My maternal grandfather was Louis Soloway (May his memory be a blessing). When I met my cousin Lew Soloff (May his memory be a blessing) he taught me this is our family. The name means nightingale correct? I am a singer and musician :) 👋♥️ Shalom!
Slight corrections: 1). The Brisker Rav was not his grandfather Rav Chaim. The Brisker Rav was his uncle Yitzchok Zev (aka Velvel), the younger son of Rav Chaim Soloveichik. He ended up moving to Israel and establishing the Brisk yeshivot there. 2) The Rav’s father was named Moshe, not Meir. Rav Moshe was the elder son of Rav Chaim. He married a member of the Feinstein family, so The Rav and Rav Moshe Feinstein were actually cousins! Rav Moshe had two other younger sons: Shmuel became a chemistry professor at YU and died in the 1960s; Ahron moved to Chicago and became a prominent Rav there (also taught a very small shiur at YU in his later years).
Thanks again Dr. Abramson for this very informative lecture, I was interested to find out Bartenura was a famous rabbi, I had only heard of Bartenura before because they are one of the best selling Kosher Italian wines right now
While doing my professional editing work, I often listen to and highly enjoy your lectures. This was no exception, but I have a number of comments and mild criticisms: 1. Rather than introducing your opening tale as a joke (questionable), I’d suggest you present it as a highly insightful story about human psychology (which it definitely is). 2. Your definition of the Brisker approach was IMHO inaccurate and missing its essential character. I would define its main innovation as: greater focus on understanding the local logic of a halacha or sugya (Talmudic discussion), rather than using broad knowledge to explain it via comparison to other Talmudic sources. Additionally, it attempted to pinpoint the fundamental logical structure underpinning a halacha or sugya, and then sought to explain a vast array of sugyas using these structures. 3. To the best of my knowledge, Bartenura is not known as the Rov, but by the similarly sounding Ra”v (רע"ב), short for Rabbi Ovadia (of) Bertenura. Ironically, you immediately thereafter mentioned the Baal Ha’Tanya, who is indeed called the Rav by Chassidim, and all Jews call his work “Shulchan Aruch HaRav." 4. You were right at first. The Rebbe and the Rov studied together in Berlin, not Paris. 5. I cringed when you mentioned that Warsaw’s Jewish pop. included “Talmudists and Chassidim,” as if they were exclusive groups, when in fact, a high percentage of Warsaw’s greatest Talmudists were Chassidim, including the Admorim of Gur, Sochatchev and Novominsk.
Also note that although Reform are lax in observance of the 'Mitzvah', that is the point of Reform, for Reform hold that although this is the way of our ancestors, either our ancestors were wrong or ignorant (the Almighty does not care whether we observe the ritual), and had our ancestors known the wisdom revealed through the Enlightenment they would not still follow the strict path of Moses or the Pharisees. So although to an Orthodox, Reform may seem easy, Reform just means rejecting the Mitzvah and doing whatever you want, Reform is actually the most difficult, because in general to be Reform you must have high Secular Education and success, and still know the traditions that we reject. Although according to PEW the Modern Orthodox although smallest in number are the richest and most educated of all US Jews. And noting that in modern Israel history has proven the Haredim correct as Yair Lapid constantly says the Haredim won, and that as in Israel only Orthodoxy is accepted, making Reform less and less relevant, although very likely the Haredim will win the definition of what it means to be a 'Jew' and the Modern Orthodox will actually be closer to the Reform than the Torah path of our ancestors.
Rabbi Mohilever started concept of Zionism way before Hertzl...yet few no about him...religious Zionism.Rabbi Kehane followed his philosophy...it seems Kehane was right...especially now...Shalom
my understanding of the Tanakh on homosexuality is that sodomy is actually prohibited, for concerns of organ and tissue damage, and homosexuality is more just frowned upon because of concerns with being homosexual and still reproducing and not adulterising; certainly, such an orientation would require some creative Halakhic juggling, and special circumstances (being widowered); but this is just my view, and it only applies to Jews and converts as homosexuality is not condemned in the Noachide laws.
@@motorola1543 did it amount to justice when Alan Turing-- a war hero-- was entrapped for homosexual acts and forced to choose between chemical castration and 2 years in prison as depicted in The Imitation Game? Granted this is the most extreme I could point to but would it ever look like justice to prosecute consenting adults when no free will violations have taken place? Since the issue is so emotionally charged-- and it's exponentially more difficult for humans to be objective when our focus is overwhelmed by an issue so emotionally charged and semantically-stacked by millennia of cultural associations-- do humans sound like we can be objective enough on these issues to control them in a court of law? Seems like we should let The Creator judge issues like this. Besides I would think all Jews would agree that our divine mandates of kindness and forgiveness apply no less to serious transgressors; and if judging them would interfere with our loving them then maybe we should leave it to God to judge. Our judgement should be based on free will violations or brainwashed- influenced choices; secular humanists can be just as moral as theists, and God I like to think is sympathetic to wrong beliefs from a good heart as "From the rising of the sun to going down of the same his name is praised" ; even prayer of an earnest idolater worshipping their One True Yadam is accepted as a pure sacrifice. Right or wrong about right or wrong-- kindness is ever behooven.