From Our Archives: Rav Ovadiah Yosef on the Status of Ethiopian Jews

One of the more influential psakim delivered by Rav Ovadiah Yosef zt”l related to the halakhic status of Ethiopian Jews, as discussed in an article in today’s Yediot Achronot. See here for Don Seeman’s article (Summer 1991) on this ruling in light of ethnographic research. On the status of Ethiopian Jewry in general, see this [...]

Select Writings in Tradition about Academic Bible Study

Below you will find links to various articles written in Tradition over the years relating to modern Bible study. – Shlomo Brody “Biblical Criticism” by Max Kapustin Tradition 3:1 (Fall 1960) “Orthodox Reactions to the Challenge of Bible Criticism”  Steven Shaw  - Tradition 10:3 (Spring 1969) Scientific Method and Biblical Study – Isaac Boaz Gottlieb (11:1, [...]

Tradition 45:4 (Winter 2012) Now Available Online

Editor’s Note: The Lost Childhood of Doeg by Shalom Carmy Ancient Sources, Modern Problems: A Methodological Analysis of Rashi’s Position on Brainstem Death by Daniel Reifman Unmasking an Odd-Sounding Purim Custom: A Theory by Akiva Males My Long Lonely Journey to the Rav by Yisrael Kashkin An Unorthodox Step Toward Revelation: Leon Kass on Genesis Revisited [...]

From Our Archives: Tradition Articles on Arms Sales and Halakha

J. David Bleich: Sale of Arms in Halakha Joseph Polak:  Arms Transfers, The State of Israel, and Halakha Sidney Hoenig:  The Sport of Hunting:  A Humane Game? All available for free download. – Shlomo Brody

Tradition 45:3 (Fall 2012) Now Available Online

Vol. 45, No. 3: Fall 2012 Editor’s Note: Why Hats Are Wasted On The Young: An Essay in Practical Theodicy by Shalom Carmy Yehuda Halevi and the Philosophical Use of Metaphor by Shubert Spero The Amida’s Biblical and Historical Roots: Some New Perspectives by Allen Friedman American Orthodoxy’s Lukeworm Embrace of the Hirschian Legacy 1850-1939 by [...]

Parashat Ha’azinu: Ha’azinu’s Non-Sequitor by Yaakov Bieler

The poem’s structure. According to MaLBIM, the poem in Ha’azinu (Devarim 32:1-43)[1] can be divided into six sections: 1) (32:1-6) Charging heavens and earth to serve as witnesses for the account of Jewish history and prophetic predictions regarding the future of the Jews; 2) (Ibid. 7-12) The Divine Kindnesses that had been Extended to the [...]

Parashat VaYeilech: A Confluence of Emotions by Yaakov Bieler

The final two Mitzvot of the Tora. Although Parashat VaYelech is the shortest of all Parashiot,[1] according to Sefer HaChinuch, it  contains the last two Mitzvot Given by God via Moshe to the Jews. Both of these Mitzvot focus on contrasting ways by which the Tora will serve as a source of information and inspiration [...]

Decoding a Tora Cipher – Parashat Nitzavim – by Rabbi Yaakov Bieler

Scruitinizing variations in the appearance of portions of the Tora. In addition to subjecting the verses of the Tora to close reading in order to notice the many subtle nuances of language upon which are based numerous literary, legal and theological inferences and derivations, variations in the appearance of the words and letters of the [...]

Parashat Ki Tavo: Blessings & Curses by Yaakov Bieler

The earliest reference to the blessings and curses that were pronounced prior to the Jewish people’s entering Israel. In Parashat Re’eh, a first reference is made to a portentous ritual that marks the beginning of the Jewish people’s relationship with the Promised Land. Devarim 11:29-30 And it will be when the Lord your God Brings [...]

Tradition 45:2 Now Available Online! Featuring Two Articles on the Philosophy of Rav Shagar

‘Good and Very Good’: Moderation and Extremism in the Scheme of Creation by Norman Lamm As We Are Now is Not The Only Way to Be: On the Place of the Humanities in Contemporary Religious Culture by Shalom Carmy Torah Study for Contemporary Times: Conservatism or Revolution? by Yair Dreyfus ‘And Now the Child Will [...]

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