“המעט קחתך את אישי” (בראשית ל’ ט”ו) הרב נתן קמנצקי ירושלים אם לומדים את המקרא בלי דברי חז”ל יכולים לחשוב שלאה הייתה תמימה עם יעקב כשאביה רימה אותו והחליף אותה לבוא במקום אחותה. זאת אומרת, שלאה כלל לא ידעה על ההסכם בין אביה לאחיינו על נישואיו “לרחל בתו הקטנה” שהופר ע”י לבן, והיא נקטה שהיא נבחרה מלכתחילה להיות אשתו של יעקב. ולפיכך כשרחל נכנסה לאהל יעקב אחר שבעת ימי המשתה שלה, באה רחל לצרור עליה בחייה. ולכן, אחרי כמה שנים כשרחל…
R. Hayyim Hirschensohn, Can One Kill an Am Ha’aretz on Shabbat? Physical Punishments and Lots More by Marc B. Shapiro 1. In many earlier posts I have discussed R. Hayyim Hirschensohn, so let me pick up with him again.[1] In the Encyclopaedia Judaica’s article on R. Hirschensohn it tells us that he wrote a book Ateret Hakhamim published in 1874. Many people have been interested to see this book which was published when he was only seventeen years old. If you look at library catalogs you will…
The Root of the Word מבול: A Flood of Possibilities By Mitchell First[1] (MFirstatty@aol.com) A common assumption is that the word מבול means “flood.” This is how the word is translated…
Visiting Zoos in Halacha By Eliezer Brodt This article originally appeared in Ami Magazine (2012) Issue #88. This version has a few updates. I hope to return to this subject shortly. For a more expanded version of this article see my article in Yeshurun 26 (2012), pp. 853–874 (PDF available upon request). Zoos are hotspots on Chol Hamoed. Standing together with the rest of Brooklyn or Yerushalayim, trying to give your children a glimpse of a penguin or seal or…
New Seforim and Books 2014 (part two) By: Eliezer Brodt Although the world has been shifting more and more to e-books, seforim and Jewish books are still being printed in full force in the Jewish world. What follows is a list of new seforim and books I have seen around in the past few months. Some of the titles are brand new others are a bit older. I am well aware that there are new works worth mentioning that are…
How to Read Hasidic Texts: A Quick Guide by Ariel Evan Mayse Ariel Evan Mayse is completing his doctorate in Jewish Studies at Harvard University, where he is working with Professors Arthur Green and Bernard Septimus. He has been a student of Jewish mysticism for many years, and he teaches Hasidic thought and theology in Jerusalem, where he lives with his wife and son. Ariel’s forthcoming dissertation, entitled “Beyond the Letters: The Question of Language in the Teachings of R….