גאונים – sing. גאון (Gaon) – the formal title of the head of one of the yeshivot (academies) of Bavel (Babylon, or present-day Iraq), which was also known as Rosh Yeshiva (Gaon Ya’akov) or Reish Metivta. The office itself is referred to as the gaonate and stood in contrast to the Reish Galuta, “Head of…
Glossary
Haftarah
Haftarah refers to an additional selection of text from the Neviim (Prophets), the second division of books of Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible), read after the parashah (Torah portion of the week). The haftarah is thematically tied either to the parashah or events on the Jewish calendar. Seeking out the thematic connection is one of the…
Moshe ha-Darshan
משה הדרשן – Active during the first half of the 11th century in Narbonne, Provence (southern France), Moshe ha-Darshan was known as a compiler of midrash. The appellation ha-darshan probably pertains to this activity rather than preaching. Moshe ha-Darshan almost certainly headed a beit midrash in his home city, one of the early established Jewish…
Parashah
The common meaning of parashah (plural: parshiyyot) is the weekly Torah portion. The Torah (also called Chumash, or the first five books of the Bible) is divided into sections read cyclically. There are two cycles for reading: (1) An annual cycle of 54 portions, meaning that you read the entire Torah yearly (some are doubled…
Piyyut
פיוט – pl. piyyutim – Hebrew, and occasionally Aramaic, liturgical poetry, meaning poems added to the prayer service. Piyyutim appear especially in the machzor for the different holidays, but also to the daily siddur, especially in the earlier period of their composition. The earliest piyyutim were written in Eretz Yisrael during the Byzantine period when…
Provence
The term used by Jews to refer to the Jewish communities of what is today the southern third of modern France, encompassing the regions today called Provence, Languedoc, and the Rousillon. Major cities of Jewish Provence in the medieval period include Narbonne, Lunel, Béziers, Montpellier, Perpignan, and Avignon, among others that where home to renowned…
Radak
ר”דק – ר’ דוד קמחי – R. David b. Yosef Kimchi – c. 1160-c. 1235 – Lived in Narbonne, Provence (southern France) and best known for his Tanakh commentaries to BeReshit, Neviim, Tehillim, and Divrei Ha-Yamim. Radak was the son of R. Yosef Kimchi, a Sefardi émigré to Provence notable as an early translator of…
Rashba
רשב”א – ר’ שלמה בן אברהם אבן אדרת – R. Shelomo b. Avraham Ibn Adret – c. 1235 to c. 1310 in Barcelona (in the region of Catalunya in northeastern Iberia), was a major Sefardi posek (decisor) and respected scholar, and the successor of Ramban, with whom he studied, although his principal teacher was Rabbenu…
Responsa
Sheelot u-teshuvot – shu”t – שאלות ותשובות – שו”ת – A major genre of halakhic literature recording questions (sheelot) and answers (teshuvot) that give pesak halakhah (practical halakhic rulings). There is a voluminous literature of responsa beginning in the period of the Geonim and continuing till today. Earlier collections of responsa may have details removed…
Rishonim
Former authorities, literally, “First Ones,” meaning Torah scholars who lived after the period of the Geonim, traditionally dated 1038 CE, and before the compilation of the Shulhan ‘Arukh in 1563, which marks the beginning of the period of Aharonim, latter authorities or “Last Ones.” Among the most well-known and impactful Rishonim are Rif,Rashi, Rambam, the…