המעין

Table of Contents
"The Spring of the Whole World…" / Rav Yoel Catane                                                           3
Memorial Remarks for Rav Avraham Werdiger z"l / Moshe Oren                               5
"Rules of Niddah (Menstruation) of the Ra'ah" – Corrected Edition / Adiel Breuer            7
Burial in Modern "Burial Caves" / Rav Dr. Israel Meir Levinger                                 18
"Hotfin [We Snatch] Matsot on Passover Evenings" – The Educational Perspective /
Rav Ari Yitzchak Shvat (Chwat)                                                                            29
Defining Prohibitions of Uvdin d'Hol [Mundane Activities] / Rav Ohad Fixler         37
Early Testimony and Late Testimony to a Jewish Presence on the Temple Mount /
arel Dvir                                                                                                                     45
Lashon Hara [Derogatory Speech] Between Intimate Friends to Alleviate Anxiety /
Rav Avraham Burstein                                                                                           51
Twins as Parents of a Ben Sorer uMoreh [Wayward and Rebellious Son] /
Rav Yisrael Dendrovitz                                                                                           61
The Definition of the Melakha [Craft] of Makeh b’Patish [Completing] in the Context
of Electricity on Shabbat / Rav Dr. Dror Fixler                                                    67
A Collection of Shemittah [Sabbatical Year] Decisions from Rav Yosef Shalom
Elyashiv zt"l / Rav Mordechai Emanuel                                                              79
The Satmar Collection Beit Vaad leHakhamim [Gathering Place of the Sages]: The Metamorphosis of an Extremist Periodical in the Context of the Struggles of Its Time /
Rav Eitam Henkin                                                                                                   86
Editorial Review of Recent Torani Publications / Rav Yoel Catane                           102

Abstracts
Rav Yoel Catane: "The Spring of the Whole World…"
Some words from the Editor about the spring, the situation and this volume of HaMa`yan.

Moshe Oren: Memorial Remarks for Rav Avraham Werdiger z"l
Moshe Oren, veteran member of Kibbutz Shaalvim which was founded by the PA"I [Poalei Agudat Israel – pietist workers] Movement, and assisted by it in the course of many years, depicts the unique image of Rav Werdiger as a trusted communal personality, who had genuine love for the Jewish people, the land of Israel and the Torah of Israel.

Adiel Breuer: "Rules of Niddah (Menstruation) of the Ra'ah" – Corrected Edition
A new, accurate compilation of the concise, important composition "Hilkhot (Laws of) Niddah of the Ra'ah" (Rav Aharon haLevi of Barcelona, the 13th century), in accordance with manuscripts and in correlation with the remarks of earlier and later authorities. The introduction includes precise identification of the original composition's title and of its author, its intended audience, and a description of the manuscripts and printed works which constitute the sources of the new version printed here. The editor also discusses the way in which the composition is subdivided, and contrasts it with another similar composition attributed to a nephew of the Ra'ah.

Rav Dr. Israel Meir Levinger: Burial in Modern "Burial Caves"
Current circumstances require us to find with great urgency 'high-density' burial solutions in order to protect areas of the land of Israel from being filled with cemeteries. In accordance with what is currently acceptable, ready access to the grave must be afforded throughout the year for many generations, which would not mean standard multi-storeyed construction nor expensive construction deep in the ground. The solution proposed in this article by Rav Dr. Levinger, emeritus Rav of the community of Basel, and international expert in matters of kashrut, answers all these requirements: construction of a sort of artificial hill containing graves at multiple levels. The article is accompanied by diagrams and photos.

Rav Ari Yitzchak Shvat (Chwat): "Hotfin [We Snatch] Matsot on Passover Evenings" – The Educational Perspective
There are five approaches among the rishonim [early authorities] to explaining the expression 'hotfin matsot' on the eve of the seder [order of Passover evening]. Rav Shvat, lecturer and educator from Kochav HaShachar, shows that these approaches correspond to five educational approaches in how to interest and involve children on the seder evening – and also for the rest of their lives. Combining all these approaches in proper measure is likely, with the help of Heaven, to cause the children to be 'with us' on the 'seder eve', and to follow after us in a life of faith for the length of their days. One should connect them to Torah and mitsvot through joy and identification, intellectual stimulation and genuine enthusiasm, with discipline – but without unrealistic expectations.

Rav Ohad Fixler: Defining Prohibitions of Uvdin d'Hol [Mundane Activities]
The term Uvdin d'Hol arises in talmudic discussions of Sabbath and Yom Tov [Festivals] as a basis for prohibiting activities on Yom Tov and Shabbat. The rishonim [early authorities] are divided in understanding the prohibition: in Nahmanides' approach one is dealing with a Torah prohibition as a result of failing to fulfill the directive of shabbaton [resting].The remarks of Nahmanides are not cited in halakhic literature, but during the past two hundred years many poskim [halakhic authorities] have extended his remarks to general activities which impinge on the character of the day, and they reason that one is dealing with a Torah prohibition. Maimonides' approach is that one must distinguish between two concepts – the prohibition of uvdin d'hol is said only of activities resembling melakha [creative activity] performed during the week in which we are concerned that they will lead accidentally to performing a Torah prohibition. The prohibition of uvdin d'hol is a rabbinic prohibition like any prohibition to encourage rest. In addition to this, Maimonides reasons that there is a rabbinic prohibition on activites which impinge on the holiness of the day, and this matter is derived from the remarks of the Prophets "speaking [thine own] words". There are those who term this category of prohibition as well uvdin d'hol, and the matter is commonly referenced in halakhic decisions, however Maimonides defines these prohibitions separately and insists on distinguishing between them.

