Author: Rabbi Milder

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Sefer Chofetz Chaim chapter 8 halachos 12, 13

Halacha 12: As bad as it is to speak badly about your fellow Jew in front of other Jews it is worse to speak about your fellow Jew in front of non-Jews because there is at least a very good chance other Jews won’t accept what you say or ar least judge the victim favorably but a non-Jew will most likely immediately believe what you say especially if a Jew is willing to speak about another Jew in that fashion it must be true and will spread the world and might even harm the Jew spoken about. What’s worse is if a Jew rattles on a fellow Jew to non-Jews and gets him in trouble. This is so bad that it is equated with someone who denies the Torah and Hashem. The Chofetz Chaim notes that it’s known even back in his time of people who would hire false witnesses and tattletale on their friends as a form of extortion to extricate money from them unlawfully in non-Jewish courts.

Halacha 13: In terms of accepting lashon hara the general rule is you cannot accept any lashon hara as truth about any Jew accept about an apikores and one who tattles on his fellow Jew to non-Jews. Bottom line any Jews which loses his status of being included in “your nation” one can believe lashon hara about them. Even two parties in a fight which you are allowed to SPEAK lashon hara about if it will quiet down the argument, does not mean those listening can accept the lashon hara said as absolute truth, unless it is obvious that it is the truth and by accepting it as true it will help to stop the argument.

Another topic the Chofetz Chaim brought up in a footnote is the issue of making fun of others, i.e., mockery. People tend to make fun of others in very subtle ways so that the victim won’t necessarily pick up on what he said and take revenge and on top of that, the slyer he is the more impressed people will be at his quip and think he’s a smart comedian which will egg him on to say more and make the victim look really bad. There are a number of prohibitions that go along with this issue.

1. Leitzanus: One is forbidden to make a mockery in a negative sense.

2. Onaas Devarim: It’s prohibitive to say things that make people feel bad.

3. Those that listen and laugh are spitting Hashem.

4. Those that stand by and say nothing don’t perform the mitzvah of rebuke.

5. They are also transgressing Flattering a bad person.

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Torah Riddles Test #197

Question: Why does Rav Shmuel Wasner poskin that one can throw away newspapers that happen to have words of Torah mixed into their articles?

Background:

A. The Mishna Berura (154:5:24) quotes the Rambam (lav 65) who says that one who wastes or destroys holy writing transgresses “Don’t do this to Hashem your G-d.”

B. Rav Elyashiv poskins that if you are unsure if there is Torah thoughts in the newspaper then you don’t need to bury it but if you know there is then you should bury it and if you are strict then blessing will come to you.

C. Rav Shmuel Wasner poskins that if there are Torah thoughts within a story then it doesn’t have holiness.

 Answer: Because they are not written to learn Torah with them therefore it doesn’t have any holiness (Dirshu footnote 10).

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Torah Riddles Test #196

1.    Question: Why is one allowed to say the chapter of tehillim of “Hashem Ro’i” after washing but before saying hamotzi but Rav Moshe Feinstein says one cannot say a “grace before the meal” made up by yourself that asks for success in all endeavors after washing but before eating?

 Background:

A. The Mishna Berura (166:1:3) quoting a Zohar says that one has a mitzvah everyday to pray for his food before he eats and should do so before washing but if he forgot and first washed then some say that this prayer or paragraph from tehillim can be said before eating but better to say it after say blessing of hamotzi and take a bite of bread.

B. Normally the halacha is one should not talk between washing and eating because that constitutes a distraction.

 Answer: A prayer on Hashem giving you food is needed as part of the meal so it might not be considered a distraction but a prayer for one’s own success is extra so it’s a distraction and Rav Moshe says if one always says it, it might even constitute the prohibition of adding to the Torah, bal tosif, because one is adding on something on his own accord which the rabbis did not feel a need to do (Dirshu note 4).

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Bihaaloscha – Artists and Kings

For Food for Thought in Spanish: Haga clic aquí para leer en español. Please share this with your Jewish Spanish speaking family, friends, and associates.

