MISC section - contents:
1. Vebbe Rebbe
2. Hasidic Wisdom
3. Rite and Reason
4. Words of Wisdom; Words of Wit
5. Candle by Day
6. Chizuk V'Idud
7. Hebrew Word
8. From the desk of the director

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 I am a new father, and I often take care of my infant all morning. Sometimes, when I get her to sleep and am in the middle of davening, she starts crying. If this happens at a time that I am not able to stop, what am I to do?

A Mazal tov. Of course, the best idea is to daven before starting to watch the baby. We understand that this is not always possible or doesn't work out, and this response deals with the situation that you did not succeed to do so.

Firstly, it helps to know the needs and habits of the baby (which is difficult, as they often change as fast as you learn them). Many babies will wake, cry, and fall back asleep by themselves. Others whimper relatively calmly for a few minutes until their parent comes. In such cases, it is best to reach a place in tefilla where one can stop before going to the baby, if one can concentrate. One does not have to stop davening at the first cry, nor does a parent need to drop all in the middle of another activity that is hard to stop within seconds. If the baby con- tinues to cry bitterly, it fits the rule that the needs of a child are like those of a sick person (Rama, Orach Chayim 328:17).

There are different preferences at different places in the tefilla. During Ps'ukei D'zimra and Kriat Sh'ma, one can stop to walk and hint (except in the first section of Kriat Sh'ma (Shulchan Aruch OC 63:6) and make sounds to a child (see B'er Moshe III, 12). These are all forbidden in Shmoneh Esrei without an acute need (Mishna Berura 104:1). It is a problem to hold a baby while davening any part of the tefilla, as one may not hold the type of thing which one is concerned may fall (ibid. 96:1).

The following are the priorities when you can't wait. If you can go to console the baby or rock her back to sleep and then continue davening, this is preferable. If you think it is likely the baby will stir and need to be put back to sleep before you can continue davening, then it pays to stand near the baby for Shmoneh Esrei so as to avoid the need to walk to the crib. Before this point, it pays to not be so close, as you don't want to lose concentration at the baby's every twist and turn. It is best to finish dealing with the baby before enough time has elapsed to finish the entire section of the tefilla one is in (Mishna Berura 65:4). However, if need be, one can take longer than that and continue from where he left off (Tefilla K'hilchata 12:(198); see Mishna Berura 65:2 & 104:16), while being careful not to talk. It is better to hint and make signs and noises than to move from one place to another during Shmoneh Esrei (Mishna Berura 104:1).

If it is likely that a very long time will pass until the baby will allow you to daven properly, then you can hold the baby while finishing to daven if that will quiet her enough to enable you to concentrate. This is because one who davened while holding something that he is afraid may fall fulfills his mitzva, b'dieved (Mishna Berura 96:2). Concerning l'chatchila, since the reason for the prohibition is the inability to concentrate, if the only way one can concentrate at all is by holding the baby, then that should be done. A better idea under these circumstances may be to put her in some type of baby carrier. (Normally this is problematic, as well (see Shulchan Aruch, OC 97:5). These are usually very soothing for the baby, especially when one is swaying anyway. Logic dictates that, assuming there is no chance the baby will fall out of it, the case should not be considered like that of holding something which can fall.

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

Hasidic Wisdom from the book by Simcha Raz (Elkins/Elkins)
What is the Oral Law?
The law handed down by those who were rulers over their own mouths (Play on words - BA’AL PEH) — Rabbi Yitzchak Meir of Ger
Heroes are seldom also wise.— Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav

Rite and Reason by Shmuel Pinchas Gelbard
We do not recite Tachanun the entire month of Nisan, nor Tzidkas’cha Tzedek on Shabbos during Mincha. It is also customary not to deliver eulogies the entire month (Shulchan Aruch)
Reason: On the first of Nissan, the Mishkan was erected (see Shemos 40:17), and the twelve Nesi’im offered their extra- ordinary sacrifices for its dedication during the first 12 days of the month (Bamidbar 7:11). Each Nasi celebrated the day of his offering as a festival. Afterwards were the seven days of Pesach. “The result was that most of the month had been sanctified [with special events].” Hence, we do not recite Tachanun during the entire month of Nisan (Beis Yosef).

