Kippah, Tefillah, Bentching & The Hashkafa of Working - Rav Hershel Schachter

In some Yeshivas, they impressed the students so much with this attitude that if you learn Gemara without Rab Chaim's Chidushem, without Rab Shimon Shkop, without Rab Naftali Trop, without Rab Baruch Ber, it's not considered learning. So, when the people leave the Yeshiva, they get married, they get a job. They don't bother learning because if you learn without Rab Shimon, Rab Naftali, it's not learning. This is not except that attitude creates a tremendous problem. In Eretz [snorts] Yisrael, it's a big problem in a lot of the Yeshivas cuz the people get married, they have to get a job. And then uh they don't learn at all. If you learn Gemara with Rashi, it's also Talmud Torah. You learn Tanakh, if you learn Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, it's also Talmud Torah. It's normal that people get a job and they work for a living. That's the way in the history [snorts] of the Jewish people. That was always the practice. You have to be kovea itim laTorah every day to learn a little bit. It doesn't have to be super with all the play Yeshivas, with all the Rab Shimon Shkops. You can learn You should have a seder every day to learn Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. If in case you never did that, then the best. Or if you already when I was a little boy, so we learned Kitzur Shulchan Aruch in elementary school. And then in high school, we learned uh Chayyei Adam. That time, the Mishna Berurah was not so popular. There was hardly a set here in the Beis Medrash. Now they have 100 sets in the Beis Medrash. But when I was a student, the the you couldn't get a full set of the Mishna Berurah in the Beis Medrash. You have to You have to realize if you're going to be working, you don't have so much time to spend to figure everything out. So, you have to learn easier things. So, it's important you should go through uh if you never did it, you should go through the whole Kitzur Shulchan Aruch from cover to cover. If you read the one or two pages a day, you'll finish the whole sefer in a year. The people dying all the time. People have to know the dinim of aveilus. neighbors are sitting shiva, and so on. The dinim of getting married, dinim of taharas hamishpacha, even before you get married, the dinim you have to know. So, it's kedai to learn through the whole Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. Let's say from cover to cover in the course of the year. And to do it two, three years in a row, so you'll know you know what it says in the Kitzur. Then it's most of the dinim you'll 85% of the dinim you'll probably know. Whenever you come across a din that you were surprised about, so underline it and put a check on that sif. So, next year, the next time you go through it, you won't have to re-reread everything. All the other things you know already. You just check off the things that you didn't know the first time. So, do that two or three years in a row, you'll already know what our religion is all about. Or if you already graduated the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, so try the Chayei Adam or or others. The Lubavitcher will do the Shulchan Aruch from the Alter Rebbe, from the first Lubavitcher Rebbe. So, it's important to have kvius itim l'Torah. Don't try to learn if you have a vacation, then you can then you can try to learn something complicated. In the middle of the year, when you're busy with work, maybe if you never learned brachas, do brachas, do megillah, do maseches Taanis. These are easier masechtas. Don't do a hard masechta. The second half of Sukkah is like brachas, it's easy. A person has to be careful about Mincha. You can't daven Mincha after the shkiah. You have plenty of time to daven Mincha. You have to figure out every day when is the earliest time you can daven Mincha. You You often will not be able to have a minyan. That's the din. If you don't have a minyan, don't have a minyan. In fact, in the beginning of the Gemara, people who work for someone else don't do hazardous jobs because they're Mashubah to work a whole day for the Balabus. So, the one not Mashakin hazardous jobs in such a case. So, in case your company doesn't have a a minyan for Mincha, you should Daven Mincha as early as possible. Figure out when is the earliest time. Bechidus, so that in case they decide to have a meeting later on, you'll be able to attend the meeting. A lot of times people get stuck in a meeting and then they're embarrassed to leave in the middle in order to Daven. So, you have to Daven as early as possible. Wearing a Yarmulke, so um the Taz in his commentary on Shulchan Aruch writes that although in the days of the Gemara, the Gemara in the Darom says it was not everyone wore a Yarmulke. It was a later It was a later meaning that developed. The Maharshal has a Tshuvas Maharshal was a cousin of the Rama. They were contemporaries. So, the Maharshal has in his Tshuvas that uh some people were so hung up on the minig of the Yarmulkes if they see a big Talmid Chacham sitting and learning without a Yarmulke, they consider him nothing. He said, "What do I have against him? He doesn't have that minig. It's only a minig. It wasn't so widespread then." So, the Taz writes in his commentary on Shulchan Aruch that today it's already elevated from the level of a minig. Now, it's considered a real Chukas Akum. If a Jew will not wear a Yarmulke, it's a violation of Chukas Akum. So, Moshe Feinstein