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Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/> Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/> Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/> Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/> Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/> Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/> Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/> Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
'Nazi plunder' refers to art theft and other items stolen as a result of the organized looting of European countries during the time of the Third Reich by agents acting on behalf of the ruling Nazi Party of Germany. Plundering occurred from 1933 until the end of World War II, although most plunder was acquired during the war. In addition to gold, silver and currency, cultural items of great significance were stolen, including paintings, ceramics, books, and religious treasures.<br/><br/> Although most of these items were recovered by agents of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program (MFAA), affectionately referred to as the Monuments Men, on behalf of the Allies immediately following the war, many are still missing.
<i>The History of the True Cross</i> or <i>The Legend of the True Cross</i> is a sequence of frescoes painted by Piero della Francesca in the Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo. It is his largest work, and generally considered one of his finest, and an early Renaissance masterpiece.<br/><br/> Its theme, derived from the popular 13th century book on the lives of saints by Jacopo da Voragine, the <i>Golden Legend</i>, is the triumph of the True Cross – the legend of the wood from the Garden of Eden becoming the Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. This work demonstrates Piero’s advanced knowledge of perspective and colour, his geometric orderliness and skill in pictorial construction.
The Jews of Kurdistan are the ancient Eastern Jewish communities inhabiting the region known as Kurdistan in northern Mesopotamia, roughly covering parts of northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey.<br/><br/> Their clothing and culture is similar to neighbouring Kurdish Muslims and Assyrians. Until their immigration to Israel in the 1940s and early 1950s, the Jews of Kurdistan lived as closed ethnic communities. The Jews of Kurdistan largely spoke Aramaic as a lingua franca, with some additionally speaking Kurdish dialects, in particular the Kurmanji dialect in Iraqi Kurdistan.<br/><br/> Today, the large majority of the Jews of Kurdistan and their descendants live in Israel.
Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/> Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
Shiviti are meditative representations of a menorah candlestick used in some Jewish communities for contemplation over God's name. They are usually placed over the <i>amud</i> - the podium from which the prayer service is led by the <i>hazzan</i>.<br/><br/> The Jews of Kurdistan are the ancient Eastern Jewish communities inhabiting the region known as Kurdistan in northern Mesopotamia, roughly covering parts of northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey.<br/><br/> Their clothing and culture is similar to neighbouring Kurdish Muslims and Assyrians. Until their immigration to Israel in the 1940s and early 1950s, the Jews of Kurdistan lived as closed ethnic communities. The Jews of Kurdistan largely spoke Aramaic as a lingua franca, with some additionally speaking Kurdish dialects, in particular the Kurmanji dialect in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Shiviti are meditative representations of a menorah candlestick used in some Jewish communities for contemplation over God's name. They are usually placed over the <i>amud</i> - the podium from which the prayer service is led by the <i>hazzan</i>.
The Torah (Hebrew: 'Instruction, Teaching'), or the Pentateuch, is the central reference of the religious Judaic tradition. It has a range of meanings. It can most specifically mean the first five books of the twenty-four books of the Tanakh, and it usually includes the <i>perushim</i> (rabbinic commentaries).
Shiviti are meditative representations of a menorah candlestick used in some Jewish communities for contemplation over God's name. They are usually placed over the <i>amud</i> - the podium from which the prayer service is led by the <i>hazzan</i>.
The Coburg Pentateuch, produced c. 1396, includes the Five Books of Moses (the Torah); the Five Scrolls, Haftarot (weekly readings from the Prophets) and grammatical treatises. The text of the Pentateuch was penned in an Ashkenazi square script by a master scribe named Simhah Levi, while the vocalization was done by Samuel bar Abraham of Molerstadt. The other textual parts in the codex were penned and vocalised by other scribes.<br/><br/> King Solomon, famed for his justice and wisdom is depicted sitting on a throne shaped like the roof of a building. At his feet there are several animals, most likely hinting at his ability to converse with the animal kingdom.
Shiviti are meditative representations of a menorah candlestick used in some Jewish communities for contemplation over God's name. They are usually placed over the <i>amud</i> - the podium from which the prayer service is led by the <i>hazzan</i>.
The Paradesi Synagogue (also known as the Cochin Jewish Synagogue or the Mattancherry Synagogue) is the oldest active synagogue in India and also the Commonwealth of Nations. Constructed in 1568, it is one of seven synagogues of the Malabar Yehudan people or Cochin Jewish community. The Paradesi is the only synagogue still active of the original seven.<br/><br/> The Malabari Jews (also known as Cochin Jews) formed a prosperous trading community of Kerala, and they controlled a major portion of the world wide spice trade. In 1568, the Jews of Kerala constructed the Paradesi Synagogue adjacent to the Mattancherry Palace, Cochin, now part of the Indian city of Ernakulam, on land given to them by the Raja of Kochi.
