Online OU Shiurim on Yoreh Dei'ah

From OU's R Avraham Gordimer - posted with permission
------------------
A few months ago, the OU began to electronically broadcast an ongoing series of Yoreh Deah shiurim for internal use. As a result of very positive feedback, it was decided to take these shiurim to the public and to make them public features on the OU websites.

These shiurim may be of interest to those wishing to review Yoreh Deah, and the ease of portable electronic download makes them of great appeal to those of us ''on the go".

Here is an explanatory message about the shiurim which I sent to the OU kosher rabbinic staff a while back, in case the program may be of interest to you:

As part of our ongoing professional development initiatives, b'chasdei Hashem, I am privileged to announce a new OURadio and OU Torah program program: Yoreh Deah Mini-Shiurim delivered by our own Rabbi Eli Gersten.

http://www.ouradio.org/yoreh_deah
or
http://www.ou.org/torah/index#/yoreh_deah

The mini-shiurim go through Yoreh Deah, starting with Hilchos Basar B'Chalav (siman 87), with each mini-shiur covering approximately one s'if. The presentation is clear, thorough, and is both simple and advanced enough to serve as excellent chazarah and furtherance of learning on various levels.

I am indebted to Rabbi Elefant for authorizing and encouraging this new project, to Rabbi Gersten for putting in so much time and effort to expertly prepare and present the shiurim, and to Dan Jeselsohn for his amazing work to get everything together, set up, on line, with great pleasantness and professionalism.

Dan has set this system up for podcast feed:

The Yoreh Deah shiur is now available as a podcast. You can subscribe using iTunes (free music and podcast management software available here http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/) or any other RSS Feed reader/podcast software. If you are using iTunes you can simply click on the iTunes logo below the podcast feature box at the top of the Yoreh Deah page (http://ouradio.org/yoreh_deah) and you'll be able to subscribe automatically.
You can also subscribe to the podcast feed manually in iTunes. To do so, in iTunes click on the "Advanced"menu in the top left hand side of your screen. Select "Subscribe to Podcast..." from the drop down menu. Then cut and paste this url- http://feeds.feedburner.com/YorehDeah into the text box that appears and click on "OK". This will make all the shiurim appear in the podcast section of your iTunes. From the podcast section of your iTunes you can then download all the available shiurim by clicking on the arrow to the left of where it says "Yoreh Deah" and then selecting "Get All".
Additionally each shiur can be downloaded as an individual mp3. You can right click on any "'download mp3" link and select "save as..." from the drop down menu. Once you've saved the file to your computer you can burn a CD or drag it into whatever software or mp3 player you'd like.

Avrohom Gordimer

-------------------
Yishar Kochecha R Gordimer and the OU for being Marbitz Torah

Shalom,
RRW

naomi's question of the day - #19

"naomi's question of the day" is a new feature of the Nishmablog featuring a question for you to ponder, extend and/or respond to through your comments.

*****


June 13, 2011

There would seem to be a strengthening in reasoned repetition yet many people crave the excitement of constantly distinguishable happenings. Why? What leads Torah Jews to pursue reasoned repetition?

Results of Poll on: Tikkun Leil Shavuot

In our last poll, we inquired:

New Poll: Tikkun Leil Shavuot

It has become customary to stay up all night Shavuot to learn
Torah especially in wake of the Sh'lah Hakodesh's story
about that famous "all-nighter" in Z'fat.  Here is a
survey of several possibilities, please feel free to
pick more than one

1. Staying Up all night is nice, but davening with
Kavvanah in the morning is even MORE important

2. Similarly it's better to go to bed on time and arise
early and learn before davening - even though that's
not the minhag

3. Staying up all night is a rite of passage for
youngsters. Adults should learn a bit and then get a
good night's sleep.

