Oneg Emor

OnegShabbos

‫בס"ד‬

North West London's Weekly Torah and Opinion Sheets

‫פרשת אמור‬ 09 May ‘15 ‫כ' אייר תשע”ה‬ For Questions on Divrei Torah or articles, to receive this via email or for sponsorship opportunities please email mc@markittech.com Now in Yerushalayim, Antwerp, Baltimore, Bet Shemesh, Borehamwood, Cyprus, Edgware, Elstree, Gibraltar, Hale, Holland, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Manchester, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, South Tottenham, Radlett, Toronto, Vienna, Zurich

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‫פ' אמור‬ ‫ל'א‬-‫ יחזקאל פרק מ'ד פסוקים ט'ו‬:‫הפטרה‬ '‫ פרק ד‬:‫פרקי אבות‬

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PARSHA

Bored With Breathing

Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair

Ohr Somayach Institutions "And you will bring a new minchah offering (meal offering) to G-d." (23:16)

of the month? Or do we feel the exuberance and challenge of our learning as though it was our own business?

How does the Torah refer to the monumental event of its being given at Sinai?

Are you 'burned out'?

You seem to hear that phrase a lot these days. I'm 'burned out' from this; I'm 'burned out' from that; I'm bored with this; it's just lost its excitement for me.

Why do people 'burn out'?

Take two people working hard. One is self-employed, the other a paid employee. There's a big difference between them.

Someone who works for a salary has no particular interest in the company, except that it provides him with a living. And his apathy only increases if the company doesn't do well and there is no bonus to look forward to.

Someone who is self-employed, on the other hand, puts his very soul into his work. He is the company. He enjoys the moments of triumph and he grieves over the disasters, but bored and burned out? Never.

Unlike the salaried employee whose remuneration is fixed from the beginning with only limited scope for profit participation, the self-employed person knows that the sky's the limit. The company's success is his success.

When we learn Torah we should think of it as though it is our own “business”. In your own business if things aren't going right, who is there to put them right? Only yourself. If it takes extra time at the office, we will certainly put in the extra hours, and gladly.

When we sit down to learn, do we mentally 'punch in'? Are we waiting for the next coffee break? For the cheque at the end

"And you will bring a new minchah offering to G-d."

Why is the reference so oblique? It's true that at the festival of Shavuos there is a command to bring a new minchah offering to G-d. But is that the most conspicuous aspect of Shavuot?

How about the giving of the Torah? Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to spell out that on this day the Torah was given at Sinai? And yet it is with these few covert words that the Torah hints to the central event of Judaism.

Why? The Torah doesn't specify the date it was given because it doesn't want us to feel that it was given as a 'one-off' event.

Rather, it wants us to feel like it's being given to us every day and for us to receive it every day as though we were hearing it for the first time at Sinai.

The Torah is our life's breath. Even though a person breathes millions of times in the course of his life, does anyone get tired of breathing? Why not? Because we understand that our life depends on breathing. Boredom can only set in when a person sees something as optional. Breathing isn't optional. It's obligatory.

This is the way we should feel about the Torah, for “It is our life and the length of our days”. www.ohr.edu

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Sunday 10th May 2015 -21st Iyar 5775 at 2pm Sol Cohen Hall, Hendon Synagogue, Raleigh Close NW4 2TA

1. Which male descendants of Aharon are exempt from the prohibition against contact with a dead body?

2. Does a Kohen have an option regarding becoming ritually defiled when his unmarried sister passes away?

Rabbi I.S.Halberstadt 2

Rav, Kehillas Nefesh Hatorah, Rosh Chaburah Toras Chaim

Lag BaOmer – A new beginning ‫אמרו שנים עשר אלף זוגים תלמידים היו לו לרבי עקיבא מגבת עד‬ .‫אנטיפרס וכולן מתו בפרק אחד מפני שלא נהגו כבוד זה לזה‬ Rebbi Akiva had 12,000 pairs of students from Geves to Antiphras and they all died in the same period because they did not show respect to each other Lag BaOmer marks the end of the mourning period for the students of Rabbi Akiva.

In order to understand the depth of Lag BaOmer we need to pose some fundamental questions.

Firstly, why is the Omer a period of mourning? It is supposed to be a period of joy and anticipation as we move towards the giving of the Torah on Shavuos.

Why is it superseded by the tragedy of Rebbi Akiva's talmidim?

Mazel Tov to

Rabbi Il Halberstan adt and fam

ily on of Simcha's the occasion Bar M You should ha itzvah. ve continued Nachas.

He went and started again with five new talmidim. Five compared to 24,000?

Why bother? But Rabbi Akiva started again and from those five we have the rest of Torah SheBaal Peh. Of course it is Rabbi Akiva who teaches us this. He was the one who started at 40 years old. Most others would not have dreamed of going to learn at that age, never mind having the ability and stamina to become the great leader of the generation.

