Family, Business, & Jewish Life Through the Prism of Halacha

VOLUME 5779 • ISSUE XVI• PARSHAS BESHALACH • A PUBLICATION OF THE BAIS HAVAAD HALACHA CENTER

ly some obstructions in between, and it is un- The THE likely that all the damage caused by the fire was done through a direct path. on the CALIFORNIA Another factor that we need to keep in mind is that one is only liable for the dam- Bring the Parsha to Life! age caused by his fire if the fire was spread WILDFIRES:Part 2: More on who is responsible to through a “ruach metzuyah”, common wind. Adapted from a shiur by Rav Yosef Jacobowitz on Parshas Beshalach pay for wildfires and for what? If the fire only spread because it came into Adapted from the writings of Yosef Greenwald contact with a “ruach she’aino metzuyah”, Practical Halachos of Techum ELECTRICAL FIRE: uncommonly strong wind, the lighter would Shabbos In Part 1 of this series, we stated that if not be liable because there is no reason to אל יצא איש ממקומו ביום השביעי )שמות טז:כט( someone lights a fire in a way that it should think that such a wind will suddenly appear technically have been stopped before reach- and he is therefore not considered negligent. Techum Shabbos dictates that one may not ing his friend’s property – for example, a wall separated the two fields – all opinions would In California, wind gusts that are strong walk more than 2000 amos on Shabbos past agree that the fire has the status of mamon enough to cause large forest fires may not his location (or his contiguous inhabited area) hamazik, and, therefore, the exemption of be everyday occurrences; however, they do when Shabbos began. tamun would apply. However, if there was occur sporadically and are certainly not un- nothing obstructing the path of the fire, Rav Traveling less than 12 mil is derabanan. heard of. Does this satisfy the criteria of ruach Yochanon, whose view we follow, holds that More than 12 mil outside the techum is subject metzuyah? the fire has the status of odom hamazik, and to machlokes: the lighter is liable for all damages. The Chazon Ish1 understands this to be the Some hold it constitutes an issur deoraisa subject of a disagreement between Tosfos2 Regarding electrical fires, there are several based on the pasuk above. and Rabenu Peretz3, who disagree whether variables to take into account. Others hold, that it is only derabanan. a wind that is not the norm but is not com- If the electrical system was set up negligent- pletely out of the realm of normalcy is con- One who traveled past the Techum may walk ly, which caused a spark to shoot out of the sidered a ruach metzuyah or not. Since the four amos around him (or anywhere within his faulty mechanism that led to a fire, this would halacha is in doubt, a contemporary bais din reshus hayachid, e.g., house or ). seemingly fall under the category of a fire cannot obligate someone to pay compen- One’s animals and property also receive the that should technically have been stopped. sation for a fire that only spread because of techum of the owner. But poskim dispute the This is because the spark cannot cause dam- such an uncommon – but not unheard of – severity: age on its own and only creates a fire if it lands gust of wind. Maharlbach – It is derabanan, even if on something flammable. Therefore, there is the halacha of Techum is deorai- much room to say that everyone would agree IS THE FIRESTARTER A MURDERER? sa past 12 mil that such a case would fall under the catego- It is clear that according to all opinions – even ry of mamon hamazik, and would be subject according to Reish Lakish that aish is usually Maharam Alshaker – If to the exemption of tamun. m’shum mimono – if someone would actual- Techum is deoraisa, then this too is However, if someone installed wiring that ly kill someone else by throwing a firebomb spotlight at him, he would be labeled a murderer and deoraisa. was so faulty that the entire mechanism Even Haezer Chabu- went up in flames, which led to a large infer- would be Biblically liable for the death pen- rah meets attorneys alty. We may ask, however, what the halacha no, this could theoretically fall under the cat- One of the challenges inherent egory of odom hamazik and be considered would be according to Rav Yochanon if some- (continued in providing Even Haezer services, on back) a direct result of his actions. However, this is is ensuring that all agreements are both halachically and legally binding. To somewhat of a stretch, being that if the fire 1 Bava Kama, Siman Hei, Se’if Bais this end, , the Even Haezer Chaburah recently caused damage far away from the original 2 Bava Kama 59 hosted Mr. John Panzer Esq. and Mr. Jeff Epstein, 3 Cited in Shitah Mekubetzes ibid Esq., for a presentation on the relevant legal issues. place where it started there is almost certain- (continued on back)

