TT 476 Shabbat Parshat BALAK We read/learn the 6th perek of Pirkei Avot Halachic Times for Jerusalem (Summer time) Correct for TT #476 • Ranges are for THU-THU, 14 Tamuz - 21 Tamuz (July 5-July 12) For sunrise and sunset, first time takes into account the elevation above sea level of Jerusalem, 825m (the times in parentheses do not take elevation into account). For the deadlines of Shma and Shacharit, the first times are according to the GR"A, the day being reckoned from sunrise to sunset. (The times in parentheses are according to the Magen Avraham, the day being reckoned from dawn to stars-out.) Candle lighting - 7:13pm (earliest - 6:24pm) Havdala - 8:32pm (Rabbeinu Tam - 9:05pm) Earliest Shacharit • 4:34-4:37½am Sunrise •5:34-5:37½am (5:39-5:43am) Sof Z'man Kri'at Sh'ma • 9:08-9:11am (8:13-8:16am) Sof Z'man Shacharit • 10:20-10:22am (9:43-9:45am) Chatzot (halachic noon) • 12:43¼-12:44½pm Mincha Gedola (earliest Mincha) • 1:20-1:21pm Plag Mincha • 6:24-6:23pm Sunset • 7:53¼-7:52pm (7:48-7:46½pm) WORD OF THE MONTH A weekly feature of Torah Tidbits to help clarify practical and conceptual aspects of the Jewish Calendar, thereby better fulfilling the mitzva of HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem. This Sunday is Shiv'a Asar b'Tammuz, one of the four fasts associated with the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. Specifically, it marks the breach of the city of Jerusalem following a period of siege. (In the time of first CHURBAN, the breach of the city was on the 9th of Tammuz. For the second Mikdash, the date was 17.) Other tragedies are linked to the date, among them being "Moshe smashed the LUCHOT on the 17th of Tammuz". (Sin of the Golden Calf.) When this fast (and 10 Tevet and Tzom Gedalya) were accepted as obligatory, our Sages allowed several leniencies. [1] The fast begins at dawn, rather than right before sundown the evening before. [2] They restricted eating and drinking only, and not the other INUYIM of Yom Kippur and Tish'a b'Av. [3] They allowed people with weak constitutions (because of pregnancy, nursing, general weaker coindition) not to fast (with quicker permission to eat or drink compared to the two "full" fasts. The fast begins (Jerusalem) at 3:45am and ends at 8:15ish. Times Haven't Changed Much There are probably many different ways to say what I want to say (and I've said some of them inside this Torah Tidbits), but let's put it this way: The Arab terrorists are the Balak & Bil'am of today (there are better analogs than B&B, but there's a point to make about Parshat Balak), and road accidents are the women of Moav and the worship of Baal P'or of today. The analogy is weak and won't stand close scrutiny, so don't look carefully — just get the point. Sichon and Og couldn't make a scratch in the people. Neither could Bil'am and Balak. They all tried. (Other enemies of Israel have taken a heavy toll on us; that's why the analogy to the terrorists is weak. But remember, there's a point here.) We got through 95 p'sukim of Balak unscathed. In the final 9 p'sukim, we showed ourselves to be our worst enemies. And with that we do have a strong point of comparison to road accidents in our time. As terrible as it is for people to be shot and killed by our enemies, look at what we are doing to ourselves on the roads. The death toll and the number of injured each week far exceeds to casualty rate from terrorism. Our death toll from the last 9 p'sukim of the sedra was 24,000! That's how it ends. It's as if those who divided up the sedras wanted that number to become engraved upon our minds. They did not want the reward to Pinchas to cloud the issue. Message from Parshat Balak: The most powerful prophet and wizard of the ancient world could not touch us. But our own betrayal of G-d did us in. Cease fire yes, cease fire no. War, peace. Add up all the casualties. The number pales in comparison to what happens on Israel's roads every week. Enough said? Probably not. While our government figures out the best way to deal with Arafat and company, we have to figure out how to stop the terrible MAGEIFA of the roads. And that's not all. We've got a lot of house cleaning to do. While we must remain vigilant against our enemies from the outside, we must examine the causes of our troubles that we can attribute to ourselves as the cause. It boils down to Torah observance, Torah values, a Torah culture that will guide us properly out of all our problems. Sounds simplistic. Naive. Maybe, but G-d has said it enough times in the Torah for us to take Him seriously. If we follow in His ways... if we keep the mitzvot... if we treat each other properly... then all the blessings in the world will be ours. It takes a lot of education and a lot of hard work, but it can be done. Sedra-Stats 40th of 54 sedras; 7th of 10 in Bamidbar Written on 177.8 lines in a Sefer Torah (ranks 35) 2 Parshiyot; 1 open, 1 closed 104 p'sukim - ranks 34th (8th Bamidbar) 1455 words - ranks 33rd (8th Bamidbar) 5357 letters - ranks 35th (8th Bamidbar) Balak is close to average for the Torah's sedras but is on the small side for Bamidbar MITZVOT Contains none of the Taryag mitzvotTied for 38th (last) place with 16 other sedrasMore than 31% of the sedras have no mitzvot Aliya-by-Aliya Sedra Summary Kohen - First Aliya - 11 p'sukim - 22:2-12 Balak was a weaker king than some of his neighbors in the region. The defeat of the others instilled fear in Balak's heart, and he realized that waging a conventional war against Israel would be futile. His plan (following research of the matter) was to enlist Bil'am to curse the People of Israel. To this end, Balak sends a delegation to Bil'am in Midyan. Bil'am invites the envoys to spend the night so that he (Bil'am) can be spoken to by G-d. G-d does "appear" to Bil'am and asks him who these people are. Bil'am tells G-d and He warns Bil'am not to go with the delegation, nor to curse the people, because "they are blessed". The PARSHA arrangement of Balak is very simple (there are only two)... and telling. From the beginning of the sedra and all though the Bil'am episode (95 p'sukim), is one long single CLOSED parsha. Parsha S'tuma usually means that the content of the parsha is a continuation of sorts of the previous parsha. And, in fact, we can look at the Balak-Bil'am episode as another battle - one that we were not aware of at the time, and one that was "fought" differently - but a battle, nonetheless. The last portion of sedra - the episode of B'not Moav (9 p'sukim) - is its own parsha, specifically an open one. Parsha P'tucha generally means "new topic". And so it is. [sdt] How come Balak, a sworn enemy of Israel, rates having a sedra named after him? Commentaries suggest that Balak was an "honest enemy" of Israel. His antagonism was based on his fear of Israel; his intentions and actions were clear-cut. We have been plagued by many enemies throughout history who have hidden behind a smile, mask of friendship, or a handshake on the White House lawn only to try to stab us in the back (or worse). Dear uncle-grandfather Lavan, is perhaps the prime model of the "sneaky" enemy. Balak's straight-forward hatred is something we can appreciate. (Interesting that Bil'am is associated with Lavan.) [sdt] Commentaries point out that Moav and Midyan were bitter enemies. Nonetheless, they put their differences aside and united to fight against Israel. This shows the power of anti-Semitism in this world. See what our enemies are ready to do because they hate us so much. But it also must teach us another lesson. That we too must be prepared to set aside that which divides the Jewish People into fragments, so that we can fight our common enemy with greater strength. This is not to suggest that we must ignore, overlook, or forgive these differences. But we have to know when we should put our religious-secular battles "on hold", in order to be united against the enemies of the Jewish People. We must all work together - Ashkenazim & S'faradim, National Religious and Haredi, left and right, religious and secular, to strengthen our position against those who would harm us, take parts of Eretz Yisrael from us, and divide our capital. Levi - Second Aliya - 8 p'sukim - 22:13-20 In the morning, Bil'am (reluctantly) dispatches Balak's messengers with his refusal. Balak sends a larger and more prestigious delegation to Bil'am, with offers of great honor and wealth if Bil'am would only agree to Balak's request. Bil'am again refuses, but does invite the new delegation to spend the night. This time G-d permits Bil'am to accompany the Moabites, but warns him not to do anything other than what G-d tells him. (Commentaries draw from this the notion: "In the direction a person is inclined, there he is lead" - something like the proverbial "rope with which to hang himself".) [sdt] Why was Bil'am to be punished for going with Balak's delegation, when G-d permitted him to go? Certainly, a person is held accountable for violations of G-d's prohibitions, but are we also responsible for things which are not specifically prohibited, although it is reasonable to assume that G-d does not want us to do them? The answer is YES. This is one of the concepts we actually derive from the episode of Bil'am. The Torah gives us a very good idea of what HaShem wants of us. Many sins are spelled out very clearly - in fact, there is a notion of "one will not be punished unless expressly warned"; yet we are warned that G-d will be angry, so to speak, if we do things that we (should) know are contrary to His