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Category: Halacha

Bitul ha-Tamid: the History and Application

Bitul ha-Tamid: the History and Application

Bitul ha-Tamid and Edgar Allan Poe* The Mishna in Tannit records that 5 bad events occurred on the 17th of Tamuz, one being the cessation of the daily sacrifice, the tamid.The Talmud Bavli offers the background to the other four events. When it comes to the cessation of the Tamid, all the Bavli does is state “Gemara.” It is left to the Yerushalmi to fully explain the story. The Yerushalmi, (Tannit, 4:5), records thatthe Jews to maintain the tamid worked…

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Aryeh A. Frimer Review of Daniel Sperber’s Darka shel Halakha

Aryeh A. Frimer Review of Daniel Sperber’s Darka shel Halakha

Lo Zu haDerekh: A Review ofRabbi Prof. Daniel Sperber’s Darka shel Halakha by Aryeh A. Frimer Rabbi Prof. Aryeh A. Frimer is the Ethel and David Resnick Professor of Active Oxygen Chemistry at Bar Ilan University. He has lectured and published widely on various aspects of “Women and Halakha.” Among his many articles, Rabbi Frimer is the author of “Women and Minyan,” Tradition, 23:4 (Summer 1988): 54-77, available online here; “Women’s ‘Megilla’ Reading,” in Ora Wiskind Elper, ed., Traditions and…

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Review of Professor Daniel Sperber’s Netivot Pesikah

Review of Professor Daniel Sperber’s Netivot Pesikah

Review of Professor Daniel Sperber’s Netivot Pesikah by Eliezer Brodt Professor Daniel Sperber, Modes of Decision – Methods and Approaches for Proper Halakhic Decision Making, Jerusalem, Reuven Mass, 2008, 207 pages; Hebrew. פר’ דניאל שפרבר, נתיבות פסיקה ‘כלים וגישה לפוסק ההלכה’ ירושלים, תשסח, ראובן מס, 207 עמודים Last week a new book from Rabbi Prof. Daniel Sperber arrived in stores, Netivot Pesikah. This is his third book which he authored in less than a year (see here and here for…

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Mayim Hayyim, the Baal Shem Tov, and R. Meir the son of R. Jacob Emden

Mayim Hayyim, the Baal Shem Tov, and R. Meir the son of R. Jacob Emden

Sources contemporary to the Baal Shem Tov that attest to his deeds, or that even discuss him at all, are sparse. Although some secular sources, including tax records and other documents, have recently been unearthed by academic researchers, there is a paucity of Jewish texts. Most of the “historical” record regarding the Baal Shem Tov comes from a collection of stories, Shivhei Ha-Besht.[1] That work, however, was collected much later and is less reliable than others when assessing the Baal…

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Leket Yosher – A Closer Appraisal in Light of a Recent Controversy

Leket Yosher – A Closer Appraisal in Light of a Recent Controversy

In a recent discussion in the journal Or Yisrael concerning the permissibility of using ArtScroll gemaras — for PDFs of the articles, see here — one source deserves closer scrutiny. In particular, some authorities who are against the use of ArtScroll gemaras cite to a passage in the Leket Yosher in support of their opinion. Thus, an examination of the Leket Yosher is appropriate. The Leket Yosher was compiled by R. Yosef ben Moshe (1423-c.1490), a student of R. Israel…

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Baruch Oberlander — A Note on the New Edition of the Or Zarua

Baruch Oberlander — A Note on the New Edition of the Or Zarua

Rabbi Baruch Oberlander is the rabbi in Budapest, Hungary, since 1989, and is the editor of Tel Talpiot. He has published many articles in the journal Ohr Yisroel and is the world’s leading expert on the forged Yerushalmi Kodashim. This is his first contribution to the Seforim blog. משהו אודות עריכת הספר “אור זרוע” מהדורה החדשה מאת הרב ברוך אבערלאנדעראב”ד בבודאפשט, הונגריה התעלמות ממהדורה קודמת של פירוש רבינו שמואל מפלייזא על פיוט שבת הגדול בימים אלו רכשתי לעצמי כרך מפואר…

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