The practical Halakha of tiny insects Part 2

Last week we covered Part 1 of this topic 

Summary of the controversy over tiny insects: According to the rules of halakha one should act leniently, but because of modern technology heightening our awareness of tiny insects, and providing options for identifying and exterminating them, there is room for the stringent opinion as well * The middle approach:  Do the normal actions required to remove insects, but not in a manner that causes considerable inconvenience or expense * In large factories and kitchens sometimes stringent procedures should be set in order to maintain basic kashrut * The practical halakha – what to do according to each opinion in regards to leafy vegetables, cauliflower and broccoli, corn, strawberries, green onions and leeks

The Controversy over Tiny Insects

In the previous column, I briefly summarized the dispute over whether to check for tiny shratzim (insects) that an ordinary person is unable to see while looking at the vegetable or fruit. I wrote that the halakha goes according to the lenient opinion since this is a dispute regarding a rabbinical prohibition, for from the Torah, these insects are batel b’shishim (less than 1/60th of the total volume of the food), and even from Divrei Chachamim (rabbinic status), some poskim are of the opinion that they are batel in close to a thousand. There is also a safek(doubt) whether even according to Divrei Chachamim, it is necessary to check for them according to the rules of “miut ha’matzuy” (a substantial minority). In addition, there can be no Torah prohibition regarding a tiny thing whose taste and ingestion goes undiscerned, especially if it undesirable, and thus considered d’var sh’aino mitkaven(something unintentional) and there is no prohibition.

The Stringent Opinion is based on Modern Developments

It should be added, however, that the opinion of the machmirim(stringent poskim) has room today as well, as it is based on modern methods of research and measurement, which have heightened our awareness of the presence of tiny vermin in vegetables and foods. It can be implemented thanks to the advances in science and technology that have provided tools for dealing with tiny vermin, such as the development of detergents from which types of soaps have been produced, whose widespread use began about a hundred years ago, and can now be used to clean vegetables from tiny shratzim. Also, the development of refrigerators in which vegetables and food can be stored without the growth of tiny shratzim. In addition, methods have been developed where most vegetables and fruits can be grown under conditions that do not breed tiny insects. As a result, many rabbis in recent generations have instructed le’hadare (to enhance the mitzvah) according to the method of the machmirim poskim.

Israeli Gedoilim Laugh & Mock Satmar SHIT'ah "not to Vote" And Have HUGE "To Vote" Rally!

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Yerushalayim, Monday afternoon, to attend a historic election rally headed by Gedolei Hador Shlita, on Golda Meir Blvd. at the corner of Shefa Chaim Street.

Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky traveled from Bnei Brak to the rally, followed by him going to the Kosel to Daven.

Many Gedolim attended, including the Gerrer Rebbe, Sanzer Rebbe, Boyaner Rebbe, Hagaon Harav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi and many others.

Aguda in Panic Mode: "We will settle accounts with communities that will not vote"

Agudath Israel continues to try and get the Auerbach Fanatics  to vote, this time with a clear threat: "whoever does not vote will not receive help from  representatives when they need it" 

 A senior Agudat Israel official told "Kikar Ha'Shabbat" 

that "this time everything will be clear and computerized,  we invested great efforts and technological resources to know exactly in full detail on how every community voted or didn't vote!

"Groups and communities whose rabbis  forbid voting in the elections and abstain from voting - will not receive any help from our representative in the next term, we have run out of patience."

"We reached a situation where our representatives even got into trouble when they helped those  groups that did not actually vote in the elections, but we always helped everyone, we will no longer turn the other cheek,"

 the senior official says emphatically. "A community or group that does not care to bring its voters to the polls should not come crying to us after elections.

A source in Agudath Yisrael explains to the Kikar Ha'Shabbas: 

"This time we will know exactly how each community and each Chassidic group, exactly to a few percent, voted at any moment, and this includes a very accurate breakdown of all the details. "

Two Sides of the "The Case of the 50 Expelled Bochurim"

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com)

There is a story on all the blogs that has many in the Torah world up in arms.  A Mesivta, somewhere in Lakewood, has allegedly thrown out fifty bochurim for having left the Yeshiva to attend the Skulener Rebbe’s levaya in Brooklyn this past Wednesday.  The Yeshiva’s decision has received condemnation from nearly every circle.

The point of this article is to clarify and remove some of the misinformation that is out there.  Hopefully, this will lead to greater Kiddush Hashem and not Chillul Hashem.

• This Yeshiva is unique in that they have a policy of strict learning. They do not have any Bain haZmanim.  The Zman continues until the day before Pesach.
• The Yeshiva is very “old school” and will be very strict if rules are not kept.
• The Yeshiva is open about its strict policies of expulsion if the rules are not adhered to.
• The Rosh Yeshiva is not by any means, anti-Chasidish. He himself has a chassidish background.  He was also a Talmid of Rav Paller, Rav Beryl Soloveitchik, and Rav Aharon Kotler.
• The Rosh Yeshiva himself was very close to the Skulener Rebbe zt”l.
• The Rosh Yeshiva himself fasted taanaisim when he heard that the Skulener Rebbe was ill.
• The Rosh Yeshiva spoke on Tuesday night about his Rebbe, Rav Aharon Kotler zt”l’s position of not attending a levaya if it is out of town. He cited a Yerushalmi (Psachim 3:7) that the parameters of being mevatel Talmud Torah and going to a levaya (See Kesuvos 17a) are only if it is in town.
• When Rav Elya Svei zt”l passed away, the Rosh Yeshiva forbade the high school bochurim from attending the levaya when it was out of town.

The Rosh Yeshiva has expelled students in the past for similar infractions.  Some have been allowed back in after they had learned their lesson.  Others were to find other Yeshivos.

There are efforts being made by Gedolei Torah to reach out to the Rosh Yeshiva to allow the Talmidim back in.  The Rosh Yeshiva had already stated that anyone that had davened and fasted for the Skulener Rebbe to have a refuah shleimah should come.

The author can be  reached at yairhoffman2@gmail.com

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY!!!!!!!

Frum Parties & The Left Teamed Up To Give Jewish Owned Land To Arabs in East Jerusalem

I will get to the disturbing headline in a minute.....

First a brief background....

There are elections in Israel tomorrow and by in large the Heimishe Yeedin will quietly vote for the Likkud!

And that's why the Chareidie parties are in panic mode!

What??????????

Liar!! Not true!!!!! 

That is what you are probably screaming at your screen!!!!

Well I'll let you into an open secret ..... shhhhhhhhh! Quiet!!!

First of all Deri the crook in the above poster has publicly stated that he is for giving up land!

No..... not his house or the city in Bnei-Brak or wherever the hell he lives ......nooooooooooo!

He isn't for giving back his own property.....he is for giving back someone else's property!!!!

His reasoning is based on a a political decision of the late Rav Ovadia Yosef ....

Back in the days..... 

Rav Ovadia thought that for "peace" for saving a Jewish life it's important to give back land ....and to that end he supported the left and supported Peres ... who he became close friends with...

When Israel, in 2005 with the support of Rav Ovadia evacuated Gaza and Gush Katif, they ...meaning the then Prime Minister Sharon, and the Chareidie "gedoilim" thought that this would finally bring peace!!

Well.... every child now knows that this was one fatal mistake and the blood thirsty Arab savages have fired over 20,000 missiles from Gaza!......

Zionist State Has Lowest Rate Of Diet-related Deaths Worldwide - Study

Israel has the lowest rate of diet-related deaths worldwide, according to a major study published by researchers at the University of Washington.

The most in-depth study of its kind to date, published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, revealed that globally, one in five deaths (11 million deaths) in 2017 were associated with poor diet, with cardiovascular disease the largest contributor, followed by cancers and type 2 diabetes.

The countries with the lowest rates of diet-related deaths, however, were Israel (89 deaths per 100,000 people), followed by France, Spain, Japan and Andorra.

Ezra Friedlander's Iran Spreads Article Throughout Latin America Claiming Israel Performs Medical Tests On Prisoners

An Iranian news site in Latin America has published an article claiming that Israel uses Palestinian prisoners for “new medical trials.”

Despite citing no evidence for the claim, the HispanTV report Wednesday has spread to outlets across Latin America, including the El Ciudadano monthly in Chile and the website of an association of Cuban jurists. It was published on Uruguay’s La Republica website but taken down Friday after a reader complained.

“This fake news crosses all limits of journalistic ethics,” said Ariel Gelblum, the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s regional representative in Buenos Aires.

The Argentine site Infobae first reported the Wiesenthal Center’s complaint.

“HispanTV is for the Iranian regime to influence Latin America, through the presence of Hezbollah, its terrorist arm,” Shimon Samuels, the director of international relations for the Wiesenthal Center, said in a statement. “The charge of blood libel was used against Jews since the Middle Ages. Its use by Tehran is the crudest form of anti-Semitism.”

HispanTV, which is operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, launched in 2011. In 2014, Iran announced plans to expand its media influence in Latin America.

“Iran’s strong and rapidly growing ties with Latin America have raised eyebrows in the U.S. and its Western allies since Tehran and Latin nations have forged an alliance against the imperialist and colonialist powers and are striving hard to reinvigorate their relations with the other independent countries which pursue a line of policy independent from the U.S.,” the Iranian Fars News agency said.

State Supreme Court Judge Rules Against Rockland County Measles State Of Emergency

A State Supreme Court judge has ruled against Rockland County's state of emergency order banning people under the age of 18 who have not received a measles vaccine from public places.

Rockland County Executive Ed Day instituted the ban last month after more than 160 measles cases were confirmed to be infected with the virus.

Since the state of emergency, another six people have been confirmed to be carrying the disease for a total of 167 cases.

The suit against the state of emergency was brought by civil rights lawyer Michael Sussman on behalf of parents of unvaccinated students at Green Meadow Waldorf School in Chestnut Ridge. Another lawsuit was also filed by an unnamed mother from Rockland County.

On Friday, April 5, the judge granted a temporary injunction on the 30-day order enacted on March 26, which for the time being, will end the state of emergency, reported ABC 7.

In Monsey Area Ed Day Fighting With His Own Son Chris Who Is Working With Aron Weider on the Measles Vaccine

A day after his son, Orangetown Supervisor Chris Day, said he would not run for re-election due to the actions of his father, Rockland County Supervisor Ed Day said he is proud of his son in a response to his son's scathing attack.

“This entire situation is a sad commentary on what can happen when private family matters are made public," Ed Day said following his son's statement on Tuesday, April 2 that pointed a finger at the political and personal infighting with his father as the reason for his withdrawal from politics. "Let me state, unequivocally, that my support for my son and his political career has been unwavering."

Chris Day said during the press conference, that the problems with his father and his political cronies have "have been present and impacting my life, my family’s lives, and many political situations since the end of 2014."

The issue seems to have reached a boiling point last week when Chris Day, Republican, suggested working with Democratic Legislator Aron Wieder, D-Spring Valley, on measles vaccine education in an effort to help curb the current epidemic in Rockland.

Satmar Evicts & Sues Chabad of Seagate!

I have to admit that I am not privy to all the details of the story and there is probably a lot more to it ....

but I know this ..... Satmar Chassidim who travel the USA and the world on vacation or for business, utilize Chabad Centers to daven and even to eat....

So...Where is the Hakaras Ha'Toiv? 

Mr Chesed .... how do you have the chutzpah to evict a couple that do kiruv???

A Satmar Yeshiva has thrown Out Chabad of Seagate 

of their building and attacked them with a lawsuit, even threatened Shluchim Chaim and Rivky Brikman with arrest.

The shul had always prided itself on being a place in which every Jewish resident of Seagate would feel at home, so the Brikmans’ Chabad philosophy of warmth and outreach to every Jew was a natural fit.

In keeping with their mission––as shluchim of the Rebbe––the Brikmans founded a Hebrew school, adult education classes, programs for youth, teen and seniors, transforming what was a relatively small Jewish community into one that is vibrant and brimming with Jewish pride.

Satmar Hold Press Conference At City Hall Supporting Arab Jew-Hater Omar & Denouncing Jewish Councilman Kalman Yagar Waiving the "VaYoel Moshe"

See at 3:46 ....

