DOCSLIB.ORG

I. Torah II. Talmud

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
I. Torah II. Talmud TABLE OF C ON T EN T S INTRODUCTION I. TORAH Vayyera: ‘Akedat Yitzhak: The Binding of Isaac 19 Vayyera: The Ashes of Isaac 25 Vayyigash: Bittul Yitsra de-Sin’at Hinam (An End to Infighting) 31 Shemot: Exile of the Word 35 Yitro: Jethro: A Double Epiphany 39 Yitro: Through a Field-Glass: Jacob’s Ladder and the Altar’s Ramp 47 Ki Tissa: Moses and Bezalel: The “Servant of the Lord” and the Architect of the Soul 55 Vayyakhel-Pekudei: Nahmanides on the Tabernacle 63 II. TALMUD The Head Movements of Shema‘ (b. Berakhot 13b) 71 The Carnal Kippur (b. Yoma 19b-20a) 77 A Meditation on Masekhet Megillah (b. Megillah 5b-6b) 87 First Fruits and the Talmudic View of Capital: An Essai in the Philosophy of Halakhah (b. Gittin 47b) 97 Mindfulness and the Cities of Refuge (b. Makkot 10a) 107 Moses Enters the Divine Superconscious (b. Menahot 29b) 123 III. CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM: JUDAISM’S STRUGGLE WITH SUPERSESSIONISM The Theological Boldness of Nahmanides: Israel’s Reaffirmation of Vows 137 From Deicide to Calf-Worship: Islam and Judaism 147 The Cain-Korah-Christianity Connection 157 IV. MAIMONIDES The Religious Phenomenology of Maimonides 163 When Rambam Met the Izhbitser Rebbe: Response to a Straussian Reading of Hilkhot Teshuvah 181 V. KABBALAH The Orality of Shir ha-Shirim and of Tikkunei Zohar 197 The Anonymous Author of Tikkunei Zohar and Ra‘ya Mehemna: An Antinomian or a Radical Maimonidean? 203 Kabbalah—Escape from Reality or Affirmation of Life?— A Response to Lippman Bodoff, “Jewish Mysticism: Medieval Roots, Contemporary Dangers and Prospective Challenges” 221 VI. HASIDISM Rabbi Nahman’s Shir Na‘im as a Reply to Maimonides 237 A Discourse of Rabbi Aharon Halevi Hurwitz of Staroshelye for the Day of Atonement 247 The Rebbe of Radzyn and Rav Kook on Doubt 261 Bati le-Gani (“I Came to My Garden”): Two Discourses of Rabbis Schneersohn and Hutner Compared 279 VII. THE THOUGHT OF RAV KOOK Reflections on Yom ha-‘Atsma’ut 299 Searching for the Lost Dimensions of Judaism 307 The Scribal Art of Rabbi Meir: A Study in Metanomianism 311 The Hasidism of Rav Kook 327 The Universalism of Rav Kook 341 Rav Kook’s Space Odyssey 351 Rav Kook on Teaching Torah to Girls 365 Rav Kook and Rav Harlap— Truth and the Pursuit of Truth 377 Zion and Jerusalem: The Secular and the Sacred 393 Rav Kook’s Shattered Vessels and Their Repair 411 VIII. RAV KOOK: HISTORICAL STUDIES Rav Kook’s Missing Student 431 When Rav Kook Was the Zealot (Kana’i) and His Opponent the Advocate (Melits Yosher) 445 IX. MESSIAH The Two Faces of Messianism 463 “My Beloved is Like a Gazelle” (Domeh Dodi li-Tsevi): The Esthetic Messiah 485 The Philosopher King and the Poet Messiah: Hellenic and Hebrew Republics Compared 503 Messiah’s Donkey of a Thousand Colors 513 X: BOOK REviEWS The Maggid of Kozhnits, Rabbi Israel ben Shabtai Hopstein. ‘Avodat Yisrael 521 The Jackals and the Lion: Animal Fables of Kafka and Rav Kook 531 Bridging the Kabbalistic Gap: Nefesh HaTzimtzum by Avinoam Fraenkel 537 Maimonides Between Philosophy and Halakhah Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s Lectures on the Guide of the Perplexed Edited with an Introduction by Lawrence J. Kaplan 551 Hallel from Heaven and Hallel from Hell: The Post-Holocaust Responses of Paul Celan, Aharon Appelfeld and Meshulam Rath 561 When Elijah’s Mantle Fell: The Judaism of Leonard Cohen 567 The Religious-Zionist Manifesto of Rabbi Yehudah Leib Don Yahya 573 Of Priests and Prophets: The Way of Knowing and the Way of Not Knowing Shnayor Z. Burton. Mishnat Ya‘akov 591 The Two Luminaries: Rabbi Nahman of Breslov and Rav Kook Moshe Nahmani. Shnei ha-Me’orot 599 Etatism and Halakhah: Family Feud and Political Theory Rabbi Yitzhak Goldstoff. Mikdash ha-Kodesh 609 Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik on the Seder ha-‘Avodah of Yom ha-Kippurim: A Synopsis of the Rav’s Yiddish Teshuvah Derashah 5736 (1975) 615 A King’s Palace Aharon Hayyim Zimmerman. Agra la-Yesharim 625 BIBLIOGRAPHY 631.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Clergy Resource Guide
