Volume 31: Number 209
Tue, 31 Dec 2013
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
Message: 1
From: Daas Books <i...@daasbooks.com>
Date: Fri, 27 Dec 2013 00:15:17 -0500
Subject: Re: [Avodah] Equating Eating Chazir with Studying Secular
Prof. Levine,
Thank you for the link.
IMHO, the lack of balance is rooted in the distant past when secular studies
first became an issue.
Rabbanim such as Rav Hirsch z?l are partly to blame.
Let me explain.
In the essay you sent, Rav Hirsch justifies secular studies because they can
help us better understand Torah; for instance, "the extent to which
disciples of Talmudic learning can benefit from familiarity with these
fields of general knowledge?.to raise them to become good and true sons of
our Judaism.?
Some years ago, someone I know (American Hareidi) organized a new school in
a certain Jerusalem neighborhood that was going to have the great innovation
of including laboratory science.
Some neighbors were livid. NIMBY!
The organizers had a haskama from no less than HaRav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach,
zt?l.
The neighbors didn?t believe it! Impossible that the Gadol HaDor would agree
to such heresy!
They all went together to the Rav.
Neighbor: Did the Rav say they could have secular studies at this new
school?
The Rav: Chas v?chalila!!
Neighbor: Let?s just make sure that we understood the Rav clearly: did the
Rav say it?s OK to use microscopes and teach geography and so on at the new
school?
The Rav: Teach about Hashem?s briah? Of course, that?s a wonderful thing!
Conclusion: ?secular? studies do not belong in our chedarim, yeshivas and
seminaries! But all of the goals of secular studies ? mathematics, reading,
writing, astronomy, physical sciences, computers, etc., can all be achieved
within the framework of limudei kodesh (with the possible exception of high
school math, I?m not sure about that yet).
RAv Hirsch says this much in his essay ? his justification for these
subjects is to enhance limudei hakodesh. So let?s drop the term and concept
of ?secular? studies and I wager 90 percent of the arguments on this will go
away.
Moreover, you could then employ the rebbe to teach a full day rather than
have to interrupt his work and bring in a ?secular? teacher.
That, as my grandfather z?l would have said, is my 2 bits.
Alexander Seinfeld
> Have some in the Orthodox community lost their minds? Where is
> balance and normalcy? YL
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Message: 2
From: "Prof. Levine" <llev...@stevens.edu>
Date: Fri, 27 Dec 2013 05:33:40 -0500
Subject: Re: [Avodah] Equating Eating Chazir with Studying Secular
At 12:15 AM 12/27/2013, Daas Books (Alexander Seinfeld) wrote:
> In the essay you sent, Rav Hirsch justifies
> secular studies because they can help us better
> understand Torah; for instance, "the extent to
> which disciples of Talmudic learning can benefit
> from familiarity with these fields of general
> knowledge.to raise them to become good and true sons of our Judaism.
I think that there is much more to this issue than what you have written.
I suggest, WADR, that if you have not already done so, you have a look at
Leo (Yehudah) Levi's books Torah and Science, Their Interplay in the World
Scheme and Torah Study, A Survey of Classic Sources and Timely Issues.
The following is from page 284 of Torah Study
In Conclusion
Already in the introduction to this work we pointed out that, in
a sense, talmud Torah is the very foundation of Judaism so that it
behooves us to be meticulous in its performance-and just as in the
fulfillment of other Torah commandments, here too the Torah itself
guides us in the proper fulfillment of the mitzvah.
There is a tendency, among the more action-oriented among us, to
be lax in the fulfillment of this mitzvah, which involves "mere"
study, while the more intellectually inclined tend to stress
it excessively. But deviation from the Torah-prescribed limits,
in either direction, can seriously reduce the effectiveness of our
study. Superficiality in Torah study leaves us unprepared to face
the many challenges with which Torah life confronts us constantly,
be they in the area of ethics or ritual obligations-and leaves
us totally unqualified to reach the higher levels of perfection
(chasiduth). On the other hand, an exaggerated emphasis on study,
at the expense of active involvement with this world, threatens
to turn Torah study into a purely academic activity. The Torah's
admonition not to deviate from God's commands "either right or left"
(Deuter. 5:29) applies here no less than to other mitzvoth.
Many are the ways in which such "study for study's sake" can
cancel the enormous potential benefits inherent in proper talmud
Torah. Such academization may turn Torah study into a sterile
intellectual exercise with little impact on our conduct; or, in our
excessive preoccupation with individual "trees," it may cause us
to lose sight of the "forest" as a whole. Again, it may seduce us
into neglecting the development of the substrates necessary for the
thriving of talmud Torah, both the economic and the academic ones,
which are vital for successful Torah study. Here true love of Torah
study may cause us to neglect the very means needed to nurture it
as an effective force guiding our life.
In this work, we have surveyed in depth a number of issues bearing
on these questions, as they are relevant to today's Torah student,
collecting and organizing the pronouncements of Torah authorities
throughout the ages with special emphasis on the opinions of the
contemporary spiritual leadership. We have done this in an attempt
to present objectively all that we have found on these issues. I
hope that this work will help the reader to think intelligently
and knowledgeably about his talmud Torah program. If so, I consider
myself well compensated for my labors.
