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Category Archives: Jewish Calendar
“Elu v’elu’ are the words of the living God
(I had intended to write an entirely different essay on my interpretation of the sugyah in Sanhedrin dealing with the stubborn and rebellious son. But as I was scrambling to finish this article before Shavuot, I suddenly came up with … Continue reading
Posted in A fence around the Torah, Babylonian Talmud, Bavli, Bein Hametzorim, Bible, Conservative Judaism, Cycleof the Jewish Year, Ethics of the Fathers, God, Haredi, Israel, Jerusalem Talmud, Jewish, Jewish Calendar, Jewish Learning, Jewish Life, Jewish Living, Jewish Medical Ethics, Jewish Parenting, Jewish Religion, Jewish ritual, Jewish Wisdom, Judaism, Kabbalah, Learning, Maimonides, Men of the Great Assembly, Moses, Oral Law, Orthodox, Orthodox Judaism, Orthodoxy, Parenting, Pharisees, Pirkei Avot, Prophecy, Prophets, Rabbis, Rambam, Reconstructionism, Reconstructionist Judaism, Reform, Reform Judaism, Religion, Religious coercion, Religious freedom, Religious Judaism, Sages, Samaritans, Sea of Halakhah, Shavuot, Shoah, Simon the Just, Sinai, Talmud, Tanach, Teaching Torah, Theology, Tikun leil Shavuot, Torah Shebe'al Peh, Uncategorized, Women, Written Law, Yerushalmi
Tagged tradition, Jerusalem, David Hartman, Pluralistic Learning, Feminist learning, Tel Aviv, Western Wall, Yeshiva, Kotel
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Halakhic Innovation
I know this is a bit off-topic, but this article from today’s Haaretz is relevant to the general theme of my series on the evolution of the oral law. It raises a question we raised since our first class in … Continue reading
Posted in A fence around the Torah, Alexander The Great, Babylonian Talmud, Bavli, Bein Hametzorim, Bible, Conservative Judaism, Cycleof the Jewish Year, Ethics of the Fathers, Ezra, Fast Days, God, Haredi, Holocaust, Israel, Jerusalem Talmud, Jewish, Jewish Calendar, Jewish Learning, Jewish Life, Jewish Living, Jewish Parenting, Jewish Religion, Jewish ritual, Jewish Wisdom, Judaism, Kabbalah, Learning, Luck, Madonna, Maimonides, Men of the Great Assembly, Moses, Oral Law, Orthodox, Orthodox Judaism, Orthodoxy, Parenting, Passover, Pharisees, Pirkei Avot, Prophecy, Prophets, Rabbis, Rambam, Reconstrcutionist Judaism, Reconstructionism, Reconstructionist Judaism, Reform, Reform Judaism, Religion, Religious coercion, Religious freedom, Religious Judaism, Saducees, Sages, Samaritans, Sea of Halakhah, Seder, Seventeenth of Tammuz, Shavuot, Shimon Hatzadik, Shoah, Shomronim, Simon the Just, Sinai, Talmud, Tanach, Teaching Torah, The Three Weeks, Theology, Torah Shebe'al Peh, Trah Shebe'al peh, Trochenbrod, Uncategorized, Women, Written Law, yahrzeit, Yerushalmi, Yom Hashoah
Tagged A fence around the Torah, Alexander the Great, Anshei Knesset Hagedolah, Avot d’Rabbi Nathan, babylonian exile, Babylonian Talmud, Bavli, Bible, build a fence around the torah, Conservative Judaism, Cycleof the Jewish Year, Eliezer Berkovits, Ethics of the Fathers, evolution of Jewish law, evolution of Judaism, Ezra, Fast days, Gemara, gezerot, God, hakhamim, Halakhha le’Moshe Misinai, Hammurabi code, Haredi, History of halakhha, Holocaust, Israel, Jerusalem Talmud, Jewish, Jewish Calendar, jewish civilization, Jewish evolution, Jewish Learning, Jewish Life, Jewish Living, Jewish people, Jewish