Daniel Sperber – The Seforim Blog

Daily Birkat Cohanim in the Diaspora

June 5, 2016 admin Comments 0 Comment

Daily Birkat Cohanim in the Diaspora * By Rabbi Daniel Sperber Question: May Cohanim outside the Land of Israel give the priestly blessing (Birkat Cohanim, or Nesiat Kapayim) on weekdays and on regular Shabbatot? Answer: The Torah explicitly requires the Cohanim to bless the people (Numbers 6:23), but does not tell us where or when they should do so. Rambam (Sefer ha-Mitzvot, Mitzvat Assei 26) who gives no details, but refers us to B. Megillah 24b, Taanit 2b, and Sotah…

Ha-Osek be-Mitzvah Patur min ha-Mitzvah: The Case of Prayer and Torah Study

March 24, 2014 admin Comments 0 Comment

Daniel Sperber has just published a new book, On the Relationship of Mitzvot Between Man and His Neighbor and Man and His Maker. The Seforim Blog is happy to present chapter 4 from the book. Ha-Osek be-Mitzvah Patur min ha-Mitzvah: The Case of Prayer and Torah Study Daniel Sperber We find in Sefer ha-Rokeah, section 369 ad fin., that a person who is sitting in the synagogue, wrapped in his talit and with his tefillin on his head and is…

The Kabbalat Shabbat Memorandum by Rabbi Prof. Daniel Sperber

June 12, 2013 admin Comments 3 comments

The Kabbalat Shabbat Memorandum Sivan 5773 by Rabbi Prof. Daniel Sperber The recent rather acrid debate on women leading the Kabbalat Shabbat service appeared, at first, to be primarily a halachic one. But it soon overflowed into additional areas, revealing it as a clearly political polemic. Indeed, I found the whole discussion which appeared on a whole series of blogs, and a major published article, most astonishing. We are not talking about women reading the Torah and/or having aliyot. The…

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