Women's Testimony and Talmudic Reasoning
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Should Bakeries Which Are Open on Shabbat Be Supervised? a Response to the Rabinowitz-Weisberg Opinion RABBI HOWARD HANDLER
Should Bakeries Which are Open on Shabbat Be Supervised? A Response to the Rabinowitz-Weisberg Opinion RABBI HOWARD HANDLER This paper was submitted as a response to the responsum written by Rabbi Mayer Rabinowitz and Ms. Dvora Weisberg entitled "Rabbinic Supervision of Jewish Owned Businesses Operating on Shabbat" which was adopted by the CJLS on February 26, 1986. Should rabbis offer rabbinic supervision to bakeries which are open on Shabbat? i1 ~, '(l) l'\ (1) The food itself is indeed kosher after Shabbat, once the time required to prepare it has elapsed. 1 The halakhah is according to Rabbi Yehudah and not according to the Mishnah which is Rabbi Meir's opinion. (2) While a Jew who does not observe all the mitzvot is in some instances deemed trustworthy, this is never the case regarding someone who flagrantly disregards the laws of Shabbat, especially for personal profit. Maimonides specifically excludes such a person's trustworthiness regarding his own actions.2 Moreover in the case of n:nv 77n~ (a violator of Shabbat) Maimonides explicitly rejects his trustworthiness. 3 No support can be brought from Moshe Feinstein who concludes, "even if the proprietor closes his store on Shabbat, [since it is known to all that he does not observe Shabbat], we assume he only wants to impress other observant Jews so they will buy from him."4 Previously in the same responsum R. Feinstein emphasizes that even if the person in The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly provides guidance in matters of halakhah for the Conservative movement. -
Yoma 003.Pub
ב' אייר תשפ“אWed, Apr 14 2021 Daf Digest for Chodesh Iyar is dedicated In memory of Israel Isser Ben Tzion ben Yaakov OVERVIEW of the Daf Distinctive INSIGHT 1) The source for sequestering (cont.) Seven days of preparation for Rosh HaShanah? ואימא ראש השה דפרישת שבעה ליום אחד וכו ‘ does לכפר The Gemara concludes its proof that the word not refer to Shmini Atzeres. -refers to I n a certain regard, Rosh HaShanah seems a poor exam לכפר It is suggested that perhaps the word Shavuos rather than Yom Kippur. ple of a day which has seven days of preparation for a one- The Gemara demonstrates that this could not be the cor- day occasion. After all, Rosh HaShanah occurs on Rosh rect interpretation. Chodesh, the first day of Tishrei, and we never know refers to whether the month of Elul will be a complete or deficient לכפר It is suggested that that perhaps the word Rosh HaShanah. month. If we were to begin our preparation for Rosh The Gemara demonstrates that this could not be the cor- HaShanah on the 23rd or 24th of Elul, we might have six rect interpretation. or eight days of separation, and we are aiming to pattern R’ Ashi makes another suggestion how we know that the this system after the event which took place during the the initiation days leading up to the opening of , מילואים pasuk refers to Yom Kippur and not to Rosh HaShanah or to הזה Shavuos. the Mishkan. There, the Torah uses the word Ravina presents another reason why the pasuk must refer indicate that we need to match the precedent case precisely, to Yom Kippur rather than any other event. -
A Guide to Rosh Hashanah La'behemot
We are grateful for all the good we receive from behemot, from domesticated animals. Some of us eat them, some wear their skins, some eat eggs and cheese, some use medicines and even organs that come from animals, some wear wool and silk, some write on Torah scrolls, wear tefillin, and blow shofarot that come from animal’s bodies. Some of us do none of these things, but we benefit from the bee A Guide to Rosh Hashanah La’Behemot that pollinates the flowers and the worm that softens the earth. May the One who is the breath of life cause us to be mindful of these gifts and never to waste them or take them for granted. (The shofar is blown a tekiyah shvarim tekiyah cycle.) the Jewish New Year’s Day for Animals We bless all the creatures, Behemot and Ḥayot we are privileged to live with on the earth: the loving companion animals who live in our houses, the birds at our windows and in the forests, the burrowing creatures under our feet, the fish in the waters of our streams and oceans. We bless all the spirits, all the nefashot we are privileged to live with on the earth, the known and the When? unknown. May the One who is the breath of life bless all living things that we love and strengthen them. Rosh Hashanah La'Behemot, the New Year's Day for Domesticated Animals, occurs on the very (The shofar is blown a long tekiyah for the final time.) first day of the Hebrew month of Elul; that's always exactly one month before the High Holy Days begin. -
Daf Ditty Pesachim 71: the Core of Joy
