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Abraham And The Idol Shop
Abraham and the Idol Shop is a midrash that appears in Genesis Rabbah chapter 38. It is a post-biblical story imagining the early life of Abraham. The commentary explains what happened to Abraham when he was a young boy working in his father's idol shop. The story has been used as a way to discuss monotheism and faith in general. Characters Terah Terah is a Biblical figure from the book of Genesis. He is the father of three children including the Patriarch Abraham. According to Jewish tradition, Terah was an idolater. Terah also made and sold idols, as the Midrash Genesis Rabbah 38 explains. Abraham Abraham is the first patriarch and is seen as the father of the four Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. The later life of Abraham is told in the book of Genesis Chapters 11–25. The missing years of Abraham's early childhood are explained through a series of Midrashim. Haran Haran is the son of Terah, brother of Abraham, and the father o ...
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Midrash
''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
he, מִדְרָשׁ; or מִדְרָשׁוֹת ''midrashot'') is expansive Biblical exegesis using a rabbinic mode of interpretation prominent in the . The word itself means "textual interpretation", "study", or " exegesis", derived from the root verb (), which means "resort to, seek, seek ...
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Lot (biblical Person)
Lot (; he, לוֹט ''Lōṭ'', lit. "veil" or "covering"; gr, Λώτ ''Lṓt''; ar, لُوط ''Lūṭ''; Syriac: ܠܘܛ ''Lōṭ'') was a man in the biblical Book of Genesis, chapters 11–14 and 19. Notable events in his life include his journey with his uncle Abram (Abraham); his flight from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, during which Lot's wife became a pillar of salt; and his being intoxicated by his daughters so that they could have sexual intercourse with him and ensure their family would have descendants. Biblical account According to the Hebrew Bible, Lot was born to Haran, who died in Ur of the Chaldees. Terah, Lot's grandfather, took Abram (later called Abraham), Lot, and Sarai (later called Sarah) to go into Canaan. They settled at the site called Haran where Terah died. As a part of the covenant of the pieces, God told Abram to leave his country and his kindred. Abram's nephew Lot joined him on his journey and they went into the land of Canaan, se ...
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Midrash Rabba
Midrash Rabba or Midrash Rabbah can refer to part of or the collective whole of specific aggadic midrashim on the books of the Torah and the Five Megillot, generally having the term "Rabbah" (), meaning "great," as part of their name. These midrashim are as follows: *Genesis Rabbah * Exodus Rabbah * Leviticus Rabbah * Numbers Rabbah *Deuteronomy Rabbah * Song of Songs Midrash * Ruth Rabbah * Esther Rabbah * Lamentations Rabbah *Ecclesiastes Rabbah The designation "Rabbah" was first applied to the midrash to Genesis, and then applied to the midrashim to the other books of the Pentateuch ( Vayikra Rabbah, Shemot Rabbah, etc.) which were copied, with Bereshit Rabbah, even in (later) manuscripts. This collection eventually came to be called "Midrash Rabbot" (i.e., "Midrash of the Rabbot"), to which the midrashim most in use in connection with prayers—to Shir HaShirim, Ruth, Esther, Lamentations, and Ecclesiastes—were subsequently added. Thus the Venice edition of 1545, in wh ...
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Bar Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic institution. It has about 20,000 students and 1,350 faculty members. Bar-Ilan's mission is to "blend Jewish tradition with modern technologies and scholarship and the university endeavors to ... teach the Jewish heritage to all its students while providing nacademic education." History Bar-Ilan University has Jewish-American roots: It was conceived in Atlanta in a meeting of the American Mizrahi organization in 1950, and was founded by Professor Pinkhos Churgin, an American Orthodox rabbi and educator, who was president from 1955 to 1957 where he was succeeded by Joseph H. Lookstein who was president from 1957 to 1967. When it was opened in 1955, it was described by ''The New York Times'' "as Cultural Link Between the sraeliRepubli ...
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James Kugel
James L. Kugel (Hebrew: Yaakov Kaduri, יעקב כדורי; born August 22, 1945) is Professor Emeritus in the Bible Department at Bar Ilan University in Israel and the Harry M. Starr Professor Emeritus of Classical and Modern Hebrew Literature at Harvard University. James Kugel is the author and editor of 16 books and numerous articles on the Bible and its early commentators, focusing on the Second Temple period. He identifies as an Orthodox Jew. ''Moment Magazine'' published a long-form profile called, "Professor of Disbelief," on James Kugel in their MARCH/APRIL 2014 issue. In 2001, his book, the ''Bible As It Was'' won the University of Louisville and the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Grawemeyer Award in religion. The prize "recognizes outstanding and creative works that promote understanding of the relationship between human beings and the divine." ''The Bible As It Was'' was published in 1997 by Harvard University. It is the annotated version of a lengthier ...