wishes. This is something that exists in human relationships too. Parents, for example, expect children to behave a certain way, even without being specifically told. We are not programmed robots; we are human beings with the ability to reason. In the straight reading of the Chumash, it seems that Bil'am is truly a man of G-d who only wants to do what G-d wants him to do. Tradition describes him differently, as one who knows that he is totally in G-d's control but tries to fight it at every step of the way. What a blow to Bil'am's ego to be thought of so highly among people, yet to know that G-d calls every shot. Shlishi - Third Aliya - 18 p'sukim - 22:21-38 Bil'am arises in the morning, saddles his donkey (by himself), and goes with the Moav officers. (The implication in the pasuk is that Bil'am went with a great deal of enthusiasm to "hopefully" curse the People of Israel. Contrast this with Avraham's enthusiasm re the Akeida.) G-d is "angry" with Bil'am for going (even though He permitted it) and sends an angel in an attempt to dissuade him from continuing. The Torah recounts that on three separate occasions - symbolically, in happened in increasingly narrower passages - the donkey sees the angel blocking the way, but Bil'am does not. Bil'am strikes the donkey each time, until G-d gives the power of speech to the donkey, who admonishes Bil'am for his deeds. Then G-d permits Bil'am to see the angel and Bil'am acknowledges his sin. He offers to return, but the angel allows him to proceed, with the warning not to say anything "unauthorized". (In Pirkei Avot it says that the "mouth of the donkey" was one of 10 special items that G-d created in the instant before He rested from further creation on the first very first Shabbat. One of the lessons from this concept is SOF MA'ASEH B'MACHSHAVA T'CHILA, what happens in the end was in G-d's thought at the beginning.) Balak goes out to greet Bil'am, who tells Balak that he is powerless to act on his own and must say only what G-d "puts in his mouth". (This is the significance of the "mouth of the donkey" - viz. that it is G-d Who grants the gift of speech; one should not be arrogant about his ability to speak well, think lofty thoughts, perceive spiritual concepts.) [SDT] The favored weapon of the nations of the world is the sword. The "weapon" of the Jewish People is "the power of speech" (prayer, divrei Torah, kind words, etc.). Bil'am arrogantly lays "his weapon" aside and attempted to harm the People of Israel with their (our) own weapon. G-d, so to speak, went against Bil'am with his abandoned weapon - the angel's drawn sword. And ultimately, the Torah tells us, Bil'am fell by the sword. - Rashi Here's a thought. From the beginning of Sh'mot when we started to become a nation, throughout the whole Torah, all that occurs happens to us. Parshat Balak (until the last portion) is unique in that we are not really involved. Balak sends for Bil'am; they spend their time looking at us, building altars, bringing sacrifices — we were unaware of what was happening. Parshat Balak is pure prophecy to Moshe. R'VI'I - Fourth Aliya - 15 p'sukim - 22:39-23:12 Balak makes sacrifices on the occasion, and Bil'am orders 7 altars to be built for special offerings. (All that is done is highly significant - e.g. the Torah records that our 3 Patriarchs offered 7 korbanot at various times. Bil'am hoped to "neutralize" the effect of those sacrifices in G-d's eyes by offering 7 sacrifices of his own.) The Baal HaTurim points out that Iyov also offered seven bulls and seven rams, just as Bil'am did. He says that this was a practice of Bnei No'ach in acknowledgment of the Seven Mitzvot they have. After meditation, Bil'am "speaks" about the People of Israel. He does not curse them, but rather beautifully describes the uniqueness of Israel. Balak is upset, but Bil'am reminds him that he (Bil'am) can only transmit that which G-d wants him to. If we are unique among the nations of the world, it is because of the Torah and our commitment to it, not something genetic, nor a mere accident of birth. We must preserve that uniqueness by remaining true to Torah, faithful to HaShem, and distinct from the other nations. Chamishi - Fifth Aliya - 14 p'sukim - 23:13-26 Balak takes Bil'am to a different vantage point, in the hopes that he will be able to curse the People this time. Once again, seven altars are built and sacrifices offered. Once again, Bil'am meditates and then utters magnificent descriptions of the Nation of Israel. Balak says his piece and Bil'am again explains his restrictions. (Difficult for someone who is considered the epitome of arrogance.) Rashi says that Balak chose Rosh HaPisga as a place from where Bil'am might succeed in cursing the people, because he foresaw that Moshe would die there. Rashi makes the point that Balak knew this about the place but Bil'am did not - that Balak was a more gifted prophet. Further on, Rashi points out that the ministers of Moav were losing confidence in the Bil'am-Balak plan and they left the scene. Earlier, the Torah used the phrase ALL THE MINISTERS OF MOAV. In pasuk 23:17, it only says SAREI MOAV, without KOL, the implication is that some left. Twice we find, And Bil'am said to Balak, build for me "with this" seven altars and prepare for me "with this" seven bulls and seven rams. (23:1 & 29) With this, BA'ZEH. We are taught that all the prophets of Israel, prophesy with KOH (AMAR HASHEM), except Moshe, who prophesies with ZEH. Bil'am felt that he was on Moshe's level and kept throwing around the ZEH. G-d says to Bil'am, go back to Balak, and thus - KOH - you shall speak. Bil'am subsequently gets the message and switches to KOH when he speaks to Balak. Twice in Parshat Pinchas (29: 16,25), in the portion describing the Korbanot Musaf, the pasuk reads, And one goat (as a) CHATAT, besides the daily Tamid its Mincha and Nesech. Our "antidote" to the altars and sacrifices of Bil'am and Balak are the communal CHATAT and the daily T'midim. Interesting that not only are the Balak p'sukim G'matriya-Matched by the p'sukim in Pinchas, but there are two of each pasuk. A perfect counterbalance. Shishi - Sixth Aliya - 17 p'sukim - 23:27-24:13 Balak suggests yet a different vantage point from which to observe Israel; maybe G-d will permit them to be cursed. Bil'am again asks for 7 altars to be built, and a bull and a ram to be offered on each. This time, Bil'am does not meditate in his usual manner, expecting similar results, namely that blessings will emerge from him - and he really wants to curse Israel. Balak takes Bil'am to Rosh HaP'or. Having seen in a vision that Israel will soon fall at P'or, Balak mistakingly assumes that the cursing from there would be successful (Rashi). Targum Onkeles indicates that Bil'am was "reminding" G-d of the Golden Calf, so that He would allow the People to be cursed. However, when he saw the multitude encamped in such a special manner, he was endowed with "Ruach HaKodesh" and he blessed the People of Israel a third time. Balak had "had enough", spoke harshly to Bil'am, and "sent him packing". Sh'vi'i - Seventh Aliya - 21 p'sukim - 24:14-25:9 Before Bil'am takes leave of Balak, Bil'am prophesies about the other nations in the region. Bil'am's final advice, his attempts to curse the People having failed, is to entice the People to idolatry and immoral behavior which will turn G-d Himself against them. This plan works, as 24,000 perish in a plague following the orgiastic worship of Baal Pe'or. Only the bold action of Pinchas b. Elazar b. Aharon HaKohen in defending G-d's honor, stops the devastating plague. [sdt] This final lesson of the sedra must be learned well by us today. What Balak and Bil'am discovered is that if Israel is in G-d's favor, it will be invincible from outside attack. No nation can succeed against Israel, when we are "on good terms" with G-d. If we, however, incur G-d's anger, by being unfaithful to Him, by disregarding Torah and mitzvot, then we are extremely vulnerable to our enemies. And they might not even have to actually fight against us - we can, G-d forbid, destroy ourselves. This was true more than 3000 years ago; it is no less true today. One a certain level, Parshat Balak is extremely simple and straightforward, with an extremely powerful message - because of that simplicity. For 95 p'sukim, we feel the protection of G-d as Balak and Bil'am fail time and again in what almost looks like a comical farce. The Gemara says that Bil'am was in some ways superior to Moshe Rabeinu, that when he was around, G-d Himself was extra vigilant in protecting us. For those 95 p'sukim, we beam with pride at the grudging admiration of a unique nation as expressed by Bil'am. And then comes the last 9 p'sukim of the sedra. Bil'am went back home. So did Balak. No danger anymore. WHAM! We did it to ourselves. G-d protected us from Bil'am by giving him his words. By not letting him speak on his own. And then we turned around and betrayed G-d. 24,000 fatalities. And the toll would have been greater, except for the bold action of Pinchas. The sedra is shouting its message to us. All we have to do is listen to it. Last 3 p'sukim are reread for Maftir. Note where the Pinchas episode stops between sedras. Zimri and Kozbi are not identified yet, G-d's reaction comes next week. Just, for now - the plague stopped! Haftara - 17 p'sukim -Micha 5:6-6:8 Micha's prophecies include the state- of-affairs that finds Israel dispersed among the nations of the world, the promise of the end of war and restoration of