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Category: Minhagim

The Haftarot for Behar and Behukkotai

The Haftarot for Behar and Behukkotai

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The old Babylonian practice was to read Jeremiah 16:19 as the haftara for Parashat Behar and Ezekiel 34 for Parashat Behukkotai, and this is attested to in most of the relevant Cairo Geniza fragments. One of them, Cambridge T-S B15.4, aside from also indicating this, is written in the Oriental Hebrew script and vocalized with the Babylonian supralinear system, indicating its antiquity. Moreover, these haftarot are listed by R’ Shlomo ben Natan, and their verses are the basis for the…

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On the Times Commonly Presented for Birkat HaL’vana: Part 2

On the Times Commonly Presented for Birkat HaL’vana: Part 2

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The Truth About The Beth Yosef’s Position A while ago I received this from a disputant (I have not edited any of his writing): In the Shulkhan Arukh (chapter 426 paragraph 3) it was ruled that one has to wait till seven days have passed, and the Rema did not override the halachik ruling of the Mechaber (the Shulkhan Arukh). Therefore this is the basic core law for Sepharadim and Ashkenasim alike. However, there is an Ashkenasi minhag to make…

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On the Times Commonly Presented for Birkat HaL’vana: Part 1

On the Times Commonly Presented for Birkat HaL’vana: Part 1

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Abstract Typical Jewish calendars list two particular z’manim for “the first time that one may begin to recite kiddush l’vana (or birkat hal’vana).” The first is referred to as minhag yerushalayim or minhag haperushim, or simply “the three-day minhag,” and the second time, to wait for seven days to pass from the start of the lunar month to recite the blessing, is attributed to the Shulhan Aruch. These two times are calculated as exactly either 72 hours or 168 hours…

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Lighting Shabbat Candles in Jerusalem 40 Minutes Before Sunset

Lighting Shabbat Candles in Jerusalem 40 Minutes Before Sunset

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There is a story, perhaps apocryphal, of a visit to Jerusalem by R. Yoel Teitelbaum in which he is driven to the Kotel on Friday afternoon well after the customary time to light Shabbat candles in Jerusalem, 40 minutes before sunset. As his car was being stoned, he suggested that instead of adding 40 minutes to the Friday night pre-Shabbat period, it would be more appropriate that 40 minutes be added to the time at which the calendar of Jerusalem…

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Kabbala, Halakha and Kugel: The Case of the Two Handed Blessing

Kabbala, Halakha and Kugel: The Case of the Two Handed Blessing

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In parshat Vayehi, Yaakov simultaneously blesses his two grandchildren, Ephraim and Menashe by placing one hand upon each of their heads. Today, there is a widespread custom of blessing one own’s children on Friday night (although some only do it on the eve of Yom Kippur). This custom most likely originated with the Hasedi Ashkenaz in the 14th century but quickly spread to the rest of Europe, including France, Spain, and Italy. The exact details of the blessing, however, are…

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Simchas Torah & a Lost Minhag of the Gra

Simchas Torah & a Lost Minhag of the Gra

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Chol HaMoed Succos is the Yarzheit of the Vilna Gaon (for an earlier post on the Gra see here and here). In this post I hope to show a source for a “forgotten” Minhag of the Gra. In 1921 the great bibliographer (and much more) Yitzchak Rivkind described a strange custom he saw during the time he learned in Volozhin (after it was reopened and headed by R’ Rephael Shapiro), in an article about Minhag HaGra. On Simchas Torah they…

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A Compromise in Halacha – On Menachot 33a

A Compromise in Halacha – On Menachot 33a

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A common D’var Torah delivered at a wedding goes something like this: “Dear Chatan and Kallah. You are standing beneath a Chupah which is representative of the home you will build within the Jewish people. When you walk into your home, you will notice that that Mezuzah is placed in a diagonal position on the doorpost. There is a disagreement between Rashi and his grandson Rabbeinu Tam as to whether the Mezuzah should be affixed in a vertical or horizontal…

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Tracing the History of Shavuos Night Learning

