People Flashcards
Avraham
Biblical figure, vital to Jewish history as the first point of contact between God and the Jews. It was through Abraham that the idea of the Promised Land was created. Abraham was the recipient of the first covenant with God. … God promised that Abraham would become the father of many nations. Also important figure in Islam and Christianity
Ahad Ha Am
Asher Zvi Hirsch Ginsberg (1856 – 1927), primarily known by his Hebrew name and pen name Ahad Ha’am was one of the foremost pre-state Zionist thinkers. He is known as the founder of cultural Zionism. With his secular vision of a Jewish “spiritual center” in Israel, he confronted Theodor Herzl. Unlike Herzl, the founder of political Zionism, Ha’am strived for “a Jewish state and not merely a state of Jews”.
David Ben Gurion
David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first Prime Minister of Israel.
Theodor Herzl
Theodor Herzl (1860-1904). Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist, playwright, political activist, and writer who was the father of modern political Zionism. Herzl wrote ‘Der Judenstaat’ in late 1895.
Alfred Dreyfus
Alfred Dreyfus, (1859-1935), French army officer whose trial for treason began a 12-year controversy, known as the Dreyfus Affair, that deeply marked the political and social history of modern France.
King David
According to the Hebrew Bible, King David, (flourished c. 1000 BCE) was the second king of ancient Israel. He expanded Israel into a large kingdom centered in Jerusalem. Chose the Temple mount in Jerusalem but it was Salomon who built the first Temple. According to the bible, David killed the giant Goliath.
Ba’al Shem Tov
Baal Shem Tov, “Master of the Good Name,” was the title given to Israel ben Eliezer (1698‑1760), a mystic, a healer and founder of the Hasidic movement (Hasidism). Influenced by the Zohar, his message was that obedience to the commandments in every detail was to be replaced by a joyful and ardent desire to serve God with loving kindness - hesed in Hebrew, hence the name of the movement, Hasidism.
Joseph Caro
Joseph Caro (1488 – 1575), his best known work is the the Shulchan Aruch, the last great codification of Jewish law, which still holds authority for Jews today.
Moses
Moses, a biblical character, is the most important Jewish prophet. He’s traditionally (by Orthodox Jews) credited with writing the Torah and with leading the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. After Moses and the Jews leave Egypt, God gives him the Ten Commandments, which become the foundation of Jewish law and thought.
Ruth
Ruth is a biblical character, a woman who after being widowed remains with her mother-in-law Naomi and looks after her. Naomi helps Ruth to make a good marriage to the landowner Boaz and Boaz looks after Ruth. Ruth is the great-grandmother of king David. Her story is read on Shavuot and used to show the reward for good deeds.
Elijah
Elijah is a biblical prophet and a central figure in Jewish folklore, which is riddled with stories of his roaming the earth, performing miracles, and providing spiritual and physical healing. The Talmud features many tales of ancient rabbis encountering Elijah, who weighs in on their legal conversations, answers questions, gives advice, and reports what is going on in heaven.
In Jewish tradition, Elijah is the one who will announce the coming of the messiah and the redemption of Israel, a fact celebrated in a song traditionally sung during the Havdalah service at the close of Shabbat, which prays for Elijah’s return “speedily in our time.”
Jeremiah
Jeremiah was a prophet (c. 626 BC), guided by God to proclaim that the nation of Judah would suffer famine, foreign conquest, plunder, and captivity in a land of stranger and the destruction of Jerusalem. This was because Israel had forsaken God by worshiping the idols of Baal and burning their children as offerings to Baal. The nation had deviated so far from God’s laws that they had broken the covenant, causing God to withdraw his blessings.
Akiva
Akiva ben Yosef (c. 50 – 135 CE), also known as Rabbi Akiva, was a leading contributor to the Mishnah and to Midrash halakha (the ancient Judaic rabbinic method of Torah study).
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040 – 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi, was a medieval French rabbi and author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud and on the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh). Acclaimed for his ability to present the basic meaning of the text in a concise and lucid fashion, Rashi appeals to both learned scholars and beginner students, and his works remain a centerpiece of contemporary Jewish study. His commentary on the Talmud, which covers nearly all of the Babylonian Talmud (a total of 30 out of 39 tractates, due to his death), has been included in every edition of the Talmud since its first printing.
Maimonides
Moses Maimonides (1138–1204),is regarded by many as the greatest Jewish philosopher (also a physician, scientist and political advisor) of the Middle Ages. He lived during the 'Golden Age' of Spain in the twelfth century where Jews lived in peace under Muslim rule. His most enduring masterworks are the Mishneh Torah and the Guide of the Perplexed. Maimonides composed the Mishneh Torah (literally, a “repetition” or “second” Torah) over a 10-year period, continuing to edit it until his death. Comprising 14 books and nearly 1,000 chapters, it was the first ever comprehensive code of halakha (Jewish law). In his Commentary on the Mishnah, Maimonides outlined 13 principles of Jewish belief, itself a controversial undertaking in predominantly non-creedal Judaism. This monumental work laid the foundation for all subsequent Jewish philosophic inquiry known as Chakirah, and stimulated centuries of philosophic Jewish writing