Israel to its Land, and the "settling of accounts" between G-d and the other nations, and G-d and Israel. This portion contains a reference to the advice of Balak and Bil'am's response to it - thus the appropriate choice of this portion as the haftara for Parshat Balak. Note the "credit" to Balak for the advice that caused the failing of Israel as opposed to the implication from the Torah that it was Bil'am's idea. Interesting note: The prophet refers to the leaders of the People of the Exodus as Moshe, Aharon, and MIRIAM. The haftara ends with the famous encapsulation of our responsibilities to G-d: "What does G-d demand of us, ONLY to behave justly, love chesed, and walk modestly (humbly) before G-d." This is the formula for the greatest protection we can have from the Balaks and Bil'ams of the world. THE JERUSALEM INSTITUTE OF JEWISH LAW Rabbi Emanuel Quint, Dean Lesson # 93 (part 2) •Power of Attorney In the last chapter there are discussed four requisites for a power of attorney to be effective for the collection of debts. Originally, a power of attorney was permitted only in the following cases: (1) Where the principal had a claim for a bailment other than money in the hands of a bailee, and the bailee did not deny that he was holding the bailment. (2) For a deposit of money. If the bailment consisted of a deposit of money, then the power of attorney had to be given together with a transfer of an interest in real estate. This could be done even if the third party denied the debt to the principal. (3) For a return of real estate that the third party is possessed of. This may be done even if the third party denies that the real estate belongs to the principal. (4) A debt evidenced by an instrument of indebtedness. This may be done even if the debtor denies the debt. The power of attorney should state that the attorney-in-fact is assigned all of the liens and rights that accompany the written instrument of indebtedness. A power of attorney could not be given: (1) if the claim was for a money debt due to the principal unaccompanied by an instrument of indebtedness; (2) if the principal claimed that there was a chattel, other than money, in the hands of a third party and the third party denied the allegation of the principal; (3) if the claim was for a money debt due to the principal unaccompanied by an instrument of indebtedness and the debtor denied the debt. In situations (1) and (3) there could be a transfer of the debt by the means of ma'amad sheloshton, that is the creditor, the creditor's assignee, and the debtor being present and the creditor in the presence of the debtor orally assigns the debt to the assignee. The Geonim permitted the power of attorney to be issued in the the latter three cases. Just as before the enactment of the Geonim, one could not assign an interest in or give a power of attorney regarding oral debts. so there could not be an assignment or power of attorney regarding an oath. By a decree of the Geonim, a power of attorney may be written in all situations. It does not matter if the claim arises from a bailment or is a claim for a robbed or stolen article, or for a debt, whether oral or evidenced by an instrument of indebtedness. This holds true even if the defendant denies the claim of the principal. This includes granting a power of attorney for instituting a lawsuit. If a principal grants more than one power of attorney regarding the same subject matter, the defendant need honor only the latest dated power of attorney. If the person who had the first power of attorney has already litigated a matter with the defendant and won the case, and thereafter the person holding the later power of attorney arrives on the scene, the defendant cannot ask that the matter be reopened on the ground the second power of attorney is dated before the first attorney-in-fact litigated the matter with the defendant. The attorney-in-fact may not appoint another attorney-in-fact to act in his place. unless the original power of attorney expressly permitted him to do so. The attorney-in-fact must carry out the wishes of the principal. It is anticipated that he is given the power of attorney to improve the position of the principal and not to worsen it. If he is sent to sue on a claim, he may not forgive the claim or compromise it without the consent of the principal. If he is sent to reclaim a bailment, he may not permit the bailee to keep it. The attorney-in-fact may not release the principal's defendant from an oath. The power of attorney may authorize the attorney-in-fact to act regardless of the outcome, whether it enhances the position of the principal or puts the principal at a disadvantage: then all the acts of the attorney-in-fact are valid. The power of attorney may authorize the attorney-in-fact to settle or forgive claims. It is therefore incumbent on the defendant in all of these cases to request from beth din that they examine the power of attorney to see if the attorney-in-fact has the authority to engage in the litigation and whether the judgment of the beth din will be binding upon the principal. Reuven and Shimon have claims against the same third person, and Reuven authorizes Shimon to take the same action against the third person as he takes for himself. Shimon forgives both his own debt and Ruven's debt against the third person. Shimon must reimburse Reuven for the amount of his claim against the third person. Yehudah has a power of attorney from the principal Naftali to sue Levi for a claim for moneys due from Levi to Naftali. Levi pleads as a defense that the facts pleaded in the complaint of Yehudah on behalf of Naftali never took place. However, Levi proposes that he will admit the claim that there is money due to Naftali if Naftali will appear in beth din and take an oath that there is money due to him from Levi. Beth din will take the money from Levi and hold it until Naftali appears in beth din and takes the oath. The law is similar in all cases where the defendant, Levi. makes his payment conditional on the principal, Naftali, coming to beth din to take an oath that the money is due to him. If he takes such an oath the defendant will not enter a plea of denial. Beth din should set a reasonable time for Naftali to come to beth din to take the oath, and if he fails to take the oath within that time, the money should be returned to Levi. If the beth din is distant from where the principal. Naftali, resides, the beth din where Yehudah sued Levi will send a message to a beth din close to Naftali's residence, and Naftali may take the oath there. Yehudah, the attorney-in-fact, may pronounce a ban against all those who put forward pleas or defenses merely to delay the matter. Yehudah sues Levi, who can take an oath and win the case. Levi refuses to take the oath until Naftali, the principal, appears so that Levi can place a ban on all those who make false claims requiring defendants to take oaths to win the case. Levi cannot delay the case and either takes the oath or loses the case. The defendant may refuse to deal with an attorney-in-fact if he does not have an interest in the litigation. However, situations may arise in which the defendant does not raise the defense that the attorney-in-fact does not have an interest in the litigation. The attorney-in-fact may be getting paid a set fee regardless of the outcome of the litigation. If the attorney-in-fact is getting paid a set fee regardless of outcome of the lawsuit, then there is no prohibition against the relatives of the attorney-in-fact being judges or witnesses in the lawsuit, since the attorney-in-fact will receive his fee regardless of result. R. Karo states that it appears to him that the attorney-in-fact may even testify as a witness in the lawsuit. It seems to me that if the attorney-in-fact has a reputation to uphold that plaintiffs should pay him. even flat fees to argue their cases, that he and/or his relatives should not be judges in the case, nor be permitted to testify in the case. However, in any case where the attorney- in-fact has a percentage of the judgment to be obtained in the lawsuit, neither he nor his relatives should be permitted to testify, nor to act as a judge in the case. The lender may appoint the borrower to be his attorney-in-fact to sue a surety on the loan. What appears from the last two lessons is that according to halachah the plaintiff may appoint an attorney-in-fact to represent him. There has not been anything said about the defendant appointing an attorney-in-fact to represent him. There was no provision for a defendant appointing an attorney-in-fact, and that is the way the halachah is stated in Shulhan Aroch Hoshen haMishpat, chapter 124. The current practice, as shall be seen in the text below, is to permit both sides to appoint attorneys. In the beth din system in the State of Israel, every attorney admitted to practice before the courts of the State is also permitted by statute to practice in the beth din of the State. There are also persons certified as "pleaders" who, while not admitted as attorneys in the secular courts of the State of Israel, are admitted to practice in the beth din. There is thus an anomalous situation in the Beth Din system in the Land of Israel. Anyone admitted to the practice of law before the secular courts may practice before the Beth Din, a religious court, even though he has no religious beliefs or is anti-religious. But a religious woman who is familiar with halachah, until recently would not be granted the privilege of taking