The Power of Elul

This Shabbat and Sunday are Rosh Hodesh Elul which means starting next Monday Sephardim will be saying Selihot every morning except for Shabbat until Yom Kippur. At SBH we will be starting at 6:00 AM Monday to Friday and 6:30 AM on Sundays. Elul is the last month of the year and starts our preparations for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. 

Why do we say Selihot during this time period? 
What unique power is in this special month of Elul?

After the Jews sinned with the Golden Calf, Moshe smashed the two tablets that Hashem had given him. Two days later Moshe went back up the mountain for another 40 days to atone for the Jewish people. Moshe went up for a third time on Rosh Hodesh Elul and came down 40 days later on the 10th of Tishri with the Second Tablets. This 10th day of Tishri became Yom Kippur, 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 Yom Kippur became an essential period of God coming closer to us. A time of rahamim - divine mercy, where Hashem is considered closer to his children than at any other time of the year. The month of Elul, therefore, which is the last month before Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur – is a time when we should dedicate our thoughts to teshuva - repentance in all things and examine our deeds.

One of the most famous acronyms that we have to show this closer relationship with God at this time is Ani Ledodi Vedodi Li - I am for my beloved and my beloved is for me, a verse from Shir HaShirim - Song of Songs. The linkage to this verse implies that both we should all spend Elul thinking about our special relationship with God and how to improve it. Elul is a time to reflect on the year and prepare ourselves for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. If we truly want to be ready for these Days of Awe we must put in the hard work before hand.

The Selihot 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 Selihot. But the powerful melodies and tunes carry us through for the month. At the end of Selihot we blow the Shofar to awaken in ourselves the call to teshuva. Here's an audio of SBH Hazan, Rabbi Frank Varon singing Kamti BeAshmoret and Ben Adam Ma Lecha Nirdam. 

May we use this month of Elul to work on ourselves, to get closer to God and start our teshuva process.

What really needs to be Kosher for Pesah (At least for Sephardim)

It's that time of the year again when I get the following questions. Does butter really need to be kosher for Passover? Do my dogs really need to have non-hametz dog food? Is it true that I need to boil my candle sticks for Pesah use?

Many people suffer from Pesah neuroses. I do too for example the word is Pesah not Paysach. There is a segol under the letter פ so it can only be Pesah. But I understand that some things will not be able to be changed. And that's just one word that I can't stand.

But I'm not referring to that or even to the pathological fear of kitniyot. I'm talking about the need for absolutely everything in the house to be boiled or blow torched and every item must have a KLP - kosher for Pesah symbol on it.

Well the truth is that when it comes to kashering of things for Pesah not everything needs boiling water and certainly no blow torching is required. Candle sticks which are placed on the Shabbat table do not need to be immersed in boiling water. Even kiddush cups only need to be cleaned and polished since they were only drunk when cold and only wine or grape juice went into it. You don't need a new kettle for Pesah it only boils water but you do need to clean the outside of it. 

The stove top is kashered by pouring boiling water over it as are the sinks and the bench tops. For the burners themselves clean thoroughly and turn on highest setting for 15 minutes. For the oven if it's self cleaning just run the cycle and you are good to go. If it isn't clean it with an oven cleaner and then leave it for 24 hours then put it on it's highest setting for 1 hour. For dishwashers run it through unused with soap and it is fine to use for Pesah. For tables just cover with freshly laundered tablecloths. Replace table covers if they have food stains on them.

Now for food products remember Pesah is only 8 days. All you really need is matza, wine/grape juice, meat, dairy products, fruits and vegetables. There are many things that are available on the Seattle Vaad list. It is very comprehensive and has many things for Sephardim to buy. For any specific question on food products just let me know.

On medicines, any tablet pill that has no taste is permitted on Pesah e.g. blood pressure medication. Any medication that is a liquid or has a sweet coating should be sold for Pesah. If there is a real need please call me directly.

