Author: Rabbi Milder

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Torah Riddles Test #112

  1. Question: Why does the Shulchan Aruch hold on the second day of yom tov one can cut a branch off a myrtle tree to place the branch on a coffin for a burial but one cannot tear his shirt over the dead until after yom tov?

Background:

  1. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 526:4) holds that on the second day of yom tov which is only rabbinic, Jews can bury the dead because the rabbis didn’t enact the yom tov when the mitzvah and respect of burying the dead is required. The Rema holds that if at all possible, the burial should be done by non-Jews, whatever they can do, with Jews just directing what should be done, anything else the non-Jew can’t do the Jews can do.
  2. The Mishna Berura (18) in regard to the myrtle branch says that in places where there is a custom to place a myrtle branch on the coffin, even though it is not part of the main mitzvah of burial, but because it is an honor to the dead it’s allowed.
  3. The Shulchan Aruch says in 526:11 that one should not tear kriah over the dead on the second day of yom tov, even his relatives.

Answer: The Mishna Berura (50) says that tearing clothes over the dead is not for the need of the dead. It is for the mourners to grieve whereas breaking off the myrtle branch to place on the coffin is an honor for the dead and therefore can be done as part of the burial.

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Behar/Bechukosai – Distribution of Money

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.

Hashem clearly intended for some people to be wealthy and others to be poor, with a certain purpose in mind. Believe it or not, Rebbe Yehoshua taught: “the poor does more for the rich than the rich do for the poor” (Vayikra Rabba, parshas Behar 34:8). The Etz Yosef there explains that when one gives tzedakah to a poor person, the poor person accepts it from him, and the giver accepts [reward] from Hashem. The Yefe Toar adds that this reward is in this world, for through supporting the poor person Hashem blesses his money and puts life into him. (Click here for Hebrew text.)

In the first portion of the double Torah portion of Behar and Bechukosai which concludes Sefer Vayikra, we find the mitzvah of supporting your fellow Jew in need: “If your brother becomes destitute and his hand falters beside you, you shall support him [whether] a convert or a resident, so that he can live with you” (Vayikra 25:35).

The Medrish Tanchuma brings a similar pasuk from Mishley related to this pasuk in our Torah portion. “Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the poor man in the gate. For Hashem will fight for their cause and rob those who rob them, of life” (Mishlei 22: 23, 24). Hashem said to the Jewish people ‘do not rob a poor man because he is poor, for I made him poor, and who ever steals from him or mocks him insults The One that made him that way, as if you mock Me, as it says “He who oppresses a poor man blasphemes his Maker, but he who favors a poor man honors Him” (Mishlei 14:31). What does it mean when it says, “Do not rob a poor man,” do people rob from the poor? What is he stealing; he is poor? Rather, he would regularly support him, and one day he retracted support and says ‘how much longer must I support him.’ You refuse to give him, you should know that you are stealing from him, and that’s what it means when it says, ‘Do not rob a poor man;’ rather you should support him for he is not getting it from any place else. “And do not crush the poor man in the gate,” for I will not stop Heaven for you, for they are also called a gate as it says, “And this is the gate of Heaven” (Breishis 28:17). “For Hashem will fight for their cause,” I will fight against you, for I made him poor and you rich, I will switch the broken shard and I will make him rich and you poor, as it says, “A rich man and a poor man were visited upon; the Lord is the Maker of them all’ (Mishlei 22:2). Why does Hashem fight their fight? For you are causing him to lose his life if you do not support him, therefore, “and [I] rob those who rob them, of life.” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
Hashem protects the destitute and avenges those that mistreats them, for He decides who shall be poor and who shall be rich. It is an insult to make fun of or to attack those who are poor, hurling affronts of, ‘Why don’t they just work harder,’ ‘they are filthy, and crazy,’ or ‘they deserve what’s coming to them because they are the dregs of society, those bums.’ But insulting them is insulting The Creator who made them like that. And on the contrary, not helping them by giving them alms when they were constantly supporting them is akin to stealing, and possibly even killing them.

But why is it fair for a hardworking businessman, who has his own family to take care of, also needs to take care of those stricken with poverty? He earned his wealth! Why does he have to spend it on something or someone who is of no use to him? One could understand that a person would, for a while, be willing to do someone a favor and, because it is within his mean, he will continually support the poor person and perhaps his family; but why should he be obligated, to the point that it would be stealing if he discontinued the charity taken from his hard earned money?

