Volume 57 Number 42
Produced: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:17:25 EST
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
90 Jewish and Israeli Twitter Lists
[Jacob Richman]
Aramaic kamatz
[Michael Frankel]
Cameras and sensors
[Moshe Feifer]
Cameras, sensors and elevators
[Bernard Raab]
crossing the street on Shabbos
[Carl Singer]
Dina d'malchuta dina
[Sammy Finkelman]
electric security lights, elevators etc
[Batya Medad]
Electricity (was: Cameras and sensors)
[Sammy Finkelman]
Naming a child "Shem"
[SBA]
Prayer Concerning Women who have been Murdered by their Spouses
[Yael]
The law of the land
[Joel Rich]
Visiting graves
[<Smwise3@...>]
Why doesn't Avraham tell Sarah ...
[David Curwin]
Why doesn't Avraham tell Sarah about the prophecy of Yitzchak's birth?
[Hillel (Sabba) Markowitz]
Why is Moses surprised
[Elazar M. Teitz]
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From: Jacob Richman <jrichman@...>
Date: Wed, Nov 4,2009 at 06:01 PM
Subject: 90 Jewish and Israeli Twitter Lists
Hi Everyone!
A few weeks ago, Twitter announced a new feature designed to
make it easier for users to group the people they follow by
organizing them into lists.
I created a new hotsites page which features 90 Jewish and
Israeli Twitter lists that you can review and follow.
The address is:
http://www.jr.co.il/hotsites/twitter-lists.htm
Feedback and additions are welcome.
Have a good night,
Jacob
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From: Michael Frankel <michaeljfrankel@...>
Date: Wed, Nov 4,2009 at 11:01 AM
Subject: Aramaic kamatz
From: Ben Katz <BKatz@...>
In M-J V57#38, Ira L. Jacobson wrote:
> Is there any book that tells of the actual work of the original
> Masoretes, ben-Asher and perhaps his predecessors? What prompted
> them to do the work at all, and what pronunciation of the time, if
> any, were they applying to the text?
>>I think the best book is "History of the Tiberian Mesorah" by Yeivin.
no disagreement from me but a minor correction. the correct title is
Introduction to the Tiberian Masorah and you may also find it associated with
E.J. Revell, its 1980 english translator from Yeivin's hebrew original, movoh
lammisorah hattavronis. there are also informative articles by the late
Sh'lomo Murg, a number of which are collected in a hebrew volume whose title
escapes me at the moment - it's in my shul box just now as it's been taking me a
a number of weeks to finish it during interstices in the services and below
threshold d'roshos, but something to do with hebrew linguistics - and published
by magnes.
to take one more nit-pick, it is not quite accurate to conflate the notion of
"original Masoretes" entirely with the work of ben Asher and his
contemporaries/predecessors as this reflects only the ultimately victorious
tiberian school of mesorah. there is/was a well developed school of babylonian
mesorah which probably preceeded the ben ashers and ben naftalis, and reflected
the alternative reading and pronunciation tradition of bovel. one can read
about this in excruciating detail in yosef ophir's hammesorah habbavlis
lattorah: eqronosehoh ud'rochehoh. and of course there was also yet a third
"palestinian" school of masoretes stemming from israel proper outside of
tiberias which produced yet a third masoretic system but i don't know of any
general volumes devoted to its popular exposiition.
Mechy Frankel
<michaeljfrankel@...>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Moshe Feifer <mfeifer@...>
Date: Wed, Nov 11,2009 at 03:01 AM
Subject: Cameras and sensors
Bernard Raab <beraab@...> wrote:
> According to the Hazon Ish the melacha that one transgresses by using
> electricity has nothing to do with heat or fire but is boneh that is you are
> in effect "building" a new physical construct every time you close an
> electric circuit. Therefore there is nothing indeterminate or random about
> electric usage.
Just wanted to point out that the Chazon Ish was a minority opinion
on this. R Shlomo Zalman and others refuted his claim about boneh(or
makeh bepatish - the chazon ish said either or) and paskin that
electricity in general is not a deorytah at all but a derabanan and
only light bulbs and heating coils were considered fire.
