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Book Of The Zohar
The ''Zohar'' (, ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology. The ''Zohar'' contains discussions of the nature of God, the origin and structure of the universe, the nature of souls, redemption, the relationship of ego to darkness and "true self" to "the light of God". The ''Zohar'' was first publicized by Moses de León (c. 1240 – 1305 CE), who claimed it was a Tannaitic work recording the teachings of Simeon ben Yochai (). This claim is universally rejected by modern scholars, most of whom believe de León, also an infamous forger of Geonic material, wrote the book himself between 1280 and 1286. Some scholars argue that the ''Zohar'' is the work of multiple medieval authors and/or contains a small amount of genuinely antique novel material ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judaism
Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of observing the Mosaic covenant, which they believe was established between God in Judaism, God and the Jewish people. The religion is considered one of the earliest monotheistic religions. Jewish religious doctrine encompasses a wide body of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. Among Judaism's core texts is the Torah—the first five books of the Hebrew Bible—and a collection of ancient Hebrew scriptures. The Tanakh, known in English as the Hebrew Bible, has the same books as Protestant Christianity's Old Testament, with some differences in order and content. In addition to the original written scripture, the supplemental Oral Torah is represented by later texts, such as the Midrash and the Talmud. The Hebrew ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geonim
''Geonim'' (; ; also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated Gaonim, singular Gaon) were the presidents of the two great Talmudic Academies in Babylonia, Babylonian Talmudic Academies of Sura Academy , Sura and Pumbedita Academy , Pumbedita, in the Abbasid Caliphate. They were generally accepted as the spiritual leaders of the Jewish community worldwide in the early medieval era, in contrast to the ''Resh Galuta'' (exilarch) who wielded secular authority over the Jews in Islamic lands. ''Geonim'' is the plural of (''Ga'on'') , which means "pride" or "splendor" in Biblical Hebrew and since the 19th century "genius" as in modern Hebrew language, Hebrew. As a title of a Babylonian college president it meant something like "His Excellency". The ''Geonim'' played a prominent and decisive role in the transmission and teaching of Torah and Halakha, Jewish law. They taught Talmud and decided on issues on which no ruling had been rendered during the period of the Talmud. Era The per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abraham Zacuto
Abraham Zacuto (, ; 12 August 1452 – ) was a Sephardic Jewish astronomer, astrologer, mathematician, rabbi and historian. Born in Castile, he served as Royal Astronomer to King John II of Portugal before fleeing to Tunis. His astrolabe of copper, astronomical tables, and maritime charts played an important role in the Spanish and Portuguese voyages of discovery, being used by both Vasco Da Gama and Christopher Columbus. Life Zacuto was born in Salamanca, Kingdom of Castile and León, Castile in 1452. He may have studied and taught astronomy at the University of Salamanca. He later taught astronomy at the universities of Zaragoza and then Carthage. He was well versed in Halakha, Jewish Law, and was the rabbi of his community. Zacuto was actually Abraham Zacuto III, his ancestor the first was the author of the ''Sepher ha-Mishpotim'' in 1311, which today is in the library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. He writes that his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rabbinic Period
The Rabbinic period, or the Talmudic period, denotes a transformative era in Jewish history, spanning from the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE to the Muslim conquest of the Levant, Muslim conquest in 638 CE. Pivotal in shaping Judaism into its classical form, it is regarded as the second most important era in Jewish history after the Biblical period. After the failure of the First Jewish–Roman War, Great Jewish Revolt of 66–73 CE, Roman measures such as the and land confiscation severely impacted the Jewish population of Judaea (Roman province), Judaea. The Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE), destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple required Jewish culture to adapt in order to survive. Judaism endured through the establishment of new centers of scholarship and leadership, initially at Yavne under Yohanan ben Zakkai, who promoted a focus on Torah study and synagogue worship.Eli Barnavi (editor), A historical atlas of the Jewish people : from the times of the Pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medieval Hebrew
Medieval Hebrew was a literary and liturgical language that existed between the 4th and 19th century. It was not commonly used as a spoken language, but mainly in written form by rabbis, scholars and poets. Medieval Hebrew had many features distinguishing it from older forms of Hebrew. These affected grammar, syntax, sentence structure, and also included a wide variety of new lexical items, which were either based on older forms or borrowed from other languages, especially Aramaic, Koine Greek and Latin.Encarta-encyclopedie Winkler Prins (1993–2002) s.v. "Hebreeuwse taal. §1. Oud-Hebreeuws en Midden-Hebreeuws". Microsoft Corporation/Het Spectrum. History In the Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain, important work was done by grammarians in explaining the grammar and vocabulary of Biblical Hebrew; much of this was based on the work of the grammarians of Classical Arabic. Important Hebrew grammarians were Judah ben David Hayyuj and Jonah ibn Janah. A great deal of poetry wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewish cultural life and was foundational to "all Jewish thought and aspirations", serving also as "the guide for the daily life" of Jews. The Talmud includes the teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis on a variety of subjects, including halakha, Jewish ethics, philosophy, customs, history, and folklore, and many other topics. The Talmud is a commentary on the Mishnah. This text is made up of 63 tractates, each covering one subject area. The language of the Talmud is Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. Talmudic tradition emerged and was compiled between the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE and the Arab conquest in the early seventh century. Traditionally, it is thought that the Talmud itself was compiled by Rav Ashi and Ravina II a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfonso De Zamora
