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On the eve of the Civil War, a Southern rabbi explains why the Jewish tradition requires an antislavery position. His congregants disagree vehemently with his stance.
A. Many great, wise, genius, and righteous men beseeched me to publish in a book that which I received from scribes and…
There are facts of such an overwhelming power that even the most stubborn opinion must yield to them. Such a fact is the origin of Judaism in the midst of rude surroundings, like a vigorous…
In those days a new light shone forth over the skies of Polish Jewry—R. Solomon Luria. [ . . . ] This great rabbi was one of those unique individuals, one of those few men of virtue that not every…
The reason for this is that if they see Torah scholars, and those who repair the breaches in Jewish religious practice, voiding the Torah in accordance with the exigencies of time and place, they will…
And likewise I say: Whoever mingles teachings of Kabbalah with rulings of halakhah is liable for kilayim—sowing a forbidden mixture of seeds, “Lest the fullness of the seed you have sown be forfeited”…
The Rambam [Maimonides] wrote: The reason why the laws of women precede the laws of damages is in keeping with the order of the verses, as it is stated: If a man sell his daughter as a maidservant…
We the undersigned have taken it upon ourselves to be in one society, to serve the Lord, may He be blessed, and to busy ourselves with His Torah day and night, in accordance with that which our…
Abraham Farissol, son of the late Mordechai (may he rest in Eden!) of Avignon, dwelling in Ferrara, declares: In response to the request of some distinguished individuals, I have agreed…
I stayed a long time in Hanau because of the heavy burden laid upon me from teaching youth. Although this is a labor performed for the sake of Heaven, it is nonetheless the case that whoever pleases…