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Contributor: Dan Rabinowitz

A Short Note Regarding an Illustrated Title Page and A Possible Unicum

A Short Note Regarding an Illustrated Title Page and A Possible Unicum

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A Short Note Regarding an Illustrated Title Page and A Possible Unicum   There are a series of books, Seder ha-haʻarakhah ve-haHanhagah, that record the tax law and taxes paid by the Mantuan community and were published in Mantua. [1] The taxes were calculated by communally elected assessment formulators.  The taxes were used to support the entire communal infrastructure, including the administration of communal organizations and funds for the poor.  As today, each person would provide an accounting of their…

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Purim Roundup 2019

Purim Roundup 2019

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For a collection of posts on Purim see here.  These deal with topics as diverse as Jewish humor and parodies, a series on the the origins of hamantaschen (and here and here), banging at the mention of Haman’s name, piyutim for Purim, mishcholot manot, identifying the personalities of Megliat Ester in secular sources, how to approach the story of Ester with children by the late Elliot Horowitz, as well as a couple posts regarding his book on Jewish violence and…

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Correction and Apology For an Earlier Post

Correction and Apology For an Earlier Post

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Correction and Apology For an Earlier Post A few months back we featured a fascinating two-part post about newly discovered documents from Rav Herzog’s Archive. One of the discoveries of the post was a document about Meir Kahane written to President Chaim Herzog by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik in the summer of 1984 which was surprisingly supportive of Kahane. A careful examination of the document by the family of Rabbi Soloveitchik reached the opposite conclusion. This letter is a crude…

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Writing is simple when lorem quis bibendum

Writing is simple when lorem quis bibendum

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Seforim Blog 2.0: How You Can Help

Seforim Blog 2.0: How You Can Help

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The Seforim Blog is now in its bar-mitzvah year and over the past thirteen years has grown exponentially.  There are currently over 2,000 email subscribers and an estimated 16,000+ hits a month from all over the world and nearly 7 million hits over the lifetime of the site.  The site has published nearly 950 articles from over 100 different authors.  Articles from the site have been cited in traditional Torah works, academic journals and books and have even formed the…

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Kabbala, Halakha and Kugel: The Case of the Two Handed Blessing

Kabbala, Halakha and Kugel: The Case of the Two Handed Blessing

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Kabbala, Halakha and Kugel:  The Case of the Two Handed Blessing*           In parshat Vayehi, Yaakov simultaneously blesses his two grandchildren, Ephraim and Menashe by placing one hand upon each of their heads.  Today, there is a widespread custom of blessing one own’s children on Friday night (although some only do it on the eve of Yom Kippur).  This custom most likely originated with the Hasedi Ashkenaz in the 14th century but quickly spread to the rest of Europe, including France,…

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Kol Nidrei, Choirs, and Beethoven: The Eternity of the Jewish Musical Tradition

Kol Nidrei, Choirs, and Beethoven: The Eternity of the Jewish Musical Tradition

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Kol Nidrei, Choirs, and Beethoven:  The Eternity of the Jewish Musical Tradition   On April 23, 1902, the cornerstone to the Taharat Ha-Kodesh synagogue was laid, and on Rosh Ha-Shana the next year, September 7, 1903, the synagogue was officially opened.  The synagogue building was on one of Vilna’s largest boulevards and constructed in a neo-Moorish architectural style, capped with a blue cupola that was visible for blocks. There was a recessed entry with three large arches and two columns.  The…

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Genazym Auctions: Illustrations & the Friendship Between the Hazon Ish and R. Zevin

Genazym Auctions: Illustrations & the Friendship Between the Hazon Ish and R. Zevin

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Genazym Auction:  Illustrations and the Friendship between the Hazon Ish and R. Zevin The auction house, Genazym, is holding its third auction (the catalog is available here) this week Thursday, August 30th. This auction includes many Hassidic works, letters, autographs, early editions, and some impressive bindings.  Additionally, as at other auction houses, items are already appearing from the Lunzer/Valmadonna collection whose books were sold and auctioned in the past year.  There are a few items that have aspects that go beyond…

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Happy July 4th

Happy July 4th

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From a Hebrew Bible printed by the Vaad Hatzalah, Munich, 1947, for the use of Displaced Persons (DPs),  the”Sherith Hepleita,” with a dedication to President Harry S. Truman 

The Humble Artichoke

The Humble Artichoke

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The New York Times recently discussed a novel ruling of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate.  The Rabbanut held that artichokes fall into the category of prohibited foods.  This is not because they are listed as such in the Torah. Rather the expansion of the biblical category is because of a secondary concern, the presence of insects.  Those insects may reside in the heart which without opening the tight leaves that comprise the vegetable one is unable to determine if insects are…

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Rare Letters, Controversial & Valuable Hasidic Books – Genazym Auction

Rare Letters, Controversial & Valuable Hasidic Books – Genazym Auction

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Genazym Auction is holding an auction on March 21st that includes many important letters and manuscripts and a small number of books (download a pdf of the catalog here).  Many of the books are Hasidic or owned by well-known Hasidic figures.  For example, the rare first edition of the No’am Elimelekh, 1788, by R. Elimelekh of Lyzhensk (lot 13).  That book, like other early Hasidic books are both fundamental to the Hasidic philosophy and theology and were controversial among those opposed to…

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Legacy Judaica Auction March 6th: A Sampling of Forgeries and other Eclectic Lots

Legacy Judaica Auction March 6th: A Sampling of Forgeries and other Eclectic Lots

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Legacy Judaica‘s next auction will occur on March 6, 2018.  The 220 lots include very rare books such as the first edition of the Yerushalmi and a letter from R. Tzvi Ashkenazi (Hakham Tzvi) (the entire catalog can be accessed here), there are many other interesting books and letters. Conditional marriage has been applied since at least the talmudic period if not early.  The exact circumstances and necessary predicates have evolved over time and especially in the modern period when marriage and…

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The Collected Writings of Moshe Reines Kickstarter

The Collected Writings of Moshe Reines Kickstarter

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The Collected Writings of Moshe Reines Kickstarter 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…

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Lecture Announcement – R. Yechiel Goldhaber – January 4, 2018

Lecture Announcement – R. Yechiel Goldhaber – January 4, 2018

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EDIT 1.4.2018:Unfortunately due to the inclement weather this lecture has been canceled. An update will be posted it that changes. The readership of the Seforim Blog is invited to a lecture by the noted author, Rav Yechiel Goldhaber (link), whose respected research and scholarship is well-known to Seforim Blog readers.  The shiur will be taking place Thursday, January 4, 7:30 PM at Khal Bnei Avrohom Yaakov, 2701 Avenue N, Brooklyn, NY. Rabbi Goldhaber’s speech will be delivered in English. The…

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