Volume 31 Number 96
Produced: Mon Apr 3 6:20:02 US/Eastern 2000
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
Another Sin of Haman (2)
[Joseph Geretz, Batya Medad]
Can a CD ROM Replace a Konkordance or the Mesorah
[Russell Hendel]
DeSola Pool siddur
[Freda B Birnbaum]
Historical Authenticity of the Artscroll Siddur
[Percy Mett]
Mishna Yomis
[Perets Mett]
Piyut
[Nachman Levine]
Piyut: Bilvavi Mishkan Evne
[Yael Levine Katz]
Praying with disabilities
[Aharon Fischman]
Purim on Shabbat (2)
[Richard Alexander, Ken G. Miller]
Quinoa and Buckwheat on Pesach
[Howard Joseph]
Siyum for a Bar Mitzvah
[David I. Cohen]
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From: Joseph Geretz <jgeretz@...>
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 08:47:54 -0500
Subject: Another Sin of Haman
Russell Jay Hendel wrote:
> As a baal koray I am also deeply upset about the custom of making
> noise when Haman's name is mentioned. Indeed, if you miss a haman then
> you have not fulfilled your obligation to read the Megillah!
I agree with you. On the two occasions on which I have leined, I picked
up from the word 'Haman' when continuing after the noise had abated. I
had seen this practice only once before, but to me it seems prudent to
ensure that every word is heard.
Kol Tuv,
Joseph Geretz
(<jgeretz@...>)
Focal Point Solutions, Inc.
(www.FPSNow.com)
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From: Batya Medad <isrmedia@...>
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 15:47:04 +0300
Subject: Re: Another Sin of Haman
>As a baal koray I am also deeply upset about the custom of making noise
>when Haman's name is mentioned. Indeed, if you miss a haman then you
>have not fulfilled your obligation to read the Megillah!
>
>I believe a consistent application of Rabbi Bulka's principle would
>include a prohibition against this practice of making noise at haman's
>name.
>
>Any reactions (no noise please!)
The actual halachah is to hear every word, or read every word, of the
Megillah, not to make noise. When the noise continues after "Haman"
blocking out the other words, there's a real problem. My youngest child
is in the 11th grade, and I still go to private homes for "later"
readings, originally planned for those whose children are too young to
bring to shul.
Gabaiim and Baalei Koreh should enforce proper halachik behavoir at
megilla readings, even if they have to stop in the middle--kriyah
psulah, when the words cannot be heard. They're not doing anyone any
favors by being "tolerant." It is a chilul hashem what goes on.
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From: Russell Hendel <rhendel@...>
Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 23:17:01 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Can a CD ROM Replace a Konkordance or the Mesorah
Yitzchok Zlochower in v31n69 inquires about Software vs Konkordances
>>>>>>
of a page of the Bavli text together with Rashi and Tosfot? Can I cut
and paste citations into a Word Perfect or Word or HTML document? Will
the search engine serve as a user-friendly Tanach concordance?
>>>>>>
(In passing the answer to Yizchok's first two questions is: (a) Yes you
can cut-paste with some davka software in WP/WORD) (b) You might also
try downloading MTR (Mishneh Torah Rambma) at various places on the web
(It has complete Tnach, Mishneh Torah(no commentary), Yerushalmi,Bavli)
AND costs only $50).
However I am responding to the question about using a CD ROM to
'replace' a Konkordance. No good CD ROM can replace a Konkordance and
similarly even a good Konkordance can not replace the font 6 commentary
surrounding the Biblical text called the "Mesorah" which lists similar
verses. Let me explain.
A CD ROM searches for LETTER Patterns. By contrast a good Knokordance
(Mendelkorn or Ibn Shoshan) lists verses with a COMMON ROOT (This is not
possible to do on a CD ROM if the verse has a weak letter which is
sometimes not present). In other words, by opening the Konkordance I can
find all verses where the verb TO FALL(NFL) occurs (Some CD ROMS allow
'Boolean Seardhes' but this does not give ROOT listings without alot of
work and knowledge of grammar--it would be hard to get all listings of
NFL (To fall) using a CD ROM)
Similarly the Mesorah lists not only word patterns but phrase patterns.
As a very simple example I recently suggested (see reference at bottom)
that the Bible uses REPEATED CONNECTIVES when it wants to create a
BULLET-LIKE effect. To prove this I had to review all verses which
contains BECAUSE..BECAUSE (KI KI) and show that each "BECAUSE" clause is
a separate bullet-type item. Not all CD ROMS can list this.
