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Thought for the Day: A Chunk of Meat Falls into Boiling Milk

Almost sounds like the beginning of a "dad" joke, right? Speaking of which: What do you call a bear with no ears? Answer: It doesn't matter... he can't hear you.  Phew.... ok... I got that out of my system. Siman 92 of Yoreh Deah is titled: The Laws Concerning Milk Falling into a Pot of Meat, which contains nine סעיפים/sections. The first סעיף/section begins like this: A k'zayis of meat falls into a pot of boiling milk. No, really. I told you already, I got the jokes of my system. The second  סעיף/section, in fact, is about milk falling into a pot of meat. The rest of the siman? I am still learning it, but skimming ahead I see lots of stuff about practical -- and sometimes surprising -- ways that one gets himself into a potentially forbidden milk and meat situation. Also some stuff about חנ''ן -- when a leetle bit of milk or meat makes a big chunk of forbidden meat/milk combination. More about all that later, בעזרת השם. The bird's eye view of the firs...
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Thought for the Day: Perfecting Ourselves, but Not at Someone Else’s Expense

This mishna in Yevamos (6:6, discussed on daf 61b/61a) says that a man needs to bring two children into this world in order to fulfill the mitzvah of "be fruitful and multiply". Technically, the mitzvah is to make reasonable efforts to have children. The Torah obligation continues until one has two children, but Chazal obligated a man to always endeavor to bring more children into the world. Beis Hillel says it needs to be one male and one female. Beis Shammai says you are good to go with two boys. As usual, we pasken like Beis Hillel, though in this case it leads to a stringency. So far so good. Our sages, of course, were not arguing opinions, but bringing support for their position from precedent from the Oral and Written Law -- Our Holy Torah. Following Rashi, the essential points of discussion are as follows: Beis Shammai learns from Moshe Rabbeinu, who had two sons before he separated from his wife. Beis Hillel learns from the creation of the world, namely: HaShem create...

Thought for the Day: Opportunity Costs in Desperate Situations

We are having so much fun with opportunity costs, so let's try another one. Recall ( TftD: Opportunity Costs ) we had a case where Sam can save something of Ned's, but Sam will have to sacrifice something of his own that is less valuable than Ned's. (Sam is ready to s ave something of Ned's, that is n ebbich, at risk. Pretty clever choice of names, no?) Recall that as long as Sam announces his intentions and Ned accepts the cost, then Sam can recoup his costs/losses to save Ned's stuff. The gemara (Bava Kamma 116a/b) continues the discussion by asking: But what if Sam flubs the job (my free translation), can Sam still recoup his costs? The gemara absolutely adores this question. After all, Sam did make an investment in his efforts to save Ned's stuff. And Ned did accept. Is it Sam's fault that he failed? The gemara, after praising the question, answers: Sam failed to deliver the goods, so he gets only his labor costs (time spent trying to save Ned's st...

Thought for the Day: What a Bracha Does for Us and Why We Need a Hundred Per Day

Even before I was religious, I knew very well there was such a thing as blessings. Anyone who has seen any Hallmark special about a holiday (or even not) has certainly heard of "saying grace" before eating. All that is true, yet we Torah Jews need a biblical and/or rabbinic source for anything we do. It isn't surprising, therefore, that our Chazal explored that topic. There is a famous drash (Brachos 35a): R' Yehuda says in the name of Shmuel that anyone who benefits from this world without making a bracha is as if he has <illegally> benefited from consecrated property. R' Levi noted (and resolved an apparent contradiction) between two verses. One verse says that the earth and all that is in it belongs to HaShem. The other says that the heavens are the heavens of HaShem, but the earth He gave to people. The resolution is: One is before making a bracha, the other is afterward. I -- and the few people with whom I have checked who had actually tried to process ...

Thought for the Day: Maximizing Your Investments; The Illusion of Free Time

I asked a friend this morning how much free time he had. He started by saying it depends on the day, then he stopped and said, "I almost forgot to whom I was talking. I have no free time. Yesterday, as part of the process of writing the TftD about opportunity cost, explicit and implicit, I was discussing the concept with a chavrusa. He disagreed with my approach and challenged me with: Yet you are insisting on always using the term that highlights the loss of alternative spending. In fact, yes; that is precisely what I am doing. Before I retired, for example, I had a discussion with my wife. After all, her day wasn't going to change. My day, though, was getting a major makeover. The cost of that decision was very real. I was the main breadwinner of the family. Upon retirement, my income would go from a very comfortable sum to zero. I have an obligation to provide for my wife.  This is not just a verbal commitment; the obligations I have are in a black on white document -- her...

Thought for the Day: Opportunity Costs -- Explicit and Implicit; The Value or Writing Down Your Thoughts

I hate being wrong. No, really; I hate it. I love, therefore, when someone corrects me. Now, to be honest, I try to make that difficult. Here's my trick: I have a lot of data and I base my knowledge and opinions on those facts. Nonetheless, I get things wrong. Recently, in fact, I learned the meaning of opportunity cost. When I say recently, I mean up till and including writing the TftD! I was recently learning Bava Kamma with a long time chavrusa (I have very few of those; see above); on daf 117b it says, "Why? Let him just say he was joking!" Oh, wait... let's put that in context. The mishna that starts on 116b and bleeds over to 117a has two cases of saving someone else's property at the cost of your own. I said, "Oh! Opportunity cost!" (I was so excited because I had just learned that term.) Actually, it is a bit more complicated than that. Let's take a look. Case One: Two people, one with a barrel of wine (which is cheap ¢) and one with a jug of...

Thought for the Day: Preparing to Daven, Davening, Preparing to Serve, Serving, Preparing to Daven, ....

The mishna (Brachos 30b) says that the חסידים הראשונים/earlier particularly pious one would delay שעה אחת/one hour, then daven. Why? In order to direct their hearts/minds to their Father in Heaven.  Wow. That is intense. So intense that even the mishna refers to them with a reverence for the amazing piety of the previous generation. Now, very often the term שעה אחת doesn't mean a 60 minutes hour, it just means a short period of time. But here it actually means a full, 60 minute hour. That is according to the Mishna Brura, sk 1 on siman 93 in the Orach Chaim section of the Shulchan Aruch. Wait... what?! The Mishna Brura and Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim are הלכה למעשה/normative Jewish law that we are expected to follow. An hour before each שמונה עשרי, three times a day. Oh, yes, and the gemara adds (Brachos 32b) that one should delay an hour after davening before going on with his day. These חסידים הראשונים also spent an entire hour on שמונה עשרי itself. There must be a dis...