With Rabbi Akiva there is no sad situation, but rather constant hope. He was laughing whilst all others were crying. The Gemarah at the end of Makkos records how Rabbi Akiva was walking with Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah and Rabbi Yehoshua when they heard the Roman festivities from afar and they all cried, bemoaning the contrast between the Jewish pain and suffering and the merriment of these wicked people. Yet Rabbi Akiva was laughing and when questioned he explained that if that is what happens to those who transgress Hashem's will, how great will the reward be for those who keep His will.

This is not the only tragedy to have befallen the Jewish people. We have suffered tremendously in this galus. Why do we therefore mourn this particular event more than other tragedies? If we were to mourn all the spilled blood of Jewish history there would not be a day free in the calendar without aveilus so why does this have its own 33 days? Furthermore we have another main period of aveilus - we have the Three Weeks culminating with the Nine Days and Tisha B'av when we mourn the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash and all subsequent tragedies that have befallen us in this long dark galus. Why is this tragedy not included with the others?

On another occasion the same Rabbanim were walking to Yerushalayim when they reached the Temple Mount and saw foxes running out of the site of the Kodesh Kodoshim. They all cried, but once again Rabbi Akiva was laughing.

They were crying because they saw the fulfilment of the prophecy that the Beis Hamikdash will be destroyed and ploughed over. Yet Rabbi Akiva used that same prophecy as the source of his joy. He told them that now he has seen this prophecy come true, he is certain that the future prophecy of the rebuilding of Jerusalem will come also true.

Secondly, why do we celebrate the cessation of the deaths of his talmidim?

What is there to celebrate? Imagine one entered a shivah house as the aveilim get up from shivah and suggested we all celebrate the end of the shivah with a dance; could there be anything more insensitive? Besides, what does it mean that we celebrate because they stopped dying implying that there was a reprieve - there was no one left to die! He had 24,000 talmidim and they ALL died so what does it mean they stopped dying?

There was never a dark moment in his life from which he could not take something good.

Let us try to understand the tragedy of these 24,000 and then look into the simchah of Lag BaOmer.

‫ ואהבת את ה' אלוקך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך‬And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and will all your soul.

Rabbi Akiva is known as Rabban Shel Torah SheBaal Peh. When Moshe Rabbeinu was shown all future generations and was shown Rabbi Akiva he asked Hashem why the Torah had not been given through him. His stature was beyond anything we could describe.

This is Rabbi Akiva and here in this situation he is able to rebuild again after losing everything.

He had built an epicentre of Torah that was so powerful that they were able to bring about the conclusion to the galus. They had a unit that was able to bring Moshiach.

This powerful Torah empire stood on the brink of the final redemption.

Therefore they were held to a very high standard that had to be perfect. When we say that they did not show adequate kavod to each other, we mean that on their very high level, there was something missing in their kavod haTorah for each other. Since they were so powerful this slight defect meant that the whole system crashed.

The sadness and disaster of the death of Rabbi Akiva's talmidim was because we came so close to a complete tikkun and we missed it; that was the tragedy. We are not so much mourning the loss of life as the loss of that opportunity.

In this time as we build towards Matan Torah everything is marred because we live in the aftermath of the breakdown of Torah SheBaal Peh. The ‘hero’ of this event was Rabbi Akiva. Anyone else seeing their entire life being destroyed, their whole Beis Hamedrash being wiped out in such a short amount of time, would have spent the rest of their life in mourning. Yet that is not Rabbi Akiva's response.

Even as he was being killed in the most horrible way, al Kiddush Hashem, his talmidim asked him, “Rebbi, even till now?”

He explained that he had been waiting for this moment for his whole life life in order to be able to sanctify Hashem’s Name in this way and fulfil the passuk

This is the context of the Gemarah that brings the story of the death of his 24,000 talmidim.

‫ר"ע אומר למד תורה בילדותו ילמוד תורה בזקנותו היו לו תלמידים בילדותו יהיו לו‬ ‫תלמידים בזקנותו שנאמר בבקר זרע את זרעך וגו' אמרו שנים עשר אלף זוגים תלמידים‬ ‫היו לו לרבי עקיבא מגבת עד אנטיפרס וכולן מתו בפרק אחד מפני שלא נהגו כבוד זה לזה‬ ‫והיה העולם שמם עד שבא ר"ע אצל רבותינו שבדרום ושנאה להם ר"מ ור' יהודה ור' יוסי‬ ‫ורבי שמעון ורבי אלעזר בן שמוע והם הם העמידו תורה אותה שעה‬ Rabbi Akiva said if one learns Torah in one’s youth learn when you are old, if one has students when young have students when one is old.

We now can see the whole context of the Gemorah. It is all a lesson in being able to start again and rebuild after destruction.

Now we understand the simchah of the end of the death of all those talmidim.

Rabbi Akiva himself did not die and he managed to rebuild the entire Torah SheBaal Peh. We celebrate the crucial message that there is always hope and we can start again on the journey which will lead us to that final redemption when Hashem will bring us the Geulah. May it happen speedily in our days Based on shiurim heard from Harav Moshe Shapira, shlita

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3. How does one honour a Kohen?