Regarding your suggestion, "Moreover, you could then employ the rebbe to
teach a full day rather than have to interrupt his work and bring in a
'secular' teacher." WADR, I do not think that this is realistic. The
overwhelming majority of today's rebbeim do not have the secular education
to teach Limudei Chol. I have seen the disaster that occurred when a
yeshiva decided to use a rebbe to teach reading English to children.
Most of today's rebbeim would not know where to begin when it comes to
teaching American history or world history or algebra or geometry, etc.
Many of them, sadly, cannot write and speak English properly, so how
could they teach grammar and written communication skills? I could go
on to other areas such as science (chemistry, earth sciences, etc.),
but I am sure you get my points.
You may want to read my articles
"<http://personal.stevens.edu/%7Ellevine/jp/Th
e%20Case%20for%20Secular%20Studies%20in%20Yeshivas.pdf>
The Case for Secular Studies in Yeshivas" The Jewish Press, November
19, 2004 page 1. This article is a condensed version of the article
<http://personal.stevens.edu/%7Ellevine/thoughts_general_studies_full.p
df>
General Studies (long). and
"<http://personal.stevens.edu/%7Ellevine/hamodia_forum_1_17_07_sm.jpg>
Finding Secular Studies Teacher" The Hamodia Readers Forum, January 17,
2007 page C 28 for more on this topic. The suggestions I made in the
second article were never implemented.
Yitzchok Levine
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Message: 3
From: Micha Berger <mi...@aishdas.org>
Date: Fri, 27 Dec 2013 06:10:02 -0500
Subject: Re: [Avodah] Equating Eating Chazir with Studying Secular
On Fri, Dec 27, 2013 at 12:15:15AM -0500, Daas Books (Alexander Seinfeld) wrote:
: In the essay you sent, Rav Hirsch justifies
: secular studies because they can help us better
: understand Torah; for instance, "the extent to
: which disciples of Talmudic learning can benefit
: from familiarity with these fields of general
: knowledge.to raise them to become good and true sons of our Judaism.
"Good and true sons of our Judaism" does not equate to "better understand
Torah". Your conflation of one into the other turns RSRH into a Litvak.
Better understand what it means to be a refined and thus holy human being,
yes. The ideal is the Mensch-Yisrael. (Or if we want to play RYBS and use
Latin, the homo israelitus.) Being a mensch requires integrating "yaft
E-lokim leYefes" and then bringing it into "ohalei Sheim".
On Fri, Dec 27, 2013 at 05:33:40AM -0500, Prof. Levine wrote:
: Regarding your suggestion, "Moreover, you could then employ the rebbe to
: teach a full day rather than have to interrupt his work and bring in a
: 'secular' teacher." WADR, I do not think that this is realistic...
This comment belongs on Areivim, and I'll repeat it there if I see
it becoming its own discussion, but RYGB addressed this issue. His
idea was to have on-line secular instruction, with the rebbe present.
The rebbe therefore is being relied on to fascilitate learning, not
to have the information to impact.
1- It gives the rebbe a full-time job.
2- It lowers school costs -- one full-day teacher is cheaper than two
half-day, and saves on benefits, too. The impact on the secular
teaching staff is far smaller, as the job pool for *competent*
secular teachers is predominantly not yeshivos.
3- More significantly, it provides for real TIDE by having a rebbe on-hand
to help integrate any ideas from the secular studies into their Jewish
worldview.
:-)BBii!
-Micha
--
Micha Berger "I think, therefore I am." - Renne Descartes
mi...@aishdas.org "I am thought about, therefore I am -
http://www.aishdas.org my existence depends upon the thought of a
Fax: (270) 514-1507 Supreme Being Who thinks me." - R' SR Hirsch
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Message: 4
From: "M Cohen" <mco...@touchlogic.com>
Date: Fri, 27 Dec 2013 11:37:11 -0500
Subject: [Avodah] Is there any heter to wish someone Merry Xmas?
The Jewish press has a poll on how do you greet your non-Jewish friends and
neighbors at this time of year
The current winner is Merry Xmas + Happy New Year. (24%, 63 Votes) or Merry
Xmas. (13%, 34 Votes)
(second place is Happy Holidays. (33%, 86 Votes) )
Is there any heter to wish someone Merry Xmas?
mc
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Message: 5
From: cantorwolb...@cox.net
Date: Fri, 27 Dec 2013 11:48:59 -0500
Subject: [Avodah] How Do You Respond?
What do you say to a well meaning non Jew who wishes you a
Merry X-mas?
As a child, I would always feel uncomfortable and sometimes
explain why, I, as a Jew, don?t celebrate their holiday. However,
I feel that?s no time for a lesson and it can be interpreted as an
insult.
This happens often in a supermarket where the cashier routinely
wishes you a Merry X-mas. So what are you going to do: start
giving her a religious lecture while others wait in line to witness
what they may perceive as a pushy Jew?.
I just find it is no big deal to say ?Thank you, the same to you.?
If they think that they?ve converted me, then good for them.
