Encyclopedia - Mishnah: Encyclopedia - Mishnah
The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, "repetition") is a major source of rabbinic Judaism's religious texts. It is the first recording of the ora...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Mishnah: Encyclopedia Ii - Mishnah - The Writing Of The Mishnah
According to Jewish Law, the Written Law must be transmitted from a written source, and the Oral Law orally. Therefore, it was forbidden ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Mishnah: Encyclopedia Ii - Mishnah - The Structure Of The Mishnah
The Mishnah consists of six orders (sedarim). This explains the traditional name for the Talmud as Shas, which is an abbreviation of shis...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Mishnah: Encyclopedia Ii - Mishnah - Historical Study
Both the Mishnah and Talmud contain little serious biographical studies of the people discussed therein, and the same tractate will confl...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Rabbi Akiva: Encyclopedia - Rabbi Akiva
Akiba ben Joseph (or Rabbi Akiva, Rebbi Akiva, c. 50-c. 135) was a famous Jewish rabbi of the 2nd century. He was a great authority in th...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Tosefta: Encyclopedia - Tosefta
The Tosefta is a second compilation of oral law from the period of the Mishnah. In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mis...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Gemara: Encyclopedia - Gemara
The Gemara (גמרא - from gamar: Hebrew "[to] complete"; Aramaic "[to] study") is a component of the Talmud, comprising the rabbinical ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Tannaim: Encyclopedia - Tannaim
Tannaim (תנאים) is the plural term for the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded the the Mishnah, from approx. 70-200 CE. The per...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Talmud: Encyclopedia - Talmud
The Talmud (תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories, which Jewish trad...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Jewish View Of Marriage: Encyclopedia - Jewish View Of Marriage
Judaism considers marriage to be the ideal state of existence; a man without a wife, or a woman without a husband, are considered incompl...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Baraita: Encyclopedia - Baraita
Baraita (Aramaic ברייתא: "external", "outside"; pl. Baraitot. Also Baraitha, Beraita ) designates a tradition in the Jewish oral la...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Zeraim: Encyclopedia - Zeraim
Zeraim (זרעים) is the first Order of the Mishnah (and Tosefta and Talmud). Of the six orders of the Mishnah, Zeraim is the shortest....   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Yohanan Ben Zakkai: Encyclopedia - Yohanan Ben Zakkai
Yohanan ben Zakkai was a Jewish sage of the first century of the common era, and a primary contributor to the core text of rabbinic Judai...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Seder: Encyclopedia - Seder
Seder. Seder is a Hebrew word meaning "order", and can have any of the following meanings: Seder - readings of the Torah according ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Responsa: Encyclopedia - Responsa
Responsa (Latin: plural of responsum, "answers"; Hebrew: Sheelot U-teshuvot שאלות ותשובות "questions and answers") comprise t...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Ablution In Judaism: Encyclopedia - Ablution In Judaism
Ablution in Judaism. This article refers to ceremonies of ritual purity performed by religious Jews. The origins for these rituals and cu...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - 200: Encyclopedia - 200
200 - Events. Jewish Eretz Yisraeli scholar Judah ha-Nasi compiles tracts of the Mishnah, beginning the creation of Talmudic law. Chin...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Haggadah: Encyclopedia - Haggadah
The Haggadah (הגדה) is a Hebrew language text used at the Passover service containing the Seder. The basic elements of the Haggadah a...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Obadiah Ben Abraham: Encyclopedia - Obadiah Ben Abraham
Obadiah ben Abraham of Bertinoro was a Jewish rabbi and a commentator on the Mishnah, commonly known as "The Bartenura" by Orthodox Judai...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Arukh Hashulkhan: Encyclopedia - Arukh Hashulkhan
The Arukh HaShulkhan is a work of Jewish scholarship, written by Yechiel Michel Epstein. The title "Arukh HaShulkhan" ("laying the table"...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - High Holidays: Encyclopedia - High Holidays
The High Holidays refers to the ten-day period in Judaism which begins with Rosh Hashanah followed by the ten days of repentance, ending ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Rebbe: Encyclopedia - Rebbe
