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Does Hearing a Beracha for Tefillin from Someone Else Count—And What If the Speaker or Listener Makes a Mistake? One of the foundational principles in Halacha is Shome'a Ke'Oneh —"the listener is as if he himself recited." This principle allows a person to fulfill a Beracha obligation by hearing someone else say the Beracha and answering "Amen," provided certain conditions are met. This rule applies not only to communal rituals like Kiddush, Havdala, or Megillah, but also to personal Misvot such as Tefillin . For example, if someone says the Beracha over Tefillin aloud with the intent to fulfill the obligation for another, the listener may rely on that Beracha and is exempt from saying his own— if all the proper conditions are met . The Halachic Conditions for Shome'a Ke'Oneh to Work According to Shulhan Aruch (O.H. 213:2), four conditions must be present for Shome'a Ke'Oneh to apply: The person saying the Beracha must have intent to fulfill the obligation for the listener. The listener must also have intent to be yotze through the speaker's Beracha. The listener must hear the entire Beracha clearly —from "Baruch Ata" through the conclusion. The listener should answer "Amen" immediately upon hearing the end of the Beracha. If all of these are fulfilled, the listener is considered to have personally recited the Beracha and can then proceed to perform the Misva—in this case, placing Tefillin— without saying his own Beracha . Applying This to Tefillin In many Sephardic yeshivot and minyanim, it is common for a father to recite the Beracha aloud while helping his son put on Tefillin for the first time. Or a Hazan may say the Beracha for several men in the room. So long as the speaker and listener have the mutual kavana (intent), and the listener hears the Beracha clearly and answers "Amen," this is fully valid. The Ben Ish Hai and Kaf Ha'Haim both encourage the use of this mechanism, especially for beginners or people who may struggle with pronunciation or correct Beracha wording. What If the Speaker Interrupts? Now we come to a practical concern. What happens if the person who said the Beracha speaks between the Beracha and putting on the Tefillin ? For example, if Reuven says "Baruch Ata… Lehani'ah Tefillin," and then says something unrelated before placing the Tefillin (e.g., "Where's my bag?" or "Let me adjust my jacket"), he has made a Hefsek (interruption), and according to Maran (O.H. 25:9), he is required to recite a new Beracha . But what about Shimon , who was listening and answered "Amen" with the intent to be yotze? This is debated among the Poskim: According to some, the listener's Beracha is still valid , because at the moment he heard it, the Beracha was said properly and with kavana. This is the ruling of Hacham Ovadia Yosef ( Yabia Omer and Halichot Olam ), who holds that the speaker's later mistake does not invalidate the listener's fulfillment . Others argue more strictly, saying the speaker's interruption disqualifies the entire process—including for the listener. However, this view is not followed in practice by the majority of Sephardic authorities. What If the Listener Interrupts? If the listener himself speaks after answering "Amen" and before placing his own Tefillin , the ruling is more severe. In this case, the listener has created a Hefsek between the Beracha and the act , and must now recite a new Beracha , specifically "Al Misvat Tefillin" before placing the Shel Rosh. This is a straightforward ruling in Shulhan Aruch and the Ben Ish Hai . The interruption breaks the connection between the Beracha and the Misva, even though the listener did not speak during the actual Beracha. However, if the speech was related to the Misva —such as "Pass me the Shel Rosh" or "Can you adjust the knot?"—this is not ideal but is not considered a full Hefsek , and a new Beracha is not required . What If There Was No Kavana? Shome'a Ke'Oneh only works when both parties have intent : If the speaker was not aware that someone was listening—or had no intent to fulfill their obligation—then the listener is not yotze . Similarly, if the listener was distracted, unsure, or did not intend to be yotze, the Beracha does not apply to him. The Hida and Kaf Ha'Haim emphasize this in many places, warning against relying on a public Beracha unless you're sure both parties are aware and participating with clear intent. In cases of doubt (e.g., someone is unsure if the speaker had him in mind), the principle of Safek Berachot Le'hakel applies: Do not repeat the Beracha unless you are certain that it is required. Summary: A person may fulfill the Beracha for Tefillin by listening to someone else , if both have intent and the listener answers "Amen." If the speaker interrupts after the Beracha, most Sephardic Poskim say the listener is still covered . If the listener interrupts before putting on the Tefillin, he must recite a new Beracha . Speech related to the Misva is discouraged but not a disqualifying Hefsek. Without mutual intent , the Beracha does not count . When in doubt, follow Safek Berachot Le'hakel —do not repeat the Beracha unless clearly necessary.

Can One Respond to Amen, Kaddish, or Kedusha While Putting on Tefillin—And What If He Already Did? One of the most common halachic dilemmas in the morning prayer is what to do when someone is putting on Tefillin and hears Kaddish , Kedusha , or a Beracha . Can he respond out loud? Should he listen silently? Or must he remain completely passive until finishing the Tefillin? This question centers on the concern of interrupting between the Tefillin Shel Yad and the Tefillin Shel Rosh . As discussed earlier, any Hefsek (interruption) between the two parts of the Misva may require repeating the Beracha . The situation becomes more complicated when the interruption is not mundane speech but a holy response , such as saying "Amen" or "Yehe Shemeh Rabba." The Strict View: No Interruptions, Even for Holy Words Maran in Shulhan Aruch (O.H. 25:9) rules that one may not speak at all between the Tefillin Shel Yad and Shel Rosh—even to respond "Amen" or to say "Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh." This is the view of the Rosh , cited in the Mordechi , who maintains that these responses still count as interruptions because the person has already started one Misva and must complete it without pause. Following this view, one should not respond to Kaddish or Kedusha between the two Tefillin. Even though these responses are important, the Misva of Tefillin is in progress and must not be interrupted. The Ben Ish Hai (Parashat Vayera, Halacha 8) agrees and writes that although it is painful to miss answering Kedusha, it is more important to complete the Tefillin properly. He explains that the person should simply pause silently , listen attentively, and intend to fulfill the Misva through listening ( Shome'a Ke'Oneh ). This ruling is widely accepted by Sephardic authorities , including Hacham Ovadia Yosef ( Yabia Omer vol. 1 and Halichot Olam ). A Middle Opinion: Listen Without Answering According to the middle-ground opinion, a person who hears Kaddish or Kedusha while wrapping Tefillin should stop what he's doing , listen silently, and fulfill the obligation through listening alone . This is based on the rule of Shome'a Ke'Oneh — "the listener is as one who recites." However, some Aharonim raise a concern: If listening is equivalent to speaking, then isn't that also an interruption? Not necessarily. The logic is that Shome'a Ke'Oneh does not require active speech , and therefore it does not violate the condition of silence between the Tefillin Shel Yad and Shel Rosh. This is the approach of the Magen Avraham and is mentioned by the Hida in Birkei Yosef . It is considered the ideal practice when caught in this situation: stop, listen quietly, and do not speak . Still, this only works if the person saying Kaddish or the Beracha has proper intent to fulfill others' obligation. If he's just reciting the words by rote and not thinking about others listening, Shome'a Ke'Oneh might not apply—especially for a Tefillah like Kaddish, where communal intent is crucial. Therefore, Maran Ha'Hida and later Hacham Ben Sion Abba Shaul note that if one is unsure whether the Hazan is a learned person with kavana, it's better not to stop to listen , and just continue putting on the Tefillin. The Lenient View: If You Answered, You're Still Covered What if someone did answer "Amen," "Yehe Shemeh Rabba," or another phrase during the Tefillin process? According to most Sephardic authorities, although one should not have answered, if he did, he does not repeat the Beracha . This follows the principle of Safek Berachot Le'hakel —when there is doubt about whether a Beracha must be repeated, we err on the side of caution and do not say Hashem's name again unnecessarily. This view is stated clearly by the Ben Ish Hai and Kaf Ha'Haim , and is upheld by Hacham Ovadia Yosef. Even though answering was improper, the holiness of the response and the minimal nature of the interruption make it insufficient to require a new Beracha. However, some Ashkenazic authorities (such as the Mishna Berura citing the Eliyahu Rabba ) are stricter. They hold that if one answered anything between the Tefillin Shel Yad and Shel Rosh, he must repeat the Beracha for the Shel Rosh. Sephardim do not follow this opinion . Best Practice: Anticipate and Avoid the Situation If a person sees that Kaddish or Kedusha is about to begin , and he hasn't started donning Tefillin yet, he should wait a moment and delay putting them on. It is better to fulfill both Misvot properly —answering Kaddish and wrapping Tefillin—than to get caught between them and risk an interruption. If he's already started wrapping the Shel Yad, he should proceed without interruption and miss answering Kaddish if necessary. Summary: Do not speak between the Tefillin Shel Yad and Shel Rosh—not even to answer Amen or Kaddish. If caught in the middle, stop silently and listen ( Shome'a Ke'Oneh )—but only if the Hazan has intent to fulfill others' obligation. If one did answer , most Sephardic Poskim say he should not repeat the Beracha , though it is discouraged. Best of all is to time your Tefillin placement so that you are not mid-wrap when Kaddish or Kedusha begins.

Should One Place Tefillin While Sitting or Standing—And What If the Community Follows a Different Custom? The Sephardic custom, rooted in the rulings of Maran in the Shulhan Aruch (O.H. 25:5), is to don the Tefillin Shel Yad while sitting , and the Tefillin Shel Rosh while standing . This is not simply a question of posture but reflects a deeper understanding of the nature of each Tefillin and its associated Misva. The Tefillin Shel Yad is considered a private and personal obligation . It is hidden, placed on the weaker part of the body, and not seen by others during prayer. In contrast, the Tefillin Shel Rosh sits openly on the head, between the eyes, and represents a public declaration of our bond with Hashem. Because of its visibility and its connection to communal holiness, the Tefillin Shel Rosh is given more formality, which includes the standing position when placing it. The Ben Ish Hai (Parashat Vayera) emphasizes this distinction, explaining that the Shel Yad is associated with the heart , representing internal service of Hashem (Avodat HaLev), while the Shel Rosh is associated with the mind , representing Torah and public sanctity. Therefore, sitting for the Shel Yad reflects modesty and inwardness, while standing for the Shel Rosh expresses reverence and honor. What If One Is in an Ashkenazi Minyan That Stands for Both? In Ashkenazi practice, it is common to stand for both the Shel Yad and Shel Rosh. This can present a challenge for a Sephardi who finds himself in such a minyan. Should he follow his custom to sit for the Shel Yad, or should he stand to avoid standing out? Hacham Ovadia Yosef (in Yabia Omer , vol. 1, O.H. 4 and Halichot Olam ) rules clearly that one should not deviate from the Sephardic custom , even when praying in an Ashkenazi congregation. The halachic principle of "Al Titosh Torat Imecha"—do not abandon the tradition of your fathers—applies here. A person should not feel pressured to change his practice in order to "fit in," especially in a matter that has solid halachic and kabbalistic support. Moreover, this practice is not offensive to others. In most cases, no one pays much attention to who is standing or sitting during Tefillin. But even if someone notices, preserving one's mesora (halachic tradition) takes precedence over conforming for the sake of appearance. In the reverse case—an Ashkenazi praying in a Sephardic minyan—it is likewise appropriate for him to stand for both Tefillin, according to his custom. Kabbalistic Reasoning The Mekubalim, particularly the Hida and the Ben Ish Hai , stress the spiritual distinctions between the two Tefillin. According to the Zohar HaKadosh , the Tefillin Shel Yad corresponds to the sefirah of Gevurah and is internal, while the Tefillin Shel Rosh corresponds to the sefirah of Hokhmah and projects spiritual light outward. These ideas are only heightened when the Tefillin are placed with proper kavana (intent), posture, and awareness of their function. In short, sitting for the Shel Yad enhances the quality of its intent as a private covenant with Hashem. Summary: Sephardim should place the Tefillin Shel Yad while sitting , and the Tefillin Shel Rosh while standing. This custom follows Maran in Shulhan Aruch and is further supported by the Ben Ish Hai and Mekubalim. Even in an Ashkenazi minyan, Sephardim should not deviate from their custom. This posture reflects both halachic rulings and the inner meaning of each Tefillin.

Should One Leave the House Already Wearing Talet and Tefillin, and Is This Practically Required Today? The Zohar HaKadosh places profound spiritual significance on the act of leaving one's home in the morning already wearing Talet and Tefillin. This is not merely about preparation for prayer—it is a sacred moment that opens the door to unique spiritual protection and Divine pride. The Zohar describes that when a Jew exits his home dressed in Tefillin on the head and arm and Talet on his shoulders, four ministering angels accompany and protect him. These angels declare to all that this person is bearing the image of the King, and Hashem Himself makes an announcement in the upper worlds praising this individual. It is likened to a father publicly celebrating his child's achievements—Hashem says, "Look at My son!" ( Zohar Parashat Terumah , cited in Kaf HaHaim, Ben Ish Hai, and others). Despite the strength of these sources, the widespread practice today is that most people do not fulfill this halacha. Sephardic Poskim such as the Ben Ish Hai, Kaf HaHaim, and Hida all reinforce the Zohar's stance, yet even they acknowledge that the practice has fallen into neglect. Rabbi Eli Mansour notes that attempts to justify this neglect—such as concerns about passing filth or improperly dressed individuals—are not strong in most modern contexts. People often drive from their homes directly to shul in clean environments, especially in the early hours when streets are empty. So why don't people do it? Mostly, it's due to convenience and habit. Many keep their Tefillin in shul lockers and would need to bring them home daily to fulfill this practice. It requires a lifestyle change: bringing the Koracha home each day, preparing at home before leaving, and possibly returning it afterward. For those going straight to work from shul, that adds an extra logistical layer. Still, Rabbi Mansour encourages individuals to consider incorporating this practice even once in a while. Even partial observance of a mitzvah with such reward is spiritually worthwhile. What If It's Too Early to Wear Tefillin? One valid exemption arises when a person goes to shul before the earliest time to wear Tefillin (such as Alot HaShahar). According to Hacham Yaakov Hillel in VaYashov HaYam , and as explained by Rabbi Mansour, a person in this case is not obligated to wait at home until the proper time. Rather, it is better to go to the synagogue, learn Torah, and then put on Tefillin when the time arrives. There is no obligation to return home later just to fulfill this Zoharic custom. Rav Hillel adds that one who stays in the synagogue for tefillah and is among the first ten participants (the "Asarah Rishonim") is also fulfilling a great mitzvah that may even override the practice of leaving home with Tefillin. Some rabbis, like Hacham Yehuda Sadka, would go home and return, but this is not a practical expectation for most people and is viewed as an act of personal stringency rather than normative halacha. What Are Practical Ways to Fulfill This Today? For those who feel uncomfortable or find it difficult to wear Talet and Tefillin outside the home, halachic sources offer creative and doable solutions: Use a discreet setup : Wear a small pair of Tefillin and a Talet that can be worn like a scarf under a jacket. This fulfills the halacha without drawing attention. Keep a second Koracha at home : A small "to-go" set can make this easier and avoid the need to bring your full set back and forth daily. Rely on Talet Katan : According to the Beit Yosef and Spanish Mekubalim, if a person wears Talet Katan and then puts on Tefillin at home—even if not the full Talet Gadol—he may gain some of the spiritual benefit. Change Tefillin in Shul : The Ben Ish Hai permits one to wear a pair of Tefillin at home and then switch to another pair in shul, such as putting on Rashash or Rabbenu Tam after already fulfilling the Zohar's practice. Put on Tefillin in the shul side room : While not the ideal per the Zohar, poskim like the Mishna Berura and Aruch HaShulchan permit putting on Tefillin in a lobby or side room before entering the sanctuary, especially if needed to avoid embarrassment or external discomfort. Importantly, one must also apply judgment. The halacha does not encourage making a spectacle of oneself. If wearing Tefillin publicly might cause mockery or suspicion, it may be better not to do so. Even if one's intentions are noble, doing something that is widely misunderstood—like walking outside with Tefillin at 8 a.m.—may result in Chillul Hashem rather than Kiddush Hashem. Does This Apply on Shabbat? On Shabbat, Tefillin are not worn. The question arises: must one still leave the house wearing a Talet on Shabbat? The majority of poskim, including Kaf HaHaim and others, hold that this requirement does not apply on Shabbat. The Zohar's emphasis is on Tefillin. Since they are not worn on Shabbat, the associated practice of leaving the house dressed for tefillah is also not required. Therefore, one may go to synagogue in regular clothing and put on the Talet there without issue. However, the Ben Ish Hai writes that since most people wear Talet Katan on Shabbat anyway, the practice is partially fulfilled. According to his view, one who does not wear Talet Katan might consider putting on the Talet Gadol before leaving the house. Still, this is not a widespread custom and is not mandated. Summary: The practice of leaving one's house wearing Talet and Tefillin is highly praised by the Zohar and Sephardic Poskim and is said to bring angelic protection and Divine honor. While not widely followed today, there are few valid excuses to avoid it entirely in modern cities. Those who come to shul before the proper time for Tefillin are exempt and should not delay Torah learning to fulfill the Zoharic ideal. Still, one should strive to observe this practice occasionally using any of several halachically acceptable solutions. It does not apply on Shabbat. Overall, this is a beautiful opportunity for spiritual elevation—one that can be embraced incrementally and with wisdom.

