MISC section - contents:
1. Vebbe Rebbe
2. Words of Wisdom; Words of Wit
3. Candle by Day
4. MicroUlpan
5. Torah Tidbits this 'n that
6. STAT on Rosh Hashana
7. From Aloh Naaleh
8. From the desk of the director

[1] From the virtual desk of the OU VEBBE REBBE
The Orthodox Union – via its website – fields questions of all types in areas of kashrut, Jewish law and values. Some of them 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. Ask the Rabbi is a joint venture of the OU, Yerushalayim Network, Eretz Hemdah... and the Israel Center. The following is a Q&A from Eretz Hemdah...

Q After washing silverware on Friday night, I need to arrange each type in its proper place. How do I do that without violating the prohibition of borer (selecting)?

A It is conceivable that there is no problem, as we will explain, but there are also relatively simple ways to separate the silverware into categories without a problem of borer.

Rav Ovadia Yosef shlita (in Yabia Omer V, OC 31) justifies the practice of those who pull out forks, knives, and spoons in groups from a pile of silverware so that each will be in its distinct place to expedite setting the table on Shabbat morning. In classic form, he does so by bringing several possible reasons why the procedure may be permitted, even though each reason is not sufficiently convincing in its own right. We will start with the strongest of the reasons in his eyes.

The Aruch HaShulchan (OC 319: 8,9) wonders how it is possible to pick out one type of silverware from a bunch of assorted ones. His first suggestion is that because of their large size, each utensil is distinct in the eyes of he who selects. Thus, the process of removing what he wants is not considered borer, but simply taking. Many Acharonim question this proposition (Shemirat Shabbat K'hilchata 3:(78); Piskei Teshuvot 319:6), which may also depend on how tightly packed the silverware is. In fact, the Terumat Hadeshen (#57) already raised the idea but was reluctant to rely upon it without further indications for leniency.

Another important point is raised by the Pri Megadim (cited by Biur Halacha 319:3). The Rambam (Shabbat 8:12) rules that if one has two useful types of items before him he may take out the one he wants to use in the short term. The time factor can be understood in two ways. Perhaps the fact that one will be used before the other turns the former into ochel (desired object) and the latter into relative pesolet (unwanted). The rule is that we may take ochel from pesolet, but not vice versa. If that is the issue, then if one will use both groups of items at the same time in the future, there is no problem, because there is no distinction between ochel and pesolet. The Biur Halacha (ibid.) is convinced that this is not the explanation of the time factor. Rather, there is a special dispensation when one takes an object to use in the short term, as this is considered "in the manner of consumption" and is permitted. In contrast, selection for later use is more like classic borer.
Additional, weaker grounds for leniency include the possibility that the Torah prohibition of borer applies only to things which grow from the ground or that preparations for the next meal are considered short term even if the meal is significantly later.

The following suggestions are systems to conform to the majority opinion among poskim, which does not accept the afore- mentioned leniency (Shemirat Shabbat K'hilchata 3:78-79; Hilchot Shabbat (Eider) X,G,4). One is to keep the silverware in a pile and set the table soon before the meal begins, as we saw in the Rambam. It is not sufficient to do the separation soon before setting the table, if that is done long before the meal (Mishna Berura 321:45). Another possibility is to not select utensils from the pile, but to use the opportunity that the utensils are in the hand to create separate piles for each category. After taking them one by one indiscriminately in order to wash or dry, one then puts each one in a separate pile by category. With a little organization, this system need not waste too much time. Others suggest artificially undoing the mixture by throwing them across the surface (like pick-up sticks) and then selecting as desired (Rav Moshe Feinstein, response #11 to Rav Eider).

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

[2] ArtScroll Series • Mesorah Publications Ltd.
WORDS OF WISDOM WORDS OF WIT by Shmuel Himelstein
A noted chazan, when he recited the words in U'nesaneh tokef on Rosh HaShana which state, "Man is created from dust and his end is dust," burst into tears. Afterwards, a chassid approached him: "Why were you crying when you recited those words?" he asked. "Had the words been, 'Man is created from gold and his end is dust,' I might have understood your weeping. However, as man was created from dust and returns to dust, what has he lost? On the contrary, between being created from dust and returning to dust, man has the opportunity to do so much in the interim - to perform another mitzva, to do another good deed, and so on."

“Everything has its season”, said R’ Yitzchak of Worka, “If one tries to sell something out of season, when there are few buyers, any buyer will haggle endlessly over the price, and no price will be low enough. On the other hand, when something is in season, the reverse is true. Buyers outbid one another and the price goes up and up.”

“The Ten Days of Repentance (and the month of Elul)”, he concluded, “are a seller’s market for T’shuva. During that time, any T’shuva, regardless of its quality, will be snapped up by HaShem. But we must be sure that we have ‘merchandise’ for sale.”

If you’ve enjoyed these stories, look for Shmuel Himelstein's new book, "Wisdom and Wit", at your local Jewish bookstore - an entirely new collection.

[3] Candle by Day
So many verbal blunders would be avoided if people did not feel obliged to speak, which they do, for fear of giving the impression that they are thinking nothing, which they are, and which fact accounts for the blunders in their speaking. From A Candle by Day by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein

[4] Micro Ulpan - a word (or two) from HaAcademiya LaLashon Ha-Ivrit
One of the uses of this feature in TT, besides learning new words, is to have something to surprise your Israeli friends with. Here are two questions with the same answer. How do you say coin-holder (like bus-drivers use) in Hebrew? and the other question is: How do you say pick? As for a guitar, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, oud...) The word for both is maf-REIT. In the case of the coins, to make change is LIFROT. The root word is to separate. Which is what the coin holder does. The guitar pick singles out one string from others, hence the use of the same word.

[5] Torah Tidbits this 'n that
Only two more “early Shabbats” left at the Center this year - This Shabbat, Ki Tavo and the following week, Nitzavim- Vayeilech. The Shabbat after that is Rosh HaShana (no davening here - although we did have inquiries - maybe next year). We go off Summer Time early morning of Erev Shabbat Shuva. We’d like to thank Shimon Sorcher and Nachman Kupietzky for opening and closing each week throughout the summer, and for worrying the minyan into shape. Thanks too to the gentlemen who kept the minyan going.

If you are interested in a minyan throughout the year for Mincha - Kabbalat Shabbat - Maariv, with Mincha scheduled at 20 minutes after Jerusalem candle lighting time, please let us know. Call Phil at 566-7787 ext. 207 and then watch for announcements in Torah Tidbits.

Thank you and Yasher Ko’ach to all those who gave shiurim and those who attended those shiurim (and those who came for Mincha) on Shabbat afternoon. Special thanks to R’ Yitzchak Zwebner for layning at Mincha. We will continue these Shabbat afternoon shiurim IY”H throughout the year. Of course, the more attractive, time to get a Shabbat afternoon nap in time of 5:00pm cannot be maintained. Our experience has been that as the shiur gets earlier, more people choose their naps (hard to blame them) but we still have a shiur. Watch for details.

[6] STAT
Rosh HaShana (5764) is Shabbat-Sunday for the fourth time in five years. The next times it will be Shabbat-Sunday will be 5767, 5770, and 5781.4 of 5 Shabbat - not for another 172 years!

[7] CHIZUK and IDUD (for Olim & not-yet-Olim respectively)
This week's parsha opens with the extraordinary ceremony of the bringing of the First Fruits to the Beit HaMikdash in Jerusalem. In the course of that rite, in an act that establishes gratitude as a central motif in Jewish life, the individual recites the passage beginning with the words ARAMI OVED AVI, "A wandering Aramean was my father" -the text that reverberates yearly in Jewish homes as the core of the Pesach Hagada.

A careful reading of the opening of the parsha reveals two major themes that merge with the concept of thankfulness. The parsha begins with the words V'HAYA KI TAVO EL H'AARETZ - "And it shall be, when you come into the Land..." This verse is formulated in the singular. The Torah exhorts each individual to assume personal responsibility to come to Israel. One should not say that when all the Jews come, then I will find a way to accompany them. The Torah is precise - the responsibility rests upon each and every one of us.

A second theme is elucidated in the Midrash. The Midrash explains that the first word of the parsha, V'HAYA,, "And it shall come to pass," is always an indication of joy. Coming to Israel is perhaps the ultimate expression of Jewish joy. As the Or HaChayim notes, before we begin Birkhat Hamazon on Shabbat, we recite the psalm containing the following verse: B'SHUV HASHEM ET SHIVAT TZION - "When Hashem brought back the captivity of Zion" - AZ Y'MALEI S'CHOK PINU "then was our mouth filled with laughter."
Thus, three themes appear in the first words of our parsha - thankfulness, joy, and the responsibility falling upon each individual to return to Zion. May those of us privileged to live in Israel strive to experience daily the joy of living a full Jewish life in Zion and express our gratitude for the opportunity afforded us. And may those who have not yet found the way to return to our Land deepen their understanding and grow in strength so that they may join their brothers already living there speedily in our days.

Rabbi Moshe Berliner, 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

[8] Divrei Menachem
Parshat Ki Tavo always spurs us along as we begin to prepare ourselves for the upcoming Yamim Nora'im. It is as if the recollection of the blessings and curses outlined in the parsha preempt our confrontation with the expected rewards and punishments associated with the Day of Judgment.

Fortunately, the Torah spells out the blessings acquired for fulfilling the commandments. They are wide- ranging and involve every area of material life. They reassure us that our spiritual accomplishments do indeed bring untold benefits in a variety of areas.

Moreover, relating to these Berachot, the Torah employs the use of the term “V’hisigucha” (D’varim 28:3), denoting that the blessings will 'overtake you'. The Sforno explains that if we follow Hashem's directives, we will be overwhelmed by the manifold blessings that accrue, seemingly in defiance of our natural expectations.

The account of the blessings begins with the Beracha: "Baruch Ata Ba'ir," which the Midrash interprets as, 'Blessed are you for the Mizvot that you do in the city'. Here the Divrei Sha'arei Chaim signals us that we will be particularly privileged if we serve Hashem in public without embarrassment. Such an achievement most surely swings the judgment of Yom Hadin in our favor.
Shabbat Shalom,
Menachem Persoff