Please note that at 38:33 into the shiur, the audio mutes for about 20 seconds.
The source sheet for this shiur is available at https://www.torahweb.org/torah/audio/rtwe/Miscellaneous/107-rtwe-father-yohrtzeit-sep-21-2026-sources.pdf
ולא בעל קנאה ולא בעל תאוה ולא רודף אחר הכבוד.Okay. Now earlier in פרק א', the Rambam has already really treated and has already really addressed these middot. This is of course part of the Rambam's two perakim plus discussion of the מדה בינונית, but one's attitude towards work and and wealth, as well as one's attitude in terms of where one is on the spectrum of ta'avah, the Rambam has already dealt with that. So if you go back initially to פרק א' הלכה א' and then subsequently הלכה ד', I'm sorry,
דעות הרבה יש בכל אחד ואחד מבני אדם וזו משונה מזו ורחוקה ממנה ביותר. יש אדם שהוא בעל חמה כועס תמיד, ויש אדם שדעתו מיושבת עליו ואינו כועס כלל, ואם יכעס יכעס כעס מעט בכמה שנים. ויש אדם שהוא גבה לב ביותר, ויש שהוא שפל רוח ביותר.When when the Rambam is depicting character traits, so he only has the the extremes. So you might wonder who the Rambam kept company with, you know. Those were only Those were the only people in his circle? Those who who are always angry and those who were so totally apathetic? But when you think about it, the the Rambam is looking to illustrate character traits. Of course there's a whole spectrum, but everyone who's not at either extreme of the spectrum, it's only because it's a blending of the two. So he's he's illustrating the character traits. The character traits are the extreme. The character trait is is anger and apathy. Now most people, you know, don't have 100% anger or 100% apathy, but it's not because there's, you know, 50 other 50 other traits along the the the the length of the spectrum. Okay. But the Rambam says
יש שהוא בעל תאוה לא תשבע נפשו מהלוך בתאוה ויש שהוא בעל לב טהור מאד ולא יתאוה אפילו דברים מועטים שהגוף צריך להן,right? So he's already speaking here about ta'avah,
הלכה א׳. ויש בעל נפש רחבה שלא תשבע נפשו מכל ממון העולם כענין שנאמר אוהב כסף לא ישבע כסף, ויש מקצר נפשו שדיו אפילו דבר מועט שלא יספיק לו ולא ירדוף להשיג כל צרכו.So here are the extremes, right? Here are the two ends of the spectrum. So then the Rambam follows it up in הלכה ד׳ telling us what the correct path is:
הדרך הישרה היא מדה בינונית שבכל דעה ודעה מכל הדעות שיש לו לאדם והיא הדעה שהיא רחוקה משתי הקצוות ריחוק שוה.The straight, correct path is the is is the middle path, which is equidistant from the two extremes. לפיכך צוו חכמים הראשונים שיהא אדם שם דעותיו תמיד, the Chachamim commanded that a person should constantly be assessing his character traits, ומשער אותם, and calibrating them, ומכוין אותם, and directing them,
בדרך האמצעית, ומכוין אותם בדרך האמצעית כדי שיהא שלם בגופו. כיצד? לא יהא בעל חמה נוח לכעוס ולא כמת שאינו מרגיש אלא בינוני. וכן,skipping one line, לא יתאוה אלא לדברים שהגוף צריך להן He should have an appetite, but the appetite should be for a healthy diet,
ואי אפשר לחיות בזולתן כענין שנאמר צדיק אוכל לשובע נפשו. וכן לא יהיה עמל בעסקו אלא להשיג דבר שצריך לו לחיי שעה כענין שנאמר טוב מעט לצדיק.So both of the middot, again, that the Rambam we began with פרק ב׳ הלכה ז׳, where the Rambam says לא יהא בעל נפש, line 3,
רחבה נבהל להון ולא עצל ובטל ממלאכה אלא בעל עין טובה ממעט בעסק ועוסק בתורה.And then subsequently the Rambam speaks of ולא בעל תאוה וכך אמרו חכמים הקנאה והתאוה והכבוד, but both the again, the the attitude towards towards towards money, towards wealth, as well as taavah, the Rambam has already dealt with in פרק א׳. He identified the extremes in א׳:א׳, and he explained what the right balance is what in in הלכה ד׳. So why is the Rambam circling back? Again, the question is is both with regard to to again, work, money, as well as taavah. Both of them have been dealt with already here in in הלכה ד׳. One question. Another question, again, the entire context here of the first two perakim is the מדה בינונית. As a matter of fact, the Rambam concludes הלכה ז׳, which is the end of פרק ב׳, with
