English translation — משיחות יו״ד שבט ה׳תשמ״ז - סיום הרמב״ם -

In connection with the completion of the book Yad HaChazakah of the Rambam this year on the tenth day of Shevat²,

— in which many Jews conclude the third cycle² of studying the Rambam* according to the custom that spread and was accepted in the Jewish Diaspora⁵ to study three chapters each day

(And concurrently — the conclusion of the third cycle in studying Sefer HaMitzvos,

also by women and children)

and on it they also conclude the first cycle⁶ of studying the Rambam in the study schedule of one chapter per day —

It is fitting to dwell on the conclusion of the Rambam on a matter related to the unity of Israel,

for,

through this that many Jews in all corners of the world unite in studying the Rambam — "Mishneh Torah"⁷,

"A gathering for the Oral Torah

the entire Oral Torah"⁷,

"Halachot Halachot"⁷ of all the entire Torah

(also the laws that are not applicable in this time — unlike in other books of the poskim,

until the Shulchan Aruch)

- the unity of all Israel is achieved in utmost perfection,

through this that they unite in study that includes the entire Torah,

the perfection of the Torah*.

In the last chapter of “Laws of Kings and Wars and the King Messiah”⁶,

which is also the conclusion and seal of the book Yad HaChazakah — the Rambam writes several details regarding the order of the days of the Messiah,

and among them also a matter connected with the unity of Israel,

and this is his language:

"It appears from the plain meaning of the words of the prophets that at the beginning of the days of the Messiah there will be the war of Gog and Magog,

and that before the war of Gog and Magog a prophet will arise to straighten Israel and prepare their hearts,

as it is said, ‘Behold, I am sending you Elijah, etc.’"

And it comes not to defile the pure nor to purify the impure,

Nor to disqualify people who are presumed kosher,

Nor to validate those who were presumed invalid,

But to establish peace in the world,

As it is stated², 'And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children'.

And he continues,

"And there are some of the sages who say that before the coming of Moshiach, Eliyahu will come."

17 Shevat - Conclusion of the Rambam

And one must understand:

In the law following this³, the Rambam writes, “In the days of King Mashiach.

They will all be traced through him.

And he does not trace Israel except to their tribes,

for he informs that this one is from such-and-such tribe and that one is from such-and-such tribe,

But he does not say that they are in the presumption of kosher status, this one is a mamzer and this one is a slave,

For the law is that a family that has been absorbed has been absorbed.

And according to the known great precision in the language of the Rambam,

"in clear language and concise style"⁷ — it is not understood: why regarding Eliyahu does the Rambam write "he does not come.

"to disqualify people who are in the presumption of kosher status and not to validate those who have been presumed invalid"¹⁴ — at first glance,

he should have said "he does not say about one who has been presumed kosher that he is invalid,

and not about one who has been presumed invalid that he is kosher,"

as the wording in the halacha after this: "he does not say etc.,"

And why does he change and write "he does not come etc."?

The continuation of the halacha:

"And there are among the sages who say that before the coming of Moshiach, Eliyahu will come" — behold,

the dispute

(apparently)

is only regarding the time of his coming

("before the war of Gog and Magog",

or "before the coming of Moshiach",

that is,

immediately before the actual coming of Moshiach)

but,

even according to them, "he does not come to defile the pure, etc., but to establish peace in the world",

and if so,

He should have written in a mistaken order: first of all — regarding the time of his coming,

"Before the war of Gog and Magog, a prophet will stand, etc."

"And there are some sages who say that before the coming of Mashiach, Eliyahu will come."

And afterwards, regarding Eliyahu's action — "He does not come except to make peace in the world."

And why does he write in a different order — to bring the opinion

the additional one regarding the time of his coming

(not in the matter about which they disagree,

but)

After the lengthy discussion regarding his action,

even though in this matter they do not disagree?!

And it will be understood by prefacing an additional question — how is it possible for a dispute to exist whether Elijah will come "before the war of Gog and Magog" or "before the coming of Moshiach,"

behold this is contrary to the principle⁵ that a dispute regarding reality is impossible?!

And similarly, the same question is asked regarding the matter of "he does not come etc. except to bring peace to the world":

The source of the words of the Rambam is — at the conclusion of Tractate Eduyyot¹⁴: "R. Yehoshua said: I have a tradition from Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai who heard from his teacher,

and his teacher from his teacher,

It is a law from Moses at Sinai,

that Elijah does not come to render impure or pure, to alienate or bring close,

but to distance those who were brought close by force

(for everyone considers them invalid, except that they were brought close by force⁷)

and to bring close those who were distanced by force.

