Torah from Heaven שבת פ״ו ב:ה׳-פ״ז א:ח׳ תנו רבנן בששי בחדש ניתנו עשרת

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Torah from Heaven שבת פ״ו ב:ה׳-פ״ז א:ח׳ תנו רבנן בששי בחדש ניתנו עשרת Torah from Heaven Biblical Verses Shabbat 86b:5-87a:8 שבת פ״ו ב:ה׳-פ״ז א:ח׳ Our Rabbis taught: On the sixth day of the תנו רבנן בששי בחדש ניתנו עשרת month [Sivan] were the Ten Commandments given to Israel. Rabbi Yose maintained: On הדברות לישראל רבי יוסי אומר בשבעה בו the seventh thereof. Said Rava: All agree אמר רבא דכולי עלמא בראש חדש אתו that they arrived in the Wilderness of Sinai on the first of the month. [For] here it is למדבר סיני כתיב הכא ביום הזה באו written, on this day they came into the wilderness of Sinai; while elsewhere it is מדבר סיני וכתיב התם החדש הזה לכם written, This month shall be for you the ראש חדשים מה להלן ראש חדש אף כאן beginning of months: just as there the first of the month, so here [too] the first of the ראש חדש ודכולי עלמא בשבת ניתנה תורה month [is meant]. Again, all agree that the .Torah was given to Israel on the Sabbath לישראל כתיב הכא זכור את יום השבת [For] here it is written, Remember the לקדשו וכתיב התם ויאמר משה אל העם Sabbath day, to keep it holy; while elsewhere it is written, And Moses said for זכור את היום הזה מה להלן בעצומו של יום the people, Remember this day: just as there, [he spoke] on that very day, so here אף כאן בעצומו של יום כי פליגי בקביעא too it was on that very day. [Where] they דירחא רבי יוסי סבר בחד בשבא איקבע differ is on the fixing of the New Moon. Rabbi Yose holds that New Moon was fixed on the ירחא ובחד בשבא לא אמר להו ולא מידי first day of the week [Sunday], and on that day he [Moses] said nothing to them on משום חולשא דאורחא בתרי בשבא אמר account of their exhaustion from the להו ואתם תהיו לי ממלכת כהנים בתלתא Journey. On Monday he said to them, and you shall be for me a kingdom of priests; on אמר להו מצות הגבלה בארבעה עבוד Tuesday he informed them of the order to 1 set boundaries, and on Wednesday they פרישה ורבנן סברי בתרי בשבא איקבע separated themselves [from their wives]. But the Rabbis hold: New Moon was fixed on ירחא בתרי בשבא לא אמר להו ולא מידי Monday, and on that day he said nothing to משום חולשא דאורחא בתלתא אמר להו them on account of their exhaustion from the journey. On Tuesday he said to them, and ואתם תהיו לי בארבעה אמר להו מצות you shall be for me a kingdom of priests; on Wednesday he informed them of the order to הגבלה בחמישי עבוד פרישה מיתיבי set boundaries, and on Thursday they וקדשתם היום ומחר קשיא לרבי יוסי אמר separated themselves. An objection is raised: And sanctify them today and לך רבי יוסי יום אחד הוסיף משה מדעתו tomorrow: this is difficult in the view of Rabbi :Yose? — Rabbi Yose can answer you דתניא שלשה דברים עשה משה מדעתו Moses added one day of his own והסכים הקדוש ברוך הוא עמו הוסיף יום understanding. For it was taught, Three things did Moses do of his own אחד מדעתו ופירש מן האשה ושבר את understanding, and the Holy One, blessed הלוחות הוסיף יום אחד מדעתו מאי דריש be He, gave His approval: he added one day of his own understanding, he separated היום ומחר היום כמחר מה למחר לילו עמו himself from his wife, and he broke the Tables. 'He added one day of his own אף היום לילו עמו ולילה דהאידנא נפקא understanding': what [verse] did he ליה שמע מינה תרי יומי לבר מהאידנא interpret? today and tomorrow: 'today' [must be] like 'tomorrow: just as tomorrow includes ומנלן דהסכים הקדוש ברוך הוא על ידו דלא the [previous] night, so 'today' [must] include the [previous] night, but the night of today שריא שכינה עד צפרא דשבתא ופירש מן has already passed! Hence it must be two האשה מאי דריש נשא קל וחומר בעצמו days exclusive of today. And how do we ,know that the Holy One, blessed be He אמר ומה ישראל שלא דברה שכינה עמהן gave his approval? — Since the Shechinah did not rest [upon Mount Sinal] until the אלא שעה אחת וקבע להן זמן אמרה תורה morning of the Sabbath. And 'he separated והיו נכנים וגו׳ אל תגשו אני שכל שעה himself from his wife': What did he interpret? 2 He applied a kal ve-homer to himself, ושעה שכינה מדברת עמי ואינו קובע לי זמן reasoning: If the Israelites, with whom the Shechinah spoke only on one occasion and על אחת כמה וכמה ומנלן דהסכים הקדוש He gave them a time, yet the Torah said, Be ברוך הוא על ידו דכתיב לך אמר להם שובו ready against the third day: come not near a woman: I, with whom the Shechinah speaks לכם לאהליכם וכתיב בתריה ואתה פה עמד at all times and does not appoint me a definite] time, how much more so! And how] עמדי ואית דאמרי פה אל פה אדבר בו שבר do we know that the Holy One, blessed be את הלוחות מאי דריש אמר ומה פסח He, gave his approval? Because it is written, Go say to them, Return to your tents, which שהוא אחד מתריג מצות אמרה תורה וכל is followed by, But as for you, you stand here by me. There are those who quote, with him בן נכר לא יאכל בו התורה כולה [כאן] sc. Moses] will I speak mouth to mouth. 'He] וישראל משומדים על אחת כמה וכמה ומנלן broke the Tables': how did he learn [this]? He argued: If the Passover sacrifice, which דהסכים הקדוש ברוך הוא על ידו שנאמר is but one of the six hundred and thirteen אשר שברת ואמר ריש לקיש יישר כחך precepts, yet the Torah said, there shall no ,alien eat thereof: here is the whole Torah ששברת ​ and the Israelites are apostates, how much more so! And how do we know that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave His approval? Because it is said, which (asher) you broke, ​ ​ and Resh Lakish interpreted this: “may your strength be heightened (yishar)” that you ​ ​ broke it. Sanhedrin 21b:22-22a:7 סנהדרין כ״א ב:כ״ב-כ״ב א:ז׳ :Mar Zutra or, as some say, Mar 'Ukba said אמר מר זוטרא ואיתימא מר עוקבא בתחלה Originally the Torah was given to Israel in ניתנה תורה לישראל בכתב עברי ולשון הקודש Hebrew characters and in the sacred [Hebrew] language; later, in the times of 3 Ezra, the Torah was given in Ashshurit script חזרה וניתנה להם בימי עזרא בכתב אשורית and Aramaic language. [Finally], they ולשון ארמי ביררו להן לישראל כתב אשורית selected for Israel the Ashshurit script and ​ ​ Hebrew language, leaving the Hebrew ולשון הקודש והניחו להדיוטות כתב עברית characters and Aramaic language for the ולשון ארמי מאן הדיוטות אמר רב חסדא כותאי hedyotot. Who are meant by the ‘hedyotot’? ​ ​ ​ Rabbi Hisda answers: The Cutheans. And — מאי כתב עברית אמר רב חסדא כתב ליבונאה what is meant by Hebrew characters? — Rabbi Hisda said: The libuna'ah script. It has תניא רבי יוסי אומר ראוי היה עזרא שתינתן ​ ​ been taught: Rabbi Yose said: Had Moses תורה על ידו לישראל אילמלא (לא) קדמו משה not preceded him, Ezra would have been worthy of receiving the Torah for Israel. Of במשה הוא אומר (שמות יט, ג) ומשה עלה אל Moses it is written, And Moses went up for האלהים בעזרא הוא אומר (עזרא ז, ו) הוא God, and of Ezra it is written, He, Ezra, went up from Babylon. As the going up of the עזרא עלה מבבל מה עלייה האמור כאן תורה former refers to the [receiving of the] Law, so אף עלייה האמור להלן תורה במשה הוא אומר does the going up of the latter. Concerning Moses, it is stated: And the Lord (דברים ד, יד) ואותי צוה ה' בעת ההיא ללמד commanded me at that time to teach you אתכם חקים ומשפטים בעזרא הוא אומר statutes and judgments; and concerning Ezra, it is stated: For Ezra had prepared his (עזרא ז, י) כי עזרא הכין לבבו לדרוש את heart to expound the law of the Lord [his תורת ה' (אלהיו) ולעשות וללמד בישראל חוק God] to do it and to teach Israel statutes and judgments. And even though the Torah was ומשפט ואף על פי שלא ניתנה תורה על ידו not given through him, its writing was נשתנה על ידו הכתב שנאמר (עזרא ד, ז) changed through him, as it is written: And the writing of the letter was written in the וכתב הנשתוון כתוב ארמית ומתורגם ארמית Aramaic character and interpreted into the ,Aramaic [tongue]. And again it is written וכתיב (דניאל ה, ח) לא כהלין כתבא למיקרא And they could not read the writing nor make ופשרא להודעא למלכא וכתיב (דברים יז, יח) known to the king the interpretation thereof. Further, it is written: And he