KASHRUT: Buying fish from a local store

Can I buy filleted fish from a local fish store, which is not under rabbinical supervision? 
There are two issues we should bear in mind to answer this question 1.Identifying the fish and 2. Using the same knife. 
Identifying a kosher specie is a Biblical positive commandment. (Lev. 20:25). Modern rabbis discuss if and when is possible to recognize a fish fillet.
I quote here two opinions on this matter. The first represents the standard Ashkenazi opinion and the second the standard Sephardic opinion. 
1) According to the stricter opinion a fish can only be identifiable if it still has some of its skin (=visible scales). Filleted fish with no skin left, cannot be properly identified. Therefore, you cannot buy it from a non Kosher store. This is the rule for whole fish and obviously for fresh or frozen skinless-fish-fillet (See guidelines and exceptions  here).
2) According to the Sephardic custom (as per Rabbi Eliyahu Ben Hayim שליט”א for example) if you can recognize this fish fillet as a Kosher specie –for example, if you would be able to identify this fish among five other filleted fish–then it is permitted for you to purchase that fish, even though the fillet does not have any more skin. This is the case for fresh or frozen fillet. 
Now, what about the knife?  Can you buy a fish that was cut with a non-Kosher knife? 
1) Some Rabbinical authorities require to take your own knife to the fish store and use that specific knife to cut the fish, in order to avoid any cross-contamination between the Kosher and non Kosher fish by means of the knife or the cut board (see idem).
2) Rabbi Ben Hayim explains that you can buy a filleted Kosher fish even if the seller uses his own knife, if you do a couple of things. 1. Make sure make sure that the seller washes the knife with water before he cuts the Kosher fish. That will remove any solid vestiges or traces (isur ba’ayin) of non-Kosher fish that might have remained in the knife surface (cross-contamination of taste particles is not relevant when the fish is cold) . 2. Once at home, you must wash the fish with water before cooking it to make sure that no solid vestiges or traces of a non Kosher fish remain in your fish.


(Psalm 120:7) אני שלום וכי אדבר המה למלחמה 

CLICK here TO READ 
Khamenei’s phony fatwa forbidding the 
development of nuclear weapons. 
by Elliott Abrams, November 18, 2013



MAIMONIDES on ‘aboda zara, 11:4. Judging Eli’ezer

Last week we explained that the Tora forbids nihush -divination- the reading of divine signs in natural or trivial events or in certain arbitrary signals that we set for ourselves (See this). Maimonides brings the actions of Eli’ezer, Abraham’s servant (Gen. Chapter 24)as an example of nihush.   Abraham sent Eli’ezer from Canaan to Mesopotamia to find a wife for Isaac. Abraham did not give him any specific names or features to look for, but assured Eli’ezer that God will help him. When Eli’ezer approached the city of Aram Naharayim he set for himself (and for God!) a sign: “If I ask a girl water and she offers me and my camels to drink, that will be the girl that God has selected for Isaac”. The Rabbis criticized the method of Eli’ezer. You can’t play signs in the name of God!   
A great Talmudist, the Ran, defended Eli’ezer. He said that if Eli’ezer would have asked God for an arbitrary sign from heaven –e.g., the girl that will be wearing such and such color, or the girl that will have a bird flying over her head, she will be the chosen one– then we could consider that as an idolatrous practice. But after all,  the Ran reasons, Eli’ezer asked for a sign which reflects character and virtue.  To offer unsolicited help or to do for others more than one was asked to do, was the earmark of Abraham Abinu, who went out of his way to provide his three guests unsolicited help (food and temporary shelter). Abraham also exceeded his guests expectations. He offered them a morsel bread and water, but ended up giving them  a full course meal!   
The Gemara criticized Eli’ezer tactics as inappropriate. The rabbis explained that Eli’ezer שאל שלא כהוגן, made an improper (and risky!) request. The story had a happy ending not because Eli’ezer’s methodology worked out (=not because HaShem played by the rules established by Eli’ezer!) but because HaShem especially protected Abraham and Isaac, helping Eli’ezer to find Ribqa.

