אִם יִרְצֶה הַשֵּׁם
כ״ה חֶשְׁוָן תשפ״ז
The sugya is Sanhedrin 100b. On 100a: He called him Elisha.
Neither post nor transcript has been reviewed by Rav Avigdor Miller zt"l nor the Toras Avigdor organization.
Extra faculties
How can a human being accept the abundance HaKadosh Baruch Hu measures out?
In the flesh of techiyas ha-mesim: the revival of the dead, the vessels would burst. In olam ha-ba the human mind is not that vast. Rav Miller zt"l: He therefore bestows additional faculties, physical or mental, just as He gives the wicked additional faculties to endure punishment. The ordinary human vessel cannot hold either.
The books of the Tzedukim
Ha-korei ba-sfarim ha-chitzonim: one who reads the outside books.
The Mishnah places those books with the books of the Tzedukim. They were not a theological sect with yeshivos and teachers. They were politicians who seized power and olam ha-zeh. Sometimes they invented objections to the Chachamim when it was convenient. The only known book was a crude kitzur: a short digest, for ignorant judges.
Rav Miller zt"l suspects an emendation. Tzeduki often stands for min: a Christian. Reading those writings costs a man his chelek.
Sefer Ben Sira is the anomaly. It follows the model of Mishlei, exhortations to virtue, yet it is discouraged. Originally a righteous Ben Sira in the days of Shimon ha-Tzaddik described the Kohen Gadol leaving the Kodesh ha-Kodashim. That is the source of Mareh Kohen. He appeared like a morning star, like a choson coming from his chuppah. Holiness shone from his face. Alexander the Great alighted from his horse and bowed. That description entered the Yom Kippur piyut.
Later the oral text was garbled with foolish insertions. Or there were two books. Nothing was written except Tanach, so it lived in the mouths of the people and mixed.
Entirely good
Abaye: the reason it is sfarim chitzonim is because of what is written there.
Do not peel a fish from its ear, the gills. Do not waste the skin; broil it whole so it seasons two biscuits. If this is bal tashchis, the Torah already forbids destroying fruit trees. If it is a mashal, fish stands for marital relations: do not waste the opportunity in an unnatural way, for she might conceive twins like the sons of R Chiyya. Either way the Chachamim already taught it.
A daughter is a vain treasure to her father. He cannot sleep: as a child she might be seduced, as a na’arah she might commit immorality, if older she might never marry, if married she might have no children, if old she might dabble in sorcery. The Chachamim already said the world needs both, yet ashrei mi she-banav zecharim: fortunate is the one whose children are males. Sons are helping hands; daughters are a load. HaKadosh Baruch Hu distributes as He sees fit.
Do not permit worry to enter the heart. Even strong men have been killed by it. Yashchena: knock it out at once, the way one stops hiccups before they take hold, or speak it out to a wise man. Do not speak it to a nervous wife. Hold back many from the midst of the house. Speak outside if needed. More people mean more quarrels. Ish re’im le-hisroa: they will break you.
Then the book judges a man by his beard. A sparse beard means a cunning man who pulls it while scheming. A thick beard means a fool who does not think. One who blows foam from his cup is not thirsty. One who asks for condiment is not hungry. A split beard means no one can deceive him.
This is a shallow appraisal of character by the look of a beard or by table manners. A worthwhile book must be kula tova: entirely good. Once any admixture of foolishness appears, even the good parts are only guesses, and the whole is avoided.
Rav Yosef: we do darshin the good things that are in it. We skip what is not approved.
The lowest roof
Kol yemei ani ra’im: all the days of a poor man are bad.
Ben Sira adds even the nights. The lowest roof receives the rain of all the roofs. The highest vineyard loses its topsoil. Once poverty is decreed, it comes from every side.
The Gemara then reads ani and tov lev: a good heart, as more than money. A man of Talmud is poor because the kushyos never end; a man of Mishnah is at an easy party. Rabi turns it: the Gemara man understands what he is saying; the Mishnah man is bewildered. Learning Mishnah is like pulling stones that cut. Learning Gemara is like splitting wood that warms and cooks.
A finicky nature is poverty: ordinary things bother him. A strong mind that is not bothered is tov lev. Abaye: a compassionate man is poor because everyone's trouble touches him; a cruel man is undisturbed. R Yehoshua b Levi: a narrow mind or a short temper fills every day; a broad mind that is slow to anger is tov lev.
A man with a bad wife is poor even if he is rich. A good wife is a good gift, given into the bosom of one who fears Elokim. A bad wife is a leprosy; send her from the house after the beit din decides who is at fault. A beautiful wife doubles his days: this world and the next. Either appearance so the eyes do not stray, or good character that shows on the face. Hide the eyes from a winsome woman at once. Staring marks a low character. You cannot fight nature. Do not turn in to her husband to drink. Many have been destroyed by the to’ar: the skin-deep countenance, not by character.
The besamim salesmen went house to house and led to immorality like a spark that sets quiet coals on fire. Ezra encouraged perfume for shalom bayis; Ben Sira still warns against the men. Their houses are full of deceit.
Be on good terms with many. Secrets only to one out of a thousand. From the one who lies in your bosom guard the openings of your mouth. Tell her only what does not discredit you. Do not worry about tomorrow. You do not know what the day will give birth to. Maybe he will not be around. Why carry two worries? Tomorrow is not your world.
Even Shabbos is bad for the poor man. Shmuel: a change of regimen is the beginning of intestinal sickness. The unaccustomed fish or chicken upsets him.
Torah girds sackcloth
One who reads a pasuk of Shir ha-Shirim as a secular song, or a pasuk in the drinking houses not in its proper time, brings evil upon the world.
The Torah girds itself with sackcloth and complains that they make it a plaything.
At a banquet, speak according to the company. If they are people of Tanach, let them study Tanach; of Mishnah, Mishnah; of Talmud, the hilchos of that day. R Shimon b’Avrozo testified: one who reads a pasuk in its proper time brings good upon the world. Davar be’ito mah tov. On Yom Tov a capable man held the cup of wine, spoke words of Yerushalayim and of the day, then made the berachah and drank.
The Mishnah forbids whispering divrei Torah over a wound. Abaye: only if he first spit. Do not mention Shem Shamayim over spit. Even a pasuk without the Name, and even one unrelated to illness, is forbidden once spit is on the wound. In ancient times saliva was thought to have medicinal properties. After spit, any pasuk is forbidden.
You may anoint with oil and massage the stomach on Shabbos. Oil was used daily as washing, so it is not refuah. You may also whisper to draw away snakes and scorpions on Shabbos.
Once Rav Yosef permits darshin of the good statements in Ben Sira, how the presence of the shallow beard-appraisals still marks the entire book as sfarim chitzonim, rather than a book we simply skip in places, is left open.
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