New Book Release: Kitzur Halachos Pesach

Kitzur Halachos Pesach by Rabbi Zev Hofstedter

The following true story is NOT for the faint of heart. But, as I said, it is true, and it teaches a really good lesson–one that unfortunately I had to learn the hard way. You, on the other hand, can learn from my mistake, and always ASK before you take matters into your own hands.

It was Erev Pesach. I and two of my siblings, who shall remain unnamed for obvious reasons, were working in the kitchen and schmoozing.

“You know,” I mused aloud, “anything that touches food has to bekashered before Pesach…but what about our retainers? Food touches them all the time; why don’t we have to kasher them?”

[Author’s note: All three of us wore orthodontic retainers, after having worn braces for several years. All three of us.]

“Maybe we do have to kasher them!” said my sister.

“How?” asked my brother.

The three of us, all in our early teens, discussed it, until we came up with the obvious solution: we needed to immerse the retainers in boiling water.

And so, without stopping to ask a sheilah, without even asking our parents, we set up a pot of boiling water and proceeded to kasher those retainers.

Except that when they finally emerged from their scalding bath, they didn’t really look like retainers anymore. The plastic part had become misshapen and deformed, and suffice it to say, they did not fit in our mouths anymore.

Oh, and did I mention that each set of retainers, being custom-made, cost nearly $1,000? And all three of us wore them.

I don’t think I need to tell you how very displeased our parents were with us on that day…

But we had such good intentions! I remember thinking to myself in consternation. We were only trying to do what’s right; to follow the halachah like good Torah Jews. How could we have flopped so badly?

The answer, of course, is that it’s not enough to have good intentions and to want to follow the halachah; you need to ask and find out what the correct halachah is, in each and every case! (In this case, by the way, we were told that it would be enough to simply clean the retainers very well for Pesach, although each person should ask his rav for his own psak.)

And that is why I so strongly endorse investing in a clear and easy-to-understand sefer on hilchos Pesach, such as Kitzur Halachos Pesach, by Rabbi Zev Hofstedter, before attempting to go through this holiday on your own. Like this, you never have to guess about a halachah–everything is clearly explained, so that you know exactly what halachah requires you to do, each step of the way.

As I said, I learned the hard way about the importance of asking sheilos and checking up halachos in a sefer. But you can take the easier route. With the purchase of Kitzur Halachos Pesach, you can be sure that you won’t be making the kind of mistakes I did…

New Book Release: Secret History

Secret History: Conspiracies from Ancient Aliens to the New World Order by Nick Redfern

History is written by the winners—and the powerful—but how much of it is fiction? And who is really in control today? From the dawn of civilization to the 21st century, from ancient aliens to the New World Order, Secret History: Conspiracies from Ancient Aliens to the New World Order examines, explores, and uncovers the hidden, overlooked, and buried history of mankind.

The book moves from biblical, Egyptian, Mayan, Greek, and early mysteries of antiquity to the clandestine doings of the Nazis and the Masons and assassination plots of the more recent past to the surveillance, monitoring, mind-control, and secret schemes of today. Researcher Nick Redfern investigates the stories, mythologies, lore behind incredible events and clandestine groups of yesterday and today. More than 60 entries dig deep into the manipulation of events by influential groups, including …

• Historical riddles—alien visitations, space gods, and human–alien crossbreeding.

• Government cover ups—mind control, murders, scientists, and secret agents.

• Powerful groups and intended consequences—9-11, new world order, bird-flu, and chemtrails.

Tracing the chilling and lasting effects of conspiracies, cabals, and plots, Secret History: Conspiracies from Ancient Aliens to the New World Order exposes their deep reach in shaping today's world.

New Book Release: Tanya

Tanya by R. Schneur Zalman of Liadi

The Tanya, considered the "Written Torah" of Chasidism, is now studied by tens of thousands of people, from all walks of life. The Bilingual Tanya has contributed enormously to this global interest, by both stimulating and sating the quest for deeper involvement in Chasidut, in those to whom the orginal Hebrew text remains inaccessible, not only on the intellectual level, but as a modus vivendi.

We are pleased to present a newly revised edition of the classic Likkutei Amarim Tanya - Bilingual Edition.

First published in 1973, the Bilingual Edition has become the standard translation of Tanya.

Seeking to bring the teachings of Tanya to an ever-wider readership, we have implemented the following revisions and features:

• The Sefer has received a aesthetic facelift, presented in fresh, easy-to-read typeface.
• The Hebrew text has been reproduced from the recently revised Hebrew edtion of Likkutei Amarim Tanya (Kehot, 2010).
• The original translation of the five parts of  Tanya was the work of a number of translators. As such, the rendtion of terms, the transliteration of non-English words, and the general system of translation varied from part to part. In the present edition, we have endeavored to provide a more consistent style throughout the work.
• All outdated translations of Scripture found primarly in the Likkutei Amarim, Part 1, have been updated.
• Numerous errors in the text and source footnotes have been corrected.
• All footnotes appear on the page where they are refrenced. In instances where the English translation and footnores were too lengthy to appear on one page, the facing Hebrew text is repeated on the following folio, and the remaining English translation continues opposite. A grey bar alongside the Hebrew text denotes the section corresponding to the translation.
• The english supplements section has been completely revised: to further enhance this section's usability, it has been renamed addendum, with an independent pagination system reading from left-to-right, and the information comprised therein has been restructured in a user-friendly order. The glossary originally appearing to Part I has been updated to cover all five parts of the Tanya, and detailed indices and a bibliography have been added.