One of our fundamental beliefs of trust in Hashem is that we are expected to go through the motions of putting in our proper effort, but Hashem ultimately produces the results. This cannot be more evidently expressed than by the making of the menorah which is discussed in the beginning of this week’s Torah portion of Bihaaloscha. “Now this is how the menorah was made: it was hammered work of gold, hammered from base to petal. According to the pattern that Hashem had shown Moshe, so was the menorah made” (Bamidbar 9:4).

The Medrish Rabba relates in the name of Levi the son of Rebbe [Yehuda Hanasi] “…that a pure menorah came down from Heaven. For Hashem said to Moshe, ‘And you shall make a menorah out of pure gold’ (Shemos 25:31). [Moshe] asked, how do we make it? [Hashem] responded, you shall make it hammered [out of one piece]. Nevertheless, it was difficult for Moshe and he went down, and he forgot how to make it. He went up and said, my Master how do I make it? [Hashem] responded, you shall make it hammered [out of one piece]. Nevertheless, it was difficult for Moshe and he came back down, and he forgot. He went back up and said, my Master I forgot it. [Hashem] showed [the menorah] to Moshe and still it was too difficult for him. [Hashem] said to [Moshe], see and do, and He showed him a menorah made out of fire and showed him how it was made. Nevertheless, it was too difficult for Moshe. Hashem said to him, go to Betzalel and he will make it. [Moshe] told Betzalel and he immediately made it. [Moshe] started wondering why he was shown many times how to make it and he still couldn’t figure it out but Betzalel who never saw how to make it, still made it out of his own knowledge. [Moshe answered himself] that Betzalel was standing in the “shade of G-D” when Hashem showed me how to make it. Therefore, when the Holy Temple was destroyed, they hid the menorah. This was one of the  five things hidden, (a) the ark, (b) the menorah, (c) the fire [that came down from Heaven to lick up what was sacrificed on the alter], (d) Divine Providence (i.e. prophecy), (e.) and the keruvim [that were on top of the ark.] And when Hashem will return in His mercy and rebuild the Beis Hamikdash with its sanctuary, He will bring them back to their place in order to rejoice in Yerushalayim as it says, ‘Desert and wasteland shall rejoice over them, and the plain shall rejoice and shall blossom like a rose. It shall blossom and rejoice’ (Yeshayahu 35:1, 2).” (Click here for Hebrew text.)

The Rada”l perceptively points out that the reason it was difficult for Moshe to make it was in order to hint to us that even complete preparation from any person to place a place where one can instate upon it The Light of Heaven is not within the power of a complete person to perform by himself, as it says, if not for Hashem helping him etc. and this is why it was made by Betzalel who was given Divine intellect from on high to do all the work and not from his heart.
The Rada”l is clearly stating that Hashem purposefully had Moshe put in all his effort for naught and then Betzalel easily made the menorah in order to send the message that while it is worthwhile to try, which Moshe did and did not easily give up, however Hashem is the one that produces the results, especially when it comes to holy spiritual matters like building the menorah. Also, to clearly prove the point that only Hashem produces the results, He had Betzalel, who was not directly shown how to make the menorah, orchestrate making it.

The Maharz”u seems to have a different understanding of why Betzalel was able to make the menorah so easily but Moshe had a lot of difficulty. However, when scrutinizing this commentary one will see it is really the same theme as the Rada”l. The Maharz”u is very much bothered by  why Betzalel was referred to as standing in the “shade of G-D,” for in fact Moshe was in the “shade of G-D” on the mountain with Hashem and still didn’t know; so how did Betzalel know? Is it possible that he was more in the “shade of G-D” than Moshe who got closer than anyone else on the mountain? The Maharz”u answers that maybe when it says that Betzalel was in the “shade of G-D” it hints to a quality on a level in the matter of working on making the utensils of the mishkan. Betzalel had something more than Moshe had, for he was an artist (or architect) and it’s important to have in mind that Moshe was the king and he did not do anything by himself; rather all actions were done upon his command and direction. This was clearly indicated by all the work that Betzalel and the sages did, and also by the menorah. Nevertheless, the credit went to Moshe for building the mishkan, its utensils, including the menorah, as it says, “And the mishkan of Hashem that Moshe made in the desert.”
Moshe had reached the 49th level of wisdom, one notch below the perfection of all wisdom. He was certainly physically fit enough to make anything, for he assembled the mishkan all by himself, and he even knew how to do hands-on work, because he used to help his fellow Jews in the slave pits of Egypt to lighten their burden. Even though now he is king and almost all the jobs are done for him, it does not seem from the medrish that it was beneath his dignity to make the menorah; on the contrary he tried and failed four time! So, with all his knowledge and worldly experience, why did he fail?

