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Tzava’at HaRivash
Tzavaat HaRivash (Hebrew: , "Testament of the Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem") is a book of collected teachings from the Baal Shem Tov regarding Divine service, personal refinement, and understanding the Divine. The title of the book is derived from the opening words of its first teaching.Preface to Tzavaat HaRivash for the New Edition, by Rabbi Jacob Immanuel Schochet. (Hebrew) The work was not penned by the Baal Shem Tov himself, but rather compiled by his disciples and followers. Teachings Subduing physical desires and the evil inclination The book calls for a high degree of self-mastery. In repeated instances, the Baal Shem Tov urges constant attachment to the Divine and separation from unnecessary physical matters. Even when involved with worldly affairs, one should consider the higher worlds to be his true home and long to return there as soon as the necessary business is finished. Although the book was written for those who still felt attachment to physical desires, it teaches ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baal Shem Tov
Israel ben Eliezer (According to a forged document from the "Kherson Geniza", accepted only by Chabad, he was born in October 1698. Some Hasidic traditions place his birth as early as 1690, while Simon Dubnow and other modern scholars argue for a date around 1700. –1760), known as the Baal Shem Tov (; ) or BeShT (), was a Jewish mystic and healer who is regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism. A ''baal shem tov'' is a "Master of the Good Name," that is, one able to work miracles using the secret name of God. Other sources explain his sobriquet as arising from a reputation of being a saintly, or superior, Baal Shem "miracle-worker", hence he was given the nickname Baal Shem ''Tov'', the "good Baal Shem". Biographical information about the Baal Shem Tov comes from contemporary documents from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the legendary traditions about his life and behavior collected in the ''Praise of the Besht'' (). A central tenet of the teachings associa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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, "collection of statements") but is more commonly known by its first word (''tanya''), which in Aramaic means "it has been taught". Zalman is referring to a baraita in "Niddah" chapter 3 in the word’s first usage. The ''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 Chabad philosophy and the Chabad approach to 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 by its philosophical investigation and intellectual analysis of Hasidic Torah exegesis. Thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tree Of Knowledge Of Good And Evil
In Christianity and Judaism, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (, ; ) is one of two specific trees in the story of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2–3, along with the tree of life. Alternatively, some scholars have argued that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is just another name for the tree of life. In Genesis Narrative Genesis 2 narrates that God places the man, Adam, in a garden with trees whose fruits he may eat, but forbids him to eat from "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil". God forms a woman, Eve, after this command is given. In Genesis 3, a serpent persuades Eve to eat from its forbidden fruit and she also lets Adam taste it. Consequently, God expels them from the garden. Unlike the tree of life, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil does not appear anywhere else in the Hebrew Bible or in other ancient Semitic cultures. However, the phrase "knowledge of good and evil" does appear elsewhere in the Bible (e.g., and ). Meaning of ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siddur
A siddur ( ''sīddūr'', ; plural siddurim ) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.' Other terms for prayer books are ''tefillot'' () among Sephardi Jews, ''tefillah'' among German Jews, and ''tiklāl'' () among Yemenite Jews. History The earliest parts of Jewish prayer books are the '' Shema Yisrael'' ("Hear O Israel") (Deuteronomy 6:4 ''et seq'') and the Priestly Blessing ( Numbers 6:24-26), which are in the Torah. A set of eighteen (currently nineteen) blessings called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' or the ''Amidah'' (Hebrew, "standing rayer), is traditionally ascribed to the Great Assembly in the time of Ezra, at the end of the biblical period. The name ''Shemoneh Esreh'', literally "eighteen", is a historical anachronism, since it now contains nineteen blessings. It was only near the end of the Second Temple period that the eighteen prayers of the weekday Amidah became standardized. Even at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of Biblical Hebrew, Hebrew religious hymns. In the Judaism, Jewish and Western Christianity, Western Christian traditions, there are 150 psalms, and several more in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian churches. The book is divided into five sections, each ending with a doxology, a hymn of praise. There are several types of psalms, including hymns or songs of praise, communal and individual laments, royal psalms, Imprecatory Psalms, imprecation, and individual thanksgivings. The book also includes psalms of communal thanksgiving, wisdom, pilgrimage and other categories. Many of the psalms contain attributions to the name of David, King David and other Biblical figures including Asaph (biblical figure), Asaph, the Korahites, sons of Kora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schneur Zalman Of Liadi
