Ein Yaakov – Lesson 012a – Shabbos 127-147. Judging Others Favorably – Why the Path to Marriage is Difficult – Chava and the Nachash – Rabbi Eliezer ben Arakh and the Waters of Perugaita – Speaker: Rabbi Tzvi Aryeh Rosenfeld zal.
00:00 – לדון לכף זכות – The mitzvah to judge every person favorably; two stories to illustrate (Shabbos 127b).
07:19 – The case of Rabbi Yehoshua being regarded in a meritorious light by his students, no matter what appeared to be true.
11:00 – Story conveying how Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev searched for the good in every Jew.
16:20 – To achieve humility and kedushah – holiness, a Jew needs to regard every fellow Jew as his superior (Igeres HaRamban).
13:44 – Rebbe Nachman’s advice regarding judging a rasha – a person who does evil – l’khaf zechut – on the scale of merit.
15:55 – Some mitzvos readily bring a person joy, such as a bris milah – circumcision, while some mitzvos require more effort to achieve joy: such as a marriage. Why?
*20:11 – זה אלי ואנוהו– Zeh Keli ve’Anvehu – “This is my HaShem and I shall beautify Him” (Shemos 15:2). Beautifying the mitzvos 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 rasha 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 (Shabbos 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.
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