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Devekut
Devekut, debekuth, deveikuth or deveikus ( Heb. דבקות; Mod. Heb. "dedication", traditionally "clinging on" to God) is a Jewish concept referring to closeness to God. It may refer to a deep, trance-like meditative state attained during Jewish prayer, Torah study, or when performing the 613 mitzvot (the "commandments"). It is particularly associated with the Jewish mystical tradition. Etymology דבק, or ''deveq'', the modern Hebrew word for glue, literally means 'to cling'. It is sometimes referred to as ''devequt'', "dvequt" or ''devequs''. The concept of Devequt is important in Jewish culture, particularly in Hasidism and in the history of Jewish thought, mysticism, and ethics. In modern Israeli Hebrew, "Devequt" or "dvequt" is also often a synonym for dedication toward a particular goal. In religious Judaism and in academia, "Dvequt" refers most commonly to the philosophical, mystical and Hasidic understanding of "Devequt" as "cleaving" or "attaching oneself" to God i ...
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Hasidic Philosophy
Hasidic philosophy or Hasidism ( he, חסידות), alternatively transliterated as Hasidut or Chassidus, consists of the teachings of the Hasidic movement, which are the teachings of the Hasidic ''rebbes'', often in the form of commentary on the Torah (the Five books of Moses) and Kabbalah ( Jewish mysticism). Hasidism deals with a range of spiritual concepts such as God, the soul, and the Torah, dealing with esoteric matters but often making them understandable, applicable and finding practical expressions. With the spread of Hasidism throughout Ukraine, Galicia, Poland, and Russia, divergent schools emerged within Hasidism. Some schools place more stress on intellectual understanding of the Divine, others on the emotional connection with the Divine. Some schools stress specific traits or exhibit behavior not common to other schools. Most if not all schools of Hasidic Judaism stress the central role of the Tzadik, or spiritual and communal leader, in the life of the individual ...
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Tanya (Judaism)
The ''Tanya'' () is an early work of Hasidic philosophy, by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Hasidism, first published in 1796. Its formal title is ''Likkutei Amarim'' (, Hebrew language, Hebrew, "collection of statements"), but is more commonly known by its first Hebrew word ''tanya'', which means "it has been taught", where he refers to a baraita section in Niddah (Talmud), "Niddah", at the end of chapter 3, 30b. Tanya is composed of five sections that define Hasidic mystical psychology and theology as a handbook for daily spiritual life in Jewish observance. The ''Tanya'' is the main work of the Chabad philosophy and the Chabad approach to Jewish mysticism, Hasidic mysticism, as it defines its general interpretation and method. The subsequent extensive library of the Chabad school, authored by successive leaders, builds upon the approach of the Tanya. Chabad differed from "Mainstream Hasidism" in its search for philosophical investigation and intellectu ...
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Jewish Mysticism
Academic study of Jewish mysticism, especially since Gershom Scholem's ''Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism'' (1941), distinguishes between different forms of mysticism across different eras of Jewish history. Of these, Kabbalah, which emerged in 12th-century Europe, is the most well known, but not the only typologic form, or the earliest to emerge. Among previous forms were Merkabah mysticism (c. 100 BCE – 1000 CE), and Ashkenazi Hasidim (early 13th century) around the time of Kabbalistic emergence. Kabbalah means "received tradition", a term previously used in other Judaic contexts, but which the Medieval Kabbalists adopted for their own doctrine to express the belief that they were not innovating, but merely revealing the ancient hidden esoteric tradition of the Torah. This issue is crystallised until today by alternative views on the origin of the Zohar, the main text of Kabbalah which was written by Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai who opened up the study of Jewish Mysticism. T ...
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Hebrew Language
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved throughout history as the main liturgical language of Judaism (since the Second Temple period) and Samaritanism. Hebrew is the only Canaanite language still spoken today, and serves as the only truly successful example of a dead language that has been revived. It is also one of only two Northwest Semitic languages still in use, with the other being Aramaic. The earliest examples of written Paleo-Hebrew date back to the 10th century BCE. Nearly all of the Hebrew Bible is written in Biblical Hebrew, with much of its present form in the dialect that scholars believe flourished around the 6th century BCE, during the time of the Babylonian captivity. For this reason, Hebrew has been referred to by Jews as '' Lashon Hakodesh'' (, ) since an ...
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Shneur Zalman Of Liadi
Shneur Zalman of Liadi ( he, שניאור זלמן מליאדי, September 4, 1745 – December 15, 1812 Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe, O.S. / 18 Elul 5505 – 24 Tevet 5573) was an influential Lithuanian Jews, Lithuanian Jewish rabbi and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Hasidic Judaism, then based in Lyady, Vitebsk Region, Liadi in Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later in the Lithuania Governorate, Grodno Governorate of the Russian Empire. He was the author of many works, and is best known for ''Shulchan Aruch HaRav'', ''Tanya (Judaism), Tanya'', and his ''Siddur Torah Or'' compiled according to the ''Nusach Ari''. Zalman (name), Zalman is a Yiddish variant of Solomon and Shneur (or Shne'or) is a Yiddish composite of the two Hebrew words "shnei ohr" (שני אור "two lights"). Zalman of Liady is also known as "Shneur Zalman Baruchovitch," Baruchovitch being the Russian patronymic from his father Baruch, and by a variety of other t ...
