Shabbat-B'Shabbato – Parshat Metzora (Hagadol) No 1620: 8 Nissan 5776 (16 April 2016)

AS SHABBAT APPROACHES Redemption, Prayer, and Torah Study - by Esti Rosenberg, Head of the Midrasha for Women, Migdal Oz

In the introduction to his book "The Time of our Freedom" Rabbi Soloveitchik describes the mystic charm of the Seder night:

"As a child I would stand and I was enthralled... I was hypnotized by this night... bright with the light of the moon, enveloped in beauty and glory... I was excited and filled with inspiration... Silence, quiet, peace, and a feeling of calm surrounded me. I became used to surrender to a flow of abundant joy and excitement."

The Seder night incorporates within it an abstract of our entire religious world, and every Jewish family has the privilege of passing on the tradition of the generations from father to son and from mother to daughter.

There are three main elements in the Seder night:

The first element is the "story of the Exodus." The historical record is passed down from one generation to the next. Every generation tells the next one in line about the experience of redemption, about the matzot and the packages on the backs of the people, about leaving in the middle of the night, and about the emotional experience of moving from slavery to freedom. It is a first-person account, a true record of what happened to my own ancestors. The emphasis in the story is on personal experience, on faith, and on how the Holy One, Blessed be He, chose us as His nation. "Tell your son the following: G-d acted for me because of this when I left Egypt." [Shemot 13:8].

A second element of the night of Pesach is the joint study of the halachot of the holiday. "You shall also tell him – Nothing is to be eaten after the serving of the Afikoman, in memory of the Pesach Sacrifice." [Haggadah, reply to the Wise Son]. During the Seder every father and mother teaches the children the laws of Pesach – the significance of the Exodus from Egypt. "You shall worship G-d on this mountain" [Shemot 3:12]. The Exodus is significant because of our acceptance of the yoke of the mitzvot, and the Seder night serves as a place of study where everybody in the family has the privilege of studying Torah together.

However, the high point of the Seder is the third element. "We begin with our detriment and end with praise... in the end we tell about the miracles and wonders that were performed for us, and about our freedom." The recital of the full version of Hallel and other prayers in the second half of the Seder provides an opportunity to praise the Holy One, Blessed be He, for His daily acts of kindness and for His great miracles at the time of the redemption and at Mount Sinai.

The stories of the redemption and the receiving of the mitzvot which are repeated and experienced throughout the long night lead to an outburst of joy and thanksgiving to the Almighty for all the good that He has done for us. During the Seder every family is privileged to pray together – father and daughter, mother and son. They all sing together and recite the Hallel from the depths of their hearts. This is a unique opportunity that comes once every year, as the family joins together to greet the face of the holy Shechina.

These three facets of the Seder are indeed exhilarating, each in its own right, but they are even more exciting when they take place within the family. This is a combination of a faithful framework of family tradition together with Torah study and the great power of prayer and giving praise to the Holy One, Blessed be He.

1 All of these elements combine to make up the essence of the Seder night, and the essence of our religious world.

POINT OF VIEW A Public Defense of MK Betzalel Smutrich and the Maternity Wards - by Rabbi Yisrael Rozen, Dean of the Zomet Institute

By the time you read this article, you may well have forgotten about this subject, so let me remind you: About a week and a half ago, all the men and their wives fell all over MK Betzalel Smutrich and his wife in reaction to their declaration that they prefer to have Jewish maternity wards and not be placed in mixed company with Arab women (the specific complaint about "partying" is a code for the fact that the cultures of the two peoples are foreign to each other). I am no expert about the working of the media, and just how they managed to get from the couple such a "juicy" quote in the interests of making a tumult. But it is clear that any journalist can immediately see the explosive potential which has been provided to him or her, including the massive cannonballs that will soon come into their grasp, engraved with such words as: "prejudice... Nazis... international damage... harm to our delicate relationships... yet another statement by the murderous rightists... He should quit! Fire him!..." And so on...

I am not an attorney for Betzalel and Revital Smutrich. If I were familiar with the original context and the platform on which this declaration was made, perhaps my reaction would be that we have a case of a lack of tact and even a possibly foolish remark on their part, since now there will be a rush to block off what the others claim is a breach of ethics. However, now that the subject has come up, I want to discuss the matter in principle, well above the level of the media and the knee-jerking political reactions that are being so skillfully staged.