The answer is that it is not in fact your money. The money is only deposited with you by Hashem; He can take it back at any moment. The fact  that Hashem blessed you with wealth is so that you can be the beneficiary of helping others in their times of need. Chaza”l say that “Man is born to toil.” The simple understanding of this is that, in fact, it is natural for a person to work hard and put a lot of effort into his job. However, the tasks that he does for others is no more than a kindness. Just like Hashem provides and sustains us, so too we must emulate Hashem, or in fact act as Hashem’s messengers to help other people fulfill their needs and desires. The payment we receive for our jobs are just the money we are rewarded with for helping others. It is only deposited with us by Hashem in order to provide the essentials for ourselves and our family, as well as to reinvest into the world where it is needed; meaning it is not rightfully yours to just keep and collect. (See also the 19th reminder inOrchos Tzadikim chapter of remembrance.)

One is expected to fulfill his potential in life. Everyone is given certain strengths that they are provided with by Hashem and they should hew them and thereby maximize one’s potential and success in sharing them with the public in order to walk in the ways of Hashem by doing acts of mercy and kindness. Whatever is received in return is just a blessing from Hashem for helping others.

With this attitude it will be much easier to give tzedakah. But there are times when those who seek charity are dishonest, and there is a lesson to be learned even with those type of people, for the Medrish Rabba says that one must show gratitude towards tricksters, for if not for them, if a person would ask for money and one hesitates or refuses to give he really deserve to die (Vayikra Rabba 34:10). The Etz Yosef explains that the actuality of the matter is that many people turn away from giving to the poor, and the punishment isn’t so great; therefore it must be because there are many dishonest people who try to collect money, but when they don’t need it, people are more hesitant to give in general. (Click here for Hebrew text.)

But even so they should be giving, since the money is not really theirs; it is all Hashem’s, and not giving to those that do need it is stealing. Therefore we have an obligation to show gratitude to these swindlers for saving us from  bigger trouble that should have been coming to us.. 

Bottom line everything comes from Hashem and we must show gratitude and use what you have wisely.

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Sefer Chofetz Chaim chapter 5 halacha 3

Name calling is worse than other forms of lashon hara like telling others about sins a person did. For example, calling someone stupid. People will listen to the name caller it seems to be human nature. But when a person talks about the actions someone else did the people listening make up excuses for what they heard or don’t believe that is really what happened even if it is true, but maybe it was taken out of context.

The Chofetz Chaim does say there is one instance where name calling is allowed and even a mitzvah! When two people are in a fight over what someone said or did to the other and you go over to the one it was done to and say, ‘He wasn’t acting malicious he is just stupid.’ If that will ease the tension and dissipate the fight, then it’s a tremendous mitzvah!

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Torah Riddles Test #111

2.    Question: Why does the Kaf HaChaim say in one halacha that if one asks, is today the 8th of the Omer and it really is then he can still say a blessing and count the Omer but if he was learning the halacha in the evening before he counted and reads “on the eighth day one should say ‘today is the 8th day which is one week and one day of the omer’” then there is an argument whether you fulfilled the mitzvah at that point and you should count without a blessing?

Background:

A. The Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 489:4 says that if one asks you by twilight what is tonight’s count of the Omer, tell him yesterday’s count, for if you say today is so and so you will not be able to count with a blessing. The Mishna Berura (20) adds that even if you say it in your own language. But if you don’t say “today is” rather just the number that is fine because the main mitzvah of counting is to say, “today is so and so”.

B. The Kaf HaChaim says that if on the night of Lag B’omer one tells his friend ‘Do not say tachanun the next day because today is Lag B’omer’ he has no intention of saying the day’s count, rather he is just saying that today is a day we don’t say tachanun, therefore he has not fulfilled his mitzvah yet and he can declare the 33rd day of the Omer with a blessing.

 Answer: It is not the way to count by asking a question therefore it doesn’t count and you can definitely still count with a blessing but when you read the count of the day in your learning then there is a question of whether you did the mitzvah because you read it the normal way you would declare that day. (See Dirshu Mishna Berura 489:4:20:56)

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Torah Riddles Test #110

1.    Question: Why are there some poskim who hold that if one isn’t sure whether he fulfilled the mitzvah of Omer or not he should still say a blessing and count the Omer for that night but they would also hold that a tumtum should not say a blessing upon putting on tzitzis?

Background:

A. A tumtum is a person born without clear signs of genitalia, it might be the person has to much fat or skin in the area to make a judgment whether it is female or male therefore there is a halachic doubt whether it is obligated in the mitzvah of tzitzis, so he should wear the tzitzis in doubt but should not say a blessing because, safek brachos lihakel, we are lenient to not say a blessing when in doubt lest we might say Hashem’s name in vain.

