Volume 31 Number 90
Produced: Thu Mar 30 6:43:10 US/Eastern 2000
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
Another Sin of Haman
[Russell Hendel]
Bircat Habayit (3)
[Shlomo B Abeles, Shimon Lebowitz, <JoshHoff@...>]
Homentaschen - Ozenei Haman
[Gilad J. Gevaryahu]
Megilla
[Yisrael Medad]
Pharaoh's Phate
[Gregg Kinkley]
Piyut
[Abe Hersk]
Purim costumes
[Mordechai]
Purim Costumes & the Venice Festival
[Yisrael Medad]
Purim on Shabbat (5)
[Barak Greenfield, MD, Alexander Heppenheimer, Anonymous,
Shimon Lebowitz, Carl M. Sherer]
Seder Night Activities
[Edward Ehrlich]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Russell Hendel <rhendel@...>
Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 23:21:40 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Another Sin of Haman
Rabbi Bulka in v31n75 'explains' the error in calling haman-taschen
after haman. He shows we are giving honor to an evil person who tried to
destroy the Jewish people
As a baal koray I am also deeply upset about the custom of making noise
when Haman's name is mentioned. Indeed, if you miss a haman then you
have not fulfilled your obligation to read the Megillah!
I believe a consistent application of Rabbi Bulka's principle would
include a prohibition against this practice of making noise at haman's
name.
Any reactions (no noise please!)
Russell Jay Hendel; Phd ASA; <rhendel@...>
Moderator Rashi iS Simple;
http://www.shamash.org/rashi/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Shlomo B Abeles <sba@...>
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2000 05:34:02 +1000
Subject: Bircat Habayit
Menucha Chwat WROTE:
>Rav Shlomo Aviner said ...that Bircat Habayit was written by Rudyard
>Kipling(!) and has no jewish basis.
IIRC I have seen it noted to have been authored by the Yismach Moshe
zt''l (Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum of Ujhely) g-g-great grandfather of
today's Satmar Rebbe shlita (same name).
SBA
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Shimon Lebowitz <shimonl@...>
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2000 22:44:10 +0200
Subject: RE: Bircat Habayit
Shalom Kohn <skohn@...> asks:
> Assuming it is correct that Rudyard Kipling wrote the Birchat Habayit,
> why does it follow that Jews should take it down from their walls?
I heard that particular broadcast (his Q&A program is on *late* at
night), and i remember that Rav Aviner shlit"a seemed to make two
completely different points regarding the 'birkat habayit'.
1. the formula as it is displayed widely in Israel, is not anything like
a Jewish prayer. (Beze habayit lo yavo ... or similar wording). the Rav
laughingly said that this is like 'bezeh hatzalachat, yavo marak!' (in
this bowl, let there be soup!) - No one (or i guess no One) is
addressed, by any name or title, no *request* is made, rather, a
*statement* is said - such and such WILL (or WON'T) happen.
2. the other point was the actual non-Jewish source of the formula. i
do not at all recall hearing the name Kipling, i actually think i heard
it attributed to some church personage. it was that background (as far
as i remember) which caused Rav Aviner to suggest that it was
inappropriate in a Jewish household.
Shimon Lebowitz mailto:<shimonl@...>
Jerusalem, Israel PGP: members.xoom.com/shimonl/pubkey.htm
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: <JoshHoff@...>
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2000 06:52:10 EST
Subject: Re: Bircat Habayit
> Rav Shlomo Aviner said during his radio call-in responsa show, that
> Bircat Habayit was written by Rudyard Kipling( >>
Anyone out there know in which work?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Gilad J. Gevaryahu <Gevaryahu@...>
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 09:57:41 EST
Subject: Homentaschen - Ozenei Haman
I had a discussion this past Shabbat with a Sephardic Jew, a guest to in
my shul, and he pointed out to me that the Sepharadim say a special piut
on Shabbat Zachor called "Mi Kamocha." He showed it to me in his Rinat
Israel -Sepharad siddur. The second half of this piut goes acrostic and
in the letter Gimel it says "ozen Haman." I did not research the history
of this piut, but it might be a clue to, or have to do with the question
of the name of the Purim pastry.
Gilad J. Gevaryahu
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Yisrael Medad <isrmedia@...>
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 20:34:12 +0300
Subject: Megilla
<daniel_werlin@...> wrote:
>Can anyone refer me to a source for reading certain verses or parts of
>verses of the Megillah to Eicah trop? Is this a more recent minhag?
here at Shiloh, the reader at Ramat Shmuel synagogue, Nissan Ben-Avraham
(origanally from Majorca - but that's another story entirely) literally
reads the Megilla at certain places as if it is a dramatic or comic
text. There is an Eicha element. The verses when Haman is first
enthusiastic about being adorned in majestic garb and then stuck with
leading his enemy dressed thus are read appropriately with full vocal
effect. The word "ratzim" for runners is twirled and repeated, as the
trop indeed allows. The verse "ish tzar v'oyev" is read more loudly and
pronounced with a dramatic halt until Haman is named. I could go on
with additional examples, but I hope the point is taken. Our previous
reader, Uriel Keissing from Holland, also took the text and made it come
alive in a similar fashion. As for the source, I don't know if there is
one. But I woudln't have it any other way.
