Humor in Talmud and Midrash
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Should Bakeries Which Are Open on Shabbat Be Supervised? a Response to the Rabinowitz-Weisberg Opinion RABBI HOWARD HANDLER
Should Bakeries Which are Open on Shabbat Be Supervised? A Response to the Rabinowitz-Weisberg Opinion RABBI HOWARD HANDLER This paper was submitted as a response to the responsum written by Rabbi Mayer Rabinowitz and Ms. Dvora Weisberg entitled "Rabbinic Supervision of Jewish Owned Businesses Operating on Shabbat" which was adopted by the CJLS on February 26, 1986. Should rabbis offer rabbinic supervision to bakeries which are open on Shabbat? i1 ~, '(l) l'\ (1) The food itself is indeed kosher after Shabbat, once the time required to prepare it has elapsed. 1 The halakhah is according to Rabbi Yehudah and not according to the Mishnah which is Rabbi Meir's opinion. (2) While a Jew who does not observe all the mitzvot is in some instances deemed trustworthy, this is never the case regarding someone who flagrantly disregards the laws of Shabbat, especially for personal profit. Maimonides specifically excludes such a person's trustworthiness regarding his own actions.2 Moreover in the case of n:nv 77n~ (a violator of Shabbat) Maimonides explicitly rejects his trustworthiness. 3 No support can be brought from Moshe Feinstein who concludes, "even if the proprietor closes his store on Shabbat, [since it is known to all that he does not observe Shabbat], we assume he only wants to impress other observant Jews so they will buy from him."4 Previously in the same responsum R. Feinstein emphasizes that even if the person in The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly provides guidance in matters of halakhah for the Conservative movement. -
ONEIROCRITICS and MIDRASH on Reading Dreams and the Scripture
ONEIROCRITICS AND MIDRASH On Reading Dreams and the Scripture Erik Alvstad A bstr act In the context of ancient theories of dreams and their interpretation, the rabbinic literature offers particularly interesting loci. Even though the view on the nature of dreams is far from un- ambiguous, the rabbinic tradition of oneirocritics, i.e. the discourse on how dreams are interpreted, stands out as highly original. As has been shown in earlier research, oneirocritics resembles scriptural interpretation, midrash, to which it has lent some of its exegetical rules. This article will primarily investigate the interpreter’s role in the rabbinic practice of dream interpretation, as reflected in a few rabbinic stories from the two Talmuds and from midrashim. It is shown that these narrative examples have some common themes. They all illustrate the polysemy of the dream-text, and how the person who puts an interpretation on it constructs the dream’s significance. Most of the stories also emphasize that the outcome of the dream is postponed until triggered by its interpretation. Thus the dreams are, in a sense, pictured as prophetic – but it is rather the interpreter that constitutes the prophetic instance, not the dream itself. This analysis is followed by a concluding discussion on the analogical relation between the Scripture and the dream-text, and the interpretative practices of midrash and oneirocritics. he striking similarities between the rabbinic traditions of Scriptural exegesis, midrash, and the rabbinic practice of Tdream interpretation, -
Modern Approaches to the Talmud: Sacha Stern | University College London
09/29/21 HEBR7411: Modern approaches to the Talmud: Sacha Stern | University College London HEBR7411: Modern approaches to the View Online Talmud: Sacha Stern Albeck, Chanoch, Mavo La-Talmudim (Tel-Aviv: Devir, 1969) Alexander, Elizabeth Shanks, Transmitting Mishnah: The Shaping Influence of Oral Tradition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006) Amit, Aaron, Makom She-Nahagu: Pesahim Perek 4 (Yerushalayim: ha-Igud le-farshanut ha-Talmud, 2009), Talmud ha-igud Ba’adani, Netanel, Hayu Bodkin: Sanhedrin Perek 5 (Yerushalayim: ha-Igud le-farshanut ha-Talmud, 2012), Talmud ha-igud Bar-Asher Siegal, Michal, Early Christian Monastic Literature and the Babylonian Talmud (Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013) Benovitz, Moshe, Lulav va-Aravah ve-Hahalil: Sukkah Perek 4-5 (Yerushalayim: ha-Igud le-farshanut ha-Talmud, 2013), Talmud ha-igud ———, Me-Ematai Korin et Shema: Berakhot Perek 1 (Yerushalayim: ha-Igud le-farshanut ha-Talmud, 2006), Talmud ha-igud Brody, Robert, Mishnah and Tosefta Studies, First edition, July 2014 (Jerusalem: The Hebrew university, Magnes press, 2014) ———, The Geonim of Babylonia and the Shaping of Medieval Jewish Culture, Paperback ed., with a new preface and an updated bibliography (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013) Carmy, Shalom, Modern Scholarship in the Study of Torah: Contributions and Limitations (Northvale, N.J.: J. Aronson, 1996), The Orthodox Forum series Chernick, Michael L., Essential Papers on the Talmud (New York: New York University Press, 1994), Essential papers on Jewish studies Daṿid Halivni, Meḳorot U-Masorot (Nashim), ha-Mahadurah ha-sheniyah (Ṭoronṭo, Ḳanadah: Hotsaʼat Otsarenu) ———, Meḳorot U-Masorot: Seder Moʼed (Yerushalayim: Bet ha-Midrash le-Rabanim be-Ameriḳah be-siṿuʻa Keren Moshe (Gusṭaṿ) Ṿortsṿayler, 735) ‘dTorah.com’ <http://dtorah.com/> 1/5 09/29/21 HEBR7411: Modern approaches to the Talmud: Sacha Stern | University College London Epstein, J. -
