Volume 33: Number 75
Mon, 11 May 2015
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
Message: 1
From: Kenneth Miller
Date: Fri, 8 May 2015 04:11:14 GMT
Subject: Re: [Avodah] Meron live
R' Zev Sero wrote:
> This way of looking at things also explains whether one should
> say tachanun at mincha of erev Lag Ba'omer. If it's just "the
> end of shiva", that starts in the morning, so one should say
> tachanun at the previous mincha, just as one does on erev Pesach
> Sheni (which also starts in the morning), erev Erev RH and erev
> Erev YK, and if we said tachanun in Nissan we would also say it
> at mincha of erev Erev Pesach, because it too starts in the
> morning. But once we regard Lag Ba'omer as a day of simcha in
> its own right, then it starts at night, and so we omit tachanun
> in the previous mincha.
I don't follow any of what RZS is saying about Lag Ba'omer, so I'll neither
agree nor disagree. But my understanding of the nature of Pesach Sheni is
very different from his:
As it was explained to me, there's nothing special about the morning of
Pesach Sheni. Pesach Sheni exists only on the afternoon of 14 Iyar and the
following night. We omit Tachanun on the morning of 14 Iyar NOT because it
is a holiday, but because it is the Tachanun *before* the holiday.
Alternatively, one might say that the morning of 14 Iyar actually *is* Erev
Pesach Sheni. Either way, the afternoon of 13 Iyar is too far removed to be
significant enough to warrant skipping Tachanun.
It is similar to how the *afternoon* of Erev RH and Erev YK are special
enough to skip Tachanun, and this is extended even to the morning, but to
say that the entirety of those days are so special that we would skip
Tachanun even at the preceding Mincha -- No, that just doesn't fly. This
leaves us with three days, at most, when we skip Tachanun at Shacharis, but
we *do* say it at the preceding Mincha. (And many siddurim - ArtScroll, for
example - explicitly list these three days as exceptions to the general
rule.)
Akiva Miller
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Message: 2
From: Prof. Levine
Date: Fri, 08 May 2015 04:40:42 -0400
Subject: Re: [Avodah] Meron live
At 06:42 PM 5/7/2015, Micha Berger wrote:
> The Pri Etz Chaim never said that the Ari said it was
>: appropriate.
>
>What? The Ari PARTICIPATED in it himself!
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upsherin
Rabbi
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaim_Vital>Chaim
Vital wrote in Sha'ar Ha-Kavanot that
"<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Luria>Isaac
Luria, cut his son's hair on
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lag_BaOmer>Lag
BaOmer, according to the well-known custom."
However, the age of his son is not mentioned. An
obvious problem raised by Avraham Yaari, in an
article in Tarbiz 22 (1951), is that many sources
cite that the Arizal held one should not cut
one's hair for the entire
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counting_of_the_Omer>sefirah
? including Lag BaOmer, (see Shaarei Teshuva, O.C. 493, 8).
YL
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Message: 3
From: Prof. Levine
Date: Fri, 08 May 2015 04:44:40 -0400
Subject: [Avodah] Better Version of Upsherin
There were some editorial problems with what I sent out earlier about
this topic from Shorshei Minhag Ashkenaz.
See
http://web.stevens.edu/golem/llevine/rsrh/shorshei_hair_cutting.pdf
for a better version.
YL
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Message: 4
From: Ben Waxman
Date: Fri, 08 May 2015 06:02:54 +0200
Subject: Re: [Avodah] halaqah
On 5/7/2015 8:41 PM, Herbert Basser via Avodah wrote:
> A recent post claims the Islamic "opsherin" was called "halaqah". What
> is the evidence for this claim? The only meaning of arabic "halaqah" I
> know is "learning circle".
A (Tunisian) Arab told me that it means hair cut.
