Levi Cooper | Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies (original) (raw)

Papers by Levi Cooper

Social Science Research Network, Dec 12, 2012

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Jewish Law Association Studies, 2022

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Segula, 2014

Background: There is no consensus on the optimal drainage technique in the management of biliary ... more Background: There is no consensus on the optimal drainage technique in the management of biliary anastomotic strictures occurring after right-lobe living-donor liver transplantation (RL LDLT). Aims: To investigate whether there is a superiority between unilateral and bilateral drainage groups in terms of efficacy and safety of biliary drainage in RL LDLT patients undergoing double-biliary reconstruction. Study design: Retrospective Cohort Methods: Between January 2009 and August 2019, 1693 patients underwent RL LDLT. Of these, 182 patients who developed biliary anastomotic strictures out of the 306 patients who had double-biliary reconstruction, were included in the study. One hundred fifty-five patients with technical success were divided into 2 groups as unilateral (n=116) and bilateral (n=39) drainage groups. The groups were compared in terms of variable parameters such as clinical success, additional procedure, post-ERCP complication, procedures after clinical failure, hospital stay, mortality, and survival. Results: The clinical success was higher in the bilateral group (70% vs. 82%, P = .201). In the initial and the follow-up periods, a total of 44 (38%) patients in the unilateral group were switched to the bilateral drainage group due to the increased need for stenting. The placement of a stent successfully solved the problem only in 28% (32/117) of the patients in the unilateral group, while this rate was 44% (17/39) in the bilateral group. The median follow-up time of both groups was 42 months, and was equal. The number of stent-free follow-up patients in the unilateral drainage group was less than that in the bilateral drainage group (4 and 7, respectively). Conclusion: An active attempt should be made for bilateral drainage in patients with biliary anastomotic stricture following RL LDLT. However, for patients in whom bilateral drainage is not possible, unilateral drainage may be recommended, with the placement of a maximum number of stents following primary biliary balloon dilatation, depending on the degree of stricture.

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Social Science Research Network, Dec 31, 2020

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Social Science Research Network, 2020

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This chapter discusses the relationship between Jewish Law and Hasidism – the religious revival t... more This chapter discusses the relationship between Jewish Law and Hasidism – the religious revival that began in Eastern Europe in the second half of the eighteenth century and that continues to animate Jewish politics, religion, music, storytelling, and practice to this very day. Literary sources of Jewish law are presented and the hasidic contribution to each legal genre is detailed. This is followed by an overview of the state of research, and the contention that this fertile ground remains to be fully explored. The chapter concludes with a case study of hasidic headwear – fur hats known as shtrayml, spodik, or kolpik – and how they are treated in the writing of Rabbi Hayim Elazar Shapira of Munkacs (1871-1937), known by the title of his collection of responsa: Minhat Elazar. The shtraymel case study highlights the potential of Jewish legal writing from the hasidic milieu.

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The Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy, 2014

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Diné Israel , 2022

The Hasidic custom on Passover is to avoid gebrokts – that is, matsah that has come in contact wi... more The Hasidic custom on Passover is to avoid gebrokts – that is, matsah that has come in contact with water. This article explores the practice as a case study for the adoption, popularization, and spread of Hasidic customs. The acceptance of the custom is linked to the approach of the nascent Hasidic movement towards Lurianic mystical lore and the quest to encourage the Jewish laity to embrace practices grounded in this tradition. This process contributed to the coalescence of Hasidic identity. A vector of this research explores the legal writings from the Beit Midrash of Hasidism as they pertain to the gebrokts custom. Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liady was the first Hasidic jurist to relate to the custom. In an undated responsum he advocated the adoption of the practice, though he did not mention the custom in his code of law. The two sources provide freeze frames of the process of a custom germinating in an emerging community. This is a rare opportunity to pinpoint such a process. The case of gebrokts in the Hasidic milieu is significant from an additional perspective. Customs that took root during Hasidism’s formative years were observed in communal spaces: Prayer rites and venues, white clothing, slaughter knives, the communal festive meal, and others. Gebrokts is an early case of Hasidic values entering the privacy of the home. As families sat down for the traditional Passover seder, Hasidism – in the form of the gebrokts stricture – was present at the festivities.

