Ask The Rabbi
8 November 1997 
Issue #166 (Parashat Lech Lecha)
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This Issue Contains:
1.  A Jewish Environment     4. The Rabbi's Car
2.  Fins on the Scale        5.  Public Domain 
3.  Tending the Bar Mitzvah  6.  Yiddle Riddle
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"Yossi & Co." will explore the weekly Parsha in a forum that everyone can 
enjoy.  Come and join him at http://www.ohr.org.il/yossi
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Bill Clark <whcii@msn.com> wrote:

>I have a question for the Rabbi!
>
>I have been writing a column on energy conservation for a local Jewish 
>magazine, The Jewish Outlook, in Austin Texas.  I have been proud to cite 
>many Biblical and Rabbinic references to encourage people to "repair the 
>world" and to practice energy conservation.
>
>Then I read about an organization in Israel that makes gadgets that let 
>people follow the Sabbath rules, but still live in the modern world.  One 
>is a light that stays on all the time, but has a cover that can be taken 
>off when light is needed.  Mostly they get around the injunction against 
>using an electrical switch that way -- by keeping things on all the time. 
>Wasting energy, in other words.
>
>Which is more important -- to conserve energy and help renew the world in 
>a sincere effort -- or to adhere to the Sabbath in an almost comical 
>circumvention of the rules?  I think it is clearly the former.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Dear Bill Clark,

The gadget you mention is used mainly in hospitals.  When the light is 
covered, the patient can sleep, and it can be uncovered whenever the 
patient needs care.  At home most people use timers, programmed before 
Shabbat to turn lights off and on.  These timers save energy.

But I'm in the dark about something:  What is it about this gadget that 
"comically circumvents the rules?"  Is blocking the light a "circumvention 
of the rules?"  If so, we shouldn't shut our bedroom door Friday night if 
it blocks the hall light.  We shouldn't shut our eyes, because then our 
eyelids block the light!  We should stay awake the whole night staring 
straight into the light!

But to answer the question "which is more important, observing the Torah or 
conserving energy" -- observing the Torah is more important.  G-d, as 
Creator, owns the world and has the right to direct the use of its 
resources.

Remember the movie "Bambi vs. Godzilla?"  (It was a very short film.)  Your 
portrayal of "Environment vs. Shabbat" reminds me of it:  Shabbat, the 
giant monster, "squishes" the tender Environment with one stomp of its 
foot.  The End.

But imagine -- what would happen if everyone in the world kept Shabbat?  
Imagine one day a week when no cars, planes or boats guzzled gas, no 
factories coughed out polluted stench, no TVs, stereos, or computers 
leeched electricity?

Just imagine the health benefits if everyone rested once a week!  And how 
many road deaths (the majority of which occur on weekends) would be 
avoided.  Most of all, imagine the positive environmental impact if we all 
took one day a week to recognize the beauty of G-d's world.  If one day in 
seven were spent thinking:  "This is G-d's world, not mine!"

No, I don't think Shabbat observance is going to eat a hole in the ozone 
layer.  It might even mend one.

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Miles Levin from Pittsburgh, PA <mbl@andrew.cmu.edu> wrote:

>For fish to be Kosher, the Torah says they need to have fins and scales.  
>I've learned that there aren't any fish or any sea animals which have 
>scales and yet no fins.  So why is the qualifier "fins" necessary?

* * * * * * * * * *

Dear Miles Levin,

Your question is asked by the Talmud some 1500 years ago.  (It's 
fascinating that our Sages knew this fact.)

Simply to identify kosher fish, it would have been enough for the Torah to 
simply write "scales," since every fish with scales also has fins.  However 
when looking at these specifications as the reason for the fish being 
kosher, both are essential.  Let me explain:

An elementary understanding behind all the laws of kashrut is the concept 
that the soul is influenced by whatever the body eats.  The Talmud states 
that the kosher birds are the ones that are non-aggressive, so that we 
shouldn't absorb bad character traits by eating them.  This can also 
explain the requirement for kosher animals having split hooves which are 
used for fleeing, as opposed to claws used for attacking.  Chewing the cud 
is the compensation to allow these species to flee when necessary but still 
be able to maintain an appropriate intake of food in harsh environments.  
In a short stay upon a fertile feeding ground they are able to accumulate 
enough fodder to survive, and they can flee at the appearance of an 
attacker and digest their food later.

The same applies to fish:  the fins aid retreat while the scales act as a 
protective covering.  Together, they are specifications which classify them 
as the hunted and not as the hunters.

