My Stamp Bible

Over the past (more than) 550 years, since the printing type-set (AKA Movable Type) method was used to produce and print books, most notably the Guttenberg Bible – printing books in Hebrew was a great desire of Jewish Authors! Until 447 years ago – there was no such ability in the Holy Land. However, on the 25th of Cheshvan 1577 (Yesterday's Hebrew Date)  – a book named Koheleth Ya'akov (commentary & exposition) on the Book of Ecclesiastics, was printed in Safed (AKA TZFAT). The State of Israel decided to commemorate the 400th Anniversary of this event on a stamp in 1977. There are Two reasons I am mentioning this special event in connection to my Stamp Bible (besides the fact that it happened yesterday, 447 years ago). First: it is a commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastics, written by Rabbi Moshe ben Mordechai Galanti, who is not commemorated on any other stamp in my "Rabbi" themed collection! And, Second, the press (or the Author, we will never know) continued a...

 So, it's been a while since I posted last. I discovered, through my specific interest of Maps on Stamps, that Syria has more maps of Israel depicted on their stamps, than any other country in the world, including Israel !!! So, a friend from the UAE sent me stamps from Syria from 2019 & 2023, showing the Map of Israel, and in addition, what a surprise!, was a stamp that celebrates UNESCO International Year of Indigenous Languages. Syria decided that their language will be Aramaic, since there are small groups/communities who still speak Aramaic as their daily language. Even I, and thousands of others who study the Daf Yomi (a blot of Talmud a day)  – can't speak Aramaic as a colloquial language!!! As far as I know, Syria is the only country that has a stamp showing the Aramaic language. In a very tense time for the people in Judea, Ravshake (or Rabshakeh), acting as a messenger (or emissary) from the King of Aram, the original country where Aramaic was founded as a l...