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Shabbat Parashat Vayeishev 5777

Vayeishev | 24 Kislev 5777 | 24/12/2016

Parashat Hashavua: The Land of His Father’s Converts

It is well known that Avraham and Sarah converted many to monotheism, as the pasuk says: “the people he made in Charan” (Bereishit 12:5). The midrash (Bereishit Rabba 84:4) expands on this phenomenon regarding all the forefathers. It demonstrates that Yaakov was also heavily involved in it. Yaakov instructed those around him (“his household and all who were with him”) to remove the idols from their midst (Bereishit 35:2-4). They infer from the first pasuk of our parasha that Yitzchak was also involved in conversions: “Yaakov lived in eretz megurei aviv.” While as written, this means the land of his father’s inhabitation, they read it as the land of “giyurei aviv” (of his father’s conversions). So we see that conversion was something in which our patriarchs and at least one of our matriarchs invested much time and energy.

Ask the Rabbi: Dilemmas of Chazan for Shabbat Kedusha

I am a frequent chazan. Someone pleasantly set out at length [condensed here] his objections to the way I (like others) do Kedusha of Musaf. He argued that since the tzibbur now recites “K’vodo malei olam…,” which introduces “Baruch k’vod…,” the chazan must not sing Kadosh in a way that encourages them to repeat it. He should start his tune with K’vodo, demonstrating that Kadosh and K’vodo are separate, and it is better if the chazan says Kadosh quietly. Is he right?

Ein Ayah: The Time to Remove Doubts

[After leaving the cave,] Rabbi Shimon asked: “Is there something that needs to be remedied?” They said to him: “There is a place where there is a safek (a question whether there is a halachic problem) of tumah (impurity), and it causes the kohanim distress to detour around it.” Rabbi Shimon said: “Is there anyone who determined places of purity here?” An old man said: “Ben Zakkai (a great rabbi who was a kohen) did agricultural work with a turmos fruit of teruma.”

P'ninat Mishpat: Responsibility for Electricity Infrastructure – part II

The plaintiff (=pl), a company that produces electricity for the electric company (=IEC) from solar panels, rented rooftops to place the panels from the defendant (=def), a settlement. Def supplies electricity for their residents through bulk supply (the electric company is not connected to each home). The same electricity room and closet transfers electricity both ways between def/pl and IEC. The involvement of IEC made it necessary to begin work before the contract was complete. IEC carried out three inspections of the electricity room. After the last, they claimed mortal danger and demanded redoing the electricity closet, with a threat of otherwise rejecting pl’s project and shutting down def’s electricity. Pl and def disagreed as to who should be responsible for the renovations, and it was decided that pl would perform them, and beit din would rule on possible reimbursement. Pl claims that their agreement requires def to provide electrical infrastructure and that def knew this was expected to include layouts of money. Def also benefitted from the replacement of their very dangerous electrical room with a quality one at an under-market price. Def claims that pl should have checked that def’s infrastructure was sufficient before beginning work. At the time the agreement was signed, pl, which is in the field and met with IEC, were aware of the expense, while def was not. The improvements are not particularly beneficial for them, as def is in the process of phasing out the bulk supply system and will not need the electrical room. Therefore, the deal, as pl presents it, is unprofitable for def, and they would not have agreed to it.

Vayeishev 5777
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Vayeishev 5777

Hemdat Yamim

is dedicated

to the memory of:

those who fell

in the war

for our homeland

R' Yona Avraham

ben Shmuel Storfer z”l

Shirley Rothner,

Sara Rivka

bat Yaakov Tzvi HaCohen z”l

R' Eliyahu Carmel,

Rav Carmel's father,

who passed away on

8^th of Iyar 5776

Yechezkel Tzadik,

Yaffa's father,

who passed away on

11^th of Iyar 5776

Mrs. Sara Wengrowsky

bat R’ Moshe Zev a”h.

who passed away on

10 Tamuz 5774

Rav Shlomo Merzel z”l

Board Member of 'Eretz Hemdah'

whose yahrtzeit is the 10^th of Iyar

Rabbi Reuven Aberman

zt”l

Eretz Hemdah's

beloved friend and

Member of Eretz Hemdah's Amutah
who passed away

on 9 Tishrei, 5776

R' Meir
ben

Yechezkel Shraga Brachfeld

o.b.m

R ' Yaakov ben Abraham & Aisha

and

Chana bat Yaish & Simcha

Sebbag, z"l

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).