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Jacob Rakkah
Jacob Rakkaḥ ( he, יעקב רקח, ''Yaakov Rakkaḥ'') (1800 – 3 March 1891), also spelled Raccah, was a Sephardi Hakham in the 19th-century Jewish community of Tripoli, Libya. He was a well-known ''posek'' (arbiter of Jewish law) for Sephardi Jews, a rosh yeshiva, and author of approximately 40 ''sefarim'', some of which were published during his lifetime. Biography Jacob Rakkaḥ was the son of Rabbi Solomon (Shlomo) Rakkaḥ and the great-great-grandson of Rabbi Mas'ud Hai Rakkah, author of ''Ma'aseh Rokeaḥ'', who had come to Libya as a ''shadar'' (rabbinical emissary) from Palestine and stayed to lead the Jewish community in Tripoli for 20 years. Jacob's brother, Zion, was also a Torah scholar. Like other Tripoli rabbis, Rakkaḥ did not wish to be supported by the community, and lived a life of poverty. He worked as an accountant for a large firm. He was known as a great Torah scholar and ''posek'' (arbiter of Jewish law). His depth of knowledge was exemplary; hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hakham
''Hakham'' (or ''chakam(i), haham(i), hacham(i)''; he, חכם ', "wise") is a term in Judaism, meaning a wise or skillful man; it often refers to someone who is a great Torah scholar. It can also refer to any cultured and learned person: "He who says a wise thing is called a ''hakham'', even if he be not a Jew." Hence in Talmudic-Midrashic literature, wise gentiles are commonly called ' ("wise men of the nations of the world"). In Sephardic usage, ''hakham'' is a synonym for "rabbi". In ancient times ''Hakham'' as an official title is found as early as the first Sanhedrin, after the reconstruction of that body, when the Hadrianic religious persecutions had ceased. In addition to the nasi Simeon ben Gamliel, two other scholars stood at the head of the Sanhedrin, namely Nathan the Babylonian as ''Av Beit Din'' and Rabbi Meir as ''hakham''. Another ''hakham'' mentioned by name was Simon, the son of Judah the Prince, who after the death of his father officiated as ''hakham'', wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bereavement In Judaism
Bereavement in Judaism () is a combination of ''minhag'' and ''mitzvah'' derived from the Torah and Judaism's classical rabbinic texts. The details of observance and practice vary according to each Jewish community. Mourners In Judaism, the principal mourners are the first-degree relatives: parent, child, sibling, and spouse. There are some customs that are unique to an individual mourning a parent. Halachot concerning mourning do not apply to those under thirteen years of age, nor do they apply when the deceased is aged 30 days or less. Upon receiving news of the death Upon receiving the news of the death, the following blessing is recited: : :Transliteration: :Translation: "Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the universe, the Judge of Truth lt., the Just Judge" There is also a custom of rending one's clothes at the moment one hears news of a death. Another prevalent custom is to tear at the funeral.Klein, Isaac, A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice, Ktav Publishing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived from the Greek translation, (), meaning "instrumental music" and, by extension, "the words accompanying the music". The book is an anthology of individual Hebrew religious hymns, with 150 in the Jewish and Western Christian tradition and more in the Eastern Christian churches. Many are linked to the name of David, but modern mainstream scholarship rejects his authorship, instead attributing the composition of the psalms to various authors writing between the 9th and 5th centuries BC. In the Quran, the Arabic word ‘Zabur’ is used for the Psalms of David in the Hebrew Bible. Structure Benedictions The Book of Psalms is divided into five sections, each closing with a doxology (i.e., a benediction). These divisions were probably intro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shulchan Aruch
The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in Israel) by Joseph Karo in 1563 and published in Venice two years later. Together with its commentaries, it is the most widely accepted compilation of Jewish law ever written. The ''halachic'' rulings in the ''Shulchan Aruch'' generally follow Sephardic law and customs, whereas Ashkenazi Jews generally follow the halachic rulings of Moses Isserles, whose glosses to the ''Shulchan Aruch'' note where the Sephardic and Ashkenazi customs differ. These glosses are widely referred to as the ''mappah'' (literally: the "tablecloth") to the ''Shulchan Aruch's'' "Set Table". Almost all published editions of the ''Shulchan Aruch'' include this gloss, and the term "Shulchan Aruch" has come to denote ''both'' Karo's work as well as Isserles', with Karo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Library Of Israel
The National Library of Israel (NLI; he, הספרייה הלאומית, translit=HaSifria HaLeumit; ar, المكتبة الوطنية في إسرائيل), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; he, בית הספרים הלאומי והאוניברסיטאי, translit=Beit Ha-Sfarim Ha-Le'umi ve-Ha-Universita'i), is the library dedicated to collecting the cultural treasures of Israel and of Jewish heritage. The library holds more than 5 million books, and is located on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI). The National Library owns the world's largest collections of Hebraica and Judaica, and is the repository of many rare and unique manuscripts, books and artifacts. History B'nai Brith library (1892–1925) The establishment of a Jewish National Library in Jerusalem was the brainchild of Joseph Chazanovitz (1844–1919). His idea was creating a "home for all works in all languages and literatures which have Jewish authors, even ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birkat Hachama
