json/Halakhah/Tur/Commentary/Bach/English/Sefaria Community Translation.json

{
    "language": "en",
    "title": "Bach",
    "versionSource": "https://www.sefaria.org",
    "versionTitle": "Sefaria Community Translation",
    "versionTitleInHebrew": "תרגום קהילת ספריא",
    "actualLanguage": "en",
    "languageFamilyName": "english",
    "isBaseText": false,
    "isSource": false,
    "direction": "ltr",
    "heTitle": "ב\"ח",
    "categories": [
        "Halakhah",
        "Tur",
        "Commentary"
    ],
    "text": {
        "Orach Chaim": [
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                    "And there are three further blessings, etc.. in Menachot 43b, and he brings the Ro\"sh and the Ri\"f in Berakhot 60b. And Rashi explains that an idol worshipper and a woman, since they are not commanded people, it is better to bless [on not being them?]. And in the Gemara a question is raised that there is no difference between a slave and a woman regarding mitzvot [...] and we teach that a slave is worse [and therefore Jewish men bless on both being free and being male]. And some question why it was not established \"Who made me Jewish\", like all the other blessings established about the kindness done for us, in the positive! As with \"who gave the heart understanding\", \"who clothes the naked\", \"who makes the blind see\", etc. And we explain according to the words of our rabbis of blessed memory: it would be better for man not to have been created, but since man has been created they should do <i>mitzvot</i> (Eruvin 13b). And this orients these blessings; one says \"I wish I had not been made [as the rabbis indicate]! But since I have been created I will bless God, who has not made me an idol worshipper or a slave or a woman.\" And it is nice to expound this, but there is no question here. Since if one had blessed \"Who made me a Jew\", one would not be able to bless \"Who made me free\" and \"Who made me a man\", for the language of \"Who made me a Jew [ישראל]\" includes the understanding of free, and also, Jew is a gendered word since women are called Jewess [ישראלית]. And if so, one would not bless three blessings but rather only one, and it was not the intent to shorten but rather to extend in praise and to bless God for every kindness individually. And because of this one blesses \"Who has not made me an idol worshipper\" and further on the kindness \"who has not made me a slave\" (who is worse) and further \"who has not made me a woman\". And the explanation of \"who has not made me an idol worshipper/slave/woman\" is that God did not by means of God's angel suffer the soul to descend into the body of an idol worshipper, slave, or woman, at the beginning of their creation. Because of this, the convert does not bless \"Who has not made me an idol worshipper\", and so writes the Beit Yosef, and  Abudarham who writes thus, see there, and the Rama\"h, that the convert is also unable to bless \"who made me Jewish\" since they entered into the Jewish religion by their own free will which God surrendered into human hand, and it's not appropriate to say that the Blessed One made them a convert, since they accepted the religion of Moshe and Israel. And so a convert blesses only two of these three blessings, who has not made me a slave and who has not made me a woman. And this is not like the note of the Shulchan Aruch, who wrote that a convert can bless \"Who has made me Jewish\", and it isn't."
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            [
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                    "And the same law applies to men and women, in that they are obligated in the Kiddush of the day. This is the wording of the Kol Bo and the explanation of Rosh - \"even to exempt others who do not know how to say the Kiddush on their own.\" The Bais Yosef brings this down and rules this way in Shulchan Arukh, but concerning Megillah (689)  he writes in Shulchan Arukh that women may not exempt men. An he writes according to the Behag that our rabbi brought there, who disagrees with Rashi who wrote that women may exempt men. And here, he ruled like Rashi, as brought down in the Kol Bo. And the authorities contradict one another, because it appears that there should be no difference between Kiddush and Megillah. According to my opinion, it is better to be more stringent regarding Kiddush, just like we are regarding Megillah, that women may not exempt men. I have seen this written as well by Maharshal."
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        ],
        "Yoreh Deah": [],
        "Even HaEzer": [
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                [
                    "Rambam wrote: since her husband was overseas etc the Shulhan Arukh [4:14] wrote that since it's a dispute the child is a safek mamzer nevertheless the Behag only deemed the child fit when the husband was not in our presence but if he was in our presence and he said that he did not arrive discreetly then the child is a mamzer and see ahead to the end of this sefer [in the kunters aharon]."