As a side, I know of Jews who have wished other JEWS a
Merry X-mas. Then, my response would be ?Yes, I think they
need a lesson!? Practically speaking: will it help? Probably not.
But it then becomes an encroachment on sensibilities and has
crossed the line.
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Message: 6
From: cantorwolb...@cox.net
Date: Fri, 27 Dec 2013 11:41:20 -0500
Subject: [Avodah] Entering a C. Synagogue
Expanding on the question whether it is muttar to enter a C Synagogue,
wouldn?t it depend on the reason for entering? If R? Micha is going there
to teach and do kiruv, it is quite different from his going on Shabbos to
a bar mitzvah. :-)
On the other hand, if you are invited to a Jewish wedding in a C. shul,
would you be violating any halacha?
I do know of O rabbis who on rare occasions, have gone to a C shul
out of town for a mincha service.
As a side, I can tell you that I always enjoyed exiting my C shul a lot
more than entering.
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Message: 7
From: Harry Maryles <hmary...@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 27 Dec 2013 11:00:16 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Re: [Avodah] [Areivim] Talking on a Cell Phone in the Street
(As requested, this is being re-directed from Areivim to Avodah - HM)
Is there anyone on this list that never eats anything in the street? ...and does it apply to chewing gum too? If so does that make us all Pasul L'Eidus??
Just because there is a gemarah that makes a statement like this, doesn't
mean that it is Halacha L'Mayash. Is this Halacha cited (brought down - in
Yeshiva-speak) in the Choshen Mishpat?
I tend to doubt it. Sometimes the Gemara exaggerates to make a point. Which
in this case is probably that it is unrefined to eat in the street and that
the Jewish people should not be doing things that are unrefined.
HM
?
Want Emes and Emunah in your life?
Try this: http://haemtza.blogspot.com/
?Hide message history
On Friday, December 27, 2013 6:17 AM, Prof. Levine <llev...@stevens.edu> wrote:
My oldest son,? Dovid Levine,? sent me the following:
>
>I personally heard Rav Nissim Karelitz confirm that Rav Chaim Shlit"a holds
>that anyone who talks on a cell phone in the street is pasul le'eydus, like
>someone who eats in the street (ochel bashuk...pasul le'eydus). It appeared
>that Rav Karelitz did not agree with that psak.
?
Want Emes and Emunah in your life?
Try this: http://haemtza.blogspot.com/
On Friday, December 27, 2013 9:28 AM, Harry Maryles <hmary...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Is there anyone on this list that never eats anything in the street? ...and does it apply to chewing gum too? If so does that make us all Pasul L'Eidus??
>
>
>Just because there is a gemarah that makes a statement like this,
>doesn't mean that it is Halacha L'Mayash. Is this Halacha cited
>(brought down - in Yeshiva-speak) in the Choshen Mishpat?
>
>
>I tend to doubt it. Sometimes the Gemara exaggerates to make a point.
>Which in this case is probably that it is unrefined to eat in the
>street and that the Jewish people should not be doing things that are
>unrefined.
>
>
>HM
>?
>Want Emes and Emunah in your life?
>
>
>
>Try this: http://haemtza.blogspot.com/
>
>
>
>On Friday, December 27, 2013 6:17 AM, Prof. Levine <llev...@stevens.edu> wrote:
>
>My oldest son,? Dovid Levine,? sent me the following:
>>
>>I personally heard Rav Nissim Karelitz confirm that Rav
Chaim Shlit"a holds
>>that anyone who talks on a cell phone in the street is pasul le'eydus,
like
>>someone who eats in the street (ochel bashuk...pasul le'eydus). It
appeared
>>that Rav Karelitz did not agree with that psak.
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Message: 8
From: Zev Sero <z...@sero.name>
Date: Fri, 27 Dec 2013 16:21:05 -0500
Subject: Re: [Avodah] Is there any heter to wish someone Merry Xmas?
On 27/12/2013 11:37 AM, M Cohen wrote:
> Is there any heter to wish someone Merry Xmas?
I would say it depends on how religious they are. If they're the kind who
never sets foot in church except for simchas and funerals, then no problem.
Even if they also go on Xmas and Easter, because the whole family is going,
or for the music and pageantry, then I still think it's no problem. But if
they're the kind who want to "put the X back in Xmas" then the permissibility
would depend on whether you consider their denomination to be AZ. RC and
Orthodoxy are, IMO, definitely AZ, so it would be assur. The more protestant
and the "lower-church" a denomination is, the higher the probability that they
are not AZ and it would be OK.
Bear in mind that to the majority of those who celebrate Xmas today it has
no religious aspect at all. Xmas is huge in Japan, where they never even had
a Xian tradition. And in Sweden, which used to be a Xian country, nowadays
Xmas is a holiday on which the whole country closes down to observe the holy
tradition of watching Disney cartoons. Whatever "Santa" means in Spanish,
in English it means "fat guy who brings toys", and the character of Santa Claus
is so secular, and so divorced from the Greek bishop from whose name his is
ultimately derived, that this year there was a serious national debate over a
proposal that he should be depicted as a penguin.
On Haloween we hear arguments that even though it's secular today, its origins
are in AZ, and therefore it remains assur, at least for Jews to celebrate it.
