Stefan C. Reif

How did Jewish Prayer in the Medieval Islamic World Differ from Its Equivalent in Christian Countries

What is here being attempted is an overall comparison of the various elements of Jewish worship that were forged in the contexts of the two powerful monotheisms of Islam and Christianity in the middle ages. Some preliminary impressions are given of what in Jewish prayer originated where, and when, and some conclusions reached about how the influences may have differed, depending on the religious empires in which they evolved. It becomes clear that in each of the two milieus there were dynamic developments that may partly have been inspired by the general cultural environment. The topics briefly discussed include centralization, literacy, sects, poetry, gender and martyrdom. Special attention is also paid to the Spain where the situation was different in that the Jewish communities there lived for centuries under Islam and then found themselves under Christian rule.

Jewish Prayer Texts from the Cairo Genizah

In Jewish Prayer Texts from the Cairo Genizah, Stefan Reif offers scholars and non-specialists a detailed study of twenty-five Genizah fragments that are of singular importance for understanding not only Jewish liturgical history but also medieval Jewish theology, Hebrew linguistic developments and scribal techniques.

Another Glance at a Gifted Grammarian: More on Shabbethai Sofer of Przemysl

Shabbethai ben Isaac (ha-)Sofer of Przemysl was an outstanding Hebrew grammarian of his generation. He was the author of a number of grammatical, liturgical and halaḵic treatises, as well as some essays and numerous poems. His edited text and lengthy commentary on the Ashkenazi liturgy, his most extensive work and recorded by one hand in a beautifully preserved MS, was (and is) of major importance. The grammatical ignorance of a rabbinic leader in his own city of Przemysl, Rabbi Moses Math, would have been forgiven by Shabbethai had Rabbi Math not chosen to argue strongly in a halaḵic context in favour of what Shabbethai categorized as the incorrect pointing of Hebrew. The contributions of David Qimḥi, which were widely recognized as pivotal, as well as the efforts of those who had continued his work, by both expanding and criticizing it, became the focus of specialized linguistic concern. Keywords: David Qimḥi; halaḵic treatises; Hebrew grammarian; linguistic manuscripts; Przemysl; Rabbi Moses Math; Shabbethai; Shabbethai ben Isaac (ha-)Sofer

The Three Blessings: Boundaries, Censorship, and Identity in Jewish Liturgy

You may download books from www.myhealthsense.com. Project is a high quality resource for free PDF books.Give books away. Get books you want. You can easily search by the title, author and subject.Resources is a volunteer effort to create and share e-books online. No registration or fee is required, and books are available in ePub, Kindle, HTML and simple text formats.This library catalog is an open online project of many sites, and allows users to contribute books. The www.myhealthsense.com is home to thousands of free audiobooks, including classics and out-of-print books.

Consigned To The Genizah—But For Only A Third Of A Century

This chapter is an edited version of the after-dinner talk given by Professor Stefan Reif during the conference held in his honour. It discusses various parts of Stefans career, and included a typically humorous and pointed reminiscence of his three decades at the Genizah Research Unit. The chapter presents those parts of the address that are most relevant to his work with the Genizah Research Unit. Keywords: Genizah Research Unit; Professor Stefan Reif

JPS Commentary on the Haggadah: Historical Introduction, Translation and Commentary

The Passover haggadah enjoys an unrivaled place in Jewish culture, both religious and secular. And of all the classic Jewish books, the haggadah is the one most alive today. Jews continue to rewrite, revise, and add to its text, recasting it so that it remains relevant to their lives. In this new volume in the JPS Commentary collection, Joseph Tabory, one of the worlds leading authorities on the history of the haggadah, traces the development of the seder and the haggadah through the ages. The book features an extended introduction by Tabory, the classic Hebrew haggadah text side by side with its English translation, and Taborys clear and insightful critical-historical commentary.