Abba Benjamin says, If the eye had the power to see them, no creature could endure the demons.
I find it fascinating how seriously this passage takes the existence of demons - as physical realities that cause damage to the physical world.
Justice is also torah.
An important point to remember - there is torah in maintaining justice, not just in studying. Creating a just world is a kind of torah study.
Rabbi Yochanan says: Whenever the Holy One, blessed be He, comes into a Synagogue and does not find ten persons there, He becomes angry at once. For it is said: Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? When I called, was there no answer?
This text always hits me hard, as someone who finds it really hard to get myself to shul for shacharit. The idea that God is there wondering where everyone is is both evocative and moving.
The merit of a fast day lies in the charity.
I always try to teach that fast days like the 9th of Av are only meaningful if we do something for justice, and this brief line (in a powerful section) is a punchy quote to the same effect.
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