384) A rare glimpse into the critical mind of a Chassidic Rebbe – Yitzchak Nachum Twersky.

 

R. Yitzchak Nachum Twersky of Shpikov (1888-1942)

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Introduction

R. Yitzchak Nachum Twersky of Shpikov (1888-1942) from the Chassidic lineage of Chernobyl, had an unusual critical perspective of the Chassidic world during the early 20^th century. Shpikov is now known as Shpykiv, in present-day Ukraine. I have drawn extensively from the work of Professor David Asaf[1] who has researched a letter written by R. Yitzchak Nachum Twersky, which has become a most compelling document in Chassidic history.

383) Traces of a messianic feminist revolution in Chabad ideology

 

Introduction

This article, based extensively on the research by Professor Ada Rapoport-Albert (1945-2020)[1] traces the evolution of women within Chabad thought. While some leaders within the contemporary Chareidi and Chassidic world are not permitting women to drive, and are obscuring women’s faces in media publications, the views emanating from the last Chabad Rebbe are rather enlightening.

382) Is "holy sin" a bad theology?

 

Yitav Lev is an acronym for Yekutiel Yehudah (Zalman Leib) Teitelbaum of Sziget, known as the  (1808–83). 

Introduction

This article, based extensively on the research by Professor Benjamin Brown[1] deals with the paradoxical idea of “holy sin” or “aveirah lishma”- where sometimes it is considered a mitzvah to sin - as found in some kabbalistic and Chassidic thought.

381) Midrashic sources referring to the actual sacrifice of Isaac?

Introduction

The reader is cautioned not to regard this article as historiography but rather as an analysis of various modern and ancient readings of the biblical story of the Akeidah, where Abraham was ‘tested’ to see if he was willing to offer Isaac as a sacrifice to G-d. We shall investigate two very different, if not antithetical systems of biblical study - one the modern Documentary Hypothesis also known as Biblical Criticism, and the other, certain older traditional Midrashic sources. Surprisingly we find some degree of synergy between these disparate systems when it comes to the question of what happened to Isaac after the Akeidah.