1 Jews, Gentiles, and the Modern Egalitarian Ethos
Jews, Gentiles, and the Modern Egalitarian Ethos: Some Tentative Thoughts David Berger The deep and systemic tension between contemporary egalitarianism and many authoritative Jewish texts about gentiles takes varying forms. Most Orthodox Jews remain untroubled by some aspects of this tension, understanding that Judaism’s affirmation of chosenness and hierarchy can inspire and ennoble without denigrating others. In other instances, affirmations of metaphysical differences between Jews and gentiles can take a form that makes many of us uncomfortable, but we have the legitimate option of regarding them as non-authoritative. Finally and most disturbing, there are positions affirmed by standard halakhic sources from the Talmud to the Shulhan Arukh that apparently stand in stark contrast to values taken for granted in the modern West and taught in other sections of the Torah itself. Let me begin with a few brief observations about the first two categories and proceed to somewhat more extended ruminations about the third. Critics ranging from medieval Christians to Mordecai Kaplan have directed withering fire at the doctrine of the chosenness of Israel. Nonetheless, if we examine an overarching pattern in the earliest chapters of the Torah, we discover, I believe, that this choice emerges in a universalist context. The famous statement in the Mishnah (Sanhedrin 4:5) that Adam was created singly so that no one would be able to say, “My father is greater than yours” underscores the universality of the original divine intent. While we can never know the purpose of creation, one plausible objective in light of the narrative in Genesis is the opportunity to actualize the values of justice and lovingkindness through the behavior of creatures who subordinate themselves to the will 1 of God. -
The Generic Transformation of the Masoretic Text of Qohelet 9. 7-10 in the Targum Qohelet and Qohelet Midrash Rabbah
Durham E-Theses Wine, women and work: the generic transformation of the Masoretic text of Qohelet 9. 7-10 in the Targum Qohelet and Qohelet Midrash Rabbah Hardy, John Christopher How to cite: Hardy, John Christopher (1995) Wine, women and work: the generic transformation of the Masoretic text of Qohelet 9. 7-10 in the Targum Qohelet and Qohelet Midrash Rabbah, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5403/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 WINE, WOMEN AND WORK: THE GENERIC TRANSFORMATION OF THE MA50RETIC TEXT OF QOHELET 9. 7-10 IN THE TARGUM QOHELET AND QOHELET MIDRASH RABBAH John Christopher Hardy This tnesis seeks to understand the generic changes wrought oy targum Qonelet and Qoheiet raidrash rabbah upon our home-text, the masoretes' reading ot" woh. -
The Humanity of the Talmud: Reading for Ethics in Bavli ʿavoda Zara By
The Humanity of the Talmud: Reading for Ethics in Bavli ʿAvoda Zara By Mira Beth Wasserman A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Joint Doctor of Philosophy with Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley in Jewish Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Daniel Boyarin, chair Professor Chana Kronfeld Professor Naomi Seidman Professor Kenneth Bamberger Spring 2014 Abstract The Humanity of the Talmud: Reading for Ethics in Bavli ʿAvoda Zara by Mira Beth Wasserman Joint Doctor of Philosophy with Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley University of California, Berkeley Professor Daniel Boyarin, chair In this dissertation, I argue that there is an ethical dimension to the Babylonian Talmud, and that literary analysis is the approach best suited to uncover it. Paying special attention to the discursive forms of the Talmud, I show how juxtapositions of narrative and legal dialectics cooperate in generating the Talmud's distinctive ethics, which I characterize as an attentiveness to the “exceptional particulars” of life. To demonstrate the features and rewards of a literary approach, I offer a sustained reading of a single tractate from the Babylonian Talmud, ʿAvoda Zara (AZ). AZ and other talmudic discussions about non-Jews offer a rich resource for considerations of ethics because they are centrally concerned with constituting social relationships and with examining aspects of human experience that exceed the domain of Jewish law. AZ investigates what distinguishes Jews from non-Jews, what Jews and non- Jews share in common, and what it means to be a human being. I read AZ as a cohesive literary work unified by the overarching project of examining the place of humanity in the cosmos. -
Designing the Talmud: the Origins of the Printed Talmudic Page
Marvin J. Heller The author has published Printing the Talmud: A History of the Earliest Printed Editions of the Talmud. DESIGNING THE TALMUD: THE ORIGINS OF THE PRINTED TALMUDIC PAGE non-biblical Jewish work,i Its redaction was completed at the The Talmudbeginning is indisputablyof the fifth century the most and the important most important and influential commen- taries were written in the middle ages. Studied without interruption for a milennium and a half, it is surprising just how significant an eftèct the invention of printing, a relatively late occurrence, had upon the Talmud. The ramifications of Gutenberg's invention are well known. One of the consequences not foreseen by the early practitioners of the "Holy Work" and commonly associated with the Industrial Revolution, was the introduction of standardization. The spread of printing meant that distinct scribal styles became generic fonts, erratic spellngs became uni- form and sequential numbering of pages became standard. The first printed books (incunabula) were typeset copies of manu- scripts, lacking pagination and often not uniform. As a result, incunabu- la share many characteristics with manuscripts, such as leaving a blank space for the first letter or word to be embellshed with an ornamental woodcut, a colophon at the end of the work rather than a title page, and the use of signatures but no pagination.2 The Gutenberg Bibles, for example, were printed with blank spaces to be completed by calligra- phers, accounting for the varying appearance of the surviving Bibles. Hebrew books, too, shared many features with manuscripts; A. M. Habermann writes that "Conats type-faces were cast after his own handwriting, . -
Miriyam Goldman OA Thesis 9Dec20.Pdf (247.7Kb)
The Living Stone: The Talmudic Paradox of the Seventh Month Gestational Viability vs. the Eighth Month Non-Viability Presented to the S. Daniel Abraham Honors Program in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Completion of the Program Stern College for Women Yeshiva University December 9, 2020 Miriyam A. Goldman Mentor: Rabbi Dr. Richard Weiss, Biology Table of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………. 3 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………….…. 4 Background to Pregnancy ……………………………………………………………………… 5 Talmudic Sources on the Dilemma ……………………………………………………………. 6 Meforshim on the Dilemma ……………………………………………………………………. 9 Secular Sources of the Dilemma ………………………………………………………………. 11 The Significance of Hair and Nails in Terms of Viability……………………………….……... 14 The Definition of Nefel’s Impact on Viability ……………………………………………….. 17 History of Premature Survival ………………………………………………………………… 18 Statistics on Prematurity ………………………………………………………………………. 19 Developmental Differences Between Seventh and Eighth Months ……………………….…. 20 Contemporary Talmudic Balance of the Dilemma..…………………………………….…….. 22 Contemporary Secular Balance of the Dilemma .……………………………………….…….. 24 Evaluation of Talmudic Accreditation …………………………………………………..…...... 25 Interviews with Rabbi Eitan Mayer, Rabbi Daniel Stein, and Rabbi Dr. Richard Weiss .…...... 27 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………….…. 29 References…..………………………………………………………………………………..… 34 2 Abstract This paper reviews the viability of premature infants, specifically the halachic status of those born in -
The Relationship Between Targum Song of Songs and Midrash Rabbah Song of Songs
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TARGUM SONG OF SONGS AND MIDRASH RABBAH SONG OF SONGS Volume I of II A thesis submitted to The University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2010 PENELOPE ROBIN JUNKERMANN SCHOOL OF ARTS, HISTORIES, AND CULTURES TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME ONE TITLE PAGE ............................................................................................................ 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................. 2 ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. 6 DECLARATION ........................................................................................................ 7 COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ....................................................................................... 8 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND DEDICATION ............................................................... 9 CHAPTER ONE : INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... 11 1.1 The Research Question: Targum Song and Song Rabbah ......................... 11 1.2 The Traditional View of the Relationship of Targum and Midrash ........... 11 1.2.1 Targum Depends on Midrash .............................................................. 11 1.2.2 Reasons for Postulating Dependency .................................................. 14 1.2.2.1 Ambivalence of Rabbinic Sources Towards Bible Translation .... 14 1.2.2.2 The Traditional -
