Preface of the Author of Etz Yosef, Anaf Yosef, and Yad Yosef

Solomon, may he rest in peace, said: "A good name is better than precious oil, and the day of death is better than the day of one's birth" (Ecclesiastes 7:1). The explanation is that a person is recognized by their name, as is stated in those places in the Midrash homiletic interpretation of scripture. It is almost wondrous, how precious is the soul of a person. Just as everything cannot be refined or polished except through oil, so too a person’s life cannot be refined except through the Torah the Five Books of Moses / Divine Law. This is the "good name" in Torah, which is better than "precious oil"—namely, the quality of the holy Torah. He said "precious oil"—that is, the difficult Torah—for if one labors in the Torah all his days, this name is indeed "good." But a name one has attained through wealth is not truly good. And if a person labors in the Torah all his days, "the day of death is better than the day of birth."

It is explained: At every birth of a person, when they go out into the world, the creation of the world is fulfilled. And although it is said he inherits suffering, it is not said that his creation is "good" until after the conclusion, as it is written: "And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). Now, the connection is that when a person is born, he is not yet the sum of all he will achieve. The Gemara the core of the Talmud asks: why is it not said of him at his birth that he is good, as it is said of the works of creation? It is very puzzling that the Sages of blessed memory original: חז"ל interpreted "very good" as "death." But the matter is this: The perfection of a person depends on the completion of the soul's work. All those who follow the ways of nature, their "inheritance" is already present at the moment of birth, as the Sages said: a day-old animal is already "born" and complete. But a human is created lacking that completion. The verse says, "A man of wisdom will be given life." This means the advantage that a person has over mere nature is life and wisdom. Even if his perfection exists at the time of his birth, he must be the cause of the realization of his own perfection, so that he does not merely acquire it passively. His perfection exists potentially, but not yet in reality. Since he must bring his perfection from potentiality to actuality, it was impossible to say of him "it is good" at his birth, for he still lacked perfection—just as it was not said "it is good" on the second day of creation, for the work was not finished until the third. Furthermore, his work of perfection is not finished until the day of his death. When the Creator takes him, we may look back at the day of his death, for when he departs the world with a "good name," his work is finished. That is why it is said: "And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good"—this is death. For then, his work is finished in its goodness. That is what he meant: if he has that "good name" from the Torah, which is called "oil," then the day of death is better than the day of birth. For regarding a person, on his day of birth, it is not said that he is "good." But on the day of his death, it is said that he is "very good"—this is death. However, for someone who lacks this "good name" from the Torah, it is not said of his death that it is "good," since his work was not finished with merit. And he wishes that through this "good name," he will be as a crown on his head in the world he prepares. He must establish his name while he is still eating. But in a time when everyone sees, the oil drips little by little. Not so the name of the one who labors in the Torah; as long as he is in the world, it will not fade. So, as long as he lives, he must pour this "oil," which is the Torah, so that it will be for eternity and not be for nothing.

And I said: I will bind my wisdom to benefit the many in whatever measure I can. They helped me upon my bed of illness to be a support for those who come before Him, for their words are the light of His Torah. And because learning requires great effort, I have brought this to practice, and I have chosen and selected from it, and because of this, I have written and gathered it so that I might see the fruit of my labor in his wisdom, and to know the deeds that they must perform. But the aforementioned holy book is sealed and mysterious, as it is difficult to grasp. And even though a holy person might be worthy to drink from its source, and even though the previous great commentators have been printed, they have been without correction and without order, in a state of chaos. Therefore, I saw fit to pour from the oil and the water of those days into a vessel. I have come to reveal the secrets and to labor for the perfection of those who have come before and those who come after, to bring forth fruit from the garden he planted, to arrange them in order and in row. And those who stand before the Lord shall have them to eat and to be satisfied. The work of a person’s hands is precious in the book of Tikkun Restoration/Correction, for this is a revealed book. Every person shall walk in it in the ways of Israel, and learn the law of the Lord within it. Know this: the words of the wise and their riddles are deep and bitter, and they look into the precision of the Torah and look into the precision of the deed. Their words are remote, even to the higher beings, and the secrets are difficult, even in the stories of their deeds, as the great and brilliant Rabbi referring to Jacob Reischer, author of Iyyun Yaakov wrote in his introduction to the commentary: "Know that the words of the wise in the Midrashim and Aggadot are by way of parable and riddle, to silence these things and to hide them. The true explanation is that it is one thing, and the purpose is to hide its place. The one who passes through them and leaves them and takes them at their literal value will not understand the inner meaning of the Pardes the four levels of interpretation: literal, allusion, homiletic, and esoteric. And he will not place into his heart the knowledge or understanding, saying 'How can it be that the wise themselves would write these things in a book?'"

