Blog Posts by Dan Rabinowitz
Seforim blog, 2009
https://seforimblog.com/2009/05/non-jewish-iconography-in-hebrew-books/
Seforim blog, 2008
https://seforimblog.com/2008/03/we-have-discussed-on-multiple-occasions/
Seforim blog, 2007
I have previously attempted to highlight some of the intricacies and history of illustration in h... more I have previously attempted to highlight some of the intricacies and history of illustration in haggadahs. While many of the illustrations which appear in the haggadah are directly related to the text of the haggadah, some also pre-date the haggadah and seder service. That is, although searching for hametz (leaven) happens the night prior to the seder service many times an illustration of cleaning out the hametz and, in turn, searching for it, appears in many haggadahs. Another such illustration is that of the matzo making. There are five basic steps in this process, mixing the flour and water, kneading the dough, rolling out the dough, putting little holes in the dough, and then actually baking it. In the Mantau, 1560 haggadah, an illustration presenting all these steps appears. As you can see, to the far left the process begins with the mixing of the flour and water. This continues through the far right, where the matzo is being put (taken out?) of the oven. An interesting facet of this illustration is the combination of the sexes. That is, both men and women are involved in this process. If one looks closely, (you can click on any of the pages below for a larger image) at the baking stage, a man and a woman are actually jointly operating the oven. Mantua, 1560 This mixing of the sexes was actually highlighted in the next edition which used this illustrations. In the Mantau, 1568 haggadah the same illustration appears. In this edition, however, there is one addition which does not appear in the original. On top of the illustration appears a legend. It says, " " "this is an illustration of the men making holes [in the matzo] and the women rolling the dough, the old with the young, both the bachelors and the virgins [unmarried women]" Mantua, 1568 The editors of this edition felt that the inclusion of the sexes in this mitzvah, was a fulfillment of the verse from Psalms 148:12 "the old with the young, both the bachelors and the virgins." Thus, the combination of a man and a woman at the oven may actually be by design to further highlight this point. It is worthwhile to note that in the Venice, 1609 haggadah, although the same basic illustration appears (the clothing worn is updated) there is no longer a woman at the oven. It is unclear whether this was intentional or not.
https://seforimblog.com/2007/03/haggadah-and-mingling-of-sexes/
Seforimblog, 2006
The Prague haggadah is filled with fascinating and important illustrations. As we have seen previ... more The Prague haggadah is filled with fascinating and important illustrations. As we have seen previously, the Prague haggadah contained nudes, which when appropriated later were removed. This included in the haggadah context as well as in other works. Aside from these illustrations, there is an illustration of Abraham when God takes him "from the other side of the river." In the Prague haggadah we have Abraham in a row boat. However, when this was appropriated in the Mantau, 1560 haggadah, the row boat was changed into a gondola. Also, this haggadah contains brief comments or instructions as well as the text of the haggadah. There are two which bear mention. The first is the passage underneath the Tam-simple-son. Typically, the simple son is understood to be less than stellar. However, in this haggadah, the verse ' (One should be simple with God) (Devarim 18:13). As this verse is claiming this simplemindedness is a good attribute, this seems to indicate that the simplemindedness of the son is something positive. The second passage comes in the form of an instruction. In the margin at the mention of marror the bitter herb, is the following "It is a universal custom to point at one's wife [at the mention of marror] as the verse says 'I have found the woman worse [more bitter] than death. (Kohelet 7:26)'"
Seforim Blog, 2005
The book, Making of a Godol, contains passages regarding certain rabbis that some have deemed off... more The book, Making of a Godol, contains passages regarding certain rabbis that some have deemed offensive. In an effort to appease that camp, the author has published a revised edition. This article identifies some of the revisions.
