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Hezekiah Ben Manoah
Hezekiah ben Manoah, or Hezekiah bar Manoah, was a French rabbi and Bible commentator of the 13th century. He is generally known by the title of his commentary, Chizkuni (). In memory of his father, who lost his right hand through his steadfastness in the faith, Hezekiah wrote a commentary on the Pentateuch, under the title ''Ḥazzeḳuni'' (ca. 1240). It was printed at Venice in 1524. Other editions appeared at Cremona (1559), Amsterdam (1724, in the Rabbinical Bible of M. Frankfurter), Lemberg (1859), etc. The commentary is one of the first systematic supercommentaries on the classical commentary of Rashi predating in this field the work of Nachmanides, but it also uses digests and brings selectively quotes and material from about twenty other commentaries as is stated in the introduction. The commentary is based to large extent on the works of Abraham ibn Ezra, Rashbam, Joseph ben Isaac Bekhor Shor and other commentators of the French school. In addition to commentaries and c ...
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Pentateuch
The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () or the Five Books of Moses. In Rabbinical Jewish tradition it is also known as the Written Torah (, ). If meant for liturgic purposes, it takes the form of a Torah scroll ( ''Sefer Torah''). If in bound book form, it is called '' Chumash'', and is usually printed with the rabbinic commentaries (). In rabbinic literature, the word ''Torah'' denotes both the five books ( "Torah that is written") and the Oral Torah (, "Torah that is spoken"). It has also been used, however, to designate the entire Hebrew Bible. The Oral Torah consists of interpretations and amplifications which according to rabbinic tradition have been handed down from generation to generation and are now embodied in the Talmud and Midrash. Rabbinic tradition's understandi ...
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Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi studied Torah studies in Worms, Germany, Worms under German rabbi Yaakov ben Yakar and French rabbi Isaac ben Eliezer Halevi, both of whom were pupils of the famed scholar Gershom ben Judah. After returning to Troyes, Rashi joined the , began answering Halakha, halakhic questions and later served as the 's head after the death of Zerach ben Abraham. Rashi is generally considered a leading biblical exegete in the Middle Ages. Acclaimed for his ability to present the basic meaning of the text in a concise and lucid fashion, Rashi's commentaries appeal to both learned scholars and beginning students, and his works remain a centerpiece of contemporary Torah study. A large fraction of rabbinic literature published since the Middle Ages discusses Ra ...
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Nachmanides
Moses ben Nachman ( ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ramban (; ) and by the contemporary nickname Bonastruc ça Porta (; literally "Mazel tov, Mazel Tov near the Gate", see ), was a leading medieval Jewish scholar, Jews of Catalonia, Catalan rabbi, philosophy, philosopher, physician, Kabbalah, kabbalist, and Jewish commentaries on the Bible, biblical commentator. He was raised, studied, and lived for most of his life in Girona, Catalonia. He is also considered to be an important figure in the re-establishment of the Jewish community in Jerusalem following its Siege of Jerusalem (1099), destruction by the Crusaders in 1099. Name "Nachmanides" () is a Greek language, Greek-influenced formation meaning "son of Nahman". He is also commonly known by the Hebrew acronym (Ra-M-Ba-N, for ''Rabbeinu Mōšeh bēn-Nāḥmān'', "Our Rabbi Moses son of Nahman"). His Cata ...
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Abraham Ibn Ezra
Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (, often abbreviated as ; ''Ibrāhim al-Mājid ibn Ezra''; also known as Abenezra or simply ibn Ezra, 1089 / 1092 – 27 January 1164 / 23 January 1167)''Jewish Encyclopedia''online; '' Chambers Biographical Dictionary'' gives the dates 1092/93 – 1167 was one of the most distinguished Jewish biblical commentators and philosophers of the Middle Ages. He was born in Tudela, Taifa of Zaragoza (now Navarre). Biography Abraham Ibn Ezra was born in Tudela, one of the oldest and most important Jewish communities in Navarre. At the time, the town was under the rule of the emirs of the Muslim Taifa of Zaragoza. However, when he later moved to Córdoba, he claimed it was his birthplace. Ultimately, most scholars agree that his place of birth was Tudela. From outside sources, little is known of ibn Ezra's family; however, he wrote of a marriage to a wife who produced five children. While it is believed four died early, the last-born, Isaac, became an influ ...
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Rashbam
Samuel ben Meir (Troyes, c. 1085 – c. 1158), after his death known as the "Rashbam", a Hebrew acronym for RAbbi SHmuel Ben Meir, was a leading French Tosafist and grandson of Shlomo Yitzhaki, "Rashi". Biography He was born in the vicinity of Troyes, in around 1085 in France to his father Meir ben Shmuel and mother Yocheved, daughter of Rashi. He was the older brother of Solomon the grammarian as well as of the Tosafists Isaac ben Meir (the "Rivam") and Jacob ben Meir ("Rabbeinu Tam"), and a colleague of Rabbi Joseph Kara. Like his maternal grandfather, the Rashbam was a biblical commentator and Talmudist. He learned from Rashi and from Isaac ben Asher ha-Levi ("Riva"). He was the teacher of his brother, Rabbeinu Tam, and his method of interpretation differed from that of his grandfather. Rashbam earned a living by tending livestock and growing grapes, following in his family tradition. Known for his piety, he defended Jewish beliefs in public disputes that had been arr ...
