tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23525029884833758632024-02-06T23:46:41.928-08:00Ask Rabbi HassanI am a Sephardic Rabbi and I write about contemporary halakhic issues. askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-18791940694135604002021-12-12T10:53:00.001-08:002021-12-12T10:53:49.605-08:00Fast of the Tenth of Tevet<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify;">Why do we fast on the Tenth of Tevet? The short answer is it was the start of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, 2600 years ago. But if you look a bit deeper the fast actually commemorates 3 things that happened on the 8th, 9th and 10th of Tevet. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify;">O</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify;">n the eighth of Tevet during the Second Temple period, Ptolemy, King of Egypt, ordered the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, a work which later became known as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septuagint" style="color: #992211; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Septuagint</a>. Seventy two sages were placed in solitary confinement and ordered to translate the Torah into Greek. </span></p><div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The expected outcome would be a multitude of different translations that would then be compared and critiqued by the Greeks as there were some sentences in the bible that could be understood as offensive to pagans if taken wrongly and would obviously need to be changed. This would demonstrate the muddled meanings of the Torah and the divergent opinions of Jewish interpreters. </div></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #252525; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 14.9333px;">Masekhet Megillah records the event as follows "</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">King Ptolemy once gathered 72 Elders. He placed them in 72 chambers, each of them in a separate one, without revealing to them why they were summoned. He entered each one's room and said: Write for me the Torah of Moshe, your teacher. God put it in the heart of each one to translate identically as all the others did."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><o:p></o:p></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The Greeks saw this as a most impressive feat at the time. However, despite this great miracle the various rabbinical sources see this event as a tragedy, a debasement of the divine nature of the Torah, and a subversion of its spiritual qualities. They reasoned that upon translation from the original Hebrew, the Torah's legal codes & deeper layers of meaning would be lost. Many Jewish laws are formulated in terms of specific Hebrew words employed in the Torah; without the original Hebrew code, authenticity of the legal system would be damaged. </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Indeed, our reliance on English translations today can be seen as both a blessing and a curse. A blessing to have the ability to study texts that up until now were only available to Hebrew scholars. And a curse since we rely too heavily on their translations and interpretations without properly studying the Hebrew.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I like to view the 10th of Tevet as the polar opposite of Hanukah. On Hanukah, we celebrate the fact that the Greeks and the Hellenized Jews were defeated by the Torah faithful Jews. However, there were costs involved in our survival and living among the Greeks. Our Holy Torah was translated into Greek and this affected our culture and our very way of life. </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">As a child growing up in England, in my teenage years, we would often discuss are we English Jews or are we Jewish Englishmen? To what extent do we value the Western values that enhance our lives and to what extent do they change our views of Judaism? These are the kind of things I ponder this time of year, when the world around us is focusing on Christmas and New Year, we have Hanukah and the fast of Tevet. I think the calendar is designed like this to make us think about our Judaism when it is so much easier to get wrapped up in non-Jewish Holidays instead. </div></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the 9th of Tevet <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezra" style="color: #992211; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Ezra HaSofer</a> who brought the Jews back from Babylon to build the Second Temple died. Some say Nechemia also died. The Tenth itself marks </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians ultimately leading to the destruction of the First Temple. Even though these events took place over a few hundred years. I think the message is clear. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If we allow ourselves to become totally assimilated into foreign cultures it can lead not only to our spiritual numbness but eventually to even worse scenarios. We should not only celebrate our holidays but also commemorate our fasts and hold dear to what is truly valuable. </span></div>askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-90612620663963161432020-03-17T10:33:00.004-07:002020-03-17T10:33:52.699-07:00Translation of Tefilla Composed by Rav Yitzchak Yosef - By Rabbi Yehuda Rapoport<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 124.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Translation
of Tefilla Composed by Rav Yitzchak Yosef, The Rishon Lezion Chief Rabbi of
Israel<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 124.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b><u>Translation
by: Rabbi Yehuda Rapoport</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 124.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 124.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A Prayer
for the Cessation of the Coronavirus, Hashem Should Guard us and Save Us<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 124.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">May it be Your will Hashem our
God and the God of our fathers, that you should have abundant mercy upon all
the inhabitants of the earth, and upon all the inhabitants of this land, and
shield them from all harsh and evil decrees that are arising and coming upon
the world. And save us from all affliction, plague, sickness and disease. And
all those who are sick, who have been infected by the disease, heal them with a
complete healing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 124.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 124.5pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Yours, Hashem, are the greatness, and the might,
and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens
and on the earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom and You are He Who is exalted
over everything as the Leader.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 124.5pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 124.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And in Your hand is the life of
every living thing and the spirit of the flesh of every man, and in your hand
is power and might to make great and strengthen and heal every downtrodden
individual, every oppressed soul. Nothing is too wonderous for you!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 124.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 124.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Therefore, may it be Your will,
the Almighty, trustworthy, compassionate Father, who heals all of the illnesses
of His people Israel. You, the trustworthy Healer, send cure and healing and arise
with abundant compassion, mercy and caring for all of those who are sick, that
have been infected with this illness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 124.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Please Hashem, grant your
kindness upon all the inhabitants of the earth, and upon all of your people
Israel. Please rise up from your throne of judgement and sit upon the throne of
mercy, and go beyond the strict law, and nullify from upon us all harsh and
evil decrees. “And Pinchas stood and prayed, and the plague was stopped.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 124.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 124.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Decree upon us decrees of
goodness, salvation, and consolations for the sake of your kindness and tear
the evil decree of our judgement and let our merits call before us: Raise up
help for us and redeem us for the sake of your mercy!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 124.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Please
hear the voice of our supplications, for you are the One who hears the prayers
of every mouth, blessed is He who hears prayer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">May the
words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be desirous before you, Hashem,
my Rock and my Redeemer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Let the
words of the verse be fulfilled for us: “All of the diseases that were put upon
Egypt, I shall not put upon you, for I am Hashem your Healer.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-48269494360025823582020-03-17T09:30:00.003-07:002020-03-17T09:30:53.262-07:00Cleaning for Pesach Refresher Course!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year's Pesah is going to be like no Pesah we have had
in living memory. Please read this refresher on how to clean Pesah and please
try to stay calm I know this won't be as hard as you think it is.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pesah cleaning
doesn’t have to be a full spring cleaning and it doesn’t have to take from
Purim just to get it all done. Here is a quick guide for Pesah cleaning which
can be done with a medium of fuss. It is
incumbent upon us to clean before Pesah but we are not required nor is it
recommended to arrive at the Seder exhausted.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In order to change our attitudes, we must know the halakha.
There are so many Pesah preparations that are done unnecessarily, where if you
want to do them for extra credit, that's fine. But it's important to understand
what is necessity and what is voluntary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is a guide based on Rav Aviner on How to get ready for
Pesah in just one day!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are going away for Pesah and will not be at home
during the entire holiday, you can be lenient and not clean for Pesah. You
should sell all of the hametz in the house, including all of the crumbs - but
not just the crumbs on their own, because that would have no halachic value. It
is possible, however, to sell the food in the cabinets and closets including
the "hametz dirt." If someone is staying in your house, you need to
clean the rooms which will be used. The remaining unused rooms must be closed off
with tape, and you must sell any hametz which is in them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is still the question of how to fulfill the mitzvah of
Bedikat Hametz (the search for hametz). If you arrive at your Pesah destination
by the fourteenth of Nissan, perform the search there. If you arrive on the
morning of the fourteenth, you should clean well and check a small room, i.e.
the entrance way and not sell the hametz in that room. You must also perform
the search for hametz, with a blessing, in the rooms in which you will live during
Pesah - if no one else has done so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hametz which is less than a "Kezayit" may not be
eaten, but it is not included in the Torah prohibition. Usually, only rooms in which children are
allowed to bring sandwiches or cookies are likely to contain such big pieces of
hametz. A room in which people do not walk around with food does not need to be
cleaned at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Only search for hametz in places in which there is a
reasonable chance of finding it. It is nearly impossible for hametz which is an
inch square to be hidden inside a book! Everybody knows their kids' habits.
Peek, and open here and there. Regarding crumbs in the corners of the house:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. They are not a "Kezayit."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. They are inedible to a dog. If there is bread behind a
cabinet in an unreachable place, nobody will get to it on Pesah and it is as if
it is buried - just as you do not have to search under stones or under the
house's foundations, since nobody will take hametz from there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the way, start "Bedikat Hametz" in a place
where hametz was used, so the blessing will apply to it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Children<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There may be cookies in your kids' pockets. Even the crumbs
must be removed, since a child may put his hand into his pocket and then into
his mouth. Toys must also be checked. However, you may put some or all of the
toys away, and buy new toys as a present for the holiday! This serves a double
purpose of saving work and making the children happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bathroom Cabinets: These may contain hametz, such as wheat
germ oil and alcohol derived from wheat. What a waste to clean it. Close and
tape the cabinets and include it in the sale of hametz.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Couches: You have to check between the pillows. It is an
interesting experience to find lost objects.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dining Room: You do not have to clean everything, just the
place where people eat, i.e. the chairs and the table. Chairs: If the chairs
are clean, there is no need to clean them. If the kids throw cereal or other
things on them and they do not look clean, clean it with a wet rag. Table:
Covering with tablecloths.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">High Chair: If it is plastic, it may be immersed in a tub
with boiling water and cleaning agents. Clean the cracks with a stiff brush. It
is unnecessary to take the chair apart, because whatever is in the cracks and
holes is inedible to a dog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kitchen: This room must be thoroughly cleaned and not one
crumb of hametz left.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For all the appliances see the Vaad Guide pages 17-20<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Refrigerator: Clean it, but it does not have to be a lot of
work. It is best to eat up all hametz before Pesah, but if expensive hametz
food products are left over, i.e. frozen foods, they may be wrapped up well,
labeled "hametz," stored in the back of the freezer/refrigerator and
included in the list of hametz sold before Pesah.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Food Pantry: Do not clean. It is a waste of time. Seal, put
sign or sticker not to use and include it in sale of hametz.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dishes, shelves, and drawers that will not be used on Pesah
may be sealed, and need not be cleaned. There are those who are strict to clean
even the things which are used for hametz, but one can be lenient on account of
three reasons, each of which would be enough:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. We sell all the crumbs together with the sale of hametz.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. The dishes are clean - nobody puts a dirty dish away in
the cabinet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Even if there is "hametz dirt," it is
definitely less than a "Kezayit."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Humrot - Being Strict<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you know that you are being stricter than Halakhah
requires, and you choose to be strict, you deserve a blessing. If you have a
strong desire to clean a lot, you deserve a blessing, especially for Pesah,
"whoever is strict deserves a blessing." You should not, however,
force a stricture on yourself, but accept it with love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pesah Allegre!</span></div>
askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-26916172723785167702020-03-04T08:35:00.000-08:002020-03-04T08:35:15.327-08:00Laws of Purim<div style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 9pt;">
<b style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt; text-indent: 9pt;">Shabbat Parshat Zachor, 11 Adar, March 7th</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">The Shabbat immediately preceding Purim is called Shabbat Zachor. It is very important that everyone comes to synagogue to hear the Torah reading of this special Maftir, since it is a fulfillment of a law found in the Torah. Please bear in mind that hearing Parshat Zachor is a fulfillment of this mitzvah.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><b>Fast of Esther, 13 Adar, Monday, March 9<sup>th</sup></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt; text-indent: 9pt;">This fast commemorates both when the Jews fasted at the behest of Queen Esther in response to the evil decree from the Persian empire and when the Jews fasted on the 13<sup>th</sup> of Adar in preparation for their defense against Haman's decree. There are leniencies for women who are pregnant, nursing or anyone not feeling well. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt; text-indent: 9pt;">If you have any questions about whether to fast, contact</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt; text-indent: 9pt;"> Rabbi Hassan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><b>Machatzit Hashekel</b></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">: In remembrance of the half-shekel given by all males to the Beit Hamikdash in Adar, it is customary to give three coins with a denomination of half of the primary local currency. In the United States, the custom is to give </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt; text-indent: 9pt;">three half-dollars. The machatzit hashekel is given in the synagogue after Mincha on the Fast of Esther or during Purim. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><b>Reading the Megillah</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">Both men and women must hear the reading of the Megillah at night <b>and </b>day. It is customary to bring children to the synagogue to hear the Megillah. However, they should be prevented from making a disturbance. One who is unable to go to the synagogue, should hear the Megillah from someone who is reading from a kosher parchment scroll. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-decoration-line: underline; text-indent: 9pt;">Each word</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt; text-indent: 9pt;"> of the Megillah must be heard to fulfill the mitzvah of listening to the Megillah. Even missing one word invalidates the mitzvah.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><b> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><b>Mishlo'ach Manot</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">On Purim day (and not at night), men and women must send to a fellow Jew at least one food parcel containing two kinds of food or drink which are ready to eat without further preparation. Although one is required to send only one parcel, it is praiseworthy to send parcels to many friends. It is preferable that <span style="text-decoration-line: underline;">one</span> parcel is sent via someone else and not delivered personally. Do not send a parcel to a person within one year of the death of a parent, or within thirty days of the death of other immediate relatives. However, one can send to the person's family members who are not in mourning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><b> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><b>Matanot La'evyonim</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">All men and women must give gifts to the poor on Purim day. The minimum requirement is to give gifts (money or food) to at least two poor persons. Those who are liberal with their giving on Purim will be blessed. The Nathan Etkin Chesed Fund distributes Matanot La'evyonim to local poor people <span style="text-decoration-line: underline;">on Purim day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><b> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><b>The Purim Feast</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">Men and women are obligated to have a festive bread meal on Purim day. It is preferable to have a meat meal. A man should drink a little more than usual at the Seudah. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">Purim Allegre and Purim Sameach</span></div>
askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-71183903930342421882020-02-28T08:27:00.003-08:002020-02-28T08:27:24.435-08:00Shabbat Zachor Short Reflections<br />
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This Shabbat we read Parashat
Zachor – 3 pesukim which command us to remember what Amalek did to us after we
left Egypt and to utterly destroy their memory. This has to be one of the
hardest mitzvot in the Torah to understand from a moral/ethical standpoint.