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Four Worlds
The Four Worlds ( he, עולמות ''Olamot'', singular: ''Olam'' עולם), sometimes counted with a prior stage to make Five Worlds, are the comprehensive categories of spiritual realms in Kabbalah in the Seder hishtalshelus, descending chain of Existence. The concept of "Worlds" denotes the emanation of Ohr, creative lifeforce from the Ein Sof Divine Infinite, through progressive, innumerable tzimtzumim (concealments/veilings/condensations). As particular sefirot dominate in each realm, so the primordial fifth World, Adam Kadmon, is often excluded for its transcendence, and the four subsequent Worlds are usually referred to. Their names are read out from Isaiah 43:7, "Every one that is called by My name and for ''My glory'', I have ''created'', I have ''formed'', even I have ''made''" each elucidating the names Atziluth ("Emanation/Close"), Beri'ah, Beriah ("Creation"), Yetzirah ("Formation"), and Assiah, Asiyah ("Action"). Below Asiyah, the lowest spiritual World, is ''Asiya ...
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Tetragrammaton
The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew language, Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', ''he (letter), he'', ''waw (letter), waw'', and ''he''. The name may be derived from a verb that means "to be", "to exist", "to cause to become", or "to come to pass".Translation notes for While there is no consensus about the structure and etymology of the name, the form ''Yahweh'' is now accepted almost universally, though the vocalization ''Jehovah'' continues to have wide usage. The books of the Torah and the rest of the Hebrew Bible except Book of Esther, Esther, Ecclesiastes, and (with Tetragrammaton#Texts with similar theonyms, a possible instance of the Jah, short form in verse 8:6) the Song of Songs contain this Hebrew language, Hebrew name. Observant Jews and those who follow Talmudic Jewish traditions do not pronounce nor do they re ...
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Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved throughout history as the main liturgical language of Judaism (since the Second Temple period) and Samaritanism. Hebrew is the only Canaanite language still spoken today, and serves as the only truly successful example of a dead language that has been revived. It is also one of only two Northwest Semitic languages still in use, with the other being Aramaic. The earliest examples of written Paleo-Hebrew date back to the 10th century BCE. Nearly all of the Hebrew Bible is written in Biblical Hebrew, with much of its present form in the dialect that scholars believe flourished around the 6th century BCE, during the time of the Babylonian captivity. For this reason, Hebrew has been referred to by Jews as '' Lashon Hakodesh'' (, ) since an ...
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Teshuvah
Repentance ( he, תשובה, literally, "return", pronounced ''tshuva'' or ''teshuva'') is one element of atoning for sin in Judaism. Judaism recognizes that everybody sins on occasion, but that people can stop or minimize those occasions in the future by repenting for past transgressions. Thus, the primary purpose of repentance in Judaism is ethical self transformation.Telushkin, Joseph. ''A Code of Jewish Ethics: Volume 1 - You Shall Be Holy''. New York: Bell Tower, 2006. p. 152-173. A Jewish penitent is traditionally known as a ''baal teshuva''. A ''baal teshuva'' is even more revered in the Jewish tradition than a tzadik, righteous person. Repentance and creation According to the Talmud, God created repentance before He created the physical universe, making it among the first things created. ('' Nedarim'' 39b). Scherman, Nosson. "An Overview - Day of Atonement and Purity." An Overview. ''The Complete ArtScroll Machzor: Yom Kippur''. By Scherman. Trans. Scherman. Brooklyn, ...
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Musar Literature
Musar literature is didactic Jewish ethical literature which describes virtues and vices and the path towards character improvement. This literature gives the name to the Musar movement, in 19th century Lithuania, but this article considers such literature more broadly. Definition Musar literature is often described as "ethical literature." Professor Geoffrey Claussen describes it as "Jewish literature that discusses virtue and character." Professors Isaiah Tishby and Joseph Dan have described it as "prose literature that presents to a wide public views, ideas, and ways of life in order to shape the everyday behavior, thought, and beliefs of this public." Musar literature traditionally depicts the nature of moral and spiritual perfection in a methodical way. It is "divided according to the component parts of the ideal righteous way of life; the material is treated methodically – analyzing, explaining, and demonstrating how to achieve each moral virtue (usually treated in a ...
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Halachic
''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandments ('' mitzvot''), subsequent Talmudic and rabbinic laws, and the customs and traditions which were compiled in the many books such as the ''Shulchan Aruch''. ''Halakha'' is often translated as "Jewish law", although a more literal translation of it might be "the way to behave" or "the way of walking". The word is derived from the root which means "to behave" (also "to go" or "to walk"). ''Halakha'' not only guides religious practices and beliefs, it also guides numerous aspects of day-to-day life. Historically, in the Jewish diaspora, ''halakha'' served many Jewish communities as an enforceable avenue of law – both civil and religious, since no differentiation of them exists in classical Judaism. Since the Jewish Enlightenment (''Hask ...
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