Toronto Torah

Toronto Torah
Beit Midrash Zichron Dov

8 Nisan 5772/March 31, 2012 SPECIAL THEME: EREV PESACH Parshat Tzav / Shabbat haGadol
Vol.3 Num. 27
Of Erev Pesach and Pesach

Our ancestor Yitzchak sought to pass the blessing of his father, Avraham, to his elder son, Esav. He summoned Esav and said, in the words of a midrash (Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer 31), "My son! Tonight the upper realms sing, tonight the stores of dew are opened, today is the blessing of the dew. Prepare tasty food for me, and I will bless you while I yet live." The midrash continues to tell us that the date when Esav was to be blessed, but instead Yaakov inherited his father's mantle, was the fourteenth of Nisan, also known as Erev Pesach. Why should we associate the communication of this ancestral blessing with Erev Pesach? This midrash explains that Yitzchak's menu betrays the secret; why else would this elderly patriarch have been interested in a meal of two goats? He must have desired to anticipate the future Pesach celebration by partaking in a korban chagigah and a korban pesach. That original Erev Pesach certainly fits this description. Conferral of Avraham's heritage upon Yaakov marked the completion of Avraham and Sarah's journey, the selection of a third fibre for the triple-threaded cord which would anchor the continuity of the Jewish people. At the same time, though, a new journey began, as Yaakov was compelled to flee into exile, embarking upon the creation of the nucleus of the Jewish people, the seventy souls who would ultimately descend to Egypt. In the days of the original Pesach, too, the fourteenth of Nisan represented a critical juncture. A nation of slaves sacrificed a lamb and completed the sentence decreed centuries earlier, ending its sojourn in a land not its own. At the same instant, a nation of free women and men took its first tentative steps in the service of G-d, trailing fire and cloud into the wilderness.
Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner

"It would be illogical for you to be immersed in your work, while your korban is brought." (Talmud Yerushalmi Pesachim 4:1) "Exodus 12:11 identifies this day as 'It is a Pesach for G-d'." (Talmud Yerushalmi Pesachim 4:6) Th e fi r st e xplanation see s the fourteenth as Erev Pesach, when we sacrifice a korban which will only be eaten that night; we do not perform work because we must occupy ourselves with preparation for that night. The fourteenth is a bridesmaid, her honour acquired only by association with a journey to begin after her time is past. The second explanation, though, sees the fourteenth as Pesach, a holiday in its own right, a day of celebration, "Pesach for G-d." This date is a milestone, completing the historic path.
Certainly, we are more familiar with the Forever forward in Jewish history, as we fourteenth of Nisan as "Erev Pesach," We might amplify the midrashic note in Nirtzah, the fourteenth of Nisan but historically our sages did refer to connection by noting that Yitzchak's would be a moment of transition, the this day as "Pesach", a Yom Tov in its blessing was drawn to the fourteenth of hours of entre into "chatzi halaylah" own right. As noted by Professor Yitzchak Gilat (http://www.vbmNisan by intent, not coincidence. The beginning a new day. torah.org/vtc/0041789.html ), the midrash itself states that Yitzchak chose this date for its special portent; This completion-and-beginning character Mishnah (Pesachim 1:7) identified the building on that text, we might suggest of the fourteenth of Nisan is seen in the fourteenth of Nisan by the name that the fourteenth of Nisan, when the Talmud Yerushalmi, too, in two different "Pesach". Philo, living two thousand stores of dew are opened, is a day of explanations for the prohibition against years ago, called it "Pesach", as did fateful transition, completion of ancient labour on the fourteenth of Nisan. The Josephus in his Wars of the Jews. sages offered two different explanations journeys and incipience of new ones. This dual message is ours to claim on for this prohibition: the fourteenth of Nisan, every year. The Jew does not equate "history" with "past"; we see historic milestones in R Meir Lipschitz every birth, bat mitzvah, wedding and death, and we view our personal and Sources are provided to help the reader research answers communal drives toward spiritual Why is it significant that Hashem commanded Moshe to gather the whole achievement through lenses of portent nation to the ohel moed (tent of meeting)? (Rashi, Ramban, and Ibn Ezra to and meaning. The fourteenth of Nisan, Vayikra 8:2-4) then, is an ideal time to take stock of where we have been, to see the journey Did the kohanim really not leave the entrance of the ohel moed for a full seven of the past year as complete, and to days? (Ramban, Ibn Ezra, Chizkuni, and Netziv to Vayikra 8:32-35) celebrate a Pesach. At the same time, it Why is the term Tzav used at the beginning of the parshah, instead of the is the establishment of new goals, the more common terms Daber or Emor ? (Rashi, Ramban, Baal Haturim, start of a new journey, an Erev Pesach. Alshich, Chizkuni, Kli Yakar, Malbim, Netziv, Gur Aryeh, Shaarei Aharon, Ohr May this year's fourteenth serve as both HaChaim, and Oznaim LTorah to Vayikra 6:2, and Torat Kohanim 1:1) for all of us, ushering in greater redemption for us all. For children: Who brings a korban todah, and why? (Rashi Vayikra 7:12)
Parshah Questions
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?Why Search for Chametz

