Michael el Chayil

When looking into the night sky, besides the moon (and the occasional man-made satellites), you are seeing two realms: the fixed stars and the planets. (Yes, I know there are also comets and meteors. Let's focus on the horses before jumping to zebras.) The fixed stars, so called because their position in the sky never changes; if you know your position on the earth and the time of day, you can find any fixed star. The realm of the fixed stars is called the celestial sphere (there is some history behind that designation; not for now). The planets -- which is Greek for "wanderers" -- wander around the sky. (Feel free to Google any of those or sign up for Overview of Physical Sciences that I plan to teach some time in the future at HTC, בעזרת השם.) The word מַזָל actually means "constellation." (By the way, Google translate is so sure you want the common usage --"luck" or "fortune" -- that I had to play some tricks to finally get the literal tra...

I know the title is a bit schmaltzy, but I didn't know how else to describe it. Oh well. This coming Shabbos will be the 8th of Av. We generally don't like to make a siyum during the Nine Days, but Shabbos during the Nine Days is perfectly permissible. As it turns out, I have three siyumim to attend this Shabbos. I am making one myself for my anniversary/birthday (a person is considered like a newborn child on the day of his geirus, and of course I got married that same day; interesting story, but not for now). One is a close (both emotionally and physically, we sit right next to each other at the vasikin minyan) friend for the yahrtzeit of his mother, a"h. (I was close with his mother also, so I feel connected to that siyum also). One with a new chavrusa -- his very first siyum, and we just happen to be finishing on Friday.  There is a mitzvah to eat the entire day before Yom Kippur. Rashi gives two explanations. (1) We physically need the strength to survive the fast. (2...

If I were to be famous for anything, I would want it to be for not rendering an opinion without sufficient data. I have oft told told chavrusos that, while I don't believe that their proposal is actually a good explanation of the topic we are learning, I also don't have an alternative. When the Chafeitz Chaim says, "you have to say", I sit up and pay attention. When you (you know who you are) say, "you have to say", my typical response to whatever follows is, "your lack of imagination does not obligate me in anything." This does not, of course, make me a popular chavrusa. I have that luxury because I am not a דיין/judge in a בית דין/halachic tribunal. Generally speaking we require three judges on a tribunal. Note: Until just moments ago I thought that "tribunal" actually meant "three judges". You know, like how the word "triumvirate" means a group of three people who hold power, often political. But no, "tribunal...

While we have lost the physical presence of R' Ezriel Cziment, shlita, at least we still have access to his weekly chumash shiur. I was particularly moved by this week's shiur, A Yid Is Never Lost . Today, erev Shabbos, is also erev Rosh Chodesh Av. We hope for the best, but we prepare for anything, so we are looking forward with some trepidation to the "Nine Days", culminating with the fast of Tisha b'Av. This week we have a double portion, מטות-מסעי. Because it is a double portion, and it is nearly always a double portion, parashas מסעי doesn't always get the attention it deserves. There is another reason that מסעי doesn't get so much attention... It begins with a listing of the 42 stops that Klal Yisrael made in the wilderness over the preceding 40 years. Yep, just a listing; a double listing actually, as each new start begins with where they were when they started; which is, nothing but where they stopped, as listed in the previous verse. 42 stops. Jus...

I was recently informed that the rosh kollel of the Peterson Park Kollel gives a 30 minute shiur on the parasha on Friday morning at 8:15 AM. I am so  happy to have started attending this shiur; it is half-ish halacha and half-ish mussar/deep thought/lofty ideas. The shiur is only 30 minutes, but it clearly has more than 30 minutes of ideas packed into it. Last week, for example, the Rosh Kollel stated matter-of-factly that any קשה שכלית/question based on logically reconciling two different statements will have an answer that is also שכלית/logical/straightforward. It may -- and usually does -- also have deep mystical implications, but it also has a שכלית/logical/straightforward explanation. Just that one idea alone has added a new dimension to all of my learning. I am very, very respectful of the Rosh Kollel's time, so I save my question for those rare times that I see a gap (changing from one topic to another, his chavrusa get up, etc). into which I can jump to ask a quick qu...