shall write the וכתב את משנה התורה הזאת כתב הראוי copy (mishneh) of this law, — in writing ​ ​ 4 which was destined to be changed להשתנות למה נקרא אשורית שעלה עמהם (hishtanot). Why is it called Ashshurit? — מאשור תניא רבי אומר בתחלה בכתב זה Because it came with them from Assyria. It has been taught: Rabbi said: The Torah was ניתנה תורה לישראל כיון שחטאו נהפך להן originally given to Israel in this [Ashshurit] ​ ​ לרועץ כיון שחזרו בהן החזירו להם שנאמר writing. When they sinned, it was changed into ro’etz But when they repented, the (זכריה ט, יב) שובו לביצרון אסירי התקוה גם Ashshurit was reintroduced, as it is written: ​ Turn you to the stronghold, you prisoners of היום מגיד משנה אשיב לך למה נקרא שמה hope; even today do I declare that I will אשורית שמאושרת בכתב רשב"א אומר משום bring back twice as much (mishneh) for you ​ ​ — ?Why [then] was it named Ashshurit .
Recommended publications
  • 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,
    [Show full text]
  • אוסף מרמורשטיין the Marmorstein Collection
    אוסף מרמורשטיין The Marmorstein Collection Brad Sabin Hill THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER Manchester 2017 1 The Marmorstein Collection CONTENTS Acknowledgements Note on Bibliographic Citations I. Preface: Hebraica and Judaica in the Rylands -Hebrew and Samaritan Manuscripts: Crawford, Gaster -Printed Books: Spencer Incunabula; Abramsky Haskalah Collection; Teltscher Collection; Miscellaneous Collections; Marmorstein Collection II. Dr Arthur Marmorstein and His Library -Life and Writings of a Scholar and Bibliographer -A Rabbinic Literary Family: Antecedents and Relations -Marmorstein’s Library III. Hebraica -Literary Periods and Subjects -History of Hebrew Printing -Hebrew Printed Books in the Marmorstein Collection --16th century --17th century --18th century --19th century --20th century -Art of the Hebrew Book -Jewish Languages (Aramaic, Judeo-Arabic, Yiddish, Others) IV. Non-Hebraica -Greek and Latin -German -Anglo-Judaica -Hungarian -French and Italian -Other Languages 2 V. Genres and Subjects Hebraica and Judaica -Bible, Commentaries, Homiletics -Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash, Rabbinic Literature -Responsa -Law Codes and Custumals -Philosophy and Ethics -Kabbalah and Mysticism -Liturgy and Liturgical Poetry -Sephardic, Oriental, Non-Ashkenazic Literature -Sects, Branches, Movements -Sex, Marital Laws, Women -History and Geography -Belles-Lettres -Sciences, Mathematics, Medicine -Philology and Lexicography -Christian Hebraism -Jewish-Christian and Jewish-Muslim Relations -Jewish and non-Jewish Intercultural Influences
    [Show full text]
  • Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word. Four Talmudic Stories of Forgiveness הרב אלכס ישראל
    Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word. Four Talmudic Stories of Forgiveness www.alexisrael.org| הרב אלכס ישראל משנה יומא דף פה ע מוד ב Yoma 85a עבירות שבין אדם למקום - יום הכפורים מכפר, עבירו ת MISHNA: Yom Kippur atones for transgressions between a person שבין אדם לחבירו - אין יום הכפורים מכפר, עד שירצה א ת and God, however, for transgressions between a person and another, Yom Kippur does not atone until one חבירו. דרש רבי אלעזר בן עזריה: מכל חטאתיכם לפני ה' appeases the other person. תטהרו עבירות שבין אדם למקום - יום הכפורים מכ פר, Similarly, Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya taught that point from the עבירות שבין אדם לחבירו - אין יום הכפורים מכפר, עד verse: “From all your sins you shall be cleansed before the שירצה את חבירו Lord” (Leviticus 16:30). For transgressions between a person and God, Yom Kippur atones; however, for transgressions between a תלמוד בבלי מסכת יומא דף פ ז person and another, Yom Kippur does not atone until he אמר רבי יצחק: כל המקניט את חבירו, אפילו בדברים - …appeases the other person צריך ל פייסו שנאמר (משלי ו, א( בני אם ערבת לרע ך TALMUD 87a R. Isaac said: Whosoever offends his neighbour, even תקעת לזר כפיך נוקשת באמרי פיך עשה זאת אפוא בני … (only verbally, must appease him, as it states in Proverbs (6:1 והנצל כי באת בכף רעך לך התרפס ורהב רעיך אם ממ ון R. Hisda said: He should endeavour to pacify him through three groups of three people each… יש בידך התר לו פסת יד ואם לאו הרבה עליו ריעים ואמר R.
