Michael el Chayil

  [Note: much of this is taken from the shiur from R' Czimetn, The Paradox of the Yifas Toar ] R' Chezkal Abramsky used to give a Chumash shiur on Friday nights to largely unaffiliated/non-religious Jews. When parshas Ki Savo arrived he wasn't sure what to say; how do you explain that the Torah allows a "war bride"? The Torah allows -- albeit with a slew of conditions and procedures -- a soldier in the midst of a war to take a woman captive and compel her to become Jewish so he can marry her. Moreover, Rashi notes that the Torah allows this because, even if it were forbidden, the soldier would take her anyway, so better for it ot be permitted. How in the world do you explain that to anyone, let alone the marginally religious. R' Abramsky had an epiphany. He walked in and said, "Rabosai -- before you open your chumash tonight, I want to tell you the amazing principle we are going to learn: There is nothing in the Torah that is beyond your abilities, becaus...

The mishna in Pirkei Avos (5:4) lists 10 miracles that our ancestors were able to experience in the Beis HaMikdash; may it be rebuilt soon and in our lifetime. Here's the list, some explanation added parenthetically. No woman ever miscarried because of the aroma from the sacrificial offerings. (If a pregnant woman gets a craving for something, it can be dangerous if she isn't given a sample. Since she couldn't eat from the offerings, this could have brought her into danger; but it never happened.) The meat of the offerings never spoiled. (It can get quite hot in Yerushalayim and the meat could be left out for hours. Even so, none ever spoiled.) לא אירע קרי לכוהן גדול ביום הכיפורים (Since it would have been a tuma from his body, it would have been particularly disgraceful.) A fly was never seen where the meat was butchered. (Hot raw meat, outside; you get the picture.) The barely offering (omer) was never disqualified. (There would not have been time to harvest m...

In a recent TftD , I wrote: The Ramban doesn't explain what it means that "he caused death to himself". I have some thoughts about that, but I need to do some research before saying more.  Well... I did more research and I found something really interesting. I learn mishnayos daily (a practice I started some years ago when I aked my rebbi, R' Dovid Siegel, shlita, for some counsel in what I should be learning. He started with, "Well... hmm... of course you are already learning mishnayos every day, so you are asking what else you should be learning." Yeah, well... I started that day to make his words true.) This year I decided to add the perush of the Bartenura. (No, that name is not Italian for "blue bottle".)  I just go in order, with an eye to making a siyum on the yahrtzeits of my father and my father-in-law. (They are far enough apart that it is doable with some juggling.) I am currently coming to the end of Seder Nezikin, and learning Pirk...

I found the Ramban on this set of verses just so clear and really showed how much information is right there; one need only take the time to look. It is really beautiful. I was finishing up a couple of verses from the weekly "verses twice, translation once" with the following verses as my chavrusa arrived. I finished with "hmm". He really should know better, but curiosity got the best of him and he asked what the "hmm" was all about. I read the verses and noted: pretty strange that after talking about giving lashes to a guilty criminal, the Torah then exhorts us to not muzzle an ox when he is threshing, don't you think? He said, "hmm." (1) When there is a quarrel between men, and they approach the tribunal, and they judge them, and they affirm the righteousness of the  righteous one and affirm the evil of the evil one.   א כִּי־יִֽהְיֶ֥ה רִיב֙ בֵּ֣ין אֲנָשִׁ֔ים וְנִגְּשׁ֥וּ אֶל־הַמִּשְׁפָּ֖ט וּשְׁפָט֑וּם וְהִצְדִּ֨יקוּ֙ אֶת־הַצַּדִּ֔י...

Thrice daily we (except Shabbos and Yom Tov), we beseech HaShem: סלח לנו אבינו כי חטאנו, מחל לנו מלכנו כי פשענו, כי מוחל וסולח אתה Forgive us, our Father, that we have (mistakenly) sinned; pardon us, our King, that we have (intentionally) sinned; because You are the One who Pardons and Forgives. Poetry that it is, it means what it says; and that meaning was crafted with precision. I actually started this TftD nearly a year ago. I had an inkling of how to understand this petition, but could not find any good sources. Baruch HaShem, I have finally found solid support for my inkling and an expansion of my understanding. In the Siddur HaMeforash, he brings two sources, the Avudraham and the Ya'aros D'vash. Both start with noting the the difference between סְלִיחָה/forgiveness and מְחִילָה/pardon. סְלִיחָה/forgiveness means a complete erasure of the effect of the sin. מְחִילָה/pardon, on the other hand, means that we accept that some the erasure of the effect of the sin ...

