In the Beginning: Biblical Creation and Science

Religion & Spirituality

Aviezer, Nathan

Christian Books & Bibles

Ktav Pub & Distributors Inc

Fossils and Faith: Understanding Torah and Science

Judaism

On Shabbat and festivals, it is a universal practice in the Jewish world to read the weekly Torah portion - the parsha. There are many books that deal with the weekly parsha, but one seeks explanation and ideas that are new. Therefore, there is place for another book on this subject that emphasizes the p'shat - the literal meaning of the Torah verses. There are ''seventy approaches'' to the Torah and the p'shat is surely one of the most important.\nCareful reading of the Torah verses according to the p'shat reveals new and deep insights. The goal of this book is to present these new ideas to the reader. Probing the Parsha contains eighty-five chapters, each dealing with a single topic. It is my hope that Probing the Parsha will enrich the Shabbat and festival table and will also provide food for thought during the week.

Probing the Parsha

Fossils and Faith

Alden Films

Challenges to the tenets of Judaism abound in the modern world. Scientific discoveries and theories sometimes seem to negate fundamental principles of the Torah and often call into question the reasoning be-hind individual halakhot. Humanist values and widely accepted ethical norms sometimes clash with Torah thought and the teachings of our Rabbis. This edition of Hakirah focuses on these clashes and the different approaches taken both recently and historically to confront modernity. A recent book by a prominent Rosh Yeshiva who is also an accomplished mathematician takes an extreme position in the “Torah and Science” debate that has been waging within the Torah community for almost ten years. His position is that Hazal were infallible in matters of science and that all Rishonim adhered to this position. A review of this book by an Orthodox physicist takes issue with some of the book’s claims, focusing primarily on the author’s dismissal of the reliability of science. In our Jewish Thought section, a leading Orthodox bio-ethicist seeks to define “Modern Orthodoxy,” by detailing what modernity stands for and by putting forth his own vision for an Orthodoxy that would in-corporate these values within halakhic Judaism. Another article puts forth the idea that the concept of mamlekhet kohanim demands that Judaism always remain distinct from the civilizations around them and their accepted norms and that Torah values are unique and eternal. A special section, Hassidim and Mitnagdim, contains articles dealing with the different approaches taken by these two groups in confronting modernity. The first essay goes back to the period of the haskalah and contrasts the attitude of some in the Mussar movement to haskalah, that “the good in it was to be embraced and the evil it entailed was to be fixed,” with the attitude of Hassidus, which stood for total distancing. The second essay, “On Confrontation with the Secular World,” translates a siha given by the Lubavitcher Rebbe at an event attended by Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, where the author contends the Rebbe was explaining the reasoning behind his own approach in building Judaism in America. Five articles comprise a section called Halakhah and Minhag. Some of these articles explore the fine line between these two concepts. The first article deals with the history of baking matzos and attempts to deter-mine when and why traditionally “soft” matzos were replaced by the commonly used “hard” wafer-like matzos of today. Another article focuses on the layout of Az Yashir in sifrei torah in order to explain why the guidelines Rambam gives for the writing of a sefer torah were abandoned in later years. Other articles question the validity of some minhagim. One such article reviews the book Kaddish, Women’s Voices and evaluates the appropriateness of women saying Kaddish both halakhically and historically. Another article traces a change in the text of Kel Malei Rahamim. A final article, “The Ashkenzic Custom not to Slaughter Geese in Tevet and Shevat,” finds a source in the Shulhan Arukh for an obscure halakhah that has rightly been abandoned. Two articles deal with faith. “The Binding of Isaac” explains how the Akeida demonstrated for all time that “within the recesses of man’s heart resides the exalted ability to conquer the self in favor of the divine,” while, “Squaring the Circle of Faith,” attempts to get to the source of faith utilizing the commonality of thought between Isaiah Berlin and the Baal ha-Tanya The two Hebrew articles mix modern and classical approaches to revisit ancient issues. The old controversies over the size of classical shiurim are revisited in an article that uses the sources of antiquity to suggest a new solution. The second article categorizes the disagreements between the Amoraim Rava and Abbaye based on their philosophical and societal leanings.

Hakirah: The Flatbush Journal of Jewish Law and Thought

Zivotofsky, Ari Z.

Epstein, Sheldon

Jaffe, Yaakov

Rubin, Eli

Greenspan, Ari

Dickman, Bernard

Wilamowsky, Yonah

Ron, Zvi

Maimon, Moshe

Hakirah

Modern advances in medicine and science have been a blessing for the whole world, the Orthodox Jewish community included. But as is often the case, new technologies that arise from these advances present halakhic questions. And on the other hand, the knowledge gained from these advances needs to be evaluated so that it may be integrated into Jewish life and learning. These questions are a constant source of controversy in the Orthodox world, and once again we return to them in this issue of Hakirah. In our Forum section, as a follow-up to articles published in our last edition, prominent rabbis and professors debate the role of scientific discovery and the insights of modern thought in understanding Torah and determining halakhah...

