Q I know that a lot of things that are forbidden on Yom Tov are permitted on Chol Hamoed. Are all rabbinic prohibitions like muktzeh and amirah l'nachri (requesting a non-Jew to do the work) permitted on Chol Hamoed? A There isn't an across-the-board distinction on Chol Hamoed between Torah and rabbinic prohibitions. In general, there are three approaches among the Rishonim as to the basis for the limitations on work on Chol Hamoed. Some say it is from the Torah, but has more areas of leniency than Yom Tov does. Some hold it is totally rabbinic. And the third, fascinating approach is that the Torah decreed that some areas of melacha would be forbidden, but left it up to Chazal to determine what would be forbidden and what would be permitted. (See a summary in the Beit Yosef in the beginning of Orach Chayim 530.) Although there are significant differences between the laws of Chol Hamoed and those of Yom Tov, they are more related to the category of a melacha, its nature, and its purpose than they are related to the source and severity of the laws. The general approach of Chazal was to distinguish between activity which is related to enhancing the festive spirit of the moed and that which occupies a person with other, tiresome activity (see Moed Katan 2b). However, it was up to Chazal to determine how to apply that general principle. As we are bound to follow the guidelines Chazal set out for us, one must search the sources to see what is permitted and what is forbidden. If one goes through the sugyot of Chol Hamoed one will not find explicit references to the classic laws of muktzeh. (The concept of muktzeh l'mitzvato does come up.) The poskim (see Tosafot, Shabbat 22a; Darkei Moshe, OC 544:2; Shemirat Shabbat K'hilchata 68:26) claim that, indeed, it was never included in the prohibitions of Chol Hamoed. In contrast, the rabbinic prohibition not to ask a non-Jew to do work that is forbidden for a Jew applies throughout the Torah (see Bava Metzia 90) and extends to Chol Hamoed, as well (Moed Katan 12a; Shulchan Aruch, OC 543:1). This can be because of fear that the Jew will come to do the work himself (see Chol Hamoed K'hilchata 2:(245)) or because involvement through a proxy is also often not conducive to the spirit of the day (Aruch Hashulchan 543:1). This prohibition applies whether one holds that melacha on Chol Hamoed is forbidden from the Torah or is rabbinic. There are some areas of leniency regarding amirah l'nachri on Chol Hamoed as opposed to on Shabbat and Yom Tov. The most pertinent is that when the work is done for a mitzva that will be needed on Chol Hamoed, then the non-Jew can do the work (Magen Avraham 543:1). (When there is a mitzva need it is
often permitted for a Jew to do the work himself (Shulchan Aruch OC
545:3). However, there are situations when it is not permitted for a Jew,
and the more inclusive leniency of using a non-Jew is needed.) The Magen
Avraham explains that since there is an opinion that permits a non-Jew to
do melacha on a Jew's behalf in the case of a mitzva even on Shabbat, one
can be lenient on Chol Hamoed. The Levushei S'rad (ad loc.) understands
that this is on the assumption that the entire prohibition on work on Chol
Hamoed is rabbinic, but it is generally assumed that one can rely on the
Magen Avraham even if one accepts the opinion that melacha is from the
Torah (Shemirat Shabbat K'hilchata 68:(144)). “Imagine”, he said, “that a man left
his wife’s jewelry as a pledge, and you sold it. The next day, the man’s
wife sees another woman wearing her jewelry. Can you imagine her emotional
pain? A Gemach must not work only according to the law. It must go above
and beyond the dictates of law.” Sheep are docile creatures and naturally gregarious (they tend to stay in groups). They have poor eyesight, an excellent sense of smell and hear so well... Their hooves are split, allowing them to climb steep inclines if necessary, and they have no top front teeth, which permits them to eat vegetation located very close to the ground. Their unique bite also prevents them from pulling up plant roots and destroying the lands they graze. Sheep are nature's gift to the environment. Natural grazers, sheep roam the lands eating clover, alfalfa, grasses and brush. They are friends of the earth and instinctively manage the land they graze. Grazing sheep can thin smothering overgrowth, eat noxious weeds dangerous to other livestock, help nourish wildlife by encouraging the growth of healthy forage and recycle vital nutrients back to the soil. ... lambing, the time when lambs are born. Typically occurring in the spring... producers work 24-hours a day during lambing. They closely monitor their pregnant ewes, physically assist in birth when necessary and provide nurturing, round-the-clock care for ewes and newborn lambs. Some build specially designed birthing pens called jugs... comfortable and dry to protect the ewe and her lambs from predators... Wool is one of the most remarkable...
Wool is a pure, organic product and is unlike any other fiber in the
world. It is naturally durable, resilient and absorbent... surface water
resistant... interior highly absorbent. non-allergenic fiber which does
not promote the growth of bacteria... excellent insulator of temperature
and sound... Wool is naturally flame retardant. One pound of wool can be
spun into 20 miles of yarn. Rashi's commentary requires elucida- tion. Not only for his deviation from the normative approach that tzoraat is a punishment, but also for the connection he makes between the generation of the wilderness and tzoraat-afflicted homes. To explain Rashi, we must remember that
the Gemara explains the cause of Tzaraat to be tzarut ha-ayin, literally,
a narrowness of the eye. I.e., a supercritical, pessimistic, toxic,
negative look at all that is around you. May we see more obviously the gems and jewels of the treasure of Eretz Yisrael that is sparkling before us without having to be subjected to the painful anguish of additional trauma and dismantling of our foundation, and be zocheh to build our homes, our lives, and future in Eretz HaK’dosha. - Rabbi Yehoshua FassCo-Founder and Executive Director of Nefesh B'Nefesh 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 Sefat Emet asks us to consider that the redemptive process in Egypt was not the outcome of a natural course of events: The Ge'ula from Mizrayim was a circumstance "Me'al Hateva" - beyond natural causes. For does not Hashem proclaim that it was "I and not an angel" who was responsible for the redemption? The fact that the stirrings of the Ge'ula were so intrinsically tied in with Shabbat lends additional insight into this concept. For Shabbat also represents a break from the workings of our finite world and the entry into a higher order of heavenly intervention. Yetzia't Mizrayim and Shabbat are therefore on the same spiritual plane. For this reason Shabbat is both a
remembrance of Creation (Ma'aseh Bereishit) and of Yetzi'at Mizrayim.
Invoking the Maharal, the Sefat Emet notes that the "Me'al Hateva"
properties of Shabbat and Ge'ula place them both beyond time and place. No
wonder then that when Ge'ulah and Shabbat coincide we proclaim Shabbat
Hagadol to be the Great Shabbat! [The Parshat M'tzora Homepage]
|
