Sunday 9 March 2008

Taking Things a Bit TOO Literally

Originally published 3/9/08, 9:55 PM, Eastern Daylight Time
Someone was asked the following question by a bride.

"She intends to go to the kever of her grandfather to give him an invitation to her wedding. When should she do it?"

My response:

Preferably before he is niftar. After all is time travel any bigger a neis than a meis coming to a chausunah?
A certain member of the list found my response a bit too sarcastic, so I did a reality check with a VERY chashuvah Rav in Teaneck and he found it to be NOT sarcastic and actually a quite amusing answer! I guess some people realize that it is Adar and others do not! [Maybe meishnichnas Adar marbim besimcha is not enough to trigger a sense of humor...]


Any FWIW, if the Niftar DID attend the Wedding all the kohanim would have to leave! I figure pashut, if you get to the niftarim whilst they are still alive then the Kohanim may stay!


--
Kol Tuv / Best Regards,RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com

5 comments:

Rabbi Ben Hecht said...

Is it pashut that someone who returns from the dead is a source of tumah?

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't think so. After all, now that he's no longer dead, all he would have to do is go through the red cow ritual to remove the tumas hameis he contracted from himself and he should be fine.

Or maybe do we give the taharah performed at the... taharah an equivalent status?

I would be more concerned with the smell the half-decomposed body would emit.

Anonymous said...

I think the real joke is that Lubavitchers go to the kever of their rebbe (explain to me how he has a kever if he's not really dead) to do pretty much the same thing. And then they pretend he came anyway but let the Kohanim stay.

Anonymous said...

But he's the best guest to have. Doesn't take up a seat, doesn't eat anything either.

Anonymous said...

you do know that the neshmois of ancestors come to a wedding, depending on the greatness of the person extends the number of generations that come to the wedding.