Raif Melhado

Piza’s 1793 book “Shir Emunim” - the source of Ahaba Beta’anugim” - used to be up on Google Books. Can’t find it now, alas. Does anyone have the link or a pdf?

Western Sephardim and Indo-Iraqi Jews:In my lived experience as well as in my reading, I see a pattern repeated a few times, which is the overlap in several key experiences between Western Sephardim and Indo-Iraqis. I am interested to discuss this with our group, to see whether/why you agree or disagree. Parallels that I have noticed are:1) Relationship to the British and Dutch colonial empires2...

Ton Tielen or Michael Waas or anyone who knows: is there a consensus on the historical Hebrew spelling of “Martinez”?

Are the Altaras Mishnayot or Piza humash available online?

The kids’ color choices for this year

I love the transliteration!(Calendar for 1954, Cairo)

I read the last 3 chapters of the biography of Isaac Leeser this Shabbat. Reactions:1) I learned that Beth El Emeth was formed in 1857 as a breakaway of the Leeser faction from Mikveh Israel with the sole purpose of providing Leeser with a pulpit. This meant that for a decade, Sabato Morais and Leeser served simultaneously in Philadelphia, in two bitterly competing congregations.2) Sussman's ass...

Do I remember someone in this group having a book of Rashe Tebot for Moroccan ketubbot?

Read another four chapters of Isaac Leeser’s biography. A theme that keeps coming up is the apparent disinterest of the Adjunta of Mikveh Israel in the activities in which Leeser was engaged for the Jewish public - in other words, the ones for which he is posthumously beloved and admired. As a general rule, they would not fund his schools or publications, and their support of some of his nationa...

Happy birthday to the Esnoga!

When someone signs a document with זלה״ה, what is the expansion? It is obviously not זכרונו לחיי העולם הבא which is what I keep finding online.

During the kids’ nap over Shabbat, I read the first three chapters of Sussman’s biography of Isaac Leeser. It fits perfectly with the fast, when his book remains in use over 150 years after he wrote it. I recommend it to anyone - it’s hard to believe that it took so many generations after his public service to get the recognition of a full biography.

Looking into something for work, and found this “Patriotic Confederate Service at Beth Shalome.” Wholly apart from the Confederate issue, which is perhaps better suited for the Debate group, I am noticing the orthography of the transliterations.

Apparently Gershom Mendes Seixas made it onto the “Haham Yayomi” site. Reactions:1) I love that they put him there2) I am pleasantly surprised that they put someone up who was not ordained as a rabbi

There are plenty of histories of our communities in the 17th-early 19th centuries. What are some good titles that cover the mid-19th through 20th centuries?

Anyone have info on Avraham Hamaoui (Hamawi) for me to share with a friend who asked? He apparently lived in Livorno and published books there by the dozen.

This new book looks like it will be pretty cool. $110 for the hardcover is heartbreaking, but the paperback is affordable.

Found an extra copy of Haham Gaon's commentary on the de Sola Pool daily siddur. I might be induced to part with it; PM me if interested.(My fellow admins - delete if you feel the group should not be used this way; I just thought this is the place where people would actually cherish such a book.)

I had a bizarre dream in which I was rolling a very old Sefer Torah at a historic S&P synagogue, and was surprised to see that at some point they had added an extra sheet of parchment at the beginning to trumpet the history of the scroll. (Yes, feel free to tease about the dorkiness of this dream topic.)Upon waking, I was reminded of a few scrolls that I’ve seen in which there was a stamp, sticke...

In the Wikipedia entry for Sefer Hayashar, it says that the Mormons bought the rights to a translation of it from the estate of Mordecai Noah, and published it in 1887. Never know when the long arm of the S&P will show up in the wider world.

I got about 60 pages into this over the Yom Tob. Catriel Ceballos I recall you noting the similarities between our minhag and certain Algerian communities. The book is still launching - anything I should look out for?

Every Pesah for the last 25-30 years my family has made Irma Lopes-Cardozo’s haroset. I like the taste and added it to my own repertoire (pic included).If memory serves, some here have said it is not a traditional Suriname recipe. Anyone know its origin?

I made a new translation on the Keter Shem Tov website for the first time in several years. H/T to Yoel Pimentel for the nudge.Here are some ways you can help me with this one:1) In the English footnoting at the bottom of the page, I tried a new idea of having links to the exact page in Hebrewbooks for all the sources that he cites. However I ran out of steam at the end and didn't catch the last...

Since our Eda is known for throwing chairs over grammar: in Parashat Teruma ch. 26, what grammatical rule governs why it would be “ha’ehat” vs. “ha’ahat”? I have a horse-since that it’s about pausal reading, but if so does that include zakef-katon?

For the grammarians among us, what is the correct transliteration of the sixth seder of mishnayot?