By submitting the above I agree to the privacy policy and terms of use of JTA.org Schiff chose the volume in part because of his concerns about the state of the rule of law as President-elect Donald Trump returns to office the freshman Democratic senator from California is being sworn into office on a 1490 edition of Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah one of the most revered and prominent codes of Jewish law in a statement ahead of his swearing in on Monday was “a monumental legal code and one of the most organized The edition was published by Gershom ben Mosheh ish Sontsino a scion of a pioneering Jewish printing family known as Soncino A publishing house in the family’s name is still active A spokeswoman for Schiff, until this week a U.S. Representative and a former federal prosecutor, said he chose the volume, held by the Library of Congress, in part because of his concerns about the state of the rule of law as President-elect Donald Trump returns to office. Schiff led one of Trump’s impeachments in the president’s first term and co-chaired the congressional investigation into the deadly Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riot, which was spurred by Trump’s false claims he won that election. Trump, who has promised “retribution” against his perceived enemies, said this week Schiff should be jailed The spokeswoman said that Schiff was also attracted to the volume because of his intellectual curiosity “It’s simply his nerdy interest in how old this volume is and how comprehensive it is,” she said Two pages from a 1490 edition of the Mishnah Torah Maimonides, also known as Rambam and considered one of history’s preeminent Jewish scholars, wrote the Mishnah Torah in the 12th century as an all-inclusive guide to the system of Jewish law Written in Hebrew and divided into 14 volumes it is a fixture of Jewish houses of study and other educational institutions Schiff is not the only Jewish elected official who in recent years chose to be sworn into office on volumes that reflect why they got into politics in 2023 was sworn in on a stack of three Hebrew Bibles including the one that was on the bimah when a gunman massacred 11 Jewish worshipers in a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 in 2021 was sworn in on a book of Hebrew scripture once owned by an Atlanta rabbi whose synagogue building was bombed by white supremacists in 1958 JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent I accept the Privacy Policy Getting the full Talmud Bavli printed was no simple task in the 15th century a fact the Soncino family found out even after their best efforts It wasn’t until a Christan printer named Daniel Bomberg came along that the task was completed Thousands of priceless treasures lie on the shelves and safes of the Central Chabad Library won’t have the chance to see the most precious of them launched by Anash.org in partnership with the Rebbe’s library will showcase some of the most unique and historic books and items in the Rebbe’s library The fourth episode showcases three early editions of the printed Talmud Bavli editions that set the tone for all future prints “Printed in the Year גמר”א” In 1483 Joshua Solomon Soncino opened a Hebrew press in Soncino printed almost twenty books in approximately five years.   Among the books he published were volumes of the Talmud.  completed in 1484 (the numbers of the corresponding Hebrew year are numerically equal to the word “Gemara”).  This tractate is printed with Rashi and Tosafot in the margins The Library has several folios from the Soncino tractates found in the bindings of books printed in the mid-sixteenth century.  Among the fragments is the present colophon to tractate Berakhot.  one of the members of the Soncino family moved from Soncino to Pesaro after the city where they had begun their printing empire.  Gershom Soncino opened his press in Pesaro in 1507 The page exhibited here is from tractate Eruvin Finally: The First Complete ShasThe first Bomberg Talmud- 1520-23 a Christian who was one of the most important printers of Hebrew books He published the editio princeps – the first printed edition – of the entire Talmud  in Venice from 1520-23 Following the format created by Joshua Solomon Soncino the Talmud is printed with Rashi and Tosfos in the margins The edition is also significant in that it established the standard both in terms of page layout as well as pagination followed by almost all subsequent editions to the present.  The Library has numerous tractates from this edition.   Notify me via e-mail if anyone answers my comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Spectators gather near food trucks at the Marco Simone Golf Club in Guidonia Montecelio The Ryder Cup's food scene is decidedly local at the Marco Simone club outside Rome There's an "APECESARE" food truck named after Julius Caesar selling "Street Food Romano" where the menu highlight is a carbonara burger with Damini beef Vendor Alessandro Favola says "eat one and you're all set." Another option at the same truck is a cacio e pepe burger based on another classic Roman pasta Both burgers sell for 23 euros ($24) with fries Italy — Beyond the fancy hospitality tents the Ryder Cup’s food scene is decidedly local at the Marco Simone club outside Rome There’s an “APECESARE” food truck named after Julius Caesar selling “Street Food Romano,” where the menu highlight is a carbonara burger — a spinoff on Rome’s most famous pasta dish — with Damini beef “Eat one and you’re all set,” vendor Alessandro Favola said Another option at the same truck is a cacio e pepe burger based on another classic Roman pasta A few trucks down is an orange-colored “Spritz Bar” on wheels But don’t expect to find the classic Aperol Spritz here That’s because Aperol isn’t an official Ryder Cup sponsor the spritzes are provided by Ryder Cup champagne partner Moet & Chandon The “spritzes” — if they can still be called that without prosecco too — come already mixed with the champagne infused by orange peel Spectators buy food at the APECESARE food truck at the Marco Simone Golf Club in Guidonia Montecelio about 600 “spritzes” were sold Tuesday — the first day with spectators on site olive ascolane (fried olives stuffed with meat) the menu should be slightly more sophisticated for the official Ryder Cup gala dinner Wednesday evening at the Baths of Caracalla — which follows a teams’ photo shoot at the Spanish Steps The enormous merchandise store is the first thing arriving fans see when they walk over a bridge onto the Marco Simone property A package of 12 Ryder Cup golf balls sells for 37 euros ($39) a deluxe Marco Simone tour golf bag is tagged at 747 euros (nearly $800) and golf shoes featuring a gold-colored Ryder Cup trophy logo stitched near the heel fetch 273 euros ($288) How about a three-item ball marker set featuring vespa One curious item: a plastic “light head protector” that folds in under “all common golf caps” to provide protection from errant golf shots claims that the item “absorbs up to 87% of the impact energy of a golf ball.” At 25 euros ($26) The Newsday app makes it easier to access content without having to log in Unlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 6 months Constantinople: Eliezer ben Gershom Soncino Beginning of Genesis with 2 woodcuts of the Hebrew letter 'bet' (BL Or the British Library collection stores some hidden treasures.The British Library is well known for being one of the greatest repositories of both Hebrew manuscripts and printed books in the