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Parshas
Pikudei:
A Lofty Vision
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Rabbi
Yoel Goldberg
[Don’t forget to see the Halacha
Encounters below!]
The Pasuk says that Betzalel did everything “Asher Tzivah
Hashem Es Moshe – As Hashem commanded Moshe”. The Pasuk is
puzzling because it doesn’t say he did all that he was commanded
by Moshe, but rather that which Hakadosh Baruch Hu commanded
Moshe Rabeinu. Rashi on the Pasuk explains that Moshe told
Betzalel to construct the Kailim and then the Mishkan. Betzalel
then questioned him by saying it is the way of the world to
first build the house and then to fill it with Kailim, so we
should build the Mishkan first. Moshe replied and said “Kach
Shamati Mipi Hakadosh Baruch Hu – This is what I heard from
Hashem”. Moshe agreed with Betzalel, and the Mishkan and Kalim
were built according to the order of Betzalel.
Rashi is difficult to understand, how could Moshe either forget
or change that which he was commanded. The Gur Aryeh explains
that the Kailim were assigned to Kehas to carry while the Mishkan
was carried by the Merari. Since Moshe, Aharon and the Kohanim
were from Kehas, it was seen as a Maaleh for the Kailim. Therefore,
Moshe replied that the Kailim were first. Betzalel then replied
that on a practical level the Mikdash should be built first.
However, Rashi says that Moshe told Betzalel “Betzail Kail
Hayisa – You were in Hashem’s shadow”. This remark implies
that only due to Betzalel’s lofty level could he have “corrected” Moshe.
But the logic that he gave seems fairly simple, so why did
Moshe answer Betzalel with such a remark that he was in Hashem’s
shadow? Conversely, the logic seems to contradict what actually
occurred. The Mishkan was finished in the end of Kislev while
it wasn’t inaugurated until the 23rd of Adar, so
the Kailim weren’t “stored” in the Mishkan like vessels are
stored in a house.
Rav Schwab wants to answer our dilemma based on a Midrash.
The Midrash says that the Bais Hamikdash of this world is based
on the Bais Hamikdash Lemaalah and that everything that is
created Lemaalah is created Lematah. Therefore, even though
in this world the Kailim weren’t going to be placed in a “house” immediately,
since the Bais Hamikdash Lemaalah was Hukam, Betzalel felt
the building of the Mishkan and its Kailim should be the same
of that of the creation of the ones Lemaalah. This also answers
why Moshe responded to Betzalel with such a lofty compliment,
because Betzalel had the special ability to see which was lemaalah.
In addition, the Pasuk says (39:32) “Vayaasu – And They Did”,
and in the end it repeats and says “Kain Asu – So They Did”.
Rav Shternbuch says that Moshe received special directions
as to how to build the Mishkan with the Shechina residing within
it. Not only did Bnei Yisrael build the Mishkan and Keilim
with the proper measurements and specifications but they also
built it with the special intentions of having the Shechina
live amongst them. The repetition shows that the whole process
was done Lishma and not for their own personal reasons. This
is why Moshe then blessed Bnei Yisrael by saying “Yehi Ratzon
Shetishre Shechina Bimaaseh Yedeichem-It should be (Hashem’s)
will that the Shechina should rest in the work of your hands”,
that the purpose of the construction was the Shechina living
among the Bnei Yisrael. Therefore, Betzalel was the proper
choice to be the foundation and master builder of something
of such importance. Betzalel was able to look lemaaleh and
have Bnei Yisrael follow in his lead and bring the Mishkan
into existence with the proper intentions.
Rabbi
Goldberg learns second seder with the Kollel.
Halacha Encounters
Purim Meals on the Move
Rabbi Moshe Rosenstein
Reuvain and his family are eating their Purim Seudah together
with Shimon and his family. All of a sudden, Levi comes
singing into the home with his family and asks if there is
room for a few more at the table. As Mrs. Shimon prepares
chairs and place settings for the Levis, Levi picks up a
glass of wine to make a “l’chaim” and continue his
fulfilling of the mitzvah of simcha on Purim. But
before he makes a brocho on the wine he pauses, realizing
that he had already had some wine to drink in his own home
before coming here. He thinks for a moment if he indeed
needs to recite a new brocho on the wine where he
is. In a quandary, he puts down the wine and wonders if
he will be able to fulfill his mitzvah of ad d’lo yada after
all.
The
Halachic Background
The Gemora in Pesachim [101] discusses the halachos
of what happens when a person makes a brocho in one
place and then moves to another area while still in the middle
of his eating. The issue revolves around the following principle: When
one makes a brocho rishonah [blessing recited prior
to eating or drinking] on food or drink, that brocho does
not last indefinitely. There are several ways for the brocho’s
ability to “cover” later foods to be severed. One obvious
end to a brocho’s potency is for one to make a brocho
acharonah. If one said an after-brocho on food
that he ate and he would then desire to eat more food he
would certainly need to recite a new brocho rishonah. Likewise,
if a person definitively decided that he was not going
to eat any more in this sitting, and then he were to change
his mind and decide to eat more, he would also need to recite
a new brocho as he himself severed his prior brocho. [The
details of what is considered a “definitive” end of one brocho’s
potency are many. See Orach Chaim 179 for the particulars.] Another
potential way for a brocho to no longer retain its
ability to work for future food is if a person leaves the
original place where the first brocho was made and
continues his eating in another place. It is the details
of this type of situation that we will examine here.