כללו של דבר ילך במדה הבינונית שבכל דעה ודעה עד שיהיו כל דעותיו מכוונות באמצעיות.But what's interesting is, when the Rambam says ולא בעל קטטה, the Rambam doesn't place that on a spectrum, right? We would have expected that the that the Rambam would say, you know, there's one person who, I don't know, he's a doormat, he lets people walk all over him, and then there's another person who's contentious and and and and litigious, וכולו וכולו. And then the Rambam should have said what the what what the middle is. And here the Rambam, in the in the middle of his discussion of the מדה בינונית, just throws in that the person shouldn't be a בעל קטטה, again, without again, identifying it, without framing it in terms of this question of of extreme middot and and מדה בינונית. Okay, so those are our three questions for now. Well, let's go back to the beginning of of
הלכה ז׳: לא יהא אדם בעל שחוק והתלוץ לשון רק אל יוסף פרעה התל.Right, so Pharaoh should stop making a mockery and and being deceptive and claiming that he's going to do one thing and then and then do another thing,
אל יוסף פרעה התל. ולא עצב ואונן אלא שמח. כך אמרו חכמים: שחוק וקלות ראש מרגילין את האדם לערוה. וצוו שלא יהא אדם פרוץ בשחוק ולא עצב ומתאבל אלא מקבל את כל האדם בסבר פנים יפות.Two questions. Question number one is the apparent repetition: לא יהא אדם בעל שחוק, and then the Rambam repeats, וצוו שלא יהא אדם פרוץ בשחוק. Question number two is that there were two mishnayot in Avot, you have them on the bottom of the page here, in פרק א the משנה הוי מקבל את כל האדם בסבר פנים יפות, which is the Mishnah that the Rambam quotes, as the Kesef Mishneh cites, but then there's a second Mishnah later in פרק ג of הוי מקבל את כל האדם בשמחה. The Rambam in the Peirush HaMishnayot there comments somewhat cryptically וזה יותר ממאמר שמאי בסבר פנים יפות. What Rabbi Yishmael sets the bar higher. Rabbi Yishmael makes more of a demand upon us in saying הוי מקבל את כל האדם בשמחה than does Shammai who said הוי מקבל את כל האדם בסבר פנים יפות, but he doesn't really explain how that is, what is it that that simchah entails that surpasses or that's more demanding than the בסבר פנים יפות. The question here in terms of פרק ב הלכה ז is that given that the Rambam has identified that the middle is
אלא שמח, לא יהא אדם בעל שחוק ולא עצב ואונן אלא שמח,so why not quote the Mishnah of הוי מקבל את כל האדם בשמחה? Why the Mishnah of בסבר פנים יפות? So lichorah as follows. Again, here in ב ז, so in in the first line the Rambam, לא יהא אדם בעל שחוק ומהתלות ולא עצב (there are some halachot, some words in the Rambam when you understand why the some sites that give you the nekudot for the Rambam, this is one of them, I don't know whatever whatever nekudot supposed to be that word after שחוק, but anyway) ולא עצב ואונן אלא שמח. Then the second time the Rambam says, וצוו שלא יהא אדם פרוץ בשחוק ולא עצב ומתאבל, so he changes אונן to מתאבל. So lichorah the peshat is as follows, that the Mishnah in Sanhedrin referring to, describing how the relatives of someone who received מיתת בית דין, how they're supposed to conduct themselves after the relative was was given מיתת בית דין, so the Mishnah says, first of all, they have to show the the dayanim that they have, you know, that they bear them no ill will, and then it says, ולא היו מתאבלין, they don't observe אבילות for הרוגי בית דין, אבל אוננין. But they do they do they do observe אנינות, שאין אנינות אלא בלב. So the Mishnah here employs, uses the word אבילות to describe ניהוגים, action, outer expression, and it uses אונן to describe an inner state. That says לא היו מתאבלין, they don't they don't outwardly engage in ניהוגי אבילות, but inwardly the the the the inner state, so that which which is indiscernible, the inner state is is that that's the what the term אנינות refers to. So when you read the the Rambam's halachah with that in mind, so then the apparent repetition is really the Rambam has two different halachot here. Halachah number one describes what a person's inner state of being should be. It's not talking about his behavior. It's talking about his, his inner state, his inner compass. Notice the לשון לא יהא אדם בעל שחוק in the first line as opposed to פורץ בשחוק in the second line. פורץ בשחוק is describing behavior, בעל שחוק is describing the person. So
