Volume 22 Number 72
Produced: Thu Jan 4 19:57:41 1996
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
Bereavement
[Sarah Miller]
Binyamin's Ten Sons
[Carl Sherer]
Correcting Torah Reading
[Mordechai Perlman]
Crest Toothpaste
[Avi Feldblum]
Death of Babies
[Meir Shinnar]
Dining out with Customers
[Stephen Phillips]
Jewish Practices at death
[Shlomo Grafstein]
Maharsham
[Rabbi Yaakov Shemaria]
Mourning customs
[Aryeh Frimer]
Pinchas/Zimri and Matityahu situations
[Hillel E. Markowitz]
Shamash for Oil Burning Chanukiyah (4)
[Hillel E. Markowitz, Micha Berger, Steve White, Debra Fran
Baker]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Sarah Miller <adc@...>
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 1996 19:58:16 +0200 (IST)
Subject: Bereavement
After our 19 year old son, a hesder yeshiva student, was killed in a
road accident less than a year ago, I welcome any chizuk which may
foster emuna.
Sarah Miller
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: <adina@...> (Carl Sherer)
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 96 21:11:21 IST
Subject: Binyamin's Ten Sons
Mayer Danziger writes:
> The answers provided by <yossi@...> and
> <adina@...> re Yehuda's grandsons, might very well answer a
> similar question I had. 10 of the 70 souls who came down to Egypt are
> the sons of Binyamin. Mechiras Yosef took place after Rachel's passing
> which was caused by Binyamin's birth. 22 years later Binyamin comes down
> to Egypt with 10 sons. Based on the premise provided by the above
> posters - people married at a very young age - Binyamin's 10 sons at the
> age of 22 can be better understood.
I don't think you need to reach the conclusion that Binyamin married
young in order for him to have had ten sons before Yaakov and his family
reached Egypt. First, the age difference between Yosef and Binyamin was
6-7.5 years. We know this because as soon as Yosef (Esav's Satan) is
born, Yaakov seeks to leave Lavan's house. (See Rashi Breishis 30:25).
We know that Yaakov worked an additional six years in Lavan's house
after Yosef was born (Breishis 31:38), and we know that Binyamin was
born in Eretz Yisrael (Breishis 35:16-18). We know that Yaakov spent
eighteen months travelling from Lavan's house back to Yitzchak (Rashi
Breishis 33:17), hence it is safe to conclude that the age difference
between Yosef and Binyamin was 6-7.5 years. This would make Binyamin
anywhere from 9.5-11 years old when Yosef was sold at the age of 17
(Breishis 37:2). We also know that neither Yosef nor Binyamin was
married at the time of Yosef's sale (Rashi Breishis 43:30 explains how
each of Binyamin's children was somehow named for Yosef. Binyamin's son
Chupim was named such because "he did not see my Chupa and I did not see
his"). Hence we know that Binyamin was at least 9.5 before he married
and quite possibly more.
If you assume that Binyamin married right after Yosef's sale, then
twenty-two years is *plenty* of time to have ten children - *I* know
people who bli ayin hara have done it in a lot less time :-). But you
don't even have to assume that. We could assume that Binyamin got
married at what we would consider a more "normal" age (18? 20?) and
there still would be enough time for him to bear ten children before
moving to Egypt (20-9.5=10.5 which would still leave 11.5 years to bear
ten children - even assuming only one wife, which in those times is a
big assumption - it would still be plausible). And that doesn't even
consider the possibility of multiple births!
-- Carl Sherer
Adina and Carl Sherer
You can reach us both at:
<adina@...>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Mordechai Perlman <aw004@...>
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 1996 07:45:01 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Correcting Torah Reading
On Tue, 2 Jan 1996, David Hollander wrote:
> Rav Hillel David has told us that if a mistake was made for which the
> Baal Kriah has to go back, then there is no point in completing the
> pasuk even if a Shem was said, since there is no such pasuk anyway.
> Just go back to the mistake and start from there, although the Shem is
> repeated.
I asked my Rav about such an idea and he said that the posuk
should be finished because there is one opinion in halacha, of the
Derech Hachaim (Rav Yaakov Loeberbaum, author of a commentary on prayer
and more well known for his sefer N'sivos Hamishpat) that even if a
posuk is read incorrectly, even changing the meaning, we do not re-read
it. Therefore, according to that opinion, that posuk has validity as a
verse and refraining from finishing the posuk will make us split a posuk
where no split was intended, and cause the shem to be said for nothing.
Mordechai Perlman
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Avi Feldblum <feldblum@...>
Date: Wed, 3 Jan 1996 20:18:31 -0500
Subject: Re: Crest Toothpaste
One of the subscribers sent me some email asking whether Rabbi
Blumenkrantz (I did get the spelling correct) actually says Crest has no
Kashrut problems, or just that it has no chametz. Here is what he says
in the 1995 edition:
[list of toothpastes]
Many of the above toothpastes, even though they have no chametz,
contain glycerine derived from animal. Halachically one is permitted to
use them. Since they are not food, they are not made to be swallowed and
people do not swallow toothpaste.
It is good to know that presently Aim Toothpaste and Gel, Close-Up
Toothpaste and Gel, Mentadent Toothpaste, Gleem, Pepsodent Toothpaste,
Crest regular flavor, Crest mint, Crest mint gel, Sparkle for kids and
Gleem do not contain any treifos.
Avi
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: <meir_shinnar@...> (Meir Shinnar)
Date: Thu, 04 Jan 96 07:49:52 EST
Subject: Re: Death of Babies
On Fri, 22 Dec 1995, Yeshaya Halevi wrote:
> In this sicko world children of all ages are murdered, as are
> _babies_. They are sinless.
Mordecai Perlman responded:
> As far as the parents' account goes, the Sifri states that
>children below the age of maturity may die because of their parents' sins.
The Rambam in Hilkhot Teshuva Chapter 6 brings this Sifri down, saying
that children are considered the possession (kinyan) of their parents.
R. Kapah, shlita, commenting on the Rambam, says that this Rambam
supports not saying borukh sheptarani meonsho shel ze (blessed is he
that relieved me from the punishment of this), which in many minhagim
the father says at the time of Bar Mitzvah, as he is no longer
responsible for the sins of the child. He says, only half joking, that
if anyone says this, it should be the child, for now he can not be
punished for the sins of the father.
Most of us (myself included) are still troubled by pediatric
suffering, as in the Dream of the Grand Inquisitor. The Sifri's
position is even more troubling when the parents cause the suffering.
However, theodicy is one area that even Moshe Rabbenu did not get an
answer.
Meir Shinnar
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: <stephenp@...> (Stephen Phillips)
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 96 11:03 GMT
Subject: Dining out with Customers
>From: Barry Graham <74741.2331@...>
My solution to this problem is to take a client to one of the local
airport hotels (eg. Holiday Inn) where they have a large lounge with
comfortable armchairs. The client can order sandwiches from a menu and I
just order a drink without feeling too awkward that I am not eating
anything.
Stephen Phillips.
<stephenp@...>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: <RABIGRAF@...> (Shlomo Grafstein)
Date: Thu, 04 Jan 1996 13:32:12 -0400
Subject: Jewish Practices at death
I service the hospitals in Halifax as a volunteer chaplain. There was
a request to lead a seminar for nurses and other professionals from the
Victoria General Hospital. The seminar is an explanation of Jewish law
and practices which the hospital staff should know when they are dealing
with a Jewish patient who has passed away.
Since I believe in learning from others, I am asking for ideas from
you.
Some of the ideas are:
When close to death, they should call the Rabbi who can (I did 4 times
in the last 2 years) recite vidui (the final confession) --including
Shema at the bedside.
Instructions on who to call: The Rabbi,Chevra Kaddisha, the funeral
parlor
What to do: if possible: close the eyes, cover the meth with a sheet,
light a candle, open the window of the room.
If there was bleeding and if was absorbed in clothing or sheets, then
this blood should be buried with the niftar (the deceased).
Please send any other thoughts.
I thank you and I thank those who know of any suitable Rabbinical
position.
Sincerely Yours,
Shlomo Grafstein
Halifax, Canada
(902) 494-1984 (fax at university chapalins' office)
(902) 423-7307
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Rabbi Yaakov Shemaria <yaakovshem@...>
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 1996 18:58:25 GMT
Subject: Maharsham
I am currently working on the life and thought of the Maharsham. I am
having difficulty locating a biography written about him in the late
fourties,written by Chaim Bloch HA POSEK AHARON .If someone has a copy
of this book, and would like to sell it or if someone knows where I can
purchase a copy I would appreciate it greatly.Does someone knows of
another scholarly work on the Maharsham written after 1948, if so please
contact me.
Yaakov Shemaria
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Aryeh Frimer <F66235%<BARILAN.bitnet@...>
Date: Thu, 04 Jan 96 08:48 O
Subject: Mourning customs
While sitting shiva for my father zatsal (whose Yahrzeit was yesterday,
11 Tevet) I became sensitive to the number of people who had a rough
time remembering the Phrase "Hamakom Yenachem etchem/etchen/otcha/otach
betoch she'ar aveilei tziyyon ve-yerushalayim (in Israel they add) ve-lo
tosifu/tosif/tosifi le-da'ava od". So my Children wrote the text out
nicely and hung it on the wall over my head to make life easier for
all. By the way, the sefaradim have a nice, simple variant which goes:
"min ha-shamayim tenuchamu (tenucham/tenuchami).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Hillel E. Markowitz <hem@...>
Date: Thu, 04 Jan 1996 06:03:38 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Pinchas/Zimri and Matityahu situations
> Several people have responded to my inquiry regarding the Pinchas/Zimri
> and Matityahu situations. The former has gone off into an interesting
> and erudite discussion of "kanaim pog'in bo," and I thank all those who
> have taken the time to clarify that issue. But what of the other part
> of my question? Has nobody a defense for Matityahu or is everyone's
> silence to be taken as agreement that he acted improperly in killing the
> Jew who was going to sacrifice on the altar which had been set up in
> Modein?