Tracing the History of Shavuos Night Learning

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This article will trace some of the earliest sources for the Minhag observed by many to stay up learning Torah throughout the entire night of Shavuos. At the outset I would like to note that the focus of this article will be not be about the exact seder that was learned i.e. Tikun Lel Shavuos. Different versions of this article originally appeared in the Kulmos Supplement of Mishpacha in 2014 and then in English in 2015. I returned to all…

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Birchas Ha-ilanos in Nissan

Birchas Ha-ilanos in Nissan

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The Following article originally appeared in Yeshurn 32 (2015) [Eventually it will be updated]. For another part of this series see here. הלכות ברכת הראייה במסגרת הספר ‘מעגל טוב’ לחיד”א (ג)1 ברכת האילנות אליעזר יהודה בראדט ברכה האילנות בניסן2 ביומנו ‘מעגל טוב’ כתב החיד”א ביום א’ בניסן תקל”ז: “וברכתי ברכת אילנות”3. בשנת תקל”ח כתב בכ”ט בניסן: “ואחר מנחה ברכתי ברכת אילנות בגן”4. ביומנו גם רשם בשנת תקמ”ח: “ברכתי ברכת אילנות שילהי ניסן בפיזא”5. וכן בשנת תקמ”ט: “ברכת האילנות סוף ניסן”6….

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Torah Reading for Zochor and Parah

Torah Reading for Zochor and Parah

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קריאת פרשת זכור ופרשת פרה דאורייתא* מאת אליעזר יהודה בראדט ר’ אברהם גומבינר בעל ‘מגן אברהם’ נפטר בצום גדליה שנת תמ”ג ולא זכה לראות חיבורו ‘נר ישראל’, הפירוש המונומנטלי לשלחן ערוך אורח חיים, יוצא לאור בדפוס. כמה שנים לאחר מכן, בשנת תנ”ב, נדפס החיבור יחד עם ‘טורי זהב’ בדיהרן פארט ע”י המדפיס המפורסם ר’ שבתי בס בעל ‘שפתחי חכמים’. תיכף לאחר הדפסתו זכה שנכתבו ונדפסו כמה קיצורים ממנו, ביניהם גם ר’ נתן איגר בחיבורו ‘גן נטע’, פראג תנ”ה. גם זכה…

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Lecture Announcement – R. Yechiel Goldhaber – January 4, 2018

Lecture Announcement – R. Yechiel Goldhaber – January 4, 2018

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EDIT 1.4.2018: Unfortunately due to the inclement weather this lecture has been canceled. An update will be posted it that changes. The readership of the Seforim Blog is invited to a lecture by the noted author, Rav Yechiel Goldhaber (link), whose respected research and scholarship is well-known to Seforim Blog readers. The shiur will be taking place Thursday, January 4, 7:30 PM at Khal Bnei Avrohom Yaakov, 2701 Avenue N, Brooklyn, NY. Rabbi Goldhaber’s speech will be delivered in English….

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The Mysteries of Hoshana Rabbah

The Mysteries of Hoshana Rabbah

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This article originally appeared last year in Ami Magazine (2016) This version has a many updates and corrections. I hope to revisit this subject shortly. The sources of our Yomim Tovim are relatively easy to find, as one simply locates the relevant pesukim or Gemara and starts from there. However, one Yom Tov does not have such a starting point: Hoshana Rabbah. Its roots and numerous customs are shrouded in mystery. This article is an attempt to shed a bit…

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‘אֲשֶׁר שַׂמְתִּי עֲרָבָה בֵיתוֹ’ ו’לֶחֶם לַנְּעָרִים’ – השימוש המִשני בערבות הלולב וההושענות למנהג איטליה הקדום

‘אֲשֶׁר שַׂמְתִּי עֲרָבָה בֵיתוֹ’ ו’לֶחֶם לַנְּעָרִים’ – השימוש המִשני בערבות הלולב וההושענות למנהג איטליה הקדום

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השימוש המִשני בערבות הלולב וההושענות למנהג איטליה הקדום* “…The aravot, with which they observed the commandment of lulav, or the ‘ritual of the aravah’ (on Hoshana Rabah), would be discarded after their use. However, the German sages, as a token of their love for mitzvot, were wont to keep them in order to perform future mitzvot, such as for burning chametz or baking matzot on erev Pesach. The German custom has a Talmudic basis, that if an object is used…

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