לא יהא אדם בעל שחוק ומהתלות ולא עצב ואונן, אין אנינות אלא בלב,we're talking about his inner state, אלא שמח. So here, in this context, the Rambam is using, he doesn't always use it as narrowly and specifically as, as, as this, but here the Rambam is using שמח to refer to וראך ושמח בלבו. נתת שמחה בלבם. That שמח refers to again an inner emotional state. Then the Rambam says there's a second din which governs the person's behavior, וצוו שלא יהא אדם פורץ בשחוק ולא עצב ומתאבל. Now he's talking about how a person behaves, how a person conducts himself, so he shifts from the לשון אונן to מתאבל. Ah, so now, since he's talking on the second דין, אלא מקבל את כל האדם בסבר פנים יפות. So that's why he davka wants the second Mishnah, because the second Mishnah refers to behavior. The Mishnah of בסבר פנים יפות refers to behavior, בשמחה refers to the inner state. ייתכן what the Rambam in Peirush HaMishnayot had in mind is that it's easier to, right, it's easier to, to conform with a code of behavior than it is to conform with requirements for what one's inner state should be. That's obviously a, a more, that, that's a greater challenge, and it's more of a demand on the person. Okay. Now, וצוו, again, let's read this line again,
וצוו שלא יהא אדם פורץ בשחוק ולא עצב ומתאבל, אלא מקבל את כל האדם בסבר פנים יפות.Now, that conclusion, sort of that counterpoint, don't be פורץ בשחוק or עצב ומתאבל. פורץ בשחוק and, and עצב ומתאבל are sort of very broad descriptions, and then the אלא, I don't know, the, the אלא is very narrow in sort of in terms of referring to social interaction. I mean, פורץ בשחוק certainly talks about, you know, describes a middah which is, I don't know, relevant in, I don't know, a person can be sitting in the privacy of his home and can be, can be פורץ בשחוק, a person can be sitting in the privacy of his home and, and be עצב ומתאבל, or he could be in company. It, it, it applies to all situations. So why is the, the counterpoint so narrow in terms of being מקבל את כל האדם בסבר פנים יפות? Now, given that we've identified that the Rambam here has two halachot, there's a halachah, again now mentioning them in the reverse order that, that, that they appear in, in, in הלכה ז׳, there's a halachah in terms of that, that governs a person's behavior, and then there's a halachah which speaks to the middah that a person should be looking to internalize and, and to cultivate. So a person should project, the second halachah, behaviorally, he should project a happy disposition, congenial, but inwardly he should also feel that. It shouldn't just be something that he, that, that he forces himself to do, but, but that should correspond to his inner setting also. Now, kol zman that the halachah only speaks of a person's behavior, we don't really need to understand what he's happy about. No, just Act happy, right? A person can act happy even if he's not feeling happy. A person can discipline himself and and act in a in a way that's congenial, in a way that he's pleasant, and and and can smile even if he doesn't doesn't feel like not like smiling. But the halachah clearly requires more than that, because that's what we've identified that the first halachah here refers to, again, the the the the inner feeling, emotion, mindset. But but simchah always has content, right? To be happy, a person has to be happy about something. A person has to be happy about something. And a person, again, you can discipline behavior and regulate behavior and act as though you're happy without being happy. So you don't have to be happy about anything to be מקבל בסבר פנים, בסבר פנים יפות, so you can not stand the guy and wish he wasn't here, but you can still be מקבל בסבר פנים יפות. But if you but the halachah is, no, the person is a person is supposed to be genuinely sameach. But that requires that he be happy about something. And on page two, if you take a look at the the very short excerpt from from the Moreh, so the Rambam is discussing when HaKadosh Baruch Hu says in Parashat Ki Tisa: אני אעביר כל טובי על פניך, the source for the the the the the י״ג מ- that parshah, which is the source for the י״ג מדות. אני אעביר כל טובי על פניך. So what does it mean when HaKadosh Baruch Hu says in response to Moshe, in response to Moshe Rabbeinu's request of הודעני נא את דרכך, הקדוש ברוך הוא says: אני אעביר כל טובי על פניך? So the Rambam says:
אמנם אמרו כל טובי הוא רמז להראות אותו הנמצאות כולם.Moshe Rabbeinu was given an understanding of the entire beriah, the entire beriah, how the beriah, everything that interacting and interlocking within the beriah, how HaKadosh Baruch Hu conducts, governs, sustains the entire beriah, Moshe Rabbeinu understood it all. אני אעביר כל טובי על פניך. How does כל טובי refer to the entire briyah? הנאמר עליהם, it refers to הנמצאות כולם, because the נמצאות כולם are described in Parashat Bereishit as: וירא אלקים את כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאד. Extraordinary extraordinary pshat. For for the Rambam, there there's a fundamental equation between existence, between metziut and tov. And the Rambam says, that's what the pasuk in Chumash says. I I didn't this is not my my innovation. That's what the pasuk says: וירא אלקים את כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאד, that there is a fundamental equation: metziut is tov. That means that for a person to be a person to be alive is an extraordinary berachah. It it means to to exist is to benefit, to be the beneficiary of, to partake of tov. Metziut is is tov. Metziut is is the ultimate positive. The alternative is nothing. The alternative is efesut. To be is to partake, to be the beneficiary of tov. Specifically for a person, What does it mean? So life is, life is a blessing. The very fact of life is is an extraordinary berachah. HaKadosh Baruch Hu bestows tov, let's talk about people now, haKadosh Baruch Hu bestows tov upon us by allowing us to exist. What's the essence of human existence? So the Rambam writes in in several places, maybe the first time in the hakdamah to Pirush HaMishnayot, in line four:
כי לא נבדל האדם, שהאדם לפני שילמד אינו אלא כבהמה.A person who doesn't study, who doesn't learn, is is is not distinguishable from the animal kingdom.
כי לא נבדל האדם משאר בעלי החיים אלא בהגיון, שהוא חי בעל הגיון, ורצוני במילת הגיון,again this is not the Rambam's words, this is translation, ורצוני במילת הגיון השגת המושכלות. Knowledge of of ideas, intellectual propositions, of abstract truths. וגדול שבמושכלות, and the ultimate knowledge,
השגת אחדות הבורא יתעלה וישתבח וכל הקשור בכך מן המדעים האלוקיים.So metziut is tov, and specifically the the the tov that haKadosh Baruch Hu bestows upon us by giving us life is the opportunity to be a baal sechel who can who can attain yediat Hashem. So we we asked in פרק ב׳ הלכה ז׳ if there's a requirement to be sameach inwardly, a mindset, an emotion, a feeling, not just behavior, so what's the content of the simchah? So L'chorah what the Rambam is telling us is that a person is supposed to have a simchat hachayim because life is such a gift. Life is such a brachah, so the reaction to that gift, the reaction to that brachah, is to be sameach. And and and that's אני אעביר כל טובי. A a person himself is the recipient of tov. He's he's surrounded, enveloped by tov, so that should generate simchah. Now, it's interesting, we we asked that when the Rambam speaks about attitude towards work and money, so he's already spoken of that in פרק א׳ הלכה ד׳, and seemingly he's repeating it here. But it's not verbatim. He adds two crucial details here in פרק ב׳ הלכה ז׳. First of all, he says that
וכן לא יהיה בעל נפש רחבה נבהל להון ולא עצב ובטל ממלאכה אלא בעל עין טובה, ממעט בעסק ועוסק בתורה.He didn't say that in פרק א׳ הלכה ד׳, right? In פרק א׳ הלכה ד׳, the Rambam said
