Volume 49 Number 91
Produced: Tue Nov 8 6:17:01 EST 2005
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
Blue Laws
[Mike Gerver]
Having a baby on Shabbos/Yom Tov
[Asher Grossman]
"Intelligent" Design
[Bernard Raab]
Kaddish
[Martin Stern]
Marriage
[Michael]
Mode of Dress and Tefilah
[<Yisyis@...>]
Q re story of early 20th century rabbi declaring matzoh treyf over
[Arieh Lebowitz]
read this latest Havel Havelim
[Yisrael & Batya Medad]
Reasons for Denying Aliyot
[Alan Krinsky]
See my shiny new bicycle
[Mark Zelunka]
shul ritual objects needed
[Morissa Rubin]
Yiddish lulaby / naming custom
[Lawrence Feldman]
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From: <MJGerver@...> (Mike Gerver)
Date: Mon, 7 Nov 2005 18:50:53 EST
Subject: Blue Laws
Nathan Lamm, speaking about blue laws (laws forbidding the sale of
liquor, or other commercial activity, on Sunday) in New York State,
writes, in v49n87,
Nu? So it was changed. I don't see a law like that impinging
greatly on religious freedom, and I think it's rather nice that
aspects of the nation's religious heritage remain on the
books. Healthier for religion in general, including Judaism, than
erasing it altogether.
I don't know specifically about New York, but in Massachusetts, where I
lived for many years, the primary reason blue laws remained on the books
was not because of the "nation's religious heritage," but because of
pressure from labor unions. They didn't want employees of liquor stores
(and other kinds of stores, which, in Massachusetts, were also affected
by blue laws) to be pressured into working 7 days a week.
That's also a good secular reason to have laws forbidding stores from
being open, or forbidding them from employing Jews, on Shabbat, in
Israel. Ironically, leftists, who purport to have the interests of
workers at heart, tend to be opposed to such laws in Israel.
Mike Gerver
Raanana, Israel
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From: Asher Grossman <asherg@...>
Date: Tue, 08 Nov 2005 00:09:12 -0500
Subject: Re: Having a baby on Shabbos/Yom Tov
Daniel Lowinger (V. 49 #88) wrote:
Just wandering if anyone knows what the halachot are regarding
labour on shabbos?
Do you go to hospital by taxi or car? If taxi, how do you pay? Is
<snip>
Well, if you're able to arrange for a non-jewish driver, it's better to
go by taxi, but if the alternative is a non-religious driver - the
husband driving is better.
Payment should be arranged and agreed on beforehand, the money placed in
an envelope and the driver should be asked to come in and take it. The
driver should also open the car door (lights go on), and if there is no
Eiruv - should be asked to take the woman's bag to the car. If driving
by yourself, if you have a choice, a manual shift car is preferable, as
you can minimize fuel burning.
All this is, of course, if you have the luxury of time. If, however,
there is any chance that there might be a danger to mother or baby -
Pikuach Nefesh Doche Shabat.
Of course, it is best to check with your Rav for better and more
extensive guidelines.
Mazal Tov!
Asher Grossman
<asherg@...>
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From: Bernard Raab <beraab@...>
Date: Mon, 07 Nov 2005 18:42:04 -0500
Subject: "Intelligent" Design
While we were in hiatus the subject of ID has been raging in all (well
maybe not all) media, owing in large part to the trial in Dover PA, on
whether it is allowed to be taught in the Public School science classes
of Dover. As might have been predicted, if Christian fundamentalists
find something to love, can orthodox Jews be far behind? Thus the Sixth
Miami Conference on Torah and Science
http://www.borhatorah.org/home/conference/conference6press.html will
feature prominent orthodox scientists flirting with the idea that ID is
good for the Jews.
