My wife brought to my attention that R. Daniel Z. Feldman's The Right and the Good made it to the Country Yossi Magazine bestseller list for two months in a row.Check out no. 11:Check out no. ...
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Is the World Good?
11:40 PM
Gil Student
R. Shalom Carmy, "Tell Them I've Had a Good Enough Life" in R. Shalom Carmy ed., Jewish Perspectives on the Experience of Suffering, pp. 107-111 (available online here):What is the source of man's perennial optimisim? One possibility is that we consider the good of the world to outweigh the bad because our survey of the world has demonstrated this to be the case. According to the Rambam, the preponderance of the good is questioned only by the ignorant populace... Rambam goes on to argue that the truly bad things that happen to people are not God's fault but, in the majority of cases, their own...Among the rishonim, Rambam's view is not beyond dispute. Thus, for example, Saadia contends that belief in reward after death is rationally necessary because all good in this world is mingled with...
Lawrence Education Proposal II
3:34 PM
Gil Student
The educational director of HAFTR more-or-less agrees with me (from the Forward):Rabbi David Leibtag, educational director of the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway - the school most likely to be targeted by organizers - said the proposals underestimate the importance of taking a comprehensive approach to Jewish education. "Jewish education is not just teaching students in a prescribed amount, it is a general culture," he said, that should even pervade "general studie...
To My Wife
3:08 PM
Gil Student
I think she's only read this blog once, at her sister's house. And that's probably for the best. Nevertheless, let me say I told you ...
Happy Anniversary!
1:59 PM
Gil Student
I received a phone call last night from Menachem Butler, in which he started off the conversation by saying "Happy Anniversary!" As any married man would do, I immediately started worriedly wondering whether I had actually committed the grave sin of totally forgetting my anniversary. It turns out I didn't because my anniversary isn't for another few weeks [CORRECTION: Week and a half. I should have known that.]. As should have been obvious, Menachem meant the anniversary of Austritt. 129 years ago today, the German government enacted a law that permitted Jewish sub-communities to secede from the majority Jewish community for theological reasons. Oh, how the time flies. Whether or not austritt was a good idea, I'll leave for another ti...
R. Mordechai Breuer's Biblical Scholarship
9:30 AM
Gil Student
Some online resources that discuss and evaluate R. Mordechai Breuer's approach to biblical scholarship:1. R. Moshe J. Bernstein, "The Orthodox Jewish Scholar and Jewish Scholarship: Duties and Dilemmas" in The Torah u-Madda Journal, vol. 3 pp. 23-24 (link)2. R. Shalom Carmy, "Introducing Rabbi Breuer" in Shalom Carmy ed., Modern Scholarship in the Study of Torah: Contributions and Limitations (link). Note that this volume also had a presentation by R. Breuer and a critique by R. Shnayer Leiman, neither of which are currently available online.3. Meir Ekstein, "Rabbi Mordechai Breuer and Modern Orthodox Biblical Commentary" in Tradition 33:3 (1999) (link)4. R. Moshe Lichtenstein, "Ahas Diber Elokim, Shetayim Zu Shamati?" in Daf Kesher Le-Talmidei Yeshivas Har Etzion no. 851 (link)5. R. Yoel...
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
How Ethics Can Help Your Pocketbook
11:13 PM
Gil Student
R. Aaron Levine, whose new book Moral Issues of the Marketplace in Jewish Law is in production by Yashar Books and will be released shortly, was kind enough to share with me a short article of his that is set for publication in the Journal of Economic Psychology. In this article, he critiques an article by Morris Altman in the same issue of that journal that proposes a major revision to neo-classical economic theory.One of the many points that R. Levine makes in his critique is that honesty and integrity in the marketplace serve to mitigate default risk. Presumably, he is referring more to consumer default risk (e.g. credit cards, auto loans, mortgages to a lesser degree) than corporate default risk. Both segments of default risk contain a combination of financial and ethical risk--will the...
Busted by the New York Times II
10:21 AM
Gil Student
I finally got the latest issue of The Jewish Observer. In it, there is a long letter by R. Yechiel Eckstein disputing an article in the previous issue that strongly took him to task for, among other things, providing financial support for organizations in Israel that missionize to Jews and allowing his Christian contributors to contact recipients of their largesse and missionize to them. R. Eckstein disputed all of these charges and strongly took the author and the magazine to task for its lack of journalistic integrity in investigating and reporting on this subject. The author responded with a comprehensive, point-by-point defense of her article, relying on published and publicly available material.This is not a good week for the International Fellowship of Christians and Je...
