Torah Down Under

The Sheiltos in this week’s sedrah talks about the issur of profiteering from food. There are two halachos that relate to not making excessive profit from food: You cannot make more than 1/6th profit on food. You cannot hoard food in Eretz Yisroel in order to sell it later at a higher price. Excessive Profit Regarding excessive profit the gemara says in בבא מציעא דף מ': והאמר שמואל 'המשתכר אל ישתכר יותר על שתות' Shmuel said – a merchant should not make a profit more than 1/6th. Hoarding Regarding hoarding food in Eretz Yisroel, the gemara in Bava Basra (90b) says: תנו רבנן אוצרי פירות ומלוי ברבית ומקטיני איפה ומפקיעי שערים עליהן הכתוב אומר (עמוס ח) "לֵאמֹר מָתַי יַעֲבֹר הַחֹדֶשׁ וְנַשְׁבִּירָה שֶּׁבֶר וְהַשַּׁבָּת וְנִפְתְּחָה-בָּר לְהַקְטִין אֵיפָה וּלְהַגְדִּיל שֶׁקֶל וּלְעַוֵּת מֹאזְנֵי מִרְמָה" וכתיב (עמוס ח) "נִשְׁבַּע ה' בִּגְאוֹן יַעֲקֹב אִם-אֶשְׁכַּח לָנֶצַח כָּל-מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם" “The Beraisoh has taught; People who hoard grain...

Two נסים happened during Chanuka, one was the victory of the Chashmonim over the Greeks, the other was the נס of the oil. There are three things that we do on Chanuka to thank Hashem for these nisim: - We light the menora - We say al hanisim in Shemona Esrei and - We say hallel Are these all for both nisim or are they specific to one nes? The Emek Beracha points out that when the gemara in Shabbos (כ״א עמוד ב') explains what Chanuka is, it does not mention the nes of the victory: מאי חנוכה … שכשנכנסו יוונים להיכל טמאו כל השמנים שבהיכל וכשגברה מלכות בית חשמונאי ונצחום בדקו ולא מצאו אלא פך אחד של שמן שהיה מונח בחותמו של כהן גדול ולא היה בו אלא להדליק יום אחד נעשה בו נס והדליקו ממנו שמונה ימים לשנה אחרת קבעום ועשאום ימים טובים בהלל והודאה “What is chanuka? …when the Greeks entered the heichal they made the oil tameh and when the Chashmonoim defeated them they searched and could only find one jug of oil that had the seal of the kohen gadol. This jug only contained enough...

In this weeks sedrah we learn about the brothers kidnapping Yosef and selling him. It seems (see piyut of asarah harugei malchus – Yom Kippur Mussaf) that the brothers were חייב מיתה for doing this; as the possuk says in Mishpatim: וְגֹנֵב אִישׁ וּמְכָרוֹ וְנִמְצָא בְיָדוֹ מוֹת יוּמָת “If someone kidnaps a man and sells him and he is found in his hand then the kidnapper will die.” There is a discussion in the rishonim what the words וְנִמְצָא בְיָדוֹ mean: Rashi asks, if the captive is sold then how can he still be in the hand of the kidnapper? Rashi explains that the possuk means that the captive was in the hand of the kidnapper before he sold him; ונמצא בידו - כבר קודם מכירה “He was in his hand - before he sold him.” The Ramban asks that, according to Rashi, these words do not tell you anything? Of course you need עדים that the kidnapper held the captive before selling him otherwise you could not execute the kidnapper? ולא הבינותי זה - אם ללמד שיראוהו עדים בידו קודם...

In this week's parshah the pessukim  discuss the laws of shomrim - a guardian who is entrusted with something to take care of. What is the halachah in the case of  שומר שמסר לשומר , where the first shomer entrusted the object given to him for safekeeping to a second shomer ? The gemara paskens in this case that if the object is damaged or lost, the first shomer is chayav to pay even if he would not have been chayav if the same thing had happened when the object was under his jurisdiction ( בבא מציעא דף ל״ו עמוד ב' ): אמר רבא הלכתא שומר שמסר לשומר חייב … מאי טעמא? דאמר ליה את מהימנת לי בשבועה האיך לא מהימן לי בשבועה “Rava says, if one shomer hands over the object to a second shomer then the first shomer is chayav. Why is this so? Because the owner says to the first shomer, I believe you to make a shevuoh that it was not your fault but I do not believe the second shomer.” According to the Rambam, not only does the first shomer have to pay if the object incurred da...

