“Maimonides ”

Tabrizi, Mahomet Abu-Bekr-at-ben Mahomet°

TABRIZI, MAHOMET ABU-BEKR-AT-BEN MAHOMET° (probably second half of 13th century), Persian Muslim commentator on the 25 propositions appearing at the beginning of the second part of Moses Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed. There is no information concerning Tabrizi's life. In his 25 propositions, Maimonides had presented a summary of the main doctrines of Aristotelian philosophy, which he used as the basis of his proofs for the existence, unity, and incorporeality of God... read article

Yad

YAD (Heb. יָד). The word yad, in addition to its primary meaning of "hand," has three secondary meanings in Hebrew.(1) The pointer used by the reader to indicate the place during the reading of the Torah (see *Torah Ornaments). The yad, however, of which there are many artistic designs, is more than an ornament. In order to ensure that the scroll would not be touched by the bare hands because of its sanctity, the rabbis enacted that hands which touch the scroll (see *Sefer Torah) become unclean in the second degree (Yad. 3:2 and 4:6, where Rabban Johanan b... read article

Alvin Jay Reines

REINES, ALVIN JAY (1926–2004), scholar of Jewish philosophy. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, his early education was entirely Orthodox. He graduated from the Rabbi Jacob Joseph School in Manhattan and the Talmudical Academy of New York. He then entered Yeshiva University, where he earned his B.A. in 1947. From YU, he went to New York University Law School and left before completing his degree. In a rare move for Orthodox-educated Jews of his generation who when they left the Orthodox world moved over to the Jewish Theological Seminary, Reines went to Hebrew Union College and earned his MHL and ordination in 1952. He received the Mrs. Henry Morgenthau, Jr... read article

Ibn Kammūna, Saʿd Ibn Manṣūr

IBN KAMMŪNA, SAʿD IBN MANṢŪR (c. 1215–1285), philosopher, probably an oculist, who lived in Baghdad. Possibly a state employee for a time under the pagan Mongols, Ibn Kammūna was titled ʿIzz al-Dawla; his son, who served as an official, was titled Najm al-Dawla. When his life was in danger, high Muslim officials saved him.In his studies on Islamic thought patterns (Avicenna, al-Suhrawardī, and Fakhr al-Dīn a-Rāzī) and in his use of the philosophical works of Judah Halevi and Maimonides, Ibn Kammūna's sympathies lay with the science-oriented rationalist trend of Hellenistic origin... read article

Atomism

ATOMISM, theory that physical bodies consist ultimately of minute, irreducible, and homogeneous particles called atoms (Greek atomos/atomon = indivisible). In medieval Arabic and Hebrew works atomism derives from Greek (Democritus, Epicurus) and Indian sources... read article

Ha Lahma Anya

HA LAḤMA ANYA (Aram. הָא לַחְמָא עַנְיָא; lit. "Behold the poor bread"), opening words of an introductory paragraph of the Passover *Haggadah ... read article

Noachide Laws

NOACHIDE LAWS, the seven laws considered by rabbinic tradition as the minimal moral duties enjoined by the Bible on all men (Sanh. 56–60; Yad, Melakhim, 8:10, 10:12). Jews are obligated to observe the whole Torah, while every non-Jew is a "son of the covenant of Noah" (see Gen. 9), and he who accepts its obligations is a ger-toshav ("resident-stranger" or even "semi-convert"; see Av. Zar. 64b; Maim. Yad, Melakhim 8:10). Maimonides equates the "righteous man (ḥasid) of the [gentile] nations" who has a share in the world to come even without becoming a Jew with the gentile who keeps these laws... read article

Mordecai ben Abraham Jaffe

Biography of Mordecai ben Abraham Jaffe, a talmudist, kabbalist, and communal leader... read article

Etiquette

ETIQUETTE (Heb. דֶּרֶךְ־אֶרֶץ, derekh ereẓ), the proper conduct of man at home and in society. The sages demanded of the Jew, particularly the scholar, good manners in all his activities. The rules of *derekh ereẓ are assembled in the tractates Avot, Derekh ereẓ Rabbah, and Derekh ereẓ Zuta, and are scattered throughout the Talmud and the Midrashim. A substantial number of them are set forth in Maimonides' Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot De'ot.The rules of etiquette covered every aspect of man's conduct, including the most seemingly insignificant... read article