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Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt was offered an opportunity that would make any performer swoon: a star ... more Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt was offered an opportunity that would make any performer swoon: a star role in the groundbreaking film The Jazz Singer (1927). Yet Rosenblatt refused this artistic opportunity of a lifetime. This paper contextualizes Rosenblatt's baffling decision, by exploring one possible relationship between the arts and law; in this case-the art of storytelling and the Jewish legal system. The study demonstrates where the two pursuits tread separate, unlinked paths to a common end. This vector is refracted through the lens of liturgical performances outside the religious synagogue service; specifically the propriety of cantorial concerts featuring prayers from the High Holy Days. This issue is addressed in legal writing and in storytelling, each modality using its own tools to tackle the trend. It is noted that legal systems without effective enforcement mechanisms-such as Jewish law in the late modern period-could use arts as compensatory media for achieving societ...

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This paper outlines the inconsistencies, idiosyncrasies, and unusual features of the code of Jewi... more This paper outlines the inconsistencies, idiosyncrasies, and unusual features of the code of Jewish law written by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liady (ca. 1745-1812) and first published posthumously in 1814-1816. The spotlight is cast on the code’s paratext – a notion introduced by French literary theorist Gerard Genette to describe any part of a work, except for the main body of the composition. The study offers a viable explanation for the unorthodox phenomena, by recounting the history of the code from its inception through its early editions. The account reveals that when Shneur Zalman died prematurely in 1812, his legal writings were in state of disarray. His sons cobbled together faulty, copied, and partial manuscripts in a valiant attempt to construct their illustrious father’s legal legacy. They utilised the paratext in order to frame the work, essentially creating a code out of a disparate array of legal writings. The results of their efforts would become known as Shulhan ‘Arukh ...

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Polin: Studies in Polish Jewry Volume 30

IN THE LATE 1820s a set of takanot (regulations) regarding traditional Jewish education for all b... more IN THE LATE 1820s a set of takanot (regulations) regarding traditional Jewish education for all boys in Munkács, in Carpathian Ruthenia, at the time part of the Habsburg monarchy, was enacted by the local rabbinic leadership. They were titled Takanot tamkhin de’orayta (‘Regulations for the Support of Torah’), and over the next century they were copied and printed in different locations in eastern Europe. This chapter examines the ...

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Moments before beginning the silent prayer, male and female synagogue attendees in Istanbul turn ... more Moments before beginning the silent prayer, male and female synagogue attendees in Istanbul turn to each other and offer a fleeting hand gesture. This study tracks this inimitable practice from its hazy origins, through almost four centuries to the present day. Beyond uncovering the sources of the custom and laying bare the justifications and explanations, this study considers the evolving meaning of this practice, demonstrating that the custom goes through different stages. The practice’s recorded history begins with esoteric kabbalistic lore, it then metamorphoses into an accessible template, before processes of mainstreamisation threaten its existence. The survival of the practice is protected in contemporary communities that function like Nature Reserves. Unique customs that are preserved in such Nature Reserves should be guarded and documented.

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Would a court judging according to Jewish Law find Voldemort guilty for the murders of James and ... more Would a court judging according to Jewish Law find Voldemort guilty for the murders of James and Lily Potter? Voldemort had the intention to kill, yet the legal question is: Would Jewish Law consider the Killing Curse to be an act of murder? This study explores legal aspects of three magical phenomena – incantations that kill, automatic writing like Tom Riddle’s Diary, and food with different possible tastes like Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans – as they are discussed in Jewish Law. In Jewish esoteric lore, magical phenomena have conventionally been the province of the mystically adept. Though laypeople may not have been proficient in magic, the mystical tradition dictated conduct. A by-product of this situation was that jurists considered legal implications of magic. Legal opinions on magical phenomena can therefore be found in Jewish legal literature, making this corpus fertile ground for analysis.Drawing on the fields of Comparative Law, Law and Literature, and Legal History, th...

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The Blessing over the Sun (Birkat HaHama) is recited once every twenty-eight years. This study an... more The Blessing over the Sun (Birkat HaHama) is recited once every twenty-eight years. This study analyses the ritual as it was conducted in 2009 in three hasidic courts: Lubavitch, Munkatch, and Boyan. A comparative study of the choice of liturgical passages and of the manner of presentation of the liturgy, together with anecdotal evidence, reveals the narrative of each community. This narrative is not necessarily limited to this rare ceremony, and in some cases reflects the general attitude of the particular hasidic community. The uncanonised nature of the rite also exposes a theme that is common to the three hasidic courts discussed: the tension between fidelity to tradition and the creative spirit.

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Review essay Immanuel Etkes’ Ba'al Ha-Tanya: Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liady and the Origins of ... more Review essay Immanuel Etkes’ Ba'al Ha-Tanya: Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liady and the Origins of Habad Hasidism (2011). While praising Etkes’ work, the author highlights that Shneur Zalman was also an accomplished jurist and this biographical angle has yet to be fully explored.

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הרב לוי יצחק מברדיטשוב היה בין הדמויות הבולטות בשחר החסידות. מלבד פועלו באפיק החסידי, ולצד דמותו ... more הרב לוי יצחק מברדיטשוב היה בין הדמויות הבולטות בשחר החסידות. מלבד פועלו באפיק החסידי, ולצד דמותו האגדתית הנצורה בזיכרון הקולקטיבי – ר' לוי יצחק גם עסק ברבנות ובהנהגה ציבורית, בענייני הלכה ובכתיבת שו"ת, בתלמוד תורה ובלמדנות תלמודית. רשימה זו סוקרת ומעריכה – ובמידה מסוימת גם גואלת – את הפעילות הלא-חסידית של ר' לוי יצחק בשלושה תחומים: רבנות, הלכה ולמדנות תלמודית. באמצעות בחינת ידיעות ועדויות ממקורות שונים ומפוזרים, ובעזרת בחינת תולדות הדפסת כתבי ר' לוי יצחק, ניתן להציץ מבעד למסך הזמן ולהבחין בדיוקן עשיר ומורכב של מנהיג חסידי שגם היה איש הלכה ולמדן. הארת היבטים עלומים אלו בתולדות ר' לוי יצחק מאירה גם על תולדות החסידות בתקופת גיבושה וגם על תולדות ההלכה, ובכך מוסיפה חלק לתצרף המורכב של היחס להלכה של הצדיקים בשחר החסידות.

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Social Science Research Network, 2014

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Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt (1882-1933) was offered an opportunity that would make any performer sw... more Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt (1882-1933) was offered an opportunity that would make any performer swoon: a star role in the ground-breaking film The Jazz Singer (1927). Yet Rosenblatt refused this artistic opportunity of the lifetime. This paper contextualises Rosenblatt’s baffling decision, by exploring one possible relationship between art and law; in this case – the art of storytelling and the Jewish legal system. The study demonstrates where the two pursuits tread separate, unlinked paths to a common end. This vector is refracted through the lens of performance of prayers outside of the religious synagogue service; specifically the propriety of cantorial concerts that presented prayers from the High Holy Day liturgy. This issue appears in Jewish legal writing and in storytelling – each modality using its own tools to tackle the trend. It is noted that legal systems without effective enforcement mechanisms – such as Jewish law in the late modern period – could use arts as compensato...

