Shulchan Aruch HaRav

‫שולחן ערוך הרב‬

Sefaria Community Translation
https://www.sefaria.org

Shulchan Aruch HaRav

Book 1

Chapter 1

Yehudah son of Teimah says: " Be Bold as a leopard and and light as an eagle, swift
as a deer and strong as a lion to carry out the will of your Father in heaven.'Bold
as a leopard' means one should not to be humiliated by people who ridicule [him].
'Strong as a lion' [refers to] moral strength which is primarily in the heart, [to
act] like a lion and overpower ones evil urge and rise from ones sleep before the
morning light, to serve one's Creator. So that he awake the morning, as it states,
(Psalms, 57:9 )"I awake the morning", [Meaning] I awake the morning but the morning
doesn't wake me. This is the intermediate level.
But is the worthy for all those who fear heaven and for "soldiers" [strong ones]
who G-d touches their hearts to arise at the half-point of the night to lament a
little with the Psalm, "On the rivers of Babylon (Psalm 137)" (as it is printed in
the siddurim) on the destruction of the Temple and the lack of revelation of the
divine presence as it is written, "Arise, cry out in the night (Lamentations
2:19)". Just like the Holy One, Blessed be He, lamented at that time and says, "
Whoa is me that I destroyed my house". It is better to say less with intent that
more without intent. Afterwords, one should toil in the Oral Torah until daylight.
...And it is already known what is argued about this stringency in the book of the
Zohar. Such is said in the Gemara that "midnight" is a time of will, as it is
written, "And it was the half [way point] of [the] night and G-d struck the every
first born..." (Shemot 12:29). And they also said that one who occupies himself
with Torah at night, the divine presence is in front of him as it says, "Arise, cry
out in the night, at the beginning of the watches; pour out thy heart like water
before the face of the Lord" (Lamentations 2:19). Meaning, the divine presence is
found with you and " beginning of the watches" is at "midnight" (if he can not get
up at half way through the night, he should get up at the beginning at the
beginning of the third watch (the beginning of the last third of the night)). He
that is involved with Torah at night, a string of kindness is pulled on him, as it
says, "By day, may the Lord command His kindness, and at night, may His resting
place be with me..." (Psalms 42:9). This is called a servant of G-d as it is
written, " Behold, bless the Lord, all servants of the Lord who stand in the house
of the Lord at night." (Psalms 134:1). It is proper to prepare a rooster to awake
him from his slumber and "midnight", which was the doing of Rabbi Akiva. He pulled
along with him a rooster, even when he would go on his travels so that it would
awake him at "midnight". If the rooster did not awake him, he would pay someone to
awaken him.
...And immedatley after he awakens, so that he van overcome his ("evil)
inclinations and to arise with haste, at midnight or before first light,in
character with an intermidiate state, he should think in his heart about before
whom he is lying and that the king of kings is over him, as it says, "the whole
land is filled with His glory". If he had been lying in the presence of a king of
flesh and blood, he would be obligated with his life, all the more so with the king
of kings, the Holy One Blessed be He.

Book 2
Book 3

Book 4

Book 5

Book 6

Book 7

Book 8

Book 9

Book 10

Book 11

Book 12

Book 13

Book 14

Chapter 1

“Just as one must be careful with his body so as not to destroy it or ruin it or
harm it, so too one needs to be careful with his property so as not to destroy or
ruin or harm it. Anyone who smashes utensils or tears clothing or breaks down a
building or clogs a well or destroys food or drinks, or spoils them or throws out
money – and likewise one who ruins any other thing which his fit for human beings
to make use of – he transgresses against a Torah prohibition, as it is stated, “Do
not destroy its trees (Deuteronomy 20:19)”.