    [Show full text]
  • THE LAW" and the LAW of CHANGE* (Concluded.)
    "THE LAW" AND THE LAW OF CHANGE* (Concluded.) B. The Mishnah Cycle. The next cycle, that between the Old Testament canon and the Mishnah, is better known to us for its political and religious history than for its legal development. It is the period of the Second Temple, of the Maccabees, of the birth of Christianity, of the Wars of the Jews, of the destruction of the Temple and of the dispersion of the Jewish people. These great events did not pass without influencing the development of Jewish law, but the period furnishes a remarkable instance of how the common people's law takes its natural course in spite of catastrophes. We are told that Simeon the Righteous, the last of the Men of the Great Assembly, was followed by Antigonus of Soko and he by ZiIghth, "pairs," who through four generations conserved the traditions to the days of Hillel and Shammai. Four generations of Tanna'im (tanra'dm, "teachers," a title in this period), the schools of Hillel and Shanmai, carry on the tradition until the next codification, the Mishnah. Though very little has been written of the steps by which this law grew-and for this reason I shall study the period more fully than the others-we have suffi- cient evidence to support the view that glossation (including fictions), commentation (including equity) and legislation, so far as it appeared, followed each other in the usual order. Of the first step, the verbal expounding of the Bible, we havo several kinds of evidence. The reading of the Torah and the explaining of passage by passage in the synagogfie is supposed to go back to Ezra.3 5 This method of the study and application of the law to which the name of Midrash (midhrash,from ddrash, "to expound") has been given is, according to a very old reliable tradition, to be ascribed to the pre-tannaitic period.
    [Show full text]
  • Humor in Talmud and Midrash
    Tue 14, 21, 28 Apr 2015 B”H Dr Maurice M. Mizrahi Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia Adult Learning Institute Jewish Humor Through the Sages Contents Introduction Warning Humor in Tanach Humor in Talmud and Midrash Desire for accuracy Humor in the phrasing The A-Fortiori argument Stories of the rabbis Not for ladies The Jewish Sherlock Holmes Checks and balances Trying to fault the Torah Fervor Dreams Lying How many infractions? Conclusion Introduction -Not general presentation on Jewish humor: Just humor in Tanach, Talmud, Midrash, and other ancient Jewish sources. -Far from exhaustive. -Tanach mentions “laughter” 50 times (root: tz-cho-q) [excluding Yitzhaq] -Talmud: Records teachings of more than 1,000 rabbis spanning 7 centuries (2nd BCE to 5th CE). Basis of all Jewish law. -Savoraim improved style in 6th-7th centuries CE. -Rabbis dream up hypothetical situations that are strange, farfetched, improbable, or even impossible. -To illustrate legal issues, entertain to make study less boring, and sharpen the mind with brainteasers. 1 -Going to extremes helps to understand difficult concepts. (E.g., Einstein's “thought experiments”.) -Some commentators say humor is not intentional: -Maybe sometimes, but one cannot avoid the feeling it is. -Reason for humor not always clear. -Rabbah (4th century CE) always began his lectures with a joke: Before he began his lecture to the scholars, [Rabbah] used to say something funny, and the scholars were cheered. After that, he sat in awe and began the lecture. [Shabbat 30b] -Laughing and entertaining are important. Talmud: -Rabbi Beroka Hoza'ah often went to the marketplace at Be Lapat, where [the prophet] Elijah often appeared to him.
