Climate Change Living Talmud

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Climate Change Living Talmud Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai said, three "The land shall not In any case the terms avodah and shmirah include "Do not subvert the rights things are of equal importance: earth, not only the direct work and care of the ground, but be sold forever; for of your needy" (Exodus humans, and rain. Rabbi Levi ben Hiy- also the whole moral behavior of Man in acting and the land is Mine; you 23:6) yata said: ... to teach that without refraining from acting in accordance with his are strangers and duty. Indeed, as already indicated, Nature itself finds earth, there is no rain, and without sojourners with its appointed purpose promoted, as well as the neces- rain, the earth cannot endure, and “Do not favor the poor or me." (Leviticus sary condition for its continuance. show deference to the without either, humans cannot exist ~ Samson Raphael Hirsch, Modern Orthodox Move- (Genesis Rabbah, 13:3) 25:23) ment rich" (Leviticus 19:15) If there is a needy person among you... do not harden God took the man and When God created the first human be- your heart and shut your hand against your kin. placed him in the Gar- ings, God led them around the garden of Rather, you must open your hand and lend whatever is sufficient" (Deuteronomy 15:7-11). den of Eden, to till Eden and said: Look at my works! See (L’aved) it and tend how beautiful they are, how excellent! (L’shmreh) it." (Genesis For your sake I created them all. Take ‘And the Lord God took the man and put him into the 2:15). Garden of Eden to work it and watch of it’ (Genesis care not to spoil or destroy My world, 2:15). The undefiled world was given over to man ‘to for if you do, there will be no one to re- work it’ to apply to it his creative resources in order We do not inherit the pair it after you. (Midrash Ecclesiastes that it yield up to him its riches. But alongside the earth from our ances- mandate to work and subdue it, he was appointed its Rabbah 7:13) watchman to guard over it, to keep it safe to protect it tors, we borrow it from even from his own rapaciousness and greed. Man is our children. "In the end, our society will be defined not only an aved, a worker and fabricator: his is also a ~Native American not only by what we create, but by what shomer, a trustee who according to halachah, is obli- Proverb gated to keep the world whole for its true we refuse to destroy." - John C. Sawhill, Owner. ~ Norman Lamm, former President and CEO of the Yeshiva University Nature Conservancy .

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Public Religion in Samson Raphael Hirsch and Samuel Hirsch's Interpretation of Religious Symbolism
Tbojo.rnal ofj<wisb Tho.gbt •• d Pbilosopby, Vol. 9, pp. 69-105 © 1999 Reprints available directly from the publisher Photocopying permitted by license only Public Religion in Samson Raphael Hirsch and Samuel Hirsch's Interpretation of Religious Symbolism Ken Koltun-Fromm* Department of Religion, Haverford College, 370 Lancaster Ave., Haverford, PA 19041, USA Scholars of jewish thought have emphasized how modern jewish thinkers reread, indeed reinvent, the public character of jewish religious activity in the modern world. This essay will explore how such rereading is a political activity, one that challenges prevailing models of community, political status, and public religion. To gain admittance into European culture, education, and society, many nineteenth-century German-jews adopted a religious rather than national inheritance. They recognized themselves within a narra- tive of religious history divorced from national ties. But the stark contrast between religion and nationality should not obscure the political nature of jewish religious identity. 1 Nationalism was but one form of political commitment. For two nineteenth century German-jewish thinkers, the romantic turn to symbol offered an interpretive guide to reconceptualize jewish religious politics. The influence of the romantic concept of language and religion on the Orthodox rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) is * Tel.: (610)896-1485. E-mail: kkoltunf haverford.edu 1 For a recent discussion of how religious arguments justifY political commitments, see Ronald Thiemann, Religion in Public Life: A Dilemma for Democracy(Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1996). 69 70 Ken Koltun-Fromm well known.2 Less so the romantic impact on the Reform rabbi Samuel Hirsch (1815-1889), due in parr to the scholarly neglect of his Luxembourg writings.3 For both, however, reinterpret- ing commandment and religion symbolically helped them to reevaluate the interplay between politics and religion.
