Jewish Answers

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Section I

A World Of Questions and Answers

Chapter One

Emunah (Faith)

Chapter Two

Prayer

Chapter Three

Shabbat

Chapter Four

Teshuvah (Repentance)

Chapter Five

The Land of Israel

Chapter Six

Kashrut

Chapter Seven

Sexuality and the Laws of Family Purity

Chapter Eight

Torah Study

Chapter Nine

Not-So Random Questions

Section II

Chapter One

The Days of Awe

Chapter Two

Chanukkah

Chapter Three

Purim

Chapter Four

Pesach

Chapter Five

Yom HaShoah

Chapter Six

Yom Ha’Atzmaut

Chapter Seven

Yom Yerushalayim

Chapter Eight

The Month of Av

About the Author

Appendix

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to my wife and editor, Becky Jablon. Thank you to my teacher Rabbi Yitzchak Sender for reviewing selections of this book. Thank you to Rabbi Melvin Granenstein for his words of encouragement for this project.

Introduction

Before I became Orthodox, the last Orthodox person among my direct ancestors was my great grandmother, Leah Jablonsky. For many years, I had known from my father that she had been a great Ba’alat Tzedakah (giver of Tzedakah); so great, in fact, that when she passed away, the entire Lower East Side was closed for the funeral. A later examination of a New York Yiddish newspaper, the Morning Journal, from March, 1950, revealed that when she passed away, numerous Yeshivot and synagogues took advertisements in her memory. Torah institutions as varied as Mercaz haRav Kook, Telshe, Lubavitch and Yeshiva University—among many others—paid tribute to my great grandmother. After the funeral, her coffin was brought from synagogue to synagogue and Yeshiva to Yeshiva (including Torah v’Daas, Tiferes Yerushalayim, and Yeshivas Rabbi Jacob Joseph). This is an honor rarely seen in Jewish life.

In 5756/1996, when we were expecting a child, I found it difficult to sleep one night. I got up and looked again at the newspaper about my great grandmother. I discovered that her father’s name was Shmuel Leib…My Hebrew name is Shmuel Aryeh (Aryeh is Hebrew for the Yiddish, Leib). Not only am I not named after her father, I am named after two different people. There are no coincidences in life. My wife and I knew that if we were blessed with a girl, she would carry the name of her great, great grandmother. In Av (August), our daughter, Leah bat Shmuel Aryeh, was born.

I have often wondered why, when others were trying to escape Judaism, I was always interested in going deeper. I wondered why I had the merit to learn in Yeshiva while others of similar background had never even seen the inside of a volume of Talmud. Perhaps it is in the merit of my great grandmother, who supported so many Yeshivot, that I found my way to Yeshiva. Perhaps it is in the merit of her supporting different kinds of Yeshivot, each with their unique philosophies, that I found my way to Hebrew Theological College—Bet haMidrash L’Torah—a Yeshiva where diversity is a valued treasure, and that prides itself on being a Torah home for all Jews.

I have also come to realize that if not for my parents, whom I deeply love, the chain of tradition would have never been close to my grasp. My parents have taught me to not only love being Jewish, but to treasure serving the Jewish People. While others were showing off their new cars to their children, my parents were showing us how they made calls to raise money for the Jewish Federation. While others were busy remodeling their kitchens, they were telling their children of why they sponsored an Ethiopian Jew to escape to Israel. And it was they who encouraged me to go to Yeshiva and pursue smicha (rabbinic ordination). Perhaps it is in the merit of their commitment to tzedakah and service of the Jewish People that I have these commitments in my very genes, and—with my wife, Becky—will G-d willing pass these along to the next generation.

This book contains very few of my original thoughts. Yet, I hope that the style and presentation are perhaps unique, and—more importantly—helpful.

The first section is entitled A World of Questions and Answers. Many of these questions were asked via the ask a rabbi section on Jewish.com. Others come from my participation in various areas of communal life (such as Kollel Torah M’Tzion in Chicago, the Jewish Community News in San Jose, and Hillel of Silicon Valley). Through these various activities, I have received questions from (literally) all over the world on various issues of Jewish law and faith. Naturally, I cannot presume to answer complicated questions that would require a high level posek (halachic decisor). Yet, I have found that I have been able to assist many Jews looking for the basic answers that I can provide. I have selected a number of questions and answers that may be of interest. Though I do not think that my answers are either unique or original, they may assist others in opening the door to the Torah to those who wish to enter.

The second section is entitled, Holidays and Seasons. It contains various articles on topics related to the holidays of the year. Many of these articles reflect my deep love for Religious Zionism, Jewish history, and teaching Torah to all Jews.

