by Steve BrizelThe Covenant of Peace
link
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Parashah Roundup: Pinchas 5770
10:33 PM
Gil Student
by Steve BrizelThe Covenant of Peace
link
Avrekh
9:47 PM
Gil Student
Translations and commentaries have difficulty explaining exactly what Pharaoh did when he raised Yosef from imprisonment to prominence (Gen. 41:43):He had him ride in the chariot of his second-in-command, and they cried before him, "Avrekh!" (NJPS)
Books Received XXVII
12:30 PM
Gil Student
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:Back to Disqus
8:45 AM
Gil Student
Based on user feedback, the comments switch seems to have been premature and I've switched back to Disqus for another week. Next week, at the get-together (RSVP here: link), I will officially unveil the new Wordpress blog at which time we will move there and switch the comments here to JS-Kit. Maybe by then we will have figured out a way to keep both JS-Kit and Disqus comments.Tuesday, June 29, 2010
The Old Comments Are Back
10:44 PM
Gil Student
I've reinstalled JS-Kit/Echo (the successor to Haloscan, which no longer exists) so all the old comments are back. Just go to an old post (e.g. link) and you'll see all the old comments--the good, the bad and the ugly.I tested it in Internet Explorer and Google Chrome without problem.
On the Meaning of a Mysterious Line in a First-Crusade Kinah
9:28 PM
Gil Student
On the Meaning of a Mysterious Line in a First-Crusade KinahGuest post by Dr. David Berger
In 2000, I published an observation about a difficult line in a kinah. The observation was buried in the footnote of a scholarly article dealing with a different theme, and I was berated by a friend for making sure that hardly anyone who recites kinot would ever come across it.
Eating in Public
2:15 AM
Rabbi Ari Enkin
By: Rabbi Ari EnkinThe Talmud teaches that eating in public is inappropriate conduct and that one who does so is comparable to a dog.[1] Furthermore, eating in public is one of the activities which disqualify a person from serving as a witness in ritual matters.[2]While the Talmud seems to imply that any form of eating in public is to be shunned, it appears from other sources, however, that it is only eating *while walking* in public which is truly forbidden.[3] As such, it is permitted to eat in a restaurant or any other circumstance where eating in public is appropriate.[4] One should also avoid drinking a beverage in public whenever possible.[5]
Monday, June 28, 2010
Get-Together: More Information
9:28 PM
Gil Student
This is your weekly reminder about the July 7th Hirhurim get-together/dinner (link 1, link 2, link 3, link). All readers, commenters and friends of the blog are invited to this free event. Free mugs and trinkets will be available, while supplies last.Please RSVP to the event using this online form: link.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Comments Update
10:32 PM
Gil Student
As many of you know, the comments on old posts have disappeared since the switch to Disqus commenting. After a great deal of effort, it is now clear that they cannot be transferred. That leaves us with few options. Here are my plans, although I am open to suggestions.Rav Soloveitchik on Women Rabbis
9:32 PM
Gil Student
R. Aryeh Frimer has published an essay on the position of R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik regarding the ordination of women as rabbis (link). It is partially based on an essay in Shi'urei HaRav on Yoreh De'ah (available for purchase here: link), which is translated in this post (link). One reader e-mailed me that this essay is a vindication of my position:Emmanuel Compromise Approved; Parents Released
1:44 PM
Gil Student
"A compromise proposal enabling the release of the parents of the Emmanuel students was approved Sunday by the High Court of Justice, after being presented by the parents and petitioners with the approval of the State Prosecutor’s Office. The judges ruled that the incarcerated parents would be released on Sunday.
"The decision followed a compromise deal struck on Sunday morning between Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and the Slonim Rabbi, religious leader of the Ashkenazi families who had refused to send their daughters to the mixed-ethnicity school."
More here: link.
"The decision followed a compromise deal struck on Sunday morning between Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and the Slonim Rabbi, religious leader of the Ashkenazi families who had refused to send their daughters to the mixed-ethnicity school."
