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Category: Minhagim

על הלכות בעל קרי בסידור בית יעקב

על הלכות בעל קרי בסידור בית יעקב

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על הלכות בעל קרי בסידור בית יעקב by: Gabriel Wasserman English abstract: Siddur Bet Ya‘akov (Warsaw, 1881) is based on R. Jacob Emden’s siddur Ammudé Shamayim Ve-sha‘are Shamayim (Altona, 1745–1748), but in fact it contains a large amount of new material from the printer, R. Moshe Shub, who effectively created an entirely new work. Among the added material is a section Seder Ba‘al Keri, which presents the approach that the ancient “Edict of Ezra”, that one whose body has emitted…

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Etymologies of the Hebrew Calendar

Etymologies of the Hebrew Calendar

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Etymologies of the Hebrew Calendar By Dan D.Y. Shapira Dan (or, Dan D.Y.) Shapira is an Orientalist and grows more than fifty trees on the edge of the Judaean Desert. He’s a Full Professor at Bar-Ilan University. The month of Nisan begins the Hebrew year. Its name comes, ultimately, from Sumerian nisag (nig, “thing,” + sag (“head/first”), “first fruits” at about the spring equinox, via Akkadian and / or Aramaic. It should be observed that the names of the months…

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How the “Songs of the Day” Were Chosen

How the “Songs of the Day” Were Chosen

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How the “Songs of the Day” Were Chosen By David Farkas* The morning prayer service concludes with the Song of the Day, the שיר של יום. All of them are taken from Tehillim, the Psalms. The question is, why were these particular Psalms selected for the different days of the week? This question is squarely addressed by the Gemara. For this reason, understandably, most commentaries to the Siddur that address it simply refer to the relevant passage, and proceed no…

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The Haftarot of the Sabbaths of Hanukkah and the Haftarah of the Sabbath of Rosh Ḥodesh Tevet

The Haftarot of the Sabbaths of Hanukkah and the Haftarah of the Sabbath of Rosh Ḥodesh Tevet

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The Haftarot of the Sabbaths of Hanukkah and the Haftarah of the Sabbath of Rosh Ḥodesh Tevet[1] by: Eli Duker In the Babylonian Talmud (Megillah 31a) it is stated that the haftarah for the Sabbath of Hanukkah is from “the lamps of Zechariah,” and if Hanukkah coincides with two Sabbaths, the haftarah for the first Shabbat is from “the lamps of Zechariah” and the haftarah for the second Shabbat is from “the lamps of Solomon.” Rashi there explains that “the…

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Chanukah Controversies, Customs and Scholarship: A Roundup & Update

Chanukah Controversies, Customs and Scholarship: A Roundup & Update

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Chanukah Controversies, Customs and Scholarship: A Roundup & Update We are working on creating a better system to navigate past posts [please contact us at Seforimblog-at-gmail if you are interested in volunteering]. In the interim, here is a collection of Chanukah-related posts along with some new material: (As an aside, the Seforimblog’s internal style guide uses the Ashkenazic transliteration of the holiday name. Nonetheless, each author has the freedom to use whichever they prefer.) Controversies and Contested History Nearly every…

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ועשו להם ציצת – What to Make of Tzitzit

ועשו להם ציצת – What to Make of Tzitzit

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ועשו להם ציצת – What to Make of Tzitzit By Joseph Wertzberger [1] ויאמר ה׳ אל משה דבר אל־בני ישראל ואמרת אלהם ועשו להם ציצת על־כנפי בגדיהם לדרתם ונתנו על ציצת הכנף פתיל תכלת והיה לכם לציצת וראיתם אתו וזכרתם את כל מצות ה׳ ועשיתם אתם, ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם אשר אתם זנים אחריהם למען תזכרו ועשיתם את כל מצותי והייתם קדשים לאלקיכם אני ה׳ אלקיכם אשר הוצאתי אתכם מארץ מצרים להיות לכם לאלקים, אני ה׳ אלקיכם במדבר…

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