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The King Smiled at the Filth Piled Against His Door on Yom Kippur

The household's refuse got hauled outside and stacked where the master would step. Servants braced for disgust and a sharp order. The smell reached him first.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. Refuse at the Palace Door
  2. Fire That Is Not a God
  3. Drawn Past the Throne
  4. Hands Clapped for the Righteous
  5. Small Offering, Changed Hands
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Refuse at the Palace Door

A king walked out of his palace and saw, heaped against his own door, the refuse his household had carried out. The pile smelled. Servants expected disgust and a sharp order. He beamed instead, as if the house had finally told the truth about what it had been hiding under fine floors and polished talk.

That, the sages said, is how the Holy One, blessed be He, feels on the Day of Atonement. The day Israel hauls out its accumulated filth and lays it before the King, He does not grow heavy with grief. He rejoices with great joy at the chance to forgive what has finally been named and carried outside into the open air.

So a person should spend the day remembering, all the way back to the moment God first chose Abraham, every kindness done for Israel since. Sins, the prophet says, are wiped away like clouds scattered by the wind. A name moves from the book of death into the book of life while the body still stands fasting and awake under a sky that does not look different to untrained eyes.

Fire That Is Not a God

Once the teacher was seized in a great city and dragged into a palace of silver and gold. Courtyards glittered. Guards watched. A gentile sage pressed him with a question that sounded like respect and trap at once. The sage himself granted that God is the one true Judge who created the world and made the human being to serve Him. So why, he asked, does the Torah command a perpetual fire on the altar, if fire is no god?

Because at Sinai Israel saw no form of any kind, only the one God of gods. Fire is no deity. It is a strap the King hangs on the wall, the way a father warns his children that he can be bear, lion, and angel of death to them, hoping the threat alone will turn them back before the blow ever falls on skin.

The altar flame burns under that discipline. It is not worship of heat. It is a sign that judgment is real and still prefers repentance to ruin. The teacher walked out of the silver palace with the answer still hot in his mouth and the smell of foreign incense still in his clothes.

Drawn Past the Throne

Israel asked to be pulled after God, and the Tanna heard a king taking one beloved servant by the hand. The room was full of attendants. Whispering. Looking. The king sat on the throne. Then he fixed his eyes on the one he loved, gripped his hand, and brought him past the public court into the rooms behind the rooms where ordinary petitioners never walk.

That is what God did for Israel. He drew them with everlasting love and brought them into the hidden chambers of Torah. Those chambers are not decoration. They are shelter. When suffering starts feeling its way toward a person like cold under a door, the teaching says, run into Torah and the suffering flees as if it met a locked gate and a light it could not enter.

God left the angelic hosts and cleaved to Israel, joined His Name to theirs, and called them sons, brothers, servants, even elohim in the language of Scripture. The bond stretches from one end of the world to the other and does not depend on the glitter of a foreign palace or the approval of a gentile sage.

Hands Clapped for the Righteous

The Holy One remembers the righteous, claps His two hands together, and asks why the whole world could not be filled with people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David. Jacob moves Him most. God performed no miracles for him, and Jacob still remained whole, clean of robbery, transgression, and ugly speech through ordinary nights and ordinary fears that never made a midrash of their own.

Amos tried to save Israel by that memory. Twice he saw destruction coming, locusts and then fire, and twice he pleaded, "How shall Jacob stand, for he is small?" God relented. Still Amos did not know how to beg for Israel the way Moses did. Moses prayed again and again until Scripture counted the whole Torah as his, as if the book itself answered the man who would not stop at the door.

That is why Leviticus begins with God calling Moses before speaking. The man who split Egypt, crossed the sea, climbed heaven, and built the Tabernacle still did not enter until summoned. Real Torah without discernment is worse than useless. Even Moses waited at the door of the Tent.

Small Offering, Changed Hands

Do not sin and bring a large bull, hoping the meat will impress heaven. Do not worship idols and plan to repair it with a sin-offering bought in a hurry. Bring Torah, good deeds, humility, and repentance. A small meal-offering from a changed person is nearer to God than a great animal from an unmoved heart that still loves the refuse it pretends to discard.