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Yeshiva Tuition
9:11 PM
Gil Student
About 10 years ago, I think in '94, R. Feivel Cohen (author of the Badei Ha-Shulhan) returned from a convention of Agudath Israel of America somewhat upset. It seems that there was a big discussion at the convention about what some were calling a "tuition crisis." R. Cohen pointed out that the Gemara in Beitzah 16a states the following:All of one's livelihood is determined from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur except for what one spends on Shabbos, on holidays, and one's children's Torah education because [for these three things] if one reduces [the expense] they reduce [one's income] and if one adds [to the expense] they add to one's income.Clearly, said R. Cohen, there cannot be a tuition crisis. The more you pay for tuition, the more one receives as income to make up for that expense. At...
Monday, July 25, 2005
Laws of Charity IV
10:25 PM
Gil Student
Continuing with where we left off in last year's slightly abridged translation of Shulhan Arukh's laws of charity (I, II, III)...Ch. 2511. One is not obligated to support or lend money to someone who is an intentional (and frequent--Shakh) sinner in one of the Torah's commandments and has not repented.Rema: We support the non-Jewish poor with the Jewish poor (and even not with the Jewish poor--Shakh), because of "the ways of peace."2. One is not allowed to redeem from captivity someone who is a spiteful sinner, even on only one commandment such as eating non-kosher meat when kosher is available.Rema: However, one may redeem one who sins out of desire if one desires, but there is no obligation to do so.3. It is considered to be tzedakah to give money to one's over-age children (over the age...
Reading Harry Potter
5:24 PM
Gil Student
I sent this in to Avodah yesterday but should probably have posted it here first.Someone asked: The possible issur in reading HP that comes to my mind stems from the shulchan aruch in orach chaim 307, where "sifrei milchamos" are deemed inappropriate. Opinions anyone? Does this apply to HP? Heterim? What is the nature of the issur?Here is my response (lightly edited):The Shulhan Arukh (Orah Hayim 307:16) gives the following reasons for the issue: 1) Moshav Leitzim (a sitting of scorners)2) Al tifnu el ha-elilim (turning away from God)[3) Giruy yetzer ha-ra (enticing one's evil inclination) applies to romance novels] Regarding 2), the Magen Avraham and Bi'ur Halakhah hold that this prohibition only applies to looking at something made for the sake of idolatry. It does not apply to reading history...
Sunday, July 24, 2005
List of Previous Posts
10:23 PM
Gil Student
I fixed up the list of select previous posts on the right side of the blog. It's now divided into three sections, with the two larger ones alphabetiz...
Learning vs. Knowing II
10:22 PM
Gil Student
Nedarim 8a:Rav Gidel said in the name of Rav: One who arises early and says, "I will study this chapter or this tractate" has made a great vow to his God. But is he not already sworn [to do so from Sinai] and a vow does not fall onto a vow?... We see that since he could have exempted himself by reciting the Shema in the morning and at night, therefore the vow fall onto him.What does it mean that he could have exempted himself by reciting the Shema in the morning and at night? The Ritva offers two answers: 1) He could have exempted himself from learning by, for example, having to work for a living. 2) He could have spent his time learning the passage of the Shema and not learning the passage about which he vowed.Without looking at the later commentaries, it seems to me that there are a number...
Busted by the New York Times
1:45 PM
Gil Student
The NY Times has a long article about R. Yechiel Eckstein with a lot of interesting information on his history and the extent of his operations.However, much to his chagrin, the following happened in front of a NY Times reporter:The newest staff member at the meeting was Sandy Rios, who was hired a couple of days earlier as vice president for programming...Eckstein invited me to ask Bauer a few questions.''A lot of Jews think Christian support for Israel is a trick,'' I suggested. ''They hear 'evangelical' and think 'anti-Semite.' What do you say to them?''''There's a lot of history we'd like to do over,'' Bauer said smoothly, ''but this is a new era. Today, Jews are safer living in countries where Christianity is vibrant than they are anyplace else.''''What about the Armageddon scenario?''...
