Counting
a Yasamnik in a Minyan
Q:
Is it permissible to count a Yasamnik in a Minyan? [Yasam is the Israeli Police Special Patrol
Unit, a dedicated to continuous security, riot and crowd control and other
special operations. They were heavily
involved in the expulsion from Gush Katif and Amona.]
A:
The question is whether one who asks this question can be counted in a Minyan.
Learning
Mishnah by Heart
Q:
Is there value in learning Mishnah by heart?
A:
Certainly. For example, you can learn
them while waiting for the bus or in a place without books (During the eulogies
for Ha-Rav Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman, Rosh Yeshivah of Ponovezh, Ha-Rav Ovadiah
Yosef learned Mishnah by heart, since all of the eulogies were in Yiddish and
he did not understand them. Related by
his son, the Chief Sefardic Rabbi of Israel, Ha-Rav Yitzchak Yosef, in his
weekly Parashah Shiur on Parashat Devarim 5774).
Stealing
from a Non-Jew
Q:
Is it permissible to steal from a non-Jew?
A:
G-d-forbid! Besides being forbidden on
account of stealing, it is also a desecration of Hashem's Name. The Arizal says that it also causes great
damage according to the mystical side of Torah.
And see Kaf Ha-Chaim 156:12 (After the Six-Day War and liberation of
Yerushalayim, some Jews took advantage of the Arabs' fear and went into their
stores and stole from them. Ha-Rav
Shmuel Ha-Levi Wosner, author of Shut Shevet Ha-Levi, gave a Mussar talk to his
Yeshiva students and said that doing so is a corruption of one's positive
character traits! To illustrate the
severity of the issue, he said: "Anyone who touches money which does not
belong to him becomes corrupt"! And
he added that one can always find "leniencies" in Halachot dealing
with other people, but doing so certainly corrupts his character traits. In the book "Rachemei Ha-Rav" p.
204).
Shabbat
Observance by One in the Process of Conversion
Q:
Is it permissible for a non-Jew who is in the process of conversion to observe
Shabbat?
A:
It is forbidden for a non-Jew to observe Shabbat (Sanhedrin 58b), so he must
perform one forbidden act each Shabbat.
The Rambam holds that the prohibition for a non-Jew is against inventing
a religion, but because he is not doing so here, he can observe Shabbat (There
is a joke that a Yeshiva student once admitted to his Chevruta of many years
that he is actually a non-Jew. The
Chevruat said: But you observed all of the Mitzvot, and you know that a non-Jew
who observes Shabbat is liable for death!
The non-Jew said: I therefore carried something each Shabbat. The Chevruta said: But there is an Eruv! He responded: I don't hold by the Eruv…).
Q:
What about a person who is in doubt as to whether he is Jewish or non-Jewish
and is in the process of conversion? What
should he do? After all, if he is a Jew,
it is forbidden for him to desecrate Shabbat, and if he is a non-Jew, he is
obligated to desecrate it!
A:
He should perform half of a forbidden labor of Shabbat, such as writing only
one letter, since this is only a Rabbinic prohibition for a Jew but is
considered a complete violation for a non-Jew, since the concept of
"Chatzi Shiur" (a violation which did not reach the Torah's forbidden
measure) does not apply to non-Jews.
Minchat Chinuch (Mitzvah #32, Musaf Ha-Shabbat #6). It seems preferable, however, for him not to perform
any forbidden labor, and rely on the above-mentioned opinion of the
Rambam. Another possibility would be to
perform a half a forbidden labor of a "Melacha She-Eina Tzaricha
Le-Gufa" (A prohibited labor that is
performed for a purpose different from its normal purpose. For example, the Gemara assumes that the normal
purpose of digging a hole is to be able to use the hole. One who digs a hole for the purpose of using
the dirt instead of the hole therefore performs
a "Melacha She-Eina Tzaricha Le-Gufa") on Motzaei Shabbat, since according to the
Hafla'ah, it is already a weekday for Jews but is still Shabbat for non-Jews
since the day for them begins in the morning, while for Jews it begins at night
(Although his is a sole opinion) (It once happened in Yerushalayim that Ha-Rav
Shmuel Salant, who served as the Chief Rabbi there, traveled to
Europe to raise money for the Jewish community.
He stayed in Warsaw in the home of the Gerrer Rebbe, the "Chidushei
Ha-Rim". There was a convert in
Yerushalayim who had had a Brit Milah and had yet to heal, so he therefore did
not immerse in a Mikveh to complete the conversion. After Minchah on Shabbat, Rav Salant's
temporary replacement, Ha-Rav Asher Lemil Lowy, ruled in the name of the Badatz
that he should desecrate Shabbat since a non-Jew who observes Shabbat is liable
for death. A great controversy broke out
over this ruling, and questions were sent to many Gedolei Yisrael asking if
this was correct. Rav Salant himself did
not agree with the ruling and said he should observe Shabbat, since after the
Brit Milah, although he was not a full-fledged Jew, he was no longer in the
category of a "non-Jew who observes Shabbat is liable for
death". The Gerrer Rebbe and Ha-Rav
Yaakov Etlinger, author of the Aruch Le-Ner, agreed with Rav Salant (Shut
Binyan Tzion #91. Torat Rabbenu Shmuel
Salant ztz"l 1:31. Aderet Shmuel
pp. 90-94).
Private
Wedding
Q:
I am an elderly widower and want to get married to an elderly widow, but if we
do, she will lose her first husband's pension.
Is it permissible to get married by a Rabbi in a private wedding and not
inform the State?
A:
Certainly not. It is forbidden according
to the Halachah, the decrees of the Chief Rabbinate and the laws of the
State. In the USA, one who performs
private weddings can sit in prison for many years.
50th
Wedding Anniversary
Q:
What is proper way to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary?
A:
By doing something which strengthens your connection to one another.
