David Glasner — Responses to Comments and Elaborations

David Glasner — Responses to Comments and Elaborations

Responses to Comments and ElaborationsDavid Glasner David Glasner, an economist at the Federal Trade Commission, is a great-grandson of Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Glasner, the topic of his recent post, “The Saga of Publishing the Works of Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Glasner: The Issue of Inclusion of Zionism and Rav Kook,” at the Seforim blog. This is his second contribution to the Seforim blog. I thank all those who have responded to my posting of February 15. I have for the most…

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Shnayer Leiman – Some Notes on the Pinner Affair

Shnayer Leiman – Some Notes on the Pinner Affair

Some Notes on the Pinner Affair by Shnayer Leiman Kudos to Dan Rabinowitz for his informative account of the Pinner affair and, more importantly, for reproducing the original texts of Pinner’s 1834 Hebrew prospectus and the Hatam Sofer’s 1835 retraction. The comments that follow are intended to add to Dan’s discussion. 1. “In his retraction the Hatam Sofer says the text [of his approbation to the Pinner translation] was published in a Hamburg newspaper.” It appears more likely that the…

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Bibliography, Why It’s Important

Bibliography, Why It’s Important

In Professor Daniel Sperber’s latest book, Netivot Pesikah (Jerusalem, Reuven Mass, 2008), one of the areas he discusses the importance of having an awareness of is bibliography. As Eliezer Brodt noted in his review at the Seforim blog, Sperber provides examples where people have gone wrong due to their lack of bibliographical knowledge. Of course, long before Sperber, the importance of Jewish bibliography was already noted by R. Shabbatai Bass, most well-known for his super-commentary on Rashi, Siftei Hakahmim, but…

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The Hatam Sofer’s Retraction of his Approbation to the Pinner Talmud

The Hatam Sofer’s Retraction of his Approbation to the Pinner Talmud

Of late, translations of the talmud have become a popular topic. [1] In the history of translations, the translation done by Dr. Efraim Pinner, is an important one for multiple reasons. Among other firsts, the Pinner translation was the first German translation of the talmud. Pinner envisioned a complete translation of the entire talmud but only one volume was produced, a translation meskhta Berachot. This edition contains multiple approbations, there is, however, one approbation does not appear in the book….

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The Saga of Publishing the Works of Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Glasner

The Saga of Publishing the Works of Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Glasner

The Saga of Publishing the Works of Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Glasner:The Issue of Inclusion of Zionism and Rav Kook by David Glasner David Glasner, an economist at the Federal Trade Commission, is a great-grandson of Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Glasner. This is his first contribution to the Seforim blog. Many readers of the Seforim blog may be interested, perhaps even pleased, to hear about the recent publication of a new volume containing a number of works of Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Glasner…

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Review of Professor Daniel Sperber’s Netivot Pesikah

Review of Professor Daniel Sperber’s Netivot Pesikah

Review of Professor Daniel Sperber’s Netivot Pesikah by Eliezer Brodt Professor Daniel Sperber, Modes of Decision – Methods and Approaches for Proper Halakhic Decision Making, Jerusalem, Reuven Mass, 2008, 207 pages; Hebrew. פר’ דניאל שפרבר, נתיבות פסיקה ‘כלים וגישה לפוסק ההלכה’ ירושלים, תשסח, ראובן מס, 207 עמודים Last week a new book from Rabbi Prof. Daniel Sperber arrived in stores, Netivot Pesikah. This is his third book which he authored in less than a year (see here and here for…

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