The Seforim Blog – Page 34 – All about Seforim – New and Old, and Jewish Bibliography

In Memoriam: Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm z”l

June 8, 2020 admin Comments 25 comments

In Memoriam: Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm z”l by David Berger In the early modern period, we find reference in the works of Jews in the Islamic orbit to the ideal of a hakham shalem—expert in both Torah and the various forms of wisdom. If we wish to be yet more ambitious, we can imagine an individual who supplements these already daunting characteristics with a constellation of exceptional personal qualities. Rabbi Norman Lamm came remarkably close to meeting this extraordinary standard….

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An “Artscroll”™ Illustration in the Vilna Shas-Masechet Shabbat 98b

June 5, 2020 admin Comments 24 comments

An “Artscroll” ™ Illustration in the Vilna Shas–Masechet Shabbat 98b By Eli Genauer לזכר נשמת אבי מורי ר׳ יעקב קאפל בר׳ משה יהודה הלוי גענויער ז״ל. היארצייט שלו י״ד סיון. For those studying Daf Yomi this week, there is a unique diagram that appears on Shabbat 98b. In the Vilna Shas one can see a closeup “picture” of one of the boards of the Mishkan (“קרש“) which would make Artscroll proud.[1] While one might be familiar with diagrams that appear…

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The Hafetz Hayyim’s Statement on Teaching Torah to Girls in Likutei Halakhot: Literary and Historical Context

May 27, 2020 admin Comments 230 comments

The Ḥafetz Ḥayyim’s Statement on Teaching Torah to Girls in Likutei Halakhot: Literary and Historical Context Rachel Manekin and Charles (Bezalel) Manekin Rachel Manekin is Associate Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Maryland. Charles (Bezalel) Manekin is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Maryland. The authors live in Jerusalem, Israel. Dedicated to the memory of our mothers, Matel Becher ע”ה and Dorothy Manekin ע”ה R. Israel Meir ha-Kohen Kagan’s statement in his Likutei Halakhot that it is…

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The Lost Library, Missing Manuscripts, Saul Lieberman, and More

May 18, 2020 admin Comments 124 comments

The Lost Library, Missing Manuscripts, Saul Lieberman, and More Marc B. Shapiro When I finished my new post, it ended up being so long that I had to split it into five parts. Here is part 1. 1. All of us are able to benefit from the Seforim Blog because of the efforts of Dan Rabinowitz, who founded the blog almost fifteen years ago. In the early days, there was only a relatively small amount of people who knew about…

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On the Passing of Yeshayahu Vinograd, the Bibliographer and the Man

May 10, 2020 admin Comments 11 comments

On the Passing of Yeshayahu Vinograd, the Bibliographer and the Man Moshe Dovid Chechik Yeshayahu Vinograd (1933–2020), the renowned scholar and bibliographer, passed away on Thursday, 7 May 2020. He authored Otzar ha-Sefer ha-‘Ivri (Thesaurus of the Hebrew Book), Otzar Sifrei ha-Gra (Thesaurus of the Books of the Vilna Gaon), and (published) Siddur Ezor Eliyahu. The following reminiscences were written by Moshe Dovid Chechik at the request of the editors of The Seforim Blog, and translated from the Hebrew by…

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Towards a Bibliography of Coronavirus-related Articles & Seforim written in the past month (updated): Black Weddings and others Segulot

May 4, 2020 admin Comments 6 comments

Towards a Bibliography of Coronavirus-related Articles & Seforim written in the past month (updated) Black Weddings and others Segulot By Eliezer Brodt Introduction When the lockdown began in Israel a few weeks ago, a friend of mine e-mailed me an article about plagues he was about to complete, asking if I had anything to add. Upon checking my collections of material, I found I had nothing special marked down in my indexes about the topic. At the time I had…

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