But on Xmas we don't even have that argument. Its origin is davka in kedusha;
it was founded as a yomtov for Hashem, and it was only later that idolaters
introduced AZ to it. Now that the AZ has been removed, it should revert to
being muttar.
--
Zev Sero
z...@sero.name
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Message: 9
From: "Prof. Levine" <llev...@stevens.edu>
Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2013 18:35:11 -0500
Subject: [Avodah] Not One Public Word of Torah
I often do not stay for the Seudah at a Chasana. However, this past
week we stayed for the Seudah.
There was not one word of Torah spoken publicly at the Chosson
Tisch, not one word under the Chupah, and not one word during the
Seudah. Yet this was a "frum" simcha!
From Frankfurt on the Hudson by Steven M. Lowenstein, page 304
In an article in his congregational bulletin ("The Spiritual
Leadership
of the Kehilla," Mitteilungen 1 Aug./Sept. 19661), Rabbi Joseph
Breuer expresses his
reservations about the new custom of Hasidic dancing: "While we are not used to
the manner in which frequently also in our circles the joyous
participation in wed-
dings manifests itself, such "deviation," actually an imitation of
other circles, is of
no real significance. We are concerned with the custom which calls for vigorous
`Mitzve dancing' during the festive meal but does not provide an
opportunity for a
single Dvar Torah (either under the Chuppa or during the meal). This practice
directly contrasts with the admonition of our Sages which
characterizes any meal,
particularly a festive one, as a `meal of the dead' that is not
accompanied by Words
of Torah."
I have been told that a D'var Torah is common at many Chasanas in
Europe. Someone once wrote to me that at the marriages of each of
their sons, each one of them made a siyum on a mesechta at the Choson Tisch.
I can only wonder why it has become standard in America to not have a
D'var Torah at a Chasana.
YL
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Message: 10
From: Samuel Svarc <ssv...@mail.gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2013 15:52:11 -0500
Subject: Re: [Avodah] skiing hagomel
On Dec 6, 2013 5:26 AM, "Zev Sero" <z...@sero.name> wrote:
> On 5/12/2013 8:51 AM, Eli Turkel wrote:
>> One does not make birkhat hagomel because one was almost in an accident.
>> In general the bracha is limited to the 4 categories listed in SA.
> "Some say that one only says Hagomel for the four things that Chazal
> listed.
> And some say that the same law applies to anyone who was in danger and was
> saved, for instance a wall fell on him or he was saved from being trampled
> or gored by a bull or a horse, or if a lion attacked him in a settled
> place,
> or if thieves or night-burglars came to him and he was saved, all of them
> must say Hagomel, so long as there was a danger to his life, and so is the
> custom". Seder Birchos Hanehenin 13:7
So if a wall almost fell, one *doesn't* make hagomel, and if one was
almost in an accident (explicitly stated in original post) one would
likewise refrain from a brocha levatola.
KT,
MSS
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Message: 11
From: Samuel Svarc <ssv...@mail.gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2013 15:49:15 -0500
Subject: Re: [Avodah] eating out
On Dec 5, 2013 11:32 AM, "Eli Turkel" <elitur...@gmail.com> wrote:
> while I am aware of the minhag of not eating out at strangers personally I
> have never heard of not eating my parents or in-laws.
...
> As for being on the level one of the stories of going away for shabbat
> chanukah was about R. Chaim Kanevsky going to visit his father-in-law for
> shabbat. I personally have very charedi relatives who never eat out but it
> is taken for granted that the children come to them.
> In addition I have been told that there are rules in some communities
> determining which family is visited for the seder.
> All in all I find the idea of children never going to parents for a
> meal/shabbat quite strange.
It's menuvaldig not to eat by parents. Something that doesn't is close to
not being on the level of a human being.
If a person deludes himself that there is an issue of tznius, let the men
and woman eat separately.
KT,
MSS
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Message: 12
From: Micha Berger <mi...@aishdas.org>
Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2013 17:18:34 -0500
Subject: Re: [Avodah] skiing hagomel
On Mon, Dec 30, 2013 at 03:52:11PM -0500, Samuel Svarc wrote:
...
:> And some say that the same law applies to anyone who was in danger and was
:> saved, for instance a wall fell on him or he was saved from being trampled
:> or gored by a bull or a horse, or if a lion attacked him in a settled place,
:> or if thieves or night-burglars came to him and he was saved, all of them
:> must say Hagomel, so long as there was a danger to his life, and so is the
:> custom". Seder Birchos Hanehenin 13:7
: So if a wall almost fell, one *doesn't* make hagomel, and if one was
: almost in an accident (explicitly stated in original post) one would
: likewise refrain from a brocha levatola.
The SA OC 219:9 requires that the wall actually fall on him. Not almost
fell, and not fell but almost hit him. I have to wonder how one defines
the "almost" in "almost fell" or "almost in an accident". It would seem
any definition would be based on making the berakhah based on a fear.
The SA also concludes that due to the machloqes, if the risk is not one of
the 4 listed in Tehillim, haGomel should be said without sheim umalkhus,
but the MB says the consensus is to indeed say the berakhah in whole.
