Today in Jewish History:
Nachmanides' Disputation (1263)
By order of King James I of Aragon (Spain), Nachmanides (Rabbi Moses ben Nachman, 1194-1270) was compelled to participate in a public debate, held in the king's presence, against the Jewish convert to Christianity, Pablo Christiani. His brilliant defense of Judaism and refutations of Christianity's claims served as the basis of many such future disputations through the generations.
Because his victory was an insult to the king's religion, Nachmanides was forced to flee Spain. He came to Jerusalem, where he found just a handful of Jewish families living in abject poverty, and revived the Jewish community there. The synagogue he built in the Old City is in use today, and is perhaps the oldest standing synagogue in the world.
770 Acquired (1940)
On this date in 1940, the building at 770 Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York was purchased by Agudas Chassidei Chabad (the Chabad-Lubavitch community) to house the living quarters, study and office, Yeshivah, and synagogue of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (1880-1950), who had arrived in New York (following his rescue from Nazi-occupied Warsaw) five months earlier. It also served as the headquarters of his son-in-law and successor, the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, and continues to be the center of Chabad-Lubavitch's global network of institutions of Jewish education and outreach.
Daily Quote:
There are opportunities and potentials so lofty that they cannot be accessed by the conscious self - they can only come about "by mistake"[The Chassidic Masters]
Daily Study:
Chumash with Rashi
Parshat Va'etchanan, 3rd Portion (Deuteronomy 4:41-4:49)
- Chapter 4
Then [Moses] decided to separate: Heb. אָז יַבְדִּיל [The future form יַבְדִּיל instead of the past form הִבְדִּיל is to be explained]: Moses set his heart to hasten to [implement] the matter to separate them. And even though they were not to serve as cities of refuge until those of the land of Canaan would be separated, Moses said,“Any commandment that is possible to fulfill, I will fulfill” (Makkoth 10a). אז יבדיל: נתן לב להיות חרד לדבר שיבדילם. ואף על פי שאינן קולטות עד שיבדלו אותן שבארץ כנען, אמר משה מצוה שאפשר לקיימה אקיימנה:
on the side of the Jordan towards the sunrise: On that side which is on the east of the Jordan. בעבר הירדן מזרחה שמש: באותו עבר שבמזרחו של ירדן:
towards the sunrise: Heb. מִזְרְחָה שָׁמֶשׁ Because the word מִזְרְחָה is in the construct state, the “reish” is punctuated with a “chataf” (vocal “sh’va”), the meaning being,“the rising of the sun,” i.e., the place of the sunrise. מזרחה שמש: לפי שהוא דבוק נקודה רי"ש בחטף, מזרח של שמש, מקום זריחת השמש:
42so that a murderer might flee there, he who murders his fellow man unintentionally, but did not hate him in time past, that he may flee to one of these cities, so that he might live: מבלָנֻס שָׁמָּה רוֹצֵחַ אֲשֶׁר יִרְצַח אֶת רֵעֵהוּ בִּבְלִי דַעַת וְהוּא לֹא שׂנֵא לוֹ מִתְּמֹל שִׁלְשֹׁם וְנָס אֶל אַחַת מִן הֶעָרִים הָאֵל וָחָי:
43Bezer in the desert, in the plain country of the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead of the Gadites, and Golan in the Bashan of the Menassites. מגאֶת בֶּצֶר בַּמִּדְבָּר בְּאֶרֶץ הַמִּישֹׁר לָראוּבֵנִי וְאֶת רָאמֹת בַּגִּלְעָד לַגָּדִי וְאֶת גּוֹלָן בַּבָּשָׁן לַמְנַשִּׁי:
44And this is the teaching which Moses set before the children of Israel: מדוְזֹאת הַתּוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר שָׂם משֶׁה לִפְנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:
And this is the teaching: This one which he is about to set down after this chapter. וזאת התורה: זו שהוא עתיד לסדר אחר פרשה זו:
45These are the testimonies, statutes and ordinances, which Moses spoke to the children of Israel when they went out of Egypt, מהאֵלֶּה הָעֵדֹת וְהַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר משֶׁה אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּצֵאתָם מִמִּצְרָיִם:
These are the testimonies… which [Moses] spoke: They are the very same ones that he spoke when they went out of Egypt, and he taught it to them again in the plains of Moab. אלה העדות וגו' אשר דבר: הם הם אשר דבר בצאתם ממצרים חזר ושנאה להם בערבות מואב:
46on the side of the Jordan in the valley, opposite Beth Peor, in the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, after they went out of Egypt. מובְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן בַּגַּיְא מוּל בֵּית פְּעוֹר בְּאֶרֶץ סִיחֹן מֶלֶךְ הָאֱמֹרִי אֲשֶׁר יוֹשֵׁב בְּחֶשְׁבּוֹן אֲשֶׁר הִכָּה משֶׁה וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּצֵאתָם מִמִּצְרָיִם:
47And they possessed his land and the land of Og, king of the Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who were on the side of the Jordan, towards the sunrise, מזוַיִּירְשׁוּ אֶת אַרְצוֹ וְאֶת אֶרֶץ | עוֹג מֶלֶךְ הַבָּשָׁן שְׁנֵי מַלְכֵי הָאֱמֹרִי אֲשֶׁר בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן מִזְרַח שָׁמֶשׁ:
who were on the side of the Jordan: which is in the east, because the other side was in the west. [That means on the side opposite the western side.] אשר בעבר הירדן: שהוא במזרח שהעבר השני היה במערב:
48from Aroer, which is by the bank of the river Arnon, to Mount Sion, which is Hermon, מחמֵעֲרֹעֵר אֲשֶׁר עַל שְׂפַת נַחַל אַרְנֹן וְעַד הַר שִׂיאֹן הוּא חֶרְמוֹן:
49and all the plain across the Jordan eastward as far as the sea of the plain, under the waterfalls of the hill. מטוְכָל הָעֲרָבָה עֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן מִזְרָחָה וְעַד יָם הָעֲרָבָה תַּחַת אַשְׁדֹּת הַפִּסְגָּה:Daily Tehillim Psalms Chapters 66-68
Chapter 66
This psalm describes the praises and awe-inspiring prayers that we will offer God upon the ingathering of the exiles.
1. For the Conductor, a song, a psalm. Raise your voices in jubilation to God, all the earth!
2. Sing the glory of His Name; make glorious His praise.
3. Say to God, "How awesome are Your deeds!" Because of Your great strength, Your enemies will [admit] their treachery to You.
4. All the earth will bow to You, and sing to You; they will sing praise to Your Name forever!
5. Go and see the works of God, awesome in His deeds toward mankind.
6. He turned the sea into dry land, and they passed through the river on foot; we rejoiced in Him there.
7. He rules the world with His might, and His eyes watch the nations; let the rebellious not exalt themselves, Selah.
8. Bless our God, O nations, and let the voice of His praise be heard.
9. He has kept us alive, and did not allow our feet to falter.
10. For You tested us, O God; You refined us as one refining silver.
11. You brought us into prison; You placed a chain upon our loins.
12. You mounted men over our head; we went through fire and water, and You brought us out to abundance.
13. I will enter Your House with burnt-offerings, I will pay to You my vows,
14. which my lips uttered and my mouth spoke in my distress.
