Volume 52 Number 89 Produced: Wed Oct 18 6:21:20 EDT 2006 Subjects Discussed In This Issue: 189 pictures of Second Hakafot [Jacob Richman] Apikores [Stu Pilichowski] ARI and Sefarad [Rabbi Wise] the Arizal [Leona Kroll] Aruk Ha-Shulhan - Missing Simanim [<shuanoach@...>] Chutz Laaretz practices [Joel Rich] Kashrus on EL AL (3) [Akiva Miller, Stephen Phillips, Perets Mett] Looking for restaurant in chicago suitable for business dinner [Moshe Bach] Punishment and Suffering [Bernard Raab] Scarves [Shmuel Norin] A simple courtesy [Bernard Raab] stille naanu'im [Orrin Tilevitz] Stories, Photos & More [Rabbi Dovid Bryn Foundation] Web Site - Size of Israel [Michael Mirsky] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jacob Richman <jrichman@...> Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2006 04:52:51 +0200 Subject: 189 pictures of Second Hakafot Hi Everyone! Tonight (Saturday night after chag) I took pictures of the second hakafot at S'deh Chemed in Ma'aleh Adumim. I posted 189 pictures on my website at: http://www.jr.co.il/ma/pic/ma113.htm When the first page comes up, press the F11 key on the top of your keyboard for a full page view. Use the icon buttons on the bottom of each page to navigate. Enjoy! Shavua Tov, Jacob ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Stu Pilichowski <cshmuel@...> Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 12:03:04 +0000 Subject: Apikores I think it was one of the leaders of the State of Israel many years ago who lamented that the State, unfortunately, has no apikorsim - only Amaratzim. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: <Meirhwise@...> (Rabbi Wise) Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 14:45:52 EDT Subject: Re: ARI and Sefarad Custom follows the father not the mother and in the case of the Ari, his father was also his teacher. Eli and Menashe are making a common mistake by confusing nusach s'fard (/ari) with sefardi - they are NOT the same. Rabbi Wise ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Leona Kroll <leona_kroll@...> Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 00:55:45 -0700 (PDT) Subject: re: the Arizal BS"D It's over simplifying things to say that the Arizal adopted Sefardi customs. 1. There are few, if any, universally Sefardi customs- there are Moraccan, Egyptian, Syrian, Spanish-Portugese, etc. customs, and they have common threads, but its a bit erroneous to speak about Sefardi customs (even eating kitniot on Pesach is not a sefardi custom. Moroccans do not eat kitniot- except for baal teshuvahs who don't know any better- and those communities that do eat some kinds of kitniot have their own guidelines). 2. The Arizal did adopt certain minhagim based on Kabbalah, but the adoption of these customs arose from his learning. In many cases, his minhagim are similar or even identical to minhagim found in different Sefardi communities, but not always and not in all Sefardi communities. What you could say is that the Arizal, like many Sefardi rabbanim, was influenced by a particular way of understanding the Kabbalah and the way to act in harmony with the Kabbalah (I'm being careful about how I word this because the Gra himslef stated that you shouldn't paskin w/o an understanding of Kabbalah). 3. The Arizal was definitely influenced by the m'kubali of Tsfas w/ whom he lived and learned. He also influenced them. Not all of their practices were Sefardi- some were no doubt from the Arizal himself. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: <shuanoach@...> Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 17:31:30 -0400 Subject: Aruk Ha-Shulhan - Missing Simanim Anyone know where the Aruk ha-Shulhan covers hilkot ketubbot? I was looking at his sefer on even ha-ezer and after siman 65 it just stops and skips over all the laws of the ketubah. Did he place these elsewhere? Why wouldnt he have written on these? (If anyone has tchernowitz's toldot ha-posqim, please see if he mentions these simanim as missing.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Joel Rich <JRich@...> Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 09:48:44 -0400 Subject: Chutz Laaretz practices What is the general practice regarding waiting between chazarat hashatz and hallel in CHU"L in minyanim where there are those who wear tfillin? My anecdotal experience is that most everyone takes off their tfillin and takes out their lulavim during chazarat hashatz. Is this practice brought down anywhere as it seems to interfere with people's ability to concentrate on the chazarat hashatz? Perhaps there's a concern about some pause between the conclusion of chazarat hashatz and hallel? IIRC on a somewhat related note R' YBS noted that on Rosh chodesh one should daven musaf with his tfillin on if he did not have time to put them away properly because of the rush to get to daven mussaf. GT Joel Rich ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Akiva Miller <kennethgmiller@...> Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 16:01:36 GMT Subject: re: Kashrus on EL AL Isaac Balbin wrote: > I don't wish to be party to any besmirching of what might > be an "acceptable" Hechsher... I would ask that people keep > dispassionately to provable facts. I haven't flown EL AL in > ages and I can recall some years ago there was an issue with > Kashrus. Have those problems now been overcome? As far as I know, there are no mashgichim of any kind on any El Al flights. This means that there is no one to insure that all food brought on board has any kind of hechsher. I've heard stories of when a plane needed restocking at some airport outside of Israel, and the regular brands of whatever were unavailable, and alternate (non-kosher) brands were used instead. If a person chooses not to believe such stories, that's okay, because it doesn't really matter whether such things actually occurred. The important thing is that without a mashgiach, they *could* happen at any time. Lack of a mashgiach also means that there's no one to insure that the meat and dairy equipment does not get mixed up during a flight. If someone is aware of flights which DO have an in-light mashgiach, please let me know. On the other hand, I do not wish to accuse the El Al flight crews of serving us anything non-kosher. I presume that they have company policies about purchasing only kosher food, and about the meat and dairy equipment. Whether this is considered "reliable supervision" is a question for each passenger and his/her rabbi. Akiva Miller ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Stephen Phillips <admin@...> Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 12:37:24 +0100 Subject: Re: Kashrus on EL AL > From: I. Balbin <isaac@...> > I haven't flown EL AL in ages and I can recall some years ago there was > an issue with Kashrus. > Have those problems now been overcome? > Is all meat glatt? > Is all dairy cholov yisroel? > Are relevant salad components washed? I always ask for "Special Kosher" when flying El Al. That way one can be assured of the above. > While I am on a roll, do Ashkenazi people eat at El Gaucho's in > Yerusholayim (I think it's Beis Yosef Shechita and Glatt) if they are > lucky enough to be invited there by someone who can afford it :-) I recall that they had a restaurant in London for a short while. Apparently, in Israel the meat is not kashered by salting (melicha) but by roasting (tzli). The Kashrus authorities in London wouldn't allow that. Before I ate in one of their restaurants I would want assurances that (as an Ashkenazi) they salted the meat (just a little bit) before roasting and that the meat was fully roasted (i.e. was not "rare" or even "medium"). Stephen Phillips ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Perets Mett <p.mett@...> Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2006 13:51:31 +0100 Subject: Kashrus on EL AL I. Balbin wrote: > I haven't flown EL AL in ages and I can recall some years ago there > was an issue with Kashrus. > Have those problems now been overcome? > Is all meat glatt? > Is all dairy cholov yisroel? > Are relevant salad components washed? There isn't a single answer to this question. El Al sources its meals from different suppliers in different countries. Each has to be evaluated separately. El Al does provide standards for kashrus. For flights out of BenGurion airport the standard food supplied is supervised by the Rabbinate at the airport ( I am not sure whether this is part of the Israeli national rabbinate). I don't recall El Al serving beef but if they do they would not be guaranteed to be glat. OTOH you can order 'Special Kosher' on El Al flights ex-BenGurion for which the answer to all the above questions is yes (the hasgocho is by the Eida hachareidis in Yerusholayim and the meals are sealed). You might wish to note that while the meals are produced under supervision, there is no supervision of the meals on the plane itself > If one eats under Rabbanut Hechsher in say a restaurant in Israel is > EL AL effectively the same standard (I realise it might be the same > stamp) Ask the following question: If one eats under Rabbinical hechsher in a restaurant in Bnei Brak is that the same standard as in Tel Aviv? Is the supervision in Tsfas the same as that in Eilat? I don't think it is meaningful to talk about a 'standard' level of Rabbinate kashrus. Perets Mett ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Moshe Bach <moshe.bach@...> Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2006 12:13:19 +0200 Subject: Looking for restaurant in chicago suitable for business dinner Hi. I'll be in chicago in a few weeks, and I'm looking for personal recommendations for a restaurant that's suitable to dine with business colleagues. I've seen the restaurant database, but I didn't see any sure thing. Please answer offline. thanks maury (moshe) bach <mbach@...>, moshe.bach@intel.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Bernard Raab <beraab@...> Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 11:26:01 -0400 Subject: Punishment and Suffering I find the whole discussion of whether or why German or Polish Jews, Communists or secularists suffered more or less, etc., rather curious. I can't help thinking of the thousands (millions?) of Jews through the ages who simply abandoned Judaism and assimilated into their surrounding communities, who thereby avoided suffering any consequences of the holocaust or prior depredations against the Jews. Shoudn't they be the first in line for punishment? Perhaps they are, in Olam Haba'..., which is where I think this entire discussion belongs. --Bernie R. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: <engineered@...> (Shmuel Norin) Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 08:22:09 -0400 Subject: Scarves With winter coming, it brings up a question. Do scarves need tsitsit (fringes)? If they do, would the requirement be eliminated by rounding the edges? Shmuel Norin ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Bernard Raab <beraab@...> Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 10:17:24 -0400 Subject: A simple courtesy >For an example I just saw recently, in the Yom Kippur Machzor just put >out by my good friend Arnie Lustiger with the commentary based on the >writings of Rav Soloveichek, see his comments on the piyot of the 10 >martyrs. This comment is typical of many. The poster directs us to a reference which very few of us (almost none?) are very likely to see. As a simple courtesy, I believe it behooves the poster to give us a snapshot of the commentary. Of course, one cannot convey the full meaning and subtelty of the text in one or two lines, but surely some indication of its approach and thrust can be provided. Worth a try? --Bernie R. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Orrin Tilevitz <tilevitzo@...> Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 07:38:48 -0700 (PDT) Subject: stille naanu'im Is there any basis for the practice (I hesitate to call it a minhag) of the sheliach tzibur's shaking the lulav while saying, in each case, "hodu", the first "yomar", and the first two verses begining "Ana", to himself, then either saying only the last word ("chasdo" or "na") aloud or simply turning around expectantly to the congregation? Is there any source that explicitly decries this practice? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Rabbi Dovid Bryn Foundation <RabbiBrynFoundation@...> Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 11:17:07 -0400 Subject: Stories, Photos & More B"H Teacher, Rabbi & Friend The deffenition of a true Chossid! If you knew Rabbi Bryn, please post your story. If you have photos of him, please post them on the website. To learn more about him, visit www.RabbiDovidBryn.org. We are also in the midst of producing a documentary of his life, so if you have any footage with the rabbi, please call our office at (305) 770-1919 Thank You! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Michael Mirsky <mirskym@...> Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 16:26:39 -0400 Subject: Web Site - Size of Israel As we all know Israel is very tiny compared to its neighbors. But the average non-Jew doesn't realize that - especially because of all the news headlines it garners! As a family project, we have created a web site called http://www.sizeofisrael.com It overlays Israel's silhouette onto street maps of well-known North American and European cities to show Israel and the Green Line in relation to that city. For example, for New York, the narrowest part of pre1967 Israel (around Herzeliya to the Green Line)is the same as from the East River to Queens). Or for Toronto, it the same distance as from Lake Ontario to Sheppard Ave. Please have a look and share with others so that one more misconception can be corrected. Michael Mirsky ----------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Volume 52 Issue 89