On Yom Kippur the refuse pile becomes joy because the King wants the house clean, not because filth is pretty. The servant drawn into the inner chambers learns the same lesson with different furniture. Nearness is gift and demand at once. Fire on the wall is not a second god. It is the reminder that the first God still hopes the blow will not be needed, and still smiles when the pile at the door is finally honest.

Yom KippurAtonementEliyahuTorahChambersSinaiFire
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From the tradition

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The texts behind this telling. Some cards carry a translation of the source; others are our own retelling of it, and each card says which. Every card links out to the original.

Tanna Debei Eliyahu Rabbah 1:3Tanna DeBei Eliyahu Rabbah

Translation of the source text.Tanna debei Eliyahu Rabbah, Warsaw 1880 · Public Domain

Another interpretation of "the days were fashioned, and not one among them" (Psalms 139:16): this is the Day of Atonement for Israel, for there was great joy before the Holy One, blessed be He, on the day He gave it in great love to Israel. A parable: to what may the matter be compared? To a king of flesh and blood, whose servants and household carried out the refuse and cast it before the door of the king's house; and when the king goes out and sees the refuse, he rejoices with great joy. So is the Day of Atonement to be regarded, which the Holy One, blessed be He, gave in great love and joy. And not this alone, but at the hour when He pardons the sins of Israel, He is not grieved in His heart but rejoices with great joy. Therefore it is said, "Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys, and so on" (Ezekiel 36:4): come and rejoice with great joy, for I pardon Israel their sins.

Therefore let a person remember, from the day the Holy One, blessed be He, chose our father Abraham until that hour, all the good and the righteous deeds He performed with Israel at every single hour, as it is said, "Remember these things, O Jacob" (Isaiah 44:21), and it is said, "I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist" (Isaiah 44:22). Just as clouds are blotted out by the wind, so the sins of Israel are blotted out in this world and have no standing in the world to come, as it is said, "I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud." And why does Scripture say "for I have redeemed you" (Isaiah 44:22)? I have redeemed you from the book of death and placed you in the book of life; therefore it says "for I have redeemed you." What is the matter that follows it? "Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it" (Isaiah 44:23).

Another interpretation of "the days were fashioned, and not one among them": this is the day of Gog in the time to come. For this world is, before the Holy One, blessed be He, like a householder who hired laborers and watches them to see who works faithfully, as it is said, "The eyes of the LORD range over all the earth" (Zechariah 4:10) - one who works faithfully and one who does not work faithfully. All is set before Him for the feast. Therefore the idolaters were sentenced to be washed away, to perish, and to descend to Gehinnom, for laying hands on Israel, on Jerusalem, and on the Temple. Know that this is so: when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came and surrounded Jerusalem, the idolaters would answer and say, "With one word we have reckoned it; we have captured his city and his Temple." The Holy Spirit answers and says to them: Fools of the world! Until that hour you were not yet liable to descend to Gehinnom; concerning that hour it says, "Your mother shall be utterly ashamed; she who bore you shall be disgraced" (Jeremiah 50:12). Just as they gathered assemblies and came to plunder the wealth of Israel, so the Holy One, blessed be He, gathers them to be judged upon the mountains of Israel, to take great vengeance upon them, because they did not heed the words of Torah and because they afflicted Israel, as it is said, "And I am very angry, for I was a little angry, but they helped forward the calamity" (Zechariah 1:15). And it is said, "And I will execute vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations that did not obey" (Micah 5:14). And it says, "Behold, a day comes, and I will gather all the nations" (Zechariah 14:2), and at once "the LORD will go out and fight" (Zechariah 14:3).

Once I was traveling through a great city of the world, and there was there a band of youths who seized me and brought me into the king's house, and I saw there beds spread out and vessels of silver and vessels of gold lying there. I said, "O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth" (Psalms 94:1). A certain associate came to me (that is, a sage of the nations of the world) and said to me, "You are a scribe." I said to him, "Somewhat." He said to me, "If you will tell me a thing that I ask you, go in peace." I said to him, "Speak." He said to me: God is a true judge, holy, righteous and faithful, and true forever and ever; He knows from the beginning what will be in the end, and declares from the first the last; what has not been done and what is being done He knows, and what is destined to be done; He looks toward good and does not look toward evil; He is rich and rejoices in His portion. In His wisdom and in His understanding He created the world and established it, and afterward created the human being and brought him into the world, and He created him only that he might serve Him with a whole heart and that He might find contentment from him and from his descendants after him until the end of all generations. Yet when he was fruitful and multiplied, this one worships the sun and the moon and this one worships wood and stone, and every single day they incur guilt against God. Therefore, when He again looks upon all the works of His hands that He created in the world, He says: To these and those, life; to these and those, souls; to these and those, eating and drinking; behold, they are reckoned like the cattle and the beasts and the other creeping and swarming things that the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His world. At once His mind is set at ease, and He does not destroy them. From this you learn that cattle, beasts, and creeping things were not created in the world except as a remedy for human beings on the earth.

He said to me: You say that fire is not a god. Why then is it written in the Torah, "A perpetual fire shall be kept burning" (Leviticus 6:6)? I said to him: My son, when our ancestors stood at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah upon themselves, they saw no likeness of a human being, nor the likeness of any creature, nor the likeness of any soul that the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His world, as it is said, "Take very good heed of yourselves, for you saw no form" (Deuteronomy 4:15). Rather, He is one God, God of gods and Lord of lords, whose kingship endures in the heavens and on the earth and in the highest heaven of heavens. And you say fire is a god! It is nothing but a rod given for the use of human beings on the earth. A parable: to what may the matter be compared? To a king who took a strap and hung it in his house, and said to his servants and to his sons and to his household: With this I strike you and with this I slay you, so that they may turn back and repent; and if they do not turn back, with it he strikes them and with it he slays them. Therefore it is said, "A perpetual fire shall be kept burning," and it says, "For by fire will the LORD execute judgment" (Isaiah 66:16). Should you think otherwise, Scripture teaches, "For the LORD your God is a consuming fire" (Deuteronomy 4:24). A parable: to what may the matter be compared? To a king whose servants and sons and household behaved improperly. He said to his sons and to his servants and to his household: A bear am I against you, a lion am I against you, the angel of death am I against you, because of the way you act. Therefore it is said, "For the LORD your God is a consuming fire."

Full source
Tanna Debei Eliyahu Rabbah 6:1Tanna DeBei Eliyahu Rabbah

Translation of the source text.Tanna debei Eliyahu Rabbah, Warsaw 1880 · Public Domain

"Draw me after you, let us run; the King has brought me into his chambers" (Song of Songs 1:4). This is the assembly of Israel, which was drawn after the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said, "The LORD appeared to me from afar: I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness" (Jeremiah 31:3). It does not say, "I have loved you with a great love," but "I have loved you with an everlasting love." Lest you say the love of the Holy One, blessed be He, lasted three years, or ten years, or one hundred years, therefore it is said, "I have loved you with an everlasting love." Therefore it is said, "Draw me after you, let us run; the King has brought me into his chambers."

A parable: a king was sitting on his throne, and his servants were standing before him. He set his eyes on the one whom he loved, seized him by the hand, and brought him into his innermost chambers. So the Holy One, blessed be He, brought Israel into His innermost chambers, as He did not bring any nation or language. Therefore it is said, "The King has brought me into his chambers."

Another interpretation: "The King has brought me into his chambers." Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, has innermost chambers in His Torah, so the disciples of the sages each have innermost chambers in their Torah. If you see that sufferings are feeling their way toward you and coming upon you, run to the chambers of words of Torah, and immediately the sufferings flee from you, as it is said, "Come, My people, enter your chambers" (Isaiah 26:20). Therefore it is said, "The King has brought me into his chambers."

"We will rejoice and be glad in You" (Song of Songs 1:4), because You made us great, occupied Yourself with us, lifted us up, and tied for us a great bond in the words of Torah from one end of the world to the other, until You left the four hundred ninety-six thousand myriads of ministering angels and came and cleaved to Israel forever. Because it is said of You, "Before Me no god was formed, and after Me there shall be none" (Isaiah 43:10), You called us sons, brothers, and servants. Because it is said of You, "I am the LORD, and there is none else; besides Me there is no god" (Isaiah 45:5), You called us elohim, judges or divine beings. Because it is said of You, "a righteous God and a savior; there is none besides Me" (Isaiah 45:21), You caused Your great Name to rest upon the name Israel, and You joined the name Israel to Your great Name.

