Holding a Sefer Torah

Hello,

Today we begin a new topic, in advance of Shavuot and the celebration of the presentation of the Torah at Har Sinai: The Public Torah reading.

One who is carrying a Sefer Torah (Torah scroll) should carry it in his right arm, representing the passage from Song of Songs (8:3) in which HaShem is described is embracing us with His "right", and representing the Torah's own statement (Deuteronomy 33:2) that HaShem carried the Torah to us in His "right."

(Rama Orach Chaim 134:2, Mishneh Berurah 134:14)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Lag ba'Omer

Hello,

Lag ba'Omer, the 33rd day of the Omer, is traditionally observed as a holiday marking the day when the students of R' Akiva stopped dying. There is some debate as to whether the evening beginning Lag ba'Omer has festive status or not, and therefore haircuts and celebrations generally wait until the day of Lag ba'Omer.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 493:2; Mishneh Berurah 493:11)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Haircuts during the Omer

Hi,

We have been learning about mourning during the Omer period.

Taking a haircut is considered to be an act of grooming that increases one's joy, and therefore one does not take a haircut during this mourning period.

In some years there is an exception to that rule - If Rosh Chodesh (the 1st day of Iyyar) is a Friday, then on that day one honors Rosh Chodesh as well as the Shabbat that comes the next day. In such a case, many authorities rule that one may take a haircut that day, despite its being during the Omer.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 493:2; Mishneh Berurah 493:5)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Mourning during the Omer, II

Hello,

We have mentioned the practice of mourning during the Omer.

Just as we do not hold weddings during this period, so we do not hold celebrations involving dancing, whether for fun or in honor of a mitzvah.

(Mishneh Berurah 493:3; note that this is commonly understood to include any celebration involving live music)

Have a good day,
Mordechai

Mourning during the Omer period

Hello,

During the Omer period we observe a mourning period commemorating the mass deaths of twenty-four thousand students of Rabbi Akiva, who all died during a period of time associated with the Omer. It is not clear whether they died during the beginning or end of the Omer, so some people observe this period of mourning between the end of Passover and Lag ba'Omer, others between the beginning of the month of Iyyar and Shavuot.

The Talmud teaches that the students were punished for not showing each other appropriate respect; surely this is something that is worth mourning even two thousand years later.

During this period we do not hold weddings, although one may get engaged.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 493:1)

Have a good Yom Tov,
Mordechai

Counting the Omer: The Forgetful Counter

Hello,

One should know the correct Omer number before reciting the blessing and actually counting.

If one didn't know, or actually had it wrong, and then remembered the correct number by the time he actually did count, he did fulfill the mitzvah.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 489:5-6; Mishneh Berurah 489:29, 489:32)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Counting the Omer: Timing

Hello,

Once the time arrives for counting the Omer (meaning, when the stars emerge at night), one should not engage in any other activity, even eating - one should simply count the Omer.

There are two reasons for this rule: To show love of the Mitzvah, and to avoid getting involved in other things and forgetting to count.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 489:4)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Counting the Omer: Earliest time

Hi,

One may count the Omer immediately after sunset; however, it is ideal to wait until after the stars emerge, if one is sure he will remember to count.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 489:3; Mishneh Berurah 489:16)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Counting the Omer - Weeks and Days

Hi,

When the Omer reaches Day 7, we begin to count both the days and the weeks. This is because the Torah instructs us, "You shall count 50 days," as well as "Seven weeks you shall count." We say, "Today is Day X, which is Y weeks and Z days to the Omer."

One should only count the Omer in a language he understands - the purpose is to state and understand the count.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 489:1; Mishneh Berurah 489:5)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Counting the Omer

Hello,


The Torah instructs the Jewish people to bring a barley offering out of the new crop of barley, on the 2nd day of Passover. They are then to count seven weeks, 49 days, and then celebrate Shavuot - on which they bring a wheat offering from the new crop of wheat.

