KAJ burial area in Clifton, NJ

KAJ burial area in Clifton, NJ

R' Breuer's Tombstone

R' Schwab's Tombstone

Innocent Blood

"The land of the Law of God exists for the sake of human beings. Its most precious product, the purpose and goal of all the blessings bestowed upon it by God is every human soul that it nurtures and thus consecrates for the realization of God's law. The land is given to all the people only under the condition that they will regard every human life, which is sacred to the Law, as sacred and inviolable. Even one drop of innocent blood spilled unnoticed will drop a stitch form the bond that binds the land to the nation and both the land and the nation to God."

R' Samson Raphael Hirsch, Bamidbar 35:10, parshas Masse

Washing One’s Hands Before Or After Kiddush by Raphael Grunfeld son of Dayan Grunfeld

Linked post from the Jewish Press:

"If you eat mayonnaise with everything, or you attended Breuers, or you wash your hands before Kiddush, you are probably of German Jewish descent. The first two inferences are understandable. Where does the third one come from?

The Talmud quotes the following passage of Rav Bruna in the name of Rav: “One who washes his hands for bread before reciting Kiddush on Friday night should not recite Kiddush himself, but should rather fulfill his Kiddush obligation by having someone else recite Kiddush for him.” The reason for Rav Bruna’s ruling, as explained by the Rashbam, is that there should be no interruption between washing one’s hands – netilat yadayim – and eating bread."

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Letter from R Hildesheimer in English from On the Main Line blog

This is a find from the On the Main Line history blog. I don't know how to describe why but there's something really neat about this. Perhaps, it's because I'm so used to reading Rav Hirsch in translation, to read something from one of his peers written originally in English feels very immediate.

"This is an interesting piece that I found on the Isaac Leeser digital archive (link), a handwritten letter from Rabbi Esriel Hildesheimer to the Occident, dated 26 Adar 5625. The letter asks Leeser to print an English version of an account on behalf of the "Central Committee for Building Dwellings for the Poor and Pilgrims in Jerusalem," of which Rabbi Hildesheimer was a member, along with Rabbis Jacob Ettlinger of Altona and Joseph Hirsch of Halberstadt."  continue



"Eisenstadt 26 Adar 5625.
Since the great interest which you have always shown for the
wellfare (sic) of our brethren in all countries and particularly the unfor-
tunate Jews of the Holy Land is known to me I have the liberty to
send you the enclosed statutes etc of the dwellings which we are arecting (sic) on the holy ground and pray you to give insertion to it in your esteemed
journal in at possible great parties.
I have the honour to sign

your humble
Dr. Hildesheimer
Rabbi"

Learning good manners

"The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any."

Fred Astaire