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In the worst civil unrest within the Green Line since 1948,
there were clashes all over the country including Israeli Arabs
and residents of the occupied territories beginning just before Rosh
Hashana. There were various reports
of cease fires, but so far none has held. The violence may be over later rather
than sooner. On erev Rosh Hashonoh, many shmitta observant
farmers adopted the custom whereby they declare that they are
mafkir their fields, lands and produce. The
declaration, done at the suggestion of the Nationwide Center
for Shmitta Observing Farmers, is one that is made although
the hefker situation is afkaata deMalka meaning
that it comes from Above and takes effect even when no
explicit statement has been made on the part of the
farmer. The following statement was issued by the Moetzes Gedolei
Torah of the Agudath Israel of America: Everyone knows Lev L'Achim is leaving no stone unturned in
its efforts to enroll children in religious schools. But when
residents of Yerushalayim's secular Kiryat Hayovel
neighborhood heard that local workers had approached Ahmad
Jabr to register his children in a Jewish school, they
thought the organization may have gone just a bit too far.
Poskim Call for Careful Driving Poskim and morei halocho have issued a call to
drivers not to exceed the speed limit and to slow down in
residential areas. The call was issued as part of an
government-sponsored campaign against reckless driving. A Crowded Country Population density in Israel is among the highest in the
world, having reached an average of 278 people per square
kilometer in 1999 according to the new Statistical Yearbook
of Israel of the Central Bureau of Statistics. People of Oriental Descent Susceptible to Mutation Causing
Skin Cancer According to a new Israeli study, many non-Ashkenazi Jews
carry a mutation exposing its bearers to a hereditary risk of
contracting melanoma, one of the most fatal types of skin
cancer. The mutation is found in up to 50 percent of the
families with histories of melanoma.
1000 Students Enrolled in Schools in Tel
Tzion The schools of the Grosswardein Institutions of the
new Tel Tzion neighborhood in Jerusalem's north
have opened their doors in time for the Elul
zman and the school year. Gedolei Yisroel Send Blessings to Chanukas Habayis of
Yated Ne'eman's New Building Yated Ne'eman's new Bnei Brak building was dedicated
at a festive event on 24 Elul in the presence of rabbonim of
the Yated Vaada Ruchanis, the editors and employees.
At a modest but stirring ceremony, mezuzas were
affixed to the main entrance and on doors to the rooms of the
spacious building. Blessings sent by maranan verabonon
the gedolei Yisroel, in honor of the occasion, were
read.
One of the main thrusts of the modern effort is to tame
nature, to bring it under control and to make everything
predictable. We can light the night, warm the winter and cool
the summer. We can hedge and insure against financial risks.
We can even discover higher order in seemingly random events
through statistics. We can build ourselves homes that can
withstand shocks and quakes. My grandmother's eyes are aqua-speckled ponds of gentle
calmness. And when she smiles, her eyes become two happy
smiles themselves in her finely etched face. She's slowed
down by arthritis and she's lost part of her hearing, but her
eyes... How I love those eyes! Their altering color flickers
with wisdom, experience and patience. The Laws of Shevi'is "For He Will Shelter Me in His Succah"
Hoshana Rabba falls on Friday, 21 Tishrei (Oct. 20).
At Shacharis we add the pesukei dezimrah of Shabbos
except for nishmas, all of the hoashana
prayers, and afterwards we beat the hoshanos on the
floor.
In Eretz Yisroel, Shmini Atzeres and Simchas
Torah fall on Shabbos, 22 Tishrei (Oct. 21). In Chutz
Le'aretz, Shmini Atzeres falls on Shabbos, and
Simchas Torah falls on Sunday, 23 Tishrei (Oct.
22).
Yizkor is said on Shmini Atzeres.
In Shemoneh Esrei we add Morid HaGeshem during
Mussaf of Simchas Torah.
The Achronim write that even after Sukkos we
should not step on the sechach since it is
tashmishei mitzvah like tzitzis and a
lulav (Mishnah Berurah 638:24).
The final permitted time to eat Erev Sukkos
"A person should not eat from chatzos (noon) so that
he will be able to eat with an appetite in the Sukkah similar
to eating Matzah" (Ramo, Shulchan Oruch, Orach Chaim,
639, quoting the Maharil. Also the Chaiyeh Odom,
Mateh Ephrayim, and other commentaries were stringent
when possible concerning eating bread).
The Achronim agreed that eating is only prohibited
from the beginning of the fourth hour (sho'oh zemanis)
after noon (the sho'oh asiris) as the Shulchan
Oruch rules (471). One should study well all the detailed
dinim in that siman about what prevents a
person from eating at night with appetite since they pertain
to Erev Sukkos too.
The final time: Bnei Brak, Tel Aviv and the neighboring
cities is exactly at 2:19 P.M.; all other cities in Eretz
Yisroel are approximately the same time. This was calculated
both according to the sha'os zemaniyos from the
netz haChamah until sunset, and according to the
alos haShachar of 90 minutes before the netz
until the tzes hakochovim of 30 minutes after sunset.
One should not be lenient to calculate according to a later
tzes haKochovim since this issur is like a
dina deGemora (Birur Halocho Teliso'oh, Orach
Chaim, 639). |
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