15. I will offer up to You burnt-offerings of fat animals, with the smoke of rams; I will prepare cattle with he-goats, Selah.
16. Come listen, all you who fear God, and I will relate what He has done for my soul.
17. I called to Him with my mouth, with exaltation beneath my tongue.
18. Had I seen iniquity in my heart, my Lord would not have listened.
19. But in truth, God heard; He gave ear to the voice of my prayer.
20. Blessed is God Who has not turned away my prayer or His kindness from me.
Chapter 67
This psalm is known as an especially revered prayer. It, too, speaks of the era of the ingathering of the exiles, and the wars of Gog and Magog, a time when "the Lord will be One."
1. For the Conductor, a song with instrumental music, a psalm.
2. May God be gracious to us and bless us; may He make His countenance shine upon us forever,
3. that Your way be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.
4. The nations will extol You, O God; all the nations will extol You.
5. The nations will rejoice and sing for joy, for You will judge the peoples justly and guide the nations on earth forever.
6. The peoples will extol You, O God; all the peoples will extol You,
7. for the earth will have yielded its produce, and God, our God, will bless us.
8. God will bless us; and all, from the farthest corners of the earth, shall fear Him.
Chapter 68
An awe-inspiring and wondrous prayer, David composed this psalm referring to a future event, when Sennacherib would surround Jerusalem on Passover, during the reign of Hezekiah. He also prophesies about the good we will enjoy during the Messianic era.
1. For the Conductor; by David, a psalm, a song.
2. Let God rise, let His enemies be scattered, and let His enemies flee before Him.
3. As smoke is driven away, drive them away; as wax melts before fire, let the wicked perish before God.
4. And the righteous will rejoice, they will exult before God and delight with joy.
5. Sing to God, chant praises to His Name; extol Him Who rides upon the heavens with His Name, Yah, and exult before Him.
6. A father of orphans and judge of widows is God, in the abode of His holiness.
7. God settles the solitary into a home, and frees those bound in shackles; but the rebellious [are left to] dwell in an arid land.
8. O God, when You went out before Your nation, when You marched through the wilderness, Selah,
9. the earth trembled, even the heavens dripped before the presence of God; this mountain of Sinai [trembled] before the presence of God, the God of Israel.
10. You poured generous rain, O God; when Your heritage was weary, You secured it.
11. Your flock settled there; in Your goodness, O God, You prepare for the poor.
12. My Lord will fulfill the word of the heralds to a great legion:
13. Kings of armies will flee, they will flee; and she who inhabits the home will divide the loot.
14. Even if you lie upon the hearth,1 [you will be like] wings of a dove covered with silver, her pinions with brilliant gold.
15. When the Almighty scatters kings in her midst, those in the shadow of darkness will be made snow-white.
16. The mountain of God is a fertile mountain, the mountain of majestic peaks is a fertile mountain.
17. Why do you prance, O mountains of peaks? This is the mountain God has desired as His dwelling; the Lord will even dwell there forever.
18. The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, [with] thousands of angels; my Lord is in their midst, at Sinai, in holiness.
19. You ascended on high and took a captive,2 you seized gifts for man; and [now] even rebels dwell with Yah, God.
20. Blessed is my Lord, Who each day loads us [with beneficence], the God Who is our deliverance forever.
21. The Lord is a God of deliverances for us; and to God, my Lord, are the many avenues of death.
22. God alone crushes the heads of His enemies, the hairy skull of him who goes about in his guilt.
23. My Lord said, "I will bring back from Bashan,3 I will bring back from the depths of the sea,
24. that your foot may wade through [the enemy's] blood; that the tongue of your dogs may have its portion from your enemies.”
25. They saw Your ways, O God, the ways of my God, my King, in holiness.
26. The singers began, then the musicians, in the midst of the maidens playing timbrels.
27. In assemblies bless God; [bless] my Lord, O you who stem from Israel.
28. There Benjamin, the youngest, rules them; the princes of Judah stone them, [as do] the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.
29. Your God has decreed your strength. Show Your strength, O God, Who has wrought this for our sake.
30. Because of [the glory of] Your Sanctuary upon Jerusalem, kings will bring You tribute.
31. Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds, the assembly of mighty bulls among the calves of nations, [until] each submits himself with pieces of silver. Scatter the nations that desire wars.
32. Nobles will come from Egypt; Kush will hasten [to raise] its hands to God.
33. Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praise to my Lord forever!
34. To the One Who rides upon the loftiest of ancient heavens-behold He gives forth His voice, a voice of might.
35. Ascribe power to God; His majesty is over Israel, and His might is in the skies.
36. God, You are feared from Your Sanctuary; it is the God of Israel Who grants strength and power to His people; blessed is God.
Tanya - Iggeret HaKodesh, end of Epistle 4Lessons In Tanya
Today's Tanya Lesson
Tuesday, Menachem Av 12, 5775 · July 28, 2015
Rambam
Hayom Yom
Today's Hayom Yom
Iggeret HaKodesh, end of Epistle 4
וזהו: צדק לפניו יהלך
In these terms, too, we can understand the meaning of [the above-quoted phrase], “Righteousness (or charity) shall go (yehaleich) before Him (lefanav).”
לפניו הוא מלשון פנימיות
The word lefanav shares a root with pnimiyut (“inwardness”),
ויהלך הוא מלשון הולכה
and yehaleich — the causative form of the verb, which appears in this verse in place of the expected form, yeilech (“shall go”) — shares a root with holachah (“leading”). It thus implies that charity does not itself “go before Him”: rather, it causes some other entity to “go before Him.”
שמוליך את פנימיות הלב לה׳
For [tzedakah] leads the innermost point of [a man’s] heart towards G‑d,
ואחר כך ישים לדרך ה׳ פעמיו
כמו שכתוב: והלכת בדרכיו
as it is written,3 “And you shall walk in His ways,”
אחרי ה׳ אלקיכם תלכו
[and likewise,]4 “You shall go after the L‑rd your G‑d”׳—
בכל מעשה המצות, ותלמוד תורה כנגד כולן
with [his] entire performance of the commandments, and with [his]5 “study of Torah, which is equivalent to them all.”
שכולן עולין לה׳ על ידי פנימית הלב
For they all ascend to G‑d through the inwardness of the heart, which is revealed through the service of tzedakah,
ביתר שאת ומעלה מעלה מעלייתן לה׳ על ידי חיצוניות הלב
[and this ascent is] more intense and reaches far higher than their ascent to G‑d through the externality of the heart,
הנולד מהתבונה והדעת לבדן, בלי הארת פנים מלמעלה, אלא בבחינת הסתר פנים
[for this ascent] is born only of man’s contemplation and knowledge [of G‑dliness], without an illumination of the [Divine] “countenance” (i.e.,inwardness) from above, but in a state in which “the countenance is hidden.”
