Hakirah Volume 5 At The Printers

Note: Although I am an editor of Hakirah, what follows are my personal opinions and was not vetted with the rest of the editorial staff. Please see it as such.

Hakirah Volume 5 is at the printers since just before Rosh Hashana. It will hopefully get into distribution immediately after Sukkoth. A listing of the articles is available at the www.hakirah.org website, including the first two pages of each. In my unbiased opinion, we have again succeeded in presenting a wide variety of topics that challenge the popular understanding of religious praxis and beliefs. It is through this critical look at accepted wisdom based on in depth analysis of the sources that the extraordinary greatness of Jewish thought and practice is perceived.

A translation of Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitch article on Emunat Chachamim debunks the current understanding that it endorses blind faith in a human being. Rabbi Buchman’s article gives us a fresh look at what it means to receive support for learning. Professor Kaplan presents an excellent review of Worship of the Heart by the Rav with some great insights into the Rav’s thought. Dr. Krakowsky presents an interesting look at the Adam and Chava story from a psychological perspective. In the same section is my article on how I read Divine Providence in Rambam.

The article by Professors Epstein, Dickman and Wilamowsky gives a completely new interpretation of a very difficult Gemara which has baffled both Gedolei Yisrael and scholars for generations. I am convinced that their insight will redirect the dialog regarding this Gemara and at the same time offer a new perspective on the physical aspects of a sefer torah. Rabbi Lieberman addresses the issue of Tikkunei Soferim which is also indirectly impacted by the preceding article. Heshey Zelcer offers an excellent review of a biography of the Bach and his unsuccessful attempt to weaken the influence of the Beit Yosef and his Shulchan Aruch.

The Hebrew section has an article by Rabbi Gedalia Rabinowitz discussing the Gra controversy from the perspective of a Chassidic Rebbe and a Halachik review of the separation of co joined twins by Rabbi Zucker.

I believe that we succeeded in presenting articles on a wide range of topics written by a broad spectrum of authors from academia to the Beit Hamidrash and everything else in between.