BRUCHIM H'BA'IM B'SHEM HASHEM Sunset, on the other hand, is given for an elevation of 825m and, in parentheses, as if at sea level. There are different opinions as to which sunset time should be used for halachic purposes. We present both times. The deadlines for the SH'MA and the Shacharit Amida can be calculated in two ways. Either considering the day to be from sunrise to sunset or from dawn to stars out. The first way of reckoning is known as the opinion of the GR"A, and is the first time given in each case. The second method is known as the Magen Avraham, and is presented in parentheses. Aside from candle lighting and
havdala, the times are presented as a range, from the current
Thursday of the issue of Torah Tidbits until the coming Thursday, a
span of 8 days. Days between the two Thursdays can be determined by
interpolation (which means: a method by which to estimate a value of
between two known values - this is something that people above a
certain age might remember from high school trigonometry and
logarithms, but younger people who went to school during the
calculator era might not be familiar with). Some of the miracles of Y’tzi’at Mitzrayim were momentary and others continued throughout the period of wandering in the wilderness. Witnessing Revelation at Sinai, protected by Heavenly Clouds and Pillars of Fire, fed by “bread from heaven”, wearing clothes and shoes that did not wear out, the Generation of the Midbar was the generation of miracles. More than any other day of the week, TU BiShvat falls on Shabbat (30% of the time), specifically Shabbat Shira, Parshat B’shalach. TU BiShvat represents for us the transition from open, supernatural miracles to the subtle, everyday miracles of nature - the main type of miracle that became the definition of our new life in Eretz Yisrael. Our Sages wanted use to be continually amazed by G-d’s every- day miracles. One of the manifestations of this goal, is the structure of the set of Brachot we have for food. If Chaza”l were only interested in our thanking G-d for food and acknowledg- ing Him as the Source of All, then She- hakol would have sufficed. A bracha that G-d brought EVERYTHING into existence would do the trick. But they taught us more. You think that MAHN appearing six days a week protected by layers of dew is some- thing? What about this: dig up and soften the soil, put a little seed in it, water it and nurture it, care for it and protect it, and several months down the line you will be able to pluck a delicious and nurishing carrot from the ground to slice and dice, cook or enjoy raw. Every time you are about to put that kind of food in your mouth, acknowledge G-d’s “natural” miracle by saying a Borei Pri HaAdama. And how about this: plant a tree
and you’ll be able to pick apples off it for years and years.
Acknowledge that with a Borei Pri HaEitz. Five brachot in all were
added to the catch-all She-hakol. And all of them express our
apprecia- tion and wonderment in G-d’s world that goes on giving.
Perhaps this is the message of TU Bishvat, especially when it falls
on Shabbat Shira. [SDT] The Midrash tells us that Yosef's bones had been hidden by the Egyptians in the Nile in order to prevent the Israelites from leaving the country. Yosef's coffin miraculously surfaced just at the right time, so that the People could take it with them when they left. We are taught that Yosef merited being taken out of Egypt for burial in Eretz Yisrael because he had arranged for his father's burial. Moshe, in turn, was accorded the highest honor - G-d Himself took care of Moshe's burial, in reward for the attention he paid to Yosef's remains. [FYI] The Gemara teaches us that a dead body itself - and certainly one who is defiled to a dead body - is allowed into the "Levite Camp", and is only banned from the Mikdash area. This we learn from the fact that Moshe took Yosef's bones "with him". This halacha has significance today concerning halachic permissibility of ascending the Temple Mount in those areas that are outside the Mikdash area. That part of Har HaBayit has the status of the Levite camp, and one may go there following immersion in a Mikve to rid oneself of "the defilement that comes from the body". (Defilement to a dead body cannot be removed without the Para Aduma potion.) - with certain restrictions. A person careful about Halacha should consult Rabbanim with Temple Mount experience before ascending to there. If and when the government allows Jews onto Har HaBayit, it will be important for religious Jews who know how to go there "properly" to do so, in order to maintain the Jewish presence on that sacred area. G-d provided an escort for the People in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night. G-d tells Moshe of His plan to lead the People in such a way that Par'o will pursue them in the misguided hope of bringing them back to Egypt. When Par'o is notified (by spies whom he had sent to accompany the Israelites) of the People's whereabouts, he (with G-d's help in making his heart "heavy" and "strong") takes a tremen- dous force with him and chases after the People of Israel. [SDT] "And G-d did not allow them to go DERECH ERETZ P'LISHTIM. Literally, they did not take the straight route to the territory of the Philistines. One commentator suggests an interesting DRASH based on a play on words. G-d did not take the People out of Egypt in DERECH ERETZ, in the normal, natural way of things. Normally, bread comes from the
ground; for the People of Israel, G-d sent them bread from above.
