Following up on these posts (I & II), Einei HaEdah posts the real pictures from the event: l...
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
The Sanhedrin and Rabbi Slifkin
6:32 PM
Gil Student
It seem the "Sanhedrin" sides with Rabbi Slifkin. See introductions 1 and 3 here (Hebrew) or in the Preface pars. A and C here (Englis...
Comments
9:21 AM
Gil Student
I finally sprang for the "premium" account of Haloscan comments, and all past comments have been unarchived. You can now go back to old posts and see the comments, even if the comment counter is set to...
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Shavuos Without the Chasam Sofer
10:54 PM
Gil Student
I've been going through the new volume of Afikei Mayim, essays by a student of R. Moshe Shapiro. In the beginning of this volume on Shavuos, there is a short pamphlet about faith in the Sages. Chapter 6 of that pamphlet discusses the holiness of the Rishonim (medieval sages) and those who were part of the transmission of the Torah. The first section of this chapter is titled "Ein Le-Fakfek Be-Divreihem Z"l" -- one may not question their words. What follows are select quotes from authors throughout the ages -- including R. Moshe Alashkar (AKA Maharam Alshaker) and R. Moshe Sofer (the Chasam Sofer) -- who state that it is forbidden to contradict a Rishon. A great quote is from the Maharam Alashkar: "One who disagrees with anything from their words is like one who disagrees with God and His Torah"If...
Monday, May 29, 2006
The Jewish Da Vinci Code
10:19 PM
Gil Student
There is a book that has been much touted as demonstrating the human authorship of the Torah, and I believe it is worth discussing the book because I see it as doing the opposite: demonstrating the methodological flaws in such arguments. The book is Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard Elliott Friedman. Friedman is a professor at University of California San Diego. He received his doctorate from Harvard and was a visiting fellow at Cambridge and Oxford (link). In other words, he has solid academic credentials. However, this book is a popular work, a non-technical book intended for a general readership. Thus, it purports to present cutting-edge scholarship to the layman.In the book, Friedman frames the authorship of the Pentateuch as a mystery which he unravels one layer at a time, until he is able...
The Brilliant Bekiyus of Rav Daniel Feldman of YU
10:15 PM
Gil Student
BeyondBT has a post about a lecture tonight by R. Daniel Z. Feldman (link). I remind people that they can learn more about his English book and purchase it he...
Unhelpful Cynicism
9:48 AM
Gil Student
Just getting it off my chest:When a restaurant mistakenly receives a delivery of non-kosher meat, notices it immediately and doesn't allow it in the restaurant, and then someone walks by, sees the package outside and reports it to his rabbi -- then, by all means, shout at the top of your lungs that the restaurant is serving treif meat, publicly embarrass the owner and drive him out of business. But when the physical and spiritual wellbeing of children is at serious risk -- "Hush hush, mush mush. We don't want to ruin his parnassah."Of course, in both situations discretion must be properly utilized. But what really bothers me are the communal figures who don't usually watch their mouths but are suddenly being so careful. Don't they realize that when they are quick to denounce everything and...
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Confused Generation
10:33 PM
Gil Student
I saw the following two ads in the recent issue of The Jewish Press within pages of each other, and found it somewhat amusing. It seems that this generation has at least two poskei ha-dor, top halakhic decisors of the generation. Brings up the question the Gemara asks in Chullin 80b: Is it possible for two kings to wear one crown? I have no doubt that neither Rav Wosner nor Rav Elyashiv chose this title but, rather, their handlers gave them the title without their knowledge. Regardless, it kind of makes the point that neither of them are the posek ha-dor. My informal poll of rabbis confirmed my suspicion that Rav Wosner has more authority, at...
Friday, May 26, 2006
Censuses in the Desert II
12:58 PM
Gil Student
Why are the censuses generally, but not always, rounded to the nearest hundred? If it was done with rounding, then all of the numbers should be in hundreds without exception.Answer in last year's po...
Alienating Jews
11:16 AM
Gil Student
Attention Christian writers: Want to know how to alienate your Jewish readers? Write approvingly of Jewish-Christians/Messianic Jews (link).Once you move from discussing the commonalities and/or differences among our religions to blurring the lines between them, we react with a visceral disapproval. Not that you do or should ca...
