BSD

Shkolim 5b(2) – 6a

Shvat 13, 5784 –  01/23/2024

1- משנה. Case of a שליח that accepted to deliver someone’s מחצית השקל to the גזבר and upon arriving decides to give it as his own.

The issues are:

גניבה- he used someone’s שקל for his own use.

תשלומין- he needs to repay the שקל to the sender.

מעילה- if he delivered it after ראש חודש ניסן, when it belongs to הקדש, he was מועל.

2- The גמרא explains that מעילה is only when he tells the גזבר ‘this is from me’. If he gives it סתם, then nothing happened since it is considered that the משלח gave it.

The גמרא compares this to someone who steals an עולה and proceeds to bring it to the בית המקדש as his own קרבן . When he arrives with this stolen  עולה to the כהן at the מזבח he does not advise him that his intention is for his own sake. The הלכה is that the קרבן is considered as a קרבן for the original owner.

3- We mentioned that this הלכה  was used by the חתם סופר (YD 345) on a totally different topic.

Here is the story in short:

Today the ‘מנהג’ is that multiple חיובים can say the קדיש all at the same time.

However, up until a few hundred years ago, in Europe, only one קדיש reciter would be allowed. If there were multiple חיובים, there is a ‘list’ as to who gets priority. See Ramo YD 376, 4 and מגן אברהם OC 132, 2.

(see below from Zev Sero).

Now, a wealthy couple’s wife passed away  and had no son to say Kadish for her.  The husband therefore hired a מלמד to say קדיש in her memory.

As there were other חיובים in this Shul, they refused to allow this מלמד to say קדיש  since he is not a relative of the deceased woman. He is just ‘a ge’dungener קדיש’ so he is not on the above list of priorities.

The גביר, having connections with the ‘machers’ of the city, threatened that if they will not allow his hired קדיש זאגער he will get the אקרו”ט, to disallow all the other חיובים to say קדיש!

Who is this אקרו”ט? We discussed the power that the leaders of the קהילה had in days of old. אקרו”ט means  אלופים, קצינים, רבנים וטובים

אלופים, קצינים, רבנים וטובים

See here. Some קהילות still use this term. See here.

So the חתם סופר was asked if a hired קדיש has any rights to get a slot when there are other חיובים.

He first quotes the opinion of רבי יוחנן of Troyes, who was one of the ראשונים, that on hired קדיש does indeed have a right to ‘get on line’.

[We mentioned in passing that the city of Troyes is where Rashi was born and studied until moving to Germany for 10 or so years. Eventually Rashi returned to Troyes where he is buried. ]

A discussion on Treves/Troyes

Sculpture for Rashi, in Troyes

After analyzing the issues at length he comes to the conclusion that the rights of every member in a קהילה is a form of a partnership. When a member passes away he loses these rights.

However, his relatives have an obligation of their own to ‘help’ the נשמה of their deceased relative. But a hired קדיש has no moral obligation to say the קדיש and therefore is not included in the roster of the קדיש-sayers.

He concludes by saying that regardless, they should find a way to satisfy this גביר by allowing his hired קדיש-sayer to share a slot.

And then the Chasam Sofer adds another interesting point based on our גמרא.

Forcing yourself, against the wishes of another קדיש-sayer, to recite your own קדיש (or grabbing the עמוד) is not advisable.

‘As I heard in my youth in the name of the שב יעקב, that if one ‘grabs away’ a קדיש that belongs to another, the ‘chaper’  gains nothing for himself and does not diminish the זכות of the person who he grabbed it from!

Why? The קדיש that he says goes to the benefit of the person whom he shoved aside!

Adds the חתם סופר – our גמרא is proof for this. As mentioned above:

‘someone who steals an עולה and proceeds to bring it to the בית המקדש as his own קרבן . When he arrives with this stolen  עולה to the כהן at the מזבח he does not advise him that his intention is for his own sake. The הלכה is that the קרבן is considered as a קרבן for the original owner’.

