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י Three Steps to Father's House
בס“ד Parshat Bo 8 Shevat, 5777/February 4, 2017 Vol. 8 Num. 22 This issue of Toronto Torah is dedicated by Rochel and Jeffrey Silver נ“י in honour of the birth of their granddaughter Faigy Rivka Three Steps to Father’s House Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner Over a two-week period our ancestors To Father’s House works on several Seen in this light, the Exodus requires were told how to prepare for our levels, one of which is a parable for our that we be identified as the rightful national Exodus. Those commands, departure from Egypt. As the Talmud heirs of Avraham and Sarah, to merit recorded in our parshah, described (Sotah 11a) describes, our labour in that return home. This is the role of three activities: Egypt was perpetual and unrewarding, the three preparatory activities outlined Designation and sacrifice of the and we shared the protagonist’s sense in our parshah: korban pesach (Shemot 12:1-6); of not belonging. Suffering made us long Circumcision was Avraham’s mitzvah, Placement of blood from the korban for the house of our Father, and we left and it became the mark of the Jew. pesach on the entrances of their in haste. (Shemot 12:11) We displayed Korbanot were a hallmark of Avraham homes (12:7, 21-23); great ambivalence, though, en route to and Sarah, who built altars each time Circumcision of all males (12:43-50). our land; we even claimed that we had they settled a new part of Canaan. been better off in Egypt. The end of the Placement of blood from the korban We could view these three activities as book of Yehoshua (24:2-4) is part of the pesach marks the structure as a elements of the korban pesach. -
Why Jews Quote
Oral Tradition, 29/1 (2014):5-46 Why Jews Quote Michael Marmur Everyone Quotes1 Interest in the phenomenon of quotation as a feature of culture has never been greater. Recent works by Regier (2010), Morson (2011) and Finnegan (2011) offer many important insights into a practice notable both for its ubiquity and yet for its specificity. In this essay I want to consider one of the oldest and most diverse of world cultures from the perspective of quotation. While debates abound as to whether the “cultures of the Jews”2 can be regarded integrally, this essay will suggest that the act of quotation both in literary and oral settings is a constant in Jewish cultural creativity throughout the ages. By attempting to delineate some of the key functions of quotation in these various Jewish contexts, some contribution to the understanding of what is arguably a “universal human propensity” (Finnegan 2011:11) may be made. “All minds quote. Old and new make the warp and woof of every moment. There is not a thread that is not a twist of these two strands. By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote.”3 Emerson’s reference to warp and woof is no accident. The creative act comprises a threading of that which is unique to the particular moment with strands taken from tradition.4 In 1 The comments of Sarah Bernstein, David Ellenson, Warren Zev Harvey, Jason Kalman, David Levine, Dow Marmur, Dalia Marx, Michal Muszkat-Barkan, and Richard Sarason on earlier versions of this article have been of enormous help. -
Rav Yisroel Abuchatzeira, Baba Sali Zt”L
Issue (# 14) A Tzaddik, or righteous person makes everyone else appear righteous before Hashem by advocating for them and finding their merits. (Kedushas Levi, Parshas Noach; Sefer Bereishis 7:1) Parshas Bo Kedushas Ha'Levi'im THE TEFILLIN OF THE MASTER OF THE WORLD You shall say it is a pesach offering to Hashem, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel... (Shemos 12:27) The holy Berditchever asks the following question in Kedushas Levi: Why is it that we call the yom tov that the Torah designated as “Chag HaMatzos,” the Festival of Unleavened Bread, by the name Pesach? Where does the Torah indicate that we might call this yom tov by the name