Jewish Literature Jewish literature includes works written by Jews on Jewish themes, literary works written in Jewish languages on various themes, and literary works in any language written by Jewish writers. Ancient Jewish literature includes Biblical literature and rabbinic literature. Medieval Jewish literature includes not only rabbinic literature but also ethical literature, philosophical literature, mystical literature, various...
Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud (Talmud Yerushalmi, often Yerushalmi for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmuda de-Eretz Yisrael (Talmud of the Land of Israel), is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talmud after the Land of Israel...
Outline Of Judaism’s Religious Books Judaism’s religious books documents embody not only Judaism‘s religious precepts, but also the historical, cultural and social heritage of the Jewish people. In Israel, where attitudes towards tradition range from the ultra-orthodox to the secular, sacred texts carry a variety of meanings – from a spiritual,...
The Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible, also called the Tanakh (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 Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach or Ecclesiasticus This is the entire book of The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus. Enjoy reading …. A Prologue made by an uncertain Author This Jesus was the son of Sirach, and grandchild to Jesus of the same...
Torah Wisdom From The Jewish Sages This article covers Torah Wisdom From The Jewish Sages. Rabbi Simcha Bunam of Pshis’cha – People are not to blame for the fact that they sin. Indeed, they withstand great temptation though their strength is negligible. They are, however to blame for the fact that...
Wisdom From The Old Testament This article covers Wisdom From The Old Testament Exhortation to Righteousness, the Key to Life 1 Love righteousness,* you who judge the earth;a think of the LORD in goodness, and seek him in integrity of heart;b 2 Because he is found by those who do not...
Words Of Wisdom In the spirit of Kohelet, which is a feature of Sukkot, I share with you some of my favorite words of Halachic and Talmudic wisdom. For a daily dose of Torah wisdom be sure to check out (and ‘Like’!) the “Torah Wisdom” page on Facebook. The walls...
Wisdom/Hokhmah/Sophia: This article covers Wisdom/Hokhmah/Sophia. Feminine Images of the Divine in Second Temple Judaism Rabbinic Source About Wisdom and Proverbs The Canonicity of Proverbs Shabbat 30b The Book of Proverbs too they desired to hide, because its statements are self-contradictory. Yet why did they not hide it? They said, “Did...
Female Aspects Of Deity: Searching For Lady Wisdom We will explore material in biblical and near biblical texts concentrating on the strand of tradition concerning the divine Wisdom figure, called Lady Wisdom (Hochma in Hebrew, Sophia in Greek). We will read the accounts of Lady Wisdom stretching from the Hebrew...
The Character Of Wisdom This article is about The Character Of Wisdom. An Introduction to Old Testament Wisdom Literature Wisdom Literature is a term applied to the Old Testament canonical books of Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, and sometimes to the Song of Songs (Song of Solomon). It also includes the Apocryphal books...
Wisdom Literature: Ben Sirach And Wisdom Of Solomon Jewish Literature of the Greco-Roman Period Wisdom literature is a genre that has roots deep in ancient Near Eastern culture. There are exemplars of wisdom literature from Egypt of the 2nd millennium B.C.E., and from not too much later written in Mesopotamia....
Psalms The Book of Psalms (תְּהִלִּים, Tehillim, “praises”), commonly referred to simply as Psalms or “the Psalms“, is the first book of the Ketuvim (“Writings”), the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and thus a book of the Christian Old Testament. The title is derived from the Greek translation, ψαλμοί, psalmoi, meaning “instrumental music” and, by extension, “the words...
What Is Jewish Apocrypha? Jewish apocrypha includes texts written in the Jewish religious tradition either in the Intertestamental period or in the early Christian era, but outside the Christian tradition. It does not include books in the canonical Hebrew Bible, nor those accepted into the canon of some or all...
What Is Zohar? The Zohar (זֹהַר, “Splendor” or “Radiance”) is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of The Torah (the five books of Moses) and scriptural interpretations as well as material on...
Weekly Torah Portion It is a custom among religious Jewish communities for a weekly Torah portion, popularly referred to as a parashah, to be read during Jewish prayer services. The parashah (Hebrew: פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ Parashat ha-Shavua), popularly just parashah (or parshah /pɑːrʃə/ or parsha) and also known as a Sidra (or Sedra /sɛdrə/) is a section of the Torah (Five...
Book Of Genesis The Book of Genesis (“Origin”, בְּרֵאשִׁית, “Bərēšīṯ“, “In [the] beginning”) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh) and the Old Testament. It is divisible into two parts, the Primeval history (chapters 1–11) and the Ancestral history (chapters 12–50). The primeval history sets out the...
Book Of Jubilees The Book of Jubilees, sometimes called Lesser Genesis (Leptogenesis), is an ancient Jewish religious work of 50 chapters, considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as well as Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), where it is known as the Book of Division (Ge’ez: መጽሃፈ ኩፋሌ Mets’hafe Kufale). Jubilees is considered one of the pseudepigrapha by Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern...
What Is Sirach? The Book of the All-Virtuous Wisdom of Yeshua ben Sira, commonly called the Wisdom of Sirach or simply Sirach, and also known as the Book of Ecclesiasticus (abbreviated Ecclus.) or Ben Sira, is a work of ethical teachings, from approximately 200 to 175 BCE, written by the Jewish scribe Ben Sira of Jerusalem, on the inspiration of...
What Is Neviim? Neviim (נְבִיאִים Nəḇî’îm, “Prophets”) is the second main division of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh), between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim (writings). The Nevi’im are divided into two groups. The Former Prophets (נביאים ראשונים Nevi’im Rishonim) consists of the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings; while the Latter Prophets (נביאים אחרונים Nevi’im...