MISC section - contents: [1] From the virtual desk of the OU VEBBE REBBE Q: I am often unable to take the three steps back at the end of Shemoneh Esrei because of a slow davener behind me. What may I say and do while in this situation? A: First, let us review your assumption that you may not take the steps back. In general, one cannot encroach on the 4 amot of the person behind him during his Shemoneh Esrei even in order to take the three steps back (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 102:5). Many permit entering the 4 amot for the need of a mitzva. However, your ability to daven need not be significantly impaired in this situation, as we will discuss. Do realize that many permit stepping backwards if he is behind you at an angle (see our discussion in Ask the Rabbi of Vayeitzei 5764). The gemara (B'rachot 29b) identifies two factors that determine whether one has finished Shemoneh Esrei. (The application there is whether, upon realizing at that point that he forgot Ya’aleh V’yavo, one needs to return to the beginning of Shemoneh Esrei.) One factor is whether he has stepped back. The other is whether he usually says tachanunim (additional requests) at the end of Shemoneh Esrei. According to the version of the gemara we accept, even if one has not yet stepped back, if he does not say tachanunim, his Shemoneh Esrei is considered finished. It follows that one who says tachanunim but has completed them is also finished even before stepping back (see Mishna Berura 422:9). The question you raise is still valid: what can one do and what can he not? The Shulchan Aruch (ibid. 122:1) says that after finishing the last b'racha of Shemoneh Esrei, one can still not answer Kedusha and the like until after saying Y’hiyu L’ratzon. The reason is that it is the sentence that completes Shemoneh Esrei, just as Hashem S'fatai opens it (see B'rachot 9b). The Rama (ad loc.) points out that since Ashkenazim have the practice to say tachanunim (Elokai N’tzor) before Y’hiyu L’ratzon, they can also answer Kedusha before it. In practice, some Ashkenazim say Y’hiyu L’ratzon both before and after Elokai N’tzor (see Taz ad loc.:2). In any case, once one has said Yhiyu L’ratzon, even if he is in the midst of tachanunim and thus has not stepped back, he can say anything that is permitted during Kri’at Shema (Shut HaRashba I, 807). This includes Barchu and the main parts of Kaddish and Kedusha (Shulchan Aruch ibid. 66:3; see Mishna B'rura 66:17) and, for Ashkenazim, answering Amen on Hakel HaKadosh and Shomei’ah T'fila (Rama, ad loc.). The reason to refrain from other worthwhile things is that the tachanunim are connected to Shemoneh Esrei, albeit on a lower level (Taz ibid.:1). The gemara (Yoma 53b), in discussing the concept of taking three steps back after Shemoneh Esrei, compares it to taking leave from a king (Shemoneh Esrei is described as standing before the King). It is understandable, then, that one should feel limited in what he can do before taking leave of the King. Therefore, one even skips parts of Elokai N’tzor to avoid even answering Kedusha before stepping back (Shulchan Aruch, ibid. 122:1). However, as we saw, this does not warrant infringing upon another’s 4 amot. However, the Ma’amar Mordechai (ad loc.:2) intuited that if one is ready to step back and is prevented from doing so by a technical reason, e.g., someone is davening behind him, that level of standing before the King does not apply. He says that in that case, one can even answer “baruch hu u’varuch sh'mo”, which is only a minhag to say upon hearing Hashem’s Name. The Mishna B'rura (ad loc. :4) and many other Acharonim accept this opinion, some mentioning other parts of t'fila, such as Ashrei and Aleinu, which one may also say. The question arises regarding religiously-related utterances that are not directly related to davening (see opinions in Ishei Yisrael 32:20). One may certainly read Divrei Torah at that time and may also say customary T'hilim at the end of davening. Regarding certain other positive talking unrelated to t'fila, it may pay to wait. 