Special Features And Now for (some of) the Details... In last week's sedra, we have the presentation of the Aseret HaDibrot. If one reads only Yitro, one can get the impression that Revelation at Sinai consisted of just these ten statements. And somehow, that is the impression that a large part of the Bible-reading world seems to have. And, even more unfortunately, so do someJews. But we read on. And we come to Mishpatim. And G-d's command to Moshe to "place the detailed laws before them (us)". It was not - the Aseret HaDibrot are G-d's commands and the Torah is Moshe's explanation. It IS - The Aseret HaDibrot are G-d's chapter headings, and the Torah, the Written Word AND the Oral Law - are Hisexplanations and details. Each one of the Aseret HaDibrot can be found in greater detail in Parshat Mishpatim. Let's skip the first one; we'll come back to it.
Commandment #2 prohibits idolatry. In Mishpatim we find the prohibitions of sorcery
(considered to be deeply rooted in pagan practices), sacrificing to anyone/thing other
than G-d, bowing to idols, following in the ways of idolaters, even mentioning the names
of other deities. Shabbat is "repeated" in Mishpatim with the addition of the "other" Shabbats, namely the Festivals (Shabbat is the "first of the holy days") and the Shabbat of the Land, Shmita. Honor of parents is reflected in the serious prohibitions against striking or cursing one's parents. The two words LO TIRTZACH are detailed in Mishpatim, with the pun ishment spelled out and the laws of injuries and homicide by an animal. Commandment #7 is expanded, so to speak, by the discussions of rape and bestiality. LO TIGNOV mushrooms to include kidnapping, cattle rustling, penalties for stealing, taking advantage of others, mishandling that which belongs to others, lending and borrowing, the laws of damages, and more. Bearing false witness heads the long list of perversions of justice, a major theme of Mishpatim. Commandment #10 touches upon many of the theft rules and well as other aspects of interpersonal law that is detailed in Mishpatim. Which brings us back to ANOCHI... Who took you out of Egypt... We were slaves and now we are free to serve G-d. The emphasis upon the treatment of slaves and servants, Jew and non- Jew, reflects the relationship with G-d that He wants us to have. There's a lot more; I leave it for your discovery. A G'MATRIYA based on L'ORA SHEL TORAH by Rabbi Yaakov Auerbach z"l The cycle of the Three Festivals is presented in various places in the Torah. The "main" places are Vayikra 23, which is known as Parshat HaMo'adim, in Bamidbar 28 and 29, where the Korbanot Musaf are presented, and at the end of R'ei - D'varim 16. The Chagim are mentioned in a few other places as well, including in thisweek's MISHPATIM. Sukkot is called "the harvest festival at the end of the year" (right after the end - at the beginning. or at the end of the agricultural year). Matza is mentioned with Pesach and Bikurim are mentioned with Shavuot. None of the Sukkot mitzvot are mentioned. However, a major feature of Sukkot IS numerically hinted at. V'CHAG HA'ASIF B'TZEIT HASHANA = 6+8+3 (17) + 5+1+60+80 (146) + 2+90+1+400 (493) + 5+300+50+5 (360) = 1016. V'SAMACHTA LIFNEI HASHEM ELOKECHA = 6+300+40+8+400 (754) + 30+80+50+10 (170) + 26 + 1+30+5+10+20 (66) = 1016. Sukkot is Z'MAN SIMCHATEINU, the time of our rejoicing. SIMCHA is no less a mitzva than Sukka or Lulav. G'MATRIYA based on L'ORAH SHEL TORAH by R. Yaakov Auerbach z"l The mass Aliya L'Regel, the pilgrimages to Yerushalayim for the three major festivals was/will be accompanied by a peace in the Land resulting from one person not coveting the land and possessions of his fellows. YEIRA'EH KOL Z'CHURCHA EL P'NEI HA'ADON HASHEM (23:17) = 776. This is the same G'matriya as G-d's promise of peace - YASEIM L'CHA SHALOM = 350+50+376 = 776. Let's learn a Mishna or two... The first Mishna states that on the first of Adar (in the time of Sanhedrin and the Beit HaMikdash), they would announce the Sh'kalim, reminding people to prepare for the collection (which would begin later in the month), and they would remind farmers to check their vineyards (that had been previously used for grain) forany stray shoots of wheat or barley. (If grain grows together with the grapes, there is a violation of the serious prohibition against "mixtures". Uprooting the grain will "save" the grapes. This has been one possible example of what they Mishna is talking about.) Then from the 15th of Adar, Purim in Walled Cities, repairs of public roads, remarking of graves, and other public needs are tended to, in preparation of the influx of people for Nissan and Pesach. And, finishes the first Mishna, inspectors went out
