Month: November 2016 – ח׳ במרחשוון תשע״ז

הרמב”ן על כיבוד עשירים ועוד

וכל אדם יהיה גדול ממך בעיניך, אם חכם או עשיר הוא, עליך לכבדו. ואם רש הוא ואתה עשיר או חכם ממנו, חשוב בלבבך כי אתה חיב ממנו והוא זכאי ממך, שאם הוא חוטא הוא שוגג ואתה מזיד.

The Only Actual ‘Chadash’ Prohibition

The Prohibition of Hadash – A Meqori Perspective

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[Note: The below is for information purposes only, as is everything on this site. The decision to act upon any of it or not is the personal decision of the reader and any details regarding the observance of any halakhah – especially those laws which are intricate, complicated, and/or severe – should be discussed with a competent rav.] [Further Note: The position expressed below does not necessitate a functional change in the kashruth of hadash as commonly practiced today. However, it does place an almost identical practical outcome on a newer, and squarely meqori, line of reasoning. This is the intended purpose of what follows.]

What is the world is “hadash”?

The word hadash means “new” and is a reference to “new grain” – in other words, grain that has taken root after the sixteenth day of the Hebrew month of Nisan of one year until after the sixteenth of Nisan of the following year. During that time, the grain which took root is referred to as hadash or “new” and it is forbidden to eat it until after the sixteenth of Nisan.

So, what happens on the sixteenth of Nisan? This is the second day of the week of Pesahwhen the first of the grain offerings for the year – called the Omer – is offered in the Beyth HaMiqdash, or the Temple. In a time like today when there is no Temple, new grain is forbidden for the entire day of the sixteenth, but when the offering is brought in the time of a Miqdash, new grain becomes permitted directly after the Omer is offered during the day of the sixteenth within Jerusalem and surrounding areas, and after halakhic midday (hassoth) in the outlying areas. After either the Omer is offered or midday or the end of the sixteenth of Nisan, the grain is no longer referred to as hadash (“new”), but yashan (“old”), signifying its new permitted status.

Continue reading…

From Forthodoxy, here.

The Rama is for Sefardim Too

Without going into much proof and needed detail, it seems to me there is no difference between Sefardi and Ashkenazi Jews in following the Rama, like the Ben Ish Chai implies. The same position appears in responsa Shevet Halevi volume 3, chapter 1. If Tosafos have a valid point on Gemara, why not apply this to halacha, as well? The Rama is largely a compilation of Tosafos and a summary of those who did the same.

Sure, there are various communal customs in prayer, and occasionally real dispute between Rama and Beis Yosef. That is not what I speak of. And even Ashkenazim don’t always follow the Ramah when he is disputed by, say, the Magen Avraham.

See also Bi’ur Halacha (on Mishna Berurah) chapter 219 s.v. Utrei.

כי היא חכמתכם

בשורה משמחת

הרב אברהם טרכטינגוט מדריך ומורה בענייני אסטרונומיה תורנית (חכמת התכונה), וחבר אגודת מטמוני ארץ להנגשת תחומי דעת תורניים, מזה כ-5 שנים מלמד הלכות קידוש החודש בישיבת השלום בירושלים.

עד כעת נלמדו שני מחזורים בהלכות אלו, כאשר במהלכם היקפנו את רוב ענייני התכונה התורנית והכללית, זאת בנוסף לתצפיות להכרת כוכבי השמים שאנו עורכים תוך כדי הלימוד.

הלימוד הוא במשך כשעה מידי שבוע, משך המחזור הוא כשנה וחצי (לא כולל ימי בין – הזמנים), עד היום רבים השתתפו ונהנו להכיר נושא חדש שלמרות חשיבותו הרבה, לא רבים הם הבקיאים בו.

בברכת התורה,
אליהו סולוביציק