Correction: Memorial Day

This Monday morning shachris is at 8:00 AM.

HJC Schedule Parshas Naso and the week ahead

Friday evening, May 25       

    Early candle lighting    7:15 PM
    Regular candle lighting    8:30 PM
    Mincha-Kabalas Shabbos    7:05 PM

Saturday, May 26 (Naso)       

    Parsha class    8:30 AM
    Shacharis    9:00 AM
    Latest Shema    9:41 AM
    Navi class    7:50 PM
    Mincha-Shalosh Seudos-Ma'ariv    8:20 PM
    Shabbos ends    9:39 PM

Sunday, May 27       

    Daf Yomi catch-up    7:15 AM
    Shacharis    8:00 AM
    No Daf Yomi Class this Sunday
    Mincha-Ma'ariv    8:35 PM

Monday-Thursday, May 28-31       

    Gemara class    6:15 AM (No Gemara Class this Monday)
    Shacharis    6:55 AM
    Daf Yomi    7:50 PM
    Mincha-Ma'ariv    8:35 PM

Friday, June 1       

    Gemara class    6:15 AM
    Shacharis    6:55 AM

HJC Shavuos Schedule - Important Announcement

According to many poskim, whose names are available upon request, the custom of waiting until dark on the night of Shavuos only applies to making Kiddush, not davening Maariv.  Accordingly, we will be davening Maariv right after sunset (8:45pm) tonight.  People can then head home and choose to make kiddush after dark, beginning their meal then.  Men should remember to repeat Krias Shema after dark.

 

Tuesday, May 22 (Erev Shavuos)       

    Candle lighting                                         8:27 PM
    Mincha-Ma'ariv                                      8:30 PM

    Tzeis Hakochavim (50 minutes)              9:35PM

unintended consequences

http://blogs.forbes.com/digitalrules/2007/05/but_her_heart_w.html

 

Imagine trying to do something nice for some birds and as a result 800,000 people die every year!

The Eruv

The Cleveland Eruv is kosher.  Period.

Yevomos, Parshas Behar, Ruth and Shavuos

random thoughts:

 

Inheritance, Yibum, land and marriage are all intertwined themes.  SeferRus brings them all together. 

 

More about this on Shavuos in Shul.

 

 

Patent Law, or reinventing the wheel

If I was interested in spending tens or thousands of dollars to create a new thing, I would want to make sure that the thing did not already exist.  Why bother spending millions to invent a wheel, or develop a bread-slicing machine when I could purchase one for a couple hundred dollars? 

announcements from HJC and schedule from HJC

Hello everybody,

 

The upcoming week's schedule is below the announcements.

Gut Shabbos,

Rabbi Davidovich

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-Rosh Chodesh Sivan is Friday.

Panim Chadashos - New Facets

'Shavuos is "His wedding day"': medrash rabba

 

The celebration of a wedding requires panim chadashos, a new face at every new gathering.

   

Join us Shavuos Night at midnight as we explore different and new facets of some supposedly well-known parts of the Torah.

 

Midnight:  Krias Shema - Halachic Facets

12:45am:  Krias Shema - Political Facets

1:30am:    Krias Shema - Spiritual Facets

2:15am:    Krias Shema - The War of the Worlds:  Analyzing the war between the first and second paragraphs of the Shema 

 

3am:  Aseres Hadibros - Halachic Facets

3:45am: Aseres Hadibros - Historical Facets

4:30am:  Themes in the Aseres Hadibros

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Friday evening, May 11       

    Early candle lighting    7:04 PM
    Regular candle lighting    8:16 PM
    Mincha-Kabalas Shabbos    6:55 PM

Saturday, May 12 (Behar-Bechukosai)       

    Parsha class    8:30 AM
    Shacharis    9:00 AM
    Latest Shema    9:47 AM
    Navi class    7:40 PM
    Mincha-Shalosh Seudos-Ma'ariv    8:10 PM
    Shabbos ends    9:25 PM

Sunday, May 13        

    Daf Yomi catch-up    7:15 AM
    Shacharis    8:00 AM
    Daf Yomi    7:35 PM
    Mincha-Ma'ariv    8:20 PM
 

Monday-Thursday, May 14-17        

    Gemara class    6:15 AM
    Shacharis    6:55 AM
    Daf Yomi    7:35 PM
    Mincha-Ma'ariv    8:20 PM

Friday, May 18 (Rosh Chodesh)   

    Gemara class    6:00 AM
    Shacharis    6:40 AM
 

Music etc.

We had a family over at our house this past Friday night.  They have a married son who stopped by.  The family is very musically inclined, and those of you who know me know that this means very much to me.  I had my own me'ein olam haba able to sing rare niggunim with them, and hear rare niggunim I hadn't heard of.

 

Anyway, there is a Bobov version of Y-ah Ribon that has mesmerized me for years.  But I was never able to commit it to memory. Not only did the son know it, he told me he has a CD with that very tune, and other Chassidish favorites on it as well.  I just started listening.  I am so happy right now.  Maybe tonight I have a neshama yeseira since it's shtei p'amim chai la'omer!

 

 

Daf Yomi - why Yevamos first?

Why does Seder Nashim begin with Yevamos?  A person needs to get married before his wife becomes a widow in need of Yibum or Chalitzah!

 

Various rishonim, most notably the Rambam in his Peirush on Mishnayos, offer different thematically based reasons for the order of masechtos within a Seder of Mishnayos. 

 

However, Rav Reuven Margolios in his small-in-size but high- in-content sefer Yesod Hamishna Va'arichasa, suggests that Masechtos were arranged in order of size.  Masechtos with more chapters were placed at the beginning of each order while those with the fewest chapters are at the end.  He then deals with all the exceptions that are found throughout Shas.  For example, he deals with the fact that the Three Bavas of ten chapters each precede the eleven-chapter Sanhedrin by pointing out that the three Bavas were previously seen as one large Masechta Mezikin, which was followed by the original Sanhedrin which comprised Makkos as well, totaling fourteen chapters. 

Shavuos is coming up

Shavuos is fast-approaching!

 

I think that the shul should have its own learning taking place on Leil Shavuos.  After all, Rabbi Schur is the one who introduced Shavuos-night learning to this neighborhood.  If anybody has any ideas for shiurim, I would love to hear them.  And please let me know if you would be coming to Heights Shavuos night. 

 

Enjoy the rest of Lag B'Omer

 

Rabbi Davidovich

Chagigah - closing thoughts

I have noticed a tension, some might even say a dialectic tension, in masechta Chagigah.  These last few pages highlight a real division within Klal Yisrael in that last century of Bais Sheini.  Besides the Torah-mandated division between the Priestly caste and the non-Cohanim, there appeared a stark contrast between those who were well-versed in the many complex rules of Tahara and Terumah and those who could not keep it all straight.  People could not touch other people's things, food could not be shared, even by those who were trusted on the sheer kashrus of their food. 

 

People like me who have been involved in Kiruv know how important it is to have an open house to invote people over for Shabbos, Yom-Tov, picnics, luncheons etc.  Can you imagine a Klal Yisrael where Talmidei Chachomim are not allowed to have less learned people into their own homes? 

 

But as the last pages of chagigah point out, during Yom-Tov an exception was made to the rule.  It was only motzoei- Yom Tov that everything in the Beis Hamikdash and elsewhere was toiveled and repurified.  It sounds all very nice and Jewish-unity centered, if you like that cliche. But how could they ignore halacha?

 

I think the response is that they were not ignoring the halachos of tahara.  Remember, when an Am Haaretz is considered tamei, it means that the Halacha gave them a presumption.  If it was more than that, thatis, if I knew for a fact that a Jew was tamei, I would have no right to close my eyes.  The Rabbis created that presumption.  Yom-Tov comes along and the Rabbis say "don't presume".  To use a modern catchphrase, "Don't ask, don't tell".  That is a different attitude than shutting your eyes to halachos.  It is choosing not to notice other people's shortcomings!  What a concept!

 

Holidays are called "Chag".  A chug, Ches-Gimel, is also a circle.  Rav SR Hirsch says that this is the imperative of the Chag, to be joined together in a circle, where all points are equidistant from the center.  So much of halacha creates divisions, hierarchies between people.  Those are important to maintain.  Halacha is not egalitarian.  Life is not egalitarian.  I say "Shelo Asani Goy, Shelo Asani Aved, Shelo asani Isha" every day.  Even among men, halacha and life form many barriers to true unity. 

 

Then Yom Tov comes.  As the first pages of Chagigah say, the Torah says "Kol Zechur'cha", all your males should come see Me, says Hashem.  There should be no tours or times where only certain people go up because of side considerations.  Either all may go, or none need to go.  After Yom-Tov, we will revert to some or most of the old patterns, but for a week here and there, Chag Hamatzos, Chag Hashavuos and Chag Hasuccos, we re-enact K'Ish Echad B'Leiv Echad, not only in a mushy touchy-feely way, but in a concrete halachic sense as well. 

 

Announcements and Schedule

Greetings,

 

The times for this Shabbos and the upcoming week are below the announcements.

