1.
Seal of Solomon
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The Seal of Solomon is the signet ring attributed to King Solomon in medieval Jewish tradition, later also in Islamic and Western occultism. It was often depicted in either a pentagram or hexagram shape and this ring variously gave Solomon the power to command demons, genies, or to speak with animals. The legend of the Seal of Solomon was developed primarily by medieval Arabic writers, the ring was made from brass and iron, and the two parts were used to seal written commands to good and evil spirits, respectively. In one tale, a demon, either Asmodeus, or Sakhr, obtained possession of the ring and ruled in Solomons stead for forty days. In a variant of the tale of the ring of Polycrates from Herodotus, the demon eventually threw the ring into the sea, where it was swallowed by a fish, caught by a fisherman, and served to Solomon. In Islamic eschatology, the Beast of the Earth is equipped both the Staff of Moses and the Seal of Solomon and uses the latter to stamp the nose of the unbelievers. The date of origin legends surrounding the Seal of Solomon is difficult to establish, the Tractate Gittin of the Mishnah has a story involving Solomon, Asmodeus, and a ring with the divine name engraved. The specification of the design of the seal as a hexagram seems to arise from a medieval Arab tradition, the name Solomons seal was given to the hexagram engraved on the bottom of drinking-cups in Arab tradition. In the Arabian Nights, Sindbad presented Harun al-Rashid with such a cup, on which the Table of Solomon was engraved. The hexagram or Star of David, which became a symbol of Judaism in the period and was placed on the flag of Israel in 1948, has its origins in 14th-century depictions of the Seal of Solomon. Peter de Abanos Heptameron makes reference to the Pentacle of Solomon to invoke various demons, lippmann Moses Büschenthal wrote a tragedy with the title Der Siegelring Salomonis. An Order of the Seal of Solomon was established in 1874 in Ethiopia, where the ruling house claimed descent from Solomon
2.
Hexagram
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A hexagram or sexagram is a six-pointed geometric star figure with the Schläfli symbol,2, or. It is the compound of two equilateral triangles, the intersection is a regular hexagon. It is used in historical, religious and cultural contexts, for example in Hanafism, Jewish identity, in mathematics, the root system for the simple Lie group G2 is in the form of a hexagram, with six long roots and six short roots. A six-pointed star, like a hexagon, can be created using a compass. Without changing the radius of the compass, set its pivot on the circles circumference, with the pivot on the last point found, similarly find a third point on the circumference, and repeat until six such points have been marked. With a straight edge, join alternate points on the circumference to form two overlapping equilateral triangles. It is possible that as a geometric shape, like for example the triangle, circle, or square. The hexagram is a symbol called satkona yantra or sadkona yantra found on ancient South Indian Hindu temples. It symbolizes the nara-narayana, or perfect meditative state of balance achieved between Man and God, and if maintained, results in moksha, or nirvana, some researchers have theorized that the hexagram represents the astrological chart at the time of Davids birth or anointment as king. The hexagram is also known as the Kings Star in astrological circles, in antique papyri, pentagrams, together with stars and other signs, are frequently found on amulets bearing the Jewish names of God, and used to guard against fever and other diseases. Curiously the hexagram is not found among these signs, in the Greek Magical Papyri at Paris and London there are 22 signs side by side, and a circle with twelve signs, but neither a pentagram nor a hexagram. Six-pointed stars have also found in cosmological diagrams in Hinduism, Buddhism. The reasons behind this symbols common appearance in Indic religions and the West are unknown, one possibility is that they have a common origin. The other possibility is that artists and religious people from several cultures independently created the hexagram shape, within Indic lore, the shape is generally understood to consist of two triangles—one pointed up and the other down—locked in harmonious embrace. The two components are called Om and the Hrim in Sanskrit, and symbolize mans position between earth and sky, the downward triangle symbolizes Shakti, the sacred embodiment of femininity, and the upward triangle symbolizes Shiva, or Agni Tattva, representing the focused aspects of masculinity. The mystical union of the two triangles represents Creation, occurring through the union of male and female. The two locked triangles are known as Shanmukha—the six-faced, representing the six faces of Shiva & Shaktis progeny Kartikeya. This symbol is also a part of several yantras and has significance in Hindu ritual worship
3.
Hebrew
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Hebrew is a language native to Israel, spoken by over 9 million people worldwide, of whom over 5 million are in Israel. Historically, it is regarded as the language of the Israelites and their ancestors, the earliest examples of written Paleo-Hebrew date from the 10th century BCE. Hebrew belongs to the West Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family, Hebrew is the only living Canaanite language left, and the only truly successful example of a revived dead language. Hebrew had ceased to be a spoken language somewhere between 200 and 400 CE, declining since the aftermath of the Bar Kokhba revolt. Aramaic and to a lesser extent Greek were already in use as international languages, especially among elites and it survived into the medieval period as the language of Jewish liturgy, rabbinic literature, intra-Jewish commerce, and poetry. Then, in the 19th century, it was revived as a spoken and literary language, and, according to Ethnologue, had become, as of 1998, the language of 5 million people worldwide. After Israel, the United States has the second largest Hebrew-speaking population, with 220,000 fluent speakers, Modern Hebrew is one of the two official languages of the State of Israel, while premodern Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jewish communities around the world today. Ancient Hebrew is also the tongue of the Samaritans, while modern Hebrew or Arabic is their vernacular. For this reason, Hebrew has been referred to by Jews as Leshon Hakodesh, the modern word Hebrew is derived from the word Ivri, one of several names for the Israelite people. It is traditionally understood to be a based on the name of Abrahams ancestor, Eber. This name is based upon the root ʕ-b-r meaning to cross over. Interpretations of the term ʕibrim link it to this verb, cross over, in the Bible, the Hebrew language is called Yәhudit because Judah was the surviving kingdom at the time of the quotation. In Isaiah 19,18 it is called the Language of Canaan, Hebrew belongs to the Canaanite group of languages. In turn, the Canaanite languages are a branch of the Northwest Semitic family of languages, according to Avraham ben-Yosef, Hebrew flourished as a spoken language in the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah during about 1200 to 586 BCE. Scholars debate the degree to which Hebrew was a vernacular in ancient times following the Babylonian exile. In July 2008 Israeli archaeologist Yossi Garfinkel discovered a ceramic shard at Khirbet Qeiyafa which he claimed may be the earliest Hebrew writing yet discovered, dating around 3000 years ago. The Gezer calendar also dates back to the 10th century BCE at the beginning of the Monarchic Period, classified as Archaic Biblical Hebrew, the calendar presents a list of seasons and related agricultural activities. The Gezer calendar is written in an old Semitic script, akin to the Phoenician one that through the Greeks, the Gezer calendar is written without any vowels, and it does not use consonants to imply vowels even in the places where later Hebrew spelling requires it
4.