Normally, water comes from above; for the People of Israel, G-d
provided water from below, from the miraculous Well that accompanied
them on their journeys, in the merit of Miriam. Not taking us out in
a natural manner, leaves us with no doubt that it was indeed G-d Who
took us out of Egypt. This is a crucial foundation stone of Judaism.
Not only did we get out of Mitzrayim, but it was G-d Who took us
out. Not only did He take us out, but the people knew it well. [SDT] It might be suggested that
what is happening is a clarification of who took the People of
Israel out of Egypt. Par'o actually thought that he let the People
go - that he expelled the People from Egypt. That's even what it
seems to say at the beginning of this week's sedra. G-d arranged to
have Par'o run after them. Then the events make it clear to him -
and to us - that G-d, and only G-d took us out of Egypt. [sdt] Our Sages teach us that there are times that prayer is called for, and other times when action is the order of the day. Sometimes we must use long prayers and petitions; sometimes a quick prayer not only suffices, but saying more can be counter-productive. G-d says: MA TITZ'AK EILAI, why call to me? MA is spelled MEM-HEI. MEM can represent the 40 days and 40 nights that Moshe was to spend in prayer on behalf of the People following the Sin of the Golden Calf. MEM represents long prayer. HEI can stand for the simple but eloquent 5-word prayer for Miriam's recovery from Tzora'at which she contracted in punishment for speaking disrespectfully of Moshe. And sometimes, neither short nor long prayer is appropriate. At this point of the Exodus, the order of the day was decisive action. Move it! There is another example later in the Torah of Moshe and Aharon springing into immediate action to stop a plague from killing the People. We must know when to say T'hilim and went to act, and when to do both. G-d tells Moshe to raise his hand over the Sea and split it, so the People will be able to pass through it on dry land. G-d informs Moshe that He will again harden Egypt's heart so that they will continue their pursuit. The Egyptians will finally know G-d's Might. The guardian angel (pillar of cloud) that was leading the People now was repositioned between the Jews and the pursuing Egyptian army, preventing contact. Moshe raises his hand above the Sea and G-d causes a powerful eastern wind to blow all night, followed by a parting of the waters. The People of Israel enter the Sea on dry land, between walls of water. Egypt boldly follows, but the arrogant attitude of the Egyptians abruptly changes to fear and panic as their chariots lose their wheels and bog down in the seabed. (This is in sharp contrast with the perfectly dry land that Israel found beneath its feet.) Egypt finally (too late) acknowledges G-d, not only now, but retroactively, as the One Who had fought for Israel in Egypt. [sdt] Why the strong wind blowing
all night? Could not G-d have split the Sea with the snap of a
finger? The answer is: Of course. But the night's preparation for
the miracles of the day serve several purposes. The Egyptians are
lulled into a false sense of security when something is happening
that they can explain. They don't want to accept that the G-d of
Israel is performing miracles for His people. No doubt, their
wizards explained the desert winds and the effects it can have.
Among the Jews, there are always individuals who would like not to
admit to G-d's awesome powers. They too will have their "excuse" in
the natural components of the miracle. Perhaps, most importantly,
this wind (and the like) allows us to relate to and appreciate more,
the miracles themselves. A snap of the finger brings results too
quickly for us to think about what is happening. A night to ponder
what was going on, further enhanced the appreciation of the Children
of Israel for what had happened, was happening, and was to happen. Next comes the Song of the Sea.What makes the Song of the Sea so special is that it is a direct quote of the People of Israel that G-d put into His Torah verbatim. In other words, the rest of the Torah is written by G-d; we composed this part. It is an inspiring passage that has been incorporated into the daily davening. [SDT] It is written in Sefer HaChareidim that "he who says the Song of the Sea aloud and with joy, it is as if he was leaving Egypt at that moment - and his sins will be forgiven." In the merit of the Song of the Sea, G-d split the Sea for the People and forgave their transgressions. The People continue their journey and fail to find water for three days. When they do find some, they complain bitterly (pun intended) of the inability to drink it. G-d directs Moshe to perform a miracle whereby the water becomes sweet. [SDT] Aside from the literal
meaning of the text, this episode is considered an allusion to the
primacy of Torah in the life of a Jew. Both Torah and water sustain
life - spiritual and physical. In the same vein, "three days without
water" resulted in our reading the Torah on Monday and Thursday, so
that in our wandering in the spiritual desert of life, we will not
go 3 days without spiritual water. This is but one "use" of the
well-known analogy between Torah and water. Included in the instructions about the MAHN is the command not to "leave our PLACE on the seventh day (to collect the Manna)". This was not just a rule for that generation; it is a mitzva among the 613 - the mitzva of T'chum Shabbat [24, L321]. Briefly, the point of T'CHUM is not about how far we may walk on Shabbat. It is about how far AWAY FROM HOME we may go. This is obvious from the halachic details of T'CHUM. The weekdays are for going. Shabbat is for staying put (as defined by halacha) and being able to "relax" and ponder G-d's Creation and Mastery.over all. The episode of the MAHN is the context in which the Shabbat was first introduced to the People of Israel. A sample of the MAHN was stored as a remembrance for future generations. MITZVA WATCH Ramban holds that the whole topic of T’CHUM is Rabbinic; that the Torah does not have such a restriction, and that the pasuk in this week’s sedra from which Rambam learns T’CHUM, is actually talking about other Shabbat matters. It is important to realize that
the prohibition of T’CHUM, be it D’Oraita or D’Rabbanan, was not
meant to put a limit on physical exertion or the distance a person
may walk on Shabbat. A person who lives in a house in the boondocks
(or, as it is called in some circles, yenemsvelt) which is located
on a small plot of land with a fence around it, is restricted to a
distance of about a kilometrer outside his fence. Another person who
lives in a big city can walk from one end to the other - from Coney
Island to the Bronx and back again - miles and miles - and not have
a problem of T’CHUM at all. And even the first guy with the house
near no others can walk around and around his property all Shabbat
long. As long as he does not go outside his T’CHUM, he’s okay. (Not
really, because he has to figure out why he spends all Shabbat
walking in circles around his home.) There’s a lot more, but we’ll
stop for now... The final nine p'sukim (which
constitute the Torah reading of Purim morning) tell of the attack by
Amalek on the fledgling nation of Israel. It is the archtypical
fight against those who would seek to destroy us. This battle
repeats itself - differently - throughout Jewish History. In Shulhan Aruch Hoshen haMishpat, Rabbi Yosef Karo has a chapter (204) called. "Under What Circumstances Does The Party Who Reneges On an Agreement [of Sale] Receive a Curse of 'He Who Punished'; And When Is He Called 'A Person Lacking Faith?'" As seen from the title there are two distinct ways the party who reneges on an agreement to sell or buy is punished. Albeit the punishment is not by the hand of man, but rather by the hand of the One who controls all hands. This lesson shows that although a person may be in technical compliance with the law, he is still a person who is not admired by G-d and therefore is not to be admired by his fellow human beings. As is seen in the previous lessons, either party, the seller or buyer, can legally renege and not complete a sale until an act of acquisition has been performed by the buyer, although money has been paid. For example, the seller and buyer agree that the seller will sell his automobile to the buyer for $1,000. The buyer may have paid the entire $1,000, or part of the $1,000, or no part of the $1,000. But until the buyer performs an act of acquisition on the automobile, the automobile does not belong to him and either party may legally renege on the agreement. The halachah realizes that people should not be permitted to make agreements and then renege on them. The halachah has two methods to treat this type of conduct, depending upon whether the buyer has paid all or part of the purchase price or has not paid any part of the purchase price. It must be realized that these methods are effective only if the person who is involved in the transaction is a person who is concerned that both in this life and in the next life he has to face his Maker. If a person realizes this, his entire conduct in business as well as all of his actions will be tempered with trying to do the right thing in the eyes of God. Reneging on an agreement in business, although technically not binding, is not doing the right thing. The Talmud, Shabbath 31a, quotes a teaching of Rava who said that when man is led