Ye ye ........... I heard it all!!!

Bikur Choilim ..... chesed.... etc....etc......

You know what????

"Don't give me your honey and don't sting me"

2,000-year-old Jewish settlement uncovered in Beer Sheva ....sherd of rare oil lamp depicting menorah, one of the earliest depictions of menorah discovered.

I have to preface my remarks with the following caveat.... that I am a big admirer of Chabad and have the highest regard and admiration for everything they do .....

However .......

I don't think  that they got the shape of the menorah in the Bais Hamikdash right ....

yes ... I know the Rambam illustrated what's now called the Chabad Menorah in his Mishna Torah ... yes yes I know all that ....

the Rambam drew it for the purpose of depicting the "kaftorim, perchim, and the geveeim .... not for the actual shape ...

he drew it on an angle because it's a lot easier to draw an angle then a curve ...

In the article below, they report that they found the "oldest depiction of the menorah"....

guess what????

It's curved .... and I believe practically all depictions of the menorah found in archaeological excavations are curved .... .....

For the first time, the remains of a Jewish settlement of the Second Temple period have been discovered in Beer Sheva. 

The archaeological excavation carried out to facilitate a new neighborhood near the northern entrance to Beer Sheba has revealed evidence of Jewish day-to-day life there, including part of an oil lamp decorated with a nine-branched menorah – one of the earliest yet discovered by researchers – as well as limestone vessels used by Jews for reasons of ritual purity, a watchtower and more. 

The site, dated from the 1st century CE until the Bar-Kokhba Revolt in 135 CE, also appears to contain underground hidden passageways used by the Jewish rebels.

According to the excavators, Dr. Peter Fabian of the Ben-Gurion University in the Negev and Dr. Daniel Varga of the Israel Antiquities Authority, 

"Remains of the settlement cover an area of c. 2 dunams and include several structures and installations, such as the foundations of a large watchtower, baking facilities, ancient trash pits and an underground system that was probably used as a Jewish ritual bath (mikveh). 

‘Mrs. Maisel’ Peasch Haggadah

Why is this Haggadah different from all other Haggadahs?

Maybe because the story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt is getting a Hollywood twist. This Passover will behold revelations as awesome as the very parting of the Red Sea.

And we’re plotzing.

With the commandment for the Jewish people to re-experience the story of Exodus during the Passover seder — desert wandering and all — why not spice it up with some well-timed Borscht Belt jokes with the irrepressible sitcom character Miriam “Midge” Maisel? She’s the perfect 1958 Upper West Side housewife and mother of two — turned stand-up comic divorcée — in Amazon Prime’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

Why is this Haggadah different from all other Haggadahs?

Maybe because the story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt is getting a Hollywood twist. This Passover will behold revelations as awesome as the very parting of the Red Sea.

And we’re plotzing.

With the commandment for the Jewish people to re-experience the story of Exodus during the Passover seder — desert wandering and all — why not spice it up with some well-timed Borscht Belt jokes with the irrepressible sitcom character Miriam “Midge” Maisel? She’s the perfect 1958 Upper West Side housewife and mother of two — turned stand-up comic divorcée — in Amazon Prime’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

The Maisel version will be available for free, while supplies last, with a purchase of select Maxwell House products on Amazon.

The “Maisel” Haggadah comes tricked-out with wine stains that reflect an hours-long Seder — and after the requisite four glasses of wine, red wine spills come with the territory.

It’s topped off with a recipe for Midge’s brisket.

Even Emmy-winner Alex Borstein, who plays Midge’s agent on the show, kvelled on Instagram, “I’m hearing there exist Maisel Passover Haggadot!! Where the hell are mine?!?! I got a room full a Jews coming on 4/20, gimme gimme!!”

Jewish Girl Who Mistakingly Got Into Fake "Uber" and Murdered By A Black Savage Buried

Hundreds of mourners have packed a temple in New Jersey for the funeral of a college student who authorities say mistakenly got into the wrong car and was kidnapped and killed in South Carolina.

Services for Samantha Josephson were held Wednesday at Congregation Beth Chaim in West Windsor. The 21-year-old Josephson was from nearby Robbinsville and attended the University of South Carolina.

Authorities say Josephson ordered an Uber ride early Friday but mistakenly got into a similar car driven by 24-year-old Nathaniel David Rowland. They say he killed Josephson and dumped her body.

Rowland skipped a first court appearance, and records don’t show if he has a lawyer.

In the wake of Josephson’s death, a bill has been introduced in the South Carolina Legislature to require Uber and Lyft drivers to have illuminated signs.

Samantha will be interred Wednesday at Perrineville Jewish Cemetery in Perrineville, NJ.

A Statement by the congregation said:  “Samantha grew up as part of the Congregation Beth Chaim family, becoming a Bat Mitzvah on our bima. Her tragic passing has shaken our community and so many others.”

Chazan Sherwood Goffin Cantor at Lincoln Square Synagogue For 50 Years Passes Away at 77

Goffin served as the Cantor at Lincoln Square Synagogue for more than 50 years – since 1965.

Cantor Goffin also served as a faculty member of the Belz School of Jewish Music at Yeshiva University, where he taught college-level classes in Jewish Liturgy and music – teaching a new generation of young cantors/Baalei Tefilla who will carry on the tradition he loved deeply and to which he dedicated his life. He is the Honorary President of the Cantorial Council of America, the only Orthodox organization of cantors in the world, an affiliate of Yeshiva University.

The Levaya will take place tomorrow (Thursday) morning at 10:30AM, at the Lincoln Square Synagogue, 180 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10023.

Kevurah will follow at Cedar Park Cemetery, 735 Forest Avenue, Paramus, NJ 07652.

Mesivta in Lakewood Suspends FIFTY Bochurim For Going to Skulener Rebbe’s Levaya

I'll bet if a Chassidishe Yeshivah would have thrown out boys for going to a Levaya of a Litvak, all hell would have broken loose!

But the fact that this was a Chassidishe Rebbe, that prompted a Rosh Yeshivah a Litvak to tell his students to remain in Yeshivah...

Others justify this, saying "that it wasn't that they went to the Levaya that got them thrown out but the fact that they went after being told not to...."

Hmmmmm? What crazed logic is this?

The issue here is that this R"Y has chassidishe boys in his Yeshivah, but refuses to accommodate them,..... very nice chinuch...that's the way we are going to keep our children on the derech ...

Who is the one who once said that "Litvaks have a "tzeilim" in their hearts?"

A Mesivta in Lakewood might have broken world records on Wednesday, after dozens of Bochurim were suspended. The boys were given the boot because they chose to attend the Levaya of the Skulener Rebbe  in Boro Park on Tuesday.

According to a report by TLS, the Hanhala reportedly told the Bochurim to stay in Yeshiva and learn, rather than travel to New York for the Levaya, but a large group decided to do otherwise. Many of the Bochurim in this Mesivta are from a Chassidish background, and really wanted to attend this Levaya.

On Wednesday, approximately 50 boys were told not to come back to Yeshiva.

Additionally, many of them are being told not to come back next Z’man (after Pesach).

Day Yoimie Snippets ... Chullin Dafim 117,118, 119,120,121,122, & 123

A great opportunity for the entire family, to share some thoughts on the daf ...  the  family feels united by discussing what the head of the house is studying.
I try to break it down so that everyone can understand it .... 

You can copy and print this without my consent, since Torah belongs to all of us..... 

See  previous Daf Yoimie Snippets 

This week's "Daf Yoimie Snippets Sponsored For the Refuah Shliemah of 

צארטל בת אסתר מלכה 

''דף קי''ז ''פרק העור והרוטב

Page 117  Mesectas Chullin  

''The Chapter The Hide & The Gravy"

The chapter "The Hide and The Gravy" deals with tumeh or if you wish,contamination.

The first Mishna of this chapter mentions various different parts of animals, such as the hide, bones, horns etc in reference to tumeh.

How would horns have any connection to tumeh?

We have a rule that contaminated food cannot contaminate another food item unless the food has the minimum volume of an egg.

The mishna discusses a case where we found a piece of contaminated meat with less than the minimum volume of an egg but it was attached with the bone; with the bone it would meet the minimum requirement of the volume of an egg.... 

the halacha is that we combine the food with the bone which would now have the required volume of an egg and now it is able to convey contamination to another food item.

''דף קי''ח ''ידים ו'שומרים של מאכלים 

Page 118  Mesectas Chullin  

''The Handle & The Protector of Food"

On this daf we are introduced to the concept of "handles" and "protectors" of fruit.

Just like pots have "handles" which is attached to the pot and one grabs it to take hold of the pot, so too, fruits have "handles" which are attached to the fruit.

The "handle" of fruits is the soft branch that the fruit hangs from on the tree.

The "protector" of the fruit is the peal that covers the fruit and protects it from getting ruined.

Why does  the mishna and the gemarrah deal with the 

"handles" and the "protectors" of food?

Because they are vital to various different halachos, for example:

If tumeh would touch the "handle" or "protector" of the food item, then the entire food item becomes contaminated as if the tumeh touched the food itself.

''דף קי''ט ''גרעין חיטה

Page 119  Mesectas Chullin  

''Wheat Kernel"

In the Bet Midrash of Rebi Yishmoel it was taught that the husk of wheat kernels and the husks of barley are considered "protectors," and it would therefore be able to be combined with the wheat kernel or barley itself to make the required volume of an egg.

But wheat and barley kernels are tiny and cannot possibly amount to the volume of an egg even if you were to combine it with its husks?

The Talmud states that we are talking about very large kernels like those in the era of R' Shimon ben Shetach.

The Talmud in Mesactas Taanis relates that in the era of Shimon ben Shetach there was great blessings in crops, and that in fact the wheat and barley kernels were so large that it would amount to the volume of an egg.

''דף ק''כ ''כתיבה תמה

Page 120 Mesectas Chullin  

'' Writing That Must Be Complete"

Rebbe Yochanan says that each strand of hair has a tiny perforation which penetrates deep into the skin unto the flesh.

There is a halachic requirement for tefillin to be written "complete" כתיבה תמה! Any klaf (parchment) that has holes or even pinholes cannot be considered כתיבה תמה ... complete!

According to Rebbe Yochanan how can tefillin ever be written since every klaf has tiny holes;  klaf is actually animal skin, and we just discussed that hair penetrates the skin making microscopic holes?

The Talmud answers that when the scribe writes on the klaf, his ink covers those tiny pinholes that the hairs penetrated in effect rendering the klaf ,,, כתיבה תמה

''דף קכ''א ''אלל

Page 121 Mesectas Chullin  

'' Ah'lol"

Our Mishna stated that the ''Ah'lol" combines with meat to convey  tumah of foods but not the tumah of neveilos.

What is ''Ah'lol?"

There are two opinions of what it is.

Reb Yochanan is of the opinion that it is the very hard sinew of the neck and spine.

Rabbeinu Chananel and Rabbeinu Tam explain that R' Yochanan  is talking about the dead flesh that a veterinarian would cut away if the animal were alive.

According to Tosfos, the Ah'lol is not considered food in its own right, but is deemed edible when combined with other meat.

Resh Lakish, on the other hand, explains that Ah'lol is the meat that was excised by the knife when the animal was flayed.

Rashi explaining Resh Lakish states that when an animal is flayed, the knife used to peel away the hide sometimes cuts into the meat, so that some shreds of meat are excised from the body and remain attached to the hide, these shreds are really insignificant.

''דף קכ''ב ''דבשת הגמל

Page 122 Mesectas Chullin  

'' A Camel's Hump"

The Torah states that only edible items can convey tumah's neiveilah.

Therefore the first mishna in this chapter rules that the hide of an animal does not contaminate tumas neiveilah, since hide is very tough and cannot be eaten; it is not considered meat!

The mishna on this daf, however states that the hide from a young camel's hump does convey tumas neiveilah, because it is soft, so it is considered meat.

Until what age is the hide of the hump of a young camel considered meat?

Ulah states in the name of R' Yehoshuh ben Levi it is considered meat up until the camel carries a burden.

