Mechitza
A ''mechitza'' (, partition or division, pl.: , ) in Judaism is a partition, particularly one that is used to separate men and women. The rationale in halakha (Jewish law) for a partition dividing men and women is derived from the Babylonian Talmud. A divider in the form of a balcony was established in the Temple in Jerusalem for the Simchat Beit HaShoeivah ceremony, a time of great celebration and festivity. The divider was first established to preserve modesty and attention during this time. During the mid-20th century, a substantial number of Orthodox synagogues did not have mechitzot. However, the Orthodox Union (OU), the main body of Modern Orthodox synagogues in the United States, adopted a policy of not accepting as new members synagogues without mechitzot, and strongly encouraged existing synagogues to adopt them. Men and women are generally not separated in most Conservative synagogues, but it is a permissible option within Conservative Judaism; some Conservative sy ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gender Separation In Judaism
In Judaism, especially in Orthodox Judaism, there are a number of settings in which men and women are kept separate in order to conform with various elements of halakha and to prevent men and women from mingling. Other streams of Judaism rarely separate genders any more than secular western society. Background There are a variety of reasons in Judaism for gender separation. In Pirkei Avot 1:5, Yosi ben Yochanan says that a man who spends too much time talking to women, even his wife, neglects the study of Torah and will inherit gehinnom (Hell). Chapter 152 of Kitzur Shulchan Aruch details a series of laws forbidding interaction between persons of the opposite sex who are not married or closely related. Some of the prohibitions include negiah (physical contact), yichud (isolation with members of the opposite sex), staring at women or any of their body parts or attire, or conversation for pleasure. By setting Synagogues During prayer services in Orthodox synagogues, seating ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tzniut
''Tzniut'' ( , , ; "modesty" or "privacy"; ) describes the character trait of modesty and discretion, as well as a group of Jewish laws pertaining to conduct. The concept is most important within Orthodox Judaism. Description ''Tzniut'' includes a group of Jewish laws concerned with modesty of both dress and behavior. In the Babylonian Talmud, Rabbi Elazar Bar Tzadok interprets the injunction at Micah 6:8 to "go discreetly with your God" as referring to discretion in conducting funerals and weddings. The Talmud then extends his interpretation: "If in matters that are generally performed in public, such as funerals and weddings, the Torah instructed us to go discreetly, matters that by their very nature should be performed discreetly, such as giving charity to a poor person, how much more so must one take care to do them discreetly, without publicity and fanfare". In the legal dimension of Orthodox Judaism, the issue of ''tzniut'' is discussed in more technical terms: how ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Orthodox Union
The Orthodox Union (abbreviated OU) is one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. Founded in 1898, the OU supports a network of synagogues, youth programs, Jewish and Religious Zionist advocacy programs, programs for the disabled, localized religious study programs, and international units with locations in Israel and formerly in Ukraine. The OU maintains a kosher certification service, whose circled-U hechsher symbol, , is found on the labels of many kosher commercial and consumer food products. Its synagogues and their rabbis typically identify themselves with Modern Orthodox Judaism. History Foundation The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America was founded as a lay synagogue federation in 1898 by Rabbi Henry Pereira Mendes. Its founding members were predominately modern, Western-educated Orthodox rabbis and lay leaders, of whom several were affiliated with the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), which originated as an Orthodox i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism, also known as Masorti Judaism, is a Jewish religious movements, Jewish religious movement that regards the authority of Jewish law and tradition as emanating primarily from the assent of the people through the generations, more than from divine revelation. It therefore views Jewish law, or ''Halakha'', as both binding and subject to historical development. The Conservative rabbinate employs modern Historical criticism, 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 Fr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Simchat Beit HaShoeivah
Simchat Beit Hashoevah or Simchas Beis Hashoeiva () is a special celebration held by Jews during the intermediate days of Sukkot. Origin When the Temple in Jerusalem stood, a unique service was performed every morning throughout the Sukkot holiday: the ''Nisukh HaMayim'' (lit. "Pouring of the water") or Water Libation Ceremony. According to the Talmud, Sukkot is the time of year in which God judges the world for rainfall; therefore this ceremony, like the taking of the Four Species, invokes God's blessing for rain in its proper time. According to the Mishnah, the water for the libation ceremony was drawn from the Pool of Siloam in the City of David, and carried up the Jerusalem pilgrim road to the Temple. Afterwards, every night in the outer Temple courtyard, tens of thousands of spectators would gather to watch the ''Simchat Beit HaShoeivah'' (Rejoicing at the Place of the Water-Drawing), as the most pious members of the community danced and sang songs of praise to God. Th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ezrat Nashim
