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Lashon HaKodesh: History, Holiness, & Hebrew

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Lashon HaKodesh: History, Holiness, & Hebrew (2nd Edition) Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein Mosaica Press / 320 pages Rabbi Reuven Klein’s Lashon Hakodesh is an outstanding work that traces the history of the Hebrew language, and by extension, the many languages that Jews have used over the centuries. In addition to Hebrew, much attention is given to Aramaic, including discussions on the many prayers that are recited in Aramaic. The book is replete with reference to the entire body of Torah literature, such as Tanach, Talmud, rishonim , achronim , midrashim , along with halachic material where relevant. History, archaeology, and other sciences also make an appearance where relevant. At the end of every chapter is a summary of that chapter. The book opens with a discussion on the earliest languages. We learn that Adam and Eve spoke Hebrew and Aramaic, followed by additional languages in the time of Noach and the Tower of Babel. Many important issues in the history of langua...
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Food: A Halachic Analysis

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Food: A Halachic Analysis Rabbi Yehuda Spitz Mosaica, 480 pp I am unsure whether “outstanding,” “remarkable,” or “spectacular,” best describes Rabbi Yehuda Spitz’s sefer “Food: A Halachic Analysis”  -- though all three adjectives may not do justice. In over 30 chapters discussing various food and kashrut related halacha, Rabbi Spitz, a sho’el u’meishiv at Yeshivat Ohr Somayach in Jerusalem, presents unprecedented clarity in explaining and demystifying the issues. Some of these issues include waiting between cheese and meat, using dishwashers for both milk and meat, fish and milk, eggs and onions left uncovered overnight, chalav Yisrael, marit ayin, and much much more. It is thorough, clear, and makes everything easy to understand. Definitely one of his flagship chapters is the appendix on the history of Gelatin and its kosher status. These chapters are not merely regurgitations of what readers have certainly seen in so many other places, but rather, original compositions in the aut...
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DMC: Deep Meaningful Conversation THE AMIDAH Rabbi Ira Kosowsky Mosaica / 223 pages In this refreshing reader authored by Rabbi Ira Kosowsky, director of the Machon Maayan Women's Seminary in "Givat Washington", we are treated to a new and modern look at the Shemoneh Esrei we recite three times a day. Each of the nineteen blessings of the Shemoneh Esrei are examined in individual chapters complete with thoughts, readings, and advice on how to make our prayer experience even better. Much of the material was gathered by "Rav K" (as he's called) from his students over the years. This unique angle, of a work on prayer being authored by a Torah scholar, combined with the input and ideas of students from diverse backgrounds (to say the least), makes for a very unique perspective on the Shemoneh Esrei. What I found most distinctive in this work and what impressed me the most, compared to other works of this nature, is the outstanding and strategic use of secular so...
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