Simchas Chosson

Someone once asked Rav Chaim Kniyevsky if there is a mitzva for a chosson to be mesameach ... himself [or the kallah herself]?

He answered that on the pasuk that teaches that there is a mitzva to redeem one's relative who was sold as an עבד there is a מחלוקת in מסכת עבדים [did you learn it recently??:-)] whether this applies to the עבד himself. One opinion states that if it is a mitzva for others to redeem the עבד it is certainly a mitzva for himself to redeem himself. The other opinion differs and claims that it is not.

The same מחלוקת would apply here.

I can see a חילוק but I am sure that Rav Chaim saw the same חילוק....

But apparently it is simple that the chosson and kallah have a mitzva to be mesameach each other. People don't usually think about that...

לזכות החתן והכלה ר' מאיר זאב שטיינמעץ שליט"א ושושנה קמנצקי שתחי' לכבוד שמחת כלולותם מחר בשעה טובה ומוצלחת

Women Of Valor

This is dedicated to all of those present neshos chayil and those who would like to become neshos chayil - במהרה בימינו אמן!.

Without you - there would be no Jewish people. And for THAT - we [the guys] owe you everything!!:-)

A million dollar song [sorry - there is no video. But everyone knows what R' Eytan looks like when he sings and strums his guitar...].

Be Mevatel Yourself - Not Issur

Rav Asher Shlita on אין מבטלים איסור לכתחילה - AWE-SOME.

 

A highlight -

 

בשו"ת צמח צדק (הראשון) סימן פ', ובשו"ת הגרעק"א סימן ר"ז דשאני בשר בחלב משאר איסורי תורה ובבב"ח מודי כו"ע דאין איסור לבטלו מה"ת, ואף מדרבנן אין איסור מעיקר הדין. דבב"ח אין כאן איסור מעורב בהיתר, דהאי לחודיה מותר והאי לחודיה מותר, אלא שבדרך בישול שניהם כחדא אסורים. נמצא דכאשר אין כאן נתינת טעם ואין זה דרך בישול, אין כאן איסור כלל אף לולי דין ביטול ברוב. וע"כ צ"ל דרק משום לא פלוג אסור לבטל בשר בחלב, או חלב בבשר, עי"ש. והדברים נכונים וברורים.



Linkedin

Hi Marvin,
I'd like to add you to my professional network. Please click on the following links and learn.
Thank you.

Elchonon

Emunah in Moshiach is not only for Lubavitchers.

Is there a chiyuv to bring korbanos bi-zman ha-zeh?

Nice mehalech in אין שבות במקדש

The yibbum between Rus and Boaz.

Binyan Hamikdash and kibbutz galuyos.

A Lesson From My Shabbos Guest - Not Afraid Of Cold Weather - Where Are We???

Years back, I had a girl over at my shabbos table and she related that her grandfather had been caught by the Communists [ימ"ש שר"י] learning gemara and he was sent to Siberia for 10 years as a punishment.

He came back after 10 years of torture and he was unfazed - he opened his gemara and started learning again. Whereupon he was caught and sent back to Siberia.

I often think of this story. Where is OUR mesirus nefesh for Torah? What are we willing to give up in order to learn more?? What are we willing to sacrifice?

The Mishna says that if two people are sitting together and there is not Torah between them it is a moshav leitzem - a session of scorners. What did they do that is so terrible? They just aren't learning?? How are they scorning anything??

The answer is that if they understood, even partially, the value of learning, then they would be learning. But they don't, so they instead make another meaningless telephone call or play with a superfluous gadget that they own. That is a tremendous insult to the Torah.

Where is OUR mesirus nefesh for Torah. Nobody is asking anybody to go to Siberia.

I look around and just don't get it. Scorn and disdain for limmud hatorah and instead an immersion in everything temporal and nonsensical.

Is there any better time than TODAY to be mischazeik in our kesher to limmud hatorah?!!

לזכות כל אלו שלא זוכים לטעום מטעמה הערב של תורה שיחזרו למקור מחצבתם ובמיוחד א"מ בן נ"ג וש"פ בן ש"ל

A Miracle Baby

R' Shmuel and Chaya Shachar are Nadvorna Chasidim from Bnei Brak. They have been married for 46 years, are both 65 and just had their firstborn son!!!! The Rebbe Shlita gave them a bracha and the heavens heard and shook.

Here is the result.

 

 

 

 

 

Saying Hamapil On Day Sleep

Hamapil for Those Who Go to Sleep Before Dark

Do people who go to sleep before nightfall (e.g., night shift workers, the old and ill during the summer) recite Hamapil before going to sleep?

---

The gemara (Berachot 60b) mentions Hamapil for one “entering to sleep on his bed,” without noting time of day. However, the Rambam (Tefilla 7:1) writes “when one enters his bed to sleep at night.” Despite varied opinions of Rishonim (see Meiri, Berachot ad loc), this guideline is accepted (see Be’ur Halacha to 239:1; B’tzel Hachochma V:166). However, this position’s rationale impacts your question.

The above gemara continues with the berachot upon awaking, starting with Elokai Neshama, which some see as a bookend along with Hamapil (see B’tzel Hachochma ibid.). We recite these berachot only once a day. In both cases (although some distinguish), there are questions as to whether the berachot are only for those who sleep or they are general praises to Hashem related to sleep and awaking at the classic times.

Most poskim saying that one recites Hamapil only before a serious sleep (see gemara above). The connection to night is that this is the average person’s time of serious sleep, based on which the beracha was instituted (which is apparently the Rambam’s basis).

B’tzel Hachochma (ibid.) understands the element of night very formalistically – there is no obligation and thus no ability to say Hamapil before night, even if one is embarking on a full night’s sleep before nightfall. He compares Hamapil before night to a beracha on sitting in a sukka before Sukkot starts when one plans to remain there (a beracha is not made there).

However, there are sources and logic that night is a criterion for Hamapil on practical rather than fundamental grounds. The Chayei Adam (35:4) says that regarding day sleep we are concerned he will not fall asleep, it is improper to sleep, and/or it is not effective sleep. These reasons do not apply to the cases you raise of one who has a valid reason to start sleeping before nightfall (although sometimes we say lo plug- see ibid.).

Several poskim (see Teshurat Shai I:82; Teshuvot V’hanhagot I:198) explain why it might be proper to recite Hamapil before one’s major sleep after dawn when one did not sleep at night (e.g., Shavuot morning). One could add to the equation the opinion that one may recite a birkat hashevach (of praise) even when there is a doubt whether it is necessary because the content of such berachot are never inappropriate (Halachot Ketanot I:264). However, the consensus is that safek berachot l’hakel (in doubt, refrain) applies to there as well (Yabia Omer VII, OC 29).

However, in cases where the sleep is primarily at night, the argument to say Hamapil is much stronger. Notice that the Rambam (ibid.) talks about Hamapil preceding going to sleep at night. My reading is that the point is that sleep done at night defines it as justifying Hamapil, not that it is forbidden to recite Hamapil during the day. Thus, if the majority of one’s sleep will be during the night, the fact that it begins earlier need not preclude Hamapil.

 

Whether the case for reciting Hamapil is stronger or weaker if one goes to sleep soon before nightfall is interesting. Many halachot of night begin at plag hamincha, so perhaps one who sleeps then for the night is considered to be just extending slightly the time of night sleep, which in summer nights in northern latitudes is also common. Note that one who wakes up after midnight may recite the morning berachot including Elokai Neshama (Shulchan Aruch, OC47:13), presumably because morning regarding wake up is flexible. Perhaps the same is true in the evening. On the other hand, perhaps Chazal would not have extended a beracha for going to sleep for the night at a time when one cannot fulfill the mitzva of Kri’at Shema of the night.

