MISC section - contents: Q I mixed up my talit and tefillin (T&T) with someone else’s in shul. After a few minutes, I realized my mistake and switched them back. When I put on my own T&T, should I have recited the berachot again or was it sufficient that I already made the berachot once? A The question is not of having to fulfill the mitzva of birkat hamitzva (beracha before performing a mitzva). Rather, every fulfillment of certain mitzvot (including T&T) must be preceded by a beracha that relates to it. The question of whether the new act of putting on T&T requires a new beracha does not necessarily depend on whether or not you had just fulfilled these mitzvot and berachot. There are two factors which might bring one to claim you did not need new berachot; the first applies just for Ashkenazim. The Shulchan Aruch and Rama (Orach Chayim 8:14 and 25: 12) argue in equivalent cases, when one takes off T or T, intending to return them soon thereafter, whether he needs to make a new beracha at that point. The Shulchan Aruch requires a beracha; the Rama does not. In your case, by the time you took off the incorrect T&T, you planned to put on another set promptly, so ostensibly the Rama would not require a new beracha. Another issue arises from “bad news”. The mitzva of tzitzit applies only when one owns the four-cornered garment. But in this case, you did not realize that you needed to acquire the talit, which you thought was yours (see Yevamot 52b). Thus, the beracha was l’vatala (of no positive value). The matter of the tefillin is less clear. On one hand, we classically assume that one fulfills the mitzva even with tefillin borrowed without permission, as permission is assumed (Mishna Berura 25:53). However, in this case, when the owner was about to use his tefillin, he did not want you to take them. Thus, your action was unintentional thievery (don’t take it personally), and one does not fulfill the mitzva of tefillin with a stolen pair (Shulchan Aruch 25:12) because it is a mitzva that comes through an aveira. (See a machloket on the question whether a mitzva performed by an unintentional aveira is disqualified in Sdei Chemed IV,pp. 334-6). According to the above, the beracha did not take effect on the first talit and perhaps the tefillin and it is “waiting” for an opportunity to take effect. In a parallel case of one who made a beracha on tefillin whose knot came apart before putting it on, the Taz (25:12) infers from the Beit Yosef that he can fix the knot and put it on without a new beracha, because the beracha is “waiting” for the opportunity to take effect. Here too, the beracha on the talit and perhaps the tefillin had not yet taken effect, so ostensibly the old berachot should suffice for your own T&T. However, neither of these factors applies to your case because of one basic distinction. In both of those areas, the person made the beracha on the same “mitzva object” with which he continues after a delay. In your case, your beracha was on a different set of T&T. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 8:12) says that if one puts on several talitot, he can make one beracha to cover all, if he does not “break” between them. However, he says that even without a break, the beracha applies to another talit only if he had the intention, at the time of the first beracha, that it should do so. Otherwise, he makes a beracha each time. In your case, you had in mind with your beracha only on the T&T that were in your hands, not on your own set, which you did not realize were elsewhere. Regarding a case of a beracha on one object, which has to be transferred to another object instead (not in addition), we also find that a new beracha is needed, with the first beracha being l’vatala (Shulchan Aruch, OC 206:6; see Halacha Pesuka on Tzitzit 8:(143)). So, in the final analysis, you should have made new berachot. Ask the Rabbi Q&A is part of Hemdat Yamim, the
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for Israel Struggling to resolve this apparent contradiction, many commentators view the first verse as reflecting the ideal situation in which the Jewish people live a life free of sin, while the second and third verses describe what happens when the Jewish people fall astray. Another way of resolving this contra- diction, however, is by reading the verses as prescriptive, rather than descriptive, statements. Instead of describing what will happen to the Jewish people, the verses tell us how the people ought to behave. The first verse, "There shall be no needy among you," shows how people ought to view themselves. No matter how bad Israel's economic situation, its inhabitants should never view themselves as being needy, for they possess the greatest treasure of all – "the land that Hashem your God is giving you... Likewise, the last verse, "For there will never cease to be needy ones in your land," shows how people ought to view others. No matter how good Israel's economic situation, its inhabitants should never forget that there are people who are less fortunate. As such, Israel's inhabitants must be constantly involved in acts of tzedaka and chesed. May we never regard ourselves as needy and may we
always remember to help each other. 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 Having made aliyah close to three years ago, Dyonna
Ginsburg currently serves as the Director of Yavneh Olami, an
international religious Zionist student organization. Even in regions with large gazelle populations it is not usually that easy to spot them as these shy creatures tend to be wary of people, perhaps because in many areas hunting has driven them to the verge of extinction... Dorcas: horns are present on both sexes... lyre-shaped (point outward then come in at the tips). Though Dorcas are the smallest gazelle they are
proportionately the longest limbed. Dorcas tend to separate into
small groups but will congregate in large herds on localized
resources... herds may reach up to 100 individuals. They are mainly
active at night and around dusk and dawn... shoulder height 55-65cm;
body length 90-110cm'; 15-20 kg smallest gazelle, long ears, light
fawn color Life span up to 17 years in zoos; wild life span
unknown... Gestation: 6 months... As browsers these gazelles help
keep vegetation from becoming overgrown. Either the AYAL or the
TZVI. Kosher. The Torah then instructs us that, “you may eat meat to your heart’s desire… only be strong not to eat the blood… so that it be well with you and your children after you, when you do what is right in the eyes of Hashem.” Here is portrayed a classic dialectical situation. On the one hand, it appears as if there are no boundaries to the extent that we eat, as if our very animal nature is allowed to run unconstrained. Yet, in the same breath, as it were, we are restricted in the matter of consuming blood, thus specifically pleasing G-d. The injunction to do what is right in Hashem’s eyes
is repeated several times in Sefer Devarim - and for our
commentators, the message is clear: Even the way we eat should be
informed by doing G-d’s will. This approach to doing what is right
should actually inform everything we do, from litigation (Rashi) to
ethical standards (Ramban). Evidently, it affects our individual and
national character for generations to come. [The Parshat R'ei Homepage]
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