I have two teenage grandsons -- cousins of each other -- for a few days this summer between camps and other activities. Our schedule is to wake them up for davening (neither is a vasikin guy yet; as the kiruv people like to say), then I go learn, the meet me at kollel to learn for an hour, we have lunch (I get to make it for them!), and figure out an activity. Today was... rope course! In case you have not experienced that, feel free to ask Google "rope course description"; we went to GoApe.com. The courses consisted of varying levels of bridges between trees. The easiest was rope (to walk on) within an netting enclosure. Then there were platforms separated by 18 inches or so held securely by double ropes, then separated, free swinging platforms, then single ropes with no enclosure, etc. The rule at this place was that one adult (that would be me) could be responsible for up to two adolescents (that would be my grandsons). There were five courses, each ended in a zipline as t...

I am learning איוב/Iyov/Job, so I guess you will be also. Ok, I just need to get something off my chest. Do you know how איוב, which transliterates very nicely to Iyov, got butchered into Job? יעקב'Yaakov to Jacob? Or ישעיהו/Y'shaiyahu into Isaiah? First the Greek translation, the Septuagint, just blanket turned all ש's to "S" instead of "Sh", regardless of the original word. Then Latin turned the final ח into an H. Finally, the Bible was first printed in German, in which their "J" is pronounced like our "Y". German actually has a voiceless uvular fricative (our ח) and a voiceless palatal fricative (our כ). But good ole 'Merican doesn't, so those just became a soft or hard 'k'. Pronounce Michael or Jacob as a German would and they sound pretty close to the original. The word "messiah" got adulterated by both Greek and Latin. Huh... phylogeny recapitulates ontology. That is, the development of their distortion...

I am now guilty of discussing this Radak on chapter 145, verse 17 twice: צַדִּיק ה' בְּכָל־דְּרָכָיו וחָסִיד בְּכָל־מַֽעֲשָֽׂיו: HaShem is righteous in all His ways, all His actions are kind Says the Radak: HaShem provides food to all living being with righteousness and integrity. And even though some animals are predatory, such as the cat that eats the mouse; and the lion, bear, leopard and other predators that eat other animals. And birds of prey eat other birds and small animals. Yet all is done with precision. Each animal has an allotted time to live, when it is time for them to die, sometimes their death is accomplished by feeding another animal, sometimes for other reasons. You know what they say: third time's the charm. Let's drill in on this. According to this Radak, each and every lamb has its life planned out. Each has a time to die. This by lion, this by old age. This by wolf, this to be a korban Pesach. Doesn't that sound like lambs are subject to the same l...

Baruch HaShem, I had some very interesting jobs over my half century in the workplace. There was really only one place I worked that I detested. Rather than tell you several examples of how bad it was, I'll just tell you about interactions with two of my managers. My then manager started the review with: Michael, I don't think we got our money's worth from you this year. (To be fair -- not  that I have any obligation to be fair -- he was a fundamentalist Christian with whom I had just had a conversation about Judaism and Christianity. Obviously that conversation did not go well for him and he was likely still stinging. He therefore did the good Christian thing and decided to get back at me from his position of authority over me. I had another manager who told me it was arrogant of me to give reasons for my opinions. Fun times. The root cause, though, of my revulsion to working there was that it was a company that provides advice to companies about how best to market their p...

I heard that R' Moshe Feinstein, z''tzl, was concerned about getting a pacemaker. Why? Because he was concerned that it would be considered a מום/defect that would render him unfit to be a member of the Sanhedrin that will be appointed after the arrival of the Mashiach, may he arrive soon and in our lifetime. I had a couple of questions. First, was that story true? If it was, then how could R' Moshe, as great as he was, hope to get on the coveted 70 (maybe 71) appointments? I mean, R' Moshe would be in competition with Acharonim, Rishonim, Amaraim, Tannaim, Ishei Tanach; even the Avos! There is only one address for questions such as that in Chicago: R' Fuerst. I told R' Fuerst I had heard that story about R' Moshe and the pacemaker. The dayan responded, "I have also heard that story." I really love R' Fuerst. After a short pause, the dayan told me he has one proof it might be true, and another that it might be false. Why might it be true? O...

You know about the guy who went to buy a couple of new pairs of socks and ended up with new shoes, three new shirts, two ties, a new suit, besides the socks? The pants looked a little shabby with the new socks, you can't just buy suit pants, obviously you'll need updated ties, and who doesn't always need new shirts? (That's not me, by the way. I am the guy who sees the price of socks and figures he can get a bit more wear out of his current wardrobe.) I feel that way, though, regarding my efforts to just have a relaxing drink on Shabbos between the fish and the meat. At least we are finally done, right? I mean, after the segue from a vegetable peeler and then an investigation into Shprintze's cholent and פסיק רישא , what else is there to say? Well... I arrived at shul for mincha/ma'ariv a few minutes early yesterday and just as I was opening the door, who should drive up, but the dayan himself. Of course I respectfully waited, held the door for the dayan, and a...

