MISC section - contents: [1] Vebbe Rebbe [1] From the virtual desk of the OU VEBBE REBBE The Orthodox Union ñ via its website ñ fields questions of all types in areas of kashrut, Jewish law and values. Some of them are answered by Eretz Hemdah, the Institute for Advanced Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, headed by Rav Yosef Carmel and Rav Moshe Ehrenreich, founded by HaRav Shaul Yisraeli zt"l, to prepare rabbanim and dayanim to serve the National Religious community in Israel and abroad. Ask the Rabbi is a joint venture of the OU, Yerushalayim Network, Eretz Hemdah... and the Israel Center. The following is a Q&A from Eretz Hemdah... Q: I have an idea to enable Jews to have non-Jews operate an elevator for them in a permitted way. In a big building, maintenance workers do work on different floors throughout the day. If we get the management company to tell the workers to schedule work that has to be done on floors where shomrei Shabbat live at the time of day when they return from shul, it should be permitted. Is this correct? A: We will deal only with your specific idea. Other factors that are involved in the use of a regular elevator are found in Bemareh Habazak II, 23. A non-Jew may do melacha (work) for a Jew if he does so for his own purposes. One example is when he gets paid per-job (as opposed to per time). Then even though the Jew benefits directly from the action, we say that the non-Jew does it for his wages (Shulchan Aruch, OC 243:1-2). However, even so, the Jew may not tell him to do the work specifically on Shabbat (ibid. 307:4). If the non-Jew does the work for his own direct benefit, a Jew may tell him to do it even if he also benefits. For example, if a Jew sees a flood in their joint building, he may tell his non-Jewish neighbor (at least before Shabbat) to fix it because the non-Jew will have his own welfare in mind. This would seem to be true in your case. The question is whether the Jew tell the non-Jew to do the work that he does for his own good but also for the Jew specifically on Shabbat? While the non-Jew uses the elevator for his own purposes, he does so at the time the Jew desires it. There are sources that imply that when it is directly for the non-Jew's benefit, the timing is not a problem (see Taz 307:3 & Biur Halacha to 276:2 in the Nishmat Adam's name). However, it is difficult to rely upon this alone. In the case you devise, the Jew need not have the non-Jew act because he said so. Rather, he can tell him to not do the work at another time on Shabbat so that the chances the Jew will benefit go up. The non-Jew might even decide not to do work at all on Shabbat. The problem might exist though if the workers would have done their work later and move it up to the appointed time because the Jews asked. The best approach to permit your idea is to say that the Jews do not ask the non-Jew to do work for them at all. The maintenance work will not be ordered by the Jews, and joint work is done for the majority (can we assume that?) (see Shulchan Aruch, OC 307:3). Regarding the fact that he takes an elevator in a way that Jews benefit from, consider the following. The Mishna Berura (276:27) says that one can ask a non-Jewish worker to do dishes on Shabbat (which need not include melacha) and it is not a problem that the non-Jew will light a candle to help. In fact, although a Jew may not benefit from melacha done by a non- Jew of his own accord on behalf of a Jew, here he may benefit from the candle later, as the non-Jew lit it for his own benefit. Although the Jew may not benefit immediately from the light (or in this case, the elevator) that is probably because he initiated the work. Furthermore, there must be a legitimate independent reason for the non-Jew to have gotten involved in the activity. Therefore, one cannot suggest to a non-Jew to go up together to a certain floor and have him use the elevator to get there (see Shemirat Shabbat K'hilchata 30:52). Therefore, if the workers understand the plan and purposely go with the Jew as a favor, it would be a problem to benefit from their service on his behalf. If it is a safek whether their intention was for the Jew, the matter is unclear (Mishna Berura 307:24 & 276:15, Biur Halacha, ad loc.). There is more to say on the topic, but it appears that the plan has merit (especially for cases of great need) but is not always feasible for pragmatic and/or halachic factors.
