Monthly Archives: March 2012

There Are Parts Of The Talmud We Don’t Want Non-Jews To See

In his second lecture for Torah in Motion on the Chatam Sofer, professor Marc B. Shapiro says: “The Chatam Sofer gave his approval for the Talmud to be translated into German. What were the objections of the other rabbis? They … Continue reading

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The Path Ahead

A friend says: You know that there are not many fertile orthodox Jewish women out there for you to pick from. Their parents do not raise them to go for a broke middle aged guy who was born into a … Continue reading

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The Sex Appeal Of Illustrious Ancestors

“Yichus” in Yiddish means that you have distinguished ancestors. The more traditional you go in Jewish life, the more important are yichus. Converts and penitents (baalei teshuva) often have trouble marrying in Orthodox Jewish life because of their lack of … Continue reading

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The Chatam Sofer Wanted His Daughters To Marry Rich

The Chatam Sofer lived at the turn of the 19th Century. His responsa (answers to questions of Jewish law) are the most important responsa of the past 200 years according to Marc B. Shapiro who relates the following story in … Continue reading

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Seventh-Day Adventists Consider Themselves People Of The Book

The modern state of Israel had no significance in my Seventh-Day Adventist upbringing. I heard ten times as much anti-Catholic sentiment as anti-Jewish sentiment. Compared to other Protestants, Adventists are scholarly. They have a bigger school system than any other … Continue reading

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