In summary if you want to do serious Tanach search you must have a good
Konkordance, a good Mesorah and I usually recommend Racacks Grammar
books ROOTS, and MICHLOL which contain in a compact form alot of
information you cannot get anyplace(these books deal with MEANING which
cannot be fully obtained from a CD, Konkordance or Mesorah)
Hope this helps
Russell Jay Hendel;
Moderator Rashi is Simple
http://www.shamash.org/rashi/h5n4.htm (Contains the posting on bullets)
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From: Freda B Birnbaum <fbb6@...>
Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 10:57:49 -0500 (EST)
Subject: DeSola Pool siddur
This is a bit belated but I'm plowing through older digests...
In MJ v31n46, Carl Singer mentions
> Siddur "politics" are legend. The DeSola Pool siddur, a beautiful
> crafted, easy to read, beautifully translated (Rebbetzin DeSola Pool
> was the first child of modern times to speak Hebrew -- as a neighbor
> or Eliezer Ben Yehuda) fell out of favor because some took umbrage re:
> the translation of "B'nai Elokim" My wife uses it because hers is an
> autographed copy -- a gift from Rebbetzin DeSola Poole. Recently, one
> local synagogue here bought a new batch of Art Scrolls (the frummer
> ones without the prayer for Medinat Yisroel) then had the chutzpeh to
> hide all of the other siddurs (alleging that the older people couldn't
> read the print in the older siddurs.)
Oy, why do we refer to the siddurim without the prayer for Medinas
Yisroel as "the frummer ones"?!
And while the footnotes in the Artsctoll are usually excellent, the
DeSola Pool has great "stage directions" and was one of the first to do
so. (Artscroll has good stage directions too, but DSP did it first!)
Freda Birnbaum, <fbb6@...>
"Call on God, but row away from the rocks"
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From: Percy Mett <p.mett@...>
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 13:40:08 +0100
Subject: Re: Historical Authenticity of the Artscroll Siddur
Carl Singer <CARLSINGER@...> writes:
>Perets Mett writes:
><Neither word appears in any authorized nusach; see e.g. The sidur of baal
>hatanyo or Sidur yeshuos.>
>
>Clearly Perets is much more of a mayven re: nusach than I -- but I still
>have several questions related to "process" and metziah:
I suppose it is always nice to receive compliments.
>1 -- what makes something an "authorized nusach" --
Excellent question. Perhaps I was too hasty in using those words. In
Eastern Europe there used to be an expression "nusakh druker" =
printer's nusach. In general the printer's had no sound basis for what
they included in the sidurim. Typesetting hot metal is a tedious
business, and it was a lot simpler to minimize the difference between
the sfard and ashkenaz editions of the same sidur. The Baal hatanyo and
R. Yeshaye 'Rakhever' (I forget his real name) both made an explicit
effort to establish correct nushkho'os of the sidur. Similalry a sidur
was published in Radvil at the time of the early chasidim which was
intended to be a deliberate nusach. The Boston Nusach claims to be based
on this sidur. So did R. Yakov Emden (he printed his own sidur) but one
needs to distinguish between his original annotations and the changes
made to the sidur which now bears his name. Where changes to the sidur
appear which appear to based on error/assumption and are not backed up
by a proper haskomo, I personally think of these as being
'unauthorized'.
Of course I appreciate the alternative argument that, if a particular
nusach has been followed by many people for a hundred years (say), then
it has acquired some 'authenticity' even if it no historical or halachic
basis.
>2 -- unless we have the original manuscript, how do we know that we have
>an accurate record? As I mentioned elsewhere, my sons daven "Nusach
>HaGrah" -- and the several scholarly siddurim all have variants and are
>by no means identical.
>
>3 -- since we have been in galoos for so long and we have such a rich
>variety of minhagim in our tapestry -- what makes one better than
>another?
If a minhog has a historical precedent, I agree that (subject to
objections by the poskim on halachic grounds) there is no basis for
saying some minhogim are 'better' than others. The problem comes with
newly invented minhogim which have no such basis.
>4 -- who today is "authorized" to make changes (corrections or changes)
Indeed - is anyone so authorized?
>5 -- how does an individual choose his or her own nusach -- especially
>when the nusach they've grown up with is reported to be "flawed" (i.e.,
>"scholars" say it's inaccurate or contains errors.)
>
>6 -- how does a community choose ....
A community is supposed to choose the nusach of the majority of its
members. the problem arises where there is no majority for any *one*
nusach.
