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Category: Masorah, Grammar & Hebrew Language

“Whence Worry?” – On the Murky Trail Of An Aphorism

“Whence Worry?” – On the Murky Trail Of An Aphorism

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by Yitzhak, of בין דין לדין [I am greatly indebted to Wolf2191 and Mississippi Fred MacDowell for reading an earlier draft of this essay and for providing numerous valuable references.] This past Rosh Ha’Shanah, my friend A.F. showed me a collection of various homilies of the Rav related to the days of Awe, “prepared, translated and edited by B. David Schreiber”. While browsing through them, I noticed the following passage: Every Jew must also ensure the continuity of future generations…

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R. Shmuel Ashkenazi: "Gaon" Equals 60?

R. Shmuel Ashkenazi: "Gaon" Equals 60?

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                                                  "Gaon" Equals 60?                      (Another chapter of R. Shmuel Ashkenazi's Latest Work) Unfortunately, the amount of responses regarding assisting the publication of R. Ashkenazi's was underwhelming (a total of one contribution) so it is still uncertain when the seforim will actually be published. Until then – here is another chapter. For more information to contribute (any amount is extremly helpful) contact me at eliezerbrodt-at-gmail.com. גאון בגימטריא ששים א. גאון = 60 כתב ר' זכריה סימנר בספר זכירה, שהדפיס בשנת תסט בהמבורג…

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Another chapter of R. Shmuel Ashkenazi’s Latest Work

Another chapter of R. Shmuel Ashkenazi’s Latest Work

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Another chapter of R. Shmuel Ashkenazi’s Latest Work Unfortunately, the amount of responses regarding assisting the publication of R. Ashkenazi’s was underwhelming (a total of one contribution) so it is still uncertain when the seforim will actually be published. Until then – here is another chapter. For more information to contribute (any amount is extremly helpful) contact me at eliezerbrodt-at-gmail.com. למקורות הפתגם ‘ישועת ה’ כהרף עין’ בספרו איש צדיק היה (ס”ע 223) מספר שמחה רז: פעם סיפר לי (ר’ אריה…

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Wine, Women and Song – Part III

Wine, Women and Song – Part III

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Wine, Women and Song: Some Remarks On Poetry and Grammar – Part III by Yitzhak of בין דין לדין The previous two parts: Part I, Part II. Lasciviousness Rambam In the first part of this essay, we have discussed the offenses of literature against grammar; a far more incendiary issue is the question of lasciviousness.  Judaism seems to have historically been somewhat ambivalent on the matter; it is an ineluctable fact that many of our most celebrated poets, particularly of…

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Rabbinic Insults and Bibliographical Errors

Rabbinic Insults and Bibliographical Errors

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One of the more interesting pioneers of the haskalah movement was R. Shelomo Zalman Hanau (Katz).  Hanau’s works mainly concern grammar and, in that vein, corrections to the siddur.  Hanau’s first book, Binyan Shelomo, Frankfort A.M., 1708 was published when he was 21.  This book focuses on grammar, but, as we have already discussed, was important in the development of the Siddur. (Additionally, see S.’s recent post on Hanau here.)  This book is now up for auction, however, I must…

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Eli Meir Cohen: A Question of Mesorah?

Eli Meir Cohen: A Question of Mesorah?

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“בין דַּם לדָּם” by Eli Meir Cohen . In the upcoming Krias Hatorah in Parshat Shoftim and Parshat Ki Savo there are a number of instances where the meaning of a phrase changes completely based on the pronunciation of a single word – דם – with either a Komatz or Patah. Until recently, most Chumashim and Tikunim which generally followed the famous Yaakov Ben Hayyim 1525 edition of Mikraot Gedolot published in Venice that printed a seemingly inconsistent pattern in…

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