in for judgment in the next world he is immediately asked, "Did you deal faithfully with your fellow man?" One method in treating a person not living up to his word in business is subjecting the person to a curse called "He who punished," and the second method is subjecting that person to being called a person "lacking Faith." The proper punishment of these two depends upon whether the party withdrew from the transaction before or after money changed hands from the buyer to the seller. The situation where money changed hands but before an act of acquisition was performed is more serious than the situation where no money has changed hands. Ordinarily a person cannot be called names such as a person lacking faith. The name caller may be sued for slander and may have to compensate the slandered person. For Beth Din to permit a person to be called something derogatory is an aberration from all accepted halachic principles. Thus in the situation where the act of acquisition has not been performed and either the seller or buyer withdraws from the transaction, the law provides no monetary remedy. However, the other party may ask Beth Din to administer the curse of "He who punished." The seller agrees with the buyer that the item will be sold at its market price, and the buyer paid part or all of the money. The seller does not possess the item to be sold. The seller must acquire the item and deliver it to the buyer according to the then prevailing market price. Should he fail to do so he is subject to the curse. Also if the buyer has made his mark on the item he is purchasing, although no part of the price has been paid, the party who withdraws is liable to the curse. The party who has not reneged can summon the withdrawing party to Beth Din and the curse will be administered there by the Beth Din. The Beth Din pronounces as follows: "He who punished the generation of the flood [in the time of Noah]; and the generation of the Tower of Babel; and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah; and the Egyptians at the Red Sea; shall exact punishment from whomever does not keep his word." There is an opinion that the curse is directed specifically to the withdrawing party and instead of saying "from whomever does not keep his word" the judges pronounce "from you [the withdrawing party] if you do not keep your word." The curse is pronounced publicly. If the item purchased by the buyer and paid for in whole or in part is accidentally destroyed before the buyer performed an act of acquisition the buyer may ask for his money back and he will not receive the curse of "He who punished." This is true even if there are witnesses that the seller could not have saved the object from loss, and that he was not negligent in how he took care of the item. There is an opinion that the
buyer is not subject to the curse if he withdraws from the
transaction because he is afraid that the item will become a total
loss for him. We thus see that the halacha
sometimes demands a standard even higher than the minimum
requirements of the halachah as it pertains to business. Modesty during a Funeral Procession The Shulchan Arukh tells us that
we should be especially careful to avoid any immodest social mixing
between men and women during a funeral pro- cession. The Beer
HaGolah indicates that the sources is in a Talmudic aggada which
states that the Angel of Death told Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi, “Don’t
stand before the women when they are coming back from a funeral, for
I dance before them with my sword in my hand, and I have permission
to destroy” (SA YD 359, Berakhot 51a). Some individuals are so addicted to material enjoyments that they view death, which puts an end to these experiences, as the end of existence. For such a person, the thought of death is so bitter that it weakens and disgusts him; he is temporarily unable to enjoy bodily indulgences which he knows are temporary only. For such a person life and death are total opposites, and as soon as he recovers from the somber atmosphere of mourning this consciousness will simply evaporate, leaving him no wiser than before. But a more elevated perspective recognizes that death is just one stage in the progression of the soul. “Our minds should conceive of death in a natural way, as one of the wonders of the creation of He Who created from the beginning; G-d Who is good and does good. Therefore, it is chained to the stream of life in its totality; it is one of the circumstances of life and its final apparition.” Equipped with this point of view, when we contemplate death due to the occurrence of mourning, our thoughts turn from earthly pleasures not because of any denial of life but on the contrary because of a strengthened affirmation of life including that part of our existence which continues after our earthly existence is terminated. Rav Kook teaches that when the boundaries of modesty are not carefully guarded, the former mentality tends to prevail. (One explanation we can give for this is that the romantic connection between man and woman, which leads to the creation of future generations, is one way in which we can partially overcome death in a purely material way. This can partially assuage our earthly worries and turn our attention from the spiritual immortality of the soul.) Thus the angel of death “dances before us”, trying to turn our attention to lighter and more joyful matters. In an atmosphere of levity, this distraction will be successful in preventing mourning from leading to productive introspection. Furthermore, the Angel of Death
asserts that then, “My sword is in my hand”. When we have the
appropriate apprehension of mourning, we recog- nize that only
HaShem decides when our earthly lives must end, so that we can begin
a new chapter of existence in the World of Truth. But the narrower,
more materialistic view experiences death as the end of life; in
this case death is viewed as something far removed from HaShem’s
providence, as if the sword were in the hands of the Angel of Death
alone. Rabbi Meir has completed writing a monumental companion to Kitzur Shulchan Aruch which beautifully presents the meanings in our mitzvot and halacha. It will hopefully be published in the near future. 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 Qs — www.jewishethicist.com
or www. aish.com Q Many schools have charity auctions at which the parents solicit gifts from merchants, which are then auctioned. Is it wrong to "compel" merchants to contribute by implying that refusal will hurt their business? Shouldn't the parents buy the items for the school? A Let us first assume that the parents are, in effect, compelling one to give the donation. In theory, the gemara says that one who pressures others into giving tzedaka is greater than the one who actually gives it (Bava Batra 9a). However, that it is only assuming that the donator was obligated to be giving that tzedaka and was reluctant to do so. One who pressures someone who can truly not afford to give tzedaka into giving is liable to be Divinely punished (Shulchan Aruch, YD 248:7). On the other hand, it's hard to believe that parents can really coerce a merchant to donate. They could put some type of psychological pressure on, but the matter would still remain his own decision. This being said, any type of significant, negative pressure would be inappropriate at best. Usually, in this type of scenario, the incentive to give is positive. In other words, the storeowner is interested in creating or maintaining good-will and respect with the community of potential customers. Just as customers can ask for courteous treatment, they can ask for generosity, with the decision remaining his own. Those who contribute are often publicly acknowl- edged, so that they gain something from their donation. The actual cost to the donor is less than the retail value, and it may be possible to get a tax break. If these are the conditions, there should not be halachic or ethical problems in soliciting the donations. Of course, the solicitor should conduct himself in a manner that preserves the honor of a Torah lifestyle. Regarding the parents, they have more of an obligation to assist the school that educates their children than others do. But given the high cost of Jewish education, it is unrealistic for many of them to contribute more than the tuition they already pay. 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. And/or you can receive Hemdat Yamim by email
weekly, by sending an email to eretzhem@netvision.net.il with the
message: Join Hemdatya –Please leave the subject blank. Ask the
Vebbe Rebbe is partially funded by the Jewish Agency for Israel Reason: It alludes to the number
of days tefillin are worn during the year (300), excluding 52
Shabbos days and the thirteen Festival days (ibid.). It is customary to wrap the
tefillin strap three times around the back of the hand and three
times around the middle finger (Rambam). While at times we enjoyed a golden era, there were other times which far surpassed the hardships of Egypt. Yet, in all situations, only a minority of the Jews came on Aliyah. In today's portion it says: V'CHAMUSHIM A'LU-literally it means they went up armed. However, our scholars say:ECHAD M'CHAMISHA A'LU-one out of five went up, and others say ECHAD M'CHAMISHIM A'LU- one out of fifty went up. Apparently, whether slaves or masters, whether poor or rich, psychological factors won't let us move. With regard to the eating of the Afikoman, there is a well-known dispute between Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Eliezer ben Azariah. Rabbi Eliezer says we must finish by CHATZOT - by midnight - and Rabbi Akiva says AD BOKER - until morning. The Gemara says that the dispute is based on the term B'CHI'FAZON. Rabbi Eliezer says this means CHIPAZON D'MITZRAYIM, the haste of Egypt to get us out immediately. Rabbi Akiva says this means CHIPAZON D'YISRAEL, the haste of Israel who postponed until the morning. This has been our problem
throughout the ages. Even today, when thank G-d there is an ERETZ
YISRAEL for us to go to, when we speak of Aliyah, we most often hear
"not now, sometime later." Postponement is a psychological stance no
matter where we are. However the HALACHA is like Rabbi Eliezer:
CHIPAZON means haste - now without postponing. For the sake of the
Jewish people and for the sake of Israel, do not postpone. - Rabbi
Charles Weinberg, Jerusalem • 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 The animal kingdom can be divided into two major groups, animals without a backbone, and those with a backbone, known as vertebrates. Vertebrates are further divided into 7 classes, one of them being AVES, the birds. The Class Aves is currently divided up into 23 orders, 142 families, 2,057 genera and 9,702 species of birds. More than half of all species of birds belong to one order, known as Passeriformes, perching birds. Just to give you a small idea about the classification into families... Among the 142 families, some consist of a single species - e.g. Ostrich and Emu are each the sole species of their family. In contrast, there are over 600 species of Corvidae, the crows and their relatives. Birds are warm-blooded animals
(mammals are the only other kind of warm-blooded animals, meaning
that the body can regulate its internal temperature and thereby be
less dependent on the temperature of their environment) with two
legs and front limbs modified as wings. The characteristic feature
of all birds is the feather. All birds have feathers and birds are
the only animals that do! Feathers do many jobs for birds. Soft down
keeps them warm, wing feathers allow flight and tail feathers are
used for steering. The color of the feathers can be used to hide the
bird or to help the bird find a mate... The smallest of all birds is the
humming bird, weighing less than a 10 agora coin or a sheet of A4
paper. A bee humming bird’s egg is the size of a pea. Humming birds
are the only birds that can fly backwards. Hummingbirds are fiercely
aggressive and will attack much larger birds, including jays, crows,
and even hawks. In some species of birds, both
parents take turns incubating their eggs. Others female or male
