Vayikra. Korbanos and Fiscal Probity; Aveilus and Shalach Manos; Aveilus and Davening for the Amud.

This is the Kollel Horaah of America's Parsha Sheet. Each of the three sections is insightful and informative, and I found it particularly interesting this week.  

Gaining a Closer Relationship with Hashem R' Moshe Orgel The תורה in this weeks פרשה writes a one פסוק introduction prior to detailing the specifics of the korbanos, “אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן וכו” The גמ׳ derives many הלכות from this פסוק. One of them is derived from the word כי יקריב מכם קרבן אדם. Rashi explains that we learn that someone bringing a קרבן must do so from his own animals and money and not from stealing someone else’s, just like אדם הראשון did not possess any stolen objects – as he had no one to steal from; so too one's קרבן may not be from stolen property. There are many other מצות which have the same exclusion – not to come from stolen property, for example; the תורה says that a לולב must be לכם from your property, not of someone else’s. קרבנות is the only place where the תורה alludes to this using the word אדם . What is unique about the פרשה of קרבנות that requires a different more complicated לימוד as opposed to the תורה simply writing לכם or something of that sort?  The word קרבן denotes קורבה, closeness. The purpose of bringing a קרבן is to gain a closer relationship with Hashem and strive higher in רוחניות. The תורה is teaching us that in regard to this מצוה it is not merely enough to do the mitzvah with your own money, but rather you should be like אדם הראשון. He did not have one penny that was not his, nor could he covet someone else’s property as there was no one else in the world but him. Theft by him was an impossibility, not simply a choice. When someone steals, he is not only doing the actual sin, he is in addition demonstrating his lack of אמונה ובטחון. If he truly knows that Hashem will provide with all he needs and that it is predestined each year what he will attain that year, he wouldn’t be stealing as there would be no point he is only getting a certain amount of money anyway. A person needs to recognize that just as is was impossible for אדם הראשון to steal, so too it is impossible for one to achieve anything through theft. With this idea in mind it is easy to understand what is unique about קרבנות that requires the law of stealing to come from the word אדם. The word אדם is not just teaching us a single focused law, rather an idea of how someone should conduct themselves. While attempting to come closer to Hashem through קרבנות or through תפילה one must make sure that the rest of one’s actions and thoughts are also up to par. Working on אמונה ובטחון to a level where one recognizes that all is from Hashem and one’s actions can’t change that is an integral aspect of the עבודה of the קרבנות. May we all be זוכה to become closer to Hashem, both through תפילה as well as אמונה ובטחון.

Editor's remark: 1. Chazal learn from the words Adam ki yakriv that just as Adam Harishon brought korbanos that were 100% his, with no admixture of theft, our korbanos must be equally pure. Rabbi Orgel sees this as a far broader lesson - if you want to bring a korban, YOU have to be like Adam. If you possess any stolen property, your korban is undesireable. I would put it this way: By Korban Pesach, if you own Chametz at the time of the hakrava, the korban is improper (you're over a lahv, but the Korban is kasher - Rambam Pesach 1:5.) Just as it is assur to bring a Korban Pesach when you own Chametz, so too it is assur to bring any Korban if you possess property that was acquired dishonestly.  It's not a lahv, and it doesn't passel the korban, but it's meguneh, and if you're looking for Ritzui, that's not where to look.  It might be interesting to think about whether this applies to Shemoneh Esrei. אורח חיים Rabbi Shmuel Goldstein Question: Can an Avel give and be given Mishloach Manos? Answer: The Gemara says that an Avel during Shivah, (the first seven days, counting from the funeral), may not say Shalom Aleichem to others [a]. One may not say Shalom Aleichem to an Avel throughout Shloshim, (the first thirty days counting from the funeral), and for the twelve months if the Avel is in Aveilus for a parent [b]. There are different opinions with regard to greeting someone with saying Shalom Aleichem on Shabbos [c]. It is permitted to give a Bracha to an Avel, and therefore one can say “good Shabbos” [d]. Saying “good morning” is also technically permitted. Some refrain from doing so, especially during Shivah [e]. The Ramah says that many people say Shalom after thirty days, during the twelve months of Avielus for a parent, but he says that he doesn’t know what they rely on, unless our greeting isn’t like the one in the time of Chazal [f]. Most Acharonim do not give credence to this leniency [g]. However it seems the Ramah may have been referring to statements like “good morning” [h]. The Maharil says that giving someone a present is the same as saying Shalom Aleichem, and therefore one may not give Mishloach Manos to an Avel. This would apply to giving an Avel throughout Shloshim, and for the twelve months if the Avel is in Aveilus for a parent [i]. Although an Avel during Shivah may not give presents, since Mishloach Manos is an obligation, they may and must give [j]. Some Acharonim say an Avel should only give Mishloach Manos to one or two people [k]. Either way an Avel should not give extra happy things in the Mishloach Manos [l]. Those who are lenient, and give an Avel, are relying on those who opine that Purim is like Shabbos regarding Aveilus combined with relying on those who opine that Shalom Aleichem is permitted on Shabbos [m]. If an Avel is after the third day of Aveilus, and they were given Mishloach Manos, they may accept it [n]. It is permitted to give Mishloach Manos to a Rebbe or someone whom the gift is almost like part of a salary [o]. Editor's remark: This halacha of Mishloach Manos and Aveilus is not widely known, nor is the proscription from greeting an aveil with Shalom Aleichem during the entire year. As Rabbi Goldstein quoted from the Maharil, these two laws are the same - giving Shalach Manos is like greeting with Shalom Aleichem. It's also worth remembering that this applies during Kiddush Levana. יורה דעה R' Mechi Plittman