Ben
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Message: 5
From: Prof. Levine
Date: Fri, 08 May 2015 04:54:06 -0400
Subject: [Avodah] Davening in a Large or Small Shul
From today's http://halachafortodaycom.blogspot.com/
1)It is a Mitzvah to daven in a Shul that has a large amount of
people, as the Pasuk (Mishlei 14:28) says "Brov Am Hadras Melech -
with a large assemblage the glory of the King [Hashem] is
multiplied." (See Mishna Berura Siman 90 S"K 28)
2)There are various exceptions to this rule, and certain times it is
deemed Halachically superior to daven in a smaller place and forego
the "Brov Am Hadras Melech".
A few examples of the many such exceptions:
a)Davening in a Bais HaMidrash or Yeshiva , where people learn Torah
all [or a large part of the] day (even if you yourself do not learn
there) is better than davening in a Shul (i.e. Bais Hakneses that is
used only for Tefilah), even if there are more people in the Shul
than in the Bais HaMidrash. (See Talmud Brachos 8a. See Chayei Adam
Klal 17:1 and Mishna Berura Siman 90 S:K 55)
b)If one is on the way to a big Shul, and is stopped by someone and
asked to be the tenth man [or any part of the 10] in their Minyan
(either in a shiva house, or a smaller Shul whose members cannot go
to the larger Shul due to their health or age, or any similar
situation) he should stay with them and not refuse based on "Brov Am
Hadras Melech" (Psak of Maran Harav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv Zatzal,
quoted in Sefer Tefilah K'Hilchasa Perek 2 footnote 29, who
maintains that doing a Chesed is just as big a Mitzvah, if not
bigger, than fulfilling "Brov Am Hadras Melech")
c) If one can concentrate and daven better in a smaller Shul he
should daven there, rather than in a bigger Shul where he may not
daven as well. (Mishna Berura Siman 90 S"K 28)
The Aruch Hashulchan (Siman 90:15) rules that if in the larger Shul
there are people who talk and converse during the Tefilah (which is a
terrible sin, as we have discussed many times, and will iy"H discuss
again more thoroughly in the near future), it is better to daven in a
small Shul where it is quiet and the proper respect for Tefilah is
exhibited. (The Sefer Tefilah K'Hilchasa Perek 2 footnote 28 writes
that Rav Shlomo Zalmen Auerbach Zatzal even went so far as to Pasken
that if by leaving the Shul with the talking you will end up missing
Krias HaTorah or having to leave davening early, one should still
avoid the Shul with the talking!)
d) Naturally, if by davening in the larger Shul one will miss the
proper time for davening (Zman Tefilah), he may daven in an earlier
Minyan or Shul even if it is significantly smaller. (See Mishna
Berura Siman 90 S"K 28)
----------
I think that today there is a move away from davening in large
shuls. This is certainly true here in Brooklyn where many of the
larger shuls are at times struggling to maintain their
congregants. Part of it has to do with the fact that most large
shuls daven Ashkenaz, and this is not viewed favorably in Brooklyn.
I personally prefer to daven in a minyan consisting of between 20 and
forty people. It is much easier to maintain decorum in such a minyan
than in a shul where 100 or more people are davening. YL
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Message: 6
From: Rich, Joel
Date: Fri, 8 May 2015 12:14:58 +0000
Subject: Re: [Avodah] Davening in a Large or Small Shul
From today's http://halachafortodaycom.blogspot.com/
1)It is a Mitzvah to daven in a Shul that has a large amount of people, as
the Pasuk (Mishlei 14:28) says "Brov Am Hadras Melech - with a large
assemblage the glory of the King [Hashem] is multiplied." (See Mishna
Berura Siman 90 S"K 28)
2)There are various exceptions to this rule, and certain times it is deemed
Halachically superior to daven in a smaller place and forego the "Brov Am
Hadras Melech".
A few examples of the many such exceptions:.......................
