Volume 12 Number 36
Produced: Thu Mar 31 23:06:09 1994
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
Egg Matzah and chometz noksha
[Yechiel Pisem]
Electricity on Yom Tov (3)
[Bruce Krulwich, Michael Broyde, David Charlap]
Fetus Reduction
[Anthony Fiorino]
Iodized salt
[Gerald Sacks]
Milk and meat
[Gerald Sacks]
Ownership of Chometz
[Robert Rubinoff]
Phone call motzei shabbat from Israel to US
[Mike Gerver]
Saving man before woman
[saul djanogly]
Water Fountains on Pesach
[Robert A. Book]
Wheat Oil
[Yosef Bechhofer]
Women and Time Dependent Mitzvot
[Ari Kurtz]
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From: Yechiel Pisem <ypisem@...>
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 1994 12:27:38 -0500
Subject: Re: Egg Matzah and chometz noksha
In reply to the _first_ posting in that issue re: egg Matzah
How can egg Matzoh become chometz noksha if you only eat it on shabbos?
We don't mix foods on Shabbos anyway!
Chag Kasher VeSAmeach,
Yechiel Pisem
<ypisem@...>
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From: Bruce Krulwich <krulwich@...>
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 1994 10:33:34 -0500
Subject: Electricity on Yom Tov
> Many poskim permit turning electric lights on and off on Yom Tov, due
> to the idea that it does not create a new fire. Does the heter extend
> to all electric appliances, or is it only lights?
I have never heard of Poskim permitting turning lights on or off on Yom Tov.
I have heard of many poskim permitting adjustment of dimmer switches on Yom
Tov, similar to it being permitted to adjust some types of electric
stoves/ovens (those with continuous settings). Note that both of these can
only be done for the needs of the holiday, not just to save money etc.
Good Moed!
Dov (Bruce) Krulwich
<krulwich@...>
[Also asking for sources for the above is <leo@...> (Leonard
Oppenheimer), but chesk out the article referenced below by Michael
Broyde. Mod]
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From: Michael Broyde <RELMB@...>
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 1994 12:19:45 -0500
Subject: Re: Electricity on Yom Tov
Concerning turning on lights on Yom tov. There are three different
rationales for turning lights on on yom tov. They are (1) Grama (2)
transfering flame issues and (3) Ochal nephesh issues. For more on
this, see Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society vol 21, page 24.
In my humble opinion, reason two is factually incorrect, and comes from
a time when how electricity works was unclear.
Reasons one and three would apply to all cases of ochal nephesh.
However, it is important to note that the vast majority of halachic
authorities reject the lienint rule here and prohibit the turning on of
incandescnet lights on Yom tov; see id at page 25. Even people who have
that custom should in my small opinion not follow it lehalacha absent a
clear horat rav lehalaca ulemase. Certainly, I would not extend it to
other appliances without close examination. (On the other hand, turning
on appliances that do not generate light and heat is generally less
halachicly problamatic even on shabbat).
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From: <david@...> (David Charlap)
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 94 12:59:30 -0500
Subject: Electricity on Yom Tov
I don't know about the heter, so I won't comment on it. But I will
add that even if appliances are permitted, you should be very careful
which ones you use. Certain appliances (like televisions) violate the
spirit of Yom Tov. And certain other ones (like washing machines)
violate other aspects of Yom Tov.
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From: Anthony Fiorino <fiorino@...>
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 1994 12:43:57 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Fetus Reduction
Regarding Tom Divine's question of aborting a fetus in the case of a
multiple pregnancy in order to save the life of the other fetuses (a
situation that is not uncommon for infertile women who take
fertility-enhancing medications): there will be an article in the
forthcoming J. of Halachah and Contemporary Society on this topic, written
by a fellow student here at Einstein, Yitz Mehlman.
Eitan Fiorino
<fiorino@...>
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From: Gerald Sacks <sacks@...>
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 94 15:36:26 EST
Subject: Iodized salt
Joshua Sharf says in vol 12 #16 that the problem with iodized salt is corn
starch. Rick Dinitz in #18 says that the problem is alcohol. I don't have
a box of salt in front of me, but I think the suspect ingredient is dextro-
something. Dextrose is corn sugar. I have no idea why it's added to iodized
salt and not to plain salt.
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From: Gerald Sacks <sacks@...>
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 94 09:40:13 EST
Subject: Milk and meat
Even if the prohibition applies only to meat that has been schechted properly,
I think there could still be a problem with McDonald's etc. Don't the
hindquarters of properly schected animals get sold as treif?
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From: <Robert_Rubinoff@...> (Robert Rubinoff)
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 1994 14:36:55 -0500
Subject: Re: Ownership of Chometz
>> From: <saul@...> (saul djanogly)
>> Dayan Weiss in Shaalot Uteshuvot Minchat Yitzchak after a lengthy
>> discussion of the issues concludes that stocks in co.s which deal in
>> Chametz should be included in one's sale of Chometz before Pesach!(This
>> is from memory) My Rabbi,Rabbi Cooper of North Hendon Adas,London told
>> me that Dayan Padua of London holds that this is not neccessary.
This would have to include (virtually) all stock. Any company that is
large enough to have publicly-traded stock is almost certainly going to
have some sort of on-site cafeteria that sells hametz. At the very
least, they will have vending machines that sell hametzdik food (e.g.
cookies and crackers). Even if the company doesn't itself own the food
(because the cafeteria/vending equipment is owned by a separate
organization), it is benefitting from the hametz because it makes the
employees happier and more productive to have food around (and also
makes them less likely to go elsewhere for lunch and thus spend more
time away from work).
Robert
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From: <GERVER@...> (Mike Gerver)
Date: Fri, 11 Mar 1994 1:39:21 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Phone call motzei shabbat from Israel to US
>From Joseph Steinberg (in v12n3):
> During the Gulf War we were told that one may call the USA from ISrael
> on Saturday night (Shabbat in the USA) to leave a message on an
> answering machine AS LONG AS no operator is asked to assist with the
> call (you dial direct) and you are sure no one will pick up the phone on
> the other end.
Is it forbidden if a non-Jew would pick up the phone, or a non-Jewish
operator assists in making the call? Or is it only forbidden if a Jew would
pick up the phone, or an Israeli operator (who would most likely be Jewish)
assists?
The reason I ask this is that I recall during the Watergate affair,
a news article mentioned that Rabbi Korff (known at the time as "Nixon's
rabbi") made a phone call to Nixon from Israel, when it was Shabbat afternoon
in Washington and Motzei Shabbat in Israel. I don't remember what the phone
call was about. I'm sure that Rabbi Korff would not have called the President
at any time if there wasn't an urgent reason for it. But it probably wasn't
a case of pekuach nefesh, and it is hard to believe that an Orthodox rabbi,
whatever one thinks of his politics, would publicly make a phone call like
that unless it was generally accepted that it was OK to do. This is
consistent with the opinion quoted by Joseph Steinberg only if the issue
is whether a Jew will answer the phone. (Come to think of it, though, was it
even possible to make a direct dial call from Israel to the US in those days?
If not, then he would have had to use an Israeli operator, and it would
contradict the above opinion in any case. Then again, maybe it _was_ pekuach
nefesh, e.g. urging Nixon to send aid during the Yom Kippur War.)
Does anyone remember this incident? Does anyone know what Rabbi Korff's
reasoning was?
Mike Gerver, <gerver@...>
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From: <saul@...> (saul djanogly)
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 1994 13:41:54 -0500
Subject: Re: Saving man before woman
Robert Klapper wrote that the Mishna in Horayot Chap.3 which says that a
man's life must be saved before a woman's life is not found in the
Poskim. It is indeed to be found in the Rema in Yoreh Deah 252.8 and
explained by the Taz because a man has more Mitzvot.See also Pitchei
Teshuva there.
saul djanogly
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From: <rbook@...> (Robert A. Book)
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 1994 13:41:47 -0500
Subject: Water Fountains on Pesach
Is it permitted to use a public water fountain on Pesach? (Assume,
for the sake of the argument, that it appears to be clean; e.g., no
one has stuffed bread down the faucet or anything.)
--Robert Book <rbook@...>
Rice University
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From: <YOSEF_BECHHOFER@...> (Yosef Bechhofer)
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 1994 13:41:44 -0500
Subject: Wheat Oil
Yechiel Pisem asks how we eat shmura matza. Shmura matza is watched
me'she'as ketzira (harvest) to insure that it comes into contact
with no moisture so such fermentation cannot occur. To the best of my
knowledge, although I am not sure of this, all modern matza is
similarly safeguarded, just not l'shem mitzva.
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From: Ari Kurtz <s1553072@...>
Date: Sun, 13 Mar 1994 22:14:31 +0200
Subject: Women and Time Dependent Mitzvot
First there is obvious difference in the tasks set to women and men in
Jewish society . Where the men are the outgoing factor of the family
(being the ones commanded to conquer the world -Kudusim ) while the
women are responsible for family at home . In such the women are not
obligated by any commandments subjected to time seemingly raising a
family is a 24 hour job .
Secondly one must realize that the mitzvot are just a platform on
which one can build himself spiritually .As far as I understand the
issue people mix up the difference between being obligated to do a
certain commandment and being responsible to the commandments . In all
the mitzvot direct one down the proper path but in order to raise oneself
above the norm one must learn the essence of the Torah . To search why
is everything is the way it is and in such to unfold the truth of this
world . Being so having to be obligated to do commandments in a
scheduled manner sometimes causes ones downfall the person conducts his
life of religion out of automation not pausing to wonder what it's all
about . So we have disadvantages on both sides the women who are removed
from obligations might ignore some aspects of Judaism altogether . While
men wrought into automation make no spiritual advancements in spite of
their devoutness .
In the same direction of thought we can make some remarks about Bob Smith's
reply . On the topic of women studying Torah this has been this generations
great folly . If ones studies the Rambam carefully you'll notice what the
Rambam brings as teaching your daughter as tiflut that in a case where the
incentive comes from the father and not the daughter but any women who
wants to study should receive the same conditions that the males appreciate
in attaining an education . Furthermore as I understood a portion of Rambam
in hilchot yeshodai hatorah that woman are expected to study talmud . Even
more obvious is that the Rambam obligates women in Ahavat Hashem (#3 i think)
and the Rambam explains the commandment in learning the ways of Hashem which
the obvious way is through studying the Torah . As I understand the point
here is that maybe women are exempted from setting two periods of time a day
to devout to studying but they aren't exempted from the knowledge one is
expected to derive from the Torah .
In all it is of my opinion that spiritually speaking women and men are
equal. The differences in the commandments towards the two sexes is due
to their different physical tasks on this world . And they're on equal
grounds in learning the ways of Hashem .
Ari Kurtz
<s1553072@...>
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End of Volume 12 Issue 36