Question: When should an Avel serve as the Shatz? Are there any times when he should not act as שליח ציבור? Answer: The רמ''א writes that the minhag has become that an avel does not daven for the amud on שבת ויו”ט [a]. The ש''ך explains that the same applies to the ימים נוראים [b]. The נודה ביהודה understands that to mean only ראש השנה ויום כפור and not ימי סליחות ועשרת ימי תשובה [c], during which the אבל can indeed lead the ציבור. The reason for this minhag is that it is inapropiate for one in mourning to lead the congregation when the congregation is in a state of שמחה [d]. It is important to note that his is a minhag and not an איסור [e]. This applies, both, to a son during the twelve months after losing a parent, and to any mourner for the duration of שלושים of a close relative [f]. Many אחרונים ask [g]; the רמ''א himself writes his sefer דרכי משה, that an אבל refrains from serving as שליח ציבור on ראש חודש as well. Furthermore, the source for רמ''א is the מהרי"ל who implies that this halacha applies to any day that we say הלל. That would include חנוכה ופורים [h]. So why then, does the רמ''א only mention שבת ויו''ט in the שלחן ערוך. The ערוך השלחן answers that the רמ''א only listed the days on which an אבל does not daven for the amud the entire day i.e. שבת ויו"ט. On ראש חודש or חנוכה ופורים just refrain from davening in the morning, but he may daven for the עמוד for מנחה ומעריב [i]. This is the opinion of the משנה ברורה [j] as well. There are some who understand this minhag to allow the אבל to daven שחרית as well and just not daven הלל ומוסף [k]. On חול המועד there is a dispute if an אבל should daven for the amud at all. Some maintain that he should refrain from serving as ש''ץ for it is similar to a יו”ט [l]. However, many אחרונים are of the opinion that on any day we say הלל an אבל should not daven for the amud even מנחה ומעריב. This was the opinion of Rav Moshe [m]. All other days that we don’t say תחנון for example, ל"ג בעומר ט"ו שבט ט"ו באב an אבל may daven for the amud [n]. There is an opinion that rules that any day that you don’t say קל ארך אפים and למנצח an אבל should not daven for the amud. That would include ערב פסח, ט' באב, ערב יו"כ, שושן פורים, פורים קטן [o]. However, it’s clear from the source of the רמ''א that only days which הלל is said is there a minhag for an אבל not to be the ש''ץ. This minhag comes from a different source which doesn’t agree with the רמ''א.  If the chazon for the shul during the ימים נוראים is an אבל he may daven for the עמוד if no one can replace him and his abilities [p]. On Shabbos and יו''ט if no one inspires the shul like him then he may be the Shatz [q], but just because he sounds good is not a heter. The same applies to the reading of the מגילה if no one can pronounce the words and read כהלכה like him then he may read the מגילה [r]. Otherwise he should refrain. Editor's remark: The halacha that an aveil may daven for the amud on yomtov if the tzibbur needs him became relevant to a friend this past year. He had retained to daven on the Yamim Nor'aim, and he became an aveil the day before Rosh Hashannah. He was the only Shliach Tzibbur available for that certain shul. I told him to leave the Shiva house during shiva, and fly back to Chicago to daven for the Amud on Rosh Hashanna.

