Sifrei on Deuteronomy Sifrei Devarim 32

English · Shraga Silverstein

(Devarim 6:5) "And you shall love the L-rd your G-d": Act (i.e., serve) out of love. There is a difference between acting out of love and acting out of fear. If one acts out of love, his reward is doubled. It is written (Ibid. 6:13) "The L-rd your G-d shall you fear, and Him shall you serve." One may fear his friend, but if he belabors him, he may leave him. But you, act out of (absolute) love. And there is no (absolute) love in the place of (i.e., co-existing with [absolute]) fear, and no (absolute) fear in the place of (absolute) love except vis-à-vis the Holy One Blessed be He. (So that if one loves Him absolutely, it follows that he fears him absolutely, and his reward is doubled.)

2

English · Shraga Silverstein

Variantly: "And you shall love the L-rd your G-d": Cause Him to be beloved by all men, as our father Abraham (did), viz. (Bereshith 12:5) "and the souls that they (Abraham and Sarah) had made in Charan." Now if all of mankind were gathered together to make a mosquito, they could not do so. How, then, is the above to be understood? Abraham converted them (from idol worship) and brought them under the wings of the Shechinah.

3

English · Shraga Silverstein

"with all your heart": with both of your inclinations, the good and the evil.

4

English · Shraga Silverstein

Variantly: "with all your heart": Let your heart not be "divided" over Him (i.e., do not harbor polytheistic views.)

5

English · Shraga Silverstein

"and with all your soul": even if He takes your soul. And thus is it written (Psalms 44:23) "For because of You we are killed the entire day. We are reckoned as sheep for the slaughter." R. Shimon ben Menassia says: Now are we killed the entire day! The reference is to (the mitzvah of) circumcision. Ben Azzai says "with all your soul": Love Him until the extraction of your soul.

6

English · Shraga Silverstein

R. Eliezer says: If it is written "with all your soul," why need it be written "with all your might"? And if it is written "with all your might," why need it be written "with all your soul"? For the man who holds his body dearer than his wealth, it is written "with all your soul" (i.e., though you must surrender your body); and for the man whose wealth is dearer to him than his body, it is written "with all your might" (i.e., with all your wealth).

7

English · Shraga Silverstein

R. Akiva says: If it is written "with all your soul," how much more so, "with all your might" (meodecha)! (The meaning is:) For every measure (middah [suggested by] "meodecha") that He metes out to you, whether for good or for evil, (thank Him). And thus did David say (Psalms 116:3-4) "Affliction and sorrow did I find and in the name of the L-rd I called … (13) "I shall lift up the cup of salvation, and in the name of the L-rd will I call." And thus did Iyyov say: (Iyyov 1:21) "The L-rd has given and the L-rd has taken — blessed be the name of the L-rd." (Bless Him) both for the measure of good and for the measure of evil. What did his wife say to him? (Ibid. 2:9) "Do you still persist in your integrity? — blaspheme G-d and die." And he answered: "You speak as one of the coarse women. Shall we accept (only) the good of G-d and not the evil?" The men of the generation of the flood were degenerate by reason of the good (bestowed upon them), and when punishment came upon them, they accepted it perforce. The men of Sodom and Amorah were degenerate by reason of the good (bestowed upon them), and when punishment came upon them they accepted it perforce. Now does this not follow a fortiori — If one who is degenerate in good accedes in evil, then one who accedes in good — how much more so should he accede in punishment! Thus, Iyyov to his wife: "You speak as one of the coarse women. Shall we accept the good of G-d and not the evil"?

8

English · Shraga Silverstein

And, what is more, one should rejoice more in affliction than in good. For if one lived in (the midst of) good all of his life, his transgression is not forgiven (thereby). And by what is it forgiven? By affliction.

9

English · Shraga Silverstein

R. Eliezer b. Yaakov said: It is written (Proverbs 3:12) "Whom the L-rd loves, He chastises, as a father is reconciled with his son": What causes a father to be reconciled with his son? Afflictions.

10

English · Shraga Silverstein

R. Meir says: It is written (Devarim 8:5) "And you shall know within your heart that as a father afflicts his son, the L-rd your G-d afflicts you." You and your heart know what you have done and that the afflictions that He has brought upon you are disproportionate (in leniency) to the (severity of) sins that you have committed.

11

English · Shraga Silverstein

R. Yossi b. R. Yehudah says: Beloved are afflictions by the L-rd, for the name of the L-rd reposes upon the afflicted one, as it is written "the L-rd your G-d afflicts you."

