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Hakafot
A hakafah (; plural hakafot ) is a Jewish '' minhag'' (tradition) in which people walk or dance around a specific object, generally in a religious setting. In Judaism, there is a custom on Sukkot to encircle the reader's platform ( bimah) with the Four species on each of the seven days of the holiday. On Simchat Torah, the custom is to take the Torah scrolls out of the Ark and to encircle the reader’s platform and throughout the synagogue with great joy, singing, and dancing. Circular hakafot are a symbol of perfection and unity, or sometimes a symbol of communal cooperation. According to the story told in the Book of Joshua, the People of Israel walked around the city of Jericho once a day for a week and seven times on the seventh day, with the priests leading the way, carrying the Ark of the Covenant each time. On the seventh day, the people blew shofar (ram's horn) and shouted, causing the walls to fall and allowing them to enter the city. In the Temple period, when the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah (; Ashkenazi: ), also spelled Simhat Torah, is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simchat Torah is a component of the Hebrew Bible, Biblical Jewish holiday of ''Shemini Atzeret'' ("Eighth Day of Assembly"), which follows immediately after the festival of Sukkot in the month of Tishrei (occurring in September or October on the Gregorian calendar). Simchat Torah's main celebrations occur in the synagogue during evening and morning services. In many Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox as well as many Conservative Judaism, Conservative congregations, this is the only time of year on which the Sefer Torah, Torah scrolls are taken out of the Ark (synagogue), ark and read at ''night''. In the morning, the last ''parashah'' of Deuteronomy and the first ''parashah'' of Book of Genesis, Genesis are read in the synagogue. On each occasion, when the ark is opened, the worshippers leave t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torah Reading
Torah reading (; ') is a Jewish religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) from the Torah ark, chanting the appropriate excerpt with special cantillation (trope), and returning the scroll(s) to the ark. It is also commonly called "laining" (''lein'' is also spelt ''lain'', ''leyn'', ''layn''; from the Yiddish לייענען (), which means "to read"). Regular public reading of the Torah was introduced by Ezra the Scribe after the return of the Judean exiles from the Babylonian captivity ( BCE), as described in the Book of Nehemiah. In the modern era, Orthodox Jews practice Torah reading according to a set procedure almost unchanged since the Talmudic era. Since the 19th century CE, Reform and Conservative Judaism have made adaptations to the practice of Torah reading, but the basic pattern of Torah reading has usually remained the same: As a pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sukkot
Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths, is a Torah-commanded Jewish holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which Israelites were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. Biblically an autumn harvest festival and a commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt, Sukkot's modern observance is characterized by festive meals in a sukkah, a temporary wood-covered hut. The names used in the Torah are "Festival of Ingathering" (or "Harvest Festival", ) and "Festival of Booths" (). This corresponds to the double significance of Sukkot. The one mentioned in the Book of Exodus is agricultural in nature—"Festival of Ingathering at the year's end" ()—and marks the end of the harvest time and thus of the agricultural year in the Land of Israel. The more elaborate religious significance from the Book of Leviticus is that of commemorating the Exodus and the de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hoshana Raba
Hoshana Rabbah (, ) is the seventh day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, the 21st day of the month of Tishrei. This day is marked by a special synagogue service, the Hoshana Rabbah, in which seven circuits are made by the worshippers with their lulav and etrog, while the congregation recites ''Hoshanot''. It is customary for the Sefer Torah, scrolls of the Torah to be removed from the ark during this procession. In a few communities a ''shofar'' is sounded after each circuit. Themes Final judgment Hoshana Rabbah is known as the last of the Days of Judgment, which begin on Rosh Hashana. The Zohar says that while the judgment for the new year is sealed on Yom Kippur, it is not "delivered" until the end of Sukkot (i.e., Hoshana Rabbah, the last day of Sukkot), during which time one can still alter their verdict and decree for the new year. This idea has no source in the Mishna, Midrash, or Talmud, but a similar idea appears in the Tosefta: that all judgment is made on Rosh Hasha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minhag
''Minhag'' ( "custom", classical pl. מנהגות, modern pl. מנהגים, ''minhagim'') is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, '' Nusach'' (נוסח), refers to the traditional order and form of the prayers. Etymology The triliteral () means primarily "to drive" or, by extension, "to conduct (oneself)". The actual word ''minhag'' appears twice in the Hebrew Bible, both times in the same verse and translated as "driving": Homiletically, one could argue that the use of the word minhag in Jewish law reflects its Biblical Hebrew origins as "the (manner of) driving (a chariot)". Whereas halakha "law", from the word for "walking path," means the path or road set for the journey, minhag "custom", from the word for driving, means the manner people have developed themselves to travel down that path more quickly. The present use of minhag for "custom" may have been influenced by the Arabic ''minhaj''; in current Islamic usage, this term is u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Musaf