Rebbe (Hebrew: רבי also rebbi) is a title that may be given to a Rabbi in Orthodox Judaism, particularly within Hasidic Judaism. It is...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Catechumen: Encyclopedia - Catechumen
Catechumen (from Latin catechumenus, Greek carijxobucvos, instructed) is an ecclesiastical term applied to those receiving instruction in...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Cantillation: Encyclopedia - Cantillation
Cantillation (Hebrew: ta`amei ha-mikra or just te`amim; Yiddish trope is also commonly used in English) comprises special signs or marks ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Rabbi Akiva: Encyclopedia Ii - Rabbi Akiva - In The Mishnah
A member of the third generation of the Mishnah sages, Akiba was a disciple of Nahum of Gimzo, Rebbi Eliezer son of Hyrcanos, and Rebbi Y...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Rabbi Akiva: Encyclopedia Ii - Rabbi Akiva - Biography
The Talmud is the only ancient source of knowledge about Rabbi Akiva. According to it he was born to a proselyte named Joseph. He was an ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Tosefta: Encyclopedia Ii - Tosefta - Non-orthodox Scholars
However, recent scholarship, especially by Professor Judith Hauptman reveals that the Tosefta draws on source material earlier than the l...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Jerusalem Talmud: Encyclopedia Ii - Jerusalem Talmud - Historical Context
Like the Babylonian Talmud, the purpose of the Jerusalem Talmud was to elaborate on the Jewish Oral tradition as detailed in the 2nd-cent...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Semicha: Encyclopedia Ii - Semicha - Semicha In The Mishnah And Talmud
For some time, rabbis in the era of the Mishnah (until 200 CE) and the two Talmuds continued to ordain their successors through the semic...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Gemara: Encyclopedia Ii - Gemara - Gemara And Mishnah
The Gemara and the Mishnah together make up the Talmud. The Talmud thus comprises two components: the Mishnah - the core text; and the ge...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - The Five Scrolls: Encyclopedia Ii - The Five Scrolls - Liturgical Use
All five of these megillot ("scrolls") are traditionally read publicly in the synagogue over the course of the year in many Jewish commun...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Semicha: Encyclopedia Ii - Semicha - Semicha In The Mishnah And Talmud
For some time, rabbis in the era of the Mishnah (until 200 CE) and the two Talmuds continued to ordain their successors through the semic...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Gemara: Encyclopedia Ii - Gemara - Argumentation And Debate
The distinctive character of the gemara derives largely from the intricate use of argumentation and debate, described above. In each sugy...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Tannaim: Encyclopedia Ii - Tannaim - The Origin Of The Tannaim
The Tannaim operated under the occupation of the Roman Empire. During this time, the priesthood of the temple became increasingly corrupt...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Semicha: Encyclopedia Ii - Semicha - Semicha In The Times Of The Hebrew Bible
According to the Hebrew Bible, Moses ordained Joshua through semicha. (Num 27:22-23, Deut 34:9). Moses also ordained the 70 elders (Deut ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Gemara: Encyclopedia Ii - Gemara - The Sugya
The analysis of the Amoraim is generally focused on clarifying the positions, words and views of the Tannaim. These debates and exchanges...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Semicha: Encyclopedia Ii - Semicha - Post-talmudic Semicha
Semicha - The decline of classical semicha. According to most Jewish writers on this topic, sometime during the fourth century CE, duri...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Tannaim: Encyclopedia Ii - Tannaim - The Generations Of The Tannaim
Tannaim - Before the destruction of the Second Temple. Hillel the Elder Shammai Rabban Gamliel the Elder Tannaim - The generation of...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Semicha: Encyclopedia Ii - Semicha - Attempts To Revive Classical Semicha
Maimonides, in his Mishneh Torah, rules that "if all the Palestinian sages would unanimously agree to appoint and ordain judges, then the...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Semicha: Encyclopedia Ii - Semicha - Semicha In The Times Of The Hebrew Bible
According to the Hebrew Bible, Moses ordained Joshua through semicha. (Num 27:22-23, Deut 34:9). Moses also ordained the 70 elders (Deut ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Korban: Encyclopedia Ii - Korban - The End Of Sacrifices
With the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans, the Jewish practice of offering korbanot stopped for all intents an...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Semicha: Encyclopedia Ii - Semicha - Not All Present-day Rabbis Have Semicha