Rabbi Yehudah says: to bring close but not to distance.

The kosher family that was distanced by force, he brings close,

but he does not distance that which was brought close by force⁷)

Rabbi Shimon says to equalize the dispute.

And the Sages say: neither to distance nor to bring close,

but to make peace in the world,

as it is said, "Behold, I am sending you Elijah the prophet... and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart

Sefer HaSichos - 5747

Children upon their fathers".

And the Rambam ruled according to the words of the Sages⁸.

And behold,

In the explanation of ״Halacha l'Moshe miSinai" — that at first glance,

In ״Halacha l'Moshe miSinai.

The accepted interpretations from Moshe.

"There is no dispute about them in any way"¹⁹ — the Rambam explains in his Commentary on the Mishnah:

"We did not hear from Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, this expression,

But we heard from him this concept,

Because Moshe spoke about the coming of Moshiach and the language of the Torah,

"If your outcasts shall be at the ends of heaven, etc."²⁰ and "the L-rd your G-d will return your captivity, etc."² and "the L-rd your G-d will circumcise, etc."²²,

And besides this,

And he also told them from the mouth of the Almighty regarding its introductions and causes,

And that that man would precede him to prepare the land for him,

And he is Eliyahu,

and he made known to them that that man will neither add nor subtract from the Torah,

but he will remove and eliminate only the injustices,

and there is no dispute or denial about this,

but a dispute arose regarding the evils he will remove,

what they are, etc.

And similarly regarding their dispute in the interpretation of the verse²³ 'And he will turn the heart of the fathers to the children, etc.'²⁴:

According to the Tanna Kamma and Rabbi Yehuda — 'He will say in the Holy Spirit that this one is from the grandchildren of that one,'

That is,

that the verse speaks about matters of lineage,

"Rather,

that one says to distance and to draw near,

and another says to draw near and not to distance,

because his opinion is that the injustice is only to distance the eligible one,

and this is what came to remove",

And according to Rash"i — "These are the fathers, the scholars, and these are the sons, the students,

That the heart of all be equal and there should be no dispute among them.

And according to the Sages — "The verse comes according to its simple meaning, the heart of fathers towards children,

and it was not necessary to explain"²⁵,

or according to the words of the Rambam in his commentary on the Mishnah,

"But the Sages say there is no fraud in lineage,

Everyone who is called by his name,

All will be attributed to the truth,

and the Torah is the father of all,

But the crooked and evil things are the hatreds between people,

Because they are their feast,

And it is their heat in his hatred,

And it is their statement to make peace in the world²⁶.

However,

In short, this is a dispute in reality — for,

According to the opinion of the Tanna Kamma, he will distance those who are close with force and bring near those who are far with force,

According to the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah, he will bring near and not distance,

And according to Rashbi and the sages, he will neither distance nor draw near, but rather make peace in the world?!

Yud Shevat - Conclusion of the Rambam

And the explanation of all this can be said — as an introduction,

That regarding the coming of Elijah the prophet in the future, there are two aspects:

As a part and stage

(beginning)

of the redemption,

as it is written, "Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day,"

as a matter in itself that is not yet a part and stage of the redemption,

that is,

even after it will come into actuality,

and will perform several actions, etc.,

this is not yet a part and stage of the redemption,

Rather, it is a matter in itself — in the manner and pattern of his affairs and actions during the time of Tanach,

his prophetic words to Ahab,

the incident with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel,

and so forth in all the details of the matters stated in Tanach and in the Oral Torah regarding the chronicles of the life of Elijah the prophet,

before 'Elijah ascended in a storm to heaven'²⁸

(in his physical body²)

and so on

(And the main point in our discussion is that it is after his ascent to heaven)

Various matters and events in later times,

as explained in Midrash Rabba (and other Midrashim),

and especially — in Tanna D'Vei Eliyahu Zuta and Tanna D'Vei Eliyahu Rabbah.

And the dispute is regarding the interpretation of the verse: 'Behold, I send you Elijah, etc., and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, etc.' — what are the matters included in the coming of Elijah as a part and stage of the redemption,

as follows.

