We recently mentioned in passing Rav Zvi Hirsch (Maharaz) Hajes’s prohibition of bell ringing to gather the populace for prayer; here is his discussion in full. He begins by prohibiting the deliberate construction of octagonal, and certainly quadrilateral, synagogue buildings, “in the form of the halls of the nations” [perhaps a reference to the cruciform […]
Tag Archives: bells
Ideological Certainty and Its Discontents: In Praise Of Epistemic Humility
In response to a question about the propriety of protesting the singing of שיר המעלות to “the [well-]known tune of the [Israeli] National Anthem”, Rav Avraham Weinfeld responds that while the practice is indeed deplorable, as the Zionists are, at least in certain respects, worse than the Reformers, as the latter at least nominally retain […]