Send us a textThe podcast is currently on a break between Season 4 and Season 5. As promised, during this period I'll be uploading two previous episodes starting with my travel guide to the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route. Open to the public from mid-April until the end of November, the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route traverses Japan's highest mountain range – the Hida mountains or North Alps – from Ogizawa Station on the Nagano-side of the range to Tateyama Station on the Toyama-side. Closed to the public through winter due to the extremely heavy snowfall experienced in the mountains, the route has just reopened for 2025 making it a good time to republish this travel guide, which I originally published in April 2024 under the old podcast name of ‘Snow Country Stories Japan'.This episode will be followed by my other travel guide published in July last year, my guide to Kamikochi, which has also just reopened to the public. If you're enjoying pod and would like to support me in continuing to make it, please do make sure to subscribe or follow on which pod app you're listening on. Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy.Outland Japan is a bi-weekly podcast hosted by Peter Carnell - a freelance tour guide based in northern Nagano – that transports you to rural, regional and the wilds of Japan in pursuit of stories that lie outside the neon hum of Tokyo and golden trimmings of Kyoto. Stories of travel, life and culture beyond the big cities. Follow the show on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Please note, prior to October 2024, Outland Japan was named Snow Country Stories Japan.

**Today's Halacha is dedicated f or the refuah and haslacha of Ronnie, Sharon, Eli and all the children of CARE** On Purim morning, one should make an effort to wake up extra early and recite Tehilim. This is based on the Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1807), who writes in his "Devash L'fi" that there are five special days during the year that one should arise at "Hashkama"-extra early: Tisha B'ab, Shabuot, Rosh Hashana, Hoshana Rabba and Purim. He says that this is alluded to in the word "AVRaHaM" in the verse "Vayashkem AVRraHaM BaBoker"-Avraham arose early in the morning. The letter "Aleph" of Avraham, hints to "Echa" which is read on Tisha B'ab; the "Vet" refers to Shabuot on which the Torah was given, and the Torah begins with the letter "Bet;" the "Resh" refers to Rosh Hashana; the "Heh" alludes to Hoshana Rabbah; and the "Mem" hints to the Megillah of Purim. *** The special Tefila of "Al Hanisim" is inserted into the Amidah of Purim. If one forgot to do so, he does not have to go back and repeat the Amidah. Nevertheless, it is preferable to recite the "Al Hanisim" at the expense of prolonging his Amidah and missing the Kedusha with the Sibbur, than to skip it and finish earlier. *** The Torah reading for Purim is "VaYavo Amalek," in Parshat B'shalach. Since it only has nine verses, the accepted custom is to read the last verse twice to complete the requisite ten verses need for a public Torah reading. It is important for everyone to hear this Parasha. Those who missed hearing Parashat Zachor can fulfill the Misva with this reading, if they have intent to do so. The Kaf HaHaim (Rav Yaakob Haim Sofer, Baghdad-Israel, 1870-1939, Ch. 693:25) writes that if someone cannot attend Bet Knesset on Purim day, he should read this passage by himself at home with the Ta'amim (cantillation). After reading the Torah, the Tefila continues with "Ashreh" and the beginning of "Uva Lesion." The Megillah is read before the Pasuk "V'atah Kadosh." In the morning, "Shehecheyanu" is not recited on the Megillah, according to the practice of the Sepharadim. The Sefer Torah is kept out until after the Megillah is read, because the Megillah states, "LaYehudim Hayta Orah V'simcha, V'saon V'y'kar"-the Jews had light and joy and happiness and glory. The Gemara understands that Orah (light) refers to the light of the Torah. One should not take off his Tefilin before the completion of the Megillah, because the same verse says that the Jews had "Y'kar"-glory. The Gemara understands that it is referring to Tefilin. In fact, the custom is to kiss the Tefilin when that word is read. If there is a Brit Mila, some say that it is performed prior to the Megillah reading to correspond to a word in that same Pasuk "Sason"-joy, which the Hachamim understand to be Brit Mila. However, the accepted practice is to conduct the Mila after Shaharit. *** There is no obligation to recite Hallel on Purim. One reason for this is that the reading of the Megillah, which tells the story of the miraculous events, takes the place of Hallel. Therefore, if one cannot hear the Megillah, there are Poskim who hold that he should recite the complete Hallel. This should be done without a Beracha, as there is a difference of opinion on the matter. After the Shir Shel Yom (Psalm of the Day), the Mizmor (Tehilim 22) "Al Ayelet Hashachar" is added. Esther was referred to as "Ayelet Hashachar," and this was the prayer she offered upon approaching the King's private chamber. *** It is prohibited to eat even a small amount before hearing the Megillah on Purim morning, even if one has already prayed. Therefore, one should insure that his wife and children hear the Megillah promptly, so that they can eat. *** Immediately after Shaharit, the Matanot LaEvyonim are distributed. Performing this Misva early is not only a fulfillment of "Zerizim Makdimim L'Misvot," but it also enables the recipients to use the money to buy what they lack for the holiday. *** The Shulhan Aruch rules that the Beracha of Shehecheyanu is not recited before reading the Megillah in the morning. This applies even if one did not fulfill the Misva of Megillah the previous night. One should have in mind to include the other Misvot when he hears the Beracha at night. *** The Hida (Lev David, Ch. 30) brings a custom for both men and women to light two candles in honor of Mordechai and Esther on Purim. After lighting the candles, one should give Sedaka and offer heartfelt prayers and requests in their merit. There is a widespread custom to don costumes on Purim. The Hida mentions this specifically regarding the Seudah. The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909, Ateret Tiferet) brings a custom for women to adorn themselves with their fanciest jewelry, even more than Shabbat and Yom Tov. This custom has its origins in the Kabbalah. This should only be done within the confines of her own home and not to go out publicly, so as not to breach the standards of modesty.

Deutsche Ausgabe: Ende November 2024 fand in Berlin ein Austausch von Ausbildern und Tutoren bei Helmholtz statt - unter dem Namen TEACH. Wie kann man dem wachsenden Bedarf and Weiterbildung gerecht werden und welche Mittel und Tools helfen dabei. In diesem kleinen Rückblick spreche ich mit den OrganisatorInnen und Sprechern der Veranstaltung: Prof Silke Schworm, Jolanta Zjuba, Fredo Erxleben und Anna-Lisa Döring. Links:https://events.hifis.net/event/1472/timetable/#20241121.detailed Das Programm der Veranstaltung mit Beiträgen zum Herunterladenhttps://www.helmholtz-hida.de HIDA, der Dachverband bei dem die Tagung stattfandhttps://www.hifis.net HIFIS auch eine Helmholtz Platformhttps://www.helmholtz.de/hida-files/user_upload/pdf_dokumente/Helmholz-Incubator-Folder_2022.pdf Übersicht der Helmholtz Platformenhttps://www.uni-regensburg.de/humanwissenschaften/erziehungswissenschaft-medien/team/prof-dr-silke-schworm/index.html Prof Silke Schwormhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKralSEhZq0Get in touchThank you for listening! Merci de votre écoute! Vielen Dank für´s Zuhören! Contact Details/ Coordonnées / Kontakt: Email mailto:peter@code4thought.org UK RSE Slack (ukrse.slack.com): @code4thought or @piddie US RSE Slack (usrse.slack.com): @Peter Schmidt Mastodon: https://fosstodon.org/@code4thought or @code4thought@fosstodon.org Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/code4thought.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pweschmidt/ (personal Profile)LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/codeforthought/ (Code for Thought Profile) This podcast is licensed under the Creative Commons Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

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Is it permissible on Shabbat to separate food to serve it to somebody else? For example, may a mother remove edible food from an inedible substance in order to feed the food to her child? Assuming she follows the ordinary rules of Borer (separating on Shabbat) – meaning, she takes the desirable food from the undesirable substance, and this is done by hand and for immediate use – is this permissible, if she is not the one who will eat the food? The Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1807), in his work Birkeh Yosef, rules that the rules of Borer apply equally to one who separates food for himself and one who separates food for somebody else. As long as one meets the standard conditions for allowing separating foods, this may be done even to feed another person. The Hida draws proof to this ruling from the Gemara's discussion in Masechet Shabbat (74a) of Rav Bibai, who was serving fruit to the Rabbis on Shabbat, and instead of serving each one individually, he placed the basket in front of them. The Gemara raises the question of why Rav Bibai chose this method, noting that this may have been done simply as an expression of generosity, so that each guest can take as much as he likes. However, the Gemara also raises the possibility that this was done to avoid the issue of Borer. Rav Bibai may have ruled that one may not separate on Shabbat even if he removes the desirable food from the undesirable food, and thus he could not selected fruits from the basket for his guests and had to bring them the entire basket, instead. It is noteworthy that the Gemara did not mention the fact that Rav Bibai would have been separating food for other people, and not for himself. It appears from the Gemara's comments that this was not a factor at all, proving that the standard rules of Borer apply regardless of whether one is separating for himself or for somebody else. The Hida adds that this Halacha applies even if the person who separates the foods is unable to eat the food he is separating, such as if he had recently eaten meat and he is now handling dairy foods. Even in such a case, one may separate the foods for another person, as long as he follows the standard requirements of Borer. This is the ruling of Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shelomo Amar, in his work of responsa, and this is, indeed, the Halacha. Summary: The laws of Borer apply regardless of whether one wishes to separate food for himself or for somebody else. In both cases, separating is allowed if one removes the desirable food from the undesirable substance, and this is done by hand and for immediate use.

Contributor: Jorge Chalit-Hernandez, OMS3 Typically presents with biliary colic Right upper quadrant abdominal pain lasting more than 30 minutes and subsiding over several hours Often associated with fatty meals but not always Must rule out other causes of pain Peptic ulcer disease - typically presents with epigastric pain Pancreatitis - pain that radiates to the back or family history of pancreatitis Laboratory workup  LFTs including ALT, AST, and alkaline phosphatase are within the reference range Lipase and amylase within the reference range Imaging workup RUQ ultrasound is unremarkable Upper endoscopy with ultrasound can help rule out peptic ulcer disease and small stones HIDA scan may show a reduced gallbladder ejection fraction below 30-35% or it may be normal  Opiates may give false-positive results Opiates can sometimes make biliary colic worse due to their contractile effect on the sphincter of Oddi Some patients may benefit from surgical intervention i.e. cholecystectomy Classic biliary-type pain (best predictor of response to cholecystectomy) Pain for > 3 months duration Positive HIDA scan References Alhayo S, Eslick GD, Cox MR. Cholescintigraphy may have a role in selecting patients with biliary dyskinesia for cholecystectomy: a systematic review. ANZ J Surg. 2020;90(9):1647-1652. doi:10.1111/ans.16003 Arshi J, Layfield LJ, Esebua M. Mast cell infiltration and activation in the gallbladder wall: Implications for the pathogenesis of functional gallbladder disorder in adult patients. Ann Diagn Pathol. 2021;54:151798. doi:10.1016/j.anndiagpath.2021.151798 Carr JA, Walls J, Bryan LJ, Snider DL. The treatment of gallbladder dyskinesia based upon symptoms: results of a 2-year, prospective, nonrandomized, concurrent cohort study. Surg Laparosc Endosc Percutan Tech. 2009;19(3):222-226. doi:10.1097/SLE.0b013e3181a74690 Joehl RJ, Koch KL, Nahrwold DL. Opioid drugs cause bile duct obstruction during hepatobiliary scans. Am J Surg. 1984;147(1):134-138. doi:10.1016/0002-9610(84)90047-3 Mahid SS, Jafri NS, Brangers BC, Minor KS, Hornung CA, Galandiuk S. Meta-analysis of cholecystectomy in symptomatic patients with positive hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid scan results without gallstones. Arch Surg. 2009;144(2):180-187. doi:10.1001/archsurg.2008.543 Summarized & Edited by Jorge Chalit, OMS3 Donate: https://emergencymedicalminute.org/donate/  

This week's hosts - Hida-O-Win & DaveEditor - SavageMick Dave and Hida dig through the ideas pile and pick some topics from the towering lists compiled by the Warlord. Savage watches from the editing booth and wonders if our insurance covers toppling topics? It's time to visit the General Lists... Does It Have To Have Wizards? - Why is there a reluctance to have games with no sci-fi or fantasy elements? Are we so eager to avoid the real world we need to sprinkle in elves and laser guns? Can 'Soap Opera Logic' or similar narrative devices sub in for supernatural elements? And is real-world drama as gamable as fantastic drama? Conversely, is it ok to have such things in a setting, but forbid them to PCs? Unified Mechanics and Cognitive Load - Should a game use the same basic mechanics for every action, or is that just limiting what the game can do? Are people who want to roll one dice and get The Happy Number just lazy, stupid, or are they legit overwhelmed? Random Bastards! - Players who want weird and wonderful outcomes every roll, versus those who would like to be able to plan and achieve goals. ----------------------------------------------------------------- We have a Discord Server and it rocks! Get in here! [ https://discord.gg/VW6NUJe ] Find us on Facebook here, leave a Thumbs Up and we can be internet friends! [ https://www.facebook.com/TheAdventuringParty/ ] Come ear-watch us on Youtube. Leave a comment! [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJN85ESPc0Wg3kuErxnV9wQ/videos ] We are on Spotify? Yup, you can listen to us over there too! [ https://open.spotify.com/show/0HmRd3Tqba9Jk0TIUwVz13?si=EQCChHitSVCC9DuDvYewBQ ] Twitter! Follow us on twitter  [ @adventuringpty ]. Will we follow you back? Maybe! The hosts can be contacted by good old email at party@theadventuringparty.net ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Adventuring Party is released under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial Share-Alike version 3 licence [ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ie/ ]. Title Card - That's an Order! - Savage Diffusion

A sukka does not need to be built "lishma," i.e., with the intention of building a structure within which one will fulfill the mitzvah of sukka. However, it must be built with the intention of providing shade. Therefore, the gemara (Sukka 8b) teaches that "sukkot ganbach," an acronym for sukkot constructed by those who not obligated in the mitzvah of sukkah, i.e., non-Jews, women, animals and cutheans, are valid. Some poskim, such as the Hida, write that preferably, a Jew should participate in the construction of the sukka, especially placing the sechach on the sukka. However, the Halacha clearly states that even if the entire sukka is built by a non-Jew, the sukka is valid.

We are in Perek Shira, studying the songs of creation, and today's song is the song of the wind , from Yeshaya 43,6: רוח אומר אֹמַ֤ר לַצָּפוֹן֙ תֵּ֔נִי וּלְתֵימָ֖ן אַל־תִּכְלָ֑אִי הָבִ֤יאִי בָנַי֙ מֵרָח֔וֹק וּבְנוֹתַ֖י מִקְצֵ֥ה הָאָֽרֶץ׃ T he wind says, God tells the Tzafon/northern wind, 'Give; and to the Teiman/southern wind, 'Do not stop; bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the other end of the world.'" Rashi says, this is talking about the in-gatherings of the exiles. To the northern wind, which is a weaker wind, it says give, and to the southern wind, which is a stronger wind, it simply says don't stop. We don't have to give it any extra motivation. Similarly, in Shir HaShirim , it says Uri Tzafon U'Voi Teman. The Tzafon / northern wind, we must arouse , and to the Teiman/ southern wind, we just say, come, for the same reason. That's the simple explanation- the wind is singing a song, and eventually it will be responsible for bringing the Jews from exile. But the Hida has a deeper explanation, which he cites three times: Once in his commentary on Perek Shira, another time in his commentary Chomat Anach , on our Pasuk in Yeshaya מג, ו , and also in his commentary on Shir HaShirim ד,טז in the pasuk Uri Tzafon . So the Hida is very excited with this explanation. He quotes a Yalkut Reuveni, page 114, that tells us that when we pray every day, our requests are immediately answered by God. God sends it down. The only problem is, customs is in the way. There's a Bet Din in the Tzafon/ north (the north symbolizes justice and challenges) , as it says in the pasuk, " The prophet says, from the Tzafon/north, evil will come" ( referring to the Babylonians that came from the north). So in the northern side there is a Bet Din. If you don't deserve it, you're not going to get it, and all of those goods are confiscated by customs. Imagine the new car you asked for- it's there , but it got stopped by customs, and it's sitting there for a very long time. Until when? Until the times of Mashiach. And then, we will tell the northern wind, " Give us the goods. Give us all those items that have been seized by customs. Release them now to the sadikim that will partake from them in the future. That's what it means to say to the northern wind, " Give ,"give your goods out. And in the sefer Chomat Anach, he says, that's what the Pasuk means, How much is the good that you have hidden for those that fear you? Tzafanta means hidden . But it can also be Tzafon / the north , because the northern side is where everything is tzafun / hidden . We want those hidden requests. This is a tremendous chidush in prayer. When they say, no prayer is lost , it's very true. The prayer was answered. The goods are there. They just got stopped by customs. Tzafun may sound familiar because on the night of the Seder, we have Tzafun , when we hide the Afikoman. One of the reasons we hide it is to hint to this concept of the hidden treasures/ Tzafun , that are waiting for us in the future. That's a slightly mystical explanation. The Midrashic explanation says that in Midrash Rabba in Esther 2,15, where it tells us that Achashverosh tried to make everybody happy. To which Hashem says, I, Kal V'yachol, have difficulty making everyone happy. And now you want to make everyone happy? For example, he says, two men want to marry the same lady but they can't. If two boats are traveling in different directions., how do I satisfy them both? If two people come to be judged, you can't make them both happy. That, he says, is in Olam Hazeh . You can't have a northern wind and a southern wind coexisting and working things out. But in the future, by Kibbutz Galuyot , , Hashem says, I'm going to bring a wind from two different directions. And that's what it means that, אֹמַ֤ר לַצָּפוֹן֙ תֵּ֔נִי וּלְתֵימָ֖ן אַל־תִּכְלָ֑אִי When I bring children back, I'm going to be able to do it in wondrous ways. But it sounds like even in Olam Hazeh, the Midrash says, God does the will of those that fear Him. That means even though there might be conflicting wills, God can make them both happy . When praying for the government. it says Hanoten Tishua L'Melachim / the One who gives salvation to the kings and gives control to the princes, His kingdom is forever (referring to God); Who saved David Hamelech from an evil sword? The One that creates a path in the sea, and in harsh waters, a path. He should bless our leader. The question is asked, What does creating a path in the ocean have to do with blessing the king ? It doesn't seem to be analogous. The answer is based on the story where a certain king asked Rav Yitzhak of Volozhin, " You Jews pray. But there are Jews in France, and there are Jews in Germany. If France and Germany are at war, and each one's praying for the success of their country, how does your God work that out?" He answered, "A t sea, when one person wants to go north and one person wants to go south, God is able to work it out." So too, Hashem could work it out so that both kings being happy. And that's what it means that just like God makes the two sailors get to where they have to go, He can get the two countries to work it out together. Which brings us back to our pasuk אומר אֹמַ֤ר לַצָּפוֹן֙ תֵּ֔נִי וּלְתֵימָ֖ן אַל־תִּכְלָ֑אִי God has the ability to work out seemingly contradictory requests. Everything will work out whether it's in this world, like we just said, or it's in the time to come. This is the song of the wind .

Halacha forbids eating before praying Shaharit in the morning, both on Shabbat and on weekdays. Eating before praying is considered a sign of arrogance, as one's first order of business in the morning should be praying to Hashem. Of course, an ill patient who needs to eat to sustain himself is permitted to eat, as this clearly does not express any arrogance on his part. Likewise, it is permissible to drink water before praying Shaharit, as drinking water constitutes a basic life necessity. The Halachic authorities allow drinking tea, as well, which is essentially water with some flavoring, and coffee, which can be viewed as a kind of "medicine" in that helps people feel alert and refreshed. There is a debate among the Halachic authorities as to whether one may add sugar to his tea or coffee when drinking before Shaharit. Hacham Ovadia Yosef permits adding a small bit of sugar. Clearly, however, it is forbidden to drink other beverages, such as orange juice, lemonade, chocolate milk and milkshakes. Drinking these beverages before Shaharit is akin to eating before Shaharit, and is strictly forbidden. As mentioned, this Halacha applies both on weekdays and on Shabbat. Unfortunately, many people make a mistake when they spend Shabbat in a hotel in Israel, and eat breakfast in the hotel dining room before praying Shaharit. Since they will be returning from the synagogue after breakfast is over, and lunch is not served until around 1pm, they sit down to breakfast before they leave for Shaharit. This is strictly forbidden, except in situations of ill patients or others who have a specific medical need that requires eating and drinking before Shaharit, as discussed above. If one wants to eat breakfast in the hotel, he must pray at an early Minyan and then eat breakfast after returning from the synagogue. It is likewise forbidden to take a small snack or a few drinks before praying; as discussed, one may drink only water, tea or coffee before praying Shaharit. After one recites the Amida in the morning, there are no longer any restrictions, and he may eat and drink as he wishes. A more complicated question arises on Shabbat, when there is an obligation to recite Kiddush before eating or drinking. Although eating and drinking are forbidden before Shaharit on Shabbat just like during the week, may one eat and drink after Shaharit but before Musaf? For example, is it permissible for one to bring a bag of candies or snacks with him to the synagogue so he can have a snack after Shaharit, such as before or during the Torah reading? Or, may one go to the synagogue kitchen during that time to take a coffee or snack? This issue is subject to a debate among the Halachic authorities. A number of Poskim (the Shalmeh Sibur, citing from the Maharam Zakut, and Sefer Ikareh Ha'dat) maintain that the obligation of Kiddush does not take effect on Shabbat morning until after the recitation of Musaf. Therefore, once a person recites the Amida of Shaharit, he is permitted to eat and drink (as long as he does not eat a Ke'besa or more of "Mezonot" food). According to this view, it would be entirely permissible to have a snack or drink after Shaharit before Musaf. Many other Poskim, however, dispute this position. (These include the Mishna Berura, Kaf Ha'haim, Bayit Hadash, Elya Rabba, Tosefet Shabbat, and the Hida in Birkeh Yosef.) In their view, the obligation of Kiddush begins after Shaharit, not after Musaf, and therefore, after one recites the Amida of Shaharit on Shabbat, he may not eat or drink anything until he recites Kiddush. It is forbidden even to drink water, because once the obligation of Kiddush takes effect, one may not eat or drink anything until Kiddush. In light of this debate, Hacham Ovadia Yosef rules in Yabia Omer (Orah Haim 22:2) that one should not eat after Shaharit before Kiddush unless there is some pressing need. For example, if somebody feels a bit weak or frail and needs a snack or drink, then he may eat or drink. Other examples include a Ba'al Koreh whose voice is hoarse and he needs to drink water or suck a lozenge to be able to read properly, and somebody who needs to take medicine at a certain time with food or drink. These are all legitimate needs that allow for relying on the lenient position and eating or drinking before Kiddush. Otherwise, however, if one feels well and has no particular need to eat or drink, he should refrain from eating and drinking until he recites Kiddush. This is also the ruling of Rabbi Moshe Halevi (Israel, 1961-2001), in his Menuhat Ahaba. Summary: It is forbidden to eat before praying Shaharit in the morning, unless one is ill or medically required to do so. Drinking water, tea or coffee is permitted, but drinking other beverages is forbidden. This applies on Shabbat, as well. After one recites Shaharit on Shabbat, he may not eat or drink anything – including water – until he recites or hears Kiddush, though in situations of need, such as if somebody feels frail or is reading the Torah and needs water for his throat, he may eat a small snack or have a drink.

Rabbi Akiva Eger (1761-1837), in one of his responsa (7), addresses the question of whether a woman can fulfill her obligation of Kiddush by hearing the recitation from a boy who has just become a Bar Misva. A boy becomes obligated in Misvot as an adult once he reaches physical maturity, and with many thirteen-year-old boys, it is uncertain whether this has happened. Rabbi Akiva Eger therefore rules that a woman should not rely on a Bar Misva boy's recitation of Kiddush, since it is uncertain whether he is obligated in Misvot such that he can recite Kiddush for adults. Instead, Rabbi Akiva Eger writes, the woman should recite the words of Kiddush along with the boy and fulfill her obligation this way. Hacham Ovadia disagrees, and rules that one may assume that a thirteen-year-old boy has reached the point of physical maturity required for Misva obligation, and therefore one may fulfill his or her Kiddush obligation by hearing it recited by a thirteen-year-old. In this responsum, Rabbi Akiva also touches upon a different question, namely, whether one can fulfill the obligation of Kiddush without holding the Kiddush cup. In the case under discussion, the boy recites Kiddush while holding the cup, and the woman must recite the words because she cannot (according to Rabbi Akiva Eger's opinion) fulfill her requirement through the boy's recitation. Rabbi Akiva Eger raises and discusses the question of whether the woman can fulfill her obligation in this manner, as she does not hold the Kiddush cup in her hand as she recites the words. The Mishna Berura (Rav Yisrael Meir Kagan of Radin, 1839-1933) rules that in this case the woman must have her own Kiddush cup which she holds as she recites Kiddush, as otherwise she cannot fulfill her obligation. The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in his work Rab Pe'alim, addresses the more common case of one who recites the words of Kiddush unclearly, inaccurately or inaudibly. Those listening to the recitation must hear every word, and every word must be pronounced correctly. Therefore, if the one reciting Kiddush mumbles, mispronounces words, or does not recite them loudly enough, the others at the table do not fulfill their obligation. In such a case, one must recite his own Kiddush, as he cannot rely on a recitation that is done improperly or inaudibly. The Ben Ish Hai writes – based on the rulings of earlier authorities, including Rav Zalman and the Hida – that in this case one can fulfill his obligation even though he does not hold the Kiddush cup. As long as he sees the Kiddush cup held by the person reciting Kiddush, this suffices under the circumstances. Although it is certainly preferable for one to hold the Kiddush cup as he recites Kiddush, under such circumstances, where one cannot rely on the person reciting Kiddush and needs to recite the words along with him, he can fulfill his obligation even though he does not hold the Kiddush cup in his hand. The Ben Ish Hai applied this ruling to Habdala, as well. Based on a ruling of the Hida, the Ben Ish Hai writes that if one, for whatever reason, does not want to fulfill his obligation by listening to the Hazan's recitation of Hadbala, he may recite the words along with the Hazan, even though he does not hold the cup. As mentioned, however, it is preferable for one who recites Kiddush or Habdala to hold the cup during the recitation. Summary: If a person reciting Kiddush for others does not pronounce the words properly, or does not recite them loudly enough, the people at the table should recite the words along with him, and they can fulfill their obligation in this fashion even though they do not hold the Kiddush cup. Preferably, however, one who recites Kiddush should hold the cup during the recitation.

Episode 802 This week's hosts - Hida-O-Win & SavageMickEditor - SavageMick Okay, we promise this is the last one... for a while. Grab a Stormer friend and strap in for even more psychotic splatterpunk shenanigins with the recently launched SLA Industries - Threat Analysis 2: Cults by Nightfall Games. Hida and Savage spitball about what we can expect from this new book for the worlds most violent game about working in the gig economy for 40 creds a day! The KickStarter is currently live at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nightfall/sla-industries-2nd-edition-cult ----------------------------------------------------------------- We have a Discord Server and it rocks! Get in here! [ https://discord.gg/VW6NUJe ] Find us on Facebook here, leave a Thumbs Up and we can be internet friends! [ https://www.facebook.com/TheAdventuringParty/ ] Come ear-watch us on Youtube. Leave a comment! [ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJN85ESPc0Wg3kuErxnV9wQ/videos ] We are on Spotify? Yup, you can listen to us over there too! [ https://open.spotify.com/show/0HmRd3Tqba9Jk0TIUwVz13?si=EQCChHitSVCC9DuDvYewBQ ] Twitter! Follow us on twitter  [ @adventuringpty ]. Will we follow you back? Maybe! The hosts can be contacted by good old email at party@theadventuringparty.net ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Adventuring Party is released under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial Share-Alike version 3 licence [ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ie/ ]. Title Card - SLA industries 2nd edition: Cult (used without permission)

Zwiedzanie kraju kwitnącej wiśni rozpoczęliśmy w Hiroszimie, skąd wybraliśmy się na wyspy Miyajima i Sakurajima, oferującą kąpiele w gorącym piasku wulkanicznym. Z kolei były: trekking w Kirishima National Park, kąpiele w gorących źródłach Beppu, wycieczka rowerowa widokową trasą Shimanami Kaido, podziwianie zamków w Okayamie i Osace, spacery po Nara i Kioto. Szukaliśmy śladów samurajów w Kanazawie. Zaproponowaliśmy wizytę w skansenie Hida no Sato w Takayamie i na farmie wasabi w Matsumoto. Ostatnim punktem programu było Tokio, skąd wyruszyliśmy na wycieczkę do Nikko z grobowcami szogunów. Gościem Jerzego Jopa był Mirosław Lubarski, doradca zarządu w Grupie Polskie Składy Budowlane Handel, podróżnik, fotografik.

In this episode Lydia tells the story of going to New York to visit The Armoury for the Naoya Hida & Co trunk show and see the new collection. Will she apply to purchase one? Lydia's favorite, the Type 3B. The first one we saw on Masaharu, the Type 4A-1. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thiswatchlife/message

Have you ever heard of Biliary Dyskinesia?  In this episode, I'll be opening up about my recent diagnosis of biliary hyperkinesia, discussing the symptoms I've experienced, and sharing the steps I'm taking to manage it. My hope is that by sharing my journey, it may offer support or guidance to anyone else who may be facing similar challenges or has a loved one going through a similar experience.  Disclaimer: Please note that this podcast episode is based on my personal journey with Biliary Hyperkinesia. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional for personalized medical advice and treatment options. In this episode you will learn: My Understanding Biliary Hyperkinesia: Learn about the uncommon disorder characterized by abnormal gallbladder contractions and its symptoms. Personal Experience: Hear a firsthand account of the journey with Biliary Hyperkinesia, from initial symptoms to diagnosis and ongoing treatment. Diagnostic Process: Gain insights into the diagnostic process, including medical tests like ultrasounds, bloodwork, colonoscopy, and the HIDA scan. Treatment Options: Discover the various treatment options available for managing Biliary Hyperkinesia. Coping Strategies and Support: Explore coping strategies, including being your own advocate, joining support groups, and prioritizing mental health, along with advice for listeners and loved ones. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelatinamomlegacy/support

This is part 2 of Vu rethinking his entire collection. In this episode we talk about the watch that really was the main catalyst for Vu thinking differently about how he has been collecting, and wanting to add watches that aren't just awesome, but also interesting and that offer something different. Naoya Hida & Co. Type 4A-1 Biggest thanks to Masa for sharing his watches with us! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thiswatchlife/message

There is no obligation to recite Hallel on Purim. One reason for this is that the reading of the Megila, which tells the story of the miraculous events, takes the place of Hallel. Therefore, if one cannot hear the Megila, there are Poskim who hold that he should recite the complete Hallel. This should be done without a Beracha, as there is a difference of opinion on the matter. After the Shir Shel Yom (Psalm of the Day), the Mizmor (Tehilim 22) "Al Ayelet HaShachar" is added. Esther was referred to as "Ayelet Hashachar," and this was the prayer she offered upon approaching the King's private chamber. It is prohibited to eat even a small amount before hearing the Megila on Purim morning, even if one has already prayed. Therefore, one should insure that his wife and children hear the Megila promptly, so that they can eat. Immediately after Shacharit, the Matanot LaEvyonim are distributed. Performing this Misva early is not only a fulfillment of "Zerizim Makdimim L'Misvot," but it also enables the recipients to use the money to buy what they lack for the holiday. The Shulhan Aruch rules that the Beracha of Shehechiyanu is not recited before reading the Megila in the morning. This applies even if one did not fulfill the Misva of Megila the previous night. The Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1807, Lev David, Ch. 30) brings a custom for both men and women to light two candles in honor of Mordechai and Esther on Purim. After lighting the candles, one should give Sedaka and offer heartfelt prayers and requests in their merit. There is a widespread custom to don costumes on Purim. The Hida mentions this specifically with regard to the Seudah. The Rama even permits men to dress up in women's clothing. He argues that since it is in the Purim spirit, it does not constitute a violation of the Torah prohibition of cross-dressing. Nevertheless, Hacham Ovadia and Hacham ben Sion both rule that one should not rely on the Rama's leniency. Although Hacham ben Sion does permit children to wear the other gender's clothes, Hacham Ovadia was opposed even to that. The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909, Ateret Tifferet) brings a custom for women to adorn themselves with their fanciest jewelry, even more than Shabbat and Yom Tov. This custom has its origins in the Kabbalah. This should only be done within the confines of her own home and not to go out publicly, so as not to breach the standards of modesty.