The Paradesi Synagogue (also known as the Cochin Jewish Synagogue or the Mattancherry Synagogue) is the oldest active synagogue in India and also the Commonwealth of Nations. Constructed in 1568, it is one of seven synagogues of the Malabar Yehudan people or Cochin Jewish community. The Paradesi is the only synagogue still active of the original seven.<br/><br/> The Malabari Jews (also known as Cochin Jews) formed a prosperous trading community of Kerala, and they controlled a major portion of the world wide spice trade. In 1568, the Jews of Kerala constructed the Paradesi Synagogue adjacent to the Mattancherry Palace, Cochin, now part of the Indian city of Ernakulam, on land given to them by the Raja of Kochi.
The Paradesi Synagogue (also known as the Cochin Jewish Synagogue or the Mattancherry Synagogue) is the oldest active synagogue in India and also the Commonwealth of Nations. Constructed in 1568, it is one of seven synagogues of the Malabar Yehudan people or Cochin Jewish community. The Paradesi is the only synagogue still active of the original seven.<br/><br/> The Malabari Jews (also known as Cochin Jews) formed a prosperous trading community of Kerala, and they controlled a major portion of the world wide spice trade. In 1568, the Jews of Kerala constructed the Paradesi Synagogue adjacent to the Mattancherry Palace, Cochin, now part of the Indian city of Ernakulam, on land given to them by the Raja of Kochi.
The Paradesi Synagogue (also known as the Cochin Jewish Synagogue or the Mattancherry Synagogue) is the oldest active synagogue in India and also the Commonwealth of Nations. Constructed in 1568, it is one of seven synagogues of the Malabar Yehudan people or Cochin Jewish community. The Paradesi is the only synagogue still active of the original seven.<br/><br/> The Malabari Jews (also known as Cochin Jews) formed a prosperous trading community of Kerala, and they controlled a major portion of the world wide spice trade. In 1568, the Jews of Kerala constructed the Paradesi Synagogue adjacent to the Mattancherry Palace, Cochin, now part of the Indian city of Ernakulam, on land given to them by the Raja of Kochi.
The Paradesi Synagogue (also known as the Cochin Jewish Synagogue or the Mattancherry Synagogue) is the oldest active synagogue in India and also the Commonwealth of Nations. Constructed in 1568, it is one of seven synagogues of the Malabar Yehudan people or Cochin Jewish community. The Paradesi is the only synagogue still active of the original seven.<br/><br/> The Malabari Jews (also known as Cochin Jews) formed a prosperous trading community of Kerala, and they controlled a major portion of the world wide spice trade. In 1568, the Jews of Kerala constructed the Paradesi Synagogue adjacent to the Mattancherry Palace, Cochin, now part of the Indian city of Ernakulam, on land given to them by the Raja of Kochi.
Palestine (Arabic: فلسطين‎ Filasṭīn, Falasṭīn, Filisṭīn; Greek: Παλαιστίνη, Palaistinē; Latin: Palaestina; Hebrew: פלשתינה Palestina) is a name given to the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. The region is also known as the Land of Israel (Hebrew: ארץ־ישראל Eretz-Yisra'el), the Holy Land and the Southern Levant.<br/><br/> In 1832 Palestine was conquered by Muhammad Ali's Egypt, but in 1840 Britain intervened and returned control of the Levant to the Ottomans in return for further capitulations. The end of the 19th century saw the beginning of Zionist immigration and the Revival of the Hebrew language. The movement was publicly supported by Great Britain during World War I with the Balfour Declaration of 1917. The British captured Jerusalem a month later, and were formally awarded a mandate in 1922.<br/><br/> In 1947, following World War II and the Holocaust, the British Government announced their desire to terminate the Mandate, and the United Nations General Assembly voted to partition the territory into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jewish leadership accepted the proposal but the Arab Higher Committee rejected it; a civil war began immediately, and the State of Israel was declared in 1948.<br/><br/> The 1948 Palestinian exodus, known in Arabic as the Nakba (Arabic: النكبة‎, an-Nakbah, 'The Catastrophe') occurred when approximately 711,000 to 725,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War during which Israel captured and incorporated a further 26% of Palestinian territory.<br/><br/> In the course of the Six Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the remainder of historic Palestine and began a continuing policy of Israeli settlement and annexation.
