 |
| Pâ•qidꞋ Yi•rᵊmᵊyâhꞋu |
2012.01.30 0852 , Yᵊru•shâ•laꞋyim Universal Time, Tonya M, El Paso, Texas, USA –
ùìåí ô÷éã éøîéäå, äöãé÷Do grape products include grapes themselves that we are not to buy from non-Jewish producers? I normally purchase red and green grapes but this past week I purchased purple seedless grapes which I've never purchased before but they were on sale. Anyway I only make healthy vegetable drinks with them. To make a long story short, I normally drink it all within 2 days but had some leftover on the kitchen counter in a plastic container with a thin lid. During Erev Shabbat, I heard a huge "pop" and when I went to check on the noise, my ceiling and walls were splattered with purple juice. It took me a few hours to clean it up, plus I had to lift and use a latter to reach the ceiling which may be considered work. Was it wrong for me to clean this up on Shabbat or was I to wait till the secular day? Never experienced this before with the other grapes and I don't drink alcohol.
úåðéò
This, too, is close to being too advanced for our public forum. Still, this discussion will give other readers an idea of the kinds of issues that are involved in living according to Tor•âhꞋ and, more importantly, an increased transparency into the reasoning behind Ha•lâkh•âhꞋ.
Whether grapes should be bought from non-Jewish producers is a question you can investigate more thoroughly on-line from Orthodox sources (like the ka•shᵊr•utꞋ pages of ou.org). My opinion, based on my readings in Ta•lᵊmudꞋ, is that the halakhic prohibition was aimed at alcoholic products and drinking wine over which an idolatrous blessing – e.g., to YeshꞋ"u – has been, or will be, recited; as well as the temptation to become inebriated in the company of goy•imꞋ and, as a consequence, assimilate (participate) in their idolatrous dining (e.g., of food over which an idolatrous blessing – e.g., to YeshꞋ"u – has been, or will be, recited). In such case, I would opine that grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice are not subsumed by the prohibition – unless it is grape juice left over from some church.
Note that a complication arises if you visit Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ because, here, such products must be properly tithed or they are prohibited by Ha•lâkh•âhꞋ. The only way to ensure that such products here in Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ have been properly tithed is to buy exclusively from a green-grocer or chain that has a hë•khᵊsheirꞋ. Although this only applies in Yi•sᵊr•â•eilꞋ, everyone needs to become familiar with a hë•khᵊsheirꞋ since, excepting a certain few things (like a cold, raw, all-vegetable salad, with no dressing, served only on a cold plate), Ha•lâkh•âhꞋ prohibits eating the food of any eatery that lacks a hë•khᵊsheirꞋ. This is another obstacle in any military other than the TzaꞋh"l. These kinds of questions indicate that it's time you begin studying ka•shᵊr•utꞋ.
Regarding "work" on Sha•bâtꞋ, the first step is to scrap the misleading English term and home-in on the original language: study mᵊlâkh•âhꞋ. Begin to see the need to reject English translations of any kind and start depending on learning the òÄáÀøÄéú.
A few weeks ago we had dinner with some Orthodox friends. When I was in the kitchen doing ðÀèÄéìÇú éÈãÇéÄí, the hostess was going out of the kitchen with a tray of bowls of soup. As I was returning to the dining room, I didn't realize she was coming up behind me and I stepped out in front of her, causing her to bump into me and slightly spilling soup onto the tray and a little bit onto the floor. I had already recited ðÀèÄéìÇú éÈãÇéÄí so I was committed to sit and eat bread. But the spill on the floor was soon cleaned-up. Suppose this had happened on Sha•bâtꞋ. Would all of the Orthodox Jews present have considered it a desecration to clean it up? Rushing outside to find large stones to stone whoever cleaned it up (which would, indeed, have been a desecration)? Certainly not! This, I think, is essentially the same as your question. And, certainly, what "reasonable (moderate) Orthodox Jews" (Ultra-Orthodox are neither reasonable nor moderate or they wouldn't be Ultra-) would do is an authoritative approach to contemporary Ha•lâkh•âhꞋ.
Tor•âhꞋ permits "work" at, say, carrying the SeiphꞋër Tor•âhꞋ in beit ha-kᵊnësꞋët on Sha•bâtꞋ. You can carry an injured person miles to a hospital on your back on Sha•bâtꞋ. The amount of exertion involved in "work" isn't relevant. The issue is whether it's mᵊlâkh•âhꞋ.
My opinion is that this incident is not something that could reasonably have been done before Sha•bâtꞋ. Further, Ha•lâkh•âhꞋ recognizes the need to protect people and property from further injury or damage on Sha•bâtꞋ. It's reasonable to clean up such a mess to minimize the damages to the walls and ceilings; and you had no option in scheduling it before Sha•bâtꞋ. Lifting and using the ladder is irrelevant. The only issue is whether it was mᵊlâkh•âhꞋ. If it were mᵊlâkh•âhꞋ, then reaching down with a napkin and wiping it would be prohibited. It's the principle expressed in the òÄáÀøÄéú – Tor•âhꞋ – concept, not the "work" involved. It's vital—unavoidably essential—that anyone who desires to live according to Tor•âhꞋ reorient away from English doctrines of KJ/V or other Christian versions of the Διαθηκη Καινη (NT) to, lᵊ‑ha•vᵊdilꞋ, òÄáÀøÄéú concepts of Tor•âhꞋ.
You had no reasonable opportunity to choose the timing and it's reasonable to assume that leaving it until after Sha•bâtꞋ would have increased the damage and cost to repair it.
Moreover, there is a great difference here between an accident, over which you had no reasonable control, as contrasted with a practice resulting from deliberate choice. We're not expected to live in a mess during Sha•bâtꞋ because of an accident that no reasonable person would likely have foreseen.
My finding is that you didn't transgress Ha•lâkh•âhꞋ in this instance. I hope going through the reasoning process is enlightening relative to learning how to reason similarly to understand and practice Tor•âhꞋ.
Have you figured out what caused the "pop"? Sounds like it must have started to go bad or ferment, creating gas?
Keep up the great progress.
BTW, the correct spelling of your name áÌÀòÄáÀøÄéú is èåðéä.
 |
|
 |