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 It is difficult for one who has arrived at a certain moral understanding not to regard another's acting in opposition to it as a piece of willfulness rather than as an innocent ignorance of that understanding on the other's part. From "A Candle by Day" by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein A Candle by Day ï The Antidote ï The World Of Chazal by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein Now available at 054-209-9200 [3] CHIZUK and IDUD (for Olim & not-yet-Olim respectively) In Parshat Ekev, Moshe Rabeinu informs the Jewish people that God has chosen them to inherit the land of Israel, not because they are worthy of that prize, but rather because of the evil of those who presently inhabit the land, and because of the merit of the Patriarchs and the oath made to them. These are very sobering words, to say the least. Moreover, they seem to contradict the message delivered to us by Moshe Rabeinu in last week's parsha. There we were told that we were chosen not because of our great size, but rather because God loves us. The implication is that God chose us for our "quality", not for our "quantity". This certainly implies that qualitatively we are worthy and that this worthiness expresses itself in the spiritual realm. The Ramban resolves this difficulty in his commentary to Parshat Va'etchanan. There he explains that the Jewish people always exist on two planes. One is the Jewish people at any particular point in history. Sometimes we are worthy, some- times we are not, all depending on the religious and spiritual level achieved by the particular generation. But there is another plane on which we exist called "Knesset Israel." This is the totality of the Jewish people in all times, the past, the present, and the future, including the Patriarchs, the Matriarchs, and the righteous of all generations. The Jewish people eternal are always worthy qualitatively and truly merit inheriting Eretz Israel. Our goal must always be to make the Jewish people of our own generation as similar as possible to Knesset Israel, the Jewish people eternal. Rabbi Menachem Schrader, Efrat TORAH THOUGHTS as contributed by Aloh Naaleh members for publication in the Orthodox Union's 'Torah Insights', a weekly Torah publication on Parshat HaShavuía [4] Wisdom and Wit One of the large contributors to the yeshiva of Rr Yechezkel Sarna lost all his money, and became destitute. When Rí Yechezkel organized a fund-raising event for the yeshiva, he decided not to invite this man, in order not to embarrass him. To R' Yechezkels amazement, though, the man came without having been invited. He also asked to speak, and what he said electrified the audience. ìOnce, I too, had lots of money to spend, and I was glad to contribute to the yeshivaî he began, "but as you probably know, things have not gone so well with me lately. While I lost my money, the one thing that still remains with me is the merit of the money I gave in those times. ìThe entire world revolvesî he went on, sand those with money can find themselves without it the next day. Learn from me, and contribute while you still have the means, because one can never tell what tomorrow will bring.î 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" ó available at your local Jewish bookstore (or should be). Excerpted with the permission of the copyright holder [5] Portion for the Portion by Rakel Berenbaum - FEEDback to berenbau@actcom.net.il V'HAYA EIKEV... The first section of this week's portion discusses the rewards for abiding by G-d's laws. Things mentioned are that G-d will love us, bless us and make us numerous. He will bless the fruit of the womb, of our land, the grain, the wine, the oil, the calves of our herds, and lambs of our flocks (6:13). No one will be sterile, or sick or suffer with the afflictions such as the ten plagues (6:14-15). All this EKEV - if only we listen to the laws. This sounds so easy. Just keep the laws and look at all we will get. But if we look around us we can see so many people not following the path that G-d has instructed us to follow. Why is this? A hint can be found in the first verse of the portion. It reads V'HAYA EIKEV TISHMA'UN - If only you listen to these laws. The Rabbis teach that there is a difference when the word VAYHI or V'HAYA are used. VAYHI is used when talking about something sad, whereas V'HYA is used when talking about something happy. Our verse uses the word V'HYA - happy. The LEV SAMEACH learns from here that happiness is the secret to mitzva observance. The Rabbis teach, ìJust as the only place to preserve money is in the ground, so too the only way to preserve mitzvot observance is through happiness. If we are truly happy, we will want to do the mitzvot and doing the mitzvot will make us happier. So what is the secret to happiness. We have to work on ourselves to be happy with everything we have, but one secret is hinted at in this same verse. The word EIKEV used in the verse is the same word used for heel. The heel is the lowest part of our body. The LIKUTEI YEHOSHUA says it is a symbol for being humble. A person who is sincerely humble will constantly be happy. He feels that nothing is owed to him, and feels satisfied with what he has. He constantly has peace of mind and always feels the joy of life. This joy will energize his mitzva performance. Today we are witness to the truth of this verse. We see so many teens who go ìoff the derechî. There are many reasons for this phenomenon, but a lot of times the cause is some unhappiness ñ whether with their parents, their teachers, their school, their friends or themselves. If they could learn to be happy with their situation no matter what it is then they might not feel that they have to run away from Judaism and could continue to follow the mitzvot. The Israel Center with their varied programs for teens and adults tries to bring out this happiness to help us all with serving G-d. This weeks recipe is made with calf's or chicken feet as a reference to the EIKEV, heel from the portion. You might not want to tell how this recipe is made until after everyone tastes it. This jellied dish is an old European delicacy that is served as an entree on special occasions. My husband remembers enjoying this and watching his grandmother preparing it. Nowadays you might have to order the calf's foot from the butcher in advance. If you don't want the hassle to make this recipe, you can buy it ready made. P'TCHA or GALLARETTA 1 calf's foot or two dozen chicken feet Water to cover 1 large onion bit of salt 1-2 cloves garlic, minced 3-4 hard-boiled eggs (for garnish) Wash calf's or chicken's foot very well. (If using chicken feet, soak for a few minutes in hot water, then remove skin from legs.) Put in pot with water. Add onion and salt and bring to a boil. Lower flame and cook for 3-20 hours. The longer you cook it the softer it will be. Pick meat from bones and grind well. Spread ground meat at the bottom of a pan. Slowly, pour the stock on top. Add the garlic Garnish with slices of hardboiled eggs. Jell in the refrigerator. To serve cut into cake-sized pieces. Can stay two weeks in the refrigerator. [6] Parsha Points to Ponder - EIKEV 1) Why does the Torah use the word EIKEV meaning ON THE HEELS instead of the usual word IM which means IF when teaching that if we keep the mitzvot then we will be rewarded? (see 7:12) 2) Why are we commanded to say a blessing after a meal instead of the more logical and reasonable approach of saying grace before indulging in the food? (see 8:10) 3) Why does this weekís parsha teach the mitzva of tefillin before the command to teach Torah to our children (11:18-19) while last weekís parsha teaches these two mitzvot in the reverse order? (6:7-8) THESE ARE THE ANSWERS Ponder the questions first, then read here 1) The Ohr HaChayim teaches that the word EIKEV means AT THE END. The Torah is teaching us that a person who commits himself to Torah and mitzvot is guaranteed good and joy but not necessarily throughout life which can be very challenging and difficult. Rather, EIKEV, at the end of the story that soul will experience true joy and happiness. 2) Rav Gedalya Schorr answers that we are commanded to give thanks specifically when it is most difficult to do so - after one is already satiated. At the moment when we are most prone to fail, after indulging in the material, we pause to recognize that whatever physical good we have comes from G-D. 3) Rav Volbe explains that the Torah is teaching us a difference between a person without sin and a person who has sinned. The first paragraph of Sh'ma describes the individuals who are on the highest of spiritual levels whose primary connection to G-D is through Torah study. Mitzva performance such as tefillin serves to augment this Torah study and, therefore, Torah study is mentioned first. Our parsha describes the masses who are on a lower spiritual level. Those people need to focus on performing mitzvot and through the spiritual growth which this achieves they will be inspired to connect further through Torah learning. Thus, Torah learning is mentioned second. 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",just re-published by Feldheim, ppp@ouisrael.org [7] Torah Kidbits by Yaffa Ganz A Torah Tidbits column with a Parshat HaShavua insight geared towards the young reader... Everyone appreciates a bracha or a good word but very few "good words" can compare with Parashat Eikev! It is a parsha of great, sweeping promises and a declaration of love by Hashem to the Jewish People once they are living in Eretz Yisrael. Hashem will love us, bless us, multiply us. He will give us children and bountiful harvests. He will keep us healthy, without illness, and will vanquish all our enemies. The Parasha then gives one of the most beautiful descriptions in the Torah of the Land of Israel. Hashem will bring us to a "Good Land - a land with streams of water, of springs coming forth from valleys and mountains. A land of wheat, barley, grapes, figs and pomegranates; a land of oil-olives and date-honey. A land where you will eat bread without poverty. You will lack nothing there. You will eat and you will be satisfied and bless Hashem your G-d, for the good Land that He gave you." (Sound familiar? We say some of these words every day in Birchat Hamazon!) But all of these great blessings come with certain conditions. They are ours, but only if we fear Hashem, walk in all His ways, keep His commandments and... if we love Him! Only if we serve Him with all our heart and soul. Many nations fear G-d (if they have any sense!) but we love Him. Love is mentioned over and over again in the parsha. G-d's love for us, and our love for Him. Moshe tells Am Yisrael that Eretz Yisrael is not like Egypt which receives its water from the annual flooding of the Nile. In Eretz Yisrael, rain comes from the heavens. It is a gift which depends on our prayers and good deeds. For Eretz Yisrael is always in the center of G-d's mind. "The eyes of Hashem your G-d are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the year's end." The parsha ends with one last, tremendous blessing: If we walk in G-d's ways, "Every place where the sole of your foot will tread shall be yours. From the Wilderness and the Lebanon, from the river, the Euphrates River, until the western sea shall be your boundary. No man will stand up against you." These are pretty big promises and we, who have the privilege of living in Eretz Yisrael, have a chance to help fulfill them! [8] MicroUlpan Pruning shears - MAZMEIRA - In French: secateurs [9] Torah from Nature "very strange little beast" A few years ago, scientists discovered perhaps the world's most unusual snail... bears a mass of interlocking, iron-based plates on its body and the base of its foot. Like a suit of medieval armor, the snail may use its metal scales as a defense against predatory attack... all other slugs and snails (i.e. gastropod mollusks) have a soft and slimy foot... discovered in the hostile hydrothermal vent environment of the deep Indian Ocean... first animal discovered that uses iron sulfides for a structural purpose... when first examined, the sea snail's magnetized scales kept sticking to the forceps... scales are comprised of two iron sulfide minerals: iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, and greigite... lives with very high pressure and temperature [10] Pirkei Avot Pirkei Avot 5:1 "With ten Sayings the world was created." What are these ten sayings? They are: VAYOMER ELOKIM, And G-d said: Specifically: And G-d said, Let there be light; And G-d said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters... And G-d said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together to one place... And G-d said, Let the earth bring forth grass... And G-d said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven... And G-d said, Let the waters be filled with many kinds of living creatures, and birds... And G-d said, Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures... And G-d said, Let us* make man in our* image... Counting so far? We are short of 10. Commentaries include the opening statement of the Torah as the first of the Divine sayings that brought the world into existence: B'REISHIT BARA ELOKIM ET HASHAMAYIM V'ET HAARETZ, In the beginning, G-d created the heavens and the earth. For this verse to "qualify" as a Saying, we point to the verse in T'hilim (33:6): By the word of G-d were the heavens made... With "B'REISHIT", as many commentaries agree, our list is at 9. What is the 10th Divine Saying with which the world was created? Some point to: And G-d blessed them, and G-d said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply... This can be seen as part of creation, because it is the way G-d built into the world (so to speak) the ability to continue the creative process, so that what G-d created will always be. Some point to this pasuk: And G-d said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed... which we can explain as the Divine Saying that provides us (human beings) with the ability to live in this world and to propagate... And some point to this pasuk from the second perek: And G-d (this time, HASHEM ELOKIM) said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help