Palestine (Arabic: فلسطين‎ Filasṭīn, Falasṭīn, Filisṭīn; Greek: Παλαιστίνη, Palaistinē; Latin: Palaestina; Hebrew: פלשתינה Palestina) is a name given to the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. The region is also known as the Land of Israel (Hebrew: ארץ־ישראל Eretz-Yisra'el), the Holy Land and the Southern Levant.<br/><br/> In 1832 Palestine was conquered by Muhammad Ali's Egypt, but in 1840 Britain intervened and returned control of the Levant to the Ottomans in return for further capitulations. The end of the 19th century saw the beginning of Zionist immigration and the Revival of the Hebrew language. The movement was publicly supported by Great Britain during World War I with the Balfour Declaration of 1917. The British captured Jerusalem a month later, and were formally awarded a mandate in 1922.<br/><br/> In 1947, following World War II and the Holocaust, the British Government announced their desire to terminate the Mandate, and the United Nations General Assembly voted to partition the territory into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jewish leadership accepted the proposal but the Arab Higher Committee rejected it; a civil war began immediately, and the State of Israel was declared in 1948.<br/><br/> The 1948 Palestinian exodus, known in Arabic as the Nakba (Arabic: النكبة‎, an-Nakbah, 'The Catastrophe') occurred when approximately 711,000 to 725,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War during which Israel captured and incorporated a further 26% of Palestinian territory.<br/><br/> In the course of the Six Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the remainder of historic Palestine and began a continuing policy of Israeli settlement and annexation.
Palestine (Arabic: فلسطين‎ Filasṭīn, Falasṭīn, Filisṭīn; Greek: Παλαιστίνη, Palaistinē; Latin: Palaestina; Hebrew: פלשתינה Palestina) is a name given to the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. The region is also known as the Land of Israel (Hebrew: ארץ־ישראל Eretz-Yisra'el), the Holy Land and the Southern Levant.<br/><br/> In 1832 Palestine was conquered by Muhammad Ali's Egypt, but in 1840 Britain intervened and returned control of the Levant to the Ottomans in return for further capitulations. The end of the 19th century saw the beginning of Zionist immigration and the Revival of the Hebrew language. The movement was publicly supported by Great Britain during World War I with the Balfour Declaration of 1917. The British captured Jerusalem a month later, and were formally awarded a mandate in 1922.<br/><br/> In 1947, following World War II and the Holocaust, the British Government announced their desire to terminate the Mandate, and the United Nations General Assembly voted to partition the territory into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jewish leadership accepted the proposal but the Arab Higher Committee rejected it; a civil war began immediately, and the State of Israel was declared in 1948.<br/><br/> The 1948 Palestinian exodus, known in Arabic as the Nakba (Arabic: النكبة‎, an-Nakbah, 'The Catastrophe') occurred when approximately 711,000 to 725,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War during which Israel captured and incorporated a further 26% of Palestinian territory.<br/><br/> In the course of the Six Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the remainder of historic Palestine and began a continuing policy of Israeli settlement and annexation.
Profusely illustrated with people, flowers, birds and imaginary creatures, this prayer book for the Jewish Festival of Passover is one of the most richly pictorial of all Jewish texts. Meant to accompany the Passover eve service and festive meal, it was also a status symbol for its owner in 14th-century Spain.<br/><br/> Unlike other Spanish Haggadah manuscripts, the Barcelona Haggadah lacks the characteristic cycle of full-page Biblical narratives that normally prefaces the main text. By contrast, nearly all its folios are filled with miniatures depicting Passover rituals, Biblical and Midrashic episodes, and symbolic foods.<br/><br/> Particularly striking are the tooled Gothic word panels and the lush marginal foliage scrolls interwoven with human figures, birds, hybrids, grotesques and fabulous animals, as this opening shows. Occasionally, animals are portrayed performing human activities, a humorous element probably borrowed from Latin codices.<br/><br/> The lower panel on this page contains a mnemonic sign (memory aid) of the rituals that should be performed if Passover falls at the close of the Sabbath.
The Leningrad Codex (or Codex Leningradensis) is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the masoretic text and Tiberian vocalization. It is dated AD 1008 (or possibly AD 1009) according to its colophon. The Aleppo Codex, against which the Leningrad Codex was corrected, is several decades older, but parts of it have been missing since 1947, making the Leningrad Codex the oldest complete codex of the Tiberian mesorah that has survived intact to this day. In modern times, the Leningrad Codex is most important as the Hebrew text reproduced in Biblia Hebraica (1937) and Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (1977). It also serves scholars as a primary source for the recovery of details in the missing parts of the Aleppo Codex.
This scene is taken from the Book of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible, or the Christian Old Testament.<br/><br/> King David of Israel looked out of his palace one evening and saw Bathsheba bathing, assisted by her two servants. He immediately fell in love with her. Although she was married—the wife of Uriah the Hittite—King David was smitten by her beauty and seduced her, making her pregnant. He took her to be his wife and she gave birth to Solomon.
Dutch painter Laurens Alma Tadema lived in London where he developed a keen interest in Egypt and its ancient history.<br/><br/> In this masterpiece, he depicts a scene from the Book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, in which God sends the Egyptians a series of plagues, the last of which is the death of every firstborn son in the land of the Pharaohs.<br/><br/> From Exodus 12:29.32:<br/><br/> “And at midnight the Lord smote all the first-born in the Land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sat on his throne, to the first-born of the captive in the dungeon and all the first- born of the cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone.”
In this scene from the Book of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), the Witch of Endor summons the spirit of the recently deceased prophet Samuel at the request of Saul, the king of Israel.<br/><br/> King Saul had consulted the witch, often referred to as the Medium of Endor, on the eve of a battle with the Philistines. The witch summons Samuel who prophesizes that the Philistines will win the battle and that Saul’s sons will be killed. Saul is told he is being punished for turning his back on God. The prophesy comes true and Saul commits suicide by falling on his sword.
In the classic tale from the Hebrew Bible, or Christian Old Testament, Samson is an Israelite of great physical strength. He confides in his lover, Delilah, that the secret of his strength is his long hair, which has never been cut since the day he was born. Delilah—perhaps one of history’s first ‘femmes fatales’—betrays Samson by informing his enemies.<br/><br/> In this famous scene, Samson is asleep in the lap of his mistress who urges two accomplices to cut Samson’s hair with the scissors she wields.<br/><br/> His hair cut and strength diminished, Samson is overpowered and arrested by the soldiers at the door. But when he is taken in chains to a temple feast, Samson pushes over two great pillars causing the entire temple to fall down, killing everyone inside, including himself.
In the classic tale from the Hebrew Bible, or Christian Old Testament, Samson is an Israelite of great physical strength. He confides in his lover, Delilah, that the secret of his strength is his long hair, which has never been cut since the day he was born. Delilah betrays Samson by informing his enemies.<br/><br/> In this famous scene, Samson is asleep in the lap of his mistress who urges an accomplice to cut Samson’s hair with the scissors she wields. He is hesitant and afraid.<br/><br/> Eventually, the servant cuts Samson’s hair. Samson is overpowered and arrested. But when he is taken in chains to a temple feast, Samson pushes over two great pillars causing the entire temple to fall down, killing everyone inside, including himself.
In a famous scene from the Hebrew Bible, or Christian Old Testament, Isaac—the only son of Abraham and Sarah— blesses his younger son Jacob from his deathbed.<br/><br/> Now Isaac is old and blind, and thinks he is blessing his elder son, Esau. Jacob has covered his hands in goatskin in imitation of his hirsute brother Esau to trick his father. Jacob’s mother, Rebecca, looks on anxiously. She is an accomplice to Jacob’s scheme. To win over her son’s heart, Rebecca has prepared a meal of goat meat for him. It lies on a table behind them.<br/><br/> Govert Flinck (1615-60) was a student of Rembrandt until 1636 when he moved toward another mentor, Rembrandt’s rival Van der Helst.
In this tale from the Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, God was dissatisfied with the sins of mankind and he decided to purge the earth of every person except the righteous Noah and his wife.<br/><br/> God instructed Noah to build an ark and to save two of each earthly creature on board. Noah complied, and as soon as the ark was built, God flooded the earth and killed everyone except Noah and his wife.<br/><br/> After the waters receded, God appeared before Noah—as depicted in this scene on a huge wool and silk tapestry—and made a covenant: to protect Noah and his family, and allow them to inherit the earth.
Van Haarlem depicts a horrific scene from the Old Testament of the Christian Bible in this 16th century oil on canvas masterpiece.<br/><br/> King Herod has heard that a new King of the Jews has been born in Bethlehem. Unable to identify the Messiah, he orders his soldiers to kill every boy in Bethlehem aged two or under. According to the Hebrew Bible, Mary and Joseph had already fled to Egypt with their newborn, Jesus. They stayed in Egypt until after Herod's death.<br/><br/> In the painting, Herod's naked soldiers kill mothers protecting their babies. Then they murder the babies too. In the left corner, a gang of mothers tackle a soldier and gouge out his eyes.