has a Tshuvas, I think in maybe the first Tshuvas in his Sefer, Igros Moshe Orach Chaim, the very first Tshuvas in his first Sefer, he disagrees with the Taz. He says that today it didn't become a Chukas Akum. It's only a minig and and you're not muchlaf to lose parnassa because of a minig. If by wearing a yarmulke, fewer customers will come to you and it'll be a significant loss in parnassa. It'll be a significant loss in parnassa. Or if you're going to or if you're going to come to the interview for the job with a with a yarmulke, there's so much anti-Semitism now because of the war in Iran. Everyone in America is opposed to all the non-Jews are opposed. Many Jews are also opposed to the war in Iran. So so they may not want to hire you. If you're going to come with a yarmulke, they know you're Jewish anyway, but if you demonstrate that you're Jewish, that you identify with with Israel by wearing a yarmulke, that they may not hire you. So go to the interview, you should always wear a hat, go to the take off your hat and sit there with a yarmulke and talk to the person. That's only if you feel that the that wearing the yarmulke will cause a significant loss of parnassa. Then Rav Moshe said you can be meikel. There are dinim in Shulchan Aruch. To what extent is a person obligated to observe the mitzvahs? How much money does he have to lose? Does he have to lose? We used to have a neighbor on on Bennett Avenue who came from Russia. So he I forgot already. He lived in one city, but there was no mikvah there. So every month his wife had to go travel by plane to a different city. So half of his salary went for his wife to go travel to the other city and to come back to use the mikvah. He observed taharas hamishpacha and it cost him half of his salary for his wife to travel. I was born in Pennsylvania. So where my parents lived, there was no mikvah. So my mother had to go travel to a different city to go to mikvah. And a lot of times my father was not home. So my mother would take us to the train station. She would tell us, me and my sister, you sit here. Daddy is going to come in 15 minutes and he's going to pick you up. My father was coming from a different city. And Daddy is how much we had no choice. I don't think it's right to uh deceive when you go on an interview. Let's say in a law firm or other companies, whatever. So, they need people to be free. Let's say on Friday they have work. So, they need people to do the work until until night. So, you're going to deceive the people. You're not going to tell them that you're a business and they're going to give you the job. And then you got to be upset later when you go when you leave early on Friday because because of this. So, then you're going to get called but to support you. I think that's all in our storm. You're not allowed to You're not allowed to fool the person into believing not allowed to mislead the person into believing that you're going to be there Friday and then have Friday it up. I don't think that's permissible. If you know in advance that you're going to You're going to have to leave early on Friday, you have to tell them, I'm a Sabbath observant Jew. I'm going to have to leave early. And tell them how early. Tell them how early. You shouldn't exaggerate. Shouldn't say you have to leave at 12:00 if if it's sunset is 8:30. If you don't wear a yamulke in in the company, that's a what about learning? So, learning so strictly speaking it's permitted to learn this. What the truth in the martial was that the people were not respectful of big who were learning without a yamulke. And he says, we got then it's just a minute. Reciting that's a question. Is it permissible to recite the if you're not wearing a yamulke? Is that also just a minute or is that a real deal? So, that's a machlokes with Rabbi Yosef Caro and the Tosafos Yom Tov. Who was after Rabbi Yosef Caro. So, he often quotes Rabbi Yosef Caro. So, Rabbi Yosef Caro and the Tosafos Yesha Yesha assumes that there's a din, even though it's never really in the Gemara, there's a din you're not allowed to say a bracha begiluy rosh. And the Tosafos Yom Tov said, "How does he know that that's true? Maybe there is no such din." Uh Chacham Ovadia points out that it's interesting that this dispute between Rabbi Yosef Caro and the author of the Tosafos Yom Tov is a machlokes Sotonaim that appears in Maseches Soferim. Maseches Soferim is not from the Tanaim. It's not from the Amoraim. It was written in the days of the Gaonim. The Maggid Avraham writes like that. The Gaonim Eretz Yisrael wrote the Maseches Soferim. But they quote sometimes Tanaim. We don't have any other source where they quote Tanaim. So, Maseches Soferim is quoted as a machlokes Sotonaim. So, that a person should be careful for that not to say a bracha begiluy rosh. When you're not in the office, let's say when the person is traveling on the train or however you're going to get to the office, you should wear a hat. When you come into the office, so then you can take off that if you think that taking off that if that that wearing the yarmulke, if you think that wearing the yarmulke will cause you a uh significant loss in parnassah. A lot of times a person can't daven betzibur. He has to come to the office early in the morning. So, uh there's a sefer Emek Bracha by Rabbi Baruch Pomerantzchik. You may be familiar with it. He He was born in Brisk. He lived in Brisk. He learned by Rabbi Dov Berel Soloveitchik both in Europe before the war and then