Michael el Chayil

We had considered relocating to Winston Towers a few years ago. Of course, I discussed the idea with R' Fuerst, who disabused us of the notion. Among the reasons the dayan gave us for not moving was simply: You are in a good neighborhood; why take a chance on moving? Baruch HaShem, we accepted the advice/p'sak and didn't move. One of the great things about this neighborhood is that you can get a Torah vort just  taking a walk with your grandchildren. I heard this yesterday: We have just changed our request for parnassa in ברך עלינו from ותן טל ומטר לברכה/give dew and rain for a blessing, to simply ותן ברכה/give a blessing. What if a person mistakenly said ותן טל ומטר לברכה because that is what he is used to and, let's be honest, he was sort of on autopilot? Then the person needs to correct his mistake. Either by going back to the ברך עלינו, or repeating shmone esrei, or saying a make-up shmone esrei after the next t'fila; depending on when he realized his mistake. O...

I ran across this saying a few years ago and it really hit home: Knowledge is knowing that Frankenstein is not the monster. Wisdom is knowing that Frankenstein is the monster. There is a vast gulf between being smart, knowing the facts, and being wise, knowing what the facts mean. I learned a new expression over Yom Tov from R' Biderman on Pesach: Apparently the term "chacham of the mah nishtenah" means someone foolish; or, at least, acting foolishly. (I checked it out with a few friends who have been Jewish much  longer than I have, and they confirmed that they had, indeed, heard this expression.) Why would the expression "chacham of the mah nishtenah" be used to wittily call someone silly? I also saw a great answer to that question in the same R' Biderman on Pesach; but first... That got me thinking: Why do we need to be told how to answer the wise child? If the Hagadah is telling me how to answer him, there must be a wrong way to answer that Chazal are...

I finished the Rashi's on this week's parasha  early, so that gives me a time slot to work on completing Manantíales de la Torá from Purim. (It is 43 pages and I don't read Spanish so quickly.) The topic this morning was how the plot of Bigsan and Seresh saved Klal Yisrael. When Mordechai heard the plot, he informed Esther. Why didn't he tell the authorities himself? After all, the government was not very happy with him just now and this could have given him a boost. Mordechai told Esther because he was worried for her safety and he felt that if she told the king, she would be safer. Esther, on the other hand, told the king that Mordechai had given her the information specifically because he was in trouble with the government and she felt this would give him a boost. If he had told the king himself, he likely would have been rewarded right away. If Esther had not told the king in the name of Mordechai, the king would have no record of needing to reward Mordechai. As is...

Ever heard of the "Little Albert" experiment? I took three weeks of freshman psychology just over a half century ago; that's where I heard about it. They wanted to prove that humans work just like Pavlov's dog and can be trained. So they took a little baby who liked white rats and terrorized him with loud sounds every time the rat came near. They were able to demonstrate that little Albert (not his real name, but Google "little albert experiment" if you want to know more) eventually became terrified of rats even without the loud sounds. Beautiful. I wish I could say that is why I dropped, but I actually dropped because the course required too much reading. I loved listening to science and math lectures and then doing word problems; reading long winded articles about the human condition; not so much. Of course, some people were understandably disturbed by the ethics of the experiment and a set of rules governing use of humans and other motile mul...

Just to level set: Definition of "politically correct": "Politically correct" means using language and actions that avoid offending others, especially those relating to sex, gender, and race. It can also refer to policies or measures that are intended to avoid disadvantaging members of particular groups in society. Synonyms include: considerate, diplomatic, inclusive, and respectful. Antonyms include: insensitive, like a bull in a china shop, Michael E. Allen Parashas Mishpatim comes directly after the (so-called) Ten Commandments have been given and received from Mount Sinai. The Ramban explains that the first verse of parashas Mishpatim is basically a prologue to set our point of view regarding the process of justice and court in Jewish law. Then we get to the second verse, which deals with purchasing a slave. A Jewish slave that is owned by a Jewish slave owner. Generally, when you hear people trying to explain how civilized and beautiful To...

