In this issue: Hillel Mali | Ritual Leftovers and the Tannaitic Perceptions of Holiness Idan Pinto | Universe – Sanctuary – Man: On a Threefold Analogy in Two Anonymous Texts and their Traces in Thirteenth century Kabbalah Yudith Weiss | Isaac of Acre’s Commentary on the Sefer Yetzirah Commentary Attributed to Isaac the Blind: Research and Edition Haviva Pedaya | Kabbalah Out of Context: On the Erasure of the Provençal School in Kabbalah Research

Hoshea was active during the decline of the Kingdom of Israel, from the twilight of the long reign of Jeroboam II (788-747 BCE) until nearly the end of the days of Israel, probably before the Assyrian conquest (720 BCE) of Samaria. Hoshea's prophecies enrich our knowledge of the chaotic period in which, throughout twenty years of intrigues, rebellions and murders, six kings had been replaced, and Israel was lost.

We do not know who Malachi was. Malachi might have been his birth name, or perhaps his nickname, as God's messenger. He was active during the reign of Persia, around 500 BCE. The subjects with which Malachi was preoccupied were different from those that preoccupied the classical prophets and reflected his time. But one can find in them beautiful comparisons to today's problems as well. One of the main subjects in his prophecy was the covenant between God and Israel, as well as his criticism of the people's disdain for the worship of the temple, and of the priests for misusing their position.

Haggai was active for a very short time, only about four months, in the second year of Darius I (520/521 BCE). In these four months, Haggai managed to encourage the exiled people of Zion to return to Judah and Jerusalem, to begin building the temple. They faced many difficulties: they suffered from drought and shortage and did not manage to get by in the barren land. When they started building the temple, Haggai was required to strengthen the spirit of the people and its leaders, Zerubbabel the priest and Joshua the high priest, in view of the modest dimensions of the building, with the promise that "the glory of this new Temple will surpass that of the old".

In this issue: Haim Shapira | The Courts in the Mishnah : M. Sanhedrin , Chapter 1, Revisited Elyashiv Cherlow | Milta belo Taʿama : A Chapter in the Textual History of the Talmud Yerushalmi Moshe Idel | On ‘The Book of the Elderly Man’, The Backgrounds of Its Composition and the Research on it

The starting point for any study of the Bible is the text of the Masora, as designed by the Masoretes. The ancient manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible contain thousands of Masora comments of two types: Masora Magna and Masora Prava. This book presents the way in which the Masoretic comments preserve the Masoretic Text of the Bible throughout generations and all over the world, providing comprehensive information in a short and efficient manner. The book describes the important manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible, and the methods of the Masora in determining the biblical spelling and designing the forms of the parshiot and the biblical Songs. The effectiveness of Masoretic mechanisms and their degree of success in preserving the text is examined. A special explanation is offered for the phenomenon of qere and ketiv . The book discusses the place of the Masoretic text in the history of the Bible, the differences between the Babylonian Masora and that of Tiberias, the special status of the Aleppo Codex and the mystery surrounding it. Special attention is given to the comparison between the Aleppo Codex and the Leningrad Codex (B 19a). In addition, the book discusses the relationship between the Masora and other tangential domains: the grammar of the Hebrew language, the interpretation of the Bible, and the Halakha. The appendix to the book contains a description of books and computer software that are tools for researching the Masora. The book is based on the author's research and the research of the great scholars of the Masora in recent generations. It is a necessary tool for anyone interested in the text of the Bible and its crystallization.

Articles in this issue: Menahem Kahana| 'וכולה מתניתין': Who were the Abbreviators of Mishnayot in the Tannaitic Midrashim? Robert Brody | How many editions of his book Oaths (Kitab al-Ayman) did R. Hayya Publish? Warren Zev Harvey | Did Ibn Gabirol Write Adon 'Olam? Adiel Breuer | Hidushim on Tractate 'Eruvin Attributed to Hame'iri Moshe Yagur | Shaving Hair and Pairing Nails: The Origins and Transmutations of a Unique Rite of Passage in Medieval Judaism

The Intention of the Torah and the Intention of Its Readers surveys how traditional Jewish exegesis throughout the ages has coped with the literary and topical difficulties found in the Torah, in the context of the belief in the Torah’s divine source and sanctity. “All problems stem from expectations.” Readers and exegetes of the Torah throughout the ages supposed, and many continue to suppose, that the Torah is perfect and flawless. They expect the Torah to reflect superior and timeless standards of morality, as well as precise and eternal theological principles. They believe that everything written in the Torah is true, essential, and well thought out. The history of Torah scholarship from the end of the Second Temple period until our day can be conceived of as an uninterrupted continuum of challenges which this unique and, frankly, impossible level of expectations has imposed upon its readers and exegetes. These are glorious attempts to bring the Torah nearer to the time and place of its devotees and to adapt its meaning to theirs. This book is the first attempt of its kind to examine the history of the enterprise of Torah exegesis from a distance. It contains an examination of dozens of key texts from the end of the Second Temple period, from Talmudic and Midrashic sources, dicta of medieval Sages, and the reflections and research penned by scholars of the Enlightenment (Haskalah) and the modern era. A bird’s eye view blurs the details which differentiate between these texts, enabling us to more easily focus upon the similarities; this point of view also allows us to note the central crossroads of change and development which characterize each period. This is an indispensable book for anyone interested in the changing nature of biblical exegesis over the generations.

Articles in this issue: David Henshke | Ma'amadot: A First Stage in the History of Rabbinic Prayer? Hannan Mazeh | Amanos or Ammana: An Emerging Interpretative Tradition and Maimonides' Emendation of the Mishnah Elyashiv Cherlow | The History of the Text of Talmud Yerushalmi: Studies of the Genizah Fragments Yehuda Zvi Stampfer | Sa'adia Gaon's Interpretation of the thirteen Hermeneutical Principles according to the Arabic Source: Commentary, Tendencies, and Unknown Sources

Midrash Aggadat Bereshit is a Midrash for the Book of Genesis, which has a unique structure. It includes 28 units, each composed of three chapters: a Torah chapter - on a verse from Genesis; a Prophets chapter - on a verse from Prophets; and a Ketuvim chapter - on a verse from Psalms. This division reflects the Torah reading at Shacharit on Shabbat, the Haftara that follows, and the reading of Ketuvim during the Shabbat Mincha.

Kobez Al Yad , an annual of the Mekize Nirdamim Society, is a forum for the publication from manuscript sources of ancient texts in Jewish studies that are shorter than book-length. Among the articles in this issue: Dan Greenberger | An Essay on the Ten Commandments attributed to R. Saadia Gaon Haggai Mazuz | Ma'aśeh Mehmeṭ: Re-examination and Critical Edition Gad Freudenthal and Hannah Kasher | Kalonymus ben Kalonymus rebukes Joseph Ibn Kaspi Pinchas Roth | A Collection of Rulings from Medieval Montpellier Eliezer Schlossberg | The Commentary of R. Avraham ben Shelomo the Yemenite on the Book of Zephaniah: A Critical Edition