Author: Rabbi Milder

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Torah Riddles Test #144

1.    Question: If what a mourner during shiva can and can’t do for work is based on what one can and can’t do on chol hamoed then why is he allowed to have a non-Jew do work for him if he is a mourner which will otherwise be lost but a Jew cannot have a non-Jew do work for him which will otherwise be lost on chol hamoed?

Background:

A. The Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 380:5) says it is forbidden for a mourner to do any work through someone else even a non-Jew unless it is something which will be lost which is permitted to be done through others, even if it is forbidden to be done on chol hamoed because it is too much of a hassle, it is still permitted for a mourner and even if it is something of craftmanship.

B. A mourner should not be doing any work in order to focus on the loss of his loved one.

C. The Taz (4) says that on Chol hamoed it is forbidden for others to do things which are a hassle, for you because of the honor of the holiday.

Answer: The honor of the holiday will be desecrated whether done by you or someone else since you are showing your work is more important than the day. But by the mourner the honor towards the dead is solely on the mourner which he has to focus on so it makes no difference if people are doing things for him, it allows his focus to be on his lost relative.

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Noach – What is Righteousness

This Dvar Torah is dedicated in memory of Dr. Bill Ladner, who was the inspiration and reason of why I started Food for Thought. He passed away in his 90s last Thursday night. May this dvar Torah and all subsequent Food for thoughts be a merit to his Holy Neshama, Yehi Zichro Baruch.

This Dvar Torah is based on a shmuz I heard in Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim Yerushalayim by Rav Moshe Chait zt”l in 2001. 

There are different ideas what a tzadik, a righteous person, is.

 This week’s Torah portion of Noach begins by saying: “These are the generations of Noach, Noach was a righteous man he was perfect in his generations; Noach walked with God” (Brieshis 6:9). Rashi there observes, “בדורותיו IN HIS GENERATIONS — Some of our Rabbis explain it (this word) to his credit: he was righteous even in his generation; it follows that had he lived in a generation of righteous people he would have been even more righteous owing to the force of good example. Others, however, explain it to his discredit: in comparison with his own generation he was accounted righteous, but had he lived in the generation of Avraham he would have been accounted as of no importance (cf. Sanhedrin 108a).”

Rashi states the argument that “In his generation” means a praise that he was righteous in his generation and all the more so, he would have been an even greater tzadik if he was in a generation among other righteous people, since being righteous among a generation of wicked people takes a lot of inner strength. However “In his generation” could also be an insult; for it can mean that while he may have been a tzadik in his generation, if he had lived at the same time as Avraham Avinu then he wouldn’t be considered anything special. He was righteous compared to the wicked; but compared to others he was nothing important.

Either way he is still called a tzadik. He has some level of righteousness which sets him apart.

There is a medrish Yalkut Shimone in parshas Vezos Habracha that elaborates on a pasuk from Eishes Chayil, “Many women have acquired wealth, but you surpass them all” (Mishlei 31:29). Chazal say about this pasuk that there are many righteous people in this world, but you are better then all of them, which allegorically refers to Moshe Rabbeinu. Adam HaRishon said to Moshe, “I am greater than you because I was created in the Image of Hashem, b’tzelem Elokim. Moshe said back that your greatness did not last too long. You could not even stay in that lofty state overnight, but for me the glory that was given to me from Hashem lasted for the rest of my life as the pasuk says, “Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes had not dimmed, nor had he lost his [natural] freshness” (Devarim 34:7). Moshe admitted that being a tzelem Elokim, having been created by Hashem Himself without physical parents, is a very high level, but what counts is lasting at a spiritually high level.

The medrish continues with Noach approaching Moshe and saying that he is greater than Moshe because he was the only one saved with his family. Since he was able to withstand all the wickedness and stay righteous, he was greater than Moshe. Moshe replied that Noach didn’t have the power to save his generation, but Moshe was able to change the evil decree cast on the Jews by Hashem, caused by the sin of the golden calf. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
There is a state of righteousness that doesn’t show greatness (like Noach). But changing the decision Hashem makes is greatness (like Moshe). It wasn’t enough that Moshe led them through the desert but Moshe rose to a level of righteousness that could even change Hashem’s decision!