לא יהיה עמל בעסקו אלא להשיג דבר שצריך לו לחיי שעה כענין שנאמר טוב מעט לצדיק.What he does with the extra time that he now has, that he's not working 14-hour days, what he does with the extra time, the Rambam doesn't say in פרק א׳ הלכה ד׳. I don't know. He I don't know, the Rambam doesn't address what he's doing with with the time that's that's made available. And here, the Rambam makes a point of saying, yeah, and when the person will have more more modest goals in terms of parnasah, when he won't be looking for wealth, he'll just be looking for for what he needs, so then he'll he'll he won't have to devote as many hours to work, ועוסק בתורה. That's A. B, the Rambam also says, ואותו המעט שהוא חלקו ישמח בו. The Rambam also says, on that modest income a person should be happy with it, a person should be content with it. He didn't say that in פרק א הלכה ד either, right? In פרק א הלכה ד he just said, no, that that what's the attitude, again on if if you're we're talking about the spectrum where at one end of the spectrum is the person who's who who's who's looking to to to amass a vast fortune and the other is a person who's not even interested in in paying the rent or being able to to buy groceries. So the Rambam identified that יהיה עניו בעסקו להשיג דבר שצריך לו לחיי שעה. He didn't say that he should be שמח בו. So, yitachen according to what we're discussing, when the Rambam said אלא שמח, שמח, the Rambam is now talking about not just in פרק א the Rambam was talking about about middot, extremes and middle. Now the Rambam is applying that to how a person relates to the world. He's not just looking at at at at at a person and and and and the and all the various middot that we have and identifying what's the מדה בינונית. By saying אלא שמח, so we said again the sameach is a simchat hachayim. So the Rambam here in פרק ב הלכה ז is not only talking about the מדה בינונית, he's talking about the מדה בינונית in terms of how does the מדה בינונית, how does that translate in terms of a person's attitude towards life? Not just how does the מדה בינונית affect affect me when I when I sit down to eat a meal, how does the מדה בינונית affect me in in terms of when you just speak in in the context of middot. Here now the question is what's what what what is his attitude towards life? Ah, so in פרק א הלכה ד, there is one question on on on on on what we're saying, but I don't think it's a teyuvta. In in פרק א הלכה ד, so the Rambam is talking about the מדות, דעות הרבה יש לכל אדם. So the Rambam says the מדה בינונית in terms of attitude towards money, a person should be looking to have enough, not too little, but he doesn't need more than than than than what's enough. That that that's the attitude. In פרק ב הלכה ז, the Rambam is saying that in terms of what should a person's attitude towards life be? How does the מדה בינונית translate in terms of a person's attitude towards life, towards Olam Hazeh? So the Rambam says, well with the extra time that the person will have because he's not looking to because he's not נבהל להון, so he'll use that to be עוסק בתורה. Because now the Rambam is not only talking about the middah in a vacuum, but here the the the the the the it's been it's transformed, the question has shifted in terms of what's the מדה בינונית in in terms of one's attitude to Olam Hazeh? What am I how do I relate to Olam Hazeh? What am I looking to get out of Olam Hazeh? So that's what the Rambam says, that's why the Rambam adds the two nafka minahs of עוסק בתורה and אותו המעט שהוא חלקו ישמח בו. Because just in terms of what the middah of again one one's attitude towards work and money, so the extra time is not part of that. That's not part of the middah. Doesn't make a difference what you do with the extra time as as the person is being is is conforming with the מדה בינונית when when he looks for what he needs. What does he do with the fact that he now has a few extra hours to on on in his daily schedule? That doesn't pertain to that middah. So the Rambam doesn't talk about it. And whether or not he's happy with the with the modest income, it doesn't pertain to it either. But here the Rambam is saying once you introduce the halachah of sameach, that a person has to be happy, so that means a simchat hachayim. So that means what הלכה ז is now focusing on is what's, how does the מדה בינונית tell us how to relate to Olam Hazeh? Olam Hazeh. How do you relate to to to Olam Hazeh? What does it mean to be extreme in relating to Olam Hazeh, not just extreme in terms of middot, but extreme in terms of relating to Olam Hazeh? And that's what the Rambam says. That's why the Rambam is returning to to to this. That also explains lichorah the בעל קטטה. We we said that seemingly, the Rambam mentions לא יהא בעל קטטה without framing it in terms of this extreme, that extreme, and here's where the proper middle is. So lichorah, because the peshat is, as the Rambam writes, if you take a look at the bottom of page two,