According to Christian legend, Mary and Joseph took their new son, Jesus, to the Temple in Jerusalem where two people immediately recognized him as the Messiah, the son of God. One was an old man called Simeon; the other was a pious old woman named Anna.<br/><br/> In the Middle Ages, Anna was often included in portrayals of the presentation at the Temple or the Circumcision. Here, Rembrandt van Rijn show St. Anna reading a Hebrew bible.
Zedekiah had been installed as king of Jerusalem by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II following the Siege of Jerusalem in 597 BCE. But Zedekiah revolted against Babylon, and entered into an alliance with Pharaoh Hophra, the king of Egypt. In 589 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar began an 18-month siege of Jerusalem, eventually breaking down Jerusalem's walls and conquering the city. Jerusalem was plundered, its temples were burnt down, and most of its inhabitants were taken into captivity in Babylon.<br/><br/> The Prophet Jeremiah had tried to warn Zedekiah against breaking his alliance with Babylon. After conquering Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar ordered Zedekiah’s eyes gouged out. Jeremiah was well-treated however, and went on to live in Egypt. He is credited with writing the Books of Jeremiah, Kings I and Kings II in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible), and the Book of Lamentations.
According to the Book of Genesis, which is the first book of the Christian Old Testament or Hebrew Bible, God created the universe in seven days. On the sixth day, he created ‘Adam’, the Hebrew word for ‘man’, and placed him in Paradise—the Garden of Eden. From one of Adam’s ribs, God then created a mate for him: Eve, meaning ‘Mother of Life’.<br/><br/> Adam and Eve were permitted to eat all the fruit in the garden except that from the ‘Tree of Knowledge’. However, the devil, disguised as a serpent, persuaded Eve to eat the forbidden fruit—an apple—and she gave in to the temptation. This was considered mankind’s first sin.
According to the Book of Genesis, which is the first book of the Christian Old Testament or Hebrew Bible, God created the universe in seven days. On the sixth day, he created ‘Adam’, the Hebrew word for ‘man’, and placed him in Paradise—the Garden of Eden. From one of Adam’s ribs, God then created a mate for him: Eve, meaning ‘Mother of Life’.<br/><br/> Adam and Eve were permitted to eat all the fruit in the garden except that from the ‘Tree of Knowledge’. However, the devil, disguised as a serpent, persuaded Eve to eat the forbidden fruit—an apple—and she gave in to the temptation.<br/><br/> This was considered mankind’s first sin.
The Cairo Geniza is an accumulation of almost 280,000 Jewish manuscript fragments that were found in the ‘genizah’, or store room, of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat, presently Old Cairo. The documents were written from about 870 CE to as late as 1880.
Esther (Hebrew: אֶסְתֵּרr), born Hadassah, is the eponymous heroine of the Biblical 'Book of Esther'.<br/><br/> According to the Bible, she was a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus. Ahasuerus is traditionally identified with Xerxes I (r. 486-465 BCE) during the time of the Achaemenid empire. Her story is the basis for the celebration of Purim in Jewish tradition.
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Rambam (Hebrew acronym for 'Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon'), was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages.<br/><br/> He was born in Córdoba, Spain on Passover Eve, 1135, and died in Egypt (or Tiberias) on 20th Tevet, December 12, 1204. He was a rabbi, physician and philosopher in Morocco and Egypt. Although his writings on Jewish law and ethics were met with acclaim and gratitude from most Jews even as far off as Spain, Iraq and Yemen, and he rose to be the revered head of the Jewish community in Egypt, there were also respectful critics of some of his rulings and other writings particularly in Spain. Nevertheless, he was posthumously acknowledged to be one of the foremost rabbinical arbiters and philosophers in Jewish history, his copious work a cornerstone of Jewish scholarship. His fourteen-volume Mishneh Torah still carries canonical authority as a codification of Talmudic law.<br/><br/> In the Yeshiva world he is known as 'haNesher haGadol' (the great eagle) in recognition of his outstanding status as a bona fide exponent of the Oral Torah.
