Volume 36 Number 70
Produced: Wed Jul 10 22:12:34 US/Eastern 2002
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
Al Tira
[Shalom Ozarowski]
Anaheim Minyan?
[Shmuel Himelstein]
carrying ID on Shabbos
[Eric Stieglitz]
Kabbalat Shabbat (2)
[Yisrael and Batya Medad, Yisrael and Batya Medad]
Laundry at the close of Tisha B'Av on a Thursday
[Baruch J. Schwartz]
Reconstructing the subjective in _The Halakhic Mind_
[Sarah E Beck]
Shir shel Yom Revi'i (4)
[Zev Sero, Mordechai, Seth Mandel, Mordechai]
Shomer Shabbos Web Merchants
[Shmuel Himelstein]
Tehillas Hashem
[Jonathan & Randy Chipman]
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From: <Shalomoz@...> (Shalom Ozarowski)
Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 01:08:35 EDT
Subject: Al Tira
Following the recent discussion on "extra psukim" after shir hamaalot,
i'm curious if anyone knows reasons/sources for saying al tira and other
psukim after aleinu.
kol tuv
shalom ozarowski
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From: Shmuel Himelstein <shmuelh@...>
Date: Sun, 7 Jul 2002 05:03:32 +0200
Subject: Anaheim Minyan?
Is anyone aware of a daily Shacharit Minyan in the Anaheim, California,
area? Contact information?
Thanks,
Shmuel Himelstein
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From: Eric Stieglitz <EStieglitz@...>
Date: Mon, 8 Jul 2002 14:28:45 -0400
Subject: carrying ID on Shabbos
I'm currently fortunate enough to live in a country which doesn't
require one to always have a government-issued ID in one's possession at
all times, and also has Eruvs in many communities.
During my current research for a vacation that I may be taking this
year, I've found that quite a few countries require all people to carry
some form of identification at all times, and that no eruv exists.
I'm curious what people in these communities do in these situations. Do
they not comply with the law in order to comply with halakha? Might
there be an exemption in halakha for situations like this? Or might the
local authorities "understand" the situation?
/EJS
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From: Yisrael and Batya Medad <ybmedad@...>
Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 00:46:17 +0200
Subject: Kabbalat Shabbat
Gil Student noted that:
"The entire custom of reciting Kabbolas Shabbos is
relatively recent and is certainly not completely obligatory."
a. as for relatively recent, I presume we are referring to the fact
that the Kabbalat Shabbat service as we now know stems from the
formulation developed during the sixteenth century, in Tzfat, as a fixed
amount of verses to be said prior to Ma'ariv. The custom of saying
K'gavna instead of Bameh Madlikin has been pinpointed to the Kluj of
Brody around 1720 or so, see Prof. Moshe Chalamish's study.
However, let's not forget the Talmudic reference in Shabbat 119A and
Baba Kama 32A that Rabbis Hanina and Yannai. Rabbi Hanina wrapped
himself in a robe on the eve of the Sabbath and said: Bo'u venetseh
likrat Shabbat haMalkah "Come let us go out to greet the Sabbath queen."
and Rabbi Yannai dressed himself specially on the eve of the Sabbath and
said: Bo'i khalah, bo'i khalah.
b. obligatory not? and the Gr"a:
the book Ishei Yisrael, p. shin-nun-vav, note 28, stipulates that in the
Abudaram and Mahzor Vitri the six psalms are not to be found, but that
in the Siddur HaGr"a (which I don't have before me) the Siddur Rashban
has it that the six psalms are in place of the six shofar blasts fixed
by the Sages of Babylon that were prohibitied by the local authorities.
In another note, he insists based on sources that the acceptance of
Shabbat is the saying of Bo'i B'Shalom.
Yisrael Medad
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From: Yisrael and Batya Medad <ybmedad@...>
Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 23:43:40 +0200
Subject: Kabbalat Shabbat
Just to round out the matter of Kabbalat Shabbat, according to
Prof. Chalamish (HaKabbalah B'Tfilah, B'Halacha uv'Minhag) the Ramak
(Rav Moshe Cordevo) started off the 6 mizmorim with 95 whereas the Ari
started with 29. Hanhagot (performances of the customs) that were sent
out from Tzfat under the influence of the Ari, indicate that after
Mincha, they would engage in a mutual confessional ceremony to sum up
the week and then, in groups, they would go out to a nearby field, each
group from their own synagogue. This, though, was opposed by the Ramak.
The Ramak termed this "eino min hachasidim ela min hamtahimin" (found in
Tefilla L'Moshe) which translates as "not from the overly observant but
rather from the strange".
