Menachem Mendel

Here is a nice video (Hebrew) on Talmud study from our friends at Pshita.

Posted on October 31st, 2010 under Online resources, Talmud, Talmud Study. Comments Off

Hiddush brings the Rambam to places that he never could have imagined.

Posted on October 30th, 2010 under Israel, Rabbinic Authority. Comments: 1

There is another aspect of the prohibition of Lo Tehanem that I would like to write about. For some background see this previous post. Not surprisingly, as with many topics addressing the relationship between Jews and non-Jews, the texts that discuss this issue have an interesting textual history. I want to illustrate this by examining [...]

Posted on October 29th, 2010 under Hebrew Printing, Jewish Law, Jewish-Gentile Relations, Rabbinic Literature, Textual Studies. Comments: 3

PaleoJudaica is also reporting from multiple sources that Prof. Ehud Netzer has passed away. May his memory be for a blessing.

Posted on October 28th, 2010 under archeology, In Memoriam. Comments Off

Mercaz Zalman Shazar has published a collection of A.M. Haberman’s writings, edited by Avigdor Shinan. I haven’t been able to find any information about the contents of the book.

Posted on October 27th, 2010 under Bibliography, Book Collecting, Manuscripts, New Books. Comments: 1

According to INN (Hebrew), Prof. Ehud Netzer was seriously injured in a fall at Herodium. Prof. Netzer has been overseeing the excavations there for forty years. החלמה מהירה.

Posted on October 26th, 2010 under Ancient Judaism, archeology, Israel. Comments: 10

This paper was presented at a conference a few years ago, but it hasn’t lost its relevance. (hat tip) Jews and Healing in the Middle Ages: The Harmonisation of Jewish Beliefs with Theories and Practices of Different Western Medical Traditions. Available here. By Carmen Caballero-Navas Paper given at the Conference on Religion and Healing and [...]

Posted on October 26th, 2010 under History, Jewish History, Jewish-Gentile Relations, Middle Ages, Religion. Comments Off

In reaction to the Chief Rabbinate questioning the validity of conversion done by the IDF Rabbinate, Rabbi Yehudah Gilad has written the following. עם כל החשיבות לנושאים כמו כשרות, שבת ושרותי דת, אין כיום בארץ שום עניין יהודי ציבורי המתקרב בחשיבותו לאתגר חשוב זה, שההתמודדות עימו קריטית לעתידנו כאן כמדינה יהודית. צריך להודות ולומר בהגינות, [...]

Posted on October 26th, 2010 under Israel, Politics, Rabbinic Authority, Religious Zionism. Comments Off

The Chief Rabbi of Tzfat, Shmuel Eliyahu, recently called for people to refrain from renting apartments to Israeli Arab college students and in order to prevent social contact, the establishment of separate institution for Jewish and Arab students. A few days ago it seems that a group of Jews took up Eliyahu’s suggestion, getting into [...]

Posted on October 25th, 2010 under Israel, Jewish Law, Jewish-Gentile Relations, Rabbinic Authority. Comments Off