"The Desire of a New Mother"

The Smutriches did not say a single word about the level of treatment and service that patients should receive. Nor have they said anything at all beyond the matter of separation of hospital beds in a maternity ward. But we all know that all the hospitals are in a never-ending search for women who are giving birth, since this is considered "good money," paid straight by the National Insurance Institute (Bituach Leumi). There are hospitals which invest in accessories for greater comfort, others take a special interest in nutrition, and some hospitals arrange for close contact between the new baby and the family. Various hospitals have hired advisors to come up with ideas as to how to market the maternity wards to different sectors of the population and how to heap upon them and their families benefits that fit their specific desires. The main thing that they want is for the women to come back for additional births! I have only admiration for the one who identified the demand and raised the idea of offering separate rooms by mutual consent, as yet another attraction on the social or national level. Every Arab woman who gives birth and wants to be in a room where all the women speak the same language and every Jew who wants to be in a room that is exclusively Jewish will have their desires fulfilled. And anybody who does not make an explicit request will be put in a shared room.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out what is wrong with such a consensual arrangement. It does not have even a hint of any desire for racism. And there is no hint of any fear that the physicians and nurses will give a lower level of treatment to women who are not of their own nationality. In any case, the principle of mutuality is being conserved. And the entire arrangement is one of mutual consent.

I am not innocent, and I know what will be said by those who oppose my approach: "Where will all this end?" Why don't we begin to separate rooms based on religion/irreligion, sector, or political viewpoint (put them on the left or the right of the corridor...), as long as the women agree to such an arrangement? Well, I have two answers to this: (1) We cannot manage our entire lives constrained by the fear of a "slippery slope" and the claim, "Where will this lead?" We cannot cancel any and all actions that are

2 reasonable in themselves just because "unrespectable people" will distort the matter. (2) And we can also look in greater detail at this imaginary fear: There is no way that maternity rooms will be divided up by consent on a basis of politics or sector. On the other hadnd, a separation based on religion or a lack of religion might be reasonable, but only on Shabbat. How pleasant it would be to know that mothers who have given birth would be able to join their families in singing Shabbat "zemirot" and not be disturbed by a radio or television on the holy day. However, I find it hard to believe that even such a separation can be organized in a fair way, and it is harder to believe that any such agreement can be achieved in a public hospital.

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"A Gentile Charity Collector and A Jewish Charity Collector"

In past issues of Techumin, the annual collection of practical halachot published by Zomet Institute, there have been quite a few articles about the proper status of Gentiles who live in our midst. I wrote an article in Volume 4 (5744 – 1984) with the title, "Gentiles in the Jewish State – Autonomy or Dispersed Living?" It was reprinted in my recent book, "Bechatzotzerot Beit Hashem." At the end of the article I quote from the Talmud Yerushalmi: "If a city has both Jews and Gentiles, a Gentile charity collector and a Jewish charity collector are appointed, and collections are made from the Gentiles and from the Jews. Both Gentile and Jewish poor are given charity, both Gentile and Jewish sick are visited, both Gentile and Jewish dead are buried, Gentile and Jewish mourners are comforted, and the clothing of both Gentiles and Jews is laundered – for the sake of peace." [Gitin 5:9].

This text implies that we should create charity and welfare organizations (and other joint institutions) as partnerships, and that "Gentile and Jewish collectors should work together." Thus, the services are equally available and at the same level of service for all ("for the sake of peace"), but the officials in charge of the service are separate, Gentiles separate from the Jews. Note, however, that this is not a case of hostile Gentiles but a separation based on social and cultural elements. This must be even more so when the two different types are on opposite sides of the nationalistic divide.

(Written after the end of Shabbat, Torah portion of Tazriya.)

SWEETNESS FOR THE SOUL Not a Need but a Desire - by Rabbi Itiel Gilady, Lecturer in the School for the Soul and Editor of the Writings of Rabbi Yitzchak Ginzburg

Mankind is caught up in the thicket – bound by modes of thinking, obligated by customs, surrendering to restraints, pursuing the satisfaction of his own needs, and quite often addicted to his own lusts. How can one extricate himself from such a prison?

We read in the Haggadah, "In every generation each person must see himself as if he went out of Egypt." The Exodus from Egypt is endless – every person must leave his own Egypt and his own limitations. The goal of spiritual treatment is to free a person from prison who feels that his problems leave him no way out. And since "a prisoner cannot expect to free himself from prison," even a wise and experienced man needs external support in order to break free.

The Limits of Sanctity

From the spiritual point of view, the analogy of prison is multifaceted: It encompasses one who is imprisoned in his own world and cannot express himself; one who feels trapped in his habits and his daily routines – including positive actions that have become oppressive and have lost their freshness and novelty (Chassidut calls this "Egypt of holiness"); one who feels that various constraints are overpowering his life; and one who is addicted to his own lusts. The true physical prisoner, who is the subject of

3 the prayer to "free the prisoners," is one whose imprisonment has moved over to the unconscious mind. He does not identify his situation as illness, a deviation from the norm, or a problem, because his habitual thinking, the norms that surround him, or his own distorted thought patterns block his ability to recognize that any other situation is possible.

