OU Israel Center Torah Tidbits - Parshat Va'etchanan 5784
United We Stand
Rabbi Nachman Winkler Page 22
Simchat Shmuel
Rabbi Sam Shor Page 42
Rabbi
Rabbi
The Idea that Changed the World
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt"l
Rabbi
in Bishul Akum, Part 2
Shmuel
Man… and Beyond
Moshe Taragin
Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman
to Be Alive
Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider
A Child Removing a SuctionHeld Divider on Shabbat
Rabbi Daniel Mann
Life in the Body and Outside of the Body
Rabbi Gideon Weitzman
A New and Improved “Waze”: Taking a Lesson from the Three Weeks
Sivan Rahav-Mier
Y-Files Comic
4 Teens by Teens
Michael Kahn
Ilana Corman
Photographed by Shelby Goodman.
This is a rather special historic picture. I did not know at the time, it was June. 1968. The first םילשורי םוי. I took the picture as a slide and later scanned it on a Nikon Digitizer. This photo captures a special moment in the history of our nation and in the steps towards the Geula Shlemah.
Kiddush Levana: Last Opportunity to Say Kiddush Levana until: 16 Av /Mon. night Aug. 19th
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DEAR TORAH TIDBITS FAMILY
DEAR TORAH TIDBITS FAMILY
RABBI AVI BERMAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OU ISRAEL ABERMAN@OUISRAEL.ORG
Rabbi Avi Berman Executive Director, OU Israel
This coming week we will encounter a day which the Mishna (Taanit 4:8) calls one of the happiest days of the year: Tu B’av. Everyone has the same question: Why? What was so great about Tu B’av? The Gemara (Taanit 30b) tells us that several beautiful things happened on Tu B’av, but one focus is on marriage and love. The Gemara says it used to be that when the Jewish People were in the desert, the 12 tribes were forbidden to intermarry between the tribes, but the eventual repealing of this ban happened on Tu B’av. Similarly, the tribe of Binyamin was forbidden to marry into the rest of the tribes after the incident in Giva described at the end of the book of Shoftim, and this too was eventually repealed on Tu B’av. Now Jews could marry each other no matter which tribe they were from.
I have been writing this Torah Tidbits column for about four years now. Baruch Hashem, every week I get feedback from many of you. I really appreciate it, and the feedback I get gives me such encouragement to continue doing it every week, and helps
WE REMEMBER
18th of Menachem Av (Thursday, August 22, 2024) is the anniversary of the 1929 CHEVRON MASSACRE in which 67 Jews were killed, including 24 Chevron Yeshiva students
me formulate my message, knowing what works and what doesn’t, what you want to hear about, and so on.
There was one week’s column where I received more feedback than, I think, any other week. I would even estimate it was double the amount of any other week. It was when I wrote about how HaKadosh Baruch Hu gave me an idea for a shidduch of two people I knew (Dovie Rosengarten and Nechama Feurstein), and I told the story of how that idea ended with me standing under their chuppah with them, and seeing them start to build their beautiful home here in Yerushalayim Ir Hakodesh.
When I wrote that column, I focused on how we should all try and think of shidduchim and help make them happen. All it takes is an idea. Each and every one of us know many singles who are looking for a shidduch, looking to get married, looking to build a home. We cannot forget about them and should keep them in mind.
Soon after the publication of that article in Torah Tidbits, I interviewed Aleeza Ben
Shalom, the famous Jewish matchmaker, on the OU Israel podcast. In the course of our conversation, I shared an idea that my wife and I started doing to help keep shidduchim on our minds. We created two WhatsApp groups, one with men looking for shidduchim, and one for women looking for shidduchim. When I meet a young man or woman looking for a shidduch, I would get their picture, a small bio, and send it over to my wife, and my wife would do the same on her end. Then, we would sit down every few weeks and go through the names to see if anyone made sense together. I’ve even had people call me who have their own lists, and we’d compare lists together.
After listening to the podcast people told me, “Avi, you should know my wife and I loved your idea. We sit down every motzei Shabbat and we review the names we got together.” When I heard that, I thought to myself, if I could come up with this unique trick to help think about shidduchim, I’m sure there are other tricks out there as well that people have thought of. How do we get the word out about these ideas? I was talking about this issue to my good friend and OU Israel President, Stuart Hershkowitz. He is also so dedicated to an amazing program called Shagririm Ba-Lev (Ambassadors of the Heart), which recently celebrated its 300th(!) shidduch through the program. Check out their website, which is available in both Hebrew and English to reach as many Jews worldwide as possible: shagririm.org.il.
Please enter the site and sign up as a shagrir for friends and relatives in this innovative and very successful venture.
After discussing it with him, we decided to start a weekly column in Torah Tidbits dealing with tips and tricks to help make shidduchim happen, whether for your friends and family, or for yourself if you are in the shidduchim scene. We are hoping that, with Hashem’s help, this column will encourage more people to meet each other, and be part of the toolbox for shidduchim in Klal Yisrael.
We are extremely thankful to Shagririm Ba-Lev for sponsoring this weekly column, which will help us keep shidduchim on our minds and will help lead, b’ezrat Hashem, to many matches in Klal Yisrael. I encourage you to read the column, keep your friends and family in mind, and may we all merit the Olam Haba promised to those who do such amazing chesed.
Wishing you all an uplifting and inspiring Shabbat,
Rabbi Avi Berman Executive Director, OU Israel aberman@ouisrael.org
May the learning from this issue of TT
Rose Edith Cohen
Missed very much by her daughters
Janice Weinreb, Barbara Yasgur and Benay Devora Cohen Nesher and families
Keren Malki
Honoring the memory of Malka Chana Roth ד”יה 1985-2001, killed in the Sbarro bombing.
FROM THE DESK OF RABBI MOSHE HAUER
OU EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Desires and Yearnings
Even if you can’t have it, you should still want it.
That line may sound like the opposite of the tenth commandment, lo tachmod, that warns against desiring or coveting that which belongs to others. Lo tachmod, however, applies to things that are not meant for us. That which ought to be ours we must covet and desire and never stop yearning for. In fact, we use the descriptive of ‘desire’ positively in describing Eretz Yisrael as eretz chemdah, the Land of our desire.
This idea can help us understand something very puzzling.
In the opening of our parsha, Moshe pleads with Hashem to be allowed to cross over the Jordan and see Eretz Yisrael. While his plea to enter the Land is rejected, Hashem instructs him to climb to a vantage point from which he will be able to see the Land from a distance. What would be accomplished by seeing the Land, especially when we consider the Talmud’s understanding (Sotah 14a) of what Moshe really wanted?
“Rabbi Simlai taught: For what reason did Moses our teacher greatly desire to enter Eretz Yisrael? Did he need to eat its produce or satisfy himself from its goodness? Rather, this is what Moses said: Many mitzvot were
commanded to the Jewish people, and some of them can be fulfilled only in Eretz Yisrael. I wish to enter the Land in order that they can all be fulfilled by me.”
Which mitzvot would Moshe fulfill by seeing the land from a distance?
Here we may again invert the usually negative trait of desire. When the Torah (Bamidbar 15:39) warns us against straying after our heart and our eyes, our Sages (see Rashi there) explained the sequence of sin: “The eye sees, the heart desires, and the body acts.” In much the same way, Moshe was told to climb the mountain so that his eyes’ seeing the land would grow his heart’s desire for its mitzvos, and while his body would not be allowed to follow through and act upon it, the desire itself matters, as the Talmud teaches elsewhere (Kiddushin 40a):
The Holy One, Blessed be He, links a good thought to an action… Rav Asi said: Even if a person intended to perform a mitzvah but due to circumstances beyond his control he did not perform it, the verse ascribes him credit as if he performed the mitzvah.
We are defined by what we yearn for. When we are preoccupied with material desires for things that we are not meant to have, we miss out on what our lives are supposed to be. When we instead yearn for higher and greater things, that becomes who we are.
This understanding helps us see why every Shabbos Nachamu we read this story
of Hashem’s rejection of Moshe’s pleas to enter the Land. Moshe was not rejected; he was redirected to nurture his desire for the Land that he could not then have. That is what we must do as well. Lacking the beit hamikdash, we can nevertheless connect to it by gazing at it and yearning for it, just as our Sages (Taanis 30b) taught, “One who mourns over Yerushalayim merits and sees its joy.”
Sensitive Jews everywhere are preoccupied by the painful divisions amongst Jews. Some would say that until these issues are resolved, peaceful brotherhood is out of reach. Even if for the moment they are correct, we must never stop desiring peace and looking at each other with Ahavat Yisrael. Peace, quiet, and an embrace may be for now elusive, it must always be our driving aspiration. Even if we can’t have it, we must still want it - desperately.
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Aliya-by-Aliya Sedra Summary
RABBI REUVEN TRADBURKS
RCA ISRAEL REGION
Rabbi Reuven Tradburks RCA Israel Region
PARSHAT VA’ETCHANAN
1ST ALIYA (3:23-4:4)
I beseeched G-d to allow me to enter the Land. He refused: ascend the mountain, gaze at the Land that you will not enter. Charge Yehoshua, for he will lead the people. Now, Yisrael Shema, listen to the commandments so you will remain in the Land. You saw what occurred with Baal Peor: those who followed Baal Peor were punished while those who did not, survived.
The tone and language of the Torah changes dramatically in this parsha. Moshe bares his soul, pleading with the people, encouraging them.
Moshe’s long speech that takes up almost the entire book of Devarim began by addressing the people’s present frame of mind. They are standing on the banks of the Jordan, ready to enter the Land. Without Moshe. They are nervous, uncertain, afraid, unsure of their ability to conquer the Land, especially without Moshe as their leader. He addressed those concerns, their immediate frame of mind in last week’s parsha.
In our parsha, he begins to address not the present but the future. Not the entry to the Land but the living in the Land. He begins by his own desire to enter the Land, but G-d’s refusal. While that can be seen to really be in last week’s parsha, whose theme is entering the Land, it is actually the perfect introduction to life in the Land.
SUMMARY
As if to say: I have addressed your concerns about conquering the Land. But I, says Moshe, have concerns about staying in the Land. I know it firsthand: living in the Land is a gift, a Divine gift. He gives. And He takes. You have no claim on this gift. I know from experience. You get the Land when you deserve it. And you will keep the Land if you deserve it. I know that firsthand.
2ND ALIYA (4:5-40)
Keep the mitzvot, for they are wise. The nations will look at the mitzvot and say: what a wise people. And who has a G-d as close as ours is to us? Or who has noble laws as our Torah? Remember the day at Sinai, the mountain on fire and the darkness of the cloud. The Voice emanated but there was no form. Make no images. I taught you the mitzvot; keep them, for they are the covenant G-d commanded from you. Your children will make images and be exiled, flung to the ends of the earth, serving idols there. They will return to G-d, seeking Him with all their heart. He will not forget His covenant. Has any other people heard G-d’s voice amidst fire? Or another one Who took His people with wonders from amidst another? Know and take to heart that there is none other than G-d.
The grass is always greener on the other side. In religion too. You will enter the Land and see how others believe and how others practice and think to yourself, that looks better than what I have. But. They will look at you and say rightly and truthfully, that ours
is unique and special and, well, better. They have nothing like our relationship with G-d, nor the wisdom of our Torah.
3RD ALIYA (4:41-49)
Moshe separated 3 cities of refuge for those who kill accidentally on the east side of the Jordan. Moshe taught these laws on the east side of the Jordan in the lands already conquered. These conquered lands extend from the Dead Sea all the way to Mt. Hermon.
Moshe’s choosing 3 cities of refuge on the east side of the Jordan, is his confirmation of the right of Bnei Gad, Bnei Reuven and half of Menashe to dwell there. And his confirmation that our life will never be paradise. We aren’t entering a dream. We are entering a stage in our history that is special, but people are people, terrible things, like manslaughter will happen. You are special, the Land is special, while at the same time we are human beings. That is the balance we seek; living great lives with full awareness of our human foibles.
4TH ALIYA (5:1-18)
Mt. Sinai. Moshe called the people: Shema Yisrael to the commandments, for our G-d made a covenant at Sinai. He made it with you, face to face amidst fire. I communicated it because you were afraid. And He said: I am G-d who took you out of Egypt. Do not make images. Or take My name in vain. Guard Shabbat as a day of rest to remember that you were slaves in Egypt. Honor your father and mother. Do not murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, covet.
Moshe now begins his motivational speech to the people. Moshe’s speech begins with love. Love, the powerful inner emotion of devotion, commitment, connection is his
theme. We have seen little of this type of emotional language in the Torah. But Moshe chooses to ground loyalty to the mitzvot in love. Of G-d for us. And of us for G-d.
And that is the meaning of Mt. Sinai. It is not the content of the 10 commandments. It is the drama of G-d bending down, reaching for man, initiating an intimate and direct contact with us. Descending on the mountain to speak directly with us.
And while the people present were fearful, we, upon reflecting on that powerful and intimate moment, we responded to His love for us, with our love for Him.
5TH ALIYA (5:19-6:3)
When you heard these words amidst the fire and the cloud you were afraid. You approached and said: now we know man can hear G-d’s voice but we are afraid we will die. Moshe, you hear from
In Loving Memory
Him, not us. G-d agreed and said to me: you stand with Me and I will tell you all the commandments to keep in the Land.
The word Shema appears 8 times in the first 7 verses of this aliya. The people heard the Voice at Sinai but were afraid. So, Moshe, you hear it for us. And G-d heard their suggestion and said it was good. Fine, Moshe will hear G-d’s voice.
But who hears is not the issue. The issue is who hears. I mean, who hears the voice with his ear; that can be Moshe. That’s fine. But who hears, I mean, hears, gets it, understands it, accepts it; that, is you. Hence the last verse in the aliya, 8 verses later, comes back to Shema: Shemata Yisrael, you heard Israel and hence, you must keep the mitzvot. There is hearing and there is hearing. Moshe is your hearing aid to hear; but you are the ones who need to hear. Do you hear what is going on; G-d is reaching for you. You need to hear that loud and clear.
6TH ALIYA (6:4–25)
The Shema. Shema Yisrael, G-d is one. You shall love G-d, and have that in your heart constantly; teaching of it to your children, speaking of it, at all times and in all places. Be bound with love of G-d; let it guide you and your home. When you come into the Land, you will find things that you did not build: large and good cities, homes full of wonderful things, cisterns, vineyards, olive groves. But be careful to not forget G-d. Fear Him, serve Him. Do what is moral and
Condolences to Felicity Aziz and family on the passing of her
BROTHER z”l
good in His eyes and He will do good for you. When your children ask you about all these commandments, tell them: we were slaves in Egypt, G-d took us out to give us this Land. These commandments are to cultivate awe of Him and bring us merit, to preserve us in this Land.
While we love the first line of the Shema, it is the second that is the emphasis of the paragraph. Love of G-d. All your heart, all your soul, all your might. We are used to saying this line so we become numb to its power.
Moshe is speaking to the people: pour yourself into this. Let it go. Invest all you got into it. No inhibitions. Love of G-d is to animate all of your life: bubbling over to your children, percolating in you in your travels, your actions, your thoughts, your home. Wow. Little wonder that this paragraph is the heart of our daily tefila. We need to be G-d obsessed. Moshe is plain as day here: love G-d with all your heart, soul and might. All in.
7TH ALIYA (7:1-11)
When you come into the Land, conquer the seven nations. Do not make any covenant with them. Do not marry them, for that will lead to idol worship. You are G-d’s holy people. Not because you are numerous but because He loved you and made a covenant with you. Know: He keeps His covenant. You too keep the mitzvot.
The love of G-d is exclusive. Idol worship violates that love. Be wary of the path to infidelity: people. Covenants with the idol worshippers of the Land will soften the way to their gods. And more dramatically, marrying the people of the Land accelerates the path to their gods.
In both it is the allure of belonging. Marry a woman, join her faith group, enjoy the
fellowship, camaraderie; the sense of belonging that a faith community brings. There are a lot of wonderful and satisfying elements to any faith community. But. That is a complete violation of your unique relationship with G-d (in addition to the folly of these gods). It is not the mind that attracts you; it is the community that comes with the wife. Marrying the non-Jew can easily begin the process of idol worship. Hence, avoid intermarriage.
YESHAYAHU 40:1-26
This week’s haftorah is the first of a series of seven “haftarot of Consolation.” These seven haftarot start on the Shabbat following Tisha B’Av and continue until Rosh Hashanah.
This section of Yeshayahu begins with G-d’s conveying to the prophet: “Console, O console My people . . . Announce to Jerusalem that her period of exile has been fulfilled and that her sins have been forgiven.”
Yeshayahu’s prophecy describes some of the remarkable events that will unfold with the onset of the messianic era. These include: the return of the exiles to Yerushalayim, the revelation of Hashem’s glory, and the rewards
A SHORT VORT
and retribution that will then be meted out to the nations of the world.
The navi then goes on to comfort the people, describing G-d’s power and might, and reassuring them of His care for His people.
STATS
45th of 54 sedras; 2nd of 11 in Devarim. Written on 249 lines in a Torah, ranks 7. 21 parshiyot; 5 open, 16 closed, 7th (tied with Ki Tavo).
122 pesukim - ranks: 17 (2nd in Devarim) same as Vayak’hel & Ki Tavo - but larger. 1878 words; ranks 10th (2nd in Devarim). 7343 letters; rank: 10th (2nd in Devarim).
Va’etchanan’s pesukim are longer than average, hence the jump in rank from 17th for pesukim to 10th for words.
MITZVOT
12 of 613 mitzvot: 8 positive, 4 prohibitions and many more that are counted elsewhere - this is so for several sedras, but it really shows for Va’etchanan (e.g. Aseret HaDibrot in Yitro has 14 mitzvot, repeated here but not counted here).
BY RABBI CHANOCH YERES
“And from there you shall seek out Hashem your G-d, and shall find Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (4:29) There seems to be an asymmetry in this verse. The pasuk begins by addressing the entire nation, with the plural form “you (pl.) shall seek out Hashem”- from your state of exile. On the other hand, the pasuk continues in the singular- “and you (sing.) shall find Him.” How does one explain this?
Rabbi Dov Bar Yaffe (1797-1829, Vilna) answers by pointing out the Talmud (Rosh Hashana 18a) quoting Rav Meir who used to say: Two men take to their beds, both suffering equally from the same disease, yet one gets better, and one does not. Two men stand before a judge for the same crime. One escapes the death penalty, one does not. Why? Because one prayed and was answered and one prayed and was not answered. Why? One prayed with sincerity and his whole heart and was answered while the other did not. Therefore, our pasuk begins by reporting precisely that in times of need, many people call out in prayer (pl.). However, the Torah shares with us that not everyone’s prayer will be answered and therefore, “You (singular) will find G-d through your sincere appeal as the pasuk concludes “if you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Shabbat Shalom
THE PERSON in the parsha
THE PERSON IN THE PARSHA
BY RABBI DR. TZVI HERSH WEINREB OU EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, EMERITUS
BY RABBI DR. TZVI HERSH WEINREB OU EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, EMERITUS
Unanswered Prayers
It is a question with which every religious person has at one time been confronted and been confounded. Even those of us who are not theologically inclined have struggled with this question: Why are my prayers not answered? After all, we do believe in the efficacy of prayer. Why, then, is it so often a frustrating experience?
Every rabbi, including me, has found himself challenged by very sincere individuals who ask them to explain the point of prayers if they are so seldom answered. I especially remember one such challenge. It was on a Saturday night, a motza’ei Shabbat, some years ago, when I was still with my former synagogue in Baltimore. A group of women would meet every week, after Shabbat, to recite Psalms, Tehillim, and pray for the sick in that community. Over the months, they had accumulated a long list of individuals who were seriously ill and for whose recovery they fervently prayed.
One week they asked me if I would join
Condolences to Valerie Seidner of Tekoa on the passing of her
them, offer them some words of inspiration, and answer some of their questions. Of course, I complied, delivered a short homily, and opened the floor for questions. Although the question took a variety of forms, they were best expressed by the individual who said, “We cry our hearts out in prayer every week, and we feel compassion for every person on our list. But hardly anyone becomes cured, and names come off the list only when the person has died. So what is the point of prayer?”
I do not remember my exact response, but I do remember that it was inadequate. Later that week, I received a hand-written note in my office mailbox. It began,
“Dear Rabbi Weinreb,
In a recent talk you said that many people complain to you about having said Tehillim for a friend who was ill, but that the prayers didn’t help and the person died. They asked if you could explain the point of their prayers.”
The woman who wrote the letter was a nurse in the intensive care unit of a local hospital. She obviously spoke from profound personal experience. She went on to say that the reason people find praying frustrating is because they expect a total cure, and that they need to realize that there is much more to pray for with regard to a seriously ill individual than his or her complete recovery.
Here are some of the things she suggested
people pray for: that the sick person not suffer too much pain, anxiety, depression, or loneliness; that the sick person be treated gently and with dignity by the medical staff; that the veins of the sick person be easy to find for intravenous injections; that the family have the strength to hold up under the strain and to not abandon the patient; that the correct decisions, medical and ethical, be taken by the family, patient, doctor, and rabbi.
“If you pray for all of the above for a sick person, you will find that many of your prayers will be answered.”
Words of wisdom, for sure. And words that are especially timely in this week’s Torah portion of Va’etchanan, which contains the story of Moses’ prayer, and how that prayer was not heeded by the Almighty.
Moses asked that he be permitted to enter the Promised Land of Israel. His prayers were deep and numerous. Indeed, the sages suggest that he offered no less than 515 prayers. But, as Moses himself tells us, God did not listen to his prayers. On the contrary; God told him not to bring the matter up again.
Were the prayers of Moses indeed not heard at all? If we pay careful attention to the text, as I hope you will this week dear reader, we come to realize that God did respond with at least two pieces of good news for Moses. Number one, He granted him the ability to see the land. Not a total fulfillment of Moses prayer, surely, but a gift nonetheless. And number two, and perhaps more importantly, He told him that his successor, Joshua, would lead the people into the land and would help them settle there. A leader who is assured of a competent and successful successor has
surely had his prayers answered.
We have, then, an entirely new perspective on prayer. We must pray for a greater range of outcomes and not limit ourselves to asking for total success. We must be satisfied in our prayers for what the Lord has chosen for us. The outcomes may be modest, or even insufficient, from our mortal points of view, but they are substantial if we could but open our minds to them.
A wise man once said, “ Be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it!” The truth of that humorous piece of advice is that we are ignorant as to what is good for us. We don’t know what we should pray for. How consistent this message is with the lessons I learned from that scribbled note written by a wise congregant many years ago.