Concerning that hour it says, "I sleep, but my heart is awake. The voice of my beloved knocks: Open to me, my sister, my companion, my dove, my perfect one" (Song of Songs 5:2). And what is written above it? "I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, friends; drink, and be drunk with love" (Song of Songs 5:1). Therefore it is said, "We will rejoice and be glad in You."

"We will remember Your loves more than wine" (Song of Songs 1:4). Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, may His great Name be blessed forever and to all eternities, remembers and praises the deeds of the righteous and the fit, claps His two hands together, and says, "Why was the whole world not filled with people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David?" so a person should remember and praise the Holy One, blessed be He, in prayer, in words of Torah, and in the words of the sages in every place. In the end, his way will be before the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said, "Who is wise, that he may understand these things? discerning, that he may know them? For the ways of the LORD are straight, and the righteous walk in them" (Hosea 14:10). Therefore it is said, "We will remember Your loves more than wine."

When does the Holy One, blessed be He, remember and praise the deeds of the righteous and the fit, clap His two hands together, and say, "Why was the world not filled with people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David?" When Israel were in the wilderness and spoiled their deeds, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: How many miracles and mighty acts I performed for them, and still they did not enter beneath the wings of the Shekhinah. But for Jacob I never performed miracles, and all his days he was straight before Me, as it is said, "Jacob was a wholehearted man" (Genesis 25:27). Whole from robbery, whole from transgression, whole from an ugly thing. When the Holy One, blessed be He, remembers him, He claps His two hands together over him, as it is said, "Israel then shall dwell in safety alone, the fountain of Jacob... His heavens too..." (Deuteronomy 33:28).

Even when Amos the prophet stood and sought mercy for Israel before the Holy One, blessed be He, he said before Him: Master of the world, if there is no one in the world like Jacob, let the whole world be destroyed. Our Father in Heaven, may Your great Name be blessed forever and to all eternities. May You have satisfaction from Israel Your servants in all their dwelling places, for You did not leave Your servant Amos the prophet until You answered him at once, as it is said, "Thus the Lord GOD showed me: behold, He formed locusts at the beginning of the shooting up of the late growth; and behold, it was the late growth after the king's mowings. And it came to pass, when they made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I pray; how shall Jacob stand, for he is small? The LORD relented concerning this. It shall not be, said the LORD" (Amos 7:1-3). This is the first line. In the second line, what does it say? "Thus the Lord GOD showed me: behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire... And I said, O Lord GOD, cease, I pray; how shall Jacob stand, for he is small? The LORD relented concerning this also. This too shall not be, said the Lord GOD" (Amos 7:4-6).

Behold, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed through Amos the prophet two times. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Amos: Did I not write in My Torah through Moses your teacher, "Happy are you, O Israel; who is like you, a people saved by the LORD" (Deuteronomy 33:29), in any case, whether wicked or fit? Of Moses, what does it say? "Remember the Torah of Moses My servant, which I commanded him at Horeb" (Malachi 3:22). In the days of Hosea son of Beeri, Joel, Amos, Micah the Morashtite, and all the other prophets, they did not know how to pour out mercy and seek supplications for Israel as Moses your teacher poured them out. Therefore it is said, "Remember the Torah of Moses."

But is it Moses' Torah? Is it not Yours, the Torah with which You delighted nine hundred seventy-four generations before Adam was created, which You refined and gave to Israel? What, then, does Scripture mean by "Remember the Torah of Moses My servant"? Since Moses stood in prayer four and five times and saved Israel from death, Scripture accounts it to him as though the entire Torah were Moses'. Therefore it is said, "Remember the Torah of Moses My servant."

