מקץ – חנוכה תשפ״ו

00:00 Speaker 1 A gut-- A gute vokh. Welcome to tonight's Shir. Motzei Shabbos Meketz, Hanukkah, and we are in the middle of Chodesh Teves, Chodesh HaSehr. And today's Shir is dedicated in honor of the Yom HaLetes of Sora Feiga bas Chaya Bunia. It's her birthday. Beis Teves, Leil Yom Rishon Teves, and should have B'suras Teves. There's no question that we have to, uh, first of all, think for a moment, pause for, uh, pause for a moment, and perhaps we should even say a Kapitel Tehillim for those who are, uh, wounded. It's an Anita Refuah Shlema. I'm going to take a Tehillim, even though it's by night, but if it's, it's urgent, we can say a Tehillim by night. So if you join me, we'll say Kapitel Chaf. Lamnatzeach Mizmor L'David. Yah, Ancha Ad-nai V'Yomtsara, Yisagech Hashem Elokecha. Yishlach Ezrach Mekoidesh V'Metzira Nis'adecha. Yizkeh Chol Nufchecha V'Elosai Rachnascha. Yiten Lachach Elvochecha. V'Atzoscha Yimaleh Neranah V'Shuoscha. V'Hashem Elokeinu Nidgeil. Yimaleh Ya'adi Nechoh Mishalosecha. Atah Yodati Ki Yishia Ad-nai V'Yishichah. Yaanehu Mishnei Chodshoi. Migboros Yesha Yemino. Eila V'Rechev V'Eila V'Susim V'Anachnu. Hashem Ad-nai Elokeinu Nazkir. Heim Makor Uv'Nofel V'Anachnu Kamnu V'NIS Eido. Ad-nai Yeshua HaMelech Yaaneinu Viom Koreinu. So on behalf of all those who are here sharing in the pain, spre-express our Nechumin, our con-co-condolences to the families of the those who perished in this terrible massacre. Um, and may Hashem give you strength to face the challenges and to rise and to grow despite the terrible losses which you have, um, incurred. I'd like to share with you on

02:22 Speaker 1 the, on the positive side that we just at Motzei Shabbos, I opened my phone, and I got the good news that my daughter in Australia gave birth to a little boy. Uh, so that's a Mazal Tov.

02:36 Speaker 2 Mazal tov.

02:36 Speaker 1 And thank you. And, uh, the... Her husband is, uh, is Shmuel Yisroel Greenbaum. The Greenbaum family actually at first many years lived in Sydney, and then they moved to Melbourne. But as far as I remember, when I was in Sydney forty-some years ago, the, the Zayde of my son-in-law, the elder Zayde of my son-in-law was there and one of the Roshei Yeshiva over there in the shul in, in, uh, the yeshiva on Flood Street, uh, in, in Bondi. Now, there is a well-known, there's a well-known expression, "Nolad Ben Zorcher B'Mishpacha Miyad Hi Rofa." Now, this is, uh, this is appears in two places. It's also-- I found it also in the Yerushalmi in Moed Katon. Now, it says about a Chabura Or Mishpacha which sustained a loss. So then there's a Midat Hadin for three days, for seven days, and thirty days, and then even till, till, till twe-twelve months. Then we have this follow on, "Nolad Ben Zorcher B'Mishpacha Miyad Hi Rofa." So when there's a birth to the-- in the Mishpacha, where there's a birth of a, of a, a new boy, so then that is a Refuah and a, an ease on the pain because, yes, there is a loss. Baruch Hashem, there's something which is-- ca-come-- has been added. And so if we're talking about the Mishpacha Shel Shluchim, Mishpacha Shel Shluchim in Australia specifically, so a Nechama, there's a, a Simcha, and that should be make it easier for the families also to, uh, find Nechama in their, in their

04:22 Speaker 1 losses. I want to share with you something which I spoke about this morning in Shul, and that is that I used to go to Gateshead. I was asked to say a Chizuk Shamaisa. So this is my Chizuk Shamaisa. I used to go to Gateshead, uh, every second week to do a Shiur Tanya. And I was there also Yut Kislev. And I was telling the Talmidim, we had a Farbrengen in the house of Rabbi Yosef Weinstein on Whitehall Road. And I was telling them about the story with the Kislev and how when the Alter Rebbe was a young man in the life, uh, during the lifetime of the Viznitzer Maggid, of his predecessor. And the, the, the Maggid has a visitor. It was Rebbe Pinchas of Koretz, who was a Talmid of the Baal Shem Tov. And he came, and he saw a piece of paper rolling on the floor, which had in it teachings of Sodos HaTorah, secrets of Torah. And he saw this quite symbolic as the, as if the, the secrets of Torah, which are meant to be so, so classified, if that's the right word, are now left in, in, uh, open, fluttering for all to see. And this cr-created a significant Kitrug, uh, indictment on the whole spreading of Chassidus by the Maggid. The Maggid was actually very concerned about this. And then the Alter Rebbe comes up with the well, well-known mashal of a child of a, of a k- of a king who is very, very ill. And all

