Guest post by Lurker
WARNING: Contains spoilers for Srugim episode 9 ("ניקוי יבש").
Last week, Jameel was too busy with flying to America and back to blog about that week’s Srugim episode, so I’ll pitch in to provide the obligatory post now. (It’s a week late, but better late than never…)
- When Yifat and Hodaya object to Reut’s plan to date both Yochai and Noam at the same time, Reut defends herself by asserting that Rav Shlomo Aviner paskened that this is allowed. Well, apparently this generated quite a hubbub, to the point that Rav Aviner himself has responded to Reut’s claim, as reported by YNet. (The Hebrew version has a bit more in the way of details.) At first glance, he seems to be denying what Reut said, but read to the end:
Rabbi Aviner responded: "Certainly not," and proceeded to explain that dating two men simultaneously is generally a dishonest and immoral act. However, the rabbi admitted that there are some exceptions to the rule.
"Only in unusual cases, when the woman is older and time is running out, and the guy takes his time making a decision," is it ok to multi-date.
Rav Aviner’s exception would seem to imply, then, that it’s OK for the women in the bitza. (I’m not sure what he’d say about inviting two dates to the same Shabbat dinner, though.)
The episode’s closing scene, where Reut read the haftara, was emotionally powerful and beautiful. I do have a nitpick, however:
In episode 7 ("תפסיק לפחד"), when Yifat meets with the gabbai to plan her kiddush, he tells her that she can do the kiddush either that Shabbat or in another three weeks; and that the two intervening Shabbatot are Shabbat Mevorkhin (the Shabbat before Rosh Hodesh) and "the Kaufman bar mitzva".
In episode 9 ("ניקוי יבש"), when Reut reads her haftara, it is a week later, on the following Shabbat. I.e., it takes place on the Shabbat that the gabbai had referred to as Shabbat Mevorkhin. But the haftara that Reut reads is the one for Shabbat Rosh Hodesh (Yeshayahu 66)! Therefore it wasn’t Shabbat Mevorkhin -- that would have been the previous Shabbat (episodes 7 and 8). So, if what the gabbai said was right, then Reut read the wrong haftara.
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד
