TRIBUTE BY LOCAL FAMILY TO RABBI JACK SIMCHA COHEN

Tribute to Rabbi Jack Simcha Cohen was placed on this esrog tree that Rabbi Cohen personally planted in the yard of his home. When new buyers purchased the home from him, they promised to never remove the tree.

ברוך דיין האמת • • • • • •   July 8, 2014• • • • • • We regret to inform you of the passing of Rav Jacob Simcha Cohen, z"l. The funeral will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, July 9, at 2:30 PM at the Boulevard Funeral Home, 1450 Broadway, Hewlett, NY 11557. Burial will take place on Thursday at the Eretz HaChaim Cemetery in Beit Shemesh, followed by Shiva through Thursday evening at 5 Keren HaYesod, Apt. 5 in Jerusalem. Details about the remainder of Shiva to follow.  The Rabbinical Council of America

 

My uncle Rabbi J. Simcha Cohen presenting me with my elementary school diploma from Yeshiva Toras Chaim at South Shore, 1976.

Grape Juice At The Seder By: Rabbi J. Simcha Cohen

Question: May one use grape juice for the arba kosos?

Answer: Many years ago the hechsher on grape juice stated that only the “old, sick, or minors” were permitted to use grape juice for kiddush and thearba kosos.

Rav Nissan Telushkin, a great talmid chacham and the author of halachic works on the laws of mikveh, once articulated his halachic qualms regarding manufactured grape juice. He believed that bottled grape juice was qualitatively different than juice squeezed from a cluster of grapes. Juice that has just been squeezed from grapes may yet ferment into wine. However, bottled grape juice – because of the way it’s processed – will never ferment into wine. It will never have alcoholic content.

But why must it have alcoholic content? The basis for this requirement isPesachim 108b where R. Yehuda states that “it must possess the taste andappearance of wine.” Raba provides the source for R. Yehuda’s statement –Proverbs 23:31: “Look not upon the wine when it is red.” The Rashbam explains that this verse takes it as a given that wine is red. And the redness of wine, writes the Rashbam, implies an alcoholic element to it. What the verse is saying is that the alcoholic content of wine should not be judged by its redness.

Another source for the necessity of wine having alcoholic content is Psalms 106:15, which states, “And wine gladdens the heart of man.” Since wine probably makes people happy because of its alcoholic content, it would appear that wine must have alcohol in it.

Thus, at first glance, it would seem that bottled grape juice, which lacks alcoholic content, cannot be used for kiddush or the arba kosos.

The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 272:4), however, seems to suggest otherwise. Despite R. Yehuda’s statement in the Gemara that wine must be red, the Shulchan Aruch rules one may use white wine for kiddush.

The Gaon of Vilna (Biur HaGra, O.C. 272:4) suggests that the Shulchan Aruch read R. Yehuda’s statement as a halachic preference rather than a halachic ruling. Moreover, another tanna in Pesachim 108 mentions nothing about wine having to be red, which suggests that he disagrees with R. Yehuda. If so, the Shulchan Aruch is simply ruling like the first tanna against R. Yehuda.

Since the requirement for wine to have alcoholic content stems from the same Gemara that states that wine must be red, it would seem that by ruling that wine need not be red, the Shulchan Aruch is implying that it also need not have alcoholic content. Thus, bottled grape juice would be acceptable for kiddush and the arba kosos.

(It is interesting to note that the Mishnah Berurah (272:10) writes that all authorities believe red wine is preferred lechat’chila. The Mishnah Berurah therefore also likely believes that wine should preferably have alcoholic content.)

Prayers For The Government By: Rabbi J. Simcha Cohen

Question: Is it proper to recite prayers for a non-Jewish government duringdavening?

Answer: It is interesting to note that the following Talmudic story clearly indicates that prayers for the safety and success of one’s government is an ancient custom and was practiced in the beit hamikdash. If prayers for the government were recited in the beit hamikdash, they may certainly be recited nowadays in shuls.

The Talmud relates that that the Samaritans received permission from Alexander the Great to destroy the beit hamikdash based upon their claim that the Jews sought to rebel against the king. Shimon HaTzaddik, the kohen gadol, heard of this false charge and made plans to personally meet with King Alexander in order to rescind this horrible decree.

Shimon HaTzaddik robed himself with his priestly garments and set out to meet the king. Traveling on either side of him throughout the night were nobles of Jerusalem carrying torches in their hands. At daylight, the procession approached the king’s camp. “Who are these people?” Alexander called out. The Samaritans responded that they were the Jews who are rebelling against the king.

As the sun began to shine, Alexander noted the figure of Shimon HaTzaddik.In reverence, the king dismounted and bowed before him. He explained that prior to every battle, the image of this old bearded man in white appeared before him and served as a lucky symbol that won all his battles for him.

Alexander called out to the Jews, “Why have you come?” The Jews responded, “How is it possible that star worshipers should mislead you to destroy the house [the beit hamikdash] wherein prayers are said for you and for your kingdom that it never be destroyed?” Upon hearing this, Alexander recognized that the Jews were not rebelling against him and delivered the Samaritans into the hands of the Jews to be punished (Yoma 69a)

Commenting on this Gemara, the Maharsha notes that that the proof that the Jews were not rebelling was the fact that they regularly prayed on behalf of the government’s welfare. One does not pray for the success of a government that one seeks to rebel against and destroy. The fact that Jews constantly prayed for the success of the government proved their loyalty.

As such, from the time of Shimon HaTzaddik to the present, the tradition is to publicly pray for the government during synagogue services. Jews are constantly open to charges of disloyalty – that’s the nature of our enemies. Prayers for the government are our historical refutation of such slander. The maxim of Pirke Avot to “pray for the welfare of the government” is not only directed to individuals, but to communities in their places of worship.