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Shabbat Parashat Vaeira 5770

Va'eira | 1 Shevat 5770 | 16/01/2012

Parashat Hashavuah: What Gets Them Believing

As the parasha begins, Moshe was frustrated that his message of the dawning of liberation did not go over well. Par’oh had responded with an increase of pressure on the Hebrew slaves, and the people became disgruntled with Moshe. Hashem told Moshe to go back to tell Par’oh to release the nation, but Moshe responded with a kal vachomer argument: “If Bnei Yisrael did not listen to me, certainly Par’oh will not listen, especially since I have difficulty speaking” (Shemot 6:12).

Ask the Rabbi: Kashrut of an Animal Fed Meat and Milk

I have heard that veal comes from calves that are fed a mixture of milk and meat. Shouldn’t that make it forbidden, as an animal whose sustenance comes from non-kosher food (see Rama, Yoreh Deah 60:1)? This case is particularly severe, because the feed is assur b’hana’ah (forbidden in benefit)!

Ein Ayah: Who May Criticize Great People

[Last time, we saw a gemara that told how Akavya ben Mehalalel accused Shmaya and Avtalyon of ruling based on personal feelings, causing the rabbis to censor him. Now, we will see an opinion that rejects the possibility this occurred.] R. Yehuda said: Heaven forbid that Akavya ben Mehalalel was put in cherem, for when the gates of the azara (Beit Hamikdash’s courtyard) were closed, there was no one in Israel inside with his level of Torah, purity, and fear of sin.

P’ninat Mishpat: Culpability for Bad Financial Advice – part II

Last time we began discussing payment by an advisor who gave bad advice that caused a loss of money, and saw a machloket among the Rishonim if he had to be told explicitly that he was being relied upon.

Hemdat HaDaf HaYomi: Selling a Shtar (147b)

This week in the Daf Yomi the Gemara (147b) states that a lender who sells the shtar for a loan can still forgive the debt to the borrower, and the buyer of the shtar will not be able to collect the debt from the borrower. However, the buyer will be able to sue the lender for the damage he caused him (Ketuvot 85a). The question is, why can the lender forgive the debt even after he sells the shtar?

This week’s Hemdat Yamim is dedicated in loving 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.

Hemdat Yamim is dedicated to the memory of
Rina Bat
Yaakov Pushett A"H

Her smile and warmth are sorely missed.

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).