Torah Riddles Test #122

1.       Question: According to the opinion brought down in the Minchas Chinuch (mitzvah 423) that if you fix tzitzis at night on a day time garment which one corner broke, it is invalid and must be restrung in the day because the night isn’t a time of performing the mitzvah of wearing tzitzis but why then can you bake matzah before Pesach or build a Sukkah before Sukkos?

Background:

A. The issue for not working is the concept of “ta’aseh vilo min ha’asui” which means that there has to be an obligation to do the mitzvah ready to be when you set it up, not set it up beforehand then the obligation comes in. For example you can’t take a rounded garment, which doesn’t have an obligation of tzitzis and put tzitzis on four sides and then cut out four corners so that it would now be obligated in tzitzis after the tzitzis was tied on.

B. What obligates a garment in tzitzis is a four-corner garment but the obligation is only during the day according to most opinions.

C. There is a difference between a passive exemption and an active exemption.

                   Answer: By tzitzis the exemption of night time is actively exempting one from a potentially preexisting obligation, therefore the concept of taaseh vilo min ha’asuy kicks in because there is an obligation that can be fixed so it has to be fixed when the time is appropriate but by shofar and sukkah there isn’t an obligation before the Yom Tov so passively time just happened to not cause the obligation to kick in but since it is not actively stopping it then preparations can be made to prepare for the mitzvah to take place when the time comes for the obligation to kick in.

Torah Riddles Test #121

2.       Question: If a person who isn’t sure whether he said birkas hamazon should say it again because this blessing comes from the Torah and when in doubt you have to be strict and say it again, yet the Shaarie Teshuva (Orach Chaim 184:4:1) says he cannot say birkas hamazon for others because we are only strict about fulfilling a Torah level doubt on a Rabbinic level so the person in doubt has a lower level obligation then the one who has a definite obligation to say birkas hamazon and can’t say it for the definite. However the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 197) says that one who ate a kazayis (olive bulk) of bread who has a rabbinic level obligation to say birkas hamazon can say birkas hamazon for a person who ate bread to satiation who has a Torah level obligation to say birkas hamazon, what’s the difference?

Background:

A.      The parameters for obligating oneself to say birkas hamazon is the same regardless whether it’s because he is satiated or he ate a kazayis, the eating obligates the blessing.

B.      The parameters that obligate a person to say bikas hamazon in doubt or definitely are different. Explain why and how that makes for a difference.

 Answer: The obligation of one who definitely needs to say birkas hamazon stems from the fact he ate whether it was a kazayis or to satiation it is all the same thing but the obligation to say birkas hamazon in doubt stems from the fact that the rabbis said you should still say birkas hamazon even if you are in doubt so it is a separate type of obligation therefore one cannot say it for the other since they have different obligations.

Torah Riddles Test #120

1.       Questions: What would be the difference between a Jew and non-Jew together tying tzitzis and them together shechting an animal?

Background:

A.      The case by shechting is where they are both holding onto the knife when slaughtering where the Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah 2:11 says it is no good.

B.      You need an action of a kosher shechita done by a Jew but it does not transform the animal in any way but by tzitzis the four cornered garment is transformed into a tzitzis garment and the action required to be done by a Jew is just the means to transform it into a kosher tzitzis garment.

C.      Why then would it be alright if a non-Jew made the tzitzis with the Jew even if it would not work by shechting the animal?

 Answer: Since what is required by shechting is a kosher action then the whole action must be done only by a Jew according to the Shulchan Aruch. But by tzitzis you just need a garment of tzitzis made by a Jew and it was made by a Jew a non-Jew was just involved as well.

Torah Riddles Test #119

Question: What is the difference between a sefer Torah on Shabbos found to be invalid but fixable where the Beis Yosef in the name of Rashba (See Taz Orach Chaim 32:18) says one can still use it still since it is fixable it’s as if it’s already fixed but if one hears Kaddish or Kedusha while davening Shemone Esray and waits silently until it is over then it is not as if one said it according to many Rishonim as brought in the Ra”n in Sukkah 38b even though we should apply the same logic that if one has a problem and can potentially fix it it’s as if he did it even before fixing it?