The Maharz”u says it was because he was not an artist like Betzalel and he had plenty of responsibilities because he was the king and he would not have the time to figure out how to be an artist or architect. For Betzalel, it was natural and easy for him to make the menorah because Hashem gave him that artistic gift, to be good at working with his hands;, that was his purpose in life; he used it to the best of his ability. Moshe’s purpose was to be king, the authority over everyone else; so as much as he tried, he just didn’t have the feel of how to make the menorah since he wasn’t naturally an artist or architect. No matter how much wisdom and intellect Hashem granted Moshe He still didn’t give him the knack to sculpt things. Being artistic and handy just wasn’t Moshe’s purpose in life, so Hashem didn’t grant him that ability.

Moshe thought that with all his wisdom he might be able to figure it out since Hashem did command him to make it. So he put in all his efforts to try and not give up so easily, but it was not with in his natural talents to accomplish making the menorah. So ultimately, Moshe had to give it over to Betzalel and direct him to make the menorah since Hashem did grant Betzalel the talents to make it.

This too shows that we put in the efforts but ultimately Hashem causes the results to happen.

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Sefer Chofetz Chaim chapter 8 halachos 10, 11

Halacha 10: You may not speak lashon hara to anyone whether it’s a non-relative or relative unless it’s for a positive reason. For example, you can tell your wife that it might not be a good idea to lend anything to a certain person but he or she is known not to give or pay it back. The same is true with two business partners or the like, one can tell the other that it might not be wise to do business with this certain person because he’s not going to pay you. Even if you don’t know firsthand of this problem but you have heard rumors you can still tell them to be careful because they aren’t allowed to believe what you say, just be concerned and take proper precautions. That being said you should tell them in a way that will make it sound possible and therefore be cautious but not decisive so that they will feel they can actually believe you. An example in Chazal of this type of warning is in Kiddushin 52b where the students of Rebbe Meir was warned not to enter a certain area because people might start up with them. The Chofetz Chaim bemoans that many people confuse this halacha and talks about his day with his wife including about people that started up with him in yeshiva or work. Besides the lashon hara being said your wife will most likely take it to heart and will start to not treat this person and his family nicely and she might not only belittle the person who started up with you but she might look down upon you and start making fun of you after a while. This is based on an Avos diRebbe Nosson 7:3 which says that you shouldn’t talk too much with your wife which refers to not telling her all that happened to you during your day because it will just cause fights and she will look down upon the person who started up with you and will look down upon you as well. Even if she will find out eventually what happened you shouldn’t say anything because the victim tends to exaggerate.

Halacha 11: No difference who you speak in front of whether it’s a non-relative or even a relative, a brother should not even talk about another brother in front of his parents unless he rebuked him first and the brother didn’t listen, or he knows the brother won’t listen to him but might listen to his parent to change his bad ways. We know this from the case of Yosef and his brothers. Yosef was punished measure for measure for speaking lashon hara about his brothers to his father, even though he did it so that their father will rebuke them. And although he got it wrong and really, they were doing nothing wrong so he was punished for not looking more into the matter. However, the Chofetz Chaim says it’s true that even for bad things your siblings really did you shouldn’t run to your parents to tattletale if you can fix the issue yourself.

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Torah Riddles #195

 2. Question: For allowing a woman to get remarried why is a person reliable even if he only saw the dead guy by the light of a candle or the moon at night but if a non-Jew or Jew would say that they saw a dead guy at night by the light of the candle or moon and he was just speaking masiach lifi tumo he is not believed?

Background:

A. The Shulchan Aruch (Even HaEzer 17:22) says that when you look at the body to recognize it in order to testify about it, one can even check and see it at night by the light if a candle or the light if the moon.