only. The "Leviyim, who were the singers - Asaf, Heman and Yedutun and their sons and brothers - arrayed in fine linen, with symbols and lyres and harps…" participated in the festivities which surrounded the dedication of Bayit Rishon. Nevertheless, there are no references in the Tanach to an organized Levitical choir in Bayit Rishon until the days of Chezkiyahu Hamelech almost 300 years later. Chezkiyahu restored the Beit Hamikdash to Divine service after it was desecrated in the days of Ahaz his father. The account in II Devrei Hayamim (29:25-30) relates how this righteous king "set the Leviyim in the House of the L-rd with cymbals, lyres and harps…" The Leviyim did not only play musical instruments but also "sang praises with gladness." Leviyim performed other important duties in the Mikdash. In the great Passover celebrations in the days of Chezkiyahu Hamelech and Yoshiyahu Hamelech, we find that Leviyim slaughtered and flayed the sacrificial animals. A private sacrifice was not required to be slaughtered by a Kohein. They also were in charge of the priestly garments and of the Mikdash vessels, supervised the preparation of Menachot - meal offerings - and provided maintenance services. After the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE, it is likely that most of the surviving Leviyim were sent into exile together with the 'leadership classes' of the destroyed Kingdom of Judah. In the days of Shivat Tzion - when some of the exiles returned to Eretz Yisrael and started rebuilding Jerusalem and Bayit Sheini, some Leviyim - but very, very, few - returned. But those who did played an active role in the restoration. "And when the builders laid the foundation of Beit Hashem, they set the Kohanim in their apparel with trumpets, and the Leviyim the sons of Asaf with cymbals to praise the Lord." Interestingly enough, after the passing of Nehemiah, the Ma'aser - the tithe - that the Torah originally had assigned to the Leviyim, "was redirected" to the Kohanim. Traditionally this unilateral priestly "appropriation" was justified by the "Penalty of Ezra" The Gemara asked, "Why were the Leviyim penalized (by being deprived) of the tithe? Because they did not go up (on mass to Jerusalem) in the days of Ezra" (Yebamot 86b). The Levitical loss of this bountiful tithe merely reflected the demographic realities. At the outset of Bayit Sheini there were many thousands of Kohanim and only a handful of Leviyim. Few details are extant as to exactly how and when this reassignment of the Ma'aser was effected. A Halachic question naturally arises. What right did the Kohanim have to a tithe which the Torah reserved for the Leviyim? Answer. The Kohanim, the descendants of Aaron are also Leviyim, but Leviyim of a special type; the descendents of one particular Levitical family. I also found it very curious, that over two hundred and fifty years later, the Mekorot do not mention the Leviyim even once as participants in the national rebellion against the Hellenizing Seleucids. Even after the Beit Mikdash was recaptured and purified by the Chasmona'im; the restored Altar consecrated with "songs, lyres, harps and cymbals", the Leviyim are conspicuous by their absence. And in a description of a musical dedication, we would have expected their presence to be emphasized! (Note Mac. I, 4:35-47) Did they perhaps play too active a role in the Temple administration under the collaborationist High Priests Jason and Menelaus? The Mishna also records what can only be called an astonishing difference of opinion as to who the members of the Levitical choir actually were. R. Meir thought that "they were slaves of the Kohanim." R. Yose posited that they were scions of distinguished Israelite families hailing from Beit Hapegarim, Beit Tziporya and Emmaus (near Tiveriah), "and that they were permitted to give their daughters in marriage to the Kohanim." (Only) R. Chanina ben Antigonus said they were actually Leviyim (Arachin 2;4). The Leviyim, like the Kohanim, were divided into twenty four Mishmarot which would rotate weekly insuring that a much larger number of Leviyim would have the opportunity of contributing their musical skills to the Mikdash ensemble. And in fact Leviyim residing outside of Jerusalem were expected to participate (Ta'anit 4:2). The Yalkut Shimoni, an aggadic commentary to the Tanach, preserves an ancient Midrash which almost "justifies" the judicial murder of Naboth the Jezreelite by Queen Jezebel because her husband, King Ahab, coveted his ancestral vineyard (I Melachim 21). The Midrash relates that Naboth was a singer in the Beit Hamikdash and used to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and thereby attract many people by the sweetness of his voice. One time he refrained from ascending to Jerusalem and so did not fulfill his obligation. That was when Jezebel initiated her machinations which were to end in Naboth's judicial murder (Yalkut Shimoni, Melachim, 221). The righteous Yehoshafat Hamelech
sent delegations of Leviyim throughout the land. "And they taught in
Judah having the Book of the Law of the Lord… and they taught among
the people" (II Devrei Hayamim 17:9). But the Rambam declares that
any Israelite who serves Hashem - as did the Leviyim - and taught
Torah "becomes as holy as Kodesh Hakodashim and Hashem will be his
portion and his heritage for all eternity… (Hil. Shmitah Ve'yoveil
13:13) We’ll continue with the ALEF-BET soon, but first - a slightly expanded look at something raised in last week’s column. We referred to the first word of
the last paragraph of Birkat HaMazon. YUD with a SH’VA NA, REISH
without a vowel at all, and an ALEF with a SHURUK (that’s the VAV
with a dot in its middle). This word is a little tricky. It’s really
not the REISH that has no vowel. The SHURUK goes with the REISH. The
ALEF between them has no vowel. An ALEF without a vowel (and this
can happen in different cases with HEI, VAV, and YUD also) is called
a NACH NISTAR and does not take part (so to speak) in the
pronunciation of the word. Let’s step back to an easier example.
