Five Years of Hirhurim-Musings

UPDATED March 17, 2009 11:46 AM
Response has been extremely underwhelming. What gives? Is it the choice of material? The price? Will the few thousand of weekly visitors only read if it's free? I've decided to offer a 20% discount to all orders in the month of March (applicable to all previous orders as well): that's a price of $17.60. Please indicate in the comments section whether there is something else that I can do. Note that with a pre-order, you will not be charged until the book ships (in August). Please help us reach the (revised down) goal of 500 pre-ordered copies.

Ordered	65
Goal	500

Today marks the end of the Hirhurim blog's fifth year. I'd like to thank all of the readers and commenters, and all of my fellow posters: the regulars -- Steve, Joel and R. Ari; and the guest posters throughout the years, including R. Dovid Gottlieb, R. Michael J. Broyde and others.

As discussed in the past, I am adapting this blog into a series of books. The first volume is ready to go. It includes old posts, updated for information from commenters and subsequent thoughts and publications. It also has some articles I published outside of this blog.

I'd like to ask readers to pre-order books through this blog to help offset the cost of publication. Please do not look at this only as an opportunity to buy a good book, but also as a form of gratitude and support. So please buy multiple copies. Buy copies for your friends, shuls, schools and libraries. Encourage your friends and relatives to buy also. (If shipping international is too expensive, send it to a friend or relative in the US.)

You can order the book here at a 20% pre-order discount ($17.60): link

Below is more information about this first volume:

Click here to read more
Posts Along The Way
Torah Insights From The Hirhurim Blog
Volume 1: Shuls

PUBLICATION DATE: AUGUST 8, 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Praise for the Blog
- FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Are Blogs Good For The Jews?

- Section 1: Praying and Prayers
- The Problem of Prayer
- The Opportunity of Prayer
- Prayer in Hebrew
- Earliest Time for Tallis and Tefillin
- Why No Tefillin?
- Standing During Blessings
- Amen: Bigger Isn’t Better
- Facing the Kohanim
- Facing the Torah
- Musings on Prayer Texts
- Words of Prayer
- Praying For Rain
- The Manna Passage
- A New Siddur
- Listen, Israel
- Holding Children During Davening
- Congregational Singing
- A Kedushah of Roses
- Responsive Kedushah
- Shevach in Kedushah
- Calling out to the Lord
- Alternative Services: Carlebach Minyan
- Alternative Services: Megachurches I
- Alternative Services: Megachurches II
- Talking During Davening I
- Talking During Davening II
- Talking Politics

- Section 2: Rabbis and Cantors
- Why Rabbis Do Not Like Cantors
- Can a Ba’al Teshuvah Be a Rabbi?
- Can a Convert Be a Rabbi?
- Can a Woman Be a Rabbi?

- Section 3: Women’s Roles
- The Adoption of Heterodox Practices
- Calling Women to the Torah
- Calling Women to the Torah II
- Women’s Prayer Groups: R. Hershel Schachter’s Position
- Women’s Prayer Groups: R. Hershel Schachter’s Position II
- Women’s Prayer Groups: Rav Soloveitchik’s Position
- Women’s Prayer Groups: R. J. David Bleich’s Position
- Women’s Prayer Groups: R. Yehuda Henkin’s Position
- Women’s Prayer Groups: R. Yehuda Henkin’s Position II
- Women’s Prayer Groups: R. Eliezer Berkovits’ Position
- Women’s Prayer Groups: Halachic Values

- Section 4: Shuls
- A Destroyed Synagogue
- Sharing Spaces
- Shul Dues
- Mechitzah
- The Mechitzah Controversy: Fifty Years Later

Order the book here at a 20% pre-order discount ($17.60): link