(Psalm 120:7) אני שלום וכי אדבר המה למלחמה 



SHABBAT: Treating a medical condition on Shabbat

Last week we discussed the cases of medical emergencies on Shabbat. We explained that when we know or even suspect that the patient’s life is at risk, then ALL Shabbat restrictions are suspended, and we should do whatever necessary to save a life (see here). 

Today we will begin exploring a second category known as חולה שאין בו סכנה , the case of a patient whose life is NOT at risk. I will refer to this category (arbitrarily) as “medical condition” as oppose to a “medical emergency”.    

First we need to know which conditions are included in this category. I present some examples discussed in Jewish law.  
  
a. A person who rests in bed because of an illness related weakness or condition. 
b. Someone who suffers from an acute pain that impairs his or her normal functioning. 
c. A patient who suffers from a chronic disease (diabetes, asthma) which does not impair normal functioning but requires permanent treatment.  

In all these cases, medical treatment might be needed, but there is no danger to the patient’s life.  

The general rule for this category is that, unlike the case of a medical emergency in which ALL Shabbat laws are suspended, in a medical condition only “Rabbinical” Shabbat laws are suspended, in order to take care of the patient or administer treatment.

It is beyond the scope of these brief lines to compare exhaustively Biblical and Rabbinical Law. So,  I will present just one illustration. 

AMIRA LEGOY: It would be forbidden for me to boil water to assist a patient with a medical condition, which is not a medical emergency. Why? Because boiling water on Shabbat will imply the transgression of Biblical restrictions (a melakha, i.e., lighting a fire, boiling the water). However, if a gentile is available, I could ask him or her to boil the water for the patient.   Why? Because asking a non-Jew to perform a melakha  is forbidden by the Rabbis, not by Biblical Law.  As a general rule then, we could ask a non-Jew to do everything needed to treat a medical condition on Shabbat. 

There are other categories of activities which are considered Rabbinical and not Biblical prohibitions, many of them related to new technology.  Next week BH we will see some examples of modern technology applied to the treatment of medical conditions.   


SHABBAT SHALOM!


Candle lightning in NYC:       4:18 pm
Shabbat ends in NYC:              5:18 pm



When does HaShem reject our prayers?

ישעיה פרק א



15. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even when you offer to me many prayers, I will not be listening, [because] your hands are full of blood!

16. Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight. Stop doing wrong.


17. Learn to do right. Seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the orphan. Plead the case of the widow.






Rabbi Abraham Zacuto (1452-1515)

Rabbi Abraham Zacuto was born in Salamanca, Spain in 1452. He studied Tora with his father Shemuel Zacuto and with rabbi Isaac Abohab. He was a great Tora scholar, very well versed in Talmud, Jewish Law, Philosophy and Mysticism.  He also studied astronomy in the famous university of Salamanca and taught in the universities of Zaragoza and Cartagena.
In 1492, when the Jews were expelled from Spain he fled to Portugal.  The Portuguese King Joao the 2nd appointed him as the Royal Astronomer and the Historian of the court.  In 1497, upon the arrival of the new King Manuel, the Jews of Portugal underwent a forced conversion, in other words, they were declared Christians by Royal decree, and if found practicing Judaism they would be killed by the Inquisition in the infamous Autos de Fe. He fled to Tunis and later on managed to arrive to Jerusalem, where he died in 1515 (Other versions have him living his final days in Damascus, Syria).
Rabbi Abraham Zacuto engaged in astronomical research, an indispensable knowledge for navigating the seas. In 1478 he wrote his major astronomical work, Ha-Ḥibbur ha-Gadol. This book along with other books and treatises on astronomy (e.g., “On the solar and lunar eclipses”) were translated to Spanish and Latin.  In 1496 the King Joao sought his advice before sending Vasco da Gama on his sea expedition to India, around the Southern coast of Africa. Rabbi Zacuto prepared the naval-astronomical calculations. He instructed the expedition to use his newly perfected astrolabe (an astrolabe capable to determine latitude while at sea)  and his maritime tables and charts, especially the Almanach Perpetuum (or Biur Luhoth) which revolutionized ocean navigation. 
Rabbi Zacuto wrote many Tora books as well. His most famous book in Hebrew is called sefer yohasin (ספר יוחסין) “The book of lineage”, a superb book of Jewish history since Biblical times until his own days.   Click here to download one of the first editions of the book. 
For a very good English edition of Sefer Yohassin see this (Check the especial offer of the Kindle edition for 0.99$ ).  

