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Category: Editions, Reprints & Publishing

What is wrong with Artscroll?

What is wrong with Artscroll?

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What is wrong with Artscroll? by Eliezer Miller A better question would be is what is right? The latest work produced by Artscroll in the Milstein Series is Isaiah[1]. Written by Rabbi Nosson Scherman, the general editor of Artsrtscroll himself, it is the inaugural volume of the interpretation of the Later Prophets. Firstly, one must praise Artscroll for a completely new typesetting of the Rashi, Radak, Metzuadas David and Metzudas Zion. But to what purpose?  If was to give us…

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A selection from Strictly Kosher Reading by Yoel Finkelman

A selection from Strictly Kosher Reading by Yoel Finkelman

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The Seforim Blog is happy to present this selection from Yoel Finkelman’s recent book, Strictly Kosher Reading: Popular Literature and the Condition of Contemporary Orthodoxy. Coalescence The first function of Haredi popular literature involves the “coalescence” of the Jewish and the non-Jewish. In defining coalescence, Sylvia Barack Fishman distinguishes it from two other common ways of describing relationships between Judaism and general culture. First, “compartmentalization” involves a situation in which the Jewish tradition holds sway in its own spheres, such…

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What’s Wrong With Wealth and Honor?

What’s Wrong With Wealth and Honor?

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What’s Wrong With Wealth and Honor?  by Eli Genauer                                                                      Below, we will present some timely notes regarding an English/Hebrew Machzor for Rosh Hashana which was printed in England in 1807.  We will touch upon a variety of issues, and thus first present general backgrounds regarding Hebrew…

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A Preliminary Review of The New Koren Talmud Bavli: A Goldilocks edition

A Preliminary Review of The New Koren Talmud Bavli: A Goldilocks edition

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A Preliminary Review of  The New Koren Talmud Bavli:  A Goldilocks edition by Jeremy Brown Jeremy Brown lives outside of Washington DC. He is the author of New Heavens and a New Earth: The Jewish Reception of Copernican Thought, to be published later this year by Oxford University Press. We are only weeks away from finishing the seven-year cycle of Daf Yomi.  Right on cue, publishers are ready to meet the demand of those ready to study Daf Yomi the first…

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The Proselyte Doth Protest Too Much

The Proselyte Doth Protest Too Much

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THE PROSELYTE DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH By Eli Genauer I recently acquired an early edition of Abarvanel’s Peirush Al Neviim Rishonim. It was printed in Leipzig in 1686. It was only the second edition of this commentary, following the first edition printed in Pesaro in 1511 by Gershom Soncino. The publisher of this edition was Mauritium Georgium Weidmannum. The editors were Friedrich Albrecht Christiani, an apostate, and August Pfeiffer, a German Lutheran theologian. It was printed primarily for a Christian…

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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Questions – Part II

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Questions – Part II

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A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND QUESTIONS – PART II (Part I) by Eli Genauer The classic Vilna Shas, published by the firm of the Widow and Brothers Romm, was completed during the years 1880-86. It was the most complete and accurate edition of the Talmud printed until that time, containing many new Peirushim and using new sources to ensure the accuracy of text. This fact was not lost on the chief editor Shmuel Shraga Feiginsohn as he states in…

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Change Has Come To Modena

Change Has Come To Modena

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Change Has Come To Modena By Eli Genauer I would like to thank S. of “On The Main Line” for his assistance and insightful comments. The Kitzur Shelah by Rav Yechiel Michel Epstein, was first published in Fürth in 1683.[1] It was not truly an abridgement of the Shnai Luchos HaBris, but rather a Sefer which stood on its own. It was used for many years by people in smaller communities as a guide for what to do at different…

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Parshegen, an amazing new work on Targum Onkelos

Parshegen, an amazing new work on Targum Onkelos

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Parshegen, an amazing new work on Targum Onkelos By Eliezer Brodt רפאל בנימין פוזן, פרשגן, ביאורים ומקורות לתרגום אונקלוס, בראשית,963 עמודים. הנ”ל, העקיבות התרגומית בתרגום אונקלוס, מגנס, ירושליםתשס”ד, 362 עמודים. After many years of waiting, one volume of a highly anticipated work on Targum Onkelos, Parshegen, has finallyappeared. This volume by Rabbi Dr. Rafael Posen is an in-depth study of Targum Onkelos. Many have studied Targum Onkelos over the centuries, and continue to do so – especially when doing Shenayim…

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מסכת אבות – ספרי ראשונים, ספרי ליקוטים ומהדורת ‘עוז והדר’

מסכת אבות – ספרי ראשונים, ספרי ליקוטים ומהדורת ‘עוז והדר’

