Author Description

In “A Categorization of Errors Encountered in the Study of Zemanim,” the author demonstrates that halachic decisions in determining issues such as zmanei tefillah and the beginning and end of Shabbos are sometimes inaccurate because they do not account for the astronomical realities related to season and location. In “A Halachah in Mishneh Torah,” we see how the restructuring of the halakhot in Mishneh Torah by printers over the ages has for centuries deprived students of Rambam’s nuanced, measured, and finely structured lessons. A Hebrew article regarding the myth of Bugonia discusses Torah issues related to the ancient belief in the spontaneous generation of the bee. Error in practice rather than psak is the subject of an essay entitled “Asking a Child to Do a Melachah on Shabbat,” which addresses a particular case of laxity in observance of settled law. According to the Torah, no one is infallible; even the greatest in Israel are subject to error. An article in our Tanakh section, “From the Monarchy of David to the Children of Israel: A Comparative Study of Family Values and Legacy,” seeks to identify the flaw that led to the decline of the monarchy of the family of David HaMelech only two generations after his death. An essay in our Jewish Thought section, “Attitudes toward the Study of Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah, from the Dawn of Chasidism to Present Day Chabad,” explains the position of Lubavitch leaders regarding the study of Kabbalah. Their belief that Chabad ḥasidus represents the peak of the development of the wisdom of Kabbalah led some to discourage study of primary Kabbalistic sources because of the danger of misinterpretation. On the other hand, in the other essay in this section, “Evolutionary Ethics: The Ta‘amei Hamitzvot of Rav Kook,” we learn that Kabbalistic thought was central to the philosophy of Rav Kook and discover his daring position that the nearing redemption would produce new insight into the reasons behind mitzvot. In our Tanakh sectio