Date: 9/14/05 4:18PM Subject: REVIEW OF COLORADO …From: "James Jarvis" To: , Date: 9/14/05 4:18PM
€Page€Zero€of€Torah€Tidbits€835ou.org.s3.amazonaws.com/pdf/tt/5769/835.pdf · 4:19...
Transcript of €Page€Zero€of€Torah€Tidbits€835ou.org.s3.amazonaws.com/pdf/tt/5769/835.pdf · 4:19...
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Page Zero of Torah Tidbits 835Lead Tidbit cont. from page 1 (below)
And here it is...
Rashi teaches us a princile when it comes to angels: One angel does notperform two tasks.
Therefore, there were three angels sent to Avraham one to heal him fromhis recent Mila at an advanced age (R'fa'el); one to announce the upcomingbirth of Yitzchak (Micha'el), and one to destroy S'dom (Gavri'el). The Gemarain Bava M'tzi'a gives us the names of the angels and their tasks.
Fine, so far. After the angels leave Avraham, two of them continue ontoS'dom one to destroy S'dom (that would be Gavri'el) and one to save Lotand family (Micha'el). What happened to the one task per angel rule?
We can say that Micha'el finished with his first task and now continues withGavri'el to S'dom with a new single task to save Lot.
If there are four tasks which there are, count them them why not sendfour angels in the first place?
Because, originally, there were only three tasks: heal Avraham, announceYitzchak, and destroy S'dom. Lot's being saved was not a foregoneconclusion. He didn't have sufficient merit to be saved on his own. He needed as we've mentioned in the Sedra Summary, twice additional lmerit to besaved. This merit he "acquired" when the angels were already at Avraham'stent. What happened there?
The angels asked Avraham where Sara was and he said that she was in thetent.
This is a window to the character of Sara Imeinu and because of her, of allwomankind. Women, by nature, are quiet, "behind the scenes" types. (This isobviously an oversimplification of a complex issue let's leave it simple fornow...)
And Lot got merit from this? We're not there yet patience.
The Torah tells us that an Amonite and a Moavite may not enter into K'halHaShem (marry a women born a Jew, even though they have converted toJudaism, which they can do).
Does this Torah restriction apply to males only or females, as well?
Important question. Our Sages ruled that the restriction applies to males ofAmon and Moav, but not to their females. They ruled this way because theTorah gives a reason for excluding Amon and Moav from K'halHaShem. "Because they didn't offer you bread and water when youapproached their land..." Who was held accountable for this reprehensiblebehavior? The males. They were the ones who There's more on page 3 below
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Correct for TT 835 • Rabbeinu Tam (J'm) 5:55pm4:04 Yerushalayim 5:18pm4:23 S'derot 5:21pm4:20 Gush Etzion 5:19pm4:20 Raanana 5:19pm4:20 Beit Shemesh 5:19pm4:21 Rehovot 5:20pm4:20 Netanya 5:19pm4:20 Be'er Sheva 5:21pm4:20 Modi'in 5:19pm4:04 Petach Tikva 5:19pm4:04 Maale Adumim 5:18pm4:19 Ginot Shomron 5:18pm4:19 Gush Shiloh 5:18pm4:20 K4 & Hevron 5:19pm4:20 Giv'at Ze'ev 5:18pm4:21 Yad Binyamin 5:20pm4:22 Ashkelon 5:21pm4:06 Tzfat 5:16pm
`xie zyxt zay
835h"qyz oeyg f"iNov. 1415, '08 •
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This Shabbat is the 47th day (of 354), 7th Shabbat (of 50) of 5769
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cont. on page zero, above
ezohlenhxlaxkdIn Israel (not yet elsewhere)
First Written TT RevisitedHar Sinai, NCSY Upstate New York region, June 1971 (maybe) RegionalShabbaton in Rochester, NY the term Torah Tidbits was coined. It referredto short divrei halacha and Torah, mostly to explain basic concepts thatmight not have been known to the NCSYers. Torah Tidbits were originallyoral.
1990 (rough guess), Israel Center at 10 Straus Street first use of the termTorah Tidbits to apply to a writtenD'var Torah. (Torah Tidbits as theweekly Torah publication of the OUIsrael Center began in June '92 forShabbat Parshat Sh'lach.)
The first written TT, photocopied ontoone side of an A4 sheet of paper andplaced on the shelves near the door at10 Straus where flyers were placed, sothat people who took flyers of ouractivities could also take home a D'varTorah, was for Parshat Vayeira.
I (Phil) heard the DT from Dr. PaulSlater; he got it from Maayana ShelTorah, which quoted the ChidusheiHaRim.
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cont. p.3
Word of the MonthIf you haven't said KiddushL'vana yet this month andyou are readingthese words onWednesday
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Lead Tidbit cont. from page Zero (above)
aggressively went to their border to bar Israel's passage through theirterritory. Their women are not held responsible, because they did not comeforward confrontationally. They had the quality of Sara Imeinu of "HINEIVAOHEL".
Not extending the restriction on Moav to its women allowed Ruth to marryBoaz and to become the mother of the Davidic line. And Ruth is the extramerit that her progenitor Lot received. Without Ruth, perhaps Lot would nothave been saved. No angel was initially sent for that role, which was not yeta certainty.
Whether or not you take all this literally or figuratively, there are lessons tobe learned. Sometimes, if the task is important and requires one's fullattention, we should remember that even angels do one thing at a time.
We each have merit that we ourselves earn, plus Z'chut Avot, "credit", if youwill, from our parents and grandparents (especially when we follow in theirgood footsteps), and can receive further merit from our children during ourlifetimes and afterwards... And sometimes, even lacking full merit, we canbenefit from special circumstances. Plenty of food for thought here. oea`za
WORD of the MONTH cont. from p.2
A weekly TT feature to help clarify practical and conceptual aspects of the Jewish Calendar, therebyenhancing our appreciation of Gd's gift to us of HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem...
(November 12th when TT first "hits the stands"), then you can still say KLall night Wednesday. But that's the last opportunity this month. (As we'vepointed out occasionally, there are some opin ions that permit KL beyondthe midpoint between moladot you should check with your Rav how strict adeadline you should keep to.)
VAYEIRA STATS4th of the 54 sedras; 4th of 12 sedras in B'reishit
Written on 252 lines in a Sefer Torah, ranks 5th
6 Parshiyot; 4 open, 2 closed
147 p'sukim ranks 7th (4th in B’reishit)
2085 words ranks 2nd (first in B’reishit)
7862 letters ranks 3rd (2nd in B’reishit)
P'sukim above average in length (i.e. number ofwords and number of letters per pasuk) explain itsrise in rankings from p'sukim to words (and letters).Vayeira is actually 2nd largest sedra in the Torah.(Naso, is #1 with no rival Bamidbar, Pinchas,and R'ei all take up more lines than Vayeira, butthose sedras each have many parshiyot, whichmeans a lot of blank space between parshiyot whichadds to the number of lines.)
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MITZVOTNone of Taryag are found in Vayeira (one of 17sedras without entries on the list of 613) however,there are Midot and values and other lessons to belearned.
AliyabyAliyaSedra Summary[P> X:Y (Z)] and [S> X:Y (Z)] indicatestart of a parsha p’tucha or s’tumarespectively. X:Y is Perek:Pasuk of thebeginning of the parsha; (Z) is thenumber of p'sukim in the parsha.
Kohen First Aliya 14 p'sukim 18:114[P> 18:1 (71)] And Gd appearedto him (Avraham)...
SSSSSDDDDDTTTTT::::: The use of the pronoun "him"rather than using the name Avraham issignificant. EILAV (to him) refers us backto the previous parsha Avraham'scircumcision at the end of Lech L'cha,indicating that the purpose of Gd's visitwith Avraham was Bikur Cholim, visitingthe sick. Furthermore, the fact that theTorah does not indicate that Gd saidanything to Avraham at this "appearance",tells us that He had another purpose, viz.Bikur Cholim. Commentaries teach us thatGd was visiting the sick, even though theWritten Word does not say that at all.
He is sitting at the entrance of histent (watching for travelers towelcome) in the heat of the day.
