Ask The Rabbi
29 August 1998
Issue #204
Parshas Shoftim
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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. Using Step-Father's Name 	5. Who Wrote the Zohar?
2. A Lily by Any Other Name 	6. Loving that Shabbat 
3. Three Cheers for Ears 	7. Yiddle Riddle
4. Who is G-d?			8. Public Domain
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____Using Step-Father's Name____

Name&Email@Withheld wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

May a Bar Mitzvah be called to the Torah as the son of his step-father's 
Hebrew name or must he be called as the son of his real father's name?  The 
boy considers his step-father his father and has no contact with his real 
father.

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

Dear Name&Email@Withheld,

	The commandment "honor your father and your mother" refers to the 
person's biological parents.  A person must certainly show the utmost honor 
to his step-parent, but this in no way exempts him from the Divine decree 
to honor his biological father.

	I spoke with Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch, shlita, regarding your question.  
He cited a responsa of the Yaavitz that if there is absolutely no contact 
between the child and his father, then it is permissible to call the child 
to the Torah using his step-father's name.  However, said Rabbi Sternbuch, 
if there is even the most minimal amount of contact between the father and 
his son, then the son should use his biological father's name.


____A Lily by Any Other Name____

Seth <Sethyn69@aol.com> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

I have always thought  that the Hebrew word "shoshana" means rose but  
recently a teacher of mine told me it means lily.  Which is the correct 
meaning?

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

Dear Seth,

	Most commentaries define the shoshana as the lily.  However some 
associate it with the rose (vered).  Still others say that shoshana is a 
general name for flowers.  In the Midrash, we find that the word shoshana 
comes from the word "shesh" meaning six, as a shoshana is said to have six 
petals.  Some say the six petals are the outer ones, but that in reality a 
shoshana has 13 petals.  It is said to be red or white and have a pleasant 
fragrance.

Sources:

* Rashi Shir Hashirim 2:3, Ibn Ezra ibid 1:17,Metzudot ibid. 2:3, Vayikra 
Rabbah 23:3,6
* Bereshet Rabbah 221:1
* Zohar Pinchas 233b
* Pesiktah Rabbati 10
* Zohar, Preface 1:1


____Three Cheers for Ears____

Aryeh Levy from Mount Laurel, NJ <lslevy@erols.com> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

After reading the autobiography of Helen Keller and appreciating even more 
Hashem's gift of sight and hearing, I know there is a blessing for sight 
("po-ke'ach ivrim"), but is there one for hearing?  If so, what is it?  If 
not, why not?

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

Dear Aryeh Levy,

	There is a blessing for hearing:  "Asher natan lasechvi vina -- Who 
gave the rooster the ability to discern between day and night."  According 
to the Talmud, this is to be recited upon hearing a rooster crow.  Although 
it does not refer to hearing in itself, however, since it is a blessing on 
hearing a rooster crow, there is no need to institute another blessing on 
hearing alone.

Source:

* Talmud Tractate Brachot 60b
* Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 46:8


____Who is G-d?____

Corinna <corinna@research.att.com> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

Who is G-d?

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

Dear Corinna,

	G-d is the Creator of all that there is, and its ruler.  In the same 
way that a king rules a nation, so too G-d rules the creation.

	There is very little that we know about G-d Himself.  We know that He 
is complete in every sense, not lacking anything, including being all 
powerful.  We know that He is pure good.  And we know that He is a simple 
unity; in other words, not only is He One and not two, so too He is One and 
not made up of parts.  This is something that is impossible for us to 
understand.

	What we do know more about is the way which G-d interacts with the 
creation -- the character traits, so-to-speak, with which He makes His 
presence felt here in the world.


____Who Wrote the Zohar?____

Joe McKay from Coatesville, PA <cgmckay@navdiv.com> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

I am trying to find who is the author of the Zohar.  I am studying the 
Kaballah and the teacher says that Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai is the author, 
but the Zohar was lost, and later found in the 13th century by Moses de 
Leon.  Another school of thought is that it was written by Rabbi Moses de 
Leon.  What is your opinion?

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

Dear Joe McKay,

	Universal Jewish tradition maintains that the Zohar was in fact 
authored by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his students around 170-200 CE.  
Rabbi Moses de Leon merely published the already existent work.


____Loving that Shabbat____

Robert Fairhurst from Fruitvale, BC, Canada <drillsgt@kootenay.net> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

Do you have any ideas on how to get the children to love the Sabbath?  Such 
as activities that are in accordance with proper Sabbath observance.

Dear Robert Fairhurst,

	Love of Shabbat can be instilled in children (and adults) through a 
gradual process of experiencing and appreciating the physical and the 
spiritual beauty of Shabbat.  I think the most important point is that the 
children must have a role model who really enjoys Shabbat.  Seeing you 
enjoying Shabbat will serve as a magnet for their own enjoyment of Shabbat.

	You can do many things to enhance the special quality of the day and 
foster a feeling of togetherness:  Leisurely meals, singing Shabbat songs, 
and discussing the weekly Torah portion are excellent, as are going on 
family walks or playing games.  Telling stories with Jewish content is a 
proven method of sparking children's interest and instilling love and 
appreciation of Shabbat.

