The Legacy of Polemics: Microphones on Shabbat, Metzitzah, and the Rabbah Ordination by Shlomo Brody

  I personally have no gripes with polemics playing a role in socio-legal discourse within the Jewish community.  I think it is inevitable, given the sociological reality of Jewish history, and occasionally it is appropriate, given larger religious goals. 1 I do believe, however, that one has to be very careful with the terminology used, and [...]

Polemics and the Orthodox Prohibition Against Microphones on Shabbat by Shlomo Brody

What does Rabbi Yisrael Rozen, the engineer who runs the Tzomet Institute and who frequently speaks on behalf of religious Zionist causes, have in common with the Satmar Rebbe?   They both care tremendously about halakha They both believe that Orthodox opposition to microphones stemmed primarily from polemical considerations against the Reform movement. The Satmar Rebbe’s [...]

From Our Archives: May One Use a Microphone on Shabbat?

From Our Archives:  Rabbi Manuel Poliakoff and The Use of Microphones on Shabbat   If a microphone is turned on before Shabbat, or pre-set on a timer, may one use it on Shabbat?   As is well known, many American Orthodox congregations used a microphone in the middle of the 20th century, with some continuing to use [...]

The Dangers of “Soft Stringency:” Hearing Aids, Chumrot, and Moral Sensitivity in Halakhic Handbooks

The Dangers of “Soft Stringency:” Hearing Aids, Chumrot, and Moral Sensitivity in Halakhic Handbooks By Shlomo Brody Is it forbidden to speak to someone wearing a hearing aid on Shabbat? In an earlier post, I discussed the impact of halakha handbooks on contemporary halakhic discourse, focusing on the whether certain books change their rulings given [...]

Minority Views and the Role of the Mara De-Atra

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 [...]