Saturday, July 23, 2005
The Fat Lady Sings
11:00 PM
Gil Student
From R. Dr. David Berger, via R. Dr. Jeffrey Woolf:A yeshiva bochur asked his rebbe if it's muttar to go to the opera. The rebbe replied, "You're not over till the fat lady sings."To understand this one line, you have to know about kol isha, you have to know yeshivish, and you have to know the American expression about the fat la...
Friday, July 22, 2005
More on Disengagement II
9:38 AM
Gil Student
An interview with R. Yaakov Meidan, soon to be co-rosh yeshiva at Yeshivat Har Etzion:Do you truly believe the secular elite has risen up against you in order to destroy you?"Yes."So from your point of view the disengagement is not a strategic move - justified or not - but a deliberate attempt to break the religious Zionist movement?"I must be accurate: for part of the secular elites breaking religious Zionism is the goal. For others, breaking us is not the goal, but a price they are willing to pay. And to pay easily. When someone rises up against you, it is a pain of a particular kind. When someone does not care at all whether you are broken and does not care where you will wallow after being broken, that is pain of a different kind."...Did you draw operative conclusions?"Yes. In order to...
The Flood Narrative III
7:21 AM
Gil Student
(continued from here and here)Another way to respond to the findings of source critics is to deny their most basic claims. Biblical commentators have, for centuries, explained the flood narrative as a flowing, continuous passage. Even many modern commentators with a traditional bent ignore Bible criticism and follow the path of the pre-modern commentators. However, it is possible that they are able to view the passage as a whole because they ignore, intentionally or not, some of the points raised by source critics. There are some modern commentators, though, who are fully cognizant of the detailed arguments of source critics and still see the narrative as one flowing text. Chief among these scholars is Prof. Umberto Cassuto. Cassuto first brought to light the literary structure of the narrative...
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Daylight Savings Proposal
1:48 PM
Gil Student
(UPDATED A FEW TIMES. SEE BELOW.)Steven Weiss tells us about a proposal to extend Daylight Savings Time for an extra month in the spring and an extra week in the fall. In Weiss' article in The Forward a few months ago, he reported:Abba Cohen, head of the Washington office of the ultra-Orthodox organization Agudath Israel of America, noted that an extension of daylight-saving time in some American cities, such as Cleveland and Detroit, could lead to sunrises in November after 8:30 a.m. In New York City, sunrise would take place at about 8 a.m.What does this mean? (Note that the following is being written from memory, so I reserve the right to be mistaken. As always, ask your rabbi before putting anything mentioned here into practice.)We are, technically, allowed to pray before sunrise in cases...
Davening and the Disengagement
6:58 AM
Gil Student
Lamed shows this picture of protesters and soldiers joining together to pr...
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Happy Moon Day
10:58 PM
Gil Student
Dov Bear informs us that today is Moon Day, the anniversary of the first landing on the moon. In honor of the auspicious day, I'll link to my post titled Rabbis and Traveling to the Mo...
The Bach on Belief
10:48 PM
Gil Student
As I review the galleys for R. Elijah J. Schochet's biography of the Bach, Rabbi Joel Sirkes: His Life, Works and Times (Expanded Edition) (should be in stores before the High Holidays), I came across the following interesting passage on page 50:Religion was in many respects a simple matter for Joel Sirkes. His problems of philosophy and faith were few, if any at all. Rabbi Joel was a determined antagonist of all philosophic study, equating it with heresy. He regarded faith in the existence of God as an obvious self-evident truth, apparent to anyone by the power of logic as well as the testimony of traditi...
Disengagement and Soldiers' Refusing to Obey Orders
9:40 AM
Gil Student
(See also these posts - I & II)R. Aharon Lichtenstein has a lengthy essay in Ha'aretz about the disengagement and refusing orders. As usual, his analysis is profound, comprehensive and utterly incomprehensible to most readers due to length and complexity.He points out the appeal of opposing disengagement, the position's "simplistic acuity." This is, presumably, not a jab at those thinkers who espouse the position but more an explanation of its appeal to many less profound (or non-) thinkers. This does ring true in my ears.Why must a soldier obey orders? I try here to organize excerpts and outline them to make R. Lichtenstein's position clear.[I]At one relatively pragmatic level, even someone who thinks that it is his halakhic and civil right and obligation to refuse to obey a certain order,...
