Thursday, May 22, 2008

Pesach recap, corrections

Some corrections to my previous post:

1) Piskei Teshuvos 493:2-3 notes that although numerous authorities (including the Levush, Kaf HaChayim, and the encyclopedic-minded R' Ovadiah Yosef) state that the minhag that some have not to say a shehechiyanu during sefirah has no source in the poskim, the concept is brought down in Eliyah Zuta b'shem Rabbeinu Yerucham, who explains that the period of sefirah is one of din, and in the Olelos Ephraim, who explains that sefirah symbolizes the transience of man, and hence is an improper time to say this bracha.

1a) My accusation was not of a chumra ha-ba'ah liydei kula, but rather of a chumra ha-ba liydei kula, as chumra is not a feminine Hebrew word, but rather is a masculine Aramaic word. (Hence, the proper pluralization would not be chumros, but rather would be chumraya, although you'll probably get a lot of funny looks if you use proper Aramaic grammar.)

2) As commenter Barzilai noted, the practice of being yotzei kiddush b'makom seudah in the morning on fruit (or shehakol foods) is championed by R' Moshe Feinstein in IM OCh 4:63 (although he still requires one to make a second kiddush prior to one's actual seudah).