SHABBAT: Having guests and parenting, by Coty Bitton

This Friday you can feel a sense of excitement at our home. My husband told me that this Shabbat we are hosting a group of young teenagers from South America, who we do not know, and need a place to say.  Besides our weekly preparations for Shabbatthere is plenty of extra work.  More beds are needed, may be. And we will have to add an extra table in the dining room. And more shopping, of course. We want to make this Shabbat’s menu special in honor of our guests.

This is my personal “Shabbat magic time”.  My daughter is singing while she sets the table. My son, who had to leave his room for our guests, drove already twice to the supermarket, but did not complain even once.  Everybody is willing to help, and happily! We have made the Mitsva of hakhnasat orehim part of our family’s mission statement.

But there is also a little bit of concern…. We don’t know how many guests are coming… “What if they are too many, mom? What if there is no room in the table for all of us”, my youngest daughter asks me.   The Mishna portrays the residents of Yerushalayim as very hospitable. During the three festivals they opened their homes for their brothers who would came from every corner of the land of Israel. And “No person ever said in Yerushalayim, the place is too small for me”. I think that this describes not only the feelings of the guests but also what the hosts felt. I explain my daughter that no place could ever be too small, because kindness expands your mind, and allows you to see that your house is as big as you want it to be.

“But, ima, do we know these boys or their families?”. No, I said, but what a great opportunity to meet Yehudim you never met before.  Remember in this week’s parasha the story of Ribqa? Did she know Eliezer? And still she acted with extreme kindness to him.”

In our Shabbat table our job will be to make our guests feel comfortable. Giving them the feeling that they are welcomed. We must engage in conversations that will be interesting for them. The focus of tonight’s dinner will shift from our own gratification to our guests well-being. We will allow them to have a glimpse at our family time. And at the same time we will be exposed to their lives and experiences.

And I think to myself: the reason of this Mitsva is to do hesed  (=kindness) with our guests. To help others, who we might not know, give them food to eat and a place to sleep. But hakhnasat orhim is transformative for my own family as well!  The real hesed is done with us, with my children.   One the most beautiful gifts I can give my children is the feeling that they are needed. Specially today, when entitlement is epidemic, this beautiful Mitsva allows each of my kids to unfocus on the “I” and refocus selflessly on the other.  Receiving guests is a priceless opportunity to open the doors to our homes and the windows into our lives to, sometimes our unknown brothers and sisters from Am Israel.

When Eliezer asked for a place to stay, Ribqa generously offered to host him, his men and his camels at her parents home. Now Eliezer realizes that she is the one that will keep the tent of Sara wide open.  Ribqa is the woman who will be capable of filling the empty space left after Sarah’s departure from this world.

Today, I see my children walking in the same path that Abraham and Sara, Ytshaq and Ribqa, walked a long time ago. Thanks to the Mitsva of hakhnasat orehim they will learn once again that to be a good Jew you need to be, first and mostly, kind and caring.



SHABBAT: Iphone vs. iShabbat

כי ששת ימים עשה ה’ את השמים ואת הארץ
Shabbat is the day in which Jews celebrate Creation. On Shabbat we give our testimony that the world is not here by happenstance. Our beautiful planet and the whole universe was made by an Intelligent Creator.  The way we celebrate Creation is by not disturbing Creation. We do not modify, recreate, ignite or activate anything.  Similar to God’s purposeful lack-of-Creation on the seventh day, we too stop all forms of human creativity. The creative tasks applied to the construction of the Mishkan serve as the model of all creative tasks we refrain from on the seventh day.
But, beyond this, is Shabbat still necessary?
Well, I believe it is.  I actually think that in certain sense Shabbat is today more relevant than ever in human history.  Think about the newest addiction: “The average American teenager sends or receives 75 text messages a day, though one girl in Sacramento managed to handle an average of 10,000 every 24 hours for a month.”    Says Pico Iyer in the NYT (December 29, 2011).  Texting and Whatsapping became epidemic. And we are not communicating better. Actually “We have more and more ways to communicate…but less and less to say.”
Pico seems to believe that Shabbat is the future of human civilization  “Since luxury…is a function of scarcity, the children of tomorrow… will crave nothing more than freedom, if only for a short while, from all the blinking machines, streaming videos and scrolling headlines that leave them feeling empty and too full all at once.”
Shabbat is needed to re-humanize us: “Two journalist friends of mine observe an ‘Internet sabbath’ every week, turning off their online connections from Friday night to Monday morning, so as to try to revive those ancient customs known as family meals and conversation.”
Lastly, Shabbat also helps us to save some money: “Those who part with $2,285 a night to stay in a cliff-top room at the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur pay partly for the privilege of not having a TV in their rooms; the future of travel, I’m reliably told, lies in ‘black-hole resorts,’ which charge high prices precisely because you can’t get online in their rooms”
Disconnect your phones (and see that your children do the same!). And reconnect with HaShem, with your family and with yourself. 