Hashem is asking us to commit genocide. For sure Amalek committed a heinous
crime by attacking the old and the young but how can we justify the killing of
an entire nation – men, women and children? Not to mention this law doesn’t
apply to the Egyptians or the Greeks or the Romans who caused great harm to the
Jewish people over the years.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So what was so bad about their
attack? The nation of Amalek were descended from Esav. Although Esav made a
tentative peace with Yaakov, Esav still passed on to his children and
grandchildren a hatred for the Jewish people. A hatred so severe that they were
willing to travel hundreds of miles from their home to kill innocent Jews.
Amalek were unlike any other nation because they attacked us for no reason
other than pure hatred. We weren’t looking to conquer their land and we didn’t
stand in their way either. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Rambam in his Mishneh Torah
(Hilkhot Melakhim 6:1-4) explains that the commandment to wipe out Amalek is
only applicable when Amalek refuses to keep the 7 mitzvot that Noah was
commanded (Not to murder, not to steal, not to commit sexual immorality, not to
worship idols, not to blaspheme the name of God, not to eat an animal while it
is still alive and to set up law courts.) In a way, the Rambam is saying it is
the behavior of Amalek that is the problem, if we were to re-educate them, they
would no longer be Amalek.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Amalek also had another problem
other than their lack of moral behavior and hatred of the Jews and that was
that they didn’t believe in God. The verse states that ‘he did not fear God’.
This was the very reason that Amalek attacked the way they did when they did
it. All the other nations were terrified of the Jewish people and Hashem but
Amalek said we don’t fear God and went off to attack us. Amalek failed in their
mission to destroy us but they did succeed in their audacity to attack God.
Hashem said the problem with Amalek was they were the moral opposite of us. That
is the reason we have to blot out their way of life completely. However, if
they change their ways then the mitzvah no longer applies. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Shabbat Shalom,<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-79374918676377377102020-02-28T08:24:00.001-08:002020-02-28T08:24:16.171-08:00Geniza Day - Yevar La Ley<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Our
Sifrei Torah do not last forever. We have several Sifrei Torah that are too old
and worn out to be used, the writing is too cracked and faded and the parchment
too fragile. In Jewish Law and tradition, we bury Sifrei Torah that are too old
to be used. Al Maimon pointed out to me in his father’s writings an old custom
called </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Yevar La Ley</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> which means burying holy objects. Every two to three
years the Sephardic community would go to the cemetery and bury old prayer
books and Rabbinic works.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 120%;">It is
our desire to bring the whole community together to take part in this noble
endeavor of burying our holy <i>Sifrei Torah</i> together with old <i>Humashim,
Siddurim</i> and the like. Please save the date of <b>May 3rd at 11:00 AM</b>
at the Seattle Sephardic Brotherhood Cemetery for this auspicious occasion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Please
note Shabbat programs, photocopied sheets, synagogue newsletters and Jewish
magazines etc. do not need to be put in <i>geniza</i> and should be wrapped in
a paper bag and recycled. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Eras Bold ITC",sans-serif; font-size: 19.0pt; line-height: 120%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Eras Bold ITC";">Burying Holy Objects</span><span style="font-size: 19pt; line-height: 120%;"><span style="font-family: Eras Bold ITC Bold;"> </span></span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 120%;">(Yevar
La Ley) </span></i></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">by
Sam Bension Maimon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Aside
from the burial, there are several other occasions at which time Jewish people
go up to the cemetery, referred to as <i>Beth Hahayim</i> (house of the
living).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, such as going to
unveil a tombstone, or going to make a “visit” to our dear departed, or going
to say prayers on <i>Erev Rosh Hashanah</i> or <i>Erev Yom Kippur</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 120%;">One
such special event that was prevalent in the early days of our Seattle
Sephardic community was the custom of making a pilgrimage to the cemetery for
the purpose of <i>yevar la ley</i>, literally “to carry the law.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was done probably once every three
years, and most often coincided with the Sunday or the week of <i>Lag La Omer</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 120%;">To
understand this practice, we would do well to review, in short, the rabbinical
rule that anytime any religious object got worn out or became unusable, rather
than throw it in the junk heap, we are bid to put it away in the <i>geniza</i>
(a small storeroom or a cupboard).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
is done to avoid the desecration of the name or names of God that these objects
might contain. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A torn out page from a
Bible, or an old <i>mezuza</i> contains the name of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s our duty to treat these names of God
with dignity and respect and not to discard them wantonly, without regard to
its sacred contents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 120%;">Every
synagogue has a <i>geniza</i>, where members bring in their worn out leaves
from <i>tefilah</i> (prayer) books, old <i>talets</i> (prayer shawls), <i>mezuzot
</i>(small parchment with biblical passages affixed to doorpost), <i>tefilin</i>
(phylacteries), etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When these
storerooms or cupboards get too full, all the contents of the <i>geniza</i>
were gathered and taken to the <i>Beth Hahayim</i> to be buried in a special
grave set aside for this purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 120%;">In our
Seattle Sephardic community, when the men in charge had determined that there
was enough <i>ojas de ley</i> (torn pages from sacred books, etc.) to warrant
such a pilgrimage to the cemetery, this <i>geniza</i> material was filled up in
several gunny sacks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The general public
also accompanied this procession, which included singing and dancing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People today still talk about this as a very
unusual and happy occasion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 120%;">When
the people reached the cemetery, the chairman then would announce that there
were so many gunny sacks filled with<i> la ley</i> and that each gunny sack was
to be auctioned off, the highest bidder thus acquiring the privilege of accomplishing
the <i>mitzva </i>of <i>enterar la ley</i>, or burying that particular sackful
in the appropriate “grave,” and so the chairman would sing, “<i>Kuanto dan por
el primer saco de la ley?</i>” (“How much is offered for the first sack of the
law?”) Each gunny sack that was sold was accompanied to the place while the
audience would sing appropriate songs including <i>Bar Yohay</i>, a song which
Jewish people usually sing on <i>Lag La Omer</i> in tribute to the memory of
the saintly <i>Tanna </i>Rabbi Shimon Ben Yohay who died on <i>Lag La Omer</i>.</span></div>
askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-54471384770840072322020-02-26T08:17:00.002-08:002020-02-26T08:17:13.237-08:00Is God in Our Synagogues?<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">In this week’s Perasha, God
tells Moshe to “make for me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst”
(Shemot 25:8). Note that God plans to dwell among the Jewish people and not in
the sanctuary. The Ohr HaHaim (17</span><sup style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> Century Moroccan Rabbi) explains
that this refers not only to the </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">mishkan</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> – Tabernacle and </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Batei
Mikdash</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> – Temples but also to our synagogues when we are in exile. This
means that when we show our devotion to God by praying to Him in kal, he will
rest his divine presence upon us. As Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch (19</span><sup style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
Century German Rabbi) explains the true meaning of the verse “is the proximity
of God in our midst”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Ohr HaHaim bases his
explanation on a verse from Yechezkel (11:16) “Thus said the Lord God,
‘Although I have removed them far away among the nations, and although I have
scattered them among the lands, yet I have remained for them a small sanctuary
in the lands where they arrived.’” Rashi explains that the small sanctuary, the
<i>mikdash me’at</i> is the synagogue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The <i>Gemara </i>in <i>Masekhet
Megillah</i> (29a) explains that the <i>mikdash me’at</i> can also refer to <i>Batei
Midrash</i> – study houses. Indeed, when the <i>Mashiach</i> comes, these mini
sanctuaries will be uprooted and transported to the land of Israel. In <i>Masekhet
Berakhot</i> (6a) the <i>Gemara</i> tells us that prayer is only truly heard in
synagogue as that is where God is found. The <i>Gemara</i> (<i>Berakhot 8a</i>)
also tells us that one who spends long hours in the synagogue and study houses
will have length of days – a blessing reserved for one who lives in Israel as
the verse states “that your days mays may be multiplied and the days of your
children, upon the land”. The <i>Gemara</i> explains that the synagogue is an
extension of the Land of Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Ramban in a long passage
to Shemot 13:16 explains “<span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">the purpose of
synagogues and the merit of praying with a congregation</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span> </span><span style="mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">is this: that
people should have a place they can gather and acknowledge to God that He
create them and caused them to be, and where they can publicize this and
declare before Him “we are Your creations” This the intent of Chazal in what
they said “and they shall call out mightily to God”. </span>From here you learn
that prayer requires a voice, for boldness can overcome evil.” From the Ramban
we see the significance of synagogue as actualizing our ability to pray to God.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, if we aren’t truly
calling out to God in prayer, does God really rest his divine presence in our
synagogues? Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo argues that God is preparing to
leave our synagogues as we aren’t fulfilling their purpose. It is only when we
use the synagogues as they are intended that we can hope to have Hashem’s
divine presence upon us. It is a call to challenge us to not only build the
synagogue, not only visit the synagogue, but to call out fervently in prayer to
our Father in heaven.</span></div>
askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-59169839008307383052020-02-17T09:40:00.000-08:002020-02-17T09:40:19.663-08:00An Eye for an Eye<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">This week’s Torah portion
contains one of the most misunderstood passages in the entire Torah. In Shemot
(21:22-25) we have the following section of verses: “And should men quarrel and
hit a pregnant woman, and she miscarries but there is no fatality, he shall
surely be punished, when the woman's husband makes demands of him, and he shall
give restitution according to the judges' orders. But if there is a fatality,
you shall give a life for a life. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a
hand for a hand, a foot for a foot. A burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a
bruise for a bruise.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Throughout the centuries many
have misunderstood “an eye for an eye” to be revenge punishment. In the 20<sup>th</sup>
Century, Martin Luther King said “The old law of an eye for an eye leaves
everyone blind.” And Mahatma Ghandi said<span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> “An eye for an eye only ends up
making the whole world blind.”</span> Even Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof says
“The whole world will be blind and toothless.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But our Oral Tradition has
always understood these verses to be talking about monetary repayments. As
Rashi citing the Talmud writes “<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If
a person blinds his neighbor’s eye, he must give him the value of his eye,
which is how much his price to be sold in the marketplace has decreased without
the eye. So is the meaning of all of them i.e., all the injuries enumerated in
the following verses, but not the actual amputation of a limb, as our Rabbis
interpreted it in P</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: HE;">erek Hahovel</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">” (commentary to Shemot 21:24).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Many think that this means that our written Torah was