(I presume the lion was in a settled area in the Baal haTanya's case
so as to avoid a case where the person requiring hagomel for crossing
a midbar or the like.)
BTW, see http://www.vbm-torah.org/archive/halak58/22gomel.doc , sections 2
and 3:
2. TYPE OF DANGER
"FOUR must give thanks." Rishonim argue about whether in just these
four cases (sickness, prison, sea voyage, desert travel) one must
give thanks, or whether anyone who survives any dangerous situation
must recite the blessing. The Rivash (337) holds that anyone who
survives danger should recite birkat ha-gomel, whereas the Avudraham
quotes an opinion that only these four people should recite ha-gomel.
3. LEVEL OF DANGER
There is an argument about what level of danger obligates making
birkat ha-gomel.
The Ri Migash says that not only one whose imprisonment was related
to corporal punishment, but even one imprisoned for monetary matters
makes the berakha when he is released from prison. Though it is
possible that the Ri Migash saw any imprisonment as a danger to life,
it is likely that he holds that the blessing applies even when there
is a lower level of danger. The Arukh (entry "Arba") writes that
it includes, "One who was sick and became healthy, even if it was
a headache or a throat ache." Even if there was no mortal danger
involved there is still an obligation of birkat ha-gomel.
According to the Ra'avad (quoted in the Ramban's "Torat Ha-adam,"
"On Medicine" - p. 49), however, "The same is true for the blessing
of the sick [i.e., the birkat ha-gomel]; it is only made over an
internal wound that involves danger to life." [The Ramban himself
does not accept this.]
Tir'u baTov!
-Micha
--
Micha Berger You are where your thoughts are.
mi...@aishdas.org - Ramban, Igeres haQodesh, Ch. 5
http://www.aishdas.org
Fax: (270) 514-1507
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Message: 13
From: Micha Berger <mi...@aishdas.org>
Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2013 17:32:03 -0500
Subject: Re: [Avodah] Is Executive Functioning a Middah to be
On Mon, Dec 23, 2013 at 12:33:46PM -0500, Yonatan Kaganoff wrote:
: Is Executive Functioning a *Middah *to be cultivated?
..
: More information about Executive Functioning can be found here:
: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_functions
...
: But would it fall under *tikkun ha-middos*?
I will open with the cryptic answer that it falls under tiqun hamidos
but it is not a midah to be cultivated.
Let me quote from RSWolbe's article in Bishvilei haRevu'ah vol 5
http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=28406&;pgnum=57 my translation
at http://www.aishdas.org/asp/RWolbesWorld.pdf#page=7
A little context: RSW's thesis is that the Torah's purpose is to create
an olam hayedidus. Thus the enemy is zariyus and akhzariyus (which is
an extreme / pure zariyus)
Middos and Intellect
What is this process of alienation? There isn't any power in the soul
which is specifically evil (Naftali Wessley, Sefer haMidos part I,
ch. 4). Every power has some place in the World of Yedidus. Even
egotism and anger are necessary sometimes. When you use each power in
its proper place and time -- it is good, and every force in the soul
is necessary. However, in order to build the World of Yedidus, there
has to be coordination of all the forces together, so that they work
together in cooperation and a proper distribution of their duties.
The ruling power, which sets each of the other powers in their
proper place, is the intellect, which is therefore the central
power of yedidus in a person. (C.f. Kuzari, Rav Yehudah HaLeivi,
3:2 onward.) Without the rule of the intellect, there is no World of
Yedidus. When any power from among the powers of the soul exceeds
its boundaries and requires excessive satisfaction or even total
control -- this power alienates itself from the other powers and
rebels against the intellect. This is where zarus begins, and that
power thereby changes to become "evil." This process is depicted
in the Talmud quoted above with the example of anger. Elsewhere
the Talmud depicts the same process of alienation with regard to
sexual lust (which the Gemara describes as "[Rav said:] someone who
intentionally stimulates himself [should be excommunicated
So it would seem the role of EF is that of conductor. In the ideal,
it's the executive which hones each middah to be triggered at the
appropriate times and only then.
Which to my mind grows directly from the opening words of R' Yisrael
Salanter's Igeres haMusar (first published as a pamphlet, and later
included in Or Yisrael).
Man is free in his vision
and constrained in his intellect...
Tir'u baTov!
-Micha
--
Micha Berger Life is complex.
mi...@aishdas.org Decisions are complex.
http://www.aishdas.org The Torah is complex.
Fax: (270) 514-1507 - R' Binyamin Hecht
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Message: 14
From: "Prof. Levine" <llev...@stevens.edu>
Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2013 05:55:22 -0500
Subject: [Avodah] The Jewish Nation is not to be like other nations
Today is the 125th Yahrtzeit of RSRH, "L.
Below is part of his commentary in Shemos 6:2 and
6:3. IMO it gives fundamental insight into why
the Bnai Yisroel went down to Mitzraim and why they were afflicted there.
2 God spoke to Moshe and said to him: I am Hashem,
3 [And was so] even when I appeared to Avraham,
Yitzchak and Ya?akov as the All-sufficing
God but had not become known to them as that which My Name Hashem signifies.