4  Since, it's Minhag Yisroel therefore everyone should
stay up all night learning unless they have a medical
excuse

5. One should stick to learning the Tikkun as
instituted by the Sh'lah Hakoseh himself. And only
when it's been completed may one learn other subjects

6. Echad hamarbeh v'echad hamam'it - uvilvad 
she'y'chavein et libbo lashamayim.  

What's your choice?

Your Responses (total - 7 respondents; 10 selections)
Respondents were allowed to mark more than one choice

Choice A - 29% (2) 20%
Choice B - 14% (1) 10%
Choice C - 43% (3) 30%
Choice D - 00% (0) 00%
Choice E - 00% (0) 00%
Choice F - 57% (4) 40%

Comments
Rabbi Hecht
I found it interesting that no one choose D or E which would clearly seem to imply that individuals considered there to be a greater value in the effect of this minhag versus the form. The form, though, at least in terms of staying up all night learning, was given value as a right of passage indicating that experiencing Tikkun Leil Shavuot has its place as a positive effect in a lifetime although not perhaps on a yearly basis.

YT Sheini shel Pesach vs. YT Sheini shel Sukkot

Originally published on 6/12/11, 11:11 am.
On the one hand, we begin YT Sheini, starting with S'firat ho'Omer and we also recite those Maaroviyot that deal with K'tzirat ho'Omer which took place on the 16th of Nissan - See EG Kitzur SA 120:5 for some details.
On the other hand, regarding YT Sheini of Sukkot, we are told NOT to mention the Korban of the 2nd day in Mussaf that should be mentioned due to s'feika d'yoma - because that would be a zilzul of YT Sheini d'Galuyot.
See O"Ch Ba'er Hetev 663:2 quoting a Rashi in Megillah 30
Also Mishnah Brurah 663:3
Sha'ar haTziyun 2

So - why does reciting the Maaraviyot of Ketzirat ho'Omer during YT Sheini of Pesach does not pose the same issue of zilzul YT as does reciting the korban "Uvayom Hasheini" on YT Sheini of Sukkot?

Shalom,
RRW

How the Universe has Always Been there - Since the Beginning ofTime - 2 Retraction

Originally published 6/10/11, 3:46 pm.
Upon reflection, and further clarification, I realize that my original post was oversimplified and overstated.
Therefore I'm withdrawing the original piece, pending something better. So, please consider this retraction a Tzimtzum! :-)

In the meantime, I will leave a "baale batish" simplification
Since we perceive matter as of function of time as well as of space - [just think of Einstein's 4th dimension] therefore - whether the universe was at one time not there - is beyond the perception of almost all humans. Thus, it's  a point only relevant to highly sophisticated Philosophers and Mystics.
I won't pretend that I myself have a definitive perception of this.. Rather, let me simply say that it is apparent to me that as most people deal with it - it really IS a semantic issue [Though that may not be true of the highly sophisticated "Mavens"]

Shalom,
RRW

Jewish Tribune: Defining a Mensch

Originally published 6/10/11, 10:15 am. Link no longer works.
What bothered me in Rick Salutin's article questioning the use of the word mensch in connection to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was not Mr. Salutin's view of Mr. Harper per se but rather his view of Judaism. Why does every Jew just by the fact that he or she is Jewish believe they are an expert on Judaism or even Jewishness? One of the hallmarks of this thought, as the Maharal points out, is that nothing is black and white. In my latest Jewish Tribune article, available at http://www.jewishtribune.ca/TribuneV2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4429&Itemid=53 I further develop this thought in connection to this critique of Mr. Harper.

Rabbi Ben Hecht

American Thinker: Congress Gets an American President -- For a Day

Rabbi Aryeh Spero

«Benjamin Netanyahu's speech extolled America and the ideals for which it stands.»

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/05/congress_gets_an_american_pres.html

Shalom,
RRW

Shavuot - Akdamut and Y'tziv Pitgam - 2 the Research‏

Originally published on 6/6/11, 7:55 pm.