More here: link.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Weekly Links
8:38 AM
Gil Student
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Audio Roundup IC
11:48 PM
Gil Student
by Joel RichQuestion: Should a shul's educational program (e.g. Rabbi's shiur, guest magidei shiur…) be primarily focused on a few areas needing reinforcement or be a smorgasbord so as to attract more people (but perhaps with diluted impact)?
Question:Why did the gemara come up with klalei horaah (rules for psak) rather than deciding each disagreement on its own merits?(e.g. was Rav always right in cases of issurin?)
Listening to Your Parents
9:27 PM
Gil Student
As a parent, I believe that all children must listen to their parents. As a child, though, I believe that children must follow their own paths even if it bothers their parents. What does halakhah have to say about this?In 1984, R. Basil Herring published a fabulous book, Jewish Ethics and Halakhah For Our Time: Sources and Commentary, recently republished. R. Herring proposes a number of complex ethical dilemmas and then proceeds to analyze them.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Parashah Roundup: Balak 5770
9:47 PM
Gil Student
A Case Study in Contemporary Halakhic Rhetoric
9:30 PM
Gil Student
A Case Study in Contemporary Halakhic Rhetoric—Rav Asher Weiss on Dina DeMalkhutaGuest post by Prof. Chaim Saiman
Last week’s dispatch from Rav Asher Weiss (Parshat Chukat, 5770: June 18, 2010 - link), disagrees with nearly all the rishonim, most achronim, and significantly challenges the haredi consensus concerning the relationship between halakha and the State of Israel.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Praying on the Subway
9:27 PM
Gil Student
I often see women praying from a siddur on the subway, during the commute to work in the morning. There are many reasons why I think this is a bad practice but we also have to keep in mind that some women are juggling so many responsibilities that this is the only opportunity they have to pray. Let's just address one halakhic aspect of this issue.Kiddush Levana & Toothaches
2:51 AM
Rabbi Ari Enkin
By: Rabbi Ari Enkin
One who suffers from a toothache and other oral woes might find their remedy in the recitation of Kiddush Levana. The increasingly mystical Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky teaches[1] that for a toothache, it is a “segula m'kadmonim", a segula from early generations, to add several words to the Kiddush Levana at a specific point in the prayer for relief from toothaches. After one has recited the passage of “kach lo yuchlu kol oyvai lingoa bi lera'a", so too, may my enemies not be able to harm me, one should immediately add “velo yehiye li ke’ev shinayim", and I should no longer have a toothache.
One who suffers from a toothache and other oral woes might find their remedy in the recitation of Kiddush Levana. The increasingly mystical Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky teaches[1] that for a toothache, it is a “segula m'kadmonim", a segula from early generations, to add several words to the Kiddush Levana at a specific point in the prayer for relief from toothaches. After one has recited the passage of “kach lo yuchlu kol oyvai lingoa bi lera'a", so too, may my enemies not be able to harm me, one should immediately add “velo yehiye li ke’ev shinayim", and I should no longer have a toothache.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Get-Together: More Stuff
10:33 PM
Gil Student
This is your weekly reminder about the July 7th Hirhurim get-together/dinner (link 1, link 2, link 3). All readers, commenters and friends of the blog are invited to this free event.That picture you see on the right is of two more trinkets that we will be giving out for free at the get-together: keychains and refrigerator magnets. Limited quantities of each so get there early -- while supplies last.
Please RSVP to the event using this online form: link. Thank you.
The Emanuel Beis Yaakov Controversy
9:28 PM
Gil Student
Not far from Atlanta is a theme park called Stone Mountain, at the base of a large mountain that has a massive carving the three Confederate leaders: Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. When, on visiting, I mentioned to a friend my amazement that there would still be a celebratory tribute to people who fought for slavery, he responded that the Civil War was really about states' rights. I responded, "Yes, states' rights to allow slavery." This came to my mind when thinking about the drama surrounding a court case over a girls' school in Emanuel.Sunday, June 20, 2010
Sephardim Switch to 'Ashkenazi' Surnames to Ensure Their Children's Admission to Charedi Schools
10:26 PM
Gil Student
An article from nine months ago (link):
(Septamber 9, 2009) Jerusalem - As the public and legal struggle to curb discrimination within haredi educational institutions continues, many still face difficulties in enrolling their children to desirable ultra-Orthodox schools, and some parents of Sephardic descent have resorted to changing their last names just to fit in.
A Mature Freedom
9:25 PM
Gil Student
The modern era, with its attendant rise of personal freedom and decline of communal authority, is often seen as the enemy of religious tradition. In pre-modern religious communities, the vast majority of people observed religious practices because they had no choice. They could be fined, imprisoned or exiled from town with no place to go. They had no options and no ability to choose their own lives. While it was not as idyllic as some like to think, it was still a much more religious environment than the modern world.Acronyms
9:18 PM
Gil Student
Friday, June 18, 2010
Weekly Links
8:26 AM
Gil Student
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Announcements #158: Ask OU 10 Summer Programs
10:03 PM
Gil Student
Ask OU 10 Summer Programs (1 Week & 3 Weeks)ASK OU - KASHRUS TRAINING PROGRAM «1 WEEK
If you are a congregational rabbi, semicha student, chaver hakollel or a member of a Vaad Hakashrus
MONDAY, AUGUST 2 to FRIDAY, AUGUST 6
Koren Mesorat HaRav Kinot
9:30 PM
Gil Student
OU Press (where I work) and Koren Publishers Jerusalem just published a new edition of Tisha B'Av kinos (link), really a full Tisha B'Av guide, that has many incredible attributes (press release). This is the kind of tool that will transform your Tisha B'Av. Kinos will never be the same:- A commentary distilled from Rav Soloveitchik's own words. Rav Soloveitchik used to sit for hours on Tisha B'Av and explain the kinos. Recordings are available from a number of years.
Audio Roundup XCVIII
9:28 PM
Gil Student
by Joel RichYes- I do appreciate posters who can identify song references!
Last week R’Gil wrote a post on halacha anthology books – Discuss:
1) Resolved: Authors of halachic anthology books will write in such a away as to favor type I errors (reader won’t understand and do something permitted) vs. type II errors (reader won’t understand and do something forbidden). Result – convergence to stricter positions.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Solving Some of the Agunah Problems
9:28 PM
Gil Student
The Beth Din of America has launched a new website to encourage and enable use of their prenuptial agreement: www.thePrenup.org. What follows below is a proposal by R. Michael J. Broyde for a more complex prenuptial agreement. It is just a proposal and he "remain[s] a deep supporter of the standard prenuptial agreement drafted by Rabbi Mordechai Willig, endorsed by countless poskim, and distributed under the letterhead of the Beth Din of America."This article is reprinted with permission from Jewish Law Association Studies XX: The Manchester Conference Volume. Download PDF here: link. Scribd format after the jump.
Parsha Roundup: Chukas 5770
9:27 PM
Gil Student
by Steve BrizelChukim and the Parah Adamah
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Footnoting Tradition
9:32 PM
Gil Student
The decision of where in the flow of an essay to place detailed citations and tangential comments entails a number of considerations. Footnotes allow for easy reference by the reader, easily going back and forth between text and note. However, lengthy footnotes clutter the page and make reading cumbersome. Even brief footnotes can be a little distracting.Charity Today
9:27 PM
Gil Student
The latest Orthodox Forum book was published: Toward a Renewed Ethic of Jewish Philanthropy (YU Press, 2010), Yossi Prager ed.: link. I was at this Orthodox Forum and remember some good arguments. Here is the table of contents:- Part 1: Sociology and History
- Philanthropic Behavior of Orthodox Households by Jacob B. Ukeles
- For the Poor and the Stranger: Fundraisers' Perspectives on Orthodox Philanthropy by Margy-Ruth Davis and Perry Davis
- American Jewish Philanthropy, Direct Giving, and the Unity of the Jewish Community by Chaim I. Waxman
Air Pollution
2:40 AM
Rabbi Ari Enkin
By: Rabbi Ari EnkinThe issue of air pollution, as we struggle with it today, is not directly discussed in the Talmud. There are, however, a number of Talmudic precedents and parallels which teach us that we are to show consideration for property, environment, and quality of life. These principles are especially applicable with regards to unjustifiable air pollution, especially if it affects others. Below are some examples.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Get-Together: They've Arrived
10:07 PM
Gil Student
This is your weekly reminder about the July 7th Hirhurim get-together/dinner (link 1, link 2). All readers, commenters and friends of the blog are invited to this free event.That picture you see on the above right is the graphic I submitted to be put on the mugs. The mugs have arrived and below is a picture of one. It's a little blurry but that happens when you use a Blackberry to take pictures. These mugs will be a collector's item. You don't want to miss your opportunity to pick one up for free (along with another trinket).
