Parashat Shavua

Hemdat Yamim Vayichi

Hemdat Yamim Parshat Vayichi ********************************************************************* The 4th volume of B'Mareh Habazak, Eretz Hemdah's responsa to Diaspora rabbis, has just been published. Copies are available at our office or can be sent by mail. Call our office for details. ********************************************************************* This edition of Hemdat Yamim is dedicated to the memory of R' Meir ben Yechezkel Shraga Brachfeld o.b.m. *********************************************************** I Want to be... a Donkey Chazal (Bereishit Rabba 99:9), indeed Tanach itself, tell us that Yissachar was the tribe which specialized in Torah study. What metaphor does Ya'akov use to symbolize his task in life? "Yissachar is a strong-boned donkey... He saw rest (menucha) that it was good and the land that it was pleasant, yet he bent his shoulder to bear [the load], and he became an indentured laborer" (Bereishit 49:14-15). First and foremost, becoming a talmid chacham requires perseverance and the willingness to suffer through difficulties (intellectual, physical, financial) in search of the goal. The discipline and often thankless hard work required to develop is described by the work of the donkey, passing loads from place to place with little opportunity to rest. But Ya'akov goes out of his way to stress that which precedes (or should, in any case) the decision to take on the load (following the donkey motif). First one should realize that menucha (rest, a simpler life; we are told that talmidei chachamim ein lahem menucha) is good. He should also be aware that a life on the land (as a farmer) is pleasant, and very much halachically and religiously appropriate for many. One must first be taught and/or realize that there are wonderful ways of life, which surround and serve Torah, but are not exclusive, full-time Torah study. The hope is that despite this fact, there will be those, like Yissachar, who are drawn to a life dedicated more directly to the study of Torah. A decision to dedicate one's "sweat and blood" to the study of Torah is complete when other alternatives are considered. The last Rambam in the section of Zeraim praises those from other tribes who decide to take on a Levi-like spiritual life in which they throw off such mundane considerations as making a living. One who studies that and other passages of the Rambam will see that such a decision is not to be taken lightly nor is it one which should be pressured onto a person. It is one which a person, being exposed both to the world around him and to the true, unadulterated beauty of Torah, should make. Yissachar wanted to be "a donkey." We need many good people to make that choice, and to make it in an informed manner which shows a true desire to sanctify Hashem's name through the study and teaching of His Torah. **************************************************************** P'ninat Mishpat- Classical Agunah Issue- Cumulative Circumstantial Evidence As we have seen in past weeks, the normal and preferred manner to substantiate the claim that a missing man has died includes some type of eyewitness account. However, in some cases, this type of account is unavailable, yet a combination of circumstances makes the case for an assumption of death very strong. In some cases, leading poskim have shown a significant level of creativity and flexibility to find a halachic basis for such an assumption. One such example appears in Igrot Moshe, Even Ha'ezer IV, 58.7, regarding a man who was apparently deported from Belgium to Auschwitz and was never heard from again. Rav Moshe z.t.l. combined five reasons for leniency to come up with a lenient ruling (it is unclear from this ruling how many of the five were crucial, and how many were additional). The reasons include the following. 1. An official government document that the man was taken to Auschwitz. 2. The fact that we would have expected him to contact relatives in America, over time. 3. The fact that he didn't return to his home in Belgium. 4. The opinions (including Chatam Sofer) that in our age of improved communication, the disappearance of a person is a strong indication of death. Of course, great authorities are required to weigh each specific set of circumstances. ********************************************************* Moreshet Shaul (from the works of Hagaon Harav Shaul Yisraeli zt"l) Does Beit Din Follow a Majority of Opinions Or of Wisdom?- part I (from Amud Hay'mini, 4) The gemara (Sanhedrin 36a) states as follows: "How do we know [that in capital trials, we start judicial deliberation from the junior jurists]? The Torah says 'Lo ta'aneh al riv (read, rav)' (do not respond to the great one)." Rashi explains: "'riv' is written without the letter 'yud' to imply that one should not argue on the most revered member of beit din (muflah shel beit din). Therefore, we don't begin with him [muflah] lest he see a reason to convict, and others won't argue with him..." Rabbeinu Yona understands Rashi that if, indeed, we would start with the muflah (as we do in monetary matters), then others couldn't argue with him. Rabbeinu Yona rejects the opinion because then, by monetary matters, we would in effect be using a beit din of one