''דף קכ''ג ''גדוד החילים

Page 123 Mesectas Chullin  

'' A Battalion of Soldiers"

An interesting bareisah (Mishnayis that were learned outside of the Bet Midrash, bareisah literally translated means "outside") brought down on this daf, states that if a Roman Legion enters a house while its on a warpath, the house is tumah!

The Romans would carry with them the scalps from their enemies ' corpses, which they would use for sorcery to achieve victory in battle, so this bareisah rules that human skin has "corpse tumah" even after it had been tanned, since it is logical to assume that these scalps were tanned.

The Halakhic Controversy over tiny insects! Do We Really Have to Be Machmir ? ..... Maybe Not!

The Question of Tiny Insects

 In order to understand the entire scope of the prohibition of shratzim (worms and insects) and the extent to which one must make an effort to check food for them, it is necessary to explain the basic dispute regarding tiny bugs.

Ordinary Torah students think that the law of tiny shratzim is simple: what a person can see is forbidden, and what he cannot see with his naked eyes, but only with the help of a magnifying glass or a microscope, is permitted. 

This is indeed what several Achronin wrote (Binat Adam 34:49; Aruch HaShulchan 84:36; Igrot Moshe, Y.D. 2:146; Yibeah Omer 4, Y.D., 21).

According to this, presumably, one needs to know how small an object a person can see, and in view of that, determine the halakha. However, this definition is not sufficient, because eyesight varies from person to person, and also depends on the color of the insect and the background on which it is situated. A person with good eyesight can see on a white background large black bacteria the size of five hundred microns (0.5mm), however, when the color of the insect is similar to the background on which it is situated, even if it is ten times larger, one will not be able to see it, and only laboratory workers will possibly be able to see it.

People with good eyesight cannot always detect even a two-millimeter insect, however, when it is pointed at, they are able to see it. In other words, seeing the tiny insect depends on several factors: a) its size, b) the quality of one’s eyesight, c) the color of the sheretz (insect) and its background, d) recognition of shratzim,  and e) how it is situated, for if it is crawling, it is easier for it to be seen.

Mass Grave of Murdered Jews by Nazis to become luxury apartment complex

A Nazi-era grave containing the remains of nearly 2,000 Jews was discovered in Belarus two months ago — but that’s not stopping officials from forging on with plans to turn the site into a luxury apartment complex, according to a report.

Soldiers combing through the soil have pulled out the blackened remains of 1,900 people murdered during World War II since bones were first found by builders on the site in January.

“You see the results of this horrible war and of a genocide,” the commander of the search battalion, Major Pavel Galetsky, told DW. “History speaks for itself here.”

Before World War II, almost half of the 50,000-strong population of Brest were Jewish, according to the BBC.

Arab Pressure Get NYC Councilman Yeger Kicked Off Of Immigration Committee

A city full of Jews, and the busy "askanim" are quiet! 

Where is the "capo" Ezra? 

Bunch of cowards!!!

Less than a week after a tweet denying the existence of Palestine, City Councilman Kalman Yeger has been removed from his seat on the council’s immigration committee.

Yeger’s tweet resulted in a public outcry and The New York Times (https://nyti.ms/2YAs6W2) reported that he was removed from committee after a council leadership meeting that lasted over an hour.  Participants said that Yeger’s remarks were incompatible with the committee’s mission.

“I do not believe that someone who engages in the type of rhetoric we heard from Councilmember Yeger belongs on the immigration committee which is supposed to welcome and support immigrants in our city,” said Speaker Corey Johnson.

 Mayor Bill de Blasio had said on Friday that Yeger should either apologize for his remarks or be removed from the committee.  Yeger had categorically refused to rescind his statement, even as he found himself in the center of a sea of controversy and criticism, still sticking to his guns tonight, even after news of his removal broke.

“I respect the Speaker’s right to run the Council as he sees fit,” tweeted Yeger.  “It’s unfortunate that political correctness takes precedence over objective fact. Of course, there are Palestinians.  However, the fact remains that there is no Palestinian state.”

A jubilant tweet posted by Palestinian activist Linda Sarsour announcing Yeger’s removal from the committee received nearly 1,000 likes in just over an hour.