Zev Sero:

Yekkes and Ashkenazim (i.e. Oberlanders), as well as some others,  still keep the original minhag that only one person can say kaddish.  At KAJ an אבל is lucky to get a turn once a week.

 

 

BSD

Shkolim 5b

Shvat 6, 5784. January 16, 2024

Short notes for this week:

1- We discussed the topic of what happens on Rosh Chodesh Nisan, when the first batch is used by the גזברים to purchase animals used on that day.

We spoke about it last week and now, to clarify, we gave an example if worldwide, there are 10 million eligible מחצית השקל donors.

However, by Rosh Chodesh Nisan only 8 million have arrived. One million has been donated but has not arrived to Yerusholayim, The other million has yet to be donated – it eventually will be donated and arrive by the end of Adar of next year.

The גזברין need to have in mind, when taking some of the 8 million in the pot, also the other 2 million that have not arrived. They are donating for them as well.

כשהוא תורם מתכוין לתרום על הגבוי שיש בלשכה. ועל הגבוי שעדיין לא הגיע ללשכה. ועל העתיד לגבות כדי שיהיו אלו השקלים שהוציאן להסתפק מהן כפרה על ישראל וכאילו הגיעו כל שקליהן ללשכה ונתרמה מהן תרומה זו:

 2- The Maharil uses this concept, of the גזברין donating for people that have  donated yet, on a totally different topic.

The ראשונים write a הלכה which seems difficult to understand.

When giving מעשר כספים, a tenth of what one earned, one needs first to earn the profit. Meaning, whenever one makes a חשבון of the amount he was blessed with, he needs to donate 10% to צדקה

[We glanced over this מצוה and the discussion of whether it is מדאורייתא, מדרבנן or a מנהג]

Now say the year begins and no profit has yet been earned. A poor person knocks on the door and asks for a donation. You have not earned yet and therefore have no מעשר money to give him.

The ראשונים (also in the שלחן ערוך-  YD 257, 5) suggests you do the following:

Give him money as a ‘loan’. Technically he needs to repay you.

When BEH, your earnings arrive at a later date, you take these earnings, designate 10% of them as מעשר  and then  ‘pay’ yourself back the loan.

Once the loan is ‘paid back’ the עני owes you nothing since you have been repaid!

3- In theory it makes sense. But, the מהרי”ל was asked, at the time of the loan, you have not earned your profit yet and not obligated to give מעשר, – so how can you give it then as מעשר? It’s a דבר שלא בא לעולם!

One cannot say: the apples in this bushel are תרומה for the apples that will grow in a few months time!

The מהרי”ל first answers that as opposed to תרומה that is מן התורה,

מעשר כספים is מדרבנן

Additionally, he uses the concept of the גזברין above to explain this הלכה.

The גזברין have the power to consider the future arrival of the שקלים as if they have arrived.

שו”ת מהרי”ל סימן נד

 

 

BSD

Shkolim 5a

Teves 28, 5784. January 9, 2024

1- New משנה.

For the ease of travel of the שליח that is bringing up the מחצית השקל to ירושלים, the collectors may exchange all the collected silver מחצית השקל, into coins of gold.

2- Exchanging it into a diamond is not allowed since the market price for gems may fluctuate down and cause a loss to הקדש.

The term used in our גמרא is מרגליות. We mentioned the different opinions if that is a diamond or a pearl.

3 – We discussed the general view of the משנה and גמרא on inflation. The value of money (coins of gold or silver) is always constant. It is only the commodities that fluctuate in price.

In other words, the value of a Shekel is always a Shekel. That is a constant.

When there is inflation, it is the price of wheat, for example, that is more expensive.

4 – As a preface to the next part of the משנה, we spoke about the chronological order of the מחצית השקל from the initial giving to the actual usage of the coins for purchasing קרבנות.