But what does it say concerning the days of the kings of Israel and the days of the kings of Judah? The great men would go and sit before the kingdom, and the lesser one would set his eyes on one greater than himself and say to him: even though you speak according to halakhah and I do not speak according to halakhah, let your words pass away and let my words stand, even if the whole world is destroyed. So too in the later generations. Concerning them Scripture says, "All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, who say, The evil shall not draw near or come before us" (Amos 9:10). What is written after it? "On that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David, and I will fence up their breaches, raise up its ruins, and build it as in days of old" (Amos 9:11).

Another interpretation: "We will remember Your loves more than wine." The remembrance of words of Torah and the words of sages in every chamber and place is better than old wine for a king in innermost chambers. Therefore it is said, "We will remember Your loves more than wine." "The King has brought me into his chambers" refers to one among thousands upon thousands and myriads upon myriads of innermost chambers that the Holy One, blessed be He, has in His Torah, and He told Moses to say them to Israel, as it is said, "He called to Moses, and the LORD spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying" (Leviticus 1:1).

Another interpretation: "He called to Moses." From here they said: any Torah scholar who has no da'at, no mature discernment, a carcass is better than he is. Know that this is so. Go and learn from Moses our teacher, father of wisdom and father of the prophets. He brought Israel out of Egypt; through him signs and wonders were performed in the land of Egypt and the land of Ham; through him awe-inspiring things were performed at the Red Sea; he ascended to the heavens above and brought down the Torah from heaven; he occupied himself with the work of the Tabernacle. Even so, he did not enter the innermost place until He called him. Therefore it is said, "He called to Moses."

Another interpretation: "He called to Moses, and the LORD spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying." Elsewhere it says, "The LORD saw that he turned aside to see, and God called to him from within the bush" (Exodus 3:4). At the bush, He stopped speaking to him there; but when He speaks in the Tent of Meeting, there is no interruption as there was at the bush. To what may this be compared? To a king who became angry with his servant and confined him in prison. When he commands the messenger, he commands him only from outside. But in the Tent of Meeting, where He rejoices in His children and the members of His household and they rejoice in Him, when He commands the messenger, He commands him only from inside, as though He seated him between His knees, like a man with his son. Therefore it is said, "He called to Moses, and the LORD spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying."

"Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: Adam, when a person from among you brings an offering..." (Leviticus 1:2). Adam is a language of brotherhood, a language of entreaty, a language of companionship. So the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Ezekiel the priest, "son of man," meaning: son of fit people, righteous people, doers of kindness, who demean themselves for My honor and for Israel's honor all their days.

Another interpretation. To what may this be compared? To a king whose wife and sons sinned against him. The king rose and pushed them and put them outside his house. Afterward he sent and brought one son from her and said to him: son of so-and-so, come and I will show you your house and the house I built for you and your mother. Has My honor diminished? Or has the house I built for your mother diminished? Ezekiel is compared to this, as it is said, "It came to pass in the thirtieth year... and I was among the exiles... the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel son of Buzi the priest" (Ezekiel 1:1-3). This is the first line. In the second line, what does it say? "I saw, and behold, a storm wind came from the north... and from within it the likeness of four living creatures" (Ezekiel 1:4-5), and the whole matter.

After the Holy One, blessed be He, showed Ezekiel His glory, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: son of man, this is My glory, by which I raised you above the idol-worshiping nations. Has My glory diminished, or has the house I built for you diminished? As it is said, "You, son of man, tell the house of Israel about the house... This is the law of the house: upon the top of the mountain, all its boundary around..." (Ezekiel 43:10, 12). Perhaps you will say: I have no one to serve Me. Behold, I already have four hundred ninety-six thousand myriads of ministering angels, who stand and sanctify My great Name every day without ceasing, from sunrise until sunset saying before Me, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts..." (Isaiah 6:3), and from sunset until sunrise saying, "Blessed is the glory of the LORD from His place" (Ezekiel 3:12), not to mention the seventy languages on earth. Why, then, do you do ugly things and unfit things, and kick at the sufferings that come upon you? But what shall I do? Behold, I act for My great Name's sake, so that it not be profaned.

"Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: Adam, when a person from among you brings an offering to the LORD" (Leviticus 1:2). Why does it not say here as it says elsewhere, "They shall take, each man, a lamb for a father's house" (Exodus 12:3)? Here too it could have written, "A man, when he brings from among you." Why does it say adam, a person? To include the convert. "From among you" excludes one who has apostatized to idolatry, for he does not bring burnt-offerings.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: the court enacted seven things, and this is one of them. One who sent his burnt-offering from overseas, if he sent its libations with it, they are offered from his own; if not, they are offered from communal funds. Likewise, a convert who died and left offerings, if he has libations, they are from his own; if not, they are offered from communal funds. It was also a stipulation of the court concerning a High Priest who died, that his meal-offering should be offered from communal funds. Rabbi Yehudah says: from the heirs. And it was offered whole. They also enacted concerning the salt and the wood, that the priests may benefit from them; concerning the red heifer, that one is not liable for misuse of its ashes; and concerning disqualified bird-offerings, that they come from communal funds. Rabbi Yose says: the supplier of the bird-offerings supplies the disqualified ones. An old version adds: as though the supplier of the flour-offerings supplies the disqualified portions.

Once I was walking on the road. A certain man found me and came toward me forcefully, as one comes upon his fellow with power. He said to me: you say that seven prophets arose for the idol-worshiping nations, and they testify against them that they descend to Gehinnom. I said to him: my son, this is how it was said to me. From the seven prophets onward, the idol-worshiping nations could say: the Torah was not given to us, and they still did not testify against us, so why do we descend to Gehinnom? I said to him: my son, this is what the sages taught in the Mishnah. A Kuti who comes to convert, we stretch out a hand to bring him beneath the wings of the Shekhinah. A printed variant adds: from here onward, the converts of a generation testify in that generation. "From the animals, from the cattle and from the flock, you shall bring your offering" (Leviticus 1:2). If it says "from the animals," why does it say "from the cattle and from the flock"? And if it says "from the cattle and from the flock," why does it say "from the animals"? From here they said: we accept kinds of sacrifices from the wicked of Israel in order to bring them beneath the wings of the Shekhinah, except for an apostate, one who pours libation wine for idolatry, and those who desecrate Sabbaths publicly.

Blessed is the Omnipresent, blessed is He, who counted Himself with the righteous. Adam fulfilled what is written in the Torah about bringing an offering, and brought up an ox upon the altar, as it is said, "This also shall please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hooves" (Psalms 69:32). Noah fulfilled what is written in the Torah about bringing an offering, as it is said, "Noah built an altar to the LORD" (Genesis 8:20). Abraham fulfilled everything written in the Torah, as it is said, "Because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My Torahs" (Genesis 26:5). Isaac fulfilled everything written in the Torah and was cast before his father like a lamb to the slaughter, as it is said, "He bound Isaac his son" (Genesis 22:9). Jacob fulfilled everything written in the Torah, as it is said, "Jacob said... Remove the foreign gods" (Genesis 35:2). Judah fulfilled what is written in the Torah concerning the commandment of levirate marriage, as it is said, "Judah said to Onan, Go in to your brother's wife and perform levirate marriage with her" (Genesis 38:8). Joseph fulfilled the entire Torah: honor your father; do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not covet. The Torah had not been given to them, yet they fulfilled it of themselves. Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, loved them with complete love and made their name equal to His great Name.

Concerning them it says, "Happy are those whose way is wholehearted, who walk in the Torah of the LORD" (Psalms 119:1). And it says, "The Rock, His work is whole" (Deuteronomy 32:4). And it says, "God, His way is whole; the word of the LORD is refined" (II Samuel 22:31; Psalms 18:31).

"He shall slaughter the young bull before the LORD" (Leviticus 1:5), and concerning the ram it says, "He shall slaughter it on the north side of the altar before the LORD" (Leviticus 1:11). They said: on the day Abraham bound Isaac his son upon the altar, the Holy One, blessed be He, established two lambs, one in the morning and one in the evening, as it is said, "The one lamb you shall offer in the morning..." (Exodus 29:39). Why all this? So that when Israel bring up the continual offering upon the altar and read this verse, "on the north side before the LORD," the Holy One, blessed be He, remembers the binding of Isaac.

