Volume 23 Number 94
Produced: Sun May 12 22:33:16 1996
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
Bread Machines
[Elliot D. Lasson]
Care of Aged Parents
[Alan Cooper]
Help Conceiving
[Tefilla Buxbaum]
Holocaust Museum
[Carl and Adina Sherer]
Lag Baomer
[Chaim Saiman]
Shidduchim and Kollelim
[Ira Benjamin]
Tikun Lakor'im
[Michael Perl]
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From: <elasson@...> (Elliot D. Lasson)
Date: Sat, 11 May 1996 22:22:51 EDT
Subject: Bread Machines
From what I know, most bread machines only take 3-3.5 cups of flour.
This is less than the amount from which challah must be taken.
Elliot D. Lasson, Ph.D.
Dept of Psychology
Morgan State U.
Baltimore, MD
<ELASSON@...> (E-mail)
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From: Alan Cooper <amcooper@...>
Date: Sat, 11 May 1996 14:36:14 -0700
Subject: Care of Aged Parents
At 12:07 AM 5/9/96 -0400, Jay Rovner wrote:
>Mar. 25, Ruth Langer requested materials dealing with aged, mentally
>debilitated parents from the perspective of kibut av va-em. See Levi Meier,
>"Filial Responsibility to the Senile Parent: a Jewish Approach" journal of
>Psychology and Judaism 2:1 (Fall 1977)45-53 (he may have written a book in
>the meantime: suggest search academic library catalog). Basil Herring,
>Jewish Ethics and Halakhah for our time (New york, Ktav 19??) discusses
>filial piety "when a parent displays mental or emotional dysfunction" (p.
>212 ff.). Also, there might be something in Gerald Blidstein, Honor Thy
>and thy Mother.
I must have missed Ruth's original posting on this interesting topic.
The most comprehensive collection of materials that I know is an
excellent book edited by David Salomon et al. entitled Segullat yamim:
ziqna va-arikhut yamim bimqorot yisra'el, published in 1989 by Sifrei
yahadut ha-tora Ltd. The editors acknowledge their debt the Bar-Ilan
U. Shu"t database.
With good wishes, Alan Cooper
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From: Tefilla Buxbaum <benyamin@...>
Date: Sun, 12 May 1996 02:41:07 +0800
Subject: Help Conceiving
Regarding the posting about help in having babies, their is a women in
Jerusalem by the name of Rena Tzadok. She lives on 36 Reichman in the
Bucharain Quarter. When I left Israel 3 years ago, she was still
helping women though she is very old.
She is an old, old yeminite women who has a "tradition" passed down only
in her family going back thousands of years. She uses a method
mentioned in the gemora called "cosot ruach". To say the least, it is
not modern medicine but it seems to work , as it did for me. Her
"office" which is her house, is full of photo albums with pictures of
women and their babies after trying to conceive for many years.
I think Rav Fisher sometimes suggests going to her though I am not
sure.What she does is flips over a ceramic bowl on the tummy with a heat
source inside the bowl. This creates a suction. After leaving it on for
l0 minutes, she removes it and proceeds to do a very deep ( and somewhat
painful) massage. She can then tell you what the problem is and
continues this massage treatment for several weeks or gives herbal
medicine.
All I can tell you is that when I and several of my friends first got
married, non of us got pregnant for a couple of years. We all went to
her, and conceived shortly afterwards. We also davened intensely, got
brachas and went to the kotel for 40 days. "Ha kol me shamyim" but she
seems to be a shaliach and many, many women found her helpful.
Its not cheap, you should arrive early ( when she has energy) between 8
and l0 am every day except Friday. I don't have her phone number but in
Jerusalem , she is well known. Best of luck. Hang in and keep
davening!!
Tefilla Buxbaum,
Hong Kong
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From: Carl and Adina Sherer <sherer@...>
Date: Fri, 10 May 1996 13:11:06 +0000
Subject: Holocaust Museum
I'm looking for advice from people who have been to the Holocaust
Museum in Washington D.C.
We're planning a trip to the States this summer, and we hope to get
to Washington for a day or two to see the museum. We have five
children bli ayin hara, ages 12.5, 10.5, 7.5, 5 and 2 (as of the date
of our trip). We have already decided on our own that the museum
would be appropriate for the 12.5 and 10.5 year olds and would not be
appropriate for the two youngest children and we are planning
accordingly. Our hesitations regard the third child. On the one
hand, he may feel hurt if he is categorized with the "younger"
children as opposed to with the "older" children, yet on the other
hand, we fear that the exhibits at the museum may be too graphic to
risk exposing a seven-year old to them.
Has anyone out there taken children to the museum? If so, what were
their reactions? What would you have done differently if you had it
to do over again? What is the museum like? And by the way, do we
still need to buy tickets in advance? If so, where?
Thanks for all your help.
-- Carl Sherer
Carl and Adina Sherer
<sherer@...>
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From: Chaim Saiman <gs01cns@...>
Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 12:54:49 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Lag Baomer
Lag Baomer 5756
Since I posted my question on Lag Baomer I had the chance to do a little
research on the topic. The following discussion is excerpted from the
"Minhagei Yisrael" by Daniel Shperber (Volume I chapter 13; Mossad HaRav
Kook).
First off I stand corrected in my assumption that the Gemara in
Yevamot (62b) even mentions Lag Baomer, it does not. The Gemara only
tell of how the students of Rabbi Akiva died between Pesach and Atzeret
(Shavuot). Shperber then records that the majority of the Geonim
mention that one should not marry during the ENTIRE omer period, there
is no mention of Lag Baomer in the Geonim. Shperber then quotes the
Sefer HaManhig, who qualifies the Omer mourning customs as applying only
until Lag Baomer. A "Sefer Hayashan Huva MeSefarad" (Ancient book
(scroll) that was bought from Spain) is quoted to say that the students
of Rabbi Akiva died until "Prus Ha'Atzeret". "Prus" is then interpreted
to mean half- ie. half of a month or fifteen days before Shavuot, which
is presumed to be Lag Baomer, but more about that later. This Mesorah
was handed down from the Manhig to the Abudraham, Tashbetz, and from
there to the Mechaber. The Meiri in his comments to Yevamot says that it
was a "Kabbalh in the hands of the Geonim that in the 33rd day of the
Omer the death stopped, hence we are accustomed not to observe mourning
on that day..."
If we turn our attention to the Ashkenazic poskim, it appears
that the Maraham Meruthenberg makes no mention of Lag Baomer, for he
cites that the Omer practices span from Pesach until Shavuot. The
Maharil in his Minhagim offers a different reason for the celebration of
Lag Baomer, he says "Though the Gemara records that the students of
Rabbi Akiva died from Pesach until Atzeret, nonetheless, we make Lag
Baomer a day of Simcha, for they died only on days which Tachanun is
said on any day on which Tachanun is not said, they did not die. Hence
we subtract from 49 days... 7 days of Yom Tov, and three days which are
Rosh Chodesh (two of Iyar and one of Sivan) 7 days which are Shabbatot,
32 days remain. Hence the students only died for 32 days, Hence when 32
days pass we observe after them a day of Simcha." Other Ashkenazic
poskim (most notably the Tur in Siman 493) do make mention of Lag
Baomer. In sources which were written after the appearance of the Zohar
the Rashb'i aspects of Lag Baomer are mentioned, which as posters have
already mentioned leads way to the bonfire and archery aspects of Lag
Baomer
This discussion leaves us with a few unanswered questions
The Sefer Hayashan MeSefarad was the earliest source to mention "Prus
HaAzteret" which many of the Rishonim interpreted as "half of a month"
However, Shperber bring many proofs that " Prus" means "Erev" of the day
before. (See Shperber in vol 4 of Minhagei Yisrael pg. 238). Regardless
of how the Rishonim understood Prus to mean half a month ie. 15 days,
the calculation does not seem to add up. Since 49 - 15 = 34 not 33,
according to this understanding of the Mekor for the Lag Baomer 34th day
of the Omer should be celebrated. Rav Yehoshua Ibn Shouiv (14th century)
claims that this is the reason certain Minhagim wait until the 34th day
(after 33 complete days) before the prohibitions relating to the Omer
are lifted.
If we turn to the Maharil's understanding additional problem can
be raised. Namely, what does the fact that on certain days Tachanun is
not said have anything to do with the Talmidim of Rabbi Akiva dying?
(Shperber does offer an interesting approach to this issue but it is
certainly not the Peshat) Secondly, we do not say Tachanun the entire
month of Nissan so there are far fewer than 33 days of the Omer on which
Tachanun is recited. Thirdly countin 7 days of yom tov and 7 days of
Shabbat must result in at least one overlapping day which apparently
would be counted twice.
What I find to be most perplexing is that according to both
pre-Zohar traditions concerning Lag Baomer, the 33rd day of the Omer is
rather insignificant. For according to the Sefer Hayashan the passage of
33 complete days is the determining factor, not the 33rd day itself. If
we examine the Maharil 's theory 33 is merely a number which corresponds
to what he writes are the number of days on which Tachanun is not said.
In summary we see that pinpointing the exact reasons for our Lag
Baomer celebration seems to be quite a task.If any poster has any
Comments answers or suggestions please post them.
Happy Lag Baomer
Chaim Saiman
Atlanta, Ga.
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From: Ira Benjamin <benjira@...>
Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 16:29:16 -0700
Subject: Shidduchim and Kollelim
I didn't think that I would feel it necessary to contribute another post
on this issue, but one recent post in particular set off "alarm bells"
in my heart and mind, and I therefore find it obligatory on my part to
respond.
In a recent submission, Harry Maryles discusses Roshei Yeshiva
"incorrectly guiding their students into a MORE PRODUCTIVE LIFE" and
that Kollelim should be reserved for "Yechidei Segula" and that in the
present Kollel situation there is a "glut of mediocrity in learning at
the adult level."
While I do agree that the marriage situation might be a problem,
although I know not of this first hand, Harry's high-browed opinions
need some toning down.
I truly believe that anyone who truly lived a Kollel life, eating and
breathing and being Moser Nefesh for Torah would never have such
opinions.
When I learned in Kollel (for the first 3-1/2 years of my marriage) and
I discussed the "working life" with others, saying that learning is the
most important way to lead one's life, I was called "narrow-minded."
"You have your nose in the Gemorroh and can't see past it into the 'real
world.'"
Well, now that I've been working for 8 years full time, no one can call
me narrow-minded, although I hope my nose is still in the Gemorroh, and
my opinions have not changed at all. In fact I feel ever more strongly
about the value of the Kollel existence, while those that never did
learn in Kollel may be called the narrow-minded ones.
With that background, with no college, not having a father-in-law who
could support me, I decided to go to work. I found work, BS"D, and am
supporting a family. How did I do this? Well, that's a dumb question.
"Hyad Hashem Tiktzor?" Is there a limit to that which Hashem can
accomplish? I did nothing myself except use the Kochos that Hashem has
given every one of us to build a life that every one has the same
capabilities to accomplish.
My Rosh Yeshivas too inculcated in me the love and weight that learning
Torah necessitates. They grew in all their Talmidim a Kovod Hatorah
that lasts and lingers and guides all their Talmidim's lives. The
necessity for a Rosh Yeshiva to do this is simply a product of the
terrible world we live in. With all the immorality and distractions
that face a person in the "real world" every day, if not for this
"inculcation" many would have difficulty dealing with the Yetzer Horah
away from the walls of the Yeshiva.
To say that not learning full time is a "more productive life," is
simple herecy. "V'hegisoh Bo Yom V'layala" really means learn day and
night, nothing less. "Torah Im Derech Eretz," really means one must
have good Midos along with his/her learning. For those of us who don't
learn full time, let us not be so high-browed as to think that we are
doing what's right and those who don't are "less productive."
In all my years in Yeshiva, whether here in America or in Eretz Yisroel,
the percentage of "mediocre" learners, versus those who truly were
living and breathing a life of Torah was miniscule. If one percent were
"using" Kollel as a way out, that was a lot. All the others were living
Olom HaBoeh on Olom Hazeh, doing what Hashem truly wants us to do.
No one but each individual himself can decide whether he would like to
stay in Kollel, and then for how long. For one man to have the Ga'aivoh
to say that "ALL KOLLIM SHOULD BE FOR YECHIDEI SEGULAH" is totally and
positively ludicrous and Chutzpadik.
I am sorry that Mr. Maryles' daughters are having trouble with
Shidduchim, and I hope and pray that they soon will find their true
Zivugim. As we all know, the Gemoroh states that that is how Hashem
spends His time, making matches. And there IS a match for every person.
The problem in Lakewood, I believe, will be solved by Hakodosh Boruch
Hu, and by us having a little faith in Hashem that he won't short-change
those who are truly doing what He Himslef wants us to do.
Respectfully submitted,
Uri Benjamin
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From: Michael Perl <mikeperl@...>
Date: Sun, 12 May 1996 20:10:46 +1000 (EST)
Subject: Tikun Lakor'im
Adam Shwartz (6th May) requested suggestions for a good tikkun for a
9-year old who is keen to lain. The tikkun I learnt to lain from and
now use to teach Barmitzvah is published by Ktav Publishing House in
NY. Having seen a number of different ones over the years I highly
recommend this one for its clarity and exactness. The volume I have is
blue with gold Hebrew lettering that simply says "Tikkun Lakor'im".
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End of Volume 23 Issue 94
