An Unexpected Epistolary Discovery and the Shared Medical Journeys of Tuviya HaRofe and Gabriel Felix (late 17th- early 18th centuries)

An Unexpected Epistolary Discovery and the Shared Medical Journeys of Tuviya HaRofe and Gabriel Felix (late 17th- early 18th centuries)

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An Unexpected Epistolary Discovery and the Shared Medical Journeys of Tuviya HaRofe and Gabriel Felix (late 17th– early 18th centuries) Rabbi Edward Reichman, MD On January 26, 2024, I received an e-mail from an independent Italian Hebraica scholar[1] with references[2] and a bibliographical correction regarding a Seforim Blog article I had written about Rabbi Dr. Shimshon Morpurgo (1681-1740), a prominent medical graduate of Padua.[3] In the correspondence, he refers to a manuscript housed in the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) Library…

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New Seforim Lists & Seforim Sale

New Seforim Lists & Seforim Sale

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New Seforim Lists & Seforim Sale By Eliezer Brodt The post hopes to serve three purposes. One, the first section lists some new, interesting seforim, and thereby making the Seforim Blog readership aware of their recent publication. While those that sell books are seeing that book purchases keep dropping, books are still being published at full force. Second, to make these works available for purchase for those interested. Third, the last part of the list has some harder to find…

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Tikkun Olam Revisited

Tikkun Olam Revisited

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Tikkun Olam Revisited Shmuel Lesher  Shmuel Lesher is the assistant rabbi of the BAYT in Toronto, Canada. You may reach him at shmuel.lesh@gmail.com. Tikkun Olam, translated as either “healing the world” or “repairing the world” is a phrase that evokes a variety of reactions today. This two-word Hebrew phrase has become known to many even outside of the Jewish world as the Jewish term for social action. In fact, while President of the United States, Barak Obama invoked tikkun olam…

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“Praiseworthy are You Talmidei Chachamim” – Self-Definition, Torah Study, and Jewish Martyrdom

“Praiseworthy are You Talmidei Chachamim” – Self-Definition, Torah Study, and Jewish Martyrdom

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“Praiseworthy are You Talmidei Chachamim” Self-Definition, Torah Study, and Jewish Martyrdom Yaakov Jaffe There is a unique genre of video on youtube, facebook, or twitter, featuring Yeshivah students of a wide variety of ages, locations, and types of dress singing the song “Ashreichem Talmidei Chachamim” while standing or dancing around the Beit Midrash of their school or Yeshivah.  The song, often also heard at wedding, praises the portion of students of Torah scholars with the following words: Praiseworthy are you,…

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Some Highlights of the Upcoming Taj Art Auction

Some Highlights of the Upcoming Taj Art Auction

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Some Highlights of the Upcoming Taj Art Auction* With the proliferation of auction houses and the centralized platform of Bidspirit, there are auctions of Judaica and Hebraica on a weekly, if not more frequent, basis. One of the more recent entrants into this arena is Taj Art, founded in 2021 by Tomer Rosenfeld and Aron Orzel. This Sunday, December 24th, at 7 pm Israel time, Taj Art will be hosting their 11th auction, which includes some items of particular bibliographical…

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The Books of Maccabees and the Al HaNisssim prayer for Hanukah

The Books of Maccabees and the Al HaNisssim prayer for Hanukah

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The Books of Maccabees and the Al HaNisssim prayer for Hanukah. Reuven Kimelman   The Al HaNissim prayer inserted in the Amidah for Hanukah is a purposeful combination of 1 Maccabees with Rabbinic literature and liturgy. This becomes obvious upon comparing it with the less-developed version of Massekhet Sofrim20.6:[1] בהודייה והודאת פלאות ותשועת כהנים אשר עשית בימי מתתיהו בן יוחנן כהן גדול וחשמונאי ובניו וכן עשה עמנו ה’ אלהינו ואלהי אבותינו נסים ונפלאות ונודה לשמך לנצח בא”י הטוב In the…

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