 

The rules of practical p’sak point toward not risking reciting the beracha of Hamapil before nightfall, despite my inclination to the contrary. However, one who does so before his major sleep that extends well into the night has what to rely upon.

 

[Eretz Chemdah] 

The Shalom Bayis Of The Leviim In The Midbar

Someone asked me over Shabbos that in light of the fact that the מחנה לויה was אסור לבעל קרי - how were the Leviim were allowed to be משמש מטתם?

I searched and saw that the Meshech Chochma [Bamidbar] addresses the question and offers an answer. I further found [בעזרת השם ולהבדיל תוכנת אוצר החכמה] that Rav Chaim Knievsky Shlita answered that they went to underground tunnels [not only for the Arabs in Azza!]. Then they were tovel immediately and went up.

According to his chiddush, it was pointed out, you have to add three chiddushim - 1] Such tunnels existed 2] The tunnels didn't have קדושת מחנה לויה. Three]  They had a mikva down there as well.

Hmmmm.

Any other suggestions?

Oneg Shabbos Links

Rav Asher Weiss Shlita - this weeks parsha shiur.

You may print it out - grab a chavrusa and learn it over shabbos!

You don't HAVE to learn the whole thing - רובו ככולו.

Sicha from Rav Yaakov Shapira Shlita.

A Role Model

Rav Zweig

"from new or aged wine shall he abstain..." (6:3)
 
The Talmud deduces from the juxtaposition of the laws concerning the Sotah to the Nazarite law, that a person who sees a Sotah in her demise should abstain from wine.[1] The expression used to define this abstinence is "yazir" - "to separate". On other occasions the Torah uses more common terminology to express the concept of separating. Why does the Torah use such an uncommon expression?  The commentaries explain the derivation from the juxtaposition in the following manner: Nothing a person sees should be viewed as coincidental. Therefore, upon witnessing the fate of a Sotah, a person should realize that he has a susceptibility to the same vices which led her astray. Since alcohol is generally used as the instrument to weaken a person's inhibitions, the Torah mandates that this individual abstain from wine for thirty days.[2] If a person suffers from a condition which requires such drastic measures to alert him of it, how does thirty days of abstinence remedy the situation? In many cases, the most difficult obstacle in addressing a problem is overcoming denial of the problem's existence. The thirty-day period of abstinence mandated by the Torah is not the solution to the person's condition, rather, it is a period of time which allows for introspection and acknowledgement that the problem exists. Internalizing the notion that the problem exists facilitates the individual's seeking assistance and ultimately coping with his condition. The main concern that prompts a person's denial is the fear of being stigmatized amongst his peers.  The Torah addresses this concern by referring to him as a Nazir. The term "Nazir" in addition to being derived from the verb "yazir" - "to separate", also stems from the word "nezer" - "crown". The message that the Torah is imparting is that a person who acknowledges a deficiency in himself and works to overcome it, will be crowned by his peers as a role model. Not only will he not be viewed with disdain by his peers, but on the contrary, he will be elevated in their eyes.
1.Sotah 2b
2.See Rabbeinu Bechaya 6:3, Moshav Zekeinim ibid

torah.org

Control Issues

 

Rav Zweig  "...Any man whose wife goes astray..." (5:12)  From the juxtaposition of the section discussing the Priestly gifts to the laws of the Sotah, a woman suspected of infidelity, the Talmud derives the following: The consequence of a person refusing to give the Kohein his tithes is that his wife will be suspected of infidelity. He will, thereby, be forced to turn to the Kohein to perform the procedure of the "bitter waters", which will clarify whether he may resume relations with his wife.[1]  The Maharal asks: If the message is that one who does not appreciate the Kohein, apparent in the fact that he does not give him his tithes, will eventually need his services, why does this have to manifest itself through the law of Sotah? The same message could be conveyed by any number of services requiring a Kohein.[2] Furthermore, why do his actions result in his wife being suspected of indiscretion?  We are not discussing an individual who does not keep the tithing laws. The Talmud does not say that he does not separate the tithes, rather that he holds back from giving them to the Kohein. What could be the motivation of one who separates the tithes, but holds back from giving them to the Kohein? If a person does tithe, but refuses to give it to the Kohein, what he is doing is exerting his control over the Kohein. The Torah is teaching us that a person who feels the need to exert his control over others probably relates to his spouse in the same manner. It is this domination over his wife which either causes her to rebel or results in his uncontrollable jealousy, which makes it necessary for her to drink the "bitter waters". His own wife, over whom he exerts control, becomes prohibited and the only one who can permit him to resume relations with her is the Kohein. He now faces the realization that he has no control over either party.
1. Berochos 63a
2. Gur Aryeh 5:12
from torah.org

Why Is He Hiding Himself

מלכותך מלכות כל עולמים וממשלתך בכל דור ודור

This world is filled with G-d's presence EVERYWHERE. However, in order for His kingship to be recognized through our free will, He must hide Himself. He hid himself through the creation of the world for the very creation of matter hides His existence.  He also hides Himself through time for He is above time.

מלכותך מלכות כל העולמים-  Your kingdom is complete through the עולמות the worlds you created which veil [העלם Means hidden] your presence.

וממשלתך בכל דור ודור - Your rulership is also hidden through the creation of time  - generation after generation.

עי' מי מרום תהילים ליתר העמקה.

לזכות כל תועי בינה שסרו מדרך השם

Imposter

Na-Nach....

Co-education

Rabbi Shalom Rephun

Back in the 1940s, when I was a student at Yeshiva Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan, the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University also known as RIETS, I became involved in a Chabad educational program, although I myself was not a follower of Chabad. It came about by chance. I had gone to do some weightlifting at the gym and another fellow there who happened to be a Chabadnik suggested that I get involved in their Released Time program.

The Released Time program – which allowed public schools to release students for religious studies off the premises – was very popular in the 1940s with something like 2 million kids involved. It is still operational. All religions took advantage of Released Time, but Jewishly, it was Chabad’s bailiwick.

At the time that I was part of it, Released Time was chiefly funded by the Committee for Furtherance of Jewish Education administered by Rabbi J.J. Hecht. Later, after 1951, when the Rebbe became the Rebbe, he expanded the idea considerably under the slogan taken from the Book of Proverbs, “Yafutzu maynosecha chutzah – Let your wellsprings flow outwards.” Also, Chabad’s Kehot Publication Society started putting out books and pamphlets aimed at the Released Time kids. I remember The Story of Chanukah and The Story of Purim and The Story of Passover which were very captivating for young children and sold for only 20 or 25 cents a copy.

My yeshiva, RIETS, was not in favor of the program. My teachers didn’t try to stop me but I was given the message that my time would be better spent learning Torah and turning to education only after I completed my studies.

I saw it differently. My motivation was simple – these kids needed Jewish outreach very badly. Once, when I was conducting a Released Time class, I gave the students a quiz for a special prize. And I asked them, “What is the name of the son whose father was asked by Hashem to offer him up as a sacrifice?” And one of the children responded with the name of the founder of Christianity.
I wrote an article about this for The Commentator where I said, “If children can confuse the Binding of Isaac with the founding of Christianity, there is a very great need to educate these children. A fire is burning outside, and we have a responsibility to put it out.”

