Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh's blog
Posted in Noach on Oct 19th, 2012
In Parashat Noach, humanity undergoes two great catastrophes. The first is the flood – the holocaust that annihilates all of humanity and all land-life except those who survive in Noach’s ark. The second catastrophe is the dispersal of humanity to all ends of the earth as a result of the collapse of the Tower of [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on May 18th, 2012
Four Types of Eggs in the Talmud Four different types of egg are mentioned in the Talmud, and they each have a different status in Jewish law. The four types belong to two different groups: 1) eggs that were laid by a hen and 2) eggs that were found inside a slaughtered chicken. The Talmud [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Jun 9th, 2011
Bat Sheva prayed that her son, Solomon, be wise and fitting for prophecy. David’s other wives prayed that their sons be fitting to rule. King Solomon begins the last chapter of Proverbs with his mother’s exhortation to him as a young man. She begins by saying to him, “What, my son? And what, the son [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Jun 7th, 2011
“Give not your strength [i.e., your seed] to women, nor your ways to that which destroys kings” (“אַל תִּתֵּן לַנָּשִׁים חֵילֶךָ וּדְרָכֶיךָ לַמְחוֹת מְלָכִין”). This is the Biblical source for the relation between sex and politics. Maimonides quotes this verse (from the last chapter of Proverbs, the ethics of King Solomon, the wisest of men; in [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on May 16th, 2011
There are three ways to deal with enemies: surrender, fight, or make peace by neutralizing the root of their animosity.
The Ba’al Shem Tov told it as a story. Once a king called one of his officers and sent him on a secret mission, saying: I desire to test the loyalty of my subjects. Dress yourself as a king and go from state to state throughout my dominion; try your hardest to persuade and win over the people to rebel against me and accept you as king.
Posted in Uncategorized on Apr 26th, 2011
Progress in science (and society) is made by taking note of details that a previous theory is unable to account for. The history of modern science testifies to the truth of the above statement. But it also applies to social/political development and progress. Every system or theory, whether scientific or political, has rules. The Torah, [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Apr 3rd, 2011
A revolution is a turnover – those at the bottom revolve to the top and those at the top revolve to the bottom. In Hebrew, the literal meaning of the word “revolution” (מהפכה) is “turnover.” The word has 5 letters and its gematria is 150, meaning that the average value of its 5 letters is 30. [...]
Posted in Tweets from the year 5771 on Feb 28th, 2011
Rectifying the State of Israel in 10 steps: Step 1: Faith in the Torah (the Bible as interpreted by the Sages) as the Word of God. Step 2: Commitment to live our private and communal lives in accordance with the precepts of the Torah. Step 3: Proclaim the Torah as the foundation of international law. [...]
Posted in Tweets from the year 5771 on Feb 24th, 2011
There are the strong and the weak. There are the good and the bad. Not always are the strong the bad. If it so happens that the strong are the good and the weak are the bad, don’t weaken the strong by equating to them the weak. How can I judge who is good and [...]