Today's Halachos dedicated by a daily reader, L'zecher Nishmas Rebbetzin Goldy Elephant A"H.
Rebbetzin Elephant was a wonderful , exemplary Aishes Chayil, amazing, inspiring and extremely dedicated to her late esteemed husband Rav Mordechai Elephant Zatzal.
W
ith shining simcha, she was moser nefesh to help him spread Torah by establishing the "Yeshivas I.T.R.I" Torah empire which once had various branches, with campuses all over Eretz Yisroel, serving everyone from Yerushalmis,to more modern Americans, to Russians, to ba'alei teshuva, including women's schools.
A model of living Emuna and Simcha in Avodas Hashem, she never showed any embitterment over childlessness, davened for everyone else with all her heart. Always had a smile, a warm word, a good eitza and gracious, sensitive bountiful help for everyone and anyone, even deranged individuals; and developped a network of daycare centers for
children too!
יהא זכרה ברוך
הרבנית הצדקנית והחסודה מרת ביילא גולדה בת נחום דוד ע"ה
She was the granddaughter of Rav Yaakov Yosef Herman Zatzal, the American Tzaddik made famous by the book, "All for the Boss
CURRENT TOPIC:
HALACHOS OF ROSH CHODESH
1) When reciting Birchas Hamazon after a bread meal on Rosh Chodesh, Ya'aleh V'Yavo is added immediately preceding "U'vnei Yerushalayim". (Shulchan Aruch Siman 424:1)
If one forgot to insert Ya'aleh V'Yavo, the Birchas Hamazon is not repeated, as there is no obligation to eat bread on Rosh Chodesh in the first place. (ibid. and Mishna Berura S"K 1)
2) If one remembered before beginning the Bracha of "Hatov V'Hameitiv" (or even after beginning to the two words Baruch and Ata of the Barcha of Hatov V'Hameitiv) that he omitted Ya'aleh V'Yavo, he should say the following text right then and there: "Baruch Ata Hashem Shenasan Rosh Chodesh L'Amo Yisroel L'Zikaron" (Shulchan Aruch ibid. See also Mishna Berura Siman 188 S"K 21, 22 and 23 for more details.)
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
Question:
Regarding the halachos of June 10th 2009 [regarding not making any interruptions during Birchas Hamazon], if I am sitting with other people and we are all bentching at the same time, do I answer amen to someone else's bracha? Does it make a difference if i'm in middle of a paragraph?
Answer:
There is a debate amongst the Poskim about this.
Some do not allow it at all. Some allow it even in middle of a Bracha. Some allow it between Brachos.
The accepted custom is to indeed answer Amen to the Bracha of another person's Birchas HaMazon, as long as you are between Brachos.
( See Ketzos HaShulchan Siman 44:12, Shu"t B'zTeil HaChachma Vol. 4 Siman 42, Chazon Ish Siman 28:3 and Ta'amei HaMinhagim page 86 what he quotes from the Aishel Avraham from Butshatsh)
CHIZUK CORNER
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This section is dedicated L'Ilui Nishmos the Telzer Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Chaim Yaakov Stein Zatzal , the Mir Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Noson Tzvi Finkel Zatzal and the Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Ohr, the great Posek HaRav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg Zatzal.
May we all strive to follow in their ways and may they 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.
IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING MEANINGFUL FOR THIS SECTION, PLEASE EMAIL IT TO HalachaForToday@Gmail.com
THANK YOU AND תזכו למצות!
זכר צדיקים וקדושים לברכה
Rabbi Yosef Wallis, Director of Arachim
Rabbi Yosef Wallis, director of Arachim of Israel, talks to Project Witness about his father, Judah Wallis, who was born and raised in Pavenitz, Poland:
"While he was in Dachau, a Jew who was being taken to his death suddenly flung a small bag at my father, Judah Wallis. He caught it, thinking it might contain a piece of bread. Upon opening it, however, he was disturbed to discover a pair of tefillin. Judah was very frightened because he knew that were he to be caught carrying tefillin, he would be put to death instantly. So he hid the tefillin under his shirt and headed for his bunkhouse.
"In the morning, just before the appel [roll call], while still in his bunkhouse, he put on the tefillin. Unexpectedly, a German officer appeared. He ordered him to remove the tefillin, noted the number on Judah's arm, and ordered him to go straight to the appel.
"At the appel, in front of thousands of silent Jews, the officer called out Judah's number and he had no choice but to step forward. The German officer waved the tefillin in the air and said, 'Dog! I sentence you to death by public hanging for wearing these.'
"Judah was placed on a stool and a noose was placed around his neck. Before he was hanged, the officer said in a mocking tone, 'Dog, what is your last wish?'
"'To wear my tefillin one last time,' Judah replied.
"The officer was dumbfounded. He handed Judah the tefillin. As Judah put them on, he recited the verse that is said while the tefillin are being wound around the fingers: 'Ve'eirastich li le'olam, ve'eirastich li b'tzedek uvemishpat, ub'chessed, uv'rachamim, ve'eirastich li b'emunah, v'yodaat es Hashem-I will betroth you to me forever and I will betroth you to me with righteousness and with justice and with kindness and with mercy and I will betroth you to me with fidelity, and you shall know Hashem.'
"It is hard for us to picture this Jew with a noose around his neck, wearing tefillin on his head and arm - but that was the scene that the entire camp was forced to watch, as they awaited the impending hanging of the Jew who had dared to break the rule against wearing tefillin. Even women from the adjoining camp were lined up at the barbed wire fence that separated them from the men's camp, forced to watch this horrible sight.
"As Judah turned to watch the silent crowd, he saw tears in many people's eyes. Even at that moment, as he was about to be hanged, he was shocked. Jews were crying! How was it possible that they still had tears left to shed? And for a stranger? Where were those tears coming from? Impulsively, in Yiddish, he called out, 'Yidden, don't cry. With tefillin on, I am the victor. Don't you understand, I am the winner!'
"The German officer understood the Yiddish and was infuriated. He said to Judah, 'You dog, you think you are the winner? Hanging is too good for you. You are going to get another kind of death.'
"Judah, my father, was taken from the stool and the noose was removed from his neck. He was forced into a squatting position and two huge rocks were placed under his arms. Then he was told that he would be receiving 25 lashes to his head - the head on which he had dared to position his tefillin. The officer told him that if he dropped even one of the rocks, he would be shot immediately. In fact, because this was such an extremely painful form of death, the officer advised him, 'Drop the rocks now. You will never survive the 25 lashes to the head. Nobody ever does.'
"Judah's response was, 'No, I won't give you the pleasure.'
"At the 25th lash, Judah lost consciousness and was left for dead. He was about to be dragged to a pile of corpses , after which he would have been burned in a ditch, when another Jew saw him, shoved him to the side, and covered his head with a rag, so people didn't realize he was alive. Eventually, after he recovered consciousness fully, he crawled to the nearest bunkhouse that was on raised piles, and hid under it until he was strong enough to come out under his own power. Two months later he was liberated.
"During the hanging and beating episode, a 17-year-old girl had been watching the events from the women's side of the fence. After liberation, she made her way to the men's camp and found Judah. She walked over to him and said, 'I've lost everyone. I don't want to be alone any more. I saw what you did that day when the officer wanted to hang you. Will you marry me?'"
The rest is history. Rabbi Yosef Wallis' parents (for this couple became his parents) walked over to the Klausenberger Rebbe and requested that he perform the marriage ceremony. The Klausenberger Rebbe, whose kiddush Hashem is legendary, wrote out a kesubah by hand from memory and married the couple. Rabbi Wallis has that handwritten kesubah in his possession to this day.
Important Numbers
