Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel
An excellent introduction to an ancient philosopher
By Israel Drazin TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on May 20, 2015
Philo (about 20 BCE to about 50 CE) of Alexandria, Egypt, is one of Judaism’s great philosophers. The noted scholar Harry Wolfson wrote in his book Philo that Philo was the first Jewish philosopher who “contributed anything new” to Jewish-Greek philosophy. Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel offers readers a good introduction to this famous thought-provoking philosopher ...
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Note: I wrote this back in 1988 and it probably needs a new revision. But for those who find such topics interesting, here it is for your enjoyment.
Q. What were the types of stones used in Aaron’s breastplate? What were the reasons a particular stone represented a particular tribe?
A. Ibn Ezra in his commentary to Exodus 28, noted that we really have no way to positively identifying the stones that were set ...
One of the most important but also neglected customs of the year is when we observe the Yahrzeit of a loved one. It occurs with such frequency that we often will forget about the date altogether because we may have forgotten the Hebrew calendar date.
According to R. Solomon Freehoff, this circumstance is the principle reason why he thinks a secular date of death may be used lest the actual day of Yahrzeit ...
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Posted by Yochanan Lavie on 28.02.10 at 4:18 pm
‘Twas the night before Purim, when all through the shul
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mule;
The stockings were hung by the aron with care,
In ...