Sunday
18 Iyar 5771;33rd Day of the Omer; Lag B'Omer
May 22, 2011
1) Milking a cow is a Toladah of Dosh, as the milk is being separated from its source where it was produced, and is forbidden on Shabbos. (See Rambam Hilchos Shabbos Perek 8 Halacha 10)
Drinking milk that was milked on Shabbos is prohibited for anyone on that Shabbos. (Shulchan Aruch Siman 305:20)
The person who transgressed the prohibition of milking the cow, if done deliberately, may not drink the milk forever.
2) However, since it is painful for a cow not to be milked for an entire day, and may cause her harm and thus be a violation of Tza'ar Baalei Chaim, a non-Jew may be asked to milk the cow on Shabbos. (Shulchan Aruch ibid.)
QUESTION & ANSWER CORNER
Reader Submitted Questions of interest on topics related to Halachos we covered, as well as other interesting topic and Answers. Taken from the Q & A pages on the Halacha For Today website.
Although the answers I give to questions are taken directly from the Sifrei HaPoskim, and aren't my own, they are still for study purposes only, NOT for Psak Halacha.
Questions can be emailed to HalachaForToday@Yahoo.com
Reader's Question:
Do you know of any Torah sources that recommend: 1) physical exercise as a way of staying in good health. 2) playing sports as a good way to spend one's time?
Answer:
Excercising, in order to stay healthy is an important part of being a Torah Jew!
The Torah specifically dictates that we guard our health, as it states V'Nishmartem Meod L'Nafshoseichem- You shall Guard your health very much" (Parshas V'Eschanan Chapter 4:15)
Rambam in the 4th chapter of Hilchos Dayos prescribes a whole regimen of healthy eating and excercise, and even guarantees anybody that follows his regimen to a long life, free of sickness!
Regarding ball playing, if it is being done for excercise, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it (as long as it is done in a kosher venue, and without any compromising of halacha, Tzniyus etc.)
If it is being done for reasons other than health (physical or otherwise) , then some authorities have dubbed it " a waste of time" (See Kaf HaChaim Siman 308:259)
Of course, on Shabbos and Yom Tov it is prohibited to play ball and/or excercise for various reasons. This applies to children who have reached the age of Chinuch as well. If necessary for health reasons, a Rav must be consulted.
CHIZUK CORNER
As a Zechus for the Refuah Shelaima of one of the Gedolei HaDor, the Telzer Rosh Yeshiva , HaRav Chaim Stein Shlita, R' Chaim Yaakov ben Chasya Miriam, B'soch Sha'ar Cholei Yisroel, we will B'Ezras Hashem post here each day a short inspirational thought to help us all improve our lives and grow in our service of our Father in heaven, HaKadosh Baruch Hu.
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אל תתיאש מן הרחמים
Chizuk Corner
LAG B'OMER:
Starting From Scratch At 70
During the Sefira period we mourn over the deaths of the 24,000 talmidim of R. Akiva. The gemara (Yevamos 62b) discusses the incident:
Rabbi Akiva had 12,000 pairs of disciples ... and all of them died at the same time because they did not treat each other with respect. The world remained desolate until Rabbi Akiva came to our Masters in the South and taught the Torah to them. These were Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Yosi, Rabbi Shimon and Rabbi Elazar ben Shammua; and it was they who revived the Torah at that time. A Tanna taught: "All of them died between Passover and Shavuos". Rabbi Chama ben Abba, or some say, Rabbi Chiya ben Abin said: "All of them died a cruel death." What was it? Rabbi Nahman replied: "Croup."
Lag b'Omer, in contrast, is a sudden burst of elation in total contrast to the solemnness of this time. The Gra writes that on Lag b'Omer the plague ended and the talmidim ceased to die. The Mashgiach, Rav Zeidel Epstein, zt"l, comments that there is a very important lesson to be understood from the biography of R. Akiva. At the age of forty, he started from scratch and labored twenty-four years, managing to become one of the greatest Torah scholars of his day. He amassed 24,000 talmidim. Suddenly, he lost them all in the short span of just over a month. Here was the greatest Rosh Yeshiva of the generation. He had been surrounded by crowds of the best Talmudic scholars of the time. He had spent the major portion of his life building up the largest and most renowned yeshiva in the world. And suddenly, he was thrown into solitude and loneliness.
He had started learning at the age of 40 and had spent 24 years amassing his talmidim and building his great Yeshiva. So he was probably over seventy by this time. How terrible a tragedy this was for a man of his age, to endure such a misfortune and start anew - opening a new yeshiva with only five talmidim. To any ordinary person it would have been an overwhelming task.
But R. Akiva didn't despair. He started all over again! And in doing so, he succeeded in saving Torah in Klal Yisroel. The whole Talmud we have, our sole remnant of the Oral Tradition, is due almost entirely to those five new talmidim. This is a brilliant image of how important it is not to despair. One must fight his impulses, fight his situation, and trust in Hashem Yisborach that He will send him the Geula.
In 1923, the Chofetz Chaim zt"l traveled to Vienna to participate in the Agudas Yisroel convention, and he spent some time together with R' Avraham Mordechai Alter zt"l, the Gerrer Rebbe. In the course of their discussion, the Chofetz Chaim cited the verse from that week's parsha (Devorim 13:5), "Acharei [literally, 'after'] Hashem, your God, shall you follow and Him shall you fear; His commandments shall you observe and to His voice shall you hearken; Him shall you serve and to Him shall you cleave." The Chofetz Chaim commented:
"Our Sages observe that the Torah uses two words for 'after' - 'Acharei,' which means 'long after' (or 'far away') and 'achar,' which means 'soon after' (or 'close'). Why does our verse use 'acharei,' implying that one should follow Hashem from a distance? In fact, one should become as close to God as possible!"
He explained: Sometimes a person becomes depressed, and he feels that he is standing on the brink of a cliff as far from God as can be. He is confident that Hashem will not help him at this moment. One should know that such feelings are the work of the yetzer hora. Hashem is a Jew's "Father" at all times, and He accepts His children when they return to Him and saves them from all troubles. Even when one is "acharei," "far away, he should not despair of following Hashem. This is the meaning of the words in the High Holiday prayers, "Fortunate is the man who will not forget You, and the human being who will find strength in You."
The Gerrer Rebbe responded: "Now I will try to interpret this verse in the manner of the Chassidim. Specifically when a person feels distant from Hashem, that is when he can best follow Hashem, as it is written in Tehilim: 'God is close to the broken-hearted'."
Written by Rabbi Eliezer Parkoff Rosh Yeshiva Yeshiva Gedolah Medrash Chaim
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