Browsed by
Category: Customs

Lag Ba-Omer and Upsherins in Recent Jewish literature: Revisionist History and Borrowing and Plagiarism

Lag Ba-Omer and Upsherins in Recent Jewish literature: Revisionist History and Borrowing and Plagiarism

Comments 0 Comment

Lag Ba-Omer and Upsherins in Recent Jewish literature: Revisionist History and Borrowing and PlagiarismBy Eliezer Brodt In this post I would like to touch upon some of the topics relating to Lag Ba-Omer through a discussion of the latest volume of R. Tuviah Freund’s Moadim le-Simcha. By way of introduction, in the past few years, the field minhaghim, specifically the research and investigation of sources and reasons for custom has expanded exponentially. To be sure, from early rishonim and onwards…

Read More Read More

The Origins of Hamentashen in Jewish Literature (Revisited)

The Origins of Hamentashen in Jewish Literature (Revisited)

Comments 0 Comment

The Origins of Hamentashen in Jewish Literature: A Historical-Culinary Survey Revisited* By Eliezer Brodt I. Introduction As Jews, most of our holidays have special foods specific to them; and behind each culinary custom, lays enveiled the reasoning behind them. Shavuot brings with it a vast array of customary dairy delicacies – in some parts of the world, cheesecake is practically obligatory – not to mention different customs in regard to how and when to eat them. Rosh Hashanah in renowned…

Read More Read More

Purim and Parodies

Purim and Parodies

Comments 60 comments

Purim and Parodies by Eliezer Brodt Happiness During the Month of Adar and its Discontents More…(drag mouse) Next Tab Forward Page Bottom Toggle Bookmarks Close Tab Back Page top The month of Adar begins a time of joy, as the mishna says “mi shenechnas Adar marbim b’simcha.” Interestingly, it’s been noted here that this halacha is not codified by either the Rambam or Shulchan Orach. R. Yissachar Tamar in his classic work on Yerushalmi, Ali Tamar, notes that some have…

Read More Read More

Bibliography of Articles and Books on Nitel

Bibliography of Articles and Books on Nitel

Comments 1 comment

There are three books devoted to the topic of Nitel. Mordechai Menachem Goren, Hefaru Torasecha, Ma’amar Makif miMinhag Avosanu b’Yadanu Odos Lil haAfel Nitel Nacht UMinhag Yisrael l’Vatel meEsek haTorah,[4],52, [10] pages, 2004. This first contains a two page introduction and the next 52 pages discuss the custom, its sources, and the various opinions. The final 10 pages are some sources that are quoted in full. [Mordechai Menachem Goren], Hefaru Torasecha, (helek bet, b’inyanei haTekufa) . . . u’Migilas Nitel,…

Read More Read More

The Customs Associated with Joy on Chanukah and Their More Obscure Sources

The Customs Associated with Joy on Chanukah and Their More Obscure Sources

Comments 4 comments

The Customs Associated with Joy on Chanukah and Their More Obscure Sourcesby: Eliezer Brodt In previous posts we have discussed some of the customs relating to Chanukah, in this post I wanted to address those customs connected to Simcha (joy) and do so by highlighting some rather unknown sources. Amongst the topics I will discuss are eating a seudah, dairy products, sefuganiot, playing cards and dreidel. 1. Seudah R. Eliezer Ashkenazi (1512-85) writes in the introduction to his classic work…

Read More Read More

Daniel J. Lasker – “December 6 Is Coming: Get Out the Umbrellas”

Daniel J. Lasker – “December 6 Is Coming: Get Out the Umbrellas”

Comments 18 comments

December 6 Is Coming: Get Out the UmbrellasBy Daniel J. Lasker Daniel J. Lasker is Norbert Blechner Professor of Jewish Values at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, and is chair of the Goldstein-Goren Department of Jewish Thought. His landmark work Jewish Philosophical Polemics against Christianity in the Middle Ages, originally published in 1977, was recently republished with a new introduction in 2007. This is Professor Lasker’s first post at the Seforim blog. We Jews in Israel have been…

Read More Read More

image_pdfimage_print