Ask The Rabbi
13 June 1998
Issue #196 
Parshas Beha'aloscha
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This publication is available in HTML format at
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Researched at Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem
This Issue Contains:
1. Almost True 		4.	The Nature of the Evil Nature 
2  No Soap		5.	Yiddle Riddle
3. Jews and Jubilee 	6.	Public Domain
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______Almost True_________

Carson Hughes <carsonmh@telapex.com> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

Is a "white lie" a sin?  This question was raised in our Sunday School 
class by a 7th grade student.

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

Dear Carson Hughes,

	A "white lie" -- a falsehood which does not cause any harm -- is not 
as serious as cheating or being dishonest in business, but it is still 
prohibited.  Rabbi Yona Girundi in his classic "The Gates of Repentance" 
enumerates nine different levels of falsifying, beginning with dishonesty 
in crime and monetary matters and ending with a few types of "white lie."  
I very highly recommend the study of this passage.

	In limited cases, lying is permitted; for instance where it will 
bring peace between people.  Moshe's brother Aharon is praised for the way 
he made peace between quarreling parties:  Aharon would approach one of the 
people and say "The other person sent me to tell you that he apologizes and 
is truly sorry for the way he acted towards you."  Then he would go to the 
other person and say the same thing.  The next time the two people met on 
the street, they would ask each other for forgiveness.

	Even when it is permitted to lie, one should avoid it if possible, as 
illustrated by the following incident in the Talmud.  The wife of the great 
Talmudic sage Rav  always did the opposite of what he requested.  If Rav 
asked for lentils she made beans, if he asked for beans she made lentils.  
When Rav's son, Chiya, grew up, he tried to correct the situation.  Chiya 
told his mother the opposite of what his father wanted, thereby tricking 
her into making the correct food.  Rav, realizing what Chiya had done, 
chastised him by quoting the verse:  "They have taught their tongues to 
speak falsehood."  Rav meant that a person should avoid lying even where it 
is permitted, lest he become accustomed to lying and lose his integrity.

Sources:
* The Gates of Repentance (c. 1100 CE), Gate 3 notes 178-186
* Tractate Yevamot 63a, 65b
* Yirmiyahu 9
* Tractate Kalla Rabbati 3:5

_______No Soap___________

Sandra Block from Scottsdale,  AZ <rancher@phnx.uswest.net> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

I was wondering if there is any mention in the Torah or Talmud about 
"cleansers" that may have been used in cleaning "holy" garments such as 
those that may have been worn by Aharon or the kohanim?  These garments had 
to be "clean and pure" when worn in the Temple.

Someone once mentioned that the word "fuller" comes up in the Torah.  I was 
a bit skeptical of that remark!  I can't help but think of the Fuller Brush 
Co.  Are you aware of any mention anywhere of what they used in those days?  
It's probably a very strange question, but I have a curiosity about it.  
Rav Todot.

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

Dear Sandra Block,

	Maimonides writes:  "It is a commandment that the priestly clothing 
be new, beautiful, and long like the clothing of dignitaries.  If they are 
soiled or ripped, the service carried out in them is invalid.  A priestly 
garment which is stained should neither be whitened nor cleaned; rather it 
is to be used for the wicks (of the menorah), and new clothing is worn."

	The source for the above is the Talmud which says that one may clean 
the priestly garment only if the stain will come out with water alone.  One 
may not clean a priestly garment if it requires neter or ohel to clean it.  
This is because "There is no poverty in a place of riches."

	Neter was a type of white earth called in Old French nitra, which in 
English is called saltpeter.  Ohel was derived from the root of an herb by 
that name.

	The Talmud list other types of cleansers used in those days.  Some 
seem to have been quite caustic and effective.  They used plant roots, 
sulfur, and even urine and dog manure to clean garments.

	A "fuller" or "foller" was a type of coin, and is mentioned in the 
Jerusalem Talmud.  Despite rumors, neither "Amway" nor "Tupperware" appear 
anywhere in the Talmud.

Sources:
* Maimonides Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Klei Hamikdash 8:4,5
* Zevachim, 88a, 89a
* Rashi Tractate Shabbos 15, 50b & 89b  Hametargem
* Tractate Shabbat 89b, 90a
* Talmud Yerushalmi Peah 1:1

_________Jews & Jubilee_________

Larry Heiberger from St. Louis, MO <L6462@aol.com> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

When is the 50th year (Jubilee Year) to commence, and is it celebrated the 
same way as it was in the Biblical days?

J. Woody from Paterson, NJ <TwoWoodys@aol.com> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

Please tell me (so far as can be known) when the true Jewish Year of 
Jubilee is, according to our present calendar.  Some say 2000, but I think 
that it might have been picked for it's attractiveness.

Tore Lende from Norway <tolende@online.no> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

Do the Jews in Israel -- or any Jews -- keep the Jubilee year (Leviticus 
25) by not sowing or reaping, etc.?  If not, why not?  Sincerely, a friend 
of the Jews.

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

Dear Larry, J. Woody and Tore,

	The Torah commands us to allow the land of Israel to lie fallow every 
seventh year.  This is known as the shemita year.  After seven shemita 
years is the fiftieth "jubilee" year, in Hebrew called yovel.  The Torah 
commands that the land lie fallow during yovel as well.

