Transcript
Okay welcome back to the men's afternoon kollel, great to be together and to learn together. I want to reiterate the gratitude that Rabbi Shabatay said in thanking Roni and Chagit Shachar in memory of Yosef ben Aaron and Ruth, and also a big thank you, a continued big thank you to our dear friend Avi Fleischer for sponsoring our afternoon kollel which continues. Amazing Torah learning endures, it perseveres, and it continues, it doesn't matter what the circumstance. This is the third and I think the final installment of a series we've been doing on the relationship or the role, the intersection of Kabbalah and Halacha. For those who are here with us for the first week, a very, very, very quick and brief overview of it, but we saw that Kabbalah and Halacha sometimes they conflict, sometimes there's a tension. Sorry if you're getting a headache, by the way I'm scrolling through this screen share of the source sheets. I just want to very quickly review what we've seen so far. So Rav Yosef Karo in his introduction to the Beis Yosef, the author of Shulchan Aruch tells us that of the many, many opinions he will consider and weigh when trying to evaluate what is the proper halachic conclusion on any given issue, he quotes this litany, a list of Rishonim, but he concludes by saying ובקצת מקומות במאמרי זוהר he was familiar with, tonight, tomorrow, Lag B'Omer, רב שמעון בר יוחאי, great contribution, not according to academics, but according to our tradition, great contribution of the Zohar, and the Zohar that we don't often think of as a halachic document, the Zohar to us is the authoritative document of Jewish mysticism. Nevertheless, it plays a significant role in the development of Halacha as well. Rav Yosef Karo includes it and he incorporates it. And then we saw several places in the halachos of washing your hands, we saw it in the question of how many brachos to say on tefillin. His uncle Rav Yitzchak Karo in a teshuvah talked about what happens if there's a clash, if there's a conflict. So first we established that the Beis Yosef, that the Shulchan Aruch incorporates Kabbalah into Halacha and then we said he only does so when the Kabbalah does not explicitly contradict the conclusion of the Gemara, it doesn't contradict the conclusion of the revealed Torah, it simply adds on, expands, or complements it. But if there's a contradiction, his uncle Rav Yitzchak Karo told us then, and we talked about this in the context of Yibbum and Chalitzah, then we will set aside the Kabbalah. Kabbalah insists on Yibbum being preferable to Chalitzah. We talked about why kabbalistically Yibbum, levirate marriage, is the reincarnation. The brother deceased with no children when his surviving brother marries his wife and produces a child, that child, the Ramban quotes this kabbalistic notion, is the reincarnation and therefore Kabbalah places a preference of Yibbum over Chalitzah. However, the Halacha does not come to that conclusion and Rav Yitzchak Karo says that when Kabbalah contradicts a halachic conclusion then we stick with the revealed Torah and we do not go with the mystical or the secret, the Toras HaNistar. If Kabbalah goes against we reject. And we saw that also in the context of how many brachos you make on tefillin, the opinion of the Agur and so on. Then we talked about Kabbalah as a primary source for certain practices, whether it's the Levi'im washing the Kohanim's hands for Duchaning, which has no basis and no text, no source in the revealed Torah, only in Kabbalah. Whether it's that women not going to a cemetery, whether it's having twelve windows in a shul, but we see halachic literature incorporating Kabbalah and kabbalistic practices that are not expanding or broadening a Gemara but rather they are introducing a new one. Sometimes we reject the Kabbalah even if there's no contradiction in the Gemara and that here we talked about last time significantly, at length. We talked about how long we wait between meat and dairy, where strictly speaking, Ashkenazim at least follow the opinion of Tosafos that if you were to bentch it would be enough. We're strict to wait a whole hour and kabbalistically you should wait six hours but we don't force people to and we have different customs: one, three, into the sixth, five and a half, six fully and so on and so forth. And I left off and I shared with you the psak of Rav Belsky and others, a psak that changed, I became a hero in my wife's eyes when I told it to her about Coffee Mate and the rules of bittel. That even though Coffee Mate has dairy, more than 1/60th of measure, but if you put it in your coffee, now you have a measure of sixty against whatever dairy component there was in the Coffee Mate and even though generally we have a principle of אין מבטלין איסור לכתחילה, you cannot nullify a priori, you cannot nullify intentional, that is a law in the cheftza when the prohibition is within the object. Waiting between meat and dairy is a din, is a law not on the object, it's a din, a law in the subject, on the gavra. And therefore the gavra there is no prohibition and that's why even somebody after a fleishig meal would be allowed to use Coffee Mate in their coffee. I was asked how this would apply to someone generally makpid on Cholov Yisroel and I do not yet have an answer on that, although Cholov Yisroel again is a question of the cheftza not the gavra so you may not be able to rely on that and it might be a violation if... With the idea that Rav Yosef Karo used to have dreams and in his dreams he was visited by a maggid and the maggid would relate to him certain halakhic concepts and he recorded these conversations. It was published in the year 1646, fifty years of conversations in his dreams with this maggid who