Browsed by
Contributor: Eli Genauer

An “Artscroll”™ Illustration in the Vilna Shas-Masechet Shabbat 98b

An “Artscroll”™ Illustration in the Vilna Shas-Masechet Shabbat 98b

Comments 24 comments

An “Artscroll” ™ Illustration in the Vilna Shas–Masechet Shabbat 98b By Eli Genauer לזכר נשמת אבי מורי ר׳ יעקב קאפל בר׳ משה יהודה הלוי גענויער ז״ל. היארצייט שלו י״ד סיון. For those studying Daf Yomi this week, there is a unique diagram that appears on Shabbat 98b. In the Vilna Shas one can see a closeup “picture” of one of the boards of the Mishkan (“קרש“) which would make Artscroll proud.[1] While one might be familiar with diagrams that appear…

Read More Read More

The Maharsha’s Map of Yerushalayim – A Taus Sofer? Berakhot 61b

The Maharsha’s Map of Yerushalayim – A Taus Sofer? Berakhot 61b

Comments 26 comments

The Maharsha’s Map of Yerushalayim – A Taus Sofer? “ברכות סא: “הנפנה ביהודה רש”י – ירושלים בארץ יהודה היא בצפונה של ארץ יהודה בגבול שבין יהודה לבנימין By Eli Genauer תנו רבנן, הנפנה ביהודה לא יפנה מזרח ומערב אלא צפון ודרום, ובגליל לא יפנה אלא מזרח ומערב. ורבי יוסי מתיר, שהיה רבי יוסי אומר לא אסרו אלא ברואה ובמקום שאין שם גדר ובזמן שהשכינה שורה. וחכמים אוסרים Explanation of Rabbi Steinsaltz per Sefaria, the William Davidson edition of the Talmud…

Read More Read More

A Newly Discovered Work of the Rambam?

A Newly Discovered Work of the Rambam?

Comments 14 comments

A Newly Discovered Work of the Rambam? By Eli Genauer I recently purchased a Chumash which was printed in Sulzbach in 1741 by Meshulam Zalman ben Aharon Fraenkel Marvin Heller succinctly sums up the history of Hebrew printing in Sulzbach as follows: “This small Bavarian community was for over two centuries the site of Hebrew presses that printed many important titles. Duke Christain-Augustus due to his interest in Kabbalah, permitted the opening of Hebrew print shops in the 1660’s. Sulzbach…

Read More Read More

A Compromise in Halacha – On Menachot 33a

A Compromise in Halacha – On Menachot 33a

Comments 22 comments

A Compromise in Halacha – On Menachot 33a By Eli Genauer A common D’var Torah delivered at a wedding goes something like this: “Dear Chatan and Kallah. You are standing beneath a Chupah which is representative of the home you will build within the Jewish people. When you walk into your home, you will notice that that Mezuzah is placed in a diagonal position on the doorpost. There is a disagreement between Rashi and his grandson Rabbeinu Tam as to…

Read More Read More

The Strange Shape of the Marcheshet Pan

The Strange Shape of the Marcheshet Pan

Comments 0 Comment

                             The Strange Shape of the Marcheshet Pan                                                              By Eli Genauer “The underlying basis of our work is that pictures are an organic part of the commentary, and it possible that Rashi even allowed himself to limit his explanatory words when a picture was available to the reader. This is in the sense of “a picture is worth a thousand words”. The picture is an integral…

Read More Read More

The 1908 Student Strike at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary: A Newly Discovered Document

The 1908 Student Strike at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary: A Newly Discovered Document

Comments 2 comments

The 1908 Student Strike at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary: A Newly Discovered Document By Eli Genauer I would like to thank Dr Zev Eleff for his invaluable assistance in helping me frame this article. I would also like to thank Sharon Horowitz of the Library of Congress for providing research assistance. The Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), present day Yeshiva University, was officially founded on March 20, 1897. RIETS was the first unequivocally Orthodox Jewish seminary on American…

