Entering in mid-kedushah

Hi,

One who enters the synagogue in the middle of Kedushah should respond appropriately to the lines he hears; he should not recite the parts that he missed.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:90)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Tithing Israeli produce

Hi,

May I purchase Israeli produce, if I am not sure whether terumah and maaser have been separated?

One certainly should support Israeli agriculture. We can manage doubt about tithing with the following procedure, which should be followed for each species of produce separately:

Keeping all of the produce to be tithed in one place, we separate a little more than 1% of the produce and hold it apart. [We do not recite a berachah unless we are certain that the produce has not been tithed already.] We declare:

• The northern portion of the produce I am holding, beyond the 1% of the total produce, is terumah for the total produce.
• The produce I am holding that consitutes 1% of the total produce is maaser rishon, along with nine equal parts within the upper portion of the rest of the produce.
• The produce I am holding that constitutes 1% of the total produce is terumat maaser.

We put aside the separated produce to deteriorate, because we are currently unable to give it to a kohen to consume in purity. Once it is inedible, we may dispose of it in our compost bins.

This year is the sixth year of the shemitah cycle, and so we must also separate 10% as maaser ani and give it to a needy person. There are several ways to do this, but one method is this: Designate 10% of the remaining produce as maaser ani, and then declare that it is redeemed for an equivalent sum of money, which you may then give to a needy Jew. However, one may keep the maaser ani for himself; unless someone can prove that the produce was never tithed, there is no obligation to distribute maaser ani.

Please note:

• The COR has a video on this procedure at  http://cor.ca/view/255/video_instructional_tithing_produce_from_the_land_of_israel.html.
• In certain years one must separate maaser sheni. For guidance regarding maaser sheni, see The Complete Artscroll Siddur, page 226.
• Next year is a shemitah year, with unique rules for Israeli produce. I hope to discuss these rules in the future.

 Have a great day,

Mordechai

Minyanim side by side

Hi,

One who is praying in a particular minyan, and who hears blessings or kedushah recited in an adjacent minyan (as happens at the Kotel) should not respond to that other minyan. There is no obligation to respond, and responding would cause confusion regarding one's own minyan.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:89:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Answering Kedushah from outside the room

Hi,

One who is outside of a room in which a minyan is davening should answer Amen and recite the responses to Kedushah. However, one who has already davened, and is in a space from which he can hear many minyanim, is not obligated to remain there in order to respond to all of them.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:89:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Dragging it out

Hi,

If a chazan sings v'imru Amen in Kaddish for an extended period of time, one should say Amen and not wait for the end. The essential text is already concluded (v'imru Amen simply means, "And let us say Amen"), and the extended tune constitutes an inappropriate interruption between the text and the Amen. [Note: The author does not define "extended period of time".]

If a chazan sings the end of a blessing (such as in the repetition of the amidah) for an extended period of time, one should not say Amen until the blessing is complete.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:88:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The fast chazan

Hi,

One may not answer with Amen to a blessing in chazarat hashatz (the repetition of the amidah) once the chazan has begun the next blessing. Therefore, the chazan is required to wait for the minyan to respond Amen before beginning the next blessing.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:88:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The chazan's "Kedushah"

Hi,

The chazan should say "Kadosh kadosh" and the other key lines of Kedushah along with the community, and not wait to say them until after the community has concluded saying them.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:87)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Picking up as chazan

Hi,

One who comes into the synagogue while the community is reciting the silent amidah should not serve as the chazan to repeat the amidah aloud unless he first recites the silent amidah as well. However, this rule may be waived where no one else can serve as the chazan.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:86)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

I davened already

Hi,

One who is in a room with a minyan may not speak when the chazan is repeating the amidah (chazarat hashatz), even if he is not davening with that minyan.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:83)

חג כשר ושמח,
Mordechai

A Parenting Halachah for Pesach

Hi,

I came across this the other day, from Rabbi Yechezkel Freundlich, and I feel it suits a Halachah blog:




 חג כשר ושמח,
Mordechai

Stepping sideways out of the amidah

Hi,

One who recites the amidah in a narrow space, such that there is no room to take three steps backward, may take the steps at an angle. Some even accept stepping laterally, where that is the only option.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:82:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Amen to a blessing in the silent amidah

Hi,

One who overhears someone's blessing recited during the silent amidah should respond 'Amen'. However, note that the rule for Amen, in general, is that one should not say 'Amen' louder than the blessing itself was said. [Also, note that one should avoid distracting the person reciting the amidah.]

