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Women, Relationships & Jewish Texts
WOMEN, RELATIONSHIPS sukkot& JEWISH TEXTS Rethinking Sukkot: Women, Relationships and Jewish Texts a project of jwi.org/clergy © Jewish Women International 2019 Shalom Colleagues and Friends, On behalf of the Clergy Task Force, we are delighted to offer this newly revised resource to enrich Sukkot celebra- tions. Rethinking Sukkot: Women, Relationships and Jewish Texts is designed to spark new conversations about iconic relationships by taking a fresh look at old texts. Using the text of Kohelet, which is read on the Shabbat that falls during Sukkot, as well as prayers, midrash, and modern commentary, the guide serves to foster conversations about relationships. It combines respectful readings with provocative and perceptive insights, questions and ideas that can help shape healthier relationships. We hope it will be warmly received and widely used throughout the Jewish community. We are grateful to our many organizational partners for their assistance and support in distributing this resource in preparation for the observance of Sukkot. We deeply appreciate the work of the entire Clergy Task Force and want to especially acknowledge Rabbi Donna Kirshbaum, co-editor of this guide, and each of the contributors for their thoughtful commentaries. Please visit jwi.org/clergy to learn more about the important work of the Task Force. We welcome your reactions to this resource, and hope you will use it in many settings. Wishing you a joyful Sukkot, Rabbi Leah Citrin Rabbi David Rosenberg Co-Chair, Clergy Task Force Co-Chair, Clergy Task Force Lori Weinstein Deborah Rosenbloom CEO, JWI Vice President of Programs & New Initiatives, JWI MEMBERS Rabbi Leah Citrin (co-chair) Rabbi Joshua Rabin Temple Beth Or, Raleigh, NC United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, New York, NY Rabbi Sean Gorman Pride of Israel Synagogue, Toronto, ON Rabbi Nicole K. -
Weekly Bulletin
T January 1- 8, 2021• Tevet 17-24, 5781 This Week at YICC VAYECHI m SHABBAT MINYANIM IN SHUL @ YICC HALAKHIC CORNER You MUST be pre-registered and on our security list When Blessing children on Friday night, are we supposed to raise to be allowed entry into our Minyanim. our hands over the child’s head? ALL Minyanim meet in our Shul’s Backyard There is a universal Minhag throughout Klal Yisrael to bless one’s children on Friday night. The origin of this Minhag is unclear but it is Friday Night: likely to be an extension of the well-known custom to bless one’s Mincha & Kabbalat Shabbat ................. 4:45 pm children on the eve of Yom Kippur. Based on the Pasuk in this week’s Parasha, we invoke the names and qualities of Efraim and Shabbat Day: Menashe when blessing our children, followed by the immortal Shacharit ................................... 7:00 & 8:30 am words of Birkhat Kohanim. Shabbat Afternoon: The permissibility of a parent's use of Birkhat Kohanim is called into Mincha ................................................. 4:35 pm question by the Gemara in Ketubot 24b, where Rashi explains that Like this you shall bless,” which is the כֹּ֥ה תְבָֽרֲכ֖ ּו “ Shiur by Rabbi Dr. Zev Wiener the Pasuk Maariv .................................................. 5:31 pm source for Birkhat Kohanim, also includes the negative Shabbat ends & Havdalah .................... 5:41 pm commandment that one who is not a Kohen may not bless in this way. Based on this, Rabbi Baruch Epstein (d. 1941) in the Torah Temimah (Naso 131) explains that blessing with two hands may be too similar to Birkhat Kohanim, which is performed using both hands, SHABBAT AT HOME therefore we should only raise one hand over the child. -
To Forgive Is Divine, and Human: the Bilateral Obligation of Forgiveness3
To Forgive is Divine, and Human: The Bilateral Obligation of Forgiveness3 Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman Faculty, Stone Beit Midrash Program The Obligation to Ask Forgiveness It is abundantly clear that the halakhic view places great import on influencing the individual’s interaction with others in society. The relationship of man to his fellow stands as a formidable component of any Jew’s spiritual record, an irreplaceable element of one’s overall standing. It is thus not surprising that any reckoning of one’s religious status is considered incomplete if lacking a thorough analysis of this interaction, along with whatever methods are necessary to rectify any aberrations or disturbances that may arise within this context. The Talmud introduces this concept clearly in the course of a discussion of the laws of Yom Kippur. The Day of Atonement effects forgiveness for all transgressions, under the appropriate circumstances and accompanying devices. Nonetheless, we are told: “Sins that are between man and God, Yom Kippur atones for them; Sins that are between man and his fellow, Yom Kippur will not atone until he appeases his fellow.” 4 This notion, the imperative to attain mechilah, forgiveness, from an aggrieved party, is more innovative than it may initially seem.5 While impositions upon the rights of others constitute a significant portion of prohibited behaviors, the necessity to beg the pardon of the victim is by no means obvious. It might equally have been assumed that just as God issued commands as to the behavior of one individual toward another, He, too, serves as the aggrieved party Who must forgive when these commands are trod upon. -
A Letter from R. Nathan Kamenetsky,Midrashic Exegesis and Biblical Interpretation in the Meshekh Hokhmah,German Orthodoxy, Hakir
A Letter from R. Nathan Kamenetsky A Letter from R. Nathan Kamenetsky In response to my last post on the Seforim Blog, R. Nathan Kamenetsky sent me a long e-mail. Because of its value to those with an interest in the Lithuanian Torah world, I asked Rabbi Kamenetsky for permission to post it here, and he graciously agreed – Marc Shapiro The central figure, albeit a mostly passive one, in the story I shall tell below is R’ Maisheh Finkel, one of the twin sons who were the youngest children of the Alter of Slabodka, born around 1887. The other twin was R’ Shmuel Finkel, whose son became a caterer in Chicago and is the father of the recently deceased son-in-law of R’ Bainish Finkel (son of the the Alter’s oldest son R’ Laizer-Yudel), R’ Noson-Zvi Finkel, a namesake of his great-grandfather the Alter of Slabodka who served as the Rosh of the mighty Yeshivat Mir of Jerusalem for about thirty years. R’ Maisheh was far superior in Torah talent to his twin R’ Shmuel. Someone described to me R’ Maisheh’s learning pose; he would pace back and forth the length of the beit midrash, and if someone asked a good question, R’ Maisheh would give him one reply as he passed the questioner on the first time he transversed the beit midrash, then give him a second answer when he passed by him a second time, and a third answer when he passed him by for the third time. Raised by his mother – the Alteh lived in Kelem, not Slabodka, till the latter part of the first decade of the 20th century: see MOAG pp. -
1 on Rosh Hashana / Haazinu
BS"D To: [email protected] From: [email protected] INTERNET PARSHA SHEET ON ROSH HASHANA / HAAZINU - 5771 In our 16th year! To receive this parsha sheet, go to http://www.parsha.net and click Subscribe or send a blank e-mail to [email protected] Please also copy me at [email protected] A complete archive of previous issues is now available at http://www.parsha.net It is also fully searchable. ________________________________________________ To sponsor an issue (proceeds to Tzedaka) email [email protected] ________________________________________________ A K'siva v'Chasima Tova TORAH ON THE INTERNET. Please send donations to any or all of the following institutions. Thanks. Chaim - Torah.org (Project Genesis), 122 Slade Avenue, Suite 250, Baltimore, MD 21208, http://www.torah.org/support - Ohr Somayach International , Attn. Internet Department , 1399 Coney Island Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11230, http://ohr.edu/yhiy.php/donate - Torah Web Foundation, c/o Judah Diament , 94 Baker Ave, Bergenfield, NJ 07621, http://www.torahweb.org/contact.html - Rabbi Riskin, Ohr Torah Stone , Executive Director North America, 49 West 45th Street, Suite 701, New York, NY 10036, http://www.ohrtorahstone.org.il/ots_contact.htm - Aish HaTorah, American Friends of Aish HaTorah , 400 South Lake Drive, Lakewood NJ 08701-3167, http://www.aish.com/aishint/ - Yeshivat Har Etzion Virtual Beit Midrash , American Friends of Yeshivat Har Etzion , 160 Broadway, Suite #1000 , New York, NY 10038, http://www.haretzion.org/contactus.htm - Shema Yisrael Torah Network, POB 708, Lakewood, N.J. 08701, http://www.shemayisrael.com/donation/ - Dafyomi Advancement Forum, (Rabbi Mordechai Kornfeld), D.A.F., 140-32 69 Ave., Flushing NY 11367, http://www.dafyomi.co.il/sponsors.htm - Many thanks to Michael Fiskus for helping distribute Internet Parsha Sheets in Jamaica Estates. -
Bikkurim from Nishmat
Bikkurim From Nishmat In Honor of JEANIE AND JAY SCHOTTENSTEIN And in Celebration of Nishmat's 25th Anniversary Jerusalem 2015 In this volume, all Tanach translations are either from Machon Mamre or Soncino (D. Mandel); the Talmud translations are from Soncino (I. Epstein). Slight modifications have been made for style and nuance. Design and Pagination: Studio HaMaabada Table of Contents 1. Laws of Shavuot 5 Rabbi Da'vid Sperling Part I – Receiving the Torah 2. Women and Shavuot 9 Rabbanit Chana Henkin, Dean 3. Na'aseh v'Nishma, We Will Do and We Will Understand 11 Rabbi Yehuda Henkin 4. I Was There, Standing at Sinai 14 Rabbanit Noa Lau 5. Thoughts for Shavout 17 Rachelle Sprecher Fraenkel 6. Is There a Mitzvah to Remember Matan Torah? 20 Rabbanit Gilla Rosen 7. In the Beginning There was Prophecy 23 Rabbi Shay Nave 8. “Hear O Israel”: What Must We Hear? 26 Michal Efrati 9. Strengthening our Relationship with Hashemh 30 Dr. Karen Kirshenbaum 10. The Chosen People 33 Rabbi Re'em HaCohen 11. Ingesting Torah 36 Adi Bitter Part II – Megillat Ruth 12. The Megillah of Hesed 39 Rabbi Chaim Navon 13. Betrothal and Marriage in the Book of Ruth 42 Dr. Tova Ganzel 14. The Book of Ruth Needs Manoah: The Death of Arrogance, The Birth of Compassion 45 Ayala Friedman 15. Between the Festival of Shavuot and Megillat Ruth 51 Rabbi David Sabato 16. Acceptance of the Yoke of Heaven and Acceptance of the “Other” 56 Rabbanit Chana Henkin, Dean 17. Shavuot – An Agricultural Festival with Dual Significance and the Book of Ruth 62 Rabbi Yoel Bin-Nun 18. -
Apprehension in Jewish Belief and in the Study of Torah
269 Apprehension in Jewish Belief and in the Study of Torah By: NEIL NORMAND Introduction As Jews, we are committed to Rambam’s Thirteen Principles of Faith and to the performance of the 613 mizvoṭ . Within these principles there is a disproportionate emphasis on two pillars of Judaism: the belief in G-d1 and the primacy of the Torah.2 When R. Yehudah ha- Nasi codified the Mishnah, he placed the mizvaḥ of Talmud Torah in the first mishnah of Pe’ah, in which he states unequivocally, “ve-talmud Torah keneged kulam,” that the study of Torah is equal in importance to all other commandments combined. About a thousand years later, when Rambam wrote his Mishneh Torah, he began the first ruling of his magnum opus with the mizvaḥ , to know of the existence of G-d. In this essay, I would like to examine the necessity and significance of “apprehension” in both the belief in G-d and in the mizvaḥ of talmud Torah. By the term “apprehension,” I am referring to the importance that the basis for one’s belief in G-d and one’s involvement in the study of Torah should be knowledge that is acquired in a direct, first-hand way, as opposed to a commitment only based upon reliance upon our forefathers’ traditions (although certainly not to the exclusion of such a belief system, as will be discussed later). 1 Principles one through five, as well as Principles ten and eleven, deal with the essence of G-d. 2 Principles six and seven deal with belief in the authenticity of the prophets, of which Moshe was the epitome. -
Unit 4 Marriage Tanach More on Who Should Listen to Whom with Regard to Domestic Decision-Making
Unit 4 Marriage TaNaCh More on who should listen to whom with regard to domestic decision-making. Kohelet 4:9 קהלת פרק ד Two are better than one; because they have a good )ט( טֹובִִ֥ים הַשְּׁ נַַ֖֖יִם מִ דן־הָאֶחָָ֑ ראֲשֶֶׁ֧ יֵש־לָהֶֶ֛ םשָכִָ֥ר ט֖ ֹוב בַ עֲמָלָָֽ ם:1 reward for their labor.6 2 RaShI7 s.v. Tovim HaShenayim רש"י For everything, (two are better) than one. Therefore a )ט( טובים השנים - לכל דבר מן האחד לפיכך יקנה לו אדם חבר3 וישא אשה אשר יש להם יותר ריוח בעמלם, person should “acquire” a friend8 and marry a woman, הרבה מלאכה נעשית בשנים שאין היחיד מתחיל בה in order that there be greater benefit in all of their לבדו: efforts. Much work is accomplished by two, because (certain things) will not even be attempted by one by himself. 1 Taken in the context of the succeeding verses, particularly v. 12-- 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and hath not another to lift him up. 11 Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if a man prevail against him that is alone, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken-- it is hardly compelling to interpret v. 9 as reflective of marriage in general and marital decision-making in particular. Nevertheless R. Lichtenstein (“Of Marriage: Relationship and Relations” http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/725299/Rabbi_Dr-_Aharon_Lichtenstein/Of_Marriage- _Relationship_and_Relations# ) does apply the sentiment expressed in v. -
Parashat Beshalach Shevat 15 5777 February 11, 2017 Vol
בס"ד Parashat BeShalach Shevat 15 5777 February 11, 2017 Vol. 26 No. 18 performance of Mitzvot Bein Adam LaMakom, one should Zeh Keili VeAnveihu by Rabbi Nosson Rich similarly seek to emulate Hashem’s compassion and graciousness to enhance his fulfillment of Mitzvot Bein Adam LeChaveiro. It is Various Halachot are derived from the fascinating phrases in not enough for one to simply achieve an enhanced relationship the beautiful song, Shirat HaYam. One such Halachah is the with Hashem; he must also demand of himself the same degree of principle of Hiddur Mitzvah, the concept of striving to do attention and commitment when relating to his fellow man. After Mitzvot in an enhanced manner in order to beautify our service of all, how foolish would one be if he were to spend extra time, Hashem. The Gemara (Shabbat 133b) derives this principle from energy, and resources to enhance the quality of his Lulav or the phrase, “Zeh Keili VeAnveihu,” “This is my God and I will Tefillin, yet ignore his basic responsibility to improve upon his make Him a house” (Shemot 15:2), which is interpreted by our interpersonal relationships? In fact, Rav Epstein declares that Rabbis as a specific directive to strive to perform Mitzvot in a such an individual runs the risk of causing a profound Chillul beautiful and exalted manner. The Gemara provides various Hashem, desecration of Hashem’s name, for people would examples for this: Lulav, Tzitzit, and Sefer Torah are but a sample associate the deficiencies in his character with his religious of Mitzvot that we are instructed to fulfill in manners that reflects identity. -
Netziv – Rav Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berliner
A Man of One World and Many Minds The Netziv – Rav Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berliner Suggestions for Further Study: Hebrew). Available for free at) מקור ברוך, כרך ד .Epstein, Rabbi Baruch http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=48316&st=&pgnum=1&hilite= Schachter, Jacob J. “Haskalah, Secular Studies, and the Close (sic) of the Yeshiva in Volozhin in 1892.” Torah U’Madda Journal, Vol. 2, 1990, 76-133. Available for free at https://www.yutorah.org/_cdn/_shiurim/TU2_Schachter.pdf Wein, Rabbi Berel. “Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin: The Fruits of Volozhin.” Audio class from “The Biography Series.” Download ($5) at https://www.rabbiwein.com/R-Naftali-Zvi- Yehuda-BerlinbrThe-Fruits-of-VolozhinbrFrom-the-Biography-Series-P632.html “The Closing of Volozhin; Jewish Urban Legend?” Weblog post at http://muqata.blogspot.com/2008/05/closing-of-volozhin-jewish-urban-legend.html. Originally dated May 20, 