The dispute in the Mishnah — whether he comes to distance and to draw close,

To draw close but not to distance,

Or to make peace in the world:

According to what was said that dispute is impossible in reality — behold,

Everyone agrees that one must distance those who are close with regard to lineage and draw close those who are distant with regard to lineage

[And only a family that became intermingled because it is not known that it is invalid,

should be left in its kosher state,

"for the law is that a family that became intermingled is intermingled,"

But not when it is known that it is invalid,

except that they were brought close by force]

And the dispute is only whether this method is included in the [law] of 'He will remove and eliminate the wrongdoings',

that we received from Moshe Rabbeinu concerning the coming of Eliyahu in connection with Moshiach,

or that the action of distancing and drawing close is a separate matter,

and it is not related to the removal of wrongdoings in the coming of Eliyahu as a part and stage of the redemption.

According to the first opinion — distancing those who were brought close by force and drawing close those who were distanced by force,

both are included in the aforementioned wrongdoings that Eliyahu will remove:

According to Rabbi Yehuda — the removal of violence is only bringing close those who are far away by force,

But distancing those who are close by force — even though Eliyahu will do this³

(For only a family that has been absorbed has been absorbed,

but not when its invalidity became known,

rather that they were brought close by force)

Nevertheless,

this is not included in his action to remove violence

(And it can be said that the opinion is that closeness

(by force)

is not "heated")

And according to the sages — "there is no extortion in lineage,"

and consequently,

even though Elijah will do this,

this is not included in his activity to remove the extortions,

Rather,

The action of removing the thieves is — "to make peace in the world".

©Sefer HaSichos - 5747

And the Rambam rules like the Sages — "It comes neither to render the pure impure,

nor to purify the impure,

nor to disqualify people who are presumed fit, nor to validate those who are presumed unfit,

but only to establish peace in the world,

As it is said, "And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children":

The Rambam cannot write that Eliyahu "does not render impure and pure, disqualify and qualify, etc.",

Because,

In a case where the disqualification is known

(where the law of "a family that has been absorbed remains absorbed" does not apply)

he will disqualify and qualify, etc.,

Therefore,

he is precise and writes "he does not come, etc.",

That is,

That the coming of Elijah — about him it is said, "Behold, I am sending you Elijah etc.",

Together with the tradition that he will remove and take away the violent ones — is not to render impure or pure,

to disqualify or to validate

(Though it is possible that he will need to do this in practice — according to the circumstances, etc.)

Rather,

The coming of Elijah is — "to establish peace in the world,

as it is said, "And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children."

And the Rambam continues,

"And there are some of the sages who say that before the coming of Moshiach, Eliyahu will come":

Based on what was stated above,

behold,

the dispute is only about what is the action of Eliyahu the prophet in removing the robberies,

but,

The relevance of this action to Elijah

("Behold, I am sending you Elijah, etc. and he will turn the hearts of fathers to children, etc.")

— it is according to all opinions.

And on this, the Rambam adds: "And there are some of the sages who say that before the coming of Mashiach, Elijah will come" — that all the action that Elijah will remove and eliminate the extortions

("and he will turn the hearts of fathers to children, etc.")

it is a matter in itself,

that is,

An action that Elijah the Prophet will perform,

Whereas the matter of this mission of Elijah,

"Behold, I am sending [etc.] before the coming of the great and awesome day of the L-rd" — "Before the coming of Moshiach will come

Elijah" to herald his coming,

As the Gemara's passage ⁵¹ states: “Before the coming of the son of David, Elijah will come to herald”³²

(Although he will already stand before this,

"Before the war of Gog and Magog",

and will do several matters, etc.)

Accordingly, all the details and the order etc. in the words of the Rambam are well understood:

״It appears from the simple meaning of the words of the prophets.

That before the war of Gog and Magog, a prophet will arise³³ to straighten Israel and prepare their hearts,

as it is said, 'Behold, I send you Elijah etc.'״ — an event

(reality)

this is according to everyone;

And he continues,

"And it does not come [etc.] except to make peace in the world,

as it is said, 'And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children',

according to the opinion of the Mishnah that the tradition regarding the removal of the robbers,

"And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children",

is — in connection with the day of Hashem,

the coming of Moshiach

(And in this itself — "not to defile [etc.] and not to disqualify [etc.] but to make peace in the world",

according to the opinion of the Sages)

And he adds,

"And there are among the Sages who say that before the coming of Mashiach, Eliyahu will come"

(to announce his coming)

— that all cessation of thefts • is a matter in itself,

whereas the matter of the coming of Eliyahu before the day of Hashem etc.,

is — "that before the coming of Mashiach, Eliyahu will come"³⁴.

