Judaism is an Abrahamic monotheistic ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of observing the Mosaic covenant, which was established between God and the Israelites, their ancestors. The religion is considered one of the earliest monotheistic religions in the world.
The Pharisees were a Jewish social movement and a school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. Following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, Pharisaic beliefs became the foundational, liturgical, and ritualistic basis for Rabbinic Judaism. Although the group does not exist anymore, their traditions are considered important among all various Jewish religious movements.
Sephardic law and customs are the law and customs of Judaism which are practiced by Sephardim or Sephardic Jews ; the descendants of the historic Jewish community of the Iberian Peninsula, what is now Spain and Portugal. Many definitions of "Sephardic" also include Mizrahi Jews, most of whom follow the same traditions of worship as those which are followed by Sephardic Jews. The Sephardi Rite is not a denomination nor is it a movement like Orthodox Judaism, Reform Judaism, and other Ashkenazi Rite worship traditions. Thus, Sephardim comprise a community with distinct cultural, juridical and philosophical traditions.
A beth midrash, also beis medrash or beit midrash, is a hall dedicated for Torah study, often translated as a "study hall". It is distinct from a synagogue, although the two are often coextensive. In Yiddish the beth midrash may be referred to as a zal, i.e. "hall". Beis midrash can also refer to a yeshiva gedolah, the undergraduate-level program in Orthodox, for boys over 12th grade.
Karaism is a non-Rabbinical Jewish sect characterized by the recognition of the written Tanakh alone as its supreme authority in halakha and theology. Karaites believe that all of the divine commandments which were handed down to Moses by God were recorded in the written Torah without any additional Oral Law or explanation. Unlike mainstream Rabbinic Judaism, which regards the Oral Torah, codified in the Talmud and subsequent works, as authoritative interpretations of the Torah, Karaite Jews do not treat the written collections of the oral tradition in the Midrash or the Talmud as binding.
Tzadik is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The root of the word ṣadiq, is ṣ-d-q, which means "justice" or "righteousness". When applied to a righteous woman, the term is inflected as tzadeket/tzidkaniot.
Rabbinic Judaism, also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Rabbanite Judaism, has been an orthodox form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian Talmud. Rabbinic Judaism has its roots in the Pharisaic school of Second Temple Judaism and is based on the belief that Moses at Mount Sinai received both the Written Torah and the Oral Torah from God. The Oral Torah, transmitted orally, explains the Written Torah. At first, it was forbidden to write down the Oral Torah, but after the destruction of the Second Temple, it was decided to write it down in the form of the Talmud and other rabbinic texts for the sake of preservation.
Syrian Jews are Jews who live in the region of the modern state of Syria, and their descendants born outside Syria. Syrian Jews derive their origin from two groups: from the Jews who inhabited the region of today's Syria from ancient times, and sometimes classified as Mizrahi Jews ; and from the Sephardi Jews who fled to Syria after the Alhambra Decree forced the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492.
Simchat Beit Hashoevah or Simchas Beis Hashoeiva is a special celebration held by Jews during the Intermediate days of Sukkot.
The Tzuf Dvash Synagogue is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 15 Plugat ha-Kotel Street in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The congregation was founded in 1860 under Ottoman Empire rule and worships in the Sephardic rite.
The Ben Ezra Synagogue, sometimes referred to as the El-Geniza Synagogue or the Synagogue of the Levantines (al-Shamiyin), is a former Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the Fustat part of Old Cairo, Egypt. According to local folklore, it is located on the site where baby Moses was found.
The Great Synagogue of Baghdad, also known as the Shaf ve’Yativ Synagogue or Shad veYativ Synagogue is a former Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Baghdad, Iraq. Rebuilt several times, the building now serves as a Jewish museum.
The House of Hillel and House of Shammai were, among Jewish scholars, two schools of thought during the period of tannaim, named after the sages Hillel and Shammai who founded them. These two schools had vigorous debates on matters of ritual practice, ethics, and theology which were critical for the shaping of the Oral Law and Judaism as it is today.
This article deals in more detail with some of the notable synagogues of Jerusalem that do not have their own page as yet.
The Ets Hayim Synagogue, also known as the Etz Haim Synagogue, the Hanan Synagogue, the Baroukh Hanan Synagogue or the Kenisset Hanan, is a former Karaite Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 3 Qantaret Street, in the Ghamra neighborhood of Daher, in Cairo, Egypt. The synagoge was completed in 1900. The congregation worshipped in the Sephardic rite.
There are number of former synagogues in Cairo, the capital city of Egypt. The number of Egyptian Jews in the city has decreased significantly from its peak. As of December 2022, there were twelve remaining synagogues but only three native Egyptian Jewish inhabitants in the city.
The history of the Jews in Alexandria dates back to the founding of the city by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE. Jews in Alexandria played a crucial role in the political, economic, cultural and religious life of Hellenistic and Roman Alexandria, with Jews comprising about 35% of the city's population during the Roman Era.
Maṣliaḥ ben Solomon ha-Cohen, alternatively Matzliach, was a Gaon and the leader of the Palestinian Gaonate in Fustat, the principal Talmudic academy and central legalistic body of the Jewish community in Palestine. He also held the title of Ra'is al-Yahud, from at least 1127 until his possible murder in 1139. After his death, the Gaonate split between Damascus in Syria and Fustat in Egypt.
The Suares family was a Sephardic Jewish family who settled in Egypt. The family's three brothers, Raphael, Youssef, and Felix, became prominent in political and economic activity in Egypt and founded the Suares Foundation in 1857. They were credited with establishing many banks, in addition to participating with other Jewish families in Egypt's economy, including the Qatawi family and the Rollo family.
Abdel Rahim Sabri Pasha was the governor of Cairo from 1917 until 1919 and served as the minister of Agriculture. He was the father of Queen Nazli.
