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Rav Yosef
Rav Yosef bar Hiyya (), or simply Rav Yosef, was a Babylonian rabbi of the third generation of amoraim. Biography Yosef was a student of Judah bar Ezekiel and was Abaye's teacher, and a scholarly disputant (''bar plugata'') of Rabbah bar Nahmani. When his teacher Judah died, Yosef was expected to take Judah's place as the gaon of the Pumbedita Academy, due to his excellent knowledge of rabbinic law (as opposed to Rabbah, who excelled in analysis rather than knowledge). Yosef, however, refused to take the position. Rabbah took it instead at the age of 18 and held it until his death at the age of 40. At this point, Yosef agreed to become head of the academy. He held this position for two years, until he died. Yosef was accustomed to recite a sermon on Shabbat before the mussaf prayer. Despite being blind, Yosef managed to accumulate an exceptional knowledge of both written and Oral Torah. When some of the canonical Biblical translations were forgotten, he managed to restore ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judah Bar Ezekiel
Judah bar Ezekiel (220–299 CE) () often known as Rav Yehudah, was a Babylonian amora of the 2nd generation. Biography Judah was the most prominent disciple of Rav, in whose house he often stayed, and whose son Hiyya b. Rav was his pupil. After Rav's death Judah went to Samuel of Nehardea, who esteemed him highly and called him "Shinena" (= "sharpwitted", or "he with the long teeth"). He remained with Samuel until he founded a school of his own at Pumbedita. He died there in 299 CE. Judah was celebrated for his piety, and it is related that whenever he ordained a fast in time of drought rain fell. His sons Isaac and Judah also became known as rabbis. Teachings Judah possessed such great zeal for learning and such tireless energy that he even omitted daily prayer in order to secure more time for study, and prayed but once in thirty days. This diligence, together with a remarkably retentive memory, made it possible for him to collect and transmit the greater part of Rav's, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abaye
Abaye () was an amora of the fourth generation of the Talmudic academies in Babylonia. He was born about the close of the third century and died in 337. Biography Abaye, according to Talmudic tradition, was the head of the Pumbedita Academy until the day of his death. He was known as a modest and honest man, supporting himself through farming. He lived most of his life in poverty. Abaye was born as the only son of Kilil.Bavli, Zevachim 118b. His father died before Abaye was born, and his mother died during childbirth; he was adopted by his uncle, Rabbah bar Nahmani. His name Abaye was often called "Nahmani" by his friends. According to one opinion, first mentioned by Rashi, he was called Nahmani because he was raised by Rabbah bar Nahmani, but according to another opinion, his original name was actually Nahmani. To avoid confusion with the name of his adoptive father, he was given the nickname "Abaye," which is an acronym of the verse: "Asher-Bkha Yerukham Yatom" (Hosea 14:4) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rava (amora)
Abba ben Joseph bar Ḥama ( – 352 CE), who is exclusively referred to in the Talmud by the name Rava (), was a Babylonian rabbi who belonged to the fourth generation of amoraim. He is known for his debates with Abaye, and is one of the most often cited rabbis in the Talmud. Biography He was born about 280 CE in Mahoza (a suburb of Ctesiphon, the capital of Persia), where his father was a wealthy and distinguished scholar. In his youth Rava went to Sura, where he attended the lectures of Rav Chisda and associated with Rami bar Hama. About ten years after Rami's death Rava married his widow, the Rav Chisda's daughter. It is said that earlier Rav Chisda's daughter sat in her father's classroom, while his students, Rava and Rami bar Hama, stand before them. When Rav Chisda asked her which of the two she wants to marry, she replied "both of them," and Rava added, "I'll be the last one" (commentators let us know that she indeed married Rami first and Rava second). They had fiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Talmudic Academies In Babylonia
The Talmudic academies in Babylonia, also known as the Geonic academies, were the center for Jewish scholarship and the development of Halakha during the Geonic era (from c. 589 to 1038 CE; Hebrew dates: 4349 AM to 4798 AM) in what is called "Babylonia" in Jewish sources. This term is neither geopolitically, nor geographically identical with the ancient empires of Babylonia, since the Jewish focus of interest has to do with the Jewish religious academies, which were mainly situated in an area between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates and primarily between Pumbedita (modern Fallujah, a town west of Baghdad), and Sura, a town farther south down the Euphrates. At the time this area was part of the region known as Asōristān (under the Sasanian Empire) or Iraq (under the Muslim caliphate until the 11th century). The key work of these academies was the compilation of the Babylonian Talmud, started by Rav Ashi and Ravina, two leaders of the Babylonian Jewish community, around t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amoraim
''Amoraim'' ( , singular ''Amora'' ; "those who say" or "those who speak over the people", or "spokesmen") refers to Jewish scholars of the period from about 200 to 500 CE, who "said" or "told over" the teachings of the Oral Torah. They were primarily located in Babylonia and the Land of Israel. Their legal discussions and debates were eventually codified in the Gemara. The ''Amoraim'' followed the '' Tannaim'' in the sequence of ancient Jewish scholars. The ''Tannaim'' were direct transmitters of uncodified oral tradition; the ''Amoraim'' expounded upon and clarified the oral law after its initial codification. The Amoraic era The first Babylonian ''Amoraim'' were Abba Arikha, respectfully referred to as ''Rav'', and his contemporary and frequent debate partner, Shmuel. Among the earliest ''Amoraim'' in Israel were Johanan bar Nappaha and Shimon ben Lakish. Traditionally, the Amoraic period is reckoned as seven or eight generations (depending on where one begins and en ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rabbah Bar Nahmani
