Ḥakirah
Vol. 37 is at the printer,
and is available from
Amazon.
The following article is available for
download:
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.
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