Broyde, Michael J.

Buchman, Asher Benzion

First, Mitchell

Loike, John D.

Tendler, Moshe D.

Storch, Ari

Stadlan, Noam

Wiedernlank, Netanel

Vaynman, Efraim

In "Talmud Study: From Proficiency to Meaning," a noted educator proposes a method of teaching and studying Gemara in today's world. In contrast, a scientist uses quantum theory to answer the age-old dilemma between G-d's omniscience and man's free will. In "Seeing Silence..." the author sees in the work of a contemporary artist the spirit of ma'aseh hoshev and mahaseh horash of the mishkan. In "Marah: Preparing for Kabbolas HaTorah," the author uses the allegorical interpretation of midrash to demonstrate the fundamental principles that Israel needed to understand in order to be prepared for receiving the Torah. In "Rabbinic strategies for dealing with redundant legal passages in Scripture" the author contrasts how the Hachmei HaTalmud and the Rishonim dealt with this issue. In "The Mishneh Torah's Structure and its Meaning," the author asserts "that Maimonides based the Mishneh Torah's 14-book structure on his cosmology". In "The Miracle of the Answered Prayer" the authors ask, "can one ask God to do a miracle that violates natural law to heal a sick individual?... and if we cannot pray for a miracle, what is the focus of our prayers to heal the sick?" In "Bati le-Gani": A Comparison of Discourses by Rabbis Schneersohn and Hutner," the author discerns a discourse between two great leaders expressing their differing philosophies for encountering the modern world. In "On Changes in Liturgy and Customs in General," a noted scholar responds to a Hakirah article and argues for the legitimacy of changes in both Liturgy and Customs. The author of the review responds that the issues in question are those of halakhah and not minhag. In "The Origin of the Custom of Chai Rotl." The author seeks to uncover the source for an ever increasingly popular segulah and concludes that "What began as a spontaneous vow by a childless man in the 1800s has now become a cure-all segulah and fundraising tool directed at a population that is fundamentally unaware that this segulah never existed." In "Is Parchment Klaf?" the author calls for "restoring the original method for producing skins" for the writing of Sifrei Torah, Tefillin and Mezuzot. In "Genetically Modified Organisms" the author concludes that genetic modification based on non-kosher species will not affect the kashrut of kosher animals. An abbreviated translation of an article in Chitzei Giborim deals with a new Ben Asher codex that may actually have been the original upon which the Aleppo Codex was compiled. In "A Synagogue on Har Habayit in the 7th Century: Dream or Historical Fact?" the author concludes that "there is overwhelming evidence that there was an active synagogue on the Temple Mount during the Early Muslim period." In "The Itinerary of Emmanuel Levinas’ Thought," a leading expert introduces readers to his work, and shows how it changed over time, while also focusing on the Jewish dimension of his thought. In "Isaac Breuer’s Utopia," the author translates a passage from Rav Isaac Breuer's novel "Falk Neft's Homecoming," which provides insight into the understanding of Torah im Derech Eretz and the attitude to Zionism of this great Jewish writer and philosopher.

Sperber, Daniel

Frimer, Aryeh H.

Gillis, David

Kaplan, Lawrence

Kadish, Alan

Haberman, Moshe

Brandes, Yehuda

Loike, Jphn D.

