3 PAGES OF Q & A
YOM TOV HOLIDAY PAGES
This is Page 1 about Rosh HaShana
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Why Do We Blow Shofar During The Month Of Elul
- The Aruch Hashulchan (581:1) authored by Rabbi Yechiel Michel HaLevi Esptein
(1829-1908) quotes the Pirkei D'Rabi Eliezer who says that hearing the shofar blast is
meant to prevent us from sinning.
- When Moshe first went up to Mount Sinai to receive the 'Luchos' the Jewish people miscalculated the days he was gone & consequently ended up committing the sin of the
golden calf. When it came time for Moshe to reascend Mount Sinai to receive the second
set of 'Luchos,' (tablets have the 10 commandments engraved on them) the shofar
was sounded so that the Jewish people would not miscalculate the days he was gone &
commit another sin. - Therefore, just as the shofar was sounded when Moshe went up Mount Sinai to prevent
the Jewish people from making another mistake. So we too sound the shofar to prevent us
from sinning nowadays. - Furthermore, the Aruch Hashulchan writes that the shofar is associated with repentance as the verse states, 'When a shofar is sounded, do the people not take alarm?' (Amos 3:6). Since the month of Elul is fit for repentance as it is the last month of the year & right before
the Days of Judgment, it makes sense to blow the shofar to awaken us to repent.
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The week before Rosh Hashana, I will not be in the proximity of people
who can do Hatarat Nedarim (annulling of Vows) for me.
Can I do it via Skype?
- Hatarat Nedarim on Erev Rosh Hashanah is just a minhag (see Chayei Adam 138:8).
- There is a dispute among the Rishonim (see Beit Yosef, Yoreh Deah 228 & Ran,
Nedarim 8b) whether Hatarat Nedarim requires the presence of the oath taker (noder). - The gemara (Nedarim 8b) concludes that a husband can be an agent to request his
wife's Hatarat Nedorim. So can others based on the general rule that agents can carry
out halachic processes. - However, the Rambam (Shvuot 6:4), accepted by the Shulchan Aruch (YD 228:16), is
among those who require the oath taker's presence. - Poskim have discussed the use of telephones for halachic matters.
1. Another area of interest is brachot heard via telephone.
2. One can't fulfill mitzvot through such a bracha, but leading poskim have argued whether
one should (Yechaveh Da'at II:68) or should not (Minchat Shlomo I:9) answer "Amen."
3. Hatarat Nedarim has been permitted by written submission (Pitchei Teshuvah 228:9).
4. Performing it by phone could follow the same logic (see Shevet Hakehati IV:239)
& also by Skype.
5. We note briefly that as we conclude this shmittah year one may utilize the Hatarat
Nedarim Bet Din panel to execute a Pruzbul as well (in person, by phone or Skype).
See Rema C.M. 67:18)
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Rosh Hashana Customs
- Some have the custom to visit the grave-sites of righteous people on Erev Rosh Hashana
Shulchan Aruch 581:4. Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 128:13 - There is a custom to fast on Erev Rosh Hashana. The Shulchan Aruch 581.2
writes some have the custom to fast on Erev Rosh Hashana. - The custom is for men to dip in a mikveh in honor of Rosh Hashana. However this isn't
required according to the law & therefore a bracha isn't recited. Halichot Olam 2: page 225,
Moed Likol Chai 12:11. see also Rama 581:4. - A woman within her seven clean days from niddah shouldn't go to the mikveh on
Erev Rosh Hashana or Erev Yom Kippur. (Chazon Ovadia Yamim Noraim page 59) - The custom on Erev Rosh Hashana & Erev Yom Kippur is to release from your vows
(Hatarat Nedarim). Kaf Hachayim 581:12, Yalkut Yosef Moadim page 22, Yabia
Omer OC 2:30, Chazon Ovadia Yamim Noraim page 42
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If I forgot to do the Eruv Tavshilin how can I prepare
on the 2nd day of Yom Tov for Shabbas?
- It shouldn't be a habitual practice not to prepare & say the Eruv Tavshilin before Yom Tov.
(MB 527.26) - If necessary, you could cook anyway
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Is it permitted to sleep on Rosh Hashana afternoon?
The source often given for not sleeping on Rosh Hashannah
is a Yerushalmi missing from our editions.