humanized by the Rabbis centuries later. But this is not the case as we know
that God gave Moshe not only the <i>Torah Shebichtav</i> – The Written Torah
but also the <i>Torah Sheba’alpe</i> – The Oral Torah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rabbi Shmuel Goldin writes in his excellent
work <i>Unlocking the Torah Text </i>“</span>Why doesn’t the Torah simply say
what it means? Over the ages, the “eye for an eye” formula has been cited by
critics as proof of the vengeful, primitive nature of Mosaic Law. If the Torah
never meant to mandate physical punishment in cases of personal injury, why
wasn’t the text more clearly written? A great deal of misunderstanding, misinterpretation
and trouble could have been avoided had the Torah simply stated, ‘The court
shall levy the appropriate compensatory payment in cases of personal injury.’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rabbi Goldin explains “the
Torah confronts a serious dilemma as it moves to convey its deeply nuanced
approach to cases of personal injury: using the tools at its disposal, how can
Jewish law best reflect the discrepancy between ‘deserved’ and ‘actual’
punishment?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“The gravity of the crime is
such that, on a theoretical level, on the level of ‘deserved punishment,’ the
case belongs squarely in the realm of <i>dinei nefashot</i> (capital law). The
perpetrator truly merits physical loss of limb in return for the damage
inflicted upon his victim. Torah law, however, will not consider physical
mutilation as a possible punishment for a crime. The penalty must therefore be
commuted into financial terms. Had the Torah, however, mandated financial
payment from the outset, the full gravity of the crime would not have been
conveyed. The event would have been consigned to the realm of dinei mamonot
(monetary crimes), and the precious nature of human life and limb would have
been diminished. The Torah therefore proceeds to express, with delicate
balance, both theory and practice within the law.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Shabbat Shalom<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-10263238186106107092020-02-09T11:25:00.002-08:002020-02-09T11:25:29.934-08:00Dvar Torah on Parashat Yitro<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Amalek and Yitro: Non-Jewish attitudes towards Jews<o:p></o:p></div>
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At the end of last week’s Torah portion we read about Amalek’s attack on the Jewish people. This week we read about Yitro’s arrival in the Israelite camp to reunite Moshe with his wife and children. According to rabbinic tradition Yitro came to convert to Judaism. So at first glance there doesn’t seem to be many similarities between these two stories. However, our Rabbis have used the two stories to learn about the different attitudes that the non-Jewish world can have for us.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Amalek responds by trying to exterminate the Jewish people. Because Amalek is represented as the paradigm of an evil nation that fears and negates the presence of God, the Jewish people is enjoined to wage a war against Amalek, and all of those who are like him throughout the generations. Yitro on the other hand represents the righteous gentile, who upon hearing of the wondrous events of the Ten Plagues and the splitting of the sea comes to visit the Jewish people in the desert. Indeed Yitro praises God for all the goodness that befalls the Jewish people.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Ibn Ezra notes that the Torah chooses to place the two stories together to contrast Yitro and Amalek. On the one side we have the evil that Amalek perpetrated against Israel and on the other the goodness of Yitro and his kind counsel. Unlike Yitro, the Amalekites seek out Israel not to attach themselves to their exalted destiny, not to embrace the word of God that they journey towards Sinai to receive. Quite the contrary, Amalek brutally attacks in order to emphatically dispel those very truths that the people of Israel represent. <o:p></o:p></div>
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However, if we take a deeper look at Yitro, there are some interesting things to be learned. The Torah says that Yitro was <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">חד</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>. This is a very difficult word to translate. The most common translation is that he rejoiced coming from the Hebrew word <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">חדוה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>. Rashi also brings a Midrashic interpretation too. He writes that “Yitro’s flesh became prickly with goose bumps <span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">חִדּוּדִין חִדּוּדִּין</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> because he was upset about the destruction of the Egyptians.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rabbi Gabe Pransky, a fellow graduate of Yeshivat Hamivtar writes on the significance of Yitro’s goose bumps. “This Midrash teaches us something about the complexity of the human heart. Although consciously and overtly identified with the Jewish people, Yitro cannot, apparently, simply erase who he was and how he once felt. On a visceral level, he still retains his feelings for the Egyptian nation. His newer relationship with Moshe, God, and the Jewish people does not erase his old personality, or his old sensitivities. We are complex beings. We can consciously choose and espouse one set of values and beliefs, while at the same time, on a deeper, more intuitive level, harbor within us very different, even opposing, emotional connections and responses.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“It is not an accident that the Rabbis see Yitro’s body – his flesh – as the thing that gives him away, and reveals to us, and to him, who he really is, underneath. In addition to the conscious, intellectual choice which Yitro has made to praise God and recognize the miracles He has done for His people, he also has a set of deeply felt emotional commitments which he cannot simply decide to undo. Like the rest of us, Yitro lives somewhere in between who he is, and who he would like to be.”</div>
askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-87604292300788475072020-01-26T13:14:00.002-08:002020-01-26T13:14:30.938-08:00Dvar Torah on Parashat BoDvar Torah - The Jewish People Ask for Gold and Silver Vessels – by Rabbi Hassan Based on the teachings of Rav Hirsch<br /><br />Our Parasha has all the highlights of Pesach. The last three plagues, the laws of the Korban Pesach, Yetziyat Mitzrayim and … the Jews asking for gold and silver from the Egyptians. Why is this detail mentioned in the climax of the redemption of our nation?<br /><br />When Hashem foretold to Avraham the exile of his descendants, He said “You shall surely know that your seed will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will enslave them and oppress them, for four hundred years. And, the nation that they will serve I will judge, and afterwards they will go forth with great possessions.” (Bereshit 15:13-14) Hashem promised to Avraham that we would leave with great wealth but as slaves we didn’t have any possessions. Everything belonged to Pharaoh.<br /><br />Hashem commands Moshe to tell the people “Please speak in the ears of the people. Let each man request of his fellow and each woman from her fellow silver vessels and gold vessels. Hashem granted the people favor in the eyes of Egypt. Moreover, the man Moshe was very great in the land of Egypt, in the eyes of the servants of Paroh, and in the eyes of the people.” (Shemot 11:2-3) How did former slaves become so great in the eyes of their former masters?<br /><br />Hashem provided the Egyptians with a powerful demonstration of the character of the Jewish people. For three days, the Egyptians were immobilized by the plague of darkness. Everything they possessed was available to the Jews for the taking. Moreover, they themselves were fair game to anyone seeking vengeance and reprisal for all the horrors inflicted upon the slave-nation by their Egyptian masters.<br /><br />When the Egyptians began to see again, it was not only with a sense of relief at having survived their ordeal, but of disbelief that they and their possessions had emerged unscathed and unmolested. Their dwellings were fully in order; nothing at all was missing. The Jews, free to help themselves of whatever they pleased – and with good reason to do so – had taken nothing at all. In an instant, they comprehended the moral nobility of the people with whom they had dealt so unjustly. Moshe, the leader of that people, achieved stature in their eyes for guiding them to moral greatness. This – not all the plagues he had visited upon them – made him great in their eyes.<br /><br />Why does the Torah say “please speak” surely the Jewish People would have been happy to carry out this command? The Jews must have sensed their triumph, and understood that they had laid firm and unambiguous claim to the moral high road. Once in possession of it, they would not part with it easily. This is why they had to be urged and cajoled “please speak” to ask their newly-found admirers for gifts. Having tasted the sweet taste of moral significance, they were unwilling to trade away any part of it for money. Accepting money – blood money – from their erstwhile oppressors would buy some atonement for the Egyptians, and narrow the moral gap between the two peoples.<br /><br />Why, then, did Hashem want them to accept the reparations? The Jews stood on the threshold of genuine peoplehood. They would cross the border of Egypt as a nation, not a huge collection of individuals. Hashem was already looking towards the future, shaping their future well-being at the very moment that he was sculpting them into a complete nation. He was concerned about their future. Their material prosperity was no small part of it. The foundation of that prosperity should be strong, and He wanted the first deposit into their account to be made by outsiders who had recognized the moral greatness of Hashem’s chosen people. The first installment in their savings plan should be elevated above the ordinary by linking it to a Jewish success in spreading awareness of Hashem and His teaching.<br /><br />Shabbat Shalomaskrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-74156715414345968142017-08-15T15:50:00.001-07:002017-08-18T09:38:23.055-07:00Eclipses in Jewish Thought<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On August 21st there will be a solar eclipse. For some of us it will be a total solar eclipse. Is there any significance to eclipses in Judaism? In the Book of Joel (found in the 12 ''minor prophets" - known for their shorter prophecies - not lesser significance) there is reference both to a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse: </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPgjOWwoP-wb-GA5IKcDh9JJjdssBcSiBxtVVzi7BCN_antk54ZPiS9ygRVkRsQ4UO7iF-GzTD0tPsIRUDO7_q17WzdWj03MIzYgAtZRIZRYBxTyVkxbOjg3OFu-cakXIUf8XBh_GkZEh9/s1600/blood+moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="173" data-original-width="292" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPgjOWwoP-wb-GA5IKcDh9JJjdssBcSiBxtVVzi7BCN_antk54ZPiS9ygRVkRsQ4UO7iF-GzTD0tPsIRUDO7_q17WzdWj03MIzYgAtZRIZRYBxTyVkxbOjg3OFu-cakXIUf8XBh_GkZEh9/s200/blood+moon.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdVWrHZFpZFN76Zy89jA5FD-t4qTDGBWv32lcr_TMPdiBEpqtvxnrGIfzk3TTgHoxWOle144fEpHbu6CI0gzkslsBKkI1ORJ4uER8y6KhErcjRyyMdNsO1FuJ66E7hBQIf6jMA1OwG5spv/s1600/solar-eclipse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdVWrHZFpZFN76Zy89jA5FD-t4qTDGBWv32lcr_TMPdiBEpqtvxnrGIfzk3TTgHoxWOle144fEpHbu6CI0gzkslsBKkI1ORJ4uER8y6KhErcjRyyMdNsO1FuJ66E7hBQIf6jMA1OwG5spv/s200/solar-eclipse.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial";">"The sun shall turn to darkness, and the moon to blood, prior to the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord" (Joel 3:4). </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial";">The sun turning to darkness is a solar eclipse, the blood moon is a lunar eclipse. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashi" target="_blank">Rashi</a> in his commentary to Joel says that the solar eclipse is a sign for sun worshipers to realize that God is not a sun. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial";">J</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial";">eremiah has this piece of advice "</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial";">So says the Lord: of the way of the nations you shall not learn, <b><u>and from the signs of the heaven be not dismayed</u></b>, for the nations are dismayed from them." (10:2)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;">You can find the main literature on eclipses in the Talmud in Tractate Succah 29a. It brings 3 opinions for what an eclipse means. The first is that a solar eclipse is a bad sign for the world. The analogy is of a master preparing an evening meal for his servants and then removing the candles. The second opinion is that both solar and lunar eclipses are bad for the Jewish people. The 3rd position is that solar eclipses are bad for those who follow a solar calendar and lunar eclipses are bad for those who follow a lunar calendar. However, the <i>Gemara</i> concludes with the verse from Jeremiah and states that if we are serving Hashem wholeheartedly we have nothing to fear. Despite this third opinion</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial";"> the </span><i style="font-family: arial;">Gemara </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial";">and the </span><i style="font-family: arial;">rishonim</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial";"> - (Rabbis between 1000 - 1500) considered the Gemara a bad omen and even gave reasons for why eclipses happened. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;">Today, we have a better understanding of science we have to ask a fundamental question. What is the <i>Gemara</i> talking about? This is just an act of nature it doesn't mean anything good or bad! The general approach of the <i>acharonim</i> - the latter commentators is that the eclipses were set up by Hashem in his rules for nature. They are there to remind us that sometimes we are blocking our own ability to connect with Hashem in a deeper way. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;">Do we make a <i>beracha</i> on an eclipse? There was a thought to say the <i>beracha</i> - <i>baruch dayan ha'emet - </i>the blessing after the loss of a loved one. But the loss of sunlight is so short <i> </i>the consensus is not to make a <i>beracha</i>. The consensus is not to make a <i>beracha</i> because it is not mentioned in the <i>Gemara</i>. Why did the <i>Gemara</i> not mention a <i>beracha</i> - probably a combination of it being short lived and because it is a bad omen. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayim_David_HaLevi" target="_blank">Rav Haim David HaLevy</a>, the former Chief Rabbi and Av Beit Din of Tel Aviv was asked perhaps with the new knowledge that eclipses are not bad omens perhaps we should make a beracha. He writes the following </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Our Rabbis instituted blessings over acts of creation and powerful
