|
Poseḳim
In Jewish law, a ''Posek'' ( he, פוסק , pl. ''poskim'', ) is a legal scholar who determines the position of ''halakha'', the Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah in cases of Jewish law where previous authorities are inconclusive, or in those situations where no clear ''halakhic'' precedent exists. The decision of a posek is known as a ''psak halakha'' ("ruling of law"; pl. ''piskei halakha'') or simply a "psak". ''Piskei halakha'' are generally recorded in the responsa literature. Orthodox Judaism Poskim play an integral role in Orthodox Judaism. * Generally, each community will regard one of its ''poskim'' as its ''Posek HaDor'' ("Posek of the present Generation"). * Most rely on the rav in their community (in Hasidic communities, sometimes the rebbe) or the leading posek. Poskim will generally not overrule a specific law unless based on an earlier authority: a posek will generally extend a law to new situations but will not ''change'' the Ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halakha
''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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mara D'atra
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Pharisaic (167 BCE–73 CE) and Talmudic (70–640 CE) eras, when learned teachers assembled to codify Judaism's written and oral laws. The title "rabbi" was first used in the first century CE. In more recent centuries, the duties of a rabbi became increasingly influenced by the duties of the Protestant Christian minister, hence the title "pulpit rabbis", and in 19th-century Germany and the United States rabbinic activities including sermons, pastoral counseling, and representing the community to the outside, all increased in importance. Within the various Jewish denominations, there are different requirements for rabbinic ordination, and differences in opinion regarding who is recognized as a rabbi. For exam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vilna Gaon
Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, ( he , ר' אליהו בן שלמה זלמן ''Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman'') known as the Vilna Gaon (Yiddish: דער װילנער גאון ''Der Vilner Gaon'', pl, Gaon z Wilna, lt, Vilniaus Gaonas) or Elijah of Vilna, or by his Hebrew acronym HaGra ("HaGaon Rabbenu Eliyahu": "The sage, our teacher, Elijah"; Sialiec, April 23, 1720Vilnius October 9, 1797), was a Lithuanian Jewish Talmudist, halakhist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of misnagdic (non- hasidic) Jewry of the past few centuries. He is commonly referred to in Hebrew as ''ha-Gaon he-Chasid mi-Vilna'', "the pious genius from Vilnius". Through his annotations and emendations of Talmudic and other texts, he became one of the most familiar and influential figures in rabbinic study since the Middle Ages. He is considered as one of the ''Acharonim'', and by some as one of the ''Rishonim''. Large groups of people, including many ''yeshivas'', uphold the set of Judaism, Jewish customs an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yechezkel Landau
Yechezkel ben Yehuda HaLevi Landau (8 October 1713 – 29 April 1793) was an influential authority in halakha (Jewish law). He is best known for the work ''Noda Biyhudah'' (נודע ביהודה), by which title he is also known. Biography Landau was born in Opatów, Poland, to a family that traced its lineage back to Rashi, and attended ''yeshiva'' at Ludmir and Brody. In Brody, he was appointed dayan (rabbinical judge) in 1734. In 1745 Landau became rabbi of Yampol. While in Yampol, he attempted to mediate between Jacob Emden and Jonathan Eybeschütz in a debate— "The Emden-Eybeschütz Controversy"—that "had disrupted Jewish communal life for many years". Emden had accused Eybeschuetz of being a crypto Sabbatean, primarily based on amulets Eybeschuetz had written, which Emden believed contained Sabbatean kabbalah. Landau proposed a compromise, in which all amulets allegedly written by Eybeschuetz would be hidden away, and Eybeschuetz would accept to refrain from producin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avraham Gombiner
Abraham Abele Gombiner () (c. 1635 – 5 October 1682), known as the Magen Avraham, born in Gąbin (Gombin), Poland, was a rabbi, Talmudist and a leading religious authority in the Jewish community of Kalisz, Poland during the seventeenth century. His full name is Avraham Abele ben Chaim HaLevi from the town of Gombin. There are texts that list his family name as Kalisz after the city of his residence. After his parents were killed in the Chmielnicki massacres of 1648, he moved to live and study with his relative in Leszno, Jacob Isaac Gombiner. From there he moved to Kalisz where he was appointed as Rosh Yeshiva and judge in the tribunal of Rabbi Israel Spira (who was a son of Rabbi Nathan Nata Spira). He is known to scholars of Judaism for his ''Magen Avraham'' commentary on the ''Orach Chayim'' section of Rabbi Joseph Karo's ''Shulchan Aruch'', which he began writing in 1665 and finished in 1671. His brother Yehudah traveled in 1673 to Amsterdam to print the work, but did no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sabbatai Ha-Kohen
Shabbatai ben Meir HaKohen ( he, שבתי בן מאיר הכהן; 1621–1662) was a noted 17th century talmudist and halakhist. He became known as the ''Shakh'' ( he, ש"ך), which is an abbreviation of his most important work, ''Siftei Kohen'' ( he, שפתי כהן) (literally ''Lips of the Priest'') on the Shulchan Aruch. Biography Shabbatai HaKohen was born either in Amstibovo or in Vilna, Lithuania in 1621 and died at Holleschau, Moravia on the 1st of Adar, 1662. He first studied with his father and in 1633 he entered the yeshivah of Rabbi Joshua Höschel ben Joseph at Tykotzin, moving later to Cracow and Lublin, where he studied under Naphtali Cohen. Returning to Vilna, he married the daughter of the wealthy Shimon Wolf, a great-grandson of Moses Isserles, and shortly after was appointed to the Beit Din as one of the assistants of Moses ben Isaac Judah Lima, author of '' Chelkat Mechokek''. In 1655, during fighting between Polish forces and the invading Swedish army i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David HaLevi Segal
