HebronHebron (الخليل DIN or اَلْخَلِيل الرَّحْمَن DIN; חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East Jerusalem), and the third-largest in the Palestinian territories (after East Jerusalem and Gaza), it has a population of over 215,000 Palestinians (2016), and seven hundred Jewish settlers concentrated on the outskirts of its Old City.
SynagogueA synagogue, sometimes referred to by the Yiddish term shul and referred to by Reform communities as a temple, is a Jewish house of worship. Synagogues have a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels), where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies (including weddings, b'nai mitzvah, confirmations, choir performances, or even children's plays), have rooms for study, social hall(s), administrative and charitable offices, classrooms for religious school and Hebrew school, sometimes Jewish preschools, and often have many places to sit and congregate; display commemorative, historic, or modern artwork throughout; and sometimes have items of some Jewish historical significance or history about the synagogue itself on display.
EzraEzra or Esdras (ˈɛzrə; עֶזְרָא, ; fl. 480–440 BCE), also called Ezra the Scribe ( ) in Chazalic literature, and Ezra the Priest was an important Jewish scribe (sofer) and priest (kohen) in the early Second Temple period. In Greco-Latin Ezra is called Esdras (Ἔσδρας). His name is probably a shortened Aramaic translation of the Hebrew name , "Yah helps". In the Greek Septuagint the name is rendered (), from which the Latin name Esdras comes.
Holy LandThe Holy Land is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy Land" usually refers to a territory roughly corresponding to the modern State of Israel and the Palestinian territories. Jews, Christians, and Muslims regard it as holy.
HaifaHaifa (חֵיפָה χeˈfa; حَيْفَا ) is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area in Israel. It is home to the Baháʼí Faith's Baháʼí World Centre, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a destination for . Built on the slopes of Mount Carmel, the settlement has a history spanning more than 3,000 years.
AaronAccording to Abrahamic religions, Aaron (ˈærən or ˈɛərən) was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament (Luke, Acts, and Hebrews), and the Quran. The Hebrew Bible relates that, unlike Moses, who grew up in the Egyptian royal court, Aaron and his elder sister Miriam remained with their kinsmen in the northeastern region of the Nile Delta.
PatrilinealityPatrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritance of property, rights, names, or titles by persons related through male kin. This is sometimes distinguished from cognate kinship, through the mother's lineage, also called the spindle side or the distaff side. A patriline ("father line") is a person's father, and additional ancestors, as traced only through males.
Tel AvivTel Aviv-Yafo (תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ tel aˈviv ˈjafo; تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a population of , it is the economic and technological center of the country. If East Jerusalem is considered part of Israel, Tel Aviv is the country's second most populous city after Jerusalem; if not, Tel Aviv is the most populous city ahead of West Jerusalem.
ShechemShechem (ˈʃɛkəm ), also spelled Sichem (ˈsɪkəm ; Šəḵem; Sykhém; Samaritan Hebrew: ࠔࠬࠥࠊࠝࠌ, ), was a Canaanite and Israelite city mentioned in the Amarna Letters, later appearing in the Hebrew Bible as the first capital of the Kingdom of Israel following the split of the United Monarchy. According to , it was located in the tribal territorial allotment of the tribe of Ephraim. Shechem declined after the fall of the northern Kingdom of Israel. The city later regained its importance as a prominent Samaritan center during the Hellenistic period.
People of the BookPeople of the Book or Ahl al-kitāb (أهل الكتاب) is an Islamic term referring to followers of those religions which Muslims regard as having been guided by previous revelations, generally in the form of a scripture. In the Quran they are identified as the Jews, the Christians, the Sabians, and—according to some interpretations—the Zoroastrians. Starting from the 8th century, some Muslims also recognized other religious groups such as the Samaritans, and even Buddhists, Hindus, and Jains, as People of the Book.