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Joseph Ben Isaac Bekhor Shor
Joseph ben Isaac Bekhor Shor of Orléans (12th century) () was a French tosafist, exegete, and poet who flourished in the second half of the 12th century. He was the father of Abraham ben Joseph of Orleans and Saadia Bekhor Shor. Biography Joseph was a pupil of Jacob Tam, Joseph Kara, and Rashbam. That "Joseph Bekhor Shor" and the tosafist "Joseph ben Isaac of Orléans" are the same person has been sufficiently demonstrated by Gross, who showed that the same explanations given in the Tosafot in the name of "Joseph ben Isaac", are quoted in the ''Semak'' and in Meir of Rothenburg's Responsa as those of "Joseph Bekhor Shor." Joseph was on very friendly terms with his teacher Jacob Tam, with whom he carried on a learned correspondence. Biblical commentary Besides tosafot on the greater part of the Talmud, Joseph wrote a notable Biblical commentary. Even more than Rashi, to whose exegetical school he belonged, he confined himself to literal interpretations ( peshat). Anti ...
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Dunash Ben Labrat
Dunash ha-Levi ben Labrat (920/925 – after 985) (; ) was a medieval Jewish commentator, poet, and grammarian of the Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain. He is known for his philological commentary, ''Teshuvot Dunash'', and for his liturgical poems D'ror Yiqra and D'vai Haser. Life Dunash was, according to Moses ibn Ezra, born in Fes, the name ''Dunash'' being of Berber origin. In his youth he travelled to Baghdad to study with Saadia Gaon. On returning to Morocco he wrote many poems and became famous, and there were even poems written about him. He taught grammar and poetry. Hasdai ibn Shaprut, who lived in Córdoba, invited Dunash to Spain. Córdoba was then the center of culture and poetry in the Islamic world, and Hasdai endeavored to bring the best minds there. In Córdoba, Dunash met Menahem ben Saruq, also an important grammarian, though the two did not get along because of their many grammatical disputes as well as Menahem's tough criticism of Saadia Gaon, Du ...
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Yosippon
''Josippon'' (or ''Sefer Yosippon'', the ''Book of Yosippon'', ) is one of the most influential medieval chronicles of Jewish history, translated into many languages and republished in many editions, and a landmark of Jewish national historiography. It is a history of the Roman Empire and its Jewish inhabitants from the biblical history of Adam (Bible), Adam to the age of Titus. The author writes that he is copying the works of Roman-Jewish historian Josephus to whom its name refers. It was composed in the 10th century in History of the Jews in the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine Italy. The Orthodox Tewahedo biblical canon#Broader biblical canon, Ethiopic version of ''Josippon'' is recognized as Biblical canon, canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. It is also part of the Bible translations into Coptic, Coptic Bible. History The anonymous author of the work writes that he is copying from the writings of the old Jewish-Roman hi ...
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Tosafot
The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot () are Middle Ages, medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes. The authors of the Tosafot are known as Tosafists; for a listing (see List of Tosafists.) Meaning of name The word ''tosafot'' literally means "additions". The reason for the title is a matter of dispute among modern scholars. Many of them, including Heinrich Graetz, think the glosses are so-called as additions to Rashi's commentary on the Talmud. In fact, the period of the Tosafot began immediately after Rashi had written his commentary; the first tosafists were Rashi's sons-in-law and grandsons, and the Tosafot consist mainly of strictures on Rashi's commentary. Others, especially Isaac Hirsch Weiss, object that many tosafot — particularly those of Isaiah di Trani — have no reference to Rashi. Weiss, followed by other scholars, assert ...
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Leopold Zunz
Leopold Zunz (—''Yom Tov Tzuntz'', —''Lipmann Zunz''; 10 August 1794 – 17 March 1886) was the founder of academic Judaic Studies ('' Wissenschaft des Judentums''), the critical investigation of Jewish literature, hymnology and ritual. Nahum Glatzer, Pelger Grego"Zunz, Leopold" ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' (2nd ed., 2007) Zunz's historical investigations and contemporary writings had an important influence on contemporary Judaism. Biography Leopold Zunz was born at Detmold, the son of Talmud scholar Immanuel Menachem Zunz (1759–1802) and Hendel Behrens (1773–1809), the daughter of Dov Beer, an assistant cantor of the Detmold community. The year following his birth his family moved to Hamburg, where, as a young boy, he began learning Hebrew grammar, the Pentateuch, and the Talmud. His father, who was his first teacher, died in July 1802, when Zunz was not quite eight years old.Kaufmann, David (1900).Zunz, Leopold" In: ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie''. Vol. 45, p. 490- ...
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Steinschneider
Moritz Steinschneider (; 30 March 1816 – 24 January 1907) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist, and an important figure in Jewish studies and Jewish history. He is credited as having invented the term ''antisemitism.'' Education Moritz Steinschneider was born in Prostějov, Moravia, in 1816. He received his early instruction in Hebrew from his father, Jacob Steinschneider ( 1782;  March 1856), who was not only an expert Talmudist, but was also well versed in secular science. The house of the elder Steinschneider was the rendezvous of a few progressive Hebraists, among whom was his brother-in-law, the physician and writer Gideon Brecher. At the age of six Steinschneider was sent to the public school, which was still an uncommon choice for Jews in the Austro-Hungarian empire at the time; and at the age of thirteen he became the pupil of Rabbi Nahum Trebitsch, whom he followed to Mikulov, Moravia in 1832. The following year, in order to continue his Talmud ...
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