כי אין הפנים העליונים מאירים למטה אלא באתערותא דלתתא, במעשה הצדקה הנקרא שלום
For the Supernal “countenance” does not radiate downwards except through an arousal initiated from below, through an act of charity, charity being called “peace”.
וזה שכתוב: פדה בשלום נפשי
And this is the meaning of the verse that says,6 “He has redeemed my soul in peace”— or, “through peace.” This, as explained by our Sages,7 refers to tzedakah and acts of loving-kindness that are known as “peace”.
נפשי דייקא
[The verse speaks] expressly of “my soul,”8 inasmuch as it refers to the Shechinah found in the soul of each and every Jew, for the Divine spark that vitalizes the soul of every Jew is redeemed through “peace” — through tzedakah.
וזהו גם כן הטעם שנקרא הצדקה: שלום
This is also the reason for which charity is called “peace”,
לפי שנעשה שלום בין ישראל לאביהם שבשמים, כמאמר רז״ל
because according to the teaching of our Sages,9 of blessed memory, by virtue of charity “peace is made between Israel and their Father in heaven,”
דהיינו על ידי פדיון נפשותיהן, הם חלק ה׳ ממש, מידי החיצונים
through the redemption of their souls, which are truly a part of G‑d, from the grip of the forces of evil.
The Alter Rebbe wrote this letter, like most of the letters that comprise Iggeret HaKodesh, in connection with the charitable fund of Kollel Chabad in the Land of Israel. This fund supported R. Mendele Horodoker and his colleagues, together with their disciples, who had settled there. Hence the Alter Rebbe concludes:
ובפרט צדקת ארץ ישראל
This is especially the case with charity for the Land of Israel,
שהיא צדקת ה׳ ממש
for it is truly the charity of G‑d, since it is directed to a place where the Divine Name is revealed,
כמו שכתוב: תמיד עיני ה׳ אלקיך בה
[to a Land of which] it is written,10 “The eyes — i.e., the most quintessential efflux and attention — of the L‑rd your G‑d are constantly upon it.”
והיו עיני ולבי שם כל הימים
[In this vein it is also written,]11 “And My eyes and My heart will be there at all times.”
והיא שעמדה לנו לפדות חיי נפשנו מעצת החושבים לדחות פעמינו
It is this [charity for the Holy Land] that has stood by us to redeem the life of our souls from the counsel of those who seek to repel our steps, i.e., those who desire to harm us.
ותעמוד לנו לעד, לשום נפשנו בחיים אמיתים מחיי החיים
And this [charity] will stand by us forever — to set our souls in the true life of the Fountainhead of Life,
לאור באור חיים, אשר יאר ה׳ פניו אתנו סלה
so that we will be12 “enlightened with the light of life” which G‑d13 “will make His Face radiate with us,Selah.”
אמן, כן יהי רצון
Amen, may this be His will.
——— ● ———
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. | Tehillim 85:14, continuing the verse which began, “Tzedek shall go before Him,.” |
| 2. | “Regarding the term פעמיו (‘his steps’) — and so too פעמינו (‘our steps’) later on — the Tzemach Tzedek (in his comment on this verse in Tehillim) refers the reader to the maamar entitled Paamon VeRimon (which appears in Or HaTorah, Parshat Tetzaveh).” ( — Note of the Rebbe.) |
| 3. | Devarim 28:9. |
| 4. | Ibid. 13:5. |
| 5. | Mishnah, beginning of Peah. |
| 6. | Tehillim 55:19. |
| 7. | Berachot 8a, and Rashi ad loc. |
| 8. | “One would have expected the verse to say, ‘[He has redeemed] me’ [rather than ‘my soul’], as in the verse, ‘You have redeemed me’ (Tehillim 31:6).” ( — Note of the Rebbe.) |
| 9. | Tosefta, Peah, ch. 1. |
| 10. | Devarim 11:12. |
| 11. | I Melachim 9:3. |
| 12. | Iyov 33:30. |
| 13. | Tehillim 67:2. |
Tuesday, Menachem Av 12, 5775 · July 28, 2015
Today's Mitzvah
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
Important Message Regarding This Lesson
The Daily Mitzvah schedule runs parallel to the daily study of 3 chapters of Maimonides' 14-volume code. There are instances when the Mitzvah is repeated a few days consecutively while the exploration of the same Mitzvah continues in the in-depth track.
Positive Commandment 98
Ritual Impurity of Food and Drink
We are commanded regarding food and drink that have contracted ritual impurity. [I.e., one must follow all the laws associated with this impurity.]
1 Chapter - Ishut - Chapter Twenty
Today's Mitzvah
A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work "Sefer Hamitzvot"
Important Message Regarding This Lesson
The Daily Mitzvah schedule runs parallel to the daily study of 3 chapters of Maimonides' 14-volume code. There are instances when the Mitzvah is repeated a few days consecutively while the exploration of the same Mitzvah continues in the in-depth track.
Positive Commandment 98
Ritual Impurity of Food and Drink
We are commanded regarding food and drink that have contracted ritual impurity. [I.e., one must follow all the laws associated with this impurity.]
Ritual Impurity of Food and Drink
Positive Commandment 98
Translated by Berel Bell
The 98th mitzvah is that we are commanded to rule according to the appropriate laws regarding the tumah of food and drink.1 This mitzvah includes all the laws of tumas ochlin u'mashkin.2
FOOTNOTES
1.Lev. 11:34.
2.See Hilchos Ochlin 1:1-4.
Ishut - Chapter Twenty
Halacha 1
Our Sages decreed that a man give a certain portion of his holdings to his daughter as a dowry.1 This is referred to as parnasah. When [a man] marries off his daughter, he should provide her with at least the wardrobe that is given to the wife of a poor Jewish man, as we have explained.2
When does the above apply? When [the bride's] father is poor. If he is wealthy, he should provide for his daughter according to his standards.
Halacha 2
If a father explicitly tells the prospective husband that his daughter does not possess anything, and that [his intent is that] he marry her although she does not possess a wardrobe, [the bride] is not entitled to anything of her father's.
[In such a situation, the prospective] husband should not say: "When she comes to my home, I will provide her with a wardrobe." Instead, he should provide her with a wardrobe while she is living in her father's home.
Halacha 3
When a father dies and leaves [at least one son and] a daughter [she is provided with a dowry from his estate]. We estimate what the father would have desired to give the daughter as a dowry, and she is given [that sum].
How is it possible to arrive at such an estimate? [We survey the habits of] his friends and acquaintances, his business affairs and his standard of living. If he married off a daughter during his lifetime, we base our estimate [on what she was given]. If the court is unable to determine what he would have desired [to give his daughter], she is given a tenth of his estate as a dowry.3
Halacha 4
When a man leaves [a son and] many daughters, the first [daughter] who desires to marry4 is given a tenth of the estate. The second [daughter to marry] receives a tenth of what was left after providing the first [daughter with her dowry]. And the third daughter receives a tenth of what was left after providing the second [daughter].
