Shmuel ben Kalonymus

"Samuel ben Kalonymus he-Hasid of Speyer (Hebrew: שמואל החסיד‎) was a Tosafist, liturgical poet, and philosopher of the 12th century, surnamed also "the Prophet" (Solomon Luria, Responsa, No. 29). He seems to have lived in Spain and in France. He is quoted in the tosafot to Yebamot (6lb) and Soṭah (12a), as well as by Samuel b. Meïr (RaSHBaM) in his commentary on Arbe Pesaḥim (Pes. 109a).

"Samuel was the author of a commentary on the treatise Tamid, mentioned by Abraham b. David in his commentary thereon, and of a liturgical poem, entitled Shir ha-Yiḥud, divided into seven parts corresponding to the seven days of the week. This poem is a philosophical hymn on the unity of God, for which Ibn Gabirol's Keter Malkut served as the basis. Like the latter, Samuel he-Ḥasid treats of the divine nature from the negative side, that is to say, from the point of view that God is not like man. The Hebrew, if not very poetical, is pure; but foreign words are used for the philosophical terms. The recitation of the poem was forbidden by Solomon Luria; but other rabbis, among whom was Samuel Judah Katzenellenbogen, who wrote a commentary on it, decided to the contrary. On the different opinions concerning the authorship of the Shir ha-Yiḥud see L. Dukes in Orient, Lit. vii., cols. 483, 484. -------------------- Piyutim - Lyricist Samuel ben Kalonymus he-Hasid of Speyer, also known as Shmuel HaChassid."

from Genie, Managed by: Mordechai Isaac Rosenfeld

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Photos of R' Joseph Breuer

Somebody in the Breuer family posted online dozens of photos of R' Breuer. You really can see here the class and charisma of the man, if I may use those terms. Tzidkus is probably a better term.


Slide Presentation

R' Yehoshua Neuwirth

 
Born February 15, 1927
Germany
Died June 10, 2013 (aged 86)
Jerusalem

"Yehoshua Yeshaya Neuwirth (Hebrew: יהושע ישעיה נויברט‎) (15 February 1927 - 10 June 2013) was an eminent Orthodox Jewish rabbi and posek (halakhic authority) in Jerusalem, Israel. He was one of the primary and most renowned students of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and the author of a two-volume Hebrew language treatise, Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchatah — translated into English as Shemirath Shabbath: A practical guide to the observance of Shabbath — a compendium of the laws of Shabbat which is viewed by many as an authoritative work regarding these laws. He was also the rosh yeshiva of the Pnei Shmuel yeshiva ketana and Chochmas Shlomo yeshiva gedola in Jerusalem. He also established the "Neuwirth Gemach". He lived in the Bayit Vegan neighborhood of Jerusalem."  continue

Wikipedia

The Beis HaKenneses in Washington Heights

"We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us."

Winston Churchill, House of Commons (meeting in the House of Lords), 28 October 1943, the Churchill Center

I love the beis hakenesses of KAJ in Washington Heights. It's such a dignified, sensible, and attractive building. It really is outstanding and it sets the right disposition for tefilla. Here are some photos. Click on photos to expand.

Photo: guesswhoscoming2dinner.blogspot.com, used with permission

Dressed up for Shavuous:

Photo: guesswhoscoming2dinner.blogspot.com, used with permission

Photo: guesswhoscoming2dinner.blogspot.com, used with permission

Here are more from guesswhoscoming2dinner.blogspot.com

The sublimity of God’s Torah

“The deeper one penetrates, the higher he will set his aims; the more one investigates the humbler he will become, and the more reverently he will bow before the sublimity of God’s Torah.”

Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch, The Hirsch Haggadah (New York: Feldheim, 1988), p. 76.