Announcements #157: YCT 2010 Yemei Iyun on Bible and Jewish Thought
2:25 PM
Gil Student
Only Three Days Left for Early Bird Registration Discount for the 8th Annual YCT rabbinical School Yemei Iyun on Bible and Jewish Thought to be held Sunday, June 27-June 28, 2010 at the Maayanot Yeshiva High School in Teaneck, NJRegister today and don't miss out on hearing leading educators and scholars of Bible and Jewish Thought such as R. Hayyim Angel and Rabbi Shalom Carmy on Sefer Yeshayahu, Rabbi Menachem Leibtag on The Structure and Themes of Sefer Devarim and Sefer Shoftim, Rabbi David Silber on Sefer Shmuel, Rabbi Dr. Gil Perl and Rabbi Francis Nataf on the Thought of the Netziv, Mrs. Rachel Friedman on the Sin of the Golden Calf, R. Moshe Kahn, Dr. Michelle Friedman and Rabbi Dov Linzer on Issues of Sexuality and Intimacy in the Jewish Tradition, and many many more.
Books Received XXVI
2:23 PM
Gil Student
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:- Jewish Ethics and Halachah For Our Time (new edition) by R. Basil Herring
- Halachically Speaking volume 2 by R. Moshe Dovid Lebovits
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Working Women
9:38 PM
Gil Student
Contrary to common belief, things are not so different from how they used to be. The ideal world of the past was not as perfect or different as many think.Prof. Shaul Stampfer, "How Jewish Society Adapted to Change in Male/Female Relationships in 19th/early 20th Century Eastern Europe" in Rivka Blau ed., Gender Relationships In Marriage and Out, pp. 67, 69-70:
The most important fact is that a very significant percentage of Jewish women, perhaps a majority, worked in order to make ends meet.[4]
New Periodical: Tradition 43:1
9:36 PM
Gil Student
There is a new issue of Tradition 43:1 (Spring 2010). This is a blockbuster issue in which every article is fascinating and important.- Editor's Note: A Peshat in the Dark: Reflections on the Age of Cary Grant by R. Shalom Carmy - Very important critique of undisciplined peshat and dismissal of tradition.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Announcements #156: Pepsi Challenge
10:17 AM
Gil Student
Put down your check book. Raise your ability to lend your support by sendingoff an e-mail.
The Lancaster Yeshiva Center has submitted a grant proposal accepted by THE
PEPSI REFRESH PROGRAM. We are now seeking online votes to satisfy
requirements to be awarded the $50,000 grant. The grant will help our
Vocational Training Program renovate uninhabitable city homes while training
vocational students.
Use the following link and cast your vote!
www.refresheverything.com/LancasterYeshivaCenter
Really want to help: TELL A FRIEND!
Weekly Links
8:36 AM
Gil Student
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Audio Roundup XCVII
9:34 PM
Gil Student
by Joel RichQuestion: The general rules of “inheritance” of positions (e.g. Rabbi’s son has first rights to father’s position) – AIUI community can “hire” for positions with condition that this preference not apply. Is including such a condition (to paraphrase R’Asher Weiss) against the torah’s will or is the torah indifferent?
