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...

Since the horrifying massacre of October 7, my wife and I have started a regular daily seder in hilchos Shabbos. We are using the s'farim and schedule from the Shabbos Daily project. Review is always valuable in any area of halacha, but it is absolutely essential to proper Shabbos observance. You are, after all, going to be thrown into Shabbos each and every week; Baruch HaShem. Given that frequency, you are bound to hit some uncommon situations at some point and you want to be prepared ahead of time. Here's an uncommon situation (for us rich Americans): Imagine you have only enough wine for two ceremonies and you have no other liquid refreshment other than water. Water can be used for neither kiddush nor havdalah, so you are going to have to make a decision about which two ceremonies of the three required -- kiddush Friday night, kiddush Shabbos morning, and havdalah -- you are going to be able accomplish. Let's review the issues. Kiddush at night certainly ...

Here's another cookie bracha issue. (Another? Yes; the one to which this is another is TftD: Coolest Cookie .) I found these delicious cookies: Thinster's Coconut CookieThins. Really delicious. What's the problem? What's the bracha -- both before eating and after finishing. What is the doubt? The cookies contain wheat flour. The rule is that any time a recipe include wheat (or barley, rye, oat, or spelt) flour, then the bracha is always בורא מיני מזונות because the five grains are never subordinate. That is, except when the flour is added only to give structure/consistency to the food but not taste. If the flour is only added for the structure, then the bracha is שהכל נהיה בדברו. Twizzlers is the famous example of that. However, how do you know if they use flour in a product for taste or simply to give structure? In fact, they may not know themselves. They add the flour according to their secret recipe. Why do they add it? Because it sells. The Star K has a criterion th...

I recently (that is, relative to when I wrote this; check the publication date) wrote about an insight I had a few minutes before I started by learning for Shas4Shidduchim 5784. The idea was, essentially, that since I had made a stretch goal commitment of folios of gemara that I needed to learn over the next 24 hours, I was very much feeling each passing minute and keeping a mental record of whether I was on/ahead/behind schedule. I saw a friend with whom I really wanted to catch up, but realized that would put me (further) behind schedule. Then I thought, "Hey... what do I think that I usually have all the time in the world." That was the gist. Some of my best friends took umbrage and noted that saying hello and even shmoozing can be positive. In fact, to be religious about it: דרך ארץ קדמה לתורה/ proper behavior precedes the Torah. So... am I wrong? I think not, but I believe that I have not communicated the idea clearly . (It could also be due to my personality...

Yesterday afternoon I was feeling very good about myself. I had gone to make a shiva call to good friends whose mother had just left this world. I know the family well and also knew the mother. I felt I had done a good job in comforting the mourning. I was on my way to Shas4Shidduchim, where I had a significant block of gemara to learn over the following 24 hours. As I was driving over, I was listening to a Spanish podcast that is at a good level and pace for me. The discussion is usually about places and customs of the Spanish speaking world. I heard: La idea de que tienen tiempo es una de las ideas más peligrosas. No sabes cuánto tiempo tienes. For you monolinguals:  The idea that they have time is one of the most dangerous ideas. You don't know how much time you have. That was running through my head on a continuous loop as I approached the venue where I would be spending most of the next 24 hours. We started with mincha and ma'ariv. After ma'ariv I saw a good...

Moshe Rabbeinu's encounter with HaShem at the burning bush is filled with drama. This year, though, I noticed a puzzling sequence of events. Moshe (Shmos 4:1) proposed that Klal Yisrael will not pay attention to his claims. HaShem responds by giving Moshe Rabbeinu two signs that he can use to prove who sent him. First, his staff is turned into a snake and then back to a staff. Second, Moshe Rabbeinu is stricken and then cured of tzara'as on his hand. As Rashi notes, both of these signs are associated with lashon harah. The sages of Klal Yisrael will recognize that as a response to Moshe saying lashon hara about Klal Yisrael and then they will believe him. I am good with all that. (I know, HaShem is thrilled that I agree... what a ba'al gaivah I am.....) The details of the snake sign, though, are puzzling to me. First HaShem directs Moshe Rabbeinu to confirm that it really is a staff he is holding. Moshe Rabbeinu affirms. Moshe Rabbeinu is directed to throw the ...

R' Bachya starts his analysis of the sin of eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad with the observation that it would seem that we gained something from that meal. The simple reading of the text is that originally man did not comprehend how to discern between good and bad. The snake proposed that in so many words. If that were the case, though, then we would find that חוטא נשכר/the sinner would have benefited. Mankind would have a new level of understanding that he heretofore lacked. That, declares R' Bachya, is patently impossible. We must therefore re-evaluate how to understand what that tree had to offer. R' Bachya says that until this point, man had absolute clarity about his world: everything went into on of two buckets, (1) אמת/True and (2) שקר/False -- mutually exclusive and there was nothing that didn't fit into one of those buckets. Good and bad (note: it was with intention that I didn't use the usual translation of good and evil) ar...