Harel Dvir: Early Testimony and Late Testimony to a Jewish Presence on the Temple Mount
Remarks of Rav Abraham bar Hiyya, among the great rabbinic figures about a thousand years ago, indicate that for an extended period of time after the destruction of the Temple there existed a house of prayer and study on the Temple Mount. These remarks corroborate additional sources which describe a Jewish presence on the Temple Mount during the Mishnaic and Talmudic Era, combine with the latter day testimony of Rav Shmuel Horowitz, among the great Breslov hasidim of the previous generation, concerning prayer on the Temple Mount, and shed light on the proposal of Rav Mordechai Eliahu zt"l to build on the Temple Mount "a synagogue and a place for Torah and for prayer in that area to which entry is permitted". These attestations are not sufficient to determine halakhic and administrative questions in connection with the relationship to the Temple Mount currently, but they combine with many other factors, halakhic and communal, which do not allow the question of a Jewish presence on the Temple Mount to be dropped from the communal and halakhic agenda.

Rav Avraham Burstein: Lashon Hara [Derogatory Speech] Between Intimate Friends to Alleviate Anxiety
Rav Avraham Burstein, fellow of the Mercaz haRav Yeshiva, discusses an extremely timely halakha: is it permissible to speak lashon hara to alleviate anxiety, without intending to offend the person spoken about? His conclusions are that speaking lashon hara for a purpose is permissible under certain conditions, including alleviation of anxiety, but the allowance is specifically if it is the story itself which is calming, rather than the deprecation of someone else. The listener in this instance is permitted to hear the lashon hara – but he is forbidden to in any way accept it or believe it. He emphasizes that between husband and wife it is more common that one of the couple will wish to tell the other things defamatory to others in order to alleviate anxiety and distress, and there are authorities who reason that between husband and wife the parameters of the allowance of speaking and listening to lashon hara for the purpose of alleviating anxiety and distress are even broader.

Rav Yisrael Dendrovitz: Twins as Parents of a Ben Sorer uMoreh [Wayward and Rebellious Son]
The parents of a ben sorer umoreh must be similar in voice, appearance and stature, and Rav Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter, the Admor [Hasidic leader] of Ger, author of the Sefat Emet, offers the novel insight that this would be possible only in the case of twins, and that is why there "never has been [such a case] and never will be". The plain sense of the Sefat Emet is that a brother and sister who are twins cannot marry each other – yet even a mamzer [child of certain illicit unions] is subject to the rules of ben sorer umoreh! The conclusion is that the statement "ben sorer umoreh never has been and never will be" does not categorically preclude the remote possiblity of such a case, but in practice it "never has been and never will be".

Rav Dr. Dror Fixler: The Definition of the Melakha [Craft] of Makeh b’Patish [Completing] in the Context of Electricity on Shabbat
Rav Dr. Dror Fixler, a person who integrates Torah and science, writes on the melakha [creative activity] of makeh b’patish [applying finishing touches, lit. ‘striking with a hammer’] in the context of Sabbath Day prohibitions. He explains that the craft of ‘hammering’ includes its plain sense of striking with a hammer in the process of performing any melakha, as well as being an archetype for actions which constitute the basis of designing and perfecting as an act of completing, as well as actions unique to craftsmen enhancing an object. He rejects the view that it is possible to forbid activating or operating electrical power on Shabbat because of makeh b'patish, since the electricity does not modify anything in the object itself and the object remains as it was in the beginning: there is no 'renovation' or enhancement in the object powered by electricity, just as operating an electrical appliance is not considered a skill. He emphasizes that the changing reality around us may alter the way in which the halakha relates to that reality without, Heaven forfend, changing any halakhic boundary, and these matters are given to the consideration of the gedolei Yisrael (great halakhic leaders).

Rav Mordechai Emanuel: A Collection of Shemittah [Sabbatical Year] Decisions from Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt"l
Scores of halakhic decisions from the study hall of Rav Elyashiv zt"l, by one of the experts on the subject of mitsvot [directives] dependent upon the land in our day, Rav Mordechai Emanuel, who was born in Kibbutz Shaalvim and currently resides in Beitar Illit.

Rav Eitam Henkin: The Satmar Collection Beit Vaad leHakhamim [Gathering Place of the Sages]: The Metamorphosis of an Extremist Periodical in the Context of the Struggles of Its Time
Another article by the brilliant young researcher Rav Eitam Henkin, this time concerning the periodical Beit Vaad leHakhamim which was published during the pre-Shoah years and gave rise to much controversy. It began with zealous and extreme book critiques, moved to repeated, prolonged attacks on Rav Kook, the Chief Rabbi of the Land of Israel, against the background of the sharp conflict which arose in that era between the Hassidic courts of Belz and Munkacs, until its fading and the end of its path at the beginning of the Shoah.
The issue closes with reviews by the editor of new Torani books.
פסח כשר ושמח!