחתרת says that when an individual finds himself under threat, he has no issurim to worry about when employing self defense.  In other words, the attacked has no restrictions in place when using self defense and hence he doesn't have to make calculations to diminish the damage used in protection.  Or in the words of Rav Kook (Mishpat Konan siman 139,) using Talmudic language, for the attacked, the life of the rodaf is הותרה, he has no issurim when employing self defense but for the others the life of the rodaf is merely דחויה to save the attacked.  

Another area where we find a difference between the chased vs. a bystander is regarding if the rodaf needs to be warned before one kills him.  Although the Gemarah has a debate if the rodaf needs to be warned (Sanhedrin 72b-73a,) and the Rambam (Rotzeach 1:7) says one should attempt to warn the rodaf, the Rivash (Teshuva #238) suggests the one being attacked does not need to extend any warning against his attacker.  This is cited in Mishne L'meelch Choval (8:10) and see the words of the מגיה there.  The Achronim wish to explain the words of the Rivash in the same vein that for a defendant of his own life there are no rules involved.  However, it is noteworthy that the Rivash does not just say it is a whole other parsha of  השכם והורגו distinct form rodaf, but employs a practical sevarah that when one's life is in danger they do not think clearly.  In which case he may not go so far as to agree to the Mizrachi.  This point is noted by Rav Ovadia in Yabia Omer volume 4 Choshen Mishpat teshuva 5, although he seems to suggest the same sevarah as an explanation of the din of the Mizrachi.  (צ"ע does the practical sevarah function all in the same parsha of rodaf or is why one's self defense would be a separate parsha.) 

Rav Yosef Engel (Beis Haotzer Klal א אות טו cited in Teferes Yosef on the parsha,) is unsure whether the din of השכם והורגו should apply to a gentile or it is a chiddush din said for a Jew.  And if it is said only for a Jew why would the Mizrachi employ the sevarah to Yaakov's benefit?  He cites a proof from Tosfos Avodah Zarah (10b ד"ה חד) that it does apply even to a gentile and R.Y.E. says it must since השכם והורגו is a severah, even though it is derived from a unique parsha in Torah, it applies even to a gentile.  However, in Gilyonai Hashas Sanhedrin (72a) R.Y.E. ends with a צ"ע on the Tosfos if the din is derived from a possuk why would it apply to a gentile?  R.Y.E. there cites two possible sources for the law.  One is בא במחתרת as Rashi Berachot (58a) says but he also cites a Chizkuni Pinchas (25:18) that says כי צררים הם לכם מכאן אמרו אם בא להרגך השכם להרגו (based upon the Midrash there.)  Either way, in Gilyonai Hashas, R.Y.E. understands it is a chiddush din and should not apply to a gentile.  

The Rambam (Melachim 9:4) says בֶּן נֹחַ שֶׁהָרַג נֶפֶשׁ אֲפִלּוּ עֵבָּר בִּמְעֵי אִמּוֹ נֶהֱרָג עָלָיו. וְכֵן אִם הָרַג טְרֵפָה אוֹ שֶׁכְּפָתוֹ וּנְתָנוֹ לִפְנֵי אֲרִי אוֹ שֶׁהִנִּיחוֹ בָּרָעָב עַד שֶׁמֵּת. הוֹאִיל וְהֵמִית מִכָּל מָקוֹם נֶהֱרָג. וְכֵן אִם הָרַג רוֹדֵף שֶׁיָּכוֹל לְהַצִּילוֹ בְּאֶחָד מֵאֵיבָרָיו נֶהֱרָג עָלָיו. מַה שֶּׁאֵין כֵּן בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל.  The Raavad disagrees: א"א קשיא ליה אבנר. עכ"ל.  The Kesef Mishne explains his question:  והענין הוא דאמרינן בסנהדרין פרק נגמר הדין (סנהדרין דף מ״ט) ויטהו יואב אל תוך השער אמר ר״י שדנו דין סנהדרין אמר ליה מ״ט קטלתיה לעשאל עשאל רודף הוה היה לך להצילו באחד מאיבריו לא יכילי ליה ופשטו של מאמר זה מורה כדברי הראב״ד.  (See what he answers.)  Rav Kook (ibid) puts everything together and says when a Jew kills his assailant even when he could have stopped him by merely wounding him, he is exempt because his heter of השכם והורגו allows him to take the life of the assailant.  However, a gentile does not have the parsha of בא במחתרת, does not have the heter of השכם והורגו and hence, if he kills his assailant when he could have protected himself by merely wounding him, then he gets killed. 

I don't really understand the whole application of the laws of rodaf to the story of Yaakov and Esau in the parsha.  If there is a war, does a soldier need to start making calculations as to how to minimize damage to his attackers, the enemy?  Presumably, not, at war, one kills the enemy in all circumstances.  So, if Esau is coming to do battle why is Yaakov worrying about abiding by the laws of rodaf?  Perhaps, this was not considered a war as no fight had actually occurred yet, it was just a spot of great tension, וצ"ע.

Internal World

Mishlay (11:2) בא זדון ויבא קלון ואת צנועים חכמה, When willful wickedness comes, then comes disgrace, but with the modest is wisdom.  What does צניעות have to do with חכמה and why is it contrasted to disgrace?  The Midrash and the Gemarah  Megillah (13b) says אמר רבי חנינא: בשכר צניעות שהיתה בה ברחל, שמסרה לה סימנין לאחותה, זכתה ויצא ממנה שאול; ובשכר צניעות דהוה בשאול, דכתיב: ועל דבר המלוכה לא הגיד לו, זכה ויצאה ממנו אסתר, דכתיב: אין אסתר מגדת מולדתה.  How is Rachel's givingof  the signs to Leah a display of tzniut?

The Maharal in Nesiv Hatzniut describes the middah of tzniut as something which is internal, פנימי.  What does this mean?  A person has an internal world and an external world.  The internal world is the motherboard of a person, the inner dimension of a person which is how a person talks and relates to themselves in their own mind unaffected by external forces.  The outerworld is the user interface of a person, how they interact and get affected by the world at large.  The element of chachma is the wisdom one perceives from a moment of contemplation, from a point of internal reflection, of digging deeper into one's self to find new ideas . The middah of Rachel was that she did not get affected by the consequences of her actions as they related to herself, if internally it was the right thing, she went ahead and did it.  Rav Moshe Shapira explains that embarrassment or disgrace, is the opposite of tzniut.  A person gets embarrassed when their internal private world becomes revealed to others.  It was the tzinuit of Rachel that did not allow her to ignore the embarrassment of Leah.  Her sense of the importance of the internal world of an individual did not let her sit back and have Leah's inner feelings become public.  

The examples of tzniut mentioned in the Midrash of Shaul and Esther are examples of a person being quiet and not revealing something.  What does that have to do with tzniut?  It is through being quiet that one is able to absorb the inner workings of their own mind and develop an internal perspective on matters.  When there is dialogue with the outside world one loses the ability to be in touch with one's own self.  The avodah of being quiet is the hallmark of a person who's internal world is thriving.  

וַיִּפְגַּ֨ע בַּמָּק֜וֹם וַיָּ֤לֶן שָׁם֙ כִּי־בָ֣א הַשֶּׁ֔מֶשׁ, literally translated as "And he arrived at the place and lodged there because the sun had set."  The Gemarah (Berachot 26b) says the word פגיעה is a reference to tefillah teaching us that Yaakov installed the prayer service of arvit.  Why is this tefillah expressed using the terminology of ויפגע and how is מקום, place tied to this tefillah?  The time of night is when one can not see their surroundings.  A person's connection to the outer world is cut off.  It is during such a time frame where one's inner world is dominant.  It is at this time when one is able to tap into a deeper form of wisdom. The word פגיעה means to bump into.  At a time when one's mind is not preoccupied by external matters one may happen to bump into greater revelations, into inspiration that only is available to a person in solitude (Rav Kook Ein Ayah Berachot ibid.)  That is why the Rambam (Talmud Torah 3:13) on the importance of utilizing one's nights to learn Torah.  It is at during the night, a time of צניעות that one is able to tap into chachma, into deeper insights as they are revealed to a person who's inner world is open to receive.  

That is the the מקום.  When one is in connection with their internal self, in their own safe space, they are able to establish a new place, meaning a deeper form of existence, of self-awareness.  It is at night, when a person is alone with themselves that they are afforded the opportunity to conquer deeper depths, illuminate the depths of one's internal world. That is why the Rambam (Talmud Torah 3:13) on the importance of utilizing one's nights to learn Torah.  It is at during the night, a time of צניעות that one is able to tap into chachma, into deeper insights as they are revealed to a person who's inner world is open to receive.

