Magid mesharim (Speaker of Truth): Lessons from the Magid

Revealed on Friday Night, 12th [Av]

Is your excessive talk beneficial to you? [ . . . ] And do you consider it proper that you peruse the [weekly Pentateuchal] portion twice in Hebrew and once in the Targum, running through it like someone raking coals, as though to shake a yoke off you? Is it not your duty to recall R. Simon b. Eleazar’s dictum: “Do not make your prayer into a fixed, mechanical task, etc.” [see m. Avot 2:13]? Rather, you should read the portion calmly, so that you can sense its problematic issues and resolve them—and regarding anything you cannot resolve, consult the commentators! The Lord’s mouth is full of rebuke for those who review the words of Torah fleetingly without pausing to ponder them at all. [ . . . ]

Revealed on Monday Evening, Rosh Ḥodesh Adar II, which Is 30th Adar I

Be strong and of good courage in the Torah! How honored is today [see 2 Samuel 6:20], how awesome is God out of your sanctuaries [see Psalms 68:36] in the great city in which you have written about my dear friend Solomon. They shall become unified in your hand (Ezekiel 37:17), they and the companions from Salonika—all of you are elevated before God, and He is sanctified through you, and by your hands the assembly of Israel shall become uplifted and exalted. [ . . . ] Therefore, write to them, “May your hand be strengthened!” Everything written to you in the name of the Redeeming Angel is true, for although you were initially subject to constraints, and moreover you had no opportunity to leave for a year after they had permitted you to do so, why did you not subsequently leave for the land of Israel? Granted that wars were then being waged, you still could have lingered in Adrianople until their conclusion, and then you would have accumulated merit for the masses.

Nevertheless, you are not overly to blame, and it was not solely for that reason that you were deprived of children; it was merely a minor, contributory cause. Here too you have taught Torah, and people are embarrassed to sin due to your presence. [ . . . ] He further informed me that the body requires mortification, and that this should serve as model by which to merit the world to come.

He also told me that I should be wary of accepting a female convert [to Judaism] who converts for love of a man, for Maimonides stated that such a person should not be accepted. Although he wrote that commoners used to accept them in the Davidic and Solomonic eras, you should not take that to mean that you may accept them, by reasoning that the sages of the Mishnah declared, “We are but ordinary people,” and that this is certainly true of yourselves. For Maimonides did not write that a rabbinic court composed of commoners accepted them, but merely that commoners did so—i.e., simpletons, who were neither wise nor of understanding. However, you, the sages of the generation, may not accept such a woman. Moreover, she will assuredly not separate from [her lover]—even if they claim to have separated, do not believe it!—and you will thereby be instrumental in his having relations with her during her menstrual period.

Furthermore, he will transgress the prohibitions on relations with menstruous women, maidservants, gentile women, and harlots, and I shall avenge myself upon him and he will be slain by the sword within the year. For even if you contend that he will separate from her, she will revert to her baneful ways, and will thus have become a Jewish idolater through you; it is better that she should remain a gentile. Additionally, she and her daughter will be defiled souls, who will never take root within Israel; and [ . . . ] the son born to them will also be a defiled soul. If I did not know that he would otherwise be destined swiftly to become spiritually harmed, I would not permit you to circumcise him. Hence, when a man and a woman come before you requesting a divorce, should they return, attend to their request, for assuredly their marriage will never turn out well.

And peace be upon you!

Revealed Early on Sabbath Morning, 27th Adar I

You did well at the beginning of this week, although you slackened off slightly toward the end, which you ought not to do, for if you faint on the day of adversity, your strength is small (Proverbs 24:10), heaven forbid! For what you did—drinking [wine] heavily by night, despite its diluted state, was not good—for the body is weakened by excessive drinking. I have already informed you that bodily health is an important prerequisite for the service of God—therefore, from now onward you should take care that your thoughts will be constantly on the Torah; do not become separated from it even for an instant, as I have instructed you. And see, my brother, my beloved friend, what else does God ask of you [see Deuteronomy 10:12] but to maintain those sufferings appropriate for you due to your sins, and that your thoughts should be perpetually attached to the Torah so that you do not distance it from yourself even momentarily. If you always act in this manner and eschew wine, you will be happy in this world and it will be well with you in the next. For you will be an abode and a nest for Torah. Cleave unto her [the Torah] continuously so as not to give Samael [angel of death, Satan] the opportunity to exercise any dominion over you. [ . . . ]

You can see the good discernment and knowledge (Psalms 119:66) displayed by this psalm. Furthermore, it can be interpreted in several ways, for the Torah has seventy different faces. You may expound this mode of interpretation publicly, as it is correct and important. I shall continue bestowing my love upon you, if you will be an abode and a nest for the Torah and do not separate your thoughts from it even for a moment. You will then possess an extra soul on weekdays, just as on the Sabbath, when your soul will become elevated even higher; and I shall resolve for you all doubtful matters, whether in the Talmud, or any other issue. Therefore, strengthen yourself with the help of God, and focus your thoughts on the Torah, as I have said. Trust in God and do good, cherish faithfulness [see Psalms 37:3]‚ create friendships, and from companionship you may advance to lofty faith by attaching your thoughts perpetually to the Torah, as I have instructed you.

And peace be upon you!

Other works by Karo: Bet Yosef (1542); Shulḥan ‘arukh (1563); Kesef mishneh (1574/5); Avkat rokhel (mid-sixteenth century).