    When Every Need is Special: NAVIGATING SPECIAL NEEDS IN A CONGREGATIONAL SETTING A Clergy Resource Guide For the best in child, family and senior services...Think JSSA Jewish Social Service Agency Rockville (Wood Hill Road), 301.838.4200 • Rockville (Montrose Road), 301.881.3700 • Fairfax, 703.204.9100 www.jssa.org - [email protected] WHEN EVERY NEED IS SPECIAL – NAVIGATING SPECIAL NEEDS IN A CONGREGATIONAL SETTING PREFACE This February, JSSA was privileged to welcome 17 rabbis and cantors to our Clergy Training Program – When Every Need is Special: Navigating Special Needs in the Synagogue Environment. Participants spanned the denominational spectrum, representing communities serving thousands throughout the Washington region. Recognizing that many area clergy who wished to attend were unable to do so, JSSA has made the accompanying Clergy Resource Guide available in a digital format. Inside you will find slides from the presentation made by JSSA social workers, lists of services and contacts selected for their relevance to local clergy, and tachlis items, like an ‘Inclusion Check‐list’, Jewish source material and divrei Torah on Special Needs and Disabilities. The feedback we have received indicates that this has been a valuable resource for all clergy. Please contact Rabbi James Kahn or Natalie Merkur Rose with any questions, comments or for additional resources. L’shalom, Rabbi James Q. Kahn, Director of Jewish Engagement & Chaplaincy Services Email [email protected]; Phone 301.610.8356 Natalie Merkur Rose, LCSW‐C, LICSW, Director of Jewish Community Outreach Email [email protected]; Phone 301.610.8319 WHEN EVERY NEED IS SPECIAL – NAVIGATING SPECIAL NEEDS IN A CONGREGATIONAL SETTING RESOURCE GUIDE: TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 1: SESSION MATERIALS FOR REVIEW PAGE Program Agenda .........................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Maimonides' Highest Level of Tzedakah: Loans, Jobs and Business Partnerships
    Maimonides' Highest Level of Tzedakah: Loans, Jobs and Business Partnerships Noam Zion Hartman Institute – excerpted from: Jewish Giving in Comparative Perspectives: History and Story, Law and Theology, Anthropology and Psychology Book Two: To Each according to one’s Social Needs: The Dignity of the Needy from Talmudic Tzedakah to Human Rights Previous Books: A DIFFERENT NIGHT: The Family Participation Haggadah By Noam Zion and David Dishon LEADER'S GUIDE to "A DIFFERENT NIGHT" By Noam Zion and David Dishon A DIFFERENT LIGHT: Hanukkah Seder and Anthology including Profiles in Contemporary Jewish Courage By Noam Zion A Day Apart: Shabbat at Home By Noam Zion and Shawn Fields-Meyer A Night to Remember: Haggadah of Contemporary Voices Mishael and Noam Zion [email protected] www.haggadahsrus.com "If the people can be educated to help themselves, we strike at the root of many of the evils of the world. ... Men who are studying the problem of disease tell us that it is becoming more and more evident that the forces which conquer sickness are within the body itself and that it is only when these are reduced below the normal that disease can get a foothold. The way to ward off disease, therefore, is to tone up the body."i (John D. Rockefeller) "In bestowing charity, the main consideration should be to help those who will help themselves; to provide part of the means by which those who desire to improve may do so; to give those, who desire to rise, the aids by which they may rise; to assist, but rarely or never to do all.
