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Posmvist Rhetoric and Its Functions in Haredi Orthodoxy
posmviST rhetoric and its functions in haredi orthodoxy AlanJ. Yuter Haredi, or so-called "ultra-Orthodox/ Jewry contends that it is the most strictand thereforethe most authenticexpression of JewishOrtho doxy. Its authenticity is insured by the devotion and loyalty of its adherents to its leading sages or gedolim, "great ones." In addition to the requirementsof explicit Jewish law, and, on occasion, in spite of those requirements, theHaredi adherent obeys theDaas Torah, or Torah views ofhis or hergedolim. By viewingDaas Torah as a normwithin theJewish legal order,Haredi Judaismreformulates the Jewish legal order inorder to delegitimize thosehalakhic voiceswhich believe thatJewish law does not a require radical countercultural withdrawal from the condition ofmoder nity.According toHaredi Judaism,the culture which Eastern European Jewryhas createdto safeguardthe Torah must beguarded so thatthe Torah observance enshrined in that culture is not violated. Haredi Judaism, often called "ultra-Orthodox Judaism,"1 projects itself as the most strict and most authentic expression in contempo as rary Jewish life. This strictness is expressed in behavior patterns well as in the ideology which supports these patterns. Since Haredi as in culture regards itself the embodiment of the Judaism encoded canon the "Book," or the sacred literary of Rabbinic Judaism, the JewishPolitical Studies Review 8:1-2 (Spring 1996) 127 This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.72.231 on Tue, 20 Nov 2012 06:41:14 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 128 Alan /. Yuter canon explication of the Haredi reading of Rabbinic Judaism's yields a definition of Haredi Judaism's religious ideology. -
The Genius and Limitations of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Z"L
The Genius and Limitations of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik z"l Byline: Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo is Dean of the David Cardozo Academy in Jerusalem. Thoughts to Ponder 529 The Genius and Limitations of Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik z”l * Nathan Lopes Cardozo Based on an introduction to a discussion between Professor William Kolbrener and Professor Elliott Malamet (1) Honoring the publication of Professor William Kolbrener’s new book “The Last Rabbi” (2) Yad Harav Nissim, Jerusalem, on Feb. 1, 2017 Dear Friends, I never had the privilege of meeting Rav Soloveitchik z”l or learning under him. But I believe I have read all of his books on Jewish philosophy and Halacha, and even some of his Talmudic novellae and halachic decisions. I have also spoken with many of his students. Here are my impressions. No doubt Rav Soloveitchik was a Gadol Ha-dor (a great sage of his generation). He was a supreme Talmudist and certainly one of the greatest religious thinkers of our time. His literary output is incredible. Still, I believe that he was not a mechadesh – a man whose novel ideas really moved the Jewish tradition forward, especially regarding Halacha. He did not solve major halachic problems. This may sound strange, because almost no one has written as many novel ideas about Halacha as Rav Soloveitchik (3). His masterpiece, Halakhic Man, is perhaps the prime example. Before Rav Soloveitchik appeared on the scene, nobody – surely not in mainstream Orthodoxy – had seriously dealt with the ideology and philosophy of Halacha (4). Page 1 In fact, the reverse is true. -
Final Klal Gadol Sermon ER 5781
