וְהָאֱמֶת וְהַשָּׁלוֹם אֱהָבוּ; On Changing the Immutable by Marc B. Shapiro

וְהָאֱמֶת וְהַשָּׁלוֹם אֱהָבוּ; On Changing the Immutable by Marc B. Shapiro

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וְהָאֱמֶת וְהַשָּׁלוֹם אֱהָבוּ; On Changing the Immutable by Marc B. Shapiro By Yitzchok Stroh Professor Marc Shapiro’s latest work, Changing the Immutable, contains considerable interesting and pertinent information for the student of Jewish history. As stated on the cover, the author attempts to reveal how the (Jewish) orthodox ‘establishment’ silences both past and present dissenting voices through “Orthodox Judaism Rewriting Its History.” I don’t intend this to be a review of the entire work (that would take a lot more time…

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The History and Dating of Onkelos

The History and Dating of Onkelos

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The History and Dating of Onkelos By Israel Drazin The Babylonian Talmud has the earliest report of the authorship and date of Targum Onkelos. It states that an individual named Onkelos composed the translation in the first third of the second century CE. Since the nineteenth century, scholars have generally rejected this recollection and dated the Targum, or its final redaction, in the third century CE. I will show that the proper date is more likely the late fourth or…

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Rabbi Zeira – Forgetting the Teachings of Babylon

Rabbi Zeira – Forgetting the Teachings of Babylon

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Rabbi Zeira – Forgetting the Teachings of Babylon By Chaim Katz We read in the Talmud (Baba Metziah 85a): R. Zeira, when he moved to the land of Israel, observed a hundred fasts to forget the teachings of Babylonia, [1] so that they should not disturb him. He fasted another hundred times so that R. Elazar should not die during his years and the responsibilities of the community not fall upon him.He fasted another hundred times so that the fire…

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The Man who Tried to Put it All Together: A Hesped for Rav Kook on His Eightieth Yahrzeit

The Man who Tried to Put it All Together: A Hesped for Rav Kook on His Eightieth Yahrzeit

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The Man who Tried to Put it All Together:  A Hesped for Rav Kook on His Eightieth Yahrzeit  By Yehudah Mirsky  Yehudah Mirsky is an Associate Professor in the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, Brandeis University, and the author of Rav Kook: Mystic in a Time of Revolution (Yale University Press), available here (link).   This is his first contribution to the Seforim Blog.  Jerusalem of the 1930s was boiled in fury….

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Easing the Donkey’s Burden: Nitkatnu Hadorot or Nitgadlu?

Easing the Donkey’s Burden: Nitkatnu Hadorot or Nitgadlu?

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 Easing the Donkey’s Burden: Nitkatnu Hadorot or Nitgadlu? By Rabbi Simcha Feuerman “If the earlier generations were like angels, we are like humans. But if they were like humans, then we are like donkeys.” (Talmud Shabbat 112b) One of the basic and fundamental tenets of our tradition is respect and deference for the previous generations.  Although there are notable exceptions, generally, rabbinic authorities do not override or disagree with the rulings of authorities from a previous class, such as Amoraim…

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Waiting Six Hours for Dairy- A Rabbanite Response to Qaraism

Waiting Six Hours for Dairy- A Rabbanite Response to Qaraism

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Waiting Six Hours for Dairy- A Rabbanite Response to Qaraism By Tzvi H. Adams tzviha@gmail.com Qaraites are a Jewish group that began around 760 CE. They rejected the Talmud and rabbinic Judaism and insisted that Jews only observe halacha as expressed in the literal text of the Torah. “Qaraite” means “Scriptualist”. The movement started in Iraq and Persia by Jews who objected to the authority of the leaders of the Babylonian Talmud Academies, the Gaonim. The Gaonim and their successors,…

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