We used as an example, the מחצית השקל originating in a small shtetl in Israel which is a 5 day trek to ירושלים.

Rosh Chodesh Adar – Proclamation for all to give.

15th of Adar – Local collector sets up a Pushka and begins collecting and placing them into a שופר shaped box. Wide on the bottom and narrow at the top to keep sticky fingers out…. See here.

 

The local collecter keeps track of all locals that donated and pawns the assets of the nay givers.

 25th of Adar – he opens the שופר, counts the coins and if needed, exchanges them for gold coins. He chooses a local carrier שליח to make his way up to ירושלים to deliver it to the גזברים. They in turn place all the incoming שקלים in a large שופר.

Rosh Chodesh Nisan, the first batch is used by the גזברים to purchase animals to be used on that day. (We will learn later on about this process).

5 – If the שליח loses the coins or if he is robbed the question is ‘whose coins’ were lost or stolen? The donor’s or הקדש?

Generally, it would depend on when the loss or robbery occurred. Prior to Rosh Chodesh Nisan, then we view them, since they were never delivered to the גזבר, as still belonging to the donors. The שליח, since he is (generally) a שומר חינם, does not need to pay but needs to swear to the ‘owners’ (the donors) that he was not negligent.

However, it becomes interesting if the שליח never made it to ירושלים by Rosh Chodesh Nisan. Say, he arrives on the 5th of Nissan and delivers the שקלים from this shtetl.

The גזברים, five days prior, on Rosh Chodesh Nisan, have  already spent some of the שקלים for their intended purpose – the purchasing of קרבנות.

So the big question is: Did their spending also include the שקלים (that didn’t arrive yet) that are in transit? Or even better – Did their spending also include the שקלים that are not in transit but will eventually (throughout the year) arrive in ירושלים?

There are different opinions on this but the הלכה is that all שקלים that will eventually arrive are included in the first תרומה by the גזברים on Rosh Chodesh Nisan.

א”ר יוסטי ב”ר סימון אתיא כמ”ד תורמין על הגבוי ועל העתיד לגבות

 As the Rambam (Shkolim 2, 9) writes ‘It’s as if all the שקלים arrived’.

כשהוא תורם מתכוין לתרום על הגבוי שיש בלשכה. ועל הגבוי שעדיין לא הגיע ללשכה. ועל העתיד לגבות כדי שיהיו אלו השקלים שהוציאן להסתפק מהן כפרה על ישראל וכאילו הגיעו כל שקליהן ללשכה ונתרמה מהן תרומה זו:

 It therefore follows, that if the שליח lost the שקלים or was robbed after Rosh Chodesh Nisan, since the גזברים had in mind all the שקלים (both – the ones in transit and even the ones that still need to be pledged and shipped to ירושלים) the שקלים in the pocket of the שליח belong to הקדש.

This will now change the direction of the שבועה of the שליח to the גזברין.

6 – We concluded with the story of חנניה, מישאל ועזריה, the decree to bow down to a צלם and being thrown into an oven and survived.

They took the cue to be מוסר נפש from the צפרדעים.

What was the story with the צפרדעים?

The frogs were in fact commanded to jump in the king’s palace, his bedrooms, beds, slave quarters, Egyptian homes, ovens and silos.

It says so in the posuk:

וְשָׁרַ֣ץ הַיְאֹר֘ צְפַרְדְּעִים֒ וְעָלוּ֙ וּבָ֣אוּ בְּבֵיתֶ֔ךָ וּבַֽחֲדַ֥ר מִשְׁכָּֽבְךָ֖ וְעַל-מִטָּתֶ֑ךָ וּבְבֵ֤ית עֲבָדֶ֨יךָ֙ וּבְעַמֶּ֔ךָ וּבְתַנּוּרֶ֖יךָ וּבְמִשְׁאֲרוֹתֶֽיךָ:

Yes,  they were commanded as a group of frogs, but not each individual frog.