And the author of Sfat Emet Language of Truth already wrote a parable regarding this. He said: "It is told of a king who had great treasure at the time of his death, and his children were small. He feared to leave his wealth in the hands of guardians, lest they ruin the inheritance.

He hid all the small and precious items so that they would be as they were. He gave them caskets and left them to all his sons who understand, and he set them with precious stones so that they might be better in their place. But his first son, who was little, appeared to be reckless and thought he was discarding the other stones. But the king knew that each man would prepare the stones in his own way, and the whole would be precious to him in his vision. And as it is said, 'When the boys grew,' the king slept with his throne, and he kept in his heart the words of his father, and he watched over his property, and he checked the vessels, and he saw there his wealth gathered, and he rejoiced in the wisdom of his father. And he also understood that this, in his seeing, was an ancient thing that the king had hidden. And because he was not a mere simpleton, he understood this. Therefore, he established the hidden treasures within his clothing, and his children, in their ancient wisdom, showed them according to their literal meaning so that they would not be as they were written. But he understood that they were precious stones, and the honor would be carried in them when he descended. And this is what the verse says: 'For His ways are precious to Solomon. If you understand the fear of the Lord and the knowledge of God, you will find why the Lord occupied Himself with the power of the Pardes.' And this is what is said: 'If you seek her as silver and search for her as hidden treasures'—in things that are customarily hidden. 'If you understand the fear of the Lord and the knowledge of God, you will find why the Lord occupied Himself with the power of the Pardes'—this is what the Tannaim sages of the Mishna and Amoraim sages of the Gemara also did, for they hid our wisdom in deep secrets and precious insights. There are those who are amazed that they spoke in hints, not according to their literal meaning. Because for their perfection, he performs labor and effort in heart and thought. As the wise man said: 'There are things that are hidden that are stronger than those that are revealed.' Because the noble truths that are in these, to understand and to contemplate in deep matters, will be revealed in the hints, leading them to prove those things in a spirit of intellect." Therefore, who would say I have the power to live what they hid in their words? Especially a man of my craft, for I have eyes of flesh, and I have eyes of understanding to see the stories hidden in secrets that are concealed in the books of the precious wise men. Therefore, I did not take for my own account from the commentators anything except things that are understandable according to the plain meaning, Hebrew: פשט and clear. But my opinion is from the words of the wise and their riddles according to the clear, literal meaning. One is the lamp that precedes the work, for wisdom is given before the days of the chosen ones in Ein Yaakov, known by the name Etz Yosef, Anaf Yosef, and Yad Yosef original: "Etz Yosef, Anaf Yosef, ve-Yad Yosef". Look, and your eyes will be open, for you will complete your ways, and you will understand. And these are the benefits that are taught from the chosen ones to be useful in the explanation of Etz Yosef, which notifies one in the hidden place where the faces stood, in various chosen tests, that are pure and whole, a pleasant desire, refined, from the deep and distant, wise and understanding, precious and insightful things. Also, the multitude of Aggadot brought in the Midrashim, I have taken from the light of the Midrashim, so that they may be a light for his feet and protect each person in his camp. And the abundance of chosen things I have sanctified with the wisdom of all the sages of God who dwell in the heights.

And the Anaf Yosef is a bolt in its order. We find in it many insights of Torah with the explanation of chapters and verses. A gift of the Name and a bolt of Joseph for every blessing, to spread the expanse of the precious words of the Sages before the elders of my people and its wise men, to unlock its treasures and the circles of its wisdom from its scattered lights before the eyes of the sun.

