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- Bemare Habazak - Rabbis Questions
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- Passover - Pesach
- Chol Hamoed
Answer: Concerning work on Chol Hamoed per se (e.g., Sukkot), one of the broad leniencies is davar ha’aved (significant loss) (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 537:1). Therefore, you may go to work if the alternative is losing your job (Shemirat Shabbat K’hilchata 67:11).
Working with chametz on Pesach, though, raises serious problems. In one of our columns (B’ha’alotcha 5775; please read it), we discussed parameters for working with non-kosher food in various capacities. We dealt with various opinions on a few issues: the possibility the worker will eat the non-kosher food, commerce in non-kosher food, and sometimes lifnei iver (facilitating an aveira). According to our analysis, we would rarely condone holding a job such as waiter at a non-kosher restaurant, for a combination of reasons. While there are differences between the cases in different directions, working directly with chametz on Pesach has obstacles that are even harder to overcome.
First, the level of concern about eating chametz is more severe than for other forbidden foods. The Rama (OC 450:6, based on the Rivash 401) forbids buying chametz for a non-Jew on Pesach, which we do not find for most non-kosher foods. One of the reasons is the concern the Jewish buyer might come to eat it (Rivash; Mishna Berura 450:21). This is in line with the halacha that one who is watching a non-Jew’s chametz in his house (without accepting monetary responsibility) must make a partition in front of it, which, again, we do not find everywhere (Pesachim 6a; Mishna Berura 440:13). It is certainly, then, forbidden to work with ongoing direct physical contact with chametz on Pesach (see also Yabia Omer IV, YD 6).
There is another reason to forbid work dealing with chametz. It is forbidden not only to eat but also to benefit from chametz (Pesachim 21a). The most direct applications of this prohibition are direct physical benefit and selling chametz. However, there are much broader applications of benefit, which are placed under the name of rotzeh b’kiyumo (one wants the forbidden object to exist). The Talmudic sources (see Avoda Zara 63b) discuss rotzeh b’kiyumo mainly, but not only, in the context of yayin nesech (strictly forbidden wine), and almost all Rishonim and poskim say it also applies to chametz. See many examples in Orach Chayim 450, including ones with indirect and minor interest in the chametz. For example, the Magen Avraham (450:10) explains that the aforementioned Rama about buying chametz for a non-Jew as being forbidden also because of rotzeh b’kiyumo.
Bemare Habazak - Rabbis Questions (656)
Rabbi Daniel Mann
223 - Tricking a Cheater
224 - Working at a Bakery on Chol Hamoed Pesach
225 - Roasted Foods on Pesach
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Therefore, we believe you are forbidden to work with the non-Jews’chametz on Pesach, both because of the possibility of eating and/or because of the semi-direct benefit.
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Realtor’s Fee on Large Commercial Building – part I
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: The Goal of an Agricultural Yeshiva – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the laying of the cornerstone of the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh)
Rabbis in Midrash
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The Month of Elul TESHUVA IS THE ANSWER
The month of Elul serves as a vital time for self-reflection and personal accountability to prepare for true repentance.
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Realtor’s Fee on Large Commercial Building – part I
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: The Goal of an Agricultural Yeshiva – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the laying of the cornerstone of the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh)
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the laying of the cornerstone of the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh)
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Parshat Re'eh
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Parshat Eikev
Description: The 7 Haftarot we read after Tisha B'Av ("Shiva D'Nichemta") surely get us excited that they're coming TRUE, and awaken us to yearn, dance & join the return to Zion! The short article also deals with the problems and solutions facing the American Jewish community as discussed at a recent panel, as well as the question why Jews come from America to Israel to help when we face problems, but Israelis don't come to aid Jews in America when they face anti-Semitism.
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(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
D'varim Judaism’s Social Vision
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