If all [a man's] daughters come to marry at the same time, [money is set aside for them according to the above pattern,] even if there are ten daughters [or more]. Afterwards, [all the allotments are pooled], and then divided equally among the daughters. The remainder of the estate is given to the sons.
Halacha 5
The allotment of a tenth [of the estate] as a dowry is not one of the provisions of the ketubah. Therefore, even according to the enactment of the later Sages,5 it is only to be collected from landed property.6 It may, however, be collected from rent due for landed property.7 If, however, [a girl's] brothers desire to give her money in lieu of a tenth of the landed property, they have that right.
Halacha 6
With regard to this allotment of a tenth [of the estate], the daughter is considered to be a creditor of her brothers. Therefore, she is entitled to collect it from property of intermediate quality. An oath is not required of her.
If her brothers die, she is entitled to collect it from their sons, [expropriating] property of inferior quality, and an oath8 is required of her. For she is collecting property from heirs, and [it is an accepted principle that] a person who comes to collect property from heirs may collect only from that of inferior quality and is required to take an oath [before doing so], as will be explained in the laws of loans.9
Halacha 7
Halacha 8
When a man has [several daughters, but] no sons, [his estate] is divided equally [among his daughters at the time of his death]. Although he married off the older daughters during his lifetime [and provided them with dowries], we do not grant dowries to the younger daughters and then divide the estate.
Halacha 9
[The following rules apply when a man] has died, leaving two daughters and a son. The older daughter received a tenth of the estate as a dowry, but before the younger daughter had collected her dowry, the son died [without leaving any heirs], and [the two sisters] inherited the entire estate. [In this situation,] the younger sister is not entitled to her tenth of the estate.12 Instead, the entire estate is divided equally, but the older sister is granted the tenth [she had received previously].13
Halacha 10
When a man gives an order at the time of his death: "Do not give my daughters a dowry from my estate," his words are heeded. [The rationale is that a dowry] is not one of the provisions of a ketubah.14
Halacha 11
[The following rules apply when] a man dies, leaving a widow and a daughter. It has already been explained15 that the support of a man's widow16 takes precedence over the support of his daughter. Similarly, if the daughter marries, she is not entitled to collect her tenth [of the estate], because of [the obligation to] support the widow.17
Even if the daughter dies after she marries, her husband is not entitled to inherit the dowry that should have been given her.18 For the entire estate is considered to be in the possession of the widow so that she can derive her sustenance.
Halacha 12
When an orphan girl is married off by her brothers or her mother as a child with her consent, and she is given 50 or 100 zuz as a dowry, she is entitled to collect the dowry that is due her - according to the estimation of her father's desires or one tenth of the landed property19 [of his estate] - from them after she attains the age of majority.
Halacha 13
When a daughter marries after she reaches majority - whether as a na'arah or as a bogeret - and does not demand her dowry, she forfeits her dowry. If, however, she protested at the time of her marriage, she may collect her due whenever she desires.
[A further point must be considered when] she reaches the age of bagrut and remains in her father's house - regardless of whether she reaches bagrut after his death, or [he died] when she had already reached the age of bagrut.22 If her brothers have already ceased providing her with her sustenance, which is their prerogative, as we have explained,23 and [the girl] remained silent and did not demand her dowry, she forfeits her dowry. If she protests, she does not forfeit her dowry.
If, however, her brothers had not ceased providing her with her sustenance [although] she reached bagrut, she is not considered to have forfeited her dowry as long as they continue to provide her with her sustenance, even though she did not protest. For she can claim that she did not demand her dowry because [her brothers] are supporting her although they are not obligated to do so,24 and she has not yet married.25
Halacha 14
[The following rules apply when a man] stated - whether while making an oral will before death or while healthy - that his daughter should be given a specific sum of money as a dowry, and that this sum should be used to purchase landed property, and [then] died [afterwards].
When the money is in the possession of a third party and the daughter states: "Give the money to my husband and let him do with it as he desires," [the third party should do as follows]. If [the daughter] has reached the age of majority and has married, she is granted this prerogative.26If she is [past majority, but merely] consecrated, the third party should follow the instructions he was given.27 And if she is a minor, even if she is already married, her request is not heeded.28Instead, the third party should carry out her father's instructions.29
| FOOTNOTES | |
| 1. |
Ketubot 52b states that an allusion to this concept can be found in Jeremiah 29:6: "Give your daughters to men." "Is it possible for a father to initiate marriage proceedings?" our Sages ask. And they explain that the intent of the verse is that a man should provide his daughter with a dowry attractive enough for a man to desire her.
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| 2. |
I.e., 50 zuz, as stated in Chapter 13, Halachah 1.
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| 3. |
From the Rambam's wording, it appears that one tenth is the average, but that if a man is known to be generous, his daughter may be given more than a tenth. The Ramah (Even HaEzer 113:1) mentions the opinion of certain authorities who maintain that a girl should never be given more than a tenth of the estate, but states that the common practice is not to follow this view.
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| 4. |
The dowry is given to the daughter only when she prepares to marry, not beforehand. Nevertheless, she is given a tenth of the value of the estate at the time of her father's death, regardless of its present value (Maggid Mishneh; Ramah, Even HaEzer 113:4).
|
| 5. |
I.e., even according to the Sages who ordained that the payment of the money due a woman by virtue of her ketubah may come from movable property (Chapter 16, Halachah 8), the payment of the dowry is from landed property alone. Note, however, the opinion of Tosafot (Ketubot 51a), who differ and maintain that this allotment may also be collected from movable property.
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| 6. |
Based on the wording of Halachah 12, the Maggid Mishneh states that the Rambam's opinion is that the movable property in the estate is not included in the calculation of the size of the estate on which the amount of the dowry is based. Rav Moshe HaCohen and Rabbenu Asher differ, emphasizing that although the dowry allotment is not collected from movable property, the movable property is included in this appraisal. Both authorities agree, however, that if an assessment is made of the amount that the father would have given his daughter, that assessment includes the movable property in the estate.
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| 7. |
This refers to rent due the father for landed property that was uncollected at the time of his death. The Ramah (loc. cit.) states that if the heirs have already collected the rental fee, they are not obligated to give it to their sister.
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| 8. |
That she has not received any of the estate.
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| 9. |
Hilchot Malveh V'Loveh 14:1, 19:1.
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| 10. |
The rationale is that it is known that a girl is entitled to receive a dowry, and the purchasers of the property of the estate should have taken precautions before buying the property.
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| 11. |
Hilchot Malveh V'Loveh 18:1.
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| 12. |
Ketubot 69a explains that the rationale for this ruling is that the daughter has received a far larger portion of the estate than she could have hoped for.
