Shavuot Nation 5774
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NATIONAL COUNCIL OF YOUNG ISRAEL Shavuot Nation 5774 JEWISH EDITION Compiled by Gabi Weinberg Teen Program Director ! Table of Contents Sources: Got Milk? Or, Perhaps we should be eating meat on Shavuot? page 4 Shiur Guide: Got Milk? Or, Perhaps we should be eating meat on Shavuot? page 7 Sources: Just Dress? Or is Tzniut something more? page 10 Shiur Guide: Just Dress? Or is Tzniut something more? page 12 Sources: Do Jews have horns? If!Moshe!didn't!have!horns,!what!did!he!have?!page!20 Sources: Do Jews have horns? If!Moshe!didn't!have!horns,!what!did!he!have?!page!24 Shiur Guide: Pronouncing the “Z” in Pizza – which bracha is right? page 28 Shiur Guide: Pronouncing the “Z” in Pizza, which bracha is right? page 32 12:00AM - 1:00AM Welcome and Opening Shiur: Got Milk? Or Perhaps we should be eating meat on Shavuot? • 1:00 - 1:10 Snack Break 1:15AM - 2:00AM Just Dress? Or is Tzniut something more? • 2:00 - 2:45 - Big Food, BBQ, Sushi or Alternative fun food 2:50AM - 3:35AM Sources:!Do!Jews!have!horns?!If!Moshe!didn't!have!horns,! what!did!he!have? • 3:35!B!3:45!Final!Snack!Break! 3:40AM!B!4:25AM!Pronouncing!the!“Z”!in!Pizza,!which!bracha!is!right?! • Wash!hands!and!Say!Brachot!Before!TePillah! 4:30!B!Shacharit!! Dear Young Israel Community, Shavuot is a special time of year where we put an extra emphasis on limmud Torah, study of Torah. The concept of a tikkun leil Shavuot, staying up all night immersed in Torah study, started as a kabbalistic custom that became popular across all sections of Judaism in the late 16th-century. Today, we, as directors of our synagogue youth, are charged with invigorating an evening with Torah and fun, it takes a lot of energy, but it could be the one event that leaves an indelible mark on the youth of our communities. Parsha Nation is supposed to continue the methodology that we started on Pesach – involving the children in the Torah discussion, probing them to ask questions and think about Jewish ideas. Our children’s interest and exposure to our mesorah serves as a great way to strengthen our global Jewish community. I think that providing them serious Torah learning opportunities outside of their normal school day helps solidify the messages we want them to hear. In addition to the learning, a bit of gashmiut, worldly pleasure - like a barbeque or sushi, is a great way to keep the kids awake and interested. It’s clearly not the main point of the evening, but it provides an anchor to the evening – and let’s be honest, everyone likes some good food. As you can see based on the sources and methods in this pamphlet, there are different concepts that span many topics in Judaism with the hope to “bust myths.” These are exciting and intriguing conversations that can continue after Shavuot, but there is a certain excitement in an all-nighter held in the shul. If anyone has any feedback or thoughts, I would love to hear them. Chag Sameach, Gabi Weinberg Teen Program Director 3 Got Milk? Or, perhaps we should be eating meat on Shavuot? By Gabi Weinberg, Teen Program Director - Young Israel of Scarsdale Should we be able to eat dairy in the first place? 1. USA Today 08/30/09 SAN FRANCISCO — Got milk? If you do, take a moment to ponder the true oddness of being able to drink milk after you're a baby. No other species but humans can. And most humans can't either… There are people who have true milk allergies that can cause deadly reactions. But most people who have bad reactions to milk aren't actually allergic to it, in that it's not their immune system that's responding to the milk Instead, people who are lactose intolerant can't digest the main sugar —lactose— found in milk. In normal humans, the enzyme that does so —lactase— stops being produced when the person is between two and five years old. The undigested sugars end up in the colon, where they begin to ferment, producing gas that can cause cramping, bloating, nausea, flatulence and diarrhea. If you're American or European it's hard to realize this, but being able to digest milk as an adult is one weird genetic adaptation. It's not normal. Somewhat less than 40% of people in the world retain the ability to digest lactose after childhood. The numbers are often given as close to 0% of Native Americans, 5% of Asians, 25% of African and Caribbean peoples, 50% of Mediterranean peoples and 