Manna as a "Detox Diet": On Rav Mendel of Rymanov's Segulah for Parnassah (original) (raw)

This essay interrogates the legal discourse of Shulḥan ha-Tahor, a curious-and curiously understudied-work of Hasidic halakhah written by Rabbi Yitzḥak Ayzik Yehudah Yehiel Safrin of Komarno. The book is, at heart, a systematic reformulation of Jewish law in light of Kabbalah, Hasidism, and the quest for personal mystical experience. Shulḥan ha-Tahor offers a rare case study for the interface of mystical experience , Hasidic devotional values, and kabbalistic doctrine as they explicitly shape the codified forms-and norms-of halakhah. The essay reveals a different side of Jewish modernity through a close reading of an exceptional nineteenth-century legal code.

This paper traces the life-cycle of the midrash-myth that the Israelites in Egypt did not change their name, language, or mode of dress. It addresses the origins of the midrash, its re-emergence in the anti-acculturationist discourse of a specific circle in the early nineteenth century, and its role in the emergence of “Ultra-Orthodoxy” in 1860s Hungary. It will offer a hypothesis on how and why specifically this obscure midrash caught on in that circle and attempt to explain its adoption by Ultra-Orthodox leaders in the latter part of the century. It will then consider the spread of the meme in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, in Hungary and beyond. Finally, it will address how it was absorbed into halakhic culture, considering the rhetorical significance of non-legal material in halakhic writings.

N.B.: Three courses begin in May, taught by experts. On Introduction to Kabbalah: Joel Hecker (May 5,12,19,26); Alinda Damsma (May 14-June 4). On the Zohar: Daniel Matt (May 12-June 16). All lessons are recorded.

Originally published in Zeramim: An Online Journal of Applied Jewish Thought, I:3 Spring 2017 / 5777, pp. 67-110. DESCRIPTION: A responsum on practices and history of the recitation of Addir Addirenu. ERRATA: Please note that an omission from this entire article is an emphasis on the fact Addir Addirenu is only included in the liturgical practices certain Jewish geographically focused traditions. Neither Yemenite nor Chabad siddurim, for example, are likely to include Addir Addirenu. On p. 86, everything from "UNtanneh Tokef" until the note for fn. 70 should read: "UNtanneh Tokef Kedushat HaYom (ונתנה תקף קדושת היום, “and let us grant the power of the sanctity of the day”),". Note also that "Bereshit 2" on p. 106 should read "BeMidbar 2."

One of the distinctive literary genres of Bratslav Hasidism is the shir yedidot (Song of Endearment), a mystical poem concerning the stature of the soul of R. Naḥman of Bratslav. These poems, still sung by Hasidim today, contain esoteric traditions that reveal the multiple voices within Bratslav Hasidism. This article traces the development of this form from the beginning of the nineteenth century until the present, and argues that changes in emphasis within these songs reflect shifts in Bratslav theology over the years. The study thus presents a more complex historical picture of Bratslav Hasidism, which has usually been seen as one monolithic unit.