Chapter Five

Perek 5

פֶּרֶק ה

Visible layers

Hebrew

כָּרְחֲךָ אַתָּה חַי, וְעַל כָּרְחֲךָ
אַתָּה מֵת,1 וְעַל כָּרְחֲךָ אַתָּה
עָתִיד לִתֵּן דִּין וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן לִפְנֵי
מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים, הַקָּדוֹשׁ
בָּרוּךְ הוּא.

Sephardi

korchacha atah chai, ve'al korchacha
atah met,1 ve'al korchacha atah
atid liten din v'cheshbon lifnei
melech malchei hamelachim, hakadosh
baruch hu.

English

you were forced to be born, and you are forced to live, and you will be forced to die whenever God decides, so too,1 will you be forced to give justification and a detailed report of everything you did during your life to the supreme King of all kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.

Hebrew

רַבִּי חֲנַנְיָא בֶּן עֲקַשְׁיָא אוֹמֵר: רָצָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ
בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְזַכּוֹת אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, לְפִיכָךְ
הִרְבָּה לָהֶם תּוֹרָה וּמִצְוֹת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: יְיָ חָפֵץ
לְמַעַן צִדְקוֹ, יַגְדִּיל תּוֹרָה וְיַאְדִּיר.

Sephardi

Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya omer: ratzah hakadosh
baruch hu lezakot et Yisrael, lefichach
hirbah lahem Torah umitzvot, shene'emar: Adonai chafetz
lema'an tzidko, yagdil Torah v'ya'dir.

English

Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya says: the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to make the Children of Israel have many merits. He therefore gave them an abundance of Torah and commandments, so that they would have many opportunities to connect to God. As it says in Isaiah: The Lord wanted, for the sake of increasing the Jewish Nation's righteousness, that the Torah be made great and glorious.

פֶּרֶק ה

Chapter Five

Hebrew

כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשׁ לָהֶם חֵלֶק לְעוֹלָם הַבָּא,
שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְעַמֵּךְ כֻּלָּם צַדִּיקִים, לְעוֹלָם יִירְשׁוּ
אָרֶץ, נֵצֶר מַטָּעַי מַעֲשֵׂה יָדַי לְהִתְפָּאֵר.

Sephardi

Kol Yisrael yesh lahem chelek le'olam haba,
shene'emar: v'amecha kulam tzaddikim, le'olam yirshu
aretz, netzer mata'ai ma'aseh yadai l'hitpa'er.

English

All the Children of Israel have a portion in the World to Come. As it says in Isaiah regarding the Redemption of the Jewish Nation: Your people are all righteous, and they will all inherit the Land of Israel forever—they will never be exiled from it again. Everyone will recognize that they are the branch of My planting and the work of My hands, in which I, God, take pride.

Hebrew

א בַּעֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת נִבְרָא
הָעוֹלָם, וּמַה תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר,2
וַהֲלֹא בְּמַאֲמָר אֶחָד יָכוֹל
לְהִבָּרְאוֹת, אֶלָּא לְהִפָּרַע מִן
הָרְשָׁעִים3 שֶׁמְּאַבְּדִין אֶת הָעוֹלָם
שֶׁנִּבְרָא בַּעֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת,
וְלִתֵּן שָׂכָר טוֹב לַצַּדִּיקִים
שֶׁמְּקַיְּמִין אֶת הָעוֹלָם שֶׁנִּבְרָא
בַּעֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת.

Sephardi

a Ba'asarah ma'amarot nivra
ha-olam, umah talmud lomar,2
vahalo b'ma'amar echad yachol
l'hibar'ot, ela l'hipara min
har'sha'im3 shem'abdin et ha-olam
she'nivra ba'asarah ma'amarot,
v'liten sachar tov latzadikim
shem'kaymin et ha-olam she'nivra
ba'asarah ma'amarot.

English

1 The world was created by God uttering ten statements, instructing everything to exist. What does this come to teach us?2 Couldn't the world have been created with just one statement? The reason He created it with ten statements was to take maximum payment from the wicked,3 who destroy the valuable world that was created by not one, but ten statements, and to give the maximum good reward to the righteous, who keep the valuable world—that was created by not one, but ten statements—in existence through their righteousness.

