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CURRENT TOPIC:
HALACHOS OF CHODESH ADAR & PURIM
1) Being that the obligation of Megilah for women is not the same as for men, a woman may not read the Megilah for men. She may, however, read the Megilah for another woman. (Mishna Berura Siman 689:7).
However, according to some Poskim, a woman may not read the Megilah for an entire group of women. (Sha'ar Hatziyun ibid. HaRav Shlomo Zalmen Auerbach Zatzal, however, allowed a woman to read for a group of women; see Halichos Shlomo page 330 in footnote 4)
L'Chatchila, however, a woman should not read the Megilah herself; rather she should hear it from a man, if at all possible. (Mogen Avraham quoted in Mishna Berura ibid. S" K 8)
2) All the Halachos of reading the Megilah (many of which we will B'Ezras Hashem learn in the near future) that apply to men, apply to women as well. Therefore, a woman who went to Shul to hear the Megilah but could not hear clearly, and missed a few [or more] words, should hear it again when she gets home [from a man reading from a kosher Megilah]. (Though, If she says the missed words on her own from a Chumash, and catches up to the Ba'al Koreh, that is fine, and it isn't necessary to hear the Megilah again)
Alternatively, if the woman possesses a kosher Megilah, she should bring it to Shul and quietly read along as the Ba'al Koreh is reading, thus ensuring that she doesn't miss even one word from a Kosher Megilah. (Pri Megadim, Aishel Avraham, Siman 689:11.)
However, one (man or woman) that does not have a kosher Megilah, and is following along in a printed Megilah, should not read along with the Ba'al Koreh. (Chayei Adam Klal 155:17)
QUESTION & ANSWER CORNER
Reader Submitted Questions of interest on topics related to Halachos we covered, as well as other interesting topic and Answers.
These Q&A are 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@Gmail.com
Reader's Question:
We know that one of the mitzvos of Purim is mishloach manos. Many organizations offer cards, etc. to send to people in lieu of mishloach manos, which according to the organization fulfills both the mitzvah of mishloach manos and mataynos l'evyonim.
Is this permissible or is it still better to separate the two mitzvos?
Answer:
You cannot fulfill Mishloach Manos with these cards, only Matanos L'Evyonim.
However, once you fulfill Mishloach Manos in the traditional way, it is indeed praiseworthy to give extra charity/Matanos L'Evyonim "in lieu" of extra Mishloach Manos, as the Rambam Hilchos Megilah Perek 2:17 writes:
"It is better for one to give additional "Matanos L'Evyonim" rather than to embellish their Purim Seudah and/or give additional Mishloach Manos to their friends, as there is no greater and more glorious Simcha than to gladden the hearts of the less fortunate poor people, orphans, widows and converts. One who lifts the spirits and gladdens the hearts of these less fortunate individuals, is likened to the Shechina!"
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CHIZUK CORNER
This section is dedicated L'Ilui Nishmos the Telzer Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Chaim Yaakov Stein Zatzal and the Mir Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Noson Tzvi Finkel Zatzal. May we all strive to follow in their ways and may they both be Melitzei Yosher for all of Klal 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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THANK YOU AND תזכו למצות!
זכר צדיקים וקדושים לברכה
The gemara (CHULIN MEM VAV) says that rich people are stingy (MIKMIZION). R' Shimon Sofer ZT"L explains that if a rich person were not stingy, his tzedaka would be meaningless. Hashem makes him stingy by nature so that parting with his money will be a challenge, even though financially speaking it is not. This way, he too, can earn the great mitzvah of tzedaka with mesiras nefesh just like his less affluent brethren, who are parting with money that they can ill afford to part with.
The following story was told over at an awards ceremony for Howard Schultz, chairman and chief global strategist of the famed coffee company, Starbucks Corp. Schultz received the Botwinick Prize in Business Ethics from Columbia Business school in 2000, and during his acceptance speech, he related a fascinating insight into how he became a better person.
"When I was in Israel," Schultz related, "I went to Meah Shearim, the ultra-Orthodox enclave within Jerusalem. Along with a group of businessmen I was with, I had the opportunity to meet with the head of the (Mir) Yeshiva, R' Nosson Tzvi Finkel (ZT"L). I had never heard of him before and didn't know anything about him. We were ushered into his study and waited for close to fifteen minutes before the rabbi came in. What we did not know was that Rabbi Finkel was severely afflicted with Parkinson's disease. He sat down at the head of the table, and immediately we looked away. We didn't want to embarrass him. Suddenly, the rabbi banged on the table and said, 'Gentlemen, look at me, and look at me right now!'
"His speech affliction was worse than his shaking. It was really hard to listen and look at him at the same time. He said, 'I have only a few minutes for you because I know you're all busy American businessmen!' You know, just a little dig there.
"Then he asked, 'Can anyone tell me what the lesson of the Holocaust is?' He called on one guy - it was like being
called on in the fifth grade - and not knowing the answer. The guy said something benign like, 'We will never forget?'
"The rabbi completely dismissed him. Rabbi Finkel was looking around the table to call on someone else. We were all sort of under the table, looking away, hoping he would not call on any one of us. Personally, I was sweating. He called on another guy, who I thought had such a fantastic answer. 'We will never, ever again be a victim or bystander.'
"But the rabbi said, 'You guys just don't get it. Okay, let me tell you the essence of the human spirit. As you know, during the Holocaust, the people were transported in the worst most inhumane ways imaginable. The people thought they were going to a work camp but we know they were sent to concentration camps. After hours and days in this horrific corral with no light, no bathroom and extreme cold, they arrived at the camps. The doors were swung wide open, and they were blinded by the light. Men and women were separated, mothers from daughters, fathers from sons. Eventually, they were sent to the barracks.
"As they went into the sleeping area, only one person was given a blanket for every six. The person who received the blanket had to decide before going to sleep, 'Am I going to push the blanket to the five other people who did not get one, or am I going to pull it towards myself to stay warm?' These are the types of questions they asked themselves.
"Rabbi Finkel paused for a moment. Then he said, 'Gentlemen, it was during this defining moment that we learned the power of the human spirit, because we pushed the blanket to five others. That is the lesson of the Holocaust!'
"With that, he stood up and said, 'Take your blanket. Take it back to America - and push it to five other people!'"
There is a follow-up to this story. Apparently Mr. Schultz later returned to Israel and visited R' Nosson Tzvi again. This time, he pulled out a blank check, signed it and told R' Finkel to fill it out for whatever he wants.
R' Nosson Tzvi asked him, "I can fill out this check for whatever I want?" Mr. Schultz answered in the affirmative. R'Nosson Tzvi picked up his pen and wrote out the check for $1400. Then, he handed the check to Howard Schultz, and told him to take it across the street to the scribe (sofer), use it to buy a pair of tefillin, and promise to put it on every day.
His yeshiva was millions of dollars in debt, and R' Nosson Tzvi worked very hard to raise money for the yeshiva, but he thought about his fellow Jew first.
Submitted by a daily reader; Freely adapted and excerpted from: Maaseh Avos Siman L'Banim, Torah Tavlin, Parshas Terumah 5772
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