Elli Fischer, at The Blogs

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Oct 20, 2019, 5:09 PM

A Man’s Reflections on Women’s Simhat Torah Experience

On Simhat Torah, we celebrate the Torah not by studying it, but by touching it, embracing it, kissing it, and dancing with it. "We" being "males" in most Orthodox synagogues (the frame of reference for the remainder of this...

Oct 6, 2019, 1:45 PM

Who is qualified to officiate a halakhic marriage?

When Israel's state rabbis undermine private weddings, they are consolidating their own power, not protecting Halakhah

Jul 22, 2018, 3:45 PM

Iran is not here! On the Haiyun episode

Take it from one who performs Orthodox weddings outside the Chief Rabbinate: The Haiyun case is no big deal

Jun 23, 2016, 8:26 PM

On ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ charisma in Jewish education: Toward a taxonomy of risk

A taxonomy of risk for Jewish education, including 'soft' charisma that leaves students' sense of self intact

May 13, 2016, 6:18 PM

How You Can Help Benjy Get a New Lung

UPDATE: Benjy Hockley had a lung transplant this past Shabbat (May 14, 2016). As of Sunday, he remains in critical condition. Prayers are welcome. Benjy Hockley, a 34 year old oleh from England and father of adorable triplet girls. He has...

Oct 28, 2015, 1:46 PM

Jewish presence on the Temple Mount: A conversation

A conversation between Rabbi Yehuda Glick, Rabbi Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer and Professor Shaul Magid

Oct 22, 2015, 7:30 PM

The Brilliance of Bibi’s Big Lie: A Dramatization

Scene: Bibi’s office. In attendance are Prime Minister Netanyahu and everyone who would be played by a main character in an Israeli version of West Wing (to be called The Aquarium): media advisers, speechwriters, PR gurus, pollsters, etc. Bibi: We’re...

Apr 28, 2015, 11:35 PM

Thus Shall Aharon Enter the Sanctuary

This past Shabbat in Israel, and this coming Shabbat in the Diaspora, we read/will read Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, a parsha with a paradox. Acharei Mot opens with a prohibition against entering the sanctuary whenever one wishes -- "al yavo be-khol et...

May 18, 2014, 4:41 PM

A Jewish Holiday and a Civic Dilemma

According to Jewish tradition, the period between Passover and Shavu’ot, during which we count the 49 days of the Omer, is marked by solemnity and quasi-mourning over past Jewish tragedies, particularly the death of 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva...

Apr 10, 2014, 12:31 AM

Is All Zionism really Religious Zionism?

There was a great deal of religious ambivalence about Zionism in its early years. On one hand, the return to the Land of Israel had always been a religious aspiration of the Jewish people, and yet the nascent movement...

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About Me

Elli Fischer is a translator with rabbinical ordination from the Israeli Chief Rabbinate who is working on a PhD in Jewish History from Tel Aviv University. He is the editor of Rabbi Eliezer Melamed's "Peninei Halakha" series in English and co-creator of HaMapah, a project for the quantitative analysis of the history of halakhah. His writings have appeared in numerous print and online media.

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