I have been asked a question about the "nine positive commandments in the laws of Foundation and Character." I don't know Kabbalah and I believe that's what this refers to. It was mentioned as part of the explanation of the letter Tet. Can anyone offer any sources or information? Thank you.

I did a Goole search and found the link below. It is a comrehensive document that comes in a PDF format that discusses the meanings behind the Hebrew letters.

It is very well presented with lovely pictures of each letter inserted into the document. A good one for visual learners.

http://www.templesanjose.org/JudaismInfo/tradition/Kabbalah/alephbet.pdf

Thank you. There are 4 sites, each with the same information, however, none of them identify the nine positive commandments in the laws of Foundation and Character. They only mention them.

I found a website that lists the 613 mitzvoh;

http://www.mechon-mamre.org/jewfaq/613.htm

and within that there were the laws of foundation:

Laws of the Foundations of the Torah include ten commandments, six positive commandments and four negative commandments, which are:� (1) to know that there is God; (2) not to entertain the thought that there is any god but the LORD; (3) to acknowledge His Oneness; (4) to love Him; (5) to fear Him; (6) to sanctify His Name; (7) not to profane His Name; (8) not to destroy things upon which His Name is called; (9) to obey the prophet who speaks in His Name; (10) not to test Him.

I am assuming that the first six are the six positive, while the remaining four are the negative.

As for the other three positive commandments to make up the whole nine which you speak of, I am not certain. I could not find the laws of character, could these be found in the laws of personal disposition;

Laws of Personal Dispositions include eleven commandments, five positive commandments and six negative commandments, which are:� (1) to imitate His ways; (2) to cleave to those who know Him; (3) to love others; (4) to love converts; (5) not to hate others; (6) to rebuke; (7) not to shame others; (8) not to afflict the unfortunate; (9) not to gossip; (10) not to take revenge; (11) not to bear a grudge.

although there are five positive commandments and not three, which does not add up to nine

Thank you for all your help and patience. After doing some research, I believe I am, now, able to answer the question of the “nine positive commandments in the laws of Foundation and Character.”

The answer is to be found within Maimonides’ (The Rambam) Mishneh Torah where the Rambam details and organizes all of Jewish law (halacha). Hilchos Yesodei Hatorah, The Foundations of Torah and Hilchos Deos, The Laws of Character come from the first book, known as the Book of Knowledge (“Sefer Ha-mada”), of this work.

The second set of laws, The Laws of Character, right near the beginning of this first of his fourteen books, concern the Jewish formula for developing one’s character and becoming a mentsch. They are second only to the preceeding set of laws, The Foundations of Torah - the basic principles of faith in Judaism. Maimonides believed Judaism begins and ends with the challenge of becoming a mentsch. In fact, it is not just a commendable challenge, but an obligation, that a person becomes a mentsch.

From these initial two sets of laws, we derive the first 11 positive commandments, the first 9 of which comprise the basis for the kabalistic teaching that all of the 248 positive commandments are derivatives of these first 9.

Laws of the Foundations of the Torah include ten commandments. The six positive commandments are: (1) to know that there is God; (3) to acknowledge His Oneness; (4) to love Him; (5) to fear Him; (6) to sanctify His Name; ((9) to obey the prophet who speaks in His Name.

Laws of Character include eleven commandments. The first three of the five positive commandments are: (1) to imitate His ways; (2) to cleave to those who know Him; (3) to love others.

These 9 positive commandments are associated with the ninth letter of the aleph- bais, tes. Tes is comprised of 3 parts: Form, Name & Number, each with the 3 main parts: Worlds, Souls & Divinity. The nine positive commandments in the laws of Foundation and Character are a subdivision of Souls within Number. This is all part of, The Hebrew Letters: Channels of Creative Consciousness (the Teachings of Kabbalah Series), by Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh .

Sefer Yetzirah (the “Book of Creation”), one of the earliest Kabbalistic works, teaches that the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are the building blocks of creation. Each letter has its own significance, spiritual energy, and reason for existing.

In this revised version of Rabbi Ginsburgh’s earlier best-seller: The Alef-Beit, Jewish Thought Revealed Through the Hebrew Letters, he explains how each letter’s form, name and numerical value play a role in the creative process of the cosmos. He draws on the understandings of the well-known Chassidic master and mystic, the Baal Shem Tov, in depicting how each letter has nine dimensions, with impact in three worlds—the physical, spiritual, and Divine (Worlds, Souls & Divinity).
See: www.inner.org/HEBLETER/tet.htm

Do women also have to become a mentsch,or just a man?

Katja, that is a very interesting question. Mentsch can be a hard word to translate and its transliterated spellings, vary, which should not be cause to think they are different words. It's not a reference to one’s wisdom, or brilliance, but to the character traits of human decency that such wisdom is meant to produce. A brief look at some details should help provide you with your answer.

The German word for a human is mensch as explained at http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensch

I've copied some of it below for you to read.

"In Yiddish, mensch roughly means "a good person." A role model. A "mensch" is a particularly good person, like "a stand-up guy," a person with the qualities one would hope for in a dear friend or trusted colleague. According to author and Yiddish popularist Leo Rosten:

'[A] mensch is a someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character. The key to being "a real mensch" is nothing less than character, rectitude, dignity, a sense of what is right, responsible, decorous. (Rosten, Leo. 1968. The Joys of Yiddish. New York: Pocket Books. 237)'

"Mentschlekeit are the properties which make one a mensch.

"In Modern Israeli Hebrew, the phrase Ben Adam is used as an exact translation of Mensch. Though it literally means "Son of Adam'" the phrase is used for both men and women. Depending on the context, it means either a "person" in general, or specifically a Mensch.

"The direct opposite of a Mensch is an Unmensch (meaning: an utterly cruel person)."


As you can see, the word represents positive character traits. The development of good character devolves upon all of us, regardless of male-female differences. We must remember that we are, as the Rambam explains, to "walk in God's ways", meaning, we are to emulate Him, to be merciful as God is merciful, for all humans are created in God’s image.

It is true that the way a man must approach his Torah obligations is different than a woman's, but that doesn't change the meaning of decency. We are all taught kavod ha-beriot, “respect and honor for all human beings.” We are truly all equal, all created in the image of the One. As unique as we are, as different as each of us is, we all share the common obligation of mentschlekeit through the bond of our humanity, because we are all God’s creatures. Yes, I would say that a woman should strive to be a mentsch, as should we all.

As an after thought, perhaps one could argue that a woman has a greater obligation to be a mentsch. She is, after all, entrusted with the great task of instilling in her home, the foundation and essentials of Torah for her family. She is the traditional first line of defense, or should we say mentschlekeit, for the future of K'lal Yisroel, our children.

That was a great explination Baruch, I really understand what Mentsch means now.

Previously, I thought that it was something that only special people could become, who have studied torah for years and made no mistakes - thinking i could never be one and that maybe it onnly appliced to men who studied torah.

Now that you have explained it, it seems something more graspable, something that can be worked towards, through just trying to be a better person and becoming a positive role model for others - even if just your children

I definately don't want to be an UnMentsch!

Katja, I am very glad I was able to help. It goes to show, once again, that Torah knows best. "One mitzvah leads to another mitzvah." In this case you offered help to me and now, hopefully, I've helped you.

Remember, there's always room for another Mentsch. I suspect that you already are one, but didn't realize it. The next step is to continue growing in Torah. That's the real proof of who we are. All the best to you.

B"H Baruch,

If I'm a mentsch, then it is definately because of the torah and therefore becasue of G-d, who must want me here for a reason.

But I'm also here because of you and everyone on this board, who always help with questions and discuss things in a nice way and i am learning from my peers(mentsches) too

Katja, I don't know how old you are but, by the tone of your words, you have an older neshamah. To paraphrase a saying I've seen, "Torah is a journey, not a destination." Although we may all be on the journey, there are far too many of us that find a destination along the way and stop there.

No matter how difficult something may seem, HaShem only asks of us what we are capable of accomplishing. He will never set someone up for failure, only opportunity. The actual accomplishing, however, is up to each of us.

Reb Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin once commented that often when one engages in a number of undertakings, a specific one may prove to be exceptionally difficult as compared to the rest. At first impulse, one might be tempted to drop that one, and concentrate instead on the easier ones at hand. But it is the most unyielding one that is the most significant one, and that is precisely why it is so heavily invested with obstacles.

I wish you a long, safe, enjoyable and successful journey.