Hi
"It is written (Isaiah 58:13) regarding Shabbat, 'You shall honour
it, refraining from performing ordinary tasks.' 'You shall honour it'
indicates that your Shabbat clothing should not be like your weekday clothing.
"This follows along the lines of Rabbi Yochanan's practice of calling his clothing,
'The source of my honour.'"
(Talmud, Shabbat 113a)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Showing posts with label Shabbat: Kavod (Honor). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shabbat: Kavod (Honor). Show all posts
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Special clothing for Shabbat
Hi,
"It is written regarding Shabbat, 'You shall honour it, refraining from performing ordinary tasks.' 'You shall honour it' indicates that your Shabbat clothing should not be like your weekday clothing. This follows along the lines of R' Yochanan's practice of calling his clothing, 'The source of my honor.'"
(Talmud, Shabbat 113a)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"It is written regarding Shabbat, 'You shall honour it, refraining from performing ordinary tasks.' 'You shall honour it' indicates that your Shabbat clothing should not be like your weekday clothing. This follows along the lines of R' Yochanan's practice of calling his clothing, 'The source of my honor.'"
(Talmud, Shabbat 113a)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Preparing the home for Shabbat
Hi,
One should make sure to execute all of the preparations for
Shabbat before Shabbat begins, so that he enters the day with the
house looking attractive and dignified. This includes making the beds,
cleaning the rooms and having the table set nicely.
(Code of Jewish Law Orach Chaim 262:1)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Setting the table to honour Shabbat
Hi,
"A person ought to set the table before Shabbat even if he will only eat a minimal amount, and a person ought to set the table after Shabbat even if he will only eat a minimal amount, to honour the Shabbat at its entry and its exit.
"One should prepare his house while it is still day before Shabbat, to honour Shabbat. The light should be lit, the table should be set for the meal, and the bed should be arranged; all of this is part of honouring Shabbat."
(Maimonides, Laws of Shabbat 30:4)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"A person ought to set the table before Shabbat even if he will only eat a minimal amount, and a person ought to set the table after Shabbat even if he will only eat a minimal amount, to honour the Shabbat at its entry and its exit.
"One should prepare his house while it is still day before Shabbat, to honour Shabbat. The light should be lit, the table should be set for the meal, and the bed should be arranged; all of this is part of honouring Shabbat."
(Maimonides, Laws of Shabbat 30:4)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Monday, June 14, 2010
Setting the Shabbat table before and after Shabbat
Hi,
“A person ought to set the table before Shabbat even if he will only eat a minimal amount, and a person ought to set the table after Shabbat even if he will only eat a minimal amount, to honor the Shabbat at its entry and its exit.
“One should prepare his house while it is still day before Shabbat, to honor Shabbat. The light should be lit, the table should be set for the meal, and the bed should be arranged; all of this is part of honoring Shabbat.”
(Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shabbat 30:4)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
“A person ought to set the table before Shabbat even if he will only eat a minimal amount, and a person ought to set the table after Shabbat even if he will only eat a minimal amount, to honor the Shabbat at its entry and its exit.
“One should prepare his house while it is still day before Shabbat, to honor Shabbat. The light should be lit, the table should be set for the meal, and the bed should be arranged; all of this is part of honoring Shabbat.”
(Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Shabbat 30:4)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Preparing for Shabbat during the week
Hi,
"The sages wrote that a person should sharpen knives in honor of Shabbat. This is hinted in the verse, 'And they shall prepare whatever – Et – they will bring;' 'Et' connotes knives and cutting implements.
"It is proper to clean spider webs from the walls. It is appropriate to taste Shabbat foods on Friday; 'Those who taste it, have merited life.'
"All of these acts are within the scope of honoring Shabbat; a person performs such acts in preparing to greet a great person. A person tastes the food and cleans the house, and sharpens knives to prepare for eating."
(R' Yechiel Michel Epstein, Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 250:4)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"The sages wrote that a person should sharpen knives in honor of Shabbat. This is hinted in the verse, 'And they shall prepare whatever – Et – they will bring;' 'Et' connotes knives and cutting implements.
"It is proper to clean spider webs from the walls. It is appropriate to taste Shabbat foods on Friday; 'Those who taste it, have merited life.'
"All of these acts are within the scope of honoring Shabbat; a person performs such acts in preparing to greet a great person. A person tastes the food and cleans the house, and sharpens knives to prepare for eating."
(R' Yechiel Michel Epstein, Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 250:4)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Shabbat clothes
Hi,
"It is written [regarding Shabbat] (Isaiah 58), 'You shall honor it.' This teaches that one's Shabbat clothing should be different from one's weekday clothing."
