The All-Time Most Popular Post

The most popular post on this blog of all time is that featuring my monograph on The Evolution Of The Olive, with over 3600 pageviews, and many more who received the monograph via e-mail. I assume that the reasons for its popularity are that everyone encounters this topic at least once a year, and many people are confounded by the strange and common practice of eating huge amounts as a "kezayis." (See too my follow-up post, The Riddle of the Giant Kezayis Defense.)

I noticed that the Jewish Press has a new column on this by Rabbi David Bar-Hayim, which was also picked up by Vos Iz Neias (on which the comments always provide fascinating material for social anthropology). While I agree with Rabbi Bar-Hayim's analysis of the halachic history of the kezayis, I cannot agree with his positions regarding how halachah must always confirm to reality as we understand it. Judaism attributes great significance to tradition, and furthermore I'm not sure that he appreciates just how much of a Pandora's box his approach opens.