Question: Given the strong winds that we have been experiencing, is it permissible to take down the sukkah on Hol HaMoed to prevent it from being damaged or from causing injury? If I do take it down, am I exempt from eating in a sukkah, or do I have to find a sukkah that is still up?…
Translation by Rabbi Avi Schwartz and Rabbi Dov Linzer; introduction by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein zt”l (1895-1986) was the preeminent posek for North American Jewry for most of the 20th century, both for the yeshivish and Modern Orthodox communities. Rav Moshe was born in Russia in 1895, where he served as rabbi making great personal sacrifices on behalf of his community until he emigrated to the U.S.…
Rav Binyamin Yehoshua Zilber zt”l was a major Haredi posek of the previous generation. He studied in Brisk and at a satellite yeshiva of Novardok in his youth, eventually making aliyah to become one of the first students at Yeshivat Beit Yosef-Novardok in Bene Brak.…
Rabbi Yitzhak Weiss hy”d was a highly-regard Hungarian rabbi before the Second World War. He served as the Rav of Odleburg and then of Verbo. In his time, he was well known for the breadth of his knowledge; his teacher, the Shevet Sofer, is said to have referred to him as “my very own bookcase.”…
Rabbi Hayyim David HaLevi was the chief rabbi of Tel Aviv-Yafo from 1973 until his death in 1998. Born and raised in Jerusalem, he studied at Yeshivat Porat Yosef under Rav Ezra Attiyah and Rav Ben Zion Meir Hai Uziel, author of Mishpetei Uziel and Chief Rabbi at the time of Israel’s founding.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on June 5, 2019
At the opening of Bamidbar, the Israelites prepare to finally move out from the foot of Mt. Sinai and to venture into the larger world. They must take the Torah and mitzvoth that they have received and bring it into their lives, so that every movement is guided and shaped by the Torah.…
Rabbi Yitzchak Yehuda Shmelkes (1828-1904) was one of the leading rabbis in the latter part of the 19th century in Eastern Europe. He was the head of the rabbinical court in Lvov (Lemberg) from 1869-1893. His Beit Yiẓḥak (6 vols., 1875–1908), on the four parts of the Shulkḥan Arukh, was widely acclaimed. …
Rabbi Moshe Sofer (1762-1839), generally known as Hatam Sofer, was perhaps the most important European rabbi of the first half of the nineteenth century. He was widely recognized during his lifetime, and trained the next generation of Hungarian leadership at his yeshiva in Pressburg.…
Rabbi Yitzhak Isaak Halevi Herzog (1888-1959) was Chief Ashkenazic Rabbi of the State of Israel at the time of its founding. He had previously served as Chief Rabbi of Ireland, until he succeeded Rav Kook in 1936. Aside from his work in developing the institutions of the Israeli Rabbinate, he is most famous for his doctorate on the proper identification of tekhelet.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on April 15, 2019
These sources accompany the Matzah and Sex episode of the Joy of Text podcast. 1. Yerushalmi Pesahim 10:1 ירושלמי פסחים י’:א’ ר’ יודן נשייא סחה וצחא שאל לר’ מנא בגין דאתא צחי מהו נישתי. א”ל תני ר’ חייה אסור לאדם לטעום כלום עד שתחשך.…
Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Waldenberg (1915-2006) was a rav and dayyan in Jerusalem, a member of the Chief Rabbinical Court in Israel, and the informal halakhic authority of the Shaare Zedek Medical Center. The author of the 21-volume set of responsa, Tzitz Eliezer, he remains a widely respected posek, one of the leading voices of the previous generation.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on March 20, 2019
These sources accompany the Cross-Dressing on Purim episode of the Joy of Text podcast. 1. Rema, Shulhan Arukh, Orah Hayim 696:8 רמ”א, שו”ע אורח חיים תרצ”ו:ח’ ומה שנהגו ללבוש פרצופים בפורים, וגבר לובש שמלת אשה ואשה כלי גבר, אין איסור בדבר מאחר שאין מכוונין אלא לשמחה בעלמא; וכן בלבישת כלאים דרבנן.…
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