examinations to become a Rabbinic pleader; that is, only men could represent litigants before the Beth Din, unless they were admitted to practice as lawyers in the State of Israel. However. Recently many highly qualified women have been admitted to practice as pleaders in the Rabbinic courts. R. Yosef Karo states in Shulhan Aruch, chapter 124: 'The defendant may not appoint an attorney-in-fact who should appear for him in Beth Din to respond to the pleas of the plaintiff, and the defendant remain at home.” Rabbi Yechiel Michel HaLevi Epstein in 1884 in Aruch HaShulhan, Hoshen haMishpat. chapter 124, paragraph 2, states: "All that has been said is according to the law. But now the custom is in all Beth Dins for also permitting the defendant to appoint an attorney-in-fact, and certainly the plaintiff. This is so whether the litigants are present in Beth Din or whether they are not present in Beth Din. Nevertheless, if they are not present in Beth Din and the Beth Din perceives that with only attorneys present they cannot arrive at an accurate decision, they may send for the litigants to appear in Beth Din, and this is the proper procedure.” The laws of the State of Israel provide that anyone admitted to practice law before the courts of the State are permitted to practice before the Beth Din. The rules of the Beth Din state: "Rule 45. (1). The following may appear as representatives in Beth Din: (a) A certified attorney at law admitted pursuant to the laws of attorneys of the State of Israel; (b) a Rabbinic pleader certified according to the rules of pleaders of the Beth Din. (2) Beth Din may certify a person who is neither a lawyer nor a Rabbinic pleader to appear in a specific instance or a specific case." As seen from the foregoing it would seem, as stated by R. Epstein, the halachah just evolved to having lawyers and pleaders represent litigants before the Beth Din. The subject matter of this lesson is more fully discussed in Vol. IV, Ch.123 and 124 of A Restatement of Rabbinic Civil Law by E. Quint, published by Jason Aronson, Inc. and on sale at local Judaica bookstores. Questions to quint@inter.net.il MEANING IN MITZVOT by Rabbi Asher Meir Each week we discuss one familiar halakhic practice and try to show its beauty and meaning. The columns are based on Rabbi Meir's commentary Meaning in Mitzvot on Kitzur Shulchan Arukh. FASTING Sunday is the 17th of Tammuz, one of the four major fast days. As the name suggests, the primary way we commemorate tragic anniversaries is through fasting. Why is a temporary abstinence from eating such a vital aid to repentance? Here are two related approaches to this question. 1. COUNTERBALANCE There are two practical reasons for eating. One is to provide ourselves with sustenance, and the other is because eating is enjoyable. These practical reasons have religious significance: We eat to give us strength to carry out HaShem’s commandments, and in order to experience G-d’s kindness towards us through the enjoyments of this world. We may ask, if eating healthy and appetizing food is an essential part of G-d’s service, then why would we ever want to abstain from it? One answer is that we don’t always eat food with the proper intentions. When we sin, we are not using our strength to carry out HaShem’s will, but rather to defy it. And when we eat gluttonously, we are not enjoying this world in order to elevate ourselves, but rather in order to debase ourselves like the animals who eat without any thought of the Divine source of their enjoyment. In this case it would be better to avoid eating altogether, until we can get our thoughts and intentions back on the proper track. 2. A SACRIFICE When Rav Sheshet would fast, he would append to his prayers the following request: “When the Mikdash existed, a person who sinned would bring a sacrifice; its fat and blood were offered on the altar, and the person received expiation. Now I have sat and fasted, and my fat and blood have been diminished [from not eating and not drinking]; may it be Your will that the diminishment of my fat and blood be considered as if they were offered before You.” (Berakhot 17a.) Rav Sheshet teaches us that fasting is not merely a negative act of abstaining from food, but can also be viewed as a positive act of sacrificing ourselves, offering our bodies to HaShem. This rationale is related to the previous one: the normal way of sanctifying our bodies is not by weakening and diminishing them but rather by using them in G-d’s service. But when a person sins this method of sanctification is not active. Then a person can resort to a fast in order to devote his body to G-d. A FAST FOR A BAD DREAM Dream fastOne case in which fasting is particularly recommended by our Sages is a “dream fast”, undertaken on waking from a dream in which we perceive a threatening portent. The Talmud says that “A fast is good for a [bad] dream like fire to tow (flax dust).” (Shabbat 11a) The Maharsha explains that while tow, a waste product in making linen, is the exemplar of something extremely flammable, the linen fabric itself is not easily burned. A fast weakens us and reduces our strength both for good and for evil. But the tendency to evil is likened to the waste products, the wispy tow, whereas the tendency to good is likened to the sturdy linen. The mild affliction of a fast is enough to eliminate the bad omen of a nightmare, but barely makes an impression on our might to exert ourselves in G-d’s service. So this adage from the Talmud expresses our firm belief in the ascendancy of good over evil. Rabbi Meir HAS JUST COMPLETED writing a monumental companion to Kitzur Shulchan Aruch which beautifully presents the meanings in our mitzvot and halacha. Rabbi Meir authors a popular weekly on-line Q&A column, "The Jewish Ethicist", which gives Jewish guidance on everyday ethical dilemmas in the workplace. The column is a joint project of the JCT Center for Business Ethics, Jerusalem College of Technology - Machon Lev; and Aish HaTorah. You can see the Jewish Ethicist, and submit your own questions, at www.jewishethicist.com or at www.aish.com. ASK THE REBBE from the virtual desk of the OU Vebbe Rebbe The Orthodox Union – via its website – fields questions of all types in the areas of kashrut, Jewish law and values. Some of the questions are answered by Eretz Hemdah, the Institute for Advanced Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, founded by HaRav Shaul Yisraeli, zt"l to prepare rabbanim and dayanim to serve the National Religious community in Israel and abroad. The Ask the Rabbi project is a joint venture of the OU, Yerushalayim Network, Eretz Hemdah... and the Israel Center. The following is a Q&A from Eretz Hemdah... Question: Some people from Eretz Yisrael came to our door collecting for important causes with the blessings of a reputed Rav. My compassionate wife wrote them checks based on expected, future ma’aser money. Since our account was quite depleted, she post-dated the checks. Unfortunately, the checks were cashed before the date and accepted by our bank, putting our account in the negative and causing $120 in bank fees. Can these costs, incurred by giving ma’aser, count toward future ma’aser or is it a personal loss? Right now, I am not even sure we are obligated in ma‘aser due to our financial situation, but I have always preferred to extend myself and put aside 10% in any case. Answer: You ask one question but raise others indirectly. I’ll try to touch on all the issues. Expenses: Legitimate expenses related to giving tzedakah may be recovered by he who outlays them (Tzedakah U’Mishpat 7:23). It becomes more complicated if and when there is a loss of money due to careless or frivolous activity by the gabbai tzedakah, but it seems that your wife acted extremely generously and responsibly (as opposed to your bank). Giving money on the account of future ma’aser: In his sefer Ahavat Chesed (on matters of tzedakah), the Chofetz Chayim raises the issue and cites different opinions on the matter. He suggests that the best thing to do is that, when starting to give ma’aser kesafim, one should stipulate that he plans to, at times, put out money and subtract it from future ma’aser. Tzedakah U’Mishpat rules leniently on the point. Giving ma’aser under financial hardship: The rule is that one’s dependents’ livelihood comes first (Rama, Yoreh Deah 251:3). On the other hand, even one who receives tzedakah, is required to give some tzedakah (Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah 248:1). It is hard to determine precisely what one’s basic needs, after which he can afford to give tzedakah properly, are. We applaud your generosity and pray you will be able to afford to continue. One suggestion is that you figure out how much ma’aser you would normally give, but put it aside only when you can afford it (Tzedakah U’Mishpat 1:(22), in the name of the Chazon Ish). Keep in mind that Sefer Chasidim (454) says one should not give too much tzedakah if it will cause him not to pay his loans on time. “Ask the Rabbi” Q&A is part of Hemdat Yamim, the weekly parsha sheet published by Eretz Hemdah. You can read this section or the entire Hemdat Yamim at ww.ou.org or www.eretzhemdah.org. If you would like to receive Hemdat Yamim by email, on a weekly basis, please send an email to lists@eretzhemdah.org with the message: Join Hemdatya - Please leave the subject blank. Hasidic Wisdom, from the book by Simcha Raz (Elkins/Elkins) You can learn something from everything: From the railways we learn that one