| Caution: This blog is la-halakhah ve-lo le-ma'aseh. Consult your rabbi before following any practices advocated here. Disclaimer: In reviewing books, I may choose works in which I have a financial interest. I believe that I will still be able to maintain objectivity but judge for yourselves. Important Policy: This blog is intended only for the interchange of ideas for the purpose of Torah study, promoting enlightened public policy and/or the refinement of character. Comments in that spirit are welcome but those that entail denigration of character are not welcome and if they appear will be deleted upon discovery. Since editing is rarely feasible, comments that are deemed inappropriate will be deleted entirely or, if possible, edited. Comments Moderation: For questions and suggestions about comments, please contact the blog's general editor Rabbi Ari Enkin at this e-mail address. Advertisement Policy: Please note that this blog does not necessarily endorse the services of advertisers. Please consider carefully any books and events announced on this blog and decide on your own whether they are appropriate for you. |
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Weekly Links
Rules: link (Note that this post will move every day until the end of the week)Wednesday
- SALT today: link
- Women in Jewish life: no turning back: link
- Ban on lox story made up by the media: link
- More from Agudath Israel on the RCA and R. Avi Weiss: link
- R. Aharon Lichtenstein writes a negative review of R. Aharon Feldman's latest book: link
- Amid furor, Weiss backs away from ‘rabba’ title for women: link
- OU Kitniyot Kosher for Passover Supervision: link
Previous days' linksTuesday
- SALT today: link
- Reform rabbis suggest interfaith couple blessingslink
- Ancient Cairo synagogue reopened: link
- Nefesh B’Nefesh to stage ‘mega’ events in 8 US cities: link
- David Greenfield condemns negative attack: link
- SALT today: link
- Weiss will not ordain Orthodox female rabbis: link
- NY Times on eruvin and snow: link
- Controversial bill to permit local rabbis to perform conversions: link
- Jewish papal knight in Long Island: link
- OU gets ready for Pesach with annual website: link
- Jewish group declares lox unkosher because of parasite, causes uproar: link
- Special 'Pollard Haggadah' issued (I'm waiting for the haggadah dedicated to the three kids who allegedly smuggled drugs into Japan): link
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
The Shabbos Bus
In his recently published book Shabbat, the Right Way: Resolving Halachic Dilemmas, R. J. Simcha Cohen has a long discussion regarding a dilemma facing his own community. As the rabbi of a retirement community, he faces the difficulty of an aging membership that has trouble walking to shul. He analyzes whether he is allowed to hire a Gentile bus driver to take elderly members to and from shul on Shabbos.Click here to read moreThe community is surrounded by an eruv and all transportation will be done with the permissible perimeter (i.e. within both the eruv and the techum). R. Cohen wrote an analysis and sent it to a number of prominent rabbis, receiving responses from R. Moshe D. Tendler, R. Norman Lamm and R. Yosef Carmel, all reproduced in the book. R. Cohen addresses the following issues:
I. Amirah Le-Nokhri
You are not allowed to ask a Gentile to do work for you on Shabbos that you are not allowed to do yourself. However, this rule has many conditions and loopholes that allow for various extenuating circumstances. R. Cohen works hard on this issue, harder than I think is necessary. He enters complex areas like having one Gentile ask another Gentile before Shabbos to do work for a Jew on Shabbos, which in the end is inapplicable to this case because the driver will know that he is picking up Jews.
However, very simply, the Mishnah Berurah (276:25) allows asking a Gentile on Shabbos to violate a biblical prohibition in order to fix an eruv because there is a great communal need. You don't have to go beyond that because getting people to shul, particularly when you will not otherwise have a minyan, is a great communal need. Regardless, R. Cohen finds ways to avoid this problem.
Some object that the ways to avoid this prohibition only apply on one-off situations, not when used every week. R. Cohen dismisses this objection as incorrect. For example, the Rema (Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 276:2) objects to those who asks Gentiles to light candles for them on Shabbos but does not raise the objection that they did it every week. I find that to be a fairly weak response.
II. Maris Ayin
R. Cohen raises the issue that outsiders, unaware of the situation of this community's needs, will misunderstand the riding of a bus to and from shul under specific conditions. They will think that these people are violating a prohibition. R. Cohen suggests placing signs on the bus explaining that these are special
Shabbos buses, which should eliminate this problem.
III. Weight
R. Cohen raises the issue of whether sitting on a bus constitutes a violation of halakhah. If your weight causes the vehicle to do more work, then perhaps you are personally guilty of violating Shabbos. This is a serious concern that was debated in the context of Shabbos elevators, with great authorities on either side. However, R. Cohen cites R. Yosef Eliyahu Henkin and R. Isser Yehuda Unterman as being lenient (I seem to recall that R. Shlomo Zalman Auerbach was as well but I don't have a source handy to check it). In his response to R. Cohen, R. Moshe Tendler writes that those who permitted Shabbos elevators were unaware of the weight problem, but that is not entirely correct. Some (again, I believe R. Auerbach is among them but I have to look it up) explicitly permitted the weight issue.
