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Sambation
According to rabbinic literature, the Sambation () is the river beyond which the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel were exiled by the Assyrian king Shalmaneser V (Sanchairev). Location In the earliest references, such as the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, the river is given no particular attributes, but later literature claims that it rages with rapids and throws up stones six days a week, or even consists entirely of stone, sand and flame. For those six days the Sambation is impossible to cross, but it stops flowing every Shabbat, the day Jews are not allowed to travel; some writers say this is the origin of the name. Pliny the Elder, writing in the mid-1st century, mentions that there is a river in Judaea that dries up every Shabbat (''NH'' xxxi.18). His younger contemporary Josephus writes of the Sabbatical River (Σαββατικον) that he claims was called after "the sacred seventh day of the Jews" and that he locates between Arka (in the northern Lebanon range) and Raphanea (in Uppe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ten Lost Tribes
The ten lost tribes were the ten of the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel after its conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire BCE. These are the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Manasseh, and Ephraim; all but Judah and Benjamin (as well as some members of Levi, the priestly tribe, which did not have its own territory). The Jewish historian Josephus (37–100 CE) wrote that "there are but two tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Romans, while the ten tribes are beyond Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers". In the 7th and 8th centuries CE, the return of the lost tribes was associated with the concept of the coming of the messiah. Claims of descent from the "lost tribes" have been proposed in relation to many groups, and some religions espouse a messianic view that the tribes will return. Historians have generally concluded the deported tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baudolino
''Baudolino'' is a 2000 novel by Umberto Eco about the adventures of a man named Baudolino in the known and mythical Christian world of the 12th century. ''Baudolino'' was translated into English in 2001 by William Weaver. The novel presented a number of particular difficulties in translation, not the least of which is that there are ten or so pages written in a made-up language that is a mixture of Latin, medieval Italian and other languages (intended to reconstruct how a barely-literate Italian peasant boy of the 12th century would have tried to write in the vernacular). Saint Baudolino, a historically-attested hermit of the eighth century, is the Patron Saint of Alessandria, and thus it would be natural for a boy born there to bear his name. Plot summary In the year of 1204, Baudolino of Alessandria enters Constantinople, unaware of the Fourth Crusade that has thrown the city into chaos. In the confusion, he meets Niketas Choniates and saves his life. Niketas is amazed by h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adeni Jews
Adeni Jews ( he, יהדות עדן), or Adenite Jews are the historical Jewish community which resided in the port city of Aden. Adenite culture became distinct from other Yemenite Jewish culture due to British control of the city and Indian-Iraqi influence as well as recent arrivals from Persia and Egypt. Although they were separated, Adeni Jews depended on the greater Yemenite community for spiritual guidance, receiving their authorizations from Yemeni rabbis. Virtually the entire population emigrated from Aden between June 1947 and September 1967. As of 2004, there were 6,000 Adenites in Israel, and 1,500 in London. History Early history In 1489, Rabbi Obadiah di Bertinora encountered Jews in Jerusalem who had come from Aden, and who described for him their polity and settlement in the land of Yemen, as also knowledge about Moses' progeny who were settled some fifty-days' walking distance from their place as one journeys in the desert, and that they were encompassed by th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Jews
The Red Jews (), a legendary Jewish nation, appear in vernacular sources in Germany during the medieval era, from the 13th to the 15th centuries. These texts portray the Red Jews as an epochal threat to Christendom, one which would invade Europe during the tribulations leading to the end of the world. Andrew Gow studied the original German language texts and concluded that the legend of the Red Jews conflated three separate traditions: the biblical prophetic references to Gog and Magog, the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, and an episode from the '' Alexander Romance'' (3rd century AD), in which Alexander the Great encloses a race of heathens behind a great wall in the Caucasus. These traditions had some overlap already; Gog and Magog are among the nations trapped behind the wall in the ''Alexander Romance'', and the only ones named in the version of the story appearing in Quran Sura al-Kahf (The Cave) 18:89, while the 14th-century work ''The Travels of Sir John Mandeville'' expli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abraham Abulafia
Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia ( he, אברהם בן שמואל אבולעפיה) was the founder of the school of "Prophetic Kabbalah". He was born in Zaragoza, Spain in 1240 and is assumed to have died sometime after 1291, following a stay on the small and windswept island of Comino, the smallest of the three inhabited islands that make up the Maltese archipelago. Biography Early life and travels Very early in life he was taken by his parents to Tudela, Navarre, where his aged father Samuel Abulafia instructed him in the Hebrew Bible and Talmud. In 1258, when Abraham was eighteen years old, his father died, and two years later Abraham began a life of ceaseless wandering. His first journey in 1260 was to the Land of Israel, where he intended to begin a search for the legendary river Sambation and the Ten Lost Tribes. He got no further than 'Akko, however, because of the desolation and lawlessness in the Holy Land stemming from the chaos following the last Crusades; the war that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Khabur (Euphrates)
