Parashat Shavua

Hemdat Yamim Parashat Shemot

Hemdat Yamim Pesach- Chol Hamoed 17 Nisan 5762 ***************************************************** This edition of Hemdat Yamim is dedicated to the memory of R' Meir ben Yechezkel Shraga Brachfeld o.b.m. ***************************************************** Chol or Moed or Both? We use this section to discuss the parasha, and there is a Torah reading for Shabbat of Chol Hamoed. But why not discuss the idea behind Chol Hamoed itself? What's the idea of having days which are a little like Yom Tov and a little like chol (regular day)? One can reasonably claim that the entire chag should, in theory, have been fully forbidden in melacha (work forbidden on Shabbat and Yom Tov- see kal va'chomer in Chagiga 18a), but that the Torah made allowances to enable people to function during the 7-8 days. According to this approach, the chol aspect of Chol Hamoed is "b'dieved" (a regrettably, necessary reality). However, one can argue that it is important to incorporate certain elements of weekday activity, for their own sake, within our chagim. Many seforim stress that the lessons and experiences of the holy days of Shabbat and Yom Tov are not to be limited to those days, but are intended to glow onto our lives and activities well beyond. Shabbat comes frequently enough that we may succeed, at any time, to bask in the light of the previous or upcoming Shabbat. But, perhaps, Yom Tov could use a little more help. How do we ensure that the profound lessons of the festivals are applied to days whose kedusha is less concentrated and palpable? Perhaps that is where Chol Hamoed enters the picture. We have the opportunity to perform certain weekday-like activities [see a couple examples in "Ask the Rabbi"] while staying very clearly within the aura of the festival spirit of kedusha. Integration of these lifestyles helps us get used to integrating the kedusha associated with the chag within the framework of full chol, even after the chag is over. If this thesis is true, we can suggest a new understanding for a much discussed gemara (Pesachim 68b). R. Eliezer and R. Yehoshua disagree whether Yom Tov should have its share of both spiritual and physical activity or that one choose between one extreme and the other. The amora, R. Elazar, comments that both opinions agree that on Shavuot, you must have a share of physical indulgence. We can now understand this as follows. Since Shavuot does not have a Chol Hamoed, it is indispensable that the Yom Tov itself contains elements of the physical world in order to experience some integration. According to one opinion, on Pesach and Sukkot, one can have a totally spiritual Yom Tov and work on integration on Chol Hamoed. One can either claim that the gemara disputes this claim, or, alternatively, that it supports the claim. The gemara explains R. Elazar's distinction, saying : "[Shavuot] is the day the Torah was given on." One can explain that it is the nature of the celebration of Shavuot which, paradoxically, creates a need for some physicality. According to our approach, one can stress the word "day" and say as follows. Since we have only one day of celebration for the giving of the Torah, that day must include elements of a physical lifestyle. In any case, chag sameach... and happy integration. *********************************************************** P'ninat Mishpat - Weddings During the Chag Let us take a short interlude from our discussion of ketubot to discuss marriage on chagim (including Chol Hamoed). The gemara (Moed Katan 8b) brings several reasons why Chazal forbade weddings during a chag, a few of which overlap. One approach (with three different nuances) is that involvement in a wedding impedes one's ability to properly celebrate the national simcha of the festival. R. Yitzchak Nafcha says that allowing weddings on the chag might cause some people to artificially postpone the marriage until this more convenient time. Each opinion is forced to explain why the baraita (ibid.) allows weddings on erev Yom Tov. The discussion raises relevant issues and teaches practical rulings. Firstly, one is allowed to have sheva berachot during the chag, as these do not include the level of simcha which takes away from the festival (Beit Shmuel, Chelkat M'chokek 64:7). Also, an engagement party, even the type that follows the writing of tenaim, is permitted (at least if it is not a full, sit-down meal on a grand level) (Mishna Berura 546:2). ************************************************************ Moreshet Shaul (from the works of Hagaon Harav Shaul Yisraeli zt"l) Shir Hashirim - Who Said It and When? (5717) from "Drashot Liymei Hapesach," p. 97 While Shabbat Chol Hamoed is "buried" in the midst of Pesach, it shines through with a most special megillah, which casts a youthful charm which never ages. We can feel, along with Shir Hashirim's author, the desire to proclaim: "How beautiful and how pleasant are you, love among the indulgences" (7:7). For good reason did R. Akiva say: "There was no day as worthwhile as the one on which Shir Hashirim was given to Israel, for all of the Holy Scriptures are holy, but Shir Hashirim is holy of holies." Chazal (Yalkut Shimoni, Shir Hashirim 1) bring different opinions about when this song was said and by whom. One is that it