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מראה מקומות לדין אורח חיים

a) גמרא מו"ק טו. וכא:

b) גמרא מו"ק טו. וכא:

c) ע' רא"ש מו"ק פרק ג' סי' כ"ח ול"ח

מירושלמי ברכות ב:ז, רמב"ם אבל י:א. ש"ע שפה:ג.

d) שלמת חיים תכ"ה [קל"ג], גשה"ח כא:ז:ד-ז, להורות נתן חלק ב' סי' ל"ז

e) ע' לקט יושר עמ' ק"י, מ"ב תקנ"ד ס"ק מ"א, באר משה חלק ד' סי' ק"ו, להורות נתן חלק ב' סי' ל"ז

f) רמ"א שפה:א

g) ש"ך יו"ד שפ"ה ס"ק ג' ומג"א או"ח תקנ"ד ס"ק כ"א

h) ע' בה"ט יו"ד שפ"ה ס"ק ב', מ"ב תקנ"ד ס"ק מ"א, לקט יושר עמ' ק"י, באר משה חלק ד' סי' ק"ו, להורות נתן חלק ב' סי' ל"ז

i) הובא ברמ"א יו"ד שפה:ג ובאו"ח תרצו:ו

j) ש"ע או"ח תרצו:ו עם מ"ב ס"ק י"ז

k) נחלת שבעה סי' י"ז וקובץ הלכות פרק ט"ו הע' מ"ד

l) מ"ב תרצ"ו ס"ק י"ח

m)  ע' מג"א או"ח תרצ"ו

n) כתב סופר או"ח סי' קמ"א

o) דברי למכיאל חלק ה' סי' רל"ז 

מראה מקומות לדין יורה דעה

a רמ"א יו"ד שע"ו

b) ש"ך שם סקי"ד בשם המהרי"ל

c) נו"ב או"ח סי' ל"ב

d) שו"ת מהרי"ל סי' כ"ב

e) רמ"א שם

f) מ"ב או"ח תקפ"א סק"ז

g) ערוך השלחן שע"ו סקי"ד

h) כל בו על אבילות עמ' רפ"ז

i) ערוך השלחן שם ועיין מהר"ם שיק או"ח קפ"ג שכן נוהג החת"ס

j) מ"ב תקפ"א סק"ז ותרע"א סקמ"ד ותרפ"ג סק"א

k) גליון מהרש"א סי' שע"ו ובא"ר או"ח סס"י תקפ"ב ופרמ"ג תרע"א מ"ז סק"ח וגשר החיים כ"ג:ה

l) מ"ב תרע"א סקמ"ד בשם הפמ"ג וגשר החיים כ"ג:ד סברו לא התפלל ושו"ת מהר"ם מינץ מ"ג וערוך השלחן שם סברו יכול התפלל

m) רבבות אפרים ח"א תמ"ג בשם ר' משה

n) מ"ב תרע"א סקמ"ד וגשר החיים כ"ג:ו

o) מ"ב קל"ב במאמר קדישים ונועם מגדים להפמ"ג מנהגים א'

p) ש"ך שע"ו סקי"ד בשם מהרי"ו

q) כן משמע מדרכי משה במה שכתב "אף" ימים נוראים ומ"ב תקפ"א ז' ותרצ"ו י"ב ולא כב"ח יו"דשפ"ו

r) מ"ב תרצ"ו סקי"ב

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Yahrtzeit, Kaddish, and Aveilus.

The hook to hang this on the Parsha is the mention of Birkas Hamazon in Parshas Eikev. The last of the Brachos of Birkas Hamazon is called Birkas Hatov Ve'hameitiv, and it was instituted (Berachos 48) after the failed rebellion of Beitar, when, after several years, the government allowed us to bury the dead rebels, who had been left where they died. The ability to bury the dead is a great chesed, both for them and for us. In a sense, it is then that new life begins to spring forth from the bones of our ancestors. Along those lines, here is a discussion about certain halachos of Aveilus.

Particularly in a leap year, questions often arise about the duration of the aveilus, the date of the Yahrtzeit, and the calculation of the eleven months for Kaddish. Despite the numerous sefarim that discuss these matters, some halachos remain unclear, and even careful reading of these sources often results in errors. I was an aveil this year; (in my case, my father HK'M was niftar on the first day of Tishrei, the local funeral was on 4th, and the burial was in Israel on 6th day of Tishrei.) I researched the following questions carefully, and I am satisfied with my analysis. My Semicha documents allege that I am entitled to pasken questions of Jewish Law; if, however, you have an Orthodox Rabbi with whom you consult on Halach issues, do so. If no such Rabbi is available to you, then here are the relevant halachos.

