The Biochemist Who Helped Establish a Jewish State and May One Use Baby Wipes On Shabbat? By Rabbi Ari Enkin and Hispanic-Jewish Foundation Erects Monument at Spain’s 1492 Edict of Expulsion’s Port of Departure and Watch: The Jerusalem Elite 2600 Years Ago Preferred Wine with Touches of Vanilla
Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money, and spiritual engagement.
The Three are Rabbi Yehuda Glick, famous temple mount activist, and former Israel Mk, and then Robert Weinger, the world's greatest shofar blower and seller of Shofars, and myself after we had gone to the 12 gates of the Temple Mount in 2020 to blow the shofar to ask G-d to heal the world from the Pandemic. It was a highlight to my experience in living in Israel and I put it on my blog each day to remember.
The articles that I include each day are those that I find interesting, so I feel you will find them interesting as well. I don't always agree with all the points of each article but found them interesting or important to share with you, my readers, and friends. It is cathartic for me to share my thoughts and frustrations with you about life in general and in Israel. As a Rabbi, I try to teach and share the Torah of the G-d of Israel as a modern Orthodox Rabbi. I never intend to offend anyone but sometimes people are offended and I apologize in advance for any mistakes. The most important psychological principle I have learned is that once someone's mind is made up, they don't want to be bothered with the facts, so, like Rabbi Akiva, I drip water (Torah is compared to water) on their made-up minds and hope that some of what I have share sinks in. Love Rabbi Yehuda Lave.
Watch: The Jerusalem Elite 2600 Years Ago Preferred Wine with Touches of Vanilla
Photo Credit: Hadas Parush/Flash90
The Givati Parking Lot excavation grounds next to the City of David National Park (archive).
Researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority examined jars unearthed during excavations in the City of David and were surprised to find remnants of the exotic spice vanilla from 2600 years ago.
The researchers say "the discovery of vanilla fantastically illustrates which luxury products came here – possibly from India and its surroundings, thanks to Jerusalem sitting on the international trade route."
The two buildings unearthed in the excavations were destroyed in the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem, in 586 BCE, and the jars were discovered smashed inside the rooms, under a collapsed building.
"Examining the contents of jars opened a window for us, to find out what they ate – and in this case – what they drank in Jerusalem, on the eve of the destruction," remarked archeologists Dr. Joe Uziel and Ortal Chalaf.
The Biochemist Who Helped Establish a Jewish State
After the death of Theodor Herzl in 1904, British-Jewish biochemist Chaim Weizmann was determined to carry out Herzl's vision of international support for a Jewish homeland in what was then Palestine.
With World War I raging and the Jews of the Land of Israel, greatly suffering under Ottoman rule, Weizmann petitioned the British and persuaded many, including Winston Churchill, of the urgency to declare Israel as the Jewish homeland.
On October 31, 1917, Herzl's dream came closer to realization when the British parliament expressed Britain's official support of a Jewish homeland in Palestine through the Balfour Declaration.
There is much discussion as to whether one may use baby wipes on Shabbat. The primary concern is that one may violate the prohibition against sechita, squeezing. On Shabbat it is forbidden to squeeze liquid that is absorbed in a cloth, or any solid material for that matter. There is also a concern that using the wipes might also be a violation of the melacha of melaben, laundering.
A number of authorities forbid the use of baby wipes on Shabbat due to the concern for sechita. This is because wiping the baby causes the absorbed cleansing liquid, which is intended to clean the baby simply and thoroughly, to be extracted. The wiping motion, therefore, is a form of squeezing. According to this approach, since the wiping is intended to extract and make use of the liquid that is absorbed in the wipe, it is a violation of the melacha of mefarek (of which sechita is a sub-category) and is forbidden accordingly.1
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Other authorities are more lenient and permit the use of baby wipes on Shabbat.2 Among the reasons for this is that the prohibition against squeezing does not apply when the extracted liquid is insignificant, rendered useless, or is essentially unintended.3 Also, many companies manufacturing baby wipes claim that the wipes are manufactured with the objective that the soapy liquid remain on the surface of the wipe and not be overly absorbed into it.4 This is intentionally done so that unnecessary pressure is not put on the baby in extracting any of the cleansing liquid.5
As mentioned, there is also a concern that using baby wipes might be a violation of the melacha of melaben, laundering. This is because when one squeezes a clear liquid out of a cloth or garment, one is essentially laundering the garment in the process. Nevertheless, most authorities dismiss the concern for melaben with regards to baby wipes. Among the reasons for this is the "paper towel precedent." It is permissible to use a wet paper towel to clean a surface on Shabbat and there is no concern that one may "launder" the paper towel in the process. This is especially true since the paper towel is dirtied in the process of using it, and as a result, it is quickly thrown away.6 This parallels the use of baby wipes, which are certainly soiled in the course of their use and quickly disposed of.
There are additional considerations for ruling leniently on the issue of using wipes on Shabbat, especially with regard to babies and children. Indeed, many authorities strongly encourage cleaning oneself after a bowel movement with a liquid medium for added cleanliness.7 It is reported that Rav Moshe Feinstein permitted the use of all brands of baby wipes on Shabbat.8 Many contemporary authorities rule similarly,9 although a number of others rule stringently.10 While stringency might be commendable, those who use baby wipes on Shabbat certainly have what to rely on.
Minchat Yitzchak 10:25; Shevet Halevi 13:59. See also Rivevot Ephraim 7:118.
Hispanic-Jewish Foundation Erects Monument at Spain's 1492 Edict of Expulsion's Port of Departure
Photo Credit: Fundacion HispanoJudĂa
Monument at the Port of Cartegena, the last place in the Iberian Peninsula seen by Jews who departed Spain by sea in 1492.
The Board of the FundaciĂłn HispanoJudĂa (Hispanic-Jewish Foundation) marked yesterday the 530th anniversary since the Alhambra Decree of 1492, otherwise known as the Edict of Expulsion, by erecting a beautiful monument in the port of Cartagena, the last place in the Iberian Peninsula seen by Jews who departed Spain by sea.
The regional government of Murcia led by its President, Fernando Lopez Mira, and the Mayor of Cartagena, together with David Hatchwell, President of the FundaciĂłn and 30 members of its Board of Trustees from various countries were present at the inauguration of the monument.
The FundaciĂłn HispanoJudĂa commissioned the piece, El Abrazo (The Embrace) for the Jose Sacal Foundation as a gesture of the new relationship between the Hispanic and Jewish worlds. The renowned Mexican artist, Jose Sacal passed away during the Covid-19 pandemic and was proud of his Sephardic heritage.
On March 31st, 1492, the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, signed the infamous decree ordering the expulsion of practicing Jews from the Crowns of Castile and Aragon and its territories and possessions by 31 July of that year. The decree was written as a way of disconnecting the forcibly converted Jews from the Jewish community.
Those who fled by sea created some of the most famous Sephardi communities in the Mediterranean and beyond, many of whom returned to the Land of Israel and created important communities in Safed, Tiberias and Jerusalem.
"The Decree was the last stroke of Antisemitism that ended one of the most magnificent Jewish Diaspora Communities in history," said Hatchwell. "What occurred in the Iberian Peninsula over the following 500 years was the cruel and complete eradication of anything associated with Judaism. However, Spain is currently experiencing a revival of its Jewish Community."
President LĂłpez Miras' said that this unique work allows Spaniards to pay homage to "all those who were forced from their homes and left their lives behind, but who, nonetheless, never gave up on their dream to return".
"Cartagena is a port of cultures in its most pluralistic sense, because Spain is the sum of many rich and different identities, of all those that made this city, this region, and our country great."
The Alhambra Decree was in effect until the Spanish Constitution of 1869 where Freedom of religion was officially granted. Ironically, Spanish Dictator Francisco Franco, a descendant of Jewish converts himself abrogated the Decree of Granada officially in 1969.
In recent years, Spain has made a series of critical gestures that include the establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel in 1986, the visit of King Juan Carlos to the Madrid synagogue in 1992 and the passing of the 2015 law that gives the right to the descendants of the Sephardim to obtain Spanish citizenship.
The FundaciĂłn HispanoJudĂa was established in 2015 with the goal of building bridges of understanding through educational and cultural programs between the Hispanic and Jewish worlds. It is composed of a board of 80 leading philanthropists and an international board of 20 advisors, and has offices in Spain, Israel, Mexico, Argentina, Panama, Miami and New York. It will be opening a world class Museum in Madrid by 2024.
