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Iggeret Rav Sherira Gaon
Iggeret of Rabbi Sherira Gaon (), also known as the Letter of Rav Sherira Gaon, and the Epistle of Rav Sherira Gaon, is a responsum penned in the late 10th century (987 CE) in the Pumbedita Academy by Sherira Gaon, the Chief Rabbi and scholar of Babylonian Jewry, to Rabbi Jacob ben Nissim of Kairouan, in which he methodologically details the development of rabbinic literature, bringing down a chronological list of the Sages of Israel from the time of the compilation of the Mishnah, to the subsequent rabbinic works (Tosefta, Sifra, Sifrei, etc.), spanning the period of the Tannaim, Amoraim, Savoraim, and Geonim under the Babylonian Exilarchs (''Resh Galutha''), concluding with his own time. Therein, Sherira Gaon outlines the development of the Talmud, how it was used, its hermeneutic principles, and how its lessons are to be applied in daily life whenever one rabbinic source contradicts another rabbinic source. It is considered one of the classics in Jewish historiography. Letter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah. It is also the first major work of rabbinic literature. The Mishnah was redacted by Judah ha-Nasi probably in Beit Shearim or Sepphoris at the beginning of the 3rd century CE in a time when, according to the Talmud, the persecution of the Jews and the passage of time raised the possibility that the details of the oral traditions of the Pharisees from the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE) would be forgotten. Most of the Mishnah is written in Mishnaic Hebrew, but some parts are in Aramaic. The Mishnah consists of six orders (', singular ' ), each containing 7–12 tractates (', singular ' ; lit. "web"), 63 in total, and further subdivided into chapters and paragraphs. The word ''Mishnah'' can also indicate a single paragraph of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Responsum
''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars in historic religious law. In the Roman Empire Roman law recognised , i.e., the responses and thoughts of jurists, as one of the sources of (written law), along with laws originating from magistrates, from the Senate, or from the emperor. A particularly well-known and highly influential example of such ''responsa'' was the ''Digesta'' (or ''Digests''), in 90 books, the principal work of the prominent second century jurist Salvius Julianus. This was a systematic treatise on civil and praetorian law, consisting of responsa on real and hypothetical cases, cited by many later Roman legal writers. In the Catholic Church In the Catholic Church, ''responsa'' are answers of the competent executive authority to specific questions (in Latin, ''dub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bostanai
Bostanai (Hebrew language, Hebrew: בוסתנאי), also transliterated as Bustenai or Bustnay, was the first Exilarch (leader of the Jewish community of Mesopotamia) under Arab rule. He lived in the early-to-middle of the 7th century, and died about 660 CE. The name is Aramaic language, Aramaized from the Persian language, Persian ''bustan'' or ''bostan'' (Persian : بوستان), meaning "Garden". Bostanai is the only Dark Age Babylonian Exilarch of whom anything more than a footnote is known. He is frequently made the subject of Jewish legends. According to the ''Maaseh Beth David'', Bostanai was confirmed in his office as exilarch by the Caliph Ali, no earlier then 656 CE. The Caliph granted him the authority to appoint civil judges, and heads of the rabbinical academies at Sura Academy, Sura, Pumbedita Academy, Pumbedita and Nehardea Academy, Nehardea. Family of Bostanai Bostanai was the posthumous son of a former exilarch, Haninai and his wife who is known as 'the daughter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judah HaNasi
Judah ha-Nasi ( he, יְהוּדָה הַנָּשִׂיא, ''Yəhūḏā hanNāsīʾ''; Yehudah HaNasi or Judah the Prince) or Judah I, was a second-century rabbi (a tanna of the fifth generation) and chief redactor and editor of the ''Mishnah''. He lived from approximately 135 to 217 CE. He was a key leader of the Jewish community during the Roman occupation of Judea. Name and titles The title ''nasi'' was used for presidents of the Sanhedrin. He was the first ''nasi'' to have this title added permanently to his name; in traditional literature he is usually called "Rabbi Yehuda ha-Nasi." Often though (and always in the Mishnah), he is simply called "Rabbi" (), the master par excellence. He is occasionally called "Rabbenu" (= "our master"). He is also called "Rabbenu HaQadosh" (, "our holy Master") due to his deep piety. Biography Youth Judah the Prince was born in 135 CE to Simeon ben Gamliel II. According to the Talmud he was of the Davidic line. He is said to have b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved throughout history as the main liturgical language of Judaism (since the Second Temple period) and Samaritanism. Hebrew is the only Canaanite language still spoken today, and serves as the only truly successful example of a dead language that has been revived. It is also one of only two Northwest Semitic languages still in use, with the other being Aramaic. The earliest examples of written Paleo-Hebrew date back to the 10th century BCE. Nearly all of the Hebrew Bible is written in Biblical Hebrew, with much of its present form in the dialect that scholars believe flourished around the 6th century BCE, during the time of the Babylonian captivity. For this reason, Hebrew has been referred to by Jews as '' Lashon Hakodesh'' (, ) since an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek
The Austrian National Library (german: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) is the largest library in Austria, with more than 12 million items in its various collections. The library is located in the Neue Burg Wing of the Hofburg in center of Vienna. Since 2005, some of the collections have been relocated within the Baroque structure of the Palais Mollard-Clary. Founded by the Habsburgs, the library was originally called the Imperial Court Library (german: Kaiserliche Hofbibliothek); the change to the current name occurred in 1920, following the end of the Habsburg Monarchy and the proclamation of the Austrian Republic. The library complex includes four museums, as well as multiple special collections and archives. Middle Ages The institution has its origin in the imperial library of the Middle Ages. During the Medieval period, the Austrian Duke Albert III (1349–1395) moved the books of the Viennese vaults into a library. Albert also arranged for important works from Latin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Recension
