Jewish Languages How to pronounce כלאים and פתאים Author Drew Kaplan Date 30 August 2021 The word is pronounced kil’ayim and not kilayim, as there is a sheva under...
Haredim/Haredi-ism “Historically, ideological matters were kept separate from halakhah” Author Drew Kaplan Date 26 February 2017 Historically, ideological matters were kept separate from halakhah. The various rabbinic organizations in Europe...
Haredim/Haredi-ism, Marriage “…there is no such concept [of “falling in love”] in the haredi world” Author Drew Kaplan Date 3 January 2017 …there is no such concept in the haredi world (and...
Jewish Books Passages Claimed to Be in the Zohar, But Not There Author Drew Kaplan Date 1 January 2017 In my article, I referred to passages in the Zohar which traditional authorities had...
Modern Orthodoxy, Orthodoxy, Rabbis “There are women who are learned and it is only fitting that they too have a title” Author Drew Kaplan Date 28 November 2016 …I still don’t see the objection to female clergy. I am not talking about...
Hasidim “…there is a big difference between the Amish and the hasidic communities” Author Drew Kaplan Date 1 November 2016 …there is a big difference between the Amish and the hasidic communities. The Amish...
Prayer “…the meaning of התפלל is to make oneself the object of God’s פלל (assessment, intervention, or judging)” Author Drew Kaplan Date 27 October 2016 Most likely, the hitpael form in the case of התפלל is doing the same...
Haredim/Haredi-ism “…degrading one’s ideological opponents despite their great Torah knowledge…stands at the root of all the terrible disputes in the haredi world” Author Drew Kaplan Date 26 October 2016 A basic feature of “official” haredism, especially in Israel, is the attitude that even...
Divorce, Halakhah “…we can now better appreciate why certain rabbis have attempted to find solutions within Jewish law to the contemporary agunah problem” Author Drew Kaplan Date 15 August 2016 I have been told that the Beth Din of America operates on the principle...
Marriage “…I don’t think that the reasons offered by medieval authorities operating in a completely different environment can determine what modern women will regard as “deal-breakers” when it comes to marriage” Author Drew Kaplan Date 11 July 2016 Since people’s psychology has changed over the centuries, I don’t think that the reasons...