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 info@eretzhemdah.org with the message: Subscribe/English (for the English version) or Subscribe/Hebrew (for the hebrew version). Please leave the subject blank. Ask the Vebbe Rebbe is partially funded by the Jewish Agency for Israel [2] Candle by Day [3] CHIZUK and IDUD (for Olim & not-yet-Olim respectively) It was only because of the sin of the spies that Eretz Israel could only be conquered through war. Had the Jewish people firmly believed that the Land of Israel was theirs, there would have been no need to engage in battle. The spies sinned in that they weren't sure that Israel was for them. They wanted to check it out first. The Canaanite peoples intuitively sensed this lack of attachment to the Land as an invitation to wage war against us and dispute our Divine inheritance. Had the Jewish people been absolute in their conviction that Israel belongs only to the Jews, than no one on Earth would have dared to dispute our claim to the land. Our rabbi's teach that this very lack of conviction and certainty that Eretz Israel belongs to the Jewish people was the underlying cause for the destruction and exile, and all of the calamities that came in their wake (Ta'anit 29b). To our great dismay, this same lack of conviction regarding our rights to Israel exists to this very day, both in the Land of Israel and the Diaspora alike. At this time of great uncertainty, danger, and upheaval in our Land, let us hope and pray that we will rise up to a true unwavering conviction that Eretz Israel is ours, and thereby deserve the consoling prophecy of Zacharia: "Thus says the L-rd of hosts… the fast of the fifth [the month of Av] shall become times of joy and gladness" (Zecharia 8:19). Amen. TORAH THOUGHTS as contributed by Aloh Naaleh members for publication in the Orthodox Union's 'Torah Insights', a weekly Torah publication on Parshat HaShavu'a [4] A Touch of Wisdom, A Touch of Wit Once, soon after R' Meir Michel started out in the carriage, he felt sick, and was forced to return home. His son paid the driver for only one hour. At first the driver refused to accept this, arguing that he was entitled to pay for two hours, but in the end he accepted the pay for one hour and left. That evening, R' Meir Michel thought about what had happened, and came to the conclusion that the driver had been correct and deserved to be paid for two hours. If he waited until the next morning, he would have violated the halachah that a person who is hired by the day must be paid before dawn of the next day. R' Meir Michel then sent his son in search of the driver in the middle of the night, to pay him for the extra hour. Shmuel Himelstein has written a wonderful series for ArtScroll: Words of Wisdom, Words of Wit; A Touch of Wisdom, A Touch of Wit; and "Wisdom and Wit" — available at your local Jewish bookstore (or should be). [5] Parsha Points to Ponder - D'VARIM 2) The simple reading of the Torah indicates that the spies all reported that GOOD IS THE LAND WHICH G-D IS GIVING TO US (1:25). How can this be reconciled with the negative report which the spies gave about the land? (Rashi explains that Yehoshua and Kaleiv said these words but we still must explain the simple reading which implies otherwise.) 3) Why does the Torah use the name HASHEM which connotes mercy when describing G-D punishing the nation? (2:15) THESE ARE THE ANSWERS 1) The Sfat Emet teaches that this was also part of the rebuke. Moshe was pointing out that the nation's flaw was so great that it even influenced him negatively and he was caught up in it as well. 2) The Chatam Sofer answers that they reported that the land was good and, as a result, its inhabitants would fight hard to retain it making its conquering impossible for the Jewish people. 3) Rav Shlomo Kluger explains that the punishment led to the people cleansing themselves and straightening out as indicated by the word TUMAM which means completion and perfection. Thus, the punishment was actually an act of mercy from G-D which enabled them to be better people. Parsha Points to Ponder is prepared by Rabbi Dov Lipman, who teaches at Reishit Yerushalayim, Tiferet, and Machon Maayan in Beit Shemesh and RBS and is the author of "DISCOVER: Answers for Teenagers (and adults) to Questions about the Jewish Faith", soon to be re-published by Feldheim ppp@israelcenter.co.il [6] Portion for the Portion by Rakel Berenbaum Rashi answers that the verse doesn't mean that they numbered as many as the stars, but it is an analogy. Just like the stars, the moon and sun last forever, so too the nation of Israel will remain throughout the generations. This is a verse that is relevant to us today. We may look around and see all the enemies that surround us who want to destroy us; Hamas in the south, Hizballah in the North and not to forget Syria and Iran. We may think that our end is near, give up, and become depressed. We cannot let the outside world get to us. We have to remember that we are like the stars that remain forever. The Jewish people will survive