Ask The Rabbi 
17 October 1998 
Issue #209
Parshas Bereshis 
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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. Tonight Is Another Day!	4. Jingle Bells
2. In The Wake Of The Snake 	5. Yiddle Riddle
3. Finick-Kid			6. Public Domain
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____Tonight Is Another Day! ____

Evan Libeskind <CrazyMan49@aol.com> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

Why do all Jewish Holidays start at sundown?

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

Dear Evan Libeskind,

In the Jewish calendar, the day begins with the evening. This is true not 
only for the holidays, but for any calendar date. For example, a baby born 
in the evening has a different birth-date than a baby born before sundown. 
Why is this so?

In describing the order of Creation, the Torah says "There was darkness on 
the face of the deep; and G-d said `Let there be light' and there was 
light."

Clearly, the darkness existed before the light. Similarly, the description 
of each day ends with the phrase "and it was evening, and it was 
morning..." Again, the evening precedes the morning. Thus, the Jewish day 
begins in the evening.

This symbolizes classic Jewish optimism: If it's dark in the beginning, 
don't despair! It will end in great light!


____In The Wake Of The Snake____

Shlomo <shlom1@mofet.macam98.ac.il> wrote:

Dear Rabbi, 

How come G-d punished all the generations for the sins of Adam and Eve? The 
Torah says if the children do not continue with the sins of their fathers 
they will not be punished for those sins. Did their children continue the 
sins of Adam and Eve?

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

Dear Shlomo, 
A good question. To answer that "the children are punished because they 
continue to sin" might be true generally speaking, but it's not sufficient 
in light of the Talmudic statement listing four people who never sinned, 
yet died nevertheless "from the bite of the snake." That is, they died from 
the curse that followed Eve's encounter with the snake. So why were those 
four people punished?

There are different approaches to answer this question. One is that Adam's 
sin changed the whole of creation, creating a new reality.

Therefore, we were furnished with a new type of life, new parameters and 
new tools to deal with this new reality, to complete our task in the new 
creation. The curses, such as toil, pain of childbirth and death, are all 
part of the plan now, somehow necessary to give us the opportunity to 
accomplish our purpose. Those who died sinless, therefore, weren't being 
"punished." Rather, they were simply born into a new reality in which these 
negative factors are a necessary part.

Another approach is found in the Kabbalah. The Kabbalistic works say that 
Adam's soul was a very "large" soul, a mosaic of all future souls. These 
souls were then dispersed after his death among all his descendants. In 
this sense, every soul participated in the sin and so has to atone.

Sources:

* Shabbat 55b
* Shelah Shavuot 213


____Finick-Kid____

Email@Withheld wrote: 

Dear Rabbi, 

I like to be shomer Shabbos (Sabbath observant) but my son will not eat 
anything that I have made for Shabbos. He is nearly four years old. I have 
been cooking for him on Shabbos as otherwise he would not eat and I feel 
bad for breaking Shabbos like this. Can you please advise me what I should 
do.

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

Dear Email@Withheld,

Aren't children wonderful? Firstly and most importantly, you should not 
compromise on your mitzvah observance. As a parent myself, I understand the 
importance of listening to one's children and trying to accommodate them. 
However, this should not be at the expense of breaking Shabbat.

It sounds like your son doesn't like the traditional Shabbat foods. So find 
food your son likes and give it to him. Doesn't he like "French fries?" How 
about macaroni and cheese? Pizza? These can be cooked before Shabbat and 
kept warm. They can even be rewarmed on Shabbat under certain conditions 
(for the permitted method, write back or consult your local orthodox 
rabbi). These aren't traditional "Shabbat" foods, but it doesn't matter. 
The main thing is that he eat and that you observe Shabbat.

Your situation brings to mind a story told about the famous Talmudic giant, 
Rabbi Yosef Rozen, known as the Ragotchover. There was once a woman whose 
newborn baby would not nurse on Shabbat. This was endangering the baby's 
life, as once a week, from Friday afternoon before sunset until Saturday 
night after dark, the newborn refused to eat. He was losing precious weight 
at a time when he needed to be gaining. All the doctors were stumped. 

Finally, the mother brought the baby to the Ragotchover for a blessing. 
Instead, the Ragotchover told the mother that on Shabbat she should not 
change into her special Shabbat clothing; rather, she should remain in her 
regular weekday clothing. That Friday night the mother did as told: Instead 
of Shabbat clothing, she wore her weekday garb, and the problem was solved! 
The baby nursed!