Gemilas Chassadim

 ואעשך לגוי גדול ואברכך ואגדלה שמך והיה ברכה

Rashi says ד"א ואעשך לגוי גדול זהו שאומרים אלהי אברהם ואברכך זהו שאומרים אלהי יצחק ואגדלה שמך זהו שאומרים אלהי יעקב יכול יהיו חותמין בכולן ת"ל והיה ברכה בך חותמין ולא בהם.  Why do we end the first beracha of Shemone Esrai specifically with the name of Avraham, מגן אברהם?  Does Avraham want to be singled out, אין אדם מתקנא בבנו?  The Meglah Amukot (this is how I see it cited in his name ,even though I don't see him quite saying these words,)  says that the three Avos correspond to the three pillars of Torah (Yaakov,) Avodah (Yitzchak,) Gemilas chassadim (Avraham.)  The חתימה, what will ultimately seal the fate of Klal Yisrael for the better, is the merit of gemilas chassadim.  Even as the pillars of Torah and avodah get weakened through the long golus the merit of chesed is what will carry the day. 

The Divrey Yisrael (Modzitz) reads this into the possuk of the prayer of Yitzchak, וַיֵּצֵא יִצְחָק לָשׂוּחַ בַּשָּׂדֶה לִפְנוֹת עָרֶב וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה גְמַלִּים בָּאִים, Yitzchak saw at the end of the day, at the end of the golus, there will no lnger be the merit of avodah, his middah and he was worried what will be the merit of Klal Yisrael to be saved?  Then he saw the גְמַלִּים, the גמילות חסדים will be the merit for the geulah. 

He also reads this into the pessukim of Eliezer coming with the camels, ויקח העבד עשרה גמלים מגמלי אדניו, he took the middah of his master, of chesed, the next possuk continues, ויברך הגמלים מחוץ לעיר, this middah of chesed he took and it is used in the time of the golus outside the city, לעת ערב, in the time right before Mashiach, it will be our merit, לעת צאת השאבת, until it is time to leave the golus. 

This is what the Yalkut (Hosha 6:6) says כי חסד חפצתי ולא זבח. אמר הקב"ה חביב עלי חסד שאתם גומלים זה לזה יותר מכל הזבח שזבח שלמה לפני אלף עולות יעלה שלמה וכה"א זאת התורה לעולה למנחה, זאת התורה לא עולה ולא מנחה. פעם אחת היה רבן יוחנן בן זכאי מהלך בירושלים והיה רבי ייהושע מהלך אחריו ראה בית המקדש שהוא חרב אמר אוי לנו על הבית שחרב מקום שמתכפרין בו עונותינו, א"ל בני אל ירע לך שיש לנו כפרה אחרת שהיא כמותה ואי זה זה גמילות חסדים, לכך נאמר כי חסד חפצתי ולא זבח, ואומר אמרתי עולם חסד יבנה.  

As the possuk says ציון במשפט תפדה ושביה בצדקה, the redemption comes in the merit of tzedakah. In the words of the Alter Rebbe Egeres Hakodesh #9 אֵיךְ הֱיוֹת כָּל עִיקַּר עֲבוֹדַת ה' בָּעִתִּים הַלָּלוּ בְּעִקְּבוֹת מְשִׁיחָא הִיא עֲבוֹדַת הַצְּדָקָה,כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה: "אֵין יִשְׂרָאֵל נִגְאָלִין אֶלָּא בִּצְדָקָה".  

The Mishna in Avos says עַל שְׁלֹשָׁה דְּבָרִים הָעוֹלָם עוֹמֵד:עַל הַתּוֹרָה, וְעַל הָעֲבוֹדָה, וְעַל גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִים   If chesed aligns with Avraham why is it mentioned last in the Mishna?  The Satmer Rebbe (R' Aharon) says based upon this idea, since chesed is the last zechut to stand up before the geulah it is mentioned last in the Mishna. 

The three pillars of Torah, avodah and gemilas chassadim may also align with mochin (Torah,) middot (avodah- avodah שבלב,) and maaseh (gemillas chassadim.)  A thought I once heard is that it is the lowest parts, that of maaseh that needs to be perfected before Mashiach.  That is why it is gemilas chassadim that is the final ticket to geulah. 

In the sichos of Rav Pinkus on Chanukah he says:

Even gentiles, in the merit of chesed get saved from wars!

Laughter

Why is Yitzchak named for laughter?  Why is Yitzchak able to open up the wells that Avraham had dug but the Phlishtim closed up?  Why is it ליצני הדור, as Rashi says, that deny Avraham's birth of Yitzchak?  Why are they called ליצנים?  Why is it that Yizchak is seen מצחק את רבקה אשתו?   

When Sarah sees Yishmael מצחק she says he has to go.  Similarly, after the sin of the agel the possuk says ויקמו לצחק.  Why are those acts of צחוק negative but the צחוק of Yitzchak is positive?  

What is the nature of צחוק?  The word צחוק can be split into צא חוק, to leave the natural order.  The middah of צחוק is to be able to go outside the boundaries of the normal order of things.  Entertainment, משחקים, is a way of escape.  It is a way of leaving the natural grind of life and escaping to a false existence.  The middah of צחוק can be negative when one leaves the order of morals, of a healthy way of life, and turns to sin.  When צחוק is positive it is used to bring a higher existence into the normal order.  This is the צחוק associated with Yitzchak.  This is a צחוק which only becomes ultimately realized at the end of the story.  

The middah of Yitzchak, of gevurah seems at odds with צחוק, it would seem the polar opposite?  But it is actually gevrah that leads to צחוק.  The wells of Avraham, the middah of chesed, are counterbalanced by the Pelishtim who are the embodiment of the tumah of chesed.  The Pelishtim are able to close up the influence of the positive chesed of Avraham with chesed of tumah.  The middah of Yitzchak, of gevurah, is to be able to bring out the capabilities from within a person and that was not able to be removed by the Phlishtim.  The ability to bring out dormant powers, to bring out kedusha from where it does not seem to be capable to exist is the middah of צחוק.  To be able to access kedusha where there would seem to be nothing there, to be able to access a higher level, is the middah of צחוק in the positive.    

The Sefer Yetzirah associates the middah of צחוק with Adar for Adar is the time when things seemed totally bleak.  Haman saw it as the month when Moshe Rabbenu died, it the last month of the year, a time which seems dead and bleak.  However, it is also the month of the birth of Moshe.  From the darkness ,unexpectedly, comes a time of great light and joy.  The opposite of what things seemed at first blush is the ultimate joke, the צחוק.   

This is why the life of Yitzchak is constantly being seen through the prism of צחוק.  The ליצנים don't want the power of laughter to be used for the positive, they wish to highjack it for the negative and could not accept that the legacy of Avraham would live on through Yitzchak.  Their claim was that Avraham's only son is Yishmael who is מצחק is a sinful matter.  That is the leztanut.  They wish to use this middah of צחוק not as a way of illuminating the world but as a way of darkening the world.  They claim that Yishmael has inherited the middah of צחוק and that they are not bound by Avraham's teachings of ethics and morals (based upon shiur of Rav Avraham Shwab, and "Looking Into The Sun" chapter on laughter, see also Tzitkas Hataddik #260.)

Letzanim

Rashi at the beginning of the parsha says the Torah repeats Avraham begot Yitzchak since שהיו ליצני הדור אומרים מאבימלך נתעברה שרה וכו'. מה עשה הקב"ה? צר קלסתר פניו של יצחק דומה לאברהם, והעידו הכל - אברהם הוליד את יצחק, וזהו שכתב וכו' שהרי עדות יש שאברהם הוליד את יצחק.  Why are they called ליצנים presumably they are reshaim for saying lashon harah?  Furthermore, if they didn't believe someone so old could give birth they should have claimed Sarah couldn't give birth for Avraham already showed he could have a son, for he had Yishmael?  The Beis Halevi says that they were not denying who the parents were, there claim was why did Sarah only give birth now, at such a late stage of life, it must be the fact that she was taken by Avimelech and she had to endure that pain was a merit for her to have a child, וזהו שאמרו בדרך ליצנות מאבימלך נתעברה שרה וכמו הליצנות שאומרים פלוני בנה בית מחמאה, והכוונה שע"י שעשה סחורה בחמאה והרויח ממון בנה הבית, וע"כ קראם ליצני הדור.  This was the ליצנות.  However, since in time the point would be lost and people would take it literally that Yitzchak is a son of Avimelech, ויהיה לעז חלילה וע"כ צר קלסתר פניו כשל אברהם.  

His grandson, the Briskor Rav, takes a different lesson from the Rashi:

In the Mir parsha sheet, Rav Chayim Shmuelevitz is quoted as having said as to why the letzanim would claim Avraham is out of the picture and not Sarah, that one can not a question on a letz.  Presumably, he means that if one wants to scoff at something they will do so even if a non-sensible manner.  One can't debate a letz with logic. 