to match him. That is, that the 10th saying of G-d's creation of the world was the creation of woman. Other commentaries consider another set of 10 Sayings - The Aseret HaDibrot as being used by G-d, so to speak, to bring the world into existence. These two lists do not contradict each other, rather they go hand in hand to show us the very special nature of the world into which G-d has placed us. [11] from Machon Puah Sarah and Chayim had a wonderful marriage, they both had good jobs, a nice home and a wide circle of friends. To look at them no-one would think that there was anything missing in their lives. Yet there was one thing missing, one thing that occupied their every waking hour and gave them both nightmares. They had been married for three years but they had no children. They had tried, they had even been to the top doctors, but so far nothing had worked. They were literally at their wit's end, they could not concentrate at work, they stopped going out with friends because the conversation invariably ended up talking about kids, daycare and carpools. Sarah and Chayim had no one to talk to, they felt uncomfortable speaking to family, they did not feel that their friends understood them, and the doctors and nurses were always so busy. Eventually Chayim asked his Rabbi for advice, the Rabbi did not hesitate but immediately sent the couple to speak to one of the Rabbis in the Puah Institute. Sarah and Chayim found that the Rabbis at Puah were both knowledgeable about the medical and halachic aspects of fertility treatment, and were very friendly and helpful. The Rabbi guided them to a series of tests that the couple had not yet done and to a doctor who was an expert in their particular problem. The couple were put at ease and were delighted to have found someone that they could talk to and open up to. Their meeting ran over the allotted hour but the Rabbi gave them all the time they needed to discuss the strain that infertility was having on their marriage and lives. They left Puah with greater confidence and new hope. The tests were not easy but they did show a particular problem that had not so far been addressed and the doctor was able to suggest a new type of treatment. Sarah and Chayim were so grateful to all the staff at Puah that the third person (after calling both sets of parents) they called when their daughter was born was the Rabbi at Puah. He was so happy for them and they felt that he was so much a part of their simchah. Sarah and Chayim are not an unusual couple, in fact some 15% of couples face problems of getting pregnant. In this new regular column we will look at some of the issues that they face and the solutions, we will discuss the work of the Puah Institute and new advances in the fascinating field of assisted reproduction and the halacha. The Puah Institute for Fertility and Gynecology in Accordance with Halacha is based in Jerusalem and helps couples from all over the world who are experiencing fertility problems. Puah offers free counseling in five languages, halachic supervision and educational programs. Puah has offices in New York, Los Angeles and Paris. To contact the Puah Institute please call (02) 651-5050 in Israel or 718-336-0603. Visit our website at www.puah.org.il [11] From the desk of the director Parshat Ekev recalls more of Moshe's exhortations to Bnei Yisrael to continue in Hashem's ways. He could have been speaking to us. For Moshe resorts to the notion that we are a people who witness wonders and miracles in a way that no other nation experiences. The question Moshe asks is seemingly rhetorical. Has any other nation undergone what we did, as a wandering group of tribes in a pitiless desert? Our food was taken care of and our clothes did not spoil. We were in a wilderness of wild beasts, yet they spared us. We wandered in a flaming desert as a test of our faith. So now, as we are about to cross the Jordan (Yarden, implying the potential to descend spiritually), G-d tells us not to fear the overwhelming odds of the surrounding nations. As He looked after us in the desert, so will He protect us from our enemies. The question is: do we believe it? Not, did they believe then, but, do we believe now? Do we really believe that in our everyday life, Hashem is protecting us? Do we really see those little daily miracles that accompany us? Do we appreciate the song of the turtledove or the radiant colors of the orchids? Do we recognize those small seemingly random occurrences as the Guiding Hand of G-d? Clearly, Moshe's message was for us too. Shabbat Shalom, Menachem Persoff [The Parshat Eikev Homepage]
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