ROSH, head, is spelled REISH with a CHOLAM (CHASEIR) - that’s the
dot above and to the left of the letter, then the “invisible” ALEF,
then a SHIN. Pull the ALEF out of the word and it is still
pronounced ROSH. Put the ALEF back (because it belongs there) and
the pronunci- ation does not change. RISHON, from the same root, is
the same. The ALEF in the word is a NACH NISTAR. Oldest son of Yaakov Avinu. R’U-VEIN. That’s a REISH with a SH’VA, followed by an ALEF with a SHURUK. R’ and U (as the oo in food), R’U. The last syllable is VEIN. R’U-VEIN. This ALEF is regular, NOT a NACH NISTAR. But look what happens when the Torah refers to the Reuvenite family. The family is mentioned 18 times in Tanach, always with a prefixing letter or two. HA- (the), or LA- (to the), V’LA- (and to the), V’HA- (and the). In all cases, there is no SH’VA under the REISH. That means that the REISH “commandeers” the SHURUK that was the ALEF’s and leaves the ALEF as a NACH NISTAR, which doesn’t contribute to the pronouncing of the word. The Reuvenites is HA-RU-VEI-NI (D’varim 26:7, for example). Not HA-R’UVEINI and not HAR-UVEINI - each of these two pronunciations give some sound to the ALEF. There is not supposed to be any sound from the ALEF. Unlike the parent name R’UVEIN, where we do have a sound from the ALEF - namely, ALEF-SHURUK, U (oo as in food), in HA-RU-VEI-NI and LA-RU-VEI-NI, etc. the ALEF does not contribute to the sound of the word. Does this change the meaning of the word? No. Don’t worry that much. But regulars of this column already know that it isn’t just about changing the meaning of words. That’s where it all started, by the way. With v’di-bar-TA as opposed to v’di-BAR- ta. But we’ve grown since then. This column is about polishing up our pronunciation of the Holy Language of our Torah and prayers. It’s about appreciating the fine points of the languge. And putting them into practice. Listen, next time you hear Havdala from someone else, and see if he says V’SAMIM or B’SAMIM. Whereas the latter is the more common pronunciation, the former is correct. BOREI MINEI V’SAMIM. Speaking of davening, here’s an example of the ALEF-NISTAR in Kabbalat Shabbat. (Of course, this comes from Tanach - specifically, T’hilim, but we are more familiar with it as part of davening.) Moshe v’Aharon b’chohanav... (in the second HaShem Malach... Ps. 99) KORIM EL HASHEM... - not KO-R’IM. The REISH has the CHIRIK and the ALEF is vowel-less, an ALEF NISTAR. Here’s one more example (there are others); this one really got me. Category - names that end in YUD-ALEF- LAMED. P’ni’el, Magdi’el, Malki’el, Uzi’el, Puti’el, Sh’lumi’el, Gamli’el, Pag-i’el, Tzuri- ‘el, Gadi’el, Ami’el, Nachli’el, Asri’el, Chani’el, Pal- ti’el — that’s the list from the Torah, people and places among them. The rest of Tanach has many more. All of the above names, and all but one of the names from the rest of Tanach, have the same pronunciation at the end of the name. Some rhyme of the ee in feed (NI, DI, KI, ZI, TI, MI, LI, RI) followed by EIL, that’s ALEF with a TZEREI and a LAMED. One exception. DANIEL, whose name is correctly pronounced DA-NI-YEIL. Not DA-NI-EIL. DANI- YEIL. The YUD has a DAGESH CHAZAK in it and a TZEREI under it, and the ALEF is vowel-less. That’s as good a note as any to
finish this week’s column and say <mtc> Senior NESTO • Senior NESTO had a theater activity. The more props they used in their plays and the more creative the scene was acted out - the more points the team received from our gracious panel of judges. The winning team was 'G & G' who, although made a fool out of themselves (and we have the pictures to prove it), were amazing! Chave has left us for a few
months. We just wanted to say how much we will miss you! Also, we
can't wait for the first NESTO baby to arrive! B’sha’a Tova. The Israel Center's youth program
for Anglo-Israelis • tel. 566-7787 ext. 250 • fax: 561-7432 •
chaveabrahams@hotmail.com • Chaim Pelzner, Director, Chave
Herschberg, Coordinator, Mimi Edel, Bat Sherut, NESTO is partially
