This year I am trying to remember the chessed and Tov that Hashem is constantly showing me. Here are a few highlights of my Rosh Hashanah…
- Erev R”H my family got a call from the Chicago Center for Torah and Chessed, as part of calling post, to remind us to make an erev tavshulin.
- Our neighbor brought us some amazing fried chicken from this place.
- A good family friend gave us a new challah knife as a “segulah” for parnasah in the upcoming year
- We shared the majority of our meals with very close friends
- My son joined me under my tallis for duchenning both days
- Our baalei tefillah used excellent niggunim on both days
- My shul’s Rav used a Reb Nachman story (the king’s wheat supply makes everyone insane, so he and his advisor mark their heads so they know they remember they are insane) on his first day drasha and based his second day drasha totally on an idea from Rav Soloveitchik.
- The following items made by Mrs. Uberdox: Challah, soup, stuffed chicken, Caesar salad w/ steak (better than Dougie’s), and the Chocolate Trifle
- Number of Kohanim in my minyan-6; number of Kohanim sporting velvet kippot-2; number of Kohanim sporting knitted kippot-3; number of Kohanim sporting a seude kippah-1; Number of Kohaim rocking a kittel-1; Being blessed by representatives from Klal Yisrael-PRICELESS
- Shabbos Mussaf also was way beyond what I expected with a great kiddusah. And I got to make a l’chaim with this.
- Motzei Shabbos my wife found that we had a flat tire in the Ubervan. I took it, along with my copy of Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh, to Sam’s Club to get a new tire on Sunday. So, I admit, I had a Bilvavi moment when I started telling myself, “Ribbono shel olam, I know clearly that when I buy this new tire, I do not have control at all as to which tire I will end up buying, but it is all by Your decree.” In then end I ended up with a “Goodyear“. Hopefully this will be a “siman” as well.
a goodyear tire should be a good siman. I hope you are eating Life cereal right now!
I recall seeing that it was a minhag of the Baal Shem Tov not to give a knife as a present.
What was the source of your family friend’s segulah?
“Some Chassidim and men of deeds have a custom to purchase a new knife, Erev Rosh Hashanah (Nitei Gavriel 11:10)”
http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/vedibarta-bam/091.htm
Thanks for the source, however isn’t there a difference between giving a knife as a gift and purchasing one for one’s own use?
I am not trying to give you a hard time, I am simply interested in minhagim and am trying to learn more about this one…
Good question. Is there a difference in my ownership of an item based on
a) me making the purchase
b) acquiring it as a gift
Is there a difference in ownership of tefillin based on it being a Bar Mitzvah gift as opposed to the user making the purchase themselves?
I’m no expert in halacha, but I would not think that there’s a difference. The end result was that I was meant to have the knife, I believe.
Neil,
I had some service on my car at my local Goodyear dealer this week, and didn’t even think of the connection!
We wish you and your family a really good year.
there is a halachic difference, but only when the present is being given on shabbos (and yomtov I guess). If you buy yourself a knife and keep it or give it to a friend before shabbos, just make sure it is sharp so it cuts properly and is a giood purchase. đ There is no difference.
If however you purchase a knife and want to give it as a gift on shabbos (and yomtov I guess) you have to be mezake it to him before shabbos. You can do it without him even knowing about it, byu having someone else (a neighbor, maybe your wife according to some, but not yourself) pick it up and be “kone” it before shabbos. You have to do this because you cannot make a kinyan on shabbos.
Food is not an issue. If you are going to someone to eat on shabbos and bring a bottle of wine you can give it to him without all this because these rules do not apply to food. If you can eat it, you can give it.
But if you are giving a knife as a gift on shabbos, you have have to effect the kinyan before shabbos.
as far as whether it effects the segulah or not if you buy one for yourself or if someone else buys it for you – I do not know.
Gives a whole new meaning to “may a Goodyear be sealed for you!”
May a good year be sealed, but may your GoodYear not need to be sealed in the coming year.
Neil, did you used to be a musician?
Shana Tova, Neil from the Sheep, his wife, and the family.
P.S. there is something to this knife thing. i think you aren’t supposed to give one (not Halacha, of course) and you are supposed to buy one. My family leans to the Chasidic side and my grandmother had these knife things. Nice memories, oddly enough. Be well.
Thanks and baaaa!
There was actually a discussion about this over here:
http://asimplejew.blogspot.com/2007/09/divergence-in-minhagim.html