FOR a free English translation online of rabbi Zacuto Sefer Yohasin see this

For a more comprehensive biography of RABBI ABRAHAM ZACUTO see www.zacuto.org, a website founded by Dr. Vladimir Rozenblit, a 20th generation direct descendant of Rabbi Zacuto.

 

For his contributions in Astronomy, the crater Zagut on the Moon is named after Rabbi Abraham Zacuto.
 
 
There are many fascinating stories about Rabbi Abraham Zacuto’s involvement with  Christopher Columbus. We know that Columbus knew and used Zacuto’s tables in his expedition to the Indias (America). Rabbi Zacuto was also instrumental in raising a big loan for Columbus expeditions from Abraham Senior and he introduced the unknown Columbus to Rabbi Don Isaac Abarbanel who arranged for the navigator’s audience with the King and the Queen.  Columbus set sail to America, bearing the Zacuto tables with him. Zacuto’s tables saved Columbus life. During Columbus’ last voyage to America, in February 1504,  his small fleet was marooned on Jamaica, where the natives did not want to supply him and his sailors with food.  The tables predicted that on February 29, 1504 it will be a lunar eclipse. Columbus assembled the Caciques (as the native chiefs were called) and threatened them that he will banish the moonlight completely if they would not give food. The eclipse frightened the natives and they asked Columbus to save the moon. Columbus acquiesced, the eclipse passed and since then the Caciques respected him and provided with all he needed.
  
The descents of the Zacuto family insist that a son of rabbi Abraham Zacuto sailed with Columbus and accompanied him in all his journeys. If so, this young man was the first Jew on the American soil

 



MAIMONIDES ‘aboda zara 11:4. Let’s flip a coin!

Last week we began to describe a pagan practice called “divination” which Maimonides in Hilkhot ‘aboda zara 11:4 includes within the prohibition of idolatry. We explained that divination means “reading in nature or in trivial events messages from the gods” (see this).
In that same Halakha Maimonides refers to another type of divination. This time is not about a person reading the will of the gods in events that occurred to him or around him, but in signals that he sets for himself.   Maimonides says: “if a person sets omens for himself, e.g., if this and this happens I will do this… all is forbidden“.  For example. If a person has to make a personal decision (a business deal, a shiddukh, a medical procedure, etc.) and he says to himself: “Since I don’t know if God wants me to do this or not, I will flip a coin. If a get ‘tails’ it means that God wants me to do it, ‘heads’, God does not want me to do it.” This reasoning is apparently irreproachable. After all God definitely controls the outcome of the flipping coin.   For Maimonides, however, a person who acts upon this type of divination is transgressing a Biblical prohibition. Why? Because the person who flips the coin assumes that God is ‘coerced’ to reveal His will by making the coin land on “heads” or “tails”. And this is definitely a pagan reasoning. The quintessence of ‘aboda zara consisted of the idea that humans can force the gods to grant them information about the future, by setting imaginary preconceived omens. The ultimate goal of pagans was not to serve God (as it our goal as Jews) but to coerce the gods to serve them.  Such an attempt to manipulate God, Has veShalom, is an idolatrous and forbidden practice.    
NOTE: Flipping or tossing a coin to resolve a dispute, when both parties a priori agree to accept the results of the outcome–like what is done in a football game to decide which team will use the ball first–is an acceptable practice.  This type of method (in Hebrew goral) used for conflict resolution is mentioned in the shulhan ‘arukh, hoshen mishpat, 173:2, 174: 4,5 as a valid way by which heirs or partners would resolve their differences in dividing a piece of land, etc. 

WATCH 
Fear & Illusion
How much of our fear is based 
on a faulty perspective of reality?
by Hanan Harchol




SHABBAT, medical emergencies during Shabbat

As we have previously explained, in a case where we asses that there is danger to a person’s life (hole sheyesh bo sakana), the rules of Shabbat are suspended.

