Churches, Ronald McDonald, and More

Churches, Ronald McDonald, and More

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Churches, Ronald McDonald, and More Marc B. Shapiro 1. In a recent post I mentioned R. Leon Modena, so let me note the following. In my article on entering churches,[1] available here, I mention that R. Modena entered churches to hear the sermons. I also quote R. Eliezer Waldenberg’s description of R. Modena as an איש הפכפך. Only after my article appeared did I find that R. Solomon Scheinfeld uses similar language in describing R. Modena[2]: הוא היה גדול בתורה וחכמת העולם, היה גאון בטבעו,…

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Parshat Tetzaveh. Greek letter Chi and Tav in Paleo-Hebrew

Parshat Tetzaveh. Greek letter Chi and Tav in Paleo-Hebrew

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Parshat Tetzaveh. Greek letter Chi and Tav in Paleo-Hebrew By Chaim Sunitsky Rashi[1] on Parshat Tetzave writes that the priests were anointed with oil, poured in the shape of the Greek letter כי.[2] One would assume this is referring to letter Χ[3] – 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet which sounds somewhere between English K and H[4]. This letter spelled χῖ in Greek, is usually spelled “Chi” in English and indeed if one wanted to write it in Hebrew, he would probably transcribe…

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New book announcement; He-Gedolim

New book announcement; He-Gedolim

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New book announcement; He-Gedolim By Eliezer Brodt הגדולים: אישים שעיצבו את פני היהדות החרדית בישראל, בעריכת בנימין בראון, נסים ליאון, קובץ מאמרים לכבוד פרופ’ מנחם פרידמן ובהשראתו, מגנס מכון ון ליר, 968 עמודים The Gdoilim:  Leaders Who Shaped the Israeli Haredi Jewry, Edited by Benjamin Brown, Nissim Leon, The Hebrew University Magnes Press, Van Leer Institute, 968 pages For the most part, academic books are not found or read in regular “layman” or Chareidi circles, nor are those types of…

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מי כעמך כישראל

מי כעמך כישראל

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מי כעמך כישראל                                   איסר זלמן ווייסברג, לייקוואוד מסופר[1] שבליל א’ דר”ח חשון תשל”ט הי’ הצייר החבד”י ר’ ברוך נחשון שיחי’ מקרית ארבע ביחידות אצל הרבי מליובאוויטש זצוק”ל ושאל אם יכול להראות להרבי את הציורים פרי מעשה ידיו שהביא עמו מארה”ק. הרבי נענה בחיוב. ולשם כך הכינו תערוכה מציוריו בבנין הצמוד ל770. ביום רביעי ו’ כסלו הלך הרבי בלוויית מזכיריו לראות התערוכה. הרבי עיין בכל הציורים והעיר כו”כ הערות עליהם. כשניגש לציור בה מצוירים תפילין של הקב”ה ושל ישראל, ובתפילין…

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Dean of Historians of Jewish Philosophy: Necrology for Professor Arthur Hyman (1921-2017)

Dean of Historians of Jewish Philosophy: Necrology for Professor Arthur Hyman (1921-2017)

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Dean of Historians of Jewish Philosophy: Necrology for Professor Arthur Hyman (1921-2017). By Warren Zev Harvey Warren Zev Harvey is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he has taught since 1977. He studied philosophy at Columbia University, writing his PhD dissertation under Arthur Hyman. He has written prolifically on medieval and modern Jewish philosophers, e.g. Maimonides, Crescas, and Spinoza. Among his publications is Physics and Metaphysics in Hasdai Crescas (1998). He…

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The Rabbi, the Rebbe, and the Messiah

The Rabbi, the Rebbe, and the Messiah

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The Rabbi, the Rebbe, and the Messiah By Brian Schwartz If someone were to ask you of an instance where a rabbi was declared the messiah by his followers, the first example that would probably come to mind is the last Lubavitcher Rebbe, R’ Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, who to this very day many of his chasidim regard as the Messiah, despite his death.  Many people would struggle to point to any other similar times in history, besides for the Shabbethai…

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