Background:

A.      The Bach says that “Kol Ha raui libila ein bilah mi’akeves” applies by the sefer Torah even if you aren’t allowed to fix it on Shabbos because there is nothing stopping the Torah from being fixed just a scribe cannot violate Shabbos.

B.      Why not say the same by a person davening Shemone esray that the person can really say the kedusha or kaddish but his shemone esray is just stopping him from saying it so by being silent it is as if he said the kedusha or kaddish?

 A2. Only by sefer Torah where nothing is stopping the sefer Torah just the person can’t fix it on Shabbos do we say that it is as if it is fixed but the same person who can’t talk because something is stopping him from doing so can physically talk if he wanted to, so it is not as if he said it.

Torah Riddles Test #118

1.       Question: According to the Ra”n and Rema (Orach Chaim 38:8) who says if one is involved in a mitzvah he is exempt from another mitzvah even if you can fulfill both of them then why should one stop and say kedusha if he is in the middle of reciting the Shema?

Background:

A.      The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 66:1) poskins that one can pause in reciting the Shema to say shalom to a person passing by who he reveres, for example his father or rebbe.

Answer: If one has an obligation to say shalom to a person he fears all the more so he should recite kedusha if the minyan is up to there in order to give honor to Hashem. The Mishna Berura there (19) says that if one pauses to say hello to a person all the more so for the sake of honoring Hashem. Therefore it has nothing to do with the concept of being involved in one mitzvah exempts one from another mitzvah.

Torah Riddles Test #117

2.       Question: According to the opinion brought in the Magen Avraham (Orach Chaim 637) who says one is allowed to steal from a non-Jew but it is not considered yours, meaning the non-Jew still owns it, why would a lost object of a non-Jew which we poskin a Jew is allowed to keep be any different since the Divrei Chaim and Gilyon Maharsha both say the lost object of a non-Jew is considered ownerless even before he gives up on it. Why is the lost object of a non-Jew owned by the Jew if he finds and takes it but if a Jew steals from a non-Jew even if it is permissible why does it still belong to the non-Jew (as long as he does not give up on it)?

Background:

A. One small hint, but why does it make for a difference: When the non-Jew’s object got into the hands of the Jew by the lost object the non-Jew didn’t have it but when it got into the hands of Jew when stealing it was in the hands of the non-Jew.

 Answer: Because the object was in the non-Jew’s hands that gives him ownership and keeps it with him even after it is stolen since he had control over the object but the lost object, the non-Jew has no control over the object therefore there is nothing to link ownership to him.

Torah Riddles Test #116

1.       Question: It is explained in Bava Metzi’a 33a that if you can only save one lost object flowing down a stream or in a fire etc., either yours or your friend, yours comes first. For the verse “There shall not be a pauper among you” teaches us that your stuff comes before anyone else’s. But why is the mitzvah of returning a lost object different than any other mitzvah where we poskin that we must be willing to spend up to a fifth of our property to perform the mitzvah? The same thing should be true by the mitzvah of returning a lost object, that one should forgo his object if it’s value is less than a fifth of his entire property in order to save and give back his friends object to fulfill the mitzvah!? Why does what obligate the mitzvah of returning a lost object not trigger the obligation of spending up to a fifth but other mitzvos like tzedaka does?

Background:

A. The obligation of spending up to a fifth of one’s property to fulfill a positive mitzvah applies in a case like tzedaka where what obligates a person to give is the poverty of his friend.

B. What obligates the mitzvah of returning a lost object is the loss of Jewish money.

Answer: Loss of money is only an exemption from doing the mitzvah and by giving tzedaka for example that exemption is only applied by spending more than a fifth. But by returning a lost object which the Torah says your lost object is more important than your friends then what is obligating the mitzvah of returning the lost object is not there to require you to spend more than a fifth.

