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Tag: Bibliographical Oddities

Leket Yosher – A Closer Appraisal in Light of a Recent Controversy

Leket Yosher – A Closer Appraisal in Light of a Recent Controversy

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In a recent discussion in the journal Or Yisrael concerning the permissibility of using ArtScroll gemaras — for PDFs of the articles, see here — one source deserves closer scrutiny. In particular, some authorities who are against the use of ArtScroll gemaras cite to a passage in the Leket Yosher in support of their opinion. Thus, an examination of the Leket Yosher is appropriate. The Leket Yosher was compiled by R. Yosef ben Moshe (1423-c.1490), a student of R. Israel…

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Marc B. Shapiro – Forgery and the Halakhic Process, part 3

Marc B. Shapiro – Forgery and the Halakhic Process, part 3

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I thought that I had exhausted all I had to say about Rabbi Zvi Benjamin Auerbach’s edition of the Eshkol — see my first two posts at the Seforim blog, here and here [and elaborations] — but thanks to some helpful comments from readers, there is some more material that should be brought to the public’s attention. Even before looking at this, let me express my gratitude to Dan Rabinowitz who sent me this picture of a youthful Auerbach. In…

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Prof. Elliott Horowitz — Edmund Wilson, Hebrew, Christmas, and the Talmud

Prof. Elliott Horowitz — Edmund Wilson, Hebrew, Christmas, and the Talmud

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of Bar Ilan University and co-editor of Jewish Quarterly Review, responded to a discussion of Bugs Bunny’s purported Jewish identity. This is his second contribution to the Seforim blog. We hope that you enjoy. Edmund Wilson, Hebrew, Christmas, and the Talmud by Elliott Horowitz As is well known, during the 1950’s Edmund Wilson, the great (and perhaps greatest) American man of letters, began studying Hebrew, both in order to read the Hebrew Bible on his own, and in order to…

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Mitzvat Ner Ish uBeto: When A Revised Edition is Not Revised:

Mitzvat Ner Ish uBeto: When A Revised Edition is Not Revised:

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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 post on Chanukah see here, here, and here. על ספרו של הרב אליהו שלזינגר: מצות נר איש וביתו, חנוכה בהלכה ובאגדה מאת: עקביא שמש אחד המאפיינים את הספרות הרבנית ההלכתית בדורנו הוא חיבור ספרים סביב נושא הלכתי אחד. העובדה שהמחבר מרכז את כל הידוע לו סביב אותו נושא, הופכת את…

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Marc B. Shapiro – Responses to Comments and Elaborations on Previous Posts

Marc B. Shapiro – Responses to Comments and Elaborations on Previous Posts

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holds the Weinberg Chair in Judaic Studies, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Scranton. He is a frequent contributor to the Seforim blog and his most recent posts are “Forgery and the Halakhic Process” and “Forgery and the Halakhic Process, part 2.” The post below was written as part of “Forgery and the Halakhic Process, part 2,” which the baale ha-blog have split up for the convenience of the readers of the Seforim blog. As such, the footnotes…

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Marc B. Shapiro – Forgery and the Halakhic Process, part 2

Marc B. Shapiro – Forgery and the Halakhic Process, part 2

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holds the Weinberg Chair in Judaic Studies, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Scranton. He is the author of Between the Yeshiva World and Modern Orthodoxy: The Life and Works of Rabbi Jehiel Jacob Weinberg, 1884-1966 (London: Littman Library, 1999), The Limits of Orthodox Theology: Maimonides’ Thirteen Principles Reappraised (London: Littman Library, 2003) and Saul Lieberman and the Orthodox (University of Scranton Press, 2006). Prof. Shapiro is a frequent contributor to the Seforim blog and his recent posts…

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Towards A Reappraisal of the Recent Works of Rabbi Shelomoh Luriah (Maharshal)

Towards A Reappraisal of the Recent Works of Rabbi Shelomoh Luriah (Maharshal)

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As previously mentioned on the Seforim blog by myself and others, our generation is privileged to something no previous generation has seen, a sheer volume of Jewish books being printed and reprinted. Many of these works are seeing print for the first time – works of Rishonim and Achronim on all sorts of topics brought to the public eye from manuscript form. Some of these printings are beautiful editions, critically edited, and even glossed with illuminating marginal annotations. Other times…

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Who Wrote the Mekore Minhagim?(Part II)

