|
Moses Isserles
Moses Isserles (; ; 22 February 1530 / 25 Adar I 5290 – 11 May 1572 / 18 Iyar 5332), also known by the acronym Rema, was an eminent Polish Ashkenazi rabbi, talmudist, and '' posek'' (expert in Jewish law). He is considered the "Maimonides of Polish Jewry." Biography Isserles was born in Kraków, Poland. His father, Israel ben Josef (known as Isserl), was a prominent talmudist and independently wealthy, who had probably headed the community; his grandfather, Jehiel Luria, was the first rabbi of Brisk. (In an era which preceded the common use of surnames, Moses became known by his patronymic, Isserles.) At first he studied at home, and then in Lublin under Rabbi Shalom Shachna, who would later become his father-in-law. Among his fellow pupils were his relative Solomon Luria (Maharshal)—later a major disputant of many of Isserles' halachic rulings,Mishor 2010, p. 15 and Chayyim b. Bezalel, an older brother of the Maharal. His first wife died young, at the age of 20 and ... [...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] |
Maimonides
Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah scholars of the Middle Ages. In his time, he was also a preeminent astronomer and physician, serving as the personal physician of Saladin. He was born on Passover eve 1138 or 1135, and lived in Córdoba, Spain, Córdoba in al-Andalus (now in Spain) within the Almoravid dynasty, Almoravid Empire until his family was expelled for refusing to convert to Islam. Later, he lived in Morocco and Egypt and worked as a rabbi, physician and philosopher. During his lifetime, most Jews greeted Maimonides' writings on Halakha, Jewish law and Jewish ethics, ethics with acclaim and gratitude, even as far away as Iraq and Yemen. Yet, while Maimonides rose to become the revered head of the History of the Jews in Egypt, Jewish community in Egypt, his writings also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewish culture, Jewish cultural life and was foundational to "all Jewish thought and aspirations", serving also as "the guide for the daily life" of Jews. The Talmud includes the teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis on a variety of subjects, including halakha, Jewish ethics, Jewish philosophy, philosophy, Jewish customs, customs, Jewish history, history, and Jewish folklore, folklore, and many other topics. The Talmud is a commentary on the Mishnah. This text is made up of 63 Masekhet, tractates, each covering one subject area. The language of the Talmud is Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. Talmudic tradition emerged and was compiled between the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE and the Arab conquest in the early seve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pilpul
''Pilpul'' (, loosely meaning 'sharp analysis'; ) is a method of studying the Talmud through intense textual analysis in attempts to either explain conceptual differences between various halakhic rulings or to reconcile any apparent contradictions presented from various readings of different texts. The word ''pilpul'' has entered English as a colloquialism used by some to indicate extreme disputation or casuistic hairsplitting. Sources The requirement for close derivation of the conceptual structures underlying various Jewish laws, as a regular part of one's Torah study, is described by Maimonides as follows: Other such sources include ''Pirkei Avot'', the Babylonian Talmud, Rashi, and Shneur Zalman of Liadi. Narrow definition In the narrower sense, ''pilpul'' refers to a method of conceptual extrapolation from texts in efforts to reconcile various texts or to explain fundamental differences of approach between various earlier authorities, which became popular in the late f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yeshiva
A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The studying is usually done through daily '' shiurim'' (lectures or classes) as well as in study pairs called '' chavrusas'' ( Aramaic for 'friendship' or 'companionship'). '' Chavrusa''-style learning is one of the unique features of the yeshiva. In the United States and Israel, different levels of yeshiva education have different names. In the U.S., elementary-school students enroll in a '' cheder'', post- bar mitzvah-age students learn in a '' mesivta'', and undergraduate-level students learn in a '' beit midrash'' or '' yeshiva gedola'' (). In Israel, elementary-school students enroll in a Talmud Torah or '' cheder'', post-bar mitzvah-age students learn in a ''yeshiva ketana'' (), and high-school-age students learn in a ''yeshiva gedola''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Ben Mordechai Gershon
Joseph ben Mordechai Gershon HaKohen Ka"tz (1510 in Kraków – 1591) was a kohen, a rabbi and Talmudist, who began his studies in the Talmud at an early age, and became the dean ( rosh yeshivah) at a yeshiva founded for him by his father-in-law. His views on religious questions were widely sought, while Solomon Luria was one of his correspondents. Joseph was the author of "She'erit Yosef" (Kraków, 1590), containing responsa and discussions on various rabbinical subjects, as well as a commentary on the " Mordechai" tractates Nezikin, Berakot, and Mo'ed. In the preface the author states that he published this work at the request of his sons, Tanhuma and Aaron Moses, who were members of the Jewish community of Kraków. He also corrected the manuscript from which was printed the "Aggudah" of Alexandri HaKohain of Frankfurt. Joseph is an ancestor of Miriam Wulff, wife of Daniel Itzig (1723-1799), Court Jew of Frederick the Great. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rema Synagogue
