daf bit: Chanukah

(Today's daf is Yevamot 75. In honor of the season, and because I'm finding this part of Yevamot difficult, we turn to the talmudic discussion of Chanukah.)

We learned elsewhere: if a spark flies from an anvil and starts a fire the blacksmith is liable, and if a camel laden with flax overturns its load into a shop and starts a fire the camel-driver is liable, but if the shopkeeper placed a lamp outside the shopkeeper is instead liable. However, with Chanukah lights, which are to be placed outside, the shopkeeper is not liable. This is used to prove that the Chanukah lights must be placed within reach of the ground, because otherwise we would say to the shopkeeper: why did you not place the lamp higher so that passing traffic could not upset it? And why do we not call on him to place it higher? Because we do not want to make the mitzvah difficult to perform, lest he refrain because it's too much trouble. (Shabbat 21b)

(Separately we learn that there is a height limit because if it's too high it fails the primary duty to publicize the miracle -- if people on the street can't see it because they would have to look up too high, it doesn't do that job. In case you're wondering what people who live in upper-story apartments do, the rabbis are practical: if you can't publicize the miracle to the people on the street, at least publicize it to the members of your household and that fulfills the obligation.

Mi Yodeya field trip: synagogue notes

I wrote previously about the Mi Yodeya celebration. I also joined Isaac and others for services while there, which was interesting and educational.

( places visited )

A couple observations:

First, none of the services felt rushed, but I do not know how people pray that quickly. I couldn't keep up without vocalizing everything, while the service leader was spitting out the Hebrew cleanly and clearly. I guess it comes in time? But on the other hand, if I haven't gotten it by now...

They sure do a lot of kaddishes. If I recall correctly, at the end of the Sunday-morning service there was a bit of torah learning followed by kaddish d'rabbanan, and I came away with the impression that the former was there mainly to justify the latter. (Kaddish is said at certain points in the service, mainly to act as a division, but it also may be said after any learning.) Unlike in Reform services, kaddish is said either by one person or the mourners as a group. I found myself wondering how that's coordinated -- who gets which ones, how do they know, and if you particularly want one that day, how do you signal that?

Both of these synagogues -- and, now that I think about it, several other Orthodox synagogues I've been to -- had a bunch of different siddurim (prayer books). The content is basically the same in all of them, but sometimes there are minor variations, they may or may not include English translations (which may or may not vary subtly), they may or may not contain commentary, and so on. This has a few consequences:

• You actually get, and have to make, a choice. Friday night I just took a book; it was all Hebrew, no English translation. That's fine for the prayers (I'm going to do those in Hebrew anyway), but I had to work a little more at navigation.
• Some people bring their own, an option that simply had not occurred to me.
• Because not everybody is using the same book, and also I assume because there's an assumption that if you're there you're fluent (which breaks down in some individual cases, of course), they don't call out instructions or page numbers -- you're just expected to be able to follow. I can do that for a Shabbat or weekday service, but might be challenged to do so on, say, the high holy days.

On Saturday morning I used the Koren siddur, which I've heard good things about. I actually found the Hebrew font just a tad hard to read, compared to Sim Shalom, Artscroll, and even Mishkan T'filah. It looked like a nice siddur otherwise, so maybe one to have available even if I don't use it regularly. Or maybe, were I to use it regularly, I'd find the font a little easier.

I'm glad I got the opportunity to experience all that.