Rabbi David Sedley

A repository of written, audio and video Torah classes given by Rabbi David Sedley

Month: May 2007

  • Identity Parade

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    Pity the poor editor of the Jerusalem Post. He has a horrific story about parents selling their two young daughters as wives to two older men. And to make it worse the mother of the men (who were brothers) argued that this was an accepted custom.That is the story. But wouldn’t it be better with… Read more

  • YID With LID: PRAYER REQUEST !!!!!!!!!!!!!

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    YID With LID: PRAYER REQUEST !!!!!!!!!!!!! I’ve been reading yid with a lid’s blog for a while, and he usually has something important and interesting to say.Today he has something of vital importance on his blog. His wife is about to have a heart valve replacement. If anyone is reading my blog who hasn’t seen… Read more

  • I didn’t find it

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    I was taken in by historical revisionism. I thought the Bartenura was an early source for the custom of bonfires on Lag B’Omer (and I know I said I wouldn’t talk about bonfires any more, but this is about the dangers of revisionism and how stupid I am).I even cited the Bartenura correctly, that he… Read more

  • 22nd Iyar – Rav Shlomo Eliezer Alfandri

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    Today is the yarzheit of the saba kadisha. I admit that i had never heard of him before today, when i started researching his yarzheit. What an amazing person. I have just copied an article that originally appeared in Yated (and I’m hoping that since they have banned the internet they won’t notice the plagiarism).… Read more

  • 20th Iyar – Doros HaRishonim

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    Today is the yarzheit of Rabbi Yitzchak Eizik Rabinowitz, most famous as the author of Doros Harishonim. He was also the founder of Agudas Yisroel.Doros Harishonim is a history of the Jewish people which was written as a response to the historians (e.g. Graetz) who claimed that the Torah was not from Sinai, the Mishna… Read more

  • I found it

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    I found it! I found a source for lighting fires on Lag B’Omer that goes back earlier than a few decades.Rabbi Ovadiah Bartenura travelled to Israel and wrote letters to his brother back in Spain. These are published as Darkei Tzion, and are available online at HebrewBooks.org. If you look on page 17b (which is… Read more

  • 19th Iyar – Maharam m’Rotenburg

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    Today is the Yarzheit of one of the most influential Ashkenazi poskim. R’ Meir m’Rotenburg (c. 1215-2 May 1293), the Maharam, was the teacher of both the Rosh and the Mordechai, who themselves are pretty much the basis of Ashkenazi Halacha. He is also famous for spending the last years of his life being held… Read more

  • This is not Jewish!

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    Look at these photographs that kumah took last night! These bonfires are several stories high. And to place a kid on top of one of them to show how high it is! What is going on? In Scotland, on the top of Calton Hill in Edinburgh, they do a similar thing (although they also paint… Read more

  • 18th Iyar – Yarzheit of the Rama

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    While everyone else is out burning down the town with their bonfires to celebrate the yarzheit of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (who probably didn’t die on Lag B’Omer anyway), I wanted to take the opportunity to remember someone who actually did die on this day, and was almost as influential (certainly for Ashkenazi Jews) as… Read more

  • A few words

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    I wanted to write a few words about the JIB awards. There has been quite a bit of moaning and complaining about the way it has been organised. After all, it has been hacked at least twice, people are ramping their own blogs on other media to increase votes, the vote counters are also entered… Read more