(Talmud, Shabbat 113a)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"It is written [regarding Shabbat] (Isaiah 58), 'You shall honor it.' This teaches that one's Shabbat clothing should be different from one's weekday clothing."
(Talmud, Shabbat 113a)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Yosef Mokir Shavi's reward for honoring Shabbat
Hi,
This story raises several troubling questions in my mind, but I love it anyway:
"Yosef, who honored Shabbat, lived in a neighborhood with a wealthy non-Jew. Astrologers told the wealthy man that Yosef was going to end up with all of his assets. The man sold off his assets and bought a gem with them, and placed it in his turban. When the man was crossing a bridge, a wind blew his turban into the sea, where it was swallowed by a fish.
"The fish was caught and brought to market on a Friday afternoon. The fishermen asked, 'Who will buy fish now [at this late hour]?' People told them, 'Go bring it to Yosef who honors Shabbat, for he regularly purchases.'
"They brought it to Yosef, and he purchased it. He cut it open and found the gem inside, and sold it for thirteen roomfuls of gold.
"An elder met Yosef and declared, 'One who lends to Shabbat will be re-paid by Shabbat.'"
(Talmud, Shabbat 119a)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
This story raises several troubling questions in my mind, but I love it anyway:
"Yosef, who honored Shabbat, lived in a neighborhood with a wealthy non-Jew. Astrologers told the wealthy man that Yosef was going to end up with all of his assets. The man sold off his assets and bought a gem with them, and placed it in his turban. When the man was crossing a bridge, a wind blew his turban into the sea, where it was swallowed by a fish.
"The fish was caught and brought to market on a Friday afternoon. The fishermen asked, 'Who will buy fish now [at this late hour]?' People told them, 'Go bring it to Yosef who honors Shabbat, for he regularly purchases.'
"They brought it to Yosef, and he purchased it. He cut it open and found the gem inside, and sold it for thirteen roomfuls of gold.
"An elder met Yosef and declared, 'One who lends to Shabbat will be re-paid by Shabbat.'"
(Talmud, Shabbat 119a)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Sunday, September 14, 2008
When energy is a good thing, when energy is a bad thing
Hi,
"Some are energetic [zariz] and are rewarded for it, and some are energetic and lose as a result of it; some are lazy and are rewarded for it, and some are lazy and lose as a result of it.
"'Energetic and rewarded' refers to a person who works all week and so does not need to work on Friday afternoon, close to Shabbat.
"'Energetic and loses' refers to a person who works all week, including Friday afternoon, close to Shabbat.
"'Lazy and rewarded' refers to a person who does not work all week, and does not work on Friday afternoon, close to Shabbat, either [he accomplishes a Mitzvah, even without intending to do so].
"'Lazy and loses' refers to a person who does not work all week, and works on Friday afternoon, close to Shabbat."
(Talmud, Pesachim 50b)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"Some are energetic [zariz] and are rewarded for it, and some are energetic and lose as a result of it; some are lazy and are rewarded for it, and some are lazy and lose as a result of it.
"'Energetic and rewarded' refers to a person who works all week and so does not need to work on Friday afternoon, close to Shabbat.
"'Energetic and loses' refers to a person who works all week, including Friday afternoon, close to Shabbat.
"'Lazy and rewarded' refers to a person who does not work all week, and does not work on Friday afternoon, close to Shabbat, either [he accomplishes a Mitzvah, even without intending to do so].
"'Lazy and loses' refers to a person who does not work all week, and works on Friday afternoon, close to Shabbat."
(Talmud, Pesachim 50b)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Celebrating Shabbat when Friday is Purim
Hi,
For today I will crib off of myself, using an article I wrote in the Sons of Israel bulletin three years ago, on the issues faced when Purim occurs on a Friday and one wishes to celebrate Purim properly, with a big feast. (I am also posting the article on-line here.)
I include the article as a "Daily Torah Thought" because of what it teaches us about honoring Shabbat and celebrating Purim, and working out the priorities of mitzvot.
Purim vs. Shabbat? A Seudah Showdown
Tonight is your daughter’s eagerly anticipated return from a year of study abroad. You’ve prepared her favorite meal, spending hours in the kitchen to make sure all of the dishes will be perfect. You’ve even set the table with the finest silver, dressed in your best clothes, invited friends and relatives, decorated the house with pictures of your daughter and hung welcoming banners, all to make sure the atmosphere conveys your enthusiasm for her presence.
