Volume 51 Number 96
Produced: Tue Apr 11 5:22:25 EDT 2006
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
[Hasafran]: Digitized version of the 13th Century Worms Mahzor
[Mark Steiner]
Kitniyos
[Sammy Finkelman]
Neturei Karta
[Yisrael Medad]
Slifkin - censorship and critique
[Sammy Finkelman]
Supplement to the Haggada
[Sammy Finkelman]
Warning about library donations
[Sammy Finkelman]
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From: Mark Steiner <marksa@...>
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 17:56:12 +0300
Subject: [Hasafran]: Digitized version of the 13th Century Worms Mahzor
I think members of mail-jewish should be interested in the following.
This is a beautiful treasure, but it also has interest to discussions we
have had on mail-jewish itself. For example, we see here unmistakably
that the ancient Ashkenazic vocalization was "kedushah kulam ke'ehad
`onim" rather than the Avudraham's "uvne`imah kedoshah, kulam..." We
see also in the same prayer the expression "retzon koneyhem" rather than
"retzon konam", which was probably, I surmise, introduced LATER in
Ashkenaz so the Christians wouldn't be able to exploit the siddur for
their purposes. The Sefardim didn't censor this word, and I believe it
is still in the plural in their siddurim.
-----Original Message-----
From: <owner-hasafran@...>
The Jewish National and University Library, David and Fela Shapell
Family Digitization Project, is pleased to announce that a digitized
version of the "Mahzor Worms", one of the Library's most treasured
manuscripts, is now available for public access.
The Worms Mahzor is a 13th century festival prayerbook for the use of
hazzanim, containing mostly cycles of piyyutim (liturgical hymns). It
consists of 2 volumes of different origin, written on parchment in
beautiful Ashkenazi calligraphy, with illumination and decoration in ink
and color.
The Mahzor was in use in the community of Worms, Germany until the
synagogue's destruction on Kristallnacht, Nov. 1938. It was rescued by
the city's archivist, who hid it in the cathedral. In 1957, following
legal proceedings in Germany, the manuscript was transferred to the
JNUL.
A limited facsimile edition of the first volume of the Mahzor was
published in 1985 (Vaduz, Cyelar and the JNUL), accompanied by an
introductory volume with articles by prominent scholars on various
aspects of the Mahzor. These articles have also been scanned, with the
permission of their authors, and included in the site.
The manuscript is presented in the DjVu format which provides high
quality, magnifiable images compressed into relatively small files for
easy downloading. In order to view these images it is necessary to
download and install (once) a special free viewer program. Two digitized
versions of the manuscript are available - one in high resolution (about
2mb per image) and one in a lower resolution (about 150k per image).
This project is the second in the Library's "Treasures of the JNUL"
series, following the "Writings of Maimonides: Manuscripts and Early
Printed Editions" site inaugurated last year.
The Mahzor Worms site can be accessed in both Hebrew and English versions
via the library site:
http://jnul.huji.ac.il
or directly at:
http://jnul.huji.ac.il/dl/mss/worms
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From: Sammy Finkelman <sammy.finkelman@...>
Date: Sun, 08 Apr 06 23:55:00 -0400
Subject: Kitniyos
From: Russell J Hendel <rjhendel@...>
> With Passover coming up the classic case of the dynamic power of the
> Rabbi is brought to mind. I myself am not familiar with all details
> but the classic case involves Kitniyoth--grains like rice etc. In the
> old days these would be mixed with grains eliglble for leavening.
> Hence a rabbinic injuction prohibited eating them on Passover.
There is no Rabbinic injunction, and there couldn't be because it
started no earlier than the Gaonim. It is a custom. Rabbi Blumenkranz in
his book says quite clearly that it ia custim, and that is why there is
room for leniency.
Of course, Rabbi Blumenkrantz is a great believer in people keeping
chumrahs. He thinks Hashem appreciates them. It shows real dediccation
to mitzvos and so on.
The Lubavicher movment also believes in upholding customs (because it
adds interest to mitzvos and childtren broiught up with customs will be
more likely to stick with Yiddishkeit, although this may be talking more
about other things.
