Browsed by
Category: History

A Gift for Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulay: On R. Yaakov Shimshon Senigallia, author of the Machshirei Pischa haggada, and his relationship with Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulay,‘the Chida’.

A Gift for Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulay: On R. Yaakov Shimshon Senigallia, author of the Machshirei Pischa haggada, and his relationship with Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulay,‘the Chida’.

A Gift for Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulay: On R. Yaakov Shimshon Senigallia, author of the Machshirei Pischa haggada, and his relationship with Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulay,‘the Chida’. Moshe Maimon, Jackson NJ Every antique sefer collector has his specialty. Some collect first prints, some collect classic editions and some collect the prints from a specific European press. The genres vary as well, with some focusing more on Kabbalah while others focus more on polemical literature. Yet, every collector will…

Read More Read More

Mysteries of the Magical Fifth Passover Cup (II): The Great Disappearing Act

Mysteries of the Magical Fifth Passover Cup (II): The Great Disappearing Act

Mysteries of the Magical Fifth Passover Cup (II): The Great Disappearing Act By Leor Jacobi Years ago, as a Yeshiva Bochur, a Rabbi explained to me that, according to the GRA, the Cup of Elijah at the Passover Seder is really the Fifth Cup mentioned in the Talmud which there is a doubt about  Thus, it is Elijah’s cup because when he returns to herald the redemption, every Talmudic tequ will be solved. I found that the elusive Fifth Cup is…

Read More Read More

To Censor or Not to Censor, that is the Question

To Censor or Not to Censor, that is the Question

To Censor or Not to Censor:  Electricity on Yom Tov, Illustrations and Other Items of Interest at Legacy Judaica’s March 2020 Auction By:  Eliezer Brodt & Dan Rabinowitz Legacy Auction’s latest auction will take place on March 26, 2020.  Their catalog provides us the opportunity to discuss a few items of interest to bibliophiles. There are many examples of the phenomenon of censoring or declaring forgeries of teshuvot and other halakhic rulings especially when those rulings are contrary to contemporary…

Read More Read More

Notice on the passing of R. Shlomo Biegeleisen

Notice on the passing of R. Shlomo Biegeleisen

All אוהבי ספר join in mourning the passing of R. Shlomo Biegeleisen, זכרונו לברכה. One of the most knowledgeable Jewish bookdealers in recent Jewish history, he did not merely sell books. He proffered sound advice, introduced customers to each other, and – in general – provided a congenial setting for תלמידי חכמים, scholars, collectors, bibliophiles, and “ordinary” Jews to meet and exchange ideas. Many a חידוש and scholarly article resulted from a conversation that took place (or: was overheard) at…

Read More Read More

The Breadth of Rabbinic Opinion Regarding Mosaic Authorship of the Torah in the Middle Ages

The Breadth of Rabbinic Opinion Regarding Mosaic Authorship of the Torah in the Middle Ages

The Breadth of Rabbinic Opinion Regarding Mosaic Authorship of the Torah in the Middle Ages By Ben Zion Katz, MD Arguably, Orthodox theology today is much narrower than what was acceptable in the Middle Ages.  For example, ArtScroll is editing Rashbam’s (Rabbi Samuel ben Meir, ca 1080 -1174) more radical comments out of their new edition of the Rabbinic Bible (Mikraot Gedolot).[1]   In this paper, I will discuss a dramatic example of Biblical exegesis, which could even be considered…

Read More Read More

Reuven Elitzur, Saul Lieberman, and Response to Criticism, part 2

Reuven Elitzur, Saul Lieberman, and Response to Criticism, part 2

Reuven Elitzur, Saul Lieberman, and Response to Criticism, part 2 Marc B. Shapiro Since I mentioned R. Reuven Elitzur in my post here, let me note two other interesting items from his posthumously published book, Degel Mahaneh Reuven. On pp. 304-305 we learn that when Elitzur studied in Ponovezh, one of the students joined the Irgun. When some other students found out about this, they grabbed the Irgun student one night, covered his head with a blanket, and beat him terribly. The…

Read More Read More

image_pdfimage_print