Guest Blogger: Joseph Lauer

Reprinted with permission 

Thanks
RRW

*****
 
    R. Rich Wolpoe asks, "With Y'tziv Pisgam as an intro to 
Targum, what is the real meaning of "Y'honassan g'var inv'san"?
Does the inv'san mean that Y'honassan is "Moshe" Or is Y'honassan

a reference to the author of the Targum - Yehonassan ben Uzziel 
- and it was he who was the anav here?"
    According to R. Yonah Fraenkel, who prepared the Machzor 
l'Regalim - Pesach and the Machzor l'Regalim - Shavuos 
(according to the method of his late father-in-law R. Dr. Daniel 
Goldschmidt), "Y'honassan g'var inv'san" refers to "the author 
of the Targum - Yehonassan ben Uzziel"  See Fraenkel Pesach, 
pp. 632-34; Shavuos, p. 570-72.
    This is contrary to, e.g., ArtScroll (Shavuos 559, English) 
and Kol Bo Hebrew Publishing Co., Shavuos 317, Yiddish), that 
translate "Yehonassan" as Moses/Mosheh.
    With respect to Yonasan's anivus, the Fraenkel Machzorim's 
note to line 16 refers to TB Megillah 3a, where Yonasan ben 
Uziel is quoted as saying that he did not write the Targum for 
his own glory or for the glory of his father's house but for 
Hashem's glory so that dissension would not spread in Israel.
    R. Fraenkel also notes (Pesach 632, Shavuos 570) that the 
author of Yatziv Pisgam was Rabbenu Tam, R. Yaakov ben Meir.
    This is contrary to the ArtScroll (Shavuos 556) and Kol Bo 
(Shavuos 316) Machzorim that ascribe it to R. Yaakov ben Meir 
ha-Levi, in accordance with the acrostic that they show.
    However, the acrostic of the end of Yatziv Pisgam in the 
Fraenkel machzorim does not spell Levi and has an additional 
line (beginning k'qa'eimna) between the yehon (not vehon) line 
and the Yehonasan line, in accordance with Davidson, [Otzar 
ha-Shirah v'ha-Piyyut], 3527.
    The Birnbaum Machzor l'Shalosh Regalim (p. 310) also 
translates "Y'honassan g'var inv'san" as "To Moses, the meekest 
of men, [let us give thanks]" but notes (309) that "[Yetziv 
Pisgam] has been attributed to Rashi's grandson Rabbenu Tam, 
whose name acrostic [(Yaakov b'Rebbe Meir)] appears in the 
first twelve lines in the poem. The last three lines, however, 
which bear the acrostic [(Levi)], are considered as a later
addition. (Zunz, Literatur geschichte, page 266; Davidson, 
[Otzar ha-Shirah v'ha-Piyyut], II, 420."
    Which leaves the question of why "Yekkes" don't recite 
Yatziv Pisgam if it was written by Rabbenu Tam. Perhaps because 
the Targum to the Haftarah is not said, there's no reason to 
recite Yatziv Pisgam.
    Best wishes to all for a 
Good Yom Tov - Gut Yontif - Chag Sameach!
    Joseph I. Lauer
    Brooklyn, New York 
 

Results of Poll on: 5 Iyyar

Originally published 6/6/11, 5:26 pm.
In our last poll, we inquired:

New Poll: 5 Iyyar

We just either observed or ignored Yom Ha'atzma'ut

Which approach makes the most sense to you?

1. 5 Iyyar Is just another day. If Behab falls out on 5th of Iyyar, say sl"ichot and ignore the Zionistic holiday.
2. 5 Iyyar is an important date. But W/O a Sanhedrin the best we can do is to treat it like Lag B'omer - omit tachnanun, take haircuts etc.
3. 5 Iyyar is a modern Hanuukah or Purim. We should have a similar liturgy replete with Hallel
4. 5 Iyyar is a modern passover. We should promote it as a full-fledged Yom Tov.