Shneur Zalman of Liadi, (; September 4, 1745 – December 15, 1812 O.S. / 18 Elul 5505 – 24 Tevet 5573) commonly known as the Alter Rebbe or Baal Hatanya, was a rabbi and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Hasidic Judaism. He wrote many works and is best known for '' Shulchan Aruch HaRav'', '' Tanya'', and his '' Siddur Torah Or'', compiled according to the '' Nusach Ari''. Names 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"). He is also known as Shneur Zalman Baruchovitch, using the Russian patronymic of his father Baruch, and by a variety of other titles and acronyms including "Baal HaTanya VeHaShulchan Aruch'" ("Author of the Tanya and the Shulchan Aruch"), "Alter Rebbe" (Yiddish for "Old Rabbi"), " Admor HaZaken" (Hebrew for ″Our Old Master and Teacher″), "Rabbenu HaZaken" (Hebrew for "Our Old Rabbi"), "Rabbenu HaGadol" (Hebrew for "Our Great R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maggid Of Mezritch
Dov Ber ben Avraham of Mezeritch (; died December 4, 1772 O.S.), also known as the ''Maggid of Mezeritch'' or ''Mezeritcher Maggid'', was a disciple of Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (the Baal Shem Tov), the founder of Hasidic Judaism, and was chosen as his successor to lead the early movement. Dov Ber is regarded as the first systematic exponent of the mystical philosophy underlying the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, and through his teaching and leadership, the main architect of the movement.see Kaufmann Kohler & Louis Ginzberg"Baer (Dov) of Meseritz" ''Jewish Encyclopedia'', retrieved May 20, 2006 He established his base in Mezhirichi (in Volhynia), which moved the centre of Hasidism from Medzhybizh (in Podolia), where he focused his attention on raising a close circle of disciples to spread the movement. After his death the third generation of leadership took their different interpretations and disseminated across appointed regions of Eastern Europe, rapidly spreading Hasidism b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, 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 Sacred language, liturgical language of Judaism (since the Second Temple period) and Samaritanism. The language was Revival of the Hebrew language, revived as a spoken language in the 19th century, and is the only successful large-scale example of Language revitalization, 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 alphabet, 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 flourish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yiddish
Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with many elements taken from Hebrew language, Hebrew (notably Mishnaic Hebrew, Mishnaic) and to some extent Aramaic. Most varieties of Yiddish include elements of Slavic languages and the vocabulary contains traces of Romance languages.Aram Yardumian"A Tale of Two Hypotheses: Genetics and the Ethnogenesis of Ashkenazi Jewry".University of Pennsylvania. 2013. Yiddish has traditionally been written using the Hebrew alphabet. Prior to World War II, there were 11–13 million speakers. 85% of the approximately 6 million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust were Yiddish speakers,Solomon Birnbaum, ''Grammatik der jiddischen Sprache'' (4., erg. Aufl., Hamburg: Buske, 1984), p. 3. leading to a massive decline in the use of the language. Jewish ass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maggid Of Mezeritch
Dov Ber ben Avraham of Mezeritch (; died December 4, 1772 O.S.), also known as the ''Maggid of Mezeritch'' or ''Mezeritcher Maggid'', was a disciple of Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (the Baal Shem Tov), the founder of Hasidic Judaism, and was chosen as his successor to lead the early movement. Dov Ber is regarded as the first systematic exponent of the mystical philosophy underlying the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, and through his teaching and leadership, the main architect of the movement.see Kaufmann Kohler & Louis Ginzberg"Baer (Dov) of Meseritz" ''Jewish Encyclopedia'', retrieved May 20, 2006 He established his base in Mezhirichi (in Volhynia), which moved the centre of Hasidism from Medzhybizh (in Podolia), where he focused his attention on raising a close circle of disciples to spread the movement. After his death the third generation of leadership took their different interpretations and disseminated across appointed regions of Eastern Europe, rapidly spreading Hasidism b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hasidic Literature
Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those affiliated with the movement, known as ''hassidim'', reside in Israel and in the United States (mostly Brooklyn and the Hudson Valley). Israel Ben Eliezer, the "Baal Shem Tov", is regarded as its founding father, and his disciples developed and disseminated it. Present-day Hasidism is a sub-group within Haredi Judaism and is noted for its religious conservatism and social seclusion. Its members aim to adhere closely both to Orthodox Jewish practice – with the movement's own unique emphases – and the prewar lifestyle of Eastern European Jews. Many elements of the latter, including various special styles of dress and the use of the Yiddish language, are nowadays associated almost exclusively with Hasidism. Hasidic thought draws heavily on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jewish Mystical Texts
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly interrelated, as Judaism is their ethnic religion, though it is not practiced by all ethnic Jews. Despite this, religious Jews regard converts to Judaism as members of the Jewish nation, pursuant to the long-standing conversion process. The Israelites emerged from the pre-existing Canaanite peoples to establish Israel and Judah in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. John Day (2005), ''In Search of Pre-Exilic Israel'', Bloomsbury Publishing, pp. 47.5 8'In this sense, the emergence of ancient Israel is viewed not as the cause of the demise of Canaanite culture but as its upshot'. Originally, Jews referred to the inhabitants of the kingdom of JudahCf. Marcus Jastrow's ''Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Babli, Talmud Yerushalmi and Mid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
