312) WHAT DOES MODEH ANI MEAN?

Modeh Ani mentioned in Seder haYom by R. Moshe ben Machir. Published in Venice 1599.

 GUEST POST BY RABBI BORUCH CLINTON:  (See  Boruch Clinton's Finding Tradition project)

What Does Modeh Ani Mean? 

                         מודה אני לפניך מלך חי וקים שהחזרת בי נשמתי בחמלה רבה אמונתך 

Those 12 words mark the start of each day for many Jews. It's a beautiful prayer and an expression of the many debts we owe to God. But three of those words might, on reflection, represent a significant theological innovation. 

Here's the whole thing translated: 

"I acknowledge before you, the living, eternal God, that you returned to me my soul, with grace and good faith." 

The three words in question are: שהחזרת בי נשמתי  - "that you returned to me my soul." Where's the innovation in that? 

Well for God to have returned our souls first thing each morning, He would have had to have first taken them. And, while relevant but ambiguous language can be found in a few midrashim (see עיון תפילה לספר  אוצר התפילות) I'm not sure we should be so quick to assume that death and rebirth is what literally happens each night. 

311) THE EMERGENCE OF CHARISMATIC JUDAISM:

 

The Pledge of Allegiance to R. Chaim Vital effectively making him the keeper of the secrets of the Ari Zal.

INTRODUCTION:

From around the sixteenth century, rabbinic leadership experienced a dramatic change. No longer were the credentials of leadership solely based on knowledge and erudition. Now leadership became largely defined by personal charisma.

This does not mean that knowledge played no role at all, but it does mean that it was no longer the main criterion.

In this article, based extensively on the work by Professor Morris Faierstein[1], we shall explore some of the effects of this change in the style of rabbinic leadership.

310) HOW THE TZADIK IS DEPICTED IN SOME CHASSIDIC LITERATURE:

 INTRODUCTION:

In early Chassidic literature we find some fascinating and sometimes curious notions concerning the Tzadik-G-d relationship which seem to be the antithesis of the purer form of monotheism as defined by Maimonides.

In this article, which I have drawn extensively from the research of Professor Shaul Magid[1], we will explore some Chassidic texts which speak of such ideas as the Tzadik pre-existing creation and sharing the power to create.

309) WERE JEWS EVER MISSIONARIES?

 

 

1887 Schechter edition of Avot deRabi Natan.

INTRODUCTION:

It is a well-known fact that Jews do not proselytise or actively try to convert non-Jews to Judaism. It is also well-known how difficult the process of conversion to Judaism is. But was this always the case?

In this article, we shall explore historical examples of apparent active and even forceful conversions to Judaism, and also look at the possibility of there being some textual precedent for such a phenomenon.

 

PART 1.

THE JEWS OF ARABIA:

In a previous article, we looked at the fascinating story of the Jews of Arabia (present-day Saudi Arabia). A brief overview follows:

Jews had lived in Arabia since biblical times and this was no small community. According to Hagai Mazuz:

308) THE TURKISH JEWS STILL WAVE:

 

A 17th-century manuscript of Me'orot Natan by R. Natan Nata Shapira in Italian script. (Bodleian Library) 

INTRODUCTION

Turkish and Syrian Jews have the unusual custom of gesturing with their hands to other members of the congregation just prior to reciting the Amidah.  What are the origins of this little-known custom where the hand and fingers are held upwards, the palm inclined inwards and then moved back and forth three or four times, while making eye contact with fellow congregants in the synagogue?

In this article, based extensively on the research of Rabbi Dr Levi Cooper[1], we will explore the origins of this unusual custom which appear to be at least four centuries old.