Menachem Mendel

Rabbi Chaim Weiner has started a blog, A Question of Jewish Law. In each post Rabbi Weiner presents a short discussion of a halakhic question.

Posted on September 2nd, 2010 under Jewish Law. Comments: None

Rabbi Benny Lau has written a strongly-worded column (Hebrew) on Ynet, wondering what religious zionist rabbis are doing defending Rabbi Dov Lior and anything having to do with the book Torat ha-Melelkh.

Posted on August 20th, 2010 under Israel, Jewish Law, Jewish Thought, Jewish-Gentile Relations, Religious Zionism. Comments: None

Thanks to relative quiet of the past few years, the concrete wall that was constructed in order to protect the residents of the Southern neighborhood of Gilo is being removed. Ynet is reporting that the concrete wall was part of the eruv around Gilo, and that this section of the eruv must be rebuilt. Having [...]

Posted on August 16th, 2010 under Israel, Jewish Law. Comments: None

Kikar ha-Shabbat is reporting (via Rabbi Yosef’s Facebook page) that Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef cancelled the recitation of seliḥot that were suppose to be recited late at night in the synagogue found in the apartment building where he lives, because of complaints by the neighbors. Some of the neighbors said that the noise makes it difficult [...]

Posted on August 14th, 2010 under Israel, Jewish Law, Rabbinic Authority. Comments: 2

Tomer Persico has a post (Hebrew) discussing Elchanan Shilo’s article, “A Continuous Judaism Between Halakhah and Hiloni”, and some reactions to the original article. See here for a previous post on Shilo’s article.

Posted on August 9th, 2010 under Israel, Jewish Law, Jewish Thought, Rabbinic Authority, Religion, Religious Zionism. Comments: None

Rabbi Jason Miller, a Conservative rabbi, has written a post titled Yes, Orthodox Judaism Changes Too. One of Rabbi Miller’s claims is that Orthodoxy, to varying degrees, also changes, it is just at a slower pace than the more liberal movements. The Judaism of 2010, in any of the denominations, looks different than the Judaism [...]

Posted on August 8th, 2010 under Jewish Law, Rabbinic Authority. Comments: 3

Tomer Persico has a posted (Hebrew) about another article by Yoav Sorek, this one was about Tisha B’av and how the historical reality of Israel behooves us to change the way the day is observed. I haven’t read Sorek’s article, but Persico posted his own response which was printed in Makor Rishon. Persico wrote that [...]

Posted on July 31st, 2010 under Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Law, Liturgy, Rabbinic Authority, Religious Zionism. Comments: None

From the Jewish Week. (hat tip Failed Messiah) In a move that apparently would make history for an Orthodox synagogue in the United States, the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale is scheduled Friday night to have a woman lead a Kabbalat Shabbat service where both men and women are expected to be in the pews. Update: [...]

Posted on July 30th, 2010 under Jewish Law, Liturgy, Rabbinic Authority, Synagogue. Comments: 2

New ‘Reflections,’ Hartman Institute E-Magazine of Ideas, Now Online The newest issue of Reflections, the Shalom Hartman Institute electronic magazine of ideas, is now online. Among the articles: Israeli Society and the ‘Society of Learners’ by Professors Shlomo Naeh, Zvi Zohar and Elhanan Reiner who discuss the place of Torah scholars within the Jewish People [...]

Posted on July 27th, 2010 under Israel, Jewish Law, Jewish Thought, New Articles. Comments: None