- The Rama (OC 583:1) praises the minhag not to sleep on Rosh Hashana.
- The Mishnah Berura (583:9) & others quote the Ari z"l that after chatzot (midday),
the Heavenly situation is such that one can sleep. - The Bach (OC 597) cites the Ram who was totally lenient on the matter of sleep on
Rosh Hashana. - The Mishna Berura adds (ibid.) that not sleeping is not the goal in & of itself.
Rather, the objective is to spend time on spiritually worthwhile activities ( learning
Torah, sayingTehillim) (ibid.; Chayei Adam 139:11). If a little sleep will facilitate
learning, then it is a worthwhile trade off.
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Why do we pre-set a new fruit on the dinner table
the second night of Rosh Hashannah?
- It is needed to enable us to recite the blessing of Shehechyanu on an item of certainty
- Usually the second day of any holiday (outside of Israel) is deemed indefinite because of
doubt resulting from when that specific month began. - While in Israel, the bet din would always know after a few days into each month, the exact day that the month had begun.
1. Word would not always reach locales outside of Israel with that information in time for a holiday ( Passover/Succos) requiring the first day of the holiday to be celebrated fo 2
days to ensure that one of those 2 days would be the correct day for the holiday.
2.However Rosh Hashannah being right at the beginning of the month, created doubt even
in Israel.
3. The rabbis decreed that Rosh Hashannah, therefore be observed two days even in Israel.
4. For numerous other reasons, the Rabbis decreed that the 2 days be deemed conceptually
as one long day.
5. That created the complication of the Shehechyanu blessing, being recited at Kiddush on
the second night of this long day since it was already recited at Kiddush on the first night
of this long day.
6.Therefore, the Rabbis insisted that we pre-set a new fruit at the dinner table on the second night to ensure that the shehechyanu blessing be recited on the second night of this long day on an item of certainty, the new fruit, rather than on an item of doubt, the second night
of the long day of the holiday ( since we already recited the shehechyanu on the first night
of this long day holiday).
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Which fruits qualify for a Sheh'heche'yanu
on the 2nd night of Rosh Hoshana?
- Generally, one doesn't recite a Sheh'heche'yanu bracha on a fruit unless it is a fruit that
can be clearly recognized as having been grown in the current season. (MB 225:18) - Nowadays, this is not easy to do. With so many different fruits from so many different
places on the store shelf, hardly any fruit can be clearly recognizable as a fruit that
was grown in the current season. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (Igrot Moshe, Orach
Chaim 3:34), however, gives special dispensation to the second night of Rosh Hashanah
& permits making a sheh'heche yanu on a fruit that night if two conditions are present
1) You have not eaten the fruit in the past few months
2) That whatever the fruit, you are certain that it is from the current season
(Igros Moshe: O.C. 3:34). - If there is no new fruit available or if one can't satisfy these two conditions one should
still recite the sheh'heche'yanu blessing after Kiddush (S.A.OC. 600:2) or after candle
lighting (MB, 600:4)
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How do I get to the hospital if I go into labor on Yom Tov?
- It is permitted to perform all melachos (work) that are required for getting you to the hospital. The general custom is that the husband drives the wife to the hospital.
- In principle it is also permitted to perform other melachos, where the lady in birth requires
or craves something that will sooth or calm her (Shabbos 128; Shulchan Aruch 330:1). - If the mother in question is adamant that she needs her mother with her, too, the mother can also come.
- The general rule is that one should act in the same way as one would act on a weekday
(328:3) based on the concept of pikuach nefesh (danger to life) & therefore shouldn't
be relied on light-headedly. - Only if the lady giving birth insists that
she requires something or where it is clear that without
it she will be significantly disturbed, is it permitted to do this. - If a melachah (work) must be performed, one should do so by means of a non-Jew or
a shinui (an unusual way of doing it) when this is possible.
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Is it permitted on Yom Tov to carry garbage from our house
to our outdoor garbage cans?
- Some Rabbis consider the removal of trash from the house a legitimate Yom Tov need,
since leaving it in the house causes unpleasantness which detracts from the enjoyment
of Yom Tov. - Harav Y.Y. Kanievsky (Orchos Rabbeinu, vol. 2, Yom Tov, 6)
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