Avodah Mailing List

Volume 05 : Number 104

Friday, August 18 2000

• RE: Combing hair on shabbos
• Re: Boneh/Boney Yerushalaim
• Re: Boneh/Boney Yerushalaim
• Re:RYBS and Tikun Olam
• Re: Boneh/Boney Yerushalaim
• Abortion before forty days
• Pesik Raisha
• Orthodox definition
• Re: Pesik Raisha
• Re: Pesik Raisha
• Re: Pesik Raisha
• Re: Pesik Raisha
• Re: weddings in a bet knesset(orthodox)

From: "Isaacson, Andre D." <AIsaacson@CM-P.COM>
> It seems to me that today (at least for men with shorter hair) there is no
> PR when men comb their hair. Moreover ... RSZA z"l is quoted as holding
> that where individual acts are part of a series of acts, you "test" for PR
> based on the individual acts that comprise the series, and not the series
> in total. ... The same I would suggest ought to apply to combing hair.
> Even if the cumulative strokes will inevitably remove hair, each individual
> stroke is not a PR.

As I recall, Rav Hershel Schachter in a shiur given during 1987-88 specifically
said (and I believe that he was quoting Rav Soloveitchik on this) that the
issur of combing/brushing on Shabbos is different than that of a nazir.
The nazir is enjoined from doing anything which might *result* in hair
being pulled out; therefore even a series of brush strokes is prohibited
even where each individual stroke will not necessarily pull out hair.
In contrast, the issur on Shabbos is meleches machsheves and therefore one
looks at each act (stroke) individually to see whether there is psik reisha.
Does anyone recall whether Nefesh HaRav mentions this?

Personally, I find that (though my hair is longer than Andre's) I avoid psik
reisha on each stroke by (1) first using a bristle brush which has very wide
gaps between bristles and brushing SLOWLY; (2) then using a bristle brush
with narrower gaps and brushing SLOWLY.

Kol tuv,
Moshe

     
RM Berger wrote:
> I would like to add that the same motivation (if real) would apply to
> the ambiguity between "boneh" as a noun (builder) and as a verb (hu boneh 
> achshav). The issue comes up in "boneh Y'laim" vs "boneih Y'laim", 
> something some of us are discussing off the list. The former uses "boneh" 
> as a verb, the latter uses it as a noun and then reconjugates it with a 
> tzeirei to make it "the Builder of". But without that semichut to mean 
> "of", there is an underlying ambiguity causing that machlokes.
     
> Lashon hoveh and adjectives are *supposed* to be one notion. "A is building 
> B" and "A is the builder of B" both state the same relationship between A and
> B. English has two terms, but since Hebrew is describing the 
> relationship and not the pair of objects it only requires one.
     
I once wrote up a devar Torah (from the Satmar Rebbe's peirush to Tehillim) for 
YU's student parsha sheet Einayim L'Torah that darshened the first passuk in 
Tehillim "Ashrei ha'ish asher lo HALACH" - why is it in past tense and not 
present?  Rabbi Mordechai Cohen, professor of Bible at YU, told me that there is
no present tense in biblical Hebrew.  It is due to the influence of modern 
hebrew that consider adjectives to be present tense verbs.  That's all I can say
because, frankly, this is way out of my league.

Gil Student

On Wed, Aug 16, 2000 at 03:26:36PM -0400, Gil.Student@citicorp.com wrote:
: YU's student parsha sheet Einayim L'Torah that darshened the first passuk in 
: Tehillim "Ashrei ha'ish asher lo HALACH" - why is it in past tense and not 
: present?  Rabbi Mordechai Cohen, professor of Bible at YU, told me that there
: is no present tense in biblical Hebrew.

A much simpler answer suggests itself to me. Perhaps David haMelech is
intentionally referring to someone who never walked the ideas of resha'im. As
opposed to someone who isn't currently following their eitzos but may or may
not have done teshuvah for doing so in the past.