The hour arrives, there’s a knock at the door, you rush to the door to open it… and there she stands in a dirty sweatshirt, munching on a hot dog, relish spilling on to her fingers. “Hey,” she says, with a shrug, perhaps even a small burp. “What’s up?”
The “Homecoming” is Shabbos. The meal is our Friday night dinner, complete with fine food, beautiful clothes, honored guests and a beautiful home. The callous girl with the hot dog relish – that could be us, on any given Shabbos, if we were to make the mistake of sitting down to a big meal on Friday afternoon, before the start of Shabbos. Therefore, our Sages have taught us that in order to make sure we honor Shabbos properly, we should refrain from eating large meals on Friday afternoon (Pesachim 99b).
The idea is simple: Make sure that we will enjoy the Shabbos dinner, by waiting to eat until Shabbos is here.
There is one problem, though. This year, Purim occurs on a Friday, and Purim brings with it a Mitzvah of eating a Purim Seudah (feast). How can we eat our Purim feast, and still retain our hunger for the Shabbos meal that night? Must we sacrifice Purim for Shabbos, or Shabbos for Purim?
Two Acceptable Solutions
There are two halachic approaches to this dilemma:
1. Begin the Purim Seudah on Purim morning, before midday.
Midday is calculated as the midpoint between sunrise and sunset; this year, in Allentown, midday on Purim will be 1:09 PM (EDT). If one starts the Purim Seudah before midday, that still allows enough time to eat the meal, celebrate Purim, and then spend several hours building up an appetite for Shabbos. This approach is recommended by the Rama, Rabbi Moshe Isserles, the Ashkenazi author in the Code of Jewish Law (Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 695:2).
It is true that in a normal year we eat our Purim Seudah in the afternoon, but that’s a matter of convenience, in order to save the morning for delivering Mishloach Manot (Mishneh Berurah 695:8). There is no halachic reason to wait for the afternoon. Some authorities actually praise the practice of having the Seudah in the morning every year (cited in Mishneh Berurah 695:9).
The only real problem with this solution is the issue of practicality. People who go to work on Friday may not be able to enjoy a true Purim Seudah in the cubicle; in its ideal form, the Seudah involves a dressed-up family seated around a fully appointed table, singing Purim songs and talking about the holiday – not a quick deli sandwich scarfed down in front of a computer screen in between conference calls.
This practical problem leads to the proposal of a second solution:
2. The pores mappah solution.
Under “pores mappah,” an idea put forth talmudically (Pesachim 100a), one may begin his meal shortly before Candle Lighting time (which is 6:57 PM in Allentown this year).
At or before the time for candle lighting, one lights Shabbos candles, covers all bread, cake and/or cookies, recites Kiddush, and continues the meal as the Shabbos dinner. After the meal one davens Kabbalas Shabbos and Maariv. The term “pores mappah” means “spread a cloth,” referring to covering the food while reciting Kiddush.
This method reduces the disgrace to Shabbos, since one eats the Shabbos meal with a decent appetite. On the other hand, the Purim meal is a nice meal, with everyone home from work, dressed nicely and according the feast the honor it deserves.
This method does suffer from a few problems, though:
(A) Drinking: We are taught that as part of celebrating the ultimate joy of having our lives saved on Purim, we are supposed to imbibe alcohol at the Purim Seudah and reach the state in which we cannot tell the difference between “Cursed is Haman” and “Blessed is Mordechai” (Megilah 7b). Authorities differ on how much to drink, but it is clear that one who is not medically unable to drink, and who has a designated driver, should drink some alcohol - preferably enough that he feels lightheaded (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 695:2).
In a normal year, one may enjoy his Seudah, drink a little, and then sleep off the effects of the alcohol. Having a midday meal works for this issue, too. But if one drinks at a pores mappah meal, will he be able to coherently and respectfully daven Kabbalas Shabbos and Maariv afterward, not to mention have an appropriate Shabbos dinner?
Further, many people – myself included – have embraced the practice of drinking minimally at the Purim Seudah and then fulfilling the state of intoxication by taking a nap after the meal. This is an approach sanctioned by the Rama (Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 695:2). However, if one uses the pores mappah method then he doesn’t have any after-Seudah time to nap; by the time the Seudah is over, Purim is over as well.
(B) A second problem is that the way the pores mapah solution is presented in the Gemara and in the Code of Jewish Law (Orach Chaim 271:4), it does not seem to be an ideal, recommended, l’Chatchilah practice. It sounds more like something to be done when one has no other choice.
