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Isaac Ibn Ghiyyat
Isaac ben Judah ibn Ghayyat (1030/1038–1089), commonly mispronounced ibn Ghiyyat, was a rabbi, Biblical commentator, codifier of Jewish law, philosopher, and liturgical poet from al-Andalus. He was born and lived in the town of Lucena in the Taifa of Granada, where he headed a rabbinic academy. He died in Cordoba. Etymology of name As many Sephardic surnames, ibn Ghayyat is a ''nasab'' (patronymic), "the son of Ghayyāth." ''Ghayyāth'' means "savior" in Arabic. The name is commonly confused with ''ghiyath'' meaning "salvation", found in Saadia Gaon's Judeo-Arabic translation of in Psalm 20:7, "Now I know that YHWH will give victory to His anointed, will answer him from His heavenly sanctuary with the might of salvation in His right arm ()." Background According to some authorities, he was the teacher of Isaac Alfasi; according to others, his fellow pupil. His best-known students were his son Judah ibn Ghayyat, Joseph ibn Sahl, and Moses ibn Ezra. He was held in great e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rabbi
A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Pharisees, Pharisaic (167 BCE–73 CE) and Talmudic (70–640 CE) eras, when learned teachers assembled to codify Judaism's written and oral laws. The title "rabbi" was first used in the first century CE. In more recent centuries, the duties of a rabbi became increasingly influenced by the duties of the Clergy, Protestant Christian minister, hence the title "pulpit rabbis." Further, in 19th-century Germany and the United States, rabbinic activities such as sermons, pastoral counseling, and representing the community to the outside all increased in importance. Within the various Jewish denominations, there are different requirements for rabbinic ordination and differences in opinion regarding who is recognized as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel Ibn Naghrillah
Shmuel ibn Naghrillah (; ), mainly known as Shmuel HaNagid () and Isma'il ibn Naghrilla (993–1056), was a Jewish statesman, military commander, scholar, linguist and poet in medieval al-Andalus. He served as grand vizier of the Taifa of Granada, commander of its army in battle, and leader of the local Jewish community. Rising to unprecedented prominence in both Muslim and Jewish spheres, he became one of the most powerful and influential Jews in medieval Spain. Stillman, Norman A. ''The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book'', The Jewish Publication Society of America,1979. 56 Marcus, Jacob Rader. "59: Samuel Ha-Nagid, Vizier of Granada." ''The Jew in the Medieval World: A Source Book, 315-1791.'' Cincinnati: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1938. 335-38. He is also considered one of the greatest Jewish poets of all time. Raised in Córdoba in a Jewish merchant family, Samuel received a broad education in Jewish law, astronomy, logic, and biblical exegesis. Fol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Menahem Schmelzer
Menahem Hayyim Schmelzer (; April 1934 – 10 December 2022) was a Hungarian-American Jewish librarian and writer. He was the Albert B. and Bernice Cohen Professor Emeritus of Medieval Hebrew Literature and Jewish Bibliography at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He began his career at JTS in 1961 and was Librarian from 1966 to 1987. A master of ''piyyut'' (Jewish liturgical poetry) and of Jewish liturgy, he was a preeminent specialist in medieval Hebrew literature and published extensively on Ashkenazi piyyut. He was known for his depth of knowledge in the field of Hebrew manuscripts and Jewish bibliography, whose "astounding command" of the details of the collection made him the 'go-to' person on questions of Jewish bibliography for researchers around the world. Biography Menahem Schmelzer was born in April 1934 in the Hungarian village of Kecel to parents Ferenc and Margit. His father was a winemaker and his mother a homemaker. During the war his father was sent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hullin
Hullin or Chullin ( lit. "Ordinary" or "Mundane") is the third tractate of the Mishnah in the Order of Kodashim and deals with the laws of ritual slaughter of animals and birds for meat in ordinary or non-consecrated use (as opposed to sacred use), and with the Jewish dietary laws in general, such as the laws governing the prohibition of mixing of meat and dairy. While it is included in the Order Kodashim, it mainly discusses non-consecrated things and things used as the ordinary human food, particularly meats; it is therefore sometimes called "Shehitat Hullin" ("Slaughtering of Non-Consecrated Animals"). It comprises twelve chapters, dealing with the laws for the slaughtering of animals and birds for meat for ordinary as opposed to sacred use, with other rules relating to the eating of meat, and with the dietary laws in general. The rules prescribed for kosher slaughtering, known as shechita, include five things which must be avoided: there must be no delay; no pressure may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geonic
''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] |
Solomon Ibn Gabirol
Solomon ibn Gabirol or Solomon ben Judah (, ; , ) was an 11th-century Jews, Jewish poet and Jewish philosopher, philosopher in the Neoplatonism, Neo-Platonic tradition in Al-Andalus. He published over a hundred poems, as well as works of biblical exegesis, philosophy, ethics and satire. One source credits ibn Gabirol with creating a golem, possibly female, for household chores. In the 19th century it was discovered that medieval translators had Latinisation of names, Latinized Gabirol's name to Avicebron or Avencebrol and had translated his work on Jewish Neo-Platonic philosophy into a Latin form that had in the intervening centuries been highly regarded as a work of Islamic or Christian scholarship. As such, ibn Gabirol is well known in the history of philosophy for the doctrine that all things, including soul and intellect, are composed of matter and form ("Universal Hylomorphism"), and for his emphasis on divine will. Biography Little is known of Gabirol's life, and some sou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muwashshah