================================================
I wonder if this write up is indicative of a trend seen in "The halachos of
X" works, likutim which seem to have become more popular (did they exist 40
years ago?). As Rav Aharon Lichtenstein learned at Harvard, life is
complex. Of course there are overarching priorities which need to be
learned, but specific applications are hard to summarize in an algorithmic
form (see hilchot lashon hara and tzedaka for some obvious examples). Maybe
in an internet age we have no choice but to try to put everything on line
but what you really need IMHO is a live mentor.
KT
Joel RIch
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Message: 7
From: Michael Poppers
Date: Fri, 8 May 2015 11:21:28 -0400
Subject: [Avodah] minhagei S'fira (was "Meron live")
In Avodah V33n74, R'Micha replied to RDrYL:
: PS. My wife has asked more than once, " How can they observe the
: aveilus restrictions of Sefirah during Pesach when it is a Yom Tov?"
: My reply is, "I do not know."
> You can't get married on Pesach, not even ch"m either. Nor get a haircut.
So you're asking about parties with live music. <
If one is asking about *minhagei aveilus* during the "first days", one can
also ask about the "second days" custom to observe *minhagei aveilus* whenever
Tachanun is said, as the number of such days does not come close to 33 and
one has to include Shabbos as well as either R'Ch'Iyyar or the *shloshes
y'mei hagbala* (all days when Tachanun is _not_ said) in the number.
All the best from
*Michael Poppers* * Elizabeth, NJ, USA
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Message: 8
From: Micha Berger
Date: Fri, 8 May 2015 14:39:40 -0400
Subject: Re: [Avodah] minhagei S'fira (was "Meron live")
On Fri, May 08, 2015 at 11:21:28AM -0400, Michael Poppers via Avodah wrote:
: If one is asking about *minhagei aveilus* during the "first days", one can
: also ask about the "second days" custom to observe *minhagei aveilus* whenever
: Tachanun is said...
Which makes it a good time to remind people of my tweak of RAM's survey
of 11 different shitos (12, if we include one that isn't followed)
of omer mourning periods
<http://www.aishdas.org/asp/mourning-during-omer-2>
It's an interesting side-note that two opinions do not include the
night of Lag baOmer. But neither end then.
:-)BBii!
-Micha
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Message: 9
From: Zev Sero
Date: Fri, 08 May 2015 14:58:30 -0400
Subject: Re: [Avodah] minhagei S'fira (was "Meron live")
On 05/08/2015 11:21 AM, Michael Poppers via Avodah wrote:
> If one is asking about /minhagei aveilus/ during the "first days",
> one can also ask about the "second days" custom to observe /minhagei
> aveilus/ whenever Tachanun is said, as the number of such days does
> not come close to 33 and one has to include Shabbos as well as either
> R'Ch'Iyyar or the /shloshes y'mei hagbala/ (all days when Tachanun is
> _not_ said) in the number.
Whose custom is that? This sounds like the shita of Tosfos as quoted by
Mahari ibn Shuaib, which is that they died all 49 days, but we observe
aveilus only on those days when we don't say *techina*, which comes to
exactly 33 days (including Lag Ba'omer, which according to this shita is
not a special day at all).
--
Zev Sero I have a right to stand on my own defence, if you
z...@sero.name intend to commit felony...if a robber meets me in
the street and commands me to surrender my purse,
I have a right to kill him without asking questions
-- John Adams
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Message: 10
From: Joe Slater
Date: Sat, 9 May 2015 20:38:40 +1000
Subject: Re: [Avodah] Upsherin
>
> R' Levin wrote: The German custom to bring a young boy to the synagogue
> with a wimpel
> (wrapping for the Torah scroll) has no connection whatsoever to the
> practice of the chalaka [...]
>
This is the way KAJ recommends
This the way KAJ recommends
Not with the bangs but a wimpel.