(C) A third problem arises in negotiating the specifics of the pores mappah meal itself. Does one include Al haNissim when reciting Birkat haMazon after the meal? Should one perhaps recite Birkat haMazon after the first part of the meal, and then act as though the second half is entirely a new meal? Does one cover only bread and cake during Kiddush, or other items as well? We do have practical guidelines for navigating these issues – but there are great debates involved, with big names on all sides.
The Communal Seudah
Although the pores mappah solution is intriguing, the communal Seudah at Congregation Sons of Israel will follow the first approach, that recommended by the Rama, by beginning before midday. We are bolstered by the views cited earlier, who believe that the Seudah should be a morning meal every year. Further, this will allow those who drink at their Seudah to fulfill the Mitzvos of both Shabbos and Purim properly.
We will enjoy a great meal of spaghetti and meatballs, starting at Noon, after which I will gladly go home and take a nap for as long as Amram, Meira, Rena and Aharon will permit. Join us for the meal, and let’s celebrate Purim together!
For today I will crib off of myself, using an article I wrote in the Sons of Israel bulletin three years ago, on the issues faced when Purim occurs on a Friday and one wishes to celebrate Purim properly, with a big feast. (I am also posting the article on-line here.)
I include the article as a "Daily Torah Thought" because of what it teaches us about honoring Shabbat and celebrating Purim, and working out the priorities of mitzvot.
Purim vs. Shabbat? A Seudah Showdown
Tonight is your daughter’s eagerly anticipated return from a year of study abroad. You’ve prepared her favorite meal, spending hours in the kitchen to make sure all of the dishes will be perfect. You’ve even set the table with the finest silver, dressed in your best clothes, invited friends and relatives, decorated the house with pictures of your daughter and hung welcoming banners, all to make sure the atmosphere conveys your enthusiasm for her presence.
The hour arrives, there’s a knock at the door, you rush to the door to open it… and there she stands in a dirty sweatshirt, munching on a hot dog, relish spilling on to her fingers. “Hey,” she says, with a shrug, perhaps even a small burp. “What’s up?”
The “Homecoming” is Shabbos. The meal is our Friday night dinner, complete with fine food, beautiful clothes, honored guests and a beautiful home. The callous girl with the hot dog relish – that could be us, on any given Shabbos, if we were to make the mistake of sitting down to a big meal on Friday afternoon, before the start of Shabbos. Therefore, our Sages have taught us that in order to make sure we honor Shabbos properly, we should refrain from eating large meals on Friday afternoon (Pesachim 99b).
The idea is simple: Make sure that we will enjoy the Shabbos dinner, by waiting to eat until Shabbos is here.
There is one problem, though. This year, Purim occurs on a Friday, and Purim brings with it a Mitzvah of eating a Purim Seudah (feast). How can we eat our Purim feast, and still retain our hunger for the Shabbos meal that night? Must we sacrifice Purim for Shabbos, or Shabbos for Purim?
Two Acceptable Solutions
There are two halachic approaches to this dilemma:
1. Begin the Purim Seudah on Purim morning, before midday.
Midday is calculated as the midpoint between sunrise and sunset; this year, in Allentown, midday on Purim will be 1:09 PM (EDT). If one starts the Purim Seudah before midday, that still allows enough time to eat the meal, celebrate Purim, and then spend several hours building up an appetite for Shabbos. This approach is recommended by the Rama, Rabbi Moshe Isserles, the Ashkenazi author in the Code of Jewish Law (Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 695:2).
It is true that in a normal year we eat our Purim Seudah in the afternoon, but that’s a matter of convenience, in order to save the morning for delivering Mishloach Manot (Mishneh Berurah 695:8). There is no halachic reason to wait for the afternoon. Some authorities actually praise the practice of having the Seudah in the morning every year (cited in Mishneh Berurah 695:9).
The only real problem with this solution is the issue of practicality. People who go to work on Friday may not be able to enjoy a true Purim Seudah in the cubicle; in its ideal form, the Seudah involves a dressed-up family seated around a fully appointed table, singing Purim songs and talking about the holiday – not a quick deli sandwich scarfed down in front of a computer screen in between conference calls.
This practical problem leads to the proposal of a second solution:
2. The pores mappah solution.
Under “pores mappah,” an idea put forth talmudically (Pesachim 100a), one may begin his meal shortly before Candle Lighting time (which is 6:57 PM in Allentown this year).
At or before the time for candle lighting, one lights Shabbos candles, covers all bread, cake and/or cookies, recites Kiddush, and continues the meal as the Shabbos dinner. After the meal one davens Kabbalas Shabbos and Maariv. The term “pores mappah” means “spread a cloth,” referring to covering the food while reciting Kiddush.