The Khabur River is the largest perennial tributary to the Euphrates in Syria. Although the Khabur originates in Turkey, the karstic springs around Ras al-Ayn are the river's main source of water. Several important wadis join the Khabur north of Al-Hasakah, together creating what is known as the Khabur Triangle, or Upper Khabur area. From north to south, annual rainfall in the Khabur basin decreases from over 400 mm to less than 200 mm, making the river a vital water source for agriculture throughout history. The Khabur joins the Euphrates near the town of Busayrah. Geography The course of the Khabur can be divided in two distinct zones: the Upper Khabur area or Khabur Triangle north of Al-Hasakah, and the Middle and Lower Khabur between Al-Hasakah and Busayrah. Tributaries The tributaries to the Khabur are listed from east to west. Most of these wadis only carry water for part of the year. *Wadi Radd *Wadi Khnezir *Wadi Jarrah *Jaghjagh River *Wadi Khanzir *Wadi Avedji ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of the Rose'', a historical mystery combining semiotics in fiction with biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory, as well as ''Foucault's Pendulum,'' his 1988 novel which touches on similar themes. Eco wrote prolifically throughout his life, with his output including children's books, translations from French and English, in addition to a twice-monthly newspaper column "La Bustina di Minerva" (Minerva's Matchbook) in the magazine ''L'Espresso'' beginning in 1985, with his last column (a critical appraisal of the Romantic paintings of Francesco Hayez) appearing 27 January 2016. At the time of his death, he was an Emeritus professor at the University of Bologna, where he taught for much of his life. In the 21st century, he has conti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander The Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II of Macedon, Philip II to the throne in 336 BC at the age of 20, and spent most of his ruling years conducting a lengthy military campaign throughout Western Asia and ancient Egypt, Egypt. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the List of largest empires, largest empires in history, stretching from Greece to northwestern Historical India, India. He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered to be one of history's greatest and most successful military commanders. Until the age of 16, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle. In 335 BC, shortly after his assumption of kingship over Macedon, he Alexander's Balkan campaign, campaigned in the Balkans and reasserted control ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important prophet in Judaism and one of the most important prophets in Christianity In Christianity, the figures widely recognised as prophets are those mentioned as such in the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is believed that prophets are chosen and called by God. This article lists such prophets. The first list bel ..., Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islam, the Druze faith, the Baháʼí Faith and Table of prophets of Abrahamic religions, other Abrahamic religions. According to both the Bible and the Quran, Moses was the leader of the Israelites and Law of Moses, lawgiver to whom the Mosaic authorship, authorship, or "acquisition from heaven", of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) is attributed. According to the Book of E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shomer Shabbat
In Judaism, a person who is shomer Shabbat or shomer Shabbos (plural ''shomré Shabbat'' or ''shomrei Shabbos''; he, שומר שבת, "Sabbath observer", sometimes more specifically, "Saturday Sabbath observer") is a person who observes the mitzvot (commandments) associated with Judaism's Shabbat, or Sabbath, which begins at dusk on Friday and ends after sunset on Saturday. Under Jewish law (halakhah), the person who is shomer Shabbat is expected to conform to the prohibitions against certain forms of ''melacha''—creative acts. The observant Jew does not cook, spend money, write, operate electrical devices, or carry out other activities prohibited on Shabbat. In addition, a variety of positive Sabbath commandments are expected to be fulfilled, such as Sabbath meals, rituals, prayers, kindness, benignity, rest and—for married couples—sexual intercourse on Friday night. In contemporary Orthodox Judaism, the shomer Shabbat person would typically strive to follow all the ru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Obadiah Bartenura
Obadiah ben Abraham of Bertinoro ( he, ר׳ עוֹבַדְיָה בֵּן אַבְרָהָם מִבַּרְטֵנוּרָא; 1445 – 1515), commonly known as "The Bartenura", was a 15th-century Italian rabbi best known for his popular commentary on the Mishnah. In his later years, he rejuvenated the Jewish community of Jerusalem and became recognised as the spiritual leader of the Jews of his generation. Arrival in the Land of Israel Obadiah was a pupil of Joseph Colon Trabotto (''Maharik''), and became rabbi in Bertinoro, a town in the modern province of Forlì-Cesena, whence he derived his by-name, and in Castello.Ginzberg (1906) in Jewish Encyclopedia. "The desire to visit the Holy Land led him to Jerusalem; and he arrived there on March 25, 1488, having commenced his journey Octber29, 1486. His advent in Palestine marked a new epoch for the Jewish community there. ... The administration of Jewish communal affairs in Jerusalem had fallen into the hands of iniquitous of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
