Texts
Explore
Community
Donate
Log in
Sign up
Site Language
עברית
English
Mesorah
Sources
A
Rabbi Akiva said: Merriment and frivolity accustom one to sexual licentiousness; Tradition is a fence to the Torah; Tithes a fence to wealth, Vows a fence to abstinence; A fence to wisdom is silence.
Pirkei Avot 3:13
If your brother, your own mother’s son, or your son or daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your closest friend entices you in secret, saying, “Come let us worship other gods”—whom neither you nor your ancestors have experienced —
Deuteronomy 13:7
Tradition is a safeguarding fence around Torah:
Traditions are the full spellings and incomplete spellings [of the words in the Torah] and the cantillation notes that the sages passed on to their students. And they are a safeguarding fence around the written Torah, such that you do not find differences among the books [of the Torah], except in a few places. This is not the case with the books of the Talmud, as in many place the versions differ. Also each and every day, new rationales are developed - and they write the version according to their opinion…
Rabbeinu Yonah on Pirkei Avot 3:13:3
The Gemara asks:
And were there no more
miracles in the Temple?
But didn’t Rabbi Levi say
that
this matter is a tradition
that
we
received
from our ancestors: The place of the Ark
of the Covenant
is not
included
in the measurement
of the Holy of Holies. Based on that measurement, the Ark should not have fit inside the hall. The Holy of Holies measured twenty cubits by twenty cubits (see I Kings 6), and a
baraita
states that there were ten cubits of space on either side of the Ark…
Yoma 21a:8
The Torah states with regard to the spies:
“And these were their names: Of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur”
(Numbers 13:4).
Rabbi Yitzḥak says: This statement
that follows
is a tradition of ours
that was passed down to us
from our ancestors:
The
spies were named after their actions, but we have obtained
the interpretation of
only one
name, the name of
“Sethur the son of Michael”
(Numbers 13:13). He is called
Sethur, as he hid [
satar
] the actions of the Holy One, Blessed be He…
Sotah 34b:5
And if you wish, say
instead that
this is the reason of Beit Hillel: The vocalized text
of the Torah, i.e., the way in which the words of the Torah are pronounced based on the tradition of what vowels the words contain,
is effective
in determining how the verses are to be expounded.
And
likewise,
the consonantal text
of the Torah, i.e., the way in which the words are actually written,
is
also
effective
in determining how the verses are to be expounded…
Zevachim 37b:13
Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be patient in [the administration of] justice, raise many disciples and make a fence round the Torah.
Pirkei Avot 1:1
The second argument is drawn from Scripture says: "Have you not known? Have you not heard, that the everlasting God" (Isaiah 40:28). It says "known" which implies knowledge from rational proofs, and afterwards "heard" which implies from the Tradition. And likewise, "Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning?" (Isaiah 40:21). The prophet preceded mentioning knowledge from rational proof to knowledge which is from received tradition. And likewise Moses, our teacher, said: "Do you thus requite the L-ord…
Duties of the Heart, Introduction of the Author 62
Another matter, “Moses implored [
vayḥal
],” Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Neḥemya, and the Rabbis, Rabbi Yehuda says: Moses became ill [
ḥala
] when they performed that act. Rabbi Neḥemya says: What is “Moses implored”? It is that he gave God a gift of sorts. This expression is nothing other than an expression that means gift, just as it says: “The daughter of Tyre will come seeking your favor [
yeḥalu
] with gifts…” (Psalms 45:13). Likewise, “Now, please implore [
ḥalu
] God…” (Malachi 1:9)…
Shemot Rabbah 43:3
Rabbi Elazar says:
The verse means
that
Tamar
covered her face in the home of her father-in-law,
Judah. Therefore, he did not recognize her when her face was uncovered.
As Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani says
that
Rabbi Yonatan says: Any daughter-in-law who is modest in the house of her father-in-law merits that kings and prophets emerge from her. From where do we
derive this?
From Tamar. Prophets
emerged from her,
as it is written: “The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz”
(Isaiah 1:1).
Kings
emerged from her, as seen
from David…
Sotah 10b:3
It is also possible that the Torah here alludes to two separate aspects of faith. One is based on tradition, the other on intelligence. If someone believes because he has a tradition from his parents, this is a good form of faith though it is not perfect as he did not examine the premise this tradition is based on. Such a person lacks wisdom and is like someone who is blind and walks in the company of more blind people. They appear to get to their goal because each one holds on to the hand of his nearest companion…
Rabbeinu Bahya, Devarim 13:7:4
The
baraita
continues.
And not only these, but
in
any
city with regard to
which you receive a tradition from your ancestors that it was surrounded by a wall from the days of Joshua, son of Nun, all these mitzvot are observed in it, due to
the fact
that the initial consecration sanctified
Eretz Yisrael
for its time and sanctified
Eretz Yisrael
forever.
