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| Wednesday, July 28, 2010 / 17 Av 5770 |
Ofeh Part Three: Methods of Cooking
By: Dr. Chaim Levsky
We mentioned earlier that all types of heat sources (gas, electricity, wood, coals, etc.) are forbidden under ofeh. Prohibited acts of cooking also include when a medium is used to transfer heat that is removed from the original heat source. For example, one may not place any food that may be cooked into very hot water (even if the water was prepared in a permitted way for Shabbos use). This is because the hot water is considered similar to the fire that heated it. In the same way, one may not take a metal object (that was kept hot on Shabbos through a permitted means) and use it as a source of heat to cook.
One heat source that is permitted on Shabbos is sunlight. One may place an item in the sun in order to warm it up. However, if the sun is used to heat up a medium, such as sand, there is a Rabbinic prohibition against using the sand to heat up food (eg, a raw egg). This is because the sand is similar to cooking media that are heated by fire which are prohibited to be used. People might come to confuse food cooked by a sun-heated item with food cooked by a fire-heated item.
Another generally permitted means of warming on Shabbos is putting food in a place that it cannot possibly reach the cooking threshold of yad soledes bo (the scalding temperature, discussed above). This could apply to putting food near (but not on top of) a fire or on top of a radiator. Once a cooking situation can theoretically lead to heating the food to yad soledes bo it is prohibited to use it even if one intends to remove it after a short time. (There are some exceptions to this in specific cases when additional rules are followed.) This prohibition is because even if one intends to use a heat source to heat the food only slightly we are concerned that he will forget to remove the food and it will be cooked.
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| Friday, July 23, 2010 / 12 Av 5770 |
Better Davening
By: Michael Winner
I hope everybody had a meaningful Tisha B’Av. Next week, Frum.org is taking a small vacation to Ashdod. We know somebody’s married children, who will be swapping apartments with us for two days and a night, so I doubt I’ll have the time to write. Just a little ‘heads-up’.
“I implored (ve’eschanan) Hashem at that time saying…” (Devarim 3:23)
“Forms of the word ‘Chanun’ (as in ve’eschanan), imploring, in all places in the Torah, only mean ‘granting a gift for free’. Although the righteous could make their request dependent on their good deeds, they seek from Hashem nothing but a gift without payment” (Rashi on above)
The first Rashi in this week’s parsha is nice and simple, yet teaches us an important lesson: When we daven to Hashem, we approach Him with our requests as a poor servant approaches a king.
Just as the servant has nothing to ‘barter’ with and he asks his king for his wish, so too should we approach our King.
I’ve come to learn that davening is probably one of the most difficult things to do properly. We do it three times a day, early in the morning when we are tired, in the afternoon when we are very busy, and in the evening… when we’re tired again. It’s hard to focus on the words and their meanings, and because of this, we tend to go through our prayers quickly and without thought.
Despite the difficulties, we still need to try our best to make a real connection with Hashem during davening. From the above Rashi, we see how we can help ourselves achieve this goal. We act, and if we’re really good, we actually believe, that we have nothing to offer Hashem and nonetheless we beg Him to answer our prayers. In order to do that, we should look at what we would do when approaching a powerfully rich person, asking him for his help.
First and most importantly, we would show up on time. It makes a terrible impression to show up late to a meeting where you are going to be begging for money and help.
We would also make sure our appearance is set properly: we tuck in our shirt, we make sure our clothes are neat and set as much as possible, we wash our hands and face if needed, etc… Personally, I would make sure my hat and jacket are on properly, and not in a haphazard way.
Another thing we would be careful with is our choice of words. We would be concentrating on what we are saying, making sure to make our plea clear and also making sure we would not accidently say something insulting to our potential helper.
We would also speak in a clear and ‘educated’ manner. We would not quickly ramble through the list of things we need while looking around his house. We would list the things that we are lacking, say why we are lacking them, and how having such things would help us in our lives.
When we leave the meeting, we say thank you for the person’s time and praise him for his generosity. We wouldn’t be mumbling a few words of praise as we leave the door (I’m sure we’ve all done this with Alienu, no? )
I’m sure there are a few more examples, but I think the lesson is clear.
Davening is a major point in our relationship with Hashem. It’s something that needs constant work on a daily basis. By realizing that we a poor men asking Hashem for free help, we can better utilize our davening and understand its importance in our lives.
Have a great Shabbos! |
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| Wednesday, July 21, 2010 / 10 Av 5770 |
Ofeh Part Two: Speeding the Process
By: Dr. Chaim Levsky
We mentioned last time that actions that speed up the process of cooking are prohibited under ofeh. This is true even if the completion of the cooking would have been successful without intervention and the food will only be ready earlier due to the action.
One important application of this principle is removing food from a pot on the fire before it is completely cooked. The smaller amount of remaining food in the pot will cook faster as a result of this action. In addition, in the process of removing food from the center or bottom contents of a pot one will cause stirring of the food - another act that can speed up cooking. Therefore, one may not remove food from a pot on Shabbos unless he knows that the food in the pot is completely cooked. If food is not completely cooked yet one wants it anyway, the pot should be removed from the fire and the food should be poured into a bowl before partaking of it.