Some communities follow the custom of reading each day, starting on Rosh Chodesh Nisan, the parsha (Bemidbar 7) of the sacrifices of the respective Nasi (Mishna B’rura). “By reading the verses from the Torah relevant to that day, one stimulates the holiness of that say” (Shelah).

ArtScroll Series • Mesorah Publications Ltd.
WORDS OF WISDOM WORDS OF WIT by Shmuel Himelstein
R’ Chaim ben Attar was once hearing a case between two very high-ranking Jews in his native Morocco. In the midst of the trial, one of the disputants left the court- room and came back some time later with no less a personage than the sultan himself. Seeing the sultan, R’ Chaim told the other judges, “You are to continue with the case as if nothing had happened.”

After the case had ended, R’ Chaim turned to the sultan and said to him, “Welcome your majesty.”

Upon hearing this, the sultan became very annoyed. “If you didn’t know who I was, I can understand your not having inter- rupted the case to welcome me,” he said, “but as you obviously did know who I am, why did you just go on with the case?”

“Your majesty,” replied R’ Chaim, “We are commanded by the King of kings that ‘you shall not recognize anyone in judgment,’ and as long as our case was in session, I could not even acknowledge your presence. Now that it is over, i am delighted to welcome you to our midst.”

The cheering of spirits that our conversation brings to the sick results not so much from his forgetting his sickness as from his experiencing something else in the world besides it. - From A Candle by Day by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein

CHIZUK and IDUD (for the Oleh & not-yet-Oleh respectively)
Eretz HaChayim
The Torah introduces the dietary restrictions with the words: "Zot hachaya asher tochlu", "These are the animals that you may eat" (Lev. 11:2).

However the term "chaya" here seems difficult since the verse continues "mikol habeheima asher al haaretz". Therefore Rashi explains (see Gur Aryeh) that the name "chaya" is being used here specifically to associate kashrut with the greater concept of CHAYIM, life. "Since Bnei Yisroel are so closely connected to Hashem and are worthy of CHAYIM, therefore I have separated them from tum’ah, and commanded them to do mitzvot, and to the nations of the world I have not commanded anything."

Our separation from the world through the means of kashrut brings us to CHAYIM, an expression of the fullest, deepest, most complete living possible.

Eretz Yisroel is given the title "Eretz HaChayim" (Psalms 142:6). Here too Am Yisroel seemingly withdraws from the company of the nations of the world. But in reality it is precisely our step back that enables us to take the greatest step forward towards real chaim, the true life of Yisrael, and fulfill our destiny of being an OHR LAGOYIM. (See Rav Kook, Orot p. 153) - Rabbi Ari Waxman, Yeshivat Sha’alvim

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

Coming attractions are also known as a PROMO. That word is used in common spoken Hebrew too. But the Academiya L’Lashon HaIvrit has provided us with a “real” Hebrew word for promo. It’s K’DI-MON.

From the Desk of the Director
Parshat Shmini describes a number of real sacrifices: those of the newly initiated Kohein Gadol that were accepted and those of his two sons Nadav and Avihu that were rejected. Full of noble intentions, Aaron's sons had rushed to offer an "alien fire" - to reciprocate G-d's love for his people (Sifre) - yet they died before Hashem.

This episode clearly begs us to identify the fine line that distin- guishes between our self-motivated autonomy and the imperative to be subservient to Hashem.

Each offering, it appears, has its time, place, and particular symbol- ism. Aaron is to offer the submissive calf as his first-ever sin offering since it recalls his role in Bnei Yisrael's exaggerated dependence on a foreign entity to "replace" their missing leader at Sinai. In contrast, the equiv- alent offering for the people was the precocious he-goat, which Rav Solo- veitchik suggests was indicative of the brazenness of the brothers who mistreated Yosef.

It seems that before we stand before G-d, we should first stop and ask what, at this moment, does Hashem want from us? Unlike Nadav and Avihu, we surely need to contemplate appropriately before we rush to face our Creator. Like Aaron (cf. Vayikra 9:7), we might first want to deliberate before we step forward with our petition.
Shabbat Shalom, Menachem Persoff