    [Show full text]
  • Stem Cell Meat
    Self driving cars- Staying Kosher on business trips- Stem cell meat Show# 127 | July 21st 2017 Dovid Lichtenstein: Ayin Tova- Look the total picture ייטב לב פרשת בלק Self driving cars תלמוד ירושלמי מסכת תרומות פרק ח הלכה ד תני סיעות בני אדם שהיו מהלכין בדרך פגעו להן גוים ואמרו תנו לנו אחד מכם ונהרוג אותו ואם לאו הרי אנו הורגים את כולכם אפי' כולן נהרגים לא ימסרו נפש אחת מישראל ייחדו להן אחד כגון שבע בן בכרי ימסרו אותו ואל ייהרגו א"ר שמעון בן לקיש והוא שיהא חייב מיתה כשבע בן בכרי ורבי יוחנן אמר אף על פי שאינו חייב מיתה כשבע בן בכרי. רמב"ם הלכות יסודי התורה פרק ה הלכה ה נשים שאמרו להם עובדי כוכבים תנו לנו אחת מכן ונטמא אותה ואם לאו נטמא את כולכן יטמאו כולן ואל ימסרו להם נפש אחת מישראל, וכן אם אמרו להם עובדי כוכבים תנו לנו אחד מכם ונהרגנו ואם לאו נהרוג כולכם, יהרגו כולם ואל ימסרו להם נפש אחת מישראל, ואם יחדוהו להם ואמרו תנו לנו פלוני או נהרוג את כולכם, ו אם היה מחוייב מיתה כשבע בן בכרי יתנו אותו להם, ואין מורין להם כן לכתחלה, ואם אינו חייב מיתה יהרגו כולן ואל ימסרו להם נפש אחת מישראל. תלמוד בבלי מסכת פסחים דף כה עמוד ב ושפיכות דמים גופיה מנלן סברא הוא, כי ההוא דאתא לקמיה דרבא אמר ליה מרי דוראי אמר לי זיל קטליה לפלניא, ואי לא קטלינא לך. אמר ליה: ליקטלוך ולא תיקטול. מאי חזית דדמא דידך סומק טפי דילמא דמא דההוא גברא סומק טפי. ותוס' שם אף נערה המאורסה יהרג ואל יעבור - פי' הבועל אבל היא תיבעל ולא תיהרג דקרקע עולם היא כדאמר בבן סורר ומורה )סנהדרין עד:( ובריש כתובות )דף ג:( נמי פריך ולידרוש להו דאונס שרי ור"י אומר דשפיר גר' תיהרג דהא דמשמע בבן סורר ומורה ובריש כתובות דאונס שרי היינו היכא שהיא קרקע עולם ולא עבדה מעשה אבל לעשות מעשה כגון שאומר לה שתביא הערוה עליה תיהרג ואל תעשה מעשה דמרוצח ילפינן ורוצח לא מיחייב למימסר נפשיה אלא כשאומר לו להרוג בידים אבל אם אומר הנח לזרוק עצמך על התינוק או תיהרג אינו חייב למסור עצמו כדי להציל חבירו דאדרבה איכא למימר מאי חזית דדמיה דחבריה סומק טפי דילמא דמא דידי סומק טפי ומיהו לדידיה אם אומרים לו הנח לתקוע אותך בערוה יהרג ואל יעבור דלא מצי למימר לא עבידנא מעשה דכיון שתוקעין אותו ואין קישוי אלא לדעת כדאמרי' בריש הבא על יבמתו )יבמות נג.( ומה שהוא מתקשה הוי מעשה.
    [Show full text]
  • Bal Tashchit : the Jewish Prohibition Against Needless Destruction Wolff, K.A
    Bal Tashchit : the Jewish prohibition against needless destruction Wolff, K.A. Citation Wolff, K. A. (2009, December 1). Bal Tashchit : the Jewish prohibition against needless destruction. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/14448 Version: Corrected Publisher’s Version Licence agreement concerning inclusion of doctoral thesis in the License: Institutional Repository of the University of Leiden Downloaded from: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/14448 Note: To cite this publication please use the final published version (if applicable). BAL TASHCHIT: THE JEWISH PROHIBITION AGAINST NEEDLESS DESTRUCTION Copyright © 2009 by K. A. Wolff All rights reserved Printed in Jerusalem BAL TASHCHIT: THE JEWISH PROHIBITION AGAINST NEEDLESS DESTRUCTION Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, op gezag van de Rector Magnificus prof. mr P.F. van der Heijden, volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties te verdedigen op dinsdag 1 december 2009 klokke 15:00 uur door Keith A. Wolff geboren te Fort Lauderdale (Verenigde Staten) in 1957 Promotiecommissie Promotores: Prof. Dr F.A. de Wolff Prof. Dr A. Wijler, Rabbijn, Jerusalem College of Technology Overige leden: Prof. Dr J.J. Boersema, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Prof. Dr A. Ellian Prof. Dr R.W. Munk, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Prof. Dr I.E. Zwiep, Universiteit van Amsterdam To my wife, our children, and our parents Preface This is an interdisciplinary thesis. The second and third chapters focus on classic Jewish texts, commentary and legal responsa, including the original Hebrew and Aramaic, along with translations into English. The remainder of the thesis seeks to integrate principles derived from these Jewish sources with contemporary Western thought, particularly on what might be called 'environmental' themes.
    [Show full text]
  • The Anonymous Author of Tikkunei Zohar and Ra‘Ya Mehemna: an Antinomian Or a Radical Maimonidean?
    The Anonymous Author of Tikkunei Zohar and Ra‘ya Mehemna: An Antinomian or a Radical Maimonidean? The Anonymous Author of Tikkunei Zohar and Ra‘ya Mehemna: An Antinomian or a Radical Maimonidean? By Bezalel Naor Today, it is an accepted fact in scholarly circles that Tikkunei Zohar and Ra‘ya Mehemna form a single unit that postdates the main body of Zohar.[1] More than one reader has been scandalized by statements in Tikkunei Zohar and Ra‘ya Mehemna likening the Mishnah to a shifhah or maidservant.[2] Predictably, in response, there grew an apologetic literature that attempts to justify how such shocking statements are compatible with normative Halakhah.[3] One cannot rule out altogether the assertion by various secular historians that these pejorative statements betray an antinomian streak,[4] though to be certain, such statements of Tikkunei Zohar and Ra‘ya Mehemna are not situated in the present but deferred to the future. With this proviso, they are no more “antinomian” than the statement of Rav Yosef in the Talmud: “Mitsvot (commandments) are nullified in the future.”[5] I wish to present a hitherto unexplored possibility. It seems likely that the anonymous author of Tikkunei Zohar and Ra‘ya Mehemna (which surfaced in Spain in the first decades of the fourteenth century)[6] was not so much an antinomian as a radical Maimonidean. It is in this light that we should understand negative statements issuing from the author regarding the study of Mishnah or those comparing the various Talmudic exercises and mental gymnastics to the backbreaking labor to which the Children of Israel were subjected in Egyptian exile.[7] These do not spring from an anti-halakhic mindset but rather from taking at face value Maimonides’ syllabus as laid out in his introduction toMishneh Torah: Hence, I have entitled this work Mishneh Torah (Review of the Law), for the reason that a person, who first reads the Written Law and then this [compilation], will know from it the whole of the Oral Law, without having need to read any other book between them [italics mine—BN].