Don’t miss our upcoming Business Halacha Journal topic on Ribbis. Don’t yet receive it? Visit www.thehalachacenter.org/signup, call us at 1.888.485.VAAD(8223) or email us at [email protected] GIVING UP HOPE you pick it up and keep it, or do you have to GENERAL The Gemara in Bavah Metziah (21b) covers return it? the concept of yi’ush sheloh mida’as. This fa- There is a machlokes, a disagreement be- HALACHA mous sugya is used by the poskim to develop tween Rava and Abaya, and the halacha is the halacha with regards to these very rele- like Abaya that yi’ush sheloh mida’as loi haveh TAKING WORK PERSONAL: vant questions. The halacha of yi’ush sheloh yi’ush. This means that until the owner actually Borrowing Office Supplies mida’as pertains to a person who finds a lost loses hope, even though he definitely would item where it can be assumed that the owner have lost hope had he known all the facts, that By: Dayan Dovid Grossman, Shlita, Rosh Bais HaVaad gave up hope of finding it. This applies to an is not sufficient. object which does not have a siman i.e. it has no identifying feature which would enable DOES HE CARE IF YOU TAKE IT? you to return it. It also applies to a situation The Poskim use this Gemara as an example where an object is found in a place which is for the case of taking objects without permis- mostly inhabited by einom yehudim, who are sion. Even if you know that the owner does not not sensitive to the Mitzvah of hashovas ave- care, and would allow you to take the object, dah. you cannot take it until you have permission. You may not take the object until the owner al- In this case, one can assume that the owner lows you to take it - even if you are sure that he of the lost object has given up all hope of ever would be okay with you just helping yourself. recovering it. Once you can assume that the owner has lost hope, you may keep the ob- If an employee is going to use office supplies Can an employee take office supplies or bor- ject. such as paper or pens, and he will not be re- row the company projector for personal use? turning them, he must make sure that his em- There could be a problem if you pick up the ployer allows this. USING OFFICE SUPPLIES object before the owner has lost hope. Even In a busy office, supplies and paper items have if later on the owner would have lost hope of However, the halacha is more lenient in the a way of coming and going. Paper clips, pens finding it, you would not be allowed to keep case of borrowing something without per- and staplers are lost and found within the full it, and would have to return it, if you can. If mission. If the borrower clearly knows that the routine of office life. While some items may not, there would be a halacha of yehei mu- owner allows you to borrow it, and you will be go missing as a matter of course, there are nach ad sheyovoi Eliyahu and thus owner- retuning the item, then it is permissible to use certain office supplies which are sometimes ship of the object could not be ascertained it. As long as you know that the owner would taken with intent. An employee may want to until the coming of Eliyahu.. permit it, you can borrow the item and then return it. use a notepad to write a grocery shopping list, This famous Gemara of yi’ush sheloh mida’as or pocket a handful of paperclips for a home is one of the first gemaras which is usually Asking permission from the owner at least project. learned by children in elementary school. In a once can help to alleviate this problem. If a Is it permitted for an employee to use office regular case where a person is miya’esh and person asked the owner previously, “May I supplies for his personal use? loses hope of ever finding the object again, have some paper clips?” and the owner gave anyone who finds it after that point is allowed permission, then the poskim rule that as long The situation depends on the following ques- to keep it. as he is certain that the boss is not makpid he tion: Does the employee know that the boss does not need ask each time. If the owner is a allows him to use the office supplies? Is he The question is what happens if the own- relative and this situation had come up in the sure that the boss does not mind if he makes er has not yet been miya’esh because he past, you can rely on the previous instance and a few extra photocopies? does not yet know that the object is lost? If help yourself to the item without permission the owner would know the object is lost, he as long as you are sure they still allow. would definitely lose hope. At that point, can MATTERS OF INTEREST Avissar Family Ribbis Awareness Initiative: The Different Types Of Areivim [Guarantors] AREV: GUARANTEEING A LOAN (CO- er or guarantor at their own discretion. Such for a credit card, car loan, or mortgage. If one SIGNERS) a guarantor is referred to in halachah as an does borrow with interest and uses a cosigner, In certain instances where a home buyer areiv kablan. The (170:1) pro- a heter iska must be used. does not meet underwriting criteria, the bank hibits a Jew from being such a guarantor for There are many instances in which the bank may require a cosigner to guarantee the loan. an interest loan on behalf of another Jew. This will require a cosigner, but in reality refer to The current practice of banks is to stipulate prohibition would apply any time one uses a the cosigner as a co-borrower. The definition that they can collect from either the borrow- Jewish guarantor on an interest loan, such as of “co-borrower” is that each party is actually borrowing half the money from the bank. The rower. The guarantor may only be co-borrower then lends his half of the loan to approached after first claiming it the buyer to use to purchase his home. As the from the lender in bais din. buyer repays the loan, he is in effect repaying Arev kablan: Where the lender has the co-borrower of the loan. Since interest is the right to demand payment ei- being paid to the bank on the co-borrower’s ther from the guarantor or from behalf, such an agreement would require a the borrower equally. heter iska as well. Arev shluf dutz: Where the lender’s There are three types of guarantors discussed only claim is to the guarantor. The in halachah in regard to ribbis: guarantor accepts sole responsi- Arev: A standard co-signer, where the lender bility for the loan. must first demand payment from the bor-

