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Meshulam Gross
Meshulam Fayish Tzvi (Herman) Gross or Grosz ( he, משולם פייש צבי גראס) (1863–1947) was a businessman, inventor and learned layman, author of two ''sefarim'' of Torah novellae, ''Nachlas Tzvi'' and ''Ateres Tzvi''. Early life Herman Grosz (as his name was then spelled) was born in Debrecen, Hungary, in 1863. Soon after, his family moved to Nyírbátor, where he was raised. His father, Reuven, was engaged in business, possibly as a breeder or trader of horses. As a young man, Meshulam reportedly was involved in "breaking" horses for his father. It is not known which yeshivas he attended, although it is believed that much of his Torah learning was self acquired. In 1890 he married Leah Billiczer, daughter of Rabbi Amram Yishai Halevi Billiczer, Av Beth Din of Szerencs, Hungary, and a descendant of a long line of rabbis. The family originally came from Spain and reportedly were descendants of Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz (the ''Shelah HaKadosh'', whose ancestry has been t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tzvi Hirsh Of Zidichov
Tzvi Hirsh Eichenstein also known as Hirsh Zydaczower (1763, Sambor - June 22, 1831, Zidichov), was a famous Hasidic Rebbe, a noted Talmudist, Kabbalist and author of novellae on Torah and responsa. He founded the Zidichov Hasidic dynasty. He was a disciple of rabbis Moshe Leib of Sassov, Menachem Mendel of Rimanov, the Maggid of Koznitz and the Seer of Lublin. His younger brother was Rabbi Moshe of Sambor. Among Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh's students were Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac of Komarna, Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech of Dinov (the ''Bnei Yisaschar''), Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac of Zidichov, Rabbi Shimon of Yaruslav, and Rabbi Shalom of Kaminka. Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh was very passionate about studying Kabbalah, Zohar, and the ''Kitvei Ari'' ("writings of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria") in particular. He made a tremendous effort in encouraging Jews to study these works. With the assistance of his students, some yeshivot in Galicia added the study of Kabbalah to their curriculum. Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh blended the te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sukkah
A or succah (; he, סוכה ; plural, ' or ''sukkos'' or ''sukkoth'', often translated as "booth") is a temporary hut constructed for use during the week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot. It is topped with branches and often well decorated with autumnal, harvest or Judaic themes. The book of Vayikra ( Leviticus) describes it as a symbolic wilderness shelter, commemorating the time God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness they inhabited after they were freed from slavery in Egypt. It is common for Jews to eat, sleep and otherwise spend time in the ''sukkah''. In Judaism, Sukkot is considered a joyous occasion and is referred to in Hebrew as ''Z'man Simchateinu'' (the time of our rejoicing), and the sukkah itself symbolizes the fragility and transience of life and one's dependence on God. Associated activities The halakha requires eating and traditionally sleeping in the sukkah. However, Jews are not expected to remain in the sukkah if they would be very uncomforta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chabad
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups and Jewish religious organizations in the world. Unlike most Haredi groups, which are self-segregating, Chabad operates mainly in the wider world and caters to secularized Jews. Founded in 1775 by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the name "Chabad" () is an acronym formed from three Hebrew words— (the first three sephirot of the kabbalistic Tree of Life) (): "Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge"—which represent the intellectual and kabbalistic underpinnings of the movement. The name Lubavitch derives from the town in which the now-dominant line of leaders resided from 1813 to 1915. Other, non-Lubavitch scions of Chabad either disappeared or merged into the Lubavitch line. In the 1930s, the sixth Rebbe of Chabad, Rabbi Yosef Yitzcha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn
Yosef Yitzchak (Joseph Isaac) Schneersohn ( yi, יוסף יצחק שניאורסאהן; 21 June 1880 – 28 January 1950) was an Orthodox rabbi and the sixth Rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Chabad Lubavitch Chasidic movement. He is also known as the Frierdiker Rebbe ( Yiddish for "Previous Rebbe"), the ''Rebbe RaYYaTz'', or the ''Rebbe Rayatz'' (an acronym for Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak). After many years of fighting to keep Orthodox Judaism alive from within the Soviet Union, he was forced to leave; he continued to conduct the struggle from Latvia, and then Poland, and eventually the United States, where he spent the last ten years of his life. Early life Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn was born in Lyubavichi, Mogilev Governorate, Russian Empire (present-day Smolensk Oblast, Russia), the only son of Sholom Dovber Schneersohn (the ''Rebbe Rashab''), the fifth Rebbe of Chabad. He was appointed as his father's personal secretary at the age of 15; in that year, he represented his father ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kabbalah
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The definition of Kabbalah varies according to the tradition and aims of those following it, from its origin in medieval Judaism to its later adaptations in Western esotericism ( Christian Kabbalah and Hermetic Qabalah). Jewish Kabbalah is a set of esoteric teachings meant to explain the relationship between the unchanging, eternal God—the mysterious '' Ein Sof'' (, ''"The Infinite"'')—and the mortal, finite universe (God's creation). It forms the foundation of mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. Jewish Kabbalists originally developed their own transmission of sacred texts within the realm of Jewish tradition and often use classical Jewish scriptures to explain and demonstrate its mystical teachings. These teachings are h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zohar
