Michael el Chayil

During the recent celebration of the bar mitzvah of a grandson, many divrei Torah were shared. Among them, the following thought was shared:  Lashon HaKodesh is unique. In all other (human developed) languages, the words are merely labels that folks in a certain region have agreed to apply to this or that concept, this or that object. Lashon HaKodesh, though, captures the essence of the objects with the words it uses to describe them. In fact, the word דבר is translated as both "word" and "thing". (Except for Google Translate, which can't distinguish between דבר and שום דבר! That's certainly the peak of human invention!) Here's a specific example: the word for "hand" is יד. The gematria of יד is 14, and there are 14 moveable joints in the hand; three on each finger, two on the thumb. Go ahead and try it; I'll wait. Now wasn't that satisfying? Cute. Nice short vort to add spice to a larger d'var Torah. Is it more than that, or just a...

Everyone knows that even though a forbidden substance is nullified once it is less than one part in 60 (and the other nullification rules). Everyone also knows: אין מבטל איסור לכתחילה/you are not allowed to nullify ; that is, to nullify the forbidden substance that is already in the mixture by adding more of the good stuff until the forbidden substance becomes nullified. Here is something that a lot of people know: Whole bugs are never nullified, even if less than one part in 60. Breaking up the bugs to nullify them is just as bad as adding more good stuff... not permitted. However, if they get busted up as part of making a recipe -- such as blending frozen fruit to make a smoothie -- then it is permitted. That is because you are not busting them up to nullify them; you are busting them up to make the recipe, in the process of which they get busted up. Now you can drink your smoothie because it only has less than one part in 60 of bug bits. Bon appétit -- and don't go g...

The last mishna of masechta Tamid lists the שיר של יום, the chapter of Psalms we say each day at the end of shacharis. For Tuesday, we say Psalm 82, which begins: A song of Asaph. G-d stands in the congregation of G-d; in the midst of the judges He will judge.   מִזְמ֗וֹר לְאָ֫סָ֥ף אֱלֹקים נִצָּ֥ב בַּֽעֲדַת־קל בְּקֶ֖רֶב אֱלֹהִ֣ים יִשְׁפֹּֽט:  Why that particular psalm? The Bartenura explains: because on the third day of Creation the dry land/ היבשה appeared, and on it  -- היבשה -- the judges stand to do justice. Let's let that sink in. The entire land mass, without which human life would be impossible, came into being so we could have courts of justice. It sounds like justice is just as important to human life as dry land. That's one thing, but there is another. Since October 7th we have been saying psalms multiple times a day; beseeching HaShem to bring a swift end to hostilities and a real, lasting peace. After we say the requisite psalms, we all recite in unison: אַח...

Seems obvious, right? I mean, if it's not broken, then how can you possibly fix it? In fact, why would you even want to fix it? Each week, I get Torah Wellsprings filled with divrei Torah on the parsha from R' Biderman. I just started to read this week's edition on parshas Mishpatim. It starts with a mashal: A man goes to a watchmaker and asks him, "Can you please fix the hands on my watch? They aren't moving." The watchmaker answers in the affirmative and asks for the watch. The man replies, more than a little surprised, "The watch? I left that at home. I brought you the hands. They are not moving and I need you to fix them." There is much more in the Torah Wellsprings, but I stopped there. How many times have I thought I knew what needed fixing and just focused my attention on that. How many times have I actually done more damage by trying to fix the obvious problem that is right in front of me? I once asked R' Dovid Siegel a question just to...

Some time ago (yikes! It was more than a decade ago... where has the time gone?!) I wrote about a gemara (Bava Kama 92) that takes several expressions that were common in Babylonia -- among the Babylonians, that is -- and analyzes each one to find its source in Torah. Wild, right? Why should a common expression among the goyim have its source in Torah? Mind you, Chazal were not looking for a verse from which we can learn the same lesson; they were seeking and discovering its root source. The Einei Shmuel (which I found, after some searching, in the back of the Vagshall Shas) says, essentially: (1) If something has become a common expression, then it must reflect some deeper truth. (2) If it is true, then it has a source in Torah -- the ultimate and exclusive source of everything. See the actual TftD for more details. That's pretty cool, but old, news. (Yes, I know it can't be news if it is old; deal with it.) R' Schwimmer, in the Reb Naftali Tessler z"l Friday Night Ch...

There is nothing like davening just at sunrise. Mind you, I've rarely actually seen a sunrise these last 30 years; that's because I am davening at that moment and have much more important things on my mind. For those of us who daven כוותיקין regularly, it becomes a passion. By passion I mean that it is very difficult to start the day any other way. Fortunately, that isn't much of a problem, even when traveling. First, it is usually (though not always) earlier than any other minyan (especially on Shabbos). That means I can (nearly always) daven כוותיקין and then get to the, ahem, later minyanim for Torah reading, musaf, etc. What about davening with a minyan you ask? Ah... davening כוותיקין is a super power -- it trumps davening with a minyan! In fact, even if a person did not have his t'fillin, one who is careful to daven כוותיקין should daven with הנץ החמה. See Biur Halacha to siman 59, ומצווה מן המובחר וכו. (I love the Google translation of that: a command from the El...