392 chol hamoed pesach

7/30/2019 392 Chol Hamoed Pesach

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The Seventh day of Pesach, was the night that the Red Sea split,

allowing the Jews to escape from Pharaoh and his pursuing armies.

Having realized that they had lost free labor by allowing the Jews

to leave, the Egyptians started to chase after us to a point where we

had nowhere to go. On one side were the Egyptians who looked to kill us

out, and on the other side was the Red sea which was impossible tocross through. Moshe Rabeinu then cried out to G-d begging for mercy,

and G-d responded by saying Why do you cry out to me? Speak to the

children of Israel and let them journey forth". Why did G-d reprimand

Moshe for praying? Isnt praying encouraged in times of trouble?

There is a famous Midrash that says that the sea refused to split

because it was not in its nature to do so. The sea asked G-d, "How are

the Jews different than the Egyptians? The Jews and the Egyptians arevery much alike. Just like the Egyptians worship idols so do the Jews! So

why do they deserve such a miracle?"In fact, while in Egypt, the Jews were referred to as a Goy btoch Goy,

a nation within a nation". We were so assimilated and similar to the

Egyptians that we could not be differentiated. We were part of Egyptian

culture and seemingly couldnt break away from it. And so, the sea

refused to split itself. It refused to perform the operation because the

Jews were no different than the Egyptians!

Thus, G-d told Moshe to stop praying and to just jump into the sea. G-

d said that if the Jewish people would show readiness to put their lives

in danger in obedience to His word, then that would display enormous

faith and earn them the miracle of splitting sea. Since people naturally

dont want to die and the Jewish people broke their natural instincts by

jumping into the sea, therefore G-d also went against nature causing the sea to split on their behalf.

We are living in a similar situation. We are now in the birth pangs of Mashiach. The Talmud says thatour freedom at the End of Days will come just as it did in Egypt. The Jewish nation is going to have toshow loyalty to G-d. How many Jews do we unfortunately know that come to a point of no distinction

between Jew and Goy? Many times we want G-d to break nature for us by providing us with a Refuah

Shlema, or anything else along those lines, but G-d asks what have you done to break nature?

How can one get G-d to perform miracles for them? The answer lies in what we just read above.

Everyone has an "ocean" of their own that one thinks that they cannot cross. We have people criticizing us

from all angles. There are some people making fun of us for wanting to change and others encouraging us

to change. We must do what G-d wants us to do. We need to take the extra step in life and go beyondnature for G-d. If one has a nature to oversleep, be stingy with charity, get angry, or the like, and breaks

that tendency in order to fulfill the will of G-d, then G-d too will bend the rules of nature in order to fulfill

the will of that individual.

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A famous Halacha establishes that if a person neglected to count one of the days of the Omer, hecontinues counting on the subsequent nights without a blessing. The Terumat Ha'deshen raises thequestion of whether this would also apply to a person who cannot remember whether he counted one

day of the Omer. Must he assume that he missed the day and must therefore omit the blessing fromthen on, or may he assume that he did count, such that he can continue counting as usual, with ablessing? The Terumat Ha'deshen rules that a person in this case may continue counting with ablessing, due to the principle of "Sefek Sefeka," or a "double doubt." There is a famous debate

between the Behag ("Ba'al Halachot Gedolot," an anonymous Halachic work from the Geonic period)and Tosefot concerning the nature of the Sefirat Ha'omer obligation. The Behag perceived SefiratHa'omer as a single Mitzvah that extends over a forty-nine-day period. As such, if a person neglected

to count on any one of the forty-nine days, he can no longer fulfill the Mitzvah. Tosefot, however,

viewed each day's counting as a separate Mitzvah, which does not depend on any other dayscounting. As such, if a person missed a day or several days of counting, this does not affect hisobligation on subsequent nights, and he therefore continues to count as usual.

Thus, if a person cannot remember whether or not he counted on a certain day of the Omer, on

the subsequent nights he faces a "double doubt." First, he may have in fact counted, in which casehe may continue counting with a blessing. But in addition, even if he missed a day's counting,

perhaps Halacha follows the position of Tosefot, that a missed day has no effect on the subsequent

days of the Omer. The principle of "Sefek Sefeka" establishes that one may act leniently in situationsof a "double doubt," and thus the Terumat Ha'deshen rules that in such a case one may continuecounting with a Beracha. This ruling is codified by the Shulhan Aruch (Orah Haim 489).

It must be emphasized that this applies only to a person who cannot remember whether or not hecounted on a certain day. If a person is certain that he missed a day of counting, then he continuescounting without a blessing, in deference to the Behag's position.

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As we all know, Rabbi Akiva had twenty-four thousand students, who died during the period of

Pesach and Shavuot - because they did not give appropriate honor to one another. Incommemoration of this tragedy, we observe several practices of mourning during the days of Sefirat

Ha'omer. Below are some of the customs Sephardic communities practice during this time of theyear.

The basic prohibitions include weddings, haircuts / shaving, listening to musical instruments, and

dancing. The prohibitions are in effect during the first 34 days of the Omer (with a few exceptions).With regards to shaving, one should refrain from shaving even if he doesnt look professional

with a beard. The only room for leniency is if someone is to suffer a financial loss if he were to cometo work not clean shaven. In todays democratic society this is very unlikely. Though, if one is in

such a situation he should contact his Rabbi as to how to conduct himself.As for music, it is permissible to have music at a meal celebrating a Brit Milah, Pidyon HaBen, Bar

Mitzvah [celebrated at its exact date], and at a Siyum Masechet. Otherwise, one should not listen to

any musical instruments during this time except on Chol Hamoed, which is permitted.

As for buying new clothes, according to many opinions it is a good custom not to buy or wear newclothes during this period and this is the custom of many communities. However, it seems that this is

not the opinion of Maran HaShulchan Aruch, as he did not write this restriction when he enumerated

the different prohibitions that take place during the Omer. Therefore, some Sephardic communitiesare lenient with this regard. One should consult with his or her Rabbi as to how to conduct.

This Weeks Issue of

Halacha Insight

is Dedicated inLoving Memory of

Shirin bat ImaShalom

392 chol hamoed pesach

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