Although presently most functioning synagogue (i.e. "pulpit") rabbis hold semicha, this was until quite recently not always required, and...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Tannaim: Encyclopedia Ii - Tannaim - Prominant Tannaim
Tannaim - The Nesi'im. Main article: Nasi Hillel the Elder Rabban Simeon, son of Hillel (nothing about him is known) Rabban Gamliel ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Korban: Encyclopedia Ii - Korban - Orthodox Judaism
Today Orthodox Judaism includes mention of each korban on either a daily basis in the siddur (daily prayer book), or in the machzor (holi...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Korban: Encyclopedia Ii - Korban - In The Hebrew Bible
The korbanot were practiced from earliest times, and particularly for over one thousand years in the Tabernacle and during the eras of th...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Korban: Encyclopedia Ii - Korban - Abuses Of The Korbanot
Many books of the prophets in the Hebrew Bible, such as the Book of Isaiah and Book of Jeremiah, spoke out against those Israelites who b...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Talmud: Encyclopedia Ii - Talmud - The Two Talmuds
There is only one Mishnah but there are two distinct Gemaras: the Yerushalmi and the Bavli, and two corresponding Talmuds. (Today the wor...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Korban: Encyclopedia Ii - Korban - Why Were Sacrifices Commanded? A Rabbinic Debate
Medieval Jewish rationalists like Maimonides drew on the early critiques of the need for sacrifice, taking the view that God always held ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Jerusalem Talmud: Encyclopedia Ii - Jerusalem Talmud - Comparison To Babylonian Talmud
Without the time and freedom given to the production of the Babylonian Talmud, the Jerusalem Talmud exhibits less coherence in its discus...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Jewish View Of Marriage: Encyclopedia Ii - Jewish View Of Marriage - Classical Customs
In traditional Jewish society, from the era of the Talmud up to the enlightenment, social association of the sexes was usually restricted...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Korban: Encyclopedia Ii - Korban - Nineteenth And Twentieth Century
In the 1800s a number of Orthodox rabbis studied the idea of reinstating korbanot on the Temple Mount, even though the messianic era had ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Korban: Encyclopedia Ii - Korban - Martyrs As Korbanot
Strange as it may seem, classical Judaism refers to a martyr as both a kadosh and as a korban. A kadosh means a "holy" or "sanctified" pe...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Jewish View Of Marriage: Encyclopedia Ii - Jewish View Of Marriage - Marriage Ceremony
The marriage ceremony is based on the rules for transfer of property or of rights in antiquity. In marriage, the woman accepts a ring (or...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Judah Loew Ben Bezalel: Encyclopedia Ii - Judah Loew Ben Bezalel - Influence
Judah Loew ben Bezalel - Disciples. It is unknown how many Talmudic rabbinical scholars the Maharal taught in Moravia, but the main dis...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Jewish View Of Marriage: Encyclopedia Ii - Jewish View Of Marriage - The Ketubah
The ketubah lays out rights of the wife (to monetary payments upon termination of the marriage by death or divorce), and obligations of t...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Jewish View Of Marriage: Encyclopedia Ii - Jewish View Of Marriage - Problem Of Intermarriages
The Jewish concept of marriage is based on kiddushin (sanctification). The wife and husband are publicly sanctified to each other in an e...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Jewish View Of Marriage: Encyclopedia Ii - Jewish View Of Marriage - Marriage In Israel
As civil marriage does not exist in Israel, the only institutionalized form of marriage in Israel is the religious one, i.e. a marriage c...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Jewish View Of Marriage: Encyclopedia Ii - Jewish View Of Marriage - Divorce
Halakha (Jewish law) allows for divorce. The document of divorce is termed a get. The final divorce ceremony involves the husband giving ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Talmud: Encyclopedia Ii - Talmud - External Attacks On The Talmud
The history of the Talmud reflects in part the history of Judaism persisting in a world of hostility and persecution. Almost at the very ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Barry Freundel: Encyclopedia Ii - Barry Freundel - Positions
Barry Freundel - Abortion. Freundel believes that According to the Mishnah, abortion is only permitted when a woman is in "hard travail...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Shatnez: Encyclopedia Ii - Shatnez - Interpretations
