Volume 23 Number 68
Produced: Tue Apr 16 20:39:42 1996
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
Bugs in Processed Foods
[William Page]
Buying Coffee in a Deli
[David Charlap]
Chometz
[Mischa E Gelman]
Coffee and Pesach
[Janice Gelb]
Covering Eyes
[Stan Tenen]
Death on sabbath, Shavuos 2 days
[Al Silberman]
Haggadah Question
[Aryeh Frimer]
Latitude in Text of the Seder
[Elie Rosenfeld]
Mazal Tov
[Melech Press]
Name
[Gedaliah Friedenberg]
On the name Gilad
[Gilad J. Gevaryahu]
Yam Suf
[Chaim Schild]
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From: William Page <Page@...>
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 1996 11:37:46 -0500
Subject: Bugs in Processed Foods
The discussion of bugs in vegetables is related to the more general
question of when we can be "sure" there are no bugs in our food. I have
seen several posters on SCJ suggest that no peanut butter or jam can
ever be kosher because the FDA allows a certain number of bug parts to
be present in those products. But there are many hechshered brands of
these products, so the cleaning processes commercial producers use must
be quite thorough. How should we view this issue?
Bill Page
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From: <david@...> (David Charlap)
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 96 11:11:33 EDT
Subject: Buying Coffee in a Deli
<Ezr0th@...> (Elanit Z. Rothschild) writes:
>I have not been following the discussion on Starbucks Coffee so well, so I
>don't know if my quesion was asked. It does not directly have to do with
>Starbucks, but coffee. Are you allowed to go into a Deli, lets say, and buy
>regular coffee, not knowing what kind of coffee they use?
I would assume the answer would be "no". Here's my reasoning:
First off, you don't know what else the utensils may have come in
contact with. While it's true that nobody makes non-coffee food in a
coffee maker, the parts (baskets, glassware, etc) may be washed in a
machine with utensils that came into contact with non-kosher food.
Second, there is the cup you get. If you get a paper cup, this isn't an
issue, but a ceramic cup could be a problem, since it would certainly
have been used by others, and washed with non-kosher utensils.
Third, there is the question of Maris 'Ayin. If another Jew sees you go
into a non-kosher deli to order coffee, he might think the establishment
is generally kosher. You don't want to give that kind of false
impression.
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From: Mischa E Gelman <megst19+@pitt.edu>
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 1996 18:13:00 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Chometz
If you have very good reason to believe your parents did not sell
Chometz before Pescah and there is still CHometz in the house and they
claim they have sold the CHometz, so you can eat it after Pesach what do
you do??
If you dont eat it, theyll notice and wonder why and you will have no
answer
If you do eat it, isnt that a major sin?
All advice/help appreciated
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From: <Janice.Gelb@...> (Janice Gelb)
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 1996 09:52:33 -0700
Subject: Coffee and Pesach
In mail-jewish Vol. 23 #65, Steve White writes:
> I can't speak to the Starbucks situation per se. But I am told that in
> general regular (non-decaffeinated) coffees can be used for Pesach, but
> that decaffeinated coffees require a Pesach hechsher, because some use a
> decaffeination process involving chametz.
According to Rabbi Eidlitz, only water-processed decaffeinated coffee is
acceptable. Acceptable brands from a list I got off the net (I guess
this might be useful for next year :-> ) include Hills Bros., MJB, and
Chase & Sanbourne.
Janice Gelb | The only connection Sun has with this
<janiceg@...> | message is the return address.
http://www.tripod.com/~janiceg/index.html
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From: Stan Tenen <meru1@...>
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 1996 16:56:17 -0700
Subject: Covering Eyes
Could it be that it is NOT the eyes that are being covered, but the HAND
that is being impressed (or seen)?
It is the right hand, not the left as might be expected, that displays
the Hebrew letters as meaningful gestures to the person wearing the
model Tefillin hand defined in the letter text of B'Reshit and in the
HaShem-Elokim-Unity expressed in the Sh'ma. Our hands project our
conscious will into the world in a way that is analogous to HaShem's
projection of everything from His Will ( - not from His Essence.) Our
hand also takes an image of whatever it holds into our mind. When we
wear Tefillin we bind what is on our hand, our arm, our heart, our mind,
and our soul together - because our hand IS connected (physically) to
our arm, our hand IS (in many traditions) a projection of our "heart
chakra", our hand can be seen in our mind, and our hand is the
metaphoric spiritual instrument of our soul (in the sense of the
_metaphor_ of HaShem's "Hand".)
