Rethinking Modern Observance of Sh’mitta

In this previous post I discussed what Maimonides would have said concerning the resumption of sh’mitta observance in the modern era, and here I discussed how areas in the Land of Israel settled by Jews in the modern era should be considered as endowed with at least the same level of sanctity as the areas … Continue reading →

The Valley of the Dry Bones and the Advent of the Redemption, Part 3

The following is from an article by Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, a great-nephew of Rabbi Joseph Soloveichik: … The redemption cannot take place without repentance; the messiah will not come unless we are deserving of his arrival. Maimonides, the most influential of medieval Jewish philosophers, interprets the passage in its most literal sense, asserting in his … Continue reading →

The Valley of the Dry Bones and the Advent of the Redemption, Part 2

(Part 1) Two years ago, I was asked to translate the Hebrew textbook Emuna Ug’ula, “Faith and Redemption”, for the native-English-speaking community of high school students in Israel. The book was part of the Jewish philosophy curriculum required of students taking their matriculation exams. I highly recommend the book even for those who are not … Continue reading →

Yad Peshuta and Hallel

When our study group reached Maimonides’s laws of Megilla and Purim, I had the privilege to speak to Rabbi Nachum Rabinovitch concerning Maimonides’s view of the propriety of saying Hallel on Hanukka and Purim and any day that may fit their template. When the Purim miracle occurred, the Rabbinic consensus was to establish an eternal … Continue reading →

The Book of Isaiah and the Unintended History of Israel, Part 2

(Part 1) The Book of Isaiah has a a noticeable structural problem, one that led the Bible critics to conclude that it is actually a composite work spanning centuries of Jewish History. I believe that Hazal were well aware of the problem, but I also believe that their full understanding of why the book is … Continue reading →

The Book of Isaiah and the Unintended History of Israel, Part 1

Years ago, I was contemplating the upcoming Yom Yerushalayim celebration, or lack thereof, on our first trip to Israel after our wedding. Some weeks before that, I had told a friend that if one were to map out Jewish History on a graph with the X axis representing time and the Y axis representing what … Continue reading →