Pesach? Any time the Torah mentions this yom tov, it is called “Chag HaMatzos.” He answered by explaining that it is written elsewhere, “Ani l’dodi v’dodi li — I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine” (Shir HaShirim 6:3). This teaches that we relate the praises of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and He in turn praises us. So, too, we don tefillin, which contain the praises of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and HaKadosh Baruch Hu dons His “tefillin,” in which the praise of Klal Yisrael is written. This will help us understand what is written in the Tanna D’Vei Eliyahu [regarding the praises of Klal Yisrael]. The Midrash there says, “It is a mitzvah to speak the praises of Yisrael, and Hashem Yisbarach gets great nachas and pleasure from this praise.” It seems to me, says the Kedushas Levi, that for this reason it says that it is forbidden to break one’s concentration on one’s tefillin while wearing them, that it is a mitzvah for a man to continuously be occupied with the mitzvah of tefillin. -
CCAR Journal the Reform Jewish Quarterly
CCAR Journal The Reform Jewish Quarterly Halachah and Reform Judaism Contents FROM THE EDITOR At the Gates — ohrgJc: The Redemption of Halachah . 1 A. Brian Stoller, Guest Editor ARTICLES HALACHIC THEORY What Do We Mean When We Say, “We Are Not Halachic”? . 9 Leon A. Morris Halachah in Reform Theology from Leo Baeck to Eugene B . Borowitz: Authority, Autonomy, and Covenantal Commandments . 17 Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi The CCAR Responsa Committee: A History . 40 Joan S. Friedman Reform Halachah and the Claim of Authority: From Theory to Practice and Back Again . 54 Mark Washofsky Is a Reform Shulchan Aruch Possible? . 74 Alona Lisitsa An Evolving Israeli Reform Judaism: The Roles of Halachah and Civil Religion as Seen in the Writings of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism . 92 David Ellenson and Michael Rosen Aggadic Judaism . 113 Edwin Goldberg Spring 2020 i CONTENTS Talmudic Aggadah: Illustrations, Warnings, and Counterarguments to Halachah . 120 Amy Scheinerman Halachah for Hedgehogs: Legal Interpretivism and Reform Philosophy of Halachah . 140 Benjamin C. M. Gurin The Halachic Canon as Literature: Reading for Jewish Ideas and Values . 155 Alyssa M. Gray APPLIED HALACHAH Communal Halachic Decision-Making . 174 Erica Asch Growing More Than Vegetables: A Case Study in the Use of CCAR Responsa in Planting the Tri-Faith Community Garden . 186 Deana Sussman Berezin Yoga as a Jewish Worship Practice: Chukat Hagoyim or Spiritual Innovation? . 200 Liz P. G. Hirsch and Yael Rapport Nursing in Shul: A Halachically Informed Perspective . 208 Michal Loving Can We Say Mourner’s Kaddish in Cases of Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Nefel? . 215 Jeremy R. -
SELECTED ARTICLES of INTEREST in RECENT VOLUMES of the AMERICAN JEWISH YEAR BOOK American Jewish Fiction Turns Inward, Sylvia Ba
SELECTED ARTICLES OF INTEREST IN RECENT VOLUMES OF THE AMERICAN JEWISH YEAR BOOK American Jewish Fiction Turns Inward, Sylvia Barack Fishman 1960-1990 91:35-69 American Jewish Museums: Trends and Issues Ruth R. Seldin 91:71-113 Anti-Semitism in Europe Since the Holocaust Robert S. Wistrich 93:3-23 Counting Jewish Populations: Methods and Paul Ritterband, Barry A. Problems Kosmin, and Jeffrey Scheckner 88:204-221 Current Trends in American Jewish Jack Wertheimer 97:3-92 Philanthropy Ethiopian Jews in Israel Steven Kaplan and Chaim Rosen 94:59-109 Ethnic Differences Among Israeli Jews: A New U.O. Schmelz, Sergio Look DellaPergola, and Uri Avner 90:3-204 Herzl's Road to Zionism Shlomo Avineri 98:3-15 The Impact of Feminism on American Jewish Sylvia B. Fishman 89:3-62 Life Israel at 50: An American Perspective Arnold M. Eisen 98:47-71 Israel at 50: An Israeli Perspective Yossi Klein Halevi 98:25-46 Israeli Literature and the American Reader Alan Mintz 97:93-114 Israelis in the United States Steven J. Gold