- NY Times editorial against religious-oriented programs receiving federal money being allowed to hire and fire on religious grounds: link
- Shalem Center to open Israel’s liberal arts college: link
- The Forward doesn’t like Eli Wiesel’s book on Rashi: link
- R. J. Simcha Cohen in last week’s Jewish Press about women being called to the Torah: link
- Cardozo student sponsors non-kosher food: link
- Jewish Press Media Monitor’s list of recommended websites and blogs (which includes this Hirhurim): link
- R. Yisrael Meir Lau becomes new President of Talmudic Encyclopedia: link
- New FTC rules for bloggers: link
- SALT today: link
- Lakewood has highest birthrate in NJ: link
Rabbi Student writes about fundamental beliefs in Jewish law. Skeptic responds: I notice that the 6 you list are not really the controversial ones, unlike say the letter-accuracy of the Torah, the nature of the belief in the messiah, resurrection of the dead, or even reward and punishment. So I’m not really sure how strong a claim you are making when you say "This is wrong". It sounds like you are attacking a straw man. It’s the things besides the six you list which are in dispute, and as you well know via either Kellner’s or Shapiro’s books, there is serious and long-standing disagreement about a number of them.
MYCROFT POSTS: There is no clearly accepted agreement of what beliefs must be accepted-it is more that one must accept the haalchik system. Of course, implicit is clearly that there is a God, God revealed the Torah, God is a just God. There is some sort of system of reward and punishment. But clearly many of those sung in the catechism of Yigdal are not universally accepted. Of course, I believe it is the Rav who stated that we don’t sing cathechisms.
TZVEE POSTS: Is there a lab test administered in the synagogue to check to verify that a Jew really believes these things?
