Rabbi Natan Slifkin, the Zoo Rabbi and blogger behind Rational Judaism, has a new book from OU Press available for pre-order, “The Torah Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom- Volume One: Chayot/Wild Animals.” It’s great. You should buy it and read it.
For a taste of Rabbi Slifkin’s style, read his five-facts about Lag Ba’omer that he posted last year. One of the most surprising facts? Rabbi Shimon bar Yochi actually didn’t die on Lag B’omer. It’s a typing error in the Zohar.
Another: the Chasam Sofer doesn’t believe that the Zohar was completely written by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochi. Though Rabbi Slifkin adds, playing off the Adam Sandler movie, You Don’t Mess with the Zohar.
Read the whole post here.
The words of this author reflect his/her own opinions and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Orthodox Union.