moment's delay can throw everything off schedule. From the telegraph we learn that every word counts. And from the telephone, that what we say here, they hear there. - Rabbi Avraham Yaakov of Sadigora P.S. Imagine what can be learned from the television, video, and computer The essence of wisdom is the fear of G-d. All who practice it gain sound understanding. (T'hilim 11:10) From this verse we learn that gaining sound understanding is not dependent upon a person's wisdom, but on one's practice (deeds). - Rabbi Moshe of Kobrin Rite and Reason by Shmuel Pinchas Gelbard Some follow the custom that on the Shabbat before the 17th of Tammuz, the fast of Gedalya, and the 10th of Tevet, after the Haftara and before Ashrei, the chazan announces which day of the coming week will be a fast day. He then declares: Our brothers Israel hear, may HaShem transform such-and-such a fast day to happiness and rejoicing, as He promised, and let us say AMEN. (Avudraham) REASON This is because in Talmudic times these three fast days were not mandatory (throughout all Jewish communities), but rather were dependent on the circumstances of each community, whether or not to fast. Thus, this announcement says that we do intend to fast on these fast days. (Vilna Gaon) Who's Who in the Sedra This is an experimental new feature for Torah Tidbits that will not be biogrphical, but rather it will contain comments from the Talmud & Midrash about different personalities in the sedra. Based on the book ISHEI HATANACH by R. Israel Yitzchak Chasida BALAK b. TZIPOR When Sichon was killed, Balak ascended the throne (Bamidbar Raba 20:4) • Balak descended from Lot (ibid 20:19) • Ruth was the daughter of Eglon and the granddaughter of Balak (Sota 47a) • Because of the 42 sacrifices he offered to G-d (at Bil'am's instruction) Balak the Wicked One merited having Ruth descend from him (Nazir 23b) • Balak was a superior wizard and diviner to Bil'am (Bamidbar Raba 20:18) • Bil'am's wisdom was fleeting, whereas Balak was always wise. He (Balak) did not have the gift of speech necessary to complete the exercise of various black arts (Zohar) • Balak was able to receive messages from birds, therefore he was called the son of Tzipor (Zohar) BIL'AM b. B'OR Bil'am comes immediately before Balak in an alphabetical listing of people in the Torah (Stats dept. Torah Tidbits) • No greater philosopher ever walked the earth (B'reishit Raba 65:10) • He was born circumcised (Avot of R. Natan) • Bil'am was the last of the prophets among the nations of the world. G-d revealed everything to him. He was superior to Moshe in one thing, and Moshe was superior to him in another area. • He spoke Lashon HaKodesh (Tanchuma) • Bil'am had expected to be the one to take Bnei Yisrael out of Mitzrayim and be the one to transmit the Torah to them. When Moshe did both tasks, Bil'am became very jealous (Batei Midrashot) • Bil'am had the power to inflict harm on people by looking at them (Zohar) • Bil'am was lame in one leg and blind in one eye (Sanhedrin 105b) • Lavan was Bil'am (Targum Yonatan) • Bil'am was one of the advisors of Par'o in the original council at the beginning of Sh'mot. The other two were Iyov and Yitro (Sota 11a) • Yaakov Avinu had given Bil'am the special donkey from creation so that he wouldn't advise Par'o to harm the People of Israel. He reneged on his deal with Yaakov and gave Par'o the idea of withholding the straw to make bricks (Midrash Agada) • Bil'am was one of seven prophets from among the peoples of the world... (Bava Batra 15b) • G-d never needed to protect Bnei Yisrael more than when Bil'am focused on them to destroy them (Yalkut Shim'oni) • Originally, Moshe was going to pronounce blessings on the people and Bil'am was going to tell them about the curses. But if that would be so, people would say that Bil'am cursed the Jews because he hated them and that Moshe blessed them because he loves them. Therefore the opposite took place: Bil'am blessed the people and Moshe warned the people about the curses (Dvarim Rabba) • Bil'am's blessing of Bnei Yisrael was greater than Yaakov's blessing for his children, and greater than Moshe's blessings in the last sedra of the Torah. for Yaakov's blessings were accompanied by admonishing. Moshe's brachot were preceded by admonishing the people. Bil'am's blessings undiluted (Yalkut) SHE'HE'CHE'YANU We've written this up before, but it's good to review, not only the details but the concepts that stand behind the details. With the Three Weeks beginning this Sunday, one question to ask again is about saying the joyous bracha of SHE'HE'CHE'YANU during the mournful period of BEIN HA'M'TZRIM. It will come as no surprise that there is a dispute among authorities on this issue. The Shulchan Aruch and the ARI Z"L say that one should not recite the bracha during the Three Weeks. Therefore, one should not buy new fruits during this period (since it would not be proper to eat them without saying this bracha) nor should one buy new items that would require the bracha. The exception to the rule according to this opinion would be a mitzva such as BRIT MILA (according to the Israeli custom to say the bracha in question) or a PIDYON HABEN (even when postponed from their "proper" times. One does not "spoil" the mitzva by not saying that bracha. The Vilna Gaon says that one need not prevent himself from saying the bracha even on weekdays. The joy of the SHE'HE'CHE'YANU-causing event exists simultaneously with the mournful flavor of the Three Weeks. Rather than considering this a contradiction, we can see it as almost typical of Jewish life — the bitter with the sweet. The Mishna B'rura writes that one can say the bracha on Shabbat, but he agrees with the Shulchan Aruch about the weekdays, that one should not say SHE'HE'CHE'YANU. The Aruch HaShulchan distinguishes between the first part of the Three Weeks and the latter part which is the Nine Days. He writes that until Rosh Chodesh Av, one may say the bracha even during the week, but during the Nine Days, only on Shabbat. If the not saying SHE'HE'CHE'YANU will cause a diminishing of Oneg Shabbat, then even those that hold not to say SHE'HE'CHE'YANU at all during the Three weeks, can say it on Shabbat. This would apply to people who often spot a new fruit and get excited about saving it for Shabbat as a special treat. To hold back from doing that is a slap to Shabbat and will cause a drop in Oneg Shabbat. In such a case, by those prune-plums (or whatever) and enjoy them on Shabbat, with a SHE'HE'CHE'YANU. If you see a new fruit that won't be around after Tish'a b'Av, then you can buy it and save it for Shabbat. And if it is such a fragile fruit that it won't make it intact for Shabbat, then you can say SHE'HE'CHE'YANU even during the week. Wouldn't it be simpler just to skip the new fruit for three weeks? We don't HAVE to have new fruit all the time. There's plenty of old fruit to eat. But that's not what our Sages taught us. That's the point. We are entitled to joy. Even while mourning. Unfinished Business•A brief look back to last week's sedra Every time I see or hear the phrase PARA ADUMA translated as RED HEIFER, I wonder if that is really the best term to use. First of all (since someone called to ask), the word is pronounced as if it were spelled HEFFER. More important is its definition, and if it fits the conditions of a PARA ADUMA. Heifer is defined in some dictionaries as a young cow, in others as a cow that has not yet calved (given birth), and in other dictionaries as both. The first mishna in Masechet Para states the opinion of R. Eliezer, that a (female) cow in its first year of life is called an EGLA, and in its second year and beyond, it is a PARA. This is not just semantic - it defines the age of a PARA ADUMA as being a two-year-old cow. The Sages disagreed and say that the term EGLA (calf) is for the cow's first two years, and then it is called a PARA. Furthermore, a cow qualifies as a PARA ADUMA only during its third and fourth years. R. Meir says that a cow in its fifth or sixth year or older can be used as a PARA ADUMA, but it is not wise to wait for the cow to get that old for the practical reason that it might develop invalidating other-colored hairs or blemishes, or be subjected to some kind of work that would render it invalid for PARA ADUMA. In a subsequent mishna, R. Eliezer says that a pregnant red cow is acceptable for PARA ADUMA and the Sages say it is not valid. It would seem to me that the term HEIFER does not convey an accurate description of the PARA ADUMA potential, and RED COW is probably a better English translation of PARA ADUMA. G'MATRIYA MATCH Balak's opening pasuk begins a 95-pasuk portion which describes a very serious attempt to defeat Bnei Yisrael. T'hilim 35:4 is essentially a prayer to G-d to thwart our enemies' plans. “Let those who seek after my soul be confounded and put to shame, let those who scheme evil against me be turned back and brought to confusion.” Same G'matriya (2926). FYI Veteran TT reader and STAThead, SD points out that with this issue #476, Torah Tidbits has passed both Willie Stargell and Stan Musial and is now in 19th place in hot pursuit of Lou Gehrig, whom we will not catch until early November IY"H. From the Desk of the Director Parshat Balak, which relates the story of a foreign sorcerer blessing the Children of Israel, leads us to think that there is virtue in seeking out the praises of other nations. Indeed, when we hear ourselves spoken of in such glowing terms as, “Behold the people will rise as