Moshe
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Bernard Raab <beraab@...>
Date: Thu, Nov 5,2009 at 02:01 PM
Subject: Cameras, sensors and elevators
> From: Carl Singer
> Seeing the varying responses attributed to several choshev [important --MOD]
> Torah scholars one is reminded that the way one makes related determinations for
> one's own derech and actions is via their own, personal Posek -- NOT via the
> internet or, for that matter, via this forum.
All of the discussants on this matter seem to agree that one can take advantage
of the actions of a non-Jew done for his own benefit. That is the "easy" answer.
The harder question concerns the actions of a non-Jew done for your benefit,
whether you request it or not. The consensus would appear to be that you are
forbidden from taking advantage of that action. In other words, if the doorman
sees you coming and opens the electrically activated door for you, as my doorman
does every day whether I am leaving or arriving, it would appear that on Shabbat
I must decline to take advantage of his action. Perhaps I should wait for
someone else to leave or to arrive, but what if that person is Jewish? In my
building late at night I might have to wait a considerable time out in the cold,
and there is a good chance that the new arrival will be Jewish, and how would I
know? I suppose one might argue (as I do) that the doorman is really doing it
for his benefit since that is his job and if he fails to do it he could lose his
job. This is the essence of Carl's point, if I understand it correctly. We each
of us have to decide how we apply the relevant halacha to his own situation.
Before we turn up our noses at such rationalization, please allow me a further
elaboration: Many years ago (but still in my lifetime), the "Shabbos goy" was a
regular feature of a religious home. (You may remember that Collin Powell,
former US Secretary of State, proudly proclaimed that he was such a Shabbos goy
for his Jewish neighbors in the Bronx.) His job, for which he got paid after
Shabbos, was to deal with the lights in the home, and yes, to light the gas
range or oven as well. These were typically immigrant families, who, unlike many
of their neighbors, were determined to maintain their religious traditions in
the New World. These brave people were the parents or grandparents of many of
our Gedolim today, who would probably decline to eat at their tables today if it
came to that.I emphasize "immigrant" above because we tend to idealize the
religious environment in the European shtetl, where everyone was a frummer Yid.
But that is where the "Shabbos goy" concept originated, and where it was even
more crucial since, typically, a single wood stove provided heat for a one-room
house. Without someone to stoke the stove in the morning, it would simply not
have been possible to survive a winter day in the Ukraine or Galicia. It was not
an invention of the trayf New World.
Kol Tuv--Bernie R.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Carl Singer <carl.singer@...>
Date: Tue, Nov 10,2009 at 10:01 PM
Subject: crossing the street on Shabbos
Carl Singer wrote:
> Back from 2 years learning in Jerusalem, my son told me that on
> Shabbos one doesn't cross the street in such a manner as to cause
> a driver to slow down or stop on their account
Akiva Miller
> I'm not sure what sort of comments you are looking for.
>
> If a person crosses a Jerusalem street on Shabbos, and does so in such a
> manner
> that he does cause a presumably-Jewish driver to slow down or stop on their
> account, he is directly causing that driver to violate Shabbos more than he
> would have otherwise. I can't imagine what arguments one might use to allow
> deliberately crossing the street in such a manner.
Perhaps I need to be a bit more clear.
We're not talking about someone rushing into the street in front of an
oncoming car - thus causing the driver to brake.
We're talking about someone crossing in the normal course of their walking,
legally at a crosswalk / stop sign (let's say) but as a result drivers
approaching this intersection behaves differently than if there were no one
there. For that matter someone standing along side an intersection waiting
for traffic to clear and thus, again, causing a change in driver behavior.
I don't want to reduce this to an absurdity, but at what point does normal
behavior become prohibited.
Carl
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Sammy Finkelman <sammy.finkelman@...>
Date: Tue, Nov 10,2009 at 07:01 PM
Subject: Dina d'malchuta dina
Carl Singer
> If I might (re)start a thread: Dina d'malchuta dina (pardon the
> transliteration [law of the land --MOD])
>
> Of late I've heard some interesting interpretations / discussion of same.