This method reduces the disgrace to Shabbos, since one eats the Shabbos meal with a decent appetite. On the other hand, the Purim meal is a nice meal, with everyone home from work, dressed nicely and according the feast the honor it deserves.
This method does suffer from a few problems, though:
(A) Drinking: We are taught that as part of celebrating the ultimate joy of having our lives saved on Purim, we are supposed to imbibe alcohol at the Purim Seudah and reach the state in which we cannot tell the difference between “Cursed is Haman” and “Blessed is Mordechai” (Megilah 7b). Authorities differ on how much to drink, but it is clear that one who is not medically unable to drink, and who has a designated driver, should drink some alcohol - preferably enough that he feels lightheaded (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 695:2).
In a normal year, one may enjoy his Seudah, drink a little, and then sleep off the effects of the alcohol. Having a midday meal works for this issue, too. But if one drinks at a pores mappah meal, will he be able to coherently and respectfully daven Kabbalas Shabbos and Maariv afterward, not to mention have an appropriate Shabbos dinner?
Further, many people – myself included – have embraced the practice of drinking minimally at the Purim Seudah and then fulfilling the state of intoxication by taking a nap after the meal. This is an approach sanctioned by the Rama (Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 695:2). However, if one uses the pores mappah method then he doesn’t have any after-Seudah time to nap; by the time the Seudah is over, Purim is over as well.
(B) A second problem is that the way the pores mapah solution is presented in the Gemara and in the Code of Jewish Law (Orach Chaim 271:4), it does not seem to be an ideal, recommended, l’Chatchilah practice. It sounds more like something to be done when one has no other choice.
(C) A third problem arises in negotiating the specifics of the pores mappah meal itself. Does one include Al haNissim when reciting Birkat haMazon after the meal? Should one perhaps recite Birkat haMazon after the first part of the meal, and then act as though the second half is entirely a new meal? Does one cover only bread and cake during Kiddush, or other items as well? We do have practical guidelines for navigating these issues – but there are great debates involved, with big names on all sides.
The Communal Seudah
Although the pores mappah solution is intriguing, the communal Seudah at Congregation Sons of Israel will follow the first approach, that recommended by the Rama, by beginning before midday. We are bolstered by the views cited earlier, who believe that the Seudah should be a morning meal every year. Further, this will allow those who drink at their Seudah to fulfill the Mitzvos of both Shabbos and Purim properly.
We will enjoy a great meal of spaghetti and meatballs, starting at Noon, after which I will gladly go home and take a nap for as long as Amram, Meira, Rena and Aharon will permit. Join us for the meal, and let’s celebrate Purim together!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
The visiting angels of Shabbat
Hi,
"Rabbi Yosi bar Yehudah said: Two ministering angels escort a person on Friday from the synagogue to his home, one of them good and one of them bad.
"When they come to his home and find the lamp lit and the table set and the bed arranged, the good angel says, ‘May it be the Will that next Shabbat will be like this.’ And the bad angel is forced to answer ‘Amen.’
"If not, the bad angel says, ‘May it be the Will that next Shabbat will be like this.’ And the good angel is forced to answer ‘Amen.’"
(Talmud, Shabbat 119b)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"Rabbi Yosi bar Yehudah said: Two ministering angels escort a person on Friday from the synagogue to his home, one of them good and one of them bad.
"When they come to his home and find the lamp lit and the table set and the bed arranged, the good angel says, ‘May it be the Will that next Shabbat will be like this.’ And the bad angel is forced to answer ‘Amen.’
"If not, the bad angel says, ‘May it be the Will that next Shabbat will be like this.’ And the good angel is forced to answer ‘Amen.’"
(Talmud, Shabbat 119b)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Thursday, December 27, 2007
On Shabbat, keep the floor clean
Hi,
An oft-overlooked way to create honor for Shabbat:
"In order not to dirty the house, one should not allow anything to fall off the table at the Friday night meal, unless one will sweep the floor afterward in a permitted fashion. The same is true for the Shabbat morning meal, unless will sweep the floor afterward."
(Mishneh Berurah 262:3)
[Of course, this is easier said than done when one has small children...]
Have a great day,
Mordechai
An oft-overlooked way to create honor for Shabbat:
"In order not to dirty the house, one should not allow anything to fall off the table at the Friday night meal, unless one will sweep the floor afterward in a permitted fashion. The same is true for the Shabbat morning meal, unless will sweep the floor afterward."
(Mishneh Berurah 262:3)
[Of course, this is easier said than done when one has small children...]
Have a great day,
Mordechai
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