Aaron the Jewish Bishop

Aaron the Jewish Bishop

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The exodus from Egypt was led by Moses and Aaron. Moses, however, does not appear in the Passover haggadah (with one exception that is likely a later interpolation). Aaron does make two appearances in the hallel section. That said, in numerous illuminated haggadahs, from the medieval period to present, both appear in illustrated form. Additionally, in printed haggadot, most notably the 1609 Venice haggadah, one of the seminal illustrated haggadot, Moses and Aaron appear on the decorative border. Generally, conclusively…

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Upcoming Auction Review

Upcoming Auction Review

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and Eliezer Brodt In recent years a number of auction houses specializing in Hebrew books, manuscripts and ephemera have opened. In some instances, these have displaced and surpassed more well-established houses and certainly provide more opportunities for the collector. A new house, Legacy Auctions, is holding its first auction on April 13. One can view their complete catalog here [There is also a link to a PDF if one scrolls down here.] As we have done in the past, we…

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Book Announcement: Gabriel Wasserman’s Haggadah

Book Announcement: Gabriel Wasserman’s Haggadah

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הגדה של פסח “אשירה ואשננה בחשיקות” מאת גבריאל וסרמן You may purchase a copy here. Every year, many haggadot are published, with various features, but almost all of them have the nearly identical Hebrew text. Yes, Ashkenazic haggadot have a few songs at the end that are not in most Sephardic haggadot, and some Sephardic haggadot may have a few kabbalistic passages that are not in Ashkenazic haggadot, but by and large the texts are well-nigh identical. In the past,…

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Lecture Announcement: Rabbi Yechiel Goldhaber

Lecture Announcement: Rabbi Yechiel Goldhaber

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The readership of the Seforim Blog is invited to a shiur that will be taking place this Sunday April 3, at 7 PM. The shiur will be given by the noted scholar and author Rav Yechiel Goldhaber of Eretz Yisroel (link). He has authored many wonderful articles and works on a wide range of topics, notably Minhagei Kehilos about customs, Kunditon (link) about the Titanic, and the Cherem on Spain, and two volumes of Ginzei Yehuda, a collection of assorted…

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The Pros and Cons of Making Noise When Haman’s Name is Mentioned: A historical perspective (updated)

The Pros and Cons of Making Noise When Haman’s Name is Mentioned: A historical perspective (updated)

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Severalweeks before Purim, one can already see children of various ages playing with cap guns and other loud noisemakers. All of this is done in the spirit of preparing for the laining of the Megillah and the noise that will be made whenever the name of Haman is mentioned—sort of like reviewing the halachos of Yom Tov 30 days before the chag! On a more serious note, what are the reasons for the minhag of “banging” whenever the name of…

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Traditional Jewish source for the “Seven Deadly Sins”

Traditional Jewish source for the “Seven Deadly Sins”

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as in western culture there is a well-known concept of “Seven Deadly Sins” usually enumerated as: pride, covetousness, lust (understood as illicit sexual desire), envy, gluttony, anger and sloth. In particular this theme is well known through the art of Hieronymus Bosch. Even though there is no clear biblical source for this particular list of sins, in general the number seven plays a major role in the Bible and in particular the concept of some “seven sins” is thought to…

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New book announcement: Professor David Henshke’s work on the Seder Night

New book announcement: Professor David Henshke’s work on the Seder Night

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דוד הנקשה, מה נשתנה: ליל הפסח בתלמודם של חכמים, מגנס, 626 עמודים I am very happy to announce the publication of an important work (in time for Pesach) which I have been eagerly awaiting; Professor David Henshke of the Talmud Department at Bar Ilan University’s long awaited volume, Ma Nishtanah: Leil HaPesach BiTalmudam shel Chachamim. The book was printed by Magnes Press. Why am I excited about this work? A few years ago I wrote: Perhaps the topic which has…

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Parshegen, A New work on Targum Onkelos: Chumash Vayikrah