West what is not so commonly known is that the Library is also home to around 60 volumes containing around one hundred different texts from the Judeo-Persian tradition some of them dating all the way back to the Early Middle Ages Judeo-Persian studies have been neglected for a long time inadequate knowledge of not only Persian languages but also of the Persian literary tradition (including that of Persian Jews the “Bavli,” being its cornerstone) and limited access to certain sources all explain why this field has remained underdeveloped for a long time But that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore as a renewed scholarly interest in the area is thriving in several seminars The British Library’s collection of Judeo-Persian manuscripts comprises a variety of texts including biblical translations (known as “tafsir” in Middle Persian) and even some sections from Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah If you want to know some more details on the collection, click here to visit the Asian and African Studies Blog on the British Library website Articles like these are sponsored free for every Catholic through the support of generous readers just like you Please make a tax-deductible donation today Help us continue to bring the Gospel to people everywhere through uplifting Catholic news Inoxdadi has announced that General Manager Giulio Gandioli passed away at the end of July 2022 Giulio lived his profession more as a passion than as a job managing to be recognised as a gentleman both by the staff of Inoxdadi and by a very large audience of customers a small medieval village in the province of Cremona achieving a diploma as an industrial technician Giulio quickly became a commercial director at the offices of an important multinational in the chemical sector Always looking for new and more exciting challenges he founded Inoxdadi Srl with a partner in 1973 with the company initially dealing with the production and marketing of turned nuts in stainless steel with the need for larger volumes and the introduction of new production techniques Inoxdadi decided to purchase innovative machinery for the cold moulding of dies the growing market demand led Inoxdadi to be a pioneer also in the direct importation of finished products the company decided to concentrate all its resources on the production and marketing of niche nuts which involved special processes and the use of very sophisticated and high performance materials – especially in terms of mechanical resistance The same philosophy of continuous research and innovation in the field of materials can still be found today in the company’s extensive catalogue of special alloys for the most varied applications Inoxdadi has become a real point of reference in the fastener sector and a leading a supplier in the energy as well as his capacity for objective judgment made Inoxdadi a safe and performing ‘port’ in the immense ‘sea of bolts and nuts’ Giulio leaves a well-organised company that can count on skills established over decades of production as well as a first rate fleet of machines and highly qualified professionals – who have always been the key in the company’s ability to offer its customers the highest quality products and service for the last 50 years Giulio’s children – who have long been employed at the company in the production and administrative departments – will continue their father’s work Will joined Fastener + Fixing Magazine in 2007 and over the last 15 years has experienced every facet of the fastener sector - interviewing key figures within the industry and visiting leading companies and exhibitions around the globe Will manages the content strategy across all platforms and is the guardian for the high editorial standards that the Magazine is renowned Our weekly email is chockful of interesting and relevant insights into Jewish history Daniel Bomberg capitalized on the disruptive new technology – printing understanding the potentially huge market for books amongst Jews People are familiar with Rabbi Meir Shapiro who initiated the Daf Yomi worldwide phenomenon where Jews around the world learn the same page (daf) of Talmud But does anyone ever think of Daniel Bomberg the Christian who literally put the “daf” in Daf Yomi Rabbi Shapiro’s brainchild was born in 1923 social and economic forces exerted a centrifugal force on the Jews of that era Rabbi Shapiro understood that the shared study of the Talmud was a powerful way of bringing the fractured Jewish people together under the umbrella of our long intellectual and spiritual tradition as boldly ambitious as it was elegantly simple has united Talmud enthusiasts from Lakewood to London from Hebron to Hong Kong – literally anywhere in the world one can find a class that is literally keeping Jews around the world on the same Talmudic page could not have occurred without the signal contribution of one Daniel Bomberg Born in Antwerp in the late 1400s to a middle-class family of printers Bomberg received a decent liberal arts education that even included a smattering of Hebrew This served him in good stead when he went to make his fortune in the bustling metropolis of renaissance Venice home to a mercantile Jewish population that was recently restricted to the Ghetto but Jews were among the early adopters of this disruptive new technology The Soncino family were producing beautiful editions of individual Talmudic tractates confident that the lower production costs of printed Judaica would place books in the reach of average families the Soncinos took great pains to produce works of lasting quality – but they simply couldn’t print their tractates fast enough to meet the demand The title page of a 1525 Hebrew Bible printed by Daniel Bomberg beginning with Jews who had converted to Christianity Bomberg rapidly churned out printed versions of Jewish classics such as the encyclopedic Mikra’ot Gedolot edition of the Torah The early editions were plagued with errors and many readers resented the use of apostates in their preparation but Bomberg had accurately judged the market: the people of the Book wanted lots more books and the demand far outpaced the leisurely supply of the Soncino family of printers Bomberg soon replaced his early staff of Jewish Christians with well-regarded Rabbinic scholars straight out of the ghetto he was also able to negotiate favorable terms for his business including the right for minimal Church censorship arguing that ancient texts required preservation in their original state He even secured rare privileges for his Jewish staff such as an exemption from the requirement to wear the humiliating Jewish hat Bomberg shamelessly copied the Soncino design with the commentary of Rashi on the side closest to the spine and Tosafot on the outside of the page and added one important change: page numbers the Bomberg printing house produced a fantastic number of Hebrew books including the first full printed edition of the Babylonian Talmud including one especially important change: page numbers we simply never got around to inventing basic pagination (we also lagged behind in punctuation and as anyone who struggled to learn modern Hebrew knows Looking at the rapidly evolving conventions of 15th-century printing Bomberg added a letter “bet” to the first page of text in Tractate Berakhot of his second edition of the Talmud – and the Daf was born much rabbinic and scholarly ink has been spilled in vain struggling to understand why he didn’t begin with “aleph,” the first letter of the alphabet The