There is no need to physically place one's hand on one's eyes. The
gesture is a mnemonic device.
B'Shalom,
Stan
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From: <asilberman@...> (Al Silberman)
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 1996 08:47:30 -0500
Subject: Death on sabbath, Shavuos 2 days
>From: <tarac@...> (Tara Cazaubon)
>I had heard that it was a good omen to die on shabbat. Has anyone ever
>heard this and if so, why is it considered particularly good?
The gemara in Kesubos 103b discusses omens with regard to the time and
manner of death (also discussed in Avos de R' Nosson chapter 25). "Dying
on Sabbath eve (i.e. Friday) is a good omen, dying after the termination
of the Sabbath is a bad omen", etc. No mention is made of an omen when
death occurs on the Sabbath.
>From: Gary Goldwater <GOLDWATER@...>
>The date of Shavuot is determined by the 7 week Omer count. How, then,
>could there develop a 2nd day of Shavuot? There could be no doubt about
>the exact date even in days of yore.
The Rambam in Hilchos Kiddush HaChodesh 3:12 gives the ruling as follows
(paraphrased): The sages decreed that localities too distant to be
notified regarding the start of Succos must keep the other holidays for
2 days. This ruling applies even to Shavuos. This was done in order not
to differentiate between the holidays. The Perush on the Rambam (by R'
Ovadia, printed with the Rambam in the standard editions) explains the
term "even on Shavuos" that this is true even though Shavuos is
determined by counting the days from Pesach.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Aryeh Frimer <F66235%<BARILAN.bitnet@...>
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 96 17:09 O
Subject: Haggadah Question
Rabbi Bechofer's suggestion that the Chacham is not a Tzaddik is
indeed noted by many of the commentaries. Indeed Hazal indicate that an
Am Ha'aretz cannot be a yerei Het (fearful of sinning) since he doesn't
know enough to be truly righteous.
One of the nicest commentaries I saw regarding the Chacham vs rasha
centers around the question as presented by the Torah. In introducing
the Chacham, the Torah says: Ki YISHALCHA bincha machar leimor (If your
child shall ASK you...). The Chacham is sincerely asking a question.
By the Rasha, the Torah uses the Language: "Ki YOMRU aleichem
bnaichem..." (When your children shall TELL you...). The Rasha is not
asking a question...he's making a statement; the question is rhetorical!
The excitement of the Haggadah is not only that it's been the subject
of so many creative explanations; but also that it has catalyzed many
homiletical interpretations which carry within them beautiful insights.
Several years ago I heard Rav Lau quote the rebbi of Blozhe who
explained the difference between the chacham's ETCHEM and the rasha's
LACHEM as follows. The word etchem consists of Aleph, the first letter
of the alephabet, tav - the last letter, and kaf and mem - two
middle letters. Symbolically, this is a Jew who is concerned with
Judaism's past, present and future. The Rasha, on the other hand, only
uses the three middle letters of the aleph bet: chaf lamed mem. He is
only rooted in the present and cares little about the past or the future
of Judaism or the Jewish people. He is bound neither historically nor
ideologically and has effectively rejected all judaism stands for. He
does not share our memories or our dreams; he is hence a kofer ba-ikkar.
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From: <er@...> (Elie Rosenfeld)
Date: 16 Apr 1996 14:57 EDT
Subject: Latitude in Text of the Seder
Micha Berger:
>After talking it over with my posek (LOR), I decided on a seder with the
>following format. Since I was the only one there who could follow the
>seder in Hebrew, it was NOT PERMISSABLE to conduct the seder in
>Hebrew. Never mind if it was permitted to switch to English, no one
>other than myself would have fulfiled their obligation of recounting the
>story.
> ...
>This does leave you with a very nonorthodox (small o) and non-Orthodox
>(capital O) seeming seder. Yet, this is actually halachicly preferable
>(according to my LOR) than following a text your kids don't understand.
>I had to remind myself of this idea repeatedly, because the seder felt
>"fake" to me. I guess deep down my religion is defined more by childhood
>memories than halachah. (Does that mean I'm an FFH - frum from habit?)
