Category: Halacha
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Birkat ha-Ilanot in the Southern Hemisphere
Birkat ha-Ilanot is a special blessing said once a year upon seeing blossoming fruit trees for the first time—the Talmud says, “in the days of Nisan.” But what if one sees such a tree for the first time in a month other than Nisan? What drew me to this topic is that Jewish law pertaining…
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Halakhic Codes of the Rishonim: אורחות חיים
This series, the Halakhic Codes of the Rishonim, explores lesser-known sources of halakhah in the chain of transmission that were incorporated into Shulchan ‘Arukh (and therefore current halakhic practice), as well as halakhot and minhag lost to living observance. This is first post in the series. Image: A fragment of Orchot Chayyim (about tum’ah, ritual…
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Who was the Shimusha Rabba?
When the Shimusha Rabba is mentioned, it’s usually in connection to a rare, alternative form of tefillin. Lesser known is the source for this method, a short halakhic work on tefillin from the period of the Geonim, possibly from the earlier part of the period to which relatively few sources attest. The gaonic-era author is…