SSSSSDDDDDTTTTT::::: It was unnaturally hot; that wasGd's doing, to spare Avraham the botherof visitors, He removed the sun from itsenvelope... However, Avraham is distressed by the absence of visitors, so Gdsends three angels to him in the guise ofwayfarers. We have a lessonwithinalesson to learn here. To be careful to do forothers especially the ill and elderly whatTHEY want, not what WE want, and notwhat we THINK they want. Also, to realizethat there are exceptions to rules. Somepeople like being fussed about; othersdon't. For some, taking things easy istherapeutic. For others, action is theirmedicine. Avraham did not want to takethings easy, even though he was ailing. SoGd, sotospeak, accommodated him.
Avraham sees the three "men" andruns to greet them, after asking Gdto wait for him (so to speak). (Fromhere we are taught the greatness ofthe mitzva of Hachnasat Orchim.)
This is one of the ways to interpretthe pasuk that ADONAI meansGd, and that Avraham wasaddressing Him. ADONAI can alsomean "my sirs", in which caseAvraham could have been speakingto the men/angels. Each possibilitycauses minor awkwardness in theflow of the p'sukim. The word isconsidered holy (meaning the firstopinion prevails), and Sofrim write itwith the Kavana for Gd's name, butsome say that one should use aconditional "sanctification". This is atouchy subject for Sofrim, sinceGd's names are written with aspecial declaration of sanctity, andwords that are not His names arenot supposed to be sanctified. In thefew cases where there is a dispute,the T'NAI, conditional statement of
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kedusha come in handy. However,some authorities rule that it is betterto sancify a Name even if it mightnot be sacred, rather than notsanctifying it, if it is holy.
SSSSSDDDDDTTTTT::::: "Speak little, but do much." Thismaxim from Pirkei Avot is manifest inAvraham Avinu's behavior. He offers theangels a bit of water and some bread, butin fact prepares for them (with the help ofSara and Yishmael) a sumptuous meal. TheMishna states that Avraham's meal for thestrangers was proportionally greater thaneven the feast of Shlomo HaMelech incelebration of the building of the BeitHaMikdash. Avraham and Sara are theultimate models for hospitality, one of thehallmarks of the Jewish People.
One of the angels informs Avrahamof the pending birth of Yitzchak.Sara's reaction is to laugh (a slightdoubt in the ability of a 100 yearold man to father a child and of a90 year old woman to give birth).Gd asks Avraham why Sara woulddoubt His ability to permit an oldwoman to conceive.
SSSSSDDDDDTTTTT::::: Rabbi Yehuda says in the name ofRav (in Bava M'tzi'a): What Avraham didfor his guests by himself, Gd did for thePeople of Israel by Himself; what Avrahamdid via another, Gd did likewise. Avrahamsaid: YUKACH NA M'AT MAYIM. Rashiexplains the strange grammatical form bysaying that Avraham did not provided thewater to the stangers himself (it does notsay K'CHU...) So too, when Gd was toprovide water to Avraham's descendants,He commanded Moshe Rabeinu to throwthe stick into the water, to strike the rock,to speak to the rock. But Avraham fed theangels himself "and I will get the bread,etc." When Gd needed to feed the People,
He provided us with Manna. Moshe did notbring it about. Gd gave it straight to thePeople.
Levi Second Aliya 19 p'sukim 18:1533Sara would like to deny that shelaughed (and doubted), but shecannot.
The three angels each had a singletask: One to heal Avraham, one toannounce the birth of Yitzchak(both missions accomplished), thethird to destroy S'dom. That angelis now accompanied by R'fael,whose new task is to save Lot andfamily. Avraham escorts the angelson their way to S'dom.
SSSSSDDDDDTTTTT::::: Once again, we learn the correctbehavior of a proper host from Avraham:part of hospitality is to escort your guestsas they leave your home. It is even said thatescorting out is greater than welcoming.
HaShem next tells Avraham of hisintention to destroy S'dom.Avraham pleads and bargains ontheir behalf, but there aren'tenough righteous people to savethe cities.
The dialog between Avraham andHaShem is an astounding (andunique) example of the closerelationship between them.
SSSSSDDDDDTTTTT::::: Avraham's expression of humilitybefore Gd is "and I am dust and ash".Says the Gemara, because of Avraham'shumility, his children merited two mitzvot the ash of the Para Aduma and the dust ofthe Sota. Torah T'mima explains that the
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Para Aduma ash is the symbol of spiritualpurity (which can be thought of as therealm of "between the Jew and Gd"mitzvot). The hopeful outcome of the Sotaprocedure is Shalom Bayit, being a majorexample of interpersonal relationships.Thus the reward for Avraham covers thewhole range of Jewish life.
Shlishi Third Aliya 20 p'sukim 19:120The two angels arrive in S'dom andare taken in by Lot. [The nephewof Avraham Avinu has learnedsomething from his uncle.] Thepeople of S'dom demonstrate theirevil nature. It is clear from thep'sukim as well as Midrashim andcommentaries, that Lot was notsufficiently pious or believing in hisown right, but he compared favorably with the people among whomhe lived, and he had merit as thenephew of Avraham. (And as theprogenitor of Ruth!)
SSSSSDDDDDTTTTT::::: The word "and he lingered" isread with the rare tropmark, theshalshelet, which musically emphasizes thereluctance of Lot to (believe what he wastold by the angels and) leave. The sameword is used in contrast to this behavior ofLot, in describing the haste with which theChildren of Israel left Egypt at Gd'scommand, symbolized by the matza whichthey hastily baked rather than linger forthe dough to rise and produce a "proper"bread demonstrating their faith andconfidence in Gd. Interesting, is it not,that Lot is described as baking matzot forthe visitors. Rashi's comment: It wasPesach. Which gives us a doubleassociation for the contrast between Lot
and the people of Israel (Pesach/matza andthe unusual word L'HIT'MAH'MEI'AH.
Lot is led out of the city by theangels, his wife and two daughterswith him. They are told to flee fortheir lives, without looking back atthe destruction of the cities. Lotpleads for permission to seekrefuge closer by.
R'vi'i Fourth Aliya 40 p'sukim 19:2121:42nd longest R'vi'i in the Torah
Once Lot and family are safelyaway, the destruction of S'domtakes place. Lot's wife looks back against orders and turns into apillar of salt. (Her punishment isspecifically with salt as a measureformeasure for her stinginess withguests.)
From the episode of Lot’s wife, wecan draw the following point. Lot andfamily were worthy of being sparedthe destruction of S’dom, but theywere not worthy enough to be ableto witness the destruction. Incontrast to Avraham, who views thedestruction.
"And Avraham gets up early in themorning to the place where heSTOOD before Gd."
SSSSSDDDDDTTTTT::::: Avraham returns to the same spotto speak to Gd. From here is derived theconcept of having a MAKOM KAVUA, afixed place for prayer. The Talmud says:"he who fixes himself a place for davening,the Gd of Avraham will help him".(However, a fixed place in shul shouldNEVER be the cause of argument or
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discord. E.g. when a person comes late oreven on time to shul and someone issitting in "his seat", how to handle such asituation requires sensitivity.)
Of course, more fundamentally, it isthis pasuk and another that combineto "support" the Gemara's statementthat Avraham instituted T'filatShacharit. That AMIDA, to standbefore Gd, means to pray is learnedfrom VAYA'AMOD PINCHAS VAIPALEIL. And Pinchas stood in prayer(we can say) T'hilim 106:30. Thepasuk here in Vayeira links AMIDAwith Avraham Avinu and with earlyin the morning, hence Shacharit.
The Torah reiterates the point thatLot was saved in the merit of hisuncle Avraham Avinu (and Ruth,the "mother of royalty" who was tocome from Lot Gd can workmerit either from the past or thefuture).
Lot's two daughters, having witnessed the total destruction ofS'dom, assume that they are thesole survivors of mankind. Theyplot to get Lot drunk and sleepwith him in order to continuehumanity. Moav and Amon are theresults.
Note that everything that has happened so far in Parshat Vayeira,make up a single long, 71pasukparsha. From the arrival of theangels through the completion of thefinal task of those angels namely,the destruction of S'dom. Apparently, the different episodes allbelong together more than onewould initially think. The commonthread, of course, is/are the angels.Their tasks are now complete.
[S> 20:1 (18)] Avraham and Saranow travel to G'rar where theyagain present themselves as brotherand sister. Sara is taken toAvimelech, but Gd appears to himand warns him not to touch her.Avimelech confronts Avraham whoexplains that his fears were basedon the lack of "Fear of Gd" in theplace.
Avraham then prays on behalf ofAvimelech and his people whowere stricken with a disease whichrendered them temporarily sterile.
From this point (21:1) to the end of Vayeira,is the Torah reading of Rosh HaShana (parton the first day, part on the second.)
[S> 21:1 (21)] Gd fulfills Hispromise and Sara becomespregnant. She bears a son toAvraham in his advanced age, andthe son is called Yitzchak. Avrahamcircumcises Yitzchak at eight daysof age, as Gd has commanded.
Avraham's having prayed on behalfof Avimelech for children is juxtaposed to Sara Imeinu conceiving.Our Sage teach us that selflesslypraying for others can sometimesresult in the same prayers beinganswered for yourself.
Chamishi Fifth Aliya 17 p'sukim 21:521Avraham is 100 years old whenYitzchak is born. Avraham makes agreat party upon the occasion ofhis being weaned.
Although the plain understanding ofB'YOM HIGAMEIL ET YITZCHAK is
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"when Yitzchak was weaned" whichRashi says is at 24 months of age,there is a REMEZ (hint/clue) in theword HIGAMEIL to a possible otherexplanation of the word. HEI+GIMMEL = 8 (days), MEMLAMED,MAL, was circumcised. It can meanthat the party in question was tocelebrate Yitzchak's BRIT.
As Yitzchak is growing up, Saranotices the potential negativeinfluence of Yishmael and demandsof Avraham that he send Yishmaeland his mother Hagar, away.Blinded by his great "kind heart",Avraham has to be told by Gd tolisten to Sara. Hagar and Yishmaelonce again are on the verge ofdeath in the wilderness, butYishmael's prayers are answeredand they are saved. Hagar isassured by an angel that they willsurvive.
And indeed they do, and Hagarsubsequently marries Yishmael offto a woman from the land of Egypt.
Both Hagar and Yishmael prayed toGd when Yishmael was dying. Gdheard "the lad's voice". Rashi says,from here we learn that the strongest prayer offered on behalf ofsomeone who is ill are those of thesick person himself (if he is able topray on his own behalf). And, ofcourse, others should pray on hisbehalf as well, regardless of whetherthe person himself is able to daven.In fact, there are opinions that BikurCholim MUST include a prayer forthe recovery of the patient (thevisitee) in addition to anything elseone does, for the mitzva to beconsidered properly performed.
Shishi Sixth Aliya 13 p'sukim 21:2234[P> 21:22 (13)] Avimelech and hiscommander Pichol enter into a pactwith Avraham. The pact has to dowith wells that Avraham dug, thatthe servants of Avimelech stole, thereturn of those wells and theacknowledgement by Avimelechthat the wells do actually belong toAvraham. The city of Be'er Shevareceives its name from the doublemeaning of the 7 sheep used astokens of the covenant and theoath sworn between them.
Avraham plants an "Eshel" in Be'erSheva. In addition to being a typeof tree, the word ESHEL isconsidered an acronym of theHebrew words for Food, Drink,and Lodgings (or Food, Sleeping,Escort). ESHEL AVRAHAM is thesymbol of hospitality for all times.
Sh'VII Seventh Aliya 24 p'sukim 22:124[P> 22:1 (19)] This is the portion ofthe Binding of Isaac AkeidatYitzchak. The Akeida is one of thefew passages from the Torah to beincorporated into our daily davening(there are those who did not includeit in their davening, and there aresiddurim that don't have it, but mostsiddurim put the Akeida with an introand closing prayer, after the morning brachot and before korbanot). Itrepresents the ultimate manifestation of commitment to and love ofGd. It also belong is the portion of
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the davening called KORBANOT forobvious reasons. And then there isthe idea of a tribute to the originatorof Shacharit.
Although none of Avraham's descendants (we, the Jewish People) canever be tested in so drastic a way(because we have the experiences ofour predecessors to give us support), we do derive tremendousinspiration from this portion of theTorah. It is part of our Heritage and,even more, part of our Essence.Tests of Faith are relative to theindividual. Each of us is challenged indifferent ways throughout our lives.So too, for us as a Nation. May webe always guided by deep commitment to Torah and Jewish values.
MORE. Akeidat Yitzchak is ouridentity card. It defines who weare... even when our own behavior iscontradictory to our Torah standards. We stand before Gd onJudgment Day Rosh HaShana, andwe blow the Shofar made from aram's horn. We ask Gd to remember Akeidat Yitzchak and have mercyon His (sometimes undeserving)children. We read the Akeida in theTorah and we refer to it repeatedlyin our Rosh HaShana davening andSlichot, to inspire us and to identifyus.
After these events, Gd testedAvraham He told Avraham to takeYitzchak to Har HaMoriya and offerhim as an Olah an allburnedsacrifice... Avraham enthusiasticallyset out to do Gd's bidding... Onthe third day, Avraham saw theintended place from afar and toldthe two (Eliezer and Yishmael,according to our Tradition) to wait
with the donkey... On the way, justAvraham and Yitzchak, hand inhand, Yitzchak asks where theanimal for sacrifice is and Yitzchakunderstood what was to happenfrom Avraham's answer. Avrahambuilt an altar, bound Yitzchak to itand was about to sacrifice him,when a heavenly angel told him tostop and not harm the boy.Avraham spotted a ram (which ourTradition tells us might have beencreated specif ically for thispurpose in the instant before thefirst Shabbat of B'reishit, as one ofthe final acts of Creation) caught byits horns in a thicket. Gdacknowledges Avraham's dedication and blesses him again withcountless descendants... Avrahamand company return to B'er Sheva.
[P> 22:20 (5)] The parsha endswith mention of the birth of Rivka,to link to the next phase of thedevelopment of Judaism viz., themeans of its transmission andcontinuity.
Maftir is the final five p'sukim.
It is this last portion of 5 p'sukimthat tell us about Rivka's birth. Butwe also hear that Nachor (Avraham'sbrother) had eight sons from his wifeMilka and four sons from hisconcubine R'uma. We are reallyinterested in one son B'tu'el, fatherof Rivka (and Lavan). Why tell us therest? Rabbi Macy Gordon suggeststhat the Torah is telling us how the"other half" live. Contrast the toughfamily life of Avraham with hisbrother's larger family. Nachor hadthe proverbial house in the suburbs,
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two cars, membership in the localcountry club. Avraham had troubleat home, left to places unknown,underwent many trials and tribulations, was childless for a long time,had domestic difficulties, suffered afamine... Avraham had to wait twogenerations for his 12 tribes.Nachor's came much sooner.
Ah, but look at the spiritualdifference. Look at who Avrahamwas, and is to us. Now translate thewhole comment and apply it toJewish History vs. the story of manyother nations.
Haftara 37 p'sukim Melachim Bet 4:137The sedra shows us the sharpcontrast between the kindness andhospitality of Avraham & Sara onthe one hand, and the cruel"business is business" and "what's
in it for me" nature of S'dom. Thehaftara is about the widow of aprophet who was facing losing hertwo children because of herpoverty and the twisted state ofIsrael's society that lost sight of thelegacy of Avraham and Sara. Theprophet Elisha performs a miracle(of olive oil miraculously fillingmany vessels that the woman hadand borrowed and anointed with afew drops of oil she possessed) andthe family is spared that plight.
The haftara also tells of theShunamite woman who prayed sofervently for a son. She had a sonbut he died. He is miraculouslyresuscitated by Elisha. This forms acounterpart to the birth of Yitzchakand the subsequent almostlosinghim at the Akeida. (And fits wellwith Midrashim that say thatYitzchak was actually sacrificed onthe Altar and restored to life.)