This new revelation of God had been prepared from the very beginning
of Jewish history. All the paths of Jewish history have led up to this
moment. God says:
?I was already Hashem when I appeared to Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya?akov
only as Aleph-Lamud Shin-Daled Yud and did not
allow My intended sovereignty as Hashem to
become manifest to them in their own lives.
?You are wondering why things have only become worse, and why
even your mission has served only to push your misery to the utmost
limit. Do you not see that your entire history up to this point has been
a downhill road? Avraham was a Nasi Elokim among the nations, whereas
Ya?akov was an unfortunate, hard-working servant ?who had to toil in
order to get himself a wife and then was forced to perform additional
labor in order to keep her? (see Hoshea 12:13).
?I could have led you on an upward path. Instead of giving Avraham
a son in his hundredth year, I could have established for him a family
by the time he was seventy, and I could have allowed his progeny to
flourish and become a people in happy, favorable circumstances on its
own native soil. But then this people would not have become God?s
people, Am Hashem, the people through which God
will be revealed as Hashem. Then
this people, like all the other peoples, would have been rooted solely in
the world of things that can be seen and touched. Like all the other
peoples, this people would have had only physical foundations, and
would have sought only material power and material greatness, aspiring
to the spiritual and to the moral only to the extent that these were
compatible with, and beneficial to, its material ambitions.
?But this people is not to be like the other nations. Unlike the others,
this people is to be founded solely upon God and upon the fulfillment
of His Will in moral freedom, and is to have an earthly hold and an
earthly standing only from and for this God and this fulfillment.?
The idea of a free almighty God and of mankind made free by that
God has vanished from the earth. People and nations have sunk into
materialism in both theory and practice (cf. Commentary above, 3:14).
The emergence of the people of Avraham is to reawaken consciousness
of freedom and to release mankind from the bonds of materialism.
Hence, this people must start where other peoples have stopped. It
had to despair of itself b'goal Nafsho; it had to lie prone, about to perish
in its own blood (see Yechezkel 16:5?6), and to rise to nationhood only
through the Creator?s call, so that, by its very existence, this people
would proclaim to the peoples of the world: Ani Hashem!
This moment of God?s revelation as Hashem, when the helplessness of
Avraham?s descendants reached its climax, was planned by God from
the beginning, when He guided the fate of the patriarchs on a downward
path and appeared to them only as Aleph-Lamud
Shin-Daled Yud, the All-sufficing One, with
Whose help one can endure all the vicissitudes of life and prevail.
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Message: 15
From: "Prof. Levine" <llev...@stevens.edu>
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2013 08:38:04 -0500
Subject: [Avodah] Q: Is there an obligation to have Sheva Berachot all
From http://tinyurl.com/l8hjdlh
A: No. Whatever is most comfortable for the groom and bride. After
all, it is to bring them joy and not to burden them (Re'im Ahuvim pp.
165-169. And Ha-Rav Moshe Feinstein related that when he got married
they only had Sheva Berachot on Shabbat, and not on all 7 days as is
customary today. Reshumei Aharon Volume 1, p. 18. And Ha-Rav Shlomo
Zalman Auerbach once lamented this practice and quoted what the
Chatam Sofer wrote in his responsa Even Ha-Ezer #122: "That someone
once had Sheva Berachot on Shabbat and the entire community mocked
him", and that the Aruch Ha-Shulchan wrote in Hilchot Sukkah #640
that we do not have the custom to have Sheva Berachot every day.
Meged Givot Olam Volume 2, p. 72).
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Message: 16
From: "Prof. Levine" <llev...@stevens.edu>
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2013 08:43:35 -0500
Subject: [Avodah] Zimun alone at a Wedding
From http://www.yeshiva.co/ask/?id=30
Question:
It is permissible to say Birkat Hamazon at an individual table during
a wedding and before Sheva Brachot? Is it permissible to make a
mezuman or better to Bench alone?
Answer:
It is permissible to leave a wedding before Birkat Hamazon( Grace)
where Sheva Brachot will be recited later. One explanation given is
that the obligation to participate in Sheva Brachot is incumbent -
not on all those who participated in the meal - but only on those who
participated in the Birkat Hamazon at the end of the meal (Shu"t
Tzitz Eliezer; Shu"t Shevet Halevi). Another explanation is that
since it is common practice not to stay until the end of the wedding,
guests do not automatically commit themselves just by eating to
staying until Sheva Brachot (Hanisuim K'hilchatam, ch.14 n.84).
If you are leaving early - your best alternative is to find others
who are leaving early as well so that you can say a Zimun.
And from http://tinyurl.com/n3frl2p
Tzitz Eliezer: Leaving A Wedding Or Sheva Brachos Before Birchas HaMazon
After Birchas HaMazon at a Chasuna or Sheva Brachos, the Sheva
Brachos are said. Is a person who participated in the Seudah allowed
to Bentch and leave before the Sheva Brachos (provided that he is in
accordance with the halachos of Zimun) or is everyone obligated to
stay until the end?
