Dinim

ראש השנה is יום הדין- it’s a scary and frightening moment. We should at least know that there’s something to be scared about and have בטחון in ה'- without His רחמים, it won’t go. It can be compared to the boys in Japan waiting for their trial. ה' is the sweetest person, but there are people around Him so He has no choice.

We don’t blow the שופר this year. It says that somewhere where they don’t blow the שופר, they should expect a tragedy to come because they don’t have the protection that blowing it brings upon us. By taking away this took, we are showing that we are being מוסר נפש for שבת.

These 10 days between ראש השנה and יו''כ are known as the עשרת ימי תשובה. חז''ל discuss the עשי''ת in the גמרא- gives it authority.

These days are specially designated for תשובה. These days start at ראש השנה and culminate at יו''כ- ''בין כסה לעשר''. תשובה isn’t so easy to accomplish most of the time, but it’s easier during the עשי''ת.

דינים on מחילה:

יו''כ has so much קדושה because ה' is מוחל us. ה' is so happy- it’s a big חסד.

We have to think about תשובה on יו''כ:
1. חרטה
2. קבלה על העתיד
3. עזיבת החטא
4. ודוי- it is said ten times. You only have to say it one time to be יוצא, but you must be standing. One should stand with a bowed heart.

There are התירים to take medicine on יו''כ, but you should ask a doctor and רב before using them. Medicine can’t be taken with water and you shouldn’t take chewables.

חמישת עינוים:
1. You shouldn’t wear leather shoes.
2. Fasting- at the end of the fast, even if your father isn’t home, you can say ברוך המבדיל and drink water. If you’re really hungry, you can make your own הבדלה- make sure to take fire from the נר שבת.
3. Washing- only up to the knuckles.

Saying מוריד הטל isn’t as eloquent- it’s a substitute, and when we talk to ה', we want to talk in the most eloquent manner.

If you didn’t say משיב הרוח:
1. If you finished the whole ש''ע, you have to repeat. Take three steps back (putting the שכינה in front of you) and say ה' שפתי.
2. If you caught yourself in the middle of ש''ע, you go back to ה' שפתי, but you don’t take the three steps back. If you were in the middle of שם ה', say ''למדני חוקיך''.
3. If you caught yourself before ''ברוך אתה'' of that ברכה, even if you said מוריד הטל, you go back. If you said the שם ה', you only go back if you didn’t say anything. IF you got up to ''מחיה'', finish the ברכה and say משיב הרוח over there.

יעלה ויבא is in the ברכה of הודאה.

If you forgot יעלה ויבא:
1. If you finished the whole ש''ע, you have to repeat.
2. If you didn’t yet finish ש''ע, you go back to the beginning of the ברכה of רצה because you have ruined that ברכה.
3. If you said ''ותחזנה...אתה'', you go back. Once you said the שם ה', you finish the ברכה and say it then.

The תורה warns us about שבת 12 times. Why so many?

The תורה doesn’t tell what the מלאכות are, so how do we know? It’s מסורה from משהand חז''ל knew it from קבלה and they found a רמז in the תורה- in ויקהל and פקודי it talks about the מלאכת המשכן.

What’s an אב and what’s a תולדה? An אב is how the מלאכה was done it the משכן. The תולדה is just as important as the אב. Why are they called by these names? Because the אב is the concept. Each of the אב מלאכות have a purpose, and this is how we derive the תולדה. An activity that has the same תכלית as the אב is a תולדה.

What’s the definition of בורר- what’s the תכלית? Sorting from a mixture of types.

In order for something to be בורר, it has to have things:
1. It has to be a mixture.
2. In the mixture, there have to be types.

If you have lemon and lime candies, it would be considered a mixture because the two different flavors mean there are two types.

What isn’t an assortment? If you have a pot of soup with chicken and vegetables, in this pot there are different types, but they aren’t mixed. If you wanted to remove the chicken and vegetables from the soup to make it clear, you would be allowed to because there’s no mixture. If there were noodles in the soup, that would be a mixture.

You can have a mixture but not have two types, like if you have a plate of cookies, and some are bigger than others. This wouldn’t be בורר.

What’s a mixture? You wash silverware on Friday night, and it’s all mixed together after you wash it. Now you want to set the table and you want to take out the knives. Every time you remove something from the mixture, you’re sorting types. This is an act of בורר. If the silverware was divided into compartments, you would be allowed to remove items from the compartments and set the table.

If you have different types that are a mixture, there is a התיר to separate when you follow the following conditions:
1. אוכל מן פסולת- take the good from the bad.
2. יד- separate by hand.
3. מיד- do it before you eat, in the time frame of סמוך לסעודה.

If you’re going somewhere and want to set the table before you leave, what do you do? If אי''ם doesn’t work for you, you could spread the silverware out, so that it isn’t a mixture anymore.

Two other methods of getting out of בורר:
1. You can take some of the good with the bad that you want to remove.
2. פסולת that blocks access to the food is considered part of the food, like by a peel or wrapper. (Questionable התיר)

How can you remove bones from fish or seeds from watermelon?
1. Remove the פסולת for immediate use. This is called דרך אכילה- remove the bones while it’s still in your mouth.
2. מיד לפה- since it’s on my plate in front of me, it’s considered דרך אכילה, so I can remove the bones from the fish. This applies when feeding children who can’t remove the bones the first way.

טוחן= grinding.
1. אב- crushing grain.
2. תכלית- breaking down a large particle into smaller particles for a different kind of use. The purpose can’t be achieved in its original form.

Included in the תכלית is breaking down everything else, not just grain. For example, gravel for laying down a sidewalk- big rocks wouldn’t do the job, but smaller pebbles can.

The fact that you’re making something smaller isn’t טוחן. There is no standard of smallness with the מלאכה of טוחן. The תכלית is to achieve something significant. By giving it a new use or purpose, that defines it as טוחן.

When you chop vegetables for a salad, you’re giving them a new use. Mashing a banana would also be giving it a new use. The חזון איש says that mashing is טוחן and רב משה says that it isn’t- טוחן is only for breaking something down into different units. Can one break down a banana for a small child?
1. חזון איש- yes, but with a שנוי.
2. רב משה- yes, but we should do like the חזון איש.

There are four exemptions to טוחן, and you only need one:
1. אין טוחן אא בגדולי קרקע- food that doesn’t grow from the ground, טוחן doesn’t apply to it:
a. Eggs
b. Liver
c. Meat
d. Fish
e. Cheese
2. סמוך לסועדה- even something that’s גדולי קרקע, the מיד from בורר applies here. Not all פוסקים agree on this, so we try to combine it with another exemption. A salad is hard to find another exemption for, so we use a שנוי, such as cutting bigger pieces.
3. אין טחינה אחר טחינה- when the original טוחן is totally obliterated, there is no more טוחן. If you got mud on your clothing, you can’t scrape it off because there’s a cycle and you’re bringing it back to its original form. Instead, you should wash it off. If there is a lot of mud, be careful because it may be לש.
4. שנוי- do it in an awkward way. This is usually used with another condition when you need a היתר.

עובדא דחול- you can’t use a device used for mashing or grinding on שבת even if you have the exemptions.

It doesn’t discuss taking medicine in the תורה, so how could חז''ל make it אסור? חז''ל were given permission to make certain barriers so that we shouldn’t be עובר on the תורה- ''עשו משמרת למשמרתי''.

In the old days, they used herbs for medication. They used to crush them, so the איסור of taking medicine on שבת was instituted. Any kind of therapy is included. רפואה is that which rectifies a malady of any kind.

רפואה isn’t restricted on everyone:
1. מיחוש בעלמה- a common place malady, that doesn’t make you very sick. Included in this would be aches and pains. It’s אסור to take medicine.
2. חולה כל גופו- not to bad, but confines someone in bed and affects his whole body, like a flu. One can take medicine.
3. פקוח נפש- not necessarily life threatening, but even something that could be life threatening, like diabetes. Not only should one take medicine, you’re מחוייב to be מחלל שבת for it.

For all children under the age of five or six or that are very frail, any of their needs are considered חולה כל גופו.

Two questions about the איסור of רפואה:
1. Who is included in this איסור? Only a מיחוש בעלמה would be included in this איסור. If someone isn’t sure if they’re considered a מיחוש בעלמה or חולה כל גופו, they can be מקיל and take the medicine.
2. What exactly is אסור? Any kinds of therapy, not just substance therapy. If a doctor tells someone to do physical therapy, he can do it even on שבת.

One can’t take vitamins on שבת, but there is an exemption for רפואה:
1. מאכל בריאים- food for healthy people. An example would be tea. Even if one is taking it for their sore throat, and wouldn’t usually drink it, they can still drink it, because it’s food.
2. דרך בריאים- since during the winter people put cream on even before their hands get chapped, if someone has chapped hands, he can put on cream as long as he doesn’t smear it.

You can’t mix רפואה into food on שבת, but you can do it before שבת and use it on שבת.

A person is allowed to take medicine to prevent himself from becoming a חולה כל גופו. An example of this would be to take Tums so you don’t get heartburn.

מרקד means sifting. Why would one sift? In order to separate the good in the flour from the bad. What would be considered bad in flour? Bran, pebbles or other matter that got mixed in must be separated from the finer flour. The idea of מרקד is separating the good from the bad in a mixture by passing the mixture through a screen.

The אב מלאכה is sifting flour.

When it comes to sifting confectioner sugar over a cake, the lumps in the sugar can be crushed because אין טוחן אחר הטוחן, and the sugar can be sifted over the cake.

If there are clumps in the salt or sugar shakers, it would be considered מרקד to put rice in the shaker and use it.

Sand in a sand box- if it rained, and the sand is clumpy, there could be problems. If the sand is dry, and someone is playing with a sand sifter, they can’t use it.

מצה meal also can’t be sifted because there might be parts in it that shouldn’t be there.

A תולדה of מרקד is משמר מסמנן- filtering sediment in a fluid. In the city, many people have water filters because there are undesired objects in the water. This water that has been filtered is אסור to drink, even though some פוסקים hold otherwise. This water can be used to wash your hands with or do the dishes with.

