September 26, 2024
How far does one need to go to fast on Yom Kippur? R. Moshe Feinstein was asked not how to be exempted from fasting, but how can we make ourselves obligated? Moshe Kurtz takes us on a tour of several responsa with relevance for the upcoming holidays and demonstrates R. Feinstein’s broader approach to the role of artificial intervention in the halakhic process and a life motivated by joy of mitzvot.
September 24, 2024
Jonathan Ziring reviews Zvi Ron’s “Jewish Customs: Exploring Common and Uncommon Minhagim” (Maggid Books) which dives into the fascinating evolution of Jewish traditions. Our reviewer says the book offers valuable historical insights and is worthwhile for anyone curious about the origins and authenticity of Jewish customs—yet raises questions about justifying how practices originating from outside of our culture can or cannot be “Judaized.”
September 22, 2024
The Hebrew anthology “One Day in October” (Maggid Books), now released in an English translation, is a powerful collection of forty stories from October 7th that inspires and depresses, fills the reader with hope, as it makes him or her cry. Yitzchak Blau shows how editors Yair Agmon and Oriya Mevorach skillfully transformed these accounts into narrative chapters which will serve as a “first draft” in documenting the stories of Simhat Torah 5784.
September 19, 2024
Chaim Strauchler extrapolates from the earworm to a term he coins the “Torah worm.” At seemingly random points in the yearly public reading, community members join the ba’al keria in singing a phrase from the Torah reading. This installment of “TRADITION Questions” asks what unites the texts that become Torah worms? What do such Torah worms say about public Torah reading and about modern Jewish life?
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