4. How does the Torah restrict the Kohen Gadol with regard to mourning?

PARSHA

Nefesh HaTorah

‫קהלה קדושה‬ ‫חברת‬ ‫בני ישראל‬

Rabbi Alex Chapper

Ilford Federation Synagogue

3

Parshas Emor reveals such a stark contrast.

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The Paradox of the Mincha Chadasha

In fact, the Kli Yakar goes further and says that if not for the yetzer horah then Hashem would not have

Just fifty days after it is completely forbidden to us,

transmitted the Torah to this world.

This was the

now chometz is to form part of a new offering to Hashem.

argument that Moshe Rabbeinu made to the malachim

’‫שׂרֹנִ ים סֹלֶ ת תּ ְִהיֶינָ ה‬ ְ ‫שׁב ֵֹתיכֶ ם תּ ִָביאוּ לֶ ֶחם תְּנוּ ָפה שְׁתַּיִם שְׁנֵ י ֶע‬ ְ ‫ִממּוֹ‬

when they objected to the idea of matan Torah - since

‫ ָח ֵמץ תּ ֵָא ֶפינָ ה בִּכּוּ ִרים לַ ה‬- From your dwelling places, you

they are free of the yetzer horah they have no need for

shall bring bread, set aside, two [loaves] [made from]

the Torah, whereas human beings require it.

two tenths [of an ephah]; they shall be of fine flour, they

When the bnei Yisroel left Mitzrayim they were

shall be baked leavened, the first offering to Hashem.

free from slavery but it was not a complete freedom -

(Vayikra 23:17)

m’avdus l’cheirus - they were merely physically free from

Why does the Torah, which proscribed chometz as absolutely ossur on Pesach, davka instruct us to bring a korban that contains chometz on Shavuos?

To understand this apparent paradox we turn to a Gemara in Berachos.

On concluding his prayers,

R’Alexandri would add; ‘Master of the Universe, it’s well known to You that we desire to perform Your Will and what prevents us? The yeast in the dough…’

of Pesach the Omer was to be brought from the barley harvest - barley being animal fodder it represented this simplistic type of freedom that even animals enjoy. At the same time, for the duration of Pesach, only matzah is to be eaten and chometz is ossur b’mashehu­ - even in the smallest quantity and the Torah declares: ‫אֹל רֹאְׂש‬ ‫ םֶכיֵּתָבְּב אֵצָּמִי‬- leaven (yeast) shall not be found in your houses.

Based on this Gemara, the Kli Yakar presents a powerful insight into this concept. He explains that the yetzer horah is compared to chometz - the yeast in the dough - that causes our hearts to swell just as it makes the dough rise and it is that which impedes our performance of mitzvos.

bondage. To symbolise this status, on the second day

Although yeast transforms

dough into something light and fluffy, in truth, we could manage without it, flour and water is sufficient

After a forty nine day count, which says the Sefer HaChinuch, demonstrates that the very purpose of yetzias Mitzrayim was ma’mad Har Sinai, we are required to bring a mincha chadasha and this time it is to contain chometz. This korban is to be brought from the wheat harvest - a refined grain suitable for human consumption - and it is to act as a sign that our freedom has reached a new stage - a completely spiritual freedom

to produce an edible product - we call it matzah. We

which is the reserve of humans. With kabolas HaTorah

too would live ‘happily ever after’ if it was not for the

we receive the tools through which we could maintain

adverse influence of the yetzer horah.

that freedom as it provides the capacity to manage the

However, all is not lost, because we learn in Kiddushin

influence of the yetzer horah.

that in a place where Torah is found, the yetzer horah is

Therefore, on Shavuos, which is zeman matan

unable to have a negative impact on us. Hashem said,

Toraseinu, it is most appropriate that the first korban

‘I created the yetzer horah but I created the Torah as an

should include chometz as proof that we are no longer

antidote to it, as long as you adhere to the Torah then

deficient, instead we have complete freedom and we

the yetzer horah will have no affect on you.’

also have the capacity to overcome the yetzer horah.

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5. The Torah states in Vayikra 22:3 that one who “approaches holy objects” while in a state of tumah (impurity) is penalized with excision.

What does the Torah mean by “approaches”?

6. What is the smallest piece of a corpse that is able to transmit tumah?

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This week: Pini Shebson

Kollel Halocho Berura is an evening chabura of Baale Battim in Golders Green, learning ‫ הלכה‬from the ‫ מקורות‬to ‫למעשה‬. We are ‫ בס”ד‬currently finishing ‫הל’ בשר וחלב‬ and thank Oneg Shabbos for this opportunity to share what we are learning with you.

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HALACHA KASHRUT

‫כולל הלכה ברורה‬

IS THIS FOR REAL?

USING MICROWAVES IN THE OFFICE

In Siman 87:1 the Mechaber cites three basic principles of basar b’chalav. We shall explain them briefly as an introduction to the halachos we intend to discuss.

