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- Bu səhifədəki naviqasiya:
- Rav Kook List Rav Kook on the Torah Portion Tetzaveh: The High Priests Clothes and the Convert
- Weekly Halacha by Rabbi Doniel Neustadt Chalav Yisrael: Is it Required
http://www.torahinmotion.org A Thought for the Week with Rabbi Jay Kelman Parshat Tetzaveh - Clothing One of the key ways by which groups self-identify is through the medium of clothes. Almost all religions have some form of dress code and uniforms, which aim to foster a sense of uniformity in action and sometimes in thought, are the norm among such diverse groups as the police force, athletes, fast-food workers and airlines. The more casual business attire now widely accepted reflects the desire for individuality in the workplace, as society becomes much more attuned to quality of life issues. As styles of clothing reflect the cultural mores of the time, it is to be expected that, often, the first sign of rebellion against the accepted norms of one's environment is through a change of dress. Yet it should be obvious that clothing is no more than an external garment and does not necessarily reflect the essence of the person. "These are the vestments that they shall make; a breastplate, an ephod (vest), a robe, a knitted tunic, a turban and a sash" (28:4). The Torah is quite insistent that those who worked in the Temple be appropriately dressed. Failure to do so made one liable to "death at the hands of heaven". Clothes originated in the aftermath of the sin of man's disobedience to G-d in Gan Eden. As a consequence of using our physical body for sin, we were instructed to cover much of it with clothes. If clothes are the outgrowth of sin, they must also serve as a vehicle for teshuva, a return to man's original state of purity. Our Sages saw each of the eight garments that adorned the high priest as facilitating atonement for particular sins (Erchin 16a). For example, the tzitz, the plate of gold the Kohen Gadol attached to his turban, atoned for the sin of arrogance. The Kohen was enjoined from raising his hands above the tzitz constantly reminding us that all are subservient to G-d. The michnasaim, pants, worn by the Kohen Gadol atoned for sins of sexual immorality. Coming to the Temple and reflecting on the elegant clothes of the priests was a means to moral improvement. The first piece of clothing mentioned is that of the choshen, the breastplate, worn by the high priest. Our Sages state that the choshen had the ability to atone for the sins of miscarriage of justice; it is referred to in the Biblical text as the choshen hamishpat, the breastplate of justice. The path to G-d begins with ensuring monetary justice for all. Contained within the breastplate were the Urim vTumim, literally the lights and perfection, whereby G-d "communicated" to the high priest regarding issues of national importance. In other words, G-d's relationship to the people of Israel is predicated upon our monetary integrity. Not by chance did Rav Yosef Karo-author of the standard code of Jewish law, the Shulchan Aruch -codify the vast corpus of monetary law in the section entitled Choshen Mishpat . Many of the commentaries on the Shulchan Aruch took their titles from the description of the choshen hamishpat ; classic rabbinic works such as the Ktoz Hachoshen , the Avnei Milueem and the Urim Vtumim . The centerpiece of the choshen hamishpat is the four rows of stone, the arba turim ; this is also the name of the code on which Rav Yosef Karo based his Shulchan Aruch. The Torah makes mention of the choshen hamishpat even before it describes the ephod that served as an atonement for idolatry, specifically for the sin of the golden calf. G-d can and does forgive idolatry but He is much less forgiving when one takes monetary advantage of another. G-d is effectively "unable" to forgive sins inflicted upon our fellow man, a notion reflected in the fact that our teshuva on Yom Kippur is meaningless if we continue to sin against our fellow man. Clothes may reflect our values and beliefs, but they are only a means to an end. In order to ensure that our clothes are "for splendour and beauty", we must see beyond the clothes in order to come closer to G-d and our fellow man. Rabbi Kelman, in addition to his founder and leadership roles in Torah in Motion, teaches Ethics, Talmud and Rabbinics at the Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto. From Rabbi Chanan Morrison reply-To rav-kook-list+owners@googlegroups.com To Rav Kook List Subject [Rav Kook List]