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Shofar on Yom Kippur
11:12 PM
Gil Student
(Sorry, from last week's parashah)Lev. 25:9: "Then you shall have the shofar sounded loud; on the tenth day of the seventh month—on the Day of Atonement—you shall have the shofar sounded throughout all your land."Rashi ad loc. asks:On the Day of Atonement -- since it is said, "on the Day of Atonement," do I not know that it is on the tenth of the month? If so, why was it said,"On the tenth day of the seventh month"? Rather, to tell you [that] blowing [the shofar] on the tenth of the month supersedes the Shabbos in all your land...The Torah specifies that the shofar on Yom Kippur and on the tenth day of the seventh month to make it clear that we must blow the shofar even when that day falls out on Shabbos.However, one can ask that playing a musical instrument on Shabbos is biblically permissible....
Jerusalem Unification Day
9:08 AM
Gil Student
See R. Mordechai Willig's recollection of Shavuos 1967 in Jerusalem (hat tip).From Rabbi Haim David Halevy: Gentle Scholar and Courageous Thinker, p. 218:Throughout his writings, Rabbi Halevy expressed unwavering faith that the founding of the State of Israel, and the Six Day Way, were overt miracles. Anyone who denied the supernatural nature of these events was spiritually blind.[1] There were two options: to believe that this was the beginning of the messianic era, or to be wrong.[2] He never appears to have doubted this belief.[3][1] End Mekor Hayyim 4, pp. 367-368.[2] Introduction to Mekor Hayyim 2, p. 9.[3] See Mekor Hayyim 4:205, p. 191; 5:310, p. 508, where Rabbi Halevy used the formulation, "it is our hope and belief that this period is the beginning of the final redemption." From...
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
The Death of Titus
11:05 PM
Gil Student
The Gemara (Gittin 56b) tells how a mosquito flew in Titus' nose and picked at his brain. When he died, they opened his skull and found a mosquito the size of a bird.R. Azariah De Rossi (Me'or Einayim, Imrei Binah ch. 16) famously, and controversially, argued that this is not a literal description of Titus' death but a parable intended to teach that God can use any aspect of Creation to punish sinners.Similarly, the Maharal (Be'er Ha-Golah part 6) interpreted the passage allegorically. The difference, though, is that the Maharal consider the story to be entirely true, albeit not literal, and found significance in every detail of the story. R. Yitzchok Adlerstein, in his English adaptation of Be'er HaGolah (p. 240 n. 57), suggests that the Maharal was of the view that Titus died from brain...
Paintball
9:25 AM
Gil Student
I've never played Paintball, but Bari Ve-Shema has a post on whether or not it is permissible to play it (link).I'll note that the same issues are raised regarding boxing, and discussed by R. Daniel Z. Feldman in his classic The Right and the Good: Halakhah and Human Relations (link to relevant excerp...
Standing During Blessings
7:40 AM
Gil Student
R. Ya'akov Kamenetsky, as quoted in Bi-Mehitzas Rabbenu Ha-Ga'on Rabbi Ya'akov Kamenetsky pp. 43-44:It is customary to stand while reciting Birkhos Ha-Shachar [the blessings at the beginning of the morning prayer service]. Eventhough we do not find a source for this in Shulchan Aruch or Mishnah Berurah, and in the Gemara (Berakhos 60b) it seems we should do the opposite -- it says that when one awakes and sits on one's bed one recites the blessing "matir assurim", and so in Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 46:1 -- nevertheless, it is a universal practice, and there is likely a source for it.And in the footnote of the editor:See Siddur Beis Ya'akov of R. Ya'akov Emden (before the blessing on washing one's hands in the morning) where it says: A general rule is that all blessings that are praise and...
Monday, May 22, 2006
Three Things to Do and Not Do to Missionaries
10:41 PM
Gil Student
This summer, Christian missionaries will make a greater than usual effort to convert Jews in New York to their religion. They will be specifically targeting Russian and Ultra-Orthodox Jews. So as not to give their website extra hits, I PDF'd their webpage about this "campaign", which you can read here (PDF).Here are some suggestion from Gavriel Sanders, a former minister, on how to interact with missionaries. This is from his May 16th radio show (link):Three things to do to a missionary:1. Ask for all the literature they can give you, and then turn the corner and throw it all in the garbage2. Give them phone numbers of outreach organizations (such as Aish HaTorah)3. Thank them for reminding you to contribute to a countermissionary group like Jews for JudaismThree things not to do to a missionary:1....
