Year: 2020

הרבי מויז’ניץ: יהודים יראים אין מקומם בבתי דין של הרבנות הראשית

בס”ד

מרן האדמו”ר מויז’ניץ במוצש”ק פר’ משפטים תש”פ [בתרגום מאידיש לעברית]:

אלו שהולכים ל”ערכאות” זה איסור חמור מאוד. כמו”כ יש כאלה שאמנם אינם הולכים לערכאות, הם הולכים ל”רבנות הראשית”. קוראים להם רבנות, אמנם זה בי”ד, אבל זה לא בי”ד ליהודים משלנו. – זה  בי”ד לחילונים – באם אחד נזקק לבי”ד שילך רק לבתי דין משלנו!

צריך לדעת שיהודים משלנו אין להם מה ללכת לשם בשום אופן. האם בכשרות אנחנו סומכים עליהם?!

בפרט כשמדובר בגיטין – הגיעו אליי לאחרונה מקרים קשים. מה שממש הזדעזעתי איך מתנהלים ונעשים שם הגיטין – זה טוב לחילונים, לציבור (“עויילם”) שלנו אין בשום אופן מה לחפש שם! באם מגיע מקרה ח”ו, שילכו אך ורק לבתי דין משלנו. א גוטע וואך, שבוע טוב.

את הדברים אמר מרן האדמו”ר במהלך שיחה נוקבת שמסר בבית מדרשו בסוף סעודה שלישית, במוצש”ק פרשת משפטים האחרונה.
(א”ה, ניתן לראות עוד מדבריו לגבי מסירה לעירייה כאן.)

Ari & Ari: How To Bake Your Own Hand-Made Matza In an Emergency

Hand Made Matzot Instructions

Posted on March 19, 2020

General Overview

  1. These instructions are for the corona emergency and for people who have contacted me and are concerned they will not get matzah for Pesach. In normal times, you should not make matzah without learning the laws in detail and observing actual matzah baking due to the heavy responsibility of potential chametz.
  2. The prohibition of owning/eating chametz on Pesach carries the most severe of heavenly penalties, that of karet. This is a serious responsibility should you decide to bake matzah. The following rules must be followed to the letter.
  3. The basic principle is that from the moment the flour and the water are mixed, you have 18 minutes to get it into the oven. That assumes that the dough is worked constantly
  4. The dough should NEVER stop being worked. You can’t leave some dough on the table top for a minute or two. It must have constant kneading or squeezing.
  5. The 18 minutes assumes normal temperature. But if something heats the dough or water up, like being close to the oven, or working outside in the sun, the concern is that the chemical process of leavening will be sped up and chametz will form in less than the 18 minutes. Therefore, the entire process should be done away from the oven and indoors away from windows.
  6. All vessels and instruments used in this process must be new or kashered for pesach. If new, you need to toivel them.
  7. Because of the 18-minute rule, any dough from a previous batch must be eliminated before the next batch is started. This includes from all tables and surfaces, all utensils, hands and under the fingernails. Rings and watches should therefore be removed before starting. Shirt sleeves must be rolled up, not pushed up or they will slide down. Long sleeves touch the dough and transfer chametz after 18 minutes.
  8. Need lots of clean towels and paper towels. More than you think. Soap for hands, scrubbies to clean the surfaces and the rollers and the hole makers. Nail cutter in order to be sure nails are short so  dough does not get stuck underneath. Some small nail brushes to clean in between 18 minute cycles.
  9. It takes a while to get the knack of this so don’t be discouraged if the first matzot are not kosher.

Leshma – Intent for the mitzvah

Since, this is for the mitzvah of matzah, every step of the process should be done for the sake of the production of matzah. That includes: the grinding, water preparation and the entire process from the minute of mixing till the baking. We say out loud  “ לשם מצות מצוה  – Leshem matzot mitsvah meaning-_ “for the sake of the matzot that will be used for the mitzvah of matzah”

The Flour

The flour must be made from wheat (or one of the “5 grains”). Commercially made flour is NOT TO BE USED FOR MATZOT. It is both dampened in the grinding process which renders it chametz and ground much to fine.

  1. Ideally you should go find a field and be involved in the cutting of the wheat. The wheat should be guarded from having any water or rain on it from the time of cutting.
  2. In a worst-case scenario like Corona, you could buy the raw grains and have them ground in a clean grinder.
  3. If neither are available contact your Rabbi or Ari Zivotofsky ( ari.zivotofsky@biu.ac.il ) or me, Ari Greenspan ( ari@greenspandental.com) for advice.

For those of you in Africa who have contacted me , traditional stone grinders are found in villages https://www.123rf.com/photo_106026447_an-african-woman-grinding-cereals-millet-into-flour-using-traditional-grindstones-burkina-faso-.html

  1.  You must be sure they are clean and dry. Use a dry metal brush, to clean the surface.

A small coffee grinder can be cleaned well and used. See   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcqrjmwJ3Ug

  1. The flour should be rough, not fine like store bought white flour.

Continue reading…

From Halachic Adventures, here.

