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The Hebrew alphabet, known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is an abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewish languages, most notably Yiddish, Ladino, Judeo-Arabic, and Judeo-Persian. In modern Hebrew, vowels are increasingly introduced. It is also used informally in Israel to write Levantine Arabic, especially among Druze. It is an offshoot of the Imperial Aramaic alphabet, which flourished during the Achaemenid Empire and which itself derives from the Phoenician alphabet.
A shofar is an ancient musical horn typically made of a ram's horn, used for Jewish ritual purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying the player's embouchure. The shofar is blown in synagogue services on Rosh Hashanah and at the end of Yom Kippur; it is also blown every weekday morning in the month of Elul running up to Rosh Hashanah. Shofars come in a variety of sizes and shapes, depending on the choice of animal and level of finish.
According to Jewish tradition, the Torah contains 613 commandments.
Shema Yisrael is a Jewish prayer that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services. Its first verse encapsulates the monotheistic essence of Judaism: "Hear, O Israel: YHWH our God, YHWH is one", found in Deuteronomy 6:4.
In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word mitzvah refers to a commandment from God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law in large part consists of discussion of these commandments. According to religious tradition, there are 613 such commandments.
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.
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.
Notarikon is a Talmudic and Kabbalistic method of deriving a word, by using each of its initial or final letters to stand for another, to form a sentence or idea out of the words. Another variation uses the first and last letters, or the two middle letters of a word, in order to form another word. The word "notarikon" is borrowed from the Greek language (νοταρικόν), and was derived from the Latin word "notarius" meaning "shorthand writer."
Chazal or Ḥazal are the Jewish sages of the Mishnaic and Talmudic eras, spanning from the final 300 years of the Second Temple period until the 7th century, or c. 250 BCE – c. 625 CE. Their authority was mostly in the field of Halakha and less regarding Jewish theology.
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.
Pardes is a Kabbalistic theory of Biblical exegesis first advanced by Moses de León, adapting the popular "fourfold" method of medieval Christianity. The term, sometimes also rendered PaRDeS, means "orchard" when taken literally, but is used in this context as a Hebrew acronym formed from the initials of the following four approaches:
In Judaism, angels are supernatural beings that appear throughout The Tanakh, rabbinic literature, apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, Jewish philosophy and mysticism, and traditional Jewish liturgy as agents of the God of Israel. They are categorized in different hierarchies. Their essence is often associated with fire. The Talmud describes their very essence as fire.
Simeonben Gamaliel II was a Tanna of the third generation and president of the Great Sanhedrin. He was the son of Gamaliel II and father of Judah I.
Various numbers play a significant role in Jewish texts or practice. Some such numbers were used as mnemonics to help remember concepts, while other numbers were considered to have intrinsic significance or allusive meaning.
Arich Anpin or Arikh Anpin (Aramaic: אריך אנפין meaning "Long Face/Extended Countenance" (also implying "The Infinitely Patient One", is an aspect of Divine emanation in Kabbalah, identified with the sephirah attribute of Keter, the Divine Will.
Dirah betachtonim (Hebrew: דירה בתחתונים, romanized: dirā bəṯaḥtonim, lit. 'a dwelling in the lowly realms' is a significant theological concept in Chabad philosophy describing the ultimate desire of God as relating to the manifestation of the divine presence within the material world.
Yitzchok (Yitzchak) Lichtenstein is an Israeli-American Orthodox rabbi who is a co-rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas located in Brooklyn, New York and the Mara d'asra of Kehillas Bais Avrohom in Monsey. He is a major editor for the writings of Chaim Soloveitchik, Moshe Soloveichik and Joseph B. Soloveitchik. He is the second son of Rav Aharon Lichtenstein and Dr. Tovah Soloveitchik.
Ana BeKoach is a medieval Jewish piyyut called by its incipit. This piyyut, the acronym of which is said to be a 42-letter name of God, is recited daily by those Jewish communities which include a greatly expanded version of Korbanot in Shacharit and more widely as part of Kabbalat Shabbat. Some also recite it as part of Bedtime Shema or during the Omer.
References
- ↑ Frank, Yitzhak (1991). The Practical Talmud Dictionary. Jerusalem: Ariel United Israel Institutes. pp. 271–294.