Halachot for the Bein Hazmanim Period
Halachot for the Bein Hazmanim Period
This guide addresses practical halachic questions that commonly arise during travel and vacation: the kashrut of kitchens in vacation homes, use of kitchen utensils, immersion of utensils, blessings upon seeing seas, rivers, mountains and deserts, the blessing of “Meshaneh HaBeriyot,” tearing a garment upon seeing the site of the Temple, prayer-related questions during Bein Hazmanim, and the blessing recited upon seeing Jewish graves.
Kashrut of kitchens in vacation places
Countertops, faucets, and sinks. The countertop must be clean; once cleaned, hot pots and the like may be placed on it. However, hot food without a utensil should not be placed directly on it even after cleaning. Faucets may, according to the basic law, be used during the year without kashering; one who wishes to be stringent may open the hot-water tap and pour boiling water over the outside, but this is not obligatory. Most contemporary sinks are ceramic and cannot be kashered; therefore one should not wash dishes in them with water at yad soledet temperature, and one should not leave utensils soaking in them for twenty-four hours.
Ovens, trays, and racks. An oven may be used by covering the food with two coverings, or by running the oven at its highest temperature for one hour; after doing so, one covering suffices. Oven trays are generally enamel-coated and may be kashered by placing them in an oven at the highest setting for one hour. If there is concern that forbidden food was used on them, they require severe libun and therefore practically cannot be kashered. In pressing circumstances, one may place a disposable tray on the oven tray, provided it is known that the oven trays were immersed. The oven rack may be kashered by placing it in the oven at the highest setting for one hour. A toaster oven may be kashered by running it at the highest setting for one hour.
Electrical appliances. An electric, ceramic, or induction stovetop must, according to the basic law, merely be clean; some are stringent to cover it with foil, but this is not obligatory. A microwave should be used with two sealed coverings. If one wishes to kasher it, after twenty-four hours of non-use one places inside a cup of water and runs it until the water evaporates. Some are stringent even after this to heat food only when covered. Food should not be placed directly on the microwave plate, only inside a covered utensil. A toaster or sandwich press cannot be kashered and should not be used. An electric kettle may be used without kashering. Regarding immersion: if the owner is a non-Jew, it does not require immersion; if the owner is Jewish, it requires immersion and may not be used without it.
Using kitchen utensils in vacation places in the Land of Israel owned by a non-observant Jew
Tables of all kinds may be used normally if clean. Cutlery may be used only after hagalah and immersion. Glass cups may be used for cold drinks but require immersion. Plastic cups may be used for cold drinks without kashering. Plates and serving dishes may not be used without hagalah and immersion; some utensils cannot be kashered by hagalah, such as porcelain, and according to the Rema, glass; regarding plastic, some authorities are stringent.
A peeler may be used after immersion and does not require hagalah. A cutting board may be used if clean, but hot or sharp foods should not be cut on it. A saltshaker made of glass or metal requires immersion; plastic does not. A can opener requires neither hagalah nor immersion. A sponge used with non-kosher food may be used only with cold water.
Barbecues: the base may be used without concern, but the grates require severe libun; since this is difficult in practice, new grates should be used and immersed. A disposable barbecue does not require immersion, but if reused, the grate requires immersion.
If the vacation place is owned by a non-Jew, the utensils belong to a non-Jew and do not require immersion. However, kashering remains necessary where required because of absorbed forbidden taste. Cutlery requires hagalah but not immersion; glass cups may be used cold; plastic cups may be used cold; plates and serving dishes may not be used without hagalah, and some materials cannot be kashered by hagalah.
Laws of immersing utensils
Where there is no possibility of immersing utensils, there is no permission to use a reusable utensil without immersion, even the first time. There is room to consider temporary use by declaring the utensil ownerless before three people. Where the owner truly renders it ownerless and another person uses it without intent to acquire it, this is effective even initially.
Machines for popcorn, slush, cotton candy, coffee, and the like, where the seller prepares or pours for customers, should be immersed without a blessing. Urns and coffee machines in hospitals, hotels, and guesthouses, as well as street coffee machines, should be immersed without a blessing; one should not use them without immersion, though in pressing circumstances one who is lenient need not be protested. In a restaurant or banquet hall whose utensils were not immersed, one may not use them. Utensils may be immersed in a natural lake containing forty se’ah, but not in an artificial lake.
Blessings upon seeing creations
One who sees the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, or the Kinneret recites the blessing “Oseh Maaseh Bereishit,” provided he has not seen the sea for thirty days. If he has seen it, he does not bless, even if he did not bless at the first sighting. Therefore one who saw the Kinneret, whether he blessed or not, does not bless again over the Mediterranean within thirty days, and vice versa. One does not bless upon seeing the Dead Sea because of doubt whether it was created at the time of Creation or only at the overturning of Sodom. One who wishes to bless should look at the Judean Desert and thereby exempt both the desert and the sea. One who sees the Jordan River does not recite “Oseh Maaseh Bereishit,” because its course may have changed. For mountains and hills, the blessing is recited only on very high mountains that make a powerful impression, such as the Alps; therefore, regarding Mount Hermon it appears that one should bless.
The blessing “Meshaneh HaBeriyot”
This blessing is uncommon, because it is recited over animals only if one has never before seen an elephant or a monkey. One who has never seen a monkey recites with the Divine Name and Kingship: “Blessed are You… Who varies the creatures.” If one sees an elephant and a monkey together, he recites one blessing for both; if he sees them separately, he should intend not to exempt the second and recite twice. One does not bless upon seeing an owl, because the matter is doubtful.