Perets Mett
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Perets Mett <p.mett@...>
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 14:56:54 +0100
Subject: Mishna Yomis
Eliezer Appleton <eliezerappleton@...> wrote:
>Here in Chicago, we have one of the only Mishna Yomis shiurim that I'm
>aware of. Is anyone else aware of such a shiur in other cities? I'd be
>happy to post a calendar of the Mishna Yomis cycle on a web page if
>there is interest.
I am not up-to-date with what happens these days, but certainly 30 years
ago it was quite common to go to a shul in Israel and find a shiur in
mishna yomis taking place daily between mincho and maariv (Friday
included).
Indeed the 'Kehati' mishnayos was originally published in pamphlet form
corresponding to the then current cycle of Mishne yomis and was, I
believe, widely used for that purpose.
Perets Mett
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From: Nachman Levine <nachmanl@...>
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 13:40:51 -0400
Subject: Piyut
"BiLevavi Mishkan Evneh":
R. Elazar Azkari, Sefer Haredim
BiVrachah,
Nachman Levine
<NachmanL@...>
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From: Yael Levine Katz <ylkpk@...>
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 00:37:25 +0200
Subject: Piyut: Bilvavi Mishkan Evne
The nusach of "Bilvavi Mishkan Evne" was composed by Rav Hutner z"tl
based on an earlier piyut. This was discussed in detail several few
weeks ago in the weekly Hebrew Parshat Ha-Shavu'a sheet "Me'at Min
Ha-Or" founded by Chanan Porat and distributed in various shuls in
Israel on Shabbat. It mentioned, inter alia, a couple who conducted a
detailed study of the topic. I passed my copy on to Rav Hutner's
daughter, and thus cannot cite the precise issue number. The editorial
address is: P.O.Box 33043, Jerusalem 91033.
Yael Levine Katz
<ylkpk@...>
http://www.jerusalemofgold.co.il
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From: Aharon Fischman <afischman@...>
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 10:09:01 -0500
Subject: Praying with disabilities
With regards to the post that laments the sad state of affairs for
reasonable access and accommodations in synagogues today - I would have
a hard time arguing with that sentiment. I do know of one prominent
exception. In the JEC 'Main Shul' in Elizabeth NJ, there is a woman who
stands in the front of the balcony during the Rabbi's Drasha [speech]
and signs the entire speech in sign language for someone in the men's
section who is deaf.
Aharon
<afischman@...>
http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~aaf
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From: Richard Alexander <JAlexan186@...>
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 10:36:09 EST
Subject: Re: Purim on Shabbat
In response to the 5 or more people who sent in corrections to my
assertion that the 14th of Adar could fall on Shabbat: Thank you. I
stand corrected.
Richard Alexander
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From: Ken G. Miller <kgmiller@...>
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 14:10:39 -0500
Subject: Purim on Shabbat
Another interesting piece of trivia about when Purim is on Shabbos: Some
observances are moved to Friday, and others to Sunday, but Al Hanisim
remains on Shabbos, as Anonymous pointed out in MJ 31:90. But there's
more: The laining about Amalek which is normally read Purim morning
becomes the Maftir for Shabbos, which creates the need to find a Haftara
whose theme is similar to that of the Maftir, and what Haftara could be
more relevant than Pokadti?
The result is that the exact same Haftara is read two Sabbaths in a row
-- on Parshas Zachor and on Purim Meshulosh. I don't think that ever
happens in any other situation.
Akiva Miller
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From: Howard Joseph <hjoseph@...>
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 08:54:14 -0500
Subject: Quinoa and Buckwheat on Pesach
The Star K website has a convincing article on quinoa as kosher for
Pessah. Does anyone have any information on buckwheat [kasha] which is
really a fruit related to rhubarb and not a grain at all?
Thank you.
Howard S. Joseph
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From: David I. Cohen <BDCOHEN613@...>
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 14:00:35 EST
Subject: Siyum for a Bar Mitzvah
In light of some of the other suggestions made previoulsy, I thought I would
add one that I saw recently.
We were privaleged to attend the Bar mitzva of our friend Richard
Joel's son. At the seudat mitzva, the bar mitzva boy made a siyum on the
study of all the mishnayot of one seder of the mishneh. His parents and
siblings divided up the remaining five sedorim for study. Thus the
entire family made a siyum on the entire "shisha sidrei mishneh"
together. It was most meaningful.
Shabbat shalom
David I. Cohen
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End of Volume 31 Issue 96
