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Mar 'Ukba
Mar Ukba ben Judah, also known as Mar Ukban IV (Hebrew language, Hebrew: מר עוקבא בן יהודה; early tenth century) was the Babylonia, Babylonian Exilarch from 890 until his banishment in 917 AD. He was briefly reinstated again in the year 918, however the following year he was disposed and succeeded by his contentious cousin, David ben Zakkai. Biography Born in the mid-ninth century in Baghdad, Iraq, his father Judah ben David was Exilarch from 840-857, and a fifth-generation descendant of Bostanai. Following his uncle, Zakkai ben Ahunai's death in 890, he succeeded Zakkai as Exilarch, rather than Zakkai's son David, who was deemed too controversial for the position. Mar Ukba's early years as Exilarch were relatively calm, however, following the appointment of Kohen Tzedek Kahana ben Joseph as Pumbedita Academy, Pumbedita Goan in 917, a violent controversy broke out between him and Mar Ukba, over the question of the income of the academy from the region of Khorasa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hebrew Language
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until after 200 CE and as the liturgical language of Judaism (since the Second Temple period) and Samaritanism. The language was revived as a spoken language in the 19th century, and is the only successful large-scale example of linguistic revival. It is the only Canaanite language, as well as one of only two Northwest Semitic languages, with the other being Aramaic, still spoken today. 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 '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Safwan, Iraq
Safwan (, Kurds, Kurdish: سەفووان , sêfûan) is a town in southeast Iraq on the Iraq–Kuwait border, border with Kuwait. It was the site of the Safwan Air Base. Etymology The city of Safwan is attributed to its founder Safwan bin Assal Al Muradi Al Yamani, a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad who participated in the conquest of Iraq in the middle ages. He settled in Kufa, northeast of Najaf at first but then moved to Safwan, south of Basra along with his tribe who later named the city in his name. Safwan is also part of the Az Zubayr district south of Basra and has a population of 70,000 people. History During Muhammad's era Muhammad ordered a Military expedition in Safwan. The expedition was ordered by Muhammad after he received intelligence that Kurz ibn Jabir al-Fihri rustled some grazing cattle belonging to Muslims. It occurred directly after the Invasion of Waddan in the year 2 Hijri year, AH of the Islamic calendar. The expedition was orde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exilarchs
The exilarch was the leader of the Jewish community in 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 and Arab 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 fami ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geonim
''Geonim'' (; ; also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated Gaonim, singular Gaon) were the presidents of the two great Talmudic Academies in Babylonia, Babylonian Talmudic Academies of Sura Academy , Sura and Pumbedita Academy , Pumbedita, in the Abbasid Caliphate. They were generally accepted as the spiritual leaders of the Jewish community worldwide in the early medieval era, in contrast to the ''Resh Galuta'' (exilarch) who wielded secular authority over the Jews in Islamic lands. ''Geonim'' is the plural of (''Ga'on'') , which means "pride" or "splendor" in Biblical Hebrew and since the 19th century "genius" as in modern Hebrew language, Hebrew. As a title of a Babylonian college president it meant something like "His Excellency". The ''Geonim'' played a prominent and decisive role in the transmission and teaching of Torah and Halakha, Jewish law. They taught Talmud and decided on issues on which no ruling had been rendered during the period of the Talmud. Era The per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meisel Family
The Meisel family (also Meisels and Meizels) is a distinguished Bohemian rabbinic family originally from Prague, who descend from Yitskhak Eizik Meisels (b. 1425), a paternal 10th generation descendant of the Exilarch, Mar Ukba. From the early 16th century and onward, members of the family such as Mordecai Meisel achieved great economic prominence in Prague, becoming one of the wealthiest History of the Jews in the Czech Republic, Bohemian Jewish families. It was also during this time that a branch of the family descending from Simcha Bunim Meisels (1545-1624) (the son-in-law of Moses Isserles) immigrated to Kraków, Poland due to rising Antisemitism in Bohemia. In Poland the family produced several rabbinic scholars, such as Dow Ber Meisels and Moses ben Isaac Bonems, Moses Bonems-Meisels. Among the families descendants are: Shabbatai HaKohen, Yitzchak Yaacov Reines, Simla Hadasha, Alexander Sender Shor, John von Neumann, as well as the Peshischa (Hasidic group), Peshischa, Sulitza ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francia
The Kingdom of the Franks (), also known as the Frankish Kingdom, or just Francia, was the largest History of the Roman Empire, post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks, Frankish Merovingian dynasty, Merovingian and Carolingian dynasty, Carolingian dynasties during the Early Middle Ages. Francia was among the last surviving Germanic kingdoms from the Migration Period era. Originally, the core Frankish territories inside the former Western Roman Empire were located close to the Rhine and Meuse rivers in the north, but Frankish chiefs such as Chlodio would eventually expand their influence within Roman territory as far as the Somme (river), Somme river in the 5th century. Childeric I, a Salian Franks, Salian Frankish king, was one of several military leaders commanding Roman forces of various ethnic affiliations in the northern part of what is now France. His son, Clovis I, succeeded in unifying most of Gaul under his rule in the 6th century by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parashah