Chazal say that Noach’s generation was so evil that Hashem said they don’t have a right to live and yet Noach didn’t let them influence himself and his family. However this wasn’t enough to fulfill his purpose in life, for Moshe was saying he could have gone farther in righteousness by affecting others for the good just as Moshe did.

It is not enough to become a Tzadik for yourself. Gadlus ha’adam, the greatness of man, is to recognize how much Hashem endowed man. One is not here for oneself; rather one is here, in this world, in order to make a change in the world around him or her.

At one-point Moshe said he’d rather be non-existent than harm a fellow Jew. This is selflessness.

The Rambam says that everyone is affected by external influences. It is just a question of what we do with these influences.
What is the essence of a leader, a gadol? He is concerned for others. It is very important for everyone to think about what I am doing for others, and how am I influential?

It is not enough to be a “righteous man in his generation;” Moshe was the person to emulate because he had an impact on others. We must be conscientious about what we do in and around the beis medrish, our workplace, our shul, in our home etc.

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Sefer Chofetz Chaim chapter 6, halacha 6 footnote 16 with note on the footnote

We are back in action, slowly plugging away in Sefer Chofetz Chaim. Today we learned that the only excuse to stay still and not walk away from a conversation of lashon hara is if when you got there you did not think they would be speaking lashon hara and they were, and also if there is no way of escape. 

However if: 

A. When you came you can already over hear them speaking lashon hara, 

B. You are just too lazy to get up or 

C. You know that the nature of this group of people is to speak lashon hara and make fun of others then you can’t even sit down with them and should certainly overcome any laziness even if you disagree with what you are hearing and get up and leave. If you don’t you are included with them as wicked people who involve themselves in lashon hara. 

The footnote to note 16 in the Be’er Mayim Chaim points out that there are two problems in scenario A. and C. One is a rabbinic prohibition to stay away from hearing lashon hara, even if you are disgusted in what you hear and don’t accept it. It’s one thing to be passive and just not get up when you find yourself in a conversation of lashon hara and can’t get up, rebuke, or put your fingers in your ears but actively sitting down when you hear lashon hara being spoken where you are supposed to be going to or if you know these people always slander others, they love doing so then the rabbis forbid you to actively but yourself into that situation from the onset. You also transgress the positive mitzvah of clinging to Hashem by wantonly deciding to cling to this group of lashon hara speakers when actively sitting down with them. As for the second scenario of not getting up out of laziness when you could then you only transgress the rabbinic prohibition, not the positive mitzvah of “bo sidbak” clinging to Hashem since when you first came you did not think it would lead to lashon hara.  

But the Chofetz Chaim points out through a couple of gemaras that ignoring the rabbis and their enactments is a grave sin.

We gleaned a few insights from our discussion today:
 1. We see that we have to keep our ears open when coming to sit down in a group to be sure they aren’t speaking lashon hara. That might mean, for example at a wedding upon sitting down at your table if you hear lashon hara you would have to walk away, maybe act as if you have to get something or speak to someone before sitting down, then come back when you think they have stopped speaking lashon hara.
2. Another insight we realized that though putting your finger in your ears might be embarrassing but now a days we find people walking around with headphones, barring whether that is derech eretz/proper manners or not, but if you do it and you begin to hear lashon hara then you can turn on the music or Torah lecture, etc. so you cannot hear it and that is the same way without it being embarrassing as putting your fingers in your ears, perhaps even more effective.
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Torah Riddles Test #143

Question: Why has one fulfilled his or her mitzvah of tearing if he or she tears one’s garment over the dead even if done on Shabbos but not if one tears a stolen garment?

Background:

A.      The issue here is a mitzvah haba b’aveira, a mitzvah accomplished in a sin. It should be no different whether the sin is stealing or transgressing Shabbos.

B.      If one was eating matza on the night of Pesach which fell out on Shabbos, while walking from the private domain into the public domain thus transgressing the prohibition of carrying on Shabbos, he would not fulfill the mitzva of eating matzah since it was a mitzvah done in a sin. (See Be’ur HaGra note 48 in Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah 340:29.)

 Answer: The Taz and Shach (Yoreh Deah 340:28, 28: 16 in Taz and 42 in shach) say that the difference is that if the garment was stolen then the garment itself is in sin  (It’s a stolen object, just like the matza was a carried object) whereas if you just transgressed Shabbos with the shirt then the action is the problem but the garment itself isn’t part of the problem therefore it is not a mitzvah done through a sin.

