In the truncated lineage given in Va'Era, Eleazar, the son of Aaron, is said to marry one of the "daughters of Putiel" (Ex. 6:25). Rashi quotes the rabbinic tradition's explanation of the unusual interest in the lineage of Eleazar's wife: From the seed of Jethro, who fattened (pitem) calves for idolatrous worship, and from the seed of Joseph, who made light (pitpet) of his temptations. (Rashi, based on Sotah 43a and elsewhere) The pshat commentators are less keen on this: bot

A couple of years ago I wrote about the danger of good translations, which lull the reader into an unquestioning sense of security with...

דער צויבער מען זאָגט, "אַ מענטש" און שפּרינגט אַרויס אַ מענטשעלע שוין אָנגעטאָן אין פֿײַנסטע קליידער פֿון קאַרטאָן מען זאָגט אים, "רעד"...

די טענה פֿון ווערטער בין איך מיד די שוואַרצע טויט-באַגרענעצטע געשטאַלטן מיט תּהומות-מײַ‎לער הונדערטער וואָס גאַפֿן און, הייזעריק פֿון...

A well-known verse in Isaiah 54:13 reads as follows: וְכָל בָּנַיִךְ לִמּוּדֵי יְהוָה וְרַב שְׁלוֹם בָּנָיִךְ "And all your children...

My first attempt at Yiddish poetry. Will provide a transliteration and at some point, I hope, a translation. דער שומר זײַ מוחל, ליבער...

I received an e-mail from my parents a couple of weeks ago with the unfortunate news that Prof. Richard Taruskin, the most interesting...