Ask The Rabbi 
12 December 1998 
Issue #217
Parshat Vayeshev
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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. Local Operation			4. R.I.P       5. D.E. Phone Home 
2. Does the End Justify the Means? 	6. Yiddle Riddle
3.  One Small Step			7. Public Domain
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____Local Operation____

Mark from Chuckey, Tennessee <solomon@usit.net> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

My first son is expected to be born during the 9th week of 1999.  I live in 
a remote area of Tennessee and we do not have a synagogue nearby.  We are 
making plans to have him circumcised by a doctor.  Can you please give me 
specific instructions so that all is done properly?  Shalom

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

Dear Mark,

	First of all, may Hashem bless you with much joy and happiness!  
Circumcision is, as you know, an extremely central milestone in the life of 
a Jew.  Aside from the fact that it is a commandment (the first given to a 
Jew!) it is also the entry of the child into the covenant of Abraham and 
into the covenant between G-d and the Jewish people.  There are many legal 
and medical requirements in Jewish law for a correct circumcision, and it 
would be impossible to explain them all over the email.  I suggest you 
contact Rabbi Nutta Greenblatt (see below).  Rabbi Greenblatt has years of 
experience as a mohel (circumciser), and he travels all over Tennessee to 
perform circumcisions.  If you have trouble contacting him, then contact 
Mr. Bart Ehrenkranz of the Jewish Renaissance Center whom I spoke with 
today on the phone.  He said he would be happy to help you with the 
arrangements.

	(We supplied Mark with phone numbers and addresses. If anyone is in a 
similar situation, please contact us.)

____Does the End Justify the Means?____

Bernard Berkeley from Glenview, IL <berlen@aol.com> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

Machievelli believed, "The end justifies the means."  What does the Torah 
offer as a counter-argument?

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

Dear Bernard Berkeley,

	In life, nothing is as simple as a mere five word statement.  Let us 
analyze the statement.  Supposing you could save the life of an innocent 
child ("the end") and you could do it by lying ("the means") about his 
whereabouts to the murderer.  In such a case Judaism would definitely say 
that the end justifies the means.  However, supposing I could convince 
someone of the truth of the Torah ("the end") by lying ("the means") about 
what Torah is, then the Torah would say that it is not justified.  Because 
here the means are a direct contradiction to the end, which is truth.  We 
believe that one should examine each case separately, and indeed Judaism 
has legal guidelines to teach us how to act in cases of end versus means.

One Small Step

Daniel <plaatjer@netvision.net.il> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

Just recently, I started learning with a friend of mine.  While learning we 
came up with the following problem.  He claims that if you live in Eretz 
Yisrael (the Land of Israel) you do a mitzvah with every step you take.  I 
learned it once before but do not recall where.  Maybe you could help us 
find where this is and explain this important issue.

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

Dear Daniel,

	What the Talmud actually says is:  "One who walks a distance of four 
cubits (approximately 6 - 8 feet) in the Land of Israel is assured of being 
a ben olam haba -- heir to the World to Come."  Because of the intrinsic 
Holiness of the Land of Israel, a person gains spiritual merit by merely 
walking here.

	So, each step is a step towards "walking four cubits" in the Land of 
Israel, but unless you have a really big stride, you can't do it all in one 
step.

Sources:

* Ketuvot 111a
* Maharal Chidushei Aggadot 1:168


____R.I.P.____

Jeremy Schulman, University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa <schul003@bama.ua.edu> 
wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

Could somebody please tell me what the Hebrew letters "peh nun" mean on a 
tombstone?  

Peace, Jeremy Schulman (JLE 98)

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

Dear Jeremy Schulman,

	The letters peh nun are the first two letters of "poh nitman" (or 
"poh nikbar") which means "here is the grave site of..."  It is normally 
found at the top of the tombstone.

	
Michael <Ferenstein@aol.com> wrote:


Dear Rabbi,

In America there is a kashrut symbol "D-E" which stands for "dairy 
equipment."  What is the purpose of this?  Can you eat something made on 
dairy equipment after meat?  If not, why bother with the symbol?  In other 
words, how does it differ from the regular "D" symbol which stands for 
dairy?

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

Dear Michael,

	"Pareve" food -- i.e., food that is neither dairy nor meat -- cooked 
in dairy equipment may not be eaten together with meat, but it may be eaten 
immediately after eating meat.  Hence, some kashrut supervisory 
organizations use the D-E designation.