The rabbis gave some examples of this type of emergencies which require immediate medical treatment and therefore, supersede the observance of Shabbat.

1. An internal wound (maka she halal), which includes very intense internal pain or internal bleeding. The shulhan ‘arukh (328:3) also includes within this category a wound in the mouth or teeth. If we suspect that an internal organ is affected we should proceed and do whatever necessary to help the patient: call a doctor or an ambulance, bring the patient to the Hospital, etc.   Now, if we know for sure what the origin of the pain or the bleeding is, and we asses that if we wait until Shabbat is over, there will be no danger to the patient’s life, then we should wait until Motsae Shabbat (Yalqut Yosef 4:117).

2. The rabbis include within the category of medical emergencies a wound in the hand, leg, etc. caused by a metallic instrument which can provoke an infection. However, only a deep wound would be considered in our days a medical emergency. A small superficial wound should be treated temporarily with local antibiotic or cleaned with soap, etc. until medical assistance is sought once Shabbat ends. 

3. Very high fever,  a snake’s or a scorpion’s bite, etc. is also considered  a medical emergency.  

The general rule is that if the people who are taking care of the patient (or the patient himself) believe that he or she requires immediate medical assistance, they should do everything necessary to treat the patient: calling an ambulance, bringing a doctor or a nurse or taking the patient to the Hospital.  Now, if a health care professional can be easily reached without risking the patient’s life (e.g., a nurse living in the same building) one should obviously seek that professional assessment and proceed accordingly ( penine halakha,  27:233).
   

SHABBAT SHALOM

Candle lighting in NYC:   4:25 pm
Shabbat Ends in NYC:      5:24 pm


SETTING THE RED LINE ON IRAN




Rabbi Moshe Alashqar (1466-1542)

Rabbi Moshe Alashqar (מהר”ם אלאשקר)  was born in 1466 in Zamora, Spain. In 1492, when rabbi Moshe was 26 years old, the Jews were expelled from Spain. He suffered many tribulations. His ship sank and he was captured by pirates. At the end he managed to escape and established himself in Tunis, together with the celebrated Rabbi Abraham Zacuto.  From Tunis he went to Greece and in 1522 he settled in Egypt where he was part of the rabbinical court of Rabbi David ibn Zimra (The Radbaz).   He was one of the greatest rabbinical authorities of his time and as such he was consulted from all over the world.  He wrote many books, some of which were never printed. One of his works is the Hasagot (=refutations), against the arguments of Rabbi Shem Tob ben Shem Tob in the sefer ha-emunot, who was critical of Maimonides’ More Nebukhim. Rabbi Alashqar was a strong supporter of More Nebukhim and, in general of Maimonides ideas (You can find the Hasagot in teshuba קי”ז. See below). In 1539 he established himself in Erets Israel. He died in 1542 and was buried in Yerushalayim. 
His most famous book is Teshubot Maharam Alashqar, a book of 120 questions and answers on all topics.  One example (Teshuba צ”ו). The original questions deals with a child born in the twilight between Friday and Shabbat. While analyzing the different opinions on the Halakhic ending of a day and the beginning of a new day, Rabbi Alashqar quotes the Talmud in Pesahim 94. The Talmud records a disagreement between the Jewish sages and the Greek sages.  The Jewish sages–the Rabbis–originally thought that during the night the sun goes above the “arch of heaven”, while the Greek sages believed that the sun went below earth. At the end, the Talmud concludes, the Rabbis admitted that the Greek sages were right, because at night oceans, rivers and lakes are warmer. The Tosafot and Nahmanides thought that since the Rabbis cannot be wrong what the Talmud meant to say is that the Rabbis admitted that the reasoning of the Greek sages was right, but not the facts (Actually, the opinion of Rabbenu Tam for whom the sheqi’a is 72 minutes long is based on the idea that at night the sun travels above the heavens arch. And precisely because the Rabbis admitted that the sun does not travel above heavens, Rabbi Alashqar rejects the sheqi’a of Rabenu Tam).  Maimonides, on the other hand, asserted that we should understand the admission of the rabbis literally. The Rabbis reassessed their opinions based on the new found facts. For Maimonides this admission, far from undermining the Rabbis authority, is a sign of their integrity in the pursuit of the truth.   Rabbi Alashqar sided with Maimonides and he explained that the Rabbis are the supreme and uncontested authority in Jewish Law (like the Supreme court of Justice) but in other areas (science, for example) where they did not receive a oral tradition, the Rabbis opinions were left open for debate.     
To download the book of Rabbi Moshe Alashqar click here  


KASHRUT: What makes a fish Kosher?