Selichot or slichot (Hebrew: סליחות‎) are Jewish penitential poems and prayers, especially those said in the period leading up to the High Holidays, and on Fast Days. God's Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are a central theme throughout these prayers.<br/><br/> In the Sephardic tradition, recital of Selichot in preparation for the High Holidays begins on the second day of the Hebrew month of Elul. In the Ashkenazic tradition, it begins on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah. If, however, the first day of Rosh Hashanah falls on Monday or Tuesday, Selichot are said beginning the Saturday night prior to ensure that Selichot are recited at least four times.<br/><br/> This may be because originally the pious would fast for ten days during the season of repentance, and four days before Rosh Hashanah were added to compensate for the four of the Ten days of Repentance on which fasting is forbidden - the two days of Rosh Hashanah, Shabbat Shuvah, and the day preceding Yom Kippur - and, while the fasts have since been abandoned, the Selichot that accompanied them have been retained.
Hebrew is a West Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is regarded as the language of the Hebrews / Israelites and their ancestors. The earliest examples of written Paleo-Hebrew date from the 10th century BCE, in the form of primitive drawings.<br/><br/> Aramaic (Classical Syriac: ܐܪܡܝܐ Aramaya) is a family of languages (traditionally referred to as "dialects") belonging to the Semitic family. More specifically, it is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily, which also includes Canaanite languages such as Hebrew and Phoenician. The Aramaic script was widely adopted for other languages and is ancestral to both the Arabic and modern Hebrew alphabets.
Esther (Hebrew: אֶסְתֵּרr), born Hadassah, is the eponymous heroine of the Biblical 'Book of Esther'.<br/><br/> According to the Bible, she was a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus. Ahasuerus is traditionally identified with Xerxes I (r. 486-465 BCE) during the time of the Achaemenid empire. Her story is the basis for the celebration of Purim in Jewish tradition.
Esther (Hebrew: אֶסְתֵּרr), born Hadassah, is the eponymous heroine of the Biblical 'Book of Esther'.<br/><br/> According to the Bible, she was a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus. Ahasuerus is traditionally identified with Xerxes I (r. 486-465 BCE) during the time of the Achaemenid empire. Her story is the basis for the celebration of Purim in Jewish tradition.
Hebrew is a West Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is regarded as the language of the Hebrews / Israelites and their ancestors. The earliest examples of written Paleo-Hebrew date from the 10th century BCE, in the form of primitive drawings.
Esther (Hebrew: אֶסְתֵּרr), born Hadassah, is the eponymous heroine of the Biblical 'Book of Esther'.<br/><br/> According to the Bible, she was a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus. Ahasuerus is traditionally identified with Xerxes I (r. 486-465 BCE) during the time of the Achaemenid empire. Her story is the basis for the celebration of Purim in Jewish tradition.
Jewish Illuminated manuscript of the Haggadah for Passover (fourteenth century).
Esther (Hebrew: אֶסְתֵּרr), born Hadassah, is the eponymous heroine of the Biblical 'Book of Esther'.<br/><br/> According to the Bible, she was a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus. Ahasuerus is traditionally identified with Xerxes I (r. 486-465 BCE) during the time of the Achaemenid empire. Her story is the basis for the celebration of Purim in Jewish tradition.
Esther (Hebrew: אֶסְתֵּרr), born Hadassah, is the eponymous heroine of the Biblical 'Book of Esther'.<br/><br/> According to the Bible, she was a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus. Ahasuerus is traditionally identified with Xerxes I (r. 486-465 BCE) during the time of the Achaemenid empire. Her story is the basis for the celebration of Purim in Jewish tradition.
Al-Andalus (Arabic: الأندلس‎, trans. al-ʼAndalus, Spanish: Al-Ándalus, Portuguese: Al-Andalus) was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims (often given the generic name of Moors), at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries underwent constant changes due to wars with the Christian Kingdoms.<br/><br/> Following the Muslim conquest of Hispania, Al-Andalus was divided into five administrative areas roughly corresponding to Andalusia, Galicia and Portugal, Castile and León, Aragon and Catalonia, and Septimania. As a political domain or domains, it successively constituted a province of the Umayyad Caliphate, initiated by the Caliph Al-Walid I (711–750); the Emirate of Córdoba (c. 750–929); the Caliphate of Córdoba (929–1031); and the Caliphate of Córdoba's taifa (successor) kingdoms.<br/><br/> Rule under these kingdoms saw the rise in cultural exchange and cooperation between Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Under the Caliphate of Córdoba, al-Andalus was a beacon of learning, and the city of Córdoba became one of the leading cultural and economic centres in both the Mediterranean Basin and the Islamic world.