Joe Slater
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Message: 11
From: Isaac Balbin
Date: Sat, 9 May 2015 22:12:16 +1000
Subject: Re: [Avodah] Meron live
I didn't know my family Minhag until I chanced on a picture before the war
with my grandfather and two of his sons, both with long hair. Using the
mimetic tradition my sons and grandsons had an upsherin. It's interesting
that mention was made of The Griz. As is well known followers of the Vilna
Gaon (including Mori VRabbi Rav Hershel Schachter) don't go to the Beis
HaChaim and neither did Rav YD Soloveitchik until in his words he felt
compelled to visit his wife's Tziyun. How many know that the Griz asked
some Talmidim to go to the Rashbi's grave and pray when the Griz was on his
death bed?
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Message: 12
From: Eli Turkel
Date: Sat, 9 May 2015 22:23:58 +0300
Subject: [Avodah] missing years in Hebrew Calendar
The student newspaper of the Torah Academy of Bergen County had a series of
articles on the missing years in the Jewish calendar
http://www.tabc.org/student-publications/kol-torah/index.aspx - see
achrei mot-kedoshim for the 3rd (final) article
They show how Seder Olam is self consistent and in particular it frequently
takes people in Tanach whom seem to be different and conflates them. In
sefer shoftim they take everything literally that each judge was for 40
years and no gaps between them etc.
They then address the difference between the secular and seder olam dates.
They also point out the difficulty in the sefer Isuah from chapter 39
onwards (Deutero-Isaiah)
1) the sudden change from rebuke and sestruction to comfort (many years
before the destruction)
2) Koresh is listed explicitly twice while prophecy tends to be general
3) Yeshayahu is mention 15 times in the first part but never is mentioned
in the second part
They conclude that the secular dates are correct
(as an aside archaeologists decide on these dates based on astronomical
events and carbon 14 dating of pollen seeds which are short lived)
They then explain seder olam dating
1) seder olam was not written as a historical text but has a moral side
2) seder olam ignores periods of time when nothing of Jewish importance
occurs
In particular the Persian era until Shimon Hagadol did not live up to the
expectations.
Hence, the prophecy of Isaiah-II (name unknown) was simply added to an
existing sefer
3) as with its practice conflates Darius I with Darius III.
4) The new Greek calendar (shtarot) was exactly 1000 years after the exodus.
In order to achieve this goal parts of the Persian history had to be
changed including the order of some kings, again conflating several
separate Persian kings which leads to a much shortened Persian kingdom.
Finally it removes 6 years from Alexander the great (ie seder olam states
Alexander ruled for 6 years in Greece and 6 years in Persia)
See above article for more details
--
Eli Turkel
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Message: 13
From: Lisa Liel
Date: Sun, 10 May 2015 18:49:22 -0500
Subject: Re: [Avodah] missing years in Hebrew Calendar
I think this is tragic. Rather than allow the blasphemous thought that
the current vogue in scholarly circles might be wrong cross their minds,
they feel forced to conclude that Chazal perpetrated multiple frauds and
told multiple lies. The inferiority complex many Modern Orthodox Jews
have regarding secular scholarship is beyond tragic.
Lisa
On 5/9/2015 2:23 PM, Eli Turkel via Avodah wrote:
> The student newspaper of the Torah Academy of Bergen County had a
> series of articles on the missing years in the Jewish calendar
>
> http://www.tabc.org/student-publications/kol-torah/index.aspx - see
> achrei mot-kedoshim for the 3rd (final) article
>
>
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Message: 14
From: Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer
Date: Sun, 10 May 2015 20:27:37 -0400
Subject: Re: [Avodah] missing years in Hebrew Calendar
I cannot believe TABC allowed this to be published as is. /Shreklach!/
KT,
YGB
On 05/09/2015 03:23 PM, Eli Turkel via Avodah wrote:
> The student newspaper of the Torah Academy of Bergen County had a
> series of articles on the missing years in the Jewish calendar
>
> http://www.tabc.org/student-publications/kol-torah/index.aspx - see
> achrei mot-kedoshim for the 3rd (final) article
>
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