There is a question if we are allowed to accept gerim from Esav and Amalek. The possuk says ( דברים כג ח ) לא תתעב אדומי כי אחיך הוא You should not abhor an Edomi because he is your brother. The poskim discuss whether we are allowed to accept gerim from Amalek. This appears to be a contradiction between the mechilta and the gemara. In the first perek of Shmuel Beis the pessukim relate that a soldier came and told Dovid that Shaul had asked him to kill him as he was mortally ill and did not want the Pelishtim to catch and torture him. Dovid killed the soldier for his actions: יג וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל-הַנַּעַר הַמַּגִּיד לוֹ אֵי מִזֶּה אָתָּה וַיֹּאמֶר בֶּן-אִישׁ גֵּר עֲמָלֵקִי אָנֹכִי. יד וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו דָּוִד אֵיךְ לֹא יָרֵאתָ לִשְׁלֹחַ יָדְךָ לְשַׁחֵת אֶת-מְשִׁיחַ ה'. טו וַיִּקְרָא דָוִד לְאַחַד מֵהַנְּעָרִים וַיֹּאמֶר גַּשׁ פְּגַע-בּוֹ וַיַּכֵּהוּ וַיָּמֹת. טז וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו דָּוִד דָּמְךָ עַל-רֹאשֶׁךָ כִּי פִיךָ עָנָה בְךָ לֵאמֹר אָנֹכִי מֹתַתִּי אֶת-מְשִׁיחַ ה' ...

The passuk says in this week’s sedrah: וַיְבָרֲכוּ אֶת רִבְקָה וַיֹּאמְרוּ לָהּ אֲחֹתֵנוּ אַתְּ הֲיִי לְאַלְפֵי רְבָבָה וְיִירַשׁ זַרְעֵךְ אֵת שַׁעַר שֹׂנְאָיו “And they blessed Rifka and they said to her, ‘Our sister may you become thousands of ten-thousands and may your children inherit the gates of their enemies.’” The beraisah in מסכת כלה  learns from this passuk that we have to make a berachah  when we make kiddushin : 'ומניין לברכת כלה מן התורה? שנאמר 'ויברכו את רבקה “How do you know that you make a birchas kallah from the Torah? As the passuk says ויברכו את רבקה.” The Sheiltos in this week's sedrah ( sheiltah ט״ז) explains further: דאילו מאן דבעי למינסב איתתא מיתבעי ליה לקדושי ברישא וברוכי ברכת אירוסין בעשרה וברכת חתנים בעשרה “If someone wants to marry a woman, they first have to be mekadesh her and make birchas erusin with 10 people and then [after the chupah ] they have to make birchas chasanim ( sheva berachos ) with 10 people.” The He’emek...

The passuk in this week’s sedrah says: וַיִּקַּח אַבְרָהָם אֶת-עֲצֵי הָעֹלָה וַיָּשֶׂם עַל-יִצְחָק בְּנוֹ וַיִּקַּח בְּיָדוֹ אֶת-הָאֵשׁ וְאֶת-הַמַּאֲכֶלֶת “And Avraham took the wood for the olah and he placed it on his son Yitzchak and he took in his hand the flint and the knife.” The Tzaphnas Paneach asks, why did Avraham put the wood on Yitzchak but not the flint and the knife? He answers that as Yitzchak was a korban , it would have been assur for Avraham to ask him to carry the knife. The Tzaphnas Paneach proves that this is the halacha from a gemara in Pesachim ( דף ס״ו עמוד א ') that relates that erev Pesach once fell on Shabbat and the nesiim in Yerushalayim did not know if it was mutar to bring the korban pesach on Shabbos. Hillel proved from a passuk that they could bring the korban. The nesiim then asked Hillel what the halacha is concerning someone who forgot to bring the shechita knife for the korban to the beis hamikdash before Shabbat, as they coul...

One of the merits that saved Noach and his family during the mabul was that he fed the animals in the tevah . The medrash tanchuma says: י"ב חדש שהיה נח בתיבה לא ראה שינה לא ביום ולא בלילה, שהיה עוסק וזן הבריות שעמו "For the twelve months that Noach was in the tevah , he did not sleep by day or by night, because he was busy feeding the animals that were with him." Similarly, the Gemara in Sanhedrin ('דף ק״ח עמוד ב) says that Eliezer, the servant of Avraham, asked Shem, the son of Noach, what they did in the תיבה. He said: צער גדול היה לנו בתיבה בריה שדרכה להאכילה ביום האכלנוה ביום שדרכה להאכילה בלילה האכלנוה “We had a lot of pain in the תיבה, a creature that would eat during the day, we fed during the day. A creature that would eat during the night, we fed during the night.” Further, the passuk says (Bereishis 7:23):  וַיִשָּׁאֶר אַךְ נֹחַ וַאֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ בַּתֵּבָה And only Noach was left and those who were with him in the tevah Rashi comments on ...