To explain how he solved this mystery, the Ragotchover cited the Tosefot 
commentary to the Talmud. The Talmud (Bava Kama 37a) says that an ox which 
establishes a pattern to gore on Shabbat is considered "wild" only 
regarding Shabbat, but that during the week it retains its "tame" status. 
Tosefot gives the reason: The different clothing people wear on Shabbat 
causes the ox to fail to recognize them. From this, explained the 
Ragotchover, we see that low-level intelligences recognize differences in 
clothing and can exhibit changing behavioral patterns based on this 
recognition. The newborn didn't nurse because he didn't recognize his 
mother when she wore her Shabbat clothing.


____Jingle Bells____

Henry Soussan from Brighton, England <ahsoussan@aol.com> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

Why are the bells on the Torah crown not muktzeh (forbidden to handle) on 
Shabbat?

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

Dear Henry Soussan,

I've never met you, but your question rings a bell. The Shulchan Aruch 
forbids sounding any type of musical instrument on Shabbat. Why, then, do 
some synagogues use Torah scrolls which are decorated with crowns that have 
bells attached? These bells clang against the crown when the Torah is taken 
from the Holy Ark. Shouldn't this be forbidden on Shabbat?

Actually, some authorities did forbid using these ornamental bells on 
Shabbat. The common custom, however, is to permit them. Why?

The answer is that the bells are not intended to ring musically; rather 
they are intended to alert the congregation to the fact that the Torah is 
being removed from the ark. The people can then stand in honor of the Torah 
and ready themselves for the Torah reading. So, since this is done in order 
to honor the Torah, plus the fact that there is no "musical" intention, it 
is permitted.

Sources:

* Aruch Hashulchan 338:3
* Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 338:1, Mishna Berura 6
* Mishna Berura 339:8
* See also Rema 339:3

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Yiddle Riddle

Shmuel Bendel <sybendel@hotmail.com> wrote:

Dear Rabbi, 

I have a riddle for you. What is the shortest word in the Torah? 

Answer next week....

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The Public Domain

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


Re: Paying for Praying (Ask #207):

Regarding paying synagogue dues, you wrote: "When a person pays for 
something, he comes to value it more than had he received it for free." 
I get the "Ask the Rabbi" column for free over e-mail, and I think that I 
value it quite a lot. In my opinion, the best things in life are free, 
because they are given selflessly. As Pirkei Avot teaches us: "Love which 
is dependent on something, when that thing is gone, the love is gone."

* Ari Trachtenberg, University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign 
<trachten@uiuc.edu>

**********

Re: Conversion (Ask #205):

You wrote: "We believe that when a non-Jew keeps the seven Noachide laws, 
he merits a portion in the World-to- Come, and therefore there is no 
imperative for him to become Jewish. If, like the Christians and Moslems, 
we believed that those of other religions are condemned to damnation, then 
we also would desire to convert people. However, we believe that a person 
can be completely righteous and merit the World-to-Come without conversion, 
by adhering to the basic moral laws revealed to Noach. Therefore we feel no 
compulsion to convert others, unless they show a desire to convert." 

With this statement, you have earned my complete and everlasting respect. 

Tom Gorham, Chicago, Illinois <gorham@famvid.com>

My uncle, zatzal, told me a story about Harav Yehezkel Abramski, zatzal. 
Harav Abramski arrived in England to head the bet din (Jewish court) just 
after a non-Jew decided to sue the bet din for not accepting him as a 
convert. The non-Jew wanted to marry a Jewish girl, and when asked by the 
bet din whether he would observe Shabbat, he said that he would behave just 
like his Jewish father-in-law to be: He would go to synagogue Saturday 
morning and then go to a football match in the afternoon. The judge asked 
Rav Abramski why the non- Jew should not be accepted as a convert. Rav 
Abramski's reply was that we are "Am Yisrael," our laws are the laws of a 
nation, our Torah is both the Divine law of a religion and the requirements 
we have from every member of the nation. He asked the Judge "Do you have 
law-breakers in England?" "Yes." "If I had put on my immigration form that 
I am a law-breaker, would you have let me in the country?" "Of course not!" 
"For us Jews, Shabbat desecration is against the laws of our Torah and our 
nation. True, we have Shabbat desecraters amongst us; but when someone like 
that comes to the bet din and asks to join our nation, we tell him we do 
not need any more." The judge accepted the argument and ruled in favor of 
the bet din. 

* Gershon Kandler Rehvot, Israel <gershon_kandler@yahoo.com>

**********

Re: Curling Payot (Ask #206):

It is common among the Bobover Chassidim to use curlers, mainly for young 
children, so that when they grow up, they will have beautiful curly payos 
(sidelocks). Other Chassidim drench their payos in water in which sugar has 
been dissolved (an older custom than the curlers...) effectively making 
their own version of hair spray.

* Arie Folger <afolger@ymail.yu.edu>

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