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Dear
Naaleh Friend,
This week we feature a new Naaleh Torah class on this week's Parsha. The class is by Mrs. Shira Smiles and is called Society Significance
and is from the Naaleh series Living the Parsha 5778
. In this class (shiur) Mrs. Shira Smiles discusses Parshat Kedoshim.
This week's edition of Torah Imecha on Parshat Acharei Mot- Kedoshim
is available on our
Newsletter page.
Click here
for the printer friendly version, to share at your Shabbat table! Be sure to visit the homepage as well, for many more inspiring Torah classes!
Shabbat Shalom!
-Ashley Klapper and the Naaleh Crew
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For Tehillim list please click here to view our Refuah Shleima page
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Parshat Acharei Mot & Kedoshim: Respecting the Respected
Based on a Naaleh.com shiur by Mrs. Shira Smiles
In Parshat Acharei Mot, the Torah tells us, "Rise in the presence of an older person, honor the presence of a sage, and revere Hashem." There's a disagreement between the commentators whether the two parts of the verse are connected or if they are two distinct mitzvot.
According to Rashi following one view in the Gemara, the two sections of the verse explain one another. The commandment tells us to rise and honor a sage who is both elderly and righteous. Other opinions maintain that these are two separate mitzvot. One should rise and honor anyone over the age of seventy even if he is not learned, and the other is to show respect to a sage even if he is young. Jewish law follows the latter view.
The commentators ask, what is the Torah adding with the concluding statement "[You shall] revere Hashem?" Rashi explains that the commandments mentioned can be easily violated. One can easily pretend not to notice an old man entering the room. Therefore, the Torah cautions us to fear Hashem because He surely knows our true intentions.
What is yirat Hashem (fear of Hashem)? Fear of Hashem is found in our innermost being where no one can see. It is that secret part of the self where we uphold our relationship with the One Above. Fear of Hashem means maintaining our standards as if we were being watched by others.
The Gemara says, "Greater is the one who is commanded to do than the one who is not." Every mitzvah affects us. Each time we do a good deed it brings us to a greater level of yirat shamayim and it deepens our relationship with Hashem. The Chassidic sefarim explain the last verse in the prayers of Malchiyot on Rosh Hashana. "Ub'etoratcha katuv lemor shema yisrael." The Torah can be distilled into one verse, "Shema Yisrael." It is kabalat ol, acceptance of the yoke of Hashem's kingship. The mitzvot should breed within us a level of closeness, of feeling Hashem's presence at all times. If mitzvot were voluntary we would miss that feeling of obligation, of being forced, which is meant to lead us to the awareness of Hashem's presence in our life at all times.
If this world was a world where man was the center of reality, then it would be better if man took the initiative and did the will of Hashem. However, Hashem is the focus of the world and we are meant to subordinate ourselves to Him. One who is commanded expresses a different level of commitment. Having yirat Hashem means recognizing that Hashem sets the standards of one's life
The Lev Eliyahu notes this clearly. Sometimes people try to find kulot, the easy way out in keeping Torah. This reflects insensitivity to the yoke of heaven. Embracing the mitzvot even when it's not easy is an expression of yirat Hashem.
We are enjoined to respect elderly people because they have life wisdom. A person with life experience and the wisdom it brings has seen the hand of Hashem. Encountering an elderly person reorients one's life. You realize that it's not about the outer trappings, it's about the soul. This creates a deepening relationship with the One Above.
The Bnei Yissachar writes that the reward for standing up and showing honor to sages and the elderly is fear of heaven. The Yalkut Shimoni explains that this was the merit of the sons of Korach. When Moshe came to speak to Korach they stood in Moshe's honor. When they rose they were infused with yirat Hashem, which motivated them to repent. When a person shows honor to a scholar he shows respect to those who revere Hashem and, by extension, he is honoring Hashem.
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Honorable Mention II
Being a Good Guest and Visiting The Sick
The Torah does not explicitly command us to be hospitable, to visit the sick, or to bury the dead, although there are incidents in the Torah that mention these acts. We can learn these good middot from the commandments "V'ahavta l'reiacha komocha" and "V'halachta b'drachav," to walk in the ways of Hashem. Just as He is compassionate so we should be.
Being a good guest means being helpful and showing gratitude.You can show gratitude, and with a hand-written thank you note. Expressing thanks shows that you are not oblivious to the efforts expended by your host. Not only will it make your host happy, but it will also bring you joy, as gratitude is one of the most important components of happiness.
Make an effort to be sociable and cordial to your host, who is troubling himself for you. The Alter of Kelm once stayed at the home of a very talkative woman. While his companion looked into a sefer, the Alter of Kelm sat and spoke with the woman. Later, the Alter told his friend that he was afraid that the latter had committed thievery by keeping quiet. This is because a host expects his guests to talk with him. The Pele Yoetz writes that a guest should attempt to find something good to say about his host's children. This is a way of giving the host pleasure.
