“Maimonides ”

Sicily

The history of the Jewish community in Sicily... read article

Modern Jewish History: The Cairo Genizah

The 1896 discovery of the Cairo Genizah was one of the greatest Jewish treasures ever found. It has provided the world with the some of the most important documents of the medieval Middle East. A genizah, Hebrew for "hiding place," is a depository for sacred Hebrew books that are no longer usable... read article

Naḥmanides

Biography of Moses b. Na?man, better known as Nahmanides, who was one of the leading authors of Talmudic literature in the Middle Ages... read article

Encyclopdeia Judaica: Abduction

ABDUCTION (or Manstealing; Heb. גְּנֵבַת נֶפֶשׁ, genevat nefesh), stealing of a human being for capital gain. According to the Bible, abduction is a capital offense. "He who kidnaps a man – whether he has sold him or is still holding him – shall be put to death" (Ex. 21:16); and, "If a man is found to have kidnapped a fellow Israelite, enslaving him or selling him, that kidnapper shall die" (Deut. 24:7)... read article

Tractate Shekalim: Chapter 4

Purposes for which moneys were drawn, and what was done with their remainders and that of other offerings. MISHNA. (a) What was done with this money drawn? The daily sacrifices, the additional sacrifices, and the drink-offerings belonging to them were bought therewith; also the Omers a1 (sheaves), the two loaves, the showbreads, and communal sacrifices in general. The watchmen who had to guard the after-growth on the Sabbatical year were paid out of this money. R... read article

Ancient Jewish History: The Beit Din

Literally translated as "house of judgement," Beit Din is the Hebrew term applied to a Jewish religious or civil court of law. The Beit Din originated during the period of the Second Temple and was then known as the Sanhedrin. The establishment of courts has biblical origin and is recorded in Exodus... read article

The Starry Sky & the Still Small Voice: The World Without

The Bible opens with two creation narratives. The first speaks of the world: "in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis, 1:1); the second, of humankind: "The Lord God formed man from the dust of the earth, and breathed into him the breath of life, and man became a living being" (Genesis, 2:7). From its beginning, Judaism was preoccupied with man and with the world about him, seeing, God in the heavens above and in the heart of man... read article

Ethical Wills

The Bible contains examples of wills given by the great sages, especially that of Jacob (Gen. 49), but they possess no special religious or ethical theme. This holds true for the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, one of the major works in the *Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha written during the Second Temple period and shortly after its destruction... read article

Prayer Books: Early Printed Prayer Books

As in so many beginnings in Hebrew printing, the Soncinos were first again. The Soncino family printed the first complete Hebrew Bible and the first tractates of the Talmud, and in the first month of the year 5246 AM (September 10-October 9, 1485), B'nai Soncino (the Sons of Soncino) began the printing of the first Hebrew prayer book, Mahzor Minhag Roma (A Prayer Book of the Roman Rite), in the city of Soncino... read article

Abraham Geiger

GEIGER, ABRAHAM (1810–1874), pioneer of the *Wissenschaft des Judentums and founder of *Reform Judaism. Geiger was born in Frankfurt am Main to an Orthodox family and received a traditional religious education. Already in his childhood, he began studying classical history, which gave rise to doubts concerning biblical claims to divine authority. At the age of 17, Geiger began writing a study of the Mishnah, differentiating its legal style from biblical and talmudic law, and a dictionary of Mishnaic Hebrew.With funding from friends, Geiger began university studies at the University of Heidelberg in April 1829, to the dismay of his family... read article

Saul Lieberman

Saul Lieberman (also known as "the G'RaSh"), was a rabbi and a scholar of Talmud. He was for many years president of the American Academy for Jewish Research. He was an honorary member of the Academy for the Hebrew Language, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a fellow of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities... read article

The Ninth of Av

AV, THE NINTH OF (Heb. תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב, Tishah be-Av), traditional day of mourning for the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem. Historical Background The First Temple, built by King Solomon, was destroyed by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C.E... read article

Jewish Medical Ethics: Siamese Twins

Early in September, 1977, a drama began that added much kavod, much dignity, to the wisdom of Torah and to those who spend their lives applying Torah knowledge to the complex problems encountered daily in the modern world. In Lakewood, New Jersey, Siamese twins were born to a prestigious family of Torah educators. The twins were taken by helicopter, on September 15, to the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, where Dr. C. Everett Koop, who subsequently became the Surgeon General of the United States, was then the hospital's Chief of Surgery... read article

Judaism: Judaism and Evolution

An explanation of Judaism's views on evolution... read article

Sculpture

The Biblical and Talmudic Periods Within the general context of the problem of representational art among the Jews in antiquity, sculpture, together with *medals and *seals , was in a special category. The Bible (Ex. 20:4) forbade the "graven image" in the most explicit fashion, more categorically and comprehensively than the mere likeness... read article

Benedictions

BENEDICTIONS (Heb. sing. בְּרָכָה, berakhah; pl. בְּרָכוֹת, berakhot), formulas of blessing or thanksgiving, in public and private services. The Hebrew noun berakhah is derived from the verb brk ברך ("to fall on one's knees")... read article

Halakhot Gedolot

HALAKHOT GEDOLOT (Heb. הֲלָכוֹת גְּדוֹלוֹת), halakhic code belonging to the geonic period. Nature of the Code The Halakhot Gedolot gives a systematic and comprehensive summary of all the talmudic laws... read article

Cairo

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Four Founders: Isaac Leeser

Born in Neunkirchen, Westphalia, Prussia, December 12, 1806, Isaac Leeser was orphaned at an early age. He received his secular education at a gymnasium in Munster, and his religious tutelage from Rabbis Benjamin Cohen and Abraham Sutro... read article

Israel Judicial Branch: Beit Din & Judges From Bible to Modern Times

Bet din is the term, in rabbinic sources, for a Jewish court of law. In modern times it usually refers to an ecclesiastical court dealing with religious matters such as divorce, and supervision of the dietary laws, and acting, with the consent of all concerned, as a court of arbitration. In Israel the term has come to mean the rabbinic court (as opposed to the secular court known as the bet mishpat) which has, by act of the Knesset, jurisdiction in matters of personal status in addition to its normal religious function. This article deals with the general meaning as found in rabbinic sources... read article