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| 13. |
The Rambam's opinion is quoted by the Shulchan Aruch (Even HaEzer 113:8). The Ramah quotes the opinion of Rabbenu Asher, who maintains that the second daughter is given her dowry and then the estate is divided.
|
| 14. |
The provisions of the ketubah - e.g., the support of the daughters - become binding at the time of the marriage, and the man's statements have no effect regarding them (Chapter 19, Halachah 13). The dowry, by contrast, is a gift that we assume a man would make. Therefore if he explicitly states that he does not desire that it be made, his wishes are heeded.
|
| 15. |
Chapter 19, Halachah 21.
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| 16. |
The Chelkat Mechokek 113:17 and the Beit Shmuel 113:16 state that the same ruling applies with regard to the daughters. I.e., if there are older daughters who wish to collect their dowry and marry, and younger daughters who still have to receive support from the estate, the younger daughters are entitled to object to the property's being given to their sisters. The rationale is that the support for the widow and for the daughters is considered to be a debt owed by the estate, while their dowry is considered to be a debt owed by the heirs.
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| 17. |
Once the widow has remarried or received payment for her ketubah, the daughter is entitled to inherit the tenth of the estate that should have been given to her. Even when she has already married, her brothers are required to give her these funds from the remainder of the estate.
|
| 18. |
At times a woman's husband is considered to be a purchaser of the property he inherits from his wife, and at times an heir. If he were considered to be a purchaser, he would be entitled to take possession of the dowry due his wife, for a widow is not entitled to collect her support from property that has been sold. Nevertheless, in this instance, out of consideration for the widow, our Sages considered him like an heir, and thus enabled the widow to continue receiving her sustenance (Bava Batra 139b).
|
| 19. |
The Maggid Mishneh cites this phrase as proof that the tenth of the estate set aside as a dowry is expropriated from landed property alone.
|
| 20. |
See the following halachah.
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| 21. |
And thus the fact that she did not object at the time of the marriage is not significant. The Maggid Mishneh adds that even if the girl did not object immediately at the time she reached majority, she is entitled to object afterwards. This decision is quoted by the Ramah (Even HaEzer 113:7).
|
| 22. |
Rabbenu Asher writes that a girl who reached the age of bagrut in her father's lifetime is not entitled to a dowry from her brothers. The later Ashkenazic authorities (see Beit Shmuel 113:19) state, however, that this ruling is not applied.
|
| 23. |
Chapter 19, Halachah 10.
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| 24. |
Hence, she is ashamed to come to them with this request (Ketubot 68b).
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| 25. |
Implied is that once a bogeret marries without demanding her dowry, she has forfeited it even though her brothers continue to provide her with her sustenance (Maggid Mishneh). In his Kessef Mishneh, Rav Yosef Karo writes that if the brothers of a na'arah continue to provide her with her sustenance after marriage, she does not forfeit her dowry, even if she does not protest. Although his wording in the Shulchan Aruch (Even HaEzer 113:7) is slightly problematic, the later authorities explain that this is his intent. A source for both the statements of the Maggid Mishneh and theKessef Mishneh can be seen in the Rambam's Commentary on the Mishnah (Ketubot 6:6).
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| 26. |
We assume that the father's intent was that the money should be entrusted to a third party only until after her marriage (Rashi, Ketubot 69b).
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| 27. |
For it is a mitzvah to carry out the directives of a person who dies, even if he was healthy at the time he gave these directives (Hilchot Zechiyah UMatanah 4:5).
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| 28. |
We assume that the father's intent was to safeguard his daughter and her husband against wasting the funds intended for them.
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| 29. |
The Shulchan Aruch (Even HaEzer 54:1) quotes the Rambam's ruling. The Ramah refers to this ruling in Choshen HaMishpat 252:2, which states that this applies only if the funds were specifically entrusted to the third party for this purpose by the deceased at the time he made this statement. If they came into his possession afterwards, the concept that it is a mitzvah to carry out the directives of a person who dies does not apply.
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Tum'at Okhalin - Chapter 7
Halacha 1
A column of liquid being poured is not considered as joined, neither to an impure entity nor to one that is pure.
What is implied? If one was pouring pure liquids into an impure container or even on the carcass of a crawling animal itself, the column of liquid being poured is pure. If one would collect some of the liquids that are being poured while they are in the air, what he collects is pure. Needless to say, that the liquids in the container from which one is pouring are pure.
Halacha 2
When does the above apply? When one is pouring cold liquids to cold liquids, hot liquids to hot liquids, or hot liquids to cold ones. If, however, one pours pure cold liquids into impure hot liquids, the column of liquids being poured is considered as joined. The liquids are considered as a primary derivative of impurity. They impart impurity to the container in which they are held.
Why did the Sages say that when one who pours cold liquids into hot liquids, the liquids are considered as joined? Because the vapors of the hot liquids ascend like a pillar of smoke. It becomes intermingled with the column of liquid being poured and the liquid in the upper container, causing it to become impure. For the vapor ascending from the hot liquid is also considered as liquid.
Halacha 3
For this reason, when a woman whose hands were pure was stirring a hot pot that was impure and liquid collected on her hand because of the vapor of the pot, her hands contract impurity. It is as if they touched the liquids in the pot. Similarly, if her hands were impure, she stirred a hot pot, and liquid collected on her hand because of the vapor of the pot, all of the contents of the pot contract impurity, as if she touched the liquids in the pot.
Halacha 4
When honey from Zif and Tzapachat is poured, the column of honey is considered as joined even if one is pouring from a cold container to a cold container. The rationale is that the honey remains attached to them and they are extended like glue. Therefore the column of all other foods which are poured are not considered as joined even if they are very thick, e.g., cooked groats, melted fat, or the like, because they do not remain attached. Similarly, with regard to other liquids, a column of poured liquid is not considered as joined unless one is pouring from cold to hot, as we explained.
Halacha 5
Similarly, a column of liquid is not considered as joined to a pure entity.
What is implied? If one poured impure water from a stone container or the like into a mikveh, we do not say that when the edge of the column being poured reaches the water, it is purified. Instead, it is considered as impure until it is all connected to the mikveh from one side, as we explained.
Similarly, when there is an incline that has tangible moisture upon it, the moisture is not considered as joined to other liquids on that incline, neither to render them impure or pure. Liquids that are collected on the ground, by contrast, are all considered as joined, whether this renders them impure or pure.
Halacha 6
When a kneading trough is on an incline, there is tangible moisture on it, and there are three impure pieces of food, together an egg-sized portion in size, positioned on it, one below the other, they are not combined. If there are two, they are combined. If there was standing liquid beneath the food, even if the pieces are all the size of mustard seeds, the liquid combines them all.
Halacha 7
We have already explained that a person who immersed to purify himself on the same day does not impart impurity to ordinary foods at all. Instead, he disqualifies foods that are terumah and liquids that are terumah, making them all tertiary derivatives. Similarly, if he touches sacrificial foods or sacrificial liquids, he disqualifies them and causes them to be considered as fourth degree derivatives.
