Volume 34 Number 55
Produced: Sun May 20 8:30:48 US/Eastern 2001
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
Ashqenazi Qomotz
[Mechy Frankel]
Barechuni Leshalom
[Shmuel Himelstein]
Candy in Shul
[Batya Medad]
Marriage, Divorce and the Abandoned Wife in Jewish Law
[Michael J Broyde]
Sneezes
[William J Scherman]
Tefila Question - Phraseology
[Bernard Horowitz]
Tefilla question - Phraseology
[Ben Z. Katz]
Throwing Candy
[Michael Rogovin]
The Weekday Amidah in the Cairo Genizah by Yechezkel Luger
[Joseph Tabory]
Request: London, England
[Mechy Frankel]
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From: Mechy Frankel <mechyfrankel@...>
Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 18:02:53 -0700
Subject: Ashqenazi Qomotz
Shira Hannah Fischer <fischer@...> writes:
<For example..While some ashkenazim do not differentiate between kamatzim
and pronounce them all as 'o', those who do pronounce kamatz gadol as
'a,'as well as all who use sephardi/Israeli pronunciation, should be
very careful with kamatzim ketanim>
interesting- never having run across one i am surprised to learn of the
existence of anybody articulating an ashqenazic pronunciation of hebrew
who consistently differentiates between a qomotz godole and qoton in the
above manner. There is indeed a tradition amongst ashqenazim to
pronounce a few qomotz'ed words with an "a" sound, but rather than
exemplifying some general usage pattern - or even a hyper correction by
a crazed (are there any other kind?) diqduq afficionado, it rather
represents a living remnant of the "original" ashqenazi pronunciation of
the qomotz, which is well known to approximate the current israeli
"a".(e.g. see rashi - b'rochos 47a, d"h (omein) chatufoh) thus a number
of common words such as yod, dom, yom,.. etc are almost invariably
pronounced with an "a" sound in the living oral ashqenazic tradition,
despite their pointing with a qomotz, and this should not be deemed a
"mistake".
Mechy Frankel W: (703) 588-7424
<mechyfrankel@...> H: (301) 593-3949
<michael.frankel@...>
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From: Shmuel Himelstein <himels@...>
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 11:46:13 +0200
Subject: Barechuni Leshalom
In the scholarly Selichot edited by Daniel Goldschmidt (Mossad Harav
Kook 5725), the editor, in his introduction (Chapter 2 Section C)
discusses the different Piyutim which address angels, such as 'Malachei
Rachanmim ... Chalu na plei Keil" and "Machnisei Rachamim Hachnisu
Rachameinu." Goldschmidt notes three different ways that this problem
was dealt with by the rabbis:
a) Rambam and others who follow in his footsteps, simply refuse to allow
these to be said.
b) Other Poskim allow them to be said, provided that the person saying it
realizes that he is addressing Hashem, and not any intermediary.
c) Finally, there were those who simply modified the text, sometimes, as
Goldshmidt notes, making it totally non-understandable.
Shmuel Himelstein
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From: Batya Medad <ybmedad@...>
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 07:39:12 +0300
Subject: Re: Candy in Shul
> I have seen in synagogues of Edot Ha Mizrakh in Israel that dignified
> platters of candy are passed out amongst the men, women and children.
Where/when does the saying of Kiddush come with all this nosherei in shul?
The best candy catchers are over the "gil chinuch."
Batya
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From: Michael J Broyde <mbroyde@...>
Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 09:52:17 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Marriage, Divorce and the Abandoned Wife in Jewish Law
New Book by Michael Broyde from Ktav
Marriage, Divorce and the Abandoned Wife in Jewish Law
A conceptual understanding of the Agunah Problems in America
Michael J Broyde
>From the Forward
Essentially, the modern American agunah problem relates to the inability
of people to come to an agreement about the terms and conditions for
ending their marriage, and thus the marriage does not end....Solving the
agunah problem seems to be on everyone's agenda in the Jewish
community... Comprehending the agunah problem, however, seems to be an
issue that few have worked on, and even fewer have prospered in the work
that they have done. The theme of this work is that the contours of the
agunah problems are widely misunderstood and that this conceptual
misunderstanding vastly exacerbates the difficulty both of determining
which problems can be solved and of actually solving them. This work
aims to provide some intellectual coherence and order to the issues of
defining what a case of an abandoned wife is, such that the Jewish
community ought to consider sanction against one who declines to receive
or give a get,
Chapter Titles
Foreword
Preface
Jewish Marriage: A Conceptual Review
Paradigms for Marriage as Grounds for Divorce
Dual System and Divorce
The Role of the Bet Din
The Multitextured Agunah Problem
Summary: A Conceptualization of The Agunah Problem
Conclusion: What Can Be Done
Marriage Divorce and the Abandoned Wife in Jewish Law
A Conceptual Understanding of The Agunah Problems in America
One of the most vexing problems to confront American Orthodox Jewry is
where a wife is abandoned by her husband who refuses to give her a
Jewish divorce. This work seeks to explain the agunah problem in the
United States. It notes the contemporary agunah problem in America is
radically different than that of contemporary Israel and completely
different than the talmudic agunah problem.
The thesis of this book is that the agunah problem in contemporary
America is part of a more general dispute in classical Jewish law as to
when marriage should end. Thus, this book surveys how Jewish law seeks
to respond to the consent of the other party or without a finding of
fault. It concludes by noting that prenuptial agreements can
successfully address the agunah problem in the United States since they
provide a way for couples to create an image of marriage and divorce by
which they can agree to live.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael J. Broyde is an Associate Professor of Law at Emory University
and the Academic Director of Law and Religion Program at Emory
University. He is a member (dayan) in the Beth Din of America and was
the director of that Beth Din while on sabbatical from Emory. In
addition, he is the founding rabbi of the Young Israel synagogue in
Atlanta. Professor Broyde is the author of The Pursuit of Justice in
Jewish Law and the co-author of Human Rights in Judaism.