I would say that based on the situation then and what that person was
going to do that he was actually in the category of a rodeif. One must
be careful not to attempt a false analogy to modern situations however.
The Greek attempt to destroy Bnei Yisroel and the use of a Jew to
"front" their idol worship probably meant that the Jew was even more of
a danger than Zimri was. Both of them where attempting to destroy the
judicial system of Bnei Yisroel by committing one of the "Big Three" in
public and challenging the people with "and what are you going to do
about it". It would be like a murderer committing his crime on live TV
during prime time.
| Hillel (Sabba) Markowitz | Im ain ani li, mi li? |
| <H.E.Markowitz@...> | V'ahavta L'raiecha kamocha |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Hillel E. Markowitz <hem@...>
Date: Thu, 04 Jan 1996 06:11:17 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Shamash for Oil Burning Chanukiyah
> I've seen various chanukiyahs having nine separate wells for holding
> oil, each well with its own wick. With such a chanukiyah, short of
> using a pair of tweezers or some similar implement, how does one use the
> shamash to light the others? Candles obviously don't present the same
> problem, being easy to handle when lit. I suppose the shamash reservoir
> might be constructed to be detachable so that one could avoid contact
> with the burning oil-soaked shamash wick...
As a practical matter, one does not *have* to use the shamash to light
the other candles. It is there only to have some light source which is
not "part" of the nairos mitzvah so that one does not "use" them.
Technically, the room lights can also be considered in that way.
However, one wants a light which is part of the chanukiyah for that
purpose as well (or if the room lights are turned off). As a result, I
use a candle to light all the wicks (shamash first before the bracha).
The wick of the shamash then is only a siman.
| Hillel (Sabba) Markowitz | Im ain ani li, mi li? |
| <H.E.Markowitz@...> | V'ahavta L'raiecha kamocha |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Micha Berger <aishdas@...>
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 1996 09:07:14 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Shamash for Oil Burning Chanukiyah
I was under the impression that the main purpose of the shamash was to
provide a source of light that was permissable to use. This way, if one
needs to get around the room he is not relying on the light used for the
mitzvah.
For this reason, I light the shamash, read the brachos (where I have
written down such important facts like whether or not my family minhag
is to say the word "shel" in the first brachos), and use a candle to
light the rest.
Micha Berger 201 916-0287 Help free Ron Arad, held by Syria 3255 days!
<AishDas@...> (16-Oct-86 - 5-Oct-95)
<a href=news:alt.religion.aishdas>Orthodox Judaism: Torah, Avodah, Chessed</a>
<a href=http://haven.ios.com/~aishdas>AishDas Society's Home Page</a>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: <StevenJ81@...> (Steve White)
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 1996 13:39:47 -0500
Subject: Shamash for Oil Burning Chanukiyah
1. I happen to own a chanukiya that has eight wells for oil plus a
candle spot for a shamash! (The bad news is that starting about the
sixth night, the oil flames, at the height I had them, heated up this
chanukiya so much that it melted the shamash. This was a problem, since
it was leil Shabbat, but B''H nothing bad happened.) So I had to
convert my candleholder to an oil holder the last couple of nights.
2. IMHO, the primary purpose of the shamash is to give off light, so
that if by some chance you make use of the light from the chanukiya you
can claim that the light you used came from the shamash. I believe the
use of the shamash itself to light is secondary, and one doesn't really
lose anything halachically by not using the shamash itself to light.
3. This leaves you with a couple of choices. If your spouse, and/or
children, also light, and at least one has a wax candle shamash, you can
use it. Otherwise, just use a match (matches) to light the candles in
the right order. If you want to use the oil shamash as part of the
process, light the match from your shamash instead of striking it.
Hope this helps.
Steve White, noting that next Monday (15 Tevet) is halfway from Sukkot to
Pesach!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Debra Fran Baker <dfbaker@...>
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 1996 14:34:33 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Shamash for Oil Burning Chanukiyah
G. Michelson asks about the shamahs for an oil-burning chanukiah.
This puzzled me as well. At first, I thought that people just used a
candle, and put that in the shamash holder, but I've never seen that.
Finally, this Chanukah, I was able to witness someone lighting such a
menorah. He had a very elegant solution - *two* shamashim (sp?). He
filled the shamash cup with oil, as he did for the light (it was the
first night) and then he lit a separate candle. He made the brachot over
this candle, and then lit the other lights - the shamash last. In this
way, the shamash would more likely outlast the official light. He blew
out the candle afterwards.
We found that this custom makes life much easier even for lighting
candles, as we do - especially since the shamash on both of our chanukiyot
is in the center. We can melt in the shamash at the same time we do the
other candles *and* we don't have to risk burning hands or (as happened
one year) hair trying to place a lit candle in the center of other lit
candles. A normal "crayon" type candle can last the entire week as a second
shamash. Since we use extra long candles for Shabbat, we had spares.
Debra Fran Baker <dfbaker@...>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Volume 22 Issue 72