Seforim Blog, 2005
has republished the first volume of his book, "Making of a Godol." This new edition is labeled "I... more has republished the first volume of his book, "Making of a Godol." This new edition is labeled "Improved Edition." The reasons for the improvements are well-known. The original edition was placed under a ban due to perceived slights in the honor of certain Gedolim. In this new edition, there is a helpful index which shows what exactly has been improved upon. According to the index only one story has been removed in it's entirety. That story, in which R. A. Kotler responded to an interruption during his shiur from a "red-bearded scholar." R. Kotler responded by saying "Red Heifer, be still!" This was removed due to the source of the story. Apparently, the source for this particular story did not support R. Kamenetsky when R. Kamenetsky questioned the validity of the ban, and thus R. Kamenetsky did not want to include this persons comments. According to the index there are no more omissions in this new edition. Instead, there are numerous elaborations, corrections, and a significant amount of new information. R. Kamenetsky states in one of the first "elaborations" that "the unexpected ban issued on the original, unimproved, version" helped the current edition be of value for all time. unfortunately, this improved edition still suffers from a serious lack of editorial oversight. Although, the book has been altered to conform and appease those that issued a ban, it was not altered to make it more reader friendly. The improved edition still utilizes the same format of text followed by excursuses with numerous footnotes and tangents. It still requires, as R. Kamenetsky points out, a pencil and paper to be able to be able to flip back and forth through the book and keep track of what page one is on. There is one important addition to the book, while not solving all the difficulties, at least alleviates some of them. R. Kamenetsky included a timeline line which tracks both significant events in world history with a parallel timeline that tracks significant Jewish events. When the Jewish events appear in the book, R. Kamenetsky included a footnote to alert the reader which page they can be found on. This allows, if one so desires, to read the book in a chronological order. Although, the original book was only $40 (when it was published, subsequent to the ban the book was selling and continues to sell for outrageous prices) this improved version is $125. I assume that the steep raise in price was to allow for R. Kamenetsky to recoup some of his losses he suffered from the first edition. There were only 1,000 copies of the first edition published, however, R. Kamenetsky stopped selling and ordered his distributor to stop distributing them once the ban was pronounced. While it is impossible to know with certainty, this probably left him with numerous unsold copies thus causing significant loss. R. Kamenetsky implemented this policy even though he stood to profit immensely from the ban, he has said he felt bound by the ban even if he felt it was unjust.
Seforim Blog, 2005
This book also contains an index as well as the Iggeret Pri Megadim from R. Yosef Teomim. This le... more This book also contains an index as well as the Iggeret Pri Megadim from R. Yosef Teomim. This letter is typically published at the beginning of his commentary to Orakh Hayyim, however, due to the fact that he a) advocates for the study of R. Elijah's books; and b) has numerous comments on the Sefer haTishbi, this was included here. There is also an index of just these letters. Now, on to the controversial portion of the book. This book also contains the critique of R. Shlomo Schick on the Sefer haTishbi. R. Schick, in his commentary on the Torah, Torah Shelmah (1909, Satmar) takes issue with many of R. Elijah's statements, not just his Sefer haTishbi. However, the editors of this edition of the Sefer haTishbi have collected R. Schick's comments that relate to the Sefer haTishbi. The editors have also included a rebuttal of R. Schick titled Tzidkat haTzadik. While this may seem rather innocuous, R. Schick is considered in some circles to be unacceptable. This is especially true amongst the Hungarian Haredim. R. Schick, who was a Rabbi of what was known as a Status Quo community in Hungary, was himself a Haredi. However, he felt that instead of alienating his community and many others in Hungary he would take a more reconciliatory stance. This put him in conflict with the majority of the Haredim in Hungary. They wanted to cut off all the non-Haredim. In fact, they issued an edict that all shecita by members that considered themselves Status Quo, was to be considered non-kosher. Importantly, many in the Status Quo community kept Torah and mitzvot a fact R. Schick pointed out in many of his teshuvot. This placed Schick outside the camp of the "frum" and thus among some his writings are unacceptable. Therefore, there are two editions of this newly reprinted Sefer haTishbi. One that contains an actual photocopy of the haskama of the Betaz of Jerusalem and a second version that does not. In the edition that contains the haskama both the comments of R. Schick as well as the rebuttal does not appear. In the edition that does not contain the haskama you get what I described above, the comments of R. Schick and the editor's rebuttal. The editors even note this in the edition that contains R. Schick's comments. They explain that the Betaz gave them a haskama (they even quote it but do not reproduce the actual letter, so they get to say they got the haskama without offending the Betaz) but that the Betaz told them they found R. Schick to be unacceptable and thus would not want to give a haskama to such a work. Therefore, one now has a choice between the Betaz haskama or the comments and rebuttal of R. Schick. I obtained both editions from Beigeleisen in Brooklyn.