Daf Ditty Pesachim 71: The Core of Joy 1 at the time of rejoicing, on the Festival itself, and if it was slaughtered on the fourteenth it is not. The mitzva to bring a Festival peace-offering is also not fulfilled, for it is something that is an obligation, as everyone is obligated to bring this offering, and the principle is that anything that is an obligation must come only from that which is unconsecrated, meaning that one cannot bring an obligatory offering from an animal that has already been consecrated for another purpose. The Gemara proposes: Let us say that a baraita supports him. The verse states: Seven days shalt thou keep a feast unto the LORD thy God 15 וט ְתּמתיﬠִשׁב ָי,םחַָ ֹגִ FֱהDיוהַלהא ֶ,יָ ֶ,יָ FֱהDיוהַלהא in the place which the LORD shall choose; because the LORD קשׁ,ַבּאםמּ ֲֶָרוֹ - ְיָהוה: ְִיַבחר יִכּ Fבי ְהְכהויר ְֶָָ ְהְכהויר Fבי יִכּ thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the work ,בֶּיFֱאDה לתְּכ בFְָתוּאבֹ למְכְוּ הֲַשׂﬠֹ ֵי ,ֶיFָד ,ֶיFָד ֵי הֲַשׂﬠֹ למְכְוּ בFְָתוּאבֹ לתְּכ ,בֶּיFֱאDה .of thy hands, and thou shalt be altogether joyful ֵָשַׂמ.ח ְוִָייהָ,תַאT ֵָשַׂמ.ח Deut 16:15 “Seven days shall you celebrate to the Lord your God in the place that the Lord shall choose, for the Lord your God shall bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, and you shall be but joyous” This verse seems superfluous, as it was already stated in the previous verse: “And you shall rejoice in your Festival.” The baraita expounds: “And you shall be but joyous” comes to include the last night of the Festival. -
Download Ji Calendar Educator Guide
xxx Contents The Jewish Day ............................................................................................................................... 6 A. What is a day? ..................................................................................................................... 6 B. Jewish Days As ‘Natural’ Days ........................................................................................... 7 C. When does a Jewish day start and end? ........................................................................... 8 D. The values we can learn from the Jewish day ................................................................... 9 Appendix: Additional Information About the Jewish Day ..................................................... 10 The Jewish Week .......................................................................................................................... 13 A. An Accompaniment to Shabbat ....................................................................................... 13 B. The Days of the Week are all Connected to Shabbat ...................................................... 14 C. The Days of the Week are all Connected to the First Week of Creation ........................ 17 D. The Structure of the Jewish Week .................................................................................... 18 E. Deeper Lessons About the Jewish Week ......................................................................... 18 F. Did You Know? ................................................................................................................. -
Research Bulletin Series Jewish Law and Economics Game Theory in The
Research bulletin Series on Jewish Law and Economics Game Theory in the Talmud Robert J. Aumann Dedicated to the memory of Shlomo Aumann, Talmudic scholar and man of the world, killed in action near Khush-e-Dneiba, Lebanon, on the eve of the nineteenth of Sivan 5742 (June 9, 1982) Abstract A passage from the Talmud whose explanation eluded commentators for two millennia is elucidated with the aid of principles suggested by modern mathematical Theory of Games. ________________ * Institute of Mathematics, Center for rationality and Interactive Decision Theory, and Department of Economics, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem Game Theory in the Talmud1 By Robert J. Aumann l. A Bankruptcy Problem A man dies, leaving debts totaling more than his estate. How should the estate be divided among the creditors? A frequent solution in modern law is proportional division. The rationale is that each dollar of debt should be treated in the same way; one looks at dollars rather than people. Yet it is by no means obvious that this is the only equitable or reasonable system. For example, if the estate does not exceed the smallest debt, equal division among the creditors makes good sense. Any amount of debt to one person that goes beyond the entire estate might well be considered irrelevant; you cannot get more than there is. A fascinating discussion of bankruptcy occurs in the Babylonian Talmud2 (Ketubot 93a). There are three creditors; the debts are 100, 200 and 300. Three cases are considered, corresponding to estates of 100, 200 and 300. The Mishna stipulates the divisions shown in Table 1. -
The Intersection of Gender and Mitzvot Dr
The Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies Walking with Mitzvot Edited By Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson ogb hfrs andvhfrs Rabbi Patricia Fenton In Memory of Harold Held and Louise Held, of blessed memory The Held Foundation Melissa and Michael Bordy Joseph and Lacine Held Robert and Lisa Held Published in partnership with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the Rabbinical Assembly, the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs and the Women’s League for Conservative Judaism. THE INTERSECTION OF GENDER AND MITZVOT DR. RABBI ARYEH COHEN TO START WITH A COUPLE alakhah, or Jewish Law, it has been often noted, is as much a pedagogical system as a legal system. The goal of the Hmitzvot as codified and explicated in the halakhic system is to create a certain type of person. Ideally this is a person who is righteous and God fearing, a person who feels and fulfills their obligation towards God as well as towards their fellows. Embedded into this goal, of necessity, is an idea or conception of what a person is. On the most basic level, the mitzvot “construct” people as masculine and feminine. This means that the halakhic system, or the system of mitzvot as practiced, classically define certain behaviors as masculine and others as feminine. The mitzvot themselves are then grouped into broad categories which are mapped onto male and female. Let’s start with a couple of examples. The (3rd century CE) tractate Kiddushin of the Mishnah begins with the following law: “A woman is acquired in three ways, with money, with a contract and with sex.” The assumption here is that a man “acquires” a woman in marriage and not the reverse. -
Foreword, Abbreviations, Glossary
FOREWORD, ABBREVIATIONS, GLOSSARY The Soncino Babylonian Talmud TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH WITH NOTES Reformatted by Reuven Brauner, Raanana 5771 1 FOREWORDS, ABBREVIATIONS, GLOSSARY Halakhah.com Presents the Contents of the Soncino Babylonian Talmud TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH WITH NOTES, GLOSSARY AND INDICES UNDER THE EDITORSHIP OF R AB B I D R . I. EPSTEIN B.A., Ph.D., D. Lit. FOREWORD BY THE VERY REV. THE LATE CHIEF RABBI DR. J. H. HERTZ INTRODUCTION BY THE EDITOR THE SONCINO PRESS LONDON Original footnotes renumbered. 2 FOREWORDS, ABBREVIATIONS, GLOSSARY These are the Sedarim ("orders", or major There are about 12,800 printed pages in the divisions) and tractates (books) of the Soncino Talmud, not counting introductions, Babylonian Talmud, as translated and indexes, glossaries, etc. Of these, this site has organized for publication by the Soncino about 8050 pages on line, comprising about Press in 1935 - 1948. 1460 files — about 63% of the Soncino Talmud. This should in no way be considered The English terms in italics are taken from a substitute for the printed edition, with the the Introductions in the respective Soncino complete text, fully cross-referenced volumes. A summary of the contents of each footnotes, a master index, an index for each Tractate is given in the Introduction to the tractate, scriptural index, rabbinical index, Seder, and a detailed summary by chapter is and so on. given in the Introduction to the Tractate. SEDER ZERA‘IM (Seeds : 11 tractates) Introduction to Seder Zera‘im — Rabbi Dr. I Epstein INDEX Foreword — The Very Rev. The Chief Rabbi Israel Brodie Abbreviations Glossary 1. -
Jewish Perspectives on Reproductive Realities by Rabbi Lori Koffman, NCJW Board Director and Chair of NCJW’S Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice Initiative
Jewish Perspectives on Reproductive Realities By Rabbi Lori Koffman, NCJW Board Director and Chair of NCJW’s Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice Initiative A note on the content below: We acknowledge that this document invokes heavily gendered language due to the prevailing historic male voices in Jewish rabbinic and biblical perspectives, and the fact that Hebrew (the language in which these laws originated) is a gendered language. We also recognize some of these perspectives might be in contradiction with one another and with some of NCJW’s approaches to the issues of reproductive health, rights, and justice. Background Family planning has been discussed in Judaism for several thousand years. From the earliest of the ‘sages’ until today, a range of opinions has existed — opinions which can be in tension with one another and are constantly evolving. Historically these discussions have assumed that sexual intimacy happens within the framework of heterosexual marriage. A few fundamental Jewish tenets underlie any discussion of Jewish views on reproductive realities. • Protecting an existing life is paramount, even when it means a Jew must violate the most sacred laws.1 • Judaism is decidedly ‘pro-natalist,’ and strongly encourages having children. The duty of procreation is based on one of the earliest and often repeated obligations of the Torah, ‘pru u’rvu’, 2 to be ‘fruitful and multiply.’ This fundamental obligation in the Jewish tradition is technically considered only to apply to males. Of course, Jewish attitudes toward procreation have not been shaped by Jewish law alone, but have been influenced by the historic communal trauma (such as the Holocaust) and the subsequent yearning of some Jews to rebuild community through Jewish population growth. -
A USER's MANUAL Part 1: How Is Halakhah Organized?
