"Derashot Shel Maran: A Little Studied Aspect of Maran Ovadiah Yosef's...
In a recent post at the Michtavim blog entitled "Derashot Shel Maran: A Little Studied Aspect of Maran Ovadiah Yosef's Weltanschauung," I discuss a shift within the research and writings of Dr. Kimmy...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mayim Hayyim, the Baal Shem Tov, and R. Meir the son of R. Jacob Emden
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...
View ArticleOfeq Institute and the New (English) Version of the Messilat Yesharim
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...
View ArticleA Response to Dr. Shapiro: A Defense of the Torah Temimah
A Response to Dr. Shaprio: A Defense of the Torah Temimahby: Y. Lander (of the Ishim v'Shitot blog) I read with interest Dr. Shapiro’s recent post questioning the accuracy of R’ Baruch Epstein’s tale...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review of Professor Daniel Sperber's Netivot Pesikah
Review of Professor Daniel Sperber's Netivot Pesikah by Eliezer Brodt Professor Daniel Sperber, Modes of Decision – Methods and Approaches for Proper Halakhic Decision Making, Jerusalem, Reuven Mass,...
View ArticleThe Saga of Publishing the Works of Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Glasner
The Saga of Publishing the Works of Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Glasner:The Issue of Inclusion of Zionism and Rav Kook by David Glasner David Glasner, an economist at the Federal Trade Commission, is a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Hatam Sofer's Retraction of his Approbation to the Pinner Talmud
Of late, translations of the talmud have become a popular topic. [1] In the history of translations, the translation done by Dr. Efraim Pinner, is an important one for multiple reasons. Among other...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bibliography, Why It's Important
In Professor Daniel Sperber's latest book, Netivot Pesikah (Jerusalem, Reuven Mass, 2008), one of the areas he discusses the importance of having an awareness of is bibliography. As Eliezer Brodt...
View ArticleShnayer Leiman - Some Notes on the Pinner Affair
Some Notes on the Pinner Affair by Shnayer Leiman Kudos to Dan Rabinowitz for his informative account of the Pinner affair and, more importantly, for reproducing the original texts of Pinner’s 1834...
View ArticleDavid Glasner -- Responses to Comments and Elaborations
Responses to Comments and ElaborationsDavid GlasnerDavid Glasner, an economist at the Federal Trade Commission, is a great-grandson of Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Glasner, the topic of his recent post, "The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Jordan S. Penkower - Some Notes Regarding the First & Second Rabbinic Bibles
Some Notes Regarding the First & Second Rabbinic Biblesby Jordan S. PenkowerDr. Jordan S. Penkower is an associate professor in the Bible Department at Bar Ilan University, and has written...
View ArticleClik here to view.
mikhtav berakha from Rav Avraham Shapira to Rav Yitzchak Dadon's Atchalta Hee
As mentioned at the Michtavim blog, forty-year-old Rav Yitzchak Dadon, shlita, was the first to shoot at the terrorist following the massacre last week at Yeshivat Mercaz Ha-Rav in Jerusalem. Rav...
View ArticleElliott Horowitz -- "Between Hebron and Jerusalem"
In a previous post at the Seforim blog, Dan Rabinowitz offered his review of Elliott Horowitz (of Bar-Ilan University and co-editor of Jewish Quarterly Review), Reckless Rites: Purim and the Legacy of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Purim and Parodies
Purim and Parodiesby Eliezer BrodtHappiness During the Month of Adar and its DiscontentsMore...(drag mouse)Next TabForwardPage BottomToggle BookmarksClose TabBackPage topThe month of Adar begins a...
View ArticleThe Origins of Hamentashen in Jewish Literature (Revisited)
The Origins of Hamentashen in Jewish Literature: A Historical-Culinary Survey Revisited*By Eliezer BrodtI. Introduction As Jews, most of our holidays have special foods specific to them; and behind...
View ArticleNew Auction Catalog
Kestenbaum & Co.'s latest auction catalog for its auction on April 3, 2008, is available online. The auction includes a collection of important bibliography catalogs including, Koheleth David, the...
View ArticleNancy Sinkoff -- Benjamin Franklin and the Virtues of Mussar
In response to the recent article by Jay Michaelson in The Forward reviewing two recent works of Mussar - the "New Kabbalah" - Rutgers University professor Nancy Sinkoff has written a letter to The...
View ArticleThe "Holy Woman" in Jewish Literature
Any discussion regarding prostitution in Jewish literature starts with the various mentions in Tanach. Obviously, some are clearer than others, compare the case of Rachav with that of Tamar. But we...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Conspiracy Theory To Explain A Racy Title Page
We have discussed on multiple occasions the use of illustration of nudes to adorn the title pages of Hebrew books. It appears, again as we have seen before, that even though the appearance of such...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pini Dunner -- Unknown Picture of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, c.1930s
Pini Dunner B.A (Hons), formerly rabbi of London's Saatchi Synagogue, is an avid collector of polemical and controversial Hebraica, with a very large, diverse private collection of such material. Many...
View Article