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Truth be Told[1] Comments on Changing the Immutable: How Orthodox Judaism Rewrites its History by Marc B. Shapiro

Truth be Told[1] Comments on Changing the Immutable: How Orthodox Judaism Rewrites its History by Marc B. Shapiro

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* Comments on Changing the Immutable: How Orthodox Judaism Rewrites its History by Marc B. Shapiro (Oxford – Portland, OR: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2015). *Rabbi Prof. Aryeh A. Frimer holds the Ethel and David Resnick Chair of Active Oxygen Chemistry at Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel; email: Aryeh.Frimer@biu.ac.il. He has lectured and published widely on various aspects of “Women and Halakha;” see here. His most recent paper is: “Women, Kri’at haTorah and Aliyyot (with an…

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Dorshei Yichudcha: A Portrait of Professor Elliot R. Wolfson

Dorshei Yichudcha: A Portrait of Professor Elliot R. Wolfson

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psychotherapist in St. Louis where he recently moved with his family. He recently published his first sefer, sc’hok d’yitzchak on the Kabbalistic theme butzina d’kardinusa, or darkened light. More of his writing can be found online at Residual Speech. לאו כל מוחא סביל דא Tasked with the formidable project of recounting Franz Rosenzweig’s life, Emmanuel Levinas apologized in advance for speaking, as well, about Rosenzweig’s opus, The Star of Redemption. The reason for this, Levinas wrote, was not due to…

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The Netziv, Reading Newspapers on Shabbos in General & Censorship (Part Three)

The Netziv, Reading Newspapers on Shabbos in General & Censorship (Part Three)

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This post is devoted to discussing comments received regarding parts one (here) and two (here). I will also add in some of the material which I had forgotten to quote [some of which I was reminded of by readers] along with additional material that I have recently uncovered. From the outset, I would like to thank all those people who sent in comments regarding the post. My email address is eliezerbrodt@gmail.com; feel free to send comments. Censorship To begin, a…

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“שוק באשה ערוה”, לאיזה אבר התכוונו חז”ל?

“שוק באשה ערוה”, לאיזה אבר התכוונו חז”ל?

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זה לקוח מהספר “אוצר רש”י” (בערך “שוק”), העומד לצאת בע”ה בקרוב והוא מילון אנציקלופדי המכיל כעשרת אלפים ערכים, הכוללים את הגדרותיו הלשוניות של רש”י במקרא ובתלמוד. הנושא הנידון הוא בירור מיקום אבר השוק באדם (שוק היא לשון נקבה, אך לא נקפיד בכך בהרצאת הדברים), כיצד נוצר הספק בדבר מיקומו וכן כיצד “מטפלים” במשנה ברורה “סורר” הפוסק שזה החלק העליון של הרגל בניגוד לדעת רוב שאר הפוסקים. במילון אבן שושן מגדיר שוק “חלק הרגל הנמצא בין הברך ובין כף הרגל” וזו…

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Rabboni Jesus – Confirmation from the Talmud?

Rabboni Jesus – Confirmation from the Talmud?

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* The exchange one year ago between Pope Francis and Prime Minister Netanyahu over the language spoken by Jesus overshadowed any other news of the pope’s visit to Israel. The pope was right, of course, Jesus spoke Aramaic, not Hebrew, although Netanyahu could have offered a better rejoinder than his weak “But he knew Hebrew.” He could have said: “But he prayed in Hebrew.” Among the proofs that Aramaic was the spoken language of Jesus’ time and place is the…

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An Honest Account of a Contemporary Jewish Publishing Odyssey

An Honest Account of a Contemporary Jewish Publishing Odyssey

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sefer, “Berogez Racheim Tizkor” (trans: “In your anger, you shall remember to have mercy”), whose title is based on the verse in Habbakuk 3:2 and traditionally recited each morning during Tahanun, really began as a tweet. In March 2014, I tweeted, “Considering writing a sefer entitled “Aveiros K’Hilchisa.” Considering writing a sefer entitled “Aveiros K’Hilchisa.” — D Bash (@DBashIdeas) March 5, 2014 The tweet was originally intended as a satire of the many seforim that have been published as halakhic…

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Running on the Inclined Plane of the Altar in the Second Temple

Running on the Inclined Plane of the Altar in the Second Temple

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בראשונה … רצין ועולים בכבש, וכל הקודם את חברו לתוך ארבע אמות זכה We read in the Mishna: [The priests used to compete for the honor of separating and removing ashes from the altar] by sprinting up the ramp. Whoever was the first to reach the top four cubits was entitled to remove the ashes. Mishna Yoma 2:1 One of the first authorities to question the practice described in this mishna was Eliezer ben Samuel of Metz who lived in…

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Reminder: Book Sale #2

Reminder: Book Sale #2

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There are 24 hours left to the book sale. Please see this post for a link to the book list. A portion of the proceeds will be used to support the Seforim Blog. Email inquiries to eliezerbrodt @ gmail.com

[1]: א״ל הקב״ה … יודע אני כוונתו של אהרן היאך היתה לטובה On a Short Wedding Wish to the Lichtensteins from the Pen of Rabbi Jehiel Jacob Weinberg

[1]: א״ל הקב״ה … יודע אני כוונתו של אהרן היאך היתה לטובה On a Short Wedding Wish to the Lichtensteins from the Pen of Rabbi Jehiel Jacob Weinberg

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I Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, zts”l, the late, lamented, “irreplaceable” gedol ha-dor of the Modern Orthodox and Religious Zionist communities, has been characterized by those who knew him as a larger-than-life – indeed, angelic – leader whose complete command of every facet of Torah learning was matched only by his sterling character and superlative (almost Hafets Hayyim-like) piety. One of the things that struck me most, however, in listening to and reading several of the eulogies delivered or published after his…

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Notes on RASHI, ArtScroll Censorship, and Emendation of Rabbinic Texts

Notes on RASHI, ArtScroll Censorship, and Emendation of Rabbinic Texts

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A new post on the Seforim blog by Professor Marc Shapiro discusses the problem of ArtScroll publishers and the way that it routinely censors rabbinical texts: http://seforimblog.com/2015/06/more-about-rashbam-on-genesis-chapter-1.html Shapiro looks at the issue of RASHBAM’s commentary to Genesis 1, a big problem for Orthodox literalists. Here is a post from Failed Messiah that explains the difficulty: http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2014/12/haredi-publisher-artscroll-censors-bible-commentary-of-leading-medieval-rabbi-678.html RASHBAM is the grandson of RASHI and the brother of Rabbenu Tam; a central figure in one of the most illustrious of all the…

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New Book sale 2015 – Sale #2

New Book sale 2015 – Sale #2

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This list consists of a few parts. Many of these titles are very hard to find. Some of the prices are better than others, butI think they are all very fair. Almost all the books are in good shape. E-mail your order to eliezerbrodt@gmail.com. I will than send you a bill based on what is available. Payment will be done via PayPal. Shipping is not included in the price; that depends on the order and size, ranging between $6 -12…

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More About Rashbam on Genesis Chapter 1 and Further Comments about ArtScroll

More About Rashbam on Genesis Chapter 1 and Further Comments about ArtScroll

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I had thought that I was done with ArtScroll’s censorship of Rashbam to Genesis chapter 1, but a number of people wanted some explanation about the manuscript of Rashbam’s commentary. This will also give me the opportunity to add some more comments about this distressing episode. In my prior post on the topic, available here, I referred to Rabbenu Tam’s strong words against those who “corrected” the talmudic text based on their understanding. ArtScroll is guilty of violating Rabbenu Tam’s…

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Book week 2015

Book week 2015

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Book week just began in Eretz Yisrael. As I have written in previous years every year in Israel, around Shavous time, there is a period of about ten days called Shavuah Hasefer – Book Week (for previous years lists see here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here). One should take advantage of this sale as a law was passed recently against sales on newly published books, for the first 18 months after the book was published, except for…

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“Be-Esek Atevata”: A Contextual Interpretation of an Elusive Phrase in Akdamut Millin

“Be-Esek Atevata”: A Contextual Interpretation of an Elusive Phrase in Akdamut Millin

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A centerpiece of the Ashkenazic liturgy for Shavuot, Akdamut Millin is an artistically sophisticated, epically dramatic, and emotionally charged piyyut. After nearly a millennium, the liturgical-narrative masterpiece of R. Meir ben Yitzhak Sheliah Tzibbur continues to intrigue and to inspire. Towards the middle of the poem, the poet abruptly changes scenes. Speaking in his own voice, he announces that he will now praise God “before empires”: שְׁבַח ריבון עַלְמָא, אֲמִירָא דַכְוָתָא: שְׁפַר עֲלֵיהּ לְחַווּיֵהּ, בְּאַפֵּי מַלְכְּוָתָא: What follows, without warning,…

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