Opuscula Rabbis vs. Torah

THE OTHER DAY, AS I WAS considering the differences in traditions among observant Jews it struck me that some mitzvoth have been canceled by some rabbis.

I will be one of the first to admit that without rabbinical rulings in the talmuds — things such as the prosbul¹ for commercial loans — life would be difficult indeed.

 

 

HOWEVER, I think “the rabbis” have gone to far in countermanding the Torah.

Herewith the usual caveat: I am not a rabbi and I don’t play one on tv.

 

Cohanic blessing (ברכת הכהנים)

Every sedur in my house, even before the midnight prayers (תיקון חצות) and as part of the opening morning prayers (ברכת השחר) tells the cohanim (Numbers Parashat Naso, Chap. 6, Ver. 22 - 27 (במדבר נשא ו’ כ”ב – כ”ז) that HaShem told Moses to Speak to the Aaron and his sons: You will bless the children of Israel; you will say to them: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you peace. So shall they put my name upon the children of Israel.

I fail to read where HaShem says that the cohanim should only bless the congregation on certain holy days or if they felt like it. (The image at the right by Leonard Cohen and appears in his work The Flame)

But some rabbis have declared that this mitzvah — commandment — is omitted during normal weekdays and Shabatot.

Sefardi cohanim bless the people every day and twice on Shabat and haggim (when there is musaf, the “extra” service).

Not so Ashkenazim.

On what grounds?

Well, we don’t know who really IS a cohen. OK, so why allow these suspect cohanim to bless the people at all. Are they, like Kosher for Passover, only “kosher” cohanim on certain days?

Single cohanim are prohibited from blessing the congregation in some traditions. Why? Well, the rabbis insist, an unmarried man cannot be happy and a cohen must be happy when he blesses the congregation.

There ARE some Torah limits that preclude a cohen from blessing the people. From the Torah, if the cohen has a “mum,” a physical defect that would distract the congregation from the blessing’s words or if the cohen married a divorced woman. An inebriated cohen is forbidden from blessing the people.

There are a number of other situations when a cohen either is prohibited from blessing the people or is excused.² If a cohen doesn’t want to bless the people, for whatever reason, he is expected to step outside until the willing cohanim have returned to their places.

Some congregations allow, and others prohibit, pre-bar mitzvah boys to perform the rite, others allow it if the child goes up with his father.

Where to stand, where to look

According to most authorities, only people standing in front of the cohanim are included in the blessing.

Many Sefardi cohanim partially turn to the left and to the right during the blessing, to expand the number or people receiving the blessing. I have not seen Ashkenazi cohanim do this, but then I don’t belong to an Ashkenazi minyan.

Many people have the custom of covering their head and eyes during the cohen’s blessing; others look down. This is to preclude looking at the cohanim. Some people mistakenly turn their backs to the cohanim; this is disrespectful both to the cohenim and the sefri Torah in the ark before which the cohanim stand, and it is questionable if these people are included in the blessing.

There is a custom that father’s cover their sons (and very young daughters, too,) heads with the father’s large tallit during the blessing.(Right) I have done this for my two sons and my son-in-law. (Since the boys now are much taller than their father, they have to bend over a little — else I would have to stand on a chair.) There also is room for my grandsons when we are together.

 

Tefillin (תפילין)

We read it everyday.

In fact, we read it several times a day.

(במדבר ו, 8-9) וקשרתם לאת על-ידך והיו לטטפת בין עיניך

You shall bind them as a sign upon hand, and they shall be a reminder between your eyes. (Deuteronomy, Parashat V’Ethchanan, Chap. 6, Ver. 8-9)

That does not seem like multiple choice.

The rabbis decided that Shabatot are sufficiently happy that these signs are redundant; unnecessary.

Ditto the first and last days of haggim (שלוש רגלים).

Sefardi hakhamim decided that the intermediate days of a festival are as happy as the first and last days. After all, it is eat, sleep, pray, repeat. Given that, unlike the Ashkenazim, Sefardim go about sans the sign on the hand and reminders between the eyes.

A Sefardi in an Ashkenazi congregation may be asked to either put on tefillin or go pray elsewhere. (I have never seen an Ashkenazi wearing tefillin on hol ha’moed asked to leave the room where Sefardim are “davening.”)

The general rule is, “when in Rome…” — if you are in a Sefardi congregation, behave like a Sefardi; in an Ashkenazi “shul,” act like an Ashkenazi.

There is an on-going debate: May a Sefardi use Ashkenazi tefillin?

There are those who say NO.

There are those who say in a pinch, yes.

Not having an Ashkenazi tradition, I don’t know how the majority of Ashkenazi rabbis rule.

The problem is the amount of space, or lack of same, between two paragraphs of the Shema in the tefillin.

Is either the Sefardi or Ashkenazi way to wrap tefillin correct? In a word: Yes.

Different traditions wrap tefillin differently.

As Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof would bellow: TRADITION!

An aside. When do Moroccan women put on tefillin? On a Monday or Thursday prior to a boy’s first Shabat aliyah it is the custom that the women in his life — mother, sisters, aunts — each make one “turn” of the hand tefillin strap as the boy is about to enter the minyan area. The question was not “When do Moroccan women wear tefillin,” but when do they put on tefillin.³

 

Parting thought

What brought about the destruction of the Second Temple?

What allegedly caused the plague that killed 24,000 (!) of R. Akiva ben Yosef's students?

Unjustified hatred and speaking ill of others.

In Avot (Chap. 2, Ver. 13 – 14) we learn what R. Akiva considered what is good and what is evil. Consider the words of R. Elazar that R. Akiva found satisfactory.

 

Sources

1. Hillel the Elder in the 1st century BCE created the prosbul to permit private loans to persons in need without fear on the lender's part that the debt would be legally abrogated at the end of the sabbatical year. (https://www.britannica.com/topic/prosbul)

2. Prohibitions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priestly_Blessing

3. Women and tefillin: footnote 13 on Page 62 of סידור אבותנו ע"פ חכמי מורוקו

עינים להם ולא יראו * אזנים להם ולא יאזנו

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

Comment on Rabbis vs. Torah

Still more on tefillin Counting to seven

 

When a Jewish man wraps his hand tefillin he wraps the strap (רצועה) seven complete turns.

Judaism seems to discourage counting anything "by the numbers." Instead, phrases containing the exact number of words are used in lieu of numbers.

For the seven complete turns of the hand tefillin strap, the sedur אבותנו suggests reciting

 1: תורה

 2: ציוה

 3: לנו

 4: משה

 5: מורשה

 6: קהילת

 7: יעקב

Some prefer to use the last (of three) stanza of the cohanic blessing:

 1: ישא

 2: ''

 31: פניו

 4: אליך

 5: וישם

 6: לך

 7: שלום

Counting the number of men to make a minyan is prohibited. But, there are several word options.

If you like to eat, and who doesn't, consider counting using the blessing for bread, המוציא, to count up to 10:

 1: ברוך

 2: אתה

 3: ''

 4: אלוהנו

 5: מלק

 6: העולם

 7: המוציא

 8: לחם

 9: מין

 10: הארץ

Since that is a frequently said phrase, it's relatively easy to remember.

Click on image to enlarge

A few more words About tefillin/ תפילין

 

The following was intended to be part of the tefillin entry Tefillin תפילין for July 28, but the blog software decided to turn the normal background into a dark color and the text into unreadable blue.

Are all tefillin the same?

Yes . . . and no.

There are two (2) major "tefillin types": Rashi and Tam. Both contain the same words from the Torah, but R. Tam - Rashi's grandson, placed the commandments in a different order.

The lettering of the commandments differs by tradition (vs. Rashi or Tam order).

A few differences in customs

The following is NOT "all inclusive."

The following is from קצור שלחן ערוך השלם (של מרדכי אליהו); this kitzur includes the Ashkenazi kitzur of R. Shlomo Ganzfried with Sefardi/Mizrachi customs added by the former Rishon l'Zion/Hakham Bakshe Mordechai Eliyahu as footnotes.

Checking tefillin

ASSUMING the tefillin were purchased from a reliable sofer stam (a person who is qualified and writes Sefer Torah, Tefillin, and Mezzot), and IF the tefillin are used daily (excluding Shabatot and holidays) they need not be checked on a regular basis. HOWEVER, if the tefillin are not worn daily and not kept in a controlled environment, they should be checked (at least) twice in seven (7) years. The ideal time to check tefillin, according to Sefardi custom, is during the month of Elul, particularly during the 10 days.

When to put on tefillin

According to Ashkenazi custom, the time to lay tefillin is from the time a person can recognize an acquaintance at a short (4 amot) distance. According to Sefardi custom, tefillin - and before that the tallit (tzit-tzit) - may be put on one hour before HaNetz. (When is "HaNetz?" Go to http://www.myzmanim.com/ for your location. This site gives you important times throughout the day for your selected location.)
According to most authorities, tefillin must be removed before dark.

Three steps

Tefillin are put on in three steps.

Step 1    Place the hand tefillin box on the bicep. Wrap the strap around the arm (from the beneath elbow to the wrist) seven (7) complete turns (half turn, then seven turns, then one more half turn)

Step 2    Place the head tefillin on the head and center the box.

Step 3    Wrap the hand tefillin around the hand and finger(s) - see images, above.

To stand or sit?

Ashkenazim stand to put on both hand and head tefillin. Most Sefardim sit to lay the hand tefillin and stand to place the head tefillin. The tefillin are removed the same way; what was put on standing is taken off standing; what was put on sitting is taken off sitting.

Note   Sefardim need not be מקפיד (extremist) about sitting to put on/take off the hand tefillin; most sit, but if this is inconvenient then the hand tefillin may be put on standing.) Source: ילקות שמ''ש Page 24.
With all customs, the hand tefillin is put on first/taken off last; the head tefillin is put on before the three wraps around the finger(s). See Three steps, above.

One blessing or two?

Ashkenazim say separate blessings over the hand tefillin and the head tefillin. Sefardim say only the blessing over the hand tefillin IF THERE IS NO INTERRUPTION BETWEEN THE TWO ACTIONS; if there is an interruption between putting on the hand tefillin and the head tefillin, the Sefardi says the separate blessing for the head tefillin as well.

Note   North African Sefardim, and perhaps others as well, make a point to say the blessing for the tallit/tzit-tzit and tefillin aloud so that others can participate in the mitzvot by saying ברוך הוא וברוך שמו and אמן.

May a Sefardi wear Ashkenazi tefillin?

According to R. Eli Mansour, As for the practical Halacha, Hacham Bension Abba Shaul (Israel, 1923-1998), in his Or Le’sion (3:7), writes that if a Sepharadi has access only to Ashkenazi Tefillin, he should wear those Tefillin because he has nothing else to use, but he does recite a Beracha. It should be noted that an Ashkenazi can fulfill his requirement by wearing Sepharadi Tefillin. The reason is that.Halacha requires that the fourth paragraph of the text in the Tefillin be written “Setuma” (“closed”), and there is a difference of opinion among the Halachic authorities as to what exactly this means . According to the Shulhan Aruch (Orah Haim 32:36), an empty space the length of nine letters is left in between the third and fourth paragraphs, whereas according to the Taz (Rabbi David Segal, Poland, 1586-1667), empty space is left both at the end of the third paragraph and at the beginning of the fourth paragraph. In the view of Maran, leaving additional empty space, beyond what is required, invalidates the Tefillin, and thus Tefillin prepared in accordance with the view of the Taz are invalid according to Maran..

Intermediate days of festivals.

Sefardim praying in Sefardi congregations do not wear tefillin on the intermediate days of a festival. (Ashkenazim and Sefardim normally do not wear tefillin on the first and last days of a festival; Ashkenazim wear them on the intermediate days.) Sefardim making minyan in an Ashkenazi congregation should follow the majority or find another minyan. Ashkenazim making minyan in a Sefardi congregation should, likewise, follow the majority and not lay tefillin during the intermediate days - or find an Ashkenazi minyan for the duration. The basic rule: The majority rules. In Israel Ashkenazim also omit tefillin during Hol HaMoed (intermediate days of a festival.)

Additional resources

Difference between Rashi and Tam tefillin:
http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/8990/what-is-the-difference-between-rashi-and-rabbeinu-tams-tefillin

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/practices/Ritual/Prayer/Ritual_Garb/Tefillin_Phylacteries_/Rashi_and_Rabbenu_Tam.shtml http://ohr.edu/3943

How to Put on Tefillin: My Jewish Learning: Includes video

Aish: How to put on tefillin (graphics and video, Ashkenazi)

World Wide Wrap's Tefillin - Frequently Asked Questions

How to Lay Tefillin (Ashkenazi)

Schetcher on Judaism (Conservative)

Sephardi Jews (Sefardi, with video)

The main thing is to buy and wear tefillin to comply with the commandment:

והיה לך לאות על-ידך ולזכרון בין עיניך"
(Exodus/שמות 13:9)

Tefillin תפילין

 

והיה לך לאות על-ידך ולזכרון בין עיניך
(Exodus/שמות 13:9)

 

Some months ago on the Chabad web site there was a discussion of how to don/lay/wrap/put on tefillin.

Since only Chabad can post graphics I was unable to show some of the many different - and acceptable - ways men wrap the hand tefillin. (There is little difference in the way the head tefillin are placed.)

The following images show several of the more common ways to wear the hand tefillin.

Sefardi - Specifically Moroccan

As with almost everyone, there are three (3) turns around the finger; some Moroccans place one "loop" on each of the finger's three phalanges (as shown above). Others have two turns on the proximal phalange and one on the medial phalange (see Chabad hand, below.

Some Sefardim/Mizrachim also place a shin (ש) on the biceps, similar to the Chabad shin, below; this helps hold the box in place, but since there is a shin on the finger, a shin on the biceps is not a requirement. Of those who do place a shin on the bicep, some put the strap on the box's upper edge; others on the lower edge.

Securing the tefillin

Egyptian "spring" - This may be common with others (e.g., Ben Ish Hai). The hand is the basic Sefardi/Mizrachi hand wrap (See the Sefardi wrap, above.)

Chabad "Shin" (sometimes used by Sefardim)

Chabad hand wrap

All of the above wrap out (away from the body), that is, the knot on the hand tefillin strap is close to the heart with the "loop" away from the heart vs. the normative Ashkenazi knot which is distant from the heart so the Ashkenazi can wrap inward (toward the body). There are numerous explanations for each custom.

"Typical" Ashkenazi wrap on hand

 

All the above, and others not shown, are "kosher" wraps. Each man should follow his father's or grand-father's tradition. Fathers-in-law also are valid if the father forgot how HIS father "laid tefillin."

 

Next: A few more words about tefillin/תפילין

Opuscula היקר Essence

 

This morning the rabbi's short dvar Torah centered around affixing a mezuzah (לקבע מזוזה).

The Ashkenazim do it on a slant.

The Sefardim and Mizrachim do it straight up.

Mostly, but not always.

היקר The important thing is that there is a mezuzah

Likewise the tallit.

Moroccan tradition - and I'm sure others - hold that the blessing on the tallit is recited and then the tallit is let fully out and placed over the head and down the back.

