Not Your Classic Chavaya

Hi Ma'ayanoters!

I wanted to share with you all an amazing experience I had yesterday, and because it's Torah related I thought the blog would be a good place to send it. Normally Pesach Sheni isn't a big deal, but this year, our Pesach Sheni happened to fall out on the day the Shomronim (Samaritans) have as their Pesach. Basic Shomronim info - they claim to be the true Jews descended from Efrayim and Menashe while the other claim is that they are originally non-Jews who Sancheirev put in the Shomron after Galut Aseret Hashevatim. They have almost the exact same Chamisha Chumshei Torah as us except they think that Har Gerizim is the most holy place, and they had a mikdash there. Now there are 700 Shomronim in the world, half living in Cholon and half in a town on top of Har Gerizim (right near Shechem). They speak Arabic, Hebrew and ancient Hebrew (which is very different than ours).

Anyway, the coolest thing about them is that they actually bring a Korban Pesach and they let people come watch! I went in a tour group with my family, and I expected that we would be up on a mountain watching primitive people, but actually they have a square in the middle of their village with fire pits and hooks and that's where they bring the korban. All the men wore white jumpsuits and white baseball caps or red circular hats (those might have ben the Kohanim) and the girls wore bathrobes over their regular clothes. The actual Korban area was gated off, but after the actual shechitah the guards let some people in and my family got to go extremely close. I mean, I almost touched dead sheep. We watched them skin the sheep, take out the insides which they burn on a mizbeach type thing (and even salt it!) and then put the sheep on stakes so they can cook them. It was very hot and smoky and smelly but an incredible experience.

We also talked to their Kohen Gadol (he wears green) and he told us that they have a mesorah but not our Torah Shebaal Peh, so they're sort of like Tzedukim or Karaites. They don't use any electricity on Shabbos and they count sefirah starting from a Sunday. He said he personally checked all the sheep for mumim and had to make one pasul because it had a cut on its ear.

I'm attaching some pictures which hopefully can be posted on the blog because without seeing it you can't possibly understand how incredible this was.

Also I miss all you guys and I hope you're all doing well.

Love,

Rachel Weber

The big picture on Kashrut

From Talia Friedman:
I learned all the halachot, but I'm still not sure how to explain to a Reform Jew what kashrut is and why it is kept.

Before addressing the kashrut issue itself, I'd like to comment on the fact that you asked this question at all. One of the pitfalls that Jewish day school educators have to watch out for is the focus on details while ignoring the fundamentals. It's important to leave a class in kashrut and know all the terms - bitul, nat bar nat, ben yomo, and know how to analyze cases, but it's also important - equally if not more so - to take a step back and think about why we're doing what we're doing. This applies not only to kashrut, but to Shabbat, davening, Torah learning and all the behaviors and beliefs that make up the life of an Orthodox Jew.

About kashrut specifically - one can say, briefly, that the Torah restricts certain foods based either on what kind of food it is (types of animals, for example) or the way the food is prepared (e.g., must be slaughtered properly, meat and dairy cannot be mixed).

As for the why - many rishonim consider kashrut in the category of chukkim - mitzvot for which there is not necessarily a satisfactory rational explanation, but which are performed as part of our service to Hashem. However, many explanations have also been offered, and here I think there is license to accept whichever one speaks to you the most. Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim III:48) famously gives a health explanation for kashrut (although he might have reconsidered had he visited World of Goodies). Ramban, based on the pesukim that describe certain foods as causing "timtum ha-lev," dulling of the heart, says that the nature of certain predatory and carnivorous animal species can be absorbed by us when we eat them. The Torah mandates avoiding the consumption of these aggressive animals so that our own natures will remain gentle. Another explanation is: kashrut is a mark of distinction of the Jewish people, so that one who must eat foods different from his gentile collegues will constantly remain aware of his or her religious identity. Finally, one can view kashrut as taking one of life's most mundane and physical activities, eating, and elevating it with the discipline of being conscious of Hashem's commands every time we put food in our mouths.

Hail to the Chief

Last night I had the opportunity to attend a dinner at which the (Ashkenazi) Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yonah Metzger spoke.  He shared the following idea that he quoted from the Baal Shem Tov.  Instead of reading the פסוק as ואהבת לרעך כמוך - love your neighbor as yourself, an interpretation he finds impossible; how can you possibly love another as you love yourself.  We love ourselves a lot!  He says to break up the פסוק differently;  - ואהבת לרעך - love your friend.  כמוך אני ד - as you are, I am Hashem.  In other words, the way that HAshem deal with us will mirror the way that we treat each other.

He also opened with what I thought was a pretty good joke.  Much has been made of him being the first Israeli Chief Rabbi who was born in Israel.  So once, at a conference in England during a Q & A session, someone asked him "What ברכה should I make upon seeing the Chief Rabbi for the first time?".  He thought a moment, and then responded, "ברוך אתה ד' אלוקינו מלך העולם... בורא פרי האדמה".  (Think about the literal translation for the punchline).