THE IMPORTANT POINT HERE IS THAT THE CALCULATION OF THE STARTING POINT FOR THE ELEVEN MONTHS OF KADDISH, THE TWELVE MONTHS OF AVEILUS, AND THE YAHRTZEIT EACH HAVE DIFFERENT RULES AND BEGIN ON DIFFERENT DAYS.

May Mashiach come soon and render these issues irrelevant.

1. Kaddish is recited for eleven months. What comprises eleven months? Eleven months from when? In my case, I was saying kaddish for three days before the funeral, because my father, HK’M, was niftar on Rosh Hashanna morning, and Rosh Hashanna was followed by Shabbos. So I was not an onein for those three days, and I said kaddish.
Another complication: the funeral was local, but the burial was in Israel. I did not go to Israel, so my aveilus began when I saw the coffin off and returned home, before the actual burial.
So when does the eleven month period end?

The eleven months are counted NOT from the time of death, and NOT from the time of the local funeral, and not from the first time I said Kaddish. The eleven months begins at the time of the actual burial. In my case, this means that I said kaddish for eleven months and five days, since the first three days really don’t mean anything, and the two days between the local funeral and the burial in Israel don’t count either. (Igros Moshe YD III 160 and others.)


2. When does the aveilus end? At the Yahrtzeit, or after twelve months?

The aveilus lasts twelve months after the local funeral for people who didn't go on to the burial. Even though it is a leap year, and the Yahrtzeit is a month later, my aveilus ends a month before the Yahrtzeit.


3. When the funeral is three or more days after the death, people are told that the first Yahrtzeit is on the anniversary of the funeral, and the subsequent Yahrtzeits are on the anniversary of the death. Is this true on a leap year?

No. In a leap year, where the Aveilus period included two Adars, and so the Yahrtzeit is a month after the aveilus ends, the Yahrtzeit even the first year is the anniversary of the death, not the anniversary of the funeral. (Pischei Teshuva YD 520.)

For a discussion of the minhag of Tikkun on a Yahrtzeit, please see the comments.

Tzav, Vayikra 11:33. Umipesach Ohel Moed lo seitzu shivas yomim.

There are several medrashim that say that when Nadov and Avihu died, no aveilus followed their death. The Aveius was nidche because of the simcha of the Chanukas Hamishkan. But in a sense, the Medrash says, the "aveilus" came before they died, and this was an additional reason for the requirement that the Kohanim stay in the Ohel Moed for seven days prior to their inauguration. As it turns out, then, Nadav and Avihu sat Shiva for themselves.

In Moed Kattan 20a the Gemara learns the din of sitting shiva from a possuk in Amos 8:10, “vehafachti chageichem l’eivel,” I turn your holidays into mourning. Just as the shalosh regalim are seven days long, so, too, aveilus is seven days long. Tosfos asks why the gemara didn’t simply learn the law of shiva from a clearer– and earlier– reference, in Breishis 50:10, where Yosef was mis'abeil for Yaakov, where it says “vayaas le’aviv eivel shivas yamim.” Tosfos answers that we are looking for a case of real aveilus, which begins after the burial, and the ‘eivel’ in that passuk took place before Yaakov’s kvurah. He also brings the Yerushalmi that we don’t want to bring a rayah from before mattan Torah.

The Likutei Yehuda brings that one of the Gerer Rebbes (I don’t remember which one) saw an old sefer that said the following:

Even before the chet of the Eitz Hada’as, man would not have lived forever, because a world without death cannot exist. But before the chet, a man would decide when he had done all he was sent here to do, and all he was able to do, and he would get all his friends together, and make a celebratory seuda, and then he would go and die; he would simply stop living, just as the people of Luz would do. After the chet, people no longer know when they are going to die, and they don’t have a clear idea of what their purpose in life is, and they die whether they are ready or not. This change introduced the tragedy and fear and anxiety of death. Therefore, the ‘chag’ in the possuk in Amos the gemara brings– vehafachti chageichem– alludes to the valedictory celebration that would have accompanied death if not for the chet of Odom Horishon; that chag has been turned into eivel. This, then, is a reference to Adam in Gan Eiden, who long preceded the possuk of vayaas l’aviv eivel shiv’as yamim. So even without the Yerushalmi’s answer that we prefer to not bring psukim from before mattan Torah, the reason the Bavli chose the passuk in Amos was that the passuk of ‘ve’hafachti’, though written much later, refers to an event that long preceded the passuk of “vaya’as le’oviv eivel shiv’as yomim.”