    [Show full text]
  • Akkadian Healing Therapies in the Babylonian Talmud
    MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT FÜR WISSENSCHAFTSGESCHICHTE Max Planck Institute for the History of Science 2004 PREPRINT 259 M. J. Geller Akkadian Healing Therapies in the Babylonian Talmud Part II of the article will appear in a conference volume entitled, Magic and the Classical Tradition, edited by W. Ryan and C. Burnett (Warburg Institute, London) AKKADIAN HEALING THERAPIES IN THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD M. J. Geller Abstttracttt The Babylonian Talmud preserves some of the very latest traditions from Babylonia from the period when cuneiform script was still legible, and one of the last uses of cuneiform tablets was to consult the ancient 'sciences' of astronomy (including astrology), mathematics, omens, and healing (medicine including magic). The present study will argue that throughout the third century CE rabbis in Babylonia continued to acquire technical information from Babylonian scholars who could read cuneiform, and some of this information was translated into Aramaic and was recorded haphazardly in the academic discussions of the Talmud. The nature of the Talmudic sources and the final redaction of the complex work meant that traditions from Graeco-Roman Palestine were mixed in with local traditions from Babylonia, and the dichotomy is particularly evident in fields of medicine and magic, in which clear distinctions can be made between Greek and Akkadian approaches to healing. The present work, in two parts, is an attempt to sort out the source material according to whether it originates from Babylonia or not, and to focus on Akkadian parallels
    [Show full text]
  • The Talmud of Jerusalem
    THE TALMUD OP JEEUSALEM. TRANSLATED FOB THE FIRST TIME BY Dr. MOSES SCHWAB, OF THE "iilBLlOTHKqUE NATIOXALR," I'AKIS. .Jit. (>' (.'. VOL. L BEI^AKHOTH[. WILLIAMS AND NOEGATE, 14, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 1886. 5 PEEFAGE. The Talmud has very often been spoken of, but is little known. The very great linguistic difficulties, and the vast size of the work, have up to the present time prevented the effecting of more than the translation of the Mishna only into Latin and, later, in German. At the instance of some friends, we have decided upon publishing a complete textual and generally literal version of the Talmud, that historical and religious work which forms a continuation of the Old and even of the New Testament.^ "We are far from laying claim to a perfect translation of all the delicate shades of expression belonging to an idiom so strange and variable, which is a mixture of neo-Hebrew and Chaldean, and concise almost to obscurity. We wish to take every opportunity of improving this work. A general introduction will be annexed, treating of the origin, composition, spirit, and history of the Talmud. This introduction will be accompanied by : 1st. An Alphabetical Index of all the incongruous subjects treated of in this vast and unwieldy Encyclo- paedia; 2nd. An Index of the proper and geographical names; 8rd. Concordantial Notes of the various Bible texts employed, permitting a reference to the commentaries made on them (which will sometimes serve a^ Errata). This general introduction can, for obvious reasons, only appear on the completion of the present version.