On the heels of R' Akvia teaching us that ואהבתה את ה' אלוקך ... ובכל נפשך/we are enjoined to love HaShem even when He is taking our life, the gemara ( Brachos 61b ) brings a description of the events that actually lead R' Akiva returning his exalted soul to his Creator with profound love. An evil government had decreed that Jews were forbidden to be involved in Torah. Pappus ben Yehuda found that R' Akiva was organizing public meetings for Jews to learn Torah. Pappus asked R' Akiva, "Aren't you afraid of the government?" R' Akiva answered with a משל/parable (I hate that translation, but it's all we have): A fox was walking along a river and saw the fish gathering in groups; first one place then another. The fox asked what they were running away from. They answered that they were fleeing from the nets cast by people. The fox suggested: Would you like me to bring you up onto the land so we can live together as our ancestors did? They answered ve...

When I first entered the workforce in the late 1900s (😱 really?!), there was a thing called "vacation time." Companies offered vacation time as a bargaining chip to lure potential employees. When comparing job offers, one might weigh the benefit of a higher salary from one company with more vacation time from the other. Eventually the phrase "vacation time" went out of style and it became PTO (paid time off), which also included sick days, personal holidays, etc. Also the personnel departments rebranded themselves as "Human Resources" (kind of a sick and demented term, if you think about it: the status of being a human being has been demoted to just another resource, like computers and desks). The HR departments also invented (in 1970s, but really took off in 1980s) the term " work-life balance " to make everybody feel like the company cared more about you than just a vehicle to make money. (They don't. They just discovered that they can att...

Without context, you can't answer the simplest questions. Here is an example: Is the earth big? Here is a more subtle example. The mishnah on daf 118a of Bava Kamma makes a seemingly straightforward statement, and then goes on to demonstrate that there are four different ways to read it. Each of which leads to quite different and practical differences in halacha. (The interested reader may see at the end of this for more details.) I brought this up because I want to take a more wholistic view of a recent TftD regarding the receipt of bad news. Chazal teach us that our response to bad news and our understanding of bad news are distinct and often apparently contradictory. That being said, it is also clear from Chazal that there is, indeed, bad news. This may stem from the nature of good and bad tidings. Good tidings mean we are right now able to experience the goodness of those situations. Bad tidings, on the other hand, require us to do some work to reveal the goodness. When I hea...

First, please don't tell me: "There is no such thing as bad news! Everything is good!" Ok, Pollyanna, but Chazal say differently. In fact, the mishna (Brachos 54a) makes two statements about how to respond to בשורות רעות/bad news. First the mishna tells us the appropriate brachos for both good and bad news. On good news, we say: ברוך ההטוב והמטיב/Blessed is the (One who is) Good and the (One who) bestows good. On bad new, of course, we say: ברוך דיין האמת/Blessed is the True Judge. A few lines later, the mishna reveals this to us: חייב אדם לברך על הרע כשם שלברך על הטובה/A person is obligated (yes, חייב) to bless on bad news in the same way that he blesses on good news. Rashi lets us know right away: This will be explained in the gemara. In other words, Rashi is letting us know: If you are confused, then you are learning the mishna correctly. We need Chazal to straighten this out for us. The gemara on daf 60b works out the kinks for us. Except that I was having a lot of tr...

What really was the final straw that led to the destruction of the entire world except for the righteous Noach and his family? Robbery. (Rashi to B'reishis 6:13, quoting from Sanhedrin 108a). I have a point I would like you to ponder. Given that it was the sin of גזל/robbery (not a sneak thief, but someone who steals with impunity) is what sealed the fate of the Generation of the Flood, wouldn't you think that a prohibition against גזל/robbery ought to make the Top Ten List, aka, עשרת הדברות? But it is seemingly not there at all. Or is it? Before the big reveal, please note that לא תגנוב/Thou Shalt Not Steal (as they say in America) an exhortation that forbids kidnapping. (Fun fact: the victim does not need to be actually removed from their residence to be considered kidnapped. According to Cornell Law School (and we all know how much weight the opinion of ivy league schools carries nowadays): Kidnapping is a crime at common law consisting of an unlawful restraint of a person...

