Torah Down Under

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...