Ironically, the Catholic Church is holding a conference on religion and
science this week in the Vatican, in which Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz is a
featured speaker, as is the Rabbi of Rome, and in which the subject of
Intelligent Design is nowhere mentioned.
http://www.stoqnet.org/stoq05/index.html
It seems that the Catholic Church is still sensitive to the
self-inflicted damage from the excommunication of Galileo in the 17th
century, so much so that the Pope has recently commented that the church
must never again be put in the position of contravening accepted
scientific doctrine. (Sorry I cannot find this reference on Google.)
Would that our scientists be as cautious in their embrace of "foreign
science".
b'shalom--Bernie R. (finally able to vent!)
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From: Martin Stern <md.stern@...>
Date: Mon, 07 Nov 2005 16:59:54 +0000
Subject: Kaddish
on 7/11/05 11:31 am, Orrin Tilevitz <tilevitzo@...> wrote:
> In the second part of kaddish, are the dalet in yit'hadar and the lamed
> in yit'halal properly with a kamatz or patach (or is it a kamatz for one
> and patach for the other)? Art Scroll has a kamatz in both places;
> Birnbaum and an Eidot Hamizrach sidur I looked have a patach in both
> places; my trusty A. Hyman Charlap sidur sometimes has it all three
> ways; and all three ways appear in transliterations on the Web.
According to Baer in his Avodat Yisrael, which is generally considered
the grammatically most accurate edition of the siddur, both are spelled
with a patach. He draws attention to the usage in Daniel 2,44 and Ezra
5,17 in his notes on page 130. However one might object that the Aramaic
of the siddur is a different dialect from the Biblical Aramaic of Daniel
and Ezra so it is difficult to be certain but I think he is probably the
most reliable source.
Martin Stern
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From: Michael <mordechai@...>
Date: Mon, 07 Nov 2005 12:35:32 -0500
Subject: Marriage
>I am doing research for a colleague of mine who is becoming more
>observant and is planning his wedding (several months away). He wants
>to have a halakhic marriage ceremony, but his fiancee is not so happy
>about the idea that two shomer shabbat men are required sign the
>ketubah, since she has some non-observant Jewish friends that she wants
>to have sign it.
I'm a little concerned when I hear this type of question because it
brings up a more important issue. If he is moving towards a more
observant lifestyle and his finance is not moving in the same direction
there is a good chance he will need to learn the laws of Gittin.
I bring this up having had a good friend of mine who recently went
through a horrible divorce, partially because of this issue. His kids
are Orthodox Jews half the week and non observant Jews the rest. You
can't imagine the confusion they are going through.
If this type of dispute is occurring before the wedding, how much more
will they fight over aftewords. Hashkafic intermarriage may be
halachically allowed, but it can be as much a practical disaster as a
"real" intermarriage.
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From: <Yisyis@...>
Date: Mon, 7 Nov 2005 21:23:28 EST
Subject: Re: Mode of Dress and Tefilah
As a practicing lawyer, I know that I would never appear in any
court wearing shorts, sandals and no socks. Nor would I show up
for a job interview so dressed. There's a practical reason for
this. When I am addressing a court or a potential employer, I am
trying to persuade the party so addressed to do something that I
want him to do. I want him to listen to what I ask and hope he
considers me favorably. I want him, in making his decision, to
keep in mind what I said, not how I was dressed. If this applies
to appearing before a judge or a potential employer, isn't the
Being one addresses when going into a shul not entitled to the
same respect?
There is one important difference to consider here. If I appear in
court in a 3-piece suit rather than a loincloth it is because of the
sensibilities of the court and the society in whose context it finds
itself. If however I were thrown into the hands of an Amazon chief and
had to plead my case before him, a nicely ironed loincloth might come in
handy. It is not my standard of dress that counts but rather that
fancied by the court system.
Do we know what standard of dress G-d finds most appropriate? Does he
fancy Brooks Bros. suits and did our holy predecessors suffer because
they had no access to them? Transferring our sartorial preferences to
the Ribono Shel Olam is problematic in my opinion. Perhaps neatness and
cleanliness matter more than costume.
