YavneYavne (יַבְנֶה) or Yavneh is a city in the Central District of Israel. In many English translations of the Bible, it is known as Jabneh ˈdʒæbnə. Yavne holds a special place in Jewish history because of its contribution to Judaism's recovery and reconstitution under sages ben Zakkai and Gamaliel II following the destruction of the Second Temple. This period, sometimes known as the "Yavne period", became a crucial mark in the development of Rabbinic Judaism.
ShmitaThe sabbath year (shmita; שמיטה, literally "release"), also called the sabbatical year or shǝvi'it (, literally "seventh"), or "Sabbath of The Land", is the seventh year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by the Torah in the Land of Israel and is observed in Judaism. During shmita, the land is left to lie fallow and all agricultural activity, including plowing, planting, pruning and harvesting, is forbidden by halakha (Jewish law).
Antipater the IdumaeanAntipater I the Idumaean (113 or 114 BCE – 43 BCE) was the founder of the Herodian Dynasty and father of Herod the Great. According to Josephus, he was the son of Antipas and had formerly held that name. A native of Idumaea, a region southeast of Judah in which the Edomites settled during the classical period, Antipater became a powerful official under the later Hasmonean kings and subsequently became a client of the Roman general Pompey the Great when Pompey conquered Judah in the name of Roman Republic.
Great AssemblyAccording to Jewish tradition the Great Assembly (כְּנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה, also translated as Great Synagogue or Synod) was an assembly of 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, which existed from the early Second Temple period (around 516 BCE) to the early Hellenistic period (which began with Alexander's conquests of 333–332 BCE), roughly coinciding with the Persian hegemony over the nation of Israel.
