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People
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Ibn Ezra
Avraham Ibn Ezra | ר’ אברהם אבן עזרא – ראב”ע was born in 1089 in Tudela, Spain and died 1164 in northern Europe, possibly England. He is best known for his commentary on Tanach, in which he brings into Hebrew the fruits of generations of Sefardi philological and contextual (peshat) Biblical exegesis. However, he was […]
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Moshe ha-Darshan
משה הדרשן – Moshe ha-Darshan (11th cen., southern France) was a medieval compiler of midrash. The appellation ha-darshan probably pertains to this activity rather than preaching. He was active during the first half of the 11th century in Narbonne, Provence (southern France) Life Moshe ha-Darshan almost certainly headed a beit midrash in his home city, […]
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Rabbenu Chananel
Rabbenu Chananel ben Chushiel – רבנו חננאל בן חושיאל (d. 1055/56) was the first Talmud commentator in the Sefardi tradition. His commentary was widely used and admired, and is today printed on the outer margin of the standard Vilna Shas. Name(s) Rabbenu Chananel ben Chushielרבנו חננאל בן חושיאל Dates died 1055/56 Region Sefardi – Tunisia […]
Texts
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Bereshit Rabbati
בראשית רבתי – A late midrash on Sefer Bereshit that is attributed to the school of Moshe ha-Darshan of Narbonne in Provence, who was active during the first half of the 11th century. Bereshit Rabbati was known only by references to it until modernity, when a single Hebrew manuscript of it surfaced, which was published […]
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Mikraot Gedolot
The “Rabbinic Bible” or Tanach with multiple commentaries printed on the page alongside the text. Mikra (“scripture” or “verse”) refers in Hebrew to Kitvei Kodesh, writings that have sanctity, either as a whole (the way we use the terms Tanach or Bible) or in part (the way we use the terms pasuk or verse). Mikraot […]
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Shulchan Aruch
שלחן ערוך (“The Set Table”) – A code of Jewish law, written in 1563 by R. Yosef Karo, a Sefardi rabbi, which became accepted as authoritative and normative with the addition of glosses incorporating Ashkenazi practice by Rema. Shulchan Aruch is actually a summary of Karo’s important, and much larger, halachic work, the Beit Yosef. […]
Places
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Bavel
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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 […]
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Tzarfat
צרפת – The Jewish community of northern France in the medieval period, part of greater Ashkenaz but known as Tzarfat in its own right. The name is taken from Ovadia 1:20, from which the term Sefarad is also drawn. With centers in Paris, Troyes, Rouen, Ramerupt, Évreux, Corbeil, Sens, Dampierre, Coucy, and other towns, this […]
Tanach
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Chumash
חומש – The five books of the Torah, the first five of Tanach: Bereshit, Shemot, Vayikra, Bemidbar, and Devarim (as we call them today); in English, via Greek and Latin: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. On other terms used for Chumash and its books, see my Introduction to Sefer Bereshit. As the Written Torah […]
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Parsha
The common meaning of parashah (plural: parshiyot; colloquially, “parsha”) is the weekly Torah portion. The Torah (also called Chumash, or the first five books of the Bible) is divided into sections read cyclically. Reading Cycles There are two cycles for reading: (1) An annual cycle of 54 portions, meaning that you read the entire Torah […]
Talmud
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Amoraic
Belonging to the era of the Amoraim (sing. Amora – אמורא). The Amoraim are the rabbis who formulated and transmitted the Gemara, or commentary on the Mishnah known collectively as Talmud, in the 3rd through 5th centuries CE. Amoraim lived in both Eretz Yisrael and Bavel (Babylonia, which is how Jews referred to Sassanian Persia […]
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Bavli
The Babylonian Talmud, referring to the Gemara as redacted in Bavel, the major Jewish community of antiquity outside of Eretz Yisrael. Also refered to as Shas.
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Chazal
חז”ל – “our Sages, of blessed memory,” the abbreviation for חכמנו זכרונם לברכה – Chakhmenu zikhronam li-verakhah, meaning the rabbis of the Mishnah and Talmud, the Tannaim and Amoraim, respectively. Variations are also used, such as רז”ל – Rabbotenu zichronam li-verakhah, “our Rabbis, of blessed memory.”
Tefilla
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Birkat ha-Ilanot
ברכת האילנות – A blessing said upon seeing blossoming fruit trees in Nisan, or first time one sees flowering trees in the season. The words of the blessing are: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ אֱלֹקינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁלֹּא חִסַּר בְּעוֹלָמוֹ כְּלוּם וּבָרָא בוֹ בְּרִיּוֹת טוֹבוֹת וְאִילָנוֹת טוֹבוֹת לֵהָנוֹת בָּהֶם בְּנֵי אָדָם. Blessed are You, the Lrd our […]
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Four Parshiyot
Among the special Shabbatot in the calendar year, there are four preceding Pesach known as the Four Parshiyot (Arba Parshiyot – ארבע פרשיות), during which special maftir and haftarah portions are read. In distinction to special Shabbatot that coincide with holidays, the Four Parshiyot do not have a coinciding occasion. Rather, they are tied to […]
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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 […]
