Berakhot 135

Today's shiur is dedicated by Clifford S. Fishman in honour of Rabbi Andy Sachs, "whose courageous defence of pluralism in Judaism is an inspiration to us all".

3:
Let us try to restate the contents of our mishnah in different terms. When three people eat together one of them says [Ĥaverim] Nevarekh [Friends, let's recite Grace]. According to Tanna Kamma (whose view does not reflect accepted practice) when there are three diners in addition to the leader he addresses them in the imperative rather than the cohortative – "Recite Grace to God", rather than "Let us recite…" For every increase in the number of diners thereafter there is a corresponding increase in the mention of epithets for the Divine. Thus ten diners (according to Tanna Kamma) permit the addition of the epithet Eloheynu [our God] – and so forth, up to incredible numbers of diners. Even if ten thousand and one diners were present, how would the leader make himself heard to all the others without modern means of amplification? In the seifa [last part] of our mishnah Rabbi Akiva establishes the presently accepted practice – that above ten the number of persons present is immaterial, just as the case in the synagogue. In the synagogue, the equivalent to zimmun is Barekhu – see Berakhot 024 and subsequent shiurim. The text of this 'Invitation to Worship' is according to that quoted in the name of Rabbi Yishmael in our mishnah.

In Berakhot 133 I wrote: If the servant chose to accept Judaism he was circumcised and bathed in a mikveh, and he was then subject to all those elements of Jewish religious practice that a Jewish woman was subject to. Barry Frieslander writes:

I cannot believe what I am reading here! So the male servant decides to convert to Judaism, fine; he has a bris and bathes in a mikvah and then he is given the status of a "woman". Okay, I can accept the explanation – up to a point – that "women were excused from a large segment of the mitzvot is because "others are in control of her time, activities and behaviour". Here we have a new convert so of course he has to be guided and advised, at least initially. But the implication of the above statement is that his female status is more permanent than temporary. I also feel that it places him in the category of neither fish nor fowl. In other words, it sounds as if he has not and will not be fully accepted as a fully fledged member of the Jewish community. The question that springs to mind also is, were non-servant converts also given the status of a woman?

I respond:

As part of the shiur under discussion I referred those interested to the archive records where this topic was first discussed – in order to avoid unnecessary repetition when the issue is only incidental. Those who checked out the archive would have immediately understood that the Eved Kena'ani continued to be an indentured servant after his conversion. Unlike born Jews who were indentured (as part of the penal system) and who automatically regained their freedom after six years of servitude, the Eved Kena'ani was released from his status only as an act of kindness on the part of his owner (or if his freedom was purchased). Thus his behaviour was still bounded by the will of his master.

Barry also asks:

What is the significant of 75 minutes [the time limit after a meal for reciting Birkat ha-Mazon]?

I respond:

This was considered digestion time in rabbinic thinking.

In the context of Terumah I wrote: All the other levies may be redeemed on a coin.

Rick Dinitz requests:

Please elaborate. What is the procedure for this redemption? What treatment applies to the coin after this procedure?

Slightly more than one percent of the produce should be set apart (I suggested peelings, corings etc). A coin should also be set aside: the number of times it may be used to redeem the redeemable levies depends of its value on the silver market, so a competent local rabbi should be consulted. The great authority of the 1950's, Rabbi A.Y. Karelitz – better known by his sobriquet Ĥazon Ish – phrased the rather complicated declaration to be made upon removing Terumah and the levies. This can be found in any prayer book originating in Israel, and it will also be printed in a Siddur of the Masorti Movement, Va-ani Tefillati to be published in February 1998. Karelitz also suggested that one could make an even simpler declaration: "All levies are hereby removed according to the text in the prayer-book in my possession" – provided you have such a siddur or text in your possession! Where the produce is Tevel there is a berakhah to be recited; where it is Demai the berakhah is omitted. Before Pesaĥ in the third and sixth years of the Shemittah cycle the coins used must be disposed of and not used. (Karelitz suggested dropping them into the sea.) The separated produce (peels etc) should be wrapped up before be disposed of with the garbage.

Please reread what I wrote on this subject in Berakhot 132 and Berakhot 133: in almost all cases this whole procedure is unnecessary.