Klal Gadol B’Torah: A Story of Love and Loss in a Time of Pandemic Erev Rosh Hashanah 5781 Rabbi David Kosak It was one of those human interest stories you read in a newspaper or magazine or even on YouTube and think, “how poignant and touching.” What journalists call “soft news.” For a moment, your faith in humanity is restored. Earlier this year, I saw a video about an owl that had gotten caught in a soccer goal net. It thrashed about, shaking its wings, all in a hopeless effort to get disentangled. Then these 4 burly construction workers walked over to the imprisoned owl and picked it up. I expected the owl to struggle about even more intensely. That’s not what happened. Over the next 30 minutes, these brawny men carefully cut away strand after strand of the soccer net. As they moved delicately, the owl remained strangely still. What accounted for this? Was the owl paralyzed in fright? Or did it understand these human giants were there to help? That’s a mystery I wish I knew an answer for. Seeing its bright yellow eyes fixed on the humans, though, it seemed to me that it understood these bipeds were looking out for it, were there to protect it. What I can say is that the moment they had freed the bird and set it on the ground, the owl’s stillness turned to motion as it took to flight and rapidly disappeared into the sky. The truth is, the world is filled with stories like these. -
Pesak, Gedolim, and Halakhah Class 12 Shlomo Zuckier 03.05.18
Pesak, Gedolim, and Halakhah Class 12 Shlomo Zuckier 03.05.18 1. Shlomo Zuckier and Shalom Carmy, “An Introductory Biographical Sketch of R. Aharon Lichtenstein,” Tradition 47:4 (2015), p. 9 Due to his wide scholarly output and his complex and developed positions on contemporary issues, R. Lichtenstein is considered by many American Modern Orthodox Jews to be their gedol ha-dor, like his father-in-law R. Soloveitchik before him. If the Rav bestrode American Orthodoxy like a colossus, R. Lichtenstein has been a remote polestar, projecting his influence from a distance, as his votaries ponder his every word, rendered all the more precious by his unwillingness to meddle uninvited in American affairs. R. Lichtenstein has often been asked to present the hashkafic overview at the annual Orthodox Forum gathering, and at many other RCA or YU conclaves, with the justified presumption that his position carries authority for Modern Orthodoxy. 2. Chaim Saiman, “The Market for Gedolim: A Tale of Supply and Demand,” Lehrhaus, Oct. 13, 2016 On the whole, rabbis classified as “gedolim” are far more supportive of haredi viewpoints than of those associated with modern Orthodoxy. This situation begets the question “why there are so few modern Orthodox gedolim?” In my experience, this conversation quickly turn to a question of supply. That is, who is that elusive Rabbi/Dr. who has the entire Talmud, halakhic codes and commentaries at his fingertips, who has mastered the literature of Jewish thought and philosophy, and who is also fully conversant in cognate fields such as the humanities, law, and social sciences? Centrist Orthodoxy seeks a gadol who understands the social and intellectual currents of the time, yet exudes authenticity as he articulates our timeless tradition in a timely manner… The problem with the structure of this conversation is that it focuses almost exclusively on the supply side of the gadol market, while wholly neglecting the question of demand. -
In This Issue
THE JEWISH OBSERVER IN THIS ISSUE SHARING THE BURDENS OF OUR FELLOWS THE JEWISH OBSERVER 7 (ISSN) 0021-6615 IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY, EXCEPT JULY & AUGUST AND A COMBINED ISSUE FOR JANUARy/FEBRUARY. BY THE ACUDATH ISRAEL OF AMERICA, .., BROADWAY. NEW YORK. NY 10004. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID IN NEW YORK, NY. SUBSCRIPTION $25.00/ YEAR; 2. YEAHS, 548.00; j YEARS, 16 S69.00. OUTSIDE OFTHE UNITED STATES (US nYNDS DRAWN ON A US BANK ONLY) $I5.00 SURCHARGE PER YEAR. SINGLE COPY $3.50; OUTSIDE NY AREA $3.95; FOREIGN $4.50. 42 THE CLUlTERED POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHA!'\GES TO: TEL 212-797-9000, FAX 646-'154 1600 PRINTED I~ THE ljSA LETTER FROM JERUSALEM RABBI ~ISSON WOLPIN. Eaitor 19 LESS QBVOUS LESSONS Editorial Board FROM THE MAYORAL RABBI ABBA BRUDNY RABBI JOSEPH ELIAS Yonoson f?Qsenb/~JlTi JOSEPH FRIEDENSON RABBI YISRO'El. MEIR KIRZNER RABBI NOSSON SCHER\.-fAN PRO'F. AARON T\VERSKI HIGHER LIGHTS OF CHANUKAH Founders THE CVJDtES :HF DR. ERNST L. BODENHEIMER Z"L 23 ~.ND RABBI MOSHE SHERER Z"L Rabbi Yonason Go/dson Management Board 27 WAKE Up AND NAFTOLI HIRSCH. ISAAC KIRZNER. RABBI SHLOMO LESlN. DAVID SINGER, NACHUM STEIN 31 P,-[J.