Comments on This and That, part 1
…few days, for the love he had to her.” R. Hayyim Zev Rosenfeld, in his Sefer ha-Hayyim (London, 1922), p. 22, asks a very good question. If you love someone,…
David Assaf – A Farewell to Eitam Henkin
…suggested that he write a critical biography of the Hafetz Hayyim , Rabbi Israel Meir Hakohen of Radin (1839-1933), the most venerated personality in the Haredi world of the twentieth…
וְהָאֱמֶת וְהַשָּׁלוֹם אֱהָבוּ; On Changing the Immutable by Marc B. Shapiro
…opinion of the Hafetz Hayyim.[33] The Hafetz Hayyim states that if one sees that a certain individual will be a bad influence on his son or student, he should warn him…
Lectures on Hagadah Shel Pesach and about Hagaon Rav Chaim Kanievsky ZTZ”L’s Seforim
…of Hagaon Rav Chaim Kanievsky Ztz’l. In the first episode, I discuss Kiryat Melech, R’ Chaim’s sefer on the Rambam. The second one is about his work on the Marsha,…
In Praise of Ephemera: A Picture Postcard from Vilna Reveals its Secrets More than One Hundred Years after its Original Publication
…of the Jewish Kehilla (called Zedakah Gedolah at the time), all wear the same dress, a “Chofetz Chaim” type cap and a long coat, both inevitably dark grey or black….
An Incident of “Pilegesh B’Givah” in 19th Century Germany
…the 19th century by Chaim ben Yaakov Abolofia. תקנות קהלת איזמיר. Los Angeles – University of California 960 bx. 1.9 ותו הספר: “מספרי יוסף אשר פאלאק ז”ל” משנת תרפ”ה. …
The Illusory Portrait of R. Yom Tov Lipmann Heller: Deceptive Art and Jewish Images in Vienna
…not a recognized artist; instead, it was a commercial reproduction company in Vienna that commonly attached its labels to the works. Its full name is “Paul Krüger Atelier für Porträtmalerei…
When Rabbi Meir Kahane’s Father Translated the Torah
…David Eisenstein reported that in 1913, when JPS was preparing its initial translation, Rabbi Chaim Hirschenson of Hoboken, NJ, convinced the Agudath Harabbanim to protest JPS’ efforts so the new…
The Pitfalls of Disagreeing with the Gra
…literature, Talmud, Midrash, Zohar, etc. and collected the relevant statements to create a “talmud” (it is even labeled as such – the legend on the page reads Gemara) on the…
How Jews of Yesteryear Celebrated Graduation from Medical School: Congratulatory Poems for Jewish Medical Graduates in the 17th and 18th Centuries: An Unrecognized Genre
…Calimani and Isaiah Romanin). Some of the prominent personalities included among the authors are Rabbi Yehuda Arye de Modena, Rabbi Moshe Hayyim Luzzatto (Ramḥal), Rabbi Solomon Marini, and Rabbi Isaac…
Further Comments by Marc Shapiro
…vol. 4 (Jerusalem, 2010), p. 183 n. 28.4 In an article in Atarah le-Hayyim (Jerusalem, 2000), p. 292, Neil Danzig also points to a non-authentic interpolation in Auerbach’s Sefer ha-Eshkol. Yet…
Thoughts on Confrontation & Sundry Matters Part I
…be sharper than the most harsh haredi critics. Another strong attack on Belkin was penned by R. Chaim Dov Ber Gulevsky, who also taught at YU. (I will have a…
Marc B. Shapiro: A Tale of Two Lost Archives
…a holeh she-ein bo sakanah is only permitted on Shabbat, but not during the week. See e.g., Kaf ha-Hayyim, Orah Hayyim 328:119. Halakhic experts, please correct me if I am…
Some Unusually “Liberal” Statements by Mainstream Rabbinic Figures
…עוד שלא נתמנה לאב”ד היה מחמיר בתרי רובי, ועכשיו שמינו אותו לדיין הוא מיקל בתרי רובי בעגונה. Regarding R. Hayyim of Volozhin, who is mentioned by R. Ovadiah, see what…
Snow: A Review of Ha-Noten Sheleg
…people felt shoveling snow was not beneath their dignity. For example, he has two stories one with R. Chaim Volozhin and the other with the Chofetz Hayyim which are similar….