Some men, with a tradition other than Moroccan (not everyone can be so fortunate) fold the tallit in half or thirds, say the blessing and then drape the tallit over their head and shoulders for a moment before allowing it to fall open.

Some tzittzit are tied with 10+5+6+5 knots (representing one HaShem's names); others are tied with different combinations.

היקר - the important thing is that they don the tallit.

Ditto tefillin.

Aside from the Rashi-Tam issue - a Rashi-Tam issue allegedly is the reason the Ashkenazim slant their mezuzot; Rashi followed Sefardi tradition, Tam wanted the mezuzah to be horizontal, so to accommodate both grandfather and grandson, they affix the mezuzah on the slant - there are a multitude of correct ways to "lay" the hand tefillin.

But, היקר, the important thing is that tefillin are worn.

There also is debate about the head tefillin.

Are both hand and head tefillin necessary? Yes, unless for some reason one or the other cannot be worn - as examples, a bandaged head or the tefillin arm in a cast. In either case, whichever tefillin can be worn should be worn.

There is a debate among Sefardi and Mizrachi rabbis about when to say the blessings over the Shabat candles. Hakham Shalom Messas said to light, cover the eyes, then uncover the eyes and bless the Shabat lights. The late R. Ovadia Yosef said bless and then light on the theory that blessings should proceed actions.

היקר that the Shabat candles are lit.

There are supposed to be 613 commandments - things we are to do and things we are to avoid doing. (I've never counted them, but the rabbis say …)

Can anyone comply with all 613 mitzvot (commandments)? Impossible,

Even if you live in Israel it's impossible.

Some commandments are for cohenim (priests) only; some for levi'im only.

Some only can be performed by a man; others only by a woman. (Some can be performed by either in the absence of the other, e.g. Shabat and Hanukah candles.)

היקר - the important thing is that each of us try to perform as many mitzvot as we are able, and when we can, to add to the number.

I have seen a number of Jews who decided to "become religious." In their enthusiasm they try to take on all the mitzvoth at once.

Then they find out that it's too big a load for a novice to handle.

היקר, the important thing is that they start with mitzvot they can manage. Maybe walk to and from services on Shabat morning, but still do other things they did before. It's tough for smokers - I know, I used to be one - but seeing that tobacco can be avoided for 25 hours, after a few Shabatot maybe it can be avoided for two then three then … days in a row until the smoker is a former smoker. (Caveat: That does NOT mean there won't be an occasional desire to smoke, but consider the health and financial benefits gained by not smoking.) Friday night candles and kiddish Friday night and Shabat. Bless the children. No, it doesn't have to be in Hebrew.

For what it's worth, this scrivener thinks Bet Shamai was correct more often than not, but I think even R. Shamai himself would agree that in the end.
היקר, the important thing is to perform the mitzvoth according to your tradition.

היקר

What's the big deal?

 

Women and their place

 

Understand this scrivener stands with Bet Shamai on most issues, see http://yohanon.blogspot.com/2011/09/shamai-that-you-never-knew.html.

If you never learned more about Shamai than the few words in Pirke Avot (פרקי אבות) - in which he is horribly given short shrift in comparison to his peer, Hillel, than "you don't know Shamai."

One of the current "tempests in a teapot" in Israel is "Women of the Wall," or "WoW" for short to appease hed (headline) writers.

As I understand it, these women go, monthly on Rosh Hodesh, to pray at the kotel, the Western Wall where the second Temple once stood - and where the abomination al-Aqsa now stands. Again, it is my understanding that they stand on the women's side of the mehitzah (מחיצה).

So far, no problem.

Trouble is, some of these women insist on a wearing tallit , and others both tallit and tefillin.

This troubles the haredim.

Women are not allowed these accouterments. They are the sole purview of males, and males older than 13 years and a day. The rabbis said so. Tallit and tefillin are "men's wear" and therefore, according to Torah (תורה שבעל-פי), forbidden.

