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Meïr B. Jacob Schiff
Meïr ben Jacob HaKohen Schiff, (1608–1644) () called the Maharam Schiff (), was a German rabbi and Talmud scholar. Early life Meïr Schiff was born at Frankfort-on-the-Main in 1608. His father, Jacob Schiff, was director of the yeshiva at Frankfort until his death. At the age of seventeen Meïr was called to the rabbinate of Fulda, where he had charge also of a number of pupils. There he composed, between 1627 and 1636, his commentaries, which covered the entire Talmud; but only those on Betzah, Ketubot, Gittin, Bava Metzia, and Hullin, together with fragments on Shabbat, Megillah, Bava Kamma, Bava Batra, Sanhedrin, and Zebahim, have been preserved. Teachings Schiff, being averse to pilpul, attacked not only contemporaries, like Solomon Luria (Ket. 94), Meïr of Lublin (B. M. 61), and Samuel Edels (B. M. 50), but even Rashi (Ket. 42), Isaac b. Sheshet (B. M. 48), and Mordecai (B. M. 4). He enters at once upon the discussion of his subjects, which he treats in detail th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kohen
Kohen (, ; , ، Arabic كاهن , Kahen) is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic Priest#Judaism, priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed, and halakha, halakhically required, to be of direct Patrilineality, patrilineal descent from the biblical Aaron (also ''Aharon''), brother of Moses, and thus belong to the Tribe of Levi. During the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem (and previously the Tabernacle), ''kohanim'' performed the Temple korban, sacrificial offerings, which were only permitted to be offered by them. Following Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE), its destruction, it seems that most of them joined the Synagogal Judaism, Synagogal Jewish movement before adopting gradually Rabbinic Judaism, other types of Judaism, List of converts to Christianity from Judaism, Christianity or List of converts to Islam from Judaism, Islam. Today, ''kohanim'' retain a lesser though distinct status within Rabbinic Judaism, Rabbinic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pilpul
''Pilpul'' (, loosely meaning 'sharp analysis'; ) is a method of studying the Talmud through intense textual analysis in attempts to either explain conceptual differences between various halakhic rulings or to reconcile any apparent contradictions presented from various readings of different texts. The word ''pilpul'' has entered English as a colloquialism used by some to indicate extreme disputation or casuistic hairsplitting. Sources The requirement for close derivation of the conceptual structures underlying various Jewish laws, as a regular part of one's Torah study, is described by Maimonides as follows: Other such sources include ''Pirkei Avot'', the Babylonian Talmud, Rashi, and Shneur Zalman of Liadi. Narrow definition In the narrower sense, ''pilpul'' refers to a method of conceptual extrapolation from texts in efforts to reconcile various texts or to explain fundamental differences of approach between various earlier authorities, which became popular in the late f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its Prague metropolitan area, metropolitan area is home to approximately 2.3 million people. Prague is a historical city with Romanesque architecture, Romanesque, Czech Gothic architecture, Gothic, Czech Renaissance architecture, Renaissance and Czech Baroque architecture, Baroque architecture. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and residence of several Holy Roman Emperors, most notably Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV (r. 1346–1378) and Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II (r. 1575–1611). It was an important city to the Habsburg monarchy and Austria-Hungary. The city played major roles in the Bohemian Reformation, Bohemian and the Protestant Reformations, the Thirty Years' War and in 20th-century history a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polatsk
Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Western Dvina, Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it has a population of 79,285. Nomenclature The Old East Slavic language, Old East Slavic name, ''Polotesk'', derives from the Polota river, which flows into the neighboring Western Dvina. The Vikings rendered that name as ''Palteskja''. Geography Lakes *Lake Babyna Climate History Polotsk is one of the earliest mentioned cities of the East Slavs, Eastern Slavs. The ''Primary Chronicle'' mentioned Polotsk in the year 862 (as Полотескъ, /poloteskŭ/), together with Murom and Belozersk. However, an archaeological expedition from the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus suggests that Polotsk existed in the first half of the 9th century. The first known prince of Polotsk was Rogvolod (ruled 945� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schmalkalden
Schmalkalden () is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in the southwest of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is on the southern slope of the Thuringian Forest at the Schmalkalde river, a tributary to the Werra. , the town had a population of 20,065. History First mentioned in an 874 deed, ''Smalcalta'' in the Frankish duchy of Thuringia received town privileges about 1180. When Landgrave Henry Raspe of Thuringia died without issue in 1247, it passed to the House of Henneberg-Schleusingen, while the major part of the landgraviate fell to the House of Wettin in Meissen. To secure their acquisition the Counts of Henneberg allied with the Landgraviate of Hesse, including the conclusion of an inheritance treaty. In 1360, together with Landgrave Henry II of Hesse they paid off Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg, son of Elisabeth of Henneberg. In 1531 the town hall of Schmalkalden was the site of the establishment of the Schmalkaldic League by Protestant princes und ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacob
Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother Esau, Jacob's paternal grandparents are Abraham and Sarah and his maternal grandfather is Bethuel, whose wife is not mentioned. He is said to have bought Esau's birthright and, with his mother's help, deceived his aging father to bless him instead of Esau. Then, following a severe drought in his homeland Canaan, Jacob and his descendants migrated to neighbouring Egypt through the efforts of his son Joseph, who had become a confidant of the pharaoh. After dying in Egypt at the age of 147, he is supposed to have been buried in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron. Per the Hebrew Bible, Jacob's progeny were beget by four women: his wives (and maternal cousins) Leah and Rachel; and his concubines Bilhah and Zilpah. His sons were, in orde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exegesis
Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (philosophy), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretations of virtually any text, including not just religious texts but also philosophy, literature, or virtually any other genre of writing. The phrase ''Biblical exegesis'' can be used to distinguish studies of the Bible from other critical textual explanations. Textual criticism investigates the history and origins of the text, but exegesis may include the study of the historical and cultural backgrounds of the author, text, and original audience. Other analyses include classification of the type of literary genres presented in the text and analysis of grammar, grammatical and syntax, syntactical features in the text itself. Usage One who practices exegesis is called an ''exegete'' (; from Greek ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midrash Halakha
''Midrash halakha'' () was the ancient Judaic rabbinic method of Torah study that expounded upon the traditionally received 613 Mitzvot (commandments) by identifying their sources in the Hebrew Bible, and by interpreting these passages as proofs of the laws' authenticity. The term ''midrash halakha'' is also applied to the derivation of new laws, either by means of a correct interpretation of the obvious meaning of scriptural words themselves or by the application of certain hermeneutic rules. The word ''midrash'' is rooted in the term ''drash'', literally "seek," or "enquire," but practically meaning exposition. ''Midrash'' is then "that which has been expounded," or more simply, a work focused on rabbinic exposition (of the Torah or of Torah based laws and ethics). The word is applied only to compilations of ''Tannaic midrash'' or to the '' Tannaic'' exposition process. However, the common term ''midrash'' used by itself has come to be a shorthand for the term '' midrash a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mordecai Ben Hillel
Mordechai ben Hillel HaKohen (; c. 1250–1298), also known as The Mordechai or, by some Sephardic scholars, as The Mordechie, was a 13th-century German rabbi and posek. His chief legal commentary on the Talmud, referred to as ''The Mordechai'', is one of the sources of the ''Shulchan Aruch''. He was killed in the Rintfleisch massacres in 1298. Biography Little is known of Mordechai's early life. He belonged to one of the most prominent families of scholars in Germany: his grandfather Hillel, on his mother's side, was a grandson of Eliezer ben Joel ha-Levi, who was in turn a grandson of Eliezer ben Nathan. Mordechai was also a relative of Rabbi Asher ben Jehiel. He was a son-in-law of R' Yechiel of Paris. He was married to Zelda, with whom he had five children. His principal teacher was Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg; he was also taught by Perez ben Elijah of Corbeil, Ephraim ben Nathan, Abraham ben Baruch (Meir of Rothenburg's brother), and Dan Ashkenazi. In addition to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isaac Ben Sheshet
Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet (or Barfat) (1326–1408) () was a Spanish Talmudic authority, also known by his acronym, Rivash (). He was born at Valencia and settled early in life at Barcelona, where he studied at the school of Nissim of Gerona. Life Isaac was a paternal descendant of Sheshet Benveniste, and a descendant of Azriel of Gerona through his father's paternal grandmother. Although Isaac, while still young, acquired a worldwide reputation as a Talmudic authority, and halakhic inquiries were addressed to him from all quarters, he led a private life, earning his livelihood in commerce until he was about fifty years old, when he was compelled to accept a position as rabbi. Together with six other prominent men of Barcelona, among whom was his younger brother Judah ben Sheshet and his teacher Nissim ben Reuben, he was thrown into prison on a false accusation. After his acquittal he accepted the rabbinate of Zaragoza; but troubles still awaited him. To the grief caused ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
