Some Highlights of the Mossad HaRav Kook Sale of 2017

Some Highlights of the Mossad HaRav Kook Sale of 2017

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Some Highlights of the Mossad HaRav Kook Sale of 2017 By Eliezer Brodt For over thirty years, starting on Isru Chag of Pesach, Mossad HaRav Kook publishing house has made a big sale on all of their publications, dropping prices considerably (some books are marked as low as 65% off). Each year they print around twenty new titles. They also reprint some of their older, out of print titles. Some years important works are printed; others not as much. This year they have…

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The Hanukkah Miracle

The Hanukkah Miracle

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The Hanukkah Miracle Marc B. Shapiro In an earlier post I mentioned that I hoped to write about the nineteenth-century dispute about the historicity of the Hanukkah miracle of the oil. This dispute broke out after the publication of Hayyim Zelig Slonimski’s article claiming that Maimonides did not believe in the miracle. Fuel was added to the fire when R. Samuel Alexandrov publicly supported Slonimski and argued that the miracle of the oil was intended to be understood in a…

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Afikoman – “Stealing“ and Other Related Minhagim

Afikoman – “Stealing“ and Other Related Minhagim

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Afikoman – “Stealing“ and Other Related Minhagim* By Eliezer Brodt One of the most exciting parts of Seder night for kids is the “stealing” of the afikoman. Children plan well in advance when the best time would be for them to steal it, where they will hide it, as well as what they should ask for in exchange for it. Not surprisingly, toy stores do incredibly good business both during Chol Hamoed and in the days following Pesach because of…

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Book announcement: New edition of Avudraham and other works, R. Greensweig, etc.

Book announcement: New edition of Avudraham and other works, R. Greensweig, etc.

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Book announcement New edition of Avudraham and other works By Eliezer Brodt אבודרהם, עם הגהות וביאורים תהלה לדוד, א, ירושלים תשס”א, שכא עמודים אבודרהם, א, ירושלים תשע”ה, נערך מחדש על פי דפוס ראשון מוגה ומפוסק עם מקורת מלאים, מדור הערות הארות וביאורים מקורות ומקבילות לדברי רבינו, תפילות חול, 429 עמודים אבודרהם, ב, ירושלים תשע”ו, כהנ”ל, תפילות שבת ומועדים, 625 עמודים ר’ אליהו גרינצייג, קרואי מועד, פסח, שעה עמודים הנ”ל, קרואי מועד, ראש השנה, שלג עמודים הנ”ל, קרואי מועד, ספירת העומר…

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Dr. Shlomo Sprecher ז”ל: In Memoriam

Dr. Shlomo Sprecher ז”ל: In Memoriam

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Dr. Shlomo Sprecher ז”ל: In Memoriam אין חכמת האדם מגעת אלא עד מקום שספריו מגיעין, ולכן ימכור אדם כל מה שיש לו ויקנה ספרים, כי דרך משל מי שאין לו ספרי התלמוד אי איפשר לו להיות בקי בו, וכמו כן מי שאין לו ספרי הרפואה א”א להיות בקי בה. דרכי התלמוד לר’ יצחק קנפאנטון A person’s wisdom reaches only as far as his library. Therefore, a person should sell everything he owns and acquire books. For example, one who doesn’t own a…

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Churches, Ronald McDonald, and More

Churches, Ronald McDonald, and More

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Churches, Ronald McDonald, and More Marc B. Shapiro 1. In a recent post I mentioned R. Leon Modena, so let me note the following. In my article on entering churches,[1] available here, I mention that R. Modena entered churches to hear the sermons. I also quote R. Eliezer Waldenberg’s description of R. Modena as an איש הפכפך. Only after my article appeared did I find that R. Solomon Scheinfeld uses similar language in describing R. Modena[2]: הוא היה גדול בתורה וחכמת העולם, היה גאון בטבעו,…

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