06:04 Speaker 1 the doctors have despaired of finding a solution for his problem. And then comes along one person, and he says, "I have a solution." And that is to take a certain gemstone, precious stone, and grind it to powder. And then you'll mix it in, in water, and you'll pour it into-- over the lips of the, of the, uh, sh- of the patient, who actually is, as the way the Rebbe described it, his b- lips are pursed. It's difficult to get anything to his mouth, but you'll pour. Perhaps a little bit of the liquid and a little bit of the powder will fall in, and that will, uh, help him, uh, revive, or he can recover. It happens to be that that stone is a very sh- uh, rare stone. It happens to be that that's the stone of the, the centerpiece of the royal crown. And so the king is asked, "Will you-- Are you ready to part with that stone, with the beauty, the centerpiece of your crown, in order to save, possibly save, the life of your son?" And the king says, "Absolutely. No question. Willingly." Uh, and he's say he's ready to sacrifice that. And so the Alter Rebbe said this moshel. When you've got these treasured teachings of, of Chassidus, of secrets of Torah, yes, they are- they're meant to remain secret. But if they are needed to revive Eden from a state of faint, from a state of, uh, of et cetera, so then it's justified to take that even to--

07:34 Speaker 1 to take that, that stone. Yes, it will be possibly, um, disgraced to some degree. But if that brings around a recovery of the Ben Hamelach, of the prince, then the king is happy with it. So I told them this story. And then we continue fabrengen. Then I told them a story how when the Alter Rebbe is in prison, he has the Misri-- the Ba- bum, um, the, uh, the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid come to visit him in the cell. And they tell him, the Baal Shem Tov tells him that the reason why you are incarcerated is because of your spreading of Chassidus in such a wide, um, measure. So the Alter Rebbe said, "When I, when I go out, should I desist? Should I tone down?" And they said, "No. On the contrary, go more and, and wider." So I told these two stories, and one of the t- bochurim there at the fabrengen said, "I don't understand. You just said that already there had been a kitrug. There had been a, an indictment in the times of the Maggid and the Alter Rebbe with his story with the bed that, uh, the, the stone from the king's, uh, crown, that, that kitrug had been taken away. So why did the-- why did trouble come up again so several years later with the Alter Rebbe in the year, what was it, tav kuf nun tes?" So actually, I was stumped. I didn't know what to answer. Then, I think it was a year

09:08 Speaker 1 later, the Rebbe at Yitzchak's fabrengen, so as I remember, addressed this question, and he said the following, that this, the r- the justification and the call for the spread of Chassidus, of Chassidus HaTora could be for two reasons. Could be because Klal Yisroel were in a state of weakness and frail, in a state of faint. They need to be revived. And then there's another reason, because it's Torah mehachaim zachu. It's a foretaste of the, of Moshiah. When Moshiah will come, Chassidus HaTora will be revealed, as it says in Rashi, the beginning of, um, Sh- Shir Hashirim, Yishak- um, Yishakenem in Chikaspihu. And he talks about the secrets of Torah will be revealed when Moshiah comes. And this is a, a kind of a foretaste, a, a herald. The coming of Moshiah is to l- to, to teach Chassidus HaTora, to learn Chassidus HaTora. Says the Rebbe, for the first reason you have what's justified, what's called, um, Chassidus Chagath. Chassidus Chagath, short, short ideas and very powerful, inspiring ideas. These are like, like a, could you say, perhaps a shock treatment. But, uh, yes, to wake up the Ben Hamelach from a state of faintness, that would be justified to have Chassidus Chagath. But then it comes the way the Alter Rebbe learned Chassidus and his teaching in a way of Chabad is understood and its, uh, uh, that whole more logical, uh, rational approach to teaching. This was something which was not justified to revive the, the Be- the, the Cha- the Ben Hamelach.

