An (almost) Unknown Halakhic Work by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi and an attempt to answer the question: who punctuated the first edition of the Shulhan Arukh?

An (almost) Unknown Halakhic Work by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi and an attempt to answer the question: who punctuated the first edition of the Shulhan Arukh?

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An (almost) Unknown Halakhic Work by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi and an attempt to answer the question: who punctuated the first edition of the Shulhan Arukh?  by Chaim Katz Chaim Katz is a database computer programmer in Montreal Quebec. He graduated from McGill University and studied in Lubavitch Yeshivoth in Israel and New York. In 1980, the late Rabbi Yehoshua Mondshine published a manuscript, which was a list of chapters and paragraphs (halakhot  and se’fim), selected by Rabbi Shneur…

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The Princess and I: Academic Kabbalists/Kabbalist Academics

The Princess and I: Academic Kabbalists/Kabbalist Academics

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ב”ה The Princess and I[1] Academic Kabbalists/Kabbalist Academics לכב’ יומא דהילולא דרשב”י ל”ג בעומר by Josh Rosenfeld Josh Rosenfeld is the Assistant Rabbi at Lincoln Square Synagogue and on the Judaic Studies Faculty at SAR High School. This is his second contribution to the Seforim blog. His first essay, on “The Nazir in New York,” is available (here). The last few decades have witnessed the veritable explosion of “new perspectives” and horizons in the academic study of Kabbalah and Jewish…

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The Netziv, Reading Newspapers on Shabbos & Censorship (Part Two)

The Netziv, Reading Newspapers on Shabbos & Censorship (Part Two)

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The Netziv, Reading Newspapers on Shabbos & Censorship (Part Two)*. By Eliezer Brodt   Updates and clarifications This post is devoted to discuss some of the various comments I have received from many different people regarding part one (here). I will also add in some of the material which I had forgotten to quote for part one [some of which I was reminded of by readers] along with additional material that I have recently uncovered. I apologize for the delay…

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Mikva Revisited – Understanding Shabbat 13a-b in light of Parshat Metzora

Mikva Revisited – Understanding Shabbat 13a-b in light of Parshat Metzora

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Mikva Revisited – Understanding Shabbat 13a-b in light of Parshat Metzora by Chaim Sunitsky (with some additional comments by Marc B. Shapiro) It is well known that when describing the purification of niddah and zava the Torah does not explicitly mention that immersion is required.[1] The present article will briefly examine the proofs given for such an immersion and show a novel understanding of a story brought in the Talmud (Shabbat 13a-b). There are 5 most commonly brought proofs for…

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Changing the Immutable: How Orthodox Judaism Rewrites Its History

Changing the Immutable: How Orthodox Judaism Rewrites Its History

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Changing the Immutable: How Orthodox Judaism Rewrites Its History Marc B. Shapiro I am happy to announce that my new book is now with the printer and should be at the distributor by May 4. Amazon and book stores will have the book not long after that. Changing the Immutable has taken quite a long time and I hope readers find that it was worth the wait. One of the main reasons it has taken so long is that some…

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Mossad HaRav Kook 2015 sale

Mossad HaRav Kook 2015 sale

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 Mossad HaRav Kook 2015 sale By Eliezer Brodt For over thirty years, starting on Isru Chag of Pesach, Mossad HaRav Kook publishing house makes a big sale on all of their publications, dropping prices considerably (some books are marked 65 percent off). In recent years their practice has been to publish several new titles in the few weeks prior to the sale; during the rest of the year not too many titles are printed. They also reprint some of their…

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