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The Proselyte Doth Protest Too Much

The Proselyte Doth Protest Too Much

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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 reading audience for reasons we shall discuss. F. A….

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Some recent seforim

Some recent seforim

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This is a list of some of the recent seforim I have seen around during my seforim shopping. This is not an attempt to include everything or even close to that. I just like to list a wide variety of works. I note that for some of these works that I can provide a table of contents if you request it, email me at Eliezerbrodt@gmail.com. א. מסכת קידושין חלק א, מכון תלמוד הישראלי ב. שו”ת הרשב”א, חלק ג, תשובות השייכים…

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The Future of Israeli Haredi Society: Can The Written Word Offer Some Insight? (And Assorted Other Comments)

The Future of Israeli Haredi Society: Can The Written Word Offer Some Insight? (And Assorted Other Comments)

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1. Months ago I was asked to write about the situation in Beit Shemesh that everyone was then focused on (and which will probably heat up again in the future). At the present, I don’t have anything to add to the discussion, and if I did it would be with reference to Jewish books, as this is, after all, a site devoted to seforim. While I have in the past given my views on various issues, it was in the…

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Taliban Women and More

Taliban Women and More

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1. In this post I am going to respond to a number of emails and requests to deal with certain topics. I can’t get to everything I was asked about, and will only touch on some topics, but here is a start. Let’s begin with the common practice in the Israeli haredi world of ignoring what the Sages tell us in Kiddushin 29a and not teaching young men a trade so that instead they can devote themselves to Torah study….

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Book Week 2012

Book Week 2012

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Book week just began in Eretz Yisrael. As I have written in previous years every year in Israel, around Shavous time, there is a period of about ten days called Shavuah Hasefer – Book Week (see here, here here, here and here). Many of the companies offer sales for the whole month. Shavuah HaSefer is a sale which takes place all across the country in stores, malls and special places rented out just for the sale. There are places where…

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Book sale

Book sale

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Book week has begun in Israel. Later this week I hopefully will post a list of almost all the academic books that were printed during the past year. For now I would like to post a list of some more sefiorm on sale while supplies last. There are three parts. In part one there is only one copy of each so it’s a first come first serve basis. There are still some titles available from books mentioned on the previous…

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Seforim Sale

Seforim Sale

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While hunting for seforim and books I recently came across the following excellent titles for sale, from an old library and some other places. Most of these titles are very hard to find. Some of the prices are better than others, but all in all I think they are fair. Almost all the books are in great shape. The sale prices are only for the next three days. After that they might not be available.There is only one copy of…

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Towards a Bibliography of seforim related to Shavous and Megilas Rus (new and old)

Towards a Bibliography of seforim related to Shavous and Megilas Rus (new and old)

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In this post I intend to start a list towards a more complete bibliography to the various seforim (new and old) and articles related to Shavous. I hope to update it much more in the future as my computer (with all my information just died). When learning the Halachos of Shavous, one is struck how the Tur does not mention anything special for Shavous except for instructions related to davening and Keriyas Hatorah. The only custom he mentions that is…

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Kalir, False Accusations, and More

Kalir, False Accusations, and More

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1. I now want to return to Kalir and the criticism of me. To recap, I had earlier mentioned how Artscroll originally correctly identified Kalir as post-tannaitic, but later changed what it wrote in order to be in line with Tosafot’s opinion that he was a tanna. Some think that it is wrong to criticize Artscroll by using academic methodology instead of judging them by traditional sources, since they don’t recognize the academic approach. My first response is that this…

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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Some Remarks On Aristotle, Dante Alighieri, Immanuel of Rome, R. Moshe Botarel and Bertrand Russell

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Some Remarks On Aristotle, Dante Alighieri, Immanuel of Rome, R. Moshe Botarel and Bertrand Russell

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For nearly a millennium, the name “Aristotle” has resonated within Jewish culture (as within European culture generally) in a way difficult for we moderns to fully grasp. Not merely a philosopher (or even the Philosopher, as he is often designated), he represented (accurately and justly, or otherwise) a weltanschauung, or even a cluster of them: rationalism, scientism, materialism, skepticism, atheism. In this essay, we discuss a miscellaneous variety of perspectives toward Aristotle found in our tradition. R. Moshe Botarel R….

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New Book Announcement

New Book Announcement

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הציץ ונפגע, אנטומיה של מחלוקת חסידית, דוד אסף, ידיעות ספרים ואוניברסיטת חיפה, 541 עמודים. Just released, from University of HaIfa and Yedioth Achronoth, Hazitz Unifgah (הציץ ונפגע), the much-anticipated work by Professor David Assaf on the Sanz Sadigura controversy (see here about this book, on Prof. Assaf’s extremely interesting blog). This controversy began in 1869 and continued for a while afterward. This is the first work to document at great length (541 pp.) all the details of this controversy based…

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Halakhah and Haggadah – Manuscript Illustrations and their Halakhic and Customary Significance

Halakhah and Haggadah – Manuscript Illustrations and their Halakhic and Customary Significance

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This post is part of a series of posts regarding illustrations adorning manuscript and print Haggadot. Our first post dealt with a new work on the topic and can be viewed here. In this post we will focus upon the some of the Halachik implications of these illustrations. In many Ashkenazic manuscripts, the Passover illustrations begin chronologically earlier than the Seder. Many begin with the preparation of the matzah. For example, in the Second Nuremberg Haggadah , (the manuscript is…

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New seforim list with some random comments

New seforim list with some random comments

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New seforim list and some random comments By Eliezer Brodt This is a list of some of the recent seforim I have seen around during my seforim shopping. This is not an attempt to include everything or even close to that. I just like to list a wide variety of works. I note by some of these works that I can provide a table of contents if you request so, via emailing me at, Eliezerbrodt@gmail.com ספרים א. אוצר הגאונים מסכת…

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A review of Marc Michael Epstein’s The Medieval Haggadah, Narrative & Religious Imagination

A review of Marc Michael Epstein’s The Medieval Haggadah, Narrative & Religious Imagination

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Marc Michael Epstein, The Medieval Haggadah, Art, Narrative & Religious Imagination, Yale University Press, New Haven & London: 2011, 12, 324 pp. Most discussions regarding the Haggadah begin with the tired canard that the Haggadah is one of the most popular books in Jewish literature, if not the most popular, and has been treasured as such throughout the centuries. Over sixty years ago, Isaac Rivkin noted that as a matter of fact, only since the 19th century has the Haggadah…

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Women and the Recitation of Kaddish by Rahel Berkovits – A Review Essay (Hebrew with English Synopsis) by Yael Levine

Women and the Recitation of Kaddish by Rahel Berkovits – A Review Essay (Hebrew with English Synopsis) by Yael Levine

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The author holds a Ph.D. from the Talmud department at Bar Ilan University. She is the author of numerous articles related to women in Judaism. Rahel Berkovits has written a work about the recitation of kaddish by daughters and women generally. The main texts appear in Hebrew alongside an English translation. The publication was issued by JOFA. The topic itself is of notable interest, and Berkovits attempts to deal with the issues at hand. Her main purpose is to show…

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