There were no responses.


Comments

RBH
The question becomes: why did no one respond to this poll? I am not sure why but I am wondering how much has to do with the view of the other opinions. It just seems to me that, more and more, people are just refusing to even goreis the other opinion. It is even beyond strong disagreement. Its more an attitude of simple dismissal -- and this applies to all the opinions.

The Mystery of Taryag "MiSinai" - 2 Approaches

Originally published on 6/6/11, 11:38 am.
Here is the approach I used at [Cong] Mt. Sinai -

Moshe was not given all 613 mitzvos at Mt. Sinai per se. This is in apparent contrast with Rashi in the opening of B'har 25:1

Rather Moshe was given some Mitzvot in detail on Sinai and Hashem told Moshe:
"Moshe when all is said and done there will be a total of Taryag Mitzvot altogether "

But Perhaps HKBH never enumerated them and therefore allowed them to unfold.

Thus, the Sum Total of 613 is indeed a tradition from Mt. Sinai, but not necessary any enumerated list

This addresses all the above questions. And it was only the Rambam who first concerned himself with a DEFINITIVE list. Until then, while the total was axiomatic, the enumerations thereof were in flux.

--------------------

For an alternate, but radical, hypothesis -

613 were literally given at Mt. Sinai [opening Set]
Those Mtzvot given in the Midbar at Ohel Moed were NOT included. [2nd Set]
Note: That might include all given in the Midbar, or may be limited to only those originating in the Midbar W/O roots from Sinai
At any rate, the 613 later encompassed both sets somehow

I also highly recommend this book by
Abraham Hirsch Rabinowitz
TaRYaG: a study of the tradition that the written Torah contains 613 mitzvot

Shalom,
RRW

Shavuot - Akdamut and Y'tziv Pitgam

Originally published 6/5/11, 7:30 pm.
How come Akdamut is recited BEFORE the brachah of the Torah and Y'tsiv Pitgam AFTER the brachah of the Haftarah?
Note: Yekkes don't recite Y'tziv Pitgam but they do recite Akdamut following the first passuk of the leining just as Y'tziv Pisgam follows the first passuk of the Haftarah [except for those who preface the haftarah with Vashem]

Thus, This is the original structure for both Ak and YP
1. Brachah
2. Lein a passuk
3. Recite Aramaic poem
4. Resume Leining

The Ta"z and others protested, that the Piyyut is a hefsek.

But, as Artscrolls's Akdamus suggests, the Aramaic poems were introductions to their respective Targumim. Hence • the first passuk had to be leined
and hence
• its Aramaic nature.
If so IMHO citing Kabbalah as THE reason for the Aramaic is a red herring. After all there's already Plenty of Hebrew Kabbalah in piyyutim.

------------------

With Y'tziv Pitgam as an intro to Targum, what is the real meaning of "Y'honatan g'var inv'tan"?

Does the inv'tan mean that Y'honatan is "Moshe"

Or is Y'honatan a reference to the author of the Targum - Y'honatan ben Uzziel - and it was he who was the anav here?

Shalom,
RRW

The Mystery of Taryag "MiSinai" - 1 The Questions

Originally published 6/5/11, 12:45 pm.
A number of years ago I gave this over as a talk during a Shavuot Program at Cong. Mt. Sinai in Wash Heights...
Here is a brief summary

The difficulties -
If we presume that ALL Taryag Mitzvot were given literally at Mt. Sinai, then:

A. How did at least two mitzvot first occur in the midbar
1. Pesach "Sheini" ?
2 Y'rushah for B'not Zlaphchad?

B. How could the BeHaG, one of the first "listers" of Taryag include so many Mitzvot mid'Rabbanan?

C. How come apparently no lists of 613 Mitzvot were kept by Hazal?

D Similarly - how come Hazal were not concerned when arguing if a given mitzvah was one or two? After all it should have messed up their individual lists?