I printed out R' Biderman on parahas Vayakhel last week and saw that it started with "El Man de Hoy en Dìa" -- מן/Mahn Nowadays. (I transliterate מן as "mahn" so it doesn't get confused with English word a male adult. No such issue in Spanish.) Anyways... I thought I had printed out the Manatìales de la Torà for the wrong week, since the mahn is not discussed on this parasha. Nope; correct parasha. Hang on... this parasha (and the following) is ... ahem "just" a review of the parts of the משכן, right? The fact that the Torah seemingly repeats what has already been described in detail is a fascinating topic, but not for now. The topic for today is really encapsulated in the first three verses of the parasha, which feel wildly disjointed. Let me paraphrase: (1) Moshe gathered the entire nation to tell them: these are the things HaShem commands be done. (2) You shall work six days a week, but it is a capital crime to perform forbidden labors on Shabbo...

I have a pet peeve that rankles every year about this time. I know it is meant with the best of intentions... but we all know the path to you-know-where is paved with those. I have learned to stay calm and (mostly) just sigh when I get a card that says, "In lieu of mishloach manos, a donation has been made in your name to <local/international incredibly worthy charity>." I am quite touched that someone thought about me when making that donation to <local/international incredibly worthy charity>, and I am really very happy that <local/international incredibly worthy charity> has more funds to continue and extend their incredible work. However, it ain't in lieu of nuttin. (Oh does my poor grammar rankle? See what I mean?) Chazal decreed that we should hear Megillas Esther twice (night and morning), have a wine meal, give money to the poor, and also to send two portions of food to a friend. That last bit is encoded in Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 695:4 (which...

I had a boss who was rabidly atheist. He often felt it was his mission to help me see the error or my ways. My favorite was when he came running into my cubicle and said: "You can't eat pork, right?" Right... "Not any amount of pork at all , right?" Right... but there was something about gleeful tone, so I added, "Unless it is less than one part in 60, in which case it is nullified as undetectable."  You should have seen his face fall. "Oh... I was going to point out that it was impossible that with all the pork in the work, that not even one molecule of pork might be in your food. But I guess that doesn't make any difference now." I am pretty sure there is no such thing as a "molecule of pork", but that is really the least ridiculous thing about that event. While I said that "one in sixty" very matter-of-factly, the whole topic of ביטול/nullification is not simple. The essence of ביטול/nullification is that the Torah ...

There is an amazing organization dedicated to inspiring people to guard their eyes in our times, called  וימאן Set Your Eyes on Greatness . You can sign up for a daily inspirational video on WhatsApp. Now that I am retired, I get to have breakfast with a couple of my grandchildren and then take them to school each weekday. Part of our routine is watching the וימאן video. The two of them organized a schedule to take turns starting the video. It is an additional inspiration for us to see what inspires our priceless grandchildren. By far the most popular videos are about ordinary people using ordinary strategies. I highly recommend a recent video called Rubbing Away A Frosty Night . (Available from TorahAnytime as well as וימאן ). This morning I got to share my own story. Yesterday was a beautiful day in Chicago; nearly 70 degrees -- quite a rarity in Chicago for spring time. (I wish that was sarcastic...) I took advantage by going for a bike ride. I took my usual route through the fo...

Have I mentioned that I am retired? Oh... I may have once or twice. Things are somewhat different now that I spend my mornings in kollel. One thing hasn't changed: the coffee room, where everyone meets before first seder. Maybe the conversations are a bit different. This morning was interesting. Me: "Such a nice change to get my morning coffee in a kosher environment." Avreich: "Your work environment couldn't have been so bad, you worked in a hospital, right?" Ah, no... I am not that kind of doctor. I worked as a computer programmer. I said how happy I am now that after learning and davening in the morning, I can come to learn at the kollel. Someone asked what time I get up. I said, "Early." They made a couple of guesses, I just answered, "earlier" each time. Finally they decided to try the other end of the day, "So what time do you get to sleep?" I have a pat answer for that one also, "When I can." Then I explained th...