natural events, like lightning and thunder and so on. However, they
did not do so for a lunar or solar eclipse. And if only today we could
institute a blessing when we are aware that an eclipse is indeed an
incredible natural event. But we cannot, for a person is forbidden to
make up a blessing. If a person still wants to make some form of a
blessing, he should recite the verses “And David blessed…blessed
are you, G-d, the L-rd of our father Israel, who performs acts of
creation."</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you'd like to read more about halachic and hashkafic nature of eclipses please <a href="http://www.hakirah.org/vol23brown.pdf" target="_blank">click here </a>to read this scholarly work by Dr. Jeremy Brown. For more on whether to make a beracha <a href="http://library.yctorah.org/lindenbaum/to-bless-or-not-to-bless-that-is-the-question/" target="_blank">click here</a> to read an article by Rabbi Dov Linzer</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>I hope you enjoy the eclipse. Please remember to use the correct eyewear if you plan to look at the sun. </b></span></span><br />
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askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-72355084641582140652017-07-11T12:51:00.002-07:002020-07-17T10:35:22.457-07:00Preparing for Tisha B'Av 5777/2017<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
Preparing for Tisha B'Av</h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm calling this blog post preparing for Tisha B'Av because the mourning customs we have leading up to the fast day are all designed to prepare us for the intensity of the day. Without preparation a person can struggle to really feel the significance and poignancy of the day.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQmE5OaRe00BugJXqcwe3TuqA-Zs3KQOWdH2UocZRo-6j473MDAhn0glC05Pxb3aNVVSPp_Lh1DQORhBEJx8klCJI6FQGWB2kiXewcor1MK5yyJ-YxaEd0CJI8dmk6y5h4fZJkwRMUPPbG/s1600/destruction+of+2nd+temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #771100; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQmE5OaRe00BugJXqcwe3TuqA-Zs3KQOWdH2UocZRo-6j473MDAhn0glC05Pxb3aNVVSPp_Lh1DQORhBEJx8klCJI6FQGWB2kiXewcor1MK5yyJ-YxaEd0CJI8dmk6y5h4fZJkwRMUPPbG/s1600/destruction+of+2nd+temple.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In just under 3 weeks we will commemorate Tisha B'av when we will mourn the destruction of our two holy temples and every Jewish tragedy that has befallen our people from the sin of the spies to the holocaust. There is no other day like Tisha B'Av. At the same time it is hard to feel a personal tragedy for the destruction of the 2nd temple that happened almost 2000 years ago. This is something our rabbis understood very well and as such they instituted a number of mourning customs to lead up to this sobering day.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJvZFhSahi6yjPWN1Uol5o_MIV5b44Xa5Ckp256JXPmUwf5P_J7dsj_7Hwxahzb8HLOTCE2CC22mpyff_l93TF2jiFwHCcX1sFz7p7lDCIdXCUhB38mYY_njWu8ccF5eBgQzWK5IAq2aNH/s1600/no+music.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #771100; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJvZFhSahi6yjPWN1Uol5o_MIV5b44Xa5Ckp256JXPmUwf5P_J7dsj_7Hwxahzb8HLOTCE2CC22mpyff_l93TF2jiFwHCcX1sFz7p7lDCIdXCUhB38mYY_njWu8ccF5eBgQzWK5IAq2aNH/s1600/no+music.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The customs of different Jewish communities vary, I will try and concentrate on the main ones and explain them a little bit. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are four stages of mourning. The first stage is the 17th of Tammuz till Rosh Hodesh. In this period Sephardim don't wear new clothes or say the blessing of Shehecheyanu on a new fruit except on Shabbat. Many refrain from listening to music for the full three weeks but this is not found in the Talmud or Shulkhan Arukh.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The next period of mourning intensity is from Rosh Hodesh Av till Shabbat. The third period is called Shevua Shechal Bo - the week that Tisha B'Av falls. (E.g. if Tisha B'Av falls on a Monday night/Tuesday then Shevua Shechal Bo is from Saturday night until midday the day after the fast.) Finally we have the most severe mourning customs on Tisha B'Av itself. Generally speaking the Sephardic customs are more lenient than for Ashkenazim. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCID_PQ5VlfocW3wj-Vew9b50MJ7-9Dy6HPDEBbMOjgWlUijIDC30CGz-2S-zAQ4dn3QUXFdE9W2c6-UfNrqdTqKimQ2pUimcQVGjQOtAy7rZ4l5do6h-s_p5rnEGdGfPaXWQcjYTUb-_V/s1600/no+meat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #771100; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCID_PQ5VlfocW3wj-Vew9b50MJ7-9Dy6HPDEBbMOjgWlUijIDC30CGz-2S-zAQ4dn3QUXFdE9W2c6-UfNrqdTqKimQ2pUimcQVGjQOtAy7rZ4l5do6h-s_p5rnEGdGfPaXWQcjYTUb-_V/s1600/no+meat.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="199" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Starting on Rosh Hodesh and including Rosh Hodesh Jews from Turkey, as well as Ashkenazim have the custom to abstain from meat (including chicken) and wine until the 10th of Av. The exception being on Shabbat when we eat meat to the same level that we would on a regular Shabbat. Other Sephardic communities including many from Rhodes refrain from meat from the 2nd of Av till the 10th. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When it comes to drinking the wine/grape juice after havdallah, Ashkenazim give the cup to a child whereas for us we follow Rabbi Yosef Caro and drink it ourselves.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2jnNLoxiOyMvfJghKiDs00JWLm5rlFZYjEaUu0sGKJ8JMOm66Cj-UUNTXkq-xESG5DucGTEeWaFAaPoT5w9ZKTcTUEn9PqyFg-sVKe-IHIsWbo75EM7nRjNuG1JgbT14eR_P9IFtFDn9n/s1600/beard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #771100; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2jnNLoxiOyMvfJghKiDs00JWLm5rlFZYjEaUu0sGKJ8JMOm66Cj-UUNTXkq-xESG5DucGTEeWaFAaPoT5w9ZKTcTUEn9PqyFg-sVKe-IHIsWbo75EM7nRjNuG1JgbT14eR_P9IFtFDn9n/s1600/beard.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="183" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Shevuah Shechal Bo</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Starting from Saturday night, Sephardic men refrain from haircuts and shaving. (Some follow the custom of our Ashkenazic brothers and do not have haircuts for the entire three week period from the 17th of Tammuz.) We do not do any laundry, we only take short showers out of necessity, we only change our undergarments or any clothes that are soiled. We also aren't allowed to go swimming for pleasure (and most people don't have swimming lessons either since they can be fun too).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When Tisha B'Av is nidche (pushed off) to Sunday. Many halachic authorities do not consider there a need to have a Shevuah Shechal Bo at all. As such it is permitted to do laundry and shower and even to swim. Most people are strict and avoid having haircuts. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Erev Tisha B'Av</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The day before Tisha B'Av we continue to learn Torah until sunset. (Ashkenazim stop learning regular Torah portions at midday.) After this time we are only allowed to learn Torah that is upsetting such as reading Eicha - The book of Lamentations describing the destruction of the First Temple, Sefe Iyov - The Book of Job, Sections from the prophet Jeremiah, Sections from the Talmud dealing with the destruction of the First and Second Temples and Kinot - poems about Jewish tragedies throughout the ages.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXthE8zaiEBZII9AGB_2LGvoccSUQtSBU1aap8T-rJ4p8VD68p475_DSj0lRXcnEmPIw5-Ve4n205f0vzZKwSVDVMCJXhYpin_DHPA69RyWQnmwP947725QL12n8OvdVlrtPlW7I6oH8O6/s1600/rice+and+lentils.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #771100; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXthE8zaiEBZII9AGB_2LGvoccSUQtSBU1aap8T-rJ4p8VD68p475_DSj0lRXcnEmPIw5-Ve4n205f0vzZKwSVDVMCJXhYpin_DHPA69RyWQnmwP947725QL12n8OvdVlrtPlW7I6oH8O6/s1600/rice+and+lentils.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On Erev Tisha B'Av we have a Seudah Hamafseket. This is the last meal before the fast. The meal should consist of only one cooked dish. Two foods that are normally cooked together are considered one dish. So for example a dish of egg and lentils would be ok to eat. One can also eat bread with this meal too. My practice, has been to have a normal pre fast meal a few hours before the fast. Then just before the fast I have a piece of toast and I sit on the floor and think of the destruction. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When Erev Tisha B'Av is on Shabbat none of these laws apply and we treat the day like a regular Shabbat. However, one must be careful to finish Seudah Shelishit before the fast starts. Please note that the fast begins before Shabbat ends. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Tisha B'Av</b></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidMiqmkE2mi5hay1bmJ3MOiA933p647k18T1PI91oWM1sKhk-CpocdtUCPIP64mqwPi26U9f4DciU4JYXt8PHSSyre_3rLnrP2BkCu6l7yAf3cl07UZN4gqQQemZFy8KGXwUSDl-BZCIFh/s1600/fasting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #771100; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidMiqmkE2mi5hay1bmJ3MOiA933p647k18T1PI91oWM1sKhk-CpocdtUCPIP64mqwPi26U9f4DciU4JYXt8PHSSyre_3rLnrP2BkCu6l7yAf3cl07UZN4gqQQemZFy8KGXwUSDl-BZCIFh/s1600/fasting.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Apart from learning Torah that makes us happy there are five things which are prohibited on Tisha B’av. Eating and drinking, washing, rubbing one’s body with oils or lotions, wearing leather shoes, and marital relations. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although not strictly forbidden, it is strongly recommended to take the day off on Tisha B'Av or at least not to work until halachic midday (1:15pm). Since we are all considered mourners on this day, we do not greet each other.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ladies who have given birth within 30 days are exempt from the fast. Similarly, anyone who has a serious illness or would become ill from fasting is exempt.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The liturgy on Tisha B'Av is very powerful and the tunes are very moving. Although one isn't supposed to enjoy the tunes on Tisha B'Av, my grandfather of blessed memory would love to hum the melodies of Tisha B'Av throughout the year. One of the powerful kinot contrasts the festival of Pesach with Tisha B'Av using the famous "</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ma Nishtana - Why is this night different from all other nights?"</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNgqBwU6e9zMK6siJrkXzSp26RbQsUZA8-UcPoaOR59PtpQnQVz3JX2XyNZj4AdH_T6aXIq-g3S0GrYVKafHrJb70FpyTMr3mJl-5lOEVqdSZDHLpZyzJqUmyp5iSFZ0v4GTxlT23ZWb4t/s1600/tisha+b'av+night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #771100; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNgqBwU6e9zMK6siJrkXzSp26RbQsUZA8-UcPoaOR59PtpQnQVz3JX2XyNZj4AdH_T6aXIq-g3S0GrYVKafHrJb70FpyTMr3mJl-5lOEVqdSZDHLpZyzJqUmyp5iSFZ0v4GTxlT23ZWb4t/s1600/tisha+b'av+night.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On Tisha B'Av night the lights are dimmed low, or tea lights are used. We sit on the floor and read Eicha - The book of lamentations. On Tisha B'Av day we don't wear talet and tefillin in the synagogue and we continue to sit on the floor. (Some Sephardim have the custom to wear them privately at home before coming to services but that is not the SBH minhag). We again read Eicha and more sad kinot. After midday we are allowed to sit on regular seats and at minha we wear talet and tefillin. Since we are forbidden to learn Torah on Tisha B'Av, if one learns daily, that learning should be done either the day before or the day after Tisha B'Av. Tehillim may be recited on Tisha B'Av itself but only after halachic midday (1:15pm).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The mourning practices are in reverse to those of a loved one. Instead of most intense to least intense, we go from least to most. The idea being that we must prepare ourselves for it. If we were to go straight into the strict mourning of Tisha B'Av without the three weeks of preparations we would struggle to find meaning. Instead we build up gradually. As we do that this year let us work on our mitzvah observance and the way we interact with others. May Hashem grant peace in Israel.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When the fast finishes, one should still not eat meat or drink wine until Midday the following day. The reason being that when the Second Temple was destroyed it continued burning for much of the 10th of Av. Other restrictions such as showering and shaving etc. are permitted from the end of the fast. (Ashkenazim wait until midday for those too).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When Tisha B'Av is commemorated on the 10th, one does not need to wait until midday of the next day.</span></div>