Esser Agaroth: Israeli Government’s Mass Surveilance Is Nothing New…

Israel Approves Mass Surveillance to Save Lives

כ״ב לחודש השנים עשר תש״פ

YNET: Israel approves mass surveillance to fight coronavirus
Shin Bet director says security agency would not use new measure to enforce or supervise quarantine and its purpose is to ‘save lives’; data will be stored much longer than the 30 days promised by the PM

Itamar Eichner, 03.17.20


The government amended and unanimously approved early Tuesday a motion allowing authorities to utilize advanced digital monitoring tools to track and surveil Israelis infected with coronavirus.

The Shin Bet security agency will document and examine the location patients had visited before entering quarantine or being hospitalized and whether they had broken any government directives related to the spread of COVID-19 (cont.)

JPost: AG Mandelblit: Digital tracking legal, meant to save lives
Staff, March 17, 2020

Mandelblit stressed on Tuesday that emergency measures implemented by the government to allow the Shin Bet to track those infected with the novel coronavirus are legal and are meant to “save lives during an emergency.”

The new measures were checked by Mandelblit’s office with continued dialogue with Health Ministry officials, the political echelon, Israel Police and the Shin Bet in order to ensure that the measures would strike a balance between preserving the health and safety of the public and protecting privacy rights.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
its purpose is to ‘save lives’

How many times have we heard that one before? Sometimes it’s even true. After all, the best lies are grounded in true. The “potential” lie here is not relating to the saving of lives. Rather, the underlying motive for the increasingly stringent restrictions on our movements is suspect. Control, keeping us off the streets so it will be easier to hide something from us. Who knows?

How many people in the world believe that their governments’ first and foremost concern is the health of their citizens, and without any ulterior motives?

There are even those who would suggest possible motives of governments of the world to include population reduction, particularly older members of the population, as well as yet another excuse to shoot us all up with a new fangled vaccine.

As I write this on the bus commute home, I am listening to a radio interview with Avi Dichter. Avi Dichter is currently the Assistant Minister of Defense, as well as a former chief of the Shabba”k (General Security Service), “affectionately” known Israel’s “secret police.”

The interviewer is questioning Dichter over these increasingly stringent restrictions on our movements. She reminds him how Israelis are not used to such restrictions, even with all of our experience with war and terrorist attacks. We have cowered in bomb shelters, we have dodged missiles, and our armed neighbors have saved many lives, when police and military were not in the immediate vicinity.

We like being outside. Even most apartments have been built with balconies, or huge salon (living room) windows. The idea of not being able to go to a local or national park is foreign to us. And now, the government has added beaches to the list of forbidden destinations. Several people have pointed out that since the coronavirus cannot live in the sea, the beach might be exactly what we need.

Those of you who know me, will already correctly assume that this native San Diegeño very aggrieved regarding this beach ban.

But, I digress…

The other day, I saw an interview with MK Ayelet Shaked (Yamina), former Minister of Justice. She was questioned about the use of smartphones to track the movements of those testing positive for the coronavirus. The interview questioned her on how this compromises the privacy of citizens. Her response was that she hoped the infected person would agree voluntarily to the tracking. Although pushed, Shaked never quite answered this question, at least not to my satisfaction.

Back to the interview with Avi Dichter, the interviewer expressed concern over seeing IDF troops on the streets to maintain order and abiding government restrictions. Ditcher started becoming agitated, continued to harp on the “saving lives” aspect of the restrictions, and reminded the interviewer of troops on the street during times of increased terrorist activity. The two of them went back and forth, but Dichter stuck with his story.

I will let the readers fill in the blanks themselves.

The truth is governments are already following their citizens.

They just want to perform surveillance more effectively and get us used to such a culture.

From Esser Agaroth, here.

Netziv Popularizes the Arizal Method of Shalom Bayis: Be a Tzaddik

Wife subordinate to husband to degree he is subordinate to G-d

Netziv(Bereishis 2:24): therefore a man should leave his  father and mother and cleave to his wife – from this we learn the advice that the only way to deal with with his lust and feeling he is lacking a ezer kenegdo must be in the following manner he must leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife and then they will be they will be one flesh That he will love her also as they are like a single person as it states in Yevamos (62b): that if a man loves his wife as himself and also then she will not be entirely subordinate as was the first wife who was viewed as an integral part of him but rather as one flesh. So just as he is concerned with what is good for him and he wants wants to fulfill her wants entirely. Similarly she should also do that when she wants to do what is best for herself and he will fulfill her wishes. Nevertheless  since the causes of the first woman are an inherent part of her nature therefore she remains in her existence as a helper(facilitator). Even though she was not that way initially but became that after eating from the Tree of Knowledge – as we will explain in verse (Bereishis 3:20): this is included in the creation of the world on the 6th day. And only one who merits this  obtains love from his wife with total abnegation as Eve was before the Sin. Therefore  there are two types of cleaving of  Adam and Eve In order that there be for all time  two types of love of a wife to her husband and similarly the manner of a person in serving G-d. All this was done on the first day when they were created as we will see in Bereishis 2:4). Thus was their nature made to have love of the woman and her life with the man. Just as Ben Azai  says at the end Kidushin. “I was created to serve my Master. And they were created to serve me.” To the degree man serves G-d, his wife will serve him or it will be determined by Mazal as is true for all aspects of man. Which comes about through Divine providence according to his deeds either with good or bad Mazal as is the principle governing the world