A Survey of Contemporary Electronic Resources: Two Hard Drives of Hebraica
Aside from purchasing a hard copy of a book, there are currently many other methods are available in obtaining seforim. The easiest and cheapest is the Shapell Family Digitization Project of the...
View ArticleWho Wrote the Mekore Minhagim?
As I have previously discussed, there is a well known work on the sources and rationale for various customs titled Mekore Minhagim. Indeed, there are two works with that very same title – by two...
View ArticleA Look at Makhon Moreshet Ashkenaz's New Journal: Yerushateinu
A Look at Makhon Moreshet Ashkenaz’s New Journal: YerushateinuBy Eliezer BrodtThere is a new journal published by מכון מורשת אשכנז titled ירושתנו. This מכון is well known for producing some excellent...
View ArticleSimchat ha-Nefesh: An Important But Often Ignored Work on German Jewish Customs
Simchat ha-Nefesh:An Important But Often Ignored Work on German Jewish CustomsBy Eliezer BrodtWhile doing research for a forthcoming article on the topic of saying דרשות at wedding celebrations, I...
View ArticleYigdal: A Case Study in Modern Customology
Yigdal: A Case Study in Modern Customologyby Dan RabinowitzAnother blog recently raised the question was raised about the origin of saying Yigdal at the end of services on Friday night. Specifically,...
View ArticleReview: ספר קושיות (Rabbi Yaakov Stal)
Review: ספר קושיות (Rabbi Yaakov Stal)By Rabbi Eliezer Brodt Recently a new sefer hit the stores called ספר קושיות. The publisher, Rabbi Yaakov Stal, is well known, having already established his name...
View ArticleThe Perils of Ignoring Precedent: Alterations in the Kaddish Prayer
The Perils of Ignoring Precedent:Alterations in the Kaddish Prayerby Dan RabinowitzRecently there has been a renewal in interest in the structure and make up of the liturgy or siddur. While there have...
View ArticleTwo New Books - Two Further Examples of Censorship
Once again we have two new incidents of censorship in the Hebrew book world.R. Eliezer Waldenberg, who recently passed away, is well-known for his teshuvot "Tzitz Eliezer," and also authored another...
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R. Eliezer Waldenberg's Hilkhot HaMedinah
In light of the previous post regarding the Hilkhot HaMedinah, I have been able to obtain further information of the ban. The BaDaTz issued an Issur (reproduced below) noting that Hilkhot HaMedinah...
View ArticleUncensored Books (Dr. Marc B. Shapiro)
Uncensored BooksMarc B. ShapiroDan Rabinowitz has provided many examples of censorship in seforim (examples which I look forward to using – with acknowledgment of course – in my own forthcoming book...
View ArticleReview: Jay Berkovitz's"Rites and Passages: The Making of Jewish Culture in...
Merkaz Zalman Shazar has published Jay Berkovitz's book מסורת ומהפיכה-תרבות יהודית בצרפת בראשית העת החדשה discussing French Jewry and specifically the changes and challenges of modernity. This book is...
View ArticleMarc B. Shapiro: "Mi-Yosef ad Yosef Lo Kam ke-Yosef"
Seforim blog contributor Dr. Marc B. Shapiro, professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Scranton, has just published a review essay ("Mi-Yosef ad Yosef Lo Kam ke-Yosef") in English of the...
View ArticleGoldschmidt Machzorim On Sale
Magnes Press is having a sale on the Goldschmidt Yom Tov Machzorim (edited by Yonah Frankel). The sale price is $43 for all three - Pesach, Shavout, and Sukkot. They can be purchased here.
View ArticleLibrary of Siddur (Prayer) For Sale
A library of approximately 1,700 books all either prayer books themselves or books about prayer are for sale. These include סדורים ,קינות ,תיקון ליל שבעות as well as some manuscripts. The date range...
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Hillel Noach Magid Steinschneider's Ir Vilna
Hillel Noach Magid Steinschneider's Ir Vilnaby Dan RabinowitzVilna being one of the most important cities in Jewish history has a fair amount written about it. One of the classic works discussing the...
View ArticleShnayer Z. Leiman: Did a Disciple of the Maharal Create a Golem?
What follows is a short essay by Prof. Shnayer Z. Leiman, whose article on this topic, "The Adventure of the Maharal of Prague in London: R. Yudl Rosenberg and the Golem of Prague," appeared in...
View Article"Research Refutes Thesis of Unified Diaspora in Ancient Jewry"
Hagahot notes the appearance of a new study by two Tel Aviv University scholars, Arye Edrei and Doron Mendels, "A Split Jewish Diaspora: Its Dramatic Consequences," Journal for the Study of the...
View ArticleEliezer Brodt: A Censored Work by a Student of R. Hayyim of Volozhin: The...
A Censored Work by a Student of R. Hayyim of Volozhin:The Case of Menuchah u-KedushahBy Eliezer BrodtA few years ago (c2000) a fascinating sefer was reprinted called Menuchah u-Kedushah. The sefer was...
View ArticlePhotocopying JNUL Manuscripts
ManuscriptBoy has an interesting post on photocopying manuscripts from the Institute of Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts at the Jewish National and University Library, Hebrew University of Jerusalem...
View ArticleAdam Mintz -- Rabbi Yosef Eliyahu Henkin: A Forgotten American Posek
Rabbi Adam Mintz is a visiting professor of Jewish History at Queens College and the immediate past president of the New York Board of Rabbis. He lectures widely on a variety of topics in Jewish...
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