Tag: mishmor shaaloh

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Torah Riddles #220

Question: Why does the Aderes hold you can say a regular refua shleima, that you would say during the week, to a sick person you are visiting on Yom Tov?

Background:

A.    The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 287:1) says that one can comfort mourners on Shabbos and can also visit the sick. But he should not say to a sick person the same thing he would say during the week, but rather, “Shabbos one should not cry out, and the healing should come near…” (Shabbos hee mi’lizok u’refuah krova lavo…)

B.     The Dirshu Mishna Berura (footnote 1 here) brings a Shevet Yehuda which explains that through screaming out in anguish over one who is sick , one will ask for mercy to Hashem for the sick person. This is considered asking for personal needs which is forbidden on Shabbos. The Mekor Hachaim says the same expression we say on Shabbos should be said on Yom Tov. However the Aderes argues.

C.     We are more lenient on Yom tov to ask for personal need (at least in specific circumstances) as we say the prayer of “Ribono Shel Olam” when we take out the Torah.

 Answer: Since on yom tov we are more lenient to ask for personal needs then on Shabbos that is why saying refuah shleima would be permissible on yom tov, even though we don’t ask for our own personal need at the end of Shemone esray on Yom Tov. We only beseech the prayers that were officially set up by Chaza”l.

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Torah Riddles #219

 Question: Why does Rav Shlomo Zalman Aurbach poskin that you should say shehecheyanu on a new tallis after you say the bracha on the tallis but for a new fruit you first say shehecheyanu then the bracha on the fruit to eat it?

Background:

A. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 225:3) says that one who sees a new fruit formed from year to year blesses a shehecheyanu. Even if he sees it in his friend’s hand or on the tree. Our custom is to make the blessing when we eat it.

B. The Mishna Berura (10) says that the main enactment of saying shehecheyanu for a fruit is because of the joy in one’s heart that one feels over the sprouting (or ripening) of a new fruit. In Mishna Berura (11) he says that the reason for the custom of saying shehecheyanu by eating it is because if one doesn’t get joy out of seeing it he will certainly get joy out of eating it. The Pri Megadim says that ideally one should make the blessing of shehecheyanu first then the blessing on the fruit and eat it, or make the blessing on the fruit, take a small bite then say shehecheyanu, but technically if you say the blessing on the fruit then shehecheyanu, and then take a bite that is fine too.

 C. The enjoyment of a new tallis is a personal enjoyment.

Answer: Since the enjoyment of a tallis is personal then he has to first wear it to enjoy it then he can say shehecheyanu but by a fruit where the shehecheyanu is for the new fruit that sprout which is an enjoyment for any Jew, it’s not personal, therefore the blessing of shehecheyanu comes first even if you will be saying it when you eat it.

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Torah Riddles #218

Question: Why does Rav Elyashiv say frozen chicken, even if it won’t defrost by itself in a room temperature room is not muktzah on Shabbos?

Background:

A. The Mishna Berura 308:31:125 says that there are people who eat or just swallow raw meat even if not salted. As long as the blood on the outside is washed off it is kosher because the blood on the inside is kosher until it comes out. Therefore, the raw meat is not muktzah. This type of meat that can be swallowed is dove or chick meat. Even if it is spoiled it is not muktzah because it can be eaten by the dogs.

 B. Rav Shmuel Wasner poskins that if the meat was frozen then it is definitely muktzah if it won’t defrost until after shabbos.

 Answer: If one can hasten the defrosting then it is not muktzah, for example by soaking it in water or putting it on a heating element like a heater or anything which wouldn’t cook it. (See Dirshu footnote #127, in the back page 31.)

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Torah Riddles #217

Question: Why doesn’t a person go blind after taking 500 big steps?

Background:

 A. The Mishna Berura (301:1:1) Says , based on a pasuk, “And he shall honor it from what he does on your ways” refers to the fact that the way you walk on Shabbos should not be the way you walk during the week, for it is the way of people to rush and run to their business. And even during the week one shouldn’t take big steps because it takes 1/500th away of one’s eyesight. It just that on Shabbos there is also a prohibition dating back from the times of the prophets.