RCA Resolutions
5:04 PM
Gil Student
The following resolutions are on the Rabbinical Council of America's website, dated May 18 2006 and presumably emanating from its recent convention:On The Importance of Preserving the Environment: RCA calls upon its members to educate concerning the importance of preserving the environment.On the Evacuees of Gaza and Shomron: The RCA calls upon the State of Israel to assist the evacuees of Gaza and Shomron in assimilating back into Israeli society. Responding to Dishonest Behavior of Prominent Jewish Figures: The RCA condemns dishonest behavior, especially that of prominent Jewish figures, and urges steps to educate against future recurrences.Maintaining Passion for the State of Israel: The RCA calls upon its members to help maintain and foster a passion for the State of Israel, especially...
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Protecting Our Children, Protecting Our Teachers
7:38 PM
Gil Student
[IMPORTANT: This post is not an invitation for lashon ha-ra in the comments. As always, da lifnei mi atah omed.]The big scandal over the past few weeks -- really months -- has been a local yeshiva elementary school that has a rebbe who is accused of molesting students for years and a principal who allegedly covered it up. I have no way of knowing whether or not the accusations are true and therefore prefer to let those most capable of evaluating such charges do so. Yes, the accusations are extremely troubling. Yes, the victims deserve our support, encouragement and profound sympathy. However, I know that false accusations of this nature occur and therefore cannot reach a conclusion on this matter. Let me state this, though: If these charges are proven to be true, the perpetrator and any accomplices...
Saturday, May 20, 2006
My Yeshiva College in YU Today
10:34 PM
Gil Student
Yeshiva University's publication YU Today (May 2006) has an article about My Yeshiva College:(click on image to enlar...
Friday, May 19, 2006
New Issue of Tradition
1:47 PM
Gil Student
Tradition Online already has the new issue of Tradition on its website (for subscribers only). Table of contents:Editor's Note“A Religion Challenged by Science”—Again? A Reflection Occasioned by a Recent Occurrence by Shalom Carmy Of Marriage: Relationship and Relations by Aharon Lichtenstein Women’s Aliyyot in Contemporary Synagogues by Gideon Rothstein On Kohanim and Uncommon Aliyyot by Joel B. Wolowelsky Survey of Recent Halakhic Periodical LiteraturePriestly IdentitySonograms and the Unborn KohenDetached Buttons on Shabbat by J. David Bleich Review EssayCovenants, Messiahs and Religious Boundaries: For the Sake of Heaven and Earth: The New Encounter between Judaism and Christianityby Irving Greenberg (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 2004) by David Berger CommunicationsOrthodoxy...
More on Gedolim Albums
11:43 AM
Gil Student
A husband-and-wife blogging team had some good posts about Gedolim albums that I missed when they were posted. See here for the husband's perspective and here (and here) for the wife's. Definitely worth the read.I'm not sure if their identities are public knowledge, but I believe I was their first guest for a Shabbos meal after they got married.While you're at their blogs, see the husband's post about his answer to questions about the authorship of the Torah here. In a word: perspective. Get some. I've been trying to give that advice to some of the J-blogosphere's skeptics but he has a more forceful way of saying ...
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Democracy in Judaism II
11:00 PM
Gil Student
The letters section of The Jewish Press has recently had some letters about democracy in Judaism. Following a parashah essay by R. Shlomo Riskin about democracy (here) and a column by R. Berel Wein (here), a writer sent in a letter to the newspaper arguing that democracy is not, in fact, a Jewish concept (link):Democracy is the best form of government for the nations of the world, who do not possess the Torah (Law) of Emet (Truth). But our Torah opposes Western democracy as the ultimate ideal government for Israel.In his sefer Or Hara’ayon, Rabbi Meir Kahane writes the following concerning democracy and Judaism:The nations and alien culture have crowned supreme the concept of "vox populi," decision-making by majority, come what may, and it is this which is called "Democracy." The Torah, by...
