Judaism's Big Ideas Part 4 - Time

(1) On the three days before the festivals of gentiles it is prohibited to engage in business with them; to lend to them or to borrow from them; to lend money to them or to borrow money from them; to repay debts owed to them or to collect repayment of debts from them. Rabbi Yehuda says: One may collect repayment of debts from them because this causes distress. The Rabbis said to Rabbi Yehuda: Even though he is distressed now, when he repays the money, he is happy afterward that he is relieved of the debt, and therefore there is concern that he will give thanks to his object of idol worship on his festival.

From when, does one recite Shema in the evening? From the time when the priests enter to partake of their teruma. Until the end of the first watch. That is the statement of Rabbi Eliezer. The Rabbis say: until midnight. Rabban Gamliel says: until dawn. A story his sons returned from a house of drinking. They said to him, "We did not recite Shema." He said to them: If the dawn has not yet arrived, you are obligated to recite

(1) One should strengthen themself like a lion to get up in the morning to serve their Creator, at it is they who awaken the dawn.

Rem"a: At least, one should not delay beyond the time when the congregation prays (Tur). Rem"a: "I have set the Lord before me constantly" (Psalms 16:8); this is a major principle in the Torah and amongst the virtues of the righteous who walk before God. For a person's way of sitting, his movements and his dealings while he is alone in his house are not like his way of sitting, his movements and his dealings when he is before a great king; nor are his speech and free expression as much as he wants when he is with his household members and his relatives like his speech when in a royal audience.

All the more so when one takes to heart that the Great King, the Holy One, Blessed Is He, Whose glory fills the earth, is standing over him and watching his actions, as it is stated: "'Will a man hide in concealment and I will not see him?' - the word of God" (Jeremiah 23:24)

These are the principle categories of labour; 40 less one;

Sowing, ploughing, reaping, binding sheaves, threshing, winnowing, sifting, grinding, sifting with a fine sieve, kneading, baking,

Shearing wool, washing it, combing it, dyeing it, spinning, weaving, making two loops, weaving two threads, separating two threads, tying a knot, loosening one, sewing two stitches, tearing in order to sew two stitches.

Hunting a deer, slaughtering it, flaying it, salting it, curing its skin, scraping the hide, cutting it up, writing two letters, erasing in order to write two letters,

building, demolishing,

extinguishing a fire, lighting a fire,

striking with a hammer,

carrying from one place to another.

(16) Then Daniel, called Belteshazzar, was perplexed for a while, and alarmed by his thoughts. The king addressed him, “Let the dream and its meaning not alarm you.” Belteshazzar replied, “My lord, would that the dream were for your enemy and its meaning for your foe!

It comes out that you say on Rosh Hashanah (the first of Tishrei in the first year) in the first hour, [man's creation] rose in thought; in the second, [God] consulted with the angels; in the third, He gathered his dirt; in the fourth, He kneaded it; in the fifth, He weaved it; in the sixth, He made it a form; in the seventh, He blew breath into it; in the eighth, He placed him into the Garden [of Eden]; in the ninth, he was commanded [about the fruit]; in the tenth, he transgressed; in the eleventh, he was judged; in the twelfth, he was pardoned.

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Adam, "This is a sign for your children: In the same way that you stood in front of Me in judgement on this day and were pardoned, so too in the future will your children stand in front of Me in judgement on this day and be pardoned in front of Me." When? "On the seventh month on the first of the month"

Doesn’t Rav Yehuda say that Rav says: There are twelve hours in the day. During the first three, the Holy One, Blessed be He, sits and engages in Torah study. During the second three hours, He sits and judges the entire world. Once He sees that the world has rendered itself liable to destruction, He arises from the throne of judgment and sits on the throne of mercy. During the third set of three hours, the Holy One, Blessed be He, sits and sustains the entire world, from the horns of wild oxen to the eggs of lice. During the fourth three hours, He sits and makes sport with the leviathan, as it is stated: “There is leviathan, whom You have formed to sport with” (Psalms 104:26).

Since the day when I created the world and I sat myself down on my throne of glory, a third of the day I read and study; a third of the day I mete out judgment to the whole world; and a third of the day I do charity [צדקה] and I feed and sustain the entire world and all that I created with my hands; and I only have a single hour of laughter [שחוק] each day!”

"“my son, why did you not learn from your father in heaven, who sits on his throne of glory, a third of the day he reads and studies, a third of the day he metes out judgment to the whole world, and a third of the day he engages in charity . . . and he only has a single hour of laughter [שחוק] each day?”"