WHEN HISTORY IS HIS STORY A Review of R. Dovid Kamenetsky’s “Rabeinu Chaim Ozer: Raban Shel Kol B’nei Ha’golah”

WHEN HISTORY IS HIS STORY A Review of R. Dovid Kamenetsky’s “Rabeinu Chaim Ozer: Raban Shel Kol B’nei Ha’golah”

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WHEN HISTORY IS HIS STORY A Review of R. Dovid Kamenetsky’s “Rabeinu Chaim Ozer: Raban Shel Kol B’nei Ha’golah” * (Vol. 1, Hebrew, 671 pages) Rabbi Jonah Steinmetz is a fellow in the Wexner Kollel Elyon and director of Asicha Seminars, an online learning program for women. This is Jonah’s first contribution to the Seforim Blog. OF HISTORY AND STORY When asked to describe the difference between recording history and telling stories, the prolific historical fiction novelist, E.L. Doctorow responded,…

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Book Announcement-Sale: Iggrot Shmuel, by Rabbi Shmuel Ashkenazi

Book Announcement-Sale: Iggrot Shmuel, by Rabbi Shmuel Ashkenazi

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Book Announcement-Sale: Iggrot Shmuel, by Rabbi Shmuel Ashkenazi By Eliezer Brodt אוצר כתבי ר‘ שמואל אשכנזי, אגרות שמואל, אלף חסר תליסר מכתבי תורה וחכמה, א, תש“ב–תשל“ה; ב, תשל“ו– תשנ“ה; ג, תשנ“ו–תשס“ט, 1781 עמודים, הובא לדפוס בתוספות מפתחות מפורטים על ידי ר‘ יעקב ישראל סטל A few months ago, right after Rabbi Shmuel Ashkenazi was niftar I, along with my friend Menachem Butler, initiated a campaign to raise funds to publish R. Ashkenazi’s letters. Baruch HaShem, and thanks to the help…

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The Haftarah of Parashat Shemot

The Haftarah of Parashat Shemot

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The Haftarah of Parashat Shemot[1] By Eli Duker The Babylonian haftarah for Parashat Shemot was from Ezekiel 16: “Hoda’ et yerushalayim.” The haftarah appears in at least six fragments from the Cairo Geniza,[2] is the haftarah used in the “Emet” piyyut of R’ Shemuel Hashelishi[3] and in the “Zulat” piyyut of R’ Yehuda Beirabbi Binyamin,[4] and is listed in the Seder Hatefillot in Rambam’s Yad Hahazakah as well as in the Siddur of R Shlomo Beirabbi Natan.[5] This haftarah, an…

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Rabbi Steinman and the Messiah, part 3

Rabbi Steinman and the Messiah, part 3

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 Rabbi Steinman and the Messiah, part 3 Marc B. Shapiro Continued from here 1. In the last post I wrote: “R. Hayyim Soloveitchik is reported to have said that if the messianic era will bring even one Jewish death, then he doesn’t want it, and if we had a choice in the matter the halakhah would require us to reject the Messiah in such a circumstance.” A perspective quite different than that of R. Hayyim was offered by R. Menahem Mendel…

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Recent Notes On Hebrew Pronunciation

Recent Notes On Hebrew Pronunciation

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Recent Notes On Hebrew Pronunciation By Rabbi Avi Grossman Edited by Mr. Jonathan Grossman  Many of the ideas discussed in this article were in my notebook for some time, and just as I was getting around to preparing them for publication, my prolific colleague Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein sent a copy of Professor Geoffrey Khan’s The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew to me. After reading it and briefly corresponding with the author, I concluded that it was time to…

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An Appreciation of HaRav Gedalia Dov Schwartz, zt”l

An Appreciation of HaRav Gedalia Dov Schwartz, zt”l

An Appreciation of HaRav Gedalia Dov Schwartz, zt”l By Rabbi Akiva Males On Thursday, the 24th of Kislev, 5781 (December 10, 2020), Jews around the world prepared to use their Shamash candles to light their Chanukah Menorahs. On that same day, leading rabbinic representatives of Chicago’s strong and diverse Orthodox community delivered moving eulogies for a world-renowned Torah scholar: Rav Gedalia Dov Schwartz, zt”l. For 95 years, Rav Schwartz served as a powerful living Shamash, using his vast Halachic knowledge…

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