while all the other nations will disappear. Watermelon Star Salad [7] Torah from Nature No bird has more than 4 toes. Rheas, cassowaries and emus (large, flightless birds) have 3 toes, as do woodpeckers. Only one species, the ostrich, has two toes... Flight is a highly energetic form of exercise... During flight, a bird increases its oxygen consumption by about 13 times over the resting rate. To facilitate flight, most bones of birds are hollow... Swallows migrating between Europe and Africa must fly for about 50 hours over the Sahara without resting. The American Golden Plover flies over 2000 miles non-stop between Alaska and Hawaii. The Arctic Tern migrates from pole to pole, the round trip totaling some 20,000 miles. Swifts can fly at up to 60-90 miles per hour. Penguins can swim underwater at about 20 mph. Ostriches can run up to 50 mph... [8] Old TTs - Where To? The following is based on a p'sak we received from Rabbi Moshe Flumenbaum of HaSofer (in the old Israel Center bldg.), who based his answer on the rabbinic literature on the topic of Geniza (a daily concern to a Sofer STa"M). Printed Divrei Torah, prayers, Parshat HaShavu'a sheets, photocopied hand- outs for a shiur, and the like, should be disposed of, as follows: If they have been used, then their status changes, it is elevated, and should be put into Geniza (a.k.a. Sheimos). This applies to Divrei Torah, etc. in Hebrew or any other language, with G-d's name or without. If G-d's name is replaced by a HEI-apostrophe, or ELOKIM is written with a KUF instead of the HEI, etc., the pages still need Geniza, as stated above. Our policy in Torah Tidbits is to use HEI-apostrophe and to separate the ALEF and LAMED of His names that begin with those two letters, to separate the SHIN and DALET of SHAKAI, the YUD and HEI of KAH, the TZADI and ALEF of TZ'VAKOT. This does NOT remove the obligation of putting the sheets into Geniza; it only attempts to lessen the offense to the Names, if the sheet ends up being discarded in an improper way - intentionally or inadvertently. Once in a while, names are accidentally left unaltered. We're sorry when that happens, and for the discomfort some people feel in seeing HaShem's Names "vulnerable" to disrespect, but please know that one way or the other, the pages require Geniza if read, learned from, or davened from. On the topic of the dash many people use in the word G-d, and many people don't - we usually use the dash, but occasionally the "regular" spelling slips in from a contributing columnist. The point is, regardless of how G-d is spelled, or whether the word appears in a Dvar Torah or not, the page will still need Geniza, as above. One final point. The above represents the p'sak on the issue that we follow. That we explain to TTreaders (as in the piece you are reading at this moment). That we explain to people when they call and ask. Other rabbanim might give a different p'sak when asked. No one is bound by what we have written here, if they receive a different answer from their Rav. We recommend following our guidelines or independently asking the question to your LOR (local Orthodox rabbi). Okay, that wasn't the final word (for now); this is: [9] MicroUlpan [10] Poem for the MATZAV (situation) But I know where they are going - It is Shabbat The situation is serious In shul we say prayers I envision the citizens Unable to pursue Here in Jerusalem For the release of our soldiers - For the healing of the wounded, These are difficult times - Hashem, I beseech You. Cover is in Your grace Judy Caspi, Pri Hadash Workshop [11] Divrei Menachem In contrast to the first four books of the Torah, in Sefer D'varim, Moshe is the speaker. In this book, Moshe says, "And Hashem spoke to me", whereas previously we were accustomed to the phrase, "And Hashem said to Moshe." Moreover, we learn that Moshe chose in his last weeks on earth to allude to the commandments, as he understood them. Consequently, the Book of D'varim is called Mishneh Torah, often rendered as the 'Review of the Torah.' The translator and commentator Onkelos prefers an Aramaic rendering of Mishneh Torah that expresses the notion that D'varim is a clarification of the Torah. Clearly, then, we see that Moshe's role as Moshe Rabeinu, Moshe our Teacher, serves as a powerful prototype for all times. For Moshe was more than a conduit for Hashem's words. Moshe was a teacher who explained the meaning of those words and who also served as a source of inspiration that induced Teshuva. [The Parshat D'varim Homepage]
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