Just one small note on pet food. All kashrut agencies recommend the purchase of pet food which is hametz free. Not because the animals need it but because we cannot own hametz even hametz which only a dog would eat. 

Wishing you all a wonderful Pesah and hopefully not too stressful a time in the lead up.

What's an Eruv and do Sephardim use them?

Last Friday, an hour before Shabbat, the Seward Park Eruv went down. I suddenly received many calls asking for clarification of what Shabbat would be like. Throughout Shabbat many congregants were asking me questions so it made sense to me that this week's blog would be all about the Eruv.

What is it? How does it work? Who does it help? How does it go down? And most importantly can Sephardim use it?


The Talmud identifies 39 types of "work" that are forbidden on Shabbat. One of those is hoza'ah - transferring things from one domain type to another. E.g. from a public area into a private area - this is commonly known as carrying. There are certain things people wish to carry. People also want to get together with their friends after synagogue and take things with them,including their babies. They want to get together to learn, to socialize and to be a community. So our Rabbis came up with the concept of the eruv. 

The eruv literally means blending or intermingling but it refers to making public domains into private domains. A technical enclosure which surrounds both private and public domains creating a large private domain in which carrying is permitted on Shabbat. Colloquially this is known as an eruv. The eruv is usually large enough to include entire neighborhoods with homes, apartments and synagogues, making it possible to carry on Shabbat, since one is never leaving one's domain.

Ideally the eruv should be a proper walled enclosure. However, a wall can be a wall even if it has many doorways creating large open spaces. This means that a wall does not have to be solid. Therefore, the eruv enclosure may be created by telephone poles, for example, which act as the vertical part of a door post in a wall, with the existing cables strung between the poles acting as the lintel of the doorframe. As such, the entire "wall" is actually a series of "doorways." Added to that there may be existing natural boundaries and fences. 

How does an eruv go down? Most modern eruvs use cables and not walls. So sometimes if there is a storm a wire can break or sometimes work can be done by the power company or telephone company on one wire and this will cause the entire eruv to go down. So very occasionally like this past Friday we can have a situation where there is no eruv for Shabbat. This causes a small inconvenience for most people. All they need to do is to remember not to carry their keys and there is no problem. But for families with babies and for the elderly with canes and wheelchairs suddenly Shabbat is turned upside down. This past Shabbat Sharona and Tova had to stay at home.

Now is there a problem for Sephardim? 

This is a complicated area of halakha but I will try and write as short and as clear as possible.

Rav Yosef Caro (Shulkhan Arukh O.H. 345:7) wrote that the definition of a public domain is a street that is 16 amot wide (32 feet) or more that are not enclosed. Some say that if there are not 600,000 people passing through the street every day it is not considered a public domain.

There is a general rule that whenever Rav Caro writes two laws and begins one plainly and begins the other with the words “some say” we always rule according to the plain law rather than the one introduced with “some say”. However he wrote elsewhere (O.H. 303.18) that We don’t have actual halachic public domains today, all our public domains are halachically considered as a carmelit - another domain which does not have the strict laws of a public domain. 

Some Sephardic halachic decisors such as the Hida and Ben Ish Hai, rule that our main roads are considered a public domain and therefore we cannot use poles and wires to make an eruv and we need proper walls to enclose the area which would be impossible to do today. However, Hacham Ovadiah rules that Sephardim can use an eruv made of wires and poles for those who need and he is the basis for my practice of using the eruv. 

Hacham Ovadiah Yosef zt"l wrote (Yabia Omer O.H. 9:33) "Those that carry on Shabbat in a public domain by an eruv made with door frames (which means wires and poles), have basis to do so, and according to many authorities it is allowed even according to Maran. The sages of Jerusalem also wrote that we have no true public domain today and an eruv of doorways therefore is sufficient to carry in these days. Nevertheless he who trembles at the word of God and completely refrains from carrying will be blessed...

