Naming and Names in Life ״שלושה שמות נקראו לו לאדם: אחר מה שקוראים לו אביו ואמו, ואחד מה שקוראין לו בני אדם, ואחד מה שקונה הוא לעצמו. טוב מכולן מה שקונה הוא לעצמו״ (תנחומא, ויקהל) “People are called by three names: One is the name the person is called by his father and mother; one […]
Reflections on the Ethics of Naming in a Community of Prayer Read More »
Anyone who begins to think about the meaning of names will realize that names signify identity both in the historic sense as well as how our parents thought we should appear in contemporary society. For committed Jews, personal identity takes on greater ramifications regarding family history and ties, community beliefs and fashions. There is a
Jewish Women’s Names: A Historical Perspective Read More »
As is clear from Professor Bar-Ilan’s article in this issue (p. 24), women served as the mekonnenot, the traditional public mourners and lamenters in biblical times, and this continued in the rabbinic period. The Mishna in various places starts from the assumption that women are the mekonnenot. In Ketubot (4:4), Rabbi Judah is cited as
The Laments of Women Read More »
In most Israeli schools, both religious and non-religious, it is a tradition to fly to Poland during senior year or in the summer before senior year to explore the remnants of the Holocaust.I went on such a trip last summer. Our first day was a pretty horrific way to start the trip. We visited Majdanek,
Emerging Voices: התקווה בת שנות אלפיים –Our Hope of 2000 Years Read More »
Introduction I composed Tehinnat ha-Nashim le-Vinyan ha-Mikdash as a literary work in the style of the aggadic midrashim in which biblical and post-biblical female figures, through the end of the Second Temple period, beseech God to rebuild the Temple. The work contains various thematic components that are based upon talmudic, midrashic, and aggadic literature as
The awareness of authorship is quite a modern concept. Only once did the rabbis of the Talmud disclose their opinion concerning the authorship of biblical books (Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 14b–15a), and there was no debate among them on matters of authorship. This lack of debate is in contrast to their discussions on the development
Who Wrote the Book of Eikha? Read More »
The Book of Numbers records the death of one of the outstanding figures of our Exodus history: Miriam. Miriam is somewhat of an anomaly in terms of the role established for women in the Book of Genesis. We know nothing of her own family life, with the exception of the names of her brothers. She
The Death of Miriam Read More »
We have all heard about women in Israel being stopped from attending the funerals or burials of their loved ones. Yet, it is clear that in Talmudic times and during much of the Middle Ages women took part in funeral processions. This article focuses on the development of the tradition for them not to attend
Women, Funerals, and Cemeteries Read More »
A fairly well-known rabbi gave a shiur to my class a few weeks ago. Like any good speaker, he began with a hook. He told my class about a discussion regarding Shabbat he had led at Camp Moshava a few summers ago. When asked what was the first word that came into their minds in
Emerging Voices: It’s Not About The Don’ts: Shabbat Possibilities Read More »
Come, my friend, to meet the bride; let us welcome the Sabbath. Come in peace, O crown of her husband; Come with joy/gladness and jubilation Among the faithful of the treasured people Enter, O bride! Enter, O bride! Come, O bride, the Sabbath Queen. 1 לכה דודי לקראת כלה, פני שבת נקבלה בואי בשלום עטרת
“Come, O Bride, the Sabbath Queen”: Decoding the Feminine Imagery of Shabbat Read More »
