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Mezuzah Revisited. Parshat Vaetchanan.

Mezuzah Revisited. Parshat Vaetchanan.

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Mezuzah Revisited. Parshat Vaetchanan. By Chaim Sunitsky. Rashi on this Parsha (Devarim 6:9) says that since the word Mezuzot is written without the Vav[1], only one Mezuzah is necessary. It’s generally assumed that Rashi can’t argue with a clear Talmudic statement that every door of the house needs a Mezuzah[2] and therefore he can’t be understood at face value. However the custom in many places in Medieval Europe had always been to only affix one Mezuzah per house[3]. We will…

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“שוק באשה ערוה”, לאיזה אבר התכוונו חז”ל?

“שוק באשה ערוה”, לאיזה אבר התכוונו חז”ל?

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                                          “שוק באשה ערוה”, לאיזה אבר התכוונו חז”ל?                                                         מאת זאב וגנר מאמר זה לקוח מהספר “אוצר רש”י” (בערך “שוק”), העומד לצאת בע”ה בקרוב והוא מילון אנציקלופדי המכיל כעשרת אלפים ערכים, הכוללים את הגדרותיו הלשוניות של רש”י במקרא ובתלמוד.  הנושא הנידון הוא בירור מיקום אבר השוק באדם (שוק היא לשון נקבה, אך לא נקפיד בכך בהרצאת הדברים), כיצד נוצר הספק בדבר מיקומו וכן כיצד “מטפלים” במשנה ברורה “סורר” הפוסק שזה החלק העליון של הרגל בניגוד לדעת…

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Running on the Inclined Plane of the Altar in the Second Temple

Running on the Inclined Plane of the Altar in the Second Temple

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Running on the Inclined Plane of the Altar in the Second Temple by Chaim Katz בראשונה …  רצין ועולים בכבש, וכל הקודם את חברו לתוך ארבע אמות זכה  We read in the Mishna: [The priests used to compete for the honor of separating and removing ashes from the altar] by sprinting up the ramp. Whoever was the first to reach the top four cubits was entitled to remove the ashes.  Mishna Yoma 2:1 One of the first authorities to question…

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An (almost) Unknown Halakhic Work by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi and an attempt to answer the question: who punctuated the first edition of the Shulhan Arukh?

An (almost) Unknown Halakhic Work by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi and an attempt to answer the question: who punctuated the first edition of the Shulhan Arukh?

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An (almost) Unknown Halakhic Work by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi and an attempt to answer the question: who punctuated the first edition of the Shulhan Arukh?  by Chaim Katz Chaim Katz is a database computer programmer in Montreal Quebec. He graduated from McGill University and studied in Lubavitch Yeshivoth in Israel and New York. In 1980, the late Rabbi Yehoshua Mondshine published a manuscript, which was a list of chapters and paragraphs (halakhot  and se’fim), selected by Rabbi Shneur…

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Mikva Revisited – Understanding Shabbat 13a-b in light of Parshat Metzora

Mikva Revisited – Understanding Shabbat 13a-b in light of Parshat Metzora

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Mikva Revisited – Understanding Shabbat 13a-b in light of Parshat Metzora by Chaim Sunitsky (with some additional comments by Marc B. Shapiro) It is well known that when describing the purification of niddah and zava the Torah does not explicitly mention that immersion is required.[1] The present article will briefly examine the proofs given for such an immersion and show a novel understanding of a story brought in the Talmud (Shabbat 13a-b). There are 5 most commonly brought proofs for…

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The Rav as a Mechadesh Halacha: One Small Example From Shabbat Rosh Chodesh

The Rav as a Mechadesh Halacha: One Small Example From Shabbat Rosh Chodesh

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The Rav as a Mechadesh Halacha: One Small Example From Shabbat Rosh Chodesh Michael J. Broyde In the Koren Rav siddur, in the minhagim of the Rav, in the section dealing with the halachic rules of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, זצ”ל it is written: The Rav posited that if one forgot to recite Ya’aleh VeYavo on Rosh Hodesh during Shaharit, one should not repeat the Amida, but should rather rely upon the reference to the holiday that will be made…

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