Volume 21 Number 64
Produced: Fri Oct 13 6:17:32 1995
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
Avoiding Customs/Duties and Halacha
[Michael Shimshoni]
Dance Classes
[Joseph P. Wetstein]
Giving an Aliya to a Young Person on Yomim Noroim
[Liz Muschel]
Kashering of Silverware
[Morris Berman]
Kosher Electric Shavers (3)
[Yitzchak Kasdan, Alex de Jong, Josh Backon]
Months
[Joseph Steinberg]
Polygamy
[Michael Marks]
Ritalin
[Kenneth Posy]
Ritalin and Other Medicines on Shabbat
[Steve White]
Rumsch, Isaak
[Michael J Broyde]
Smoking and Yom Tov
[Gilad J. Gevaryahu]
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From: Michael Shimshoni <MASH@...>
Date: Fri, 06 Oct 95 11:05:24 +0200
Subject: Re: Avoiding Customs/Duties and Halacha
In MJ Volume 21 Number 62 Dani Wassner <dwassner@...> asked:
>A question to all those who have made Aliya:
>Is there a halachic problem with bringing things into Israel without
>declaring them? ie not using up your rights. For example, bringing in a
>lap top computer in your hand luggage and not declaring it.
Has Lo Tignov (You should not steal) lost its application when one
steals from the State of Israel or am I missing something here?
Michael Shimshoni
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From: <jpw@...> (Joseph P. Wetstein)
Date: Fri, 6 Oct 1995 16:46:13 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Dance Classes
Are there any Jewish/Chasinah type dance classes available in the
Philadelphia/ New Jersey Area? Thanks!!
Yossi
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From: <LMuschel@...> (Liz Muschel)
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 1995 12:05:35 -0400
Subject: Giving an Aliya to a Young Person on Yomim Noroim
A question has arisen in our shule as to whether it is halachically
appropriate to call a young unmarried boy to the Torah on Rosh Hashonah
or Yom Kippur. Some people feel that this great honor should be reserved
for the elder men of the kehilah, (or at least married men), and others
feel that any male over bar mitzvah has the right to receive an
aliya. Is this indeed a halachic issue, or a minhag?
Liz Muschel
<Lmuschel@...>
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From: Morris Berman <morris@...>
Date: Thu, 12 Oct 1995 11:47:17 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Kashering of Silverware
I have just moved into a new apartment in Silver Spring and bought new
flatware/dishes/pots/etc. I used a few pieces of the silverware for a
dairy meal and have since decided that I would rather those pieces be
parave. What do I have do to those pieces to be able to make the parave
again?
Thanks,
Morris Berman, <morris@...>, http://lamp0.arl.mil:8080/~morris
MSB, PFD, WTD, ARL <-- Obviously a Government Employee
Yamaha XJ550M [Yorick] (DoD #1237), Scuba, Skiing, AMA (M/C) #446884
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From: <IKasdan189@...> (Yitzchak Kasdan)
Date: Fri, 13 Oct 1995 03:22:41 -0400
Subject: Kosher Electric Shavers
Regarding electric shavers, Rabbi Yisroel Reisman has a tape on the
subject (#56 "Lift and Cut Shavers") which may be obtained through
Agudath Israel of Madison, 1812 Ave R, B'klyn, NY (fax: 516-791-7272)
for $6 plus shipping; Rabbi Frand also has a tape from a number of years
ago (I do not have the number readily available); and there is an
article in Crossroads Vol iv "The Use of Electric Shavers" by Rav
Shabtai Rappaport.
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From: <adejong@...> (Alex de Jong)
Date: Fri, 13 Oct 1995 15:46:10 +0200
Subject: Kosher Electric Shavers
Presumably, electric shavers are permitted, because the fact that there
is a screen between the skin and the blades means that the shaving is in
fact *clipping* as opposed to *cutting* . The problem with the
Philishave "lift and cut" models is, that there is one blade that lifts
the hair so that it can be cut (not clipped!) by a second blade. So the
rationale behind the ban on the Philishave models would be that the
second blade does cut, even though the first blade has a surface against
which to clip. If you dulled the first blade, the second blade would
indeed clip, not cut. But then you could always buy another shaver.
Hope this helps.
Alex de Jong <adejong@...>
chag sukkot sameach!