a lion club,” we cannot but be flattered. This should be especially true when the praises emerge from a man whose perceptive powers have been compared to Moshe’s prophetic qualities. Yet we should never cease to probe the true nature of the flatterer and what ulterior motives might lie behind the pleasant remarks. Balaam’s real approach to life is revealed in his attitude to the she-ass that spoke. Rabbi Hersh Goldblum notes, for instance, that Balaam’s visceral response, “I would now have killed you”, demonstrates the sorcerer’s total inability to see any deep significance in this unprecedented miracle. Balaam also failed to realize that just as the ass spoke because Hashem put the words into her mouth, so his powers of speech were only a gift from G-d (Kli Yakar). How relevant today is Chazal’s comment that the verse, “And he arose,” alludes to Balaam’s unbridled hatred of Israel and his unbounded enthusiasm to do Moab’s dirty deed. How familiar is Rashi’s observation that the same one who claimed to be able to destroy the entire Jewish nation with his speech needed a sword against a poor defenseless donkey. Sincerely yours, Menachem Persoff, Director, Israel Center Jewish Computer More about TORAH CODES 2000 by Torah Educational Software. The program is much more talented than its name might indicate. As I mentioned last week, I'm not into codes, but if you are, this ia a good program to use. Let's say you wanted to look for a name within a particular text. You can search within words, or initial letters, of final letters, or at evenly spaced intervals. Your search can be in the whole Tanach, just the Chumash, or any restricted range of text you set. There are many options for this feature, and your choice of projects are limitless. The G'matriya lookup feature allows you to input a word or phrase and find either whole words, whole p'sukim, or phrases that have the same numeric value as your input. Again, the range for the search can be set by the user. This feature comes in handy in preparing for a bar mitzva and the like. Nothing heavy. Just fun stuff. The program is helpful in finding one's PASUK, a verse in Tanach that begins and ends with the same letters as one's name. Lots more. How many letters in Megilat Esther? What's the 613th word in Shir HaShirim. to be cont. Parsha Pix This week's ParshaPix has some of the old stuff and some new stuff. Some straightforward stuff and some tricky stuff. If you use the PPs with your children, you might have to guide them through some of the items, depending upon their ages. Upper left is from one of the first ParshaPixPuzzles. There is a BLOCK (close enough to BALAK) in a nest, which makes it BEN TZIPOR. The messengers from Moav came to Bil'am with K'SAMIM B'YADAM, represented by the magic trick in the hand, upper-right. The letters in the upper-middle are three of the words in Bamidbar 23:13. The words hit me when I read the pasuk. Try it. There is an ITI, an EL, and an EFES. ET,L,FS. Your kids can have fun with this. Its an extension of English words, such as empty, and teepee. See how many Hebrew words you can find that are pronounced with the names of English letters only. Something like that. Bil'am's donkey saw the sword drawn in the angel's hand; Bil'am did not see it at first (or second or third). When the donkey talks to Bil'am, she asks him why he has hit her these three REGALIM, times. Using the word that refers to our cycle of holidays and to the People who observe them. The angel repeats the reference to SHALOSH REGALIM. The speech-bubble for the donkey contains the question (mark) about the three festivals, represented by the Lulav, Matza, and Torah. The lion cub was one of the ways that Bil'am described the Jewish People. The Xed out snake is also from Bil'am's words, that there is no NACHASH in Yaakov. His meaning is that we do not rely on omens. In the PP it is a snake with an X. The bull and sheep represent the sacrifices that Balak offered at Bil'am's behest. The smiling wolrd is wearing a global eyepatch, which represents Bnei Yisrael as seen by Balak — we were so numerous that we covered EIN HAARETZ, the eye of the Earth. The Davka graphics clipart of a shul in the lower left represents the pasuk that came from Bil'am's mouth: MA TOVU OHALECHA YAAKOV, MISHKENOTECHA YISRAEL. It is the pasuk we associate with shuls. It is recited by some upon entering a shul. Which leaves us with the ROMACH at the bottom of the ParshaPix. That is the spear that Pinchas took into his hand to act in protection of G-d's honor. As many riddles and TTriddles, PPPs and catch questions that I've come up with, I acknowledge Zev Frank as the master Torah riddler. Zev is the host of SHEVA MI YODEI'A, a radio show on Arutz-Sheva in Hebrew, which is broadcast at the same time Torah Tidbits Audio is aired in English. His show consists of 7 riddles on Parshat HaShavua, plus a few bonus questions. There's a little music thrown in, to give time for the callers to light up Arutz-Sheva's switchboard. That the show is emmensely popular and that callers are restricted to calling once a moth is a tribute to Zev's mastery of the Troah Chida. But I digress... a couple of years ago, in search of a riddle in Parshat Balak, Zev stumbled upon a truly noteworthy discovery. It starts with ROMACH, spelled in the Torah REISH-MEM-CHET (no VAV). The numeric value is 248, which immediately brings to mind the number of positive mitzvot in the Torah. Pinchas armed himself with the RAMACH (248) mitzvot in his righteous defense of G-d's honor. That's the easy one. Don't know who said it first, but I'm sure someone does. But Zev did not stop there. Too easy. What about the prohibitions in the Torah? There are 365 of them. Do we just forget about them? No. If we count just the prohibitions, starting from GID HANASHE and follow the count of the Sefer HaChinuch through the sedras, we come to an amazing discovery. The 248th prohibition in the Torah is at the end of Va'etchanan, and it is the prohibition of intermarriage and of taking a women from the other nations. Exactly the sin that Zimri was guilty of. So Pinchas not only armed himself with a physical weapon, and not only did he have the 248 mitzvot guiding him, but he also had a numeric match to the one major prohibition in question. Zev Frank. Thanks for that one. And all the others. TTriddles TTriddles are Torah Tidbits-style riddles on Parshat HaShavua (sometimes on the calendar events of the week). The best solution set submitted each week (there isn’t always a best) wins a double prize — a CD from...Noam Productions 8 Malchei Yisrael, Geula & the Rav Shefa mall CDs, tapes, equipment - broad selection, good prices, personal attention and a gift (game, puzzle, book, etc.) from...Big Deal•15 Malchei Yisrael in Geula• Rechov Lunz right off the Ben Yehuda Midrachov in the center of town• Rabbi Akiva Street in Bnei Braq. You never really know what you’ll find there A fun place to shop. Even if you can’t solve any, they are fun (and sometimes informative) to read about in the weekly TTriddles report (which is what you’re reading now). Last week's (CHUKAT) TTriddles: [1] Taken literally, they're the two Mizmors [2] The tall open and the round closed followed by the dotted and the undotted head of the Torah [3] What's black and white and re(a)d all over? A very modest collection of TTriddles for Chukat... but that’s the way it is sometimes. And the envelope please... [1] This is a reference to the schedule of purification with the Para Aduma Potion. One receives a sprinkling on the third day and on the seventh day. Taken literally, Yom HaShlishi is Tuesday and Yom HaShvi’i is Shabbat. The Psalms of the Day for these two days both begin with the word MIZMOR. None of the other five daily Psalms begin that way. [2] This was a kind of silly TTriddle that began with a word that caught my eye. Actually, my ear. LISBOV. To circle around. After Edom rejected our request to pass through their land, after Aharon’s death, after the attack by the K’na’ani Melech Arad (and their taking one captive), and after our victory over them, we traveled from Hor HaHar via Yam Suf to circumvent the territory of Edom. The word appears only this once in all of Tanach. The word is spelled with the tall open letter (LAMED), the round closed letter (SAMACH), then come the head of the Torah, namely, the first letter of the Torah, i.e. the letter BET, in its dotted and undotted form. LISBOV. [3] This TTriddle was meant to be a little open-ended. It started with the Para Aduma being red all over, which reminded me of the old riddle, What’s black and white and read all over? (Obviously, this is an auditory riddle, since you do not want to give away the fact that read is not the color red. The old answer is a newspaper. It’s black and white (that is until color photos and sometimes headlines came into vogue) and it is read all over. So I decided to focus the same riddle on Parshat HaShavua. This TTriddle was also asked on Arutz-7’s Torah Tidbits Audio, last Thursday night. One answer from a caller was PARA ADUMA, the cow being red and the laws of Tum’a and Tahara being black and white. Not the answer I had in mind, but a good one, nonetheless. This is what was meant by the term open-ended TTriddle. The two answers I had in mind were [1] a cow NOT eligible as a Para Aduma, because it was black and white and red all over; and [2] Parshat Para (or Parshat Chukat) which are black and white (ink on parchment) and read all over the world wherever Jews live. There