These two ideas, that sometimes shiva can precede death, and that a levaya might be a celebration, are not mere theory. You have to wonder, how can the seven day isolation that accompanied the inauguration of the kohanim have been characterized as a pre-death shiva? What does that have to do with shiva? Perhaps the answer is that the seven days of isolation were a farewll to their past life, and now, as kohanim, they would have begun a completely new type of existence. That being the case, it was, in a sense, the same as the shiva that follows the death of a normal person. And as for the pre-Eitz Hada'as concept of death, I have attended levayos where, despite the attendant sadness, there was an undercurrent of the pre-expulsion feeling, where the person had had overcome so much and had acheived so much, that the levaya was as much a celebration of a life well lived as it was a tearful farewell.

Aveilus Hiatus

I haven't posted here recently; my priorities were reorganized on the morning of the first day of Rosh Hashanna. My father's caregiver called me on the phone to tell me that my father was not breathing and not moving. I hurried down the street and found that my father zichrono livracha had just passed away in his sleep. As it happens, my father's chavrusa from Slabodkeh/Litteh, with whom he learned for 14 years straight day and night, was hospitalized, comatose, on the same day in Israel, and passed away four weeks later.

Writing chiddushim requires the ability to arouse and enjoy the creative faculty. Currently, my focus is overwhelmed by a sense of inadequacy to fill the shoes of a man who achieved world-level gadlus in limud haTorah, in harbotzas Torah, in gemillus chasadim, and in business. Being chometz ben yayin is not easy; a dissolute and solipsistic lifestyle provides some comfort, but sometimes even that is not enough.

I have said some chiddushim, though. One is an observation. I realized what Chazal meant when they said that one who is makir tov le'chaveiro, nafsho hu chayav lo, (true gratitude creates an indebtedness of the soul). This means that the feeling of gratitude, no matter how deeply felt, is not enough. True gratitude means that you change yourself so that you can emulate your benefactor and carry forth his good works. This is easier said than done; but if you don't, then you shouldn't fool yourself into thinking that you are a makir tov at all.

And this is a kashe. The Gemora in Kesuvos says that a chosson or kallah that becomes an aveil have the halacha of any aveil on Yomtov or Shabbos, since their days of Sheva Brachos have the status of yomtov for them. An aveil on yomtov may not show and signs of mourning in public, but must continue to observe the mourning restrictions in private. Here, too, the aveil may not act in a manner that is inconsistent with simcha when in public, but continue his aveilus when alone with the new spouse. This is very difficult to understand; the restriction on public mourning during a holiday make sense where an individual's public mourning would contradict and intefere with the joy of the community. Here, the community has no yomtov; it is yomtov only for the aveil and the spouse. So who cares if he is noheig aveilus in public?

And here's something that puzzles me:
The reason a person who loses a parent is an aveil for an entire year, whereas other losses create aveilus for only one month, is because of kibbud ahv, not because it is necessarily more tragic or hurtful than other losses. So, rabbi, how would you respond to this question:
1. A man was offered the opportunity to speak in honor of his father at a dinner.

2. This man is a gifted speaker and scholar, with an stately and impressive mien. His speech would surely bring great honor to his late father.

2. But he would not be able to speak without a black hat, that being the nature of the dinner.

3. He does not own a presentable hat, perhaps no hat at all.

4. He cannot buy a new hat, because he is an aveil.

5. He cannot even ask someone else to buy and wear it for a while because he has a freakishly large head (commensurate with his IQ), and a hat that would fit him would sink to the shoulders of almost anyone else.

This simple baalabos (me) would respond that his dinei aveilus stem from kibbud ahv; to think that his dinei aveilus could in any way or means interfere with his ability to show kibbud ahv is, to this simple mind, absurd, and therefore he should buy the damn hat and speak at the dinner. It seems pretty obvious to me that the passive and relatively trivial kibud ahv of 'not buying new clothing' does not compare to the positive and highly meaningful kibud ahv the speech would bring. But what do I know? I'm sure this is far complicated than I realize, and my opinion is full of holes. Yes indeed, 'tis a gift to be simple.