Friday, November 18, 2005

Hirhurim:Tackling the big issues

Gil shares an issue of earth-shattering import with his readers:
There is a whole debate about the proper way to cut hallah bread when cutting it for a group of people sitting at the table. May one cut pieces for everyone at first, or must one cut only for oneself, eat a little, and then cut for everyone else? And then there are variations in between. A neighbor of royal Bobov ancestry told me that his father has a letter from the previous Bobover rebbe saying that, based on kabbalistic sources, one may initially cut an extra piece for one's wife. Others cut a bunch of pieces and then the leader takes the last piece, implying that he had to cut all those pieces just to get to the one that he wants. And so on, with many variations
Yes, Gil, but how should the faithful crack open their eggs: at the big end or at the little end? The Blefuscudians break theirs, in the original style, at the big end. But, by royal edict, the Lilliputians break their eggs at the little end. Their common holy scripture can be read in support of both opinions.

Does your Bobover princling have an opinion on this significant question?