simple explanation is that Bomberg considered the title page as the first folio Bomberg’s brilliant introduction of page numbers ultimately set the standard for every single Daf in virtually every single printed edition of Talmud for the next half-millennium it should be on the same page in every future Talmud Future printers adopted this standardized allocation of precise passages to every page and there was no messing with Bomberg: even the great contemporary scholar Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz was roundly excoriated in certain circles for altering the traditional page layout in his award-winning edition of the Talmud Bomberg made possible the notion of an international Rabbi Shapiro literally couldn’t have done it without him There’s one basic takeaway message to this story: when tens of thousands of Jews crowd together in January 2020 to celebrate another cycle of Daf Yomi – last cycle nearly 100,000 Talmudists packed Met Life stadium and this cycle will likely be bigger – we should recall not only the phenomenal dedication of the Daf Yomi students and teachers and not only the inspirational message of unity through study proposed by Rabbi Shapiro’s vision but maybe we should give some credit to the blessing of a philosemitic Christian from Antwerp This article originally appeared on Ou.org Dr. Henry Abramson serves as a Dean of Touro University in Brooklyn, New York. A popular online lecturer, he is currently working on a three-volume history of the Jewish people for Koren Publishers (Jerusalem). Thank you for signing up for the aish.com free newsletter. The Westminster Talmud as part of my many duties as the librarian for Jewish studies at Columbia University I attended an auction at Sotheby’s in New York The sale included unique and precious items from the famed Valmadonna Trust Library a collection that included Jack Lunzer’s complete set of the so-called Bomberg Talmud There was plenty of animated bidding on the lot and the set finally sold for nearly $10 million breaking records for the highest price ever paid for a set of Jewish books The Bomberg Talmud contained a combination of the first and second complete editions of the Talmud using the relatively new technology of moveable type this set was a rare complete copy of the volumes that set the standards for printed Talmudim still in place today Daniel Bomberg started his monumental task of printing Shas 500 years ago which began in the year 1519 of the modern era Even in an era when everyone has easy access to a computer and a printer the magnitude of printing the Talmud is easy to understand Creating the very first complete printed edition on a fully manual hand press was a monumental feat The text of each of the nearly 3,500 leaves had to be laid out by hand with each line of type carefully measured and set into place with Rashi and Tosafot on either side of the Talmud text meant that pages needed to be designed in advance to ensure an even distribution of the text Bomberg had significant funds at his disposal and thus could afford the investment required for this huge project The cost of paper alone would have been astronomical There was a bit more freedom for Jews in Italy during the same time period Gershom Soncino printed his first volume of Talmud: Masechet Berachot with Rashi and Tosafot This is the earliest dated volume of Talmud that we have today Soncino determined the modern layout of the Talmud page with Rashi on the inner margin and Tosafot on the outer as well as the standard layout of four lines of commentary before the Talmud text Soncino and his heirs attempted to print a complete set over the next four decades,2 but Daniel Bomberg’s work effectively took over the market The Talmud was not Bomberg’s first foray into Hebrew printing Bomberg applied to the authorities for a privilege to print Hebrew books in Venice.3 That same year he produced a Latin Psalter with some Hebrew type and his Biblia Rabbinica of 1517 (with nikud commentary and cantillation marks) is possibly one of the most beautiful examples of early Hebrew printing from the period Bomberg had received the “exclusive right to print Hebrew books for ten years” in Venice thus setting his grand plans into motion.4 and even requested a special privilege allowing his Jewish employees permission to walk through Venice without the yellow berets identifying them as Jews so they would not be accosted on their way to or from work.6 One of Bomberg’s most important innovations in his printing of the Talmud was the concept of fixing the text on each page The whole reason that a Daf Yomi cycle can be completed is because everyone can be studying the same page with the same text Daniel Bomberg was also the first to add foliation (numbering leaves and the vast majority of printers followed his layout of the text The reason that the Talmud text begins on 2a rather than 1a can be traced to Bomberg—or simply understood as a relic from the early print era printers would sell texts printed on stacks of paper which the new owner then brought to a binder to make the book “shelf ready.” The binding only took place after the book left the printshop Printers numbered the pages to make the binder’s work easier thereby ensuring that the text was in order (especially for non-Roman texts which the binders most likely could not read) Thus the title page was not usually numbered because the binder recognized it as page 1 Even the concept of daf and amud is a carryover from early print Printers numbered folios (a single sheet of paper or a daf in Gemara) rather than pages (each side of the page or an amud) because they were guides to the binders Because later printers were so careful to stay true to Bomberg’s printing style this remained well after pagination was introduced in printed books Hand-drawn diagrams of possible catacombs (relevant to a discussion in Bava Batra 101a about tumah and taharah) in a volume of Bomberg’s Bava Batra in the Lowy Collection at the Library and Archives Canada Although moveable type made book production orders of magnitude easier than writing books by hand printing illustrations was still a difficult and time-consuming process in the sixteenth century The Talmud isn’t known for its many illustrations but there are actually quite a large number of diagrams referenced in the main Talmud text as well as in the commentaries Daniel Bomberg dealt with them the easy way—he left a blank square or rectangle next to text where an image was referenced Perhaps he meant to have them filled in later as with many early printed non-Jewish texts that left blank spaces for capital letters meant to be illuminated by hand Lowy collection at the Library and Archives Canada [see illustrations on page 50] Nearly every printer of the Talmud in the centuries that followed—until the modern era—followed the standards set by Bomberg in their printing of the Shas The owner of this volume of the Bomberg Talmud handwrote the entire text of Rabbi Betzalel Ashkenazi’s Shitah Mekubetzet in the margins of each tractate bound in this volume Pictured here is a page at the beginning of Masechet Bechorot A particularly interesting volume at Columbia University8 contains the entire text of the Shitah Mekubetzet by Rabbi Betzalel Ashkenazi The owner of a copy of Seder Kodashim from the Bomberg Talmud wrote the entire text by hand within the margins of the book exist in other collections as well and are similarly annotated was that it allowed the wide dissemination of texts that had the potential for heresy The