הגדה ברורה

Haggadot and essays for Pesah and all year round

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עדים זוממים (iii): A response to Prof. Shamma Friedman

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Around a year ago, I wrote an article (and a short follow up) arguing that the famous d'rasha of הרגו אין נהרגין, widely believed to be an unimpeachable teaching of Hazal, is, in fact, a דעת יחיד found only in one late, and highly dubious, source recorded in the Talmud Bavli and tacitly ignored by codifiers until the advent of a revolution in the way the Bavli was conceptualized, spearheaded by the scholars of France. I happened upon this analysis while working on one of my unfinished projects, …

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עדים זוממים (ii) The source of Rashi’s d’rasha

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In a previous article, I discussed at some length the genesis of the claim that עדים זוממים can only be punished for an intermediate period between the moment when their perjury results in the conviction of their victim (גמר דין) and the actual execution of the sentence. If, so the claim goes, the unfortunate object of their false testimony has already been executed then they may not be punished. Guilty as sin, free as a bird, what a country! As I demonstrated there at length, the story of …

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Children and Bircat Cohanim: A case study in the halachic process

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Can a child go up to the duchan? It's a simple question that merits a simple answer. Fortunately, Hazal gave us one (Mishnah Megillah 4:3): קָטָן קוֹרֵא בַּתּוֹרָה וּמְתַרְגֵּם, אֲבָל אֵינוֹ פּוֹרֵס עַל שְׁמַע, וְאֵינוֹ עוֹבֵר לִפְנֵי הַתֵּיבָה, וְאֵינוֹ נוֹשֵׂא אֶת כַּפָּיו. In as many words (or, to be precise, fewer), the Mishnah tells us that a child cannot perform Bircat Cohanim. The minimum age for a Cohen to participate therefore is 13 or, at the very least, is no less than 13. I add …

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