in Eretz Yisrael after the war. And he wrote a sefer on Inyanei Orach Chaim, a very nice lomdishe of safer. Easy reading, very easy reading. Could I look at the safer. So he is of the opinion that the feel of the sea bird is not a bird at all. The whole purpose of diving in is that you hope God will help you will answer your prayers. So the more tells us the tradition that we stand a better chance of having our prayers accepted if you dive in feel a bit better than if you dive in feel a bit off. He says strictly speaking there's no to dive in feel a bit if you have to go to work so you have to go to work so you can dive in here. So what's raised what about The mission of brewer writes that there's a mark like this a kind of The mission of Miguel says that one should not recite hollow before even though it's after sunrise. And one should not perform a bris mila before I shouldn't shake a lulav. Give a shiver or a mixture that is supposed to be fulfilled by Yom. So you shouldn't do it if But he had it if he did it after sunrise. But he shouldn't do those mixtures before sunrise. Before the sunrise. So there's a mark like this a kind of what about this money as we have chakras. So the is money feel aware introduced the more says the money feel aware introduced by the corresponding with this money of the core bonus. So the Thomas was always brought every single day was brought at the crack of dawn after sunrise. It was brought after sunrise. So maybe you should be more than here. It doesn't say anything more one way or the other. So many of them all this more than here to dive in chakras before sunrise. And the mission of brewer thinks that his impression is that the right back home and all that so the right back home think that it's not proper um It's not proper to dive in here so the before what if you have to go to work, so it's you have no choice. Here in Breuers, uh they always used to have two minyanim. The 6:00 minyan in the morning was before hanetz hachama. So, Rabbi Breuer used to make a point of davening with the 6:00 minyan because he wanted to be mechazek the baalei batim who go to work. Rabbi Schwab learned in in Lithuanian yeshivas. He learned, I think, in Telzer yeshiva. So, he he didn't want to go against the Mishna Berurah. So, he always davened at the 7:00 minyan, which most of the time got to the Shmoneh Esrei after hanetz hachama. Sometimes they said Shmoneh Esrei before, but most of the time after. But Rabbi Breuer felt he has to be mechazek the baalei batim have to go to work. So, he made a point he always davened with the 6:00 minyan, even though it was before hanetz hachama. Um there was a great goan in St. Petersburg. Uh his name was Beitzaleh Peterburger cuz he lived in St. Peter. Beitzaleh Blazer. When I was a little boy, all the pushkes that had money that went to aniyim in Eretz Yisrael had his picture on it. I don't know why. He [snorts] lived in Eretz Yisrael at the end of his life. He was a wealthy man. He wasn't a poor man. He was officially recognized by the government. He was the chief rabbi of St. Petersburg. So, he made a big salary. He was a wealthy man. He didn't have uh he didn't have any children from his first wife, but he was uh he was the most outstanding student of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter in learning. Yisrael Salanter had three the three strongest talmidim were Beitzaleh Peterburger, who was very strong in learning. He was the one who wrote over the whole shitas Hamussar, all the drashos from from Rabbi Yisrael Salanter. And then there was Rav Naftali uh Amsterdam was another one. And Rav Simcha Zissel Ziv. He founded the Tomchei Torah, that's what it was called in Kelm. The Tomchei Torah in Kelm. column and Tom the Tyro. So, the the Abita Petaba, Abita Blazer, has a very strong volume of Chuba called Pri Itzchok, very strong. When he deals with a shyla, he does like a detective. He does a research. I don't know what's the Rashba shita. I'll check all the Rashbas and all the mesichtas that may have a a connection with this topic. I'll look all the chubas of Rashba that may have a connection. And he always find the answer black on white. He's always very strong. So, he comes to the maskana, not like the Mishnah Berurah says, "It is mutar l'chatchila to daven shacharis before hanetz hachama." Like in the Beis Hamikdash, every day they brought the tamid shel shachar at the crack of dawn, mamesh at the at alos hashachar before hanetz hachama. He won't be yotzei b'dieved. B'dieved is if he start davening in such way that he get the kri'as shema right before hanetz hachama. He get to the shmoneh esrei right after hanetz hachama. But, most people don't daven b'dieved anyway. So, you're not going to daven b'dieved. So, the So, most of the poskim hold that there's no problem. It's mutar l'chatchila to daven shmoneh esrei before hanetz hachama. So, they can daven b'tzibur. What's the din if there's a minyan where the psukei d'zimra begins before mashiach comes? A lot of times it begins before mashiach comes. So, you can you can daven You can You have to put on tallis and tefillin without a bracha. L'chatchila you shouldn't say a bracha on the tallis and tefillin until after mashiach comes. How much is mashiach coming? So, Moshe Feinstein writes in his chubas that he tested it out uh quite a few times, and he thinks that in it's going to be different in every depending where you live on the globe, it's going to be a different zman. So, he thinks that in the New York area, it's between His opinion was it's between 35 and 40 minutes. Maybe my eyes are not as good as his. I thought it's between 30 and 35 minutes, but he thought it's between 35 and 40 minutes. And all the shows they're much more medical than that. They assume here in Bnei Brak, they assume it's 55 minutes before an Netzach I don't see how that could be Mishiyach. 55 minutes before an Netzach. So the din is you put on the tallis and tfillin before davening, before an Netzach, before P'sukei D'Zimra. And then if you get to Yishtabach after Mishiyach here if you get to Yishtabach after Mishiyach here, so you say Yishtabach, the Yochin says Yishtabach and then he says the bracha on the tallis and the tfillin. That's the din in the Gemara, din in the Shulchan Aruch. Putting on the tallis and tfillin before Mishiyach here you don't say a bracha. And then later on if by the time you get to Yishtabach, if the chazan also did didn't say bracha on the tallis and tfillin, so the chazan should say the bracha on tallis and tfillin after Ozi Yoshir before Yishtabach. So the one he says the end of Yishtabach, he says right away Chatzi Kaddish and he says the bracha. But the tzibbur, they're not davening for a number, so they should say the bracha after after Yishtabach. That's what it says in Shulchan Aruch. So if if by the time he came to Yishtabach, it's still not Mishiyach here so then so then you say the bracha on the tallis and the tfillin after Chazarat HaShatz, after Tachnun. You shouldn't say the bracha in between the Shmoneh Esrei and Tachnun because reciting Tachnun immediately after Shmoneh Esrei without being mafsik is machzik the tfillah. The Gemara in Bava Metzia has like that. Should always be careful diving always diving as early as possible unless the unless the company is going to unless the working place is going to have a minion, but if they're not going to have a minion, you better dive in the earliest time cuz something may come up later and you'll be stuck in a meeting and you'll feel uncomfortable to leave. And you have to leave. You can't make a shul men. If if you decided to stay at the at the meeting cuz you're embarrassed to leave, you can't make that shul men then. That's the amazing that's that's not the shul again. If you didn't dive in men have a small you can make that shul men only if you was the shul again. Was the amazing is not. You have to be careful not to make personal phone calls. A lot of people are cheating on on the company. They're making personal phone calls all day and all night in the office and it's not right. You're stealing from the company. If you have your own cell phone, make your personal phone calls on your own cell phone not on the company's. And if and if you're busy with the company, you're not supposed to take off time to talk to your wife or to talk to your fiance or something. You're supposed to give the matter is very marked for that. The did away with the shots and they said when you recite a mason, if you work for someone else you bridge the mason. You say the first and then you combine the second and the third together and you leave out the fourth leave it out cuz they want you to put in a full day's work for the boss. The boss is Jewish and you're Jewish and still they say don't make a shots and a bridge the mason. So it's not right to to be talking on the phone to your friends. >> Rabbi, Rabbi [clears throat] If the meeting starts before men have and then goes afterwards it just has to be very long. Is that still considered mason if you don't choose to walk out in the middle of it. >> Yeah. Sure. That's a pretty long meeting. Okay. >> In the winter, not as long. >> Okay. >> Got it. But for a meeting wondering though for a meeting where there is where it's not like you have like no liberty to walk out like for example if say you would work in a government position if you're working in a government position like working like for example in terms of like where the fast is where if you leave the fast is at stake. Would that sort of case would that be considered a mayzeid or is there a halacha >> A person is b'tzorchei tzibbur not only if he works for the government. When the Chofetz Chaim used to attend meetings of the rabbonim in Europe, they had to discuss political issues. Um So they tell they printed this story that once they they had a meeting in the afternoon and they were talking talking and one of the rabbonim said we better have a break in order to daven mincha. So the Chofetz Chaim got upset and he said It says b'feirush in Shulchan Aruch if you're osek b'tzorchei tzibbur, you're not allowed to be mafsik in order to daven mincha. So if you're osek in tzorchei tzibbur, you should you should not be mafsik. But you should try to explain to the people in advance that you're going to have to take a break in order to daven mincha. You should explain that Erev Shabbos he'd better make sure that you don't miss Shabbos. Even if a person the Gemara says even in Shulchan Aruch Gemara even if a person is unable to daven t'fillah b'tzibbur but if he can schedule his davening mincha b'yechidus at the same time that they're davening in another minyan in town. In Chicago, they're davening now. But it's it's a partial t'fillah b'tzibbur. It's only partial t'fillah b'tzibbur if the minyan is in my city. If minion is a is in is in Monsey and I work in Manhattan, that's not considered to be mispallem. There's a tzibbur in your city and you have a prayer to daven either the same time the tzibbur is davening or different times and then it's preferable to daven at the same mispallem. That's a partial key >> [cough] >> of tfillah b'tzibbur. Yes. >> Um if there are multiple shuls in the city, is it better to daven at the same time as your shul, the one that you normally daven at or is it any shul in the city? >> Any shul in the city. I think [clears throat] so. Yeah. >> And earlier would be better? >> Earlier is always better, yeah. It is always better just in case something comes up a long meeting, so you're going to miss Mincha, you should always try to daven as early as possible to make sure you don't forget that you don't miss davening at the shul. But you have to be careful the kvius zman late Torah. We lived in Pennsylvania, so my father got a doctorate from a graduate school there in Philadelphia. And so for the work that he was writing had to go to New York and meet Rabbi Louis Ginzberg from the Jewish Theological Seminary. They all talk Louis Ginzberg Lady Ginzberg big time may learn in tells. My father said he almost fainted when he met him. He was sitting and learning the rosh. We don't live in the days of the Marsha. No one there's no such matter. There's no non-Jews who are pressuring him not to wear a yarmulke in the Jewish Theological Seminary. That's scandalous. That's scandalous. He was a man, but something missing over there. He had and all of his firm he writes on the first page, "Levi Ginsburg Darsh Mini La Hagro." He's very proud of the fact he's a direct descendant of the Vilna Gaon, eighth generation then. The Vilna Gaon would have smacked him >> [laughter] >> not wearing a for using his name for sitting and learning without a yarmulke. But look, if you have a job and you're afraid it's going to interfere with your parnassa, wearing a yarmulke, so you don't have to wear a yarmulke in the in the office. You should wear a hat when you leave. And you can learn also without a yarmulke, but bracha's that you should be machmir to say the bracha's uh with a yarmulke. Okay, we'll open the floor for questions, discussions, whatever. Please have the pizza. >> Yes. If you're dealing with tzarke tzibbur and you missed mincha, is there tashlumin? >> You don't need tashlumin. Patur. Yeah. What is I think with tzarke tzibbur is patur min hamencha, yeah. >> Rebbi, when if one is at a company that is both not run by Jews and the general environment in the company is that like brief personal time during work hours, like taking a phone call for 5 minutes, is [clears throat] done by most employees, can one assume that that is then just like the minhag of the mar- the workplace and they're not makpid on it? >> Yes, but a lot of times people misjudge how much is understood. And then they'll hold it against you that this Jewish boy is cheating on the job. He's always talking to his wife. That's not right. >> Um >> Everyone should please have some more. Yeah. >> By um being patur of feel out this, does that only apply because for tzarke tzibbur or any other mitzvah that would be an assei? Uh osek b'mitzvah wouldn't osek b'mitzvah patur min hamitzvah apply? >> Osek b'mitzvah patur min hamitzvah and the reidva in sukka and that sugia basically mitzvah part of mitzvah says not only are you part of it's also to be from the first mitzvah to do the second mitzvah even though even though the second mitzvah is mono various and if you don't do it now you're going to lose out in the first mitzvah and that's mono various. You can do it later. Still there it was a that's a I think mitzvah part of mitzvah and you're part of and you're not supposed to be sick to do the second mitzvah. Just this morning we were learning Shulchan Aruch So I mentioned after the Rabbi Akiva Eiger and the Chasam Sofer both passed away the reform movement became stronger than during their lifetime. So the son of the Chasam Sofer the Ksav Sofer and the talmud of the Chasam Sofer the Maharam Schick were the ones who were leading the battle fighting reform. So one of the talmidim of the Maharam Schick Maharam Schick had all of all of the talmidim of the Chasam Sofer the Chasam Sofer encouraged them all to make a yeshiva and this is they didn't have yeshivas like we have now. They didn't have that. Every rabbi in his community had a founded yeshiva. So in Hungary all the talmidim of Chasam Sofer each one had a yeshiva. So the Maharam Schick had a yeshiva. Many of the graduates of the yeshiva went to to business and some of them went into rabbonus. So one of them went into rabbonus was very successful fighting reform but he didn't enjoy it. So never heard of such a wild idea in the late 1800s he was offered a job in Eretz Yisrael to be a rabbi to sit and learn and to pass the challenge and to give Shiur. So he never enjoyed fighting the reform so he packed up all of his belongings he's on his way to go to Eretz Yisrael. So he sent a letter to his rebbe to the Maharam Schick and he gave him a bracha on the move that it should be successful. So the Maramshik wrote him back an answer that's included in the chuvus of the Maramshik. I can't give you a bracha cuz you're doing shulchan edin. He said when you were a student in the Yeshiva we had no right to draft you in the army. Means to make you fight three forms. That's the army. You had no right to draft you in the army. Many of your classmates went into business but you volunteered for the army. You became a general and you were successful on fighting reform. And they