We must consider carefully what we pray for and expand our list of requests to cover the entire range of human needs. We must ask with sensitivity to the whole person, with concern for the entire situation. Only then we will find that it is not that God listens to prayers or ignores them. Rather, in His wisdom, He responds to them selectively. He says “no” to some of our entreaties, but He pronounces “yes” resoundingly to a great deal of what we ask for.
and our next step will be to plant a fruit tree. I never thought of myself as being the agricultural type, but the feeling of settling and planting a portion of Eretz Yisrael, has been truly euphoric. Iy”H, when we plant our tree, and eat the fruits that will grow one day, I think we will be able to truly appreciate that unique Kedusha found in the fruit of Eretz Yisrael!
To conclude, when you buy your Tu B'shvat fruit this year, don’t search for those dried apricots and banana chips imported from Turkey. Rather, head over to the fresh produce and buy yourself some nice juicy Kedusha-filled Jaffa oranges and thank Hashem for bringing you to this land in order to be able to הבוטמ עבשלו הירפמ לוכאל, imbibing that Kedusha in every bite that you take!!
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Covenant & Conversation
COVENANT & CONVERSATION
THOUGHTS ON THE WEEKLY PARSHA
RABBI LORD JONATHAN SACKS ZT"L
RABBI LORD JONATHAN SACKS ZT"L
FORMER CHIEF RABBI OF THE UNITED HEBREW CONGREGATIONS OF THE COMMONWEALTH
FORMER CHIEF RABBI OF THE UNITED HEBREW CONGREGATIONS OF THE COMMONWEALTH
May the learning of these Divrei Torah be תמשנ יוליעל HaRav Ya'akov Zvi ben David Arieh zt"l
The Idea that Changed the World
It is one of the great stories of all time, and Moses foresaw it three thousand years before it happened. Here he is speaking in this week’s parsha:
See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the Land you are about to enter and possess. Take care to keep them, for this will be your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people!” For what other nation has decrees and laws as just as this Torah that I am setting before you today? (Deut. 4:5-8)
Moses believed that there would come a time when the idea of a nation founded on a covenant with God would inspire other
nations with its vision of a society based not on a hierarchy of power but on the equal dignity of all under the sovereignty and in the image of God; and on the rule of justice and compassion. “The nations” would appreciate the wisdom of the Torah and its “righteous decrees and laws”. It happened. As I have argued many times, we see this most clearly in the political culture and language of the United States.
To this day American politics is based on the biblical idea of covenant. American presidents almost always invoke this idea in their Inaugural Addresses in language that owes its cadences and concepts to the book of Devarim. So, for instance, in 1985 Ronald Reagan spoke of America as “one people under God, dedicated to the dream of freedom that He has placed in the human heart, called upon now to pass that dream onto a waiting and hopeful world.”
In his Inaugural in 1989, George Bush prayed:
“There is but one just use of power, and it is to serve people. Help us to remember it, Lord. Amen.”
In 1997, Bill Clinton said:
“The promise we sought in a new land we will find again in a land of new promise.”
George W. Bush in 2001 said:
“We are guided by a power larger than ourselves who creates us equal in His image.”
In 2005, as he commenced his second term as President he declared:
“From the day of our Founding, we have
proclaimed that every man and woman on this earth has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they bear the image of the Maker of Heaven and earth.”
In 2009 Barack Obama ended his speech with these words:
“Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.”
This is explicitly religious language, without parallel in any other democratic society in the world, and it reads like a sustained Midrash on Deuteronomy.
How did it happen? It began with the invention of printing by Johannes Gutenbergin Mainzin 1439, followed in England in 1476 by William Caxton. Books became less expensive and more accessible. Literacy spread. Then in 1517 came the Reformation, with its emphasis on the individual rather than the Church, and on sola Scriptura, the authority of “Scripture alone.”
Then came the translation of the Bible into the vernacular. We tend to forget that the Hebrew Bible is a subversive work. It is not a book that preaches submission. It speaks of prophets unafraid to challenge kings, and of Saul who lost his throne because he disobeyed the word of God. So the authorities had good reason for the Bible not to be available in a language people could understand. Translating it into the vernacular was forbidden in the sixteenth century. In the 1530s the great Tyndale translation appeared. Tyndale paid for this with his life: he was arrested, found guilty of heresy, strangled, and burned
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at the stake in 1536.
However, as contemporary tyrannies have discovered, it is hard to stop the spread of information that new technologies make possible. English Bibles continued to be printed and sold in massive numbers, most notably the Geneva translation of 1560 that was read by Shakespeare, Cromwell, Milton, and John Donne, as well as by the early English settlers of America.
The Geneva Bible contained a commentary in the margin. Its comments were brief but sometimes explosive. This applied in particular to the story of the Hebrew midwives, Shifra and Puah (Exodus chapter 1) - the first recorded instance of civil disobedience, the refusal to obey an immoral order. Pharaoh had instructed them to kill every male Israelite child, but they did not. Commenting on this, the Geneva Bible says “their disobedience in this was lawful.” When Pharaoh then commands the Egyptians to drown male Israelite children, the Geneva Bible comments: “When tyrants cannot prevail by deceit, they burst into open rage.” This was nothing short of a justification for rebellion against a tyrannical and unjust king.
The Tyndale and Geneva Bibles led to a group of thinkers known as the Christian Hebraists, of whom the most famous - he has been called Renaissance England’s
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Chief Rabbi – was John Selden (1584-1654). Selden and his contemporaries studied not only Tanach, but also the Babylonian Talmud, especially tractate Sanhedrin, and Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, and applied Judaic principles to the politics of their day.
Their work has been described in a fine recent study, The Hebrew Republic, by Harvard political philosopher Eric Nelson. Nelson argues that the Hebrew Bible influenced European and American politics in three ways:
First, the Christian Hebraists tended to be republican rather than royalist. They took the view – held in Judaism by Abarbanel – that the appointment of a king in Israel in the days of Samuel was a (tolerated) sin rather than the fulfilment of a mitzvah.
Second, they placed at the heart of their politics the idea that one of the tasks of government is to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor, an idea alien to Roman law.
Third, they used the Hebrew Bible – especially the separation of powers between the king and the High Priest – to argue for the principle of religious toleration.
It was this historic encounter between Christians and the Hebrew Bible in the seventeenth century that led to the birth of liberty in both England and America. The Calvinists and Puritans who led both the English and American revolutions were saturated in the politics of the Hebrew Bible, especially of the book of Devarim.
In fact, the modern world offers as near as history comes to a controlled experiment in liberty. Of the four revolutions that mark modernity, two, the English (1640s) and American (1776), were based on the Hebrew Bible, and two, the French and the Russian,
were based on secular philosophy, Rousseau and Marx respectively. The first two led to liberty. The second two ended in the suppression of liberty: in France in the Reign of Terror (1793-94), in Russia in the form of Stalinist Communism.
Appreciating the contribution of the Hebrew Bible to liberty, John Adams, second President of the United States, wrote:
“I will insist that the Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation. If I were an atheist, and believed in blind eternal fate, I should still believe that fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilising the nations.”
John Adams’ letter to François Adriaan van der Kemp (16 February 1809)
The irony is, of course, that there is nothing like this in the political discourse of the contemporary state of Israel. The politics of Israel is secular in its language and ideas. Its founders were driven by high ideals, but they owed more to Marx, Tolstoy or Nietzsche than to Moses. Meanwhile religion in Israel remains sectarian rather than society-building.
To be sure, there are those who fully realise the significance of Sefer Devarim and the politics of covenant for the present State. The pioneer was the late Professor Daniel Elazar, who devoted a lifetime to rehabilitating Judaic political theory. His work is continued today, by among others, the scholars of the Shalem Center.
The significance of this cannot be sufficiently emphasised. Whenever in the past Jews lost their religious vision, or when religion became a divisive rather than a uniting force, eventually they lost their sovereignty also. In four thousand years of history there has never been, in Israel or outside, a
sustained secular Jewish survival. How ironic that the political culture of the United States should be more Judaic than that of the Jewish state. But Moses warned that it would be so. Keep the Torah’s laws carefully, Moses said, “for this is your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the nations.” Moses knew that Gentiles would see what Jews sometimes do not see: the wisdom of God’s law when it comes to sustaining a free society.
Israeli politics needs to recover the vision of social justice, compassion, human dignity and love of the stranger, set forth by Moses and never, in all the intervening centuries, surpassed.
These weekly teachings from Rabbi Sacks zt”l are part of his ‘Covenant & Conversation’ series on the weekly Torah teaching. With thanks to the Schimmel Family for their generous sponsorship, dedicated in loving memory of Harry (Chaim) Schimmel. Visit www.RabbiSacks.org for more.
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PROBING THE PROPHETS
BY RABBI NACHMAN (NEIL) WINKLER FACULTY, OU ISRAEL CENTERL
How Are We Comforted?
The first pasuk of this week’s haftarah that opens the fortieth perek of Sefer Yishayahu as well, marks a turnaround in the prophecies of the navi. Until this point, the messages Yishayahu shared with his people were ones of warning, filled with descriptions of the punishments that awaited them were they to continue in their sinful ways. From this verse onward the theme of the prophet becomes one of comfort and consolation. The bulk of these final chapters, as Rashi points out, are replete with description of the ideal world that awaits Israel as Hashem returns to them and returns them to the Land.
However, as I have pointed out in the past, these words of “Nachamu Nachamu Ami” were NOT addressed to the nation itself. G-d is not saying BE comforted my people but rather, it is a call to the prophets to go and comfort the people. Just as he charged Yishayahu to offer words of warning in his earlier visions, so now he charges him to deliver warm words of comfort and solace. And yet, the message of the haftarah does not seem to be one of comfort at all. In fact, it appears to be no more than praise of Hashem: His power, His wisdom, His justice. Certainly, all of these attributes are
impressive and important to know- but are they comforting to a bereaved and suffering people? For years, I was troubled why this perek was chosen to open the poet-Tish’a B’Av haftarot of comfort, if there are few words of comfort and for succor for the mourning generation(s). Surely, Chazal could find more soothing visions, more encouraging messages (in Sefer Yishayahu alone!) that would be more fitting to introduce the weeks of comfort!! Why then our Rabbis’ choice of this perek for this crucial Shabbat?
When analyzing this chapter more carefully, I realized the logic of Chazal in choosing this haftarah for this Shabbat. The ancients who experienced the exile and who suffered for the two thousand years that followed, words alone would sound empty and of little comfort for those who grieved so and who shed millions of tears. Promises, after all, are simple to make, but difficult to keep. Even the navi himself understood this and declared: “Kol Omer ‘k’ra’ Va’omar-‘Ma Ekra?’ ” “A voice proclaims; ‘Call out’ but I say ‘What shall I call?’ ” Yishayahu bemoans that all of flesh is but dried grass now. What can he say to these generations to convince them that the promises of G-d would surely be kept?
And therefore, Hashem instructs Yishayahu to remind the people Who it is that’s making these promises. The prophet proceeds to impress upon the people that it is the All-Powerful, the All Mighty, the All Capable, who is making these promises. The
praises that fill the bulk of today’s reading were meant to impress upon the nation- both of that generation and of future generations -that Hashem is THE power and, therefore, is capable of fulfilling all His promises, no matter how difficult it might be for them to believe. And so, before commencing on the next six haftarot that promise a bright future and a complete redemption for the suffering nation, Yishayahu insures his people that ALL the promises are true, are genuine, and will be realized.
