Mishloach Manot of Rabbis and Scholars
In honor of Purim, and in memory of Tovia Preschel, the Seforim Blog is happy to present the following. Mishloach Manot of Rabbis and Scholars By Tovia Preschel Rabbis,…
Purim Roundup 2019
…the story of Ester with children by the late Elliot Horowitz, as well as a couple posts regarding his book on Jewish violence and Purim, and mixed dancing on Purim….
Purim in Tehran: The Symbolic Devaluation of the Ahrimanic Republic
Purim in Tehran: The Symbolic Devaluation of the Ahrimanic Republic By Dan D.Y. Shapira Dan (or, Dan D.Y.) Shapira is an Orientalist and grows more than fifty trees on the…
The Origin of Ta‘anit Esther
…actually copied in Geonic Babylonia. Two of the manuscripts read Ta‘anit Esther, while one reads Ta‘anit Purim. Since R. Natronai’s original responsum read Ta‘anit Purim, it seems likely that the…
Review of Reckless Rites
While it is a bit out of season, I wanted to review Elliott Horowitz’s new book Reckless Rites. In this book, subtitled “Purim and the Legacy of Jewish Violence,” everything…
On the History of the Custom to Announce Upcoming Fasts in the Synagogue on the Shabbat Preceding the Fasts
…“Amen”!” There are three fasts which we do not announce [the date of]: The 9th of Av, Yom Hakippurim, and Purim, and the mnemonic is AKaF [A = Av, K…
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…
Tobacco and the Hasidim and a Comment on Artscroll
…of Simhat Torah, on Purim, and on Shushan Purim, [24] on those occasions he would smoke heavily. In his later years he was also reported to have smoked at the…
Elliott Horowitz – “”Most of all you’ve got to hide it from the kids…’ Reading Esther before Bed”
…explained away” by some, but also “exaggerated and falsely labelled” by others.” The best solution, he believed was to let readers, young and old, judge for themselves. There were other…
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
…to the diploma, there are two sets of books on a table under the medallion, all of them labeled with the names of secular authors who were part of the…
The Chanukah Omission
…bearing the title Maseches Chanukah, but it was written as a parody, similar to Maseches Purim of Rav Kalonymus[24]. Rebellion, Romans, and the Power of Tradition Another explanation for the…
The Customs Associated with Joy on Chanukah and Their More Obscure Sources
…1576), the reason that only on Purim do we celebrate with a seudah and not on Chanukah is because שעם היות שהמלחמה חשמונאי נצחה, ועל ידו היתה הרוחה אף גם…
Rav Aryeh Tzvi Frommer HY”D: סנגורם של ישראל
…Teshuvot, Purim, Siman 695:5 Note 24. Where this responsa of RATF is brought as an example of an opinion that defends the practice of starting the Purim feast close to…
Towards Decoding Ha-Yeriah Ha-Gedolah (The Great Parchment), A Cryptic 14th Century Italian Kabbalistic Text
…the tool to assist in transcribing additional manuscripts. [15] Although YG is called in some manuscripts “Iggeret Sippurim”, “sippurim” in this context likely means “sections”, as pointed out by Gottlieb….
Talmudic Humor and Its Discontents
Talmudic Humor and Its Discontents by Ezra Brand In honor of Purim, I’d like to discuss a few aspects of humor in the Talmud[1]. But first, a short overview of…