The term ''parashah'', ''parasha'' or ''parashat'' ( ''Pārāšâ'', "portion", Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian , Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardi , plural: ''parashot'' or ''parashiyot'', also called ''parsha'') formally means a section of a biblical book in the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). In common usage today the word often refers to the weekly Torah portion (a shortened form of ''Parashat HaShavua''). This article deals with the first, formal meaning of the word. In the Masoretic Text, ''parashah'' sections are designated by various types of spacing between them, as found in Torah scrolls, scrolls of the books of Nevi'im or Ketuvim (especially the five megillot, Megillot), masoretic codex, codices from the Middle Ages and printed editions of the masoretic text. The division of the text into ''parashot'' for the biblical books is independent of Chapters and verses of the Bible, chapter and verse numbers, which are not part of the masoretic tradition. ''Parashot'' are not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torah Ark
A Torah ark (also known as the ''hekhal'', , or ''aron qodesh'', ) is an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark is also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' () or ''aron ha-Kodesh'' ('holy ark') in Ashkenazi communities and as the '' Hekhal'' ('sanctuary') among Sefardi communities. The name ''Aron Kodesh'' is a reference to the Ark of the Covenant, which was stored in the Holy of Holies in the inner sanctuaries of both the ancient Tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem. Similarly, ''Hekhál'' ( 'palace'; also written ''hechal'', ''echal'', ''heichal'' or ''Echal Kodesh''—mainly among Balkan Sephardim) was used in the same time period to refer to the inner sanctuary. The ''hekhal'' contained the Menorah, Altar of Incense and Table of the Showbread. Customs and location In some ancient synagogues, such as the fifth-century synagogue in Susya, the Torah scroll was not placed inside the synagogue at all, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kairouan Synagogue
The Kairouan Synagogue () is a former Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Kairouan, Tunisia. The synagogue operated from 1920 until the 1970s. History The city of Kairouan had a large Jewish community, which was formed when the city was founded. Kairouan is indeed the seat of the yeshiva of Kairouan, considered as the first important talmudic academy in North Africa and which was closely linked to the yeshivot of Babylonia. However, the community left Kairouan for other towns in Tunisia following its expulsion by the Almohads in the mid 1100s, after many Jews who refused to convert to Islam were killed. Under the dominance of the Hafsid dynasty in the late 1200s, the situation of the Jews in Kairouan improved notably, but it did not have the same splendor of its golden age. The Jewish community of Kairouan was formed again during the French Protectorate of Tunisia, and it was not until 1920 that the city returned to have its vibrant Jewish past with the inauguration of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Davidic Line
The Davidic line refers to the descendants of David, who established the House of David ( ) in the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah. In Judaism, the lineage is based on texts from the Hebrew Bible, as well as on later Jewish history, Jewish traditions. According to the biblical narrative, David of the tribe of Judah engaged in a protracted conflict with Ish-bosheth of the Tribe of Benjamin after the latter succeeded his father Saul to become the second king of an amalgamated History of ancient Israel and Judah, Israel and Judah. Amidst this struggle, Yahweh had sent his prophet Samuel to anoint David as the true king of the Israelites. Following Ish-bosheth's assassination at the hands of his own army captains, David officially acceded to the throne around 1010 BCE, replacing the House of Saul with his own and becoming the Israelite third king. He was succeeded by his son Solomon, whose mother was Bathsheba. Solomon's death led to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares maritime borders with Italy through the islands of Sicily and Sardinia to the north and Malta to the east. It features the archaeological sites of Carthage dating back to the 9th century BC, as well as the Great Mosque of Kairouan. Known for its ancient architecture, Souks of Tunis, souks, and blue coasts, it covers , and has a population of 12.1 million. It contains the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains and the northern reaches of the Sahara desert; much of its remaining territory is arable land. Its of coastline includes the African conjunction of the western and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Basin. Tunisia is home to Africa's northernmost point, Cape Angela. Located on the northeastern coast, Tunis is the capital and List of cities ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kairouan
Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( , ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by the Umayyads around 670, in the period of Caliph Mu'awiya (reigned 661–680); this is when it became an important centre for Sunni Islamic scholarship and Quranic learning, attracting Muslims from various parts of the world. The Mosque of Uqba is situated in the city.Europa Publications "General Survey: Holy Places" ''The Middle East and North Africa 2003'', p. 147. Routledge, 2003. . "The city is regarded as a holy place for Muslims." Etymology The name ( ''al-Qayrawān'') is an Arabic word meaning "military group" or "caravan", borrowed early on from the Middle Persian word ''kārawān'' (modern Persian ''kârvân''), meaning "military column" (''kâr'' "people/military" + ''vân'' "outpost") or " caravan" (see caravanserai). In Berber, the city used to be called ''Tikirwan'', thought to be an adaptatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
