Monthly Archives: February 2012

The Walking Book

Posted on February 28, 2012 by

The other week, Leil Leibovitz lodged a complaint against the e-sefer and bemoaned the way that the iPad and its peers strip away the sense of holiness from the traditional experience of studying Talmud. Leibovitz laments the loss of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Postscripts, Ruminations, Technology, Uncategorized | Tagged | 5 Comments

I Know it was the Blood

Posted on February 27, 2012 by

I was invited to participate in a workshop that takes place about three times a year in Paris and Strasbourg. Each time the organizers choose a biblical verse or pericope, and then invite five people to talk about the way … Continue reading →

Posted in Readings, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Crib Sheet

Posted on February 16, 2012 by

Ah, finals… In Israel, the period bears multiple names- “bein hasemesterim“, “hufsha“, “tekufat hamivkhanim“, none of which seem to fully own up to the fact that the average BA student has four weeks to complete coursework for around eight classes … Continue reading →

Posted in Ruminations | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Simcha Emanuel’s “Responsa of Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg and his Colleagues”- Review by Pinchas Roth

Posted on February 14, 2012 by

Simcha Emanuel, Responsa of Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg and his Colleagues: Critical Edition, Introduction and Notes (Jerusalem: World Union of Jewish Studies, 2012) Review by Pinchas Roth The thirteenth century has a reputation for being a little boring. Coming after … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest Posts, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Reviews Galore

Posted on February 14, 2012 by

While the Talmud Blog assumes that readers will regularly check its constantly-updated twitter feed (accessible on the top-right of this page and through twitter), there are times when things tweeted might also be blogged, for emphasis. Since 1970, the Journal for the … Continue reading →

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Tu Bishvat as Judgement Day in a Poem by Aharon Mirsky

Posted on February 8, 2012 by

Tu Bishvat (the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat), which is celebrated today, is also known as the New Year of the Trees. This festive date appears for the first time in tractate Rosh Hashana (The New Year) of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Piyut, Readings | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Definite Article – The Book Club II

Posted on February 6, 2012 by

The ‘stammaitic consensus’, like many so-called consensuses, has paradoxically not yet achieved a total consensus. Still, aside from persistent skepticism emanating mainly from Israeli scholars, the stammaitic ‘toolbox’ has virtually become the source-critical method in use among academic Talmud scholars working in the field today. There have … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Club | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Why Do I Read the Talmud?

Posted on February 1, 2012 by

About a year ago I was asked to write an article for a French Jewish Studies Journal – Tsafon (published by the University of Lille), that would offer to the French scholar a status quaestionis of Talmudic studies. I wrote … Continue reading →

Posted in Ruminations | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments