Recap for 15 Sh'vat 5773

This Shabbos we discussed who can be counted in a minyan.  One of the things that is important is that those who are present in the minyan know what is going on - at least to some extent.  So, for example, someone who is drunk may not be counted.  If the person can’t recognize authority figures, known as “level 2” intoxication, they can’t be counted.  Certainly someone who is completely out of it from drinking, known as “level 3” intoxication, can’t be counted in the minyan.

We discussed whether or not a nonobservant Jew can be counted.  If the Jew is not observant in public on purpose, he can’t be counted.  On the other hand, if the Jew is being respectful of others, he can be counted even if he is not observant.  However it is necessary that the role of chazzan be fulfilled by an observant Jew.

We discussed the difference between just being physically present and being ready and able to participate in the specific prayers.  People may arrive at different times and be at different points in the service.  It is only necessary to have a majority of the minyan at the same point in the service for most of the prayers, except for the repetition of the Amidah which requires 9 out of 10.

We discussed this Shabbos how Hashem freed us from slavery in Egypt.  We did not have to prepare ourselves for this freedom, it was simply given to us.  Our freedom was finally granted suddenly after the 10^th and final plague.  We did not even have time to wait for our bread to rise it was necessary to leave suddenly.

We contrasted this experience with receiving the Torah.  In this case, it was necessary to be ready.  Hashem had us go the long way because it would take time for us to be ready to receive the Torah.  Hashem was willing to do almost everything for us in order to get us out of Egypt, but from that point forward it became necessary for us to do our part and not rely solely on Hashem.  It took us 40 days to get to Mt. Sinai and be ready to receive the Torah.

We contrasted both of these experiences with entering the land of Israel.  The threshold of preparation that was necessary for this was even greater than in the other two cases.  In fact it ended up taking us 40 years to be ready to enter the land of Israel.  The spies returned from Israel with a pessimistic report, and we refused to have faith in Hashem, so we had to wait an entire generation until we could enter the land.

We also discussed the prohibition against cooking on Shabbos and why this prohibition came about.  The original design of the world was to be so that Hashem would provide for all our physical needs, and we could focus on spirituality.  We would not have to prepare food at all.  There would be "trees" that would provide us with bread, cooked meat, and drinks, etc. etc.

In the Garden of Eden all our physical needs were taken care of, however we still had to focus on the spiritual and the mitzvah we were given not to partake of the forbidden fruit.  Since we did not fufill this mitzvah, today we have to spend most of our time working in the physical world.  However, we still have Shabbot.  And on Shabbot we are not suppose to be focused on working, which is why we do not cook - but prepare our food ahead of time.

This is a summary of what we discussed this Shabbos.  No Halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.