SHABBAT: Removing snow on Shabbat

In most Israeli cities snow is not very common.  This year, however, there were large amounts of snow, especially in Yerushalayim, and many rabbis referred to the question of removing snow on Shabbat from our front doors, doorways or any other paths that need to be used on Shabbat.  This HOTD will review three of the main concerns discussed as possible reasons as to why one can/can’t handle snow on Shabbat. 
1. The first concern is muqse. Muqse, defines those elements which we cannot handle on Shabbat, even when we are not doing any forbidden action with them (examples: money, a cellphone, a Tefilin, etc.).    And why we could suppose that snow would be muqse on Shabbat? Because one of the categories of muqse includes nolad, (=a newborn thing). Something that was not there before Shabbat becomes automatically muqse on Shabbat. For example, if a chicken would lay an egg on Shabbat, that egg cannot be handled (tiltul) on Shabbat because it is muqse.  When it snows on Shabbat, it seems that the same principle should apply: we should not remove snow because it is considered nolad/muqse…   However, according to the Shulhan Arukh (328:8, 320:10-11 or Bet Yosef at the end of 310)  rain, hail or by the same principle snow, which falls on Shabbat, is not muqse. Because it is considered a natural extension of expected freshwater. So, from the point of view of muqse, it will be no problematic to handle snow. Additionally, and at least for those who would follow the ruling of the Rama (308:6), even if one would considered snow muqse (like Iggerot Moshe  23:36) it will be permitted to remove snow because for Rama it is permitted to remove a muqse that can become a potential hazard for the public.
 
2. The next point is that according to some rabbis (leb abraham) clearing snow would be considered an strenuous physical effort which should be prevented on Shabbat. This argument can also be rejected because not every strenuous physical effort is forbidden on Shabbat. For example in case of need we could move a big table from one side of the room to the other side, etc.  
3. The last concern is that removing snow might lead to carrying outside (hotsa-a, ha’abara) in an area with no ‘erub.  This is probably the most serious concern because it potentially involves a Biblical (mideOrayta) transgression.  In any case, when there is no ‘erub, snow still could be removed from our doorways, etc., provided we would not be carrying the snow or the shovel for more than 6 feet (4 amot). 
NOTE: In our particular case (NYC) today, since it snowed on Friday, we obviously should not leave the removing of the snow deliberately for Shabbat.


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



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




Giving birth on Shabbat

A woman who is about to give birth (contractions or breaking water) is considered as a case of a hole sheyesh bo sakana, a patient in a serious condition. It is permitted, therefore, to help her, assist her and do whatever is necessary for her to arrive to the Hospital. Still, the Rabbis indicated that since as opposed for example to a patient having a heart attack, the mother-to-be is not in a life threatening situation, the actions forbidden in Shabbat (=melakhot) should be performed in an irregular way (‘al yede shinuy) or by the help of a non-Jew. Thus, rendering those melkahot to the category of Rabbinical as opposed to Biblical transgressions.      
Likewise, if one has to choose between taking his own car or a taxi, it is better to take a taxi, even if one has to phone-call the taxi, because parking the car (turning off engine, lights, etc) might be an issue with one’s own car (yalqut yosef Shabbat D, 297).  An ambulance is also a better choice than your own car.
All these indications–doing things in a irregular way or calling a taxi instead of taking your own car, etc.– are suspended if one knows or suspects that by doing them the mother or the baby might be in danger.  In case of a life threatening situation Shabbat is cancelled (hutra), which means that it has to be considered as if it was a weekday.
It is also permitted to travel with the mother, even when an ambulance is driving her and, technically, there is no practical need for someone else.  We learn this Halakha from an explicit Mishna that authorizes to do a forbidden activity on Shabbat (=lehadliq ner) just to calm down the mother at such a sensitive time (liyasheb et da’atah shel hayoledet).
Once one knows that his wife might be giving birth in Shabbat, a handbag with all the paperwork needed for the Hospital and all the basic things needed for Shabbat ( like food, a siddur, etc.) should be prepared before Shabbat. It is also recommended  to  contact a taxi company or a driver and pay him for his service before Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom!
Candle lighting in NYC: 5:42 pm
Shabbat ends in NYC: 6:40 pm

