|
Pittsburgh (Hasidic Dynasty)
Pittsburgh is a Hasidic dynasty founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1924 by Rabbi Yosef Leifer, a Hungarian rabbi and descendant of Rabbi Mordechai of Nadvorna. This is one of the few Hasidic dynasties named after an American city (others are Boston, Cleveland, Milwaukee and Philadelphia). After flourishing in America for 46 years, the Hasidut was relocated to the Israeli coastal city of Ashdod under the leadership of Rabbi Yosef Leifer's son and successor, Rabbi Avraham Abba Leifer. The Hasidut was led by Rabbi Avraham Abba's son, Rabbi Mordechai Yissachar Ber Leifer, who died Chol Hamoed Succos 2020, presided over a nucleus of about 100 Pittsburgher families in Ashdod as well as families in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Beit Hilkia, New York City and California. Owing to the small size of the Hasidut, each member had a personal relationship with the Rebbe and Rebbetzin, who spoke English, Hebrew and Yiddish. Torah institutions When Rabbi Avraham Abba Leifer moved the Hasidut to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the island of Great Britain. Existing on a dialect continuum with Scots, and then closest related to the Low Saxon and Frisian languages, English is genealogically West Germanic. However, its vocabulary is also distinctively influenced by dialects of France (about 29% of Modern English words) and Latin (also about 29%), plus some grammar and a small amount of core vocabulary influenced by Old Norse (a North Germanic language). Speakers of English are called Anglophones. The earliest forms of English, collectively known as Old English, evolved from a group of West Germanic (Ingvaeonic) dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the 5th century and further mutated by Norse-speaking Viking settlers starting in the 8th and 9th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meshulam Eliezer Leifer
Meshulam Eliezer Leifer ( he, משולם אליעזר לייפער; born January 23, 1979) is the fourth Rebbe of the Pittsburgh Hasidic dynasty. He succeeded his father, Grand Rabbi Mordechai Yissachar Ber Leifer, upon the latter's death in October 2020. Early life, family, and education Meshulam Eliezer Leifer was born on January 23, 1979, in the United States. He is the eldest of the three sons of the third Pittsburgher Rebbe, Grand Rabbi Mordechai Yissachar Ber Leifer, and his wife Miriam Aviva Leifer (née Liebes). He has five sisters. He was named after Rabbi Meshulam Yissachar Klieger of Kraków, the father-in-law of his maternal grandfather; the name Eliezer (after Rabbi Meshulam Yissachar's father-in-law, Rabbi Eliezer Pesil, a Dzhikover Hasid) was added since Rabbi Meshulam Yissachar had died young in the Holocaust. Leifer is a direct descendant of Rabbi Mordechai of Nadvorna, the founder of the Nadvorna dynasty, who was the great-grandson of Grand Rabbi Meir the Gre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamodia
''Hamodia'' ( he, המודיע – "''the Informer''") is a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in Jerusalem. A daily English-language edition is also published in the United States, and weekly English-language editions in England and Israel. A weekly edition for French-speaking readers debuted in 2008. The newspaper's slogan is "The Newspaper of Torah Jewry". It comes with two magazines, ''Inyan'' and ''Prime''. ''Haaretz'', the newspaper of Israel's secular left, describes ''Hamodia'' as one of the "most powerful" newspapers in the Haredi community. History ''Hamodia'' was founded in 1950 by Rabbi Yehuda Leib Levin, son of the Agudat Israel leader Rabbi Yitzhak-Meir Levin of Warsaw and Jerusalem. Its current director general is Rabbi Chaim Moshe Knopf, and its deputy director general is Knopf's son, Rabbi Elazar Knopf. English-language edition The English-language edition of ''Hamodia'' is published by Levin's daughter, Ruth Lichtenstein. It was first printed on February ... [...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] |
Rosh Chodesh
Rosh Chodesh or Rosh Hodesh ( he, ראש חודש; trans. ''Beginning of the Month''; lit. ''Head of the Month'') is the name for the first day of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the birth of a new moon. It is considered a minor holiday, akin to the intermediate days during the Jewish holidays of Passover and Sukkot. Origin The Book of Exodus establishes the new moon of Nisan, which is the first month of Aviv, as the beginning of the Hebrew calendar: In the Book of Numbers, God speaks of the celebration of the new moon to Moses: In , both new and full moon are mentioned as a time of recognition by the Hebrews: The occurrence of Rosh Chodesh was originally confirmed on the testimony of witnesses observing the new moon. After the Sanhedrin declared Rosh Chodesh for either a full month or a defective, 29-day month, news of it would then be communicated throughout Israel and the diaspora. A custom was developed in which an additional day could be added to the m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brit Milah
