Hirhurim Musings

After a great get-together last night, we are ready to move the blog to a new format that has more functionality and is more esthetically pleasing. Please change your browser bookmarks to this website: www.TorahMusings.com. All new posts will be there only. All old posts will remain here and there.Note that, in the past, there have been complaints about changes. That is why I gathered a focus group to test out the new blog. I received a lot of good feedback and made changes to the format based o

Weekly Links

Published on 2010-07-08 07:48:00

Rules: linkThursdayDrug bust at Israel airport, Hasidic Jews arrested (time for another Tehillim gathering?): linkThe cost of being Jewish: linkRabbinic group’s resolution expands women’s role: linkRabbis: 'Don't rent to foreign workers': linkTimes Square rabbi seeks America's runaway kids: linkUnion for Traditional Judaism in financial trouble: linkSALT Thursday: linkWednesdayHalachically Speaking on worm-infested fish (an essay of mine is quoted in footnotes 46 and 52): link (PDF)Jewish (i

Parashah Roundup: Matos-Masei 5770

Published on 2010-07-07 20:32:00

by Steve BrizelThe Book of MemoriesR Berel Wein suggests why the Torah records the names of the stops and encampments of the Jewish People: linkR Shlomoh Riskin explains why the Torah uses Shevatim and Matos: linkThe Nesivos Shalom, as explicated by R Yitzchak Adlestein, explains why Parshas Maasei is a mission statement for every Jew: linkR Avraham Gordimer explains why the Maasos are mentioned at the end of Sefer Bamidbar: linkThe War Against the MidyanitesR Ephraim Buchwald explains why the M

Welcome to the Hirhurim Dinner

Published on 2010-07-07 18:15:00

This slide show is going on in the background right now.

Get-Together: Today

Published on 2010-07-07 07:26:00

Today is the day. Information here: linkEven if you have not RSVP'ed, you can just walk in.Note that we are in the midst of a heat wave. There will be plenty of water but please dress business casual. There is no need for jackets or suits, although I will be wearing a tuxedo.Please try to daven Mincha beforehand but if you cannot, the shul will have an 8:20 minyan.

Is Creativity Possible in the Information Age?

Published on 2010-07-06 20:25:00

We live in an age where more information is available with greater ease than ever before. This applies to Torah just as much as any other subject, perhaps even more. The ingathering of exiles that broke down (to some degree) communal barriers, the relatively low cost of publication thanks to printing technology, the electronic revolution that opens entire libraries through your computer, and the widespread wealth that allows people to take advantage of these technologies offer unprecedented amou

Shabbat Mevarchim

Published on 2010-07-06 01:24:00

By: Rabbi Ari EnkinThere is an ancient custom to bless the upcoming Jewish month on the Shabbat which precedes Rosh Chodesh. These Shabbatot when the new month is blessed are referred to as “Shabbat Mevarchim”. A central feature of this prayer is the public announcement of the exact time the new moon, known as the “molad”, is set to appear.[1] The molad is the exact moment of the moon’s renewal. Recall that at the concluding moments of every lunar cycle the moon is positioned directl

Get-Together: This Wednesday

Published on 2010-07-05 14:35:00

This Wednesday July 7th is the Hirhurim get-together/dinner (link 1, link 2, link 3, link 4, link 5). All readers, commenters and friends of the blog are invited to this free event. Free mugs and trinkets will be available, while supplies last.Please RSVP to the event using this online form: link.When: July 7, 2010 from 7-9pm.Where: The Jewish Center, 131 W. 86 St., New York, NY 10024What: A get-together and dinner for readers and friends of the Hirhurim-Musings blog. In particular, a celebratio

Drinking Wine During the Nine Days and the Authority of the Shulchan Aruch

Published on 2010-07-04 20:33:00

Guest post by Rabbi Aryeh LeibowitzThe Shulchan Aruch records a tradition to refrain from drinking wine during the period of the nine days leading up to Tishah be-Av. In a recent lecture delivered in Teaneck, Prof. Daniel Sperber argued that the entire passage in the Shulchan Aruch is based on a faulty interpretation of a passage in the Talmud Yerushalmi (Sperber’s full analysis of this issue appears in his monumental work, Minhagei Yisrael).In light of this supposed error, Sperber concluded p

Weekly Links

Published on 2010-07-02 07:31:00

Rules: linkFriday'The End of Men' ... in Judaism?: linkNew issue of Jewish Review of Books: linkWe can make a difference in our children’s lives: linkLearning Curve: Community confronts day-school tuition crisis: linkTeaneck elects first Muslim mayor: linkLong time archaeological riddle (Sisera) solved: linkAsk The Rabbi: On being fruitful, part II: linkCan Kutsher’s, the Catskills’ last kosher resort, be saved?: linkSALT Friday: linkThursdayR. Yitzchak Herzog was the Chief Rabbi of what c

Audio Roundup C

Published on 2010-07-01 20:55:00

by Joel RichRabbi Shmuel Marcus -Birthdays and Yahrtzeits: linkWith the 100th audioroundup I thought it appropriate to lead with this shiur which contains some positive and negative opinions concerning "celebrating" birthdays and yahrtzeits – bottom line use/view as a positive opportunity for introspection and future positive impact. (Kach Mkublani mbeit avi abba zll"hh)Questions:1. True or False: A finite individual could never plumb the full breadth and depth of torah even if they learned 24

Quick Takes

Published on 2010-07-01 20:37:00

Does the internet make you dumber?A few weeks ago, much was made of a new book which claims that technology makes people less able to think critically and concentrate. The hype did not impress me. What we're dealing with is an onslaught of information and people have to develop internal filters. You have to know when to turn everything off and, when it's on, how to find the good information while avoiding the bad. Even before the internet, many people procrastinated, had trouble focusing, and ig

