A few weeks ago, I put up a notice that I am accepting free subscriptions to periodicals and listing them on my blog (over on the right, near the top). Shortly thereafter, one of the editors of the journal Hakirah: The Flatbush Journal of Jewish Law and Thought contacted me and even dropped off a copy of their inaugural issue ...

I found this in an old e-mail from a (non-Jewish) friend, from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Main Entry: ci·derPronunciation: ‘sI-d&rFunction: nounEtymology: Middle English sidre, from Middle French, from Late Latin sicera strong drink, from Greek sikera, from Hebrew shEkhAr1 : fermented apple juice often made sparkling by carbonation or fermentation in a sealed container2 : the expressed juice of fruit (as ...

I. Heresy R. Yoel Teitelbaum, the “Satmar Rav,” in his Va-Yoel Moshe, Ma’amar Gimmel Shevu’os, chs. 40-42 (in the Ashkenazi 5760 edition, pp. 51-57), discusses whether there can be Ge’ulah (ultimate redemption) without Teshuvah (communal repentance). He points out that this is debated in Sanhedrin 97b between R. Yehoshua and R. Eliezer, with the former allowing for redemption without repentance ...

Although I am not a fan of everything Chakira writes, he has two excellent recent posts about R. Gedaliah Nadel, “the greatest rabbi you’ve never heard of.” The two posts are here and here.

The Rabbi and the Antelope: It’s a safe bet Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar has never had a day like Monday, when he was expected to rule on the kosher status of several varieties of antelope from central Africa… All the animals – eland, oryx, deer, fallow and kodo – are related to the antelope, and Peretz says they all meet ...

Elijah Schochet and Solomon Spiro, Saul Lieberman: The Man and his Work: Lieberman was greatly displeased by a senior sermon delivered on December 11, 1954, parshat Vayishlah, in the Seminary synagogue by one of his students, Baruch Levine, in which Levine criticized the Patriarch Jacob for his deviousness. Lieberman was particularly distressed when Levine, dealing with the etymology of “Yaakov,” ...

Being out of touch, I did not learn until just now of the passing of R. Shlomo Wolbe last week. Barukh dayan ha-emes. (thanks to The Town Crier)

Mussar Kallah IIIJewish Community Center of San Francisco, CARESERVE THE DATE!! – May 8, 2005 / 29 Nissan 5765 An extraordinary gathering will take place on May 8 that will bring together some of the most highly regarded teachers of the little-known but ancient Jewish spiritual tradition called Mussar. This will be the third gathering of this type, New York ...

According to Leo Rosten, the word is “zhlub” and not “shlub.” Go know!

Why do we need organized religion? Dennis Prager & Joseph Telushkin, The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism, p. 41: We need organized religion for the same reason we need organized political parties, or any organized social movement. Whether it be to attain national independence, elect a particular candidate, or, in the case of Judaism, perfect the world through ethical ...