Avodah Mailing List

Volume 42: Number 80

Sat, 07 Dec 2024

• 1. The tzibbur saying Acheinu together (Michael Poppers)
• 2. Deceit by omission (Akiva Miller)
• 3. Kiddush haSheim and Chessed - R Dr Hillel Goldberg (Micha Berger)
• 4. Zmirot (Joel Rich)
• 5. Removing Wine from the Second Cup (Akiva Miller)

Nowadays/in recent times, the *tzibbur* arguably is also involving itself
in/enunciating other aspects of *t'fila* that originally were meant to be
enunciated only by the SHaTZ -- three examples are
=> during Bircas Kohanim, "kohanim am q'doshecha";
=> during Mei'ein Sheva, the "magen avos" paragraph; and
=> at the beginning of Q'dusha, at least the "n'qadeish" phrase.

Gut Chodesh! and all the best from
*Michael Poppers* * Elizabeth, NJ, USA
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.
Sometimes, a person will defend himself by saying, "No, I didn't lie; I
just left out some things."

Bereshis 31:20 seems to disagree: Because Yaakov failed to tell Lavan that
he was leaving, it *does* count as Geneivas Daas.

Comments?

Akiva Miller
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I am unsurprised that R Dr Goldberg routinely gives food to homeless
people. But this article takes a position close to my own about what
role Qiddush haSheim ought to have in this kind of behavior.

The way I would put it is that it is our job in the world to emulate
Hashem and partner with Him in bringing His Good to others. Qiddush
haSheim is a natural consequence of such acts. But if we make the act
itself about Qiddush haSheim, we dehumanize the other we are helping. Turn
them into "tefillin" or an "esrog" for our mitzvah of Chessed. Qiddush
haSheim, like happiness, can only happen as a consequence of our pursuing
something else.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

https://www.ijn.com/homeless-friends-denver

My homeless friends
Hillel Goldberg | Intermountain Jewish News / 2024-11-28 22:38:38

...
"Why do I do this?

"First, here is why I don't do it.

"I don't do it to make a good name for the Jewish people. I do introduce
myself as "Rabbi Goldberg" and if the recipient thinks the better of
Jews -- if I've made a "kiddush Hashem" -- so much the better. But this
is not my motivation....

"I don't carry around and distribute food because I think it's going to
satisfy someone's hunger that day. I know I'm giving only a little. But
it's something -- especially the cool water in the hot summer....

"I have no illusion that I am solving the homeless problem, even in
a small way. I am not making a dent in a complicated, recalcitrant,
socially damning problem, or even in one person's life; nor do I have
reason to feel any less disturbed by the desolation of these people
living the streets....

"Why do I do this?

"First of all, I learn something. I learn not to judge. Take Pete. He
is one of the few people I see with some regularity.... OK: so here's
the first assumption many people make. These people with the cardboard
signs don't really need the help.... But Pete keeps talking. He says,
'It's been 22 months since my back surgery and finally all of the bones
have come into place, except for one, and I can finally do some work.' So
much for unworthy judgments about unnecessary sponging."

"Why do I do this? We live in a society in which human relationships are
radically attenuated. We have fellow workers and most of us have family
and 'friends,' but for most of us the great bulk of our human interactions
do not enable the development of real friendship. 'Transactional'
is the word these days: we do what needs to get done. That's how we
relate to the person at the grocery counter, the salesman in the store,
the person next to me on the bus or the subway, the doorman, often even
the fellow worker -- all these people I see, in many cases, every day;
at best, I extend and receive a nod, a'"hello,' a 'how are you.'..."

Anyone know of any sources which discuss why certain zmirot are associated
friday night while others are associated with shabbat day? bsorot tovot
Joel Rich
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.
I found some comments about this in the Taamei Haminhagim uMakorei Hadinim,
page 233, paragraph 538. His comments are in two parts.

First he writes, "The reason that we discard a little from the cup with
one's finger when reaching Dam Va'esh V'simros Ashan, and likewise when
mentioning the plagues [and] D'tzach Adash B'achav, is in memory of what
the pasuk says, 'It is the finger of G-d!', and if so, one should use his
finger."

We've seen this before in other writings. Nothing new here. Except that it
increases my annoyance and curiosity, because this response doesn't fully
answer the question that was posed. "It is the finger of G-d" explains why
one should use one's finger for removing the wine, as opposed to removing
the wine in some other manner. But yet again, it does not explain we bother
to remove the wine at all. [I am starting to think that the ultimate source
for this practice has more to do with this "Etzba Elokim" pasuk, and little
or nothing to do with the Binfol Oyevcha / Baavod Reshaim pesukim that
we've discussed so much.]

But the main reason I'm writing today is to ask about the Taamei
Haminhagim's second reason, which I will present here in transliteration
and my guesswork translation:

V'od l'ramez she'al yedei hamakos haya nechsar mayhem kol paam umismaatin.
Further, to hint that via the plagues, they became lacking from them each
time, and they grew fewer.

His use of pronouns drives me crazy. What became lacking? What grew fewer?
My only guess is that a number of Egyptians died in each and every plague,
which we symbolize with the cup of wine becoming smaller. Am I close? Can
anyone confirm or correct me? Thanks in advance.

Akiva Miller
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