Ein Yaakov 012a – Shabbat 127-147 – Beshalach – Judging Favorably – Marriage – Chava

Ein Yaakov 012a – Shabbat 127-147 – Beshalach – Judging Favorably – Why Marriage Is Difficult – Chava and the Nachash – Rabbi Eliezer ben Arakh – Waters of Perugaita – Igeret HaRamban – Speaker: Rabbi Tzvi Aryeh Rosenfeld zal. (Recorded ca. 1970.)

• 00:00 לדון לכף זכות – The mitzvah of judging favorably: two stories to illustrate (Shabbat 127b).
• 07:19 Rabbi Yehoshua was regarded in a meritorious light by his students, no matter what appeared to be true.
• 11:00 How Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev zal searched for the good in every Jew.
• 12:43 To achieve humility and kedushah – holiness, a Jew needs to regard every fellow Jew as his superior (Igeret HaRamban).
• 13:44 Rebbe Nachman’s advice about judging a rasha – a person who does evil – l’khaf zechut – on the scale of merit.
• 15:55 Some mitzvot readily bring a person joy, such as a brit milah – circumcision, while some mitzvos require more effort to achieve joy: such as a marriage. Why?
• 20:11 ***Parshath Beshalach. זה אלי ואנוהו– Zeh Keli ve’Anvehu – “This is my HaShem and I shall beautify Him” (Shemot 15:2, Beshalach). Beautifying the mitzvot means investing effort, care, and resources in performing them. The greater this investment, the richer the eternal reward.
• 21:52 Another interpretation of זה אלי ואנוהו : ve’Anvehu hints “ve’Ani ve’Hu” – “I and Him”, that is: one should emulate the attributes of HaShem.
• 22:52 When the Serpent persuaded Chava to eat from the Tree of Knowledge he injected tumeh – impurity – and zohama – defilement – into her mind. This impurity was inherited by Chava’s descendants. The seduction of the Serpent was not physical, it was spiritual. There are different opinions as to when this impurity was removed. The children of a person who does evil can inherit his distorted way of thinking.
• 29:11 The 10 Lost Tribes were harmed by the negative power of the wine and [bathing in] the waters of Perugaita and Deyomset – two ancient cities in the Land of Israel. Of the five students of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, Rabbi Eliezer ben Arakh was considered the best. Even so, his memory was once harmed by the negative power of bathing in the waters of these cities. When the sages prayed for HaShem’s mercy on him, Rabbi Eliezer’s wisdom was restored (Shabbat 147b).
• 31:55 Rabbi Eliezer ben Arakh actually hid a Torah secret in his error. One who studies Torah alone has less understanding than one who studies with another.

Indexing and Notes by S.Y. Wurtzel.