Many professions that require licensing and certification also require continuing education. Specifically what fields have this requirement and who enforces it varies among states and countries. Here are some examples. Healthcare, including Physicians and Dentists and Nurses; Finance, including CPAs and Actuaries; Law, including Lawyers and Paralegals; and Construction, including Architects, Engineers, Safety Personnel, and Project Managers.
There are good reasons for this requirement. One is that these fields develop, and professionals need to be current. Another is simply that they are complicated, and the only way to ensure that you are fully competent is to never stop learning. A person that decides that he knows all he needs to know is likely to make a small mistake, and that first small leak often is the harbinger of a deluge.
This is absolutely true of the life of an Orthodox Jew. There is so much to know, and we all are in the habit of falling into a routine. We forget, we make mistakes, and over time we convince ourselves that the definition of Halacha is whatever it is that we do.
On the other hand, I remember Reb Moshe telling me that it is absolutely vital that he has the time to learn every day, because "Az ich vell nit lernen, vell ich veren an amoretz." If I don't learn, I will become an ignoramus.
Reb Chaim Stein told me that besides his regular halacha seder, he learned all the Mishna Berura, from beginning to end, on Pesach and on Sukkos, every year before Yomtov.
Reb Chaim Stein and Reb Moshe knew kol hatorah kullah, because they were amazing masmidim that didn't waste one moment from their earliest childhood to the end of their lives. And they had perfect memories. But they knew that if you don't continue learning, you will become an ignoramus.
Saying a shiur on Maseches Brachos constantly reminds me of how true this is. I am forced to realize how much I have forgotten, and I see every day that ehrliche Yidden, Yerei'ei Shamayim, Talmidei Chachamim, get used to ideas and habits that are very difficult to defend and most likely incorrect.
It is likely that we knew all these things at one time, but they were learned at a very young age, and with time and age, they become blurry. Things that we assume are pashut turn out to be not pashut at all.
As Shlomo HaMelech said (Mishlei 15:34,)
One surprising example: Everyone knows that we make haadama on bananas and pineapples, right? Wrong. Many think that you make haeitz. Others believe that we still make a shehakol or haadama on hearts of palm, and that is no longer generally agreed. And of course, who remembers the laws of Ikkar and Tafeil? The laws of the holy Raisenet and the holy Schnitzel and ice cream sandwiches and cones and croutons?
Another interesting case that I discussed this week involved the Rama in OC 167:6, and the discussion revealed that different families assume for a davar pashut like one side in this machlokes, when in fact it is not a davar pashut at all.
So the Rama holds that if I was motzi my family, and I ate bread, and they talked or walked out before eating any bread, it is not a problem of hefsek. I made a good Bracha, they were yotzei with my good bracha, and their talking does not nullify my bracha. Similarly, if I made kiddush and drank, and others did not like the dry wine so they didn't drink, the may later have grape juice without a new bracha. They were yotzei with my good Hagafen.
On the other hand, you have the Mishna Berura there that says that nobody should ever rely on this Rama.
More interesting, it seems that the last words of the MB are inconsistent with his stand. If he holds that shomei'ah is as if I said the Bracha, then if the motzi made a good bracha, and I was yotzei, the fact that he talked before eating should not matter. Apparently he holds that the validity of the Bracha can be established post facto, a difficult concept that would seem to hold only according to the Rama, not the other achronim.
This issue is discussed in OC 213:2, where the Mechaber says
I have to admit, though, that it is possible that even the Mishna Berura would agree that in the case of Hagafen by kiddush, the others are yotzei even if they don''t drink the kiddush wine and talk before taking some other grape juice or wine to drink. It could be that the Hagafen by kiddush is primarily part of the Mitzva of Kiddush, and the requirement to drink is only kavod of the bracha. Since everyone was certainly yotzei Kiddush al hakos with my Hagafen, it could be that they are fine for drinking wine later in the meal even if they talked before drinking.
There are good reasons for this requirement. One is that these fields develop, and professionals need to be current. Another is simply that they are complicated, and the only way to ensure that you are fully competent is to never stop learning. A person that decides that he knows all he needs to know is likely to make a small mistake, and that first small leak often is the harbinger of a deluge.
This is absolutely true of the life of an Orthodox Jew. There is so much to know, and we all are in the habit of falling into a routine. We forget, we make mistakes, and over time we convince ourselves that the definition of Halacha is whatever it is that we do.
On the other hand, I remember Reb Moshe telling me that it is absolutely vital that he has the time to learn every day, because "Az ich vell nit lernen, vell ich veren an amoretz." If I don't learn, I will become an ignoramus.
Reb Chaim Stein told me that besides his regular halacha seder, he learned all the Mishna Berura, from beginning to end, on Pesach and on Sukkos, every year before Yomtov.
Reb Chaim Stein and Reb Moshe knew kol hatorah kullah, because they were amazing masmidim that didn't waste one moment from their earliest childhood to the end of their lives. And they had perfect memories. But they knew that if you don't continue learning, you will become an ignoramus.
Saying a shiur on Maseches Brachos constantly reminds me of how true this is. I am forced to realize how much I have forgotten, and I see every day that ehrliche Yidden, Yerei'ei Shamayim, Talmidei Chachamim, get used to ideas and habits that are very difficult to defend and most likely incorrect.
It is likely that we knew all these things at one time, but they were learned at a very young age, and with time and age, they become blurry. Things that we assume are pashut turn out to be not pashut at all.
As Shlomo HaMelech said (Mishlei 15:34,)
אֹרַח חַיִּים לְמַעְלָה לְמַשְׂכִּיל, לְמַעַן סוּר מִשְּׁאוֹל מָטָּה.
Another interesting case that I discussed this week involved the Rama in OC 167:6, and the discussion revealed that different families assume for a davar pashut like one side in this machlokes, when in fact it is not a davar pashut at all.
יאכל מיד ולא ישיח בין ברכה לאכילה ואם שח צריך לחזור ולברך אא"כ היתה השיחה בדברים מענין דברים שמברכין עליו כגון שבירך על הפת וקודם שאכל אמר הביאו מלח או ליפתן תנו לפלוני לאכול תנו מאכל לבהמה וכיוצא באלו אינו צריך לברך: הגה ומ"מ לכתחלה לא יפסיק כלל (כל בו) והא דאם שח דברים בטלים צריך לחזור ולברך היינו דוקא ששח קודם שאכל הבוצע אבל אח"כ לא הוי שיחה הפסק אף על פי שעדיין לא אכלו אחרים המסובים כבר יצאו כולם באכילת הבוצע כי אין צריכין כולם לאכול מן פרוסת הבוצע רק שעושין כן לחבוב מצוה: (רוקח ואור זרוע):
On the other hand, you have the Mishna Berura there that says that nobody should ever rely on this Rama.
(מג) אבל אח"כ וכו' - פי' אפילו השיחו אח"כ השומעים ויוצאים בברכתו קודם שטעמו ג"כ אין קפידא בדיעבד הואיל וכבר חלה ברכת המברך מיהו לכתחלה בודאי אסור לכל אחד מהשומעים להפסיק קודם שיטעום. והנה זהו רק דעת הרמ"א אבל כמעט כל האחרונים חולקים עליו וס"ל דלא עדיף השומע מהמברך עצמו כששח קודם טעימתו שחוזר ומברך וה"נ השומעים אם הפסיקו בדברים קודם טעימתן שחוזרין ומברכין. ודע עוד דאם המברך שח קודם שטעם אף שהשומעים לא שחו כלל משמע מהפוסקים לכאורה דשוב אינם יוצאים בהברכה כמו שכתבתי בבה"ל וצ"ע לדינא:
More interesting, it seems that the last words of the MB are inconsistent with his stand. If he holds that shomei'ah is as if I said the Bracha, then if the motzi made a good bracha, and I was yotzei, the fact that he talked before eating should not matter. Apparently he holds that the validity of the Bracha can be established post facto, a difficult concept that would seem to hold only according to the Rama, not the other achronim.
This issue is discussed in OC 213:2, where the Mechaber says
אין המברך מוציא אחרים אא"כ יאכל וישתה עמהם ואז יוצאים בשמיעתן שמכוונין אליו אפי' לא יענו אמן:
and the MB says (SK 15)
(טו) ואז יוצאים בשמיעתן - ואם אינו אוכל ושותה עמהם אף בדיעבד לא יצאו דהא ברכתו הוי לבטלה כיון שאינו אוכל בעצמו ואיך יצאו על ידו ואפילו ענו אמן על הברכה אם לא שמה שלא אכל ושתה המברך היה בשוגג או באונס כגון שנשפך הכוס אחר הברכה וכה"ג דבעת הברכה לא היה לבטלה אז יוצאין אחרים על ידו:
which is an allusion to the Pri Megadim.I have to admit, though, that it is possible that even the Mishna Berura would agree that in the case of Hagafen by kiddush, the others are yotzei even if they don''t drink the kiddush wine and talk before taking some other grape juice or wine to drink. It could be that the Hagafen by kiddush is primarily part of the Mitzva of Kiddush, and the requirement to drink is only kavod of the bracha. Since everyone was certainly yotzei Kiddush al hakos with my Hagafen, it could be that they are fine for drinking wine later in the meal even if they talked before drinking.
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