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1 Beginning the Conversation
NOTES 1 Beginning the Conversation 1. Jacob Katz, Exclusiveness and Tolerance: Jewish-Gentile Relations in Medieval and Modern Times (New York: Schocken, 1969). 2. John Micklethwait, “In God’s Name: A Special Report on Religion and Public Life,” The Economist, London November 3–9, 2007. 3. Mark Lila, “Earthly Powers,” NYT, April 2, 2006. 4. When we mention the clash of civilizations, we think of either the Spengler battle, or a more benign interplay between cultures in individual lives. For the Spengler battle, see Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996). For a more benign interplay in individual lives, see Thomas L. Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree (New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1999). 5. Micklethwait, “In God’s Name.” 6. Robert Wuthnow, America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005). “Interview with Robert Wuthnow” Religion and Ethics Newsweekly April 26, 2002. Episode no. 534 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week534/ rwuthnow.html 7. Wuthnow, America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity, 291. 8. Eric Sharpe, “Dialogue,” in Mircea Eliade and Charles J. Adams, The Encyclopedia of Religion, first edition, volume 4 (New York: Macmillan, 1987), 345–8. 9. Archbishop Michael L. Fitzgerald and John Borelli, Interfaith Dialogue: A Catholic View (London: SPCK, 2006). 10. Lily Edelman, Face to Face: A Primer in Dialogue (Washington, DC: B’nai B’rith, Adult Jewish Education, 1967). 11. Ben Zion Bokser, Judaism and the Christian Predicament (New York: Knopf, 1967), 5, 11. 12. Ibid., 375.
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Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch's Commentary on the Torah
RABBI SAMSON RAPHAEL HIRSCH'S COMMENTARY ON THE TORAH by RABBI DR. JOSEPH BREUER VOLUME I From the Creation to the Death of A vrohom PHILIPP FELDHEIM Publisher NEW YORK 1948 Copyright 19-48 by PHILIPP FELDHEIM -45 Essex Street, New York 2, N. Y. PrinteJ in U. S. A. by SHULSINGE& B&os. LINOTYPING AND PUBLISHING Co. 21 EAsT 4TH SnEET, NEW You. 3, N. Y. ~ Thi• volume is spomored by MR. AND MRS. HENRY E. WECHSLER in Memory o J their beloved Son MOSES t"t:m ,ncn '~ ,tQ£l.l M"::s:l'l PREFACE The following introductory remarks do not attempt to demonstrate the significance of Rabbi S. R. Hirsch ;"'Jl as an immortal leader and teacher of Torah Judaism. This is a fact which may be presumed to be commonly known. The more urgent is the necessity to make his (German language) writings accessible to a wide Jewish reading public. The present popularized adaptation of Hirsch's Com mentary on the Torah tends to develop the basic concepts and ideas of our Torah which characterize Torah Judaism in its ideological uniformity. From the extensive material the principal explanations to the individual chapters and verses were selected. As far as practicable, the topics are presented in concise and popular form, as they are in tended for a wide circle of readers and, above all, for the mature Jewish youth. They should also serve as a wel come addition to the material of the teacher in his prepara tion for Torah-instruction. The following parts of the Commentary will be pub lished in ensuing volumes.
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Torah from JTS
A TASTE OF TORAH By Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz, Director of Israel Programs, The Rabbinical School, JTS Torah from JTS Binding and Releasing Parashat Mattot 5774 / 2014 At the very beginning of Parashat Mattot, the topic of words and vows is ad- dressed. The Torah makes the importance of what one utters abundantly clear, lest there be any misunderstanding about it. Rather than addressing the entire people, however, it targets the leaders. The heads of the Israelite tribes are PARASHAH COMMENTARY commanded, “If a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath imposing an By Rabbi Eliezer Diamond, Rabbi Judah Nadich Associate Professor obligation on himself, he will not break his pledge; he must carry out all that of Talmud and Rabbinics, JTS has crossed his lips” (Num. 30:3). On the one hand, it is not surprising that the leader-politicians are addressed; often it is the leaders of the people who relate The Power of Words to words lightly, offering empty promises and slogans in campaigning. On the other hand, it seems that the Torah’s commandment concerning vows should Are words important? This is a question that bedevils us as human beings. be addressed to the entire nation. What are the nuances of this legislation, and It is largely the ability to speak that distinguishes us from the rest of the ani- how may we relate to it today? mal world. By speech, I do not mean the mere ability to communicate infor- mation; we know that other animals are capable of this feat, each in its own Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explains, way.