Parshegen, A New work on Targum Onkelos: Chumash Vayikrah

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רפאל בנימין פוזן, פרשגן, ביאורים ומקורות לתרגום אונקלוס, ויקרא, 672 עמודים. A few years ago I wrote about and strongly recommended an excellent work on Targum Onkeles written Dr. Posen. I wrote an additional post related to this work discussing some of the sources he uses in his works. At the time, the first volume on Chumash Bereishis was printed; the second volume on Chumash Shemos was printed in 2014 (780 pp.). Just a few weeks ago, in time for…

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A Tribute to Rav Shlomo Elyashiv, Author of Leshem Shevo v-Achloma: On his Ninetieth Yahrzeit

A Tribute to Rav Shlomo Elyashiv, Author of Leshem Shevo v-Achloma: On his Ninetieth Yahrzeit

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Joey Rosenfeld is a psychotherapist in St. Louis where he moved with his family. He published his first sefer, sc’hok d’yitzchak on the Kabbalistic theme butzina d’kardinusa, or darkened light. He is currently working on a monograph of R. Shlomo Elyashiv and the philosophical and psychoanalytic themes in Leshem Shevo v-Achloma. His first essay at the Seforim Blog, is entitled: “Dorshei Yichudcha: A Portrait of Professor Elliot R. Wolfson,” is available available here. Here is buried Holy anointing oil, the…

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Parshat Ki Tisa. The Anointing Oil Revisited.

Parshat Ki Tisa. The Anointing Oil Revisited.

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the instructions of how to make anointing oil: וְאַתָּה קַח לְךָ בְּשָׂמִים רֹאשׁ מָר דְּרוֹר חֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת וְקִנְּמָן בֶּשֶׂם מַחֲצִיתוֹ חֲמִשִּׁים וּמָאתָיִם וּקְנֵה בֹשֶׂם חֲמִשִּׁים וּמָאתָיִם וְקִדָּה חֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת בְּשֶׁקֶל הַקֹּדֶשׁ וְשֶׁמֶן זַיִת הִין All the proportions of the ingredients are clearly explained except the second. Moshe had to take 500 (shekalim ) of Mar Dror. Kinamon (probably cinnamon) “its half, 250”, K’ne – 250 and Kida – 500. The peculiar expression “its half, 250” is explained in the Talmud…

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Assorted Matters

Assorted Matters

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My next post will take some time to prepare, but there are some other matters that I want to bring to readers’ attention, in particular a few books that I recently received. Due to space considerations, I couldn’t include these in my last post. 1. For those interested in the history of Lithuanian yeshivot, the last few years have been very fruitful. In 2014 Ben-Tsiyon Klibansky’s Ke-Tzur Halamish appeared. This book is a study of the yeshivot from World War…

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The Valmadonna Broadside Collection: a Review Essay

The Valmadonna Broadside Collection: a Review Essay

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The Writing on the Wall: A catalogue of Judaica Broadsides from the Valmadonna Trust Library, edited by Sharon Liberman Mintz, Shaul Seidler-Feller and David Wachtel, London-New York: 2015, 320 pp. Jews have been collecting books or manuscripts for centuries. A related category that is collected by fewer is ephemera, including broadsides, documents and letters of historical significance. Of late, a few annual auctions have included some of these documents among the other objects to be auctioned. Sadly, after their appearance…

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Keser vs. Kesher: What’s In A Name?

Keser vs. Kesher: What’s In A Name?

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I – The Puzzle Kesher Israel (KI) Congregation has enhanced Jewish life in Pennsylvania’s capital of Harrisburg for almost 115 years. During that time, KI has been blessed with outstanding rabbinic leadership: The famed Rabbi Eliezer Silver first headed the congregation from 1911-1925. He was followed by Rabbi Chaim Ben Zion Notelovitz who served KI from 1925-1932. Rabbi David L. Silver (a son of Rabbi Eliezer Silver) led the congregation from 1932-1983. Rabbi Dr. Chaim E. Schertz served KI as…

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An Unknown Picture

An Unknown Picture

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It was taken at the wedding of R. Moshe Dovid Tendler’s daughter, Rivka, to R. Shabtai Rappaport. The man on the left is R. Isaac Tendler, R. Moshe Dovid’s father. The wedding took place at the Pioneer Country Club, Greenfield Park, N.Y., on June 17, 1971. I thank Jack Prince who was at the wedding for allowing me to make a copy of the picture in his possession.