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What Is Reid?

Gil StudentAug 28, 13
Less than a minute
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I have been calling the daily links and comments the Daily Reid. Many have asked me what this means and how to pronounce it. After looking around and contacting some linguists, a friend and I put together the following definition:

reid (רעהד) [pr: reyd, raid] n. Commonly known information about Talmudic passages, commentaries and analyses, spread through the experience of learning in Lithuanian style yeshivot over a period of time.

The reid on a Gemara page would point out different views among Medieval commentaries and standard yeshiva-style explanations for those disagreements. This is probably somewhat related to the third definition here: link.

Since this section is called The Blatt, the news & comments are The Reid. However, I realize that this isn’t the perfect analogy because the comments should be about the blatt, not part of it.

Gil StudentAug 28, 13
Less than a minute

Gil Student

Rabbi Gil Student is the Editor of TorahMusings.com, a leading website on Orthodox Jewish scholarly subjects, and Director of the Halacha Commission of the Rabbinical Alliance of America. He writes a popular column on issues of Jewish law and thought featured in newspapers and magazines, including the Orthodox Union’s Jewish Action magazine, The Jewish Link, The Jewish Echo and The Jewish Vues. In the past, he has served as the President of the small Jewish publisher Yashar Books and as the Managing Editor of OU Press. Rabbi Student currently is serving his third term on the Executive Committee of the Rabbinical Council of America. He serves on the Editorial Board of Jewish Action magazine and the Board of OU Press. He has published five English books, the most recent titled Articles of Faith: Traditional Jewish Belief in the Internet Era, previously served as the Book Editor of Jewish Action magazine, and served as the American editor for Morasha Kehillat Yaakov: Essays in Honour of Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks.

3 Comments

  2. Rav Gil,

    Although most style systems would have the AY sound spelled “ei” (e.g., beis, chein, lein), a case can be made to change it to “raid” (as many “bais”-named congregations do).

    Look at my name. The “ei” is prononuced EE, or in some cases, EYE. In fact, being a Philadelphia Eagles fan, when I see Reid, I immediately think of former head coach Andy Reid (pronounced REED).

    Furthermore, with raid already an English word, the pronunciation is clear and the connotation of “entering forcefully” into the news of the day has, to my ear, a nice ring to it.

    Please consider the change. In the meanwhile, I will continue to enjoy the Daily Read (as I pronounce it!).

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