The second of the Radiophonia tracks. This track was composed in AUM using apps such as Hida (going through a Rymdigae effect) and Hillman (going through a Nembrini Delay effect). Notes/MIDI came from Chordjam with additional sounds coming from Fluss Recorder (going via a Speaker effect), All mastered in Grand Finale.

When Purim falls on Mosa'eh Shabbat (as it does this year), one must ensure not to make any preparations for Purim on Shabbat. Thus, for example, even in places with an Erub, one may not bring the Megila to the synagogue to prepare for the Megila reading. Similarly, one may not prepare Mishloah Manot packages on Shabbat, and the Gabbai may not prepare the Torah scrolls on Shabbat for the Purim reading. It is permissible, however, to review the Megila on Shabbat, even if one is preparing to read it that night, because the reviewing itself constitutes a Misva, as it involves Torah learning. Even in such a case, one should preferably avoid stating outright that he is reviewing the Megila in preparation for the reading on Purim. It should be noted that a Megila is not considered Mukseh, and thus one may read from an actual Megila on Shabbat. It is customary to delay the Arbit service on Mosa'eh Shabbat to allow people the time they need to get to the synagogue. After the Amida prayer in Arbit, the Hazzan recites half-Kaddish, which is followed by Shuba Hashem and Yosheb Be'seter, until but not including Ve'ata Kadosh. At that point, the Megila is read, and Ve'ata Kadosh is read after the reading. According to some opinions, the Beracha of "Boreh Me'oreh Ha'esh" is recited over a flame before the Megila reading. (This is the view of the Hida, in Birkeh Yosef, as cited by the Kaf Ha'haim.) The rest of Habdala, however, according to all opinions, is delayed until after Megila reading, except if one is reading the Megila at home, in which case he should recite Habdala before reading the Megila. Even in such a case, though, he and his family may not eat until after the Megila reading. Those who recited or heard the Beracha over the flame in the synagogue may not recite it again later at home, even if they are reciting Habdala for their wives and children. In such a case, the wife should recite the Beracha herself. Although the obligation of Se'udat Purim (the Purim feast) applies only on Purim day, it is proper to have a meal on the night of Purim in honor of the holiday. This is especially true when Purim falls on Mosa'eh Shabbat, when one in any event is required to eat a Melaveh Malka meal. Therefore, one must exercise particular caution during Se'uda Shelishit to eat moderately so he will be able to eat a Se'uda that night.

A friend recently shared me a remarkable passage from the Torah commentary of Rav Eliezer of Worms (Germany, 1176-1238), known as the "Ba'al Ha'Roke'ah," who was a disciple of Rabbenu Yehuda Ha'ahasid (author of Sefer Ha'hasidim, 1150-1217), and a teacher of the Ramban (Rav Moshe Nahmanides, Spain, 1194-1270). (The Hida, in Shem Ha'gedolim, tells that the teachings transmitted by Rabbenu Yehuda Ha'hasid to Rav Eliezer of Worms originate from Shimon Ha'pakuli, one of the Tanna'im.) Commenting on the verse in Parashat Vayehi, "Va'yebarech Otam" ("He blessed them" – Bereshit 49:28), which refers to the blessings which Yaakob Abinu granted his sons before his death, the Ba'al Ha'Roke'ah observed that the word "Otam" is written with the letter "Vav." It could have just as well been written without this letter, and thus the Ba'al Ha'Roke'ah finds great significance to this letter in the context of Yaakob's blessing. He explained that all blessings in the Torah are given on condition. Whenever we find in the Torah a promise of great success or prosperity, the promise is made on condition that we faithfully obey Hashem's commands. However, the Ba'al Ha'Roke'ah writes, the extra letter "Vav" in the phrase "Va'yebarech Otam" alludes to six blessings (as the letter "Vav" has the numerical value of 6) which mark an exception to this rule – namely, the six blessings of Birkat Kohanim. When the Kohanim bless the congregation, they pronounce six blessings – "Yebarechecha," "Ve'yishmarecha," "Ya'er," "Vi'yhuneka," "Yisa," and "Yasem." These six blessings, the Ba'al Ha'Roke'ah teaches, are unconditional. We don't have to earn them. No matter how deserving or undeserving we are, we are granted these blessings. This teaching of one of our Rishonim (Medieval sages) should bring our appreciation of Birkat Kohanim to an entirely new level. When we stand in front of the Kohanim as they pronounce their blessing, we receive them irrespective of our "record," regardless of any sins we might have committed. This is a very special blessing which we receive each day directly and unconditionally from Hashem, and we should celebrate this great privilege, and take full advantage of it. This is particularly meaningful for our community, which follows the custom of having the Kohanim bless the congregation each and every day (and not only on festivals, as is done in Ashkenazic communities). We are so fortunate to be able to receive this special blessing, which does not depend on our merits. Incidentally, this passage also gives us a glimpse into the remarkable "Ru'ah Ha'kodesh" of our great sages. From just a single letter – the letter "Vav" – the Ba'al Ha'Roke'ah was able to deduce this profound insight into the unique nature of Birkat Kohanim, undoubtedly testifying to his exalted level of understanding and insight.

Ian Fardy and Natalie Martin come together to tell you all about this year's NDC Exhibition which has some exciting new features & attractions as well as some past favorites! They also take a trip down memory lane reminiscing on some NDC & HIDA events they have been lucky to be involved in planning.

If somebody arrived late to the synagogue on Hanukah, while the congregation was reciting Hallel, should he join in the congregational recitation of Hallel and then recite Shaharit, or should he follow the standard sequence of Shaharit followed by Hallel? Several authorities, including the Mishna Berura (Rav Yisrael Meir Kagan of Radin, 1839-1933) and the Kaf Ha'haim (Rav Yaakob Haim Sofer, Baghdad-Israel, 1870-1939), rule that in such a case one should recite Hallel with the congregation and then recite the Shaharit prayer. In practice, however, one should follow the view of the Arizal (Rav Yishak Luria of Safed, 1534-1572) that the prayer service must always be recited in its proper sequence. Therefore, even though the congregation is reciting Hallel, one should pray Shaharit and then Hallel, in the usual order. Hallel is recited on Hanukah even in a house of mourning, Heaven forbid. This is the ruling of the Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1806), in his Mahazik Beracha, and of the Kaf Ha'haim (683:4). The Hida writes that even the mourner himself recites Hallel. If one cannot remember whether or not he recited Hallel on one of the days of Hanukah, he does not need to recite it (Kaf Ha'haim 488:9). Summary: One who arrives in the synagogue when the congregation recites Hallel should recite the prayers in the usual sequence, and should not join the congregation in reciting Hallel. Hallel is recited on Hanukah even in a house of mourning, and even by the mourner himself. One who cannot remember on Hanukah whether he recited Hallel does not need to recite it.

If a person who is traveling during Hanukah needs to leave for the airport before the time for candle lighting, and will arrive at his destination after the time for lighting in that location, is there some way for him to fulfill the Misva of Hanukah candle lighting that night? The Shulhan Aruch (Orah Haim 672) writes that the preferred time for lighting the Hanukah candles is “Mi'she'tishka Ha'hama” (literally, “when the sun sinks”). Hacham Ovadia Yosef writes that the Shulchan Aruch uses this term in reference to Set Ha'kochavim (nightfall), which occurs thirteen minutes after sunset. According to our custom, then, the preferred time for lighting the Hanukah candles is thirteen minutes after sundown. The Shulhan Aruch then adds that “Yesh Mi She'omer” – “there is somebody who says” – that if one will be unable to light at this time or later, then he may light the Hanukah candles earlier, already from the time of Pelag Ha'minha. During the Hanukah season, Pelag Ha'minha is generally around 3:30 in the afternoon. This opinion mentioned by the Shulhan Aruch – which the Bet Yosef brings in the name of the Orhot Haim (Rav Aharon of Lunel, France, late 13 th -early 14 th century) – allows lighting Hanukah candles already at this time, if one will be unable to light later. The question arises as to whether the Shulhan Aruch accepts this ruling of the Orhot Haim. Normally, there is a rule that in a case of “Stam Va'yesh” – where the Shulhan Aruch plainly states a Halacha, and then brings a different opinion with the words “Yesh Mi She'omer” – Halacha follows the first opinion (the “Stam”). At first glance, then, we might assume that the Shulhan Aruch does not accept the Orhot Haim's position, which he cites with the words “Yesh Mi She'omer” after plainly ruling that candle lighting must be performed only after nightfall. However, the Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1806), in his Birkeh Yosef, writes that in this instance, it seems that there aren't two differing opinions. The Shulhan Aruch first establishes that the proper time for lighting is Set Ha'kochavim, and then adds, citing the Orhot Haim, that one who cannot light at that time has the option of lighting earlier, from the time of Pelag Ha'minha. Moreover, the Hida notes, this view is held not only by the Orhot Haim, but also by several other Rishonim, such as the Ran and the Rashba. Therefore, we should follow this opinion, and allow one to light at Pelag Ha'minha if he will be unable to light at the regular time. Interestingly, in a later work, the Hida questions his conclusion. In his Kiseh Rahamim, the Hida writes that contrary to his analysis in Birkeh Yosef, it is quite possible that the Shulhan Aruch indeed intended to bring two different views, in which case we must follow the first opinion. Thus, one would not be allowed to light earlier than Set Ha'kochavim, even if he will be unable to light at the proper time. Likewise, the Shulhan Gavo'ah (Rav Yosef Molcho, Greece, 1692-1768) writes that the Rambam did not accept the Orhot Haim's opinion. As such, he rules, since there are differing views, one who cannot light at the proper time should light at Pelag Ha'minha but without reciting the Berachot, as we do not recite a Beracha in situations of uncertainty (“Safek Berachot Le'hakel”). By contrast, both the Peri Hadash (Rav Hizkiya Da Silva, 1659-1698) and the Mishna Berura (Rav Yisrael Meir Kagan of Radin, 1839-1938) maintain that a person who has no choice but to light at Pelag Ha'minha recites the Berachot when lighting. Some writers note that there are two precedents for lighting Hanukah candles before sundown with the Berachot. First, on Friday of Hanukah, we of course light the Hanukah candles before sundown, though this might be an exceptional case, since, quite obviously, it is forbidden to light candles once Shabbat begins. Secondly, candles are lit in the synagogue each night of Hanukah immediately after Minha, even before sundown, with the Berachot. These examples might lend support to the view allowing one to light the candles with the Berachot even before sundown when he has no possibility of lighting at the proper time. In any event, Hacham Ovadia Yosef ruled that given the Halachic uncertainty about the validity of lighting earlier than the proper time, one who must light early should not recite the Berachot. Thus, in the case of a person who must leave to the airport before the time for candle lighting, if he can light at Pelag Ha'minha (around 3:30pm) or later, then he should do so, but he should not recite the Berachot over this lighting. He must ensure to supply enough oil to sustain the flames until a half-hour after Set Ha'kochavim. Whereas generally Halacha requires merely ensuring that the candles burn for a half-hour, in this instance, where one lights before sundown, he must add extra oil, because the candles must burn until a half-hour after the proper time for lighting (just like when we light before sundown on Ereb Shabbat). Additionally, the individual in this case must recite Minha before lighting the Hanukah candles. By lighting the candles, he establishes that night has already fallen, and he would thus be contradicting himself if he recites Minha – the afternoon prayer – after lighting. It must be clarified that this entire discussion refers to a case of a person who is traveling with his entire family. But if someone is remaining at home, then that person should be assigned the job of lighting at the proper time on behalf of the family. (Based on Hazon Ovadia – Hanukah, p. 69, note 4) Summary: The preferred time for lighting Hanukah candles is thirteen minutes after sundown. If a person must leave on a trip before then, and will not arrive at his destination in time for that night's lighting, then if a member of his household is remaining home, that family member should light on the family's behalf at the proper time. If the entire family is traveling, then the person should light earlier, from the point of Pelag Ha'minha (around 3:30pm during the season of Hanukah). In such a case, he does not recite the Berachot over the lighting. He should recite Minha before lighting, and he must supply enough oil for the candles to burn until a half-hour after the time for lighting (meaning, until around 45 minutes after sundown).

Nghe trọn nội dung sách nói Trứng Chim Cúc Cu Này Thuộc Về Ai trên ứng dụng Voiz FM: https://voiz.vn/play/2472 Hiromasa Hida từng là một trong những vận động viên trượt tuyết hàng đầu Nhật Bản, đại diện cho đất nước đi tham gia nhiều giải đấu quốc tế; con gái anh Kazami cũng là một vận động viên trượt tuyết. Lúc Kazami hai tuổi, vợ anh, mẹ của Kazami tự sát. Hida lúc đó đang trong giải đấu quốc tế khi Kazami trào đời, và chỉ khi anh vượt qua nỗi đau sau cái chết của người vợ anh mới biết rằng cô ấy có một bí mật cần che dấu: Kazami không phải là con gái ruột của họ. Bỏ qua nỗi đau của sự thật phũ phàng ấy, Hida tiếp tục nuôi dạy Kazami và con bé dần trở thành một vận động viên tài giỏi hơn anh. Một thời gian sau, với khát vọng tìm ra được mối liên kết giữa gien di truyền và kĩ năng đạt được của những vận động viên trượt tuyết trong một cuộc huấn luyện, đội của Kazami mong muốn được nghiên cứu bộ gen của cả người cha lẫn con gái nên đã đưa ra lời đề nghị mời cặp bố con Hida. Không muốn tiết lộ bí mật về sự ra đời của con gái mình, Hida từ chối yêu cầu đó. Kazami nhận được một bức thư đe dọa khi cô ấy chuẩn bị tham gia một giải đấu, và rồi có một cuộc đánh bom xe buýt rõ ràng là nhằm vào cô. Bị thương nặng trong vụ đánh bom là Nobuyuki Kamijo, chủ tịch một công ty xây dựng đã đến gặp Kazami, người tuyên bố là một fan hâm mộ của cô. Ai là người đứng đằng sau vụ đe dọa và mục đích của họ là gì ? Ai là cha mẹ ruột thực sự của Kazami ? Hida tự tiến hành điều tra để trả lời những câu hỏi này, và anh đã tìm ra cha đẻ của Kazami. Nhưng việc tiết lộ sự thật kinh hoàng này với Kazami luôn là điều mà anh đắn đo. Giữa ranh giới của việc nói ra sự thật hoặc tiếp tục che dấu thân phận thực sự của Kazami. Đã đến lúc Hida phải đưa ra một quyết định quan trọng. Bằng giọng văn ma mị sắc bén, tiết tấu dồn dập như đang sống trong những thước phim trinh thám gay cấn, Keigo Higashino đã dẫn dắt người đọc đi từ bất ngờ này sang bất ngờ khác, từng bước gỡ bỏ những nút thắt quan trọng và đẩy tình tiết câu truyện lên đến đỉnh điểm. Lôi cuốn, ám ảnh, và đầy tính nhân văn, cuốn sách này xứng đáng là cuốn tiểu thuyết được tác giả Keigo Higashino dành nhiều tâm huyết nhất trong sự nghiệp văn chương của mình chắc chắn sẽ khiến các bạn độc giả hài lòng. Còn chần chừ gì nữa mà không sở hữu ngay cuốn sách đứng top đầu những cuốn sách trinh thám bán chạy nhất năm 2016. Tại ứng dụng sách nói Voiz FM, sách nói Trứng Chim Cúc Cu Này Thuộc Về Ai được đầu tư chất lượng âm thanh và thu âm chuyên nghiệp, tốt nhất để mang lại trải nghiệm nghe tuyệt vời cho bạn. --- Về Voiz FM: Voiz FM là ứng dụng sách nói podcast ra mắt thị trường công nghệ từ năm 2019. Với gần 2000 tựa sách độc quyền, Voiz FM hiện đang là nền tảng sách nói podcast bản quyền hàng đầu Việt Nam. Bạn có thể trải nghiệm miễn phí đa dạng nội dung tại Voiz FM từ sách nói, podcast đến truyện nói, sách tóm tắt và nội dung dành cho thiếu nhi. --- Voiz FM website: https://voiz.vn/ Theo dõi Facebook Voiz FM: https://www.facebook.com/VoizFM Tham khảo thêm các bài viết review, tổng hợp, gợi ý sách để lựa chọn sách nói dễ dàng hơn tại trang Blog Voiz FM: http://blog.voiz.vn/ --- Cảm ơn bạn đã ủng hộ Voiz FM. Nếu bạn yêu thích sách nói Trứng Chim Cúc Cu Này Thuộc Về Ai và các nội dung sách nói podcast khác, hãy đăng ký kênh để nhận thông báo về những nội dung mới nhất của Voiz FM channel nhé. Ngoài ra, bạn có thể nghe BẢN FULL ĐỘC QUYỀN hàng chục ngàn nội dung Chất lượng cao khác tại ứng dụng Voiz FM. Tải ứng dụng Voiz FM: voiz.vn/download #voizfm #sáchnói #podcast #sáchnóiTrứngChimCúcCuNàyThuộcVềAi #HigashinoKeigo

If one left his place while eating fruit (or other items requiring a Beracha Aharona of Boreh Nefashot), he must recite a new Beracha when he returns and wants to continue eating. In the event a person left someone else at the table, the Poskim conclude that he should not make a new Beracha. The remaining person continues his connection to the original Beracha. The Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1807) in Mahasik Beracha cites the Hidush of Rabbi Ya'akob Castro (1525-1610, Egypt) who rules that even if the people remaining in the original location were not eating, their continued presence alone exempts him from making a new Beracha. The Hida disagrees and brings proofs that the remaining people must also have been eating. Furthermore, the Poskim rule that if the remaining people had eaten with the person who left, but they finished eating and already recited a Beracha Aharona before he returned, he must make a new Beracha when he returns.SUMMARYIf one left his place while eating fruit, he must recite a new Beracha when he returns, unless someone remains eating in the original place until he returns.

