The Internet is only the latest, and probably not the last, of many information upheavals due to technology. An important change began over 500 years ago with the invention of the printing press.
Expert collector Rabbi Eliezer Katzman, a consultant and appraiser of Judaica and Hebrew books for Kestenbaum & Company, has also worked for Sotheby’s, Christie’s and other auction houses. Rabbi Katzman, who lives in Brooklyn, New York, has appraised the collections in the Rare Book Room of the Mendel Gottesman Library of Hebraica/Judaica at Yeshiva University, […]
Yeshivat Har Etzion has earned a well-deserved reputation for breaking new ground in Torah commentary. Its new Torah MiEtzion series, recently completed with the publication of a volume on Bamidbar, firmly establishes this reputation but also lays bare a not-insignificant shortcoming.
Misconception: After childbirth, a woman’s husband should bentch Gomel on her behalf. Fact: According to most authorities, a woman after childbirth should personally recite Birkat HaGomel. Background: Birkat HaGomel is a blessing recited to thank God for His salvation after one safely emerges from a dangerous situation, of which one of the four prototypical examples […]
By Dovid Cohen “Shkiah” is the Talmudic term used to describe sunset. There is much controversy surrounding the definition of this period of time, and much ink has been spilled explaining the various debates, nuances and opinions. One of the works surrounding this topic, the Mnach Yoma, was authored by Rabbi Emmanuel Gettinger, my predecessor […]
Bdolach was a small settlement with only thirty-four families. Most of the men were farmers and the women were educators. My father
By Eli Genauer It all began with one book. A Gemara actually—a 1735 edition of Tractate Moed Katan, a gift from my beloved father-in-law, Dr. Eric Offenbacher. Ultimately, this Gemara led to my developing a passion for collecting antique sefarim, a hobby I have been very involved in for the past decade. What is it […]
Covenant & Conversation: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible— Leviticus: The Book of Holiness By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks OU Press and Maggid Books Rabbi Jonathan Sacks has become renowned as one of the foremost expositors of Judaism, and of religion as a whole, in society today. Covenant & Conversation: Leviticus reminds us why this […]
Rabbi Hershel Schachter is a rosh kollel in the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University’s Marcos and Adina Katz Kollel, holds the institution’s Nathan and Vivian Fink Distinguished Professorial Chair in Talmud, and is a senior halachic consultant of OU Kosher. Jewish Action: Can one still follow the piskei halachah of a fallen […]
Like many contemporary Jews, I approach Tishah B’Av with difficulty. Not because of the myriad restrictions in the Three Weeks, the mourning period that precedes the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, but because of the holiday’s spiritual significance, which can seem far removed from our contemporary lives. I do Tishah B’Av every year. I […]