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Contributor: Yitzhak (Bein Din Le-Din)

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Some Remarks On Aristotle, Dante Alighieri, Immanuel of Rome, R. Moshe Botarel and Bertrand Russell

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Some Remarks On Aristotle, Dante Alighieri, Immanuel of Rome, R. Moshe Botarel and Bertrand Russell

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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Some Remarks On Aristotle, Dante Alighieri, Immanuel of Rome, R. Moshe Botarel and Bertrand Russell by: Yitzhak, of בין דין לדין. For nearly a millennium, the name “Aristotle” has resonated within Jewish culture (as within European culture generally) in a way difficult for we moderns to fully grasp. Not merely a philosopher (or even the Philosopher, as he is often designated), he represented (accurately and justly, or otherwise) a weltanschauung, or even a cluster of them:…

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“Whence Worry?” – On the Murky Trail Of An Aphorism

“Whence Worry?” – On the Murky Trail Of An Aphorism

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by Yitzhak, of בין דין לדין [I am greatly indebted to Wolf2191 and Mississippi Fred MacDowell for reading an earlier draft of this essay and for providing numerous valuable references.] This past Rosh Ha’Shanah, my friend A.F. showed me a collection of various homilies of the Rav related to the days of Awe, “prepared, translated and edited by B. David Schreiber”. While browsing through them, I noticed the following passage: Every Jew must also ensure the continuity of future generations…

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No Hell Below Us? The Controversy Over Rambam’s Stance On Punishment In the Afterlife

No Hell Below Us? The Controversy Over Rambam’s Stance On Punishment In the Afterlife

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No Hell Below Us? The Controversy Over Rambam’s Stance On Punishment In the Afterlife by Yitzhak, of בין דין לדין   From this morning’s סליחות: עזב-נא בן-אדם עזב-נא. עזב יקר עולם נודד נדוד. כי ערוך תפתה, בכל להב וכידוד. … עזב-נא בן-אדם עזב-נא. עזב נחת העולם הזה ושמחה. בטרם נוד רוחך, בכל פנה ורוחה. ועיניך תראינה גיהנם פתוחה. ושם תהיה נפשך שרופה וגם כסוחה. … Rabbi Natan Slifkin recently claimed: (By the way, according to Rambam, there is no such…

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A Woman's Place Is In The Home

A Woman's Place Is In The Home

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A Woman's Place Is In The Home by: Yitzhak, of בין דין לדין The Sons of Korah declare:כָּל-כְּבוּדָּה בַת-מֶלֶךְ פְּנִימָה; מִמִּשְׁבְּצוֹת זָהָב לְבוּשָׁהּ.[1][And see here for various nineteenth and twentieth century references to our titular aphorism, and see this essay.] But is the verse indeed a normative injunction toward modesty, for women in general, or at least Jewish women in particular, as it is commonly understood? And if so, exactly what standard of behavior is being enjoined? Cultural Norms –…

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“A Woman Is Not an Elephant”

“A Woman Is Not an Elephant”

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“A Woman Is Not an Elephant” – Some Jewish, Islamic and Classical Perspectives On the Conflict Between Authority and Truth by Yitzhak of Bein Din Ledin Unusually Long (Human) Gestations: Islam The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reports (hat tip: Rabbi Natan Slifkin): Egyptian Medical Doctor Criticizes the Phenomenon of Accepting Unscientific Islamic Beliefs, like the Notion that a Woman's Pregnancy Can Last Up to Four Years In an article on the liberal website Elaph, Dr. Khaled Montasser, a…

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Spunky Rebbetzins, Disgruntled Rebbetzins and A Learned Zionist Midwife: A Tale of Two Stories

Spunky Rebbetzins, Disgruntled Rebbetzins and A Learned Zionist Midwife: A Tale of Two Stories

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Spunky Rebbetzins, Disgruntled Rebbetzins and A Learned Zionist Midwife: A Tale Of Two Stories by: Yitzhak of בין דין לדין Menachem Berisha, in The Last Rabbis of Brest, relates (hat tip: Wolf2191): Rabbi J.L. Diskin’s second wife Sarah was famed as the Brisker Rebbetzen. She was learned and knowledgeable in all the laws. She was very strict in the matter of orthodoxy and mixed into all the community affairs. She had very strong mind; she came from a very prestigious…

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Wine, Women and Song – Part III

Wine, Women and Song – Part III

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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…

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

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

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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…

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

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

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Wine, Women and Song: Some Remarks On Poetry and Grammar – Part I by Yitzhak of בין דין לדין [This is the first of three parts; I am greatly indebted to Andy and Wolf2191 for their valuable comments, many of which I have incorporated into this paper, and for obtaining for me various works to which I did not have access.] Rhyme and Grammar This is the opening stanza of one of Rav Yehudah Halevi’s (henceforth: Rihal) best known poems:יום…

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Repackaged Rulings: The Responsa of R. Elyashiv

Repackaged Rulings: The Responsa of R. Elyashiv

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Repackaged Rulings: The Responsa of R. Elyashiv by: Yitzhak of בין דין לדין Wolf2191 recently wrote: N.B. I believe I noticed that some of the pesakim that R' Elyashiv issued when he was part of the Beis Din Ha-Gadol together with Chacham Ovadiah and Harav Kappach were republished in a kovetz under R' Elyashiv's name only, but I would need to check again.] The קובץ תשובות Three volumes of Rav Elyashiv's responsa have been published in Yerushalayim under the title קובץ…

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Some Literary, Scholarly & Halachic Perspectives on Medieval Ash

Some Literary, Scholarly & Halachic Perspectives on Medieval Ash

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Some Literary, Scholarly & Halachic Perspectives onMedieval Ashkenazi Attitudes Toward Martyrdom by Yitzhak of בין דין לדין Prose George Eliot, in Daniel Deronda, depicts the ineffable, exquisite Mirah Lapidoth contemplating her recent abortive suicide attempt: She went on musingly– “I thought it was not wicked. Death and life are one before the Eternal. I know our fathers slew their children and then slew themselves, to keep their souls pure. I meant it so. (George Eliot, Daniel Deronda, Chapter XVII) She…

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Hunted Bears, Cantonists and Nazi Victims

Hunted Bears, Cantonists and Nazi Victims

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by Yitzhak, בין דין לדין.I thank Dan Rabinowitz for graciously allowing me to post this essay.Hunted Bears This is the cover image of the Gary Larson collection Beyond The Far Side: I have long found this cartoon profoundly depressing, in its humorous but acute portrayal of the moral degradation of which we are capable. עור בעד עור, וכל אשר לאיש יתן בעד נפשו 1; the desperate bear grins inanely as he attempts to persuade the hunter to shoot his companion…

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