The Seforim Blog – Page 179 – All about Seforim – New and Old, and Jewish Bibliography

Marc B. Shapiro: “Mi-Yosef ad Yosef Lo Kam ke-Yosef”

January 29, 2007 admin Comments 0 Comment

Seforim blog contributor Dr. Marc B. Shapiro, professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Scranton, has just published a review essay (“Mi-Yosef ad Yosef Lo Kam ke-Yosef”) in English of the following three books Hayyav, Mishnato u-Mahalkhav ha-Politiyim shel ha-Rav Ovadiah Yosef by Zvi Aloush and Yossi Elituv (Ben Porat Yosef: Or Yehudah, 2004); Maran Ovadiah Yosef: Ha-Biographyah by Nitzan Chen and Anshil Pepper (Jerusalem, 2004); Mi-Maran ad Maran: Mishnato ha-Hilkhatit shel ha-Rav Ovadiah Yosef by Binyamin Lau, (Tel…

Read More Read More

Review: Jay Berkovitz’s”Rites and Passages: The Making of Jewish Culture in Modern France” (Hebrew)

January 29, 2007 admin Comments 0 Comment

Merkaz Zalman Shazar has published Jay Berkovitz’s book מסורת ומהפיכה-תרבות יהודית בצרפת בראשית העת החדשה discussing French Jewry and specifically the changes and challenges of modernity. This book is an expanded version of the English Rites and Passages: The Beginnings of Modern Jewish Culture in France, 1650-1860 (UPenn Press) which is available at the previous link and here. Both versions are invaluable for viewing French Jewry and France gernally, a county typically neglected in milieu of Jewish history which tends…

Read More Read More

Uncensored Books (Dr. Marc B. Shapiro)

January 25, 2007 admin Comments 54 comments

Uncensored Books Marc B. Shapiro Dan Rabinowitz has provided many examples of censorship in seforim (examples which I look forward to using – with acknowledgment of course – in my own forthcoming book on the subject). What I would like to call attention to are two examples where the publishers would have certainly censored these texts had they known who was being discussed. Presumably, what I mention now has already been pointed out to them and will be excised…

Read More Read More

R. Eliezer Waldenberg’s Hilkhot HaMedinah

January 22, 2007 admin Comments 0 Comment

In light of the previous post regarding the Hilkhot HaMedinah, I have been able to obtain further information of the ban. The BaDaTz issued an Issur (reproduced below) noting that Hilkhot HaMedinah was published without the permission of the descendants of R. Waldenberg and the descendants object to its publication. Although Hilkhot HaMedinah is not mentioned by name – instead only “the books printed after his [R. Waldenberg’s] death” – to my knowledge the only book published after his death…

Read More Read More

Two New Books – Two Further Examples of Censorship

January 22, 2007 admin Comments 0 Comment

Once again we have two new incidents of censorship in the Hebrew book world. R. Eliezer Waldenberg, who recently passed away, is well-known for his teshuvot “Tzitz Eliezer,” and also authored another work – which has recently been reprinted. This book, Hilkhot HaMedinah, originally published in 1952, deals with issues affecting the Jewish state. The book is three volumes in one and includes topics such as the renewal of semikha (Rabbinic ordination), the question of drafting men and women (he…

Read More Read More

The Perils of Ignoring Precedent: Alterations in the Kaddish Prayer

January 18, 2007 admin Comments 20 comments

The Perils of Ignoring Precedent:Alterations in the Kaddish Prayerby Dan Rabinowitz Recently there has been a renewal in interest in the structure and make up of the liturgy or siddur. While there have previously been critical editions of the siddur or articles on topics related to the siddur,[1] today’s renaissance of the siddur has been precipitated by a different series of events. Specifically, this has been fostered by the publication and republication of some important source material on the topic;…

Read More Read More