DOCSLIB.ORG

C. 1. Mosseri B. Judah Gaon 3 2

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
C. 1. Mosseri B. Judah Gaon 3 2 CONTENTS Preface ix Introduction xi Editorial Conventions xxi Table of xxiii A. Palestinian (c. 1. Mosseri b. Judah Gaon 3 2. Mosseri b. Judah Gaon 7 3. Mosseri b. Shemariah 4. Mosseri b. Azariah Gaon 16 5. Mosseri concerning a dispute over an inheritance 18 B. Responsa of Babylonian Geonim (c. loth-nth Centuries) 1. Mosseri on the authority of the Sages to the 29 2. Mosseri on one born circumcised on the Sabbath 35 3. Mosseri on the smuggling of pearls 40 4. Gaon (eight responsa) 43 5. Mosseri on ketubba 53 6. Mosseri Gaon (two responsa) 58 7. Mosseri b. Shemariah, a letter 63 8. Mosseri Gaon (two responsa) 68 9. Mosseri on the prohibition against eating fats 72 10. Mosseri Gaon 75 11. Mosseri Gaon or Hai Gaon 108 12. Mosseri discussion on BT Sanhedrin 6b-8a 111 13. Mosseri two queries on the impurity of a Caesarean birth and on the of a firstborn 116 14. Mosseri discussion on BT Pesahim 97a 15. Mosseri on matrimony and the proper attitude toward an ignoramus ('am ha-ares) 124 16. Mosseri concerning a ketubba [?] 128 17. Mosseri on the Obligation to celebrate two-day festivals in the Diaspora 133 18. Mosseri Gaon to Nehemiah b. Abraham 139 19. Mosseri pedagogical questions and answers related to the 143 20. Mosseri & Gaon, responding to the Sages 148 21. Mosseri Gaon (?), on the paradigms of damages' 153 22. Mosseri Gaon to Judah b. Joseph of Qayrawän 164 23. Mosseri Gaon or Hai Gaon 167 digitalisiert durch: Seride teshuvot IDS Basel Bern 2012 CONTENTS 24. Mosseri on Hai responsum explaining BT (Ketubbot 93a-b) 171 25. Mosseri Gaon and Hai to the Sages of Fez 175 26. Mosseri (?) on Gittin 59b 185 C. Responsa Rishonim Centuries) 1. Mosseri concerning a creditor who a writ of admission 193 2. Mosseri Suwayk, on coercing a debtor to take an oath 197 3. Mosseri ha-Levi ibn Migas, halakhic commentary 201 4. Mosseri Maimonides (five responsa) 211 Mosseri concerning someone suspected of adultery with a married woman 221 6. Mosseri & Alfasi (seven responsa) 225 7. Mosseri b. Judah (four responsa) 230 8. Mosseri on selling fellow a field under surety 236 9. Mosseri b. Seset (two responsa) 238 10. Mosseri concerning someone who vowed to fulfill a certain and now wishes to without the consent Community 248 11. Mosseri concerning the Status of a child born to a remarried woman 250 12. Mosseri concerning Hai Gaon (Sefer Mesarim) and Rashi (Sefer 254 13. Mosseri laws of oaths 258 14. Mosseri customs of merchants 264 15. Mosseri to the Sages of 269 16. Mosseri to 275 17. Mosseri concerning litigants who put pressure on a witness to testify 278 18. Mosseri b. Nathan ha-Levi, with the approval b. Halfen ha-Levi (three responsa) 281 19. Mosseri [autograph] 287 20. Mosseri 292 21. Mosseri pre-emptive rights; admission partial debt; women litigating before a rabbinical court; calling kohanim to the Torah .' 295 22. Mosseri monetary law concerning real estate 300 23. Mosseri & public declarations of 302 24. Mosseri 308 25. Mosseri b. Duran (two responsa) 311 26. Mosseri relations between gentiles and Jews .... 27. Mosseri concerning an based on the slanderous testimony of an 320 28. Mosseri draft query sent to R. (b. Elyaqim?) 322 29. Mosseri queries addressed to Joshua ha-Nagid by the of 324 30. Mosseri addressed to Abraham Maimonides 328 Mosseri addressed to Abraham Maimonides 330 CONTENTS 32. Mosseri on Sabbath laws and other matters 333 33. Mosseri concerning the on of orphans sued by their father 343 34. Mosseri concerning a woman who her ketubba elsewhere 352 35. Mosseri queries regarding Tractate Ketubbot 354 36. Mosseri to Abraham Maimonides 358 37. Mosseri to Maimonides 360 D. Responsa Aharonim Centuries) 1. Mosseri explanation midrashic Interpretation of Genesis and to recite Psalm 134 at the beginning evening Services 363 2. on partners suing for the repayment of a debt 366 3. Mosseri a query from pertaining to the weekly Torah reading 370 4. Mosseri concerning a divorce that was signed by invalid witnesses 372 Mosseri VI. concerning partners who completed their partnership and wish to divide the 382 6. Mosseri Alasqar 386 7. Mosseri concerning a widow who claimed the value of her ketubba from the homestead 393 Abbreviations and Bibliography 399 Index of Sources 403 Hebrew Section .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Guarding Oral Transmission: Within and Between Cultures
