Crafting the Commandments
…rather than commands. Supporting these with scriptural proof texts, he labels them with the solo term mitsvah, a label that he also uses to designate rabbinical directives. The scriptural mitsvot…
Who was Reb Shlomo?
…a hagiography) and is essential for anyone with an interest in Carlebach. The Seforim Blog is happy to include this excerpt from the book, pp. 413-419. 1. Who was Reb…
Who can discern his errors? Misdates, Errors, Deceptions, and other Variations in and about Hebrew Books, Intentional and Otherwise: Revisited
…in the latter tractate “and so they did to Ben Satda in Lod, and hung him on erev Pesah. Ben Satda? He was the son (ben) of Padera . ….
The Netziv, Reading Newspapers on Shabbos, in general & Censorship (part one)*
…as he does in Ittur Sofrim, he just does not add in the words ‘newspapers’. This clearly shows that he understood that this was the correct way to learn the Sugyah….
A Mild Case of Plagiarism: R. Abraham Kalmankes’ Ma’ayan Ha-Hokhmah
…Abraham Rovigo (d. 1713).5 The book, entitled אשל אברהם, and the letter of approbation, were published later in 1701 in Fürth. After a lengthy critique of the proliferation of works…
Jews, Medicine and the University of Padua A Behind the Scenes Tour of a New Exhibit at the Jewish Museum of Padua November 2, 2022- December 31, 2022
…were officially barred by papal decree from attending, as the universities were by and large under the auspices of the Catholic Church. In the pages of this blog, we have…
The Chanukah Omission
…which is Masseches Chanukah.” The Perush ha-Eshel on Megilas Taanis wants to suggest that the Gra did not mean that there was a masechta titled Chanukah. Instead, the Gra meant…
Kitniyot and Stimulants: Coffee and Marijuana on Passover
…and grasses are in rows, and everything is so clean, it is a testament to human intelligence. Every plant is labeled. There are plants from America, Portugal and Turkey all…
Lekah Tov – What’s in a Name?
…Moŝe . . . lekah. Prag 1604, 40. (Yidd. Glossary on the Prophets and Hagigrapha.).[16] Be’er Moshe, is also glosses and notes in Yiddish. 1604, Prague, R. Moses ben Issachar…
Finders Keepers? The Itinerant History of Strashun Library of Vilna, Pt I
…the JNUL, Scholem colluded with a Jewish American serviceman to smuggle the works out of Offenbach. Scholem placed the collection into five boxes but did not label their contents and…
The Anonymous Author of Tikkunei Zohar and Ra‘ya Mehemna: An Antinomian or a Radical Maimonidean?
…the Mishnah to a shifhah or maidservant.[2] Predictably, in response, there grew an apologetic literature that attempts to justify how such shocking statements are compatible with normative Halakhah.[3] One cannot…
Beyond the Masthead of the Beys Yaakov Journal, 1923-1980 – Part 2: ‘Abomination’ or Scandal? Mistranslation, Journalism, and the Halivni Controversy
…“Ideological Labels Changing Along With the Label-Makers,” The New York Times (12 November 1970): 45,48; Israel Shenker, “Man and Machine Match Minds at M.I.T.: 5th Conference on Artificial Intelligence Seeks…
Hebrew printing in Altdorf: A brief Christian-Hebraist Phenomenon
…Christian-Hebraists. Altdorf does not merit an entry in Ch. B. Friedberg’s multi-volume History of Hebrew Typography . . . and in terms of Hebrew printing it might be described as…
Deciphering the Talmud: The First English Edition of the Talmud Revisited. Michael Levi Rodkinson: His Translation of the Talmud, and the Ensuing Controversy
…however, until 1891 that a complete Talmudic tractate was translated into English. In that year, the Rev. A. W. Streane, “Fellow and Divinity and Hebrew Lecturer, of Corpus Christi College,…
Translations of Rabbi Judah Halevi’s Kuzari
…Hebrew translation, Hartwig Hirschfeld also translated the book into English.[16] This work was reissued many times, often with minimal attribution to Hirschfeld.[17] The abridged translation of the Kuzari by Prof….