B. The Pischei Teshuva (91) is in fact in doubt whether a person who while just telling over a story happens to have mentioned (unintentionally), mesiach lifi tumo, happens to say he saw a man killed or dead when he was walking at night, by the light of a candle or the light if the moon.

  Answer: If a person is testifying he is trusted to be sure to get a good look at the body. But if he is just telling a story, even though masiach lifi tumo is normally believed but because of the circumstances it was dark maybe he didn’t pay close enough attention and he saw wrong.

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Torah Riddles Test #194

1. Question: For allowing a woman to get remarried why can you testify that a man died if he fell into a pit of snakes and scorpions but if he fell into a lion’s den you can’t testify he died unless you saw him die?

Background:

 A. The Beis Shmuel (Even HaEzer 17:29:91) says a pit of snakes and scorpions is narrow but a lion’s den is wide.

 B. The Beis Shmuel also says that you should not rely on a miracle like what happened to Daniel in the lion’s den.

  Answer: Maybe the lions weren’t hungry so they didn’t eat him. But by the snakes and scorpions because of the squishy area and the man is on top of the snakes and scorpions they will bite.  


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Sefer Chofetz Chaim chapter 8 halacha 9

There is a very ancient decree and excommunication on those who speak lashon hara about the dead. Whether the person was a simpleton and all the more so if he was a sage. Insulting and degrading a sage himself is bad all the more so if talking badly about the Torah thoughts he has spoken or written about.

There are many times in Shas and the poskim that they insult each other, and the Chavas Yair explains many if the examples in Shas of why it’s not lashon hara or insulting each other. For example, Rav Sheshes told Rav it sounds like you were just dozing off and sleeping. He wasn’t saying this as an insult, on the contrary it was a praise because normally Rav was very sharp and it must have been that if he missed something he must have fallen asleep. Another example is when Rebbe said to Levi that it seems you have no brains in your skull. Now, Levi was a student of Rebbe and Rebbe was rebuking his student to work and think harder. The Rambam and Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 246:11) learn from here that a Rebbe should speak harshly to his students if he is feeling it will encourage and inspire them to work harder, not out of anger or haughtiness, but rather a drive to make sure they toughen up if it looks like they are being lazy.

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Sefer Chofetz Chaim chapter 8 halacha 8

Based on a Yerushalmi in Peah 1:1 which the Smag brings down in his mitzvos and the Hghos Maimoni mentions but the Rif, Rosh, and Rambam leave out so the Chofetz Chaim just says this is according to one opinion, that it is permissible to speak lashon hara about an argument ensuing but only if the purpose of speaking lashon hara is to diffuse the argument by applying pressure to one side or both sides to break up the fight.

The source of this is by King David when he appointed Shlomo to take over the kingship and Adoniyahu started a fight vying for the kingship. Someone told King David about it and he immediately diffused the argument. Also, Moshe sent a messenger to Dasan and Aviram who started a rebellion and the messenger reported back to Moshe in order to squelch the argument. But it might be there that because there was already a rebellion ensuing then obviously the messenger could tell Moshe. But we see from here that the messenger of the court can report back even lashon hara to the court in order to enforce order.

But there are 3 conditions before speaking lashon hara:

1. You have to have seen the argument ensuing first hand or if you just heard of it second hand you have to have clarified the truth to be sure there is really and argument ensuing.

2. Your purpose for speaking out, and maybe even taking sides must be only good intentions, to break up the fight, but you can’t say anything if it’s said out of hatred.

3. If there is a way to break up the fight without speaking lashon hara, for example approaching them and rebuking them that is better unless it will stoke the coals and worsen the fight.

 However, one has to be very very very careful to thoroughly and clearly go through the matter to make sure you are clear what is happening before taking sides and speaking out in order to order to pressure the argument to stop because even if one step was overlooked it could change everything and backfire. 

