1- The Gemara introduces the discussion about the definition of a ‘bunch’. אגד.
The Torah requires in three instances to take אזוב אגודת – hyssop, in a ‘bunch’.
Hyssop
[We mentioned in the past that the Bartenura identifies this אזוב as the za’atar plant].
Za’atar
In מצרים when applying the פסח blood on the doorpost, when purifying a טמא מת with the אפר הפרה and the purification of the מצורע.
What is the meaning of אגודה? One אזוב stem is obviously not a ‘bunch’. Is it two or three?
2- We discussed the topic of גרדומי – Gardumi – Stubs.
Briefly – when the Torah instructs one to perform a Mitzvah, say מקווה, one needs to fill a מקוה with 40 סאה.
Now this מקוה needs to always be a full 40 סאה. If it drops to 39 it’s not a valid מקוה.
Another example – לולב. It needs to be a minimum of 4 טפחים. So if one starts with 4 and shakes it violently and it shrinks to 3, it is obviously פסול.
This is very logical and applies to all מצוות that require a שיעור.
However, we find that two מצוות that require one to start with a particular שיעור, but interestingly enough, if this שיעור becomes smaller, less that what is originally required, it is still Kosher!
These two Mitzvos are אזוב and ציצית. With ציצית one must start with about 9.9 inches in length. But if they tear and become shorter it is still Kosher.
Ditto for the bunch of אזוב. Even is there is just a bit left, enough to be able to dip it into the מים של אפר החטאת , it is Kosher.
The children of Rav Chiya said: Stubs (remnants) of Tzitzis and the Eizov are Kosher.
3- What is perplexing is that no reason is offered in the Gemara and not in the ראשונים, as to why these two מצוות are the exception to the rule. Amazing indeed.
The Chasam Sofer was asked by Reb Shlomo Kluger of Brodi for an explanation. (The topic discussed there is a Sefer Torah that aged and its letters turned from black to brown/red).
He begins to explain but finishes off saying ”and whoever, whose intelligence is greater than ours, will offer a logical explanation, we will graciously accept it” !!!
Reb Meir Simcha of Dvinsk
4- We spoke about the explanation of the אור שמח, by Reb Meir Simcha of Dvinsk. See here. – אור שמח הל’ לולב פ’ ז’ הל’ ח
It’s a very deep and subtle idea. See below in different words.
Reb Chaim Oizer Grodzinski
In the Yeshiva world there is a story about the above אור שמח. When the Rov of Vilna, Reb Chaim Oizer Grodzinski, would test Yeshiva Bochurim he would ask them to explain to him, in their own words, the meaning of this particular אור שמח!
Reb Pinchos Hirshprung
5- Mentioning Reb Chaim Oizer, we spoke about Reb Pinchos Hirshprung of Montreal.
His photographic memory. His life.
His relationship with the Rebbe.
The publishing house that planned to print his biography. When his family agreed but with the condition that the above relationship be mentioned, they refused. The family printed it on their own.
His genuine memoirs he wrote right after the war. The unadulterated english translation.
His encounter with Reb Chaim Oizer during the war. His dilemma of whether to enter Russia to get to Japan.
Reb Chaim Oizer’s advice. The Chassidisher Bochur who went to hear Reb Chaim Ozer’s advice while planning to do just the opposite……
Who was right at the end?
See below a clear explanation on the Chasam Sofer, and Or Sameach mentioned above, from the Tolna Rebbe, R Yitzchok Menachem Weinberg:
תירוץ עמוק על הקושיא העצומה של רבי שלמה קלוגר מופיע בספר “אור שמח” על הרמב”ם לגאון המפורסם רבי מאיר שמחה אב”ד דווינסק. האור שמח נמצא בהל’ לולב בפ’ ז’ הל’ ח’ היסוד של גרדומים נובע מכך שיש בקיום המצוה משך זמן, אזוב שכבר טיהר אדם אחד יכול לטהר גם את האחר, משום שכבר חל עליו שם של גרדום, כך גם לגבי ציצית, ואין להתפלא על כך שאדם מסוים נטהר באזוב קטן, ואילו זה שקדם לו היה עליו להיטהר באזוב גדול, אנו מוצאים הבדל בין שני האנשים. אדם זה שנטהר באזוב גדול, נטהר בבוקר, ואילו זה שנטהר באזוב הקטן נטהר אחריו מובן מדוע מספיק לטהרתו גם אזוב קצר, כך גם לגבי ציצית, הבגד שבתחילת ברייתו נקשר עם חוטי ציצית ארוכים יכול מעתה להיפטר גם עם חוטים קטנים, ואין לתמוה ע”כ כיצד יתכן שבגד שחייב בציצית יפטר בחוטים קטנים, משום שבגד זה עצמו כבר נפטר באותם חוטים, וכיון שכך אנו מבינים את ההבדל בין הבגד שהיה עליו להיפטר עם חטים גדולים לבין הבגד שנפטר עכשיו עם חוטים קטנים.