Rav Ezrachi asks why does a miracle have to occur just to debunk the claim of letzanim?  He explains that the point isn't just to prove the letzanim wrong.  Rather, Avraham's mission in life is to get people to come closer to Hashem.  If they don't believe in the continuity of Avraham, they are in denial of his mission and that will bother Avraham.  It is the fact that there are letzim unconvinced by Avraham that demands a miracle in order to make Avraham happy. 

The Rebbe asks why would Yitzchak not look like Avraham in the first place if he is his biological son?  He explains the middot of a person are reflected in their countenance and since Avraham is chesed and Yitzchak is din they would have looked different (Likutay Sichos volume 20, 30.)  

Prayer Of Distress Prayer Of Mincha

וְיִצְחָק֙ בָּ֣א מִבּ֔וֹא בְּאֵ֥ר לַחַ֖י רֹאִ֑י וְה֥וּא יוֹשֵׁ֖ב בְּאֶ֥רֶץ הַנֶּֽגֶב וַיֵּצֵ֥א יִצְחָ֛ק לָשׂ֥וּחַ בַּשָּׂדֶ֖ה לִפְנ֣וֹת עָ֑רֶב וַיִּשָּׂ֤א עֵינָיו֙ וַיַּ֔רְא וְהִנֵּ֥ה גְמַלִּ֖ים בָּאִֽים

וַיְהִ֗י אַֽחֲרֵי֙ מ֣וֹת אַבְרָהָ֔ם וַיְבָ֥רֶךְ אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶת־יִצְחָ֣ק בְּנ֑וֹ וַיֵּ֣שֶׁב יִצְחָ֔ק עִם־בְּאֵ֥ר לַחַ֖י רֹאִֽי

Why do we need to be informed of Yitzchak's presence in באר לחי ראי?  

The name באר לחי ראי originates from when Hagar is sent away by Sarah and the malach appears to her and says she will have Yishmael.  The possuk says וַתִּקְרָ֤א שֵׁם⁠־י״י֙ הַדֹּבֵ֣ר אֵלֶ֔יהָ אַתָּ֖ה קל ראי.  Onkelus says she was praying to Hashem and refering to Him as the one who sees all.  The Targum Yonasan adds דחמי ולא מתחמי, the One who sees but is not seen.  The next possuk says  עַל⁠־כֵּן֙ קָרָ֣א לַבְּאֵ֔ר בְּאֵ֥ר לַחַ֖י רֹאִ֑י.  Rav Hirsch notes the addition of the word לחי to include all of time and the change in vowel from Hagar saying רֳאִ֑י to רֹאִ֑י to indicate Hashem sees every person, He sees me at all times.  The spot of באר לחי ראי is the place where Hagar prays to Hashem.  It is a place she designated for prayer.  The Seforno says that is why Yitzchak chose that as his place to pray for it was already designated as a place of prayer. Rav Hirsch notes the strange phrase בָּ֣א מִבּ֔וֹא, "he came from coming," indicates that he felt the need, he was drawn to באר לחי ראי to pray for his own match as this was the place that the family has heard am message from Hashem beforehand in the case of Yishmael, and now he was coming home from being drawn to באר לחי ראי.  The next possuk, וַיֵּצֵ֥א יִצְחָ֛ק לָשׂ֥וּחַ בַּשָּׂדֶ֖ה, Chazal identify as Yitzchak praying.  However, the line also demonstrates the difference between the prayer of Hagar and that of Yizchak.  

Hagar prays to Hashem in times of great distress.  However, as the Targum Yonasan says, she doesn't see Hashem in other words, she is not always cognizant of His presence in her life.  In times of upheaval she calls out to Hashem.  Rashi says Yitzchak went to באר לחי ראי in order to bring Hagar so that Avraham could marry her again.  Hagar still lives in באר לחי ראי, that is her world view.  

At the Akedah it says וַיִּקְרָ֧א אַבְרָהָ֛ם שֵֽׁם⁠־הַמָּק֥וֹם הַה֖וּא י״י֣ ׀ יִרְאֶ֑ה אֲשֶׁר֙ יֵאָמֵ֣ר הַיּ֔וֹם בְּהַ֥ר י״י֖ יֵרָאֶֽה.  Avraham didn't merely acknowledge that Hashem sees us but ה יראה, will be seen.  We see Hashem.  As the Gemarah Chagigah (2a) says יראה יראה כדרך שבא לראות כך בא ליראות מה לראות.  Avraham and his descendants don't just know of Hashem's presence but they see Hashem as part of their life.  This is what is represented by the mincha prayer of Yitzchak.  It is not the beginning or end of the day where it is more understandable to start out the day with a prayer or bookend with a prayer when one is not tarried, it is the prayer in the middle of the day.  In the midst of one's activities, one recognizes the Hand of Hashem in one's activities.  וַיֵּצֵ֥א יִצְחָ֛ק לָשׂ֥וּחַ בַּשָּׂדֶ֖ה.  This is a mere שיחה not in the context of a more formal prayer yet even in such a situation Yitzchak prays to Hashem.  Yitzchak transforms prayer into an integral part of one's activities (based upon Mimamakim by Rabbi Mandelbaum, post of Rabbi Rudman.) 

(The Kli Yakar says that the prayer of mincha is readily accepted because it is in the middle of the day removed from the time of night which is strive judgement.  Rav Shmuel Eliyahu takes the opposite approach.  He explains that mincha is compared to ketores, תִּכּוֹן תְּפִלָּתִי קְטֹרֶת לְפָנֶיךָ מַשְׂאַת כַּפַּי מִנְחַת עָרֶב (Tehillim 141:2)  because just as ketores has the ability to nullify strict judgement as seen when Aharon was told to use ketores to heal the nation, so too the prayer of mincha has the ability to nullify the time of strict judgement which is present in the afternoon.)

Potential and Actualization

The Gemarah Bava Bathra (16b-17a) says שלשה הטעימן הקב"ה בעולם הזה מעין העולם הבא אלו הן אברהם יצחק ויעקב אברהם דכתיב ביה בכל יצחק דכתיב ביה  מכל יעקב דכתיב ביה כל.  How does the word כל reflect the idea that the Avos received a taste of the next world in this world?  In the order of the sefirot reflected in the possuk לך ה הגדולה the word kol appears כי כל בשמים וארץ to refer to yesod .  As the possuk indicates, the word כל means the place of connection between heaven and earth.  In other words, it refers to the capability of joining heavens and earth.  שמים means the ruchni and ארץ is the gashmi. The Avos were able to bring the ruchni into the gashmi.  That is what it means they had a taste of the next world in this world and that is the middah of כל.   

ואברהם זקן בא בימים וה' ברך את אברהם בכל.  This beracha of כל is after Avraham is old.  The word זקן the Gemarah says means זה שקנה חכמה.  The זקן has already acquired, he has reaped the benefits of life.  A young person is full of untapped potential, they are open to endless possibilities.  The older one gets the amount of possibilities becomes less but the possibilities in a life spent right have been accessed and utilized properly.  In a larger form this is the idea of תוהו and תיקון.  The beginning of the world was תוהו וחושך.  As the Ramban says, the first creation was the undefined היולי which contains the basic matter, the potential for all form but it has not been actualized.  The potential is accessed through creation. In other words, this is the same idea as the separation between שמים וארץ.  The earth is the basic land mass on which things happen, it is the area of potential.  The heavens is when that potential is accessed, the ruchni, that is created.  That is why the idea of זקן, of using one's potential, is the combination of heaven and earth and hence Avraham is given כל, the ability to taste olam habah in this world.  

This concept is hinted to in the מערת המכפלה in Chevron. The word Chevron is like the word חיבור for connection.  The doubled cave in Chevron means the מערת המכפלה represents the meeting point of heaven and earth.  That is why Avraham is determined to buy it.  This is the only recorded purchase in the Chumash done with כסף, money.  Money is something which in it of itself doesn't have value ,tis value is its purchasing power, in its ability to obtain something else.  The actualization of the power of money is in a purchase.  That is why the the place of connecting heaven of earth, of the actualization of potential must be purchased through money, through כסף. 