If a pot belongs to a non-Jew we assume it has been used for both meat and milk and therefore are concerned for belios3 of both in the walls of the pot. This means that one can’t turn on the flame or stir a pot belonging to a non-Jew since this may entail cooking basar b’chalav.

•

•

•

Firstly, the issur of basar b’chalav on a d’oraysa level can only occur through a fusion of bona fide meat and milk, both of which are from kosher animals. Technically meat would exclude chicken, although chicken is certainly included on a d’rabanan level (not a matter to be taken lightly).

Secondly, a d’oraysa fusion can only arrive through bishul (cooking). Any other means such as kivush (soaking for 24 hours) or melichah (salting), despite having effected an equivalent transfer of taste, would only create an issur d’rabanan.

Thirdly, from the Torah source for basar b’chalav which is the thrice mentioned passuk of ‘lo tevashel gdi b’chaleiv imo’ we learn that there are three issurim - achila, bishul and hana’ah.

In short, to become basar b’chalav d’oraysa it is necessary to have real meat, real milk and real cooking and then it is assur to cook, eat or have benefit from it.

•

The Mechaber adds that any basar b’chalav which is not assur mid’oraysa would remain muttar b’hana’ah and bishul (permissible to obtain benefit from it and to cook, but not to eat).

In Siman 87:6 the Mechaber lists a number of cases which fall slightly outside the above criteria and would therefore not be assur mid’oraysa. The Shach (s’k 13) points out however, that on the basis of ‘issura miha ikka’ - it remains assur to create any of these cases.

ME’USHAN UME’VUSHAL B’CHAMEI TIVERIA Cooking, as we know typically involves water heated by fire.

Therefore it is questionable whether ‘cooking’ something in natural hot springs or through smoking would constitute ‘cooking’ for the purposes of basar b’chalav.

The contemporary application of this question is whether cooking/heating food in a microwave would be considered cooking as there is no real heat source. We generally follow the opinion that it should be considered at least a safeik d’oraysa. 1 Others hold that since it now a prevalent method of preparing food it is considered real bishul. 2 The Rema brings a number of cases as an addendum to this halachah which we will look at to see some practical ramifications.

1 ‫בדי השולחן‬ 2 ‫שבות יצחק‬

Nowadays, this may be relevant as to whether one may use a non-kosher microwave, for example in an office. Here, even if the kosher food itself was correctly double wrapped there may be a problem of cooking basar b’chalav by merely turning on the microwave. However, using the microwave in this way is at worst only assur lechatchilah and b’shaas hadchak would be muttar.4

WASHING MACHINES If one has clothes some soiled with melted cheese and others soiled with chulent, how is it permissible to wash them together in the same washing machine, surely the hot water should constitute bishul of basar b’chalav?

One solution can be derived from a further case discussed by the Rema. The Rema says that if one has water used for washing milky keilim and water used for washing meaty keilim they may not be mixed and given to one’s animals as there is a potential to benefit from basar b’chalav.

The Shach (s’k 19) explains that in order for this to be problematic the dishes must have been washed up in hot water and the water must still be hot. However, this presents a problem as noted by Rav Akiva Eiger and the Kreisi u’Plaisi. If the water was hot, forget problems of hana’ah, surely the mixing alone should be forbidden as it would be a bishul?5 Rav Akiva Eiger resolves this by explaining that the mixture must be one which contains 60 times more hetter than issur and is therefore muttar.

However, this in turn could create a problem of mevatlin issur lechatchilah6.

Rav Akiva Eiger suggests that typically in a case of mevatlin issur lechatchilah, there is an end benefit involved i.e. eating the food; however in this case, as there is certainly 60 times the meat and milk we allow someone to be mevatel the issur by combining the two issurim. Since according to Rav Akiva Eiger this would be a bishul with no end gain, one need not be concerned.

3 Absorbtion of issur 4 This is based on the combined sevaros of stam keilim ainam bnei yoman, blios and bishul achar bishul.

5 Rav Akiva Eiger s’k 15 6 It is assur to actively/deliberately add to an assur mixture so that it becomes 1/60 and therefore muttar. If one knows that some milk fell into a bowl of chicken soup it would be muttar to eat the soup if there is certainly 60 times more soup than milk. However, once the milk has fallen in it would be forbidden to add enough chicken soup until the 1/60 ratio is reached. This would be considered mevatlin issur lechatchilah (Rema Siman 99:6)

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7. Who in the household of a Kohen may eat terumah?

8. If the daughter of a Kohen marries a “zar” she may no longer eat terumah. What is a zar?

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HALACHA HALACHA CHARITY CHARITY

tzedakah

‫פתוח תפתח‬

Excerpts from the sefer Easy Giving / ‫( פתח תפתח את ידך‬which includes extensive notes and comprehensive halachic sources), authored by Eli Katz and Emanuel Meyer and available from seforim shops in NW London.

