Current Topic:
Review of Halachos of Yamim Nora'im
1) It is three days until Yom Kippur, and the order of the day, of course, is Teshuva; it's on every observant Jew's mind on some level at least.
We all want Hashem to forgive us for any sins we may have transgressed against Him or against our fellow Jews.
As we mentioned a few days ago, sins against our fellow Jews cannot be forgiven by Hashem until forgiveness is first sought from the one who was offended.
When forgiving someone, it is extremely important to verbalize this fact by saying "I am Mochel you with my whole heart". (See Rabbeinu Bechaya Bereishis 50:17 where explains that Yosef HaTzadik was Mochel his brothers, the Shevatim , in his heart, but never verbalized this thought, thus the Asara Harugei Malchus and many other Tzaros needed to befall Klal Yisroel over the ages. There is a lengthy discussion about this, but this forum is not the place)
2) After receiving forgiveness from the people that we hurt, there are still 24 things (Brought by Rabbeinu Yonah in Sharei Teshuva, end of Sha'ar 1. They can also be found more at length in the Rambam Perek 4 of Hilchos Teshuva. The original source for these items seems to be a Tosefta) that are Me'Akev -prevent- proper Teshuva from being attained if one or more of them apply to the person in question.
Obviously it is best to try and make sure that we don't have any of these impediments in our day to day lives, so we can assure that our Teshuva is easily attained and properly accepted by Hashem.
Most of these things are probably not relevant to most of the people reading this, but it is still Halacha, and can be used as a catalyst for Teshuva in other areas in which we may indeed need rectification.
The 24 obstacles to Teshuva are: (Loose translation, as it would be too lengthy to delve into the details of each one. If you have any questions as to the definitions, or details of each one, please feel free to ask and I will try to clarify.)
One who frequently spreads Rechilus (slander)
One who regularly speaks Lashon Hara (Gossip)
One who gets angry quickly
One whose bad (impure) thoughts control him
Being connected to a rasha (evildoer)
Taking from food that isn't sufficient for its owner
Gazing at Arayos [with sinful intent]
Partnering with a thief
One who says "I will sin and repent afterwards" or " I will sin and Yom Kippur will atone for the sin"
One who derives honor [and pleasure] from his fellow man's humiliation.
One who separates him/herself from the Tzibbur (congregation).
One who ridicules his forefathers and/or teachers
One who curses the public
One who prevents a group of people from doing a Mitzvah
One who causes another Jew to leave the good path and take a bad path [of living not according to the Torah]
One who uses the pillow of a poor person [i.e. causes a poor person to lose the use of any of his meager possessions]
One who accepts bribes in order to skew and distort justice from prevailing.
One who finds a lost object and doesn't [try and] return it to its proper owner.
One who sees their child going off the [Torah] path, and doesn't admonish them [as appropriate for the situation and with proper guidance of a Rav].
One who eats [i.e. usurps] the food [i.e. livelihood] of poor people, orphans or widows.
One who argues [and does an action] against the will of the sages.
One who accuses good people of doing wrong [without proper proof or reason]
One who hates [and cannot accept constructive] criticism.
One who ridicules all or some of the Mitzvos of the Torah [or those instituted by the sages]
QUESTION & ANSWER CORNER
Reader Submitted Questions of interest on topics related to Halachos we covered, as well as other interesting topic and Answers.
These Q&A are taken from the Q & A pages on the Halacha For Today website.
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.
Questions can be emailed to HalachaForToday@Gmail.com
Question:
Is a non-Jewish maid allowed to use the microwave in their Jewish Employer's house
A) for their personal use (obviously not treife food)
B) to warm up something, already cooked, for the Jew
C) to cook something raw like corn?
Answer:
This is a debate amongst the Poskim if "cooking" in a microwave is considered halachic cooking, as there is no fire and also the food that is usually prepared in a microwave is not fit to serve for a king.
Rav Moshe Feinstein Zatzal (Igros Moshe Orach Chaim Vol. 3 Siman 52) ruled that microwave cooking on Shabbos is a prohibition of Bishul. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach Zatzal (Minchas Shlomo Siman 12 footnote 4) maintained that only cooking with fire is the biblical prohibition of cooking and thus microwave cooking is not biblically prohibited in regard to Shabbos.
A Rav must be consulted for Halacha L'Ma'aseh to determine a) if microwave cooking is considered cooking and b) if the fact that it may be considered cooking for Shabbos automatically means it's considered cooking for the purposes of Bishul Akum and other areas of Halacha, and thus your questions will be answered.
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Quite a few readers sent me the following two important notices and requested that I post it for all to see and hopefully participate. These are both wonderful Zechuyos, merits, to grab and take advantage of as we approach Yom Kippur!
1)
This coming Monday, September 24 2012, please daven for Sholom Mordechai ben Rivka Rubashkin.
Please also sign this new Petition telling U.S. Supreme Court to Accept Rubashkin's Case on Sept 24. The goal is 100,000 Signatures.
All who have mercy on others will merit Hashem having mercy on them (Talmud Shabbos 151b)
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2)
This Sunday, September 23 , Jews all over the world will be
davening for Moshiach all at the same time!
PLEASE set your alarm clocks to 11:00 am if you are in America, and
5:00 pm if you're in Eretz Yisroel, 8:00 am if you are in Los Angeles, 4:00 pm if you are in London, and 7:00 pm if you in Moscow.
PLEASE TELL EVERYONE U KNOW ABOUT THIS.
Click Here for more info.
MAY WE ALL BE ZOCHE TO OUR TEFILOS BEING ANSWERED, AND TO THE COMING
CHIZUK CORNER
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This section is dedicated L'Ilui Nishmos the Telzer Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Chaim Yaakov Stein Zatzal , the Mir Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Noson Tzvi Finkel Zatzal and the Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Ohr, the great Posek HaRav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg Zatzal.
May we all strive to follow in their ways and may they be Melitzei Yosher for all of Klal Yisroel.
We will B'Ezras Hashem post here each day a short inspirational thought to help us all improve our lives and grow in our service of our Father in heaven, HaKadosh Baruch Hu.
IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING MEANINGFUL FOR THIS SECTION, PLEASE EMAIL IT TO HalachaForToday@Gmail.com
THANK YOU AND תזכו למצות!
זכר צדיקים וקדושים לברכה
Question:
How does Israel benefit from being persecuted by the wicked?
Answer by HaRav Avigdor Miller Zatzal:
There are benefits to be gained from the persecutions. Among them: (1) to inform Israel of its superiority, and (2) to discourage mingling with gentiles or imitating their deeds or thoughts.
Thus when a gentile cries "Jew!" he is really saying: "Prince"!
www.JewishEverything.net
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For a beautiful Translation and presentation of the 13 Midos of Rachamim, compiled and submitted by a daily reader, Click HERE.
Important Numbers