Yisrael Medad
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Gregg Kinkley <kinko@...>
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 08:07:21 -1000
Subject: Pharaoh's Phate
Dear MJers:
I have been in the midst of a long and sometimes acrimonious
dispute with my law partner about the identity of Pharaoh in Exodus and
his fate. I pointed out to him that Torah never actually stated that
pharaoh died in the sea, and I was vaguely aware that there are various
traditions about what happened to him.
Any help here pointing to sources of tradition or even answers
as to what we have made of his fate? Thank you very much in advance!
l'shalom,
Gregg
[I think that there is a medrash that Paroh servived, and he is the king
of Ninveh in the story of Jonah. That explains why that king was so
quick to do teshuva, since he had seen first hand what can happen. Mod.]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Abe Hersk <meishiv@...>
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 12:11:59 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Piyut
Who can help me find the makor of this piyut
Bilvavi Mishkan evne lehadar kevodo
umishkan mizbeach asim lekarnei hodo
ulener tamid ekach li et esh ha'akeida
ulekorban akriv lo et nafshi hayechida
Thanks alot
[My recollection is that it is from R' Yehuda HaChasid, but I expect
someone on our list to be able to give full reference. Mod.]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Mordechai <Phyllostac@...>
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2000 02:21:09 EST
Subject: Purim costumes
<< Menashe Elyashiv <elyashm@...>
R. Rashabi, a known Yemanite posek ......
BTW he also points out that Purim costumes are an Ashkenazi custom, and
non-Ashkenazim shouldn't bring children in Purim cotume to the Beit
HaKeneset, and not to waste money on expensive ones. R. Mazuz, a known
Tunisian posek & Rosh Yeshiva, wrote that the source of this is from the
mardi gras!
Hodesh Tov >>
I believe that Professor D. Sperber in his multi volume work 'Minhagei
Yisroel' discusses the possibility of the Ashkenazi costume custom
having been possibly influenced by the non - Jewish 'carnival' in
European countries in that season of the year.
Mordechai
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Yisrael Medad <isrmedia@...>
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 20:51:36 +0300
Subject: Purim Costumes & the Venice Festival
Here in Israel, Channel One TV had an item which claimed that the origin
for Purim costumes was the Venice Festival. Since the Bach and Rama
(16th century Cracow) discuss the issue of "partzufim" and male/female
dress, and I've seen a Purim woodcut from 1707 with a becostumed figure,
I would think that Venice was not the (sole?) source. Can anybody help
me?
Yisrael Medad
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Barak Greenfield, MD <docbjg@...>
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 12:08:16 -0500
Subject: RE: Purim on Shabbat
Mr. Alexcander wrote (mail-jewish 31:83):
> In regard to Perry Zamek's statement in a recent posting: Perhaps in
> Yerushalayim the 14th of Adar cannot occur on Shabbat, but out here in
> Galut it most certainly can. If it does, Purim is celebrated on Sunday,
> the 15th, and Taanit Esther is kept on Thursday, the 12th (instead of on
> the 13th).
In fact, Adar 14 (of any type of Adar) never falls out on Shabbos. If
Mr. Alexcander believes that it does, I would respectfully ask him to
advise us as to which year this occurred.
The fact that Purim will never fall out on Shabbos is easily
demonstrated by the rule of A"T-Ba"Sh. The first day of Pesach (aleph)
always falls out on the same day of the week as the following Tish'a
B'av (tav). The 2nd (bet), on the same day as the following Shavuos
(shin). 3rd (gimmel)--Rosh Hashanah (reish). 4th (dalet)--Simchas Torah
(kuf--kinyan torah [acquisition of the Torah]). 5th (heh)--Yom Kippur
(tzadi--tzom [fast day]). 6th (vav)--the preceding Purim (peh). 7th
(zayin)--the following Yom Ha'atzmaut (ayin--except when Yom Ha'atzmaut
falls on Friday or Shabbos and is celebrated on another day). By
applying this system, one can determine that if Purim fell on Shabbos,
the first day of Pesach would be on a Monday, and the first day of
Pesach never falls on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday.
Barak Greenfield
[similar response sent by <NJGabbai@...>, some of the other postings
have been edited to remove comments that are the same as in some of the
other postings, hopefully resulting in a set that add information and
together are complete. Mod.]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Alexander Heppenheimer <Alexander.Heppenheimer@...>
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 09:58:17 -0700
Subject: Re: Purim on Shabbat
Actually, it would be the other way around: the Rambam (Laws of Megillah
1:14) writes that if the 14th of Adar comes out on Shabbos, then the
Megillah is read on Friday, the 13th.