Robert Fairhurst responds:

Thank you for your reply to my question.  I thought your answer was a good 
one.  I would like to know where I could get a copy of the Torah readings.  
I would also like to know what kind of traditions you follow with your 
family in keeping the Shabbat?  Thank you so much for taking the time to 
answer my questions.  PS  Do you know of any Shabbat-keeping groups in my 
part of the world that I could visit?

Dear Robert Fairhurst,

	The Stone Chumash published by Artscroll is probably the best copy of 
the Torah readings for you.  It has a modern translation and wonderful 
commentaries.  It's available in Jewish bookstores.

	Regarding customs, one custom I practice is blessing our children 
Friday night before the meal.  I place both hands on each child's head and 
say "May Hashem make you like Ephraim and Menashe" for the boys and "May 
Hashem make you like Sara, Rivka, Rachel, and Leah" for the girls.  We 
bless our sons to be like Ephraim and Menashe because they were the first 
two children to be born in exile; nevertheless, they retained their Jewish 
identity, grew to great spiritual heights, and even reached the stature of 
the previous generation; thus forging an unbreakable link in the chain of 
Jewish continuity.

	The customs for Shabbat are many and diverse, so I'm sending you a 
list of some books about Shabbat.

* The Sabbath, Dayan Grunfeld (Feldheim)
* Sabbath:  Day of Eternity, Aryeh Kaplan (NCSY),
* Menuchah VeSimchah, Mordechai Katz (Feldheim, JEP)
* Book of Our Heritage, Eliyahu Kitov, (Feldheim)
* Shemirath Shabbath, Yehoshua Neuwirth, (Feldheim)
* Zemiroth: Sabbath Songs, (Artscroll)

	For Shabbat groups in your part of the world, I suggest contacting 
Rabbi Avraham Feigelstock (604) - 275-0007 or Rabbi Mordechai Feurstien 
(604) - 731-7184.  Shabbat Shalom to you and your family.

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Yiddle Riddle

Which weekly Torah portion don't we read this year?      

Answer next week...

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The Public Domain

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


Re:  The Meaning of the Name "Aharon" (Ask #203):

	Todah rabah for your answer to my question about the literal meaning 
of the name Aharon.  It was very helpful, and I certainly would not have 
been able to find out the information myself.  I will pass it on to a 
friend who named her child Aaron without knowing the meaning.  She just 
liked the sound, but now she will be more aware of the Jewish meaning of 
her child's name.

Ronald Schnur <Rschnur@aol.com>

**********

Re: Naming after Living Relatives (Ask #194):

	Regarding whether the custom is to name children after living 
relatives, I would like to add two comments:  I heard from Rabbi Rokowsky, 
Rosh Yeshiva of Ohr Somayach, Monsey NY, a strong indication that people 
were named after living relatives.  On page 18b of Gemara Berachos, the 
story is told how Shmuel, the Amora, wanted to speak to his already 
deceased father.  Shumel asked the angels in charge to speak to his father 
whose name was Abba, and was informed that there were many people named 
Abba and he would have to be more specific.  He then told them his father's 
name was Abba the son of Abba.  Again he was told that there were also many 
people named Abba the son of Abba, and he would have to be more specific.  
In the end he was able to contact through giving additional information.  
Rabbi Rokowsky commented that if sons were named only after departed 
relatives, it is highly unlikely to assume that many fathers named Abba 
died and that the son born to them posthumously was named Abba.  It is 
obviously more likely to assume that they were named after living 
relatives.

	Second, I heard from Rabbi Shimon Hirsch of Monsey concerning an 
interesting German Jewish custom about naming.  The famous Rabbi Shimshon 
Rafael Hirsch (Rabbi Shimon Hirsch's great grandfather) according to any 
title page of his works was really Rabbi Shimshon son of Rafael Hirsch.  
The custom in his time was that after the death of the father, the son 
would add and use the departed father's name to his own as a sign of 
respect.

Dovid Charlop <charlop@netvision.net.il>

**********

Re: Yiddle Riddle (Ask #200):

	Regarding your recent Yiddle Riddle "which verse in the Torah begins 
and ends with the same word," you answered Bamidbar 32:1.  My son Yosef 
Chaim, age 12, found another answer:  "V'yihiyu to'amim milmata... li'shnei 
hamiktzaot yihiyu -- They shall be next to each other below ... for the two 
corners they shall be. (Shmot 26:24)."

Rabbi Dovid Speyer, Neve Yaakov, Jerusalem

	Regarding Rabbi Bonchek's riddle:  Which verse begins and ends with 
the same word?  His answer was Bamidbar 32:1.  Someone pointed out to me 
that a few verses earlier there is a similar example.  The verse Bamidbar 
31:39 begins with the word v'nefesh and ends with the word nofesh.  Surely 
that qualifies as an alternative answer!

Ravi Shahar <ravis@writemail.com>

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