Easy Givin g – ‫את ידך‬

A Practical Guide to the Halochos of Communal Obligations, Mitzvas Tzedokoh and Ma’aser Kesofim

16:18

In Section A, we clarified the obligation to support the essential communal infrastructure and its precedence over mitzvas tzedakah. In Section B, we focus on the mitzvah of tzedakah and we started with the key sources, its rewards and its exclusive purpose to financially support aniyim /poor people. We then clarified who is obligated to give tzedakah and who is considered an ani.

Section B – Tzedakah

Chapter 1 - The Mitzvah of Tzedakah

It is therefore clear, that the personal obligation of ‫מחסרו די‬, would nowadays apply only rarely in a reasonably-sized community such as North West London.

B. PROVIDING AN ANI WITH HIS NEEDS. 1. The fundamental requirement of the mitzvah of tzedakah is to provide an ani with all his needs, following the verse quoted previously (paragraph A.1) which states, ‫מחסרו די‬ dei machsaro - what he requires.

2. The definition of ‫ מחסרו די‬is based on his requirements; e.g. if he is hungry, feed him, if he needs clothes, clothe him and if he is looking for a wife, then help him find a wife and support them by renting a home and acquiring the necessary household utensils for them.

C. THE FOUR TZEDAKAH CATEGORIES. 1. When a person cannot afford to give an ani all his requirements as just delineated, then there are four other tzedakah categories, depending on the size of his donation: a. Someone who gives 20 percent of his annual income is performing a ‫ מצוה מן המובחר‬mitzvah min hamuvchar - a choice mitzvah.

3. In contrast to the approach adopted by the modern welfare state which sees itself as responsible to provide the needy with only the most minimal living expenses, the Torah’s conception of tzedakah is far more expansive.

If the ani was once wealthy, the Torah obligates you to fully restore him to his former standard of living, even if it is lavish. This is an indication of the care the Torah has for a person’s feelings, as a formerly wealthy person will often be embarrassed in public by the reduction of his living standards.

i. Clearly, although the more one gives to tzedakah the better, it is forbidden to impoverish oneself and one’s family. A person should therefore give no more than 20 percent of his annual income to tzedakah, as otherwise he himself may become insolvent and need to receive tzedakah. ii. There are various exceptions for this rule, such as a) a very wealthy individual who does not run the risk of becoming poor, b) for Torah study, c) to atone for one’s sins, d) some say if there are aniyim immediately present.

4. An ani is entitled only to the lifestyle that he was originally able to afford, but not to an indulgent lifestyle where he lived beyond his means.

b. Someone who gives 10% of his income attains the standard level of the mitzvah of tzedakah. Actually, a prime reason for ma’aser kesafim- reserving 10% of one’s income for tzedakah - is in order to set aside funds to fulfil at least the standard level of the mitzvah of tzedakah.

5. All this does not mean that you are solely responsible to provide all the ani’s requirements, the Remah rules that this obligation is in fact a communal responsibility shared by members of the local community. Thus, you are allowed to inform the ani that he should collect his funds from the rest of the community. His communal responsibility is shared amongst the community pro rata, in proportion to the wealth of each member, rather than a fixed amount per capita. This regulation applies to almost all communal responsibilities.

c. Someone who can afford to give 10% but gives less, is considered to be mean-spirited. He has fulfilled the mitzvah of tzedakah, but in inferior fashion. d. The absolute minimum amount of tzedakah that an individual must donate annually is one-third of a Biblical shekel per annum, which comes out to approximately £1.97 (based on the price of silver on 17th April 2015 and adjusting for VAT of 20%). Whoever gives less than this sum has not fulfilled the mitzvah of tzedakah.

6. The Remoh adds that only in the event that a. you are aware that the local community cannot support the ani, and b. you can afford this sum, and c. the ani has approached you privately and is not collecting from the general public, would you be obligated to pay the ani the full amount.

2. Once you have donated one-third of a shekel then every additional prutah that you give to an ani is a fulfilment of the mitzvah of tzedakah, even if it only makes a negligible improvement in the life of the ani.

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9. What is the difference between a neder and a nedavah?

10. May a person slaughter an animal and its father on the same day?

To Be Continued ..

HALACHA

The Dateline Problem

Prof. J.H.E. Cohn

6

Three Part Series (Part 3) 5. HOW DID THE PROBLEM COME TO LIGHT MORE RECENTLY? In 1941 Yom Kippur fell on a Wednesday. Some members of the Mir Yeshivah found themselves in Tokyo, and sought counsel from Rabbis in Eretz Yisrael, whether they should observe Yom Kippur on Wednesday or Thursday. Unfortunately, they received two contradictory replies. From a meeting in Jerusalem which the Chazon Ish did not attend, they were told Wednesday, but in telegrams from the Chazon Ish, they were instructed to eat on Wednesday and fast on Thursday. What happened next can well be imagined; some kept Wednesday, some Thursday, some fasted two days . . . As far as Shabbos is concerned, during their stay in Japan, the Mir Yeshivah kept Sunday as the main opinion, but refrained from melachos d’oraysa also on Saturday. Interestingly enough, during the same period, the Yeshivah of Lublin was evacuated to Kobe, and they kept Shabbos in accordance with local custom, on Saturday.

