| Friday, February 05, 2010 / 21 Shvat 5770 |
The Good Critical Eye
By: Michael Winner
At times like this, you get a peek into what Eretz Yisroel will look like when Moshiach comes.
Thankfully, over the past few days, we’ve received some much needed rain. Now, our community is the most eastern one in Jerusalem. We’re on the edge of the desert, overlooking the Jericho Plain. We see the mountains of Jordan very easily and on clear nights we can see it all lit up.
Being on the desert, we mainly see light-brown sand. But after rains like this, the hills become a nice shade of green. Even the desert flourishes!
"And the father in law of Moshe saw all that Moshe did to the people and he said, 'What is this thing that you are doing to the people? Why are you sitting by yourself and the entire people standing nearby from the morning to the evening?" (Shemos 18:14)
Rashi states that Moshe would sit like a king and the people would stand around him. This is something that bothered Yisro, and therefore Yisro censured Moshe for it and gave an idea on how to correct the situation.
Rav Yeruchem Levovitz commented that the greatness of Yisro was his ability to criticize for the good. After coming from his home in Midian to join the Jewish nation, he immediately recognized the situation that Moshe was put in and told him how to correct it.
Yisro spent most of his life trying out different religions, seeking out the one, true, G-d. With his critical eye, he was able to ascertain that they were all false and come to realize that Hashem was that one, true, G-d.
From here we see that having a critical eye can be a good thing. However, says Rav Levovitz, one must be VERY careful in using it. "There is only a thin line that makes all the difference in whether criticism is very positive or very negative. Before using your critical faculties on others, make certain to be self-critical. Only if you constantly criticize yourself can you be certain that your criticizing others come from truth seeking. Fortunate is the person who has the positive type of criticalness."
Rav Pliskin said over a story from the Chazon Ish, where the Chazon Ish said to somebody who was critical of others, "According to my personality I would never become involved in matters concerning other people. It is much easier for me to sit in my own corner. But I do not give in to my yetzer horah. I go against my nature and become involved when I think it is appropriate. On the other hand, your yetzer horah is that on every possible occasion you love to say what is in your heart. But you should do the opposite. Guard yourself not to look for faults" (P'air Hador, Vol IV, p. 160)
With that, I wish you all a great Shabbos! |
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| Monday, February 01, 2010 / 17 Shvat 5770 |
Losh / Kneading
By: Dr. Chaim Levsky
After the flour is completely prepared the next step is to mix it with water to make dough (Losh / kneading). The prohibition of Losh is not limited to flour and water, rather it applies to mixing any sort of solid and liquid ingredients. The essence of Losh is to combine separate pieces or particles through the means of a binder to make a single conglomerate. There are two basic phases of Losh: adding the constituents together and mixing them. There are four basic sorts of mixtures:
1. Belilah Avah/Thick Mixture - similar to dough for making bread. It cannot be poured. Making this mixture is a Torah level prohibition. Some opinions hold that the prohibition begins when the solid and liquid elements are placed together in the bowl (and not yet mixed).
2. Belilah Rakah/Thin Mixture - thinner mixture than (1) which is more like pancake batter. This mixture can be poured. Making this mixture is a Rabbinic level prohibition. The prohibition of such a mixture begins when the solid and liquid parts are placed together even before they are mixed.
3. Very Thin Mixture - very runny mixture with a lot of liquid such as putting chocolate powder in milk. Not only can this kind of mixture be poured but it can also be drunk. There is no prohibition of Losh for this sort of mixture.
4. Mixture with Large Pieces - large chunks of solid that are coated by a liquid binder. Since the pieces are still identifiable there is no true mixture and there is no prohibition of Losh.
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| Thursday, January 28, 2010 / 13 Shvat 5770 |
Emunah and the Sea
By: Michael Winner
On the bus the other day, I was discussing the situation in Haiti. It's obvious that things in this world don't just 'happen' on their own. For whatever reason, Hashem saw it fit that Haiti should get hit with a terrible earthquake. Why? I really don’t know. But nonetheless, there usually is some reason and lesson to be learned from it.
I gave it some thought, and came up with an idea. Whether it contains any truth to it, again, I don't know, but my chavrusa thought it was a legit idea, and no harm comes from the lesson learned.