THE JERUSALEM INSTITUTE OF JEWISH LAWRabbi Emanuel Quint, Dean
Lesson #449 (continued from last issue)
Women as Participants in the Judicial ProcessAnother Sephardic authority, R. YonahNavon (17131760, Jerusalem) writing inthe middle of the 18th century, decidedthe following case. A woman had takenan oath not to curse her husband'sparents. Her husband alleged that sheviolated the oath. The only witnesseswere women. R. Navon acknowledges theopinion of the Rama that in certaininstances, especially like the one in
question, where women are the onlywitnesses, women would be able totestify. He cites R. Castro, however, thatthe Sephardic tradition follows theholding of R. Karo that they are noteligible. Furthermore, even R. Luria, whofollows the Germanic/French/EasternEuropean school, would not permit themto testify if the defendant denied theentire claim, as was the case before him
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where the woman denied ever cursing herhusband's parents.R. Chaim Palache (17881869; Turkey)living in Sephardic Izmir, Turkey in the19th century was asked to decide a casein which a school board wished toremove a teacher on the alleged groundsof his molesting some of the children.The children and some of the motherswere the sole witnesses. This was aclassic case of the unavailability ofeligible witnesses. Could the teacher bedismissed on the testimony of minors andtheir mothers? He concluded that theteacher could not be dismissed on thetestimony of ineligible witnesses. Thedecree permitting ineligible witnesses totestify where eligible witnesses were notavailable was not part of the halacha ofSephardic countries.In 1843 in Leghorn, Italy, Rabbi IsaacTeib wrote that some authoritiespermitted ineligible witnesses to testify inmatters other than torts. However, sinceMaimonides holds that, even in tortswhich he considers unusual, ineligiblewitnesses may not testify, the prohibitionapplies equally to all case, whetherunusual or not. Thus the tradition ofMaimonides was again followed in aSephardic country.
It thus seems that two traditions weresimultaneously being applied. In 18thcentury Poland R. Yonathan Eybeschuts(16901764) in his double commentaryon Choshen Mishpat follows theAshkenazic tradition. He cites R. YaakovPopper (late 17th, early 18th centuries),an older contemporary, who stated that ifMaimonides had not stated that theTalmudic rejection of Gentiles and slavescertainly applied to all other ineligible
witnesses, it might have been thought thatthat the ineligibility was limited only toGentiles and slaves and that all otherineligible persons would be eligible totestify in tort cases. R. Eybeschuts rejectsthis by saying that women wouldcertainly not be found in the places thatslaves and Gentile women frequent. Thushe seeks to limit the application of thedecree.Again in the Ashkenazic tradition, RabbiEzekiel Landau (17131793) living in18th century Poland was asked to decidethe following case. Reuven had areputation in the community as a thief.Something was stolen from Shimon'shouse. Two young women saw Reuvenwith the stolen item. Could Reuven besued on the basis of the testimony of thetwo women.? R. Landau writes that evenunder the decree permitting ineligiblewitnesses to testify in certain matters,ineligible witnesses could not testify intort cases because it was suspected thatthey would be more prone to bepersuaded to give false testimony andmany persons would be found liable onthe basis of perjured testimony. Thepresent case was a classic example ofsuch a situation. Also the exceptionsapplied only to those situations in whichthey were the only witnesses to aspontaneous occurrence. In this case theydid not see the actual theft, which mightbe construed to be a spontaneousoccurrence. But seeing the stolen objectin Reuven's possession was not such aspontaneous occurrence that eligiblewitnesses could not duplicate. R. Landauconcludes with a caveat that even if theyhad witnessed the actual theft, he is notsure how he would have decided the case.He states that there are two opinions
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amongst the authorities. His decisionindicates that the doctrine would havebeen narrowly construed especially incases of criminal conduct.A work that reviews many of the viewsdiscussed in Petach Beit David written byR. Yosef David and published inSalonika, Greece in the middle of the 18hcentury. He states that there are twoopinions among the authorities. The viewof Rabbeinu Tam as cited in R. Kolonand Kolbo, that there is a decreepermitting ineligible witnesses to testifybecause it is not possible to prepareeligible witnesses to witness aspontaneous event. Thus in cases offights or informers where the words wereuttered and there might not be eligiblewitnesses, the ineligible witness becomeseligible for this limited purpose. But R.Isserelin, Mordechai and Aguda hold thatit is not merely an ancient tradition butthe actual law that asserts they maytestify in such events. This is based onthe Talmudic statement that a midwifemay testify in such a situation. Beit Davidgoes on to state that Maimonides andRashba who are cited by R. Karo do notdispute Rabbeinu Tam. I find thisstatement difficult in view of the fact thatso many of the codes, commentators andrespondents are convinced thatMaimonides and his school maintainotherwise. In addition the wording ofMaimonides and Rashba would have tobe stretched to read such agreement withthe view of Rabbeinu Tam into the
words. Also the wording of the Ramaseems to be that R. Isserlein andMordechai held the eligibility of womento testify in spontaneous events to be adecree.In a case decided by the Rabbinic HighCourt here in Jerusalem about 35 yearsago, the question of ineligible witnesseswas discussed, including the ineligibilityof women, although that last point wasnot in issue. The burial society ofRaanana sued the defendant for the costof the plot in which they had buried thedefendant's father. The defense was that alesser sum than was being sued for hadbeen agreed upon between the burialsociety and the defendant prior to theburial . (This was one of many defenses,including duress, because the decedent'sbody was awaiting burial, and thus thedefendant was not able to conclude thetransaction properly.) The major witnesscalled by the burial society was the uncleof the defendant, the decedent's brother.The defendant raised an objection topermitting him to testify, since a relativeis not eligible to testify. In passing on thisquestion, the appeals court stated thatthey most likely would have followed theschool of ancient tradition that ineligiblewitnesses could testify if the were noeligible witnesses.
To be continued IYH in the next lesson
The subject matter of this lesson is more fullydiscussed in A Restatement of Rabbinic Civil Law byE. Quint. Copies of all volumes can be purchased atlocal Judaica bookstores. Questions to [email protected]
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Spiritual and Ethical Issues in the Bamidbar Stories by Dr. Meir Tamari
“And your camp shall be holy”; The Nazir [4]There is a misconception of Judaism, common to nonJews, secular Jews andeven to many religious Jews, that it is a religion of ritual and law but devoid ofspirituality, emotion and ecstasy. Sometimes this misconception can explainthe attraction of sects, cults and the eastern religions for some. The veryconcept of the Nazir, that is the expression of a search for heightenedspirituality and sublime rejoicing in the divine glory yet one that is channeledand guided by Gd's commandments, shows the error of such a view ofJudaism."Divine revelation communicates His will through the mitzvot for the purificationand correction of human behavior. There are, however, a few instances whereGd reveals Himself to the individual or group, without making known anyparticular intention or mitzva. The divine revelation itself constitutes the endpurpose, in order that they may experience and find joy in His nearness andpresence. Gd revealed Himself to Avraham on the very same day that he wascircumcised and this was a revelation simply designed to do him honor. So too,when the Mishkan was completed, the Divine Presence was revealed not toconvey any mitzva, but was solely in honor of the zeal and devotion with whichIsrael had set about erecting the Mishkan" (Ramban, Vayikra 9:2324). Thedesire of the Nazir was to show the same devotion and love for Gd asAvraham or as Israel had done; "One thing have I asked of HaShem that I willseek" that I may dwell in the house of HaShem, to behold the delight ofHaShem (T'hilim 27:4).Appreciation and regard for the spiritual greatness and the sanctity of the Naziris expressed in the words that the Torah uses to describe his vows: "whenanyone vows amazingly and wondrously". Similarly, Amos draws a parallelbetween the sanctity and spiritual heights reached by a prophet and that of theNazir; "I have raised prophets from among your sons and n'zirim from amongyour youth" (2:11). Both are signs of Jewish royalty; "All men are slaves to theirdesires, wants and lusts, even a king; the only true king is the one with a royalcrown, nezer, on his head, who frees himself from all of them" (Ibn Ezra). "Parshat Nazir is followed in the Torah by the threefold Birchat Kohanim sincethey both flow from a spiritual source that is elevated far above the natural levelof man. The Nazir's injunction against tum'at meit corresponds to the bodilydesires, the one against grapes to the innermost and secretive expressions ofa human being, and that against shaving the head corresponds to the brainsthat are contained there" (Shem MiShmuel). "The first blessing of the Kohanimrefers to our material possessions [tum'at meit], the second one, VICHUNEKA,to the intellectual blessings [nonshaving], and the third one, YISA, is the mostintimate feelings and the most personal nearness of Gd [wine]" (S.R. Hirsch).
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"Shimon HaTzadik once asked a young handsome man why he had taken thevow of Nazir. He explained, 'I happened to see my reflection in the waters of aspring and found myself overwhelmed by selflove and narcissism; then I tookthe oath'. Whereupon Shimon HaTzadik exclaimed, 'of such a one the Torahwrites, 'If a man or woman, wondrously, astonishingly, should vow to be aNazir''" (Nedarim 9b10a). "Why did Gd command the Nazir not to shave hishead? The shaving beautifies one, as is written regarding Yosef, 'and theyshaved him and changed his clothes to bring him before Par'o' (B'reishit 41:14).However, the growing of the hair is a sign of sorrow and mourning. So Gdsaid, 'since the Nazir vowed to abstain from grapes in order to save himselffrom the yetzer hara, let him refrain from shaving his head so that in his sorrowthe yetzer hara cannot attack him "(Bamidbar Rabba 10:10)."The Nazir, acquiring the sanctity of a Kohen Gadol, is forbidden to makehimself impure to the dead, even of his immediate family, whereas an ordinaryKohen may do so. This is because sanctity of the Kohen stems from his birth,whereas that of the Nazir is selfinduced without any connection to family orrelatives" (Avnei Nezer). While this voluntary assumption is characteristic of allthe obligations that the Nazir undertakes, the very fact such a voluntarydecision leads to clear cut legal obligations, makes the Nazir a specificallyJewish type of spiritualism. Furthermore, this type of spiritualism entails also acorresponding legal obligation on the Beit Din to supervise the adherence ofNazir to his vows; "'and they stumble one against the other' (Vayikra 26:37),from this we learn that all Israel are sureties, AREIVIM, for each other"(Bamidbar Rabba 10:5).It is instructive to note that the two most famous examples of the Nazir in theTanach, Shimshon and Shmuel, did not adopt it voluntarily; the former wasdesignated as such by the angel who foretold his birth (Shoftim 13: 35), whilethe latter was consecrated by his mother Chana (Shmu'el Alef 1:2728).Nevertheless, they clearly demonstrate the nature of Nazir; neither of themlived as hermits, as monks or in poverty, both were married, and both of themwere involved in the mundane and materialism of human society, even tobecoming leaders and judges of Israel.N'ZIRUT is a mitzva, yet strangely enough it is not Gd's desire that it should beuniversally observed: perhaps even wrong when it becomes a way of life, "ThisTorah shall not decline from out of your mouth but rather you shall meditate onit day and night' (Yehoshua 1:8). Rabbi Yishmael taught that since it is written'that you may gather in your corn, your wine and your oil' (D'varim 11:14),Torah has to be combined with the earning of a livelihood, derech eretz.Shimon bar Yochai taught that if people plough, sow, reap, and winnow andthresh, what will become of Torah study? Many followed Rabbi Yishmael andwere successful whereas only a few succeeded in the way of Bar Yochai"(B'rachot 35b).
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MISC section contents:[1] Vebbe Rebbe[2] Candle by Day
[3] From Aloh Naaleh[4] Wisdom and Wit
[5] Parsha Points to Ponder[6] Portion from the Portion
[7] micro Ulpan[8] Torah from Nature
[9] Loose Ends[10] Gimatriya Match
[11] Divrei Menachem
[1] From the virtual desk of the OUVEBBE REBBEThe Orthodox Union – via its website – fieldsquestions of all types in areas of kashrut, Jewishlaw and values. Some of them are answered byEretz Hemdah, the Institute for Advanced JewishStudies, Jerusalem, headed by Rav Yosef Carmeland Rav Moshe Ehrenreich, founded by HaRavShaul Yisraeli zt"l, to prepare rabbanim anddayanim to serve the National Religiouscommunity in Israel and abroad. Ask the Rabbi isa joint venture of the OU, Yerushalayim Network,Eretz Hemdah... and the Israel Center. Thefollowing is a Q&A from Eretz Hemdah...
QI see people use a semirisingmotion at the beginning of ModimD'Rabbanan (what the congrega
tion recites when the chazan gets up toModim) and when a talmid chachamwalks by? Is that correct? What are therabbinical sources on the matter?
AThe two practices are based ondifferent sets of sources and,apparently, logic.
Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 127:1)rules, based on the Yerushalmi (B'rachot
1:5), that when the chazan gets up toModim, the congregation should also bow.The Gemara (Sota 40a) discusses thedifferent possible texts people should reciteat that time, out of which has arisen thetext we use. The classical sources do nottalk about standing at that point (althoughmany require or suggest it throughoutchazarat hashatz see Rama, OC 124:4).However, Acharonim (Yechaveh Da'at V,11; Ishei Yisrael 24:38) point out that sinceit is required to bow, it becomes necessaryto stand to make bowing possible. We seethe connection between standing andbowing regarding the halacha of one whois unable to stand for T'fila who should tryto stand at least at the places that he needsto bow (Shulchan Aruch, OC 94:5).
Regarding what part of ModimD'Rabbanan requires bowing, there aremultiple opinions and minhagim. These areprimarily: at the beginning, at thebeginning and end, and throughout. Basedon the above, the time that one should bestanding would correspond to the opinionson the bowing (see Shulchan Aruch, OC127:1).
The next question is then whethersemistanding is considered standing.Regarding Shemoneh Esrei, where onecertainly should stand, the Shulchan Aruch(OC 94:8) says that one should not evenlean on a stand or another person. TheMishna B'rura (94:22) points out that, ingeneral, standing while leaning is notconsidered standing if the person would beunable to continue standing in that positionif the object were removed. Depending onhow high off the chair one lifts himself, itis questionable whether the average personwould be able to keep himself suspended ifthe chair were removed after what you calla semirise. Can we, then, justify thepractice you describe?
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It appears that one can find somejustification in significant, albeit minoritysources. The Rambam (T'fila 9:4) saysabout the bowing at Modim D"Rabbanan:"All of the people bow down a little, andthey should not bow too much." This basicidea is found in the Yerushalmi (ibid.), butthere is much discussion as to whether thisis specific to Modim or whether notbowing too much is a general guideline(see Beit Yosef, OC 127). In any case, theBach explains the Rambam that thereshould be a less than usual bow by ModimD'Rabbanan for the following reason.Since the people have already davenedShemoneh Esrei and bowed at Modim,they shouldn't need to do so again. Thereason they do is to avoid looking as if theydisagree with the enthusiastic praise ofHashem the chazan is involved in. (For thisreason, one who is in the midst of his ownShemoneh Esrei at that time bows alongwith the others Mishna B'rura 109:10).Therefore, it is best to suffice with a smallbow. It is very possible that according tothis approach, it is also unnecessary tostand fully. Although the Magen Avraham(127:1) and Mishna B'rura (127:2) do notpasken like the Bach, it still could explainthe minhag.The matter of partially standing up for atalmid chacham is based on the following.The Gemara (Kiddushin 32) discusseswhether a rav can be mochel (relinquish)the honor coming to him, which we rulethat he can (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah242:32). The Gemara tells of a rav whoseemed to be mochel, yet was slightedwhen someone did not move from his chairin his proximity. It explains that he shouldhave at least done a hidur, which Rashiexplains as a slight movement to show thathe would like to stand up. Thiscompromise semirising is accepted by theShulchan Aruch (ibid.)
Ask the Rabbi Q&A is part of Hemdat Yamim, theweekly parsha sheet published by Eretz Hemdah.You can read this section or the entire HemdatYamim at www.ou.org or www.eretzhemdah.org.And/or you can receive Hemdat Yamim by emailweekly, by sending an email to
[email protected] with the message:
Subscribe/English (for the English version) orSubscribe/Hebrew (for the hebrew version).Please leave the subject blank. Ask the VebbeRebbe is partially funded by the Jewish Agency forIsrael
[2] Candle by DayMost men are not aware of the verysignificant distinction as to whethertheir loneliness is caused by the world'shaving left them behind or by theirhaving left the world behind.
From "A Candle by Day" by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein
A Candle by Day • The Antidote • The World of Chazalby Rabbi Shraga Silverstein
Now available at 0542099200
[3] CHIZUK and IDUDfor Olim & notyetOlim respectively
The Mishna in Avot (5:13) says: ...he whosays, What is mine is mine and what isyours is yours, this is a neutral character,some say, this is a character like that ofSodom)...
Midrashic literature describes Sodom in theharshest of terms. Sodom is a city thattortures its guests, tramples itsdowntrodden, and punishes its citizens forthe slightest degree of mercy andcompassion. As Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezersuccinctly states: "It was declared inSodom: 'Whoever shares his bread with thestranger, orphan, and the poor, shall be seton fire.'"
Against the backdrop of Midrashim
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depicting Sodom as the quintessence ofevil, the description of "midat Sodom"("the characteristic of Sodom"), as cited inPirkei Avot (5:13), seems rather tame.
