Ask The Rabbi
28 February 1998 
Issue #182 (Parashat Terumah)
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This publication is available in HTML format at
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This Issue Contains:
1.  Adult Circumcision     5.  Live in the Garden of Eden
2.  How Fat is the Kotel?  6.  Yiddle Riddle
3.  Crisis of a CEO        7.  Public Domain
4.  Lion Blessings
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Adult Circumcision

Sam Steinberg from Cedarhurst, New York <cooldad524@aol.com> wrote:

>Dear Rabbi,
>
>I am the son of concentration camp survivors.  After the war, they ended 
>up in Belgium.  I was born in 1949 in Belgium.  The Korean War was 
>breaking out and everyone was worried about a new European War. My parents 
>didn't have me circumcised because they were worried that if there was a 
>new war, I could end up exposed as a Jew and killed.  I am now 48 and 
>getting more involved with my religion.  Should I now have a circumcision?

* * * * * * * * * *

Dear Sam Steinberg,

You should definitely try to do this very important mitzvah.
The Torah commands that all Jewish males be circumcised.  G-d said to 
Abraham "This is My covenant which you shall observe, between Me and you 
and your future offspring:  Circumcise every male ... An uncircumcised male 
who (purposely) does not circumcise himself, that soul will be cut off from 
its people -- he has violated My covenant."

You need to get an expert mohel (person who performs circumcision) who is 
knowledgeable in all Jewish laws concerning circumcision.  The mere fact 
that someone is a doctor or surgeon does not qualify him to perform 
circumcision.

I recently met a mohel who is one of the most experienced people performing 
circumcision on adults.  His name is Rabbi Y. Aron Fisher, Phone number 1 
800 367 2747 or 914 425 3266.  He told me he will be happy to help you, so 
feel free to contact him.

I applaud you for your efforts to reunite with your Jewish heritage.  In 
the merit of this great mitzvah, may Hashem bless you with great success in 
all your endeavors.

Sources:
o  Genesis 17:10-14
o  Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah 260

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How Fat is the Kotel?

Elana Savader from Columbus, Ohio <Elana@compuserve.com> wrote:

>Dear Rabbi,
>
>I am delighted to find this website.  I have several questions for you: 
>My 5 year old son "Eliron" is sitting here with me.  He just started 
>Yeshiva last week and we are very proud of what he has learned already. 
>His question for you is "How long did Moses live?"  His second question is 
>"What does G-d look like?"  His third question is, "What is your name?" 
>As you can see he is very inquisitive.  He also wants to know how big the 
>Kotel is... "how wide, tall, and fat?"

* * * * * * * * * *

Dear Name@Withheld,

Moses lived to the age of 120.   This, by the way, is the origin of the 
blessing "may you live until 120."  My wife's uncle always wishes people 
that they should live to be 122...so that they should not die suddenly!
G-d does not have any physical form, so he doesn't "look" like anyone or 
anything.  (See the prayer "Yigdal" on pages 12 and 13 in the ArtScroll 
Siddur.)  Even though the Torah says things like "G-d took us out of Egypt 
with a strong hand" -- this is the Torah's way of telling us about G-d in a 
way we can understand.

The Kotel's measurements are 488 meters long, 55 meters high, and on the 
average 1.5 meters "fat."  (A meter is roughly three feet.)
May your son Eliron be a constant source of joy to you and your family, and 
may he scale the heights of Jewish knowledge and righteousness.

Sources:
o  Deuteronomy 34:7.

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Crisis of a CEO

Name@Withheld from Georgia, USA wrote:

>Dear Rabbi,
>
>What resources are available for  depressed Jewish CEO's/professionals? 
>My very good friend is in need of contacts or support in what is a very 
>difficult and confusing time.  I want to somehow guide him towards a Torah 
>based approach to his depression and seeming state of "stuckness" and 
>perhaps help him find a Jewish Professional Support System.  He feels 
>alone and confused and I want to help.
>
>Rabbi ... I am soon converting and he is not particularly observant ... I 
>don't want to make him feel like I'm pushing his heritage on him at a time 
>when he is trying to find his own path, I do feel strongly however in the 
>wisdom and absolute power of Torah in transforming life and providing the 
>answer to ALL of life's issues.  How can I serve best as a support system 
>and what are some possible options for him?  Thank you.

* * * * * * * * * *

Dear Name@Withheld,

Your sensitivity is admirable.  You're probably right to avoid doing 
anything he will feel is "pushing his heritage on him."

It's difficult via email to address your specific situation.  As for a 
reference, I suggest you contact either of the two people listed below.  
I'm sure they will be able to refer you to a sensitive Torah-oriented 
professional.