To continue this practice even without a Temple and its offerings, we count 49 days from the 2nd night of Passover through the night preceding Shavuot. The recitation may be found on page 282 in the standard Artscroll Siddur.

If a person forgets to count the Omer at night, he can make it up the next day without reciting the associated blessing, and then continue to count normally that night.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 489:7)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Toys and Children at the Seder

Hi,

One should make sure to provide children with toys for their entertainment at the Seder, in order to ensure that they stay up to hear the magid portion of the Seder. One should make sure that they not only ask the "Four Questions," but that they also hear the answers to those questions (presented in an age-appropriate way, of course).

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 472:16; Mishneh Berurah 472:50)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Leaning at the Seder

Hi,

We are taught to lean at the Seder, at least while drinking the four cups of wine and while eating matzah, to display our freedom from Egypt.

One should lean to his left, not his right, due to concern for choking. Leaning forward or on one's back is not considered a type of leaning which demonstrates freedom.

There are those who argue that we no longer lean as a matter of course while eating, so that leaning has ceased to demonstrate freedom. This leads to some leninecy in the leaning requirement, for a person who drank the wine and then realized that he did not lean:

1st cup - One cannot simply drink another cup while leaning, because people do not generally intend to drink more than one at that point in the seder, and so the initial blessing was recited while one intended to drink only one cup. Therefore, we rely on the view that leaning is not as necessary in our era (unless one specifically had in mind that he would drink more).

2nd cup - One may drink another cup, while leaning; the meal is about to begin, and in one's blesing one had in mind the mealtime drinking as well.

3rd and 4th cups - It is prohibited to drink extra at this point in the seder, lest one appear to add to the mitzvah, so we rely on the view that leaning is not as necessary in our era.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 472:2-3, 7; Mishneh Berurah 472:7-9, 13, 20-21)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Maror

Hello,

The vegetable one uses for Maror (bitter herb) at the Seder should be a leaf or stem, should be something that grows more bitter as the season goes on, and if it's a leaf then it may not be dried out. It may not be cooked or pickled.

The best type of Maror is a bitter lettuce, because it has all of these characteristics and is recommended first in the Talmud. However, one must be very careful to check it for bugs, since there are several biblical prohibitions against eating bugs.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 473:5; Mishneh Berurah 473:42)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Karpas and Maror

Hi,



When one recites the blessing before eating Karpas at the Seder, one should keep in mind that this blessing includes the blessing for Maror, the bitter herb.

There is great debate as to whether it is better to eat a small amount of Karpas, or a large amount, relating to various laws. The general Ashkenazi practice is to eat a small amount, less than an olive-sized amount, to avoid an obligation to recite an immediate after-blessing, which would constitute an interruption between the Karpas and the Maror.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 473:6)



Have a great day,

Mordechai

The Four Cups at the Seder

Hi,

For the four cups of wine [or grape juice, for those who cannot handle wine] at the Seder, one is supposed to drink the whole cup, or at least the majority of the cup, each time - this type of complete consumption demonstrates a sense that we are royalty at the Seder.

If finishing the cup is a problem due to the size of the cup, there is a simple solution - use a smaller cup. The minimum size cup is about 3.7 ounces, according to standard estimates.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 472:9)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Setting up for the Seder

Hello,

We are supposed to be like royalty on the evening of Passover, at the Seder.

Therefore, one should make sure the table is beautifully set even before the holiday begins. This also provides an added advantage - it allows us to start the Seder as soon as possible, before the kids have fallen asleep!

Of course, this year, when the Seder is Motzaei Shabbat (Saturday night), preparing on Shabbat is prohibited. One idea is to have the Seder table set from Friday, and simply eat the Shabbat meals in a different area. (This is actually advisable for another reason - One who is eating chametz Friday night and Shabbat morning should certainly keep that chametz far from the area where he will eat on Pesach, where at all possible!)

