Law vs. Philosophy?: A Maimonidean Teleology of Halacha by Elliot M. Salinger

Indubitably, the הלכה is the force which affects us as religious Jews more than any other. Both in its study and practice, the הלכה has immense control over our day to day lives and long term beliefs, values, and decisions. Consequently, it behooves us to ask the question: what is the telos of the הלכה? [...]

Books of Interest: Rambam

Moshe Halbertal’s Hebrew biography of the Rambam (Merkaz Zalman Shazar) is characteristically brilliant.  Although the first and longest chapter, nearly 70 pages, chronicles the Rambam’s life and his role as a communal leader, the book is primarily an intellectual biography, based on Rambam’s major works.  Each chapter is sharp and probing, providing thoughtful insights into the Rambam’s [...]

Halacha and Autonomous Religiosity: What’s the Problem? by Gidon Rothstein

I first heard of Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo over twenty years ago, when I was a semicha student and he was already a well-known teacher of Torah in Yerushalayim.  I mention that because as I come to comment on his recent cri de coeur– “The Future and the Spirit of Halacha: Unconventional Thoughts in Relation [...]

Focusing on Function: Women’s Leadership Roles by Nathaniel Helfgot

The following is an edited version of my initial remarks at a panel on Women’s Leadership Roles that was held on the first day of the RCA convention on Sunday, April 25, 2010. The panel consisted of Rabbi Michael Broyde, Rabbi Gidon Rothstein, Dr. Deena Zimmerman and myself. It was conceived and moderated by Rabbi [...]

The Pesach Hagada – The Wise Son Returns to the Questions by Yakov Nagen (Genack)

“The Torah speaks of four children: One is wise, one is wicked, one is simple and one does not know how to ask.”       -   The Haggada
The four children represent four different types of personalities. Because life is dynamic, each person, during the course of his or her lifetime, often incorporates aspects of all four of these personalities. [...]

Abrabanel & The Menora: An Early Interpretation Supporting the Concept of Tora U’Madda by Yaakov Bieler

             
The latter Tora portions of the book of Shemot, with the exception of Ki Tisa, focus upon the construction of the Tabernacle and the fabrication of the ritual clothing worn by the priests when they were performing the Temple service. Most commentators are hard-pressed to derive rigorously argued, logical spiritual instruction from this quantitatively significant [...]

Balancing the Necessity and Abhorrence of Violence: Of Terrorists and Amalek by Gidon Rothstein

Balancing the Necessity and Abhorrence of Violence: Of Terrorists and Amalek 
Tu B’Shvat goes by, a holiday that continues to grow in popularity, especially as the environmental movement takes further hold (we hope), as we become more aware of our relationship with the earth.  With its passing, not to be seen again until next year, we [...]

Possible Answers to Rav Soloveitchik’s 1936 Final Exam in Jewish Philosophy by Alex Sztuden

Below are responses to Rav Soloveitchik’s Jewish Philosophy exam that R. Helfgot posted on Text and Texture. I have tried to tie in the responses with the Rav’s own works, supporting R. Helfgot’s contention that the exam offers us a window into the mind of the Rav and the problems he was grappling with in [...]

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 רבה הוה, או בעל אגרופין [...]

“It is Better for Man Not To Have Been Created”: Seven Years to the Terror Attack in Yeshivat Otniel

by Yakov Nagen

 During the course of the Shabbos meal of Parshat Shemot 5763 in the Hesder Yeshiva of Otniel, while the students danced and sang הודו לה’ כי טוב כי לעולם חסדו, terrorists entered the kitchen and murdered the four boys who were preparing the next course: Noam Apter, Yehuda Bamberger, Gavriel Ho-ter, Zvika Zeeman.

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