Heart and Seoul
9:06 AM
Gil Student
The RCA released a press release about R. Avraham Horovitz, an army chaplain who was honored at the recent RCA convention. I was there for the presentation and heard R. Horovitz speak. His speech was so inspiring that several times during his address he received standing ovations. An irony he told about his life is that his father was one of the founders of Yeshiva Devar Yerushalayim. So there he was, as a young boy in the 70s, learning Torah with some hippies who had left the US to avoid serving in the army. Decades later, some of those hippies are roshei yeshiva and he, the rosh yeshiva's son, is serving in the US military!Interestingly, he said that when he saw (and spoke with) President Bush, he recited the blessing on seeing a king, something on which there is a dispute (see this post)....
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
The Sanhedrin Controversy
10:03 PM
Gil Student
R. Yirmiyohu Kaganoff on Semicha and Sanhedrin Controversies of the 16th and 21st Centuries.See also: I, II, III,...
Forbidden Songs
6:16 AM
Gil Student
When I was in yeshiva, I was one of a small groups of guys who would regularly stay in yeshiva for Shabbos rather than go home or to a friend's. Until probably my last year, when a number of my friends were married and living in the neighborhood, I would eat all of my Shabbos meals in the cafeteria. Whenever a particular rabbi was the official speaker of that Shabbos, he, and usually his family, would eat with the students in the cafeteria. I remember noticing that R. Hershel Reichman (who, aside from being a rosh yeshiva and authoring five books of Rav Soloveitchik's commentary to the Talmud, was one of the originators of the Math Made Easy tutorial program) would sing a particular zemer (Shabbos song for the meal) with a minor variation. While everyone was singing the chorus of "Ha-Shomer...
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Missing Blog
2:07 PM
Gil Student
I'll admit it: I made a mistake. A blog that is glaringly absent from my list of blogs a rabbi must follow is the important and insightful blog of OrthoMom. I regrettably overlooked it when putting the list together. Sorry about that. It is definitely a blog you want to bookma...
Monday, May 15, 2006
Tradition Online
11:10 PM
Gil Student
In case you haven't been checking back regularly, R. Yonatan Kaganoff has been updating the Tradition website with articles of interest: l...
Articles of Interest
11:08 PM
Gil Student
Debating Modern Orthodoxy at Yeshiva College: The Greenberg-Lichtenstein Exchange by David Singer (Modern Judaism 2006:26). Singer doesn't include the more recent exchange in last year's Commentator, reprinted in My Yeshiva College, but it's still a good read.UPDATE: Menachem Butler links to the original exchange in this post.Sciences of What and the Science of Who by Georges Ansel (Azure Spring 5766 / 2006, No. 24). The son-in-law of Emmanuel Levinas writes about the conflict between Torah and science and claims that they never conflict, without ever addressing the cases where the two unquestionably confli...
Jews vs. Jews on Christians II
11:13 AM
Gil Student
In a past post, I commented on an essay by David Kilnghoffer in Feburary's First Things (now available online here). One of his claims is as follows:Whenever I ask fellow Jews to explain their support of leaders such as Yoffie and Foxman, the most frequent response I get is that these men defend us against those who would pressure Jews to convert to Christianity. Yet no one I know can point to a personal experience of having been pressured to accept Jesus. Is it possible that Jews think that “Christianizing” is rampant only because the Yoffies and the Foxmans tell us so?In response, I'll note the following news alert from Shmais.com (link):URGENT WARNING! MISSIONARIES TARGET CROWN HEIGHTS!11:02:PM Saturday, May 13, 2006SNS has learned that over Shabbos many homes in Crown Heights got a DVD...
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Dr. Soloveitchik Leaves YU II
11:08 PM
Gil Student
Following up on this post, The Commentator is reporting that Dr. Haym Soloveitchik will remain at YU and focus on research (link). I don't pretend to understand the politics behind this and, to be honest, probably should mind my own business anyw...
So-Called-Orthodox Woman Rabbi II
9:41 PM
Gil Student
R. Uri Cohen sent me Rabbi Arieh Strikovsky's letter to The Jerusalem Post following the article claiming that he had ordained Haviva Ner-David. This letter appeared in in the print edition of The Jerusalem Post, In Jerusalem section, May 12, 2006, p. 15:CORRECTIONIn the article the term "ordination" was used throughout, whereas I clearly state that the document I signed read "... is more of an official recognition of her [Haviva Ner-David's] studies["] and was not intended to be construed as an ordination.Dr. Arie StrikovskyJerusalemIf that is the case, I fail to understand the language he used in the "official recognition", as posted online by Steven Weiss (link):בס"ד – י"ד ניסן התשס"ו האמת ניתנת להגיד למאן דבעי למנדע, כי זה כמה שנים אשרמרת חביבה נר-דוד שתליט"אבת...