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From: <BACKON@...> (Josh Backon)
Date: Fri, 13 Oct 95 11:32 +0200
Subject: Re: Kosher Electric Shavers
Apropos to the question: I just heard from someone (a business
associate) that a new type of electric shaver based on some kind of a
laser device has been developed in Israel for use by the frum
community. Supposedly this device has gotten the hechsher from leading
poskim. The only other info I have is that the investor put in over $2
million in research and development for the device.
By the way, this same investor may be funding another two projects we
have: one in agribusiness and the other, a real *instant* sukkah. After
being thoroughly disgusted at the two hours it took me to set up our
supposedly fast sukka (SUKKA L'NETZACH), I found a way to literally have
an instant sukkah: just push a button and apply the scach. There is a
company that currently manufactures a reasonable facsimile and with
minor modification we may see next year B"H a way that would enable
every Jewish family to have their own inexpensive sukkah that is so
idiot-proofed that anyone (even people with two left hands :-) to set up
their own sukka.
Josh
<backon@...>
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From: Joseph Steinberg <steinber@...>
Date: Fri, 6 Oct 1995 11:26:12 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Months
:I would like to give as many of the original Hebrew names (such as Aviv
:for Nissan). Can someone supply me with a list of
In M'lachim we find Chodesh Ziv and Chodesh Bul.
Tishrei is referred to as 'Yerach Ha'etanim' in M'lachim -- for their is
some connection between Tishrei and the Avot (some say the birthdays of
the Avot were in Tishrei)
(I am trying to quote by heart -- so it may not be 100% accurate). And
all the people of Israel gathered to the king Shlomo in the month of the
Etanim (Yerach HaEtanim) on the Holiday (Sukkot)....
| | ___ ___ ___ _ __ | |__ Joseph Steinberg
_ | |/ _ \/ __|/ _ \ '_ \| '_ \ <steinber@...>
| |_| | (_) \__ \ __/ |_) | | | | http://haven.ios.com/~likud/steinber/
\___/ \___/|___/\___| .__/|_| |_| +1-201-833-9674
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From: Michael Marks <marks@...>
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 1995 20:54:56 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Polygamy
2. The case you are ref. to is Reynolds v. United States (1876)
The Supreme Court refused to find a constitutionally compelled
exemption for the Mormon polygamists. Under the so-called belief -
action doctrine that the "Reynolds court articulated, government is
without authority to punish a person for his/her religious beliefs...BUT
has full authority to regulate "religiously motivated actions" so long
as it(gov't) has a rational basis for doing so. Note that the "mere
rationality" standard is the lightest burden of justification which is
virtually always meet by the government.
The Belief-Action doctrine effectively forecloses the possibility
of constitutionally compelled exemptions.
The doctrine stood until 1963 in Sherbert v Verner. There the
court ordered unemployment benefits to Seventh Day Adventist, even though
she would not maker herself available for work on Saturday. Again in
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) The court held that the Amish were not required
to send their children to public school past the eight grade in violation
of their religious beliefs. There the State could not show that a
compelling interest would be undermined by granting the Amish exemption
from the compulsary attendance law. Notice how "Yoder" substantially
raised the government burden of justification from mere rationality to
that of a compelling government interest.
that is about where we are today. Gov't will accommodate religious
motivated actions in the absence of a compelling government interest that
would be disrupted by such accommodation.
shanah tovah
michael marks
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From: Kenneth Posy <kenneth.posy@...>
Date: Fri, 6 Oct 1995 03:29:08 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Ritalin
> >From: Zev Kesselman <zev%<hadassah@...>
> > Has anyone seen a wriiten psak on the permissibility of using
> >Ritalin tablets on Shabbat for ADD (attention deficit disorder) children?
>
> [There is a halacha that it is not permissible to take medicine on
> Shabbat. However, if not taking the medicine will lead to the potential
> of danger to the person, then one must take the medicine even on
> Shabbat. The question then resolves to what constitutes "danger" for
> this purpose. That would be my understanding of the issue. Mod.]
I think that most opinions allow the taking of medicines on shabbos for a
"choleh nofel l'mishkav" (Someone who feels sick enough to have to
lie down). (This is in 2:10 of Rambam Hilchos Shabbos, and associated
commentaries) The question would thus be: is ADD considered a sickness of
that type, and does its functional impairment have the same status as,
say, a migrain headache. This was an issue that has been at the forefront
of the political debate on healthcare, BTW.
I am not sure of a reason to distinguish Shabbos and Yom Tov on this
issue. There is a Tosphose (Gittin 8b, at the bottom) that allows cooking
more than you need for yom tov, b/c of simchas yom tov. I could
theoretically see that the standard of scrutiny for taking medicine (also
a rabbinic prohibition) would also be lower. But I have absolutely no
source for that.
Obviously, this is just my humble thoughts. As always, CYLOR.
Repectfully,
Betzalel Posy
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From: <StevenJ81@...> (Steve White)
Date: Sat, 7 Oct 1995 21:41:08 -0400
Subject: Re: Ritalin and Other Medicines on Shabbat
In V21#62, our distinguished moderator wrote on the subject of medications:
>There is a halacha that it is not permissible to take medicine on
>Shabbat. However, if not taking the medicine will lead to the potential
>of danger to the person, then one must take the medicine even on
>Shabbat. The question then resolves to what constitutes "danger" for
>this purpose. That would be my understanding of the issue. Mod.
I'm not anywhere close to as scholarly as he is, and what I'm about to
add could use some source support. But I wanted to add the following
points about it:
1. The halacha of not taking medicine is essentially derived from an av
melacha (one of the 39 fundamental melachas) of grinding: it is
forbidden to compound or grind a medicine, as in a mortar and pestle, on
Shabbat or Yom Tov.
2. I have seen brought down, though as usual I couldn't say where, that
because we are inclined these days to use prepared medicinal compounds,
there is some room for leniency in these matters. In practical terms,
most people do not _actually_ grind or compound their medicines any
more.
That having been said, the leniency I have seen is not a blanket
permission. However, it does say that even short of sakana (danger), if
one's malady is sufficient to ruin one's oneg shabbat, one may take the
medicine. Now what _that_ standard entails, I cannot really say. The
definition brought down where I heard this was that if you had to take
to your bed over it, that was sufficient, even if there is not actual
sakana.
In the case of Ritalin, a drug holiday every week might not send
the child to his/her bed. But a Ritalin drug holiday every week could,
at least in some cases, lead to an absolutely destroyed sense of Shabbat
peace in the home, and that would probably be a factor.
As a rule, people are generally permitted to take prescription
medications such as cardiovascular medications even when the likelihood
of danger over a single missed Shabbat dose is small. Usually, there
are no data on whether taking a drug six days a week instead of seven
makes a difference, and poskim will err on the side of not requiring you
to take a risk over it.
My advice here (and in most medical halacha cases) would be: consult
both your doctor and your LOR. If your doctor really feels that the
drug should be given seven days a week, your LOR will probably defer to
your doctor's wishes. But in this case, a valid psak probably requires
consultation with both.
PS -- One must still be careful to avoid true melacha with respect to
medicine. I once saw someone grinding up a tablet to swallow on
Shabbat. Not only is that probably a halachic problem, but many tablet
medications are _not_meant to be ground up, because they will release
too fast into the bloodstream that way. Again, in most cases of medical
halachic questions, you _must_ consult both a doctor and posek.
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From: Michael J Broyde <relmb@...>
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 1995 12:56:58 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Rumsch, Isaak
I am looking for bibliographical and other information concerning the
Hebrew author "Rumsch, Isaak (yitzcahk)" who wrote Hebrew novels at the
turn of the century.
Michael Broyde
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From: <Gevaryahu@...> (Gilad J. Gevaryahu)
Date: Fri, 6 Oct 1995 09:00:41 -0400
Subject: Smoking and Yom Tov
Rena Freedenberg writes on MJ 21#61( 2 Oct 1995):
>The only melachas that we are allowed to perform on Yom Tov that we
>cannot perform on Shabbos are carrying and cooking. We are forbidden to
>perform all other melacha [sic] on Yom Tov that is forbidden on Shabbos.
What about smoking? It is not carrying and it is not cooking.
("Le'havdil...", only the Muslims hold that smoking is tantamount to food and
thus prohibited during the fast of Ramadan). Is it because people used to
chew and smell tobacco?
G'mar hatimah tovah,
Gilad J. Gevaryahu
There is a great booklet that describes the halachic background
and prolbems with smoking and tobacco. It is called:
"Smoking and Damage to Health in the Halachah"
by Rabbi Menachem Slae
Acharai Publications
Jerusalem 5750 (1990)
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End of Volume 21 Issue 64