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        ],
        "Choshen Mishpat": [
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                    "The Bet Yosef writes, “One may ask [why the understanding isn’t] that [these are] three things through which the world was created that are sufficient for its continued existence? For one who causes something to exist all the more so [allows] for its continued existence! One may answer that Shimon HaTzaddik was speaking according to his times, when the Bet Hamikdash stood, and Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, who lived during the time of the destruction, came to say that even though the Bet Hamikdash no longer stands, and we cannot do the service, and we cannot even learn Torah and do acts of lovingkindness in the proper way because of the burdens of the exile, nevertheless, the world continues to exist through three other things that are similar to them…” It is clear from his words that he understood when Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel said, “The world stands…”, he meant that once it was created, the world had nothing keeping it in existence, and it would have returned to Tohu vaVohu chaos, once we had no service, and no Torah, and no acts of kindness in the proper way, if it were not for these three things: judgement, truth, and peace. And this is a wonderment, for isn’t it explicit in the words of Rabbi Yona that he holds as obvious that with these three things, which are the cause for the matter to be, all the more so its continued existence, that [the world] would not return to Tohu vaVohu chaos! Rather, the explanation is that when Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel said, “The world stands…”, he meant that civilized society stands [on these three things]. For the wicked who steal and rob destroy the world, meaning they destroy civilized society, because with robbery, commerce is made completely void, and consequently, civilized society is made void. And the judge breaks the jaws of the robbers and takes the stolen goods from them, preserving civilized society and community, that it shouldn’t be destroyed. And this is simple. The explanation of Rabbi Yona is that the explanation is not: It appears that he means to say that if it were that the explanation of it is that “Because of three things was the world created”, it would be difficult either way you look at it. For if he were arguing against Shimon HaTzaddik, who said that the world stands on three things, Torah, service, and acts of kindness, if that were true, the Tanna should have taught them together in one mishna, and indicating the argument. Rather, it must be that they are not arguing, and Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel was saying that because of these three things the world stands. And Shimon HaTzaddik was saying that once the world was created, it is preserved through these three things, Torah etc. And according to this it is not necessary that there be law in every place and every time, for the world is already preserved through Torah etc. But if this were true, it would be difficult, for why is it taught at the beginning of the chapter [of Avot] that there are three things that the world stands on once it had been created, and at the end of the chapter, it teaches that there are three things that because of them was the world created from the start. It should have been taught in the opposite order! Rather, the beginning of the chapter teaches that because of three things was the world created from the start, and the end of the chapter teaches that three things preserve the world which had already been created. This makes more sense, for there is no question about why [the explanation isn’t that] aren’t these three things that are enough to preserve the world so that it shouldn’t return to Tohu vaVohu chaos, for the fact that is says “which preserves the world” can be explained that even though it would not return to Tohu vaVohu chaos, nevertheless, civilized society and community would not be preserved, because of the wicked thieves and robbers, and any powerful person. But because of justice, truth, and peace, the community is preserved, as was explained. And accordingly our rabbi [the Tur] came to teach that it is a great mitzvah to appoint judges and officers in all places and all times, for through this the world is preserved. Therefore, he brought the words of Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, and the explanation of Rabbi Yona, and wrote at the end of his remarks that through judges who judge between man and his fellow, the world is preserved, for without justice, any powerful person… etc. And he said that this was the intention of the sages, all judgement should be the true law…etc. And that is because it fulfills the will of the Creator, Blessed be He, who created things to be preserved and not to be destroyed through the theft of the wicked, and he went on at length about this, and he concluded that for this reason are we obligated to appoint judges in the land of Israel in every province and city...etc. And this is only so the civilized world and community could be preserved to complete the will of our Creator, Blessed is His name."
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    },
    "schema": {
        "heTitle": "ב\"ח",
        "enTitle": "Bach",
        "key": "Bach",
        "nodes": [
            {
                "heTitle": "אורח חיים",
                "enTitle": "Orach Chaim"
            },
            {
                "heTitle": "יורה דעה",
                "enTitle": "Yoreh Deah"
            },
            {
                "heTitle": "אבן העזר",
                "enTitle": "Even HaEzer"
            },
            {
                "heTitle": "חושן משפט",
                "enTitle": "Choshen Mishpat"
            }
        ]
    }
}