I have been blessed to have been influenced by the thought of many great Rabbis (short biographies are included in an appendix to this book). The reader will notice the frequent appearance of comments attributed to two particular individuals: my teacher, HaRav Yitzchak Sender shlit"a (a Rosh Yeshiva at HTC in Skokie), and of one of my great heroes, HaRav Shlomo Aviner shlit"a (Rosh Yeshivat Ateret Cohanim). In addition to frequent appearances of classical authorities such as Rashi, Ramban, Rambam, the Bet Yosef and the Rama, the reader will also notice the appearance of more recent luminaries as HaRav Avraham Yitzchak Kook zt"l, HaRav Yitzchak Herzog zt"l, HaRav Tzvi Yehuda Kook zt"l, HaRav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik zt"l, HaRav Immanuel Jakobovits zt"l, and many others. I have also included words from my wife’s Zaide, Reb Chaim Yitzchak Erdfrucht zt"l (a heroic survivor of the Shoah who kept his emunah—faith—and passed it to his grandchildren). Without the words of these great sages, both living here and in the World of Truth, I would truly have very little to say.

I could not do anything that I do, or help anyone who I help, without the constant love and support of my wife, Becky. To say that she has been there to support me through the good and not as good times is an understatement; to say that she is truly my Ezer k’Negdo (helpmate) is obvious. She, and our precious daughters, Leah and Shira Emunah, are the lights of my life. May it be Hashem’s will that we bring pride and joy to our families (both those with us and those in the World of Truth), that we merit to teach Torah to all who would come and listen, and that we greet the Mashiach together in Yerushalayim.

Rabbi Shmuel

Jablon Iyyar 5760

Section I

A World Of Questions and Answers

Chapter One

Emunah (Faith)

Hashem and His Torah

1

Question: My question is known to be a difficult one but of most importance. Hashem gave to man the freedom to choose, free will. But we all know that Hashem knows everything and he decided on our destiny. We have a good example of this in the Torah during the Plagues of Egypt, when Hashem hardens Pharoah’s heart. My question: Does a man have a chance to change his destiny by making a certain choice whatever it will be?

Answer: You are asking a classic question. Yes, we know that we have bechira chofsheet-free choice. We also know that Hashem knows all, including—it would seem—the future. There are many possible explanations for this seeming contradiction. For example:

1) In our minds, this is a contradiction. But as Hashem is outside of what we call time, it is not a contradiction for Him. Thus, one must accept both truths in emunah—faith and realize that Hashem does not operate in a mortal way.

2) Hashem knows our futures and our choices, and has given us bechira chofsheet. Thus, He knows what will happen depending on our choices. Thus, we could change our futures. In any event, we do not believe in predestination. We also do not believe in fortune telling of any kind, and one should not try to predict the future in any supernatural way (as opposed to polls, football predictions based on statistics, etc.).

I recommend exploring the writings of HaRav Shlomo Aviner, who is the Rosh Yeshiva of Ateret Cohanim in Yerushalyim and the Rav of Bet El. He is a tremendous Talmid Chacham and a true expert in all areas of Torah, Hashkafah and Emunah. His recent book is a commentary to Rambam’s Shemoneh Perakim (Eight Chapters) and does deal with this issue.

2

Question: In Shemot 6:3, Hashem says, I appeared to Avraham to Yitzchak and to Yaakov as E-l Sha-dai; I did not make my name of Hashem known to them. Why didn’t he?

Answer: HaRav Shlomo Aviner gives an incredible answer to this question. The Avot (patriarchs) were incredible people. However, they were individuals. Though the initial revealing of Hashem could be to them, the full holiness inherent in the Divine Name could only be revealed when it would be connected to the Jewish Nation as a whole. The Nation, as a whole, can attain holiness that no individual ever can.

In a sense, this is the secret of Jewish nationhood. The great HaRav Avraham Yitzchak Kook zt"l notes that there are surely Jews who are bad individuals and non-Jews who are righteous and will merit the World to Come. Yet, a Jew—no matter how far he may fall—always has the benefit of being tied to the national holiness of the Jewish People. This is why, despite our having fallen to the 49th depth of impurity while in Egypt, Hashem saved the Jewish nation, His Chosen People. And this is why, no matter how far removed many Jews sadly are from Hashem and His Torah, ultimately all will return and He will send us the Mashiach (May it be speedily and in our days!).

Question: With all the arguments for the Documentary Hypothesis that there were multiple authors of the Torah, or simply that Moses did not write the entire Torah himself, what evidence do we have to show that the Torah is indeed the exact same teaching Moses received on Sinai?

Answer: You are asking a question that is oft perceived as difficult but is, in a religious sense, quite easy.

It is an absolute article of faith that Hashem (G-d) gave the Torah to Moshe on Mount Sinai, and that this is the Torah that we have today (There is discussion about certain vocalization, and a disagreement in the Talmud regarding script, but the words we read in the Torah are directly from G-d.). The Rambam talks about this in his 13 principles (summarized in Yigdal); the first Mishna of Pirke Avot traces this. Belief is not just a feeling. It is a state of mind, a knowledge that comes from deep study, thought and faith. And thus, despite what some may wish to say, we are required to believe that the Torah we have was given by G-d.

How do we know?

One could, of course, ask this about anything in religion. Yet, this is what our ancestors have taught us. The Torah was given in front of the entire Jewish People (in a spiritual sense, all Jews who ever lived and ever will live were there). They then passed this knowledge along through the generations.

There are those who have tried to use the proofs of the non-Jewish biblical scholars of the 1800’s to try to disprove the authenticity of our