R' Biderman tells over a vort from R' Shmuel Berenbaum, z"tzl, regarding the mission of Yosef HaTzadik. When revealing his identity to the brothers in Mitzrayim, Yosef tells them not to be troubled that they sold him into slavery to Mitzrayim, because HaShem had a plan for him to be there to provide food for his entire family. R' Berenbaum asked: If that was his mission, then why did he have to go through the trials with Potiphar's wife, and then prison before Paroh had his dreams? Why couldn't Paroh have his dreams right away and Potiphar could tell him about his amazing slave and just get to his mission? R' Berenbaum explained: one who has never experienced real hardship himself cannot help others. He can't really feel their pain, he can't understand their distress. All that Yosef went through for all those years was not "and he also had to suffer this and that"; it was training for his job of taking care of his family There are obvious ...

בורר/selecting is such an interesting Shabbos malacha. One the one hand, it would be nearly impossible to go through an entire Shabbos without running into this malacha. On the other hand, an action can go from perfectly permissible to a Torah violation with very tiny differences. בורר/selecting, of course, is never permitted, as discussed in a previous TftD . There is, though, a unique aspect of בורר/selecting; namely, that what people call the activity plays a role in defining whether or not בורר/selecting is an issue. For example, using a (manual, obviously) carpet sweeper on Shabbos is permissible even though (1) you are using a special device for removing said dirt/grime, and (2) you are removing what you don't want. Seems to open and shut case: forbidden. And it would be forbidden if you were selecting the dirt/grime from the carpet. So why is it allowed? Because you are sweeping the carpet, not selecting out the dirt. Yes, "just" semantics (Shmiras Shabbos k'Hi...

After I wrote about how Tamar (according to how I understand the events) had to change her plans on the fly ( TftD Lessons from Tamar and Yehuda ), I started noticing how many times the patriarchs and matriarchs were thrust into a situation and needed to improvise a new plan on the spot. These were not small course corrections, but major upheavals -- all the while keeping their sites firmly on their goals.  There are several famous examples: Yitzchak in giving the brachos to his bechor. Yaakov waking up to find he had been given a different wife. Yaakov in getting his wages from Lavan. And others. Aside that I think you'll appreciate. The Alshich was once giving a shiur in T'zfas on the 100 ways that Lavan used in his attempts to trick Yaakov. The Ari z"l was in attendance and was smiling and nodding at each point. Once, though, the Ari z"l burst out laughing. Afterwards, the Ari z"l was asked what was going on. He said that the Alshich was such an important talm...

There is an underlying assumption is that the primary purpose of the Torah is to teach us the mitzvos. The meaning of it's root word is, after all, to document teachings/instructions. Rashi bring from Chazal that R' Yitzchak says the Torah begins with the narrative of Creation is to fulfill: כֹּ֣חַ מַֽ֖עֲשָׂיו הִגִּ֣יד לְעַמּ֑וֹ לָתֵ֥ת לָ֜הֶ֗ם נַֽחֲלַ֥ת גּוֹיִֽם The power of His deeds He tells to His nation, to give to them the inheritance of nations. Rashi goes on to explain the second part of the verse; something the UN ought to heed. R' Bachya, however, takes a different approach. R' Bachya says that our entire system of our belief traces all of its roots to one source of all: the belief in the creation - ex nihilo - of reality. How so? The creation includes: creation of everything ex nihilo/בריאה (but still void and without form), the formation of everything/יצירה (giving form and function; also translated as "creation" by Google), and the running of the s...

We know the basic events. Two of Yehuda's sons sinned gravely (yes, pun intended) in their marriage to Tamar. Tamar is told to wait for the third son, but Yehuda is clearly pushing her off and has no intention of putting his third son at risk. Tamar decided to take matters into her own hands by masquerading as a prostitute so she can have children from Yehuda. Tamar takes Yehuda's ID and goes back home; keeping Yehuda's ID. It is discovered that Tamar is pregnant; she is accused of adultery and sentenced to death. Tamar sends Yehuda his ID, with the message that her fate is in his hands. Yehuda admits publicly that he is the father. Everyone is happy. This year I accidentally actually looked at the events and started wondering what Tamar's plan was from the beginning. It's hard to believe that she intended to put herself and Yehuda into such a dangerous and public gambit. Moreover, what's the point? Clearly Yehuda does not intend to have his youngest s...

I volunteer once a month or so for ChesedChicago , which is the rebranded name for the Chicago Chesed Fund. In a nutshell, what started as a personal chesed fund project launched by R' Shmuel Fuerst some 40 years ago has grown into much, much more than a fund. Baruch HaShem, the Chicago Jewish community supports this kind of growth. This last Sunday I got an unexpected benefit. The volunteers were invited to an appreciation brunch. That was not the benefit. R' Fuerst himself came to thank us and tell us how important volunteers are to the successful operations managed by ChesedChicago. That wasn't the benefit, but it was why I went -- I felt that since R' Fuerst felt this was important enough to take time from his busy schedule, then it should be important enough for me to attend. The benefit was that R' Fuerst stayed to answer any questions we had. No phones, no "just a minute, other line"; just us. Priceless. In a recent TftD about the meaning and purpos...

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...