The 25th edition of Hakirah marks another milestone for a journal that was begun in 2004 with the mission of “promoting the intellectual and spiritual growth of the Flatbush Jewish community.” Hakirah has far exceeded its goals, and by volume three the mission had been changed from the “Flatbush Jewish community” to the “Jewish community” as Orthodox scholars and even some non-orthodox scholars from around the world joined us in our mission. Hakirah sought to accomplish its goal by “providing an opportunity for members of our community who have been studying in depth to disseminate the results of their study for careful review” and “encouraging others to join in this type of study.” Dozens of new authors have found their voice in the pages of Hakirah, but they have been joined by established authors, prominent talmidei hakhamim and noted academics in Jewish studies, as well as accomplished scientists and scholars of the law and the humanities. We stated in our mission statement that we wished to “create a forum for the discussion of issues of hashkafah and halakhah relevant to the community from a perspective of careful analysis of the primary Torah sources,” and indeed the most crucial and controversial issues facing Jewry have been discussed in these pages. The “Torah and Science” controversy of 2004, the proper procedures for gerut, the prospect of women rabbis, the Torah attitude towards homosexuality, Orthodoxy’s stance and responsibility toward the state of Israel, and Judaism’s stance in the divide between liberalism and conservatism, as well as many other issues, have all been debated here. And in this tradition, the Forum section of this edition deals with whether the issue of humane treatment for animals is a matter of moral concern for religious Jews or just an overhyped part of the political correctness agenda of the “progressive” left... A fitting close to the introduction to this edition of Hakirah is the acknowledgment of the loss this past Av of Flatbush resident Dr. Yaakov Elman z”l. Reb Yaakov was an internationally renowned academic scholar as well as an exceptional talmid hakham who made major contributions in several different areas of Jewish scholarship. The titles of his two Hakirah articles, “Rava as Mara de-Atra in Mahoza,” and “Pahad Yitzhak: A Joyful Song of Affirmation,” give one an idea about the range of his expertise. He was a ben Torah and ba‘al middot who was a friend to several members of the Hakirah editorial board, whom we learned with and from, and he was a friend to Hakirah itself with whom we would consult on areas beyond our expertise. In a letter in Hakirah 2, responding to our initial edition, he ended with: “I wish you all the luck in the world in cultivating intellectual curiosity in Flatbush and among frum people in general. Decades of experience have shown me how difficult a task that is. Good luck!” We would often laugh together about this, as apparently his “good luck” berakhah was fulfilled. Sometime later he told us that “Hakirah gave him hope,” and shortly after that he began contributing himself. Dr. Elman left many unfinished works, and it is our prayer that the topics over which he toiled will be continued to be explored in the pages of Hakirah.

Zelcer, Heshey

Sterman, Baruch

Rosensweig, Michael

Henkin, Eitam

Loewenberg, Meir

The first essay, “Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s Remarks at the Ḥanukat Ha-Bayit of the Talner Shtibel”discusses the role of the beit ha-kenesset as the house of the Jewish people and remarks on the special warmth the Rav feels for the chasidishe beit midrash. By contrast, in“R. Soloveitchik and R. Shubow” we read a hesped for a close friend who was a Conservative rabbi. Here the Rav expresses his warm feelings and admiration for his friend, while in a letter written sometime earlier, he explains why he must distance himself from that friend’s synagogue. In an articletitled “The Rav at Revel; The Rav at RIETS,” a talmid who is the note-taker of the Genesis notes, describes how Rav Soloveitchik, the Rosh Yeshiva, differs from Professor Soloveitchik, the teacher of philosophy.In “Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s Portrayal of the Patriarchs,”the author seeks to demonstrate that the Rav’s portraiture of the Patriarchs is “... the direct result of the way he viewed the Jewish concept of time, masorah (tradition), and the covenantal community.” And in “Recollections and Reconstruction of a Debate on the Nature of Kedushas Eretz Yisrael,” the authors record the disagreement between the Rav and Rav Shlomo Goren in an issue of lomdut with important practical ramifications. Together, these articles shed light on the complex personality of the Rav. 
Our Torah and Medicine section deals with issues that are new either because of advances in technology or because of attitudinal changes in society. The first article in the section,“Danger in Sabbath Law: A Novel Perspective Using Causality and Statistics,” deals with the development of objective standards for qualifying treatments as worthy of being described as pikuaḥ nefesh in regard to Shabbos. The second article, “Halachic Issues Related to Synthetic Biology,”addressesimportant halachic implications arising from developments in this field. A third article, “It Is Legal and Everyone Is Using,” deals with whether recreational marijuana is permitted in halakhah. “Mental Distress and Ḥoli” raises a question, not yet resolved in halakhah, as to whether conditions involving mental distress should be considered illness and the sufferer categorized in halakhah as a ḥoleh.\nOther articles deal with Torah and Science. In “How Science Deepens Our Understanding of Torah: (i) The Rainbow and the Photon and (ii) Rain and Chaos”the author seeks to demonstrate that Torah can help us better understand principles of modern science. In “The Number of Kinnim Revisited” the author claims that a deeper understanding of math can help in understanding the thinking of the Tannaim 2000 years ago. 
In our Minhag section, two articles titled “The Number of Candles in the Context of Mitzvat Ner Shabbat” and “A Shabbat Candle for Every Member of the Family” give different perspectives about the origins of minhagim regarding the number of candles to light erev Shabbos. And “Blessed Are the Cheesemakers: In Search of Ancient Roots of Dairy on Shavuot”suggests novel ideas about the origin of another well-established minhag. 
In the Jewish Thought section, in the essay titled “Ibn Ezra: ‘The All Knows Every Part via the All,’”the author clarifies a perplexing explanation of Ibn Ezra on G-d’s knowledge and shows how what was thought by some to be a radical position is well within mainstream thought.

Hakirah: The Flatbush Journal of Jewish Law and Thought (Volume 30)

Schacter, Jacob J

Loike, John

Holzer, Aton

Heller, Marvin J.

Science And Scripture: How Science Deepens One's Understanding Of Biblical Passages

WSPC

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