The Rambam says (Melachim 9:1) עַל שִׁשָּׁה דְּבָרִים נִצְטַוָּה אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן ... נִמְצְאוּ שֶׁבַע מִצְוֹת. וְכֵן הָיָה הַדָּבָר בְּכָל הָעוֹלָם עַד אַבְרָהָם. בָּא אַבְרָהָם וְנִצְטַוָּה יֶתֶר עַל אֵלּוּ בְּמִילָה. וְהוּא הִתְפַּלֵּל שַׁחֲרִית. וַיִּצְחָק הִפְרִישׁ מַעֲשֵׂר וְהוֹסִיף תְּפִלָּה אַחֶרֶת לִפְנוֹת הַיּוֹם. וְיַעֲקֹב הוֹסִיף גִּיד הַנָּשֶׁה וְהִתְפַּלֵּל עַרְבִית. וּבְמִצְרַיִם נִצְטַוָּה עַמְרָם בְּמִצְוֹת יְתֵרוֹת. עַד שֶׁבָּא משֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ וְנִשְׁלְמָה תּוֹרָה עַל יָדוֹ.  What does it mean וְנִשְׁלְמָה תּוֹרָה?  The Avos demonstrated the great potential of a person.  They were not bound the exact details of the mitzvot but were able to grow in a manner that they saw fit.  Moshe Rabbenu added the finishing touches, the mitzvot which are given to us a the guide to lead to perfection.  Rashi at the beginning of Chumash asks why does the Torah start from בראשית ברא and not החודש הזה?  According to the Rambam we can answer that the base of the Torah is reflected in the parshios of the Avos.  The mitzvot come to fortify and set lines and boundaries for the yesod of the Aovs which is that one is here to be fully access their potential but the basics are reflected by the Avos.  That is what Chazal say חייב אדם לומר מתי יגיעו מעשי למעשי אבותי, they don't say one must do all the mitzvot but try to act like the Avos, meaning to bring to fruition one's capabilities.  

יפה שיחתן של עבדי אבות יותר מתורתן של בנים.  The gematria of Eliezer, the עבדי אבות is 318 = שיח.  The שיח of Eliezer reflected the essence of Eliezer, of his inner essence (see Meor Vashemesh Lech Lecha.)  שיח means the growth of the ground.  Eliezer took his potential and grew (all of this is based upon a shiur by Rav Moshe Shapira.) 

Beyond Understanding

Rashi says when Hashem told Avraham to do the akedah he used the terminology of נא, as a request because "[God] said to him, “I beg of you, pass this test for Me, so that people will not say that the first ones [tests] had no substance."  Even if Avraham did not pass the test of the akedah, why would that invalidate his passing all of his previous tests?  If a person gets a score of 90% on a test, does the 10% that he missed invalidate the fact that he got 90% right?  If Avraham did not pass the test of the akedah, maybe he wasn't good enough to pass that test but that doesn't invalidate his passing of the earlier tests? 

There are two parshios devoted to Avraham, parshas Lech Lecha and Vayerah.  The first parsha, Lech Lecha, is a command to leave his geographical homeland and move to Eretz Yisrael.  This command is not a mere command to change locations but to change his entire outlook in life.  He leaves behind his idolatrous upbringing and finds his own service of Hashem.  This service of Hashem is based upon Avraham's understanding.  All the tests Avraham had to pass, although a challenge, were challenges that did not run counter to the entire philosophy of Avraham.  He was challenged to run against his comfort zone, but he could justify his actions to his followers.  

The test of the akedah however was not something that made sense at all in the worldview of Avraham.  How could he, a man who preached understanding, sacrifice his own son.  Avraham has no way of justifying his actions to the world.  He is forced to do something which runs counter to his logic.  This is the test that proves Avraham is really serving Hashem merely for the sake of serving Hashem.  The point of the tests is to test the boundaries of Avraham's commitment.  The tests prove that Avraham's commitment to Hashem is boundless.  However, If he fails the test of the akedah, it is not that his commitment to Hashem goes only 90% of the way and he just missed the last 10%, it means that his service of Hashem only goes so far as his intellect allows it to go.  It means that his entire service of Hashem does not stem from complete commitment to Hashem, but is limited and dictated by his own understanding.  The failure proves that Avraham's commitment is limited by the boundaries of his own mind which shows that the tests he did pass was also only since it made sense to him but not that they were acts of true commitment to Hashem.  It is the akedah that is the litmus test to prove if Avraham is serving Hashem because it fits within Avraham's world or is he serving Hashem purely to serve Hashem (Likutay Sichos volume 20 sicha 3.) 

The Midrash recounts an argument between Yitzchak and Yishmael if getting a bris at 13 years old like Yishmael is better or getting one at 8 days like Yitzchak is better.  It is understandable the argument of Yishmael since he had to choose to go through the pain but why does Yitzchak claim that an 8 day bris is better?  The bris milah is the act of the covenant between Hashem and Klal Yisrael.  If one gets a bris milah due to one's choice it means the bris is limited to one's understanding.  To demonstrate that there is an innate connection to Hashem, not limited to one's understanding, one gets a bris at the first possibility (Likutay Sichos volume 25 sicha 3.)  It is due the bris milah that Avraham gets the ability to have a connection to Hashem beyond his own understanding and can pass the test of the akedah.  Pre-milah Avraham is receives prophesy only as a means of communication as a necessary means of communication.  Post- milah וירא ה אליו, Hashem came merely to visit Avraham, to "hang out" with Avraham.  Avraham's connection to Hashem is not limited to a means to communicate, to do something else, it is an innate connection which in which Hashem comes to visit Avraham purely to experience being with Avraham. 

Delayed Shacharis

Rambam Tefillah (3:1) rules תפילת השחר - מצותה, שיתחיל להתפלל עם הנץ החמה; וזמנה, עד סוף שעה רביעית שהוא שליש היום. ואם עבר או טעה והתפלל אחר ארבע שעות עד חצי היום - יצא ידי חובת תפילה, אבל לא יצא ידי חובת תפילה בזמנה: שכשם שמצות תפילה מן התורה, כך מצוה מדבריהן להתפלל אותה בזמנה שתיקנו לנו חכמים ונביאים.  There are different interpretations as to the understanding that one may pray shacharis after 4 hours until chatzos.  Either this is the law of tashlumin, a law that R' Yehuda that holds one may pray only untill 4 hours agrees בדיעבד there is a concept of praying until chatzos, (see Beis Yosef siman 89,) or it is a new law of a cheftah of prayer שלא בזמנו (see shiur of R' Willig.)  

According to the peshat the Beis Yosef (siman 89) favors and the peshat of the Lechem Mishna there is a concept of prayer after 4 hours even according to R' Yehuda.  Where does that come from?  If R' Yehuda limits the time of the prayers to when the tammid was actually offered why would there be room to daven until chatzos? 

As noted in the past, the Rambam rues both of tefillot being in place of korbanot and that they were established by the avot. The rule of praying until 4 hours is is tefillah is patterned after the korbanot and the times Chazal gave to pray are patterned after the korbanot.  However, the actions of the avot exit to give three basic times to the framework of prayer, morning, afternoon and night.  Hence, even though the timeframe of tefillah to correspond to the korban is lost after the 4^th hour of the day, the fact that it is still morning allows one to pray as a tefillah corresponding to the prayer of Avraham.  That aspect remains to allow one to pray שלא בזמנו and still get a kium of tefillah to parallel that of Avraham.  

The New Avraham

The maftir of Noach says וַיִּקַּ֨ח אַבְרָ֧ם וְנָח֛וֹר לָהֶ֖ם נָשִׁ֑ים שֵׁ֤ם אֵֽשֶׁת⁠־אַבְרָם֙ שָׂרָ֔י וְשֵׁ֤ם אֵֽשֶׁת⁠־נָחוֹר֙ מִלְכָּ֔ה בַּת⁠־הָרָ֥ן אֲבִֽי⁠־מִלְכָּ֖ה וַֽאֲבִ֥י יִסְכָּֽה.  Rashi says יסכה – [זו שרה, על שם]⁠א שסוכה ברוח הקודש, ושהכל סוכין ביופיה, ולשוןב נסיכות, כמו: שרה לשון סררות.  Sarah is identified in the possuk with two names, יסכה and שרי in the same possuk.  Why is she called by two names in the same possuk?  And why is the name יסכה alluding to her ruach hakodesh spelled out here and never again and why not mention it in the context of Hashem acknowledging the greatness of her prophesy?  

The second to last possuk in Noach says וַיִּקַּ֨ח תֶּ֜רַח אֶת⁠־אַבְרָ֣ם בְּנ֗וֹ וְאֶת⁠־ל֤וֹט בֶּן⁠־הָרָן֙ בֶּן⁠־בְּנ֔וֹ וְאֵת֙ שָׂרַ֣י כַּלָּת֔וֹ אֵ֖שֶׁת אַבְרָ֣ם בְּנ֑וֹ וַיֵּצְא֨וּ אִתָּ֜ם מֵא֣וּר כַּשְׂדִּ֗ים לָלֶ֙כֶת֙ אַ֣רְצָה כְּנַ֔עַן וַיָּבֹ֥אוּ עַד⁠־חָרָ֖ן וַיֵּ֥שְׁבוּ שָֽׁם.  The parsha of Lech Lecha opens  וַיֹּ֤אמֶר י״י֙ אֶל⁠־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ⁠־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל⁠־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ.  What is the nature of these two travels?

The Ramban asks why are we not introduced to Avraham as a tzaddik but instead are merely introduced to him as a man told to leave his home?  The Maharal (Netzach Chapter 11) explains that we are being taught that Avraham is not chosen merely because he is a tzaddik and hence if future generations are not so righteous they will no longer be chosen, rather we are chosen by Hashem because he desires to choose Avraham and his children no matter what state they are in.  