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
The Malbim
11:19 PM
Gil Student
To my knowledge, there is no book-length English biography of R. Meir Leib (Malbim) Weiser. R. Nosson Kamenetsky, in his The Making of a Godol, refers to the Malbim with last name Weiser. Yisrael Dubitsky confirmed for me that this was the Malbim's last name, or at least his father's last name, according to Noah Rosenblum. The following is an excerpt from his entry in Encyclopedia Judaica:MALBIM, MEIR LOEB BEN JEHIEL MICHAEL (1809–1879), rabbi, preacher, and biblical exegete. The name Malbim is an acronym formed from Meir Loeb ben Jehiel Michael. Born in Volochisk (Volhynia), Malbim was a child when his father died. He studied in his native town until the age of 13, with Moses Leib Horowitz, among others. He married at the age of 14, but after a short time divorced his wife. He went to Warsaw,...
Studying From Old Tests
3:25 PM
Gil Student
A year or two ago, on a private e-mail list, I stated that I did not think there is anything wrong with collecting old tests that a teacher has given and studying from them, even if the teacher is known to regive old tests. Others, however, considered it unethical.R. Yisroel Belsky discusses this in a column for Torah.org:It is hard for me to say that it's ossur (prohibited) or that it's immoral. It's a higher level of morality not to do it, and study. But it's definitely not something that you could even taint by saying it's ossur or by saying it's immoral, because it does lead to a good knowledge of the material. It provides a pretty decent review. If there are only one or two tests, then the teacher is a fool. The students will just copy the test and not learn anything. But if there are...
Monday, July 18, 2005
Feminism and the Daughters of Zelophehad
10:30 PM
Gil Student
Were there daughters of Zelophehad, who argued with Moses and demanded to be counted equally in inheriting from their father (Num. 27:1-7), early models of feminists? Granted, they only asked to be allowed to inherit if the father has no sons. However, they demanded at least some rights that bordered on equality.R. Elhanan Samet (here, and in Hebrew here [RTF]) argues that they were not asking for their own rights, but for their father's rights:Should we see the struggle of the five daughters of Tzelofchad to inherit their father as an example of an ancient feminine struggle? Now that we have uncovered their motivation, as expressed by the question "Why should the name of our father be eliminated?" - it is clear that the answer is negative. They were not motivated by their own rights, and...
Substance Abuse in Adolescents: Detection, Treatment and Prevention
11:58 AM
Gil Student
Substance Abuse in Adolescents: Detection, Treatment and Prevention by Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. TwerskiSome choice excerpts:"Why are so many adolescents using drugs today? Because they emulate adults. For whatever sociologic and psychologic reasons, alcohol and drug use among adults is very prevalent, and the kids are simply following the pattern set by adults.""Which youngsters are at risk of getting into trouble with alcohol or drugs? All of them! Chemicals are an 'equal opportunity destroyer.' The idea 'We are a fine, loving family' or 'We are a Torah observant family' should not lull anyone into thinking, 'It can't happen in my family.' It can and it does. I have treated youngsters from the finest families and from families that were completely Torah observant. We must remove our blinders....
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Strolling Down The Beach
9:49 PM
Gil Student
A responsum from R. Shlomo Aviner, originally printed in the 1985 edition of R. Shmuel Katz's Kedoshim Tihyu, p. 236 and reprinted in R. Shlomo Aviner, Gan Na'ul, p. 265:Question: May girls dressed according to halakhah attend a mixed beach?Answer: Apparently, there is no prohibition in the girls' actual attendance, as in the previous question; however, it might be that we must prohibit it because of mar'is ayin [appearing to sin], similar to what is written in the Mishnah (Avodah Zarah 11b), that it is prohibited to travel on a path that is dedicated to travel to a specific city in which there is an idolatrous celebration. In our situation, also, there is mar'is ayin on those girls, i.e. [people thinking] that they are going to participate in mixed swimming.However, if there is a practice...
Friday, July 15, 2005
Tradition Online
1:42 PM
Gil Student
Steven Weiss -- you remember, the journalist not the rabbi, whose blog contains material that is not for my more sensitive readers -- is trying to get a discussion going on how the RCA's journal Tradition can embrace the web. I was involved in discussions about this a while back and I don't have many good ideas. Feel free to get involved and offer input. Your suggestions will be read by those with power to act on them!Discussion h...
