Rabbi Isaac Delouya (d.ca. 1572)
Rabbi Isaac Delouya (הרב יצחק דלויה) was born in Spain, around the end of the fifteenth century. The origin of his last name is...
Maimonides, ‘aboda zara, 11:11: The healing powers of words.
Last week we explained the idea of the hober, a wizard or enchanter who uses spells to invoke supernatural effects (seethis). By "spells" we mean...
SHABBAT: Removing snow on Shabbat
In most Israeli cities snow is not very common. This year, however, there were large amounts of snow, especially in Yerushalayim, and many rabbis referred...
Rabbi Ya’aqob Sasportas (1610-1698)
Rabbi Ya'aqob Sasportas was born in Oran, Algeria, in 1610. A prodigious child, at the age of eighteen he was elected as the Dayan ...
Modern Rabbis on celebrating New Year’s eve
We have written in previous HOTD about the views of modern orthodox rabbis regarding the celebration of different American holidays. We have seen that...
Maimonides on ‘aboda zara: What’s wrong with Harry Potter?
MT 'aboda zara 11:10: "Who should be considered an enchanter? The one that cast spells that have nor meaning in a regular language,...
Hilkhot ‘aboda zara 11:8: Maimonides vs. Astrology
Astrology, the supposed influence of the stars on human events, is alluded to in the Hebrew Bible more than once. In Lev. 19:26 and...
The Tenth of Tebet and ezra haSofer
This coming Friday, December 13th we will observe the Tenth of Tebet, a fast day which remind us of three tragic events. The main...
The Tenth of Tebet and the Septuagint
This coming Friday, December 13th, we will observe the Tenth of Tebet, a fast day which remind us of three tragic events. The main...
KASHRUT: Meat and fish together
Eating fish and meat together is not restricted by Biblical law. However, the Rabbis considered that mixing fish and meat together could be harmful...