10:51 Speaker 1 And that's why the Alter Rebbe hesitated. And he asked, "Perhaps, Taia, I've, I've, I've overdone it." And they told him, "No. Once you, you've done it, you keep on doing it." I say this in reference to, I'm sure many of you have seen this, this clip of a, a mother, a shlucha in Sydney who had, uh, the night after, when they came back from the, from the, uh, event, and the menorah in their front garden was burning bright, electric menorah. And one of the children says, "Mommy, take it away. It makes us into a target." And she hesitated, and she thought, you know, at first, uh, moth-- she says, "As a mother, I took it down." And then later, a, a neighbor, a non-Jewish neighbor passes by, and she's walking with a child, and she says, "They took down the menorah. Why did they take down the menorah? Please, p- put it back." And, and then that was kind of turning things around. I, I say this because we can make a cheshbon. That it's-- Are we-- As, as, as Chabad Hasidim, as shluchim, we have become very known, very, very noticeable, very much in the public eye. And you might think perhaps we're over, we're overexposing ourselves. Now, and the, the answer is that this, this exposure is what the Rebbe sees as the need for our generation. Even bechaiv of the Friediker Rebbe, whether it was Mistebishabas rallies, whether it was Lag BaOmer rallies, whether it was-- whatever it may be, this whole

12:47 Speaker 1 approach of bringing Yiddishkeit onto the street and to bring Yidden out of the woodwork because they see Jewish pride on the street, that is very much what the Rebbe sees. This is the need for our generation. So this is like back then. This was the need for the generation. This is the recipe which the Rebbe has for our generation. And the, the... I-- And now, I mentioned also that the Rebbe never sent officially shluchim to places of danger. Whilst he sent-- Even he sent to Morocco and, and, and to Tunisia, but never to places which were more dangerous than that. And there seems to have been a policy where the Friediker Rebbe did send Hasidim into places of danger, the Rebbe didn't. And of course, we have to take every precaution. Actually, when I went to, to Russia, this is about forty years ago, im yodi-- the Rebbe's response was, "Im yodi im darkeih hazirus shomer." If they know how to be careful. Of course, we have to be careful. But at the same time, not to be, not to be, Hashem, deterred. This is the program. This is the, this is the mission. And, um, just to sh-share with you that the sicha which I ch-chased today also from Chelek Gimel in Sichas Chanukah, about four irrationals. The irrational gezeirah, the irrational response to the gezeirah, the irrational, um, ness, and the irrational, um, avoda of, of celebrating the ness. The irrational gezeirah was that the, the Yevonim had no problem with Yidden keeping

14:36 Speaker 1 mitzvahs, but they had a problem with the irrational, the chukkot ha-tzaveim. If the Yidden would say, "You know, we don't understand, but the Aibishter understands," they'd, they'd still accept that. But when the Yidden say, "No, we're doing it not because of a reason, just out of pure Kabbalah service what the Aibishter says," that is chukkot ha-tzaveim. That is something which they oppo-opposed. So that was the irrational commitment to Torah mitzvahs which, which bothered them. And of course, the response of the, the handful of Chashmonaim was something totally irrational to the, the rabim be Yad Me'atim to be able to stand up to such a force was totally irrational. So the Aibishter sends a miracle. He sends a miracle in addition to the rabim be Yad Me'atim. He gives a miracle of the oil that it lasts for eight days. And the ru-truth is that halacha, they do-- could have lit Menorah with, with poss-- with tame oil, because the halacha is that when the whole community is tamei, is impure, then you can, you can do the avoda. You can do the-- bring a Korban Pesach in a state of tumah. So they could have brought... They could have lit the Menorah with tame oil. But this was at a, an expression of Hashem's chibah, Hashem's love to the Bnei Yisroel. Because the Yidden have go-had gone to such an extreme irrational, um, devotion to Hashem, therefore, the Aibishter showed them, "I'm going to give you a miracle," which is the ma'aleh mitam v'das, the

16:05 Speaker 1 miracle of the oil. And indeed, when it comes to celebrating Chanukah, whilst we could also be celebrating the imagi-amazing victories which were to a degree, uh, uh, engaged in Teves, Hashem, uh, the, the Takkanas Chachamim is we celebrate very-- my Chanukah is the inion of the oil, and the mir-- we cele-celebrate with lighting the Menorah for the eight days, that we celebrate the oil, the miracle of oil, more than that they would celebrate the victory because we, we celebrating the, the ma'aleh mitam v'das. And finally, in that sicha, the Rebbe says a point which I've never seen anywhere else, and he says that there's the, the, the mit-- their Chanukah is one mitzvah which cannot be stopped by Goyim, by enemies. Other mitzvahs could be, the Goyim will stop. Even you have three mitzvahs, Yehaerek ve'al ya'aver. So what happens if you have a challenge, Yehaerek ve'al ya'aver? Well, if you, if you, uh, you, you Yehaerek, then the mitzvah is not done. When it comes to Chanukah, it's the only mitzvah, as far as I know, be'shas hasakona, madlik al haner ve'al hayod. So it says clearly, it's in mark of a sakona, and still you're not gonna stop. You're going to, you're going to light it inside, so you're gonna do the mitzvah, and this, the, uh, the Goyim will not be able to stop you. So this is, you know, thoughts which you, you have alluded up in Chelek Tes, Chelek, Chelek Gimel, sorry, um, in Chelek HaKodesh Sichas. The Aibishter's will