Chag Kasher V'Sameach?

Today is Pesach Sheini.  In a nutshell, in the time of the בית המקדש, those who were unable to bring the Korban Pesach on time, were given a "make-up" date a month later.  This morning we had Matzah available, in accordance with the minhag.  Interestingly, the above greeting would be inappropriate, as for Pesach Sheini, although you still ate the Korban with matzah and marror, you were allowed to eat chametz at the same time.

Chag sameach.

Lag B'Omer Bonfire Bonanza!

Join your friends and faculty for a blazing hot Lag (Lad?) B'Omer celebration, including: live music, inspiring words of Torah, soulful singing, stories, BBQ, fun, games and more...!

WHEN:

             Lag B'Omer

             Sunday, May 2

             8:00-10:00 PM

            

WHERE:

            The Home of Yael Herzog

            750 Mildred Street
            Teaneck

COST:
            Priceless!

Attention Alumni, Juniors & Seniors!!!

Daf Yomi today is Sanhedrin Daf עב, which is the beginning of the בא במחתרת Gemara that we learn in 11th grade.  There are plenty of on line resources, both text and audio that can assist anyone interested in learning Daf Yomi, either for a few days to review, or to start, and keep it up as long as you can.  Good luck.

Yom Ha'atzmaut Wrap Up

In the wake of Yom Ha'atzmaut, I want to address some of the questions that came up here in school:

• In this year's YU Yom Ha'atzmaut To Go, there was an informative article by Rabbi Eli Ozarowski entitled "Establishing Yom Haatzamut as a Yom Tov".  In it, he summarizes what he considers to be the four different religious approaches to the state of Israel (Rav Kook, the Rav, the mainstream right wing, and the Satmar Rebbi), and their implications.  He addressed what we are celebrating, when we should celebrate it (in footnotes, he explains the controversy over the correct day to celebrate, and the oddity of a chag that is celebrated more often on the wrong day than the right one), and why some are so reluctant to celebrate.  If you're going to read one article to educate you on the aleph-bet of the halachik and hashkafik issues surrounding the day, this is it.
• Last year, Rabbi Josh Flug wrote about whether to say Hallel on Yom Ha'atzmaut, as well as the question of a brachah.
• Back when Israel was a teenager, Rabbi Lamm discussed the issue that we all still grapple with today - if Israel is as important as we say it is, what are we doing here?  His answer is still relevant (I wonder which of his children he was grooming to go?).  The only thing I would add, is something I think I heard from Rabbi Twersky, which is that while we all might have good reasons for staying, or bad reasons that seem good enough, our duty is to not decide once and then move on.  We should be periodically reevaluating our position in life (family, career etc.) to see if those impediments are still standing in our way. 

Yummy New Blog = Maayanot Nachas

Ms Steinreich, our alumni relations director recently sent out the following message:

I would like to share with you what our alumnae, Elisha Horen Gechter, class of '00 (Stern '04 and Brandeis '07), is up to these days. Elisha is writing a creative food blog called “Double Portion”. 'Double' because she gives a quick Parsha review followed by unique recipes corresponding to the weekly Torah portion. She originally had the idea back in high school to create a cookbook with the same theme when she was a counselor in Bnei Akiva of Riverdale and enjoyed making treats that corresponded with the Parsha’s theme. She has graduated from treats to more advanced cooking (a skill she says she picked up when she spent a year and a half at Midreshet Lindenbaum) but her recipes are simple to follow. Elisha started blogging in November and does hope to eventually turn the material into a book. We hope you'll give it a look! http://elishasdoubleportion.blogspot.com. 

How cool is that?

Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut

In Israel, most people will spend tomorrow either attending the national ceremony at Har Herzl (the military cemetery); visiting the graves of soldiers who gave up their lives in Israel's wars or watching and listening to the stories of different fallen soldiers which are played all day on TV and on the radio. For anyone who's had the privilege to be in Israel on Yom HaZikaron, I'm sure you will agree with me that you feel as if the entire nation is mourning together. In America, we have to work a little harder to really feel that sense of loss and connection to Israel on these days. Below are some stories about different Israeli soldiers that I posted on the blog last year, but that are worth re-reading/watching before Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut to help us reflect about the importance of these two days and our own personal connections to Medinat Israel.