visited him and the maggid told him you're on the right path and you should publish your psak halakha and shared with him he was influenced by this mystical these mystical revelations his work unites the world of Kabbalah and Halakha though it was not authored or edited to be published. It's really his notes and collections of conversations with the maggid. Nevertheless, it's important to incorporate into this discussion. So all of that we saw previously and that was Rav Yosef Karo and now we move over to the world of the Radbaz. The Radbaz, 1479-1573, source number sixteen. And the Radbaz also has an approach and really what we're going to conclude with today is seeing different approaches to this question of the relationship. Here we're on the eve of Lag BaOmer, a holiday celebrating many things, maybe if we have time at the end we'll give a Lag BaOmer message, but among the messages of Lag BaOmer is the celebration of the mystical component. We live in a physical world and simultaneously we live in a metaphysical world and just like the physical world we live in has rules that govern the physical rule, they're called the rules of physics, so too the metaphysical world has rules and formulas that govern and that's called Kabbalah. It's called mysticism. It's a deeper understanding and window into the metaphysical reality which is not only no less real than the physical reality, in some ways it's even more real and more lasting. The physical reality is an illusion, the metaphysical reality is eternal. So the Radbaz deals with the following question on source sixteen. I'm sharing the screen so you can follow if you're listening online in the recorded version, hopefully I've posted the source sheets with it as well. If not, feel free to be in touch with me, I'll send them to you. Source sixteen, the Radbaz says the following: שאלה אם יש להניח תפילין בחול המועד. Do you wear tefillin on Chol HaMoed? If I could see you all on one screen, I would take a poll right now. How many of you wear tefillin on Chol HaMoed? Usually the breakdown goes something like this: if you're Sephardic or you daven Nusach Sephard, if you have Chasidish blood in your family, you don't wear tefillin on Chol HaMoed. If you are Ashkenazi, hardcore Ashkenazi, then a Yekke in particular, you do wear tefillin on Chol HaMoed. If you're in Eretz Yisrael following the Minhag HaGra, they're going to put you in the woman's section if you wear tefillin on Chol HaMoed or tell you to put the tefillin on at home before you come to shul. So should you wear tefillin on Chol HaMoed? And what is the question? This is a big discussion, not for now. Essentially the question comes down to: is Chol HaMoed more chol or more moed? It the in-between intermediate days of the holiday between the first days and last days of Sukkot, between the first days and last days of Pesach. Are those days of Chol HaMoed in which there is an issur melacha, we definitely have a prohibition of doing melacha, however we drive, we turn on the lights, we have certain melacha that is forbidden and certain melacha that is permitted. So there is the notion of an issur melacha, but it is a much more liberal definition than it is on Yom Tov or Shabbos proper. So on the one hand there's an issur melacha, on the other hand we're more lenient with areas of halakha. It's a Yom Tov, not a Yom Tov. It's a quasi-Yom Tov. So is it more chol or is it more moed? How do you know its status? Does Chol HaMoed have the status of an os? We don't wear tefillin on Shabbos or Yom Tov why? Because you need two witnesses to testify. Men walk around with one permanent witness called our bris. Osi, it's called a bris. Shabbos, Yom Tov are called an os. So when we have a combination of our bris and Shabbos or Yom Tov, we have the two witnesses to testify to our relationship with Hashem, we don't wear tefillin. Even though there is an opinion that Shabbos is zman tefillin too, those learning the Daf Yomi saw that last week. The question of wearing or carrying tefillin. There is one opinion that Shabbos is zman tefillin too, we don't pasken like that. Shabbos is lav zman tefillin why? Because we have a bris and Shabbos or Yom Tov itself has the status of an os. The question is: is Chol HaMoed considered an os? Is Chol HaMoed considered enough of an os? Whatever level of issur melacha is that prohibition de'oraisa, is it derabbanan, biblical or rabbinic, what is its status? So many, many, many deal with this question and the Radbaz deals with it: אם יש להניח תפילין בחול המועד כי ראיתי בזה כל הפוסקים משני הסעיפים לפי שהרא\"ש כתב בתשובה שחייב להניח וכתב גדולה מזו שאותה תשובה מותר לכתוב בחול המועד משום דבר האבד. The Rosh, Rabbeinu Asher, himself a fascinating personality who begins in in France and migrates due to persecution to Spain and because he's one of the few today it's a global world today the tshuvos being written in in Eretz Yisrael have made their way to America and made their way to South America and South Africa and Australia and intercontinental and above and below the equator it's a global world and we share halakha. In those days of the Rishonim, the medieval times, it was not a global world. There was no email and there wasn't even mail. So the ability to know what were the halachic practices and how they developed, the Rosh becomes an incredibly important personality because he's part of, he's an authority of the development of halacha, first in France, Germany, in Ashkenaz, and then in Spain, in Sfarad. And he becomes an authority within each of those, within each of those communities. So here he's asked, the Rosh, should you wear tefillin on Chol HaMoed? And he addresses it. And now when the Radvaz is quoting the tshuva of the Rosh in addressing