Short, Reader Submitted Chizuk Thought of the Day for Elul:
Teshuvah? That sounds scary...
Well, what really is Teshuvah?
A man once came to Reb Nachman of Breslav and told him that he doesn't hold by doing teshuvah because he knows that he'll just go back to doing the same things again.
Reb Nachman answered him that Teshuvah is not about not doing the same sins again, but rather it's all about bringing Hashem down into the world and into our hearts.
Every soul is a peice of Hashem and is connected to Him, but our sins make a blockage between the light of Hashem and us. When we say Viddui and confess our sins, it helps us remove the heavy "shell" that our sins have caused, and this allows the light of Hashem to flow down into the world and into us. Teshuvah is not about beating ourselves up over our past, but rather about LIVING for Hashem's honor in the present.
The more we seek to bring Hashem's honor and glory down to the world, the more Teshuvah we do! Automatically, all the past sins are forgiven, and automatically, we won't end up repeating our past mistakes.
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1) A man may be alone with any woman if his wife is also present in the home, as his wife is his ideal Shomeres. (Shulchan Aruch Even HaEzer Siman 22:3)
A man's wife is an adequate Shomeres even during the night time hours. (See Mishna Kidushin 80b and Tosefos Dibur Hamaschil R' Shimon and Pnei Yehoshua's commentary on that Tosefos)
2) According to many Poskim, the above is true only if his wife is actually with him in the same house or at least in the same courtyard, and simply having the wife in the city does not work [unlike in the reverse, where a woman's husband being in the city can be an adequate shmira, details of which we will B'Ezras Hashem discuss in the near future] (See Shulchan Aruch ibid.. See also Igros Moshe Even HaEzer Vol. 4 Siman 65:6, Prisha Yoreh Deah Siman 245:20. See Bais Shmuel on Shulchan Aruch ibid. S"K 22 who seems to rule that if the wife is in the city it does indeed help. See also Aruch HaShulchan Even HaEzer Siman 22:15 and Sh'arim Metzuyanim B'Halacha in his commentary to Kitzur Shulchan Aruch Siman 152:7 where he differentiates depending on where she went and for how long. See Igros Moshe Even HaEzer vol. 4 Siman 71 Dibur Hamaschil U'Bidvar, where Rav Moshe Feinstein Zatzal seems to concur with this view)
A person's wife is an adequate Shomeres even if the other woman is Libo Gas Ba. (See Shu"t Sha'ar Yosef from the Chida Siman 3 Dibur Hamaschil V'Hinay Ra'Isi)
Hear the cries of "10" children!
Father of 10 children is niftar while waiting for a HEART TRANSPLANT, leaving no means for the family!
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QUESTION & ANSWER CORNER:
Reader Submitted Questions of interest on topics related to Halachos we covered, as well as other interesting topic and Answers. Taken from the Q & A pages on the Halacha For Todaywebsite.
Although the answers I give to questions are taken directly from the Sifrei HaPoskim, and aren't my own, they are still for study purposes only, NOT for Psak Halacha.
I would like to know, do I need to wear Tzitzis (talis kuten) during the day if I don't have a [garment] with 4 corners, isn't the halacha that you need to wear it only if you have a [garment] with 4 corners?
Answer:
M'Ikar D'din, if you do not wear a 4 cornered garment, you arent obligated in tzitzis.
However, due to the importance of Tzitizis, the fact that it protects the wearer from harm, the fact that it is equal to all 613 Mitzvos and the fact that it symbolizes our faith, the custom is indeed to not walk 4 amos, especially in daytime (and according to the Arizal even at nighttime, and even when sleeping not to be even for a moment), without Tzitzis.
Our holy sages, the Chazal tell us
תנא דבי אליהו כל השונה הלכות בכל יום מובטח לו שהוא בן עולם הבא, שנאמר הליכות עולם לו, אל תקרי הליכות אלא הלכות - one who studies [at least two] Halachos daily is assured a portion in Olam Haba - the world to come. (:מגילה כ"ח )
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