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Jewish Thought was a joint project of the Orthodox Union (OU) and Yeshivat Ohr Yerushalayim. This journal was released in 5755/6.
“ELEH EZKERA”: Martyrdom as the Avoda of Yom Kippur
Rabbi Nachman Levine
Ashkenazim recite the liturgical poem “Eleh Ezkerah” in the Yom Kippur musaf service. Based on Midrash about the Asara Harugei Malchut, this piyyut tells of the ten martyrs who met cruel deaths at the hands of the Romans. Why was this story incorporated into the musaf? Via meticulous analysis of parallels between “Eleh Ezhera” and the avoda of Yom Kippur, the author reaches a surprising yet inevitable conclusion.
THE SPIES: Rising and Falling
Rabbi Nachman Levine
In this short essay, the author identifies key themes in the Biblical spy narrative. In the process, we gain a greater appreciation of an enigmatic midrash.
BREAD TO EAT, CLOTHES TO WEAR: The Symbols of Yaakov’s Trials
Rabbi Nachman Levine
Escaping the wrath of his brother, Esav, Yaakov vows to build a house to the L-rd if only He grants him “…bread to eat and clothes to wear” (Bereishit 28:20). Having used food and clothing to usurp Esav’s blessing, Yaakov sensed that these very things would – “measure for measure” – elude him. The author demonstrates how indeed they did.
“THE GLORY OF THIS LAST HOUSE”: Purim and Chanuka as Harbingers of Redemption
Rav Hershel Schachter
From its inception, the second Beit Hamikdash was doomed; King Shlomo had prophesied it. His fellow prophets hinted at the spiritual diminution of the second Temple, which lacked many features of the first. Yet these prophets enthused that the second Beit Hamikdash would surpass its predecessor. How did the second-Temple era – with its widespread corruption and lack of Jewish sovereignty – allow for shimmering prophecies? In formulating his answer, the author illuminates the second-Temple prophecies of Chaggai, Zecharia and Malachi and explores the Halachic basis of rabbinic holidays.
THE SHALSHELETH CANTILLATION: Mark of Ambivalence
Mois A. Navon
An oral tradition of cantillation accompanied the Biblical text given Moshe at Sinai. Perhaps the strangest of these notes is the elongated sound of the shalshelet, which appears in the Bible only four times. Citing midrashim, the author contends that the lingering effect of the shalshelet conveys a specific mood and message.
THE SEVEN MO’ADIM AND THE SEVEN LIQUIDS
Rabbi Mordecai Kornfeld
To be subject to ritual impurity, food must be wet with water, wine, oil, blood, milk, bee honey or dew. Through extensive use of Biblical texts and midrashim, the author argues that – in a remarkable coupling of impurity and sanctity – each of these seven liquids parallels one of the seven Jewish holidays.
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