R. Moshe Shapiro in Teaneck
8:24 AM
Gil Student
I've learned that R. Moshe Shapiro will be speaking in Teaneck/Bergenfield this coming Sunday evening. He will be speaking in Congregation Beth Abraham, which is led by R. Ya'akov Neuberger. Note the follow article by R. Neuberger: Halakha and Scientific Method (P...
Friday, May 12, 2006
Adam's Genealogies II
1:01 PM
Gil Student
In my prior post on this topic, I noted the similarities between the genealogies of Cain and Seth, and how source critics propose that they are really the same genealogy from different sources. However, some scholars have pointed out that much can be gained from focusing on the differences in addition to the similarities.Dr. David Sykes, in his unpublished doctoral dissertation Patterns in Genesis, raises a number of such issues. As he points out (p. 49):Adam and Enosh have the same meaning, but they are different words; #3 and #5 are switched, and Cain, Irad, Mehujael and Methusael are not identical to Cainan, Jared, Mehalalel and Methuselah. Finally, there is another generation after the Lamechs on each side; the Cainite Lamech bore Jabal, Jubal, Tubal Cain and Naama while the Sethite Lamech...
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
R. Chaim David Halevy on Sages and Science
11:35 PM
Gil Student
R. Chaim David Halevy, prominent and recently deceased halakhic authority, former Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Tel Aviv, is quoted as being of the following view in Rabbi Haim David Halevy: Gentle Scholar and Courageous Thinker:Rabbi Halevy remarked that Rambam, who was himself a prominent doctor, relied on contemporary medical and scientific knowledge, even when that information was at time in conflict with opinions of rabbis in the Talmud.[31] Indeed, the rabbis in the Talmud themselves admitted that non-Jewish scholars sometimes had more accurate scientific knowledge.[32] This was a tribute to our rabbis' commitment to truth.[31] Aseh Lekha Rav...
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Learning On and Before Holidays
9:46 PM
Gil Student
From R. Daniel Z. Feldman, on YUTorah.org (Pesachim 6a, no link available):The Talmud (Pesachim 6a) states that thirty days before Pesach we are to “inquire and expound” (shoalin v’dorshin) the laws of Pesach, just as Moshe stood on Pesach and taught about Pesach sheni, one month later. Elsewhere, however, the Talmud (Megilah 32a) refers to such inquiry on the festival day itself (hilkhot chag b’chag, etc.) [BASED ON LEV. 23:1, IN THIS WEEK'S PARASHAH -- GS]. The Ran and the Ritva, in reconciling the two sources, suggest that the thirty day period does not represent a span in which expounding is obligatory, but rather one in which the topic is considered timely, so that a student who asks his rebbe a question in this area is considered “shoel k’inyan”, asking of the topic at hand, even if...
Jewish Observer Obituary for Rav Soloveitchik
12:37 PM
Gil Student
On The Main Line has scanned in the 1993 obituary in The Jewish Observer for R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik. You might read it and wonder why people found this offensive. But anyone who regularly reads the magazine and is familiar with the lavish praise they heap on anyone can only see this as a slap in the face. Notice the big "zikhrono livrakhah" (may his memory be for a blessing) rather than the standard "zekher tzaddik livrakhah" (may the memory of the righteous be for a blessing). Given how freely the magazine gives out zt"l's, the omission is glaring. There are also a number of not-so-subtle digs at him and his philosophy in the obitua...
Monday, May 08, 2006
The Ten Plagues
11:45 PM
Gil Student
It is no secret that historians have long tried to give naturalistic explanations of the ten plagues. I recently reread James K. Hoffmeier's book Israel in Egypt, in which he continues that tradition. This always made me uncomfortable. I vividly recall as a teenager, arguing with Jules Gutin about this topic. He asked me what is wrong with saying that the plagues could be explained within nature and I responded that I'm not sure, but there's got to be something wrong with it. Well, maybe not. The following is from R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik, The Emergence of Ethical Man, pp. 187-188:The supernatural miracle is not very welcome in the covenant...