Common Ground

Each type of imprisonment requires its own mode of treatment, with a need for personal adjustments. However, there are some common aspects that appear over and over. Every release from prison must begin by recognizing the situation. When a person does not repress the feeling of being in prison and accepts the situation but rather begins to feel that he can no longer accept his imprisonment, he has begun his way back to freedom. That is how Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Pshisscha explains the verse, "I am your G-d, who releases you from the suffering of Egypt" [Shemot 6:7]. The first stage of redemption is to refuse to tolerate enslavement as an acceptable way of life. The very ability to recognize and define the problem contains an element of release for the soul.

Internal Freedom

The next deep stage is to expose a person's internal point of freedom. The Tzemach Tzedek, the third Rebbe of Lubavitch (whose date of death occurs this week), once said in a very strong statement that he can accept it when a person says, "I want this" (even inappropriate desires), because every soul had the power to lust. But when a person says "I need this," he has reached a point of "Karet" – being cut off from the nation. Why is this so? The most influential people, who are intimately connected to the workings of the soul, explained that since every Jew has within him "a part of the Almighty from above" [Tanya, Chapter 2], he should feel, similarly to the Creator, that he does not lack for anything. Just as is true of the Holy One, Blessed be He – that "everything that exists needs Him, but He does not need anything else" [Rambam, Hilchot Yesodei Torah] – so all of his actions are an expression of his free will and not forced by external constraints. To say "I need this" is an expression of being cut off from the Divine source. Becoming free depends on reconnecting to the Divine source, by taking a deep breath that links a person to his own soul and reminds him that in his very essence he is a free agent.

When one is aware of the problem and is also able to reconnect to the Jewish essence, which is totally independent, it becomes possible for the person to extricate himself from the external reality of the prison. If you remain interested in what seems to you to be problematic, you have no reason to complain. This is the path which you have chosen, and you can happily continue! And if not – you have the power to free yourself and act as you really want to.

(In greater depth, one can see here the basic structure of treatment of our mentor the Baal Shem Tov: surrender/separation/sweetening. Identification of the problem and recognizing that I am imprisoned in an intolerable situation are surrender of the soul (since pride is the main element which prevents a person from recognizing how serious his situation is); separation is the act of reconnecting to the independent soul, which is separate and remains free from all external influence; mending the external reality is sweetening and a way to fix the problem.)

A PARSHA INSIGHT A Medicine for Longer Life! - by Rabbi Asaf Harnoy, Post-Graduate Beit Midrash for Torah and Leadership, Jerusalem

The Midrash tell us about a peddler who passed through the towns in northern Eretz Yisrael declaring that he was selling a new and very valuable medicine that can increase a person's lifespan. When Rabbi Yanai heard this he decided that he was interested, and he called out to the peddler that he wanted to buy some of the medicine. The man came close to Rabbi Yanai and said, "You, Rabbi Yanai, have no need for this medicine." The rabbi found it

4 hard to understand why he could not have any of this wonderful medicine. So the salesman took out a book of Tehillim from his pocket and read to him the verse, "Who is the man who wants life? ... prevent your tongue from speaking evil" [Tehillim 34:13]. (Vayikra Rabba)

Rabbi Yanai understood what the salesman was trying to do, and he said, "All my life I have been reading this verse, but I never realized how easy it was to understand – until this peddler came here!"

Don't Look Far Away!

The first lesson we can learn from this Midrash, based on the words of the peddler, is how close to us are all the things which we really want, right at our fingertips. Sometimes the pace of our daily lives prevents us from seeing that the things that are really important to us are not far away, across a river, but are close by, within our reach. All that we need do is take a good look, listen, and pay attention. Rabbi Yanai read the above verse all his life, perhaps he sang it at Seuda Shelishit – as Shabbat drew to a close – with eyes shut tight and with great devotion. But only now did he realize that he can look at the simple interpretation of the words – by guarding your tongue you can prolong your life.

Try it Yourself

Recently I decided to try something, based on the inspiration of the peddler in the Midrash. I was asked to say a few words before the start of Mussaf on Shabbat, and I began with a question that I was sure would get the attention of the congregation. I asked if anybody had heard of a newly-discovered drug which has definitely been proved to have the ability lengthening a person's life. And indeed all those present who had begun to slip into their own world of daydreams began to wake up and pay attention to what I was saying. Then I copied the technique of the peddler in the story, and I read the verse, "Who is the man..." to them. (And some of them promptly dozed off again.)

Another important lesson is that in order for an idea to be understood correctly and to become part of our internal self, it is not enough to just study it. It is necessary to portray it in terms of a practical act, like the peddler who spoke of a drug that could extend a person's life. In order for us to become close to the words of Torah and to bring them deep within ourselves, we must make them come alive, we must feel them throughout our body. We must fulfill the demand that "they are our life" in its simplest form – we must live for the Torah and bring it to life.

The Torah Portion of Metzora as a Preparation for Pesach

The portion of Metzora on "Shabbat Hagadol," right before Pesach, is the most appropriate Torah portion, and it could not come at a better time. The name Pesach is a code word for the essence of its power and its greatness – "Peh-Sach," meaning a mouth that speaks, while performing the important mitzva related to the Exodus from Egypt: "V'higadeta levincha' - And you shall tell your son" [Shemot 13:8]. This mitzva, which joins together the chain of all the generations of Yisrael, from father to son until the end of time, must be preceded by an important introduction.

