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Ein Yaakov/ עין יעקב - ר' רוזנפלד

Ein Yaakov – Lesson 066a – Sotah – Page 2 – Hashem as Matchmaker; Splitting of Yam Suf; Marriage; Cherem; Repairing Anger, Conceit, and Pride

Speaker: Rabbi Zvi Aryeh Rosenfeld זז”ל. Repairing anger amd גַּאֲוָה – and ga’ava – arrogance/conceit/pride.
00:00 – Hashem as Matchmaker. When the Yam Suf was split, all the waters of earth were split from one into two. Creating a zivug – husband and wife – is as difficult as splitting Yam Suf.
06:52 – A husband and wife were originally one soul. Marriage unifies the soul because it was divided into two before birth.
07:51 – A man is given a wife who matches his spiritual level (Sotah 2a) yet 40 days before the forming of a male child, his zivug is announced in Heaven. How is this seeming contradiction resolved in a way that recognizes free will?
11:28 – Another question arises concerning this announcement at the moment of his conception. Before a man marries he should have a home and a livelihood.
13:06 – The most important day in a man’s life is the day of his marriage, because that’s when he becomes a complete person. On his wedding day, a chatan – groom – receives a complete pardon for all the sins of his lifetime until then.
13:50 – No person commits a sin when he is in his right mind.
*17:52 – “Never give up hope!” – Rebbe Nachman.
* 20:07 – Infidelity or anger destroys a home. A husband’s anger vs. the anger of a wife – the Torah does not consider these two types of anger to be the same.
23:05 – If a man strikes his wife – the mandatory punishment is cherem. Beit Din is not permitted to be lenient.
23:32 – The punishment of cherem – excommunication – is a curse that penetrates all 248 parts of the body. Beis Din is obligated to put that man in cherem.
25:00 – Ga’ava – arrogance/conceit/pride is worse than worshiping idols because it is worship of self.
26:05 – A mitzvah is forever and acts as a person’s defense in Olam HaBa’ah (the World to Come).
27:19 – A sin becomes an accusing force in Olam HaBa’ah. Why a sin compared to a dog.
*29:35 – The mitzvah d’rabanan of netilat yadayim l’seudah – ritual washing before eating bread, which is also called mayim rishonim – “first waters”. The first three letters of “al netilat yadayim” are ayin, noon, yud which spell oni – impoverished. One who is careful to wash his hands with a blessing before eating bread is protected from poverty.
32:00 – Hashem is more particular on the observance of mitzvot d’rabanan than on the observance of mitzvot d’oreisa.
32:23 – Mayim acharonim – washing the tips of the fingers after a meal, before bentching. This washing is done with the fingers pointing downwards.

34:02 – Ga’ava is the worst characteristic in a person.
34:46 – Humility is the key positive quality in a person.
34:58 – כִּי כֹה אָמַר רָם וְנִשָּׂא שֹׁכֵן עַד וְקָדוֹשׁ שְׁמוֹ מָרוֹם וְקָדוֹשׁ אֶשְׁכּוֹן וְאֶת דַּכָּא וּשְׁפַל רוּחַ לְהַחֲיוֹת רוּחַ שְׁפָלִים וּלְהַחֲיוֹת לֵב נִדְכָּאִים – “For so said the High and Exalted One, Who dwells for eternity, and His Name is Holy, ‘With the lofty and the holy ones I dwell, and with the crushed and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the crushed’ “ (Yeshayahu 57:15).
37:05 – What is the highest degree of humility that a person can reach? When he can honestly say that he is humble.
38:34 – There are two kinds of Torah scholars: one who has a vast knowledge of Torah – he is called “Sinai”. The scholar who may have less knowlege of Torah but who has a very sharp mind is called “okeyr harim” – “uprooter of mountains”.

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