and Bruce A. Phillips 96:51-101 Jewish Experience on Film—An American Joel Rosenberg 96:3-50 Overview Jewish Identity in Conversionary and Mixed Peter Y. Medding, Gary A. Marriages Tobin, Sylvia Barack Fishman, and Mordechai Rimor 92:3-76 719 720 / AMERICAN JEWISH YEAR BOOK, 1999 Jewish Organizational Life in the Jack Wertheimer 95:3-98 United States Since 1945 Jewish Theology in North America: Arnold Eisen 91:3-33 Notes on Two Decades Jews in the European Community: Sergio DellaPergola 93:25-82 Sociodemographic Trends and Challenges New Perspectives in American Jewish Nathan Glazer 87:3-19 Sociology The Population of Reunited Jerusalem, U.O. -
Laws of Medical Treatment on Shabbat
Laws of Medical Treatment on Shabbat Dov Karoll The permissibility of treatment of the ill on Shabbat varies from mandated and required even when numerous melachot would need to be violated, to permitted, provided it does not violate any melachot, to prohibited for the simple fact that it is medical treatment. What factors lead to such a great disparity? The primary, crucial distinction at work here is between medi- cal treatment that involves saving a life (piku’ach nefesh), which is permitted and even required, even if it means violating the normal rules of Shabbat, and providing medical treatment in other cases, regarding which the rules are more complex. When is medical treatment required even if it involves violating melachot? The Rambam is very clear on this issue:1 It is forbidden to delay in violating Shabbat for a person who is dangerously ill (choleh she-yesh bo sakkana), as it says [in the Gemara, based on a verse]: “[Regarding the laws of the Torah] ‘man shall fulfill them and live,’2 rather than fulfill them to die.”3 We learn from here that the laws of the Torah are not to 1 Hilchot Shabbat 2:3. This passage is also cited in Shemirat Shabbat Ke-Hilchatah at the beginning of his discussion of the laws of piku’ach nefesh on Shabbat (32:1). Translation mine. 2 Vayikra 18:5. 3 The verse is cited, and the law is derived, in the Gemara Yoma 85b, where this explanation of Rav Yehuda in the name of Shmuel is one of many sources provid- ed for the notion of saving lives overriding Shabbat observance (starting on 85a). -
Fine Judaica, to Be Held May 2Nd, 2013
F i n e J u d a i C a . printed booKs, manusCripts & autograph Letters including hoLy Land traveL the ColleCtion oF nathan Lewin, esq. K e s t e n b au m & C om pa n y thursday, m ay 2nd, 2013 K est e n bau m & C o m pa ny . Auctioneers of Rare Books, Manuscripts and Fine Art A Lot 318 Catalogue of F i n e J u d a i C a . PRINTED BOOK S, MANUSCRIPTS, & AUTOGRAPH LETTERS INCLUDING HOLY L AND TR AVEL THE COllECTION OF NATHAN LEWIN, ESQ. ——— To be Offered for Sale by Auction, Thursday, May 2nd, 2013 at 3:00 pm precisely ——— Viewing Beforehand: Sunday, April 28th - 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm Monday, April 29th - 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm Tuesday, April 30th - 10:00 am - 6:00 pm Wednesday, May 1st - 10:00 am - 6:00 pm No Viewing on the Day of Sale This Sale may be referred to as: “Pisgah” Sale Number Fifty-Eight Illustrated Catalogues: $38 (US) * $45 (Overseas) KestenbauM & CoMpAny Auctioneers of Rare Books, Manuscripts and Fine Art . 242 West 30th street, 12th Floor, new york, NY 10001 • tel: 212 366-1197 • Fax: 212 366-1368 e-mail: [email protected] • World Wide Web site: www.Kestenbaum.net K est e n bau m & C o m pa ny . Chairman: Daniel E. Kestenbaum Operations Manager: Jackie S. Insel Client Accounts: S. Rivka Morris Client Relations: Sandra E. Rapoport, Esq. (Consultant) Printed Books & Manuscripts: Rabbi Eliezer Katzman Ceremonial & Graphic Art: Abigail H. -
Two Models of Jewish Philosophy Submitted for the Degree of Phd in Philosophy at the London School