Yes, Virginia, there is ביטול/nullification; no, Corrigan, that is the wrong way to go (to fix things). As mentioned , siman 92 of Yoreh Deah is titled: The Laws Concerning Milk Falling into a Pot of Meat, which contains nine סעיפים/sections. I also mentioned there: 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. It is later, ברוך השם. Perhaps one of the reasons that this siman begins discussing meat falling into hot milk is because that situation is a relatively straightforward case of forbidden milk/meat mixtures. That is because the chunk of meat itself that falls into a liquid bath of milk is, of course, forbidden and must be removed from the pot. The only question is what about the remaining dairy liquid and the pot. A pot of meat, though, tends to have chunks of meat, as well as chunks of other more or less edible ingredients. (Potatoes and broccoli are more edible...

There are currently things going on in the world that are, frankly, scary. I had never personally experienced direct antisemitism until just a few months ago. Walking home from vasikin, while waiting at a light with my wife, a man started screaming at us, "You Jews only care about yourselves! You don't care about anyone!" He was not screaming from across the street, he was standing next to us. The light turned green and we walked on as he continued yelling. It was disconcerting to say the least. Is anyone watching out for us? The world doesn't seem to care what is done to us, only what we do. I think that is why Purim was particularly poignant this year. Everything in the Purim story seems to be going south. A sworn enemy of the Jewish people is promoted to viceroy out of nowhere. There is a royal decree that gives everyone a whole day to kill Jew with the government's blessing and, presumably, protection. Then everything changes in just a few days. The turning po...

The following is based on a shiur by R' Ezriel Cziment, entitled Purim 5785 . I would strongly urge you to find time to listen to it. Check out these data points: Near the beginning of the Megillah, Haman gets promoted. Who is Haman? He is not an important government official, yet he is suddenly promoted to viceroy. He is given essentially unrestricted leeway in making decrees in the king's name. When Esther makes her request, Achashverosh offers anything "up to half his kingdom." Chazal tell us he meant up to, but not including, allowing the Jews to rebuild the Beis HaMikdash.  Achashverosh  doesn't know that Esther is Jewish, so why is he even mentioning that? Honoring someone by having them paraded through the streets dressed in the king's own clothes and on the king's own horse is odd, no? What happened to a medal? Or Venmo? Esther finally tells Achashverosh  that she is Jewish and Haman is dispatched to the gallows as fast as he was promoted. So now a...

I read the following ideas in Manantíales de la Torá, the weekly publication of thought from R' Biderman, shlita. Usually on the parasha, this week on Purim. Usually five to ten pages; this week 41! I almost didn't print it out, figuring I wouldn't have time. (Because I am who I am and I print it out in Spanish.) I have not yet read all of it, but what I have read is way eye opening! Here's a cute gematria type vort for the Purim s'udah. The mishna says there are cases where the Megilla could be read on the following days of Adar: 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 -- and the mishna concludes: Not after and not before! Ok, fine, the exclamation point is mine... but that's how it feels when you read the mishna. I mean, I get it -- 11, 12, 13, 14, 15; of course those dates and not others. But let's read it carefully; it doesn't say "these and no others", but "not after and not before." Add up 11+12+13+14+15 and you get 65, which is the gematria of אדנ...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

As I may have mentioned once or eighteen times, we recently returned from an incredible vacation in Panama. When traveling, I always look for things that are unique to that locale. In Alaska, for example, we bought a wind chime of copper plates in the shape of moose. (Ok, turns out it was made in China, nebbich; but, still, you can only buy it in Alaska 😑) I found that there are several good rums made in Panama, so at the duty free shop on leaving I got a bottle of Ron Abuelo 12 year aged dark rum, which had come highly recommended. We got home and I made a Piña Colada ... and it didn't taste quite right. Turns out Piña Coladas should be made with white rum. Fine, I looked up a recipe for cocktails with dark rum and found a Rum Manhattan -- which specifically calls for aged, dark rum. Bingo! Two parts rum, one part sweet vermouth, dash of bitters. I didn't have vermouth as I don't usually drink mixed drinks. Off to Kol Tuv -- great liquor selection, knowledgeable staff. Si...