Reshet ha-Kehillot le-Ḥithadshut Yehudit (Hebrew) is more evidence of Israeli Jewish creativity in Israel. This is a good example of how support from Diaspora Jews, in this case the UJA-Federation in New York, can make a difference in Israel. This (Hebrew) article by Yair Sheleg, which was published last year in Musaf Shabbat, addresses activities related to Reshet ha-Kehillot.
Tomorrow, the 24th of Tevet, is the yarzheit of “Miriam the Laundress,” מרים הכובסת. On her yarzheit thousands of people visit her grave on Har ha-Menuḥot, often looking for help with fertility problems. Who is this woman whom some people describe as a saint? A few years ago Tsur Erlich, a journalist for Makor Rishon, published an article (Hebrew) about Miriam that tells the true story about her and her journey to sainthood. The truth behind the legend is far from happy, she was widowed and left childless, and never married again because her husband’s brother converted to Islam and refused to perform halitzah.
You can read (Hebrew) about her at My Tzadik and see evidence of her sainthood. Also see this blog post about her (English) for more examples of her saintliness.
On H-Judaic there is a discussion about Kosher and Halal meat. The following comment by Yona Sabar was interesting.
The word kasher/kosher is not “universal”. Among the Neo-Aramaic speaking Jews of northern Iraq, the Arabic word, Halal with an Aramaic suffix, Halala, was used for “kasher”;and Harama for “unkasher”. Very “Kasher” meat was Halala ‘ikh pisir ghazala “As kosher as the meat of Gazelle”. The word kasher was used more for proper marital relations, as in ‘ishsha kashera “lawful wife”.
Coming soon from Brill:
Seride Teshuvot-A Descriptive Catalogue of Responsa Fragments from the Jacques Mosseri Collection Cambridge University Library. Cambridge Genizah Studies Series Volume 3
A friend on Facebook linked to a web site that has some Tosafot translated into English: Tosfos in English.
I recently came across a few 19th century uses of the term “Modern Orthodoxy Jews/Judaism.” The term was not necessarily used in the same way that we use it today and a fuller discussion must related to the use of the term in a Christian context, but I thought that they were interesting none the less. For some discussion of the origins of the term, see this post by Alan Brill.
Maybe the earliest use by a Jew that I could find was by Claude G. Montefiore. The following is from an article in the Contemporary Review, vol. 42, 1882.
This is also an article by Montefiore that was published in the Jewish Quarterly Review IV, 1892.
This pamphlet was published by the Reform rabbi Gotthard Deutsch in 1898. It is a reprint of an earlier article from the Reform Advocate.
Deutsch also used the term “Modern Orthodoxy” in the Jewish Encyclopedia [hereand here].
This Christian polemical tract against Jews that was published in 1890 even got into the act.
The earliest use that I could find, although I did not do an exhaustive search and I limited myself to English (maybe in German there was an equivalent that was used earlier), was from an article about the 17th century Hugenot pastor Isaac Jacquelot that was published in 1874. The article was a translation of an article in German that was written by Rev. A. Fürat and it was published in the following missionizing journal.
Here is the quote:
Lastly, there is a cookbook that was published in 1897-The Economical Jewish Cook:
A Modern Orthodox Recipe Book for Young Housekeepers.
Ynet (Hebrew) has an article about Tzili Schneider and her work through Kesher Yehudi [Hebrew/English] (Jewish Connection). (hat tip) Tzili is an ultra-Orthodox women, mother of eleven, who grew up in Meah Shearim. A few years ago she decided that she was going to do something in order to bring Jews of different backgrounds together, and Kesher Yehudi was the answer. The organization makes shidduchs, not of the romantic type, but of the learning type. Kesher Yehudi pairs together two people who want to learn together.
The ḥevrutot study classical Jewish texts, preferably something that neither of them has ever learned. Schneider is emphatic that the motive is not to make the non-religious more religious, it is to break down barriers of alienation and ignorance. People who missionize, whether to become more or less religious, are not welcome, and she has thrown people out because of inappropriate motives or behavior.
The article goes on to say that there are a number of similar organizations, and gives an estimated number of 10,000 ḥevrutot that are currently learning together, whether they be over the phone or in person. A longer article will be published later this week in Motza”sh.
It’s nice to know that some religious schools don’t want to teach tolerance.
New York Regents Give Religious Schools Conscience Exemption To Teaching Tolerance:
“Last year, New York enacted the Dignity for All Students Act, effective July 1, 2012. (See prior posting.) In addition to prohibiting bullying, the law (Educ. Law Sec. 801-a) requires schools to include in their K-12 curriculum instruction in tolerance and respect for others of different races, weights, national origins, ethnic groups, religions, religious practices, mental or physical abilities, sexual orientations, genders, and sexes. According to Yeshiva World, on Monday the New York Board of Regents voted to exempt yeshivas and parochial schools from this requirement to the extent that the school has a religious or moral objection to the requirement. Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz said that parents of students in such schools "may now feel secure that … their children will not be subjected to lessons that are inconsistent with their religious doctrines."
(Via Religion Clause.)
Becoming the People of the Talmud: Oral Torah as Written Tradition in Medieval Jewish Cultures by Talya Fishman has won the National Jewish Book Council’s award for the best work of scholarship. Congratulations.