    [Show full text]
  • Jews on Trial: the Papal Inquisition in Modena, 1598–1638
    Jews on trial artwork 8/7/11 15:07 Page 1 J ews on tr STUDIES IN EARLY MODERN EUROPEAN HISTORY Jews on trial ‘A welcome addition to our knowledge ... the archival material has been handled with care and sensitivity’ The Papal Inquisition in Modena, Simon Ditchfield, University of York, UK 1598-1638 esearch on the Papal Inquisition in Italy has tended to centre on trials for ial Rheresy, witchcraft and possession of prohibited books, but little is known of the activities of the Inquisition with respect to practising Jews. This book explores the role of the Papal Inquisition in Modena, the status of Jews in the KATHERINE ARON-BELLER early modern Italian duchy and the fundamental disparity in Inquisitorial procedure regarding professing Jews. It also uses the detailed testimony to be found in trial transcripts to analyse Jewish interaction with Christian society in an early modern European community. Jews on trial concentrates on Inquisitorial activity during the period which historians have argued was the most active in the Inquisition’s history – the first forty years of the tribunal in Modena, from 1598 to 1638, the year of the Jews’ enclosure in the ghetto. This book will appeal to scholars of inquisitorial studies, social and cultural interaction in early modern Europe, Jewish Italian social history and anti-Semitism. Katherine Aron-Beller is a lecturer in Jewish History both at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and at Tel Aviv University. In 2006-07 she served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the George Washington University in Washington, DC AR ON-BELLER ‘The Strappada’ From Thomas Murner Die Entehrung Mariae durch die Juden, reproduced in Jahrbuch für Geschichte, Sprache und Literatur Elsass-Lothringen 21 (1905) ISBN 978-0-7190-8519-2 9 7 8 0 7 1 9 0 8 5 1 9 2 www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk Jews on trial Aron-Beller_01_TextAll.indd 1 18/02/2011 14:22 STUDIES IN EARLY MODERN EUROPEAN HISTORY This series aims to publish challenging and innovative research in all areas of early modern continental history.
    [Show full text]
  • Appendix: a Guide to the Main Rabbinic Sources
    Appendix: A Guide to the Main Rabbinic Sources Although, in an historical sense, the Hebrew scriptures are the foundation of Judaism, we have to turn elsewhere for the documents that have defined Judaism as a living religion in the two millennia since Bible times. One of the main creative periods of post-biblical Judaism was that of the rabbis, or sages (hakhamim), of the six centuries preceding the closure of the Babylonian Talmud in about 600 CE. These rabbis (tannaim in the period of the Mishnah, followed by amoraim and then seboraim), laid the foundations of subsequent mainstream ('rabbinic') Judaism, and later in the first millennium that followers became known as 'rabbanites', to distinguish them from the Karaites, who rejected their tradition of inter­ pretation in favour of a more 'literal' reading of the Bible. In the notes that follow I offer the English reader some guidance to the extensive literature of the rabbis, noting also some of the modern critical editions of the Hebrew (and Aramaic) texts. Following that, I indicate the main sources (few available in English) in which rabbinic thought was and is being developed. This should at least enable readers to get their bearings in relation to the rabbinic literature discussed and cited in this book. Talmud For general introductions to this literature see Gedaliah Allon, The Jews in their Land in the Talmudic Age, 2 vols (Jerusalem, 1980-4), and E. E. Urbach, The Sages, tr. I. Abrahams (Cambridge, Mass., and London: Harvard University Press, 1987), as well as the Reference Guide to Adin Steinsaltz's edition of the Babylonian Talmud (see below, under 'English Transla­ tions').
    [Show full text]
  • Yaacov Shavit an Imaginary Trio
    Yaacov Shavit An Imaginary Trio Yaacov Shavit An Imaginary Trio King Solomon, Jesus, and Aristotle Die freie Verfügbarkeit der E-Book-Ausgabe dieser Publikation wurde ermöglicht durch den Fachinformationsdienst Jüdische Studien an der Universitätsbibliothek J. C. Senckenberg Frankfurt am Main und 18 wissenschaftliche Bibliotheken, die die Open-Access-Transformation in den Jüdischen Studien unterstützen. ISBN 978-3-11-067718-8 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-067726-3 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-067730-0 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. For details go to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Das E-Book ist als Open-Access-Publikation verfügbar über www.degruyter.com, https://www.doabooks.org und https://www.oapen.org Library of Congress Control Number: 2020909307 Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2020 Yaacov Shavit, published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston Cover image: Statue of King Solomon and Christ in the center of the southern portal of the cathedral Notre-Dame of Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin, France), Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain. Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck www.degruyter.com Open-Access-Transformation in den Jüdischen Studien Open Access für exzellente Publikationen aus den Jüdischen Studien: Dies ist das Ziel der gemeinsamen Initiative des Fachinformationsdiensts Jüdische Studien an der Universitäts- bibliothek J. C. Senckenberg Frankfurt am Main und des Verlags Walter De Gruyter. Unterstützt von 18 Konsortialpartnern können 2020 insgesamt acht Neuerscheinungen im Open Access Goldstandard veröffentlicht werden, darunter auch diese Publikation.