are probably other good answers, A NEWSPAPER not being one of them. This week's Ttriddles: [1] He received doubtful applause [2] Villians in contrasting colors [3] With the key, there are 1 in Breishit, none in Shmot, 2 in Vayikra, 5 in Bamidbar (4 in a row), 2 in D'vari,. Without the key there are 3 more [4] Three who said our cursers will be cursed [5] Former guardians of Moav [6] Bil'am's Afghanistan [7] The hook went from 3rd to 2nd place from the Parsha to the Haftara [8] TTriddle (not on the parsha): Its branches are Hebrew literary figures and U.S. presidents. What's the trunk? NCSY B'YISRAEL NEWS For the past 7 weeks, you've seen this camp logo on the NCSY page or in its column. Parents and their children have been calling with questions, filling out forms, and registering for the camps — the girls' camp in Keshet on the Golan, and the boys' camp in Shadmot Mechola in the Jordan Valley. For the second year in a row, the response has been terrific. Over 140 youngsters will be enjoying NCSY camp beginning in a couple of days. We wish each and every one of them a wonderful time, filled with enjoyable experiences, good friends, and precious words of Torah and acts of Chesed. Rabbi Michael Fredman, Director Daniella, Ilana, Sara, B'not Sherut 22 Keren Ha'Yesod, POB 37015, Jerusalem (02) 566-7787 ext. 242 • fax: (02) 566-0156 ncsy_isr@netvision.net NESTO•Native English-Speaking Teen Olim Have a great summer•We really mean it this time! Our last formal event for the year took place this past Tuesday at the Jerusalem Zoo. NESTOers met for an afternoon of frolicking amongst the animals and birds. Before leaving the zoo, they enjoyed a picnic meal together, prepared by our own bat sherut Ilana. The evening before, the old and new board met with our new bat sherut, Naomi Skorecki. Over pizza we all had a chance to share with her our views of NESTO and programs that we would like to plan for the coming year. Along with the transition from Ilana to Naomi as bat sherut, NESTO is pleased to announce the placement of Josh Spodeck as the incoming Assistant Director for NESTO. Josh comes to us with a tremendous amount of youth work behind him, and you will be able to read more about Josh and Naomi when we return to the pages of Torah Tidbits at the end of the summer. We wish this year’s assistant director Daniel Stambler and his wife Batya a fantastic time on their three month trip to India. Daniel will return from India three days before he begins his doctoral work in religion and philosophy at Tel Aviv University. We enjoyed our five months with you and appreciate everything you did for NESTO. If you know of students who will be entering the eighth grade next year, please have them contact our office, as we will begin programming for eighth graders in the coming year. As I wrote last week, if kids let us know when they are around for the summer, I would be happy to plan some day or evening programs for us to get together. Wishing you all a productive and fun-filled summer, Rabbi Avi The Israel Center's youth program for Anglo-Israelis tel. 566-7787 ext. 245 • fax: 561-7432 silvera@mail.biu.ac.il • www.zyworld.com/nesto Z Rabbi Avi Silverman, director • Ilana Milo, Bat Sherut TIYULIM Call the TIYUL HOTLINE Dial the Israel Center's number 5-66-77-87, then press 211. You'll hear "thank you, one moment please", and then the phone system's music for 15 seconds. Then the Tiyul Hotline message begins. You can listen to the whole message and then press 2 to leave your message, or you can interrupt by pressing 2 right away and then leaving your message. THE TRAVEL DESK • The TRAVEL DESK of the Israel Center exists... to make registration and detail-receiving for Israel Center tiyulim more efficient and less head-achy for you. To help you - whether you live in Israel or are visiting - plan private tiyulim and make in-Israel travel arrangements Sarah will be happy to assist you on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9:00am to 1:00pm. Call Sarah at the Center, 566-7787 ext. 249. Note: When a tiyul says "Bring your own lunch", you can do that... or this: Call the TRAVEL DESK or the TIYUL HOTLINE up to the day before the TIYUL and order a box lunch from the Israel Center Cafe. 20 shekel will get you a delicious sandwich, a refreshing drink (specify regular or diet) and a dessert. Your box lunch will be ready for you when you board the bus. Israel Center In-House Shabbaton•Past & Next Only a quick word about the Shabbaton last week, because we want to tell you about the next one. It was terrific. From the Carlebach-style Kabbalat Shabbat by Chazan Gerald Epstein, to the delicious meals, the davening & layning, to the shiurim by Scholar-in-Residence Rabbi James I. Gordon, the mini-shiurim, divrei Torah, and oral Torah Tidbits, the workshop on inter-generational communication by Dr. & Dr. Epstein, AND the camaraderie (that's no small part of the success - the people clicked well) — it was a special Shabbaton. And wait until you see what's upcoming! SHABBAT PARSHAT EIKEV - Aug 10-11 Scholar-in-Residence: Rabbi Nachman (Neil) Winkler. We'll be taking Shabbat early this time, to allow for a more normal timing of the Friday night seuda and program. Mincha will be at 5:55pm, candle lighting will be at 6:10pm, followed by Kabbalat Shabbat. Davening on Shabbat morning will be at 8:30am, preceded by a mini-shiur at 8:00am. [Personal note: The Shabbatonim that I've been to have been wonderful. This one will be extra-special. Don't miss it - Phil] Further details will unfold in coming weeks. Those who sign up for this Shabbaton during July will receive a gift... in appreciation of your not giving us the headaches of last minute registration. Registration will continue until we reach our optimum number of participants. Those attempting to register after that will be disappointed. Don't be. Register early. Travel Desk Specials Paradise Negev Hotel Be'ersheva (Glatt Mehadrin Hotel) July Special - Midweek Only • NIS500 per couple per night double room, half board basis (breaskfast/dinner daily) •Children (max. 2) up to age 12 sharing parents room - 130NIS per child Ruth Rimon Inn Tsfat • "Third Night Free" (until July 29) Midweek & weekends • NIS750 for two per night, dbl rm, incl. breakfast Children (max. 2) up to age 12 sharing parents room - 188NIS per child Kibbutz Hotel Lavi - August (& Sept. Shabbat) Specials Special Package #1: Aug. 9-12 or Aug. 16. - 19: 3-night weekend NIS950, 1-night ½ board; Shabbat f/b; 1-night breakfast Special Pacakge #2: Aug. 12-15: 3 night package NIS1245, stay 4th night free. h/b basis Special Package #3: Aug. 19-22: 3-night package NIS1025. h/b basis Special Package #4: Aug. 26-31: No minimum stay. NIS315 per night, h/b Special Package No. 5: Shabatot during September: 1-night, NIS345. f/b All rates are per person in main building or garden rooms • New Wing supplement: NIS40 per person per night • Regular children's discounts apply Sheraton Israel: July/August Special Participating Sheraton-Moriah Hotels: Eilat, Tiberias, Tel Aviv and the Dead Sea, plus the Sheraton-Plaza Jerusalem and Sheraton City Tower Ramat Gan•July 1-Aug.1: NIS999 • Aug. 2-Sep. 2: NIS1099 Rates per couple per night incl. breakfast, midweek & weekends • Rates for 1-night stay available on request•Sheraton-Moriah Tiberias: July 29-Aug. 31 Glatt Restaurant • Dinner suppl. - Adult: NIS125, Child: NIS63 • Separate swimming hours in hotel pool available•Sheraton-Moriah Eilat: Reservation accepted for SUN-THU or THU to SUN•Sheraton Moriah Dead Sea: Rates include dinner Free nights: T.A., J'lem, City Tower - 2nd night • Dead Sea - 3rd night • Eilat - 4th night mid-wk; 3rd night weekends • Tiberias - July - 2nd night ; August - 3rd night Child Free: Child sharing parents room is free (except Tiberis - child NIS75); Child ages: • Eilat, City Tower, Tiberias - 2-12, • J'lem - 2-18 • Tel Aviv - 2-19 Artzeinu Tours in conjunction with the Israel Center presents... Queen for a Day •Note change in day & price • Ladies, treat yourself (and/or your daughter, d-in-law)•WED July 11th,8:30am to 6:30pm•Ein Gedi Spa Glatt Kosher (fleishig) lunch A professionally guided tour of Ein Gedi's Botanical Gardens Round-trip transportation $50 for members ($65 non-members)•Advanced registration required CALL NOW • Return times are approx. •Departure from 22 Keren HaYesod unless otherwise stated Call 02 5871718 for more details Grand Spectacular Weekend 4 FULL DAYS, 3 NIGHTS at the KINAR• THU-SUN, July 12-15 with Rabbi Yeshaya Jacobs •Shabbat - full board; Thu & Sun - half board THURSDAY (bring packed lunch)•meet at the Israel Center at 8:15am•Tour the north - Caesaria aqueduct; Tsfat -- ancient alleyways,candle factory; meet with artist of the unique "shtender" - Noach Greenberg; daven at the Kever of Choni Hama'agel'•FRIDAY •Leisure - enjoy the pool and beach (all separate swimming) jacuzzi and sauna of the Kinar Classic Hotel• SHABBAT•Enjoy the atmosphere -- both spiritual and physical, incl. story hour for children and shiurim for adults •SUNDAY•11:00am Leave for the Golan Heights - tour to include Yom Kippur war sites and a meaningful audio visual presentation, Syrian bunkers at Tel Fachar; refreshing "Big Apple" cider factory; dinner at the KINAR•Arrival in Yerushalayim approx.9:30pm •Cost for entire package (includes hotel, meals, round trip transportation; tours and all entrance fees) Garden rooms: $285/1180nis (299/1235 non-mem)•Brand new deluxe rooms $315/1310nis (330/1365)•Special prices for children •ONLY A FEW ROOMS