This is
difficult,
as there is a contradiction between one statement
of Rabbi Yishmael and
another statement
of Rabbi Yishmael.
…
Megillah 10b:2-4
1. AL KHAZARI: I must trouble thee to give me a clear and concise discourse on religious principles and axioms according to the method of the Mutakallims. Let me hear them exactly as thou didst study them, that I may accept or refute them. Since I have not been granted a perfect faith free from doubts, and I was formerly sceptical, had my own opinions, and exchanged ideas with philosophers and followers of other religions, I consider it most advantageous to learn and to instruct myself how to refute dangerous and foolish views…
Kuzari 5:1
Rav Hamnuna the scribe asked Rebbi Ḥanina: One verse says, “its height thirty cubits,” and another verse says, “its height twenty cubits.” He had never heard this and they could not answer him anything. He asked Rebbi Jeremiah, who told him, from the ground up thirty cubits, from the inner room up twenty cubits. Rebbi Abbahu said, destroy the inner room! The inner room was standing from the ground to the beams, as it is written, “covered with cedar from the ground to the beams.” But from the ground up thirty cubits, from the Cherub up twenty cubits…
Jerusalem Talmud Bava Batra 6:2:3
We say that observation is what a person perceives via his five senses; sight, hearing, smell, touch or taste. Intellectual knowledge [not inferred from logical necessity] is what springs to mind [intuitively], such as the goodness of truth and the disgusting nature of lies. Necessary knowledge is what a person must infer if he is to believe his intellect or his senses. Since it is not sensible to cast aside one of them he is coerced to believe in the thing [in question. An example of this] is how we’re forced to concede the existence of the human soul (despite not seeing it) so as to avoid…
HaEmunot veHaDeot, Introduction 5:2
65. The Rabbi: Certainly. He exerted his mind, because he had no tradition from any reliable source at his disposal. He meditated on the beginning and end of the world, but found as much difficulty in the theory of a beginning as in that of eternity. Finally, these abstract speculations which made for eternity, prevailed, and he found no reason to inquire into the chronology or derivation of those who lived before him. Had he lived among a people with well authenticated and generally acknowledged traditions, he would have applied his deductions and arguments to establish the theory of creation…
Kuzari 1:71
FROM THERE WERE PARTED THE INHABITANTS OF THE MARITIME SETTLEMENT OF THE NATIONS IN THEIR LANDS. The meaning of this is that the children of Japheth are those who dwell on the isles of the sea, and they are separated, each one of his sons residing singly on another isle, and their countries are far from each other. This was indeed the blessing of their father Noah, who said,
May G-d enlarge Japheth
, meaning that they be numerous in the expanses of the earth. The sons of Ham, however, are all near one another as they dwell on the continents…
Ramban on Genesis 10:5:1
56. The Rabbi: Didst thou not see how David introduces the praise of the Tōrāh, when he first speaks of the sun in the words: 'The heavens declare the glory of God' (Psalms 19:2). He describes how ubiquitous its light, how pure its body, how steady its path, and beautiful its countenance. This is followed by the words: 'The law of the Lord is perfect' (Psalms 19:7), etc., as if he wished to convey that one should not wonder at such a description. For the Tōrāh is more pure, more resplendent, more widely known, more exalted, and more useful still…
Kuzari 2:56
Belief in a thing means a firm conception of the thing in the mind, so that the latter can not in any way imagine its opposite, even though it may not be able to prove it. Examples are, belief in the axioms, the opposite of which the mind can not conceive; or those things which a person firmly embraces in his thought; or things which he has by nature, not knowing how he came by them; or things apprehended by the senses, or verified by experience, the opposite of which the mind can not conceive though it does not understand the causes of their being as they are. …
Sefer HaIkkarim, Maamar 1 19:1-4
HALAKHAH:
“The following are for shame: The family Garmu.” “The family Garmu were experts in preparing the shew-bread and its removal from the oven, but they did not want to teach. They sent and brought craftsmen from Alexandria who were experts in preparing the shew-bread but were not experts in its removal from the oven. The family Garmu were heating from within and removing from the outside, and it did not become moldy. But those were heating from the outside and removing from the inside, and it became moldy…
Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 3:9:2
Related
ראו גם
Minhag
Rabbinic Authority
Torah
Oral Torah
Halakhah
Jewish Calendar
Changes
Jewish Thought
Torah Study
Shavuot
More
Sheets
דפי מקורות
Related Sheets
We use cookies to give you the best experience possible on our site. Click OK to continue using Sefaria.
Learn More
.
OK
אנחנו משתמשים ב"עוגיות" כדי לתת למשתמשים את חוויית השימוש הטובה ביותר.
קראו עוד בנושא
לחצו כאן לאישור
×
×