    Oral Tradition, 25/1 (2010): 41-56 Guarding Oral Transmission: Within and Between Cultures Talya Fishman Like their rabbinic Jewish predecessors and contemporaries, early Muslims distinguished between teachings made known through revelation and those articulated by human tradents. Efforts were made throughout the seventh century—and, in some locations, well into the ninth— to insure that the epistemological distinctness of these two culturally authoritative corpora would be reflected and affirmed in discrete modes of transmission. Thus, while the revealed Qur’an was transmitted in written compilations from the time of Uthman, the third caliph (d. 656), the inscription of ḥadīth, reports of the sayings and activities of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions, was vehemently opposed—even after writing had become commonplace. The zeal with which Muslim scholars guarded oral transmission, and the ingenious strategies they deployed in order to preserve this practice, attracted the attention of several contemporary researchers, and prompted one of them, Michael Cook, to search for the origins of this cultural impulse. After reviewing an array of possible causes that might explain early Muslim zeal to insure that aḥadīth were relayed solely through oral transmission,1 Cook argued for “the Jewish origin of the Muslim hostility to the writing of tradition” (1997:442).2 The Arabic evidence he cites consists of warnings to Muslims that ḥadīth inscription would lead them to commit the theological error of which contemporaneous Jews were guilty (501-03): once they inscribed their Mathnā, that is, Mishna, Jews came to regard this repository of human teachings as a source of authority equal to that of revealed Scripture (Ibn Sacd 1904-40:v, 140; iii, 1).3 As Jewish evidence for his claim, Cook cites sayings by Palestinian rabbis of late antiquity and by writers of the geonic era, which asserted that extra-revelationary teachings are only to be relayed through oral transmission (1997:498-518).
    [Show full text]
  • A Midrash on Rotulus from Damira, Its Materiality, Scribe, and Date
    29 2 Reading in the Provinces: A Midrash on Rotulus from Damira, Its Materiality, Scribe, and Date JUDITH OLSZOWY-SCHLANGER ÉCOLE PRATIQUE DES HAUTES ÉTUDES, SORBONNE, PARIS 30 Judith Olszowy-Schlanger Reading in the Provinces: A Midrash on Rotulus from Damira, Its Materiality, Scribe, and Date 31 ‘A battlefield of books’: this is how Solomon Schechter described the mass of tangled and damaged manuscript debris when he entered the Genizah chamber of the Ben Ezra synagogue in Fustat (Old Cairo) in 1896 (fig. 2.1). This windowless room, together with similar caches in other synagogues and in the cemetery Basatin in Cairo, yielded over 350,000 fragments of manuscripts, kept today in more than seventy collections worldwide.1 Most of the fragments date from the Fatimid and Ayyubid periods: more than ninety-five percent come from books while the rest are fragments of legal documents, letters, and other pragmatic writings. They were preserved thanks to the long-standing Jewish tradition of disposing of old writings with particular respect, founded on the belief that Hebrew texts containing the name of God are sacred: rather than being destroyed or thrown away, worn out books and documents—both holy and trivial—were instead placed in dedicated space, a Genizah, to decay naturally without human intervention. This massive necropolis of discarded writings offers us unprecedented knowledge of Jewish life in Fig. 2.1 medieval Egypt in general and of Jewish book history in particular. Thousands of fragments are Solomon Schechter witnesses to the centrality of Hebrew books in liturgy, in professional activities, and in private at work in the Old University Library, life, as well as offering a mine of information about how these books were made and read: their Cambridge.
