המעין

Abstracts in English

Abstracts

Rav Yaakov Moshe HaLevi Binyamin: El Mistater BeShafrirey Chevyon [`G-d Hides Himself in the Beauty of Concealment`] of Rav Avraham Maimin
The piyut [poem] "G-d Hides Himself" by Rav Abraham Maimin, student of Rav Moshe Cordovero of Safed (teacher of the Ari, Rav Isaac Luria), is sung by Hassidim at seudah shelishit and among many oriental communities serves as the opening to the baqashot [hymns sung on Shabbat morning before dawn]. The poem is structured on the ten sefirot [emanations] describing what eventuates from each sefirah and what characterizes it. Part of the poem deals with higher worlds, and part with human character in this world connected to the higher worlds. The poem is structured such that the first three lines of each stanza rhyme, while the fourth ends with the name of G-d, teaching us that its principal topic is the ways of G-d and their manifestation in the world. A carefully edited version of the poem is printed here, accompanied by explanations and references.

Elyasaf Yakobson: Rabbenu Gershom's Mourning
The accepted halakhah is that one does not mourn a meshumad (person who abandoned Judaism). However, there is testimony transmitted by R' Isaac of Vienna, author of the work Or Zarua, that Rabbenu (our Master) Gershom M`eor HaGola (`the Light of the Exile`) mourned his own son who had converted, which seemingly contradicts this rule! The rishonim (early authorities) offered several solutions to this quandary: either the mourning stemmed from the anguish of Rabbenu Gershom so it was not halakhically mandated mourning, or that his son was slain by non-Jews soon after his conversion and in such an instance it is permitted to mourn even the wicked, or that his son's conversion occurred when he was a young child and hence he was not responsible for it. However, from the original source of this story, the Or Zarua, it appears there is no contradiction: the halakhah which forbids mourning is stated regarding mourning at the time of the death of the convert, whereas Rabbenu Gershom mourned his son at the time of the conversion! The author of the article, son of the Principal of Yeshivat Sha'alvim who serves as a fellow of the advanced yeshivah in the settlement of Mitzpe Yeriho, adduces proofs to his solution, and takes the occasion to correct the text in the responsum of the Maharam (R' Meir) of Rothenburg – student of the author of the Or Zarua – which deals with this topic.

Rav Amichai Kinarti: "Then remember thine handmaid"
When Abigail meets with David and convinces him to kill her husband Nabal of Carmel, her ending words to him are "then remember thine handmaid" – and our Sages explain that she intimated to him that after her husband's death he should remember her and marry her. However, she is currently a married woman, and it is surprising that this righteous prophetess (she is so described by our Sages) should advance such intimations to another man while she is yet married! In this article, an attempt is made in two fashions to justify Abigail's actions, and to prove that in this instance they were done in accordance with halakhah (law) and ethics.

Rav Mordechai Alter: The Necessity of Accepting Belief in G-d at the Time of Gerut [Conversion]
Conversions performed in our times raise many questions. In this article it is emphasized that one who comes to convert must first of all accept upon himself (or herself) the Jewish faith, a fortiori from the case of a ger toshav (resident alien), who according to Maimonides is considered as such only if he accepts the 'seven Noahide laws' because he believes they are G-d's command. The author of the article, a Jerusalemite fellow among the progeny of the rabbinic dynasty of the Gerrer Hasidim, states that it is incumbent upon those who guide candidates for conversion to devote the majority of their efforts to convincing the convert of faith in the Torah, and the rabbinical court which performs the conversion also must focus its inquiries on the belief of the prospective convert, since if he does not believe in G-d and in Torah, the conversion does not take effect, even if he observes some of the mitzvot (commandments: more properly, directives). All of the foregoing stands in contrast to previous generations when the entire world was a 'religious' world, and one who converted from one religion to another accepted as self-understood the assumptions and beliefs of the new religion. The author also discusses Maimonides' remarks regarding the conversion of the wives of Solomon and Samson, from which it is prima facie implied that conversion without belief in Torah and without observance of mitzvot is considered valid ex post facto.

Prof. Zohar Amar and Dr. David Iluz: Dyeing with Techelet According to Maimonides and Using Natural Dyeing Substances
This article presents an analysis of Maimonides' description in his halakhic treatise of the way in which the tzitzit (ritual fringes) were dyed (Hilkhot Tzitzit 2, 2). In his day there was probably no specific identification of the “fish” from which Techelet was produced. Apparently part of the formula for dyeing which he cites is based in effect on an earlier source or what was accepted in his day with regard to dyeing using plant-based indigo. In other words, this refers to dyeing with a substance known in the Talmud as kala ilan which imparts a blue color and is actually the perfect counterfeit of the genuine Techelet produced by the hillazon. In applied research, we attempted to identify the natural substance dyes that Maimonides uses in this formula, and we even proved their efficacy. In effect the research that was carried out on the pigments taken from the cuttlefish and the Rock murex (Murex trunculus) showed positive results only for the latter. The results of this study join the other evidence that places the probability of identifying the hillazon with the Murex at the highest level of probability, above all other attempts at identification.
Rav Shlomo Kushelevsky: Tanakh (Bible) from the Level of the Superego – the Approach of Rav Y. L. Bloch Relating to the Great Figures of the Tanakh
The debate concerning the correct method of studying Tanakh, which focuses on the question whether to understand Tanakh on a "heavenly level" or a "down to earth level", has greatly exercised the religious community in recent years. In this article, Rav Kushelevsky, a Jerusalemite fellow, member of a family of Torah scholars and son-in-law of Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg Shalita, presents several postulates and items of evidence required in dealing with this subject. Furthermore, it turns out that the subject already came up in the period before the Shoah with Rav Yehuda Leib Bloch ZT"L, Rosh Yeshiva (principal) of the Telz Yeshiva, and his approach to the subject sheds new light on the controversy.