17:35 Speaker 1 help, and we should just see, um, just tov hanir v'hanigla. And as I said before, in Nachame to the mishpochas and to all of us. We're all, um, traumatized by these events. And the Aibishter's will help, and we should go get, go stronger and, and, uh, Iker, we should be zocheh to the neris shel Tzion with, uh, Moshiach tz'dakeinu b'meheira b'yomeinu amens. I'm going to go on to our, uh, a couple of Chanukah shailas. So I got a, I got a, uh, phone call From someone who's manning the table, manning the counter at the Ohel, and there's someone on the way to JFK, and they hadn't managed to light Menorah. And he asks, "Can he light Menorah there at the Ohel?" And anyone who's traveled to Israel during this time, you had to stop off. There's the, uh, Beis Chabad in the airport and lots of Menorahs being lit over there, or apparently in JFK that's also the case. And some people are asking, "Well, it's not your house." So I just wanna share with you... I'm gonna share with you, this is from the Sefer Nitai Gavriel. Now, we-- everyone knows, that if at the time of Me-Menorah lighting you are elsewhere in town, so you should go back to your own home to righ-light the Menorah at home. We know that. And yet, this is a very common thing that you have, let's say, uh, children come over to their grandparent, to their parents for a, an evening Hanukkah, and then Zaydi lights

19:09 Speaker 1 the Menorah, and then Bobby says, "Well, you know, you're already here, stay for supper." "But I'm not allowed to eat before Menorah. I have to go home." So apparently, it's that they should light Menorah by Zaydi. And you, you can read here, um, that in Kosher it is hard for you to get back to your house because of the of the children, et cetera. There is basis to light where you eat. So there is, whilst generally we understand that M-Mitzvah Menorah is by your home, but it's not so rigid. And I must say, I, I-- you didn't see it this... Years ago, I didn't see it this way. And I've-- When takes this view, I've, I've-- I'm just thinking, when it says , it doesn't mean and the bricks and stones of his house. means for his family. And so you make one, one, one, one can-- You make one candle for the entire family. It's not clear that it has to be by your house. And here he's, he's saying actually that's not the case. And he says further, whereas in the times of Chazal or in places where, like in Eretz Yisrael, where you light in front of the house, then if you don't light in front of your house, you'll be suspected that you've neglected the mitzvah. But nowadays, where, where-- when those who are lighting inside, so then there's no there's no suspicion. There's no, uh, no one's gonna say, "Oh, you didn't light Menorah," if you don't at least see

20:36 Speaker 1 a Menorah from outside. And therefore, he says it's okay to light where you're eating, which I found very, um, helpful. Now, I just wanna share with you one more thing on, in this, on this point. I am on duty in the Beis HaLerav in here in Stamford Hill on Friday. Friday, I chose Friday because it's a very bu-busiest time. People get anxious before Shabbos, so they ask more shailas on Fridays. So instead of being bored, you get more shailas. Okay. So, um, someone asks the question, "Is eating out Friday night..." I s-- Let's say, I'm going to... You know, I, I don't know the details of his family, but let's say his wife already went to her parents, and he's gonna join the parents, her parents for the, for the Shabbos meal. He says, "I'm gonna light the Menorah on Friday. It's not the mitzvah yet. By the time the Menorah, when the mitzvah comes in to, you know, to, to purpose, that's going to be sunset or later." By the time I get home, the Menorah is gonna be out. Can I make a berakhah? Can I make a berakhah which are for a Menorah, which to the, to, to the entire zman ha-mitzvah there's no g- no one's gonna see it. Does it make sense to light a Menorah in an empty house? And you, and you're not even there b'shailas ha-mitzvah because you're, you're going away on-- So Friday, you're going away before the mitzvah even, even begins. I told him he

22:04 Speaker 1 should still light, but really I'm, I'm not so, uh, happy about that. By the way, then it talks about that it's not imperative. Like you have but at least you see it, but no one sees it. Actually, it would be better that he should light where, where he was planning to eat, to go around there and light Menorah there. And you see there is a heter for that, and this way seems to be illogical. Okay, I'm going to another question. Um, a boy turns bar mitzvah during Hanukkah. So apparently, the Nitai Gavriel in his earlier edition had written that, you know, there's a difference. We, we light Menorah right after shkiah. Most of the, uh, Haredi-ish crowd light Menorah the sof shkiah. So after ma'ariv even. So all right, this boy, if, if he's going to light Menorah by shkiah, he-- the Menorah is still-- He's not-- He's, he's still, uh, a cotton, yeah. An hour later, it's go-- Half an hour later, it's gonna be night. Ah, bar mitzvah. You have a mitzvah of Ner Hanukkah. Why lit it already? But that wasn't you. You were, you are-- Now you're a grownup before you're a cotton. So does his lighting the Menorah as a cotton cover him for the mitzvah of Ner Hanukkah at night? That's the question which he was dealing with. And he says that, uh, at first he, uh, uh, was, uh, cautious about this, and now he says he actually feels it's okay. And he says basically that the idea