The Gemara in Bava Metzia teaches that a person should refrain from telling other people about a host's outstanding hospitality so uninvited guests will not take advantage of him. Additionally, the Gemara instructs us not to exploit our host's generosity by bringing along other uninvited guests.
There are three segments to visiting the sick, enumerated by the Rambam: Providing practical assistance, praying on the ill person's behalf, and giving cheer and comfort. Modern medicine and technology has succeeded in lengthening man's life span. There are many lonely shut-ins and elderly people stuck at home desperately wishing for social interaction. Visiting such people, who may still be in relatively good health, is also a part of bikur cholim.
Unless you are an expert and must point out a serious flaw, resist the temptation of finding fault in the patient's doctor or caretaker. Doing this can cause the patient's spirits to plummet and make him lose faith in those who are trying to help him. If you see an obvious problem, try to find a solution, but do it in a way that will not cause the patient concern.
Be there for your ill friend, offer any practical assistance you can provide, and above all pray that Hashem send him a speedy recovery.
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Reheating Food on Shabbat
Chazal forbade putting fully cooked food on the fire on Shabbat because one could come to stoke the coals. Additionally it is mechzi k'mevashel, it appears as if one is cooking. However, if one satisfies five requirements, then bishul becomes chazara and is permitted l'chatchila.
The five conditions are,
1. the flame must be covered,
2. the food must be fully cooked,
3. it must still be warm,
4. one may not release one's hold on the pot, and
5. one must have intention to return the pot to the fire.
Two issues arise with reheating food on Shabbat. The food is no longer warm and it is no longer in hand. The Magen Avraham explains that chazara is permitted because it is a continuation of the original act of putting the food on the fire, rather than an initial placement on the flame. The first three conditions create this distinction. Therefore, the Mishna Berura rules that bdi'eved if one does not have one of the last two conditions one may still do chazara.
The Biur Hagra notes a disagreement between Rashi and the Rosh whether the rule of ein bishul achar bishul (cooked foods cannot be recooked) applies only to solid foods or also to liquids. The Rambam holds that it applies equally to both. The Rama takes a middle position and rules that a dry food with liquid gravy may be placed near the fire, but a liquid is prohibited. The Shulchan Aruch rules like Rashi who holds that yesh bishul achar bishul b'davar lach (cooked liquids can be recooked - and therefore, it is asur to do so on Shabat). The Rama notes that the custom is to be lenient and one may return liquid to the fire as long it did not cool down completely. It seems like the requirement of it not cooling down does not belong to the trilogy distinction between chazara and mechzi k'mevashel. The Gra and the Rama maintain that putting cold cooked liquid back on the fire may be a prohibition of bishul d'oraita. Rashi and the Shulchan Aruch hold that this requirement pertains to chazara. According to the Magen Avraham, the condition of lo nitzanzen (not having cooled down) applies equally to liquids and dry foods. The Gra maintains that it only pertains to liquids.
According to the Ran as quoted by the Rama, all five requirements of chazara only apply if one took the food off the fire before Shabbat. Therefore, if the pot was on the flame when Shabbat began and you served from it on Friday night and then put it down, you could still return it to the stove if it did not fully cool down.
The Mishna Berura says there is a basis for this leniency but it is better to be stringent as many poskim disagree. The Shulchan Aruch writes that it is permitted to rewarm dry food on top of a pot filled with food, since it is not a normal way of cooking.
A "kediera" blech is a wide pot filled with water. Some maintain that you can put food on top of this and some say since it does not contain food, it is has the din of a regular blech and has not solved the problem.
The Shulchan Aruch notes that warming food near a fire is permissible because it is not actually putting the pot on the flame. If the food will not reach yad soledet (boiling point) it is permitted.
Can one do chazara by putting food back in an oven on Shabbat? Rav Moshe Feinstein held that to satisfy all five requirements of chazara one would need to use an oven insert to conceal the heating source. Rav Aharon Kotler ruled leniently as long as the knobs are covered.
Does a hotplate have the same din as a stove? Rav Moshe maintained that if one cannot cook on it and it only has one setting one may do chazara. Rav Elyashiv rules stringently against this. One can place an oven rack to make a hefsek kedeirah on a hotplate and then put food on it to rewarm. Differing circumstances and situations may vary. Therefore, all questions should be addressed to a competent Rav for a final decision.
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Reliable Emissaries
Rabbi Hanoch Teller |
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Parshat Acharei Mot
Fear before Love
Rabbi Hershel Reichman |
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Sefirat HaOmer- Liberation of the Mind
Rabbi Hanoch Teller
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