The Remah Synagogue (), is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 40 Szeroka Street, in the historic Kazimierz district of Kraków, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of Poland. Designed by Stanisław Baranek in the Renaissance and Art Nouveau styles and completed in 1557, the synagogue is named in honor of Rabbi Moses Isserles, known by the Hebrew acronym ReMA (רמ״א, pronounced RaMUH) who's famed for writing a collection of commentaries and additions that complement Rabbi Yosef Karo's ''Shulchan Aruch''. History Origins According to one popular tradition Israel ben Josef, the grandson of Moshe Auerbach of Regensburg, founded the synagogue in honor of his son Moshe Isserles, who already in his youth was famed for his erudition. A more plausible motive for the synagogue's origin stems from the Hebrew inscription on the foundation tablet that reads: Husband, Reb Israel, son of Josef of blessed memory, bound in strength, to the glory of the Eternal One ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maharal
Judah Loew ben Bezalel (; 1512 – 17 September 1609), also known as Rabbi Loew ( Löw, Loewe, Löwe or Levai), the Maharal of Prague (), or simply the Maharal (the Hebrew acronym of "''Moreinu ha-Rav Loew''", 'Our Teacher, Rabbi Loew'), was an important Talmudic scholar, Jewish mystic, mathematician, astronomer, Solomon Grayzel, ''A History of the Jews'', The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1968, pp. 484-485: "Another important personality in Prague... was Rabbi Judah-Loew ben Bezalel. Besides being a great Talmudist, he was a mathematician and astronomer. and philosopher who, for most of his life, served as a leading rabbi in the cities of Mikulov in Moravia and Prague in Bohemia. Loew wrote on Jewish philosophy and Jewish mysticism. His work ''Gur Aryeh al HaTorah'' is a supercommentary on Rashi's Torah commentary. He is also the subject of a later legend that he created the Golem of Prague, an animate being fashioned from clay. Solomon Grayzel, ''A Hist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halachic
''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are 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'' or ''Mishneh Torah''. ''Halakha'' is often translated as "Jewish law", although a more literal translation 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, widespread observance of the laws of the Torah is first in evidence beginning in the second century BCE, and some say that the first evidence was even earlier. In the Jewish diaspora, ''halakha'' served many Jewish communiti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solomon Luria
Shlomo Luria (1510 – November 7, 1573) () was one of the great Ashkenazic ''poskim'' (decisors of Jewish law) and teachers of his time. He is known for his work of Halakha, ''Yam Shel Shlomo'', and his Talmudic commentary ''Chochmat Shlomo''. Luria is also referred to as "''Maharshal''" (Hebrew abbreviation: Our Teacher, Rabbi Solomon Luria), or "''Rashal''" (Hebrew abbreviation: Rabbi Solomon Luria). Biography Luria was born in the city of Poznań (Posen), in the Kingdom of Poland. His father, Yechiel Luria, was the rabbi of the Lithuanian city of Slutzk and the son of the eminent Talmudist Miriam Luria. The Luria family claims descent from Rashi. Luria studied in Lublin under Rabbi Shalom Shachna, and later in the Ostroh yeshiva under Kalonymus Haberkasten; he later married Lipka, daughter of Rabbi Kalonymus. Students in the yeshiva included Joshua Falk. The Maharshal served as Rabbi in Brisk and various Lithuanian communities for 15 years. Around 1550, he had sever ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shalom Shachna
Shalom Shachna ( 1490 or 1510 – 1558) was a rabbi and Talmudist, and Rosh yeshiva of several great Acharonim including Moses Isserles, who was also his son-in-law. Biography Shachna was a pupil of Jacob Pollak, founder of the method of Talmudic study known as '' Pilpul''. In 1515 Shachna established the yeshiva in Lublin, which had the third largest Jewish community in Poland during that period. Shachna became famous as a teacher, and students came to Lublin from all over Europe to study there. The yeshiva became a center of learning of both Talmud and Kabbalah; the Rosh yeshiva received the title of rector and equal rights to those in Polish universities with the permission of the King in 1567. (This, as well as the great scholarship of those who studied there, have led some to refer to Lublin as "the Jewish Oxford".) Shachna was succeeded as head of Lublin Yeshiva by Solomon Luria (the ''Maharshal''). Works Only one of Shachna's writings, the treatise A treatise is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lublin
Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of the Vistula River, located southeast of Warsaw. One of the events that greatly contributed to the city's development was the Union of Krewo, Polish–Lithuanian Union of Krewo in 1385. Lublin thrived as a centre of trade and commerce due to its strategic location on the route between Vilnius and Kraków; the inhabitants had the privilege of free trade in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Lublin Sejm, Parliament session of 1569 led to the creation of a Union of Lublin, real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, thus creating the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Lublin witnessed the early stages of the Reformation in the 16th century. A Calvinist congregation wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
