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Category: Book History

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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A Gemeinde Gemeinheit

A Gemeinde Gemeinheit

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A Gemeinde Gemeinheit by Shlomo and Mati Sprecher We are delighted that the occasion of our son’s wedding (Uri Sprecher to Rivi Zand, 4 Kislev 5769) solved a 150-year-old bibliographic mystery. When we chose to provide our guests with the opportunity to engage in limmud Torah during the course of the wedding by reprinting and distributing “Tshuvah Be’Inyan Kriat HaKetubah,” we assumed that, just as the title page and the publisher’s introduction indicated, it represented an actual Halakhic Responsum issued in…

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A Shanda fur die Goyim: Hillul Ha-Shem in the Eyes of Non-Jews

A Shanda fur die Goyim: Hillul Ha-Shem in the Eyes of Non-Jews

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חילול השם בעיני אומות העולם (א)מאת ר' יחיאל גולדהברוְלֹא תְחַלְּלוּ אֶת שֵׁם קָדְשִׁי וְנִקְדַּשְׁתִּי בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲנִי ד' מְקַדִּשְׁכֶם (ויקרא כב, לב). כך בא הכתוב לומר, כאשר רוצים בני ישראל לבנות בית הכנסת כדי להרבות קדושת השם, עליהם להשמר שבניית בית הכנסת לא תגרום חילול השם (חתם סופר).האיסור היסודיאיסור חילול השם, הנלמד מן הפסוק בפרשתנו שצוטט למעלה ונחשב בין האיסורים החמורים בתורה[1], מהותו להזהר שלא לגרום ששם ה' יהיה חולין[2].בגדרו של חילול השם כתבו הראשונים שהאיסור מתחלק לשלשה חלקים,…

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New Books from Biegeleisen – May 2009

New Books from Biegeleisen – May 2009

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See here for the previous lists. Halkhot Gedolot, Berlin-Hildesheimer ed., Otzreinu, Toronto, 2009, 2 vol., 22, 162, [3]; 652 pp.: This is a reprint of the important Geonic work based upon a different manuscript than the other printed editions.  Additionally, it includes a new brief introduction and additions to the Seder Rav Amram Goan also published by Otzeinu. Kol Brisk, Jerusalem, 2009, 797 pp. This is a controversial work that explores the Brisk school and attempts to locate the current…

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R. David Nieto’s Matteh Dan, Life on Other Planets and Jewish Reactions to Copernicus

R. David Nieto’s Matteh Dan, Life on Other Planets and Jewish Reactions to Copernicus

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R. David Nieto’s Matteh Dan, Life on Other Planets and Jewish Reactions to Copernicus by Eliezer Brodt   R. David Neito and the Mateh Dan R. David Nieto was born in 1654 in Venice and died in England in 1728. Aside for being a tremendous talmid hakham, Nieto also had degrees in science, philosophy, and was a medical doctor. He was a Rav, Dayan and Darshan in Leghorn for a while. He then was hired to be Rav of the…

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A Note on the Latin Dedication in the Rabbinic Bible of Venice 15

A Note on the Latin Dedication in the Rabbinic Bible of Venice 15

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A Note on the Latin Dedication in the Rabbinic Bible of Venice 1517 by: Jordan S. Penkower In response to the recent post at the Seforim Blog about approbations of Hebrew books, a correction is in order concerning the footnote about the intent of the remarks of Felix Pratensis in his dedication of the Venice 1517 Rabbinic Bible to the Pope. In footnote 3 of the recent post, a conjecture was offered to explain Felix Pratensis’ remarks. In addition, Pratensis…

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