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מסכת אבות: ספרי ראשונים, ספרי ליקוטים ומהדורת ‘עוז והדר’ עקביא שמש סקירה כללית קצרה מסכת אבות והגדה של פסח בחלקה העיקרי, הם שני חיבורים המכילים את תורתם של התנאים. אין קשר בין שני החיבורים הללו בתוכן הפנימי שלהם. אבל יש דמיון חיצוני בין שניהם. למרות ששניהם חיבורים קטנים, הרי שנתחברה סביבם ספרות פרשנית רבה ביותר, שככל הנראה אין דומה לה בהיקף. והנה בעוד שביחס להגדה של פסח נתחבר ספר מיוחד שנרשמו בו כל ההגדות שיצאו לאור למיניהם, והוא מעודכן כמעט…

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Censorship in the Sefer Chofetz Chaim?

Censorship in the Sefer Chofetz Chaim?

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Censorship in the Sefer Chofetz Chaim? (Another chapter of R. Shmuel Ashkenazi's Latest Work) Unfortunately, the amount of responses regarding assisting the publication of R. Ashkenazi's work was underwhelming (we are trying very hard to raise the money but are still far from the end) so it is still uncertain when the seforim will actually be published. Until then – here is another chapter. For previous articles of R. Ashkenazi see here here and here. For more information to contribute (any…

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R. Flensberg, Donkeys, Antelopes and Frogs

R. Flensberg, Donkeys, Antelopes and Frogs

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R. Flensberg , Donkeys, Antelopes and Frogs Recently, a book, Aggadata de-Ve Rav, Machon Limud Aggadah, Ashdod, 2010, pp. 50, 176, 56, collecting various works attempting to explain the difficult and, on their face, rather odd stories (aggadot) that appear in Baba Batra (73a-74) many of which involve odd animals do odd things.  In addition to these passages, there is another odd passage in Bechorot (7b) which also involves an animal, a donkey also engaging in odd behavior. This passage…

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Review: Or Hayyim Commentary

Review: Or Hayyim Commentary

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ביקורת ספרים: אור החיים על חומש בראשית – הוצאת מוסד הרב קוק[1]מאת: רב צעירביריד הוצאת מוסד הרב קוק בחודש ניסן האחרון ראיתי שיצא לאור חומש עם פירוש אור החיים בצורה ערוכה ומהודרת. עד לחודש ניסן יצא לאור הפירוש לחומשים בראשית, שמות, ויקרא. מכיוון שתכננתי להתחיל ללמוד את פירוש אור החיים לקראת תחילת ספר בראשית השנה, החלטתי לרכוש את הספרים מתוך תקווה שעד ליריד בניסן הבא יצאו שני החלקים האחרונים (שמאז יצאו לאור, ונעיר עליהם בקצרה בהמשך).פירוש אור החיים בהוצאה זו…

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Eliezer Brodt: Corrections and Clarifications

Eliezer Brodt: Corrections and Clarifications

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  Corrections and Clarifications on Two Editions of R. Chaim Berlin’s Responsa: An Egregious Example of Censorship by: Eliezer Brodt           From time to time I get feed back about some of my previous posts some good some bad – aside from the standard criticism of poor grammar, editing or transliterating, all of which are my fault entirely. The blog does not have a full time editor (its all on a volunteer basis), and the goal of the editors,…

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Review of Ma'amar al Yishma'el

Review of Ma'amar al Yishma'el

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Review: Ma'amar al Yishma'elby Eliezer Brodt & Ish Sefer  Solomon Ibn Aderet, Ma'amar al Yishma'el, Bezalel Naor ed., Spring Valley, NY, 2008, 178 pp.Bezalel Naor, Mitsvat Hashem Barah, Spring Valley, NY, 2008, 220 pp.  R. Bezalel Naor, who has published a host of translations and explanations of R. Kook's writings, as well as Post Sabbatian Sabbatianisms, discussing Sabbatean works, has published two works in a single volume. The first, Ma'amar al Yishma'el, is a critical edition of R. Solomon Ibn…

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Rabbis &amp: History A Review of the Koreh HaDorot, Ahavat Shalom ed

Rabbis &amp: History A Review of the Koreh HaDorot, Ahavat Shalom ed

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Rabbis & History: A Review of the Koreh HaDorot, Ahavat Shalom ed. by Eliezer Brodt  This is the first post in what I hope to be a series on various attitudes towards studying history.  The prism through which we will examine this issue is that of the many works written by gedolim discussing history.  The subject of this post is a new edition of the classic work Koreh Hadoros (KH) by R. Dovid Conforte (printed recently by Ahavat Sholom).  After discussing…

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