it, someone just said something in a chat, I have to figure out where that chat went. Just learning how to operate this. Sorry. Chat. Can't see me? You can't see me? My camera's on. Somehow scroll in your participants, you should be able to see me among them somehow. Or make it speaker view and then you'll be able to see me. So the Radvaz quotes this Rosh and not only does he quote the Rosh's conclusion, which is that you're obligated to wear tefillin, he also, the Rosh, ends up defending himself and saying it was permissible to write that tshuva on Chol HaMoed because it's a davar ha'aved. Right? Chol HaMoed has certain rules which are permissible, certain rules which are not. Writing is one of those melachos that you're only allowed to engage in writing if it's the writing of a davar ha'aved, which otherwise stands to be lost. So he says writing this tshuva is... am I still frozen? This Comcast internet connection challenge that's going on, I know in our neighborhood. Do you hear me? Give me a thumbs up someone. Can you hear me? Okay, we're back. Thank you, I'm not sure what happened. So the Rosh not only defends his conclusion, which is to wear tefillin on Chol HaMoed, but he defends the conclusion of writing his tshuva: ומקצת יראים לעצמם לפי שנמצא כתוב בספרי הקבלה שהמניח תפילין בחול המועד נענש ואנחנו לא נדע מה נעשה. So in this question, the Radvaz is being asked the following. The Rosh says to wear tefillin. However, there are others who say that al pi kabbala, kabbalistically, if you wear tefillin, it's a danger, it is a risk. So they're asking the Radvaz what should we do? Wear tefillin or not wear tefillin? That was the question posed to the Radvaz. So the Radvaz gives the following answer: שב ואל תעשה אני שונה כאן כי ראיתי חכמי האמת מרחיקין זה מאוד. If it's a question: wear tefillin and be taking a metaphysical risk kabbalistically or don't wear tefillin and be taking a halachic risk - you're supposed to - shev v'al ta'aseh. Take the passive route. Better to be violating something potentially passively than to be actively violating. שוב מצאתי שנסתייע הרא\"ש מזה ושמחתי מאד על תשובתו דעתי אני שגם הוא אות שהרי חולו של מועד אסור בכל מלאכה שאינה מלאכת האבד ומלאכה זו דאורייתא דכולהו תנאי מייתו לה מקרא בחגיגה. The Gemara Chagiga derives from psukim, from verses, that the prohibition of doing melacha on Chol HaMoed is in fact d'oraisa. And yes, there are exceptions to the issur melacha, yes, there's a different definition of the issur melacha than there is Shabbos Yom Tov. But the principle of a prohibition of doing melacha... sorry, on Chol HaMoed is also d'oraisa other than the exceptional cases. And therefore, Chol HaMoed is also an os, and if it's an os, you should not be wearing tefillin. וכן בשלהי משקה במשיקה פרק קמא דעבודה זרה וכן דעת רבותינו בעלי התוספות וכן דעת הראב\"ד אף על פי שהתיר לכתוב אותם לעצמו בחולו של מועד וכן אנו נוהגים. Even though the Ra'avad allowed someone to write tefillin on Chol HaMoed - why do you need to write them if you're not going to wear them, if they're ineligible to wear Chol HaMoed because it's an os, then it shouldn't be eligible to write - nevertheless, he allowed you to write but said you don't wear. למדת ממנו דלמי שסובר שהמלאכה בחולו של מועד אינו אלא מדברי סופרים כמו שכתב הרמב\"ם אם כן חולו של מועד אינו אות וצריך להניח כדי שיהיה לו אות וכיוון שיש פלוגתא דברי הקבלה יכריעו ועתה אל תניח. So he says since it's a debate in the Torah she-nigleh, in the Gemara among the Rishonim, there is no absolute conclusion, it is subject to debate whether to wear tefillin on Chol HaMoed, keivan she-iplugta, because it's a machlokes, divrei kabbala yachrichu. So for our purposes, which is the intersection of Kabbala and Halacha, here the Radvaz says, when the Halacha is inconclusive, when the revealed Halacha is inconclusive, Kabbala can come in and play a role and weigh in. And Kabbala here says don't wear. So since the Halacha is inconclusive, Kabbala can weigh in and say don't wear tefillin. He has a further tshuva. שאלה מה שסמכו להניח תפילין בבית ואחר כך באו לבית הכנסת. So what's the idea of putting on tefillin at home and coming to shul with your tefillin on? You've probably seen in neighborhoods where people don't rely on the eruv, they'll put the tallis on Shabbos and walk to and from shul in their tallis. Is that great? Is it a great statement? Does it increase kiddush... kiddush Hashem, chillul Hashem, is it a great idea? You'll often see a man wearing his tallis because he doesn't hold of the eruv while his wife pushes a triple stroller uphill both directions. Okay, let's leave that question out for now. But he wants to know, not on Shabbos, the idea of wearing tefillin at home and then coming to shul with them. וכי תימא שהטעם הוא שלא ללכת ארבע אמות בלא תפילין, maybe the reason is because you shouldn't go four amos without tefillin. And let me pause for a moment to tell you something that I haven't shared publicly and it's not my insight I'm sure everybody's noticed it but it's worth it's worth articulating. You don't find it extraordinary that all the health guidelines and precautions are telling us that the definition of personal space in order to be safe you're supposed to stay how far away from another? Six feet. You don't find that extraordinary that the the health guideline in 2020 of the distance you should keep from another, the definition of personal space is six feet, which is exactly the measurement of daled amos. When we talk about personal space in halacha, 2,000 years ago, the Gemara and even earlier, the definition of personal space in halacha was daled amos, six feet. An amah is a foot and a half, six feet. So maybe you'll say you're not supposed to go six feet without tefillin. והרי אנו אין נזהרין בזה לפי שאנו בין האומות