Parshas Lech Lecha is when Avraham is chosen to be a sperate nation apart from everyone else.  The last possuk in Noach says Terach died.  Rashi notes that Terach didn't actually die at that point but Terach is dead to Avraham when he starts his journey to Lech Lecha.  In other words, at this point Avraham is no longer connected to Terach, he is starting his own legacy (see Gur Aryeh.)  Originally, Terach also was going to travel to Eretz Yisrael, he also was on the path to being able to transform his life and be the patriarch for the Abraham clan . However, he never is quite able to complete his journey, he gets stuck in Charan.  The Terach life is the life of the idol worshipers, who, as the Rambam explains, started with noble intensions to serve the messengers of G-d but they got lost along the path and never ended up completing the journey of reaching to Hashem.  They got stuck on the road with the emissaries.  Avraham sees beyond the forces in the world, he sees the True Master, Hashem and seeks Him out.  He is able to get to the end of the path that was embarked on the by idol worshipers.    

Rashi (end of Noch) says that Avraham was thrown into a fire by Nimrod for rejecting idols and after he survived and Haran was given the choice between Hashem and the idols he also chose Hashem and he was thrown into the fire and perished.  Rav Moshe Shapira explains it wasn't merely that Haran was  hedging his bets and that he would choose what seemed better after seeing the results for Avraham.  The act of Haran was a reflection of his nature.  His was not a trailblazer, a man able to forge his own way, like Avraham.  This is why Avraham is the first of the Avos.  Haran wanted to know the truth an then he would stick to it faithfully, no matter the circumstances.  Haran is the father of the אמהות.  He is the father of Sarah, the grandfather of Rachel and Leah, and the father-in-law of Lot, who leads to Rus and the Messianic line.  The trait of Haran is the trait of the imahot, to see the truth and stick to it no matter how hard it is. 

The ability of Sarah to be Yisca, to be a great prophetess, stems form the misaras nefesh of Haran.  His acknowledgement of the truth to the ability that he gave his life for it yielded the ability for his offspring to cling to Hashem even in the darkest places.  It is due to her being the daughter of Haran, that Sarah is Yisca, that she has such spiritual clarity of vision.  Hence, when she is mentioned  as a daughter of Haran her name is Yisca, for it is the relationship with Haran that makes her Yisca.  It is her role as the daughter of Haran that makes her Yisca.  But in her role as the wife of Avraham, the starter of a new nation, no longer connected to the past, her relationship to her father is not mentioned, her essence is being Sarah, the wife of Avraham, the matriarch of Klal Yisrael (see Gur Aryeh end of Noach, based upon article by R' Yehoshua Shapira, יסכה זו שרה – פרשת נח.)  

The Sarah and Avraham of Parshas Noach were part of the greater Terach family.  They where members of a family which started seeking the truth but didn't follow through.  In Lech Lech, Avraham and Sarah are a new dynasty, no longer connected to the past.  All relationships to past self identities, children and grandchildren of Terach, Yisca etc. are removed and they embark upon a journey of Lech Lecha, of self exploration to find their own way, their own destiny. 

Torah Flood

 ספר רסיסי לילה פרק מד - וידוע מה שכתוב בזוהר (ח"ג רטז ריש ע"ב) דהיה ראוי להיות מתן תורה בדור המבול והיה אז גם כן משה רבינו ע"ה בשגם בגימטריא משה אלמלי זכו רק שבחטאם נתהפך שפע מי התורה למי המבול. וכן אמרו בזבחים (קטז.) דבשעת מתן תורה נתקבצו אומות העולם לבלעם ... שמא הקב"ה מביא מבול שכפי ענינם היו חושבים שפע מי תורה הבא לעולם למי מבול.

What is the connection between the Torah and the Mabul?  

Why is the destruction of the world specifically through water?  

The Sfas Emes (5656) says the sin of the dor of the Mabul was that they lost their צלם אלקים.  Naturally man has a צלם אלקים which places him above the animals and that is why after the mabul it says וּמוֹרַאֲכֶ֤ם וְחִתְּכֶם֙ יִֽהְיֶ֔ה עַ֚ל כׇּל־חַיַּ֣ת הָאָ֔רֶץ וְעַ֖ל כׇּל־ע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם בְּכֹל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר תִּרְמֹ֧שׂ הָֽאֲדָמָ֛ה וּֽבְכׇל־דְּגֵ֥י הַיָּ֖ם בְּיֶדְכֶ֥ם נִתָּֽנוּ for naturally animals fear this in man.  However, this was lost before the flood since man has sinned so greatly they destroyed their צלם.  He explains that the mabul generation sinned due to their desires, their תואה and it was in this way that they lost their צלם.  The צלם of a person is the ruchni part which allows one to rule over their gashmi base desires.   When the gashmi takes control the צלם becomes eroded.  

Water, as the Maharal says (Gevuros Ch. 18,) is חומר בלי צורה.  It has no shape of its own, no spiritual backbone, it takes the shape of whatever container it is placed in.  The punishment for the world for losing their spiritual backbone is to be destroyed by water which matches that way of living.  

The Gemarah Zevachim cited by Rav Tzadok says that Bilam responded to the fears of the nations that Hashem was bringing another mabul,  חמדה טובה יש לו בבית גנזיו שהיתה גנוזה אצלו תתקע"ד דורות קודם שנברא העולם וביקש ליתנה לבניו שנאמר (תהלים כט, יא) ה' עוז לעמו יתן [מיד] פתחו כולם ואמרו (תהלים כט, יא) ה' יברך את עמו בשלום.  Why did they say ה' יברך את עמו בשלום?  Rav Kook (Shmuot Ria"h) says that it was understood that it is due to the Torah that there is no need to destroy the world.  It is was due to the overwhelming powers of gashmi which contaminated the world and cause the need for the purification waters of the mabul.  However, due to the Torah coming to the world there is no need for destruction for the Torah has the ability to cause shalom, harmony between the gashmi and ruchni.  The giving of the Torah is the antidote to the chumri.  It is the Torah tavlin to fight against the yetzer. 

The people of the dor hamabul had tremendous desires which led to their ultimate destruction.  These desires were not because they were innately bad people but because they had big capabilities.  Rav Tzaddok writes (Tzidkas Hatzaddik #44) מי שיש לו תשוקה גדולה לתאות הגוף, אל יתעצב בזה לחשוב כמה פגום הוא שיש לו תשוקה כל כך, כי אדרבא, הוא כלי מוכן לתוקף אהבת ותשוקת דרישת האמת. וכמו שנחמו ההוא סבא [אשר הוא אליהו לדעת יש מפרשים בתוספות פ"ק דחולין (דף ו.). ושמעתי דכן הוא האמת ודקו' תוספות שם אכ"מ] לאביי (בסוכה נב.). וע"ז אמרו (שם) דלעתיד לבוא צדיקים נדמה להם יצר־הרע כהר, ורשעים כחוט השערה – ואינו שקר, רק שניהם אמת, כי לאלו תשוקתם ותאותם עצומה ביותר.  On who has strong desires for bodily pleasures it's also because one has the capabilities to have strong desires for ruchni.  The generation of the mabul misused their desires but those desires may have been better suited for use in Torah study.  That is why instead of the flood they may have been fixed by receiving the Torah.  Sinai is also called הר חורב, one either receives the Torah or it leads to destruction. 

The Zohar Toldos (138a) says אצטריך יצר הרע לעולם כמטרא לעולם דאלמלא יצר הרע חדוותא דשמעתא לא ליהוי.  It is the drive of desire which also allows one to have a desire for chiddush in Torah.  The Zohar compares it to rain which muddies the streets but is necessary to make crops grow.  The comparison the Zohar draws it to water! 

The Midrash says  אתה מוצא אע"פ כן ארבעים יום בכל שנה היו עושין אותן המים רושם בעולם, עד שעמד שלמה, ובנה את בית המקדש, ופסקו אותן מ' יום, שנא' (ובשנת אחת) [ובשנה האחת] עשרה בירח בול (מ"א ו לח), מהו בירח בול, בירח שבלים לבהמה מן הבית.  Even though the flood stopped, the message of the rain was still ever-present as the rain came down every year.  The Shla says וכשנתנה תורה שעמד משה ארבעים יום בהר נתבטלו אלה, על כן נקרא ירח בול, נשאר מן מבול בהסתלק מ.  It is the days of acceptance of the Torah which stopped the yearly flooding.  It is the acceptance of the Torah that replaces the need for a mabul.

The Guide On The Way

It is understandable to have a holiday to commemorate leaving Egypt and becoming a nation and accepting the Torah which is what guides us daily as we do on Pesach and Shavuot but why do we have a holiday commemorating a miracle in the Midbar which doesn't seem to have a lasting effect?  And why do we commemorate the ענני הכבוד more than the well of Miriam, mannah, or other miracles? 

