In the Middle Ages, as today, writing a book was difficult, and it was even harder to retract or amend things that had already been written and made public. Could an author ensure that the revisions made to their work would reach everyone who held a copy? In the book Postscript: Three Medieval Authors Correcting Their Own Books , the author examines the revisions made to their works by three medieval scholars—Rabbi Isaac Alfasi (the Rif), Rabbi Zedekiah of Rome, and Rabbi Hillel ben Eliakim—and the extent of their success in updating the text of their books across the entire Jewish diaspora. Based on all known manuscripts of the three works, the book investigates which copies preserve the revised version and which ones transcribe the initial text, which the author himself had already rejected and sought to replace.

Rabbi Joseph Rosen (1858–1936), known as "the Rogatchover," author of the Zaphnath Paaneah books of Lomdus, was a revered Talmudic genius, a rabbi of a Hasidic community, an original Halakhic authority, and one of the most colorful rabbinic figures in modern Europe. The Zaphnath Paaneah: Lomdus Meets Philosophy is the first academic study dedicated to his thought, and it deals with the fascinating interaction in his writings between Talmudic scholarship and Halakhic analysis (Lomdus) on the one hand, and ideas from philosophical and academic sources on the other. This interaction developed in his work largely through his engagement with Maimonides' Guide to the Perplexed and its commentators. In its scope, richness, systematic nature, and originality, this interaction is unprecedented in the history of rabbinic literature. Alongside the prominent influence of Aristotelian and Maimonidean philosophy, the Rogatchover's learned Halakhic thought engaged in direct dialogue with additional schools of thought and a broad spectrum of thinkers: the Mutakallimun, Averroes, Moses Narboni, Spinoza, and figures from the Haskalah movement – Isaac Satanow, Salomon Maimon, and Samuel David Luzzatto (Shadal). The Zaphnath Paaneah: Lomdus Meets Philosophy examines the diverse modes of affinity and discourse at the intersection of these two realms, revealing extraordinary ideas that emerge from this encounter.

Sefer Eshkol Ha-Kofer ("The Book of the Cluster of Henna Blossoms"), written by the Karaite Sage Judah ben Elia Hadassi the Mourner in Constantinople in the mid-twelfth century, is unique in the annals of Hebrew literature, in terms of both content and style. The book is a monumental composition which includes more than 350,000 words, consisting of approximately 400 rhymed acrostics. Eshkol H a-Kofer is devoted principally to legal discussions, organized according to the order of the Ten Commandments, and it analyzes all facets of Karaite religious life, usually presenting strict interpretations of the law. Included as well are numerous arguments against Rabbinic Judaism, theological, scientific and grammatical discussions, biblical exegesis, and much more. The book is a veritable treasure trove whose contents have been investigated by scholars of both Karaite and Rabbinic Judaism for much valuable information. It is a major source of knowledge of Karaism, but its importance for Rabbinic literature is also considerable. The only previous edition, completed 190 years ago, was quite deficient, censoring many passages and omitting almost all the Judaeo-Greek words and phrases that Hadassi used. A new edition, based on the best manuscripts, has long been a scholarly desideratum, and the present edition is intended to fill that need.

These volumes contain most of Prof. Yaakov Zussman's essays. The essays include complex and extensive discussions in all areas of Talmudic literature from its beginnings to its scholars in recent centuries. Their collection in one book, accompanied by detailed indexes, presents to the reader the entirety of Prof. Zussman's research work, and at the same time makes it possible to locate and include discussions in distant places that were previously hidden from view.

In this volume: Eshbal Ratzon | The Qumran Calendar: a Historical Reconstruction Emmanuel Mastey | The Terms קלקלה ‘qlqlh’ and קלון ‘qlwn’ and the Meaning of Mishnah Horayot 3:7 Menahem Kahana z”l | The Status of Rabbi Ishmael and Rabbi Akiva in Their Schools Yonatan Sagiv z”l | Revisiting Midrash and Halakha in the Sifra Elnatan Chen | R. Jonah Ibn Janāḥ as Philologist and Text-Critic Moshe Idel | Gleaning from the Field of Kabbalah in Tarbiz Edward Fram | Groundwater Mikves: An Example of the Influence of Legal Ideas from the Sephardic World on Polish Rabbinic Culture at the End of the Sixteenth Century Tom Parnass | ‘The Soulless Body of the Torah’: The Sabbatean Quest for the ‘True Religion’ in the Eighteenth Century in Context

Within the Babylonian Talmud are dozens of stories depicting sharp confrontations between the Amoraim, the Talmudic sages. These narratives portray the charged relationships among the sages, the emergence of conflict, and the profound emotional harm that results from it. Why do conflicts among the creators of Talmudic literature occupy such a central literary place? This book examines these stories as a distinct literary corpus. The analysis shows that the conflicts consistently center on one domain: injury to personal honor. They are also marked by a characteristic plot structure, in which conflict develops unintentionally and escalates uncontrollably, leading to a rupture between the characters. Using tools from narrative theory and comparative poetics, the book explores how these stories operate. They draw the reader into a web of misunderstandings and communicative failures, making simple moral judgment difficult. Instead, they direct attention to the inner and interpersonal worlds of the characters, and to the literary construction of the Talmudic study house as a space of mutual dependence and identity formation.

