Rabbi's Blog

A Phobia is an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something such as fear of water, fear of heights, fear of crowds of people, and so forth. Judaism has its own phobias, specifically with regard to spiritual matters. Perhaps a more specific example is a phobia borne out of halachik issues. I will mention two examples; if you have any others, please feel free to share them with me. There are two situations that are heard by many people: the first is they don’t want to be ‘fleishig’.  Someone who has eaten meat is not permitted to eat dairy for a period of time depending upon his particular custom of waiting anywhere from three to six hours. The second religious related phobia is ‘bentching’. Some people are averse to eating bread or food that requires washing and the need to recite Birkas HaMazone, the Grace after meals.

A sure sign of this food-choice phobia is based upon the often-asked question, “How many slices of pizza can I eat without having to wash/bentch?”  Another telltale question is, “Are the tortilla ingredients made from corn or wheat?  Which would require washing/bentching?” Then there are those people who are on different kinds of diets, specifically a low or no carb diet, who ask if they are obligated to wash and eat bread on Shabbos or Yom Tov. In all fairness to the bad rap that bentching gets, we should seriously review whether it is deserved or not. There is a fair evaluation of a situation of whether or not to wash, dependent upon if there is water readily available and a proper cup to wash with. But in halacha, even if a person does not wash, he still must say the Birkas HaMazone if bread was eaten. Now if we consider the time it takes to say the Birkas HaMazone the Bentching, it probably takes at most three minutes - reading slowly - and most people probably say it in half that time.

This halacha/teaching of the requirement to say Birkas HaMazone excludes the challenge of Rabbi Eliezer ben Samuel of Metz. Rebbi Eliezer, who died in 1175 ,was a Tosafist and the author of the halachik work Sefer Yereim which was published in Vilna in 1892. The Meshech Chochmah on this passuk in Bereishis 18:5 quotes the Yereim. He bases his opinion (which we do not follow) that if a person only eats but does not drink during the meal, he is not obligated to say the Bentching. He uses this logic to show why Avraham only gave the angels bread to eat, and their hearts were satisfied and were immediately able to get up and go without the need to bless afterward since there is no mention of drinking in the verse. 

The fact that there is such a notion of a seudas Mitzva, a mitzva meal that hints to us that the concept of washing, eating bread, and bentching can’t be all bad. To the contrary we find in this week’s parsha the importance of bread and bentching. In Bereishis 18:5 the Torah states “V’Ekcha Pas Lechem V’Saadu Libchem Achar TaAvoru Ki Al Kein Avartem Al Avdchem, VaYomru Kein TaAseh Ka’Asher Dibarta”. “I will get a morsel of bread for you to refresh yourselves, then you can continue on your way. After all, you are passing by my house. “All right,” they replied, ”Do as you say.”

The author of the sefer asarah mamaros, Reb Menachem Azarya MiPano, writes that the Neshama Yeseira (extra soul) that comes to a person on Shabbos benefits greatly from Birkas HaMazone, the Grace after Meals. This is a ‘new Mitzva’ that does not take place in the upper spheres. The ordinary or regular Neshama/soul is given to a person his entire life. That soul is constantly involved and intertwined with the Guf/body in every aspect -  both physical and spiritual. In contrast, the extra soul that we are given on Shabbos has a limited capacity on Shabbos alone. The Neshama Yeseira  on Shabbos does not have a physical partnership with the body; it is rather like a spiritual angel. As a result it benefits exclusively from Mitzvos performed on Shabbos and particularly from the Mitzva of Bentching.   

With this we can understand a certain phrase in the Zemer Kol M’Kadesh Shvii sung on Friday night. Reb Zvi Elimelech Shapira, in his sefer Igra D’Kala on Parshas Vayera, explains further the benefit of Birkas HaMazone. At the end of the piyut (poem) it states: ‘Soadim Bo L’Vareich Shalosh P’Amim’ -  ‘and feast three times on it in order to bless you’. The word ‘soadim,’ translated as feast, connotes an idea of being satisfied with ‘it', the ‘it’ being the bread that creates the meal. One might think that the word and language ‘in order to bless’ is superfluous with regard to the physical sense.. It is the meal and the washing over bread and the Birkat HaMazone that gives one an opportunity for the blessing to take hold of something, namely the meal. The primary goal and purpose of the meal is for the extra soul to receive additional spirituality. Sometimes spirituality comes from physical things if we elevate those things  for a higher cause. Reaching a higher spiritual plain from something physical is a greater challenge, particularly when it comes from food. On Shabbos, though, the meal itself brings a higher level of kedusha/holiness that nourishes the neshama yeseira.  

Whether the phobias are physical or spiritual, we need to overcome them. People should seek out help to overcome their phobias. We all should overcome physical phobias such as going into water,  journeying up to a high point  to see a beautiful scene or being part of a large gathering of people, If the phobias are spiritual – not wanting to be fleishig or not wanting to wash -  we are depriving ourselves of greater spirituality and nourishment to our weekday soul and on Shabbos to our Neshama Yeseira. 

Ah Gut Shabbos

Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky

*Menahem Azariah da Fano (also called Immanuel da Fano, and Rema MiPano) (1548 – 1620) was an Italian Rabbi, Talmudist, and Kabbalist.

Menachem Azariah de Fano was a disciple of Rabbi Moshe Ben Yakov Cordovero, to whose widow he offered 1,000 sequins for her husband's manuscripts. Even as a youth Fano had some reputation for learning, as is shown by the fact that Moses Cordovero (d. 1570) sent him a copy of his Pardes Rimmonim. Fano was a patron of learning. When Rabbi Yoseif Caro, shortly before his death in 1575, sent Kesef Mishneh, his commentary on Maimonidies' Yad ha-Ḥazaḳah, to Mantua for publication, Fano, at the suggestion of Dei Rossi, assumed part of the expense and took charge of the edition.

According to a report of Immanuel Aboab, Fano lived for some time in Reggio Emilia. Numerous pupils flocked to him from Italy and Germany, and he was held in general respect for his learning and character.

Fano's authority as a Talmudist is evident in a collection of responsa ("She'elot Teshubot me-Rabbi Menaḥem 'Azaryah," Dyhernfurth, 1788) containing 130 chapters on various subjects connected with religious law and ritual questions. They are distinguished by precision of style as well as by the author's independence of the later authorities. At times, he even decides in opposition to Joseph Caro (e.g., No. 32), and holds changes in the ritual to be justifiable in certain cases (see, e.g., No. 25).

**Igra D'Kala, on the Torah, Parts 1-2, by Rebbe Zvi Elimelech Shapira of Dynów, author of Bnei Yissaschar. Lemberg, 1868. First edition. With approbations of Rebbe Chaim of Sanz, who writes, "The greatness and piety and holiness of the Rabbi, the author, is known and famous throughout the world…and who will not be enlightened by his holy works which have already been published… and many have traversed in their light.