was said at Yam Suf; a second opinion said, at Sinai; another claims it was said at the Mishkan, while yet another holds it was in the Beit Hamikdash. Regarding its author, it is attributed by different opinions to Bnei Yisrael, to Hashem, and to the angels. Those who do not appreciate the holiness of Shir Hashirim are surprised at the trepidation with which Chazal approached it, explaining it as an allegory of the relationship between Hashem and Knesset Yisrael. Those who do not feel the holy, lofty emotional feelings of Israel to their Father in the Heavens imagine Shir Hashirim must be just a collection of love songs of an ancient shepherd. No one, though, can deny the curious, historical fact that the Jewish nation is like none other in history. Let us paraphrase the words of Rav S. R. Hirsch on the matter. A thousand times the nations tried to entice and pressure Israel into a path leading to riches and happiness if it would just give up its unswerving belief in Hashem and His Torah. But Israel rejected these overtures and accepted upon itself persecution, sacrificing, on the altar of its belief, everything dear to it. On all the pages of history, Israel has written with the blood of its heart that it loves only the One and Only, and that it doesn't recognize the grandeur of man, which is based on physical acquisition and comforts. Is it possible to look at the historical chain of events of the Jewish people as a set of chance episodes? Is it anything but intellectual blindness to ignore the manifestation of a spiritual characteristic, which began with an eternal covenant? How appropriate are Rav Kook's words: "The uniqueness of Knesset Yisrael is its ability to see all of existence within the perspective of holiness. With all the strength of its life, Israel recognizes that life is worthwhile only to the degree that it is G-dly." By whom and when was Shir Hashirim really said? All of Chazal's opinions are correct. It was at Yam Suf and Sinai, at the Mishkan and Beit Hamikdash, in Eretz Yisrael and in the Diaspora, even at the depths of the sea and the furnaces of fire and smoke. It was, and still is, recited, and you can hear it in any place where signs of mesirut nefesh and kiddush Hashem sprout forth. It springs forth any time a Jew withstands the temptation to bow down to a stone or to the statue of a man. It is the song of Knesset Yisrael to its beloved, the song of praise of Hashem to His loyal, beloved nation, and the song that unifies this world with the world of angels. Listen with holy trembling to particularly significant words for our days: "The sound of my beloved knocks. Open up for me, my sister, my companion, my dove, my perfect one, for my head is full of dew, my locks with the rains of night" (5:2). ***************************************************** Ask the Rabbi Question: If and when may one write on Chol Hamoed? Answer: Writing, as a melacha (prohibited activity on Shabbat and Yom Tov), follows the basic rules of melacha on Chol Hamoed. We will briefly summarize them and mention some specific halachot of writing. Melacha is broadly broken up into two categories: ma'aseh uman (skilled work) and ma'aseh hedyot (unskilled work). Calligraphy is a ma'aseh uman, most certainly including writing or fixing entire letters in a sefer Torah (Shulchan Aruch, O.C 545:1 and commentaries). Some distinguish between Torah script and others between block writing and cursive (see Rama ibid.:5 with Mishna Berurah, ad loc.). A ma'aseh uman is permitted in the following cases: 1) Davar ha'aved - one needs to write to prevent a monetary loss. If the loss is significant, one can write in his normal, "expert" manner (Mishna Berurah 545:35). One may not plan the work in advance for Chol Hamoed (Shulchan Aruch, OC 539:6). 2) The community needs the work during the chag (e.g. the one available Sefer Torah needs fixing) (ibid. 545:2). 3) The ability to do a mitzva now or after the chag depends on his writing now (ibid.:3). Writing as a ma'aseh hedyot is permitted in the following additional cases (partial list) of festival needs: 1) Writing a check (when it isn't appropriate to pay with cash) for items needed for the chag; 2) Activity to enhance the enjoyment of the chag (e.g. a child drawing a picture), which is not an actual necessity; 3) social correspondence (ibid.:5), which brings some joy during the chag, to either the sender or the receiver. The Rama (ad loc.) says that the minhag is to write on a slant. There is a machloket if one has to slant for all needs of the chag (because normal writing might be a ma'aseh uman (Gra 545:1)) or is required only for social correspondence, where there is only a marginal need (see Mishna Berura 545:34; Chayei Adam 111:4; Zichron Shlomo, Biurim 11). There is also a machloket whether all lines need to be slanted or the just top one (the Mishna Berura leans toward leniency when the writing is in cursive. Using a word processor to type and print follows the rules of ma'aseh hedyot (see discussion in Zichron Shlomo, Biurim 9). ***************************************************** Harav Shaul Israeli zt"l Founder and President Deans: Harav Yosef Carmel Harav Moshe Ehrenreich ERETZ HEMDAH 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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