Mossad HaRav Kook Sale 2016
By Eliezer Brodt
For over thirty years, starting on Isru Chag of Pesach, Mossad HaRav Kook publishing house has made a big sale on all of their publications, dropping prices considerably (some books are marked as low as 65% off). In recent years their practice has been to publish several new titles in the few weeks prior to the sale; during the rest of the year not as many titles are printed. They also reprint some of their older out of print titles. Some years important works are printed; others not as much. This year they have printed many valuable works, as they did last year. (See herefor a review of some of last year's titles.)
If you're interested in a PDF of their complete catalog email me at eliezerbrodt@gmail.com
As in previous years, I am offering a service, for a small fee, to help one purchase seforim from this sale.–The sale's last day is Sunday. For more information about this, email me at Eliezerbrodt-at-gmail.com. Part of the proceeds will be going to support the efforts of the Seforim Blog.
What follows is a list and brief description of some of their newest titles.
1. ר'אברהם אבן עזרא, ספר צחות, מהדיר: ר'מרדכי גודמן, עניני דקדוק בלשון הקדוש ופירוש פסוקים קשים לפי פשוטם ודקדוקם, רצח עמודים
2. ר'אברהם אבן עזרא, ספר מאזנים, מהדיר: ר'מרדכי גודמן, עניני דקדוק בלשון הקדוש ופירוש פסוקים קשים לפי פשוטם ודקדוקם, רי עמודים
These two volumes are critical editions of the Ibn Ezra works Sefer Tzachusand SeferMoznayim, based on manuscripts and include numerous useful notes and indexes.
3. ר'יוסף חיון, פירוש לתהלים מכ"י, תרסה עמודים
This work printed once before in 1522. This edition is based on manuscripts. The Pirush is by one of the talmidim of R' Yitzchack Kanpanton and is more Peshat oriented. It includes an introduction and notes.
4. ר'משה איסרליש הרמ"א, תורת חטאת,על פי כ"י ודפוס ראשון עם הערות, תמח עמודים
This is a new edition of the Rama classic work Toras Chatas based upon an hitherto unused manuscript. In the introduction the editor explains various reasons for the significance of printing this edition, based on this new manuscript.
5. חשבון הנפש, מהדורה מתוקנת עם הוספות רבות, 24+ קעה עמודים
This is yet another edition of the famous classic Musar book which has "ties" to Benjamin Franklin (a subject I will hopefully return to). This volume begins with a very good introduction and includes many useful notes throughout the work. It also includes some new pieces from the author's other manuscripts.
6.ר'אהרן מרקוס, קסת הסופר, פירוש על בראשית- לך לך, כולל מפתחות, תנג עמודים
This is a retyped version of R' Aron Marcus's work on Chumash. The rest of the work is lost. Some are fans of his, others not (see my Likutei Eliezer, p. 63), but it is definitely an interesting read. This new edition includes an index.
7. ר'אברהם לנדא, צלותא דאברהם, תתקפז עמודים
It's special news for many that this classic has been reprinted, as it has been sought after by many for years since it was last in print. This work is one of the best collections out there on Tefilah. It systematically deals with the sources for the weekday siddur, based on a wide range of classic sources. It also deals with the Nuschaos of Tefilah. This edition includes corrections and additions to the previous versions.
8. אוסף כתביו של דב זלוטניק, ב'חלקים, 287+389 עמודים
This is a collection of all of the late Professor Dov Zlotnick's writings, in Hebrew and English. Included are several articles about his teacher Professor Saul Leiberman as well as a collection of various articles containing material from the notes of his great teacher's personal copies of seforim which Prof. Zlotnick had published. In addition, this collection includes his book Pillar of Iron: the Mishna which has been out of print for some time along his introduction to his edition of the Tractate of Mourning for Yale Press (with some notes of his on the side).
9. ר'ראובן רז, הרב קוק בין חסידים למתנגדים, מפגש של שלושה עולמות ויחסם לציונות, 200 עמודים
Looking at the title of the book and its table of contents it appears to have interesting material related to topics such as R' Kook and Chasidim, the Gra, R' Chaim Volozhiner, Ger Chasidus and more. Admittedly, I have not yet had a chance to get deeper into the book.
10.ר'נריה גוטל, שלמי שמחה, עיוני מועדים וזמנים, 629 עמודים
This work from R' Gutel is a collection of his articles printed in numerous journals spanning a wide range of topics. Many (including myself) are great fans of his, especially from his classic work Histanut Hatvi'im B'Halacha.
Here is a very accurate description of the work as it appears on the back:
יש שימצא בה בקעה למדנית ויש שימצא בה ניתוח מחקרי, יש שיעדיף היבט הלכתי מעשי, ויש שיבכר דווקא זווית הגותית אגדית פעמים שהמאמר בה בארוכה ופעמים שהוא בא דווקא בקצרה וכן הלאה על דרך זה. לאחר פרסומם הראשון עלו חלק מן המאמרים על שלחנם של גדולי ישראל, וזכו להארות הערות והתייחסויות מצדם התגובות שבכתב הובאו בספר זה, והן מתפרסמות בו לראשונה יחד עם המאמרים שפורסמו זה מכבר. בנוסף צורפו לספר זה מספר מאמרים שטרם ראו אור.
Here is a scan of the table of contents to give one some sense of the wide range of subjects:
11. ר'איתם הנקין הי"ד, אש תמיד, חידושים וביאורי דינים על סדר שלחן ערוך ומשנה ברורה, 369 עמודים
It's only been a few months since the terrible tragedy of the murder of R' Eitam Henkin and his wife. R' Eitam was a special and unique person combining many talents all in one. He was a great talmid chacham, Historian and talented writer all "wrapped up" in one package. This work was something he had completed before his murder and which he was very proud of. It received many impressive Haskomos which in my opinion (for whatever it's worth) are not exaggerated at all. He had the unique ability to write clearly and concisely – penetrating to the heart of the issue. This is a very valuable contribution to the world of Halacha specifically Hilchos Shabbos. Sample pages are available upon request.
