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The Meaning of the Word Hitpallel (התפלל)

The Meaning of the Word Hitpallel (התפלל)

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The Meaning of the Word Hitpallel (התפלל) By Mitchell First[1] MFirstAtty@aol.com It is clear from the many places that it appears in Tanakh that התפלל connotes praying. But what was the original meaning of this word? I was always taught that it meant something like “judge yourself.” Indeed, the standard ArtScroll Siddur (Siddur Kol Yaakov) includes the following in its introductory pages: “The Hebrew verb for praying is מתפלל; it is a reflexive word, meaning that the subject acts upon…

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Torah Under Wraps

Torah Under Wraps

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Torah Under Wraps by Yoav Sorek translated by Daniel Tabak Their publications are not allowed to get out. Their roiling Internet forums are blocked by filters. The articles they publish omit the names of professors considered verboten. A cohort of Haredi scholars [1] challenge the academy and their natural surroundings, unafraid to deal with subjects deemed taboo in the yeshiva world. Few Religious Zionists have penetrated this alternative ivory tower, but one of them—Eitam Henkin, may his blood be avenged—succeeded…

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עוד שמועות נדירות, ופנינים וסיפרים מדור שעבר ששמעתי ממו”ר הרב שמרי’ שולמאן שליט”א בעמ”ס באר שרים ועוד, ומשיירי כנסת הגדולה

עוד שמועות נדירות, ופנינים וסיפרים מדור שעבר ששמעתי ממו”ר הרב שמרי’ שולמאן שליט”א בעמ”ס באר שרים ועוד, ומשיירי כנסת הגדולה

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עוד שמועות נדירות, ופנינים וסיפרים מדור שעבר ששמעתי ממו“ר הרב שמרי‘ שולמאן שליט“א בעמ“ס באר שרים ועוד, ומשיירי כנסת הגדולה מאת: אברהם י. וילנר Part two Continued from here א] מו”ר נפגש פעם עם רבי דוד קאגאנאוו זצ”ל מבחירי תלמידי רבי איסר זלמן מלצר באירופא, ולימים ר”מ בבית מדרש לתורה בשיקאגא, וסיפר לו שבעת מלחמת העולם הראשונה, הרוסים גייסו אותו להצבא, לכן ברח מרוסיא לאמעריקא, ובדרכו לאמעריקא כשעבר דרך וילנא נכנס לבקר אצל רבי ברוך בער לייבאויץ ששהה שם ביחד…

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Who can discern his errors? Misdates, Errors, Deceptions, and other Variations in and about Hebrew Books, Intentional and Otherwise: Revisited

Who can discern his errors? Misdates, Errors, Deceptions, and other Variations in and about Hebrew Books, Intentional and Otherwise: Revisited

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Who can discern his errors? Misdates, Errors, Deceptions, and other Variations in and about Hebrew Books, Intentional and Otherwise: Revisited[1] by Marvin J. Heller Marvin J. Heller is the award winning author of books and articles on early Hebrew printing and bibliography. Among his books are the Printing the Talmud series, The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Hebrew Book(s): An Abridged Thesaurus, and collections of articles. R. Eleazar once entered a privy, and a Persian [Roman] came and thrust him away. R. Eleazar…

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Rabbi Chaim Volozhin’s Motivation to Write Nefesh HaChaim

Rabbi Chaim Volozhin’s Motivation to Write Nefesh HaChaim

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Rabbi Chaim Volozhin’s Motivation to Write Nefesh HaChaim (Including a response to R. Bezalel Naor’s Review of Nefesh HaTzimtzum) Avinoam Fraenkel Avinoam Fraenkel’s new 2 volume work, Nefesh HaTzimtzum (Urim Publications), is a full facing page translation and extensive commentary on Nefesh HaChaim together with all related writings by R. Chaim Volozhin. It also presents a groundbreaking study on the Kabbalistic concept of Tzimtzum which is demonstrated to be the key principle underpinning all of Nefesh HaChaim. The following essay…

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Rav Avraham Chai Reggio Brings A Sefer To Life

Rav Avraham Chai Reggio Brings A Sefer To Life

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Rav Avraham Chai Reggio Brings A Sefer To Life By Eli Genauer Note: I would like to thank Rabbi Gad Bouskila of Congregation Netivot Israel in Brooklyn for helping me decipher Rav Avraham Reggio’s handwriting Rav Avraham Chai (Vita) ben Azriel Reggio  (1755-1842) was the Rav of Gorizia, in northern Italy for over forty years. During that time period, he answered Sha’aylot both locally and from abroad, wrote a Sefer Torah, performed 300 circumcisions, and gave many Drashot that changed people’s…

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