After I was ordained a rabbi, I became the principal of Manhattan Hebrew Day School. It was a co-educational institution but, as principal, I began to introduce separation. At the time, I wrote an article for Jewish Parent magazine about the recent studies on this subject, which showed that boys and girls learn differently and that boys are often at a disadvantage in a mixed class because the girls are more sedate and teachers tend to favor them. Many studies, including those by the famed child psychologist, Bruno Bettelheim, advocated separation even as early as kindergarten.

This was one issue I was coping with as principal, but there were many others. And so there came a time, in 1970, that I decided to go see the Rebbe and ask for his advice on matters that were troubling me.

My appointment was for 10 p.m. although I didn’t get into the Rebbe’s office until close to 11. My instant impression, meeting him for the first time, was a very, very strong one – for the Rebbe had a most powerful presence.

We started to talk. It emerged that he had seen my article in Jewish Parent and I was elated to hear it. He obviously agreed that separation was the best thing. Indeed, he was very strongly in favor of separation, and he lauded the idea of separating boys and girls as well as the method I had adopted to do it gradually.

I also told him that I had an invitation from Israel to become the head of a school over there, and I didn’t know what to do about this offer. He said, “Eretz Yisrael has Jewish educators; it does not need you. America needs Jewish educators, and therefore, you should stay in America and continue your work here.”

After that we spoke about the issue of science and religion which was bothering me. I told him that I had heard that the great 12^th century Jewish philosopher Maimonides, also known as the Rambam, describes the world as being created in six “stages,” not necessarily in six “days.” The Rebbe’s response was “Nayn, nisht dos zogt der Rambam – No, the Rambam doesn’t say that…”
And then he said, “It’s very clear that the world was created in six days and when the Torah says, M’mizrach shemesh ad mevo’oh that means that the sun moves around the earth.”

I argued that there is so much scientific evidence to prove that this is not the case. In response, the Rebbe took an envelope from the table, bent it in such a way that one part stayed put while the other one moved around. I didn’t understand what he was trying to demonstrate but I was so taken by his attempt to explain this complex matter to me that I didn’t ask him more.

Although I was not convinced when I left, since then I have come to understand that there is a very strong position among astronomers today that is consistent with the Rebbe’s opinion. Back then it was a total no-no to think like this, but more recently – with Einstein’s Theory of Relativity taken into consideration – it is possible for scientists to think otherwise.

I remember the Rebbe saying that, while the Torah is not a science book, whatever it says is true, and there will come a time when the scientists will recognize this fact. But until they recognize it, we just have to live with faith.

As the meeting was going on, every fifteen minutes a bell would ring, which the Rebbe would ignore. The fourth time it rang, I said, “Apparently people are waiting outside; maybe I should not take up so much of the Rebbe’s time.” His response was “Don’t worry,” and we continued. When after almost two hours, the meeting came to an end, he gave me a blessing, and I left.

Outside, the Rebbe’s secretary, asked me – since it was 1 a.m. – “Are you sleepy?” And I said to him, “When there is so much light, one cannot sleep.”

When I got home I was still energized. It had been a most impressive and most inspiring meeting.

The Rebbe’s whole manner was warm and friendly and totally involved in the discussion that we had. I left elated; I left floating on a cloud.

Rabbi Shalom Rephun was the principal of Manhattan Day School [and was my principal...] and currently resides in Manhattan. He was interviewed in his home in June of 2009.
From myencouterblog

Love Your Enemy

Rabbi Pinchas Weberman

My ancestors came to America from Europe in the late 1800s and settled on the Lower East Side of New York. When the Williamsburg Bridge was built, they moved across the river, and established a yeshiva in Williamsburg, the famous Yeshiva Torah Vodaas.

Although I was not raised Lubavitch, I became a Chabad chasid through an interesting set of circumstances.

After I got married, I was teaching school in Borough Park in Brooklyn, and a fellow teacher who was a Lubavitcher suggested I meet his Rebbe. I wasn’t so enthusiastic. I said, “I’ve met other Rebbes and I didn’t see much difference between them.” He said, “Come – I guarantee you’ll see something different.”

He was right. When I met with the Rebbe for the first time he was still a young man – this was in 1957 – but I was extremely impressed. I saw in him a depth of mind, clarity of thought, and I felt a very strong attachment to him from the start.

After that I would try to see him at least twice a year, and I would talk to him about many things. He gave me very good advice – he encouraged me to get involved in communal work outside New York. And that’s what I did – I went to Miami and established a congregation there. And when I did that, he advised me on how to handle the donors, how to handle the board of directors and how to handle other rabbis in the community.

There came a time, in 1970, when I realized that we needed to rebuild the local mikvah. It had been built thirty years prior, when proper building materials were not available due to the war, and it was starting to deteriorate. So several local rabbis got together, and we raised the money to rebuild it. Some of us wanted to build the new mikvah according to a high standard, but we found out that the rabbi who was in charge of the design did not follow that standard, and the result was that his mikvah did not even qualify as kosher. But this rabbi refused to change the design. And he found some rabbis to approve his mikvah.We went to war over this issue – a war that took three years, during which time I lost my naïveté. I realized that rabbis who I thought were great, were not so great – indeed, some were quite small. Some were affected by honor, some by money, some by weakness of heart. But we won this war – partly because the major donor of the project passed away and his heirs wouldn’t honor his pledge – and, in the end, the mikvah was properly built.
Some nine months after these events, I had an audience with the Rebbe. This was during the Three Weeks preceding Tisha B’Av when we mourn the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. I told the Rebbe about the “mikvah war” and about the people who were involved in it. I also told him that I would like to institute kosher slaughter in South Florida. The Rebbe agreed with this idea, and then he said to me, “Involve this rabbi who fought against you. Make him one of the supervisors. Let him certify the meat.”
the supervisors. Let him certify the meat.”

Interview with Rabbi Pinchas Weberman

I was shocked. I said, “Rebbe, after such a war, how can I involve him … how can I trust him?”

The Rebbe’s response was two-fold. He said, “The certifying rabbi has nothing to do with the kosher standard of the meat. He doesn’t hold the knife in his hand, he doesn’t check the lungs of the animal. So as long as you know you can trust the shochet, the butcher himself, as long as you are satisfied with his expertise and standards, you need not be concerned about the certifying rabbi. He cannot do any harm, and bringing in his name cannot make anything worse.”

And then he said, “Besides, we need to remember the things that happened during these Three Weeks. These things happened because of unwarranted hatred between Jews. And how do you overcome unwarranted hatred? With unwarranted love. Now, can you find a better example of unwarranted love than turning to this person who fought against you?”

This was the greatness of the Rebbe, and I saw so many examples of it over the years. Let me tell you one more story:

In the late 1970s my wife became pregnant and the doctor said the baby was in a breech position – upside down, instead of head first, feet first. It just so happened that right after we learned of this, we were in New York and, during this visit, we met with the Rebbe. Naturally, my wife’s pregnancy came up and the fact that the baby was in a breech position.

In response to this news, the Rebbe asked me how we were returning to Florida. I said, “Well, we’ll probably fly, as always.” He said, “Well, there are clouds … there are winds … are you sure you want to fly?”

Ohev Shalom

There are always clouds and winds when you fly, so the fact that the Rebbe made an issue of this meant he had something on his mind. Indeed, he said, “Find another way to go back. And when you do, take along a Tanya and some mezuzahs. And wherever you can, give these out to people.”
Taking his advice to heart, I decided to rent a car. I went to Avis, but when I got into the rental, the door wouldn’t close. So I got into another one, but the lights wouldn’t work; the third one had problems with the windows. So, I said to myself, “I’m not supposed to rent a car.”