Note: The
halachos discussed here apply only to those of Ashkenazic
decent. The practical halacha is very different for Sefaradim.
The
Practical Halacha
We will divide the practical halachos
into two sections: What
to do if one already moved from the place of the original brocho and
only then realizes that they would like to eat more (as in
the anecdote above). And
what to do if one knows in advance that they would like to
move mid-way through their eating from one place to another.
One
Already Left Their Original Place of Eating
If one had no intention of leaving his original place from
the onset, the determining factor that will decide whether
or not one will have to make a new brocho rishonah on
food he would like to eat in his “new” place is if we consider
the person to be “kavuah,” set or anchored, to the
place of his original brocho. If he is considered kavuah in
his original place, his new eating will be seen merely as
a continuation of the eating that he began in his original
place. He therefore will not need a new brocho on
foods (of the same brocho-type) in the new place. If,
however, he is viewed as having severed his connection to
the original place, his brocho will be severed as
well, thereby requiring a new brocho in his current
location. The eating of certain foods is considered to be
the “anchor” necessary for a person to be considered kavuah in
his original place. Any food that requires a brocho acharonah to
be recited in the place of eating is considered to be an “anchor-food.” The
only food that can definitely be considered a k’vius is
bread. If one moved from place to place in
the middle of a bread meal, any food that would not have
needed a brocho in his original meal does not need a new brocho in
his new location. When it comes to mezonos foods
or any foods of the Seven Species of the Land of Israel, there is a dispute amongst the poskim whether
or not the brocho acharonah must be recited in the
place of the original eating. Therefore,
if one moved from place to place while eating any of these
foods or drinking wine, a new brocho should not be
made in the new location. [This,
however, should not be done intentionally. See below.] Only
foods and drinks that are not of the Seven Species would
require a new brocho to be recited in the new location.
One Knows in Advance That They Would Like
to Leave in the Middle of Their Eating
In almost all situations it is
proper not to change one’s
location (to another building) in the middle of a meal if
he wishes to rely on his original brocho (as per the
laws discussed above). If one would like to leave his current
location, he should make the appropriate brocho acharonah before
leaving and then recite a new brocho rishonah on his
food in the new location.
The only situation in which it is permissible lichatchilah for
one to change his location mid-meal and
continue eating is as follows: If one is planning on beginning a
bread meal in one location and then leaving and continuing
it elsewhere, he must have in mind while reciting hamotzi that
this is in fact what he plans to do. If he made the brocho of hamotzi with
this in mind, then it is permissible lichatchilah to
leave in the middle and continue eating in the new location
without a new brocho. Regarding brochos,
the only additional requirement is that actual bread be eaten
in the second location, if he wishes to say birchas hamazon there. He
must, however, wash his hands for netillas yadayim in
his new location without reciting the brocho of al
netillas yadayim.
Rabbi Rosenstein learns full time in the
Kollel and is a frequent contributor to Halacha Encounters.
[1] As for the halachos
of making a brocho acharonah in the new place (as
opposed to having to return to the first place of eating),
see O.C. 184:1-3.
[3] See O.C. 177:1-5
for foods that would not have been covered by the original
hamotzi reagrdless
of his change of location.
[4] O.C. 178:4
and Mishna Berura there.
[5] Wheat, barley,
grapes, figs, olives, dates and pomegranates.
[6] O.C. 184:
3 and M.B. s.k. 12
[7] O.C. 178 M.B.
s.k. 45
[8] The same halacha
applies even if the person leaves and then returns to his
original place of eating, see Rema 178:2. However,
if he was eating or drinking with another person together,
if upon his return, the other person is still there, he need
not (and indeed may not) recite another brocho to
continue eating.
[10] It should be noted
that these laws only apply to someone who wants to begin
eating in one place and then leave to go elsewhere. If however,
a person is not planning on “beginning to eat” where he is
at all, and is instead planning on eating “on the road,” the
halacha is different. A traveler has no official k’vius
and therefore the first brocho that he makes carries over
for the duration of his trip. So if a person is planning
on traveling from one place to another with his food (like
taking a coffee in the car or riding a bicycle with a water
bottle), eating or drinking from it periodically along the
way, he needs to make only one brocho when he begins
his trip. [M.B. 178:42] This first brocho,
however, must be made as he is preparing to depart (or, obviously,
if he is already on the road). [Iggeros Moshe O.C. II,
57 and oral ruling from HaGaon Rav Chaim Pinchus Sheinberg
shlit”a] If
he made a brocho and began his drinking in one place,
and only then prepared for his departure and left, he would
need a new brocho in the car.
[12] O.C. 184:2. See
M.B. s.k. 8 that only a small amount of bread must be eaten
in this new location in order for him to be allowed to
bentch there. See, however, Be’er Heiteiv 4.
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