''Muwashshah'' ( ' ' girdled'; plural '; also ' 'girdling,' pl. ') is a strophic poetic form that developed in al-Andalus in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. The ', embodying the Iberian rhyme revolution, was the major Andalusi innovation in Arabic poetry, and it was sung and performed musically. The ''muwaššaḥ'' features a complex rhyme and metrical scheme usually containing five ' ( 'branches'; sing. '), with uniform rhyme within each strophe, interspersed with ' ( 'threads for stringing pearls'; sing. ') with common rhyme throughout the song, as well as a terminal '' kharja'' ( 'exit'), the song's final ''simṭ'', which could be in a different language. Sephardic poets also composed ' in Hebrew, sometimes as ''contrafacta'' imitating the rhyme and metrical scheme of a particular poem in Hebrew or in Arabic. This poetic imitation, called ' ( 'contrafaction'), is a tradition in Arabic poetry. The '' kharja'', or the ''markaz'' ( 'center') of the ', its fin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maḥzor Of Tripoli
The ''machzor'' (, plural ''machzorim'', and , respectively) is the prayer book which is used by Jews on the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Many Jews also make use of specialized ''machzorim'' on the three pilgrimage festivals of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot. The ''machzor'' is a specialized form of the ''siddur'', which is generally intended for use in weekday and Shabbat services. The word ''machzor'' means "cycle"; the root ח־ז־ר means "to return". The term ''machzor'' originally referred to a book containing prayers for the entire year, including weekdays and Shabbat as well as holidays. Later (first in Ashkenazi communities) a distinction developed between the ''siddur'', which included weekday and Shabbat prayers, and the ''machzor'', which included festival prayers. Nevertheless, the original type of Machzor containing all of the prayers for the year continued to be used (even if less common) at least into the 20th century. Origins and peculiari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piyyutim
A piyyuṭ (plural piyyuṭim, ; from ) is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Most piyyuṭim are in Mishnaic Hebrew or Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, and most follow some poetic scheme, such as an acrostic following the order of the Hebrew alphabet or spelling out the name of the author. Many piyyuṭim are familiar to regular attendees of synagogue services. For example, the best-known piyyuṭ may be ''Adon Olam'' "Lord of the World." Its poetic form consists of a repeated rhythmic pattern of short-long-long-long (the so-called hazaj meter). It is so beloved that it is often sung after many synagogue services after the ritual nightly recitation of the Shema and during the morning ritual of putting on tefillin. Another beloved piyyuṭ is ''Yigdal'' "May God be Hallowed," which is based upon the thirteen principles of faith set forth by Maimonides. Scholars of piyyuṭ today include Shulamit Elizur and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes ( ) is one of the Ketuvim ('Writings') of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly used in English is a Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew word ( or ). An unnamed author introduces "The words of Kohelet, son of David, king in Jerusalem" (Ecclesiastes 1:1, 1:1) and does not use his own voice again until the final verses (12:9–14), where he gives his own thoughts and summarises the statements of Kohelet; the main body of the text is ascribed to Kohelet. Kohelet proclaims (1:2) "Vanity of vanities! All is futile!" The Hebrew word , 'vapor' or 'breath', can figuratively mean 'insubstantial', 'vain', 'futile', or 'meaningless'. In some versions, vanity is translated as 'meaningless' to avoid the confusion with the other definition of vanity. Given this, the next verse presents the basic existential question with which the rest of the book is concerned: "What profit can we show for a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernhard Zomber
Bernhard (Dov Bär) Zomber (; 1821–1884) was a Polish rabbinic scholar. Biography Bernhard Zomber was born in Lask, Poland, in 1821. Having acquired a fair knowledge of rabbinical literature in his native country, he went to Germany to study under Joseph Shapiro in Inowrazlaw and Jacob Ettinger in Altona. He latter attended the Universities of Würzburg and Berlin. In 1871, Zomber assumed the role of principal teacher at the Bet ha-Midrash of Berlin, a position he held until his death. Zomber's scholarly contributions include ''Hilkhot Pesaḥim'', a commentary on Passover laws compiled by Isaac ibn Ghiyyat, accompanied by Zomber's own commentary under the title ''Devar Halakhah''; ''Ma'amar'', an essay on Rashi's commentary on the tractates of '' Nedarim'' and '' Mo'ed Ḳaṭan''; ''Moreh derekh'', a compilation of the commentaries of Gershon Me'or ha-Golah and Rashi on ''Mo'ed Ḳaṭan''; and ''Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet'', a collection of novellæ by Bezalel Ashkenazi o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Passover
Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in Judaism, God commanded Moses to tell the Israelites to slaughter a lamb and mark their doorframes with its blood, in addition to instructions for consuming the lamb that night. For that night, God would send the Destroying angel (Bible), Angel of Death to bring about the Plagues of Egypt, tenth plague, in which he would Plagues of Egypt#plague10, smite all the firstborn in Egypt. But when the angel saw the blood on the Israelites' doorframes, he would ''pass over'' their homes so that the plague should not enter (hence the name). The story is part of the broader Exodus narrative, in which the Israelites, while living in Egypt, are enslaved en masse by the Pharaoh to suppress them; when Pharaoh refuses God's demand to let them go, God sends ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