We celebrate that even as we are on the journey, we are going through a Midbar, still G-d is looking out for us to make life pleasant.  For the majority of the time Klal Yisrael has been in golus on a journey.  בסכת תשבו שבעת ימים כל האזרח בישראל ישבו בסכת למען ידעו דרתיכם כי בסכות הושבתי את בני ישראל, the first two times סכת is spelled without a ו, the third time with a ו.  My wife's uncle says that it may allude to the three Batei Mikdash.  The first two didn't last, it is only the third one last will last.  On Sukkot we celebrate the journey to get to the geulah.  Throughout the long trip G-d doesn't merely give us the necessities of food and water but He gives us ענני הכבוד to smooth out the path.  He makes life pleasant. 

Rashi (Berashis 37:25) says that the caravan carrying Yosef down to Egypt was carrying sweet spices so he wouldnt have to smell bad smells.  How does this help the traumatic experience Yosef is going through?  Rav Chayim Shmulevitch explains this was Hashem's way of informing Yosef, even though things look bad, I'm still here with you.  Sukkot serves as a reminder that even though the golus has had errible times, Hashem is still with us, He is guiding us to the סוכות שלם.       

Aravah Power

 Yirmiyahu (50:12) הִנֵּה֙ אַחֲרִ֣ית גּוֹיִ֔ם מִדְבָּ֖ר צִיָּ֥ה וַעֲרָבָֽה.  Yeshayahu (51:3) כִּֽי⁠־נִחַ֨ם י״י֜ צִיּ֗וֹן נִחַם֙ כׇּל⁠־חׇרְבֹתֶ֔יהָ וַיָּ֤שֶׂם מִדְבָּרָהּ֙ כְּעֵ֔דֶן וְעַרְבָתָ֖הּ כְּגַן⁠־י״י֑.  The Malbim says וישם מדברה ההבדל בין מדבר ובין ערבה, שהמדבר היא ארץ שממה, והערבה הם מקומות שגדלים בו קוצים וסנאים ודרדרים, הערבה היא בתוך המדבר כערך הגנות ומקומות הנטועים בתוך הישוב, כי צמחים כאלה תוציא המדבר

Rav Kook: כל הקורא קריאת שמע ומדקדק באותיותיה מצננין לו גיהינם, אינו רק הקלת העונש, כי מה יעשו למי שאין צריך גיהינם כלל, כי אם הוא שכר עצום ונפלא מאד. והרשעים טועמים ממנו מעט כדי לקבל על ידו כח לקבל עונשם, והיינו טיט היון, בתחילה וה ולבסוף וי, אבל מי שהוא קורא קריאת שמע ומדקדק באותיותיה, משפיעים לו זה התענוג תמיד, והוא כעין תיקון עולם הגמור שלעתיד לבוא, שיהיה המחול לצדיקים בגיהינם, שיתהפך לעדן. וערבה היא יסוד הגהינם, הנה אחרית גויים ציה וערבה, רע בה, הב רע, ופתח אחד במדבר, והיה מדברה כעדן וערבתה כגן ד'. וכשאש של גיהינם מתהפך בכל עז גבורתו לחסד וצינון, הוא דישון עדן. כמים קרים על נפש עיפה שמועה טובה מארץ מרחק.  I don't know what he is saying in the whole piece but he clearly identifies the ערבה as associated with Gehennam.  So, why is the aravah then chosen as the object of choice on hashana rabbah?  

The Sfas Emes says (many maamarim ex. 5646, 5649, 5660) that the aravah represents as the Midrash notes, those that do not have the attributes of Torah or good deeds.  They are the the people that one would associate with Gehennam.  Nonetheless, what they do have is the ability to look and beseech Hashem for salvation.  When it comes to the end of the process from Rosh Hashana to Hashana Rabbah we tell Hashem even if we have nothing, we look to You and that itself is a zechus.  The Sfas Emes (5646) says, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe (Likutay Sichos volume 29) elaborates on this idea as well, that those that have the maalos of having Torah or good deeds may be credited due to their accomplishments.  It is specifically those that do not have any external claim to fame that proof the choosing of Klal Yisrael by Hashem is innate, the very soul of a Jew has a connection to Hashem.  That is why the aravoh is the chosen object for use for the special avodah of Hashana Rabbah to demonstrate that unique connection to Hashem that only a member of Klal Yisrael has.  That is the final zechus for us.

Part Of G-d's Circle

The possuk in Reah (16:15) says שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֗ים תָּחֹג֙ לַי״י֣ אֱלֹקיך בַּמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁר⁠־יִבְחַ֣ר י״י֑.  What does it mean to חג, to celebrate before Hashem?  The Netziv comments קבלת חז״ל שזה אינו אלא להשלמה. אבל מ״מ ׳אין מקרא יוצא מידי פשוטו׳ גם כן, דבכלל לשון ״תחוג״ משמע שמחה הבאה בריקודים ומחולות, כמו שכתבתי בספר שמות (ה,ג) בלשון ״ויחוגו לי״, דמשמעו שמחה וריקודים לפני ה׳, היינו ׳וגילו ברעדת קודש׳. והכי נמי משמעות ״תחוג לה׳ אלהיך״, וכדאיתא בחגיגה (י,ב) ׳דחוגו חגא קאמר׳.  It means to dance.  Similarly, the Tosfos Yom Tov comments on the Mishna in Rosh Hashana (1:2)  והא דמיחד שם חג לסוכות. טפי מפסח ועצרת. [*וכן ברפ"ג דשקלים] וכן בספ"ז דנדרים. [*ובמשנה ה' פרק בתרא דבכורות] ואע"פ ששלשתן בשם חגים נקראו בכתוב. מ"מ מלת חג הנחתו הראשונה על המחול והריקוד. אי לאו ג"ש דמדבר מדבר. כמ"ש בספ"ק דחגיגה. והרד"ק כפי הפשט. מפרשו כן מענין ריקוד וטיפוח לשמחה ובסוכות היתה שמחה יתירה של בית השואבה. לפיכך ראוי הוא להקרא ביחוד בשם חג. ומפני כן אומרים בו בתפלה זמן שמחתנו:  In addition in Parshas Emor (23:34) in the possuk introducing Sukkot the Torah says דַּבֵּ֛ר אֶל⁠־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֨ה עָשָׂ֜ר י֗וֹם לַחֹ֤דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי֙ הַזֶּ֔ה חַ֧ג הַסֻּכּ֛וֹת שִׁבְעַ֥ת יָמִ֖ים לַי״יֽ, the holiday of Sukkot is defined as being a 'חג לה.  The first defining feature of the holiday is that it is a time of dancing before Hashem. 

More specifically the word חג is related to the word חוג as in חוג הארץ (Yeshayahu 40:22) הישב על חוג הארץ which Rashi there says means עוגל, a circle.  On the holiday of Sukkot we commemorate being encircled with the ענני הכבוד and we encircle ourselves in the צילא דמהימנותא.  The essence of the holiday is to make Hashem the center of our lives.  To walk in His circles.  Only after making this point does the Torah give the mitzvot of the chag but the yesod of the holiday is to become part of G-d's circle.  

As the Gra and other teach, the holiday of Sukkot is a hint to the end of days.  The Gemarah end of Taanis says אמר עולא ביראה אמר רבי אלעזר: עתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא לעשות מחול לצדיקים, והוא יושב ביניהם בגן עדן, וכל אחד ואחד מראה באצבעו, שנאמר (ישעיהו כה, ט) וְאָמַר בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא הִנֵּה אֱלֹהֵינוּ זֶה קִוִּינוּ לוֹ וְיוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ, זֶה ה' קִוִּינוּ לוֹ נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בִּישׁוּעָתוֹ.  The tzaddikim will be joined in G-d's circle.  We get a taste of this on Sukkot. 

This is the reason for the dancing and the joy on Sukkot.  The ability to be a part of those who are so close to Hashem is the ultimate simcha. 

Sukkah Of Sedom

Chazal say (Pesaikta Derav Cahana) כל מי שמקיים מצות סוכה בעולם הזה, אף הקב"ה נותן לו חלק לעתיד לבוא בסוכתה של סדום, מה שהקב"ה עתיד לחלק אותה לצדיקים שבטים שְׁכָמִים, שנאמר אלקים דבר בקדשו אעלוזה אחלקה שכם ועמק סוכות אמדד -תהילים ס:ח.  What is the connection between סדום and sukkot?  

The holiday of Sukkot is called זמן שמחתנו because of the extra time the Torah says simcha in regard to Sukkot.  Why does it have increased joy?  The Midrash says since it is around the time of the harvest it is a happy time for people are happy to harvest the crops.  What about those of us who are not farmers?  The Rebbe (Likutay Sichos volume 29) says that the time of harvest is also a time of spiritual harvest.  Pesach is the time when the foundation of emunah was set in place, Shavuot is the time of receiving the Torah but Sukkot is the time when the mitzvot take a physical form.  We transform even our daily activities into a mitzvah by merely being inside of a sukkah.  The great simcha is of the ability that we have the capability of transforming gashmi life into ruchnious.    