The Rambam in ספר המצות, מצוה א, says that the first mitzva is to believe in Hashem; היא הצווי אשר צונו בהאמנת האלקות והוא שנאמין שיש שם עלה וסבה הוא פועל לכל הנמצאים והוא אמרו אנכי ה' אלוקיך “The first mitzva is that which Hashem commanded us to believe in a G-d, that is, that we should believe that there is One who is the source and the cause, He creates all that exists and this is what Hashem said [in the first of the Aseres haDibros] - אנכי ה' אלוקיך" The Behag (brought in the Hasogos Haramban) argues on the Rambam and is of the opionion that believing in Hashem is not one of the Taryag mitzvos. The reason that the Behag argues with the Rambam is that believing in Hashem is a prerequisite to accepting the mitzos. Once we are aware of Hashem we can accept his mitzvos, but it is not one of the Taryag mitzvos itself. What is the macholkes between the Rambam and the Behag? Why does the Rambam say that אמונה is a mitzva and the Behag say that it is a pre-requisite t...

The gemoro in עירוכין דף י״א discusses how we know that the leviim have to say shiroh in the beis hamikdosh. One of the sources the gemara brings is as follows: רב מתנה אמר מהכא (דברים כח) תחת אשר לא עבדת את ה' אלהיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב איזו היא עבודה שבשמחה ובטוב לבב הוי אומר זה שירה. ואימא דברי תורה דכתיב (תהילים יט) פקודי ה' ישרים משמחי לב? משמחי לב איקרי טוב לא איקרי. ואימא בכורים דכתיב (דברים כו) ושמחת בכל הטוב? טוב איקרי טוב לבב לא איקרי. “Rav Masnoh says [we learn that the Leviim have to say shiroh in the Beis Hamikdash] from the possuk: תחת אשר לא עבדת את ה' אלהיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב – because you did not serve Hashem with simcha and a good heart. [This refers to shiroh.] [The gemara asks;] Maybe this refers to divrei torah as the passuk says: פקודי ה' ישרים משמחי לב – ‘The mitzvos of Hashem are upright and cause the heart to rejoice’? The gemara answers that even although the passuk says that words of Torah cause the heart to rejoice, it does not say that they a...

Simchas Beis Hashoeva – Succos 5770 The machlokes Rashi and the Rambam The Mishna at the beginning of the 5th Perek of Succos says: החליל חמשה וששה: זה חליל של בית השאובה, שאינו דוחה לא את השבת ולא את יום טוב. אמרו, כל מי שלא ראה שמחת בית השאובה, לא ראה שמחה מימיו. “The flute is played [in the Beis Hamikdash on Succos] for either 5 or 6 days (depending on if Yom Tov falls on Shabbos). This is the flute of the Simchas Beis Hashoeva which does not override Shabbos or Yom Tov. They said: ‘Anyone who did not see the Simchas Beis Hashoeva never saw simcha in his life.’” There is a machlokes between Rashi and the Rambam concerning what the reason for the Simchas Beis Hashoeva was: Rashi explains that the reason for the simcha is the ניסוך המים – כל שמחה זו אינה אלא בשביל ניסוך המים כדמפרש ושאבתם מים בששון “This simcha is because of the ניסוך המים as [the passuk brought in the] Gemara says - ושאבתם מים בששון” The Gemara (דף נ׳ עמוד ב׳) says: איתמר רב יהודה ורב עינא חד תני שוא...

The possuk in this week’s sedrah says (דברים ל״ב ג'): כי שם ה' אקרא הבו גודל לאלוקנו The gemara in Berachos daf כ״א עמוד א' learns from this that there is a chiyuv to make a birchas hatorah. Normally we make the birchas hatorah as part of birchas hashachar, however if someone gets up early to learn they have to make the beracha before they start learning. The gemara in Berachos (דף י״א עמוד ב') says: השכים לשנות עד שלא קרא ק"ש צריך לברך “If someone gets up early to learn before he has said kerias shema he has to say birchas hatorah.” The Rashba (דף י״א עמוד ב') relates that when Rashi z”l got up early to learn he would first of all make a birchas hatorah. Then, when he went to shul, he would make a birchas hatorah again. Rashi explained that this is not a beracha levatoloh because just as when you say birchas hatorah in the morning you still say another beracha when you have an aliyah, so too here you can make a beracha when learning early and then mak...

On Rosh Hashana, in addition to the mitzva of blowing the shofar, there is an additional mitzva in the beis hamikdash to blow trumpets. The Gemara learns this from the possuk: בחצוצרות וקול שופר - הריעו לפני המלך ה' With trumpets and the sound of the shofar – rejoice before the King Hashem. The Mishna in Rosh Hashana (26b) says: ושתי חצוצרות מן הצדדין שופר מאריך וחצוצרות מקצרות שמצות היום בשופר When they used to blow the shofar in the beis hamikdash they would have two trumpets at the side of the person blowing the shofar. The shofar blew a long note and the trumpets blew a short note because the mitzva of the day is with the shofar. The Gemara (27a) asks that if there is another sound mixed in with the shofar the people listening will not fulfil the mitzva of shofar: ותרי קלי מי משתמעי? והתניא זכור ושמור בדיבור אחד נאמרו מה שאין הפה יכולה לדבר ואין האוזן יכולה לשמוע “Is it possible to hear two sounds together? We have learnt that at Har Sinai Hashem said zochor (you shoul...