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This study focuses on the rabbinate of Munkacs, situated in Subcarpathian Rus’. By tracing the ep... more This study focuses on the rabbinate of Munkacs, situated in Subcarpathian Rus’. By tracing the epistolary networks of Munkacs rabbis, and garnering what we know about the rabbis’ origins and activity, it is possible to sketch the influences that gave this town’s rabbinate its character. This study spans the period from the earliest recorded rabbi of Munkacs through to the end of the nineteenth-century when the town’s rabbinate took on a dynastic character. For most of Munkacs history – Polish and Hungarian stimuli seemed to take turns in leaving their mark on the town, making this borderland region into a catchment basin for competing ideologies. Hasidism arrived from Poland and Orthodoxy arrived from Hungary. While a cultural and intellectual crossroads implies transfer of ideas, Munkacs was not an apparent waystation: Polish Hasidism did not spread from Munkacs throughout Hungary; Hungarian Orthodoxy did not travel from Munkacs to Poland. Rather, Munkacs was a terminus.

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Social Science Research Network, Dec 12, 2012

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Jewish Law Association Studies, 2022

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Segula, 2014

Background: There is no consensus on the optimal drainage technique in the management of biliary ... more Background: There is no consensus on the optimal drainage technique in the management of biliary anastomotic strictures occurring after right-lobe living-donor liver transplantation (RL LDLT). Aims: To investigate whether there is a superiority between unilateral and bilateral drainage groups in terms of efficacy and safety of biliary drainage in RL LDLT patients undergoing double-biliary reconstruction. Study design: Retrospective Cohort Methods: Between January 2009 and August 2019, 1693 patients underwent RL LDLT. Of these, 182 patients who developed biliary anastomotic strictures out of the 306 patients who had double-biliary reconstruction, were included in the study. One hundred fifty-five patients with technical success were divided into 2 groups as unilateral (n=116) and bilateral (n=39) drainage groups. The groups were compared in terms of variable parameters such as clinical success, additional procedure, post-ERCP complication, procedures after clinical failure, hospital stay, mortality, and survival. Results: The clinical success was higher in the bilateral group (70% vs. 82%, P = .201). In the initial and the follow-up periods, a total of 44 (38%) patients in the unilateral group were switched to the bilateral drainage group due to the increased need for stenting. The placement of a stent successfully solved the problem only in 28% (32/117) of the patients in the unilateral group, while this rate was 44% (17/39) in the bilateral group. The median follow-up time of both groups was 42 months, and was equal. The number of stent-free follow-up patients in the unilateral drainage group was less than that in the bilateral drainage group (4 and 7, respectively). Conclusion: An active attempt should be made for bilateral drainage in patients with biliary anastomotic stricture following RL LDLT. However, for patients in whom bilateral drainage is not possible, unilateral drainage may be recommended, with the placement of a maximum number of stents following primary biliary balloon dilatation, depending on the degree of stricture.

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Social Science Research Network, Dec 31, 2020

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Social Science Research Network, 2020

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This chapter discusses the relationship between Jewish Law and Hasidism – the religious revival t... more This chapter discusses the relationship between Jewish Law and Hasidism – the religious revival that began in Eastern Europe in the second half of the eighteenth century and that continues to animate Jewish politics, religion, music, storytelling, and practice to this very day. Literary sources of Jewish law are presented and the hasidic contribution to each legal genre is detailed. This is followed by an overview of the state of research, and the contention that this fertile ground remains to be fully explored. The chapter concludes with a case study of hasidic headwear – fur hats known as shtrayml, spodik, or kolpik – and how they are treated in the writing of Rabbi Hayim Elazar Shapira of Munkacs (1871-1937), known by the title of his collection of responsa: Minhat Elazar. The shtraymel case study highlights the potential of Jewish legal writing from the hasidic milieu.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

The Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy, 2014

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Diné Israel , 2022

The Hasidic custom on Passover is to avoid gebrokts – that is, matsah that has come in contact wi... more The Hasidic custom on Passover is to avoid gebrokts – that is, matsah that has come in contact with water. This article explores the practice as a case study for the adoption, popularization, and spread of Hasidic customs. The acceptance of the custom is linked to the approach of the nascent Hasidic movement towards Lurianic mystical lore and the quest to encourage the Jewish laity to embrace practices grounded in this tradition. This process contributed to the coalescence of Hasidic identity. A vector of this research explores the legal writings from the Beit Midrash of Hasidism as they pertain to the gebrokts custom. Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liady was the first Hasidic jurist to relate to the custom. In an undated responsum he advocated the adoption of the practice, though he did not mention the custom in his code of law. The two sources provide freeze frames of the process of a custom germinating in an emerging community. This is a rare opportunity to pinpoint such a process. The case of gebrokts in the Hasidic milieu is significant from an additional perspective. Customs that took root during Hasidism’s formative years were observed in communal spaces: Prayer rites and venues, white clothing, slaughter knives, the communal festive meal, and others. Gebrokts is an early case of Hasidic values entering the privacy of the home. As families sat down for the traditional Passover seder, Hasidism – in the form of the gebrokts stricture – was present at the festivities.

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Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt was offered an opportunity that would make any performer swoon: a star ... more Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt was offered an opportunity that would make any performer swoon: a star role in the groundbreaking film The Jazz Singer (1927). Yet Rosenblatt refused this artistic opportunity of a lifetime. This paper contextualizes Rosenblatt's baffling decision, by exploring one possible relationship between the arts and law; in this case-the art of storytelling and the Jewish legal system. The study demonstrates where the two pursuits tread separate, unlinked paths to a common end. This vector is refracted through the lens of liturgical performances outside the religious synagogue service; specifically the propriety of cantorial concerts featuring prayers from the High Holy Days. This issue is addressed in legal writing and in storytelling, each modality using its own tools to tackle the trend. It is noted that legal systems without effective enforcement mechanisms-such as Jewish law in the late modern period-could use arts as compensatory media for achieving societ...

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This paper outlines the inconsistencies, idiosyncrasies, and unusual features of the code of Jewi... more This paper outlines the inconsistencies, idiosyncrasies, and unusual features of the code of Jewish law written by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liady (ca. 1745-1812) and first published posthumously in 1814-1816. The spotlight is cast on the code’s paratext – a notion introduced by French literary theorist Gerard Genette to describe any part of a work, except for the main body of the composition. The study offers a viable explanation for the unorthodox phenomena, by recounting the history of the code from its inception through its early editions. The account reveals that when Shneur Zalman died prematurely in 1812, his legal writings were in state of disarray. His sons cobbled together faulty, copied, and partial manuscripts in a valiant attempt to construct their illustrious father’s legal legacy. They utilised the paratext in order to frame the work, essentially creating a code out of a disparate array of legal writings. The results of their efforts would become known as Shulhan ‘Arukh ...

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Polin: Studies in Polish Jewry Volume 30

IN THE LATE 1820s a set of takanot (regulations) regarding traditional Jewish education for all b... more IN THE LATE 1820s a set of takanot (regulations) regarding traditional Jewish education for all boys in Munkács, in Carpathian Ruthenia, at the time part of the Habsburg monarchy, was enacted by the local rabbinic leadership. They were titled Takanot tamkhin de’orayta (‘Regulations for the Support of Torah’), and over the next century they were copied and printed in different locations in eastern Europe. This chapter examines the ...

