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Shabbat Parashat Bereishit | 5770

Bereishit | 29 Tishrei 5770 | 17/10/2009

Parashat Hashavuah:Considering Others is not Capitulation

Last year, we raised the question: Why, in the first description of creation, does just the name "Elokim" appear, while in the second description the name we call Havaya ("Ado…") also appears. One of the answers is in Rashi and is based on the fact that Elokim represents the attribute of din (strict judgment), whereas Havaya represents mercy. Hashem's first thought was that the world would be created based on din, but as Hashem saw that it could not survive, He incorporated mercy before din.

Ask the Rabbi: Netillat Yadayim with a Beracha on Clean Hands?

With concern about “swine flu” so high, many would consider it hygienically prudent to wash their hands with soap and water before doing netillat yadayim with a jointly used washing cup and eating. Is it possible to do netillat yadayim with a beracha when you know that your hands are clean already? If one can, should he dry his hands before doing netillat yadayim?

Ein Ayah:Things That Delay Redemption

The rabbis of Yavneh had a favorite statement: I am a living creature, and my friend is a living creature. My work is in the city, and his work is in the field. I wake up early for my work, and he wakes up early for his work. Just as he does not encroach on my work, I do not encroach on his work. Maybe you will say that I have a lot and he has little? We have learned: whether one does a lot or does a little, the main thing is that he should direct his heart to the Heaven.

P’ninat Mishpat:The Right to Strike – Part I

What does halacha have to say about one of the most divisive of phenomena in modern society: the right to strike? There are two areas of halacha to investigate: the obligation of workers to fulfill their commitment to their employer and the workers' power to create rules of business practices.

Hemdat HaDaf HaYomi:Purchasing Real-Estate from a Gentile (54b)

This week in the Daf Hayomi, the Gemara (54b) illustrates a very interesting situation that can arise when a gentile sells real-estate to a Jew. When purchasing real-estate there are three forms of kinyan by which the land is transferred from the seller to the buyer: kesef (giving money), shtar (contract of sale given to the buyer from the seller), and chazaka (an act demonstrating ownership done on the land by the buyer).

Bereishit 5770
Microsoft Word Document

Bereishit 5770

This edition of Hemdat Yamim is dedicated to the memory of
Prof. Emeric Deutsch, z”l

member of
Eretz Hemdah’s Amuta.

This edition of Hemdat Yamim is dedicated to the memory of
R' Meir ben Yechezkel Shraga Brachfeld
o.b.m

Hemdat Yamim is endowed by
Les & Ethel Sutker of Chicago, Illinois in loving memory of
Max and Mary Sutker

and Louis and Lillian Klein, z”l.

A weekly divrei Torah leaflet: A Glimpse at the Parasha, Ask the Rabbi, From the writings of Harav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook, zt”l, Pninat Mishpat (Jewish Monetary Law).