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 472:1-2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Eating on Erev Pesach

Hello,

For the approximately 3 hours preceding the start of Passover, one should eat only snacks of meat, fish, fruits and vegetables, lest he not be hungry for the Seder that night.

Even earlier in the day one should not eat large quantities of food, lest he become full.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 471:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Fast of the Firstborn

Hello,

Firstborn children tradaitionally fast on the day before Passover, to show gratitude to Gd for sparing them when He killed the Egyptian firstborn. If the firstborn is a minor, then the father fasts. Some have the practice of having the mother fast in place of her under-age child, if the father is already a firstborn. In many places, firstborn daughters do not fast.

This fast is problematic, thought since we specifically don't fast during the month of Nisan, and since we avoid fasting on the day before any holiday, lest that reduce the enjoyment of the holiday that evening! (One possible justification is that this is a fast of gratitude rather than mourning.)

Therefore, the custom of fasting on the day before Passover has a counter-custom. Firstborns attend a meal celebrating a Mitzvah - a Brit Milah, or a Siyyum (a celebration at the conclusion of learning a Torah text) - and then they are exempt from the fast.

If one is absolutely unable to make it to a celebration which overrides the fast, but one knows that fasting through the day would make it impossible for him to properly eat the requisite amount of Matzah and drink four cups of wine that evening, then he should break the fast by eating small quantities of snack food through the day.

[Note: This year, when the day before Passover is Shabbat, we move the fast - and its associated Siyum - back to the preceding Thursday.]

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 470:1-2; Mishneh Berurah 470:2; 10)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Chametz acquired on Passover

Hello,

One who is given a gift of Chametz during Passover (such as samples which come in the mail) should indicate, with a verbal declaration and with his actions, that he does not want to acquire the gift. He should not store it on his property.

However, if the deliverer (such as the mailman) simply puts the item down in one's house, without having been told to do so, then the Jew may leave it there through Passover. He should put a cover over it to prevent people from accidentally taking it or using it, and he should state that he is not acquiring it, and he may then leave it there until after Passover, after which he may take it and use it.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 448:2; Mishneh Berurah 448:5)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Chametz after Pesach - 4/5

Hi,

After Passover, a Jew may purchase Chametz from a non-Jew and eat that Chametz. However, one may not purchase Chametz from a Jew who had owned that Chametz during Passover.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 448:1,3)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Finding Chametz on Pesach - Daily Jewish Law - 4/4

Hi,

One who finds Chametz in his house during Passover, on the Yom Tov days (the first two days and the last two days) or on Shabbat, should simply cover the Chametz or place a barrier around it, to prevent people from accidentally eating it.

After the Yom Tov/Shabbat day is over, one should then take the Chametz out and destroy it.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 446:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Search and Destroy

Hi,

After the search for Chametz on the night preceding Passover (this year, two nights before Passover) we put aside any Chametz we have found. We keep that Chametz in a place which is safe from animals and small children, lest we come back the next morning to find that the Chametz has been scattered around the house.

We burn that Chametz the next morning, before the time when Chametz becomes prohibited. Technically, one may burn it right after the search at night, but we generally wait until morning so that we will remember to recite the "Kol Chamira," the paragraph in which we annul ownership of any Chametz we have not found in our searches (pg. 655 in the Artscroll Siddur).

Note: This year we do not recite that "Kol Chamira" paragraph on Friday morning when we burn the Chametz. Instead, we do it Shabbat morning, before the latest time to own Chametz.

(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 445:1; Mishneh Berurah 445:7)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Hard-to-reach Chametz

Hi,

If Chametz is located in hard-to-reach crevices (such as floorboards or carpets), it is generally considered insignificant and one's ownership may simply be annulled with the pre-Passover "annulment of Chametz" declaration, and the Chametz may be ignored. One need not clean it out and destroy it.

However, if the Chametz will come into contact with food then one must either get rid of that Chametz or coat it with something inedible which will prevent it from entering food.

(Code of Jewish Law, Orach Chaim 442:11)

Have a great day,
Mordechai