Prior to reading Pirkei Avot, one couldassume that, if anyone were to be describedas possessing "midat Sodom", it would bethe selfish person who declares, "Myproperty is mine and yours is mine," andnot the "mindyourown business" personwho chooses to keep his property separatefrom that of his neighbor's.
In an attempt to answer this question,Rabbi Moshe Avigdor Amiel (18821945),former chief rabbi of Tel Aviv, provides ahomiletical interpretation. If an individualsays "what is mine is mine and what isyours is yours" HaOmeir, in the singular then that is an average character trait. But,if this statement turns into a communalnorm Yeish Omerim, in the plural thenit becomes "midat Sodom." There is aslippery slope between an individualcitizen who adopts a"mindyourownbusiness" stance and anentire society in which the "haves" refuseto share their bounty with the "havenots."
The modern State of Israel is a society inwhich the gaps between the "haves" and"havenots" are becoming greater everyyear. We would do well to take themessage of our parsha to heart an unjustsociety is one in which people keep theirdistance and mind their own business,whereas a just society is one in whichpeople bridge societal gaps and aregenerous with their resources.
Dyonna Ginsburg, Jerusalem
THOUGHTS as contributed by Aloh Naaleh membersfor publication in the Orthodox Union's 'TorahInsights', a weekly Torah publication on ParshatHaShavu'a
[4] Wisdom & WitWhen many Jewish youths were being ledastray from the proper path, the ChafetzChayim told the following story:"A wagon driver stopped off at an innbecause it was bitterly cold. It was gettingdark, and the snow was falling. To warmhimself, he took a drink of brandy, andthen another, and another. Soon he fell intoa drunken stupor."Before dawn, he arose and realized that hehad to reach his destination in a hurry, butas the snow had covered all the ground andhe had no idea where the proper path was,he let his horse go wherever it wanted. Thehorse wandered off and led him into a deepforest, where he became hopelessly lost."When the townsfolk woke up, they sawthe tracks left by the wagon, and presumedthat the driver knew where he was going,so they followed the tracks as far as theycould and got lost as well.""The moral is obvious", continued theChafetz Chayim, "one does not alwaysneed to follow a path just because othershave taken it. One must first be sure toascertain that the others know where theyare headed, and that it is a safe direction inwhich to travel.
Shmuel Himelstein has written a wonderful series forArtScroll: Words of Wisdom, Words of Wit; A Touch ofWisdom, A Touch of Wit; and "Wisdom and Wit" —available at your local Jewish bookstore (or should be).Excerpted with the permission of the copyright holder
[5] Parsha Points to PonderVAYEIRA
1) Why does Avraham only seem to inviteone of the passersby into his home bycalling out, MY MASTER...?" (18:3)
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2)Why does Avraham refer to himself asboth ASHES AND DIRT? (18:27)
3)Why does the Torah relate that the wifeof Lot looked behind HIM(MEI'ACHARAV instead of behind HER(MEI'ACHAREHA)? (19:26)
POSSIBLE ANSWERS...Ponder the questions first, then read here
1) The Ohr Hachayim explains that two ofthe angels had jobs in Avraham's home one to heal Avraham and one to informthem about the birth. So, those two werealready coming into the home. The thirdangel whose job it was to destroy S'domwas not heading to the tent, so Avrahamcalled to him and invited him to join themas well.
2) The Beit HaLevi answers that dirt has nosignificance in terms of its past but it canbe used to grow new crops. Ashes have nofuture use but they indicate past use andimportance. Avraham used these terms toexpress how he viewed himself asworthless both in the past and for thefuture.
3) The Kli Yakar explains that her sin waslooking back and caring about her moneywhich was lost in the destruction of S'dom.She thought about all that could have beenhers after her husband passed away BEHIND or AFTER HIM. That selfishnesswas her sin and led to her punishment.Parsha Points to Ponder is prepared by RabbiDov Lipman, who teaches at Reishit Yerushalayimand Machon Maayan in Beit Shemesh and is theauthor of "DISCOVER: Answers for Teenagers(and adults) to Questions about the Jewish Faith"(Feldheim) and "TIMEOUT: Sports Stories as aGame Plan for Spiritual Success" just released byDevora Publishing. [email protected]
[6]
by Rakel BerenbaumFEEDback to [email protected]
And Avraham andSara were old
This week my daughter asked me whypeople have a facelift. I told her thatsome people will do anything to lookyoung they just don't want to lookold. This was not a problem before thedays of Abraham. Before the floodpeople lived a long time hundreds ofyears in fact but they didn't becomeold. They looked, felt and acted thesame throughout their whole life. Noone would have needed a facelift,because no one ever got wrinkles.They never changed physically at alland would just die when their timecame.The first time we encounter the wordZAKEIN old is in this week's portion.V'AVRAHAM V'SARA ZEKEINIM andAvraham and Sarah were old. After theflood people lived shorter lives 100years or so. So what does it mean hereZAKEIN? We would think that the wordZAKEIN would have been used forpeople who lived longer lives, not forpeople who lived shorter lives?The midrash says that Avraham askedGd for ZIKNA old age. He said thatbecause people didn't age, a man andhis son would be in the same placeand no one could tell the differencebetween them. No one would knowwho deserved more respect. Avraham
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asked Gd to beautify people with thesigns of old age, ZIKNA, so they couldreceive the honor they deserve. TheMidrash says that Hashem thought thiswas a reasonable request. FromAvraham's time we encounter the wordZIKNA. The Rabbis teach that ZIKNAstands for ZEH SHEKANA CHOCHMA someone who has acquired wisdom.Because of all his years, the personhas life experience and Torahknowledge that others have not hadthe opportunity to amass. The grayhair, and wrinkles are a way to letpeople know this. Those of us whohave grey hair and wrinkles should notwant to hide them, but should be proudof them.As you may have guessed, care of theelderly is close to my heart. Just areminder to those who might want tojoin MELABEV's 2nd annual study tour December 24, to Geriatric facilities.This 3day tour in English to state ofthe art facilities in Israel is appropriatefor professionals from Israel andabroad who work with the elderly. Tosign up for 1, 2, or 3 days [email protected] the website iswww.melabev.org/singleNews.asp?id=51Or if you want to help support care ofpeople with Alzheimer's disease, joinMelabev's 5th annual Walkathon thefollowing week to the Eilat hillswww.friendsofmelabev.com Or lookup the list of walkers and sponsor awalkerwww.friendsofmelabev.com/subpages/walkers.htm
Since Avraham and Sara were old, thisweeks recipe is over a 100 years old.
100 YEAR OLDJAM CAKE RECIPE
4 eggs, separated1 tsp baking soda1 cup white sugar1 cup brown sugar1 cup butter or margarine1 tsp cinnamon1 tsp cloves1 tsp allspice1 tsp nutmeg1 tsp cocoa1 cup blackberry jam1 cup raisins3 c. flour1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup soymilkwith 1 Tbsp white vinegar or lemonjuice)
Beat egg yolks, put in soda, sugarsand butter. Add spices and cocoa. Beategg whites. Add jam and raisins. Addto egg yolk mixture. Alternately addflour and buttermilk. Bake at350Fdegrees for about 50 minutes oruntil done. Dust with confectionerssugar or ice with the following icing.
Icing½ cup blackberry preserves1 ½ cups of powdered sugar
Once cooled, heat the half cup ofblackberry preserves in a small saucepan until melted and then remove fromthe heat and stir in the powderedsugar. To make the consistency thatyou desire add more or less of eitheringredient.
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[7] MicroUlpanTime for another MicroUlpanBILINGUAL LESSON
Plumbing = SH'RAVRAVUT
You turn on the water in the bathtub(AMBAT) and it can go through one oftwo paths: from the faucet into the tub ofthrough the shower head. How do you getit to go through the shower head?
But turning or flipping theDIVERTER VALVE
In Hebrew: SHASTOM MACHLIF
Some showers have a fixed head:MAKLEI'ACH KAVU'A
Some have a portable head:MAKLEIACH NISA
A plumber is a SH'RAVRAVbut the common "Hebrew" term isINSTILLATOR (of course, you have topronounce the word in Hebrew and NOT inthe English it is borrowed from)
[8] Torah from Nature
Census of Marine Life...a global network of over 2000researchers in more than 80 nations... a10year ($650,000,000) scientific initiativeto assess and explain the diversity,distribution, and abundance of life in theoceans... first comprehensive Census ofMarine Life past, present, and future will be released in 2010... purpose of theCOML is to assess and explain thediversity, distribution, and abundance ofmarine life. Each plays an important role inwhat is known, unknown, and may neverbe known about what lives in the globalocean... study will include about 230,000known species and thousands morespecies are predicted to to be discovered.