    [Show full text]
  • Current Jewish Questions Introduction to Rabbinic Ethics
    Current Jewish Questions Introduction to Rabbinic Ethics I. General Responsibilities 1. תלמוד בבלי ברכות נה:א B. Berachot 55a .1 אמר רבי יצחק: אין מעמידין פרנס על R. Isaac said: We must not appoint a leader over a הצבור אלא אם כן נמלכים בצבור, Community without first consulting it, as it says: See, the שנאמר +שמות ל"ה+ ראו קרא ה' בשם Lord hath called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri. The Holy בצלאל. אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא למשה: משה, הגון עליך בצלאל? אמר One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Do you consider Bezalel לו: רבונו של עולם, אם לפניך הגון - לפני suitable? He replied: Sovereign of the Universe, if Thou לא כל שכן? אמר לו: אף על פי כן, לך :thinkest him suitable, surely I must also! Said [God] to him אמור להם. הלך ואמר להם לישראל: All the same, go and consult them. He went and asked הגון עליכם בצלאל? אמרו לו: אם לפני Israel: Do you consider Bezalel suitable? They replied: If the הקדוש ברוך הוא ולפניך הוא הגון - ,Holy One, blessed be He, and you consider him suitable לפנינו לא כל שכן? !surely we must 2. תלמוד בבלי תענית י:ב B. Ta'anit 10b .2 תנו רבנן: אל יאמר אדם תלמיד אני, The Rabbis have taught: Let not a man say, ‘I am but a איני ראוי להיות יחיד אלא: כל תלמידי חכמים יחידים. אי זהו יחיד ואיזהו disciple and I am therefore not worthy to consider myself a תלמיד? יחיד - כל שראוי למנותו פרנס .yahid’, since all Disciples of the Wise are accounted yehidim על הצבור, תלמיד - כל ששואלין אותו Who is a yahid? And who is a disciple? A yahid is one דבר הלכה בתלמודו ואומר, ואפילו worthy to be appointed Leader of the Community; a disciple במסכת דכלה.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Ordination of Women As Rabbis JOEL ROTH
    HM 7:4.1984b On the Ordination of Women as Rabbis JOEL ROTH On November 7, 1984, a motion was passed by a vote of thirteen in favor and two opposed (13-2) to publish this paper without discussion or vote of approval. Voting in favor: Rabbis Kassel Abelson, Isidoro Aizenberg, David M. Feldman, Morris Feldman, David H. Lincoln, Judah Nadich, Mayer E. Rabinowitz, Barry S. Rosen, Joel Roth, Morris M. Shapiro, David Wolf Silverman, Henry A. Sosland and Alan J. Yuter. Voting against: Rabbis Phillip Sigal and Gordon Tucker. The question of the ordination of women can be analyzed halakhically either narrowly or broadly. A narrow analysis would confine itself to the issue of ordination per se, while a broad analysis would consider as well the ancillary issues which might be involved. One who undertakes a broad analysis of the question must deal with two crucial ancillary issues: (1) the status of women vis-a-vis mitzvot from which they are legally exempt, and (2) the status of women as witnesses. These issues are crucial because they involve matters which are widely considered to be either necessary or common functions of the modern rab­ binate. These two issues apply to all women, not only to those who might seek ordination. This paper will be divided into four parts: (1) Women and mitzvot; (2) Women as witnesses; (3) Women and ordination per se; (4) Conclusions and recommendations to the Faculty of the Seminary. SECTION ONE There are many mitzvot from which women are halakhically (legally) exempt. Those mitzvot are generally categorized as "positive command­ ments which are time-bound" in that they have to be performed at a spe­ cific time of the day or on specific days of the year.l This categorization is, however, imperfect.
    [Show full text]