הנוקם מחבירו עובר בלא תעשה, שנאמר לא תקום. ואף על פי שאינו לוקה עליו, דעה רעה היא עד מאד, אלא ראוי לו לאדם להיות מעביר מידותיו על כל דברי העולם, שהכל אצל המבינים דברי הבל והבאי, ואינם כדי לנקום עליהם.What prompts people to seek revenge is that they attach importance to things which are really totally, totally unimportant and even meaningless, דברי הבל והבאי. And it's clear lichorah that that's what the Rambam means by בעל קטטה also. Aval hayot that here in פרק ב׳ הלכה ז׳, the Rambam has given a context. The context is, what does it mean to have דעות בינוניות in one's approach and attitude towards Olam Hazeh? What what does it mean? Again, not just מידה בינונית in terms of speaking about we we can identify different character traits and ask what's the what's the מידה בינונית between the extremes of anger and apathy, between the extremes of hedonism and asceticism, etc., but none of that is really talking about relating to, viewing Olam Hazeh. But that's what פרק ב׳ הלכה ז׳ is about, because that's where the simchah comes from. What what generates the simchah is is simchat hachayim. So now, that means what we're discussing is, how is a person balanced in approaching Olam Hazeh? So the Rambam says to be balanced in terms of approaching Olam Hazeh is not to be overly encumbered and overly committed in terms of one's professional responsibilities. Thank you. Sorry about that. Whether you're better off with it muted or not muted, we'll we'll we'll put it we'll put it to a vote later. Okay, the the second sugya I wanted to come to upon much more briefly is is the same sugya that that we spoke about last night, last year in in in the slot, the the
רמב״ם פרק ז׳ מהלכות תשובה, הואיל ורשות כל אדם נתונה לו כמו שבארנו, הואיל ורשות כל אדם נתונה לו, כמו שבארנו, ישתדל אדם לעשות תשובה, ולהתודות בפיו מחטאיו, ולנער כפיו מחטאיו, כדי שימות והוא בעל תשובה, ויזכה לחיי העולם הבא.Now, unless the Rambam is talking about someone who, prior to the teshuvah, is a kofer, he doesn't have to do teshuvah to have a chelek in Olam Haba. Right, the Rambam writes in in the hakdamah to Perek Chelek, after listing the י״ג עיקרים, he says that as long as a person genuinely, sincerely believes in the י״ג עיקרים, so he can be marshi'a as much as possible, which is not a good idea, because he's going to be punished, rachmana litzlan, for all of that, but he will have a chelek in Olam Haba. So what does the Rambam mean כדי שימות והוא בעל תשובה ויזכה לחיי העולם הבא? It's only in very, very extreme cases that the תשובה קודם מיתה is needed to to open שערי גן עדן. Usually, it's a question of what the the דין לאחר מיתה will will entail, but it's not a question. That's what the That's what the Rambam says. That's what the Mishnah means when it says כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעולם הבא, then it says ואלו שאין להם חלק לעולם הבא, and then illustrates with those who are כופרים בעיקרי הדת. Okay, so we'll leave that question for a moment.
הלכה ב׳: לעולם יראה אדם עצמו כאילו הוא נוטה למות, ושמא ימות בשעתו ונמצא עומד בחטאו, לפיכך ישוב מחטאיו מיד.So the Rambam says that a person should The awareness of mortality that a person should have is not just as an ultimate destiny, but a person should recognize the frailty of life, and that actuarial tables are no guarantee. And what's more, a person should see himself as כאילו הוא נוטה למות, ושמא ימות בשעתו, he's he's teetering on the edge. לפיכך ישוב מחטאיו מיד. What What's the Rambam's makor? So the Kesef Mishneh quotes the the Mishnah in Avot with the Gemara in
שבת, תנן התם: רבי אליעזר אומר: שוב יום אחד לפני מיתתך.The Mishnah in Avot.