Judaism's Mishnah explains the word as the acrostic of three words, ("carded," "woven," and "twisted"; Kil. ix. 8). The Septuagint render...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Exegesis: Encyclopedia Ii - Exegesis - In Judaism
Traditional Jewish forms of exegesis appear throughout rabbinic literature, which includes the Mishnah, the two Talmuds, and the midrash ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Talmud: Encyclopedia Ii - Talmud - Structure And Function
Traditional Judaism has always held that the books of the Tanakh were transmitted in parallel with a living, oral tradition. Thus, the To...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Matrilineality: Encyclopedia Ii - Matrilineality - Judaism
Orthodox Judaism states that, to be a Jew, one must be either a proselyte or the child of a Jewish mother. This ruling is based on the fa...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Talmud: Encyclopedia Ii - Talmud - Attitude To The Talmud Within Judaism
The Talmud and its study spread from Babylon to Egypt, northern Africa, Italy, Spain, France, and Germany, regions destined to become abo...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Matrilineality: Encyclopedia Ii - Matrilineality - Judaism
Orthodox Judaism states that, to be a Jew, one must be either a proselyte or the child of a Jewish mother. This ruling is based on the fa...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Talmud: Encyclopedia Ii - Talmud - Historical Study
The Talmud contains little serious biographical studies of the people discussed therein, and the same tractate will conflate the points o...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Talmud: Encyclopedia Ii - Talmud - Modern Day Talmud Scholars
Talmud scholars of the 20th century include: Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman Rabbi Boruch Ber Lebowitz (the Bircas Shm...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Talmud: Encyclopedia Ii - Talmud - Translations
Talmud - Translations of Talmud Bavli. There are four contemporary translations of the Talmud into English: The Soncino Hebrew-English...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Geonim: Encyclopedia Ii - Geonim - Role In Jewish Life
The Geonim officiated, in the first place, as directors of the academies, continuing as such the educational activity of the Amoraim and ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Golem: Encyclopedia Ii - Golem - History
Golem - Origins of the word. The word golem is used in the Bible to refer to an embryonic or incomplete substance: Psalm 139:16 uses th...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Midrash Halakha: Encyclopedia Ii - Midrash Halakha - Abstract And Midrash Halakah
It is to a law stated in this form - i.e., together with the Biblical passage from which it is derived - that the name midrash is applied...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Circumcision In The Bible: Encyclopedia Ii - Circumcision In The Bible - In Judaism
Judaism teaches that the Bible was transmitted in parallel with an oral tradition, known as the oral law. Jewish practices and beliefs, t...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Beth Din: Encyclopedia Ii - Beth Din - Antiquity
Torah commentators point out that Jethro was the first to suggest to Moses that he divest his legal powers and delegate his power of judg...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Day Of Atonement Christian: Encyclopedia Ii - Day Of Atonement Christian - Interpretation
Jewish groups typically teach, "The Day of Atonement absolves from sins against God, but not from sins against a fellow man unless the pa...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - B'nai Mitzvah: Encyclopedia Ii - B'nai Mitzvah - Jewish Boys
The current way of celebrating one's becoming a Bar Mitzvah did not exist in the time of the Bible, Mishnah or Talmud. Rather, this cerem...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Shavuot: Encyclopedia Ii - Shavuot - In Rabbinical Literature
The festival is known in the Mishnah and Talmud as Atzeret. This term is usually translated a "solemn assembly," meaning the congregation...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Midrash: Encyclopedia Ii - Midrash - Halakhic Midrashim
Midrash halakha are the works in which the sources in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) of the traditionally received laws are identified. These ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Ritual Purification: Encyclopedia Ii - Ritual Purification - Judaism
See Ablution in Judaism. The Hebrew Bible has many rituals of purification relating to menstruation, childbirth, sexual relations, diseas...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Moses: Encyclopedia Ii - Moses - Moses In Judaism
A wealth of stories and additional information about Moses can be found in the Jewish genre of rabbinical exegesis known as Midrash, as w...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Rosh Hashanah: Encyclopedia Ii - Rosh Hashanah - In Rabbinic Literature