\SE KEEP THE SHADES DOWN! MRS. LEAH ZAGELBAUM. AdvelTising Manager Rabbi Sho!orn Srn.ith PUBLISHl':D BY .A POEM BY AGUDATH ISRAEL OF AMEHTCA 32 Zos U.S. TRADE DISTRIBUTOR REAlLY MISSING A POEM BY Bracha fELDHEIM PUBLISHERS 33 II ISH YWUDI"; THE LIFE LEGACY' OF A TORAH BRITISH REPRESE!'i'TATIVE M.l: BlBELMAN Grosvenor Works Mount Pleasant Hill 39 REMEM!3ERlt~G THE PONOIfEZHER London ENGL4ND CHAPTER OF FRENCH REPHESE!\!TATIVE RABBI ISHAEL) HEPRESENTATIVE INTNL MEDIA PLACEMENT Boltshauser) BELGIAN REPRESENTATIVE MR. -
The Halakhic Parameters of Delaying Procreation
The Halakhic Parameters of Delaying Procreation Moshe Kahn Bio: Rabbi Kahn is a teacher of Talmud and Jewish law at Stern College for Women, the Graduate Program in Advanced Talmudic Studies at Stern College, the Drisha Institute, and is a member-in-training to become a psychoanalyst at the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis in New York City. Abstract: This article aims to show that there is a strong halakhic basis to allow a childless couple to postpone procreation temporarily and without an arbitrary time limit imposed. It focuses on the rulings of Rivash and Rema, who recommend that the rabbinic leadership adopt a laissez faire policy regarding marital issues The Talmudic teaching extolling zealousness is not absolute and would not apply if a delay would enhance the performance of the commandment. The fear of a premature death is not a factor with regard to the commandment to procreate. A Forum of Modern Orthodox Discourse Orthodox Modern of Forum A M e o r o t Meorot 8 Tishrei 5771 © 2010 A Publication of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School The Halakhic Parameters of Delaying Procreation1 Moshe Kahn As a Talmud teacher at Stern College for context, I would like to consider the following Women for almost three decades, I have found questions: Does a couple’s wish to delay myself confronted in recent years by an fulfilling the commandment to procreate increasingly greater number of requests to require rabbinic permission? If so, what are the decide questions of marital issues. My students halakhic determinants of the discussion? If not, seem simultaneously pulled in opposite what are the consequences of rabbinic directions. -
Torah from the Years of Wrath 1939-1943: the Historical Context of the Aish Kodesh
Touro Scholar Lander College of Arts and Sciences Books Lander College of Arts and Sciences 2017 Torah from the Years of Wrath 1939-1943: The Historical Context of the Aish Kodesh Henry Abramson Touro College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://touroscholar.touro.edu/lcas_books Part of the Jewish Studies Commons Recommended Citation Abramson, H. (2017). Torah from the Years of Wrath 1939-1943: The Historical Context of the Aish Kodesh. Retrieved from https://touroscholar.touro.edu/lcas_books/5 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Lander College of Arts and Sciences at Touro Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lander College of Arts and Sciences Books by an authorized administrator of Touro Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Torah from the Years of Wrath 1939-1943 Torah from the Years of Wrath 1939-1943 The Historical Context of the Aish Kodesh הי׳׳ד Rabbi Kalonymus Kalmish Shapira The Rebbe of Piaseczno, also known as the Aish Kodesh (Holy Fire) Son of Rabbi Elimelekh of Grodzisk Son-in-law of Rabbi Yerahmiel Moshe of Kozienice Henry Abramson 2017 CreateSpace Edition License Notes Educational institutions may reproduce, copy and distribute portions of this book for non-commercial purposes without charge, provided appropriate citation of the source, in accordance with the Talmudic dictum of Rabbi Elazar in the name of Rabbi Hanina (Megilah 15a): “anyone who cites a teaching in the name of its author brings redemption to the world.” Copyright 2017 Henry Abramson Version 1.0 Heshvan 5778 (October 2017) Cover design by Meir Weiss and Tehilah Weiss Dedicated to the Piaseczno Rebbe and his students איך וויל זע גאר ניסט. -