The individual frogs which jumped in the oven did not say “let the other frog jump in the oven”. They jumped in the oven and did not leave it for someone else to be  מוסר נפש

So חנניה, מישאל ועזריה did not learn מסירת נפש from the frogs – for that they did not need the frogs.

They (unlike Daniel who escaped prior to the decree) learned from the frogs that although no one frog in particular was ordered to jump into the oven and perish, someone needed to do so.

They made a kal-vchomer:  the frogs which do not have מצוה of  ‘ קידוש ה, so readily jumped in the oven, how much more should we!

Interestingly,  for this the frogs were actually spared, as the posuk says : וַיַּ֥עַשׂ יְהֹוָ֖ה כִּדְבַ֣ר משֶׁ֑ה וַיָּמֻ֨תוּ֙ הַֽצְפַרְדְּעִ֔ים מִן־הַבָּתִּ֥ים מִן־הַֽחֲצֵרֹ֖ת וּמִן־הַשָּׂדֹֽת: – the ones in houses and fields died, but not the ones who went in the ovens!

SeeTosfos in Pesochim 53b.

.מה ראו חנניה מישאל ועזריה. פ”ה מה ראו שלא דרשו וחי בהם ולא שימות בהן וקשה דהא בפרהסיא הוה ומסקינן בסנהדרין (דף עד.) דלכולי עלמא בפרהסיא חייב למסור עצמו אפילו אמצוה קלה.

ומפר”ת דצלם זה שעשה נבוכדנצר לאו ע”ז הוה אלא אינדרטא שעשה לכבוד עצמו ולכך קאמר מה ראו וכן משמע מדכתיב לאלהך לית אנחנא פלחין ולצלם דדהבא לא נסגוד משמע דאלהא דידיה וצלמא תרי מילי נינהו ואתי נמי שפיר הא דאמרינן באלו נערות (כתובות לג:) אלמלי נגדו לחנניה מישאל ועזריה פלחו לצלמא ואי ע”ז הוה ח”ו שהיו משתחוים לו ומיהו לשון פלחו לא אתי שפיר.

ור”י מפרש מה ראו שלא ברחו שהרי קודם המעשה היו יכולים לברוח כמו שעשה דניאל כדאמר בחלק (סנהדרין צג.) ג’ היו באותה עצה:

We mentioned the Jewish quip as to why the צפרדעים were not rewarded for posterity like the dogs who were didn’t bark during יציאת מצרים.

BS”D

Shkolim 4b (2)

Teves 21, 5784. January 2, 2024

Short notes on topics discussed this week.

1 – מעשר בהמה when the animal is owned by partners.

2 – The concept of an estate of a deceased, as a self standing entity prior to the distribution of the assets.

3 – Assets of an estate that are divided. Does each recipient really receive ‘his part of the estate’ (יש ברירה) or does each recipient ‘buy’ a part of the estate (אין ברירה).

4 – משה רבינו.

A- He was a נביא.

וְלֹא קָם נָבִיא עוֹד בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כְּמֹשֶׁה אֲשֶׁר יְדָעוֹ יְהוָה פָּנִים אֶל פָּנִים.

 

From the יג עיקרים- 

 אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה. שֶׁנְּבוּאַת מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם הָיְתָה אֲמִתִּית. וְשֶׁהוּא הָיָה אָב לַנְּבִיאִים. לַקּוֹדְמִים לְפָנָיו וְלַבָּאִים אַחֲרָיו:

B- Was he a כהן גדול?

There is a discussion about this in זבחים קא, א. Bottom line is that for the days of the מילואים he definitely was considered a כהן גדול and his children were not כהנים.

As to the 40 years in the מדבר there is a מחלוקת. According to the opinion that he was a כהן גדול he was allowed to do the עבודה whenever he wanted.

C- Was he considered a מלך?

The answer, as per the גמרא above, is yes, but his children didn’t inherit the מלוכה. It stopped with him and there was no king for hundreds of years after משה until  the coronation of שאול המלך.

