Simchat ha-Nefesh: An Important But Often Ignored Work on German Jewish Customs

Simchat ha-Nefesh: An Important But Often Ignored Work on German Jewish Customs

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Simchat ha-Nefesh: An Important But Often Ignored Work on German Jewish Customs By Eliezer Brodt While doing research for a forthcoming article on the topic of saying דרשות at wedding celebrations, I kept noticing secondary sources citing to the work שמחת הנפש. Yet, after obtaining many editions of the שמחת הנפש I was still unable to locate the quotes regarding wedding speeches! After a while, I came across a citation to a specific edition of the שמחת הנפש and came…

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A Look at Makhon Moreshet Ashkenaz’s New Journal: Yerushateinu

A Look at Makhon Moreshet Ashkenaz’s New Journal: Yerushateinu

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A Look at Makhon Moreshet Ashkenaz’s New Journal: YerushateinuBy Eliezer Brodt There is a new journal published by מכון מורשת אשכנז titled ירושתנו. This מכון is well known for producing some excellent works, amongst them זכרונות ומסורות על החת”ם סופר and the four volumes ofשרשי מנהג אשכנז . This journal they promise to put out once a year but only time will tell, as anyone familiar with this מכון knows; they do great work but it takes forever for the…

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Who Wrote the Mekore Minhagim?

Who Wrote the Mekore Minhagim?

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As I have previously discussed, there is a well known work on the sources and rationale for various customs titled Mekore Minhagim. Indeed, there are two works with that very same title – by two different authors – that cover the same material. The question is which author stole from the other? I hope that I can clear this up as there still appears to be a misconception about who is the plagiarizer. First, a brief history about prior attempts…

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A Survey of Contemporary Electronic Resources: Two Hard Drives of Hebraica

A Survey of Contemporary Electronic Resources: Two Hard Drives of Hebraica

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Aside from purchasing a hard copy of a book, there are currently many other methods are available in obtaining seforim. The easiest and cheapest is the Shapell Family Digitization Project of the Jewish National & University Library, where many rare and expensive books are available for free. While this is a terrific resource if the particular book and/or edition is available, this digital project is far from comprehensive, and its purpose is not to have every (or even close to)…

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Books for Sale

Books for Sale

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R. Landy has purchased a library of 19th century books, mainly consisting of she’elot u’teshuvot and hiddushim on Shas for sale. All are obscure prints and many have never been reprinted. He can be reached at 917-676-0762.

The Custom of Playing Cards on Channukah

The Custom of Playing Cards on Channukah

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One of the more interesting customs relating to Chanukah is that of a relaxation of the restriction against gambling. As Menachem Mendel has pointed out, this relaxation was not limited, as some think, to those of Hassidic decent. Rather, some of the earliest mentions come long before the creation of the Hassidic movement, in places such as Worms and Frankfort. Further, this custom has continued to be almost universal (amongst Ashkenazim) irrespective of origin. To demonstrate this point, it is…

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