Abrahamic religionsThe Abrahamic religions are a group of religions centered around the worship of the God of Abraham. Abraham, a Hebrew patriarch, is extensively mentioned throughout the Abrahamic religious scriptures of the Quran, and the Hebrew and Christian Bibles. Jewish tradition claims that the Twelve Tribes of Israel are descended from Abraham through his son Isaac and grandson Jacob, whose sons formed the nation of the Israelites in Canaan (or the Land of Israel); Islamic tradition claims that twelve Arab tribes known as the Ishmaelites are descended from Abraham through his son Ishmael in the Arabian Peninsula.
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.
MitzvahIn its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (ˈmɪtsvə; מִצְוָה, mīṣvā mit͡sˈva, plural מִצְווֹת mīṣvōt mit͡sˈvot; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by 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. In its secondary meaning, the word mitzvah refers to a deed performed in order to fulfill such a commandment. As such, the term mitzvah has also come to express an individual act of human kindness in keeping with the law.
Abraham ibn DaudAbraham ibn Daud (אַבְרָהָם בֶּן־דָּוִד הַלֵּוִי אִבְּן דָּאוּד; ابراهيم بن داود) was a Spanish-Jewish astronomer, historian and philosopher; born in Córdoba, Spain about 1110; who was said to have died in Toledo, Spain, a martyr about 1180. He is sometimes known by the abbreviation Rabad I or Ravad I. His maternal grandfather was Isaac Albalia . Some scholars believe he was the Arabic-into-Latin translator known as “Avendauth.” His chronicle, a work written in Hebrew in 1161 under the title of Sefer ha-Qabbalah (ספר הקבלה; some manuscripts give the title as Seder ha-Qabbalah, i.
MezuzahA mezuzah (מְזוּזָה "doorpost"; plural: mezuzot) is a piece of parchment inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah, which Jewish followers of Rabbinical Judaism affix to the doorposts of their homes. These verses are the Biblical passages in which the use of a mezuzah is commanded ( and ); they also form part of the Shema prayer. In mainstream Rabbinic Judaism, a mezuzah must generally be placed in every doorway in the home, with some exceptions such as bathrooms (which are not a living space) and small closets.
Anan ben DavidAnan Ben David (c. 715 - c. 795) (ענן בן דוד) is widely considered to be a major founder of the Karaite movement of Judaism. His followers were called Ananites and, like modern Karaites, did not believe the Rabbinic Jewish oral law (such as the Mishnah) to be authoritative. From the second third of the 7th century and until middle of the 8th, as a result of the tremendous intellectual commotion produced throughout the Western Asia by the swift Early Muslim conquests of the Arabs and the collision of Islam with the older religions and cultures of the world, there arose a large number of religious sects, especially in Persia, Babylonia (Iraq), and Syria.
Counting of the OmerCounting of the Omer (סְפִירַת הָעוֹמֶר, Sefirat HaOmer, sometimes abbreviated as Sefira) is a ritual in Judaism. It consists of a verbal counting of each of the 49 days between the holidays of Passover and Shavuot. The period of 49 days is known as the "omer period" or simply as "the omer" or "sefirah". The count has its origins in the biblical command of the Omer offering (or sheaf-offering), which was offered on Passover, and after which 49 days were counted, and the Shavuot holiday was observed.
ShammaiShammai (50 BCE – 30 CE, שַׁמַּאי, Šammaʾy) was a Jewish scholar of the 1st century, and an important figure in Judaism's core work of rabbinic literature, the Mishnah. Shammai was the most eminent contemporary of Hillel. His teachings mostly agree with those of Hillel, except on three issues. Both were divided over an earlier rabbinic dispute, regarding the actual laying on of hands upon a sacrificial animal on a Festival Day, which Hillel permitted. Their disciples, who had differing views to their masters, disputed many other halakhic matters.
TallitA tallit is a fringed garment worn as a prayer shawl by religious Jews. The tallit has special twined and knotted fringes known as tzitzit attached to its four corners. The cloth part is known as the beged ("garment") and is usually made from wool or cotton, although silk is sometimes used for a tallit gadol. The term is, to an extent, ambiguous. It can refer either to the tallit katan ("small tallit") item that can be worn over or under clothing and commonly referred to as "tzitzit", or to the tallit gadol ("big tallit") Jewish prayer shawl worn over the outer clothes during the morning prayers (Shacharit) and worn during all prayers on Yom Kippur.
TefillinTefillin (ˈtfɪlᵻn; Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazic pronunciation: tfiˈlin), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Tefillin are worn by adult Jews during weekday morning prayers. In Orthodox and traditional communities, they are worn solely by men, while some Reform and Conservative (Masorti) communities allow them to be worn by any gender. In Jewish Law (halacha), women are exempt from most time-dependent positive commandments, which include tefillin.
