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Category: Book History

A Mild Case of Plagiarism: R. Abraham Kalmankes’ Ma’ayan Ha-Hokhmah

A Mild Case of Plagiarism: R. Abraham Kalmankes’ Ma’ayan Ha-Hokhmah

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A Mild Case of Plagiarism:  R. Abraham Kalmankes’ Ma’ayan Ha-Hokhmah by Shnayer Leiman 1.  The Accusation. Rabbi Joseph Samuel ben R. Zvi (d. 1703) – more popularly known as ר’ שמואל ר’ חיים ר’ ישעיה’ס – served as a member of the rabbinic court in Cracow for some 26 years, after which he was appointed Chief Rabbi of Frankfurt in 1689.1 An avid collector of books and manuscripts, he made good use of them in listing in the margins of his copy of the…

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New Seforim and books 2014

New Seforim and books 2014

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New Seforim and books 2014 by Eliezer Brodt Although the world, has been shifting more and more to E- books, seforim and books are still being printed in full force in the Jewish world. What follows is a list of new seforim and books I have seen around in the past few months. Some of the titles are brand new others are a bit older. I am well aware that there are new works worth mentioning that are not included….

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The Ethics of the Case of Amalek: An Alternative Reading of the Biblical Data and the Jewish Tradition

The Ethics of the Case of Amalek: An Alternative Reading of the Biblical Data and the Jewish Tradition

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 The Ethics of the Case of Amalek: An Alternative Reading of the Biblical Data and the Jewish Tradition by Reuven Kimelman This study of Amalek deals with seven questions. 1. Is the battle against Amalek primarily ethnic or ethical? 2. What is the difference in reading the biblical data starting with Exodus and Deuteronomy or starting with I Samuel 15? 3. What is the evidence that the Bible already seeks ethical justification for punishing Amalek? 4. How does post-biblical literature…

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Some Notes on Censorship of Hebrew Books

Some Notes on Censorship of Hebrew Books

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Some Notes on Censorship of Hebrew Books by Norman Roth Habent sua fata libelli (Books have their fate) One of the tragedies of the Inquisition and the Expulsions – both from Spain and Portugal– which has received very little attention is the destruction and loss of Hebrew manuscripts and books. Since the printing of Hebrew books in Spain began many years before the Expulsion, this loss involved printed books as well as manuscripts. Indeed, due to these losses, since only…

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Le-Tacen Olam (לתכן עולם): Establishing the Correct Text in Aleinu

Le-Tacen Olam (לתכן עולם): Establishing the Correct Text in Aleinu

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Le-Tacen Olam (עולם לתכן): Establishing the Correct Text in Aleinu[1] By Mitchell First (mfirstatty@aol.com)                       The Jewish obligation of עולם תקון (=improving the world) is widely referred to and it is traditionally assumed that the Aleinu prayer is one of the texts upon which this obligation is based.                     This article will show that a very strong case can be made that the original version of Aleinu read עולם לתכן (=to establish the world under God’s sovereignty), and not…

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A New Work about the Ramban’s Additions to his Commentary on the Torah

A New Work about the Ramban’s Additions to his Commentary on the Torah

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A New Work about the Ramban’s Additions to his Commentary on the Torah By Eliezer Brodt .תוספות רמב“ן לפירושו לתורה, שנכתבו בארץ ישראל, יוסף עופר, יהונתן יעקבס, מכללה הרצוג, והאיגוד העולמי למדעי היהדות, 718 עמודים In this post I would like to explain what this work is about. One of the most important Rishonim was Rabbi Moshe Ben Nachman, famously known as Ramban. Ramban was famous for numerous reasons and has been the subject of numerous works and articles.[1] This…

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