Ezra was an important Jewish scribe (sofer) and priest (kohen) in the early Second Temple period. In the Greek Septuagint, the name is rendered as Ésdrās, from which the Latin name Esdras comes. His name is probably a shortened Aramaic translation of the Hebrew name עזריהו, meaning "Yah helps".
The Ketuvim is the third and final section of the Hebrew Bible, after the Torah ("instruction") and the Nevi'im "Prophets". In English translations of the Hebrew Bible, this section is usually titled "Writings" or "Hagiographa".
David Weiss Halivni was a European-born American-Israeli rabbi, scholar in the domain of Jewish sciences, and Professor of Talmud. He served as Reish Metivta of the Union for Traditional Judaism's rabbinical school.
Modern Hebrew, also called Israeli Hebrew or simply Hebrew, is the standard form of the Hebrew language spoken today. Developed as part of the revival of Hebrew in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is the official language of the State of Israel and the only Canaanite language still spoken as a native language. The revival of Hebrew predates the creation of the state of Israel, where it is now the national language. Modern Hebrew is often regarded as one of the most successful instances of language revitalization.
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.
Mishnaic Hebrew is the Hebrew language of Talmudic texts. Mishnaic Hebrew can be sub-divided into Mishnaic Hebrew proper, which was a spoken language, and Amoraic Hebrew, which was a literary language only.
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.
The Mekhilta of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai is midrash halakha on the Book of Exodus from the school of Rabbi Akiva attributed to Shimon bar Yochai. No midrash of this name is mentioned in Talmudic literature, but Nachmanides (d.1270) refers to one which he calls either Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, Mekhilta Achǝrita de-Rabbi Shimon, or simply Mekhilta Acheret. Todros ben Joseph Abulafia (d.1285) also refers to Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai.
Lashon Hakodesh, also spelled L'shon Hakodesh or Leshon Hakodesh, is a Jewish term and appellation attributed to the Hebrew language, or sometimes to a mix of Hebrew and Aramaic, in which its religious texts and prayers were written, and served, during the Medieval Hebrew era, for religious purposes, liturgy and Halakha – in contrary to the secular tongue, which served for the routine daily needs, such as the Yiddish or Ladino languages.
The return to Zion is an event recorded in Ezra–Nehemiah of the Hebrew Bible, in which the Jews of the Kingdom of Judah—subjugated by the Neo-Babylonian Empire—were freed from the Babylonian captivity following the Persian conquest of Babylon. In 539 BCE, the Persian king Cyrus the Great issued the Edict of Cyrus allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem and the Land of Judah, which was made a self-governing Jewish province under the new Persian Empire.
Daniel S. Zion was an Orthodox rabbi, Kabbalist and political activist. Zion moved to Sofia, Bulgaria, as a slaughterer and cantor. Bulgaria's Jewish community at the time was almost completely assimilated, and there were no ultra-Orthodox communities in the country during World War II. In 1943, Zion was removed from his position on the local rabbinic court for his newfound belief that Jesus of Nazareth was the Jewish Messiah.
Zion Blumenthal Orphanage is an Orthodox Jewish orphanage and educational institution in Jerusalem. Founded in 1900, it is the oldest active orphanage in Israel.
Nathan Mileikowsky was a Russian-born Zionist political activist, rabbi, and writer. Mileikowsky's son was the scholar and academic Benzion Netanyahu, and his grandson is current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Ancient Greek noun tektōn (τέκτων) is a common term for an artisan/craftsman, in particular a carpenter, woodworker, or builder. The term is frequently contrasted with an ironworker, or smith (χαλκεύς) and stone-worker or mason.
Amram Aburbeh, also spelled Abourabia and Aburabia, was the Chief Rabbi of the Sephardic congregation in Petah Tikva, Israel and author of Netivei Am, a collection of responsa, sermons, and Torah teachings.
Eliezer Melamed is an Israeli Orthodox Zionist rabbi and the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Bracha, rabbi of the settlement Har Bracha, and author of the book series Peninei Halakha.
Yaakov Hai Zion Ades, also spelled Adas or Adess, was a Sephardi Hakham, Rosh Yeshiva, and Rabbinical High Court judge. As rosh yeshiva of Porat Yosef Yeshiva in Jerusalem, he raised thousands of students, including Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel; Rabbi Ben Zion Abba Shaul, rosh yeshiva of Porat Yosef; and Rabbi Yehuda Hakohen Rabin, Chief Rabbi of Bukharan Jewry in Israel.
Natan Friedland was a Russian rabbi, writer, maggid, and proto-Zionist activist. A devotee of the 19th-century Hibbat Zion movement, he was instrumental, together with Zvi Hirsch Kalischer, in helping to lay the ideological groundwork for a movement to return the Jews to the Land of Israel in order to usher in the Messianic Age.
Yitzhak Frank is an Israeli rabbi and a teacher of Talmud in Israel. He has made 11 publications between 1991 and 2001. His works are used as teaching material for Talmud students and rabbis in the Jewish schools in Israel. His book The practical Talmud dictionary has won the Prize of the Israeli Minister of Education.