Sources:
o  Chullin 59a, 66b
o  Niddah 51b
o  Gaon of Vilna on "Sabei Devei Atuna"
o  Ramban Leviticus 11:13

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Judith Subar <ABubbe@aol.com> wrote:

>Dear Rabbi,
>
>Something bothered me recently when I attended an Orthodox Bar Mitzvah 
>week-end.  The Orthodox caterers were serving food during Shabbat.  They 
>seemed to be working very hard on the Shabbat.   What is the halacha for 
>preparing, serving, and cleaning up during Shabbat?  Thank you!

* * * * * * * ** * *

Dear Judith Subar,

On Shabbat, 39 categories of creative activities are forbidden by the 
Torah.  These include such things as cooking, writing and building a fire.  
Other prohibitions were added by our Sages to safeguard the sanctity and 
spirit of Shabbat.

As long as the caterer avoids any of these forbidden activities, he is 
allowed to `work' on Shabbat.  For example, all food must be cooked in 
advance and kept warm on a stove that was lit before Shabbat.  He doesn't 
violate the spirit of Shabbat either, because his efforts are Shabbat 
related.

Another issue is the Rabbinic prohibition against earning wages on Shabbat.  
The Sages forbade earning wages for a Shabbat activity, even if the 
activity itself is permitted.  They limited this prohibition, however, only 
to payment designated specifically for work done on Shabbat.  But if the 
pay is part of a "package deal" which includes work done during the week, 
such as setting up before Shabbat, then even the Shabbat wages are 
permitted.

Sources:
o  Shulchan Aruch 306:4
o  Mishna Berurah 306:16
o  Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchata 28:59

===========================================================================

(Name withheld) wrote,

>Dear Rabbi,
>What do you think of a Rabbi, with a large number of survivors in his 
>congregation, that buys a Mercedes Benz automobile?

Alex <kornale@charlie.iit.edu> Glenview, Illinois wrote:

>Dear Rabbi,
>
>What is the halachic standing on buying German cars.  I have tested BMW 
>and Mercedes, both are $40,000 cars and I want to buy one.  But then I was 
>told that there is a halachic issue with buying those cars, because they 
>re German.

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

Dear Alex and (Name Withheld),

Many people refrain from buying German products as a way of showing their 
moral outrage at the behavior of the German people during the Holocaust.  
Strictly speaking, however, there's no halachic basis for not buying German 
products.

But a person should always consider how his actions will affect others.  
For example, a friend of mine would never buy a German car because his 
mother, a Holocaust survivor, would be deeply hurt and offended.

As for the Rabbi who bought the Mercedes, we can't judge a person without 
knowing all the circumstances, motives and pressures that the person 
experiences.  Judaism tells us that "You shall not hate your fellow man in 
your heart," rather you should tell the other person what's bothering you 
about his behavior.  I suggest that you speak directly to the rabbi in a 
respectful manner and clarify the issue with him.

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New Feature !  

THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
Comments, quibbles, and reactions 
concerning previous "Ask-the-Rabbi" features.

I would just like to add that the custom to pick up the Bride and Groom on 
chairs began in the late 1930's here in NY.  My father and his friends made 
a wedding for one of the poorer boys in the yeshiva.  It turned out to be 
one of the most beautiful and lively weddings that they ever attended.  In 
the heat of the dancing, some of the boys lifted the groom and started 
dancing with him.  Later the ladies did the same with the bride.  The rest 
as they say is history.
                                          David Rockove <drockove@juno.com>



I once heard another reason for the braids of the Challahs.  Each challah 
has three braids, times four (twice Lechem Mishna) gives us 12.  There were 
12 Lechem Haponim on the Shulchan in the Mikdash.  
                                   Rabbi Asher Schechter from Fair Lawn, NJ 
                            <comp-acct.fiduciary.software@worldnet.att.net>



We usually put a small 3 braid on top of a larger 3 braid and bake them 
together, or we make a six-braided challa.  When we use two loaves made in 
this way we actually have 12, representing the lechem hapanim.  
                           Nancy Wells from Dallas, Texas <nwells@objs.com>

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Yiddle Riddle

Last week we asked:  Of which two people in the Torah can it be said that 
their names spelled backwards are words used by the Torah to describe them?

Answer:  Noach and Er, son of Judah.  Concerning Noach the verse says 
"Noach found favor (chein) in Hashem's eyes."  In Hebrew, Chein is Noach 
spelled backwards.  Concerning Er the verse says "And Er, Judah's 
firstborn, was evil (rah) in Hashem's eyes.  In Hebrew, Rah is Er spelled 
backwards.

Bereishit 6:8, 38:7

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