''Birkat Hachama'' (ברכת החמה, "Blessing of the Sun") refers to a rare Jewish blessing that is recited to the Creator, thanking Him for creating the sun. The blessing is recited when the sun completes its cycle every 28 years on a Tuesday at sundown. Jewish tradition says that when the Sun completes this cycle, it has returned to its position when the world was created. Because the blessing needs to be said when the sun is visible, the blessing is postponed to the following day, on Wednesday morning. According to Judaism, the Sun has a 28-year solar cycle known as ''machzor gadol'' (מחזור גדול, "the great cycle"). A solar year is estimated as 365.25 days and the "Blessing of the Sun", being said at the beginning of this cycle, is thus recited every 10,227 (28 times 365.25) days. The last time that it was recited was on April 8, 2009 (14 ''Nisan'' 5769 on the Hebrew calendar.) From an astronomical point of view, there is nothing special to these dates; e.g. the su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Counting Of The Omer
Counting of the Omer (, Sefirat HaOmer, sometimes abbreviated as Sefira or the Omer) is an important verbal counting of each of the forty-nine days starting with the Wave Offering of a sheaf of ripe grain with a sacrifice immediately following the commencement (Hebrew: , ''reishit'') of the grain harvest, and the First Fruits festival celebrating the end of the grain harvest, known as Feast of Weeks/Shavuot/Pentecost in Mosaic Law (Hebrew Bible: , ); or in the varying current Jewish holidays tradition, the period between the Passover or Feast of Unleavened Bread, and Shavuot. This is the second of the three annual Mosaic Law feast periods. This ''mitzvah'' ("commandment") derives from the Torah commandment to count forty-nine days beginning from the day on which the ''Omer'', a sacrifice containing an ''omer''-measure of barley, was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem, up until the day before an offering of wheat was brought to the Temple on Shavuot. The Counting of the ''Omer'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haggadah
The Haggadah ( he, הַגָּדָה, "telling"; plural: Haggadot) is a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the mitzvah to each Jew to tell their children the story from the Book of Exodus about God bringing the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. History Authorship According to Jewish tradition, the Haggadah was compiled during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods, although the exact date is unknown. It could not have been written earlier than the time of Judah bar Ilai (circa 170 CE), who is the latest tanna to be quoted therein. Abba Arika and Samuel of Nehardea (circa 230 CE) argued on the compilation of the Haggadah, and hence it had not been completed as of then. Based on a Talmudic statement, it was completed by the time of "Rav Nachman". There is a dispute, however, to which Rav Nachman the Talmud was referring: Acc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Passover
Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. The word ''Pesach'' or ''Passover'' can also refer to the Passover sacrifice, Korban Pesach, the paschal lamb that was offered when the Temple in Jerusalem stood; to the Passover Seder, the ritual meal on Passover night; or to the Feast of #Matzah, Unleavened Bread. One of the biblically ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals, Passover is traditionally celebrated in the Land of Israel for seven days and for eight days among many Jews in the Jewish diaspora, Diaspora, based on the concept of . In the Bible, the seven-day holiday is known as Chag HaMatzot, the feast of unleavened bread (matzo). According to the Book of Exodus, God commanded Moses to tell the Israelites to mark a lamb's bl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nisan
Nisan (or Nissan; he, נִיסָן, Standard ''Nīsan'', Tiberian ''Nīsān''; from akk, 𒊬𒊒𒄀 ''Nisanu'') in the Babylonian and Hebrew calendars is the month of the barley ripening and first month of spring. The name of the month is an Akkadian language borrowing, although ultimately originates in Sumerian ''nisag'' "first fruits". In the Hebrew calendar it is the first month of the ecclesiastical year, called the "first of the months of the year" (Book of Exodus 12:1-2), "first month" (Ex 12:14), and the month of ''Aviv'' (Ex 13:4) ''ḥōḏeš hā-’āḇîḇ''). It is called Nisan in the Book of Esther in the Tanakh and later in the Talmud, which calls it the "New Year", Rosh HaShana, for kings and pilgrimages. It is a month of 30 days. Nisan usually falls in March–April on the Gregorian calendar. Counting from 1 Tishrei, the civil new year, it would be the seventh month (eighth, in leap year), but in contemporary Jewish culture, both months are viewed as t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minhag
''Minhag'' ( he, מנהג "custom", classical pl. מנהגות, modern pl. , ''minhagim'') is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, ''Nusach (Jewish custom), Nusach'' (), refers to the traditional order and form of the Jewish services, prayers. Etymology The Hebrew root N-H-G () 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
