Category Archives: Marc B. Shapiro

‘Noah Feldman May Be Very Smart, But He Isn’t Very Wise’

Marc B. Shapiro writes: Professor Isadore Twersky once mentioned in class that although this book’s title should have mentioned Maimonides, in 1929 Harvard University Press would not publish a book with such a title. In this regard, he also called … Continue reading

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The Modern Orthodox Intellectual

I find it really tiresome in Modern Orthodox life how its rabbis go about picking on Artscroll (a hugely succesful chareidi press) for the tiniest of mistakes. Another symptom of this is when Modern Orthodox rabbis go off on Agriprocessors. … Continue reading

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The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch – A Book To Put You Off Judaism

One of the first Jewish books I studied was the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. Marc B. Shapiro writes: "When I was young everyone seemed to study it. It has been reprinted numerous times and also translated into many languages. According to … Continue reading

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Studies in Maimonides and His Interpreters

Marc B. Shapiro has a new book out: "Studies in Maimonides and His Interpreters"   Included in the book is a short "Note on Maimonides and Muhammad" following censorship that occurred in his "Islam and the Halakhah," Judaism 42:3 (Summer … Continue reading

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Is It Ok For A Jew To Sit In Starbucks?

Dr. Marc Shapiro reviews three recent books on Rav Ovadiah Yosef: "Since we live today in an era when some rabbis have declared that one should not sit in or buy coffee at a store like Starbucks that has no … Continue reading

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The Kosher Toilet

Dr. Marc Shapiro blogs: …Yated Neeman has never been interested in truth or intellectual honesty, but in pushing a religio-political agenda, and therefore not only do they refuse to print such corrections of their gedolim, but they have even published … Continue reading

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What Is Marc B. Shapiro’s Ideology?

He says he’s Modern Orthodox and he seems to me to be Modern Orthodox. And I guess that’s the answer to the question in my headline. I asked Marc about his ideology Saturday night and he essentially said he was … Continue reading

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Are Ethiopia’s Falashans Jews?

Marc B. Shapiro writes: …I was involved in the Ethiopian Jewry cause.[43] My first trip there, in 1987, was memorable, as we were the first group allowed into the villages of Gondar after Operation Moses. (It was also great to … Continue reading

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Ignorant In Yeshiva

Marc B. Shapiro writes: This phenomenon, of great scholars not being aware of things that most people reading the Seforim blog learned years ago, should not surprise us. The traditional yeshiva curriculum is very narrow, and you can spend your … Continue reading

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Got Any Gay Medieval Hebrew Poetry, Mate?

Marc B. Shapiro writes: I was asked if there are any medieval poems in which there is explicit homosexuality. I am unaware of any, and it is precisely because they are ambiguous that there has been controversy about their meanings. … Continue reading

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