Volume 9 Number 55
Produced: Tue Oct 19 13:00:09 1993
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
248 words of the Shema
[Norman Silverman]
Ancestors
[David Gerstman]
Calendar Dates (2)
[David Gerstman, Alan Cooper and Tamar Frank]
Dry Hides, Muktzeh?
[Reuven-Pesach Halevi]
Earth's Place in the Universe
[Shaya Karlinsky]
Kosher Cities Database
[Leon Dworsky]
Kosher in Washington
[Marc Meisler]
Mashiv Haruach for 30 days
[Lon Eisenberg]
Moriah Hotel in Jerusalem
[Lon Eisenberg]
Tachanun
[Rick Turkel]
Who can you trust :-)
[Bruce D. Nelson]
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From: <nypc@...> (Norman Silverman)
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 93 11:10:15 -0400
Subject: 248 words of the Shema
There are a references that allude to the 248 words of the Shema paralleling
the 248 'parts' of the body. By extension I would assume somehow this ties
into the 613 mitzvot. If this can be taken literally, then does anyone know
what word(s) or mitzvot are tied into the thyroid and what the source for this
is? Is there already or could one develop a list of parallel mitzvot and body
parts?
Thanks in advance,
Norman Silverman
<nypc@...>
[PC ID 20010MU09PF]t13858]
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From: <dhg@...> (David Gerstman)
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 93 09:10:25 -0400
Subject: Ancestors
It's accepted in my mother's family that we are descended from one of
the talmidim of the Ba'al Shem Tov, Reb Leib Soros. An Artscroll book
on the Chasidim noted that Reb Leib Soros was a descendant of the
Maharal. The Maharal, I've heard many times, is a descendent of Rashi.
I've been wondering for awhile how unusual is it to be descended from
Rashi. Assuming that there've been 30 generations since Rashi, is it
reasonable to assume that if his descendents only doubled every
generation and that he'd have about 1,000,000,000 descendents right now.
That's quite a bit more people than there are Jews in the world. I
understand that disease and war have undoubtedly cost many of those
lives along the way. Still, I'd guess that there are roughly 10,000,000
Jews alive right now, 1% of 1 billion. This leads to the question: are
all, or at least most Jews now descended from Rashi? (I suppose that
the question could be asked of any Rishon?)
David Gerstman
<dhg@...>
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From: <dhg@...> (David Gerstman)
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 93 08:58:58 -0400
Subject: Calendar Dates
In mail-jewish Volume 9 Number 53 Josh Klein asked :
>I can understand why we use "tet-vav" for the 15th day of the Jewish
>month, since "yud-heh" is a name of God and we don't want to use that
>lightly (tet-vav= 9+6=15=yud-heh=10+5, to refresh your gematria). Why,
>though, do we use "tet-zayin" (=9+7=16) instead of "yud-vav"? I'm not
>aware of "yud- vav" spelling one of God's names, nor is the combination
>"yud-heh-yud-vav" a holy name.
While I can't answer his question, there wasn't always an objection to writing
Yud-Vav. I know I've seen references to the number in Rishonim and possibly
early Acharonim. I don't remember where though.
David Gerstman
<dhg@...>
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From: Alan Cooper and Tamar Frank <ACOOPER@...>
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 93 09:28:21 -0400
Subject: Re: Calendar Dates
In response to Josh Klein, "yud-vav" may indeed be regarded as an
abbreviated form of the divine name, as in such personal names as
Yonatan, Yoram, Yocheved, etc. With that said, however, it should also
be noted that many old books that observe the convention "tet-vav" = 15
do, in fact, represent 16 by "yud-vav". I have a case in point in front
of me as I write, namely Samuel de Medina's _Ben Shemu'el_, published in
Mantua in 1622.
Alan Cooper
<acooper@...>
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From: <rmargol@...> (Reuven-Pesach Halevi)
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 93 10:26:43 EDT
Subject: Dry Hides, Muktzeh?
Shalom to all,
I have been going over some Mishna Berurah, Hilchos Shabbos (Laws of
Shabbos), Sec. 308 (The Handling of Articles on Shabbos), Par. 25, which
states inside:
"(105)Dry hides are permitted to be handled on Shabbos, (106) whether
they belong to a craftsman or whether they belong to a private person.
Gloss:(107) Some authorities say that only the hides of large animals
may be handled because they are suitable to be used for sitting on, but
the hides of small animals are forbidden to be handled (108) unless one
already had in mind on the day before Shabbos to use them for sitting
on. (...)"
The Mishnah Berurah comments on 106 (Whether they belong to a craftsman...)
"Although these hides are generally intended by the craftsman for sale,
we nevertheless do not assume that he is particular not to make use of
them and that they are therefore *muktzeh meychamas chisaron kis*."
The Aruch HaShulchan comments, I was told, that the hides are classified as
*keylim she-melachtam le-isur* (utensils which one uses on weekdays for work
that is forbidden to do on Shabbos). How does that play here, and what, in
fact, is the forbidden work referring to?
Thanx in advance,
Reuven-Pesach Halevi
(a.k.a. Robert Paul "Bob" Margolis)
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From: Shaya Karlinsky <HCUWK@...>
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 1993 07:59 IST
Subject: Earth's Place in the Universe
Can I get some responses from our scientists to the following
question.
Is the statement "The earth is the center of the universe" True?
False? Indeterminate? Meaningless? To be either true or false, I would
understand that the boundaries of the universe are either observable or
can be calculated, with the earth then being located at a certain
position within that measurable area. On the other hand if the
boundaries of the universe are unknown, then it is impossible to
validate or disprove the statement. Would you say this is correct? Can
you add any other insights.