Talmud had long been seen as a problematic text that held the Jews back from seeing the “light” of Christianity it was referenced as banned in early editions of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum the official Church volume of prohibited books the Church ordered a public burning of the Talmud at Campo de’ Fiori in Rome It was caused by a dispute between two printers of Hebrew books and it decimated the remainder of Bomberg’s stock the many persecutions and peregrinations of the Jews in the centuries following meant that the survival of an original complete copy of the Bomberg Talmud is incredibly rare Only twelve complete copies exist whose history can be traced continuously (as a set) to the 16th century All but the copy from the library of Rabbi David Oppenheim (now at the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford) were owned by Christians which no doubt played a critical role in their survival.10 There are collections that contain an example of each masechet printed by Bomberg but those have been assembled in the centuries after Bomberg’s work by purchasing individual masechtot one by one As we near the completion of the thirteenth cycle of the Daf Yomi one can only wonder—was the original printing of the Shas ever used in its entirety Was there anyone who completed the Daf (in this cycle or otherwise) using an edition of Daniel Bomberg’s Talmud Who were the people who pored over these newly printed volumes in Italy (and beyond) 500 years ago Regardless of which imprint one prefers today every mesayem from 1519 to 2019 has been impacted by the monumental Talmud printed by Daniel Bomberg Twelve different masechtot printed by Soncino are extant today although more may have been printed and are now lost “New Documents Concerning Bomberg’s Printing of the Talmud,” in Mehevah le-Menahem: Studies in Honor of Menahem Hayyim Schmelzer There is some discussion as to when Bomberg established his press but there are no extant copies of works that he printed before 1515 “Daniel Bomberg-The Editio Princeps,” Printing the Talmud: A History of the Earliest Printed Editions of the Talmud (Brooklyn He notes that Bomberg’s errors followed Soncino errors and some text clearly removed for censorship purposes followed the Pesaro edition So Bomberg certainly leaned on Soncino for some of his work containing Masechet Shabbat (printed 1522) The same volume contains Mesechtot Me’ilah/Kinim/Tamid/Middot as well and the Beginnings of Hebrew Printing in Crakow,” AJS Review 30 A complete listing of these copies and their provenance can be found in Sotheby’s New York sale catalog which includes the Valmadonna Talmud as Lot 12 (December 22 “The Wittenberg Copy of the Bomberg Talmud,” Gutenberg Jahrbuch 78 (2003): 296-326 Alexander librarian for Jewish studies at Columbia University; co-director of Footprints: Jewish Books Through Time and Place; and president of the Research and Special Collections Division of the Association for Jewish Libraries for his assistance in obtaining images for this article Behind the Daf: Discussing Daf Yomi With Some of the Most Distinguished Maggidei Shiur, interviews by Dovid Bashevkin and Sholom Licht Up Close with Dr. Henry Abramson, interview by Sholom Licht In Their Own Words—How Daf Yomi has Changed Lives Tweeting the Talmud by Binyamin Ehrenkranz Link IconCopy linkFacebook LogoShare on FacebookXShare on XEmailShare via EmailLink copied to clipboardNew translation of Jewish mystical text for a new audienceFor the last six years an associate professor at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote has pored over a set of medieval writings to help unlock one of the most important texts in Judaism has dissected centuries-old manuscripts and translated hundreds of pages of Aramaic to contribute to a new English translation of the Zohar a compendium of commentaries and essays that is the foundation of the Jewish mystical tradition known as Kabbalah the landmark project will produce the first unabridged translation that is based on the 13th-century text's original Aramaic a Semitic language that emerged nearly 3,000 years ago and is now little spoken in the Middle East the 12-volume work of more than 6,000 pages will take an esoteric complicated text out of the domain of scholars and Jewish mystics and make it accessible to a wide funded by a $2 million donation from one of the nation's wealthiest families is what Hecker calls a definitive and comprehensive "field guide" to the Torah Its purpose is to illuminate what the Torah says about the mysterious relationship between God and his creation The 11th - part of Hecker's work - is scheduled for release Wednesday between the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah the Pritzker Edition does not include paraphrases nor has it been converted from a Hebrew translation "The whole project is extremely important because it's the first full rendering in competent English that incorporates the highest standards of scholarship in the field," said Elliot R a leading expert in Jewish mysticism and a professor of Jewish studies at the University of California who trained as a rabbi and later studied for his doctorate under Wolfson is part of the translation team led by Daniel C a Kabbalah scholar and former professor at Graduate Theological Union seminary in Berkeley Matt began translating Volumes 1 through 9 in 1997 of the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilization at Monash University to join the project in 2010 and help complete it Hecker's Volume 11 contains commentaries on the Song of Songs (also known as the Song of Solomon) and the Books of Ruth and Lamentations which has discussions of the ancient and medieval practice of deducing character traits from hands and facial features The Zohar was first distributed by the Jewish mystic Moses ben Shem-Tov de Leon in 1280 and 1290 De Leon handed out the writings in pamphlet form in Castille claiming they had been kept secret for more than 1,000 years and had been authored in the second century by Rabbi Shim'on bar Yohai Rabbi Shim'on and his companions travel through the hills of Galilee where they discover and share the secrets of the Torah God is portrayed not only as a distant deity who lays down rules and commandments but as a knowable creator with characteristics that are both male and female "It opens up a whole new universe of what Judaism might be about," Hecker said The writings have been translated into Hebrew Earlier English translations include a five-volume version published between 1931 and 1934 by the Soncino Press in Italy the controversial Kabbalah Centre in Los Angeles - cofounded by Rabbi Philip Berg who tutored such celebrity followers as Madonna - published a 23-volume translation based on an earlier Hebrew translation Enter Chicago philanthropist Margot Pritzker who had studied Judaism for years with Rabbi Yehiel Poupko a rabbinic scholar with the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago were using the Soncino Press version during class sessions Pritzker described the text as "lacking" and the experience as "frustrating." The 1930s translation did not have the benefit of the "significant scholarship" that has occurred since then He suggested to Pritzker that she sponsor a translation Initially reluctant to take on a project that he figured would last 12 to 15 years He left his job at Graduate Theological Union The first of his nine volumes was published in 2003 When project leaders decided they wanted to finish the translation by 