Yosher Koach/יושר כוח
@yosher-koach.bsky.social
Person of the books. In my Ramban era.
Holding on to Jewish delight.
Holding on to Jewish delight.
The Jastrow dictionary is so poorly printed that I keep a magnifying glass on top but it is sometimes still a mystery because it seems to be a reprinting of a scan. Is anyone going to reprint one of the actual digital versions? Or is there something better?
(Don't say Frank.)
(Don't say Frank.)
November 28, 2025 at 6:08 PM
The Jastrow dictionary is so poorly printed that I keep a magnifying glass on top but it is sometimes still a mystery because it seems to be a reprinting of a scan. Is anyone going to reprint one of the actual digital versions? Or is there something better?
(Don't say Frank.)
(Don't say Frank.)
I definitely do not have a problem but my bookshelves do.
Fun fact: the most expensive book in that list is a dictionary. By far.
Fun fact: the most expensive book in that list is a dictionary. By far.
In this room alone...
🎶
* 7 Chumashim
* 6 siddurim
* 5 Tanachim
* 4 dictionaries
* 3 loaner tikkunim
* 2 Pirkei Avot
... and a pile of masechot Talmud 🎶
🎶
* 7 Chumashim
* 6 siddurim
* 5 Tanachim
* 4 dictionaries
* 3 loaner tikkunim
* 2 Pirkei Avot
... and a pile of masechot Talmud 🎶
November 28, 2025 at 6:01 PM
I definitely do not have a problem but my bookshelves do.
Fun fact: the most expensive book in that list is a dictionary. By far.
Fun fact: the most expensive book in that list is a dictionary. By far.
A rabbi did a good rant about how in certain spaces people assume that people who Know Stuff either are rabbis or are going to become rabbis -- why not the "learned Jew" track? Why would it make sense to only have a few folks obsessed with the intricacies of nusach or the history of hahahah?
November 27, 2025 at 2:53 AM
A rabbi did a good rant about how in certain spaces people assume that people who Know Stuff either are rabbis or are going to become rabbis -- why not the "learned Jew" track? Why would it make sense to only have a few folks obsessed with the intricacies of nusach or the history of hahahah?
No wonder Pharoh caught up with them!
"In anticipation of partaking of the first Paschal sacrifice. Moses told the Israelites that no foreskinned man might eat of the Paschal sacrifice (Exodus 12:48). ... they must have circumcised themselves before partaking of the Paschal sacrifice."
"In anticipation of partaking of the first Paschal sacrifice. Moses told the Israelites that no foreskinned man might eat of the Paschal sacrifice (Exodus 12:48). ... they must have circumcised themselves before partaking of the Paschal sacrifice."
November 26, 2025 at 9:51 PM
No wonder Pharoh caught up with them!
"In anticipation of partaking of the first Paschal sacrifice. Moses told the Israelites that no foreskinned man might eat of the Paschal sacrifice (Exodus 12:48). ... they must have circumcised themselves before partaking of the Paschal sacrifice."
"In anticipation of partaking of the first Paschal sacrifice. Moses told the Israelites that no foreskinned man might eat of the Paschal sacrifice (Exodus 12:48). ... they must have circumcised themselves before partaking of the Paschal sacrifice."
"According to an old Christian tradition... Jewish men regularly or constantly suffer from bleeding hemorrhoids, and in the late fifteenth century this bleeding came to be understood as male "menstruation." "Their men and their women equally suffer from menstrual flux" is how one source puts it."
🤷😱
🤷😱
November 26, 2025 at 9:44 PM
"According to an old Christian tradition... Jewish men regularly or constantly suffer from bleeding hemorrhoids, and in the late fifteenth century this bleeding came to be understood as male "menstruation." "Their men and their women equally suffer from menstrual flux" is how one source puts it."
🤷😱
🤷😱
I have a theory that every culture has common holidays (like the eat-fried-things-and-set-things-on-fire à la Hanukah and Diwali) and that everyone also has incredibly culturally specific holidays like pull-an-all-nighter-studying-and-eat-cheesecake or eat-genetalia-lollipops or throw-colored-dust
I strenuously object to the implicit assertion that people don't want to hear about other people's holidays. I do! In Iran they have an outdoor picnic day (Sizdah Bedar). In Japan there's a bean-throwing day (Setsubun). There's a whole world of fascinating rituals and traditions.
November 26, 2025 at 9:17 PM
I have a theory that every culture has common holidays (like the eat-fried-things-and-set-things-on-fire à la Hanukah and Diwali) and that everyone also has incredibly culturally specific holidays like pull-an-all-nighter-studying-and-eat-cheesecake or eat-genetalia-lollipops or throw-colored-dust
Digging in my to-read pile and... wow. Someone made a heck of a choice on who wrote the forward.
(It's Bari Weiss on a book by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, if you can't read it.)
(I did not pay money for this book, a friend sent me a box of books when she was cleaning out her office.)
