Making Impressions for Stardom Or Infamy
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Fundamentals of Judaism
Fundamentals of Judaism Selections from the works of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch and outstanding Torah-true thinkers I Edited by JACOB BREUER Published for THE RABBI SAMSON RAPHAEL HIRSCH SOCIETY by Philipp Feldheim, Publisher New York CHAPTER EIGHT l' l' l' PROBLEMS OF THE DIASPORA IN THE SHULCHAN ARUCH By DR. DAVID HOFFMAN According to the Shulchan Aruch the support of a needy Jew is a law. Charity for the needy "Akkum," while considered a moral obligation, is urged on the basis of Oi'it!' ~::Ji' as a means of maintaining peaceful relations with the non-Jewish world. This qualified motivation has become the target of widespread and indignant criticism. One of the critics, the frankly prejudiced Justus, voiced his opposition as follows: "The tendency under lying these rules is to create the belief in the "Akkum" (Christ ians) that they have good friends in the Jews." This materialistic concept is pure nonsense; perhaps it is an outgrowth of wishful thinking. That it is utterly unfounded is substantiated by the oldest source of this rule, the Mishna in Gittin (59 a): "The following rules were inaugurated because of o''i~ ~::Ji': " .... the release of game, birds or fish from a trap set by another person is considered robbery; objects found by a deaf-mute, mentally deficient or minor (including Jews) must not be forcibly seized; .... impoverished heathens must nof be restrained from collecting the gleanings, forgotten sheaves and the fruit left for the poor at the edge of the this "for the sake of peace." On the basis of this Mishna it is difficult to see how any ob server can side with Justus' interpretation. -
Kol Torah Summer Edition
קול תורה Torah Academy of Bergen County Summer Edition June 28 / 18 Tammuz Does the Punishment Fit the Crime? Hashem’s instructions and speaking to by Andy Rosenberg (‘22) the rock. But is this really what Hashem meant in his instructions? In this week’s Parashah, after Miriam Rashi says those were His died, the people were complaining that instructions. However, the Ibn Ezra they didn’t have any water to drink. discusses this query. He points out that Then follows the famous story of Moshe the word “VeDibartem” could be Rabbeinu hiing the rock instead of translated in multiple ways. The simple speaking to it. The water still flowed translation is “and speak to it”. from the rock but Moshe disobeyed However, one could translate the phrase Hashem, and because of that, Hashem to mean “and strike it”. Based on the forbade Moshe Rabbeinu to lead us into second translation, Moshe didn’t Israel or even enter Israel at all. But so disobey Hashem, so what did Moshe do what? He hit the rock instead of wrong? There are those that say that speaking to it. What’s the big deal? Moshe hit the rock twice when he was For starters, this is not the first told to hit the rock once. The Ibn Ezra, time Moshe drew water from a rock. It’s supported by a Midrash of Chazal, the third time Moshe had to do this. The thinks that because he spoke to Bnei first time was at Marah when Hashem Yisrael before fulfilling Hashem’s told Moshe to throw a bier branch into instructions when Moshe said, “Shim’u the water to make it sweet. -
Tanya Sources.Pdf
The Way to the Tree of Life Jewish practice entails fulfilling many laws. Our diet is limited, our days to work are defined, and every aspect of life has governing directives. Is observance of all the laws easy? Is a perfectly righteous life close to our heart and near to our limbs? A righteous life seems to be an impossible goal! However, in the Torah, our great teacher Moshe, Moses, declared that perfect fulfillment of all religious law is very near and easy for each of us. Every word of the Torah rings true in every generation. Lesson one explores how the Tanya resolved these questions. It will shine a light on the infinite strength that is latent in each Jewish soul. When that unending holy desire emerges, observance becomes easy. Lesson One: The Infinite Strength of the Jewish Soul The title page of the Tanya states: A Collection of Teachings ספר PART ONE לקוטי אמרים חלק ראשון Titled הנקרא בשם The Book of the Beinonim ספר של בינונים Compiled from sacred books and Heavenly מלוקט מפי ספרים ומפי סופרים קדושי עליון נ״ע teachers, whose souls are in paradise; based מיוסד על פסוק כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו upon the verse, “For this matter is very near to לבאר היטב איך הוא קרוב מאד בדרך ארוכה וקצרה ”;you, it is in your mouth and heart to fulfill it בעזה״י and explaining clearly how, in both a long and short way, it is exceedingly near, with the aid of the Holy One, blessed be He. "1 of "393 The Way to the Tree of Life From the outset of his work therefore Rav Shneur Zalman made plain that the Tanya is a guide for those he called “beinonim.” Beinonim, derived from the Hebrew bein, which means “between,” are individuals who are in the middle, neither paragons of virtue, tzadikim, nor sinners, rishoim. -
2020 SBM Teshuvot “Dina D'malkhuta Dina: Obligations And
2020 SBM Teshuvot “Dina D’Malkhuta Dina: Obligations and Limits” Published by the Center for Modern Torah Leadership 1 Table of Contents Week One Summary: Dina Demalkhuta Dina: How Broad a Principle? 3 Week Two Summary: What Makes Taxation Halakhically Legitimate? 5 Week Three Summary: Does Halakhah Permit Taxation Without Representation? 8 Week Four Summary: Are Israeli Labor Laws Binding on Chareidi Schools? 11 Week Five Summary: Does Dina Demalkhuta Dina Apply in Democracies? 14 Week Six Summary: Introduction to the Sh’eilah 16 SBM 2020 Sh’eilah 17 State Authority and Religious Obligation – An Introduction 19 Teshuvah - Bracha Weinberger 23 Teshuvah - Talia Weisberg 26 Teshuvah - Avi Sommer 30 Teshuvah - Zack Orenshein 37 Teshuvah - Sara Schatz 41 Teshuvah - Batsheva Leah Weinstein 43 Teshuvah - Joshua Skootsky 48 Teshuvah - Eliana Yashgur 52 Teshuvah - Eli Putterman 55 Teshuvah - Akiva Weisinger 65 2 Week One Summary: Dina Demalkhuta Dina: How Broad a Principle? by Avi Sommer July 3, 2020 Mishnah Bava Kamma 113a places various restrictions on transactions with tax collectors on the ground that their coins are considered stolen. For example, one may not accept charity from tax collectors or ask them to change larger denominations. You may be wondering: why would someone having a private economic transaction with a tax collector receive coins collected as taxes in change? Likewise, how could tax collectors give tax money away as charity? Shouldn’t it all have been given to their government? The answer is that the governments with which Chaza”l interacted, such as the Roman Empire, would sell the right to collect taxes to private individuals. -
"FOR GOD's SAKE, DO SOMETHING" the Theme of Parshat
RABBI NORMAN LAMM PARSHAT PAKAH THE JEWISH CENTER MARCH 8, 1969 "FOR GOD'S SAKE, DO SOMETHING" The theme of Parshat Parah is turnTah and taharah, which we usually translate as "levitical purity and impurity.1' Now there are two aspects to the category of turnTah and taharah in the Jewish tradition. The first regards turn1ah as a state of enforced separation from holy places or objects, initiated by contact with death: a dead body or a part of it, a debilitating disease, or the loss of vital issue or fluid. This is the kind °f turn'ah about which we read from the Torah this morning. The second understanding of turn'ah and taharah is the spiritualized interpretation about which we read in this morning's Haftorah. Turn'ah is considered a state initiated by sin, which is the rebellion against and the cutting off of oneself from the Living God of Israel. Both physical death and partial death, as in the Sidra, and spiritual death and partial death, as in the Haftorah, are regarded as the sources of turn'ah. Thus our Haftorah begins, "Son of man, when the House of Israel dwelt in their own land, />_?>~>^7> xS*L llcrtG1! > they de- filed it by their ways and by their doings" (Ezekiel 36:17). Israel's way of life was disobedient and rebellious against the living God, and therefore their turn'ah had to be purged. But the remaining part of the Haftorah, its major sec- tion, does not deal with turn'ah and taharah but with another theme, that of Kiddush Hashem and Hillul Hashenu the sanctification of -2- God's Name and the desecration of the Name. -
Jason Yehuda Leib Weiner
Jason Yehuda Leib Weiner A Student's Guide and Preparation for Observant Jews ♦California State University, Monterey Bay♦ 1 Contents Introduction 1 Chp. 1, Kiddush/Hillul Hashem 9 Chp. 2, Torah Study 28 Chp. 3, Kashrut 50 Chp. 4, Shabbat 66 Chp. 5, Sexual Relations 87 Chp. 6, Social Relations 126 Conclusion 169 2 Introduction Today, all Jews have the option to pursue a college education. However, because most elite schools were initially directed towards training for the Christian ministry, nearly all American colonial universities were off limits to Jews. So badly did Jews ache for the opportunity to get themselves into academia, that some actually converted to Christianity to gain acceptance.1 This began to change toward the end of the colonial period, when Benjamin Franklin introduced non-theological subjects to the university. In 1770, Brown University officially opened its doors to Jews, finally granting equal access to a higher education for American Jews.2 By the early 1920's Jewish representation at the leading American universities had grown remarkably. For example, Jews made up 22% of the incoming class at Harvard in 1922, while in 1909 they had been only 6%.3 This came at a time when there were only 3.5 millions Jews4 in a United States of 106.5 million people.5 This made the United States only about 3% Jewish, rendering Jews greatly over-represented in universities all over the country. However, in due course the momentum reversed. During the “Roaring 1920’s,” a trend towards quotas limiting Jewish students became prevalent. Following the lead of Harvard, over seven hundred liberal arts colleges initiated strict quotas, denying Jewish enrollment.6 At Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons for instance, Jewish enrollment dropped from 50% in 1 Solomon Grayzel, A History of the Jews (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1959), 557. -
KIDDUSH HASHEM: MARTYRDOM and TESHUVA Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz
KIDDUSH HASHEM: MARTYRDOM AND TESHUVA Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz I. Primacy of Life Vayikra 18:5 ּוְׁשַמְׁרֶתֶּ֤ם ֶאתֻ־חֹּקַתי֙ ְׁוֶאתִ־מְׁשָּפ ַַ֔טי ֲא ֶֶׁ֨שר You shall keep My laws and My rules, by the ַיֲעֶשֶֹּׂ֥ה אָּתָ֛ם ָּהָָּאדָָּ֖םו ַַ֣חיָּ א בֶהֲֶ֑םִָ֖ני ה'׃ )ס( .pursuit of which man shall live: I am the LORD Rashi ad loc: ושמרתם את חקתי וגו.' YE SHALL THEREFORE KEEP MY ושמרתם את חקתי וגו' לרבות שאר דקדוקי הפרשה ORDINANCES — [This is not a mere repetition of v. 4 but is ,שלא פ רט הכתוב בהם .דבר intended] to include other details of the laws mentioned in אחר ליתן שמירה ועשייה .this chapter which Scripture does not expressly mention לחוקים ושמירה ועשייה Another explanation is: Scripture makes this repetition in למשפטים ,לפי שלא נתן אלא and (שמירה) "order to attach the commands of “observing עשייה למשפטים ושמירה and the commands of ,חוק ים to the (עשיה) "performing" לחוקים :וחי בהם. לעולם for in v. 4 it uses the term ,משפטים to the עשיה and שמירה הבא ,שאם תאמר בעולם שמירה and that of ,משפטים only in connection with the עשיה הזה , והלא סופו הוא מת Sifra, Acharei Mot, Section) חוקים only with reference to the :אני ה.' נאמן לשלם שכר: .(10 8 An Example: Rambam, Hilchot Shabbat, 2:1-3 … ֹּחוֶלה ֶשֵּישֹּבו ַסָּכָּנה עֹּוִשין ֹּלו ָּכל ְׁצָּרָּכיו ְׁבַשָּבת ַעל ִפי When these things are done, they ֹּרוֵּפא ֻאָּמן ֶשל ֹּאותֹּו ָּמֹּקום.ָּסֵּפק ֶשהּוא ָּצ ִ ריְך לְׁחַ לֵּלעָּ לָּיו are not to be done by means of a ֶאת ַהַשָּבת … non-Jew, or children … but rather )ב( ... ַּומְׁדִליִקין לֹּו ֶאת ַהֵּנר ְּׁומַכִבין ִמְׁלָּפָּניו ֶאת ַהֵּנר by the scholars and leaders of ְׁוֹּשוֲחִטין ֹּלו ְׁוֹּאוִפין ְּׁומַבְׁשִלין ְּׁומִחִמין ֹּלו ַחִמין ֵּבין Israel … and it is forbidden to ְׁלַהְׁשקֹּוֹּתו ֵּבין ִלְׁרִחַיצת ּגֹּּופו. -
Text to Read: Slide 1 & 2: Outline Netiquette and Halakhah Relates To
Text to Read: Slide 1 & 2: Outline Netiquette and Halakhah relates to (1) Chofetz Chaim’s Hilchot Esurei Lashon Hara; (2) The Prohibition slander, of motzi shem ra, (3) and causing emotional stress with words, ona’at devarim, (4) Lo telech rachil b'ameicha [TAILBeARING](5) causing halbanat panim [embarassment] which is like murder, k’sh’fikhat damim; and striving for, (a) purity of speech, Loshon naki, (b) Derekh erez kadma la’torah, (c) sanctifying Hashem’s name, kiddush Hashem, (d) respecting all of G-d’s creatures, k’vod habriyot [respecting all BiTzelem Elokim]. Slide 3: Thesis The thesis of this paper is that the time age old antidote and corrective to the problems of incivility and cyber bullying on the internet can be remedied by recognizing how to curtail speaking loshon ha-ra and motzi shem rah as laid out in the Chofetz Chaim’s Hilchot Esurei Rechilut; and seeking musar guidance in torah principles that guide derekh eretz and mentschlikeit. The Internet should be used in manners consistent with our torah lives, values, and principles. Slide 4 Never before has it been more critical to understand Kiddushin 30b “I have created a yetzer ha-ra and I have created Torah as its anti-dote . Our mesorah offers guidance and definitions about proper perspectives that guide how we approach and use technologies and how to set limits. Our masorah teaches that Hashem spoke to Moshe panim el panim. Chavruta learning is part of the yeshiva experience to convey a living masora and although this “may” sometime occur online there is no substitute for “oseh likhah rav. -
Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-09065-1 — Boundaries of Loyalty Saul J
Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-09065-1 — Boundaries of Loyalty Saul J. Berman Index More Information 231 Index Abbaye, 194 29a, 122n.122 Abramson, Shraga, 21n.24 , 114n.95 48b, 121n.121 Adam Chashuv , 120 , 152 , 171 , 186 71a, 22n.38 Agudah, 145n.13 8b, 121n.121 Agunah , 218 Albeck, Chanoch, 25n.52 , 40 , 120n.109 Batzri, Ezra, Rabbi, 203 Alon, Gedalyahu, 9n.18 , 178 Bava Batra Alter, Robert, 193 9a, 122n.122 Amalek , 195 , 211 10b, 122n.124 Amir, A.S., 22n.36 16b, 167n.77 Amital, Yehuda, Rabbi, 107n.77 45a, 17n.3 , 19n.19 Anas , 59 , 166 , 169 , 172 , 173 , 202 , 203 , 55a, 22n.38 206 , 208 173b, 22n.38 Arakhin Bava Kamma 16b, 106n.73 14b, 5n.8 19a, 122n.122 15a, 5n.8 Arkaot , 4 , 207 23b, 17n.3 , 19n.19 Aryeh Leib Hacohen Heller, 142n.3 55b, 14n.31 Asher ben Yechiel, 21n.25 , 42n.10 , 56a, 14n.31 60n.52 , 72 , 100n.47 , 128 , 129n.147 , 58b, 22n.38 131n.153 , 134n.157 , 153n.35 , 220 72b, 194n.14 , 194n.16 Ashi, 13 , 17 , 120 , 171 73a, 194n.14 , 194n.16 Atlas, Shmuel, 78n.1 80b, 12n.23 Auerbach, Shlomo Zalman, 202 81b, 126n.138 Avodah Zarah 88a, 5n.7 6a, 103n.61 92b, 42n.10 6b, 103n.61 112b, 155n.42 13a, 9n.15 , 12n.25 , 13n.28 113a, 111n.84 , 155n.42 13b, 12n.25 , 13n.27 , 13n.28 113b, 16 , 19n.19 , 70n.77 , 111n.84 , 19b, 19n.21 112n.90 20a, 112n.89 114a, 16 , 22n.35 , 70n.77 , 122n.123 26a, 22n.33 117a, 70 , 70n.80 28a, 121n.121 117b, 59n.51 231 © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-09065-1 — Boundaries of Loyalty Saul J. -
The Estranged American Jew
TAMMUZ 5733 / JUNE 1973 VOLUME IX, NUMBER 4 THE FIFTY CENTS The Estranged American Jew HORAV MOSHE FEINSTEIN PROCLAIMS • A Time for Action A YOUTH WORKER ANALYZES • Key 73 and The Vulnerable Jew A YOUNG ROSH YESHIVA EXAMINES • What Can a Yeshiva Bachur Do? A FOUNDER OF YESHIVOS AND A PROFESSOR OF SCIENCES OUTLINE • A Memorandum for Cooperation THE JEWISH QBSERVER in this issue ... A TIME FOR ACTION, adapted from an address by Horav Moshe Feinstein .................... 3 KEY 73 AND THE VULNERABLE JEW, Aryeh Kaplan ..................... 7 OUR ALIENATED BROTHERS - WHAT CAN A YESHIVA BACHUR Do?, Yisroel Belsky ................................... 12 CoME, WALK IN MY GARDEN, Elkanah Schwartz 16 THE JEWISH OBSERVER is published monthly, except July and August, "ETERNITY" OR "'FOREVER," Nissan Wolpin 19 by the Agudath Israel of America, 5 Beekman Street, New York, New York 10038. Second class RE: OUR ALIENATED BRETHREN (from "A Memorandum postage paid at New York, N. Y. Subscription: $5.00 per year; Two from Rabbi Simcha Wasserman and Dr. Bernard years, $850; Three years, $12.00; outside of the United States, $6.00 Fryshman") 22 per year. Single copy, fifty cents. Printed in the U.S.A. SECOND LOOKS AT THE JEWISH SCENE: RAeeI NISSON WOLPIN Editor THE B'NAI B'RITH FIGHTS FOR JUDAISM 25 No ONE KNOWS WHY EXACTLY, Emanuel Feldman Editorial Board 28 DR. ERNST L. BODENHEIMER Chairman RABBI NATHAN BULMAN LETTERS TO THE EDITOR .............. 30 RABBI JOSEPH ELIAS JOSEPH fRJEDENSON RABBI YAAKOV JACOBS RABBI MOSHE SHERER THE JEWISH OBSERVER does not assume responsibiJity for the Kashrus of any product or service advertised in its pages. -
2019 CMTL Reader Published by the Center for Modern Torah Leadership
2019 CMTL Reader Published by the Center for Modern Torah Leadership 1 Unless otherwise noted, all pieces are by Rabbi Klapper and published on the CMTL website or blog. Table of Contents Understanding the Centrality of Law in Orthodox Judaism (Originally in Public Discourse) 3 Was Making the Golden Calf a Violation of Halakhah? 5 The Persistence of Memory: Sacrifice, Human Sacrifice, and Amalek 8 Shotgun Tabernacle? The Sifra on Philanthropy, Social Shaming, and Consequentialism (by Rabbi Shlomo Zuckier) 11 Where There’s a Priestly Will, Is There a Halakhic Way? 13 Should Moral Intuition and Halakhah Always Agree? 17 Can Halakhah Be a Desecration of Hashem’s Name? 20 Why the Free Bird Sings 23 The Little Prince and His Rose Yeshiva 27 Was Negiah Prohibited in Eden? 30 The True Cost of Having Children (And It Is Not Day School Tuition!) (by Benzion Chinn) 34 Why We Need More Akeidah Conversations 36 Thanksgiving, Jewish Identity, and Antisemitism 39 Are We Living in a Greek Tragedy? (by Adena Morgan) 42 Should Assisted Suicide be Legalized? A Jewish Perspective (Originally in Canopy Forum) 44 Why Didn’t the Rabbis Eliminate Mamzerut? Part 1 47 Why Didn’t the Rabbis Eliminate Mamzerut? Part 2 50 Why Didn’t the Rabbis Eliminate Mamzerut? Part 3 53 Why Didn’t the Rabbis Eliminate Mamzerut? Part 4 57 Why Didn’t the Rabbis Eliminate Mamzerut? Part 5 61 Why Didn’t the Rabbis Eliminate Mamzerut? Part 6 64 Why Didn’t the Rabbis Eliminate Mamzerut? Part 7 68 Why Didn’t the Rabbis Eliminate Mamzerut? Part 8 71 Why Didn’t the Rabbis Eliminate Mamzerut? Part 9 75 2 Understanding the Centrality of Law in Orthodox Judaism A shorter version was originally published in Public Discourse February 8, 2019 Halakhah: The Rabbinic Conception of Law, by Chaim Saiman, provides a fascinating and deeply learned cultural anthropology of contemporary Orthodox Judaism. -
Shavuos Retreat
SHAVUOS RETREAT GATEWAYS SHAVUOS SCHEDULE 5771 Tuesday June 7 - Thursday June 9, 2011 STAMFORD PLAZA HOTEL STAMFORD, CT Gateways Shavuos Schedule 5771 • June 7 –June 9, 2011 Gateways Shavuos Schedule 5771 • June 7 –June 9, 2011 Welcome to Shavuos 2011 with The Gateways Organization at the Stamford Special Dietary Requirements-Those that are allergic to nuts or other Plaza Hotel. Our entire staff is dedicated to making your stay a most products and/or have special dietary needs, please notify the Maitre’D, enjoyable one. We will be providing stimulating programs, delicious cuisine Fernando. & fine entertainment, making this a Shavuos to remember. Shidduch Meetings-Over Yom Tov there will be a number of opportunities Please read through this program to acquaint yourselves with the for singles and their parents to meet each other as well as discuss possibilities daily schedule. with the Gateways staff. The times and location are listed each day in the schedule. Please approach the shadchanim who will be facilitating these After arriving in your room, if you had any special room requests (cots, cribs etc.) meetings. that have not been provided for, please call Housekeeping from your room. Children’s Program- Registration for day camp begins on Tuesday at Electronic Locks: The electronic lock on the door to your room has been 1:00pm on the 2nd floor. The Day Camp information can be found in the disengaged. An ordinary key will be issued for the duration of your stay. In Camp Gateways brochure. If you will require private babysitting on Yom Tov the event that the electric lock is still operational, please call the front desk please register with the Day Camp before Yom Tov.