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Rabbi Baruch Weintraub
:Hitoriri Jewish Spirituality
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Chametz and the Yetzer

Hillel Horovitz
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841# :613 Mitzvot Blood is a Korban

R Mordechai Torczyner
,The Torah warns us, several times against consuming blood. This may be, like other laws of kashrut, a mitzvah without any particular lesson beyond obedience to Divine restrictions. Further, though, the Sefer haChinuch suggests that this prohibition commands respect for animal life. The Torah labels blood ,the nefesh of an entity, its life-force and so we are instructed not to .consume it We might also suggest that refraining from eating blood acknowledges the roots of the Torahs carnivore. In the wilderness, Jews were permitted to eat meat only if they brought their animal as a korban to G-d, placing the blood upon a mizbeiach (altar) to fulfill the most important ritual requirement. The blood functioned as the essential offering to G-d. Similarly, Jews in Egypt were commanded to place the blood of the first korban pesach upon the doorposts and lintel of their homes, which .served as altars for G-d The Jew who eats meat today without bringing a korban must recognize that the blood remains the sign of Divine ownership; even without a mizbeiach .(altar), we may not consume the blood [email protected]
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Biography: Rabbi Betzalel Stern

Torah in Translation
R Dovid Zirkind
HaAretz
Discarding Trash on Erev Pesach

Rabbi Betzalel Stern BTzel haChachmah 3:109 Translated by R Dovid Zirkind
This year (5734) Erev Pesach falls on Shabbat and it is impossible to remove the Chametz which remains after the Shabbat meal to the public domain to relinquish ownership (hefker) or burn it there. For many people non-Jews are not available, to whom the remaining chametz may be given. Therefore, people ask whether they may place the remaining chametz in trash cans that stand in the yards of their homes. In the guide printed by the Kashrut division of the Eidah Chareidit of Jerusalem I have read, One should be mindful that the trash cans be cleaned before Shabbat, and not used further for refuse or crumbs of potential chametz. I have seen similar pamphlets, both in Israel and America, addressing the laws of Erev Pesach which falls on a Shabbat. Nonetheless, in the unique situation of our city of Vienna the halachah is different, in my humble opinion. Here, the city of Vienna provides trash cans for all of the residents. These trash cans remain city property and the residents have no right or acquisition in them, because they are neither rented nor lent to the home and yard owners. Just the opposite - the residents lend the city space on their property for the cans, and in many of the properties there is a fence surrounding the area in which they are placed. If one of the residents would desire to move these cans from their proper place in order to use the space for something else, they would object, because the space is designated strictly for trash cans. Consequently, when one rents an apartment, granted that the courtyard adjacent to the home is also rented to him for regular use, he is not given the area designated for waste cans because that area was lent originally to the city for the trash cans. Therefore, one who rents an apartment in a non-Jew's building may dispose of his chametz in the trash cans of the courtyard without any concern, because he has no right or acquisition in the cans themselves or in the area of the courtyard where they are placed. One who places chametz in these cans has placed it in the city's receptacles in a place that is lent to the city - and was never rented to the occupants and he has removed the chametz from his domain.