Especially if the one talking out is a rabbi of clout, it can cause a big chillul Hashem, besides the lashon hara, and making the matter worse so in that case it’s better to just be passive, stay quiet and don’t act.
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Naso – A Recharge of Torah Fundamentals


At the end of this week’s Torah portion of Naso the head of each tribe brought the same package of offerings for the dedication of the Mishkan. This wasn’t just a sacrifice of animals and incense, there was a much deeper meaning behind the specific way each part was given.
The Medrish Rabba (Bamidbar 14:22) goes into great detail about what each part of the sacrifice symbolized. For example, “One spoon (handful) [weighing] ten [shekels] of gold filled with incense” (Bamdibar 7:14). “One spoonful” or really a handful symbolized that out of everyone Hashem only chose the Jewish People as it says, “My dove, my perfect one, is but one; she is one to her mother, she is the pure one of she who bore her” (Shir Hashirim 6:9). For this reason, they are most praiseworthy than all the other nations as it writes there, “Daughters saw her and praised her, queens and concubines, and they lauded her” (Shir Hashirim 6:9), this refers to the other nations of the world [praising the Jews]. Why did Hashem choose them from all the other nations? Because all the other nations invalidated the Torah and did not want to accept it and did not choose in Hashem and His Torah which is five books that are represented by the five fingers of a hand. And [The Jews] accepted the Ten Commandments at Sinai that is what “One spoon (handful) [weighing] ten [shekels] of gold” symbolizes.
Another part of the offering was, “And for the peace offering: two oxen” (Bamidbar 7:17). This symbolizes that Hashem gave the Jewish people two Torahs, one written and one oral. He gave the Written Torah which has in it 613 mitzvos in order to fill them with mitzvos and merits as it says, “He Hashem desires [this] for His righteousness’ sake; He magnifies the Torah and strengthens it” (Yeshayahu 42:21). He gave them the Oral Torah to be more adept in it than all the other nations, and for this reason He did not give it to them written down; so that the rest of the world would not forge it, just as they did with the written Torah.”

The Anaf Yosef gives an incredible insight into why Hashem gave us so many mitzvos in the written Torah in order to fill us with mitzvos and merits. As Chaza”l say in a number of places, “Hashem wanted to bring merit to the Jews etc. as it says ‘He Hashem desires [this] for His righteousness’ sake’. The intent in this is because not everyone thinks alike rather each person might have more of an inkling for a specific mitzva over all the other mitzvos, and if there were only a few mitzvos then not every person would merit those mitzvos. Therefore, [Hashem gave us 613 mitzvos] out of the kindness of Hashem, in order to give merit and bring much righteousness to the Jews by fulfilling Torah and mitzvos in order so that there won’t be a Jew who won’t have a drive for even one mitzva of the 613 mitzvos, to try to fulfill it properly in order to merit a life in the World to Come. For even the empty ones of the Jewish people are full of mitzvos like a pomegranate. This is what the Rambam meant in his commentary on the Mishna that one of our main beliefs in Torah is that when a person fulfills a specific mitzva of the 613 mitzvos in order and properly, and he does not include in it any intent at all from the outside world, rather he does for Hashem’s sake out of love he merits a life in the World to Come.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)

G-D forbid to say that we don’t have to keep all the mitzvos! The Torah is the blueprint of creation and the handbook for mankind. It was given to us for our own sake and for the sake of the upkeep of the entire world. However, Hashem created each person in his and her own unique way, with unique tendencies, interests, and motivations. Some people like music, others athletics, some like dissecting, others are more into deep-thinking etc. Every single person has their own unique drives and talents. Hashem specifically made each person in this fashion in order to have the ability to excel and become experts at what they are inclined towards.

With that in mind, of course Hashem expects us to fulfill the entire Torah to the best of our ability; however, He gives us the opportunity to become an expert and excel in the mitzva one is most naturally inclined to do. For example, if a person likes dissecting, he might want to become  a shochet.

Hashem specifically made so many varieties of mitzvos, some that are easier than others, some that come more naturally than others, that even one who is not Torah observant might still be filled with mitzvos. For example, many people love doing acts of kindness, and chesed is a positive mitzva. Or most people don’t like eating bugs and rodents, so by staying away from eating them then you are not transgressing negative mitzvos. How easy is that!

But to easily ensure a share in the World to Come one just has to put his mind into what he knows how to do best, his favorite mitzva; become an expert at it and do it with all the right intentions, for the sake of Hashem out of pure love and you are guaranteed a share in Heaven.

It’s as easy as that! You just have to put your mind and heart into it.