A Forgotten Work on Chanukah: חנוכת הבית
…מספר 732 ו734; והמבוא של הטל אורות באריכות שיצא לאור בירושלים תשנ”ו Appendix: Title Page from Chanukat Ha-Bayit (Prague, 1616) Ship Illustration from Shaul ben David’s Tefilat Ha-Derekh (Prague, 1641)…
The Books of Maccabees and the Al HaNisssim prayer for Hanukah
The Books of Maccabees and the Al HaNisssim prayer for Hanukah. Reuven Kimelman The Al HaNissim prayer inserted in the Amidah for Hanukah is a purposeful combination of 1…
The Custom of Playing Cards on Channukah
…child she discusses card playing. “On the fifth night [of Chanukah] my mother invited all our friends and relatives. That was the night she gave us Chanukah gelt . ….
Book Review: ‘After Revelation: The Rabbinic Past in the Medieval Islamic World’, by Marc D. Herman
…relation to the prohibition of bal tosif at all.[6] Hanukkah from Where in the Torah? Rav Saadya Gaon’s discussion of Hanukkah provides a clear illustration of a broader geonic tendency:…
Rav Gorelick, the Rav, and Revision by Omission
…Baruch’s safek regarding Erev Shabbos Chanuka. The halacha (Rambam Chanuka 4:12) is that someone who does not have candles must even sell his garment in order to purchase Ner Chanuka….
Mitzvat Ner Ish uBeto: When A Revised Edition is Not Revised:
What follows is a guest post discussing a “revised” edition of the sefer Mitzvat Ner Ish uBeto, a work devoted to the laws and customs of Chanukah. For an earlier…
New Books by Rabbi Mandelbaum
…Holocaust, including learning Daf Yomi. The next volume in the series (454 pp.) was devoted to all aspects of Mesirat Nefesh in trying to observe Chanukah during the Holocaust. There…
The Name Machabee
…rejects this as we have historical evidence that Judah existed but it is worth showing how far out the theories are. [For additional posts regarding Chanukah see here.] Sources: Samuel…
A Young Man Holding a Torah Scroll and a Young Woman Holding a Book: The Life and Afterlife of Two Illustrations
…writing of a Torah scroll. Finally, the article presents an interwar illustration of a young woman holding a book with a tall Hanukkah menorah in the background. The latter was…
New Writings from R. Kook and Assorted Comments, part 2
…and his brethren triumphantly entered the Holy City. They purified the Temple, and their kindling of the lights during the eight-day festival of Dedication—Chanukah—is a telling reminder, year by year,…
Tikkun Olam Revisited
…and inspired by the spirit of Chanukah which has been brought to them, to many for the first time.[37] Regarding the constitutional issue, an issue that emerged a number of…
Maccabean Psalms? (and more)
…which many recite after Hanukkah morning tefillah and after lighting the Hanukkah candles) was written when the Temple was rededicated by the Hasmoneans. אני סבור כי מזמור שיר חנוכת הבית…
Another Obvious Mistake, More Grammatical Points, Bubbe Mayseh, Apostates and the Zohar
…an authentic tradition in which there is a pesik after shalshelet, please let me know. Finally, as I am writing this post not long after Hanukkah, here is an example…
Rabbi Eliezer Brodt on Haggadah shel Pesach: Reflections on the Past and Present
…Chanukah at the end (printed in Sefer Zicharon to Rav Yitzchak Hunter and reprinted in back of the Shvut Yitzchak on Chanukah) that Avraham Avinu was the author. See also…
Book Excerpt: Turning Judaism Outward by Chaim Miller
…105, 82 Letter to Moussia, 5th Elul 5689, ibid. p. 60. 83 Letter of Erev Chanukah 5690, ibid. p. 71. 84 Letter to Menachem Mendel, 5th Elul 5689, ibid. p….