Saadia GaonSaʿadiah ben Yosef Gaon (سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي Saʿīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi; סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn; alternative English names: Rabbeinu Saʿadiah Gaon ("our Rabbi [the] Saadia Gaon"), often abbreviated RSG (RaSaG); Saadia b. Joseph; Saadia ben Joseph; Saadia ben Joseph of Faym; or Saadia ben Joseph Al-Fayyumi; 882/892 – 942) was a prominent rabbi, gaon, Jewish philosopher, and exegete who was active in the Abbasid Caliphate.
EssenesThe Essenes (ˈɛsiːnz,_ɛˈsiːnz; Hebrew: , Isiyim; Greek: Ἐσσηνοί, Ἐσσαῖοι, or Ὀσσαῖοι, Essenoi, Essaioi, Ossaioi) were a mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE. The Essene movement likely originated as a distinct group among Jews during Jonathan Apphus' time, driven by disputes over Jewish law and the belief that Jonathan's high priesthood was illegitimate. Most scholars think the Essenes seceded from the Zadokite priests.
Circumcision controversiesMale circumcision has been a subject of controversy for a number of reasons including religious, ethical, sexual, and medical. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in a rapidly changing medical and surgical world, circumcision rose in popularity as a means of prophylaxis in the Anglosphere. Its primary justification was to promote cleanliness, as well as reducing and preventing the incidence of disease. Many medical professionals and advocates of the procedure also believed that it would reduce pleasure and the urge to masturbate, which was a social ill of the era.
ZealotsThe Zealots were a political movement in 1st-century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms, most notably during the First Jewish–Roman War (66–70). Zealotry was the term used by Josephus for a "fourth sect" or "fourth Jewish philosophy" during this period. The term zealot, the common translation of the Hebrew kanai (, frequently used in plural form, , kana'im), means one who is zealous on behalf of God.
IncipitThe incipit (ˈɪnsɪpɪt ) of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of notes, having the same purpose. The word incipit comes from Latin and means "it begins". Its counterpart taken from the ending of the text is the explicit. Before the development of titles, texts were often referred to by their incipits, as with for example Agnus Dei.
Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)The siege of Jerusalem of 70 CE was the decisive event of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), in which the Roman army led by future emperor Titus besieged Jerusalem, the center of Jewish rebel resistance in the Roman province of Judaea. Following a five-month siege, the Romans destroyed the city and the Second Jewish Temple. In April 70 CE, three days before Passover, the Roman army started besieging Jerusalem. The city had been taken over by several rebel factions following a period of massive unrest and the collapse of a short-lived provisional government.
Judaea (Roman province)Judaea (Iudaea juːˈdae̯.a; Ἰουδαία i.uˈdɛ.a) was a Roman province from 6 to 132 CE, which incorporated the Levantine regions of Judea, Samaria and Idumea, extending over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Judea. The name Judaea (like the similar Judea) was derived from the Iron Age Kingdom of Judah. Since the Roman Republic's conquest of Judea in 63 BCE, the latter had maintained a system of semi-autonomous vassalage.
Religious lawReligious law includes ethical and moral codes taught by religious traditions. Different religious systems hold sacred law in a greater or lesser degree of importance to their belief systems, with some being explicitly antinomian whereas others are nomistic or "legalistic" in nature. In particular, religions such as Judaism, Islam and the Baháʼí Faith teach the need for revealed positive law for both state and society, whereas other religions such as Christianity generally reject the idea that this is necessary or desirable and instead emphasise the eternal moral precepts of divine law over the civil, ceremonial or judicial aspects, which may have been annulled as in theologies of grace over law.
GemaraThe Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemore) is an essential component of the Talmud, comprising a collection of rabbinical analyses and commentaries on the Mishnah and presented in 63 books. The term is derived from the Aramaic word and rooted in the Semitic word ג-מ-ר (gamar), which means "to finish" or "complete". Initially, the Gemara was transmitted orally and not permitted to be written down. However, after Judah the Prince compiled the Mishnah around 200 CE, rabbis from Babylonia and the Land of Israel extensively studied the work.
God-fearerGod-fearers (φοβούμενοι τὸν Θεόν, phoboumenoi ton Theon) or God-worshippers (θεοσεβεῖς, Theosebeis) were a numerous class of Gentile sympathizers to Hellenistic Judaism that existed in the Greco-Roman world, which observed certain Jewish religious rites and traditions without becoming full converts to Judaism. The concept has precedents in the proselytes of the Hebrew Bible. Many of these Greco-Roman sympathizers to Hellenistic Judaism, which had a monotheistic or henotheistic Pagan background, were worshippers of Caelus (the Roman name/equivalent to Yahweh).