The Ezrat Nashim () or Vaybershul (), commonly referred to in English as the women's section or women's gallery, is an area of a synagogue sanctuary reserved exclusively for women. Scholars have long debated the existence of Ezrat Nashim in synagogues during the periods of the Second Temple, the Mishnah, and the Talmud. Shmuel Safrai, through a combination of textual analysis and archaeological evidence, has argued that while women consistently attended synagogue services, there is no definitive evidence to support the existence of a partition separating the genders or the existence of a Ezrat Nashim. The archaeologist Lee Levin agrees with Safrai that not only is there no archaeological evidence for the existence of Ezrat Nashim in ancient synagogues, but there are also many ancient synagogues that have only a single prayer hall, indicating that there was no segregation at all. The ''Ezrat Nashim'' could be either a separate annex, as observed in synagogues like the Altneusch ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Men%27s And Women%27s Prayer Areas At The Western Wall, Seen From Walkway To The Dome Of The Rock
A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the father. Sex differentiation of the male fetus is governed by the SRY gene on the Y chromosome. During puberty, hormones which stimulate androgen production result in the development of secondary sexual characteristics that result in even more differences between the sexes. These include greater muscle mass, greater height, the growth of facial hair and a lower body fat composition. Male anatomy is distinguished from female anatomy by the male reproductive system, which includes the testicles, sperm ducts, prostate gland and epididymides, and penis. Secondary sex characteristics include a narrower pelvis and hips, and smaller breasts and nipples. Throughout human history, traditional gender roles have often defined men's activities and opportunit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is the first work of rabbinic literature, written primarily in Mishnaic Hebrew but also partly in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic. The oldest surviving physical fragments of it are from the 6th to 7th centuries. The Mishnah was literary redaction, redacted by Judah ha-Nasi probably in Beit She'arim (Roman-era Jewish village), Beit Shearim or Sepphoris between the ending of the second century CE and the beginning of the third century. Heinrich Graetz, dissenting, places the Mishnah's compilation in 189 CE (see: H. Graetz, ''History of the Jews'', vol. 6, Philadelphia 1898, p105), and which date follows that penned by Rabbi Abraham ben David in his "Sefer HaKabbalah le-Ravad", or what was then ''anno'' 500 of the Seleucid era. in a time when the p ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewish culture, Jewish cultural life and was foundational to "all Jewish thought and aspirations", serving also as "the guide for the daily life" of Jews. The Talmud includes the teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis on a variety of subjects, including halakha, Jewish ethics, Jewish philosophy, philosophy, Jewish customs, customs, Jewish history, history, and Jewish folklore, folklore, and many other topics. The Talmud is a commentary on the Mishnah. This text is made up of 63 Masekhet, tractates, each covering one subject area. The language of the Talmud is Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. Talmudic tradition emerged and was compiled between the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE and the Arab conquest in the early seve ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shmuel Safrai
Shmuel Safrai (; June 18, 1919 – July 16, 2003) was Professor Emeritus of Jewish History at Hebrew University and laurate of the Israel Prize for Land of Israel studies for 2002. Biography Safrai born in 1919 in Warsaw, Poland, and immigrated to Land of Israel at the age of three (1922). He lived in the Etz Chaim neighborhood of Jerusalem during his childhood and youth. He studied at the Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva for one year, and at the Mizrachi Teachers' Training College in Jerusalem for two years. From 1951 to 1955 he was a member of Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu. During the 1940s and 1950s, he pursued his studies at the Hebrew University, earning a doctorate in 1960 for his thesis, which focused on pilgrimage practices during the Second Temple period. By the late 1960s, Safrai was appointed as a professor at the Hebrew University, and in 1978, he achieved the rank of full professor. Since then, he has been actively engaged in teaching both within and outside the university, alongside ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lee I
Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''Lee'' (novel), by Tito Perdue, about an angry and well-read septuagenarian * "Lee", a 1973 single by The Detroit Emeralds * "Lee", a 2001 song by Tenacious D from their eponymous album Businesses Finance *Thomas H. Lee Partners, an American private equity firm founded in 1974 ** Lee Equity Partners, a breakaway firm founded in 2006 Manufacturers * Lee Tires, a division of Goodyear *Lee Filters, a maker of lighting filters Other businesses * Lee (brand), an American clothing brand * Lee Enterprises, an American media company (NYSE: LEE) * Lee Data, a defunct American computer company Education * Lee College, Bayton, Texas, United States * Lee University, Cleveland, Tennessee, US Meteorology * List of storms named Lee * Lee w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, archaeological site, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. It is usually considered an independent academic discipline, but may also be classified as part of anthropology (in North America – the four-field approach), history or geography. The discipline involves Survey (archaeology), surveying, Archaeological excavation, excavation, and eventually Post excavation, analysis of data collected, to learn more about the past. In broad scope, archaeology relies on cross-disciplinary research. Archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development of the first stone tools at Lomekwi in East Africa 3.3 million years ago up until recent decades. A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |