One of the many perks of being Jewish, is that we are guided every single step of the way, and each and every occasion has its own set of halachos. Bein hazmanim [summer vacation] is no different, and it comes with many unique halachos. I would like to take this week’s opportunity to discuss a number of interesting halachos that are likely to arise when visiting the seaside during bein hazmanim. Although doing so is not obligatory, there is a very strong custom to do so, and I am sure that many of us will make sure to fulfill it – hopefully in the most kosher way possible.
Protecting Ourselves
The Mishnah in Shabbos (31b) teaches: ע ל שלש עבירות נשים מתות בשעת ליד תן על שאינן זהירו ת בנד ה בחל ה וב הדלקת ה נר - “For three transgression women die during childbirth. For not being careful with niddah, challah and lighting candles”. The Gemara (32a) asks: ומאי שנא בשע ת ליד תן אמר ר בא נפל ת ורא חד ד ל סכינא – “And what is different during childbirth? Rava said: If the ox fell, sharpen the knife to slaughter it.”
Rashi explains: נפל תורא לארץ שהוא עומד לשחיטה הכל אומרים חדדו לסכינא עד שלא יקום ויהא טורח להשליכו כך הואיל ואיתרע מזלה מזומנת פורע נותה ל בא – “When the ox falls to the ground on which it is destined to be slaughtered, they all say, sharpen the knife before it rises and is more difficult. Similarly, one whose luck has been diminished, is destined for punishment.”
It’s clear from the above Gemara that the reason a woman is judged during childbirth, is because such a time is a time of danger, and for everything to run smoothly requires a miracle. When miracles from Shomayim are need, they double check in Shomayim if the recipient is indeed worthy. If a woman isn’t meticulous in these three mitzvos (which are primarily given to women), we must be concerned that she won’t merit to see miracles from Shomayim, and she may end up dying during childbirth.
Insights Into Halachah
The Gemara in Shabbos continues and cites a number of examples where we find that one who is subject to bad mazul [luck], is left in his bad state and is left to fall completely. For example: ש ב קיה ל ר ויא ד מנ פשיה נפיל – “Leave the drunk, as he falls on his own”. Similarly, a woman during childbirth needs lots of mercy, and if she isn’t careful with these three mitzvos, then they may not have mercy on her in Shomayim, and she will be left in her endangered state, and be left to die during childbirth.
The Gemara then asks: וגברי הי כא מיבדקי – “And when are men examined?” (i.e. when are men vulnerable to judgment and held accountable for their actions?). The Gemara answers: בשע ה שעוברים ע ל ה גשר – “When they cross a bridge”. The Gemara wonders: ג שר ותו לא – “A bridge and no other time?” Rather: כע ין ג שר – “Anything like a bridge” (i.e. any place where danger is commonplace). Rashi explains: A bridge is non-specific, and any dangerous place, such as rickety wall and on the roads.
We see from the Gemara that when a person is in a place of danger, and requires a special miracle to be protected, the Sotan tries to be makatreig [make problems], and if the persons acts are not up to scratch, then he may not be worthy of a miracle and he is likely to be harmed. For women, this is likely to happen during childbirth, whereas for men any time they enter dangerous places they are at risk. When one enters dangerous places he needs extra merits, and the Sotan tries to be makatreig. If one doesn’t have enough merits, he stands a high chance of being harmed.
Entering Dangerous Places is Strictly Prohibited
The Rambam (Hilchos Rotzeach U’Shemiras Hanefesh 11:5) writes: הר בה דברים אסרו חכמים מפני שיש בהם סכ נת נפשות וכל הע ובר עליהן ואמר הריני מסכן בע צמי ומה לאחרים עלי בכך או איני מקפיד על כך מכין אותו מכת מרדות - “Many things Chazal forbade because of sakonas nefashos [danger to life]. Anyone who violates them and says, ‘I am going to be dangerous, I don’t care’, we give him rabbinic lashes (makas mardus).”
The Rema (Yoreh De’ah 116:5) rules in accordance with the Rambam and writes: וכן יזהר מכל הדברים המביאים לידי סכנה כי סכנתא חמירא מאיסורא ויש לחוש יותר לספק סכנה מלספק איסור ולכן אסור לילך בכל מקום סכנה כמו תחת קיר נטוי או יחידי בלילה ו כו' כי דברים אלו יש בה ן חשש סכנה – “One should be careful from all things which are likely to bring about danger, as matters of danger are more severe then prohibitions. One must be more worried about a doubtful danger than a doubtful prohibition. Therefore, it is forbidden to enter dangerous places, such as under a slantly wall, or to walk around alone at night etc. These things are considered dangerous”.