We decided to travel from New York to Miami by bus and make two stops along the way, staying overnight in motels. One stop was in Charlotte, North Carolina, where I delivered the Tanya to the local rabbi. The second stop was in Jessup, Georgia. There, I looked for a Jewish name in the phone book and found a “Weinstein.” I called him and introduced myself. As it turned out his grandfather was a member of my congregation and I also knew his father’s brother. I met with him and left him the mezuzahs.

We got on the bus and during the final stretch home, my wife felt the baby moving. When we arrived home, the doctor told us that everything was fine – the baby was no longer in breech position. It had turned itself around all by itself during that bus ride.

The birth was perfectly normal, and I will always marvel at the Rebbe’s prescience and wonder how he could have known that changing our mode of transportation would fix the problem.

Rabbi Pinchas Weberman is the rabbi of the Ohev Shalom Congregation of Miami Beach which he founded in 1960. He is also my brother in law's grandfather...

From myencounters blog

Paying Workers on Time - The Mitzvah of “bal talin”

 

By Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff

 

In Parshas Ki Seitzei, the Torah instructs “Beyomo sitein secharo velo sa’avor alav hashemesh,” “On that day (that is, the day the work was completed) you should pay his wage, and the sun shall not set (without him receiving his payment)” (Devarim 24:15). The Torah mentions two mitzvos; a positive mitzvah (mitzvas aseh) and a negative mitzvah (lo sa’aseh) to guarantee that a worker is paid before sunset of the day that he performed his job. Thus, someone who pays his worker on time fulfills a positive mitzvah, whereas if he neglects to pay him on time and the worker demands payment, he has trangressed a lo sa’aseh.

 

The Torah gives us a definition of  “on time” -- before sunset. This mitzvah is mentioned in Parshas Kedoshim as well. However, in Parshas Kedoshim, the Torah presents the mitzvah somewhat differently: “Lo salin pe’ulas sachir itcha ad boker,” “The wages of a worker shall not remain with you until morning” (Vayikra 19:13). Here the Torah requires that the worker be paid before morning, implying that one has the entire night to pay him, rather than being responsible to pay him before the day is over. The two verses appear contradictory, one implying that I must pay my worker before sunset, the other implying that I have until morning.

 

Chazal resolve this conflict by explaining that there are indeed two deadlines, the end of the day and the end of the night, but that the two pesukim discuss different cases. The pasuk in Ki Seitzei discusses a worker whose job finished precisely at the end of the night. Such a worker must be paid before the following sunset, which is the first deadline that arrives after he completed his job. However, the pasuk in Kedoshim refers to a worker who completed his job at the end of the day. Such a worker must be paid by morning.

 

Thus, the two verses together teach that there are two payment deadlines, one at sunset and the other at daybreak. One is obligated to pay his worker before the next deadline that occurs after the job is completed. If the work was completed before the end of the day, he must be paid by sunset. If the work was completed at night, he must be paid before daybreak (Bava Metzia 111a, quoting the Amora, Rav). It should be noted that one violates the lo sa’aseh only in a case where the worker demanded payment and the owner did not pay on time. Furthermore, as we will note, there is no violation if it is understood or prearranged that payment will be delayed.

 

WHAT TYPE OF WORK IS INCLUDED IN THIS MITZVAH?

 

The Torah was very concerned that a worker should be paid on time. This mitzvah applies not only to an employee but also to a contractor who is hired to perform a specific job; he must be paid by the first deadline after the job is completed. It also applies to someone who works on his own premises, such as small appliance repairs, dry cleaning, and tailoring. Payment on these items is due by the first deadline after the item is returned (Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 339:6).

Likewise, someone hired for a specific length of time must be paid by the first deadline after completion of employment. In all these situations, if the job was completed (or the item returned) during the day, the worker must be paid by sunset. If the job was completed by night, he must be paid by morning.

 

This mitzvah applies to all kinds of hired work, whether the worker is a contractor or an employee, permanent or temporary, poor or wealthy, adult or minor. Thus, by paying on the day we receive the service we fulfill the mitzvah of beyomo sitein secharo, paying a worker on the day he completes a job, as well as fulfilling other mitzvos that will be mentioned later in the article. The following is a partial list of workers included in this mitzvah: automobile and appliance repairmen, babysitters, dentists, dry cleaners, house cleaners, housing contractors, lawyers, physicians, psychologists, rebbes, teachers, and tutors.

 

EXAMPLE:

Shimon picked up his garment from the tailor, who asked him for payment. Shimon forgot to bring money to pay the tailor, asking him if he minds waiting a couple of days until Shimon is back in the neighborhood. The tailor answered that his rent is due today and he is short on money. Shimon is obligated min hatorah to make a special trip to pay the tailor today. Of course, his reward for fulfilling the mitzvah is increased many times because of the inconvenience involved.

 

Similarly, one is required to pay the doctor on the day of the appointment unless other provisions have been prearranged. If I hire a teenager to mow the lawn, I must pay him before the end of the day when he finishes the job. I should not delay payment to a later date because of my convenience.

 

An employee or hiree must be paid in cash (Tosafos Bava Basra 92b; Shach Choshen Mishpat 336:4) or by check that he can readily convert into cash. One may not pay a worker or contractor with merchandise unless this was arranged in advance.

 

The employer has not fulfilled his mitzvah of paying on the day the work is done if he pays with a post-dated check or a check that cannot be immediately cashed (for example, the bank is closed for the day). Again, if the employee is told before hiring that these are the arrangements, then there is no violation.

 

In keeping with the Torah’s ideas of protecting worker’s rights, it is prohibited for me to call a repairman knowing that I have no money to pay him, without telling him that payment will be delayed (see Ahavas Chesed 1:10:12).

 

RENTALS

 

Bal talin also applies to rental arrangements. Thus, if I rent an appliance or automobile, I must pay the rent by the sunset or daybreak after the rental is completed.

 

EXAMPLE:

Leah borrows a wedding dress from a gemach that charges a fee for dry cleaning and other expenses. When she returns the dress, she should pay the gemach before sunset or daybreak, whichever comes first.

 

SMALL WAGES AND SMALL EMPLOYEES

 

Even the delay of a wage less than a perutah is a violation of bal talin (Ritva Bava Metzia 111b). As mentioned above, I am required to pay a minor on the day he performs a job for me. Thus, if I hire a child to run an errand for me, I must pay him that day (Ahavas Chesed 1:9:5). Furthermore, if I offer a young child a candy to do a job, I am required to pay him the candy the day he did the job.

 

EXAMPLE:

Reuven asked an eight-year old to buy him an ice cream cone, offering the eight-year old to buy himself a cone at the same time. The grocery had only one cone left. If Reuven takes the cone for himself, he must make sure to buy the child a cone before sunset today. (In this instance, it will not help Reuven if the child says that he does not mind, since a child cannot waive his legal rights.)

 

Running a large business or being preoccupied is an invalid excuse for not paying on time (Tosafos Bava Metzia 111a s.v. Amar). Furthermore, arranging that someone else pay the workers or contractors does not exempt the owner from responsibility if the agent is remiss. This is because of a halachic principle that one may not assume that an agent carried out a Torah command on my behalf (see Nesiv HaChesed 1:10:25).

 

WHAT IF I DIDN’T REALIZE I WOULD BE EXPECTED TO PAY THAT DAY?

 

Unless there was a reason to assume that I was not expected to pay until later, I am responsible to pay the day the work is performed.

 

EXAMPLE:           

Mr. Siegal enters the doctor’s office and sees a sign on the wall, “Payment is due when service is rendered.” Mr. Siegal had assumed that he would pay when the bill arrives, and he has no money until his next payday. He should inform the receptionist of his inability to pay and request that the doctor be so informed before the appointment.