> Variants include:
>
> 1 - It applies to everything (way too literal if you ask me)
> 2 - It doesn't apply - due to some disqualification of the government
> 3 - It applies only to business transactions
> 4 - It applies only to monetary transactions
> 5 - It applies only to transactions between the individual and the
> government (hence only to taxes.)
> comments?
Well, we may be confusing several different ideas, and in the end
giving them the same name.
I think the locus classicus of dinah d'malchuta dina has to do with
monetary matters that a Beis din might have to rule on.
A lot of that has to do with what happens when something wasn't
specified in an agreement.
Jewish law has certain defaults, but Dina d'malchuta dina - whatever
the law of the country says that is what applies. It also means that
you owe taxes.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Batya Medad <ybmedad@...>
Date: Wed, Nov 11,2009 at 02:01 AM
Subject: electric security lights, elevators etc
Actually, there's no end to it, because in today's thermostat world, in
many homes and buildings, every breath we take has an effect on
something electric. All of those central heat/air conditioner systems
are sensitive to the amount of people, their breathing etc. So where do
you draw the line?
Batya <http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/> Shiloh Musings,
<http://me-ander.blogspot.com/> me-ander
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Sammy Finkelman <sammy.finkelman@...>
Date: Tue, Nov 10,2009 at 07:01 PM
Subject: Electricity (was: Cameras and sensors)
Bernard Raab <beraab@...> wrote:
> Here's a thought: Despite Einstein's famous objection to Quantum Theory that
>> "G-d does not play dice with the universe", it is well-accepted today that at
>> the atomic level, the level at which electricity operates, there is really no
>> determinism.
Well we might say now that indeed God does not play dice - but there
are things outside of the chain of causality of the universe.
>> As with the grama switch, the response appears to be
>> instantaneous, but the reality is that there is an indeterminate quality to
>> all electric usage.
On a large scale there is predictable result.
From: David Tzohar <davidtzohar@...>
>
> According to the Hazon Ish the melacha that one transgresses by using
> electricity has nothing to do with heat or fire but is boneh that is you are
> in effect "building" a new physical construct every time you close an
> electric circuit. Therefore there is nothing indeterminate or random about
> electric usage.
Nobody else holds like the Chazon Ish who would make electricity a
melochah deorashah [Shabbat work forbidden by the Torah --MOD].
This was discussed on mail Jewish before and there is a famous article
about all this by Rabbi Michael Broyde published in the Journal of
Halacha & Contemporary Society, No. XXI - Spring 91 - Pesach 5751 :
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: SBA <sba@...>
Date: Wed, Nov 11,2009 at 12:01 AM
Subject: Naming a child "Shem"
The name is rare - but I have seen in mentioned in seforim.
When I was in yeshiva one of the magidei shiur (an old-fashioned,
traditional Hungarian Talmid Chacham) had a son called
Shem-Tov.
SBA
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Yael <ylkpk@...>
Date: Wed, Nov 11,2009 at 01:01 PM
Subject: Prayer Concerning Women who have been Murdered by their Spouses
The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women will be marked on Wednesday, November 25th. A Prayer Concerning Women who have been Murdered by their Spouses is scheduled to be recited on that day, as well as on November 21, Shabbat Parashat Toldot, in shuls throughout the Jewish world. The prayer (Hebrew) was composed by myself in 2001, and, filling a lacuna, soon gained acceptance.
An article charting the various aspects concerning its recitation, and the nusah of the prayer itself, may be found at the following link:
http://www.kolech.com/show.asp?id=24125
Yael Levine
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Joel Rich <JRich@...>
Date: Tue, Nov 10,2009 at 07:01 PM
Subject: The law of the land
Carl Singer wrote:
> If I might (re)start a thread: Dina d'malchuta dina...
>
> Of late I've heard some interesting interpretations / discussion of same.
> Variants include:
>
> 1 - It applies to everything (way too literal if you ask me)
> 2 - It doesn't apply - due to some disqualification of the government
> 3 - It applies only to business transactions
> 4 - It applies only to monetary transactions
> 5 - It applies only to transactions between the individual and the
government (hence only to taxes.)
