Browsed by
Category: Food

Review: Bekurim with the Gra’s Commentary

Review: Bekurim with the Gra’s Commentary

Comments 0 Comment

Review: Bekurim with Gra’s Commentary by: Eliezer Brodt One of the most famous gedolim who lived in the past few hundred years was R. Eliyahu of Vilna, the Vilna goan, or Gra. Gra was known for his expertise in all areas of Torah literature including all of Tanach, Bavli, Yerushlami and the rest of Chazal. Additionally, he was an expert in dikduk, Kabbalah and Halacha. Gra did not print anything in his lifetime; however, shortly after his death, his works…

Read More Read More

Kitniyot and Stimulants: Coffee and Marijuana on Passover

Kitniyot and Stimulants: Coffee and Marijuana on Passover

Comments 2 comments

Kitniyot and Stimulants: Coffee and Marijuana on Passover One of the more interesting customs for Pesach in that of refraining from kitniyot. There is much discussion regarding the origins of this mysterious custom.  That is, the exact time this custom began, as well as it initial rationale is cloaked in mystery. That is not to say that numerous reasons haven’t been offered, only that we probably will never know for certain why this was enacted.  Moreover, what exactly is encompassed…

Read More Read More

Tu be-Shevat Sabbatianism

Tu be-Shevat Sabbatianism

Comments 0 Comment

See here for our earlier post discussing the potential linkage between Tu be-Shevat (or Tu B’Shevat)customs and Sabbatianism. See here, here, and here for other customs that may have similar likages. And, finally, see here for a collection of articles on Sabbatianism generally.

Wine, Women and Song – Part III

Wine, Women and Song – Part III

Comments 1 comment

Wine, Women and Song: Some Remarks On Poetry and Grammar – Part III by Yitzhak of בין דין לדין The previous two parts: Part I, Part II. Lasciviousness Rambam In the first part of this essay, we have discussed the offenses of literature against grammar; a far more incendiary issue is the question of lasciviousness.  Judaism seems to have historically been somewhat ambivalent on the matter; it is an ineluctable fact that many of our most celebrated poets, particularly of…

Read More Read More

Wine, Women & Song: Some Remarks on Poetry & Grammar – Part II

Wine, Women & Song: Some Remarks on Poetry & Grammar – Part II

Comments 1 comment

Wine, Women and Song: Some Remarks on Poetry and Grammar – Part II By: Yitzhak of בין דין לדין [In addition to reiterating my thanks to Andy and Wolf2191 for their assistance and encouragement, I wish to thank Eliezer Brodt for a number of valuable suggestions, several of which have been incorporated into this part of the essay.] Great Men and Grammar In the first part of this essay, we discussed Ibn Ezra’s slashing attack on the alleged grammatical lapses…

Read More Read More

Jews, Drinking & Kiddush Clubs

Jews, Drinking & Kiddush Clubs

Comments 0 Comment

The popular press, in this case Newsweek, does not always get Jewish practices correct. Newsweek just published a short piece on Jewish drinking and specifically mention “Kiddush clubs.” While the article makes it appear that this is a new problem, (and to be fair, it seems that is what they were erronously told by those they spoke with), in fact, as is almost always the case, ain hadash tachas ha-shemesh – there is nothing new under the sun. First, the…

Read More Read More

image_pdfimage_print