Legacy

by R. Gil Student A lot has been written recently on the subject of women’s leadership in the Orthodox community, particularly about women’s ordination on rabbis. The overwhelming conclusion has been that there are many areas of potential growth for women in communal leadership but not in the rabbinate. Traditionally, the rabbinate has been male; we are bound to proudly uphold that ...

After nine and a half years of near-constant maintenance of this blog, I believe Hirhurim has run its course. We have accomplished a lot over this time, including over 5,000 posts and nearly 11 million hits. In my opinion, the ideas and dialogue have gotten stale. Additionally, for a few years already, social media has taken blogs’ former place of ...

For the past two years, I reported annual traffic statistics taken from Google Analytics: last year, two years ago. Here are the website traffic highlights of the past year (August 9, 2012-July 31, 2013): Average weekday* daily unique readers: 1,353 (9% growth from previous year) Average weekend* daily unique readers: 784 (7% growth) Day of the week with most unique ...

by Joel Rich From the recent Klal Perspectives: Most individuals involved in community matters are motivated by one or more of three considerations: a sense of accomplishment, kavod, and entertainment. (Me – sounds like a Bizarro Pirkel Avot) So in R’Rosensweig’s Kaye Scholer Shiur he was waxing eloquent about the Ibn Ezra on Lo Tachmod (Shemot 20:13). While he seemed ...

RCA Statement on Torah Min HaShamayim (link) Jul 31, 2013 — In recent days there has been much discussion regarding the belief in Torah Min HaShamayim. We maintain that it is necessary not only to assert the centrality of this bedrock principle in broad terms, but also to affirm the specific belief that Moshe received the Torah from God during ...

Note that this post is a response to a previous post by R. Efrem Goldberg (link). At the end of this post, R. Goldberg responds. In a recent post in this space, R. Efrem Goldberg noted how rhetoric can quickly heat up over issues such as the divine authorship of the Torah. He argued that, important as the question is, ...

By Steve Brizel R Yitzchak Etshalom demonstrates how this week’s Parsha is a bridge from Mitzvos to Mishpatim: link R Herschel Shachter illustrates how the opening words of this week’s Parsha serve as a source for Bchirah Chofshis: link R Zvi Sobolofsky , based on a fascinating source, discusses the power of the individual: link (audio) R Berel Wein explains ...

Prof Shlomo Karni / The maxim דִּבְּרָה תּוֹרָה כִּלְשוֹן בְּנֵי אָדָם , ‘the language of the Torah is that of [ordinary] people’, was used by our Sages to explain why exegesis, מִדְרָש , is not applied to every verse in the Torah; many verses are to be read and understood in a straightforward manner. We invoke this idea, with a slight variation, in the discussion that follows. Also, in this discussion, we use a comparison of a two-dimensional (2-D) world and a three-dimensional (3-D) one. Consider a “flat” world in which only length and width exist, but no height, or thickness (mathematically: there are only x- and y- axes, no z-axis). The denizens of this 2-D world, with their innately limited 2-D minds, cannot possibly envision anything but “flat”.

Reviews by Rabbi Ari Enkin Pure Money: A Straightforward Guide to Jewish Monetary Law Vol. 1 & 2 By Dayan Shlomo Cohen Targum Press Most people, rabbis and laymen alike, are simply not well-versed in the intricacies of Choshen Mishpat — civil and monetary law. There is a tremendous need for competent and practical Choshen Mishpat sefarim. Dayan Shlomo Cohen, ...

We are happy to announce the publication of the book The Enigma of the Biblical Shafan by Dr. Yitzchak Betech and Dr. Obadia Maya. It is available in some Jewish bookstores in USA (color edition) and also in Blurb.com (where a preview of the hardcover and softcover versions is available). Description: Torah and scientific research suggesting a solution to the ...