IV. Weekday Activities
R. Cohen proceeds to the nebulous prohibition of uvda de-chol, performing weekday activities on Shabbos. I'm not sure how or if he resolves it, other than stating that the Shabbos bus is for those who are elderly and weak or ill.
V. Responses
R. Moshe D. Tendler responded that riding on a bus is tantamount to driving it, because of one's weight adding to the work. He also added that this innovation will destroy the sanctity of Shabbos and runs the risk of being extended to other situations that do not have the same urgency.
R. Norman Lamm raised a historical precedent in India, that was only discontinued in the late 1950s or early 1960s. But he cautions that the risk of exiting the techum perimeter is too great to allow this innovation.
R. Yosef Carmel quotes responsa by R. Shaul Yisraeli that permit somewhat similar situations and concludes that he would permit a Shabbos bus under a number of detailed conditions, including that it run at most every other week and regularly monitoring public impression about whether this is perceived as a farce or a sweeping abrogation of the law.
VI. Rav Soloveitchik
One source that R. Cohen missed is R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik's ruling on the matter. R. Hershel Schachter (Be-Ikvei Ha-Tzon, pp. 34-35) quotes R. Soloveitchik as nixing a proposed Shabbos bus to bring people to shul because driving on Shabbos has become a symbol of anti-Orthodoxy. I suspect that the full force of this has passed with time but it still has sufficient force to prohibit. But I leave that determination to authorities greater than I.
Announcements #145: Reflections on the Haggadah
Reflections on the Haggadah: From Rabbi Akiva to Rabbi Norman LammCelebrate the publication of Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm’s new Haggadah, The Royal Table. Special presentations by Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb and Rabbi Meir Soloveichik on the history and relevance of Haggadah commentaries.
An assortment of Haggadot will be available for purchase. Book signing with Rabbi Norman Lamm to follow.
The Jewish Center, New York, NY
Wednesday, March 10 at 8:00 pm
Free of charge. Registration required at www.jewishcenter.org.
(Announce your simchah or Torah lectures by clicking on the
button in the top right corner of Hirhurim. See here for readership statistics and here for instructions on buying an announcement. Please note that announcements now cost $36 each.)Remembering the Roshei Yeshiva
In advance of YU's chag ha-semikhah this past Sunday, YU hosted roshei yeshiva reminiscing about roshei yeshiva from the past. These fascinating lectures can be found here:- Remembering HaRav Dov Revel - R' Zevulun Charlop
- Remembering Harav Shmuel Belkin - R' Moshe D. Tendler
- Remembering Harav Dovid Lifshitz - R' Benjamin Yudin
- Remembering Rav Yeruchim Gorelik - R' Hershel Schachter
- Remembering Rav Aharon Soloveitchik - R' Shmuel Marcus
- Remembering Rav Nissin Alpert - R' Menachem Genack
- Remembering HaRav Yaakov Moshe Lessin - R' Yitzchok Cohen
Davening: Is a Hat & Jacket Required?
By: Rabbi Ari EnkinOne will readily notice that wearing a hat and jacket during prayer is standard dress in many orthodox circles. It is generally assumed that the reason for this is to comply with the requirement to be dressed "appropriately" when standing before God in prayer.[1] In fact, it is especially meritorious to have a garment reserved exclusively to be worn during prayer and a hat can often conveniently fill that role.[2]
In earlier times, wearing a hat and jacket was standard dignified dress for both Jews and Gentiles. In some locales it was considered virtually inappropriate to appear in public without them. As such, the halachic authorities who lived in such places ruled that one must wear a hat and jacket when praying in order to conform to the requirement to wear standard dignified clothing when praying. It was reasoned that if one is particular to wear a hat and jacket when appearing before important people, then one should wear such clothes when appearing before God, as well.[3] Further support for wearing a hat was taken from the example of the Kohen Gadol who was required to wear a hat when officiating in the Beit Hamikdash.
Click here to read moreMore recent halachic authorities, however, recognize that wearing a hat and jacket is not necessarily the normative style of dress today. In our day, most people are not particular to be dressed with a hat and jacket when leaving their home, nor is such attire required when meeting important people. In fact, in some countries, appearing before figures of authority while wearing a hat is actually frowned upon.[6]As such, any former requirement to be dressed in a hat and jacket when praying has simply fallen dormant in most orthodox circles.
Some authorities argue that although wearing a hat is no longer the common manner of dressing today, one should still consider doing so for purposes of added modesty.[7] Wearing a hat is also considered by many as complying with the recommendation that one's head should be completely covered during prayer[8] especially when reciting the Birkat Hamazon,[9] though a large kippa would satisfy this view, as well. It is also interesting to note, however, that today's definition of formal or dignified attire certainly calls for the wearing of a tie and yet there is no demand from contemporary halachic authorities to do so for prayer. As such, it can be derived from here that the criterion of how one must dress for prayer is not necessarily related to conventional or even ceremonial protocol.