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askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-40168231628627616732016-03-17T09:24:00.000-07:002016-03-17T09:24:20.068-07:00Seeing the Beauty of Nature around Us<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was walking in the quad of the University of Washington after a Jewish Studies Advisory Board meeting when I was asked is there a beracha to be made on these beautiful cherry blossoms? Well there is a beracha for the blossoms of fruit trees in the Hebrew month of Nissan, but these <a href="http://www.walterreeves.com/gardening-q-and-a/yoshino-cherry-edible/" target="_blank">Yoshino cherry</a> trees are only good for birds and animals so despite their beauty they don't get the beracha for blossoming fruit trees. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvIO-0WCdrfxoyNFjyIonYi2jkYfH8PLsn41IN8upnUaQ-O-qHprL_ibVf36jryX5zUEMOdRGcjWtWz0fSvTr0Dp0-89AVfIEx2Z8Bqof5p4RYkONE4o8iC1iaHXsMdq0vmAhzb72SKO5A/s1600/cherry+blossoms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvIO-0WCdrfxoyNFjyIonYi2jkYfH8PLsn41IN8upnUaQ-O-qHprL_ibVf36jryX5zUEMOdRGcjWtWz0fSvTr0Dp0-89AVfIEx2Z8Bqof5p4RYkONE4o8iC1iaHXsMdq0vmAhzb72SKO5A/s320/cherry+blossoms.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Since this
year we have our extra month of Adar Sheni, Pesach and Nissan are later in the
year. What do we do for actual blossoming fruit trees that start budding early?
Is there a concern of missing the opportunity of making the beracha over the
blossoms? Generally speaking the blossoms should last until Nissan. If one
knows for sure that all fruit tree blossoms will have gone by the time Nissan
comes around it is permitted to say the beracha in Adar. <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Conversely, in a year when spring is late and the
fruit trees don't blossom until after the month of Nissan it is permitted to
make the beracha in Iyar.</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The text is:</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁלֹּא חִסַּר
בְּעוֹלָמוֹ כְּלוּם וּבָרָא בוֹ בְּרִיּוֹת טוֹבוֹת וְאִילָנוֹת טוֹבוֹת לֵהָנוֹת
בָּהֶם בְּנֵי אָדָם</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>. <i>Blessed are You,
Lord our <span class="glossaryitem"><span glossary_item="19359" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position-x: 50%; background-position-y: 100%; background-size: initial; cursor: pointer;">God,</span></span> King of the universe, who
has made nothing lacking in His world, and created in it goodly creatures and
goodly trees to give mankind pleasure.</i></span><i><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But going back to these beautiful blossoms in the quad at the UW. There is another beracha that one can say when appreciating something very beautiful in nature such as a person, animal, or tree and that beracha is:</span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="HE" style="background: white; line-height: 107%;">בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁ</span>ככה
לו בעולמו</span><span dir="LTR"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has
such [beauty] in his universe.</span></div>
askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-74522798208169295412016-03-08T14:40:00.004-08:002016-03-08T14:40:48.702-08:00Collecting for Matanot La'Evyonim<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 20.8px;">It happens every year, everyone is really excited about what food they will be sending their friends for Mishloach Manot and what costumes they are going to wear at the Purim Party (by the way the Hassan costumes will be </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.8px; text-align: justify;">legendary</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 20.8px;">) but most of us pay less attention to the Mitzvah of Matanot La'Evyonim.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.8px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">One of the four mitzvot of Purim is Matanot La'Evyonim - gifts to the poor. These contributions to the poor allow them to celebrate Purim just like we do and helps them out with their day to day needs. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">T</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.8px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;">he mitzvah of </span><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;">Matanot La'Evyonim</span><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"> – providing the equivalent of a Purim meal for </span><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;">two</span><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"> individuals on Purim day</span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-weight: normal;"> – </span><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;">was always understood by our rabbis</span><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"> as being even more important in priority than the monies spent on </span><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;">mishloach manot</span><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"> and personal </span><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;">seudot</span><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;">. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d;">T</span>herefore, one should spend less money on mishloach manot and more on matanot la'Evyonim</span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-weight: normal;">.</span> I encourage you all to be generous. </span></h4>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20.8px;">Once again, SBH is looking to raise funds for needy families in our community. We are collecting funds for the Nathan Etkin Chesed Fund. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20.8px;">This Chesed Fund has already helped many families with saving homes from foreclosure, paying rent when a job is lost, paying health insurance premiums, debt reduction structure planning, certified financial counseling, money for weddings and everyday needs like groceries, utilities, and helping families make Purim, Pesach and other Holidays.</span></h4>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif;">How can you help?<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20.8px;">The holiday of Purim is around the corner. And as we say at SBH, “Purim, Purim lanu, Pesach en la mano” – Purim is here, Passover is near. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20.8px;"> </span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif;">This time of year brings two wonderful opportunities to help:</span></span></h4>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">1. We will be accepting Purim Matanot La’Evyonim donations starting now and until March 22nd, 2016, so we can distribute those funds in a timely fashion. You can make those donations by either sending a check to the SBH office with the word “Purim” in the memo line and the checks made payable to the </span>Nathan Etkin Chesed Fund<span style="font-weight: normal;">, or by making arrangements with me directly prior to March 22nd. </span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif;">I can be reached at</span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><a data-cke-saved-href="mailto:rabbibenhassan@gmail.com" href="mailto:rabbibenhassan@gmail.com" style="color: #771100; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">rabbibenhassan@gmail.com</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif;">. Please note that sending in money early for Matanot La’evyonim is the best way of fulfilling this mitzva and I will be acting as your shaliach in this matter. Of course, we will also accept donations up until the day of Purim as well.</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Rabbi Morton & Leya Moscowitz have established the “Chasdei Shmully” fund in honor of Rabbi Shmully Moscowitz, zt”l. This fund, part of the larger Seattle Chesed Fund, ensures that local families have enough food to feed their children and provides dedicated assistance for major Jewish holidays. In order to help financially struggling families with the significant costs of Passover, congregants are encouraged to give to this fund specifically. Donations for Pesach should be mailed to the SBH office by April 8th, 2016 so we can make our distributions. Please write “Chasdei Shmully Matzah Fund” in the memo of your check.</span></span></h4>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif;">Please note all checks whether for Purim or </span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20.8px;">for Pesach need to be made out to The Nathan Etkin Chesed Fund and NOT to SBH.</span></h4>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The Chesed Fund functions with total respect for the person in need, and all requests are handled with dignity and confidentiality. It partners with Jewish Family Services when the need becomes more long-term. A dollar donated is a dollar distributed. </span>The Chesed Fund is a registered 501(c)3 organization, and all gifts are tax deductible<span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20.8px;"> </span></h4>
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askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-60959879574248129092016-01-25T13:06:00.000-08:002016-01-25T13:06:37.081-08:00Honi and Tu Bishvat<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is a wonderful piece of Aggadata (the narrative material in the Talmud) about the Rabbinic personality Honi HaMa'agel - Honi the circle drawer. Honi had a special gift, much like Moshe that his tefillot (prayers) were able to be answered by God almost immediately. As such whenever the Jewish people of his generation needed something they would ask Honi to pray on their behalf and their needs were met instantly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Carobs have long been associated with Tu Bishvat and are included in the Turkish traditional seder tu bishvat called Fruticas. The following piece of Aggadata comes from Masekhet Ta'anit (page 23a).</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rabbi Yochanan said, this righteous
man [Honi] was troubled all of his days about the meaning of the verse, 'A Song
of Ascents, When God brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like
dreamers.' </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Is it possible for a man to dream
continuously for seventy years?</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One day he was journeying on the
road and he saw a man planting a carob tree. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He asked him, how long does it
take to bear fruit? </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The man replied, seventy years. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He then further asked him, are
you certain that you will live another seventy years? </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The man replied, I found carob
trees in the world; as my forefathers planted these for me so too I plant these
for my children. </span></i><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Honi sat down to have a meal and
sleep overcame him. As he slept a rocky formation enclosed upon him which hid
him from sight and he continued to sleep for seventy years.</i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When he awoke he saw a man
gathering the fruit of the carob tree and he asked him, are you the man who
planted the tree? </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The man replied, I am his
grandson. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thereupon he exclaimed: It is
clear that I slept for seventy years. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He then caught sight of his
donkey who had given birth to several generations of mules; and he returned
home.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He there enquired, Is the son of
Honi the Circle-Drawer still alive? They answered him, 'His son is no more, but
his grandson is still living.' </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thereupon he said to them, 'I am
Honi the Circle-Drawer', but no one would believe him.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He then went to the Beit
Hamidrash and there he overheard the scholars say, “The law is as clear to us
as in the days of Honi the Circle-Drawer, for whenever he came to the Beit
Hamidrash he would settle for the scholars any </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">difficulty that they had.' </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Whereupon he called out, 'I am
he'; but the scholars would not believe him nor did they give him the honor due
to him. This hurt him greatly and he prayed and he died. </span></i><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">Rava said, that is the popular saying, either
companionship or death.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">The piece is very poignant and hard to understand. It certainly doesn't have the happy ending that we are used to in Western Civilization stories. How is it that Honi could not understand the Jewish lesson of planting, not just physically but also spiritually for our children and </span><span style="line-height: 17.12px;">grandchildren</span><span style="line-height: 107%;">? Isn't this Judaism 101?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">The farmer is telling Honi that we don't see the outcome of our efforts overnight they take time to develop sometimes long after we are gone. For Honi this is too hard to take because he is used to Hashem giving him instant gratification for all of his needs. This is not so for us. We are used to making berachot and waiting before we enjoy our food. We are also used to waiting as it were for Hashem's answers to our difficult questions in life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Why is it so hard to be Jewish? Why is there </span><span style="line-height: 17.12px;">anti semitism</span><span style="line-height: 107%;">? When will the exile end? These long term questions were beyond Honi. It was only after sleeping for 70 years that he understood for most Jews we have to grapple with these issues. On Tu Bishvat in the middle of the winter we eat carob chips to remind ourselves that we are in a long game of Jewish peoplehood. Many of questions take many years to answer and sometimes several generations. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">As parents and grandparents we are providing the strong roots for our children and grandchildren to follow after us. We are providing the fruit for them to enjoy in the future when they in turn will be making deep roots for their children and </span><span style="line-height: 17.12px;">grandchildren</span><span style="line-height: 107%;"> so they too can enjoy their fruits. May we take on the lesson of this piece of aggada to appreciate the long term picture but also to hope that the long path of exile may be coming to an end with the coming of Mashiach.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">Happy Tu Bishvat!</span></div>
askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-10496754805640107102016-01-12T11:31:00.005-08:002018-01-23T17:47:24.143-08:00Tu Bishvat and Fruticas: What's it all about?<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq5MkYwW5RrwwX317vSXusEDHLTPMfXqpOPjUMgUAyhdqxs0IdQqtpovD04edR3-Dj1RzdMWQ4wnVEYKO6zwXdPFts_EcWh3vS37rj9i_pkM7phZ0tHbA8LDHIrEsuBEJ8uBFC0ZPKbc-F/s1600/new+year+for+trees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #771100; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq5MkYwW5RrwwX317vSXusEDHLTPMfXqpOPjUMgUAyhdqxs0IdQqtpovD04edR3-Dj1RzdMWQ4wnVEYKO6zwXdPFts_EcWh3vS37rj9i_pkM7phZ0tHbA8LDHIrEsuBEJ8uBFC0ZPKbc-F/s200/new+year+for+trees.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="151" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've always enjoyed Tu Bishvat and everything that it represents. Tu Bishvat is probably the lowest ranked Jewish Holiday and certainly one of the least well known. Tu Bishvat is the New Year for the Trees. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in the Land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Legally, the new year for trees relates to the various tithes that are separated from produce grown in the Holy Land. These tithes differ from year to year in the seven-year shemittah cycle, the point at which a budding fruit is considered to belong to the next year of the cycle is the 15th of Shevat. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis5Dq202N_UhO7E1fcIo70sv8m2maftUIuc9tHkkBwPTWdsWJfEFwQdz85udK7M0Jo2SEZ7iGvDQrJH8PwRnyO3LS612N1-GJN-2kRLDV6tLJJIIihIPHm_FvMM5tNGnYuDr9hAOpgsf84/s1600/shivat+haminim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #771100; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis5Dq202N_UhO7E1fcIo70sv8m2maftUIuc9tHkkBwPTWdsWJfEFwQdz85udK7M0Jo2SEZ7iGvDQrJH8PwRnyO3LS612N1-GJN-2kRLDV6tLJJIIihIPHm_FvMM5tNGnYuDr9hAOpgsf84/s200/shivat+haminim.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a child my primary memory of Tu Bishvat was eating the Shivat HaMinim - the 7 species special to the land of Israel - wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. I loved singing the words from Devarim Chapter 8 Verse 8. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE">אֶרֶץ חִטָּה וּשְׂעֹרָה, וְגֶפֶן וּתְאֵנָה וְרִמּוֹן; אֶרֶץ-זֵית שֶׁמֶן, וּדְבָשׁ</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A land of wheat and barley, and grapes and figs and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey (dates).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you ask me very nicely I won't sing it! The other memory I had was planting trees and sending money to JNF to plant trees in Israel. In the last 100 years Tu Bishvat has been used as both a Zionist day with support for Israel and a day for furthering environmental issues and concerns.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sephardim, have a much older custom which is to have a Seder Tu Bishvat The custom goes back to the Kabbalists in the 16th Century who worked on a Seder with 4 cups of wine and all the fruits and nuts and highlighting the 7 special fruits of the land of Israel. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />In Seattle, we have a slightly different Tu Bishvat seder called Fruticas. Here's the <a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=18E0VldMJoyP1dAxlGvN0gJ6_2AubdeUB" target="_blank">text</a> of the service. </span></div>
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askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-28436418973755225132015-10-26T09:34:00.000-07:002015-10-27T11:52:33.822-07:00When is Challah not Challah?<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For everyone who bakes and loves to eat challah this blogpost is for you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When is Challah not Challah? Quite simply when you can taste the sugar! Halachically speaking the taste of a challah and the amount of sugar in a challah make a big difference to how it should be treated. If it is too sweet, ideally one should not make Hamotzi on it unless one eats about half a pound of it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You might be scratching your head at this moment thinking I regularly eat sweet challah or my spouse often puts sugar in our challah what's the problem?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rav Yosef Caro</b> writes in the Shulkhan Arukh (Chapter 168) <i>Kisnin</i> bread. Some say that this refers to dough in which honey,
sugar, oil, or spices were mixed and the taste of the item mixed in the dough
is recognizable in the dough. This is indeed the Halacha and such an item is
given the halachic status of<i> Kisnin</i> bread on which a “<i>Boreh
Minei Mezonot</i>” blessing is recited. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rav Moshe Isserles </b>makes an additional note explaining Ashkenazic custom. Some say this is
considered actual bread (on which a “Hamotzi” blessing is recited) unless there
was a copious amount of honey mixed into it similar to a sweet baked good which
we call “<i>Lekach</i>” in which the honey and spices
are primary. This is indeed the prevalent custom.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As such for<b> Sephardim</b>, if one can taste sweetness the <b>beracha is mezonot</b>, for Ashkenazim it is only if the bread is actually like cake that the beracha would be mezonot. Therefore the <b>Ashkenazic custom is to have sweet challah</b> without there being any halakhic problem whatsoever for them. However, in today's world where Ashkenazic and Sephardic families are well blended (no pun intended) there is a problem for Sephardim eating this "bread".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ideally, (lechatchila) for Sephardim sugar should only be used to aid in the baking process. I.e. anything more than a tablespoon is too much. That is the difference between a plain role and a paneziko! If you can taste the sweetness it isn't fit for hamotzi. However, since it is very common to come to a house that serves sweet challah what can you do?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. <b>Eat half a pound of it</b> - A little known halacha is that if you eat half a pound (216g) of cake (even though the beracha is normally mezonot) one must wash and say hamotzi and do birkat hamazon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. That is very hard to do and not necessarily very healthy. One can rely on the lenient position that the food one eats with the "bread" can combine. Therefore one needs to eat half a pound of food total. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All this is after the fact (bediavad), if one is able to ask (without offending one's host) for non sweet challah that is of course preferable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One should also note that one should be careful when eating too much cake that one doesn't obligate oneself to make birkat hamazon on what they ate! Based on the lenient position that cake and food can combine to the half a pound amount. It is conceivable that many of us would need to do birkat hamazon after a big kiddush in synagogue!</span></div>
askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-6578767393721388012015-09-21T15:13:00.001-07:002015-09-21T15:30:29.495-07:00Fasting on Yom Kippur and Medical Concerns<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
Fasting on Yom Kippur and Medical Concerns</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrkfHpiu5iaDMi2Q-I5IUAvnyP0ga-LDKBHBsFJFO1umitWwivE6XnExqRoi1269_vfBwzL7L7U4V3Qo3j3LWJnLxry0Wa2EQE8nNg5zPSqMXsTBgQJe1LfyCvnKu-iXiJrZNiwwgZ0Al8/s1600/no+leather+shoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #771100; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrkfHpiu5iaDMi2Q-I5IUAvnyP0ga-LDKBHBsFJFO1umitWwivE6XnExqRoi1269_vfBwzL7L7U4V3Qo3j3LWJnLxry0Wa2EQE8nNg5zPSqMXsTBgQJe1LfyCvnKu-iXiJrZNiwwgZ0Al8/s1600/no+leather+shoes.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSDBWyUzoXAM5B-wEF28Dx1FvHCO1GNTXHhMP-aAMccAL7SFv8GL7hnQDTZelfada2OoDrAKTuDpw-T_BAOk0v1ZHKZssHRFuwM50F_HoNasJjJW2b4MC_248eTfEGYWD00cHlpp_kbE82/s1600/no+eating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #771100; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSDBWyUzoXAM5B-wEF28Dx1FvHCO1GNTXHhMP-aAMccAL7SFv8GL7hnQDTZelfada2OoDrAKTuDpw-T_BAOk0v1ZHKZssHRFuwM50F_HoNasJjJW2b4MC_248eTfEGYWD00cHlpp_kbE82/s1600/no+eating.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="143" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This coming Tuesday night/Wednesday we have our holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur. This solemn day of atonement is a day when our sins of the past year are forgiven and we begin afresh with a blank slate. There are a number of things that we must be very careful of on Yom Kippur. The 5 no's of Yom Kippur are no eating and drinking, no leather shoes, no anointing, no bathing and no marital relations. The idea behind these restrictions are that all of those things represent our physical needs. On Kippur we are focusing on our spiritual side and almost trying to be like angels without any physical needs or desires whatsoever. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8Jd-i44X0oNfbIe6ss0MgEb6368N8o2dGwxPTwzwbSrgDgBKOmt_OvtVUiztPCciMtN5jmxn6WyqFxUjFaiAjUcASiKuhXHqz2n25F11wc_qbpoQJbyVwCgsWr0mkfz5HlRBXTYsplov/s1600/ask+your+doctor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #771100; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8Jd-i44X0oNfbIe6ss0MgEb6368N8o2dGwxPTwzwbSrgDgBKOmt_OvtVUiztPCciMtN5jmxn6WyqFxUjFaiAjUcASiKuhXHqz2n25F11wc_qbpoQJbyVwCgsWr0mkfz5HlRBXTYsplov/s1600/ask+your+doctor.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fasting has long been considered part of the atonement process and that this should never be taken lightly. <b>Anyone with medical concerns should consult their doctor and rabbi before Yom Kippur to assess their situation.</b> It is not appropriate to consider a person who eats because of medical necessity as a </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sinner.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It goes without saying that elderly men and women who have been told by their doctors that fasting on Kippur will cause adverse affects to their health are neither required nor permitted to fast (see Shulkhan Arukh O.H. 618). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, there are many of us who in different times of our lives have problems fasting. For example, pregnant women, nursing mothers and those with diabetes to name but a few. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These people do not get a blanket exemption from fasting on Yom Kippur. Fasting isn't meant to be easy but at the same time we are not allowed to put our lives in danger (hence the exemption for extremely</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> elderly and infirm people).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many doctors recommend that pregnant women should never fast, but the studies as yet are inconclusive in providing proof that fasting causes any problems to the mother or child. Indeed, provided that the woman drinks plenty of water before the fast there should be no issues for a healthy woman. As such a healthy pregnant woman must fast on Yom Kippur (See Shulkhan Arukh O.H. 617). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, a woman in a high risk pregnancy should consult with her doctor and discuss the situation with her rabbi. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nursing women are also obligated to fast and they should</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> express extra milk before the fast to have available </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">for their children. Staying well hydrated and being well prepared should ensure that the fast should pass without problems. Women who have recently given birth should consult their rabbi.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If a person takes a daily tablet(s) such as blood pressure medicine. It is permitted to take it on Yom Kippur but don't take it with water. Recently I was contacted about a person with diabetes, who assumed since he had been recently diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic he would have no choice but to eat on Yom kippur. The truth is that is simply not the case. Indeed there are many religious Jews who have diabetes and fast on Yom Kippur. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For more information for those with diabetes about how to fast on Yom Kippur and those who just want to read the article please <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/35807088/Fasting-Yom-Kippur-Halacha" style="color: #771100; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">click here</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are situations where a person can be instructed by their rabbi to eat and drink very small amounts of food or drink with a timed space in between. What is known as eating in shiurim/measurements. To conclude, there are circumstances where fasting on Yom Kippur would be a sin so please call if you have any concerns.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tizku LeShanim Rabot and have a meaningful fast.</span></div>
