Can Women Receive a Heter Hora’ah? Chukim, Mishpatim, and Womanhood (Part 2) by Aryeh Klapper

In my initial posting on the subject of women’s ordination, I made a series of general theoretical points, which I elaborate on here as necessary context for the specific arguments I’ll be making in this post: a)      Conventional Orthodox theology divides the Taryag Mitzvot into chukim and mishpatim, understood in accordance with Rashi as respectively [...]

Our Writers Respond: Chukim, Mishpatim, and Womanhood by Aryeh Klapper (Part 1)

Chukim and Mishpatim in Halakha and Hashkafa              A core concept in popular Orthodox thought is the distinction between חוקים and משפטים as presented by Rashi.  In this view, mitzvot are classified by whether they do or do not have a humanly intelligible purpose.  This position is hashkafically alien to the Spanish philosophical tradition, and [...]

The Self-Sacrifice of the Frogs: Halakha, Aggadata, and Martyrdom by Aryeh Klapper

תלמוד בבלי מסכת פסחים דף נג עמוד א –ב אמר רבי יוסי: תודוס איש רומי הנהיג את בני רומי לאכול גדיים מקולסין בלילי פסחים. שלחו לו: אלמלא תודוס אתה, גזרנו עליך נדוי, שאתה מאכיל את ישראל קדשים בחוץ. קדשים סלקא דעתך?! אלא אימא קרוב להאכיל את ישראל קדשים בחוץ. איבעיא להו: תודוס איש רומי גברא [...]

What is the Halakhic Status of the Doctrine of the Trinity?

by Aryeh Klapper Texts followed by analysis:  Sanhedrin 63b A beraita: “And the names of other divinities you must not mention” – this forbids a person to say to his friend ‘Wait for me next to that avodah zarah’; “it must not be heard on account of you” –  this forbids one from taking an oath [...]

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 [...]

“The Canaanites Were Then in the Land”: Ibn Ezra, Post-Mosaic Editorial Insertions, and the Canaanite Exile from the Land

“The Canaanites Were Then in the Land”:  Ibn Ezra,  Post-Mosaic Editorial Insertions, and the Canaanite Exile from the Land  by Aryeh Klapper  Genesis 12:1-7: בראשית פרק יב (א) ויאמר יקוק אל אברם לך לך מארצך וממולדתך ומבית אביך אל הארץ אשר אראך: (ב) ואעשך לגוי גדול ואברכך ואגדלה שמך והיה ברכה: (ג) ואברכה מברכיך ומקללך אאר ונברכו בך [...]

Can Something Be Too Much for G-d to Ask?

by Aryeh Klapper Can Something Be Too Much for G-d to Ask? Are there limits to what G-d can require of human beings? At first glance the answers seem obvious – we are told to love G-d with all our “nefesh”, and normative Halakhah understands this as imposing an obligation on all Jews to surrender [...]

“So Long” vs “Thanks for All the Fish”: A New Reading of Sefer Yonah and Its Implications for Modern Orthodoxy

“So long” vs. “Thanks for all the fish”[1]: A New Reading of Sefer Yonah and Its Implications for Modern Orthodoxy By Aryeh Klapper              Imagine a man coming into Times Square looking and smelling like he’s spent considerable time inside a fish.  The man climbs onto a soapbox and declaims: “The end is nigh!”  How [...]

Individual and Communal Quests for Holiness: Kollelim, Modern Orthodoxy, and Intellectual Elitism

By Aryeh Klapper Aspiring Saints? Judaism has a natural antipathy to exceptional religious ambition. Law by its nature, Maimonides explains in the Guide (3:34), aims for the good of the majority rather than of the exceptional, and thus the centrality of Halakhah in Judaism is a major challenge to many of the religiously gifted. Halakhah [...]

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