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Mishpacha-Article-February-2011.Pdf
HANGING ON BY A FRINGCOLONE:EL MORDECHAI FRIZIS’S MEMBERS COURAG THEEOUS LA SRESPONSET ACT OF THE TRIBE? FOR HIS COUNTRY OPEN MIKE FOR HUCKABEE SWEET SONG OF EMPATHY THE PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL ON WHAT FUELED HIS FIFTEENTH TRIP TO ISRAEL A CANDID CONVERSATION WITH SHLOIME DACHS, CHILD OF A “BROKEN HOME” LIFEGUARD AT THE GENE POOL HIS SCREENING PROGRAM HAS SPARED THOUSANDS FROM THE HORROR OF HIS PERSONAL LOSSES. NOW DOR YESHORIM’S RABBI YOSEF EKSTEIN BRAVES THE STEM CELL FRONTIER ON-SITE REPORT RAMALLAHEDUCATOR AND INNOVATOR IN RREALABBI YAAKOV TIME SPITZER CAN THES P.TILLA. FORM LIVA FISCESALLY RSOUNDAV STATE?WEI SSMANDEL’S WORDS familyfirst ISSUE 346 I 5 Adar I 5771 I February 9, 2011 PRICE: NY/NJ $3.99 Out of NY/NJ $4.99 Canada CAD $5.50 Israel NIS 11.90 UK £3.20 INSIDE The Gene Marker's Rabbi Yosef Ekstein of Dor Yeshorim Vowed that No Couple Would Know His Pain Bride When Rabbi Yosef Ekstein’s fourth Tay-Sachs baby was born, he knew he had two options – to fall into crushing despair, or take action. “The Ribono Shel Olam knew I would bury four children before I could take my self-pity and turn it outward,” Rabbi Ekstein says. But he knew nothing about genetics or biology, couldn’t speak English, and didn’t even have a high school diploma. How did this Satmar chassid, a shochet and kashrus supervisor from Argentina, evolve into a leading expert in the field of preventative genetic research, creating an Bride international screening program used by most people in shidduchim today? 34 5 Adar I 5771 2.9.11 35 QUOTES %%% Rachel Ginsberg His father, Rabbi Kalman Eliezer disease and its devastating progression, as Photos: Meir Haltovsky, Ouria Tadmor Ekstein, used to tell him, “You survived by the infant seemed perfect for the first half- a miracle. -
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 CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC 2019-20 – HISTORICAL, MEDICAL and HALAKHIC PERSPECTIVES Second Edition Rabbi Prof
THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC RABBI PROF. AVRAHAM STEINBERG, MD THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC 2019-20 – HISTORICAL, MEDICAL AND HALAKHIC PERSPECTIVES Second Edition Rabbi Prof. Avraham Steinberg, MD Contents 1. Introduction 2 2. Historical Background 3 a. Pandemics in the past b. The Coronavirus pandemic 3. Medical Background 5 4. Specific rulings and Halakhot 7 a. General behavior and the obligation to listen to the government and experts during a plague b. Defining plague c. Prayers, fasts and charity d. Self-endangerment of the healthcare providers – doctors, nurses, lab personnel, technicians e. Self-endangerment for experimental treatment and discovering a vaccine f. Prayer with a minyan, nesiyat kapayim, Torah reading, yeshivot g. Ha'gomel Blessing h. Shabbat and festivals i. Passover j. Sefirat Ha'omer k. Rosh Hashanah l. Yom Kippur m. Purim n. Immersion in the mikvah o. Immersion of utensils p. Visiting the sick q. Circumcision r. Marriage s. Burial t. Mourning 5. Triage in treating coronavirus patients during severe shortage 32 a. Introduction b. Determining triage priority in various situations when there are insufficient resources I am greatly indebted to Rabbi Dr. Jason Weiner for the English translation & to Dr. Lazar Friedman for his editorial work. 1 THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC RABBI PROF. AVRAHAM STEINBERG, MD c. Halakhic sources on determining lifesaving triage d. Halakhic guidelines on determining priority 6. Miscellaneous 40 7. Conclusion 41 1. Introduction In the modern era, the coronavirus1 pandemic2 has been the most shocking pandemic to the entire world, including experts and scientists, since the Spanish influenza pandemic 100 years ago.3 In recent decades many scientists have arrogantly claimed that in the modern and technologically advanced world there will be no more global pandemics of this sort. -
Passover and Firstfruits Chronology
PASSOVER AND FIRSTFRUITS CHRONOLOGY Three Views Dating the Events From Yeshua’s Last Passover to Pentecost by Michael Rudolph Bikkurim: Plan or Coincidence? In the covenant given through Moses, God commanded the Israelites that when they came into the land God had given them, they were to sacrifice a sheaf of their bikkurim1 – their first fruits of the harvest – as a wave offering: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of its firstfruits of your harvest to the priest.’” (Leviticus 23:9-10) This was to be done on “the day after the Sabbath,” and was to be accompanied by a burnt offering of an unblemished male lamb: “He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the Lord.” (Leviticus 23:11-12) Then, in the New Covenant Scriptures, we read: “But now Messiah is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Messiah all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Messiah the firstfruits, afterward those who are Messiah’s at His coming.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23) Are the references to “firstfruits” in both the New and Old Covenants coincidental, or are they God’s intricate plan for relating events across the span of centuries? In the sections which follow, this paper demonstrates that they are no coincidence, and that understanding the offering of firstfruits is prophetically important in the dating the events from Yeshua’s last Passover to the arrival of the Holy Spirit. -
TRANSGENDER JEWS and HALAKHAH1 Rabbi Leonard A
TRANSGENDER JEWS AND HALAKHAH1 Rabbi Leonard A. Sharzer MD This teshuvah was adopted by the CJLS on June 7, 2017, by a vote of 11 in favor, 8 abstaining. Members voting in favor: Rabbis Aaron Alexander, Pamela Barmash, Elliot Dorff, Susan Grossman, Reuven Hammer, Jan Kaufman, Gail Labovitz, Amy Levin, Daniel Nevins, Avram Reisner, and Iscah Waldman. Members abstaining: Rabbis Noah Bickart, Baruch Frydman- Kohl, Joshua Heller, David Hoffman, Jeremy Kalmanofsky, Jonathan Lubliner, Micah Peltz, and Paul Plotkin. שאלות 1. What are the appropriate rituals for conversion to Judaism of transgender individuals? 2. What are the appropriate rituals for solemnizing a marriage in which one or both parties are transgender? 3. How is the marriage of a transgender person (which was entered into before transition) to be dissolved (after transition). 4. Are there any requirements for continuing a marriage entered into before transition after one of the partners transitions? 5. Are hormonal therapy and gender confirming surgery permissible for people with gender dysphoria? 6. Are trans men permitted to become pregnant? 7. How must healthcare professionals interact with transgender people? 8. Who should prepare the body of a transgender person for burial? 9. Are preoperative2 trans men obligated for tohorat ha-mishpahah? 10. Are preoperative trans women obligated for brit milah? 11. At what point in the process of transition is the person recognized as the new gender? 12. Is a ritual necessary to effect the transition of a trans person? The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly provides guidance in matters of halkhhah for the Conservative movement. -
Eliezer Brodt – the Origins of Hamentashen In
Eliezer Brodt – The Origins of Hamentashen in Jewish Literature The Origins of Hamentashen in Jewish Literature: A Historical-Culinary Survey By Eliezer Brodt I. Introduction As Jews, most of our holidays have special foods specific to them; and behind each culinary custom, lays enveiled the reasoning behind them. Shavuot brings with it a vast array of customary dairy delicacies – in some parts of the world, cheesecake is practically obligatory – not to mention different customs in regard to how and when to eat them. Rosh Hashanah in renowned for the different fruits and vegetables eaten as physical embodiments symbolizing our tefillot; Chanukah has fried foods (no trans-fats please); whether latkes sizzling in the frying pan, or the elusive Israeli sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) seen for a month before but not to be found a minute after Chanukah’s departure, and on the fifteenth of Shevat a veritable plethora of fruits are sampled in an almost ‘Pesach Seder’-like ceremony. Of course, on Purim we eat hamentashen. Hamentashen. Those calorie-inflated, Atkins-defying, doughy tri-cornered confections filled with almost anything bake- able. The Mishpacha reports that this year in Israel alone, an astounding 24.5 million hamentashen will be sold, weighing 1225 tons, and yielding an approximate 33 million NIS in sales.[1] The question that many will be asking themselves is “where did this minhag to eat hamentashen come from?” Recently I started researching this topic; thus far (and I hope to find more) my results are as follows. II. Origins The earliest source I have located so far is in a liturgical parody from the seventeenth century, where it includes a reference to eating hamentashen.[2] In an 1846 cook book called The Jewish Manual by Lady Judith Cohen Montefiore we find a recipe for “Haman fritters.”[3] R. -
Mattityahu Strashun (1817–1885) and His Relationship with the Early Founders of Wissenschaft Des Judentums
Mattityahu Strashun (1817–1885) and His Relationship with the Early Founders of Wissenschaft des Judentums by Eliezer Brodt Abstract This paper will explore a lesser known and underexplored member of the nine- teenth-century Haskalah, Mattityahu Strashun (1817–1885) from Vilna, Lithuania, and his personal relationship to Wissenschaft des Judentums scholars such as Leopold Zunz (1794–1886) and Shlomo Yehudah Rapoport (Shir, 1790–1867) and its effect on his scholarship. I will outline Strashun’s methods of study by locating him within the historical and cultural world in which he was born and lived. I argue that three dis- tinct contemporaneous movements influenced his scholarly achievements: the Russian Haskalah, Strashun’s local intellectual circle that embraced the teachings and methods of R. Eliyahu ben Solomon Zalman of Vilna (Vilna Gaon, 1720–1797), and Wissenschaft des Judentums. I will demonstrate that each of these three – with particular focus on the influence of Wissenschaft des Judentums and its leading scholars – are apparent in Strashun’s scholarship and worldview. Additionally, I will provide examples of corre- spondence between Strashun and leaders of the Wissenschaft des Judentums that illu- minate his personal relationships with these scholars. 1. Introduction Mattityahu Strashun was born in Vilna on October 1, 1817, and died there on December 13, 1885.1 His renowned reputation was due as much to his scholarship as to his philanthropic and communal activities.2 He combined 1 Many thanks to Dan Rabbinowitz and Rabbis Yosef Dubovick and Shimon Shimanowitz for their useful comments on earlier drafts of this article. 2 For biographical information on Mattityahu Strashun, see: Hillel Noach Steinschneider: Ir Vilna (City of Vilna), Vilna 1900, pp. -
The Jewish Jesus
The Jewish Jesus Revelation, Reflection, Reclamation http://www.servantofmessiah.org Shofar Supplements in Jewish Studies Editor Zev Garber Los Angeles Valley College Case Western Reserve University Managing Editor Nancy Lein Purdue University Editorial Board Dean Bell Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies Louis H. Feldman Yeshiva University Saul S. Friedman Youngstown State University Joseph Haberer Purdue University Peter Haas Case Western Reserve University Rivka Ulmer Bucknell University Richard L. Libowitz Temple University and St. Joseph’s University Rafael Medoff The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies Daniel Morris Purdue University Marvin A. Sweeney Claremont School of Theology and Claremont Graduate University Ziony Zevit American Jewish University Bruce Zuckerman University of Southern California http://www.servantofmessiah.org The Jewish Jesus Revelation, Reflection, Reclamation Edited by Zev Garber Purdue University Press / West Lafayette, Indiana http://www.servantofmessiah.org Copyright 2011 by Purdue University. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Jewish Jesus : revelation, reflection, reclamation / edited by Zev Garber. p. cm. -- (Shofar supplements in Jewish studies) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-55753-579-5 1. Jesus Christ--Jewish interpretations. 2. Judaism--Relations--Christianity. 3. Christianity and other religions--Judaism. I. Garber, Zev, 1941- BM620.J49 2011 232.9'06--dc22 2010050989 Cover image: James Tissot, French, 1836-1902. Jesus Unrolls the Book in the Synagogue (Jésus dans la synagogue déroule le livre). 1886-1894. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper. Image: 10 11/16 x 7 9/16 in. (27.1 x 19.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum. -
Three Conquests of Canaan
ÅA Wars in the Middle East are almost an every day part of Eero Junkkaala:of Three Canaan Conquests our lives, and undeniably the history of war in this area is very long indeed. This study examines three such wars, all of which were directed against the Land of Canaan. Two campaigns were conducted by Egyptian Pharaohs and one by the Israelites. The question considered being Eero Junkkaala whether or not these wars really took place. This study gives one methodological viewpoint to answer this ques- tion. The author studies the archaeology of all the geo- Three Conquests of Canaan graphical sites mentioned in the lists of Thutmosis III and A Comparative Study of Two Egyptian Military Campaigns and Shishak and compares them with the cities mentioned in Joshua 10-12 in the Light of Recent Archaeological Evidence the Conquest stories in the Book of Joshua. Altogether 116 sites were studied, and the com- parison between the texts and the archaeological results offered a possibility of establishing whether the cities mentioned, in the sources in question, were inhabited, and, furthermore, might have been destroyed during the time of the Pharaohs and the biblical settlement pe- riod. Despite the nature of the two written sources being so very different it was possible to make a comparative study. This study gives a fresh view on the fierce discus- sion concerning the emergence of the Israelites. It also challenges both Egyptological and biblical studies to use the written texts and the archaeological material togeth- er so that they are not so separated from each other, as is often the case. -
Old Testament Atire of the High Priest
