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Beit Midrash
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- Peninei Halakha
- Shabbat and Holidays
- The Three Weeks
- The Ninth of Av
One may not apply oil or ointment on Tisha Be-Av even to a small area of the body. In addition, one may not use cosmetics, like powders or salves, to beautify the skin or provide a pleasant fragrance. This prohibition applies specifically to anointing for the sake of pleasure; applying creams for medicinal purposes, however, is permitted. Therefore, one may apply petroleum jelly to dry lips or use anti-itch cream (sa 554:15). Likewise, one may apply mosquito repellent.10
One may not smell perfumes or other fragrances on Tisha Be-Av, because doing so is pleasurable and one should curtail one’s pursuit of pleasures on the day on which our Holy Temple was destroyed. While some authorities have ruled leniently on this issue, since smelling fragrances is not one of the five prohibitions (ma), nonetheless, most poskim maintain that one should be stringent on Tisha Be-Av (sa 559:7, sht 556:1).11
10bhl 554:15 explains that there is a distinction between Yom Kippur and Tisha Be-Av regarding the prohibition of anointing oneself. On Yom Kippur, the prohibition also includes non-pleasurable anointing, as the Yerushalmi indicates. Therefore, one may not apply a salve for the purpose of removing filth on Yom Kippur. On Tisha Be-Av, however, the prohibition is a function of the laws of mourning. Therefore, only anointing for the sake of pleasure is prohibited, while anointing in order to remove filth is permissible. bhl thus rejects the opinion of Mateh Yehuda, which equates Tisha Be-Av and Yom Kippur in regard to this prohibition.
11Shiyarei Knesset Ha-gedola §§551, 567 states that one may not smoke on fast days, because smoking alleviates the anxiety of the destruction of the Temple and generates a feeling of satiation; it even causes a desecration of God’s name, since non-Jews refrain from smoking on their fast days. According to many other poskim, however, there is no prohibition against smoking, from the perspective of the fast day, especially for one who needs to smoke to relieve agitation. 555:8 permits smoking after midday, in private, for one who needs it. Many others permit smoking even before midday, in private, for one who needs it. These poskim are cited in Yabi’a Omer 1:33. Hilkhot Ĥag Be-ĥag ch. 7 n. 87 states that those who prohibit smoking are not referring to cigarettes, but to a type of smoking that entails more pleasure and involvement. It is by now clear that smoking is detrimental to one’s health, and it is a mitzva for one who is accustomed to smoking to make every effort to quit. Nevertheless, if one is already addicted to smoking, one may smoke on a fast day in order to relieve the pain of fasting.
The Laws of Purim 14. Can a Drunk or Tipsy Person Recite Berakhot and Pray Ma’ariv?
Chapter 16: The Mitzvot of Joy and Kindness
The Laws of Purim 15. Scheduling the Se’uda when Purim is on Friday
Chapter 16: The Mitzvot of Joy and Kindness
Peninei Halakha 5. Weddings and Engagements during the Omer Period
Chapter 3: Customs of Mourning during the Omer Period
Rabbis in Midrash
The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
