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: How should teens be treated regarding different kibudim (honors) in shul? In some shuls, they receive only ìless desirableî kibudim like peticha and gelila. A: The mishna (Megila 24a) lists things that a katan (boy before bar mitzva) can and cannot do. Actually, he can get an aliya (the longstanding minhag does not allow it- see Ask the Rabbi, Yitro 5762) but cannot be a chazan for the core parts of the tefila. Teens are halachically able to lead any part of the services (assuming, as we almost always do without checking, that he has physical signs of the beginning of maturity). The question is of appropriateness. The gemara (Chulin 24b) states that only one whose beard has grown in may be chosen as chazan. Most Rishonim and the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 53:6) limit this rule to the honor and responsibility of being a set chazan, due to the congregation's honor; on an occasional basis, teens may serve without issue. One occasionally comes across (in life or in the writings of a posek) a local practice not to allow singles or the young to be a chazan, but this type of approach is not seen as halachic or mainstream policy regarding an occasional chazan (see Shevet Halevi V, 19). Regarding aliyot, there are no halachic issues whatsoever about honoring teens. In general, while being a chazan has strong elements of an honor, aliyot are more a matter of an opportunity to do a mitzva, which applies to all ages (compare Shulchan Aruch, OC 53:16 and Mishna Berura 141:25). It is appropriate and sometimes required to honor ìthe most deservingî with the earlier aliyot (kohanim and leviyim; on Shabbat, even ìregularî aliyot - Shulchan Aruch, OC 136:1). However, there is apparently no point of skipping totally over upstanding but young people. One can prove, albeit from a halacha that is out of practice, the concept that youngsters are also expected to receive ìmedium-levelî kibudim. The mishna (Megila 24a) states that one who receives the (then) lower-level aliya of maftir is ìcompensatedî by getting to be chazan for Musaf. The mishna says that if a katan gets maftir, while he cannot daven Musaf, we give the honor to his father. While the gemara softens the matter a little, the clear assumption is that a katan, let alone a teen, would not be relegated to those ìhonorsî that others did not want. Admittedly, there were and still are places where youngsters are not given Aliyot on Shabbat, but this is not seen as healthy under normal circumstances and is certainly not a halacha (see Tzitz Eliezer VII, 1.13). The matter of policy depends quite a bit on the shul's circumstances. One reason to prefer adults for kibudim is that at least regarding davening, they are, in theory and often in practice, more experienced and proficient than adolescents. When this is the case, it is certainly a factor, which is somewhat countered by the value of training the next generation. In some shuls, when there are not always enough kibudim to go around, adults are more likely to expect the more ìdesiredî kibudim and get insulted by a perceived slight. This too is a factor, but should not necessarily exclude but limit youngsters' participation. In general, making youngsters feel appreciated and respected is subconsciously important regarding their developing attitudes toward shuls and religion in general. Therefore, in all but exceptional communities, we would suggest giving teens a fair share, quantitatively and qualitatively, of the honors and including pre-bar mitzvas among sections where halacha allows it (peticha, gelila, An'im Zemirot, P'sukei D'zimra, Kabbalat Shabbat). When youngsters are more included officially, there is likely to be a general, more welcoming atmosphere toward them in the shul (greetings after davening, etc.) and their behavior is likely to improve somewhat. 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] Candy by Day You can't have everything. Where would you put it? Cross country skiing is great if you live in a small country. If a word in the dictionary were misspelled, how would we know? From "A Candy per Day" by Rabbi Steven Wright [3] CHIZUK and IDUD (for Olim & not-yet-Olim respectively) To some, the notion of animal sacrifices as conveyed through the early portions of the book of Vayikra is antiquated. Presently, this issue is mute since we are unable to perform the Temple rituals and instead use prayer as a substitute. However, what is in store, speedily and in our days, when the glory will be restored? The Midrash (V"R 9:7) states that "in the 'future' all of the sacrifices will be annulled, however the thanksgiving offering (korban toda) will not be annulled." The Radak (1160-1235) explains that in the era of Moshiach men will no longer succumb to sin, so the only remaining function for a sacrifice will be to thank and praise Hashem for the miracles He performs. Rashi (Vayikra 7:12) brings four examples of when one would bring the korban toda: upon returning from an oversea journey, after crossing a desert, after being released from captivity and after recuperating from an illness. Metaphorically, the Jewish People in exile experience each of these constantly. They experience a sea of troubles. They live in a spiritual wasteland, devoid of the values of the Torah. Often, they are persecuted and