OHR SOMAYACH'S ASK THE RABBI
Issue #288 October 7, 2000 / 8 Elul 5760
Parshat Ha'azinu
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In this issue:
KIPPUR AND KIPPUR
LIFE IN THE FAST VEIN
FALLING IN THE FALL
PUBLIC DOMAIN
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KIPPUR AND KIPPUR

From:  Gina Kipper in Athens, OH
<gc439197@oak.cats.ohiou.edu>

  Dear Rabbi,
  What exactly is Yom Kippur and is "it" a person?

Dear Gina Kipper,
No, Yom Kippur is not a person!  Yom Kippur means "the Day of
Atonement."  It is a Jewish Holiday of complete fasting (even from
water) and introspection.  It is actually a happy day, with festive
meals before and after.  We are happy because G-d promises to forgives
our sins on this day, if we truly resolve to be better.  (See
Levicticus 23:26-32)

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LIFE IN THE FAST VEIN

From:  Ivy Epstein (via E-mail):

  Dear Rabbi,
  If someone is sick and needs to eat on Yom Kippur, why not do so
  through intravenous?  I understand that "eating" intravenously would
  not technically violate the fast.  So why don't sick people check in
  to a hospital before Yom Kippur and "drink" intravenously, instead
  of actually breaking the fast?

Dear Ivy Epstein,
The obligation to fast starts on Yom Kippur itself, not before.  Once
Yom Kippur arrives, it's forbidden to hook up to intravenous, since
blood will spill.

And before Yom Kippur, there's no obligation, per se, to prepare for
the fast.  Therefore, there's no obligation to hook up to intravenous.

And since there's no obligation to "eat" intravenously, it might
actually be forbidden to do so if you don't need to.  For one,
inserting a needle is a transgression of the prohibition against
unnecessarily wounding oneself.  And who knows, intravenous may
involve certain health risks, all of which may not be known at
present.

Sources
* Iggrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:90

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FALLING IN THE FALL

From: D. Rubinstein
<DebraDZR@aol.com>

  Dear Rabbi:
  Why does Succot fall on the calendar after Yom Kippur, and not after
  Passover?  Succot deals with the fact that we sat in huts in the
  wilderness after we left Egypt, and the clouds that protected us.
  We were sitting in those huts and had those clouds right when we
  left Egypt, so historically, Succot should come right after, or
  during, Pesach.

Dear D. Rubinstein
Passover is in the spring when the weather stars getting warmer; if we
were to make huts in the spring, it might seem like we were just
building vacation bungalows to escape from the heat.  Therefore, the
Torah commanded us to build our succah-booths in the fall when it
starts getting cool, making it clear that the succah is a commandment
and not a cabana.

The Vilna Gaon offers another explanation:  The succah represents the
clouds of glory with which G-d protected us in the desert.  Hashem
took away these clouds when we made the Golden Calf, and when He
forgave us that year on Yom Kippur, the clouds came back.  So, Succot
celebrates the return of those clouds after the first Yom Kippur in
the Desert.

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

In a recent "Yiddle Riddle" (http://www.ohr.edu/ask/ask285.htm#YR) you
asked:  My older brother is my twin.  Although he is perfectly healthy
in every way, he will not fast this year on Yom Kippur, although I
will.  Why?"  Your answer was that the speaker is a girl, and as such
becomes bas mitzvah a year earlier than a boy.

My oldest daughters, Esti and Bracha Tova, ages 13 and 12, came up
with a different answer to this particular Yiddle Riddle:  The older
twin is not Jewish, and therefore not required to fast, and his twin
is a convert to Judaism.
                            Mrs. Hana-Bashe Himelstein, Baltimore, MD
                            <wwide@erols.com>

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