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The Meaning of Ayelet Ha-Shaḥar at Tehillim 22:1

The Meaning of Ayelet Ha-Shaḥar at Tehillim 22:1

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MFirstAtty@aol.com The phrase השׁחר אילת is found at Tehillim 22:1. The entire verse reads: “la-menatzeaḥ al ayelet ha-shaḥar mizmor le-David.” What is the meaning of השׁחר אילת ? This is the only time this phrase appears in Tanakh. Its meaning is so unclear that Radak offers five interpretations! Literally, השׁחר אילת means: “doe of the dawn.” A male deer would be an ayal. An ayalah is a female deer (=a doe). Ayelet is the construct state of ayalah. It means…

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Legacy Judaica Spring 2021 Auction

Legacy Judaica Spring 2021 Auction

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Legacy Auction Judaica is holding its Spring auction on May 30th (link) and it provides us the opportunity to discuss some interesting bibliographical and historical books and items. Item #7 is the first edition of Charedim printed in 1601. This is the first appearance of R. Elazar Azkiri’s song Yedid Nefesh in print. For a full discussion of this Tefilah see Bentcy Eichorn, Zemirot Zion, pp. 91-106. This volume also has many unidentified glosses. Another entry of note is Item…

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R. Shlomo Yosef Zevin and Yeshiva Students being Drafted to the Army, views of women, and more

R. Shlomo Yosef Zevin and Yeshiva Students being Drafted to the Army, views of women, and more

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1. In an earlier post I wrote about R. Shlomo Yosef Zevin and the famous essay about how yeshiva students need to serve in the army, an essay which is widely attributed to him. See here. In the post I cited important information uncovered by David Eisen that complicates the issue (as we see the Zevin family itself is of two minds on the matter), and we were left with no absolute proof that R. Zevin wrote the essay. I…

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Response to Criticism Part 4; Rabbi Zvi Yehuda and the Hazon Ish

Response to Criticism Part 4; Rabbi Zvi Yehuda and the Hazon Ish

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Continued from here. 1. In Limits,p. 14 n. 55, I write I should call attention to a significant philosophical and halakhic point which appears to have gone unnoticed. The Vilna Gaon (R. Elijah b. Solomon Zalman (1720-97) apparently believed that the First and Second Principles are the only true Principles in Judaism. According to him, one who believes in God’s existence and unity, despite his other sins, is regarded as a Jew in good standing and he is thus able…

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Book Announcement: New Work on the Kabbalah of the Ramban

Book Announcement: New Work on the Kabbalah of the Ramban

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פירושי וחיבורי תלמידי הרשב”א על קבלת הרמב”ן, תש”ט עמודים, מוסד הרב קוק One of the most important classical commentaries on the Torah is that of R. Moses Nachmanides, Ramban (See here). In addition to his more straightforward comments, the commentary contains significant kabbalisitic ones as well. Usually, these will be introduced by ועל דרך האמת. Many skip these parts when learning the work. Almost immediately after the composition of the commentary, students of kabbalah, most notably those of the school…

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Hirschian Humanism After the Holocaust: An Analysis of the Approach of Rabbi Shimon Schwab

Hirschian Humanism After the Holocaust: An Analysis of the Approach of Rabbi Shimon Schwab

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Rabbi Shmuel Lesher is a Machon Beren Kollel fellow at RIETS / Yeshiva University. Prior to completing his rabbinic ordination at RIETS, Rabbi Lesher studied at the Mirrer Yeshiva in Jerusalem and Yeshiva of Greater Washington in Silver Spring, Maryland. Rabbi Lesher lives in Washington Heights, with his wife Leora and their three children. This is his first contribution to the Seforim Blog. In 1959, Rabbi Shimon Schwab made a unique contribution to the way his community and others commemorate…

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The “Doctored” Medical Diploma of Samuel, the Son of Menasseh Ben Israel: Forgery or “For Jewry”?

The “Doctored” Medical Diploma of Samuel, the Son of Menasseh Ben Israel: Forgery or “For Jewry”?