 

WHAT IF IT IS ASSUMED THAT THE WORKER IS PAID LATER?

 

The Gemara (Bava Metzia 111a) discusses the following situation and rules it halachically acceptable. The Jewish merchants of Sura hired workers and paid them at the end of the next market day when the merchants had extra cash. Until market day, the merchants would use their available cash to purchase more merchandise (Ritva ad loc.), and the workers were always paid after market day. The Gemara states that these merchants did not violate bal talin since it is assumed that the workers will not be paid until the following market day.

 

A contemporary analogy is when a business pays its workers on Tuesdays for the week’s work or on the first of the month for the previous month. In these situations, there is no violation of bal talin since this arrangement is assumed.

 

WHAT IS THE HALACHA IF AN AGENT HIRED THE WORKERS?

 

The Gemara (Bava Metzia 110b) discusses a case where a foreman hired workers on behalf of the employer, notifying them that he is not responsible for their wages. Subsequently, the wages were delayed. The Gemara states that neither the foreman nor the employer violated bal talin. The foreman did not violate because it was clear that he is not personally obligated to pay the workers. The owner does not violate bal talin since he did not hire the workers himself. Nevertheless, he is still required to pay them on time, if possible (Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 339:7).

 

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO PAY ON TIME?

 

To avoid violating any Torah mitzvos, the owner should tell the workers before they begin working that he is making a condition that they forgo their right to be paid on time (Nesiv HaChesed 1:10:24).

 

WHAT SHOULD THE OWNER DO IF HE WILL BE OUT-OF-TOWN ON PAYDAY?

 

The owner is responsible that his workers are paid on time. If he will be absent when his worker finishes, he must make provisions to pay the workers on time (Ahavas Chesed 1:10:12).

 

EXAMPLE:

Mrs. Schwartz is taking her child to the doctor and has hired a babysitter to take care of her other young children until her teenaged daughter comes home at 4:00 p.m. Unless Mrs. Schwartz arranges otherwise, she must see that her babysitter is paid before sunset.

 

There are several ways Mrs. Schwartz can avoid violating the Torah’s law. When hiring the sitter, Mrs. Schwartz can tell her that she is hiring her with the understanding that the sitter waives her right to be paid that day. In this case, if Mrs. Schwartz fails to pay the sitter before sunset, she will not violate any prohibition, although she will have missed the opportunity to perform a mitzvah. Therefore, it is better if Mrs. Schwartz gives her teenaged daughter money to pay the sitter. This way Mrs. Schwartz has fulfilled the mitzvah of paying her worker on time. Optimally, Mrs. Schwartz should do both; that is, she should ask her sitter to waive her right, just in case the sitter is not paid on time, and arrange for her daughter to pay, so Mrs. Schwartz fulfills an extra mitzvah.

 

If the sitter did not waive her right to be paid before sunset, Mrs. Schwartz must check with her daughter later in the day that she indeed paid the babysitter (see Nsiv HaChesed 1:10:25).

 

WHAT IF THE OWNER HAS NO MONEY WITH WHICH TO PAY?

 

Kalman Mandel’s business is running a cash flow problem, and he is running into difficulty paying his contractors. There are several shaylos he should ask his rav.

 

Kalman has money in a personal bank account. Is he required to pay his contractors with this money, or can he assume that since his business is incorporated that he is only obligated to pay them from his business account?

 

How much is the business required to liquidate to pay the contractors? How aggressive is the business required to collect its receivables? Am I required to sell merchandise at a lower price?

 

Some poskim contend that one is required to borrow money in order to pay on time. Chofetz Chayim (Ahavas Chesed 1:9:7) rules that one is required to borrow money to pay one’s workers on time, whereas Pischei Tshuva (339:8) and Graz rule that it is the correct thing to do (midas chassidus) but is not required.

 

According to Biur Halacha (242:1), if one does not have enough money both to pay wages due on Friday and to make Shabbos, one is required to pay the wages even if, as a result, he will not have money for Shabbos. If sunset is approaching and the workers demand payment, he must attend to paying his workers even if he is unable to daven mincha as a result.

 

As we have mentioned before, if the employee does not claim payment or states that he does mind if the payment is delayed, the employer did not violate bal talin. Nevertheless, the payer should still attempt to pay on time and he fulfills a mitzvah by doing so.

 

It is wrong for the owner to delay paying the worker, forcing him to repeatedly return for payment. These actions violate the mitzvah taught by the pasuk in Mishlei, “Al tomar li’rei’acha lech vashuv umachar etein ve’yeish itach,” “Do not tell your neighbor ‘Go and come back, I’ll pay you tomorrow,’ when you have the (money) with you” (Mishlei 3:28).

 

If the employer refuses to pay his worker altogether, he violates the prohibition of “Lo sa’ashok es rei’acha,” “Do not hold back payment due your neighbor” (Vayikra 19:13). If the employee or contracter is needy, the employer violates an additional prohibition “Lo sa’ashok sachir ani v’evyon,” “Do not hold back payment due to a poor or destitute person” (Devarim 24:14).

 

The Gemara (Bava Metzia 111a) counts a total of seven Biblical mitzvos involved in withholding wages, including gezel, stealing, as well as the above-mentioned mitzvos.

 

WHAT SHOULD THE OWNER DO IF HE IS SHORT ON MONEY?

 

What should the owner do when he does not have enough money to pay all his employees and contractors? The Chofetz Chayim discusses this exact shaylah in his sefer Ahavas Chesed. He rules that if some of the workers are poor, he should pay them first. If all or none of the workers are poor, he should divide the available funds among them equally.

 

MAY THE OWNER OFFER EXTRA COMPENSATION FOR DELAYED PAYMENT?

 

The owner missed his deadline. Feeling bad, he considers compensating his workers by providing them with a bonus for their patience. Unfortunately, although he means well, the owner has now incurred a different prohibition because this is considered as paying interest (ribis). Since he is obligated to pay his workers, the amount owed is a debt. The prohibition against interest applies to any debt, even if it did not originate as a loan. Therefore, an employer who delayed paying his workers or contractors cannot offer them compensation for the delay, nor can they charge him a late fee (Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah 173:12; Rema ibid. 176:6).

 

Similarly, if the owner is tight on cash, he may not offer his workers, contractors or other creditors a bonus if they will wait for payment. This situation might entail a Torah prohibition of ribis (see Bris Yehudah pg. 451 ftn 15). If necessary, he could arrange this with a heter iska, and a rav should be consulted.

 

THE CONTRACTOR IS OVERCHARGING ME. WILL I VIOLATE BAL TALIN IF I HOLD BACK PAYMENT?

 

When a person feels he is being overcharged, he usually considers withholding part of the payment until the matter is clarified. If indeed he is correct, this plan is not a problem. However, if he is mistaken and the contractor deserves the total amount, it means that he has violated bal talin by not paying the contractor on time if the contractor demanded payment. For this reason, the Chofetz Chayim suggests always negotiating a price with a contractor or repairman in advance.

 

SUGGESTION:
 

If the repairman is uncertain how much the work will cost, tell him (before he starts) that you are stipulating that he waive his right to be paid on time (see Graz Vol. 5 pg. 890 #18). This avoids violating the prohibition of bal talin should a dispute develop between the parties.

 

If I failed to stipulate this condition in advance and a dispute develops between the contractor and myself, I should discuss with a rav how to proceed. Bear in mind, that if the worker is demanding payment and I am wrong, I might end up violating a serious Torah prohibition by not paying on time.