To date, over 100 new species have beenconfirmed... some recent discoveriescontinue to amaze scientists...
It have been found that many deep oceanoctopuses share an Antarctic origin.... Asthe Antarctic got colder, ice increased andoctopuses were forced into deeperwater... salt and oxygen are concentratedin the deeper waters... this dense waterthen flows out, carrying along theoctopuses that have adapted to the newconditions, enabling them to spread todeep waters around the world...
many newly discovered mollusks, fromsnails to cuttlefish to squids.
a brittle star city off the coast of NewZealand... brittle stars, animals with fivearms, have colonized the peak of aseamount an underwater mountain where the current flows past at about 2.5mph. The current delivers such an amplefood supply that thousands of stars cancapture food simply by raising their arms.
Researchers found a carpet of smallcrustaceans inhabiting the head of theMississippi Canyon in the Gulf of Mexico.There are as many as 12,000 of these smallcrustaceans per square yard.
The midAtlantic ridge halfway betweenAmerica and Europe is home to hundredsof species rare or unknown elsewhere...the ridge includes the world's deepestknown active hot vent, more than 4100mdeep and populated by anemones, wormsand shrimp.
Reefs deep in the Black Sea are made ofbacterial mats using methane as an energysource. The bacteria form chimneys up to13 feet (4 meters) high.
The deepest comb jellyfish ever found wasdiscovered at a depth of over 7000m...The discovery raises questions about the
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availability of food resources at suchdepths, which had not been thoughtcapable of supporting predators like thisone.
Satellite tagging discovers that whitesharks travel long distances each winter toconcentrate in the Pacific for up to sixmonths. While there, both males andfemales make frequent, repetitive dives todepths of 300m, which researcherstheorize may be significant in eitherfeeding or reproduction.
This part of the 5th day of Creation will besurprising us with new discoveries formany years to come.
Here are a few of the newest discoveries
Left to right: Male sea spider carrying itseggs under its body... brightly coloredcomb jelly from high Arctic waters... ashallow water Antarctic octopus...
[9]
lF «g i¥pE ¬n §h i¥pªt §UE
Treasures in the Sand2794 2x11x127=2794 (irrelevant).What is of interest is/are three of the fivep'sukim in the Chumash that have agimatriya of 2794. They relate in aninteresting way.
First is B'reishit 21:3, from Vayeira:
F ²lÎc ©lF«P©d Fp §AÎm ¤WÎz ¤ m ¹dx§a © ` ¸x§w¦I©e:w«g§v¦i dxU F ¬NÎdc §l«iÎx ¤W£
And Avraham named his son, born to him,to whom Sara had given birth Yitzchak.When was Yitzchak born? Our Traditionis that he was born on Pesach. Whichbrings us to our second pasuk:
z¤k`¬¤l §nÎlM W ¤c ®wÎ`x§w ¦n oFW` ¦x«d mF¬I©A:E «U£r«©z ¬l dca£r
This pasuk (Bamidbar 28:18, ParshatPinchas), describes the first day of Pesach,Yitzchak Avinu's birthday. The two p'sukimhave the same gimatriya.
(Vayikra 23:35, in Emor, is identical andtherefore also has the same gimatriya, andis talking about the first day of Sukkot.This does not enhance the GimatriyaMatch but is included here for the sake ofthoroughness and honesty.)
The other pasuk of interest is from theend of Vayigash, B'reishit 47:27. Itdescribes the situation several generationsafter the birth of Yitzchak, that brings usfrom his birth, when "it all began", to thedescription of the family that descendedfrom Avraham and Yitzchak, that was soonto become a nation, The Nation.
o ¤W®B u ¤x ¤§A m¦i ©x§v ¦n u ¤x ¬¤§A l ²¥x §U¦i a ¤W¥I©e:c « §n EA §x¦I©e E ¬x§t¦I©e D ½a Ef£g « ¥I©e
Note that these are complete p'sukim withno finagling with wording to arrive at thedesired gimatriya results.
[10] Divrei MenachemWe are, perhaps, accustomed to comparingthe complex Noach of the Flood with ourforefather Avraham. Probably, we are lesslikely to compare the behavior of Lot'simpetuous daughters with that of ourillustrious Matriarchs.
In Parshat Vayeira we learn of Lot's twodaughters "who have never known a man" who were vainly offered by their father to
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the local Sodomites to alleviate the pressureof the mob clamoring for his angelic visitors.
After the destruction of Sodom, the twodaughters lie with their (drunk) father theonly living male, they thought in order tomaintain the human race. Interestingly, theTorah does not label them incestuous.Rather, they are considered well meaningand virtuous and merited that theirdescendants would include Ruth, forbearerof the Davidic dynasty, and Naama,Solomon's queen and mother of Rehoboam,the next in line in the Davidic chain (R.Bachya).
Nevertheless, R. Chanina ben Pazzi, cited inthe Midrash, compares Lot's daughters, whoconceived immediately, to wild thorns thatspring up of their own accord. In contrast,the Matriarchs, who endured much pain tillthey bore children, are likened to preciouswheat that takes much care and nurturing tillit grows and ripens.
Shabbat Shalom, Menachem Persoff
Towards better Daveningand Torah Learning
This & ThatItem: HAOHELA, to the tent. Avrahamrushes to the tent, to Sara... to beginpreparations for the guests. The word seemsto have four syllables: HAOHELA, with theaccent on the O. This makes it a doubleMIL'EIL, which is very rare. But it really isn't adouble MIL'EIL, because the HEI is voweledwith a CHATAFSEGOL (and not a fullSEGOL) which is treated like a SH'VA NAand attaches its letter to the following syllablerather than constitute its own syllable.Therefore, the word has only three syllables:HAOHELA and the accent on the O makesthe word MIL'EIL. You can say that it is sortof like a double MIL'EIL, but that's as far asyou can go.
Item: SHOFEIT means judge. (By the way,when the issue is not about what syllable getsaccented, we will write the word all inuppercase as a way of focusing on it.) Five ofthe six times in Tanach that the wordHASHOFEIT occurs in Tanach (in D'varimand, appropriately, in Shoftim) it meakes Thejudge and the HEI is voweled with a PATACHand the SHIN has a DAGESH CHAZAK in it.Once, in Parshat Vayeira, when Avraham saysto Gd: Gd forbid You should do such a thingto kill the good along with the wicked...HASHOFEIT, the judge of all the worldwouldn't do justice, the phrase is in the formof an incredulous question as if it said:What? How could it be that the Judge of theWorld wouldn't act justly? The lead HEI is notthe HEI HAY'DI'A but the HEI HASH'EILA,the questioning HEI. It is voweled with aCHATAFPATACH and the SHIN thatfollows it does not have a DAGESH in it.Similarly, HABEIN is the son; HAVEIN is "theson...?", as in HAVEIN YAKIR LI EFRAYIM...
Item: This one is not related to the sedra.
B'RACHA, blessing. B'RACHOT, blessings.Those are the standalone forms of the noun.
In the connecting forms, we have: BirchotHaTorah, the b'rachot of the Torah. BirchotHaShachar, the morning brachot. BirchotK'ri'at Sh'ma, the brachot (before and after)the Sh'ma.
In the singular, however, the word seems tobe Birkat, with a DAGESH in the KAF. Thisgives us Birkat HaMazon (benching), BirkatKohanim, Birkat HaChama, Birkat HaGomeil,and so on. Thank you YL for these details. YLconsiders BIRKAT to be an exception to therule that the other forms of the word follow.
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On the right is the thermometerwith kipa, glasses, andstethoscope, wishing someonewho is sick a REFU'A SH'LEIMA.This is one of the lessons welearn from Gd
UGOT that Sarah LUSHIed theylook like matza because theangels' visit was on Pesach.