Biblical Hebrew
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The term Hebrew was not used for the language in the Bible, which was referred to as Canaanite or Judahite, but the name was used in Greek and Mishnaic Hebrew texts. Biblical Hebrew is attested from about the 10th century BCE, and persisted through and beyond the Second Temple period, Biblical Hebrew eventually developed into Mishnaic Hebrew, which was spoken until the second century CE. There is also evidence of regional dialectal variation, including differences between Biblical Hebrew as spoken in the northern Kingdom of Israel and in the southern Kingdom of Judah. Biblical Hebrew has been written with a number of different writing systems, the Hebrews adopted the Phoenician alphabet around the 12th century BCE, which developed into the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet. This was retained by the Samaritans, who use the descendent Samaritan alphabet to this day, however, the Aramaic alphabet gradually displaced the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet for the Jews, and it became the source for the modern Hebrew alphabet. All of these scripts were lacking letters to represent all of the sounds of Biblical Hebrew, though these sounds are reflected in Greek and these scripts originally only indicated consonants, but certain letters, known by the Latin term matres lectionis, became increasingly used to mark vowels. In the Middle Ages, various systems of diacritics were developed to mark the vowels in Hebrew manuscripts, of these, Biblical Hebrew possessed a series of emphatic consonants whose precise articulation is disputed, likely ejective or pharyngealized. Earlier Biblical Hebrew possessed three consonants which did not have their own letters in the system, but over time they merged with other consonants. The stop consonants developed fricative allophones under the influence of Aramaic, the pharyngeal and glottal consonants underwent weakening in some regional dialects, as reflected in the modern Samaritan Hebrew reading tradition. Biblical Hebrew had a typical Semitic morphology with nonconcatenative morphology, arranging Semitic roots into patterns to form words, Biblical Hebrew distinguished two genders, three numbers. Verbs were marked for voice and mood, and had two conjugations which may have indicated aspect and/or tense, the tense or aspect of verbs was also influenced by the conjugation ו, in the so-called waw-consecutive construction. Default word order was verb–subject–object, and verbs inflected for the number, gender, pronominal suffixes could be appended to verbs or nouns, and nouns had special construct states for use in possessive constructions. The earliest written sources refer to Biblical Hebrew by the name of the land in which it was spoken, the Hebrew Bible also shows that the language was called יהודית Judaean, Judahite. In the Hellenistic period Greek writings use the names Hebraios, Hebraïsti, Jews also began referring to Hebrew as לשון הקדש the Holy Tongue in Mishnaic Hebrew. The term Classical Hebrew may include all pre-medieval dialects of Hebrew, including Mishnaic Hebrew, the term Biblical Hebrew refers to pre-Mishnaic dialects. The archeological record for the prehistory of Biblical Hebrew is far more complete than the record of Biblical Hebrew itself, Early Northwest Semitic materials are attested from 2350 BCE to 1200 BCE, the end of the Bronze Age. Hebrew developed during the half of the second millennium BCE between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea, an area known as Canaan. The earliest Hebrew writing yet discovered was found at Khirbet Qeiyafa, the kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BCE
5.
Tiberian Hebrew
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Tiberian Hebrew is the canonical pronunciation of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh committed to writing by Masoretic scholars living in the Jewish community of Tiberias in ancient Judea c. They wrote in the form of Tiberian vocalization, which employed diacritics added to the Hebrew letters, vowel signs and consonant diacritics and the so-called accents. These together with the marginal notes masora magna and masora parva make up the Tiberian apparatus, though the written vowels and accents came into use only c.750 CE, the oral tradition they reflect is many centuries older, with ancient roots. Todays Hebrew grammar books do not teach the Tiberian Hebrew that was described by the early grammarians, the prevailing view is that of David Qimchis system of dividing the graphic signs into short and long vowels. The values assigned to the Tiberian vowel signs reveals a Sephardi tradition of pronunciation, in the last two, it is evident that the chain of transmission is breaking down or that their interpretations are influenced by local tradition. Other traditions such as the vocalization of the Land of Israel, each community developed systems of notation for pronunciation in each dialect, some of which are common among the traditions. Transcriptions of Biblical text into Arabic characters and then vocalized with Tiberian signs, they provide an aid to pronouncing Tiberian Hebrew, especially for syllable structure, Tiberian Hebrew has 29 consonantal phonemes, represented by 22 letters. The sin dot distinguishes between the two values of ש, with a dot on the left being pronounced the same as the letter Samekh, the letters בגדכפת had two values each, plosive and fricative. The following are the most salient characteristics of the Tiberian Hebrew consonantal pronunciation, Waw ו conjunctive was read, before the vowels and shva, as אוּ /ʔu/. The threefold pronunciation of Resh ר, because of the proximity of a dental consonant, it is likely that Resh was then pronounced as an alveolar trill, as it still is in Sephardi Hebrew. C) There is still another pronunciation, affected by the addition of a dagesh in the Resh in certain words in the Bible, as can be seen, this pronunciation has to do with the progressive increase in length of this consonant. It was preserved only by the population of Maazya, which is in Tiberias, a possible threefold pronunciation of Taw ת. There are three words in the Torah, Prophets and Writings of which is said that the Taw is pronounced harder than usual. /ɛ/ has phonemic value in final stressed position רְעֶה רְעִי רָעָה, מִקְנֶה מְקַנֵּה, קָנֶה קָנָה קָנֹה, by the Tiberian period, all short vowels in stressed syllables had lengthened, making vowel length allophonic. Vowels in open or stressed syllables had allophonic length, the Tiberian tradition possesses three reduced vowels /ă ɔ̆ ɛ̆/ of which /ɛ̆/ has questionable phonemicity. /ă/, under a letter, was pronounced as an ultrashort copy of the following vowel before a guttural. However, it was pronounced as under gutturals, חֲיִי. Stress is most commonly ultimate, less commonly penultimate and rarely antipenultimate stress, as described above, vowel length was dependent on syllable structure. Open syllables must take long or ultrashort vowels, stressed closed syllables take long vowels, traditional Hebrew philology considers ultrashort vowels not to be syllable nuclei
6.
