The Twelve Minute Shiur

It's a typical halakhic discussion among the  rishonim  (medieval Talmudic scholars): an analysis of texts concerning the laws of  aninut , the period of time that extends from the death of a loved one to the moment of burial. Typical? Could there be more to it? Does this back-and-forth over seemingly dry and technical details conceal an emotional dispute among members of a grieving family? ​A...

Do you like creative liturgy - poems and thought-pieces and readings that add to or replace the traditional  siddur  text ? If you do, you probably know that Orthodox Jews claim that such creativity with the liturgy is a violation of the  halakhah . Hmm - it seems that we've been through all this before. A look at how today's innovations in public prayer are simply the latest round in a ce...

Reform congregations make a point to recite  Sh'ma  on their feet: they either rise or remain standing, if able. Most everybody else recites it in a seated position. Many say (wouldn't you know it?) that the Reform practice violates the  halakhah . ​Here's an argument to the contrary.

It's a well-known  minhag  (custom) to require that the wedding ring be a plain band, with no precious stones. But is this a requirement of  halakhah ? Most authorities say "yes," but their argument is open to... well, argument! Download the source sheet at www.freehofinstitute.org/podcast

Most say "three." ​  Some say "two." Why the disagreement? And what's behind the two positions? We go back to the Mishnah and survey 1500 years of debate. Not so bad, we not-so modestly think, for twelve-plus minutes! Download the source sheet at www.freehofinstitute.org/podcast

In traditional Ashkenazi  siddurim , you'll find this instruction, right before  Sh'ma Yisrael : "when praying in private, add ' El Melekh Ne'eman .'" Is this a big deal? Well, when you say " El Melekh Ne'eman " you're adding material to  k'ri'at Sh'ma  (the recitation of Sh'ma and its accompanying  b'rakhot ), without any authori...

We all know that a  minyan , the quorum needed for communal prayer ( t'filah b'tzibur ), is composed of a minimum of ten adults. Children, who have no obligation (yet) to fulfill  mitzvot , don't count in a  minyan . But already in Talmudic times and through the Middle Ages, some rabbis wanted to include a child in a  minyan , at least as the tenth person alongside nine adults. In this...

In our last installment, we saw that Rabbi Moshe Feinstein ruled that Reform weddings do not create halakhically valid marriages. In this installment, we'll see that another leading American Orthodox  posek,  Rabbi Yosef Eliyahu Henkin, rejects Feinstein's decision   in no uncertain terms. Not, to be sure, because he thinks highly of Reform Judaism, but because he tells a very different st...

In this installment we consider the (in)famous decision of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, the preeminent 20th-century Orthodox  posek  in North America, concerning Reform Jewish weddings. Spoiler alert #1: he thinks that they do not produce valid Jewish marriages according to  halakhah . Spoiler alert #2: his ruling served a purpose that all of us progressive types can support, even if what he says about...

Two Jews walk into a church (stop us if you've heard this one!). They get married there, in a Christian ritual, with a priest as the officiant. Does  halakhah  recognize this marriage as valid under Jewish law? Some rather serious consequences ride on the answer to this question. In this installment, we consider the answer offered by a leading sage of the 15th century. Download the source shee...

We hear much these days about "the death of expertise," a growing tendency to ignore and cast suspicion upon the counsel of physicians, scientists, economists - trained experts of every sort. Why is this? Is it because we're too dumb to listen to people who know better? Well, maybe! But that's only a partial answer, because the experts may bear their share of the responsibility,...

We liberal Jews are quite familiar with the b'rakhah known as " Shehechiyanu ." It's our all-purpose blessing of thanksgiving. We recite it all the time, over almost every conceivable moment of personal and communal celebration. In fact, though, the tradition knows of (at least) three b'rakhot of thanksgiving, each one to be recited at specific moments over specific things an...