The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five books of Moses) 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acharonim
In Jewish law and history, ''Acharonim'' (; he, אחרונים ''Aḥaronim''; sing. , ''Aḥaron''; lit. "last ones") are the leading rabbis and poskim (Jewish legal decisors) living from roughly the 16th century to the present, and more specifically since the writing of the ''Shulchan Aruch'' (Hebrew: , "Set Table", a code of Jewish law) in 1563 CE. The ''Acharonim'' follow the '' Rishonim'', the "first ones"—the rabbinic scholars between the 11th and the 16th century following the ''Geonim'' and preceding the ''Shulchan Aruch''. The publication of the ''Shulchan Aruch'' thus marks the transition from the era of Rishonim to that of Acharonim. Consequences for Halakhic change The distinction between the ''Acharonim'', ''Rishonim'' and ''Geonim'' is meaningful historically. According to the widely held view in Orthodox Judaism, the Acharonim generally cannot dispute the rulings of rabbis of previous eras unless they find support from other rabbis in previous eras. Yet the o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rishonim
''Rishonim'' (; he, ; sing. he, , ''Rishon'', "the first ones") were the leading rabbis and ''poskim'' who lived approximately during the 11th to 15th centuries, in the era before the writing of the ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, , "Set Table", a common printed code of Jewish law, 1563 CE) and following the ''Geonim'' (589-1038 CE). Rabbinic scholars subsequent to the ''Shulchan Aruch'' are generally known as '' acharonim'' ("the latter ones"). The distinction between the ''rishonim'' and the ''geonim'' is meaningful historically; in ''halakha'' (Jewish Law) the distinction is less important. According to a widely held view in Orthodox Judaism, the acharonim generally cannot dispute the rulings of rabbis of previous eras unless they find support from other rabbis in previous eras. On the other hand, this view is not formally a part of ''halakha'' itself, and according to some rabbis is a violation of the halakhic system.See Kesef Mishna (Maamrim 2:2), Kovetz Igros Chazon Ish (2:26 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) 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 term ''Talmud'' normally refers to the collection of writings named specifically the Babylonian Talmud (), although there is also an earlier collection known as the Jerusalem Talmud (). It may also traditionally be called (), a Hebrew abbreviation of , or the "six orders" of the Mishnah. The Talmud has two components: the Mishnah (, 200 CE), a written compendium of the Oral Torah; and the Gemara (, 500 CE), an elucidation of the Mishnah and related Tannaitic writings that often ventures onto other subjects and expounds broadly on the Hebrew Bible. The term "Talmud" may refer to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nevi'im
Nevi'im (; he, נְבִיאִים ''Nəvīʾīm'', Tiberian: ''Năḇīʾīm,'' "Prophets", literally "spokespersons") is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the '' Tanakh''), lying between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim (writings). The Nevi'im are divided into two groups. The Former Prophets ( he, נביאים ראשונים ''Nevi'im Rishonim'') consists of the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings; while the Latter Prophets ( he, נביאים אחרונים ''Nevi'im Akharonim'') include the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets. Synopsis The Jewish tradition counts a total of eight books in ''Nevi'im'' out of a total of 24 books in the entire Tanakh: there are four books of the Former Prophets, including Joshua and Judges; the collected ''Books of Samuel'' and '' Books of Kings'' are each counted as one book. Among the four books of the Latter Prophets, the major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel) accoun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chumash (Judaism)
''Chumash'' (also Ḥumash; he, חומש, or or Yiddish: ; plural Ḥumashim) is a Torah in printed and book bound form (i.e. codex) as opposed to a Sefer Torah, which is a scroll. The word comes from the Hebrew word for five, (). A more formal term is , "five fifths of Torah". It is also known by the Latinised Greek term Pentateuch in common printed editions. Etymology The word is a standard Ashkenazic vowel shift of , meaning "one-fifth", alluding to any one of the five books; by synecdoche, it came to mean the five fifths of the Torah. The Modern Hebrew and Sephardic pronunciation is an erroneous reconstruction based on the assumption that the Ashkenazic accent, which is almost uniformly penultimately stressed, had also changed the stress of the word. In fact, preserves the original stress pattern and both pronunciations contain a shifted first vowel. In early scribal practice, there was a distinction between a Sefer Torah, containing the entire Pentateuch on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bema
A bema was an elevated platform used as an orator's podium in ancient Athens. The term can refer to the raised area in a sanctuary. In Jewish synagogues, where it is used for Torah reading during services, the term used is bima or bimah. Ancient Greece The Ancient Greek ''bēma'' () means both 'platform' and 'step', being derived from '' bainein'' (, 'to go'). The original use of the bema in Athens was as a tribunal from which orators addressed the citizens as well as the courts of law, for instance, in the Pnyx. In Greek law courts the two parties to a dispute presented their arguments each from separate bemas. By metonymy, bema was also a place of judgement, being the extension of the raised seat of the judge, as described in the New Testament, in and , and further, as the seat of the Roman emperor, in , and of God, in , when speaking in judgment. Judaism Etymology The post-Biblical Hebrew ''bima'' (), 'platform' or 'pulpit', is almost certainly derived from the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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