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Moments before beginning the silent prayer, male and female synagogue attendees in Istanbul turn ... more Moments before beginning the silent prayer, male and female synagogue attendees in Istanbul turn to each other and offer a fleeting hand gesture. This study tracks this inimitable practice from its hazy origins, through almost four centuries to the present day. Beyond uncovering the sources of the custom and laying bare the justifications and explanations, this study considers the evolving meaning of this practice, demonstrating that the custom goes through different stages. The practice’s recorded history begins with esoteric kabbalistic lore, it then metamorphoses into an accessible template, before processes of mainstreamisation threaten its existence. The survival of the practice is protected in contemporary communities that function like Nature Reserves. Unique customs that are preserved in such Nature Reserves should be guarded and documented.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Would a court judging according to Jewish Law find Voldemort guilty for the murders of James and ... more Would a court judging according to Jewish Law find Voldemort guilty for the murders of James and Lily Potter? Voldemort had the intention to kill, yet the legal question is: Would Jewish Law consider the Killing Curse to be an act of murder? This study explores legal aspects of three magical phenomena – incantations that kill, automatic writing like Tom Riddle’s Diary, and food with different possible tastes like Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans – as they are discussed in Jewish Law. In Jewish esoteric lore, magical phenomena have conventionally been the province of the mystically adept. Though laypeople may not have been proficient in magic, the mystical tradition dictated conduct. A by-product of this situation was that jurists considered legal implications of magic. Legal opinions on magical phenomena can therefore be found in Jewish legal literature, making this corpus fertile ground for analysis.Drawing on the fields of Comparative Law, Law and Literature, and Legal History, th...

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

The Blessing over the Sun (Birkat HaHama) is recited once every twenty-eight years. This study an... more The Blessing over the Sun (Birkat HaHama) is recited once every twenty-eight years. This study analyses the ritual as it was conducted in 2009 in three hasidic courts: Lubavitch, Munkatch, and Boyan. A comparative study of the choice of liturgical passages and of the manner of presentation of the liturgy, together with anecdotal evidence, reveals the narrative of each community. This narrative is not necessarily limited to this rare ceremony, and in some cases reflects the general attitude of the particular hasidic community. The uncanonised nature of the rite also exposes a theme that is common to the three hasidic courts discussed: the tension between fidelity to tradition and the creative spirit.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Review essay Immanuel Etkes’ Ba'al Ha-Tanya: Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liady and the Origins of ... more Review essay Immanuel Etkes’ Ba'al Ha-Tanya: Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liady and the Origins of Habad Hasidism (2011). While praising Etkes’ work, the author highlights that Shneur Zalman was also an accomplished jurist and this biographical angle has yet to be fully explored.

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הרב לוי יצחק מברדיטשוב היה בין הדמויות הבולטות בשחר החסידות. מלבד פועלו באפיק החסידי, ולצד דמותו ... more הרב לוי יצחק מברדיטשוב היה בין הדמויות הבולטות בשחר החסידות. מלבד פועלו באפיק החסידי, ולצד דמותו האגדתית הנצורה בזיכרון הקולקטיבי – ר' לוי יצחק גם עסק ברבנות ובהנהגה ציבורית, בענייני הלכה ובכתיבת שו"ת, בתלמוד תורה ובלמדנות תלמודית. רשימה זו סוקרת ומעריכה – ובמידה מסוימת גם גואלת – את הפעילות הלא-חסידית של ר' לוי יצחק בשלושה תחומים: רבנות, הלכה ולמדנות תלמודית. באמצעות בחינת ידיעות ועדויות ממקורות שונים ומפוזרים, ובעזרת בחינת תולדות הדפסת כתבי ר' לוי יצחק, ניתן להציץ מבעד למסך הזמן ולהבחין בדיוקן עשיר ומורכב של מנהיג חסידי שגם היה איש הלכה ולמדן. הארת היבטים עלומים אלו בתולדות ר' לוי יצחק מאירה גם על תולדות החסידות בתקופת גיבושה וגם על תולדות ההלכה, ובכך מוסיפה חלק לתצרף המורכב של היחס להלכה של הצדיקים בשחר החסידות.