For that matter, someone who did teshuvah has rendered it limafrei'ah that
he never did follow atzas resha'im.

-mi

-- 
Micha Berger                 When you come to a place of darkness,
micha@aishdas.org            you do not chase out the darkness with a broom.
http://www.aishdas.org       You light a candle.
(973) 916-0287                  - R' Yekusiel Halbserstam of Klausenberg zt"l

> Can anyone recommend sources with regard to being m'taken olam outside of
> Eretz Yisrael?  Did Rav Soloveitchik write about this (or are there any
> articles or internet divrei torah about his views)?

take a look at RYBS's comments in Chamesh Drashos. There may be some comments 
about tikun olam vs learning and not interacting with the secular society.

                                                        Steven Brizel
                                                         Zeliglaw@aol.com

In a message dated 8/16/00 3:35:42 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
Gil.Student@citicorp.com writes:
> Rabbi Mordechai Cohen, professor of Bible at YU, told me that there is no
> present tense in biblical Hebrew.  It is due to the influence of modern
> hebrew that consider adjectives to be present tense verbs.  

A few of the questions that come to mind:
Breishis 13:5 "HaHoleich"
Breishis 23:10 Rashi D"H Vefron Yoshav
Breishis 24:62 "Boh Miboi"
Breishis 29:6 Rashi D"H Ba'ah Im Hatzoin

Kol Tuv
Yitzchok Zirkind

I wrote:
> As the Biur Halacha forcefully  points out (329:4) this reason is "not at
> all" for saving on Shabbos, but rather all the Mitzvot are suspended for the
> LIFE of a Jew.

RYGB responded:
> It is NOT the reason we are Mechallel Shabbos for a Gosses, the topic of
> the BH there, but it IS the reason we are Mechallel Shabbos to save
> an Ubbar, particularly one under forty days old.This is explicit in the
> Ramban (practically a verbatim translation), the source of Hatzolos Ubbar
> under forty days old, Toras Ho'Odom (R' Chavel ed. p. 29, middle of d.h.
> "U'b'Halachos Gedolos". Ayain sham heiteiv. See Sha'ar HaTziyun 617:1 for
> an interesting Tzorich Iyun.

As I admitted to RYGB of list, he certainly is correct that the looking at 
the Ramban "innerveinig" he does certainly seem to indicate that a fetus less 
than forty days "les ley chius kelal" and even after forty days there is no 
din "hatsolas nefashos" by a fetus and the only reason we save is because of 
"keday sheyishmor shabosos harbey."

I have to look at R. Moshe again inside and see how he explains this. But in 
any case although RYGB's reading (just kidding -- learning!!) of the Ramban 
is correct, R. Moshe's shita is that it is retzicha even before forty days. 
Aval rayaso tzaruch iyun. And RYZ would seem to have a pretty strong question 
on the Ramban -- how can you save it for the sake of keeping many Shabosos -- 
when the very next day you can kill it biyadayim.

Lichora the answer to this has to be that even though it is not retzicha to 
kill it and we only are mechalel Shabbos to save it "keday sheyishmor 
shabosos harbey" -- still there is some other issur to kill it. So from this 
it would seem from the Ramban that abortion is never retzicha -- still the 
fact that you save even less than forty days would seem to indicate that 
according to the Ramban there is some issur to abort even before forty days. 
Maybe Hashchasa.

And off list RYGB and RYZ seemed to agree to this understanding of the 
Ramban. I am posting these comments, even though we already discussed it off 
list to see if anybody else has another way to understand the Ramban -- to 
answer RYZ's question.

Aaron Rubinson

> The Mechaber (I believe at OC siman 303) is clear that combing hair on
> shabbos is assur because of a psik reisha (PR) or kaov l'psik reisha that
> hairs will be removed (melechet gozez).  It seems to me that today (at least
> for men with shorter hair) there is no PR when men comb their hair.
> Moreover, in the third volume of Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasa, on the
> discussion of PR, RSZA z"l is quoted as holding that where individual acts
> are part of a series of acts, you "test" for PR based on the individual acts
> that comprise the series, and not the series in total. ...

