Daily Archives: August 29, 2011

Do Great Rabbis Simply Repeat Talmudic Tractates To Each Other?

Rabbi Marc B. Shapiro writes: R. Avraham knew an enormous amount about the history of great Torah scholars, and while he didn’t have a critical sense, he knew when a story was nonsense.[20] For example, R. Shalom Schwadron told a … Continue reading

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Was The Hatam Sofer An Extremist?

Here’s some background on the 18-19th Century rabbi the Hatam Sofer. Professor Marc B. Shapiro blogs: The Hatam Sofer is often portrayed as both a religious extremist as well as lacking a critical sense. The first assumption, that he was … Continue reading

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What If The Sages Are Wrong About Scientific Facts?

Dr. Marc B. Shapiro writes: Neusatz is also explicit that very few aggadot are actually the result of the Sages’ ruah ha-kodesh (p. 32a). He states that Maimonides’ astronomical views in the Mishneh Torah do not come from a holy … Continue reading

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Why Are Some Biblical Prophecies Written In Ungrammatical Hebrew?

Dr. Marc B. Shapiro writes: Neusatz also has an interesting explanation as to why certain prophecies, in particular those of Ezekiel, are not written in proper grammatical Hebrew. This was already commented on by Abarbanel. Abarbanel simply attributes this to … Continue reading

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Is The Torah Historically Accurate?

Professor Marc B. Shapiro writes: I summarized R. Eleazar Ashkenazi’s position in his Tzafnat Paneah, pp. 29-30, as follows: He also offers another explanation for the lengthy lifespans [in the Torah], namely, that the Torah recorded what the popular belief … Continue reading

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