Alfonso de Zamora (1474 - ) was a Jewish-Spanish scholar and a major contributor to the Complutensian Polyglot Bible. Like many Spanish Jews during the persecutions of the 15th century, Alfonso converted to Catholicism while remaining a Crypto-Jew [secret Jew]. Biography Born in Zamora, Spain in 1474, Alfonso was the son of Juan de Zamora, a learned Jew. He attended a Yeshiva, probably the famous Campanton Yeshiva until the age of 18, when he and his family left for Portugal in 1492, before returning in about 1497, already baptized. Sources disagree on the exact date of his baptism, with some suggesting 1492 or 1506. Historian Ahuva Ho argues that Alfonso likely continued to secretly practice Judaism for the rest of his life. Alfonso was a professor of the Hebrew and Aramaic languages at the University of Salamanca until 1512, when he was moved to the University of Alcalá. Both Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros and Alfonso de Fonseca were patrons of his work. In 1544, Alfonso wro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Israel Alnaqua
Rabbi Israel ben Joseph Alnaqua () (also, "Al-Nakawa", "Al-Nakava", "Ankava", "Ankoa", "Alnucawi", etc., Hebrew: "נקוה", "אלנאקוה", "אנקווה", "אנקאווא") (died 1391) was an ethical writer and martyr who lived in Toledo, Spain. He died at the stake, together with Judah ben Asher, during the massacres in the summer of 1391. He is the author of an ethical work in twenty chapters, entitled ''Menorat ha-Maor'' (). The work commences with a long poem, an acrostic on the author's name. Then follows a preface in rimed prose. The introduction to each chapter is headed by a poem, giving the acrostic of his name, Israel. It was printed in 1578. A manuscript of it is in the Bodleian. An abridgment of it was published at Kraków, 1593, under the title ''Menorat Zahav Kullah'' (Candelabra Wholly of Gold). It is divided into five sections, which contain observations # on laws in general # on education # on commerce # on the behavior of litigants and judges in court # on co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isaac Ben Samuel Of Acre
Isaac ben Samuel of Acre (fl. 13th–14th century) (Hebrew: יצחק בן שמואל דמן עכו, ''Yitzhak ben Shmuel d'min Akko'') was a Jewish kabbalist from Acre who fled to Spain. According to Chaim Joseph David Azulai, Isaac ben Samuel was a pupil of Nachmanides. View of the Zohar Isaac ben Samuel was at the Crusader-controlled town of Acre when town was taken by a Mamluk army led by Al-Ashraf Khalil. He was arrested and thrown into prison with many other Jews, but escaped the massacre, and in 1305 went to Spain. Abraham Zacuto states in his ''Yuḥasin,'' that Moses de Leon discovered the Zohar in the time of Isaac of Acre. However, Isaac doubted the authenticity of the Zohar and made inquiries about it of Naḥmanides' pupils, without, however, any satisfactory result. When Isaac met Moses of Leon at Valladolid, the latter took an oath that he had a copy of the Zohar written by Shimon bar Yochai himself in his house at Ávila. However, de Leon died before he cou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kabbalah
Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal (). List of Jewish Kabbalists, Jewish Kabbalists originally developed transmissions of the primary texts of Kabbalah within the realm of Jewish tradition and often use classical Jewish scriptures to explain and demonstrate its mystical teachings. Kabbalists hold these teachings to define the inner meaning of both the Hebrew Bible and traditional rabbinic literature and their formerly concealed transmitted dimension, as well as to explain the significance of Jewish religious observances. Historically, Kabbalah emerged from earlier forms of Jewish mysticism, in 12th- to 13th-century Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain, al-Andalus (Spain) and in Hakhmei Provence, and was reinterpreted during the Jewish mystical renaissance in 16th-century ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gibberish
Gibberish, also known as jibber-jabber or gobbledygook, is speech that is (or appears to be) nonsense: ranging across speech sounds that are not actual words, pseudowords, language games and specialized jargon that seems nonsensical to outsiders. "Gibberish" is also used as an imprecation to denigrate or tar ideas or opinions the user disagrees with or finds irksome, a rough equivalent of "nonsense", " folderol", "balderdash", or " claptrap". The implication is that the criticized expression or proposition lacks substance or congruence, as opposed to being a differing view. The related word ''jibber-jabber'' refers to rapid talk that is difficult to understand. Etymology The etymology of ''gibberish'' is uncertain. The term was seen in English in the early 16th century. It is generally thought to be an onomatopoeia imitative of speech, similar to the words ''jabber'' (to talk rapidly) and ''gibber'' (to speak inarticulately). It may originate from the word '' jib'', w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Targum Onkelos
Interlinear text of Hebrew Numbers 6.3–10 with British_Library.html" ;"title="Aramaic Targum Onkelos from the British Library">Aramaic Targum Onkelos from the British Library. Targum Onkelos (or Onqelos; , ''Targūm ’Unqəlōs'') is the primary Jewish Aramaic targum ("translation") of the Torah, accepted as an authoritative translated text of the Five Books of Moses and thought to have been written in the early second century CE. Authorship Authorship of the Targum Onkelos is traditionally attributed to Onkelos, a famous convert to Judaism in Tannaic times (c. 200 CE). According to the Talmud, the essential content of Targum Onkelos was already known in the time of Ezra (immediately after the Babylonian captivity). However, it was later forgotten by the masses, and rerecorded by Onkelos. While the Aramaic translation of the Torah is traditionally attributed to Onkelos, a translation of the Torah into Greek is mentioned in the Talmud as being made by Aquila of Sinop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