שאלו תלמידיו את רבי אליעזר: וכי אדם יודע איזהו יום ימות? אמר להם: וכל שכן, ישוב היום שמא ימות למחר, ונמצא כל ימיו בתשובה.So, kamadomeh, that when when when we think carefully about the לשון הגמרא here, what's the כל שכן? No, it's it's not כל שכן, right? It should be, since there's a din of שוב יום אחד לפני מיתתך, now a person doesn't know איזה יום ימות. Okay, so ישוב היום שמא ימות למחר. What's כל שכן? What's the כל שכן? So lichorah what Rabbi Eliezer is saying is the following. His din of שוב יום אחד לפני מיתתך, רבי אליעזר, it's not just that that's a strategy to get people to do teshuvah every day. שוב יום אחד לפני מיתתך means that mitah is מחייב בתשובה. And that's what it means, שוב יום אחד לפני מיתתך, מיתה is mechayev b'teshuvah. שאלו תלמידיו את רבי אליעזר, how do we how do we follow, how do we we we we put this into practice, what you're telling us, שוב יום אחד לפני מיתתך, how do we do it, וכי אדם יודע איזה יום ימות? So אמר להם: וכל שכן. So not only will you be mekayem the chiyuv of doing teshuvah before mitah, but it will be נמצא כל ימיו בתשובה. So kol sheken you'll you'll be marviach something additional. So it's it's lichorah what Rabbi Eliezer is telling us is is that mitah is mechayev b'teshuvah. Tanu Rabbanan in the Gemara in Shabbos, the beraita in Shabbos, right underneath,
מי שחטא, חלה ונטה למות, אומרים לו: התודה, שכן כל המומתין מתודין.You know, when when when when you rent a car, so when you return the rental, so before they let you leave, so they they walk around and they look to see whether or not there are any scratches on the car that they can blame you for. And because you have to return the car in the same condition in which you got it. And they'll check the the gas tank and and they'll see whether or not there's as much gas in the car as when they gave it to you, and if not, you'll be charged for that. When you return something, there's there's a din v'cheshbon as to whether or not it's being returned in the same state in which it was given. נשמה שנתת בי טהורה היא. We're supposed to return our neshamot in the same condition, in the same state in which they were given. Mitah is mechayev teshuvah. And then, that's Rabbi Eliezer's din. Now, because of the you know, because of the agnosticism, because of the fact that a person doesn't know איזה יום ימות, so then there's another there's another very welcome dividend that it'll be nimtza that ישוב היום שמא ימות למחר ונמצא כל ימיו בתשובה, that's an extra dividend. That's an extra dividend. Not only will a person comply with the requirement of תשובה לפני מיתה, but it'll be כל ימיו בתשובה. Okay. So on the one hand, the halachah requires that a person should be sameach. And and we suggested that the pshat in that is a person is supposed to have a simchat hachayim. That's the that's the content of the simchah. On the other hand, a person is supposed to live, part of his awareness is שמא ימות למחר. You know, there's the famous we're all familiar, you know, the Katzker said a person should have two pieces of paper. In in in in one pocket, it it should be בשבילי נברא העולם, in the other pocket should be a piece of paper, I guess on your phone, not a piece of paper, but there should be two two notes to oneself in in in in in one's phone. One one should say בשבילי נברא העולם, and and and the other is ואנכי עפר ואפר. So here there's another two notes in terms of integrating what seem to be polar opposites. A person should be sameach, a person should have simchat hachayim, and simultaneously simultaneously, a person's also supposed to have the mindset of שמא ימות למחר, כאילו הוא תלוי ועומד. So how do these coexist? How do these coexist? So, I'm not sure we're going to suggest the the the the the the main answer, but we'll we'll mention two approaches, but I'm not sure either of them is really the the the the primary one. So here on page 3, Rabbeinu Yonah, שער ב' אות כ\"ח. In in שער שני, so Rabbeinu Yonah has the six contexts or things which should inspire a person to to do teshuvah, and here he's talking about contemplating one's mortality.
ואמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה, הסתכל בשלשה דברים ואין אתה בא לידי עבירה: מאין באת- מטיפה סרוחה, ולאן אתה הולך -
למקום עפר רמה ותולעה, ולפני מי אתה עתיד ליתן דין וחשבון-
לפני מלך מלכי המלכים הקדוש ברוך הוא. ביאור הדבר: כאשר תחשוב מאין באת, תכניע נפשך ותשנא הגאוה.Right? Not only will we not be baal gaavah, baalei gaavah, we'll hate gaavah.
