Menakhot 97 How a dining room table can effect our atonement.

Every Friday the kohanim would bake the 12 loaves of showbread. On Shabbat the old loaves were removed from the Table and the new loaves were put in their place. According to tradition the old loaves were as hot and fresh as the day they placed on the Table. They were given to the kohanim to eat.

The Gemara wonders whether or not the Table could become ritually unready (טָמֵא). Offering one solution after another why it could not become ritually unready that was rejected, the Gemara answers: “The Table is different, because the Merciful One called it wood, as it is stated: “The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits, and so its corners; and its length, and its walls were also of wood, and he said to me: This is the Table that is before the Lord” (Ezekiel 41:22). This verse is referring to the shewbread Table, and it describes it as being made of wood, even though the wood was not visible. This indicates that its status is like that of all wooden vessels, which are not susceptible to impurity unless they are carried both when empty and when full.

“The Gemara challenges: Why does the verse begin with the word “altar” and conclude with the word “Table,” even though both terms are referring to the same item? Rabbi Yoḥanan and Rabbi Elazar both say the following interpretation: When the Temple is standing, the altar effects atonement for the transgressions of a person, but now that the Temple is not standing, a person’s table effects atonement for his transgressions, if he provides for the poor and needy from the food on his table.” (daf TB Menakhot 97a, Sefaria.com translation)

We do not have to look far to discover the hungry in our midst.

Hunger Quick Facts for 2024

·        Overall: About one in 7 households (13.7 percent) experienced food insecurity, or lack of access to an affordable, nutritious diet. An estimated 47.9 million Americans lived in these households.

·        5.4% of U.S. households (1 in 20) experienced very low food security, a more severe form of food insecurity, where households report regularly skipping meals or reducing intake because they could not afford more food. 

·        Children: 14.1 million children lived in households that experienced food insecurity, a slight increase from the 13.8 million children reported in 2023. 

·        Race and ethnicity: Rates of food insecurity were higher for Black (24.4 percent) and Latinx (20.2 percent) households. The rate for Black households was more than double the rate of White, non-Latinx households (10.1 percent).

·        Rural: A higher portion of households in urban areas (16.0 percent) and rural areas (15.9 percent) experienced food insecurity compared to suburbs (11.9 percent).

·        Geography: Households in the Southern region continued to experience higher rates of food insecurity than any other U.S. region, with 15.0 percent of households experiencing food insecurity in 2023.

 (https://frac.org/hunger-poverty-america#:~:text=Hunger%20Quick%20Facts%20for%202024,experiencing%20food%20insecurity%20in%202023.)

Approximately 1.4 million New York City residents, or over one in 10 New Yorkers, face food insecurity. High costs of living and the end of pandemic-era federal assistance have contributed to rising hunger rates, with roughly 44% of families with children and one in three adult New Yorkers experiencing food hardship in 2023. 

Key Facts on Food Insecurity in New York:

·        Impact on Children: Nearly 1 in 4 (25%) children in NYC do not know where their next meal will come from.

·        Regional Data: In 2023, roughly 1 in 5 (19%) New York State children experienced food insecurity.

·        NYC Boroughs: Food insecurity affects 39% of residents in the Bronx, with over 30% of adults in Brooklyn and Queens experiencing the same strain.

·        Pantry Usage: Food pantry usage has remained twice as high compared to pre-pandemic levels.

·        Disparities: Black and Hispanic New Yorkers are more than twice as likely to experience food insufficiency compared to white New Yorkers. 