Rabbi Binyomin Friedman or Rabbi Menachem Deutsch Atlanta Scholars Kollel 
(A.S.K.) 2191-A Briarcliff Road Atlanta, Georgia  30329 Phone: 321-4085, 
636-3362 Fax: 325-3788

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Lion Blessings

Josh Wisotsky from Jamaica Estates, New York City 
<NM7QC@qcunix1.acc.qc.edu> wrote:

>Dear Rabbi,
>
>We read on Simchat Torah about the blessings of all of the sons of Yaakov. 
>When it came to Dan, Moshe said "Dan Gur Aryeh -- Dan is like a lion" 
>(roughly translated).  When Yaakov dies he blesses his sons.  In that 
>Parsha it says: "Gur Aryeh Yehudah -- Yehudah is like a lion."  Is this a 
>contradiction?  Why does the Torah compare Yehudah to a lion cub and then 
>Dan to a lion cub at the end of the Torah?  Thank you very much.

* * * * * * * * * *

Dear Josh Wisotsky,

Yaakov conferred the blessing of "lion" upon Yehuda for two reasons:  That 
just as the lion is "king of the beasts," so too would Yehuda rule over the 
Jewish People, and that Yehuda should be blessed with the courage of the 
lion.

In the end of the Torah two tribes are "lion-blessed"  -- Dan in the verse 
you mentioned, and Gad in the verse "like a lion he dwells."  Rashi 
explains that both these tribes needed additional bravery because of their 
geographic location.  Gad's portion was on the east bank of the Jordan and 
therefore exposed to invasion.  Dan's portion was situated on the sea shore 
and exposed to piracy.

Sources:
o  Rashi Deutoronomy 33:20, 22
o  Rashi Genesis 49:9

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Live in the Garden of Eden

Chaim Lichtenstein from NY, NY <wildmana@aol.com> wrote:

>Dear Rabbi,
>
>Besides Elijah and Chanoch, who else went to heaven without dying?

* * * * * * * * * *

Dear Chaim Lichtenstein,

Tractate Derech Eretz Zuta lists nine people who entered Gan Eden alive:  
Chanoch, Eliezer servant of Avraham, Eliyahu, Mashiach, Chiram the king of 
Tzur, Eved the king of Kushi, Yaavetz the son of Rabbi Yehudah HaNassi, 
Batya the daughter of Pharaoh and Serach the daughter of Asher 
(granddaughter of Yaakov).  According to some, Yehoshuah ben Levi should be 
included in this list.

Sources:
o  Tractate Derech Eretz Zuta 1

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Yiddle Riddle

In what situation will two people in the same place be obligated to make 
Kiddush on different nights?  That is, the night the first one is 
obligated, the second one is not, and the night the second one is 
obligated, the first one is not.

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The Public Domain
Comments, quibbles, and reactions 
concerning previous "Ask-the-Rabbi" features.


Re: "Who was the first person to die after the Mabul" (Ask the Rabbi #177):

I like the reasoning that leads to the fact that Haran was the first person 
to die after the flood.  But not only Noach's sons were on the ark.  So 
were Noach's wife and daughters-in-law.  And their parents were dead.  
Granted that Noach's children were all still alive but who says that his 
wife and/or daughters-in-law didn't die before Haran?
Avi and Dalia Davidowitz from Bait Vegan, Jerusalem 

* * * * * * * * * *

Re: "Here's Sneezin' Atchoo!" -- The ancient Jewish roots of saying "G-d 
bless you" when someone sneezes (Ask the Rabbi #177):

There is additional material regarding this type of thing in the Torah 
Temimah on Parshas Noach (7:22) on the words "ruach chaim b'apav -- breath 
of life in its nostrils."
Micha <males@actcom.co.il>

* * * * * * * * * *

Re: What Maimonides says about Chanukah (Ask the Rabbi #177):

I believe you missed an important part of the Rambam you were quoting.  The 
Rambam there says:  "And sovereignty was returned to Israel for more than 
200 years until the second destruction."  The return of Israel's sovereign 
rule was also a great part of the miracle.
Yehoshua and Rachel Seidenfeld from Efrat, Israel <gseiden@pangaea.co.il>

* * * * * * * * * *

Re: "Starry Starry Night -- When does Shabbat End?"  (Ask the Rabbi #176):

Actually I recently heard on the Daf Yomi shiur that 72 minutes refers to 
Nissan and Tishrei (presumably in Northern France where Rabbeinu Tam made 
his calculations) and that it should be even longer than 72 minutes in the 
summer.
Carl Sherer <sherer@actcom.co.il>

* * * * * * * * * *

Re: "Praying Out Loud -- Saying the Silent Prayer for the Visually 
Impaired" (Ask the Rabbi #170):

Hi.  In our local shul in Maoz Zion / Kastel neighborhood of Mevasseret [a 
city just outside Jerusalem] on Friday nights the amida is said out loud by 
the sha"tz (prayer leader), apparently because people were both unfamiliar 
with the text for Friday night and because Friday night there is no 
repetition.  The ethnic origin of the shul is from Kurdistan (the whole 
neighborhood is Kurdistani, except for us interlopers).
Ira (Gavriel Dov) Pollack <dov@optics.jct.ac.il>

* * * * * * * * * *

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