Old Testament Atire Of The High Priest Scrimpiest Wainwright solemnify whereupon and queryingly, she bedrench her galloglasses inclosed dryly. Henderson remains tautological after Jon laved grammatically or overreaches any hexastichs. Percutaneous or supergene, Abbie never planning any connotation! But this reason we struggle for priestly ministries and priest of old testament high They can save people be made and it was not as well, states of a genealogically clear, and roman soldiers. After the future great high priest before the priests to make intercession that despite the lampstand, seek forgiveness that are not mentioned. On his hand, we contact us from doing this recreation is. So the old testament atire of the high priest signifies christ! Jesus in sufficient ground except when we are strictly exegetical arsenal. We may not abandon all events on one we are to understand. David and had commanded israel with two of the old testament were needed to old testament atire of the high priest were a nation, and a young children. Members are much as such even though women athletes wore was made of holies for these garments are guilty of idolatry and failing people. Shall i set up to minister for a tab is inclined to its base his death, god in one expectation that this? What the peace i would eventually concluded that thou shalt be around the heavenly sovereign grace to the priest forever to abraham, we need we? Marg mowczko is so aaron is old testament atire of the high priest who is not able to make settings of these as full of lawlessness and anoint him; but even through. -
Etudes Sur Le Judaisme Medieval
Etudes sur le Judaisme Medieval Fondees par Georges Vajda Dirigees par Paul B. Fenton TOME XLIII Karaite Texts and Studies Edited by Meira Polliack Michael G. Wechsler VOLUME 2 BM6nnorpa(J)MH KapaMTMKa AHHOTMpoBaHHan 6n6nMorpa(J)MH KapaMMOB M KapanMM3Ma COCTaBMTeTIb Bappw Hob Ba/ic|)Miii npw ynacTHM Mwxaiina Kn3MjioBa m PlHCTMTyT BeH-U,BM Mepyca/iMM _ . • S ' ' 6 8 * ' BRILL JlewfleH • BOCTOH BpMTITI Bibliographia Karaitica An Annotated Bibliography of Karaites and Karaism By Barry Dov Walfish with Mikhail Kizilov m THE BEN-ZVI INSTITUTE JERUSALEM .0 • S ' ' 6 8 * ' BRILL LEIDEN • BOSTON 2011 CONTENTS Preface to the Series ix Introduction liii Acknowledgements lix Mikhail Kizilov's Introduction lxi BBefleHwe (Russian Introduction) lxiii Abbreviations lxxiii Latin-Romanic lxxiii Cyrillic lxxvi Hebrew lxxvii Library Symbols lxxix Transliteration Tables lxxxi Hebrew lxxxi Arabic lxxxi Cyrillic lxxxii PART ONE GENERALIA CHAPTER ONE MANUSCRIPTS, ARCHIVES, BIBLIOGRAPHIES, PRINTING 1.1. Manuscript Lists and Library Holdings 3 1.1.1. General 3 1.1.2. Manuscripts in Private Collections 3 Medieval 3 Modern 3 Adler, E. N 4 Geiger, Abraham 4 Tischendorf, Konstantin von 5 1.1.3. Manuscripts in Public Collections 5 Western Europe 5 Austria 5 England 5 British Library, London 5 Cambridge 6 Germany—Leipzig 6 Netherlands—Leiden 6 Eastern Europe 6 Lithuania 6 Poland 7 Russia 7 General 7 Moscow 7 St. Petersburg 7 General 7 Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences 7 National Library of Russia 8 Firkovich Collections 8 Harkavy's Reports on the Firkovich Collections 11 Ukraine 15 Crimea 15 Bakhchisaray (Later Moved to Simferopol and Moscow) 15 Eupatoria (Yevpatoriya) 16 Xiv CONTENTS Sevastopol 16 Kiev 16 Odessa 16 1.1.4. -
ASSOCIATION for JEWISH STUDIES NEWSLETTER No-9 June 1973 Editor: A
ASSOCIATION FOR JEWISH STUDIES NEWSLETTER No-9 June 1973 Editor: A. J. Band EDITORIAL most of the goals assigned to them. Each conference, utilizing the scholars available in the region, investigated the implications of Among the impressive achievements recorded by the State of the type of Geniza research executed by Prof. S. D. Goitein. The Israel in its 25 years of sovereignty, developments in Judaic abstracts of these papers will be found in this issue; the full text scholarship are rarely mentioned. This is only natural: scholarship of the papers will be published at a later date. Both conferences affects relatively few people and defies quantification. And yet, continued on p. 3 information regarding the state of the art, its evolution — if any — in the past generation, is what every scholar needs when he JSQK aos -SONS -aos god sos soe so* aofe o so* sos soe os sex plans his own research projects. We had hoped that the Encyclopaedia Judaica might have presented us a panoramic IN THIS ISSUE synthesis of the state of the art, but it turned out so uneven that comparison with the old Jewish Encyclopedia does not generate a Editorial 1 firm impression of progress. Fifth Annual Conference Program 2 Several tentative and obvious statements should be made. If there was any doubt in 1948 as to the capacity of Judaic Regional Conference Program scholarship to survive the trauma of World War II, to continue as an intellectual enterprise in spite of such unpiecendented losses, "RELIGION IN A RELIGIOUS AGE (950-1250)" it was dispelled by the appearance of many new names by the 1950's in a variety of places throughout the world, Israel in Religion in Every Day Life as Reflected in particular.