Feb 7, 2011
Segulah Challah On Pesach
One of the things I find amusing is when people make up their own segulah for something, and then have halachic questions that arise, and they think their segulah is so important that it might have halachic priority.
Hashavua B'Bet Shemesh newspaper reported that the Skverer Rebbe came this past week to Bet Shemesh to encourage the Skverer families that live here and are beginning to build the building for their local organization. Along with his planned activities, he held an open kabbalas kehal for people to come and get brachos and to consult with him.
Among the visitors was mayor of Bet Shemesh Moshe Abutbol. After they talked about the new community of Skeverer hassidim and the assistance Abutbol would provide for them in expediting various issues and bureaucracies, Abutbol asked if he could ask a halachic question.
Abutbol said that a year ago he spent a Shabbos in New Square and had gone to the Rebbe's tische, during which the Rebbe gave him a piece of the challah. Instead of eating the challah, like most normal people, Abutbol turned it into a segulah and decided to put it away for protection. Pesach came and he did not know what to do with it - he didn't want to burn it with his chametz. So reluctantly he sold it to a goy. However, Abutbol explained, he prefers to not sell it to a goy, so what is the proper thing to do with the challah for this coming Pesach?
The Skverer Rebbe responded by inviting him back to Skver to get a new piece of challah at the tische..
And in other news, the local haredim are threatening to throw him out of office because he sold chametz gamur to a goy, which is behavior in direct conflict with the current machmir hanhaga of not selling chametz gamur.
 |
| unnamed Skverer Hassid |
Among the visitors was mayor of Bet Shemesh Moshe Abutbol. After they talked about the new community of Skeverer hassidim and the assistance Abutbol would provide for them in expediting various issues and bureaucracies, Abutbol asked if he could ask a halachic question.
Abutbol said that a year ago he spent a Shabbos in New Square and had gone to the Rebbe's tische, during which the Rebbe gave him a piece of the challah. Instead of eating the challah, like most normal people, Abutbol turned it into a segulah and decided to put it away for protection. Pesach came and he did not know what to do with it - he didn't want to burn it with his chametz. So reluctantly he sold it to a goy. However, Abutbol explained, he prefers to not sell it to a goy, so what is the proper thing to do with the challah for this coming Pesach?
The Skverer Rebbe responded by inviting him back to Skver to get a new piece of challah at the tische..
And in other news, the local haredim are threatening to throw him out of office because he sold chametz gamur to a goy, which is behavior in direct conflict with the current machmir hanhaga of not selling chametz gamur.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Related Posts
The ad banner for this article is a book titled "Rather Laugh than Cry". How appropriate...
ReplyDeleteHe wants to help a community that plans on coming year but WON'T help Lema'an Achai ho has been helping people for over 10 years?
ReplyDeleteThat's why he should be thrown out - forget about the challa!
why re you not writing about bet shemesh not supporting leman achai and the demo Wednesday at 5pm at the Iriya
ReplyDeletewhile I am not an investigative reporter, there is a certain minimum amount of information I feel I need to know before I write something.. I am finding out how some of this worked, to the best of my limited ability, and then will write about it, if I have anything to say
ReplyDeletemaybe because the organizers have categorized it as another charedi vs. everyone else issue, and that's a dead horse around here....
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 2 - "that's a dead horse", meaning the slide of Bet Shemesh into another chareidi-only back-water, like Betar or Israel's poorest city, Bnei Braq, is a done-deal?
ReplyDeleteYou under-estimate the moderate majority.
The moderates are not going to abandon the future of Bet Shemesh to the extremists of RBS Bet.
And, Anonymous 2, as you read this blog and therefore have internet, as the extremists strengthen their hold on Bet Shemesh, chances are you'll be the next for the chop.
B"H, this horse ain't dead yet!!
The organizers are appealing to two groups.
ReplyDelete1. Those who support Lema'an Achai and demand the iriya should do its fair share to help Lema'an Achai too. (Predominantly the RBS crowd)
2. Those who are concerned that Bet Shemesh is falling into the hands of extremist elements and view Lema'an Achai's treatment as a symptom of a wider problem. (Predominantly the Givat Sharett and old Bet Shemesh crowd).
Uniting these crowds should make for a very effective demonstration - and get Lema'an Achai the Iriya support it needs to continue its amazing work for our community.
Agreed except for one point. *charedi* moderates aren't going to join a non-charedi demonstration declared against "charedi extremists", because even dati leumi consistently use the description "charedi extremist" to mean any charedi getting involved in politics in any way.
ReplyDeleteWithin RBS, if you let the "moderates" talk long enough, they admit they are fighting Rabbi Malinowitz and Rabbi Kornfeld. Which means it's an anti-charedi campaign.
Within RBS, if you let the "moderates" talk long enough, they admit they are fighting Rabbi Malinowitz and Rabbi Kornfeld. Which means it's an anti-charedi campaign.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all Lema'an Achai's leadership includes Charedim as well as non Charedi.
Secondly you cite Rabbis Malinowitz and Kornfeld.
Both of these Rabbonim are extremists, period.
Rabbi Malinowitz takes an extreme position regarding child abuse and reporting to the authorities. He also bans people who hold differently than he. That is not moderate by any stretch oof the imagination.
I am a TOV supporter and Charedi and was insulted by Rabbi Kornfeld's attacks against TOV. Telling people that they won't have Olam HaBa because of their connection to one political party over another is not moderate.
One can be Charedi and respect the opinions and fine work of others.
Regarding the segulah challah,
ReplyDeletenot that i'm a posek, but as far as i understand, the main idea that validates the custom of selling chametz to a non-Jew before pesach and buying it back after is the "Gemirat Daat" that a jew would really have no regrets if the goy would pay him the going rate for his chametz and not return it after Pesach.
(this is one of the "complaints" against the heter mechirah - but that's another issue).
In this case, if R' Moshe would not honestly and truly be willing that the goy would give him the 20 agurot (the very generous going rate for a stale piece of bread) than this would be a classic example of a "fake" sale and him being the owner of real chametz on pesach.
being that the challah is from the rebbe and has been turned into a segulah, it is probably worth well more than 20 agurot. Either way, he obviously does not want to part with it.
ReplyDeleteSo he was "oyver" teh issur of owning chametz on pesach
ReplyDelete