2016 Matt selected Hecker and Wolski to join the team "I have little doubt this will be one of the highlights of my scholarly career Wolfson's only critique of the work so far is that the translators have not included a listing of the scholarly manuscripts they have used Hecker says that will eventually appear online Matt will lead presentations on the translation at the Germantown Jewish Centre in Mount Airy where he is scheduled to be a scholar in residence Nov to Western civilization that unlocks a secret," Poupko said "No one could read it - only a few scholars and mystic initiates everyone can pick it up and read it for the first time kholmes@phillynews.com A page from a Talmud. Image by Flickr Given that it’s is one if not the most essential Jewish texts, the Talmud can be surprisingly hard to come by. But not anymore: The Jewish start-up Sefaria just released a free digital version into the public domain The William Davidson Talmud is an edition of the Babylonian Talmud with parallel translations into English and Modern Hebrew The interactive online version of the text is also interlinked to major commentaries and an ever-growing library of Jewish texts And you can also use it beyond Sefaria’s website The Talmud was published with a Creative Commons non-commercial license which means that it is part of the public domain and everyone can use and re-use it “Experts we’ve talked to believe this is the most significant work of intellectual property ever transferred into the creative commons philanthropically,” he added Sefaria is a non profit that was started in 2011 by author with a mission of putting the entire Jewish canon online (The name Sefaria is a play on the Hebrew word for library The two childhood friends had lost touch for many years but reconnected over a “shared frustration” that the Talmud and other important Jewish texts were not accessible online you would find pdfs from the Soncino edition published in England you would get an anti-Semitic website and you would get a partial 1918 translation,” Foer told the Forward and have since amassed almost 1,600 Jewish texts and commentaries that are all available online “But we always knew the linchpin of the whole project would be whether we could get an English translation of the Talmud,” Foer said there exist only three English translations in the world After years of negotiations Sefaria (with a grant from the William Davidson Foundation) bought the rights to one of them – from Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz Steinsaltz, a rabbi from Israel, spent 45 years of his life translating the Talmud from Ancient Aramaic to modern Hebrew and English Literary Discipline: Working on the Talmud has kept his writing and intellect grounded after releasing a new section of the translation approximately once per year “I did it because it is necessary,” Steinsaltz told Israel’s Army Radio in 2010 “The Talmud is the spine of our culture … I wanted to restore to the Jewish people their heritage.” Sefaria published 22 Talmud tractates in English (Berakhot to Bava Batra) online The Modern Hebrew translations will start appearing online later this year and the remaining English tractates will follow as soon as their are finished “We think that the Talmud is not just the life blood of the Jewish people but one of the great works of Western civilization that has basically been inaccessible to a large number of people,” Foer told the Forward who runs Sefaria’s technological operations and the Jewish people in the world to now be able to access this,” Lockspeiser told the Forward All the texts on Sefaria are not only texts, they are also interconnected data with lots of fancy features and visualization tools “The Jewish canon is not really a collection of books on a book shelf it’s like this gigantic un-ending conversation,” Foer told the Forward “We wanted to return that text to the original modality of being fully interconnected and in conversation with each other.” that you can take the conversation form text to text to text from commentator to commentator to commentator,” Foer said A team of 15 engineers works daily to create new ways to create these interconnections – for example to show the connections between Tanakh and Talmud or to highlight all the times that text is being repeated in the Jewish canon Users can create their own source sheets to collect and connect texts So far 60,000 users created sheets – many of them students all the texts on Sefaria have a public domain license our texts are our collective inheritance,” said Sefaria CEO Daniel Septimus “They belong to everyone and Sefaria wants them to be available to everyone,” Lilly Maier is a news intern at the Forward. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @lillymmaier I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward American Jews need independent news they can trust At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S rising antisemitism and polarized discourse This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up Copyright © 2025 The Forward Association You browser this site using Internet Explorer 8 or lower install the latest version of Internet Explorer or any other equivalent browser (Firefox Austrian Cultural ForumAbba Hillel Silver Street 12, Sason Hogi TowerRamat Gan 5250606Tel: (+972/3) 612 0924Fax: (+972/3) 751 0716Map IG: @acftelavivFB: @Austrian Cultural Forum Tel Aviv If you are interested in receiving our newsletter and invitations to cultural events I have become familiar with certain learning tools a colossal Hebrew-language scholarly work and which recently won the National Jewish Book Award in the Modern Jewish Thought and Experience category offers a perspective and learning experience genuinely different from existing resources Koren Publishers is well known for its imaginative approach textual precision and stylistic excellence which include the recent Sacks Siddur and machzorim have been hailed as paragons of design and presentation Koren’s unmistakable Hebrew typefaces are easy to read and powerfully amalgamate the gravitas of ancient texts with modern aesthetic sensitivities Unparalleled in the world of Jewish publishing these trademark accomplishments have now been harnessed to the outstanding genius of Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz the world’s best-known teacher and translator of the Talmud to produce an extraordinary new edition of the Babylonian Talmud Rabbi Steinsaltz is famous for having published the entire Talmud reformatted with Modern Hebrew translation and elucidations known for their scholarship and accessibility This new edition is based on that earlier work A formidable editorial and translation team is headed by Rabbi Dr and complemented by luminaries such as Rabbi Dr Shalom Berger and my contemporary from Oxford had been released at the time of this writing (There are actually several editions: a $50 standard model with color photographs and a smaller as well as various online PDF options and a proposed app; the publisher furnished me with the two available volumes in the color edition) The boldest formatting decision is obvious immediately as the tzurat hadaf—regular Vilna format of the Talmudic text—is present but has been completely separated from the translation and annotations one encounters the standard Hebrew/Aramaic folios (although the text includes diacritics and punctuation); from the “English” side There are also informative general introductions as well as prefatory remarks and summaries for each chapter