Halacha 8
There are certain situations where articles are not considered as joined when one of them is touched by a person who immersed that day even though they are considered as joined with regard to all forms of impurity. Instead, if a person who immersed that day touched them, he disqualifies only the article he touched. If, instead of such a person, those articles had been touched by another impure person, he would have disqualified all of them. Even if the person who touched them merely partook of impure foods or drank impure liquids and thus his impurity is light, he disqualifies everything. In contrast, a person who immersed that day does not disqualify it. Needless, to say, if a person is a primary source of impurity or a primary derivative of impurity, he imparts impurity to everything.
Why was leniency granted to a person who immersed that day? Because he already purified himself and he is lacking only nightfall to attain purity.
A further leniency was granted with regard to a person who immersed that day. There are foods that are designated for human consumption and hence susceptible to all types of impurity, but they are pure if touched by a person who immersed that day. They are barley and spelt when they are not shelled. If, however, they are shelled, and, similarly, wheat, even if it is not shelled, black cumin, and sesame seeds are disqualified when touched by a person who immersed that day. Needless to say, they contract all forms of impurity.
Halacha 9
All of the "handles" of food that are considered as joined to the food with regard to a primary source of impurity are also considered as joined with regard to a person who immersed that day. Similarly, whenever food has been sliced, but is still somewhat connected and thus is considered joined with regard to a primary source of impurity, it is also considered as joined with regard to a person who immersed that day. Whenever leniency is granted and objects are not considered as joined with regard to a person who immersed that day, they are considered as joined with regard to the impurity of hands. This is also a stringency that applies with regard to the impurity of hands that does not apply with regard to a person who immersed that day.
Tum'at Okhalin - Chapter 8
Halacha 1
The following rule applies when loaves or breads were inserted into an oven and were attached to each other - although one had the intent to separate them - or one baked one loaf over another in an oven and its surface did not yet harden. If a person who immersed that day touched one of them, he only disqualifies the loaf that he touched.
Similarly, in the following instances, water was boiled and made large bubbles, groats were boiled for the first time, fresh wine began to ferment, or rice was boiled, if a person who immersed that day touched the bubbles, he disqualifies only the bubbles. With regard to other impurity, by contrast, whether lenient or stringent, everything is considered as joined.
If, however, loaves were attached to each other and the person did not intend to separate them; he baked one loaf over another and they became attached after the surfaces hardened in the oven; water bubbled and the bubbles were not empty as large bubbles are; groats boiled for a second time; aged wine fermented and produced bubbles; oil - whether fresh or aged - bubbled; lentils bubbled - all these situations are considered as joined even when touched by a person who immersed that day. Needless to say, this applies with regard to other impurities.
Halacha 2
The following rules apply if dough is taken out at the time of baking and left to harden, so there is a projection like a nail in the midst of a loaf or the end of the dough is extended and becomes burnt while the loaf is baking; it is called achirchor. If they were smaller than a fingerbreadth in size and a person who immersed that day touched them, he disqualified the entire loaf. Similarly, if such a person touched a small granule of salt in the loaf, he disqualified the entire loaf. Needless to say, these laws apply with regard to other impurities.
If, however, there is a pebble in a loaf, a vetch bean, a large granule of salt, achichor that is larger than a fingerbreadth, even if a primary source of impurity touches them, the loaf is pure. Needless to say, this applies with regard to a person who immersed that day.
Halacha 3
When half of a roll is burnt and half remains edible, the two are not considered as joined. If the center of a roll became burnt, but the sides remain edible, they are not considered as joined to each other. This applies even with regard to a primary source of impurity. Needless to say, this applies with regard to a person who immersed that day.
If the sauce in which sacrificial meat was being cooked congealed around it and a person who immersed that day touched this gel, the meat is permitted. If he touched a piece of the meat, that piece and anything that ascends with it are considered joined. Similar laws apply if cooked legumes congeal on pieces of bread.
When oil is floating on wine and a person who immersed that day touches the oil, he disqualifies only the oil.
Halacha 4
When there is an egg that is stirred placed on a vegetable that is terumah and a person who immersed that day touches the egg, he disqualifies only the stalk of the vegetable below the place he touched. If the egg bubbled like a helmet, it is not considered as joined to the vegetable.
Halacha 5
The following laws apply when a strand from an egg congealed on the wall of a frying pan and a person who immersed that day touched it. If he touched a portion of the egg that was on the rim or further inward, it is considered as joined to the food. If the portion he touched was beyond the rim and to the outside, the egg is not considered as joined. The same laws apply with regard to cooked legumes whose broth congeals on the rim of a pot.
Halacha 6
If there was a barrel that was perforated, whether from its base or from its side, and a person who immersed that day closed the hole with his hand, the contents of the entire barrel are disqualified.
Halacha 7
When a person was pouring liquids from one container to another and a person who immersed that day touched the column of liquids, we estimate whether the liquids that he touched were less than a 101th portion of the entire amount. The rationale is that impure terumah that is mixed with 101 times its volume is considered insignificant because of its minimal size, as we explained in Hilchot Terumot.
Halacha 8
The following laws apply when a person who had immersed that day was separating terumah from a cistern of wine. An open jug of wine that wasterumah fell from his hand and became submerged in the cistern of wine. He sought to retrieve the jug and touched the jug of wine in the cistern. If his hand touched only from the rim of the jug and outward, the wine he touched is not considered as joined to the wine in the jug. If his hand extended beyond the rim of the jug inward, it is considered as joined.
If the cistern was a giant container, even an immense tank that holds 100 kor, all of the wine is considered as joined. If a person who immersed that day touched some of the wine, he disqualifies even the terumah in a jug in the bottom of the large container.
Halacha 9
When a person who immersed that day touches some of the flour for the meal offerings, frankincense, the incense offering, or coals, he disqualifies the entire amount that are held together in a container.
To what does the above apply? To the coals that one collects in the firepan used on Yom Kippur, for the coals in that firepan are taken into the Sanctuary. It does not apply to the coals that are taken every day, for they do not posses holiness. This is evidenced by the fact that if some of the coals are scattered when he pours from the silver firepan to the golden firepan, they do not possess holiness and are swept into the drainage canal.
Halacha 10
When oil that is terumah resting upon a thick stew or an unbaked cake of ordinary food and a person who immersed that day touched the oil, he disqualifies only the oil. If he mixed the oil with the stew or the dough, any place the oil reached is disqualified.
Halacha 11
If one cooked a vegetable that was ordinary food with terumah oil and a person who immersed that day touched it, he disqualifies only the place he touches.
Halacha 12
When there is a thick stew that is terumah and garlic and oil that are ordinary food and a person who immersed that day touched part of the stew, the oil, or the garlic, he disqualifies everything.
Halacha 13
If the stew was ordinary food and the garlic and oil were terumah and a person who immersed that day touched a portion, he disqualifies only the place he touched. If there was a majority of garlic, the ruling depends on the majority.
