Tag Archives: r joseph

Will Women Getting Called To The Torah Cause Men To Lust?

Historian Marc B. Shapiro writes: …I quoted a responsum of R. Joseph Messas.[11] In this teshuvah he also explains why women can’t be given aliyot. As is well known, in earlier days this was permitted but the Sages later forbid … Continue reading

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The Rav Was Not A Zionist?

Marc B. Shapiro writes: To give one example of his many polemics, readers of the journal will never forget how he targeted R. Elya Svei. Yet he wouldn’t mention him by name. Instead, and as a way to show how … Continue reading

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The Torah As Protest

Rabbi Gil Student writes: In R. Chaim Navon’s recent book Genesis and Jewish Thought (pp. 59-63), he notes that there are striking similarities and differences between the Torah’s creation story and that found in various ancient Near Eastern texts. His … Continue reading

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The Rav Vs. The Eruv

Dr. Marc B. Shapiro blogs: In Boston, as long as R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik was active, there was no eruv. The Rav publicly declared: I am opposed to the establishment of eruvin. An eruv in American means the abolishment of … Continue reading

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The Chemical Method Of Studying Talmud

Dr. Marc B. Shapiro blogs: The Ridbaz’ attack on the Brisker method is well known. In the introduction to his responsa, Beit Ridbaz (Jerusalem, 1908), Ridbaz writes as follows: A certain rabbi invented the "chemical" method of study. Those in … Continue reading

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