Ordering Information
Author: Michael J. Broyde
Title: Marriage, Divorce and the Abandoned Wife in Jewish Law:
A Conceptual Understanding of the Agunah Problems in America
ISBN: 0-88125-679-X
Cost: $24.95
5.00 UPS Charge
All prices are subject to change without notice.
KTAV Publishing House
900 Jefferson Street
Hoboken, New Jersey 07030
Phone: (201) 963-9524; Fax (201) 963-0102
Email: <orders@...>
PLEASE PRINT
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Additional Ordering Information
This book can also be ordered from:
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Law and Religion Program Fax: (404) 727-3374
1301 Clifton Road Email: <ljackson@...>
Atlanta, GA 30322-2770
Attention: Louise Jackson
This book can also be ordered at www.amazon.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: William J Scherman <zscherman@...>
Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 23:43:13 -0400
Subject: Re: Sneezes
There is a Midrash --don't ask me where-- that until Yaakov Avinu asked
for illness, people died with a sneeze: they'd be otherwise healthy
until the fatal moment. This is why we say "bless you" to this day!
Z'ev
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From: Bernard Horowitz <horowitz@...>
Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 23:14:03 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Tefila Question - Phraseology
Ben Katz and other respondents have raised some interesting points about
bad habits that we sometimes develop in the course of our davening. To
the extent that this thread heightens our awareness of the meaning of the
words we say so regularly - yasher kochachem. I would like to offer two
additional examples. After the sefer Torah is romoved the chazan often
says "Gadlu lashem itti; u-neromema, shemo yachdav" instead of "u-neromema
shemo, yachdav." The second example is when the sefer is being returned.
The chazan often says, "Yehallelu et shem Hashem; ki nisgav, shemo levado"
instead of "ki nisgav shemo, levado."
Bernard Horowitz
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From: Ben Z. Katz <bkatz@...>
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 09:00:08 -0500
Subject: Re: Tefilla question - Phraseology
>From: Mark Steiner <marksa@...> Furthermore, he sometimes
>takes it upon himself to contradict the shulhan arukh; for example,
>R. Yosef Karo emphasizes that the vocalization of the blessing on the
>tefillin shel yad is (in Ashkenazic pronunciation) "lehoniax" (kometz,
>x for heth) while Avodat Yisrael "rules" that the berakha is
>"lehanniax" (patah, nun degusha)--I won't go into the issues here.
I for one would love to hear more about this, either on or off list. What
was R Yosef Karo's source for the pronounciation in question? Was he, or
his source, a linguist?
Ben Z. Katz, M.D.
Children's Memorial Hospital, Division of Infectious Diseases
2300 Children's Plaza, Box # 20, Chicago, IL 60614
Ph 773-880-4187, Fax 773-880-8226
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Michael Rogovin <rogovin@...>
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 10:00:10 -0400
Subject: Re: Throwing Candy
During a recent aufruf, I was sitting a few rows in front of the
bimah. One of the hatan's male "friends," sitting in the front row of
the synagogue, fancied himself to be a pitcher for the Yankees and threw
at full force a bag full of hard candies aimed (so he thought) at the
hatan's head. Why one would seek to do so is something I cannot
fathom. In any case it never reached the hatan; instead it hit me in the
eye, impacting for the most part on the bone just above my eyeball. It
was, to say the least extremely painful and I went home with a large
purple mark on my eyelid and soreness that lasted all day. Had it
impacted a few millimeters lower, I would probably be blind in one eye.
I should add that, in general, decorum is not part of the vocabulary of
this well known, large, established synagogue. I fear that even if the
synagogue were to legislate that only marshmellows could be included in
packages and that they must be thrown gently, it would be as effective
as the gabbai's shushing.
Finally, as a parent of two young children, I add that giving candy to
children in the morning only makes them less likely to eat a healthy
lunch. The youth group also takes pride in feeding kids soda (often
caffinated), cookies, salty snacks and lollipops. This is how young
children develop a taste for such snacks in place of more healthy
snacks. The messages sent by the youth leaders and adults are: decorum
has no place in a synagogue and nutrition is unimportant.
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From: Joseph Tabory <taborj@...>
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 08:32:33 +0200
Subject: The Weekday Amidah in the Cairo Genizah by Yechezkel Luger
I would like to announce the publication of a new book, The Weekday Amidah
in the Cairo Genizah by Yechezkel Luger. This book, a revised and updated
version of his doctoral dissertation, is a critical presentation of the
text of the amidah based on over 70 genizah mss. It gives a broad picture
of the versions of the amidah and the variant readings used by worshippers
of the period. Further information may be had by writing to me off-list.
Joseph Tabory
Department of Talmud, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 59200
tel. at office: (972) 3-5318593
email: mailto:<taborj@...>
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From: Mechy Frankel <mechyfrankel@...>
Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 18:02:53 -0700
Subject: Request: London, England
for the past few years when passing through london i have stayed at the
croft court in golders green. On my last trip i was told they had
dropped their hashgochoh. since i have to go again for june 9 weekend,
following query to any locals or US travelers: A. do any of the other
hotels have a hasgochoh these days?, B. if so, are they dumps? (croft
court at least remodeled recently).
Mechy Frankel W: (703) 588-7424
<mechyfrankel@...> H: (301) 593-3949
<michael.frankel@...>
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End of Volume 34 Issue 55