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Social Science Research Network, 2014

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt (1882-1933) was offered an opportunity that would make any performer sw... more Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt (1882-1933) was offered an opportunity that would make any performer swoon: a star role in the ground-breaking film The Jazz Singer (1927). Yet Rosenblatt refused this artistic opportunity of the lifetime. This paper contextualises Rosenblatt’s baffling decision, by exploring one possible relationship between art and law; in this case – the art of storytelling and the Jewish legal system. The study demonstrates where the two pursuits tread separate, unlinked paths to a common end. This vector is refracted through the lens of performance of prayers outside of the religious synagogue service; specifically the propriety of cantorial concerts that presented prayers from the High Holy Day liturgy. This issue appears in Jewish legal writing and in storytelling – each modality using its own tools to tackle the trend. It is noted that legal systems without effective enforcement mechanisms – such as Jewish law in the late modern period – could use arts as compensato...

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This study focuses on the rabbinate of Munkacs, situated in Subcarpathian Rus’. By tracing the ep... more This study focuses on the rabbinate of Munkacs, situated in Subcarpathian Rus’. By tracing the epistolary networks of Munkacs rabbis, and garnering what we know about the rabbis’ origins and activity, it is possible to sketch the influences that gave this town’s rabbinate its character. This study spans the period from the earliest recorded rabbi of Munkacs through to the end of the nineteenth-century when the town’s rabbinate took on a dynastic character. For most of Munkacs history – Polish and Hungarian stimuli seemed to take turns in leaving their mark on the town, making this borderland region into a catchment basin for competing ideologies. Hasidism arrived from Poland and Orthodoxy arrived from Hungary. While a cultural and intellectual crossroads implies transfer of ideas, Munkacs was not an apparent waystation: Polish Hasidism did not spread from Munkacs throughout Hungary; Hungarian Orthodoxy did not travel from Munkacs to Poland. Rather, Munkacs was a terminus.

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A collection of scholarly studies in Hebrew on different aspects of one of the great hasidic mast... more A collection of scholarly studies in Hebrew on different aspects of one of the great hasidic masters, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Halevi Epstein of Kraków (1751-1823), and his posthumously published seminal work: Maor Vashamesh (Breslau, 1842).

This multi-disciplinary volume will include a variety of perspectives on the Maor Vashamesh and the author’s place in hasidic thought and history, presenting a mosaic of a central hasidic leader who has thus far not received sufficient scholarly attention.

Proposals should be no longer than one page and should include: (1) name of author, (2) academic affiliation, (3) abstract of proposed article, and (4) brief biographical statement.

Proposals should be emailed to maorvashamesh@gmail.com
Deadline for submission of proposals: December 13, 2017.
Final articles in Hebrew on the basis of accepted proposals to be submitted by June 1, 2018. Articles will be subject to double review before acceptance.

A more detailed Hebrew version of this call is available.

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A relic is an object surviving from an earlier time, carefully and conscientiously preserved, est... more A relic is an object surviving from an earlier time, carefully and
conscientiously preserved, esteemed and venerated. It is a hallowed object of historical interest, of sentimental value, of unquestionable worth. The Talmud is such a relic. This work explores the world of the sages, seeking relevance in the timeless texts of the Talmud. Each section analyses a passage from Berakhot, the first tractate of Talmud, chapters five to nine, presenting the commentators’ insights, searching for meaning and hoping to provide inspiration for our generation.

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A relic is an object surviving from an earlier time, carefully and conscientiously preserved, est... more A relic is an object surviving from an earlier time, carefully and
conscientiously preserved, esteemed and venerated. It is a hallowed
object of historical interest, of sentimental value, of unquestionable
worth. The Talmud is such a relic. This work explores the world of the sages, seeking relevance in the timeless texts of the Talmud. Each section analyses a passage from Berakhot, the first tractate of Talmud, chapters one to five, presenting the commentators’ insights, searching for meaning and hoping to provide inspiration for our generation.

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The Arts in Legal History Conference, Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University, Jun 6, 2014

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