    [Show full text]
  • Jews and Judaism in the Rabbinic Era
    Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism Edited by Maren Niehoff (Jerusalem) Annette Y. Reed (Philadelphia, PA) Seth Schwartz (New York, NY) Moulie Vidas (Princeton, NJ) 173 Isaiah M. Gafni Jews and Judaism in the Rabbinic Era Image and Reality – History and Historiography Mohr Siebeck Isaiah M. Gafni, born 1944; BA, MA, and PhD from the Hebrew University; 1967–2012 taught Jewish History of the Second Temple and Talmudic Periods (500 BCE – 500 CE) at the Hebrew University; currently Professor Emeritus in Jewish History at the Hebrew University, and President of Shalem College, Jerusalem. ISBN 978-3-16-152731-9 / eISBN 978-3-16-156701-8 DOI 10.1628/978-3-16-156701-8 ISSN 0721-8753 / eISSN 2568-9525 (Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism) The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliographie; detailed bibliographic data are available at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2019 Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, Germany. www.mohrsiebeck.com This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by copyright law) without the publisher’s written permission. This applies particularly to reproduc- tions, translations and storage and processing in electronic systems. The book was printed on non-aging paper by Gulde Druck in Tübingen, and bound by Groß- buchbinderei Spinner in Ottersweier. Printed in Germany. For Naomi Table of Contents Abbreviations.............................................................................................. IX I Introduction .........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • History of Halacha from the Mishna to Mishna Torah to Mishna Brurah
    Rabbi Sultan Demystifying the Halachic Process History of Halacha from the Mishna to Mishna Torah to Mishna Brurah A. Age of Torah בראשית רבה (וילנא) פרשת בראשית פרשה א התורה אומרת אני הייתי כלי אומנתו של הקב"ה, בנוהג שבעולם מלך בשר ודם בונה פלטין, אינו בונה אותה מדעת עצמו אלא מדעת אומן, והאומן אינו בונה אותה מדעת עצמו, אלא דיפתראות, ופינקסאות יש לו, לדעת היאך הוא עושה חדרים, היאך הוא עושה פשפשין, כך היה הקב"ה מביט בתורה, ובורא את העולם, והתורה אמרה בראשית ברא אלקים, ואין ראשית אלא תורה, היאך מה דאת אמר (משלי ח) ה' קנני ראשית דרכו The Torah says I was the choice tool of Hashem. When a king builds a palace he uses an architect and the architect uses a script and guide book. That is, he plans it out so that every room and corridor is correct. Similarly Hashem looks into the Torah and creates the world. That is the meaning of Beresheet Bara Elokim where Reishit refers to Torah. B. Beginning of Machloket אגרת רב שרירא גאון והכי הויא מילתא דראשונים לא איתידעא שמהתהון אלא שמותן של נשיאים ושל אבות ב״ד בלבד משום דלא הוה מחלוקת ביניהון אלא כל טעמי דאורייתא הוה ידעין להון ידיעה ברורה... ומשום הנך מהומות ושמדים ושמדים ושגושין שהיו באותו זמן לא שמשו התלמידים כל צרכן ונפשי מחלוקת. We don’t know the names of the early sages except the names of the princes and Avot Bet Din because there was no dispute. As long as long as everyone knew everything very clearly there was no dispute.
