Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dunner (1913-2007), the final surviving musmakh of the Berlin Rabbinical Seminary

Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dunner (1913-2007), the final surviving musmakh of the Berlin Rabbinical Seminary

Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dunner (1913-2007):The Final Surviving Musmakh of the Berlin Rabbinical Seminaryby Menachem Butler HaRav Yosef Tzvi Dunner, who recently passed away in London at the age of 94, was the scion of a prominent European rabbinical family and father and grandfather of noted British Orthodox rabbis, Rabbi Abba Dunner and Rabbi Pini Dunner, respectively. In a recent email correspondence with Professor Marc B. Shapiro, author of the landmark biographical study of Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg[1] and several articles…

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Mossad HaRav Kook Sale 2007

Mossad HaRav Kook Sale 2007

The Mossad HaRav Kook annual sale every year after Pesach is a major event for Seforim lovers in Israel, similar to the annual SOY Seforim Sale at Yeshiva University in New York. This year the sale marks the the 70th anniversary of Mossad HaRav Kook and will be the biggest sale ever. The sale will take place from the 22-29 of Nissan 5767 which is 10-17 April 2007. Again the Judaica Archival Project and VirtualGeula offers its active subscribers and…

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Eliezer Brodt – Pesach Drasha of the Rokeach

Eliezer Brodt – Pesach Drasha of the Rokeach

The Pesach Drasha of the Rokeach by Eliezer Brodt Every once in a while we are privileged to have the venerable printing house Mikezei Nerdamim release something special from the great rishonim (aside from their great journal Kovetz Al Yad). Last year they published the drasha of R. Eliezer Rokeach for Pesach edited by Professor Simcha Emanuel. In this post I would like to discuss some of the many things of interest in the work and also comment on the…

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Important New Book from the Ba’alei haTosafot

Important New Book from the Ba’alei haTosafot

What follows is a press release from Ofeq Institute regarding their new book תוספות ר”י הזקן ותלמידו וראשוני בעלי התוספות על מסכת שבת Tosafot R. Isaac b. Samuel of Dampierre (Ri the Elder) and early Tosafists on tractate Shabbat edited for the first time from MS Guenzburg, Mos 636 with references, notes and comments by Rabbi Avraham Shoshana Rabbi Yehuda Amitai Shoshana Volume I Introduction · Chapters 1-6 · Indices This is a unique collection of the early Tosafists, a…

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New Or Yisrael

New Or Yisrael

There is a new volume of the journal Or Yisrael (no. 47) out. First, it includes a back and forth on the issue of who wrote the Mekore Minhagim. It also includes an very interesting article discussing whether there is any rhyme or reason to the order of the Mesechtot haShas. Additionally, it includes a couple of articles discussing wheat for Pesach from Arizona(?). On the Pesach front there is also an article on whether one can eat maror on…

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Haggadah and the Mingling of the Sexes

Haggadah and the Mingling of the Sexes

I have previously attempted to highlight some of the intricacies and history of illustration in haggadahs. While many of the illustrations which appear in the haggadah are directly related to the text of the haggadah, some also pre-date the haggadah and seder service. That is, although searching for hametz (leaven) happens the night prior to the seder service many times an illustration of cleaning out the hametz and, in turn, searching for it, appears in many haggadahs. Another such illustration…

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