• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Living the Halachic Process Volume VI LIVING THE HALACHIC PROCESS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR THE MODERN JEW Volume VI Answers to Queries sent to the ERETZ HEMDAH INSTITUTE Headed by Rabbi Yosef Carmel Rabbi Moshe Ehrenreich by Rabbi Daniel Mann Living the Halachic Process, Vol. VI Eretz Hemdah Institute © Eretz Hemdah Institute 2020 Additional copies of this book and companion source sheets for the questions in the book are available at Eretz Hemdah: 2 Brurya St. P.O.B 8178 Jerusalem 9108101 Israel (972-2) 537-1485 fax (972-2) 537-9626 [email protected] www.eretzhemdah.org EDITORS: Rabbi Dr. Jonah Mann, Rabbi Menachem Jacobowitz. COPY EDITOR: Meira Mintz TYPESETTING & BOOK DESIGN: Rut Saadon and Renana Piniss COVER DESIGN: Rut Saadon with help from Creativejatin - Freepik.com הו"ל בהשתתפות המשרד לענייני דתות All rights reserved. However, since the purpose of this publication is educational, the copyright holder permits the limited reproduction of sections of this book for non-commercial educational purposes. ISBN 978-965-436-037-1, hardcover Printed in Israel In Loving Memory of ז"ל Rabbi Emanuel and Pesha Gottleib our beloved grandparents Their love for their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren was paralleled only by their love for TORAH, LEARNING, and ERETZ YISRAEL Shprintzy and Effy Dedicated to the memory of Leah and Rabbi Jacob Mann הרב יעקב ולאה מן ז"ל Quincy, Mass. Miriam and Abraham Roseman אברהם אייזיק ומרים רוזמן ז"ל Kew Gardens Hills, New York In Memory of our Beloved Parents Leonard and Molly Naider Joseph and Belle Serle May your memories serve as a blessing for your family and Klal Yisrael. Your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren all miss you very much. Anita and Fred Naider This book is dedicated in memory of our beloved parents and role models: Yaakov Ben Yitzhak Almosnino, A”H Yitzhak Ben Chaim Gamel, A”H Lea Bat Estrea Altzoya Almosnino, A”H Hanula Bat Mazaltov Mezistrano Resnik, A”H May their souls be blessed and counted among the righteous. With everlasting love, Eli and Rebecca Almo Seattle, Washington In memory of Rabbi Solomon and Mrs. Dora Einhorn, aleihem hashalom. שלמה בן גדליה דוד אינהורן ח' באב תשע"ב )27 ביולי 2012( דורה אינהורן )לבית בנדט( ז' בתמוז תשע"ד )5 ביולי 2014( The Einhorns were born and educated in Romania but lived also in Israel and in several communities in the US. Rabbi Einhorn served in important roles in Jewish education wherever they settled. May their memory be a blessing ת.נ.צ.ב.ה To my friend and teacher Harav Mann : I continue to be in awe of all that you do. I am truly inspired by your teachings and even more so by your acts of chesed and tzedaka. Most importantly you do it all with humility. I am fortunate to know you as a teacher and as a friend. May you continue to be a leader and teacher, ad meah v’esrim. Alan Weichselbaum In loving memory of Meyer Penstein מאיר יוסף בן אברהם ז״ל His ahavat Torah knew no bounds. Chani and JJ Hornblass In Honor of Rabbi Daniel Mann In Memory of Rabbi Sidney Goldstein, z”l הרב שלום בן חיים נח הלוי ז״ל from the families of Roger & Rebecca Fine Milltown, New Jersey & Rabbi David and Dr. Julie Fine Modiin, Israel Foreword In regard to the menora in the Temple, the pasuk says: “Six branches extended from its sides” (Shemot 37:18). The menorah is the symbol of the broad teaching of Torah and lighting up the material world through the spirit. The menora, which stood in the south of the Temple, was the symbol of wisdom, and therefore the Rabbis said, “He who wants to become wise should go to the south” (Bava Batra 25b). Rav Daniel Mann and the Eretz Hemdah Institute both have the privilege to publish the sixth volume of Living the Halachic Process, taken from among the responsa of our Ask the Rabbi project. This project gives an important address for individuals throughout the world to receive halachic guidance according to the approach of Eretz Hemdah – “its paths are paths of pleasantness” (Mishlei 3:17). Rav Daniel Mann also serves as an av beit din (senior Rabbinical judge) in our network of batei din, Eretz Hemdah-Gazit, which serves society by solving monetary disputes even in a time of complex modern financial structures. Continuing the metaphor, in this way too we can say that the six branches of the menora gave their light opposite the middle candle, representing the Divine Presence which is based in the west. In that way, the words of the Rabbis that he who wants to be wise should study the laws of monetary affairs (Bava Batra 175b) finds expression. In his responses, Rav Mann brings the various sources