The Gemarah Avodah Zarah (3a) says that Hashem will test the gentiles with the mitzvah of sukkah which does not have much חסרון כיס and they will end up kicking the sukkah.  The Sifsay Chayim explains that the gentiles only understand ruchni or gashmi, they can't fathom a fusion of the two.  That is what it means it is a mitzvah that does not have חסרון כיס, there is nothing being given up for the sake of ruchni, instead it has כיס, a receptacle, a person receives from the mitzvah.  It is gashmi being used for ruhniout.  This is something that the gentiles can't fathom.  

In many seforim they draw parallels between the taveh of Noach and the sukkah.  The sin of the dor of the mabal was as the Gemarah Sanhedrin (108b) says תנו רבנן: דור המבול לא נתגאו אלא בשביל רוב טובה שהשפיע להם הקב"ה.  They were inundated with too much gashmious and this led to their downfall.  The gashmious led them astray.  

A sukkah brings about shalom, ופרוס עלינו סוכת שלומיך.  Shalom is the unification of opposite forces.  The unification of gashmious and ruchnious is brought about via the sukkah.  

The sin of סדום was יד עני ואביון לא החזיקה (Yechezkal 16:49.)  The city of Sedom was the opposite of shalom.  The motto of Sedom is שלי שלי שלך שלך.  They do not believe in the fusion of opposites.  One who properly sits in the sukkah, understands the message of the sukkah, will merit to bring the unification to Sedom as well.  As has been noted the word סדום can stand for סוכת דוד ומלך משיח.  It through the avodah of Sukkot that the sukkot David is raised by Mashiach. 

The Sukkah Of The Tongues

 דרשות נחלת דוד ח"ב סימן י

Wy the sin of lashan harah being fixed by the sukkah?  Why is it this averah specifically which sukkah comes to fix?  What does this have to do with the final geulah?  

The Gemarah Avodah Zarah (3a) says Hashem will give the gentiles one more chance to get things right since they missed out on כפה עליהם הר כגיגית and he will offer them the mitzvah of sukkah but they kick the sukkah due to the heat and leave.  Why is sukkah the mitzvah picked to be in place of the כפה הר כגיגית?  The holiday of Sukkot is to commemorate the ענני הכבוד.  The ענני הכבוד came in the merit of Ahron who is the embodiment of אוהב שלום ורודף שלום.  The sukkah brings everyone together under the same mitzvah.  סוכת שלומך, the sukkah unites people under the same roof.  כל ישראל ראוים לישב בסוכה אחת (Sukkah 27a,) it brings about unity and piece.  That was the experience at Mattan Torah of כאיש אחד בלב אחד.  The gentiles complained that Hashem never put the barrel over their head, they get the same mitzvah version of that which is sukkah.  

The last galus is that of עשו.  The power of Esav is כי ציד בפיו, the power of the mouth. Rashi Shemos (2:14) says that the extent of the golus of Egypt was due to lashon harah.  So too the length of the last golus it due to lashon harah.  Hence, the fix for that is the middah of Aharon, the antithesis to lashon harah which is experienced via the sukkah.  

The Maharal (Netzach ch. 54) notes, any time there is a revelation of the Shechina it comes enclothed in the ענני הכבוד for this middah of bringing together different forces is also what allows Hashem to connect to Klal Yisrael.  As the Maharal notes (Nesiv Halashon Ch. 6) the power of speech is the combination of the spiritual and physical forces of man, the רוח ממלא coming through the physical mouth.  That is why the revelation of the geulah, the physical binding with the spiritual, is held up by man's own failure in his own speech.  

Obtaining Tahara

Rabbenu Yona holds that there is an additional mitzvah of teshuva on Yom Kippur besides the mitzvah all year round.  What is the nature of this mitzvah?  

The Rambam in the beginning of the Laws of Teshuva says one must say viduy for sins done wantonly or by accident, he does not include אונס.  Furthermore, the Aruch Hashulchan (602:7) points out that the Rambam in Perush HaMishna end of Yoma indicates that there is no viduy for ones.   Why is there no viduy for ones?  Because an action done in ones is not considered to be the fault of the participant at all (as opposed to an accident which comes about due to some form of negligence.)  However, we say on Yom Kippur על חטא שחטאנו לפניך באונס.  This would indicate that one has to say viduy even for actions committed באונס?

The Rambam in Teshuva (2:8) says that averot that one said viduy for on a previous Yom Kippur, one says viduy for them on the following Yom Kippur's as well.  The Rambam does not say this regarding the viduy said throughout the year for a sin in Chapter 1, this is a specific din for Yom Kippur.  What is the nature of this din?

What we see is that even though teshuva and viduy exist all year long, the viduy of Yom Kippur is distinct from that of the rest of the year.  As Rav Soloveitchik points out (Harraray Kedem,) the first chapter of the Laws of Teshuva in the Rambam deals with teshuva and viduy throughout the year.  The second chapter deals with laws specific to the teshuva and viduy process of Yom Kippur.  The process done on Yom Kippur is to accomplish more than teshuva for sins but to attain tahara, לפני ה תטהרו.  This tahara process involves one to be cleansed and removed from any sort of sin brought into the world due to one's actions.  Hence we say viduy on sins done even באונס.  That is why it is put right next to wanton sins, על חטא שחטאנו לפניך באונס וברצון, meaning one is being cleaned from all specks of sin from the worst of sins all the way down to a sin having brought about even באונס.  

This is the reason why one says viduy even for sins already confessed previously.  That is not necessary as part of the strict teshuva process but for taharah one must absolve himself of all previous connection to sin.   

This is what Rabbenu Yona is telling us is the additional mitzvah on Yom Kippur.  This is a mitzvah beyond the bounds of teshuva, it is a mitzvah of taharah. 

What does this level of taharah mean?  Yom Kippur is the culmination of a 40 day process started at the beginning of Elul of returning to Hashem.  The Maharal in Gur Aryeh (Shoftim) says that a person gets 39 lashes for violating a lav for it takes 40 days for an embryo to form.  The first day is the pure essence of the person and then there are 39 days to create the makeup of the individual. It is the additional 39 levels of a person that can become contaminated by sin but not the pure essence of the 40th.  On Yom Kippur we are unraveled all the way back to the innermost essence of a person which desires to be attached to Hashem.  The viduy of Yom Kippur is the outward expression of the complete eradication of any connection to sin which becomes attached to the externality of the person and we proclaim our innermost desire to become attached to Hashem.   

(Based upon the sefer L'teshuvas Hashana, Yarech L'moadim siman 43, and article of Rabbi Rosensweig.)

Reconnecting To Hashem

The Rambam (Teshuva 1:1) says חַיָּב לְהִתְוַדּוֹת לִפְנֵי הָאֵל בָּרוּךְ הוּא, viduy must be done before Hashem.  Regarding Yom Kippur as well the Torah says לפני ה תטהרו.  What does it mean that viduy must be done before Hashem and why is it necessary?  Why is it that one who does teshuva is called a בַּעַל תְּשׁוּבָה, we don't call someone who wears tefillin a בעל תפילין?  

When one does teshuva one is not merely removing a negative, reversing his wrongs of the past but rather bringing a whole new light into his relationship with Hashem.  As the Rambam says (7:6) אֶמֶשׁ הָיָה זֶה שָׂנאוּי לִפְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם מְשֻׁקָּץ וּמְרֻחָק וְתוֹעֵבָה. וְהַיּוֹם הוּא אָהוּב וְנֶחְמָד קָרוֹב וְיָדִיד.  One who does teshuva enjoys a new close relationship with Hashem.  Why is this so?  

Rav Soloveitchik says every Jew has their own covenant with Hashem as being a member of Klal Yisrael.  Since there was a bris made with Klal Yisrael, a member becomes automatically part of this bris.  When one sins they are breaking this bris.  When one does teshuva they need to create a new bris with Hashem.  That is what it means viduy must be done לפני ה, one must reconnect with Hashem and personally recreate his own bris.  To create this new connection one must come personally to Hashem and ask to be given a new connection.  That is why such a person is described as a בעל תשובה, he is not merely one that has fulfilled a mitzvah of teshuva, he is someone who has established an entire new connection to Hashem. 

Rav Yeruchom Levovitz (Daas CHachma U'Mussar volume 2 #90, see also volume 1 #91) says that teshuva is not a means of refersing sin and therefore if one did many sins they need to do many acts of teshuva.  Rather, teshuva is a life changing experience.  One's entire service to Hashem now stems from teshuva.  He adds that is why Rabbenu Yona in Shaarey Teshuva gives a vast description of the mitzvot and halachot for a baal teshuva needs a new kabbalah of the mitzvot.  His new connection, new bris with Hashem, obligates a new acceptance of the Torah.  That is why the giving of the luchos happens on Yom Kippur for teshuva goes hand in hand with reaccepting the Torah.  That is why the Midrash says it is only Hashem that allows a sinner to do teshuva for it is only Hashem that has the capability of creating a new bris with the sinner.  

