Michael el Chayil

Full disclosure, I prefer bourbon to scotch. In fact, I prefer a quality rye to both. Of course, though, I wouldn't turn down a good scotch. What's the difference between different whiskeys? A lot. But for our purposes here, just  know that they all get their beautiful color from being aged in wood casks; mostly charred oak, but there are some others for special purposes. To legally be called bourbon, it must be aged in a never before used American white oak cask. Bourbon has a bit of a bite, which comes (in part) from the tannins in the fresh wood. Scotch has a gentler flavor profile and, therefore, specifically wants to age in a used cask that has already had much of the tannins removed. Therein lies the rub. Whence does one get used casks? Basically, from other, non-scotch, distilleries. Two favorites: casks from America that were used for bourbon and casks from Spain that were used for sherry. For a long time they just used whatever was expedient/cheap/availabl...

At the beginning of parshas Toldos (Bereishi 25:21) we are told: וַיֶּעְתַּ֨ר יִצְחָ֤ק לַֽיהֹוָה֙ לְנֹ֣כַח אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ כִּ֥י עֲקָרָ֖ה הִ֑וא וַיֵּעָ֤תֶר לוֹ֙ ה' וַתַּ֖הַר רִבְקָ֥ה אִשְׁתּֽוֹ This can be translated as: And Yitzchak prayed to the Lord opposite his wife because she was barren, and the Lord accepted his prayer, and Rivka his wife conceived. To really understand this verse, we need to add some words, and read: And both Yitzchak and Rivka prayed to the Lord , with Isaac on one side opposite his wife . They were praying because she was barren; and the Lord accepted his prayer, and Rivka -- his wife -- conceived. R' Bachya notes that the Torah orders events by cause first, followed by effect; making the cause the main thing and the effects as subordinates to the cause. Therefore, says R' Bachya, this verse is telling us: Yitzchak was davening, so his wife, Rivka, davened across from him, and so she was barren, and so HaShem overturned nature (that's really w...

In case you hadn't heard, there is a war going on between the country of Israel and the terrorist group known as Hamas, may they and their memory be erased. In case you haven't heard, this war has incited people world wide to shout, once again, "kill the Jews." On college campuses in NY, students -- masked students -- run up to Jewish students to shout in their faces: "Hitler was right!" Please take note that no one could ever declare/chant/yell (in a public forum, at least): "kill the <favorite target>" -- unless that <favorite target> is "Jews". Have you noticed that Israel is being called an "apartheid" state? I looked that up, just to be sure I understood the charge (from the Cornell Law site) : Apartheid refers to the implementation and maintenance of a system of legalized racial segregation in which one racial group is deprived of political and civil rights. Hard to know how that applies to a coun...

One of the morning blessings is for taking care of our all our needs: שעשה לי כל צרכי. Despite its all encompassing wording, it refers specifically to shoes. In fact, there is an opinion that on Tisha b'Av, when we don't wear shoes, one should delay saying that bracha until the late afternoon. One may wonder why Chazal chose to have us express praise to the Creator for shoes using words that actually indicate every single need that is provided. R' Biderman provides a wonderful parable to appreciate the lesson from our shoes. (R' Biderman, of course, speaks in Yiddish. I am not giving a literal translation, but how I understand the message.) A young man goes into a shoe store for new shoes and tells the salesman that he needs a nice pair of size 9 shoes. "Size 9? Oh no, no, no... an important young man like you needs at least size 12!" The young man is stunned. "No, really, I am a size 9; medium width." The salesman persists, "Young ...

Some of the most famous stories in Talmud involve Choni the Circle Maker. The story of how he got that title is both famous and puzzling. The gemara (Ta'anis 19a) relates that Eretz Yisrael was in need of rain. Choni drew a circle and declared: Master of the Universe -- your children have turned to me because I am a בן בית/member of Your household. I swear by Your Great Name that I will not move from this circle until You have mercy on Your children. It started to drizzle. Choni was not pleased and declared further: That's not what I asked for. The wells and cisterns need to be filled. It started raining with a fury. Choni was having none of that and came back again with: This is not what I asked for. I want a nice rainfall, given with generosity and bracha. So it did. Then the people came and asked Choni to pray for the rain to stop, as they were being overwhelmed. So he did and it did. After that, Shimon ben Shetach sent a message to Choni: If you were not Choni...

End of conversation that I heard and made be very proud: --> What? Uncle Michael does lots of things that other people do.  --> I didn't say Uncle Michael doesn't do things that other people do. I said Uncle Michael doesn't do things because other people do. So proud. In parshas Chayei Sara this year, I learned a Rashi that I have read (I mean, I thought I had learned it, but...) dozens of times. Chapter 24, verse 57 -- in response to Eliezar saying he wants to take Rivka back to Isaac -- Rivka's mother and her brother say they need to call Rivka in to ask her. On that verse, Rashi comments: מִכָּאן שֶׁאֵין מַשִּׂיאִין אֶת הָאִשָּׁה אֶלָּא מִדַּעְתָּה/From here we learn that we may not marry off a woman without her consent. Great. What's the problem? Well... in verse 51 Rivka's father and brother had already said to take her and go to let her be married to Isaac, as HaShem had said. So... if they had already made shidduch the night, not only does...

