Sunday, March 11, 2012

הזמנה מיוחדת

Being that the purpose of this blog is to increase in Torah in the area of halacha we invite and suggest to everyone to leave their comments with their opinions about the chakiros posted.

Also anyone who has a chakira they would like published in order to be mezakeh am yisroel is encouraged to send it to the rosh yeshiva at chakirosblog@gmail.com.

Please specify if you would like your name written or if you prefer to be posted without your name
(rabbonim have advised us that there is no issue of gaivah to put your name).

Saturday, March 10, 2012

ברכת שהחיינו על מצות מתונת לאבונים

On Purim morning as I was walking to shul for shacharis (netz minyan...see prior post) I was approached by an individual asking for money. I wasn't sure what the appropriate reaction should be:

On Purim we are required to fulfill four mitzvos; krias megilah, seudah, maatonos leavyonim and mishloach maanos. At the time of birchas shehacyinu which we say on krias hamegilah one is supposed to have kavana that the bracha whould be chal on the other three mitzvos also.

If I would give this individual money and thus be mikayim my chiuv of matonos leavyonim, the brocha of shehaciunu later wouldn't be chal-le'maphraya on my tzedakah I had already given. But if I withhold from giving the tzedakah I may be oivur on the chiuv of Purim of kol haposhat yad nodnim lo.

Therefore the solution I decided upon was to call over two adim and declare "with this mitzvah I am not being mekayim my mitzvah of matonos levoyim".

קיום מצות עד דלא ידע

On the holy day of Purim yidden are commanded to intoxicate ourselves to the extent that we no longer know the difference between "boruch Mordechai and oror Haman". The chiyuv simply understood is to drink alcoholic beverages (according to certain dayoos specifically wine) at the Purim seudah. Since it is well known the many dangers of alcohol both for our bodily health and the risks in chas veshalom slacking off in our service of the Ribono Shel Olam, the Razal offer another way to fulfill ones chiuv. The Razal teach us that one who can not safely drink alcohol should refrain from doing so, and go to sleep, and still fufill the chiyuv, because when one sleeps the thinking part of the brain does not function, thus he in essence at that time does not know the difference between Mordechai and Haman. (Obviously it is necessarily to sleep a shiur zman that he is deep enough to not be thinking...)
A difficulty may arise if one sleeps the morning of Purim after alos hashacar. Being that even though lechatchila the chiuv of seudah and therefore ad delo yoda starts after chatzot hayom one can bediaved be yotzei starting from alos. Thus when one does not wake up until after alos he may have bediaved been yotzei the chiuv of ad dlo yoda and when he will go to sleep later on he will be wasting time on this holy day (of purim) which is meant to be spent being mikayim the mitzvos of the day, and filled with limud hatorah. So much more so if he (at the advice of gedolim and his rabbanim) chooses to be mikayim the chiuv through drinking alcohol. If he was mikayim his chiyuv already by sleeping in the morning its mamash assur to engage in such actions! It's not a yiddish'a thing to drink if the chiuv was already fulfilled. Therefore I feel that the best way to avoid this issue is to be gibur al yitzro and awaken before olos hashacar on Purim.

Footnote: this whole issue only applies if we paskan that "mitzvos aino tzrichas kavana" .