I saw the following ad in our local paper. The scan didn’t come out too good, but I wanted to emphasize that it is smoke that is coming out of the shofar. I deleted the name of the shul because I didn’t think that it was relevant, and there is a bit of bewilderment in [...]
A recent archeological discovery which is very timely for the Jewish liturgical calendar. Israeli archaeologists have unearthed a seal impression belonging to a minister of the biblical King Zedekiah, which dates back 2,600 years, during an archeological dig in Jerusalem’s ancient City of David. The finding helps corroborate the story pertaining to the biblical minister’s [...]
Rabbi Jeffrey Hoffman was kind enough to send me a copy of an article of his which will be published in a forthcoming issue of the JQR. The article is on Akdamut, the Aramaic poem which is recited before the Torah reading on Shavuot. Below are some of his comments, and I also recommend reading [...]
See another example of Eliezer Brodt’s comprehensive treatment of a topic, this one on “Purim and Parodies”, at Seforim.
Some may remember my post about a person complaining that there was no menorah at McDonald’s. Not surprisingly, most of the letters-to-the-editor, which can be found here, thought that it was quite a ridiculous complaint. While not McDonald’s, one thing that my wife and I found interesting in Costa Rica was that there is a [...]
While many people are familiar with tomorrow’s fast on the tenth of Tevet (see also this by Jeffrey Woolf), there happen to be two lesser-known fasts from Tevet. The more well-known Megillat Taanit lists days on which it is forbidden to fast, while the less well-known Scroll of Fast-B (מגילת תענית בתרא) list days on [...]
My brother called my attention to an article written by Prof. Moshe Benovitz, someone with whom we both have studied, on the development of Hanukkah. It was originally written as part of the “Faculty Forum” at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies. It is long, but is an important contribution to the study of Hanukkah. [...]
This post is dedicated to my sister-in-law’s brother, PG, who is currently serving in Iraq with the USAF. May he return safely and speedily to his family. Rabbinic literature has many discussions and much information about Jews and military service and weapons. Medieval rabbinic literature contains discussions about such topics as armor and the carrying [...]
I know of latkes, sufganiyot, and dairy products, but ham? It seems as if somebody thinks that it is a good idea. See the Gothamist for details.
The question is raised a number of times by the Tosafot as to whether one recites a blessing on an act which is a observed out of custom, and not a legal obligation (see Tosafot Sukkah 44b s.v. kon be-mikdash kon be-gevulin; Taanit 28b s.v. amar shema mina minhag avoteihem be-yedeihem; Berachot 14a s.v. yamim [...]
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