it was as in shulchan orech mitzvah of the mitzvah. So you're not allowed to leave Hungary to go move to Eretz Yisrael. That's a different mitzvah. To live in Eretz Yisrael is an important mitzvah but if you're busy fighting reform then you're not allowed to leave. And that's what Rav Soloveitchik always used to say over the loshon that the Maramshik has. Rav Soloveitchik was speaking public about whenever he spoke from his rachi he would speak about the importance of moving to Eretz Yisrael but he would always say, "Those who are in the rabbonus or in chinuch in chutz la'aretz are fighting intermarriage and fighting assimilation and they're not allowed to leave." And he would give the moshol that the Maramshik gives that the the general in the army is not allowed to leave until all of the soldiers are accounted for and the captain on the ship is not allowed to leave unless all of the passengers are accounted for. So he said the rabbonim are not allowed to leave chutz la'aretz to go to Eretz Yisrael cuz of uh the general in the army. Okay? Rav Chaim Ozer was supposed to move to Eretz Yisrael. Rav Kook with Rav Chaim Ozer knew each other well from the days that they both learned in Volozhin Yeshiva. So uh after Rav Kook First Rav Kook went to Eretz Yisrael. He was the rabbi in Yafo. The port city Yafo. And then And then later on he was appointed chief rabbi of Eretz Yisrael. So he corresponded with Rabbi Moshe. He wanted Rabbi Moshe to retire when he was older to come move to Eretz Yisrael. They had an apartment for him and they had a salary and they had a title. Rabbi Kook was the Chief Rabbi of Eretz Yisrael and Rabbi Moshe was going to be Chief Rabbi of the rest of the world. A title. Ben HaGolah. And then the last when they were holding by the end by clinching the deal, Rabbi Moshe sent them a letter he can't leave because the other Rabbi in the room insist that they won't be able to function that well without him. So, he felt he has to stay behind. So, he quotes this line from the Maramshik that the the captain on the ship and the general in the army is not allowed to leave cuz he was also he was doing so he was doing so he was doing so he was doing so he was doing so he was doing so he was doing so >> And if sometimes Goyisha coworkers or they or even the company wants to incentivize uh better I guess shalom between the coworkers so they have extra activities outside of work time or sometimes don't the Goyisha coworkers want to spend time with other coworkers. What's a how are you supposed to >> You have to be very careful even if they know that you're married the girls that going to even if they're married Kabbalah may have been not married they will start up with you. Uh so, you have to be very careful. Um it's a good idea even if you never a lot of men don't want to wear a ring. So, but a lot of people they wear a ring in the office so all the women will know that they're married. It doesn't always help. They wear a marriage band and they know that they're married and they still start up with them. They don't care. But you have to be very careful not to fall in cuz uh a lot of them will befriend you. You shouldn't you shouldn't drink uh shouldn't drink. You shouldn't go to a bar to drink with the nachron because you'll fall in over there also. You have to be very careful. >> [clears throat] >> When they have the when they give out the um at the end of the year when they give out the bonuses for all the people, so you have to go wish everybody have a good year and have a couple soda or something and and take your bonus and leave. You can't You can't stay. They're celebrating uh guy shower day. They're celebrating New Years. You know, they allow us to celebrate New Years. >> Uh Rabbi, if a person gets two job offers, one from a Jewish company uh where he'll have time to daven mincha, but he also gets another job offer from a non-Jewish company, but it comes with a bigger parnassa, which job offer should a person take? >> You take the one that has whatever is best for your parnassa, you should take. But you have to find out if there are Jewish people working in the non-Jewish company, do they give them a hard time on erev shabbos? Do they give them a hard time uh about davening mincha? So then the better parnassa doesn't help. You have to find out if they're going to be um sensitive to the fact that you're an observant Jew. You should make sure you make a kiddush Hashem wherever you go. You have to you have to be you have to be careful not to fall in with the nevelah peh. The whole world talks nevelah peh. You have to be careful not to fall in with the nevelah peh and to put in honest the whole day's work. You should come on time and stay all day long and do all the work and not talk on the phone and they'll respect you for that. I have a niece. When she walks into the room, they all stop talking nevelah peh because they know that she's a religious girl. They should respect you and you should be principled and you should be observant so they should respect you. Yeah. >> A lot of times there will be different from people workers in the in the same firm and some of them will be making for some things and some of them will will be making for other things. It looks funny. It looks a little bit contradicting to to people who are looking from the outside how they're both religious Jews and one does like this and the other one like that. Or even non-religious Jews will see that and will find it very like funny or even weird. Is it sometimes to take the coolas of other firm workers in in sake of consistency and that you will we will look as normal people and not that everyone is doing their own thing and then every >> It depends which cooler. If it's cooler on a on a khumra, so you can never touch the khumra. But if it's cooler on a real din, that's not right. You shouldn't You shouldn't make any machlokes over anything. Just go your own way. Everyone goes their own way, you know. >> One is working an hour or two to learn a day. One is an hour or two to learn a day. If he plans on learning Gemara, should he prioritize learning Eyan or Beki'us? >> I don't hear. If he has only an hour a day, what should he learn? >> Yeah. If he wants to learn Gemara, should he learn Eyan or Beki'us? Is there like a clear >> He should learn Beki'us. He should learn Beki'us. >> [clears throat] >> They say Rabbi They asked Rabbi Salanter Salanter insisted that everybody should spend time learning Mussar. So, they asked him if a person only has an hour a day, should he learn the Mussar that you're suggesting or should he learn Gemara? He said, "Let him learn Mussar and he'll realize that he has more than an hour a day." That was his answer. Yeah. >> Um is one required to to rest during lunch breaks? Like if there's a lunch break and the employers are expecting you to know, we lunch breaks so you can rest and sort of reset. Can one take To what extent can or can't one take care of personal things then? Can one go to like travel to see for then? Or do you sort of have to just like eat lunch and rest? >> I don't understand the question. There's a lunch break. >> There's a lunch break, yeah. >> And? >> Do Do employers like expect someone to use that time to rest to be energized for the rest of the day? >> Good. >> Right? In which case are there things that one should not do during lunch break like taking care of personal matters uh or maybe travel to Mincha uh the Shiva maybe? Are those doable during a lunch break? >> Why not? Okay. One is going to get exhausted from going to down in Mincha. >> Uh traveling or uh first personal matters taking care of personal matters and appointments. >> You have to You have to take care of it sometime. You have no prayer room? You have no prayer room? You have to. >> What do you want to do with um in terms of shaking shaking women's hands? >> Shaking hands with women. The Moshe Feinstein has in three places in his Tshuvis that he's not sure whether that's there a Hebrew in America when you shake hands with a woman. So, the Talmidim of Rav Moshe say that he told them that he felt he didn't want to write that it's muta, but he personally hoped that it was muta. He thought that the shaking hands with women today is not considered there a Hebrew doesn't mean anything. If it's a good-looking girl, it's it's going to be a problem. And if there And if she's wearing a tight dress, for sure it's going to be a problem. You got to be [clears throat] careful. But shaking hands per se, that alone, Rav Moshe thought that that that strictly speaking that's not there a Hebrew, so it's muta. If you can avoid it, you should avoid it. You should always hold something in both hands. Hold something in the right hand so you can't shake hands. Hold something in the left hand so you can't switch. If you can avoid it, you should avoid it. But you shouldn't make any issue about it. Yeah. >> You mentioned before you can change but I'm more curious about washing. I know I know that the time like washing in the workplace can be kind of awkward. There's not necessarily access to a sink or a washing machine. >> I don't hear. >> A lot of the time washing in the workplace can be a kind of awkward. There's not necessarily access to like a clean place to wash. Yeah, you have to go through a lot of doors or like a lot you have to move to a far place to uh wash your hands. So, are there any practical halachas regarding washing in the workplace? Washing your hands. >> Why should it be awkward? >> Um >> You wash your hands, you pour water. >> I know. >> What? You'll explain to them, it's part of my religion. I have to wash my hand. They'll respect you. You're marked by uncleanliness. What's wrong? One of the wrote to one of the German philosophers wrote, there's a religion, the Jewish religion that's marked by not to say prayers when there's erva or tzara. What a beautiful religion. They were so taken by that possible homish. Like like you have a like you have a ervas tzara or shomera that in the in the army base in a lot of erva and a lot of tzara. That's a beautiful thing. You should explain to them. What's so difficult? Yes. >> Rabbi, so in terms of machlokes [clears throat] of two if if you hold of one kashrus and the and the nice and the one meaning secretary holds of another kashrus that you're not so thrilled about. Um what should and you can't really explain and it's it's probably not hard it's easy it's hard for you to explain to them why you don't hold of that hashgacha. Would it be would it still be allowed to eat the food as long as there is some form of hashgacha as some form of hashgacha? Like on what issue like say if there's a hashgacha that allows opening allows a restaurant to open on Shabbos and you hold of restaurant that doesn't. And the and the secretary orders from the one from a restaurant that has that allows restaurants to be open on Shabbos, would you still be allowed to have that food? >> If you think the hashgacha is questionable, so