Tearing a garment upon seeing the site of the Temple
One who has not seen the Old City of Jerusalem or the site of the Temple for thirty days is obligated to tear. Ideally, one tears upon seeing ancient Jerusalem, such as the northeastern wall of the Old City between the Lions’ Gate and the Damascus Gate. After tearing for Jerusalem, one tears again upon seeing the site of the Temple. One who is lenient not to tear upon seeing Jerusalem should, when tearing at the Kotel, intend to fulfill the obligation for Jerusalem as well; it is proper not to look at the Old City until reaching the Kotel.
Tzitzit and an undershirt are not torn. According to the Shulchan Aruch, the obligation resembles tearing for a father or mother, and one tears both jacket and shirt; common custom follows the Raavad, tearing only the upper garment. Many Sephardim tear the shirt even when wearing a jacket; it is preferable to remove the jacket before tearing the shirt. One tears while standing, preferably on the left side; one may begin with a knife or scissors and continue by hand. The tear begins at the collar downward, about 10 cm; in pressing circumstances it may be made at the edge of the garment below the collar. After tearing, one may immediately change garments or wear a jacket over the torn garment. A minor does not tear. Women are obligated to tear: they should wear two garments and tear the upper one, after which it may be removed or fastened with a safety pin.
Before tearing upon seeing the ancient city, one says: “עָרֵי קָדְשְׁךָ הָיוּ מִדְבָּר צִיּוֹן מִדְבָּר הָיָתָה יְרוּשָׁלַיִם שְׁמָמָה” — “Your holy cities became a wilderness; Zion became a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation,” and also: “כִּלָּה ה׳ אֶת חֲמָתוֹ שָׁפַךְ חֲרוֹן אַפּוֹ וַיַּצֶּת אֵשׁ בְּצִיּוֹן וַתֹּאכַל יְסוֹדֹתֶיהָ” — “The Lord has spent His fury, poured out His fierce anger; He kindled a fire in Zion, and it consumed her foundations.” Upon seeing the mosque, one says: “בֵּית גֵּאִים יִסַּח ה׳ וְיַצֵּב גְּבוּל אַלְמָנָה” — “The Lord will tear down the house of the proud, but He will establish the boundary of the widow.”
Upon seeing the site of the Temple, one bows toward it and says: “בֵּית קָדְשֵׁנוּ וְתִפְאַרְתֵּנוּ אֲשֶׁר הִלְלוּךָ אֲבֹתֵינוּ הָיָה לִשְׂרֵפַת אֵשׁ וְכָל מַחֲמַדֵּינוּ הָיָה לְחָרְבָּה” — “Our holy and glorious House, where our fathers praised You, became a burning fire, and all that we cherished became a ruin.” One blesses without the Divine Name but with Kingship: “Blessed are You, King of the universe, the true Judge,” and then recites verses affirming the righteousness of God’s judgment. After these verses, one stands and tears as described above; if he already tore upon seeing the Old City, he distances three fingerbreadths, about 7.5 cm, and tears again one tefach, then recites Psalm 79 with deep feeling.
Questions that arise during Bein Hazmanim
If only the last minutes remain before the end of the time for Shacharit, the order of priorities is: prayer in its proper time takes precedence over prayer with a congregation; the blessings of Shema in their proper time take precedence over the Amidah in its proper time; the blessings of Shema and the Amidah in their time take precedence over the morning blessings, Baruch She’amar, and Yishtabach; prayer in its time takes precedence over wearing tefillin during Shema and the Amidah.
If one woke up and should have risen to pray, but dozed again repeatedly and ultimately slept past the time for prayer, although this resembles negligence, he should pray tashlumin because it was not intentional. If one went to sleep late knowing he would not rise in time for prayer and indeed did not wake, although he was negligent, he is nevertheless not considered deliberate and should pray tashlumin. One who boards an early-morning flight and has no possibility whatsoever to pray later should begin at the second dawn, seventy-two minutes before sunrise, until Yishtabach; after Yishtabach he waits for the time of tzitzit and tefillin, dons tallit and tefillin, and continues the prayer.
Blessing upon seeing Jewish graves
One who sees Jewish graves recites the blessing “Asher yatzar etchem badin,” provided he has not seen another cemetery during the past thirty days. If he has, he does not bless, even if he did not bless the first time. One who left Bnei Brak for Jerusalem, saw the cemetery when leaving and did not bless, has lost the blessing and does not bless again when passing near Har HaMenuchot. This blessing is also recited over the graves of tzaddikim, but not over a single grave, only over several graves together.
The corrected text of the blessing is: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who created you in judgment, sustained you in judgment, nourished you in judgment, caused you to die in judgment, knows the number of all of you, and will in the future revive you and raise you in judgment to life in the World to Come; blessed are You, Lord, Who revives the dead.”
A pregnant woman may go to a cemetery when necessary, such as for a yahrzeit or to the graves of tzaddikim, but should be careful not to touch the graves. The pregnant wife of a kohen may go even if she knows she is carrying a boy. There is a mitzvah to visit the graves of tzaddikim; although some wrote otherwise, the practical halachah appears to be that it is a mitzvah. There is no prohibition to go to graves at night, but Tehillim are generally recited only after midnight, except when praying for an ill person; the Thirteen Attributes are recited after midnight. The preferred times for prayer at the graves of tzaddikim are the eve of Rosh Chodesh, the fifteenth of the month, the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the eve of Yom Kippur, and the yahrzeit of the tzaddik.