Pages are divided vertically: two thirds are devoted to the Talmudic text the remaining third (occasionally spilling into the bottom margin) to background illustrations and references to the standard pagination The print is comfortably readable—well spaced with broad margins to ensure the characteristic Koren minimalist visual The Talmudic text itself is divided into easily digestible segments with an interpolated translation facing its corresponding Hebrew/Aramaic original background and halachic material are useful and interesting without being too cumbersome; they are clearly selected to enhance rather than overshadow a straightforward reading of the text others artistic depictions—are a desirable addition to the page and succeed in illuminating unfamiliar terms in the text as well as adding richness and variety The editors’ decision to restore sections of the text bowdlerized or deleted by Christian censors (and preserved in the Vilna edition as well as in Soncino and ArtScroll) is welcome In tractates such as Avodah Zarah and Sanhedrin the result is impressive—a triumph of design that is at once engrossing and attractive and obviously intended to claim a place for the classical text and its ideas in a modern setting Koren’s new Talmud is comfortably readable well-spaced with broad margins to ensure the characteristic Koren minimalist visual Koren’s decision to separate the classic pagination of the text from the translation and commentary—i.e. not to print their translation facing Vilna folios à la Soncino and ArtScroll—is understandable It avoids numerous repeated pages (thousands over an entire set of Talmud equating to many additional volumes—ArtScroll is seventy-three!) and allows serious scholars to study the original text undistracted encouraging them to flip to the translation only when really necessary rather than constantly glancing across at it I missed knowing where the text I am studying appears on the standard page something that I find indispensable for cross-referencing I appreciate that Koren is intended for those without extensive grounding in Talmud study yet its publication schedule suggests that it is pitching to the Daf Yomi market and even the less-experienced student will benefit from joining the worldwide Talmudic discourse in shiurim Despite Koren’s ample signposts to allow comparison with the original Talmudic text at the other end of the book I am also unsure about the decision not to adopt the “facing pages” layout and worry that it may hamper rather than facilitate full engagement with the larger world of Talmud study Might it be possible to include on each translated page a thumbnail of the corresponding standard daf with the relevant section highlighted to create a firmer link between the two I cannot envisage anyone actually using them Another editorial decision was to exclude all Hebrew/Aramaic from the translated sections limits the size of the volumes and enhances the beauty of the page it also makes it difficult to directly relate English phrases to their specific Talmudic originals perhaps frustrating a key objective “for the beginner of any age who seeks to obtain the necessary skills to become an adept Talmudist” (Rabbi Weinreb’s introduction A further small point: notes that contain such unreferenced phrases as “Rashi elsewhere” (e.g. 139) would be enhanced by noting where in Rashi’s commentary; in this case as all halachic marginalia are fully referenced I was uncomfortable with Koren’s subdivision of sugyot (conceptual units) They are aesthetically pleasing and manageable for the uninitiated yet any division of a sugya into smaller sections amounts to a specific reading of the text And I was disappointed to see that no distinction is offered in the translation between actual sugya divisions (those marked on the Vilna page and of ancient vintage) and those added by Koren’s editors for ease of comprehension This gives an uneven and sometimes misleading sense of the flow of the original text; conceivably this policy might be reconsidered for future volumes although I was perplexed by the rendering of “baya” and its cognates as “dilemma,” which for me yet none is being considered; “inquiry” would have been a better translation often with expert etymological guidance and unfamiliar processes would benefit from deeper coverage where the Mishnah lists the thirty-nine melachot (Shabbat vol it would have been helpful to include diagrams or photographs of agricultural and weaving techniques many of which are foreign to the modern reader As an example of accessible translation and intertextuality I was impressed with Koren’s rendering of the convoluted inductive structure “hazar ha-din ,” which I have always struggled to translate successfully: And the derivation has reverted (to its starting point) The aspect of this (case) is not like the aspect of that (case) and the aspect of that (case) is not like this (case as each case has its own unique stringencies However,) their common denominator is that only in Berakhot) by an excellent background note is more intelligible and literate than ArtScroll’s and beautifully captures the intention of a complex text without being too verbose there is a degree of unevenness and wordiness in the interpolation The fundamental dispute in this mishnah is with regard to the determination whether or not indirect acts of kindling and extinguishing fall within the parameters of the prohibition on Shabbat (Introduction to Mishnah Perhaps this could be edited to something like: the rabbis dispute whether indirect kindling and extinguishing are forbidden on Shabbat Yet there are few such infidelities and overall comprehensibility and linguistic elegance—Koren’s translation and interpolation are the best around it is in finding new audiences for old wisdom where Rabbi Steinsaltz excels and where this ambitious project will work its magic It has become fashionable to study Talmud in circles where While obviously coming from completely different perspectives those of non-Orthodox affiliation and non-observant Jews are excited by and devoted to regular Talmud study Some are able to access traditional resources as well as for many men who left the yeshivah system uninspired by traditional learning the Koren Talmud is a marvelous portal into the heretofore closed and mysterious Harvey Belovski is a graduate of Oxford University the Gateshead Yeshivah and the University of London He is the rabbi of the Golders Green Synagogue in London a teaching and research fellow at the London School of Jewish Studies the principal of Rimon Jewish Primary School the rav of Kisharon and the rabbinical advisor of PaL (UK Partners in Torah) With the painter Enrico Castellani he established a great association which led the two artists to found the famous magazine Azimuth and the gallery of the same name His art is the visual expression of an idea it is the gesture that testifies to a presence; his radical insights and profound mental elaborations enabled the artist to become world famous from the family of the historic Filanda Meroni silk mill Manzoni received an aristocratic and Catholic upbringing spending his childhood and youth between Soncino and Milan Piero enrolled in the Faculty of Law at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan in 1951 These were the years in which he developed his interest in reading In 1953 he began to devote himself more steadily to painting attracted and inspired by the Ligurian landscape of Albissola where he often went on vacation with his family