Have you ever wondered what an ancient Israelite or a Judean would say if he were told that his people would be exiled from their Land, persecuted, oppressed, pogromed and gassed for two thousand years….. and then be taken to the Yerushalayim of today? We would have him walk around the construction cranes, dodge the oncoming traffic and hop on to the Rakevet Kal to get to the Kotel. He would visit the Batei Knesset and hear the same Torah the he read, pass through the Batei Midrash and find Rabbanim analyzing the same mitzvot that he observed and listen to the words of the scholars echoing those of the prophets that he listened to. Would he believe his eyes?
Do we?
“Nachamu, Nachamu Ami” because the All Powerful is, as we see, keeping His promises!
Rabbi Winkler’s popular Jewish History lectures can be viewed by visiting the OU Israel Video archive: https://www.ouisrael.org/video-l ibrary
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Kriyat Shema and Aseret HaDibrot
In this week’s parsha we encounter both the Asseret HaDibrot as well as Kriyat Shema. The Abudarham (Seville 14th century) posits that not only is there a close proximity in the parsha between the two paragraphs but there is a much deeper connection between them. Within the Kriyat Shema we find a remez – a hint to each of the Asseret HaDibrot.
ה יכנא - This is parallel to the opening verse of Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokenu – accepting that Hashem is our God.
היהי אל – This is parallel to the word דחא – that there is one God and so one may not worship other deities.
אשת אל – The verse of ךיקולא ה תא תבהאו – expresses one’s love and appreciation of Hashem. One who loves God would not swear falsely in His name. In addition, we are told to love God with all our heart – ךבבל לכב. One who swears falsely knows one thing in his heart and expresses another with his mouth,
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That is not considered being wholehearted.
תבשה םוי תא רומש – in Kriyat Shema we state: םויה ךוצמ יכנא רשא הלאה םירבדה ויהו. This is a reference to the items that I command you today. In Shemot 17:35 the term םויה תבש יכ appears. The term םויה in Kriyat Shema may also refer to obeying what was commanded with respect to THE Day – to keep the Shabbat. As the Gemara in Shabbat 87a states that the Torah was given on Shabbat.
ךיבא תא דבכ In Kriyat Shema we are com- –manded to teach our children ךינבל םתננשו. If parents teach their children correctly, children will respect their parents. In addition the reference to ךתיבב ךתבשב is connected to ךנבל םתננשו – when our children witness us respecting our elders in our homes, they will do so as well.
חצרת אל – Most acts of murder occur on the road, unfortunately today even more so, in car accidents. This is referenced by ךתכלבו ךרדב.
ףאנת אל – There is a reference to ךבכשב. When you lie down. This refers to being careful with whom one lies in bed and to avoid any inappropriate relationship.
בונגת אל – We are commanded to wrap tefillin around our arm ךדי לע תואל םתרשקו. One commits an act of stealing with one’s hands. By wrapping our arms in tefillin we remind ourselves to be careful with what our arm reaches to obtain and to refrain from taking objects that belong to others without permission.
הנעת אל - One is forbidden from bearing
false testimony. That means one should refrain from making untrue statements about something they may not have witnessed. We are taught in Kriyat Shema to place tefillin between our eyes – ךיניע ןיב תופטוטל ויהו – to ensure that we only bear witness with respect to what we actually see with our own eyes.
דומחת אל – we are not to envy or be jealous of another. This is reflected in Kriyat Shema by the imperative of ךתיב תוזוזמ לע םתבתכו –we are to focus on our own homes and what we are privileged to have been blessed with rather than focus on our neighbor’s lot.
We see that within Kriyat Shema we can find a hint to each of the Asseret HaDibrot. When we recite the Kriyat Shema we can include in our kavana this new insight broadening the scope of our understanding of tefilla.
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Parashat Va’etchanan is always read on Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat following Tisha B’av. We must then understand some of the messages shared in the parashah that can help us move beyond mourning to a place of comfort.
The Midrash in Devarim Rabbah comments on the ostensibly extra word “lemor” in the opening verse, “Ve’etchanan el Hashem ba’et hahi lemor – At that time I pleaded with God, saying.” The Midrash expounds - this refers to future generations, it is a directive to pray when we find ourselves in times of distress. Beit Yisrael from Gur adds that this is a message to the Jewish people post-churban. When we no longer have the Beit Hamikdash to connect to our Source, we still have the power of tefilot with which we can reach out to Hashem. Although Moshe Rabbeinu’s tefilot were not answered in the affirmative, we can tap into their merit, enabling our requests to be fulfilled on both an individual and a collective level. We can
Mazal Tov to Leah & Dahvid Wolf and family on the birth of their granddaughter
be inspired by the magnitude of Moshe’s tefilot and thus invest more deeply in our own personal tefilot.
The Rebbe of Gur offers an additional profound message. We spend three weeks focusing on the loss and destruction of the Beit Hamikdash, the primary place of connectivity between Hashem and His people. However, we can never lose sight of the means we do possess to develop and enhance this connection. This Torah portion includes tefilla and recounts the experience of Sinai, receiving the Ten Commandments, as well as the Shema. The parashah is meant to inspire us to connect more deeply through tefillah, Torah and love of Hashem. In Judaism we focus on what we have lost, yet we also seek ways to recover and strengthen what we have to ensure the continuity of our people.
Rav Tuvya Weiss zt”l in Sha’arei Tuvya adds that it is our mission to rebuild that characterizes the celebration of Tu B’av that follows Tisha B’av. This is the day that young women would go dance in the vineyards and shidduchim were made. Indeed, Chazal teach that all who rejoice with a bride and groom it is considered as if they have rebuilt one of the “churvot Yerushalayim.” Celebrating a new Jewish home is akin to welcoming Hashem’s shechinah into this world.
As Jews, we must always look to the past to help us move toward a better future, connecting, strengthening, rebuilding and spreading Hashem’s truth and light wherever we are.
be in loving memory and נ"
our dear parents whose yahrtzeits are in Kislev
been memorialized in a popular song, "An eternal people does not fear the long and arduous path."
Doris Weinberger a"h
'ד -ה"ע המלש לאקזחי
ASSISTING THE NEEDY WHEREVER THEY ARE “Great is Tzedakah, for it brings the Redemption near” Sukkot 49b
Max Weinberger z”l
Greatly missed by their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren
Rav Aryeh and Dvora Weinberger
THIS WEEK: In these troubled times, we pray that Klal Yisrael will be Zocheh to the Ge’ulah and spared from further suffering.
Bernie and Leah Weinberger
Menachem and Hannah Katten
Patience is necessary for those who follow Isaac's way. But a wise woman taught us that patience is but another name for hope. That woman was Jane Austen, who put these words into the mouth of one of the characters in her great novel, Sense and Sensibility: "Know your own happiness. You want nothing but patience—or give it a more fascinating name: call it hope."
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carmay-hanadiv
Living In The New Heart of Israel
Carmay-HaNadiv – An exciting New Anglo Community
Over 140 Anglo families have already purchased apartments in Carmay Hanadiv.
Carmay-Hanadiv is fulfilling the vision of the “Nadiv”, Baron Rothschild who purchased the land in 1887, serving for many years as vineyards for the nearby settlements.
Nestled in between Yerushalayim, Tel-Aviv and Beer Sheva – CarmayHaNadiv, a new neighborhood in Kiriat-Malachi, is developing an exciting new Anglo community.
In Carmay-HaNadiv, we don’t have only high-quality buildings, but offer a full package of a rich communal life, with many excellent educational institutions nearby and close links to job opportunities. Apart from building apartments, we are in charge of all the communal aspects of the neighborhood.
CEO Shalom Wasserteil
CEO Shalom Wasserteil shares the story of this new opportunity
In the next two months, we are due to complete and hand over four buildings, with over 200 apartments, including to many Americans and olim in Israel – who will join over 800 families already established in Carmay-Hanadiv. Beautiful four-room apartments and penthouses are still available.
We will soon open the first part of the central Rothschild Boulevard, that will be the central shopping of the neighborhood. 1,700 SqM of commercial space will be inaugurated. Building for four more buildings, with hundreds of apartments all at high standards will soon be on the market.
A supermarket, HaNadiv bakery, Maccabi and Clalit medical centers, a soccer field and the local elementary school Talmud Torah Etzion are already open for the benefit of the residents.
There is also a fantastic new country Club a few minutes walk from the neighborhood with an indoor and outdoor pool and gym (with separate hours for men and women).
We are actively involved in creating the feeling of a warm community, We set up a dedicated organization called ‘Madregot’ which has a budget to run communal activities, from shiurim to social events and ensuring that the community is tight-knit and dynamic.
Building a very special, affordable and unique community in the heart of Israel, with new development every month, we believe that this is an exciting time to purchase an apartment in Carmay-HaNadiv.
RABBI JUDAH
JUDAH MISCHEL
Executive Director, Camp HASC
Mischel EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CAMP HASC AUTHOR OF BADERECH: ALONG THE PATH OF TESHUVA (MOSAICA 2021) RABBI
Author of Baderech: Along the Path of Teshuva (Mosaica 2021)
Shabbos Nachamu: Build!
May 1957, Kfar Chabad. The small fledgling community founded by Russian Lubavitcher immigrants was shaken to the core when Islamic terrorist “fedayeen”, attacked the village, murdering five children and their melamed during Maariv in their classroom. Ten other children were severely wounded, and all the residents of Kfar Chabad were left with shattered hearts.
Unsure of the future, these Yidden who had survived the brutal Russian exile considered a logical course of action: dismantling their settlement and moving elsewhere. First, of course, they turned to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, zy’a, for guidance.
Mazal Tov to Naveh Nachum Singer on his Bar Mitzvah
Shabbat Nachamu-Va’etchanan
Proud Parents: Ari & Rivka Singer
Proud grandparents: David & Sara Bedein and Avraham & Malka Shrybman
In their telegrams to the Rebbe, they filled in details of the massacre and poured out their pain and their doubts. Should they continue in their mission of establishing a settlement and kehillah in that particular area? And in any case, where would they find the strength to continue after such a horrifying, painful attack?
The Rebbe’s telegram response contained a single sentence: ןינבה ךשמהב ומחנת, “By continuing to build will you be comforted.”
The residents of Kfar Chabad had received their marching orders, and knew what they had to do. That very night the leadership and community met to discuss how to proceed, and plans were drawn for a new vocational school for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Indeed, on the very plot of land where Jewish blood had been spilled, in the very spot where the tragedy had occurred, a new, larger school would be built. (Based on article in Yediot Acharonot, via Chabad.org)
We have gone through so much, so many generations of exiles, painful tragedies and unfathomable sufferings — but the only way for a Jew to go forward is to continue to build.
The Navi Micha warns our enemies not to rejoice over our suffering and tragedies, for even if we fall, we will always rise again: ,יתמק
“...Although I have fallen, I will arise.” The
word יכ does not only mean ‘although’; it can also be translated as ‘because’. ‘Because we have fallen, and as a result of all we have endured as a People, יתמק - we will rise!’
Following these three weeks of reflection and mourning, Shabbos Nachamu is an opportunity for us to gather our strength, and to look forward to what we will build. In the wake of October 7th/Simchas Torah and Charvot Barzel, there has been a proliferation of projects, initiatives to build up our people and honor our fallen.