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askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-17300946526801687642015-08-31T10:43:00.001-07:002015-08-31T10:43:05.891-07:00What's a Prozbul<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every seven years we have a Shemitah year. MOst of the laws are agricultural and only affect those living in Israel. But one of the laws of Shemitah has an impact on us living outside of Israel too. <b>It is that
all debts are nullified</b>. This is one of the many laws in the Torah meant to
protect the poor and disadvantaged, affording them a chance to escape from
eternal debt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“At the end of seven years you
will make a release. And this is the manner of the release; to release the hand
of every creditor from what he lent his friend; he shall not exact from his
friend or his brother, because time of the release for God has arrived.”
(Devarim 15:1-2)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, this law wasn’t great for
lenders who would never be reimbursed once the Shemitah ended. The rich refused
to loan money during the latter years of the seven-year cycle, refusing the
poor even a temporary opportunity to make ends meet. They began to fulfil the
verse “Beware, lest there be in your heart an unfaithful thought, saying, ‘The
seventh year, the year of release has approached,’ and you will begrudge your
needy brother and not give him, and he will cry out to God against you, and it
will be a sin to you.” (Devarim 15:9)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The wealthy were concerned that
the poor would always rely on the shemitah year to cancel their debts so they
stopped loaning money in the latter years of the shemitah. This caused tremendous hardship on the poor and caused the wealthy to be going against God’s
commandment. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillel_the_Elder" target="_blank">Hillel the Elder</a> came up with a wonderful loophole to solve the
problem. The answer was the prozbul (can be pronounced pruzbol or pruzbul). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The prozbul is a legal document
signed in front of the Beit Din or in front of 2 witnesses which technically changes
the status of individual private loans into loans to the public administration.
Loans to the public administration are not nullified by the Shemitah year so the debts
can now be collected after the Shemitah year. The Beit Din can now appoint the
lender to collect the “public funds” owned. This legal loophole benefited both
borrower and lender; because lenders knew their money was safe even following
the Shemitah year, they were likely to loan to the poor.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-50077904678776361322015-08-10T08:50:00.002-07:002015-08-10T08:51:16.337-07:00The Power of Elul<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;">This Shabbat and Sunday are </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;">Rosh Hodesh Elul</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;"> which means starting next Monday Sephardim will be saying </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;">Selihot</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;"> every morning except for</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;"> Shabbat</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;"> until </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;">Yom Kippur</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;">. At </span><a href="http://www.sbhseattle.org/" style="color: #771100; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">SBH</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;"> we will be starting at 6:00 AM Monday to Friday and 6:30 AM on Sundays. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;">Elul</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;"> is the last month of the year and starts our preparations for </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;">Rosh Hashana </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;">and</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;"> Yom Kippur</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;">. </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why do we say <i>Selihot</i> during this time period? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What unique power is in this special month of</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Elul</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjItv5prahmbyCY-i23fNnzf8PlQMmW-h4JcDDFRh3AaRD6OaY_zlOhVbJP3ExyCigvAlDQEmEec01XJjYA4u6xs6c2Z6DDekX6etx58d3wnglBmMJ79EIDnWoOPcwMN40TEJTzLk4e-Vat/s1600/elul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #771100; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjItv5prahmbyCY-i23fNnzf8PlQMmW-h4JcDDFRh3AaRD6OaY_zlOhVbJP3ExyCigvAlDQEmEec01XJjYA4u6xs6c2Z6DDekX6etx58d3wnglBmMJ79EIDnWoOPcwMN40TEJTzLk4e-Vat/s1600/elul.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUcqz8uV2mWZc4MuL3MfmxowxeTaYE-8cgRHab_tXPy6V_HaiCmNtntJ9Sc3WV4TE3aG0dqb0vt5Ty73XHNbRa6pce63SRPRSWMmzvkgil2k2utWeNiJownfA4NFWY8wjtQ6H_Iey3WErz/s1600/moshe+second+tablets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #771100; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUcqz8uV2mWZc4MuL3MfmxowxeTaYE-8cgRHab_tXPy6V_HaiCmNtntJ9Sc3WV4TE3aG0dqb0vt5Ty73XHNbRa6pce63SRPRSWMmzvkgil2k2utWeNiJownfA4NFWY8wjtQ6H_Iey3WErz/s1600/moshe+second+tablets.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="107" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the Jews sinned with the Golden Calf, <i>Moshe</i> smashed the two tablets that Hashem had given him. Two days later <i>Moshe</i> went back up the mountain for another 40 days to atone for the Jewish people. <i>Moshe</i> went up for a third time on <i>Rosh Hodesh Elul</i> and came down 40 days later on the 10th of <i>Tishri </i>with the Second Tablets. This 10th day of <i>Tishri </i>became <i>Yom Kippur</i>, the day that God forgave the Jewish people for the Golden Calf. This day became the annual day of forgiveness for the Jewish People. So too, the 40 days before <i>Yom Kippur</i> became an essential period of God coming closer to us. A time of <i>rahamim</i> - divine mercy, where Hashem is considered closer to his children than at any other time of the year. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica;">The month of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica;">Elul</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica;">, therefore, which is the last month before </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica;">Rosh Hashana </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica;">and</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica;"> Yom Kippur</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica;"> – is a time when we should dedicate our thoughts to <i>teshuva</i> - repentance in all things and examine our deeds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica;">One of the most famous acronyms that we have to show this closer relationship with God at this time is <i>Ani Ledodi Vedodi Li</i> - I am for my beloved and my beloved is for me, a verse from <i>Shir HaShirim</i> - Song of Songs. The linkage to this verse implies that both we should all spend <i>Elul</i> thinking about our special relationship with God and how to improve it. <i>Elul</i> is a time to reflect on the year and prepare ourselves for <i>Rosh Hashana</i> and <i>Yom Kippur</i>. If we truly want to be ready for these Days of Awe we must put in the hard work before hand.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica;">The <i>Selihot </i>that we recite are very powerful prayers. And the melodies that we sing them to are wonderful. I marvel every year at the excitement we Sephardim have to get up super early for a month to sing <i>Selihot. </i>But the powerful melodies and tunes carry us through for the month. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica;">At the end of <i>Selihot</i> we blow the <i>Shofar</i> to awaken in ourselves the call to <i>teshuva</i>. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica;">Here's an audio of SBH Hazan, Rabbi Frank Varon singing </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica;"><a href="http://www.sbhseattle.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Kamti_BeAshmoret.mp3" style="color: #771100; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Kamti BeAshmoret</a> </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica;">and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.sbhseattle.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Ben_Adam.mp3" style="color: #771100; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Ben Adam Ma Lecha Nirdam</a>. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica;">May we use this month of <i>Elul</i> to work on ourselves, to get closer to God and start our <i>teshuva</i> process.</span></div>
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askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-48698190704449493662015-07-06T10:24:00.002-07:002015-07-06T10:24:50.778-07:00When Tisha B'Av falls out on a Sunday<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This year, Tisha B'Av falls on Shabbat. Since we are only permitted to
fast on Shabbat when Yom Kippur coincides with Shabbat, the fast day is pushed
off to Saturday night/Sunday.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">
</span><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The following is a list of laws when Tisha B'Av falls
on a Sunday or when Tisha B’Av is pushed off to Sunday. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This guide is for Sephardim only. This year we have the strange scenario
of not having a real <strong>Shevua
Shechal Bo - </strong>the week that Tisha B'Av falls in. As such
this year there are a couple of<strong> extra
leniencies. </strong>For Sephardim <strong>only</strong>, it is
permitted to <strong>launder
clothes</strong>, and take <strong>showers </strong>all
the way up to Shabbat the day before Tisha B'Av. We still refrain from meat and wine from Rosh Hodesh Av or the 2nd of Av depending on your family custom. If you don't have a custom I recommend you keep from Rosh Hodesh.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In order to go into the fast looking unkempt, men still have the custom
not to shave the week before Tisha B'Av. Because Erev Tisha B'Av is Shabbat the
Seudah HaMafseket - the last meal before Tisha B'Av is a regular meal without
any limitations. However, one must be careful to finish the meal before the
fast starts. Please note that the fast begins before Shabbat ends. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">One is not allowed to prepare for Tisha B’Av on Shabbat. The restriction
of eating and drinking begins on Shabbat but the leather shoe prohibition only
begins after Shabbat goes out. Therefore on Friday afternoon you should bring
non leather shoes to synagogue so that you can change into them before the
reading of Eicha.</span></div>
askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-92007252529157057782015-04-13T10:03:00.000-07:002015-04-13T14:54:22.818-07:00Yom HaShoah - Holocaust Remembrance for All of Us<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This Wednesday night - Thursday is
Yom HaShoah - Holocaust Remembrance Day. This year marks 70 years since the
liberation of the concentration camps. There are fewer survivors from the
holocaust as each year goes by and it is up to us to ensure that
this Remembrance Day is meaningful and that the next generation places in their