B. Tosfos in Taanis 10b “p’sia” says that only the first step will take away eyesight because it’s only 1/500 each big step.

 Answer: Either you can say he gets used to taking big steps so the eyes adjust or every beginning if something is harsh but after continuing then each steps gets weaker and weaker and only takes 1/500 of the previous 1/500th that was lost.

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Torah Riddles #216

1.       Question: Why do friends of the Chosson put on tefillin now a days (from time of the Rema) throughout sheva brachos even though it’s possible they might get drunk and are then forbidden to don tefillin?

Background:

A. In the Mishna Berura (38:7) the Mechaber writes that a chosson and his friends who are joyous with him and all those connected to the chupa are exempt from tefillin because it’s possible that it will lead to drunkenness and lightheaded atmosphere.

B. The Chofetz Chaim in Mishna Berura (23) says that the Teshuvas Rema (132) poskins that now a days where even the chosson is required to say krias Shema and shemone esray (see siman 70), then automatically the chosson and anyone associated with the chupa are obligated in putting on tefillin. The Olas Tamid and Birkay Yosef poskin like this Rema.

C. Concept in halacha that if you are involved with one mitzvah you are exempt from the other. D. The Shulcham Aruch says 70:3 that if one marries a virgin, he is exempt from saying krias shema the first 3 days of marriage because he is too busy being involved with the mitzva of marriage. But that was originally, but now a days where people normally do not have proper intent in the davening any ways then even a chosson says the shema.

  Answer: The level of fulfilling a mitzvah is lower now a days so just as the chosson cannot fulfill his mitzvah to the biggest capacity so too his friends don’t have the heter to drink since they are expected to fulfill their mitzvah to the highest capacity.

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Torah Riddles #214

Question: Why when you forget to say Birkas haTorah ahava rabba can count as saying Birkas haTorah only if you learn immediately after davening but let say you slept the whole entire day and didn’t say Birkas haTorah but davened mincha/maariv early with a minyan before it was dark, then the Shema counts as learning after Ahavas olam? 

Background:

A. The Mishna Berura 47:7:13 says the blessing of ‘Ahavas Olam’ takes care of birkas haTorah if you learn immediately after davening without any interruptions. This applies in the morning (for Ashkenazim we say ‘ahava rabba’) or in the evening, for example if someone took a few hour nap in tbe day according to the opinion you have to birkas HaTorah and even those that are lenient it does not hurt to have in mind birkas haTorah when saying ‘ahavas olam’ during maariv.

B. The Mishna Berura (17) says that the reason why you have to learn right after davening is because it’s not apparent you are saying ahava rabba for the mitzva of learning Torah since it’s being said during another mitzvah, of davening. Rav Elyashiv adds that even though Shema can be considered Torah learning but because it’s being said for another mitzvah of krias Shema, which is a mitzva to be recited in the morning and at night once it is dark and the stars are out, and the bracha at the end of ahava rabba does not talk about learning Torah rather the love of Hashem for the Jews then without learning right after davening it’s not apparent it was said for Birkas haTorah.

 Answer: The Dirshu (note 22) quotes a Teshuvas Hisorirus that because you recited Shema of maariv too early and it would have to be repeated once it got dark then it is apparent that the paragraph of Ahavas olam was said for Birkas haTorah and the Shema was used for learning.

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Torah Riddles #213

Question: Why can you hold your lulav and esrog during davening, including shema and shemone esray but you can’t hold your tefillin in your hands, or a knife , plate full of stuff, or bread, neither can you hold your lulav and esrog while learning Torah, what is the difference?

Background:

A. Rashi in Sukkah 41b says you’ll be afraid the knife will fall on your foot, the plate full of stuff will spill, and if the bread falls it will become disgusting. But if the lulav and especially esrog falls it might become unkosher?