In a recent TftD , I wrote about the importance of having a close relationship with a rav, focusing on the fact that even today there are things you just can't get from s'farim alone. A real, personal connection to a rav is key to becoming a ben Torah. Along the way, I mentioned an open question I have concerning how I like to drink my scotch. Of course the scotch preparation got the most response 😎 To save you following a link, here is the basic issue: One takes a sliver of citrus rind, twists it to squeeze out some of the fragrant oils, then drops it into the glass on top of the ice/drink. It is not being used to flavor the scotch, only the fragrance from the aromatic oils of the citrus peel mixes with that of the scotch, and that wafts over my mouth and enters my nose as a prelude and enhancement to the drink. Is it permitted to twist the rind on Shabbos? It is by hand and for immediate use, as it just doesn't have the same appeal (of course pun intended) if done earli...

Several months ago, I asked R' Fuerst a question he had not gotten before. Honestly, just that should be enough for a TftD. I mean, how often does that happen? Here's the idea: I like to drink my scotch with a twist. That means you take a sliver of citrus rind (usually lemon, but lime, orange, and even tangerine will do in a pinch), twist it to squeeze out some of the fragrant oils, then drop it in the drink. I also like my scotch with a splash of seltzer; usually neat, but sometimes with ice. The question is: can I do that on Shabbos? I am not using it to flavor the scotch, just so the fragrance from the aromatic oils of the citrus peel mixes with that of the scotch, and that wafts over my mouth and enters my nose as a prelude and enhancement to the drink. Anyway... the question is/was: am I permitted to twist the rind on Shabbos? It is by hand and for immediate use, as it just doesn't have the same appeal (of course pun intended) if done earlier. I want the extracted arom...

The Torah juxtaposes the commandment to build the Mishkan with the prohibition to violate Shabbos. This is the source, Chazal tell us, for us to know precisely what malachos would be a violation of Shabbos. Since the Torah was compelled to warn us about Shabbos violation when we were being encouraged to build the Mishkan, the essential activities involved with the Mishkan must be the activities by which one would violate Shabbos. As we all know, there are 39 categories of such labor. There is a nice philosophical point that the observance of Shabbos -- something relevant to each and every Jew in each and every Jewish home, week and and week out -- apparently can bring us to the same level of closeness to HaShem as the holy work done by priestly caste in HaShem's own abode, so to speak, here on earth. That is one of the beauties of Torah observance: Obviously Klal Yisrael attains lofty spiritual heights by the service done by the kohein gadol in the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur. But...

I plan to have a drink tonight to celebrate. Today was, so far, my single more successful day in kollel since joining a year ago Pesach. I could tell that you that I was able to help one of the yungaleit understand a gemara and the different ways that Rashi and the M'iri explain it. I was able to help because I have a deep knowledge of optics, trigonometry, and history of science and technology. That wasn't it, though. That was just icing on the cake. Fun to share at dinner (and here), but not worth a toast. So... a few weeks ago, I started learning the 11th perek of masechta Shabbos, הזורק/throwing, because it is the wraps up the discussion of הוצאה/transfer out of one domain to another that was started with the first mishna of the entire tractate. I was intrigued by the first question the gemara asked on the first mishna of the perek. I wrote a couple of TtfDs on it, Why and When a Scriptural Source is Needed for הוצאה , and Why הוצאה Has תולדות . If you are paying much clos...

I got a degree in physics because I wanted to understand reality in a deep and fundamental way. That, of course, led me to the Torah. Along the way, though, physics was a really good stepping stone. I never looked at graduate school as "advanced trade school".  That is, as much as my mother -- she should rest in peace -- was disappointed that I didn't "use my degree", I felt that I got exactly what I wanted from my degree; namely, confirmation from experts in the field that I had properly learned and understood the subject matter. Nonetheless, my plan had been to follow the traditional course of a postdoc or two followed by a tenure track position at a university teaching and doing research in theoretical physics. HaShem had a different plan; Baruch HaShem. Even more Baruch HaShem, I listened. Still... I have always wanted to teach physics, but I had to feed my family and pay tuition, so I opted for the much more lucrative field of programming. Now that I have g...

