July 2012 – Excerpted

No other book composed in the early modern period had as profound and lasting an impact on Jewish life as Rabbi Karo’s Shulhan ‘arukh

No other book composed in the early modern period had as profound and lasting an impact on Jewish life as Karo’s. The […]

Bible / Judaism / Talmud

31 July 2012
/ Leave a Comment on The problem of reconciling the ideal justice of God with the sufferings of the righteous and the prosperity of the wicked in the world was forced inescapably on the attention of the Rabbis

The problem of reconciling the ideal justice of God with the sufferings of the righteous and the prosperity of the wicked in the world was forced inescapably on the attention of the Rabbis

The problem, frequently mooted in the Bible, of reconciling the ideal justice of God with the sufferings of the righteous and the […]

Books / Halakhah / Halakhic Books/Works/Writings / Jewish / Jewish Books

The Shulhan ‘arukh would not have had its staying power as a work of enormous cultural authority had Rabbi Isserles’ glosses with it

…it is safe to say that the Shulhan ‘arukh would not have had its staying power as a work of enormous cultural […]

Books / Jewish Education / Talmud

Talmud study has engendered a remarkable series of innovations by dint of the cascade of new media in the past century

One of the most venerable of Jewish book practices—Talmud study— has engendered a remarkable series of innovations by dint of the cascade […]

Education / Jewish Education / University

Education at any level is not concerned with progress in a limited area, but in the general intellectual development of a student

…classes should reflect concern with texts but also concern for people’s feelings. Education at any level is not concerned with progress in […]

Bible / Jewish / Judaism

At some time in the history of Israel, the belief in a perfectly retributive providence began to be shaken

This doctrine of a rigid correspondence between merit and reward, and between sin and punishment, however, is not propounded by every one […]

Jewish / Jews / Judaism

For Jews, one might posit that the composition of texts in manuscript never disappeared from Jewish culture.

In his Print, Manuscript, and the Search for Order, David McKitterick characterizes the relationship between print and manuscript in the early modern […]

Halakhah / Judaism / Talmud

The study of the Pentateuch with the view of indicating the re-attachment of halachoth to the written law was known as middoth

The study of the Pentateuch with the view of indicating the re-attachment of halachoth to the written law was known as middoth […]

Halakhah / Jewish Community / Judaism / Late Antiquity / Talmud

The renewed activity of re-attaching halakhot to the written Torah in Hillel’s time are due to the struggles of the times

The circumstances which brought about renewed activity in re-attaching halachoth to the written Torah at the time of Hillel are undoubtedly to […]

Halakhah / Jewish / Judaism

The legal device is introduced to preserve the principle and the purpose for which the law was ordained

The legal device is introduced to preserve the principle and the purpose for which the law was ordained. In Jewish law, likewise, […]