The need for this introduction is served by the Torah portion of Metzora, which teaches us that the main strength of speech lies in guarding it and restraining it. Only one who watches over his mouth and who knows not to speak in a prohibited manner can also get back something of the power and the sanctity of the positive speech of the holiday of Pesach. The great power of the mitzva of the Haggadah (from the word v'higadeta) on the Seder night can only be revealed after the mouth has been cleaned of impurities as we are taught to do in the portion of Metzora.

Afterwards, just like the peddler in the story, a man can don his holiday attire and delve together with his entire family into the tremendous experience marking the redemption from Egypt. Just like the peddler, who demonstrates in practical terms the meaning in his own life of the verse, 5 "Who is the man," so every man can perform the mitzva of the Haggadah on the Seder night not only by speaking but by becoming a "living description" of a person who truly feels as if he is leaving Egypt at the present time right now.

"A man must present himself as if he left Egypt" [Rambam, Hilchot Chametz U'Matza].

NOTES FROM THE HAFTARAH "Before the Coming of the Day of G-d" - by Rabbi Oury Cherki, Machon Meir, Rabbi of Beit Yehuda Congregation, Jerusalem

Eliyahu the Prophet offered Olah Sacrifices outside the Temple, seemingly performing a sin, in order to cause Bnei Yisrael to repent their ways. And this indeed corresponds to the ruling of the halacha: A prophet can cancel a mitzva on a temporary basis ("hora'at sha'ah"), as is written, "It is time to act for G-d, they have violated Your Torah" [Tehillim 119:126].

Eliyahu learned this concept of descending to the level of the nation from Aharon, the High Priest, who actively participated in the sin of the Golden Calf and joined the people in their hour of need. Moshe, on the other hand, descended from Mount Sinai and immediately treated the sinners with strict justice. We can say that Moshe assumes that man is inherently good, and therefore no sin can be accepted. Aharon, on the other hand, recognizes the practical possibility of sin and leaves room for atonement. Moshe operates in a mode of "lechatchila" – a priori – while Aharon sees matters as "be'di'avad" – after the fact. The way to combine these two approaches is to understand that man is indeed inherently good but that he can sometimes do a sin (the sin is an external and temporary phenomenon).

We can see an example of this combination in the command of the Pesach Sacrifice in Egypt, in the Torah portion of Bo. The lamb for the sacrifice is slaughtered outside the Temple (and outside of the bounds of Eretz Yisrael), the sprinkling of the blood and the consumption of the sacrifice take place within the homes of the people, in a very unique and unusual way (the homes of the people take on a role similar to that of the Altar, where the blood of the other sacrifices is sprinkled, and the flesh of the sacrifice is eaten within the "Altar"). All of this is done on a temporary basis ("hora'at sha'ah"), in Egypt itself. And it is not repeated in later generations.

However, in this case the people are following an explicit command given to them by G-d. It is no accident that the introductory verse to this command begins with the words, "And G-d said to Moshe and to Aharon in the Land of Egypt, saying..." [Shemot 12:1]. This is a unifying point, where the Torah of Moshe and the Torah of Aharon meet.

In the Haftarah of Shabbat Hagadol, Malachi, the last of the prophets, maps out for us the path that will lead to exile, when prophecy will no longer exist within Yisrael: "Remember the Torah of my servant Moshe which I commanded him at Chorev, giving all of Yisrael laws and decrees." [3:22]. The Torah of Aharon is not useful at a time when prophecy does not exist. But on the other hand, the Torah of Moshe might be a cause of great weakness among the people, for what will they be able to do if they commit a sin? They will not have prophets who can give them a temporary respite which will show them how to repent! And therefore the prophet ends his declaration with words of comfort: "Behold, I am sending you Eliyah the Prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of G-d. And he will bring the hearts of the fathers back with the hearts of the sons, and the hearts of the sons back with the hearts of the fathers, lest I come and strike down and devastate all the earth." [3:23-24].

Before the day of judgement arrives, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will return to His people the spirit of prophecy, and specifically the powers of Eliyahu. He knew the secret of mending, and with its help the people will mend the situation, both fathers and sons. In this way they will all arrive at the Day of Judgement "with clean hands and a pure heart." [Tehillim 24:4.

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MY KLEZMER BLOG "I am Sending Eliyahu to You" - by Moshe (Mussa) Berlin

The Custom of Rav Chaim of Volozhin

Rav Chaim of Volozhin had a custom never to recite a blessing unless there was somebody next to him who would answer "Amen." The source for this custom is in the Zohar.

