What Makes a Belief ‘Traditional’? The Case of Bittahon by Gidon Rothstein
November 8, 2010 by Shlomo Brody
Filed under New Posts, Philosophy
In a recent article in Tradition (Summer 2010, 42:1) – now available for free download – R. Daniel Stein challenges Hazon Ish’s rejection of a particular definition of bittahon, trust in God. A closer reading of the sources R. Stein references to prove his point shows that the topic raises thorny questions of when and [...]
Minority Views and the Role of the Mara De-Atra
August 31, 2009 by Nathaniel Helfgot
Filed under Halakha, Talmud
Minority Views and the Role of the Mara de-Atra1 By Nathaniel Helfgot There is a tannaitic dispute regarding which aspects of the performance of a circumcision push aside the Sabbath restrictions: R. Akiva maintains that only actions that could not be prepared before the Sabbath are permitted to be done for a circumcision on the [...]
On (Not) Understanding the Reasons Behind Rabbinic Prohibitions: The Case of Teaching Shehiyah
August 26, 2009 by Daniel Reifman
Filed under Education, Halakha, Talmud
On (Not) Understanding The Reasons Behind Rabbinic Prohibitions: The Case of Teaching Shehiyah by Daniel Reifman Teachers of Halakhah are often torn between conflicting agendas: on the one hand, to ensure that students have mastered all the laws relevant to contemporary observance, on the other hand, to familiarize them with a sense of the background—both the [...]