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Maimonides on the Purpose of Ritual Sacrifices
religions Essay Weaning Away from Idolatry: Maimonides on the Purpose of Ritual Sacrifices Reuven Chaim Klein Independent Researcher, Beitar Illit 90500, Israel; [email protected] Abstract: This essay explores Maimonides’ explanation of the Bible’s rationale behind the ritual sacrifices, namely to help wean the Jews away from idolatrous rites. After clearly elucidating Maimonides’ stance on the topic, this essay examines his view from different angles with various possible precedents in earlier rabbinic literature for such an understanding. The essay also shows why various other Jewish commentators objected to Maimonides’ understanding and how Maimonides might respond to those critiques. Additionally, this essay also situates Maimonides’ view on sacrifices within his broader worldview of the Bible’s commandments in general as serving as a counterweight to idolatrous rituals. Keywords: sacrifices; theology; maimonides; ritual; idolatry; paganism; cult; fetishism; nahmanides; judaism; bible; midrash; talmud; rabbinics; philosophy; rationalism; polemics; mysticism; ancient near east; bible studies 1. Maimonides’ Position In his Guide for the Perplexed (3:30, 3:32), Maimonides explains that the Torah’s main objective is to eradicate the viewpoint of paganism. Thus, to truly understand the Torah’s original intent, one must be familiar with the philosophies and practices of ancient idolaters (in Maimonidean terms, this refers to practitioners of non-monotheistic religions). Citation: Klein, Reuven Chaim. 2021. Weaning Away from Idolatry: Taking this idea a step further, Maimonides seemingly assumes that ritual sacrifices Maimonides on the Purpose of Ritual are a sub-optimal form of worship, leading him to making the bold statement that the Torah Sacrifices. Religions 12: 363. https:// instituted its system of ritual sacrifices to facilitate the rejection of idolatrous practices.
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Reflections on the Reinman-Hirsch Exchange
Review Essay WILLIAM KOLBRENER Reflections on the Reinman-Hirsch Exchange AMMIEL HIRSCH AND YOSEF REINMAN One People, Two Worlds: A Reform Rabbi and an Orthodox Rabbi Explore the Issues that Divide Them. New York: Schocken, 2002, pp. xi+322. $26.00. riting in The Jewish Week to explain his reasons for discontin- uing the promotional tour with the Reform rabbi Ammiel W Hirsch for their jointly-authored One People, Two Worlds, the Orthodox rabbi Yosef Reinman lamented that he had not yet seen “one serious in-depth review” of the book.1 Indeed, media attention to the exchange between Reinman, the spokesman for Orthodoxy, and Ammiel Hirsch, the spokesman for Reform, was largely focused upon one issue— the acknowledgement of the Reform movement which Reinman’s co- authorship of the book had ostensibly implied. As Reinman himself would subsequently explain, he heeded the call of the Lakewood rashei yeshivah to abandon the tour because the book’s actual contents were only superficially addressed (most people did not, Reinman remarks, “bother to read the book”). Reinman himself became the focus in the ensuing media uproar, wrongly cast, in his own words, as “the Rosa Parks of interdenominational dialogue.”2 Reinman’s actual contributions to the exchange everywhere emphasize the distinction between Reform WILLIAM KOLBRENER, a senior lecturer of English Literature at Bar Ilan University, is the author of Milton’s Warring Angels (Cambridge, 1997), and writes widely on the literature, philosophy, and history of seventeenth-century England. He has also written on the interpretive methodologies of H. azal, as well as the philosoph- ical works of R.
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Clarification of R. Hirsch's Concepts - a Rejoinder
Shelomoh Eliezer Danziger As expected, the critique of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch's ideology that was presented by Rabbi Howw ard I. Levine in our Spring "1963 issue, stirred a great deal of controversy, especially among the numerous ardent followers of the Hirschian approach. Rabbi Danziger, the author of this rejoinder, is a graduate of Columbia University, was ordained at Yeshiva University, and presently teaches at the Mesivta Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. CLARIFICATION OF R. HIRSCH'S CONCEPTS - A REJOINDER The Review Article entitled "En- of the day, followed by a smatter- during and Transitory Elements in ing of two subjects - Writing and the Philosophy of Samson Raphael Arithmetic. Do the secular sub- Hirsch" (Tradition, Spring 1963 ) jects comprise the major propor- is a long series of criticisms which, tion of this curriculum? Time al- if correct, would in effect discredit lotment, not the number of sub- R. lIirsch as the authoritative jects, is the criterion of importance. _ spokesman for traditional Judaism In that same chapter on "Educa-" in modern times. What follows is tion" which introduces the table of a point by point rebuttal, con- subjects, R. Hirsch has clearly in- densed somewhat for reasons of dicated what is more important: editorial economy. " "Therefore place your child also be- tween heaven and earth and acquaint TORAH AND GENERAL STUDIES it with the world. - But in every- thing - let it see - God. This is a The reviewer considered it sig- useful companion study for the study nificant that secular subjects comw of the Torah; it gives. a knowledge prise the major proportion of the of Nature and man.
