ADDeRabbi's been getting lots of hits from people looking for R. JJ Schacter's Kinos program. Me too.
I've also noticed lots of hits from people looking for apocolypse signs.
Go figure.
Via LAMED:
Years ago, when we were in yeshiva, there was only one dictionary: Jastrow...Now it is online and fully indexed here.
I flat out love the Jastrow. The online version is an indispensable resource for just about any serious Jewish blogger. This version has just about everything; the only thing I could think of that would make it better would be if there were some way for me to link directly to a defination, so, for example, I could create a link to e'd'n and other words. Boy, I could have some fun with that (did I ever tell you my theory on the shoresh ch'g'?)
At last night's Chumash shiur, the topic of discussion was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. R. Gottlieb reviewed the midrash which explains the various different fruits that could have been the Forbidden Fruit. It is well known that the apple, probably the most recognizable choice, is not found in any statements of Chazal.
In Western Christian art, the fruit is most commonly depicted as an apple. One possible reason for this arises from a medieval pun. It was a source of humor to monks that the Latin word for evil was similar to the word for apple. Thus it was often said that by eating the malum (apple), Eve contracted malus (evil). There is, however, no textual or historical evidence by which to argue the literalness of this image.
I knew I had read something about this somewhere, and after a little searching found what I was looking for. In Nefesh HaRav (pg 209-210), R. Herschel Schacter writes:
I heard once from [the Rav] that the GR"A had a custom not to eat grapes on Rosh HaShannah, because according to one opinion the Tree of Knowledge was a grapevine...and when he mentioned this, someone asked, "But the Tree of Knowledge was an apple (tapuach)?!?" Our teacher answered him immediately that this was incorrect, rather that according to one opinion, it was an etrog, which in the language of the Tanach is called tapuach, and the Christians mixed up the tapuach from Tanach with the tapuach of today, as in the times of the Tanach, there were no apples in the Land of Israel.
Today's Word of the Day (brought to you by Bill Selliger):
onymous: adj : bearing a name; "This blog is onymous." [ant: anonymous]
I have trouble saying anything in less than three paragraphs.
I am in constant struggle with the voices in my mind.
Perhaps I need to start posting in Haiku.
Words go on and on,
Brevity is a virtue,
Get with the program.
If we say food for "food," why don't we say flued for "flood?"
Please think carefully before answering.
Dictionary.com Word of the Day for 02/10/05:
asseverate \uh-SEV-uh-rayt\, transitive verb:
To affirm or declare positively or earnestly.
I'm going to try to slip this one in as many times as I can over the weekend. Fun fun.
グレッグ ガーシュマン of ブログディガー
I'm fairly certain the above is my name transliterated into Japanese. Tip o' the hat to Wired News - Japan.
A few weeks ago, I came across a column in The Forward entitled Philologos. The author explores the etymology of both Hebrew and Yiddish phrases. The particular column that caught my eye detailed the etymology (and entomology) of the Hebrew name for ladybugs: parat Moshe Rabbeinu. Turns out the ladybug has some serious religious affiliations in its etymological history (the lady refers to the Virgin Mary). But why Moshe Rabbeinu? Philologos answers:
Yiddish was no different from other European languages. It too had names for ladybug bearing religious associations, such as mashiakhl ("little Messiah"); Moyshe rabbeynus beheymele or Moyshe rabbeynus kiyele ("Moses' little cow"), and moyshe rabbeynus ferdele ("Moses' little horse"). These names are interesting, because while they show clear Slavic and German influences, they are Judaized forms of them in which not only — as would go without saying — is the Virgin Mary shunted aside, but God's name is considered too holy to be coupled with a lowly creature like a beetle. Instead, the ladybug is named for the messiah or for Moses (literally, Moyshe rabbeynu, "Our master Moses," which is how Jewish tradition always refers to him), Judaism's most revered figures...The modern Hebrew parat Moshe rabbenu is, therefore, a translation of Moyshe rabbeynus beheymele or kiyele.
A good enough explanation. This Shabbos, however, I couldn't help thinking that there might be a bit more to the name. In Parshas Chukas, the Torah describes the Parah Adumah, the Red Heifer. The tradition states that, throughout history, only nine red heifers were sacrificed; the first by Moshe himself. It is subsequently referred to as parat Moshe Rabbeinu (cf. Rashi s.v. v'yikchu alecha). When transposing the name from the Christian symbology to the Jewish, Moshe was the obvious choice, since the red color and bovine reference suggested the existing tradition of the parat Moshe Rabbeinu. QED.
Anyway, check out Philologos if you have the time (a recent column engages in the requisite Da Vinci Code bashing required of all respectable journalism). Wish they had an RSS feed.
Dictionary.com Word of the Day for 06/21/04:
deipnosophist \dyp-NOS-uh-fist\, noun:
Someone who is skilled in table talk.
Dictionary.com Word of the Day for 04/28/04:
heterodox \HET-uh-ruh-doks\, adjective:
1. Contrary to or differing from some acknowledged standard, especially in church doctrine or dogma; unorthodox.
2. Holding unorthodox opinions or doctrines.
Dictionary.com Word of the Day for 04/21/04:
small beer, noun:
1. Weak beer.
2. Insignificant matters; something of little importance.
adjective:
Unimportant; trivial.
Dictionary.com Word of the Day for 04/17/04:
troglodyte \TROG-luh-dyt\, noun:
1. A member of a primitive people that lived in caves, dens, or holes; a cave dweller.
2. One who is regarded as reclusive, reactionary, out of date, or brutish.
One more reason to abandon IE...Paul Ford releases The Passivator, a bookmark tool that helps detect passive verbs and adverbs in your writing. Works with Mozilla-derived browsers (Firefox, for example), Safari and Opera.
I'll keep this post short, to minimize Passviator infractions.
Dictionary.com Word of the Day for 02/26/04:
malapropism \mal-uh-PROP-iz-uhm\, noun:
The usually unintentionally humorous misuse of a word, especially by confusion with one of similar sound; also, an example of such misuse.