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Rabbah Bar Abuha
Rabbah bar Abuha (or Rabbah bar Avuha; he, רבה בר אבוה) was a Babylonian rabbi of the second generation of amoraim. Biography He was a student of Rav, and resided at Nehardea of Babylonia. He was the teacher and father-in-law of Rav Nachman. After Nehardea had been destroyed by Papa ben Neser in 259, he moved to Shekunzib ( Hinzebu), and then again moved to Shilhe, then to Mahuza, where he settled along with Rav Nachman, and became a religious judge. There are allusions to a number of decisions and rulings made by him while at Mahuza. He was related to the house of the exilarchs and is even said to have been an exilarch himself. Sherira Gaon claimed to be a descendant of his, and of the Davidic line. According to legend, Rabbah was a friend of the prophet Elijah, who gave him leaves from paradise, so that he became rich. Teachings Rabbah was not a prominent teacher; and he himself admitted that he was not thoroughly versed even in the four orders of the Mishnah ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Babylonia
Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. 1894 BCE. During the reign of Hammurabi and afterwards, Babylonia was called "the country of Akkad" (''Māt Akkadī'' in Akkadian), a deliberate archaism in reference to the previous glory of the Akkadian Empire. It was often involved in rivalry with the older state of Assyria to the north and Elam to the east in Ancient Iran. Babylonia briefly became the major power in the region after Hammurabi ( fl. c. 1792–1752 BCE middle chronology, or c. 1696–1654 BCE, short chronology) created a short-lived empire, succeeding the earlier Akkadian Empire, Third Dynasty of Ur, and Old Assyrian Empire. The Babylonian Empire rapidly fell apart after the death of Hammurabi and reverted to a small kingdom. Like Assyria, the Babylonian state retained ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exilarch
The exilarch was the leader of the Jewish community in Persian Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) during the era of the Parthians, Sasanians and Abbasid Caliphate up until the Mongol invasion of Baghdad in 1258, with intermittent gaps due to ongoing political developments. The exilarch was regarded by the Jewish community as the royal heir of the House of David and held a place of prominence as both a rabbinical authority and as a noble within the Persian court. Within the Sasanian Empire, the exilarch was the political equivalent of the ''Catholicos'' of the Christian Church of the East, and was thus responsible for community-specific organizational tasks such as running the rabbinical courts, collecting taxes from Jewish communities, supervising and providing financing for the Talmudic academies in Babylonia, and the charitable re-distribution and financial assistance to needy members of the exile community. The position of exilarch was hereditary, held in continuity by a family t ... [...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] |
Elijah
Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) was, according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible, a prophet and a miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BCE). In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worship of the Hebrew God over that of the Canaanite deity Baal. God also performed many miracles through Elijah, including resurrection, bringing fire down from the sky, and entering heaven alive "by fire". 2 Kings 2:11 He is also portrayed as leading a school of prophets known as "the sons of the prophets". Following his ascension, Elisha, his disciple and most devoted assistant, took over his role as leader of this school. The Book of Malachi prophesies Elijah's return "before the coming of the great and terrible day of the ", making him a harbinger of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erubin
Eruvin (, lit. "Mixtures") is the second tractate in the Order of Moed, dealing with the various types of . In this sense this tractate is a natural extension of Shabbat; at one point these tractates were likely joined but then split due to length. Eruvin, along with Niddah and Yevamot, is considered one of the three most difficult tractates in the Babylonian Talmud. A Hebrew mnemonic for the three is עני (''ani'', meaning "poverty").Yaakov Emden, ''Mitpachat Sefarim'' 4:174 Structure The tractate consists of ten chapters with a total of 96 mishnayot. Its Babylonian Talmud version is of 105 pages and its Jerusalem Talmud version is of 65 pages. An overview of the content of chapters is as follows: * Chapter 1 () has ten mishnayot. * Chapter 2 () has six mishnayot. * Chapter 3 () has nine mishnayot. * Chapter 4 () has eleven mishnayot. * Chapter 5 () has nine mishnayot. * Chapter 6 () has ten mishnayot. * Chapter 7 () has eleven mishnayot. * Chapter 8 () has eleven mishnayot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yebamoth
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 cere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewish cultural life and was foundational to "all Jewish thought and aspirations", serving also as "the guide for the daily life" of Jews. The term ''Talmud'' normally refers to the collection of writings named specifically the Babylonian Talmud (), although there is also an earlier collection known as the Jerusalem Talmud (). It may also traditionally be called (), a Hebrew abbreviation of , or the "six orders" of the Mishnah. The Talmud has two components: the Mishnah (, 200 CE), a written compendium of the Oral Torah; and the Gemara (, 500 CE), an elucidation of the Mishnah and related Tannaitic writings that often ventures onto other subjects and expounds broadly on the Hebrew Bible. The term "Talmud" may refer to eith ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Davidic Line
