Why do we wash Netilat Yadayim before we eat bread? The requirement to wash one’s hands is rabbinical. The Kohanim were required to wash their hands to purify them before eating or handling Terumah (produce separated for the Kohanim). To ensure that Kohanim not overlook this practice, Hachamim required them, as well as all of Klal Yisrael, to wash their hands before eating … [Read more...]
Double-Loaf The Mitzvah of Lehem Mishne at the Shabbat Meal
What is the Mitzvah of Lehem Mishne (having two loaves of bread at the Shabbat meals)? The Gemara (Shabbat 117b) teaches that on Shabbat one is obligated to recite HaMotzi on two loaves of bread. This serves as a remembrance to the double portion of Man (manna) that fell every Friday during the forty years that the Children of Israel traveled through the desert. Although the … [Read more...]
Do Not Waste – The Laws of Bal Tashchit, Part II
To what extent does Bal Tashchit apply to leftovers at the end of a meal? Can I throw away leftover bread? What about all the uneaten food that my children put on their plates? What about the leftover food in the pans? As noted in our previous segment, food that will not be eaten and no longer serves any purpose may be discarded. It therefore follows that food that was … [Read more...]
Bal Tashchit – Do Not Waste, Part 1
Halachot of Daily Living Q: I heard that it is not Bal Tashchit to throw things away if it is not worth my time to reuse them. Bal Tashchit of time outweighs Bal Tashchit of wasting items. For example, at the end of a meal, may a caterer throw everything away, or must he salvage those items that can be saved (e.g. mustard, pickles) which could be very … [Read more...]
One Hundred Berachot – Part 2: The Nature of the Obligation
Introduction The exact nature of the obligation to recite one-hundred Berachot a day is a matter of debate. While the origin of this obligation certainly indicates that it is a rabbinic enactment, there are those who maintain that it is a Torah obligation (perhaps a Halacha L’Moshe MiSinai – a law that was communicated orally to Moses at Sinai. Such laws, while unrecorded … [Read more...]