Philosophy, Jewish Religion, Jewish ritual, Jewish tradition, Jewish Wisdom, Joshua, Judaism, Kabbalah, Learning, Maimonides, Men of the Great Assembly, Mishna Torah, Mitzvah, Mitzvot, Mordechai Kaplan, Moses, Nehemia, Oral Law, Orthodox, Orthodox Judaism, Orthodoxy, Passover, Pharisees, Pirkei Avot, Prophecy, Prophets, rabbinic Judaism, Rabbis, Rambam, Rambam | Tagged Learning, Reconstrcutionist Judaism, Reconstructionism, Reconstructionist Judaism, Reform, Reform Judaism, Religion, Religious coercion, religious freedom, Religious Judaism, Revelation at Sinai, Saadia, Saducees, Sages, Samaritans, Sea of Halakhah, Seder, Seventeenth of Tammuz, Shavuot, Shimon Hatzadik, Shomronim, Simon the Just, Sinai, Soloveitchik, takkanah, takkanot, Talmud, Tanach, Tanakh, Teaching Torah, Theology, tikun, Tikun Leil Shavuot, toah sages, torah scholars, Torah shebe'al peh, tradition, Trah Shebe'al peh, Uncategorized, Uncategorized | Tagged Alexander the Great, Written Law, Yehoshua, Yerushalmi
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Going…going…where? Goodbye to Prophecy
We know that between the last of the prophets and the beginning of the Mishnah, Judaism underwent a major change. Avot describes this period in just a sentence or two. The Rambam takes several paragraphs to explain it. But nobody … Continue reading
Posted in A fence around the Torah, Alexander The Great, Babylonian Talmud, Bavli, Bible, Conservative Judaism, Ethics of the Fathers, Ezra, Fast Days, God, Haredi, Israel, Jerusalem Talmud, Jewish Calendar, Jewish Learning, Jewish Life, Jewish Living, Jewish Religion, Jewish ritual, Jewish Wisdom, Judaism, Kabbalah, Learning, Maimonides, Men of the Great Assembly, Moses, Oral Law, Orthodox, Orthodox Judaism, Orthodoxy, Pharisees, Pirkei Avot, Prophecy, Prophets, Rabbis, Rambam, Reconstrcutionist Judaism, Reconstructionist Judaism, Reform, Reform Judaism, Religion, Religious coercion, Religious freedom, Religious Judaism, Saducees, Sages, Samaritans, Sea of Halakhah, Seder, Seventeenth of Tammuz, Shimon Hatzadik, Shomronim, Simon the Just, Sinai, Talmud, Tanach, Teaching Torah, Theology, Torah Shebe'al Peh, Trah Shebe'al peh, Uncategorized
Tagged Alexander the Great, Anshei Knesset Hagedolah, Avot d’Rabbi Nathan, babylonian exile, Babylonian Talmud, Bavli, Bible, build a fence around the torah, Conservative Judaism, Cycleof the Jewish Year, Eliezer Berkovits, Ethics of the Fathers, evolution of Jewish law, evolution of Judaism, Ezra, Fast days, Gemara, gezerot, God, hakhamim, Halakhha le’Moshe Misinai, Hammurabi code, Haredi, History of halakhha, Holocaust, Israel, Jerusalem Talmud, Jewish, Jewish Calendar, jewish civilization, Jewish evolution, Jewish Learning, Jewish Life, Jewish Living, Jewish people, Jewish Philosophy, Jewish Religion, Jewish ritual, Jewish tradition, Jewish Wisdom, Joshua, Judaism, Kabbalah, Learning, Maimonides, Men of the Great Assembly, Mishna Torah, Mitzvah, Mitzvot, Mordechai Kaplan, Moses, Nehemia, Oral Law, Orthodox, Orthodox Judaism, Orthodoxy, Passover, Pirkei Avot, rabbinic Judaism, Rabbis, Rambam, Rambam | Tagged Learning, Reconstrcutionist Judaism, Reconstructionism, Reconstructionist Judaism, Reform, Reform Judaism, Religion, Religious coercion, religious freedom, Religious Judaism, Revelation at Sinai, Saadia, Sages, Sea of Halakhah, Seventeenth of Tammuz, Shavuot, Shimon Hatzadik, Simon the Just, Sinai, Soloveitchik, takkanah, takkanot, Talmud, Tanach, Tanakh, Teaching Torah, Theology, tikun, Tikun Leil Shavuot, toah sages, torah scholars, Torah shebe'al peh, tradition, Trah Shebe'al peh, Uncategorized, Written Law, Yehoshua, Yerushalmi
