Hebrew mss @ CUL: Pardes Rimonim

Kabbalah, the subject of Jewish mysticism, is one discussed by many but understood by few.  One of the important Kabbalists of the 16th century was Moses Cordovero.  Moses Cordovero was a student of Joseph Caro, and one of the teachers of the famed Isaac Luria in Safed.  His first work, written at the age of […]

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Free resource: Jewish Telegraph Agency Archives (1917-2008)

Thanks to many and various funders, the Jewish Telegraph Agency has been able to post its archives online in a fully searchable (by keyword, date, and topic) website.  A premier resource for "news about the Jews," the JTA reported news worldwide, and was (and is) cited by many other newspapers throughout its time.  Major topics […]

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New Resource: Thesaurus of the Hebrew Book

I am pleased to announce that Columbia University Libraries has recently purchased the Vinograd Thesaurus of the Hebrew Book.  This database, available only on DVD, is a very-much updated version of the print edition (located in Butler Reference: R016.4924 V56).  This searchable database lists of all books printed in Hebrew characters from 1468-1948 (including Hebrew, […]

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Conference on German-Jewish immigration and presence in New York City, May 5 2011

The Jewish Studies Center at Baruch College, together with the Leo Baeck Institute, is sponsoring a day-long conference on German-Jewish immigration and presence in New York City on May 5, 2011. Three panels and roundtables will be held at the Leo Baeck Institute: "The German-Speaking Jewish Presence in New York" (10-11:45); "German-Jewish Troubles with Immigration […]

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Hebrew mss @ CUL: Notes on Incunabula

The word manuscript comes from a combination of two Latin words (manu, meaning "hand"; and script, meaning "writing").  In the literal definition of the word, a manuscript is anything written by hand (as opposed to printed).  The manuscript you see in this post would not be found as part of our "Hebrew manuscript collection," but […]

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Faculty and doctoral students: Borrow books from NYPL and NYU!

On March 18, 2011, "The New York Public Library and the libraries of Columbia University and New York University have launched a pilot initiative to expand access and use of collections and better serve their users.  The collaboration, dubbed the Manhattan Research Library Initiative (MaRLI), will enable NYU and Columbia doctoral students, full-time faculty and librarians, and approved New York […]

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New Book: Palaces of Time, by Prof. Elisheva Carlebach

 Congratulations to Columbia Professor Elisheva Carlebach on the publication of her newest book, Palaces of Time, by Harvard University Press. From the description: "From one of the leading historians of the Jewish past comes a stunning look into a previously unexamined dimension of Jewish life and culture: the calendar. In the late sixteenth century, Pope […]

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Jewish Languages in the Age of the Internet

Jewish Studies resources can be found all over!  As noted on H-Judaic this morning, the latest edition of Language and Communication (31:2) is a special issue dedicated to "Jewish Languages in the Age of the Internet."  For access to the electronic version of Language and Communication, see the CLIO record here.  Be sure to click on […]

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Columbia Professor Yinon Cohen in Israel Affairs

The latest issue of Israel Affairs (v.17, no. 1) includes an article co-authored by Columbia University Professor Yinon Cohen entitled: "Who went where? Jewish immigration from the Former Soviet Union to Israel, the USA and Germany, 1990-2000" (p.7).  Columbia subscribes to Israel Affairs both in print (call number: DS101 .I873, in Lehman Library) and electronically. […]

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‘Ot Ha-berit

In 1824, a mohel and doctor named Yeḥezḳel Trish living in Lipník nad Bečvo (in the Czech Republic) received a gift from a man named Yonah Ḳaṿo.  It was a small manuscript book, which contained prayers and exquisitely detailed illustrations relating to his craft, that of circumcision.  Two of the spreads are shown here.  The […]

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