2008. Retrieved July 22, 2018 Ha’emek Davar, Netziv’s commentary on Chumash) is available for free at) העמק דבר Sefaria.org and Alhatorah.org. :(על ימין ושמאל) The Netziv’s masterful essay on centrism in religious life http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=1096&st=&pgnum=48 At the Apex of Four Dynasties: The Netziv’s Family Tree Rav Chaim Rav Yehuda Volozhiner Eidel Berlin (RY #1) Relka Soloveitchik Shapiro Rav Yitzchak (Itzeleh) Yaakov Berlin Volozhiner (Merchant) Yitzchak (RY #2) R’ Yechiel Michel Zev Epstein (Aruch Soloveitchik Michlah Hashulchan) Berlin Epstein Rav Yosef Rav Elazar Older Rayna Batya Miriam Rav Baruch Dov Halevi Yitzchak NETZIV daughter Batya (Mirel) Halevi Epstein Soloveitchik Fried st (Beit Halevi) (RY #3) (1 wife) (RY #4) (2nd wife) (Torah Temimah) Rav Chaim Soloveitchik Rav Rephael Sara Rasha Rav Chaim Rav Meir Berlin (RY #4b) Shapiro Berlin Berlin (RY #6) (RY #5) Shapiro Rav of Moscow (Bar Ilan) Lifshe Parent-Child Marriage 2 Biography Early Life Netziv = acronym; nobleman, aristocrat – humility, kindness, greatness 1816 – Erev RC Kislev 5577 (Nov. -
Adas Torah Journal of Torah Ideas
• NITZACHONניצחון Adas Torah Journal of Torah Ideas VOLUME 2:2 • PURIM - PESACH - SHAVUOS 5775 • LOS ANGELES Nitzachon Adas Torah Journal of Torah Ideas Volume 2:2 Purim-Pesach-Shavuos 5775 Adas Torah 1135 South Beverly Drive Los Angeles, CA 90035 www.adastorah.org [email protected] (310) 228-0963 Rabbi Dovid Revah, Rav and Mara D’Asra Alan Rich, President Nitzachon Editorial Team Michael Kleinman, General Editor Yaakov Siegel, General Editor Yaakov Rich, Associate Editor Andrea Kahn, Copy Editor Rob Shur, Design and Layout www.rbscreative.com VOLUME 2:2 • PURIM, PESACH AND SHAVUOS 5775 ראש וראשון Rabbi Dovid Revah: The Sweet Taste of Marror ..................................................................................... p. 13 Rabbi Kalman Topp: Guest Contributor Afikoman: The Mysterious Half ..................................................................................... p. 19 שפתי ישנים Rabbi Osher Zilberstein zt”l: Am Yisrael ..................................................................................... p. 29 Rabbi Simcha Wasserman zt”l: Reaching Out ..................................................................................... p. 33 PURIM Eli Snyder: The Klippa of a Kippa: Addressing our Dress through the Custom of Costumes ..................................................................................... p. 41 Avraham Azizi: Leaders Acting Like Children: The Unusual Events that Led toKlal Yisrael’s Salvation on Purim .................................................................................... -
Haggadah Highlights How Do We Start the Maggid?
Haggadah Highlights How do we start the Maggid? בבהילו יצאנו ממצרים We went out with haste! Ha lachma anya, This is the bread of affliction we ate in Egypt Rabbi Baruch Epstein: On the way out of Egypt. In Egypt we remember… ָז ַ֙כְר֙נוֶּאַת־הָדּ ָ֔גֲה אֶשׁר־נ ֹ ַ֥אכְל בִּמְצ ַ֖ריִִם ח ָ֑נּ ֵ֣ם אַת הִקֻּשּׁ ִ֗אים וְֵא֙ת ָֽהֲאַבִטּ ִ֔חים וְֶאֶת־הָח ִ֥ציר וְֶאַת־הְבָּצ ִ֖לים וְֶאַת־ה ִֽשּׁוּמים׃ We remember the fish that we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. (Bhaalotecha) The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots, when we ate our fill of bread! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to starve this whole congregation to death.” (Beshalach) Maaseh Nissim Hagadah: The Netivot/Nesivos We ate matzah in Egypt. There was no time to eat bread and let it rise. As the hagadah says later, .וְֶאַת לָחֵצֶנוּ. זַו הְדַּחְק, כָּמֶה שּׁנֱֶּאַמר: וְַגָם־רִאִיתֶי אַת־הַלַּחֲץ אֶשִׁר מְצַריֲִם חִצים א ָֹתם "And our duress" - this [refers to] the pressure, as it is stated (Exodus 3:9); "And I also saw the duress that the Egyptians are applying on them." Maaseh Nissim cont’d This is bread of affliction… whoever is hungry shall come and eat. Now we are here. Next year in Israel.. What is the connection?? Just as we were slaves and now all who are hungry can eat, So too now we are here but next year we will be with great joy.