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Zugoth
The ''Zugot'' ( he, הַזּוּגוֹת ''hazZūgōṯ'', "the Pairs"), also called Zugoth or ''Zugos'' in the Ashkenazi pronunciation, refers both to the two-hundred-year period ( 170 BCE – 30 CE, he, תְּקוּפַת הַזּוּגוֹת ''Təqūfaṯ hazZūgōṯ'', "Era of the Pairs") during the time of the Second Temple in which the spiritual leadership of the Jews was in the hands of five successions of "pairs" of religious teachers, and to each of these pairs themselves. Origin of the name In Hebrew, the word ''zûghôth'' () indicates pairs of two identical objects, plural of ''zûgh'' (), a pair. The word is related to Arabic ''zawj'' (زوج) as singular and ''zawjaat'' as plural, "spouse", and Aramaic ''zôghāʾ'' (), "pair, spouse", from a root meaning "to join" ultimately borrowed from Greek ''zugón'' (ζυγόν), "yoke". Roles The zugoth were five pairs of scholars who ruled a supreme court ( '' bêth dîn ha-gādôl'') of the Jews as ''nasi'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashkenazi Pronunciation
Ashkenazi Hebrew ( he, הגייה אשכנזית, Hagiyya Ashkenazit, yi, אַשכּנזישע הבֿרה, Ashkenazishe Havara) is the pronunciation system for Biblical and Mishnaic Hebrew favored for Jewish liturgical use and Torah study by Ashkenazi Jewish practice. Features As it is used parallel with modern Hebrew, its phonological differences are clearly recognized: * '' '' and '' '' are completely silent at all times in most forms of Ashkenazi Hebrew, where they are frequently both pronounced as a glottal stop in modern Hebrew. (Compare ''Yisroeil'' (Lithuanian) or ''Yisruayl'' (Polish-Galician) vs. ''Yisra'el'' (Israeli).) An earlier pronunciation of ''‘ayin'' as a velar nasal () is attested most prominently in Dutch Hebrew (and historically also the Hebrew of Frankfurt am Main). Vestiges of this earlier pronunciation are still found throughout the Yiddish-speaking world in names like ''Yankev'' (יעקבֿ) and words like ''manse'' (מעשׂה, more commonly pronounced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judah Ben Tabbai
Judah ben Tabbai ( ''Yehuda ben Tabbai'') was a Pharisee scholar, av beit din of the Sanhedrin, and one of "the Pairs" (''zugot'') of Jewish leaders who lived in the first century BCE. Judah ben Tabbai was associated by some medieval writers with what later came to be known as Karaite Judaism. Av beit din of the Sanhedrin To escape Alexander Jannaeus's persecution of the Pharisees, Judah ben Tabbai, who was already a prominent Pharisee scholar, fled to Alexandria. After Jannaeus's death in 76 BCE, Salome Alexandra became queen of Judea. The Pharisees now became not only a tolerated section of the community, but actually the ruling class. Salome Alexandra installed as high priest her eldest son, Hyrcanus II, a man who was wholly supportive of the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin was reorganized according to their wishes. As part of the reorganization, Salome appointed her brother Simeon ben Shetach as prince (''nasi'') of the Sanhedrin. Simeon ben Shetach wrote a flattering letter t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asmodeus
Asmodeus (; grc, Ἀσμοδαῖος, ''Asmodaios'') or Ashmedai (; he, אַשְמְדּאָי, ''ʾAšmədʾāy''; see below for other variations), is a ''prince of demons'' and hell."Asmodeus" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 635. In Judeo-Islamic lore he is the king of both daemons (jinn/''shedim'') and demons ('' divs'').Raphael Patai ''Encyclopedia of Jewish Folklore and Traditions'' Routledge 2015 page 39 Asmodeus is mostly known from the deuterocanonical Book of Tobit, in which he is the primary antagonist, or the Ars Goetia. In Peter Binsfeld's classification of demons, Asmodeus represents lust. The demon is also mentioned in some Talmudic legends; for instance, in the story of the construction of the Temple of Solomon. In Islam, he is identified with the "puppet" mentioned in the Quran, which dethroned Solomon and reigned over his kingdom until he got his kingship back. Etymology The na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Witchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have used malevolent magic against their own community, and often to have communed with evil beings. It was thought witchcraft could be thwarted by protective magic or counter-magic, which could be provided by cunning folk or folk healers. Suspected witches were also intimidated, banished, attacked or killed. Often they would be formally prosecuted and punished, if found guilty or simply believed to be guilty. European witch-hunts and witch trials in the early modern period led to tens of thousands of executions. In some regions, many of those accused of witchcraft were folk healers or midwives. European belief in witchcraft gradually dwindled during and after the Age of Enlightenment. Contemporary cultures that believe in magic and the superna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Demonology
Demonology is the study of demons within religious belief and myth. Depending on context, it can refer to studies within theology, religious doctrine, or pseudoscience. In many faiths, it concerns the study of a hierarchy of demons. Demons may be nonhuman, separable souls, or discarnate spirits which have never inhabited a body. A sharp distinction is often drawn between these two classes, notably by the Melanesians, several African groups, and others. The Islamic jinn, for example, are not reducible to modified human souls. At the same time these classes are frequently conceived as producing identical results, e.g. diseases.van der Toorn, Becking, van der Horst (1999), ''Dictionary of Deities and Demons in The Bible'', Second Extensively Revised Edition, Entry: Demon, pp. 235-240, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Prevalence of demons According to some societies, all the affairs of the universe are supposed to be under the control of spirits, each ruling a certain " e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Babylonian 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] |
Herod The Great
Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his renovation of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the expansion of the Temple Mount towards its north, the enclosure around the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, the construction of the port at Caesarea Maritima, the fortress at Masada, and Herodium. Vital details of his life are recorded in the works of the 1st century CE Roman–Jewish historian Josephus. Herod also appears in the Christian Gospel of Matthew as the ruler of Judea who orders the Massacre of the Innocents at the time of the birth of Jesus, although most Herod biographers do not believe that this event occurred. Despite his successes, including singlehandedly forging a new aristocracy from practically nothing, he has still been criticised by various historians. His reign pola ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shammai
Shammai (50 BCE – 30 CE, he, שַׁמַּאי, ''Šammaʾy'') was a Jewish scholar of the 1st century, and an important figure in Judaism's core work of rabbinic literature, the Mishnah. Shammai was the most eminent contemporary of Hillel. His teachings mostly agree with those of Hillel, except on three issues. Both were divided over an earlier rabbinic dispute, regarding the actual laying on of hands upon a sacrificial animal on a Festival Day, which Hillel permitted.Jerusalem Talmud (''Hagigah'' 2:2 0b; 12a Their disciples, who had differing views to their masters, disputed many other halakhic matters. The School of Shammai, founded by Shammai, is almost invariably mentioned along with the School of Hillel, founded by Hillel. They differed fundamentally from each other. Although they were contemporaries, Hillel was nearly sixty years old at the time of Shammai's birth. History Shammai, along with Hillel his contemporary, took on oversight of the Sanhedrin sometime ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hillel The Elder
Hillel ( he, הִלֵּל ''Hīllēl''; variously called ''Hillel HaGadol'', ''Hillel HaZaken'', ''Hillel HaBavli'' or ''HaBavli'', was born according to tradition in Babylon c. 110 BCE, died 10 CE in Jerusalem) was a Jewish religious leader, sage and scholar associated with the development of the Mishnah and the Talmud and the founder of the House of Hillel school of tannaim. He is popularly known as the author of two sayings: (1) "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And being for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" and (2) the expression of the ethic of reciprocity, or " Golden Rule": "That which is hateful to you, do not do unto your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary; now go and learn." Biography Hillel was born in Babylon. According to the Talmud, he descended from the Tribe of Benjamin on his father's side, and from the family of David on his mother's side. When Josephus speaks of Hillel's great-grandson, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyrcanus II
John Hyrcanus II (, ''Yohanan Hurqanos'') (died 30 BCE), a member of the Hasmonean dynasty, was for a long time the Jewish High Priest in the 1st century BCE. He was also briefly King of Judea 67–66 BCE and then the ethnarch (ruler) of Judea, probably over the period 47–40 BCE. Accession Hyrcanus was the eldest son of Alexander Jannaeus, King and High Priest, and Alexandra Salome. After the death of Alexander in 76 BCE, his widow succeeded to the rule of Judea and installed her elder son Hyrcanus as High Priest. Alexander had numerous conflicts with the Pharisees. However Hyrcanus was supported by the Pharisees, especially later in his tenure. When Salome died in 67 BCE, she named Hyrcanus as her successor as ruler of Judea as well, but soon he and his younger brother, Aristobulus II, dissented over the right to the throne. Deposition Hyrcanus had scarcely reigned three months when Aristobulus II rose in rebellion. Hyrcanus advanced against him at the head of hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abtalion
Abtalion ( he, אַבְטַלְיוֹן ''ʾAbhtalyôn'') or Avtalyon (Modern Hebrew) was a rabbinic sage in the early pre-Mishnaic era. He was a leader of the Pharisees during the 1st century BCE, and by tradition vice-president of the great Sanhedrin of Jerusalem. He lived at the same time as Sh'maya. They are known as one of the zugot ("couples"): ''Shmaya and Avtalyon''. Biography Abtalion and Shemaiah were converts to Judaism or the descendants of converts; by tradition they were descended from King Sennacherib of Assyria. Despite this, they were influential and beloved. The ''Talmud'' relates that once, when the high priest was being escorted home from the Temple by the people, at the close of a Day of Atonement, the crowd deserted him upon the approach of Abtalion and Shemaiah and followed them. However, Graetz has argued that neither Shemaiah nor Abtalion was of Gentile descent, although both were Alexandrians. Little is known about Abtalion's life. He was a pupil of Jud ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shmaya (tanna)
Shemaiah ( he, שְׁמַעְיָה, ''Šəmaʿyā''; grc-koi, Σαμαίᾱς, ''Samaíās''), or Shmaya in Modern Hebrew) was a rabbinic sage in the early pre-Mishnaic era who lived at the same time as Abtalion. They are known as one of the ''zuggot'' ("couples"): ''Shemaiah and Abtalion''; Shemaiah holding the title of ''nasi'', whilst Abtalion holding the office of Av Beit Din. Biography Abtalion and Shemaiah were converts to Judaism or the descendants of converts; by tradition they were descended from King Sennacherib of Assyria. Despite this, they were influential and beloved. The ''Talmud'' relates that once, when the high priest was being escorted home from the Temple by the people, at the close of a Day of Atonement, the crowd deserted him upon the approach of Abtalion and Shemaiah and followed them. However, Graetz has argued that neither Shemaiah nor Abtalion was of Gentile descent, although both were Alexandrians. According to the Mishnah, both Shemaiah and Abtali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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