The question, of course, is "when" did tallit and tefillin become strictly "men's ware?"

We are given to understand that (at least) one of Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki's 3 daughters wore tallit and tefillin. Rabbi Shlomo is better known as Rashi. (According to a Wikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashi, "While some women in medieval Ashkenaz did wear tefillin, there is no evidence that Rashi's daughters did so.")

Of course, it must be admitted that Rashi's grandson, Rabbi Yakov ben Meir Tam, contested many of his grandfather's decisions; to this day, Ashkenazim and some Sefardim/Mizrachim attach mezzuzot at a slant ( \  ) to satisfy both Rashi, who stayed with the tradition of his time and fixed the mezzuzot upright ( | ) and Tam who wanted the mezzuzot horizontal (  - ). Many men - both Ashkenazi and Sefardi/Mizrachi - don two sets of tefillin, sometimes at once, to meet both the traditional/Rashi order of klaf and to meet Tam's revised order. (See http://ott.co.il/tefillin/tefillin-of-rashi-and-rabbeinu-tam/ for an explanation of the differences.)

In my mixed congregation - we have people following Egyptian, Moroccan, Syrian, and Turkish traditions (minhagim) - we have several Ashkenazi bachelors. None of there people wear a tallit except when they have a Torah honor. This begs the question: Is the tallit required at all? Among Sefardim and most Mizrachim, boys start donning a full (albeit boy-) size tallit early on; exactly when varies by minhag.

AN ASIDE: My wife - a Moroccan - likes the idea of unmarried men praying sans tallit; she also likes to see unmarried women sans hair covering. To her, this advertises who is "eligible" and who is not. Are all women match-makers at heart?

Shabat Rosh Hodesh Tamuz (Shabat Korah) 5773 saw the WoWs at the wall along with other observant women. There were no reports of conflicts among the women.

The haredi men, on the other hand - and I make a distinction between "haredi" and "observant" Jews - once again came to harass the women . . . women on their OWN SIDE OF THE FENCE. That smacks of hutzpa and it also tells me the men only insist on the mehitzah (מחיצה) when it suits them.

Unfortunately, the haredi men seem to think they ARE Israel and only what they want must be followed; they have become the ayatollahs of Israel. In the process, both at the Wall and elsewhere throughout Israel, these men are alienating "regular" Jews - observant and heloni (non-observant) to the point that the haredim are beginning to be held in contempt, and with them, the institutions they control.

Rather than arrange a marriage via the local rabbinute, Israeli Jews (continue) to marry outside of Israel or marry in a civil ceremony in Israel. It is not a matter of marrying a person with "questionable" Jewish bona fides, it's a matter of how the people applying for the rabbinical "stamp of approval" are received. In short, many are received in a manner foreign to Shamai as he is quoted in Avoth. For the record, I am fully in favor of proving Jewishness of both partners before a wedding. I don't care how each partner became Jewish - "accident of birth" or kosher-by-Rambam conversion - just that both are Jewish.

Personally, I do NOT like to see women in tallit and tefillin. I can't find anything that prohibits a woman wearing these accouterments, but being a "traditionalist" I simply am "uncomfortable" around women thusly appointed.

The reason women are exempt - critical word, "exempt" vs. "forbidden" - from tallit and tefillin is because both are "time sensitive"; that is, the related mitzvah must be performed after and before certain (proportional) hours. The rabbis of old, in their wisdom, believed that a woman with a baby cannot be expected to put down the infant or ignore a child while she is wearing tallit and tefillin, so they exempted women from such "time sensitive" mitzvoth. Makes sense to me.

My suggestion to the haredi - ignore the WoW. They won't "go away," but you won't get an ulcer and you might even find non-haredi start to appreciate you and your convictions. They still might not agree with you, but at least some sinat henam can be avoided.

Comments in English or Hebrew to: Yohanon dot Glenn at gmail dot com