Manzoni in 1955 left the Faculty of Law to switch to the Faculty of Philosophy but at the end of the year he returned to Milan He began to frequent the Milanese artistic milieu by visiting the studios of artists Roberto Crippa and Giani Dova promoted by gallery owner Carlo Cardazzo and spurred on by artist Lucio Fontana Manzoni probably knew because his parents were family friends A few months later another group show in Milan allowed him to meet the artist Dadamaino who collaborated on the activities of Azimuth a magazine founded by Manzoni and Enrico Castellani accompanied by an introductory text by Fontana Manzoni also began to exhibit in contexts with “historicized” artists such as the Fifth Art Market Exhibition at Galleria Schettini in Milan Toward the end of 1957 he painted his first "white paintings," initially with chalk and then with kaolin and canvas In the following months the artist titled all the white paintings Achrome In 1958 he continued the production of his very famous Achorme but also executed the first Alphabet with ink and kaolin on canvas Manzoni exhibition at the Bergamo Gallery in Bergamo and then at the Circolo di Cultura Gallery in Bologna the painter exhibited his “white paintings” for the first time It was in the summer of 1958 that Manzoni made his first trip to Holland where he befriended artists such as Gust Romijn and gallerists such as Hans Sonnenberg It was in Holland that he held his first outdoor solo exhibition Manzoni’s artistic activity became increasingly frenetic: however there was no lack of travel and long evenings made up of alcohol and the exchange of ideas among friends The Piero Manzoni Foundation was established in Milan in 2008: here it is possible to see many of the painter’s works, and the institute also promotes historical-critical research on the artist as it preserves catalogs, photographs, invitations and valuable documents. In addition, the foundation collaborates with the Gagosian Gallery. Cassie Cooper was a practising Kleinian trained psychoanalytic Psychotherapist/ Counselling Psychologist who practiced Attachment Based Psychotherapy. Additionally she has contributed to fourteen textbooks on psychology, psychotherapy and counselling, some of which have been translated into Italian and German. She was formerly a chairperson of The Psychotherapy Section of the British Psychological Society, and Editor of its newsletter for many years. Cassie was head of Student Counselling at the University of Westminster (Harrow Campus) and head of its Diploma in Counselling Courses. She relocated to Truro, Cornwall in 2011 and continued to work there. Cassie acted as a consultant to Carlton TV and The Metropolitan Police on counselling issues. Her recent Doctorate was on Cult Membership as a Disorder of Attachment. Cassie died very peacefully on Saturday 29th July with her family around her. Registration Number : 229642 and a charity registered in Scotland Registration Number : SC039452 - VAT Registration Number : 283 2609 94 © Copyright 2000-2025 The British Psychological Society NEWS|Obsession of The Day|Marchesa Luisa Casati inimitable woman with a unique allure: dark feminine dandyism that still today manages to inspire Luisa Adele Rosa Maria Amman was born in Milan on January 23rd wealthy family of cotton magnates of Austrian origin who were elevated to Counts under the reign of King Umbero I was considered to be the richest woman in Italy the heiress par excellence of the Milanese social set She lived there with a veritable menagerie of exotic  animals and was a pivotal part of Venice’s social season thanks to her unforgettable and opulent parties where she would appear in Oriental-inspired creations made just for her by Mariano Fortuny and Paul Poiret – along with turbans 1910 was the same year that Gabriele d’Annunzio published his book Forse che sì forse che no (Maybe Yes whose character Isabella Inghirami was clearly inspired by the Marchesa with whom the Italian writer had had a turbulent love affair she could often be found in the setting of Capri – at the time a refuge for Europe’s intellectuals as well as a gathering place for gays and lesbians sophisticated eccentrics and unconventional socialites Luisa rented the legendary Villa San Michele and shocked the locals and visitors with her appearances in the town’s piazza alongside a blue peacock or a leopard on a leash and accompanied by a gigantic black manservant as recounted in the writings of Compton Mackenzie a lifetime of these excesses inevitably resulted in financial ruin when her incredible debt of 25 million dollars and the impossibility of ever paying back her countless creditors forced her to declare bankruptcy and the public sale of all of her estate Thus began her melancholy journey down her own personal sunset boulevard was living with her British aristocrat husband in Knightsbridge She died in the English capital in 1957 and was buried in the Brompton cemetery with her leopard-trimmed cape and false eyelashes in the company of her embalmed Pekingese dog presented in a grand hotel on Venice’s Lido island Even theater and film haven’t been immune to the allure of this mythological Marchese Casati adapted from the novel by Maurice Druon and starring Vivien Leigh was then brought to the big screen in 1976 with the film Nina (A Matter of Time) The part of the Countess Sanziani – a character whose existential issues and episodes were taken directly from the life of Casati – was played by Ingrid Bergman Vittoria Mentasti's Dead Sea takes us to a place where the sky and the sea are one A chat with Kristin Prim, the founder of The Provocateur, the site that publishes letters written expressely by leading women addressing the whole female world. Vogue.it presents you an exclusive preview of the letter written by Dresden Dolls' Amanda Palmer During the Yeezy Season 3 fashion show, Kanye West presented his new album, The Life of Pablo. Here's everything you need to know (and let's get ready to the fight with Taylor Swift) The most exclusive parties at the New York Fashion Week All the best street style spotted at New York Fashion Week From New York Fashion Week Fall Winter 2016/17 Menswear and womenswear collections will walk together and will be on sale right after the show. These are the news from Burberry but the evolution is generalized: runway shows are changing The documentary that celebrates 3.1 Phillip Lim's tenth anniversary The latest social media initiatives dedicated to the Fashion world The (Perfumes) Factory “Behind every great man there is always a great woman.” Yes We take a look at the fashion choices of the wives of the politicians that have made the history of Italy after the war Is there a real style icon among these Italian ladies just like Carla Bruni today or Jackie Kennedy in the past - P.zza Castello 27 - 20121 Milano cap.soc 00834980153 società con socio unico With a gift for malice and a penchant for exhibitionism Marchesa Luisa Casati is the kind of figure so swathed in myth that she defies definition she wandered Venice in nothing but a fur coat accompanied by her pet cheetahs on diamond leashes She threw parties attended by Pablo Picasso Man Ray and the dancers from the Ballet Russes crystal balls and lions borrowed from the zoo When her jewellery box held nothing suitable or have white peacocks become an accessory for her elaborate costume Casati was born Luisa Adele Rosa Maria Amman in 1881 She was was one of two daughters of parents who had made their fortune in the cotton trade: Casati’s father