(https://www.google.com/search?q=how+many+new+yorkers+face+food+insecurity&sca_esv=defc19db23a7a250&rlz=1C1CHBD_enUS915US915&sxsrf=ANbL-n4loRL15nAfOjYogIFKUlPc3f4maw%3A1776627874466&ei=ojDlabiPHM2optQPo_yQ6Ao&biw=1229&bih=584&oq=how+many+New+yorkers+live+with+food+insecurity&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiLmhvdyBtYW55IE5ldyB5b3JrZXJzIGxpdmUgd2l0aCBmb29kIGluc2VjdXJpdHkqAggBMggQABiABBiiBDIFEAAY7wUyBRAAGO8FMgUQABjvBUi3ogFQwxtY4GFwA3gBkAEAmAGLAaABpgiqAQQxMC4yuAEByAEA-AEBmAIPoAKxCcICChAAGLADGNYEGEfCAggQABgIGA0YHsICChAAGAgYChgNGB7CAgoQIRigARjDBBgKwgIIECEYoAEYwwSYAwCIBgGQBgeSBwQxMi4zoAebNrIHAzkuM7gHkQnCBwcwLjUuNy4zyAdNgAgA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp)

Being generous around holidays like Thanksgiving and Passover is easy. Unfortunately hunger doesn’t disappear after those holidays have come and gone. We can turn every day grocery shopping into a spiritual act by buying an extra nonperishable food item every time we go to the supermarket. Then at a regularly appointed time, donate nonperishable foods to a food bank like City Harvest. By helping others we will also be helping ourselves. By feeding the hungry our table will effect atonement for us.

More than the Four Questions #Passoverseder#Haggadah

Around the Passover Seder table all questions are welcome. In fact the Haggadah I use is entitled A Night Of Questions. In order to make your Seder more meaningful I offer you these questions to personalize different steps of the Seder. I encourage you to give yourself some time to think of your own answers to these questions before you ask your guests around the table. You might even want to share these questions beforehand with them as well. I hope your reflections and answers will be a worthwhile activity even if time does not allow you to answer all of the questions.

Here are the questions:

As our Seder journey, begins what blessings have you received this year? How much do you attribute to the efforts of your own labor and to what extent do you perceive God’s role in these gifts? What opportunities do you take to express gratitude?

For Urkhatz: “This evening is a departure from routine. All is open to question. Washing the hands is usually accompanied by a blessing. Now, each participant washes silently. This act is meant to spark questions. It is in silence that questions are born. It is in silence that God’s presence is felt.” (The  Lovell Haggadah, page 38) Think of the times in which you have experienced God’s presence.

For Yakhat: Only when we give something up can we make room for the new; only when we admit we are broken can we begin the journey toward healing. What are we lacking as individuals? Within the community? Where will we begin our search?

For Maggid: What does your presence add to the Seder? How can our community be more responsive to those who need hospitality and support?

For The Four Questions: What questions are on your minds tonight?

For The Four Children: Who would you choose as modern characters (political, artistic, etc.) or other biblical personalities to represent The Four Children?

For Blessed is the One who upholds the promise to Israel, Blessed is God: God tells Abraham that his descendants will become slaves. Is there anything redeeming about the experience of slavery? What role does it play in the formation of our Jewish identity?

For “And we cried out to Adonai, the God of our ancestors”: Why did the Israelites have to “cry out” before God responded? How do we sense God’s responsiveness today? Do you turn to God more in times of need or in times of joy and why?

For Dayainu: Make a list of 12 things you are grateful for.

For Pesakh, Matzah, Maror: what symbols or steps of the Seder do you consider most important?

For Next Year in Jerusalem: How do you express your hope in the Jewish future? What does “Jerusalem” represent for you, as a physical place and as a metaphor?

The 4 Questions is more than just a child song #Passover2026#devartorah#haggadah

 I am blessed with young grandchildren. I kvell when each one excitedly shows how much he or she has learned by reciting individually and as a group The 4 Questions, the Ma Nishtana. I’m so proud of them as they have begun their Jewish education journey.

Rabbi Daniel Kohn in his book The Way In: Essays On How The Seder Shapes The Soul teaches The 4 Questions is more than just a child song.

“Almost any child, when asked, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ will answer with a dream of impact: ‘I want to be a firefighter, a scientist, a teacher.’ From an early age, we yearn to make a difference, to matter, to shape the world. That longing is the seed of meaning within the human soul.

“True freedom is not doing whatever we wish; it is knowing that what we do counts-that our choices shape the world and bring new realities into being. Not all choices are equal. Some align with truth, love, and holiness; others diminish life. Cheirut is the freedom to choose what is real and worthy, the freedom to act as a partner in creation.

