Part 2 Abstract A hitherto unknown manuscript of the Zohar was found in the Vatican Library. It tells the story of R. Yosi and R Aba going on a journey. R. Yosi reprimands R. Aba for not discussing Torah and keeping silent while travelling. R. Aba responds and eventually convinces R. Yosi that silence is a better path to follow. This would have been no minor matter, because the standard practice amongst the characters represented in the Zohar was indeed to travel and speak Torah words. It offered protection and rectification along the way. R. Aba’s path of silence, however, which was ba ..read more

 Part 1 Abstract Based on the analysis of divergent concepts and theosophies evident within the Zohar – in addition to the discovery of Zoharic texts hitherto unknown − it is apparent that within the same topics and genres, a number of variants and diverse textual layers exist. These diverse layers indicate the possibility of not just multiple authorship but an extended timeline over which the Zohar, as we now know it, emerged as ‘comprehensive’ literature. This observation adds a new dimension to the once-binary debate over whether the second-century R. Shimon bar Yochai, or the thirte ..read more

   Guest post by Moshe Tzvi Wieder   I thank Moshe Tzvi Wieder for sharing with us his research into the early Siddur (prayer book). Moshe Tzvi Wieder is the author of “The Siddur from Its Sources” (הסידור ממקורותיו) a unique Siddur which provides the earliest known sources for every part of the Siddur.  To learn more about הסידור ממקורותיו, see the site here.   Lechu Neranena on Wednesday   The Siddur from Its Sources, by Moshe Tzvi Wieder, Wieder Press, 2023. The Mishna (Tamid 7:4) delineates which chapters of Tehillim the Leviim would s ..read more

  Toledot Yakov Yosef: The first Chassidic book to be published. Koritz 1780. Abstract We examine Chassidic sources that show how early Chassidism reworked the traditional methodologies of classical Torah study. They did this by separating the text from the context and focusing, instead, on the divine light contained within the letters and the words themselves. They did this regardless of the position and meaning of these words in the sequence of the biblical storyline. This approach was generally used to enhance the experientialism of the study process which now became a spirit ..read more

  A 1704 manuscript of an early Hebrew translation of Euclid’s Elements. Later, in 1780, the first printed Hebrew edition of Euclid's Elements, was published in Amsterdam, translated into Hebrew by R. Baruch Schick of Shklov, on the instruction of the Vilna Gaon.  Abstract Based on a comparison between the various representations of the Vilna Gaon’s worldview by his different students, it seems that his main student, R. Chaim of Volozhin, meticulously selected, if not shaped, only certain aspects of his teacher’s ideology to present to future generations. We ..read more

  Guest Post by Professor Larry Zamick There are numerous examples in the Bible of lists of numbers with totals that don't add up correctly. For example, when God asked Moses to count the descendants of Levi, the results were given in a table.  EXAMPLE1.  In Numbers 3.21 it says the clan of Gershon consisted of 7500.In Numbers 3.27-28 it says that that in the clan of Korach there were 8600.Finally in Numbers 3.33-34 the clan of Meran had 6,200members. Add that up: 7500+8600+6200 = 22,300.  But in Numbers 3.39 it says the total is 22,000. For a normal document this would no ..read more

Megilat Setarim - The Secret Scroll of R. Nachman of Breslov Introduction This article – based extensively on the research by Professor Zvi Mark[1] − examines the relatively recent emergence of a work by R. Nachman of Breslov, Megilat Setarim, that was thought to have either been lost or hidden away.  A cloud of secrecy has always hung over this enigmatic work, particularly concerning the reasons for it to have remained a secret document, but as we shall see, many elements of secrecy surrounded the personality of R. Nachman of Breslov in general. For some reason, secrecy se ..read more

  Abstract Efodi (d. 1433) is well acquainted with three powerful streams of Jewish learning ─ Talmud, Maimonidean Philosophy and Kabbalah. He argues that each of these schools has inherent and significant flaws in terms of their authenticity of tradition, let alone that they promote scholarly elitism. In their place, he boldly and controversially suggests a democratisation of Jewish scholarship through a return to the basics of Torah (i.e., biblical) study. Was this radical attempt at reshaping the Jewish learning curriculum a response to the Christian persecutions in Spain in 1391, or ..read more

  Recently discovered text in Maimonides' handwriting Introduction This article – based extensively on the research by Professor Menachem Kellner[1] – penetrates directly into the thought of Maimonides. It offers a no-holds-barred approach to pure Maimonidean ideology as interpreted by Kellner, a recognised authority on Maimonidean thought.  Most Torah lectures, and Halachic decisions reference Maimonides, yet – astoundingly − very few of the presenters of those forums are always aware of how Maimonides (Rambam) actually viewed Judaism. Not surprisingly, then, many will find ..read more

  Emet veEmunah, an anthology of teachings from Kotzk Introduction This article – based extensively on the research by Professors Evan Mayse and Daniel Reiser[1] − examines a fascinating anomaly within Chassidic literature: Most of the formal Chassidic texts used today are in Hebrew, but Hebrew was not the medium through which the discourses were generally transmitted. The original teachings were mainly presented orally and in Yiddish.  The question is whether or not this is a significant distinction, and can it have some bearing on how we read the popular Chassidic texts to ..read more