The impetus for this question comes from a statement in the Maharal
(Derech Chaim), with a similar idea expressed in the Ramban. Any
scientific insights would be helpful, either through a MJ posting, or
directly to me through e-mail (the below address is a shared mailbox, so
please add my initials as they appear below). Thanks in advance.
Shaya Karlinsky
Yeshivat Darche Noam / Shapell's
POB 35209 Jerusalem, ISRAEL
RSK<HCUWK%<HUJIVM1.bitnet@...>
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From: <ljd@...> (Leon Dworsky)
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 93 01:19:41 -0400
Subject: Re: Kosher Cities Database
In case you are unaware of the Jerusalem1 network, "gopher" to
"jerusalem1.datasrv.co.il" and look it over.
J1 has many lists, including a bi-weekly summary (one-announce) of new
activities as well as updates on their activities. One-Announce has over
600 subscribers after just a few months in operation.
They are trying to compile an international travelers guide (available on
the gopher). Unfortunately few people are sending in information. You
can help by writing a small piece about your community, with contacts,
and sending it to <lando@...> To get an idea of how
simple it can be, look up Durham, NC, USA or Costa Rica. To see how
detailed it can be, look up the state of Washington, USA.
To subscribe to any of their many read-only lists (you will find their names
on the "gopher"), send mail to <listserv@...> and in
the body of text say: sub list-wanted firstname lastname
I would suggest that you start by subscribing to one-announce.
For additional information, contact:
Zvi Lando Email: <lando@...>
Jerusalem One Network Manager Fax: 9722 964588
Ben-Labrat St. 6 Phone: 9722 662242
Jerusalem, Israel Phone: 9722 662232
If we all pitch in with a little help, J1 has great potential to solve the
international accomodation problems.
Leon Dworsky <ljd@...>
[Harry Kozlvsky <HKOZLOVS@...> also pointed to the J1 database.
It is listed under the main gopher menu as Jewish Accommodations. It
looks very sparse at this time. Does anyone know if the info is also
available through email listserv request, as we have set up on Nysernet?
Is there someone who is in charge of the Accommodation area? Mod.]
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From: Marc Meisler <mmeisler@...>
Date: Sun, 17 Oct 93 00:28:39 -0400
Subject: Kosher in Washington
I have been off the list for several months and am just beginning to catch
up on some old issues. Several weeks ago George Adler asked about kosher
eating in downtown Washington. There are two options. First, George
Washington University Hillel (former site of Hunan Gourmet) has reopened
under a different name. They are catered by several individuals who do
only that restaurant and are under the Washington Va'ad. The
second option is a hot dog stand which is located next to the Treasury
Building at the corner of Pennsylvania Ave. and 15th St. From what I
understand, it is under the supervision of the Mid-Atlantic Board of
Orthodox Rabbis which is a new organization not affiliated with the
Washington Va'ad which has been around for many years. I cannot vouch
for (nor do I know anything negative about) the Mid-Atlantic Board. There
are a few options in the Maryland subarbs which I won't get into unless
somebody is interested.
Marc Meisler
<mmeisler@...>
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From: <eisenbrg@...> (Lon Eisenberg)
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 93 10:15:58 -0400
Subject: Re: Mashiv Haruach for 30 days
But where does the concept "the chazakah (presumption) that something
which is repeated 90 times (i.e. 3 amidot per day for 30 days) becomes
habit and rote" come from? Also, by the way, you need only 29 days,
since you have at least 5 times to say muSAF in that period (SimHAT
ToRAH and ShabaTOT).
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From: <eisenbrg@...> (Lon Eisenberg)
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 93 10:16:00 -0400
Subject: Moriah Hotel in Jerusalem
+972 (0)2 232232 fax:232411
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From: <rmt51@...> (Rick Turkel)
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 93 11:05:47 EDT
Subject: Tachanun
There was a lot of discussion in m.j 9#50 on the minhag not to say
Tachanun from the end of Sukkot until after Rosh Chodesh, in which a
comparison was made between Sukkot and Pesach. I was always under the
impression that the reason for not saying Tachanun after Pesach was
because of "hachodesh haze lachem..." [this month shall be for you...]
and had nothing to do with korbanot or anything else. This would make
the comparison with Sukkot invalid. Incidentally, I don't recall ever
hearing anything about this minhag before this year, and it's not
mentioned in the notes listing when Tachanun is omitted in any of the
siddurim I checked. As a person who looks for any excuse not to say it,
I'd like to know where this minhag has been hiding all my life? :-).
--
Rick Turkel (___ ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ ___
(<rmt51@...>) ) | | \ ) |/ \ | | | \_) |
Rich or poor, / | _| __)/ | __) | ___|_ | _( \ |
it's good to have money. Ko rano rani, | u jamu pada.
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From: <nelson@...> (Bruce D. Nelson)
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 93 09:36:07 EDT
Subject: Who can you trust :-)
One of our LOR's told this (true) story (admittedly funnier in person) ...
It seems that a woman was admitted to the Jewish Home and Infirmary
and refused to eat. So the rabbi was called in to talk to her.
He went up to her room and told her that he supervises the kitchen
himself, and would even show her the plumes (those little metal tabs that
you choke on).
He spent over an hour talking to her and finally had her convinced.
Or maybe not. A few minutes later while he was waiting for the elevator,
one of the attendants was taking the woman down the hall in her
wheelchair, the rabbi overheard her saying "I'm still not going to eat -
what does he know - rabbi's get paid just to say the food's kosher".
Bruce Nelson | Phone: (716) 726-7890
Rochester Distributed Computer Services | Internet: <nelson@...>
Eastman Kodak Company |
Rochester, NY 14652-4503
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End of Volume 9 Issue 55