The Tora says: “These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales … you may eat. But anything in the seas or the rivers that has not fins and scales … is forbidden to you” (Lev. 11:9-11). Both elements, scales (qasqeset) and fins (senapir) are necessary for a fish to be considered Kosher. The Rabbis of the Talmud taught that although both elements are necessary, all fish with scales also have fins. Thus, in practical terms, a Kosher fish is identified simply by the presence of scales (the scales are obviously removed in the process of cleaning the fish). Illustrations: Salmon, Tuna, White fish, etc. are Kosher (more specifically tabor)  because they have scales.  Crustaceans such as lobster or squid, clams, oysters, etc. are not Kosher (they are ta-me) because they lack scales.
SCALES: Some “scales” not considered Kosher by Jewish Law. For example, when the scales are part of the fish-skin and cannot be removed without damaging the skin. Illustrations: Sturgeon, although it has primitive bony-plates on its sides, is not Kosher because its scales (Gandoid scales) cannot be removed without damaging the flesh. Sharks are also non-Kosher fish. Their skin is covered with tiny teeth-like armor (placoid scales) which look like scales.
NAMES: When looking for a Kosher fish bear in mind that the names might vary from place to place. A given specie of fish might be known by five or more names and some of those names might sound Kosher. Illustration: We know that salmon is Kosher. But what about “Rock Salmon”? Is Rock salmon a standard variety of salmon, like Pink Salmon, Atlantic Salmon, Wild Salmon?   Rock Salmon (very popular in England) is a non-Kosher fish, a small shark known as spiny-dogfish, which bears no relationship to the common Kosher specie of true salmon.
For a comprehensive list of Kosher and non-Kosher fish see this

 



Maimonides ‘Aboda Zara 11:4: Divination and other superstitions

People always longed to know what the future holds, either out of  curiosity or mainly in order to anticipate unseen dangers. All ancient civilizations – and even some cultures of today – used all kind of methods to predict the future.  One of them is “divination”, i.e., reading in nature or in trivial events signs and indications for what the future awaits.  In Hilkhot ‘aboda zara 11:4 Maimonides explains that the Tora condemns this practice and brings some illustrations of divination: “For example, those who say: Since a piece of bread fell out of my mouth, or my staff fell from my hand, I will not travel to this place”. Or, “Since a fox [today we would say: a black cat] passed on my right side, I will not go out of my house, since if I were to go out, I would encounter a bad person”. In our days we call this practices “superstitions”. But because superstitions include many different categories, we should see these cases (=reading signs) as “divination”. 
Ancient civilizations had seers and wizards who, for example, would read signs in the internal organs of slaughtered animals or would wait in the forest to listen the chirping of the birds. The bird’s songs were taken as messages from the gods or magic spirits. Maimonides continues: “Similarly, [this category includes] those who hear the chirping of a bird and say: This will happen or this will not happen; it is beneficial to do this or it is detrimental to do this.”
The idea behind “divination” is that the gods are sending a message, warning against unpredicted dangers.  We Jews do not believe that nature embodies divine attributes.  We Jews believe that God’s instructions for our life are explicitly expressed in the Tora, not hidden in natural phenomena.  The practice of divination is a desperate attempt to escape the responsibility to choose, probably out of fear of unpredictable outcomes. Connecting the dots between the chirping of the birds etc., and what the future awaits, is the product of a rich imagination and self-deception. We Jews do not read imaginary signs in nature. We read God’s will in the Tora, and exercise our freedom of choice. 
Some present day politicians believe that birds are still carrying messages from the spirits. See this