RABBI MICHAEL WHITMAN
(Instructions and Schedule for this Erev Pesach follows this
essay)
I have the pleasure and privilege of teaching a
course in Talmudic Law at the McGill Faculty of Law. One of my students,
Cassandra Brown, is the editor of "Quid Novi," a weekly
student publication. Here is her column from the week of March 4,
2008.
RABBI MICHAEL WHITMAN
A warm welcome back to school! I hope that you had
a chance to relax over the break, whether with a sunny vacation
or just a cup of hot chocolate and a coursepack in front of the
fireplace at Second Cup. With a houseguest who was visiting Montreal
for the first time, I was attempting a combination of winter vacation
and study. Those two things don't normally go very well together,
but for me they led to a (little) insight into an issue that was
à la fois académique et très personnel. It
started a few weeks ago in Talmudic Law, when we covered the history
of the law of lost objects. Over 2000 years ago in the Kingdom of
Israel, this law basically stated that a finder cannot take a lost
trivial object for his own benefit until its owner has abandoned
hope of re-finding it (an event known as "ye'ush"). To
explain how Jewish legal controversies were debated in the medieval
period, our professor, Rabbi Whitman, presented two opposing arguments
on the meaning of this law and asked the class which one made more
sense. I argued for the opinion that creates a legal presumption
of ye'ush for certain commonly found objects even where the finder
has no knowledge that this abandonment of hope has occurred. I like
to be able to just get on with things in life like that, instead
of creating situations that cause much drama and unnecessary expenditure
of effort.
Later that day however, in a bout of serendipitous
misfortune, I lost my favorite winter hat somewhere in the faculty.
I lamented about this for a long time: I visited all three (?!)
lost and found boxes in the faculty without success. I asked caretakers
and Pinos staff if they had seen it. I retraced my steps over and
over. Even though the situation began to seem hopeless, I did not
actually give up hope of finding my beloved hat.
The following week in Talmudic law, Rabbi Whitman
revealed that my opinion had lost out in the medieval debates. According
to modern Jewish law a finder is not allowed to presume that an
owner has given up hope of recovering his lost item, even if it
is of little value with no identifying marks. He then told an inspiring
anecdote about a woman he knew who had picked up some cash lying
in the street and had wanted to donate it to charity, implicitly
assuming that the owner must have experienced ye'ush. After he told
her the Talmudic legal status of the cash however (it was not hers
to donate), she advertised it and was able to find the true owner,
who identified himself by stating the exact amount lost. I suddenly
thought of my lost hat and was no longer certain about my opinion.
The legal norm that I had argued against would have obligated my
hat's finder to pick up the item, not use it for herself, and not
rest until she found its proper owner, me!
Over the break I had many occasions to ponder the
Halakhic law of lost hats, both while I was studying my Talmudic
Law coursepack, and while I was showing off Central Canada to my
vacationing friend. Because Shelley wanted to see outdoor sights
such as the Rideau Canal Skateway, Old Montreal, St. Catherine's
and a Caban à Sucre, I had to wear my replacement hat for
much of the week. Every time I put it on I thought briefly of the
lost hat, becoming more convinced that it was gone forever. I was
also bonding with my new hat - so my desire to re-find the old one
was diminishing as well.
As reading week ends and I write this editorial, I
can finally say that I have officially given up all hope of recovering
my favorite hat. Ye'ush. According to Talmudic law - the side of
the controversy that won out - if you find it lying around somewhere
now, you are allowed to keep it (provided that you are able to tell
that it's mine of course - otherwise, it might belong to someone
who has not given up on it). But in my moment of ye'ush I have realized
something more than the fact that I will never see
my hat again: I have realized that I was right in the first place
about the law of lost trivial things. Having put my own loss completely
behind me, I can now see this law for what it truly is - by looking
through the lens of abstract logic instead of emotional personal
experience. I still believe passionately that the medieval Jewish
scholars should have created a presumption of abandonment so that
finders could make personal use of the small common objects that
they found which are impossible to attribute to any owner. I cringe
to think of the chaos and waste of a world in which an endless number
of lost trivial items must be picked up by a person who sees them
lying around: and then never thrown out, never used, until the true
owner is found. It just makes less sense than the alternative.
Well, there you have it: the sum-product of my reading
week vacationing and studying. I can only hope that you don't find
this little insight into the law of lost trivial things in medieval
Talmudic law too...well... trivial to be interesting- and of course
that you had similar success in grappling with the complex academic
issues that we confront every day at law school during your own
week off.
by Cassandra Brown
Instructions and Schedule for this Erev Pesach
This year the Jewish calendar presents us with a remarkable
opportunity since the first night of Passover falls on Motzei Shabbat,
Saturday night April 19, 2008. This will allow us to enter Pesach
directly through the spiritual energy and physical rest of Shabbat.