What’s more is that those who are stringent not to make an eruv are actually being exceedingly lenient, for they allow the desecration of Shabbat to continue by people carrying in a public domain"

Today, I know very few people with young families that do not use the eruv. An eruv is a blessing for a community and indeed is something that more observant families look for when moving to a new community. One should be careful to note where exactly the eruv extends to as it does not for example include "the Seward Park loop".

If you are interested in reading more on Hacham Ovadiah Yosef's thorough responsum on this subject it is available in English here.

Wearing Tzitzit

What are the origins of the mitzvah of Tzitzit? Why do men wear Tzitzit? Do they always need to be worn? Should they be seen? Why are there differences for Ashkenazim and Sephardim?

(This article is written with the understanding that wearing Tzitzit is a mitzvah only for men)

A few people have asked me to go into the commandment of tzitzit. So I thought I would write something although I must admit that there is far more to be written about them than I will be putting in this blog. Tzitzit are the tassels or strings that are tied to the corners of four cornered garments. Although when someone is talking about Tzitzit they normally are referring to an item of clothing called a Talet Katan which is worn under a man's clothing. 

There are two sources for wearing Tzitzit the first is Bemidbar at the end of Parashat Shelach:

דַּבֵּר אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם, וְעָשׂוּ לָהֶם צִיצִת עַל-כַּנְפֵי בִגְדֵיהֶם, לְדֹרֹתָם; וְנָתְנו עַל-צִיצִת הַכָּנָף, פְּתִיל תְּכֵלֶת.

וְהָיָה לָכֶם, לְצִיצִת, וּרְאִיתֶם אֹתוֹ וּזְכַרְתֶּם אֶת-כָּל-מִצְוֹת ה', וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם; וְלֹא- תָתוּרוּ אַחֲרֵי לְבַבְכֶם, וְאַחֲרֵי עֵינֵיכֶם, אֲשֶׁר-אַתֶּם זֹנִים, אַחֲרֵיהֶם.

Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: They shall make for themselves throughout their generations fringes on the corners of their garments; and that they put with the fringe of each corner a thread of blue. This shall be fringes for you, and when you see it, you will remember all the commandments of the Lord to perform them. And you will not turn after your heart and after your eyes, after which you tend to stray.

In Devarim 22:12 it says גְּדִלִים, תַּעֲשֶׂה-לָּךְ, עַל-אַרְבַּע כַּנְפוֹת כְּסוּתְךָ, אֲשֶׁר תְּכַסֶּה-בָּהּ

You shall make for yourself twisted cords upon the four corners of your covering, with which you cover yourself.

On the question of should the tzitzit be seen or not this is one of the few time where Sephardic practice goes against Rav Yosef Caro (Maran). Maran writes in Shulkhan Arukh (O.H. 8:11) that one should wear the tzitzit over his other garments so that he can constantly see them and be reminded of the mitzvot.

On the other hand, the great Kabbalist, the Arizal, would wear his tzitzit under his other garments. His student, Rabbi Chaim Vital explained that this was because the tallit kattan and the tallit gadol relate to two kinds of reality: the internal reality and the external reality. The tallit kattan represents the internal level and is therefore worn within other garments, while the tallit gadol represents the external and is therefore worn over the other garments. 

Sephardim follow the Arizal and Ashkenazim follow Maran. 

There are number of different ways for tying the Tzitzit. Most Sephardim tie10,5,6,5 which is Yud, hey, vav, hey, which spells God's name on the talet katan and they tie 7,8,11,13 on the Talet Gadol. Ashkenazim tie 7,8,11,13 for both. Rav Messas notes (Shut Mekor Hayim Chelek Bet Chapters 69 and 120) that there are many different customs for tying and they are all valid.

Are men obligated to wear Tzitzit or only when they are wearing a four cornered garment? The Rambam writes (Laws of Tzitzit 3:11) "Even though a person is not obligated to purchase a tallit and wrap himself in it so that he must attach tzitzit to it, it is not proper for a person to release himself from this commandment. Instead, he should always try to be wrapped in a garment which requires tzitzit so that he will fulfill this mitzvah. In particular, care should be taken regarding this matter during prayer. It is very shameful for a Torah scholar to pray without being wrapped in a talet."