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Torah Riddles Test #142

1.       Question: Why must a doctor who accidentally kills a patient run to the city of refuge but not a rebbe who strikes his student and accidentally kills him neither the court executioner, who gives the proper amount of lashes and accidentally kills the sinner?

Background:

A.      The Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 336:1) says that the Torah gave permission for a doctor to cure and it is a mtzvah, it’s part of pikuach nefesh, saving a person’s life… If he heals people without the permission of the courts and mistakenly hurts someone he must pay for damages, but if he got permission, he is exempt. However, if he accidentally killed someone he must go into exile in the city of refuge.

B.      The Rambam in the laws of a Rotzeach/Murderer says that since the court executioner or rebbe accidentally killed the litigant or student while performing a mitzvah then he is exempt from escaping to the city of refuge.

  Answer: The Yad Avraham answers that a doctor is different because he did not do any mitzvah if the patient dies but the rebbe was performing a mitzvah of teaching his student and the executioner was performing a mitzvah of following the court ruling, the person just happen to have died in the process of performing that mitzvah therefore they are exempt from running to the city of refuge.  


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Breishis -The Benefits of a True Fatherly Figure

Gadlus Ha’adam, the greatness of mankind, is realized through our ability to choose between good and evil in a deep intellectual fashion, as well as being able to express it with our power of speech. The potential to be able to reach great heights in physical prowess as well as in the spiritual realm in an artistic and creative manner is what gives us the impetus to strive to do good and make this world a better place.

The foundation of man’s greatness is encapsulated in this week’s Torah portion of Breishis, when he was created:

And G-D created man in His image; in the image of G-D He created him; male and female He created them. כזוַיִּבְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים | אֶת־הָֽאָדָם֙ בְּצַלְמ֔וֹ בְּצֶ֥לֶם אֱלֹהִ֖ים בָּרָ֣א אֹת֑וֹ זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה בָּרָ֥א אֹתָֽם:



It is a well-known premise in Slobodka Mussar that through Gadlus Ha’adam, realizing the great potential inside each and every human being, the fact that we are created in the image of G-D, b’tzelem Elokim, we are given a sense of responsibility to emulate Him, to do what is right in the world, and to strive for character perfection.

However, there is another reason, besides the sense of responsibility, why Hashem created us in His image, and it is another motivator for us to strive for greatness and perfection. This reason is provided by the Sforno in his introduction to his commentary on the Torah.

The Sforno says that the Torah first tells us that the Blessed One created man in His image, as His likeness in order to choose to emulate His Creator as much as possible. For in this way he will perfect himself and his actions will be complete and honorable more than any other, just like what’s befitting to Him Who Is Blessed, who is exulted above everything else. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
It would seem that the fact that we were created in G-D’s image doesn’t just give us a sense of responsibility according to the Sforno; it is more than that. Once we have been endowed with a part of His very being and essence, in a sense, it is now a part of our genetic makeup, available to tap into and develop. Being that The Image of G-D is in our system, or genetic makeup, not as a physical DNA but in our soul, we now have the inkling to emulate the One who gave it to us. Just as a child is born with certain traits from his physical parents which are passed on to him and he learns to live with them and develop them for good or for bad, and because he has these similar genes to his parents therefore many times he has this drive to learn from them and to emulate them. They are his fatherly and motherly figures which many times he looks up to in order to learn from, so to Hashem created us in His Image so that we will turn to Hashem as a fatherly figure and emulate Him as best as possible.

Unlike physical parents who might have flaws and shortcomings, Hashem, however, is all good, all knowledgeable, all powerful, and all perfect. There is nothing bad that can come out of striving to emulate Him and learning from His ways. This means that this is worthwhile to do  and so the means which help us to follow Hashem is His Torah which guides us in what is right and wrong.

We are unlike animals or plants and other physical but inanimate objects, who are programmed to do whatever Hashem decides for them to do. Neither are we like the angels who are pure spiritual beings, that have a natural awe of Hashem which causes them never to err. We are potentially better than both since we are endowed with the Tzelem Elokim, with a Divine soul. We just must realize and tap into this part of ourselves, emulate our Father In Heaven, for if and when we do then then our greatness shines, and that is true Gadlus Ha’adam!