hearts never to forget what happened.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having grown up in England and having lived in Australia for several years, Yom HaShoah is a very poignant day. Relatively large numbers of survivors settled in England in Australia so there are always large communal programs to mark the day. I was very impressed by the quality of the Yom HaShoah programming in Seattle but I was surprised by the relatively low turnouts at the different community events. When I asked people about this, I was told that since there is a very low percentage of holocaust survivors in Seattle, it never took on the same significance in Seattle as it did in other places with larger percentage holocaust survivors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sociologically it makes sense that if I am personally involved in a tragedy I will feel more connection to it than if I am not. However, with the passing of years there will come a time when there are no more survivors. There will come a time when there are no children or grandchildren of survivors. Holocaust remembrance must move from personal and family tragedy to a tragedy for our people. I mourn the holocaust, not just for my mother's extended family who were murdered but for all the Jews who had their lives cut short. Ashkenazim, Sephardim, religious, secular, rich and poor alike. Not to mention the many non Jewish people who were also murdered at that time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My message for everyone who reads my blog is that Yom HaShoah is a day of national mourning for what happened to us as a people. Therefore the day is relevant and poignant for all of us. I encourage you to attend one of the Holocaust programs happening as well as to light a memorial candle at home on Wednesday evening.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I encourage all of you to visit holocaust websites, to take a few minutes in your life this week to remember those who died. I was particularly moved by this piece on Anne Frank's website. <a href="http://www.annefrank.org.uk/what-we-do/notsilent" target="_blank">Click here to read</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will be attending the Holocaust Remembrance program on Sunday April 19th at the JCC and will be reciting kaddish. May all those that died in the holocaust be remembered in our hearts. </span></div>
askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-66883840493505119652015-03-20T12:16:00.000-07:002019-03-27T18:51:51.622-07:00Modern Pesach Issues<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Last year, I wrote a blog about <a href="http://askrabbihassan.blogspot.com/2014/04/what-really-needs-to-be-kosher-for.html" target="_blank">what really needs to be kosher for Pesah</a>. I discussed how we shouldn't go overboard "blow torching everything" and that things that are inedible are not a hametz concern. This year, I would like to tackle the topic of being more careful about food products that may indeed have genuine issues of hametz.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">Modern food is produced in a very different manner than it was 30 years ago and certainly in our grandparents days. Every year there are developments in food chemistry. Foods are infused with additives and preservatives and stabilizing agents that may well contain hametz. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">I was asked by a congregant why it was t</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">hat the VAAD guide listed </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">any kosher certified vegetable oil as permitted for Pesah use but Canola oil was not. But when it came to cooking sprays the VAAD guide listed that Pam was ok when the main ingredient was Canola oil!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So I looked into the situation to understand it better. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Canola oil is not a problem for Sephardim as such.
The issue is the admixture of grains that are often in it due to the proximity
to other grains. The canola oil in Pam is produced in a plant that gets its
rapeseed from fields that have been checked, whereas other Canola oil products are not produced in the same plant.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">UPDATE 2019: The OU has informed us that we no longer have a source of the canola oil so PAM spray is not certified for Pesah use this year.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another question I was asked is why is it that coffee needs to be certified kosher for Passover? It is true that the coffee beans are kosher for Passover. The issues are the processes done to the coffee beans - the decaffeination, drying and flavoring. <a href="http://www.crcweb.org/kosher_articles/coffee_and_tea_pesach.php" target="_blank">Please read here for more information</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Milk is fine but most dairy products such as cheeses and yogurts have problems. The issue relates to enzymes used in making these products. Enzymes are made from glucose which often comes from barley (hametz), corn or sweet potato. The source of enzymes must be checked to ensure it is not from the hametz source. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Vaad Pesah list is a list where everything is guaranteed hametz free. I cannot say that for other lists around. Therefore I recommend to be extra careful for the 8 days of Pesah. When I know there is a legitimate concern that an item may have hametz I prefer to avoid it then run the risk of eating hametz on Pesah. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wishing you all a Pesah Allegre!</span></span></div>
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askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-21790286836487484242015-02-23T09:21:00.005-08:002016-03-08T16:50:00.722-08:00Collecting for Matanot La'Evyonim<h4 class="null" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">It happens every year, everyone is really excited about what food they will be sending their friends for Mishloach Manot and what costumes they are going to wear at the Purim Party (by the way the Hassan costumes will be </span></span><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">legendary</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">) but most of us pay less attention to the Mitzvah of Matanot La'Evyonim.</span></span></span></h4>
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<span style="color: black; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">One of the four mitzvot of Purim is Matanot La'Evyonim - gifts to the poor. These contributions to the poor allow them to celebrate Purim just like we do and helps them out with their day to day needs. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">T</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-weight: normal;">he mitzvah of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-weight: normal;">Matanot La'Evyonim</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"> – providing the equivalent of a Purim meal for </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-weight: normal;">two</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"> individuals on Purim day</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1f497d; font-weight: normal;"> – </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-weight: normal;">was always understood by our rabbis</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"> as being even more important in priority than the monies spent on </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-weight: normal;">mishloach manot</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"> and personal </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-weight: normal;">seudot</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-weight: normal;">. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #1f497d;">T</span>herefore, one should spend less money on mishloach manot and more on matanot la'Evyonim</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-weight: normal;">.</span> I encourage you all to be generous. </span></span></h4>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">Once again, SBH is looking to raise funds for needy families in our community. We are collecting funds for the Nathan Etkin Chesed Fund. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">This Chesed Fund has already helped many families with saving homes from foreclosure, paying rent when a job is lost, paying health insurance premiums, debt reduction structure planning, certified financial counseling, money for weddings and everyday needs like groceries, utilities, and helping families make Purim, Pesach and other Holidays.</span></h4>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How can you help?<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">The holiday of Purim is around the corner. And as we say at SBH, “Purim, Purim lanu, Pesach en la mano” – Purim is here, Passover is near. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"> </span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This time of year brings two wonderful opportunities to help:</span></span></h4>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">1. We will be accepting Purim Matanot La’Evyonim donations starting now and until March 22nd, so we can distribute those funds in a timely fashion. You can make those donations by either sending a check to the SBH office with the word “Purim” in the memo line and the checks made payable to the </span>Nathan Etkin Chesed Fund<span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can be reached at</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><a data-cke-saved-href="mailto:rabbibenhassan@gmail.com" href="mailto:rabbibenhassan@gmail.com" style="font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">rabbibenhassan@gmail.com</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. Please note that sending in money early for Matanot La’evyonim is the best way of fulfilling this mitzva and I will be acting as your shaliach in this matter. Of course, we will also accept donations up until the day of Purim as well.</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Rabbi Morton & Leya Moscowitz have established the “Chasdei Shmully” fund in honor of Rabbi Shmully Moscowitz, zt”l. This fund, part of the larger Seattle Chesed Fund, ensures that local families have enough food to feed their children and provides dedicated assistance for major Jewish holidays. In order to help financially struggling families with the significant costs of Passover, congregants are encouraged to give to this fund specifically. Donations for Pesach should be mailed to the SBH office by April 8th, so we can make our distributions. Please write “Chasdei Shmully Matzah Fund” in the memo of your check.</span></span></h4>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Please note all checks whether for Purim or </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">for Pesach need to be made out to The Nathan Etkin Chesed Fund and NOT to SBH.</span></h4>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The Chesed Fund functions with total respect for the person in need, and all requests are handled with dignity and confidentiality. It partners with Jewish Family Services when the need becomes more long-term. A dollar donated is a dollar distributed. </span>The Chesed Fund is a registered 501(c)3 organization, and all gifts are tax deductible<span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"> </span></h4>
askrabbihassanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00060595778290508981noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2352502988483375863.post-6658566216641782702015-02-09T08:51:00.003-08:002015-02-09T13:53:15.521-08:00Mikveh - Why is it so important to support it?<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why should I support the mikveh?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having a mikveh in the Jewish community is a fundamental prerequisite that is so essential that it even takes priority over building a synagogue. However, since most people don't talk about the mikveh in the same terms as schools and synagogues its importance gets minimized. In this short blog I'd like to draw your attention to the significance and relevance of having a mikveh and also how you can support the Seattle Mikveh located in Seward Park. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ritual immersion is an essential part of Jewish law and is as significant as observing Shabbat and eating Kosher food. Immersion in a mikveh is an act required by Jewish law: for converts to Judaism, for brides, for
women observing <i>niddah</i> and after childbirth.</span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also immerse new utensils used for eating and cooking foods but that is done in a separate mikveh - called a mikveh keilim.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would write in length about debunking the myths about mikvaot, or why women should make it a priority to go, but there are wonderful websites that we all can read which have this information. Instead I will recommend just a couple of links from the website <a href="http://mikvah.org/">mikvah.org</a>. The first is a video clip on the centrality of the mikveh. Please <a href="http://mikvah.org/what_is_mikvah.php?part=1" target="_blank">click here for the link</a>. The second link is on a number of great articles about mikvaot, <a href="http://mikvah.org/articles/mikvah_facts" target="_blank">click here to read more</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, our Seattle Mikveh housed in the BCMH compound is having its annual fundraiser on February 21st. I would encourage women to attend the event as well as community organizations to financially support our mikveh. There are constant costs with a mikveh to keep it in line with halakha and providing women with the opportunity to immerse privately and with dignity in the 21st Century following in the footsteps of our mothers for over 3000 years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Checks should be made payable to Seattle Mikvah Association and sent to BCMH or to Sharon Adatto.</span></div>
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