ArtScroll and More
…post here I discussed how R. Jehiel Michel Epstein engaged in self-censorship in the Arukh ha-Shulhan in order not to have problems with the non-Jewish authorities. Rabbi Shalom Baum called…
Pets on Shabbat, Rabbi Morenu, and Epidemics
…the dog simply “Zvi” or some other form of the name. Regarding dogs, the Shulhan Arukh, Even ha-Ezer 22:18, states: אלמנה אסורה לגדל כלב מפני החשד “A widow is forbidden…
R. Shabbtai the Bassist, the First Hebrew Bibliographer
…Plungin was the editor at the press. He was involved with the printing of many “classics” such as the Eiyn Yakkov and the Shulkhan Orakh. In this last book, although…
Ten Commandment Displays
…quoted in the Ma’gen Avrhom’s commentary on the Shulkhan Orakh. Many others question this practice including R. Ahron Lewin, (Reischer Rav) in his commentary on Berkahot.None of this, however, stopped…
Yigdal: A Case Study in Modern Customology
…actually mentions this book by name, a somewhat unusual occurrence in his Shulhan Arukh, and says one should not read it on the Shabbat. Nevertheless, it appears the consensus on…
The Fish Motif on Early Hebrew Title-Pages and as Pressmarks
…folio volumes, primarily from the Shulhan Arukh, a like frame was subsequently used by Aaron ben Uri Lippman Frankel beginning with a Haggadah, in Sulzbach (below). Aaron was active in…
The 1908 Student Strike at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary: A Newly Discovered Document
…came upon a box of papers labeled, “Rabbi B. Shapiro Papers, 1920s-1960’s.” Rabbi Boruch Shapiro (1883-1970) was born in Szmorgon, Lithuania and was recognized as a Talmudic genius (Iluy) at…
R. Hayyim Hirschensohn, Can One Kill an Am Ha’aretz on Shabbat? Physical Punishments and Lots More
…Baruch Simon, Imrei Barukh (New York, 2005), vol. 1, pp. 124-125. [2] Mehuyavut Yehudit be-Olam Moderni (Jerusalem and Ramat-Gan, 2003), pp. 299-300. [3] See Aryeh Morgenstern’s informative article “Mishpahat Hirschensohn…
Daniel Sperber’s New Book – “The Path of Halakha”
…any ambiguity Prof. Sperber includes an appendix listing many laws from the Shulhan Arukh which are no longer practiced in the same manner as advocated by the Shulhan Arukh. He…
Forgetfulness & Other Human Errors a New Monography by Marc Shapr
…lists numerous examples of errors that can only be attributed to forgetfulness or printing error. For instance, Ashkenazi notes that R. Yechiel Epstein in his Arukh Ha-Shulhan states “it is…
Rambam’s Response to the Inclusion of Chicken, Duck and Quail in Qaraite Cuisine
…(unlike what is understood from Talmud Chullin and Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah). Accordingly, we see a three stage development of changes in biblical law. First, the early rabbis expanded the…
Sefer HaNer on Mesechet Bava Kamma
…Yosef ibn Migash, R’ Baruch Sefardi (RB”S),[17] R’ Yitzchok Ghiyyat, Rav Natan author of Sefer ha Aruch, Rashi,[18] Rambam,[19] as well as material of unknown authorship.[20] Further, a notable portion…
The Unusual Word Tzafufim in Pirkei Avos
…does not explain how we get the unusual word צפופים. Aruch says it simply means “crowded” (דחוקים) as we translated it above. He brings two other examples in Rabbinic literature…
Some Assorted Comments and a Selection from my Memoir. part 1
…[19] Samuel Cohon discusses Rama’s ruling in Faithfully Yours (Jersey City, 2008), pp. 87-88. [20] See similarly R. Shneur Zalman of Lyady, Shulhan Arukh, Hilkhot Ona’ah, no. 11. [21] Along…
Twenty-Five Years at the Valmadonna Trust Library
…mystified us for years by locating another copy. For many years I tried to find the first 10 pages of a Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim, di Gara, Venice 1574 for…