Sources:

* See Yoreh Deah 95:2 Rema

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Yiddle Riddle

Dovid Solomon<dsolomon@actcom.co.il> wrote:

	This riddle is attributed to the Ibn Ezra.  Two characters in Tanach:  
One's name makes him sound as though he's his own uncle, and the other's 
name would have him appear to be his own grandfather.  Who are they?

Answer Next week...

===========================================================================

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

Re:  Hebron (Torah Weekly, Parshas Chayei Sara):

	The article "Hebron" in "Love of the Land" (Chayei Sara) states 
"Hebron is today under Palestinian rule, but there is a Jewish settlement 
in the city and in adjoining Kiryat Arba."

	This statement is misleading.  While 80% of Hebron is indeed under 
Palestinian rule, 20% is under Israeli rule.  The area under Israeli rule 
includes all the Jewish neighborhoods, the Cave of the Patriarchs, the 
grave sites of Avner, Yishai and Rut and the ancient Jewish cemetery (in 
which are buried Torah giants including the Baal Reishit Chochma, the Baal 
S'de Chemed, the victims of the pogrom of 1929 as well as recent victims of 
Palestinian terrorism).  From the wording of the sentence quoted above, 
readers might receive the impression that in order to visit the Cave of the 
Patriarchs, other Jewish holy sites or the Jewish neighborhoods in Hebron, 
one must pass into Palestinian-ruled areas.  Fortunately, this is not so.  
The only Jewish holy site in Hebron located under the jurisdiction of the 
PA is the tomb of Otniel Ben Kenaz (situated a few hundred meters down the 
road from Beit Hadassah).  It can be visited but usually only by prior 
arrangement with the security forces.

	Our compliments to Ohrnet.  We look forward to reading it each week.  
It is a regular part of our Shabbat table divrei Torah, especially the 
Parsha Q&A!  With Torah greetings,

* Name withheld by request

**********

Re:  Forward, Forward:


	I have been trying to get my cousin interested in Judaism for years, 
and nothing ever worked!  She always had an excuse for not coming to 
lectures with me, not spending Shabbos in my home (she does let her kids 
stay over for Shabbos often), and not reading any good books on Yiddishkeit 
that I bought for her.

	She and I grew up together so close (like sisters) in Russia, and 
when my (immediate) family had discovered Yiddishkeit and started observing 
many Torah laws, whose existence we never even suspected for years, it 
became very important to me that my cousin discover the same beauty and joy 
that we have found.

	The best I have gotten to so far is that after a three-year long 
effort, she finally agreed to send her now 11-year old daughter to a Jewish 
day school.  Our whole family, including my cousin's mom (my aunt) and our 
grandma can't say enough wonderful things about the magical changes they 
see in my little cousin since she has started going to this school.

	A few weeks ago my cousin got a computer and access to the Internet, 
and she started forwarding to me all kinds of mail, jokes you find on the 
net, chain letters, etc.  That's when I thought to myself, if she can 
forward me these messages, then I can forward her all the Jewish mail I get 
via the Internet.  I had sent her various very good letters on the weekly 
Torah Portion, discussions on Jewish topics, etc.  I never got any reaction 
for any of those, not even a reply.  Last week however I forwarded her your 
"Ask The Rabbi" for Chayei Sarah, and a miracle happened!  Here's her exact 
reply:

	"I really enjoyed this particular page `Ask The Rabbi.'  If you 
subscribe it, forward it to me, please.  Email me tomorrow regarding my 
kids visiting you guys this Shabbos..."

	This is fantastic!

	PS  Her kids just spent last Shabbos with me.  I took her daughter to 
a friend's Bas Mitzvah nearby, her five-year old son wore tzitzis for the 
first time.  It's so exciting!  The kids really like Yiddishkeit!  I just 
wanted to thank you and tell you that with your great insight and kind 
words you have touched someone in a way that no one has been able to 
before.

* <E-Mail@Withheld>

**********

Re:  Origins of Chopped Liver (Ask #213):


	William Safire of the NY Times recently wrote on this very question, 
the origins of the phrase, "What am I, chopped liver?"  Here's an excerpt:

	"According to the Random House Historical Dictionary of American 
Slang, the earliest use of this phrase was by Jimmy Durante on his 1954 
CBS-TV show:  "Now that ain't chopped liver."

	"In a 1980 monologue about the Reagan-Carter presidential debate, 
Johnny Carson noted Ronald Reagan's statement that if all the unemployed 
were lined up, they would stretch from New York to Los Angeles.  `He came 
up with another one today,' said Carson.  `If everyone on welfare were 
chopped liver, you could spread them on a line of Ritz crackers from here 
to Bulgaria.' "

* David Brotsky,  Elizabeth, NJ <DaveTrek@aol.com>

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