אבל לגבי לולב ושופר אין הבדל בין לולב בבוקר לבין לולב אחר הצהרים, ואין שום חלות דין המבדילה בין אדם שנטל לולב בשחרית בבוקר, לבין למי שנטל אחה”צ, שניהם יצאו את אותה מצות לולב, כך שאם נאמר שאדם שנטל לולב בבוקר ואח”כ נפחת הלולב יוכל אחריו אדם אחר לצאת בלולב קטן, יהיה בזה דבר תימה, כיצד יתכן ששיעור הלולב משתנה לפי הלוקחים, לזה צריך דווקא לולב גדול שלשה טפחים, ואילו לשני מספיק לולב קטן, והרי השני שנטל את הלולב אין בנטילתו המשך לנטילת הראשון, הוא כאילו נוטל לבדו, שהרי אין הבדל בין הנוטל בבוקר לבין הנוטל אחה”צ, שניהם התחייבו בבת אחת וכל אחד מהם יוצא ידי חיובו בשעת נטילה, מה הקשר בין זה שנטל את הלולב בבוקר, לזה שנטל אחה”צ, כדי שיפטר זה שנוטל אחה”צ בלולב שונה מזה שנפטר בבוקר, כך גם לגבי שופר, ולכן אין לדמות גרדומי אזוב ותכלת לגרדומי לולב ושופר.
1 – Our Gemore discusses types of סכך that have a foul odor. One is prohibited from using it, least one will not be comfortable and simply walk out of the Sukkah!
We discussed if this rule applies to the walls as well.
2 – The next topic was using סכך that dries out and falls into the סוכה. As above, one may not use it. That is לכתחילה. However בדיעבד, it is fine.
We discussed what בדיעבד means. If one ate in such a Sukkah he is יוצא or if one built such a Sukkah he may use it.
כא יש דברים שאסרו חכמים לסכך בהן קמז לכתחלה קמח והם מיני עשבים שריחם רעקמט אע”פ שאינן ראויין לאכילה ואין מקבלין טומאה קנ וכן מיני סנה שעליהן נושריןקנא תמיד אע”פ שלא בשעת הרוח קנב לפי שאנו חוששין שמא מתוך שריחן רע או מתוך שעליהן נושרין יצא מן הסוכה קנג ואם עבר וסיכך בהן כשרה קנד ומותר לישב בה לכתחלה קנה:
3 – Our Gemara diverges and discusses an interesting topic regarding linguistics.
Horseradish – Sharp!
Briefly – The Torah obligates one to eat מרור on Pesach.
What is מרור? Rashi in Chumash (Shemos 12, 8) writes that ‘any bitter herb’ is considered מרור.
Endive, Somewhat bitter
However, the Mishna in פסחים enumerates the exact five herbs that are classified as מרור.
Romaine Lettuce, Bitter Herb
ואלו ירקות שאדם יוצא בהן ידי חובתו בפסח: בחזרת ובעולשין ובתמכא ובחרחבינא ובמרור.
Friese Lettuce, Very bitter
Meaning that wasabi or jalapenos would not be considered מרור.
Real Wasabi ( Most of the wasabi you’ll find in restaurants in the United States are Horsradish), very sharp
Our Gemore discusses if one of the five types listed above has an added name. ‘ מרור of the lake’. Is that considered מרור or is it a different species?
Rav Ḥisda said that Ravina bar Sheila said: With these מרור of a marsh, a person fulfills his obligation on Passover. [Meaning מרור, that has an added name to it.].
The Gemara raises an objection to this opinion. With regard to every mitzva that requires use of אזוב – hyssop, such a for the פרה אדומה, one needs to use only standard hyssop, not an אזוב that has an added name to it. Such as Greek אזוב, nor stibium אזוב, nor desert אזוב , nor Roman אזוב, nor any other kind of אזוב whose name is accompanied by a modifier.
The same should hold true for the mitzvah of bitter herbs מרור; ‘מרור of the lake’, whose name is accompanied by a modifier- the lake– are not the bitter herbs mentioned in the Torah.
Abaye said in response: There is a distinction between the cases. Every species whose name was differentiated prior to the giving of the Torah, i.e., the distinction between its different subspecies predated מתן תורה at Sinai, and the Torah then came along and was particular about one specific subspecies, it is known that the chosen species has other subspecies identified with a modifier that are unfit for use in fulfilling the mitzvah.
On the other hand מרור, the different types of the 5 mentioned, all their sub-names were not differentiated prior to the giving of the Torah at all; all the subspecies were known simply as bitter herbs. Therefore, when the Torah requires מרור, one may fulfill the mitzvah with all subspecies of bitter herbs.
In practice, we mentioned that in Shulchan Aruch it says that only the five types are good for מרור.
However the Rama says that if one does not have any מרור of the five types, he should use ‘any bitter herb’.
So wasabi or jalapenos would be OK.
Hot and Spicy peppers
[Unless, as Mr. Serebryanski argued, there is a difference between bitter and sharp]
The Magen Avrohom 473,16 takes issue with this and says that one should not make a ברכה on this. Reb Akiva Eiger, DV, questions our Gemore. Seems that his opinion is like the Ramo that any bitter herb is fine.
