The Missing Nun Verse in Ashrei

The Missing Nun Verse in Ashrei

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The Missing Nun Verse in Ashrei[1] Ben Zion Katz Northwestern University There are several alphabetic acrostics in the book of Psalms. These acrostics are found in Psalms 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119 and 145. Only three of these are complete acrostics – i.e., acrostics in which every letter of the alphabet is represented. Psalms 111 and 112 begin each half verse with the succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet following the psalm’s first word (Halleluyah). Psalm 119 is an…

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Daf Yomi: Seforim on Moed Katan, Part Two and Three

Daf Yomi: Seforim on Moed Katan, Part Two and Three

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Daf Yomi: Seforim on Moed Katan, Part Two and Three By Eliezer Brodt Daf Yomi is in middle of learning Masseches Moed Katan. This week I had two conversations with Rabbi Moshe Schwed of All Daf. The purpose of these conversation were for me to trace the concerns for the fear some had to learn this Masechtah, especially the section devoted to Avelius as it deals with topics related to death. Part two deals with tracing the sources about this…

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Notes on the Book of Samuel, and the Eternal Sanctity of the Temple in Maimonidean Thought

Notes on the Book of Samuel, and the Eternal Sanctity of the Temple in Maimonidean Thought

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Notes on the Book of Samuel, and the Eternal Sanctity of the Temple in Maimonidean Thought By Rabbi Avi Grossman avrahambenyehuda.wordpress.com Rabbi Label Dulitz, who passed away last week, was an iconic figure at YUHSB. I was privileged to first meet him when I began my studies at the school in the fall of 1996. That year, Rabbi Dulitz was teaching Talmud to part of the tenth grade, but some of us lucky freshmen got to sit in his afternoon…

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Daf Yomi: Seforim on Moed Katan, Part one

Daf Yomi: Seforim on Moed Katan, Part one

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Daf Yomi: Seforim on Moed Katan, Part one By Eliezer Brodt Daf Yomi just started learning Masseches Moed Katan. Earlier today I had a conversation with Rabbi Moshe Schwed of All Daf.  The purpose of the conversation was for me to briefly highlight some of the Rishonim and Achronim “out there” on this masechtah, adding some tidbits of interest about them. A nice amount of the conversation was devoted to discussing if Rashi on Moed Katan was written by Rashi and…

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The Discovery of a Hidden Treasure in the Vatican and the Correction of a Centuries-Old Error

The Discovery of a Hidden Treasure in the Vatican and the Correction of a Centuries-Old Error

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The Discovery of a Hidden Treasure in the Vatican and the Correction of a Centuries-Old Error Rabbi Edward Reichman, MD In 2018, I was invited to speak at a conference co-sponsored by the Vatican and the CURA Foundation entitled, Unite to Cure: A Global Health Care Initiative. The mission of the conference was to “convene leading decision makers in medicine, business, media, advocacy and faith to encourage multidisciplinary collaboration, increase investment in research and innovation… education and better access to…

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Gelatin, Abraham Goldstein, R. Moses Isserles, and More, Part 2

Gelatin, Abraham Goldstein, R. Moses Isserles, and More, Part 2

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 Gelatin, Abraham Goldstein, R. Moses Isserles, and More Marc B. Shapiro Continued from here Among the matters I discussed in the previous post were gelatin and consumption of the human body as part of a medical cure. Believe it or not, consumption of human parts not in the context of medicine is mentioned in a short responsum of R. Joseph Kafih. R. Kafih was asked if it permissible to drink various non-Jewish milk products and also gelatin produced from non-kosher animals….

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