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:81)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Dipping koreich in charoset

Hi,

The Shulchan Aruch says to immerse the maror in charoses for a brief moment, and then shake off the charoses. Should I do this for the maror eaten in Koreich, too?

The consensus of authorities is that the reasons we dip maror initially do not apply for Koreich. One reason is to commemorate the mortar of Egypt, but a single commemoration suffices. Another reason is to neutralize a toxin in maror, but the matzah of Koreich serves that purpose.

Nonetheless, some dip the maror of Koreich in charoses, because the goal of koreich is to commemorate Hillel's Koreich. Hillel would have used charoses for Koreich, because this was his sole consumption of maror. Some suggest that those who dip the maror of Koreich in charoses should take care not to dip the matzah; matzah symbolizes our journey to freedom, and it does not mix with the mortar of Egypt.

Each family should follow its custom; in the absence of personal custom, people should follow communal practice.

(Hagahos Maymoniyos Hilchos Chametz uMatzah 8:6; Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 475:1; Pri Chadash Orach Chaim 475:1; Magen Avraham 475:7; Shulchan Aruch haRav 475:19; Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 475:8; Mishneh Berurah 475:14, 17-19)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Tithing Israeli produce

May I purchase Israeli produce, if I am not sure whether terumah and maaser have been separated?

One certainly should support Israeli agriculture. We can manage doubt about tithing with the following procedure, which should be followed for each species of produce separately:

Keeping all of the produce to be tithed in one place, we separate a little more than 1% of the produce and hold it apart. [We do not recite a berachah unless we are certain that the produce has not been tithed already.] We declare:

• The northern portion of the produce I am holding, beyond the 1% of the total produce, is terumah for the total produce.
• The produce I am holding that consitutes 1% of the total produce is maaser rishon, along with nine equal parts within the upper portion of the rest of the produce.
• The produce I am holding that constitutes 1% of the total produce is terumat maaser.

We put aside the separated produce to deteriorate, because we are currently unable to give it to a kohen to consume in purity. Once it is inedible, we may dispose of it in our compost bins.

This year is the sixth year of the shemitah cycle, and so we must also separate 10% as maaser ani and give it to a needy person. There are several ways to do this, but one method is this: Designate 10% of the remaining produce as maaser ani, and then declare that it is redeemed for an equivalent sum of money, which you may then give to a needy Jew. However, one may keep the maaser ani for himself; unless someone can prove that the produce was never tithed, there is no obligation to distribute maaser ani.

Please note:

• The COR has a video on this procedure at  http://cor.ca/view/255/video_instructional_tithing_produce_from_the_land_of_israel.html.
• In certain years one must separate maaser sheni. For guidance regarding maaser sheni, see The Complete Artscroll Siddur, page 226.
• Next year is a shemitah year, with unique rules for Israeli produce. I hope to discuss these rules in the future.

Yaaleh v'Yavo in Shma Koleinu

Hi,

One who misunderstands the amidah instructions in the siddur, and recites the special insertion of Yaaleh v'Yavo in the blessing of Shema Koleinu, should still recite Yaaleh v'Yavo in its proper place. However, if he doesn't say it again, he has still fulfilled his obligation and he need not repeat the amidah.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:78:3)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The "vav" in "v'lamalshinim"

Hi,

One the requests in the amidah turns to G-d to punish those who seek to harm us. The blessing begins with an odd conjunction, V'lamalshinim, "And for the slanderers"; no other blessing among the amidah's requests begins with a conjunction.

Indeed, some authoritative editions lack this conjunction, but it may be justified as linking this request to the previous one, which asks G-d to promote general justice in the world.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:78:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Omitting "v'ten berachah"

Hi,

During the spring and summer months, our prayer for agriculturally helpful weather in the amidah includes a request of v'ten berachah, asking Gd to send blessing upon the land. During the fall and winter, the same blessing instead says v'ten tal umatar l'vrachah, asking Gd to send dew and rain of blessing.

One who omits the request for dew and rain in their season repeats the amidah, because those are critical and they are not specified in any other part of the amidah. However, one who omits the generic v'ten berachah [without inserting the words of the rainy period] in its season does not go back, since the theme of asking Gd for agricultural blessing is stated even without those words.

(Rivivot Ephraim 1:78:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai