Q&A: Various Questions
Various Questions
Question
Hello Rabbi Michi!
Following the war, a few questions came to mind, so forgive me for the jumble.
1. A person with a prosthetic hand / with prosthetics in both hands—can he put on tefillin / wash his hands / break bread, etc. (that is, halakhic matters that involve the palms of the hands)?
2. Is a prosthetic leg considered a defect that disqualifies a priest?
3. On another topic, which books of Kabbalah would you recommend for beginners? The Kabbalah of the Ari, or the books of Leshem / Ramak?
4. Do you think it is preferable to study the Jerusalem Talmud in order to cope with the Aramaic in some Kabbalah books?
5. Which alcoholic drinks are considered actual leaven, aside from beer? And in general, does alcohol require kosher certification (not related to Passover)?
6. Just out of curiosity, how do you decide what to write a column about, and where do you find material on the topic?
7. Where in stores in Jerusalem / in general can one get Between Those Who Stand or Two Carts and a Hot-Air Balloon?
8. Just offhand, if anything comes to mind—do you have a Talmudic topic where the commentators explain it in completely different ways? (I’m not sure whether you understood what I mean.)
Answer
I didn’t understand what ties this collection of questions together. Each one requires consideration on its own, and if it matters to you, devote a separate question to each one. For some of them, you can easily find answers online.
- In my opinion, if the hand is bionic and integrated with the body, tefillin can be put on it. The question is which hand counts as the weak hand in such a case. That depends on which hand it is and what is going on with the other hand.
- In principle, the absence of a leg is disqualifying. If a prosthesis is considered a leg, then perhaps he is no longer considered blemished. But it seems to me that even if it is considered a leg, it is certainly not a normal leg, and therefore he still has a defect. Perhaps if it is a leg that functions completely like a normal leg, he could be deemed fit.
- I don’t know. It depends on your taste.
- It depends which Kabbalah book we are talking about. But I don’t know why the Jerusalem Talmud would help more than the Kabbalah books themselves.
- I don’t know. Search online.
- Whatever occurs to me.
- Only through my wife. There is a page here on the site about the books and how to obtain them.
- I didn’t understand.