Question: According to many, the mitzvah of appointing a king for the first time was linked to “when you want one”.
Speaking Halakhah
9:25 PM
Gil Student
We live in a time of plentiful books on practical halakhah and it is worthwhile noting when one such book stands out as unique. A few years ago, I pointed out the rarity of inclusive halakhah, of authors quoting authorities from the full spectrum of Orthodox authorities (link). Authors usually quote authorities from within their own orbit and maybe a little to the left and far to the right. I identified three authors, all from Yeshiva University, who have much wider grasps.Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Parashah Roundup: Korach 5770
10:05 PM
Gil Student
Ball Playing on Shabbos
9:34 PM
Gil Student
The Shulchan Arukh (Orach Chaim 308:45) forbids playing ball on Shabbos or Yom Tov (even in a place where there is an eruv). The Rema (ad loc.) writes that the custom is to be lenient. However, later authorities overwhelmingly disagree with, or limit, the Rema's leniency.Barukh Dayan Ha-Emes
6:25 AM
Gil Student
The funeral for the father of frequent commenter Thanbo (his name is on his blog: link) is today at 1:30 pm at Plaza Jewish Community Chapel. Shiva information in the comments section.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Rabbi Halevy on New Women's Religious Roles
9:23 PM
Gil Student
Rabbi Haim David Halevy was the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv from 1972 until his death in 1998. He was a prominent halakhist, prolific author and a creative thinker. This courageous and innovative decisor, who was very cognizant of the modern condition, had a definite view of expanding public roles for women in Jewish ritual.Kissing Children in Shul
2:28 AM
Rabbi Ari Enkin
By: Rabbi Ari EnkinAmong the many halachic regulations concerning one's conduct in the synagogue sanctuary is the prohibition against kissing another person. This is especially true regarding one's children. The ban on kissing one's children in the synagogue was instituted in order to remind ourselves that the love we must feel for God should exceed even that which we feel towards our children.[1]
Monday, June 07, 2010
Get-Together Reminder
7:31 PM
Gil Student
As mentioned earlier (link), we are having a Hirhurim get-together/dinner on July 7th. All readers, commenters and friends of the blog are invited to this free event.Sunday, June 06, 2010
Me-Am Lo'ez: The Lost Translation
9:30 PM
Gil Student
I. Standard TranslationPsalm 114 is very familiar because it is part of Hallel, the group of Psalms recited liturgically on holidays, Rosh Chodesh (beginning of the new month) and at the Passover seder. The first verse has an unusual word that is surprisingly translated universally the same despite the availability of an alternate, and arguably preferable, translation.
Friday, June 04, 2010
Weekly Links
8:52 AM
Gil Student
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Audio Roundup XCVI
9:32 PM
Gil Student
by Joel RichFor my B-I-L who liked this issue better than Tachanun. Here are 2 viewpoints on the 2 people in the desert issue where a third party has the water.
Chazon Ish
It seems that if someone has water and two thirsty people are in front of him, this too would be dependent on the argument; according to Ben-Petura he gives both equally and both will die and even if he gave one of the two, that one would have to split it with the other.
Was Rabbi Hillel a Heretic?
9:28 PM
Gil Student
There is a surprising statement in the Talmud that, at least initially, denies one of the fundamental principles of Jewish faith. The question, though, is what did the statement mean?Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Theological Analysis of Nonsense
9:38 PM
Gil Student
R. J. David Bleich, “Lomdut and Pesak: Theoretical Analysis and Halakhic Decision-Making” in Lomdus: The Conceptual Approach to Learning, pp. 106-107:Elsewhere, I have had occasion to point out that the gross distortion of Halakhah that has been committed in some quarters in groundlessly declaring a state of kiddushei ta’ut [marriage based on error] and issuing annulments is based upon a misunderstanding of the principle tav le-meitav tan du mi-le-meitav armelu (better to dwell as two than to dwell alone).