As I mentioned to the poster offline, although I think his sevara is correct
that you judge each action separately, but the Biur Halacha 328:49 at the
end seems to count all the acts together.

An important heter based on the fact that you count each action separately is
in regard to electric eyes. These days many people have neighbors who have
electric eyes and they literally have no way to go home on Shabbos without
being certain the light would go on. So it seems like it is a pesik Reisha.
But according to this sevara it wouldn't be a PR because you do not no
which action of yours will make the light go on, the movement of your leg,
your arm etc., and you don't know exactly which action will do it.

Aaron Rubinson

In a message dated 8/16/00 2:06:21 PM EDT micha@aishdas.org writes:
> - I don't think you meant to exclude someone who is medakdeik in hilchos
>   Shabbos with the exception of using a solid deoderant (or some other
>   subtlety).
 
Agreed. Except I cannot stress enough how important I feel it is to teach and 
learn all the nitty gritty details of Hilchot Shabbat (like borer, sechita 
etc.). Hilchot Shabbat is called "horim hatiluim bisaara" -- it has many 
seemingly minor details which are very important.

Aaron Rubinson

On Wed, Aug 16, 2000 at 09:49:05PM -0400, Aaron Rubinson <Tobrr111@aol.com>
wrote:
:                                       although I think his sevara is correct
: that you judge each action separately, but the Biur Halacha 328:49 at the
: end seems to count all the acts together.

How do you define separate actions? RAI suggested looking at the probability
of pulling each hair individually. What about the fact that the comb runs
through many hairs simultaneously? Or that one does many brush strokes in a
single toch kedei dibbur? I think that for each toch kedai dibbur the
probability of 

: But according to this sevara it wouldn't be a PR because you do not no
: which action of yours will make the light go on, the movement of your leg,
: your arm etc., and you don't know exactly which action will do it.

Same question applies here too.

FWIW, it's almost certainly movement of your head if you are wearing a coat
or your body if not. Exteremities, being less warm, would only be picked up
once you are closer -- and your head or body already tripped it.

-mi

-- 
Micha Berger                 When you come to a place of darkness,
micha@aishdas.org            you do not chase out the darkness with a broom.
http://www.aishdas.org       You light a candle.
(973) 916-0287                  - R' Yekusiel Halbserstam of Klausenberg zt"l

> An important heter based on the fact that you count each action separately 
> is in regard to electric eyes. ...

Gil Student

Resend.  I don't know what happened the first time.  Sorry.

> An important heter based on the fact that you count each action separately 
> is in regard to electric eyes. ...

I think that the heter used is that this is a pesik reisha delo nicha leih 
bederabbanan which does not work for incandescent lights.  Rav Chaim 
Soloveitchik held like the Aruch that pesik reisha delo nicha leih is 
permissible and that would include incandescent lights.

Gil Student

At 11:58 AM 8/17/00 -0400, Gil Student wrote:
>I think that the heter used is that this is a pesik reisha delo nicha leih
>bederabbanan which does not work for incandescent lights.  Rav Chaim
>Soloveitchik held like the Aruch that pesik reisha delo nicha leih is
>permissible and that would include incandescent lights.


I have yet to clarify, in my own mind, Halacha's approach to invisible
effects such as electric eyes, etc. I attempt, out of admitted ignorance,
to be machmir as much as possible.

KT,
YGB

Is anyone aware of a tshuva holding this to be improper?  I seem to remember 
once hearing of this

Kol Tuv
Joel Rich

*********************


[ Distributed to the Avodah mailing list, digested version.                   ]
[ To post: mail to avodah@aishdas.org                                         ]
[ For back issues: mail "get avodah-digest vXX.nYYY" to majordomo@aishdas.org ]
[ or, the archive can be found at http://www.aishdas.org/avodah/              ]
[ For general requests: mail the word "help" to majordomo@aishdas.org         ]