Our Great Grandfather Harris Epstein the Inventor

I am named after my great-grandfather, Harris (Tzvee) Epstein, aka, Epstein the Inventor, who lived in New York City and Spring Valley. I probably inherited my technical curiosity from him.

He was the inventor and patent holder of many practical items, a folding umbrella, an extension ladder, a double sided toothbrush, a vegetable grater and more. Here are of his patents with their links from Google Patent search:

SIGNALING APPARATUS US Pat. 1060898 - H. EPSTEIN. SIGNALING APPARATUS, APPLICATION PILED JAN. 26, 19.11. Patented May 6,1913.

EXTENSION LADDER US Pat. 949529 - Filed Feb 10, 1909

VEGETABLE GRATER US Pat. 1799963 - Filed Apr 4, 1930... UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HARRIS EPSTEIN, OF ROCKAWAY BEACH, NEW YORK VEGETABLE GRATER

GAS-CONTROLLING DEVICE US Pat. 968457 - Filed Jan 11, 1910

FOLDING UMBRELLA Patent number: 1666692 Filing date: Jan 29, 1927 Issue date: Apr 17, 1928

TOOTH BRUSH Patent number: 1111144 Filing date: Oct 4, 1913 Issue date: Sep 22, 1914

Papa Epstein, as he was called by his grandchildren, sure would have liked the age of the personal computer and the Internet, especially the iPad and smart phone.

[Augmented repost from 12/17/06]

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Our Work is Published in the World's Most Expensive Jewish Books: $970 or $1,004

These may be the World's Most Expensive Jewish Books. And they have our work inside.

The Law of Agriculture in the Mishnah and the Tosefta Translation, Commentary, Theology ($970 if ordered from Brill) ($1,004 from Amazon)

Our contributions are Berakhot (pages 398-574) and Hallah (pages 2601-2627).

The book set is not titled accurately. Tractate Berakhot, the first in the book, is about prayer, liturgy (the Shema and Amidah) and blessings. The rest of the tractates are about agriculture and many other topics.

The listing for this book set from the publisher does not properly credit any of the contributors.

Publisher's Book Set Description - This project presents in three volumes the Mishnah's and the Tosefta's first division, Zera'im (Agriculture), organized in eleven topical tractates, together with a systematic history of the law of Zeraim in the Mishnah. To the exposition of the Halakhah on the chosen topic, the Mishnah-tractates are primary but complemented by the Tosefta's presentation of its collection of glosses of the Mishnah's law and supplements to that law.

The Mishnah's and the Tosefta's tractates are integrated, with the Tosefta's complement given in the setting of the Mishnah's rules, and the whole is given in English translation. The presentation in each case encompasses an introduction, a form-analytical translation and commentary, a systematic integration of the Tosefta's compositions into the Mishnah's laws, an explanation of the details of the law, and an inquiry into how the Halakhah of the Mishnah and that of the Tosefta intersect, item by item.

Readership: All those interested in Jewish prayer and liturgy, agricultural law, Mishnaic law and Tosefta.

Product Details
Hardcover: 2112 pages
Publisher: Brill Academic Pub
Language: English
Publication year: 2005
Series: Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1 The Near and Middle East, 79
ISBN-10: 90 04 14503 6; ISBN-13 (Brill)The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) on 1 January 2007: 978 9004145 03 0
Cover: Hardback
Number of pages: Vol.I, xxii, 800 pp.; Vol. II, xiv, 975 pp.; Vol. III, xiv, 1013 pp. (English)
Number of volumes: 3

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Gerson's Church of Copimism hits the New Yorker

We still do not get the joke that Isak Gerson in Uppsala is playing on us. He has achieved church status for his software piracy group. Yes, if Sweden thinks that all religion is a joke, then this is a natural progression.

Whatever. New Yorker sent someone to do a story on Copimism and they delved, as they do, into the details. We gag on this. Some people can live in total disrespect of property and of faith. Not us. In the middle of the New Yorker article we found this poetic gem,

When Gerson talks about Kopimism as a religion, his tone is good-humored, but he also comes off as disarmingly sincere. Even if this religious-registration business is just a bit of political theatre, there’s no doubt that there’s an honestly and deeply held conviction at its core: the free exchange of information as a fundamental right. But is that enough to make it a genuine religion? When I asked Professor Bäckström, he hesitated. “Today you can believe in anything, so I suppose the idea of belief is a minor issue in a Northern European setting,” he said. “Belief can be a very wide concept.” He admitted, though, that he suspects that Kopimism is primarily an activist prank.

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Isak Gerson's Church of Kopimism Recognized in Sweden as a Religion

We don't get the joke. Copyright violation is a crime.

Press release from the Church of Kopimism

The Church of Kopimism is recognized by the state of Sweden

Just before Christmas, the Swedish governmental agency Kammarkollegiet registered the Church of Kopimism as a religious organisation. This means that Sweden is the first country to recognize kopimism as a religion.

The Church of Kopimism have tried to become registered as a religious organisation by Kammarkollegiet for more than a year.

- Since Kammarkollegiet has been strict with formalities, we had to apply three times, a happy Gustav Nipe - board chairman for the organisation - says. He continues, I think it might have something to do with the governmental organisations abiding by a very copyright friendly attitude, with a twisted view on copying.
For the Church of Kopimism, information is holy and copying is a sacrament. Information holds a value, in itself and in what it contains, and the value multiplies through copying. Therefore, copying is central for the organisation and its members.

Being recognized by the state of Sweden is a large step for all of kopimi. Hopefully, this is one step towards the day when we can live out our faith without fear of persecution, says Isak Gerson, spiritual leader of the Church of Kopimism.

The Church of Kopimism is a religious organisation with roots from 2010. The organisation formalizes a community that's been well spread for a long time already. The community of kopimi requires no formal membership. You just have to feel a calling to worship what is the holiest of the holiest, information and copy. To do this, we organize kopyactings - religious services - where the kopimists share information with eachother through copying and remix.

Copy and seed.
Link http://kopimistsamfundet.se/
Contact
Isak Gerson, spiritual leader: 0046731585745
Gustav Nipe, board chairman: 0046760188918

Isak Gerson is involved in the Christian student movement in Sweden (which is anti-Israel), so despite his Jewish sounding name, he is not a Jew.

On his web page he explains further:

A "Kopimist" or "Kopimist intellectual" is person who has the philosophical belief that all information should be freely distributed and unrestricted. This philosophy opposes copyrights in all forms and encourages piracy of all types of media including music, movies, TV shows, and software. The term kopimist originates from the root word, kopimi, meaning 'copy me'.

As a writer who has been the victim of copyright violation, we do not find this activity humorous.

As a professor who takes religion seriously, we in no way agree with this declaration by Swedish authorities.

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