In every city and community in Eretz Yisrael and across the world, sifrei Torah are being dedicated and completed with great emunah and simchas mitzvah . New shuls and Torah centers have been dedicated in B’nei Dekalim, Beit She’an, Neryah, Otniel and Charish, a new neighborhood in memory of Elkanah Leibman, Hy”d, is being built in the Chevron hills, as is the Beit Binyamin Center in Tzfat, and other expressions of ‘kamti’ all across the Land. Am Yisrael is building on the heroic foundations of those who gave their lives in defense of Am Yisrael: ןינבה ךשמהב
ומחנת, “In continuously building, we will be comforted!”
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Introduction to Bishul Akum
Intent in Bishul Akum, Part 2
The prohibition
the meat (Taz, YD 113:5). This principle in no way conflicts with the reasoning of the decree, and clearly our Sages never meant to include situations in which there was no intent. This article will elaborate on other halachic applications of intent in bishul akum.
A CASE OF DOUBT
Our Sages decreed that one may not eat even kosher food cooked by a non-Jew, a prohibition called bishul akum. This decree is intended to maintain distance between Jews and non-Jews in order to prevent intermarriage. In a situation where the non-Jew had absolutely no intent to cook, but as a result of his actions food became cooked, there is no halachic basis to consider the food bishul akum (Avoda Zara 38a).
According to Biblical law, food that is completely kosher and cooked by a nonJew is permitted. However, our Sages decreed that such food, even when cooked in kosher utensils, is prohibited for consumption. This prohibition is known as bishul akum. In the coming weeks we will discuss the parameters of this rabbinic prohibition, including the reasons behind the decree, when it applies, and the practical halacha for modern industrial kashrut.
For example, if a non-Jew was asked to kasher an oven by turning it on to the highest temperature for a period of time, and, unbeknownst to him, a piece of raw meat was in the oven, that case would certainly not constitute bishul akum. This is simply because the non-Jew had no intent to cook
Food is a very connecting element in every society. That is the basis behind the decree of bishul akum. Our Sages were very concerned about close relationships with non-Jews since intermarriage is a very severe transgression. The prohibition effectively limits Jews and gentiles dining with each other, although there is no specific prohibition against dining with a non-Jew per se. (See Rashi on Avodah Zara 31:b.)
Forbidding the non-Jew’s cooking would be enough to create an emotional distance such that families wouldn’t marry into each other.
Rabbeinu Tam (Tosfot Avodah Zara and Rambam (Ma’achalot Asurot 17:9)
maintain that the decree is based on this issue of closeness to non-Jews that could lead to intermarriage; this is the opinion of most early authorities. However, Rashi and others attribute a different reasoning to the prohibition of bishul akum, which is that non-Jews might mix non-kosher ingredients into the kosher food. In future articles we will discuss whether the parameters of bishul akum are based on both of these reasons or just one. However, it is clear from numerous sources that the danger of intermarriage is the main reason behind the prohibition (See Torat Habayit 3:7).
The decree is binding regardless of the reason
The Gemara in Avoda Zara (38:a) gives three examples of non-Jewish cooking that clearly don’t include intent to cook. The first is burning weeds in a meadow and as a result cooking kosher locusts. The second example is scalding the head of a lamb in order to remove unwanted hairs. In both cases, although food became cooked, the non-Jew clearly had no intent to do so. The Gemara gives a third example, which is discussed at length by early authorities. The case is of a non-Jew who, in order to harden a piece of wood, heats it up in an oven, unaware that there is also raw meat inside.
All authorities agree that if the non-Jew had no knowledge of the meat when he turned on the oven, the meat is permissible since there was clearly no intent to cook it. However, Rosh (Avoda Zara 2:31) based on Rif explains that in a situation where the non-Jew knew there was meat in the oven, even though his main intent was clearly to harden the wood, the food is prohibited. Later authorities try to explain this opinion; Pri To’ar (YD 113:8) explains that in the first two cases there is no doubt what the intent of the non-Jew was, since there is no way to remove hairs from the animal without
Since the transgression of intermarriage was the primary concern behind our Sages’ decree, their goal was to powerfully discourage the possibility of developing emotional connections to non-Jews that could lead to intermarriage either in that generation or the next. Accordingly, early authorities discuss whether the prohibition of bishul akum still applies even in situations where intermarriage is not technically possible. For example, Rashba, in his responsa (1:248), examines the case of food cooked by a priest. Being that Catholic priests do not marry nor do they have children with whom to intermarry, is it permitted to eat food cooked by a priest even though the reason for bishul akum seemingly does not apply to
cooking the meat, nor to burn the weeds without the locusts. However, in the case of the wood, if the non-Jew didn’t want to cook the meat he would have simply removed it from the oven. Prisha (YD 113:5) explains that even if the non-Jew might have intent to cook the locusts or the head of the lamb, the technique is certainly not the normal form of cooking. However, the oven with meat inside is the primary method of cooking. While these are two different ways of understanding the logic of Rosh, they both agree that in a case where the non-Jew was aware of the food, even though he turned on the oven for a different purpose, the food is prohibited.
The OU Israel Gustave & Carol Jacobs Center for Kashrut Education was created to raise awareness and educate the public in all areas of kashrut. Rabbi Ezra Friedman, Deputy Rabbinic Administrator for OU Kosher Israel is the Center's director. him? Rashba answers that we have a rule regarding rabbinic decrees: even when the reason does not apply, the prohibition still stands. This is a necessary element in every rabbinic prohibition. Otherwise, Rashba explains, people could rationalize and find reasons why any decree should not apply in their particular situation. Accordingly, Rashba concludes that even food cooked by a Catholic priest has the prohibition of bishul akum. A similar ruling is made by Ramban (Avodah Zara 35:a) regarding non-Jewish royalty who, because of their stature, are prohibited from marrying Jews. He maintains that the fact that the non-Jews are royalty is irrelevant, and that the decree of bishul akum stands regardless of the reason behind it. Taz (YD 112:1) , Shach (YD 112:4) and Pri Megadim (YD 112:1) cite these rulings as axioms of the laws of bishul akum.
Other examples
Beit Yosef (YD 113) maintains that the Rosh’s position is a minority opinion, and it is clear that in Shulchan Aruch (YD 113:5) he is lenient; in a case of doubt we assume the non-Jew did not intend to cook and the food is permitted. This is also the opinion of some later authorities (Torat Asham 75:22). However, there are many authorities who concur with Rosh’s opinion, such as Rema (Torat Chatat 75:22), Levush (YD 113:5), and Minchat Yaakov (75:22). The final ruling by later poskim is that since there is room to interpret like both opinions and since the decree is rabbinic, in a case of substantial financial loss one may rely on the lenient opinion of Beit Yosef.
Later authorities discuss similar cases where the logic behind bishul akum may not apply. Responsa Shevet Kehati (6:273) rules that even food cooked by a non-Jewish child is considered bishul akum, despite the fact that the chances of marriage seem remote. The same is true for food cooked in a faraway country where Jews cannot travel -- bishul akum still applies.
In summary:
gentiles, even if the ingredients and uten sils are kosher.
The reason cited by most authorities is the risk of intermarriage.
Even in cases with virtually no risk of intermarriage, the food is still prohibited, including non-Jewish royalty, priests, young children, and non-Jews from distant lands.
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an industrial oven with large amounts of food inside. Although his main intent is to fix the oven, he is also aware of the food. In such a case, where a large amount of food might go to waste, there is room to be lenient.
This is the ruling of Aruch HaShulchan (YD 113:28) and Pri Chadash (YD 113:5). An example of this would be a mechanic fixing
Our Sages prohibited food cooked by
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SIMCHAT SHMUEL
BY RABBI SAM SHOR Program Director, OU Israel Center
BY RABBI SAM SHOR PROGRAM DIRECTOR, OU ISRAEL CENTER
The Shabbat following Tisha B’Av is known as Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of nechama- of comfort or consolation. Following the three weeks of mourning and reflection for the churban, the destruction of the Batei Mikdash (Temples) and of ancient Yerushalayim, we transition to focus more on the future, the comfort we find in the survival and growth of the Jewish people.
However, if we look at the opening verses of the special Haftorah that is chanted for Shabbat Nachamu, Yeshayahu HaNavi’s words suggest an added dimension to this Shabbat of comfort and consolation.
The opening pasuk reads: Nachamu, nachamu Ami, yomar Elokeichem- Comfort, Comfort my People says your G-d.
What is the significance of the apparent redundancy in this verse, that the word comfort is repeated twice? Who is comforting whom?
The Kedushat Levi, the great Chasidic Master, Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev,zy’a , explains that this verse teaches that really we should be comforted not only in knowing that our period of sadness and affliction has passed, but that comfort is amplified; this is a dual comfort, through the knowledge that it is HaKadosh Baruch Hu who is responsible in bringing that comfort and tranquility.
The Aish Kodesh, the Piaseczna Rebbe zy’a, explained our verse in a very powerful way. The Rebbe points to the second verse of the haftorah, to help clarify our opening verse.
Dabru al Lev Yerushalayim, V’kiru eleiha, ki mala tzivaa ki nirtza avona, ki lakecha miyad Hashem kiflayim bchol chatoteha. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, And declare to her that her term of service is over, That her iniquity has ceased; For she has received at the hand of Hashem, Double for all her transgressions.
The Rebbe asked, what does it mean that Yerushalayim received a double consequence? Hashem has endless compassion for each of us, what is the verse suggesting, that Hashem has levied a double consequence upon the Jewish people for each of our transgressions?
The Aish Kodesh explains that when a person commits a misdeed, the person themself experiences that mistake as well as the outcome of that mistake. We must also acknowledge that each individual is endowed with a neshama, which is the aspect of the Divine, hidden within each of us. When we transgress, this innate Divine reflection also experiences both the misdeed and its consequence, hence the double consequence. However, the Rebbe continues, if this is indeed true, then the conclusion we can draw is that if the consequence is indeed double, then the Nechama, the comfort that will follow those consequences, will also be double. Nachamu, nachamu ami.
The Lev Simcha zy’a, the Gerrer Rebbe, develops this idea a step further and offers his own novel explanation of our verse. The Rebbe points to an interesting passage in the Midrash Rabbah. The Midrash states al tikri nachamu nachamu Ami (my people), eleh Imi (rather with me). The Lev Simcha explains that not only do the Jewish people feel comforted on this Shabbat of nechama, but Hashem experiences comfort as well, Hashem is comforted in knowing that our pain is lessened, in knowing that we are healing and comforted.
This, explains the Lev Simcha, is the dual comfort mentioned in Yeshayau HaNavi’s words, and this, explains the Rebbe, is the powerful message we are meant to take to heart on this special Shabbat. Hashem is with us always, Hashem is pained when we are in pain, and shares in our comfort when we heal and are consoled.
May we all be blessed to feel that dual comfort this Shabbat, and each and every day. Nachamu Nachamu Ami....
New
EFRAT
GEULAS YISRAEL
BY RABBI MOSHE TARAGIN YISRAEL
BY RABBI MOSHE TARAGIN RAM, YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
Halachic Man… and Beyond
Our people are facing a gut-wrenching decision and an unimaginable dilemma. There are currently 116 hostages imprisoned in Gaza, who have suffered through over 300 days of unspeakable cruelty and torture. They are citizens of our State, and we have a national and moral responsibility to bring them home. It appears as if the only way they can be released is through a ceasefire agreement with Hamas murderers. The only path to their release is a treaty with monsters whose hands are stained with the blood of thousands of Israelis.
On the other hand, if we don’t finish this just and moral war, these maniacs will regroup, re-entrench themselves, and recover their capacity to attack us. We have invested far too much effort and suffered far too much loss of life to leave this incredibly important job unfinished. Our survival depends upon it.