Responses and Comments
Rav Michael Klein again critiques the famous work Vayoel Moshe of the great Satmar Rebbe. The Admor [Hasidic leader] of Satmar claims that only tzadikim (the righteous) are qualified to come and dwell in the land of Israel, and Rav Klein demonstrates that the Admor's view on the subject is not compatible with the content of the sources which he himself cites, and contradicts other extremely important sources. Further on, Yossi Katz, a well-known poultry breeder, notes – in the wake of Rav Levinger's article in the previous Hama'yan on the kashrut of fowl which have undergone genetic modification – that one should insist on transparency in identifying the source of fowl used in hybridization which cause these modifications, so that the fowl with which the process is initiated will also be fowl with an organized kashrut tradition – lest questions arise as well on their descendants. Rav Shmuel HaCohen of Jerusalem reacts to the article published in the previous issue on the matter of how to relate to absorption by utensils in our day, and in his opinion there is no possibility of leniency, and one must always calculate as if the entire volume of the walls of the utensil have absorbed the forbidden substance cooked in it.

About Books and Authors

Rav Uriel Banner: Responsa Minhat Asher
The dissemination of the Torah (teaching) of the Gaon (exalted) Rav Asher Weiss, whose circle of influence has been expanding periodically, has entered into a new phase in which we have merited to have his first volume of responsa on all areas of Shulhan Arukh. The range of topics and correspondents enables one to learn a thing or two about the approach of the Rav. Aside from depth, breadth and lucid definitions, his decisions excel in the definitive position they provide for sound judgement and indeed for emotional intelligence to complete the picture. Furthermore, the connection between emet la'amito ("the true" and "its truth") as Rav Weiss defines it - i.e. between Torah and understanding many-faceted reality – is evident to anyone who examines the responsa before us. Moreover, the delicate balance between accepting the pronouncements of great leaders of Israel throughout the generations and remaining faithful to the Rav's own opinion, whether lenient or stringent.

Adiel Breuer: Comments and Corrections on the Tosafot HaRosh (Glosses of Rav Asher ben Jehiel) to Tractate Niddah, the Mossad HaRav Kook Edition
Mossad HaRav Kook issued in 5767 (2007) an annotated and corrected edition from manuscript of the Glosses of the Rosh to Tractate Niddah (Menstruant), edited by Rav Yeshaya Alexander Steinberg. This edition was welcomed with joy by those who study Torah, but there are several things which could have enhanced the edition or have set things aright. The article highlights three general comments on the edition: a) As the Frankfurt manuscript only begins with Chapter Eight, and even in that chapter a page is missing, the editor does not point out the absence of this page. b) the editor did not deal with the fact that the editors of the Tosafot HaRosh to Tractate Ketuvot (Marriage Settlements) of Mossad HaRav Kook, where the sections copied in the margins of the Tosafot HaRosh to Ketuvot in the Frankfurt manuscript, were written by a student of the Rosh, and it follows that this holds true as well for Tractate Niddah. c) The editor did not indicate explicitly in the introduction his method of establishing the text when two manuscripts of the work are in disagreement, and even though he noted this elsewhere and referred to it in the introduction, he should have made matters easy for the reader and written this explicitly in the introduction. Afterwards, the article cites thirty-nine textual corrections for the eighth chapter of the work from manuscripts which were available to the editor, but he did not notice these corrections or erred in reading them.

Rav David Siegel: On the Origin of Rashi’s “Rules of Method” for his Use of Targum Onkelos
For over 400 years printed editions of the Chumash with Rashi’s commentary have reproduced an anonymous list of rules of method for Rashi’s use of Targum Onkelos. Although many scholars have cast doubt on the correctness of these rules over the years, only recently has it been noted that the list first appeared in print in the introduction to Yosef Da’as, a work by Rav Yosef son of Rav Yissachar Prague, student of the Maharal of Prague. The author Rav David Siegel writes in his short article that closer examination of the editing and context raises questions regarding the origin of the list. On balance, the available evidence suggests that Rav Yosef was the author of the list, but the bibliographical background is incomplete and the authorship of the list remains an open question.

Rav Bezalel Naor: `The Lamentation in Jerusalem` by Rav Avraham Yitzhak Hakohen Kook ZT”L [In English]
Rav Kook’s famous essay ‘The Lamentation in Jerusalem’, in which he eulogizes Theodor Herzl, translated and accompanied by preface and comments by Rav Bezalel Naor.
The issue closes with a review of new Torani books by the editor.