“Tonight is different. And in noticing the difference, we recognize that life itself is not static. We are not prisoners of circumstance; we are participants in shaping the world’s unfolding story. Just as the year returns and brings new possibilities, just as the Exodus story renews itself with every retelling, so too can we.

“Ma Nishtana is more than a child song. It is the return of the child dream to matter-the awakening of the soul to its own power to choose, to change, and to create meaning in the light of freedom.” (page 37)

Passover calls us to become the people we truly aspire to be. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are only six months away. Avoid the High Holiday rush by awakening your soul now to its own power to choose, to change, and by making a positive difference in your small corner of the world. If together we succeed choosing to align our lives with truth, love, and holiness, our final redemption will be right around the corner.

Why don’t you recite the blessing shehekhiyanu (שֶהֶחֱיָינוּ) the first time you don tefillin? TB Menakhot 75

Today’s daf TB Menakhot 75 explains when we say the blessing before we observe a mitzvah for the first time and when we don’t. “Rav Yosef said: From where do I say this halakha? (If a cooked dish contains pieces of bread there the size of an olive-bulk  like challah kugel and matza brei one recites the blessing hamotzi. Otherwise if the cooked dish contains less than an olive-bulk pieces of bread, one recites the blessing borai menai mezanot, בּוֹרֵא מִינֵי מְזוֹנוֹת.-gg)  “As it is taught in a baraita: The first time an Israelite would stand and instruct a priest to sacrifice meal offerings in Jerusalem on his behalf, he would recite: (shehekhiyanu (שֶהֶחֱיָינוּ) Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has given us life and sustained us and brought us to this time, as it is the first time that the Israelite fulfills the mitzva of bringing that offering. Following the removal of the handful, when the priest would take the meal offerings in order to eat them, he would first recite the blessing of: Who brings forth bread from the earth. And we learned in the mishna: And in all meal offerings that are broken into pieces, the priest breaks them into pieces the size of an olive-bulk. This proves that over pieces of bread that are the volume of an olive-bulk, one recites the blessing of: Who brings forth bread from the earth.” (Sefaria.com translation)

Why should one recite the blessing shehekhiyanu (שֶהֶחֱיָינוּ) when offering the minkha for the first time, but not the first time the child dons teffilin? Both are mitzvot!

Note 23 concerning this passage on our daf in the Schotenstein explains the difference.

“(The blessing of shehekhiyanu (שֶהֶחֱיָינוּ) is a prayer of thanksgiving to God for having brought one to a particular occasion, such as the performance of a mitzvah that comes at a certain time.) The Baraita teaches that it is recited by a Kohen when he offers a minkha-provided that he has not yet brought a minkha that year…

“Tosafot explain that the Kohanim were divided into mishmarot that served in the Temple one week at a time on a rotating basis. The number of mishmarot was 24, allowing for the rotation to begin anew twice a year. Every mishmar was divided into batei av (a family), each of which served for one day of the week. An individual Kohen would serve as a member of his beit av only one day and every six months. When a Kohen offered a minkha or animal offering for his first time on the day assigned to his beit av, he will recite the shehekhiyanu (שֶהֶחֱיָינוּ), as one does before performing a mitzvah that is limited to a particular date, e.g. shofar and lulav.”

The donning of tefillin isn’t limited to a particular date; consequently, the first time somebody puts on tefillin s/he doesn’t recite the blessing shehekhiyanu (שֶהֶחֱיָינוּ) Any day except Shabbat and holidays is always a good day to don tefillin!

Elijah’s most important job #Shabbathagadol#devartorah#haftorah

There are many traditional reasons why the Sabbath before Passover is called Shabbat Hagadol, the Great Sabbath. I think it’s great because we’re heading into the final countdown to Pesach. Although I dread how much more cleaning we have to do before the holiday, I look forward to the Seders when my children and grandchildren will be around the table. I can’t wait.

There is an Elijah connection between Shabbat Hagadol and the Passover Seder. Elijah is mentioned in this week’s haftorah and near the end of the Seder we open up the door to invite Elisha into her home.