The Davidic line or House of David () refers to the lineage of the Israelite king David through texts in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and through the succeeding centuries. According to the Bible, David, of the Tribe of Judah, was the third king of the United Monarchy of Israel and Judah. He was later succeeded by his son, Solomon. After Solomon's death, the ten northern tribes rejected the Davidic line, refusing to accept Solomon's son, Rehoboam, and instead chose as king Jeroboam and formed the northern Kingdom of Israel. The southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained loyal to the House of David, and this kingdom came to be known as the Kingdom of Judah. All subsequent kings of Judah, except Athaliah, are said to be direct descendants of David. The kingdom fell to the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 587/6 BCE. The Hasmoneans, who established their own monarchy in Judea in the 2nd century BCE, were not considered connected to the Davidic line nor to the Tribe of Juda ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sherira Gaon
Sherira bar Hanina (Hebrew: שרירא בר חנינא) more commonly known as Sherira Gaon (Hebrew: שרירא גאון; c. 906-c. 1006) was the gaon of the Academy of Pumbeditha. He was one of the most prominent Geonim of his period, and the father of Hai Gaon, who succeeded him as Gaon. He wrote the '' Iggeret Rav Sherira Gaon'' (" heEpistle of Rav Sherira Gaon"), a comprehensive history of the composition of the Talmud.Abraham ibn Daud, "Sefer ha-Ḳabbalah," in Adolf Neubauer, "Medieval Jewish Chronicles" (Oxford, 1887) , i. 66-67 Life Sherira was born circa 906 C.E., the descendant, both on his father's and his mother's side, of prominent families, several members of which had occupied the gaonate. His father was Hananiah ben R. Yehudai, also a gaon. Sherira claimed descent from Rabbah b. Abuha, who belonged to the family of the exilarch, thereby claiming descent from the Davidic line. Sherira stated that his genealogy could be traced back to the pre- Bostanaian branch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dayan (rabbinic Judge)
A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel. Today, it is invested with legal powers in a number of religious matters (''din Torah'', "matter of litigation", plural ''dinei Torah'') both in Israel and in Jewish communities in the Diaspora, where its judgments hold varying degrees of authority (depending upon the jurisdiction and subject matter) in matters specifically related to Jewish religious life. History Rabbinical commentators point out that the first suggestion in the Torah that the ruler divest his legal powers and delegate his power of judgment to lower courts was made by Jethro to Moses (Exodus ). This situation was formalised later when God gave the explicit command to "establish judges and officers in your gates" (Deuteronomy ). There were three types of courts (Mishnah, tract ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amoraim
''Amoraim'' (Aramaic language, Aramaic: plural or , singular ''Amora'' or ''Amoray''; "those who say" or "those who speak over the people", or "spokesmen") refers to Jewish scholars of the period from about 200 to 500 Common Era, CE, who "said" or "told over" the teachings of the Oral Torah. They were primarily located in Babylonia and the Land of Israel. Their legal discussions and debates were eventually Codification (law), codified in the Gemara. The ''Amoraim'' followed the ''Tannaim'' in the sequence of ancient Jewish scholars. The ''Tannaim'' were direct transmitters of uncodified oral tradition; the ''Amoraim'' expounded upon and clarified the oral law after its initial codification. The Amoraic era The first Babylonian ''Amoraim'' were Abba Arika, respectfully referred to as ''Rav'', and his contemporary and frequent debate partner, Samuel of Nehardea, Shmuel. Among the earliest ''Amoraim'' in Israel were Johanan bar Nappaha and Shimon ben Lakish. Traditionally, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahuza
Al-Mada'in ( ar, المدائن, , ; ) was an ancient metropolis situated on the Tigris, Tigris River in modern-day Iraq. It was located between the ancient royal centers of Ctesiphon and Seleucia, and was founded by the Sasanian Empire, Sassanid Empire. The city's name was used by Arabs as a synonym for the Sassanid capital of Ctesiphon, in a tradition that continued after the Muslim conquest of Persia, Arab conquest of Iran. Foundation and constitution According to Persian folklore, folklore, al-Mada'in was constructed by the legendary Iranian kings Tahmuras or Hushang, who named it Kardbandad. The city was then later rebuilt by the legendary Iranian king Zab, the Macedonian Empire, Macedonian king Alexander the Great (r. 356–323 BCE) and the Sasanian king Shapur II (r. 309–379 CE). According to another folklore, the names of five (or seven) cities that al-Mada'in comprised were Aspanbur, Veh-Ardashir, Hanbu Shapur, Darzanidan, Veh Jondiu-Khosrow, Nawinabad and Kardakadh. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
