Ask The Rabbi
2 March 1996
Issue #98
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                  Dedicated to the memory of Mr. Jack Annis
   whose life was the embodiment of devotion, concern and love for others.
          May his good deeds be an inspiration to all his family.
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This Issue Contains:
1. A Pointed Question
2. Two Yuds - a Second Look
3. Answer to Yiddle Riddle
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Binyomin S Altman <bsalt1@penfold.cc.monash.edu.au> wrote:

>Dear Rabbi,
>
>There is a custom to remove a knife from the table before Birkat Hamazon
>(Blessing after Meals).  Does this include plastic knives?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dear Binyomin,

There are two main reasons for removing the knife prior to Birkat Hamazon.
One is based on the following incident:  A person was once reciting Birkat
Hamazon when he came to the third blessing, the blessing in which we ask
Hashem to rebuild Jerusalem and the Holy Temple.  He became so distraught
at the thought of the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile, he picked up
the knife and stabbed himself.

The custom to remove the knife was patterned after this incident.  Since it
occurred during the week, the custom applies only during the week, but not
on Shabbat.  In the same vein (no pun intended), the custom wouldn't apply
to plastic knives, since the incident didn't involve a plastic knife, and
since plastic knives aren't `lethal' in the classic sense.

Another reason for removing the knife:  A table is compared to the Altar in
the Holy Temple.  Just as it is forbidden to use any iron utensil when
hewing the stones for the Altar, so too, we remove any metal knives prior
to Birkat Hamazon.

I asked Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch, shlita, who concurred that you need not
remove plastic knives before Birkat Hamazon.

Sources:
o  Shulchan Aruch 180:5
o  Aruch Hashulchan 180:5
o  Rokeach 332

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Shelly Zeitlin <Zeitlins@aol.com> wrote:

>You wrote recently about the reason for using two Yuds as a substitute for
>writing the Name of Hashem.  I've heard (no doubt from Rabbi Moshe Meir
>Weiss of Staten Island) the following reason:  Yud is the only purely
>'spiritual' letter, i.e., it is written entirely above the line.  Two
>'Yids' (Jews) together, side by side -- both spiritually engaged,
>experience the presence of Hashem.  [This idea is expressed in the verse
>"Love your neighbor as yourself, I am Hashem (Leviticus 19:18)."  When
>there is love and respect between two people, Hashem's presence can be
>felt. -- T.R.]

Binyamin Yaakov Schwartz <avik@jer1.co.il> wrote:

>I heard not long ago a different reason from my father in Boca Raton,
>Florida.  He told me that the siddurim used to abbreviate Hashem's Name by
>putting two yuds together, with a small letter 'vav' lying horizontally on
>top.  The reason was that the numerical value of two yuds plus one vav
>equals 26, which is the same as the numerical value of the Name of Hashem.

Sources:
o  See Melamed Hatalmidim L'Rabeinu Yaakov Antoly, p.118

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Yiddle Riddle

Last week we asked:
Which mitzvah is done on Wednesday or Thursday only?
(Thanks to Joel Eisenman for the question <Joel@telaviv.ddddf.com>)

Answer:  Eruv Tavshilin.  On Yom Tov (festival) it is permitted to cook and
prepare food; but only food cooked in honor of Yom Tov itself.  Preparing
for the weekday is forbidden.  What happens when Yom Tov falls on Friday?
How are you able to prepare for Shabbat?

The answer: Eruv Tavshilin.  The Sages enacted Eruv Tavshilin as a way of
beginning Shabbat preparations Thursday, thus allowing you to continue
preparing on Yom Tov itself.  Essentially, Eruv Tavshilin means setting
aside two food items -- one baked and one boiled -- in preparation for
Shabbat.  When a two-day Yom Tov falls on Thursday and Friday, the Eruv
Tavshilin is set aside on Wednesday.

Source:  Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 527:1,2
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Clarification: 
In Ask the Rabbi #95 it was noted that `Rashi' - who is in fact Rabbi
Rashi Simon of London - permitted using snow as a mikveh for dishes.
However, further communication with Rabbi Rashi Simon has revealed
that his ruling was made in a very limited context.  The obligation to
immerse the items involved was Rabbinic, and there were extenuating
circumstances, including a severe blizzard which made it impossible to
get to a mikveh.  Therefore Rabbi Simon's ruling in that case was in
fact in accord with the ruling in Ask the Rabbi #95.  We apologize for
any misunderstanding which may have resulted. 
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