For whatever reason, I have a feeling that the reason there was such a disaster was a way for Hashem to give some merit to the nations of the world. How so? By the world using their economic and military powers, despite the current global economic situation, to help others, it shows that they are still willing to use those powers for good. Perhaps through this merit a real and looming economic disaster might be diverted, or perhaps, they might see some global economic relief. Why specifically should Haiti get hit? No idea. But again, perhaps the reason for such a disaster to happen is to allow the world to show Hashem that despite everything, they are still willing to help each other out in times of need, and that will serve for their good.
If that's true, then we do have a clear lesson. Even in times of economic troubles, we are still obligated to give tzedakah and help others out as much as we can. Perhaps the budget is a bit tighter than previously, but nonetheless there is still money around to give or other ways to help others out.
In this week's parsha, we come to the Splitting of the Red Sea. My Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Asher Rubenstein, spoke very strongly on this point.
The sea didn't split once the Jewish nation approached it. It only split after Nachshon ben Aminadav jumped in the water and walked until the sea level reached his nose. At THAT point, the sea split.
What's the reason for this?
It's to show us how our relationship with Hashem should be concerning emunah (faith). When we HONESTLY put our faith in Hashem, Hashem will split seas for us.
The key is honesty. Nachshon KNEW that the sea would split. It wasn't a question. And despite all natural evidence against it, he put his emunah in Hashem to work, and that resulted in the splitting of the sea.
Rashi explains that only 10% of the nation left Egypt. The rest were killed in the Plague of Darkness. Why? Because they didn't want to leave. They were happy living their lives in Egypt, despite everything, and did not have an interest in having a real relationship with Hashem.
However, those who left Egypt merited to participate in the splitting of the sea.
For those today, who wish to leave Egypt and work on their relationship with Hashem, they too have many 'seas' in their lives which seem to get in their way.
We can either turn around and return to Egypt, or we can realize that Hashem wants us to continue, and that 'sea' is nothing by a mirage. When we are honest with ourselves and with our emunah in Hashem, we can start to walk into the sea, knowing full well that by doing Hashem's will, he will clear the path for us.
With that, I wish you all a great Shabbos!
And as a p.s. Feldheim Publishing has released another sefer of Rav Shimshon Pincus on Emunah (in English), which deals with Emunah and the 13 Principles of Faith laid out by the Rambam. Of course, I’m highly recommending it. |
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| Friday, January 22, 2010 / 7 Shvat 5770 |
Actions Lead Thoughts
By: Michael Winner
I always enjoy this part of the year. Thankfully, we've been receiving some much needed rain recently (it should continue...) and Tu B'Shvat is next week, which starts putting me in an even more pro-Eretz Yisroel mood. Couple that with the parshos we are currently in which deal with faith that Hashem runs everything. Then we have Purim and Pesach which build on that and bring a spirit of redemption in the air... Well... it makes me pretty happy.
"Neither shall you break a bone of it" (Shemos 2:46), in reference to the Korban Pesach (Pesach Offering)
As we all know, Pesach is one of the most "mitzvah detailed" times of the year. On top of that, our exodus from Egypt is constantly being mentioned in our prayers. This serves to underline the importance of Pesach in our lives.
It could be asked, why should we be doing so many things to remember leaving Egypt? Let’s just have one mitzvah, and that's it!
The Chinuch (16) answers that a person influences himself through his actions. The more he does an action, the more it turns him in a certain direction. A person who starts of will small robberies, if left unchecked, will certainly continue on his path towards larger crimes.
That is one of the reasons for so many mitzvos. By being engaged with them, we are, in the case of Pesach, constantly re-orientating ourselves to the realization that we WERE in Egypt, and Hashem DID take us out to be His people.
My wife and I noticed an interesting phenomenon starting several months ago. We decided that when my daughter turned four, we would 'push' her in making brachos on food. We wouldn't force, or even remind her. We simply 'pumped' her up before her birthday about how big girls make brachos, etc... Because we wanted her to make brachos properly, we were very careful ourselves to make brachos slowly and carefully. So, thank G-d, today she says a lot of brachos, nice and slowly. And so do we. Not only that, but we now have better concentration and understanding of each brachah, because our behaviour trained our mindset.
Have a great Shabbos! |
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| Tuesday, January 19, 2010 / 4 Shvat 5770 |
Meraked / Sifting
By: Dr. Chaim Levsky
The next melacha in the agricultural sequence is meraked / sifting. After the grain is ground it is sifted to remove the bran or to obtain finer flour. As we noted before, this melacha very similar to zoreh / winnowing and borer / separating. This melacha is less uncommon for those not involved in processing flour. Here are some practical examples:
1. Sifting flour is prohibited on Shabbos. This is generally not an issue on Shabbos because one may not use the fine flour for baking anyway. On Yom Tov, when one may bake, the situation may arise and one may not sift flour.