Sephardic custom has been that only Torah Scholars  wear a Talet Katan. Rav Yosef Messas(1892-1974, Algeria, Morocco and Israel) wrote in Hod Yosef Hai (p.43) that since it is only worn out of piety since strictly one only needs to wear tzitzit if one has a four cornered garment, one should abstain from wearing them because:

1. They may become soiled in the bathroom

2. The strings could become pasul/invalid (because some of the knots became untied or strings were cut off) in that case one would be in breach of the mitzvah of having tzitzit on a four cornered garment. 

However, Ashkenazic custom is somewhat different boys are taught to wear tzitzit from as young as three. Indeed in some schools boys can be reprimanded for not wearing tzitzit even though there is no obligation to wear them. (Although, my dad told me that in Gibraltar the Hebrew school did enforce tzitzit wearing).

Although technically one does not need to wear tzitzit and historically in some Sephardic countries the practice was not to do so times have changed. In today's world we look to be able to do mitzvot whenever we can and Tzitzit is such an easy one to do especially if it is one of the T-shirt varieties. I encourage men of all ages to wear tzitzit as much as possible.

Nihya or Nihye Bidvaro!

Whenever I move to a new Jewish community I always get asked "Are you really Sephardi?" or "You're too pale to be Sephardi!" It's as if my last name has no significance whatsoever as people are drawn to my pale features and reddish beard. Whether it was Spanish and Portuguese Synagogues, or Moroccan communities or Kehillot in Israel!

Now it's true that my mother is Ashkenazi but my father was born and raised in Gibraltar and he taught me about all our customs and how to lead the tefillot and read Sefer the Gibraltarian way. However I did grow up in Manchester, England where the Jewish community was and still is almost entirely Ashkenazi. As such, the schools in Manchester catered only to Ashkenazi students. My parents chose a school that taught Hebrew reading with a modern Hebrew pronunciation so I was spared pronouncing the books of the Torah - Bereishis, Shemos, Voyikro, Bomidbor and Devorim!

However the tefillot and the brachot that I learned at school were all Ashkenazi just with a modern Hebrew/Sephardic accent. When it came to doing Birkat Hamazon and berachot before and after food we always learned it Ashkenazi especially since the Ashkenazim have such a great tune for Birkat Hamazon. (I was delighted when I was introduced to the Sephardic Birkat Hamazon melodies in Seattle so that my kids could finally learn to do Sephardic Birkat Hamazon).

The exception to this was obviously with Kiddush when we would always say Borei Peri HaGefen and not HaGafen like Ashkenazim. But one which went under the radar for me was the bracha we say on meat, fish, dairy products, mushrooms and drinks. That Beracha is called Shehakol. I always learned it as Shehakol Nihye Bidvaro נהיֶה but most Sephardim say Shehakol Nihya Bidvaro נהיָה. What is the significance of a Segol instead of a kamatz?

The prevalent practice is that Ashkenazim say Nihye and Sephardim say Nihya. This topic is discussed by several Rabbis who wrote commentaries to the Shulkhan Arukh. The Magen Avraham (O.H. 167:8) brings proofs for saying either Nihya or Nihye. In (O.H. 204:14) he implies that Nihya is in the past tense so the phrase means "by whose word everything came to be" whereas Nihye means "by whose word everything continues to be". 

However in all siddurim with an English translation whether it is Nihye or Niiya they all translate the phrase "by whose word everything came to be." The Sha'arei Teshuva and the Be'er Hetev (O.H. 204:20) are both unsure but conclude that since most people say Nihye it should be Nihye. All three of those commentators are Ashkenazi and that is the basis for most Ashkenazim saying Nihye. The custom of Chabad is to say nihya.

The Kaf HaChaim (O.H. 204:38) poetically writes of the significance of the bracha is acknowledging that it is through God's commands that everything comes into being from the time that God called the world into being with his 10 utterances. As it says in Sefer Devarim Chapter 8 verse 3: "That man does not live by bread alone, but by everything that comes out of the mouth of God does man live." 