“Reb Shlomo (Carlebach) would teach that Eliyahu Hanavi, Elijah the prophet, delights in bringing children and parents together. As it says in the book of the prophets (which we read this Shabbat as the haftarah) "Behold I send you Elijah the prophet... He shall restore the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents." (Malaci 3:24)

“Rabbi Shlomo taught that the Seder night is all about bringing parents and children closer to one another. So at the end of the Seder, Elijah the prophet knocks on the door to say that before the Messiah comes, he needs to do the work of bringing parents and children closer to one another. We hope and pray that when Elijah visits our home he will say, ‘I am happy to see that I will not need to make another stop here before the coming of the Messiah... Because here I see that you have come so close to one another.’" A Night that Unites Haggadah Page 224-225

I hope that your family Seder will be filled with love and harmony that when Elijah enters your home he will see parents and children’s hearts turn towards each other and thus we shall merit our final redemption on your account.

 

TB Menakhot 72b-73 Why there are two versions of Rashi’s commentary

Yesterday we finished the sixth chapter of our massekhet. It went off topic because it discussed the laws of the ’omer that was offered up on the second day of Passover and the two loaves of Shavuot. Today with dappim TB Menakhot 72b-73 we returned to the discussion about typical menakhot. The Mishnah on daf 72b begins “And these are the meal offerings from which a handful is removed and the remainder of the offering is eaten by the priests: The meal offering of fine flour; and the meal offering prepared in a pan; and the meal offering prepared in a deep pan; and the meal offering baked in an oven that is brought entirely of loaves; and the meal offering baked in an oven that is brought entirely of wafers; the meal offering of gentiles; and the meal offering of women; and the omer meal offering, i.e., the measure of barley brought as a communal offering on the sixteenth of Nisan; and the meal offering of a sinner; and the meal offering of jealousy, brought by a sota.” (Sefaria.org translation)

The Vilna edition of our massekhet contains two versions of Rashi’s commentary. The Schottenstein daf yomi edition explains why:

“The Vilna edition of our tractate contains two commentaries called “Rashi” for chapter 7-10. The first is the commentary that was attributed to Rashi in the earliest printed editions of the Talmud, beginning with Venice 5282. The other is a manuscript version taken from the margin of the Gemara of R’ Bezalel Ashkenazi, the compiler of the Shitah Mekibetzes, who recorded it in his own hand, and who asserted that it and not the printed version is the authentic commentary of Rashi. Indeed, the quotations of Rashi that are cited by Totafos to these chapters are from the manuscript version. There is no manuscript version for the other chapters, and R’ Bezalel Ashkenazi (in at note printed in Shitah Mekibetzes at the beginning of chapter 11) concedes that the printed commentary for those chapters is indeed that of Rashi.

“As to the original ‘Rashi’ commentary to chapter 7-10, R’ Ezra Altschuler, in the introduction to his Takanas Ezra and tractate Me’ilah, cites reasons to believe that it was authored by Rebbeinu Gershom. Similarly, Dikdukai Sofrim notes that this commentary is strikingly similar to that of Rebbeinu Gershom to our tractate, and would seem to have been called from his commentary. The recently published Dikdukai Sofrim to Chullin states that the original ‘Rashi’  was to chapter 7-10 was actually authored by Rebbeinu Elyakim who was a student of the disciples of Rebbeinu Gershom and a contemporary of Rashi. [Rebbeinu Elyakim authored a Rashi-style commentary at almost the Talmud, which only the commentary to Tractate Yoma has come down to us.]”

Menakhot 70 The prohibition against kitniyot, legumes, is a mistaken custom

I’m sure we’re all preparing for Passover by shopping for all the Kosher for Passover foods we need and reviewing the Haggadah to make our Seder interesting and meaningful. Daf TB Menakhot 70 could not have arrived at a more timely moment. I’m sure that many of you know the Ashkenazi prohibition against eating kitniyot, legumes, on Passover. I’m going to show you based on a Teshuva written by Rabbi David Golinkin that this is a mistaken custom; consequently, kitniyot are most definitely permitted during Passover.

