This Shabbat
is
Shabbat Parah
by Rabbi Eli Mansour
Shabbat Parah- The Shabbat After Purim
On the Shabbat immediately following Purim, we take a second Torah scroll from the ark and read from it the section known as “Parashat Para.” Parashat Para, which tells of the laws of the Para Aduma (the red heifer, whose ashes were used to sprinkle on those who had become ritually impure), is the opening section of Parashat Chukat, until the words, “Ve'ha'nefesh Ha'noga'at Titma Ad Ha'arev” (Bamidbar 19:1-22).
Tosefot in Masechet Berachot (13) write that the annual reading of Parashat Para constitutes a Torah obligation; this is mentioned by other Rishonim (Medieval Talmudists), as well, including the Rashba (Spain, 1235-1310), the Ritva (Spain, 1250-1330) and Terumat Ha'deshen (Rabbi Yisrael Isserlin, Germany-Austria, 1390-1460). The Shulchan Aruch indeed records this position.
Later writers have raised the question of where the Torah introduces such an obligation. If, indeed, this reading is required according to Torah law, this requirement must have a clear Biblical source. The work “Yalkut Ha'gershuni” suggests that this reading is obligated by force of the Torah's admonition to recall the unfortunate incident of the sin of the golden calf (Devarim 9:7). As this incident marks a very sad moment in our nation's history, we prefer not to read the actual narrative of the golden calf, and we instead read about the Para Aduma, which serves to atone for the sin of the golden calf. Indeed, the Sages describe the cow used for this ritual as the mother that comes to clean the mess made by her daughter, the calf. Thus, the reading of the Para Aduma section fulfills the Torah obligation to recall the incident of the golden calf.
Others, however, have questioned this explanation. If this is the obligation we seek to fulfill, we can just as easily do so on the Shabbat when we read Parashat Ki Tisa, which contains the narrative of the golden calf. On this Shabbat we could instruct the congregation to have in mind while listening to this reading to fulfill the Torah obligation of remembering the incident of the golden calf. Rather than instituting a special reading, we could fulfill this requirement through the standard, scheduled reading of Parashat Ki Tisa. Furthermore, when all is said and done, the Sages speak of the Para Aduma ritual as a Chok – a Mitzva whose underlying rationale eludes human comprehension. It is therefore difficult to claim that this Mitzva serves solely as atonement for the sin of the golden calf.
The Aruch Ha'shulchan (Rabbi Yechiel Epstein of Nevardok, Bielorussia 1829-1888) suggests a different Biblical source of the obligation to read Parashat Para. The Torah instructs in this section, “Ve'hayeta Lachem Le'chukat Olam” – that this law “shall be for you an eternal statute.” The Torah here requires that we observe this law “eternally,” despite the fact that this Mitzva of purifying oneself with the ashes of Para Aduma applies only when the Temple stands. The Aruch Ha'shulchan therefore suggests that the Torah here refers to an obligation to verbally recall this process by reading the relevant section in the Torah, even when practically the ritual cannot be performed.
In any event, other scholars claimed that the reading of Parashat Para originates from Chazal (the Sages), and is not required by Torah law. Some even claim that Tosefot did not, in fact, cast this requirement as a Torah obligation. This theory contends that Tosefot had written the abbreviation “Peh-Peh,” referring to “Parashat Purim,” the section read on Purim telling of the battle with Amalek, with which one can fulfill the Torah obligation to recall Amalek's hostility. Later editors mistakenly understood the abbreviation as referring to “Parashat Para,” and therefore reached the erroneous conclusion that Tosefot viewed this reading as a Torah obligation. However, this theory is difficult to accept in light of the fact that numerous other Rishonim, as mentioned above, side with Tosefot on this matter. It is hard to imagine that they were all misled by a printing error.
Are women included in the obligation of Parashat Para?
Presumably, this would depend on the two sources mentioned above. According to the “Yalkut Ha'gershuni,” as we have seen, we read Parashat Para to recall the incident of the golden calf. If so, then women, who did not take part in the worship of the golden calf, should be excluded from this obligation. According to the Aruch Ha'shulchan, however, who explained that this reading fulfills the obligation of eternally remembering the Para Aduma purification ritual, it should apply equally to women, who are likewise required to undergo purification through the process of the Para Aduma.
Therefore, women should endeavor to come to the synagogue to hear the reading of Parashat Para. If this presents a problem given their domestic responsibilities, they may remain at home.
It should also be noted that the highest-quality Torah scroll available should be used for this reading, since according to many it constitutes a Torah obligation.