Modern Hebrew
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Modern Hebrew or Israeli Hebrew, generally referred to by speakers simply as Hebrew, is the standard form of the Hebrew language spoken today. It was revived as a language in the 19th and 20th centuries and is one of the two official languages of Israel, along with Modern Standard Arabic. Modern Hebrew is spoken by about nine people, counting native, fluent. The organization that directs the development of the Modern Hebrew language. The most common term for the language is Modern Hebrew. Most people refer to it simply as Hebrew, the term Modern Hebrew has been described as somewhat problematic as it implies unambiguous periodization from Biblical Hebrew. Rosén supported the now widely used term Israeli Hebrew on the basis that it represented the nature of Hebrew. In 2006, Israeli linguist Ghilad Zuckermann proposed the term Israeli to represent the origins of the language. Jewish contemporary sources describe Hebrew flourishing as a language in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Scholars debate the degree to which Hebrew remained a spoken vernacular following the Babylonian captivity, Hebrew died out as a vernacular language somewhere between 200 and 400 CE, declining after the Bar Kokhba revolt of 132–136 CE, which devastated the population of Judea. After the exile Hebrew became restricted to liturgical use, the revival of the Hebrew language was led by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Modern Hebrew used Biblical Hebrew morphemes, Mishnaic spelling, and Sephardic pronunciation, idioms and calques were made from Yiddish. Ben-Yehuda used a stock of 8,000 words from the Bible and 20,000 words from rabbinical commentaries and codified and planned the new language, some words he invented, such as ḥatzilīm for eggplants and ḥashmal for electricity. Sometimes, old Hebrew words took on different meanings altogether, for example, the Hebrew word kǝvīš, which now denotes a street or a road, is actually an Aramaic adjective meaning trodden down, blazoned, rather than a common noun. It was originally used to describe a blazoned trail, for a simple comparison between the Sephardic version of Mishnaic Hebrew and the Yemenite version of the same, see Yemenite Hebrew. Modern Hebrew is classified as an Afroasiatic language of the Semitic family, although it has been influenced by non-Semitic languages, Modern Hebrew retains its Semitic character in its morphology and in much of its syntax. A minority of scholars argue that the language had been so influenced by various substrate languages that it is genealogically a hybrid with Indo-European. These theories have not been met with acceptance, and Modern Hebrew continues to be considered a Semitic language by most experts
7.
Yiddish
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Yiddish is the historical language of the Ashkenazi Jews. Yiddish is written with a fully vocalized alphabet based on the Hebrew script, the earliest surviving references date from the 12th century and call the language לשון־אַשכּנז or טײַטש, a variant of tiutsch, the contemporary name for Middle High German. Colloquially, the language is sometimes called מאַמע־לשון, distinguishing it from לשון־קדש, the term Yiddish, short for Yiddish-Teitsch, did not become the most frequently used designation in the literature until the 18th century. In the late 19th and into the 20th century the language was commonly called Jewish, especially in non-Jewish contexts. Modern Yiddish has two major forms, Eastern Yiddish is far more common today. It includes Southeastern, Mideastern, and Northeastern dialects, Eastern Yiddish differs from Western both by its far greater size and by the extensive inclusion of words of Slavic origin. Western Yiddish is divided into Southwestern, Midwestern, and Northwestern dialects, the term Yiddish is also used in the adjectival sense, synonymously with Jewish, to designate attributes of Ashkenazi culture. Prior to the Holocaust, there were over 10 million speakers of Yiddish, 85% of the Jews who died in the Holocaust were Yiddish speakers, assimilation following World War II further decreased the use of Yiddish both among survivors and Yiddish-speakers from other countries. However, the number of speakers is increasing in global Hasidic communities, the established view is that, as with other Jewish languages, Jews speaking distinct languages learned new co-territorial vernaculars, which they then Judaized. Exactly what German base lies behind the earliest form of Yiddish is disputed, both Weinreich and Solomon Birnbaum developed this model further in the mid-1950s. In Weinreichs view, this Old Yiddish substrate later bifurcated into two versions of the language, Western and Eastern Yiddish. They retained the Semitic vocabulary needed for religious purposes and created a Judeo-German form of speech, recent linguistic research has finessed, contested, or challenged the Weinreich model, providing alternative approaches to the origins of Yiddish. Some theorists argue that the fusion occurred with a Bavarian dialect base, the two main candidates for the germinal matrix of Yiddish, the Rhineland and Bavaria, are not necessarily incompatible. There may have been developments in the two regions, seeding the Western and Eastern dialects of Modern Yiddish. Dovid Katz proposes that Yiddish emerged from contact between speakers of High German and Aramaic-speaking Jews from the Middle East, wexlers model has met with little academic support, and strong critical challenges, especially among historical linguists. Alternative theories recognize the extent of Yiddishs Germanic vocabulary. Ashkenaz was centered on the Rhineland and the Palatinate, in what is now the westernmost part of Germany and its geographic extent did not coincide with the German principalities of the time, and it included northern France. Ashkenaz bordered on the inhabited by another distinctive Jewish cultural group, the Sephardim or Spanish Jews
8.
Jewish identity
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Jewish identity is the objective or subjective state of perceiving oneself as a Jew and as relating to being Jewish. Under a broader definition, Jewish identity does not depend on whether a person is regarded as a Jew by others, or by a set of religious, or legal. Jewish identity does not need to imply religious orthodoxy, accordingly, Jewish identity can be cultural in nature. Jewish identity can involve ties to the Jewish community, orthodox Judaism bases Jewishness on matrilineal descent. According to Jewish law, all born of a Jewish mother are considered Jewish. Jews who are atheists may have a Jewish identity, Jewish identity can be described as consisting of three interconnected parts, Jewish peoplehood, an ethnic identity composed of several subdivisions that evolved in the Diaspora. Jewish religion, observance of spiritual and ritual tenets of Judaism, Jewish culture, celebration of traditions, secular and religious alike. Jewish identity can be cultural, religious, and/or through ancestry, however, Jewish identity is firmly intertwined with Jewish ancestry dating back to the historical Kingdom of Israel, which was largely depopulated by the Roman Empire c. First century CE, leading to what is known as today as the Jewish Diaspora, Jewish identity began to gain the attention of Jewish sociologists in the United States with the publication of Marshall Sklares Lakeville studies. Among other topics explored in the studies was Sklares notion of a good Jew, the good Jew was essentially an idealized form of Jewish identity as expressed by the Lakeville respondents. According to the social-psychologist Simon Herman, antisemitism plays a part in shaping Jewish identity and this view is echoed by religious leaders such as Rabbi Jonathan Sacks who writes that modern Jewish communities and the modern Jewish identity are deeply influenced by antisemitism. What makes Jewish Identity on the web, HERMAN, Simon N. Jewish Identity, A Social Psychological Perspective. GOLDBERG, David Theo & KRAUSZ, Michael, half-jewish Three Intellectuals and a People, by Laurent Cohen
9.
Judaism
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Judaism encompasses the religion, philosophy, culture and way of life of the Jewish people. Judaism is an ancient monotheistic Abrahamic religion, with the Torah as its text, and supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Midrash. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the relationship that God established with the Children of Israel. With between 14.5 and 17.4 million adherents worldwide, Judaism is the tenth-largest religion in the world, Judaism includes a wide corpus of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. Modern branches of Judaism such as Humanistic Judaism may be nontheistic, today, the largest Jewish religious movements are Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism. Major sources of difference between groups are their approaches to Jewish law, the authority of the Rabbinic tradition. Orthodox Judaism maintains that the Torah and Jewish law are divine in origin, eternal and unalterable, Conservative and Reform Judaism are more liberal, with Conservative Judaism generally promoting a more traditional interpretation of Judaisms requirements than Reform Judaism. A typical Reform position is that Jewish law should be viewed as a set of guidelines rather than as a set of restrictions and obligations whose observance is required of all Jews. Historically, special courts enforced Jewish law, today, these still exist. Authority on theological and legal matters is not vested in any one person or organization, the history of Judaism spans more than 3,000 years. Judaism has its roots as a religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age. Judaism is considered one of the oldest monotheistic religions, the Hebrews and Israelites were already referred to as Jews in later books of the Tanakh such as the Book of Esther, with the term Jews replacing the title Children of Israel. Judaisms texts, traditions and values strongly influenced later Abrahamic religions, including Christianity, Islam, many aspects of Judaism have also directly or indirectly influenced secular Western ethics and civil law. Jews are a group and include those born Jewish and converts to Judaism. In 2015, the world Jewish population was estimated at about 14.3 million, Judaism thus begins with ethical monotheism, the belief that God is one and is concerned with the actions of humankind. According to the Tanakh, God promised Abraham to make of his offspring a great nation, many generations later, he commanded the nation of Israel to love and worship only one God, that is, the Jewish nation is to reciprocate Gods concern for the world. He also commanded the Jewish people to one another, that is. These commandments are but two of a corpus of commandments and laws that constitute this covenant, which is the substance of Judaism
10.
Equilateral triangle
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In geometry, an equilateral triangle is a triangle in which all three sides are equal. In the familiar Euclidean geometry, equilateral triangles are also equiangular and they are regular polygons, and can therefore also be referred to as regular triangles. Thus these are properties that are unique to equilateral triangles, the three medians have equal lengths. The three angle bisectors have equal lengths, every triangle center of an equilateral triangle coincides with its centroid, which implies that the equilateral triangle is the only triangle with no Euler line connecting some of the centers. For some pairs of triangle centers, the fact that they coincide is enough to ensure that the triangle is equilateral, in particular, A triangle is equilateral if any two of the circumcenter, incenter, centroid, or orthocenter coincide. It is also equilateral if its circumcenter coincides with the Nagel point, for any triangle, the three medians partition the triangle into six smaller triangles. A triangle is equilateral if and only if any three of the triangles have either the same perimeter or the same inradius. A triangle is equilateral if and only if the circumcenters of any three of the triangles have the same distance from the centroid. Morleys trisector theorem states that, in any triangle, the three points of intersection of the adjacent angle trisectors form an equilateral triangle, a version of the isoperimetric inequality for triangles states that the triangle of greatest area among all those with a given perimeter is equilateral. That is, PA, PB, and PC satisfy the inequality that any two of them sum to at least as great as the third. By Eulers inequality, the triangle has the smallest ratio R/r of the circumradius to the inradius of any triangle, specifically. The triangle of largest area of all those inscribed in a circle is equilateral. The ratio of the area of the incircle to the area of an equilateral triangle, the ratio of the area to the square of the perimeter of an equilateral triangle,1123, is larger than that for any other triangle. If a segment splits an equilateral triangle into two regions with equal perimeters and with areas A1 and A2, then 79 ≤ A1 A2 ≤97, in no other triangle is there a point for which this ratio is as small as 2. For any point P in the plane, with p, q, and t from the vertices A, B. For any point P on the circle of an equilateral triangle, with distances p, q. There are numerous triangle inequalities that hold with equality if and only if the triangle is equilateral, an equilateral triangle is the most symmetrical triangle, having 3 lines of reflection and rotational symmetry of order 3 about its center. Its symmetry group is the group of order 6 D3
11.
Menorah (Temple)
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Fresh olive oil of the purest quality was burned daily to light its lamps. The menorah has been a symbol of Judaism since ancient times and is the emblem on the coat of arms of the state of Israel. The Hebrew Bible, or Torah, states that God revealed the design for the menorah to Moses and describes the construction of the menorah as follows, hammer out its base and shaft, and make its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms of one piece with them. 32Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side, 33Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand. 34And on the lampstand are to be four cups shaped like flowers with buds. 35One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the pair. 36The buds and branches shall be all of one piece with the lampstand, 37Then make its seven lamps and set them up on it so that they light the space in front of it. 38Its wick trimmers and trays are to be of pure gold, 39A talent of pure gold is to be used for the lampstand and all these accessories. 40See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain. Numbers, chapter 8, adds that the seven lamps are to light in front of the lampstand. In Jewish oral tradition, the menorah stood 18 handbreadths high, archaeological evidence, including depictions by artists who had seen the menorah, indicates that they were not straight, but show them as rounded, either semicircular or elliptical. In that frieze, the menorah is shown resting upon an octagonal base. The lower base was identical in design to the upper base, each facet of the octagonal base was made with two vertical stiles and two horizontal rails, a top rail and a bottom rail, resembling a protruding frame set against a sunken panel. These panels appeared to have had some relief design set or sculpted within them and this menorah has arms which are polygonal, not rounded, and the base is not graduated but triangular. Representations of the seven lamp artifact have been found on tombs and monuments dating from the 1st century as a frequently used symbol of Judaism and it has been noted that the shape of the menorah bears a certain resemblance to that of the plant Salvia palaestina. Contrary to some modern designs, the ancient menorah did not contain anything resembling seven candles, the lamps of the menorah were lit daily from fresh, consecrated olive oil and burned from evening until morning, according to Exodus 27,21. Although all the lights were extinguished, that light continued burning oil. This miracle according to the Talmud was taken as a sign that the Shechinah rested over Israel and it was called the ner hamaaravi because of the direction of its wick
12.