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Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ), which consist of verses (pl.: , sing.: , cons.: ). In addition to its religious significance, it is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature, and has significantly influenced the Arabic language. Muslims believe that the Quran was orally revealed by God to the final prophet, Muhammad, through the archangel Gabriel incrementally over a period of some 23 years, beginning in the month of Ramadan, when Muhammad was 40; and concluding in 632, the year of his death. Muslims regard the Quran as Muhammad's most important miracle; a proof of his prophethood; and the culmination of a series of divine messages starting with those revealed to Adam, including the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel. The word ''Quran'' occurs some ...
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Abraham Ready To Sacrifice His Son, Ishmael (top); Abraham Cast Into Fire By Nimrod (bottom)
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jews and God; in Christianity, he is the spiritual progenitor of all believers, whether Jewish or non-Jewish; and in Islam, he is a link in the chain of Islamic prophets that begins with Adam (see Adam in Islam) and culminates in Muhammad. His life, told in the narrative of the Book of Genesis, revolves around the themes of posterity and land. Abraham is called by God to leave the house of his father Terah and settle in the land of Canaan, which God now promises to Abraham and his progeny. This promise is subsequently inherited by Isaac, Abraham's son by his wife Sarah, while Isaac's half-brother Ishmael is also promised that he will be the founder of a great nation. Abraham purchases a tomb (the Cave of the Patriarchs) at Hebron to be Sarah' ...
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Amoraim
''Amoraim'' (Aramaic: plural or , singular ''Amora'' or ''Amoray''; "those who say" or "those who speak over the people", or "spokesmen") refers to Jewish scholars of the period from about 200 to 500 CE, who "said" or "told over" the teachings of the Oral Torah. They were primarily located in Babylonia and the Land of Israel. Their legal discussions and debates were eventually codified in the Gemara. The ''Amoraim'' followed the ''Tannaim'' in the sequence of ancient Jewish scholars. The ''Tannaim'' were direct transmitters of uncodified oral tradition; the ''Amoraim'' expounded upon and clarified the oral law after its initial codification. The Amoraic era The first Babylonian ''Amoraim'' were Abba Arika, respectfully referred to as ''Rav'', and his contemporary and frequent debate partner, Shmuel. Among the earliest ''Amoraim'' in Israel were Johanan bar Nappaha and Shimon ben Lakish. Traditionally, the Amoraic period is reckoned as seven or eight generations (depen ...
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Hiyya Bar Abba
Ḥiyya bar Abba ( Aramaic: רבי חייא בר אבא), Ḥiyya bar Ba ( Aramaic: רבי חייא בר בא), or Ḥiyya bar Wa ( Aramaic: רבי חייא בר ווא) was a third generation '' amoraic'' sage of the Land of Israel, of priestly descent, who flourished at the end of the third century. Biography In both Talmuds he is frequently called merely ''R. Hiyya''. He may have briefly studied with Samuel of Nehardea in Babylon, his native land. When he was still very young, Hiyya migrated to Israel where he studied under Hanina and Joshua ben Levi. He may also have been influenced by Shimon ben Lakish. Hiyya was also a student of Rabbi Johanan. After Rabbi Johanan's death, Hiyya and his friends Rav Ammi and Rav Assi became recognized as some of Israel's brightest halakhic scholars. Hiyya was distinguished for the care with which he noted the sayings of his masters. When questions arose about being faithful to tradition, Hiyya's interpretation was widely accepted. Thoug ...
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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", and in 19th-century Germany and the United States rabbinic activities including 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 ...
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Polytheism
Polytheism is the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, the belief in a singular God who is, in most cases, transcendent. In religions that accept polytheism, the different gods and goddesses may be representations of forces of nature or ancestral principles; they can be viewed either as autonomous or as aspects or emanations of a creator deity or transcendental absolute principle ( monistic theologies), which manifests immanently in nature ( panentheistic and pantheistic theologies). Polytheists do not always worship all the gods equally; they can be henotheists, specializing in the worship of one particular deity, or kathenotheists, worshiping different deities at different times. Polytheism was the typical form of religion before the development and spread of the Abrahamic religions ...
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Nimrod
Nimrod (; ; arc, ܢܡܪܘܕ; ar, نُمْرُود, Numrūd) is a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush and therefore a great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of Shinar (Mesopotamia). The Bible states that he was "a mighty hunter before the Lord nd... began to be mighty in the earth". Later extra-biblical traditions identified Nimrod as the ruler who commissioned the construction of the Tower of Babel, which led to his reputation as a king who was rebellious against God. Nimrod has not been attested in any historic, non-biblical registers, records or king lists, including those of Mesopotamia itself. Historians have failed to match Nimrod with any historically attested figure. Several ruins of the Middle East have been named after him. Biblical account The first biblical mention of Nimrod is in the Table of Nations. He is described as the son of Cush, grandson of Ham, and great-grandson of ...
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