<other details omitted>
Based on your discomfort as indicated in the previous paragraph, which I
suspect would be shared by many reading this list, here's a modified
version of your suggestion, which we followed for our Sedarim. Each
paragraph of Maggid should be read ("davened") in the original by all
those able to do so, including older children. (Most Yeshiva-going kids
who are in 2nd-3rd grade or higher can probably read the Haggadah in
Hebrew, especially if done aloud together with you.) Then, someone at
the table should go over the same paragraph, either reading it from a
translation, paraphrasing it in their own words, or otherwise discussing
it. The significance of particularly important sections (e.g., "Rabban
Gamliel Omer") should be highlighted by the leader.
This method preserves the authenticity and "taam" [traditional flavor]
that comes from "doing" the formal text of Maggid, much of which after
all dates back to the time of the Mishnah and Gemara. At the same time,
it allows the younger kids as well as others with lesser Hebrew
background to fully participate and to appreciate the flow and meaning
of the Haggadah.
Hope we all remember to file away these good ideas for next year!
- Elie Rosenfeld
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From: Melech Press <PRESS%<SNYBKSAC.BITNET@...>
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 96 02:11:38 EST
Subject: Mazal Tov
I'd like to share our simcha with the list. My eldest daughter, Nechama
Ahuva, has just become engaged to Yitzchok Basser of Toronto, a talmid
of Lakewood. May we share many joys together.
Melech Press
M. Press, Ph.D. Dept. of Psychiatry, SUNY Health Science Center
450 Clarkson Avenue, Box 32 Brooklyn, NY 11203 718-270-2409
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From: Gedaliah Friedenberg <gedaliah@...>
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 1996 16:52:34 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Name
Newsgroups: shamash.mail-jewish
My kallah's name is Rachma - *not* Ruchama. It is spelled reish ches
mem hey (same spelling as Ruchama).
We were under the impression that her name was entirely unique, and
perhaps even a "mistaken" version of Ruchama which had crept its way
into her family tree, or perhaps even just an unusual dialect from a
shtetl in the "old country".
We were surprised to find out that the Bostoner Rebbetzin's mother was
named Rachma (The Bostoner Rebbetzin just published her auto-biography
via ArtScroll which is a rather interesting read.)
Has anyone else heard of such a name/pronounciation? I have seen
references to a name spelled reish ches mem ALEPH in seforim, but
without nekudos I have no idea how the name is pronounced.
Thanks!
Gedaliah Friedenberg
<gedaliah@...>
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From: <Gevaryahu@...> (Gilad J. Gevaryahu)
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 1996 00:12:59 -0400
Subject: On the name Gilad
Andy Kohlenberg (MJ 23#56) says:
My friend's wife recently gave birth to a boy. When he named him Gilad a
certain chacham (wise man) told him that the Biblical Gilad is known as
a "ben na'avat hamardut" (son of a promiscuous woman). Gilad, he
implied, is not a good name for a Jewish child because it brings to mind
undersirable qualities and lineage. I have done a bit of research on the
name Gilad and I still have a few questions.
I have been a Gilad (all my life) and was named as such by a Talmid Hacham,
my late father Haim Gevaryahu. My opinion is a bit tainted:) Seven years
before my birth my father wrote a book with the title "anshei Gilad", a
futuristic story about a Jewish settlement in the Gilad mountains, which is
part of Eretz Yisrael. He did not think that the Biblical negative conection
with some bad Gilads tainted the name. The mountains of Gilad are part of the
holy land of Israel and are beautiful and not tainted. (My father also wanted
to name me after his father Alter Gad, whom he though perished in Auschwiz,
but he was not certain. So the beginning and ending of Gilad makes Gad.)
He did believe, however, that some names should not be used, I recall that
Nimrod was one of them.
Ben na'avat hamardut is associated with Jonathan, not Gilad (Samuel I,
20:30). Also, the prophet Elijah is also named Gilad, since he came from that
region see : "Gilad zeh Eliyahu" (Pesachim 68a), and Gilad is mentioned over
80 times in the Tanach. The name lost favor during the Talmudic time similar
to the avot, and did not regain popularity until the late 40s in Israel, and
my father help to start this trend.
Gilad J. Gevaryahu
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From: <SCHILDH@...> (Chaim Schild)
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 1996 08:58:16 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Yam Suf
Of course there are many reasons given why the Jews crossed the Yam Suf,
but does anyone know of any commentary where a reason is given for why
G-d did not make it so they could "walk on water" ? (frozen or
otherwise). I am very curious if this question was asked by traditional
sources....
Chaim
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End of Volume 23 Issue 68
