Regarding Haftarah on Simchat Torah and the daily obligation to recite 100...
Regarding Haftarah on Simchat Torah and the daily obligation to recite 100 blessingsChaim SunitskyIt is well known that Simchat Torah is not mentioned anywhere in the two Talmuds or Midrashim[1]. In...
View ArticleStrife Between Men
Strife between MenBy Rabbi Shnayor BurtonThis is an excerpt from his forthcoming book [אורות יעקב[דרושים נבחרים על חיי האבות, Oros Yaakov [selected essays on the forefathers]. This essay, entitled ריב...
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Blood Accusation in Ragusa (Today Dubrovnik, Croatia) 1622 – A...
Blood Accusation in Ragusa (Today Dubrovnik, Croatia) 1622 – A bibliographical mistake Dan Yardeni, an engineer by profession (Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 1963), is entrepreneur...
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Altering of Rabbinic Texts?, Shlomo Rechnitz and the Eighth Principle of...
Altering of Rabbinic Texts?, Shlomo Rechnitz and the Eighth Principle of Faith, R. Yair Hayyim Bacharach, the Ridbaz and “Chemistry,” and R. Yitzhak BardaMarc B. Shapiro1. People continue to send me...
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A Note on R. Bezalel Alexandrov’s משכן בצלאל and its Prenumeranten
A Note on R. Bezalel Alexandrov’s משכן בצלאל and its PrenumerantenBy Shnayer Z. Leiman Not much appears to be known about R. Bezalel Alexandrov (circa 1850-1930). Born in Grodno, he would...
View ArticleA Note on the הסכמות of the חפץ חיים
A Note on theהסכמות of the חפץ חייםBy Shnayer LeimanAll the comments to the previous posting (“A Note on R. Bezalel Alexandrov’s משכן בצלאל and its Prenumeranten”) are deeply appreciated. It’s what...
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R. Hershel Schachter, Gedolim, Rachel Morpurgo, and More
R. Hershel Schachter, Gedolim, Rachel Morpurgo, and MoreBy Marc B. Shapiro1. In listening to a recent shiur[1] on Daas Torah by R. Hershel Schachter, I found a number of noteworthy comments. In this...
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חז"ס ופולמוס חנוכה
חז"ס ופולמוס חנוכה'מאי חנוכה'מאת זרחיה ליכטתמונה מהחכם חיים זליג סלונימסקיחיים זליג סלונימסקי (1810-1904), המכונה חז"ס, היה אחד מגדולי המשכילים במאה ה-19. חכם גדול בתורה ובמדע שפעל הרבה להפיץ השכלה...
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Some New Seforim, Books, R' Eleazar Fleckeles, R' Naftali Herz Weisel,...
Some New Seforim, Books, R' Eleazar Fleckeles, R' Naftali Herz Weisel, Frankism and (of course) Censorship*By Eliezer BrodtIt's been awhile since I posted a list of new seforim. I hope to post an...
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Kaddish – His Will
Kaddish – His WillLeor JacobiNote: I wrote the following essay outline several years ago, but shelved it upon discovering that most of its novelty and much more had already been published by David de...
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The Rabbi, the Rebbe, and the Messiah
The Rabbi, the Rebbe, and the MessiahBy Brian SchwartzIf someone were to ask you of an instance where a rabbi was declared the messiah by his followers, the first example that would probably come to...
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Dean of Historians of Jewish Philosophy: Necrology for Professor Arthur Hyman...
Dean of Historians of Jewish Philosophy:Necrology for Professor Arthur Hyman (1921-2017).By Warren Zev HarveyWarren Zev Harvey is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Jewish Thought at the Hebrew...
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מי כעמך כישראל
מי כעמך כישראל איסר זלמן ווייסברג, לייקוואודמסופר[1]שבליל א'דר"ח חשון תשל"ט הי'הצייר החבד"י ר'ברוך נחשון שיחי'מקרית ארבע ביחידות אצל הרבי מליובאוויטש זצוק"ל ושאל אם יכול...
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New book announcement; He-Gedolim
New book announcement; He-GedolimBy Eliezer Brodtהגדולים: אישים שעיצבו את פני היהדות החרדית בישראל, בעריכת בנימין בראון, נסים ליאון, קובץ מאמרים לכבוד פרופ'מנחם פרידמן ובהשראתו, מגנס מכון ון ליר, 958...
View ArticleParshat Tetzaveh. Greek letter Chi and Tav in Paleo-Hebrew
Parshat Tetzaveh. Greek letter Chi and Tav in Paleo-HebrewBy Chaim SunitskyRashi[1] on Parshat Tetzave writes that the priests were anointed with oil, poured in the shape of the Greek letter כי.[2] One...
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Churches, Ronald McDonald, and More
Churches, Ronald McDonald, and MoreMarc B. Shapiro1. In a recent post I mentioned R. Leon Modena, so let me note the following. In my article on entering churches,[1] available here, I mention that R....
View ArticleDr. Shlomo Sprecher ז"ל: In Memoriam
Dr. Shlomo Sprecher ז"ל: In Memoriamאין חכמת האדם מגעת אלא עד מקום שספריו מגיעין,ולכן ימכור אדם כל מה שיש לו ויקנה ספרים, כי דרךמשל מי שאין לו ספרי התלמוד אי איפשר לו להיותבקי בו, וכמו כן מי שאין לו...
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Book announcement: New edition of Avudraham and other works, R. Greensweig, etc.
Book announcement New edition of Avudraham and other worksBy Eliezer Brodtאבודרהם, עם הגהות וביאורים תהלה לדוד, א, ירושלים תשס"א, שכא עמודיםאבודרהם, א, ירושלים תשע"ה, נערך מחדש על פי דפוס ראשון מוגה...
View ArticleAfikoman - “Stealing“ and Other Related Minhagim
Afikoman - “Stealing“ and Other Related Minhagim*By Eliezer BrodtOne of the most exciting parts of Seder night for kids is the “stealing” of the afikoman. Children plan well in advance when the best...
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The Hanukkah Miracle
The Hanukkah MiracleMarc B. ShapiroIn an earlier post I mentioned that I hoped to write about the nineteenth-century dispute about the historicity of the Hanukkah miracle of the oil. This dispute broke...
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