As the consensus of most contemporary halachic authorities is that there is no true obligation to wear a hat or jacket when praying, doing so has become more of a sign of social affiliation than anything else. The halacha simply requires one to dress for prayer in the same manner one normally dresses when appearing in public forums. One who is particular to only appear in public forums while wearing a hat and jacket is required to do so for prayer, as well.[11] There is no need to dress for prayer any differently than one's standard method or style.[12] Other authorities measure the standard for dress during prayer as the manner in which one would dress when appearing before secular or Torah authorities.[13] This too, leaves the matter open to a subjective interpretation - not a communal one.
Even though most of the original reasons for requiring a hat and jacket for prayer are no longer relevant, it may just be that the reason the practice continues in certain circles is simply due to an inherent hesitation to change any practice even when new realities completely justify such changes. Even those authorities who generally require one to wear a hat a jacket when praying acknowledge that ultimately what one wears has little significance, and what matters is one's attitude, reverence, and concentration during prayer.[14]
*******************************************
[1] Shabbat 10a, Amos 4:12
[2] O.C. 98:4
[3] Chayei Adam 22:8, Mishna Berura 91:5, Aruch Hashulchan 91:5
[6] Melamed L'hoil 56
[7] Mishna Berura 46:9
[8] Rambam Tefilla 5:5, O.C. 92:6
[9] Berachot 51a, Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 44:6
[10] Minhag Yisrael Torah 2:6, See also Tzitz Eliezer 13:13
[11] Shaarei Halacha 18
[12] Aruch Hashulchan O.C. 95:6, Sheilat Shlomo 2:233, 4:25
[13] Mishna Berura 91:12
[14] Shevet Halevi 10:18
Monday, March 08, 2010
Books Received XX
I don't always have the chance to review each book, so I'll list the books that I receive. Some of them will be quoted or reviewed in future posts. Here are the books I've received recently:- A Window to the Siddur: An Analysis of the Themes in Jewish Prayer by R. Dr. Walter Orenstein
- In Every Generation: The JDC Haggadah by Ari Goldman
- Redeeming Relevance in the Book of Exodus: Explorations in Text and Meaning by R. Francis Nataf
- A Time to Speak: Controversial Essays That Can Change Your Life by Martin Stern
- A World After This: A Memoir of Loss and Redemption by Lola Lieber
- Dove on a Barbed Wire by Deborah Steiner-van Rooyen
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Marijuana in Judaism
R. Barry Freundel, Contemporary Orthodox Judaism's Response to Modernity, p. 251:At times, people raise the question of why alcohol may be acceptable in some situations but marijuana is not. This question has become less frequent as the negative mental and physical effects of marijuana and its bridging effect, which leads many users to other drugs, have become more obvious. Nonetheless some comments should be made on this subject.
First, marijuana is illegal, whereas alcohol is not. Even if one disagrees with this public policy, respect for the law is an important Jewish value. By the same token, being a good citizen may be a halakhic requirements, and avoiding profanation of God's name by being identified as a Jew who violates the law is certainly an obligation.
Click here to read moreOne other critical difference between marijuana and alcohol must be highlighted. Drugs comes with a drug culture that is not at all the same as the culture surrounding alcohol. The drug culture sees the altered mental state that one achieves under the influence of narcotics as a desirable outcome. New insights, better perspectives, clearer and more heightened awareness of reality are claimed to be the product of drug use, at least in some circles...
When it comes to harder drugs than marijuana, all that has been said so far applies. In addition, the greater health risk, and the danger of addiction (which can occur, at least as a psychological dependency, even with marijuana), simply puts these things completely outside the pale as far as Judaism is concerned.
Saturday, March 06, 2010
RCA and R. Avi Weiss II
Details about what R. Avi Weiss said today, from the Riverdale Press (link):HIR's Rabbi Weiss reaches accord with Jewish leaders over 'rabba' title
By Kate Pastor
The Hebrew Institute of Riverdale’s Rabbi Avi Weiss is not backing down from bestowing the title of "rabba" on Sara Hurwitz early this year, a move that in recent weeks has stirred controversy within the Orthodox Jewish community.
But “for the sake of peace,” he said he came to an agreement on Friday with the Rabbinical Council of America -- a group of almost 1,000 Orthodox rabbis -- not to confer the title upon graduates of Yeshivat Maharat, a school he founded this fall to educate female spiritual leaders.
Click here to read moreInstead, they will be given the title of "maharat," meaning "leader in Jewish religious law, spiritual matters and Torah," which can be tailored by each of their hiring institutions as they see fit, Rabbi Weiss said.
Rabbi Weiss addressed congregants' concerns that HIR might no longer be considered Orthodox for its use of the rabba title, saying that a news story which claimed the RCA was considering expelling him was untrue and citing the RCA’s own denial that there had been any basis to the report.
He also pushed back against The Agudath Israel Council of Torah Sages’ statement, which he quoted from as follows: “Any congregation with a woman in a rabbinical position of any sort cannot be considered Orthodox.”
Rabbi Weiss was firm in his insistence that Ms. Hurwitz’s role does not in any way defy Jewish law, reiterating that it has not changed from when she held the title of maharat.