Who Wrote the Mekore Minhagim?(Part II)

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This is a continuation of this prior post, in order to fully understand the following it may pay to reread the older post here. Previously, I had attempted to reconstruct when Finkelstein had published his seforim and thus deduce that Finkelstein copied the Mekore Minahgim. Now, through internal evidence I can further bolster that theory and, perhaps, explain exactly what happened. Additionally, I hope to demonstrate that although Finkelstein copied, he was unaware the work Mekore Minhagim had ever been…

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The Pitfalls of Disagreeing with the Gra

The Pitfalls of Disagreeing with the Gra

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Sunday, the second day of Hol HaMo’ad, was the 210th yahrzeit of the Gra. The Gra, a towering figure in modern Judaism, was not immune from criticism. His views, like any other’s were subject to scrutiny. And, at times, there were those who disagreed with the Gra’s conclusions. While this criticism should come as no surprise (and especially so in light of the Gra’s dim view of deference to prior authorities), some felt the Gra should be immune from any…

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Shaving on Chol HaMo’ad the Never-ending Controversy

Shaving on Chol HaMo’ad the Never-ending Controversy

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While we are generally aware that denominations other than Orthodox changes and adapt to the times, in reality Orthodoxy has also made significant changes. Of course, these changes are all within the parameters of Halakah, but they are in part concession to the times. By way of example, the Mishha and in turn the Gemera record various practices when a person is an אבל (mourner). One such practice is עטיפת הראש winding or wrapping of the head. Tosefot, however, note…

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Teffilah Zakah: History of a Controversial Prayer

Teffilah Zakah: History of a Controversial Prayer

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Teffilah Zakah: History of a Controversial Prayer* Yom Kippur has many unique prayers, many of them have been added through the centuries. For instance, R. Hayyim Yosef Dovid Azulai (Hida) has a longer viduy. Another such addition is the prayer known as Teffilah Zakah. In this prayer the person enumerates and connects their various sins with various acts and asks for forgiveness. Additionally, the person forgives any who have caused them pain or harmed them. This prayer was popularized by…

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Azariah de Rossi on Chad Gadya

Azariah de Rossi on Chad Gadya

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As a somewhat belated followup to an earlier discussion at my AJHistory blog (z”l), I would like to add the following to the list of interesting-academic-footnotes:There is something reminiscent of Jorge Luis Borges in the seemingly infinite series of translations represented in [Azariah] de Rossi’s Hebrew translations of the Latin translation of the Greek account of the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, made only more dizzying by Joanna Weinberg’s English translation of de Rossi’s Hebrew translation of the Latin…

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Charles H. Manekin — Moritz Steinschneider’s Indecent Burial

Charles H. Manekin — Moritz Steinschneider’s Indecent Burial

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University of Maryland, College Park / Bar Ilan University Over a century has passed since the death of Moritz Steinschneider, the great orientalist, bibliographer, and historian of Jewish literature and culture. When Steinschneider died in 1907 at the age of 91, he was recognized by many as the greatest Jewish scholar of the previous century. His scholarly output numbered over fourteen hundred publications, ranging from short notices to books of over a thousand pages, a number that does not take…

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The Unintended Perils of Plagiarizing

The Unintended Perils of Plagiarizing

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While we have previously discussed several instances of plagiarism, I wanted to discuss one more which is interesting in its irony. Originally printed in Vienna, in 1820, Hut HaMeshulash b’Sha’arim, was reprinted in 1998. This sefer is actually three-seforim-in-one arranged based on the order of the parshiyot. The three are from a grandfather, father and son. They are, respectively, Sha’ar Asher by R. Asher Lemel HaLevi, chief rabbi of Eisenstadt; Sha’ar HaMayim by his son-in-law, R. Jehiel Mihel, also the…

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Two Notes on Censorship and Plagiarism on the Ramban’s Commentary on the Torah

Two Notes on Censorship and Plagiarism on the Ramban’s Commentary on the Torah

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There are a significant number of seforim that are considered “classic” commentaries on the Torah, including, for example, Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Radak, Ralbag and Ramban, et.al. In this post, we shall discuss the Ramban’s commentary on the Torah, as it is also on important work in the history of Hebrew printing. The first edition, published between 1469-72, in Rome, was the first book published in that city (and the only one of the early works that positively identifies Rome as…

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