485) Is a Halachic environmental discourse even possible?

 

Introduction

This article −based extensively on the research by Rabbi Professor Kotel Dadon[1] − examines some Torah and rabbinic sources that indicate the existence of, and potential for, further Jewish ecological discourse. It then (ambitiously) attempts to seek ways to bring this debate into the four cubits of Halacha (religious law). 

Dadon begins by nailing his colours to the mast in terms of his position on climate change and environmental issues: 

“Climate change and the resulting environmental disasters are among the greatest moral and existential crises of our time” (Dadon 2023:131). 

The general environmental discourse today revolves around two conflicting approaches regarding the role humans play in the world. These are the anthropocentric and biocentic approaches.

484) Babylonian Talmudic notion of 'Temporary Marriage'

Rabbi Professor Yaakov Elman 1943-2018

Introduction

This article − based extensively on the research by Rabbi Professor Yaakov Elman[1] − examines the recorded Talmudic notion of ‘temporary marriage’ as practised by the Amoraic (Gemara) sages, Rav (d. 247 CE) and R. Nachman (d. 320 CE). In a series of five previous articles, we have dealt with Elman’s groundbreaking studies on surprising but extensive Babylonian influences on the Babylonian Talmud. In this article, we try to understand how a Babylonian (=Iranian, Persian or Sasanian to be more accurate) practice of ‘temporary marriage’ was able to penetrate the conservative Talmudic circles around the third and fourth centuries CE. 

483) What Are We Supposed To Be Doing on Tisha B'Av?

Another guest post by Rabbi Boruch Clinton

We all know the things we can’t do on Tisha B’Av. But just not doing stuff can’t be the whole story. The real point, I suppose, is the mourning. But how does that happen?

The poskim (אורח חיים תקנ”ד) point to a custom to avoid labor (מלאכה) and business (בפרקמטיה). That, no doubt, is to keep us from being distracted from the mourning. We’re also expected to refrain from learning most Torah sources as it’s assumed those will give us joy.

The tefilos and kinnos are certainly there to help us focus on this specific flavor of mourning. But tefilos don’t take that much time, and the kinnos - even when properly understood - are relatively modern: it’s unlikely that any of them is older than 1,000 years, and it’s only very recently that we began reciting the “whole book” regardless of our individual family traditions. So how did our ancestors from previous centuries actually fill the day?

482) Rav Kook through statistical analysis

R. Avraham Yitzchak haKohen Kook 1865-1935.

Introduction

This article – based extensively on the research by Professor Isaac Hershkowitz[1] − statistically compares the early writings of Rav Kook to his later writings. R. Avraham Yitzchak Kook (1865-1935) was the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine and one of the founders of religious Zionism. Rav Kook created an enormous corpus of literature and new material continues to emerge. It is difficult, therefore, to describe Rav Kook unless all of his writings are taken into consideration. He is variously depicted by scholars in attempts to ascertain his “overarching system” of thought, but according to Hershkowitz, it seems his approach may have undergone an evolutionary process instead of remaining a homogenous system of thought. This position can be supported by a groundbreaking study of statistical data that Hershkowitz has conducted indicating “the development and evolution of Kook’s position over the course of his life” (Hershkowitz 2023:2, footnote 3).