For some foods, as we will see later, once the cooking process is completed one time there can be no further prohibition of cooking (ein bishul achar bishul). Even so, we are stringent to prohibit stirring a pot of completely cooked food as long as it is on the fire. This is because some opinions hold that the act of stirring is a unique tolda (subcategory) of cooking which remains in force even after the primary cooking is complete. In some cases (that we will discuss later) one can remove the pot from the fire, take out the food, and then put it back on the fire. If a pot cannot be removed from the heat source one can be lenient to take out food as long as he is sure it is fully cooked and there is no intention to stir it.
Finally, the prohibition of stirring does not apply to clear liquids because agitating the liquid does not achieve anything. One can therefore remove water from a pot while it is still on the fire as long as it has already been boiled. If the water was not yet boiled this action would be prohibited because it speeds up the cooking of the remaining water by reducing the volume in the pot (as above).
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| Friday, July 16, 2010 / 5 Av 5770 |
Listen Among Your Brothers
By: Michael Winner
We had a test earlier this week that took a day and a half to complete. I started mine on Friday morning, while my chavrusa started his Sunday morning. So, on Monday I was done and had the morning to myself.
At that time, an interesting question came to mind that dealt with the concept of dina d'malchusei dina, the "law of the land" is the law. For example, if person A runs a red light and hits person B's car, he can't say, "Where in the Shulchan Oruch does it say that I did anything wrong? Show me where it says it’s assur to run a red light!" The law of the land is not to run red lights, then that is halacha.
I've seen this term thrown around several times by people and used as a blanket statement to prove whatever point they have. So, I sat down for a few hours to do a little research. Like many concepts in halacha, this was not a simple thing. There are many times that the law of the land is not "the law", such as when it is contrary to Torah. Questions need to be asked when considering using “dina d’malchusei dina”: When does it apply? How does it apply? Where does it apply? In the question I was thinking about, things got even more complicated: Dina d’malchusei dina applied in Eretz Yisroel is different than outside of Israel. A Jewish government is different than a non-Jewish government. Here in Israel, is our government considered Jewish, since Jews are in it? Or is it considered non Jewish, since it's not run according to the Torah?
Like many other things, dina d'malchusei dina is a complicated subject. I’ve been reading a small sefer by the Chazon Ish. In it, he pushes the reader to apply himself to learn halacha properly in depth, and not just sit and read ethics or learn Gemara on a surface level. Why? So instead of throwing around terms while knowing just the basics of it, you can properly apply it to your life.
"And I commanded your judges at that time saying, listen among your brothers" (Devarim 1:16)
Rav Zalman Sorotzkin writes that sometimes people in high positions, such as judges, might come to think of themselves as being on a higher level than everybody else. When the Torah states "listen among your brothers", it's reminding them that they are "one of them". They are not to look down at others from a position of authority; rather he should look at them as they would their own relatives.
This rule equally applies to anybody in any position of power, be it political, spiritual, financial, etc... When a person is blessed with large amounts of money and is constantly being asked to help people and institutions, he must remind himself that he is dealing with his brothers, not mere subjects. He should try to understand the person and the pain that he is currently going through and treat him accordingly.
Have a great Shabbos!
Postscript: I pulled in 86% on the test :)
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| Friday, July 09, 2010 / 27 Tamuz 5770 |
Clearance Sale
By: Michael Winner
"And the Almighty spoke to Moshe at Arvos Moav by the Jordan at Yericho (Jericho) saying…" (Bamidbar 33:50)
It's neat.
I live due west of this location. On a clear night, we can easily see the lights of Jericho out in the desert. We can also see the lights of Jordan on the mountain tops further behind. Just on the other side of those mountains is where this parsha, several previous parshas, and the entire book of Dvarim takes place. Nothing like living with history.
In this week's parsha, the Torah lists all the places that Bnei Yisroel travelled in the past forty years. Now, we are given the commandment to entire Eretz Yisroel. Right beforehand though, we are commanded to rid the entire land of all idolatry. The Hebrew word, kol, meaning "all", is used four times in the pasuk. This signifies the importance of not allowing one trace of idolatry to remain. If the nation is lax in this mitzvah, that small trace of idolatry can quickly grow back.
Many times you will hear secular or even somewhat religious Jews, attach the religious community for being so insular. One of their main arguments that I've heard over the years is "Obviously you and your children are not as religious as you think you are, because if you were, the ‘real’ world wouldn't scare you".
Nothing like the Torah itself to straighten out such silly arguments.
KOL. ALL forms of idolatry.
Even the smallest amount can infect the Jewish soul and turn anybody away. We see this summed up in Pirkei Avos that one should not trust himself until the day of his death.