Philo, in his treatise on the festivals, calls New-Year's Day the festival of the sacred moon and feast of the trumpets, and explains the...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Corporal Punishment Judaism: Encyclopedia Ii - Corporal Punishment Judaism - Capital Crimes
Crimes such as idolatry, adultery and several forms of incest, murder, and violation of the shabbat. It bears noting that the Mishnah (tr...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Jewish Fundamentalism: Encyclopedia Ii - Jewish Fundamentalism - Beliefs
Orthodox Judaism is characterized by a fervent belief in the divine origin of the Torah (i.e., that the five books of Moses were literall...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Rosh Hashanah Talmud: Encyclopedia Ii - Rosh Hashanah Talmud - The Tosefta
Curious as is the order of subjects followed in this treatise, in which several mishnaic sources have been combined, the Tosefta follows ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Sanhedrin: Encyclopedia Ii - Sanhedrin - Synedrium
It is especially used of judicial or representative assemblies, is the name by which (or by its Hebrew transcription, 1'11,mo, sanhedrin,...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Samuel Ben Judah Ibn Tibbon: Encyclopedia Ii - Samuel Ben Judah Ibn Tibbon - Original Writings
He composed in 1213, on shipboard, when returning from Alexandria, Biur meha-Millot ha-Zarot, an explanation of the philosophical terms o...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Hillel The Elder: Encyclopedia Ii - Hillel The Elder - His Position
According to the Mishnah Hillel went to Jerusalem with the intention of studying Biblical exposition and tradition. The difficulties whic...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Vilna Gaon: Encyclopedia Ii - Vilna Gaon - Works
Elijah was a voluminous author; and there is hardly an ancient Hebrew book of any importance to which he did not write a commentary, or a...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Shema Yisrael: Encyclopedia Ii - Shema Yisrael - Recitation And Reading
The commandment to recite the Shema twice daily is ascribed by Josephus to Moses ("Antiquities" 6:8), and it has always been regarded as ...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Joseph Ibn Migash: Encyclopedia Ii - Joseph Ibn Migash - Biography
Ibn Migash was born in Seville (some say Granada). He moved to Lucena at the age of 12 to study under the renowned Talmudist Isaac Alfasi...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Maimonides: Encyclopedia Ii - Maimonides - Works And Bibliography
Maimonides composed both works of Jewish scholarship, and medical texts. Most of Maimonides' works were written in Arabic. However, Mishn...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Saadia Gaon: Encyclopedia Ii - Saadia Gaon - Works
Exegesis: Saadia translated into Arabic most, if not all, of the Bible, adding an Arabic commentary, although there is no citation from t...   » Read the article

Dictionary - Mishnah: Spiritual Theosophical Dictionary On Mishnah
Mishnah (Hebrew, Jewish). The older portion of the Jewish Talmud, or oral law,, consisting of supplementary regulations for the guidan...   » Read the article

Dictionary - Mishnah, Mishneh: Spiritual - Theosophy Dictionary On Mishnah, Mishneh
Mishnah or Mishneh (Hebrew) [from shanah to do something a second time, repeat]   That which has been done a second time, a repet...   » Read the article

Dictionary - Sanhedrin: Spiritual - Theosophy Dictionary On Sanhedrin
Sanhedrin (Hebrew) [from Greek synedrion assembly, cf Latin synedrium]   An assembly, especially the gathering of the Jewish elde...   » Read the article

Dictionary - Gemara: Spiritual - Theosophy Dictionary On Gemara
Gemara' (Hebrew) (from the verbal root gamar to complete, perfect)   Teaching leading to full initiation; the supplementary part ...   » Read the article

Dictionary - Sepher Yetzirah: Spiritual Theosophical Dictionary On Sepher Yetzirah
Sepher Yetzirah (Hebrew, Jewish). "The Book of Formation". A very ancient Kabbalistic work ascribed to the patriarch Abraham...   » Read the article

Dictionary - Talmud: Spiritual Theosophical Dictionary On Talmud
Talmud (Hebrew, Jewish). Rabbinic Commentaries on the Jewish faith. It is composed of two parts, the older Mishnah, and the more moder...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Mishnah: Encyclopedia Ii - Mishnah - Relation Between The Hebrew Bible And The Mishnah
Rabbinical Judaism holds that the Five Books of Moses called the (Written) Torah have always been transmitted in parallel with an oral tr...   » Read the article

Encyclopedia - Mishnah: Encyclopedia Ii - Mishnah - Oral Traditions And Pronunciation
The Mishnah was and still is traditionally studied through recitation (out loud). Many medieval manuscripts of the Mishnah are vowelized,...   » Read the article