Prayer in an Age of Distraction by Zach Truboff As early as the Talmud Yerushalmi, we find accounts of the struggle to be mindful while praying. Rabbi Matanyah proclaimed that he would thank his head for bowing of its own accord when he reached the modim section of the shemoneh esreh, implying that his prayer was an unconscious act, lacking […]
Letter of Recommendation of Rabbi Moshe Zuriel מכתב המלצה של הרה”ג רבי משה צוריאל שליט”א ב”ה יומי דניסן ה’תשע”ח ,לכבוד הרב בצלאל נאור שליט”א :למדתי קצת בספרך שוד מלכים והנני להעיר כמה הערות .א) נהניתי מהחידוש שחידשת (בעמ’ מב) שהחרדה שמרגיש זה האיש שמתגלים לו חזיונות עליונים, היא סימן ההיכר שהדברים שמתגלים לו הם נכונים. […]
Reviewing: “Koren Rav Kook Siddur” by Avraham Yitzchak haKohen Kook. Koren Publishers Jerusalem. Hebrew/English edition. 2017. Hardcover. ISBN-10: 9653017543. $34.93. There’s a story where a man comes to a hasidic rebbe and pours out his problems to him. The rebbe replies that his problems are in truth not so insurmountable, as all he has to […]
Suchen Sie nach Möglichkeiten, die Anrufe und Textnachrichten Ihres Freundes zu verfolgen? Vorbei sind die Zeiten, in denen Spionage nur auf einige Regierungsbehörden und andere solche Unternehmen beschränkt war. Mit dem Fortschritt in der Technologie ist es nun für jeden Einzelnen möglich, die Mobiltelefone von Personen zu verfolgen, die ein Auge auf ihre Kinder, Ehepartner […]
by Rabbi Elisha Paul There has rarely been a more maligned figure of such lofty stature as Rav Kook. He was vilified during his lifetime by a small vocal minority of scholars who didn’t appreciate his uniqueness. These individuals cast aspersions on his spiritual insights and hounded him mercilessly. The great rabbi refused to retaliate […]
by Ben Rothke The Myers–Briggs type indicator is extremely popular, in part that it effortlessly categorizes human personality into 16 categories. Yet as an effective tool for psychological analysis, it’s utterly worthless. Given that the human personality is far too complex to be pigeonholed into its 16 categories. Those with complex and multifaceted personalities are […]
Below is a review of my recent book, When God Becomes History by Rabbi Pesach Sommer: As I have noted in a previous review, Rav Kook, despite being somewhat well known, is the victim of all sorts of assumptions. This is particularly true in the English speaking world where he is primarily known for his […]
BOOK REVIEW BY BEZALEL NAOR Maimonides Between Philosophy and Halakhah: Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s Lectures on the Guide of the Perplexed Edited with an Introduction by Lawrence J. Kaplan (KTAV/Urim: Jerusalem, 2016) 256 pp. US $28.95 In the late 1970s, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik entrusted Lawrence Kaplan with the formidable task of translating his classic […]
Bridging the Kabbalistic Gap Nefesh HaTzimtzum by Avinoam Fraenkel Vol. 1: Rabbi Chaim Volozhin’s Nefesh HaChaim with Translation and Commentary Volume 2: Understanding Nefesh HaChaim through the Key Concept of Tzimtzum and Related Writings (Jerusalem: Urim, 2015) Reviewed by Bezalel Naor Recently there has been a spate of English translations of the classic of Mitnagdic […]
Rav Israel Hopsztajn, Maggid of Kozienice Book Review of “Avodat Yisrael” Bezalel Naor Israel ben Shabtai [Hapstein]. ‘Avodat Yisrael (B’nei Berak: Pe’er mi-Kedoshim, 5773 / 2013). 66, 738 pages. Rabbi Israel ben Shabtai Hapstein, the Maggid of Kozienice (or more commonly, the “Kozhnitser Maggid”) (d. 1814) was a major figure in the third generation of […]