When we build our lives, our homes, our communities, we want to build it in a Torah environment. We want to create the home as a place of Torah, free of any "idolatry", things that can lead us astray.
Just as we are careful that our children do not play with dangerous objects, so too, should we be careful with theirs, and our, souls, which are just as susceptible to dangers. We need to be careful of what we and our children see and hear, trying to keep it both positive and growth-oriented. When we read or hear material that is anti-Torah, such as loshon horah, magazines and books with immodest pictures or stories, and any other thing that helps fuel our Yetzer horah, we might not notice at first, but it creates a growing cancer on our souls.
Of course, every home has to know where they are holding and where they are going in life. But they should also keep in mind that the Torah warns us that any trace of idolatry can lead one away from Torah, and the danger must not be taken lightly.
With that, I wish you a great Shabbos!
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| Wednesday, July 07, 2010 / 25 Tamuz 5770 |
Ofeh / Baking
By: Dr. Chaim Levsky
Shabbos HaYom is back! Sorry for the long hiatus.....
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After losh / kneading comes the final melacha in the agricultural sequence, ofeh / baking. Ofeh includes cooking, roasting and frying as well as actions that just speed up the process of cooking (like covering a pot, stirring it or moving it closer to the fire). The use of various sources of heat for cooking such as fire, gas, electricity is prohibited.
The melacha of ofeh is violated when a food (or other item) is prepared for use through heating or cooking. The full Torah prohibition is incurred when an item is considered halachically cooked. This is defined as when the food reaches minimal edibility. The Gemara uses the term of ma'achal ben Derusai / the food of [a certain thief named] ben Derusai. Since this thief was always on the run he did not wait around for his food to be fully cooked. There is a dispute whether he ate it 1/2 or 1/3 cooked. The level of ma’achal ben Derusai for food is calculated by taking 1/2 or 1/3 of the time between when the food reaches boiling and when it is completely cooked. If a food has already reached the level of ma’achel ben Derusai and one completes the cooking on Shabbos there is a dispute as to whether this involves a Torah or Rabbinic prohibition.
As far as the Rabbinic prohibition is concerned, the threshold of cooking is crossed when food is heated above the temperature called yad soledes bo. There are various opinions of this temperature (one is 104F / 40C). It is safe to assume that if a drink can be drunk quickly or food can be eaten easily it is below yad soledes. When a partially cooked item is cooked further or the cooking process is enhanced in some way there is usually a Rabbinic prohibition.
The definition of ma’achal ben Derusai above applies to food. Some opinions hold that ma’achal ben Derusai for liquids is the level of yad soledes bo. According to this approach, yad soledes bo is reached at 1/3 to 1/2 of the cooking time needed to heat the liquid from room temperature to boiling (and the temperature of yad soledes is higher than noted above). As long as a liquid has not yet boiled, heating it to boiling would involve either a Torah or Rabbinic prohibition, as above.
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| Friday, July 02, 2010 / 20 Tamuz 5770 |
Against All Odds
By: Michael Winner
I was surprised with the instant response I received from last week's dvar torah. I believe it was a record amount. Surprisingly, it was all positive, since I was expecting some to accuse me of being a hidden racist.
It seems to pay to write about controversial topics. However, I put a lot of energy and time into that one (most of it being after midnight), so I can't write on such a level every week.
I’ll try to have another good one for Parshas Shoftim, which I hope will upset some people. :)
In the meantime, on to Torah!
"These are the children of Dan, cording to their families... sixty four thousand and four hundred" (Bamidbar 26:42,43)
The Chofetz Chaim noted that the total population of Binyamin was 45,600, while Dan's was 64,400. He tells us to take note of each tribe's beginnings. Binyamin himself started off with ten sons, while Dan had only one... and he was deaf (not exactly a good quality back then for a shidduch). Although, Binyamin had a 10 to 1 "lead" over Dan, Dan in the end had nearly 9000 more descendants.
The Chofetz Chaim uses this as a lesson to us. If Hashem wants us to succeed in something, we will succeed. No matter what disadvantages we think we have compared to others, it means nothing in the Almighty's eyes.
My wife and I constantly have pondered this point in our lives. Many couples come here for a year or two... at most five or six, and are supported in their learning. Their wives may work a bit and maybe they do some tutoring, but for the most part, they have many of their needs taken care of. No complaints, of course. If they’re sitting and learning, I think that's amazing and should continue. However, after a time, the money runs down, and they have to move on.
We on the other hand, do not get financial support. Yes, we both work hard to make ends meet, but we're five and a half years and two kids later, and still learning in kollel.
If you asked us in the beginning what are chances would be to continue this life, we would have said that it would be nice, but not very probable. But, thankfully, Hashem believes differently and has kept us going.
Whether we are looking for financial or spiritual success, we must always put aside the "but... he has... and we don't" attitude. That makes no difference. If Hashem desires that you should succeed, you will succeed and be happy with your lot.
The key is to daven and to show Him that you desire to succeed in order to properly grow as a Jew.
Have a great Shabbos!
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