LEFT •Advance registration and deposit required •Call the travel desk • min. 25 participants Note: Option for hotel only at unbeatable price! Our 11th Annual Seminar•Live and Learn the Joys of Macrobiotics•4-day Health Seminar for men and women at Yad Binyamin Guest House•MON thru THU, July 23–26, '01 Delicious, Nutritious, Tasty Macrobiotic Meals•Mehadrin - Shemita Lehumrah•Expert lectures and demonstrations on Nutrition, Reflexology, Cooking, Medicinal Herbs, Exercise & more!!! Sara Landau Macro Counselor, Medicinal Herbist•Dr. Yisrael Yaffa Medical Doctor (USA) & Practicing Alternative Medicine in Israel•Rabbi Mendel Weinberger Guided Imagery•Asher Lazar Director of the Brooklyn Macro School & Traditional Jewish Health House•Rabbanit Sara Feldman Graphologist•Penina Mellick National Health Consultant•Liora Friedman Crystals Therapy•Susan Birenbaum Phsyiotherapist•Niv Horowitz Director of Magnet Therapy School•Pearl Borow International Lecturer•Ruth Brand Macrobiotic Cooking Demonstrations•Leah Zinn, Macrobiotics & Shiatsu •Chava Bruck Do-In Exercises, self-massage THIS YEAR SAME PRICE AS LAST YEARNIS888 p.p. dbl. occupancy (single supp. avail.)for members of the Moadon and/or Israel Center•Non-Members add NIS50•Price includes: transportation, lovely a/c rooms, F/B, shiurim, evening programs, activities •Make checks payable to MOADON SANHEDRIA LECTURES IN ENGLISH • Prog. subject to change•Leaving Jerusalem, Monday, 8:00am Returning Thursday, 6:00pm (approx.)•Reservations: Ruth Brand 02-5353-973 or Shulamit-Coordinator 02-58-119-58 or 5-81-44-81 or 050-937-932•Sponsored by MOADON SANHEDRIA ISRAEL CENTER SCHEDULE "Regular" Israel Center classes & lectures - 15NIS for members, 20NIS for non-mem. Life members, free.•No one will be turned away for lack of ability to pay. SHABBAT 5:00pm•Shiur in Pirkei Avot•Men and Women are invited •Different speakers weekly• This week (6th perek): Phil Chernofsky•Cold drinks will be served•Mincha follows Shiur MOTZA"SH July 7th, 9:45pm•Internal Medicine: Update 2001: New developments in... Hypertension, Diabetes, Arthritis, Obesity, holesterol Control, Cancer Therapy, Gastro-Intestinal Disorders, Asthma, Genetics, the Common Cold Also - Important new drugs•Guest speaker: Dr. Henry R. Hashkes BEIS MEDRASH PROGRAM•SUN-THU, 9:30-12:30•Shiurim at 10:00am•Magid Shiur and supervisor HaRav Hillel Ruvell•For men who want some serious learning DAF YOMI in English 3:00-4:00pm•Sunday-Thursday SUNDAY 9:30am (women)• Mystical Insights into the Months of the Year•Golda Warhaftig N'shei Library •10:30-12:45 10:30am (women)•Let's Study Eicha•with Tonia Frohwein 11:30am•(This class is open to men and women)•Parshat HaShavua•Shprintzee Herskovits 12:30pm (men & women)•Great Jewish Stories with music •Rabbi David Zitter July 8th• 17th of Tammuz•5:00pm •Special Video Presentation: The OU & RCA present...Israel: One People, One Family Reaching out in times of crisis •5:45pm •Shiur by Rabbi Menachem Raab, Anatomy of a Fast Day•6:45pm, Mincha for the Fast Day•7:40pm, Siyum by Dr. Joel Luber•8:10pm, Maariv and refreshments•The 17 Tammuz program is in memory of Murray Luber z"l, MOSHE BEN HARAV YITZCHAK MONDAY 9:15am• The Prophetic Dozen•Last session on HOSHEA•Rabbi Eliezer Grunbaum•Beginning IY"H next week (July 16th)•Rabbi Grunbaum will be teaching TAAMEI MITZVOT U'MINHAGIM,Reasons for Jewish Law & Custom 10:30•Rambam's 13 Principles of Faith •Rabbi Zev Leff N'SHEI lending library 10:00-12:30 July 9th, 11:36am•The Three Weeks, The Historical Setting•Dr. Henry Goldblum July 9th, call 051-985225•NLP Workshop given by Rabbi Shlomo Kory, Certified NLP master-practitioner•How to communicate with almost anyone July 9th, 8:00pm •Bush-Sharon-Arafat, What Now?! Update on U.S. attitudes vis-a-vis Israel•Dr. David Luchins, Senior advisor to New York State Comptroller H. Carl McCall TUESDAY 9:00-9:50•TORAH TOPICS•Kiddush HaShem•Dr. Hayim Abramson 9:55-10:45•SIDDUR TOPICS•In-depth study of Kaddish•Dr. Hayim Abramson 10:50-11:40•Parshat HaShavua•Rabbi Mordechai Spiegelman 10:12:00•The Israel Center and the Old City Free Loan Association Gemach - Free Loan Society to provide interest-free loans for people in financial distress. Interviews at the Center from 10:00-12:00 • Please bring ID 11:45am (women)•Chassidic insights into Parshat HaShavua and the Actualia of Our Time based on Chabad teachings•Raizel Zisk 2:00pm •Shiur in the Laws and Practices of Shabbat July 10th, 8:00pm•Only one year in Auschwitz!!•Guest speaker: Ruth Brand July 10th, 6:45-10:00pm•Friends and relatives of singles! Members of shidduch committees and matchmakers! People who want to make a difference in another Jew’s life! Join us for an evening workshop: The Art of Being a Dating Advisor featuring Talking Tachlis authors and dating advice columnists, Rosie Einhorn, L.C.S.W. and Sherry Zimmerman, Esq. founders of Sasson V’Simcha, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping Jewish singles marry. Learn the “psychology” of single adults as you are trained to guide a friend, relative or client through courtship and engagement Admission 70nis - includes materials, certificate of participation and ongoing “technical support” by Sasson V’Simcha WEDNESDAY 8:20am•The Eshet Chayil Foundation in conjunction with the Israel Center, is pleased to announce a class on TEHILIM with Sara Wurtzel•Each session will begin with the reading of a chapter of Tehilim, followed by a study of the same perek. 9:30am•Towards a more Meaningful Davening Experience•Dr. Joel Luber 10:30am•for everyone•Break the Fear Habit ...and LIVE!•Alan Romm, P.C 11:30am-1:00pm•Spiritual Intelligence in PIRKEI AVOT•Batya Yaniger 3:00pm•Women in Tanach•Pearl Borow•This class is open to men and women July 11th, 4:00-5:30pm •Poetry Workshop with Shmuel Mann•Express your feelings, your view of the World, observations of every day... through the world of poetry. Each individual has a world of experiences within them.Written in any form, rhyme, free verse, any style, each member will work towards putting together his/her own collection of poems 7:45-8:45pm•Jewish Philosophy•Rabbi Chaim Eisen•One week: Road Map to the Prophets: Rambam's Guide of the Perplexed•One week: Ramban's Commentary on the Torah and its Wellsprings•This week: Ramban's Commentary on the Torah and its Wellsprings 8:00-10:00pm•Aliya Counseling•Miriam Bass July 11th, 8:00pm •From Hindu to Buddhist Pillar to the Vatican...to Sinai, the spiritual journey of best-selling author, Roy S. Neuberger From Central Park to Sinai - How I Found my Jewish Soul, Distinguished educator and author, Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet will introduce the guest speaker•Come here the compelling story of a Jew born with a silver spoon in his mouth but with an absence of (and animosity towards) all things Jewish, set out on a search for spirituality and meaning in life. July 11th, 8:00pm •JEWISH VALUES EDUCATION INSTITUTE•New Perspectives on Prayer•Blessings of Self-Identity with Prof. Yosef Tabory, Chairperson, Dept. of Talmud, Bar IlanUniversity THURSDAY 10:30am•Shiur while you fold 10:30am•SLIM FOR LIFE•Group weight-loss program for women•Qualified Nutritional Advisor (BSC Hons) on hand•No obligation for the first session•Libby - 651-8061 • Elisheva - 999-6479 July 12th, 7:30pm•NLP Workshop given by Rabbi Shlomo Kory, Certified NLP master-practitioner•“RiteWeigh”, an NLP alternative to dieting to help you take control of your eating habits, reach and maintain your ideal weight, and feel healthier•30NIS members (40 for non-members) 8:00pm•Shir HaShirim•Reb Yosef Schreiber FRIDAY 9:00-10:00am•In-Depth Pirkei Avot Rabbi Chaim Eisen Upcoming at the Israel Center Motza'ei Shabbat, July 14th, 9:30pm•L'maan B'nos Yisrael International in cooperation with the OU Israel Center•Jerusalem Int'l Conference; Approaches in Dealing with the Agunah Crisis•Speakers: Rabbi Shmuel Gamliel, Director of the Agunah Department of the Rabbinic Courts of the State of Israel; Rabbi Yaakov Pollack, Rabbi, Cong. Shomre Emunah; Rabbi Elazar M. Teitz, Rabbi of Elizabeth, NJ Marilyn Mattie Klein, Founder & President, L'maan B'nos Yisrael Int'l•Admission free • program subject to change• Refreshments will be served•L'maan B'nos Yisrael Int'l works on behalf of Agunot, former Agunot and their abandoned children. They ask for your prayers and attendance at this important program. Alone, we can do little. With HaShem's help, there is little we cannot do.•For further information about this program (or the organization, in general), call (02) 658- 2822, or the Center at (02) 566-7787 ext. 204, and/or visit www.lbyi.org Sunday July 15th, 8:00pm•Cloning •Prof. Edward H. Simon, PhD, Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, Specialties: Animal virology, molecular biology Tuesday, July 17, 8:00pm•JEWISH VALUES EDUCATION INSTITUTE•First of a new series•Watch for further details Wednesday, July 18, 8:00pm•JEWISH VALUES EDUCATION INSTITUTE•New Perspectives on Prayer•What do the Dead Sea Scrolls teach us about Jewish Prayer with Dr. Esther Chazon, Dept. of Literature, Hebrew University, Jerusalem Thursday, July 19th, 8:00pm•Special shiur for the Three Weeks; SIN'AT CHINAM: Revenge vs. Self Defense•Rabbi Efraim Sprecher Motza'ei Shabbat, July 21, 9:30pm•Pre-Tish'a b'Av Preview of Kinot with Dr. David Luchins; with the hope & prayer that Kinot become obsolete, relegated to academic obscurity, speedily in our time OU ISRAEL CENTER Seymour J. Abrams • Orthodox Union•Jerusalem
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