6. WHAT DOES IT MEAN IN PRACTICE? a. Following the Baal HaMa’or literally, that is not using the concept of geraira, would mean observing Shabbos on Sunday in Melbourne and Sydney. As far as I know, no one suggests doing so. b. Following the Chazon Ish means that Shabbos is on Sunday in Japan and New Zealand. c. According to Rabbi Meltzer and Rabbi Frank, and the International Date Line opinion (and also according to most of the "line down the Pacific" opinions) Shabbos is on Saturday everywhere. d. According to the Sefer Hayomam by Rabbi Y.M. Tukatzinski, Shabbos is on Saturday everywhere except that it's on Friday in Hawaii and most of Alaska.

Exactly where the Chachmei Yerushalayim fit in between the last two views is not entirely clear to me.

The later meeting held in 1953 dealt especially with the problem of Japan and was attended by Rabbi Meltzer and Rabbi Frank. But Rabbi Moshe Feinstein was indeed sufficiently concerned about Alaska, to recommend that his grandson should not spend the weekend there.

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7. IS THERE AN ESTABLISHED PSAK? Nearly, but not quite. The overwhelming majority of the gedolim at the time rejected the whole idea of geraira, and (therefore?) followed the Chachmei Yerushalayim. This included Rabbi Henkin, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein and a large number of the chasidic rebbes, including those of Gur and Lubavitch. It was also the opinion of Rabbi Eliyashiv.

Rabbi S.Z. Auerbach also told a questioner to follow the psak of Rav Moshe, although he was a little reluctant to disagree with the Chazon Ish in this matter. That was, and still is, accepted by the vast majority of orthodox Jewry.

Particularly relevant perhaps is the fact that the majority of Jews to whom the question is directly relevant live in the United States.

There is however a significant minority who follow the Chazon Ish.

8. IS THAT THE END OF THE MATTER? Not quite. Some of the protagonists in the discussion have absolutely no doubts whatsoever. The Chazon Ish told the Mirer Yeshivah to eat on Wednesday and fast on Thursday in Tokyo, whilst Rabbi Meltzer and Rabbi Frank both use the expression chas veshalom regarding any doubt about the correct day according to their opinion. It is reported that Rabbi Meltzer refused to sign a telegram offering the option of seeking medical authorisation to fast also on Thursday.

But, on the other hand, the matter is in dispute, and not everyone else is quite so confident of their opinion as to dismiss the others out of hand. The Brisker Dayan suggests that in Japan, for example, one should keep Shabbos completely on Saturday to conform to local practice, but should refrain from melachah as well on Sunday. Shevet haLevi concurs. Even Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, who follows Rabbi Tukatzinski to the extent of worrying about Friday in Alaska, and Rabbi Eliyashiv, are sufficiently concerned with the opinion of the Ba'al HaMaor to suggest not doing melachah in Japan on Sunday, at least l'chumrah. So why, since they reject the chiddush of geraira, do they not suggest the same for Melbourne and Sydney?

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11. How does the Torah define “profaning” the Name of Hashem?

12. Apart from Shabbos, how many days are there during the year about which the Torah says that work is forbidden?

Rabbi Akiva Tatz

JLE 7

PHILOSOPHY

Why a Good Time Never Lasts (Part 3)

Inspiration and Disappointment A third application is to be found in the ba’al teshuvah world (ba’al teshuvah describes a person who has discovered a Torah-oriented way of life after living a more secular lifestyle).

Many ba’alei teshuvah experience an unexpected and disturbing letdown.

Often the pathway is as follows. A young person discovers Torah, becomes inspired by a Torah teacher and begins to study. Every Torah experience, whether in learning or in contact with the Orthodox world, is spectacular. Every text studied is alive with significance, every Shabbos experience is a spiritual high and there is a phase of euphoria. Somehow though, subtly, this changes and growth has to be sought. Learning may be very difficult. Often the difficulties seem to far outweigh the breakthroughs. Many are tempted not to persevere in learning.

Of course this is exactly the way it must be, real growth in learning comes when real effort is generated. Just as physical muscle is built only against strenuous resistance, so too spiritual and personality growth is built only against equivalent resistance. A person who understands this secret can begin to enjoy the phase of work; a maturity of understanding makes clear that the first phase was artificial, it is the second phase which yields real development. *** Perhaps the sharpest application of this idea in modern Western society is in marriage. Marriage today is to a large extent in ruins in the secular world. In many communities divorce is more usual than survival of marriage and even in those marriages which do survive it is common to find much disharmony.

One of the prime factors in this disastrous situation is the lack of understanding of our subject. Marriage has two distinct phases: romance and love. Romance is the initial, heady, illogical swirl of emotion which characterizes a new relationship and it can be extreme.

Love, in Torah terms, is the result of much genuine giving. Love is generated essentially not by what one receives from a partner, but by the well-utilized opportunity to give and to give oneself.

