Creator Bio
Benjamin Slonik
1550–1619
Benjamin Aron Slonik was likely born in Grodno or nearby Tykocin. He lived in Kraków, where he studied with Moses Isserles and Solomon Luria, the leading authorities of his days. Slonik served as rabbi in Podhajce and Silesia. He wrote his Seder mitsvot ha-nashim (The Order of Women’s Commandments) in 1577, while he was still a young rabbi.
Content by Benjamin Slonik
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Seder mitsvot ha-nashim (The Order of Women’s Commandments): On the Sabbath Eve
Every woman is obligated to kindle lights on the eve of each Sabbath and Festival and this is a great mitzvah. And she makes the blessing, “Blessed are You God, our Lord, King of the universe. Who has…
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Seder mitzvot ha-nashim (The Order of Women’s Commandments): On Marital Relations
It should be known that after her immersion, every woman should persuade her husband and see to it that he study before he lies with her. And so we find it written regarding Boaz, “And Boaz ate…
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Early Modern Rabbis and Intellectuals on the Move
1500–1750
Carrying books and knowledge, itinerant rabbis and scholars traveled between communities, facilitating cultural exchange.
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Early Modern Religious Practices
1500–1750
Early modern Jews both preserved tradition and innovated. Documents and legal texts reveal rich details about synagogue life, marriage, family relations, and death rituals.