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Menasseh ben Israel is a prominent figure in Jewish history known for his role in the return of the Jews to England in the time of Oliver Cromwell, as well being the first to establish a Hebrew printing press in Holland. Menasseh had two sons and a daughter. His son Samuel, born in 1625, was a Hebrew printer, publishing a number of his father’s works, and also assisting his father with his diplomatic endeavors in England. Here we focus on…

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An Unpublished 1966 Memorandum from Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan Answers Questions on Jewish Theology

An Unpublished 1966 Memorandum from Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan Answers Questions on Jewish Theology

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Professor Marc B. Shapiro holds the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Chair in Judaic Studies at the University of Scranton, and is the author of many books on Jewish history and theology. He is a frequent contributor at the Seforim blog. Mr. Menachem Butler is Program Fellow for Jewish Legal Studies at The Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law at Harvard Law School. He is an Editor at Tablet Magazine and a Co-Editor at the Seforim Blog. Over the last…

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New Sefer Announcement – פירוש התורה לרבינו אברהם בן הרמב”ם, ספר שמות

New Sefer Announcement – פירוש התורה לרבינו אברהם בן הרמב”ם, ספר שמות

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פירוש התורה לרבינו אברהם בן הרמב”ם, ספר בראשת, תרעח עמודים פירוש התורה לרבינו אברהם בן הרמב”ם, ספר שמות, תתלב עמודים מאמר על הדרשות ועל האגדות לרבינו אברהם בן הרמב”ם, מעיתיק השמועה, [בירורים בתולדות חכמי התלמוד] צז+צ עמודים Recently the second volume of R. Avraham b. HaRambam’s perush on Chumash Shemot was released (832 pp.). This new edition was edited by Rabbi Moshe Maimon and was published in a beautiful edition by Machon Aleh Zayis. Last Year Rabbi Maimon published the…

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A Comment of Rashi Found Only in “Defusim Me’Ucharim”

A Comment of Rashi Found Only in “Defusim Me’Ucharim”

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Summary: We find a lengthy comment attributed to Rashi which is only found in what is termed “Defusim Me’Ucharim”. The comment first appears in the Sefer Yosef Da’at (Prague 1609) who attributes it to a D’fus Yashan and a Klaf Yashan Noshan. I did not find it in any of the over 60 manuscripts I checked nor in any early printed edition. It was incorporated into subsequent printed editions on a very uneven basis from the 1600’s to 1800’s but…

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Rambam The Poet?

Rambam The Poet?

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Most readers are familiar with the general character and productivity of Maimonides, I will therefore keep the preamble to a minimum. The indelible legacy left by Maimonides is that of a legalist and thinker, not of a poet or a preacher. That’s not to say that Maimonides lacked the poetic skill. In fact, even from his purely legal works one can detect his elegant tongue and imaginative faculties, never mind the many missives, introductions and intermittent non-legal material included in…

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No, Achashverosh Never Served a Stable-Boy

No, Achashverosh Never Served a Stable-Boy

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Writings about Purim from virtually every stripe make reference to a well-known myth that Achashverosh, King of Persia, rose to power from being a former stable-boy. A simple google search yields dozens of online results for this myth, some in passing and others expanded, some academic and others some more traditional; some on blogs and others in books. Yet, it seems that these references to Achashverosh the stable-boy are all rooted in a common mistranslation of the Talmud in Megilah….

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The Physicians of the Rome Plague of 1656, Yaakov Zahalon and Hananiah Modigliano

The Physicians of the Rome Plague of 1656, Yaakov Zahalon and Hananiah Modigliano

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Ellen Wells of the Smithsonian Libraries wrote, “The plague of Rome of 1656 was one of the best recorded medical events of the 17th century. It was referred to in most major political and ecclesiastical histories, in diplomatic correspondence and in personal memoirs. Books and pamphlets were issued in profusion. Commemorative prints were published …” The Jewish physician Yaakov Zahalon contributed to this documentary phenomenon from the Jewish perspective. Zahalon is one of the most famous physicians in Jewish history,…

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Depression Angles

Depression Angles

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Introduction: Depression angles measure the level of darkness or illumination prior to sunrise and, in a parallel fashion, after sunset. There are two halakhic disagreements that might appear to relate to the use of depression angles. First, there is a long-standing argument about what defines the transition from one day to the next and what is (merely) an indicator that the transition has occurred. Some consider the appearance of three stars as the basis of a definition, while others assume…

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