B. Shouldn’t this opinion, also be concerned that the person might have said the Omer already and saying a blessing potentially again might constitute saying Hashem’s name in vain so when in doubt don’t make the blessing?

Answer: This opinion holds that when there is a doubt of whether there is a mitzvah to begin with then one should not say a blessing but by this case of the Omer there was a definite obligation the only question is whether it was fulfilled yet or not therefore he holds a blessing should still be said since a definite obligation exists.(See Dirshu Mishna Berura footnote 41 on Be’ur Halacha 489:1 “moneh viholech”)

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Emor – Tapping into the Miracles and Wonders of the Almighty


Our Father In Heaven, Hashem Almighty, yearns and desires to share his wonders and miracles with His children. But we are only befitting and compatible to accept and see open and direct Divine intervention when it is suited and deserving for us to receive it. The Torah in this week’s portion of Emor relates several mitzvos that are related to the sacrificial service at the end of perek 22: “And Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall remain under its mother for seven days, and from the eighth day onwards, it shall be accepted as a sacrifice for a fire offering to the Lord. An ox or sheep you shall not slaughter it and its offspring in one day. And when you slaughter a thanksgiving offering to Hashem, you shall slaughter it so that it should be acceptable for you. It shall be eaten on that day; do not leave it over until morning. I am the Lord. You shall keep My commandments and perform them. I am the Lord. You shall not desecrate My Holy Name. I shall be sanctified amidst the children of Israel. I am the Lord Who sanctifies you, Who took you out of the land of Egypt, to be a God to you. I am the Lord” (Vayikra 22:26-33).
The Sforno has a lengthy commentary on the connection of each of these mitzvos, as well as the mitzvos discussed at the beginning of the portion discussing blemishes that prevent an animal to be offered on the alter: “’A bull or sheep,’ after mentioning the various types of blemishes which invalidate sanctified animals from being offered on the alter, even though at times the perfect animal may be worth a sela while the blemished one, because of size and fat, is worth two; and at times the blemish may even be considered an advantage, as when brought as a gift to a human king; still it is invalid as a sacrifice to Hashem because ‘The Rock His work is perfect’ (Devarim 32:4). He desires the perfection and completeness of the offering and of the one who offers it; the offering must possess its natural completeness and the one offering it must possess Divine completeness, to be like his Creator as much as possible. Now the Torah says similarly, regarding the limits of time which Hashem established, that one is not permitted to add or subtract from them. (A) The Torah mentions the prohibition of sacrificing an animal without waiting the minimum [of 7 days] period from birth, (B) the prohibition of slaughtering a cow and its young on the same day, (C) and the prohibition against intending to eat the sacrifices after the allotted time (pigul), which includes even sacrifices of lesser sanctity. (D) The Torah then mentions the thanksgiving offering, for even though it is included in the category of the peace offering, its time limit for consumption is only one day and one night, not two days and one night as is true by other peace offerings. ‘You shall sacrifice it, that you may be accepted… On the same day it shall be eaten.’ It must be your will and intention at the time you bring the sacrifice that it be eaten that day, and this is because ‘I am Hashem.’ I perform My deeds with perfection and set a limit to completeness without tolerating anything more or less. ‘And you shall not profane My Holy Name.’ Since you see the completeness of My work, therefore you who are sanctified to walk in My ways, ‘do not profane My Holy Name through faulty and disgraceful deeds, similar to, ‘And when they came to the nations, into which they came, they profaned My Holy Name’ (Yechezkel 36:20). ‘And I
will be sanctified among the Children of Israel’ to perform wonders for them as I vowed, saying, ‘Behold I make a covenant, before all your people I will do marvels’ (Shemos 34:20); the reason for this is because indeed, ‘I am Hashem Who sanctifies you. Who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your G-d’ to lead you without any intermediary, as is the rule with those ‘separated from corporeality’, providing you walk in My holy ways, as it says, ‘Learn not the ways of the nations and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven’ (Yirmiyahu 10:2). ‘I am Hashem’ Who is unchangeable, and I will act towards you as in the past as long as your sins do not create a barrier between you and your G-D, as it says, ‘As in the days of your coming out of the land of Egypt I will show him marvelous things’ (Michah 7:15).” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
Hashem, who is eternal and perfect, only expects perfection to be offered to Him, which mean an animal may not have a physical blemish. Though it might be less valuable, or the blemish might even be pleasing to some human beings who are even kings. Also, a lack of perfection in time, be it late or early, can disqualify a sacrifice. Even if this is an inconvenience to the one offering it; maybe he was in a rush and felt he had to bring a sacrifice which was born a couple of days ago instead of waiting the seven days before the animal is old enough to be sacrificed, or maybe after the sacrifice was performed and the rest is eaten by him or the kohen he wanted to share his holy food with more friends who would be coming in a few days but that would be beyond the allotted time of eating the offering. Either way, adding or detracting from the exact time Hashem, with His all knowing completely Divine knowledge, calculated and set, is a sin. Because it detracts from perfection, and Hashem by definition is perfect, and our goal must be to emulate Him and strive for perfection. We have to be very careful, for even when we are not just involved in Divine Holy service but we “see,” realize, and appreciate the value of following Hashem in His perfection, we still have to be extremely careful to not fall into the trap of being attracted to foreign influences. Though they might make sense andmight even be good intentions, it still by definition falls short of perfection since they are only using their finite understandings and beliefs to live their lives. They are not being guided by the Holy and Divine principles of perfection supplemented by the Torah. What is very important to note however, is that Hashem is unchanging. He is ready and yearning to show His wonders and inner secrets with those who are on the same wavelength, so to speak, as Him. If we act within the boundaries of holiness and not sin, Hashem will reveal Himself and his miraculous deeds at greater length towards us. Indeed, the opposite is true as well, as the Chovos Halevavos in the beginning of the introduction to his chapter on Trust in Hashem says: “The benefits in religious matters: Among them, peace of mind, and trusting in G-d as a servant must trust in his master. Because if one does not place his trust in G-d, he will place his trust in something else, and whoever trusts in something other than G-d, the Al-mighty will remove His providence from such a person, and leave him in the hands of the one he trusted…” Therefore one must expect that the more holy one is, meaning the greater trust one has in
Hashem, and the more careful he is to follow Hashem’s Torah and mitzvos, the more Hashem will “reveal” Himself to that person. But if one is not careful with his holiness, and he profanes Hashem’s name by sinning and not trusting in Hashem to the utmost, then Hashem puts him, or lets him fall into, the hands of those people or ideologies he chooses to follow. If one is seeking miracles and Divine interventions, or to know his prayers are answered with crystal clear clarity then one should strive for holiness and perfection, in order to be in synch with his Creator but if not… as it says in Makkos 10b, בדרך שאדם רוצה לילך בה מוליכין אותו “along the path a person wishes to proceed, He leads and assists him.”

