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Rambam The Poet?

Rambam The Poet?

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Most readers are familiar with the general character and productivity of Maimonides, I will therefore keep the preamble to a minimum. The indelible legacy left by Maimonides is that of a legalist and thinker, not of a poet or a preacher. That’s not to say that Maimonides lacked the poetic skill. In fact, even from his purely legal works one can detect his elegant tongue and imaginative faculties, never mind the many missives, introductions and intermittent non-legal material included in…

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No, Achashverosh Never Served a Stable-Boy

No, Achashverosh Never Served a Stable-Boy

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Writings about Purim from virtually every stripe make reference to a well-known myth that Achashverosh, King of Persia, rose to power from being a former stable-boy. A simple google search yields dozens of online results for this myth, some in passing and others expanded, some academic and others some more traditional; some on blogs and others in books. Yet, it seems that these references to Achashverosh the stable-boy are all rooted in a common mistranslation of the Talmud in Megilah….

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The Physicians of the Rome Plague of 1656, Yaakov Zahalon and Hananiah Modigliano

The Physicians of the Rome Plague of 1656, Yaakov Zahalon and Hananiah Modigliano

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Ellen Wells of the Smithsonian Libraries wrote, “The plague of Rome of 1656 was one of the best recorded medical events of the 17th century. It was referred to in most major political and ecclesiastical histories, in diplomatic correspondence and in personal memoirs. Books and pamphlets were issued in profusion. Commemorative prints were published …” The Jewish physician Yaakov Zahalon contributed to this documentary phenomenon from the Jewish perspective. Zahalon is one of the most famous physicians in Jewish history,…

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Depression Angles

Depression Angles

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Introduction: Depression angles measure the level of darkness or illumination prior to sunrise and, in a parallel fashion, after sunset. There are two halakhic disagreements that might appear to relate to the use of depression angles. First, there is a long-standing argument about what defines the transition from one day to the next and what is (merely) an indicator that the transition has occurred. Some consider the appearance of three stars as the basis of a definition, while others assume…

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What if the Maharal of Prague Had Access to Leipzig 1 and Other Manuscripts?

What if the Maharal of Prague Had Access to Leipzig 1 and Other Manuscripts?

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Summary: There is a statement in Rashi which appears in the overwhelming majority of early Rashi manuscripts, and in early printed editions. But because Gur Aryeh and others did not have access to these manuscripts, and because they felt that what Rashi said was incorrect, they ascribed the statement to a טעות סופר. Knowing that Rashi really did write these words might have changed their approach to this Pasuk. שמות כ”ג (יט) רֵאשִׁ֗ית בִּכּוּרֵי֙ אַדְמָ֣תְךָ֔ תָּבִ֕יא בֵּ֖ית ה’ אֱלֹקיךָ לֹֽא־תְבַשֵּׁ֥ל…

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Tzevi Hirsch of Nadworna’s Sefer Alpha Beta

Tzevi Hirsch of Nadworna’s Sefer Alpha Beta

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the riches of the sea they will be nourished, and by the treasures concealed in the sand. (Deuteronomy 33:19). Sefer Alpha Beta (1799) Nowy Dwor Courtesy of the National Library of Israel A primary component of the corpus of Hebrew literature is ethical works. The Torah is replete with examples of virtuous deeds, such as the patriarch Abraham’s numerous acts of kindness, and moral principles and commandments are a primary component of the taryag (613) mitzvot. Subsequent ethical works are…

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Rav Gorelick, the Rav, and Revision by Omission

Rav Gorelick, the Rav, and Revision by Omission

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Many readers of the Seforim Blog no doubt remember Dr. Shapiro’s post from 2009, in which he documented a back-and-forth from the pages of the journal Or Yisrael, regarding whether Rav Yerucham Gorelick zt”l taught Gemara at Yeshiva University. As a refresher, Or Yisrael (Num. 50, Tevet 5768, p. 39) published a summary of a shiur given by Rav Mordechai Leib Gorelick (son of Rav Yerucham), regarding the publication of the Talmud with translation and elucidation (presumably referring to Artscroll)….

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Picturing Pandemic Prayer

Picturing Pandemic Prayer

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(with invaluable assistance and inspiration from Menachem Butler and Sharon Liberman Mintz) Among the precious items recently offered by Sotheby’s at its auction of important Judaica (December 17, 2020) was a richly illustrated miniature book of prayers written and illustrated by Nathan ben Samson of Meseritch, 1728 (here). Nestled among the spectacular illustrations and prayers reflecting all aspects of life we find the page below: This largely forgotten prayer recited upon seeing one recently recovered from illness derives from the…

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Is there a rotten apple in the Tu-BeShevat Fruit Basket?