If one realized their predicament before hav- ligation or a Rabbinic obligation. Sefer Pnei ing recited the bracha of Ahavah Rabba (the Moshe 1:1 (Benvenisti) writes that the Ram- OU DAILY blessing recited before Shema), one should ban, Rashba and Sefer Hachinuch main- LIVING have in mind when reciting this bracha that tain that there is a Biblical obligation to re- Weekly Questions they are fulfilling the mitzvah of birchas cite birchas ha’ daily. This is derived ha’Torah. In case of need, this bracha can from the verse (Devarim 32:3) “When I call Laws related to Birchas HaTorah substitute for birchas ha’Torah, since it out the name of Hashem, ascribe greatness also mentions . Immediately af- to our God.” This is understood to mean that ter Shmoneh Esrei, one must study some before I read the Torah, I must recite a bless- portion of Torah, so that there will not be a dis- ing. The Rif, Rambam and Rosh are of the ruption between the bracha and the study opinion that birchas ha’Torah was instituted of Torah. Rav Schachter said that on a day by the . Either way, the Gemara (Bava when Tachanun is said, one should not in- Metzia 85b) ascribes extreme importance to terrupt between Shmoneh Esrei and Tacha- this bracha. There it relates that the Bais Ha- nun. One should wait to study Torah until af- mikdash was destroyed because people did ter Tachanun. The Mishnah Berurah cites the not recite birchas ha’Torah, which reflected Pri Megadim that in this case, even if one did a lack of appreciation for the value of Torah I just finished reciting birchos not study immediately after Shmoneh Esrei, (Rashi). ha’shachar (the blessings recited upon wak- one may also be lenient not to repeat birchas The above disagreement among Ris- ing in the morning), but I do not remember ha’Torah, since immediately after the bra- honim leads to the following practical dif- if I recited birchas ha’Torah. What should I cha one recited “Shema.” Although Shulchan ference. When there is an uncertainty as to do? Aruch writes that it is questionable whether whether one recited birchas ha’Torah, must “Shema” can be counted as Torah study, in In a previous halacha, we noted the ruling one repeat the bracha? If birchas ha’Torah is this case there is a double doubt, since it is of the Mishnah Berurah (47:1) that birchas a Torah obligation then one must repeat the also possible that a bracha was said. Because ha’Torah is a Biblical obligation, and in cases blessing. The Mishnah Berurah (47:1) rules of the double doubt, one does not repeat bir- of doubt one must recite the bracha. How- in accordance with the Shaagas Aryeh that chas ha’Torah. In truth, there are very few ever, this is only an option of last resort. Since one must indeed be concerned that birchas cases when one would ever be required to many Rishonim maintain that birchas ha’To- ha’Torah is a Biblical obligation; however in a repeat birchas ha’Torah

Renowned Poskim & rah is only rabbinic and may not be recited case of doubt one only recites the bracha of Maggidei Shiur Presented by The in cases of doubt, if possible, one should find What is the reason we recite birchas ha’To- “asher bachar banu,” since one blessing is Bring the Parsha to Life! The someone who has not yet recited the bracha, rah? enough to dis- charge LAKEWOOD, NJ 08701 105 RIVER AVENUE, SUITE #301 Honoring Your Parents: A Single or Double Mitzvah? TOLDOS Rest in Peace: TheLaws of Kevura CHAYEI SARAH Mixed Meals: Meat & Milk on the Same Table VAYEIRA Anesthesia Procedure: Painless LECH LECHA FruitfulBe & Multiply NOACH Strict or Silly: An Introduction to Sefer Bereishis BEREISHIS on the Bring the Parsha to Life! and fulfill the obligation by listening to the There is a disagreement among Rishonim as the Torah obli- Sefer Bereishis 1 Concise Shiur per Parsha on the RAV Y RAV

