MISC section - contents: Q What do you suggest we do on Erev Pesach this year, which is on Shabbat, regarding when and what to eat? A Challah, the staple of the first two Shabbat meals, is also preferred for seudah shlishit (Shulchan Aruch, OC 291:5), which should be held in the afternoon (ibid.:2). Since the prohibition to eat chametz begins after "four hours" (9:54am Israel Summer Time, for Jerusalem) something must give. Among the valid solutions to the challenges of Erev Pesach on Shabbat, people must determine the most practical solutions, as much as their rabbis have to present the halachic possibilities. One practical assumption is that people will use only Pesachdik and/or disposable utensils, keeping remaining chametz separate. Let's take a meal-by-meal look. Friday night meal - Halachically, almost anything
goes. Those who don't want to worry about keeping chametz around can eat
matza according to most poskim. If one has the minhag not to eat matza from
the beginning of Nisan, matza ashira, often called "egg matza," is an
alternative. Yet there are two issues. Firstly, as Ashkenazim are stringent to treat matza ashira as possible chametz, which is permitted to eat on Pesach only in cases of great need (Rama 462:4), the time issue reawakens. (Some poskim rely on the Noda B'yehuda (I, OC 21) that it is sufficient to be wary of matza ashira no earlier than midday of Erev Pesach). Secondly, matza ashira may have a status of pat haba'ah b'kisnin, similar to cake, making it a questionable substitute for challah. (Igrot Moshe OC I, 155 explains that this is not a problem on Shabbat, but still seems to prefer challah when it is convenient. To see Rav O. Yosef's preferred solution, see Yechave Da'at I, 91). Seuda shlishit (ss)- We mentioned the two preferred opinions about how to perform ss, which conflict this Shabbat. One is to eat bread at ss. The other is to have ss after midday, at which time chametz and matza are forbidden, and even matza ashira is a problem for Ashkenazim. The Rama (444:1) says that we eat other foods, such as fruit or meat, at this ss. The Mishna Berura (444:8) cites a different solution, of breaking up the morning meal into two, so that one can fulfill ss on challah or matza ashira at that time. He points out that there should be some break between the two meals, to avoid a problem of an unnecessary beracha. However, he does not say how long that should be. Opinions range from a few minutes to half an hour, with some suggesting taking a short walk in between (see Piskei Teshuvot 444:6). One who is not usually careful to have challah at ss throughout the year need not consider this idea. He can eat a normal ss for him (no bread) in the afternoon, preferably earlier than usual to leave a good appetite for the seder. Even those who are stringent about ss can feel fine about following the Rama over the Mishna Berura's suggestion, which is somewhat counter-intuitive and not without halachic problems. Sefardim, who can use matza ashira, must do so before 3 hours before sunset (Shulchan Aruch 471:2). Ask the Rabbi Q&A is part of Hemdat Yamim, the
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Rebbe is partially funded by the Jewish Agency for Israel Clearly, Eretz Israel cannot tolerate abomination because its holiness places it over and above every other place on the face of the earth. Furthermore, the Torah tells us that the holiness of Eretz Israel is so great that one who aspires to greater spirituality in his personal life, will be imbued with its holiness as well. Rav Kook, in his seminal work Orot, emphasizes that it is impossible for a Jew to be faithful to his complete self-realization anywhere other than in Eretz Israel. For only in the land of Israel can one achieve the lofty purity of thought and action (avira d'Eretz Yisrael makhkim). To the believing Jew, this extraordinary emphasis on Eretz Israel should be a paramount reason for wanting to attach himself to the land. The Meshekh Chokhma concludes with this amazing statement: "From the time that Jerusalem and Zion were chosen, David in his Psalms, Isaiah in his visions, Jeremiah in his admonishments, and Yechezkel in his parables did not cease to extol the mitzva of living and settling the land." Rabbi Meyer Fendel, Har Nof, Jerusalem The tourists took out the then princely sum of five pounds sterling, and gave it to the rav, telling him, "This is for your expenses." The guests attended R' Yosef Chaim's seder and the meals thereafter, enjoying all that was served. On the second day, when it was still Yom Tov for the tourists but already Chol HaMoed for R' Yosef Chaim, he entered their room and placed the five pound note on the table. His guests protested vehemently, but R' Yosef Chaim told them, "Do you think that I would take money for offering hospitality to guests?" "Why, Rebbe," asked one of them, "didn't you say so at the outset? Why did you take the money then?" "I wanted," said R' Yosef Chaim, "you to feel
perfectly comfortable at my table, like a man who eats what is his." 2) In the paragraph describing that our forefathers were idol worshippers, the Hagada quotes a verse from Yehoshua which states, "Your fathers lived beyond the river, Terach, the father of Avraham..." Why is Terach called AV a term usually used to connote someone who contributed to the spiritual character of our nation? 3) There are statements in Chazal (see B'reishit
Rabba 2:5 and 44:20) which list the exiles the Jewish people were to
experience in world history. They are Babylonia, Persia, Greece and Rome.