And Lot made matzot for hisvisitors too
Upperleft is one of the three BENBAKAR that Avraham ran to, inorder to prepare the mostsumptuous dish for the visitors,tongue in mustard sauce
In the middle is Braille writing,reminding us of what the angelsdid to the people of S'dom whodemanded of Lot that he send hisvisitors out to them (blindedthem). The message is somethingthe blinded S'domites might havegraffitied on Lot's door (whenthey finally found it). It says:GUEST LOVER
The skull is the symbol ofacidrain, a good description ofthat which destroyed S'dom...
Wine? Lot was given wine by hisdaughters to make him drunk...
The alarm clock set for very earlyin the morning, is to remind us ofthe many times the Torah tells usthat Avraham got up early, toenthusiastically do Gd's bidding.(Avimelech too)
The baby in the cradle representsthe birth of Yitzchak
Drawing of a metal shield used bymany mohalim in their set up forMila
Father and son walk hand inhand, VAYEILCHU SH'NEIHEMYACHDAV
Of course, there is the DavkaAkeida graphic and a Shofar thatis connected to the story of theAkeida
Dorothy and Co. (UTZ, Hebrewversion of OZ)...
the chef (TEVACH, TABACH)...
the bottle of liquor (BUZ,BOOZE)...
the sea cow (TACHASH) are forsome of Yitzchak's cousins,mentioned at the end of thesedra
The donkey is mentioned in boththe sedra and the haftara
The olive oil is from the haftara
And there is a column (or pillar)of salt NaCl one on top ofanother.
The binoculars are forVAYASHKIFU (and they lookedout the word shares a root withthe word for binoculars MISHKEFET) AL P'NEI S'DOM(B'reishit 18:16)
And some Unexplaineds...
TTRIDDLES... are Torah Tidbitsstyleriddles on Parshat HaShavua (sometimes on thecalendar). They are found in the hardcopy ofTT scattered throughout, usually at the bottomof different columns. In the electronic versionsof TT, they are found all together at the end of
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the ParshaPixTTriddles section. The bestsolution set submitted each week (there isn'talways a best) wins a double prize a CD fromNoam Productions and/or a gift (game, puzzle,book, etc.) from Big Deal.
TTriddles are scattered through the hard copy ofTorah Tidbits and are listed in the email andweb versions. They are in the order in whichthey are found in the hard copy, but notnecessarily in the order in which they wereoriginally conceived. In the wild, they aresometimes overlooked. If you are interested, gopage by page and keep your eyes peeled.
Last issue’s (LECH L'CHA) TTriddles:
[1] a wave in them
Sara gave her handmaiden Hagar to Avraham forhim to have a child with her. Hagar becomespregnant and belittles Sara. Sara complains toAvraham, who gives her freedom to do with Hagaras she sees fit. Hagar is sent away and an angelappears to her. He tells her about the multitude ofdescendants that will come from her son, to benamed Yishmael, and sends her back toAvra(ha)m's house. In B'reishit 16:13, she reacts toher experience as follows: [Hagar] gave a name toGod who had spoken to her, [saying], 'You are aVision God,' for she said, 'Didn't I [still] see hereafter my vision?' "Didn't I still" is the translation ofHAGAM ALOM. Having nothing to do with the text,these two words said TTriddle us. HEIGIMELMEM,MEILAMEDMEM. GIMEL and LAMED, which spellGAL, wave, are each inserted into the word HEIM,meaning them. Hence, a wave in them.
[2] Perhaps this is the origin of the expression,"what am I, chopped liver?"
This is kind of a bad play on words, but that's theway it works sometimes. V'AVRAHAM KAVEID,actually means, and Avraham was laden with(riches), but in TTriddlese it means and Avrahamwas liver (KAVEID). Since a person as important asAvraham is called liver, when I person feels slightedand ignored, he might exclaim: "What and I,chopped liver?"
[3] Eikev and Lech L'cha each follow
This one was "blown" in its presentation in the hardcopy of Torah Tidbits. We caught the unfortunateerror for the PDF file and the email version of TT.Eikev is correct for this TTriddle; R'ei is wrong.
Parshat Eikev follows Parshat Va'etchanan in thesequence of sedras. The haftara of Lech L'chafollows the haftara of Va'etchanan (Nachamu) in thebook of Yeshayahu. That's all there was to it, but weaccidentally typed R'ei okay, it wasn't an accident,it was typed on purpose, but it was a careless error we forgot about EIKEV. Sorry.
[4] It's like a generation for between Pesach andShavuot
Awkward wording, but let's render it back intoHebrew. Like a generation is K'DOR, betweenPesach and Shavuot is the Omer, of course. For theOmer is LA'OMER. Together, you get K'DORLA'OMER, the king of EILAM, one of the four kings whodid battle against the five kings in B'reishit 14, andone of the kings that Avraham successfully defeatedin his fight to free nephew Lot.
[5] 59 times before and twice more later on
If you noticed (or even if you didn't), whenever thename AVRAM appeared in last week's Torah Tidbits(or this week's), we call him Avra(ha)m. This is ourway of retaining the name Avram, but identifyinghim be the name we know him better as Avraham.Furthermore, it is a way of keeping the spirit ofB'reishit 17:5 "No longer shall you be calledAvram. Your name shall become Avraham, for I haveset you up as the father of a horde of nations."Torah T'mima (the earlier TT) quotes the Gemara inB'rachot that states in the name of Bar Kapra: Hewho calls Avraham Avram violates a positivecommand, as it says, "Your name shall becomeAvraham". And R' Eliezer says, (such a person)violates a prohibition, as it says, "No longer shallyou be called Avram". In his commentary on thesewords of the Gemara, the Torah T'mima asksrhetorically, where are these "mitzvot" in the list ofTARYAG? Meaning, no one counts either the ASEI or
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LO TAASEI among the 613, so how do weunderstand Bar Kapra and R' Eliezer. He explainsthat there are many examples of this style ofwording that are applied to ideas that are based onreferences and allusions in the verses, but don'treally mean to suggest that they are actual mitzvot.
Oh, almost forgot the TTriddle. The name AVRAMoccurs 61 times in Tanach. 59 times from the endof Parshat No'ach until the name change towardsthe end of Lech L'cha, and twice more later. Once isin the book of EzraNechemia (the Nechemia part,9:7) which is in P'sukei D'Zimra: "You are HaShemElokim, Who chose Avram, took him out of Ur of theChaldees and made his name Avraham." This pasuk,BTW, is the pasuk for the name Avraham. And inDivrei HaYamim: "Avram is Avraham".
[6] Where did the sedra's shepherds sit in thetheater
Both the shepherds of Avraham and the shepherdsof Lot sat in the front row at the theater, Row A, asin RO'EI MIKNEI AVRAM and RO'EI MIKNEI LOT.
[7] And then there were some Unexplaineds in theParshaPix
• The Seder plate represents Pesach, based onB'reishit 17:21 "But I will keep My covenant withIsaac, whom Sarah will bear to you this time nextyear." Gd says to Avraham that Sarah will bear hima child at this time, next year. Yitzchak was born onPesach, so Gd's statement and promise was madeto Avraham on Pesach.
• Between the animals and the crowns and underthe watchful eye of the CBS logo, are CDs,representing EIMEK HASIDIM (CDim), the site of thebattle of the four kings and the five kings.
• The other three Unexplaineds, at the bottom leftof the ParshaPix are a set. Cluster of grapes is anESHKOL, as in one of Avraham's allies by the samename: ESHKOL. A candle, that is A NER, as in ANEIRanother of Avraham's allies. And the letter MEMover the geometric symbol for a ray. In contrast to aline, which is continuous in both directions, and issymbolized by arrowheads on both ends of the line,
and in contrast to (okay, with) a line segment, whichis drawn with dots on both ends, a ray is a line witha starting point but which continues in one directionforever, and is symbolized as in the ParshaPix, witha dot on one end of a line and an arrowhead on theother. Together, you get MEMRAY, as in MAMREI,the third of Avraham's allies. To these three friends,Avraham allowed some of the spoils of war to go,even though he took nothing from the King ofS'dom at all.
This week's TTriddles:[1] tardigrade[2] Angels to Avraham; S'domites to
Lot; Yehuda to Adulamites[3] Angel to Lot; Par'o to M & A[4] The universal spokesman[5] Where is Edith Brina[6] Slightly deceptive TTriddle:
YUKACH NA M'AT MAYIM Based on Daat Moshe as quoted inEven Bochein not necessary tosolve
[7] When are we chayav patir?[8] One over three and two over one[9] Avraham, Sara, and Amnon?
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