There have been countless shiurim delivered surrounding the halachot of pidyon shevuyim (redeeming captives) and how it impacts our difficult dilemma. Of course, each shiur concludes in the same manner: the conventional or typical halachic guidelines of pidyon shevuim are not applicable
to this situation. There are broader issues at play such as the morale of the country which would be lifted by freeing hostages after their prolonged suffering. Improved national morale is a strategic asset, especially after such a long and draining war.
Alternatively, a hostage release will cause deep anguish to families of fallen soldiers for whom anything less than total victory makes their sacrifice feel hollow. The longterm effects of a hostage exchange are also frightening, as any deal will release hundreds if not thousands of murderers who will execute future attacks. Of course, international opinion must also be factored in as we desperately need the support of our allies, many of whom demand a hostage exchange. None of these factors appear in the gemara in Gittin which discusses releasing captives, and these issues are similarly absent from the ensuing discussion in the Rishonim and Acharonim.
Ultimately the sheer diversity of complicating factors renders the direct application of the halachot impossible. In 1976 when initially asked about releasing Israeli hostages held in Entebbe, HaRav Ovadia Yosef concluded that there was no indisputable halachic mandate and that the decision must be taken by military and political experts. Whatever these experts felt was best for our country would be halachically mandated. Of course, Hashem provided a miracle and liberated our hostages through the heroism of the IDF.
The very fact, however, that there are so many shiurim being delivered about the halachot of pidyon shevuyim , even though the halachot are “inapplicable”, reflects a broader phenomenon. We are becoming more committed to halachic observance, but less sensitive to employing non-halachic reasoning. Our default and sometimes only response is halachic assessment. Sometimes halacha has little to say and we must apply different analysis.
HALACHA-IZATION OF RELIGION
Over the past several decades halachic observance has b”H spiked in the Orthodox community. More people are keeping halacha more strictly than in previous generations. In part, the stiffening of halachic standards was a reaction to the rupture in our masorah caused by 19th and 20th century secularization and by the Holocaust. Professor Chaim Soloveitchik claimed that traditionally, halachic information was delivered through a mimetic tradition whereby practices and teachings were passed down through generations by example and through oral transmission. Mitzvot and minhagim were learned through observation and participation.
When this mimetic transmission ruptures, halachic practice is reconstructed through books and texts in a more formalized and codified manner. The widespread availability of seforim and effortless exchange of information facilitated by the internet, have each contributed to the surge in halachic commitment.
Yet, primarily because halacha has been centered, other forms of religious calculus have become neglected. There are questions which lie beyond the domain of strict halachic categories. Rabbi Soloveitchik authored
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Meir Golan
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a landmark philosophical sefer entitled “The Halachic Man” describing a religious Jew as someone who approaches life through the lens of Halakha, allowing it to shape their worldview, ethics, behavior, and decision making. It was a supremely important work when first published in 1959 and articulates crucial and timeless elements of Jewish faith and practice.
However, 75 years later it is fair to question whether we have become imbalanced “Halachic Men” who ignore or even stifle other forms of religious processing.
MORAL INSTINCT
Parshat V’etchanan describes the value of “lifnim mishurat hadin” or preserving the moral spirit of halacha, not just the legal mandates:
Though we are commanded to adhere Meir Golan
to a comprehensive system of 613 mitzvot, many issues transcend the boundaries of strict halachic parameters. The value of lifnim mishurat hadin demands that we don’t just consider what we are obligated to do but also ponder what we ought to do morally and ethically. Hashem imbued us with an ethical spirit and inner moral compass, and He wants us to employ them to navigate issues which halacha doesn’t directly address.
THE FLAGPOLE AND THE PLUMBING
Forty years ago, as a young semicha student at Yeshiva University I walked home one wintry evening as the flagpoles high above the street were swaying dangerously in the wind. A young boy rushed over to me asking whether he had a chiyuv or a halachic obligation to notify the police. I responded that I didn’t know whether he had a chiyuv but it was certainly a good idea. Not every good idea is grounded in halachic demands. Fast forward about 35 years later, I visited a community for Shabbat which, evidently, was struggling with plumbing complications in their shul, caused by paper towels and wipes being flushed down the toilet. In response, the bathrooms were plastered with signs warning that disposing non-flushables is considered theft or gezeilah as it would clog the pipes and require costly maintenance. I remember how disappointed I was that the signs implored proper behavior based upon avoiding gezeilah rather than because of common courtesy and decency.
As halachic commitment has increased, the halacha-ization of Orthodox Judaism has also increased, sometimes obscuring other important forms of religious reasoning such as moral instinct and menshlichkeit.
HALACHA AND GEULAH
This halacha-ization of Judaism has also impacted the way we analyze the redemptive process. Redemption is a new experience about which we have little tradition or masorah to guide us. Simply defaulting to halachic concepts to process the mysteries and demands of geulah is insufficient. Mori
V’Rabbi HaRav Amital was staunchly opposed to conditioning our love for Israel and our commitment to settling the Land upon the existence of a mitzvah to live in Israel (the Ramban asserts a mitzvah whereas the Rambam omits mention). Hypothetically, if there weren’t a mitzvah to settle Israel would living in Israel be less important?
At this stage of history our relationship with Israel and with Jewish history can’t be reduced to purely halachic calculus. More is demanded of us, and it lies beyond halacha.
I am similarly disappointed when the discussion surrounding Yom Ha’atzmaut is pitched entirely around the halachot of reciting hallel. The micro question of hallel is important and should be analyzed through halachic processing. However, there are many who choose not to recite Hallel who still deeply identify with Israel and its redemptive potential. You cannot quantify participation in our joint historical project through halachic calculation. Navigating redemption requires different compasses. Halacha can’t always guide us. Sensitivity to Jewish history comes from our ability to hear the silent music of past generations, its
CONTRACTION OR EXPANSION
The gemara in Berachot (8a) claims that
After the destruction of the Mikdash, Judaism retreated into the insular study halls of Torah and the bracketed performance of mitzvot. Fortunately, Torah and mitzvot are vast, infinite, and self-sufficient. For centuries we constructed a rich and robust religious experience based solely upon that “small” but vast world of the Beit Midrash. Not only is halachic commitment foundational to religious experience but without strict and unflinching halachic observance we would not have survived, nor would we have retained our national identity. We would not have outlasted exile without passionate devotion to halacha.
Now that we have returned to Israel, even though we haven’t fully returned to a Mikdash-like state, many Jews, particularly in Israel, are experimenting with religious expression outside of Torah study and formal mitzvot. What role does commitment to Land and history play within religious consciousness? Now that we live in a broader Jewish society, what role does music and art play in amplifying the Jewish spirit and, ultimately, in enriching religion- with the assumption being that the deeper the Jewish spirit the more profound the religious expression? Does our relationship with the geography and topography of our motherland impact our religious experience? People are stretching their avodat Hashem beyond halacha.
This is precisely the danger and the
challenge of living in Israel, something which many who live overseas have difficulty fully understanding. Halachic observance is the cornerstone of religious experience. If it erodes, religious experience is hollow. Searching for religious meaning outside of halacha can potentially subvert the primacy of halacha and may diminish halachic fidelity. Sadly, this has occurred. If halacha is everything, it is more likely to be strictly preserved. If there are additional voices and new expressions, there is a danger that halacha becomes decentralized.
Alternatively, if we remain limited to halachic reasoning we lack the processing tools for non-halachic issues and are incapable of stretching religious experience beyond the boundaries of halacha.
Ultimately, our challenge is to augment halacha without diminishing its importance or diluting its observance. To be “Halachic Men” but to go beyond. Everything must start with halacha but not everything ends with halacha.
HAFTORAH
BY REBBETZIN DR. ADINA SHMIDMAN INSIGHTS
Divine Dimensions
SHABBAT NACHAMU
This week, we continue the series of ten Haftorot that are connected to the time of year rather than a haftorah thematically related to the weekly parsha. We begin the series known as the Shiva d’Nechemta, the Seven Haftarot of Consolation. This week’s Haftorah - Nachamu is the first of the seven Haftorot of consolation.
When one takes a look at our planet, it is hard to fathom its creation. The myriad of habitats that shelter a plethora of creatures and unique elements are vast in their design. Tall mountains, deep valleys, wide oceans and sweeping deserts - how can one comprehend its creation?
The Navi Yeshayahu intrigues us with a description of Hashem measuring the water, heavens, earth and mountains. ־ימ
Who measured the waters in His palm, and gauged the Heavens with a span, and meted earth’s dust with a measure, and weighed the mountains with a scale and the hills with a balance (Yeshayahu 40:12)
What tools does one use to measure elements so enormous with features that seemingly defy measurement? Even using today’s
sophisticated machinery and technology, one would have a difficult time translating these elements into meaningful and measurable units. How can one measure the heavens?
All the water on earth? The weight of the mountains? One can only picture the enormity of G-d’s tools. But the pasuk suggests otherwise. Hashem’s toolbox contains a fist to measure water, a handspan to measure the heavens, a measure to assess the dust of the earth and a scale to weigh the mountains. How is it possible that these small tools can measure an earth so vast?
Yeshayahu’s message to us is that our world is not as large as we think. What we see as all-encompassing and immense is minuscule in the eyes of G-d. What for us would be daunting is easily doable for Hashem. Redemption from our prolonged Galus may at times seem impossible to us and yet for Hashem, says Yeshayau, it will only take small weights and measures for Him to mete out. May we merit the time when Hashem doles out His blessings and comforts us without measure and bounds.
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Two verses in Parashat Va’etchanan promise life itself: “Now, Yisrael, heed the decrees and ordinances that I am teaching you to do, so that you might live (ויחת)” (Deuteronomy 4:1); “But you who cleave to the Lord your God, you are all alive (םייח today” (Deuter- ) onomy 4:4). What is meant by life here?
The medieval commentator Rabbi Avraham b. Meir Ibn Ezra understood it literally. His proof comes from an intervening verse: “Your eyes have seen what the Lord did with Ba’al Pe’or, for the Lord your God destroyed from your midst every man who followed Ba’al Pe’or” (Deuteronomy 4:3). If egregious sinners were dealt death, then the devout followers are rewarded with life.1
Rav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook interpreted the life in the verses metaphorically in the preface to his Shabbat ha-Aretz:
“For what great nation is there to which God is so close…!” (Deuteronomy 4:7). The uniqueness of the congregation of Israel lies in the fact that it views existence through the clear lens of holiness. It recognizes, with all the strength of its being, that life only has value to the extent that it is Godly, and life that is not Godly is worth nothing. […] a life that is not Godly is not considered living. This 1. Ibn Ezra on Deuteronomy 4:3–4.
knowledge, posited deep within the character of the soul, leaves its unique impression on every single Jew. The light and salvation of the individual depend on one’s knowledge, deep in one’s soul, of the depth and force of this universal impression, and on the appreciation of life as Godly. “But you who cleave (םיקבדה) to the Lord your God, you are all alive today.”2
Life, for Rav Kook, is not the automatic alternative to death, for there is life in which one cannot be said to be alive. To be alive is to possess a sacred purpose, an aspiration to live a Godly life. Only those who cleave to God, who practice devekut (תוקבד), are truly alive. But what is devekut?
The Chafetz Chayim, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, treated the conception of devekut in the introduction to Ahavat Chesed. There, he traced a program of spiritual ascent in the Book of Deuteronomy across three verses:
(1) “You shall observe the commandments of the Lord your God, to follow His paths and fear him” (Deuteronomy 8:6).