10 Shevat - Conclusion of the Rambam

And for additional clarification — in explanation and reason for their dispute:

In "Geulah" (Redemption) — departure from a state of exile — several manners and distinctions, etc.,

In relation to the situation in which they find themselves before this.

And for example:

At the time of the Exodus from Egypt

(and especially at the time of the Giving of the Torah)

The reality and possibility of servitude regarding Bnei Yisrael is nullified,

and they became free men,

And according to halacha — as it is stated⁵ 'For Bnei Yisrael are servants to Me,'

'and not servants to servants'³⁶

(as the Maharal of Prague elaborated on this³⁵)

That is to say,

that even when they were in the Babylonian exile,

And so too regarding the subsequent exiles,

behold,

their true reality is — free men.

And together with this,

It is understood and also simple that it is impossible to compare the situation of Israel during the exile with their situation during the existence of the Davidic kingdom in Eretz Yisrael and the like.

And moreover,

Rather, in that same situation itself there are differences among individuals regarding their need for redemption,

For example: Rabbeinu HaKadosh,

Even though it was during the time of the Roman Empire, etc.,

He was a friend and companion of Antoninus, the king of Rome,

And until they were combined together — "two gerim"³⁸,

as is related

about "to straighten Israel and to understand their heart".

But from the simple language of the Rambam,

that at the beginning of the chapter

("a prophet will arise to straighten Israel and to prepare their heart")

He brings only the beginning of the verse.

The candle.

"I am sending you Eliyahu, etc."

And he does not conclude.

"And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children"

And they brought it only as a mirror to the humble one.

"To establish peace in the world" — implying,

that according to the sages,

that before the coming of the Mashiach, Eliyahu will come",

behold,

the coming of Eliyahu is only in relation to before the sight of the Mashiach

(on the great and awesome day of G-d)

and the matter of "And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children",

Havaya and Atah in itself,

In the inner.

In the statement of the Sages,

And it is obvious,

That the decree of the kingdom etc. was not applicable to him.

And in contrast,

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai who preceded him,

Was forced to hide in a cave for 13 years because of the decree of the Roman empire"♦,

And together with this,

It is known what R. Hillel of Paritch said in the name of our Rebbe the Elder,

that "before the lofty souls such as Rashbi, the Temple was not destroyed, etc."

That is to say,

that due to the greatness of his level, there was no concept of exile for him, etc.

And likewise in the private lives of every single Jew: the matter of redemption is accomplished through Torah study,

"There is no freer person than one who engages in Torah study"²,

And likewise through the service of prayer,

That a particular spark of the Shechinah in the soul of every Jew goes out from the exile and captivity for the moment, in this temporal life — prayer and service of the heart.

And nevertheless,

The blessing of HaGomel for the matter of redemption,

It is — specifically "a prisoner who has been released from the prison."

And from this it is understood,

That also regarding the future redemption there are several distinctions of levels — corresponding to the state that one is in beforehand, from which one is redeemed.

And upon this matter depends the dispute in all the above — whether the nullification of the violences is a part and stage of the matter of redemption,

or whether it is a separate matter.

(In a manner similar to a particular matter in his private or general life of a certain individual,

or even a general matter in the course of the world)

but,

not part of the redemption of all of Israel — in relation to their situation, etc., of the disputants.

Sefer HaSichos - 5747

And behold,

Continuing from what was said above regarding the negation of a dispute in reality — we should add that this is so regarding what the Rambam wrote at the beginning of the chapter:

"Let it not enter one's mind that in the days of Moshiach anything from the natural conduct of the world will be nullified,

or there will be any innovation in the work of Creation,

Rather, the world will continue in its accustomed manner.

And that which is said in Isaiah: "And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid,"

a metaphor and riddle,

the matter is,

that Israel will dwell securely with the wicked of the nations who are compared to a wolf and a leopard.

and they all returned to the true religion, etc.,

and he concludes,

"And similarly all such matters regarding Mashiach,

they are allegories,

and in the days of Mashiach it will be known to all what this was an allegory for,

and what matter it alluded to."