had been ennobled in 1887 but died five years later his wife following within 12 months – and so at the age of 15 she became a much sought-after heiress Within four years Casati was married to Count Camillo Casati Stampa di Soncino It wasn't until she began following the European hunting circuit that the young Luisa met the poet Gabriele d’Annunzio with whom she had an affair that sparked her transformation into a femme fatale and muse to the avant-garde Defining FeaturesThe Marchesa came to form the archetype of the female dandy standing at six feet tall in spite of living on a diet of gin and opium and made to look even paler by the doses of belladonna a plant-based supplement which often proved poisonous that she took to keep her pupils dark and dilated To accentuate the effect she wore black kohl around her eyes with false eyelashes and strips of black velvet glued to the lids She separated from the Count in 1914 due to her need to live freely and took a home in Venice – an unfinished palace called the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni built in the 18th century on the Grand Canal – which would become home to another heiress: Peggy Guggenheim Here she lived with a motley crew of people and animals: a host of gold-painted servants an ostentation of white peacocks and a coalition of cheetahs with diamond collars Casati's singular aim had always been to become a living work of art and she achieved it through multifarious means Her garb grew ever more elaborate with each social gathering her most famous being a dress made of lightbulbs and powered by a generator Determined to preserve the legend she had worked so hard to create she assembled a vast collection of portraits of herself that she would exhibit in a detached pavilion at her Paris mansion Seminal MomentsThe Marchesa's life was a continual reaction to her horror of the mundane By perpetually transforming herself and her homes she continued to outdo herself becoming an object of endless fascination for the artists of the era in the process Over the course of her lifetime she was a muse to Jean Cocteau sculptures and photographs by the likes of Man Ray Casati's parties had fallen into bad taste and her empire of dreams had begun to crumble She had spent her inherited fortune on palaces After the forced liquidation of her villas and their contents she moved to London From here she would cast spells on her enemies and drink away the last of her funds while writing an incomprehensible journal and could also be found rummaging through bins in search of feathers to weave through her hair the Marchesa was found by a friend who had visited earlier that morning for a séance Having let himself back into her flat he took her embalmed Pekinese dog for safekeeping She would be buried with him a few days later wearing a leopard-trimmed cape and a fresh pair of false eyelashes She’s Another Woman because...Marchesa Luisa Casati’s was a life devoted to art She was in herself and in her creations an unforgettable spectacle and although by the time of her demise she had ceased to live a gilded existence In life she had made every facet of her existence challenge convention and mediocrity and as a result she was immortalised in art film and the gossip columns of newspapers the world over her influence has been seen in the work of John Galliano and in Georgina Chapman and Karen Craig’s label Marchesa the Marchesa Luisa Casati’s body lies buried at Brompton Cemetary where her gravestone is inscribed with a quote from Shakespeare’s Anthony and Cleopatra: “Age cannot wither her A fitting tribute to a truly inimitable character With thanks to The Casati Archive Cremona has increasingly defined itself as the “city of music and violin making,” as it in its history counts such figures as the composer Marcantonio Ingegneri (Verona 1643) and Amilcare Ponchielli (Paderno Fasolaro the city turns to the public a new itinerary intended for all music lovers who wish to discover the Cremonese territory in its musical and food and wine aspects.Cremona intends to lead visitors in search of the sounds of the city’s most beautiful places the city offers the seasons of the Ponchielli Theater and a vibrant reality of musical shows and performances spread throughout the municipal and provincial territory The itinerary includes places of musical interest scattered throughout the city including the Violin Museum and its Giovanni Arvedi Auditorium and the civic museum collection The Rooms for Music But the surrounding area also offers elements of interest among the most beautiful villages in Italy The Violin Museum preserves Stradivarian artifacts the Casket of Treasures and offers a reconstruction of a violin-making workshop: this is the place that has always linked Cremona to violin making extols the city’s role as the capital of the violin and music considered by many to be a miniature version of La Scala with its rich and welcoming interior: it is certainly one of the central venues of the city’s cultural life where seasons of its performances are held The Ala Ponzone Museum ’s Rooms for Music collection then brings together instruments that belonged to well-known collectors musicians and aristocrats and includes about fifty plucked string instruments made by major European craftsmen from the 17th to the 19th centuries because it is by entering the workshops and talking to the luthiers that one truly discovers every little secret of this art one cannot fail to go to Piazza del Comune the Palazzo Comunale and the Loggia dei Militi; and to the church of San Sigismondo among the architectural jewels of the Lombard Renaissance It was rebuilt in 1463 on the commission of Bianca Maria Visconti on the site of the church where she had married Francesco Sforza in 1441 The itinerary also includes the surroundings of Cremona which was the birthplace of important musicians such as Vincenzo Petrali The city is home to craft workshops that produce and restore organs and build organ pipes; the Crema Civic Museum has dedicated two rooms specifically to the organ-making tradition In the small village of Ripalta Guerina is Villa Monticelli-Toscanini: the villa who chose it as his home to compose some of his works is famous for being the birthplace of the great composer Amilcare Ponchielli A plaque on the facade of the town hall commemorates him and a museum with memorabilia and musical instruments has been set up at the house where he was born Vincenzo Bellini lived in Casalbuttano: his stay here was happy for his musical career but also for the love affair he had with the wife of landowner Ferdinando Turina The highest tower in the village is known as the Norma Tower and was erected by the Turina family to commemorate Vincenzo Bellini’s Casalbuttanesi sojourns with his lover Among the most beautiful villages in Italy is then Soncino with its imposing walls The Rocca Sforzesca was built in 1473 and readapted in the 16th century as the summer residence of the Stampa family Also worth a visit is the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie particularly for its iconographic depictions of ancient musical instruments Casalmaggiore offers the International Music Festival with an advanced course focused on honing live performance skills put to the test with one performance a day And that’s not all: the musical experience can also be enjoyed at the table Thanks to the network of operators adhering to the East Lombardy tourism marketing project wine bars and producers will offer music-themed dishes and tastings.