There are three levels of mixtures:
1. צלולים- clear, clean. This is what we drink
2. עכורים קצת. Most of the שאלות are on this.
3. עכורים- muddy and dirty- liquids that are turbid and undrinkable. You probably won’t run into this on שבת.

Passing עכורים through a filter turns it into צלולים.

עכורים: מלאכה מדאוריתא
The water in New York looks clear but it’s not. It’s עכורים only for drinking. Let’s say someone does an oil change- the oil may go into the ground and will eventually reach water. Now there are toxins (=עכורים) in the water, so they filter it. Sometimes bubbles are bugs. It’s עכורים and can’t be filtered on שבת.

צלולים:
Clear enough that people don’t mind drinking. Our water would fall into this category. It’s not אסור to filter it- you can use a filter on your tap. If someone is sensitive to the water, it makes it more עכורים or עכורים קצת, so they shouldn’t use a filter. A mild preference, however, doesn’t make it a problem.

עכורים קצת:
Let’s say water is a drop yellow- it is still drinkable, but we might not want to. It’s אסור to filter it on שבת.


After מרקד, we have flour that’s ready for baking.

Steps of the מלאכה:
1. נתינת מים- when water makes contact with the flour, and the particles of flour cling together.
2. גיבול- this involves mixing the flour with liquid to blend them together.

The תכלית of לש (kneading) is to combine particles of solid into a thick mass with a liquid medium. This can include:
1. Pastes
2. Sand with water→ mud or cement.

There are four kinds of mixtures:
1. בלילה עבה- a thick mixture. This is אסור מדאוריתא.
2. בלילה רכה- a thin, pourable, battler-like mix.
3. דברים נוזלים- a very thin mix that has no density such as coffee. It is permissible to make this on שבת.
4. חתיכות- not an even consistency, like coleslaw. This can be done on שבת.

Pure, ground liver is equivalent in הלכה to flour. If you add liquid to flour, you did לש. If you mix liver with oil, you’re doing גיבול. Liver is already moist, so why are you doing גיבול? Because the natural moisture of the food is considered like it’s dry. There are some התירים for making liver on שבת, such as אין לש אלא בגדולי קרקע.

Chopped liver or chopped eggs that aren’t finely ground- not לש because it’s חתיכות. Because of this, it’s permissible to make cole slaw.

If you want to mix ketchup and mayonnaise, it wouldn’t be אסור because it’s דברים נוזלים.

You can’t make בלילה. In order for something to be considered בלילה, it must have three properties:
1. A combination of solids and liquids mixed together. Mixing honey and mayonnaise wouldn’t be considered בלילה. Mashing a banana also wouldn’t be considered בלילה because the moisture is natural and the natural moisture of the food is considered like it’s dry.
2. Viscosity- it must be thick enough to have the density of viscosity.
3. It has to be an even consistency- particles have blended perfectly with each other. To make a new consistency would be בלילה.

It’s אסור to make baby cereal on שבת unless it’s done with a שנוי.

A שנוי is אסור by a דאוריתא, but not by a דרבנן. Since בלילה רכה is דרבנן, it can be done with a שנוי. A שנוי has to be done in every aspect of the לש:
1. נתינת מים- whatever you normally add first, add it second.
2. גיבול- either mix with the handle of the spoon or finger in a criss-cross motion. You can also put everything in one bowl and then move it from one bowl to another.
A שנוי can be to reverse the normal way- now a days, people usually first put in the liquid then add the powder. If one isn’t sure how he usually does it, he should use he standard שנוי- add the solid first and the liquid second.

Potato flakes start off as a בלילה רכה then thicken and turn into a בלילה עבה.

There are four sections to thisמלאכה :
1. Basic premises.
2. דין of אש and תולדת אש- fire and second hand fire.
3. בישול אחר הבישול- there is no בישול after בישול.
4. גזרות חכמים of בישול.

There’s a מחלוקת over what the אב מלאכה is. If you go according to סדורי דפת, the אב מלאכה is אופה. Most of the ראשונים hold that סדורי דפת is symbolic- there was no מלאכה of אופה, it’s really בישול. But didn’t they bake in the משכן? Yes, but they did many actions that aren’t considered אב מלאכות. Really, מלאכות were functions they did to build the משכן. They did בישול when they boiled the dyes for the יריאות.

Examples of איסורים דרבנן:
1. Blech
2. Not to put cold foods on the blech because of חזרה.
3. Wrapping something hot with a towel.

Definition of the מלאכה: 1. Causing a 2. change in a 3. food or substance by the use of 4. heat.

Basic premises of the מלאכה:
1. בישול
2. צליי'- roasting
3. אופה
4. טיגון- frying

1. בישול- immersed in a hot liquid.
2. צליי'- without liquid or dry heat.
3. אופה- dry heat.
4. טיגון- pan frying or sautéing.

צליי' and בישול is hardening something soft. אופה is softening something hard.

Deep frying something is בישול. When there’s only a little oil, is it בישול or אופה?