4- The Gemore above mentioned Roman אזוב that was known with that name prior to מתן תורה.
We spoke about the question of the (תפארת ישראל ( 11,7פרה that Rome didn’t exist at that time!
When did the Italian peninsula come into being? During the time of Shlomo Hamelech. Shabbos 56b
כרך גדול של רומי – שהוא מיצר לישראל והוא (איטליא) של יון :
Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: When Solomon married Pharaoh’s daughter, the angel Gabriel descended from heaven and implanted a reed into the sea, and a sandbar grew around it, growing larger each year, and upon it the great city of Rome was built, which became God’s instrument to punish Israel.
We, as Lubavitchers, are familiar with the reason we use יאנעווער Esrogim which grow in Calabria.
יאנעווער is the Yiddish translation of Genoa, the port from which Esrogim from Calabria were shipped.
This is based on the Midrash concerning Esrogim from Italy. ולקחתם לכם ביום הראשון. ויצא הראשון אדמוני.
יבוא ראשון ויכפר על ראשון.
See here an excellent discussion of Calabria and Italia Shel Yavan.
5- Speaking of linguistics, we mentioned the heart rending story of Reb Efraim one of the בעלי התוספות.
We discussed his life and his disputes with Rabeinu Tam who was his Rebbe.
His most famous dispute is concerning חתיכה נעשה נבילה. See here. And here.
Another dispute concerning יין נסך. See here from the אור זרוע. There is a very sharp rebuke to him from Rabeinu Tam concerning this argument. See Tosfos Avoda Zoro 34a.
The one concerning linguistics is in regards to canvas.
In short – the Mishna states that canvas may be sewn together with wool. Meaning that canvas is not flax/linen and not שעטנז.
Reb Efraim’s opinion was that what we call canvas is not the canvas mentioned in the Mishna, which, according to his opinion, was a different material from a different plant.
The threads and material we call ‘canvas’ are indeed פשתן, flax/linen which are prohibited due to שעטנז.
He was so hurt that others argued with him that he wrote to Rebeinu Tam attempting to convince him to adopt his opinion.
He took this very much to heart. The שיטה מקובצת adds that ‘Reb Efraim inserted into his letter to Rabeinu Tam strands of his beard that he ripped out in anguish from the fact that people wear canvas with wool’!!!
We spoke about the story related by the Rebbe concerning the Chofetz Chaim.
‘If you were truly upset… why didn’t you faint?’
See phenomenal story with Rabeinu Efraim and Rabeinu Tam. סדר הדורות 930.
1- We continued the topic of the production of flax/linen and how it reflects in הלכה in using flax as סכך.
See here from the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch for the bottom line. 629, 5.
2- We spoke about hemp, a plant similar to flax, from which fibers were historically extracted. The fibers were used to produce fabric and rope. The hemp’s leaves and flowers was/is used as a nutrient and the for the production of cannabis. See here. The fruit is eaten – Flax seeds.
3- The Gemara in Zevachim, 18b, says that the material mentioned in the Chumash – כתונת בד קודש ילבש means flax.
Why? Because בד means singular, and the only plant that has a single stem growing from one seed is flax.
Now, the hemp plant also produces a single stem from each seed. That would mean that hemp, or canvas, is considered flax. Hence, it would be forbidden to be used together with wool. שעטנז.
But the Mishna says that ‘canvas’ is not considered flax and can indeed be mixed with wool.
More on this bl”n next week.
4- It was election day in the USA so we spoke about the phenomenon of the eternal optimism of the Jew. Perhaps due to non-stop oppression and persecution a Jew was a natural to become a believer, clinger and proponent of movements that promised freedom in general, and freedom to practice Yiddishkeit in particular. These new movement’s strongest ‘chassidim’ were Jews being duped that the paradise promised will bring peace and tranquility.
Unfortunately, these very movements, in a very short period of time from their formation, turned out to be nothing more than antisemitism redressed in a cloak of ‘social justice’ ‘equality for all’, etc.
5- We presented a copy of the אוצר דינים ומנהגים published first in 1917.
This ספר was printed right after the Russian revolution and the world believed that a new era of freedom was forming in Russia. The Jew, having suffered the open antisemitism of the czars, immediately joined the ranks of the communists. The rest is history. The guns of the communist were turned onto the Jew and of course did not spare the die hard Jewish communists as well.
We as Lubavitchers know first hand what atrocities these liberal minded Jews brought upon their fellow brethren. The cruelty of the Yevsektzia is well documented, but in general Jews know very little about these ‘enlightened’ individuals that caused imprisonment and murder of countless Chassidim and basically obliterated Yidishkeit from the millions of Russian Jews.
Tragically, early Zionist considered Russia as their ‘second homeland’ and mourned Stalin YMS when he died! See here. Here.
The prolific author, Rabbi Yehuda Dovid Eizenstein, dedicated his book to ‘the New Russia’. Interesting to note that he was born in Mezritch!
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