One night, Rav Chaim was very thirsty and needed a drink. But everybody had gone to sleep, and he did not want to wake anybody. While the rabbi sat there and suffered from his thirst, he heard a knock on the door, and one of his students came in. The student wanted to ask the rabbi a question about the Gemara he was studying, but Rav Chaim asked him to wait a minute. He recited the blessing, and was able to drink some water, after hearing the student's "Amen," loud and clear.

Rav Chaim answered the young man's questions and sent him on his way. The rabbi was very happy that he had been able to solve his acute problem.

When he arrived in the yeshiva the next morning, Rav Chaim went to the student and thanked him profusely for allowing him to recite the blessing by being there to respond. However, the man looked at Rav Chaim with surprise in his eyes. "When did I come to the Rav at night? Where was this?" He did not know anything about the whole story... And the entire matter was seen as a remarkable story.

Rav Shalom Schwadron explains the matter in a simple way: Because of the strict way that Rav Chaim observed this custom, he was given help from heaven. Perhaps it was Eliyahu who took on the form of the yeshiva student. This would indicate that the student was at a very high spiritual level, since the fact that Eliyahu appeared in his image must mean that he was a very worthy individual for Eliyahu to copy.

Another Cup for Eliyahu

The following story is told about the Kabbalah master Rabbi Shalom Sharabi:

One time, as he sat alone late at night delving into mystic aspects of the Torah, the servant girl came into the room and put down two glasses of tea. The Rashash, as he was called, was very surprised. He asked her, "For whom is the second glass?" In her innocence, she replied, "It is for the man sitting next to you."

The servant didn't understand the question, since she saw two people sitting there. The Rashash immediately said to her: "If you can see the Prophet Eliyahu, you are worthy of being my wife." And he married her.

(Source: the archives of Rav Shalom Schwadron)

I Heard it from Reb Eliyahu

Reb Eliyahu Shefer, my neighbor in Elkana, tells the following story:

Their home in Baghdad was in the same neighborhood where the "Ben Ish Chai" lived. When Reb Eliyahu's mother was about three years old, she slept in a room that faced a window in the Ben Ish Chai's house. One time, she woke up at night and woke up the entire household with her crying.

When they asked her what was wrong, she said that she had seen a fire in the house next door. They all ran to her room, but they didn't see any flames.

This happened several times, and the people asked the Ben Ish Chai what to do. His advice was: If that is what the little girl sees, move her to a different room.

7 Listen to the nigun, "Ish Chassid Haya" – There was a Righteous Man. Press here. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4wVKmPBQao)

For reactions: [email protected] Visit my website: www.mussaberlin.com

HALACHA FROM THE SOURCE Halachot of the Seder - by Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon, Director of the Center for Teaching and Halacha and Director of the Beit Midrash in the Lev Academic Center

Wine or Grape Juice for the "Four Cups"

It is written in the Talmud with respect to Kiddush that a priori one is allowed to drink grape juice. "A man can squeeze out a bunch of grapes and recite the daily Kiddush" [Bava Batra 97a]. The Shulchan Aruch gives the same ruling (272).

However, with respect to the Seder, some people have written that wine is to be preferred. Why is this so? First of all, some rabbis feel that only wine is a symbol of freedom (see Pri Megadim, 472, and the opinion of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, quoted in Haggadah Kol Dodi, 3). Second, wine is to be preferred from the law of happiness on the holiday, since "there is no real happiness without meat and wine" (Rabbi Frank, Mikra'ei Kodesh, Pesach 2:35, based on Rashi, Pesachim 108b and the Mordechai, Bava Batra 97a).

In spite of the above, we can say that a priori one fulfills the mitzva of the Four Cups by drinking grape juice (the use of wine is an added "hidur" – an elegant way of performing the mitzva, similar to the use of red wine). Thus, a person who has no difficulty with this should drink wine, but one who finds it hard to do so – and especially if drinking wine will interfere with the mitzva of telling the story of the Exodus – should preferably drink grape juice, and he will then be able to observe the mitzva of telling the story to his son in the most elegant way! This was the practice of the GRIZ (Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Halevi Soloveitchik), the Chazon Ish, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, and others. (See Siddur Pesach K'Hilchato, volume 2, page 2, note 25; Teshuvot V'Hanhagot 2:243; and more.)

In addition, for many people drinking wine is not a demonstration of freedom but is rather a matter of pressure and sadness. The Rambam writes that one should dilute wine with water "so that the drinking will be pleasant" [Hilchot Chamtz U'Matza 7:9]. This implies that somebody who has difficulty drinking wine, either because of the taste or a headache (or weariness), is allowed to drink grape juice instead.

Summary: The mitzva of drinking four cups was instituted as a symbol of freedom, and perhaps also to impart an exalted significance to the mitzvot of the night. The cup must hold at least a "revi'it" (86 cc). One is required to drink all of the contents of the cup or at least most of it, and it is therefore best that the cups not hold much more than a revi'it. Drinking wine is a way of performing the mitzva with "hidur," but one is allowed a priori to drink grape juice. Therefore one who feels that wine will cause him to become weary (or that the wine makes problems for him) is allowed a priori to drink grape juice.

