This Shabbos we discussed the different meanings of Shavuos. David Schlesinger led discussion. After counting 49 days of the Omer we celebrate this holiday. It is known as the time we received the Torah at Mt. Sinai. It is also the time of the harvest, in which special sacrifices were made.
We discussed this Shabbos the importance of believing in Hashem, and only in Hashem. We discussed how what we believe can influence us. For example, if we believe good things are going to happen, we behave a certain way in which good things are more likely to happen. If we believe in idols, we are much less likely to follow a Torah that has been given by Hashem.
We discussed this Shabbos how we were lost in the desert for a very long time. This brought up the interesting question of what we would do if we lost track of days. When would we observe Shabbos? Brett offered up what we agree is the correct answer that we would pick a day to be Shabbos, and make sure we observed on this day from that point forward.
We discussed this Shabbos how some halakuh comes from the Rabbis, and not directly from Hashem, but Hashem accepts these laws as if they came from him. David commented that in order for Hashem to “go along” with laws we come up with, the proper procedures need to be followed and there needs to be good intention.
Even if we come up with the wrong law, the fact there was good intention and proper procedures were followed, means we are not accountable. For example, if we eat meat marked with a respected hectar such as OU and find out later the hectar was a mistake, we are not accountable. In secular law this is known as “mistake of fact” and it applies in Jewish law as well.
We discussed again this Shabbos how Judaism is all about the “vector” of how we are progressing, rather than the absolute position we are in. This is true for us as individuals as well as a nation. Taking things one day at a time, making at least some progress every day, is important and how we should measure ourselves.
This Shabbos we had a very interesting discussion of what is known as the international dateline. When crossing over this line, we adjust our day of the week either forward or backwards. If we are travelling westward the day of the week will move forward. For example if it is Monday at 8 PM, it will become Tuesday, 8 PM as we cross. If we are travelling eastward the day of the week will move back. For example if it is Monday at 8 PM, it will become Sunday, 8 PM as we cross.
We discussed where this dateline should be placed for purposes of Jewish law. We agreed that it would be unacceptable to have it cross through a community, in which Shabbos would be observed on different days depending on what side of the street we are on. I
However, we did not resolve where exactly this dateline should be. There are 3 proposals, one of which is to consider Jerusalem the center of the world and have the dateline 180 degrees from this city. The other proposal is to put the dateline 90 degrees away from Jerusalem. The third proposal would be simply to leave the dateline where it is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in its current location which has been agreed to internationally.
Regardless of where we place the line, if there is disagreement on the day of the week we may have to observe a day such as Shabbos, on more than one day. We would go strict on one of the days and more lenient on the other.
If we are on a boat headed eastward, we may end up with 2 days of Shabbos, in which we must go strict on both days. And if we are on a boat headed westward we may end up missing all or most of Shabbos. We discussed that if we are counting the Omer we would count an extra day, without a blessing, when we cross the line – headed west.
This is a summary of what we discussed. No Halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.
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