 The Mishnah on this daf enumerates five different types of grain that the Gemara will limit the making of matzot to them. “Wheat, barley, spelt, oats, and rye…The Gemara asks: And there, with regard to matza itself, from where do we derive that it must be from one of those five grains? The Gemara answers: Reish Lakish said, and likewise a Sage of the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught, and likewise a Sage of the school of Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov taught, that the verse states: “You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat with it matza, the bread of affliction” (Deuteronomy 16:3). This verse indicates that only with regard to substances that will come to a state of leavening does a person fulfill his obligation to eat matza by eating them on Passover, provided that he prevents them from becoming leavened. This serves to exclude these foods, i.e., rice, millet, and similar grains, which, even if flour is prepared from them and water is added to their flour, do not come to a state of leavening but to a state of decay [sirḥon].”

The Mekhilta deRabbi Yishmael 8:1 teaches the same prohibition and exemption. "Seven days shall you eat matzoth"(Exodus 12:15): I might think that all types of matzoth are understood (i.e., that all grains are permitted as matzoth). It is, therefore, written (Devarim 16:3) "Do not eat chametz upon it; (seven days shall you eat matzoth upon it"). Scripture speaks only of something that can become chametz (i.e., that can turn sour) — wheat, barley, rye, oat, and spelt. This excludes rice, millet, poppyseed, pulse, and sesame, which do not become chametz, but which putrefy.

We have an explicit Gemara where the rabbis ate rice! “The Gemara asks: What are these two cooked foods (in honor of the festival) mentioned in the mishna? Rav Huna said: Beets and rice. The Gemara relates that Rava would seek beets and rice for his meal on Passover night, since this ruling came from Rav Huna’s mouth. Although Rava realized that Rav Huna was merely citing examples and did not mean that one must eat those specific foods, he wanted to fulfill the statement of his teacher precisely. ” (TB Pesakhim 114b)

The prohibition against kitniyot also contradicts the theory and practice of the Amoraim in Babylonia and in Israel, the Geonim and most of the early medieval authorities in all countries (altogether more than 50 Rishonim).

This prohibition isn’t an ancient one in Israel. This custom is mentioned for the first time in France and Provence the beginning of the 13^th century by Rabbi Asher of Lunel, Rabbi Samuel of Falaise, and Rabbi Peretz of Corbeil-from there and spread to various countries and the list of prohibited foods continued to expand. Nevertheless, the reason for the custom was unknown and as a result many sages invented at least 11 different explanations for the custom. So many different explanations means that nobody knows the real reason why kitniyot was originally forbidden. As a result, Rabbi Samuel of Falaise, one of the first to mention it, refer to it as a “mistaken custom” and Rabbi Yrukham called it a “foolish custom.”

Rabbi Golinkin posits a reason why this mistaken custom took root. “It is not the custom to eat kitniyot on a holiday since is written (Deuteronomy 16:14) ‘You shall rejoice in your holiday’ for there is no joy in eating cooked kitniyot” (Rabbi Manuakh, Provence, 1265 ca, his commentary on Rambam, Laws of Hametz and Matza, halakha1) Many Talmudic sources associate the eating of kitniyot as the opposite of rejoicing. Similarly, poor Greeks, Romans, and Arabs also ate kitniyot. It is not surprising why those who forbid the eating of kitniyot on the holiday. Especially kitniyot were served in a house of mourning and on 9^th of Av from the Talmudic times onward as well in the Middle Ages in Germany and Austria. In is logical to infer it eating kitniyot was not an appropriate symbol food on the happy holiday as Passover which has so many food requirements.

Many rabbinic authorities have ruled that it is permitted (and perhaps even obligatory) to do away with this type of “foolish custom” including Maimonides, the Rosh, the Ribash, and many others.

There are many reasons why we should do away with this “foolish custom”. It affects from enjoy the holiday by limiting the number of permitted foods especially those who are gluten intolerant.

 

Teshuva by Rabbi David Golinkin, 5749, published in Responsa of the Va’ad Halacha of the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel, Volume 3 5748-5749.