tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12600498.post8366922101454729756..comments2024-01-21T02:58:08.208-05:00Comments on On the Main Line: The Talmud-Memorizer-Performer, Rabbi Hirsch Denmark.Mississippi Fred MacDowellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02734864605700159687noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12600498.post-35221280932308246282014-07-04T06:25:59.513-04:002014-07-04T06:25:59.513-04:00This is a clip I have found on an Italian daily ne...This is a clip I have found on an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin (25-09-1847):<br /><br />http://marianotomatis.tumblr.com/post/90493065776/gazzetta-piemontese-saturday-25-september-1847<br /><br />Gazzetta Piemontese, Saturday 25 September 1847<br /><br />Next Monday [27 September 1847] at 7 PM in a room in the Gran Corso Cafè, Vittorio Emanuele Square, the Rabbi Hersch Dannemark, portentous man, well known in Europe, will be honoured to offer evidences about his inexplicable talent.<br /><br />Those who will be present should be there at the exact time, keeping quiet and silent during the tests, because the smallest noise could disturb Dannemark’s cerebral organ, and his performance would be affected by it.<br /><br />Attenders are invited to bring with them any book in any language, provided that there are some jewish words somewhere.<br /><br />The ticket will cost 5 Italian Lire.Mariano Tomatishttp://www.marianotomatis.it/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12600498.post-62464178690766396412011-06-04T11:03:30.366-04:002011-06-04T11:03:30.366-04:00wow! very good blog posting skills. i wish i was y...wow! very good blog posting skills. i wish i was you..<br /><br />i am a freelance writer..<br />see my works here ------> <a href="http://www.emensuits.com/home.php?cat=202" rel="nofollow"><b>Cheap Suits</b></a>Scarletthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14862852714408386780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12600498.post-18885782445741804382010-02-15T06:53:41.230-05:002010-02-15T06:53:41.230-05:00There was a bachur in Brisk who could do it, but h...There was a bachur in Brisk who could do it, but he never let anyone talk about it, as he didn't want to become famous as a baki.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12600498.post-36468618287231530252010-01-28T09:31:22.965-05:002010-01-28T09:31:22.965-05:00Thanks Phil, and MDJ.
A guy was considered impre...Thanks Phil, and MDJ. <br /><br />A guy was considered impressive because he memorized It? Wow. I guess they hadn't heard of Kim Peek.S.http://onthemainline.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12600498.post-54110527368352200502010-01-28T04:22:13.774-05:002010-01-28T04:22:13.774-05:00I remember, a long time ago, watching the TV show,...I remember, a long time ago, watching the TV show, "That's Incredible" where a man was demonstrating his amazing memory, having memorized the entire book <b>It</b> by Stephen King. I was truly impressed. Later on in life, when I started learning Torah, I heard about some people who memorized the entire Talmud (Rav Hirshsprung from Montreal was one who did the 'pin test.' Any other recent rabbis?) Now that <i>really</i> impressed me. Not just because the Talmud is so much longer than <b>It</b>, but because it is so much more meaningful. -- PhilPhilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12600498.post-45245510845992393822010-01-27T22:03:45.890-05:002010-01-27T22:03:45.890-05:00Thanks MDJ!
Believe it or not, I was going to say ...Thanks MDJ!<br />Believe it or not, I was going to say that my "source" was my visit, about ten years ago, to one of the lopsided Ripley museums, where the info was posted next to a display of a boy who accidentally flew several miles via helium balloons. <br />-- PhilAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12600498.post-56907076721984339642010-01-27T20:24:23.522-05:002010-01-27T20:24:23.522-05:00S.,
From the 6th hit on Google for "Rip...S.,<br /> From the 6th hit on Google for "Ripley Vilna": "The Gaon of Vilna and His Cousinhood by Dr. Neil Rosenstein. {Elizabeth, New Jersey: The Computer Center for Jewish Genealogy, 1997, 430+ pages, ISBN: 0-9610578-5-8} This book covers the family ancestry of Rabbi Elijah of Vilna, who was Lithuania's greatest Talmudic scholar a...His brilliance extended to mathematics, geometry, astronomy and other sciences. His fame as a "Mental Marvel" even gained him entry into the pages of Ripley's Believe It Or Not! in 1929. "MDJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12600498.post-86120964122127305972010-01-27T14:53:34.947-05:002010-01-27T14:53:34.947-05:00Phil, I did not. Do you have a date or a source? I...Phil, I did not. Do you have a date or a source? I would *love* to track down that Ripley's Believe it Or Not.<br /><br />(Brings me back to my childhood!)S.http://onthemainline.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12600498.post-14451380654342300712010-01-27T14:35:04.077-05:002010-01-27T14:35:04.077-05:00Fascinating article!
The Vilna Gaon, of course, wa...Fascinating article!<br />The Vilna Gaon, of course, was also famous for his memory. But did you know that he actually made it into Ripley's Believe It Or Not for that?<br />-- PhilAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12600498.post-491253469389298472010-01-27T09:13:17.724-05:002010-01-27T09:13:17.724-05:00If you are interested in this general phenomenon (...If you are interested in this general phenomenon (i.e., truly eidetic memories), see Mind of a Mnemonist, by A. Luria. The subject there was also a eastern european jew.MDJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12600498.post-28531717984390448022010-01-26T14:28:41.841-05:002010-01-26T14:28:41.841-05:00As you can see, the exhibition seems to have been ...<i>As you can see, the exhibition seems to have been billed as a supernatural demonstrator. The reporter found that it did seem to exhibit his extraordinary memory, but no supernatural powers</i><br /><br />Shades of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Lintgen" rel="nofollow">Arthur Lintgen</a>.Mis-nagidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12600498.post-13373292950207162572010-01-26T09:30:49.216-05:002010-01-26T09:30:49.216-05:00I did suggest savant syndrome.I did suggest savant syndrome.S.http://onthemainline.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12600498.post-64020832612706760282010-01-26T08:42:55.554-05:002010-01-26T08:42:55.554-05:00R David Weiss Halivni is another example of someon...R David Weiss Halivni is another example of someone who could do that (he no longer can, at least thats what he tells people) w/o being a basket case.<br />But I wonder if the more proper term to use is not "idiot savant"? ie it is a type of autismAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12600498.post-13553813669488655732010-01-25T22:59:37.448-05:002010-01-25T22:59:37.448-05:00Shas. It's a typo, possibly occasioned by an i...Shas. It's a typo, possibly occasioned by an inability of someone, ie, the writer himself, and editor, or the typesetter to read the notes or manuscript of this article. As can be seen from the last article from that Psych journal, this sort of guy was known as a "Shas Polak," that is a "Polish guy who knows Shas by heart and can do these tricks."<br /><br />Incidentally, Rabbi Hirschsprung allegedly was able to do something like it. If that's true, I suppose he's a rare (or even singular) example of a Shas Polak who wasn't otherwise a basket case or am haaretz. More seriously, sounds like these guys may have had some sort of savant syndrome.S.http://onthemainline.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12600498.post-79842729843162475902010-01-25T22:52:17.337-05:002010-01-25T22:52:17.337-05:00'Sihas' Pole?'Sihas' Pole?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12600498.post-13899971904886987832010-01-25T22:34:22.265-05:002010-01-25T22:34:22.265-05:00http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=4...http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=43&letter=FMississippi Fred MacDowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02734864605700159687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12600498.post-24674195660970508362010-01-25T16:49:07.266-05:002010-01-25T16:49:07.266-05:00Who is Farihi?Who is Farihi?Ebn Ezranoreply@blogger.com