Avodah Mailing List

Volume 34: Number 75

Wed, 29 Jun 2016

• 1. Re: Birchas Kohanim (Zev Sero)
• 2. Re: Birchas Kohanim (Akiva Miller)
• 3. tefillat haderech (Eli Turkel)
• 4. Re: tefillat haderech (Zev Sero)
• 5. Re: Birchas Kohanim (Zev Sero)
• 6. tefillat haderech (Eli Turkel)
• 7. piskei halachot in monetary matters (Eli Turkel)
• 8. Buying Sliced Watermelon (Professor L. Levine)
• 9. Ketoret HaSammim (Henry Topas)
• 10. Re: Ketoret HaSammim (Zev Sero)
• 11. Is dirt clean? (Akiva Miller)

On 06/26/2016 11:51 AM, elazar teitz wrote:
> In the cases of megilla and shofar, hearing is required; a deaf
> person is exempt, and one who is prevented from hearing because of
> noise is not yotze. For birkas kohanim, according to the Sefer
> Chareidim, I doubt that there is any requirement other than the
> blessee's presence and awareness that the bracha is being given.

Good distinction.  Even awareness is presumably not necessary, since we
bring babies to be blessed.  But is this distinction really relevant to
the question of whether to make a bracha?   Where do we see that a bracha
depends on a chiyuv to hear rather than merely to be present?

Further question: is a bracha said on attending hakhel?


-- 
Zev Sero               Meaningless combinations of words do not acquire
z...@sero.name          meaning merely by appending them to the two other
                        words `God can'.  Nonsense remains nonsense, even
                        when we talk it about God.   -- C S Lewis

Regarding the view that there is a mitzvah for a Yisrael to be blessed by a
kohen, R' Zev Sero asked:

<<< According to this opinion should we be saying a brachah? >>>

As I understand it, one of the rules of Birkas Hamitzva is that one does
not say thea bracha when he is dependent on someone else. Classic examples
are giving tzedaka or giving terumah, because if the recipient changes his
mind and refuses, it will be a bracha l'vatala. How much more so here,
where I am not even offering something to the kohen, but asking a favor
*from* him.

Similarly, I recently heard a similar rule, that we say the bracha only if
we will be doing the pe'ulah personally, such as by Hallel and Sefirah. But
we do not say the bracha ourselves if we are merely being yotzay on the
kiyum, such as by Shofar and Megilah. If there is indeed a mitzvah to be
blessed by the kohanim, it seems closer to the latter than the former.

Akiva Miller
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avodah-a
ishdas.org/attachments/20160626/6a4ce451/attachment.html>

A question arose in a shiur I attend about tefillat haderch for someone on
a cruise for several days.
Does one say the tefilla every day (with a bracha?) or only once at the
start. Does it make a difference if one goes off the ship into the port for
a visit and then continues on the cruise.

We saw a Radvaz and Pri Chadash but they are talking about long trips on
land with staying somewhere along the way. Wasn't quite sure of the
connection to a cruise where one is one the same boat for many days

-- 
Eli Turkel
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avod
ah-aishdas.org/attachments/20160626/29af12c6/attachment-0001.htm>

On 06/26/2016 03:34 PM, Eli Turkel via Avodah wrote:
> A question arose in a shiur I attend about tefillat haderch for
> someone on a cruise for several days. Does one say the tefilla every
> day (with a bracha?) or only once at the start. Does it make a
> difference if one goes off the ship into the port for a visit and
> then continues on the cruise.
>
> We saw a Radvaz and Pri Chadash but they are talking about long trips
> on land with staying somewhere along the way. Wasn't quite sure of
> the connection to a cruise where one is one the same boat for many
> days

How much more so.  If one says it (without shem umalchus) every morning
of the journey, even at a hotel where one might be staying for a day or
two to rest, how much more so must one say it (again without shem umalchus)
every morning if one is actually travelling at that very moment.

-- 
Zev Sero               Meaningless combinations of words do not acquire
z...@sero.name          meaning merely by appending them to the two other
                        words `God can'.  Nonsense remains nonsense, even
                        when we talk it about God.   -- C S Lewis

On 06/26/2016 03:13 PM, Akiva Miller via Avodah wrote:
> Regarding the view that there is a mitzvah for a Yisrael to be
> blessed by a kohen, R' Zev Sero asked:
>> According to this opinion should we be saying a brachah?
> As I understand it, one of the rules of Birkas Hamitzva is that one
> does not say thea bracha when he is dependent on someone else.
> Classic examples are giving tzedaka or giving terumah, because if the
> recipient changes his mind and refuses, it will be a bracha l'vatala.
> How much more so here, where I am not even offering something to the
> kohen, but asking a favor *from* him.

