A discussion of Hoshen Mishpat, Even Ha'Ezer and other matters.
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 …
Continue reading “Copying Cruciform Churches, Campanas, Circuses and Colosseums”
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 …
Continue reading “Ideological Certainty and Its Discontents: In Praise Of Epistemic Humility”