Lion of Judah
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The Lion of Judah is the symbol of the Hebrew tribe of Judah. According to the Torah, the tribe consists of the descendants of Judah, the association between Judah and the lion, most likely the Asiatic lion, can first be found in the blessing given by Jacob to his son Judah in the Book of Genesis. The Lion of Judah is also mentioned in the Book of Revelation, as a term representing Jesus, the lion of Judah was also one of the titles of the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie and was depicted on the flag of Ethiopia from 1897-1974. Due to its association with Selassie, it continues to be an important symbol among members of the Rastafari movement, the biblical Judah is the original name of the Tribe of Judah, which is traditionally symbolized by a lion. In Genesis, the patriarch Jacob gave that symbol to his tribe when he refers to his son Judah as a Gur Aryeh גּוּר אַרְיֵה יְהוּדָה, in Jewish naming tradition the Hebrew name and the substitute name are often combined as a pair, as in this case. The Lion of Judah was used as a Jewish symbol for many years and it is unknown whether John of Patmos was directly aware of this hereditary title when he penned it into the text of the prophecy. The Lion of Judah motif figured prominently on the old flag, currency, stamps, etc. After the collapse of the Communist Derg in 1990 and the increase of Western-style political freedoms, the Lion of Judah is a prominent symbol in the Rastafari movement. It represents Emperor Haile Selassie I as well as being a symbol of strength, kingship, pride, Rastafari consider the mention of The Lion of Judah in Genesis 49,9 and Revelation 5,5 of The Bible to refer to Emperor Haile Selassie I. Rastafari hail Halie Selassie I with the titles KING of Kings, LORD of lords, Conquering Lion of Judah, Elect of God and this is widely regarded as a reference to Jesus among Christians. Many Christian organizations and ministries use the lion of Judah as their emblem or even as their name, inspired by the Lion of Judah, C. S. Lewis used a lion named Aslan to represent Jesus in The Chronicles of Narnia. Lions in Jewish art Jewish Heraldry Lion of Judah small movie
13.
Shofar
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A shofar is an ancient musical horn made of rams horn, used for Jewish religious purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, all pitch control is done by varying the players embouchure. The shofar is blown in synagogue services on Rosh Hashanah and at the end of Yom Kippur. Shofars come in a variety of sizes and shapes, depending on the choice of animal, the shofar is mentioned frequently in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud and rabbinic literature. The blast of a shofar emanating from the cloud on Mount Sinai made the Israelites tremble in awe. The shofar was used to announce holidays and the Jubilee year, the first day of the seventh month is termed a memorial of blowing, or a day of blowing, the shofar. They were used for signifying the start of a war, later, it was also employed in processions, as musical accompaniment and eventually it was inserted into the temple orchestra by David. Note that the trumpets described in Numbers 10 are a different instrument, described by the Hebrew word trumpet, the Torah describes the first day of the seventh month as a zikron teruˁah and as a yom teruˁah. This was interpreted by the Jewish sages as referring to the sounding of the shofar, in the Temple in Jerusalem, the shofar was sometimes used together with the trumpet. On fast days the principal ceremony was conducted with the trumpets in the center, on those occasions the shofarot were rams horns curved in shape and ornamented with silver at the mouthpieces. On Yom Kippur of the year the ceremony was performed with the shofar as on New Years Day. On Rosh Hashanah and other full holidays a single Priest perfected two sacrifices in honor of the full holiday, on Rosh Hashanah, something special occurred during the special sacrifice. Arguably two Shofar Sounders played the notes and one Trumpet player played the short note. Accordingly, Rosh Hashanah is called Yom Teruah Otherwise, the Trumpets had top billing, Rosh Hashanah 27a, supports this claim, Said Raba or it may have been R. Joshua B. Levi, What is the warrant for this. – Because it is written, With trumpets and the sound of the Shofar shout ye before the King in the Temple, we require trumpets and the sound of the Shofar, elsewhere not. Indeed, on Yom Kippur, the Shofar was sounded to announce the Jubilee Year curved ram, 2) curved other sheep, 3) curved other animal, 4) straight—ram or otherwise, 5) non-kosher animal, 6) cow. The first four categories are used with a bracha, the fifth without a bracha, and the last, not at all
14.
Lulav
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Lulav is a closed frond of the date palm tree. It is one of the Four Species used during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, the other Species are the hadass, aravah, and etrog. When bound together, the lulav, hadass, and aravah are commonly referred to as the lulav, in the rest of the Land of Israel, as well as in the Diaspora, the four species are biblically mandated only on the first day of Sukkot. Rashi, the foremost rabbinical Biblical commentator, explains the pertinent verse in the Bible based on the Talmuds erudition, which focuses on the spelling of the words in the verse that refer to the lulav, kapot tmarim. The first word refers to date stalks and is written in plural form instead of singular form, however the word is written in a deficient manner, without the letter vav, as the plural word would normally contain. Rashi further elucidates based on the Talmuds erudition, that the letter vav is to indicate that only a single palm is to be taken. A lulav, as with all articles, must meet certain specifications in order to be kosher. Ideally, a lulav consists of a closed frond of the date palm tree. To qualify, the lulav must be straight, with leaves that lay closely together. This rule applies on the first day of Sukkot in the Land of Israel, on Chol HaMoed, the disqualifications arising from using a lulav with a split middle leaf do not apply. The term lulav also refers to the lulav in combination with two of the other species—the aravah and the hadass—that are bound together to perform the mitzvah of waving the lulav and these three species are held in one hand while the etrog is held in the other. The user brings his or her hands together and waves the species in all four directions, plus up and down and this ritual also symbolically voices a prayer for adequate rainfall over all the Earths vegetation in the coming year. Although Jews are commanded to take the four together, the rabbinically ordained blessing mentions only the lulav because it is the largest and most evident of the four species. The biblical reference to the four species in Sukkot can be found in Leviticus Chapter 23, the etrog is referred to as Citrus fruit, and the Lulav is referred to as Palm branches. Each species is said to represent an aspect of the users body, the lulav represents the spine, the myrtle the eyes, the willow the lips. Media related to Lulav at Wikimedia Commons
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Eastern Europe