Justifying One’s Practices: Two Models of Jewish Philosophy Submitted for the degree of PhD in Philosophy At the London School of Economics and Political Science Daniel Rynhold 2000 1 UMI Number: U120701 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U120701 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 773 ) Thesis Abstract Judaism is a religion that emphasises the importance of a set of practical commandments and in the history of Jewish philosophy various attempts have been made to rationalise or justify these commandments. In this thesis I try to establish a general model for the justification of practices through a critical examination of two such attempted rationalisations. However, the study is framed within the more general question of whether or not there can be such a thing as Jewish Philosophy as a genuinely substantive discipline. Thus, I take the particular topic of rationalising the commandments as a ‘case study’ in order to see whether we can do substantive Jewish philosophy at least in the practical sphere. In the main body of the thesis I look at the methods of rationalisation of Moses Maimonides and Joseph Soloveitchik and argue that despite being based on very different scientific models they share a central methodological presumption that I term the Priority of Theory (PoT). -
Miracles and the Natural Order in Nahmanides*
Miracles and the Natural Order in Nahmanides* MMIRACLESIRACLES ANDAND THETHE NATURALNATURAL ORDERORDER IINN NNAHMANIDESAHMANIDES* From: Rabbi Moses Nahmanides (Ramban): Explorations in his Religious and Literary Virtuosity, ed. by Isadore Twersky (Harvard University Press: Cambridge, Mass., 1983), pp. 107-128. The centrality of miracles in Nahmanides’ theology cannot escape the attention of even the most casual observer, and his doctrine of the hidden miracle exercised a particularly profound and abiding influence on subsequent Jewish thought. Nevertheless, his repeated emphasis on the miraculous—and particularly the unrestrained rhetoric of a few key passages—has served to obscure and distort his true position, which was far more moderate, nuanced and complex than both medieval and modern scholars have been led to believe. I To Nahmanides, miracles serve as the ultimate validation of all three central dogmas of Judaism: creation ex nihilo, divine knowledge, and providence (hiddush, yedi‘ah, hashgahah).1 In establishing the relationship between miracles and his first dogma, Nahmanides applies a philosophical argument in a particularly striking way. “According to the believer in the eternity of the world,” he writes, “if God wished to shorten the wing of * Some of the issues analyzed in this article were discussed in a more rudimentary form in chapters one, three, and four of my master’s essay, “Nahmanides’ Attitude Toward Secular Learning and its Bearing upon his Stance in the Maimonidean Controversy” (Columbia University, 1965), which was directed by Prof. Gerson D. Cohen. 1 Torat HaShem Temimah (henceforth THT), in Kitvei Ramban, ed. by Ch. Chavel I (Jerusalem, 1963), p. 150. On Nahmanides’ dogmas and their connection with miracles, see S. -
Download Catalogue
F i n e J u d a i C a . printed booKs, manusCripts, Ceremonial obJeCts & GraphiC art K e s t e n b au m & C om pa n y thursday, nov ember 19th, 2015 K est e n bau m & C o m pa ny . Auctioneers of Rare Books, Manuscripts and Fine Art A Lot 61 Catalogue of F i n e J u d a i C a . BOOK S, MANUSCRIPTS, GR APHIC & CEREMONIAL A RT INCLUDING A SINGULAR COLLECTION OF EARLY PRINTED HEBREW BOOK S, BIBLICAL & R AbbINIC M ANUSCRIPTS (PART II) Sold by order of the Execution Office, District High Court, Tel Aviv ——— To be Offered for Sale by Auction, Thursday, 19th November, 2015 at 3:00 pm precisely ——— Viewing Beforehand: Sunday, 15th November - 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm Monday, 16th November - 10:00 am - 6:00 pm Tuesday, 17th November - 10:00 am - 6:00 pm Wednesday, 18th November - 10:00 am - 6:00 pm No Viewing on the Day of Sale This Sale may be referred to as: “Sempo” Sale Number Sixty Six Illustrated Catalogues: $38 (US) * $45 (Overseas) KestenbauM & CoMpAny Auctioneers of Rare Books, Manuscripts and Fine Art . 242 West 30th street, 12th Floor, new york, NY 10001 • tel: 212 366-1197 • Fax: 212 366-1368 e-mail: [email protected] • World Wide Web site: www.Kestenbaum.net K est e n bau m & C o m pa ny . Chairman: Daniel E. Kestenbaum Operations Manager: Jackie S. Insel Client Relations: Sandra E. Rapoport, Esq. Printed Books & Manuscripts: Rabbi Eliezer Katzman Rabbi Dovid Kamenetsky (Consultant) Ceremonial & Graphic Art: Abigail H. -
