Interesting Posts and Articles #213

1. Today is Tzom Gedaliah. Read the details of the assassination in II Kings 25:22 and on, and Yirmeyahu 40:5 and on.
   
   
2. Menachem Mendel has some links to sources on the practice of blowing the shofar before Bet Din on Shabbat Rosh Hashanah, which the Sanhedrin in Israel just did (and here in Hebrew):
   
   
   תקיעת שופר בראש השנה שחל בשבת בירושלים המקודשת לפי תקנת רבן יוחנן בן זכאי

   בראש השנה תש"ע תתקיים תפילת שחרית כמנהג וותיקין עם הזריחה בישיבת "בית הבחירה" – "בתוככי ירושלים" ברחוב הביכורים 4 בקומה ב' ברובע היהודי בירושלים. לוח הזמנים:

   • 5:40 תחילת התפילה
   • 6:25 תפילת עמידה של שחרית וקריאת התורה
   • 8:30 ישיבת בית דין
   • 8:45 תקיעות (זמן משוער)
   • 9:00 מוסף
   
   
3. The Jewish Worker has some post-Rosh Hashanah reflections, including about those who manage to come late for davening on Rosh Hashanah.
   
   
4. A cow pees on the car of Reb Akiva of Mystical Paths.
   
   
5. A Mother In Israel reports on a sign in the Haredi neighborhood in Neve Yaakov, advising tznius women to sit separately from "non-tzniusly" dressed women, at the suggestion of Rav Chaim Kanievsky. There's authentic Judaism for you!
   
   I wonder if those offering this "suggestion" for him to approve explained the metzius, that these women are not necessarily "perutzot" but that they come from a community who maintain a standard of tznius, just not one where the tznius norm is as extreme. In lack of this understanding, those pritzus-dik women can be viewed as Jezebels, who can either be brought "in line" with such ostracizing or else can negatively impact the "frum" women. Or if they explained the possible full sinas-chinam repercussions this step may cause. Of course, I don't live there, so perhaps it is I who am ignorant of the metzius.
   
   
6. A snake with a foot found in China. With picture. Some people want to point to this mutation (of this one animal) and call to mind the snake in the Garden of Eden.
   
   
7. Hirhurim on the Rashbash on judgement on Rosh Hashanah, and the idea presenting itself in halachic literature of premature death, due to chance, and the resulting halachic decision that one should flee a city affected by the plague. See my discussion of this idea on parshablog about Ibn Ezra and others discussing why send the betrothed man back from the battlefield, if all is preordained. And at Daat Torah, in discussing abuse and rape, and if it was Hashem's decision that a person undergo this.
   
   
8. HebrewBooks with a bunch of new sefarim for Tishrei. Here is one such sefer: the Radziner Rebbe on techeles in tzitzis in our days.
   
   
9. Google Books is going to have a publish-on-demand option for their digitized books. Nice.
   
   
10. Popehat on abusive cops.
    
    
11. Dealing with evolution / creationist materials for the classroom in Louisiana.