to check for KALAYIM, grain & grapes growing together. The Baal HaTurim points out that the numeric value of SHEKEL = 300+100+30 = 430 is the same as that of NEFESH = 50+80+300 = 430. The SHEKEL is used as a KOFER NEFESH, as stated in the Maftir of Sh'kalim. [SDT} The age of giving Sh'kalim is MIBEN ESRIM SHANA, from 20 years of age. The final letters of the words in the phrase arrange to spell HAMAN. Our mitzva of Sh'kalim nullified his attempt to buy our demise with Sh'kalim. BHT KOSHER KOLUMN Is Your Oven Kosher? This is the fourth installment of an article by Rabbi Yaakov Luban, senior Rabbinic coordinator, OU Kashrut Div., that appeared in Daf HaKashrus, in '96. Hot air can contain very high levels of moisture before becoming over-saturated. Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Halpern, shlita, of the Institute of Science and Halacha in J'lem, devotes an entire chapter (Sec. I, Ch. 4) of his work Kashruth and Shabbos in the Modern Kitchen to exploring the status of "dry" steam. (He concludes that"dry" steam does have a status of zeiah.) The author has discussed this issue of the definition of dry foods with various halachic authorities who have expressed divergent views. Some poskim with whom I spoke felt that pizza, blintzes, cheese cake and the like should be treated as liquids, while others took a more lenient position. The reader should discuss thismatter with his Rav or Posek. A related issue is the status of pareve food baked in a meat or dairy oven. Essentially, if the pareve food item has liquid content which produces zeiah, then it is as if the food was cooked in a meat or dairy pot. (Pareve food that was cooked in a pot used for meat within the past 24 hours may be eaten before or afterdairy, but it is preferable not to eat the pareve and dairy items together. The reverse is true for a pareve food prepared in a dairy vessel.) However, pareve food is unaffected by the cooking process if any of the following conditions prevail: a) the pareve food is dry and there is no edible meat or dairy residue in the oven, (the requirement that the oven be clean is because of reicha which will be presented shortly). or b) the food is covered, or c) the oven is clean of meat and dairy residue and has not been used for meat or dairy products containing liquid for at least 24 hours. (Although I indicated above that cheese cake is treated as a liquid by some Poskim and may not be baked in a meat oven, there is more reason to be lenient with respect to a pareve cake batter. According to this view, one may drink a glass of milk while eating a slice of chocolate cake baked in a meat oven, provided therewas no edible meat residue on the oven wall. The reason for this leniency is that we are not dealing with the potential of milk and meat being cooked together simultaneously). A pareve cake baked in a meat oven is a nat-bar-nat dihetaira through aphia. The Rama (Yoreh Dei'a 95:2) rules that lichatchila, such foods should not be eaten with dairy, but bidi'eved, if the foods were mixed, they may be consumed (although the Maharshal is in disagreement, see Shach 95:4). Since it is unclear whetherbaking a cake produces zeiah, one can be more lenient when dealing with a situation that is permissible bidieved. If an oven was designated for dairy or meat use, many authorities permit kashering the oven to change the status. The manner in which an oven may be kashered is also a matter of dispute. Many poskim recommend adjusting the oven to its highest setting for an hour to effect the kashering. The dissenting view has raised three primary objections: a) The oven surface is generally coated with enamel, which some consider similar to earthenware substances that cannot be kashered without intense heat. b) The heat source used for kashering must be in the oven and not under the oven floor, as is often the case in a conventional oven. c) The Magen Avraham (Orach Chaim 509:11) writes that one should not kasher in order to change the dairy or pareve status. These objections notwithstanding, the lenient opinion has found wide acceptance for a variety of reasons beyond the scope of this article. Nonetheless, many contemporary halachic works recommend waiting 24 hours after cooking meat or dairy before kashering as an added safeguard. Before kashering commences, the oven surfaceand racks must be thoroughly cleaned (preferably with a caustic oven cleaner) to remove all residual matter. After a 24-hour down time, the oven is set at its highest temperature for one hour and it is then considered kashered. Many poskim accept this same procedure to kasher a non-kosher oven as well, while other Rabbinic authorities require a more intense heat source. The issue is as follows: When non-kosher food is cooked in a pot with liquid, haglah or libun kal is sufficient for kashering, while libun chomur is necessary for a dry cooking situation. Many poskim maintain that a non-kosher oven can be kashered with libun kal because the ta'am of issur was absorbed through zeiah, whichhas the status of a liquid. Accordingly, operating the oven at the maximum setting for an hour constitutes libun kal and would affect kashering. Even this view acknowledges that this procedure is not sufficient to kasher a non-kosher broiling pan which is used in direct contact with food. There is another view which requiresthe use of a blowtorch to kasher a non-kosher oven because dry residue on the oven wall is baked into the oven. Therefore, libun chomur is necessary. (Most poskim consider the cleaning cycle of a self-cleaning oven to be the equivalent of libun chomer, as well.) These considerations do not relate to kashering an oven aftermeat or dairy use since hagola or libun kal is adequate to kasher hetaira even after a dry cooking situation. (Shach 121:8 and gloss of Rabbi Akiva Eger.) more to come, next week, IY"H FOR RENT, week of Pesach APARTMENT FOR RENT OR SALE IN NACHLA'OT [The Mishpatim Homepage] |
