RSS Subjects — Blogs about "Halacha"

Halacha

Torah Judaism, Homosexuality, and Gay Marriage
2008-06-02 17:23:00
The Torah does not like gays. For some Jews, this is not a difficult challenge to overcome. The Torah may have been inspired by God, but it was written by men. Its intolerance toward homosexuals can be written off as the outdated bigotry of a bygone age. For others, it is not a challenge at all. The ...

By: Jewneric

The Touchy Subject
2008-05-22 14:36:00
When tackling this issue, all sorts of fun puns come to mind. One needs to be cautious in approach, steady on arrival and only once a comfortable calm has been established can one thrust forward with the heat of the issue. Even then it is not a simple task to ensure everyone’s happiness ...

By: Jewneric

Sports, Religion & The Catskills: Part 3
2008-05-13 10:09:00
In the past few articles, I’ve postulated that people who follow pro-sports do so to try to be part of a team. I’ve also postulated that people holding on to old Jewish culture (such as Yiddish, the Catskills or gefilte fish) as an essence of Judaism are living in the past. If anything ...

By: Jewneric

Davening Man Removed from Plane
2008-04-17 22:49:00
On Wednesday night, an Orthodox man boarded a United Airlines flight from JFK to San Francisco. Before the flight took off, he went to the back of plane to daven, probably Mincha (Maariv could have waited). The crew asked him to sit for takeoff, but since he was in the middle of the ...

By: Jewneric

The Geek Guide to Kosher Machines
2008-04-10 02:54:00
I just stumbled on a Wired article from November of 2004 which profiles Jonah Ottensoser, an engineer for the Star-K. “A retired helicopter engineer who is himself Orthodox, Ottensoser teaches Sabbath law to technical teams at companies like General Electric, Electrolux, and Viking. His job: to guide them in building electronic brains and mechanical guts ...

By: Jewneric

The Incredible Story of ?Natan Levy?/AKA Ted Riley Floyd
2008-04-06 06:36:00
In another proof that real life outdoes film in the sensationalism department, the ultra-orthodox community of Lakewood, NJ was shocked to learn that a member of their community had been exposed as a non-Jewish identity thief from Kansas. The young man, whom they had come to know as “Natan Levy,” was actually Ted Riley Floyd ...

By: Jewneric

Brain Death in Jewish Law: Setting the Record Straight
2008-03-26 04:39:00
In the March 25, 2008 article “MK: Hundreds of organ transplants may lose funding” the Jerusalem Post got their research on Brain Death in Halacha wrong. They misquoted the opinion of Rav Moshe Feinstein. Here’s what they said, … (Rav) Elyashiv has also ruled in the past that brain death does not constitute clinical ...

By: Jewneric

The Israeli ?Limpieza de Sangre?. Alternatively, are you Jewish enough to r
2008-03-04 12:23:00
What is a Jew? And why does it matter? The number article emailed over the last day from the NY Times is a piece from the magazine entitled ?How Do You Prove You?re a Jew?? written by Gershom Gorenberg. Intrigued by the title, I read on. If you have not yet read this article, I highly recommend ...

By: Jewneric

The 71 Sided Die
2008-02-18 06:05:00
One idea that is thrown around in Jewish thought is that there are seventy different approaches to learning. “Shivim Panim Latorah” (Bemidbar Rabba 13:15). The phrase in its entirety is, “There are 70 faces to Torah; turn it over and turn it over for everything is found in it.” This claim ...

By: Jewneric

Wig Store Banned: This is the stuff Horror movies are made from?
2008-02-10 04:52:00
I was doing some “Jewish website web-surfing” and came across an article on Yeshiva World about a sheitle (wig) store being banned for putting up pictures of women. Lets clarify: Pictures of women from the neck up, wearing sheitles. This happened in Brooklyn across from the Yeshivas Chaim Berlin.I can’t believe our world has come ...

By: Jewneric

Trembling
2008-01-23 23:20:00
I recently came across a review for the 2001 movie “Trembling Before G-d.” For those of you who are not familiar with it, the movie tells the story of several previously Orthodox Jews who are gays, and details their struggles with being gay and being Orthodox. Many times, these people were essentially kicked ...

By: Jewneric

The One Thing
2008-01-16 17:52:00
When I hear someone who expresses an opinion that is to one extreme or the other, I tend to roll my eyes and dismiss it. No matter how important an issue, if you see no room for the other point of view you’re probably being led by an emotional or psychological bias. This ...

By: Jewneric

Medicine & Jewish Law, Halacha, Rosner, Judaica
2007-12-01 16:56:00
Medicine & Jewish Law, Halacha, Rosner, Judaica US $20.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Saturday Dec-01-2007 20:00:21 PST Buy It Now for only: US $30.00 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list JCC Indy

By: jcctalk.com

Blood Transfusions in Halacha (an email discussion)
2007-08-02 22:05:00
On 7/29/07, dt catherine taylor manna timetobelievefoundation@yahoo.c-a> wrote: So nice to have found your post. I had made a comment on the birthdays from your blog. I am a student of the Torah, and observer and would very much like to covert formally, although i have done so in my heart. also, i am learning so much and it is a blessing. I would like to ask you if there is a blog on blood transfusions. this is something i am opposed to, I beleive it is an offense to God, to do this from my understanding of the tanak and the torah, are there any rabbi who are against this invented proceedure to try to temporarily save a humans life? and is there any debates on this subject like the birthdays. are there any jews that believe like i do? or rabbis:? If saving one life is performing a mitzvot, would it really be saving if you had to break a mitzvot that God has felt so strongly about? for example God says, in lev chapter 17 you must not eat "or take into our body" blood of an...

By: Reb Chaim HaQoton

Al Pi Halachah
2007-05-09 20:39:00
?"? ????? ???"?Yitz comments on Witchcraft And Kabbalah:How does Judaism and witch-craft square al pi halachah?Good question. Let's analyze the phrase al pi halachah (?? ?? ????).First, halachah is lech ?? surrounded (where surrounding is a function of hamasovevet) and captured by two feminine letters hei (??). In other words, it is the command to go! captured in feminine awareness, where the first hei corresponds to Binah (mindful intelligence) and the second hei corresponds to Malchut (active intelligence). This definition of ???? aligns perfectly with my feminine experience of incarnation, as described in Candle In The Womb:Do not fear. I will bring you home. Home is forward. Go. I will never leave you alone. Smell what I feel like. Remember. I will bring you home. I promise. Remember. I will always be with you. Remember and do not be afraid. Look at all the wonderful edges I have made ...Consequently, the evidence of experiential knowledge coupled with word analysis suggests th...

By: Walking On Fire

Rethinking Halachah
2006-12-12 10:19:02
This post is likely to infuse my enemies with renewed vigor against me. But hey, since when have I cared? This is what I think. Like it or not, this my blog and I'll post what I want to.Rabbi Maryles @ Emes Ve-Emunah wrote today regarding Rabbinically Mandated Purity:First the disclaimer. I want to be absolutely clear about this. Although, this is certainly a matter that has crossed every Chasan's mind when he first learned Hilchos Niddah, but not for the reasons about to brought up here. It is a matter of extreme importance and I do not want to be misconstrued. I am not advocating overturning a matter that was decided by Chazal, especially one involving Issurei Kares.That being said, I call attention to an article that appeared in today?s Ha?aretz.He then goes on to discuss a chumra instituted in the era of Chazal called Shiva Nekiim, its impact on the fertility of ultra-orthodox women, and the dangers of medical hormone therapy as a "safe" halachic solution to the problem of inf...

By: Walking On Fire