ASK THE REBBE from the virtual desk of the OU Vebbe Rebbe Question: I am machmir (stringent) on the great mitzva of tzitzis, and, therefore, sleep with them on. Should I make a bracha on them in the morning, as I am not putting them on anew? The gemara (Menachot 43a) indicates that if one is obligated to wear tzitzit at night, then he does not make a bracha in the morning unless he puts on a new garment which requires tzitzit (for convenience, I will call the garment, tzitzit, although this is a common misnomer). There are different opinions as to whether a day garment is obligated in tzitzit at night. According to the opinion that it is exempt at night, the new obligation which begins in the morning brings along a new bracha, as well. The Shulchan Aruch 8:16 rules that one who sleeps in tzitzit makes a bracha in the morning (compare to his ruling in 18:1; see Aruch Hashulchan 8:23). Since we do not reject the opinion of the Rosh who requires tzitzit on day clothing at night, several major poskim take issue with the Shulchan Aruch’s ruling, and the Mishna Berurah (8:42) concludes that, because of the doubt, one should not make the bracha. The best advice is to have in mind, when making the bracha on the talit, to have the bracha apply to the tzitzit as well (Magen Avraham 8:21). One who does not wear a talit will, out of doubt, have to refrain from the bracha. Notice that if the Shulchan Aruch is correct, one who wears tzitzit all night is prevented from making a bracha he should make and does not even fulfill a mitzva by wearing them. Another problem with keeping tzitzit on all night is that some authorities raised questions as to whether wearing them while sleeping compromises the tzitzit’s dignity. We are lenient on the matter (Rama 21:3), but it is not clear that one shows greater respect for the mitzva of tzitzit by keeping them on (see also Aruch Hashulchan, 21:6). The Mishna Berurah does cite that the Ari z"l advocated sleeping in tzitzit for kabalistic reasons, but Sha’arei Teshuva 8:1 infers from earlier authorities that this was not the normal practice. We do not usually suggest to regular people to adopt kabbalastic practices which classical halacha does not favor. “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
www.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. Faith and security were given hand in hand. The faithful are secure. And those who are insecure - it is surely a sign that they lack faith. I wish that people would avoid sin not because it is forbidden, but because they do not have the free time to waste on sin. REASON Some (many) congregations say all four sentences. Others say U'ch'tov and B'sefer, but not Zachreinu - because it is a "minor" request compared to the last two. Nor do they say Mi Chamocha, because it is description and praise of G-d but not a request. [The minhag of the GR"A is that only the Chazan says these additions to the Amida during the repetition. The congregation has already said them during their Amida. The repetition is the Chazan's Amida and only he says it. The congregation responds with Amen, K'dusha, Modim... and that't all.] It is a widely accepted custom to eat apple dipped in honey on Rosh HaShana, and to recite: May it be Your will that You renew for us a good and sweet year. REASON The apple is a mystical allusion to the "field of apples", which is a reference to Gan Eiden. REASON We dip the apple in honey in accord with the pasuk: There He established statutes and judgments (Shmot 15:25), which is immediately followed by: And the waters became sweet. Rosh HaShana is the Day of Judgment. And in the Prophets (Shmuel Alef 25:38) it is written: And it was during the ten days that HaShem smote Naval and he died. The Gemara says that this refers to the Aseret Y'mei T'shuva. In the same chapter (concerning Naval) it says: And 100 clusters of raisins and 200 cakes of figs. In T'hilim 19:10 it says: The judgments of HaShem are true. And next to that pasuk it says: And they are sweeter than honey. Nechemya 8:10 says: Eat fat foods and drink sweet drinks. This refers to Rosh HaShana. One is reminded of the Gemara (Makkot 23b) in which the rabbis discuss King David’s succinct description of what constitutes an upright individual (Psalm 15). Included is the notion that such a person would not accept “a bribe against the innocent.” A bribe for the guilty, we can understand, but what is a bribe against the innocent? The Gemara gives us a clue by citing Rabbi Yishmael ben Yossi as the prototype of one who refrained from accepting such a bribe (cf. Ketubot 105b). The story is as follows: Rabbi Yishmael’s farmer tenant, who used to bring him a present of fruit every Friday, brought it to him on a Thursday since he was anyway passing by on his way to court. It was also on that day that R. Yishmael was to try the farmer! The tenant, however, was known by the rabbi to be innocent and had not brought the present as a bribe. The fruit was, in a sense, the rabbi’s to take; nevertheless, he did not accept the fruit basket nor did he agree to try the case. In his commentary, the Maharsha points to this trait of Rabbi Yishmael’s as one that is well worth emulating: The judge, it seems, wanted to be innocent and remain that way – both in the eyes of G-d and in the eyes of man. Sincerely yours, Menachem Persoff, Director, Israel Center [The Sho'f'tim Homepage]
|