23:32 Speaker 1 that when you-- At the moment you do the mitzvah, you're doing what is expected of you. The fact that later circumstances change, that shouldn't be an issue. See It's a similar question if you make kiddush on a Friday before nightfall, and then later it becomes Shabbos. And if you say that how does your kiddush, which you did before nightfall, cover you for the mitzvah in the which is after nightfall? And he says, basically, you did the-- At the right-- When you did it, you did the what's expected of you at that time. And therefore, it-- you don't-- The mitzvah doesn't come later and, uh, um, um, doesn't oblige you. And this is very similar to the famous sikha of the Rebbe about a boy who turns bar mitzvah on Shabbos Erev Pesach, and he happens to be a bachur. So he should have been fasting. He should have fasted on Erev Pesach. But because it's Shabbos, so the fast is brought forward to Thursday. Thursday, he's a cotton. So does his fasting, assuming that he does fast on Thursday, does that cover for his duty to fast on, on Shabbos? And the Rebbe takes a similar approach. Let's, let's, like, take a look here. He says... The Rebbe lays down a yasod, that it's, it's, it's perfectly logical that a cotton has to kind of prepare before his bar mitzvah. Not talking about mitzvahs but you don't expect him on the day of his bar mitzvah all of a sudden to be able to do

25:12 Speaker 1 all the mitzvahs. Therefore, there has to be some kindAnd similar, he compares a ger, that a ger is expected, min haTorah. You want to become a ger, it, it, it must be that you have to have some time before, some preparations in advance. You can't just throw him in the deep end and expect him to do everything. So there must be some preparation. And therefore, Rabbi says, the child, this bar mitzvah boy, when it comes to your base Nissan, he has a duty to see that when it comes-- when he turns bar mitzvah on your adult Nissan, that he's able to do the mitzvahs. If one of those mitzvahs is fasting because he's a Bechorer, okay, so he's got a duty to fast on your base Nissan, and that covers him for his duty later. And a similar idea over here with the, uh, he lights the Menorah at the right time. That's what he's-- That's his Mascona. You write the Menorah. He lights the Menorah at Shkiyah time as he does, as he did before and he does after. No difference. And don't worry about the fact that there's gonna be a greater Chiyuv later. Especially with Hanukkah, it's much easier because you're talking about Rabbanun. Rabbanun can be Motzei Rabbanun. Not such a big problem. Okay, let's move on. So here is a question. Someone, um, made a Berakhah on a knish, and after saying the Berakhah with appropriate Kavanah, he realized, "Oops, I'm Fleishig." So now look, by-- for those who

26:34 Speaker 1 don't know, knishes in this context are Flei- are Milchig. It's a cheese knish. So what do you do now? So I'm trying to explain something. The fact that we wait between Milchigs and Flei- Fleishigs and Milchigs is on the level of Minhag. It's a Minhag which is written in the Gemara. It's a Minhag which is written in Shulchan Arukh and Siman Bet Tes, but it's on the level of Minhag. Min haTorah, there's no q- no, uh, question at all of any Averah here. Min haTorah, it's only when the meat and cheese have been cooked together. But having Milchigs and at the same time you've got some Fleishig taste in your mouth, that's definitely not a question of Isu Min HaTorah. It's a Minhag of the Zahidim, and we're careful about this. So, well, he, this is a safe Episcop-- Sokym and Shivas, he wants to say that, um, if it's more than an hour since you... Because there's an opinion that says waiting an hour is enough. Um, there are more Poskes that way. That's the Minhag of Holland today. So if it's more than an hour since you ate Fleishigs, so then you can have your knish. There are those who say even if it's within, within the hour, perhaps it might be that you should just have a little bit, tiny bit. And this way your Berakhah is not a Berakhah Lebatalah. And, uh, just have a tiny drop of the knish and the rest you'll, um, apply the Yescafiah. Um, then the

27:58 Speaker 1 fellow who asked me this question says, what he did was he went to the larder and took out a pretzel, and he had a p- a pretzel. Well, that's not so Poshet because he was intending to eat a knish, and the pretzels were, were not there. And what you see here is, i-i-this-- he writes further, if he was intending to eat a Pareve food also with the same Berakhah, of course, just eat the Pareve food and the problem's solved. But then he says, if, if you do... Now he says, according to the Alter Rebbe, it's not enough that you intended to eat the pretzel. It also would be necessary that the pretzel would be in presence, in your presence when you say the Be- when you say the Berakhah. According to the British Mishna Berura, it's even if, if, if it was in the cu- in the cupboard, it's also good, but provided you have it in mind. But he didn't have in mind, so whipping out a pretzel to sel- save you from this, uh, knish dilemma doesn't seem to be adequate. Right. We go on to the next question. What's number four? Okay. Here's a question which is this time of the year, you know, all over, people, uh, people want to get to work at a reasonably early time. Davening Shacharis is a challenge because we have a Tfillin. As a man, you can't put on Tfillin earlier than this in this time. You can't put on, uh, uh, say, Berakhah Tzitzit