    [Show full text]
  • Intertextuality of Translations Into and From
    Cultural and Religious Studies, September 2019, Vol. 7, No. 9, 477-482 doi: 10.17265/2328-2177/2019.09.002 D DAVID PUBLISHING Intertextuality of Translations Into and From Judaeo-Arabic as a Transformative Platform in Jewish-Arabic Universalism: The Case of Legal Monographs of the Late Geonim Neri Y. Ariel The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel In medieval times, translators of Judaeo-Arabic literature living in Islamic lands were fluent in Arabic as this was the lingua franca and, in many cases, their mother tongue. This is only rarely the case for the contemporary scholar. This creates enormous challenges for the modern translators of their works. However, this challenge is an opportunity to bridge cultural and historical gaps by increased accuracy the hallmark of modern scholarship. This interdisciplinary discourse establishes the co-religious Dasein. The research tools which demand knowledge not only of Jewish sources but rather of Islamic texts allow for greater appreciation of contacting influences. Rav Y. al-Barceloni of the 12th century, among others, translated into Hebrew several works of the Geonim with his own halakhic interpretations, interpolations, and expansions. When scholars come today to comprehend anew, these compilations they paradoxically are more reflective of the original text than scholars of the middle ages who were contemporaneous with these texts. Nonetheless insofar as the translations are into Hebrew, they produce insular affect on the cultural product, leaving it within the Jewish fold. This fact forces scholars who desire to communicate with the broader audience to publish their results in European languages. In mediaeval studies, this is not as often as one thinks.
    [Show full text]
  • Defining Kabbalah: the Kabbalah of the Divine Names*
    Defining Kabbalah: The Kabbalah of the Divine Names* Moshe Idel I Kabbalah as Theosophy in ModeJ"D. Scholarship The medieval form of mystical Judaism known as Kabbalahl is known mainly as a theosophical doctrine related to the ten sefi:rot. This theologically oriented description recurs often in modern scholarship, as we can learn from several scholarly discussions regarding the nature of this lore, mainly those following the lead of G. Scholem. The prevailing assumption in the academic field is that a relatively homogenuous mystical phenomenon, more theoretical than practical, underlies the entire range of Kabbalistic literature, as it has already been proposed by the late Prof. Gershom Scholem. Let me start with one of his more explicit descriptions of Kabbalah: "the mystical interpretation of the attributes and the unity of God, in the so-called doctrine of the Sefiroth, constituted a problem common to all Kabbalists, while the solution given to it by and in the various schools differ from one another."2 Despite this scholarly attempt to propose the existence of a common core-question for all the Kabbalistic schools, which responded to it in various ways, we may safely assert that it would be much more cautious to see the theosophical question as one of the important ones, addressed by many, though not by all the Kabbalists. However, the absence of the theurgical element in this description may leave the impression, that is corroborated by the reading of the opus of this scholar, that theosophy is not only a central issue shared by "all" the Kabbalists, but it is also the single most important ques­ tion in medieval Jewish mysticism.
    [Show full text]
  • Yadgar Liran-Dissertation
    THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO “ALL THE KINGS OF ARABIA ARE SEEKING YOUR COUNSEL AND ADVICE”: INTELLECTUAL AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE BETWEEN JEWS AND MUSLIMS IN THE LATER MIDDLE ISLAMIC PERIOD A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE DIVISION OF THE HUMANITIES IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF NEAR EASTERN LANGUAGES AND CIVILIZATIONS BY LIRAN YADGAR CHICAGO, ILLINOIS JUNE 2016 © Copyright by Liran Yadgar, 2016. All rights reserved. ii For my father and in memory of my mother iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables vi List of Figures vii List of Maps viii Abbreviations ix Abstract xi Acknowlegments xii INTRODUCTION 1 I. On Periodization and Its Implications for the Historiography of Jews 1 under Medieval Islam II. The End of ‘Creative Symbiosis’ in the Late Middle Islamic Period? 19 CHAPTER 1. BIBLICAL COMMENTARY. 25 Joseph Ibn ‘Aqnīn’s (c. 1150-1220) Commentary on the Song of Songs, Inkishāf al-asrār wa-ẓuhūr al-anwār (Disclosure of Secrets and Appearance of Light) I. Allegorical and Philosophical Interpretations of the Song of Songs 26 II. Joseph ibn ‘Aqnīn: A Biographical Sketch 34 III. Ibn ‘Aqnīn’s Commentary on the Song of Songs 38 The Jewish Contents of Ibn ‘Aqnīn’s Commentary 42 The Islamic Contents of Ibn ‘Aqnīn’s Commentary 44 1. al-Fārābī 44 2. Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) 50 3. Arabic Poetry 52 IV. Conclusions 55 CHAPTER 2. MYSTICISM. 56 al-Murshid ilā Al-tafarrud wa-l-murfid ilā al-tajarrud (Guide To Detachment and Aid to Solitude), a Mystical Treatise By David Ben Joshua Maimonides (c.