Bilaam was no simple person. He had a level of prophecy that in some way exceeded even that of Moshe Rabeinu. (The Torah tells us that there was never a Jewish prophet whose level rivaled Moshe, but a goy -- that is, Bilaam -- had that level of prophecy.) Chazal tell us (Rashi on Bamidbar 22:5) that HaShem infused Bilaam with such an exalted level of prophecy in order to ensure that the goyim could never, ever complain that if they had had prophets like Klal Yisrael did, they would have also been good. Umm.... really? If the goyim would even think to complain that they were not afforded the same opportunities for inspiration that Klal Yisrael had, that they didn't have a Moshe Rabeinu, then HaShem can reply, "Well, you had Bilaam."  That is going to work? Moshe, the most humble of all men. Moshe, who wouldn't even use a donkey that belonged to the community to bring his own family back. Bilaam, who was (ahem) "married" to his donkey. Bilaam, who demanded an ...

As related in this TftD , I am now really living. After making a siyum on my first masechta (Brachos, of course, you know me... boring; I just go in order), I asked my rebbi, R' Dovid Siegal, shlita, whether to go on to the next masechta or to review. He, characteristically and to no real surprise to me, answered simply, "yes". I am now dividing my time between moving forward on my first pass through Shabbos and moving forward on my second pass through Brachos. I decided on my second pass through Brachos, to follow the development of the halacha through the centuries. The first daf of Brachos is by and large concerned with when one is able to say krias Shema in the evening. I learned the daf with Rashi, the Rosh, and Piskei HaRosh -- which are the essential halachic conclusions of the gemara, authored by the son of the Rosh himself; so quite authoritative. Now... the son of the Rosh organized all those halachos into four sections: (1) Laws of Daily Living, (2) Torts, (3) ...

My father, of blessed memory, was a very good parent. (I told him that once when I was a teenager. He was really touched. I was surprised he didn't just know that. Now that I am a parent, I know why.) One thing that made him a good parent was that he never made empty threats. He never, ever, even once threatened to kill any of us, no matter how egregious our sin. He would  however, in a very calm and measured tone (making it all the more terrifying) threaten to break our arm. I used to think to myself, "Well... he does have medical insurance, and he looks pretty serious." So I would desist. The Torah gives us two ways to create our own restrictions on ourselves. One can create an new Torah  prohibition by making either a נֶדֶר/vow or a שְׁבוּעָה/oath. They are very similar, but there are some technical differences. The one outstanding difference is that it is a Torah prohibition to make and empty/meaningless שְׁבוּעָה, whereas taking an empty/meaningless נֶדֶר i...

A recent TftD discussed an incredible Radak on T'hillim (145:17) regarding the behavior of predators. The main point is summed up with this line: The lion isn't getting hungry and then looking to kill an animal to fulfill his desire, rather the animal's time to die has arrived, so the lion gets hungry so he can fulfill the Desire of HaShem. I was/am quite amazed by this Radak and was socializing it this morning in kollel. In particular, I was proposing that therefore, lions are not violent and the sheep they eat are not fearful; they are just doing what they are programmed to do. One the yungaleit took exception, and told me: They are doing what animals do, and that includes predators being violent and their prey feeling fear. So began a very animated and fruitful discussion. Which, in fact, is why I love learning in kollel. These are young men who have dedicated their lives to learning Torah. I am both humbled and delighted that they take the time to help me get on the ri...

I signed up for a psychology class once. I learned three things. First, I learned that the unit of measure for a psychology class is the JND -- just noticeable difference. So for example, while black and brown shoes will definitely have a different internal temperature for a given ambient temperature, humidity, exposure to direct sunlight, etc... that difference is less than 1 JND. (No, not 1.0; JNDs are atomic, sort of). Second, I learned that we would be tested on material in the assigned reading that would never be covered in lecture. Throughout my entire college career, I never read a textbook; I just attended lectures and worked out the problems to learn the material. So I dropped the course. Before I dropped, though, I actually learned one very cool concept that I later found discussed by our sages over the last few centuries (Rishonim and Acharonim). Namely, that all we can really observe is correlation; two events that always occur together under certain conditions. Cause and e...