MISC section - contents: Q: I grew up in a standard Orthodox house in which we scrubbed and cleaned for a month before Pesach, but, on the night of bedikat chametz, we did a ceremonious bedika, which was unlikely to uncover chametz. After learning the relevant gemarot, I understand that the bedika on the night of the 14th of Nisan should be a serious search for chametz. What should we really be doing? A: In terms of classical sources, your observation is correct. The gemara does not discuss the cleaning we do; it does spell out the serious job one should do on the night of the 14th. However, already in the time of the Rishonim, the phenomenon you discuss existed. The Terumat Hadeshen (15th century, Ashkenaz - I, 13) reports that many people would sweep (clean?) the house a few days before Pesach, put a few pieces of bread in a few rooms, and stop the bedika when they found them. He rejected the practice based on the Mordechai (Pesachim 535) who said that sweeping the house beforehand is not sufficient. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 433:11) concurred. A few centuries later, the Sha’arei Teshuva (ad loc.) cited and justified the practice you refer to. Does the practice conflict with the Terumat Hadeshen’s ruling or has the situation changed so that the Terumat Hadeshen would agree? The main reason the Mordechai mentions for requiring bedika even on a cleaned house is to avoid distinguishing between one bedika and another. In other words, Chazal instituted a time for doing bedika, on the eve of the 14th, and one should not say that he previously obviated the need. The Terumat Hadeshen already points out that if this were the only issue, it would have been sufficient to fulfill the mitzva of bedika on a single room. However, he continues, sweeping the house does not do a complete job, as it does not get into the holes and cracks, and it is, therefore, not a valid replacement for bedika. The Sha’arei Teshuva addresses this, saying that since those who do a cursory job on the 14th clean very carefully beforehand, this is sufficient. The Magen Avraham (433:20) raises another issue. Chazal required that the bedika be done by candlelight at night or in an area with direct sunlight during the day. Few are careful to check all areas they clean in this manner. Furthermore, the Taz (433:1), Bach (433) and others say that even if one did a halachic bedika on the 13th at night, he must repeat it on the 14th, the time Chazal instituted. The Chok Ya’akov (ad loc.: 23) and Pri Chadash (ad loc.: 11) say that one can fulfill the obligation of bedika on a night prior to the 14th. The Ba’er Heitiv (ad loc.: 1) premises this opinion on the condition that he is careful that chametz be kept away from the checked areas. However, we can still justify the prevalent practice even according to those who say that the bedika can be done only on the 14th, as follows. Only those areas into which chametz is sometimes brought need to be searched (Pesachim 2a). One can then claim that areas which were cleaned and into which people were subsequently careful not to bring chametz become places that do not have chametz. Thus, a superficial perusal of the house to make sure that indeed no chametz got into this room or that may be considered checking the relevant parts of the entire house. (This is apparently the Aruch Hashulchan’s (433:13) under- standing; see also Piskei Teshuvot 433:8). According to some, this logic makes the minhag to put out pieces of bread to find necessary because otherwise there is nothing to check (see Sha’arei Teshuva 432:12). It would be wrong to imply that all poskim fully accept the practice you mention. The Mishna Berura seems to neither embrace it nor reject it. Rav Ovadya Yosef (Yechaveh Da’at I, 5) says that it is proper to do a serious bedika on the 14th. However, our orientation is to instruct people to follow a prevalent minhag when it is justifiable, as this one is. If one wants to be more stringent, that is his business. 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 From "A Candle by Day" by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein The Gaon of Vilna explains that the very first act of creation within the physical world was the creation of time. It is within this framework of time that all other aspects of life exist. And here we must differentiate between two dimensions of time. The first is the down to earth system of time, the time of the natural world, which is symbolized by the sun. The second system is associated with the moon, a system which is dynamic, irregular, and allows for constant new beginnings. While, on one hand, "Jewish time" is the non-static time of the moon - HACHODESH HAZEH LACHEM, from the very beginning the Torah makes sure that we realize that we also maintain a very close bond with the natural world, the time system associated with the sun, which, in the words of Rashi, constitutes an act of giving us a portion of this physical world, LATET LAHEM NACHALAT GOYIM. Within the world of time we express our connection with the physical world through the intercalation of months, connecting the lunar system of time with the solar calendar. Moving from the dimension of time to the dimension of space, we find the strongest expression of this bond in Eretz Israel. While Eretz Israel is a physical land like all other lands, "nachalat goyim," it is also the gateway to heaven. It is precisely at this point that a merger of the two systems transpires, "ibbur hashana" and "latet lahem nachalat goyim." Rabbi Ari Waxman, Sha'alvim [6] Portion for the Portion by Rakel Berenbaum - FEEDback to
berenbau@actcom.net.il In Parshiyot T'ruma and T'tzaveh Hashem gives the instructions on how to build the Mishkan (Tabernacle). In Vayakhel and P'kudei we hear about its being constructed. For example the description of how to build the ARON (Ark) is mentioned in verses 25:10-22 and its actual construction is described in 37:1-9. In a previous parsha we wrote about the poles of the Ark, this week we will write about the cover (KAPORET) on top of the ARON. This cover was made of gold and had one Cherub at each end. The Cherubs were creatures like birds (Rashbam) with wings. The Gemara in Chagiga (13b) says that the word K'RUV (cherub) means KAF - like RAVIA- a baby. Everyone has seen pictures of angels with baby faces and never realized that the source for this depiction is the Gemara. Rashi says that one was male and the other was female. Since the ARON housed the ASERET HADIBROT (Ten Commandments), it symbolized Torah study. The Cherubs on top, with childlike faces hints to the fact that everyone, males and females, should start learning Torah from a young age (Abarbanel). Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv in his book Chochma U'Mussar states that the Cherubs were placed on top of the ARON to teach us that we should always consider ourselves as young children in relationship to our Torah learning. No matter how much one knows there is always still so much to learn. It is always as if we have just begun learning. That is also why a Torah scholar is always called a TALMID CHACHAM,which can mean, the student of a wise man. The greater wisdom one has the more one realizes that they are lacking wisdom. Rav Simcha quotes Socrates who stated that most scholars feel that to be a wise man one must know the answer to every question. He on the other hand realized that the more he learned the more he was aware how little he knew. We should also treat our learning of Torah with the excitement and enthusiasm of very young children. Every new experience and skill or knowledge that children learn fills them with more energy. The Hebrew for Cherub (K'RUV) has another meaning:
cabbage. So this week's recipe is for a cabbage (K'RUV) salad with golden
apples since the cherubs were made out of gold. According to Ibn Ezra, both terms indicate that the Torah draws our attention to the complete structure of the Mishkan, replete with all its vessels and utensils, in contrast to the narrower view, which tends to evoke only the Ark that housed the stone Tablets of Testimony. On a Midrashic plane, Rashi sees in the double phrase a future reference to the two Temples that were a Mashkon, collateral for the Jewish people, taken from us until such time that we will be deserving of the Third Bet Hamikdash (Bimheira B'yameinu). For R' Bachya, these two terms symbolize the Mishkan in Heaven that mirrors the Mishkan on Earth. No wonder, then, that in referring to the completion of the Mishkan, the Torah says that Bnei Yisrael performed all the labor, using the word Avoda, rather than the technical word Melacha (from which are derived the forbidden categories of work on Shabbat). To paraphrase Ramban, who sees the people's construction of the Mishkan comparable to the Avoda of the Kohanim, the idea of building a Sanctuary should be a labor of love. Shabbat Shalom, Menachem Persoff [The Parshat Vayakhel-P'kudei Homepage]
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