Myer Joel Wigoder was a lay-scholar who published fifteen works on Midrashic and Aggadic topics. He was born in the village of Vigoda, near Vexna, Lithuania in 1855 and had a thorough Yeshiva education. Upon losing all his possessions in a fire in the town of Laizovo soon after he was married, he emigrated in … Continue reading Beis Evel and Beis HaRoeh by Myer Joel Wigoder of Dublin, Ireland, Jerusalem 1914.
Rosh Milin, by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook, London 1917.
That famous bastion of orthodoxy, the Machzike Hadas Synagogue, off Brick Lane in the East End of London, had been without a Rav since the great Rabbi Werner had died in 1912. During the First World War, Rav Kook was in London and was Rav of the Machzike Hadas, which was really a community, not … Continue reading Rosh Milin, by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook, London 1917.
The Talmud in Yiddish, Masseches Peah (Yerushalmi), Dr. Jacob Meyer Zalkind, London 1928.
I've written before about a similar book by Jacob Meyer Zalkind, the Talmud in Yiddish on Masseches Berachos. Both of these are in the order Zerayim, but Peah is only in the Jerusalem Talmud. Yaakov Meir Zalkind, or Dr. Yankev-Meyer Zalkind was an orthodox Rabbi, an anarchist friend of Rudolf Rocker and a pacifist. He … Continue reading The Talmud in Yiddish, Masseches Peah (Yerushalmi), Dr. Jacob Meyer Zalkind, London 1928.
The Jewish Year Book 1927 – London Synagogues.
I have previously included extracts of lists of London Synagogues from other editions of The Jewish Year Book Here is 1903. Here is 1947. This time I have taken a year in between - 1927. In 1927 the Jewish Year Book was edited by Rev. S. Levy. Unfortunately the Federation of Synagogues did not provide … Continue reading The Jewish Year Book 1927 – London Synagogues.
The Scarborough Street Synagogue (original owner of Divrei Chaim by Rabbi Aaron Chaim of Kaidanov, Vilna 1898)
This book is in my library not because of its content, but because it has the stamp of the Scarborough Street Synagogue, and I am going to relate the story of this Synagogue. I have previously written about another book with this stamp - see "Dayan Fisher's copy of Chemdas Hanefesh". The book itself is … Continue reading The Scarborough Street Synagogue (original owner of Divrei Chaim by Rabbi Aaron Chaim of Kaidanov, Vilna 1898)
Yeshua Gedola, by Rabbi Gedalia Silverstone, Belfast, 1903 (printed in London)
This was Rabbi Gedalia (George) Silverstone's second book - the first was Pirchei Oviv, published in 1901. Rabbi Silverstone was born in Jasionowka, Poland, in 1871, and died in Jerusalem in 1944. He was at yeshiva in Telz and other places until 1891, when his father, Rabbi Yeshiyahu Meir Silverstone emigrated with his family to … Continue reading Yeshua Gedola, by Rabbi Gedalia Silverstone, Belfast, 1903 (printed in London)
The Rise of Provincial Jewry, by Cecil Roth, London 1950.
At first I thought that this little book was too modern to be in my collection, and then I saw a copy offered for sale and found that it is scarce and difficult to obtain. The Rise of Provincial Jewry is really an important book that describes the origins of the modern communities, some already … Continue reading The Rise of Provincial Jewry, by Cecil Roth, London 1950.
Proletarishe Yugnt (Proletarian Youth), A. M. Orzycer, London 1943
Abraham Mordecai Orzhitzer (also spelled Orzycer) was born on March 1, 1913 in Brok, near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Poland. In 1931, at the age of 18, he emigrated to Paris and went on from there to London. where he was a tailor and writer. In 1953 he moved to the United States. He was a reporter … Continue reading Proletarishe Yugnt (Proletarian Youth), A. M. Orzycer, London 1943
Yad Hashem on Megilas Esther by Rabbi Abraham Aaron Yudelowitz, New York, 1923.
Rabbi Yudelowitz, although, perhaps better known for the last 22 years of his life, when he was in the United States, was a Rav in Manchester, England, for ten years, from 1898 to 1908. He was born at Novardok, Russia, in 1850 and was recognised as a child prodigy. In 1871, at the age of … Continue reading Yad Hashem on Megilas Esther by Rabbi Abraham Aaron Yudelowitz, New York, 1923.
Mechir Yayin (The Price of Wine) by Rabbi Moses Isserles (The Rema) on Megillas Esther, (Warsaw), 1866.
This book is from my antique books, not my Anglo-Judaica collection, and is a most appropriate book for Purim in a time of plague, such as COVID. The story behind the book, which the Rema explains in his introduction, is that the Rema was forced to leave Cracow for Shidlow because of an outbreak of … Continue reading Mechir Yayin (The Price of Wine) by Rabbi Moses Isserles (The Rema) on Megillas Esther, (Warsaw), 1866.
Jewish Miscellanies 