It's clear from the above, that there is a prohibition to enter a place which is considered dangerous. Even if one says, “I don’t care”, it doesn’t matter, and it is still strictly prohibited.
The reason behind the above, is, that a person doesn’t own himself. We don’t own our bodies. Our bodies are given to us from the Ribbono Shel Olam to look after, and we must do a good job of it. We don’t have the right to do what we want with them. There are strict halachos of what is allowed and what is prohibited. If halachah dictates that entering a particular place is dangerous one is halachically bound by this, and it’s forbidden to enter such a place.
A Raging Sea
The above is particularly relevant when it comes to traveling to the seaside. Many times, people arrive at the seaside, and they notice that the sea is raging and not as calm as they ambitioned, and according to the lifeguard it is dangerous to enter deep inside. Based on the above, regardless of whether one must listen to the lifeguard or not, it is prohibited to enter deep into the sea, as it is forbidden for one to put himself in a dangerous situation.
In Hilchos Yom Kippur (Orach Chaim 613:5) the Mechaber says: ההולך לבית המדרש או להקביל פני אביו או רבו או מי שגדול ממנו ב חכמה או לצרכי מצוה יכו ל לעביר במים עד צוארו ... והוא שלא יהיה המי ם רודפים דאם כן אף בחול אסור מפני הסכנה אפילו אם אינו מגיעים אלא עד מתנים – “One who is going to the beis hamedrash or to visit his father or rebbe, or one who is greater than him in chochmah [wisdom] or for a mitzvah, may enter into the water up until his neck etc. provided the water isn’t raging, as if it is, then even during the week it’s a problem, even if the water only goes up until his loins”. We see, that even when traveling for a mitzvah, it is forbidden to enter dangerous places.
Consequently, when the sea is raging it is forbidden to enter deep inside, and one must listen to the lifeguard. Even if one manages to find a place off to the side out of sight of the lifeguard, it doesn’t make a difference, as the sea is considered a place of danger and it is forbidden to enter deep inside. Even if the lifeguard can’t see, the Ribbono Shel Olam can. If one enters such a place, the Sotan will be makatreig, and in Shomayim they will check to see if he has enough zechusim and is worthy of being saved.
One shouldn’t say, “Och, I wasted my time schlepping all the way here, I just have to go in”. One must listen to the lifeguard from a halachic standpoint, and he must guard himself from entering dangerous places. Instead of being upset, he should be happy at the opportunity to fulfil another mitzvah.
Sadly, almost every single year there are tragic stories that go around of people drowning at sea and people don’t understand why these things happen. However, the answer is very simple, if one doesn’t listen to the lifeguard, he is putting himself in danger and he needs extra zechusim to be saved, and unfortunately very often people simply aren’t worthy. When the sea is raging, it is dangerous and forbidden to enter.
This year unfortunately, we must add, that for those who merit to be in Eretz Yisroel there are many locations which are at danger from rocket attacks. One must be careful to check before heading out that where he is going is considered safe. Although this is important every year, this year its of even more importance, and one must be careful not to succumb to peer pressure. Many people mistakenly assume that if the area is dangerous, buses and trains won’t be going there. Although in many countries this may hold true, in Eretz Yisroel it doesn’t quite work like this, so one must be extra vigilant this year before setting out on a trip.
Shemiras Hanefesh [Protecting the Soul]
There is another thing which one must be extremely careful with when going to the seaside. Just like one must be careful to guard his physical body from entering harmful places, one must be careful to guard his neshomah from entering places which may be harmful for the neshomah. One must be extra careful to ensure that he doesn’t enter places where he may end up seeing things that a yiddishe neshomah [Jewish soul] isn’t supposed to see. If one isn’t extremely careful with this, it’s very easy to stumble, especially when travelling to the seaside during the summer. If one doesn’t stay on guard for even a second, he may stumble and end up ruining his holy neshomah.
In Sichas Chofetz Chaim (pg. 94 ois 30) it says: “The following pasuk was always on his tongue, אל תהי חכם בעיני ך ירא את ה' וסור מרע – “Don’t be wise with your eyes, fear Hashem and steer away from bad”.
Tzadikim explain bederech remez [by way of hint], אל תהי חכם בעיני ך – don’t do tricks with your eyes, the eyes need constant guarding. Sometimes, one thinks that in a such and such a place I don’t need to guard my eyes, or that for someone like me it won’t make a difference. However, the truth is, this is the yetzer horah speaking. In truth, in any situation, in any place and at any time, one must be careful to guard his eyes. The eyes are holy and pure, and we can’t afford to do tricks with them. We must constantly be on guard making sure to watch and protect our eyes. Then and only then, will we be able to protect out soul, and hopefully ensure that we don’t stumble and end up seeing forbidden sights.
Unfortunately, nowadays, especially in the summer, we need to be extremely vigilant with the above. Even going for a short walk in the street is a problem. There is a strong obligation upon us to be careful and plan as much as possible to ensure that we don’t come to stumble.
For example: If one needs to cash a check in a cash machine outside a shopping mall, he could go early in the morning whilst it is quiet, or he can go late at night, when the pritzus is absolutely terrible, one should forward plan and make sure to go early in the morning.
Shemiras Einayim [Guarding Our Eyes]
The Gemara in Pesochim (113a) teaches: אמ ר ר בי יוחנ ן שׁלשה מ כ ריז ע ל יהן הקדוש ברו ך הוא ב כ ל יום - “Rabbi Yochanan said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, proclaims about the goodness of three kinds of people every day”. The first one is: ע ל רו וק הד ר ב כר ך וא ינו חוטא – “A bachelor who lives in a city and does not sin with women”.
The Gemara relates: “When the tanna taught this beraisa before Rava and Rav Safra, Rav Safra’s face lit up with joy, as he was listed among those praised by Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Rava said to him: This does not refer to someone like the Master. Rather, the statement applies to people like Rav Chaninah and Rav Oshiya, who were cobblers in Eretz Yisroel, and they would sit in the marketplace of zonois and fashion shoes for them. And the zonois would enter their shops and look at them. However, due to their piety, these Sages did not raise their eyes to look at the women. And those zonois were so impressed with this behavior that when they swore, they would say as follows: By the lives of the holy Sages of Eretz Yisroel.”
We see from this Gemara that one of the people that Hashem proclaims about his goodness, is one that doesn’t stumble with shemiras einayim. If one is in place where there is a big yetzer horah to stumble and he stays strong and doesn’t, Hashem proclaims about his goodness every single day.
We see how far one can reach with shemiras einayim. The Gemara says that such a person is known as: ר ב נן קדישי ד בארע א דישרא ל – “A holy sage from the land of Eretz Yisroel”. With shemiras einayim one can attain very lofty levels.
There is a letter from R’ Zevulun Gross zt”l that was written to R’ Shmuel Felman zt”l (the father of R’ Ben Tzion Felman). At the beginning of the letter, he quotes an incredible insight from the Saba MiKelm.
In Tehillim (19) we have the pasuk: מצות ה' ברא מאירת עיניים – “The mitzvos of Hashem bring light to the eyes”. The word, ברא, seems to be extra. The pasuk would seemingly have the same meaning without the word ברא, what is this word coming to add?
The Saba MiLelm explains: The truth is, there are many things that bring light to one’s eyes, for example, the sun gives tremendous light to our eyes. If so, what does the pasuk mean when it says that מצות ה' ברא מאירת עיניים – “the mitzvos of Hashem bring light to the eyes”? Why does the pasuk specifically praise the mitzvos?
The Saba MiKelm explains that this is why the pasuk adds in the word ברא, as the pasuk is coming to differentiate between light that comes from the sun and the moon etc. and light that comes from mitzvos. The sun, the moon and other worldly light sources, only provide light if one has eyes, when one has eyes and he looks at the sun or the moon, then the light source adds light to his eyes. If, however, chas vesholam one doesn’t have eyes, then the sun or the moon won’t add anything.
