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Category: Rabbinic Biography & Personalities

The Alleged Blindness of R. Jacob Joshua Falk During the Emden-Eibeschuetz Controversy

The Alleged Blindness of R. Jacob Joshua Falk During the Emden-Eibeschuetz Controversy

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R. Jacob Emden’s animosity toward R. Jonathan Eibeschuetz throughout the Emden-Eibeschuetz controversy could easily be explained away on grounds that are not necessarily bound up with an accusation of heresy. Emden, who proudly depicted himself as “a zealot the son of a zealot,” would hardly pass for Mister Nice Guy. In his autobiography, and certainly in his polemical works, Emden often emerges as a misanthropic, tempestuous, cantankerous, chronically-ill, and incessantly whining social misfit and rabbinic genius who did not suffer…

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The Gaon’s Impact on the Interpretation of both Primary Sugyot in Zemanim

The Gaon’s Impact on the Interpretation of both Primary Sugyot in Zemanim

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Unquestionably, almost all ḥiddushim in the understanding of the vast literature on zemanim have halakhic implications. My intent is not to influence what has become minhag Yisroel; my focus is on establishing more precise halakhic definitions and theoretical innovations in sugyot that are central to the study of zemanim. Competent poskim can implement any changes in halakhic practice, which they determine that these innovations support. Two areas dominate the study of zemanim: How to determine precise delimiters for the day…

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A nay bintl briv: Personal Reminiscences of Rabbi Israel Meir ha-Kohen from the Yiddish Republic of Letters

A nay bintl briv: Personal Reminiscences of Rabbi Israel Meir ha-Kohen from the Yiddish Republic of Letters

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Editor’s note: The present post is part one of a two-part essay. Part two can be found here. Introduction Beginning on January 20, 1906, Abraham (Abe) Cahan (1860–1951), the legendary founder and longtime editor of the Yiddish-language Forverts newspaper in New York, published a regular agony uncle column famously entitled A bintl briv (A Bundle of Letters; often Romanized A Bintel Brief). Herein he reproduced missives sent to the daily by its largely Eastern European immigrant readership seeking advice on…

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Rav Aryeh Tzvi Frommer HY”D: סנגורם של ישראל

Rav Aryeh Tzvi Frommer HY”D: סנגורם של ישראל

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הכל מלמדין זכות” – משנה סנהדרין ד:א” In the fall of 1933, immediately after the death of Rabbi Meir Shapira zt”l – Rosh Yeshivat Chochmei Lublin, an article appeared in the “Lubliner Tugenblatt” newspaper. The title reads “Who will be the next Rosh Yeshiva?” The article references multiple distinguished candidates for the prestigious appointment, including Rav Menachem Zemba hy”d and Rav Dov Berish Weidenfeld zt”l – The Tchebiner Rav. Interestingly enough, the eventual successor to Rabbi Meir Shapira, was not…

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Book announcement: Ta’aroch Lifonai Shulchan by Rabbi Eitam Henkin, H”YD

Book announcement: Ta’aroch Lifonai Shulchan by Rabbi Eitam Henkin, H”YD

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הרב איתם שמעון הנקין הי”ד, “תערך לפני שלחן: חייו, זמנו, ומפעלו של הרי”ם עפשטיין בעל ערוך השלחן,” הוצאת קורן 413 עמודים It’s with great pleasure that I announce the second printing of the book Ta’aroch Lifonai Shulchan by R’ Eitam Henkin H”YD, published by Maggid Press. I had the unique privilege to edit this work, together with R’ Eitam’s special,learned parents. The first printing of this book was issued on January 2 earlier this year and sold out shortly after…

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Another Obvious Mistake, More Grammatical Points, Bubbe Mayseh, Apostates and the Zohar

Another Obvious Mistake, More Grammatical Points, Bubbe Mayseh, Apostates and the Zohar

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1. In my last post here I gave an example of an obvious error in a recent book focusing on the letters of R. Kook. I found another example of an obvious error in R. Dov Eliach’s new book, Be-Sod Siah. This is quite an interesting volume as it contains interviews with a number of leading haredi rabbis. I could have an entire post on the material in this book, but let me just call attention to a couple of…