2. One may not sift matza pieces in order to obtain finely ground matza meal on Shabbos. One may not even remove the undesired large pieces of matza by hand because that would involve borer.
3. One should not spread confectioner’s sugar on a cake using a sifter on Shabbos. This is forbidden even if all of the sugar will eventually go through the sifter and no part ends up "waste".
4. One may sprinkle confectioner’s sugar by hand or with a spoon onto baked goods.
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| Friday, January 15, 2010 / 29 Teves 5770 |
The Jewish View on Suffering
By: Michael Winner
We just celebrated our fifth anniversary this week.
How scary.
What’s even scarier is that we have 2 kids, the oldest being four.
That’s scary.
What’s even scarier is that they’re weird like us.
Today at gan (I think the equivalent to pre-school in the US), Rochel Leah gets to be the Imma Shel Shabbat (“Shabbos Mommy”). I’m not entirely sure what that entails, but today she put on her Shabbos clothing for gan and brought in treats for everybody. Of course, since she’s the Imma Shel Shabbat, she believes that she must dress the part perfectly. So, unlike other normal children, she insisted on wearing a scarf to cover her hair, just like all the other mommies. And just like all the other mommies, she insisted on wearing it before getting to gan. So, I just got back from walking her to gan with her “tichel” on. Thankfully, I didn’t receive any weird looks, and a ten year old girl stopped and said to me, “Eiza Chamudah!!!” (translation: wow! She’s cute!). I simply smiled and said, “Imma Shel Shabbat” and she understood.
Okay, on to Torah!
“And Pharaoh sent and he called Moshe and Aharon and he said to them, ‘I have sinned this time, the Almighty is righteous and I and my people are wicked’” (Shemos 9:27)
Rav Noson Tzvi Finkel of Slobodka noted that here, while under intense pressure of the plagues, Pharaoh readily admitted the guilt of he and his people. Yet, shortly after, he reneged on this attitude and hardened his heart.
Why this quick turnover, he asked?
Pharaoh made the same mistake that many of us make. While under pain or pressure, we (if we’re in tune enough), realize that we are probably being punished for something that we did wrong. However, once it’s over, we think “Okay, the punishment is over”, and leave it at that.
Hashem isn’t like a parent who doesn’t know what he’s doing. He doesn’t punish for the sake of punishment. He sends suffering for a reason, to tell us that there is something fundamentally wrong with us, and we need to change it. Usually, the suffering, if looked carefully, can point us towards that which needs correcting.
Pharaoh didn’t have this view. He thought, “the punishment is over, let’s move on”.
Our attitude is different. We take suffering and use it to try to figure out what issues we need to correct.
Have a wonderful Shabbos! |
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| Wednesday, January 13, 2010 / 27 Teves 5770 |
Tochain Part Two: Examples
By: Dr. Chaim Levsky
Here are some practical examples of how to avoid tochain:
1. Some authorities allow mashing potatoes, apples or bananas immediately before eating if a fork is used. All opinions permit it if the handle of the fork is used (and this can be done even before the time of eating). It is best to heed the stringent opinions and use the handle of a utensil. All opinions prohibit mashing with a potato masher or grinder.
2. One who grinds wood into sawdust or crumbles clods of earth into fine pieces on Shabbos violates tochain. One practical application of this rule is that one may not use a finger to crumble a mud stain off of clothing on Shabbos.
3. Foods that do not grow from the ground are exempt from tochain. One may cut meat or cheese into tiny pieces on Shabbos (as long as a grinder is not used).
4. Vegetables should not be cut very finely in order to avoid tochain. The definition of "very finely" is not very clear, so one should ensure that cut pieces are reasonably sized (see prior e-mail).
5. One must exercise care in not taking unnecessary medications on Shabbos. What does this have to do with tochain? Well, the prohibition against non-life-saving healing on Shabbos comes from a concern that the healer will grind roots or herbs to make medicine. In cases of medicine use it is best to consult a Rav. If any health situation is dire there may be no time to ask a Rav and every act to benefit the ill must be done. We will discuss healing on Shabbos in greater depth later.
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