Hebrew

ב עֲשָׂרָה דּוֹרוֹת מֵאָדָם וְעַד נֹחַ,
לְהוֹדִיעַ כַּמָּה אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם לְפָנָיו,
שֶׁכָּל הַדּוֹרוֹת הָיוּ מַכְעִיסִין
וּבָאִין, עַד שֶׁהֵבִיא עֲלֵיהֶם אֵת
מֵי הַמַּבּוּל. עֲשָׂרָה דּוֹרוֹת מִנֹּחַ
וְעַד אַבְרָהָם, לְהוֹדִיעַ כַּמָּה אֶרֶךְ
אַפַּיִם לְפָנָיו, שֶׁכָּל הַדּוֹרוֹת הָיוּ
מַכְעִיסִין וּבָאִין, עַד שֶׁבָּא אַבְרָהָם
אָבִינוּ וְקִבֵּל שְׂכַר כֻּלָּם.

Sephardi

2 Asarah dorot mei'adam ve'ad Noach,
l'hodia kamah erech apayim lefanav,
shekol hadorot hayu mach'isin
uva'in, ad shehevi aleihem et
mei hamabul. Asarah dorot miNoach
ve'ad Avraham, l'hodia kamah erech
apayim lefanav, shekol hadorot hayu
mach'isin uva'in, ad sheba Avraham
avinu v'kibel s'char kulam.

English

2 There were ten generations from Adam to Noah. This shows us how great God's patience is: each of the generations made Him increasingly angry, until He eventually after ten generations brought the waters of the flood upon them. There were ten generations from Noah to Abraham. This also shows how great God's patience is: each of the generations made Him increasingly angry, until Abraham our forefather came and received the rewards that they would have received had they not angered God.

Hebrew

ג עֲשָׂרָה נִסְיוֹנוֹת נִתְנַסָּה אַבְרָהָם
אָבִינוּ, וְעָמַד בְּכֻלָּם, לְהוֹדִיעַ כַּמָּה
חִבָּתוֹ שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ.4

Sephardi

3 Asarah nisyonot nitnasah Avraham
avinu, v'amad b'chullam, l'hodia kamah
chibato shel Avraham avinu.4

English

3 Our forefather Abraham was tested with ten trials to see if he would remain faithful to God, and he passed them all. This shows how great the love of our forefather Abraham for God was.4

Hebrew

ד עֲשָׂרָה נִסִּים נַעֲשׂוּ לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ
בְּמִצְרַיִם,5 וַעֲשָׂרָה עַל הַיָּם. עֶשֶׂר
מַכּוֹת הֵבִיא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא
עַל הַמִּצְרִיִּים בְּמִצְרַיִם, וַעֲשָׂר
עַל הַיָּם. עֲשָׂרָה נִסְיוֹנוֹת נִסּוּ

Sephardi

4 Asarah nisim na'asu la'avoteinu
b'Mitzrayim,5 va'asarah al hayam. Eser
makot hevi hakadosh baruch hu
al hamitzriyim b'Mitzrayim, va'asar
al hayam. Asarah nisyonot nisu

English

4 Ten miracles were performed for our ancestors in Egypt to save them from each of the ten plagues,5 and ten miracles at the Sea of Reeds to save them from each of the ten plagues that affected the Egyptians. The Holy One, blessed be He, brought ten plagues upon the Egyptians in Egypt and ten at the Sea of Reeds. Our ancestors tested

Commentary

1 While in heaven, the soul doesn't want to descend into this spiritually barren world. It is therefore "forced to be born." However, after it realizes the great connection to God that can only be accomplished by fulfilling His commandments in this world, it doesn't want to leave. God must therefore "force" it to leave once its mission has been completed.

2 You should always be looking to learn lessons from everything you see and hear. When you learn something about the creation of the entire world, your first question should be: What lesson can I learn from this?

3 The word לְהִפָּרַע means to collect payment. God isn't mean, and He didn't create the world to punish "bad" people. God created the world to be made a holy place through the Torah and its commandments. When a person chooses the wrong path and doesn't fulfill that mission, he owes God. The debt can be repaid by repenting.

4 Abraham passed ten extremely difficult tests. Since he is our father, we inherit this ability to pass tests. When you feel that you are being tested, keep in mind that you are a descendant of Abraham and he empowers you to succeed!

5 The Hebrew word for "miracle," נס, can also be translated as "raised." Under normal circumstances, the Jewish Nation would have been punished in Egypt because they engaged in idolatry. Nevertheless, when God brought each of the ten plagues upon the Egyptians, He "raised" the Jewish Nation above the natural order of justice so that they remained unaffected.