 

It is important that people become more familiar with the details of bal talin in order to conduct their business dealings according to halacha. Unfortunately, not everyone realizes the mitzvos that are accomplished by paying workers on time. Apparently, this is not a recent phenomenon. Over a hundred years ago, the Chofetz Chayim decried the fact that otherwise observant people were inattentive in the observance of this mitzvah. He attributed this to ignorance of its details. Hopefully, this article will spur people to learn more about these mitzvos and their great reward.

ואלו שמות

Dov Rozen - Shabbat Bi-shabato

 

There are times when a name perpetuates foundational events in the life of a person or of a nation.

One day, while the chemist Yitzchak Pelet was running an experiment in his laboratory in the Hebrew University, an explosion took place that left him blind.

 

"In 1968 it seemed that there was no hope he would ever see again. Yitzchak decided to try his luck in the United States... 'Everybody helped us – El Al, the consulate, Bituach Leumi, and the Jewish doctor who operated for free... The operation was a success, and it became a classic case in medical education. I came back home with perfect vision, and with a son – Lior.'" (Lior is from the root Or, meaning light.) [Yamim V'Leilot December 1977].

 

In the summer of 1976, the entire world held its breath when it heard the fantastic story of the rescue in Entebbe of the hostages who had been kidnapped.

 

Four years later the following story appeared.

 

"There is a Jew who lives in Canada by the name of Louie Meizel. He is a big fan of the IDF and specifically of Yonatan Netanyahu, who was killed in Operation Entebbe. Recently he came to Israel, bringing with him a Jewish boy of 19 who returned to Judaism as a result of a talk with General Dan Shomron, the commander of the operation... The boy, Christopher, didn't know that he was Jewish, and he regularly attended church as a non-Jew. Only later in life did he learn from his neighbors that he was a Jew... In the university he met Dan Shomron, who had come there to study. He was impressed by his meeting with Shomron and started to look into his own roots. Louie Meizel recently came to Israel to participate in a memorial service for Yonatan Netanyahu, and he brought Christopher with him. While he was here Christopher celebrated his Bar Mitzva, and he decided to take on a Jewish name – Yoni Netanyahu." [Hatzofeh Tammuz 5740].

The Book Of Leadership

R' Chaggai Londin - Shabbat Bi-shabato

Last week we began to read the Book of Bamidbar. Let us take the opportunity to look at the characteristics of this book, which the Maharal of Prague surprisingly calls, the "Book of Leadership." He feels that leadership is a trait that is prominently seen in this book.

 

Why is this a fitting description of Bamidbar?

 

We can see that this book is characterized by four main subjects:

 

(1) Orderliness and a methodical approach – The book of Bamidbar is deeply involved in the way the camp of Yisrael is organized: the day-to-day structure of the camp, the sequence of travel, the banners of the tribes, and focused descriptions of the tasks involved in taking the Tabernacle apart, in carrying it from place to place, and in putting it back together. The sacrifices brought by the leaders of the nation are described in this week's portion.

 

(2) Coping with unusual circumstances – This book contains descriptions of failures and problematic events which take place during the movement in the desert: the sin of the scouts, the sin of Korach and his followers, the yearning for specific foods in Kivrot Hataavah, the vows of a nazir (an ascetic), sotta (infidelity by a wife), relations with the daughters of Midyan, and more.

 

(3) On the move – The vast majority of the travels of Bnei Yisrael in the desert appear in this book. While at the end of the book of Vayikra the nation of Yisrael is still camped at the foot of Mount Sinai, in Bamidbar the nation "gets a move on" and "plows through" the desert back and forth in dozens of separate journeys.

 

(4) The desert – The site where all of this takes place is a very harsh regime: an area that is a desert, desolate and far from any civilized companionship. And this is where the Holy One, Blessed be He, decides to form His nation and to lead them for the beginning of their long journey.

The approach of the Marahal is that true leadership must include all of the above traits. Anybody wanting to enhance his or her leadership qualities – whether for himself alone or together with others – must be orderly, keeping in mind a clear and well-defined goal which does not change in response to social fashions and public opinion polls. One who wants to lead cannot develop a "sterile" mode of action, he must be able to cope with problems that arise along the way. The main goal of good leadership is to move forward and not to get stuck in one place. And, most important, true leadership takes place in "a desert," within the framework of cultural desolation. The Torah was given in the desert because that is the place where a person is able to direct his gaze inwards and to be linked to G-d.

 

Only after a person takes charge of his life and is able to cross a desert can he begin to participate in the book of Devarim and prepare to enter the Holy Land.

Depriving The Body

Rabbi Mordechai Greenberg - Shabbat Bi-shabato Naso

"'And let him be atoned for sinning in his soul' [Bamidbar 6:11]. What sin did this man do in his soul? The answer is that he refrained from drinking wine." [Taanit 11a].

What is the attitude of Judaism on hedonism and on abstaining from worldly pleasures? At first glance, from the laws of the "nazir," who refrains from all contact with wine and grapes, it would seem that the Torah views self-mortification in a negative light. Many articles have been written about the negative attitude towards abstaining from pleasure. One example is the continuation of the passage from the Talmud quoted above: "Whoever fasts is called a sinner, and this is a "kal vachomer" - a logical inference - from the laws of nazir."

 

On the other hand, there are many declarations which praise a man who refrains from indulging in the physical pleasures of the world. However, the sages have also made declarations which show an opposite viewpoint: "Whoever fasts is called holy, and this is a logical inference from the laws of nazir" [Taanit, ibid].

 

In his book Messilat Yesharim, the Ramchal discusses the paradox in the words of the sages at length and comes to the conclusion that there are types of abstention that we have been commanded to observe and other types which we have been commanded to avoid. In general abstention is a good thing, since it can be dangerous to seek the physical pleasures of this world, and it is therefore good in general for a person to avoid luxuries. However, one is not allowed to refrain from things that are necessary for his wellbeing.

 

Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook feared that his disciple, Rav Charlap, might want to mimic the actions of his first mentor, Rabbi Tzvi Mechel Shapiro, who was known as an extreme ascetic. When Rav Charlap wrote a book describing the behavior of Rabbi Shapiro, called "Tzvi Latzadik," Rav Kook wrote the following in the introduction: "Therefore we, who have weak constitutions, and are struck by motion and by futile actions – we must yearn to lift ourselves up somewhat from our depths... to be comparable within the limits of our miniscule abilities to the righteous men of the generation. Our first action must be to light up around us the torch of knowledge, constantly to be present in the holy sanctuary of the study of Torah, fear, and holy service... we must make our weak and depressed bodies healthy." [Igrot volume 1, page 78].

 

We do not have permission to treat our bodies in an arbitrary way. Our bodies belong to the Holy One, Blessed be He, and therefore not only are we not allowed to cause them harm, our task is to make sure that our bodies will be healthy and strong. We must eat the proper foods, get enough rest, and engage in physical activities in order to maintain our physical fitness. Before eating breakfast, Hillel would say, "A righteous man is good to himself" [Mishlei 11:17]. However, at the same time, we must avoid the trait of admiring the body too much, since the body has no intrinsic value of its own.

 

Many new types of industry have sprung up in the realm of food. The purpose of them all is to entice people. Let us rather remember the true goal – "a healthy soul in a healthy body."

 

Here is what the Rambam wrote: "One whose appetite is weak should awaken it with spiced food, and one who becomes depressed should improve his mood by listening to music and by walking in the gardens. The intent all this is to make his body healthy." And he ends with, "The final objective in having a healthy body is to gather wisdom."

