The Seforim Blog – Page 92 – All about Seforim – New and Old, and Jewish Bibliography

Book Review: The House of Twenty Thousand Books by Sasha Abramsky

August 11, 2014 admin Comments 0 Comment

‘The House of Twenty Thousand Books’/ Sasha Abramsky / Halban Publishers (London UK) / 321pp/ GBP 14.95 – easily available from Amazon.uk By Paul Shaviv For many Seforim blog readers, the name ‘Abramsky’ will instantly be associated with the personality of Rav Yechezkel Abramsky (1886-1976), the author of Hazon Yechezkel on the Tosefta. Born in Russia, imprisoned by the Soviets, released in the 1930’s after diplomatic intervention by the U.S. and Britain, he was for years the head of the…

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The Pew Report and the Orthodox Community (and Other Assorted Comments), part 2

August 7, 2014 admin Comments 0 Comment

The Pew Report and the Orthodox Community (and Other Assorted Comments), part 2 by Marc B. Shapiro Continued from here. Returning to the matter of Jewish men and non-Jewish women, it is noteworthy that the Spanish scholar R. Solomon Alami (14th-15th centuries), in his ethical will to his son, specifically warns him to abstain from sexual relations with non-Jewish women.[1] Note how in the following passage he also assumes that Reuben actually had sexual relations with his father’s concubine (an opinion also shared…

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הרהורים בנכר (דפים מתוך פנקס מסעות)

August 3, 2014 admin Comments 0 Comment

הרהורים בנכר (דפים מתוך פנקס מסעות) מאת: טוביה פרשל מתוך “המודיע” חנוכה תשי”ד גליון ה 1000 א. גנזי הטיבר 1 מטייל אני על גדות הטיבר. הלילה רד על רומא ואלפים כוכבים נוצצים ברקיע. בניני העיר מטילים צללים ארוכים על מימי הנהר, זרועי אור הלבנה, הזוחלים לאטם. חושך ודומיה אופפים את סמטאותיו הקטנות והעקלקלות של הגטו שעל שפת הנהר. רק פה ושם קורעת קרן אור הפורצת מאחד החלונות של הבנינים הגבוהים והצרים את האפלה. שומם מאין עובר הוא הכיכר הרחב לפני…

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Review of Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture by Shaye J.D. Cohen

July 25, 2014 admin Comments 0 Comment

Review of Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture by Shaye J.D. Cohen Shaye J. D. Cohen is the Littauer Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations of Harvard University. This is his first contribution to the Seforim blog. Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture. Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture. Edited by Louis H. Feldman, James L. Kugel, and Lawrence H. Schiffman….

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“Ask Rabbi Google”!! ??

July 25, 2014 admin Comments 1 comment

“Ask Rabbi Google”!! ?? By Yaakov Rosenes Continued from here When Rav Yisreal Gustman Zts”l eulogized Harav Moshe Feinstein Zts”l beside his grave at Har Menuchot he mourned the loss of the last real Talmid Hacham, i.e. the last Rav whose knew all of the Torah and Shas Poskim, Rishonim and Ahronim, Midrash and Aggadata, Mussar and Hashkafa. But to comfort the mourners and the holy Niftar, Rav Gustman said something new. He said that today although no individual is…

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Book review: Asaf Yedidya, Criticized Criticism – Orthodox Alternatives to Wissenschaft des Judentums 1873 – 1956

July 22, 2014 admin Comments 2 comments

אסף ידידיה, ביקורת מבוקרת: אלטרנטיבות אורתודוקסיות ל’מדע היהדות’ 1956-1873, 415 עמודים, ירושלים תשע”ג Asaf Yedidya, Criticized Criticism – Orthodox Alternatives to Wissenschaft des Judentums 1873 – 1956 By Ezra Brand Criticized Criticism is a book which I think would greatly interest any reader of the Seforim Blog. It deals with the history of the Orthodox “alternatives” to secular Jewish Studies, as well as many important issues that religious Jewish Studies scholars face.[1] In this, it fills a definitely felt lack…

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