“Although the statement singles me out,” Rabbi Weiss said, “the scope includes many other modern Orthodox synagogues who have women performing rabbinical roles of some sort.”
He vowed to start an internal dialogue about the title and began by taking questions from among the approximately 200 people gathered to hear him speak.
Friday, March 05, 2010
RCA and R. Avi Weiss
(From here: link)My understanding of these statements is that Sara Hurwitz gets to keep the title Rabba but no one else will receive it, and the RCA is not condemning the idea of women rabbis. - Gil
The Rabbinical Council of America has today issued the following statement regarding Orthodoxy and Women’s Leadership Roles:
Over the course of the last several weeks, at the request and initiative of Rabbi Avi Weiss, the leadership of Rabbinical Council of America and Rabbi Avi Weiss have engaged in discussions concerning the issue of ordaining women as rabbis. We are gratified that during the course of these conversations Rabbi Weiss concluded that neither he nor Yeshivat Maharat would ordain women as rabbis and that Yeshivat Maharat will not confer the title of “Rabba” on graduates of their program.
Click here to read moreWe are delighted that we have been able to resolve this matter in adherence with Torah principles and in a spirit of cooperation for the sake of peace and unity within our community. We are confident that continued dialogue of this type will enable us to resolve other important issues facing the Jewish community today.
The RCA reaffirms its commitment to women’s Torah education and scholarship at the highest levels, and to the assumption of appropriate leadership roles within the Jewish community. We strongly maintain that any innovations that impact the community as a whole should be done only with the broad support of the Orthodox rabbinate and a firm grounding in the eternal mesorah of the Jewish people.
______________
Letter from Rabbi Avi Weiss to RCA President Rabbi Moshe Kletenik
Dear Rabbi Kletenik,
This has been a most challenging time. The change in title from “Maharat” to “Rabba” has precipitated a level of controversy in the Orthodox community that was neither expected nor intended. In light of the tension caused to our greater community and my commitment to the principle of gadol hashalom, I share the following:
It is not my intention or the intention of Yeshivat Maharat to confer the title of “Rabba” upon its graduates. Yeshivat Maharat prepares women for positions of religious leadership in the Orthodox community. Each student who completes its course of study in Tanakh, Talmud, Halakha and Jewish Thought, and is deemed fit by her faith, knowledge of our Mesoret, ethical integrity and temperament to assume positions of religious leadership in Orthodox institutions will be confirmed as manhigah hilkhatit, ruhanit, toranit (Maharat).
They will have been prepared to provide varied forms of communal and synagogue leadership in accordance with halakha. They will also have been trained in pastoral counseling, as well as having the ability to answer questions of halakha to those who seek them out, as has been recognized and well established in both classical and contemporary halakhic sources.
I hope that good will emerge from all of this, and that some of the meaningful conversation and communication that has taken place these past few weeks between myself and yourself as the President of the Rabbinical Council of America, might continue. I thank you for your candor and your receptiveness.
In the prayer that we all continue to work for the betterment of Am Yisrael–
Biydidut,
Avi
UPDATE: More information here: link
The Pesach Seder as a Defense of Jewish Faith
I will be speaking God-willing at the Brandeis and Harvard Hillels on this coming Monday (Brandeis) and Tuesday (Harvard) evenings on the subject of "The Pesach Seder as a Defense of Jewish Faith: Kuzari, Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik and Rabbi Norman Lamm."More details:I'll be at a few more college campuses before Pesach. More information as we get closer to those dates.
Weekly Links
Rules: link (Note that this post will move every day until the end of the week)Friday
- SALT today: link
- Matzav.com strongly considering removing comments feature: link
- Jewish Ideas Daily on women rabbis: link
- WSJ: A Synagogue's Unorthodox Revival: link
- NYT: A Jewish Prayer: link
- Chief Rabbi Sacks wins Lamm Prize: link
- R. Yitzchok Adlerstein on the effort for Martin Grossman: link
- Rumors about RCA and R. Avi Weiss reaching an agreement: link
- More on woman rabbi (note that one defender says this is a local issue and another says that this will impact the entire Jewish world): link
- Congressman Michael McMahon backs David Greenfield: link
- SALT today: link
- Scholar’s school reform u-turn shakes up debate: link
- Bais Yaakov Elementary School of Lakewood closes down: link
- David Greenfield opponent Abraham Tischler, running for Borough Park Council seat, thrown off ballot: link
- NY state to spend $500,00 to fight sex abuse in Orthodox community: link
- Gary Rosenblatt on JOFA, Rabba and synagogue feminism: link
- NY Times: A synagogue in Cairo: link
- SALT today: link
- Ask The Rabbi: Orthodox Jewry’s stance on homosexuality: link
- R. Steven Pruzansky: Where does it say it?: link
- Re-Examining the Pollard Issue: link
- Invite R. Norman Lamm to Your Seder: link
- A few links I found on Jewish Ideas Daily:
- New Haggadah by Rabbi Norman Lamm Published by OU press: link
- R. Marc Angel: IRF will likely accept women: link
- Leiden Manuscript of the Talmud Yerushalmi online: link
Announcements #144: LSS Pre-Pesach Leil Iyun
LSS Pre-Pesach Leil IyunLincoln Square Synagogue NEW SPRING BULLETIN.
Download at www.lss.org.
Sunday March 21, 7:30 pm - Pre-Pesach Leil Iyun with Rabbi Michael and Rebbetzin Smadar Rosensweig. $15 covers a light dinner. Co-sponsored by Yeshiva University's Center for the Jewish Future.
(Announce your simchah or Torah lectures by clicking on the
button in the top right corner of Hirhurim. See here for readership statistics and here for instructions on buying an announcement. Please note that announcements now cost $36 each.)Thursday, March 04, 2010
Audio Roundup LXXXIII
by Joel Rich1. Question from a young non-reader in Passaic: Why wasn’t Zeresh punished for her role in Haman’s plot? (my response to be provided in comments after I see others!)
2. Question from a old man in West Orange: Somebody (could it have been Sarah Schenirer or Janis Ian) said : "One of these days I'm gonna stop my listening
Gonna raise my head up high.
One of these days I'm gonna raise up my glistening wings and fly.
But that day will have to wait for a while.
Baby I'm only society's child.
When we're older things may change,
But for now this is the way, they must remain."
Those things changed- Why do we seem to think our society won't?
Click here to read moreRabbi Y Eisenman-The Day the Learning Stopped; The Closing of the Volozhiner Yeshiva: link
A 2 CD shiur by R’Eisenman of Passaic.
Some history and stories starting with the Vilna Gaon up through the founding an closure of the Volozhin Yeshiva.
R’Eisenman doubts the stories of the Netziv’s lack of ability as a youngster (since he married the Rosh Yeshiva’s daughter at 13 ½). [me – but I love that shoe story(not told here) and the response “where are the shoes?” to the fictional author of a poor sefer]
Discussion of the innovations of the Volozhin Yeshiva (centralized vs. local learning, need for fund raisers, lack of “curriculum”). Discussion of maskilim of all stripes – within and without of orthodoxy.
Netziv was personally open to secular knowledge and thus Yeshiva attracted some who were open (e.g. Bialik) and intellectual (as R’Chaim’s approach attracted them) but Netziv felt Yeshiva must be “Kulo torah” (all torah).
In the end R’Eisenman postulates it was the anarchy caused by the students in the R’Chaim Soloveitchik/R’Chaim Berlin succession debate that caused the Russian government to close it down!
[Me – is it coincidence that R’Chaim’s “scientific” approach to learning paralleled similar approach in the secular/scientific world?]
Wedding ceremony basics from beginning to end. R’Simon seems into the tzniut issues and also practical resolutions (me – if Kallah is always on the right whether facing the crowd or not, why don’t the men’s and women’s sides switch depending on the line-up under the chuppah?)
Is machloket an inherent part of the halachic system? Is it needed to sharpen thinking?
10 Commandments as representative of all of Torah and some implications. The King’s traveling sefer torah (worn as a check and balance on his power) was just the 10 Commandments [me - as R’YBS pointed out – HKB”H knew every man was fallible]
Good tracing of different opinions of Rambam and Rashba on whether one is yotzeh bdieved (ok after the fact) if they read from a torah with an error in it. Also, possible allowance if error is a different book of the torah.
If you find an error during reading do you make a concluding bracha and then take out another sefer (assuming you already read 3 sentences) or do you not make a concluding bracha, take out a new sefer and then read 3 sentences and make a concluding bracha?
What is a serious error? Not missing vowels. Maybe too much (or not enough) space between words (can a child read it?). Certain touching may be ok if it doesn’t change the form of the letters. When does a Torah lose its chezkat kashrut (3 errors?)
When do we say “stama Lshma” (“normal” intent is for the proper intent) and when not? What is the general rule and what is the exception? Discussion of why the mitnagdim were against the saying of “hineni muchan umzuman” (I am ready to complete the mitzvah).
The suvalker rav (full disclosure - my family comes from Suvalk and R’Dovid was a tenant). Some history of how his experiences as a “pulpit” rav impacted him. His legendary chesed for each and every individual (do you know the pre-war reputation North vs. South of love for individuals vs. people?) and his approach to protesting sinful situations even if he couldn’t change them are also explored.
Exactly as advertised but worth reemphasizing the need to focus on making others happy (me – always remember the Rambam here on Matanot L’evyonim vs. mishloach manot – or elsewhere on the happiness of the belly).
Is it Nolad (new item)? Probably not, since rain isn’t, but R’MF thinks it’s real muktzeh (no real use), others disagree. Snowman, snowballs may well be boneh (building). Probably best to have non-ben brit shovel on Shabbat. If danger, better to salt if possible if no ben brit available.
Beginning of a technical discussion of who can be counted in a zimmun.
Discussion of the nature of monetary debts (tashlumei mamon) as a torah imputed shibbud (obligation) or contractual obligations and some implications.
Review of his personal history and some tshuvot including chalav yisrael (unclear as to why a baal nefesh should be machmir according to the logic of his opinion) cheating on Regents (forbidden both be cause of Dina Dmalchuta Dina and Torah law – stealing), women learning (not mishnayot!) and artificial insemination (not forbidden – but he took a lot of heat)
Discussion of nature, source, application and underlying reason for mitzvah of remembering Amalek and some implications thereof.
Continuation of importance of community coming together as seen in Tfilla b and ha tzibbur, aliyah l’regel, minhag, karban todah….
The community that prays together, stays together (building trust, cooperation and reinforcing community hierarchy).
The eulogy is for kavod hameit (me – remember, it’s not about eulogizer, R’YBS taught – it’s who he was and how much we’ll miss the person). Why is it OK to exaggerate a bit and why have the deceased wishes sometimes been ignored? Perhaps he would have done more and we don’t usually know all he’s done anyway. General mussar on appreciating (while alive as well!).
Analysis of the nature of Purim – not really a yom tov but a yom chol which expresses the divine guidance (hashgacha) which was evidenced by the original events.
A review of classic authorities opinions on trying to understand taamei hamitzvot (reasons for mitzvot) and some of the possible pitfalls to be avoided if reasons are given.
For God's Sake
For God’s Sake: You don't have to be "right" to be correct by Chaim Burg
Reviewed by Shmuel Sofer
This book, written by American-Israeli Chaim Burg, deals with a very important and controversial topic. It is his polemic about the trend towards increasingly strict observance of halacha and why the phenomenon seems to be so prevalent and increasing. The author is American educated and raised but has lived in Israel for the last several decades. Having been born in 1938, he has witnessed first-hand how both American and Israeli Orthodoxy has evolved. The book’s dust jacket describes him as a “writer-lecturer and communications innovator involved in children’s and adult education.”
This book is not a scientific study aimed at better understanding an observed trend in Jewish ritual/legal observance. Nor is it an historical study per se but it does contain elements of both. The author discusses the various approaches to religious observance by referencing a number of different traditional and contemporary sources and recording how they dealt with issues that arose in their time and critically contrasts them with the contemporary state of affairs.
Click here to read moreSummary
The author begins his book with a discussion of halachic development over the ages and from there segues into a discussion of why people adopt strictures -- chumrot. There are several reasons proffered as to why people adopt chumrot: 1) Uncertainty and fear of doing the wrong thing, 2) a desire to enhance one’s personal commitment, 3) and herd mentality. Of these three rationales, Burg argues that the while the second one is the most appropriate it is in reality the least common.
In the past, Burg argues, poskim would take under consideration not just the relevant source material as related in the Talmud, codes and precedent responsa but they would also deal with questions on an individual basis as necessary for the individual questioner. Religious decisions were individualized. In part, this was because the local rabbi was the primary local authority, knew his community and their needs well. At the same time, the community was relatively uneducated and dependant on their family as the conveyors of traditional practice and their rabbi as their source of knowledge. Today, we live in a shrinking world where communication is rapid, the average observant Jew has a much more extensive education both Jewishly and secularly than prior generations and there has been a proliferation of written material which is easily accessible. Basic questions are often not posed to the rabbi since information is readily accessible from one of several printed texts. He argues that this has ultimately led to the loss of authority of the local rav and the rise of the role of the gadol-posek and rosh yeshiva in his place. The latter two are simply viewed as being more knowledgeable than the local rabbi of the past and with modern day communication they are easily accessible as well. Of course, this comes at the cost of the decisors not being as intimately familiar with the people who come to them for rulings. As a consequence, rulings are often issued to avoid uncertainty and as a matter of communal precaution and protection.
Burg correctly notes that sometimes people will accept upon themselves stringent practices in an effort to enhance their own personal commitment. He argues that this is and should be an individual choice and not a communal practice. He cites several examples of great rabbinic leaders of the past that adopted a stricter standard for themselves but not for their community or followers. He argues that those who do adopt such stringencies are obligated to be even more scrupulous than others in their general comportment and behavior to avoid hypocrisy and Chillul Hashem. An unfortunate consequence, he argues, is that the scrupulous behavior of the few becomes the norm of the many, who develop a herd mentality and inappropriately feel a need to follow suit. The book is filled with numerous examples of the latter and the obvious criticisms thereof.
Criticism
The author is obviously a sincere and committed Modern Orthodox – Religious Zionist. He quotes widely from various segments of Orthodoxy, he buttresses his points mostly by referencing some of the paragons of modern Orthodoxy and contemporary scholarship. I would argue with his statement that “Torah doesn’t change but halacha does.” A better and less controversial formulation would have been that Torah doesn’t change but the practical application of halacha does. (I believe Rabbi Hershel Schachter has said the halacha has always been that under circumstances X we should do A and under circumstances Y we should do B. Of course X,Y, A and B may be subject to dispute.)
In truth many of the points he raises are widely recognized and echoed in many segments of Orthodoxy. Unfortunately, he fails to provide any solutions to the present state of affairs. It is doubtful that he would advocate a society where the general population was less educated or the exchange of information was more limited. Likewise, there are several communities (both Charedi and Modern Orthodox) that have strong local rabbinic authorities both in Israel and abroad, who rule for their community on most issues.