The phase of romance very soon fades, in fact, just as soon as it is grasped it begins to die. A spiritually sensitive person knows that this must be so, but instead of becoming depressed and concerned that one has married the wrong person, one should realize that the phase of work, of giving, is just beginning. The phase of building real love can now flourish.

In fact, in Hebrew there is no word for “romance” - in its depth it is an illusion. However, in the world of secular values, the first flash, the “quick fix”, is everything. “Love” is translated as “romance” and when it dies, what is left? No-one has taught young people that love and life are about giving and building, and so the tendency is to give up and search for a “quick fix” elsewhere. Of course, the search must fail because no new experience will last. Understanding this well can make the difference between marital misery or worse and a lifetime of

married happiness. Jewish marriage is carefully crafted to transition from initial inspiration, not to disappointment but to even deeper inspiration. The menstrual separation laws are just one example instead of allowing intensity to dull into tired familiarity, phases of separation generate new inspiration and the magic never fades. *** In all these applications, and in fact in all of life, the challenge of the second phase is to remember the first, to remain inspired by that memory and to use it as fuel for constant growth. The Rambam describes life as a dark night on a stormy plain - lashed by the rain, lost in the darkness, one is faced with despair. Suddenly, there is a flash of lightning. In a millisecond the scenery is as clear as day, one’s direction obvious. But just as soon as it is perceived it disappears; and one must fight on through the storm with only the memory of that flash for guidance. The lightning lasts very briefly; the darkness may seem endless. That is the pattern of life, short-lived inspiration and lengthy battles. The tools needed are determination, perseverance and a stubborn refusal to despair. Personal ordeals which make despair seem imminent are in reality a father’s hands, withdrawn so that you can learn to walk. And the work of remembering the flash of light when it seems impossible is emunah, faith.

The third phase, and happy is the one who attains it while yet alive, is transcendence. It is a regaining of the level of the first phase, but now deserved, earned, and therefore far beyond it. There is a statement of the Sages which describes the final transcendence, the transition from this world to the next, and it describes the angels which come to greet a person at that time. One of these angels comes to search out “Where is this person’s Torah, and is it complete in his hand?” The Gaon of Vilna points out, chillingly, that the higher being which asks this question is not a stranger. Suddenly one recognizes the very same angel with whom he learned Torah in the womb! And the question to be answered is: Where is that Torah which inspired you then? Have you brought it into the world and made it real? And can it now be called yours?

Excerpt from “living inspired” - chapter 2 (1) There are mystical sources which state that the plagues in Egypt were 10 in number in order to destroy the 10 dimensions of evil with which the Egyptians had “contaminated” the 10 sayings of Creation (and hence occurred in reverse order: the Creation developed from an infinite point in concentric layers, as it were, and the plagues reversed this order to peel away the layers of impurity from the outside to arrive eventually at a pure centre - the first saying of Creation was “In the beginning”; the last plague was destruction of the firstborn, the manifestation of “firstness”, of new creation; the second saying was “Let there be light”; the penultimate plague was darkness!

And these sources proceed to work out the entire sequence in this way). However, in the desert the Jewish people faced ten trials, each representing a battle with one of the 10 dimensions of evil on a cosmic scale, their challenge being to defeat all evil on their journey to holiness and thereby return the world to its perfection; had they succeeded they would have arrived at the borders of the Land of Israel able to usher in the final and permanent redemption with their entry into the Land. The desert, in other words, is the dimension of cosmically concentrated evil.

(2) This also gives an insight into how a person can generate a chiddush (novel idea) in Torah. How can a human being originate Torah? Torah is a gift from a higher dimension, surely. But the answer is clear: a human being can bring original, genuine Torah into the world because it is contained within him already, at a level deeper than the conscious. All that is needed is to lower a bucket into the deep well of the neshamah (soul) and draw that wisdom!

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8

PARSHAPARSHA HALACHA

Parshas Emor

QUEUE-JUMPING

INCURRING A LOSS

Although it is clear in halachah that one may not jump ahead in a queue, there is a wide-ranging discussion among the poskim as to which prohibition is transgressed by one who does this. Some poskim hold that something similar to theft is involved, whether it is stealing an acquired right, an opportunity, or another person’s time. Other poskim speak about the emotional and sometimes physical distress inflicted upon those who have been pushed further back. Yet others hold that what is transgressed is a halachically binding set and agreed-upon minhag.

Maran Rav Eliyashiv, zt”l, holds that the mitzvah to let the Kohen go first applies only in situations in which no monetary loss, or even loss of time, will be incurred. Maran Rav Sheinberg, zt”l, however, holds that the mitzvah applies even in cases of loss. Just as a person must be ready to pay for other mitzvos, as the verse says, ‘You shall honour Hashem with your money,’ so too a Yisrael or Levi must be willing to sacrifice time and money to fulfil the mitzvah of v’kidashto.