BE"H I will give my approach from Mt. Sinai and then another possible hypothesis

Shalom,
RRW

Mussar: On a Different Form of "Texting"

Originally posted 6/4/11, 9:53 pm. Second link no longer works.
From R Micha. Berger - esteemed moderator of the Avodah List
First see this.

" This brings up the meta-issue of how halakhah works. And therefore gives me an opening to re-post what I wrote on the 5 Towns Jewish Times site and RDE's blog.
Rabbi Yair Hoffman writes on 5TJT
<http://www.5tjt.com/international-news/10569-conflicting-kashrus-rulings-translated>
which opens:
So what do you do when you open up the newspaper and find two diametrically opposed Kashrus rulings and letters from leading Poskim? The newspaper was Wednesday's issue of the HaModiah and the two ads appear on pages D5 and D14 respectively.
That paragraph frankly scared me.
What a sad comment on the fall of normative halachic process! We apparently have gotten so used to deciding things for ourselves based on English popularizations of the halakhah that the obvious answer is missing. You aren't supposed to decide halakhah from letters in the newspaper. Halakhah is detemined by consensus, not majority. You don't need to find
the one true halakhah -- if there are still conflicting letters from gedolei haposeqim, there isn't one. (And even that's unclear, one of the signatores is also on record refusing to pasqen about anasakis.) So what do you do?
Go to your own poseiq! Yes, that's right, Judaism is supposed to be based on a personal relationship with one's mentor. You get a pesaq from someone whose path in Torah observance is similar to yours, who you know, and who knows you well enough to know where you are holding and what you're capable of.
Pesaqim in newspapers? It just doesn't work that way. The ads have value, informing LORs that there is an issue to research. But you can't decide halakhah for yourself from newspaper ads!
We have become neo-Karaites, we turn to texts. No concept of the value of shimush rabbanim -- the quality that recommended Yehoshua as Moshe's successor and the loss of which created such doubt and confusion in the days of Batei Hillel veShammai. Judaism is supposed to be a living tradition; Oral Torah is after all, oral. "Asei lekha rav"!
Tir'u baTov!
-Micha»

RRW comments:

I have even found such people that have told me that they would trust what's written in a sefer of R Moshe over what R Moshe said to them in person!
Sometimes I wonder if these people really want to do away with Rabbis and Communities and live on a desert island and have a Shas or Shulchan Aruch parachuted from Heaven and call THAT Torah sheb'al Peh!

Well, said R Berger

Shalom,
RRW

P. Nasso, The Nazir - Living in Moderation

Originally published on 6/3/11, 4:32 pm.
The Nazir: Live in Moderation - Judaism - Israel National News
R Eliyahu Safran:

"Perishut is an attitude to live by, not necessarily a way of life to live with. It is a personal, not a universal, goal. So too Nezirut is a personal and temporary goal, to be used when necessary. It is not a rule to be imposed upon the community. It is not Torah."

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/10295

Shalom,
RRW

After Which Cheeses Need I wait to eat meat?

Originally published on 6/3/11, 1:37 pm. Link no longer works.
After Which Cheeses Need I wait to eat meat?
I'm glad you asked. As per a common Minhag the following list has been prepared. Thanks to R Avrohom Gordimer for the "heads up"

Aged Cheese List | OUkosher.org

Shalom,
RRW

naomi's question of the day - #18

"naomi's question of the day" is a new feature of the Nishmablog featuring a question for you to ponder, extend and/or respond to through your comments.

*****


June 3, 2011

Often I am faced with situations that demand a decision and I am unclear about the halachic determinations and unable to ask a Rabbi. For example: Walking, last Shabbos, I saw an objection the road that was muktza but that was surely a danger to on-coming traffic. Should I move it or not? -- I felt my own ignorance to be reprehensible but I am not a scholar, on a trying Jew: what is one to do in such a situation? Is there a clear and substantial route for the lay-person who cares to understand the hierarchy that is demanded by Halacha?

