Rabbi Eliezer Brodt on Haggadah shel Pesach: Reflections on the Past and Present
…Weil to the sefer. However, we know that aside from giving a haskamah, he is also the author. R. Eliezer Fleckeles in his sefer Teshuva MeAhavah (vol. 2 siman 239)…
The Jewish Reaction to the Livorno Earthquake of January 27, 1742
…Of note is the sefer Shivchei Todah (Livorno 5504)[1] from R. Malachi HaCohen, author of the famed Yad Malachi[2]. In his introduction, the author tells us that he composed the…
R. Nathan Nata ben Reuben David Tebele Spira and his Works: Among them Ma’amar Yayin ha-Meshummar, on the Prohibition against Drinking Stam Yeinam (gentile wine), and Contemporary Books on that Subject
…Aboab and placed by bibliographic sources between 1631-51 in Prague. Sefer ha-Zikhronot is a halakhic work explicating enactments, customs, and laws on contemporary issues. Sefer ha-Zikhronot is divided into ten…
Afikoman – “Stealing“ and Other Related Minhagim
…But even those who recorded this minhag occasionally referred to it in less than complimentary terms. For example, in 1824 a parody called the Sefer Hakundos (literally, the “Book of…
Can A Segulah Free an Agunah? Jewish Beliefs and Practices for Locating a Drowned Body
…a sefer printed about 1646 in Krakow, by R’ Yaakov Naftoli Ben Yehudah Leib of Lublin the Sefer was originally called Derech Hayoshor. [see Kiryat Sefer, 1933/34, 10, pg. 252]….
How Dare You Translate Kabbalah!
How Dare You Translate Kabbalah! by Avinoam Fraenkel Avinoam Fraenkel’s new book, Shomer Emunim: The Introduction to Kabbalah (Urim Publications, 2021), is a full facing page translation and expansive commentary…
Azariah de’ Rossi’s Annotations on Sefer ha-Kuzari: Identification and Preliminary Analysis
Azariah de’ Rossi’s Annotations on Sefer ha-Kuzari: Identification and Preliminary Analysis Yehuda Seewald Abstract This article presents the identification of annotations on a 1547 Venice edition of Sefer ha-Kuzari (The…
Daily Birkat Cohanim in the Diaspora
…author of Sefer ha-Terumah. This commentary in this instance bases itself on (the largely lost) Sefer Miktzoot. [4] The editor of this commentary pointed out (in note 48) that this…
Review of Ma'amar al Yishma'el
Review: Ma’amar al Yishma’el by Eliezer Brodt & Ish Sefer Solomon Ibn Aderet, Ma’amar al Yishma’el, Bezalel Naor ed., Spring Valley, NY, 2008, 178 pp. Bezalel Naor, Mitsvat Hashem Barah,…
Moshe Idel — Kabbalistic Manuscripts in the Vatican Library
…translations from Abraham Abulafia and his circle, the Vatican collection contains several important treatises of this Kabbalist in their original Hebrew (e.g., Sefer ’Or ha-Sekhel, Sefer ha-’Ot, Sefer Hayyei ha-‘Olam…
The Pew Report and the Orthodox Community (and Other Assorted Comments), part 1
…self-imposed test. R. Israel Isserlein reports such an occurrence, where an individual put himself in this situation in order to achieve proper repentance, but ended up sinning again![5] Sefer Hasidim…
New Sefer Announcement: The Collected Writings of R’ Moshe Reines
New Sefer Announcement by Eliezer Brodt It is with great pleasure that I announce a sefer that I just printed, The Collected Writings of R’ Moshe Reines. ר’ משה ריינס…
A Knife, Is it A Dangerous Gift for Rosh haShana?
…directly from his teacher. In Sefer Sichot HaRan[6], R. Nosson quotes his teacher, R. Nachman, who in turn refers to a tradition from his great-grandfather, the Holy Baal Shem Tov…
Sale: Sefer on the Manna
Sale: Sefer on the Manna By Eliezer Brodt This week, we read Parshas Beshalach, and one of its key sections focuses on the Manna. As is well known, we live…
Eliezer Brodt: The Chanukah Omission
…introduction of R. B. Hamburger to his Zikhronos u-Mesoros Al ha-Chasam Sofer where he shows that Chut haMeshulash is an authentic and reliable sefer. In the recent sefer Me-pehem (p….