>
> comments?
===============
Yes!
It all depends on what you understand to be the source of the concept
articulated by the amora Shmuel (why so late????)
Here's a link to one shiur on the topic:
http://download.yutorah.org/2009/1113/738349/Dina%20Dimalchusa%20Dina.MP3
Rabbi David Hirsch - Dina Dimalchusa Dina
If you want a detailed PDF of mekorot, email me.
KT
Joel Rich
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: <Smwise3@...>
Date: Tue, Nov 10,2009 at 07:01 PM
Subject: Visiting graves
I am somewhat bemused by the custom of visiting graves.
What is the purpose behind it? The neshama [soul --MOD] is not entombed there
and the physical part of the human is of no consequence. When we daven [pray
--MOD] at a grave, where are the prayers going? What is the significance
attached that inspires people to visit graves not only of their loved ones but
also of great people?
Stuart Wise
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: David Curwin
Date: Wed, Nov 11,2009 at 12:01 AM
Subject: Why doesn't Avraham tell Sarah ...
The Ramban (18:15 - the last piece) give 2 explanations.
1) Avraham wanted Sarah to hear the good tidings directly from the
messengers of Hashem - the angels.
2) That Avraham was so busy arranging his own Bris Milah as well as that of
his large household (as he was instructed to do) - at the same time as being
told the good news - that there was no opportunity to talk to Sarah. And the
next day he was recovering and still feeling weak.
SBA
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Hillel (Sabba) Markowitz <sabbahillel@...>
Date: Fri, Nov 6,2009 at 11:01 AM
Subject: Why doesn't Avraham tell Sarah about the prophecy of Yitzchak's birth?
From: David Curwin<tobyndave@...>
> At the end of Parashat Lech Lecha, Avraham is told by God that he and Sarah
> will have a son together - Yitzchak. In the beginning of Parashat VaYera, the
> angels come to Avraham and tell him about the upcoming birth of Yitzchak; Sarah
> overhears and is surprised. It would seem to me from this that Avraham did
> not tell Sarah about the prophecy he had only received shortly before. Why
> not?
IIRC, Rambam says that a nevuah is told to others *only* when Hashem
specifically commands that it be told to others. That is why we always
see "leimor" in the Torah when Moshe is being told to tell everyone else.
Similarly in the N'viim we see when then are told to relay the message.
It is possible that Avraham was told as part of the command to perform
bris milah but was not told to tell anyone else. Thus, he would not have
mentioned it to Sarah.
--
Sabba - ' " - Hillel
Hillel (Sabba) Markowitz | Said the fox to the fish, "Join me ashore"
<SabbaHillel@...> | The fish are the Jews, Torah is our water
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Elazar M. Teitz <remt@...>
Date: Tue, Nov 10,2009 at 07:01 PM
Subject: Why is Moses surprised
Russell Hendel, in explanation of Exodus 32:18, refers to the three expressions
appearing in that verse --Anoth Gevurah, Anoth Chalushah and Anoth
> [t]he Hebrew word ANOTH refers to a mob
> like refrain (such as might occur in a victory cry or such as might occur in a
> communal singing). So the Anoth GEVURATH would refer to a VICTORY REFRAIN since
> GEVRUAH means MIGHT. Similarly Anoth CHALUSHAH would refer to a MOURNING REFRAIN
> since CHALUSHAH means WEAKNESS. It would follow that ANOTH (REFRAIN) by itself
> would refer to a MOB TYPE HYSTERIA.
However, he overlooks the fact that the third expression, "anoth," does _not_
mean refrain. It is not the same word as appears in the first two expressions.
Although the letters are the same, the vowels differ: the first two have a
chataf-patach under the first letter, and the second letter has no dagesh
[essentially, a doubling of the consonant], while the last has a full patach and
a dagesh in the second letter. The first two are from the word "aniyah,"
meaning "answering," or, as Russell renders it, "refrain." The last one is from
the word "inuy," which means "oppression." As Rashi comments, it means "words
of cursing, which oppress the ones who hear them."
EMT
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End of Volume 57 Issue 42