When does the above apply? When the garlic is a mass in a bowl. If, however, it was spread out in a pestle and one touched a portion of it, he disqualifies only the portion that he touched. It is not considered as joined, because he desires that it be dispersed.
With regard to other condiments that are crushed into liquids like garlic is crushed into oil, if they were crushed without liquids and collected, even though they are like a single entity in a bowl, he disqualifies only the place where he touches. For the condiments are considered like a roll of dried figs, in which instance, the ruling is that if a portion of it contracted impurity, the entire roll does not contract impurity.
Halacha 14
When a portion in the northern or southern part of a dough is designated aschallah and similarly, when a portion in the northern or southern part of a zucchini was designated as terumah, the terumah or the challah are considered as joined to the entire dough or zucchini. Thus if a person who immersed that day touched part of the dough, the challah is disqualified. If the challah was removed from the remainder of the dough and then returned to it, it is not considered as joined.
Halacha 15
When a dough that was ordinary food became mixed with terumah or became leavened with yeast that is terumah, it is not disqualified when touched by a person who immersed that day.
Halacha 16
If the grains from which the flour used to make a dough had been exposed to liquids and thus made susceptible to ritual impurity and then the flour was kneaded with fruit juice, should a person who immersed that day touch the dough, he disqualifies only the place he touches.
Halacha 17
When food that is the first tithe was exposed to liquids and thus made susceptible to ritual impurity and a person who immersed that day or one with impure hands touched that food, terumat ma'aser should be separated from it in a state of purity. The rationale is that the first tithe is considered as ordinary food and neither a person who immersed that day nor one whose hands are impure disqualifies ordinary food, for ordinary food that is a tertiary derivative of impurity is pure, as we explained.
Similarly, a woman who immersed that day may knead dough, cut off a portion as challah, set it aside, place it in a container, put it together with the other dough in one container so that they are considered as one entity, so that it can be separated while the two are one entity. Afterwards, she designates it aschallah, saying "This is challah." Once she designates it, she should not touch it, lest she disqualify it. She should follow a similar pattern if she was kneading in a kneading trough that had been immersed that day.
Halacha 18
When a person fills bottles that were immersed that day from a jug of wine that is from the tithes from which terumat ma'aser had not been separated and says: "May this be terumat ma'aser for the wine in the jug at nightfall," it is pureterumah. The rationale is that the separated wine does not become terumat ma'aser until nightfall, as he stipulated. And at night, the day in which they were in an intermediate state will have ended for the bottles and they will become pure.
If the jug from which the wine was taken breaks before nightfall, the wine in the bottles is considered as tevel. If the bottles break, the wine in the jug is considered as tevel.
Halacha 19
A person who immersed after purifying himself from the impurity associated with a human corpse or the impurity that results from relations with a nidah may work in an olive press.
Similarly, other impure people who immersed themselves to regain purity may work with ordinary food that is pure with the exception of a zav and a zavah on their seventh day. Even though these individuals immersed themselves, they should not work in an olive press or become involved with pure foods lest they experience a discharge. In such an instance, they are considered impure retroactively, for the discharge disqualifies all the seven pure days, as we explained.
Tum'at Okhalin - Chapter 9
Halacha 1
When oil or honey contract impurity, coagulate and become solid, and then return to a liquid state, they are considered as first degree derivatives of impurity forever, because they are liquids. This applies even if they solidify after contracting impurity.
Halacha 2
When sauce, groats, or milk solidify, they are considered as foods and intent is required for them to become susceptible to ritual impurity. If food that was a primary derivative of impurity or an impure liquid touches them, they are considered as secondary derivatives. If there was moist liquid on them, they are considered as liquids and they are deemed primary derivatives.
If they contracted impurity while they were liquids and then froze and solidified, they are considered as secondary derivatives, like food that contracted impurity from impure liquids. Different laws apply if they contracted impurity when they were solid and then melted and became liquid. If they were exactly the size of an egg or less, the liquids are pure. If they are larger than an egg, the liquids are impure. The rationale is that when the first drop melted, it contracted impurity from the egg-sized portion of frozen liquid from which it melted. That drop will then impart impurity to all of the liquids that will melt afterwards.
Similar laws apply if a person who was impure due to contact with a human corpse squeezed a mass of olives or grapes that were made susceptible to ritual impurity. If the fruits were only the size of an egg, the liquids produced are pure, provided the person does not touch that place from which the liquids are dripping. The rationale for the leniency is that the liquids are set aside in the food; it is as if the food was a separate entity.
If the grapes or olives were larger than the size of an egg, the liquids that emerge from them are impure. For once the first drop emerged from them, it became impure due to contact with an egg-sized portion of impure food and it imparts impurity to all the liquids.
If the person squeezing the grapes was a zav, a zav, or the like even if they squeezed only one grape which had not been made susceptible to ritual impurity, and they did not touch the liquid, the liquid is impure. The rationale is that when the first drop emerged, it became impure because it was carried by azav. For a zav who carries food or liquids imparts impurity to them, as we explained. Similarly, when a zav milks a goat, the milk is impure. For when the first drop emerged, it became impure because it was carried by a zav.
Halacha 3
The following laws apply when there was a pot filled with vegetables left to pickle, their leaves extended outside the pot, and a primary source or a primary derivative of impurity touched the leaf that was outside the pot in a dry place. Even though the leaf was the size of an egg, it is impure, but everything else is pure. If it is returned to the pot, it imparts impurity to all the liquids in it. As a result, the pot and all the vegetables contract impurity. More stringent rules apply if the impure person touched a leaf that was outside the pot that had liquid on it. If the leaf is the size of an egg, everything is impure. The rationale is that the leaf imparts impurity to the liquid on it. That liquid imparts impurity to all the liquids in the pot and they impart impurity to the pot.
A pot that was filled with pickled vegetables that were terumah was shaken by a person who immersed that day. He discovered liquids on his hand and was in doubt whether they were sprayed from the pot or whether a stalk from a moist vegetable in the pot touched his hand. The ruling is that the vegetables are disqualified, but the pot is pure.
Halacha 4
The following laws apply when an impure person was partaking of grapes that had been made susceptible to ritual impurity and one grape fell into a wine press. If the grape was complete and its stem had not been removed from it, the grapes in the wine press are pure. If its stem was removed and the grapes from which he took the grape that fell were stored in a storage pit and prepared to be crushed - indicating that he desires the liquid that emerges from them - the grapes in the wine press contract impurity from the drop of liquid that emerges from the place of the stem.
Should grapes fall from the hands of the impure person and he crushed them in an open place, the liquids that emerge from them are pure if the grapes were exactly the size of an egg or less, as we explained. If there is more than an egg-sized portion, the liquid that emerges is impure. Once one drop emerges, it contracts impurity from an egg-sized portion of impure foods and then it imparts impurity to all the liquids that emerge afterwards.
