Tehillim 84 – How the Duration in Gehinnom Depends on Violations of the Brit

Tehillim 84 – How the Duration in Gehinnom Depends on Violations of the Brit

Tehillim 84:7 “Overe be-emek habakha, ma'yan yeshituhu” – (passing through the Valley of Weeping, they make it into a place of springs). Rabbi Isaac Aboab writes that a man who takes a non-Jewish woman as a partner enters Gehinnom with her, as it is written about Joseph: “He refused to obey her, to lie beside her and to be with her” – “to lie beside her” – in this world, and “to be with her” – in the World to Come. This sin attaches itself to a person like a dog and remains with him on the Day of Judgment. A person does not rise from Gehinnom, as it is said in Tehillim: “Passing through the Valley of Weeping, they make it into a place of springs.” This refers to those whose punishment in Gehinnom is meant to last for one hour, after which the patriarch Abraham descends to them and pulls them out. He recognizes them by their brit—the sign of the covenant. But in the case of those who had relations with a non-Jewish woman, their foreskin returns, and he is unable to recognize them. Therefore, a person must beware of seclusion with a non-Jewish woman. Rabbi Hanina ben Pappa was being seduced by a Roman matron, so he covered his body with sores and boils. With one motion, she healed him. He then fled and hid in a bathhouse inhabited by demons; even when two people entered together during the daytime, they did not leave unharmed. The next day, the Sages asked him: “Who protected you there?” Rabbi Hanina replied: “Two Romans sent by Caesar guarded me all night.” They asked him: “Did you withstand the test of this sin?” It is stated in a baraita: “One who withstands such a test is granted a miracle!” (Rabbi Isaac Aboab, “Menorat HaMaor”) It is no coincidence that Rabbeinu Hayyim Vital recorded in his book “Sha'ar Ruach HaKodesh”, citing his teacher the Ari HaKadosh, teachings about the Tikkunim—how many ta'anit fasts each Jew must undertake for specific sins. Thus, for all sins associated with violating the brit, one must undertake 84 consecutive ta'anit fasts. The above is a commentary on Psalm 84.