Sunday, June 21, 2009

Interesting Posts and Articles #163

  1. From last week, a parshablog post on rabbinic opinions on whether gentiles have a different number of teeth than Jews. With important repercussions for us.

  2. Conversations in Klal discusses maturity and shidduchim, as does Wolfish Musings in a derived post.

  3. For this week's parsha, Sedra Shorts discusses gouging out of eyes, as mentioned by Datan and Aviram, and explores what the significance of this penalty might be. He suggests based on other Biblical texts that it is the penalty for a rebellious slave. Possible, but what about the code of Hammurabi giving it as a penalty to a woman who crushes a man's testicles? It would seem to be a broader punishment. Another possibility: it is a form of oath -- let this happen if we violate what we are about to say. We would need to account for the patach under the heh though.

  4. Daf Notes on futuristic pigs:
    If so, explains the Chasam Sofer, there will be no change in halacha regarding the pig. It was forbidden and will remain forbidden. Rather, Hashem will change the nature of the pig and it will begin to chew its cud. That is why it will be permitted then. Accordingly, the only pigs that will be permitted then, are those that will be born after this change occurs; however, the pigs that were in existence prior to that will remain forbidden. This is why a pig is not classified as “something which can become permitted.”
    A cute answer to an interesting question. But are the events of messianic times really going to make things davar sheyesh bo matirin? Regardless, this would entail an entire redesign of the pig, such that it would develop numerous stomachs. Is this possible in a short period of time, for a pig to evolve this way, al derech hateva. The Chasam Sofer would work, but what of Rambam's position of אין בין העולם הזה לימות המשיח אלא שעבוד מלכיות בלבד?
  5. On the Main Line on the unhappy Abraham Pass, an 18 year old Jew executed in England in 1743.

  6. Vos Iz Neias posts a story about the distribution of tznius booklets, which was last covered at Life In Israel here, with images of the booklets. See the comment section.

  7. Havel Havalim for this week is hosted at The Real Shliach. Though somehow my post on Rachav as prostitute or innkeeper got listed under politics.

4 comments:

Yosef Greenberg said...

Interesting to consider yemos ha'mashiach as a davar sheyesh lo matirim. It could have many implications, although I doubt it lehalachah. (I should check it inside.)

On the Rambam's (Shmeul's) position: Duh! He follows Ashkenazik tradition, witch goes along with these that fought the Rambam's position. (Rashba, Rabeinu Yonah etc., the ones not usually mentioned by Slifkin.)

Unless you're asking what the Rambam would do with this.

joshwaxman said...

here is another interesting intersection of yemos hamashiach and halacha.

i am aware that it is a matter of a dispute, so more along the lines of the latter, together with a partial endorsement of that position. (i don't know if rabbi slifkin does or does not usually mention these positions, not having really read his works...)

kt,
josh

Ariella's blog said...

on the last point mentioned, I am reviewing Melachim. In the famous instance of Shlomo's wisdom with respect to what to do with the one live baby claimed by 2 mothers, the women were identified as "zonos." It was either the RALBAG or RADAK that suggested they were innkeepers like Rachav.

joshwaxman said...

yes, it was ralbag. (see here:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xWFKiPJDO_I/SjSK0GbMbGI/AAAAAAAACd0/-jGdNCFrl_0/s1600-h/zonot2.bmp
)
he takes all the pundekitas in Targum at face value, while radak keeps insisting it is euphemism.

kt,
josh

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