Kitniyot and Stimulants: Coffee and Marijuana on Passover

Kitniyot and Stimulants: Coffee and Marijuana on Passover

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Kitniyot and Stimulants: Coffee and Marijuana on Passover One of the more interesting customs for Pesach in that of refraining from kitniyot. There is much discussion regarding the origins of this mysterious custom.  That is, the exact time this custom began, as well as it initial rationale is cloaked in mystery. That is not to say that numerous reasons haven’t been offered, only that we probably will never know for certain why this was enacted.  Moreover, what exactly is encompassed…

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“A Woman Is Not an Elephant”

“A Woman Is Not an Elephant”

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“A Woman Is Not an Elephant” – Some Jewish, Islamic and Classical Perspectives On the Conflict Between Authority and Truth by Yitzhak of Bein Din Ledin Unusually Long (Human) Gestations: Islam The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reports (hat tip: Rabbi Natan Slifkin): Egyptian Medical Doctor Criticizes the Phenomenon of Accepting Unscientific Islamic Beliefs, like the Notion that a Woman's Pregnancy Can Last Up to Four Years In an article on the liberal website Elaph, Dr. Khaled Montasser, a…

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Elliott Horowitz – “”Most of all you’ve got to hide it from the kids…’ Reading Esther before Bed”

Elliott Horowitz – “”Most of all you’ve got to hide it from the kids…’ Reading Esther before Bed”

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Elliott Horowitz teaches at Bar Ilan University and is co-editor of Jewish Quarterly Review. This is his fourth contribution to the Seforim blog. We hope that you enjoy. “”Most of all you’ve got to hide it from the kids…’: Reading Esther before Bed” Elliott Horowitz “The problem of selecting Bible stories for the early grades is an especially difficult one,” wrote Emanuel Gamoran in his introduction to the first volume of Lenore Cohen’s Bible Tales for Very Young Children (2…

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Anim Zemorot: A Modern Purim Parody

Anim Zemorot: A Modern Purim Parody

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Anim Zemorot:  A Modern Purim ParodyFor many centuries, parodies have been part of the Purim literature (see this post discussing their history).  One particularly popular genre of Purim literature has been the fake tefila.  Perhaps the best-known collection is the “Kol Bo” (first printed in L’vov, 1855 – see I. Davidson, Parody in Jewish Literature, n. 191 discussing this work, and a later example here) which runs the gamut of Kiddush to Yetziv Pitgam (de-Lot mi-S’dom) and Mareh Haman to…

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R. Shmuel Ashkenazi: "Gaon" Equals 60?

R. Shmuel Ashkenazi: "Gaon" Equals 60?

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                                                  "Gaon" Equals 60?                      (Another chapter of R. Shmuel Ashkenazi's Latest Work) Unfortunately, the amount of responses regarding assisting the publication of R. Ashkenazi's was underwhelming (a total of one contribution) so it is still uncertain when the seforim will actually be published. Until then – here is another chapter. For more information to contribute (any amount is extremly helpful) contact me at eliezerbrodt-at-gmail.com. גאון בגימטריא ששים א. גאון = 60 כתב ר' זכריה סימנר בספר זכירה, שהדפיס בשנת תסט בהמבורג…

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Review: Kehilot Hungary

Review: Kehilot Hungary

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Rabbi Baruch Oberlander is the rabbi in Budapest, Hungary, since 1989, and is the editor of Tel Talpiot. He has published many articles in the journal Ohr Yisroel and is the world's leading expert on the forged Yerushalmi Kodashim. כיצד כותבים את ההיסטוריה של יהדות הונגריה בישראל?הרב ברוך אבערלאנדעראב"ד בבודאפשט, הונגריה קהילות הונגריה – הקהילות החרדיות בהונגריה – תש"ד, מאת פרופ' שלמה שפיצר, מכון ירושלים, תשס"ט, 466 עמודים. החשיבות של כתיבה היסטורית נכונהכתיבה מדוייקת של דברי ימי הימים של עם ישראל חשובה…

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