29:22 Speaker 1 before. Basically, he's asking the question, what is, uh, it's got-- One to start Shacharis early before there's a man, what's called Mishayakh here, which would be the time where you can make a Berakhah Tzitzit and Berakhah Tfillin. Is it better he puts on the Talis and the Tfillin early and then between Ishtabach and Yoitzer to just say the Berakhah or to say the, the say Psukim DeZimra without Talis and Tfillin, and it comes to after Ishtabach before Yoitzer to put them on then. So let's read what we have over here. This is from Siman Lamed. The Alter Rebbe writes, well, the Midar Bonan, you can't put on Tfillin by night. And then it says, if the person is intending to join a group of people walking a, a distance before-- and they're walking out from before daybreak. So here he has a Hetter to put them, his Tfillin on before day, before daybreak. And, um, and then he'll walk along, and then when it comes the right time, he will then touch the Tfillin and make a Berakhah then. And here's the important point. She'ein lo roshema yishon behhen. The reason why we don't put on Tfillin by night is because you might fall asleep. But since he's actually gotten up and he's gone on a journey, so he, he, uh, we're not worried he'll fall asleep. But then he said, "That's only if he's, if he's walking." But if he's gonna be sitting on a wagon, then he could do-- uh, nod off whilst

30:52 Speaker 1 he's on the wagon, and then he's not allowed to put on Tfillin early. So it's not an easy Hetter to say, "Oh, because he's gotten up early," uh, it's just not an easy Hetter. And therefore, and here you have also from a contemporary Sefer, um, Lekha Lekhemecha Chodesh, where you have people in, in Western Europe where it's a problem to get to work on time with davening, et cetera. So basically, it seems to be the advice to put on... to, to not put on Talisontefillin until after Yeshtabach, and then put on Talisontefillin with the, with the, with the Bracha. The exception would be the, with the, would be the Chazan. The Chazan, as soon as he said Borchu, then you don't have to be mafsik. You have to go straight into the next thing. So how does it-- how would the Chazan work this out? He would have to put them on before Yeshtabach. Um, I'm not sure about whether he would be mafsik then to say the Bracha. Possibly, yes. Okay. Um, this is such a common thing, and I was so surprised I couldn't find it on record clearly in the Melachim. Perhaps because they live in Eretz Yisrael mostly, so they're not exposed to how common this problem is. Right. Let's move on. So, yeah. In this season where people give gifts, um, is it okay to give a, your goyishe neighbor or coworker, whatever, to give them, uh, a piece of chazer, nice piece of yashmakah chazer. Is that allowed? So

32:32 Speaker 1 there is a din that you're not allowed to trade with non-kosher food if it's also min haTorah. If it's also min haRabonon, that's okay. But if it's also min haTorah, you're not allowed to trade with it. And the Rama goes even further. Even to buy chazer to feed your non-Jewish workers is also not okay. So you've got a crew of workers, and it's your responsibility to provide them, uh, lunch. And so it says you can't buy a chazer, et cetera, to feed them. Others disagree. They don't see this as a scharah, but it seems to be, in our case, talking about a gift would also be no different in my mind to than, than buying a g- um, food for your workers. Therefore, it would go into the issur of scharah. So therefore, to buy chazer, the thing which is also min haTorah, the answer would be no. If it would be something like a bottle of wine or chocolates, uh, et cetera, uh, chalav akum, for s- for sure you can be meikel. How you're gonna deal with the Ma'arasayim, that's another story. But, uh, as, as far as the issur of buying it, so you have a heter to do so. But then that brings another question. Bechalal, should you be giving gifts at this time of the year? So here you have a din in Siman Kuf Mem. Uh, now I, I apologize. There's a mistake in the list of, um, references. This is in Siman Kuf Mem Ches. And the, um,

