Gentlemen, a blessed morning light. We begin this edition of "Experts in Jewish Law" dedicated to V'Kom Mizrahi, may he rest in peace. He is being buried today in Holy Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives. As the sages teach, one must pray until the last clod of earth covers the deceased, praying for a peaceful journey. We pray that everything proceeds well. Yesterday, I shared that when we were seeking a sponsor for the "Experts in Jewish Law" project, we approached a very prestigious family. Rabbi Saul Kasten and I were certain they would take it on. They had the means, a deep love for Torah scholars, and a desire to dedicate it in memory of a loved one. We went to the meeting merely as a formality, convinced they would accept. To our surprise, for reasons unknown, they declined. It made no sense to us.
Immediately after, I went to Salim Mizrahi and asked if he would sponsor it. He instantly agreed. We had a meeting right here in Lawrence Avenue on the patio on a Friday morning, and V'Kom Mizrahi was present. What a gift! They gifted him this project while he was alive, meaning he was already connected to its merit. All the merits generated by this project are now in his spiritual bank account. This is not a situation where we are only now seeking merits for someone who is already gone; the merit was with him during his lifetime. I believe the Holy One, Blessed Be He, brings healing before the blow, because when we started the project, he was healthy, and then, suddenly, his health declined. Once the merit was there, we had to add Raphael to his name. The Holy One, Blessed Be He, certainly knows what He is doing, but these merits now accompany him to the heavenly court with abundant spiritual luggage. This truly shows the good deed his children performed; they helped their father not only in this world but also in the next. Every Jewish law we discuss, he has a share in its merit. So, again, we were at the funeral yesterday, and we wish his children comfort. We tell them Amen, and we continue to study Jewish law in his memory. This is for Hayim ben Mazal. Amen. The funeral is taking place as we speak in Israel. This session is also in memory of Dania Koel. Today is day 35, and day 35 brings a sponsor by the name of Rene and David Braha, in honor of Cookie Cohen, in memory of Joel Cohen, Yosef Ben-Dinah, in memory of Sophie and Raymond Braha, may they rest in peace, Rahmo, Rahamin Ben-Sara, and Sara Sophia Bat-Salcham.
If you follow with us inside, we are on page 78. It states that you are permitted to use bread for purposes other than eating, as long as you do not cause the bread to become ruined or spoiled. For example, if you want to support a wobbly plate, you can place a piece of bread underneath it like a wedge. This is permissible, provided the bottom of the plate is clean. If the bottom of the plate is dirty, with accumulated grime, then placing bread underneath would ruin it. Similarly, if the plate is empty, or even if it contains food, but it is a gravy item or a soupy item that could fall onto the bread and spoil it, you should not use the bread. However, for a wobbly fruit bowl, placing a piece of bread as a wedge underneath would be acceptable. You can also use a piece of bread to cover a plate, like a pot lid. Or, if you need to prop up a book while studying, you can use a loaf of bread, especially a large challah or sourdough, as a bookstand. We have found a purpose for sourdough!
However, if a plate is filled with items that could spoil the bread by falling onto it, or if the bottom of the plate is dirty, you should not place bread underneath it. You certainly should not rest meat directly on bread on the counter if you want to avoid placing it directly on the counter. The juices, blood, and other liquids from the meat would fall onto the bread and spoil it. There is also a significant concern regarding passing wine over bread. If you are serving wine and the cup is shaking, causing wine to spill onto the bread, you must avoid this. Therefore, you should make a detour and go around the bread to serve the wine. For example, on Passover, during the Four Cups, or with matzah, where wine is moving across the table all night, you must be careful not to pass it over the bread, as it can cause the bread to become spoiled.
You cannot throw bread. We have stated this a hundred times already. Even if throwing it on a clean table would not spoil it, it is forbidden because bread is esteemed. There is a disrespect involved when it is on the ground. However, the text notes that in many Syrian homes, after reciting the blessing over bread, they do throw it. This seems to contradict the ruling of the **Shulchan Aruch**. The **Levush** cites a halachic authority who permits throwing bread if it does not become ruined. In fact, **Maran** wrote in **Beit Yosef** that it appears permissible to throw loaves of bread if they do not become soiled. Did they not do this with the showbread? The priests would set it up and toss it to each other. Or the meat on the altar? The priests would stand by the altar and toss the meat onto it. **Haim of Sands** wrote that it has become common to rely on those who permit this. Our custom has always been to toss it gently, not to throw it with force. My grandfather tossed it; we do it. That is the custom. Naturally, it cannot be turned into a joke; it is bread, and one must be careful. The text concedes that Syrian Jews do this as their custom.
Other foods should also not be thrown, unless they are repulsive or will not be damaged. For example, candies at a Bab Yitzhom celebration, if they are in a wrapper, like taffies or other candies that get stuck in your teeth, you can throw them. What will happen? They land on the floor in their wrapping, and within three seconds, children will come from all directions and pick them up. Or nuts, if you throw them on the floor, and they don't smash, you can apply the "three-second rule," pick them up, and eat them without a problem. The point is that they don't smash. In contrast, throwing a date or an apricot would cause it to smash on the floor, which is a problem. However, throwing items like eggs or tomatoes, for instance, at a speech, would be permissible if they are not meant to be eaten. If food falls to the ground, you must pick it up. This is a significant novel ruling here, page 295. Likewise, the author of a responsa testified that his father, the author of the **Ketav Sofer**, used to throw pieces of bread to each person after reciting the blessing over bread. He reconciled this by saying it was not meant to be disrespectful, similar to the practice of the priests with the sacrifices on the altar. Despite the comments of these scholars, it does not appear that the author of the **Shulchan Aruch** mentioned such leniency, even though he cited lenient opinions elsewhere.
Now, the **Ben Ish Hai** states that one must remove fallen bread, but the **Mishnah Berurah** wrote that one must pick it up. You see it on the floor. **Haim Kanievsky** explained that it is not necessary to actually pick it up; it is sufficient to move it to the side where people will not trample on it. This is a dispute: whether to move it to the side or to actually pick it up. I recall a story from our youth. We used to play baseball in the parking lot of Heichal Tzion. It was a gravel lot behind the synagogue on East 5th Street, an open space for playing when the synagogue was empty. One hot day, while we were playing, **Hacham Yaakov**, the Chief Rabbi, was walking from East 3rd Street through the study hall. Dressed in his black suit, he approached. Of course, we stopped our game immediately. It was a long timeout as he walked very slowly. The Rabbi is the Rabbi; we were scared. Suddenly, he noticed that the caterer had thrown garbage bags in the back of the synagogue, and birds had pecked them open, scattering bread everywhere. We had seen the bread but didn't care.
**Hacham Yaakov** took a bag and went around like a humble servant. He bent down, picked up each piece of bread, kissed it, and placed it in the bag. For maybe twenty minutes, he scoured the entire park, picking up every piece of bread he saw, kissing it, and putting it in the bag. What an impression that had on us at the time! We wondered, "What is he doing? Is he saving it? Is he going to eat it?" When you read the **Ben Ish Hai**, you learn that you cannot pass by bread on the floor. The **Zohar HaKadosh** says that someone who is careful with bread and other foods receives blessings. Look at the blessings his family had afterward; they did not come from nowhere. You would normally think that **Hacham Yaakov**, as Chief Rabbi, was overqualified for such a task. You would expect him to snap his fingers, and one of the synagogue attendants would come out and clean it in two seconds. But he did not do that. This also shows the humility of the Chief Rabbi, that it was not beneath his dignity. I have no doubt that he also saw the boys there and was teaching us a lesson about the respect for food. We watched in silence, unable to comprehend. He did it a hundred times: picked it up, kissed it, put it in the bag. Kissed it, put it in the bag. We just watched, as if seeing an angel. When we got older, we realized it was about the respect for food. Yes, we saw this with our own eyes; we were lucky.
The principle is that you cannot cause food to become repulsive for whatever reason. For example, the text mentions a case where a bride and groom were killed on their wedding day, and their bodies were placed under a wedding canopy during the funeral. It would be forbidden to hang food in the canopy, as it would no longer be considered respectable. Okay, this is... all right, we'll go to the next one. Wow. The Jewish law states: "One does not perform ritual hand-washing with wine." No, this is crazy, crazy stuff. So, it says here, one does not perform ritual hand-washing with wine, even hand-washing not required for eating. This actually happened. You are not supposed to use wine for ritual hand-washing, even though technically it would work to wash your hands. What's the difference? But wine is an esteemed liquid. If you use it for hand-washing, you would be wasting the wine, or it would be an act of disrespect. Therefore, it is forbidden to perform ritual hand-washing with wine instead of water. It is like washing one's hands with wine, even if it is not for the purpose of ritual hand-washing. A rich person might say, "Bring me the Cabernet," and start washing his hands; that would be crazy. However, if someone has no other liquid, he may prefer to dine with wine, as explained, like we learned above. **Maran** discussed this Jewish law, listing three different options concerning this issue. He introduced the first and third opinions with the words, "some say." He introduced the second opinion with the words, "some halachic authorities say." This demonstrates that **Maran** considered the second opinion to be the correct one: it is forbidden to perform ritual hand-washing with wine, as this is disrespectful due to wine's exalted status. If someone has no other beverage, then you can rely on the other opinions. You have to be careful about that. Okay, so that's that. All right, we'll stop here. Blessed is the Name. Amen, amen. What a case!