12

English · Shraga Silverstein

R. Nathan b. R. Yosef says: Just as a covenant is made with the land a covenant is made with afflictions, as it is written "the L-rd your G-d afflicts you" followed by (Ibid. 7) "for the L-rd your G-d brings you to a good land."

13

English · Shraga Silverstein

R. Shimon b. Yochai says: Beloved are afflictions, three gifts having been given to Israel by the Holy One Blessed be He, which were coveted by the idolators, and which were given, through afflictions, only to Israel: Torah, Eretz Yisrael, and the world to come.

14

English · Shraga Silverstein

Torah — (Proverbs 1:2) "To know wisdom and mussar (chastisement)," and (Psalms 94:12) "Happy is the man whom You chastise, O L-rd, and whom You teach from Your Torah."

15

English · Shraga Silverstein

Eretz Yisrael — "the L-rd your G-d afflicts you … for the L-rd your G-d brings you to a good land."

16

English · Shraga Silverstein

the world to come — (Proverbs 6:23) "For a mitzvah is a lamp, and Torah is light, and the chastisements of mussar the way of life (in the world to come)." What is the way that leads to the world to come? Afflictions.

17

English · Shraga Silverstein

R. Nechemiah says: Beloved are afflictions. For just as sacrifices reconcile (man with G-d), so, afflictions. Sacrifices — (Vayikra 1:4) "And it (the offering) shall be accepted for him." Afflictions — (Ibid. 26:43) "and they (i.e., their afflictions) will effect reconciliation (with G-d) for their sins." And, what is more, afflictions (in this regard) are more potent than sacrifices, the latter being a function (only) of their wealth; the former, of their bodies. And thus is it written (Iyyov 2:4) "Skin for skin, and all that a man has will he give for his life." Once, R. Eliezer was ill, and there came to visit him R. Tarfon, R. Yehoshua, R. Eliezer b. Azaryah, and R. Akiva. R. Tarfon opened: "Rebbi, you are more beloved by Israel than the solar orb. For the solar orb gives light only in this world, and you give light both in this world and the world to come." R. Yehoshua: "You are more beloved by Israel than the rains. For the rains give life only in this world, and you give us life in this world and the world to come." R. Elazar b. Azaryah: "You are more beloved by Israel than father and mother. For father and mother bring a man to this world, and you bring us to this world and to the world to come." R. Akiva: "Rebbi, afflictions are beloved" — whereupon R. Eliezer said to his disciples: "Support me, and let me hear the words of Akiva, my disciple." R. Eliezer sat up and said: "Say on, Akiva."

18

English · Shraga Silverstein

R. Akiva: "It is written (II Chronicles 33:1) 'Menasheh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.' And it is written (Proverbs 25:1) 'These, too, are the proverbs of Solomon, which were copied down by the servants of Chezkiah king of Judah.' Now would it enter your mind that Chizkiyahu taught Torah to all of Israel but not to Menasheh his son? But (it is to be understood that) of all the Torah he taught him and all the toil he invested in him naught availed him but afflictions, as it is written (II Chronicles 33:10-13) 'And the L-rd spoke to Menasheh and his people, but they did not listen. And the L-rd brought against them the officers of the king of Ashur's army. And they caught Menasheh with hunting hooks, and bound him in chains and led him to Bavel. And in his suffering he besought the L-rd his G-d, and he humbled himself greatly before the G-d of his fathers. And he prayed to Him, and He was entreated of Him, and He heard his supplication, and He returned him to Jerusalem to his kingdom" — whence we derive that afflictions are beloved.

19

English · Shraga Silverstein

R. Meir says: It is written: "And you shall love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart." Love him with all your heart, as did Abraham our father, as it is written (Isaiah 41:2) "Avraham, My lover," and (Nechemiah 9:8) "and You found his heart faithful before You."

20

English · Shraga Silverstein

"and with all your soul": as Isaac, who offered himself to be bound upon the altar.

21

English · Shraga Silverstein

"and with all your might (meodecha)": Confess (modeh) to Him, as did Jacob ("modeh," as in "meodecha"), as it is written (Bereshith 32:11) "I am too small for all of the lovingkindness and all of the truth that You have done with Your servant. For with my staff did I cross this Jordan, and now I have become two camps."

Sifrei Devarim 32

Find your chapter.

Make yourself comfortable.

Choose your edition.