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Pirchei Politics
9:12 PM
Gil Student
I just came back from taking my 8-year old son to the Pirchei Agudas Yisroel siyum mishnayos. I saw (and spoke with) a rosh yeshivah from YU who was there. Guess: Do you think he was asked to sit on the dais?At the end, they showed a video Dare to Dream about the building of Torah in America. Coincidentally, everyone who built Torah in America was a rosh yeshivah affiliated with Agudath Israel (they graciously included R. Eliezer Silver despite his being just a simple pulpit rabbi). Except for the Satmar Rav, who was nevertheless (rightly) included. Rav Soloveitchik? Evidently, he did nothing in building Torah in America. As I told my son as we left, if it wasn't for Rav Soloveitchik, the school I attended where I learned Torah would never have been built.My wife says, "What do you expect?"...
Rabbi Shlomo Goren: Torah Sage and General
9:11 PM
Gil Student
I read over Shabbos the new book published by Urim, Rabbi Shlomo Goren: Torah Sage and General. It is excellent! There are a number of idiosyncratic aspects of the book, but that doesn't matter. It was simply a fascinating read. The book is not a thorough biography but a survey of Rabbi Goren's life and thought. Accessible, readable, gripping. And a lot of great pictures (including one of Rav Elyashiv). Plus, no shortage of criticism about R. Goren, albeit written from the perspective of a clear admirer. Coming away from the book, you get a picture of a great, learned and pious man who had a huge impact on history but was still a human being.This...
Friday, May 05, 2006
So-Called-Orthodox Woman Rabbi
11:28 AM
Gil Student
The Jerusalem Post (link) is reporting that Haviva Ner-David has been ordained a rabbi by an Orthodox rabbi who is "well-regarded in modern Orthodox circles," Rabbi Aryeh Strikovsky (WHO???). Mrs. Ner-David is calling herself an Orthodox rabbi. Unfortunately for advocates of female Orthodox rabbis, they seem to have been given a radical for their poster-child.According to this article, which could very well be wrong, Mrs. Ner-David has "been called up to the Torah twice since [her] ordination." She prays while wearing tefillin and tzitzis. And she speaks of the rabbinate as perpetuating a "patriarchal, hierarchical model." A book on which she is working discusses, among other things, "creating rituals for miscarriage [and] designing egalitarian Jewish wedding ceremonies that will guarantee...
Thursday, May 04, 2006
What A Rabbi Needs To Know About Blogs
10:04 PM
Gil Student
I will, God-willing, be speaking next Monday (5 pm) at the RCA convention on the subject of what a rabbi needs to know about blogs. The following is a brief outline of my planned remarks. As usual, feel free to comment. I'm more than prepared to change some of this speech if someone comes up with good ideas that I'm missing.(Before anyone asks, this event is only open to members of the RCA.)IntroductionWhy should a rabbi care about blogs?3 types of rabbisWhat is a blog?Technical definition2 types of blogsBlog statsWho writes a blog and why?Insiders, outsiders, professional commentators, the seldom-heard everymanAmateursOutlet for the frustratedAnonymous commentaryGet out a messageFunProfessionalsImmediateLess formalTesting groundWhat impact do blogs currently have?Media: source for stories...
Adam's Genealogies
9:50 AM
Gil Student
Genealogies are pretty boring to the casual reader of the Bible, but scholars consider them juicy material for study. The following discussion will be about the genealogies of Cain (Gen. 4:16-24) and Seth (Gen. 5:1-32). Critics point out that the similarities between those two lists are very suspicious. Compare the names from Cain's and Seth's families: CAINAdamCainEnoch (Chanoch)IradMehujaelMethushaelLamechJabal, Jubal, Tubal-cain SETHEnoshKenanMahalalelJaredEnoch (Chanoch)MethuselahLamechNoahShem, Ham, JaphetThe following similarities jump out at you when you compare the genealogies in this fashion:Adam and Enosh are homonyms, both meaning "man"Cain and Kenan are almost the exactly same name (the only difference in Hebrew is a "final nun" on...
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
The Legacy of Rav Aharon Kotler II
9:21 PM
Gil Student
Following up on this post, Dr. Marvin Schick writes the following in the RJJ Newsletter, as posted to his blog (link):Our current instinct to go it alone also results in the distortion of the past in order to make it compatible with how we now act and feel. An English language book has just been published on the life and teachings of the great Roshe Yeshiva of Lakewood. I trust that it has much merit, but it also puts on display the problem we face. There is a photograph from the first Chinuch Atzmai dinner which was held more than a half century ago. Amazingly, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik has been cropped out of the picture. What makes this distortion especially egregious is that he was at the dinner because Rav Aharon Kotler pleaded with him to come and be the main speaker. I might add...
