Marc B. Shapiro: Obituary for Prof. Mordechai Breuer zt”l
…the Ashkenazic yeshiva in the late Middle Ages. (He had previously earned an MA at the Hebrew University, writing on David Gans.) At that time, he was principal of the…
Marc Shapiro: R. Kook on Sacrifices & Other Assorted Comments
…opposing viewpoint to that of Caspi, see R. Gershon Ashkenazi, Avodat ha-Gershuni, no. 13: צער בעלי חיים לא שייך אלא בבעל חיים כשהוא בחיים חיותו . . . מי שנוחר…
Some Observations Regarding the Mah Nishtannah
Some Observations Regarding the Mah Nishtannah[1] by: Mitchell First 1. It is well-known that the Mishnah in the tenth chapter of Pesachim includes a set of mah nishtannah. But if…
Final Response
…R. Fisher as saying that one need not accept Mosaic authorship. I simply cited his view about R. Judah he-Hasid. I also quoted his opinion that medieval Ashkenazic authorities had…
Moshe Idel — Kabbalistic Manuscripts in the Vatican Library
…Rabbi Moshe Ashkenazi. The vast majority of the arguments in this sharp controversy are unknown from any other manuscript. Thus only the Vatican manuscripts may enable a reconstruction of the…
The Letter of the Maharal on the Creation of the Golem
…of publication of R. Eleazar of Worms commentary on Sefer Yetzirah, see S. Ashkenazi’s note in Tzefunot 1(1989), n. 4, p. 122. 19 נפלאות מהר”ל, ascribed to Maharal’s son-in-law, is…
Gems from Rav Herzog’s Archive (Part 2): Sanhedrin, Dateline, the Rav on Kahane, and More
…of Yibum B’zman Hazeh.[10] The background to the question: an Ashkenazi Yavam and Yevama living in Israel want to marry via Yibum, rather than doing Chalitza. Must the beit din…
Marc B. Shapiro: Obituary for R. Yosef Buxbaum zt”l
…to achieve this rare feat. Rabbi Buxbaum did this by inviting gedolim from all the different camps, and from both the Ashkenazic and Sephardic worlds, to be involved with Machon…
The Fish Motif on Early Hebrew Title-Pages and as Pressmarks
…but one of several tail-pieces. In 1662 Uri Phoebus printed an illustrated Haggadah accompanied by the commentary of R. Joseph Shalit ben Jacob Ashkenazi of Padua entitled Nimukei Yosef. The…
Gems from Rav Herzog’s Archive (Part 1 of 2): Giyus, Professor Lieberman and More
…has been made available to the public. The entire archive of the great Rav Yitzchak Eizik Halevi Herzog, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, has been scanned and is now available…
Purim in Tehran: The Symbolic Devaluation of the Ahrimanic Republic
…Iranians of Azeri background are, more or less, the Iranian equivalent of Israel’s Ashkenazim. But the borders of Iran might change. It is a significant topic, and once stabilization is…
Legacy Judaica Auction March 6th: A Sampling of Forgeries and other Eclectic Lots
…Tzvi Ashkenazi (Hakham Tzvi) (the entire catalog can be accessed here), there are many other interesting books and letters. Conditional marriage has been applied since at least the talmudic period if…
Eruv Tavshilin: A Scribal Error or Deliberate Reformation?
…Ashkenazi and Italian Haggadah and the Haggadot of Joel ben Simon,” 157. The Washington Haggadah was recently republished in a much more affordable format and includes articles by David Stern…
Hebrew printing in Altdorf: A brief Christian-Hebraist Phenomenon
…in an auction catalogue, the entry stating, Kushya belo Zot o Niremberger o Regensburger A composition regarding Talmudic disputation and the ‘chilukim’ method of the Ashkenazim by Leonard Appoltus, supervised…
The Custom of Playing Cards on Channukah
…Further, this custom has continued to be almost universal (amongst Ashkenazim) irrespective of origin. To demonstrate this point, it is worth mentioning a lesser known book, which although lesser known…