24 induced its curse within him See Numbers 5:11–31, where the procedure prescribed for a woman suspected of adultery is detailed.
24 and an inner one Otzar hamidrashim, ‘olam katan, no. 4.
25 to sleep in one’s house all alone Babylonian Talmud tractate Shabbat 151b.
26 from transgression, says the Lord Isaiah 59:20.
27 his share in the world to come Babylonian Talmud tractates Bava Metziah 59a and Sanhedrin 107a.
28 than the flights of desire Ecclesiastes 6:9.
28 a compartment they call Tsalmavet The idea that Gehinnom is composed of different compartments is found in the Babylonian Talmud tractates Sotah 10b and ‘Eruvin 19a.
28 larger than Earth Job 11:9.
29 wrapped in silver-crowned talitot Exodus 12:37 and Numbers 11:21 report that 600,000 adult males went forth from Egypt. This number is made more precise in the censuses noted in Exodus 38:26 and Numbers 1:46, where the figure given is 603,550 adult males. Accordingly, when women and children are added, the total of those who left Egypt would be over two million. Thus the number of people implied here is astronomical.
29 chief rabbis and heads of yeshivot Chief rabbis or Landesrabbiner were regional head rabbis of districts and provinces in the countries of Central Europe. A Rosh Yeshivah is the head rabbi of a talmudical academy (Yeshivah).
29 Sabbath boundary The Sabbath boundary (teḥum shabbat) is the distance beyond the defined city limits that one is permitted to walk on the Sabbath, stipulated in rabbinic sources as two thousand cubits or about three-quarters of a mile.
31 has given to mankind Psalm 115:16.
31 Otem This name comes from the Hebrew root ‘atom, to stop up, as in Proverbs 21:13 Who stops his ears at the cry of the wretched.
31 what the living say Based on Babylonian Talmud tractate Berakhot 27b.
33 their own compartment of Gehinnom See Midrash Ecclesiastes Rabbah 3:9 for the idea that individuals of like profession or vocation are assigned to their own particular compartment of Gehinnom.
33 a candle of the Lord Proverbs 20:27.
34 whose transgression is forgiven Psalm 32:2.
34 forgives iniquity Exodus 34:6–7.
35 cross through your land Leviticus 26:6.
35 in accordance with Your word Psalm 119:28.
35 in rumbling hordes After the Khmelnitski massacres of 1648, there were serious invasions of Galicia by Tatars and Turks in the 1670s.
36 to get the atonement chickens The reference is to the kaparot (lit. expiations) ceremony performed by observant Jews on the morning of the day before Yom Kippur, in which the sins of an individual are symbolically transferred to a live fowl. The fowl — a rooster for a man, a hen for a woman — is swung around the head three times as biblical verses and a formula of vicarious atonement is recited. Money in the amount of the fowl’s value is often substituted for the fowl.
36 Book of the Angel Razi’el Sefer Razi’el hamalakh, an early medieval book of instruction in magical lore and practices written in Hebrew and derived from the Jewish mystical tradition (Kabbalah). Its precise date and authorship are uncertain.
36 never asked anyone to get his staff for him Babylonian Talmud tractate Sotah 10a. The implication is that Samson not only did not take bribes which blind the eyes of the wise (Deuteronomy 16:19) but sought no favors of any kind from anyone.
36 recited the Torah blessings In the morning regimen, after the hands are washed and before the service proper, three short blessings concerning the giving and the study of Torah are recited, followed by readings from the Written Law (the Priestly blessing, Numbers 6:24–26) and the Oral Law (Mishnah Pe’ah 1:1) and the preliminary morning blessings.
37 who crowns Israel in glory One of the blessings preliminary to the morning service. The letters on the parchments inside the tefillin are, like those on the Torah scroll, typically embellished by the scribe with tiny filigreed crowns over them.
37 talmudic tractate Yevamot A key source for many of the laws pertaining to an agunah.
37 lasts for twelve months As stated by Rabbi Akiva in Mishnah ‘Eduyot 2:10.
37 worse than the heat of the sun These details of Gehinnom are drawn from various midrashic sources.
39 young men and women Psalm 148:12.
40 area forbidden to kohanim A kohen is required by Jewish law to remain in a state of ritual purity. Physical presence near a corpse or in a cemetery defiles him.
40 implored the Lord Exodus 32:11. On public fast days at the afternoon service, the prescribed reading from the Torah is Exodus 32:11–14 and 34:1–10. The haftarah (reading from the prophetic books of the Bible) is Isaiah 55:6–56:8.
40 to those already gathered Isaiah 56:8.
41 resembled a silver goblet Agnon is drawing here on the kabbalistic notion that the whiteness or the darkness of one’s hair reflects the nature and quality of the inner self. See Elhanan Shilo, Hakabbalah biyetsirat Shai ‘Agnon [The Kabbalah in the Works of S. Y. Agnon] Ramat Gan: Bar Ilan University Press, 2011, Hebrew), p. 223ff.
42 there had been much persecution See above, note to page 16. Popular legend has it that Meir ben Isaac miraculously saved the Jewish community of Worms, and the Akdamut piyyut commemorates the event.
43 Tosafot note in tractate Gittin The talmudic tractate Gittin treats of the laws of divorce. Zevaḥim treats of the animal sacrifices offered in the Temple. The Rashi comment is found at Zevaḥim 45b. The Tosafot note is at Gittin 54b.
44 of My servant Moses Malachi 3:22.
44 in the Book of the Angel Razi’el Sefer Razi’el hamalakh (Warsaw, n.d.), p. 22. Cited in Shilo, Hakabbalah biyetsirat Shai ‘Agnon, p. 321 note 107.
44 sacrifical offering in the Temple The Tamid offering, described in Numbers 28:1–8.
45 pray the whole day long Babylonian Talmud tractate Berakhot 21a.
46 standing here with me Deuteronomy 5:28.
46 shall a case be established Deuteronomy 19:15.
46 punishment for our transgressions The reference is to Isaiah 40:2.
48 midrash on Songs of Songs Midrash Rabbah on Song of Songs 1:8. Some versions have a different numbering.
48 Midrash Tanhuma A collection of rabbinic midrash in several versions, dating uncertain.
49 It is prayer Babylonian Talmud tractate Ta’anit 2a. The biblical verses respectively are from Exodus 23:25 and Deuteronomy 11:13. The reference to Maimonides is a verbatim citation from his Mishneh Torah, the Laws of Prayer, 1.1.
49 mandated by the Torah itself Naḥmanides (R. Moses ben Naḥman, Ramban, 1194–1270) was a major Bible commentator and halakhist. Maimonides’ Book of the Commandments (Sefer hamizvot) is a detailed catalogue of the 248 positive and 365 negative commandments on which Naḥmanides wrote critical glosses, this being among the most famous.