Q If you give someone a present in the form of a donation to charity in
his name, can it be taken from ma'aser money? So let's analyze the case logically from a halachic perspective. The money you give to charity in someone's name can count toward ma'aser, if you like. The problem is that then, you're not really giving your friend a present. The idea of giving a gift in the form of a donation in the recipient's name/honor is to say as follows: "I know that you care more for the needy than you do about a new tie. So the money that would have gone for the tie, I'll use for the poor, and it's as if you gave the donation." But over here, that isn't happening, but the following. The money, which anyway had to go to charity and could not be used for a friend's tie, is going to the same place it would have if your friend didn't have an occasion. So, in effect, one who uses ma'aser money for a present is unknowingly withholding a present and deceiv- ing his friend. There maybe room for leniency in the following cases.
1) A person cannot afford to give ma'aser and is, thus, exempt from that
rate of tzedaka, but he really wants to give as much as possible to the
needy. So he accepts upon himself the praiseworthy practice of giving
ma'aser, but he makes a condition that it will include presents. In this
case, one could argue that he is not fully deceiving his friends, because
more money does go to charity because of their altruism in accepting the
donation instead of a gift. This is be- cause the alternative is that he
legiti- mately would not have accepted the practice of ma'aser.
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Vebbe Rebbe is partially funded by the Jewish Agency for Israel
Sugar, which disappears completely in water — still sweetens.
A secret is something that you say in a way that everyone hears but no one
understands The merchants took the paper, read both sides, and finally turned to R’ Meir. “Rebbe,” they said, “we don’t understand what this means”.
R’ Meir then explained it to them. “If you conduct the partnership with
the ALEF of EMUNAH - mutual faith in one another - you will ssee the BET
of BERACHAH, blessing. On the other hand, if, Heaven forbid, either of you
indulges in the GIMMEL of GEZEILAH - theft - it can only lead to the DALET
of DALUS, poverty”.
To say that science is anti-religious is to say that the moon is anti-sun.
The only science which is anti-religious is that which says the moon is
made of green cheese. - From A Candle by Day by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein Notice that the word SHELEG is made up of the Hebrew letters equivalent to 300, 30, and 3 Some authorities con sider inserting one’s hands into snow three times to be an accept- able form of NETILAT YADAYIM, where no water is available for that purpose. There is a dispute as to whether a regular bracha can be said on this form of “washing”.This applies to the morning washing, but not for bread. - Source: HANOTEN SHELEG; a collection of sources, halachot and responsa about snow, hail, and ice... by Yishai Meiselman Our Sages did not include SNOW among the displays of nature on which we say a bracha. However, it is appropriate to be thankful to G-d for snow as one would be for rain.
T’hilim 148 mentions snow among the many items of nature which we call
upon, so to speak, to praise G-d. Found a website with assorted Animal Facts and Trivia. Many of the items mentioned are interesting and prompt one to marvel at G-d’s world - which is the purpose of this MRMH column. Here’s a sampling... The common goldfish is the only animal that can see both infra-red and ultra-violet light. The fingerprints of koala bears are virtually indistinguishable from those of humans, so much so that they could be confused at a crime scene. A duck's quack doesn't echo; no one knows why.
Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand. The Honey Badger can withstand hundreds of African bee stings that would kill any other animal. The bones of a pigeon weigh less than its feathers. "Eat like a bird?" Many birds eat twice their weight a day. Bees must collect the nectar from two thousand flowers to make one tablespoonful of honey. A dolphin's hearing is so acute that it can pick up an underwater sound from fifteen miles away. The eye of the giant squid is the largest in the world. It is 15 inches in diameter - the size of a basketball.
The leg bones of a bat are so thin that no bat can walk.
Giraffes have no vocal cords. - [from
www.jayp.net/trivia] This unity is expressed in this weeks reading in three ways: V'YAKHEL, signifying the physical gathering of the Jewish people together in an assembly; ADAT related to eidus, testimony, all united in common ideas and goals; and YISRAEL which is an acronym of the words YESH SHISHIM RIBU OTIOT L'TORAH, there are 600,000 letters to the Torah), signifying that each Jew is unique and contributes his individual portion to the Torah. Only in Eretz Yisroel do we have the potential to truly be one nation, and to realize our potential to be a kingdom of G-d's servants, a holy nation. All Jews being in Eretz Yisroel are united physically as opposed to M'FUZAR U'M'FURAD BEIN H'AMIM, scattered and divided amongst the nations). Hence, the KAHAL aspect is achieved.
Eretz Yisroel with its unique atmosphere of purity and holiness unites the
ideas, ideals and goals of its inhabitants centered around and focused on
the holiness of the Bais HaMikdash. Hence the EIDAH aspect is achieved.
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 Or Hachaim notes that the latter individuals were motivated to do what was correct. They came forth, "in the right spirit", and gave wholeheartedly what they could afford. In contrast, those inspired by the heart gave more than they could bear, so great was their desire to have a share in the building of the Mishkan. For Ramban the inspiration refers to the act of volunteering for a task as yet unlearned, since there were no opportunities in Egypt to practice as artisans. Here, those who came forward to do such work as the sewing and weaving had to utilize their natural abilities. And, notes Ramban discerningly, they would rely on Hashem's help to do complete the task successfully. It is interesting that the text (Vayikra 35:21-29) first singles out the men, then adds that "the men came with the women," and then records that "every wise-hearted woman" spun with her hands. Clearly, the women are considered to combine both the inspiration of the heart and the motivation of the spirit. It seems that the men - and the leaders who fell in line last (v.27) - were in sore need of that "intuitive" paradigm so often provided by feminine insight. Shabbat Shalom, Menachem Persoff, Director, Israel Center [The Parshat Vayakhel Homepage]
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