Rabbah bar Naḥmani () (died c. 320 CE) was a Jewish Talmudist known throughout the Talmud simply as Rabbah. He was a third-generation amora of the talmudic academies in Babylonia, which were in Asoristan, the Lower Mesopotamian part of the Sasanian Empire. Biography Rabbah was a kohen descended from Eli the shofet. He was a student of Rav Huna at Sura Academy and of Judah bar Ezekiel at Pumbedita Academy. Huna seldom decided a question of importance without consulting him. His brethren in the Talmudic academies in Syria Palaestina wrote to Rabbah to move to Palestine, where he would find a teacher in Johanan bar Nappaha; it would be far better for him to have a guide than to rely on himself in his studies. However, Rabbah never left Mesopotamia. Upon the death of Judah bar Ezekiel, Rabbah succeeded as resh mthivtā (; he held the post until his death 22 years later. He is also said to have lived in poverty, but little else is known about his private life. Resident ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaon (Hebrew)
Gaon (, ''gā'ōn'', , plural geonim, , ''gĕ'ōnīm'') was originally a formal title for the Geonim, heads of Talmudic academies in the 6th–11th century. Since the rishonic period, many great rabbis, whether or not they head academies, are often lauded with this honorific as a mark of respect; for example, one may refer to Ovadia Yosef as "HaGaon Ovadia Yosef". Modern Hebrew reuses the word as an equivalent for "genius" based on phonetic similarity. Etymology It may have originated as a shortened version of "Rosh Yeshivat Ge'on Ya'akov", although there are alternative explanations. In Ancient Hebrew, it referred to arrogance and haughty pride ( – "I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it.") and, according to another explanation, it later became known as a general term for pride, and the title was used as "Pride f. Examples One of the Geonim during the period 589–1040. Prominent Geonim include: * Yehudai Ga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pumbedita Academy
The Pumbedita Academy or Pumbedita Yeshiva (; sometimes ''Pumbeditha'', ''Pumpedita'', ''Pumbedisa'') was a Talmudic academy in Pumbedita, an unidentified location in modern Iraq, during the Amoraic and Geonic eras. It was founded by Judah bar Ezekiel (220–299 CE) and, with the Sura Academy founded in 225 by Abba Arika, retained dominant influence for about 800 years. History After Abba Arikha and Samuel of Nehardea died at the end of the first generation of the Amoraim, along with the designation of Rav Huna as dean Sura, Judah bar Ezekiel went to the city of Pumbedita and had established a new yeshiva there. Pumbedita Academy was active for about 800 years over the course of the eras of the Amoraim, Savoraim, and Geonim up until the days of Hai Gaon. At the time, the academies of Pumbedita and Sura became the most influential and dominant yeshivas of the Jewish communities' world, and all Torah decrees and other religious rulings were issued from these Yeshivas to all ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halakha
''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments (''Mitzvah, mitzvot''), subsequent Talmudic and Mitzvah#Rabbinic mitzvot, rabbinic laws, and the customs and traditions which were compiled in the many books such as the ''Shulchan Aruch'' or ''Mishneh Torah''. ''Halakha'' is often translated as "Jewish law", although a more literal translation might be "the way to behave" or "the way of walking". The word is derived from the Semitic root, root, which means "to behave" (also "to go" or "to walk"). ''Halakha'' not only guides religious practices and beliefs; it also guides numerous aspects of day-to-day life. Historically, widespread observance of the laws of the Torah is first in evidence beginning in the second century BCE, and some say that the first evide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mussaf
Mussaf (also spelled Musaf or Musof) is an additional service that is recited on Shabbat, Yom Tov, Chol Hamoed, and Rosh Chodesh. The service, which is traditionally combined with the Shacharit in synagogues, is considered to be additional to the regular services of Shacharit, Mincha, and Maariv. In contemporary Hebrew, the word may also signify a newspaper supplement. During the days of the Holy Temple, additional offerings were offered on these festive days. Mussaf is now recited in lieu of these offerings. ''Mussaf'' refers to both the full service (which includes the Amidah and all Jewish prayers that follow that are normally recited during Shacharit) and the Amidah itself that is recited for Mussaf. The main addition is a fourth blessing of the Amidah specially for these days. The correct time to recite musaf is until the seventh Halachic hour of the day (when the day is divided up into twelve-hour parts); however, it is proper to begin musaf before 6.5 relative hou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oral Torah
According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law () are statutes and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah (), and which are regarded by Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jews as prescriptive and given at the same time. This holistic Jewish code of conduct encompasses a wide swathe of rituals, worship practices, Godman and interpersonal relationships, from Kashrut, dietary laws to Sabbath and festival observance to marital relations, agricultural practices, and civil claims and damages. According to Rabbinic Jewish tradition, the Oral Torah was oral tradition, passed down orally in an unbroken chain from generation to generation until its contents were finally committed to writing following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, when Jewish civilization was faced with an existential threat, by virtue of the dispersion of the Jewish people. The major repositories of the Oral Torah are the ''Mishnah'', compiled between 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tannaim
''Tannaim'' ( Amoraic Hebrew: תנאים "repeaters", "teachers", singular ''tanna'' , borrowed from Aramaic) were the rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10–220 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 210 years. It came after the period of the Zugot "Pairs" and was immediately followed by the period of the Amoraim "Interpreters". The root ''tanna'' () is the Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew root ''shanah'' (), which also is the root word of ''Mishnah''. The verb ''shanah'' means "to repeat hat one was taught and is used to mean "to learn". The Mishnaic period is commonly divided into five periods according to generations. There are approximately 120 known Tannaim. The Tannaim lived in several areas of the Land of Israel. The spiritual center of Judaism at that time was Jerusalem, but after the destruction of the city and the Second Temple, Yohanan ben Zakkai and his students founded a n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
