Nachmanides Introduced the Notion that Targum Onkelos Contains Derash

Nachmanides Introduced the Notion that Targum Onkelos Contains Derash

Nachmanides Introduced the Notion that Targum Onkelos Contains Derash By Israel Drazin www.booksnthoughts.com People today read Targum Onkelos and search it for derash, halakhah, and homiletical teachings. The following will show that the rabbis in the Talmuds and Midrashim and the Bible commentators who used the Targum before the thirteenth century recognized that the Aramaic translation only contains the Torah’s peshat, its plain meaning, and not sermonic material. It will survey how the pre-thirteenth century rabbis and scholars used Onkelos…

Read More Read More

R. Zevin, R. Ovadia Yosef, Pras haRav Kook and a Minor Case of Censorship

R. Zevin, R. Ovadia Yosef, Pras haRav Kook and a Minor Case of Censorship

R. Zevin, R. Ovadia Yosef, Pras haRav Kook and a Minor Case of Censorship by Jacob D. At the end of R. Zevin’s introduction to his Sofrim u-Sefarim [1] we read – In R. Zevin’s footnote we see that one of the works that he wanted to review but didn’t yet get to was R. Ovadia Yosef’s two volumes of Yabia Omer. As someone who enjoys R. Zevin’s pen immensely (both his style and substance, especially the way he analyzes…

Read More Read More

Announcement of new works of Rishonim

Announcement of new works of Rishonim

Announcement of new works of Rishonim By Eliezer Brodt מגנזי אירופה, כרך ראשון, ההדיר והוסיף מבואות: שמחה עמנואל, הוצאת מקיצי נרדמים, 512 עמודים. I am very happy to announce the publication of an important work which I have been eagerly waiting for, Professor Simcha Emanuel of the Hebrew University’s Talmud department’s volume of texts from the “European Genizah” (volume one). This volume was just printed by Mekitzei Nirdamim and is being sold by Magnes Press. New texts from Rishonim are…

Read More Read More

Please note

Please note

The Seforim Blog is proud to provide a platform for freewheeling debate in a productive spirit. We do not moderate comments, because there has been no need. While tongues sometimes get sharp, we believe that overall the mood in the comments section has been in the spirit of comaraderie, with our readers and commenters sharing the bonds of a common interest and love of Jewish learning. Recently, to our dismay, the comments section has been transformed to something else. We…

Read More Read More

Review of James A. Diamond, “Maimonides and the Shaping of the Jewish Canon” (2014) by Menachem Kellner

Review of James A. Diamond, “Maimonides and the Shaping of the Jewish Canon” (2014) by Menachem Kellner

Review of James A. Diamond, “Maimonides and the Shaping of the Jewish Canon” (2014) by Menachem Kellner Menachem Kellner is Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Jewish Thought at Shalem College, Jerusalem, and the Wolfson Professor Emeritus of Jewish Thought at the University of Haifa, where, among many other posts, he served as Dean of Students and Chair of the Department of Maritime Civilizations, and founding director of Be-Zavta, a program in Jewish enrichment. His most recent book is…

Read More Read More

R. Yitchak Al-fasi’s Anti-Qaraite Legislative Activity

R. Yitchak Al-fasi’s Anti-Qaraite Legislative Activity

R. Yitchak Al-fasi’s Anti-Qaraite Legislative Activity By Tzvi H. Adams R. Yitchak Al-fasi (1013 – 1103) lived in North Africa and Spain during the Golden Age of Qaraism. It is quite natural that we find many instances of anti-Qaraite legislation in his writings. Below are four such cases: 1) R. Al-fasi had the shofar blown on Shabbos Rosh HaShanah in his beth din in Fez, Morocco. (See discussion here: here). This ruling and practice baffled many later authorities as it…

Read More Read More