וגם התפילין צריכין גוף נקי והלואי שלא נסיח דעתנו מהם בשעת התפילה, says the Radbaz, we live among gentiles. I have a nephew in Israel who learns in a yeshiva and the Zilberman system that talmidei HaGra, they're strict, they wear tefillin all day long. They learn in the tefillin, they wear tefillin, they eat in tefillin, they drive their car in tefillin all day long. If you live in Eretz Yisrael, then among the Jewish people, even there maybe everyone won't be familiar with what you're doing and why you're doing it, but arguably you can wear your tefillin. But says the Radbaz, we who live among the gentiles of the world where it will not be appreciated, it will attract the wrong kind of attention, we don't wear tefillin all day long. Moreover, we're not as confident that we can maintain the level of vigilance and stringency to be doing only the kind of things we're allowed to do with tefillin on and therefore we minimize and we limit our wearing of tefillin to the minimum which is while we are davening. So therefore that can't be the reason. So can you put the tefillin on at home and walk to shul in tefillin? My nephew in Israel not only walks to shul in tefillin, he drives his car in tefillin, he lives his life in tefillin, he eats in the chadar ochel in tefillin. That's the nature of that school in Israel. But outside of Israel we don't do it. So is it appropriate to put the tefillin on at home and walk to shul in tefillin? Azoy, this was the question that was asked of the Radbaz. Follow with me, everyone have the source sheet? Can anyone still hear me? Is the internet still working? I'm enjoying learning by myself so if you can't, it's better if you can but Chacham echad, Jonathan Scharn, give me a thumbs up. Scharn you hear me? Excellent. It's in and out but it's pretty good. Okay thanks Rabbi Shaptay. חכם אחד מן האחרונים כתב בשם רשב''י לפי שצריך לומר בשעת כניסתו אשתחוה אל היכל קדשך ביראתך ואם אין תפילין בראשו היכן הוא היראה ונמצא כאילו מעיד עדות שקר על עצמו. When a person enters, someone quotes in the name of who? Of whom? רב שמעון בר יוחאי, Lag Ba'omer tonight, רב שמעון בר יוחאי, Rashbi. רב שמעון בר יוחאי says that when a person enters the shul they have to say אשתחוה אל היכל קדשך ביראתך, I bow down to the sanctuary of holiness with awe. And if you don't have tefillin on your head, where's the yirah? ונמצא כאילו מעיד עדות שקר על עצמו, you're testifying falsely on himself. ועליהם נאמר וראו כל עמי הארץ כי שם ה' נקרא עליך ויראו ממך, the pasuk says the nations of the world will see that Hashem's name is written on you and they will fear you. And that is eilu tefillin shebarosh the Gemara says. ובכל מקום שתמצא ספרי הקבלה חולקים על פסק הגמרא הלך אחר הגמרא והפוסקים ובכל מקום שאינו חולק כגון בהאי גוונא שלא נזכר בגמרא וגם הפוסקים אני ראיתי לסמוך על דברי קבלה. So this idea to walk to shul with tefillin on, to only enter with tefillin on, this idea is a kabbalistic idea. Does the Gemara address it? No, says the Radbaz. The Gemara doesn't oppose it. So as opposed to the last case tefillin on Chol HaMoed where, I'm sorry, where the Gemara does address it but is inconclusive and Kabbalah is allowed to weigh in and therefore tip the scale, here it's not that the Gemara addresses it inconclusively and Kabbalah tips the scale, the Gemara doesn't address it at all. And when the Gemara doesn't address it at all and Kabbalah fills in, we're entitled to follow the Kabbalah of the holy רב שמעון בר יוחאי. ומכל מקום צריך לכסות אותם מפני הטינופת שהרי שי''ן שבתפילין הלכה למשה מסיני היא ויש בה קדושה והיא מגולה ונראית וכל שיש אפשר לכסותה מוטב שיניח בבית הכנסת. However, even though he allows you to follow Kabbalah and go to shul with the tefillin on, one should cover the tefillin. Why? We also addressed this recently in the Daf Yomi. The shin of the tefillin is halacha l'Moshe m'Sinai. Those doing the daf, we addressed this in terms of carrying it outside that even though other leather leather... other leather, leather which is covering the kameia, there's no leather covering the shin, the shin is Halacha L'Moshe MiSinai. So since the shin is significant, the shin has shin has sanctity to it, it's inappropriate to walk outside in an area which might be, which might be dirty. So therefore you should cover it, and if you can't cover it, then you should only put your tefillin on in shul. ואע\"פ שד' והי' שברצועות אין בהם קדושה, שאני הני דהם דרך קשירה לא דרך כתיבה, אבל הש' ודאי יש בה קדושה וזה מבואר. The Radbaz says we spell the name of Hashem, Shin Dalet Yud. The shin is on our tefillin, the Dalet is in the knot, and the Yud is in the knot of the arm. The Dalet and the Yud are not explicit. They only appear through the knot which is created. Therefore they lack sanctity. But the Shin is explicit. The Shin is permanent. The Shin is embedded within the letter leather of the tefillin shel rosh. Therefore it has a kedusha and therefore you should not walk outside in an area which might not be appropriate, might be dirty, and you should only go inside with it. Okay. Source 18. We continue with the Radbaz. So again, we are addressing the different approaches of the intersection of Halacha and Kabbalah. We started with the vast approach of the Beis Yosef, Rav Yosef Karo, and now we've been addressing how the Radbaz deals with this same question. We saw the one where the Gemara has opinions but is inconclusive, Kabbalah can tip the scale. Now we saw where Gemara has nothing to say, Kabbalah introduces a concept and he incorporates Kabbalah. And now let's keep going. Source 18. שאלה על מה שסמכו העולם לחלוץ התפילין בתפילת מוסף Rosh Chodesh. Ooh-ah. Taking your tefillin off for Musaf of Rosh Chodesh. And here too we have divergent practices. When I grew up, universally all I ever saw was when do