90% of northern Europeans. Sweden has one of the world's highest percentages of lactase tolerant people. Hold on, I thought meat was the only way. 2. רמב״ם הלכות יום טובו:יח כיצד הקטנים נותן להם קליות ואגוזים ומגדנות, והנשים קונה להן בגדים ותכשיטין נאים כפי ממונו, והאנשים אוכלין בשר ושותין יין שאין שמחה אלא בבשר ואין שמחה אלא ביין, וכשהוא אוכל ושותה חייב להאכיל (דברים ט"ז) לגר ליתום ולאלמנה עם שאר העניים האמללים… . Rambam Laws of Yom Tov 6:18 How do these people [experience simchat Yom Tov]? Give children parched grains, walnuts, and candies, the women buy nice clothing and jewelry according to how much money they have, and the men eat meat and drink wine because there is not happiness unless there is meat, and there is no happiness unless there is wine. And when he eats and drinks he must feed the converts, the orphan, the widow with the rest of the poor people who are miserable… 4 3. שולחן ערוך תקכ״ט מצות יו"ט לחלקו חציו לבית המדרש וחציו לאכילה ושתייה… וחייב לבצוע על שתי ככרות ולקבוע כל סעודה על היין. ובגדי יום טוב יהיו יותר טובים משל שבת. ולא נהגו לעשות בו סעודה שלישית Shulchan Arukh Orech Hayim 529:1 It is a positive command on the holiday to split your time, half of it for study in the beit midrash and half for eating and drinking… You are obligated to procure two loaves of bread and to establish the meal with wine. And you should wear special clothes that are better than what is worn on Shabbat. And we don’t have the custom of having a third meal. 4. מגן אברהם תקכ״ט על היין - ומצוה לאכול בשר Magen Avraham 529:3 On Wine - and it is a mitzvah to eat meat. 5. מגן אברהם תקכ״ט דדוקא בלילה - וא"כ ליכא עשה כלל אפי' ביום ואפשר לו' דפורים שאני דכתיב ביה שמחה ואין שמח' אלא בבשר ומ"מ קשה דהא י"ט נמי שמחה כתיב ביה ואין חיוב לאכול בשר רק בזמן שב"ה קיים עסי'תקכ"ט לכן נ"ל בלילה עכ"פ לא יאכל בשר דהא בלא"ה יש נמנעי' כמ"ש סי' תרצ"ה ס"ב בהג"ה ומ"שונ"ל דוק' בליל' קאי אמגיל': But what about the cheese blintzes? 6. מגן אברהם תצד חלב - יש הרבה טעמים ומ"כ הטעם דאיתא בזוהר שאותן ז' שבועות היו לישראל שבעה נקיים דוגמת אשה המיטהרת מנדתה וידוע שדם נעכר ונעשה חלב, והיינו מדין לרחמים, ומנהג אבותינו תורה היא אך יש ליזהר שלא יבא לידי איסור … Milk - There are many reasons and the reason brought by the Zohar states that the seven weeks were seven clean weeks for Israel, similar to a woman who has days that she is clean from her flow and it known that the blood becomes milk. This is the transition from the attribute of judgement to mercy and the custom of our father is considered Torah. However, we need to be careful not to commit a sin… 7. משנה ברורה א״ח תצד מאכלי חלב - ואני שמעתי עוד בשם גדול אחד שאמר טעם נכון לזה כי בעת שעמדו על הר סיני וקבלו התורה וירדו מן ההר לביתם לא מצאו מה לאכול תיכף כי אם מאכלי חלב כי לבשר צריך הכנה רבה לשחוט בסכין בדוק כאשר צוה ה' ולנקר חוטי החלב והדם ולהדיח ולמלוח ולבשל בכלים חדשים כי הכלים שהיו להם מקודם שבישלו בהם באותו מעת לעת נאסרו להם ע"כ בחרו להם לפי שעה מאכלי חלב ואנו עושין זכר לזה: 5 Orech Hayim Mishnah Berurah 494:12 Eating Dairy - I heard in the name of a great person that the reason for this is that at the time the Jews stood at Mt. Sinai and accepted the Torah, and then they came down from the mountain to their homes and they could not find what to eat… except for diary because meat takes a lot of preparation to slaughter with the proper checked knife, remove the fat and blood, and to clean and salt, and to cook in new vessels because the vessels they had cooked with before were now not allowed. Therefore, they chose to eat dairy and we remember by doing so ourselves. Both, but for a reason 8. שולחן ערוך תצד סעיף ג׳ רמה: ונוהגין בכל מקום לאכול מאכלי חלב ביום ראשון של שבועות; ונ"ל הטעם שהוא כמו השני תבשילין שלוקחים בליל פסח, זכר לפסח וזכר לחגיגה, כן אוכלים מאכל חלב ואח"כ מאכל בשר וצריכין להביא עמהם ב' לחם על השלחן שהוא במקום המזבח, ויש בזה זכרון לב' הלחם שהיו מקריבין ביום הבכורים. Shulchan Arukh Orech Hayim 494:3 Ramah And the custom in every place is to eat dairy products on the first day of Shavuot. I am of the the opinion that the reason is that it is similar to how we have two cooked items on Pesach night, as a remember and to the Korban Pesach and a reminder of the Korban Hagigah, so to we eat dairy and afterward we eat meat and we need to bring with them two loaves of bread on the table because the table is in the place of the mizbeah, and this has a remembrance to the two loaves that were brought on the day of Bikkurim [i.e.