The Jewish communities of Speyer, Mainz, and Worms (known collectively as ShUM), the ancient center of Torah scholarship in Ashkenaz, produced many generations of scholars who wrote glorious chapters in the history of Jewish culture. Particularly prominent was the distinguished circle of sages active there at the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, including Rabbi Yehudah ben Kalonymos of Speyer, Rabbi Yehudah ben Kalonymos of Mainz, Rabbi Shmuel the Pious and his son Rabbi Yehudah the Pious, Rabbi Simcha of Speyers and Rabbi Eleazar of Worms. Even though the names of the sages of ShUM appear countless times throughout rabbinic literature, only a very small portion of their work in the fields of Talmud and halakhah has come down to us. For centuries, the only works available in print were Sefer ha-Rokeach by R. Eleazar of Worms and Sefer Raban. Even the great surge in the critical publication of texts from the nineteenth century onwards has only slightly increased that number. The present volume seeks to fill this gap to some extent. It presents the full text of Rabbi Eleazar of Worms’s Sermon for Passover , and the introduction describes two additional halakhic works by him that have been discovered in manuscript. The Sermon provides the earliest evidence for several well-known Ashkenazic customs—among them the dripping of sixteen drops of wine during the Passover Seder, the prohibition of eating legumes (kitniyot) on Passover, and the eating of dairy foods on Shavuot. A first edition of the Sermon was published twenty years ago; it is now republished with additions and corrections.

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: Menahem Eisenberg | Qerovot for the 17th of Tammuz Attributed to Rabbi El’azar berabbi Qillir Sarah Cohen | Tokhehah poems according to the model of ‘Shikḥi yegonekh’ by Shelomo ibn Gabirol Simcha Emanuel | Additional Glosses of Rabbi Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam) to Alfasi Chen Maaravi and Adam Afterman | A Unique Version of the Kabbalistic Collections Ascribed to the Unpublished Fourth Part of ‘Sha‘arei Kedushah’

In this volume: Avi Shveka | The Prohibition to Capture a Mother Bird along with Her Young: A Reassessment Itamar Kislev | The Story of Nadav and Avihu: A Renewed Examination Yisca Zimran | Motion and Change in Micah 1:2–9 Noam Mizrahi | On the Importance of Text-critical Secondary Versions for Reconstructing the Literary Formation of Isaiah 61:1–7 Uri Gabbay | The Mesopotamian ‘Mouth Washing’ Ritual: A Hebrew Translation And more...

In this issue: David Fialkoff | From Disqualifying Deeds to Disqualifying Thoughts: The Early Form of Mishnah Zevahim Elyashiv Cherlow | A Unique Cairo Genizah Manuscript of Babylonian Talmud Tractates Shevu’ot Idan Pinto | "Shulhan shel Arba" of R. Bahya ben Asher: Explorations into Its History and Several of Its Kabbalistic Sources Daniel Abrams | The Awareness of Scribes and Kabbalists to Multiple Versions of Texts in Kabbalistic Manuscripts

In this issue: Menahem Kahana | Sabbath Expositions in Mekhilta de-Rabbi Simeon Bar Yohai : On the Use of Sources from the School of R. Ishmael by hte Redactor of Mekhilta de-Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai Simcha Emanuel | TheResponsa of Rashba: Bringing Order to a Maze of Manuscripts Michal Aziza Ohana | R. Rephael Berdogo's Roke'ah Mirkahat - On Aggadic Materials, Authority and Interpretation Barak Hoffman | Meir Mina - the Great Iraqi Kabbalist who Became a Heretic

The Sages of Yavneh traces the rebirth of Jewish law and thought in the aftermath of the Great Revolt and the destruction of the Temple. In Yavneh the early Sages laid the foundations for post-Temple Jewish life and created the conceptual framework that continues to shape halachic discourse to this day. Through close analysis of early Tannaitic traditions, the book uncovers the sages’ intellectual world, their diverse approaches, and the deep ideas underlying their disputes. At a decisive historical crossroad, the sages of Yavneh bridged second Temple traditions with the emerging Tannaitic corpus, offering a farsighted response to the crisis of their age and charting a path for the future of Jewish law, Halacha.