Burg seems to be disturbed by stringencies that have proliferated during the last 50 years, such as the widespread preference for glatt kosher, chalav Yisroel, wearing tzitzis out, “yeshivishe dress” etc. He seems to confuse things which are stringencies based on halacha and custom. Issues of glatt, milk etc. are clearly issues of law while wearing dark pants and white shirts is a function of custom and identification. In regard to issues of law, one man’s stricture may be another’s basic law. Burg clearly recognizes that halacha may have different application at different times and locations so that the leniencies which applied in the past regarding kosher meat may have been limited to that locale and socioeconomic condition and therefore a stricter interpretation may, in fact, be more appropriate for a contemporary, more affluent society.
He correctly points out that we all accept certain stringencies and reject others. No one would argue that men wearing head covering (be it a knit kippah, a black yarmulke, or anything else) is a universally accepted stringency that has been accepted by virtually all Orthodox Jewish men. The same can be said of wearing a tallis (kotton). Those who choose to not wear these items are not violating any basic halacha but are clearly not in step with the community as a whole. Burg would not likely limit these strictures to the select few but takes issue with other more recently disseminated stringencies.
Regarding accepting chumrot as a personal expression of enhanced religious commitment, the author argues that this should be limited to the select few and that the wider proliferation of strictures seen today is more often due either to “one-upsmanship” or “herd mentality”. He also seemingly criticizes the punctilious attention to minutiae of halachic detail at the expense of the essence and core rationale of the mitzvah. These criticisms may resonate with the reader at first yet a bit more thought will put them in perspective.
No less than Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik z’l has written repeatedly how halacha is suspicious of emphasizing the feeling and sense that a mitzvah is said to generate at the expense of the meticulous execution of the law. It is not sufficient to have your heart in the right place but one’s actions must conform to the halacha and then the feelings must follow. Likewise in his recently translated work “uvikashtem misham” “And From There you Shall Seek”, Rabbi Soloveitchik describes how the goal of a religious life is that we develop a personal and close relationship with God -- deveikut. He notes that the person who comes to desire such a relationship inevitably looks to the Torah leaders and emulates their thoughts and actions. Through the observance of halacha and the study of Torah, the individual hopes to elevate himself spiritually. Clearly, many of those who accept upon themselves chumrot feel that if they walk the walk and talk the talk, eventually they too will think the thought.
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Me on JM in the AM
Update: You can hear me here starting at 1hr 44min: link (RAM)Listen to me tomorrow on Thursday morning, March 4th at 7:30 am talking with Nachum Segal on the popular JM in the AM program.
Listen to it on:
91.1fm in NY/NJ
90.1fm in the Catskills
www.NachumSegal.com
And feel free to support JM in the AM during this marathon: link
Parashah Roundup: Ki Sisa-Parah 5770
by Steve BrizelHalachic Issues and the Census in the State of Israel
The Machtzis HaShekel
Click here to read moreSanctification of the Hands and Feet and Netilas Yadayim
The Annointment of the Oil
Shabbos and Mikdash
The Sin of the Golden Calf
Parshas Parah
Shoalim V Dorshim Department
What Is Rabbinic Ordination? II
In a previous post, we discussed two views of rabbinic ordination: a memorial of Mosaic ordination, permission from one's teacher (link). I'd like to explore further the latter approach. While this post does not affect the issue of women's ordination, lest anyone think I've forgotten about the subject I will be including links to many past posts at the end of this one.The question is whether, within this view, ordination is 1) permission to rule on halakhic matters (and serve as a rabbi) or 2) a testimony to its bearer's qualifications. According to 1), ordination is the act of obtaining permission from one's teacher. It is a function of respect for one's teacher. According to 2), it is a public declaration that the ordained is qualified to rule (and serve as a rabbi).
Click here to read moreWhat is the difference?
- If your mentor is dead. According to 1), you do not need ordination because there is no longer an issue of respect. According to 2), you still need ordination because the public requires official testimony that you are qualified.
- If you are a famous rabbi. According to 1), you still need permission from your teacher, out of respect. According to 2), everyone already knows that you are famous so you don't need the testimony (similar to an approbation to a book: link).
- Can a rabbi who isn't your mentor ordain you? According to 1), no. You need permission from your teacher. According to 2), yes. Anyone can testify to your qualifications.
In Shulchan Arukh (ibid.), Rema seems to follow neither Rivash nor Radakh. He writes that ordination nowadays is "so that the people will know that he reached [the ability to] rule and that what he rules is with the permission of his teacher who ordained him." In other words, ordination is a testimony that you are qualified to rule and you have permission from your mentor (who ordains you). That would seem to imply that you still need ordination even if your teacher is dead because people still need to know that you are qualified. And that a famous rabbi does not need ordination because people can assume that he is qualified and has permission. It also implies that anyone can ordain a rabbi, regardless of jurisdiction.