1. The story of Nachshon Wachsman z"l
2. The story of Baruch Shapira z"l
3. The story of Gedalia Malik z"l
4. An interview with the mother of Uriel and Eliraz Peretz z"l

One aspect that I always had difficulty with was how the entire state of Israel can go from complete mourning on Yom HaZikaron to complete celebration 24 hours later on Yom Ha'atzamaut. It reminds me of the mixing of emotions in the Gemara in Makkot 24b where R' Akiva laughs upon seeing foxes walk through the ruins of the Bet HaMikdash, while the other rabbis cry. R' Akiva laughs since he is able to see past the destruction to the day when there will be גאולה. So too, perhaps true celebration of the גאולה of Yom Ha'atzmaut can only exist once one has experienced the חרבן of Yom HaZikaron.

Below is a very powerful video that I think highlights this process of mourning to celebration; going משואה לתקומה, from the Holocaust to the State of Israel, reminding us of how much we should appreciate the miracle that we are able to return as a nation to our land after 2000 years of exile. One of the more powerful parts is when it shows the footage of Ben Gurion declaring the state in 1948, followed by R' Yehuda Maimon (an Israeli rabbi and politician) reciting she'hecheyanu. Chag Sameach!!

Parsha Related Enquirer Inquiry

Sophie Satloff asks:

Hi,

I was wondering if you are allowed to say lashon hara about non-jews (according to halacha)? 

Thanks

Great, interesting and timely question, as we prepare to read all about צרעת in פרשיות תזריע ומצורע.  While speaking lashon hara about a non-Jew is not specifically prohibited, it is not a good idea to make habit of it.  The Midrash (Devarim 6:9) specifically says that there is a danger of speaking lashon hara, even about those whom there is no real prohibition, as you will ultimately come to do so about others.  The Rambam too invokes the slippery slope to explain how lashon hara will ultimately lead to speak ill of tzadikim and ultimately rebel against Hashem.  The point is that the action of gossip and slander, no matter who the target is, turns the speaker into a negative person - someone who is accustomed to finding the worst in anyone or anything.  This is a risk even with people we don't even know.  If we fill our conversation with the sordid details of the lives of celebrities, or even with constant (and maybe even legitimate) criticizm of our political leaders, we run the risk of altering our perspective in ways that have other important implications.

Yasher koach & good Shabbos.

Amazing Story

at yesterday's Yankee game, where Mrs. Toby Weiss (wife of Rabbi Avi Weiss from HIR) was saved by a veteran medic of the war in Iraq.  The hero was moved up to front row seats for the remainder of the game.  Baruch Rofei Cholim.

Tea on שבת

Atara Clark asks:

So I was talking to someone this past Shabbos and it came up about making tea on Shabbos. So i know that you have to do Kli Sheini but the person that I was talking to mentioned that to take the tea bag out of the tea you have to use a spoon and take some of the liquid out with it. I had never heard of this and I was wondering what the background to it is? (is it possible that that would be considered wasting/ ba'al tashchit?)
Thanks, have a great day!

Great question Atara.  As you alluded to, there is much to say on the general issue of making tea on שבת.  As to your specific question, this seems to be based on an opinion of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (cited here)  that when using a tea bag, it should be removed with a spoon in order to avoid straining the tea from the bag while holding it above the cup.  If so, it would also make sense to leave some tea in the spoon to either keep it fully saturated and avoid all straining as you remove the bag.

Yom Ha'atzmaut Learning

YU To Go has come out with a Yom Ha'atzmaut version of their excellent publication of diverse and interesting Divrei Torah on the chagim.  Shockingly, we have no faculty presence in this issue, but I'm hopeful that we will be back in full force for שבועות.  I think that it's appropriate that they produced this volume - if it is really a chag than we should treat it like one.  Maybe we can pass this idea along to the editors of Maayanei Torah (no pressure).

More on Birchot Hashachar

To add a bit to Ms. Schapiro's excellent answer, a deaf person would still say the first Bracha (אשר נתן לשכוי בינה...) despite being unable to hear the rooster's call.  There are differences of opinion as to whether a גר should say שלא עשני גוי or not.  The שלחן ערוך says that he shouldn't, presumably because it is inaccurate.  The משנה ברורה explains he can say שעשני גר, because that language (עשה) is used for conversion (הנפש אשר עשו בחרן), though others disagree and maintain that he should skip the ברכה entirely.  I have seen quoted from the מגן אברהם and the שלחן ערוך הרב (I didn't get a chance to look it up) that they say that the Ger should make the bracha like everyone else, on kabbalistic grounds.  Perhaps this opinion is in line with the following argument that I found made by an anonymous convert on an old message board here:  

"[T]he Rambam in his teshuva to Ovadia the convert, which explicitly states (based on the Yerushalmi) that a convert should not change the words of tefilot: "in the same way that every Jew by birth says his blessings and prayers, you too shall bless and pray, whether you are alone or pray in the congregation." The positition of the Rambam is consistent with the psak that I received with regard to "shelo asani goy" and I know other gerim who received a similar psak. What is going on here theologically? It is that the convert, upon his or her acceptance into klal yisrael, is considered as if he or she has been a member of the nation forever. In the words of Rav Aharon Lichtenstein: "in the aftermath of his admission into knesset yisrael, the ger identifies with its past, with its triumphs as well as failures, no less than he does with the present; with eschatological vision as with current vibrant reality. The ger is born both as a servant of G-d and as a citizen of the nation . . . " Moreover, the comment of the gemarra in Yevamot that a ger is like a newborn is not aggada - it is halacha. The convert is newly born into yehadut - and in that sense it is completely appropriate for the ger to recite "shelo asani goy" because, indeed, the ger has been reborn and has been newly created, not as a gentile but as a Jew."

Birchot ha-Shachar

From Talia Friedman: I was wondering about birchot hashachar. What would a blind person say about he bracha "gives sight to the blind"? would he say she-asanee kirtzono instead? would he respond "amen" to a chazzan saying that bracha, if it does not apply to him? I was also wondering if being female is considered a handicap in these brachot. it says "thanks for making me a man" near "giving me sight" "not making me lame" and other handicaps. "Making me according to your will" is not a satisfying alternative. if say then should women respond "amen" to a chazzan saying that bracha? Why doesn't everyone say "she-asanee kirtzono", it applies to everyone? I know this probably is a classic question, but I have never heard an answer.

A blind person would say "Who gives sight to the blind" because in that berachah we are thanking Hashem for the phenomenon of sight in the world, not that we personally have sight. Most of the other berachot are similar - not personally about us but about Hashem creating the phenomena. The exceptions, which seem to be personal, are the 2nd, 3rd and 4th berachot: "You have not made me a .... {gentile/slave/woman}." The classic explanation for that group of 3 comes from R. David Abudraham (14th century Spain): gentiles, slaves and women (in ascending order) have fewer obligations in mitzvot, and a man therefore is thankful that he is not in a class of people who have fewer obligations. This is another manifestation of the outlook that the mitzvot are a gift, not a burden. Women also thank Hashem for not being in the first 2 classes of people with lesser obligations, and then thank Hashem in a positive way, for creating "me according to His will," perhaps meaning that the lesser degree of obligation is the will of Hashem, for whatever reasons He had.

A Thought for Yom HaShoah

This is from R' Saks' website chiefrabbi.org:

The oldest question in religion is: “Why do bad things
happen to good people?” But there are two ways of asking
this question. The first is, “Why has God done this to me?”
Never ask this question, because we will never know the
answer. God cares for us, but He also cares for everyone and
everything. We think of now; God thinks of eternity. We
could never see the universe from God’s point of view. So we
will never find the answer to the question: “Why me?”
But there is another way of asking the question. “Given
that this has happened, what does God want me to learn
from it? How is He challenging me to grow? How is He
calling on me to respond?” Asking it this way involves
looking forward, not back. “Why did God do this?” is the
wrong question. The right one is: “How shall I live my life
differently because this has happened?”
That is how to deal with crisis.Wrestle with it, refusing to
let it go until it blesses you, until you emerge stronger, better
or wiser than you were before.

Words I Never Thought I'd Say - Let's Go Mets!

In honor of opening day, a former Ma'ayanot parent shares a nice story to bring some joy into the lives of Mets fans, who didn't get much this off season.  For a day, even I can root for them.

Pesach Publications

These first days of Pesach left me with very limited internet access, so while going through blog withdrawal I had a chance to read some of the Pesach collections of divrei Torah that we often discuss here.

• I found this issue of Maayanei Torah especially good.  Some highlights included Mrs. Kraft's insightful extension of a beautiful idea of the Rav, a great and nostalgia-inducing משל by Tamar Berger, and a wonderful and practical article by Tziporah Leiser and Tali Spier, which reminds us of the extraordinary material that freshmen have been contributing all year.  Yasher koach to editor (and writer, and writer) Talia Friedman for a phenomenal year of הרבצת תורה.
• In the YU Pesach To Go referenced by Mrs. Sinensky below, it was excellent and fascinating as usual.  Mrs. Knoll provided a great shiur about the fundamental nature of the prohibition of חמץ (with a title that makes the blog proud).  (Can anyone find the other member of the Maayanot extended family who contributed?)  Mrs. Yael Lebowitz gave a new (to me at least) perspective on the relationship between Moshe and his people.  I don't think all of her proofs were equally effective, there was more than enough there to support her thesis.  Rabbi Yonason Sacks (not the lord one) gives us a comprehensive analysis of the laws of סיפור יציאת מצרים. For the Rabbi Lamm lead-off spot, they switched formats, and gave some passages from his newly published Hagadah.  While they were of course very enjoyable reading (as were the other parts of the Hagadah that I got to), I prefer the full reproduction of an old derasha of his, as they have done in the past.