Religious Zionism Debate X
8:43 AM
Gil Student
The Three Oaths, Part II(see here for Part I)R. J. David Bleich, Contemporary Halakhic Problems, vol. 1 pp. 14-15:The prime argument cited in objection to the War of Independence, and indeed to the very establishment of the state itself, is based upon a literal understanding of the Talmud, Ketubot 111a. In an aggadic statement, the Talmud declares that prior to the exile and the dispersal of the remnant of Israel, God caused the Jews to swear two solemn oaths: (1) not to endeavor to retake the Land of Israel by force, and (2) not to rebel against the nations of the world. Rabbi Zevin [Torah She-be'al Peh 5731] maintains that these talmudic oaths are not binding under circumstances such as the ones which surrounded the rebirth of the Jewish state. In support of this view he marshals evidence...
Thursday, July 14, 2005
FYI from Amazon.com
3:32 PM
Gil Student
From: Amazon.com To: gilstudent@gmail.comCc: order-update@amazon.comDate: 14 Jul 2005 12:30:12 -0700Subject: Your Harry Potter Order Is on Schedule (#104-6616109-7521601)Hello from Amazon.com.We're happy to let you know that we've begun preparing your order for"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" for delivery.We're working hard to make sure you get your order as quickly aspossible. However, please note that we can't guarantee that yourbook(s) will be delivered on July 16.You'll receive our usual shipment confirmation e-mail after your packageleaves our fulfillment center.Thanks for shopping at Amazon.com, and happy reading!UPDATE:From: Amazon.com Payments To: gilstudent@gmail.comCc: payments-mail@amazon.comDate: 15 Jul 2005 05:47:24 -0700Subject: Your Amazon.com order has shipped (#104-6616109-7521601)Greetings...
Conservative Judaism on Decline II
10:40 AM
Gil Student
(See this post)Last week, The Jewish Week featured an opinion piece by Prof. Judith Hauptman about the declining ranks of Conservative Judaism. She argued that by failing to mandate egalitarianism, the Conservative movement gave a message that it is unfair and hypocritical. This, she claimed, drove off members. (Here is the article. Note that she is not Orthodox and the opinion piece does not reflect Orthodox views. Do not read the following quote if you are not prepared for a non-Orthodox view.):It was at this point that the Conservative movement lost its moorings. In the wake of its egalitarian transformation, the leaders needed to actively advocate the point of view that this change fulfilled the mandate of the founders, that it was the highest order of good...But they failed to do so....
Lawrence Education Proposal II
9:13 AM
Gil Student
The Lookjed e-mail list is currently discussing this proposal as well. Here is the beginning of the discussion, with links at the bottom of the post. Note, in particular, the posts by R. David Derovan on his own experiences in public school and R. Eliyahu Teitz, a yeshiva administrat...
Kiruv in the Parashah
8:34 AM
Gil Student
This week's Torah portion tells us of the immorality some Israelites performed with Midianite women in the desert:Just then one of the Israelites came and brought a Midianite woman into his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the Israelites, while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. (Num. 25:6)The midrashic tradition tells us that the Israelite man was Zimri, the leader of the tribe of Simeon, and the Midianite woman was a princess named Kozbi. What is the background story to this incident?R. Moshe Shternbuch, in his Tuv Ta'am Va-Da'as (ad loc.), homiletically offers the following background story: The Israelite men were attempting to reach out to the Midianites and bring them to faith in the Jewish God. However, in order to accomplish...
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Lawrence Education Proposal
1:14 PM
Gil Student
Journalist Steven I. Weiss has been following a new education proposal circulating in Lawrence, NY (I, II, III - note that he is not a rabbi and the general content of his blog has not been rabbinically approved). As the proposal currently stands, after significant evolution from its original form, students will attend a local yeshiva for Torah studies in the morning and then be bussed to a public school for secular studies. The Orthodox students will stay after-school for an extra period of secular studies to make up for the missed morning. The Orthodox students would be together in classes in a separate track from the rest of the public school due to their different schedule. If this passes all of the legal hurdles, it will significantly relieve the financial burden of tuition. This is the...