Seforim Blog
There are a series of books, Seder ha-haʻarakhah ve-haHanhagah, that record the tax law and taxes... more There are a series of books, Seder ha-haʻarakhah ve-haHanhagah, that record the tax law and taxes paid by the Mantuan community and were published in Mantua. [1] The taxes were calculated by communally elected assessment formulators. The taxes were used to support the entire communal infrastructure, including the administration of communal organizations and funds for the poor. As today, each person would provide an accounting of their funds reducing their taxable income based upon recognized deductions and certain exempted property. The formulators were wholly responsible for the determination of the specific levied taxes and could reject suspect ax filings and impose fines. The first edition was published in 1651 and each edition covers three years, of which the National Library has 17 editions. The British Library holds 12, seven that are not in the National Library's collection. Vinograd lists 22 editions, six in neither library. [2] (A full bibliography appears below) There is, however, at least one edition in the series that was not published in Mantua, the most logical location, but in Venice by Bragadin in 1711. The likely reason for the change in venue is that from 1707-1712, there were no books printed in Mantua. [3] Nonetheless, these records were so important that the community went to Venice to publish the records.
R. Flensberg , Donkeys, Antelopes and Frogs Recently, a book, Aggadata de-Ve Rav, Machon Limud Ag... more R. Flensberg , Donkeys, Antelopes and Frogs Recently, a book, Aggadata de-Ve Rav, Machon Limud Aggadah, Ashdod, 2010, pp. 50, 176, 56, collecting various works attempting to explain the difficult and, on their face, rather odd stories (aggadot) that appear in Baba Batra (73a-74) many of which involve odd animals do odd things. In addition to these passages, there is another odd passage in Bechorot (7b) which also involves an animal, a donkey also engaging in odd behavior. This passage was too was also the subject of many works attempting to explain it. This new book reprints four of the many works attempting to decipher the stories in Baba Batra, R. Elyakim Getz, Redfunei be-Tapuchim, R. Zev Wolfe Boskowitz, Le-Binyamin Amar, R. Eliyahu Guttmacher, Tzafnat Panach, and the fourth is Aggadot Soferim, which a collection of materials on the topic from Ritva, Gra, and R. Efrayim Lunschutz (author of Kli Yakar, among other works). While three editions of Redfunei be-Tapuchim are available on Hebrewbooks (here, here and here) Le-Binyamin Amar and Tzafnat Panach are not. The book also provides biographical details about these authors (56 pp.). Additionally, a list of others books devoted to the Baba Batra stories which are not reprinted herein are included. The list provides over 25 such works devoted to the stories in Baba Batra. Regarding the donkey of Bechorot there are almost as many books on that topic. We have found 23 such works. One of those discussing the donkey of Berchorot is an important, little-known and recently reprinted book on that topic. Specifically, R. Hayyim Yirmiyahu Flensberg's Nezer ha-Nitzhon, Vilna, 1883 (reprinted Machon Mishnas Rabbi Aaron, Israel, 2001).* Amongst the many who praised Flensberg's book, was his teacher, the Netziv. And, it was not only the Netziv, but Flensberg received a request from his alma mater, Volozhin, that his book was so popular could he please send ten additional copies. Thus, in light of this book discussing, what is arguable similar aggadot, we provide background on this little-known Lithuanian rabbi, his works and children.