David ha-Levi Segal (c. 1586 – 20 February 1667), also known as the Turei Zahav (abbreviated Taz ()) after the title of his significant ''halakhic'' commentary on the ''Shulchan Aruch'', was one of the greatest Polish rabbinical authorities. Biography Born in Ludmir, Volhynia, Segal was the son of Samuel ha-Levi Segal. His chief Torah teacher was his older brother, Isaac HaLevi Segal. He became a reputed Talmudic scholar, and married the daughter of Rabbi Joel Sirkis of Brest who was also known as the Bach (ב"ח), and quoted his father-in-law frequently in his works. He was also a Mohel. After residing with his father-in-law and continuing his Torah studies for several years, Segal and his family moved to Kraków. He was then appointed chief rabbi of Potelych (Polish: Potylicz), near Rava, where he lived in great poverty. Later he went to Poznań, where he remained for several years. Around 1641 he became rabbi of the old community of Ostrog, (or Ostroh), in Volhynia. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoel Sirkis
Joel ben Samuel Sirkis (Hebrew: רבי יואל בן שמואל סירקיש; born 1561 - March 14, 1640) also known as the Bach (an abbreviation of his magnum opus BAyit CHadash), was a prominent Ashkenazi posek and halakhist, who lived in central Europe and held rabbinical positions in Belz, Brest-Litovsk and Kraków, and is considered to be one of the greatest Talmudic scholars of Poland. He is known for his liberal rulings in his responsum in which he challenges the rabbinic status quo. Biography Born in Lublin, Poland in 1561, his father Samuel Sirkis was a rabbi in Lublin and his mother Sarah Jaffe was a member of the Jaffe family, through her father Moses Jaffe of Kraków, making Mordecai Jaffe, the Bach's second cousin. At age fourteen he went to the yeshiva of Naftali Zvi Hirsch Schor, a leading student of Moses Isserles. After remaining there for some time he went to Brest-Litovsk, where he attended the yeshiva of Rabbi Phoebus. While still in his youth, he was invited ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toledot Ha-Poskim
Toledot, Toldot, Toldos, or Toldoth (—Hebrew for "generations" or "descendants," the second word and the first distinctive word in the '' parashah'') is the sixth weekly Torah portion (, ''parashah'') in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. The parashah tells of the conflict between Jacob and Esau, Isaac's passing off his wife Rebekah as his sister, and Isaac's blessing of his sons. It constitutes . The parashah is made up of 5,426 Hebrew letters, 1,432 Hebrew words, 106 verses, and 173 lines in a Torah Scroll (, '' Sefer Torah''). Jews read it the sixth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in November, or rarely in early December. Readings In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or , '' aliyot''. In the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), Parashat Toledot has two "open portion" (, ''petuchah'') divisions (roughly equivalent to paragraphs, often abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (''peh'')). Parashat Toledot has thr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Conference Of American Rabbis
The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), founded in 1889 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the principal organization of Reform rabbis in the United States and Canada. The CCAR is the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in the world. Its current president is Lewis Kamrass. Rabbi Hara Person is the Chief Executive. Overview The CCAR primarily consists of rabbis educated at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, located in Cincinnati, Ohio, New York City, Los Angeles, and Jerusalem. The CCAR also offers membership to those who have graduated in Europe from the Leo Baeck College in London (United Kingdom) and the Abraham Geiger College at the University of Potsdam (Germany), and others who joined the Reform movement after being ordained. Most of the last group graduated from either the Conservative Jewish Theological Seminary or the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. The CCAR issues responsa, resolutions, and platforms, but in keeping with the princi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Jacob
Walter Jacob (born 1930) is an American Reform rabbi who was born in Augsburg, Germany, and immigrated to the United States in 1940. He received his B.A. from Drury College (Springfield, Missouri, 1950) and ordination and an M.H.L. from Hebrew Union College in 1955. He earned his D.H.L. in 1961 from HUC-JIR, which also granted him an honorary D.D. in 1975; he also received a D.D. from Drury College in 1990. Augsburg honored him with a special award in 2014. Immediately following ordination, Jacob was named assistant rabbi at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, under Rabbi Solomon Freehof. He served as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force in the Philippines during the years 1955–57. In 1966, Jacob succeeded Freehof as senior rabbi, becoming emeritus in 1997. He was adjunct professor at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (1968–74). In 1990 he along with a small group re-established Liberal Judaism in Germany. For several years he served as the Honorary Lib ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solomon Freehof
Solomon Bennett Freehof (August 8, 1892 – 1990) was a prominent Reform rabbi, posek, and scholar. Rabbi Freehof served as president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Beginning in 1955, he led the CCAR's work on Jewish law through its responsa committee. He also spearheaded changes to Reform liturgy with revisions to the ''Union Prayer Book'' (siddur). For many years, he served as the pulpit rabbi at Rodef Shalom in Pittsburgh, PA. According to the congregation, "For more than 35 years, Dr. Freehof's weekly book review series attracted audiences of more than 1,500 Christians and Jews."Rodef Shalom Congregation, Pittsburgh, PA - More information ...
|