funded by the Jewish Agency for Israel "Absolutely awesome," noted Glenn Black, Regional Director of Canada. "Who would have believed it?" added Ari Solomont from New England. For sitting in a large circle in a rather bland hut - the headquarters of this Jewish enrichment youth program in Ramle - were some 40, mainly Ethiopian children, nervously giggling at their North American cousins who presented these 5th and 6th graders with quaint Hollywood rag dolls. The Makom Balev project operates in 14 development areas in Israel from Nahariya to Kiryat Gat. Children from grades 5-12 are given a taste of the beauty of Judaism by advisors "with a big heart," notes national project director of the Makom Balev youth clubs, Yisrael Goren. So Yisrael described the program to the group of nine NCSY Directors who came to see at first hand the problems of Jewish identity in the Jewish state. The children in the project are generally, but not exclusively, from disadvantaged neighborhoods. After-school enrichment programs and leisure activities are but "part of an educational package that includes Shabbatonim, short camp experiences, tiyulim, and the like," Yisrael notes. Many of the other children in the project are graduates of the Gesharim Bar/Bat Mitzva program now operating in 5 towns with schools that range from "chiloni" (secular) to orthodox. In all, both projects have 1500 participants - and are growing. The Israel Center staff hosted the NCSY Directors for a gala dinner before their departure westward. At that time various members of the Center described the critical kiruv work being undertaken by the various branches of the Israel Center. These included the "Zula" project for street kids, the Beit Kharkov program for teenage Olim of the OU-Kharkov community program in the Ukraine, the NESTO youth program for teenage English-speakers, and the high-school student's enrichment project (together with the Koby Mandell Foundation). The regional directors had many questions to ask and were interested in the many similarities among problems and methods used by advisors both in Israel and North America, despite the cultural gaps between the countries. All present at the meeting were happy to note that a joint project was recently launched to twin NCSY chapters in North America and Canada with Makom Balev and NESTO chapters in Israel. The meeting was also an opportune
moment for the staff of the Israel Center to reflect on their own
work and achievements in a society which is currently in a large
state of flux due to social, cultural and security developments.
Meanwhile, the work goes on… 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 (or less). 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 leaving your message sooner. What’s for lunch? When a tiyul says “bring your own lunch”, you can buy one instead from the Israel Center Cafe. Call the TRAVEL DESK or TIYUL HOTLINE up to the day before the TIYUL and request a box lunch. 18š will get you a delicious sandwich (specify your preference), a refreshing drink (specify regular or diet) and a dessert. Your box will be ready for you when you board the bus. TIYUL POLICIES Please note: We reserve the right to charge a cancellation fee in case of last-minute cancellations. (Please speak to Sarah at the Travel Desk when making reservations.) Also... Price of tiyul is based on a minimum number of participants. Students from Abroad Are your parents planning on visiting you some time this year? If so, you want to speak to us! (566-7787 ext. 211 or 249). We have many attractive deals for them... and you. Let us turn an ordinary “been there, did it” visit into an unforgettable, special one! KASHRUT POLICY Food for Israel
Center In-House programs is supervised by OU-in-Israel - Mehadrin.
Israel Center sponsored trips and programs are under Mehadrin
Hashgacha. Hotels, restaurants, and tiyulim advertised by the Travel
Desk or by outside parties are not necessarily Mehadrin and are not
endorsed by the OU or the Israel Center. [The
Parshat B'shalach Homepage]
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