TORAHLEADERSHIP.ORG RABBI ARYEH KLAPPER HALAKHAH: A USER’S MANUAL Part 1: How is Halakhah Organized? I. How is Halakhah Organized? 4 case studies a. Mishnah Berakhot 1:1, and gemara thereupon b. Support of the poor Peiah, Bava Batra, Matnot Aniyyim, Yoreh Deah) c. Conversion ?, Yevamot, Issurei Biah, Yoreh Deah) d. Mourning Moed Qattan, Shoftim, Yoreh Deiah) Mishnah Berakhot 1:1 From what time may one recite the Shema in the evening? From the hour that the kohanim enter to eat their terumah Until the end of the first watch, in the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer. The Sages say: Until midnight. Rabban Gamliel says: Until morning. It happened that his sons came from a wedding feast. They said to him: We have not yet recited the Shema. He said to them: If it has not yet morned, you are obligated to recite it. Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 2a What is the context of the Mishnah’s opening “From when”? Also, why does it teach about the evening first, rather than about the morning? The context is Scripture saying “when you lie down and when you arise” (Devarim 6:7, 11:9). what the Mishnah intends is: “The time of the Shema of lying-down – when is it?” Alternatively: The context is Creation, as Scripture writes “There was evening and there was morning”. Mishnah Berakhot 1:1 (continued) Not only this – rather, everything about which the Sages say until midnight – their mitzvah is until morning. The burning of fats and organs – their mitzvah is until morning. All sacrifices that must be eaten in a day – their mitzvah is until morning. -
The Marriage Issue
Association for Jewish Studies SPRING 2013 Center for Jewish History The Marriage Issue 15 West 16th Street The Latest: New York, NY 10011 William Kentridge: An Implicated Subject Cynthia Ozick’s Fiction Smolders, but not with Romance The Questionnaire: If you were to organize a graduate seminar around a single text, what would it be? Perspectives THE MAGAZINE OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR JEWISH STUDIES Table of Contents From the Editors 3 From the President 3 From the Executive Director 4 The Marriage Issue Jewish Marriage 6 Bluma Goldstein Between the Living and the Dead: Making Levirate Marriage Work 10 Dvora Weisberg Married Men 14 Judith Baskin ‘According to the Law of Moses and Israel’: Marriage from Social Institution to Legal Fact 16 Michael Satlow Reading Jewish Philosophy: What’s Marriage Got to Do with It? 18 Susan Shapiro One Jewish Woman, Two Husbands, Three Laws: The Making of Civil Marriage and Divorce in a Revolutionary Age 24 Lois Dubin Jewish Courtship and Marriage in 1920s Vienna 26 Marsha Rozenblit Marriage Equality: An American Jewish View 32 Joyce Antler The Playwright, the Starlight, and the Rabbi: A Love Triangle 35 Lila Corwin Berman The Hand that Rocks the Cradle: How the Gender of the Jewish Parent Influences Intermarriage 42 Keren McGinity Critiquing and Rethinking Kiddushin 44 Rachel Adler Kiddushin, Marriage, and Egalitarian Relationships: Making New Legal Meanings 46 Gail Labovitz Beyond the Sanctification of Subordination: Reclaiming Tradition and Equality in Jewish Marriage 50 Melanie Landau The Multifarious -
Classical Jewish Texts, from Parchment to Internet 1Qisaa
11 December 2017 Scroll Down: Classical Jewish Texts, Aleppo Codex from Parchment to Internet c. 930 Tiberias Gary A. Rendsburg http://aleppocodex.org/ Rutgers University Sample page shows portions Allen and Joan Bildner Center of Ezekiel 2‐3 for the Study of Jewish Life Rutgers University 4 December 2017 St. Petersburg (Leningrad) Codex 1009 / Tiberias (digital images not Aleppo Codex / c. 930 / Tiberias available online) Sample verse: Joshua 1:1 Sample page Genesis 1 ַו ְי ִ֗הי ַא ֲחֵ ֛רי ֥מוֹת ֹמ ֶ ֖שׁה ֶ ֣ע ֶבד ְי ָ ֑הוה ַו ֤יּ ֹ ֶאמר ְי ָהו ֙ה ֶא ְל־י ֻ ֣הוֹשׁ ַע ִבּ ֔ן־נוּן ְמ ָשֵׁ ֥רת ֹמ ֶ ֖שׁה ֵל ֽ ֹאמר׃ Digital Dead Sea Scrolls / Google / Israel Museum 1QIsaa The Great Isaiah Scroll Isaiah 6:3 (1QIsaa): Holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts, all the earth is filled with his glory. Isaiah 6:3 (Masoretic Text): http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/ Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts, all the earth is filled with his glory. 1 11 December 2017 Isaiah 6:3 (1QIsaa): Holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts, all the earth is filled with his glory. Isaiah 6:3 (Masoretic Text): http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/about‐the‐project/the‐digital‐library Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts, all the earth is filled with his glory. 4Q394 = 4QMMTa fragments 4Q271 = 4QDf – Damascus Document Mishna Kaufmann Manuscript A50 (Budapest) Italy, c. 1200 http://kaufmann.mtak.hu/ en/ms50/ms50‐coll1.htm Ben Sira, c. 180 B.C.E. – http://www.bensira.org/ 2 11 December 2017 Mishna Parma Manuscript, Biblioteca Palatina 3173 (De Rossi 138) Italy, 1073 Mishna Manuscript / c.