However, when it comes to the mitzvos of Hashem, they are intrinsically בורא מאירת עיניים – they create light for the eyes. The mitzvos of Hashem create bright eyes, pure and holy eyes. If one keeps the mitzvos of Hashem, then he merits to see new things, things that couldn’t be seen before. This special vision only comes from keeping the mitzvos. Unlike the sun and the moon, mitzvos themselves have the strength to create spiritual eyes, that are able to see things that one who doesn’t keep mitzvos isn’t able to see. (This is one of the many reasons people go to gedolim and tzadikim for advice. They have pure eyes and can see things, that a regular yid simply can’t see.)
Placing Hot Nails in the Eyes
The Reishis Chochmah (Sha’ar Kedusha end of Perek 8) speaks at great length about the danger of ruining the eyes. He quotes the Yalkut in Parshas Vayechi which relates an incredible story involving Rebbi Masya ben Cheresh who went so far as to stick hot nails into his eyes, in order to stop himself from stumbling at seeing forbidden things.
The story goes as follows: Rebbi Masya ben Cheresh was sitting in the beis hamedrash learning Torah, with his face shining like the sun, and countenance similar to that of the malachoy hashores [angels that serve Hashem], as he had never lifted his eyes to look at a woman. One time the Sotan came and was very jealous.
The Medrash speaks at great length about all sorts of tricks that the Sotan did to try and cause Rabbi Masya to stumble. However, he always withstood the test and never stumbled.
In the end, Rebbi Masya said, “I am very scared that the yetzer horah will overcome me and end up causing me to sin”. Rebbi Masya then called to one of his talmidim who was serving him to bring him fire and nails. The talmid brought the fire and nails, and Rebbi Masyah heated up the nails and then placed the hot nails into his eyes.
Upon seeing this, the Sotan got such a shock and fell backwards. At that moment, Hashem summoned maloch Refoel (the angel in charge of healing) and He told him to go and heal Rebbi Masya. The maloch went, and Rebbi Masya refused to be healed. The maloch returned to Hashem, and Hashem said, “go and tell him that I guarantee that he won’t stumble with the yetzer horah”. Rebbi Masya then agreed to be healed.
Such a story should send shivers down our spine, and should help us realize to what extent we must go to avoid looking at forbidden things. Rebbi Masya was prepared to blind himself in order not to stumble. We may not be expected to blind ourselves, but we must do something.
Complete Eyes
In the year 5738 there was an incredible story with a bochur from Yeshivas Kefar Chasidim who drowned in the sea. They searched for him for many days, until eventually he was found. When eventually he was found, they noticed something incredible. Generally speaking, when a person drowns out at sea, the fish come and eat the eyes. However, with this particular bochur, although he had been out at sea for a number of days, his eyes remained intact.
During his hesped for the bochur, the Rosh Yeshivah said that this bochur was meticulous in two areas. He was meticulous when it came to shemiras hapeh [guarding the mouth], and when it came to shemiras einayim [guarding the eyes], therefore, it’s no surprise that his eyes remained intact. Since he was always careful to guard his eyes and not look at anything Jewish eyes shouldn’t see, Hashem rewarded him middah k’neged middah [measure for measure] and made sure to protect his eyes from being eaten by the fish.
We find a similar thing with Izevel who was one of the most wicked people in Tanach. Eventually she was punished, and dogs came and ate her flesh after she died. However, when they buried her, they noticed that her skull, feet and palms of her hand were intact (see Melochim 2, Perek 9).
The Yalkut explains, that the reason the dogs never ate those parts of her body was because she used them for chesed. Since these parts were used for chesed, middah k’neged middah, Hashem ensured that these parts were kept intact.
We see that when one does a mitzvah with a certain limb, the limb stays protected. In the case of the bochur who protected his eyes, the same thing happened, and his eyes were protected.
Berachah on the Sea
The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 228:1) rules, “Upon seeing seas and rivers one should recite ‘oseh ma’aseh bereishis’, and upon seeing the Yam HaGadol [Mediterranean Sea], which is the sea one passes through to get to Eretz Yisroel and Mitzrayim one should recite ‘oseh Yam HaGadol’”. The Mishnah Berurah (s.k. 3) cites from poskim that the correct nussach [textual version] is “she’osah es HaYam HaGadol”. However, earlier (s.k 2) the Mishnah Berurah writes, that many Achronim argue on the Mechaber and maintain that only on the Pacific Ocean which encompasses most of the world should one recite a special berachah. However, on all other rivers and seas one should recite “oseh ma’aseh bereishis”.