And Yad Yosef: I have divided the places of the Aggadot. Before I ascended, it was free; they were feeding in another field. For in our exile, we were then in Midrash Rabbah, Tanchuma, Sifrei, Tanchuma Yeshanim, Pesikta Rabbati, Agadat Shmuel, Sifrei, Yalkut, Zohar, and in all this, the benefit was not withheld. For sometimes we find one or two things stated with reliance on what is said, which the verse did not move from in its revelation. Through the changes in reading, his eyes (the eyes of the intellect) will open to understand in the day, to see the knowledge of life in a new light, or in a straight light. Spirit and wisdom, as the Maharal Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel said on the verse that gives instruction in the dark, he is vigilant with the matters in this place, and enriched in new matters. And let it not be said: "Let the reward be increased," but rather like mine, for on the head of his power, even the place of the explanation is hidden and searched for. And the path is long, and he will not die. "And I have made everything beautiful in its time," according to the clear literal meaning that is accepted by the straight intellect, as I have testified in my explanations of the Midrashim and the Pesikta, which I have ventured to announce as the light of the world. I have left the drinks and the pilpul dialectical hair-splitting in the circles that are cheap in some books, which go in a path that is not blessed. For the stature of the Holy One, blessed be He, is the stature of truth. And the Midrash already says that He is blessed. And now I give Torah to the Lord for having granted me merit to correct the darkness that was on the Midrashim and the Radal Rabbi David Luria and the Jacob Shas Talmud—a man of choice (and my heart is full of wonder at Rashi). And I desire the Lord; I will call the love of the Lord in the return of the laws, laws of awakening, in the throngs. May He guide my days and years in pleasantness, in the pleasantness of His grace. For from the pleasantness of Your grace, all will be satisfied. So may You reward me, to use with me, and to support my honor in the covenant of my strength, the kindness of my life in the throngs. May He guide my days and years in pleasantness. And may it be a memory for love in the beauty of the days, and I will dwell in Your grace for eternity. Amen. So are the words of the small one, Chanoch Zundel, son of the loyal one, our teacher Rabbi Joseph, of blessed memory.

And now I have said to place three good grains that scatter a clear light on many sayings of the Sages

A) It is written in the book Darkhei HaLimud Ways of Learning: "Wherever you find in the Talmud things that appear at first glance to be superfluous and without purpose, such as stories of many people, which at first glance appear to result in no legal ruling, you must know for certain that the Talmud did not write that story except to be a strength in the soul of the reader. And if you reach the level to test and examine them well, you will find that afterward, in places of legal ruling, there is a great benefit to learn from them, and these were written for this purpose." The foundation of learning is that you must know with absolute simplicity that the many stories and all the biblical narratives were not written without a purpose, without resulting in some good benefit, whether it be points of Torah, ethics, or matters of piety. Rather, you will find in all their words that they are all measured by word and weight. And not even one thing is found that they wrote for the sake of length alone. A sign of this we find in the Talmud: many stories and extensions that appear at first glance to be without purpose. It seems Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, of blessed memory, escaped the [cave] for this reason—to inform us of this matter, as he taught and built in many places in the Talmud. And here is the intent in the Rosh Rabbeinu Asher, a medieval halakhic authority regarding that story mentioned in the Gemara, namely to prohibit...

[A person from] Babylon who went up to the Land of Israel, it is written [that he had] vitality. He said to his sons: "Teach me two Talmuds," etc. At first glance, it appears that this story and all that is long about it, written in the Talmud, is without purpose, for what need do we have to know this, and what legal conclusion comes from this, as there is no practical outcome? But if you examine them well, you will find that there is a lesson in the story, for through this statement he returned to learn. He said to them: "If you wish to be students of the wise, pour out your wisdom, learn in the world." And when there is a vessel there, the intention is that at the time when that judge was there, there was no one to discuss it, and it was difficult to express it, for he was returning to the place of the judge, a wise man of the nations. He said to him: "This is what my eyes have seen, for I returned, I did not leave you to yourselves, the Place [God] will be with you," as it is written: "In the day of concealment, in comfort," etc. And Rashi, of blessed memory, explains there that it is a tradition for those who discuss wisdom, that they discuss it during the day. Behold, for you, a lesson—at first glance, it appears that the aforementioned story is written without purpose, but after examining it, we find that the Sages, of blessed memory, intended to teach us that every person must be an expert in the words of the wise at the time he enters into that time when he is with his friend. This is what was taught regarding the matter, etc. And you will find in many places that they mention many stories to learn from them a legal conclusion.