B. Love for the mitzvah not a burden

C.תלמוד תורה כנגד כולם

  Answer: The taking and holding of the lulav and esrog is the mitzvah and because of the love to perform the mitzvah it is not considered a burden therefore you won’t be distracted during davening but holding tefillin or the knife, bread and plate is a burden and will be a weight and distraction during davening which will not allow him to concentrate properly. By Torah learning since he will get so involved in his learning and will get distracted from the mitzvah of lulav and esrog and they might fall out of his hands therefore he should give it to someone else to hold while learning. (See Rashis there.)

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Torah Riddles Test #209

 2.      Question: Why does the prohibition of mechamer only apply to animals but not to slaves?

Background:

A. The melacha of Mechamer is the prohibition to command or lead your animal to do a melacha for you, for example instructing your donkey to walk while it has packages on it’s back or while a hoe is attached to it and inevitably the ground will be plowed.

B. There is a positive mitzvah on the owner to rest one’s animal and slave on Shabbos. The question is why doesn’t the negative mitzvah also apply for the slave?

C. A slave has free choice but an animal doesn’t, however when a slave does listen to the master it should be no different than the animal?

 D. The Ra”n and Rashba, arguing on the Minchas Chinuch hold that the prohibition of mechamer also applies to an animal which does not belong to you since it is doing a melacha on your command, you caused it to moved and it’s as if you did the melacha. But the Minchas Chinuch holds this only applies to your own animal because the verse says “and your animal”.

 Answer: Since a slave has free choice, even though he will do work on the owner’s command but it’s not like the owner itself is doing it, because the slave decides to listen to the command. But by an animal doing work on command of it’s owner or anyone’s command then it’s as if the person himself did the action because he caused the animal to do it without any other outside factors like a decision by the listener, so he transgressed the prohibition.

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Torah Riddles Test #208

1.      Question: Why would the Har Tzvi say that writing one letter on copy paper/carbon paper which will copy itself on the next page is not considered writing two letters on Shabbos but erasing the bridge on the letter ches, turning it into two zayins is considered writing two letters on shabbos?

Background:

A. The Tilale Sadeh hold these two cases are comparable to each other so on the contrary by the ches which the bridge was erased it should not be as bad because you didn’t even write one letter and nevertheless you are liable because we go by the result which was creating two zayins, so all the more so if you wrote one letter and the letter was copied on the next page you should be liable for writing two letter, so why is the Har Tzvi unsure of the comparison?

B. One is only liable for writing on Shabbos if two letters were written.

Answer: Granted by erasing the bridge on the ches which creates two zayins one is liable on shabbos because you don’t have to literally write two letters, if one creates two letters which ever way one is liable because he actually created two zayins which were not there until now, it was just made all at once when the bridge of the ches was erased. But when writing one letter on this copy paper only one letter is really being written it’s just an impression of it is made on the next page, meaning two letters weren’t really written, rather only one was written and imposed on the next page so really only one letter was written so not liable for writing on shabbos. [/exapnd]

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Torah Riddles Test #207

2. Question: After Chatzos of Tisha b’av when one puts on tallis and tefillin, why can you say verses people have a custom of saying upon putting on tallis and tefillin but one should not say Shema and the parsha of “kadesh” upon putting on tallis and tefillin?

Background:

A. The Mishna Berura (555:1:5) says that by mincha one should put on tallis and tefillin and say a blessing on them but should not recite the 3 paragraphs of Shema or the parsha of “kadesh” because at this point it is like reading Torah, (since the mitzvah of krias shema is in the morning) and Torah learning is forbidden the entire day of Tisha b’av.

B. In Dirshu footnote 5 in the name of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, he says one can recite the verses that there is a custom to recite upon putting on tallis and tefillin.

C. Halacha is normally very strict with wearing tallis and tefillin while saying Shema because they are testimony to belief in Hashem since tallis and tefillin are mentioned in the 3 paragraphs of Shema.

 Answer: Because the verses recited upon putting on tallis and tefillin are a custom then it is not considered Torah learning but since the mitzvah of krias Shema has passed by mincha then it’s just considered Torah learning which is forbidden on Tisha b’av and it is only proper to have tallis and tefillin on in the morning when krias Shema is recited and not vice versa, i.e Shema must be recited while wearing tallis and tefillin.