(It's Bari Weiss on a book by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, if you can't read it.)
(I did not pay money for this book, a friend sent me a box of books when she was cleaning out her office.)
November 24, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Digging in my to-read pile and... wow. Someone made a heck of a choice on who wrote the forward.
(It's Bari Weiss on a book by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, if you can't read it.)
(I did not pay money for this book, a friend sent me a box of books when she was cleaning out her office.)
(It's Bari Weiss on a book by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, if you can't read it.)
(I did not pay money for this book, a friend sent me a box of books when she was cleaning out her office.)
Boy I wish this were a thing: Listing of virtual daily minyanim by time zone.
(Pretty sure this doesn't exist, but boy is it going to be awkward dialing into home minyan from ~12 hours away. Still gotta say kaddish, business trip to the other side of the world or not.)
(Pretty sure this doesn't exist, but boy is it going to be awkward dialing into home minyan from ~12 hours away. Still gotta say kaddish, business trip to the other side of the world or not.)
November 23, 2025 at 5:21 AM
Boy I wish this were a thing: Listing of virtual daily minyanim by time zone.
(Pretty sure this doesn't exist, but boy is it going to be awkward dialing into home minyan from ~12 hours away. Still gotta say kaddish, business trip to the other side of the world or not.)
(Pretty sure this doesn't exist, but boy is it going to be awkward dialing into home minyan from ~12 hours away. Still gotta say kaddish, business trip to the other side of the world or not.)
"Philo was not one to be troubled by such inconsistencies" is such a sick academic burn.
(Shaye Cohen in "Why Aren't Jewish Women Circumcised")
(Shaye Cohen in "Why Aren't Jewish Women Circumcised")
November 18, 2025 at 3:24 AM
"Philo was not one to be troubled by such inconsistencies" is such a sick academic burn.
(Shaye Cohen in "Why Aren't Jewish Women Circumcised")
(Shaye Cohen in "Why Aren't Jewish Women Circumcised")
The rest of life may be hard to cope with, but having that one thing that I can always without fail learn/do competently is a real lifeline that I'm deeply, deeply grateful for.
November 14, 2025 at 6:17 AM
The rest of life may be hard to cope with, but having that one thing that I can always without fail learn/do competently is a real lifeline that I'm deeply, deeply grateful for.
a) שהחיינו
b) I did not think through the implications of brand-new straps rather than broken-in hand-me-down straps.
b) I did not think through the implications of brand-new straps rather than broken-in hand-me-down straps.
November 11, 2025 at 1:32 AM
a) שהחיינו
b) I did not think through the implications of brand-new straps rather than broken-in hand-me-down straps.
b) I did not think through the implications of brand-new straps rather than broken-in hand-me-down straps.
Terrifying
⁂°⁂
פַּחֲתִין
testicles, v. פַּחֲדִין.
⁂°⁂
פַּחֲתִין
testicles, v. פַּחֲדִין.
⁂°⁂
November 10, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Terrifying
Nice term באים בימים "came into days" for someone who has lived longer than most people of their generation -- because it's as if they came from a different land.
(Ramban on Bereshit 18:11)
(Ramban on Bereshit 18:11)
November 9, 2025 at 5:08 AM
Nice term באים בימים "came into days" for someone who has lived longer than most people of their generation -- because it's as if they came from a different land.
(Ramban on Bereshit 18:11)
(Ramban on Bereshit 18:11)
Grateful (🥁) to have an exec explain הודיה as הוד יה in a company all-hands
November 5, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Grateful (🥁) to have an exec explain הודיה as הוד יה in a company all-hands
"...the righteous ones have no trust in themselves, fearing they might have sinned in error"
www.sefaria.org/Ramban_on_Ge...
www.sefaria.org/Ramban_on_Ge...
Ramban on Genesis 15:2:1
AND ABRAM SAID, O LORD ETERNAL, WHAT WILT THOU GIVE ME? “Behold, Thou hast saved me from the kings, but Thou hast not assured me against extinction. Thou hast...
www.sefaria.org
November 3, 2025 at 12:35 AM
"...the righteous ones have no trust in themselves, fearing they might have sinned in error"
www.sefaria.org/Ramban_on_Ge...
www.sefaria.org/Ramban_on_Ge...
While I am enjoying Ramban, I'm willing to bet very good money that a man translated אספקלריא as "unlucid speculum".
www.sefaria.org/Ramban_on_Ge...
www.sefaria.org/Ramban_on_Ge...
Ramban on Genesis 17:1:1
‘E-IL SHA-DAI.’ These are two distinct Divine names, each one descriptive in itself.367And not as Abraham ibn Ezra has it, i.e., that they both constitute one...
www.sefaria.org
November 2, 2025 at 11:50 PM
While I am enjoying Ramban, I'm willing to bet very good money that a man translated אספקלריא as "unlucid speculum".
www.sefaria.org/Ramban_on_Ge...
www.sefaria.org/Ramban_on_Ge...
