A few new things

A new volume of David Weiss Halivni's Mekorot u-Masorot, on Baba Batra. It includes an extensive introduction, explicating Halivni's positions on the redaction of the Bavli.

Shenaton le-Heker ha-Mikra veha-Mizrah ha-Kadum, vol. 17, includes two articles on Rashbam (one on his biblical commentary and another on his grammatical work, Deyakot), one on Pseudo-Rashi to Chronicles, and Jordan Penkower's article, which I've been waiting to see for a few years, on the biblical textual tradition of early Ashkenaz. TOC here. As I understand it, Penkower's goal is to demonstrate that the text of the Hebrew bible is not represented by a single tradition - exemplified by the Aleppo Codex - which Ashkenazic scribes strayed from, but rather that there was an alternative tradition which Ashkenazim actually followed carefully. Over time, their tradition was forgotten and it became contaminated with the other tradition, producing texts with mixed traditions. But I haven't seen the article, so I may be totally off. In any case, I'm sure it's an important article.

A friend sent me details of a festschrift being published in honour of Shamma Friedman, and a gathering this Wednesday to launch it, at the Schechter Institute. Speakers will include Daniel Sperber, Mordechai Akiva Friedman, and a punning presentation by Moshe Benovitz titled 'Shamma Garim' (a reference to Friedman's article 'Ha-shem gorem' in Ve-eleh Shemot 2, 1999).