And the Ra'avad objected to him from what is written in the Torah⁴⁶ "And I will cause wild beasts to cease from the land,"

That is,

that according to the Ra'avad,

the interpretation of "and the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, etc." is literal,

that is,

a change in the nature of the world.

And here too the aforementioned question is asked — how can there be a dispute about reality?!

And the point of explanation in this — as explained at length elsewhere" — that certainly also according to the Rambam there will be a novelty in Ma'aseh Bereishis,

for there is no greater novelty in Ma'aseh Bereishis than the Resurrection of the Dead — one of the Thirteen Principles,

One of the fundamentals of the Torah⁴⁸,

to the extent that one who denies this has no portion in the World to Come⁴

(as the Rambam elaborates in his Epistle on the Resurrection

of the Dead)

— however,

this is a matter in itself,

and it is not necessarily connected with the days of Mashiach:

Just as regarding the coming of Mashiach, the Rambam writes⁵⁰ "Do not think that King Mashiach must perform signs and wonders and innovate things in the world,

or reviving the dead and similar matters"

that is,

It is possible, however, that he will perform signs and wonders,

but this is not a condition and necessity, etc., in the definition of the coming of Moshiach,

but a matter in itself — so it is also regarding the era of the days of Moshiach,

"Do not let it enter your mind that in the days of Moshiach anything will be nullified from the natural course of the world,

or there will be a novelty in the work of creation."

that is,

It is possible, indeed, that there will be a novelty in the act of Creation,

But,

this is not a condition and necessity etc. regarding the era of Moshiach,

but rather a matter in itself.

And in this very thing — two manners:

The novelty in the act of Creation — includes the matter of techiyas hameisim,

And similarly the other matters of changing the conduct of the world and novelty in the act of Creation — will be in the second period of the era of Moshiach,

Furthermore — as the Rambam wrote in his Igeres Techiyas HaMeisim,

"And know that these rewards and the like that are said to be allegory,

this statement of ours is not definitive, etc.,"

That is to say,

that even though he ruled in the Yad HaChazakah that these rewards are "a parable and riddle" — he himself writes⁵² that this is not

*Ded Shevet - Conclusion of the Rambam

a definitive matter,

And it is possible that it will be as its simple meaning,

That is,

that the arrival of Moshiach will be in actuality in a miraculous manner,

a novelty in creation

(except that this is not necessary from the definition of the arrival of Moshiach)

— and one can say that it depends on whether Israel will be in the standing and situation of "they merited"⁵³,

But,

that in the book of laws, he rules according to what is necessary from the law that Moshiach will come,

Another matter that depends on the condition of the Jewish people,

in which permission is given to every person as a friend.

And may it be His will that very soon Elijah will come to announce the coming of Moshiach,

and especially through increasing our deeds and our service in learning Torah and fulfilling the commandments,

which,

through the fulfillment of "one mitzvah,"

"tips oneself and the entire world to the scale of merit,"

And brought about salvation and deliverance for him and them⁵⁴,

Including and especially — through the unity of Israel,

Love of Israel and unity of Israel,

True and complete unity,

Through the Torah of truth in its entirety,

As in the study of the Rambam,

The laws of the entire Torah

(as above, section 1)

Which,

by this they nullify the cause of the exile

(hyper of Ahavat Yisrael⁵⁵)

And when the cause is nullified,

the effect is automatically nullified

(the exile)

And up to the action of unity in the entire world — "and will perfect the entire world to serve G‑d together,

as it is said⁵⁶ for then I will transform the nations to a pure language that all of them may call on the name of G‑d and serve Him of one accord"⁵,

And up to the conclusion and seal of the book of the Hand — "the entire world will be occupied only with knowing G‑d alone.

as it is said⁵⁸ for the earth will be filled with knowledge of G‑d as the waters cover the sea",

And "they link the beginning to the completion"⁵⁹ — the beginning of the book of the Hand — "the foundation of foundations and the pillar of wisdoms to know that there exists a First Existent,

and He brings into being all that exists,

And all beings in heaven and earth and between them exist only from the truth of His existence"

That is,

That "all beings in heaven and earth and between them" will be openly recognized "from the truth of His existence"

As it is written⁶ "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh together shall see etc."

In the true and complete redemption through our righteous Messiah,

Speedily, in our very days,

And as per the ruling of the Rambam⁶ — "Immediately they are redeemed"

"Immediately" literally⁶²,

Immediately and at once, literally.