Realism and Cynicism
8:11 AM
Gil Student
The Summer 2004 issue of Tradition is out and it is a Festschrift for R. Emanuel Feldman. R. J. David Bleich has an article in which he puts forth a proposal, based on a suggestion of R. Moshe Sofer (the Hasam Sofer), that will prevent almost all instances of a father secretly marrying off his daughter and refusing to reveal the name of the groom. A few years ago, this seemed like an ominous, new way to coerce a mother into agreeing to a divorce under extremely unfavorable terms. While the practice has not been repeated, even one new case is too many.R. Bleich's proposal requires a communal ban against:1) any person who accepts an object of value in order to effect a marriage with his minor daughter; 2) anyone who presents an object of value to a father for that purpose; 3) anyone who encourages...
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Hogwarts Shabbos III
9:47 PM
Gil Student
I spoke with one of my rabbe'im who is a recognized posek. He does not want to be associated with Harry Potter so I agreed not to publicize his name. He thinks that from the standpoint of the laws of Shabbos, it is permissible to cut the tape on the box, remove the book and read it. However, he does not necessarily recommend reading Harry Potter on Shabbos or during the week, and he points out that there are posekim who would rule strictly. But as he said, if this were a box of napkins that came in the mail, he'd allow it to be open...
Hogwarts Shabbos II
4:14 PM
Gil Student
I retract my conclusion from this post. As was pointed out to me, the problem is that the delivery is on behalf of the sender. When a Jew sends a package, the mailman is acting on his behalf. If the package arrives on Shabbos, then the mailman is delivering it on Shabbos on behalf of a Jew, which is prohibited. But if a non-Jew sends it, then the delivery is permissible in itself.However, when a Jew orders something to be delivered specifically on Shabbos, then the delivery is also on behalf of the orderer and is forbidden. That might be the case here. However, the majority of orderers are not Jewish, so perhaps the deliveries are on behalf of a group that is mostly not Jewish.So my revised conclusion is that I'm not sure whether it is permissible to open the packages of Harry Potter. Ask...
Bloom County Classics IV
9:40 AM
Gil Student
Intolerance of the "other," even by those who are suffering from intolerance. My, my, sounds familiar, no?(click on the image to see it enlarg...
Hogwarts Shabbos
9:38 AM
Gil Student
This Shabbos is unique in that it is the official release day of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6). This post will not deal with whether one may, in general, read Harry Potter during the week or on Shabbos. Let us assume that your rabbi is lenient and allows going to baseball games and reading Harry Potter. The question here is about the laws of Shabbos. Stores are timing the release of the book so that those who have ordered in advance will receive it in the mail (or via UPS) this Shabbos. May an observant Jewish family receive, open and read the book this Shabbos or will they have to wait until after Shabbos (and, if so, how long)?Because there are so many opinions on this issue, everyone is advised to ask their own rabbi. In this post, I will be following the position of R....
Monday, July 11, 2005
Important Research Tool
12:42 PM
Gil Student
UPDATE:Doh! Reproduced from elsewhere:Google Is Your FriendAll Smart People Use GoogleYou Appear Not To Be One Of ThemSomeone thinks you are an idiot because you were too stupid to check Googlebefore asking a question. They gave you a link to this site as a joke. The fact thatyou followed it pretty much proves the point.Hope that helps.Have a nice day.I don't know why I didn't think of this in the first pla...
Godol Hits Gold
12:17 PM
Gil Student
Great post by the SpongeGodol SquarePants Hador about why he believes and what doubting Jews can do. I can't recommend the rest of the blog but this post alone is excellent. Not that I necessarily agree with everything in it, but I can recommend reading it.I'll also commend him for taking a cue from the Meharher and using a bold outline in a long post. Here's his outline:1. Must a Jew Believe Anything?2. Faith and Doubt3. Value4. Proofs Prophecies in the Torah Success of the Basic Ideology Other Religions Unique History5. StudyConclus...
Mixed Theology
8:48 AM
Gil Student
When people are eclectic and mix concepts from different thinkers, there is always a danger that they will end up combining contradicting ideas (I recently praised R. Baruch Simon for not doing this). Here is an example:When confronting the problem of suffering and evil in the world, many turn to the idea that God intentionally hides his presence. The earliest Jewish source in which I can recall seeing this concept is the writings of R. Moshe Hayim Luzzatto (Ramhal). God's presence is intentionally somewhat hidden because, otherwise, His obvious presence would force us to believe in Him, thereby removing our free will.On the other hand, when dealing with Creation or evolution, people argue that the "intelligent design" of the universe proves that it was created.When confining the theories...
Our Right To Speak Out On Israel II
8:03 AM
Gil Student
R. Jeffrey Saks pointed me to a number of statements by R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik on this topic in his recently published letters, Community, Covenant and Commitment: Selected Letters and Communications:"I never declared any opinion on issues [of territorial compromise in Israel] that according to my view only those Jews who are defending the borders of the land with their blood have a right to deal with." (p. 231)"[However,] since I am not a resident of Eretz Yisrael (a point I emphasized), it is impossible for me to publicize my opinion. Diaspora Jews should not involve themselves in the internal affairs in Israel." (p. 198)"[Q:] Do you support the peace proposal of Dr. Henry Kisssinger...?[A:] I do not live in Eretz Yisrael and I have no right to express my opinion on these matters." (p....
Friday, July 08, 2005
Our Right To Speak Out On Israel
9:14 AM
Gil Student
In the current issue of The Jewish Week, Chananya Weissman discusses the reasons some claim that Americans may not voice an opinion on Israel's policies and attempts to rebut them. Unfortunately, he seems to have neglected the primary argument that I have always heard: You cannot properly understand the situation in Israel without living there.He somewhat addresses it with this statement:If we have educated ourselves sufficiently to contribute to the discussion, it would be wrong for us to withhold these viewpoints. Who is so sure of himself to declare that a Jew in the diaspora cannot offer a fresh perspective or even the smallest insight that deserves to be considered?But who says that we are not just fooling ourselves? Who doesn't think that they already know enough to offer an opinion?I...
Flatbush Eruv III
8:47 AM
Gil Student
(Continued from here and here)From R. Chaim Jachter, Gray Matter (n.p., 2000), pp. 174-177:During the 1970s, the contruction of the eruv in Flatbush (a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York) aroused great controversy. To this day, its permissibility remains disputed. The Va'ad Harabanim of Flatbush permits carrying inside the Flatbush eruv, while many rabbis and rashei yeshivah there, such as Torah Vodaath's Rav Yisroel Belsky (personal communication), forbid its use.Rav Yosef Eliyahu Henkin (Kitvei Hagaon Rav Y.E. Henkin 2:25) strongly encourages the construction of eruvin in New York's five boroughs, including Brooklyn (whose population easily exceeded 600,000 already in hsi day). Although Rav Henkin does not explain why these places are not reshuyot harabim [official public domains - GS],...
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Slifkin This Sunday
7:09 PM
Gil Student
(download flyer here)SCIENCE and TORAHAn Advanced Seminar for AdultsRABBI NATAN SLIFKINBest-selling and controversial author of Nature's Song,Mysterious Creatures, Seasons of Life, The Science of Torah,and The Camel, the Hare and the HyraxSunday, July 10thSchedule:11am-12:30pm Untangling Evolution1:30-3pm Mysterious Creatures: Chazal and Zoology3:30-5pm The Camel, the Hare and the HyraxAt Congregation Etz Chaim of Kew Gardens Hills147-19 73rd Avenue* Cost: $10 per lecture * For more details, write tozoorabbi@zootorah.com or call 516-673-1...
Shaking Hands With Women III
12:45 PM
Gil Student
Another correction:I was incorrect in stating R. Yisroel Belsky's view on the subject. This is what someone involved in kosher supervision, in a position to know R. Belsky's view, wrote to me:Rav Belsky holds that, generally, a mashgiach should NOT shake the hand of a female factory official. He holds that the Hetter should be used ONLY in isolated incidents--and when accompanied by personal protective acts to restore the level of pre-deviation zehirus and to maintain kedushah.Also, Toby (Bulman) Katz wrote of her father's (R. Nachman Bulman) position:My father zt'l permitted shaking hands if the woman extended her hand, to avoid embarrassing her. A man should not put out his hand first.I see that R. Zvi Lampel relates his personal experience with R. Reuven Feinstein:I asked R' Reuvain Feinstein,...