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Sefer Chofetz Chaim perek 5 halacha 2

The Chofetz Chaim reemphasizes very strongly how severe of a problem it is to speak badly about someone whether it is true or not true. To put down someone in front of others because he has a character flaw, whether he is not smart or strong or wealthy or any other flaw, even if it is true, if there is no positive gain in telling other’s about it constitutes lashon hara on a Torah level because since by speaking in this way you are hurting someone in some fashion, be it monetarily, physically, or emotionally by embarrassing him, making him depressed or even scaring him. For example if you say this person isn’t so rich then people might not be willing to invest with him or partner in a business with him. If you say someone is nit strong people might take advantage of him or bully him etc. etc. 

The Chofetz Chaim says the worst insult one can give a person is to say he is not smart. To call a Rabbi, Rav, Rebbe, or Posek not smart is incredibly bad because not only might he lose his job and you are ruining him and his family if he is ran out if town, but you are degrading the honor of Torah because people won’t listen to him if he is trying to correct others who are not observing the Torah correctly since people will say why should we listen to him, he does not know what he is talking about. What will result is in people not observing the Torah correctly.

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Torah Riddles Test #109

  1. Question: Why isn’t it a disruption between the blessing and the mitzvah if he said the wrong number then corrected himself?

Background:

  1. The Be’ur Halacha (25:9 “Vi’im hifsik”) says that even if one speaks one word between the blessing and mitzvah it is considered a disruption and you must say another blessing before performing the mitzvah, normally.
  2. You don’t have to say the blessing over again only if you realized immediately, toch kidei dibur, your mistake but if you realized a few seconds too late it is as if you finished the mitzvah (albeit in the wrong way) and what you said is a disruption so even in this case you would have to say another blessing and count correctly.

Answer: . As long as you are within toch kidei dibur you are trying to fulfill the mitzvah so you verbal action is still attached to the blessing you are just stumbling to say it correctly, that is not considered a disruption because you ae still involved in trying to perform the mitzvah.