That our intention when we make a beracha is far more important than just going through the motions of pronouncing the words correctly. We must both correctly pronounce the words and acknowledge God's role in our day to day lives. By making the berachot  with proper intent we are partners with God.

Removing the Shel

This is my first time writing a blog. In this blog I'd like to answer any questions that people have in Judaism in the form of a She'ela u'teshuva - a question and a developed answer. First up is a question raised on the exact wording of the berakhot recited on the festival Hanukah.

Q: What is the significance of having the word של/shel in the first berakha of lighting the Hanukah candles?

A: There is a disagreement over the text of the first berakha said before lighting the Hanukah lights. Ashkenazi and a minority of Sephardim (Spanish and Portuguese communities, Gibraltar and others) say the berakha is להדליק נר של חנוכה while most Sephardim recite להדליק נר חנוכה. So what's the significance of one little word של meaning of? To light the Hanukah candle or to light the candle of Hanukah? There doesn't seem to be too big a difference in English or in the simple understanding of the Hebrew.

One of my favorite books to look up when it comes to differences in text or custom are the books of Rabbi Shem Tov Gaguine. His set of sefarim are called the Keter Shem Tov and are an encyclopedia of explanations of different texts and minhagim. He writes (volumes 1-2 p.515) that the text in the gemara (Shabbat 23a)  uses the word של and that is followed by the Rambam, Rav Amram Gaon, The Tur and others. Haham Ovadiah Yosef zt"l also adds in Hazon Ovadiah that the Rif and the Rosh follow the text of the gemara.

However, Maran Rav Yosef Caro in Shulkan Arukh brings the berakha without the word של. Rav Gaguine explains why Rav Caro does not follow the gemara and the Rif and the Rambam by explaining that although the text of the Babylonian Talmud uses the word של the Yerushalmi version is על מצות הדלקת נר חנוכה (which no one uses today) and the version in Masekhet Soferim is להדליק נר חנוכה.

So how did the version of Masekhet Soferim which is not the usual source for halakha become the position of the majority of Sephardic communities? Haham Ovadiah writes (Hazon Ovadiah on Hanukah p.125 footnote 1) that Maran Caro bases his position on the words of the Arizal. The reason that the Arizal prefers the berakha without the word של is because the phrase להדליק נר חנוכה can be rearranged to be the abbreviation נח"ל. נח"ל in turn is an abbreviation of נצר חסד לאלפים and נפשנו חכתה לה. 

The Hida in Birkei Yosef gives a beautiful explanation of the significance of not using של. He explains that when we use the word של when lighting Shabbat candles it is because we are using the light and it provides shalom bayit - peace in the home. But on Hanukah we are not permitted to use the light for anything just to look at them. A second reason is that on Shabbat there are other mitzvot like making kiddush and having 3 meals but on Hanukah the lights are the only mitzvah so no connective word is needed.

To add to the Kabbalistic direction there are 13 words without using the word shel which is the gematria for the word אחד meaning Hashem is one. There are also 13 words in the second berakha too. 13+13 = 26 which is the gematria for the name of G0d which is not pronounced. The Maharshal combines the two words to form שלחנוכה in order to keep the best of both worlds of keeping the version of the gemara and also having 13 words for kabbalah.

I ponder to think if before the Arizal all Sephardim said של. But such is the influence of Kabbalah in our liturgy it is hard to imagine a world without it. But it wasn't just the Arizal that brought Kabbalah to our liturgy the Hida had a huge impact. Today with the Iraqi dominance of Sephardic practice, especially in Israel, Sephardic siddurim no longer even mention the word shel. 

Everyone should light the hanukiah in accordance with their tradition. Turkish Jews today do not use the word של while lighting the hanukiah. I hope you all found this illuminating! Special thanks to Yossi Babani for asking the question and Jack Babani for research on this topic.