A Newly Discovered Work of the Rambam?

A Newly Discovered Work of the Rambam?

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A Newly Discovered Work of the Rambam? By Eli Genauer I recently purchased a Chumash which was printed in Sulzbach in 1741 by Meshulam Zalman ben Aharon Fraenkel Marvin Heller succinctly sums up the history of Hebrew printing in Sulzbach as follows: “This small Bavarian community was for over two centuries the site of Hebrew presses that printed many important titles. Duke Christain-Augustus due to his interest in Kabbalah, permitted the opening of Hebrew print shops in the 1660’s. Sulzbach…

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A nay bintl briv: Personal Reminiscences of Rabbi Israel Meir ha-Kohen from the Yiddish Republic of Letters

A nay bintl briv: Personal Reminiscences of Rabbi Israel Meir ha-Kohen from the Yiddish Republic of Letters

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A nay bintl briv: Personal Reminiscences of Rabbi Israel Meir ha-Kohen from the Yiddish Republic of Letters Shaul Seidler-Feller Editor’s note: The present post is part one of a two-part essay. Part two can be found here. Introduction Beginning on January 20, 1906, Abraham (Abe) Cahan (1860–1951), the legendary founder and longtime editor of the Yiddish-language Forverts newspaper in New York, published a regular agony uncle column famously entitled A bintl briv (A Bundle of Letters; often Romanized A Bintel Brief).[1] Herein he reproduced missives sent…

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Rabbi Yechiel Goldhaber lectures tomorrow night, 9/9/19, & Wednesday, 9/11/19

Rabbi Yechiel Goldhaber lectures tomorrow night, 9/9/19, & Wednesday, 9/11/19

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You are cordially invited to the following shiurim/lectures by the noted author, Rav Yechiel Goldhaber, whose respected research and scholarship is well-known. The first shiur will take place Monday, September 9th, 7:30 PM at 1454 54th Street, Brooklyn, NY. Rabbi Goldhaber’s speech will be delivered in Yiddish. The subject of this shiur is “The Mesorah of the Esrogim”. Rabbi Goldhaber will present the subject matter in a comprehensive, detailed yet clear manner, aided by drawings, pictures and photographs. This lecture is…

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Antoninus, R. Moses Kunitz, and Iggerot Malkhei Rabbanan

Antoninus, R. Moses Kunitz, and Iggerot Malkhei Rabbanan

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Antoninus, R. Moses Kunitz, and Iggerot Malkhei Rabbanan [1] Marc B. Shapiro Continued from here Returning to our discussion of Antoninus, we now come to a figure we have often dealt with in previous posts, R. Moses Kunitz, who for some reason has become much more controversial in recent years than he was during his lifetime. In his biography of R. Judah ha-Nasi, found at the beginning of the Vilna Mishnayot, R. Kunitz writes as follows: (ומערה היתה פתוחה לפני בית רבי…

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Reply from Haym Soloveitchik to the JQR Interview with Robert Brody

Reply from Haym Soloveitchik to the JQR Interview with Robert Brody

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Reply from Haym Soloveitchik to the JQR Interview with Robert Brody By Haym Soloveitchik Editor’s Note: As a recap of a recent exchange between two scholars on a nuanced debate within medieval Jewish history (see the first footnote), we present this final note by Professor Haym Soloveitchik. Part One Dr. Robert Brody advances no new arguments against my thesis in his recent interview at the blog of the Jewish Quarterly Review (https://katz.sas.upenn.edu/blog/jewish-quarterly-review/jqr-contributor-conversation-robert-brody-origins-talmud-study). I have addressed all his points in my…

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The Anonymous Author of Tikkunei Zohar and Ra‘ya Mehemna: An Antinomian or a Radical Maimonidean?

The Anonymous Author of Tikkunei Zohar and Ra‘ya Mehemna: An Antinomian or a Radical Maimonidean?

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The Anonymous Author of Tikkunei Zohar and Ra‘ya Mehemna: An Antinomian or a Radical Maimonidean? By Bezalel Naor Today, it is an accepted fact in scholarly circles that Tikkunei Zohar and Ra‘ya Mehemna form a single unit that postdates the main body of Zohar.[1] More than one reader has been scandalized by statements in Tikkunei Zohar and Ra‘ya Mehemna likening the Mishnah to a shifhah or maidservant.[2] Predictably, in response, there grew an apologetic literature that attempts to justify how…

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