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Did Atḥalta De-Geulah, the beginning of our Redemption, begin with the birth of the State of Israel in 1948, with the First Zionist Congress in 1897, or perhaps even earlier, in 1840?

Heshey Zelcer, “Atḥalta De-Geulah as Envisioned by Ḥiddushei HaRim”

In this volume of Ḥakirah there is a focus on the fundamentals of our faith and, most prominently, on faith, emunah, itself.  We are proud to open with a forum in which prominent Roshei Yeshivah discuss the source of their own faith. They all attribute the masorah from their parents as the root of their belief, but each moves on to give insight into his own perspective and those of the rishonim indexand rebbeim who influenced him in later life. 

This forum is followed by an essay titled “The Fine-Tuning Argument for God’s Existence,” where the authors attempt to “justify the value of pursuing a science-based argument for God’s existence within the framework of the Torah” before presenting one such argument from modern physics. The other essays in the Jewish Thought section deal largely with defining proper hashkafot.  The first such essay, “Shedding Light: R. Meir Simḥah ha-Kohen’s Approach to Ta‘amei ha-Mitzvot in Meshekh Ḥokhmah,” is an analysis of the philosophical thought of one of the twentieth century’s greatest halakhists. Another article, “Balancing Belief: Did Maimonides Prioritize the Golden Mean over Torah Truths?” refutes the claim that Rambam’s “adherence to the Golden Mean forced him to compromise on fundamental Torah truths and prophetic axioms.”  In “Forgiving a Terrorist,” the author explores the Torah concept of forgiveness and explains its limits. The final essay of the section, “Torah im Derekh Eretz and Torah U-Madda: Roads that Diverge or Converge?” discusses two philosophies that are associated with two different Orthodox camps and shows that they are almost identical.

The following section, “Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik, ztz”l,” also deals with matters of faith. The first essay, “Who Are Soloveitchik’s Children?” reviews a book that identifies several thinkers whose ideas differ widely from the Rav’s positions as his true spiritual heirs. The reviewer takes issue both with the author’s thesis and his choice of “heirs.” The other essay, “Yosl Rakover Speaks to the Rav: How Zvi Kolitz’ Novel Prefigures His Confrontation with J.B. Soloveitchik,” is a study of the novel “Yosl Rakover Talks to God,” a fictionalized account of a ḥassidic Jew’s last words during the Warsaw uprising. The author contends that it is Kolitz’ commitment to halakhah as articulated in the thought of Rav Soloveitchik’s Halakhic Man (1944) which accounts for Yosl’s struggle.

Our Jewish History section has one article. In “Aaron Berechiah ben Moses of Modena: An Eminent Sixteenth-Seventeenth Century Italian Sage” we learn about a kabbalistic sage whose influence is still felt today, although his name is not well known.

 In the following section, History of Halakhah, we explore issues related to the texts of our masorah, the fulfillment of a daily mitzvah, the geulah, and the Beit ha-Mikdash. The article titled “The Gilyonot of R. Eliezer of Tukh” explains the place of the marginal notes of one of the major Ba‘alei Tosafot in the development of our texts of Tosafot. Another essay in the section, “Philological Insights on Tekheleth” looks at tekheleth from several new angles and gives added insight that makes clear “… the more that is uncovered and resolved on the subject, the more confident we are that we have the right source and colored dye.”  An article titled “Atḥalta De-Geulah as Envisioned by Ḥiddushei HaRim” explains how a passage in the Zohar points to the emergence of Ḥassidut and the Enlightenment as co-forces in leading to the geulah. In “28 Iyar, Yom Yerushalayim, in Tanakh,” the author finds a historical link between the day Yerushalayim was liberated in 1967 and a significant event leading to the building of the first Temple.  “Jonathan ben Joseph of Ruzhiny’s Temple Plan in the Printed Talmud” traces the development of this plan, which first appeared in the Talmud editions of 1720, and demonstrates how and why images evolved in printed books.

Our Torah and Medicine section starts with an article titled “Stem Cell Technology and In-Vitro Fertilization: A Possible Halakhic Solution for Avoiding Mamzerut,” where two scientists raise the question as to whether modern medicine might be used to address an ancient issue. The second essay, “Jewish Medical History in Rabbi Barukh Halevi Epstein’s Mekor Barukh: When the Doctors Became Rabbis, the Jewish People Were Healthy,” examines a chapter of a famous work that reveals much about Jewish doctors of the past and also solves the mystery of why the chapter was included in this work.

Our Jewish Law section deals with matters of halakhic theory as well as pressing practical matters. “The Nature of Ownership in Jewish Law” explores whether Rambam believes that the nature of ownership differs between land and mitaltelin. “The Taz Ha-Yadua: Limitations Within Rabbinic Jurisprudence” gives a comprehensive record of a widely accepted halakhic principle that would limit the right of the Rabbis to legislate. “Rambam on Fathers Teaching Their Children to Swim: Synthesis and Commentary in Rambam’s Works” explores why Rambam seemingly omits a ruling from Mishneh Torah that he had made in his Commentary to the Mishnah. “Women, Tefillah, and Tefillah be-Ẓibbur: Part 1” argues that the Torah sources imply that women and men have an equal obligation to pray with a minyan. “A Pesach Guide for Those with Food Allergies and Sensitivities” provides a practical guide to allow people with dietary problems to be able to fulfill the mitzvot of matzah and the four cups of wine. Another article, “The Agunah of the Titanic,” gives us a footnote to the famous disaster and shows how the Rabbis were able to permit the wife of a man lost at sea to remarry.

In the Minhag section, “The Custom Not to Recite the Blessing for the New Month for Tishrei” explains when and why this practice developed. Finally, the first Hebrew article explains the different perspectives of mitzvat Hallel of Rambam and Ramban while the second tells the story of how a seemingly controversial p’sak of Rav Moshe Feinstein led to the building of a religious household.