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Takkanot – The Torah adapts to new realities
The Mishnah marks the culmination of the transition from Prophetic Judaism to Rabbinic Judaism. The period before that – from the time of Ezra to the establishment of the Anshei Knesset Hagedolah (Men of the Great Assembly) – is the … Continue reading
Posted in Babylonian Talmud, Bavli, Bible, Conservative Judaism, Cycleof the Jewish Year, Ethics of the Fathers, Fast Days, God, Haredi, Holocaust, Israel, Jerusalem Talmud, Jewish, Jewish Calendar, Jewish Learning, Jewish Life, Jewish Living, Jewish Religion, Jewish ritual, Jewish Wisdom, Judaism, Kabbalah, Learning, Maimonides, Moses, Oral Law, Orthodox, Orthodox Judaism, Orthodoxy, Passover, Pirkei Avot, Rabbis, Rambam, Reconstrcutionist Judaism, Reconstructionism, Reconstructionist Judaism, Reform, Reform Judaism, Religion, Religious freedom, Religious Judaism, Sages, Sea of Halakhah, Seventeenth of Tammuz, Shavuot, Sinai, Talmud, Tanach, Teaching Torah, Theology, Trah Shebe'al peh, Uncategorized, Yerushalmi
Tagged Anshei Knesset Hagedolah, Avot d’Rabbi Nathan, babylonian exile, Babylonian Talmud, Bavli, Bible, build a fence around the torah, Conservative Judaism, Eliezer Berkovits, Ethics of the Fathers, evolution of Jewish law, evolution of Judaism, Ezra, Fast days, Gemara, gezerot, God, hakhamim, Halakhha le’Moshe Misinai, Hammurabi code, Haredi, History of halakhha, history of oral law, history of rabbinic law, Holocaust, Israel, Jerusalem Talmud, Jewish, Jewish Calendar, jewish civilization, Jewish evolution, Jewish Learning, Jewish Life, Jewish Living, Jewish people, Jewish Philosophy, Jewish Religion, Jewish ritual, Jewish tradition, Jewish Wisdom, Joshua, Judaism, Kabbalah, Learning, Maimonides, Men of the Great Assembly, Mishna Torah, Mitzvah, Mitzvot, Mordechai Kaplan, Moses, Nehemia, Oral Law, Orthodox, Orthodox Judaism, Orthodoxy, Passover, Pirkei Avot, rabbinic Judaism, Rabbis, Rambam, Reconstrcutionist Judaism, Reconstructionism, Reconstructionist Judaism, Reform, Reform Judaism, Religion, Religious coercion, religious freedom, Religious Judaism, Revelation at Sinai, Saadia, Sages, Sea of Halakhah, Shavuot, Sinai, Soloveitchik, takkanah, takkanot, Talmud, Tanakh, Teaching Torah, Theology, tikun, Tikun Leil Shavuot, toah sages, torah scholars, Torah shebe'al peh, tradition, Written Law, Yehoshua, Yerushalmi
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Why Madonna didn’t show up to my Shavuot shiur (and what she missed: Part 1)
Part 1. The List Madonna arrived in Israel just before Shavuot while I was busy putting together my presentation for Kehillat Yediyah’s Tikun leil Shavuot (all-night learning session) – naturally I drew the 2:30 AM slot. Of course, I didn’t expect … Continue reading
Posted in Cycleof the Jewish Year, Israel, Jewish Calendar, Jewish Parenting, Jewish ritual, Judaism, Kabbalah, Learning, Madonna, Orthodox, Parenting, Religious freedom, Religious Judaism, Shavuot, Tikun leil Shavuot, Uncategorized, Women
