Month: July 2007
-
R’ Moshe Cordovero Yarzheit
Today is the anniversary of the death of one of the greatest kabbalists before the Arizal. R’ Moshe Cordovero (RaMaK) wrote extensively on the Zohar attempting to resolve apparent contradictions in this text. After the Arizal brought his new methodology and kabbalistic insights, the RaMaK’s writings became less popular (apparently the Arizal said of his… Read more
-
Torah Temima bargain
I’m sure you all know who the Torah Temimah is, and what other wonderful books R’ Baruch HaLevi Epstein wrote. What you may not know is that he wrote a commentary on the 5 Megillas called Gishmei Bracha (or later, Torah Temimah on 5 Megillahs). I am a big fan of the Torah Temimah, and… Read more
-
Guns ‘n’ Portfolios
There are several pieces of Talmud that talk about people turning their lives around, earning olam haba in an instant, or other inspiring teshuva messages. This story caught my eye because it is kind of the same message, but instead of ‘an instant’ it was ‘a exploded pancreas’ and instead of ‘olam haba’ is is… Read more
-
15th Tamuz – Shaagas Aryeh
Yesterday (15th Tamuz) was also the yarzheit of the Shaagas Aryeh, one of the most fiery and brilliant Rabbis of his time. He was also fiery in his temperament. Unfortunately I couldn’t find very much about him using google, and don’t have time just now to do the proper research. I seem to remember a… Read more
-
Kiddush for Girls
My neighbours made a kiddush for their newborn daughter this past Shabbos (mazel tov) and also for their older daughter for whom they never made a kiddush. This led to a discussion about the need for making a kiddush at the birth of a daughter. It seems that this ‘mitzvah’ comes from an apocryphal statement… Read more
-
Women and Hair Covering
I have been asked by someone about the sources for women’s hair covering. Why do they have to cover their hair? Who has to cover her hair? When does the hair need to be covered? How much? and where does it say so in the Torah. The truth is that there is no simple verse… Read more
-
15th Tamuz – Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh
Today is the Yarzheit of the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh, best known for his commentary on Chumash. This is what Wikipedia has to say about the Ohr ha-Chaim Chaim ben Moses ibn Attar was a Talmudist and kabbalist; born at Mequenez, Morocco, in 1696; died in Jerusalem July 31, 1743. He was one of the most… Read more
-
BBC on Hamas TV
The BBC happily write about Hamas’s very own version of Mickey Mouse as though there is nothing wrong with it. No comment on the fact that the character was killed off by being beaten to death by an Israeli agent! No discussion about what kind of programmes they are making way for! The only thing… Read more
-
I’m a 2000 man
Six weeks ago I wrote that it had taken me almost exactly 6 months to get 1000 clicks on my website.rabbisedley: England trip Today I looked at my counter – it is exactly 2000 (though my the time you read this it will be more), which means that I have increased my readership 4 fold… Read more