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Em Presented by 1 Concise Contemporary RenownedMaggidei Poskim Shiur & ShiurParsha per Halachicto Every Issues Parsha Related RenownedMaggidei Poskim Shiur & ShiurParsha per Halachicto Every Issues Parsha Related Maggidei Shiur Parsha to Every Parsha NONPROFIT ORG PERMIT NO. 251 LAKEWOOD NJ US POSTAGE PAID (continued from front pg.) one would light a fire that spread through a one lit is considered a direct action done by

direct path and ultimately killed somebody. him, which seemingly would make him liable The Would this be categorized an act of murder? if the fire kills someone. This is the view of Tos- fos. The Ran, though, disagrees. This would seem to be a disagreement in between Tosfos and the Ran4, who argue Bais din today does not mete out capital pun- whether one can be liable to capital punish- ishment. What is applicable is the rule of “kom ment for death caused through such an act lei bid’rabbah minei”, which means that in a Bring the Daf to Life! of odom hamazik. case where someone causes a loss of life – be מסכת חולין We find a similar discussion regarding the it intentional or accidental – the Torah tells us halachos of Shabbos. The Nimukei Yosef fa- that he is not liable for monetary damages that mously asks how it is permitted to put food occurred as a result of the same action. For in- This Week's Topics up to cook on a fire before the onset of Shab- stance, if someone causes a car accident that RAV YEHOSHUA GRUNWALD bos. If aish is m’shum chitzo, the fire burning kills another driver and also damages his car, is akin to a direct action done by the lighter. bais din cannot hold the driver accountable for DAYAN, BAIS HAVAAD LAKEWOOD If so, when the fire cooks food on Shabbos, the monetary damage. Thus, if someone fire- RAV YOSEF GREENWALD it should be considered as if the lighter is bombs someone else’s house, thereby causing DAYAN, BAIS HAVAAD YERUSHALAYIM cooking on Shabbos. How is this permitted? a loss of life, bais din cannot pursue the finan- RAV ELIEZER COHEN cial damages done to the house. He answers that, indeed, it is considered as ROV OF BAIS MEDRASH TIFERES ELIEZER However, if the victim has some recourse, for KITNIYOS: CONCEPTS & HALACHOS דף נ"ב if he cooked on Shabbos; however, it is only forbidden to do an act of melacha on Shab- example he is a business partner with the QUESTIONABLE TREIFOS דף נ"ג ,bos itself, whereas this individual did no ac- fire starter and is able to be “tofes”, hold onto tion on Shabbos. funds that belong to the perpetrator, he would PLEASE RISE: STANDING UP FOR A CHOSSON דף נ"ד be allowed to keep that money5. We see from the Nimukei Yosef that on a AND KALLA conceptual level, the burning of the fire that RABBINICAL MEASURES: TO BE STRICT OR דף נ"ה LENIENT? 4 Sanderin 77 5 Choshen Mishpat Siman Daled ?TREIFOS: HAVE TIMES CHANGED דף נ"ו (continued from front pg.) Practical ex- is permitted.

?SEEING IS BELIEVING דף נ"ז The amples: If someone from Lakewood went to the hospi- on the INSPECTING FOR INSECTS דף נ"ח If a Lakewood tal (out of the Techum) on Shabbos, Rav Dovid Bring the Parsha to Life! resident trav- Feinstein ruled that the kids at home may els to New York for Shabbos, a guest needing wear or carry items outside of the Eruv (on R a v a raincoat may not borrow his raincoat and Yom Tov) that are associated with them. How- Bais Horaah Shlomo Zalman Auerbach allows someone wear it outside of the Eruv, since the Techum ever, they may not take items used only by traveling to the hospital on Shabbos to bring as follows the owner in New York. However, Rav the parents outside the Eruv. This is because many items as he wants, as his property follows Dovid Feinstein ruled that if the guest is stay- ownership here follows the general use of the his changed status concerning Techum, and he ing in the house with permission to use it, it object, not the rules of Choshen Mishpat. receives a new Techum. EVENTS AT THE BAIS HAVAAD Rabbi Ariel Ovadia Releases Newest Edition of Avkat Roychel Series The Bais HaVaad is privileged to count among its members Poskim with specialties spanning myriad topics in halacha and hashkafa. Rabbi Ariel Ovadia is a mainstay of the Bais HaVaad Sephardic Halacha Center and the author of the Avkat Rochel series-a halachic analysis compendium related to contemporary topics. He now has released the fourth volume to critical acclaim. We wish him much hatzlacha!

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