Volume 12 Number 50
Produced: Tue Apr 12 8:16:52 1994
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
Being a Jewish mommy
[Constance Stillinger]
Book on Shemoneh Esrai
[Jeremy Treister]
egg matzah and chometz nukshe
[Jerrold Landau]
Egg Matzah and Chometz Nukshe
[Benjamin Svetitsky]
Kohan
[David Charlap]
L"G be`Omer
[Lon Eisenberg]
Paul and "shelo osani" brachos
[Freda Birnbaum]
Shemonah Esrei
[Alan Davidson]
Shiloh
[Yisrael Medad]
Shmura Matzoh
[Mike Makiri]
Sutures on Shabbat
[Rabbi Freundel]
the Trial of Susannah
[Erica Goldman]
Wheat Oil
[Yosef Bechhofer]
Youth Minyanim
[Marc Meisler]
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From: Constance Stillinger <cas@...>
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 20:20:16 -0400
Subject: Being a Jewish mommy
I have some questions for the observant mommies here (and daddies who
do lots of childcare).
How you sneak your davening in around the demands of your children?
How, moment-by-moment, do you do your Shabbos preparations? What
happens when you get the flu? Or one or more kids gets sick?
What specifically are you doing, or did you do, to include your
babies in Jewish life? When did you start teaching them about
which observances, and at what level?
What Jewish kids' books do you like? (The general quality of the
kids' books in Jewish bookstores seems fairly low---with the
notable exception of the ArtScroll Youth Series.)
We have a 15-month-old son, and we're making our way through these
issues, but we'd like to know how other families handle them. Our
situation is complicated by the fact that my husband is not very
observant and we just moved to this geographical area so we don't know
many other Jewish families yet.
I'd enjoy a discussion of what parents actually do with their kids,
rather than a theoretical discussion about childrearing philosophies
(although obviously that's relevant too).
Connie
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From: Jeremy Treister <treister@...>
Date: Tue, 12 Apr 1994 02:05:36 -0400
Subject: Book on Shemoneh Esrai
I have read and enjoyed _The Art of Jewish Prayer_, by Y. Kirzner and L.
Aiken. (Aronson, 1991). It is a verse by verse analysis of the Shemoneh
Esrai preceeded by other insightful writing on the nature of the prayer.
Jeremy Treister <treister@...>
412 E. Smith Ave #1 (812)330-4816 Digital Pager
Bloomington, IN 47401 (812)323-7636 Voice/Fax
USA
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From: <LANDAU@...> (Jerrold Landau)
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 94 11:31:16 EDT
Subject: egg matzah and chometz nukshe
Benjamin Svetitsky asks about the point that I made that the reason for the
custom not to eat egg matzah by ashkenazim, is that there is the danger that
it can become chometz nukshe. The full quote from Rabbi Eider's "A Summary
of the Halachos of Pesach" is as follows. The quote appears on page 3 of
the volume on products, medications, and cosmetics.
"The Poskim (siman taf samech beit, seif daled), say that the minhag is not to
permit kneading matzos with fruit juice for Pesach. Even if it was kneaded
and baked, it may not be eaten on Pesach, but it may be held until after
Pesach.
According to Rashi, egg matzos can become chometz nuksheh, According to
Rabbeinu Tam, we are afraid that water may get mixed in and thereby become
chometz nukshe. Other Poskim hold that if water is mixed in it can become
chometz gamur."
End of quote from Rabbi Eider.
There are two sugiot in Pesachim discussing this issue. One on 35A near the
bottom, going onto the top of 35B, and the second on 36A near the top.
The Rashi under that Rabbi Eider refers to can be found on 36A, the Tosfot
can be found on 35B at the top of the amud.
In the sugya on 36A, the term sirchon is applied to 'orez vedochan', i.e.
rice and millet (what we would term kitniot). The term sirchon is not used
for matzah ashira at all.
I hope that this clears up the issue.
Just as an aside, it now feels a bit funny discussing hilchot Pesach after
Pesach. We are now going through the transition from the period of time
of Pesach, where all traces of chometz is considered anathema, to the
period of time of Shavuot, where there is actually a mitzva (the only
mitzva of the year) to bring chometz onto the mizbeach as a korban. As we
know, chometz symbolizes the yetzer harah, and on Pesach (before matan Torah)
we must get rid of all traces of the yetzer harah. On Shavuot, with matan
Torah, we reach the ideal level of being able to take the yetzer harah, and
rather than getting rid of it, being able to control it through Torah. I
hope this adds a bit of perspective onto the discussions of chometz and
matzah that have being going on over the past few weeks.
Chodesh Tov, and best wishes for Yom Haatzmaut. May Hashem bless the
People and Land of Israel at this great time of need.
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From: Benjamin Svetitsky <bqs@...>
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 1994 13:26:22 -0400
Subject: Egg Matzah and Chometz Nukshe
I don't understand Jerrold Landau's comments on this point. I thought
the Gemara establishes that fruit juice does not cause chimutz
(leavening) at all, but only sirachon (spoilage), and therefore there is
no question of chametz at all in egg matzah. I don't have Rabbi Eider's
book, but I would like to know if his statements really are inconsistent
with this. I've always thought that avoidance of egg matzah is an
Ashkenazi custom on a par with kitniyot.
