Category Archives: Marc B. Shapiro

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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Women’s Prayer Groups Are Passe

In a 2010 lecture on R. Joseph Messas and R. Avraham Shapiro, Marc B. Shapiro (no relation) says that the Sephardim have always had a positive view of the return to Israel. Sephardim have never been anti-Zionist. Rav Messas wrote … Continue reading

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The Modern Orthodox – Haredi Split

Marc B. Shapiro writes: In Europe, every small town had a rav. Sometimes the rav was an adherent of Agudah, and other times a follower of Mizrachi. But as far as the townspeople were concerned, that didn’t matter. He was … Continue reading

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Must A Kosher Home Have Two Sinks?

Rabbi Marc B. Shapiro writes: Among my children’s generation, many kids believe that there is a halakhic requirement to have two sinks. Some of these kids have literally never been to a kosher home which doesn’t have this. If they … Continue reading

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Are All Standard Gums Kosher?

Rabbi Yehuda Bukspan of Los Angeles has ruled that all standard gums are kosher. Marc B. Shapiro writes: “I wonder if R. Moshe would agree with R. Yitzhak Abadi that all the standard gums (Wrigleys, Trident, etc.) are kosher.” The … Continue reading

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Stories About Rabbi Moshe Feinstein

Marc B. Shapiro writes: For another such story, see p. 20 where he records how R. Moshe told a certain Rosh Yeshiva that it was inappropriate for him to refuse to be mesader kidushin just because there would be mixed … Continue reading

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Orthodox Views On The Zohar

Here’s more about the Zohar. Marc B. Shapiro writes: In the next issue of Milin Havivin, I deal with Orthodox views of the Zohar. In the meantime, I was surprised to find that R. Berel Wein describes the Zohar in … Continue reading

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When Do You Report Child Abuse?

Marc B. Shapiro writes: After my previous post on ultra-Orthodox tolerance of sexual abuse, there were some who doubted that there is any rabbinic support for this. Those who can read Hebrew, please read the following responsum from R. Menasheh … Continue reading

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Murder For Pious Reasons

Marc B. Shapiro writes: What is new is that parents are now beginning to stand up. Here is a passage from a nineteenth-century memoir from which we see that in the past even murder was covered up. (The case described … Continue reading

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You No Longer Get To Sit On Your Rabbi’s Lap

Professor Marc Shapiro writes: Another change in our era is that signs of physical affection between a rebbe and student, which at one time were very important especially as the rebbe served as a father figure, are no longer acceptable. … Continue reading

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