We are back looking at Buddhism in the archipelago, this time in the reign of Nunakura Futodamashiki, aka Bidatsu. For references and more, check out our blog page at: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-88   Rough Transcript: Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua, and this is Episode 88: Let's Give This Buddhism Thing Another Try. This episode we are going to return to the story of Buddhism in the archipelago—specifically what was going on into the next reign.  And what a fortuitous episode to do it on as well.  For those who aren't aware, “8” is an auspicious number in Buddhism, so I figure for episode 88, this makes for a decent topic. Now back in Episode 86, we saw the death of Ame Kunioshi, aka Kimmei Tennou, in 576 CE, just as a delegation of envoys arrived from Goguryeo.  As we noted at the time, Nunakura Futodamashiki no Mikoto, aka Bidatsu Tennou, succeeded him to the throne.  You may recall that Nunakura was the second son of Ame Kunioshi and his Queen, Ishihime.  His older brother, Yata no Tamakatsu no Ohoye appears to have been the Crown Prince, but then he passed away, and so Nunakura was raised up in his stead. In many ways, Nunakura represents the Old Guard at this time.  The Chronicles make it clear that he is a classical heir, descended through multiple royal lineages.  His father, Ame Kunioshi, was of course the latest in the lineage descending from Wohodo no Ohokimi, aka Keitai Tennou, while his mother, Ishihime, was the daughter of Takewo Hiro Kunioshi Tate, aka Senka Tennou, Ame Kunioshi's brother by another mother—quite literally.   In fact, one wonders if the reason for Magari no Ohine and Takewo, aka Ankan and Senka Tennou, even being mentioned as sovereigns in the Chronicles may have been because of the way that they therefore legitimized Nunakura's own reign, as some scholars have suggested that they really may not have ruled at all, and that really it was all Ame Kunioshi during that entire period that their reigns covered.  After all, most of the sovereigns up to this point have been descended through multiple royal lineages, and even Magari no Ohine and Takewo's reigns were depicted as though they were simply regents, holding the seat for their younger and more legitimate brother. Nunakura held fast to the old traditions in another way, too: We are pointedly told in the Nihon Shoki that, though he was of good character, he was not a Buddhist.  This is perhaps a curious statement to make—after all, none of the previous sovereigns have really been Buddhist, either—but then this is the first sovereign to take the throne since the archipelago had been exposed to Buddhist teachings, at least according to the narrative. From our perspective today, that doesn't seem all that strange.  Buddhism had just come to the archipelago and, honestly, it hadn't made that much of a splash from what we can tell.  Back in Episode 85, Soga no Iname had set up a temple and started worshipping an image that had come from the continent, but that initial attempt was sabotaged by others, including Mononobe no Okoshi.  The old families were, of course, rather invested in the system of rituals around their local kami and the socio-political power they derived from being in charge of those same rituals. Soga no Iname had passed away towards the end of the previous reign, and his son, Umako, took up the mantle as head of the Soga family, and his father's position as Oho-omi.  Meanwhile, Mononobe no Okoshi had also passed away, and it seems that at the head of the Mononobe family as a man by the name of Yuge no Moriya, who was confirmed in his position as Ohomuraji by the new sovereign—or at least that is what the Nihon Shoki tells us, and it may be because of his prominence in the story to come.  The Sendai Kuji Hongi claims that it was Moriya's brother, Ohoichi no  Mikari, who was made Ohomuraji, but there is little else.  Regardless of whether it was Moriya or Mikari, the power dynamics between the Soga and Mononobe families were still in a similar to the previous reign, just in new hands. Now, for all that the Chronicles stress how much Nunakura was not a Buddhist, neither was he particularly nativist.  He enjoyed the Classics that were being imported from the mainland, and presumably was able to read in the continental fashion.  He was also interested in ensuring good relations with the Korean peninsula—with both Yamato's traditional ally of Baekje, but also with the growing kingdom of Silla.  Still, Buddhism was off the table for him. For the most part his reign started similar to any other.  After coming to the throne, in 572, he confirmed his wife as Queen, with his mother being hailed as the Queen Mother.  He also set up his own palace site at Ohowi in Kudara, in the land of Kawachi.  Interestingly this appears to place him outside of the Nara basin—certainly outside of the lands of the Soga.  However, the area that he settled in, Kudara, is interesting because that is the same reading given to the characters for “Baekje”.  In fact the kanji, or Sinitic characters, that they use are the same as “Baekje”, and if you didn't know otherwise you would likely read them as something like “Byakuzai”.  However, just as many characters for the Han and Tang dynasties are read as “Kara”, likely referencing the fact that things came to the archipelago through the Kara states, the name for Baekje was rendered as “Kudara”. And to be honest, I've never seen a good reason why the characters came to be read this way, or even whether or not that was the reading when the Chronicles were compiled.  Certainly it was the authoritative reading later on, and there are plenty of placenames that use that reading as “Kudara”.  Still, I'm not absolutely certain when that reading became common, but that is how these kanji are often pronounced, today, for whatever reason. Now just because Nunakura wasn't a Buddhist didn't mean that Buddhism wasn't still making inroads into the islands.  And while the Soga family would stand at the forefront of Buddhist proselytization, our first actor is actually a little different, and largely forgotten, from what I can tell.  His name was Ohowake no Miko, or the royal prince Ohowake. This name doesn't do a lot to help us identify him.  He's a royal prince, meaning he had a direct claim to the royal lineage, born to one of the sovereigns or their progeny.  “Oho” means “Big”, or “Elder”, and “Wake”, well, that's a bit more complicated.  Based on the way it is used in older names it would appear to be a title or honorific of some kind.  Traditional Japanese etymology claims that it comes from the fact that “Wake” comes from “Wakeru”, to break, cut off, or separate.  So basically they come from a line that has been “cut off” from the royal lineage, but they still have royal blood.  This seems a little suspect to me, personally.  I do wonder if it could be related to the term “Waka”, which also shows up a lot in names, but that is a stretch.  Instead, I think it may be an old title, or kabane, for a person of not insignificant rank.  Still, it isn't clear what is meant, and even then, this is a pretty generic name that doesn't tell us much about who this guy actually was.  One theory is that this is another name for someone mentioned elsewhere in the Chronicles, perhaps even one on the later sovereigns.  People at the time that the Chronicles were written knew who it referred to, but it is much harder to piece together, today.  Another suggestion is that this “Ohowake” was someone who was otherwise written out of the history for some reason—all except for here.  Of course, why they were written out one could only fathom a guess.  Finally, there is the thought that the name could be misspelled.  Back in the time of hand copying, over thousands of copies it would be easy to slip up once or twice in the thousands of characters they had written, already.  Later scribes then faithfully copied the mistake, and suddenly a new name is born.  Even then, though, I'm not sure we could make a good guess as to who this really was. What we do know is that in 577, this royal prince known only as “Ohowake” in the Chronicles went to Baekje, presumably as an ambassador for Yamato, and returned with religious books and six individuals, including monks, a nun, an architect, and a Buddhist image maker.   It is significant, that what this royal prince brought back was more than just books this time.  Now, there were artisans being imported who could actually make Buddhist statues and temples here in the islands.  They would have known how those temples were built, the significance of the layout, how the wooden beams were carved, and even how the distinctive rooftiles were made.  And this wasn't just different craft techniques - there were rules for how a temple was supposed to be constructed, the different buildings, even the relics to be buried underneath a building to help make it sacred.  Likewise the images also followed particular rules.  Whether it was the image of the Buddha, or of one of the many accompanying deities, it wasn't enough to be a stone carver or a woodworker—Buddhist imagery was its own thing.  All of this was very different from other artforms and architecture in the archipelago at the time.  It is also telling that Ohowake brought back monks and a nun.  Specifically they had brought monks who specialized in various practices, including meditation and mantra recitation.  You may recall that earlier the people of the archipelago had received images and texts, and it seems that Soga no Iname was trying to piece together what to do based on the texts—likely interpreting all of it through the eyes of the local religious practices of the time.  An ordained monk and an ordained nun, however, would have known the proper rituals and how they were to be conducted.  But almost more importantly, you needed Buddhist monks and nuns to make other Buddhist monks and nuns —although technically you typically need more than that, you should have a Sangha, a Buddhist community.  While traditions vary, it would seem that you need at least four monks to make a Sangha, and some traditions require at least ten —and I presume the same or more for women.   Whether or not they could authoritatively conduct all of the rites, the monk and the nun could, one assumes, teach how they were supposed to be done.   These newcomers appear to have been ensconced at a place called Ohowake-ji, or Ohowake temple, in Naniwa.  Some suggest that this may be in error and that “Ohowake” was a typo for “Ohogori”, an official residence for envoys traveling to and from Japan.  If this latter is true, then much like Soga no Iname had turned his house into a temple, these Buddhist teachers may have been staying at the Ohogoori-ji, and there was a scribal error of “Wake” for “Goori”.  This theory also notes that the word “Ji”, or “Tera” in the kun'yomi reading, originally meant an official government building, but gradually shifted to referring to Buddhist temples as Buddhism made its way across the desert, through Yellow River and Yangzi river valleys. By the time it made it to the Korean peninsula and across the strait to the Japanese archipelago, Buddhist temples were all using the suffix “-Ji”.  The problem with this theory is that we don't really see the character “ji” or “tera” used in the government building sense in other instances from this time, and so it seems a bit of a stretch to suggest that is what is going on here.  Personally, I envision that they did stand up a temple, though the actual location and design—let alone the artifacts within—have been lost to time.  Ohowake's import of Buddhist expertise wasn't it for Buddhism during Nunakura's reign, however, as things continued to trickle in.  In 579, for example, Silla envoys brought a Buddhist image, indicating that they, too, had taken an interest in this foreign religion, and they were using it as part of their diplomacy.  This may have been a further reason to pressure Yamato to at least look into the religion and join the larger world of Buddhist countries, but it doesn't seem to have swayed the sovereign—at least not in any obvious way. Five years after the gift from Silla, in 584, Soga no Iname's son and heir, Soga no Umako, decided to give this interesting new religion another go.  The atmosphere by this point was a little different: still not entirely hospitable, but there had clearly been more and more interest in Buddhism since its first arrival fifty years before.  In addition to the growing acceptance of this foreign religion, however, there were some key political aspects as well that may point to why Soga no Umako decided to act. You see, Nunakura, at the start of his reign, had been married to a woman named Hirohime, who was the daughter of Okinaga no Mate no Miko.  The Okinaga family doesn't get quite as much press as others, but seems to have been relatively powerful; and let's not forget that there was a sovereign, Okinaga Tarashi Hime, aka Jinguu Tennou.  They had not only supplied Hirohime as a daughter to the current sovereign, but their name is found in the lists of people who had produced wives of the sovereign going back for several generations.  Hirohime was the queen, and no doubt one of her progeny was expected to eventually come to the throne and rule as sovereign.  However, in 576, just five years into Nunakura's reign, Hirohime passed away.  This tragic event nonetheless left a bit of a political void in the form of the Queen, whose offspring would no doubt possess some serious political chops, whether or not they actually ruled.  Fortunately for the Soga, they had an answer: Toyomike Kashikiya Hime, the daughter of Amekunioshi and Kitashi Hime, which made her half-sister to Nunakura, but more than that, it made her the niece of none other than Soga no Umako, since her mother was also a child of Soga no Iname.  And without spoiling too much, put a pin in her name—we will definitely be coming back to her in later episodes.   It is unclear whether Kashikiya Hime was already one of Nunakura's  consorts or if she was instead promoted directly to queen, based on the way the Chronicle talks about it, but Queen she did become.  We are told that she was taken up at the “urging of the court”, and probably by certain prominent figures therein, and so the Soga's plan to marry their daughters into the royal lineage and thus use blood ties to more closely bind themselves to the central authority appears to have been working. This also meant that as Umako tried once again to get Buddhism off the ground, he now had a supposedly friendly figure in the royal bedchamber, who could help whisper in the sovereign's ear.  So he had, presumably, a little more clout than his father had when he had tried to set up a temple. To start things off, Soga no Umako had heard about two Buddha images in the archipelago, and he went about acquiring them.  The first was a stone image of Miroku, aka Maitreya, the future Buddha who was said to come in another four to nine thousand years to remind people of the Dharma once again.  This had been brought from Baekje by an immigrant known to us as Kafuka no Omi.  The other was an image of the Buddha, presumably Gautama, the historical Buddha, in the possession of one Saheki no Muraji. With these images in his possession, Soga no Umako went looking for someone with previous knowledge of Buddhist practices to assist.  To do this he enlisted the help of Kurabe no Sukuri no Shiba Tattou, along with others.  Tattou is traditionally thought to have come from the continent, possibly as early as 522 CE, about 63 years earlier.  The Fuso Ryakki, compiled in the eleventh century, claims he came from the “Great Tang”, even though that dynasty had yet to have been established, and that he had immigrated to the country of Yamato, where he built a grass hut and installed an image of the Buddha.  While this is likely a bit of exaggeration on the part of the ancient chroniclers, to make Tattou seem like the perfect Buddhist resource, it is likely that Tattou did come from the continent or was a descendant in the first or second generation, and that he had some knowledge about the religion.  This made him perfect for Soga no Umako, who needed someone who knew what to look for in others who might be able to assist him in once again setting up a temple of his own. Sure enough, Tattou found someone: a former monk from Goguryeo, named Ebin in Japan, now living in Harima, who had gone back to being a layperson.  This is not as unusual as it may seem, as there are many reasons that someone might leave the monkhood, and even later return back to it.  Whether or not he was currently an ordained and practicing monk, Ebin would have known the rites and how to proceed. Here I would note that it seems a bit odd that Umako would have searched high and low throughout the immigrant community if the temple of Ohowake was still there in Naniwa.  Why didn't they just ask someone from that temple to come and get things kickstarted for them?  Unfortunately, we don't know, though it is possible that the temple of Ohowake had already failed for some reason. And so the former monk, Ebin, was brought on board Umako's little project, and there are some sources that suggest there was a nun as well, known as Houmei, but I didn't notice her name in the Nihon Shoki.  Ebin—and possibly Houmei—were first told to instruct none other than Tattou's own daughter, Shima, or possibly Shimane, to become a Buddhist nun.  This may have been at least in part because Tattou's family clearly already had some familiarity with Buddhism, and there may have also been some linguistic advantages depending on the languages they knew and spoke—especially as much of what had come over was probably written in Sinic characters. Shima was given the Buddhist name of Zenshin, or more appropriately Zenshin-ni.  This was another common practice, at least in East Asia, where new initiates would take a Buddhist—or more appropriately a Dharma—name when they were ordained.  We'll see this a lot, and you have no doubt encountered such names elsewhere.  They are typically made up of two kanji, or Sinitic characters, and pronounced with the On'yomi reading.  The name is often given by a teacher and emphasizes some Buddhist virtue or teaching that is considered particularly apt.  In this case “Zenshin” would appear to mean something like “Auspicious Belief”. Two other women were taken on as students—or possibly as servants, or just junior nuns—along with Zenshin.  They were Toyome, daughter of Ayabito no Hoshi, who became Zenzou, which would seem to indicate “Meditative Storehouse”; and Ishime, daughter of Nishigori no Tsubo, who became Ezen, or something like “Blessed Fortune”. With three nuns, Soga no Umako built a Buddhist Temple onto the east side of his home where he enshrined the stone image of Miroku, or Maitreya, the future Buddha, and he had the three newly minted nuns worship there while Shiba Tattou and Hida no Atahe provided them support and sustenance. Although they were ordained and worshipping a Buddhist image, it is interesting that Umako chose women to become nuns, rather than monks.  There is some thought that, for all of the Buddhist instruction, Umako was still following a popular indigenous model of worship, where the three women were essentially acting in place of female shamans, a tradition that would appear to have been common on the archipelago all the way back to Queen Himiko, and hinted at in various places within the Chronicles, including the very stories of the kami themselves.  One also questions just how much the women knew regarding Buddhist practice, despite having a teacher who was formerly a monk.  There are some suggestions that the women themselves were rather young, with one note claiming that Zenshin was only twelve years old when she was ordained—hardly an age where one expects her to be leading, let alone teaching, about a foreign religion from another country. Furthermore, the terms used surrounding the nuns' “worship” also leads one to wonder.  The word used is “sai” or “matsuri”, which is sometimes translated as “maigre faire”, or abstinence, but here likely refers to some kind of meal or feast.  This was possibly a Buddhist vegetarian feast, though the idea of a feast as worship seems to dovetail nicely once again into the local practices surrounding kami worship as well. From this first meal, Tattou supposedly found a “relic”, by which would seem to be meant a relic of the Buddha.  Now what a relic of the Buddha was doing in the Japanese islands, so far away from the Indian subcontinent, might seem to be a pertinent question, but that is where you would be wrong.  You see, according to some traditions, the body of the Buddha had transformed through miraculous processes into hard crystal or glass stones, which themselves had made their way across the world.  This was fortunate for Buddhists, who therefore didn't need to send away for fresh relics from India every time they needed to found a new temple, they just had to find appropriate relics where they were. To test the relics—we aren't given much more of a description of what they were—Soga no Umako took a giant iron maul and brought that hammer down on the relic Tattou had found.  However, rather than the relic shattering, the iron maul broke, instead, along with the block of iron they had put underneath of it.  After testing its strength, the relic was placed in water, where it would float or sink depending on what was desired.  These supposedly proved that the relic was holy, and so it was used to inaugurate a new pagoda.  The pagoda was built on top of the Hill of Ohono, or large field, and we are told that they had the nuns conduct another ritual feast prior to placing the relic in the top of the pagoda, recalling the purpose of the pagoda as the replacement for the stupa, the repository for relics of the Buddha at a temple complex. In the background of all of this, Yamato was apparently experiencing their own epidemic.  We are told that pestilence was in the land, and Soga no Umako himself became ill.  Trying to ascertain the cause of his own illness, Umako enlisted a diviner, who told him that the pestilence was a curse sent by the Buddha worshipped by Soga no Umako's father, Soga no Iname.  Once again we see the Buddha being treated more like a kami.  After all, why would the one who came to save all sentient beings curse someone?  And yet they did seem to believe that this curse was due to the way that the previous temple that Iname had set up had been torn down and the image tossed, unceremoniously, into the Yodo river. And since the cause of the pestilence had been determined by a diviner, apparently that was enough to get Nunakura on board.  Whether or not he personally worshipped the Buddha, he allowed Umako to worship the image so that he could appease his father's gods and hopefully recover. Shortly thereafter—less than a week later, if the dates are to be believed—we start to really get a sense of déjà vu, as Mononobe no Yugehi no Moriya, son of Mononobe no Okoshi and the current Ohomuraji of the Mononobe family, remonstrated Nunakura over this whole Buddhism thing.  Just as Okoshi had done decades previously, Moriya claimed that the whole reason that there was an epidemic in the first place was because they had once again welcomed Buddhism into the land, and that they needed to put a stop to it.  Nunakura was swayed by his arguments, and he took back what he had said and issued an edict that demanded that the worship of Buddhism cease. Here we see, once again, the destruction of the Buddhist temple, but this time around we are given much greater detail.  For one thing, Moirya seems to have taken rather a lot of pride in this.  He went to the temple with his men, sat down in a chair, and from there he oversaw the destruction of the pagoda, the temple, and even the stone image.  Whatever couldn't be destroyed was taken to the Naniwa canal and thrown into the waters. As he did all of this, the Chroniclers record that there was wind and rain, but no clouds, not quite unlike the idea of a fox's wedding—an interesting phenomenon where you can have the sun, usually in the morning or late afternoon, shining at the same time that rainclouds overhead are opening up the heavens are pouring down. Moriya simply donned a raincoat, and then he upbraided Soga no Umako and all of his followers, trying to shame them.  He then had Sukune call forward the various nuns, who were stripped of their “three garments”, a term for the traditional Buddhist robes, although in East Asia this was eventually replaced with the single kesa over several lower garments, to help fend off the cold.  Here it is unclear if just a kesa is meant, or if they were dressed in an attempt at clothing from the Indian continent.  The nuns were then imprisoned and flogged at the roadside station of Tsubaki no Ichi, otherwise known as the Tsubaki Market. Despite thus cleansing the land of Buddhist influence for the second time, the pestilence didn't stop, and people continued to grow ill and die.  In fact, there was an embassy planned to talk about the Nimna situation once again, but both the sovereign, Nunakura, as well as Mononobe no Moriya himself, became ill and were afflicted with sores.  Once again, the land was plagued and people were dying.  According to the Chroniclers, who were, of course, writing after the fact in a well-established Buddhist state, the people started to privately complain that clearly Buddhism hadn't been the problem.  In fact, perhaps Soga no Umako's diviner had been correct all along and the plague was actually because they *hadn't* accepted Buddhism, rather than a punishment for neglecting the local kami. A few months later, Soga no Umako sent another message to the sovereign.  He was still ill, and hadn't recovered, even with Moriya “purging” the influences of Buddhism.  Umako claimed that the only things that would cure him were the Three Precious Things, which is to say the Sanzou, or the Three Treasures of Buddhism:  The Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.  Based on the severity of the disease, Nunakura authorized him to worship privately, and the nuns were allowed to assist him.  He rebuilt the temple and he provided for the nuns, himself.  Eventually, Umako recovered, but unfortunately, the sovereign did not.  Nunakura Futodamashiki, aka Bidatsu Tennou, died in 585, laid low by the plague that had swept through the land. At the funeral, the politics were on full display.  Soga no Umako had no love lost for Mononobe no Moriya, nor vice versa.  As Umako was delivering a speech, Moriya made a comment that with his extremely long sword at his side, Umako looked like a fat little sparrow that had been pierced through by a hunting shaft.  Meanwhile, Umako noted that Moriya was shaking as he gave his speech—whether from emotion, nerves, or something else we don't know—and so Umako suggested hanging bells on him, so that they would jingle as he shook.  From this rap battle on out, the feud between the Mononobe and the Soga would only grow. There is another account of all of this, buried amongst everything else, that claims that Mononobe no Moriya, Ohomiwa no Sakahe no Kimi, and Nakatomi no Iware no Muraji all conspired together to destroy the Buddhist religion.  They wanted to burn the temple and pagoda that Soga no Umako had built, but Umako opposed the project and would not allow it, or so we are told.  Here it is unclear if we are talking about the previous temple or the rebuilt one, but the names here are interesting.  Of course we know that the Soga and the Mononobe were going at it, and the inclusion of Nakatomi no Iware simply picks up the previous alliance between the Mononobe and Nakatomi, both of whom had been active during the assault on Soga Iname's temple.  Lastly, though, there is Ohomiwa no Sakahe no Kimi, which is interesting.  This figure would appear to be from the Ohomiwa family and region, likely drawing some amount of respect from their connection with Mt. Miwa itself, and the ancient worship that went on there.  So, in this version there really is a triple threat of “the old guard” banding together to resist this newfangled foreign faith. Incidentally, this same figure, Ohomiwa no Sakahe no Kimi, also appears just after the death of Nunakura, when Prince Anahobe figured he could just waltz in and take the throne on the assumption that he was owed it by birth.  He was a half-brother to Nunakura, son of Ame Kunioshi and his mother, Wonanegimi, who was another daughter of Soga no Iname.  Anahobe was therefore nephew to Umako, and perhaps that is one of the reasons he thought he could just waltz in and take his seat at the head of government.  But Prince Anahobe was foiled by none other than Ohomiwa no Sakahe, who posted a guard around the palace and made sure that nobody defiled it until a new sovereign had been identified by the court.  Anahobe voiced his complaint that Ohomiwa was protecting the court of a “dead king”, and that they should instead come to the court of a “living king”—presumably he meant his own. But that will take us past this point, and there are still some other details of Nunakura or Bidatsu's reign I want to touch on, such as his dealings on the continent, but here we can see how Buddhism and the feud between the Soga and the Mononobe was in full swing, and that will definitely play a large part in future episodes.  In addition, we'll see how this time, Umako wouldn't take things lying down.  He was going to get this Buddhism thing to stick one way or the other, and we'll see what happens when he finally founds the first permanent temple in Japan; a temple that, while perhaps not as grand as it once was, continues to operate into the modern day. Until then, thank you for listening and for all of your support.  If you like what we are doing, tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website, SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to Tweet at us at @SengokuPodcast, or reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