Ira Bauman
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From: Arieh Lebowitz <ariehnyc@...>
Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 11:04:48 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Q re story of early 20th century rabbi declaring matzoh treyf over
A colleague is trying to track down details of a story about an early
20th century rabbi, possibly in New York CIty, who declared matzoh treyf
because of labor conditions.
Any assistance deeply appreciated.
Arieh Lebowitz
Communications Director
Jewish Labor Committee www.jewishlabor.org
25 East 21st Street
New York, NY 10010
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From: Yisrael & Batya Medad <ybmedad@...>
Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2005 07:48:30 +0200
Subject: read this latest Havel Havelim
I hosted (compiled) the latest edition of the Jewish-Israel bloggers
"carnival" (anthology/compilation) of interesting posts.
Take a look. http://me-ander.blogspot.com/2005/10/havel-havelim-42.html.
There's no "text edition," since it's a collection of links.
Shavua Tov,
Batya
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From: Alan Krinsky <adkrinsky@...>
Date: Tue, 01 Nov 2005 14:30:09 -0500
Subject: Reasons for Denying Aliyot
Does anyone know about halakhic grounds for denying aliyot to men and/or
the actual practice in Orthodox shuls today? For example, it is not
common practice to deny aliyot to men who are mechalel Shabbos, as far
as I know. What about other cases? What about to a man who is married
to a non-Jewish woman, and one who has no intention of converting? What
about to an individual who has been disruptive in the shul and
community? Are such decisions generally made by the rav of the shul or
by a ritual committee or by a board? Are there formal policies or are
such decisions made on an ad hoc basis? Do shuls ever have "don't ask,
don't tell" policies in this regard, especially, say, in the case of a
Bar or Bat Mitzvah, where non-observant relatives attend, and some of
those could be intermarried? Are any such policies only of value where
they might change the individual's behavior? Or, do they set valuable
standards, even when they might drive someone away? Is there any
consensus on these issues, particularly in the case of denying aliyot to
intermarried men?
Alan Krinsky
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From: Mark Zelunka <mzelunka@...>
Date: Tue, 8 Nov 2005 01:02:47 -0500
Subject: RE: See my shiny new bicycle
> From: Carl A. Singer <casinger@...>
> I could see replying similarly to an SMSNB comment, but was wondering what
> others thought would be an appropriate response, (1) to an information only
> or (2) to a you're doing it wrong statement from (especially) a stranger.
Yetzer Hatov says: "hmm...I'll ask my Rav"
Yetzer Hara says: "wow, that's embarassing" when they say sorry, say
"no, I meant for you."
Mark Zelunka
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From: <morissa.rubin@...> (Morissa Rubin)
Date: Tue, 08 Nov 2005 03:45:21 +0000
Subject: shul ritual objects needed
I am a member of a small Orthodox shul, Kenesset Israel Torah Center, in
Sacramento, CA. We are nearing completion of a new sanctuary after a
long and hard process. Our building had been firebombed back in June
1999 along with two other area synagogues See www.kitc.sacramento.org to
see photos of our bldg. project.
We are looking for a Ner Tamid. Does anyone know of any shuls that are
remodeling and might have one they will no longer be using? or have
other suggestions as to where to look. Though our building is modernish
we'd love to have either an antique or tradtional looking lamp.
Thanks for any help.
Morissa Rubin
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From: Lawrence Feldman <lpf1836@...>
Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 22:37:52 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Yiddish lulaby / naming custom
(Please send responses to <dovgreen@...>)
1) I am looking for the words to a lulaby. The beginning stanza is:
Shechav Heradem, Ben Li Yakir
Shma B'nee, Adaber Shir.
Biymey Kedem, Bemarchakim
Hoyo Hoyso Ir.
Lay down & go to sleep my dear child,
and I will sing you a song.
Long time ago, in a faraway place,
there was a city.
2) There is custom not to name a child after someone who has died in
tragic circumstances. Does anyone have the source?
TIA,
Dov
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End of Volume 49 Issue 91
