How might a poem acquire divine forgiveness? Ariel Zinder’s book Arise and Sing follows medieval Jewish poets from Iraq and al-Andalus as they seek answers to this pressing question. The book presents close readings of liturgical poems (piyyutim) written in the 10th and 11th centuries, and brings them into contact with contemporary literary theory as well as modern philosophical discussions of the possibility of forgiveness.

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. The articles in this issue: Omri Livnat | From Masorah to Poetry, from Poetry to Masorah: on Saadia Gaon’s ‘Ohel Mekhon Binyanay’ Simcha Emanuel | A Collection of Laws from the German ' Genizah' Amir Boas | Kodesh Kodashim – An Annotated Critical Edition with an Introduction Noam Lev-El | ’Questions to the Sages of the Land of Israel’: Kabbalistic Responsa from the Mid-Sixteenth Century—Introduction and Edition

The book Registers of Ashkenazi Communities in Italy from the 18th Century presents a scientific edition of three files documenting customs in Ashkenazi communities in the north of Italy in the 18th century, from Trieste, from Mantua and Padova, with an introduction and indices. The world of Halacha in Italy, starting from the beginning of the Rishonim period, was influenced by different centers, and was not an independent center. Ashkenazi Judaism had a decisive influence on Italy beginning in the 13th century. Files documenting customs of Ashkenazi communities existed already in the 11th century and continued to be written throughout the generations in the Ashkenazi communities. However, files documenting the customs of Ashkenazi communities on Italian soil were relatively few. The book before us hence makes up a little for this lack. It is true that the writing of files documenting customs is an Ashkenazi phenomenon, we have found it among Ashkenazi people in all generations, but in the 17th-18th centuries, which are documented by the files before us, the Jewish communities in Ashkenaz and in Italy were subject to the influence of important historical processes, such as heated rabbinic polemics, the beginning of the Enlightenment, the French Revolution and its cultural and political effects and the emancipation processes. These processes had a profound impact on the Jewish world and we find echoes of this impact in the custom files as well. The certificates published here were written at a unique historical, cultural and religious junction, and have great significance in all these fields.

In this issue: Chaim Milikowsky | The Transformation of Traditions and the Creation of Variant Readings in Vayyiqra Rabba Chapter 25 Sections 1-2 – Preceding and Succeeding the Redactorial Moment Shulamit Elizur | 'The birth of poems' – Deliberations on the Conception of the Poem and Longings for Zion in a Previously Unknown Piyyut by R. Judah Halevi Judith Weiss | The Sefer Yetzira Commentary Attributed to Isaac the Blind: Evidence Supporting Its Early Dating, Its Central Status among Thirteenth century Kabbalists and the Validity of Its Attribution to Isaac the Blind Simcha Emanuel | Rashba’s Responsa to North African Sages Israel Ori Meitlis | The Place of Izhbitza-Radzin Thought in the Tekhelet writings of the Radziner Rebbe

The commentary of Rabbi Joseph Hayyun, who was one of the greatest rabbis of Portugal in the generation before the deportation, to Jeremiah, has remained since its composition only in manuscript and did not reach the printing press. In this edition, an effort was made to invent for those seeking biblical interpretation, an illustrated scientific edition of the commentary, from the only surviving manuscript, which is apparently an autograph that Rabbi Hayyun repeatedly proofread several times. At the beginning of the book is a comprehensive introduction, which discusses Rabbi Hayon's interpretive way as it is reflected in his commentary on Jeremiah, various matters arising from his commentary concerning the book of Jeremiah, and matters of faith and philosophy mentioned during the commentary.

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

In the current book two of the most prolific authors in the area of Medieval Judeo-Arabic and poetic Hebrew Medieval texts go back to its basic theses on the relations between Hebrew literature and its parallel Arabic and Judeo-Arabic texts. By re-establishing an up-to-date picture they are attacking the field of encounters from new and different angles.

In this issue: Gal Sela | The Long Sleep of Honi the Circle-Maker: The Ecotype and the Conglomerate as Analytical Concepts Roni Cohen | Between 'Blessed Mordechai' and 'Cursed Haman': The Story of Esther in Kalonymos ben Kalonymos' Massechet Purim and the Medieval Custom of Hitting Haman Vered Tohar and Noga Rubin | A Comparative Study of the Shared Stories of the Yiddish Sefer Midot (Isny, 1542) and the Hebrew Orhot Tzaddikim (Prague, 1581) Eli Yassif | Menasseh ben-Israel and the Early Study of Jewish Folklore

Among the articles in this issue: Yair Lorberbau | On Rules and Reason on Law and Halakhah - A Fresh Conceptual Framework for the Study of the Rationale of the Commandments Shalom Zadik | The Status of the Tormented Heretic according to Rabbi Hsdai Crescas and his Relation to Abner of Burgos Hillel Ben-Sasson | The concept of Repentance in the Zohar Itzhak Brand | Commandments between Man and God and between Man and his Fellow: A Study in the Dualistic Thought of R. Isaac Abarbanel Eliezer Baumgarten and Uri Sfrai | Kabbalah and Marriage Customs in Early Modern Italy Dvir Warshavski | Zot Torat Ha-'Ola : The Belief in the Creation of the World in Rema's Thought

For some, on Yom Kippur the fast pace of life stops and the needs of the body seem to fade away, while the person stands before God. On this day, during the time of El'azar Berabbi Qillir the people of the Land of Israel used to stand at the synagogue throughout the entirety of the holy day, listening to the public representatives who prayed and prayed. The material for these long prayers was supplied by the poets, with El'azar Berabbi Qillir at the forefront. He renewed his piyyutim time and time again, presenting to his listeners new and spectacular Kedushtaot meant to replace the former poems. In these works he gave a voice to the audience standing at the doorstep and anticipating redemption. Other than descriptions of prayers and asking for forgiveness, the piyyutim include a variety of themes like the work of the High Priest at the Temple on Yom Kippur; the praise of God and His greatness, often in comparison to the futility of man; and the story of Elijah the Prophet on Mount Carmel and his prayer. The patriarchs are also present in almost all the works, with the angels joining the prayers of humans. This is only a taste of the astounding wealth found in the piyyutim in the book.

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

Galit Hasan-Rokem | Dov Noy – A Centennial Anniversary Amos Noy | Three Variants of a Riddle and a Solution: In Memory of Dov Noy Few articles in this issue : Avishar Har-Shefi | On the Beginnings of the Hasidic Story Itamar Dagan | Written New Year’s Greetings According to Texts from the Cairo Geniza and Rabbinic Literature Haya Bar-Itzhak z”l | The Dead and the Survivors: Historical Legends about Women during the1648/49 Pogroms as a Female Site of Memory Hanna Cohen-Perez and Esther Schely-Newman | Sainte Laktar (el Guettar) in Tunisia and Israel: Passages through Time and Space Michael Lukin | The Traditional Yiddish Lullaby as an East-Ashkenazi Phenomenon