In Talmudical hermeneutics, asmachta is an allusion found in the Hebrew Bible for rabbinical prohibitions or any other Halakha. It's an exception in the talmudical hermeneutics, since it doesn't base the law on the cited verse, but uses the verse as a hint.
Sometimes it isn't clear whether the verse has been quoted as an asmachta or as a source, which can lead to controversy over the de'oraita or derabanan quality of the law. An example of such a case is the controversy over berakhah she'eina tzricha or berakhah levatala, the prohibition to say a prayer outside its context. The Talmud says "Anyone who recites an unnecessary blessing violates the biblical prohibition: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain ". [1] While Maimonides sees it as a source, [2] the Tosafists see it as an asmachta. [3]
According to Maimonides, this is only a mnemonic the sages gave, as an aid to memory. [7] The Kuzari makes a similar statement. [8]
Yom Tov Asevilli (the Ritva) objects to Maimonides' explanation, and claims that God himself devised the various asmachta sources and embedded them in the Torah as allusions to be used by the sages. [9]
According to Jewish tradition, the Torah contains 613 commandments. This tradition is first recorded in the 3rd century CE, when Rabbi Simlai mentioned it in a sermon that is recorded in Talmud Makkot 23b. Other classical sages who hold this view include Rabbi Simeon ben Azzai and Rabbi Eleazar ben Yose the Galilean. It is quoted in Midrash Exodus Rabbah 33:7, Numbers Rabbah 13:15–16; 18:21 and Talmud Yevamot 47b. The 613 commandments include "positive commandments", to perform an act, and "negative commandments", to abstain from an act. The negative commandments number 365, which coincides with the number of days in the solar year, and the positive commandments number 248, a number ascribed to the number of bones and main organs in the human body.
Targum Onkelos is the primary Jewish Aramaic targum ("translation") of the Torah, accepted as an authoritative translated text of the Five Books of Moses and thought to have been written in the early second century CE.
Yemenite Hebrew, also referred to as Temani Hebrew, is the pronunciation system for Hebrew traditionally used by Yemenite Jews. Yemenite Hebrew has been studied by language scholars, many of whom believe it retains older phonetic and grammatical features lost elsewhere. Yemenite speakers of Hebrew have garnered considerable praise from language purists because of their use of grammatical features from classical Hebrew.
According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law are statutes and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah, and which are regarded by Orthodox Jews as prescriptive and given at the same time. This holistic Jewish code of conduct encompasses a wide swathe of rituals, worship practices, God–man and interpersonal relationships, from dietary laws to Sabbath and festival observance to marital relations, agricultural practices, and civil claims and damages.
Ahava rabbah is the name given in Ashkenazi Jewish custom to the blessing recited immediately before the Shema as part of the Shacharit (morning) prayer. The name is taken from the first words of the prayer.
According to Jewish tradition the Great Assembly was an assembly of possibly 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, which existed from the early Second Temple period to the early Hellenistic period, roughly coinciding with the Persian hegemony over the nation of Israel. The assembly's members, known as Anshei Knesset HaGedolah, traditionally included such figures as Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, Mordechai and Zerubbabel.
A vach nacht (Yiddish: וואך-נאכט, lit. 'watch night'; also vacht nacht or vakhnakht) or Brit Yitzchak is the night before the brit milah of a male Jewish child, when he is in need of added spiritual protection. A standard "vach nacht" custom, practised by many Ashkenazi Jews, is to have children come and recite the Shema Yisrael and other verses from the Torah near the baby. It is a pious custom to host a celebratory meal.
In Jewish religious law, ṭum'ah and ṭaharah are the state of being ritually "impure" and "pure", respectively. The Hebrew noun ṭum'ah, meaning "impurity", describes a state of ritual impurity. A person or object which contracts ṭum'ah is said to be ṭamé, and thereby unsuited for certain holy activities and uses until undergoing predefined purification actions that usually include the elapse of a specified time-period.
Jewish heresy refers to those beliefs which contradict the traditional doctrines of Rabbinic Judaism, including theological beliefs and opinions about the practice of halakha. Jewish tradition contains a range of statements about heretics, including laws for how to deal with them in a communal context, and statements about the divine punishment they are expected to receive.