We should emphasize that the best thing for children and young people is to drink grape juice. As noted above, grape juice is satisfactory a priori for use in this mitzva. Wine can lead to weariness, and it can also make one used to drinking wine, and even becoming intoxicated. Therefore, especially in the world today, children and youths (and often adults too) should be taught to drink not wine but grape juice for the mitzva of the Four Cups.

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How Much Matza must be Eaten?

8 The requirement to eat matza at the Seder is a Torah mitzva, as is written, "Eat matzot in the evening" [Shemot 12:18]. (See Pesachim 120a.)

How much matza must we eat? There are three different measures of what constitutes a "kazayit," the minimum amount that we must eat: - The large measure (Chazon Ish, based on Tosafot): 47.5 cc. - The medium measure (Rabbi Chaim Naeh, based on Tosafot): 27 cc. - The small measure (Rabbi Chaim Naeh, based on the Rambam): 19 cc.

Some people calculate the "kazayit" based on weight and not volume. However, from the words of the Mishna, the early commentators, and the prominent rabbis, it is clear that this is a volume measure (while some of the Sephardim do measure by weight). This matter greatly influences the amount of matza that one must eat, since the specific gravity of matza is about half of that of water. Thus, one who eats based on weight must eat twice as much as one who bases the limit on volume!

Let us translate these numbers into the typical size of matzot today (this takes into account the typical machine matzot, and for hand matzot the same size piece should be used). A machine-made matza typically weighs about 30 grams, while its volume is about 60 cc.

We calculate the limits below in cc, which is according to the opinion of the Ashkenazim and many Sephardim. (One who wants to be stringent must thus double the amounts written below.)

- The mitzva of eating matza at the beginning of the meal (a total of two measures of a kazayit) – three quarters of a matza (at the very least half a matza). This is the most important matza eaten at night, since it is a Torah mitzva.

- A kazayit for "Koreich" – which is a rabbinical decree: Half a matza (and if this is difficult, a third of a matza).

- A kazayit for the Afikoman (which most rabbis feel is also a rabbinical decree): If this presents no difficulty, three quarters of a matza. If it is difficult, half or even a third of a matza is enough.

These matzot, and especially the first matza to be eaten, must be from "Matza Shemura." It is best to eat hand-made matza shemura which was made specifically to be used for this mitzva (although some people allow eating machine-made matza for this). We should eat in a reclining position and feel the joy of the privilege we have one time every year to fulfill the mitzva of eating matza.

NATURE AND THE TORAH PORTION The Cedar - by Dr. Moshe Raanan, Herzog College and the Jerusalem College for Women

"Let the Kohen give a command to take for the one who is being purified two pure living birds, cedar wood, crimson thread, and hyssop." [Vayikra 14:4].

The cedar (the full name is the cedar of Lebanon) is a needle tree which belongs to the family of the pines (Pinaceae). It grows mostly in the high mountains of Lebanon, southern Turkey, and western Syria (at a level of 1050 to 1925 meters). Fully-grown cedars may reach a height of 40-50 meters, with a trunk diameter of 2.5 meters.

Mentioned Most in the Bible

The cedar is one of the most famous trees in ancient literature, among both Yisrael and the surrounding nations. It is mentioned in the Bible more than 73 times, more than any other tree. Its fame stemmed from its impressive appearance and great height as compared to other non-fruit trees and from the many benefits it provided to mankind in ancient times. A wide-ranging and impressive description of the cedar appears in the Book of Yechezkel in his prophecy about Pharaoh, the King of Egypt: "Behold, Ashur is a cedar of

9 Lebanon, with beautiful branches and shady thickness, and very tall, with the top among the thick branches... It is taller than all the trees of the field, its boughs are many, its branches grew long when it sent them out, because of the abundant water." [31:3,5].

Amos describes the power of the nation of Emor by comparing it to the great height of the cedar: "And I destroyed the Emorites before them, they who were tall as the cedar and mighty as the oaks. And I destroyed its fruit from above and its roots from below." [2:9].

The cedar of Lebanon has a verified chain of identity because the name was preserved in Semite languages until this very day. It can therefore be included among the plants whose identity is known with absolute certainty. In addition to the meaning of the word "erez" as the name of a specific tree, it is also used as a general name for all the non-fruit trees, and especially evergreen needle trees. In the literature of the sages there are lists of "four types of erez," "ten types of erez," and even "twenty-four types of erez" [Rosh Hashanah 23a].