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From: Baruch J. Schwartz <schwrtz@...>
Date: Mon, 8 Jul 2002 12:25:22 +0200
Subject: Laundry at the close of Tisha B'Av on a Thursday
Tisha B'Av will come this year (and next) on a Thursday. It seems to me
that many families could benefit from the clear, but perhaps
little-known, halachah according to which laundry may be done on
Thursday night when the fast ends and there is absolutely no need to
wait until the morning, much less afternoon, of Friday the 10th of
Av. For details see Shemirat Shabbat Kehilkhatah, Volume 2, page 2
(42:5) and footnotes. To me it seems that it would actually be a
mitzvah to inform homemakers of this halachah, not only because of its
implications for kevod shabbat but also becasue of the contribution to
shlom bayit resulting from the relief it provides for those responsible
for doing the washing.
Baruch Schwartz
Efrat
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From: <sbeck@...> (Sarah E Beck)
Subject: Reconstructing the subjective in _The Halakhic Mind_
I am looking for articles on what R' Soloveitchik means by
"reconstructing" the subjective elements corresponding to an objective
halacha. I am thinking particularly of the discussion in _Hal. Mind_,
part 4.
Because there are so many agendas floating about in the literature (no
pejorative intent by "agenda"), let me add that a dry methodological
treatment (easy on the hashkafa ;-) would be most helpful.
Thank you very much.
--SB
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From: Zev Sero <zev.sero@...>
Date: Mon, 8 Jul 2002 16:11:29 -0400
Subject: Shir shel Yom Revi'i
Mordechai <Phyllostac@...> wrote:
> An analogous case may be with regard to the 'shir shel yom' of yom
> revi'i ('Wednesday' in English, Mitvoch in Yiddish), where perek 94 of
> Tehillim is recited. However, instead of stopping at the end of the
> perek, as is seen in old siddurim, many modern siddurim append three few
> additional verses from another perek of Tehillim al pi the Ari z"l, the
> theme of which seems to be thanksgiving, as with the verses added by
> some after the shir hamaalos under discussion. This is the only case of
> a shir shel yom containing more than just one perek, AFAIK, which makes
> it 'suspicious'.
>
> P.S. What I just wrote re shir shel yom of yom revi'i was, to a large
> degree, based on a note on it in the siddur 'Eizor Eliyohu' 'al pi
> nusach haGR"a'.
The continuation of Wed's song is not just from `another perek of
Tehilim the theme of which seems to be thanksgiving', but rather from
the *next* perek, 95, Lechu Neranena. The reason I was told as a child
was that until Tuesday belongs to the previous Shabbos (e.g. one can say
havdala until Tuesday evening), and on Wednesday one begins preparing
for the next Shabbos, and this transition is marked by saying the first
three pesukim of Lechu Neranena. I remember that my grandmother a"h
would make a point of doing something on Wednesday morning in
preparation for the coming Shabbos, `because on Wednesday we say Lechu
Neranena'.
Zev Sero
<zsero@...>
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From: <Phyllostac@...> (Mordechai)
Date: Mon, 8 Jul 2002 21:36:57 EDT
Subject: Re: Shir shel Yom Revi'i
I have a question though - is it proper to say this as part of the shir
shel yom revi'i, if it was not said as such by the Levi'im in the beis
hamikdosh (as appears to be the case, as it seems that each shir shel
yom was a perek of Tehillim - and not more) ?
Perhaps it would not be forbidden to recite it after the shir shel yom.
However, licheora, there should be a hefsek (interruption - e.g. pause)
and an awareness that it is just a later addition - and not part of the
shir shel yom. This awareness could be promoted by publishers leaving a
space between perek 94 and the additional pesukim from perek 95, for
example.
Also, being that the practice of saying Lechu niranino, etc., as
'Kabbolas Shabbos' is not that old (perhaps circa three hundred years
old in some places, in others perhaps less than half that much, etc.),
therefore, licheora, the practice of some to add those pesukim to shir
shel yom revi'i, as above, as a reminder that Shabbos is on the way, is
not that old either......
Mordechai
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From: Seth Mandel <sethm37@...>
Date: Tue, 09 Jul 2002 15:27:21 +0000
Subject: Re: Shir shel Yom Revi'i
Just to enlarge on what my friend R. Mordechai has said:
The entire minhog of saying the shir shel yom is not that old, either.