Mussaf (also spelled Musaf or Musof) is an additional service that is recited on Shabbat, Yom Tov, Chol Hamoed, and Rosh Chodesh. The service, which is traditionally combined with the Shacharit in synagogues, is considered to be additional to the regular services of Shacharit, Mincha, and Maariv. In contemporary Hebrew, the word may also signify a newspaper supplement. During the days of the Holy Temple, additional offerings were offered on these festive days. Mussaf is now recited in lieu of these offerings. ''Mussaf'' refers to both the full service (which includes the Amidah and all Jewish prayers that follow that are normally recited during Shacharit) and the Amidah itself that is recited for Mussaf. The main addition is a fourth blessing of the Amidah specially for these days. The correct time to recite musaf is until the seventh Halachic hour of the day (when the day is divided up into twelve-hour parts); however, it is proper to begin musaf before 6.5 relative hours, be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of The Jews In Arles
Arles was a major Jewish center between the Ancient Rome, Roman times and the Renaissance. Due to its location between Spain and the rest of Europe, with its proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast, Arles became a comfortable and sometimes beneficial city for the many Jews who lived in it. During the Middle Ages, many notable Jews were active in Arles, which functioned as a Jewish philosophy and Arabic-Hebrew-Latin translation center, as it was one of the town known for its Hachmei Provence. No Jewish community was evident in Arles ever since, even though some evidences of former Jewish life can be seen around town and in the local museum. The Jewish community ceased to prosper towards the end of the 15th century, until they were expelled in around the 1490s after which they did not return. Jews were to be found in Arles in the 1960s, though no community was ever evident again. History Roman Empire According to a legend, Roman emperor Vespasian placed Jewish exiles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of The Jews In Poland
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long period of statutory toleration, religious tolerance and Qahal, social autonomy which ended after the Partitions of Poland in the 18th century. During World War II there was a nearly complete genocide, genocidal destruction of the Polish Jewish community by Nazi Germany and its collaborators of various nationalities, during the German occupation of Poland between 1939 and 1945, called the Holocaust. Since the fall of communism in Poland, there has been a renewed interest in Jewish culture, featuring an annual Jewish Culture Festival, new study programs at Polish secondary schools and universities, and the opening of Warsaw's Museum of the History of Polish Jews. From the founding of the Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385), Kingdom of Poland in 10 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east. Europe shares the landmass of Eurasia with Asia, and of Afro-Eurasia with both Africa and Asia. Europe is commonly considered to be Boundaries between the continents#Asia and Europe, separated from Asia by the Drainage divide, watershed of the Ural Mountains, the Ural (river), Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Greater Caucasus, the Black Sea, and the waterway of the Bosporus, Bosporus Strait. "Europe" (pp. 68–69); "Asia" (pp. 90–91): "A commonly accepted division between Asia and Europe ... is formed by the Ural Mountains, Ural River, Caspian Sea, Caucasus Mountains, and the Black Sea with its outlets, the Bosporus and Dardanelles." Europe covers approx. , or 2% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface (6.8% of Earth's land area), making it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Israeli-occupied territories, It occupies the Occupied Palestinian territories, Palestinian territories of the West Bank in the east and the Gaza Strip in the south-west. Israel also has a small coastline on the Red Sea at its southernmost point, and part of the Dead Sea lies along its eastern border. Status of Jerusalem, Its proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, while Tel Aviv is the country's Gush Dan, largest urban area and Economy of Israel, economic center. Israel is located in a region known as the Land of Israel, synonymous with the Palestine (region), Palestine region, the Holy Land, and Canaan. In antiquity, it was home to the Canaanite civilisation followed by the History of ancient Israel and Judah, kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Situate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moses Isserles
Moses Isserles (; ; 22 February 1530 / 25 Adar I 5290 – 11 May 1572 / 18 Iyar 5332), also known by the acronym Rema, was an eminent Polish Ashkenazi rabbi, talmudist, and '' posek'' (expert in Jewish law). He is considered the "Maimonides of Polish Jewry." Biography Isserles was born in Kraków, Poland. His father, Israel ben Josef (known as Isserl), was a prominent talmudist and independently wealthy, who had probably headed the community; his grandfather, Jehiel Luria, was the first rabbi of Brisk. (In an era which preceded the common use of surnames, Moses became known by his patronymic, Isserles.) At first he studied at home, and then in Lublin under Rabbi Shalom Shachna, who would later become his father-in-law. Among his fellow pupils were his relative Solomon Luria (Maharshal)—later a major disputant of many of Isserles' halachic rulings,Mishor 2010, p. 15 and Chayyim b. Bezalel, an older brother of the Maharal. His first wife died young, at the age of 20 and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yaakov Ben Moshe Levi Moelin
Yaakov ben Moshe Levi Moelin () (c. 1365 – September 14, 1427) was a Talmudist and ''posek'' (authority on Jewish law) best known for his codification of the customs (''minhagim'') of the German Jews. He is also known as Maharil () - the Hebrew acronym for "Our Teacher, the Rabbi, Yaakov Levi" - as well as ''Mahari Segal'' or ''Mahari Moelin''. Maharil's ''Minhagim'' was a source of law for Moses Isserles’ component of the ''Shulkhan Arukh''. Biography ''Maharil'' was the son and pupil of Moshe Levi Moelin, Rabbi of Mainz, and a pupil of R. Shalom b. Isaac ( he) of Wiener Neustadt. At a young age, Moelin was recognized as a budding scholar. In 1387, he succeeded his father as Rabbi of Mainz. He established a yeshiva in Mainz which attracted many students. One of his most noteworthy students was Jacob Weil. Moelin lived through the mass slaughter of Jews in Austria in 1420 and the Hussite Wars in 1421, which brought suffering to the Jews of Bavaria and the Rhine; se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