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Public Religion in Samson Raphael Hirsch and Samuel Hirsch's Interpretation of Religious Symbolism
Haverford College Haverford Scholarship Faculty Publications Religion 1999 Public religion in Samson Raphael Hirsch and Samuel Hirsch's Interpretation of Religious Symbolism Ken Koltun-Fromm Haverford College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.haverford.edu/religion_facpubs Repository Citation Koltun-Fromm, Ken. "Public Religion in Samson Raphael Hirsch and Samuel Hirsch's Interpretation of Religious Symbolism." Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy 9 (2000): 69-105. This Journal Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Religion at Haverford Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Haverford Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Tbojo.rnal ofj<wisb Tho.gbt •• d Pbilosopby, Vol. 9, pp. 69-105 © 1999 Reprints available directly from the publisher Photocopying permitted by license only Public Religion in Samson Raphael Hirsch and Samuel Hirsch's Interpretation of Religious Symbolism Ken Koltun-Fromm* Department of Religion, Haverford College, 370 Lancaster Ave., Haverford, PA 19041, USA Scholars of jewish thought have emphasized how modern jewish thinkers reread, indeed reinvent, the public character of jewish religious activity in the modern world. This essay will explore how such rereading is a political activity, one that challenges prevailing models of community, political status, and public religion. To gain admittance into European culture, education, and society, many nineteenth-century German-jews adopted a religious rather than national inheritance. They recognized themselves within a narra- tive of religious history divorced from national ties. But the stark contrast between religion and nationality should not obscure the political nature of jewish religious identity.
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Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on Jews in a Non-Jewish World
167 Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on Jews in a Non-Jewish World By: MARC B. SHAPIRO The place of Jews in the wider non-Jewish world is a major theme in the writings of R. Samson Raphael Hirsch. It was Hirsch, more than anyone else, who explained the meaning of Emancipation for Jews. He set out how Jews should live as (supposed) equals with Christians in modern society, a situation that brought enormous blessings for Jewish society, but also tremendous challenges. Hirsch’s important writings on this mat- ter have been available in English for some time, with one significant exception, namely, the essay translated below (which is actually the first part of a longer essay). Presumably, the reason it was not translated was because it was never included in the German edition of Hirsch’s collect- ed writings. As to why it was omitted, this is perhaps because it was seen as simply a book review, and thus not deserving of inclusion in what became the canonical collection, as it were, of Hirsch’s writings. This omission was unfortunate, for the essay, while ostensibly a re- view, also presents a significant perspective not merely on wider Chris- tian society, but on aspects of Christianity itself. It is at odds with typical Orthodox presentations in that it encourages Jews to appreciate at least some aspects of what Christianity means to one’s non-Jewish neighbors, even if only from a Jewish perspective. As Hirsch comments, with refer- ence to German textbooks that were intended for use in Jewish schools and had therefore removed Christian elements, Jewish students “should not remain unacquainted with this Christian worldview, its sensitivities and way of life, but instead learn to look at it from a Jewish point of view.” Hirsch’s sentiments here fit in well with what he writes elsewhere.
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JO1981-V15-N06.Pdf
" I ~ I 'i I THE JEWISH BSERVER in this issue ... Rabbi Joseph Breuer '7"::11, One Year After His Passing Ems/ L. Bodenheimer, with Rabbi Nasson Scherman .... , • . 3 The Rav's Last Interview, Lipa Geldwirlh .......••• , •... 11 Voting in Israel: From Dilemma to Sacred Obligation If The Dilemma-Two Sides to the Ballot, Ezriel Toshavi ..........•.....•.....•••.•........ 13 Participation in the Government, an analysis by Rabbi Reuven Grozovsky '7"::11, translated THE JEWISH OBSERVER (ISSN 0021~6615) is published monthly, by Rabbi Joseph Elias . ............•...........•.... 15 except July and August, by the Gedolei Yisroel on Voting: In Word and in Action .... 18 Agudath Israel of America, 5 The '81 Urgency ................................... 21 Beekman Street, New York, N.Y. 10038. Second class postage paid Mashad's Marranos, Nehama Consuelo Nahmoud •....•...... , 23 at New York, N.Y. Subscription $12.00 per year; two years, Masada Revisited, A. Scheinman ........••••.....•••••.... 33 $21.00; three years, $28.00; out side of the United States, $13.00 Postscript per year. Single copy, $1.50 Printed in the U.S.A. The Miracle of Yosef Mendelevich .................. 40 Second Looks at the Jewish Scene RABBI N1ssoN WotPIN Religious Pluralism at Home: Editor The NY Board of Rabbis ........................ 44 Editorial Board Religious Pluralism in Israel. ......................• 48 DR. ERNST BODENHEIMER Polish Unrest: Whom Do We Cheer? A. Scheinman .••• • 49 Chairman On Losing One's Mind, Bernard Fryshman ••.....•.•.•. 50 RABBI NATHAN BULMAN RABBI JosEPH ELIAS Two Poems by Chana Stern JosEPH FRIEDENSON Parents and Children .............................. 52 RABBI MosHE SHERER Perfection ......................................... 53 MtcHAEL ROTHSCHILD f Business Manager Letters to the Editor ................................... 54 Tttr JEWISH OesERVER does not I assume responsibility for the Kashrus of any product or ser I vice advertised in its pages.