Apostasy and Jewish Identity in High Middle Ages Northern Europe
APOSTaSY aND JEWISH IDENTITY IN HIGH MIDDL APOST HIGH MIDDLE GES NORTHERN EUROPE a ‘Are yOU STILL MY BROther?’ SY The attitude of Jews living in the medieval Christian world to Jews a ND JEWISH e who converted to Christianity or to Christians seeking to join the a Jewish faith reflects the central traits that make up Jewish self- GES identification. The Jews saw themselves as a unique group chosen by God, who expected them to play a specific and unique role in N the world. ORTHERN IDENTITY IN IDENTITY This study researches fully for the first time the various aspects of the way European Jews regarded members of their own fold in the context of lapses into another religion. It attempts to understand whether they regarded the issue of conversion with self-confidence E or with suspicion, and whether their attitude was based on a clear UROPE theological position, or on issues of socialisation. It provides a better understanding of how the Jews viewed their own identity while living as a minority among the Christian majority, whose own self-confidence became steadily stronger throughout the tenth to the fourteenth centuries until they eventually ousted the Jews completely from England, France and large parts of Germany. The book will primarily interest students and lecturers of Jewish/ Christian relations, the Middle Ages, Jews in the medieval period, SIMHA GOLDIN and inter-religious research, but will also appeal to a much wider readership. Simha Goldin is a Senior Lecturer in the Jewish History Department, Tel Aviv University Cover image: Alsace, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg, Cathédrale Notre-Dame, Portail du transept sud, ‘La Synagogue’. -
Rice on Passover?!? What's an Ashkenazi Jew To
Rice on Passover?!? What’s an Ashkenazi Jew to Do? Shabbat Ha’Gadol, April 16, 2016/8 Nisan 5776 Rabbi Adam J. Raskin, Congregation Har Shalom I am an Ashkenazi Jew through and through…For a number of years I attended religious school at the Workmen’s Circle, where Yiddish--the language of Eastern European Jewry was emphasized more than Hebrew. I think about that education more at this time of the year than any other. Because we probably spent at least half of the school year preparing for the signature event at the Workmen’s Circle: the annual Yiddish Seder. I can still remember practicing and rehearsing the different parts of the seder: Ale nacht fun a gantze yor, esn mir chometz oder matze; ober di nacht fun peysech, esn mir nor matze…That’s the first of the Four Questions at the Passover Seder. That event was a big deal…family members came and took pictures, we were all dressed up, it was a groys simcha…you know what I mean?! I have a distinctive memory, one of my earliest, to be sure, of my great grandmother singing the Yiddish classic Romania, Romania to me as a little boy. She emigrated from Romania in 1909 when she was 16 years old, and died in 1989 at the age of 96. My grandparents always peppered their language with Yiddish expressions, Yiddish blessings, Yiddish curses (!)… And I myself am known to wish people a gut yontiff and a zissen pesach; I love to go to shul to read the chumish and the siddur; to wish people a gut shabbes and a gute voch. -
Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik's Remarks at the H.Anukat Ha-Bayit
