Parashat Ha’azinu: Poetry Not Only as Aesthetic Experience, but Also as Divine Challenge by Yaakov Bieler

Considering what is being suggested and alluded to in the poetic passages of the Tora. Parashat Ha’azinu contains one of the two overt prolonged pieces of poetry in the Chumash. Although the entire Tora can be understood to constitute a poem, in accordance with Sanhedrin 21b’s interpretation[1] of Devarim 31:19,[2] the unique formats in which [...]

The Kosher Switch: A Response from the Tzomet Institute’s Rabbi Yisrael Rosen

The rabbinic world and blogosophere (see, for example, here) has been abuzz about the propriety of the Kosher Switch, which its producers claim allows one to halakhically turn on and off lights on shabbat.  Attached here is the Hebrew response of Rabbi Yisrael Rosen, the prominent engineer who heads the Tzomet Institute, which includes (signed) [...]

Parashiot Netzavim-VaYelech: Justifying Transgressions Past and Present by Yaakov Bieler

Someone who thinks that he is above the consequences of non-compliance with the Tora. Devarim 29:18 depicts the inner rationalizations of an individual who refuses to be swept along by the Jewish people’s collective acceptance of the terms of the Divine Covenant, outlined in Parashiot Ki Tavo and Nitzavim (27:1-29:28). “And it comes to pass, [...]

Parashat Ki Tavo: The Torah’s Time Warp by Yaakov Bieler

A particular phrase that appears in Parashat Ki Tavo. Parashat Ki Tavo contains one of the instances when the Tora makes a direct reference to a specific moment in time. In Devarim 29:1-3, the Tora writes, “And Moshe called all of Israel and said to them: You saw all that God Did before your eyes [...]

Parashat Ki Tetze: Remembering and Taking to Heart Miriam’s Tzora’at by Yaakov Bieler

The call to remember a Divine Interaction with Miriam. Parashat Ki Tetze contains a one-line reminder of the events recorded in BaMidbar 12: Devarim 24:9 REMEMBER that which the Lord, your God did to Miriam, on the way when you were leaving Egypt. Although 24:9 itself is not specific with regard to the particular event [...]

קריאת המגילה: A Case Study in Rabbinic Authority by Elliot M. Salinger

[1] . A Difficult רמב”ם The perorations of various sections of the משנה תורה have long been recognized as opportunities for the astute student of the work to peer into the Maimonidean mind, as they often share ethical and philosophical insights that go beyond the nitty-gritty details of the הלכות that have been presented. Some [...]