The ''brit milah'' ( he, בְּרִית מִילָה ''bərīṯ mīlā'', ; Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazi pronunciation: , "Covenant (religion), covenant of circumcision"; Yiddish pronunciation: ''bris'' ) is Religion and circumcision, the ceremony of circumcision in Judaism. According to the Book of Genesis, God in Judaism, God commanded the Patriarchs (Bible), biblical patriarch Abraham to be circumcised, an act to be followed by his male descendants on the eighth day of life, symbolizing Covenant of the pieces, the covenant between God and the Jewish people. Today, it is generally performed by a mohel on the eighth day after the infant's birth and is followed by a celebratory meal known as ''seudat mitzvah''. ''Brit Milah'' is considered among the 613 commandments, most important and central commandments in Judaism, and the rite has played a central role in Jewish history, the formation and history of Jewish culture, Jewish civilization. The Talmud, when discussing the importa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nigun
A nigun ( he, ניגון meaning "tune" or "melody", plural nigunim) or niggun (plural niggunim) is a form of Jewish religious song or tune sung by groups. It is vocal music, often with repetitive sounds such as "Bim-Bim-Bam", "Lai-Lai-Lai", "Yai-Yai-Yai" or "Ai-Ai-Ai" instead of formal lyrics. Sometimes, Bible verses or quotes from other classical Jewish texts are sung repetitively to form a nigun. Some nigunim are sung as prayers of lament, while others may be joyous or victorious. Nigunim are largely improvisations, though they can be based on thematic passages and are stylized in form, reflecting the teachings and charisma of the spiritual leadership of the congregation or its religious movement. Nigunim are especially central to worship in Hasidic Judaism, which evolved its own structured, soulful forms to reflect the mystical joy of intense prayer (devekut). Hasidic nigunim A revival of interest in Jewish music was sparked as part of Hasidism. Different Hasidic groups ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tish (Hasidic Celebration)
A Tish, also ''tische'' ( yi, טיש, lit=table, yi, טישן, translit=tischn, label=none) is a Shabbat or holidays gathering for Hasidic Jews around their Rabbi or "Rebbe". In Chabad, a tische is called (). It may consist of speeches on Torah subjects, singing of melodies known as (singular ) and ("hymns"), with refreshments being served. Hasidim see it as a moment of great holiness. Within Hasidic Judaism, a refers to any joyous public celebration or gathering or meal by Hasidim at a "table" of their Rebbe. Such a gathering is staged around the blessing of Melchizedek-themed "setting of the table" and so is often referred to in Hebrew as (). Bread and wine are essential elements. Overview During a ''tische'', the Rebbe sits at the head of the table and the Hasidim gather around the table. In large Hasidic movements, only the Rebbe and his immediate family, plus a few close disciples, partake of the actual meal, but small pieces of bread, fish, meat, poultry, farfel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiur (Torah)
Shiur (, , lit. ''amount'', pl. shiurim ) is a lecture on any Torah topic, such as Gemara, Mishnah, Halakha (Jewish law), Tanakh (Bible), etc. History The Hebrew term שיעור ("designated amount") came to refer to a portion of Judaic text arranged for study on a particular occasion, such as a yartzeit, the dedication of a new home, or the evening of a holiday, and then to a public reading and explanation of the same. The act of teaching and studying these texts at the designated time was known in Yiddish as ''schiur lernen''. These shiurim would be attended by all classes of people; it was traditional for learned attendees to engage the lecturer in continuous discussion, and for the larger lay audience to listen intently. Concurrently, the word came to refer to the daily study quotient for students of a yeshiva, and then to the lecture given thereon. Akiva Eger, for example,would not miss learning a single ''shiur'' with the yeshiva. His ''shiurim'' with them were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kollel
A kollel ( he, כולל, , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning ''sedarim'' (sessions); unlike most yeshivot, the student body of a kollel typically consists mostly of married men. A kollel generally pays a regular monthly stipend to its members. History Original sense Originally, the word was used in the sense of "community". Each group of European Jews settling in Israel established their own community with their own support system. Each community was referred to as the "kollel of " to identify the specific community of the Old Yishuv. The overwhelming majority of these Jews were scholars who left their homelands to devote themselves to study Torah and serve God for the rest of their lives. The kollel was the umbrella organization for all their needs. The first examples were Kolel Perushim (students of the Vilna Gaon who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cheder
A ''cheder'' ( he, חדר, lit. "room"; Yiddish pronunciation ''kheyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language. History ''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th century. Lessons took place in the house of the teacher, known as a ''melamed'', whose wages were paid by the Jewish community or a group of parents. Normally, only boys would attend classes—girls were educated by their mothers in their homes. Where money was scarce and the community could not afford to maintain many teachers, boys of all ages would be taught in a single group. Although traditionally boys start learning the Hebrew alphabet the day they turned three, boys typically entered ''cheder'' school around the age of 5. After learning to read Hebrew, they would immediately begin studying the Torah, starting with the Book of Leviticus. They would usually start learning the Mishnah at around seven years of age and the Talmud (Mishna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
