Jacob’s Ladder and Exile: Comfort Zones vs. Risk

Jacob’s Ladder and Exile:  Comfort Zones vs. Risk
 by Yaakov Bieler
           At one point, Adam Gopnick, as part of his discussion about Charles Darwin in his book  entitled, Angels and Ages: A Short Book about Darwin, Lincoln and Modern Life (Knopf, New York, 2009) writes that great scientific discoveries are such that when others learn of [...]

What Are the Halachot of Switching One’s Pronunciation of Hebrew?

More on שאל אביך and a First Example of אל תטוש:
What Are the Halachot of Switching One’s Pronunciation of Hebrew?
by Gidon Rothstein
In my most recent post in this venue, I noted the Rov, z”l’s, recollection of the interaction between the Beit haLevi and the Radzhyner Rebber.  While others record the incident differently, the Rov [...]

The Book, the Prayer, and the Heart in Tension

The Book, the Prayer, and the Heart in Tension
by Nathaniel Helfgot
It has become a widespread phenomenon in many Modern-Orthodox asheknazi kehillot (as well as a number of haredi ones as well) to experience Tisha Be-Av morning (and its mourning) in a different fashion than had been practiced for decades and centuries.  I refer to the [...]

From Our Archives: May One Use a Microphone on Shabbat?

From Our Archives:  Rabbi Manuel Poliakoff and The Use of Microphones on Shabbat 
 If a microphone is turned on before Shabbat, or pre-set on a timer, may one use it on Shabbat? 
 As is well known, many American Orthodox congregations used a microphone in the middle of the 20th century, with some continuing to use them into [...]

Books of Interest: Recent Works in Halakha

Rabbi Elyashiv Knohl, The Marriage Covenant:  A Guide to Jewish Marriage and A Guide to Marital Relations From a Torah Perpsective, Ein Tzurim:  Yeshivat Kibbutz Ha-Dati, 2008.  297 pages + 57 pages pamphlet.  [Translation of 2002 Hebrew edition.]
Rabbi Nachum Eliezer Rabinovitch, Shu”t Siach Nachum, Maaleh Adumim:  Machon Ma’aliyot, 2008.  405 pages + index.  [Hebrew]
Jeffrey I. [...]

Talmudic Mediation: Conflicting Interpretations of the Talmud as Conflicting Needs in Society

Talmudic Mediation
Conflicting Interpretations of the Talmud as Conflicting Needs in Society
Baba Batra 5a, 7b-9a[1]
Guest Post
by Daniel Roth
I. Introduction
Gemara be-iyun, or the traditional in-depth study of the Talmud practiced in advanced Jewish learning institutes around the world, is widely regarded as the study of the Babylonian Talmud together with its Rabbinic interpretations (Rishonim, Achronim) not for [...]

Prayer and Consciousness

Prayer and Consciousness
Guest Post
by Yakov Nagen (Genack)
Each day we repeat our daily prayers and say more than a hundred blessings. This repetition of the same words day in and day out can be viewed as a tedious routine. However, there is another way to relate to this reality. What we are sorely missing in life [...]

The Dangers of “Soft Stringency:” Hearing Aids, Chumrot, and Moral Sensitivity in Halakhic Handbooks

The Dangers of “Soft Stringency:” Hearing Aids, Chumrot, and Moral Sensitivity in Halakhic Handbooks
By Shlomo Brody
Is it forbidden to speak to someone wearing a hearing aid on Shabbat?
In an earlier post, I discussed the impact of halakha handbooks on contemporary halakhic discourse, focusing on the whether certain books change their rulings given the broad intended [...]

The Akeidah and Our Commitment to Halakha

The Akeidah and Our Commitment to Halakha 
by Aryeh Klapper
“Do not send your hand forth against the lad; Do not do him any harm”. 
Every year at this time we tremble in suspense as Avraham raises the knife, then sigh in relief when the angel calls out in time to save Yitzchak.  We rejoice both at our [...]

שאל אביך ויגדך: What Are the Parameters of Looking to Tradition for Guidance?

שאל אביך ויגדך: What Are the Parameters of Looking to Tradition for Guidance?
by Gidon Rothstein
In a recent shiur I give at Webyeshiva.org, I came across a story the Rov, zt”l, tells about his great-grandfather, the Beis haLevi. In the 1800s, the Radzyner Rebber, R. Gershon Henoch Leiner, believed he had re-discovered tekhelet, the bluish dye [...]