The Hida, explains that Rabbi Akiba after the death of his 24,000 students refused to give up and simply retire to Miami Beach and on Lag BaOmer, he began teaching his five new students. The gemara then states that the world was subsequently desolate, until Rabi Akiva came to the rabbis in the south and taught them, these being Rabi Meir, Rabi Yehudah, Rabi Yossi, Rabi Shimon [bar Yochai], and Rabi Nechemyah. It was through these five that the Torah would continue and flourish. Rabbi Yehuda ben Bava was a third generation Tana and a friend of Rabbi Akiva. He sacrificed his life at age 70 to ordain five of his students and continue the Smicha tradition. Rabbi Yehuda ben Baba is considered one of the Asara Hargay Malchus. Followingthe Bar Kochva revolt, the Hedrianic Roman government issued many cruel,ruthless decrees against the Jews. Realizing the continuity of the JewishNation was depended on the chain of Smicha, they decreed that any individual thatordains or is ordained will be executed and the entire city that housed theceremony will be demolished. Despite the grave danger, Rabbi Yehuda ben Bavathen age 70, went ahead and ordained the leading elders of the forthcominggeneration; RabbiYehuda bar Ilai, RabbiShimon bar Yochai, RabbiMeir, RabbiYossi ben Chalafta, Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua and possibly RabbiNichemya. In order to prevent the destruction of the hosting city, the Smicha was performed in between two large cities Usha and Shafram but outside their city limits. Ordaining the students was a lengthyprocess that required handing down various mysteries as well as Halachic rules and conclusion. In middle of the ceremony, they were discovered by a legion of Roman soldiers. Despite his students protests, Rabbi Yehuda ben Baba chose to remain and block the enemy so the newly ordained Rabbis could flee and continue the chain of Jewish survival. Using intense Kabbalistic meditations he wedged himself with stone like force in the narrow pathway, preventing the Roman soldiers from budging him although they pierced his body with 300 spears, giving his students a chance to escape. Significantly, it was Rabbi Shimon who affirmed the immortality of the chain of transmission of the Oral Torah. In a discussion recorded in the Talmud (Shabbat 138b), some sages voiced the opinion that the Torah was destined to be forgotten. Rabbi Shimon said, “God forbid that the Torah shall ever be forgotten!” He buttressed his view with a verse from the Torah, “For it (the Torah) will not be forgotten from the mouth of progeny of the Jews.” (Although the Arizal clarifies the day as a transformation from an aspect of din to an aspect of mercy still rooted in Din – a bit heavy and for another time), perhaps we can suggest that an aspect of celebration on Lag BaOmer is the transformation from death to rebirth. Perhaps the lesson lies in that although we suffered a tragedy, we must have faith that out of the ashes of that tragedy came the strength to build a future. We are told the 24,000 were not worthy of carrying the torch of Torah and transmitting it to the future. Although we mourn their deaths, wecelebrate that there were those who came after them or because of them who could transfer the light of Torah in those darkest of times of the Hadrian persecutions and still ensure it would not only survive, but blossom even within millennia of darkness I had a note scribbled in my margins at that time, most likely from Rabbi Abittan. I wrote: “We may not understand tragedy, but we must understand that within what we perceive as bad, within what we can only say baruch dayan emet to, there is a seed of resurrection and hope for the future – a phoenix.” The Shulchan Aruch, section 580, reports that on the 28th day of the month of Iyar a fast day is observed, marking the anniversary of the death of Shmuel HaNavi (Samuel the Prophet).(3) Because this is considered a so-called 'minor fast' many Jews are unaware of the significance of this commemoration. However, in antiquity this day was widely celebrated. RABBI ARI KAHN We learn that in that same period, Jews began to travel to Meron on the 18th of Iyar (better known as Lag Ba'Omer), where they would give their sons their first haircut. It is possible that this custom, practiced first in the outskirts of Jerusalem on the 28th of Iyar, was transported to the outskirts of Zefat on the 18th of Iyar when the tomb of Shmuel became off-limits for Jews.(5) Shmuel was a nazir, and as such never cut his hair, which would make his tomb an excellent place for a child to have his hair cut for the firsttime. Furthermore, the 28th day of Iyar, which falls after the 33rd day of the Omer, is a far less problematic date on which to cut hair: Sephardi minhag prohibits cutting hair until the 34th day of theOmer.(6) This, too, seems to support the theory that the custom was transported to the less-desirable, less-logical date of Lag BaOmer when conditions made the original custom untenable. The history of this minhag being as it may, we have a clear testimony that the 28th day of Iyar was, in antiquity, a day of pilgrimage as well as the yearly remembrance of Shmuel HaNavi. On that day, of all the days in the calendar, Jerusalem was the destination. We might even venture to say that the power ofthe prayers uttered all those years ago on this day by the pilgrims at the end of their arduous journey contributed to Jerusalem's liberation on the very same date, causing it to once again become the day when people venture up to Jerusalem. Yet there are other, deeper aspects of Shmuel's connection with Jerusalem that shed light on this special date.

The Halachot of using ovens and microwaves span both year round and Pesah. It is clearly prohibited to cook meat and milk simultaneously in a conventional oven. The Poskim discuss whether one may cook meat and milk consecutively, e.g. a meat dish today and a milk dish tomorrow. The issues is that the vapors from the meat dish are absorbed in the walls of the oven and will be released when cooking the milk dish. Following the principle of "K'bol'o Kach Polto"(the way in which it was absorbed is the way in which it is released), the only way to purge the meat from the oven is fire. Since it was absorbed through heat, it will be released by heat. Using a blowtorch on the walls of the oven would effectively neutralize any meat essence, but it is not feasible, since it may ruin the oven. Hacham Ovadia rules that it is sufficient to wait 24 hours in between the use of meat and milk and then burn out the oven by turning it on to a high temperature, while empty, for 15 minutes. If there are any drips or spills of food substance on the walls, they must be cleaned off. That combination of waiting and burning resets the status of the oven. This method of Koshering as known as "Libun Kal"-a minor burning out, which could ignite a piece of straw. Hacham Ovadia rules that it is sufficient here, even though Maran generally holds that a more intense burning, which emits sparks, is required. This leniency is based on several factors. First, the oven absorbed kosher food, "Hetera Balah"; i.e. the meat or dairy that was absorbed is only a problem when mixed together, but there is nothing intrinsically wrong with it. Furthermore, the meat that was absorbed is not the actual substance of the food, but merely the vapor. Of course, a self-cleaning oven is considered an even more intense method of purging the oven.According to this, if a woman cooked an uncovered dairy dish on Thursday night, she may not use the oven the next day to cook meat for Shabbat, because 24 hours have not elapsed. Therefore, one should pay attention to the time of cooking dairy on Thursdays. However, if the first dish is covered with aluminum foil, there is no issue of the vapors. Hacham Ovadia's approach is also lenient in respect to switching freely between milk and meat. This is in accordance with the Hida and the Peri Hadash who permit it, and disagree with the strict position of the Magen Abraham who was concerned that one may lose track of the status of the vessel. The question of using a microwave oven for meat and milk is contingent on whether its walls get hot. There seems to be a difference of opinion between the technicians on this matter. Hacham Ovadia concludes that to make a microwave Kosher for Pesah, one should boil soapy water for 15 minutes and the vapors will extract any Hames absorbed in the walls. He presents a lengthy discussion with proofs from the Maran and the Peri Megadim that vapors have the ability to extract. Regarding year-round use, one should always cover each dish he heats up with the special microwave plate cover. He should have three covers: Meat, dairy and Parve dishes. That way any vapors that escape the food are absorbed in the cover and not in the walls. If one heated up a food, e.g. pizza, without a cover, the microwave becomes dairy and may not be used for meat until it is koshered by boiling soapy water for 10 minutes inside of it. This is the conclusive practical Halacha, even though there were some Poskim who had a more lenient approach. This is also the method to kosher microwaves commonly found in hotel rooms: The microwave should be cleaned, the soapy water should be boiled, and then the kosher food may be heated using a plate cover (to be on the safe side). All of this assumes that a person has only one oven. If a person can have two separate ovens, that solves all the problems and is much easier. However, the Halacha does not require a person to own two ovens.SUMMARYIn order to use an oven for meat and milk consecutively, it must be totally clean of any drips or spills and then wait 24 hours and burn it empty on a high temperature for 15 minutes.A microwave must also be koshered between meat and dairy by boiling soapy water in it for 10 minutes.If the first dish was covered, there is no need to kosher the oven before cooking the next dish.