Rabbi Betzalel Stern was born in 1911 to a rabbinical family living in Debrecen, Hungary. From his youth he was known as a preeminent Torah scholar, and he served in a number of communities, including Odessa, before the outbreak of the Second World War. Rabbi Stern was one of five boys, but only he and his younger brother Moshe (later the Debreciner Rov of Brooklyn, NY) survived the holocaust. In 1949 Rabbi Stern moved to Italy, where he opened a yeshiva in Rome and helped the survivors of the war rebuild their lives. In 1954 he was appointed Rabbi in Melbourne, Australia, where he established a yeshiva and a school for girls; the latter was led by his daughter. From 1968-1982 Rabbi Stern served as the rabbi of Vienna, ultimately retiring in Israel towards the end of his life. Rabbi Stern died in Jerusalem in 1989 (5749). [email protected]
Beit Pagi
Yair Manas
A mishnah (Zevachim 5:8) teaches that the Korban Pesach is in the class of kodashim kalim (offerings of lesser sanctity), and may be eaten throughout Jerusalem. What is the outer limit of Jerusalem? The Talmud (Pesachim 63b) declares that anything beyond the wall of Beit Pagi is considered to be outside of Jerusalem. Rashi (Bava Metzia 90a) explains that Beit Pagi was n ot ori gi nal ly pa r t of Jerusalem, but was subsequently added to the city. Thus, according to Rashi, Beit Pagi is considered to be part of Jerusalem. Rabbeinu Chananel (Sanhedrin 14b), in a different context, contends that Beit Pagi is actually located outside of Jerusalem. According to a suggestion by researcher Asher Grosberg (Te chumin 19:469; http:// www.daat.ac.il/daat/v-articles/ techumin19a.pdf), there were actually two places called Beit Pagi. One was located within Jerusalem, probably close to Har Habayit, and this was the Beit Pagi Rashi mentioned. Another was located outside Jerusalem, as explained by Rabbeinu Chananel. Grosberg p r ove s that Jerusalem wa s expanded during the Bayit Rishon period, as Rashi had explained. A gemara (Pesachim 91a) mentions that those who are in jail and within the bounds of Beit Pagi can participate in the korban Pesach. The Jewish Encyclopedia entry for Beit Pagi posits that Herod built a jail on the northwest corner of Har Habayit, so the Beit Pagi mentioned in this gemara must be the one that was located close to Har Habayit. In his Descriptive Geography and Brief Historical Sketch of Palestine, Rabbi Joseph Schwartz describes Beit Pagi to be located somewhere near the Mount of Olives (written in 1 850 , avai lable a t: h ttp :// www.jewish-history.com/palestine/ moriah.html). In his Economy of Roman Palestine, Zeev Safrai identifies Bait Pagi as being located 500 meters from Jerusalem (pg. 19, available on Google books). Thus this locale must be the Beit Pagi that is outside of Jerusalem, to which Rabbeinu Chananel referred. [email protected]
Regarding those who own the land they are living on, in my humble opinion it seems that they must relinquish ownership from the land on which the trash cans stand. Granted they have lent the property to the city for the purpose of placing city trash cans there, nonetheless, surely no formal acquisition has been made on that allowance. It is taught in the Machazit Hashekel (448:4) that lending [space] only creates valid ownership upon the transfer of money. Implicit in this is the need for a formal acquisition Even though one has released ownership of the area, he is permitted to move the garbage he accumulates in his home to the can in that ownerless place all through Pesach. First, he isnt using the actual land. Furthermore, it is permissible to use that which is hefker for everyone. However, I have seen the letter of my brother, the Gaon (Beer Moshe 1:41 and 3:72), criticizing a certain Rabbi who suggested selling trash cans with chametz to a non-Jew precisely because the seller and his family continue to use the cans throughout the holiday, after the sale. Further, the seller and purchaser know that the sanitation workers dispose of the trash from the cans and so the purchaser will have no benefit from the purchase. If so, such a sale is nothing more than a mockery. However, our case, regarding hefker, is different
Looking Back: Some Highlights from Choref Zman
We look forward to seeing you at our Kayitz Zman programs after Pesach!
Schedule for March 31-April 7 / 8 - 14 Nisan