Another interpretation: "On the north side before the LORD" corresponds to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who are hidden, tzefunim, before the LORD. From where do you know this language? As it is said, "New and old, my beloved, I have hidden for you" (Song of Songs 7:14). "New" refers to the company of Moses, the company of Joshua, the company of David, and the company of Hezekiah king of Judah. "Old" refers to the company of Ezra, Hillel the Elder, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, Rabbi Meir, and his colleagues. Concerning them it says, "New and old, my beloved, I have hidden for you."

Why does it say concerning the bull, "its innards and its legs he shall wash in water" (Leviticus 1:9)? What is the difference between a ram and a bull? The printed phrase is obscure: a bull is said to lack "two and crosswise," while a ram does not lack "two and crosswise." And why is bringing near, hakravah, said concerning the ram, as it is said, "the innards and the legs... and the priest shall bring near the whole and burn it upon the altar" (Leviticus 1:13), while concerning the bull bringing near is not said, as it is said, "its innards and its legs he shall wash in water, and burn..." (Leviticus 1:9)? The sages said: we learn bringing near for the bull from the ram. I said to them: my teachers, twelve princes stood for the dedication of the altar and brought a burnt-offering for this one and for that one, a sin-offering for this one and for that one, and peace-offerings for this one and for that one, and there bringing near is said concerning the bull and the ram. Here bringing near is said concerning the ram and not concerning the bull. Why? So that a person should not say to himself: I will go and do ugly things and unfit things, and then bring a bull, which has much meat, and bring it up upon the altar. Perhaps the Holy One, blessed be He, will show favor to me. Rather, let a person do good deeds, learn Torah, bring a ram that is lean in flesh and wholly for the fires, and bring it up as a burnt-offering upon the altar, and behold, I am with him in mercy and accept him in repentance. Therefore bringing near is said concerning the ram and is not said concerning the bull.

There are two meal-offerings, as it is said, "If your offering is a meal-offering on a griddle" (Leviticus 2:5), and "If a meal-offering of the deep pan" (Leviticus 2:7). Concerning both it says, "you shall bring." What is the difference between a griddle and a deep pan? This one is mixed with oil, and this one is made with as much oil as it needs. Thus the sages taught in the Mishnah: the deep pan is deep and its product is soft; the griddle is flat and its product is hard. How so? A person should not say to himself: I will go and do ugly things and unfit things, and then bring a griddle meal-offering mixed with oil because of my love for the Omnipresent. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: My son, why did you not mix your deeds with words of Torah and good deeds? For oil means nothing other than Torah, and oil means nothing other than good deeds, as it is said, "Because of the fragrance of your good oils, your name is oil poured forth; therefore the maidens love you" (Song of Songs 1:3).

"Therefore the maidens love you" (Song of Songs 1:3). Even if the idol-worshiping nations recognized the wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and insight and reached the body of Your Torah, they would love You with complete love, whether it was good for them or bad for them. Therefore it is said, "therefore the maidens love you." Another interpretation: "therefore the maidens love you" refers to the ages of the world. Say: how many years are called an olam, an age or world? You must say that fifty years are called an olam, as it is said concerning Hannah, "Hannah did not go up... and he shall remain there forever" (I Samuel 1:22), and fifty years said concerning Samuel of Ramah is called olam. Fifty years said concerning a Hebrew servant is also called olam, as it is said, "he shall serve him forever" (Exodus 21:6). Therefore it is said, "the maidens love you."

Another interpretation: "therefore the maidens love you." If a person has read Scripture but has not studied Mishnah, he is still standing outside. If he has studied Mishnah but has not read Scripture, he is still standing outside. If he has read and studied Mishnah but has not served Torah scholars, he is like one from whom Torah has been hidden, as it is said, "After I returned, I repented, and after I was made known..." (Jeremiah 31:19). But if a person read Torah, Prophets, and Writings; studied Mishnah, Midrash, halakhot, and aggadot; and served Torah scholars, then even if he dies or is killed for the Torah, he is in joy forever in the World to Come. Therefore it is said, "the maidens love you."