33:58 Speaker 1 um, Mechaber says, this is in din in, in, in M- Mishnah Vedezorah, that during this ti- the time of, of, of a goyishe festival or a Vedezorah festival, you wouldn't be allowed to give a g-- send a gift to a Goy. Unless you know that he is an Apikores who doesn't believe in his, in the Getzkus either. And for that matter, if the Goy sends you a gift, you shouldn't accept it. But then if he... All right, let's not go into too much detail. So the Mechaber says you shouldn't be giving gifts to Goyim when it comes to the days of their religious festival. Then we have the Rama, who says that nowadays we are... Well, first of all, the Mechaber says that nowadays the Goyim are not so, uh, proficient in, uh, the idol, idol worship, and therefore one can, can do business with them, et cetera. And then he says, if you are sending a, a g- a Goyt, a, a, a gift to a Goy nowadays, in the eighth day after Nittel, which is otherwise known as New Year's. New Year. Nayayor. So, and but the Goyim, it's something s-significant that if they receive a gift on this day, so then it's a, a good omen for them. So he says, better send it mibeerev. Mibeerev, perhaps the night before or the night after, I'm not sure. If, if you can, avoid sending the gift mamish by Goyim. Uh, if not, he says you can send it. So there's a reluctance to

35:24 Speaker 1 send gifts to a Goy mamish on the day of the celebration. Um, okay. That's as much as I have to say. Right. Now, if someone asks me about he's traveled to Ireland and came back, and he benched Gomel. Some people in the shul where he davened, when he said Gomel, they questioned this about saying Birchas Hagomel for such a short trip. So let's address this. Um, first of all, this that you have on this, on the screen is from Sefer Haminhagim. If you travel overseas by plane, Birchas Hagomel. You also say Hagomel. Now, Sefer Haminhagim, I think, uh, is underestimated as it sounds like just minhagim, you know, which day do you wear a kippot. By the way, if you want to know, there is apparently an app to tell you whether you should wear a kippot today. Um, and don't ask me more details. But coming back, the Sefer Haminhagim is a serious... It's a Sefer, and a lot of the things are, uh, from the Rebbe. So this is a psak of the Rebbe of that if you travel by plane, so you say, you should say Birchas Hagomel. Now, this to have to clarify this. United States is a very big country. And if you fly from LA to New York, you... I, I, I apologize for my amoratus. Is it possible you dri- you're flying over Grand Canyon? You might be flying over, over a, a desert. And yet they don't say Birkat Hagoel. It says clearly this is, uh, very

37:10 Speaker 1 worded carefully. It's only if you're traveling over sea by, by a plane, not if you're traveling over land. Now, the halakha is if you traveled, um, the seas, you have to say a Goel. And then when if you travel through a Midbar. So why does, uh, tra-- flying over the sea warrant Birkat Hagoel and why does traveling, uh, over a desert not warrant Birkat Hagoel? So I haven't seen this in Seforim, but I'm, I'm offering a sug-a suggestion. Traveling through a desert is the d- is the risk that you'll be confronted by, uh, highwaymen, et cetera, by gangsters on, on, in, in, on the ground, and they will, they will, uh, cause, cause harm. So now if you're traveling a few thousand feet up, that's not gonna happen. What is the danger of flying... Uh, of, of, what is the danger by, by, by f- by ship? Traveling by ship, when you're on the ship, we're not so worried about the pirates. The worry is that the ship could be affected by storms, and then you'd fall out of the ship and into, into the water, and that's not br- much fun. So now that Sakana of getting out of the ship into the water can be by a plane also. As remote as it is, Baruch Hashem, but it's a different type, type of Sakana. One is whilst you're in the Midbar, and that doesn't apply to a plane journey. One is when you'd get out of the ship, and that would be equally

38:36 Speaker 1 relevant in a plane journey. Fine. Now then, how, how far is considered a, a, a plane journey? Now, in the Melachim, now those people in that Shul, yes, in the Melachim, they bring from various contemporaries for him to say that f-flying from England to France is such a short trip, it doesn't warrant Birkat Hagoel. What I can say is for the last forty years plus, I've seen with the mini-the Minich Kavuah that we do bench Goel when crossing over the channel, not talking about the using the tunnel, but flying a, a hovercraft or a ship or by plane. The Minich in by us at least is to say Birkat Hagoel, and therefore, um, that's, that's our Mesorah. Ireland, I, I googled this. Ireland is, is, is, uh, um, a f- a few times longer than the Brit-Brit-- wider. The distance, uh, to fly from, uh, uh, British Isles, uh, from, sorry, from Great Britain to Ireland is a greater, much greater distance than to cross from England to France. And therefore, uh, according to our Minich, we would say a Bracha coming from Ireland. Right. Um, so here someone is actually is, in, lives in Montreal, and very cold there sometimes, and is asking is he allowed to wear earplugs to protect him from the cold. So I'm not talking about ear muffs. I'm talking about earplugs. So at first I wasn't so concerned, but then I see that this is, this is mentioned in Shulchan Aruch about putting wool, cotton wool, in your ears.

