Michael el Chayil

I kinda sorta pulled a fast one the other day. I was asked to address the issue of why we don't eat chicken with dairy products, even though the verse in the Torah specifically mentions cooking a kid in it's own mother's milk. Any animal that gives milk is most definitely  not a chicken; regardless of its constitutional right to have that printed on its drivers license. I certainly addressed that issue in a previous TftD , but the title hinted that I would be addressing the issue of גזירה לגזירה לא גזרינן/Chazal don't pile Rabbinic decrees on top of Rabbinic decrees. For example, despite the wide spread misconception, there is no prohibition to touch muktzeh. The prohibition to move muktzeh itself is already a Rabbinic decree, so there is not prohibition to touch muktzeh lest one come to move it. So what was the subtle fast one I pulled and what should you have asked? The conclusion was that the Torah prohibits eating beef/lamb/goat that has been cooked with milk from...

We are all  crazy on Pesach; מנהג ישראל -- תורה היא! I mean, even at the seder -- we have templates for how much matzah (no way -- you made that up!) and maror (aagh... can't be!) to eat. We know we have to eat less than a k'zayis of karpas. Our wine cups all have more than the minimum shiur (first cup is kiddush, so it a Torah obligation, so has its own shiur), but not too much so we can finish the whole -- or at least majority -- of the cup. We'll be extra careful to be sure there is less than 72 minutes between the first cup and second.... what? you don't have a timer on the table? Wait... you forgot that you always need to make a ברכה אחרונה before the food is digested? Oh... right... of course you didn't forget that. It just never occurred to you that it applies to the first cup; from which is nearly always more than 72 minutes (maybe even three hours with all those Torah sheets from the day school; Baruch HaShem!) before you eat or drink again.... What? It...

Here are the facts of the case. Orthodox Jews do not eat milk (nor dairy products, such as cheese and yogurt) together with meat. Not at the same meal, not even on the same dishes. We won't even have a milkshake with that burger. Bagels, lox, and cream cheese, though, is a well known staple for Sunday morning brunch; so no problem with fish and dairy. (True enough, there are some who do not eat dairy products with fish. However, the overwhelming majority of Ashkenazi poskim say that is a mistake that is founded on a misprint in an early edition of the Beis Yosef. More to the point, even they refrain because of a presumed danger, but not because the mixture is forbidden.) We are also not allowed to cook meat and milk together, even when we have no plans to eat it. We are not even allowed to have any benefit from such mixtures; so we can't be importers for chicken kiev frozen dinners nor even feed it to our dogs. No problem frying up bacon (for a non-Jewish friend, or course), ...

A very good friend of mine was hit by a car while walking home from shul Friday night. He was a half a block from home. He has been walking that route for decades. The way is well lit. He had the green light. Baruch HaShem he was only hurt badly -- leg broken in two places, smashed knee cap, two broken ribs, gash that required stitches in forehead); with rehabilitation and physical therapy he should be walking to shul again within a few months. First obvious lesson: you must always be vigilant -- being hit by a car is rarely minor and too often tragic; the margin is way to narrow for comfort. Second lesson: you may want to consider wearing a reflective belt when walking home from shul on Friday nights. Great idea! Perhaps even a fulfillment of the positive Torah commandment to take normal care in keeping yourself healthy. By the same token, though, one certainly does not want to violate the Shabbos in the slightest just to attend a Friday night service. This issue, of course, is wh...

Ta'anis 5b (after a several exchanges in which Rav Nachman asked Rav Yitzchak how to understand a verse in תנ''ך/The Bible and Rav Yitzchak had explained based on what he learned from R' Yochanon): Rav Nachman and Rav Yitzchak were breaking bread together. Rav Nachman asked Rav Yitzchak for a d'var Torah. Rav Yitzchak responded: R' Yochanan says one is not allowed to converse during a meal, lest one forward the trachea ahead of the esophagus and put himself in danger . After the meal, Rav Yitzchak said over another d'var Torah from R' Yochanan: יעקב אבינו לא מת/Our patriarch, Yaakov, did not die. (See there  for, as they say, the rest of the story. One of the more entertaining gemaras, IMHO.) I am particularly tickled by this incident because: (1) Rav Yitzchak both answered Rav Nachman and  explained why he could not discuss it further with one, simple statement. (2) In order to enforce his point about the potential danger, he followed up (when it wa...

What is the genre to which "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" belongs? I have no idea; so if you know, please enlighten me. In any case, we have a family one of those. Most often performed by an older/elderly member for the family for the younger children. You take a napkin and pinch it in the middle to make sort of a bow looking thing. You put it over your ear and say in falsetto, "But I can't pay the rent; I can't pay the rent; I can't pay the rent today." Then you put it over your lip (thus transforming it into a mustache) and say in a villainous tone, "But you must pay the rent; you must pay the rent; you must pay the rent today!" That is repeated once or twice (or more...depending on the age and mirth of the audience). Then you put it over your collar (thus transforming it into a bow tie) and say in a valorous voice, "I'll pay the rent." Back over your ear, "My hero!" Back over your lip, "Curses! Foiled again." My ...

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..." So states the Declaration of Independence. I was imbued by that idea from my earliest memories. (By the by... there is no  doubt that we all understood the word "men" in the classic sense of "human being".) By the time I reached my late teens, however, the idea of "self-evident truths" had taken a sinister turn toward "things we just believe without question -- and don't you dare  start questioning it!" Of course, both because of being a teen and my nature... that just became a dare to question and re-evaluate all such "truths"; many (perhaps most) have transitioned from "self-evident" to "patently false". Besides which... is it even true? Are all people created equal? Moreover: does Western society even really believe that they are? For years there has been movement to add an equal rights amendment to the Constitution of the...

I was helping my grandson (5th grade) with his math homework the other night... decimals. I explained something to him and he said, "Zeidy; I am pretty sure that is  not  the way my teacher does it." I know that can be a huge impediment to learning something new, but in this case I really couldn't think of any other way to do it, so I took a chance and said, "I am really pretty sure this is how your teacher does it." He looked thoughtful and replied, "Well, then I am pretty sure that I was  not  paying attention." Ah... we found common ground on which to agree. I completely understand why my grandson zones out during math. (I might be worried about him if he paid too much attention, actually... I want him to be normal; not like his zeidy.) On the other hand, I've never  met anyone thought it was a good idea to zone out while driving down the highway at 80 mph. After clarifying the purpose of our creation, the מסילת ישרים begins the journey to ...