Maavor Yabok - English

Maavor Yabok On-Line Study Group
Sponsored by the Gamliel Institute of Kavod v’Nichum

Translated and Taught by Rabbi Steven Moss
© copyright Rabbi Steven Moss
Technical Facilitation by David Zinner

Chapter 1 - Siftay Tzedek - Lips of Righteousness - September 2003

O God, Lord, who enlightens us and sanctifies us by His commandments and commands us; by them there will be goodness all our days and by them there will be strength in their potentiality and a greater strength in their completion because the reward will be established in the world to come and their fruits will be consumed by a person in the world of souls called this world. And the interpretation of the words Reward and Fruit will be the abundant flow that will flow upon Malchut in the mystery of the returning light and straight light at the time of a mitzvah, as will be explained below. And after, the light will create fruit that is as a seed in the earth that causes fruit to grow that is planted and comes back with the creation of fruit. Thus the holy light is planted in the exalted land and there it creates plants and fruits. And generally the commandments that are deeds of loving kindnesses the abundant flow of Hesed will be desired from its place, and also the Hesed that is in Gevurah, and therefore the word is written loving kindnesses in the plural. And it will be that as a person does kindness with people Hesed is caused to flow, and if he does this by his strength and his judgment, there will be an abundant flow from Hesed to Gevurah and this is deeds of loving kindnesses. This mitzvah is with life and death, by the physical being of a person and all his possessions. It is weighed equal against the merit of the ancestors. And it is stated in Va-Yikra Rabbah section 36:6 on the verse, “For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed; but My love shall not depart from thee.”(Isa. 54:1) “If you see the merit of the Patriarch is failing and the merit of the Matriarchs is slipping away, go and occupy yourself with benevolence (love).” Also look in Yerushalmi Sotah chapter 100, “great are the mitzvot of Deeds of Lovingkindnesses”, also in the germara there, in Baba Metziah, and in Shabbat chapter “Mipneen”

And Bikur Holim is also the mitzvah for which there is a reward and its fruits, and this will be explained below. In chapter “aym bayn modeyr (Nedarim page 39b) and in Yerushalmi Peah (ch. 1 hilchot 1) that the mitzvah of bikur holim is the most important of all. In the chapter mentioned, the hours for visiting are explained. And further in Sotah ch. 14a the sages said that the Holy One blessed be He visits the sick and buries the dead.

In chapter 141 of Talmud Shabbat page 12b it is written that each visitor of the sick needs to request mercy and that it be from a pained heart, and the visitor who visits without requesting mercy does not fulfill the mitzvah. And the rabbis argue in the Mishnah and Beraitha that the words of the visitor are sweetened to include the sick person among all the sick of Israel. There are no sufferings without sin, according to some (Shabbat 55a). In every place judgment is decreed on the many it is severed, is it not so when issued for an individual, “Supplication is good for a man whether before the doom is pronounced or after it is pronounced.” (Rosh Hashanah 16a)

And on Shabbat the divine flow from the Ancient one is revealed, and the thoughts of great mercy flow throughout the world, from the energy of the 7 levels of the Throne, that is in the world Beriah incorporated in the name Akatriel Yod-Hay Adonai Tzevaot, dressed in the emanations of the Holy in the seven palaces, and was explained in the tikkunim hinted at in the letters Aleph/Hay/Yod/Hay Yod/Hay/Vav and from them the seven names Hay/Vav/Yod/Hay to Yod/Hay/Vav/Dalet the vowels Hirek, Segol, Hirek Elohim Hay/Vav/Yod/Hay Hay/Vav/Yod/Hay Aleph/Dalet/Nun/Yod and explained in the commandments from “May Eleh Ha-d’varim” commandment 24 (Zohar Yitro 92b). And on this holy day one needs to pray for the sick in the aggregate of sick since this is permitted, but it is forbidden to cry out on his behalf as explained in Shabbat 12a, On Shabbat it is forbidden to “cry out” but crying out is the greatest of the 10 forms of prayer, that it is that a person prays from a sense of hopelessness and cries out from a pained heart this is the place of the gathering of thought that it is hinted at in the exalted Keter. The goal of prayer is that it will raise the cry from the heart, and of this it is spoken of in Rosh HaShanah 16b, that it always severs the decree, and as they further say in Zohar Shemot 20a, “Great is a crying out for it rules the decree from above, and further it is written that it rules in this world and in the next, and because of it he inherits both worlds for it nullifies even the harshest of decrees, and the decrees of Binah are sweetened by it and the mother is returned to her children.

And there are many rewards for it as the working of the energy to the Exalted Keter is awakened. Therefore there is no crying out from the heart on Shabbat but during the week it is required to pray for the sick until there is a crying out, and for this there will be a worthiness to see the joyfulness of the Lord that it is Binah, and to visit in its palace that is Malchut. Thus is the reward in this world and the next the mystery of Binah and Malchut.

In Midrash Rabbah Vayikra 34, 1 it is written, “…. But only if they loved him like themselves. But in any case they would afford him relief. “ And in the chapter Ayn Ben Hamoded (Nedarim 39b) Resh Lakish said, “Where is visiting the sick indicated in the Torah? In the verse, “If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men.” (Numb. 16:29). I have heard that they agree in the taken of 1/60^th of the illness from the one who is sick if he liked him as he liked himself (Nedarim 39b). For the verse (Gen. 48:2), “and Israel strengthened himself and sat up on his bed”, and bed in gematria is 59, because Yosef came to him and the son liked the father as he liked himself, and the aura of this likeness was as his father’s, and whatever befell Yaacov befell Yosef, only because his chariot was second to him, and so in his coming to visit his father Israel was strengthened from his illness and sat up upon the 59 parts as in gematria equals the word bed, and this was a greater righteousness that was they said (look at Shabbat 90b, Rashi’s comment on the word “Shey’tayn”) “Have early breakfast in the summer because of the heat, and in the winter because of the cold, and people even say that sixty men may pursue him who has early meals in the mornings and will not overtake him?” and so….

Questions for study and reflection:

1) Did this chapter have any meaning for you?

2) What is the effect on the Divine caused by the work of Loving kindnesses? How does this awareness influence your actions?

3) What does it mean to request mercy for the sick? How is this used in a modern visit of the sick?

4) What does it mean to “cry out” for the sick? Does it mean that we need to be weeping or screaming as we visit a sick person?

5) I had great difficulty translating the words “B’caayv Lev”! I translated them to be, “that it be from a pained heart”, but I am not happy with this because I am not sure what it means! What do you think? Is it saying that we need to pray for the sick from a place of our own pain, meaning an empathic place?

6) What is the role of empathy in the visit of the sick? Notice the last section of this chapter. We relieve the person of his burden when we see him like we see ourselves. What are your thoughts about this?

7) Do you see a place in your practice for the tikkunim, mediations on G-d’s name, as presented above? If you are interested, we can take a side path and have further discussions and presentations regarding the kavanah (mediation) on the names of G-d. What spiritual practices do you do to bring benefit to your Chevrah Kadisha work, as well as your Jewish life in general?