וכאשר תזכור לאן אתה הולך, תבזה העולם ותכיר כי מוסרו אין, ולא תתעסק בו זולתי לעבודת הבורא יתברך. וכאשר תושיב על לבך לפני מי אתה עתיד ליתן דין וחשבון, יהא מורא שמים עליך. ואמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה, וירא אלקים את כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאד- זה המות. How is
מוות טוב מאוד? כי גם המוות טוב להכניע הנפשות, ולהיות חתת אלוקים על הלבבות, ולבלתי עשות העולם הזה עיקר.The reality of mavet provides us with the correct perspective on life. A person could eternally waste time if we didn't have the light of truth which mavet shines upon the existence of of olam hazeh. It's because olam hazeh, all the עולם הזהדיק realities, because they're transient, because they're ephemeral, so that helps us understand and helps us differentiate what's meaningful, what's meaningless, what's enduring, what's fleeting, what's real, and what's כחלום יעוף. One one כתוב השלישי between the the mindset of simchat hachaim and and the mindset of שמא ימות למחר. Another one, and and with this with this we'll conclude. The Rambam writes, אל יתקשה אדם – again, this is the Rambam's presentation of a Gemara in Moed Katan –
אל יתקשה אדם על מתו יותר מדאי, שנאמר אל תבכו למת ואל תנודו לו, כלומר יותר מדאי.A person shouldn't grieve excessively. He shouldn't cry disproportionately. He should cry, he should grieve, but not excessively, not disproportionately. Why not? שזהו מנהגו של עולם. Death is part of life since since the the chet of of Adam v'Chavah.
שזהו מנהגו של עולם, והמצער עצמו על מנהגו של עולם, הרי זה טיפש.K'madumeh that that sort of the the the context in in which this Rambam should be understood, if you take a look at the last source here which is on page four, in פרק ד' Shemoneh Perakim, the Rambam has his discussion of the מידה בינונית as well. וזאת התורה השלמה המשלמת אותנו – the the perfect Torah which perfects us –
כמו שהעיד עליה יודעה תורת ה' תמימה מחכימת פתי, לא זכרה דבר מזה.Earlier the Rambam described extreme ascetic practices, living in caves, etc. ואמנם כיוונה – the Torah intends – שיהא האדם טבעי, שיהא האדם טבעי – the person should be natural – הולך בדרך האמצעית, יאכל מה שמותר לאכול בשיווי – he should eat what's permissible to eat moderately, with balance – וישתה מה שמותר לשתות בשיווי, and in terms of his his intimate intimacy,
ויבעול מה שמותר לבעול בשיווי, וייַשב המדינות בצדק וביושר, לא שישכון במערות ובהרים, ולא שילבש השער והצמר– he shouldn't be wearing sackcloth – ולא שיטריח הגוף ויענהו – and not that he should torture and afflict himself. When you just juxtapose the Rambam in Shemoneh Perakim with the Rambam in Hilchot Evel, so what emerges is that a person is supposed to be in sync with the natural order physically and emotionally. Hakadosh Baruch Hu created a world, a world with physical realities, a a world with again, realities that affect us emotionally, so we'll refer to them as emotional realities. And what the מידה בינונית says is that a person is supposed to be in sync with Hakadosh Baruch Hu's world. He's supposed to be in sync physically and emotionally with the natural order. To be in sync physically with the natural order means a person shouldn't starve himself, but a person should also not neglect his health and just eat whatever is whatever is tasty which which isn't which isn't which isn't healthy. He has to be in sync with the natural order, the natural realm. But part of that is a person has to be emotionally in sync, also. Death is a part of life. It's part of the reality of life. So, to be in sync with the natural order means that, yes, a person grieves and, yes, a person cries, but then a person has to continue, because a person המצער עצמו על מנהגו של עולם הרי זה טיפש. That approach of being in sync with the natural order, not being מצער עצמו, right, we we would say it's ludicrous if a person would walk around depressed like if only I can do so much with two hands, but I've got so many bundles, why didn't the Ribbono Shel Olam create me with three hands, three arms? It would be so much easier to carry all the all the bundles in on Erev Shabbat and Erev Yom Tov, such a short day and there's so much to do, if only and the person is all depressed that that that he's not created with with with three arms, cuz look what a a robot with three arms can do and I'm so limited by the fact that I only have two arms. So, that's ludicrous. These are the givens of life. A person is supposed to be in sync. But the same way that's ludicrous, the Rambam says it's also ludicrous for a person to be מצער עצמו יותר מדי even even when contemplating mortality. And likorah, that mindset also totally reconciles and and allows one to integrate again the two sugyot that we were looking at. On the one hand, the halachah says that a person should have simchat hachayim, אלא שמח, he shouldn't be עצב ואונן. He should be sameach, he should have a simchat hachayim. מאידך גיסא, שמא ינטל עולמו, because if a person is in sync with Hakadosh Baruch Hu's natural with the with the the natural order of Hakadosh Baruch Hu's בריאה, then that doesn't shter the the the simchat hachayim. Thank you all again very, very much for for coming.