Shabbat March 31 7:45 AM R Baruch Weintraub, Rav Kook on the Parshah, Or Chaim 10:20 AM R Baruch Weintraub, Parshah, Clanton Park After hashkamah, Hillel Horovitz, Hebrew Shiur, Bnai Torah 11:30 AM R Baruch Weintraub, Geulah Now! Or Chaim 1 hour before minchah Yair Manas: Gemara Sukkah, Mizrachi Bayit not this week 45 minutes before minchah R Mordechai Torczyner, Daf Yomi: Keritut 12, BAYT After minchah R Mordechai Torczyner, Selling Homes in Israel: Gemara Avodah Zarah, BAYT Sunday, April 1 9:15 AM Hillel Horovitz, Parshah, Hebrew, Zichron Yisroel 9:45 AM R Mordechai Torczyner, Bein haZmanim Shiur, Clanton Park 11:00 AM R Baruch Weintraub, Hilchot Melachim, Or Chaim, collegiates 7:00 PM R Baruch Weintraub, Halachic issues in Israel: Pesach, Hebrew, Clanton Park, men 8:30 PM R Baruch Weintraub, Halachic issues in Israel: Pesach, Hebrew, 4 Tillingham Keep, mixed Monday, April 2 8:30 PM Hillel Horovitz, In-Depth Siddur, Clanton Park, men on hiatus until April 23 Tuesday, April 3 1:30 PM R Mordechai Torczyner, Zecharyah, Mekorot, Shaarei Shomayim on hiatus until April 17 7:15 PM R Ezra Goldschmiedt, Get more out of the Parshah, BAYT, on hiatus until April 24 8:00 PM Hillel Horovitz, Shemuel, Bnai Torah, on hiatus until April 24 8:15 PM Yair Manas: Minchat Chinuch, Clanton Park, on hiatus until April 24 Wednesday, April 4 10:00 AM R Mordechai Torczyner, Dramas of Jewish History, BEBY, with Melton on hiatus until April 18 8:00 PM R Dovid Zirkind, Gemara Beitzah, 2 nd Perek, Shaarei Shomayim 8:30 PM R Baruch Weintraub, Hilchot Melachim: Pesach, Shomrai Shabbos, men Thursday, April 5 9:15 AM R Mordechai Torczyner, Womens Shiur at 36 Theodore, on hiatus until after Pesach Friday, April 6 8:00 AM R Dovid Zirkind, Friday Parshah Preview, Village Shul See you after Pesach!
We would like to thank koshertube.com for filming our shiurim!

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Toronto Torah

Beit Midrash Zichron Dov

Of Erev Pesach and Pesach

Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner

?Why Search for Chametz

Rabbi Baruch Weintraub

:Hitoriri Jewish Spirituality

Chametz and the Yetzer

841# :613 Mitzvot Blood is a Korban

Biography: Rabbi Betzalel Stern

Discarding Trash on Erev Pesach

Looking Back: Some Highlights from Choref Zman

Schedule for March 31-April 7 / 8 - 14 Nisan

We would like to thank koshertube.com for filming our shiurim!

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