Is there a rotten apple in the Tu-BeShevat Fruit Basket?

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[This post is heavily updated from an earlier Seforim Blog post – here] Some claim that the origins of the custom to celebrate Tu-beShevat as a holiday that includes eating fruits and other rituals, is Sabbatean. In the main, this assertion is based upon identifying the work Hemdat Yamim as the source for Tu-beShevat as a holiday and eating fruit and other rituals. Thus, an article in Ha’aretz trumpets, “The New Year for the Trees, Isn’t it for Sabbatai Zvi.”…

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Four Perplexing Words in Rashi

Four Perplexing Words in Rashi

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Shemot Perek 11, Pasuk 9: (ט) וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, לֹא-יִשְׁמַע אֲלֵיכֶם פַּרְעֹה–לְמַעַן רְבוֹת מוֹפְתַי, בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם׃ Al HaTorah (based on the manuscript Leipzig 1) records Rashi’s comment on למען רבות מופתי as follows: רש”י: למען רבות מופתי – מכת בכורות, וקריעת ים סוף, ולנער את מצרים. Here is Leipzig 1: Artscroll Sapirstein edition (Brooklyn 1994) adds the words “מופתי שנים, רבות שלשה” in brackets at the beginning. The words appear without any type of parentheses in Mikraot Gedolot HaBahir 2005….

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The Haftarah of Parashat Shemot

The Haftarah of Parashat Shemot

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The Babylonian haftarah for Parashat Shemot was from Ezekiel 16: “Hoda’ et yerushalayim.” The haftarah appears in at least six fragments from the Cairo Geniza, is the haftarah used in the “Emet” piyyut of R’ Shemuel Hashelishi and in the “Zulat” piyyut of R’ Yehuda Beirabbi Binyamin, and is listed in the Seder Hatefillot in Rambam’s Yad Hahazakah as well as in the Siddur of R Shlomo Beirabbi Natan. This haftarah, an extremely graphic and difficult prophecy, was chosen because…

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Rabbi Steinman and the Messiah, part 3

Rabbi Steinman and the Messiah, part 3

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1. In the last post I wrote: “R. Hayyim Soloveitchik is reported to have said that if the messianic era will bring even one Jewish death, then he doesn’t want it, and if we had a choice in the matter the halakhah would require us to reject the Messiah in such a circumstance.” A perspective quite different than that of R. Hayyim was offered by R. Menahem Mendel of Rimanov. He thought that it would be good if Jews, even…

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Recent Notes On Hebrew Pronunciation

Recent Notes On Hebrew Pronunciation

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Many of the ideas discussed in this article were in my notebook for some time, and just as I was getting around to preparing them for publication, my prolific colleague Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein sent a copy of Professor Geoffrey Khan’s The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew to me. After reading it and briefly corresponding with the author, I concluded that it was time to release this article. Professor Khan invites the yeshiva world to read his book, available…

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On the History of the Custom to Announce Upcoming Fasts in the Synagogue on the Shabbat Preceding the Fasts

On the History of the Custom to Announce Upcoming Fasts in the Synagogue on the Shabbat Preceding the Fasts

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About the author: Ezer Diena teaches Science and Judaics at Bnei Akiva Schools of Toronto. After studying at Yeshivas Toras Moshe for two years, Ezer received his B.Sc. in Chemistry and B.Ed. from York University. He then joined Beit Midrash Zichron Dov of Toronto, where he studied for two years while serving as Rabbinic Assistant at BAYT and teaching in the Toronto and Thornhill communities. He welcomes any comments or feedback at ediena@torontotorah.com Part 1: The sources of this custom…

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Rabbi Steinman and the Messiah, part 2

Rabbi Steinman and the Messiah, part 2

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1. R. Yehudah Herzl Henkin has a different perspective than what we have seen so far. He rejects the notion that “waiting” for the Messiah means that one must believe that he can come at any second, for the Sages already said that the Messiah will not come at certain times. He writes: ובעיקר הענין הרביתי בראיות מן הגמרא שחז”ל לא ציפו שהמשיח יבוא בכל עת Contrary to the Brisker Rav (whom he mentions by name), R. Henkin writes: “There…

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