The Seforim Blog – Page 49 – All about Seforim – New and Old, and Jewish Bibliography

Kabbala, Halakha and Kugel: The Case of the Two Handed Blessing

December 18, 2018 admin Comments 2 comments

Kabbala, Halakha and Kugel: The Case of the Two Handed Blessing* In parshat Vayehi, Yaakov simultaneously blesses his two grandchildren, Ephraim and Menashe by placing one hand upon each of their heads. Today, there is a widespread custom of blessing one own’s children on Friday night (although some only do it on the eve of Yom Kippur). This custom most likely originated with the Hasedi Ashkenaz in the 14th century but quickly spread to the rest of Europe, including France,…

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PIYYUT ON THE SURVIVAL OF THE JEWS OF BRECLAV (LUNDENBURG) ON JANUARY 23, 1698

December 14, 2018 admin Comments 0 Comment

PIYYUT ON THE SURVIVAL OF THE JEWS OF BRECLAV (LUNDENBURG)[1] ON JANUARY 23, 1698 By David Roth[2] I found a printed pamphlet in the National Library of Israel[3] entitled סליחות מה שאומרים כאן ק”ק לונדענבורג בי”א טבת בכל שנה והמאורע יבואר בתוך הסליחות …, translated as “the selihoth prayers that are recited here [in] the community of Lundenberg (Břeclav), on the 11th of Teveth every year, and the event [commemorated] will be told in the selihoth”. The pamphlet was published…

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Chaim Zelig Slonimsky and the Diskin family

December 4, 2018 admin Comments 0 Comment

Chaim Zelig Slonimsky and the Diskin family by Zerachya Licht Two years ago, the Seforim Blog published an article, written by Zecharya Licht, about the maskil, Chaim Zelig Slonimsky, and the Chanuka controversy he’d ignited. Last year, the Seforim Blog published published Part I of another article, also written by Zecharya Licht, which again focused on the above-mentioned maskil. This second article highlighted Slonimsky’s relationship with the Diskin Family. Part II of the article, which had already been published, zeroed in on Slonimsky’s relationship with R’ Binyomin Diskin of…

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Conservative Conversions, Some Grammatical Points, and a Newly Published Section of a Letter from R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik

November 15, 2018 admin Comments 55 comments

Conservative Conversions, Some Grammatical Points, and a Newly Published Section of a Letter from R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik Marc B. Shapiro 1. Since I mentioned R. Ovadiah Hoffman in the last post, I would be remiss in not noting that he and his brother, R. Yissachar Dov, recently published volume 4 of Ha-Mashbir, devoted to R. Ovadiah Yosef. It can be purchased here. The volume contains a previously unpublished letter by R. Ovadiah Yosef that I provided, dealing with a rabbi who improperly converted…

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“שואה, מדוע אלו שנהרגו בה נקראו “קדושים

November 2, 2018 admin Comments 2 comments

“שואה, מדוע אלו שנהרגו בה נקראו “קדושים הרב משה צוריאל הרבה חקרו בשאלה מה הוא המקור לכך שאומתנו מעניקה תואר-כבוד “קדושים” לנהרגים בשואה במלחמת העולם השניה. פשוט הדבר שהנהרג מפני שהוא מקיים אחת ממצוות התורה, והגוים הורגים אותו על כך, הוא נקרא “קדוש”. אבל ההרוגים בשואה לא נהרגו מפני שקיימו מצוות. גם אם נגיד שנהרגו מפני שהיו יהודים, רק אם היתה להם אפשרות להכחיש יהדותם ולהמלט, ובכל זאת בחרו להודות ביהדותם, אפשר לכנותם “קדושים”. אבל העובדה היא שלרובם של ההרוגים…

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Foie Gras “Fake News”: A Fictitious Rashi and a Strangely Translated Ethical Will

October 15, 2018 admin Comments 0 Comment

Foie Gras “Fake News”: A Fictitious Rashi and a Strangely Translated Ethical Will by Ari Z. Zivotofsky Controversial topics can sometimes lead to contrived sources, i.e. fake news. That is certainly true with the effort by vegetarians to find traditional sources to support their position. In the past I have shown how a booklet claiming Judaism supports vegetarianism was full of misquotes (here here ) and how a “quote” of the Rema was fabricated ( here ). Here I will expose two fake quotes that…

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