Volume 22 Number 75
Produced: Tue Jan 9 16:36:59 1996
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
Ba'al K'riyah who erred
[Shmuel Himelstein]
Crochetting Kippahs
[Susan Slusky]
Kosher Business Lunches
[Jay Kaplowitz]
Mayer Danziger's comments about Binyamin
[Mindy Schimmel]
Mourning Customs - velo tosifu le'daava od
[Gilad J. Gevaryahu]
Shabbat Rosh Chodesh
[Shlomo H. Pick]
Shemot
[Shmuel Jablon]
Toothpaste
[David Riceman]
Tunes & Halacha Questions sefer
[Nachum Hurvitz]
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From: Shmuel Himelstein <himelstein@...>
Date: Mon, 8 Jan 1996 19:57:49 +0200 (IST)
Subject: Ba'al K'riyah who erred
According to Rav Hershel Schachter, head of the Yeshiva University
Kollel, in an article entitled "Lesser-Known Laws of Torah Reading"
which appeared in *The Journal of Jewish Music and Liturgy" (sorry, I
only have a photostat, so I don't have the date):
"If the *Ba'al K'riah* made a mistake in the middle of a verse, there
are three opinions as to whether he must reread the entire verse
correctly from the beginning, only reread from the corrected word on, or
begin to read from the beginning of the phrase in which he made his
mistake. The third view, that of the *Ba'al Hatanya*, is the most
commonly followed.
...
"There is a common misconception that in the event that the *Ba'al
K'riyah* made an error, and has already read God's name in the verse, he
should first *complete* the reading of the verse, and then reread it
correctly. The *Poskim* (rabbinic decisors - SH) write explicitly that
such an approach is highly illogical. Rather, the *Ba'al K'riyah* should
stop immediately upon realizing his mistake, and reread the verse
correctly, starting from the phrase containing the error."
Shmuel Himelstein
<himelstein@...>
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From: <segs@...> (Susan Slusky)
Date: Fri, 5 Jan 96 11:34:46 EST
Subject: Crochetting Kippahs
I bought the blue book of kippah patterns. I find it rich in ideas for
designs, once I get the fundamentals down, but very poor in the
directions for how to make a basic kippah. Can someone forward me such
directions or a pointer on where to find such directions, including what
size yarn and crochet hook to use, how many stitches to start with in
the circle, how many stiches to increase and in which rows, hints on
changing colors (Do I drag along the other color in the back? None of
the ones in the stores do that.), etc.
Directions emphasizing larger crochet hooks and yarn sizes would be
appreciated since I'm getting more far-sighted with age.
Thank you
Susan Slusky
<segs@...>
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From: <iii@...> (Jay Kaplowitz)
Date: Fri, 5 Jan 1996 14:10:38 -0500
Subject: Kosher Business Lunches
In V. 22, #71, Barry Graham asks how others deal with the issue of
kashrus when entertaining customers in places where there are no kosher
restaurants or where the kosher restaurants aren't suitable for business
meetings.
I have employed several solutions:
Many hotels stock frozen kosher dinners and will serve them to you in a
retaurant, conference room or via room service. You simply have to do
some research to identify hotels in the area where your customers are
located and delicately suggest eating at the hotel because you observe
the dietary laws. It has worked wonders for me, in part because hotel
restaurants are usually among the nicest in town.
Occasionally, I have arranged to have kosher food sent to a non kosher
restaurant. Sometimes, I arrange to have a frozen meal sent in and
reheated. Once in a while, I have had a kosher restaurant send food to
a non-kosher place. In all cases, you have to make advance
arrangements.
I've had some great adventures using this strategy, incidentally.
I'll never forget the night I received a last-minuite invitation to have
dinner with important research contacts -- at the Four Season's in New
York. I called Lou G. Siegel's, which sent over a lavish meal, new
silverware and new plates, all wrapped in plastic. I once had to attend
a business lunch with a group of New York Telephone colleagues, several
of whom were Jewish.
The meeting was run by a vice president named Ted Federici who was
sensitive to kashrus issues. The meeting took place on erev Pesach at
the Marriott Marquis in New York. We all ate kosher, with food imported
from Siegel's. A few of the leftovers made it to various seder tables!
When all else fails, I call the restaurant where I may be going and find
out if it can supply me with a tossed salad or with a fruit salad plate.
Many restaurants use commercial salad dressings that have Hashgacha.
You can have some poured into a plastic cup and served to you that way.
I almost always carry several individual serving packages of salad
dressing so I don't have to bother with an inquiry as to the dressings
that are used. There are issues related to plates and to silverware.
The best solution is to be served on paper plates and to use plastic
cutlery. Avoid Chinese restaurants if using this strategy: They rarely
offer salads. Don't like salads? You might try for a cup of yogurt,
checking to make sure that the product has hashgacha.
A few things can go wrong. Recently, I ordered a frozen kosher meal
only to have it served very elegantly -- on a hotel plate. Sometimes,
the hotel will open your meal for you and you have to gently ask when it
was opened. Once, a hotel actually ignored the directions on the frozen
dinner and cooked it opened! The hotel (or restaurant) can forget to
reheat your meal and you (and your guests) end up waiting for a long
time before getting served. Again, I try to deal with all of this when
I make reservations. And I show a great deal of appreciation to the
hotel and restaurant people who go out of their way to help me.
There is also a Moris Ayan issue to contend with here. If I'm going
into a restaurant. I may take off my kipah for a few minutes and seek a
seat where the kipah isn't terribly obvious. I do this especially if
I'm eating a salad. I rarely do this at a hotel where I'm going to be
getting a frozen kosher meal because so many hotels provide kosher food
for their guests. In all cases, you'll want to review these issues with
your LOR.
Jay Kaplowitz
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From: <MINDY@...> (Mindy Schimmel)
Date: Tue, 9 Jan 96 20:54 +0200
Subject: Mayer Danziger's comments about Binyamin
Regarding the comment about Binyamin's having 10 children by the age of
22: We don't know for sure that Yosef was sold immedidately after
Binyamin was born. In fact, the evidence is the contrary. Ya`aqov was,
by tradition, away from Yitzhaq for 22 years (20 years in Lavan's house,
2 years on the road). The first seven years he wasn't yet married. It
seems like Yosef was roughly at the end of the second seven years, since
it was at that point that Ya`aqov started working for the sheep.
Certainly not sooner than seven years after Ya`aqov's marriage, from the
textual evidence. In which case, Yosef was no more than 8 when Binyamin
was born (22-14), assuming that Binyamin was born right before Ya`aqov
got back to yitzhak. In which case, Binyamin was at least nine when
Yosef was sold so that, 22 years later, he was at least 31. Still a bit
young for ten sons, but within reason, even using today's assumptions
about marriage.
Mindy (Malka) Schimmel (<mindy@...>)
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From: <Gevaryahu@...> (Gilad J. Gevaryahu)
Date: Tue, 9 Jan 1996 14:14:52 -0500
Subject: Re: Mourning Customs - velo tosifu le'daava od
This custom is based on a pasuk from Yirmiyahu:
31:11 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion (probably the
source of this Jerusalem minhag), and they shall be radiant over the
goodness of the LORD, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over
the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall become like a
watered garden, [velo tosifu le'daava od] and they shall never languish
again.
Thus it implies that you should have better life from now on, a life of
abundance etc. It does not mean that you therefore couldn't have any
more death in the family. I find it to be a beautiful expression and
have used it all my life (Since I'm a Yerushalmi, I did not know that
there was a shorter version until I came to the US).
Gilad J. Gevaryahu
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From: Shlomo H. Pick <F12013%<BARILAN.bitnet@...>
Date: Sun, 07 Jan 96 14:14 O
Subject: Shabbat Rosh Chodesh
shalom
re: "kadsheinu... sabeinu...." on shabbat rosh chodesh the missing
nusach (version) discussed in 22:71, see the short article in MORIAH
4:3-4 (39-40) sivan - tamuz 5732, p. 51 by R. Seraya Devlizki which
recaps the problem. In his minyan, which is the vatikin one at tiferet
zion in bnei brak, he adds the version as suggested by the aruch
hashulchan (425:2) in orach chayim including the repeat of 18 by the
chazan. A different ordered version is used by some members of the
machon hagavoah le-torah at bar-ilan. it is a photostat of a manuscript
of an ashkenazic siddur which contains the missing text. apparently,
the first printers left it out (by mis- take?) and from then on most
siddurim left it out. However, the chabad siddur and the koidinov
siddurim have it (i don't know which version - the aruch hashulchan or
the manuscipt one). At any rate, talmidei chachamim in my area know of
the problem and act accordingly.
re: possible aliya leregel on shabbat rosh chodesh, re: m-j 22:66 I
have yet to confirm what i think i heard from my rebbe, the late
R. Yerucham Gorelick zt"l. I discussed it with a colleague of mine here
at the machon, and he (Rabbi Shimon Viser) suggests that the version is
similar to the one recited on rosh hashana where it is not the full yom
tov text, as there is no aliya leregel.
as far as what Louis Rayman in 22:71 suggested concerning every
shabbat and rosh chodesh, this is confirmed in the pesikta rabbati
parsha 1 (ish shalom ed.):
end of para 3: ... And you will not ascend 3 times a year but each
month and each shabbat you will ascend in the future, and then quotes
the verse at the end of isaiha.
para 4: states that they will come each shabbat and month carried
on clouds.
yehi ratzon sheyitkayeim banu bimheirah beyameinu!
shlomo
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From: <ShmuelAJ@...> (Shmuel Jablon)
Date: Sat, 6 Jan 1996 22:40:29 -0500
Subject: Shemot
What is the significance of the opening psukim of Sefer Shemot? They
record the names of those who descended to Egypt; yet we had these same
names at the end of Bereshit. Further, "and these are" indicates the
present tense.
Clearly there is something besides a history lesson being expressed!
Rabbi Zev Gold z"l (a Mizrachi leader at time of the creation of the
State of Israel) notes that Sefer Shemot is not only a record of the
redemption from Egypt. It provides a picture of all future redemptions.
The names at the beginning of the Parsha were given with the knowledge
that the descendents bearing these names would be slaves in a foreign
land. Yet, they would carry these names as proud possessions as they
waited through their suffering for Hashem's redemption. Indeed, B'nai
Yisrael's steadfast refusal to adopt the names of the surrounding nation
was one of the reasons they, despite other shortcomings, merited the
redemption.
Rav Shlomo Aviner shlit"a notes that in pasuk 9 when Paraoh refers to
us as "the People, Children of Israel" it is the first time that we are
termed a "People." This is also the beginning of our national
suffering. Gradually, B'nei Yisrael became molded into a nation in the
same way as metal is molded in a blast furnace. Despite our suffering
we could not give up. Rabbi Gold notes that in Shemot 2:4 Miriam waited
to see if her prophecy regarding Moshe's rescue would be fulfilled. It
takes a tremendous amount of patience to wait for redemption, even if
promised by Hashem; yet we had no right to doubt Hashem's miraculous
ways.
This is the story of every redemption of the Jewish People...suffering,
national strengthening, patience, longing, and- in the end- the
fulfillment of Hashem's promise. This is the story of the present
generation. We suffered unheard of torments in the Shoah. But
countless religious Jews did not give up hope. We were blessed with the
creation of the State of Israel.
Miracles followed miracles as we regained sovereignty over much of the
Land of Israel. Despite enemies from without and within, Torah grew-
and continues to grow- under Jewish rule in the Jewish State.
It is clear to all that the State of Israel does not represent the
conclusion of the redemptive process. Yet, as Rav Yitzchak Herzog zt"l
wrote movingly in the "Prayer for the State," it can be "the beginnings
of the initial sprouts of our Redemption." We must keep our names, our
hopes, our trust in Hashem. We must do as Miriam did by doing our part
in this process. Despite problems and difficulties, we have no right to
ever give up. Then, Parshat Shemot will be once again the picture of our
Redemption, a present tense reality with the coming of Mashiach!
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From: <dr@...> (David Riceman)
Date: Fri, 5 Jan 1996 11:19:19 EST
Subject: Toothpaste
If, in fact, one is permitted to use toothpaste containing non-kosher
ingredients, why would one prefer to use toothpaste without such
ingredients?
David Riceman
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From: Nachum Hurvitz <nhurvitz@...>
Date: Sun, 07 Jan 1996 10:19:28 -0500
Subject: Tunes & Halacha Questions sefer
Some time ago there was a thread on the origins of various tunes. I
heard the following anecdote directly from Mr. Henry Rosenberg, the
shamash (caretaker) of Harav Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman z"l while I was at
Ner Israel:
The Rosh Hayeshiva z"l was sitting at the Shabbos table when he remarked
that he had never hear the students ever sing a certain tune, and he
began to hum "Hava Nagilah". It was explained to him that this song/tune
was a secular Zionist song, not usually sung in "yeshivish" circles. The
Rosh Hayeshiva looked quite suprised. He explained that the tune was
originaly composed by the Gerrer Chassidim in honor of the arrival of
the Gerrer Rebbe to Israel; they sang this song expressing their joy
when he arrived at the port of Haifa (what year and other name details I
do not know). If you hum the tune, it does have this Chassidic ring to
it.
In reference to David's question regarding question and answer books on
halacha, there is a 2 volume set called "Massah Halacha" in Hebrew, by
Moshe Shmuel Eisenbach of Jerusalem, 40 Malachi Street, Jerusalem. It
contains questions and answers from all 6 volumes of the Mishnah
Berurah, with each answer referenced to a source. I purchased the
seforim here in the US. It comes in a pocket size edition as well.
Nachum Hurvitz
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End of Volume 22 Issue 75