Torah Riddles Test #115

Question: If a bris falls out on a Sunday during the mourning time of the Omer, the Chasam Sofer says one cannot shave Erev Shabbos but if Lag B’omer falls out on Sunday then the Rema says one can shave on Erev Shabbos. What is the difference between a bris and Lag B’omer?

Background:

A.      The Rema (Orach Chaim 493:2) says that one should not cut his hair until Lag B’omer itself, but not by evening, however if it falls out on Sunday there is a custom to cut hair on Friday in honor of Shabbos. And one who is making a bris for his son can cut his hair during sefira in honor of the bris. The Mishna Berura (13) adds that the father, sandek and mohel can get a haircut the night before he goes to shul between mincha and maariv. If the bris is on Shabbos he is permitted to get a haircut the day before even before chatzos, midday.   

Answer: See Dirshu footnote 27 that the difference between a bris and Lag B’omer is that a bris is only a yom tov, joyous occasion for the individual whereas Lag B’omer is a yom tov for everyone.

Torah Riddles Test #114

  Question: Why does the Magen Avraham (Orach Chaim 494:1) and others say you cannot fast on Shavuos a taanis chalom, fast after a bad dream, but can fast on other yom tovim and Shabbos?       

Background:

A.      A taanis chalom is fasted by an individual if he is so unsettled about a dream one has that he feels he must fast as an atonement to relieve his anguish. He is even allowed to do so on Shabbos and Yom Tov, though he has a mitzvah to delight on these days and is forbidden to fast, but in this case fasting is what brings this anguished person to delight so he is permitted to do so.

B.      The Gemara in Pesachim 68b says that everyone agrees that on Shavuos one must dedicate part of the day to “lachem” to oneself, in delighting in the day and not just learning and praying the whole day. Rashi there explains that one should be joyous with food and drink to show how one is satisfied and accepts the day the Torah was given. Even learning Torah the whole day would not suffice.   

                                                                                                                   

Answer: On Shavuos one is obligated to share with others your enjoyment over accepting the Torah which is  clearly seen by having a meal, it is not enough to learn Torah the whole day, or to fast even though they both bring delight for the person.     (See Dirshu Mishna Berura 594:3:11:17.)   

Torah Riddles Test #113

  1. Question: Why should you bury the dead and then eat the yom tov meal on second day yom tov if he or she died the night before, or everything was ready quickly if the person died in the morning but on the eve of Pesach you should first eat then bury the dead?

Background:

  1. Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 526:12) says when a person dies on the night of the second day of yom tov they should get up early and bury the person before they daven. If the person dies in the morning they should bury the person after they eat the yom tov meal. The Mishna Berura (52) adds that nevertheless if everything is ready, the hole is dug and the rags he is buried in are ready so it’s possible to bury the person before eating without stopping the joy of yom tov, then it is better to bury before eating because a Medrish on the verse “don’t eat on the blood” says that it is forbidden to eat a set meal before burying the dead.
  2. The Mishna Berura (443:6) points out that on Erev Pesach it says it is not appropriate to eat a meal and then bury the dead. It does not say it is forbidden, and if there is no time to eat chometz before the time it becomes forbidden then certainly, they can eat before burying the dead. The Shaar Hatzion (9) explains there that it is not a disgrace to the dead person if they eat before burial, why not?

Answer: . There is no disgrace to eat chometz before erev Pesach before burying the dead because if they bury the dead first they might be in more of a rush because they would be concerned about eating chometz too late, or it might actually happen that they eat chometz when they aren’t supposed to because they buried the dead first which is more of a disgrace. This problem does not exist on yom tov itself, even if they might rush to finish in order to enjoy there meal, that isn’t a concern because they have the whole day to eat, they aren’t timebound as by chometz on erev Pesach.