40:23 Speaker 1 And the, the concern is that it, if, if it falls out of the ear, unless it's very firmly fitted, if it falls out, then you'll co- be tempted to carry it home. That's one reason given. Then he says, this is referred by Chaim Noi, adds another interesting point. Uh, he says that if you are wearing these ea- earplugs of wool, and certainly the rubber ones, if someone comes over to talk to you, you can't hear so well when you've got those plugs in your ears. So you'll be tempted to put-- take them off and put them in your pocket. And so for these two reasons, whether because they might fall off, they're not fitted too well, or because you might be tempted to, uh, if you want to hear someone... And by the way, uh, it's also a bit of a traffic hazard, um, safety hazard. I was once wearing a pair of, uh, earphones and listening to some Gish Makashir, and then I walk into the road without even realizing there's a car coming. So these, these noise, noise-canceling, uh, earphones have got some element of risk. Perhaps they should also put a warning. If you're listening, uh, if danger, if you're listening to Gish Makashir, um, don't wear these, uh... Okay. Let's move on. Um, someone asks that they baked their supper, and they realized that they, they had put the Challah, that is the, the piece of Challah, to burn. They'd put it there a couple of days ago, and the burnt

41:50 Speaker 1 piece of Challah was still in the oven when they pa- baked tonight's supper. So this is you have from the Shulchan Aruch. Yesh Ovim, that when you burn the Challah, you should burn it separately because you're not allowed to have benefit from it. No Yagin, to throw it into the oven before you break- bake the bread. So what you're seeing here is burnt-out Challah is not a problem. A burnt piece of, a cinder of Challah does not, is not a problem. But let's say if a Challah was actually, was, um, was, uh, was still dough, it wasn't burnt yet. Would that cause a, a, uh, a Shilah, a Isser on all the, the food which you baked in the oven at the same time? So Sefer, which I was using, he writes that there's, there's a difference in the Halakha between what's called Kochush or Shomen, something which is more, um, um, lean or something which is a more fatty substance. And he quotes from the Alter Rebbe in Hilchas Pesach that bread is called the Dova Kochush. It's not considered a fatty substance. And therefore, Bedieved, even if the Cha- Challah had not been burnt yet, it wouldn't, um, cause an Isser, uh, to the rest of the food in the oven. We have one more question on our list, so we will finish a couple of minutes early and, uh... Right. So here is a question someone had. They actually live far away from a mikvah, and they had bought some, a pot

43:35 Speaker 1 and a knife. And the picture of the pots, you know, often it has a sticker. At the bottom of a pan, bottom of the pot, the sticker, there's-- they could see there was still the residue of the glue. So that was one shailah. The other one is looking over here, you have here a, a handle. If you look on the, on the picture, you can see that the handle has got a plastic cover, which is shrunk onto the handle. But that's not meant to stay there. It's meant to be removed. And so, does she have to, to tovel it again? Is that a question of chatzitza? So I wasn't sure about this. The reason being that it's not-- the handle is not the one which needs the tevilah. It's the blade which needs the tevilah. So the handle is only there as a tofel to the blade. And therefore, I was, I was doubting myself whether a chatzitza on the plastic handle is enough to, to invalidate the tevilah. So that's why I looked around. Eventually, I found... This is, uh, this is from a Sefer called, you can see it's Imrei Tehoros, and referred to in the Darkei Teshuva, not in the right name. It gives it Kontras Tes Tes, Tevilas Ha'ar. It's, uh, the, the Chacham Ovadia I've mentioned many times. The Chacham Ovadia, he also prepared a small booklet on the halachas of preparation for mikvah, et cetera, et cetera. On those halachas. It's, it's like a booklet, actually. It's fifty pages.

45:09 Speaker 1 And at the end, there's also a few, you know, yoni mot tevilas keilim and a few other things. Interesting, some of the things, they are very similar to the Alter Rebe's Zahiris about cracking nuts. He doesn't say you mustn't crack nuts, but he says about being very careful not to come to duba'ir, uh, when you're cracking nuts on Shabbos. Um, so now he's saying that, that you have a, a, a, a keili which has got a handle. It's got a wooden handle. So when you tovel it, the, the wooden handle also has to go under the water. And also, the handle has to be also free of chatzitza like the keili itself. Then he talks about when there's a recess. Sometimes you have a, a pot or a jug which has got a recess at the bottom. So that could be also a bit of a challenge how to make sure that the whole-- that the, that recess at the bottom also becomes filled of water. That's a side thing. But meanwhile, we see here that he says that there is a problem of chatzitza even on the handle. He doesn't say what's the din b'di'eved, but listen, uh, I would-- I, I said better they should tovel it again. Okay, that's what I have to share with you tonight, and, uh, wish you all, uh, a good, a good HaVoch, and a good HaChodesh, a frail Chanukah, and we should have ach tevil chatzed. Um, We should just have, uh, and Amen.

46:37 Speaker 3 Amen.

46:44 Speaker 4 Amen.