But actually, the calendar we use today - which is the same for
Yerushalayim as for the rest of the world - does not allow Purim (the
14th, that is) to fall on Shabbos. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 428)
lays down the rule: "Lo ZaBaD Purim" - Purim can never occur on Shabbos,
Monday, or Wednesday.
So, Yerushalayim is the only place in the world today where they have to
deal with the halachah of not reading the Megillah on Shabbos. According
to our present calendar, this will happen next year - although,
hopefully, Moshiach will be here long before that, and we will go back
to using a calendar determined on a month-by-month basis by the
Sanhedrin, in which case (according to most opinions) the "Lo ZaBaD
Purim" rule, and all of the other rules of that kind, will no longer be
operative.
Kol tuv y'all,
Alex
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Anonymous
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2000 00:27:44 +0000
Subject: Purim on Shabbat
When Purim comes on *Sunday* Taanis Esther is kept on Thursday, since we
cannot fast on Shabbos, and a non-timely fast is not scheduled for
Friday (because its last moments are on Shabbos, and it is not proper to
suffer the hunger pangs of fast's end on Shabbos. For the same reason,
when Pesach begins on Sunday, as it will next year, the first-born fast
on Thursday).
The 15th of Adar can, however, be on Shabbos (in a year when Pesach
starts on Sunday). Yerushalayim observes Purim on the 15th. They then
have three days of Purim: on Friday, the Megillah is read and matanos
laevyonim are given; on Shabbos, Al Hanisim is said; on Sunday, the
seudah is eaten and mishloach monos are sent. It is referred to as Purim
m'shulash (three-fold Purim).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Shimon Lebowitz <shimonl@...>
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 16:25:52 +0200
Subject: Purim on Shabbat
The other strange thing about Richard's claim was, it implies that
different parts of `Am Yisrael have *different dates* on the SAME day?!?!
Recalling the efforts that Rabban Gamliel went to, to insure that
the Jewish People has *ONE* calendar, I found this idea incredible.
One of the fixed rules of our current calendar is the Hebrew mnemonic:
'Lo BaD"U Pesach', i.e. The first day of Pesach (15th of Nisan) cannot
fall on B=Monday, D=Wednesday, or U=Friday.(In truth, this rule is
really the old 'Lo AD"U Rosh' rule, extended backwards by 163
days). Since the 16th of Adar (the day after Shushan Purim) is exactly 4
weeks before the first day of Pesach, it follows the same rule. Purim
(the 14th) will never fall on the days that are 2 before BD"U, so Purim
('out there in the galut') cannot fall on: Shabbat, Monday, or
Wednesday. If Purim were to be on Shabbat, Rosh haShana would fall on
Wednesday (there is always a 4-day shift from Purim to RH), which would
contradict the ADU rule.
Bechavod,
Shimon Lebowitz mailto:<shimonl@...>
Jerusalem, Israel PGP: members.xoom.com/shimonl/pubkey.htm
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Carl M. Sherer <cmsherer@...>
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 15:05:52 +0200
Subject: Purim on Shabbat
[rest of AT-BASH-GR same as earlier, edited. Mod.]
The "ayin" (as I heard it) is Yom HaAtzmaut, which occurs on the
same day of the week as the seventh day of Pesach, when it is not
moved forward to avoid Shabbos or Erev Shabbos :-) (This would
also work with the ayin being "Ir" as in a walled city, as the seventh
day of Pesach always corresponds with the previous Shushan
Purim).
[Similar calculation as others above, leading to Lo BDU Purim, edited. Mod.]
If you want to see Purim come out on Shabbos (Purim MeShulash), it will
happen IY"H next year, in Yerushalayim and other cities that have been
walled since the time of Yehoshua bin Nun. Come and join us - it's a
non-stop party for three days straight :-)
Carl M. Sherer
mailto:<cmsherer@...> or mailto:sherer@actcom.co.il
Please daven and learn for a Refuah Shleima for my son, Baruch Yosef ben
Adina Batya among the sick of Israel. Thank you very much.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Edward Ehrlich <eehrlich@...>
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 00:57:36 +0300
Subject: Seder Night Activities
I'm looking for suggestions of activities to supplement the text of the
Hagaddah on Seder night and that would be suitable for my four Hebrew
speaking children from the ages of 4 to 13. For instance, last year
after we read the section on the "Four Sons" they acted out a little
play based on it.
I would appreciate any specific suggestions or sources for activities
that we could do while reading the Hagaddah.
Ed Ehrlich <eehrlich@...>
Jerusalem, Israel
----------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Volume 31 Issue 90