(2) “Now, Yisrael, what does the Lord your God ask of you, except to fear the Lord your God, to follow His paths, to love Him…” (Deuteronomy 10:12).
(3) “You shall surely keep this commandment that I command you to do, to love the Lord your God, to follow His paths, and to cleave (הקבדלו) to Him” (Deuteronomy 11:22).
While these verses contain similar language, there are subtle variations. The first verse mentions fear, the second love, and the third 2. Preface to Shabbat ha-Aretz, 7.
cleaving. Fear, or perhaps awe, is the foundation for one’s relationship with God. This grows into appreciation and love, and with sustained focus one can eventually cling to God. The sine qua non for all three states, and surely for any kind of spiritual ascent, is the unchanging element in the verses: “to follow His paths.” One follows God by emulating his compassion and kindness. Done enough, one arrives at devekut, which differs from love in that the former is continuous and the latter is more episodic or periodic, strengthening and weakening with the tides of time.3
Rav Kook also articulated a three-tiered relationship with God. It begins with fear of punishment, progresses to love, and culminates in endless love. He referenced the verse we recite daily in the Shema prayer: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your me’od” (Deuteronomy 6:5).4 Me’od is an adverb that means “very much,” so what does it mean here as a noun? Ibn Ezra says it retains the adverbial sense: love God very, very much.5 How much? Even unto death. The Zohar writes: “Whoever intends with these words to give up their life for the sanctification of the Divine Name is considered to have been martyred every day.”6 One of the most foundational verses in Judaism advocates for a love of God in which the self melds with God, yielding an unparalleled attachment and intimacy with the Creator. What does devekut look like in practice? The Ramban filled in the details: [Y]ou should not separate your thoughts from Him as you take to the road, lie down, or
wake up, to the point that conversation with other people is with the mouth and tongue but not the heart, which is in God’s presence. It is possible for people at this level to have their souls bound up in [eternal] life even as they live, for they themselves become an abode for the Shekhinah.7
Devekut entails a perpetual awareness of God and His guiding hand. Putting it all together, God-consciousness is the keystone to a life fully lived.
Rav Kook epitomized this. One summer he and some colleagues traveled to the north of Israel to attempt to persuade the chalutzim to observe more mitzvot. Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Charlop, a close disciple staying with him, awoke one night to see Rav Kook pacing the room. He asked him what seemed to be wrong. Rav Kook answered, “I am consumed 7. Ramban on Deuteronomy 11:22.
with a burning love for God.”
Rav Kook wrote that prayer is only possible when we realize that our souls are in a constant state of prayer; during statutory prayer, we are essentially allowing this prayer to reveal itself.8 Rav Kook’s entire personality was focused on devekut, clinging to God.
Once Rav Kook was invited to the community of Magdiel in the Sharon to plant the first sapling in an official ceremony to inaugurate a new forest. Rav Kook was handed the sapling to plant. He did not use the shovel offered but rather he knelt down to the soil and dug a hole in the earth with his bare hands. He seemed overwhelmed by emotion, so someone asked why. He explained: “Planting a tree in the Land of Israel is not an ordinary agricultural act. It is emulating the divine attributes, for He, too, planted trees in the earth at the beginning.” God says about Himself that He “planted a garden in Eden” (Genesis 2:8). In that moment, by emulating God Rav Kook felt himself cleaving to Him, and he was overcome by the feeling of devekut.9
There are times in our life when we experience sublime sensations of devekut with our Creator, and these are important. This should not give us the misimpression that devekut is confined to these electrifying episodes. Devekut is God-consciousness that should accompany us at every waking moment. As Rav Kook wrote: “There are people of intense faith, immense souls from whom the supernal attainment of divine devekut, which brings illumination and ecstasy, never departs.”10 Those who “cleave to the Lord… are all alive today”; in fact, they have never felt more alive.
8. Siddur Olat Re’iyah, 1:11. 9. Jaffe, Celebration of the Soul, 104. 10. Orot ha-Kodesh, 2:342.
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A Child Removing a Suction-Held Divider on Shabbat
Question: I use a divider, which is held in place by suction cups, on our counter. I rarely moved it, but my young son now likes pulling it off and playing with it. May I allow him to do so on Shabbat, and may I return it when he is finished?
Answer: The melacha of boneh (building) classically applies to the ground and things attached to it, e.g., buildings and their walls, floors, etc. It includes acts of building that are not done strongly (Shabbat 102b). (Although “there is no boneh for movable objects” (see Beitza 22a), in some cases, it applies also to them – Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 314:1). A counter is attached to the house and therefore is subject to strict laws of boneh.
Attaching things, e.g., nails, screws, to a building is forbidden, although it is not a simple question whether it violates boneh or
Rav Daniel Mann
makeh b’patish (see Shabbat 102b; Mishna Berura 314:8). When putting something together is boneh, removing one from the other is under the melacha of soter (Shulchan Aruch ibid.). Yet the Terumat Hadeshen (I,64; see Shulchan Aruch, OC 314:12) in discussing removing a knife wedged in a wall, is concerned only with the possibility that in so doing, he will widen the hole. Why isn’t its removal from the wall soter? Also, the gemara (Shabbat 138a) says that one may hang a curtain on Shabbat. Since it must be attached to something that is attached to the house, why is it not boneh? These are among many indications that not every connection is forbidden.
We will look at three major factors in determining whether boneh/soter applies. 1) How firmly the addition is connected to the building – The Beit Yosef (OC 315, accepted by the Rama, OC 315:1 and Magen Avraham 315:1) says that the reason hanging curtains is permitted is that it can blow in the breeze, i.e., its attachment is weak. 2) How long it is to be connected – The Chazon Ish (OC 52:13), in arguing on the Beit Yosef’s claim that the curtain’s weak connection eliminates boneh, explains the gemara as referring to a case where the curtain will not remain for long. This distinction has a source in the gemara (Beitza 32b). It is unclear exactly how long the cutoff point is. 3) To what extent does the addition fit in as part of the edifice (stringent) or as a separate, albeit connected, entity with its own purpose (see Orchot
Eretz Hemdah, the Institute for Advanced Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, is headed by Rav Yosef Carmel and Rav Moshe Ehrenreich, founded by Rav Shaul Yisraeli, zt”l, to prepare rabbanim and dayanim to serve the National Religious community in the Israel and abroad. Ask the Rabbi is a joint venture of the OU, Eretz Hemdah, and OU Israel’s Torah Tidbits.
Shabbat 8:(18); Piskei Teshuvot 313:4).
The way all the factors interact is complex. For example, something meant for a very short time or a very flimsily connection might be permitted by itself, whereas in more moderate cases, we might need and be able to combine multiple lenient factors (see Piskei Teshuvot ibid.).
Let us analyze your case. Contemporary poskim (Shemirat Shabbat K’hilchata 23:39; Orchot Shabbat 8:12) view suction cups as a moderately strong connector and as a candidate for it being forbidden to connect/remove. You use the divider to create a counter with separations; it has no independent utility. Therefore, grounds for leniency would have to be the length of its stay/ frequency of its removal. Even if your son takes it off frequently, the fact that this is not the intended use makes it likely that a Rabbinic extension of the prohibition, due to how the matter appears, applies (Mishna Berura 313:23).
Although a parent should not let a child who can be trained violate a halacha (Shulchan Aruch, OC 343:1), there is more room for leniency when he acts of his own volition and it is not fully clear it is forbidden. We have cited (see Living the Halachic Process II, C-13) the Shemirat Shabbat K’hilchata (16:(53)) as being lenient about a child’s toy when we would not let an adult do so under similar circumstances. However, part of the leniency is that the Rabbis probably did not extend their prohibitions to toys, and your divider is not a toy.
In closing, you should not reattach the divider on Shabbat. Whether to allow your son to remove it depends on specifics whose permutations we cannot exhaust. If you want your son to have it, consider removing the divider, which you apparently do not need constantly, before Shabbat.
Having a dispute?
For a Din Torah in English or Hebrew contact: Eretz Hemdah–Gazit Rabbinical Court 077-215-8-215 • Fax: (02) 537-9626 beitdin@eretzhemdah.org
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Machon Puah for Fertility and Gynecology in Accordance with Halacha
WEITZMAN
Life in the Body and Outside of the Body
Last time we saw an apparent contradiction between two Talmudic sources; in Yevamot (69a) it is written that until forty days the fertilized egg is consider just fluid and not life, but, in Sanhedrin (57b) Rabbi Yishmael was of the opinion that a non-Jew is liable to capital punishment if he kills an unborn fetus and he does not limit this to only 40 days after conception.
One way of explaining the distinction between the two sources is based on the proof text that Rabbi Yishmael quoted to prove his position. The verse (Bereishit 9:6) says “he who spills the blood of a person in a person his blood will be spilled”. This acrostic verse is beautiful in its sublime poetry. Who spills blood, his blood will be spilled. When we consider that the word for man or person, Adam, is linguistically connected to the word for blood, Dam. And so, in the original Hebrew, the verse simply flows like a lyrical song.
Yet there is one word that is superfluous in the verse; the word in a person, Ba’adam. If the verse were to say “he who spills the
blood of a person his blood will be spilled” we would learn that it is forbidden to murder and the punishment for doing so is the death penalty.
This is the word that Rabbi Yishmael brings as a proof that not only is murder forbidden, but so is abortion. “Who is the person within a person? This is the fetus in the mother’s body” (Sanhedrin 57b).
The verse clearly defines the parameters of the prohibition; the Torah forbids taking the life of a living being that resides inside another. This is explained to refer to a fetus. But this prohibition is only applicable when the fetus is inside another person, i.e. inside the uterus.
There is a very significant difference between a fertilized egg outside of the body, ex-vivo, and one in-vivo, inside the uterus. A fertilized egg ex-vivo can never develop into life, and only when, and if, it is transferred into the uterus can it develop into life. The opposite is also true; a fertilized egg developing in the uterus will become life unless it is removed or there is a miscarriage and we stop life or life stops.
This can explain the difference between the Talmud in Yevamot that suggests that life does not start at conception as opposed to the Talmud in Sanhedrin that forbids stopping even a day-old pregnancy. The former source relates to an egg ex-vivo, whereas the latter speaks about a fertilized egg in-vivo.
More on this next time.
Real Life Rescues
1221
Real Life Rescues
Man Suffers Cardiac Arrest, Is Rescued By Storeowner
Who Volunteers As EMT
EMT Saves Baby from Severe Allergic Reaction Following First Taste of Tahini
On a recent Tuesday morning in Jerusalem, parents were feeding their 6-month-old baby and introduced him to tahini for the first time. Within minutes, the baby developed a severe allergic reaction. The infant's parents immediately called emergency services, seeking urgent help.
On Wednesday just before noon in Tiberias, a man in his 90s suffered cardiac arrest while sitting on the couch in his house. His relatives immediately alerted emergency services.
United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Shalom Klein, alerted to the emergency through his proximity alert system, sprang into action as the first responder on the scene. Arriving promptly, Shalom was confronted with a distressing sight - a baby boy with swollen lips and tongue, struggling to breathe, and covered in a worrisome rash.
United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Aryeh Levinger was working nearby at the bike store he owns when he received an alert on his communications device about the incident. He asked an employee from the neighboring store to keep an eye on the bikes and rushed to the scene on his ambucycle, with lights and sirens blaring.