	Today, we are not required by the Torah to observe yovel.  The Torah 
says that yovel only applies when the Jewish people dwell in the Land of 
Israel according to their tribes.  Ever since the tribes of Reuven, Gad and 
half of Menashe were exiled (c. 600 B.C.E.), yovel has no longer been 
applicable. Therefore, even Torah observant Jews do not observe yovel.

	When is the next Yovel?  Maimonides, based on historical 
calculations, writes:  "According to this calculation, this year -- which 
is the 1107th year from the destruction of the Temple...and the year 4936 
from Creation -- is the the 21st year in the Yovel cycle."  Since today is 
5758 from Creation, the next yovel would be seven years from now.  But the 
Rambam himself writes that his calculations are not conclusive.

Sources:
* Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Shemita Veyovel, 10:4,8



______The Nature of the Evil Nature________

Arie Benzaken from France <benzaken@planetepc.fr> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

First of all, thanks a lot for all the previous answers you made, which 
really helped and guided me!  Second of all, thanks for your time and for 
the forthcoming answers!  I'd like to know how come that Moshe in Shmot 
argued so many times (revealing his doubt concerning what Hashem was 
telling him) with Hashem, when Hashem asked him to go and tell the Jewish 
People that they will soon be delivered from slavery!  He already was a 
great tzaddik and should have an entire faith and trust in what Hashem was 
saying!  I'm not judging, I just didn't get all the thing that is written 
in my book:  "Le Midrash Raconte" (The Midrash Says).

Also, I've heard from two different Rabbis two different versions of the 
notion of the yetzer hara (evil inclination) and yetzer hatov (good 
inclination).  One told me that at the time of creation, G-d in His 
infinite kindness created Adam without the yetzer hara, and by eating the 
forbidden fruit Adam absorbed the notion of Good and Bad!  The other Rabbi 
told me that in the Mishna it is said that at the time of Creation of Adam, 
G-d created him with Good and Bad in him!?  Toda Raba.

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

Dear Arie Benzaken,

	Whenever Moshe seems to question Hashem's behavior, he is not 
questioning the justice or the reality of what Hashem is saying.  Rather, 
Moshe is questioning whether the Jewish People and the other nations of the 
world are on the spiritual level that they can understand why Hashem wishes 
to act in the way that He wants to.

	Regarding good and evil:  Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler teaches that Adam was 
created with a yetzer hara.  However, it was not the same kind of yetzer 
hara that we would recognize today.  Adam's yetzer hara was purely 
spiritual in nature and its drive was to convince Adam that he needed to 
become a partner with Hashem rather than be a "passenger," allowing Hashem 
to do everything for him.  It was only after Adam ate from the Tree of 
Knowledge and internalized the sin that the yetzer hara "evolved" into 
something that was physical in nature.

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Yiddle Riddle

Last week we asked:

	Two exactly identical people in the exact same place on the exact 
ame day do the exact same act with the exact same intentions.  However, the 
first one is fulfilling a mitzvah d'oraita, a Torah commandment, and the
second one is transgressing an issur d'oraita, a Torah prohibition.

	(Note:  The people are exactly identical.  The answer is not:  "One's 
a kohen -- or member of any special group -- and one isn't," or "One's life 
is in danger and one's isn't."  In other words, the riddle could equally be 
asked about the same person acting twice.)

Hint #1:  The first person says a blessing before his action.  
Hint #2:  The order of their actions is important.

Answer:  

	The first person ritually slaughters a female animal.  The second one
ritually slaughters the offspring of that animal.  The first one has done
a mitzvah, and the second one has done a sin, as the Torah says, "A cow or
sheep, it and it's child you shall not slaughter on the same day." 

(Leviticus 22:28)

Riddle submitted by Rabbi Yaakov Bradpiece


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The Public Domain

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

Re: Blood Pressure & Shabbat (Ohrnet Behar):

	I was very concerned about the possible dangers to your readers of a 
certain comment in a recent Public Domain, in which a reader commented:  
"What is less clear to me is the rule regarding pills for control of blood 
pressure which should be taken every day but present no obvious danger due 
to skipping a dose."  Unfortunately, skipping a dose of medication for high 
blood pressure can be very dangerous for two reasons.  First, medicine for 
high blood pressure is also used for coronary artery disease, e.g., to 
prevent heart attacks.  It may not be obvious to patients that a medicine 
is being used for more than one purpose.  Second, skipping a dose of 
medicine for high blood pressure can lead to "rebound hypertension" where  
a patient's blood pressure can rise to a dangerously high level.  Thus, I 
would strongly recommend that a patient never skip a dose of medication 
without consulting with their physician.  It could be life-threatening.

Mark Taragin, M.D., M.P.H. <MarkTaragin@compuserve.com>

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

Re: "Pi" in the Sky (Ohrnet Bechukosai):

	Regarding Solomon's circular pool, described in the verse as having a 
ratio of 3:1 as a signal for us to employ this ratio in regard to all 
halachic matters:  I heard in the name of the Vilna Gaon that this too is 
hinted at in the verse.  In the verse, the word kav (circumference) is 
written kuf vav heh.  These letters have a total numerical value of 111.  
The kri, the way the word is pronounced, however, is kuf vav which equals 
106.  Divide 111 by 106, multiply your answer by the ratio of 3 and you get 
... pi!

Gershon <gershon.dubin@juno.com>


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