 

And the Ramchal writes, "And there is the main principle: A person should stay away from whatever is not necessary for this world. But whatever is necessary for him, for whatever reason, since it is needed, if he separates himself from it, he is a sinner."

 

It Didn't Happen To Me

A maaseh I saw:

 

Harav Yechezkel Levenshtein, zt”l, Mashgiach of Yeshivos Mir and Ponevezh, was once riding in a taxi in Israel when the driver told the Rav that he had a story to tell: The driver and his friends were traveling the world and ended up visiting a jungle. Suddenly they heard screaming — one of their buddies had a boa constrictor wrapped around his body. They tried pulling off the snake, but couldn’t. Even though they weren’t religious, one of them said, “You’re about to die. At least say Shema before you go!” So he started to say, “Shema Yisrael…” and as soon as he got to the word Echad, the snake released him. After that he became a baal teshuvah.

Harav Levenshtein asked the driver, “But — what about you?”

 

The driver answered, “It didn’t happen to me!”

Things That Pain Me

I have a list.

Here is one. When people try to break with tradition and still claim to be within tradition.

There is an institution in Israel that claims to be Orthodox, takes money from Orthodox people [maybe their biggest donor a relative of yours truly - a fine man and ohev vi-lomeid Torah but he doesn't consult with me before he signs big checks...] and ordains women rabbis.

Break number 1 from tradition.

Their leader writes articles [then publishes them as books] advocating more breaks from tradition.

Their "musmachot" wrote a book of their "teshuvos".

HUMILITY I plead, where hidest thou? These ladies are clearly not on the level to be writing teshuvos. How many masechtos do they know? How many years have they been learning? Anybody who reads the teshuvos and knows how to learn sees the ineptitude of the enterprise.

One "psak" - Single girls may go to mikva for "extra purity".

OYYYYYY VEY IZ MIR!! Not only is that counter to custom but the custom exists for a reason. It could bring SUCH A CHURBAN to klal yisrael if in our sexually permissive environment girls go to mikva and feel that they are now "permitted". And if the girls won't be convinced - the boys certainly will.  

ANYTHING done to increase kedusha and tahara in am yisrael is blessed. Anything done to break down the barriers is terribly dangerous.

So sweet friends - let us redouble our efforts to preserve our immutable tradition and not be swept away with this neo-conservative movement that has drawn so many people away from our faith.

Rav Aharon Kotler's Yeshiva In Kletzk [Surprise - No Basketball Court]

The Holy Besht!

A great line about the baal ha-yahrtzeit [Shavuos]:

The Baal Shem Tov didn't want his students to know Shas cold.

He wanted them to know Shas warm....

New Shiur [Of Many BS"D]

Unbelievable shiur on Nedarim 2a.

Part 2. Special surprise at the end. זמירות היו לי חקיך בבית מגורי  - Torah is music, said King David!

Chutz La-aretz - G-dless - Idolatrous - Weird - Promise - Guaranteed Wealth

The gemara [ksubos 110b] says "....if one lives in chutz la-aretz it is as if he has no G-d". The gemara then wonders, "[really] ...if one lives in chutz la-aretz it is as if he has no G-d?" Can't be.


The gemara answers [hold on tight] Ahhhh, no you misunderstood. What we meant was that if one lives in chutz la-aretz it is as if he serves idols.

Am I missing something? That was the question. The gemara retracts and then says exactly what we thought in the question.

Weird.

I PROMISE you. There are thousands of places in Shas where if you just THINK you will find such oddities. Then when you think more you will discover the indescribable depth of our Holy Talmud. I wish you could taste it like I do [and my friends at the Yeshiva G'dola D'skype!]. And if you do - you are the RICHEST man on the world.

A List Of Ways to Strengthen Our Connection To Israel

Pursuant to this post, I add:

If you already asked your Rov and he paskened that you should stay in chutz la-aretz, then there are ways to compensate to some degree for not making aliyah. Here are a few:

1] Daven for success of Israel.

2] Care about what happens in Israel.

3] Talk to you children about the importance of Israel. Tell them that one day, if they are fortunate, they may have the zchus to live there.

4] Visit as much as possible [Florida doesn't count for Israel despite the similar climates and kosher hotel scenes...].

5] Never say a bad word about Israel. The meraglim got in trouble for that.... [The Holy Kopshinitzer Rebbe ztz"l told the sabba kadisha R' Yochanan of Tolna ztz"l before his aliyah that he should only come if he accepts upon himself never to say a bad word about Eretz Yisrael which he emphatically did].

6] Support Israel. She [meaning the Yidden who live there] needs your money. Think about Mr. Schottenstein and Rav Chaim Kniyevsky Shlita. Rav Chaim learns only a limited pages of gemara every day for he is only one person. Mr. S. learns THOUSANDS of pages gemara daily because he sponsored the elucidation of the Shas. By supporting people in Israel you can enable not just one person to live here but many [proportionate to your amount of funds].

7] Pray to Hashem that your circumstances change and that one day you are able to come. Just because now you can't come doesn't mean that you will NEVER be able to come.

8] Learn sugyos relating to Israel and mitzvos ha-tluyos ba-aretz, both in Halacha and agada.

9] Say Hallel with a bracha on Yom Ha-atzmaut and express shock and dismay when others don't.  [How can tell others to do what I myself don't believe in?! And what the Chazon Ish didn't believe in. And just about every other gadol since the birth of the State...]

10] Add your own ideas to the list.

If you can't live in Israel then it is definitely not ideal but we should try to bring ourselves as close to the ideal as possible.

The Examined Life

Rav Aharon Lichtenstein ztz"l from etzion.org [at the end of the essay, the site suggests that if you have any questions you should ask the author. I am not sure that this will be an easy task...].

 

One of the obligations of any person, and of a Jew in particular, is that of self-examination and self-assessment.  Each one of us is required, from time to time, to take stock of his path, to locate defects, problems and phenomena requiring correction, and to deal with them. 

 

In practice, this self-assessment has two levels, each of which must be addressed individually. First, the problematic phenomena must be identified; second – at the same time, and no less importantly – the roots that led to those problems must be examined.  A person who wishes to do the job properly cannot suffice with pointing out to himself the weeds in his garden; he must work hard to locate the roots that nourished those nasty end-products.

 

Thus, for example, a person who discovers that his prayer is not what it should be, must try to understand why this is so.  The inferior character of his prayer is in itself a defect in the fulfillment of the mitzva to pray and to serve God in general, but perhaps an in-depth investigation of this phenomenon will reveal a far more fundamental flaw, of which the shallowness of his prayer represents only the tip of the iceberg.  The same applies to a person who discovers that his Shabbat table does not look the way he wants it to: he must find out whether this is a local problem or whether it reflects a general dryness of personality, or a deficient understanding of the value of Shabbat.  In most cases, grappling with the sources of the problem is more difficult and requires much greater effort; at the same time, it also gives rise to findings that are much more worrying than those that emerge from a superficial tackling of just the external problems.

 

This analysis is valid concerning any problem or flaw that a person discovers in his personality, but it is true most of all in relation to Torah study.  One of the most striking characteristics of Torah study is the need for absolute devotion: Torah study requires hard work, toil, and conscientiousness; a person who discovers that he has a problem with his learning must ask whether this problem may perhaps testify to a wider phenomenon that requires attention in its own right.  If a person does not invest the maximum that he is able, in terms of energy and time, in intensive study, as he is required to do – then, aside from dealing with the deficiency in his fulfillment of the actual mitzva of Torah study, he must also investigate what psychological or philosophical basis gave rise to the deficiency. 