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Torah Riddles Test #108

  1. Question:  If a person counted correctly but then immediately thought he counted wrong and “corrected” himself within toch kidei dibur, why does his counting still count?

Background:

  1. Toch kidei dibur is a halachic axiom that if one immediately corrects himself it is as if the first statement he says was never said and we go with the second statement. This is as long as the correction was made within the time it takes to say “shalom aleichem rebbe umoreh”.
  2. There is an argument between Rav Shlomo Zalman Aurbach zt”l and Rav Elyashiv zt”l whether toch kidei dibur could be applied to ruin something, or it just works to fix a mistake one said by accident. But in this case they will both agree for the same reason that switching the number immediately after one said the correct number of the omer will not erase what he originally said.
  3. The correction was a mistake, though if you did it you can still continue counting with a blessing the next night since the mistake does not count but Rav Elyashiv said you should count again without a blessing when you realize the mistake you made, though you don’t have to.

Answer: When you say the wrong number by the omer after you say the correct number it’s a complete mistake which you didn’t intend because you want to do the right count but according to Rav Aurbach when he says you can ruin something toch kidei dibur that is when there is some level of intent. It is not a complete mistake.

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Acharei Mos/Kedoshim – Can Fear of Heaven be Measured?

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.

This dvar Torah is based on part of a shmuz given by Rav Moshe Chait zt”l, who was Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim Yerushalayim, zechus yagen aleinu.

When speaking in terms of Fear of Heaven, Yiras Shamayim, if a person is a real Yirei Shamayim he will do a mitzvah at the highest level he can reach.

There is a story of a new yeshiva student in Slobodka who was entrenched in his frumkeit, and would daven very loud in a minyan. The Alter of Slobodka, Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, asked one of his students to pass by this yeshiva bachur’s room one time when he was davening alone to see if he davens very loudly alone too.

There is an expression in the world called Yiras Shamayim, people are called “Big Yirei Shamayim” but what kind of instrument is used to measure Fear of Heaven?
This week is the double Torah portions of Achrei Mos and Kedoshim in the portion of Kedoshim in one of the pesukim it says, “You shall not curse a deaf person. You shall not place a stumbling block before a blind person, and you shall fear your G-D. I am Hashem” (Vayikra 19:14).
Rashi on this pasuk writes, “and you shall fear your God: [Why is this mentioned here?] Because this matter [of misadvising someone] is not discernible by people, whether this person had good or evil intentions, and he can avoid [being recriminated by his victim afterwards] by saying, “I meant well!” Therefore, concerning this, it says, “and you shall fear your God,” Who knows your thoughts! Likewise, concerning anything known to the one who does it, but to which no one else is privy, Scripture says, “and you shall fear your God.” – [Torath Kohanim 19:34]”
Rashi explains that this person is not literally blind, but, for example, he does not know how to conduct his business affairs properly. So one should not give him bad advice, such as if  someone were to ask if he should sell his field and his friend says I’ll buy it for a donkey. The friend’s intent was only for his own gain, to acquire the land.

About this kind of thing the Torah says: “And you shall fear Hashem your G-D.” These kind of cases could turn out badly and someone will lose, but the person who gave the advice will say ‘It is not my fault, I only tried to help, I am your friend,’ when in fact he purposefully thwarted his plans. No one will ever know what his real intentions were. That is why it says “and you shall fear Hashem your G-D;” for He knows.

Later in the perek it says, “Before an elder you shall stand and you shall glorify the face of a sage, and you shall fear your G-D, I am Hashem” (Vayikra 19:32). 

Rashi on this pasuk points out, “one might think that he may close his eyes [when the elder approaches], as if he did not see him [and thus evade the obligation to rise before him]! Therefore Scripture adds here, “and you shall fear your God,” for this matter is privately known to the one who commits it, and no one knows about it except the person himself, and, concerning any matter known only in the heart [of one person,], Scripture says, “and you shall fear your God,” [for God knows man’s thoughts]. — [Torath Kohanim 19:80; Kid. 31b, 32b]”
What are a person’s real intentions? When an old person or a sage walks by he looks away and claims he never saw him, but what was he really thinking? Fear of Heaven is purely a private experience between man and Hashem so no one can really claim this guy is a big Yirei Shamayim. Only Hashem knows and any one that tries to judge is acting like they are G-D.

The Alter of Slobodka said that Yiras Shamayim is pure ruchniyus, unadulterated spirituality, and one cannot measure pure ruchniyus.