Another opinion, and quite possibly the underlying rationale for many of the other proffered answers, is that queue-jumping is simply wrong. A place in line is not a monetary possession gained by a standard method of acquisition, nor is line formation and orders a dry derivation of property law. Fiscally, it is not clear why one person should come before another.

Rather, we are commanded to act righteously and pursue righteousness, tzedek tzedek tirdof, and the tzedek applicable to line formation obviously dictates ‘first come, first served’.

Since the decisive factor in determining precedence is tzedek, however, it is readily understandable that there are exceptions to the rule: the exceptions based on the situation-specific evaluation of what is right. A classic example of this, found in Choshen Mishpat siman 15, is that the court case of a talmid chacham is judged before other cases, in order that the talmid chacham should not be kept from his learning. An ill person whose health is jeopardized by the wait, or who experiences great pain due to the wait, should clearly be allowed to go first in line. To cite a familiar modern-day example, it is appropriate that travellers with young children are allowed by those in charge of airport security checks to bypass other people in the line.

HONOURING KOHANIM In Parshas Emor, we find the mitzvah of v’kidashto, that Kohanim should be given precedence in every matter of kedushah. A Kohen is given the first aliyah, speaks first in an assembly, is the one who leads others in brachos and bentching, and is given the first choice in equal divisions of food. A pertinent issue is whether a Kohen is also given the first place in a queue. According to some viewpoints, the question is confined only to situations involving kedushah, perhaps in a line waiting to speak to a Rebbe or to get into the Kotel plaza – after all the Gemarah only says that a Kohen is given precedence in ‘every matter of kedushah’. According to other opinions, however, it is evident that the question applies to different situations as well. Just as the Kohen at a meal gets to choose which schnitzel he wants, he also is given precedence in every matter in which the preferential treatment will lend to his image of honour and kedushah, even if the matter itself is mundane. The Ritva, at the end of Moed Katan, writes that a Kohen is given first place in line. The reason this halachah is not found in the poskim, explains the Ein Yaacov in Nedarim, is due to the fact that it is self-evident.

QUIZ TIME ANSWERS

THE RIGHT ATTITUDE Someone first in line naturally feels a resistance against forgoing his privilege, even in a situation in which he’s not going to lose anything. It is even more difficult if he stands to lose precious time or money. He would not be upset, though, if the person going in front of him in the queue was someone truly great, for instance one of the Gedolei Hador. On the contrary, it would be a precious opportunity to be able to show honour to the Gadol.

The Maharam M’Rotenburg writes that the exalted status and honour of the priesthood is given to the Kohanim themselves. Focusing on the Kohen’s inner greatness should make it easier for others to fulfil the mitzvah of v’kidashto.

If one’s ego is still troubled, the approach of the Rambam will certainly help: one who honours the servants of a master is effectively honouring the master himself. The honour we give to Kohanim is completely for the sake of Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

MAKING USE OF A KOHEN The differing opinions of the Rambam and the Maharam have applications in practical halachah. One such application is found in the area of asking a Kohen to do a favour. According to the Rambam, the honour of the Kohen belongs to Hashem and the Kohen has no right to nullify it. According to the Maharam, the honour is the Kohen’s to forgo if he so chooses.

The Rema writes that it is forbidden to make use of a Kohen, even in our times, unless the Kohen forgoes his honour. The Taz is more stringent, holding that the Kohen can only allow himself to be used if there is some personal benefit involved, whether from wages or from the pleasure taken in helping an important person. The Kohen can forgo extra honours such as leading the bentching, but there is a demeaning element to being used that is obviated only by derived benefit.

Halachah le’maaseh, we try l’chatchilah to be machmir like the Taz but b’di’eved we rely on the forgiveness uttered by a Kohen even in a situation that is not directly beneficial for him. We are certainly machmir like the Taz, however, not to use a Kohen for truly demeaning services. A Kohen is not allowed to relinquish his right to the first aliyah to the Torah. The fact that he gets the aliyah is not only because of v’kidashto, but also due to an institution of Chazal designed to prevent quarrels over the aliyos.

1 21:1 - Challalim - those disqualified from the kehuna/priesthood because they are descended from a relationship forbidden to a Kohen.

2 21:3 - No, he is required to do so.

3 21:8 - He is first in all matters of holiness. For example, a Kohen reads from the Torah first, and is usually the one to lead the blessings before and after meals.

4 21:10-12 - He may not allow his hair to grow long, nor attend to his close relatives if they die, nor accompany a funeral procession.

5 22:3 - Eats.

6 22:5 - A piece the size of an olive.

7 22:11 - He, his wife, his sons, his unmarried daughters and his non-Jewish slaves.

8 22:12 - A non-Kohen.

9 22:18 - A neder is an obligation upon a person; a nedavah is an obligation placed upon an object.

10 22:28 - Yes. The Torah only prohibits slaughtering an animal and its mother on the same day.

11 22:32 - Willfully transgressing the commandments.

12 23:7-36 - Seven.

13 23:10 - One tenth of an ephah.

14 23:15 - On the 16th of Nissan.

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