    [Show full text]
  • Making Every Day Count
    4 Chayei Sarah Making Every Day Count Sarah’s Blueprint for Meaningful Living Dedicated in loving memory of Susan Moses on the occasion of her yahrtzeit, 16 Cheshvan לזכרון ולעילוי נשמת זמירה לאה בת צבי הלוי PARSHA OVERVIEW Chayei Sarah Sarah dies at age 127 and is buried in the Machpelah Cave in Hebron, which Abraham purchases from Ephron the Hittite for four hundred shekels of silver. Abraham’s servant Eliezer is sent, laden with gifts, to Charan, to find a wife for Isaac. At the village well, Eliezer asks G‑d for a sign: when the maidens come to the well, he will ask for some water to drink; the woman who will offer to give his camels to drink as well shall be the one destined for his master’s son. Rebecca, the daughter of Abraham’s nephew Bethuel, appears at the well and passes the “test.” Eliezer is invited to their home, where he repeats the story of the day’s events. Rebecca returns with Eliezer to the land of Canaan, where they encounter Isaac praying in the field. Isaac marries Rebecca, loves her, and is comforted over the loss of his mother. Abraham takes a new wife, Keturah (Hagar), and fathers six additional sons, but Isaac is designated as his only heir. Abraham dies at age 175 and is buried beside Sarah by his two eldest sons, Isaac and Ishmael. 62 Torah Studies Season One 5779 Isaac and Rebecca endure twenty childless years, until their prayers are answered and Rebecca conceives. She experiences a difficult pregnancy as the “children struggle inside her”; G‑d tells her that “there are two nations in your womb,” and that the younger will prevail over the elder.
    [Show full text]
  • Sourcebook March 1–3, 2019 at Princeton University Collegiate Moot Beit Din 20 19 Collegiate Moot Beit Din Sourcebook
    SECOND ANNUAL COLLEGIATE MOOT BEIT DIN SOURCEBOOK MARCH 1–3, 2019 AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY COLLEGIATE MOOT BEIT DIN 20 19 COLLEGIATE MOOT BEIT DIN SOURCEBOOK What is the Collegiate Moot Beit Din? The Collegiate Moot Beit Din is the first intercollegiate moot court competition that bolsters learning by challenging students to grapple with contemporary ethical dilemmas through the prism of Jewish law. What is a Beit Din? A beit din is a Jewish court of law that is used in communities for a variety of purposes. They supervise conversions, validate and nullify marriages, and settle disputes amongst Jewish citizens. Different Jewish communities and denominations will have their own beit din, and larger communities may have several batei din (courts of law). When settling disputes, a beit din is normally comprised of three people learned in Jewish law that deliberate upon the merits of both sides of the case. They discuss the case’s circumstances, which points of law apply, and determine if further information is needed. After debating which side has the stronger case, a verdict is reached based on the majority opinion. In the Collegiate Moot Beit Din, your team represents a beit din. You need to study the Jewish law based on the sources provided, discuss the merits of each side, and reach a verdict. Just as in a real beit din you may not all agree, so the final verdict may not be unanimous – that is okay! The aim is to study, discuss and defend a decision - there is not one correct answer. Beit Din Considerations In this competition, you will be the beit din, deciding on the case in front of you.
