“Windows To Spirituality”
The Torah And Remembering God This article covers The Torah And Remembering God. The Importance Of Remembering God And Saying In the Torah Speaking of God … In all your ways acknowledge Him [Lord], and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs, 3:6) Do not let this Book of the...
What Is Talmud? The Talmud (תַּלְמוּד talmūd) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (halakha) and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewish cultural life and was foundational to “all Jewish thought and aspirations”,...
Tanakh The Hebrew Bible, also called the Tanakh (תַּנַ״ךְ, Tenakh, Tenak, Tanach) or Mikra, is the canonical collection of Hebrew scripture, which is also the textual source for the Christian Old Testament. These texts are composed mainly in Biblical Hebrew, with some passages in Biblical Aramaic (in the books of Daniel, Ezra...
The Torah And Afterlife This article covers the relationship between The Torah And Afterlife. Statements from the Torah Regarding the Transient Nature of This World All our days pass away under Your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty, if...
What Is Siddur? A siddur (סדור, plural siddurim סדורים) is a Jewish prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. The word siddur comes from the Hebrew root ס־ד־ר meaning “order”. History The earliest parts of Jewish prayer book are the Shema Yisrael (“Hear O Israel”) (Deuteronomy 6:4 et seq), and the Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24-26), which are in the Torah....
Similar Passages From The Quran And The Torah There are many similarities between The Torah and The Quran, Similar passages point out that they are from the same Divine source. Everything Is Written in a Book Torah: My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the...
What Is Shulchan Aruch? The Shulchan Aruch (שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך “Set Table”), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in Israel) by Joseph Karo in 1563 and published in Venice two years later. Together with iRabbi Moshe Isserlests commentaries, it is the most...
What Is Rabbinic Literature? Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writing, and thus corresponds with the Hebrew term Sifrut Hazal...
The Torah And The Prophet Muhammad This article covers The Torah And The Prophet Muhammad‘s Sunnah. Practices In The Torah Compatible With The Sunnah of The Prophet Muhammad Through their superior virtues all the prophets sent ever since the time of the Prophet Adam (pbuh) have lived in a way...
What Is Piyyut? piyyut or piyut (plural piyyutim or piyutim, “poet”) is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Piyyutim have been written since Temple times. Most piyyutim are in Hebrew or Aramaic, and most follow some poetic scheme, such as an acrostic following the order of the Hebrew alphabet or spelling out the name of the author. Many piyyutim are familiar...
Faith And The Torah This article covers the relationship between Faith And The Torah. Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, one can define faith as confidence or trust in a particular system of religious belief. Religious people often think of faith as confidence based on a perceived degree...
What Is Musar Literature? Musar literature is didactic Jewish ethical literature which describes virtues and vices and the path towards perfection in a methodical way. Musar literature can be distinguished from other forms of Jewish ethical literature such as aggadic narrative and halakhic literature. Definition of Musar literature Musar literature is often described as “ethical...
What Is Mishneh Torah? The Mishneh Torah (מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, “Repetition of the Torah”), subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka (ספר יד החזקה “Book of the Strong Hand”), is a code of Jewish religious law (Halakha) authored by Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, also known as RaMBaM or “Rambam”). The Mishneh Torah was compiled between 1170 and 1180 CE (4930 and 4940 AM), while Maimonides was...
What Is Mishnah? The Mishnah or Mishna (מִשְׁנָה, “study by repetition”, from the verb shanah שנה, or “to study and review”, also “secondary”) is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions known as the “Oral Torah“. It is also the first major work of Rabbinic literature. The Mishnah was redacted by Judah the Prince at...
What Is Midrash? Midrash (מִדְרָשׁ; מִדְרָשִׁים midrashim) is biblical exegesis by ancient Judaic authorities, using a mode of interpretation prominent in the Talmud. Midrash and rabbinic readings “discern value in texts, words, and letters, as potential revelatory spaces,” writes the Reverend and Hebrew scholar Wilda C. Gafney. “They reimagine dominant narratival readings while...
Midrash Halakha Midrash halakha (הֲלָכָה) was the ancient Judaic rabbinic method of Torah study that expounded upon the traditionally received 613 Mitzvot (commandments) by identifying their sources in the Hebrew Bible, and by interpreting these passages as proofs of the laws’ authenticity. Midrash more generally also refers to the non-legal interpretation...
Love Of God According To The Torah This article gives some sample verses of Love Of God According To The Torah. Love is a crucial attribute of God in Christianity, even if in the New Testament the expression “God is love” explicitly occurs only twice and in two not too distant verses: 1...
What Is Ketuvim? Ketuvim (כְּתוּבִים Kəṯûḇîm, “writings”) is the third and final section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), after Torah (instruction) and Nevi’im (prophets). In English translations of the Hebrew Bible, this section is usually titled “Writings”. Another name used for this section is Hagiographa. The Ketuvim are believed to have been written...
Jewish Liturgy Jewish liturgy refers specifically to following the Torah in all of its rites and ceremonies, whether in the home or in the Synagogue. The main purposes of following the carefully laid out observances is to maintain uniformity, and to avoid improper and unacceptable practices at variance with those...
What Is Halakha? Halakha (הֲלָכָה, also transliterated as halacha, halakhah, halachah, or halocho) is the collective body of Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandments (mitzvot), subsequent Talmudic and rabbinic law, and the customs and traditions compiled in the many books...