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R. Nathan Nata ben Moses Hannover: The Life and Works of an Illustrious and Tragic Figure

R. Nathan Nata ben Moses Hannover: The Life and Works of an Illustrious and Tragic Figure

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Save me, O God; for the waters have come up to my soul. I sink in deep mire (yeven mezulah), where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. I am weary of my crying; my throat is parched; my eyes fail while I wait for my God. Those who hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head; those who would destroy me, who are my enemies wrongfully,…

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Chaim Zelig Slonimsky and the Diskin family

Chaim Zelig Slonimsky and the Diskin family

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Two years ago, the Seforim Blog published an article, written by Zecharya Licht, about the maskil, Chaim Zelig Slonimsky, and the Chanuka controversy he’d ignited. Last year, the Seforim Blog published published Part I of another article, also written by Zecharya Licht, which again focused on the above-mentioned maskil. This second article highlighted Slonimsky’s relationship with the Diskin Family. Part II of the article, which had already been published, zeroed in on Slonimsky’s relationship with R’ Binyomin Diskin of Horodna,…

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Young Rabbis and All About Olives

Young Rabbis and All About Olives

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I am currently working on a book focused on the thought of R. Kook, in particular his newly released publications. A book recently appeared titled Siah ha-Re’iyah, by R. David Gavrieli and R. Menahem Weitzman. It discusses a number of important letters of R. Kook. In addition to the analysis of the letters, each of the letters is printed with explanatory words that make them easier to understand. We are also given biographical details about the recipients of R. Kook’s…

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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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Gems from Rav Herzog’s Archive (Part 1 of 2): Giyus, Professor Lieberman and More

Gems from Rav Herzog’s Archive (Part 1 of 2): Giyus, Professor Lieberman and More

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A tremendous resource that will be of great interest to Seforim Blog’s readers has been made available to the public. The entire archive of the great Rav Yitzchak Eizik Halevi Herzog, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, has been scanned and is now available online. The archive contains hundreds of files on a wide range of topics, including Rav Herzog’s Piskei Halacha and Torah novellae, extensive correspondence on Israeli politics, Rav Herzog’s efforts to save Jews of Europe, and much more….

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New Sefer Announcement: The Collected Writings of R’ Moshe Reines

New Sefer Announcement: The Collected Writings of R’ Moshe Reines

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It is with great pleasure that I announce a sefer that I just printed, The Collected Writings of R’ Moshe Reines. ר’ משה ריינס מבחר כתבים, אוסף חיבוריו מאמרים ואגרותיו, לג+ 640 +4 עמודים The sefer will be available for purchase in the US shortly. (We will post that info soon). A PDF of some sample pages are available upon request, for more information contact me at eliezerbrodt@gmail.com. What follows is the English introduction to the book. This is an…

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The Collected Writings of Moshe Reines Kickstarter

The Collected Writings of Moshe Reines Kickstarter

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Moshe Reines was a polymath: Talmudist, Hebraist, historian, investigative reporter, social commentator – a prolific and influential thinker, writer, and author. The son of Rabbi Yitzchok Yaakov Reines, Moshe Reines died tragically in 1891 at the astonishingly young age of twenty-one. The obituary which appeared in Hamagid had this to say about the young Reb Moshe z”l: “He excelled amazingly in his absolute mastery of Shas…” The volume (compiled and edited by Eliezer Brodt) awaiting printing is approximately seven-hundred pages….

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Chaim Zelig Slonimsky and the Diskin family

Chaim Zelig Slonimsky and the Diskin family

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In December of 2016, Seforim blog published an article by Zerachya Licht about the Maskil Chaim Zelig Slonimsky and the Chanuka controversy he ignited. Presented here is a two part biographical monograph which focuses on Slonimsky relationship to the Diskin family. As an outcome of the above, this essay explores the Diskin family’s attitude toward Haskalah. At the end of Part I a newly discovered document which sheds light on these two topics is reproduced and transcribed. Also included are…

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