Hassagot

HASSAGOT (Heb. הַשָּׂגוֹת), name given to rabbinic works wholly devoted to the criticism, usually negative, of earlier books. Hassagot literature is a part of a much wider literary genre, including *tosafot on the one hand, and on the other, supplements in the style of the Sefer ha-Hashlamah of *Meshullam b... read article

Jewish Concepts: Tzedakah

Relations with the Hungry, Tzedakah & Welfare Reform Tzedakah, the Jewish term for helping the poor, is often translated as "charity." However, the Hebrew root tzedek is more closely translated as "justice" or "fairness... read article

Chastity

Encyclopedia Judaica:Chastity Jewish Ethics: Table of Contents | Celibacy | Heresy CHASTITY, avoidance of illicit sexual activity. In the name of holiness, the Bible exhorts against following the abominations of "the land of Egypt in which ye have dwelt" and "of the land of Canaan into which I bring ye" (Lev. 18:3)... read article

Olam Ha-Ba

OLAM HA-BA (Heb. עוֹלָם הַבָּא). The term olam ha-ba (literally, "the coming world") in contrast to olam ha-zeh (liter-ally "this world") refers to the hereafter, which begins with the termination of man's earthly life. This meaning of the expression is clearly implied in the statement of R. Jacob, quoted in Avot (4:17): "One moment of repentance and good deeds in this world is better than the entire life of the world to come." The earliest source in which the phrase occurs is Enoch 71:15, which is dated by R.H... read article

Blemish

BLEMISH (Heb. מוּם), a defect in the body of a man or an animal. Defects of conduct are also metaphorically called blemishes (Deut. 32:5; Prov. 9:7; Job. 11:15). A blemished priest was unfit to serve in the priesthood (Lev. 21:16–23) and was precluded from approaching the altar to offer the fire-offerings. He was permitted to carry out only Temple functions not involving actual service at the altar, since he was not standing before the Lord... read article

Cosmology

Encyclopedia Judaica:Cosmology Jewish Concepts: Table of Contents | Heart | Sin Cosmological theories describe the physical structure of the universe. For cosmology in the Bible, see *Creation . In the Talmud According to R. Simeon b... read article

Punishment

While there is no modern theory of punishment that cannot, in some form or other, be traced back to biblical concepts, the original and foremost purpose of punishment in biblical law was the appeasement of God. God abhors the criminal ways of other nations (Lev. 20:23) whose practices the Israelites must not follow (ibid.) and from whose abominations they must not learn (Deut. 20:18); by violating His laws, His name is profaned (Lev. 22:31–32); and not only are criminals abhorrent to God (Deut. 18:12; 22:5; 25:16; 27:15), as well as crimes (Lev. 18:27–29), but God's own holiness obliges man to be holy like Him (Lev. 19:2)... read article

The Work of Maimonides: Passion & Compassion

Rabbi Mossei Aegypti Dux seu Director Dubitatium aut Perplexorum .... Paris, 1520, is a beautiful copy in its original binding of the first printing of the Guide [to the Perplexed] in Latin translation. The translation was not, as claimed, made by Agostino Giustiniani, Professor of Hebrew at the New College of Three Languages in Paris... read article

Jewish Philosophy

Bibliography relating to Jewish philosophy... read article

Hebrew Book Titles

BibleA number of book titles are mentioned in the Bible, i.e., "Book of the Generations of Man" (Gen. 5:1), "*Book of the *Covenant" (Ex. 24:7 etc.), "Book of the Wars of the Lord" (Num. 21:14), "Book of Jashar" (Josh. 10:13; II Sam. 1:18), and "Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Judah and Israel." The Pentateuch itself is variously named as the "Book of the Law of Moses" (Josh. 8:31) or the "Law of God" (Josh. 24:26), later becoming the *Torah in short, or Ḥamishah Ḥumshei Torah ("Five Books of the Torah") or Ḥummash... read article

Virtual Jewish World: Gerona, Spain

GERONA (Catalan, Girona; Lat. Gerunda; Heb. גירונא), city in Catalonia, northeastern Spain. The Jewish community of Gerona was the second largest in Catalonia, probably dating back to the end of the ninth century. The importance of the community was due to its numerical strength, and no less to its religious and cultural achievements. Houses in the Jewish quarter are mentioned in documents from the mid-tenth century. Jews who owned land in Gerona and its surroundings had to pay a tithe to the Church. In 1160 they were permitted to lease shops built outside the city walls... read article