I ran out of my stash of kosher-for-passover marshmallows and started looking online. I think Target is wildly confused as to what "kosher" means. 😆
Also seriously, why not make the marshmallows vegan while you're at it and skip another allergen? Why fish gelatin?
Also seriously, why not make the marshmallows vegan while you're at it and skip another allergen? Why fish gelatin?
November 2, 2025 at 3:08 PM
I ran out of my stash of kosher-for-passover marshmallows and started looking online. I think Target is wildly confused as to what "kosher" means. 😆
Also seriously, why not make the marshmallows vegan while you're at it and skip another allergen? Why fish gelatin?
Also seriously, why not make the marshmallows vegan while you're at it and skip another allergen? Why fish gelatin?
BDB Bot is apparently in a Halloween mood
Entry:
אוֹב
n.m. skin-bottle, necromancer, etc.
- skin-bottle
- necromancer
- ghost
- necromancy
אוֹב
n.m. skin-bottle, necromancer, etc.
- skin-bottle
- necromancer
- ghost
- necromancy
October 29, 2025 at 1:35 PM
BDB Bot is apparently in a Halloween mood
The rabbi at the shul where I read most is 1000% a grown up theatre kid based on Purimschpiel vibes alone.
Does anyone have figures on percentage of rabbinical college attendees who also "suffer" from a deep love of chewing scenery and ham?
Does anyone have figures on percentage of rabbinical college attendees who also "suffer" from a deep love of chewing scenery and ham?
It's Cheshvan, so you know what that means!
Editing the Purimspiel!!!
Editing the Purimspiel!!!
a man and a woman are talking and the man is wearing a shirt that says 97
Alt: Dr. Gray (From Gray's anatomy) says to a patient "how do you manage to make everything dirty?")
media.tenor.com
October 29, 2025 at 2:34 AM
The rabbi at the shul where I read most is 1000% a grown up theatre kid based on Purimschpiel vibes alone.
Does anyone have figures on percentage of rabbinical college attendees who also "suffer" from a deep love of chewing scenery and ham?
Does anyone have figures on percentage of rabbinical college attendees who also "suffer" from a deep love of chewing scenery and ham?
I led a traditional weekday shacharit for the first time this morning *and* it wasn't a disaster
October 28, 2025 at 4:16 PM
I led a traditional weekday shacharit for the first time this morning *and* it wasn't a disaster
That is the most emo/Qohellet name ever and I am extremely curious about his parents
Entry:
אֲחִימוֹת
n.pr.m. (my brother is death) a Levite 1Ch 6:10
אֲחִימוֹת
n.pr.m. (my brother is death) a Levite 1Ch 6:10
October 26, 2025 at 2:30 AM
That is the most emo/Qohellet name ever and I am extremely curious about his parents
Am I misremembering what the theory of relativity says, because I don't think it has anything to do with heliocentrism vs Copernicanism. Sure, you can do the equations that describe the motions of the planets and stars either way (ish), but the theory of relativity has nothing to do with that.
October 21, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Am I misremembering what the theory of relativity says, because I don't think it has anything to do with heliocentrism vs Copernicanism. Sure, you can do the equations that describe the motions of the planets and stars either way (ish), but the theory of relativity has nothing to do with that.
New year, new commentary and I miss Rashi already by page XXV of the introduction by the phrase "supra-human"
October 21, 2025 at 6:14 PM
New year, new commentary and I miss Rashi already by page XXV of the introduction by the phrase "supra-human"
So... you think this works? No reason.
⁂°⁂
הָדָה,
(interj., v. preced.) hoa! look out! Tosef. Sabb. VI (VII), 10[read:] התוסס אוד בכותל ואומר ה' (Var. חדה, v. ed. Zuck. note) if one strikes a brand against a wall and says hada (a superstitious practice to frighten away evil spirits). Ib. 11 (Var. חדא). Ib. 12 (v. ed. Zuck. note).
⁂°⁂
הָדָה,
(interj., v. preced.) hoa! look out! Tosef. Sabb. VI (VII), 10[read:] התוסס אוד בכותל ואומר ה' (Var. חדה, v. ed. Zuck. note) if one strikes a brand against a wall and says hada (a superstitious practice to frighten away evil spirits). Ib. 11 (Var. חדא). Ib. 12 (v. ed. Zuck. note).
⁂°⁂
October 21, 2025 at 3:20 PM
So... you think this works? No reason.
Has anyone taken tefillin through Indian customs/airport security? Successfully? The airport security people are very suspicious and very rough. I already have to fly with some unusual things for medical reasons, so my bags are extensively searched.
October 21, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Has anyone taken tefillin through Indian customs/airport security? Successfully? The airport security people are very suspicious and very rough. I already have to fly with some unusual things for medical reasons, so my bags are extensively searched.