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Category: Forgeries & Fabrications

Shnayer Leiman: Did a Disciple of the Maharal Create a Golem?

Shnayer Leiman: Did a Disciple of the Maharal Create a Golem?

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What follows is a short essay by Prof. Shnayer Leiman, whose article on this topic, “The Adventure of the Maharal of Prague in London: R. Yudl Rosenberg and the Golem of Prague,” appeared in Tradition 36:1 (2002): 26-58 [PDF]. Did a Disciple of the Maharal Create a Golem? Shnayer Leiman I. In March 2006, Dei’ah VeDibur, a Charedi internet newsletter, published an essay on the Maharal and the Golem. Its conclusion was that “it is unclear whether or not the…

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The Case of the Missing Books: Besamim Rosh in Berlin and St. Petersburg

The Case of the Missing Books: Besamim Rosh in Berlin and St. Petersburg

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While we have previously discussed how the Besamim Rosh to this day remains an enigma, there are two important texts which may have bearing on this issue. Benjamin Richler has been kind enough to provide additional information about these two sources. We therefore pick up from Benjamin Richler at the Jewish National and University Library: The Case of the Missing Books: Besamim Rosh in Berlin and St. Petersburgby Benjamin Richler There are two sources concerning the Besamim Rosh that researchers…

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The Enigma of the Besamim Rosh – Solved by an Amateur – Not!

The Enigma of the Besamim Rosh – Solved by an Amateur – Not!

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It seems that my recent posts on the Besamim Rosh have been placed into the wilds of the internet. Someone, however, took issue with the very notion that the Besamim Rosh was a forgery. He claimed he could demonstrate that the Besamim Rosh was legitimate and solve this problem which has vexed people for the last three hundred years. Not only could he do so, he could do so in under a minute by executing a search on the Bar-Ilan…

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A Bizarre Case of Censoring the Besamim Rosh

A Bizarre Case of Censoring the Besamim Rosh

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In the majority of cases of self-censorship it is fairly easy to surmise why something has been removed. Most typically, it is due to the current writer or publishers either fear of offending their audience or their own ideological sensibilities. Thus, commonly statements, approbations and the like which at the time seemed innocuous, today some may take offense for ideological reasons and thus some people remove them. This, of course, is not to say this justifies such practices but instead…

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Shnayer Leiman on “A Puzzling Passage in a Book Intended for Jewish Children”

Shnayer Leiman on “A Puzzling Passage in a Book Intended for Jewish Children”

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A Puzzling Passage in a Book Intended for Jewish Children, with a Tentative Bibliography of ספרי קודש that Treat the Mitzvah of Answering “Amen” Shnayer Leiman   In 2004, an anonymous book entitled Serenade the King appeared in print.[1] Addressed primarily to a young audience, it is an anthology of inspirational stories that focus on one teaching only: the importance of answering “Amen.” The stories are accompanied by photographs of the great Jewish sages mentioned in them, and by short…

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Haggadah, First Hebrew Map, and Forgery

Haggadah, First Hebrew Map, and Forgery

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One of the most beautifully done haggadot is that of the Amsterdam, 1695. This haggadah for the first time used copperplate instead of woodcuts to produce the illustrations. Consequently, the illustrations are sharper and more intricate. The illustrator, Avrohom bar Ya’akov mimispchto shel Avrohom avenu, as is apparent from his name, was a convert. Before converting he was a preacher. His edition of the haggadah was special not only for the copperplate and the illustrations, but for a specific illustration,…

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