discriminated against, virtual prisoners within their respective societies. Finally, their estrangement from Hashem is symptomatic of emotional sickness ("cholat ahava", Song of Songs 2:5). Living in Israel may not allow us to bring the korban toda, yet. However, it certainly gives us ample reason to thank Hashem for delivering us from the greatest severities of exile, from all four categories. If the animal sacrifices themselves were viewed as a surrogate for the person, perhaps today's olim can be viewed as living/breathing korbanot toda... at least until we can repay our obligation at the restored Temple! Rabbi Steven Ettinger, Chashmona'im 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] Wisdom and Wit From the section on Humor (in honor of Purim) When matzot were baked for the Brisker Rav each year, the different tasks were performed by various people, with each person performing the same function each year. For example, R' Amram Blau's task was to pour the water. One year, R' Amram was arrested for organizing a demonstration against Chilul Shabbos in Yerushalayim, and as he was in jail he could hardly be there to pour the water. One of those who was not on the roster but desperately desired to be so, volunteered to substitute for R' Amram. ìYou want to be a substitute for R' Amram?ì said the Brisker. ìFine. I suggest you volunteer to replace him in prison, so that he can fulfill his job in pouring the water.î ### A person who had not seen R' Shlomo Hakohen Aharonson, the Rav of Tel Aviv, for some time, remarked to him, ìRebbe, you really do not look at all well? Is something ailing you.î ìIndeed, what I have is something I would not wish on any anti-Semite,î replied the Rav. ìAnd what is that?î enquired the man. ìOld age,î said R' Shlomo. 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] Parsha Points to Ponder - TZAV 1) Why does the Torah command that the sin offering (CHATAT) be slaughtered specifically where the olah sacrifice was slaughtered (6:18)? 2) The Torah commands that the fats of the SH'LAMIM sacrifice are placed on top of the breast and then THE BREAST TO BE WAVED (7:30). If the fats are on top of the breast, why does it single out the breast as being waved if the same will automatically happen to the fats? 3) Why does Moshe precede the dressing of the kohanim with the unusual words THIS IS THE THING WHICH G-D HAS COMMANDED TO DO? (8:5) THESE ARE THE ANSWERS Ponder the questions first, then read here 1) The Kli Yakar answers that this comes to teach that the moment a person sincerely repents through the sin offering, he is atoned and the sin offering just brought is viewed as an olah - the highest level of sacrifice. 2) The Seforno explains that since the fats are placed on the altar, we know that they are dedicated to G-D. The breast, however, is not placed on the altar and, therefore, the primary focus of the waving is for the breast to insure that it, too, be recognized as something special for G-D. 3) The Ohr HaChayim teaches that Moshe anticipated people complaining about his choice of Aharon and his sons for the kehuna and, therefore, prefaced the official coronation of the kohanim by emphasizing that this command comes from G-D and not from Moshe, himself. 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 [6] from Machon Puah About the Power of Prayer Question: Dear Rabbi, I read your recent column about prayer and the incredible story concerning Rav Elyashiv. Can prayer change every situation and what point do you suggest stopping treatment and relying on other things such as adoption? Answer: We received several letters regarding this column and some people thought that we were suggesting that if one prays enough then they will always be successful and therefore if one does not have children it is a sign that they did not pray enough. This is, of course, not our intention and our message and is also not true. To clarify this I would like to bring a Gemara (Moed Katan 28a) "Rava said - life (how long a person lives), children and food (livelihood) are dependent on mazal." The Gemara brings an example of this that Raba and Rav Chisda were both righteous to the point that each of them had the ability to bring the rain just by their prayer. However, despite their obvious righteousness and connection with Hashem, Raba lived for a mere forty years, while Rav Chisda lived to the age of 92. This Gemara has very important ramifications as it seems to suggest that prayer does not influence how long a person lives, nor whether he has children or has a comfortable livelihood, and this flies in the face of what the Torah tells us that following the mitzvot will be rewarded by long life, children and rain and crops. So we could ask, are these things governed purely by mazal or by merit? Rabbeinu Nissim in his commentary on this Gemara explains that what the Gemara means is that these areas are not dependent only on merit and that there is an element of mazal included. What I think that this means is that one cannot always change all situations even with the best merit, with the most mitzvot and the most intentioned prayers, there are still objective situations that cannot be changed. This explains the example brought by the Gemara - Raba and Rav Chisda lived very different lengths of time, but we should not think that this was due to any difference in their merits, Raba did not pray with less kavana than Rav Chisda, nor did he do fewer mitzvot. Rather, it is very possible that Raba had a genetic disease in his family that shortened his life expectancy, while Rav Chisda came from a family who lived long lives. These are objective realities that cannot be changed by praying. If a person has a certain condition that renders them infertile then this cannot be altered by prayer. Miracles do happen, but we are not allowed to rely on them and are obliged to live according to nature, where such things cannot be changed. When faced with such situations we have to use our wisdom to find other ways of dealing with the problem. When faced with objective problems often the Rabbi will suggest other ways of treatment such as adoption and see this as the best option that one should pursue. Each case is different and each case needs a specific answer to determine whether there are objective obstacles that require new directions of treatment, and that is the job of the Rabbis in the Puah Institute to suggest such options. 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 02-6515050 in Israel or 718-3360603. Visit our website at www.puah.org.il [7] Portion from the Portion by Rakel Berenbaum FEEDback to berenbau@actcom.net.il HAPPY PURIM In this week's column, we will discuss the Megila. Let us concentrate on the well known verse, LA-Y'HUDIM HA- Y'TA ORA, V'SIMCHA, V'SASON, VIKAR ..And the Jews had light, gladness, joy and honor (8:16) This is one of the verses from the Megila recited out loud by the congregation. How many of us have taken the time to delve deeper into the significance of the wording. There are four different words in one verse that seem to be saying a similar thing. What can be learned from this? The Midrash teaches: ORA = Torah, SIMCHA = Chagim, SASON = Brit Mila, Y'KAR = Tefilin. Each is learned from a verse elsewhere in the Tanach that has the word in our verse juxtaposed to the specific thing the Midrash relates it to. For example SIMCHA refers to the holidays because when teaching us about the holidays the verse says, V'SAMACHTA B'CHAGECHA - SIMCHA. Okay, there is a linguistic connection but what is the Midrash trying to teach us? All four things are related to happiness as we see from other Biblical verses such as, PIKUDEI HASHEM Y'SHARIM M'SAMCHEI LEIV - The ways of the Torah are just, making the heart happy. This was the turn of events. Before the Jews were sad and were not able to fulfill their obligations. They weren't able to learn Torah like a mourner is not allowed to learn. They could not wear Tefilin because of the SAK VA'EIFER - the ashes. The circumcisions of their sons were not filled with happiness because of the fear of Achashveirosh's edict of destruction. And the happiness of Yom Tov was also diminished because Mordechai told the Jews to fast on Pesach in order to get the decree rescinded. The miracle of Purim turned all these four things around. Parallel to the lack of Torah learning we now have a whole new book of the Bible written with Ru'ach HaKodesh - Megilat Esther. Parallel to the diminishment of the happiness of Pesach, we have a whole new holiday - Purim. Parallel to the stress around the Brit Mila, there were goyim who wanted to convert and therefore had to do a Brit Mila. And parallel to the reduction in the wearing of tefillin - on this holiday men are able to wear their tefillin which is not the case on other holidays. (MEAM LOEZ) SASON in this verse is written without a vav - CHASER, lacking, to symbolize that our happiness will not be complete until the days of Moshiach - especially this year, we can all feel that our happiness is incomplete. CHOCOLATE CAKE This week's recipe is V'NAHAFOCH HU, a delicious cake without eggs. Also if you make two batters of the cake, use one to cut out small pieces and shape them into tefilin according to the attached instructions. Tefilin instructions: Use the attached recipe for chocolate cake or make your favorite chocolate cake recipe. Make sure to let cake cool in the freezer. Slice it into three 3x3cm cubes and five 5x1.5cm rectangles. Place one square on top of each rectangle. Take a long piece of brown/black flat sour sticks, knot it in the middle and attach it to the cake pieces. Do the same with the rest of the cake sculptures. These are little tefilin. Use these tefillin to decorate the top of the cake. Ask people to guess how tefilin is connected to Purim. QUICK EGGLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE 1 1/2 cups flour 1/3 cup cocoa powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 cup cold water 2 tsp vanilla extract 2 tsp vinegar Combine dry ingredients directly in greased pan. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients except vinegar. Combine wet and dry ingredients, stirring together in pan until well combined. Stir in the vinegar rapidly and immediately place pan into preheated oven and bake at 190C degrees for 25 to 30 min. [8] Torah from Nature UNICORNS (again) Though the modern popular image of the unicorn is sometimes that of a horse differing only in the horn on its forehead, the traditional unicorn has a billy-goat beard, a lion's tail, and cloven hooves - these distinguish it from a horse... "The unicorn is the only fabulous beast that does not seem to have been conceived out of human fears. In even the earliest references he is fierce yet good, selfless yet solitary, but always mysteriously beautiful. He could be captured only by unfair means, and his single horn was said to neutralize poison." Shadhavar is a type of unicorn in Persian folklore which resembles a gazelle with a single hollow horn. When wind blows through the horn, a melody is produced not unlike that from a flute. The music attracts both human and animal alike. Once an animal is near, the shadhavar will use the opportunity to attack its prey. The shadhavar can be thought of as an "Evil Unicorn." The oryx is an antelope with two long, thin horns projecting from its forehead. Some have suggested that seen from the side and from a distance, the oryx looks something like a horse with a single horn (although the 'horn' projects backward, not forward as in the classic unicorn). [9] MicroUlpan In honor of Purim M'shulash, let's take a look at English and Hebrew terms for TRIANGLES. Triangle(s) = M'SHULASH, M'SHULASHIM When the lengths of the three sides of the triangle are all different, the triangle is SCALENE. In Hebrew, M'SHULASH SHONEH TZ'LA'OT. An Isosceles triangle has two sides of equal length. In Hebrew, M'SHULASH SH'VEI SHOKAYIM. If all three sides are equal, the triangle is equilateral (or equianglar). In Hebrew, SH'VEI TZ'LA'OT. A right triangle has one right angle (90 degree) called a right triangle, M'SHULASH YASHAR. Acute triangles have all acute angles (<90degree). M'SHULASH CHAD-ZAVIT, and obtuse tiangles have one obtuse angle (>90 degree) M' K'HEI-ZAVIT. p=a+b+c a=(b+h)/2 - perimeter = HEKEIF - area = SHETACH [10] Megila Stats and Trivia... Megilat Esther consists of 167 p'sukim, 3045 words, and 12,111 letters. That means an average of over 18 words per pasuk and about 75 letters per pasuk. Compare that to the Torah's 13.7 W/P and 52 L/P. Esther's p'sukim are significantly larger than the Torah's. The averages for all of Tanach are 13 W/P and 51 L/P. You can see that the Torah is a little above the averages for Tanach and Esther is way above average. T'hilim, in contrast averages 7.7 W/P and 31.2 L/P. Its p'sukim are much shorter. One pasuk that contributes well to Esther's high average of W/P is 8:9 - This is the longest pasuk in Tanach - 43 words. (Remember that the average in Tanach is 13 W/P - big difference.) Its Gimatriya is 12,204. As of this writing, we don't know if that is the most for a pasuk. Maybe, maybe not. Esther 4:11 weighs in at 42 words, the second longest in Tanach - And 3:12 with 40 words, is no small pasuk either: As to words, Esther contains the longest word in Tanach, V'HA'ACH'SHARD'PNIM, which has 11 letters. Its Gimatriya is 704, not at all remarkable. 17 other words in Tanach have the same Gimatriya, including small words like B'SHEVET. Speaking of words with large Gimatriyas (which we weren't, but...), the word arrogantly spoken by Datan and Aviram to Moshe in their refusal to listen to him - TISHTARER - has the highest gimatriya of all words in the Torah, 1500. There are only three words in Tanach that have higher numeric values, but none of them are Hebrew. All three are found in the book of Ezra. ARTCHASHASHTA with a gimatriya of 1610, V' ARTCHASHASHTA 1616, and L'ARTCHASHASHTA 1640. Artaxerxes - as he is known in English (?) was a Persian king during the period of the building of the second Beit HaMikdash. Being a Persian king gives him a connection to a page of Trivia and Statistics for Purim. Of course, the words with the smallest gimatriya are AV and BO and BA. AV occurs once in the Megila and BA makes 3 appearances. Yerushalayim is mentioned in the Tanach 645 times. 642 times it is spelled without the second YUD. The other three times, it is spelled with the YUD. One of those 3 times is in Megilat Esther. If we start at the beginning of T'hilim and advance the same number of p'sukim, words, and letters as are in the Megila, we reach 16:6 with p'sukim and 27:9 (the same word!) with words and letters [11] Divrei Menachem Parshat Tzav revisits the sacrifices to be offered in the Mishkan. The first mentioned is the Olah, the elevation offering brought, inter alia, for nonfulfilled sinful thoughts, non-fulfillment of positive mitzvot, and by all who ascend to Yerushalayim for the three foot-festivals. Of interest is that the sacrificial parts of this offering could be burned on the altar all night until the morning (Rashi). It is as if to say that atonement can be achieved at any time. Or perhaps that sins committed in times of "darkness" - in times of personal or national stress when we might feel angry with Hashem - can yet be forgiven. The Midrash (Vayikra Rabba) comments that if a person repents, it is regarded as if he went up to Yerushalayim, rebuilt the Bet Hamikdash, and brought on the Altar all the offerings of the Torah. What an incredible concept! For if we accept that Hashem forgives us, and that we can rebuild ourselves anew, then we also understand that every one of us can make his or her singular contribution to the rebuilding of the nation. In these days when the very future of Yerushalayim is at stake and where the spiritual fiber of the nation is in such dire need of rebirth, these are indeed noble thoughts to take with us in to Shabbat. Shabbat Shalom, Menachem Persoff [The Parshat Tzav Homepage]
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