My father's most valuable autographs - the signatures on his ordination parchment

I republished this post in honor of the Yeshiva University Chag HaSemikhah Convocation that took place on Sunday, March 19, 2017 and in honor of the 75th anniversary of my father receiving his ordination.

I received my rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva in 1973. My father received his semichah on March 19, 1942 = א׳ בְּנִיסָן תש״ב

Here is my original post:

In May 2012, during the shiva for my dad, Rabbi Dr. Zev Zahavy, I showed many people an important part of our inheritance from him - five valuable autographs.

Now these are not autographs of Babe Ruth or Mickey Mantle or of U.S. presidents or anything like that. 

These are the five signatures on my dad's klaf - on his diploma of ordination from Yeshiva University's Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, which he received in 1942.

The priceless autographs are by five great Torah scholars, Rabbi Binyamin Aronowitz, Rabbi Bernard L. Levinthal of Philadelphia, Rabbi Samuel Belkin, Rabbi Moses Shatzkes (the Lomza Rav) and Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik of Boston (the Rav).

Rabbi Yossi Adler looked at the klaf during the shiva in Teaneck and confirmed what I had been told, that it was rare to have five signatures on such a document. My own ordination has two (Rabbis Belkin and Soloveitchik).

I once asked my dad what it was like to go before these five great rabbis and be examined before receiving semichah - ordination. He told me, "They were tough. They asked difficult questions. They made me sweat."

I greatly treasure this meaningful part of the legacy of my dad.

The Polychrome Book of Jewish Prayers hits #1 new release for Amazon Jewish Prayer Books

This book illustrates some examples of this historical composite characteristics of the Jewish liturgy in a unique visual manner. Major examples of the prayers are presented in the first part of the book using distinct colored type to help vividly show the era of their historical origins.

Following that discussion, this book illuminates the polyphonic nature of the contents of the prayers. It shows how the prayers not only derive from distinct periods of history but also that they convey a polyphony of distinctive melodic themes, sung by different distinctive personalities and yet joined together into a complex composite liturgical symphony.

It is the tenth anniversary of the publication of my Soncino Talmud for Kindle 35 volume set! New covers on every book to celebrate!

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Revised Content and New Covers

(Graphic courtesy of YiddishWit.com)

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Kindle Talmud Berakoth

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Let it Be in Hebrew is Shetehe - and now for a Song Parody of the Controversy

At the Live Aid concert in Wembley in 1985 Paul McCartney got criticized for choosing to sing "Let it Be". According to reports, some people thought it was not upbeat and positive enough for the Live Aid theme and that is was too passive for an activist movement.

Well we have had our "Let it Be" controversy in our synagogues for decades - connected to the use of the word "Shetehe" [=Hebrew for Let it Be] in the prayer for the State of Israel. Some people think it is too weak as an expression of the  redemptive significance of the modern State of Israel.

I described an episode of a synagogue brouhaha in a Blog that I originally posted 10/30/05: Shouting in Shul About the Prayer for the State of Israel.

And this for some reason this prayer issue resurfaced in the past few weeks in May 2022 after an article was published by a local rabbi about the past episodes. 

Here is the current links to the Prayer for Israel Shetehe controversy 2022 timeline:

Article: The Great Reishit Tzemichat Geulatenu Debate - Rabbi Chaim Jachter 5/6/22

Letter 1: The Prayer for the State of Israel - Rabbi Zahavy 5/13/22

Letter 2: The Importance of Our Prayers - Respondent 1 5/20/22

Letter 3: Setting the Record Straight on Tehei - Respondent 2 5/20/22

As a reminder, here is a version of the prayer in a little book that I just published.

And so now for something completely different, here is my parody rewrite of the lyrics of the McCartney song:

[For "Mother Mary" use "Brother Gabbai" (a gabbai is a prayer coordinator in a shul) and for "Let it be" use "Shetehe"]

When I find myself in times of trouble

Brother Gabbai comes to me speaking words of wisdom

Shetehe

And in my hour of darkness he is standing right in front of me

Speaking words of wisdom

Let it be

Shetehe

Let it be

Shetehe

Let it be

Whisper words of wisdom

Shetehe

When all the broken-hearted people

Living in the world agree, there will be an answer

Let it be

Although they may be parted

There is still a chance that they will see

There will be an answer

Shetehe

Let it be

Shetehe

Let it be, yeah

Let it be

There will be an answer

Shetehe

Oh, let it be

Shetehe

Let it be

Shetehe

Whisper words of wisdom

Let it be

Shetehe

Let it be

Let it be, yeah

Let it be

There will be an answer

Shetehe

And when the night is cloudy

There is still a light that shines on me

Shine until tomorrow

Let it be

I wake up to the sound of music

Brother Gabbai comes to me

There will be no sorrow

Let it be

Shetehe

Let it be

Shetehe

Let it be

There will be no sorrow

Let it be

Shetehe

Let it be

Yeah, Let it be

Yeah, let it be

Whisper words of wisdom

Shetehe

Yes...

And for those who don't know the song by heart, here are the original lyrics. 

Songwriters: Paul Mccartney / John Lennon   Let It Be lyrics © Sony/atv Tunes Llc

When I find myself in times of trouble

Mother Mary comes to me speaking words of wisdom

Let it be

And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me

Speaking words of wisdom

Let it be

Let it be

Let it be

Let it be

Let it be

Whisper words of wisdom

Let it be

When all the broken-hearted people

Living in the world agree, there will be an answer

Let it be

Although they may be parted

There is still a chance that they will see

There will be an answer

Let it be

Let it be

Let it be

Let it be, yeah

Let it be

There will be an answer

Let it be

Oh, let it be

Let it be

Let it be

Let it be

Whisper words of wisdom

Let it be

Let it be

Let it be

Let it be, yeah

Let it be

There will be an answer

Let it be

And when the night is cloudy

There is still a light that shines on me

Shine until tomorrow

Let it be

I wake up to the sound of music

Mother Mary comes to me

There will be no sorrow

Let it be

Let it be

Let it be

Let it be

Let it be

There will be no sorrow

Let it be

Let it be

Let it be

Yeah, Let it be

Yeah, let it be

Whisper words of wisdom

Let it be

Yes...

