peter@unm-la.UUCP (04/14/85)
All you haredim out there might be interested to know of a recent psak halacha by "haRav haGaon" Moshe Feinstein stating that the waters of Yam Kinneret are kasher l'pesach. Before I'm accused of being flippant, let me say that this has been a problem in Israel among many zealous dati'im spending pesach at Yam Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee). Apparently, during pesach quite a number of apikorsim throw pitot (pita bread) and beer cans into the lake. It is for this reason that most haredim have brought water from Jerusalem and B'nei Brak for use during pesach at Yam Kinneret. It is also the reason that swimming or sailing in the lake was not encouraged by their rabbis. Now that this issue has been settled, I was wondering if this psak halacha extend to the breathing of air in a room occupied by hametz-eaters? If it doesn't, does this mean that all the haredim in the Galut should stop breathing in public places during pesach? :-) -- bill peter ihnp4!lanl!wkp
teitz@aecom.UUCP (Eliyahu Teitz) (04/16/85)
> > > All you haredim out there might be interested to know of a recent > psak halacha by "haRav haGaon" Moshe Feinstein stating that the > waters of Yam Kinneret are kasher l'pesach. > Whether you agree with R. Moshe, or you think he is addressing a silly issue, does not permit you to ridicule the person by putting his title in quotes, as if to say he really isn't what people call him. R. Moshe has much more Torah knowledge tan anyone on the net, and probably more than the sum of that knowledge on the net, so you must respect him for that. As for his addressing issues which to you seem unimportant, remember, there are Jews in the world who try to make every situation into a difficult one. They turn Judaism into a guilt religion, you burn if you don't do this, you burn if you do that. They turn Judaism into a negative experience. There are certain guidelines in Judaism which must be followed. Certain things are permissable and others prohibited. We are supposed to enjoy tat which we can without being made to feel guilty for our enjoyment. Many want to take away even the simplest pleasures for fear of having any fun at all. Judaism wasn't meant to be slave labor. After all, the rabbis teach, "Ain ben chorin ela mi she'osek batorah ( or is it mitzvot, I don't remember te exact quote )", the only free person is the one who deals with Torah ( mitzvot ). Judaism should be a positive experience, not a negative one. This does not give us the right to abolish mitzvot in the name of freedom and enjoyment. We must work within the guidelines of the Torah to see what is permissable. One last note. When it comes to Pesach many rabbis seem to say that there is no limit to the caution that should be taken. The punishment for eating chametz on Pesach is severe and many are very careful, even to extents which to others seem ridiculous. We should be careful not to offend anyone for his or her concern about Pesach ( we should be careful never to offend anyone ). There are many customs concerning foods that may or may not be eaten on Pesach that make no sense to us today. But there was a time when it made alot of sense to those who decreed it. As an example, there are people who will not eat garlic on Pesach. The reason is because in Europe a few centuries ago, garlic was prepared by soaking it in beer, which is chametz. The reason then was very real, although today it seems ridiculous not to use garlic ( I won't even go into the idea of g'bruckts [ using caution to make sure that even baked dough, as in the matzot, don't get wet ]). Just as an aside. R. Moshe is only as smart in modern technology as the prson who aks him a question. R. Moshe's knowledge of physics and chemistry is severly limited ( to put it nicely ). If a person asks him a question regarding the use of a shabbat elevator, the answer would depend on the person's ability to explain the exact mechanics of the elevator. Likewise with the water problem. A peson probably came to R. Moshe and said the Kinneret is full of pita and beer. What would you say? If it's all beer, then one shouldn't use it. It all depends on the wording of the question. Eliyahu Teitz.
samet@sfmag.UUCP (A.I.Samet) (04/19/85)
> All you haredim out there might be interested to know of a recent > psak halacha by "haRav haGaon" Moshe Feinstein stating that the > waters of Yam Kinneret are kasher l'pesach. > > Before I'm accused of being flippant, let me say that this has been > a problem in Israel among many zealous dati'im spending pesach at Yam > Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee). Apparently, during pesach quite a > number of apikorsim throw pitot (pita bread) and beer cans into the > lake. I always wondered about this. Chometz present in food before Pesach becomes batul (null) if it is less than a 60th (bitul occurs if is owned by a Jew) and the food can be eaten on Pesach. The problem is that the Talmud says that on Pesach it cannot become batul no matter how much it is diluted. There is apparently a way around this since people do drink from the faucet (the Kinneret is also a reservoir), but I don't know what it is. Perhaps Bill could enlighten us as to the technical details of this psak? Yitzchok Samet PS - I'm ignoring the vicious barb at the end of his article and assuming that he is serious, although he is usually mistaken when he cites halacha.
cs193bah@unm-la.UUCP (04/21/85)
>Perhaps Bill could enlighten us as to the technical details of this psak? > Yitzchok Samet I'm shocked that a chacham (hakam) like you would ask for enlightenment from a poor uneducated am ha'aretz like me. Well, the answer is: I'll have to look it up. It was in an article in an Israeli newspaper, and providing I find it, will send you a complete summary by private mail. Oh, by the way, Eliyahu was right. The matter was brought to Rev Moshe's attention by the rabbanim in Tveria (Tiberias). I also agree with Teitz that the whole thing is slightly ludicrous. >PS - I'm ignoring the vicious barb at the end of his article and assuming that >he is serious, although he is usually mistaken when he cites halacha. And to think that I felt sorry for you having egg all over your face. Hey, it wasn't ME that threw that egg at you!! I was in New Mexico (unfortunately). And besides, I am only SOMETIMES mistaken when I cite halacha. :-) -- bill peter {seismo,ihnp4}!cmcl2!lanl!wkp
samet@sfmag.UUCP (A.I.Samet) (04/23/85)
> And to think that I felt sorry for you having egg all over your > face. Hey, it wasn't ME that threw that egg at you!! I was in > New Mexico (unfortunately)... > bill peter If you threw an egg at me I might ignore that. But you did throw eggs in a public forum at Reb Moshe Feinstein, the halacha, Torah observance, and sincerely observant Jews. That's intolerable, even from an ass. Yitzchok Samet