עשרת ימי תשובה תש"ע Chizuk Thought of the Day for Aseres Yemei Teshuva:
I heard the following fascinating insight from Rav Yissocher Frand shlita in the name of Rav Yosef Dov Solveitzik Ztz"l, to explain why we place such importance on annulling vows on Erev Rosh Hashana, and then do it again at the onset of Yom Kippur (with Kol Nidrei), when seemingly there are more important things to focus on at this most elevated time.
The correct definition of the word Teshuva (which is what we are all working so hard to attain at this time) is "Return" and not "Repentance" as is commonly used.
Teshuva means "returning to Hashem" and "Turning back the clock" to before we sinned, and erasing the sin from our slate. This idea of "annulling" our sins and making them disappear is similar to what takes place when we annul our vows!
When one annuls his vows, the Halacha is that he has to be able to say that he never meant to make the vow in the first place, and that would he have known then what he knows now, he never would have done it.
Thus, we show Hashem that we are sorry for all the vows we didn’t fulfill, and they were all made "by mistake" and therefore we annul them.
This explains the connection between Nedarim and Teshuva! They work exactly the same way!
We tell Hashem that we want to "return" to Him, and that all our sins were done "by mistake" and we didn’t mean to do them, and therefore Hashem goes ahead and annuls them.
This also explains the sequence of Kol Nidrei at the onset of Yom Kippur: a) We start with Kol Nidrei (We tell Hashem that we regret all the vows-and all our sins) b) We then say The Pasuk "V’Nislach L’Kol Adas Bnei Yisroel...Ki Kol Ha’Am Bishgaga" (which alludes to the fact that all our vows- and our sins- now attain the status of having been done "Bishgaga- by mistake")
c) We recite the Bracha of "SheHechiyanu V’Kimanu V’HiGiyanu..." (Hashem annuls our vows- and our sins- thus we say the Blessing which is recited when one experiences a situation of extreme joy, and is there a greater joy than Hashem accepting us back, and allowing us to return to Him?)
To see archives of Halachos of Chodesh Elul/Yamim Noraim/Hilchos Teshuva (written last year) Please Click Here
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1) The length of time that a man and a woman must be alone to be considered Yichud is the amount of time that would be necessary for inappropriate relations to take place between them.
However, the exact amount of time this takes according to Halacha, is a subject of debate amongst the contemporary Poskim.
Some Poskim say that for it to be Yichud, they have to be alone for 5 minutes.( Shu"t Minchas Yitzchok Vol. 4 Siman 94 -97, Shu"t L’Horos Nasan Vol. 1 Even HaEzer Siman 58 towards the end) Others say as little as 2 minutes is sufficient to be considered Yichud. (Rav Moshe Sternbuch Shlita quoted in Minchas Yitzchok Vol. 4 Siman 94. See also Sefer Dvar Halacha in Hosafos Chadashos to Siman 15 that in as little as 35 seconds it can already be considered Yichud. ) 2) Although an amount of time is given, it is prohibited for a man and a woman to be alone in a place where Yichud is prohibited [had they been there the given amount of time], even for a shorter amount of time than is prohibited. (The reason for this is that Chatzi Shiur Asur Min HaTorah. See Shu"t MaHaril Diskin Kunteres Achron Siman 206 and Shu"t Chelkas Yaakov Vol. 2 Siman 14. See also Rav Shlom Zalmen Auerbach Zatzal’s Haskama to Sefer Dvar Halacha, where he rules this way as well.) However, if they are in a place alone, where they cannot be for the amount of time necessary to be Yichud (i.e. an elevator whose doors open at every floor, or where people can technically summon it to stop at each floor) then there is no Yichud problem at all with being alone for a short amount of time. (See Shu"t Igros Moshe Even HaEzer Vol. 4 Siman 65:16) If an elevator does not open at each floor, and it cannot be opened during its ascent/descent (as the elevators in some high rise buildings operate), and the trip takes the amount of time that Yichud is prohibited, it is indeed a problem of Yichud.
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.
Regarding repeating "Hamelech HaMishpat" if it is omitted in Shemona Esrei of Aseres Yemei Teshuva, The Shulchan Aruch (582:1) rules that it must be repeated, thus sephardim must indeed repeat it if it is omitted. The Rama (siman 118) and Mishna Berura argue and maintain that as long as "Melech " was mentioned, there is no need to repeat. Yesterday’s answer was based on the ruling of the Mishna Berura.
Reader’s Question:
If the piyutim [for Rosh Hashana, Yom Kipur etc.] are written in a difficult language as to not have the goyim understand and use them (as you wrote last year in the Halachos of Sep 24 2008), then why are we allowed to translate them in print, these machzorim are easily available to anyone that wants them?
Answer:
While I can’t say that this is the real answer to your question, I would guess that:
a) Today’s goyim arent real "Ovdei Avoda Zara"(idol worshippers) as they were in previous generations, and thus the worry of them using our holy piyutim for their "Services" isnt as much of a worry.
b) Today’s goyim arent as sophisticated as the goyim of previous generations, and don’t appreciate the value of our Tefilos, as the goyim of old did.
c) Many of today’s Jews would be totally lost without the English Machzorim, and thus having them understand what they pray is more important than worrying about a goy getting his hands on our Machzorim.
This is just my hunch.
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 )
Important Numbers
