Brachos 9:5-Peah 1:1

Brachos 9:5

A person is obligated to bless God for bad news the same way he does for good news because the Torah says, “You shall love God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). “With all your heart” means with both your good inclination and your evil inclination. “With all your soul” means even if He takes your soul. “With all your might” means with all your wealth. Another explanation of “with all your might” is that we must thank God no matter what kind of treatment we receive.

One should not behave light-headedly opposite the eastern gate of the Temple because from there it’s a straight line to the Holy of Holies. One may not ascend the Temple Mount with his staff, with shoes, with his wallet, or with unwashed feet; one may not use it as a short cut, nor may one spit there. After hearing a blessing in the Temple, one would answer not “Amen” but “min haolam” (forever – literally “from the world”). When heretics twisted this to mean that there’s only one world, they changed it to “min haolam v’ad olam” (forever and ever – literally “from world to world”).

They also instituted that people should greet one another using God’s Name, as we see in the Book of Ruth, when Boaz did so to his reapers and they replied likewise (Ruth 2:14). We also see this done in Judges 6:12. Proverbs 23:22 says “Do not despise your mother when she is old,” meaning not to scoff at precedents set by earlier generations. Psalms 119:126 says “It is time to act for God; they have overturned your Torah.” Rabbi Nosson says this means that sometimes they must overturn the Torah in order to act for God.

Peah 1:1

The following things have no measure prescribed by the Torah: the corner of the field to be left for the poor, first fruits, how much one had to appear at the Temple, acts of kindness, and Torah study. For the following, a person enjoys the fruits in this world and the principal is reserved for him in the Next World: honoring parents, acts of kindness, and making peace between others. Torah study is equal to all the other mitzvos combined.