The Beams of our Houses

The main use of cedar wood was for construction of large edifices such as palaces, temples, and ships. It seems that their main role was as beams in the roof, as in the verse, "The beams of our houses are cedars, our panels are from cypress" [Shir Hashirim 1:17]. Cedars were imported to Eretz Yisrael from Lebanon for royal construction: "And the King of Tzor sent messengers to David with cedar trees and carpenters, and wall-stone masons, and they built a house for David" [Shmuel II 5:11]. And later on a larger deal was set up between Shlomo and Chiram: "And now, command them to chop down cedars of Lebanon, and my slaves will join your slaves, and I will pay whatever you say for the work of your slaves. For you are aware that we do not have any man who knows how to cut trees like the people of Tzidon." [Melachim I 5:20]. In addition to the traditional identification, much testimony and many archeological finds show that the cedar was an important construction material in the ancient world. Many remains, especially beams, were found in ancient Egypt and at many sites in Eretz Yisrael, starting with the Bronze Age, the eras of the First and Second Temples, and on through the Middle Ages and the nineteenth century.

One as Opposed to the Other

The Midrash gives an explanation for the choice of the cedar and the hyssop as the materials used for purification of a "metzora," based on their botanical characteristics. "'And he spoke about the wood from the cedars of Lebanon and of the hyssop' [Melachim I 5:13]. Can a man really speak about the trees? Rather, Shlomo said: Why is a metzora purified using the tallest of the trees and the lowest of the plants, the hyssop? Since the person raised himself up as high as the cedar, he was struck with tzara'at. When he lowered himself to the level of the hyssop, he was cured." [Bamidbar Rabba Chukat 19].

For a similar reason, cedar, hyssop and a crimson thread are added to the ashes of the Red Heifer. "Let the Kohen take cedar wood, hyssop, and a crimson thread, and throw them into the fire of the heifer" [Bamidbar 19:6]. Ibn Ezra comments as follows: "The cedar wood is the same as is used for a metzora, and in my comments there I hinted at mystic secrets." We see the words of Shlomo about the cedar and the hyssop and the contrast between the two in a verse which describes his great wisdom. "And he spoke about the wood from the cedars in Lebanon up to the hyssop which grows on the wall. And he spoke of the animals and the birds, and the vermin, and the fish." [Melachim I 5:13].

A similar idea appears in the words of Yehoash in the allegory which he sent to Amatziyahu. "The thornbush in Lebanon sent a message to the cedar in Lebanon, saying, give your daughter to my son as a wife. And the beasts of the field in Lebanon passed by, and they trampled the thornbush." [Melachim II 14:9]. Here the hyssop has been replaced by the thornbush, which is also a lowly plant.

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The contrast between the cedar and the hyssop that can be seen from the verses and the Midrash forms the basis for Bar Kipok's eulogy of Ravina. "If a flame took hold of the cedars, what will the hyssop of the walls say? A leviathan was caught on a hook, what can the small fish say? If a hook falls into a flowing river, what can be said about water in a puddle?" [Moed Katan 25b]. Bar Kipok lists contrasting pairs which symbolized Ravina's greatness as opposed to the general public, in an effort to emphasize and enhance the feeling of great loss. This comparison shows that the cedar was indeed the greatest and most important tree known to the ancients, but the "copyright" on the contrast between the cedar and the hyssop does not belong to Bar Kipok but rather to the earlier sources, and noted above.

For more information in Hebrew and for pictures, and to regularly receive articles about plants and animals linked to the Daf Yomi, write e-mail to: [email protected]

STRAIGHT TALK The Majority Decided to Stay Behind - by Rabbi Yoni Lavie, Manager, "Chaverim Makshivim" Website

"Bnei Yisrael ascended 'chamushim' from Egypt" [Shemot 13:18]. Rashi notes: "'Chamushim' – one-fifth of them left."

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Of course I'm not going! You have to be crazy to get up and leave the place where you were born, which you have known for so many generations, and to follow an eccentric old man into the desert. Look, I am a person who has responsibilities. I have a family, nine children, I have to think about their future. Am I telling you that everything is perfect here in Egypt? Of course not! But what can you do, there is no place in the world that doesn't have some faults. It is true that we have had some difficult times, there were harsh decrees and they even threw babies into the Nile, but we see now that all that was temporary. It was merely a passing phase. As Jews, we always knew to look at the bright side of everything, and we must admit that most of the years we have spent in Egypt were not bad at all. There is an abundance of food, the weather is pleasant, and the best of all – the Nile gives us unlimited reserves of water every year. Where else in the world can you find such luxury? In Canaan? No way. This is our home, my friend, Egypt! We were born here and here we will die. There is no other land for us. I have decided to stay!

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Don't look at me like that, he is not always that angry. Recently he was under pressure at work, and he was a bit upset because somebody made a dent in his car. So in the end he took it out on me. It's not important. They gave me four stitches and told me to come back in a week to take them out. I told them that I ran into a closet by mistake, and they didn't make an issue of it. And the black-and-blue marks? Oh, that's nothing. He wasn't happy with what I cooked, and he is pretty sensitive about the matter of food. But in the end he even asked me to forgive him. And he is always buying me presents. And whenever I am pregnant he really tries to control himself and not to hit me, and then he takes his anger out on the kids. He says that it's important to educate them right. What is written in Mishlei? 'One who spares the rod spoils the child,' isn't that right?