Our case is different, because once the cohen has answered the call and
gone up to the duchan he can't change his mind.  He's now obligated to
bless.  And if he hasn't done it yet that day then he has to do it anyway.


> Similarly, I recently heard a similar rule, that we say the bracha
> only if we will be doing the pe'ulah personally, such as by Hallel
> and Sefirah. But we do not say the bracha ourselves if we are merely
> being yotzay on the kiyum, such as by Shofar and Megilah. If there is
> indeed a mitzvah to be blessed by the kohanim, it seems closer to the
> latter than the former.

But we *do* have an obligation to say a bracha, which we are yotzei by
listening to the baal tokeia's or baal korei's; if he has already been
yotzei himself then he does *not* say the bracha again, and one of the
listeners says it for everyone.    Here, however, we are not yotzei
with the cohanim's bracha, since it doesn't apply to us; we are not
sanctified with Aharon's kedusha, and we were not commanded to bless
but (according to this opinion) to be blessed.  So if we're not yotzei
their bracha why don't we say our own (or have the chazan say it for us)?



-- 
Zev Sero               Meaningless combinations of words do not acquire
z...@sero.name          meaning merely by appending them to the two other
                        words `God can'.  Nonsense remains nonsense, even
                        when we talk it about God.   -- C S Lewis

In my original post I was too short. Therefore I will expand a little about
tefillat haderech and my question

1) Rashi holds that tefillat haderech (THD) is requesting permission from
Hashem and so can only be said within the first parsah. Bahag holds that
THD is asking for protection and so can be said anytime up to a parsah
before the end of the trip. Rosh and SA pasken like Behag.

Rambam doesn't mention THD and meforshim try and explain why

2) Ashkenazim measure parsah as a distance (about 4km) even when using a
car or plane. ROY translated parsah to a time of 72 minutes.

3) Kolbo says that one says THD only once a day even if one made a stop
during the day (quoted in SA). Hence, MB says that if one is touring and
stops every night in a hotel one says THD every morning with a
bracha. Yalkut Yosef says that if one travels 40 minutes going to work and
40 minutes back they don't combine and one says THS without a bracha

4) Radvaz talks about an extended trip and says that even if one is not
stopping in a "yishuv" and if if one is travelling all night he says THD
every day but a bracha only on the first day.

Pri Chadash disagrees says that one says THD only on the first day even if
it is an extended trip

MB says that if one makes a short stop then one should say THD the next
morning without a bracha

5) As an aside RSZA paskens that one does not say THD traveling from Tel
Aviv to Jerusalem as there are cities all along the way. Yalkut Yosef
disagrees.
RSZA also says that on a plane one should say THD shortly after the plane
leaves the ground

My question concerned travelling on a boat either several day journey
without stops across the Atlantic or else a cruise with many stops in ports.

According to the Pri Chadash one certainly doesn't say THD after the first
day. However, even according to the Radvaz one might argue that there is no
need to say THD after the first day since one always stays on the boat day
and night and it is different than a caravan.
Of course one can always say THD without a bracha but the question is
whether one needs to. I have no surveys but in my limited experience people
do not say THD every day on a cruise even without a bracha


-- 
Eli Turkel
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avod
ah-aishdas.org/attachments/20160627/5e100977/attachment-0001.htm>

A new web site exists collecting piskei halachot in financial matters
especially from eretz chemda courts in Israel
currently 336 rulings with a search engine

psakim.org

-- 
Eli Turkel
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avod
ah-aishdas.org/attachments/20160627/f42b5b88/attachment-0001.htm>

The following is from today's OU Kosher Halacha Yomis.


Q. I am preparing a picnic. Can I buy sliced watermelon from the supermarket?


A. The Shach (YD 96:3) cites a concern that a knife often contains a fatty
residue even after it has been washed or wiped with a rag. Therefore, if a
non-kosher knife was used to cut kosher food, some of the residue on the
knife would transfer to the food. Rama (96:1, 4) writes that with regards
to fruit, we can assume that the manufacturer or processor has dedicated
utensils. Even if the knife is not dedicated to cutting fruit, however, if
large quantities of fruit are being cut or sliced, we can assume that
whatever non-kosher residue was on the knife was removed when cutting the
first few fruit, which are batel (nullified) in the majority of other
fruit.


One may, therefore, purchase cut watermelon in a supermarket or in a fruit
store. The market would likely have dedicated utensils and in any event it
is preparing large quantities of fruit. In a non-kosher restaurant or
catered event, however, the fruit would not be permitted because the knives
very likely are not dedicated and food preparation switches from one
product to the next.



YL
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avod
ah-aishdas.org/attachments/20160627/13b60041/attachment-0001.htm>

I am looking for a scan of the sefer Ketoret Hasammim written by R' Mordechai Ben Natali Hirsch of Kremsier in 1671.