23 Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s Remarks at the Hanukaṭ Ha-Bayit of the Talner Shtibel in Brookline, MA, December 16, 1973 Transcribed and Edited By: JACOB J. SCHACTER The Talner dynasty began with Rabbi Dovid Twersky (1808–1882), a grandson of Rabbi Nochum Twersky (1730–1798) of Chernobyl, Ukraine, who was a disciple of the Ba‘al Shem Tov. He lived in Talne, Ukraine, and became known as the first Talner Rebbe. He was followed by his grandson, Rabbi Nochum Twersky. His son, Rabbi Meshullam Z. Twersky, immigrated to the United States in the 1920s and established a Talner shtibel in Roxbury, a suburb of Boston. In 1960, the congregation moved to Corey Road in Brighton, MA, and Rabbi Twersky remained Rebbe until his death on 26 Iyyar (May 10), 1972. Ten years later, in 1982, his son, Rabbi Dr. Yitzhaḳ (Isadore) Twersky, officially assumed the role of heir to his father’s position. Shortly after the death of Rabbi Meshullam Z. Twersky, the shtibel was expanded by an addition, which became the new men’s section. A program was held in celebration of this new extension on December 16, 1973. It began with the recital of Psalms 84, 122 and 127 and then Psalm A psalm, a song for the dedication of“ ,"מזמור שיר חנוכת הבית לדוד" :30 the Temple, by David.” This was followed by the address, presented below, delivered by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, who was Rabbi Dr. Twersky’s father-in-law. It is based on a slightly edited version of the notes I took at that time. -
Holy Amnesia: Remembering Religious Sages As Super-Humans Or As Simply Human
CHAPTER FIVE HOLY AMNESIA: REMEMBERING RELIGIOUS SAGES AS Super-humans OR AS SIMPLY HUMAN In 2002, Rabbi Nathan Kamenetsky’s book The Making of a Godol 1 was published. The title of the book suggests the writer’s intention to dem- onstrate that even the greatest Torah sages did not come into the world with all the attributes of greatness, but rather went through a long pro- cess of struggle with human difficulties and weaknesses. The book raised a storm and within a short time was banned. The great Torah sages of Israel, headed by Rabbi Yosef Shalom Eliashiv,2 demanded that the author cease its distribution.3 In a letter banning the book, signed by the great- est Lithuanian rabbis in Israel, the book is described thus: ‘It is full of grave humiliations, flippancies, and mockeries and creates a bad name for some of our greatest rabbis who are the holiest of the luminaries of Israel of the past generations. For they are the “ancients [who are] like angels” and from their words all Israel lives [. .] and the greatness of their honor and holiness is rooted in the heart of every God-fearing Jew. And this book seeks to abolish this through slander, disgrace and humiliation of their glorified honor, which is also the honor of our blessed God and our holy Torah’.4 According to traditional Jewish belief, ‘the ancients are like angels’ (Tractate Shabbat 112b), i.e., the qualities of humankind— and thus the ability to understand the Holy Scriptures—decline in the 1 Godol is the Yiddish pronunciation for the Hebrew word gadol which means “great” and refers to the great Torah sages. -
A Chanukah Reader 5773/2012
A CHANUKAH READER 5773/2012 In Loving Memory ,nab hukhgk Rabbi Melvin Rishe ;xuh hfsrn ic rhtn crv by his family Yeshiva of Greater Washington A Chanukah Reader A Chanukah Lesson The Midrash relates that when Yosef ordered his brother Shimon taken as a hostage to ensure that Binyamin would be brought down to Egypt, Shimon responded, “I’ll remain your prisoner until my brothers return, but only if you can catch me!” Shimon repelled the efforts of 70 men, until finally Yosef’s son, Menashe, who was a mere 7 years old at the time, got up and whacked his uncle over the head. The next morning, when Shimon woke up in prison, he declared “Maaka Zu BeBais Abba Hayo!!”(“That blow came from my father’s house!”) It is not possible for anyone, aside from a member of the House of Israel, to do any sort of damage to another member of the family (Bereishis Raba 42:24). The Gemara (Shabbos 21b) poses a seemingly elementary question: "What is Chanukah? Our Rabbis taught: On the twenty-fifth of Kislev begin the eight days of Chanukah; we may not eulogize on these days nor may we fast on them. When the Greeks entered the Temple, they defiled all the oil in the Temple. And when the royal house of the Hashmonian's prevailed and were victorious over them, they searched and found only one vial of oil which still had the stamp of the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) intact, and it contained enough to light for only one day.