Summary: There is a difference of opinion as to whether the reading of Parashat Para on the Shabbat following Purim constitutes a Torah obligation, or was ordained by the Rabbis. Women should make an effort to come to the synagogue for this reading unless it poses considerable difficulty, and the highest-quality Torah scroll should be used for this reading.
לוח זמני תפלה לחורף תשפ״ב
Winter Timetable 5782 – 2021/22
מוצאי שבת | ערבית | שקיעה | מנחה שבת | סוף זמן קריאת שמע | הדלקת נרות | מנחה וקבלת שבת | תאריך | שבת פרשת |
Shabbat Ends | Arbit | Sunset | Minha | Shema before | Candle Lighting | Minha & Kabbalat Shabbat | Date | Parasha |
PM | PM | PM | PM | AM | PM | PM |
|
|
7:23 | 7:23 | 6:32 | 5:55 | 9:06 | 6:16 | 6:16 | 25/26 Mar | שמיני |
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- What date was “yom hashemini”?
9:1 – First of Nissan. - Which of Aharon's korbanot atoned for the Golden Calf?
9:2 – The calf offered as a korban chatat. - What korbanot did Aharon offer for the Jewish People?
9:3,4 – A he-goat as a chatat, a calf and a lamb for an olah, an ox and a ram for shelamim, and a mincha. - What was unique about the chatat offered during the induction of the Mishkan?
9:11 – It's the only example of a chatat offered on the courtyard mizbe'ach that was burned. - When did Aharon bless the people with the birkat kohanim?
9:22 – When he finished offering the korbanot, before descending from the mizbe'ach. - Why did Moshe go into the Ohel Mo'ed with Aharon?
9:23 – For one of two reasons: Either to teach Aharon about the service of the incense, or to pray for the Shechina to dwell with Israel. - Why did Nadav and Avihu die?
10:2 – Rashi offers two reasons: Either because they gave a halachic ruling in Moshe's presence, or because they entered the Mishkan after drinking intoxicating wine. - Aharon quietly accepted his sons' death. What reward did he receive for this?
10:3 – A portion of the Torah was given solely through Aharon. - What prohibitions apply to a person who is intoxicated?
10:9-11 – He may not give a halachic ruling. Also, a kohen is forbidden to enter the Ohel Mo'ed, approach the mizbe'ach, or perform the avoda. - Name the three chatat goat offerings that were sacrificed on the day of the inauguration of the Mishkan.
10:16 – The goat offerings of the inauguration ceremony, of Rosh Chodesh, and of Nachshon ben Aminadav. - Which he-goat chatat did Aharon burn completely and why?
10:16 – The Rosh Chodesh chatat: Either because it became tamei, or because the kohanim were forbidden to eat from it while in the state of aninut (mourning). - Why did Moshe direct his harsh words at Aharon's sons?
10:16 – Out of respect for Aharon, Moshe directed his anger at his sons and not directly at Aharon. - Moshe was upset that Aharon and his sons did not eat the chatat. Why?
10:17 – Because only when the kohanim eat the chatat are the sins of the owners atoned. - Why did G-d choose Moshe, Aharon, Elazar and Itamar as His messengers to tell the Jewish People the laws of kashrut?
11:2 – Because they accepted the deaths of Nadav and Avihu in silence. - What are the signs of a kosher land animal?
11:3 – An animal whose hooves are completely split and who chews its cud. - How many non-kosher animals display only one sign of kashrut? What are they?
11:4,5,6,7 – Four: Camel, shafan, hare, and pig. - If a fish sheds its fins and scales when out of the water, is it kosher?
11:12 – Yes. - Why is a stork called chasida in Hebrew?
11:19 – Because it acts with chesed (kindness) toward other storks. - The chagav is a kosher insect. Why don't we eat it?
11:21 – We have lost the tradition and are not able to identify the kosher chagav. - What requirements must be met in order for water to maintain its status of purity?
11:36 – It must be connected to the ground (i.e., a spring or a cistern).
דין אורח לגבי ברכות הנהנין
בהלכה
הקודמת ביארנו, שמי בירך על מאכל, כגון תפוח,
ואכל ממנו, ואחר כך הובא לפניו מאכל אחר, שברכתו שווה לברכת המאכל הראשון, כגון
תפוז, אינו חוזר לברך שוב על התפוז, מאחר ונפטר כבר בברכתו של התפוח.
והוספנו,
שאם המאכל שהובא אחר כך, הוא חשוב יותר מן הראשון, ולמשל, כשבירך ואכל תפוח, הובא
לפניו אחר כך “תמר”, שהתמר הוא משבעת המינים, אז עליו לחזור ולברך
“בורא פרי העץ” על התמר, מאחר ופרי חשוב, אינו נפטר בברכת פרי פשוט. ורק
אם בשעה שבירך על התפוח, כיון בפירוש לאכול אחריו גם תמר, אינו חוזר ומברך.
דין
אורח, לגבי מקרה שהובא מאכל חשוב
דין
זה, שהברכה הראשונה אינה פוטרת מאכל חשוב שיובא אחר כך, שייך רק לגבי סתם אדם, אבל
אדם שהוא אורח, והוא יושב ואוכל בבית חבירו, ובירך על התפוח, והובא לפניו אחר
כך תמר, אינו חוזר לברך על התמר, משום שאורח, דעתו מראש היא על כל מה שיביאו לפניו
בעל הבית. ולכן הוא פוטר בברכתו הראשונה, את כל מיני הפירות שיובאו לפניו.
דין
אורח לענין היסח הדעת
ועוד
יש חילוק בין סתם אדם לאורח, לגבי דין היסח הדעת הסעודה, וכגון, מי שישב לאכול,
ובסיום הסעודה בא לזמן, לפני ברכת המזון, ואמר “הב לן ונבריך”, ואחר כך
רוצה להמשיך לשתות. אינו יכול לשתות, אלא אם יברך תחילה על השתיה. אבל אורח, אינו
צריך לחזור ולברך, כיון שסומך על בעל הבית, שהוא הקובע מתי תסתיים הסעודה. ולא
נאריך עוד בפרטי דין זה. (שלחן ערוך סימן קעט).
ועיקר
דין האורח, מפורש בשלחן ערוך (סימן קעט ס”ה) בזו הלשון: “הקרואים בבית
בעל הבית לאכול מיני פירות, ומביאין להם בזה אחר זה, אינם צריכים לברך אלא על
הראשון”. עד כאן.
והרבה
טועים בדינים אלו, וחושבים שרק האורח אינו חוזר לברך על מאכלים שמוגשים לפניו, אבל
סתם אדם בביתו, חוזר ומברך. ואינם יודעים, שגם סתם אדם אינו חוזר לברך
על כל מאכל ומאכל. והחילוק בין אורח לסתם אדם, הוא רק כפי שמבואר כאן.
ולסיכום: אורח שמתארח אצל חבירו, ויושב שם לאכול, והוגשו
לפניו פירות ובירך עליהם ואכל, ואחר כך הוגשו פירות אחרים, משובחים יותר,
אינו צריך לחזור ולברך עליהם.
The Laws of a Guest
Regarding Blessings of Enjoyment
In
the previous
Halachot we have established that if one recites a blessing on and
eats a given food, such as an apple, and is then served another food which
shares the same blessing as the first, such as an orange, one does not recite
another blessing on the orange, for it has already been exempted by the
blessing on the apple.
We have pointed out though that if the second food brought before the
individual was more significant than the first, such as if one recites a
blessing on an apple and was later served a date (which is one of the Seven
Species), one must recite another “Boreh Peri Ha’etz” blessing on the date
since the blessing on an important fruit is not exempted by the blessing on an
ordinary fruit. Only if at the time one recited a blessing on the apple one had
in mind specifically to exempt the date one would eat later will one not repeat
the blessing.
The Law Regarding a Guest Who is Served a More Significant Food
The law that the original blessing cannot exempt a more significant food served
later only applies to a regular person; however, if one is a guest in another’s
home and recites a blessing on an apple and is later served a date, one should
not recite another blessing on the date, for the intention of a guest is always
to exempt whatever his host will serve him. He therefore exempts with his
original blessing whatever he is served later.
A Guest’s Law Regarding an Interruption
Another distinction between an ordinary person and a guest is regarding the law
of an interruption during a meal. For instance, if one eats a meal and the
begins the Zimun before Birkat Hamazon by reciting “Hav Lan Ve’Nivrich” (“Let us bless”) and then
one wishes to continue drinking, one may only drink if one recites a blessing
before drinking. On the other hand, a guest need not recite another blessing
before drinking since he relies on the host to decide when the meal is over.
(Shulchan Aruch Chapter 179)
The law of the guest is spelled out by Maran Ha’Shulchan Aruch (Chapter 179,
Section 5) as follows: “If one is invited by a host to eat fruit and is brought
several kinds, one after another, one need only recite a blessing on the first
kind.”
Many mistakenly think that only a guest does not recite another blessing on
foods brought before him later but an ordinary person in his own home must.
However, this is not the case, for even an ordinary person does not recite a
new blessing on every single food. The only difference between a guest and a
regular person is as we have written above.
Summary: If one is invited as a guest to eat in a friend’s home and is
served fruit which he recites a blessing on and eats and is then served more
significant fruits, one need not recite a blessing on them.
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