Ancient Jewish Poetry & the Amazing World of Piyut: Interview with Professor Shulamit Elizur

Ancient Jewish Poetry & the Amazing World of Piyut: Interview with Professor Shulamit Elizur

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ANCIENT JEWISH POETRY & THE AMAZING WORLD OF PIYUT: Professor Shulamit Elizur explores the Cairo Genizah and other obscure places for hidden gems BY BATSHEVA SASSOON Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so G-d surrounds his people, from now to all eternity —Tehillim 125:2 This piece originally appeared in14 TISHREI 5778 // OCTOBER 4, 2017 // AMI MAGAZINE #337Thanks to Ami for permission to publish this here.This version is updated with a few corrections and additions Inside the Old City…

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The Rogochover and More

The Rogochover and More

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The Rogochover and More Marc B. Shapiro In a recent Jewish Review of Books (Summer 2017), I published a translation of an interview R. Joseph Rozin, the Rogochover, gave to the New York Yiddish paper, Der morgen zhurnal. You can see the original interview here. The fact that the Rogochover agreed to the interview is itself significant. As is to be expected, the content of the interview is also of great interest. In the preface to the interview, I mentioned that the Rogochover famously studied Torah…

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Lecture Announcement: Rabbi Yechiel Goldhaber

Lecture Announcement: Rabbi Yechiel Goldhaber

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The readership of the Seforim Blog are invited to two lectures by the noted author, Rav Yechiel Goldhaber (link), whose respected research and scholarship is well-known to Seforim Blog readers.  1) The first shiur that will be taking place is this Thursday, November 2, 7:30 PM at 1454 54th Street, Brooklyn, NY. Rabbi Goldhaber’s speech will be delivered in Yiddish. The subject of this shiur is “Orthodox and Rabbinic Responses to the Balfour Declaration.” This lecture is dedicated לזכר נשמת…

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Hasidism in America

Hasidism in America

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Hasidism in America Marc B. Shapiro There is a tape of R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik in the 1950s saying that there is no real Hasidism in the United States. He says that he saw real Hasidism in Warsaw, and America does not have it. When the Rav made this statement, I think most non-hasidim would have agreed that Hasidism did not have any real future in the United States. The 1950s was a time when the focus was on the…

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The Mysteries of Hoshana Rabbah

The Mysteries of Hoshana Rabbah

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THE MYSTERIES OF HOSHANA RABBAH By Eliezer Brodt This article originally appeared last year in Ami Magazine (2016) This version has a many updates and corrections. I hope to revisit this subject shortly. The sources of our Yomim Tovim are relatively easy to find, as one simply locates the relevant pesukim or Gemara and starts from there. However, one Yom Tov does not have such a starting point: Hoshana Rabbah. Its roots and numerous customs are shrouded in mystery. This…

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‘אֲשֶׁר שַׂמְתִּי עֲרָבָה בֵיתוֹ’ ו’לֶחֶם לַנְּעָרִים’ – השימוש המִשני בערבות הלולב וההושענות למנהג איטליה הקדום

‘אֲשֶׁר שַׂמְתִּי עֲרָבָה בֵיתוֹ’ ו’לֶחֶם לַנְּעָרִים’ – השימוש המִשני בערבות הלולב וההושענות למנהג איטליה הקדום

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יעקב ישראל סטל ירושלים ‘אֲשֶׁר שַׂמְתִּי עֲרָבָה בֵיתוֹ’ ו’לֶחֶם לַנְּעָרִים’ השימוש המִשני בערבות הלולב וההושענות למנהג איטליה הקדום* “…The aravot, with which they observed the commandment of lulav, or the ‘ritual of the aravah’ (on Hoshana Rabah), would be discarded after their use. However, the German sages, as a token of their love for mitzvot, were wont to keep them in order to perform future mitzvot, such as for burning chametz or baking matzot on erev Pesach.  The German custom…

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