The Tzitz Eliezer (11:84) says that many people are not makpid to
stay and leave early. He says that this custom can be justified and
that in fact the Minchas Yitzchok says that if one needs to leave for
an important reason before Birchas HaMazon he may do so.
The Tzitz Eliezer relies on Rav Shlomo Kluger who says that the
obligation of Sheva Brachos is not triggered by the Seudah but rather
by Birchas HaMazon itself, meaning that until they have said Birchas
HaMazon there is no obligation of Sheva Brachos. Therefore if one can
halachicly leave before Birchas HaMazon he was never obligated in
Sheva Brachos in the first place.
This chiddush has a number of halachic ramifications. According to
this if a Sheva Brachos is made on the last day, even if the whole
seudah is eaten before nighttime but Birchas HaMazon was not yet said
until after nighttime, Sheva Brachos cannot be said anymore, since it
depends purely on Birchas HaMazon which is not within the seven days.
Another point is that if the Panim Chadashos leaves before Birchas
HaMazon, Sheva Brachos cannot be said. Moreover he may even leave
early (provided he does not violate the Chiyuv of Zimun) and has not
"ruined" the Sheva Brachos because before Birchas HaMazon it is not
even a consideration.
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Message: 17
From: "Prof. Levine" <llev...@stevens.edu>
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2013 09:20:40 -0500
Subject: [Avodah] Lying for Shalom ? the Sake of Peace
From http://tinyurl.com/mj844rw
We have all heard the expression before ? mutar
leshanos mipnei HaShalom ? one is permitted to,
well, ?change? or obscure the truth in order to
maintain the peace. And lately, it seems that we hear it more and more.
A number of questions arise about this
concept. Is it still something that we should
avoid doing ? or is it possibly a Mitzvah? Is it
an across the board heter? Do people have
complete carte blanche in these areas? Or are there, perhaps, some caveats?
Firstly, let?s look at the source. The Talmud
(Yevamos 65b) cites Rabbi Eelaah in the name of
Rabbi Elazar the son of Rabbi Shimon. Rabbi
Elazar derives this principle ? that one may
?change? to maintain the peace from the fact that
the brothers told Yoseph that Yaakov their father
had instructed them to tell Yoseph to forgive
their sin against him. In fact, Yaakov did not
leave any such instruction. Rav Nosson even goes
further ? it is not just that permission is
granted ? it is even a Mitzvah! How do we know
this? Because Hashem instructed Shmuel the
prophet to lie to Shaul the king by telling him
that he was bringing something to slaughter to
Hashem. In fact, Shmuel was going to anoint Dovid as king in his stead.
It seems that Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Nosson are
not in agreement with each other but are actually
arguing. Rabbi Elazar says that one may do
so. Rabbi Nosson says that it is a Mitzvah to do
so. The Eliyahu Rabbah OC 156 understands this
Gemorah in this way too ? that they are taking opposite positions.
Do we pasken, rule, like Rabbi Nosson? The
Chofetz Chaim (Hilchos Rechilus 1:14) rules that
we do. He is not alone. The Rif in Yevamos and
even more so in Bava Metziah 13a quotes our
Gemorah and clearly rules in accordance with
Rabbi Nosson. The Rosh in Yevamos 6:21 also
rules like Rabbi Nosson and the Ohr Zaruah BM 3:63 does as well.
If we are ruling like Rabbi Nosson, then this
does bring up the question as to why the language
used in the Poskim is that it is permissible to
?change? or obscure the truth to maintain peace
rather than stating that it is a Mitzvah to do
so. Indeed, on account of this question, the
first position taken by the Eliyahu Rabbah was
that perhaps we rule against Rabbi Nosson ? that
there is no Mitzvah in doing so ? it is merely permitted.
See the above URL for more.
Yitzchok Levine
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Message: 18
From: "M Cohen" <mco...@touchlogic.com>
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2013 08:24:35 -0500
Subject: [Avodah] shehechyanu on engagement ring
It would appear that a girl s/ say shehechyanu on rcving the engagement ring
(and so say poskim in print)
It appears to me that the common minhag is not to say.
Reasons?
mc
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Message: 19
From: "Prof. Levine" <llev...@stevens.edu>
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2013 05:23:10 -0500
Subject: [Avodah] eating out
At 04:40 PM 12/30/2013, R. Shmuel Svarc wrote:
> > All in all I find the idea of children never going to parents for a
> > meal/shabbat quite strange.
I see you live in a rarified environment.
What if the parents are not observant? What if they live very far
away? What if one has a large family, and it is easier for the
parents to come to their child rather than schlepping a brood to them.
I have a friend whose parents never wanted their kids and
grandchildren to come to eat at their home. They preferred to eat in
their basement on Pesach rather than go to their son for Sedarim.
R. Eli Turkel Wrote:
>It's menuvaldig not to eat by parents. Something that doesn't is close to
>not being on the level of a human being.
My goodness, such condemnation. I gave you a number of reasons
above why one might not eat at one's parents.
Yitzchok Levine
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Message: 20
From: Ben Waxman <ben1...@zahav.net.il>
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2013 20:22:17 +0200
Subject: Re: [Avodah] eating out
All of the examples you give have nothing to do with the original thread
which talked about someone so frum he doesn't eat at his parents. The
discussion had nothing to do with the issues you raise.