Recension is the practice of editing or revising a text based on critical analysis. When referring to manuscripts, this may be a revision by another author. The term is derived from Latin ''recensio'' ("review, analysis"). In textual criticism (as is the case with Biblical scholarship) the count noun ''recension'' is a family of manuscripts sharing similar traits; for example, the Alexandrian text-type may be referred to as the "Alexandrian recension". The term ''recension'' may also refer to the process of collecting and analyzing source texts in order to establish a tree structure leading backward to a hypothetical original text. See also *Biblical manuscript *Categories of New Testament manuscripts *Critical apparatus A critical apparatus ( la, apparatus criticus) in textual criticism of primary source material, is an organized system of notations to represent, in a single text, the complex history of that text in a concise form useful to diligent readers and ... References ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in the ancient region of Syria. For over three thousand years, It is a sub-group of the Semitic languages. Aramaic varieties served as a language of public life and administration of ancient kingdoms and empires and also as a language of divine worship and religious study. Several modern varieties, namely the Neo-Aramaic languages, are still spoken in the present-day. The Aramaic languages belong to the Northwest group of the Semitic language family, which also includes the Canaanite languages such as Hebrew, Edomite, Moabite, and Phoenician, as well as Amorite and Ugaritic. Aramaic languages are written in the Aramaic alphabet, a descendant of the Phoenician alphabet, and the most prominent alphabet variant is the Syriac alphabet. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gregorian Calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years differently so as to make the average calendar year 365.2425 days long, more closely approximating the 365.2422-day 'tropical' or 'solar' year that is determined by the Earth's revolution around the Sun. The rule for leap years is: There were two reasons to establish the Gregorian calendar. First, the Julian calendar assumed incorrectly that the average solar year is exactly 365.25 days long, an overestimate of a little under one day per century, and thus has a leap year every four years without exception. The Gregorian reform shortened the average (calendar) year by 0.0075 days to stop the drift of the calendar with respect to the equinoxes.See Wikisource English translation of the (Latin) 1582 papal bull '' Inter gravissimas''. Second, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seleucid Era
The Seleucid era ("SE") or (literally "year of the Greeks" or "Greek year"), sometimes denoted "AG," was a system of numbering years in use by the Seleucid Empire and other countries among the ancient Hellenistic civilizations. It is sometimes referred to as "the dominion of the Seleucidæ," or the Year of Alexander. The era dates from Seleucus I Nicator's re-conquest of Babylon in 312/11 BC after his exile in Ptolemaic Egypt, considered by Seleucus and his court to mark the founding of the Seleucid Empire. According to Jewish tradition, it was during the sixth year of Alexander the Great's reign (lege: possibly Alexander the Great's infant son, Alexander IV of Macedon) that they began to make use of this counting. The introduction of the new era is mentioned in one of the Babylonian Chronicles, ''the Chronicle of the Diadochi''. Two different variations of the Seleucid years existed, one where the year started in spring and another where it starts in autumn: # The natives of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adolf Neubauer
Adolf Neubauer (11 March 1831 in Bittse, Hungary – 6 April 1907, London) was at the Bodleian Library and reader in Rabbinic Hebrew at Oxford University. Biography He was born in Bittse (Nagybiccse), Upper Hungary (now Bytča in Slovakia). The Kingdom of Hungary was then part of the Austrian Empire. He received a thorough education in rabbinical literature. In 1850 he obtained a position at the Austrian consulate in Jerusalem. At this time, he published articles about the situation of the city's Jewish population, which aroused the anger of some leaders of that community, with whom he became involved in a prolonged controversy. In 1857 he moved to Paris, where he continued his studies of Judaism and started producing scientific publications. His earliest contributions were made to the '' Allgemeine Zeitung des Judenthums'' and the ''Journal Asiatique'' (Dec. 1861). Works In 1865 he published a volume entitled ''Meleket ha-Shir'', a collection of extracts from manusc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ahimaaz Ben Paltiel
Ahimaaz ben Paltiel ( he, אחימעץ בן פלטיאל; 1017–1060) was a History of the Jews in the Byzantine Empire, Graeco-Catepanate of Italy, Italian liturgical poet and author of a family chronicle. Very little is known about his life. He came from a family some of whose members are well known in Jewish literature as scholars and poets; for example, Shefatya ben Amitai, Hananiel ben Amittai, and his nephew Amittai ben Shephatiah. Ahimaaz had two sons, Paltiel ben Ahimaaz, Paltiel and Samuel. The family tree of this clan is given by Ahimaaz in his ''Chronicle'': Benjamin of Tudela mentions an Ahimaaz ben Paltiel in Amalfi in southern Italy, in the year 1162 (see his ''Travels,'' ed. Asher, i. 13, 14). This may well have been a descendant of his earlier namesake; for it is known that two brothers of the grandfather of Ahimaaz ben Paltiel were sent with presents to Paltiel by the prince of Amalfi. In a list of twenty-two selihah (elegiac) poets (Italy, fifteenth centu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