The Biur Halachah points out: If one recites “oseh ma’aseh bereishis” on the Pacific Ocean, bedieved [post facto] he fulfills his duty.
Does One Make a Berachah If He Sees the Sea from Very Far Away or At Night?
The berachah of “oseh ma’aseh bereishis”, was established for one who hasn’t seen the sea for over 30 days. The Shevet HaLevi maintains that if one sees the sea from far away, and it appears like nothing more than a blue cloud far away in the sky, it is not considered seeing. Only when one sees it from up close and sees the wonders of Hashem’s creation properly should one make a berachah. Similarly, R’ Shlomah Zalman maintains that if one sees the sea at night, he shouldn’t make a berachah, as at night one doesn’t really see the niflo’as haboreh [wonders of Hashem’s creation] (see Sefer V’Zois HaBerachah pg. 154).
However, R’ Ben Tzion Felman in his sefer Shlomim Metzion (pg. 547) maintains that one should make a berachah as soon as he can see the sea.
If at First Site One Never Made a Berachah, Is It too Late?
A very common scenario that occurs when travelling to the beach is that before one actually arrives, he sees it from a distance from the car window and then it gets covered over by trees etc. and it is out of sight before one realizes that he should have made a berachah.
The halachah is, that if one sees the place where a big nes [miracle] happened to Klal Yisroel he should make a berachah. However, the Biur Halachah writes (218:1 d.h. bemokam hazeh) if one saw such a place, and then it went out of site and one never made a berachah upon the initial seeing, he can no longer make a berachah. Moreover, even if he sees the same place again a few days later, if it is within 30 days of the original seeing, he shouldn’t make a berachah even if when he initially saw the site he never made a berachah.
The above is very similar to the halachah, that although one is supposed to recite shehechayanu upon seeing a new fruit, if one saw a new fruit and he never made a berachah the first time, he can no longer make a berachah. We pasken that the berachah is made upon eating and not seeing, so the above isn’t so practical for us, but we see the same idea. The question is, do we say the same thing about the berachah of “oseh ma’aseh bereishis” which one recites upon seeing a sea?
R’ Ben Tzion Felman in his sefer Shlomim Metzion (pg. 548) writes that in such a case one loses out on the berachah. R’ Felman writes that: מרן הגראי״ ל שטיי נמן זצ״ ל בפשיטות וכן למעשה הורה – “This is what R’ Aharon Leib Shteinman held as well”. However, the Shevet HaLevi held, that even if one didn’t make a berachah upon first sight, he can make a berachah when he sees it a second time, as it’s all considered one big seeing. Similar to what we find in regard to the berachah of shehechayanu on a new fruit, where the halachah is, if one never made a berachah straight away, as long as he is still eating the fruit he can still make the berachah (see Shu”t Betzel HaChochma, Vol. 5, 27:2).
Similarly, I heard in the name of Rabbi Pesach Eliyohu Falk zt"l that one makes the berachah when one has ‘hispaiylus’ from seeing the sea, therefore, it is best to wait until one gets closer and sees the sea properly before making a berachah.
Separating Terumas and Ma’asros from Sun Cream
Many sun creams contain food items that were grown in Eretz Yisroel. Based on the concept of sicha keshtiya [anointing is considered drinking] it should be forbidden to smear such cream on oneself. Moreover, even if there is no concern of sicha keshtiya, it is prohibited to benefit in a destructive manner from produce which needs to have terumas and ma’asros separated from it (see Gemara Shabbos 26a, and Rambam Hilchos Ma’aser 6:2, where it says that it is forbidden to light Shabbos candles using oil which is obligated in terumas and ma’asros).
The Biur Halachah (326) cites a machlokes Rishonim regarding whether one is allowed to use soap which contains forbidden fats, and if we are worried for sicha keshtiya. The Biur Halachah writes: The general custom is to be lenient, however, there a few individuals who are careful not to, and it is certainly a good thing to be concerned about.
However, in our case it would seem everyone would agree that one may be lenient. The Chazon Ish (Demai 15:1) maintains that if tevel [un-tithed produce] is no longer fit for human consumption, it no longer has a name of tevel, even if it is still fit for animal consumption or for anointing. Although there is a din that one isn’t allowed to benefit...