Here is something that is oft stated: The only permissible way to do בורר/selecting on Shabbos is: select what you want from what you don't want; aka אוכל מן הפסולת do not use a utensil specially created for selction; aka ביד (literally: by hand, but forks and spoons are fine also; just as long is it is not a special tool for selecting, such as a sifter) for immediate use; aka מיד That statement could not be more wrong. There are no circumstances in which performing the malacha of בורר/selecting is not a violation of Shabbos. בורר/selecting is one of the 39 categories of creative labor that are forbidden by the Torah to be performed on Shabbos. Clearly though, we certainly are permitted stab a bit of chicken/scoop some cholent (אוכל מן הפסולת) with a fork (ביד) and put it in his mouth (מיד). Yum! Right -- that is not called בורר/selecting, that is called "eating". Now, in case you are rolling your little eyeballs at that statement (are any of my children reading this?), p...

Avraham Avinu, on the third day after performing a difficult and sensitive surgery on himself at age 99 -- not to mention that it was without the use of anesthetic -- was very distraught because he didn't have guests to serve. Out of compassion, HaShem sent three angels, disguised as regular travelers, to allow Avraham Avinu to perform his beloved work of hospitality to strangers. Besides the physical chesed -- food, drink, and rest -- it provided to his guests, Avraham Avinu also used that time to bring knowledge and belief in HaShem to the masses. In this case, he ran to the wayfarers to be sure they didn't pass him by, then offered them a bit of food, drink, and rest. That's what he offered, but he actually served them butter and milk, then tongue with mustard. And then our illustrious ancestor stood there as a waiter to care for them during their repast. Any normal person should have his breath taken away by the image of the royal and righteous Avraham Avinu -- in his a...

In a (very) recent TftD , I reported on a psak I got from R' Fuerst, shlita, regarding heicha k'dusha. I was surprised that I got several replies (from those who get TftD by email). I was surprised because (a) I didn't think it was very controversial; (b) I was actually worried that it wasn't going to be very interesting to anyone. (Why did I write it? I like when I get an answer to a question that you are not likely to find elsewhere.) One friend, with whom I have a long history of comparing answers to questions like that (what, exactly, is the category of those questions? questions that no one else asks) between R' Fuerst, shlita, and R' Zucker, shlita. We were discussing the psak at a siyum last night and he started chuckling. "You won't be surprised that R' Zucker might say differently." While he had not asked precisely that question, he had been told by R' Zucker that when he davens mincha at a shul that doesn't say tachanun, then ...

It is a bit strange that avoda zara (quite popularly mistranslated as "idol worship") could start at all. After all, Adam knew and spoke with HaShem. Noach knew and spoke with HaShem. How in the world did humanity get to where we are now? Many religions worshiping multiple gods. Even worse, it got to the point that, as Pharaoh said, "I don't know HaShem." The Rambam explains (I got the following from Avodas Kochavim -- Chabad.org ): During the times of Enosh , mankind made a great mistake, and the wise men of that generation gave thoughtless counsel. Enosh himself was one of those who erred. Their mistake was as follows: They said God created stars and spheres with which to control the world. He placed them on high and treated them with honor, making them servants who minister before Him. Accordingly, it is fitting to praise and glorify them and to treat them with honor. [They perceived] this to be the will of God, blessed be He, that they magnify and ho...

For various reasons, I would prefer to daven mincha g'dola; that is, soon after is it time to daven mincha, instead of right before sh'kiya. I recently discovered there are two mincha g'dola minyamin near my "office", aka home. One offers a full mincha -- silent shmone esrei followed by the reader's repetition... but no tachanun. The other offers tachanun, but does a " heiche k'dusha ". Follow link to OU site provided for complete explanation and history. Both options are less than optimal. Before getting to the p'sak halacha, though, I think it is very important to appreciate that both of these customs -- which seem to fly in the face of halacha -- are practiced by kosher congregations around the world. Moreover, they have been practiced for some time and are not "new inventions." How they got started is one question. But the fact that they are both kosher and reputable now is indisputable. Here is the lore I have heard about heich...

More about בורר/selecting on Shabbos. As is well known, there are three conditions that make the activity "eating" and not "selecting": (1) using your hand; (2) take the desired entity from the mixture, not the undesired; (3) for immediate use. Of course there are whole books written on how each term applies specifically and in concert with the others. This last Sunday, R' Fuerst gave his 10th shiur on בורר and he's not just finished. I found the issue using a pot lid when serving food to be the biggest chidush. But first, some background. In reverse order: (3) the activity needs to be performed for immediate use. In this context, that means for this meal, not "straight into your mouth." (2) you need to take what you want, not push away what you don't want. The exception to that is when the part you don't want is blocking access to what you want. That's why you are allowed to peel a banana or orange on Shabbos (for eating right away, of...