Rav Ovadiah Yosef has paskened that if a man dies and doesn’t leave behind any sons, a daughter may say kaddish if there is a minyan that gathers in her home to study Torah or after psalms are read somewhere else. He explicitly forbids a woman to say kaddish in the synagogue. A little opening [...]
Here is the full text describing the decision to change Maharat to Rabbah, with the latter being suggested, after some discussion, by the Academy of the Hebrew Language. One snippet, And so, after consultation with Rabbi Daniel Sperber, who is signing the klaf with me, we have decided that Sara Hurwitz’s title will now be [...]
Life in Israel mentions that some Haredim are finding fault with the incoming Chief Rabbi of the Army that he doesn’t have a beard. First of all, who cares what the “Haredi Street”, i.e. people who have nothing better to do with their time than to envy a person who can be both a rabbi [...]
I have posted the complete interview with Yoav Sorek in one file on Google Docs. The Hebrew version can be found here. Some of the formatting in Hebrew was difficult on Google Docs, so there are some weird placements of punctuation. The English version is here. Update: The journalist who interviewed Yoav Sorek, Tsur Ehrlich, [...]
Below is the final part of the interview with Yoav Sorek. Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV. The Holiness in the Seam Line Sector Maybe redemption will come from what you call the boundary sector, people who occupy the area between the religious and the secular? “Correct. Taking off the kippah is maybe [...]
Part I, Part II, Part III. Sorek discussed the theological and halakhic implications which are to be the end of the exile in his first big article, “The Torah of Eretz Yisrael and the Torah of the Diaspora (hutz la’aretz),” twelve-and-a-half years ago in the journal “Azure.” He was then a fellow at the Shalem [...]
I wanted to give a shout-out to Jewish Ideas Daily. It is a new website which is trying to combine aggregation of quality web-based material along with some original writing. Jewish Ideas Daily is a one-stop source of opinion and insight, of deliberation and analysis, of reflection, discovery, stimulation, and delight: the best that has [...]
It seems as if the mikvaot in Jerusalem have been getting quite a makeover. First security cameras were installed, and now they have turnstiles which accept credit cards which limits pilfering by mikveh ladies and poor accounting practices. Some mikvaot have reported increased revunues of twenty percent. A number of complaints about the new turnstiles [...]
Part I, Part II. Of course everyone is asking about your wife, your children. “My wife is not so enthusiastic about my newest excitement, despite that she understands and to some extent identifies with what lies behind it. She is the daughter of a rabbi (Rabbi Binyamin Herlberg, who was killed on Har Eival) and [...]
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