HURWITZ, JUDAH BEN MORDECAI HA-LEVI — (d. 1797), physician and Hebrew writer, precursor of the Haskalah in Eastern Europe. Born in Vilna, Hurwitz studied medicine in Padua and traveled extensively; in Berlin he made the acquaintance of moses mendelssohn . He practiced medicine in… … Encyclopedia of Judaism
ISAAC BEN JUDAH OF MAINZ — (11th century), German scholar; teacher of rashi . Practically no biographical details are known of him or his family. The description given by J.N. Epstein (see bibliography) of the characteristics of the yeshivah of Mainz during the period that … Encyclopedia of Judaism
HASKALAH — (Heb. הַשְׂכָּלָה), Hebrew term for the Enlightenment movement and ideology which began within Jewish society in the 1770s. An adherent of Haskalah became known as a maskil (pl. maskilim). The movement continued to be influential and spread, with … Encyclopedia of Judaism
Abraham ben Abraham — Abraham ben Abraham, also known as Count Valentine (Valentin, Walentyn) Potocki (Pototzki or Pototski), is a legendary figure who is claimed to have been a Polish nobleman of the Potocki family who converted to Judaism and was burned at the stake … Wikipedia
GENIZAH, CAIRO — Introduction The term genizah is a word shortened from the rabbinical Hebrew phrase bet genizah (see also genizah ). Its counterpart in late biblical Hebrew is genez (pl. genazim, ginzei) which in Esther evidently means a treasury, as well as the … Encyclopedia of Judaism
Lilith — (Hebrew he. לילית) is a mythological female Mesopotamian storm demon associated with wind and was thought to be a bearer of disease, illness, and death. The figure of Lilith first appeared in a class of wind and storm demons or spirits as Lilitu … Wikipedia
Kabbalah — This article is about traditional Jewish Kabbalah. For other Kabbalistic traditions see Christian Cabbalah, Hermetic Qabalah, and Practical Kabbalah Part of a series on … Wikipedia
Rabbi — For other uses, see Rabbi (disambiguation). Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, a leading Rabbinical authority for Orthodox Jewry of the second half of the twentieth century … Wikipedia
EDUCATION, JEWISH — This entry is arranged according to the following outline. Bibliography at the end of a section is indicated by (†). in the biblical period the nature of the sources historical survey the patriarchal period and the settlement the kingdom the… … Encyclopedia of Judaism
POLITICAL LIFE AND PARTIES — Introduction It was largely due to the existence of the pre state political parties, which had conducted intensive political activities for almost half a century within the framework of the yishuv , under the British Mandate for Palestine, that… … Encyclopedia of Judaism