Ben
On 12/31/2013 12:23 PM, Prof. Levine wrote:
> I see you live in a rarified environment.
>
> What if the parents are not observant? What if they live very far
> away? What if one has a large family, and it is easier for the
> parents to come to their child rather than schlepping a brood to them.
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Message: 21
From: "Rich, Joel" <JR...@sibson.com>
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2013 10:27:53 -0500
Subject: Re: [Avodah] Zimun alone at a Wedding
Question:
It is permissible to say Birkat Hamazon at an individual table during a
wedding and before Sheva Brachot? Is it permissible to make a mezuman or
better to Bench alone?
Answer:
It is permissible to leave a wedding before Birkat Hamazon( Grace) where Sheva Brachot will be recited later
=========================
R'YBS in Mesorah (mpi hashmua section)points out that in this case one must
consider the gemara brachot 5b that one who is neheneh from seudat chatan
veino msamcho is over 5 kolot and that the definition of eino msamcho is
not staying for sheva brachot.
KT
Joel Rich
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Message: 22
From: Zev Sero <z...@sero.name>
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2013 11:38:08 -0500
Subject: Re: [Avodah] Q: Is there an obligation to have Sheva Berachot
On 31/12/2013 8:38 AM, Prof. Levine wrote:
> and quoted what the
> Chatam Sofer wrote in his responsa Even Ha-Ezer #122: ?That someone
> once had Sheva Berachot on Shabbat and the entire community mocked
> him?
This is a serious misrepresentation of the Chasam Sofer. It is deliberately
designed to lend the CS's authority to a minhag of which he disapproved,
and which is in any case irrelevant to the question being asked.
First of all, he?s not talking at all about whether to make seudos every day;
he?s talking about how long one says the 7 brochos. Indeed, he mentions
special meals during the week, even in Frankfurt where they didn't say the
brochos. So we see that not saying the brochos didn?t get you out of the
social obligation of the seudos! That makes this teshuvah irrelevant to the
question being discussed, which is not about the brochos but about the seudos.
As for the quote itself, he does mention that the minhag in Frankfurt was not
to say the brchos after the first day, and that once a rov told someone to
say them on shabbos and everyone talked about it, and he gives a limud zechus
for this minhag, but he *does not approve* of it, and he writes clearly that
"in these areas? (i.e. Pressburg) we say the sheva brachos all week, *as is
the plain din*. (The actual teshuvah is about whether you can say them
*after* the week is over, and he finds a heter for that too.)
So the CS paskens, like the Shulchon Oruch, that the brochos should be said
all week. And once you pasken that way, then it follows that each meal at
which they are said is a seudas mitzvah. That doesn't mean there's *chiyuv*
to have one every day, any more than it means one must have one every hour
or every minute, but it's definitely a mitzvah.
--
Zev Sero
z...@sero.name
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Message: 23
From: Micha Berger <mi...@aishdas.org>
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2013 16:57:59 -0500
Subject: Re: [Avodah] Lying for Shalom ? the Sake of Peace
On Tue, Dec 31, 2013 at 09:20:40AM -0500, Prof. Levine wrote:
> From http://tinyurl.com/mj844rw
...
> Do we pasken, rule, like Rabbi Nosson? The Chofetz Chaim (Hilchos
> Rechilus 1:14) rules that we do. He is not alone. The Rif in Yevamos
> and even more so in Bava Metziah 13a quotes our Gemorah and clearly rules
> in accordance with Rabbi Nosson. The Rosh in Yevamos 6:21 also rules
> like Rabbi Nosson and the Ohr Zaruah BM 3:63 does as well.
It's not only Rabbi Nasan, it's also siding with Beis Hillel over Beis
Shammai with regard to lying for tact. Keitzad meraqdim lifnei hakalah?
Beis Shammai: kemos shehi
Beis Hillel: kalah na'ah vachasudah
That said, tact is sufficient to permit shinui, misleadingly telling
the truth, but not lying. In this case, in the eyes of her chasan she
is presumably na'ah vachasudah. (And hopefully will remain so at 120.)
As an aside: This makes the custom of singing "keitzad meraqdim"
humorously ironic. We get in front of the bride and sing the words one
says when they have to be less-than-fully-honest...
There is a LOT more on this topic. See the Linas haTzedeq's (Center
for Jewish Values) series on Emes veSheqer:
Emes veSheqer http://jewishvalues.us/uploads/101_Emess_vSheker.pdf
Anokhi Eisav Bechorekha http://jewishvalues.us/uploads/102_Anochi_Esav.pdf
Geneivas Daas http://jewishvalues.us/uploads/104_Genevas_Daas.PDF
Hin Tzedeq http://jewishvalues.us/uploads/103_Hen_Tzedek.pdf
(Booklet index at http://jewishvalues.us/Sugyos.html )
Tir'u baTov!
-Micha
--
Micha Berger Man is equipped with such far-reaching vision,
mi...@aishdas.org yet the smallest coin can obstruct his view.
http://www.aishdas.org - Rav Yisrael Salanter
Fax: (270) 514-1507
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