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Vezos Habracha – Refocused Trust in Hashem

Moshe Rabbeinu blesses all of Israel in his very last moments before his passing, in the Torah portion of Vezos Habracha which is read on Simchas Torah. In his blessing he says, “There is none like G-D, O Yeshurun; He rides across heaven to help you… That is the abode of G-D Immemorial, and below are the world’s mighty ones; He drove away the enemy from before you… Fortunate are you, O Israel: Who is like you! O people delivered by Hashem The Shield of your help…” (Devarim 33:26-29).


The Ralbag learns from these pesukim that it is fitting to trust that the goals of Hashem will be fulfilled, for he possesses all the might and authority to do whatever He wants, and the heavens won’t stop ensuring whatever He wants gets done because He created them and made them, and everything comes out of what is influenced by them. Since this is true, it is befitting the Jews to trust in what Hashem has in store for them concerning inheritance of The Land and the wiping out of the nations that were settled upon it. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
Why does Moshe feel the need to reiterate to the Jewish people that they should be confident about Hashem fulfilling His promises of giving them the land and conquering the enemies upon it? Hadn’t Hashem clearly proven Himself faithful up until then by taking care of them with such miracles as the manna, the water coming out of the rock, and the security system of the Clouds of Glory protecting them throughout their 40 years in the desert? They had also gone into battle against various enemies like the giant, Og, and many other, whom they had miraculously defeated each time. If so, then why must trust in Hashem be reiterated?

It would seem that with all the trust and faith in Hashem that the Jewish people had at the time, there was still more strengthening of trust that could be had. And it required refocusing on it on a constant basis, especially when they were about to enter a whole new different situation, new rules, new settings, no more food from heaven, water coming out of rocks, and Clouds of Glory protecting them. They would now be on the offensive and then on the defensive, conquering the land Hashem had promised them. So although they were firm in their bitachon [trust in Hashem], another dose of restatement and inspiration could only make their trust stronger.

We live in a time of unknowns and confusion never experienced before. If the Jewish people upon entering the Land of Israel needed chizuk in their trust in Hashem, all the more so should we be constantly be reviewing and reiterating in ourselves that Hashem has a master plan and in the end we’ll look back and see how it plays out and how all is good coming from Him.

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Shabbos Shuva – Hashem’s Currency: Speech


The Shabbos in between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is called Shabbos Shuva because of the opening line of the haftorah, which states (Hoshea 14:2,3):

2: Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled in your iniquity. ב:שׁוּבָה יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל עַ֖ד יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ כִּ֥י כָשַׁ֖לְתָּ בַּֽעֲו‍ֹנֶֽךָ:
3:Take words with yourselves and return to the Lord. Say, “You shall forgive all iniquity and teach us [the] good [way],and let us render [for] bulls [the offering of] our lips. ג:קְח֚וּ עִמָּכֶם֙ דְּבָרִ֔ים וְשׁ֖וּבוּ אֶל־יְהֹוָ֑ה אִמְר֣וּ אֵלָ֗יו כָּל־תִּשָּׂ֚א עָו‍ֹן֙ וְקַח־ט֔וֹב וּנְשַׁלְּמָ֥ה פָרִ֖ים שְׂפָתֵֽינוּ:


The Radak says these pesukim refer to repentance, teshuva. Hashem is telling the
Jews, through the Prophet Hoshea, that they should return to Hashem “because you have stumbled in your sin. For you have seen that you have stumbled in your sin therefore it is befitting of you to return to Hashem the Blessed One, for nothing will get you up from your stumbling besides your repentance…” Then in the next pasuk it says “Take words with yourselves” which the Radak says means that Hashem is not asking them to repent through giving silver, gold or burnt offerings, rather with good words, that they admit their wrong doings and return to Hashem with all their heart, and not just lip service. (Click here for Hebrew text.)

It would seem from the Radak that Hashem doesn’t care for tzedakah or sacrifices; He desires our vidui, our verbal confession of sins, as well as a heartfelt commitment to distance oneself from the sin and regret it, in order to try never to do it again, which are the 3 main components of teshuva.