Sifre Zutta was a midrash on the Book of Numbers. Medieval authors mention it under the titles "Sifre shel Panim Acherim" and "Vi-Yeshallehu Zutta"; and to distinguish from it the Sifre, Or Zarua calls the latter "Sifre Rabbati."
Talmudical hermeneutics defines the rules and methods for investigation and exact determination of meaning of the scriptures in the Hebrew Bible, within the framework of Rabbinic Judaism. This includes, among others, the rules by which the requirements of the Oral Law and the Halakha are derived from and established by the written law.
Kosher locusts are varieties of locust deemed permissible for consumption under the laws of kashrut. While the consumption of most insects is forbidden under the laws of kashrut, the rabbis of the Talmud identified eight kosher species of locust. However, the identity of those species is in dispute. The Jewish communities of Yemen and parts of northern Africa, until their emigration in the mid-20th century, ate locusts which according to their tradition are kosher. Some such species can be bought in Israel for consumption.
The Three Oaths is the popular name for a midrash found in the Talmud, which relates that God adjured three oaths upon the world. Two of the oaths pertain to the Jewish people, and one of the oaths pertains to the other nations of the world. The Jews for their part were sworn not to forcefully reclaim the Land of Israel and not to rebel against the other nations, and the other nations in their turn were sworn not to subjugate the Jews excessively.
Shi’ur Qomah is a midrashic text that is part of the Hekhalot literature. It purports to record, in anthropomorphic terms, the secret names and precise measurements of God's corporeal limbs and parts. The majority of the text is recorded in the form of sayings or teachings that the angel Metatron revealed to the tanna Rabbi Ishmael, who transmitted it to his students and his contemporary Rabbi Akiva. It is also an exegetical analysis of Song of Songs 5:11-16 and proclaims that anyone who studies it is guaranteed a portion in the World to Come.
Epikoros is a Jewish term figuratively meaning "a heretic", cited in the Mishnah, that refers to an individual who does not have a share in the World to Come:
כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשׁ לָהֶם חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. וְאֵילּוּ שֶׁאֵין לָהֶן חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא הָאוֹמֵר אֵין תְּחִייַת הַמֵּתִים מִן הַתּוֹרָה וְאֵין תּוֹרָה מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶפִּיקוּרוֹס.
All of Israel have a part in the World to Come. But the following have no part in the World to Come: One who says that the resurrection of the dead is not biblical, or that the Torah is not from Heaven, or the Epicurean.
כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשׁ לָהֶם חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וְעַמֵּךְ כֻּלָּם צַדִּיקִים לְעוֹלָם יִירְשׁוּ אָרֶץ נֵצֶר מַטָּעַי מַעֲשֵׂה יָדַי לְהִתְפָּאֵר. וְאֵלּוּ שֶׁאֵין לָהֶם חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא, הָאוֹמֵר אֵין תְּחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים מִן הַתּוֹרָה, וְאֵין תּוֹרָה מִן הַשָּׁמָיִם, וְאֶפִּיקוֹרֶס.
All of the Jewish people have a share in the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “And your people also shall be all righteous, they shall inherit the land forever; the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, for My name to be glorified”. And these [are the exceptions,] the people who have no share in the World-to-Come [...] One who says: There is no resurrection of the dead derived from the Torah, and one who says: The Torah did not originate from Heaven, and an epikoros[.]
The Torah distinguishes two types of enticers to idolatry: mesit is a Jew who seduces an individual to idolatry, while a madiach (מדיח) is someone who publicly entices many into idolatry. An enticer to idolatry may be both. Enticement to idolatry in Judaism is a capital offence under the Law of Moses.
A segula is protective or benevolent incantation or ritual in Kabbalistic and Talmudic tradition.
Yemenite scrolls of the Law containing the Five Books of Moses represent one of three authoritative scribal traditions for the transmission of the Torah, the other two being the Ashkenazi and Sephardic traditions that slightly differ. While all three traditions purport to follow the Masoretic traditions of Aaron ben Moses ben Asher, slight differences between the three major traditions have developed over the years. Biblical texts proofread by ben Asher survive in two extant codices, the latter said to have only been patterned after texts proofread by Ben Asher. The former work, although more precise, was partially lost following its removal from Aleppo in 1947.