WHAT WAS BOTHERING THE CENSOR? by Eli Genauer The invention of the printing press in the 15th century was a great boon for Torah study. Manuscripts which had to be laboriously copied one by one could now be set to type and hundreds could be produced at one time. One of the earliest Jewish treasures to be set to print was the Talmud. Scattered volumes of it were printed in the late 15th century and early sixteenth century, but the…
The Letter of the Maharal on the Creation of the Golem: A Modern Forgery By: Shnayer Leiman For a related post by Dr. Leiman see “Did a Disciple of the Maharal Create a Golem.” I. Introduction In 1923, Chaim Bloch (1881-1973), noted author and polemicist,1published a letter of the Maharal (d. 1609) that was previously unknown to all of Jewish literature.2 The letter, dated 1582 (or more precisely: Tuesday of parshat va-yera, [5]343), was addressed to R. Jacob…
Spunky Rebbetzins, Disgruntled Rebbetzins and A Learned Zionist Midwife: A Tale Of Two Stories by: Yitzhak of בין דין לדין Menachem Berisha, in The Last Rabbis of Brest, relates (hat tip: Wolf2191): Rabbi J.L. Diskin’s second wife Sarah was famed as the Brisker Rebbetzen. She was learned and knowledgeable in all the laws. She was very strict in the matter of orthodoxy and mixed into all the community affairs. She had very strong mind; she came from a very prestigious…
Slate, today, has an article that provides a nice of nitel nacht and there is another one here. Additionally, see this previous post discussing nitel.
ספר ימי שמונה–קושית הבית יוסף מאת: עקביא שמש בחנוכה לפני שנתיים ימים כתבתי בבלוג הנוכחי את הדברים הבאים: “אחד המאפיינים את הספרות הרבנית ההלכתית בדורנו הוא חיבור ספרים סביב נושא הלכתי אחד. העובדה שהמחבר מרכז את כל הידוע לו סביב אותו נושא, הופכת את הספר למבוקש ושימושי ביותר, לא רק ל”עמך”, אלא גם לציבור הלומדים. חלק מספרים אלו יוצא לאור במספר מהדורות, דבר המלמד על חשיבותו הרבה של הספר, ועל הצורך הרב שיש בו. הנה כי כן בהתקרב חג מסוים,…
The posts related to Chanukah can be found here.