Rabbi’s Musings & Amusings

Mark Twain once quipped, “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. However, when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much he had learned in just seven years.”

Why is that true?

My ninth grade Heichal students (b’kius) and I are currently learning Maseches Tamid. The shortest masechta in Shas, Tamid details the daily procedures of the avodah performed in the Beis HaMikdash. Most particularly, it discusses the offering of the Korban Tamid – the daily “consistency offering.” There were actually two korbanos tamid brought each day. One served as the first offering brought in the Beis HaMikdash each morning, and a second one served as the final offering brought every afternoon.

A neighbor related that when he informed his six-year-old son of the p’tirah of Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l, the boy burst into tears. Through sobs, he told his father that he had wanted to ask Rav Chaim a question and now he doesn’t know whom to ask. He wanted to know why we have the custom to bang when we hear Haman’s name in the Megillah, but not the two times that his evil wife Zeresh is mentioned in the Megillah.

When I was a child, hanging in our home was a needlepoint my mother made that had a picture of a house, and underneath the words, “Home is where your  is .”

At first, I couldn’t understand what my student was talking about. Why would he ask me if I think there are more doors or wheels in the world? Of what importance is the answer, and how can anyone correctly assess it?

It’s the month(s) of Adar, a time of increased joy. As Purim continues to approach, the excitement continues to mount, especially after a longer winter than usual. But I ask you to please indulge me briefly, as I share our family’s sadness with the passing of my beloved father-in-law, Nathan Mermelstein, on the morning of Shabbos Kodesh, Parshas Ki Sisa, 18 Adar I.