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Eastern Europe, also known as East Europe, is the eastern part of the European continent. There is no consensus on the area it covers, partly because the term has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, cultural. There are almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region, a related United Nations paper adds that every assessment of spatial identities is essentially a social and cultural construct. One definition describes Eastern Europe as an entity, the region lying in Europe with main characteristics consisting in Byzantine, Orthodox. Another definition was created during the Cold War and used more or less synonymously with the term Eastern Bloc, a similar definition names the formerly communist European states outside the Soviet Union as Eastern Europe. Historians and social scientists generally view such definitions as outdated or relegating, several definitions of Eastern Europe exist today, but they often lack precision or are extremely general. These definitions vary both across cultures and among experts, even scientists, recently becoming more and more imprecise. The Ural Mountains, Ural River, and the Caucasus Mountains are the land border of the eastern edge of Europe. Eurovoc, a multilingual thesaurus maintained by the Publications Office of the European Union, provides entries for 23 EU languages, of these, those in italics are classified as Eastern Europe in this source. Other official web-pages of the European Union classify some of the countries as strictly Central European. The East–West Schism is the break of communion and theology between what are now the Eastern and Western churches which began in the 11th century and lasts until this very day and it divided Christianity in Europe, and consequently the world, into Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. Since the Great Schism of 1054, Europe has been divided between Roman Catholic and Protestant churches in the West, and the Eastern Orthodox Christian churches in the east, due to this religious cleavage, Eastern Orthodox countries are often associated with Eastern Europe. A cleavage of this sort is, however, often problematic, for example, Greece is overwhelmingly Orthodox, the fall of the Iron Curtain brought the end of the East–West division in Europe, but this geopolitical concept is sometimes still used for quick reference by the media. The Baltic states have seats in the Nordic Council as observer states and they also are members of the Nordic-Baltic Eight whereas Eastern European countries formed their own alliance called the Visegrád Group. Estonia Latvia Lithuania The Caucasus nations may be included in the definitions of Eastern Europe, the extent of their geographic or political affiliation with Europe varies by country and source. All three states are members of the European Unions Eastern Partnership program and the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, on 12 January 2002, the European Parliament noted that Armenia and Georgia may enter the EU in the future. Georgia — in modern geography, Georgia has been classified as part of Eastern Europe. Under the European Union’s geographic criteria, Georgia is viewed as part of Eastern Europe and is the only Caucasus country to be actively seeking EU membership and it is a member of Council of Europe and Eurocontrol
16.
Pale of Settlement
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The archaic English term pale is derived from the Latin word palus, a stake, extended to mean the area enclosed by a fence or boundary. The Pale of Settlement included much of present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, and Poland and it extended from the eastern pale, or demarcation line, to the western Russian border with the Kingdom of Prussia and with Austria-Hungary. Furthermore, it comprised about 20% of the territory of European Russia and largely corresponded to historical borders of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Russian Empire in the period of the existence of the Pale was predominantly Orthodox Christian. The area included in the Pale, with its large Jewish and Catholic populations, was acquired through a series of conquests and diplomatic maneuvers. While the religious nature of the creating the Pale are clear, historians argue that the motivations for its creation. From 1791 to 1835, and until 1917, there were differing reconfigurations of the boundaries of the Pale, such that certain areas were open or shut to Jewish residency. At times, Jews were forbidden to live in communities, or certain cities. During World War I, the Pale lost its hold on the Jewish population when large numbers of Jews fled into the Russian interior to escape the invading German army. On March 20,1917, the Pale was abolished by the Provisional Government decree, a large portion of the Pale, together with its Jewish population, became part of Poland. Subsequently, most of population would perish in The Holocaust one generation later. Jewish life in the shtetls of the Pale of Settlement was hard, following the Jewish religious tradition of tzedakah, a sophisticated system of volunteer Jewish social welfare organizations developed to meet the needs of the population. These, along with the repressive May Laws, often devastated whole communities, one outgrowth of the concentration of Jews in a circumscribed area was the development of the modern yeshiva system. Until the beginning of the 19th century, each town supported its own advanced students who learned in the synagogue with the rabbinical head of the community. Each student would eat his meals in a different home each day, the quotas in the capitals, however, were increased slightly in 1908 and 1915. Amidst the difficult conditions in which the Jewish population lived and worked, because of the harsh conditions of day-to-day life in the Pale, some two million Jews emigrated from there between 1881 and 1914, mainly to the United States. However, this exodus did not affect the stability of the Jewish population of the Pale, the Pale of Settlement included the following areas
17.
Christian cross
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The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus, is the best-known symbol of Christianity. It is related to the crucifix and to the general family of cross symbols. The basic forms of the cross are the Latin cross and the Greek cross, with variants used in heraldry. The cross-shaped sign, represented in its simplest form by a crossing of two lines at right angles, greatly predates the introduction of Christianity, in both East and West and it goes back to a very remote period of human civilization. It is supposed to have used not just for its ornamental value. It may have represented the apparatus used in kindling fire, and thus as the symbol of sacred fire or as a symbol of the sun, denoting its daily rotation. It has also interpreted as the mystic representation of lightning or of the god of the tempest, or the emblem of the Aryan pantheon. Another associated symbol is the cross used in ancient Egypt. It was often depicted in the hands of the goddess Sekhmet, Egyptian Christians adopted it as the emblem of the cross. Yet another Egyptian symbol is the nfr - meaning, beauty or perfect, in the Bronze Age a representation of the cross as conceived in Christian art appeared, and the form was popularised. The more precise characterization coincided with a general change in customs. The cross then came into use in forms on many objects, fibulas, cinctures, earthenware fragments. De Mortillet believed that use of the sign was not merely ornamental. In the proto-Etruscan cemetery of Golasecca every tomb has a vase with a cross engraved on it, true crosses of more or less artistic design have been found in Tiryns, at Mycenæ, in Crete, and on a fibula from Vulci. According to Swami Vivekananda the Christian cross is the Shivalinga converted into a cross, according to W. E. Vine, the cross was used by worshipers of Tammuz, an Ancient Near East deity of Babylonian origin who had the cross-shaped taw as his symbol. In which there was not only a straight and erected piece of Wood fixed in the Earth, but also a transverse Beam fastned unto that towards the top thereof. A symbol similar to the cross, the staurogram, was used to abbreviate the Greek word for cross in very early New Testament manuscripts such as P66, P45 and P75, the extensive adoption of the cross as Christian iconographic symbol arose from the 4th century. Another early depictions of the cross as a Christian symbol is the Alexamenos graffito. e, in his book De Corona, written in 204, Tertullian tells how it was already a tradition for Christians to trace repeatedly on their foreheads the sign of the cross
18.