Source: Musixmatch

And please buy my new book:

My review of Koren Yevamot - published in the Jewish Press

The Jewish Press published my mini-review of the Koren edition of Yevamot.

Review of Koren Talmud Bavli Noé, Vol.14: Yevamot Part 1, Hebrew/English, by Adin Steinsaltz

Some who learn Talmud prefer swimming across the surface of that great sea of learning. Others prefer diving deeply into the oceans to explore the depths of the Talmudic waters.

The Talmud tractate of Yevamot can be learned in many ways. It has one hundred and twenty folio pages deriving out of a mere three verses in the Torah: "If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not be married abroad unto one not of his kin; her husband's brother shall go in to her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her" (Deut. 25:5).

The subsequent verses instruct, "And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate unto the elders, and say: 'My husband's brother refuses to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband's brother unto me'. Then the elders of the city shall call him, and speak to him; and if he stand, and say: 'I like not to take her'; then will his brother's wife draw near to him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face; and she shall answer and say: 'So shall it be done unto the man that doth not build up his brother's house'" (ibid. 7-9).

From this skimpy few verses of scripture the Talmud builds and elaborate structures of laws and cases regarding two societal practices, the levirate marriage and ritual of Halizah.

What were the two worst Jewish prayer decisions?

At its establishment, Chief Rabbi Herzog prescribed that the Prayer for the State of Israel be recited after the Torah reading in the synagogue on Sabbaths and Festivals. This was Jewish prayer mistake number one. He incorrectly mandated that this particular recitation remain unimportant, peripheral, second rate, and really not a part of the davening. It was a quick and dirty innovation. And it was wrong.

• First off, on account of its placement, the prayer is often recited by the gabbai, not the hazzan.
• Second, the prayer is frequently recited in a monotone, not chanted, and from the side of the bimah, not from the front and center of the synagogue.
• Third, the prayer is recited after the Torah reading and before the Musaf service - in a liminal area - between the established parts of the davening. It seems to me to be placed in a tertiary context that makes it even less prominent in the liturgy than the personal mesheberach blessings recited for individuals who receive aliyot to the Torah.

You don't have to be an expert in Jewish liturgy to conclude that this prayer is generally presented as an afterthought, recited quickly, and that it has been pasted in to our davening. In fact in many synagogues, the text is not printed in the prayerbook, It is actually pasted into the back cover of the siddur. It is high time for some prayer-book reform. We ought to be inserting a real prayer for the modern state of Israel into the crux of the actual prayer services of our tradition. We perhaps should have the chazzan chant it properly from the bimah. We perhaps should have the congregation join in responsively or together with the chazzan in singing the prayer with joy. Perhaps we should say this prayer three times a day - every day - in our Amidah or after the Alenu. For sure we must not equivocate about the State of Israel. It is real. We live in Teaneck. Most of our friends have been to Israel. Most of our community members have been inspired by the State and its history. We ourselves have lived there and visited there many times. The State of Israel is a factual, powerful, pervasive, long-lasting creator of religious moods and motivations. Yes it is time to promote the thanksgiving, praise and petition concerning the modern State of Israel as a real and central theme of all of our synagogue prayers. It is time to correct the error of the former Chief Rabbi and promote the Prayer for the State of Israel to a much more prominent place in our liturgy. At its establishment, Chief Rabbi Herzog prescribed that the Prayer for the State of Israel contain the phrase, "the beginning of the blossoming our redemption." This was Jewish prayer mistake number two. The State of Israel is the redemption of the Jewish people. Not the "beginning of the redemption." Not the "beginning of the blossoming of the redemption." It is the actual, historical, theological, political, social and cultural redemption of the Jewish people. Anyone who denies this is not in touch with reality. Anyone who hedges about it with language that is wishy-washy and ambivalent and preliminary - is just a redemption denier. We Jews of all denominations must say the Prayer for the State of Israel more frequently, more centrally and more forcefully. Meanwhile, we do not know how to cure these errors. Here for information purposes, is the current flawed prayer in translation.

Our Father in Heaven, Rock and Redeemer of the people Israel; Bless the State of Israel -- the beginning of the blossoming our redemption. Shield it with Your love; spread over it the shelter of Your peace. Guide its leaders and advisers with Your light and Your truth. Help them with Your good counsel. Strengthen the hands of those who defend our Holy Land. Deliver them; crown their efforts with triumph. Bless the land with peace, and its inhabitants with lasting joy. And visit all our Brethren of the house of Israel, in all the lands where they are scattered, and bring them rapidly to Zion, Your city and to Jerusalem, where Your name lives, as it says in the Torah of Moses, Your servant: ‘Even if your dwelling is at the end of the sky, God will congregate you from there, and bring you from there, and will bring you toward the land that Your forefathers inherited and you will inherit it.’ Dedicate our hearts to love and worship Your name and to keep all that is in Your Torah, and send us the son of David, the Messiah of Your justice, to redeem those who wait for Your salvation. Appear with the glory and the pride of Your strength, in front of all the inhabitants of the Universe, and all those who have breath will say: “The God of Israel is the King, and He reigns over all.” Amen.

[Blogged previously in 4/2007.]