The Tur says that it was not said in Ashk'naz, and we know from the
Roqeah and the talmidim of Rashi that in Ashk'naz they used to say
kappitel 83 every morning after davening, followed by some p'sukim,
regardless of what day of the week it was. S'faradim had been saying a
different kappitel every day, but not exactly corresponding to what the
L'viyyim say. It became customary based on a misinterpretation of what
the G'onim say, that it is nice to say the brayso (IIRC) that Ashk'nazim
say on shabbos (hashir shehal'viyyim omrim... l'yom shekullo shabbos...)
every day of the week. That was reinterpreted to mean that we should
say the shir itself, rather than the brayso. This is also the cause of
the minhog in Ashk'naz, after it became customary, to say mizmor shir
l'yom hashabbos after musaf on shabbos, when actually a different shir
was said with the musaf (i.e since the brayso was said on musaf, and
kappitel 83 was, that's where they put in the new shir shel yom). Given
that the whole minhog was relatively late, and completely absent from
old minhog Ashk'naz, it is not surprising that certain communities
started adding things to a shir on Wednesday if they saw a nice lesson
in it. The S'faradim, who keep their old minhog, do not say these added
p'sukim.
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From: <Phyllostac@...> (Mordechai)
Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 00:12:58 EDT
Subject: Shir shel Yom Revi'i
I examined a few additional siddurim to see how they deal with the
matter and here is what I found.
Siddur R. Yaakov Emden - stops at end of Tehillim perek 94 (without
'lichu niranino').
Siddur Avodas Yisroel (R. Dr. Seligman Baer) - has perek 94, and
afterward, in parentheses, states that 'some add this posuk - lichu
niranino....' (just one posuk - not three).
Siddur Sefas Emes (Roedelheim) - has perek 94 and, on following line (in
different font in newly reprinted edition I have here) states we say
'lichu niranino...the first posuk - and some add two additional pesukim.
Anyway - to sum up - it seems quite clearly that the three additional
pesukim are a later addition and not part of the original 'shir shel
yom'.
Also, there seems to be a widespread attitude of 'what can it hurt to
add a few pesukim to recite' - and therefore perhaps such additions have
spread far and wide to the point that their origins are
forgotten. Perhaps many (esp. printers) have been too quick to add
things.
However, sometimes adding things is not desirable. More is not always
better. There is a Torah teaching that 'kol hamosif gorea' (whoever
adds, diminishes).
Mordechai
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From: Shmuel Himelstein <shmuelh@...>
Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2002 11:21:42 +0200
Subject: Shomer Shabbos Web Merchants
In my searches on the Web, I found that there are quite a few merchants
on the Web who are Shomer Shabbos (based on their working hours - early
Friday closing, closed Shabbos, open Sunday).
It would be great if there was a centralized list of such Shomer Shabbos
merchants.
My only caveat is that in the wrong hands such a list might open the
merchants up to Web attacks.
Shmuel Himelstein
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From: Jonathan & Randy Chipman <yonarand@...>
Date: Wed, 03 Jul 2002 16:48:35 +0300
Subject: Re: Tehillas Hashem
<Phyllostac@...> wrote:
> An analogous case may be with regard to the 'shir shel yom' of yom revi'i
> ('Wednesday' in English, Mitvoch in Yiddish), where perek 94 of Tehillim is
> recited. However, instead of stopping at the end of the perek, as is seen in
> old siddurim, many modern siddurim append three few additional verses from
> another perek of Tehillim al pi the Ari z"l, the theme of which seems to be
> thanksgiving, as with the verses added by some after the shir hamaalos under
> discussion. This is the only case of a shir shel yom containing more than
> just one perek, AFAIK, which makes it 'suspicious'.
An interesting point. I would add that the three extra verses
added are not "stam" from another perek, but from the very next psalm in
the order of Tehillim, i.e, 95:1-3. This mizmor is, of course, the
opening one of Kabbalat Shabbat, "Lekhu neran'na..." I always learned
that it was added as a kind of sign that "Shabbat is coming." As is
known, the first three weekdays relate back to the previous Shabbat, and
the last three -- Wednesday to Friday -- are under the sign of
expectation of the next Shabbat.
But this reinforces Mordecai's point, because the Kabbalat Shabbat
servive and its contents were only introduced in the 16th century, by
the school of the Ari ha-Kadosh. We may conjecture that these three
verses were thus added at a time when "Lekhu neran'na" was already
associated by most Jews with the coming of Shabbat
Another example of merging or conflation of the two traditions: The
last of the middle blessings of the weekday Amidah ends in Ashkenaz with
the phrase "ki atah shome'a tefilat amkhha Yisrael berahamim."
Classical Nusah Sefarard (i.e, that used by Jews from North Africa and
Asia Minor) reads: "ki atah shome'a tefilat kol peh." The "Hasdic Nusah
Sefarad" combines the two: "ki atah shome'a tefilat kol peh amkha
Yisrael berahamim." A line by line comparison of Siddurim of these
three types will yield many other examples.
Rav Yehonatan Chipman, Jerusalem
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End of Volume 36 Issue 70