you take your tefillin off on Rosh Chodesh? You say Kaddish, then tefillin off, then the chazan gives a klap, and then you begin your silent Shemoneh Esrei. However, as I grew up and I learned, Rav Schechter quotes Rav Soloveitchik, who says when do you take your tefillin off? Before the Kaddish, and that in fact is the minhag in our shul. And I'll tell you why it is so incredibly compelling. Have you ever been to a shul? Halevai we should reopen soon. Halevai we should reinstitute drashas soon. That I feel, I'm not sure everyone else feels that way. The first part everyone agrees to, the second part only rabbis agree to. Halevai we'll be giving drashas again soon. So, have you ever seen? There's a Kaddish before Musaf on Shabbos too. When does the rabbi give the drasha? Do you say Kaddish, then the rabbi gives the drasha, then you give a klap and everyone starts Musaf? Or does the rabbi give the drasha and then the end of the drasha, בית המקדש שיבנה במהרה בימינו אמן, Kaddish? And then the chazan begins Kaddish. So of course, the drasha is always given not after but before. And the same argument, Rav Soloveitchik said that half Kaddish is introducing the Shemoneh Esrei, so you take your tefillin off not after the Kaddish but before. But this was the question that was posed to the Radbaz. The Radbaz says: דבר זה לא נמצא בגמרא ולא בפוסקים הנמצאים אצלנו ונמצא בספר הקנה המצוות ועליו סמכו ונהגו כולם לחלוץ התפילין. He's not talking about when, he's talking about why. Why do we take the tefillin off altogether? You're wearing tefillin for Shacharis, you're wearing the tefillin for Hallel, you're wearing the tefillin for the Kriyas HaTorah, and yet then we take the tefillin off when we come to the, when we come to Musaf. Why do we take the tefillin off when we come to Musaf? So he says the following: אע\"פ שאינם יודעים טעמו של דבר, כיון שראו לקצת העוסקים בספרי קבלה שחולצים אותם, גם הם עושים כן, מצות אנשים מלומדה כהלכתא בלא טעמא. Since we find those who are familiar and aware in Kabbalah that there's a kabbalistic reason to take your tefillin off for Musaf on Rosh Chodesh, it became incorporated and embedded into practice, and now Mitzvas Anashim Melumada, everybody does it. אבל הוא ז\"ל נתן טעם עיוני מספרו. But he gives a reason not just kabbalistically, look in his source. כי אין אדם רשאי לכותבו בתשובת שאלה הנסתלקת ממקום למקום, וגם אני נוהג לחלוץ אחר שראיתי הספר ועמדתי על הדבר. Says the Radbaz, I too began the custom of taking off my tefillin for Musaf on Rosh Chodesh. לפי שיש בידי כלל גדול בכל דבר שנכתב בגמרא באחד מן הפוסקים בעלי הלכות, אע\"פ שיהיה הפך ממנו שכתב בספר הקבלה, אני מודה בו ולא אחוש למה שכתב באחד מאותם הספרים. ולעצמי אם חומרא אני נוהג אותה, ואם קולא לא אחוש לה, וטעמו של דבר לא ראיתי לכתבו פה. He says it's my personal practice. It's permissible to remove the tefillin before Musaf. It doesn't contradict the Gemara. Since it's based entirely on Kabbalah, I can't force or coerce others, but it's my personal practice that it doesn't say in the Gemara one way or another. This is something exclusively introduced by Kabbalah and therefore I take it upon myself, I'm compelled by the reason. ואם תאמר הרי מנהג זה הפך הגמרא שיהיה דין תפילין כל היום? How can you say it doesn't appear in the Gemara whether to take the tefillin off? It does. The assumption of the Gemara is, like my nephew, you wear tefillin all day long. long unless indicated otherwise. Since it doesn't indicate that Mussaf of Rosh Chodesh is an otherwise, you should wear tefillin all day long including on Rosh Chodesh. And therefore perhaps the minhag of taking your tefillin off for Mussaf is in fact in direct contradiction and violation of the practice of wearing tefillin all day long. Says no, lo kashya, שמי נוהגים כך שפיר קאמרת. For my nephew, it's a gutte kashe. Why is Michael taking his tefillin off for Mussaf on Rosh Chodesh? אבל כיון שאין צריכין גוף נקי לסיבה קלה אנו חולצין אותם. But we who only wear our tefillin for davenning and we take it off the majority of the day, therefore our taking it off for Mussaf on Rosh Chodesh is not in contradiction of a Gemarrah or a practice. So, his conclusion is that since the Gemarrah's not explicit to wear the tefillin all day long and kabbalistically there's a reason to take it off, he says that's enough for him to follow that practice but not enough for him to impose that practice on others. But it's skipped to the end he says what Rabbi Brand or Rebbe Moshe Brand put in our chat which is עוד תפילין נקראות כתר. Let's back up a little bit because he does give a reason. He says אין אני מורה לאדם לחלוץ ושלא לחלוץ אשר אעשה קצת טעם לפי הפשט כיון דבמוסף אומרי ראש חודש דיום טוב שנקרא אות ראוי לעשות להכר זה. Rosh chodesh like chol hamoed is a quasi holiday. Women have the minhag of not doing melacha. Not all melacha like the lamed tes melachos but doing certain melachos. Rosh chodesh after all we're saying Mussaf, there was a korban Mussaf. We say half Hallel which is a minhag but there is a Hallel. So Rosh Chodesh is a quasi yom tov. Since yom tov is called an os, to show that Rosh Chodesh is a quasi os, we leave our tefillin on for Shacharis which is the weekday, but Mussaf which is special for Rosh Chodesh, it is a quasi yom tov, it is a quasi os, we take our tefillin off for it. That is the first reason suggested by the Radvaz. ועוד שהתפילין נקראות כתר. Tefillin are called the crown. והוא אומר כתר בקדושת מוסף. And this fits with Nusach Sfarad and Sfardim who say Keter. Ashkenazim don't know what I'm talking about. You're either giving me a blank look or your screens are frozen or some and some. But Ashkenazim we don't know, Sfardim say Keter in Mussaf. Since Tefillin are called Keter and Mussaf we say Keter ואין ראוי שיהיה שני כתרים ביחד, a king, no two crowns can rule at the same time. אפילו ביחיד שאין שם קדושה כיון שהוא זמן הראוי לכתר ראוי שלא יהיה על ראשו תפילין ואני לעניות דעתי כתבתי and he says this is my opinion. We say Keter in the Kedusha of Mussaf and therefore Tefillin which are called Keter and the Tefillin of Mussaf which have Keter in the Kedusha don't rule with two crowns and maybe that's the source of taking off the Tefillin for Mussaf. So here we see another example and this has been a fascinating journey these three weeks as we learn the subject. We've seen so many different areas of Halacha and we've seen some of the reasons for the practices that we know today but didn't necessarily appreciate that were steeped or based in Kabbalah. So we've seen what happens when Kabbalah contradicts Gemarrah, what happens when Kabbalah complements an inconclusive Gemarrah, what happens when Kabbalah says something where Gemarrah says nothing. And that is the opinion of the Radvaz. We saw it first Rav Yosef Karo and then we moved over to the Radvaz and now we move over to the Magen Avraham. Source 19. The Magen Avraham also was frequent to quote Kabbalah and Kabbalistic literature. Magen Avraham is Rav Avraham Gombiner who lives in the 17th century 1635 to 1682, way too short. Number 19. Says the following: המקובלים האריכו בעניין תפילת חצות וברקנטי פרשת בראשית כתב וזה לשונו ויש אומרים זמן בקשת רחמים מסוף הלילה. There's a practice of waking up in the middle of the night. Chatzos. Not chatzos midnight our midnight but Halachic midnight that fluctuates whenever that occurs. Halachic midnight. Semichas Chaver we're going to start learning about the definition of time because we're going to talk about when Shabbos begins and Rabbeinu Tam when it ends. So if you want join Semichas Chaver we're close to a hundred people last night for our opening session. So chatzos is hazman bakashas rachamim towards the end of the night. ואני אכריע כי בחצות ראוי לבקש רחמים על כנסת ישראל ועל בניה. Chatzos is an auspicious time to ask Hashem to show mercy on the Jewish people. ובסוף הלילה יבקש צרכו ובקשה צריכה להיות בתפילת הפנאי ונפילת אפיים ועיין בסימן קל\"א וגמרא דילן and so on. So what do we see the Magen Avraham quoting here? Kabbalah. We don't find Tikkun Chatzos in the Gemarrah. Yes, the Gemarrah Brachos does talk about David's harp and kachatzos laila. That's the Gemarrah at the beginning of Brachos. But it doesn't incorporate it into a Halachic practice for us to observe and yet here Rav the Magen Avraham Rav Avraham Gombiner quotes based on a Zohar a Rakanti in Bereishis a concept of chatzos. Source 20. Magen Avraham also in the laws of Tzitzis. He says that you know when you say when you take the tzitzis in your hand when you say the third paragraph of Shma we don't hold it in a normal way of holding strings. Where do we put it? Bein kamitza lezeres. We put it between our pinky and the finger next to the pinky. Based on the Gemarrah based on ספר ברכות דרבי מיכל מפרשתא כשהגיע לפרשת ציצית יקחם גבי. yad yamin, you put it in your right hand, ve-yabit ba-hem, you look at them, ויהיו בידו עד שיגיע לנאמן ונחמד לעד. We hold them through the beginning of Emes Veyatziv. ve-az yenashik ha-tzitzis and then you kiss them, ve-asirom mi-yado and you take them out of your hand and where does the Magen Avraham get this from? So I would argue probably everybody on this group knows that how do you hold the tzitzis during Shema in your right hand, the pinky and the finger next to it, and you let it hang. You hold on to it, some have the custom to look at it, you rub it against your eyes during urisem oso and you kiss it when you get to ne-eman ve-nechmad la-ad, at la-ad you kiss them and then you let go. Where does this come from? It comes from Kisvei Ha-Ari, the Pri Etz Chaim, Shaar Krias Shema, Perek Tes. So the Magen Avraham is incorporating into normative halakha and normative practice something that I think most of us probably do on a regular basis, something whose basis is entirely in Kabbalah. Again, we see the influence of mysticism in halakhic practice. This is not based on a Gemara, it's not based on nigleh, it's based on nister. How to hold the tzitzis and how to kiss the tzitzis in our recitation of Shema. Parenthetically the Gra holds, this is the Brisker minhag not to kiss the tzitzis during the third paragraph of Shema, when we say the word tzitzis. Why? They held it's a hefsek. You shouldn't kiss the tzitzis during the actual Vayomer. You hold the tzitzis so as not to interrupt and make a hefsek in the recitation of the three paragraphs of Shema, and you only kiss them when you get to Veyatziv Venachon Vekayam and so on, and you get to ne-eman ve-nechmad la-ad, kiss them, let go. So where you hold them, when you kiss them, when you let go, the Magen Avraham quoting from the Kisvei Ha-Ari, a second example of the Magen Avraham drawing from Kabbalah to incorporate into normative halakhic practice. Example number three, the Magen Avraham in אורח חיים סימן מא, Source 21. He says, קודם בואו לבית הכנסת יאמר Va'ani Berov Chasdecha ובכניסתו יאמר בבית אלקים נהלך ברגש. קודם תפילת שחרית יקבל על עצמו מצות עשה של ve-ahavta le-re'acha kamocha. This is very popular for rabbis to quote and incorporate, unfortunately less popular to actually do, but something important to all of us. We read a couple weeks ago in Parshas Kedoshim, we have a mitzvah of ve-ahavta le-re'acha kamocha, to love our neighbors as ourselves. The Arizal says that before a Jew walks into shul, before a Jew begins Shacharis in the morning, he should say, הריני מקבל על עצמי, the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch quotes this too, הריני מקבל על עצמי, I hereby accept upon myself the mitzvah of ve-ahavta le-re'acha kamocha. Before I can talk to You, God, I pledge to love Your children. If somebody wants a favor from me, they would do well to first do a favor for each of my children and then come to me and ask for the favor they need from me. I'm much more predisposed, I'm much more likely to want to do something kind for someone who is committed to love and get along with my children. So the Arizal says, before we begin our davening, before we turn to Hashem and ask Him for all that we need, we first pledge to fulfill the mitzvah of ve-ahavta le-re'acha kamocha. Kitzur Shulchan Aruch quotes it, Rav Ganzfried, and here the Magen Avraham quotes it. A third example of the Magen Avraham quoting kabbalistic literature, here the Arizal, once the Zohar, twice the Arizal, into mainstream or what he hopes will become and be mainstream halakhic practice. Okay, we move over to the Mishnah Berurah. Mishnah Berurah also has this practice. Mishnah Berurah says, עיין מגן אברהם שרוצה להכריע דהנחת היד תהיה מיושב הברכה תהיה בעמידה. You remember we talked about last time and two times ago the debate, do you make one beracha on tefillin or two? This will be our next subject. We're going to look at a beautiful piece by Rabbi Soloveitchik together to further explore this question of tefillin. So do you make one beracha or two? Are the arm tefillin and the head tefillin two separate mitzvos or are they two components of one mitzvah? We began to discuss that very question. So here the Mishnah Berurah weighs in as well. And he quotes the Magen Avraham who says, הנחת היד תהיה מיושב, when you put on the arm tefillin it's sitting, and when you put on the head tefillin the beracha it's standing. אבל באליהו רבה בשם רש\"ל דמי לנו גדול מהרש\"ל אחר שלמד קבלה מתפלל כתינוק בן יומו דמי שלא יכול להשיג סוד על נכון יבוא לקצץ בנטיעות על כן הברכה והנחה בעמידה. Quotes based on kabbalistically that both the beracha and the placing of the tefillin should both be done while standing. ובביאור הגר\"א הוכיח דגם לפי הזוהר מותר להניח התפילה של יד בעמידה על כן אין לזוז מהמנהג. The Gra too says that you should put the tefillin on while standing and not to deviate from the practice. כתב הכנסת הגדולה וכל הפוסקים כל דבר שבעלי הקבלה והזוהר חולקים על הגמרא והפוסקים הלך אחר הגמרא והפוסקים מיהו אם בעלי קבלה מחמירים יש להחמיר גם כן. So here the very Mishnah Berurah, the Chafetz Chaim, a more contemporary relatively speaking authority, also quotes the Knesses ha-Gedolah who says that even when Kabbalah is strict on mainstream halakha, one should and this is part of the strategy or this is part of the view of the Chafetz Chaim in general. The Mishna Berura in general is one should be strict like Kabbala even when it's more strict than the Halachic conclusion. ואם לא הוזכר בגמרא ובפוסקים אף על פי שנזכר בקבלה אין אנו יכולים לכוף לנהוג כן. But if it doesn't appear in the Gemara at all and it's only introduced by Kabbala then you don't have to be strict with it. So if there is a Gemara concept where the Gemara allows us in its conclusion to be lenient but Kabbala says to be strict then the Chofetz Chaim the Mishna Berura quoting the Knesses HaGedolah says it's worth being strict. But if the Gemara does not have a conclusion and Kabbala says be strict then you do not need to be strict. בדין שאין מוזכר בהיפך בש\"ס ופוסקים יש להלוך אחר דברי קבלה וגם מקום שיש פלוגתא בין הפוסקים דברי קבלה יכריעו. Okay. So that is the Mishna Berura. We then move over to the Chacham Tzvi source 23. The Chacham Tzvi the Chacham Tzvi Rabbi Yaakov Emden talks about two concepts in Kabbala. We're going to be pressed with time so I'll tell it to you outside because I really want to conclude this third part today. He talks about what direction the bed should face. Should the bed face east-south or should the bed face northwest? So in his teshuva what happened is there was an amulet which was written by Rabbi Yonatan Eybeschutz and Rabbi Yaakov Emden we all know the Rabbi Yonatan Eybeschutz Rabbi Yaakov Emden controversy, the suspicion that Rabbi Yaakov Emden had of Rabbi Yonatan Eybeschutz that in fact he was a follower of Shabbetai Tzvi. So the Gemara Berachos says the bed should be placed between north and south and the Rambam the Shulchan Aruch understand this to mean the head of the bed should face north and the foot should face south. However the Kabbalists say that the bed should lie from east to west. So what is the definition of north and south and how should how should it face? So the the Chacham Tzvi used to follow the Kabbalists in the matter of placing the bed and he himself rules that in a conflict between Kabbala and Halacha you should follow Halacha not Kabbala. So why was he following it? So Rabbi Yaakov Emden replied he writes this teshuva from Amsterdam and it is in the year 1728 and he explains the reason for the preference of Shulchan Aruch. Why do we find the explicit Halacha over the Kabbala? He was a great Kabbalist although he was critical of some some Kabbalistic conclusions or assumptions like the fact that the whole Zohar was written by Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and he was against certain of the Kabbala that was embraced by Sabbateans those followers of Shabbetai Tzvi. He declares however אלו ואלו דברי אלוהים חיים but he says we follow the Halacha over the Kabbala and he adds where the Gemara disagrees with Kabbala it's not because the Gemara rejects the mystical reasons but because the Gemara had its own mystical reasons that it thinks outweighs the mystical reasons of the of the Kabbala. So it's it's fascinating. Again we don't have time to go through it in in depth. But here the the Chacham Tzvi Rabbi Yaakov Emden goes through. Let's just read where I put the arrow. צריך אני להודיע לשואלי אף אם היו דברי הזהר היפך מהפוסקים לא היה לנו להניח דברי הפוסקים בשביל