    [Show full text]
  • PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE the Image of the Other in Jewish
    Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE The Image of The Other in Jewish Interpretations of Alenu* Jeffrey Hoffman At the center of the ancient Jewish prayer, Alenu, stands the image of the non-Jewish Other, whom it contrasts with Jews, the only worshipers of the true God. Alenu juxta- poses Israel’s correct religion with the Other’s erroneous religion. There is a long history of Jewish interpretation of Alenu. Some acknowledge and even grotesquely expand the negative image of the non-Jewish Other; others diminish and even deny it. Thus, Jewish interpretations of Alenu, over time and across various geographical locations, form an interesting bellwether of Jewish approaches to the Other in general. A comprehensive presentation would require a book length treatment. Rather, this essay will survey representative inter- pretations over the centuries. The Text and its History Before turning to these interpretations, let us turn to the prayer itself, its text and its history. This article will refer regularly to this contextual translation of the prayer, one that takes into account the text’s historical, literary, and grammati- cal context.1 While there can be no translation that completely * I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Ruth Langer for gra- ciously reading several drafts and suggesting many improvements in both style and content. These have certainly helped to sharpen my argument. Any remaining faults are, of course, my own. 1 Here I am appropriating language and concepts explicated by Stephen Garfinkel in a discussion of interpretation of the Hebrew Bible, but these are perfectly applicable to the liturgy as well.
    [Show full text]
  • An Unbroken Chain of Torah Transmission a Direct Mesorah from Moses to You
    An Unbroken Chain of Torah Transmission A Direct Mesorah from Moses to You 1. God (Mt. Sinai = 1312 B.C.E.) 67. Mar Rav Huna Mar Halevi (788) 2. Moses (1272 B.C.E.) 68. Mar Rav Menasheh (796) 3. Joshua (1245 B.C.E.) 69. Mar Rav Yeshaya Halevi (804) 4. Pinchus 70. Mar Rav Kahanah Gaon (797) 5. Eli (929 B.C.E.) 71. Mar Rav Yosef 6. Samuel (889 B.C.E.) 72. Mar Rav lbomai Gaon (814) 7. David (876 B.C.E.) 73. Mar Rav Yosef 8. Achiah (800 B.C.E.) 74. Mar Rav Avrohom 9. Elijah (726 B.C.E.) 75. Mar Rav Yosef (834) 10. Elishah (717 B.C.E.) 76. Mar Rav Yitzchak (839) 11. Yehoyada (695 B.C.E.) 77. Mar Rav Yosef (841) 12. Zechariah (680 B.C.E.) 78. Mar Rav Poltoi (858) 13. Hoshea (575 B.C.E.) 79. Mar Rav Achai Kahana Prophets 14. Amos (560 B.C.E.) 80. Mar Rav Menachem (860) 15. Isaiah (548 B.C.E.) 81. Mar Rav Matisyahu (869) 16. Michah (560 B.C.E.) Gaon’im 82. Rav Mar Abba 17. YoeI (510 B.C.E.) 83. Mar Rav Tzemach Gaon (891) 18. Nachum (510 B.C.E.) 84. Mar Rav Hai Gaon (897) 19. Chavakuk (510 B.C.E.) 85. Mar Rav Kimoi Gaon (905) 20. Tzafaniah (460 B.C.E.) 86. Mar Rav Yehuda (917) 21. Jeremiah (462 B.C.E.) 87. Mar Rav Mevasser Kahana Gaon (926) 22. Baruch (347 B.C.E.) 88. Rav Kohen Tzedek (935) 23.