The deep pan is deep and its product is soft. How is there a likeness of this in a person? A person who has Torah and guards himself so that he does not come into sin and iniquity, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: My son, blessed are you, and may you have satisfaction in the world, and may the words of Torah be kept and hidden in your mouth forever. Happy is the person who has words of Torah in his hand, guarded in his hand, and knows how to answer with them in his place. Concerning him it says, "Counsel in the heart of man is deep water, but a person of understanding will draw it out" (Proverbs 20:5). And it says, "Out of the depths I have called You, LORD" (Psalms 130:1).

"This is the law of the burnt-offering" (Leviticus 6:2), "this is the law of the meal-offering" (Leviticus 6:7), "this is the law of the sin-offering" (Leviticus 6:18), "this is the law of the guilt-offering" (Leviticus 7:1), and "this is the law of the peace-offerings" (Leviticus 7:11). What is the difference between these and those? These have an extra letter and those lack a letter. And furthermore, why does it say, "This is the law of the burnt-offering," and not simply, "This is the burnt-offering"? So that a person should not say to himself: I will do ugly things and unfit things, and then bring a burnt-offering, which is wholly for the fires, and bring it up upon the altar. Perhaps the Holy One, blessed be He, will show favor to me. Rather, let a person do good deeds and learn Torah for its own sake, bring a meal-offering that costs a sela or an issar, and bring it up upon the altar, and behold, I am with him in mercy and accept him in repentance. Therefore "this is the law of the burnt-offering" is written lacking one letter, while "this is the law of the meal-offering" has an extra letter. Therefore it is written, "This is the law of the burnt-offering," and it does not simply say, "This is the burnt-offering."

Why does it say, "This is the law of the sin-offering"? So that a person should not say to himself: I will go and worship idolatry, and then bring a sin-offering and be atoned by it. The sages taught in the Mishnah: one who says, "I will sin and repent," is not given the opportunity to repent. Therefore it is said, "This is the law of the sin-offering." Why does it say, "And this is the law of the guilt-offering"? Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: My children, I told you that My desire is only for blessing and for one who has no transgressions. Then I returned in My words: even if a person commits one hundred transgressions, one above another, and then returns and repents, lowers himself to the earth, sees himself as half innocent and half guilty, and sees himself as though he were liable every day for a suspensive guilt-offering, behold, I am with him in mercy and accept him in repentance. I will give him children of stature, occupied with Torah and keeping commandments, and the words of Torah will be hidden in his mouth forever, as it is said, "The LORD desired to crush him, making him ill; if his soul makes itself a guilt-offering, he shall see seed, he shall prolong days, and the desire of the LORD shall prosper in his hand" (Isaiah 53:10).

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: My children, do not accuse Me by saying that I desire this sick one who is neither among the living nor among the dead. Rather, let a person humble himself, as it is said, "if his soul makes itself a guilt-offering." As the sages said: let him bring a guilt-offering and atone for his soul. Then surely "he shall see seed and prolong days," and his learning will endure in his hand, as it is said, "the desire of the LORD shall prosper in his hand." Another interpretation: "He shall see seed" in this world, "he shall prolong days" in the World to Come. Therefore it is said, "And this is the law of the guilt-offering."

Why does it say, "And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace-offerings"? Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: My children, do My will and good deeds, and bring peace-offerings, which belong wholly to the owners, for nothing from them goes up on the altar except the blood and the sacrificial portions, and behold, I am with you in joy forever. Therefore it is said, "And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace-offerings." But when Israel are not in their proper state, it says of them, "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt-offerings to your sacrifices and eat flesh. For I did not speak to your fathers, nor command them... but this thing I commanded them, saying: Listen to My voice" (Jeremiah 7:21-23). And it says, "For I desire kindness and not sacrifice, and knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings" (Hosea 6:6).

So the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Jeremiah: go say to Israel, How long will you load yourselves with ugly things and unfit things and say about Me, He deliberately did this to our ancestors and to us in all our ways? As it is said, "For behold, I call all the families of the kingdoms of the north... and I will speak My judgments against them concerning all their evil, for they have forsaken Me" (Jeremiah 1:15-16). Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Jeremiah, "Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: Return, backsliding Israel, says the LORD; I will not let My face fall upon you, for I am kind, says the LORD; I will not keep anger forever" (Jeremiah 3:12).

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