Ask The Rabbi
20 December 1997 
Issue #172 (Parashat Vayeshev)
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Chanukiah or Menorah?  Greeks or Gelt?  Maccabees or Maimonides?  
Find answers your Chanukah questions at:
http://www.ohr.org.il/special/chanukah/index.htm
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This Issue Contains:
1. De Vine Revelation	 
2. Sheviti 		     
3. What The Dead Know	
4. Sanhedrin of Seventy	
5. That's What Western Walls Are Made Of
6. Yiddle Riddle 
7. Public Domain 
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De Vine Revelation

Derek Koss <djsports@westworld.com> wrote:

>Dear Rabbi,
>When the flood was over, the first thing Noah did was get drunk.  Why?  
>And what was the lesson from that? Noah acted so strangely from his 
>drinking that his behaviors became a moral question.  What was G-d saying?

Ira <hisadis@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Dear Rabbi,
>How did Noah know how to make alcohol?  How did he get drunk?

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

Dear Derek Koss and Ira,
	As for Noah knowing how to make wine, there's no reason to think that 
people didn't know how to make wine before the flood.  Noah was 600 years 
old at the time of the flood, so he had plenty of time to learn what 
everyone else knew.  Besides, grape juice ferments by itself when left to 
react with the oxygen in the air and it naturally becomes wine.
	The Midrash relates that Noah took vine branches into the ark with 
him.  He decided to begin the process of rebuilding the world by planting 
them.  This was his first mistake, for he should have begun planting 
something more vital for mankind's existence -- wheat, for example.  One 
mistake leads to another:  He made wine, had a drink, then another and 
another.  Once drunk, he lost his dignity.  The message is that the 
pleasures of the world are available for us, but we must exercise restraint 
and never lose sight of our role as a holy people.

Sources:
o  Bereishis Rabba 36:4
o  Midrash Aggada 9:21

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Sheviti

Howard D Feiner, San Mateo, California <hdfeiner@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>What is a "sheviti?"  What do they say and are there any special things 
>about them?

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

Dear Howard D Feiner,
	A "sheviti" is a written page with the verse "I have placed G-d 
before me always" and sometimes also Psalm 67 written in the form of a 
menorah.  The Hebrew word sheviti means "I have placed."  The purpose of 
the sheviti  is to arouse a person's awareness of the presence of God and 
to instill fear of heaven.  Many synagogues have such posters on the wall, 
or in front of the cantor and some place small pages in their prayerbooks. 
Some authorities are against production of the small shevitis since it is 
very likely that they will be lost, or not treated with the proper respect 
due to something that contains the name of Hashem.

Sources:
o  Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 1:1
o  Ramah, Mishna Berurah ad loc. Paragraph 4

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What the Dead Know

Chava <gordon1@mskcc.org> wrote:

>Dear Rabbi,
>What do we believe about the knowledge people who have passed away have of 
>events in this world?  My father passed away almost two years ago.  My 
>sister just got engaged, baruch Hashem.  Does my father have any knowledge 
>of this?  I thank you for your time.

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

Dear Chava,
	Yes, the dead can sometimes have awareness of what goes on in this 
world.  There's actually a custom to try to get engaged and married soon 
after the passing of a parent in order to bring joy to the deceased parent.  
So, it's possible that your father knows about your sister's engagement and 
that it's bringing him joy.

Sources:
o  Tractate Berachos 18b

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Sanhedrin of Seventy

Avraham Shimon Becher, age 11, <becher@netmedia.net.il> wrote:

>Dear Rabbi,
>The Anshei Knesset Hagedola had 120 judges.  I think the Talmud says that 
>you're not meant to have an even numbered beit din (rabbinical court) so 
>as to avoid a tied vote.  So how could the Anshei Knesset Hagedola have 
>120 judges?

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

Dear Avraham Shimon Becher,
	The Anshei Knesset Hagedola was not a beit din for the purpose of 
judging civil or criminal cases.  The maximum beit din in that regard was 
71 members, like the "Beit Din Hagadol" also known as the "Sanhedrin 
Gedola."  This number is derived from the verse in the Torah where G-d 
tells Moshe to gather 70 elders; including Moshe himself there were 71.
	Rather, the Anshei Knesset Hagedola was a body that issued Rabbinic 
enactments, compiled parts of the Bible and instituted the blessings and 
prayers.

Sources:
o  Bamidbar 11:16
o  Sanhedrin 2a, 3a & 40a
o  Megillah 2a
o  Bava Basra 15b
o  Berachos 33a

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That's What Western Walls are Made Of

Wendy Davis <ddprodf@telalink.net> wrote:
>What is the Western Wall made of?  Were the stones quarried in Israel. 
>Thank you,

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

Dear Wendy Davis,
	The Western Wall is made of sandstone which is very common in the 
central Israel area.  It was almost certainly quarried in Israel.  First of 
all, the stone is very common here, and is still quarried and used in 
building today in Israel.  Secondly, some of the stones are incredibly 
heavy, and would have been extemely difficult to transport.  There is one 
stone that weighs approx. 250 tons!

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                                Yiddle Riddle

Last week we wrote:  When one of the Chassidic Rebbes was eight years old 
he was asked a riddle:  "What verse in the Torah has the first three words 
the same as the last three words?"  He replied, "The verse where Moses did 
not say emet (the truth)."  What did he mean?
(Riddle courtesy of Baruch Sterman <baruch@netmedia.net.il>)

Answer:  In the last verse in Parshat Shlach, Moses quotes G-d:  "Ani 
Hashem Elokaychem . Ani Hashem Elokaychem" -- "I am the L-rd your G-d who 
took you out of the land of Egypt to be your G-d, I am the L-rd your G-d."  
After this verse during the recital of the Shema, we immediately add the 
word "emet" -- "truth" -- as though this word were part of the verse.  
This, however, is not the way the verse appears in the Torah.  Therefore, 
this is the verse in which Moses did not say the word "emet," although when 
we read the verse, we do say "emet."

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

One more suggestion for someone whose name spelled backwards describes 
them:  This was told to me by Malka Mantin.  "Moshe" which spelled 
backwards is "Hashem," and Moshe is described as an "Eved Hashem" -- 
"Servant of G-d."
Benyomin Wolf, Yeshiva U. <bwolf@ymail.yu.edu>

Some possible answers to the Yiddle Riddle:
Moshe -- his name spelled backwards is "Hashem." Leah -- she cried to 
"HaKel" (Hashem) so that she wouldn't have to marry Esav.
Mamaleh@aol.com

Re: Minyan Motivation:  Another version of the story is that there once was 
a town with 10 Jewish men, and they always had a minyan -- however, when 
the 11th man moved into town, they could never get a minyan -- each one 
thought he could stay home because there would be exactly 10 without him.
Howard Kravitz, Chicago, IL <email@withheld>
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