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The following article is available for download:

“A Coherent Universe of Rabbi Meir Simchah: A Philosophical System Guiding Halachah, Exegesis, and Leadership”

By: Chaim Oscar Jacob

In the wake of the Gaza invasion and the Iran war, the response of the Ḥaredi world to the issue of the conscription of yeshivah students has placed a focus on the concept of da‘at Torah. In our opening article, “Debating and Defining Da’as Torah: A Response to Rabbi Rakeffet-Rothkoff,” the author responds to an earlier Ḥakirah article, where a student of Rav Joseph Dov Soloveitchik ztz”l suggests that the Rav was an opponent of the principle of da‘at Torah. The author notes that in his 1939 hesped of Rav Chaim Ozer ztz”l, Rav Soloveitchik made the most articulate argument extant for the concept of da‘at Torah. Ḥakirah’s editor’s response to this claim, largely based on articles that have been published in Ḥakirah, demonstrates that the Rav’s position differs from that endorsed by today’s proponents of da‘at Torah.

The following essay (coming as we mark the 100th yahrtzeit of the Ohr Samei’ach), “A Coherent Universe of Rabbi Meir Simchah: A Philosophical System Guiding Halakhah, Exegesis, and Leadership,” reveals a leader of startling political pragmatism, intellectual independence, and brilliance. Rav Meir Simchah’s da‘at Torah speaks to us from across the ages about issues that are as relevant today as in his day. In another article in our Jewish Thought section, “How Aish Kodesh Approached German Invincibility and Superiority,” we learn how another great Jewish thinker understood the success of the enemies of Israel. The final article in the section, “Covenantal Marriage as a Therapeutic Model for Marital Conflict and Divorce in Orthodox Communities,” explores the increasing incidence of no-fault divorce in Orthodox Jewish communities and proposes a therapeutic framework that integrates “Masoretic conceptions of marriage with contemporary psychotherapeutic models”—relying heavily on the Torah teachings of Rabbis Soloveitchik, Kook, and Sacks.

In our Jewish Law section, the first article, “Use of a Sefer Torah in Women’s Hakafot and Torah Readings: Part 1—Hakafot,” continues Ḥakirah’s exploration of issues dealing with women’s participation in public tefillah and ritual ceremonies. Another article, “From ‘Living Will’ to Conversations with Your Proxy: A New Model for Halakhic Advanced Healthcare Planning,” suggests new ways to ensure that end-of-life measures follow halakhah and the will of those directly involved.

In our Talmud Torah section, in an essay titled “The King,” the author explores the varying opinions of the rishonim about the role of the king of Israel and the desirability of monarchy itself. “Walled City; Holy City: Kedushat Arei Ḥomah, Shushan Purim and the Megillah’s Alternate Endings” uses modern scholarship to explore the reason for the “holiness” of walled cities. This understanding leads to a proposal that Purim and Shushan Purim were established as a re-consecration of the maḥaneh shekhinah. In the final article of the section, “Guilty According to Laws of Heaven,” the author argues that the Talmud’s principle that certain transgressions are only subject to Divine punishment rather than punishment by man is rooted in the seven Noachide Laws which carry over into Jewish Law.

Our Torah and Science section deals with the concept of Torah and Science itself. The first article, “Torah and Science According to Leibowitz and Rabbi Soloveitchik,” shows that “while Rabbi Soloveitchik believes science and technological advance is part and parcel of l-ovdah u-l-shomrah, from Leibowitz’s perspective, there is no Divine commandment associated with science because science is part of the secular realm, animated by human values and needs.” The second article, “Science in the Torah,” demonstrates that Ḥazal feel that scientific knowledge is important to the understanding of the Torah and so transmitted their scientific knowledge, although perhaps imperfect, to following generations.

In a special section, Sefarim, we are introduced to works that are largely unknown. “Introducing Issur ve-Heter, a Comprehensive pre-Maimonidean Halakhic Compendium in Judaeo-Arabic” describes a newly discovered early work by an anonymous author “filled with many interesting and unique details important for the history of halakhah, including rulings, descriptions of local customs, and interesting variants on Talmudic texts.”

“Moses Mat (Marbitzei Torah) of Przemysl: His Varied Valuable Works” brings to our attention a multi-faceted talmid of Maharshal who served as rabbi of several communities and wrote books of lasting value including a halakhic compendium, and discourses on the weekly Torah readings and Megillot. In contrast, another article deals with an overlooked work by an author who is well known to the Torah public. “The Language of the Faithful” is the first translation of a little-known monograph written by Rabbi Barukh Ha-Levi Epstein about the primacy of the Hebrew language. The last article in the section deals with a sefer that is known to all. “A Mistake Which Remained for Over 100 Years” tells the story of a mistake that crept into a popular maḥzor that was repeated for a century.

In our Minhag section, our final English article, “Havdalah Wine Applied to the Eyes and Other Locations,” traces the sources for a popular custom.

 The first two Hebrew articles deal with scientific insight and halakhah. The first essay is the second part of Horotam v-Ledatam shel Dinah v-Yosef, which appeared in the previous edition of Ḥakirah, and explores another aspect of the halakhic ramification of the aggadah that Yosef and Dinah were switched in the womb. The second article uses Torah sources to give psychological insight into intimate marital relations. And in conjunction with the arrival of the new year, the final article answers a difficulty in Rambam’s Hilkhot Teshuvah.