dayan (since others can't argue). Mishnat Ya'avetz (CM, 5) also understands Rashi along extreme lines and points out that Rav Hai Gaon holds similarly. Rav Hai says: "if the three judges disagree, if the judges are of equivalent wisdom, we leave the words of the one and do according to the two. If the one is greater than the two, we follow the one who gives a good reason for his opinion." The Ramban rejects this position based on the Torah's clear ruling to follow the majority (Shemot 23:2). Mishnat Ya'avetz explains that according to Rashi and Rav Hai, the majority one follows is the majority of wisdom, just that under normal circumstances, that majority of wisdom follows the majority of people. However, it is difficult to apply this explanation to the aforementioned gemara according to Rashi. If the muflah is considered the majority, then how does it help to start from the junior jurists? After all, according to the above approach, once the muflah renders his decision, we will be required to follow it against the majority? Indeed, some explain Rashi that although junior jurists may argue on the muflah, we start with them in order that they shouldn't be intimidated to do so. Tosafot (ad loc.) does seem to say that it is problematic to argue on the muflah, but not because they don't have the power, but because of the need to honor the muflah. The Maharam (ad loc.) suggests that according to Tosafot, the muflah can force the other two dayanim to accept his view in monetary matters, and the purpose of the other dayanim is to raise issues that may affect the opinion of the muflah. ****************************************************************** Ask the Rabbi Question: I am very confused about a certain attitude among Orthodox people. Many people place a lot of importance on how long you wait between eating milk and meat. However, let us look at the source of waiting between milk and meat. It is just a rabbinic geder (fence) not to eat them together (when cooked separately) and a further geder not to eat them in the same meal. As a result, people in different cultures who had a meat meal would end up waiting the amount of time until the next meal to eat milk. The whole six hour/three hour thing doesn't seem to be so important, yet people make you feel so guilty if you take on a more lenient custom. Answer: I understand your confusion and frustration. Let me try to put things in perspective a little bit. There is a system behind how halacha and minhag have developed over the centuries. However, there is a lot of fluidity which allows for both Divine intervention, rabbinic ingenuity and socio-religious developments. It is sometimes hard to know how certain rulings/minhagim have developed (although there has been some good research on the topic). Without a doubt, certain issues seem to have taken on a certain "blown out of proportion" importance in comparison to other issues which would appear more crucial. In certain areas, stringency has been added onto stringency, while in other areas, leniency has been added onto leniency. At times, it is proper for rabbinic leaders to step in and return things to proper proportion. However, most of the time, there is a certain trust in the dynamics of the development of normative practice which causes the rabbinic community to keep hands off. There are two, divergent statements in Chazal on the issue, which happen to start with the same words. One source says: "Leave Yisrael alone; if they aren't prophets, they are the sons of prophets" (Pesachim 66a). The other says: "Leave Yisrael alone; it is better that they sin unintentionally than that they sin intentionally" (Beitza 30a). (There is a responsa of Terumat Hadeshen (II, 78) where he ends off with the words, "Leave Israel alone, etc." The poskim try to figure out which of the two quotes he is alluding to and, thus, how enthusiastic he is about the discussed practice). The first quote refers to a confidence in Divine approval of the development of a given minhag. The other refers to a degree of fatalism, that even when a minhag is regrettable, it is difficult (and often unwise) to alter it. Regarding your specific issue, I agree that we seem to be very stringent, and I discourage people from being overly judgmental of others. However, I also remind you that just as sometimes a minhag (or the weight given to it) is particularly stringent, so too, minhagim can be surprisingly lenient. As traditional Jews, we usually take the phenomenon as a whole, and we follow the stream in most cases, accepting the accepted stringencies along with the leniencies. Passing on family traditions and community minhagim is an important part of our tradition and our spiritual survival and should not be taken lightly. **************************************************************************** ***** ERETZ HEMDAH Harav Shaul Israeli zt"l Founder and President Deans: Harav Yosef Carmel Harav Moshe Ehrenreich 5 Ha-Mem Gimmel St. P.O.B 36236 Jerusalem 91360 Tel/Fax: 972-2-5371485 Email: eretzhem@netvision.net.il web-site: www.eretzhemdah.org American Friends of Eretz Hemdah Institutions c/o Olympian 8 South Michigan Ave. Suite 605 Chicago, IL 60603 USA Our Taxpayer ID#: 36-4265359

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