Many years ago - before עוז והדר - there was Mendelson and Zeldowitz

The problem was they didn't have Heshy Friedman to bankroll it all. I guess. They also didn't have the vision and the wherewithal of Shia Leifer. Oh well. They also, I think, had a hard time getting along. The two partners, that is. That's what I seem to remember. So the dream of a newly-set Shas, just like in Wilno, fell by the wayside. And the rest is history. I just realized I posted these pictures a bit lopsided. I guess that what happens after a month's respite. 

Tuesday Links

How Iran kept its Jews
Rav Shmuel Aron Tamares
הכירו: אדמו"ר חדש בשושלת אזארניץ-חאטין-קופיטשניץ
He made the Forward 50
His website  Ah Rebbe mit Twitter   One of Aish Authors
חבר ה'מועצת' קילל ופעילי התנזים שאגו: 'בוגד' • צפו
צפו בתיעוד: הגר"ש מרקוביץ ב"לחיים" על פסק הדין

I find it hard to decide what the reaction should be to the implosion at Shas. Rather, the implosion of Aryeh Deri's Shas party. Some Lubavitchers like the idea of Eli Yishai because it gives them a viable option to the Marzel/whatever party that never crosses the line and makes the cut. Others like the idea that Yishai would most likely be more right wing than Shas had become under Deri, which we see now that Rav Ovadia himself now blames Deri for Oslo! That would allow at least 4 MKs to vote against whatever the leftists are planning once they take over. Until now Shas voted as a bloc. The general frum opinion is that Shas is better united because it allows for a stronger bloc against the Bayit HaYehudis and Yair Lapids of the world.

ימים יגידו

ZSIDÓ HÍREK BUDAPEST

The "enlightened" ones like to point to the Bilgorajer Rov's parting droshoh in 1944 as proof that the Tzaddikim at that time had no idea what was coming. Even as late as Spring 1944. That the secular take issue with that is a given. Even the Belzers have a problem with it... See what the Lubavitcher Rav Oberlander says about that speech in the caption.

אשרי חלקו.

Trying to reclaim the ModOrthodox?

Koren Shas

It's no secret that Artscroll is a Charedi company. Yet over the last two decades they've managed to corner the whole Modern Orthodox market when it comes to Torah literature, with most, if not all, Young Israels, etc. stocking Artscroll sidurim, chumashim and gemoras. While Steinsaltz gemoras were popular for a while, it didn't take long for the more Modern Artscroll shas to take over as well. I speak of the English gemoros. I'd venture to say that many in the MO community were not happy with the "black-hat" takeover of their lives and were looking to end what they saw as an unjust takeover of their Torah lives. But what could they do? the juggernaut was too big and strong, so they threw in the towel and stocked their shelves with as many AS seforim as they could get their hands on. But now it seems like there may be hope for those non-Artscrollers, and it comes in the form of the Koren-Steinsaltz Shas, a modern Shas that stays  with the traditional as well. The pronunciations just like the MO like them, with a nice, classic, Vilna Tzuras HaDaf. I don't know for sure if this was Koren's intention - to chip away at Artscroll's market share - but they may very well do it.

We wish them lots of success. Buy It Here or at Eichler's