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Historical Perspectives on Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch," at the Jüdisches Museum in Frankfurt (7 June 2008)
From http://seforim.blogspot.com/2009/08/meir-hildesheimer-historical.html On the recent occasion of the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888), Dr. Meir Hildesheimer of The Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch Cathedra for the Research of the Torah im Derekh Eretz Movement (Bar-Ilan University), delivered a paper entitled "Historical Perspectives on Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch," at the Jüdisches Museum in Frankfurt (7 June 2008). The remarks below appear with the express permission of Dr. Hildesheimer. Historical Perspectives on Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch by Meir Hildesheimer 1. Introduction 200 years ago, on June 20th, 1808 Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch was born. And this year, 2008 – is also the 120th anniversary of Rabbi Hirsch's death; he died on December 31st, 1888. Rabbi Hirsch was an outstanding personality who is known as one of the founders of Neo-orthodoxy and the Torah Im Derekh Eretz philosophy. In orthodox Jewish circles he is remembered above all as an intrepid fighter against Reform Judaism and as an exemplary educator. And theologians, Jewish and Christian, appreciate his creative Bible commentary. In my lecture I want to deal neither with Rabbi Hirsch's philosophy nor with his exegesis of the Holy Scriptures, as these issues are well known and much has been written about them. I want to concentrate on his deeds and achievements form a historical point of view and to shed light on some aspects of his multi-faceted personality. 2. Biographical sketch Let's start with a brief biographical sketch. Rabbi Hirsch was born on June 20, 1808 (27th Sivan 5568) in Hamburg as first child of Raphael and Gella Hirsch.[1] His parents named him Samson.
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Rabbi S. R. Hirsch and His Perception of Germany and German Jewry
Matthias Morgenstern Rabbi S. R. Hirsch and his Perception of Germany and German Jewry Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808–1888), the “champion of Orthodoxy” in nine- teenth-century Judaism in Germany, was, as Robert Liberles has noted, “a puzzle for his contemporaries and has remained so for later scholars seeking to unravel the complex components of his personality” (Liberles 1985, 113).¹ Contemporary and later scholarly literature paint an inconsistent picture of Hirsch and his work: One side portrays him as a radical’s radical, an uncompromising and militant defender of Orthodox principles, and an advocate of Orthodox independence, hence segregation. This view, therefore, holds Hirsch responsible for the orga- nizational division of the Jews in Germany in the nineteenth century (Lichtheim 1951, 37). Another side calls him a reformer, a modernizer, and revolutionary, or, at least, “the most progressive leader of German Orthodoxy” (Liberles 1985, 113). His contemporaries and later researchers perceived underlying tensions in his character – in his life and work, acceptance of moderate reforms in synagogue service² coexisted with fierce opposition to reform in other spheres. Cultural openness under the motto of Torah im derekh eretz existed on the one side, and a grim battle in the arena of congregational politics – the Orthodox fight for orga- nizational independence from the larger Jewish community in Frankfurt, the famous Frankfurt secession dispute – prevailed on the other. He fought for civic and political rights during the 1848 revolution in Moravia, which seemed to make him a liberal on the one hand; in his dealings with religious affairs, he insisted on scrupulous observance of the norms of the Shulhan Arukh as he understood them on the other.³ How then, does Hirsch’s attitude toward Germany and his perception of German Jewry, including its task in history, fit into this contradict- ing picture? The question of his relationship to Germany and German culture is part of the riddle.
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