Sefer HaSichos - 5747

Addendum*

— Regarding the editions of the Yad HaChazakah of the Rambam —

It is known that the Rambam wrote his work in several editions,

That is,

After writing the first time, he reviewed again,

And since in the meantime "he added wondrous wisdom to his wisdom in depth and erudition etc."¹,

behold, in several places he corrected,

changed and added to it,

and some say that afterwards he corrected etc. also a third time etc.

And as we find in the Responsa of the Rambam² that he replied to questioners concerning several rulings — that indeed their words were correct,

and he had already corrected this ruling in his composition,

except,

that the version that reached them was the first version,

Before he returned and reviewed the halachic rulings once again,

And they went over them to correct the version in their possession etc.

And in recent times, manuscripts of the Rambam's work from a later edition have been and are being discovered,

And in particular, the Yemenite manuscript,

Which,

According to the tradition in Yemen,

The Jews of Yemen maintained a close connection with the Rambam,

Through emissaries etc.,

And from time to time they would send to update and edit their books according to the latest corrections and additions,

until the very latest,

of the Rambam,

so that in their words, the edition in their possession is the most corrected and accurate?

And accordingly,

It is puzzling regarding the halachic rulings of the poskim in the generations after the Rambam who ruled based on the words of the Rambam in the Yad HaChazakah:

Since manuscripts of the Rambam were later discovered

(and especially regarding Yemen)

And in them there are several corrections and changes etc. regarding the rulings of the Rambam's book that spread throughout all the dispersions of Israel,

That is,

That in some halachos the Rambam retracted — there is room to say,

at first glance,

that in these halachos one should rule according to the latter version of the Rambam.

And from this, at first glance, the most puzzling conclusion — that many rulings of the great halachic authorities in the generations before us,

their foundation is an error,

Heaven forbid!

[And this is not similar to the law of a great court that expounded one of the principles etc. and judged a law,

And another court stood after them and saw another reason to contradict it,

Behold, this one contradicts and judges according to what appears in his eyes,

As it is said⁴ 'to the judge who will be in those days',

You are not obligated to follow except after the court in your generation"⁵ — for,

The Torah said that the halachic ruling in every generation is like "the court in your generation",

And in the generation before this,

That the majority opinion was the opposite — this is a Torah ruling

(which is not decided — it was given⁶)

And not a mistake, G-d forbid,

And they do not bring the bull for an inadvertent decision etc.,

But this is not the case in our discussion,

that the Rambam himself retracted,

Thus, it turns out,

that their ruling that was

Regarding the editions of the Rambam's Sefer HaYad

and 3

Attributed to the Rambam — it is not a ruling but an error"]

And to note from the law of conspiring witnesses,

That 'if they killed, they are not killed' — one of the reasons for this,

That 'the Name of the righteous judges standing before Him shall not be disgraced to shed innocent blood,'

For judgment is for G-d and among G-d He judges.

A great virtue of the judges of Israel and the promise that the Holy One, blessed be He, agrees through them and with them in the matter of judgment."¹⁰.

And if these words are said regarding a verdict of a court in connection with a specific event” — in rulings that spread throughout all the diaspora of Israel,

and were upheld in practical halachah for twenty-two generations,

All the more so!

And one can explain this as follows:

Regarding the halachic rulings of the great halachic authorities — even though in general they based their foundations on the words of their teachers,

Behold,

it is understood and even simple,

that they studied these laws not only as a tradition received and accepted¹²,

but rather

(afterwards)

they contemplated and toiled in clarifying and elucidating all the details of the sugya, etc.,

until they reached a conclusion

— with their own intellect — that the ruling is thus and binding.

And as is also proven from this that in several places it appeared to them that the halachah is not like that which their teachers had ruled — and they disagreed with them.

And accordingly,

a rav in Israel who rules halachah according to what is written in the books of the poskim — relies not only on the ruling of his teachers, of the aforementioned posek,

but rather,

also on the decision of that posek,

that the ruling and conclusion of the decision is

(also,

at least in many times)

It is according to his discretion.

And therefore,

Even after it was revealed that his teacher retracted,

This does not at all compel saying that the student-arbiter will also retract,

And as our Sages of blessed memory stated in many places⁴, 'That is my rabbi's, this is mine,'

Because

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his judgment,

That is, he grew up etc. and he is already in the category of an independent decisor.

