Jul 22, 2008

Interesting Psak: Instant Replay


Are you familiar with the term ,"Instant Replay"?

We all know that the NFL has used Instant Replay technology for years to settle disputes and appeals on close calls. Sometimes going back to the video shows the ref got the call right, and sometimes they have to overturn a bad call.

The MLB has been discussing implementing Instant Replay on and off for years already. I think it is a bad idea - let the umps make the decisions, even if once in a while they get a close call wrong.

What about Instant Replay in Judaism and Halacha?

There was recently an incident at a wedding in Jerusalem - they concluded the ceremony under the chuppa. The groom and bride headed into the yichud room, while the guests began to eat their appetizers.

Someone present at the wedding claimed that he had heard the person making the 5th bracha, which concludes with "M'Sameach Chassan v'kallah", confuse it and mistakenly say the conclusion of "M'sameach chasan im ha'kallah". The halacha clearly says that when the bracha is mistaken in this way, the brachos, all of them, under the chuppa must be repeated.

They asked the Rosh Yeshiva present what to do. He said if Instant Replay is good enough for the NFL, it is good enough for me! Just joking, but he did instruct them to check the videos from the photographer to see if the mistake was really made.

Upon confirmation that the bracha was really recited incorrectly, they decided the sheva brachos had to be recited under the chuppa again. They called out the chassan and kallah and redid it.

So, if Instant replay is good enough for deciding halacha, I guess it should be used in the MLB as well!

10 comments:

  1. nucklehead waits to be matriach the tzibur and doesn't say something right away. if he's that positive, he should run up and quietly speak to the mesader. NOT wait till the tzibur is out and the wedding family is out and the chupah is being dismantled, etc.

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  2. maybe he was not sure what to do and debated should he speak up or not and then just could not hold it in any longer...

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  3. Did the Chassan's team wager a time out?
    Thats a cool story.

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  4. I dont understand why they had to matriach the tzibbur at all.

    Why could have easily have done this afterwards? There would have been sheva brachot in birkat hamazon.

    Why is this m'akev? What is it m'akev? We invest so much effort into ensuring the wedding is halachikally binding -- the original kiddushin and nissuin brachot were done correctly, the ketuba was done and given, the kidushin with the ring were done before wittnesses, as was yichud!

    Why did this davka need to be done under a chuppa at the cost of making everyone crazy (including embaressing the person who mis-recited the bracha)

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  5. I have no idea why. Do the sheva brachos under the chuppa not need to be done? We do it twice - once under the chuppa and once at bentching - I assume there is a need for each one separately and combining them would not be an option. But I do not know. The article did not specify.

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  6. We do it twice - once under the chuppa and once at bentching

    Yes, we do it twice and the one in bentching is not m'akev anything if missed.

    Its nahug to have it, but its not like it retroactively disqualifies anything.

    I'd like to hear from a halachik authority what the rationale was...

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  7. I've previously heard of "watching the video" to try to nullify the wedding in cases of husbands who refuse to give a get.

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  8. yaak - that is cool. I never heard that...

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  9. When we finally got the video of our wedding we noticed that at the benching sheva brochos someone who used to be frum was given a brocho. He hesitated as he looked through the bentcher, and some people in the crowd, to help him find which one to say, shouted "She-hakol!" Sure enough, instead of "shehakol bara lichvodo" he ended with "she-hakol ni-hiyeh bidvaro."

    After some laughter and a little concern we actually did call a Rav, and it is not a problem.

    Luckily this was bentching and not the chuppa!

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