A lot of my friends tell me I should leave him, but I just can't do it. He is my husband, we have been together for eighteen years. I know he has his faults, but what can I do – no husband is perfect. If you look hard enough, you can find many good points about him. And anyway, what about me? At my age? How can I get a divorce now? Do you think anybody else would even look at me?

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How many WhatsApp notices do I get every day? That's not an easy question. I can barely count the number of WhatsApp groups I am a member of. There is my family, my wife's family, my brothers-in-law, my colleagues at work, my assistants and my bosses, the building where I live, my synagogue, and the gaba'im. I'm sure I missed some, and that's without all the groups that took me in without my asking for it at all, but then it doesn't feel right to just leave, like some kind of snob. And my gmail is completely clogged with notices that need my attention and with people who are waiting for me to answer them. It's lucky that I can use my cellphone to answer the mail too. This way, I can utilize my time better, while I am walking to the synagogue or while I am at home with my wife or the kids. Sometimes I can use the time when somebody asks a question in the Daf Yomi and answer a few gmails while I am waiting. I really try to be effective and make good use of all the time that I have. It's lucky that Shabbat comes now and then, when things quiet down and you can look at your children. But even then I sometimes forget and put my hand in my pocket because I think I felt a phone vibrating. And then I catch myself, and I say: "Wow, just look at that! It's Shabbat, there's no phone today!" How about you, my friend? Is it the same for you?

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The above statistic is not discussed much, even though it may well be the most shocking thing about the Exodus from Egypt. The vast majority of the people simply did not want to leave! They preferred to stay in a familiar place, rather than following Moshe into the desert, into the unknown. We can do research, we can analyze and invent many theories about what stopped them and why they chose to stay where they were, in a House of Slavery. However, unfortunately, we do not have to go very far to see an answer. We can get some answers in our own world. Not one of us, neither a man nor a woman, is free from a struggle with many types of "Pharaoh" and "Egypt" of our own.

The large question that looms around us is the following: Will we continue to be part of the 80%, the majority which decided to stay behind? Or will we be among the few that managed to overcome our hesitation and rise up out of the exile?

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EXHIBITION ABSTRACTS Rabbi Akiva's Chair in a Story - Yossi Ben-Gal, Heichal Shlomo Museum

Among the various copies of the Haggadah in Heichal Shlomo there is one from Morocco from the year 1874 which is hand-written and illustrated with folk- style drawings. It is interesting to note that together with the commentary on the Plagues in Egypt there are no illustrations of the Plagues themselves but rather drawings showing Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiva. Each rabbi is sitting in a chair, opposite a decoration typical of Moroccan art.

Perhaps the scribe/artist was influenced by the famous Haggadot of the era, such as the Amsterdam Haggadah. There the "chacham," the wise one of the Four Sons, is sitting on a chair.

Evidently the scribe is the one who illustrated this Haggadah, and it may be that he wrote it to be used in his own family. Based on several "errors" and inexact elements in the text, it is likely that at least some parts of it were written from memory and not copied directly. The Haggadah is displayed in the museum together with other items related to Pesach.

RIDDLE OF THE WEEK by Yoav Shelosberg, Director of "Quiz and Experience"

Metzora This week's Torah portion has a word consisting of the same letter twice.

12 (Note: I heard this riddle in the past – I would be happy to know who originally wrote it.)

Answers to last week's riddle – it was: Two out of ten are mentioned in this week's Torah portion.(The first one is in a somewhat modified form.) - The answer involves two of the Ten Plagues: Blood and Boils. - The Plague of Blood is mentioned in connection with the blood of a nidah – a menstrual flow: "For thirty days and thirty nights shall she sit in her pure state" [Vayikra 12:4]. - The Plague of Boils is mentioned in the following verse: "And if a person has a boil on his skin, and it is cured" [13:18].

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We will be happy to publish your riddles here, with proper credit to the author. Send your suggestions to the e-mail address given below.

Do you have a bar/bat mitzva coming up? Are you looking for a special quiz? To order: www.hidonim.com e-mail: [email protected]

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * SHABBAT-ZOMET is an extract from SHABBAT-B'SHABBATO, a weekly bulletin distributed free of charge in hundreds of synagogues in Israel. It is published by the Zomet Institute of Alon Shevut, Israel, under the auspices of the National Religious Party. Translated by: Moshe Goldberg To subscribe: http://www.zomet.org.il/eng/?pg=subscribe&CategoryID=165 Visit the Zomet Institute web site: http://www.zomet.org.il Contact Zomet with comments about this bulletin or questions on the link between modern technology and halacha at: [email protected] Or: Phone: +972-2-9931442; FAX: +972-2-9931889 (Attention: Dan Marans) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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