In the different editions of the Rambam,

At first glance, one could say,

that regarding this, everyone agrees the conclusion is like the second edition,

for the Rambam himself retracted —

But one could also argue the opposite,

that specifically in such a case the first edition has more force,

for the Rambam himself, in his greatness,

When he had already composed his book,

He held this opinion.

However,

At first glance, one may raise a difficulty from what our Rebbe the Elder stated,¹⁵

And this is his language:

"Many of the works of the early Sages, may their memory be blessed, had not yet been published in print in the times of the later Sages, may their memory be blessed,

the Taz and Magen Avraham and those who follow them, etc.,"

And for this, certainly one may not rely to be lenient in practice on the leniencies found in the words of the later authorities, may their memory be blessed".

And we find in this manner in 22 books⁶,

that had the poskim seen the words of the early authorities

(that were later discovered, etc.)

they would have ruled like them,

And the answer, one may say:

Regarding what is explained in the aforementioned books — the common denominator in those that I have seen:

Their first reasoning — that one should not change the verdict that was published and disseminated

(And the reason is understood — since it is not clear that if they had seen his reasoning and conclusion and the verdict that was revealed of the first one, they would have held like him in this⁷,

but rather,

only that there is room to say so,

and as long as there is no clarification in the matter — one should not change or take action)

unless:

A ruling has been publicized after a decisor who is approximately or greater than the stature of the decisors who ruled the ruling before this.

(As in the words of our Rebbe, the Alter Rebbe, mentioned above)

Only in a doubt concerning a Biblical commandment,

to remove money from its presumed status,

and the like — we must be stringent,

and therefore to follow his ruling.

And as explained in the words of the Alter Rebbe mentioned above

(And similarly in several of the aforementioned books)

"One may not rely on leniency in practice."

And accordingly—on the contrary: from the above it is understood that in all places that are not in the category of the above-mentioned—one should not change the ruling that has spread and is practiced among the Jewish diaspora.

What was said above also applies to the rulings of the Master, the author of the Shulchan Aruch:

He writes in his introduction to his work: 'I have agreed in my mind that since the three pillars of instruction upon which the Jewish people rely for their rulings are the Rif, the Rambam, and the Rosh, of blessed memory,

I said to myself that in a place where two of them agree on one opinion,

We shall rule the law according to them.

And based on this, clarification is needed: if it is found in the Rambam's laws that he changed his mind in a later edition that did not reach the Beis Yosef,

And thereby the aforementioned majority changes — what is the law of the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch of the Beis Yosef who relied on the first edition of the Rambam,

Regarding the dispute of the Sefer HaYad of the Rambam

And behold, Heaven granted him to compose.

Shulchan Aruch that all of Israel walks by its light.

However, if you say regarding what is stated above,

that although the Bais Yosef based his foundations on the three pillars of instruction to decide like two of them — nevertheless afterwards he reviewed and clarified these laws until it became his own,

even though sometimes it is not like his teacher — like the majority view of the aforementioned,

Rather,

that due to his great humility — in the vast majority of cases he would not rely on his own reasoning alone,

For.

Who is it that his heart dares to approach etc. and who is it that his heart fills to insert his head between the mountains, the mountains of G-d, to decide between them based on arguments etc.

But rather,

after two of the "three pillars of instruction" agree on one opinion,

Then he toiled and delved more into the reasons of this opinion,

until his mind concurred that the ruling should be according to this opinion•¹.

The upshot of all that has been said above:

Certainly it is good and proper etc. that they occupy themselves with clarifying and elucidating the words of the Rambam — the variations in the text from edition to edition,

the rulings in which he retracted etc.,

including — the discussion and give-and-take on the reasons of the matters etc.,

and fortunate is their lot and great is the merit of those who engage in this holy work,

ו״יגדיל תורה ויאדיר"²׳;

But regarding rulings of halacha for practical application — behold,

In my humble opinion — the practical difference is whether this is to take money out of possession,

a doubt regarding a Torah law etc.,

we are stringent etc.

(as above)

or not.

Witnesses of the fulfillment of the destiny²⁰.

Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust!

And the Rambam and the Mechaber and all the early poskim of Israel with them,

And they explained as above.

In the true and complete redemption through our righteous Mashiach,

Speedily, in our days, literally.

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