    [Show full text]
  • Toronto Torah Beit Midrash Zichron Dov
    בס“ד Toronto Torah Beit Midrash Zichron Dov Parshat Vayechi 16 Tevet 5773/December 30, 2012 Vol.4 Num. 15 ל"ז Sponsored by Dan and Karen Valter for the yahrtzeit of Dan's father, Yitzchak ben Shalom Valter We want Mashiach whenever Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner On his deathbed, the patriarch - son (Yeshayah 6:11), Chavakuk (Chavakuk progressing according to a specific plan, and grandson of men who knew the 1:2), Zecharyah (Zecharyah 1:12) and and with a particular end in mind. Almighty intimately, of women whose Daniel sought to know the date of insight mirrored the Divine plan - Mashiach's arrival. He then wrote, "How Perhaps this was the understanding of pledged to entrust to his children the could they fail to seek the Divine human events that Yaakov intended to secrets of the universe. With little message, the time when He will come convey to his children, as he passed to strength or time remaining, Yaakov and be seen, in order to find tranquility them the mantle of leadership. The summoned his children and intoned, for their spirits, to rest from their point was not to have them mark down "Gather, and I will tell you what will struggle, to flee from their trouble?" on some millennia-long calendar that befall you in the end of days." Then, However, this does not explain how the Mashiach would come in Tevet 5773. abruptly, the ancient sage altered his sons of Yaakov, who knew no suffering Perhaps the point was for them to focus, speaking more neutrally, in Egypt, would benefit from knowing understand, as leaders of the Jewish "Gather, listen, sons of the circumstances of Mashiach's arrival.
    [Show full text]
  • The-Divine-Code-Bibliography
    1 BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR THE DIVINE CODE B”H (.is usually spelled ch כ ,ח R. is the abbreviation for Rabbi. Phonetic ĥ for) Ahavat Ĥesed. By R. Yisrael Meir (HaKohen) Kagan of Radin (1838-1933). Aĥiezer. Responsa by R. Ĥayim Ozer Gradzinski of Vilna, Lithuania (1863-1940). Ari (AriZal). Pseudonym of R. Yitzĥak Luria of Tzefat, Israel (1534-1572), the most renowned Kabbalist Rabbi, and an important teacher of Torah-law rulings. Aruĥ. Dictionary of Talmud terms by R. Natan ben Yeĥiel of Rome (c. 1045-1103). Aruĥ HaShulĥan. Code of Torah Law by R. Yeĥiel Miĥel HaLevi Epstein, Rabbi of Novardok, Russia (1829-1908). It follows the sequence of the Shulĥan Aruĥ. Aruĥ Le’Nair. Analyses on Talmud, by R. Yaacov Etlinger, Germany (1798-1871). Auerbach, R. Ĥayim Yehuda. One of the founders and first Head of Yeshivas Sha’arei Shamayim, Jerusalem, Israel (1883-1954). Avnei Neizer. Responsa by R. Avraham Borenstein of Poland (1839-1910). Avot D’Rabbi Natan. Chapters of ethics, compiled by Rabbi Natan (2nd century). Baal Halaĥot Gedolot. One of the earliest Codes of Torah Law, by R. Shimon Kayyara, who is believed to have lived in Babylonia in the ninth century, and to have studied under the Geonim Rabbis of the Academy in Sura, Babylon. Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavli). Talmud composed by the Sages in Babylonia (present day Iraq) in the second to the fifth centuries, completed 450-500. Baĥ. Acronym for Bayit Ĥadash, a work of Torah Law by R. Yoel Sirkis of Cracow, Poland (c. 1561-1640). Bedek HaBayit. Additions to Beit Yosef by R.
    [Show full text]
  • Michael Strassfeld Papers Ms
    Michael Strassfeld papers Ms. Coll. 1218 Finding aid prepared by John F. Anderies; Hebrew music listed by David Kalish and Louis Meiselman. Last updated on May 15, 2020. University of Pennsylvania, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts 2016 December 14 Michael Strassfeld papers Table of Contents Summary Information....................................................................................................................................3 Biography/History..........................................................................................................................................4 Scope and Contents....................................................................................................................................... 5 Administrative Information........................................................................................................................... 7 Related Materials........................................................................................................................................... 8 Controlled Access Headings..........................................................................................................................8 Collection Inventory.................................................................................................................................... 10 Series I. Education.................................................................................................................................10 Series
    [Show full text]
  • CHOLENT with the GAUCHOS TEXT and PHOTOS by Ari Greenspan and Ari Z
    ESENT I PR AR D N A I R A Questmesor ah CHOLENT WITH THE GAUCHOS TEXT AND PHOTOS BY Ari Greenspan and Ari Z. Zivotofsky lthough all of us have heard about We knew there were large fascinating or far-flung Jewish communities Jewish communities in the big around the globe, it’s always hard to imagine cities of Argentina, but entire something so different from how we live. Even kehillos of Jewish ranchers Aseasoned travelers like ourselves who have become acquainted with a range of Jewish communities would not be quite prepared on the vast South American for what we were to find in the most unusual Jewish town of Moises Ville on the pampas of pampas? Although today the Argentina. Argentina, initially settled by Spanish town of Moises Ville is but a conquistadors in the 16th century, is a huge country taking up most of the lower half of remnant of its Jewish heyday, South America. For North American and European-centric Jews it might be difficult we were able to meet the last of to imagine that Argentina has the sixth largest Jewish community in the world, with over 200,000 Jews. But it wasn’t the large the Yiddishe gauchos, whose and vibrant kehillah in Buenos Aires that piqued our interest. After driving close to grandparents fled from pogroms 400 miles over dirt roads, with cows in every direction and open grassy, fertile plains as and oppression to stake out their far as the eye could see, we finally passed the sign welcoming us into Moises Ville, a hamlet turf in the Southern Hemisphere with just over 2,000 people including about 200 Jews.
    [Show full text]
  • Acharei-Kedoshim There’S No Such Thing As Middle Ground the Binary Nature of Good and Bad
    2. Acharei-Kedoshim There’s No Such Thing as Middle Ground The Binary Nature of Good and Bad. You Choose. Dedicated in loving memory of הרב חיים בן אליהו ע“ה ומרת מרים בת אהרון דוב ע“ה marking their yahrtzeits on 26 Nissan and 1 Iyar. May the merit of the Torah study accompany their soul in the world of everlasting life and be a source of blessings to their family with much health, happiness, nachat, and success. [ 20 ] PARSHA OVERVIEW Acharei-Kedoshim Following the deaths of Na- The parsha of Kedoshim dav and Avihu, G-d warns begins with the statement, against unauthorized entry “You shall be holy, for I, “into the holy.” Only one the L-rd your G-d, am person, the Kohen Gadol holy.” This is followed by (High Priest), once a year dozens of mitzvot (divine on Yom Kippur, may enter commandments) through the innermost chamber in which the Jew sanctifies the Sanctuary to offer the him- or herself and relates sacred ketoret to G-d. to the holiness of G-d. Another feature of the These include: the prohibi- Yom Kippur (Day of Atone- tion against idolatry, the ment) service is the casting mitzvah of charity, the of lots over two goats, to principle of equality before determine which should be the law, Shabbat, sexual offered to G-d and which morality, honesty in busi- should be dispatched to ness, honor and awe of carry off the sins of Israel to one’s parents, and the the wilderness. sacredness of life. The parsha of Acharei also Also in Kedoshim is the warns against bringing kor- dictum that the great banot (animal or meal offer- sage Rabbi Akiva called, “a ings) anywhere but in the cardinal principle of the Holy Temple, forbids the Torah,” and of which Hil- consumption of blood, and lel said, “This is the entire details the laws prohibiting Torah; the rest is com- incest and other forbidden mentary: Love your fellow sexual relations.
    [Show full text]