The Lubavitcher Rebbe and Belief in Messiah
9:17 PM
Gil Student
Rabbi Immanuel Schochet is quoted here as saying:The Rebbe revived the fundamental principle of Judaism — to believe in the imminent coming of Moshiach — which had come into complete neglect. People basically ignored it... Before the Rebbe, who discussed the principle of Moshiach as a vital reality?While Rabbi Schochet is much older than I, everything I know about this contradicts his claim. In fact, his statement is extremely outrageous to the point of offensiveness. I don't know if he fully recognizes what he is accusing the world of being before the Lubavitcher Rebbe. I don't know if he understands who he charging with near-heresy or, at best, spiritual sleep.The worst thing is that even if Rabbi Schochet recognizes that he is merely making an exaggerated statement, there are plenty of...
The Strength to Repent
8:52 AM
Gil Student
Just a reminder that R. Yehuda Henkin's essay on the theological significance of the State of Israel is available on Open Access (link - PDF).Also, R. Shlomo Aviner's booklet on the Religious Zionist principle of aliyah, Do Not Ascend Like A Wall, is available here (PD...
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
R. Moshe Lichtenstein on the State of Israel
10:08 PM
Gil Student
R. Moshe Lichtenstein has an excellent article in the most recent issue of Alei Etzion on the religious significance of Israel Independence Day (link). Let me summarize it, at least as I understand it. He has two main points which lead to his conclusion:I. Secular ZionismSecular Zionism is a renewal of the Covenant of the Patriarchs (Berit Avot*). This covenant includes connection of the nation to the land of Israel (cf. Gen. 17:7-8; Lev. 26:42). Secular Zionism reestablished a bond of Jewish nationalism and a link to the land of Israel, culminating in a state. While this does not include the Covenant of Sinai (Berit Sinai*), which involves observance of the Torah, it is still a significant renewal of a biblical covenant with God.II. CovenantsJewish holidays do not commemorate miracles per...
Rav Gustman and Israeli Soldiers
9:42 AM
Gil Student
A must-read article by R. Ari Kahn (link):At the cemetery, Rav Gustman was agitated. He surveyed the rows of graves of the young men, soldiers who died defending the Land. On the way back from the cemetery, Rav Gustman turned to another passenger in the car and said, "They are all holy."Another passenger questioned the rabbi: "Even the non-religious soldiers?" Rav Gustman replied: "Every single one of the...
Monday, May 01, 2006
Holocaust Theodicy
10:45 PM
Gil Student
Last week was Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day. I don't observe that day, less for of an ideological reason than simply because my memories of the observances of that day do not include anything religious. To me, the Holocaust must be remembered from a theological perspective and Yom Hashoah never provided that for me. In my synagogue, we remember the Holocaust on Tisha B'Av, and that is the Holocaust Memorial Day for me.Nevertheless, let me bring up an interesting book about the Holocaust. R. Ezriel Tauber is himself a survivor of the Holocaust, which gives him the permission to discuss its theological ramifications that most others lack. Why did God allow it to happen? Why did God cause, or allow, such horrible suffering and death? In his book Darkness Before Dawn, R. Tauber attempts...
Fast of the Firstborn
10:58 AM
Gil Student
Before Pesach, I was asked whether a convert who is a firstborn should fast on the eve of Pesach, in the fast of the firstborn. On the one hand, a convert is considered like a newborn child in terms of his familial relationships so his parents are not halakhically considered his parents. On the other hand, he still retains the "metzi'us" (reality) of being descended from his parents and therefore, for one example, inherits from them. While being firstborn is normally a halakhic status rather than a reality, in the case of the fast of the firstborn, it is possible that what is needed is only a reality and not a status. After all, the plague on which this fast is based applied to all firstborns, even animals, regardless of halakhic status. See Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 570 and commentators.So...
Bad Questions
7:37 AM
Gil Student
R. Chaim Jachter, author of Gray Matter and Gray Matter volume 2, discusses how the same question can be asked properly and improperly: l...