 



Shabbat and a life threatening situation (part 2)

As we have previously explained, a life threatening situation requires that the Laws of Shabbat be suspended, and therefore we are allowed (or obligated) to do anything we believe is necessary to try to save a life, even if that implies violating the sanctity of Shabbat (see here).
1. In a situation where one estimates that Shabbat should be violated in order to save a life, it is forbidden to ask for a rabbinic opinion, because the time spent in that consultation might be essential to save a life (Yalqut Yosef, 191). Therefore it is a Mitsva for every Jew to help and assist a person when we suspect that a life is in danger.
2. In a case where a person has violated Shabbat trying to save a life and then, the patient died, or the patient suddenly recovered. Or if, for example, one brings his car to take a patient to the hospital and when he gets there he sees that someone else has already taken the patient to the hospital, in all these and similar cases, the person who violated Shabbat trying to save a life has done a Mitsva. Even thought he did not succeed in saving a life or even when he found out in hindsight that his assistance was unnecessary.  This person will be rewarded by God for his good intention and, needless to say, he does not need to do Teshuba for violating Shabbat (Yalqut Yosef, 199).
3. In a case of a life threatening situation (hole sheyesh bo sakana) there is no need to perform the forbidden activities (melakhot) in an unusual way (‘al yede shinuy) to attenuate the status of the violation. Because in life threatening situations the observance of Shabbat is suspended (hutra) and not just deferred (dehuya). 
 
SHABBAT SHALOM!
 
Candle lighting in NYC:      5:52pm
Shabbat ends in NYC:          6:50pm
 
 

 

 
 
7 questions on Perashat vaYera
Each one of these seven questions is meant to be read before the Aliya reading begins.  The answer to each question should be found in the plain Biblical text. These simple questions should encourage us to follow the Tora reading, paying more attention to its content. 
BEFORE 1st Aliya
What food did Abraham promise to give to his guests and what did he actually give them? What does this act say about Abraham?
BEFORE 2nd Aliya
Which number is inconsistent with the other numbers in Abraham’s bargain with HaShem? What do you think is the reason for this inconsistency?  
BEFORE 3rd Aliya
What did the angels do to the mob that tried to break into Lot’s home? 
BEFORE 4th Aliya
Who destroyed the cities of Sedom and Amora, HaShem or the angels? Quote a verse to support your contention. 
BEFORE 5th Aliya
Why would the rabbis say that Sara’s level of prophecy was higher than Abraham’s? 
BEFORE 6th Aliya
What was Abimelekh response when Abraham informed him about the stolen wells? 
BEFORE 7th Aliya
Do you think that Yitshaq knew what were Abraham’s intentions? On what words or pasuq are you basing your opinion?   

 

 



Shabbat and the Fourth Commandment

“Zakhor et yom haShabbat leqaddesho… ” Remember the day of Shabbat to sanctify it. This is the fourth of the Ten Commandments: our duty to remember the day of Shabbat and to consecrate it as a special day. How do we perform this important Mitsva, remembering and sanctifying the Shabbat?

 

By reciting the Qiddush. In the Qiddush we remind ourselves the foundation of Shabbat: this is the day that God celebrates the completion of the Creation process. When saying the Qiddush we are giving testimony that our planet and life in our planet are not here by a cosmic chance. It was God Almighty the One who created the world and the One who created us, intelligent life  (intelligence, can only come from intelligence!).
Meam Loez explains that there are other ways in which we perform this Mitsva of remembering Shabbat.
1. We remember Shabbat in the Tefilot (prayers) that we say on Shabbat. For example, in Birkat haMazon, we add “retse vehahalitsenu” a text in which we mention the importance of Shabbat and we ask God to help us and allow us to live this day with joy, pleasure and peace.
2. Adding (=sanctifying) some extra time at the beginning and at the end of Shabbat. We should receive Shabbat before Shabbat officially begins (sunset) and we should end Shabbat after it officially ends (when three medium stars are visible).
3. Reciting the Habdalah, and declaring officially that Shabbat has ended. By acknowledging the difference between Shabbat and the rest of the week, we proclaim the holiness of Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom!
Candle lighting in NYC:   6:02
Shabbat ends in NYC:       7:01
 
 
 
7 questions from our Parasha. 
Each one of these seven questions is meant to be read before the Aliya starts.  The answer should be found in the plain Biblical text. These simple questions should encourage us to follow the Tora reading paying more attention to its content. 
1st Aliya
HASHEM tells Abram that He will do six things for him if he follows His commandments. What are those six things? (Are they six or seven?)
2nd Aliya
Abraham tells Sara to say that she is his sister, so the Egyptians won’t kill him. What went unexpectedly wrong in Abraham’s plan? 
3rd Aliya
Why were Lot and Abram unable to live together after they came back from Egypt?
4th Aliya
Where did the war described in this Aliya take place? Why did Abram engage himself in this war? 
5th Aliya
What is the King of Sedom asking and offering Abram? Did Abram accept his offer? Why?  
6th Aliya
What are the borders of the land that HASHEM as promised to Abraham? 
7th Aliya
How old was Abraham and how old was Ishmael when they were circumcised? 

 



Shabbat and a life threatening situation (part 1)

1. “The laws of Sabbath are suspended in the face of a danger to life (piquah nefesh) Therefore, we may perform according to the directives of a physician everything that is necessary for the benefit of a sick person whose life is in danger.” (Maimonides MT, Shabbat 2:1)
This principle is learned from the verse in Lev 18:5. HaShem said: “You shall keep My statutes and my rules; which when a person does them, he lives by them… “. Our rabbis explained: when by performing these laws “he lives” he must observe them. However, when by keeping these Mitsvot he or she would die, then the Mitsvot are suspended (except cases of yeherag ve-al ya’abor.Example: if someone tells X: kill Y or else I kill you, X cannot kill Y to save his own life)
2. Even when there is a doubt or a slight possibility to save someone’s life Shabbat must be suspended.
“When there is a doubt whether or not the Sabbath must be violated on a person’s behalf, one should violate the Sabbath laws on his or her behalf, for the Sabbath laws are suspended even when there is merely a possibility of danger to a person’s life (safeq piquah nefesh). The same principles apply when one physician says that the patient is not in danger and another physician says that he is in danger, the Sabbath should be violated on that person’s  behalf.” (Idem)
Illustrations: 1. If there is a medication or an experimental drug that has been proven to help some patients, one should suspend the laws of Shabbat if necessary to get that of medication, even when one is not positive it will save the patient’s life.  2. If a building collapsed, and there is uncertainty if a person lies under the debris or if we are uncertain if that person is still alive, the laws of Shabbat should be suspended to try to save a life.


SHABBAT: Carrying on Shabbat. Walls vs. Wires

Previously, we explained the debate between the rabbis on the mater of the definition of a public domain. If a public domain is an area where 600,000 people circulate or an area with wide streets ( see here) .
Today, we should examine another related matter .
As we know the whole principle of this type of ‘erub is that by enclosing a public domain (reshut harabbim) that domain becomes a private domain (reshut hayahid) allowing us then to carry in that area during Shabbat.  The question is what kind of enclosing will turn a public domain into a private domain?  In order to to turn a public neighborhood into a private one you have to have a real fence around it. Think about a private gated neighborhoods or gated communities very common in South america (and Florida). These neighborhoods, according to Wikipedia, are enclosed  with ” a closed perimeter of walls and fences”. Similarly, when we have an area which is Halakhically considered a public domain either because it has wide streets or because it has an actual circulation of 600,000 people, if that area is enclosed with an ‘erub made of “walls and gates”, then it will be permitted to carry in that area.   (To clarify: The definitions of reshut harabbim and reshut hayahid have to do not with who owns the property but with some topographic and architectural features. A forest owned by one single individual but which has no walls or fence surrounding it would be a public domain.  On the other hand, even an entire city, if surrounded by walls with gates that close at night, would be a private domain).
Now, there are areas which are not considered a public domain. For example: a village with very narrow streets and a small population.  These areas are viewed like a semi-public domain (in Hebrew karmelit). We still cannot carry on Shabbat in semi-public domains, but the requirements for turning these areas into private domains are more flexible.
(To be continued…)
Shabbat Shalom.
Candle Lighting in NYC:    8:00 pm
Shabbat Ends in NYC:      9:01 pm
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Sephardic food at its best.