Q Does milk that was milked on Shabbat
(in Israel) without employing any halachic solutions become not kosher
because of the violation? It, therefore, would seem like an open and shut case that one can drink milk that was milked by others, as it is forbidden only for he who violated Shabbat. The question is whether the people, on whose behalf the work was done, is considered like the violator himself or like someone else. The Magen Avraham compares this to the case where one takes a forbidden food and purposely mixes it up in such a way that the forbidden food should be batel (nullified). Shulchan Aruch rules (Yoreh Deah 99:5) in that case that the mixture is forbidden even for the person upon whose behalf the act was done. Thus, it would have seemed that the milking, which was done in order to sell to consumers, would be forbidden for them. However, the Magen Avraham continues that the Beit Yosef explains that the case of mixing in the forbidden food is particularly strict, because we need to fear that the perpetrator will not take the matter seriously. The Magen Avraham reasons that, regarding actually violating Shabbat, one cannot make that claim. Almost all later Acharonim understand the conclusion of Magen Avraham and the halacha as permitting the food to the intended recipients of the melacha. However, the K'tav Sofer (son of the Chatam Sofer) complicated the matter a bit. He explains (OC 50) that while the Shabbat violator may sell the food, that is because he already is penalized for his violation by virtue of the fact that he cannot eat the food himself. However, in a case where someone regularly cooks on Shabbat in order to sell the food to customers, the penalty will not be felt if he can continue to do so. It, therefore, becomes forbidden for him to sell. If it is forbidden for him to sell, then it is forbidden to buy from him because of the requirement not to facilitate or even aid and abet one who is doing a sin, in this case the sale. It is not at all clear that we accept the K'tav Sofer's ruling, but in any case, the matter does not seem applicable to our case. After all, we do not buy the milk from the dairy farmers but from a grocery, who bought from a distributor, who bought the milk. Therefore, it is too indirect for the consumer to need to be concerned about lifnei iver (facilitating a sin). In practice, it is often a non-Jew who does the actual milking. This is, para- doxically, a stricter situation in some ways. When a non-Jew does melacha on Shabbat on behalf of a Jew, one has to wait after Shabbat the additional amount of time it takes to do the necessary work (bichdei sheya'asu- see Beitza 24b). However, in practice, the necessary amount of time always elapses before the consumer has a chance to drink his milk. Ask the Rabbi Q&A is part of Hemdat
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Hemdatya –Please leave the subject blank. Ask the Vebbe Rebbe is partially
funded by the Jewish Agency for Israel With the impending plague of Hail,
those who feared G-d brought their servants and animals indoors. And
whoever did not heed G-d’s word, left them in the field. The latter, says
Targum Yonatan was Bil’am. Bil'am's last speech is also his best. Released from his internal struggle and his attempts to satisfy Balak's desire to pronounce a curse, Bil'am is at long last able to see things in a wider perspective. He suddenly soars in prophetic genius. With prophetic insight, he is able to envisage the people of Israel as they are meant to be. He transcends the narrow view of Israel encamped in the desert, and he is led to an appreciation of the true destiny of the Jewish people. Now Bil'am is able to see Israel as a nation dwelling securely and proudly in its own land. The many enemies surrounding Eretz Yisrael and massing on its borders, Mo'av, Edom, Se'ir, and Amalek, are diminished in their destructive power and importance. The Kenites - the one nation truly willing to live in peace with Israel and acknowledge Israel's role in Eretz Yisrael - are envisaged as dwelling happily and peacefully in the land, secure in their own national identity, yet acknowledging Israel's divinely sanctioned presence. As we read Bil'am's inspired words, we
understand that not only is his vision of how Israel would finally achieve
full self-realization true, but that we today have been privileged to
participate in its partial fulfillment. TORAH THOUGHTS as contributed by Aloh
Naaleh members for publication in the Orthodox Union's 'Torah Insights', a
weekly Torah publication on Parshat Ha'Shavuah Strangely, for a foreigner, Bilaam asks the first delegation sent to him to wait so that "the Lord may speak to me." Not surprisingly, Hashem tells Bilaam not to proceed, since Bnei Yisrael are blessed. Not resigning himself to this answer, Bilaam awaits the divine message again in response to the demands of a second, more honorable delegation. He is then told to "go with them," only to incur the wrath of Hashem. The commentators are baffled by this
turn of events. How could Hashem acquiesce to Bilaam's request and then
express anger? But then we are reminded that Hashem also allowed Moshe to
send scouts to Eretz Yisrael and to appoint a king instead of Shmuel -
against His intrinsic desires. [The Parshat Balak Homepage]
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