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From: Yisrael Medad <ybmedad@...>
Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2006 15:04:31 +0200
Subject: Neturei Karta
SBA <sba@...> provides us with the source for the claim that:
>the Satmar Rebbe in the abovementioned sefer CLEARLY writes against any
>idea of handing Israel over to the Arabs
in >"the Hakdomo [p. 8 column 2 - at the bottom]" of VaYoel Moshe
I checked. And yes, this appears (original Hebrew followed by my
translation):
"elah sh'tzrichin l'rachamei shamayim sh't'chalah ota hamalchut ach
v'rak al y'dei koach m'l'malah m'et Hashem Yitbarech Shmo, lo al y'dei
ha'umot ki im chas v'chalila yihyeh al y'dei ha'umot hi sakan g'dola
l'yisrael kamuvan, v'Hashem Yitbarech Shmo y'rachem aleinu v'al kol ami
Yisrael"
[however, we need the grace of heaven that would do away with that
regime but only through the power of G-d, not by any of the nations for
that, G-d forbid, would be a great danger to the Jewish people
certainly, and G-d should have pity on us and all of Israel]
On the face of it, quite clear. Of course, just a few lines above, Reb
Yoelisch notes that the extistence of the state of Israel is delaying
Redemption and the coming of Mashiach, which would seem to be a very
serious charge of guilt. He further stipulates that we Jews have no
right to leave the Galut to attach ourselves to that state which is
linked to the Samech-Mem. Nevertheless, I am not quite sure that
someone could not interpret his words as that the danger is not
specifically to Jews living in the land of Israel but foremost for the
all of Jewry, which someone could take to mean Satmar Jews living in
Brooklyn and Stamford Hill and Antwerp but I leave that up to the
listmates.
If, though, we turn to page 126, first column, Reb Yoelisch becomes
ambiguous again. There he defends the right of his followers to
protest, fociferously, the existence of the state of Israel even by
involving other nations. This, I would suggest, comes close to granting
permission for NKers to assume that they can go to Iran and Durban, etc.
After all, all is in the hands of Hashem.
Here's the source (he is referring to protesting over the monies that
the state gets by raising funds for the Bonds that is done in all the
countries and we might fear to protest publicly because of the nations
and that all parties, including the religious ones, receive and
therefore all partake in the abomination) I am starting from the 17th
line from the top with necessary skips:
"v'zeh mo'il lifamim...v'chol ha'umot yodin sh'b'yisrael ein Torah v'ein
Emunah...v'lachen k'shyesh tza'aka u'mech'ah bachutz neged zeh ad
sh'shom'in gam ha'umot...v'ein chashash klal sh'yagi'ah eizeh nezek
mizeh...v'ein safek sh'yesh lachshov efsharut sh'yiyeh ulai ktzat
to'elet b'mech'ot ka'eleh".
[and this, at times, can be helpful...as all the Goyishe nations know
that in Israel there is no Torah nor Faith...and therefore, when there
is a shout and protest outside against this (fundraising) until even
non-Jews become aware...and there is no concern that there will evolve
any damage as a result of this...and there is no doubt that one can
presume that there is perhaps some benefit in activities such as these]
In addition, on page 338, 5th line of second column, RY writes, alluding
to the Talmud that one who can priotest but doesn't, is called Wicked.
In my very humble opinion, any average NKer and even a few Satmars could
easily presume that going to Iran, in addition to demonstrating on the
streets of Manhattan, is sanctioned by Reb Yoelisch's thinking and
philosophy. After all, all they are doing is arranging for HKBH to
destroy the state of Israel and He will probably save all the Jews
anyway, as long as those non-Jewish nations before whom the NKers shout
and protest won't do anything about Israel that has no Torah nor Faith.
Yisrael Medad
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From: Sammy Finkelman <sammy.finkelman@...>
Date: Sun, 08 Apr 06 23:36:00 -0400
Subject: Slifkin - censorship and critique
Just a little note which is worth mentioning because otherwise what
Mechy Frenkel wrote can be very puzzling and confusing:
>> - excusable since radioactivity had not yet been discovered - of this
>> energy source that famously mislead the great 19th century physicist
>> Lord Kelvin to very grievously miscalculate the age of the earth.
It was the age of the sun, not the earth, which Lord Kelvin attempted to
calculate. That is, he calculated what could be the maximum possible
length of time the sun could have been burning. He said, suppose it to
be made entirely of coal.
Now there was no reason to suppose it was made of coal and oxygen, but
he was trying to set a maximum length of time the sun could give off
heat and light, and that was the most cooncentrated form of energy he
knew.
It has to be said that even standard burning is the conversion of matter
into energy (in this case only some mass of elctrons) but in the 19th
century, the books were balanced by saying that was potential energy,
and by and large, it's still not really looked at an example of the
conversion of matter into energy but this reserved for talking about
nuclear energy.
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From: Sammy Finkelman <sammy.finkelman@...>
Date: Sun, 07 Apr 06 13:28:00 -0400
Subject: Supplement to the Haggada
From: David Mescheloff <djm765@...>
The following quotation I think (it's not 100% clear to me) is taken
from the Supplement.
>> The haggada has us continue to tell the story of our Exodus from
>> Egypt by reading four verses from the Torah (in the book of Devarim),
>> and commenting on them. These verses are from the speech of
>> gratitude to G-d that is to be recited by the person who brings his
>> first fruits to the Temple in Jerusalem (earlier: to the tabernacle
>> in Shilo), between Shavuot and Succot.
>> These same verses were chosen by our sages as the concise vehicle for
>> fulfilling the commandment to tell the story of the Exodus on the
>> night of the Seder. Each verse is first recited whole, and then is
>> broken down into segments, and comments are made on each segment so
>> as to shed light on the deeper meaning of the verse. This continues
>> until we reach the piyyut (liturgical poem) "dayyenu"
I'd like to add a few thoughts on that.
I think I have an answer to the question of when and why they were
chosen.
Listen to this idea:
Somewhere in the Talmud - I am not sure if this is a Mishnah or just
something in the Gemorah, and I don't know where to look, but I know it
is there, and maybe somebody on this list can tell me (and others) just
where it is - there is the statement that practice of bringing Bikkurim
was stopped long before the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, maybe 80
years before or I think maybe even 180 years before. If somebody
remembers or finds it they'll know exactly, and I think it's more like
180 than 80 years. A very long time.
And the reason given is that people were doing this properly in some
respect which I forgot. (As to how any person or group of sages could
think they had to authority to stop it, that is not really a kasha -
there is an open invitation to do such things in Malachi 1:10, which
perhaps later was forgotten, so they didn't do it in the bad times
shortly before the destruction)
Now once it stopped, Jews were missing one important thing that reminded
and taught them some details about Yitzais Mitzraim.
Because you know it is not just Pesach that we have to remind us, but
also some other things, like redeeming a first born. And Bikkurim was
another.
So it seems reasonable to suppose, that in order not to lose the almost
universal knowledge of these words in Klal Yisroel, they instituted that
people should start saying that on the first night of Pesach - that they
should pick particularly these Posukim to expound upon. (and of course
there is the general Mitzvah to expound and talk about Yitzais Mitzraim,
that is why we don't merely recite them, but darshen it.)
This would have bene the beginning of the Haggadah in its current form.
Before that anyone spoke about anything that came into his mind. If he
knew more he said more, and if he knew kless - well, at least he
explained what the Matzoh, Marror and Korbn Pesach was for.
There are more and other things added to the Haggadah, including some
Aggadah, and things are included also in deference to the opinion that
we should start telling the story from Terach the father of Avraham, but
this is the core of the Haggadah and I think this could be the
explanation as to how it happened.
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From: Sammy Finkelman <sammy.finkelman@...>
Date: Sun, 08 Apr 06 23:49:00 -0400
Subject: Warning about library donations
From: Shoshana Ziskind <shosh@...> Subject: Re: Berg Zohar
SZ> My sister gave me something by Berg and another book that was also
SZ> somewhat inappropriate for me and I sent it to the public library
SZ> for a donation. I'm not sure if this is shyech in Israel though.
Be very careful about donating to a public library. Their practice often
is to simply discard any books that they were not planning to add to
their collection. This is true about the Brooklyn Public Library
system. I have rescued from the garbage books like "To Be a Jew"
"Tromping through Palestine" (Copyright 1926 by Miton J Goell, "Jewish
Contributions to Civilation (that at one time was in the Yeshiva
University Library and bears the stamp Discarded from Mendel Gottesman
Library and was published by the Jewish Publication Society in 1919,
many publications from Congregation Shaare Rachamim, a Tikkun, a Chumash
and many other things. The library system was also discarding books they
removed from their collection but may be doing less of that now - or at
least not putting it in garbage bags just outside the doors of branches.
(that is now much more limited to damaged books)
They put very few books up for sale - they just put them out to be
collected by Sanitation Department.
I have been told that places that might not do that are nursing homes
and hospitals, probably because they don't have librarians or are not
planning colections. It would be wise to check to see what a place
actually does with books before donating them.
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End of Volume 51 Issue 96