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Ofeq Institute and the New (English) Version of the Messilat Yesharim

Ofeq Institute and the New (English) Version of the Messilat Yesharim

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Ofeq Institute and the New (English) Version of the Messilat Yesharimby Eliezer Brodt The Messilat Yesharim, by R. Moshe Chaim Luzzato (Ramchal), is one of the foundational works of mussar. [1] The Gra, among others, praise the Messilat Yesharim.[2] As such, any addition to its oeuvre is important in its own right. The Ofeq Institute* has recently published an English translation of an alternative version of the Messilat Yesharim. This version is fundamentally different than the standard edition of Messilat…

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Mayim Hayyim, the Baal Shem Tov, and R. Meir the son of R. Jacob Emden

Mayim Hayyim, the Baal Shem Tov, and R. Meir the son of R. Jacob Emden

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Sources contemporary to the Baal Shem Tov that attest to his deeds, or that even discuss him at all, are sparse. Although some secular sources, including tax records and other documents, have recently been unearthed by academic researchers, there is a paucity of Jewish texts. Most of the “historical” record regarding the Baal Shem Tov comes from a collection of stories, Shivhei Ha-Besht.[1] That work, however, was collected much later and is less reliable than others when assessing the Baal…

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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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Baruch Oberlander — A Note on the New Edition of the Or Zarua

Baruch Oberlander — A Note on the New Edition of the Or Zarua

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Rabbi Baruch Oberlander is the rabbi in Budapest, Hungary, since 1989, and is the editor of Tel Talpiot. He has published many articles in the journal Ohr Yisroel and is the world’s leading expert on the forged Yerushalmi Kodashim. This is his first contribution to the Seforim blog. משהו אודות עריכת הספר “אור זרוע” מהדורה החדשה מאת הרב ברוך אבערלאנדעראב”ד בבודאפשט, הונגריה התעלמות ממהדורה קודמת של פירוש רבינו שמואל מפלייזא על פיוט שבת הגדול בימים אלו רכשתי לעצמי כרך מפואר…

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A Comprehensive (or close to it) List of New Seforim

A Comprehensive (or close to it) List of New Seforim

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A Comprehensive (or close to it) List of New Seforim by Eliezer Brodt In a recent Mishpacha article [November 28, 2007, ‘Seforim Supplement’, p. 48] they quote Shlomo Biegeleisen, of Biegeleisen Books, as saying that “they receive sixty new seforim every single week!” The seforim market has exploded in the past few years and continues to grow daily. While it is impossible to keep up with everything that comes out we hope to keep the readers updated from time to…

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Review of R. Yosef Engel’s Tiferes Yosef

Review of R. Yosef Engel’s Tiferes Yosef

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Review of Tiferes Yosefby Eliezer Brodt Tiferes Yosef, Sefer Shemos, R. Yosef Engel, ed. Friedman, Mochon Ohavei Torah, Monsey, NY, 595 pages, 2007. [845. 426.6152]About four years ago I noticed in the seforim store a sefer called תפראת יוסף. It caught my attention immediately because it said מאוצרות הגאון ר’ יוסף ענגיל זצ”ל and I am a big חסיד of R. Engel as I am sure many are. I purchased the sefer after looking at it for a few minutes…

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