Read More Read More

Rav Avraham Chai Reggio Brings A Sefer To Life

Rav Avraham Chai Reggio Brings A Sefer To Life

Comments 0 Comment

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…

Read More Read More

An Obscure Diagram in the Bomberg Shas

An Obscure Diagram in the Bomberg Shas

Comments 20 comments

 An Obscure Diagram in the Bomberg Shas By Eli Genauer A recent book auction by Kestenbaum featured the following listing: AUCTION 65: JUNE 25TH, 2015LOT: 111 (TALMUD, BABYLONIAN). Masechta Sotah. With commentaries by Rashi, Tosaphoth, Maimonides and Rabbeinu Asher. FIRST BOMBERG EDITION .. ……Vinograd, Venice 27; Habermann, Bomberg 22. Daniel Bomberg, Venice: 1520.                   This Tractate contains the only appearance of a printed text illustration throughout the entire Talmud issued by Bomberg (see f. 43r). The reference to (…

Read More Read More

The Gematriya Haggadah

The Gematriya Haggadah

Comments 3 comments

The Gematriya Haggadah By Eli Genauer I try to buy a new Haggadah every year to make sure I have something new to say. It is especially important at my stage in life when grandchildren will remind you if you use last year’s Dvar Torah. This year’s Haggadah was definitely in the category of “מה נשתנה ההגדה הזאת מכל ההגדות”. It’s name is ״כוס ישועות״  and it was printed on the Isle of Djerba, Tunisia in 1947. It’s author was…

Read More Read More

An Incident of “Pilegesh B’Givah” in 19th Century Germany

An Incident of “Pilegesh B’Givah” in 19th Century Germany

Comments 0 Comment

AN INCIDENT OF “PILEGESH B’GIVAH” IN 19TH CENTURY GERMANY by Eli Genauer I recently purchased an antique Hebrew book for less than the price of a dinner at a moderately priced restaurant. This particular edition is what some would call a “common” — meaning it is the 36th edition (the fourth edition of a revised version) of this book and it was printed in the mid-19th century. Generally, the market does not assign a high price for books like these,…

Read More Read More

What’s Wrong With Wealth and Honor?

What’s Wrong With Wealth and Honor?

Comments 12 comments

What’s Wrong With Wealth and Honor?  by Eli Genauer                                                                      Below, we will present some timely notes regarding an English/Hebrew Machzor for Rosh Hashana which was printed in England in 1807.  We will touch upon a variety of issues, and thus first present general backgrounds regarding Hebrew…

Read More Read More

The Proselyte Doth Protest Too Much

The Proselyte Doth Protest Too Much

Comments 7 comments

THE PROSELYTE DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH By Eli Genauer I recently acquired an early edition of Abarvanel’s Peirush Al Neviim Rishonim. It was printed in Leipzig in 1686. It was only the second edition of this commentary, following the first edition printed in Pesaro in 1511 by Gershom Soncino. The publisher of this edition was Mauritium Georgium Weidmannum. The editors were Friedrich Albrecht Christiani, an apostate, and August Pfeiffer, a German Lutheran theologian. It was printed primarily for a Christian…

Read More Read More

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Questions – Part II

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Questions – Part II

Comments 2 comments

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND QUESTIONS – PART II (Part I) by Eli Genauer The classic Vilna Shas, published by the firm of the Widow and Brothers Romm, was completed during the years 1880-86. It was the most complete and accurate edition of the Talmud printed until that time, containing many new Peirushim and using new sources to ensure the accuracy of text. This fact was not lost on the chief editor Shmuel Shraga Feiginsohn as he states in…

Read More Read More

Change Has Come To Modena

Change Has Come To Modena

Comments 10 comments

Change Has Come To Modena By Eli Genauer I would like to thank S. of “On The Main Line” for his assistance and insightful comments. The Kitzur Shelah by Rav Yechiel Michel Epstein, was first published in Fürth in 1683.[1] It was not truly an abridgement of the Shnai Luchos HaBris, but rather a Sefer which stood on its own. It was used for many years by people in smaller communities as a guide for what to do at different…

Read More Read More

Using a Colophon to Find a Shidduch: on Ella the Zetser.

Using a Colophon to Find a Shidduch: on Ella the Zetser.

Comments 0 Comment

Using a Colophon to Find a Shidduch by Eli Genauer There has been much talk lately about the so called Shidduch crisis. Various initiatives have been proposed to address this problem, all of which are well meaning and well thought out. Many might be surprised to learn that an interesting approach was suggested by a 12 year old girl in the town of Frankfurt on Oder way back in 1699. This approach was based on a Pasuk in Yirmiyahu which…

Read More Read More

image_pdfimage_print