דברים האמורים בסתרי תורה כי אין לנו בדינים המפורשים עסק בנסתרות ובלתי במקום שיש מחלוקת בין הפוסקים אז נכון לסמוך על הכרעת הזוהר and so on. So he too has a very similar conclusion which is Kabbala can complement Halacha but it should not replace or overrule the conclusion of our Halacha. Here you have Rabbi Yaakov Emden again a Sheilos Ya'avetz source 24 also dealing with a question of coming late to shul. Question of coming late to shul. Halevai we had to deal with this question right now. A question of coming late to shul. The Masaas Binyamin Rabbi Binyamin Solnik source 25 16th century also deals with a question of the intersection of Halacha and Kabbala. הדרך השני לילך אחר רוב מנין ובנין הרי לפניך ספר זוהר שהוא שקול יותר מכל מחברים שאחרי חתימת התלמוד that the that the Zohar is the most authoritative work after the close of the Talmud. ואם יהיו כל המחברים בכף מאזנים אחת וספר זוהר לבדו יעלה בכף שנייה מכריע את כולם והרי הוא עדיף מרוב מנין ובנין כמו שכתב בית יוסף דאזלינן בתר דעת הזוהר נגד שאר מחברים. Yeah just to clarify I'm sorry. Rabbi Yaakov the Chacham Tzvi Rabbi Tzvi Ashkenazi was the father of Rabbi Yaakov Emden. So first we had the Chacham Tzvi Rabbi Tzvi Ashkenazi as you see in the source source sheets and then Rabbi Yaakov Emden is the Sheilos Ya'avetz in source 24. So here too we have the strength of the Zohar. He writes we follow the Zohar always. Even when it contradicts he thinks it is the most compelling and the Zohar is the most authoritative and we follow the Zohar. The Chasam Sofer also weighs in in source 26 about the role of the intersection of Kabbala and Halacha and the impact. The Maharshal source 27 you have these source sheets. Again we're going to run out of time but I encourage you to look at them on your own. Maharshal also. האמת יורה דרכו ומי שלא ידע להשיג סוד על נכון בקל יבוא לקצץ בנטיעות. If a person doesn't know how to incorporate or interpret Kabbala accurately and well they're going to end up distorting. distorting and corrupting halakha, person has to be extremely careful. Rav Ovadia also deals with this. Rav Ovadia in Yabia Omer chelek vav source 29 writes, quotes from the Chida, שאף שקיבלנו הוראות מרן שפסק שאין לברך הנותן ליעף כח קים לן שאילו ראה מרן דעת קודש הארי גם הוא יודה שיש לברך. You know the Beis Yosef paskens that that last berakha hanosein laya-eif koach is not to be said. However, the Arizal does introduce it. Should you say it or not say it? Where does it appear, what does it not appear? So Rav Ovadia has a somewhat radical approach and he said, had the Shulchan Aruch, had the Beis Yosef, quotes the Chida, had the Beis Yosef seen that the Arizal does endorse hanosein laya-eif koach, he would have said it as well. וכן פשט המנהג בגלילותינו ומה שכנסת הגדולה שם חזר בו בסוף ימיו וכן ראוי לנהוג and so on. So Rav Ovadia also incorporates the Arizal's position even into the halakhic conclusion. The Aruch HaShulchan also weighs in. The last opinion we'll see here: שיש בענייני תפילין וכן בשאר מצוות מה שעושים על פי חכמת הקבלה. When it comes to tefillin in particular, we have things which we only have based on Kabbalah. וכתבו הפוסקים כלל זה דכשהגמרא והפוסקים מחולקים על הזוהר הלכה אחר הגמרא והפוסקים ואם הזוהר מחמיר יכול מי שירצה להחמיר כזוהר ובדבר שלא נזכר בגמרא וודאי ראוי לעשות כדברי הזוהר אמנם אין כופים על זה. So the Aruch HaShulchan also paskens the halakha. In a contradiction, we follow the revealed Torah. In no contradiction where Kabbalah adds on, it's appropriate or correct to be stricter as well. So tonight is Lag Ba'Omer, we celebrate Shimon bar Yochai and the Jewish mysticism and no matter how great of a rationalist or intellectual you think you are, no matter how much of a Maimonidean you think you are, what we've shown over these three sessions, I'm sorry that we rushed here at the end, it's worth looking at these sources inside, what we showed is that Kabbalah is incorporated into mainstream halakha as well. Even the person who thinks they just follow normative halakha, Kabbalah has something to say here as well. What are we celebrating tonight? I'll just end thirty seconds if you'll indulge me more. So we know that Lag Ba'Omer on the one hand is Shimon bar Yochai and Meron. Rabbi Moskowitz give me ten more seconds, I apologize. Lag Ba'Omer is Meron. It's also the yahrzeit of the Rama. So when we talk about learning the intersect of Kabbalah and halakha, you have Shimon bar Yochai, his Zohar, Kabbalah, and you have the Rama, בני ישראל יוצאים ביד רמה, Ashkenazi Jewry, whom defer to the authority of the Rama. His yahrzeit is tonight and tomorrow. And most notably as we celebrate tonight and tomorrow, not usually as we do together, but separately, with bonfires and music and celebration and haircuts and shaving, is what are we celebrating? The end of a plague? Since when do you celebrate the end of people dying? When when they were liberated from the concentration camps, they didn't make fireworks and a bonfire and a barbecue and a party and live music. So what kind of celebration is that? So the answer is, we're not celebrating the end of what was, we're celebrating Rabbi Akiva's tenacity and resilience, that he gathered together new students and started all over again. This Lag Ba'Omer is a celebration that the Jewish people, we are resilient and tenacious and we fight through and endure. And this is a very powerful message particularly for this year, that when we will come out of this, we not only recover, we become better than ever. Rabbi Akiva started that message for us and we take it from there. That's what Lag Ba'Omer is all about. Thank you for joining me, wishing everyone wonderful learning. Everyone is encouraged to stay on with the beautiful shiur of the Heiliger one and only, Rabbi Gavriel Pinchas Moskowitz.