 

Chazal regard the mitzva of Torah study as an exceptionally important one.  Torah study gives its students more than just knowledge; it molds their personalities and turns them into "benei Torah."  When Torah study is fragmented and limping, rather than continuous and enthusiastic, the desired effect of the study on the personality of the student is delayed, or even prevented altogether.  The phenomenon is severe in its own right, for the nature of Torah is such that it is forgotten by those who abandon it.  But we must also turn our attention to the possible roots of superficial study.

 

Theoretically, the poisoned roots of superficial Torah study are likely to be found in three main areas.  First, it is possible that the person is learning half-heartedly because his entire personality is half-hearted.  Such a person lacks initiative in attacking any subject in which he is involved; his general behavior is characterized by apathy and complacency.  If this is the situation, then we are not discussing a flaw that is unique to the sphere of Torah study, or to the intellectual realm, but rather a flaw that embraces the person's entire personality.  Every person is created in God's image, and in order for him to realize the destiny for which he was created, he is given creative abilities.  In order to realize the Godly image within him, a person is required to make his personality dynamic, alive, vital.  Anyone who fails to do so is insulting the Godly image within him and failing in the mission that the Creator has entrusted to him.

 

In the event of superficial study not resulting from a superficial personality, it may arise out of laziness.  Such a person is not prepared to invest effort and work hard; he prefers the road that appears short, which is in reality long.  This problem, too, is not related specifically to Torah study, but rather testifies to a flaw that is gnawing at the moral essence of the student.  Laziness is a moral and religious flaw, for a person who succumbs to laziness – like his apathetic and complacent neighbor – is wasting the image of God within him, thereby violating God's faith in him. The Holy One did not bestow abilities on him so that they would rust with disuse.

 

Aside from complacency and indolence, which are general personality flaws, perhaps we can pinpoint problems that arise specifically in the area of Torah learning.  Our prayers and blessings frequently mention Torah study, thereby illustrating the centrality and importance of this occupation in the life of a believing Jew.  Each and every day we testify that the words of the Torah "are our life and the length of our days," and we promise that "we shall contemplate them day and night."  In our Grace after Meals, we thank God for "Your Torah which You have taught to us, and for Your statutes which You have made known to us."  Three times every day we ask, "Grant us wisdom, understanding, and knowledge," or "knowledge, understanding, and intelligence."  There can be no doubt that a believing Jew's entire lifestyle revolves around the knowledge that Torah study is the elixir of life. 

 

However, a person can exhibit a certain attitude outwardly, while harboring an altogether different – even opposite – inner psychological feeling.  The same person who declares, "For they are our life and the length of our days," sometimes even singing, "How I love Your Torah; all the day it occupies me" – this same person sometimes lacks the existential feeling, the inner conviction, that without Torah he is forlorn.  The sense of connection with the Torah and its study arises from the understanding that Torah is the word of God, and occupation with it is connecting to God Himself, and from the knowledge that only cleaving to Him Who created man can give life its meaning.  A person's entire life must revolve around the knowledge that only "those who cleave to the Lord your God are alive, all of you, this day" (Devarim 4:4), and that a person who does not cleave to God has something missing from his life.

 

The weakness in internalizing the sense of cleaving to Torah may arise from two sources. First, it may be that the person is not convinced that the Torah is God's word.  In most cases, the problem is not one of an intellectual questioning of faith, but rather a deficiency in the internal conviction that involvement in Torah, with all its parts and aspects, is indeed the highway to connection with the Holy One. 

 

Second, in cases where the awareness of Torah as God's word is not weak, then shallow learning may arise from a deficiency in one's connection to God.  Such a person does not regard connecting to God as the key to all his aspirations; he does not feel that sitting in God's house is the pinnacle of his longings.  Instead of investing effort of Torah study, he prefers to engage in other areas, which he finds more interesting and challenging.  Such a person regards himself as a religious Jew, but he does not feel God's word as a fire burning within him.  His personality does not revolve around his connection with God and His service; his attitude towards the Creator's word does not occupy the central place that it should in his inner, existential world.

 

These two factors – lack of inner conviction that the Torah is God's word, and a deficient connection with God – may dilute one's motivation to study seriously and intensely.  In such a case, even if one sits in a beit midrash all day, the title "ben Torah" rings hollow.  A true ben Torah must be hungry for Torah learning.  At the end of days, Amos prophesies, "I shall send a hunger in the land: not a hunger for bread, nor a thirst for water, but to hear the words of God" (Amos 8:11).  There are, today, many complacent and self-satisfied yeshiva students who lack the existential hunger described by Amos.  These students suffice with what they already know, and are happy with what they have already achieved; they are missing the drive to continue learning and growing spiritually. 

 

A ben Torah must want to learn the entire Torah, and must aspire to know all of its intricacies.  He dare not suffice with little – neither qualitatively nor quantitatively.  This is the portion and the task of God's servants: the will to attain mastery of Torah.  Obviously, a person who feels severe hunger – and youthful students are likely to feel severe hunger more than their older colleagues – should give expression to this hunger.  If "he desires God's Torah," then the conclusion is that "he will contemplate His Torah day and night" (Tehillim 1:2). 

 

To be a ben yeshiva means to be hungry – but also, on the other hand, to be sated.  The ideal ben Torah is hungry for God's word, but at the same time satisfied with his lot; he thanks God for every minute that he merits to spend in the beit midrash.  We dwellers of the beit midrash must appreciate the fact that we have merited to be among the small core of people who devote their entire being to Torah.  "Happy are we; how good is our portion, how pleasant is our lot!" A person who is given the possibility of contemplating Torah and does not make the most of it is apparently not to be counted among those who "desire God's Torah."

 

Obviously, there must be a balance between Torah study and all of one's other commitments, whether familial, social or personal; but so far as one is able, the will to learn Torah should claim the bulk of a person's energies. If this is not the case, it indicates a deficiency in one's connection to Torah.  The Torah directs the command to learn Torah especially to the king, who is occupied, throughout most of his day, with the commitments of his position and of the kingdom.  If the king himself is commanded, "You shall read in it all the days of your life" (Devarim 17:19), then how much more so is a regular citizen obligated to study Torah every moment that he can!  The Midrash recounts that King David declared that at every moment his legs would lead him to the beit midrash (Vayikra Rabba 35, 1).  We may assume that in practice, owing to his busy schedule, David did not manage to devote himself to Torah for many hours of the day.  But the midrash places the emphasis on his will and aspiration, rather than his actual learning; the inclination of David's heart led him to the beit midrash.  "One thing I ask of God; this I request: that I may sit in God's house all the days of my life, to gaze at the pleasantness of God and to visit in His Sanctuary" (Tehillim 27:4).

 

Our obligation to learn Torah is not fulfilled through attending study sessions.  The meaning of this obligation is a total attack; it is a constant desire, which is carried out – because of various circumstances – only intermittently.  Judaism is built upon great aspirations, but – at the same time – small demands: a half-hour here and there, visits to the beit midrash at irregular hours, and care to keep the learning continuous.  The Torah formulates the aim of a believing Jew as a lofty aspiration: "You shall sanctify yourselves, and you shall be holy" (Vayikra 11:44), but the Oral Law breaks this command down into its tiniest details: "This refers to washing of the hands before and after meals" (Berakhot 53b). 

 

The world of Torah is built upon an all-encompassing view that may be broken down into a list of small commands.  Through these commands, and on the detailed path that the Torah sets down, let us try to satiate the constant hunger that should always assail us: the hunger for God's word.

 

[This sicha was delivered at Yeshivat Har Etzion, Iyar 5761 (2001).]