New Writings from R Kook Part 1 by Marc B. Shapiro
…this case, the total number of people—was correct. How many other places in the Bible can we apply this insight to? The fourteenth-century R. Eleazar Ashkenazi ben Nathan ha-Bavli has…
Marc B. Shapiro – Forgery and the Halakhic Process
…doesn’t mention anything about this section being removed by David. Hopefully, more research into the writings of Ashkenazic rishonim will further illuminate matters. Let me now speak of another issue,…
Maccabean Psalms? (and more)
…support for their own position.R. Moses Isaac Ashkenazi discusses the authorship of Psalms in the introduction to his Ho’il Moshe on Tehillim (Livorno, 1880). Although he has his doubts, he…
R. Chaim Vital and his Unknown Work Sefer ha-Pe'ulot
…Ashkenazi, Avnei Chain, pp. 221-253; C. Hamberger, Three Worlds, 3:7-10; Ish HaEmunah, p. 81. See also Yuval Harrari, Ha- Kishuf ha-Yehudi ha-Kodom, pp. 298-302 and his piece in The Literature…
Self-Censorship in the Arukh ha-Shulhan, ArtScroll’s Latest Betrayal, and Other Assorted Comments
…not the correct pronunciation. For those who want to see a bit of “Sephardic supremacy” when it comes to pronunciation, see this video where R. Ovadiah really lets the Ashkenazim…
The Strange Shape of the Marcheshet Pan
…כלפי פנים The volume of the Bomberg edition that belonged to Rav Betzalel Ashkenazi the author of the Shita Mekubetzet contains the exact same diagram inserted in the blank space…
A selection from Strictly Kosher Reading by Yoel Finkelman
…married life, and if their “personalities” will enable “the couple to get along with each other.”[21] Furthermore, for medieval Ashkenazic Jews the home was a center of economic life, because…
Some Literary, Scholarly & Halachic Perspectives on Medieval Ash
Some Literary, Scholarly & Halachic Perspectives on Medieval Ashkenazi Attitudes Toward Martyrdom by Yitzhak of בין דין לדין Prose George Eliot, in Daniel Deronda, depicts the ineffable, exquisite Mirah Lapidoth…
Everything is Illuminated: Mining the Art of Illustrated Haggadah Manuscripts for Meaning
…the most part – and the earliest illustrations of human figures appear in Franco-Ashkenazic manuscripts – bibles – of the thirteenth century. The earliest extant illustrated haggadah[11] is what is known…
Summary of Jordan Penkower on reading Zekher or Zeikher Amalek
…nekudot by his student Yosef Peretz. It appears here with permission, with some additions by the Seforim Blog editor. It is common practice in most Ashkenazi congregations to read the…
Rabbi Steinman and the Messiah, part 3
…under the ב which is the standard Ashkenazic practice. In fact, other than Tehillat Hashem (Chabad), are there any other current Ashkenazic siddurim that have a shewa under the ב?…
Jacob ben Elhanan Heilbronn – A Multi-faceted Erudite Scholar
…Yiddish books, so named because these works were most often read by the less educated and women.[6] These books were clearly meant for an Ashkenazi audience, for books in Vaybertaytsh…
A year in Berlin: The Beginning of Hebrew Printing in Berlin in c. 1699
…that is the language of Ashkenazim; and concluding with Luah ha-Hayyim (47a-59b), a popular medical work. Gefen Yehidit has been reprinted several times, beginning with a Hanau (1717) edition. Luah…
Towards A Reappraisal of the Recent Works of Rabbi Shelomoh Luriah (Maharshal)
…work, which had unfortunately been lost. Interestingly enough, R. Shmuel Ashkenazi told me recently he did all the work in annotating this sefer and preparing it for print, although for…
Conservative Conversions, Some Grammatical Points, and a Newly Published Section of a Letter from R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik
…say יהיו לרצון quietly either. The text recorded by ArtScroll is the one found in many old Ashkenazic machzorim. So when and how were אמרינו and אל תעזבנו dropped from…