I remember I once read that the Rav ztz"l said that we are not nearly anxious enough about adhering to Halacha. Clearly, the anxiety is not enough, not without precision and encyclopediac availability of the structure and details of Halacha. What does an individual who is anxious about Halacha but limited in an apprehension of it to do? Not everyone can be a scholar.

Confessions of a Halachic "Independent Thinker"

Originally published on 6/2/11, 7:37 pm.
For years, on the Avodah List, I often posted novel ways of looking at Halachah. One fellow was even disappointed once when I could not come up with a hiddush, when he expected me to.

Fellow: RRW you are one of the Independent thinkers in HalachahRRW: ME?!

Well how did this all come about? Later on - upon reflection - I realized what he was saying
From my "Independent" perspective, Halachah centres about the Tur, Bet Yosef, Darchei Moshe, SA and Rema. I sprinkle in some Levush and Aruch Hashulchan for "spice"
So how is it that I became "independent"? [Radical?] Probably because I usually come across as ignoring the Mishnah Brurah, Magen Avraham, and Taz.

However, the Yekke system that I usually follow is much more Rishon-centric. This is true,  as well, of most of my Yeshiva Training.
And so, I don't think I'm so much "independent" as much as I'm a bit old fashioned and not folllowing the current ZeitGeist. I guess that seems Independent to many.

Shalom,
RRW

naomi's question of the day - #17

"naomi's question of the day" is a new feature of the Nishmablog featuring a question for you to ponder, extend and/or respond to through your comments.

*****


June 2, 2011

I knew of a Torah-observant boy at the university who once ate 5 minutes before a (minor) fast was over. He told me he had a class in ten minutes, a lab -- that he wouldn't be able to eat for 2 hours if he didn't eat then. I asked a Rabbi I respected about this -- he said: if the astronauts are off the entry course by 5 inches, they will be lost. He said that Halacha is a precise science as well.

When I told my friend this, he angrily said: The details don't matter. I might have become ill and I couldn't be late for class. I made a decision. Certainly, I don't wish to be righteous fool.

Is Halacha an exact science? How can we know what it is to be a righteous fool?

Exploring Parameters of Halachah for our Time

Originally published on 6/1/11, 8:12 pm.
Certainly we see changes in Halachah towards Humrot. For example, who grew up with a Fleishig Oven? Thus leaving Traditional Halachah behind poses risks of going-out-of-bounds
Yet the alternative presented by the Left of "Halachic Fundamentalism" is no solution either. How can we address the shifts in technology? Do we become Luddites in order to enshrine a "status quo we can believe in"?

Here are some topics I'd like to address over the next few weeks

1. Intellectual Property as addressed by Torah
2. Microwave Cooking
3. Brain Stem Death
4. New Behaviours in the realm of Human Sexuality
5. Bicycles on Yom Tov

The common thread is how to apply or to expand existing Torah principles without doing violence to Halachah or even Hashqafah? Some principles may fall outside strict Halachic guidelines but well within Aggadic Values.
A Corollary to this is exploring any Naffqa Minah between expanding old existing Halachah for new situations vs. Brand new Social Policy Legislation.

Shalom,
RRW

naomi's question of the day - #16

"naomi's question of the day" is a new feature of the Nishmablog featuring a question for you to ponder, extend and/or respond to through your comments.

*****


June 1, 2011

I find it often un-nerving to listen to the mountainous politicking of religion -- sharing a meal with Orthodox Jews and Jews who once were Orthodox and are now non-observant (which happens more and more frequently), I do not know where to stand. Do I involve myself in the defense of Orthodox practices which I myself accept and adhere to and yet find difficult or confusing? Is there a halachic directive concerning this? (Is silence an option -- but if 'silence denotes acquiesence', both sides will assume my alliance.)