Ben Svetitsky <bqs@...>
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From: <david@...> (David Charlap)
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 94 19:16:55 -0400
Subject: Re: Kohan
>From: Seth Magot <MAGOT@...>
>During a recent discussion a question about Kohan came up. And so
>for simplicity the question is - how does one consider themselves a
>Kohan?
If you are born Jewish (meaning, from a Jewish mother), and your
father is one, then you are. The tribe you come from is based on
patrilineal descent. Most Jews are from Yehuda. Some are from Levi.
Those from Levi that descend from Aharon are the Kohanim.
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From: eisenbrg%<milcse@...> (Lon Eisenberg)
Date: Tue, 12 Apr 94 07:48:37 IDT
Subject: L"G be`Omer
There seems to be a concept of observing the mourning (no weddings or
haircuts) for 33 days. This brings us through L"G be`Omer. However,
since we count part of the day as a day, we end the mourning customs the
morning of L"G be`Omer [Mishnah Berurah]. What about the evening of L"G
be`Omer? Is there any custom to allow weddings (or haircuts) in the
evening? Is this year different (since L"G be`Omer is Friday)?
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From: Freda Birnbaum <FBBIRNBA@...>
Date: Tue, 12 Apr 1994 07:19:01 -0400
Subject: Paul and "shelo osani" brachos
In V12N47, Rabbi Freundel suggests the possibility that the three "shelo
asani berachot" are a challenge to the statement by Paul that in
Christianity "there is no such thing as Jew and Greek, slave and
freeman, man and woman".
It's quite possible that he's right, but that statement has always had
the "look and feel" to me of something Paul said to directly contradict
and contrast Christianity to Judaism, in his opinion to the detriment of
Judaism. I've heard enough Christians proudly use it that way. It
seems to me (and I don't have the scholarship to prove it) that the
structure of the brachos was already there and Paul is being "in our
face" by deliberately contrasting his allegedly superior viewpoint.
Freda Birnbaum, <fbbirnbaum@...>
"Call on God, but row away from the rocks"
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From: Alan Davidson <DAVIDSON@...>
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 22:04:40 -0400
Subject: Shemonah Esrei
Two other sources, in addition to the Artscroll books, would be the
Artscroll Sefard Siddur, which points out some of the differences
between Sefard and Ashkenaz, and Rabbi Nissan Mindel's book My Prayer,
Volume 1, which points out some of the differences between Nusach Ari
and Nusach Ashkenaz.
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From: MEDAD%<ILNCRD@...> (Yisrael Medad)
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 94 08:29 IST
Subject: Shiloh
Re: posting in Vol12 No28 on the spelling of Shiloh -
It is not Shilah but Shiloh (shin-yud-lamed-heh) and in other
places is spelled with a *cholom* but nowhere is that a *kamatz*
for the "ah" sound.
Yisrael Medad
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From: <MAKIRI@...> (Mike Makiri)
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 20:20:18 -0400
Subject: Shmura Matzoh
Can someone explain to me how dew (tal) (which I believe to be H2O) does not
come into contact with the wheat at harvest ? Is the harvest for Shmura
Matzoh (or any Matzoh) done at a time of day where the dew is dried off ?
Wouldn't any residual dew nullify the entire idea of Shmura Matzoh ?
Thanks, Mike Makiri "<MAKIRI@...>"
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From: <dialectic@...> (Rabbi Freundel)
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 94 22:24:13 EDT
Subject: Re: Sutures on Shabbat
Regarding sutures on Shabbat (mail.jewish Vol. 12 #07) I know of no
specific psak but IMHO scars create psychological problems .
Psychological problems allow for at least Derabbanan violations (c.f.
the Mishnah in Bameh Madlikin.) That should be enough to allow this to
occur. In addition Butterflies can and do fall off while stitches can't
so that they are not equally affective (source is my wife former head of
an ICU and nursing instructor)
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From: <ERICAG@...> (Erica Goldman)
Date: Tue, 12 Apr 1994 03:28:23 -0400
Subject: the Trial of Susannah
Can anyone provide us with the Talmudic sources for the following legal
principles:
1) witnesses should be separately examined, i.e., not in each other's
presence;
2) the discovery of new evidence or of perjury permits the reopening of
the legal proceeding.
Also, are there any Talmudic references to the trial of Susannah?
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From: <YOSEF_BECHHOFER@...> (Yosef Bechhofer)
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 19:42:13 -0400
Subject: Wheat Oil
Mr. Suldan asks why matzo companies don't produce wheat oil. Good
question :-) ! I have no idea! Perhaps it's not economical?
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From: Marc Meisler <mmeisler@...>
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 20:53:40 -0400
Subject: Youth Minyanim
I have been asked by my shul to arrange for activities for children for a
period during Shabbos morning davening. I was given this task because I
daven at the hashkamah minyan and thus can stay around for the second
minyan. I am looking for any suggestions on how to do this and/or what to
include in a youth minyan and a group for younger children. The
proposals made to me include a youth minyan for a small group of children
(about 10-15 kids) aged about 8-12 and some sort of story telling activity
for younger children. Having no children I do not know what level
children of these ages are at in their education and I would welcome and
advice from other people who have led these types of activities. Please
either post the the list in general or mail to me directly. Thanks a lot.
Marc Meisler 1001 Spring St., Apt. 423
<mmeisler@...> Silver Spring, MD 20910
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End of Volume 12 Issue 50