However, Rema continues in that same paragraph that if your mentor has died you do not need ordination. I don't understand the Rema. Why not? He just finished stating that ordination is so that people will know that you are qualified to serve as a rabbi!
Interestingly, Otzar Yisrael (vol. 7 p. 223) quotes a 1651 responsum from R. Yitzchak Halevi, grandson of R. Leon de Modena, about whether the rabbi of a city can ordain someone living in a different city without the permission of the rabbi of that other city. R. Halevi ruled that ordination is a testimony of the person's qualifications and therefore anyone who is capable of giving such testimony is allowed to do so. If it was permission, though, there would be room to argue that he could not do so.
Here are the posts about women's ordination:
Announcements #143: Hebrew Book Exchange
Attention Hebrew and Jewish book collectors!Finally a Hebrew book website with a searchable Hebrew database.
Welcome to the Hebrew Book Exchange!
www.hbebooks.com
HBE is a website that creates a unique community for buyers and sellers of out of print and hard to find titles of Jewish interest. Browse our ever expanding list of Hebrew, English, Yiddish, German and other language Judaica titles. We stock a large selection in a wide array of categories such as Jewish thought, History, Talmud, Midrash, Responsa, Prayer Books, Journals Art, Mysticism, Scholarly material ,Kabbala, Chassidism, and more.
Looking for a Hebrew book? No need to guess at the spelling of the title in English Our site gives you the ability to search for titles in Hebrew using our virtual Hebrew keyboard. No need to install a Hebrew program or a Hebrew keyboard if you do not have one. If you don’t find the title you are looking for, add it to our wish list and you will be informed as soon as we find it. We want to hear from you: Browse our site and send us an email with any feedback, questions or suggestions you might have. Sign up and become a member. Mention that you saw this add on the Hirhurim blog and the first 10 people to sign up will get a 10% discount off of their first purchase. Refer a friend and receive an additional 15% discount (conditions apply).
(Announce your simchah or Torah lectures by clicking on the
button in the top right corner of Hirhurim. See here for readership statistics and here for instructions on buying an announcement. Please note that announcements now cost $36 each.)Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Is J-Blogging Over?
Animals in the jungle follow different behavior than those on a farm. And soldiers in combat interact differently than when they are at home. The rules of social relations vary as the venue changes. Blogs have changed over the past few years and the rules of the jungle have changed. One of the mainstays of Jewish blogging, Chaim Rubin who has been blogging about Jewish music since 2003, recently threw in the towel over this. In his farewell message, he explained his reason for retirement. The change in the world of blogs has forced him to abandon his style. He now has to restrain his opinions, even when he expresses them respectfully, because his subjects will inevitably contact him to complain about some detail. He writes (link):
Click here to read more
It’s not as easy to write openly and honestly what you feel about things any more. Back in the glory days of blogging people were so excited to see fresh and honest opinions they flocked to blogs. But today there are consequences for every word written and people will hound you and take you to task for your opinions.I know what he means and I think he is making a very valid point. Blog posts are opinion pieces. In the old days, before blogs became more mainstream, you could express your opinions freely. If I thought a rabbi wrote an article demonstrating ignorance and dishonesty with sources, I showed that it was the case (albeit with nicer words). I can't do that anymore. The old blog crowd had thick skins. The new blog crowd includes people who are highly sensitive and will complain.
Instead of criticizing ill-conceived articles, I usually just ignore them because otherwise I will get an angry e-mail from the author or one of his students. Then I will get an e-mail from one of his colleagues asking me to reconsider his arguments with a more open mind. Who has time for those discussions? Even if I am wrong, people are allowed to be incorrect every once in a while.
While I could ignore the e-mails, sometimes they come from people who are too important to ignore -- people I respect highly for one reason or another. And some people even call me at home or at work, trying to make me squirm until I change my post. Who wants that? (For the record, I find those calls so off-putting that I usually become entrenched and refuse to budge. A phone call is the best way to get me to refuse your blog-related request.)
But what are we complaining about? The success of blogs in general and our blogs in particular. What all this really means is that blogs have become a part of serious conversation in the community and we have to reflect that new circumstance. If people are complaining about your writing, it is because they are reading it and taking it seriously. And with greater circulation comes greater responsibility. We aren't in the jungle anymore and we have to behave accordingly.
Blogs haven't died but they have changed. And you have to make the choice to either change with them or, if you cannot or will not, bow out of the picture. Chaim Rubin chose to retire. I've chosen to walk that fine line, to balance my right to voice my opinions with my responsibility due to wider readership.
Blogs haven't died; they've grown up.
Books Received XIX
I don't always have the chance to review each book, so I'll list the books that I receive. Some of them will be quoted or reviewed in future posts. Here are the books I've received recently:- The Beard In Jewish Law by R. Eliyahu Touger
- Starving Souls: Spiritual Guide to Eating Disorders by R. Dovid Goldwasser
- If We Could Hear Them Now: Encounters with Legendary Jewish Heroines by Alice Lehrer
- Shabbat, The Right Way: Resolving Halachic Dilemmas by R. J. Simcha Cohen
