The Mishnah or the Mishna is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. It is also the first major work of rabbinic literature. The Mishnah was redacted by Judah ha-Nasi probably in Beit Shearim or Sepphoris between the ending of the second century and the beginning of the 3rd century CE in a time when the persecution of Jews and the passage of time raised the possibility that the details of the oral traditions of the Pharisees from the Second Temple period would be forgotten.
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 modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewish cultural life and was foundational to "all Jewish thought and aspirations", serving also as "the guide for the daily life" of Jews.
Amoraim refers to Jewish scholars of the period from about 200 to 500 CE, who "said" or "told over" the teachings of the Oral Torah. They were primarily located in Babylonia and the Land of Israel. Their legal discussions and debates were eventually codified in the Gemara. The Amoraim followed the Tannaim in the sequence of ancient Jewish scholars. The Tannaim were direct transmitters of uncodified oral tradition; the Amoraim expounded upon and clarified the oral law after its initial codification.
Shlomo ben Avraham ibn Aderet was a medieval rabbi, halakhist, and Talmudist. He is widely known as the Rashba, the Hebrew acronym of his title and name: Rabbi Shlomo ben Avraham.
Ḥiyya bar Abba, Ḥiyya bar Ba, or Ḥiyya bar Wa was a third-generation amoraic sage of the Land of Israel, of priestly descent, who flourished at the end of the third century.
Talmud Torah schools were created in the Jewish world, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, as a form of religious school for boys of modest backgrounds, where they were given an elementary education in Hebrew, the scriptures, and the Talmud. This was meant to prepare them for yeshiva or, particularly in the movement's modern form, for Jewish education at a high school level. The Talmud Torah was modeled after the cheder, a traditional form of schooling whose essential elements it incorporated, with changes appropriate to its public form rather than the cheder's private financing through less formal or institutionalized mechanisms, including tuition fees and donations.
Tetzaveh, Tetsaveh, T'tzaveh, or T'tzavveh is the 20th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the eighth in the Book of Exodus. The parashah reports God's commands to bring olive oil for the lamp, make sacred garments for the priests, conduct an ordination ceremony, and make an incense altar.
Tobiah ben Eliezer was a Talmudist and poet of the 11th century, author of Lekach Tov or Pesikta Zutarta, a midrashic commentary on the Pentateuch and the Five Megillot.
Shemini, Sh'mini, or Shmini is the 26th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the third in the Book of Leviticus. Parashah Shemini tells of the consecration of the Tabernacle, the deaths of Nadab and Abihu, and the dietary laws of kashrut. The parashah constitutes Leviticus 9:1–11:47. It is made up of 4,670 Hebrew letters, 1,238 Hebrew words, 91 verses, and 157 lines in a Torah Scroll.
Bemidbar, BeMidbar, B'midbar, Bamidbar, or Bamidbor, is the 34th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the first in the Book of Numbers. The parashah tells of the census and the priests' duties. It constitutes Numbers 1:1–4:20. The parashah is made up of 7,393 Hebrew letters, 1,823 Hebrew words, 159 verses, and 263 lines in a Torah Scroll. Jews generally read it in May or early June.
Korach or Korah is the 38th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fifth in the Book of Numbers. It tells of Korach's failed attempt to overthrow Moses.
The Talmudic academies in Syria Palaestina were yeshivot that served as centers for Jewish scholarship and the development of Jewish law in Syria Palaestina, and later Palaestina Prima and Palaestina Secunda. The academies had a major influence on Judaism through the development of the Jerusalem Talmud, or Palestinian Talmud, which was compiled into book form in around 350–400 CE.
Beth Medrash Govoha is a Haredi Jewish Lithuanian yeshiva in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. It was founded by Rabbi Aharon Kotler in 1943 and is the second-largest yeshiva in the world, after Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem. As of 2019, it had 6,715 students, 2,748 regular and 3,967 in Kollel status. The principal Rosh yeshiva since 1982 is Rabbi Malkiel Kotler. Talmud and halakha studies in the institution are carried in the form of over 200 small groups, Chaburos, which consist of several students mentored by a veteran, each pursuing its own specific curriculum with an emphasis on individual learning.
Pumbedita Academy or Pumbedita Yeshiva was a yeshiva in present-day Iraq, called Babylon, during the era of the Amoraim and Geonim sages. It was founded by Judah bar Ezekiel and, with the Sura Academy founded in 225 by Abba Arika, was an influential and dominant yeshiva for about 800 years.
Rabbi Abba bar Memel, or Abba mar Memel, was a rabbi of the Land of Israel of the second and third generation of amoraim.
Jeremiah bar Abba was a Babylonian rabbi who lived around the mid-3rd century. He is cited many times in the Jerusalem Talmud, where he is mentioned simply as Rav Jeremiah, without his patronymic name.
Rav Hiyya bar Joseph was a Babylonian rabbi of the 3rd century.
Rammi bar Abba, or Rammi bar Abba I, was a third generation Amora sage of Babylonia.
Chaim Zev Malinowitz was a Haredi community rabbi, dayan, and Talmudic scholar. Fluent in all areas of the Talmud, halakha, and hashkafa, he was the general editor of the 73-volume Schottenstein Edition of the Babylonian Talmud published by ArtScroll. After immigrating to Israel, he became the rabbi of Beis Tefillah Yonah Avraham, an English-speaking congregation for Anglophone Israeli immigrants in Ramat Beit Shemesh, which he led for 17 years.
Aaron Santcroos was a Dutch Jewish engraver who worked in Amsterdam, between 1752 and 1765. According to Marvin J. Heller, Santcroos's Hebrew name was Aaron ben Israel, but "the family, having forgotten its original Jewish name, simply referred to itself as Israel". He is responsible for the frontispiece of the Proops Talmud, produced in Amsterdam between 1752 and 1765 and printed by Joseph and Jacob Proops.