Yet we say in the Yomim Noraim tefilos, High Holiday prayers, “But repentance, prayer, and charity remove the evil of the decree!” This seems to indicate that tzedakah, charity, is expected by Hashem to be given. Also, part of the atonement process in the times of the Beis HaMikdash was bringing sin- or guilt-offerings, etc. So what does it mean that Hashem is not asking for the silver, gold and burnt offerings of the Jewish people?

We must say that the main part of repentance is the verbal repentance and regret, plus commitment in our hearts to not commit the sin again. The tzedaka and sacrifices are mearly a means of atonement, which help us on a physical, worldly level to understand the severity of our sins.

Why is our speech and heartfelt commitment more valuable to Hashem then our sacrifice of wealth and property? It is because in truth it is more valuable. Human beings were created in “the image of Hashem,” and our “G-dly essence” is our soul. The Orchos Tzadikim in his last chapter mentions that “Animals, too, possess nefesh and ruach, for lust and anger are found in them as they are in men, but a human being possesses a neshama in addition, which speaks and which distinguishes between truth and falsity.” The Chofetz Chaim takes this concept a step further in his Shmiras HaLashon chapter 30, “And now we should speak about the power of speech, which Hashem naturally endowed within the soul of a person, which make him different than other living creatures. He gave us the power of speech so we can speak to the Holy One Blessed Be He and to delve into His Torah, which is the purpose of creation.”

We see from here that speech is a heavenly and spiritual gift from Hashem to mankind, which means it is infinitely valuable and priceless since it is divine. It is in fact more precious than all the physical silver, gold, and sacrifices that come from the physical world.

This should be a lesson to us in valuing what we say and how we say it. May we merit eloquent speech to come out of our mouths before Hashem this coming Yom Kippur.

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Torah Riddles Test #141

Question 2: Why does the Vilna Gaon hold that you should pick up the lulav and esrog normally, the way the mitzvah is done and then say the blessing? You technically don’t even have to have in mind to not perform the mitzvah until after the blessing is said.

Background:

A. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 651:1) says the mitzvah of lulav and esrog is to take them into your hands.

B. Normally we say the blessing before doing the mitzvah.

C. The language of the blessing on the mitzvah of lulav and esrog is blessing Hashem “on the lulav being taken,” not blessed is Hashem “for taking the lulav.”

 Answer: The Rabbis specifically enacted the blessing to be past tense and not future tense so that it’s inclusive of already having the lulav and esrog already in one’s hands instead needing to pick it up immediately upon saying the blessing, since blessing are usually said with item in hand and then the action is done whereas here the action is done by putting it in his hand so the. Lessing is worded in a fashion where you could say the blessing in a matter which makes sense while still having the mitzvah in your hands (See footnote 42 on page 89 of Dirshum Mishna Berura.)

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Torah Riddles Test #140

1.    Question: Why can one even hire a carpenter i.e. a professional, to build a Sukkah on chol hamoed sukkos but cannot build a fence, even by yourself, on chol hamoed according to the Be’ur Halacha?

Background:

1. The first Be’ur Halacha in siman 540 begins by quoting a Ritva that only by rooftops that are usually not used but the person wants to be extra careful is one forbidden to build a fence around it on chol hamoed but he concludes that other poskim hold that even if the roof top is normally used and there is a definite mitzvah to build the fence still it should not be done on chol hamoed.

 2. The first Be’ur Halacha clearly and unequivocally concludes that no matter if the prohibition of doing expert and craftsman work on chol hamoed is rabbinic or on a Torah level it is permissible to have the sukkah built or fixed because it is for a mitzvah. It can even be fixed at the very end of chol hamoed when you don’t have to potentially use it because the Torah says “The holiday of sukkos you shall make for yourself seven days.” This implies for the entire seven days there is a mitzvah to have the sukkah so you can fix it and build it by anyone at any time of chol hamoed. He also compares building a sukkah to writing a mezuzah or tefillin to be used on chol hamoed which is needed for the need of the mitzvah at that time.


Answer: A fence does not have to be needed on Chol hamoed even if it is a mitzvah to make  because you can just close off the roof for the holiday whereas you need the Sukkah on throughout the holiday and the scenario of the refilling and mezuzah is also where you need them right now during chol hamoed. (Look in footnote 6 of be’ur halacha 540 in Dirshu Mishna Berura and Page 68 footnote 4 on the first Be’ur Halacha of siman 637.)