Why isn't the Egyptian exile counted among our exiles? Chizkuni and Seforno answer that, in fact, both occur. The Kohein does go outside the camp to the metzora but the metzora also travels to the immediate outskirts of the camp. He does so to minimize the physical exertion on the Kohein as a sign of honor and respect. (2) Why must the metzora shave his hair. beard and eyebrows as part of his cleansing process? Kli Yakar explains that each of these areas of the body correspond to a sin for which tzara'at comes upon a person. a) Haughtiness - his desire to be the "top" or the "head". He shaves the hair on top of his head; b) Lashon Hara - the beard is like a fence around the mouth. He shaves his beard, symbolizing that he did not guard his mouth properly; c)Envy - using his eyes improperly to observe that which others have. He shaves his eyebrows... that his eyes were improperly used. 3) Following the laws of tzara'as, the Torah introduces the laws of the impurity of the "zav." It does so with the words "Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them" (15:2). Why weren't the laws of tzara'as - in both this week's Parsha and in Tazria - introduced with a specific command to tell the Jewish people as well? Meshech Chachma points to the Gemara in Psachim (67a) which teaches that the zav is only sent out of the first two camps but can remain in the camp of Israel. Since he remains an official member of the Jewish people, the law is addressed to all of the "Children of Israel". The metzora, however, must leave all three camps, even the camp of Israel. Thus, he is not in the category of "the Children of Israel" and, as a result, the command is not addressed to the nation. Parsha Points to Ponder is prepared by Rabbi Dov
Lipman of Beit Shemesh
ppp@israelcenter.co.il Answers will appear in the next issue of TT The Midrash tells us of the unusual miracle that occurred on the original Shabbat HaGadol. The Egyptians asked the Jews what they were doing with the lambs. When the Jews told them that they were going to sacrifice them to G-d, the Egyptians would have been expected to react with outrage and anger at the "desecration" of their deity. But they didn't. They took the news calmly. This is considered a great miracle, in addition to other miracles of that Shabbat day; this led to identify the day throughout the generations as Shabbat HaGadol. Since the people of Israel entered into the realm of mitzvot by fulfilling the command to take the K.P. into their homes, they changed their status from KATAN to GADOL, much like a Bar Mitzva boy does when he receives upon his shoulders the yoke of mitzvot. Hence, Shabbat HaGadol. Even after Moshe got Shabbat from Par'o for the people as a day of rest, when Shabbat ended, it saw the Jews back into slavery and oppression. Not so the Shabbat prior to the Exodus. That was truly a Shabbat HaGadol. The Torah calls the first day of Pesach Shabbat (because of the forbidden activities on Yom Tov, it qualifies to be called Shabbat, a day of rest), as in, "on the morrow of the Shabbat you shall begin counting". The Tzedokim claimed that Shabbat refers only to Saturday. Traditional Judaism claims that there is a "minor"or small Shabbat (Yom Tov) in contrast with Shabbat HaGadol, when more Melachot are prohibited. It is the Shabbat right before the Yom Tov day in question that got the name Shabbat HaGadol - because of its closeness to the first day of Pesach, the contrast between the two Shabbats is high- lighted. Of course, the famous pasuk in the Haftara, telling us that G-d will send Eliya(hu) HaNavi before the coming of G-d's Day, the great (haGadol) and terrifying one. Some say that the long Drashot on this pre-Pesach Shabbat, that sometimes continue into the night, serve to lengthen the day into a Shabbat HaGadol. Until this pre-Exodus Shabbat, Shabbat only
possessed the aspect of acknowledging G-d for His Creation of the wolrd.
With the preparation for K.P. and for leaving Mitzrayim, Shabbat took on the
extra dimension of commemorating the Egyptian experience and the Exodus.
Shabbat increased in significance and scope and became then a Shabbat
HaGadol. What a build up! What drama! And for what purpose if not that Eliyahu, "may turn the hearts of the fathers back through their children and the hearts of the children back through their fathers" (ibid 3:24). Rashi explains: The children are the vehicles for the return of their sliding fathers to G-d. For Tosefot Yom Tov, children and parents will be reconciled. Moreover, they assert, Eliyahu will make peace between Israel and the nations and proclaim the coming of the Moshiach. Incredibly, this awesome process begins with the children! Dr. Morris Mandell and Leo Gartenberg (Sidra by Sidra) ask how we can be assured that our children will be prepared or that we, the adults, deserve this? Their answer: when we mold youth by practical and consistent example. Paraphrasing a wise judge they propose the prescription: Rather than spend time preparing the path for our youth we should prepare our youth for the path Then Shabbat HaGadol will surely be a great Shabbat. Shabbat Shalom & Chag Samei'ach - Menachem Persoff [The Parshat Acharei-HaGadol-Pesach Homepage]
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