 

• Mazel Tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Appel on the Bar Mitzvah of their son Elazar Simcha this Shabbos.  Mazel Tov to the grandparents Harold and Faige Males.

• Mazel Tov to our Yomim Noraim Chazan, Rabbi Simcha Mann and his wife, on the upcoming wedding of their daughter Dassah this Sunday evening. 

• One may get a haircut and shave today l'kovod Shabbos even though Lag B'Omer is not until Sunday.  The other Sefira customs are only lifted on Sunday morning. 

• Mincha this evening is at 6:50 PM.  As this time, there is no later erev Shabbos minyan.

• Note to those who don't show up on Shabbos morning at 9AM sharp: Morning Z'man Krias Shema is at 9:51AM this Shabbos and getting earlier and earlier now.

• The Shul's Lag B'Omer picnic is taking place behind the shul this Sunday May 6, from noon to 3pm.  We would love to see you there.

• Mincha-Maariv during the week is at 8:15PM.  Daf Yomi precedes it at 7:30PM.

• This Shabbos at Shalosh Seudos there will be a siyum on Masechta Chagigah and Seder Moed. 

• The Daf Yomi shiur will be starting Masechta Yevamos (and Seder Nashim) on Sunday morning at 7:15AM. 

• Don't forget to check the website, www.hjcs.org, and the shul's blog http://blog.hjcs.org for updates.

 

Have a wonderful Shabbos and Lag B'Omer.

Rabbi Davidovich

 

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Friday evening, May 4   
 Early candle lighting 6:59 PM 
 Regular candle lighting 8:09 PM 
 Mincha-Kabalas Shabbos 6:50 PM

 
Saturday, May 5 (Emor)   
 Parsha class 8:30 AM 
 Shacharis 9:00 AM 
 Latest Shema 9:51 AM 
 Navi class 7:30 PM 
 Mincha-Shalosh Seudos-Ma'ariv 8:00 PM  
 Shabbos ends 9:18 PM 

Sunday, May 6 (Lag B'Omer)   
 Daf Yomi catch-up 7:15 AM 
 Shacharis 8:00 AM 
 Daf Yomi 7:30 PM 
 Mincha-Ma'ariv 8:15 PM 

 

Monday-Thursday, May 7-10   
 Gemara class 6:15 AM 
 Shacharis 6:55 AM 
 Daf Yomi 7:30 PM 
 Mincha-Ma'ariv 8:15 PM 
 

Friday, May 11   
 Gemara class 6:15 AM 
 Shacharis 6:55 AM 
   
 

Daf Yomi - Chagigah 24 - Tumah-Chometz comparisons

Learning these gemaras about one hand being tamei while the other hand is tahor, u'kidomeh, I cannot help but remember the tension of the two weeks before erev Pesach, when parts of the house were Kosher L'Pesach, while other areas were full of chometz. The tension involved in getting the children to understand those boundaries, not to mention their father, is by far my least favorite part of the entire Passover experience. In fact, Pesach becomes easy and enjoyable once everything is Pesachdik. Imagine going through all of YomTov with this half-and-half existence! I simply cannot imagine how much more tense this Tahara experience described in Chagigah must have been.

I can truly believe that the people who lived in that era were of a higher spiritual stature, if they could go through a Yom-Tov in Yerushalayim, follow these rules, and still experience Simchas Yom-Tov and come away uplifted and in one piece.

(I realize that this insight says more about me than it does about the Gemara in Chagigah.)

Daf Yomi - Chagigah 23

The Daf discussed Chazal's occasional tendency to enact a decree in reaction to specific mess-ups. 

 

What is the purpose of enacting such rules?  Let's take the Parah Adumah incident.  There was once a man who took a vial of Parah Juice on a boat across the Jordan river.  A human bone was found on the boat, and the vial was rendered Tamei.  The Rabbis reacted by either decreeing that Parah Adumah ashes or water may not be transported over a body of water unless it's on a bridge, with feet firmly planted on the ground.  According to R. Chananyah ben Akavya, the decree only forbade transporting the ashes on a boat, on the Jordan river, exactly like the incident that motivated the decree.

 

How does such a decree prevent future occurrences?  How would R. Chananyah see any deterrent power in his version of the decree ?  

 

It seems that the "why" is overlooked.  I know it is not common to ask those kinds of questions when analyzing a sugya.  And when we were learning the daf, I did not really pause to look into it.  But as I mentioned with regard to the Chaver vs. Am Haaretz sugya, it's something that merits further study, even if not in the conventional Yeshivish style.  Perhaps it's a question for academic Talmud scholars to delve into.  But it does fascinate me, and I shall chalk it up as another perplexing gemara.