    [Show full text]
  • Machine Matzot.Dwd
    5778 - bpipn mdxa` [email protected] 1 c‡qa HALACHIC AND HASHKAFIC ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY 83 - MACHINE MATZOT OU ISRAEL CENTER - SPRING 2018 el erxbe ezqpxt z` egtiw ik .dax `plaewa il` `a mkzldwn n"x u"nd od .ree`xan`c oexyi zcr ldw ceakl 1. od .c`n xacd ipira rx ik mkricedl ippd .zevn oiy`nd z` xq`y zngn lkde .mixac x`y cere el reawd ezxekynn axd zqpkd exifgzy c`n mkz` xidfn ip` ok lr ..... xq`y xear u"end z` etcxy dn od zevn oiy`nd ly xzidd seb cizrd lr minyn elawz lecb xkye xard lr mkl xtkpe elhaz zevn oiy`ndn rxd bdpnd z`e .'idy enkl l"pd u"end elwz oniq miig gxe` wlg xfp ipa` z"ey The Avnei Nezer1 deals with the case of a Rav who was fired from his community because he prohibited machine matzot. The Avnei Nezer strongly objects on two grounds: (i) he also prohibits machine matzot and rules that the community Rav was correct; (ii) the community cannot simply fire the Rav because he prohibits something! A] THE HISTORY2 Europe 1838 Ribeauvillé, France. First matza baking (really only rolling)3 machine invented by Frenchman Isaac Singer. It was approved by local rabbis as well as rabbanim in Furth - a major Jewish center. 1845 Matza baking Machines in use in Frankfurt, Germany 1852 Machine matza factory opens in Posen, Poland. Rav Shlomo Eiger (son of R. Akiva Eiger) was the Rav in Posen until his death that year. The Shoel U’Meishiv4 asserts that Rav Eiger was alive at the time and had authorized its kashrut for baking matzot.
    [Show full text]
  • Critical Philosophy of Halakha (Jewish Law): the Justification of Halakhic Norms And
    Critical Philosophy of Halakha (Jewish Law): The Justification of Halakhic Norms and Authority Yonatan Yisrael Brafman Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2014 © 2014 Yonatan Yisrael Brafman All rights reserved ABSTRACT Critical Philosophy of Halakha (Jewish Law): The Justification of Halakhic Norms and Authority Yonatan Brafman Contemporary conflicts over such issues as abortion, same-sex marriage, circumcision, and veiling highlight the need for renewed reflection on the justification of religious norms and authority. While abstract investigation of these questions is necessary, inquiry into them is not foreign to religious traditions. Philosophical engagement with these traditions of inquiry is both intellectually and practically advantageous. This does not demand, however, that these discussions be conducted within a discourse wholly internal to a particular religious tradition; dialogue between a religious tradition and philosophical reflection can be created that is mutually beneficial. To that end, this dissertation explores a central issue in philosophy of halakha (Jewish law): the relation between the justification of halakhic norms and halakhic-legal practice. A central component of philosophy of halakha is the project of ta’amei ha-mitzvot (the reasons for the commandments). Through such inquiry, Jewish thinkers attempt to demonstrate the rationality of Jewish religious practice by offering reasons for halakhic norms. At its best, it not only seeks to justify halakhic norms but also elicits sustained reflection on issues in moral philosophy, including justification and normativity. Still, there is a tendency among its practitioners to attempt to separate this project from halakhic-legal practice.
    [Show full text]
  • TORAH STUDY a Survey of Classic Sources on Timely Issues
    Yehudah Levi TORAH STUDY A Survey of Classic Sources on Timely Issues Rendered into English by Raphael N. Levi Revised Edition Philipp Feldheim, Inc. Jerusalem - New York 5762 - 2002 46 PART 1 TORAH AND THE WORLD The most lenient opinion concerning payment for Torah study to those providing Torah services includes even students who provide no immedi­ ate service to the community, but spend all day studying Torah. Rashbatz presumably limits this dispensation, applying it not to just anyone who sets aside his affairs and concerns himself only with Divine ones, but only to an accomplished Torah scholar, as stated in the Talmud.64 Apparently, Rashbatz's opponents, such as Rashi,65 maintain that the term "holy min­ istrations" refers only to one who serves the community (this is not nec­ essarily the great personage entitled to enrichment; rather, as Rashi says, he is entitled to "whatever is necessary for his subsistence"). Rashbatz presents an additional argument to support his lenient view:66 "A person important to the community may accept money from it... without violating the prohibition against benefiting from the Torah, for he is honoring the Torah-not using it." Similarly, in the words ofR. 'Ovadiah Sfomo:67 "One who is supporting himself temporarily [through Torah], endeavoring to increase his knowledge and improve either his own or another's actions is comparable to one who uses sanctified uten­ sils for the service in the Sanctuary." Perhaps this is also the opinion of the Acharonim68 who wrote: "This permission is based on the fact that it enables those who study the Torah to maintain it." R.
    [Show full text]