Additional Shofar Blasts And בל תוסיף

Tosfos Rosh Hashana (16b) asks how we can blow an additional set of shofar blasts in order to לערבב השטן if it is a violation of בל תוסיף, adding on to the Bibical mitzvah?  Tosfos ends up answering that doing a mitzvah multiple times does not constitute בל תוסיף.  The simple understanding is that the Torah gives a minimal shiur to do the mitzvah but it is not the maximum that one should violate בל תוסיף for doing more.  The Rashba answers the question of Tosfos that since one is blowing to fulfill the takanah of Chazal that is not a violation of בל תוסיף.  The Achronim discuss is there a machlokes in the answers, does Tosfos not hold like the answer of the Rashba and visa versa or did they just give alternate answers.  

The Minchas Chinuch (454) says the Rashba must agree to the severah of Tosfos for וכי תעלה על הדעת דלהרשב"א אסור ליטול לולב או להניח תפילין כ"פ ביום או הרבה זיתים מצה וכדומה, how can it be that Rashba won't allow you to carry around a luluv or eat a lot of matzah?  He must agree to Tosfos.  One could argue that the Rashba holds that is not a proof for all those examples are cases where adding to the mtizvah is an additional kium mitzvah, every taking of the luluv, every eating of the matzah, the mitzvah of tefillin is to wear it all day but blowing more shofar blasts is no additional kium mitzvah and maybe that is בל תוסיף to add to the mitzvah.  

Other Achronim attack the other way, how can Tosfos not say like the Rashba, why is sitting in the Sukkah on Shemini Atzeret not a violation of בל תוסיף if Tosfos does not say doing an acting to fulfill the takkanah of Chazal is not in violation of בל תוסיף?  The Pney Yehoshua and Pri Migadim (Pesicha Kolleles volume 1 #38) both suggest Tosfos is agreement with the Rashba when the takkanah serves to alleviate a need, where there was some problem Chazal had to fix, but just to enact an additional blowing does not fit in the rubric of the license for takkanas and would be subject to בל תוסיף.  Rebbe Akiva Eger says that this is not so for Tosfos himself (28b) [on the same page where he repeats his yesod from 16b] says that sitting in the sukkah on Shemini Atzeret (to fulfill the takkanah derabbanan of ספיקא דיומא) would be a violation of בל תוסיף according to what the Gemarah entertains that בל תוסיף applies even outside the timeframe of the mitzvah even with out intent to fulfill a mitzvah.  In other words, Tosfos is saying that בל תוסיף does apply to a Rabbinic decree and it is not a violation merely because one is not intending to do a mitzvah; not like the Rashba?  

My great-grandfather suggests that the Tosfos there does not necessarily contradict the Rashba.  The point of the Rashba is that it is not בל תוסיף when one's intent is to fulfill the Rabbinic law, not to add to the mitzvah. Tosfos is talking in the opinion that one's intent doesn't matter, one violates בל תוסיף even without intent for a mitzvah so over there the words of the Rashba do not hold water and doing a Rabbinic law will be בל תוסיף.  However, according to the conclusion of the Gemarah that when violates בל תוסיף outside the timeframe of the mitzvah only with intent for a mitzvah, Tosfos will agree to the Rashba.  

If everyone is on the same page why did the Tosfos and the Rashba give two different answers?  My great-grandfather says that they are addressing two different forms of בל תוסיף.  Tosfos (16b) says that the additional shofar blows are considered in the timeframe of the mitzvah for one may be summoned to blow for a different tzibbur.  The בל תוסיף that one is violating is the בל תוסיף of adding to a mitzvah like adding a 5^th species to the 4 species taken on Sukkot.  For that form of בל תוסיף it doesn't help if your intent is to fulfill a Rabbinic decree, one is still changing the form of a mitzvah and will violate בל תוסיף.  Therefore, Tosfos needs to be מחדש doing the mitzvah many times is not בל תוסיף.  However, there is room to argue with Tosfos (as R.A.E. 16b does,) and say even though one may be called to blow for someone else, it is still not considered within the timeframe of the mitzvah for the one blowing the shofar already did his mitzvah and he is just being מוציא the new crowd.  The Rashba maybe held like that and he is not addressing the form of בל תוסיף of adding to the form of a mitzvah for the mitzvah is done.  The Rashba is addressing a different form of בל תוסיף and that is the Chazal adding another mitzvah to the Torah is also a violation of בל תוסיף and for that he answers a Rabbinic decree not given over a new mitzvah is not subject to בל תוסיף. 

(For further reading on the topic see Yarech L'moadim siman 16, ראש השנה – תקיעות דרבנן ואיסור בל תוסיף of Rav Asher Weiss, עשיית מצוות יותר מכשיעור ואיסור בל תוסיף by Rabbi Ehrman.)

How Much Torah Will You Learn

The Chidushay HaRim comments on Ha'azenu:

The ספר החיים  is the sefer of understanding of Torah as Torah is the עץ חיים.  We daven to be able to access new understandings in Torah.  That is בינו שנות דור ודור that every year a new understanding is given, the inspiration of brain power for the year is determined on Rosh Hashana as well (see also post of my father last year, "yom ha'din -- on Torah".) 

In the introduction of שארית יוסף volume 3 Rabbi Wahrman cites this Rim in conjunction with other sources that there is a precise time for a chiddush in Torah to be brought into the world.  We are davening to be able to merit to access the chiddushim that are meant to be revealed specifically in תשפ"ה.

Rebbe Nasan in Likutay Halachat Beis Hakeneset (5:19) notes that the word תרועה is made of the words תורה ע, the 70 various modes of interpreting Torah.  In the mitzvah of shofar itself we allude to the Torah for it is through the Torah that everything else falls in place.  

The Kedushas Levi says that we blow shofar on Rosh Hashana to "remind" Hashem of the time of Mattan Torah when the shofar was blown.  Every other nation said no to the Torah but we accepted.  It is that time of favor when Klal Yisrael chose to accept the Torah in which we seek to imitate now in order to arouse favor that no matter how far removed we seem from that exalted time deep down we are the same people.  It is the merit of the Torah that we seek to evoke through the shofar and blow new understandings into our learning for the new year. 

The Inspiration For Teshuva

 וְהָיָה֩ כִֽי⁠־יָבֹ֨אוּ עָלֶ֜יךָ כׇּל⁠־הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה הַבְּרָכָה֙ וְהַקְּלָלָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַ֖תִּי לְפָנֶ֑יךָ וַהֲשֵׁבֹתָ֙ אֶל⁠־לְבָבֶ֔ךָ בְּכׇ֨ל⁠־הַגּוֹיִ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֧ר הִדִּיחֲךָ֛ י״י֥ אלקיך שמה.  The Kozhnitzer Maggid reads the possuk as וַהֲשֵׁבֹתָ֙ אֶל⁠־לְבָבֶ֔ךָ בְּכׇ֨ל⁠־הַגּוֹיִ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֧ר הִדִּיחֲךָ֛, why do you want to do teshuva even as you are dispersed amongst the gentiles? י״י֥ אלקיך שמה, since Hashem inserts Himself in the deep depths of impurity surrounding a person and gives one the spark to do teshuva.  That is what Dovid says (86:13) והצלת נפשי משאול תחתיה, You came to pull me out of the depths of darkness.  The next possuk continues ושבת עד ה אלקיך, when you take that inspiration and due true teshuva, then the pessukim continue Hashem will gather you from the ends of the earth, meaning Hashem will elevate and gather together all the holy sparks that you left behind.  

The Pirkay D'Rebbe Eliezer (Ch. 43) says שלח הב"ה ביד עבדיו הנביאים אל ישראל ואמר, שובה ישראל עד ה' אלהיך, עד ההוא ששמעכם בהר סיני אומ' אנכי ה' אלהיך, meaning the ability to do teshuva stems from that connection to Sinai.  That voice of Hashem experienced at Sinai is heard by the Jewish soul down through the generations.  The Be'ar Moshe cites the Baal Shem Tov that the the בת קול  that says אוי לבריות מעלבונה של תורה is the thoughts of teshuva that pop into a person's mind.  This is the spirit of inspiration that allows one to do teshuva.  He says that is the intent of the next words, וְשָׁמַעְתָּ֣ בְקֹל֔וֹ כְּכֹ֛ל אֲשֶׁר⁠־אָנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ הַיּ֑וֹם, if one hears the internal voice of the commandments at Sinai today, if one hears the בת קול, then one will be able to do teshuva.