Recognizing the symptoms as indicative of an anaphylactic shock, the volunteer knew immediate intervention was crucial. Without hesitation, he administered a life-saving EpiPen injection, delivering a dose of epinephrine to counteract the severe allergic reaction. The powerful medication quickly took effect, and the infant's breathing became less labored. The swelling in the lips and tongue began to subside, providing much-needed relief to the child.
Levinger pulled up to the address in under 90 seconds, arriving together with volunteer EMT
Yekutiel Parhi. The pair rushed to the second floor, where they found the man slumped on the couch, without a pulse and not breathing. Family members informed the responders that the patient had been speaking to them just minutes earlier and had suddenly lost consciousness.
As the symptoms continued to recede, the EMT monitored his condition while awaiting the arrival of a mobile intensive care ambulance. Several minutes later, the ambulance team arrived and transported the infant to the nearest hospital for further treatment and observation.
Reflecting on the incident, Shalom emphasized the importance of having an EpiPen readily available. "It's a great thing I had an EpiPen in my medical kit," he stated. "An EpiPen can save a person's life within minutes and is a huge help for both EMTs and patients."
The EMTs gently moved the man to the floor, initiated CPR, and attached a defibrillator. Moments later, an intensive care ambulance crew arrived at the scene. The paramedic administered medications while the team continued performing chest compressions and assisted ventilation. Thankfully, after 25 minutes of hard work, the patient suddenly regained a pulse. He was transported to the hospital for further treatment.
“It’s a privilege to arrive first at the scene of a case of cardiac arrest and be able to take part in a successful resuscitation,” Parhi reflected after the incident. “I’m extremely moved and I pray that he will fully recover.”
“It’s not always easy to abandon my store in the middle of the day but when a life is at stake, I drop everything and think only about the patient,” added Levinger. “When the effort is successful, there is no more rewarding feeling.”
THE DAILY PORTION
THE DAILY PORTION
BY SIVAN RAHAV-MEIR
BY SIVAN RAHAV-MEIR
International Bible Quiz Champions Speak
International Bible Quiz Champions Speak
A New and Improved “Waze” : Taking a Lesson from the Three Weeks
Ayelet Malka, from the north of Israel, sent me the following note:
Shalom Sivan,
Much excitement has surrounded Emunah Cohen and Neta Lax, the two fresh winners of the annual International Bible Quiz. Yesterday I interviewed them and heard their story.
Much excitement has surrounded Emunah Cohen and Neta Lax, the two fresh winners of the annual International Bible Quiz. Yesterday I interviewed them and heard their story.
It turns out that they studied long hours together and were confident they would be the leading competitors. "We planned on winning together," Emunah revealed. "We thought both of us would answer every question correctly so that we would both be champions, tied for first place.
We, the residents of the north, have been unable to use “Waze” or “Google Maps” for the longest time. In fact, last time I checked, our location was in Beirut… It’s annoying and difficult, but it has also changed us in profound ways.
the first time?' Yet I simply forgot it. I thought afterwards that HaShem caused me to forget the answer in order to remind me that I do
not know everything, that I am human and not perfect."
the first time?' Yet I simply forgot it. I thought afterwards that HaShem caused me to forget the answer in order to remind me that I do not know everything, that I am human and not perfect."
"The more you learn," Neta said, "the easier it gets. When you learn a lot of Tanach (Bible) you simply see how everything connects to your life. I truly felt that what I learned accompanied me wherever I went. It made my heart feel good."
"The more you learn," Neta said, "the easier it gets. When you learn a lot of Tanach (Bible) you simply see how everything connects to your life. I truly felt that what I learned accompanied me wherever I went. It made my heart feel good."
people’s challenges, and offer to help them. In this way, these days of Bein Hametzarim (“In the Narrow Places”) - the Three Weeks - can be transformed into a time of kindness and unconditional love in the most practical way.
In closing, Neta declared: "The two of us will continue to study the Tanach. There were parts of the Tanach that were not in the material covered by the quiz, and it's important for us to learn them too."
I believe that something very significant is taking place here; God is telling us to look out our windows, notice other
It turns out that they studied long hours together and were confident they would be the leading competitors. "We planned on winning together," Emunah revealed. "We thought both of us would answer every question correctly so that we would both be
But in the end Emunah won. "They made a big deal about our big hug after I lost," Neta said. "But it was the easiest thing to share in her happiness. Besides, we were just relieved that the competition was finally over."
In closing, Neta declared: "The two of us will continue to study the Tanach. There were parts of the Tanach that were not in the material covered by the quiz, and it's important for us to learn them too."
And Emunah had this recommendation: "Study the Bible for 5 minutes every day. Not for school, not for the Bible quiz, but just for how much fun it will be."
But in the end Emunah won. "They made a big deal about our big hug after I lost," Neta said. "But it was the easiest thing to share in her happiness. Besides, we were just relieved
In the course of the entire contest, Emunah made only one error. "I knew the answer to the question: 'When did King David cry for
In the course of the entire contest, Emunah made only one error. "I knew the answer to the question: 'When did King David cry for
And Emunah had this recommendation: "Study the Bible for 5 minutes every day. Not for school, not for the Bible quiz, but just for how much fun it will be."
These days, we need to ask someone passing by on the sidewalk: “Tell me, how do you get to the gardening center?” Or, we have to roll down our car window and ask: “Where is the BIG Shopping Center ? Do you continue going straight?”- just as we used to do in the “old days.”
This has happened a lot to me lately. In fact, my attitude towards my surroundings has completely changed. Now I stop to offer help or to be helped. Just today I met a stranger and we concentrated on solving a problem together, face to face.
Sivan Rahav-Meir is a media personality and lecturer. Married to Yedidya, the mother of five. Lives in Jerusalem, and formerly served as the World Mizrachi Shlicha to North America. Sivan lectures in Israel and overseas about the media, Judaism, Zionism and new media. She was voted by Globes newspaper as most popular female media personality in Israel and by the Jerusalem Post as one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world.
Sivan Rahav-Meir is a media personality and lecturer. Married to Yedidya, the mother of five. Lives in Jerusalem, and formerly served as the World Mizrachi Shlicha to North America. Sivan lectures in Israel and overseas about the media, Judaism, Zionism and new media. She was voted by Globes newspaper as most popular female media personality in Israel and by the Jerusalem Post as one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world.
And only yesterday, I was driving along the road when a woman stopped me in the middle of an interchange to ask for directions. The traffic behind me came to a halt until I was able to explain to her where she needed to go. And nobody honked their horn!
I look at people differently now, and
the
He blesses Yitzchak. The Jewish people will be Yitzchak and not Yishmael.
sometimes I just feel like sticking my head out of my car window and asking: “Friends. I live around here. Does anyone need help getting anywhere?”
7th Aliya (25:12-18) The generations of Yishmael are enumerated. Yishmael dies. His descendants dwell from Egypt to Assyria. Yishmael’s story is brief. He has numerous and powerful offspring. The brevity
With God’s help, we will go back to using Waze again. But in the meantime, let’s appreciate the transformation of our society! We are literally helping each other find the right direction; in this way, we are repairing the world and bringing redemption closer.
A SHORT VORT
and provide warmth.
Adoniyahu, one of King David’s sons, began to prepare for ascension to his father’s throne. This was despite the fact that King David expressed his wishes that his son Shlomo succeed him.
Adoniyahu convinces two very significant personalities - the High Priest and the commander of King David’s armies - to
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When Avraham addresses the people of Cheit, trying to acquire a burial spot for his wife, he says “Ger V’Toshav Anochi Eimachem” (23:4) “A Stranger and a Resident am I with you”
Sivan Rahav-Meir is a media personality and lecturer. Married to Yedidya, the mother of five. Lives in Jerusalem, and formerly served as the World Mizrachi Shlicha to North America. Sivan lectures in Israel and overseas about the media, Judaism, Zionism and new media. She was voted by Globes newspaper as most popular female media personality in Israel and by the Jerusalem Post as one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world.
This seems to be a contradiction. If one is a stranger than he is not a resident, if he is a resident than he is no longer a stranger. What did Avraham mean?
The Magid of Dubno (Jacob ben Wolf Kranz 1741-1804) explains that Avraham watched how he spoke in this tense situation in order to, both, state his truth and be able to keep the peace -Shalom Bayit. Avraham said, on the one hand, “I am a Resident’ due to G-d’s promise to receive this Land and on the other hand, I still need your agreement to purchase a plot. In other words, Avraham implied “I am the resident” and you are the “strangers”, while they understood him as saying that “they” are the residents and Avraham is the stranger. The peace was kept, and Avraham remained true to his ideals.
Shabbat Shalom
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Feyge Sara bas Chaya Peshe
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Leah Naomi bat Tova Pesach ben Sarah Frieda
Rina Feigle bat Rivka
Elianna Esther bat Channa Ada
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“COMFORT?
COMFORT MY NATION”
This Shabbat is referred to as “Shabbat Nachamu”. The Shabbat receives its name from the opening of our הרטפה which comes from מ קרפ of והיעשי which begins ומחנ
״ימע (Comfort, Comfort my people).
There is much discussion as to why the הרטפה begins with a repetition by stating the word ומחנ twice. What message is Hashem trying to tell us with what seems to be superfluous?
Every Tisha B’Av we are reminded of the tragedies our nation has experienced through this long and bitter exile. Even as we have returned to Eretz Yisrael we still have not yet reached the full redemption. We plead with Hashem:“We are in pain, this exile has been too long, we are being attacked all over the world, Hashem! Where is there comfort for the Jewish Nation?”
Hashem answers us in our הרטפה. Hashem states “Nachamu?-You want to know where to find comfort? Nachamu Ami- your comfort is found in knowing that you are My Nation. Hashem is telling us that He is with us and has never forgotten us. The comfort is knowing that we will always be Hashem’s Nation. The fulfilment of the promises to our Avot will be fulfilled, we will return in full to our Eretz Yisrael, and
one day the whole world will proclaim that Hashem is one.
Hashem has not lost hope in us and we cannot lose hope in ourselves. May we rise from the mourning over Yerushalayim to a position where we are standing, dancing, and rejoicing together in the Beit Hamikdash in a complete and rebuilt Yerushalayim, please God, soon in our days.
The לחנ יברע asks a question on the words “ץראה ברקב”. Surely the Torah could have just said “ץראב”? He explains that the words ץראה ברקב come to teach us that even when you will be in the midst of the land, in a city that is not your own, with people of different beliefs, you are still an ׳ה דבע, and have the same obligation to follow the Torah’s commandments. Not only are you to follow the םיקוח and םיטפשמ when you arrive in Eretz Yisrael to inherit it, but rather, also when you are working the land, and conquering it, and especially in the presence of other amim, you must stick to Hashem and the Torah.
In our lives too, sometimes it can be easier to remember our identity and our obligations to Hashem when we are
surrounded by like minded people. However, we find ourselves struggling when we leave those people or places, losing inspiration and passion for Torah and mitzvot, and fighting the pressure to fit in. We must remember Moshe’s words ברקב ץראה, and remind ourselves that no matter where we are or who we are with, we have an obligation to Hashem and His Torah, and anytime, anywhere, we should always stick to our beliefs and act accordingly. Shabbat Shalom!
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SIGNS OF DEHYDRATION INCLUDE: Dry mouth, headache, muscle cramps and fatigue
DON’T LET IT SNEAK UP ON YOU.
Make sure to drink 2.7 liters of water (11.5 cups) a day to stay hydrated in the hot Israeli summer.