Tagged Abraham, Adin Steinsaltz, Babylonian Talmud, Circumcision, Circumcize, Esther, Isaac, Jerusalem, Jerusalem Rabbi, Jewish Parenting, Kabbalah, Kehillat Yedidya, Kiddushin, Learn all night, Learning, Madonna, Mitzvah, Mitzvot, Mount Sinai, Obligations of a Father to His Son, Shavuot, Steinsaltz, Study, Swim, Talmud, Tikun Leil Shavuot, Torah, Tractate, Women, Women and Halakhah, Women in Jewosh Law
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My Mother’s Ketubah
My mother, z”l, had a ketubah. It wasn’t much to look at. A not-very-fancy-affair, it was handwritten on a piece of legal-size yellow paper by Rav Zalman Sorotzkin rabbi of Lutsk, Poland — my mother’s home town. Two witnesses from … Continue reading
Posted in Cycleof the Jewish Year, Holocaust, Israel, Jewish Calendar, Jewish ritual, Judaism, Luck, Orthodox, Shoah, Trochenbrod, yahrzeit, Yom Hashoah
Tagged yahrzeit
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Kitniyot – A Pre-Yom Hashoah Reflection
Why am I writing about my custom of not eating kitniyot (legumes) on Pesah on the eve of Yom Hashoah? Well, besides the close proximity of the two dates (it was less than a week ago that I was defending … Continue reading
Posted in Cycleof the Jewish Year, Holocaust, Israel, Jewish Calendar, Jewish ritual, Judaism, Luck, Orthodox, Passover, Religious freedom, Religious Judaism, Shoah, Trochenbrod, Uncategorized, Yom Hashoah
Tagged Cycle of the Jewish year, Haredim, Holocaust, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Law, Jewish Studies, Learning, Passover, Rabbi, Religion, Religion and mythology, Relisgious Jews, Shoah, Talmud, tradition, Trochenbrod
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Abraham’s Tent
Tomorrow, January 5th, marks the Tenth of Tevet, a dawn-to-nightfall fast day commemorating the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem in the first temple period (586 BCE). As with other fast days during the year, more than one historical tragedy … Continue reading
Posted in Cycleof the Jewish Year, Fast Days, Haredi, Holocaust, Israel, Jewish Calendar, Jewish ritual, Judaism, Orthodox, Religious coercion, Religious freedom, Religious Judaism, Shoah, Yom Hashoah
Tagged Abraham, babylonian exile, beit Hamikdash, Chief Rabbi, Children of Abraham, Cycle of the Jewish year, Fast days, First Temple, Haredi, Holocaust, Israel, Israel society, Jewish fast days, Judaism, Learning, Midrash, Mishnah, religious coercion in Israel, tenth of Tevet, Torah
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Why not a Holocaust Seder?
Today, I gave a student of mine a little pamphlet I received a number of years ago called “Megillat HaShoah” The Holocaust Megillah. I explained to her how uncomfortable I am about the ritualization of something that is so personal … Continue reading
Posted in Cycleof the Jewish Year, Holocaust, Jewish Calendar, Jewish ritual, Luck, Passover, Seder, Shoah, Trochenbrod, Uncategorized, Yom Hashoah
Tagged Holocaust, Jewish History, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Learning, Midrash, Nazi, Passover, Religion, Seder, Shoah, Torah, Trochenbrod
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The Three Weeks — Jews Just Don’t Wanna Have Fun (preface)
Dani Sanderson — \”Just Me & My Surfboard\” — What if there were no \’bein hametzorim\’? Introduction A religious act or observance is a juncture of law, custom and superstition. It’s also an expression of belief in a system that … Continue reading