F Ine J Udaica
F INE J UDAICA . PRINTED BOOKS, AUTOGRAPHED LETTERS, MANUSCRIPTS AND CEREMONIAL &GRAPHIC ART K ESTENBAUM & COMPANY TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8TH, 2005 K ESTENBAUM & COMPANY . Auctioneers of Rare Books, Manuscripts and Fine Art Lot 7 Catalogue of F INE J UDAICA . PRINTED BOOKS, AUTOGRAPHED LETTERS, MANUSCRIPTS AND CEREMONIAL &GRAPHIC ART From the Collection of Daniel M. Friedenberg, Greenwich, Conn. To be Offered for Sale by Auction on Tuesday, 8th February, 2005 at 2:00 pm precisely ——— Viewing Beforehand on Sunday, 6th February: 10:00 am–5:30 pm Monday, 7th February: 10:00 am–6:00 pm Tuesday, 8th February: 10:00 am–1:30 pm Important Notice: A Digital Image of Many Lots Offered in This Sale is Available Upon Request This Sale may be referred to as “Highgate” Sale Number Twenty Seven. Illustrated Catalogues: $35 • $42 (Overseas) KESTENBAUM & COMPANY Auctioneers of Rare Books, Manuscripts and Fine Art . 12 West 27th Street, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10001 • Tel: 212 366-1197 • Fax: 212 366-1368 E-mail: [email protected] • World Wide Web Site: www.Kestenbaum.net K ESTENBAUM & COMPANY . Chairman: Daniel E. Kestenbaum Operations Manager : Margaret M. Williams Client Accounts: S. Rivka Morris Press & Public Relations: Jackie Insel Printed Books: Rabbi Bezalel Naor Manuscripts & Autographed Letters: Rabbi Eliezer Katzman Ceremonial Art: Aviva J. Hoch (Consultant) Catalogue Art Director & Photographer: Anthony Leonardo Auctioneer: Harmer F. Johnson (NYCDCA License no. 0691878) ❧ ❧ ❧ For all inquiries relating to this sale please contact: Daniel E. Kestenbaum ❧ ❧ ❧ ORDER OF SALE Printed Books: Lots 1 – 222 Autographed Letters & Manuscripts: Lots 223 - 363 Ceremonial Arts: Lots 364 - End of Sale A list of prices realized will be posted on our Web site, www.kestenbaum.net, following the sale. -
Bigdei Shesh.Pdf
© Copyright 2006 Published by Reuven Meir through lulu.com For more copies, visit: http://www.lulu.com/reuven Read more of Rabbi Bechhofer’s writings at his blog: http://rygb.blogspot.com and at his website: http://www.aishdas.org/rygb/ To listen to Rabbi Bechhofer’s shiurim including his Daf HaYomi Yerushalmi, visit: http://www.teachittome.com and http://www.yerushalmionline.org Bigdeh Shesh The collected writings of Rabbi Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer Table of Contents ESSAYS ON HASHKAFAH...................................... 8 FACING THE MACHASHAVAH CHALLENGE.............................. 8 FORKS IN THE ROAD: OLD DIVISIONS, MODERN RAMIFICATIONS ..................................................................................... 20 THINK, ASK, INTERNALIZE!................................................ 41 GOOD CHUMROS?........................................................... 52 MEZUZOS, MACHLOKOS AND EILU V'EILU DIVREI ELOKIM CHAYIM ......................................................................... 64 BITACHON, HISHTADLUS, HISTAPKUS................................. 75 THE DVEYKUS VS. SHLEYMUS DEBATE.............................. 89 HAKHEL, SUKKOS, AND ACHDUS ....................................... 90 JUDAISM AND RACISM...................................................... 94 THESIS: JUDAISM AND COUNSELING ................................. 99 AYIN HO’RA.................................................................. 146 THE VALUE OF S’MICHAH ............................................... 149 SHIDDUCHIM IN AMERICA ..............................................