In particular looking for his commentary on the word Anav in "Ve ha-ish Moshe Anav m'od" from the last Aliya of Parashat Behaalotcha.

Thanks,

Henry Topas

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avod
ah-aishdas.org/attachments/20160627/39d87287/attachment-0001.htm>

On 06/27/2016 04:55 PM, Henry Topas via Avodah wrote:
> I am looking for a scan of the sefer Ketoret Hasammim written by R?
> Mordechai Ben Natali Hirsch of Kremsier in 1671.
>
> In particular looking for his commentary on the word Anav in ?Ve
> ha-ish Moshe Anav m?od? from the last Aliya of Parashat Behaalotcha.

Here you go: http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=19165&;pgnum=207


-- 
Zev Sero               Meaningless combinations of words do not acquire
z...@sero.name          meaning merely by appending them to the two other
                        words `God can'.  Nonsense remains nonsense, even
                        when we talk it about God.   -- C S Lewis

If a Jew wants to eat bread, halacha requires a certain form of
hand-washing, but that has nothing to do with this thread.

There are also certain situations where halacha recognizes a certain
*spiritual* uncleanliness, and requires a certain hand-washing to remedy
it. Most (all?) of these situations are listed in S"A O"C 4:18, and include
things like getting up from bed, exiting a bathroom, removing one's shoes,
and others. It is noteworthy that this se'if begins with the words "These
things require washing with water", as if to suggest that washing with
other things would not be effective. Indeed, the Mishne Brurah #39 comments
on the word "with water":

> However, for tefilah - and certainly for learning Torah -
> a mere cleaning is enough for any of these cases, as
> noted below in se'if 22, in the case of one who gets up
> from bed. And this is certainly [acceptable] if there is
> no [water available]. However, removing the Ruach Raah
> requires specifically water. ...

But this thread isn't about those situations either. I am mentioning it
only in order to clearly establish that there is yet another category of
situations, namely the ones that the MB pointed to as being in Se'if 22.
The Mechaber wrote there (S"A O"C 4:22):

> If one has no water, he should wipe his hands on a
> pebble or dirt or anything that cleans, and say the
> bracha 'Al Nekiyus Yadayim'. This [procedure] is
> effective for tefilah, but not to remove the ruach
> raah which is on [the hands].

The Mechaber's phrase "anything that cleans", and his wording for the
bracha in such cases, not to mention his comment about ruach raah at the
end -- All these things make it abundantly clear that we are talking about
*physical* cleanliness, as opposed to other kinds of cleanliness. And the
Mechaber writes similarly in O"C 92:4, that prior to Tefilah,

> One must wash his hands with water if he has some, and
> if he doesn't have any [the Mechaber explains how far
> one must go to obtain water]. But if he is worried that
> he will pass the time limit for Tefilah, then he should
> clean his hands with a pebble or dirt or anything that
> cleans.

My question is simple: Why is dirt in the category of "things which clean"?
It seems to me that if I would rub my hands with dirt they would (almost
always) be even dirtier afterwards than before.

The only answer I can think of is that halacha considers dirt to be clean.
Is it possible that the *only* uncleanliness that prohibits tefila are the
things listed in OC 4:21 - touching covered parts of one's body, etc. (and
perhaps other specific listings elsewhere)

Here's a practical situation. Suppose someone is at work, and it is close
to Mincha time. So he goes to the bathroom, exits, and does the best
washing you can imagine, with whatever chumros you like. Then he realizes
he has a bit more time until mincha, so he decides to go back to work, but
with constant attention to being very careful not to scratch his head, or
touch under his shirt, or any of the things that would require him to wash
again before mincha. But his job is a butcher, and he will get his hands
bloody. Or he is a painter or printer, and he'll get paint or ink on his
hands. Or he is a farmer or construction worker, and he'll get actual earth
on his hands. And now it is time for mincha. Are his hands halachically
clean or dirty? If you tell me that they are dirty, how does it help to
wipe his hands in the dirt?

I have more questions on this topic, but I hope this will get the ball
rolling. Thank you.

Akiva Miller
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avod
ah-aishdas.org/attachments/20160628/360240b2/attachment-0001.htm>

------------------------------



_______________________________________________
Avodah mailing list
Avo...@lists.aishdas.org
http://www.aishdas.org/avodah
http://lists.aishdas.org/listinfo.cgi/avodah-aishdas.org


------------------------------


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

Send Avodah mailing list submissions to
	avodah@lists.aishdas.org

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
	http://lists.aishdas.org/listinfo.cgi/avodah-aishdas.org
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
	avodah-request@lists.aishdas.org

You can reach the person managing the list at
	avodah-owner@lists.aishdas.org

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of Avodah digest..."


A list of common acronyms is available at
        http://www.aishdas.org/avodah/acronyms.cgi
(They are also visible in the web archive copy of each digest.)