Halacha 5
The following laws apply when there was a mound of impure olives that were collected and pressed together until they were considered as joined which was thrown into an oven that was then kindled. If the olives were exactly the size of an egg or less, the oven is pure. The rationale is that impure food does not impart impurity to keilim and the oil that emerges from them is pure, as we explained. If the mound was larger than an egg, the oven contracts impurity. For when one drop emerges, it contracts impurity from an egg-sized portion of impure foods and then it imparts impurity to the oven. Therefore if the impure olives are separate and not in a mound, even if there are 100 of them, the oven is pure.
Halacha 6
When wood that absorbed impure liquids was kindled as fuel for an oven, the oven is pure, because the liquids are considered insignificant while absorbed in the wood. Even if the person took the wood out so that rain would fall on it and thus it is considered as desirable for him that the rain fell on it, the oven is pure. The rain- water that is on the wood does not contract impurity from the liquids that are absorbed in it.
One should not kindle the oven with this wood unless one's hands are pure. This is a decree lest an impure person kindle the oven with such wood and thus the liquids on it would make the oven impure.
Halacha 7
When the carcass of a creeping animal is found in an olive mill, only the portion which it touches contracts impurity. If there is liquid flowing, everything is impure, for once a little of the liquid becomes impure, the entire amount becomes impure and then, the oil will impart impurity to the olives.
If the carcass is found on the leaves above the olives, the workers should be questioned. If they say that they did not touch the carcass, their word is accepted. If the carcass was found on a compressed mass of olives, the entire mass becomes impure, as we explained.
If the carcass is found on separate olives, but it is touching a compressed mass the size of an egg, everything is impure. For food the size of an olive will impart impurity to liquid mixed with it. The liquid will then impart impurity to the other olives. If there were separate olives piled on other separate olives and the oil was below them, even if the carcass was touching a mass the size of an egg, only the place it touches contracts impurity.
Halacha 8
When an unlearned person extended his hand to a winepress and touched the clusters of grapes, the clusters he touched and those around them are impure, but the clusters in the winepress as a whole are pure. For the clusters that are around the clusters that he touched separate it and the remainder of those in the winepress.
Halacha 9
When impure people tread over the waste products of olives or grapes from which oil or wine was produced in a state of purity and afterwards, liquid emerged from them, this liquid is pure. The rationale is that originally, the oil or the wine was produced in a state of purity. If originally, the oil or the wine was produced in a state of impurity and afterwards, through the actions of these people, liquid emerged, it is impure.
Halacha 10
The following laws apply when workers at an olive press would enter and depart and there was impure liquid on the floor of the olive press. If there is sufficient space between the liquids and the olives so that they could dry their feet on the ground, the olives are pure, because a person who touches impure liquids with limbs other than his hands is pure, even with regard to consecrated foods.
Stringency is required in the following instance. There were loaves that were consecrated. They had hollows and there were consecrated liquids in the hollows. The carcass of a creeping animal touched one of them and then the first loaf touched a second, the second, a third - even if this continues to 100, the loaves are considered as primary derivatives of impurity, because of the liquid in the hollows. Due to the cherished nature of consecrated food, they are all considered as liquids from which secondary and tertiary derivatives are not counted.
If, however, the loaves were terumah, only the third loaf is disqualified. From the third onward, the loaves are pure. If there was liquid that could be felt on all the loaves, even were the loaves terumah, they would all be impure. They are all secondary derivatives except for the first that was touched by the carcass of the creeping animal. It is a primary derivative.
Halacha 11
The following laws apply when there is a bubble in the side of a jug and it is like another container at its side. When the bubble was perforated to the inner space of the jug and perforated on the other side outward with the two holes on the same level or the inner hole was lower than the outer hole, if both the bubble and the jug contained liquids and a primary source of impurity touched the liquids in the bubble, all of the liquids in the jug contract impurity. Also, when the jug has a sealed covering and it is located in a building where a corpse is located, it contracts impurity because of the hole in the bubble, since it reaches into its inner space.
Similarly, if the inner hole was higher than the outer hole, the jug is not protected from impurity by its sealed covering. If, however, a primary source of impurity touched the bubble, the liquids in the jug do not contract impurity and they are considered as separate from the liquids in the bubble.
Today's Hayom Yom
Tuesday, Menachem Av 12, 5775 · July 28, 2015
Friday Menachem Av 12 5703
Torah lessons: Chumash: Va'etchanan, Shishi with Rashi.
Tehillim: 66-68.
Tanya: But what causes (p. 399) ...who seeks it. (p. 401).
The Alter Rebbe repeated what the Mezritcher Maggid said quoting the Baal Shem Tov: "Love your fellow like yourself" is an interpretation of and commentary on "Love Hashem your G-d." He who loves his fellow-Jew loves G-d, because the Jew has with in himself a "part of G-d Above." Therefore, when one loves the Jew - i.e. his inner essence - one loves G-d.
Compiled and arranged by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, in 5703 (1943) from the talks and letters of the sixth Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of righteous memory.
Daily Thought:Nothing Else
Deep in meditation, the mind’s eye catches a glimmer of light.
The light is not G‑d.
Secluded from the business of humankind and earthly pleasures, immersed in knowledge of the higher realms, there comes a day the prophet hears with his ears the voice that brings all into being, sees with his eyes the splendor of that light.
That light is not G‑d.
In a time to come, every small child will see more than the greatest prophet has ever seen; the physical eye will perceive more than any soul has every known; there will be a world, and its entire being will be a means to know its Creator—so much so that the very stones of the earth will scream out, “There is nothing else but He!”
That is G‑d.[Maamar V’nachah Alav 5725.]
____________________________
Friday Menachem Av 12 5703
Torah lessons: Chumash: Va'etchanan, Shishi with Rashi.
Tehillim: 66-68.
Tanya: But what causes (p. 399) ...who seeks it. (p. 401).
The Alter Rebbe repeated what the Mezritcher Maggid said quoting the Baal Shem Tov: "Love your fellow like yourself" is an interpretation of and commentary on "Love Hashem your G-d." He who loves his fellow-Jew loves G-d, because the Jew has with in himself a "part of G-d Above." Therefore, when one loves the Jew - i.e. his inner essence - one loves G-d.
Compiled and arranged by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, in 5703 (1943) from the talks and letters of the sixth Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of righteous memory.
Daily Thought:Nothing Else
Deep in meditation, the mind’s eye catches a glimmer of light.
The light is not G‑d.
Secluded from the business of humankind and earthly pleasures, immersed in knowledge of the higher realms, there comes a day the prophet hears with his ears the voice that brings all into being, sees with his eyes the splendor of that light.
That light is not G‑d.
In a time to come, every small child will see more than the greatest prophet has ever seen; the physical eye will perceive more than any soul has every known; there will be a world, and its entire being will be a means to know its Creator—so much so that the very stones of the earth will scream out, “There is nothing else but He!”
That is G‑d.[Maamar V’nachah Alav 5725.]
____________________________
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