https://seforimblog.com/2010/01/r-flensberg-donkeys-antelopes-and-frogs/
Seforim Blog
https://seforimblog.com/2010/03/kitniyot-and-stimulants-coffee-and/
Seforim Blog
https://seforimblog.com/2010/04/benefits-of-internet-besamim-rosh-and/
Seforim Blog
https://seforimblog.com/2010/05/censorship-of-aderet-autobiography/
Seforim Blog
https://seforimblog.com/2012/01/review-daniel-sperber-on-changes-in/
Seforim Blog
pp. Most discussions regarding the Haggadah begin with the tired canard that the Haggadah is one ... more pp. Most discussions regarding the Haggadah begin with the tired canard that the Haggadah is one of the most popular books in Jewish literature, if not the most popular, and has been treasured as such throughout the centuries. Over sixty years ago, Isaac Rivkin noted that as a matter of fact, only since the 19th century has the Haggadah become one of the most printed Jewish books. Prior to the 19th century, the Haggadah is neither the most printed nor most written about work in the Jewish cannon.[1] Epstein does not fall prey to this canard nor any other of the many associated with the Haggadah. Dr. Epstein's survey of four Jewish medieval manuscripts is novel, vibrant, and sheds new light on these manuscripts, as well as Jewish manuscripts and the Haggadah generally. Epstein covers four well-known medieval Haggadah manuscripts:[2] The Birds' Head Haggadah, The Golden Haggadah,[3] The Rylands Haggadah,[4] and the Brother to the Rylands Haggadah. First, a word about manuscript titles. Sometimes manuscripts are referred to by the city or institution that houses or housed the manuscript, while in other instances, especially when a manuscript contains a unique marking or the like, that unique identifier may be used to describe the manuscript. The Rylands Haggadah (currently housed at the John Rylands Museum, Manchester, UK), is an example of the former, and the Birds' Head Haggadah is an example of the latter. In the case of the Birds' Head, most of the figures depicted in the manuscript are drawn not with human heads, but with birds' heads. Similarly, the Golden Haggadah is another example which gets its title due to the proliferation of gold borders and filler. Finally, the Brother to the Rylands, gets its title from the similarly of its illustrations to that of the Rylands, indicating some connection or modeling between the two manuscripts. As alluded to above, Epstein is not the first to discuss these manuscripts. Indeed, in the case of both the Birds' Head and the Golden Haggadah, book length surveys have already been published.[5] Epstein, however, differs with his predecessors both in terms of his method as well as what he is willing to assume. Regarding assumptions, previously, many would take the path of least resistance in explaining difficult images and attribute confusing or complex illustrations to errors or lack of precision of the illustrator. Rather than assume error, Epstein gives the illustrations and illustrators their due and, in so far as possible assumes that the images are "both coherent and intentional." As an extension of his "humility in the face of iconography," Epstein attempts "to understand how the authors understood it rather than assume that [he] must know better than they did." He does "not fault the authorship for what" he, "as a twenty-first century viewer, might fail to notice or understand concerning the structure or details of the iconography." Furthermore, engaging with illustrations not only from tracing the history of how the image came into being but, more importantly, how that image was interpreted and what meaning it carried for its audience throughout its transmission is also one of Epstein's goals. In furtherance of these goals, Epstein is all too aware of his own limitations and throughout the book, Epstein willingly admits both where the evidence can lead and, what is pure speculation. All of this translates into a highly satisfying and illuminating (no pun intended) perspective on these and Jewish manuscripts in general. The book is divided among the four manuscripts, with each getting its own section, with the exception of the Rylands and its Brother that are included in a single section. At the beginning of each section, all of the relevant pages from the manuscript are reproduced. The reproductions are excellent. This is not always the case in other books that reproduce these images. Indeed, in Narkiss, et al. who compiled an Index of Jewish Art that includes detailed discussions regarding a variety of medieval Haggadah manuscripts, only reproduce the images in black and white.[6] Similarly, Metzger, in her La Haggada Enluminée, also only reproduces the images in black and white (and many times the images are of poor quality). Here, each page containing an image is reproduced in full, in a high quality format that allows the reader to fully appreciate the image
https://seforimblog.com/2012/04/review-of-marc-michael-epsteins/
Seforim Blog
This post is part of a series of posts regarding illustrations adorning manuscript and print Hagg... more This post is part of a series of posts regarding illustrations adorning manuscript and print Haggadot. Our first post dealt with a new work on the topic and can be viewed here. In this post we will focus upon the some of the Halachik implications of these illustrations. In many Ashkenazic manuscripts, the Passover illustrations begin chronologically earlier than the Seder. Many begin with the preparation of the matzah. For example, in the Second Nuremberg Haggadah[1], (the manuscript is online here) a 15th century Ashkenazic haggadah, contains ten scenes devoted to the matzah process. A similar haggadah, likely illustrated by the same artist, also includes numerous matzah baking scenes. All of these, however, begin with the bringing of the grain to the miller. This is in contrast to today's practice whereby the matzah producing process begins earlier, with the cutting of the wheat.
https://seforimblog.com/2012/04/halakhah-and-haggadah-manuscrip/
Seforim Blog
https://seforimblog.com/2013/03/a-few-comments-regarding-first-woodcu/
Seforim Blog
For contemporary American Jews, it is not an exaggeration to claim the Maxwell House Haggadah, as... more For contemporary American Jews, it is not an exaggeration to claim the Maxwell House Haggadah, as one of the most commonly used and widely known haggadahs. Even President Obama was aware of this history when he quipped regarding another recent haggadah "does this mean we can no longer use the Maxwell House Haggadah anymore?" The first Maxwell House sponsored haggadah was published in 1932. See Yudolov, Otzar ha-Haggadot no. 3428. Although the title page does not provide a date, the Haggadah includes a five-year Hebrew calendar. Thus, to date the Haggadah, the first year indicated in the calendar is used as a proxy for the date of publication. The first edition includes a calendar beginning in 1932, the next edition begins with 1933, and so on. See Yudolov, nos. 3428, 3455, 3489, 3594, 3620, 3656, 3689, 3721. According to Yudolov, the Haggadah wasn't published from 1941-1948, but otherwise has been consistently published yearly, if in a changed format. In the early years, other than the updated calendar the same title page and wrapping was used. The sameness perhaps explains why the New York Times in two different articles accompanied by the identical photograph of the Maxwell House Haggdah, captions one 1932 and the other 1934.
https://seforimblog.com/2015/03/on-maxwell-house-haggada/
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Blog Posts by Dan Rabinowitz
https://seforimblog.com/2007/03/haggadah-and-mingling-of-sexes/
https://seforimblog.com/2006/11/akedah-art-and-illustrations-in-hebrew/
https://seforimblog.com/2006/04/haggadah-first-hebrew-map-and-forgery/
https://seforimblog.com/2010/01/r-flensberg-donkeys-antelopes-and-frogs/
https://seforimblog.com/2012/04/review-of-marc-michael-epsteins/
https://seforimblog.com/2012/04/halakhah-and-haggadah-manuscrip/
https://seforimblog.com/2015/03/on-maxwell-house-haggada/
https://seforimblog.com/2007/03/haggadah-and-mingling-of-sexes/
https://seforimblog.com/2006/11/akedah-art-and-illustrations-in-hebrew/
https://seforimblog.com/2006/04/haggadah-first-hebrew-map-and-forgery/
https://seforimblog.com/2010/01/r-flensberg-donkeys-antelopes-and-frogs/
https://seforimblog.com/2012/04/review-of-marc-michael-epsteins/
https://seforimblog.com/2012/04/halakhah-and-haggadah-manuscrip/
https://seforimblog.com/2015/03/on-maxwell-house-haggada/