The Decline of the Generations (Haazinu)
21 Sep 2020 – 3 Tishri 5781 B”H Dr Maurice M. Mizrahi Congregation Adat Reyim Torah discussion on Haazinu The Decline of the Generations Introduction In this week’s Torah portion, Haazinu, Moses tells the Israelites to remember their people’s past: זְכֹר֙יְמֹ֣ות םעֹולָָ֔ ב ִּ֖ ינּו נ֣ שְ ֹותּדֹור־וָד֑ ֹור שְאַַ֤ ל אָב ֙יך֙ וְ יַגֵָ֔דְ ךזְקֵנ ִּ֖יך וְ יֹֹ֥אמְ רּו לְָָֽך Remember the days of old. Consider the years of generation after generation. Ask your father and he will inform you; your elders, and they will tell you. [Deut. 32:7] He then warns them that prosperity (growing “fat, thick and rotund”) and contact with idolaters will cause them to fall away from their faith, so they should keep alive their connection with their past. Yeridat HaDorot Strong rabbinic doctrine: Yeridat HaDorot – the decline of the generations. Successive generations are further and further away from the revelation at Sinai, and so their spirituality and ability to understand the Torah weakens steadily. Also, errors of transmission may have been introduced, especially considering a lot of the Law was oral: מש הק בֵלּתֹורָ ה מ סינַי, ּומְ סָרָ ּהל יהֹושֻׁעַ , ו יהֹושֻׁעַ ל זְקֵנים, ּוזְקֵנים ל נְב יאים, ּונְב יא ים מְ סָ רּוהָ ילְאַנְשֵ נכְ ס ת הַגְדֹולָה Moses received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. [Avot 1:1] The Mishnah mourns the Sages of ages past and the fact that they will never be replaced: When Rabbi Meir died, the composers of parables ceased. -
The Gender of Shabbat
The Gender of Shabbat Aryeh Cohen Introduction “Women are like men in regards to Shabbat …”1 There are several specific ways in which Shabbat itself, the day, not the tractate, is gendered. Shabbat is called a “bride” (bShab 119a). At the onset of Shabbat, the sunset on Friday evening, the Bavli relates that sages would go out to greet the bride, Shabbat the Queen. Shabbat is “brought in” on command of the man of the house. He interro- gates the woman: “have you tithed?” “Have you made an eruv?” Upon receiving the correct answers he commands: “Light the candles,” (mShab 2:7).2 The Mishnah distinguishes between what a man is allowed to wear out of the house on Shabbat and what a woman is allowed to wear out of the house on Shabbat. The discussions center on jewelry and other “accessories” for a woman and body armor and weapons for a man (mShab 6:1-3). The prohibitions serve to construct the masculine and the feminine.3 However, I want to look elsewhere. mShabbat starts with distinguishing be- tween inside and outside. This should be familiar terrain for feminist theory. However, when we look at mShab 1:1, there is no distinction drawn between a man and a woman. In the complicated choreography of transgression illustrated in this text, it is the house-owning man who inhabits the inside and the poor man who stands outside. יציאות השבת שתים שהן ארבע בפנים, ושתים שהן ארבע בחוץ. כיצד? העני עומד בחוץ ובעל הבית בפנים. פשט העני את ידו לפנים ונתן לתוך ידו של בעל הבית, או שנטל מתוכה והוציא, העני חייב ובעל הבית פטור. -
The Greatest Mirror: Heavenly Counterparts in the Jewish Pseudepigrapha
The Greatest Mirror Heavenly Counterparts in the Jewish Pseudepigrapha Andrei A. Orlov On the cover: The Baleful Head, by Edward Burne-Jones. Oil on canvas, dated 1886– 1887. Courtesy of Art Resource. Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 2017 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu Production, Dana Foote Marketing, Fran Keneston Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Orlov, Andrei A., 1960– author. Title: The greatest mirror : heavenly counterparts in the Jewish Pseudepigrapha / Andrei A. Orlov. Description: Albany, New York : State University of New York Press, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016052228 (print) | LCCN 2016053193 (ebook) | ISBN 9781438466910 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438466927 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Apocryphal books (Old Testament)—Criticism, interpretation, etc. Classification: LCC BS1700 .O775 2017 (print) | LCC BS1700 (ebook) | DDC 229/.9106—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016052228 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For April DeConick . in the season when my body was completed in its maturity, there imme- diately flew down and appeared before me that most beautiful and greatest mirror-image of myself.