The Seforim Blog – Page 145 – All about Seforim – New and Old, and Jewish Bibliography

A Note on the Latin Dedication in the Rabbinic Bible of Venice 15

January 11, 2009 admin Comments 10 comments

A Note on the Latin Dedication in the Rabbinic Bible of Venice 1517 by: Jordan S. Penkower In response to the recent post at the Seforim Blog about approbations of Hebrew books, a correction is in order concerning the footnote about the intent of the remarks of Felix Pratensis in his dedication of the Venice 1517 Rabbinic Bible to the Pope. In footnote 3 of the recent post, a conjecture was offered to explain Felix Pratensis’ remarks. In addition, Pratensis…

Read More Read More

Some Observations Regarding Approbations for Hebrew Books

January 8, 2009 admin Comments 0 Comment

Haskamot (rabbinical approbations) to Hebrew books have an very interesting history. There are a few different forms of haskamot, perhaps the most important form is that which granted the author and/or publisher a copyright. Typically, the haskamah would prohibit republishing the particular book for a period of ten or fifteen years, etc. In some instances, it was not only the particular book but any book in the field. For example, the haskamah to R. Yom Tov Lipmann Heller's edition of…

Read More Read More

Snow: A Review of Ha-Noten Sheleg

January 7, 2009 admin Comments 0 Comment

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…

Read More Read More

Review: Macsanyuh Shel Torah

December 31, 2008 admin Comments 3 comments

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…

Read More Read More

Eliezer Brodt: The Chanukah Omission

December 29, 2008 admin Comments 1 comment

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…

Read More Read More

The Name Machabee

December 21, 2008 admin Comments 13 comments

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…

Read More Read More