The Seforim Blog is pleased to announce that esteemed Seforim Blog contributor Dr. Marc Shapiro is speaking at Young Israel Beth-El of Boro Park, 4802 15th Avenue in Brooklyn, this coming Saturday night December 21 at 8pm. The title of his talk is “Judaism and Islam: Some Historical and Halakhic Perspectives”.
Should we celebrate birthdays or not? Is it better to ignore them? By Rav Binyamin Wattenberg This post was originally an answer posted on july 25 2016 on the French website techouvot.com (https://www.techouvot.com/feter_les_anniversaires-vp46393.html). The author agreed to have it translated into English but did not review the translation. The author, Rav Binyamin Wattenberg teaches Talmud in Neuilly sur Seine, France, among other talmudic activities (techouvot.com…) This subject is widely debated in our sefarim. Some are convinced that it is entirely…
Keter Shem Tov: A Study in the Entitling of Books, Here Limited to One Title Only[1] by Marvin J. Heller Entitling, naming books is, a fascinating subject. Why did the author call his book what he/she did? Why that name and not another? Hebrew books frequently have names resounding in meaning, but providing little insight into the contents of the book. This article explores the subject, focusing on one title only, Keter Shem Tov. That book-name is taken from a…
New Journal Announcement By Eliezer Brodt מכילתא, כתב עת לתורה ולחכמה, ר‘ יואל בינדר, עדיאל ברויאר, יעקב ישראל סטל ומשה דוד צ‘צ‘יק (עורכים), גליון א, כסלו תש“פ, 364 עמודים A new Journal just came out tonight called Mekhilta. The volume begins with their mission statement and will be published biannually. The first issue has an all-star lineup of writers on great topics. Some of the writers are Professor Simcha Emanuel & Rabbi Yakov Stahl (on the Minhag of saying Pitum…
For the Sake of Radin! The Sugar Magnate’s Missing Yarmulke and a Zionist Revision Israel Brodsky (1823-1888), built an empire on the sugar trade. After inheriting a substantial fortune, in 1843, he became a partner in a sugar refinery.[1] Eventually, he vertically integrated his business, and he controlled sugar beet lands, processing plants, refineries, marketing agencies, and warehouses throughout the Russian Empire. At its height, Brodsky controlled a quarter of all sugar production in the Empire and employed 10,000 people.[2]…
Further On A Forged Letter of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik By Mosheh Lichtenstein Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein is a co-Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion. He is a grandson of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. It was recently brought to my attention that various readers of the Seforim Blog have expressed skepticism regarding the determination that the letter found in President Chaim Herzog’s archives and supposedly written by my grandfather, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zt”l (hereafter, “the Rav”), is a forgery. …