In
Megilas Esther
it is written, “
Vimay Hapurim haeleh lo yaavru mitoch haYehudim
etc.”- “And these days of
Purim
will remain by the Jews forever”. The Chasam Sofer points out that the word,
‘
vimay
’
, is found one more time in
Tanach,
in the
parsha
of
krias shema-
“
Limaan yirbu yimeichem ‘
vimay’
vineichem al
haadama
etc.’. What is the association between these two
pesukim
that share this common word?
The
Gemorah
in
Mesechta Shabbos
tells us that the
Yidden
stood at the foot of
Har Sinai
and
Hashem
held the mountain over their heads threateningly, forcing them to accept the
Torah
and its tenets
. Tosfos
asks that this seems to be a contradiction to that which
Klal Yisroel
were greatly rewarded for proclaiming, “
naaseh vinishma
”- they stated emphatically that they would undertake to fulfill everything, wholeheartedly. This seems to be a far cry from being forced by a menacing mountain being dropped on their heads!
The author of the
sefer
, Lev Aryeh, explains that their offer to willingly accept the
Torah
when they declared their famous mantra,”
naaseh vinishma
”, was specifically in
Eretz Yisroel
, while living in the Holy Land amongst their brethren. They did not agree to accept and observe the
Torah
in
chutz laaretz
, living amongst the nations of the world. They were not willing to accept the challenge of conforming to all the requirements of the
Torah
while residing amongst the
goyim.
However,
Hashem
willed it otherwise. He required that the
Torah
should direct the lives of
Yidden
wherever they may exist, even while living in midst of their enemies. The threat of death was necessary, to force the
Yidden
to accept the yoke of
Torah
wherever they may be located. This state of force existed until the story of
Purim
took place.
Upon witnessing miracles, even in foreign lands amongst foreign nations, they arrived at the realization that
Hashem’s hashgacha
and protection exists even while spread out amongst the nations of the world; even amongst those who seek our destruction. This is the meaning of the statement in
Megilas Esther
,
“kiymu
vikiblu
”- they accepted to fulfill the Torah
willingly
. Until this point in time, outside of
Eretz Yisroel
, they were compelled to fulfill the
Torah
due to the original fear of imminent death by crushing. The main function of the
nes
of
Purim
was the open demonstration of
Hashem’s hashgacha
even in
chutz laaretz
. Even in the throes of
galus, Hashem’s
hands are ready and waiting to spare us from our oppressors.
Perhaps this may shed light on the words of
Chazal
that state that the days of
Purim
will remain with us forever, whereas, other
Yomim Tovim
will cease to exist. The Yom Tov of
Purim
reflects
Hashem
’s dominion, reigning supreme throughout the entire world. This will never cease, rather, the entire world will come to recognize
Hashem
’s majesty and all of the nations of the world will subjugate themselves under His yoke, as we say three times daily in the
tefilah
of ‘
Aleinu’- “visaken olam bimalchus shakai etc. vilicvod shimcha yikar yiteinu vikablu chulam es ol malchuscha aleihem etc,”- “
The entire world will pay homage to
Hashem
and they will accept the yoke of Your kingship and You will reign over them etc.”. Of course, the
Yom Tov
of
Purim
will endure until the end of time because
Purim
represents the end of time when
Hashem
’s presence will be felt everywhere and by everyone.
The Chasam Sofer concludes; this is the parallelism of the word
“vimay’
. In
krias
shema,
the word ‘
vimay’
is included in a sentence that indicates that the prime place for
Torah
observance is
Eretz Yisroel,
as is written, “
Limaan yirbu yimeichem
vimay
etc. al haadam asher Hashem elokiechem nosain lachem
etc. On the other hand, the
possuk
in
Megilas Esther
that includes the word ‘
vimay
’, is a reference to that the days of
Purim
will remain with us forever and everywhere since they then came to the realization that
Hashem
and his
Torah
is not limited to
Eretz Yisroel.
Purim
is the manifestation of
Hashem’s hashgacha
over us throughout the duration of our
galus
and it is a declaration that we are bound to
Hashem
and his
Torah
even through exile and hardship.
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An alleyway built like a courtyard
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As we have learned, one may only carry in an alleyway, that is open on one side, if a
lechi or a
korah is built by the opening. In order to be able to carry in an open courtyard, a person must build either a
pas daled or a
lechi on both sides of the opening. A typical alleyway is constructed in a rectangular shape with the opening running along the side of its width. An atypical alley, in which the width is the same size as the length, has the
halachic status of a courtyard. A courtyard which is built according to the specifications of an alleyway (rectangular), has the status of an alleyway provided that the courtyard opens into the alleyway.
שו"ע שסג, כו-כז, משנ"ב קה, קו ו־קטז, ושעה"צ עח
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A courtyard built like an alleyway
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As mentioned, it is permissible to carry in a courtyard that is built according to the specifications of an alleyway which has only a
korah or a
lechi built at its opening. The
halacha is more lenient with this type of alleyway than with an actual alleyway in that it does not have to open to other courtyards (see yesterday’s overview). If, however, this courtyard is open to a
reshus harabim or a
karmelis, a
pas daled or two
lechis must be built at its opening. According to some opinions, nowadays, the concept of an alleyway is no longer applicable. They explain that the essence of an alleyway is to open into a courtyard that people use for their daily needs; today, people no longer use courtyards for their needs. Therefore, the concept of alleyways open into courtyards, and the concept of courtyards, are obsolete.
[
שו"ע שסג, כו, משנ"ב קז; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 90]
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The accepted custom to only rely on a
tzuras hapesach
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It has become the accepted custom, for many generations, to rely only on a
tzuras hapesach to close the opening of all our alleyways and streets, and not to rely on a
korah, a
lechi or a
pas daled. The
poskim explain that nowadays all of our alleyways have the status of a courtyard (see above). Although a courtyard suffices with two
lechis or a
pas daled, a courtyard that opens on one side into a
karmelis or
reshus harabim does not. In addition, many openings are wider than ten
amos which according to the basic
halacha have to be closed off by a
tzuras hapesach. If an alleyway is open on both sides, they should both be closed off with a
tzuras hapesach. If the crossbeam of one of the
tzuros hapesach falls down on
Shabbos, b’dieved one may rely on the side posts to act as a
lechi, provided that the opening is less than ten
amos.
[
שו"ע שסג, כו, משנ"ב קי-קיא; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 91]
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- An open alleyway (which only needs a lechi or a korah) must have at least two courtyards attached to it. Each of these courtyards must have two houses open to them and each one of these houses must have an area of at least four by four amos.
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- An alleyway with a narrow opening
- Relying on a seashore as a partition
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PLEASE NOTE: The information in this email is for learning purposes only. Please review the Mishna Berura and Biurim U'Musafim before making a halachic decision. Hebrew words are occasionally transliterated to enable a smoother reading of the text. Common Ashkenazi pronunciation is generally used in these cases.
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Daf Hayomi B'Halacha Shiur
Rav Asher Eisenberger, Shlita
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Daf Hayomi B'Halacha Shiur
Rav Daniel Glatstein, Shlita
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Synopsis of
Today's Halachos
Rabbi Yerachmiel Garfield
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English Shiur
Rav Zev Smith, Shlita
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