In Episode 05 of Snow Country Stories Japan, I speak with Hayashi Motohiro - better known as ‘Moto the Mountain Guide'. Moto is a true man of the mountains, an experienced guide who makes his working and guiding in Japan's tallest mountains. As such, Moto is most certainly leading the high life here in the snow country of Japan.Japan is in every sense a country of mountains. Over 70% of the Japanese land mass is designated as mountainous or rugged. Japan has 21 mountains over 3000 metres with many more mountains of over 2000 and 2500 metres. The majority of Japan's tallest mountains are found in three ranges in the centre of Honshu - the Hida, Kiso and Akaishi Mountains - more commonly referred to as the North, Central and South Alps; and when grouped together the three ranges are simply referred to as the ‘Japanese Alps'. It is important to note however that Mount Fuji - Japan's tallest mountain - is not located within the Alps but sits alone to the south*.*In the introduction to the podcast, I mistakenly state that Fuji is to the east of Tokyo. It is in fact to the west. My chat with Moto starts with us talking his winter working ski patrol at Hakuba Iwatake and his the upcoming season working and guiding in the North Alps and Mount Fuji. The conversation then moves onto his own story and how a young man from Saitama travelled to Nepal and then New Zealand, and fell in love with mountain life. For anyone wanting to book Moto as a guide, you can get in touch with him via his personal website – for guiding including the North Alps and others around Nagano – or the Fuji Mountain Guides website – in relation to guiding on Mount Fuji; and make sure to follow him on Instagram!For listeners interested in some of the destinations we discuss in today's episode, please refer to the following websites:Hakuba Iwatake Snow Field: https://iwatake-mountain-resort.com/winter.Kamikochi: https://www.kamikochi.org/.Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route: https://www.alpen-route.com/en/.For more information about the podcast and your host, visit our website: www.snowcountrystories.com. Make sure to subscribe, rate and review the podcast and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Snow Country Stories Japan is a bi-weekly podcast about life and travel in Japan's legendary 'yukiguni'. For more information about the show and your host, visit our website - www.snowcountrystories.com - and make sure to subscribe, rate and review the podcast and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Dr. Mindy answers questions about CBD, hip replacement, yellow in the eyes, Gamma Knife Radiation, COVID, shin rash, allergies, Hida-scan, MS, Plantar warts, sick kiddos, shoulder pain, Dad strength, drainage, IUD, GPA, Rosacea, fluid in the ear and Fungal acne.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maran, in Shulhan Aruch, discusses the special Shabbatot that precede Pesah and the various Halachot that apply on those days. On Shabbat Shekalim, we take out an extra Sefer Torah and read the section of Shekalim, just as on Shabbat Zachor, the Shabbat before Purim, we read the section of Zachor, and we read special portions from the Torah on Shabbat Para and Shabbat Ha'hodesh. Interestingly, however, Maran also makes mention of the Shabbat immediately preceding Pesah, which is called Shabbat Hagadol ("The Great Shabbat") because of the miracle that occurred on this Shabbat. Maran makes mention of this Shabbat, even though there are no specific Halachot associated with this Shabbat. There is no special reading from the Sefer Torah on this Shabbat, and there are no special prayers, and yet Maran made a point of mentioning in his Halachic code that this Shabbat is special and is called Shabbat Hagadol.It is true that there are several customs observed by some communities on this Shabbat. For example, many synagogues read a special Haftara on this Shabbat, but this is not required according to the strict Halacha. Some Ashkenazim read portions of the Haggadah on Shabbat Hagadol, but this, too, is just a custom, and in fact the Vilna Gaon (Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna, 1720-1797) was opposed to the practice. The Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1807) suggested that perhaps the Halachic implications of the status of Shabbat Hagadol relates to greetings extended to one another on this Shabbat. Instead of greeting one another with the usual greeting of "Shabbat Shalom," the Hida suggested that perhaps one should instead extend the greeting, "Shabbat Hagadol Shalom," and the other should then respond, "Shabbat Hagadol Shalom U'meborach." Still, it remains unclear why Maran would make a point of mentioning Shabbat Hagadol if there are no actual Halachot that apply on this Shabbat.Former Chief Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron, in his work Binyan Ab, suggested that the practical significance of Shabbat Hagadol lies in the perspective it gives us on the preparations for Pesah. On the Shabbat before the Exodus, which was the 10th of Nissan, Beneh Yisrael were instructed to prepare a sheep for the Korban Pesah (paschal sacrifice) which was slaughtered four days later, on the 14th of Nissan. In full view of the Egyptians, who worshipped sheep as an Aboda Zara, Beneh Yisrael took a lamb and tied it to their bedpost, and they even explained to the Egyptians what they were doing, that this animal would be sacrificed to G-d. The Egyptians wanted to kill the people for desecrating their deity, but G-d performed a miracle and made them powerless to cause Beneh Yisrael any harm.Rav Bakshi-Doron noted that this miracle differed fundamentally from the ten plagues. The ten plagues were brought directly by G-d, whereas the miracle of Shabbat Hagadol came about through the people's courage. It was through their preparations for the Misva that a miracle happened. And the fact that G-d performed a miracle during the preparation for the Misva, four days before the actual performance of the Misva, is very significant. It demonstrates that even the preparatory stages have great value; that even the work we do in preparation for a Misva is laden with significance. And thus Maran made mention of Shabbat Hagadol in Shulhan Aruch, to teach us the importance of preparing for Pesah, by learning and teaching the Halachot and putting ourselves in the proper frame of mind for the holiday. The miracle of Shabbat Hagadol teaches us that it is not only the Misva itself that has value, but also the work we invest beforehand preparing ourselves for the performance of the Misva.

One is required to stand out of respect for his father or mother once the parent comes within eyeshot, meaning, within 160 meters, or about 500 feet. If the parent comes within this distance, and the child sees the parent, the child is required to stand as a sign of respect. According to Sephardic custom, this applies each and every time the child sees the parent, even one hundred times a day. Ashkenazim follow a more lenient position, but Sephardic custom follows the stringent view of the Rif, Rashba and Rosh that one must stand out of respect for his parent no matter how many times he sees the parent.After one stands for his parent, he must remain standing until the parent reaches the place where he or she will be sitting or standing. Once the parent reaches his or her place, the child may sit down. However, there is a custom (noted already by the Hida) that when one's father (or Rabbi) receives an Aliya to the Torah in the synagogue, the child remains standing until the Aliya is completed and the father returns to his seat and sits down. One who does not observe this custom, and sits down once his father reaches the Sefer Torah, is infringing upon his father's honor, even though, technically speaking, he has not violated Halacha.The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in Parashat Ki-Teseh (15), rules that if one is praying in the synagogue and sees his father enter the room, he must stand, even if he is in the middle of Pesukeh De'zimrah or even the recitation of Shema. Although some Halachic authorities dispute this ruling, the Ben Ish Hai's view was accepted by Hacham Ovadia Yosef. Likewise, one who is reciting Birkat Ha'mazon and sees his father enter the room must stand.If one's parent enters the room while he is learning Torah, he must interrupt his learning in order to stand out of respect. Generally, one who is involved in a Misva is not required to interrupt to perform another Misva that comes his way ("Osek Be'misva Patur Min Ha'misva"). However, this rule does not apply to Torah learning, since the purpose of Torah learning is to lead us to the observance of Misvot, and thus one must interrupt his Torah learning for the performance of a Misva, such as standing for one's parent.The obligation to stand for one's parent applies even on a train or bus; if one's parent walks onto the train or bus, the child must stand. It goes without saying that if there aren't enough seats on the train or bus, the child must offer the parent his or her seat.Summary: One is required to stand when his parent enters the room, from the moment he sees the parent until the parent reaches the spot when he or she will be sitting or standing. When one's father is called to the Torah in the synagogue, it is customary to remain standing until the father returns to his seat after the Aliya. One must stand when his parent walks into the room even if he is in the middle of praying Pesukeh De'zimra or Shema, or reciting Birkat Ha'mazon.

In this episode, we catch up with Darryl Cody Brailsford. Originally from Utah in the USA, 'Cody', as he is affectionately known by friends, family and people in the sake world, has been brewing sake in Japan for over 15 years. Pretty much all of that time has seen Cody brewing sake at Watanabe Shuzoten, (producers of Hourai and Irootoko brands), in Hida, Gifu Prefecture. However, just on a year ago, Cody left Watanabe Shuzoten and started working at Funasaka Shuzo, located in the picturesque town of Takayama, Gifu Prefecture. Cody was an early guest of The TWTT Project (the Zoom sessions), back in June 2020, he also joined as a guest in the Zoom room for the 1st anniversary of the TWTT Project, alongside 3 other brewers, in April 2021. Now, he represents Funasaka Shuzo and we catch up with him to see how his new role is going and chat about some of the things happening at, and in relation to, the brewery... including the addition of a whisky distillery! Pour yourself a cup/glass of sake and enjoy Episode 5 of TWTT The Podcast. A huge thank you to our subscribers at Patreon More information about Taste with the Toji - The Project can be found on our website: https://tastewiththetoji.com/ Music by: Kazuyoshi Sato (Koikawa Shuzo) Other links from this episode: Funasaka Shuzo: https://www.funasaka-shuzo.co.jp/ Takayama tourism info: https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/tokai/gifu/takayama-and-around/ Watanabe Shuzoten: https://www.sake-hourai.co.jp/ Any questions, please email us at tastewiththetoji@gmail.com

En quoi le premier Passouk de Parachat Vayétsé est-il étonnant ? En quoi montre-t-il, selon le Steïpeler, l'importance pour un jeune homme (surtout de nos jours) d'aller à la Yéchiva ? En quoi rappelle-t-il, d'après le Hida, le débat mentionné dans la Guémara sur la question : "Vaut-il mieux aller à la Yéchiva puis se marier, ou l'inverse" ? Combien de pierres y avait-il sous la tête de Ya'acov Avinou ? Que dit le Eliya Rabba en suivant l'opinion qui dit qu'il y en avait douze ? Pourquoi certains disent qu'il y avait douze pierres, alors que d'autres affirment qu'il y en avait une seule ? Dans la vie, en quoi est-il si  important de faire des efforts dans le bien, quel qu'en soit le résultat ? Que dit le Sfat Émet à ce sujet ? 

A sukka does not need to be built "lishma," i.e., with the intention of building a structure within which one will fulfill the mitzvah of sukka. However, it must be built with the intention of providing shade. Therefore, the gemara (Sukka 8b) teaches that "sukkot ganbach," an acronym for sukkot constructed by those who not obligated in the mitzvah of sukkah, i.e., non-Jews, women, animals and cutheans, are valid. Some poskim, such as the Hida, write that preferably, a Jew should participate in the construction of the sukka, especially placing the sechach on the sukka. However, the Halacha clearly states that even if the entire sukka is built by a non-Jew, the sukka is valid.

Rav Yishak Yosef, in his Yalkut Yosef (Honoring Parents, p. 431 and onward), discusses the importance of blessing one's children. He emphasizes that parents should always be accustomed to blessing their children, particularly on Shabbat eve, and, even more so, on the night of Yom Kippur. Indeed, there is a widespread custom for children to kiss both parents' hands on Friday night and receive their blessing. The reason for this custom is the concern that the children may have perhaps angered the parents over the course of the week. Children should therefore kiss their father and mother's hand on Shabbat eve after Kiddush and receive their blessing. Even a married son who lives in reasonable proximity to his parents should go to their home on Friday night to kiss their hand and receive their blessing, even if this will delay his recitation of Kiddush. This is especially important if one's mother is widowed, Heaven forbid, in which case he must go to her home to recite Kiddush.If one's wife objects to this custom due to the delay it causes, the husband should explain to her the importance of this Misva. If she still objects, then he should consult with a Halachic authority for guidance.When parents bless their children, it is customary to recite the fifteen words of "Birkat Kohanim" (the priestly blessing – "Yebarechecha Hashem Ve'yishmerecha…"). The work "Keter Shem Tob" (p. 212) writes that the parent places his palm on the child's head while reciting this blessing because the hand has fourteen joints, and so together with the palm he places fifteen joints on the child's head. This act is thus symbolic of the hope that the fifteen words of "Birkat Kohamim" shall be bestowed upon the child's head.During the seven days of mourning, Heaven forbid, one does not bless his children on Friday night.Finally, one should accustom his children to kiss the hands of his parents, Rabbi, and Sadikim, and to receive their blessing. The Yalkut Yosef mentions that this is indeed the prevalent practice among Sepharadim. The Hid"a (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1806), in his work Shem Ha'gedolim, records a tradition that before the death of the Rif (Rabbi Yishak of Fez, Morocco, 1013-1103), the Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Maimonides, Spain-Egypt, 1135-1204) visited him and received his blessing. Later, the Rambam reportedly attributed his wisdom and scholarly achievements to this blessing he received from the Rif. The Hida notes that this account is chronologically flawed, as the Rif passed away some thirty years before the Rambam's birth. He therefore suggests that this tradition actually refers to Rav Yosef Ibn Migash (Spain, 1077-1141), a student of the Rif and teacher of the Rambam's father. In any event, this account certainly underscores the significant and effects of blessings received from great Torah figures.Summary: Parents should be accustomed to bless their children at all times, particularly on Friday night and the night of Yom Kippur. It is customary on Friday night for parents to place their hand on the child's head and bless him with the "Birkat Kohanim." Parents should also accustom their children to receive blessings from parents, his Rabbi and great Torah personalities.

Help your patients navigate gallbladder disease, including asymptomatic stones, incidental polyps, and uncomplicated cholecystitis. Dr. Rahul Pannala (@RahulPannala) talks us through how to diagnose biliary colic, what imaging to order, and what to anticipate for potential post-cholecystectomy complications (eg persistent pain or diarrhea). Feel confident in sending the right patients for cholecystectomy!  Claim free CME for this episode at curbsiders.vcuhealth.org! Episodes | Subscribe | Spotify | Swag! | Top Picks | Mailing List | thecurbsiders@gmail.com | Free CME! Show Segments Intro, disclaimer, guest bio Guest one-liner Case from Kashlak; Definitions Typical biliary pain Imaging for cholelithiasis Treatment for symptomatic gallstones Post-cholecystectomy diarrhea and pain Inpatient management of cholecystitis Advanced imaging- HIDA scans and MRCP Incidental gallbladder findings Outro Credits Producer, Writer, Show Notes: Molly Heublein, MD Infographic/Cover Art: Lyan Chang Hosts: Molly Heublein, MD, Nora Taranto, MD; Paul Williams MD, FACP    Associate Editor: Leah Witt, MD Showrunner: Matthew Watto MD, FACP Technical Production: PodPaste Audio Engineer for this live episode: Chris Chiu, MD Guest: Rahul Pannala, MD Sponsor: Ten Thousand Go to tenthousand.cc/CURB to get 15% off. Sponsor: Blueland You can get 20% off your first order when you go to Blueland.com/CURB Sponsor: Locumstory Visit Locumstory.com to find out more about locum tenens. The Curbsiders are partnering with VCU Health Continuing Education to offer FREE continuing education credits for physicians and other healthcare professionals. Visit curbsiders.vcuhealth.org and search for this episode to claim credit. 

