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Jewish Views On Lying
In Jewish tradition, lying is generally forbidden but is required in certain exceptional cases, such as to saving a life (Judaism), save a life. Hebrew Bible The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) forbids perjury in at least three verses: "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:12, part of the Ten Commandments), also phrased "Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor" (Deuteronomy 5, see ), and another verse "Keep yourself far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous do not kill; for I will not justify the wicked" (Exodus 23, see ). According to Deuteronomy 19 (see ), false witnesses should receive the same punishment that they sought to mete out on the unjustly accused. A similar prohibition, "You shall not steal; neither shall you deal falsely, nor lie one to another" (Leviticus 19, see ) relates to Jewish business ethics, business dealings. There are also passages which condemn lying in general: "He that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saving A Life (Judaism)
''Pikuach nefesh'' ( he, פקוח נפש, lit=watching over a soul) is the principle in Halakha (Jewish law) that the preservation of human life overrides virtually any other religious rule of Judaism. In the event that a person is in critical danger, most ''mitzvah, mitzvot'', including those from the Ten Commandments of the Torah, become inapplicable if they would hinder the ability to save oneself or someone else in such a situation. However, there are certain exceptions; some rules and commandments may not be broken under any circumstances and thus sanction self-sacrifice in Jewish law, an act of self-sacrifice. Origin and interpretation Biblical source The Torah, in Leviticus 18:5, states simply: "You shall keep My statutes and My laws, which a person shall do and shall live by them. I am the ." Ezekiel 20:11 states the following: "And I gave them my statutes, and showed them my judgements, which if a man do, he shall even live in them." Talmudic discussion In the Talmud (Yo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simeon
Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated as Shimon. In Greek it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon. Meaning The name is derived from Simeon, son of Jacob and Leah, patriarch of the Tribe of Simeon. The text of Genesis (29:33) argues that the name of ''Simeon'' refers to Leah's belief that God had heard that she was hated by Jacob, in the sense of not being as favoured as Rachel. Implying a derivation from the Hebrew term ''shama on'', meaning "he has heard"; this is a similar etymology as the Torah gives for the theophoric name ''Ishmael'' ("God has heard"; Genesis 16:11), on the basis of which it has been argued that the tribe of Simeon may originally have been an Ishmaelite group (Cheyne and Black, ''Encyclopaedia Biblica''). Alternatively, Hitzig, W. R. Smith, Stade, and Kerber compared שִׁמְעוֹן ''Šīmə‘ōn'' to Arabic سِمع ''simˤ'' "the offspring of the hy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reconstructing Judaism
Reconstructionist Judaism is a Jewish movement that views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization rather than a religion, based on concepts developed by Mordecai Kaplan (1881–1983). The movement originated as a semi-organized stream within Conservative Judaism and developed from the late 1920s to 1940s, before it seceded in 1955 and established a rabbinical college in 1967. Reconstructionist Judaism is recognized by some scholars as one of the five streams of Judaism alongside Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Humanistic. There is substantial theological diversity within the movement. ''Halakha'' (Jewish law) is not considered normative and binding, but is instead seen as the basis for the ongoing evolution of meaningful Jewish practice. In contrast with the Reform movement's stance during the time Kaplan was writing, he believed that "Jewish life smeaningless without Jewish law" and one of the planks he wrote for the proto-Reconstructionist Society for the Jewish R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis Jacobs
Louis Jacobs (17 July 1920 – 1 July 2006) was a leading writer and theologian. He was the rabbi of the New London Synagogue in the United Kingdom. He was also the focus in the early 1960s of what became known as "The Jacobs Affair" in the British Jewish community. Early career Jacobs was born on 17 July 1920 in Manchester. He studied at Manchester Yeshiva, and later at the kolel in Gateshead. His teachers included leading Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler. Jacobs was ordained as a rabbi at Manchester Yeshiva. Later in his career, he studied at University College London where he gained his PhD on the topic of ''The Business Life of the Jews in Babylon, 200–500 CE''. Jacobs was appointed rabbi at Manchester Central Synagogue in 1948. In 1954 he was appointed to the New West End Synagogue in London. Jacobs became Moral Tutor at Jews' College, London, where he taught Talmud and homiletics during the last years of Rabbi Dr Isidore Epstein's tenure as principal. By this time, Jacobs had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generations moreso than from any divine revelation. It therefore views ''halakha'' as both binding and subject to historical development. The Conservative rabbinate employs modern historical-critical research, rather than only traditional methods and sources, and lends great weight to its constituency when determining its stance on matters of practice. The movement considers its approach as the authentic and most appropriate continuation of ''halakhic'' discourse, maintaining both fealty to received forms and flexibility in their interpretation. It also eschews strict theological definitions, lacking a consensus in matters of faith and allowing great pluralism. While regarding itself as the heir of Rabbi Zecharias Frankel's 19th-century Positive-H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eliyahu Dessler
Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler (1892 – 31 December 1953) was an Orthodox rabbi, Talmudic scholar, and Jewish philosopher of the 20th century. He is best known for being the ''mashgiach ruchani'' ("spiritual counselor") of the Ponevezh yeshiva in Israel and through collections of his writings published posthumously by his pupils. Life Lithuania Eliyahu Dessler, who was known throughout his life as ''Eliyahu Leizer'' or ''Elya Lazer'', was born in 1892 (5652) in Gomel. His father, Reuven Dov Dessler, was a disciple of one of the main leaders of the Musar movement, Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv, best known as the ''Alter (Elder) of Kelm''. Eliyahu was orphaned of his mother at a young age. His father remarried, and would become a successful timber merchant in the city of Homel over the ensuing years, although he would lose virtually his whole fortune after the Russian Revolution, which would prompt his son to relocate to England (1929). The young Elya was taught by private tutors. At the ag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Half-truth
A half-truth is a deceptive statement that includes some element of truth. The statement might be partly true, the statement may be totally true, but only part of the whole truth, or it may use some deceptive element, such as improper punctuation, or double meaning, especially if the intent is to deceive, evade, blame or misrepresent the truth. Purpose The purpose and or consequence of a half-truth is to make something that is really only a belief appear to be knowledge, or a truthful statement to represent the whole truth or possibly lead to a false conclusion. The order in which the true and false information is presented in a "half-truth" can make a difference in ultimate believability. Barchetti and colleagues show that when two unrelated statements are but together with syntax that suggests causality, the statement is believed if the premise is true (even if the conclusion is unrelated or false). Conversely, if the false statement is placed in the premise, the combined state ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitzvah
In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; he, מִצְוָה, ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discussion of these commandments. According to religious tradition, there are 613 such commandments. In its secondary meaning, the word ''mitzvah'' refers to a deed performed in order to fulfill such a commandment. As such, the term ''mitzvah'' has also come to express an individual act of human kindness in keeping with the law. The expression includes a sense of heartfelt sentiment beyond mere legal duty, as "you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). The opinions of the Talmudic rabbis are divided between those who seek the purpose of the ''mitzvot'' and those who do not question them. The latter argue that if the reason for each ''mitzvah'' could be determined, people might try to achieve what they see as the purpose of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Persecution Of Jews
The persecution of Jews has been a major event in Jewish history, prompting shifting waves of refugees and the formation of diaspora communities. As early as 605 BCE, Jews who lived in the Neo-Babylonian Empire were persecuted and deported. Antisemitism was also practiced by the governments of many different empires (Roman empire) and the adherents of many different religions (Christianity), and it was also widespread in many different regions of the world (Middle East and Islamic). Jews were commonly used as scapegoats for tragedies and shortcomings such as those which were seen in the Black Death Persecutions, the 1066 Granada Massacre, the Massacre of 1391 in Spain, the many Pogroms in the Russian Empire, and the tenets of Nazism prior to and during World War II, which lead to The Holocaust and the murder of six million Jews. Neo-Babylonian Empire The Babylonian captivity or the Babylonian exile is the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yevamot
Yevamot ( he, יבמות, "Brother's Widow", also pronounced Yevamos, or Yavmus) is a tractate of the Talmud that deals with, among other concepts, the laws of Yibbum (, loosely translated in English as levirate marriage), and, briefly, with conversion to Judaism. This tractate is the first in the order of Nashim (, "Women"). Yevamot, along with Eruvin and Niddah, is considered one of the three most difficult tractates in the Babylonian Talmud. A Hebrew mnemonic for the three is (''ani'', meaning "poverty").Jacob Emden, ''Mitpachat Sefarim'' 4:174 Contents ''Yibbum'' is the Torah law () by which the brother of a man who died without children is allowed and expected to marry the widow. This law only applies to paternal brothers, i.e., brothers by the same father; whether they have the same mother or different mothers is irrelevant. The deceased's widow(s) is forbidden to marry anyone else while waiting for one of the brothers to marry her, or release to her by performing a cer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud and commentary on the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh''). Acclaimed for his ability to present the basic meaning of the text in a concise and lucid fashion, Rashi appeals to learned scholars and beginning students, and his works remain a centerpiece of contemporary Jewish studies. His commentary on the Talmud, which covers nearly all of the Babylonian Talmud (a total of 30 out of 39 tractates, due to his death), has been included in every edition of the Talmud since its first printing by Daniel Bomberg in the 1520s. His commentaries on the Tanakh—especially his commentary on the Chumash (the "Five Books of Moses")—serves as the basis of more than 300 "supercommentaries" which analyze Rashi's choice of langu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bava Metzia
Bava Metzia (Talmudic Aramaic: בָּבָא מְצִיעָא, "The Middle Gate") is the second of the first three Talmudic tractates in the order of Nezikin ("Damages"), the other two being Bava Kamma and Bava Batra. Originally all three formed a single tractate called ''Nezikin'' (torts or injuries), each ''Bava'' being a Part or subdivision. Bava Metzia discusses civil matters such as property law and usury. It also examines one's obligations to guard lost property that have been found, or property explicitly entrusted to him. Mishnah The Mishnah of Bava Metzia contains ten chapters. Honorary trustee (''Shomer Hinam''), chapters 1-3 An honorary trustee is one who finds lost property. He has to keep it as '' shomer hinam'' (watching over another's property without receiving any remuneration) until he can restore it to the rightful owner (). The laws as to what constitutes finding, what to do with the things found, how to guard against false claimants, how to take care of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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