and possibilities for each question and strives to find the balance between all of the factors that influence the answer. This brings to fruition one of the most important matters in Judaism in general and in issuing halachic rulings specifically. This is walking on the “road of the king” or the golden path, as the Rambam refers to it. xiii LIVING THE HALACHIC PROCESS It is our prayer that we will reach the “seventh candle” (i.e., the next volume) as well, which will enable us to continue spreading the great light of the Torah. With Torah blessings, HaRav Moshe Ehrenreich HaRav Yosef Carmel Deans of the Eretz Hemdah Institute xiv Preface The questions and answers found in this volume are taken from the files of our responsa service and our weekly parasha sheets from 5771-5776. When publishing a book, it is difficult to know what setting the future reader will be in and what he will know about the background of the author when he was writing or preparing the book. Matters that were in the forefront of the mind of the author and his generation may be unknown or unappreciated blips on the greater screen of history. One who knows the basics of the first century of Israeli history may guess that there was likely to have been some war or rash of terrorist activity at or around the time of the writing of this book. Indeed, this volume includes a question that arose from the danger that abounded at the time of Operation Tzuk Eitan. But for the most part, the questions and answers in this volume were written at mainly “normal” times. In contrast, much of the last year of the preparation of this volume for publication was lived under an unprecedented time from the perspective of our generation – the period of the Coronavirus, which not only claimed many hundreds of thousands of lives around the world but transformed the daily life of our society. In Israel, older members of our community have gone many months practically without leaving their homes or greeting friends and even close relatives inside them. Younger people experienced weeks of lockdown and individual quarantines and months of heightened alert about everything they encountered outside their home. Many people lost their previous sources of livelihood. Does this volume look any different than the previous ones because of the times during which it was prepared for print? I imagine it is not noticeably different. However, it is my belief that sefarim, especially ones within the genre of responsa, are testaments not only to the Torah studied but to the place in Jewish history that they represent. As one of the representatives of Eretz xv LIVING THE HALACHIC PROCESS Hemdah and its Ask the Rabbi service, I have had the fascinating privilege to witness our efforts to take the skills that we have collectively honed over decades and put them to the test. We have had to deal with new questions arising quickly and have taken part in the rabbinic community’s efforts to rule quickly, sensitively, and responsibly. We have tried our best to think of new solutions. We have embraced the responsibility to use our understanding of the world of science and quickly expand it to deal with new findings in the world of epidemiology, in consultation with professionals in the field. We actually did quickly publish a work on questions related to the pandemic that we were involved in (our yasher koach wishes to Rav Ofer Livnat for heading that project). While this volume of Living the Halachic Process stays true to the time- period of 5771-5776 and does not include “Corona questions,” we felt that it would be ignoring the Hand of Hashem to not mention this matter in the forum of the preface. It is always a pleasant obligation to thank those who have helped make this volume, in its present form, a reality. While I have authored all the answers found in Living the Halachic Process, I have done so, not as the project of an individual, but as a member of the staff of Eretz Hemdah to whom the great majority of these questions were sent for the institute’s ruling. As always, this project of Eretz Hemdah was initiated and supervised by its deans, Rav Moshe Ehrenreich and Rav Yosef Carmel, in keeping with the spirit and the guidance provided by our founding president and mentor, HaGaon HaRav Shaul Yisraeli, zecher tzaddik livracha. Many of the questions and answers were discussed with our deans, especially when I was unsure whether my ruling or presentation captured the approach and spirit of Eretz Hemdah. That being said, I must caution that due to the fact that this book is not written in their native tongue, the deans did not review this work word for word.

Load more

  416

Copy Link