This also causes a number of logistical changes from regular years.
On Shabbat afternoon, April 12, I will present our annual Shabbat
HaGadol Drashah to discuss the reasons and significance of these
changes. The subject matter is very interesting and helpful to our
lives as Jews, and I hope you will join us for this presentation.
Meanwhile, I think it will be helpful to have a guide
for what is coming, to make our preparations easier and calmer.
Thursday, April 17, is the Fast of the Firstborn. Services at the
Adath begin at 6:30 a.m., followed by a Siyum and a special breakfast.
By 8:30 p.m. Thursday night, we should be ready for Pesach. Our
homes should be cleaned, Chometz and Chometz utensils should be
put away (except for the pieces of Chometz we will hide to find
during the Search for Chometz), and any utensils or appliances to
be Kashered should already be Kashered. Though we are still allowed
to eat Chometz until Shabbat morning - see below - it is highly
advisable to make sure our home, car, and office are all completely
Kosher for Pesach by 8:30 p.m. Thursday night.
Also, by Thursday night we should arrange for the
sale of our Chometz (the sale to the non-Jew actually happens early
Friday morning). Any Chometz that comes into our possession after
the sale to the non-Jew early Friday morning, must be destroyed
by 11:43 a.m. on Shabbat morning.
Beginning at 8:30 p.m. Thursday night, we are obligated
to search for Chometz. Before searching we recite the Brachah and
after searching we recite the Bittul (Kol Chamirah), like every
year.
On Friday morning, April 18, before 11:43 a.m., we
burn the Chometz we found during the search the night before, but
we do not recite the Bittul (Kol Chamirah) that we usually recite
at this time. All preparations for Shabbat and for Yom Tov should
be concluded on Friday. This includes preparing the Seder dinner
and the items on the Seder plate, making the salt water, grating
the horseradish, washing the romaine lettuce, and setting the table
if possible. Also, just before Shabbat begins, it is a good idea
to light a yartzeit candle that can be used to light the Yom Tov
candles the next night, since on Yom Tov we can only light a candle
from an existing flame.
At the Adath we will begin Shabbat early. Minchah
will be at 6:00 p.m. Candlelighting should be no earlier than 6:19
p.m., and no later than 7:28 p.m. At approximately 7 p.m. we will
have a delicious Shabbat Seudah dinner. In this way we can celebrate
this Shabbat together as a community without the hassle of dealing
with Chometz in our homes so close to Pesach. Reservations are necessary
and space is limited - PLEASE MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS EARLY! On this
Shabbat we may not eat any matzah that is Kosher for Passover.
On Shabbat morning, April 19, Shacharit is at 7:30
a.m., followed by Kiddush at about 9:30 a.m. We will have challah
rolls and the opportunity to use this Kiddush as our Shabbat Seudah
meal. The latest time for eating Chometz is 10:34 a.m. Daf Yomi
will be at 10:15 a.m. The second Bittul (Kol Chamirah - that is
usually said after burning the Chometz) is said this year after
finishing eating Chometz and before 11:43 a.m.
On Shabbat morning, any Chometz you still have in
your possession (aside from what was already included in the sale
to the non-Jew on Friday morning) must be destroyed by 11:43 a.m.
(e.g. by flushing down the toilet)
If you will be eating at home on this Shabbat, I
suggest your home be completely Kosher for Pesach by Thursday evening,
as outlined above. For the Friday night and Shabbat morning meal
I suggest you use egg matzah instead of challah. Be careful to finish
eating egg matzah on Shabbat morning by 10:34 a.m. Also by this
time - 10:34 a.m. - clean and dispose of any egg matzah crumbs and
put away any remaining egg matzah together with your Chometz till
after Pesach.
Shalosh Seudot - the third Shabbat meal - should
be eaten at home in the early afternoon, no earlier than 1:30 p.m.
For this meal we may not eat bread, matzah, or even egg matzah.
Additionally we may not eat any baked food that contains matzah
meal. We may eat fruits, vegetables, and foods for which we make
the Brachah "SheHakol" such as cheese, eggs, and gefilte
fish (even if made with matzah meal, because it is cooked in liquid
and not baked). No preparations for the Seder may be done on Shabbat.
Minchah at the Adath will be at 7:20 p.m., followed
by learning and Maariv. Candlelighting and preparations for the
Seder may begin no earlier than 8:31 p.m.
Concerning a number of these suggestions there are
more than one opinion. These will be discussed in the Shabbat HaGadol
Drashah on April 12, as well as my reasons for choosing the positions
I have mentioned here. May our dual concern for honouring the Shabbat
and properly preparing for Pesach allow us to merit feeling deeply
the 'Time of our Freedom.'