OHR SOMAYACH'S ASK THE RABBI Issue #288 October 7, 2000 / 8 Elul 5760 Parshat Ha'azinu ===================================== In this issue: KIPPUR AND KIPPUR LIFE IN THE FAST VEIN FALLING IN THE FALL PUBLIC DOMAIN ===================================== =============FREE CD-ROM============= Ohr Somayach in conjunction with the Jewish Continuity Foundation and TES - www.jewishsoftware.com is happy to offer to our email list supporters a FREE CD-ROM about Jerusalem. The cd is a beautifully done, interactive, virtual walk-through of Jerusalem's Old City. It includes 360 degree panoramic vision, zoom control, descriptions of 100's of sites, and Hot-Shot photo technology for capturing the photos you want. Whether scaling the ramparts or going inside the Western Wall, for the memories, for the education, and for preparing the next trip, this CD is the next best thing to being there. This CD which normally sells for $39, runs on both Windows and Macintosh computers. It is our way of saying thank you and a Happy and Healthy New Year. For more information and to claim your FREE CD, please click below: http://www.jewishsoftware.com/default.asp?aid=162&red=freecd.htm =============FREE CD-ROM============= KIPPUR AND KIPPUR From: Gina Kipper in Athens, OH Dear Rabbi, What exactly is Yom Kippur and is "it" a person? Dear Gina Kipper, No, Yom Kippur is not a person! Yom Kippur means "the Day of Atonement." It is a Jewish Holiday of complete fasting (even from water) and introspection. It is actually a happy day, with festive meals before and after. We are happy because G-d promises to forgives our sins on this day, if we truly resolve to be better. (See Levicticus 23:26-32) ===================================== LIFE IN THE FAST VEIN From: Ivy Epstein (via E-mail): Dear Rabbi, If someone is sick and needs to eat on Yom Kippur, why not do so through intravenous? I understand that "eating" intravenously would not technically violate the fast. So why don't sick people check in to a hospital before Yom Kippur and "drink" intravenously, instead of actually breaking the fast? Dear Ivy Epstein, The obligation to fast starts on Yom Kippur itself, not before. Once Yom Kippur arrives, it's forbidden to hook up to intravenous, since blood will spill. And before Yom Kippur, there's no obligation, per se, to prepare for the fast. Therefore, there's no obligation to hook up to intravenous. And since there's no obligation to "eat" intravenously, it might actually be forbidden to do so if you don't need to. For one, inserting a needle is a transgression of the prohibition against unnecessarily wounding oneself. And who knows, intravenous may involve certain health risks, all of which may not be known at present. Sources * Iggrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:90 ===================================== FALLING IN THE FALL From: D. Rubinstein Dear Rabbi: Why does Succot fall on the calendar after Yom Kippur, and not after Passover? Succot deals with the fact that we sat in huts in the wilderness after we left Egypt, and the clouds that protected us. We were sitting in those huts and had those clouds right when we left Egypt, so historically, Succot should come right after, or during, Pesach. Dear D. Rubinstein Passover is in the spring when the weather stars getting warmer; if we were to make huts in the spring, it might seem like we were just building vacation bungalows to escape from the heat. Therefore, the Torah commanded us to build our succah-booths in the fall when it starts getting cool, making it clear that the succah is a commandment and not a cabana. The Vilna Gaon offers another explanation: The succah represents the clouds of glory with which G-d protected us in the desert. Hashem took away these clouds when we made the Golden Calf, and when He forgave us that year on Yom Kippur, the clouds came back. So, Succot celebrates the return of those clouds after the first Yom Kippur in the Desert. ===================================== THE PUBLIC DOMAIN Comments, quibbles, and reactions concerning previous "Ask-the-Rabbi" features In a recent "Yiddle Riddle" (http://www.ohr.edu/ask/ask285.htm#YR) you asked: My older brother is my twin. Although he is perfectly healthy in every way, he will not fast this year on Yom Kippur, although I will. Why?" Your answer was that the speaker is a girl, and as such becomes bas mitzvah a year earlier than a boy. My oldest daughters, Esti and Bracha Tova, ages 13 and 12, came up with a different answer to this particular Yiddle Riddle: The older twin is not Jewish, and therefore not required to fast, and his twin is a convert to Judaism. Mrs. Hana-Bashe Himelstein, Baltimore, MD ===================================== Our scholars answer over 100 queries every day. 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