don't eat it. You're not hungry that day. >> But it doesn't come down to What if What if it comes down to like say it's a restaurant that you're not sure of and you think like and that like say it's a restaurant that actually tells us uh where they are? >> [snorts] >> We're not going to be Russian toast. So you just don't eat it. Whenever you're in doubt, so you don't eat the food. What's the big deal? Yeah. >> Can one go to Mincha in the office if it's a 10-minute walk each way and they'll be uh leaving the office and they're like like the time that they're being paid for they work they leave for 40 minutes for Mincha? >> If you leave during the lunch break when everybody's taking lunch at the same time if you leave during the lunch break, probably no one will have any tidiness. But if you're leaving not during the lunch break, then they're going to think that you're cheating on the boss. >> Would it be better to dump the food? >> I would think so. You're better to dump the food and they should be you that you're that you're just taking care of personal things. I would think so. >> Someone ordered lunch for you, but they opened up the kosher packaging. Can you still eat the food? >> Strictly speaking, it's mutar. It's not a problem. The boss is telling me in the Gemara, the concern is that maybe an animal came and took the kosher food and replaced it with non-kosher food. But here we don't have any animals roaming around. >> But what if there is two different types of pizza that they ordered? So maybe someone took a slice and then put it back in a different box. You don't know. >> Uh-huh. kosher >> next to each other. >> So, don't eat it. You're not sure, so you don't eat it. Okay. >> Is there a problem to davening before mincha gedola or to daven before mincha gedola? Like if you're >> You got no choice. In Yeshiva, they always daven before mincha ketana. They always daven mincha gedola. So, they're not makpid on that. >> You have before mincha gedola. >> Before mincha gedola? Mincha gedola is a half an hour after chatzos. They can't daven in the first half hour. The Mishna Berurah is masupak if you yotzei b'dieved if you daven mincha in the first half hour. >> So, could you Let's say like you have to. Like you have meetings from mincha Yeah, you have meetings from mincha gedola until shkia or something. Could you daven >> So, after you meet with one one meeting and the other, you got to daven mincha. Okay. Got to tell them. I have to take a break. >> What about if you have like a a seder? Like if you had a chavruta from and like you weren't able to daven, would that also be your Should you interrupt your learning to daven in the middle of like when you would be learning or should you daven before it? >> Should you interrupt your learning to daven mincha with a minyan or should you daven b'yechidut? >> Let's say by yourself. >> What what? >> I mean, if you had an option uh daven before chatzos and then >> To daven mincha before chatzos, you're not yotzei. No. Can't daven before chatzos. You can't daven in the first half hour either. >> Before half hour, yeah. I meant mincha gedola. If you have If you have a Sorry. If you have an option to daven before mincha gedola and then have a nice long chavruta or you could >> What do you mean you have an option to daven before Mincha Gedola. It's a brocha levatala. You can't dab in Mincha before Mincha Gedola. You can. >> How much do you need to be a men ba'er, like how much like you can take a break or stuff with your boss or how much can you assume like if everyone's doing it, I can just also do it? >> If everyone's doing what? What are they doing? >> breaks throughout working and doing other things. So, how much do I need to be a men >> It's not right. It's not right. You should put in the full time working. You shouldn't take any breaks. It's not right. The chachamim relieved the workers from chazaras hashatz and from benching. Normally, they abridged everything to put a full day's work into their boss. Supposed to work uh It's geneiva. If you don't put in the full day's work and you take the full day's salary, that's geneiva. You're supposed to put in the full day's work. And even if all the others do that, it's not right. And they'll hold it against you. They won't hold it against the other people, but they'll hold it against the religious person. So, the religious people have to be more careful not to take too many breaks. Okay. We solved all the world's problems. You should all have hatzlacha whatever you do. Good idea to get married if you can before you go to work. So, the people will know that you're taken, that you're married, and you'll have a different mindset. So, you won't look at the You won't even look at the uh the other women in the office. There's a fellow who's on the board of the Yeshiva, I think. Uh Manny Adler. So, he was once here for a Shabbos in the Yeshiva, and he's a lawyer, and he was talking about how everything was easy for him. Went to law school, then he got a job, and he got in Mincha, and everything was easy. But, he forgot to say number one, he was married before he went to work [clears throat] in the office. [snorts] And number two, that he's a descendant of our great grandson Kitzinger, who was the brother-in-law of the Bal Shem Tov. He has a lot of service. So, he never fell in in the office. But not everybody has the service that he had. So, we can fall in. Okay. Enjoy Enjoy your [snorts] pizza. >> You can put it in the fridge.