Snow: A Review of Ha-Noten Sheleg

Snow: A Review of Ha-Noten Sheleg

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Y. Meiselman, Ha-Noten Sheleg, Be-Inyanei ha-Sheleg veha-Kerach be-Halacha, Holon, 2001, 266 pp.With winter approaching, a review of a work devoted to the topic of snow is particularly appropriate.  While everyone is familiar with R. Zevin's discussion of the halachik use of snow in his Le-Or ha-Halacha, R. Zevin only took his discussion so far. Today, we now have a work that is entirely devoted to snow and halacha.  This book, which is on Orach Hayyim and volumes on the other…

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Review: Macsanyuh Shel Torah

Review: Macsanyuh Shel Torah

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Review: Me'achsanya Shel ha-Torahby Eliezer Brodt Me'achsanya Shel ha-Torah, Rabbi Moshe Hubner, ed., New York, 2008, 297 pp.   As mentioned in the past, there is an austounding amount of seforim being published.  One genre, that is bursting at the seams, is sefarim on Chumash. There are seforim printed from famous people; some are still with us, while others have been gone for many years. These seforim focus on all kinds of topics: mussar, machashavah, pshat, kabbalah, d'rush, and halachah. In…

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Eliezer Brodt: The Chanukah Omission

Eliezer Brodt: The Chanukah Omission

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The Chanukah Omission by Eliezer Brodt Every Yom Tov we celebrate has different questions relating to it which become famous and are discussed from all different angles. Chanukah too has its share of famous questions. In this post I would like to deal with one such question which is famous but the answers are mostly not. The question is why is there no special Meshecta devoted to Chanukah as opposed to all other Yom Tovim [1]. Over the years many…

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The Name Machabee

The Name Machabee

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The Name Machabee Recently, a whole spate of books have been published, both in English and Hebrew, discussing names (see below for a partial list).  These works tend to focus on the alleged importance of one's name and offer insights into the source and meaning of names.  Although typically not discussed in these books is a well-known name, one that around this time of year deserves attention – the name Machabee (alternatively spelled Machabeus, Maccabaeus, Maccabeus, or substituting a "k" for…

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Caught in the Act: An Unknown Admission of Plagiarism

Caught in the Act: An Unknown Admission of Plagiarism

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While we have had the opportunity to discuss plagiarism on multiple occasions, it is rare in the Jewish world that a plagiarizer is caught and admits their mistake.  As such I wanted to discuss such an example.  R. Yosef HaKohen Schwartz (1875-1944) was a veracious reader.  Many of his responsa are devoted to notes on newly printed seforim.  Indeed, the equally well-read bibliophile, R. Reuven Margoliyot, was in the habit of sending his new books for R. Schwartz's comment.  Needless…

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Book Review: The Koren Sacks Bilingual Edition of the Siddur

Book Review: The Koren Sacks Bilingual Edition of the Siddur

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Book Review: The Koren Sacks Siddurby Elli Fischer         Rabbi Elli Fischer is a freelance translator living in Modiin, Israel.  He maintains the "On the Contrary: Judasim with Comments Enabled " blog.  This is his first contribution to the TraditionOnline Seforim blog. I was recently given the opportunity to preview The Koren Sacks Siddur. This work, due to be released in 2009, is the first major bilingual Orthodox synagogue prayer book to be released since the ArtScroll Siddur in 1984. It…

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