5 – We mentioned an original idea of the מהר”ל דיסקין (mentioned in previous shiurim)

The גמרא says that משה actually asked for מלכות when he approached the סנה but his request was denied.

As per the גמרא this request and refusal does not say explicitly in the חומש.

The מהר”ל דיסקין suggest that the words at the first encounter of משה at the סנה hints to this conversation.

וּמֹשֶׁה הָיָה רֹעֶה אֶת צֹאן יִתְרוֹ חֹתְנוֹ כֹּהֵן מִדְיָן וַיִּנְהַג אֶת הַצֹּאן אַחַר הַמִּדְבָּר וַיָּבֹא אֶל הַר הָאֱלֹהִים חֹרֵבָה.

וַיֵּרָא מַלְאַךְ יְהֹוָה אֵלָיו בְּלַבַּת אֵשׁ מִתּוֹךְ הַסְּנֶה וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה הַסְּנֶה בֹּעֵר בָּאֵשׁ וְהַסְּנֶה אֵינֶנּוּ אֻכָּל.

וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אָסֻרָה נָּא וְאֶרְאֶה אֶת הַמַּרְאֶה הַגָּדֹל הַזֶּה מַדּוּעַ לֹא יִבְעַר הַסְּנֶה.

וַיַּרְא יְהוָה כִּי סָר לִרְאוֹת וַיִּקְרָא אֵלָיו אֱלֹהִים מִתּוֹךְ הַסְּנֶה וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּנִי.

וַיֹּאמֶר אַל תִּקְרַב הֲלֹם שַׁל נְעָלֶיךָ מֵעַל רַגְלֶיךָ כִּי הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה עוֹמֵד עָלָיו אַדְמַת קֹדֶשׁ הוּא.

Now this last פסוק is telling משה to take his shoes off because the area is holy.

But it starts with ‘don’t come close’ and only then ‘remove your shoes’.

What is the ‘don’t come close’? Why not ‘just remove your shoes’?

It seems to say that ‘move back a bit and remove your shoes because where you are now is holy ground’

Suggests the מהר”ל דיסקין:the following:

משה רבינו was 80 years old at the time.

The גמרא says in חולין כד ב that the sign of a healthy and young person is one that can take off his shoes and tie them while standing on one foot.

It adds that only  רבי חנינא , despite being 80, was able to perform this acrobatic feat while on one foot. He attributed it to his mother pampering him with olive oil.

Thus, משה, being told that he should remove his shoes wanted to sit down where he was standing to remove them. However, the area of the סנה, he was told, is אַדְמַת קֹדֶשׁ הוּא. It has the same קדושה of the עזרה of the בית המקדש where sitting is prohibited for all, except מלכי בית דוד.

So משה’s was asking to be granted  מלכות for himself and his descendants to achieve the status like מלכי בית דוד which would grant him the right to sit down on this אַדְמַת קֹדֶשׁ הוּא.

He is told וַיֹּאמֶר אַל תִּקְרַב הֲלֹם meaning that I hear your request and it is not granted. Your מלכות is limited just to you, not you your descendants, (like דוד המלך). Therefore אַל תִּקְרַב הֲלֹם, ‘move back, sit down and then remove your shoes’.

6- We discussed two footnotes to the above.

A- Doesn’t is say that משה רבינו did not lose any of his strength until the day he passed away? וּמֹשֶׁה בֶּן מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה בְּמֹתוֹ לֹא כָהֲתָה עֵינוֹ וְלֹא נָס לֵחֹה.

Perhaps it means that whatever strength he had at the age of 80 didn’t diminish until his last day.

B- The גמרא says ‘the ability to remove and tie his shoes.

The question: Does not tying come first?

The Rambam (OH 5, 7) indeed writes tying and removing’!

We mentioned the answer of Reb Levi’k on this last question.