Several Poskim, including the Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1806) and the Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), mention that one should not read Tanach, including Tehillim, after Set Ha'kochavim (nightfall) on weeknights. On the night of Shabbat and Yom Tob, it is permissible to read Tanach.There is some discussion among the Poskim concerning the status of Thursday night in this regard. The Arizal (Rav Yishak Luria of Safed, 1534-1572) mentioned a custom to read twenty-six Pesukim on Thursday nights, as written in the Hok Le'Yisrael text, and therefore some Poskim claim that once one is permitted to read these twenty-six verses, all reading of Tanach is permitted. Indeed, the Hesed La'alafim (Rav Eliezer Papo, 1786-1827) indicates that Thursday night is treated like Friday night in this respect. Therefore, those who wish to read Tehillim on Thursday night have a basis on which to rely. This is the ruling of the Ner Le'siyon.Several Poskim observed that there was a custom to permit reading Tanach even on weeknights after Hasot (midnight as defined by Halacha). A number of major Poskim, including Rav Shalom Sharabi (1720-1777) and the Hida, questioned this practice, but the Ben Ish Hai writes that although it is preferable to study Torah She'be'al Peh after Hasot, the custom to allow reading Tanach has become widespread, and thus one may rely on this practice and read Tehillim after Hasot.The Poskim also discuss the question of whether Tanach may be read on Mosa'eh Shabbat. The accepted Halacha is that since the sanctity of Shabbat extends until Hasot, one may read Tanach on Mosa'eh Shabbat until Hasot, and after Hasot there is in any event a custom to permit reading Tanach, as discussed. Hence, one may read Tehillim on Mosa'eh Shabbat. It thus turns out that this Halacha applies only to the four nights from Sunday night through Wednesday night.Rosh Hodesh is no different from an ordinary weekday in this regard, and thus one should not read Tehillim on the night of Rosh Hodesh. We nevertheless recite the chapter of Borchi Nafshi at Arbit on the night of Rosh Hodesh, because once it was instituted as part of the prayer service, it may be recited, just as we recite Shir La'maalot Esa Enai every night at Arbit. Outside the framework of the formal prayer service, however, one should not read Tehillim on the night of Rosh Hodesh.It must be emphasized that on the nights when Tehillim should not be read, it is counterproductive to do so. Often, text messages go out asking people to read Tehillim on behalf of an ill patient, and sometimes these messages are received at night. One should not read Tehillim before Hasot on the nights when it is improper to read Tanach.The exception to this rule is somebody who is not capable of studying anything else besides Tanach. For such a person, it is certainly preferable to read Tehillim than to just waste time. Some Halachic authorities draw proof to this conclusion from the Gemara's comment that when one returns home in the evening, "Im Ragil Li'krot Koreh Im Ragil Li'shnot Shoneh" – which means that if he is accustomed to reading Tanach he should read Tanach, and if he is accustomed to study Talmud he should study Talmud. The Gemara clearly allows learning Tanach at night if one is only accustomed reading Tanach, and is incapable of studying other material. Otherwise, however, one should ensure not to read Tanach on those nights when it is improper to do so.Summary: It is improper to read Tehillim from nightfall until Hasot on Sunday night, Monday night, Tuesday night or Wednesday night, except on Yom Tob. Only one who is incapable of studying other material, and would thus otherwise waste time, may read Tehillim during these times. Even after Hasot, it is preferable to study Torah She'ba'al Peh than to read Tanach.

Joining us for Medical Monday is Dr. Hida Nierenburg, director of headache medicine at Nuvance Health. WAMC's Ray Graf hosts.

One may not eat Masa on Ereb Pesah. This restriction begins from dawn, but it is permitted the night before. Only Masa that is fit to fulfil the Misva of the Seder night is prohibited to eat. Therefore, one may eat a dish made with boiled Masa, since cooked Masa is not fit for the Misva. The Poskim debate whether fried Masa may be consumed on Ereb Pesah. Hacham Ovadia is lenient, based on the Hida who ruled that frying is considered cooking when it comes to the prohibiton of cooking meat and milk. Hacham Bension, on the other hand, prohibits it. They also disagree whether one may eat Masa which was not made "Lishmah"-for the sake of the Misva. Again, Hacham Ovadia is lenient, and Hacham Bension is strict. There is no problem eating Masa on the first day of Yom Tob, even though it is the prelude for the second Seder. However, when it falls on Shabbat, the custom is to eat Seudah Shlishit early, to build an appetie for the Seder.All agree that one may eat "Masa Ashira"-Egg Masa, since it is not fit for the Misva of the Seder. After the tenth hour of the day, corresponding to approximately 4PM, one may not have a meal of "Masa Ashira" to enhance one's appetite to eat Masa at the Seder. Nevertheless, Hacham Ovadia allows eating an amount smaller than a Besa (egg's bulk). After the tenth hour, one may only eat fruit or meat and fish. Hacham Ovadia also allows eating rice or potatoes, whereas Hacham Bension prohibits doing so. The spirit of the Halacha strives to prevent a person from filling up before the Seder, and therefore every person should act according to his own disposition and avoid this problem. It is best to eat all the meals before the tenth hour and avoid all problems.May one eat Maror on Ereb Pesah? Do we say that Maror is like Masa and should be eaten with a hearty appetite at the Seder? If so, one should avoid eating Iceberg and Romaine lettuce, which are types of Maror, on Ereb Pesah. Hacham Ovadia rules that there is no problem, since there is no Misva to eat Maror with an appetite. On the contrary, the Maror reminds us of the bitter slavery, which we do not relish. Similarly, there is no problem eating an egg or the fruits used to make Haroset on Ereb Pesah.Maran rules that one may not drink a small amount of wine on Ereb Pesah because it satiates, whereas a large amount of wine is permitted because it opens the appetite.

There is no obligation to recite Hallel on Purim. One reason for this is that the reading of the Megila, which tells the story of the miraculous events, takes the place of Hallel. Therefore, if one cannot hear the Megila, there are Poskim who hold that he should recite the complete Hallel. This should be done without a Beracha, as there is a difference of opinion on the matter.After the Shir Shel Yom (Psalm of the Day), the Mizmor (Tehilim 22) "Al Ayelet HaShachar" is added. Esther was referred to as "Ayelet Hashachar," and this was the prayer she offered upon approaching the King's private chamber.It is prohibited to eat even a small amount before hearing the Megila on Purim morning, even if one has already prayed. Therefore, one should insure that his wife and children hear the Megila promptly, so that they can eat.Immediately after Shacharit, the Matanot LaEvyonim are distributed. Performing this Misva early is not only a fulfillment of "Zerizim Makdimim L'Misvot," but it also enables the recipients to use the money to buy what they lack for the holiday.The Shulhan Aruch rules that the Beracha of Shehechiyanu is not recited before reading the Megila in the morning. This applies even if one did not fulfill the Misva of Megila the previous night. The Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1807, Lev David, Ch. 30) brings a custom for both men and women to light two candles in honor of Mordechai and Esther on Purim. After lighting the candles, one should give Sedaka and offer heartfelt prayers and requests in their merit.There is a widespread custom to don costumes on Purim. The Hida mentions this specifically with regard to the Seudah. The Rama even permits men to dress up in women's clothing. He argues that since it is in the Purim spirit, it does not constitute a violation of the Torah prohibition of cross-dressing. Nevertheless, Hacham Ovadia and Hacham ben Sion both rule that one should not rely on the Rama's leniency. Although Hacham ben Sion does permit children to wear the other gender's clothes, Hacham Ovadia was opposed even to that. The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909, Ateret Tifferet) brings a custom for women to adorn themselves with their fanciest jewelry, even more than Shabbat and Yom Tov. This custom has its origins in the Kabbalah. This should only be done within the confines of her own home and not to go out publicly, so as not to breach the standards of modesty.

The Ba'al Ha'turim (Rabbenu Yaakob Ben Asher, 1269-1343) famously observes that Moshe Rabbenu's name is conspicuously absent from Parashat Tesaveh. Rather than begin this Parasha with the standard introduction, "Va'yedaber Hashem El Moshe Lemor" ("G-d spoke to Moshe, saying"), this Parasha instead begins with G-d saying to Moshe, "Ve'ata Tesaveh Et Beneh Yisrael" – "And you shall command Beneh Yisrael," as though He specifically did not want to mention Moshe's name. The Ba'al Ha'turim attributes this unusual omission to Moshe's demand after the sin of the golden calf that if G-d did not forgive the people, "then erase me from the book which You have written" (Shemot 32:32). Although G-d ultimately forgave the people, nevertheless, the Sages teach that a righteous person's curses are fulfilled, at least partially, even if they are conditional. Moshe's pronouncement was thus fulfilled in the form of his "erasure" from Parashat Tesaveh. The Vilna Gaon (Rav Eliyahu of Vilna, 1720-1797) added that this Parasha, Parashat Tesaveh, was chosen as the section from which Moshe's name would be "erased" because this Parasha is almost always read around the time of 7 Adar, Moshe Rabbenu's yahrtzeit. Let us delve a little deeper into Moshe Rabbenu's pronouncement, "Erase me from the book which You have written." The Midrash contrasts Moshe's response to G-d's decree following the sin of the golden calf, with Noah's response to G-d's decree to flood the earth. Noah obeyed G-d's command to build an ark for himself and his family, but he did nothing to try to save the rest of humanity. In fact, the prophet Yeshayahu (54:9) refers to the flood as "Meh Noah" – "the waters of Noah," and the Zohar explains this phrase as implying that Noah was held accountable for the flood because of his failure to intercede on the people's behalf. Moshe, however, reacted the opposite way to G-d's decree, not only pleading for Beneh Yisrael, but going so far as to say, "Erase me." Like the captain of a ship, Moshe declared that he would not abandon his "passengers" under any circumstances, and that if they were destroyed, then he would be destroyed with them. The Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1806) develops this idea further, explaining that Moshe was actually a Gilgul – reincarnation – of Noah. Noah's soul returned in Moshe in order to achieve its Tikkun (rectification). Indeed, the Torah (Shemot 2:2) tells that when Moshe was born, his mother saw that he was "Tob" ("good") – a word which in Gematria equals 17, alluding to the 17 generations between Noah and Moshe. Noah and Moshe are the only ones in the Torah who are said to have been in a "Teba" – the word used in reference to Noah's ark, and in reference to the basket in which Moshe was placed in the river. The Hida writes that when G-d informed Moshe of His decision to annihilate Beneh Yisrael after they worshipped the golden calf, this was his moment to achieve his Tikkun. Moshe responded by declaring, "Meheni" – "erase me." The letters of this word can be rearranged to spell the words "Meh Noah" – "the waters of Noah," which, as mentioned earlier, speak of Noah's responsibility for the flood. Moshe's pronouncement of "Meheni" rectified this mistake, and thus his soul achieved the Tikkun that it required. This is a vital message that applies to each and every one of us. We are here in this world to look out not only for ourselves, but for everyone around us. The Arizal (Rav Yishak Luria, 1534-1572) would tell his disciples that the most important thing they need to do is to look out for one another. If a student is concerned only with himself, his wellbeing and his own spiritual advancement, the Arizal warned, then he will not grow. The Torah he learns will not be properly absorbed. The omission of Moshe's name from Parashat Tesaveh is not a punishment, but to the contrary – a badge of honor, a magnificent testament to Moshe Rabbenu's unbridled and unlimited devotion to Am Yisrael, which sets an inspiring example for all of us to follow.

Co-hosts Dr. Christopher Beck and Dr. Aaron Fritts discuss cholecystostomy tube placement for acute cholecystitis, including the pros and cons of different techniques, and pitfalls to avoid. --- EARN CME Reflect on how this Podcast applies to your day-to-day and earn AMA PRA Category 1 CMEs: https://earnc.me/QDepym --- SHOW NOTES In this episode, our hosts Dr. Aaron Fritts and Dr. Chris Beck compare their procedural techniques for placing cholecystostomy tubes. They start the conversation by discussing patient workup. Dr. Beck always obtains an ultrasound and sometimes a HIDA scan. He also orders coagulation tests and checks if the patient is on anticoagulation medication in order to stratify the risk of the procedure and counsel the patient accordingly. Next, the doctors discuss pros and cons of transhepatic and transperitoneal approaches. Dr. Fritts usually prefers a transhepatic approach because it minimizes the risk of biliary leaks. He also believes that it is easier to stick the gallbladder in an area where it is affixed to the liver. Dr. Beck emphasizes that the gallbladder is a dynamic organ, so doing this procedure under ultrasound with fluoroscopy will allow real-time visualization of the needle. Finally, they consider different needle and drainage options. There are a variety of needles that can be used, including AccuStick, Yueh, and spinal needles. With drainage, the doctors highlight the differences between drainage bags and JP bulbs, noting that the former relies on drainage of infected bile by gravity, and the latter provides additional vacuum suction.

Parashat Mishpatim presents us with a lengthy series of laws dealing primarily with civil matters, situations such as damages, the responsibility of a watchman or borrower for the item entrusted to him, money lending, and similar legal questions. Rashi, commenting to the opening verse of the Parasha, offers an explanation for the connection between these laws and the end of the previous Parasha, Parashat Yitro. The final verses of Parashat Yitro discuss a number of laws relevant to the Mizbe'ah, the altar upon which sacrifices were offered in the Bet Ha'mikdash. The juxtaposition between these laws and the laws in Parashat Mishpatim, Rashi explains, alludes to the requirement for the Sanhedrin – the highest body of Torah authority – to convene near the courtyard of the Bet Ha'mikdash, where the altar was situated. The Torah linked its discussion of the altar and its presentation of its civil laws to instruct that the Sanhedrin, the body assigned the task of elucidating the law, was to have its offices near the altar. We might also propose an additional explanation. The final verse of Parashat Yitro introduces the prohibition against ascending to the altar by stairs. The Torah commands that a ramp be used to reach the top of the altar, instead of a staircase. The Keli Yakar (Rav Shlomo Efrayim Luntschitz, Prague, 1550-1619) explains that walking up stairs symbolizes arrogance, as one spreads his legs and takes long, proud strides. We are to serve G-d with a sense of humble subservience, without even a tinge of arrogance, and so the Torah forbade ascending to the altar via stairs. With this in mind, let us proceed to more closely examine the next verse – the opening verse of Parashat Mishpatim, in which G-d introduces to Moshe the Torah's code of civil law by stating, "And these are the laws which you shall place before them." Rashi, noting the unusual expression, "Tasim Lifnehem" – "you shall place before them," explains that Moshe was to present the laws to the people in a clear, accessible fashion, "like a set table that is prepared before the people for eating." Torah should ideally be taught like a "Shulhan Aruch" – a "set table," clearly and lucidly, such that the students can easily absorb the information as though taking readymade food from a properly arranged table. Rashi's comments are, of course, the origin of the title chosen by Maran, Rav Yosef Karo (1488-1575), for his remarkable Halachic work – "Shulhan Aruch" – which presents the entire corpus of practical Halacha in a clear, organized manner. The Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1806), in his book Shem Ha'gedolim, writes that during the times of Maran, there were two other outstanding scholars who worked on this very same project – the composition of a clear, organized code of practical Halacha. However, out of these three projects, only Maran's Shulhan Aruch was successful and gained universal acceptance throughout the Torah world. The Hida writes that he received a tradition explaining that Maran's project was successful because of his exceptional humility. He wrote and conducted himself with a sense of humble submission, and it was this quality which earned him the great privilege of producing a work which quickly became the authoritative source of practical Halacha for the entire Jewish Nation. It turns out, then, that presenting Torah "like a set table" requires humility. In order to succeed in this ambitious endeavor, of teaching Torah in a clear, accessible fashion, one must conduct himself humbly and avoid all arrogance. Accordingly, we might suggest a connection between the final verse of Parashat Yitro – the prohibition against ascending to the altar with stairs – and the beginning of Parashat Mishpatim, which speaks of presenting Torah clearly, "like a set table." Underlying both commands is the theme of humility, which must characterize our service of G-d and which is a necessary prerequisite for successfully transmitting the Torah to the next generation. Other disciplines can be effectively taught regardless of the teacher's character; even an arrogant, conceited instructor can figure out how to present information clearly. When it comes to Torah, however, character is integral to the process of learning and transmission. The sacred words of the Torah are accurately and effectively communicated only by those who have developed and refined their characters in the manner required by the Torah, who conduct themselves with humility, patience and graciousness. Only scholars with such character are worthy and capable of presenting the Torah "as a set table," the way Torah is meant to be taught.

Nanako Hida is a yoga Asana instructor from Japan, currently living in Saigon, having extensively traveled, living in places such as New Zealand, Spain, Singapore and India, where she spent the beginning, and large majority of this 2020 pandemic. We discuss her work, career, physical and mental benefits of her practice, future aims, and more. You can find out more about Nanako at @go.with.nana and @yoga.with.nana on Instagram, and more about ComebaCK at @thecomebackwithck on Instagram. (Website coming soon).

Thought leaders from Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA) join Liz on this episode to talk through the first 100 days of a new federal administration. Linda Rouse O'Neill, HIDA's Vice President of Government Affairs, and Mary Beth Spencer, HIDA's Director of Government Affairs, share supply chain-specific news related to the first leg of President Biden's administration. The pair focus on the significance of early executive orders and key regulatory actions put in place to support the supply chain, the progress of the COVID-19 vaccination effort throughout the first 100 days, Congress' involvement in the president's agenda so far, and insight into future opportunities that lie ahead for the distribution industry.