In one case, a Gentile was walking near a synagogue when he heard the Torah being read and translated: "These are the clothes that you should make: the jeweled breast-plate, the ephod-apron..." (Ex. 28:4). His interest was piqued. "For whom are these fancy clothes?" he asked. "They are special garments for the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest." The Gentile was excited. "For this, it is worth becoming a Jew. I'll go convert and become the next High Priest!" The Gentile made the mistake of approaching Shamai. "I want you to convert me," he told Shamai, "but only on condition that you appoint me High Priest." Shamai rebuffed the man, pushing him away with a builder's measuring rod. Then he went to Hillel with the same proposition. Amazingly, Hillel agreed to convert him. Hillel, however, gave the man some advice. 'If you wanted to be king, you would need to learn the ways and customs of the royal court. Since you aspire to be the High Priest, go study the appropriate laws.' So the new convert began studying Torah. One day, he came across the verse, "Any non-priest who participates [in the holy service] shall die" (Num. 3:10). "To whom does this refer?" he asked. Even King David, he was told. Even David, king of Israel, was not allowed to serve in the holy Temple, as he was not a descendant of Aaron the kohen. The convert was amazed. Even those born Jewish, and who are referred to as God's children, are not allowed to serve in the Temple! Certainly, a convert who has just arrived with his staff and pack may not perform this holy service. Recognizing his mistake, he returned to Hillel, saying, "May blessings fall on your head, humble Hillel, for drawing me under the wings of the Divine Presence." Shamai's Rejection and Hillel's Perspective A fascinating story, but one that requires to be examined. Why did Shamai use a builder's measuring rod to send away the potential convert? What did Hillel see in the Gentile that convinced him to perform the conversion? Shamai felt that the man lacked a sincere motivation to convert. By chance, he had overheard the recitation of the High Priest's special garments. The garments, beautiful though they may be, represent only an external honor. His aspirations were shallow and superficial, like clothing that is worn on the surface. Furthermore, the chance incident did not even awaken within the Gentile a realistic goal. How could conversion to Judaism, with all of the Torah's obligations, be based on such a crazy, impossible fancy - being appointed High Priest? The foundations of such a conversion were just too shaky. Shamai pushed him away with a builder's measuring rod, indicating that he needed to base his goals on solid, measured objectives. Hillel, however, looked at the situation differently. In his eyes, the very fact that this man passed by the synagogue just when this verse was being read, and that this incident should inspire him to such a lofty goal - converting to Judaism - this person must have a sincere yearning for truth planted deeply in his heart. He was not seeking the honor accorded to the rich and powerful, but rather the respect granted to those who serve God at the highest level. The seed of genuine love of God was there, just obscured by false ambitions, the result of profound ignorance. Hillel was confident that as he advanced in Torah study, the convert would discover the beauty and honor of divine service that he so desired through the sincere observance of the Torah's laws, even without being the High Priest.
Once, the three converts who were initially rejected by Shamai and later accepted by Hillel, met together. They all agreed: "The strictness of Shamai almost made us lose our [spiritual] world; but the humility of Hillel brought us under the wings of God’s Presence." Rav Kook noted that the converts did not talk about Shamai and Hillel. Rather, they spoke of the "strictness of Shamai" and the "humility of Hillel." These are two distinct character traits, each one necessary in certain situations. In order to maintain spiritual attainments, we need the traits of firmness and strictness. On the other hand, in order to grow spiritually, or to draw close those who are far away, we need the traits of humility and tolerance. The three converts recognized that it was Hillel's quality of humility that helped bring them "under the wings of God's Presence." (Gold from the Land of Israel, pp. 152-154. Adapted from Ein Eyah vol. III, pp. 144-147.) Comments and inquiries may be sent to: mailto:RavKookList@gmail.com From Jeffrey Gross reply-To neustadt@torah.org, genesis@torah.org To weekly-halacha@torah.org Subject Weekly Halacha - Parshas Terumah by Rabbi Doniel Neustadt (dneustadt@cordetroit.com) Yoshev Rosh - Vaad HaRabanim of Detroit
The prohibition against unsupervised milk, known as chalav akum, is a rabbinic prohibition like any other. Thus: It is prohibited to drink chalav akum even when no other milk is available or when supervised milk is very expensive[6]. A utensil in which chalav akum was cooked is prohibited to use unless it undergoes a koshering process[7]. A utensil in which cold chalav akum is stored for twenty-four hours is prohibited to use unless it undergoes a koshering process[8]. Chalav akum is nullified, bateil, if it is inadvertently mixed into a permitted food or liquid whose volume is sixty times greater than it[9]. Question: Is chalav akum ever permitted? Discussion: Several hundred years ago, the Peri Chadash ruled that it is permitted to drink unsupervised milk if there are no non-kosher milk-producing animals in the entire vicinity. His argument was that since there is no reasonable possibility that a non-Jew could mix non-kosher milk into the kosher milk, supervision is no longer required. Several other poskim also agreed with this ruling[10]. But almost all of the poskim who followed the Peri Chadash disagreed with his view[11]. They all reached the conclusion that the ordinance against drinking unsupervised milk is the type of a decree which can be classified as a “permanent ordinance,” which, once enacted, can never be abrogated. There are two schools of thought as to why this ordinance remains in force even when there is no non-kosher milk to be had: Some explain that since the rabbinic decree was issued originally only because of a remote possibility – since non-kosher milk was hardly ever mixed with kosher milk – the fact that no such milk is available in the vicinity is of no consequence. Milk can be certified as completely kosher only if it is supervised[12]. The Chasam Sofer[13] explains that the ban on unsupervised milk was pronounced regardless of the availability of non-kosher milk. Even if it could be ascertained beyond all doubt that there was no possible access to non-kosher milk, it is still prohibited to drink unsupervised milk. Only milk which comes from animals whose milking was supervised by a Jew is exempt from this ban. Whether for the first or the second reason[14], it is agreed by almost all of the poskim[15] that the Peri Chadash’s leniency cannot be relied upon. Some poskim add that even if the halachah were to be decided according to the Peri Chadash it would be of no consequence, since it has already been accepted by all Jews as binding custom – which has the force of a vow – not to drink unsupervised milk even if there are no non-kosher milk- producing animals in the entire vicinity. One must, therefore, be stringent in this matter[16]. In more recent times, another argument for leniency was advanced by several poskim[17]. They argued that since government authorities in the United States and other developed countries closely monitor the dairy industry and strictly enforce the law against mixing other milk with cow’s milk, government regulation should be tantamount to supervision [18]. According to this argument, the fear of being caught by government inspectors who are empowered to levy substantial fines serves as a sufficient deterrent and may be considered as if a Jew is “supervising” the milking. Based on this argument, several poskim allowed drinking “company milk” (chalav stam[19] ), i.e., milk produced by large companies, without supervision. But many others oppose this position as well: Based on the aforementioned view of the Chasam Sofer, who maintains that the rabbinic ordinance against unsupervised milk applies even when there is no possible access to non-kosher milk, there is no room for leniency just because of government regulation. Nothing short of actual supervision by a Jew renders milk kosher [20]. Some poskim argue that government regulation does not totally and unequivocally preclude the possibility of non-kosher milk getting mixed into cow’s milk. This is because dairymen can, if they wish, cheat or bribe the government inspectors. Some may choose to risk getting caught and paying a minimal fine rather than conform to the law. While it is highly improbable that this would happen, it has already been ruled upon by all authorities, in opposition to the Peri Chadash, that the rabbinic ordinance applies even concerning remote possibilities [21]. What is the practical halachah? Years ago, when supervised milk was hardly available [or was of inferior quality] and it was truly a hardship to obtain chalav Yisrael, almost everyone relied on the leniency. Many people continue to rely on this lenient opinion even nowadays when supervised milk is readily available[22]. Indeed, many leading kashrus organizations in the United States confer kosher certification on dairy products (and milk) that contain no non-kosher additives or ingredients, but which are produced from unsupervised “company milk.” Many other people, however, no longer rely on this leniency, since conditions have radically changed and chalav Yisrael is so readily available. It is important to note that while Rav M. Feinstein agreed in principle with the lenient ruling and permitted drinking “company milk” according to the basic halachah, he himself would not rely on the leniency and advised scrupulous individuals, ba’alei nefesh, and bnei Torah[23] to refrain from drinking unsupervised milk. He recommended that schools strain their budgets in order to purchase chalav Yisrael. The following letter[24] gives us an idea of how he felt on this issue (free translation): “Regarding the milk of government-regulated dairies in our countries, there are definitely grounds for permissibility to say that they are not included in Chazal’s prohibition, as we see that many are lenient in this due to dochak (extending circumstances) in many places. However, in a place that chalav Yisrael is obtainable, even though it requires a bit more effort or is a bit more expensive, it is not proper to be lenient in this. One should purchase chalav Yisrael.” In recent years, a question has arisen concerning the kashrus of some milk-producing cows due to surgical procedures performed on their stomachs for various reasons. According to the available information, many chalav Yisrael companies are now using only cows which do not undergo this procedure.
Weekly-Halacha, Weekly Halacha, Copyright © 2010 by Rabbi Neustadt, Dr. Jeffrey Gross and Torah.org. Rabbi Neustadt is the Yoshev Rosh of the Vaad Harabbonim of Detroit and the Av Beis Din of the Beis Din Tzedek of Detroit. He could be reached at dneustadt@cordetroit.com Yüklə 155 Kb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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