At the end of parshas Shoftim, we have the involved ceremony that must be performed when an unidentified corpse is found outside the city boundaries. As part of that ceremony, the elders/spiritual leaders make a declaration that they did not murder this unknown person. Of course they didn't; so what's going on? Rashi explains on the spot that they mean that in their city strangers are treated with dignity and do not leave the city unescorted -- someone would surely have ensured his safety as he continued on his travels. Great, so now we know what they are saying. But... if they did not ensure that strangers were treated with dignity and even given appropriate protection to the city limits, then the Torah would call them murderers?! In fact, a few parshios ago, Moshe Rabeinu tells the nation that as they take Eretz Yisrael, be sure to destroy the places of idol worship... then adds: But don't do that to HaShem. By which he means (again, courtesy of Rashi): Don't do thing...

From Rosh Chodesh Elul we start saying L'Dovid ( Psalm 27 ) after davening -- once in the morning and once... well, that depends. Nusach S'fard says it after mincha, nusach Ashkenaz after ma'ariv. But suppose you are a nusach Ashkenaz guy who davens mincha at a shul that uses nusach S'fard? Do I say L'Dovid with them, or wait till ma'ariv? How about if I daven with a nusach Ashkenaz minyan for mincha and a nusach S'fard minyan for ma'ariv? Do I need to say it at all? Pre-pandamic, that was an annual occurrence for me, as I would daven downtown at the Loop Synagogue for mincha then at the Aguda (Peterson Park) for ma'ariv. I haven't seen that discussed anywhere -- which is a sad commentary on my lack of b'ki'us rather than a statement about what is available. Fortunately, though, I make up for my ignorance by having a good relationship with R' Fuerst, shlita; at whose shul I typically daven for mincha (post-pandemic advantage) and ma...

Near the end of parshas Shoftim (D'varim 20:1-9) we learn how Klal Yisrael went to war. I wrote about this in a TftD once before -- five years ago this week, in fact. There the discussion is about how sin affects us. This time I want to focus more on how we deal with sin. The setup is well known. The War Kohein tells the troops that they should not be afraid; HaShem is fighting for them and they just need to have trust. Then he tells them that anyone who has a new house/vineyard/wife but has not yet experienced the fruits of his labor should go home lest he die in war and another takes his place. Then the War Kohein gives his final instruction: Anyone who is afraid should go home. On that, R' Akiva says it means what it says. R' Yossi says it means they have a sin in their hand and are therefore afraid. What is the Torah telling us with this speech and what do Chazal want us to learn from the divergent opinions of R' Akiva and R' Yossi? Let us first have clarity tha...

Why are there converts to Judaism? You could ask the question the other way, of course: Why are there non-Jews? In other words, why would HaShem create human beings that do not have the merit to build a relationship with HaShem? The answer to that is deceptively easy: He didn't; He offered everyone that opportunity and most people said, "No thank you, I'm good." Nebbich. So the question returns: Why, then, are there converts? In truth, there is really no such thing as a non-Jew becoming Jewish. Instead, it is a Jewish soul born into a non-Jewish body and it is the גרות process that transforms it into a Jewish body. Why? Because that is the test/trial that will perfect that Jew's soul. How does it happen that a Jewish soul has to go through this process? There are different opinions, but one opinion is that all converts come from Eisav, and  we can thank Rivka Imeinu for opening that door. It is apparent in the text how much Yitzchak did for Eisav. What is less app...

We just returned from a beautiful few days in Arizona. Two days exploring and enjoying some of HaShem's most over the top, spectacular creations at Sedona and, l'havdil, the Grand Canyon. ("l'havdil" because as beautiful as Sedona is; the Grand Canyon is in a class by itself). We thought about actually staying at a lodge at the Grand Canyon, but then didn't. Why not? One word: food. There closest kosher food is in Flagstaff, about an hour away. Oh well, that's what we get for keeping kosher. Goyim can just go wherever they want and the food is plentiful and comes in a wide variety. Is that fair? Let's talk about that. After the first sin (I don't know how original it was; seems pretty run of the mill to me; he did what he wanted instead of what was right), the first man was told (B'reishis 3:18/19): 18 And it will cause thorns and thistles to grow for you, and you shall eat the herbs of the field.   יח וְק֥וֹץ וְדַרְדַּ֖ר תַּצְמִ֣יחַ לָ֑ךְ ...

I received this text message one evening: "gate of parking lot is tied up" (some poetic license; some names have been changed to protect the innocent). For most people, I presume that is a quite innocuous and informative message. For me, though, it launched a train of thought that brought me to this dead end: Does that mean the gate is tied into the up position -- and therefore the way is clear to park, or does it mean that the gate has been tied up so that it cannot be opened -- and therefore I need to seek a different venue for my car in the morning. More succinctly -- tied up (and out of the way), or tied up (and immovable)? So I replied: Tied up open or closed? While not everyone applies this kind of critical analysis to all life situations, it is certainly valuable in analyzing and appreciating statements by our sages throughout history. Take, for example, Tosofos at the bottom of Avoda Zara 31b(dh v'tarveihu mishum chasunos) that discusses why beer --  שֵׁכָר -- ...