Parashah Roundup: Pinchas 5770

Published on 2010-06-30 21:33:00

by Steve BrizelThe Covenant of PeaceR Berel Wein explains why peace is very fragile, almost always difficult to maintain and it requires great effort to keep it together:linkThe Nesivos Shalom, as explicated by R Yitzchak Adlerstein, discussed why Pinchas is viewed as the source of the fire of Teshuvah that combats transgressions committed with zeal and alacrity: linkR Ephraim Buchwald examines the legacy of leadership transmitted by Pinchas: linkR Shomoh Riskin explains why Pinchas received the

Avrekh

Published on 2010-06-30 20:47:00

Translations and commentaries have difficulty explaining exactly what Pharaoh did when he raised Yosef from imprisonment to prominence (Gen. 41:43):He had him ride in the chariot of his second-in-command, and they cried before him, "Avrekh!" (NJPS)What is this "avrekh" that they called before him? Or does it not even mean the term they used but rather something else? There are three general ways to render this phrase:I. Great OneOnkelos splits the word in two, av meaning father and rakh meaning

Books Received XXVII

Published on 2010-06-30 11:30:00

I don't always have the chance to review each book, so I'll list the books that I receive. Some of them will be quoted or reviewed in future posts. Here are the books I've received recently:To Remain a Jew: The Life of Rav Yitzchak Zilber

Back to Disqus

Published on 2010-06-30 07:45:00

Based on user feedback, the comments switch seems to have been premature and I've switched back to Disqus for another week. Next week, at the get-together (RSVP here: link), I will officially unveil the new Wordpress blog at which time we will move there and switch the comments here to JS-Kit. Maybe by then we will have figured out a way to keep both JS-Kit and Disqus comments.

The Old Comments Are Back

Published on 2010-06-29 21:44:00

I've reinstalled JS-Kit/Echo (the successor to Haloscan, which no longer exists) so all the old comments are back. Just go to an old post (e.g. link) and you'll see all the old comments--the good, the bad and the ugly.I tested it in Internet Explorer and Google Chrome without problem.

On the Meaning of a Mysterious Line in a First-Crusade Kinah

Published on 2010-06-29 20:28:00

On the Meaning of a Mysterious Line in a First-Crusade KinahGuest post by Dr. David BergerIn 2000, I published an observation about a difficult line in a kinah. The observation was buried in the footnote of a scholarly article dealing with a different theme, and I was berated by a friend for making sure that hardly anyone who recites kinot would ever come across it. So I wrote a letter to Artscroll explaining the point and suggesting that they modify the translation in any revised edition of the

Eating in Public

Published on 2010-06-29 01:15:00

By: Rabbi Ari EnkinThe Talmud teaches that eating in public is inappropriate conduct and that one who does so is comparable to a dog.[1] Furthermore, eating in public is one of the activities which disqualify a person from serving as a witness in ritual matters.[2]While the Talmud seems to imply that any form of eating in public is to be shunned, it appears from other sources, however, that it is only eating *while walking* in public which is truly forbidden.[3] As such, it is permitted to eat

Get-Together: More Information

Published on 2010-06-28 20:28:00

This is your weekly reminder about the July 7th Hirhurim get-together/dinner (link 1, link 2, link 3, link). All readers, commenters and friends of the blog are invited to this free event. Free mugs and trinkets will be available, while supplies last.Please RSVP to the event using this online form: link.As mentioned, I will be paying for the evening but I am asking for help subsidizing the event by those who can. As encouragement for large donations, I am publishing a special Torah journal for t

Comments Update

Published on 2010-06-27 21:32:00

As many of you know, the comments on old posts have disappeared since the switch to Disqus commenting. After a great deal of effort, it is now clear that they cannot be transferred. That leaves us with few options. Here are my plans, although I am open to suggestions.I want to move this entire blog onto a Wordpress platform that uses Wordpress comments going forward. Old comments, however, cannot be transferred there. The old posts will remain here with all of the old comments. I want each post

Rav Soloveitchik on Women Rabbis

Published on 2010-06-27 20:32:00

R. Aryeh Frimer has published an essay on the position of R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik regarding the ordination of women as rabbis (link). It is partially based on an essay in Shi'urei HaRav on Yoreh De'ah (available for purchase here: link), which is translated in this post (link). One reader e-mailed me that this essay is a vindication of my position:I have been avidly following the recent discussion at the RCA Convention and on the various blogs regarding granting women semikha. I was rather su

Emmanuel Compromise Approved; Parents Released

Published on 2010-06-27 12:44:00

"A compromise proposal enabling the release of the parents of the Emmanuel students was approved Sunday by the High Court of Justice, after being presented by the parents and petitioners with the approval of the State Prosecutor’s Office. The judges ruled that the incarcerated parents would be released on Sunday."The decision followed a compromise deal struck on Sunday morning between Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and the Slonim Rabbi, religious leader of the Ashkenazi families who

Weekly Links

Published on 2010-06-25 07:38:00

Rules: linkFridayThey spilled our blood, you kept quiet: linkInterview with R. Yaakov Yosef about Emanuel situation (Hebrew): linkLondon Charedim hard hit by budget cuts: linkSuccess and Scrutiny at Hebrew Charter School: linkBest pizza in DC is kosher: linkSALT today: linkThursdayRubashkin prosecution not anti-semitic: linkChief Rabbi slams Methodist report: linkNew bios of Lubavitcher rebbe dig for the man behind the myth: linkPickle Shop, a Lower East Side Icon Now Makes Its Home in Boro Park

Online Marketing

Hirhurim Musings

Home > Blog Directory > Hirhurim Musings