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Category: Censorship

A Quotation Fabrication: What the Rema did Not Say on Wearing Leather Shoes on Yom Kippur

A Quotation Fabrication: What the Rema did Not Say on Wearing Leather Shoes on Yom Kippur

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A Fabricated Rema Quotation on Wearing Leather Shoes by Rabbi Ari Z. Zivotofsky The PETA website (accessed Aug 2, 2011) states: “Jews are prohibited from wearing leather on Yom Kippur.” The site continues by stating: “Jewish Vegetarians of North America President Richard H. Schwartz explains “One reason is that it is not considered proper to plead for compassion when one has not shown compassion to the creatures of G-d, whose concern extends to all of His creatures.” (see his website)…

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New Writings from R. Kook and Assorted Comments, part 5

New Writings from R. Kook and Assorted Comments, part 5

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New Writings from R. Kook and Assorted Comments, part 5 by Marc B. Shapiro Continued from here. The next post (or perhaps the one following) will return to my analysis of R. Kook’s recently published Li-Nevokhei ha-Dor with which this series began. Yet before doing so, there are a number of other points I would like to make and respond to some comments and questions. 1. In previous installments I have mentioned how R. Kook compares the Torah scholars and…

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On the Plagiarism of a Tach-ve-Tat Chronicle

On the Plagiarism of a Tach-ve-Tat Chronicle

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On the Plagiarism of a Tach-ve-Tat Chronicle During this period, between the 17th of Tamuz and the 9th of Av, there is an increased focus upon various historical calamities that befell the Jewish people. Jewish history is unfortunately replete with such examples. Some instances have spawned specific days of commemoration while others have produced whole bodies of literature. And, while the literature surrounding these events is diverse, covering liturgy, poetry, history, we focus on one type: the chronicle. Additionally, our…

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Attribution and Misattribution: On Computational Linguistics, Heresy and Journalism

Attribution and Misattribution: On Computational Linguistics, Heresy and Journalism

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Attribution and Misattribution: On Computational Linguistics, Heresy and Journalism by Moshe Koppel Prof. Moshe Koppel is on the faculty of the Computer Science Department at Bar-Ilan University. He has published extensively on authorship attribution, as well as on a diverse array of topics of Jewish and scientific interest. A few days ago, newspaper readers from New Jersey to New Zealand read about new computer software that “sheds light on the authorship of the Bible”[1]. By the time the news circled…

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A Printing Mistake and the Mysterious Origins of Rashbi’s Yahrzeit*

A Printing Mistake and the Mysterious Origins of Rashbi’s Yahrzeit*

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A Printing Mistake and the Mysterious Origins of Rashbi’s Yahrzeit* by Eliezer Brodt In this post I would like to deal with tracing the early sources for the great celebrations that take place worldwide on Lag Ba-Omer, specifically at the Kever of Rashbi (R. Shimon b. Yochai) in Meron.[1] A few years back on the Seforim Blog I dealt with some of these issues (link). More recently in Ami Magazine (# 22) I returned to some of the topics. This…

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New Writings from R. Kook and Assorted Comments, part 4

New Writings from R. Kook and Assorted Comments, part 4

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New Writings from R. Kook and Assorted Comments, part 4 Marc B. Shapiro Continued from here. Returning to the issue of creation, I found an interesting comment in R. Hayyim Hirschensohn’s commentary on Rashi, Nimukei Rashi. For those who are unaware of this commentary, I recommend that you examine it. You can order a bound copy (even soft-cover) very cheaply at hebrewbooks.org. I think that this is one of Hirschenson’s greatest works.[1] In his comment to Gen. 1:13 Hirschensohn writes…

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