Akiva Leiman: Gravely Mistaken

Akiva Leiman: Gravely Mistaken

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Gravely Mistaken by Akiva Leiman R. Leiman teaches high school at the Yeshiva of Greater Washington in Silver Spring, Maryland. Additionally, he leads trips to sites of Jewish interest in Eastern Europe. This is his first contribution to the Seforim blog. One hardly need go far to find errors in published materials, but when even moderate research would suffice to unearth correct information lack of such an effort would seem egregious. Jewish burial sites have often been lost: Nazis or…

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Marc B. Shapiro – Responses to Comments and Elaborations of Previous Posts III

Marc B. Shapiro – Responses to Comments and Elaborations of Previous Posts III

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Responses to Comments and Elaborations of Previous Posts III by Marc B. Shapiro This post is dedicated to the memory of Rabbi Chaim Flom, late rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Ohr David in Jerusalem. I first met Rabbi Flom thirty years ago when he became my teacher at the Hebrew Youth Academy of Essex County (now known as the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy; unfortunately, another one of my teachers from those years also passed away much too young, Rabbi Yaakov Appel)….

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R’ Orenstein, Author of the Yesuos Yaakov: The Controversy Over Publication of his Works

R’ Orenstein, Author of the Yesuos Yaakov: The Controversy Over Publication of his Works

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R’ Orenstein, Author of the Yesuos Yaakov: The Controversy Over Publication of his Worksby R. Yosaif M. DubovickR. Y. Dubovick has published many articles on diverse topics. He is currently working on many projects including a critical edition of the Rabbenu Hananel’s commentary on Bava Kama. Additionally, he has published a critical edition of the Mahrashal on hilchot shehita and Yoreh Deah (discussed here ) and R. Dubovick is working on some of the Mahrashal’s other works. As R. Orenstein’s…

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The Modern Custom of Standing for the Ten Commandments

The Modern Custom of Standing for the Ten Commandments

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Many mitvot require that one stand. One of which is reading the Torah. Thus, the ba’al koreh and the person making the blessing stand. When it comes to those who are just listening, there is a debate whether they are required to stand as well. Some hold that the listeners are required to stand while others require the listeners to stand only for the blessings, and finally others don’t there is a nearly universal custom to stand during the recitation…

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Marc B. Shapiro: A Tale of Two Lost Archives

Marc B. Shapiro: A Tale of Two Lost Archives

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A Tale of Two Lost Archives by Marc B. Shapiro I have spent much of my professional life rummaging through collections of documents, mostly in well-kept archives, but sometimes also in hard-to-reach places in basements and attics. Fortunately, I have made some great discoveries in these places, but I will now tell you a story that doesn’t have a happy ending. It begins around fifteen years ago, when I was researching the life of R. Jehiel Jacob Weinberg. With the…

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Some Literary, Scholarly & Halachic Perspectives on Medieval Ash

Some Literary, Scholarly & Halachic Perspectives on Medieval Ash

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Some Literary, Scholarly & Halachic Perspectives onMedieval Ashkenazi Attitudes Toward Martyrdom by Yitzhak of בין דין לדין Prose George Eliot, in Daniel Deronda, depicts the ineffable, exquisite Mirah Lapidoth contemplating her recent abortive suicide attempt: She went on musingly– “I thought it was not wicked. Death and life are one before the Eternal. I know our fathers slew their children and then slew themselves, to keep their souls pure. I meant it so. (George Eliot, Daniel Deronda, Chapter XVII) She…

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