In this installment, we look at a  t'shuvah  (responsum) from 1948 by a leading Orthodox  posek  on the question of draft exemptions for Torah students. We doubt that his opinion would be popular among today's  chareidim . Not surprisingly,  we  find his reasoning impeccable. Get the source sheet at www.freehofinstitute.org/podcast.

In Israel, as estimated 60,000 full-time students at  chareidi  (ultra-Orthodox)  yeshivot  are exempt from  giyus  (the draft). It's a bitterly contested issue, especially during a two-year war when the other segments of Israel's population have shouldered a heavy burden of military service. The  chareidim  justify the exemption for halakhic reasons (among others). Hmm... does Jewish law ...

The  birkot hanehenin , the blessings we recite before deriving material benefit from Creation: why exactly  do  we recite them? 

At the moment of  kiddushin , the inception of marriage, we recite the  b'rakhah  known as  birkat eirusin,  "the betrothal benediction." What does the text of that  b'rakhah  tell us about the nature of marriage according to the  halakhah ? Surprisingly - well, maybe  not  surprisingly - there's a  machloket  over that!  Get the source sheet at www.freehofinstitute.org/podca...

Do  poskim  rely upon the principle "great is human dignity" as an argument for making permanent and positive changes in halakhic observance? Not often... but sometimes they do. Here's an example of an Orthodox authority who uses the argument  gadol k'vod hab'riyot  to justify removing a well-known barrier to justice and equity in traditional practice. And although we progres...

In  shiur  ​#73, we saw that the exalted halakhic principle "great is human dignity" has historically played but a minor, limited role in practical halakhic decision making. This  shiur  considers a famous exception to that rule. Rabbi Moshe Isserles permitted a couple to violate the Rabbis' prohibition against holding weddings on Shabbat when postponing the  hupah  until Sunday woul...

It's a positive ("thou shalt") mitzvah to tell the story of our redemption from Egypt on seder night. So why do we not recite a b'rakhah , a blessing over Hagadah, the telling of the story? Many have asked this question, and many have offered answers. In this installment we consider some of those answers. And we may even suggest one of our own. Download the source sheet at www.fr...

"Great is human dignity." How great is it? Would you believe that it's so great that it takes precedence over mitzvot of the Torah?? Well, not so fast; it's complicated. And like the old saying goes: two Talmuds, two opinions. Download the source sheet at www.freehofinstitute.org/podcast

Are we entitled to do anything we wish to our bodies and our persons, even to the point of inflicting substantive harm upon ourselves, so long as our act does not damage others? Modern Western thought, especially in its libertarian variety, tends to answer "yes." Traditional Jewish thought, which is hardly libertarian, would answer "no," correct? Well, not so fast. Rather than...

If  talmud torah k'neged kulam  ("the study of Torah is equal in weight to all the other  mitzvot  combined"), then no wonder we recite a  b'rakhah  - or maybe more than one - for the act of Torah study. But - what  do  we recite?  When  ​precisely do we recite it? And over what sort of "Torah" do we recite it? So many questions... let's see if our texts can provide...

Does the  halakhah  permit unions to strike, to walk off the job and to prevent nonunionized workers from replacing those on the picket line? It’s a  machloket . Some authorities say that the Torah forbids workers to strike against employers and that there is a better way to resolve disputes over wages and working conditions. Others permit the strike as an invaluable tool of worker empowerment tha...

How an outstanding 20th-century  posek  translates the ambiguities of the classical texts into a language that speaks to the economic realities of modern industrial society. The  halakhah,  he tells us, offers enthusiastic support for labor unionization even though those texts don't say so, at least not literally. Talk about "progressive  halakhah " before that term was invented! But even he has d...

Does Jewish law permit workers to organize into labor unions to help secure better pay, benefits, and working conditions? Does it permit those unions to go on strike or undertake other such actions to enforce achieve their demands? The answer to those questions is a definite – maybe. In this shiur , we’ll look at some texts that may give us some guidance but that leave a lot of questions open. So...