Doniel Neustadt

Prepared for print by Faigy Peritzman Where does the mitzvah of tevilas keilim come from? The Torah (Bamidbar 31:21-23) requires that utensils that are bought from a non-Jewish manufacturer or from a non-Jewish owned store (or from a private person) should be immersed in a kosher mikveh prior to being used. It applies whether the utensils were previously used or are brand-new.

I know that borer is forbidden on Shabbos but if certain conditions are met it may be okay. What are they? In a nutshell the melachah of borer involves a mixture of “good” items (objects you intend to use or food you plan to eat) together with “bad” items (objects or foods you don’t intend to use or eat either because they aren’t good or because you have no interest in them at this time). Selecting the bad items from the good items is considered borer.

The chutzpah  – to disregard, to defy with such carelessness and contempt, the stringent dress code clearly spelled out in crude block letters for all to see. Her dewy innocence failed to soften the suspicious looks from, those who warily  watched her from the windows and doorways of shabby buildings, from the street corners where they stood enveloped in the shadows of the encroaching night. She walked blithely, light-hearted and carefree, intent upon her adventure, unaware of its cost.