Abraham Isaac Kook
Rabbi, Kabbalist, and religious thinker, first Chief Rabbi of the Land of Israel (1865–1935). Kook was born in the small town of Greiva in Latvia. He studied at the famous Yeshivah of Volozhyn. In ...
Afikoman
This word of uncertain etymology but of Greek origin means ‘dessert’ and is now used to denote the piece of unleavened bread, matzah, eaten at the end of the Seder on the first night of Passover. It ...
ʿaleinu
(; It Is Our Duty to Praise), prayer proclaiming divine sovereignty over the world; though probably composed earlier, it is attributed by tradition to the school of Rav, from the ...
annals and chronicles: chronicles of First Crusade in 1096
Hebrew narratives of the crusaders’ massacres of German (Ashkenazic) Jews in the spring and summer of 1096; known as Solomon bar Simson’s Chronicle, Eliezer bar Nathan’s Chronicle, and the Mainz ...
art and architecture: synagogue
Although documentary evidence attests to the existence of early medieval synagogues, archaeological remains and buildings that allow an understanding of their appearance exist only from the high MA. ...
Asher b. Jehiel
c.1250–1327).Jewish Talmudic authority. After the imprisonment of his teacher, Meir of Rothenburg, he became the leader of the German Jewish community, but later fled from Germany and became rabbi ...
betrothal
A free promise of future marriage between two persons. In many countries formal betrothal before witnesses is customary, but in England the Church has ceased to exercise any authority in the matter. ...
Bittul ha-tamid
(Heb., ‘abolition of the daily offering’).Interruption of synagogue liturgy to draw attention to a wrong. It was a custom mainly practised by Ashkenazi Jews in the Middle Ages.
book of life
The phrase occurs some six times in the NT. The conception of a heavenly register of the elect is based on ideas found in the OT and in 1 Enoch.
cantillation
The musical reading of the Jewish Bible, Talmud, or other liturgical passages. There is no scholarly agreement over the cantillation of Jewish liturgy.
Dulcea of Worms
(d. 1196)Wife of Rabbi Eleazar ben Judah of Worms. She supported a household and led women in prayer. She and her daughters were murdered by intruders probably motivated by ...
education, Jewish elementary schools
A Franco-German initiation ceremony mandated that a boy aged 5 or 6 be brought to the synagogue and welcomed into the study of Torah. The child was instructed to recite ...
Eḥad Mi Yodeʿa
(Heb., ‘Who knows one?’).A concluding Passover song in the Ashkenazi rite. The aim of the concluding songs ‘is to keep children awake’ (B.Pes. 108b). It is a progressive number song and probably ...
Eleazar Qaliri
(late 6th–early 7th century) Author of Jewish liturgical poetry; from Byzantine Palestine.He wrote Hebrew piyyutim for all Jewish festivals and special Sabbaths, many of which are contained in the ...
Ephraim ben Jacob of Bonn
(1132–97) Jewish scholar, commentator, poet, and historian who lived in the Rhineland; active in communal affairs and in Jewish law.As a boy, Ephraim witnessed the persecutions of Jews during ...
exegesis, Jewish liturgical
Medieval exegesis of Jewish liturgical texts was a fruitful genre mainly in Ashkenaz, where from the 11th century onwards commentaries on prayers and piyyutim were composed. Although medieval ...
festival cycle customs, Jewish
Most Jewish festivals are characterized by rejoicing, special liturgies, and additional ceremonies specific to each festival. Liturgy includes blessings, prayers, and piyyutim (Jewish liturgical ...
Gaucher disease
A genetically determined (autosomal recessive) disease resulting from the deposition of glucocerebrosides (see cerebroside) in the brain and other tissues (especially bone). It results in mental ...