Arabic literature
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Arabic literature is the writing, both prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is Adab, which is derived from a meaning of etiquette, Arabic literature emerged in the 5th century with only fragments of the written language appearing before then. The Quran, widely regarded by people as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language, would have the greatest lasting effect on Arabic culture and its literature. Arabic literature flourished during the Islamic Golden Age, but has remained vibrant to the present day, with poets, the Quran had a significant influence on the Arab language. The language used in it is called classical Arabic, and while modern Arabic is very similar and it contains injunctions, narratives, homilies, parables, direct addresses from God, instructions and even comments on itself on how it will be received and understood. It is also, paradoxically, admired for its layers of metaphor as well as its clarity, the word Quran means recitation, and in early times the text was transmitted orally. The first attempt at a written version was during the reign of the third Rightly Guided Caliph. Although it contains elements of both prose and poetry, and therefore is closest to Saj or rhymed prose, the Quran is regarded as entirely apart from these classifications, the text is believed to be divine revelation and is seen by Muslims as being eternal or uncreated. This leads to the doctrine of ijaz or inimitability of the Quran which implies that nobody can copy the works style, say, Bring you then ten chapters like unto it, and call whomsoever you can, other than God, if you speak the truth. This doctrine of ijaz possibly had a limiting effect on Arabic literature. And as to the poets, those who go astray follow them Do you not see that they wander about bewildered in every valley and this may have exerted dominance over the pre-Islamic poets of the 6th century whose popularity may have vied with the Quran amongst the people. There were a lack of significant poets until the 8th century. One notable exception was Hassan ibn Thabit who wrote poems in praise of Muhammad and was known as the prophets poet, just as the Bible has held an important place in the literature of other languages, The Quran is important to Arabic. It is the source of ideas, allusions and quotes. Aside from the Quran the hadith or tradition of what Muhammed is supposed to have said, the entire body of these acts and words are called sunnah or way and the ones regarded as sahih or genuine of them are collected into hadith. Some of the most significant collections of hadith include those by Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, the research into the life and times of Muhammad, and determining the genuine parts of the sunnah, was an important early reason for scholarship in or about the Arabic language. Muhammad also inspired the first Arabic biographies, known as al-sirah al-nabawiyyah, the earliest was by Wahb ibn Munabbih, whilst covering the life of the prophet they also told of the battles and events of early Islam and have numerous digressions on older biblical traditions. Some of the earliest work studying the Arabic language was started in the name of Islam, tradition has it that the caliph Ali, after reading a copy of Quran with errors in it, asked Abu al-Aswad al-Duali to write a work codifying Arabic grammar
19.
Kabbalah
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Kabbalah is an esoteric method, discipline, and school of thought that originated in Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist in Judaism is called a Mekubbal, Kabbalah is a set of esoteric teachings meant to explain the relationship between an unchanging, eternal, and mysterious Ein Sof and the mortal and finite universe. While it is used by some denominations, it is not a religious denomination in itself. It forms the foundations of religious interpretation. Kabbalah seeks to define the nature of the universe and the human being, the nature and purpose of existence and it also presents methods to aid understanding of the concepts and thereby attain spiritual realisation. Kabbalah originally developed within the realm of Jewish tradition, and kabbalists often use classical Jewish sources to explain, traditional practitioners believe its earliest origins pre-date world religions, forming the primordial blueprint for Creations philosophies, religions, sciences, arts, and political systems. Safed Rabbi Isaac Luria is considered the father of contemporary Kabbalah and it was popularised in the form of Hasidic Judaism from the 18th century onwards. According to the Zohar, a text for kabbalistic thought. These four levels are called pardes from their initial letters, peshat, the direct interpretations of meaning. Derash, midrashic meanings, often with imaginative comparisons with similar words or verses, sod, the inner, esoteric meanings, expressed in kabbalah. Kabbalah is considered by its followers as a part of the study of Torah – the study of Torah being an inherent duty of observant Jews. A third tradition, related but more shunned, involves the magical aims of Practical Kabbalah and they can be readily distinguished by their basic intent with respect to God, The Theosophical tradition of Theoretical Kabbalah seeks to understand and describe the divine realm. Consequently, it formed a minor tradition shunned from Kabbalah. According to traditional belief, early kabbalistic knowledge was transmitted orally by the Patriarchs, prophets, According to this view, early kabbalah was, in around the 10th century BC, an open knowledge practiced by over a million people in ancient Israel. Foreign conquests drove the Jewish spiritual leadership of the time to hide the knowledge and make it secret and it is hard to clarify with any degree of certainty the exact concepts within kabbalah. There are several different schools of thought with different outlooks, however. From the Renaissance onwards Jewish Kabbalah texts entered non-Jewish culture, where they were studied and translated by Christian Hebraists, syncretic traditions of Christian Kabbalah and Hermetic Qabalah developed independently of Jewish Kabbalah, reading the Jewish texts as universal ancient wisdom. Both adapted the Jewish concepts freely from their Judaic understanding, to merge with other theologies, religious traditions, with the decline of Christian Cabala in the Age of Reason, Hermetic Qabalah continued as a central underground tradition in Western esotericism
20.
Talisman
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A talisman is an object which is believed to contain certain magical properties which would provide good luck for the possessor or offer protection from a possible evil or harm. The word comes from the Arabic word talsam, from an alteration of late Greek telesma, completion, religious rite, itself from the word teleō which means I complete, perform a rite. All the traditional magical schools advise that a talisman should be created by the person who plans to use it and they also recommend that the person making the talisman must be familiar with all the symbolisms connected to all the different planetary and elemental forces. In several medieval talismans, geomantic signs and symbols were used in relation with different planets and these symbolisms which are frequently incorporated in geomantic divination, also have alchemical implications. Other magical associations, such as colors, scents, symbology, patterns, Kabbalistic figures, however, they should be in synchronization with the elemental or planetary force selected to represent the talisman. It is also feasible to augment a personal touch to the talisman through adding a verse, inscription and these inscriptions can be magical emblems, bible verses or sonnets. Lea Olsan writes of the use of amulets and talismans as prescribed by practitioners in the medieval period. She explains that the use of charms and prayers was rarely a treatment of choice. Such treatments could not be justified in the realm of Galenic medical teachings. Yet, the use of amulets was typically considered acceptable, as can be judged due to the reference to their use in the medical literature overall. Through drawing on these references as a guide, Gilbertus, for example, Zulfiqar was frequently depicted on Ottoman flags, especially as used by Janissaries cavalry, in the 16th and 17th centuries. Leader of men-at-arms, The lion of Yazdan, Might by the most high, There is none like Ali, reputed to be the emblem by which King Solomon ruled the Genii, it could not have originated with him. Its use has been traced in different cultures long before the Jewish Dispensation. As a talisman it was believed to be all-powerful, the symbol of the absolute, and was worn for protection against all fatalities, threats, and trouble. In India, China and Japan, its three angles represent Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, the Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer or Regenerator, in ancient Egypt, it represented the deities Osiris, Isis and Horus. In Christianity, it represented the Holy Trinity, as a whole it stands for the elements of fire and spirit, composed of the three virtues. Therefore, the meaning of the two triangles interlaced, is the victory of spirit over matter, about 9 inches by 3 inches in size, the miniature paper scroll contains a combination of prayers and Quranic verses, and was created for placement in an amulet box. This block print bears Kufic, the oldest calligraphic Arabic script, as well as Solomons Seal, block printing was utilized as a technique through which to mass-produce talisman scrolls, hundreds of years before block printing was incorporated into European societies
21.
Segula (Kabbalah)
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A segula is protective or benevolent charm or ritual in Kabbalistic and Talmudic tradition. The word segula appears in the Hebrew Bible in Exodus 19,5 and Deuteronomy 7,6, the root of this word, segol, is the name of a Hebrew vowel-point represented by three dots. According to the Ohr Hachaim, a segula is a charm that supersedes logic, following is a list of popular segulot. Ingesting ground up rubies enhances the chance of pregnancy
22.
Czech Republic
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The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, is a nation state in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast. The Czech Republic covers an area of 78,866 square kilometres with mostly temperate continental climate and it is a unitary parliamentary republic, has 10.5 million inhabitants and the capital and largest city is Prague, with over 1.2 million residents. The Czech Republic includes the territories of Bohemia, Moravia. The Czech state was formed in the late 9th century as the Duchy of Bohemia under the Great Moravian Empire, after the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power transferred from Moravia to Bohemia under the Přemyslid dynasty. In 1002, the duchy was formally recognized as part of the Holy Roman Empire, becoming the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198 and reaching its greatest territorial extent in the 14th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the whole Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy alongside the Archduchy of Austria, the Protestant Bohemian Revolt against the Catholic Habsburgs led to the Thirty Years War. After the Battle of the White Mountain, the Habsburgs consolidated their rule, reimposed Roman Catholicism, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany in World War II, and was liberated in 1945 by the armies of the Soviet Union and the United States. The Czech country lost the majority of its German-speaking inhabitants after they were expelled following the war, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia won the 1946 elections. Following the 1948 coup détat, Czechoslovakia became a one-party communist state under Soviet influence, in 1968, increasing dissatisfaction with the regime culminated in a reform movement known as the Prague Spring, which ended in a Soviet-led invasion. Czechoslovakia remained occupied until the 1989 Velvet Revolution, when the communist regime collapsed, on 6 March 1990, the Czech Socialistic Republic was renamed to the Czech Republic. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved, with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, it is a member of the United Nations, the OECD, the OSCE, and it is a developed country with an advanced, high income economy and high living standards. The UNDP ranks the country 14th in inequality-adjusted human development, the Czech Republic also ranks as the 6th most peaceful country, while achieving strong performance in democratic governance. It has the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union, the traditional English name Bohemia derives from Latin Boiohaemum, which means home of the Boii. The current name comes from the endonym Čech, spelled Cžech until the reform in 1842. The name comes from the Slavic tribe and, according to legend, their leader Čech, the etymology of the word Čech can be traced back to the Proto-Slavic root *čel-, meaning member of the people, kinsman, thus making it cognate to the Czech word člověk. The country has traditionally divided into three lands, namely Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the southeast, and Czech Silesia in the northeast. Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the Czech part of the former nation found itself without a common single-word geographical name in English, the name Czechia /ˈtʃɛkiə/ was recommended by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs
23.
Austria
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Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.7 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, the territory of Austria covers 83,879 km2. The terrain is mountainous, lying within the Alps, only 32% of the country is below 500 m. The majority of the population speaks local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene. The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty, from the time of the Reformation, many northern German princes, resenting the authority of the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. Following Napoleons defeat, Prussia emerged as Austrias chief competitor for rule of a greater Germany, Austrias defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, cleared the way for Prussia to assert control over the rest of Germany. In 1867, the empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary, Austria was thus the first to go to war in the July Crisis, which would ultimately escalate into World War I. The First Austrian Republic was established in 1919, in 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Germany was occupied by the Allies, in 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral, today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.7 million, is Vienna, other major urban areas of Austria include Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $43,724, the country has developed a high standard of living and in 2014 was ranked 21st in the world for its Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the euro currency in 1999. The German name for Austria, Österreich, meant eastern realm in Old High German, and is cognate with the word Ostarrîchi and this word is probably a translation of Medieval Latin Marchia orientalis into a local dialect. Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976, the word Austria is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century. Accordingly, Norig would essentially mean the same as Ostarrîchi and Österreich, the Celtic name was eventually Latinised to Noricum after the Romans conquered the area that encloses most of modern-day Austria, around 15 BC. Noricum later became a Roman province in the mid-first century AD, heers hypothesis is not accepted by linguists. Settled in ancient times, the Central European land that is now Austria was occupied in pre-Roman times by various Celtic tribes, the Celtic kingdom of Noricum was later claimed by the Roman Empire and made a province
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Southern Germany
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Southern Germany as a region has no exact boundary, but is generally taken to include the areas where Upper German dialects are spoken. This corresponds roughly to the stem duchies of Bavaria and Swabia, or in a modern context to the states of Bavaria. Sometimes also included are the Saarland and the parts of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate often are included as well. Southern Germany primarily contrasts with Northern Germany, the term mostly corresponds to those territories of modern Germany which did not form part of the North German Confederation in the nineteenth century. Between Northern and Southern Germany is the defined area known as Central Germany. The boundary between the spheres of influence of Prussia and Austria within the German Confederation was known as the Main line. The Main line did not follow the course of the River Main upstream of Frankfurt, however, it corresponded rather, linguistically, Southern Germany corresponds to the Upper German dialects. Southern Germany is culturally and linguistically similar to German-speaking Switzerland, Austria. A jocular term referring to a cultural boundary defining Bavarian culture is Weißwurstäquator, two of the most populous states of Germany, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, are part of Southern Germany. They have a population of 23,5 million people. In the broader sense, Southern Germany includes roughly 30 million people, thus, about 40% of the German population and almost 30% of all native speakers of the German language live there. The region has a Catholic majority, but also a significant Lutheran Protestant population, due to the immigration of non-Christians, mainly Turks during the last decades of the twentieth century, there is also a small number of Muslims. Where a city has different names in English and German, the English name is given first, economically, Southern Germany is the strongest part of Germany, with Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria the powerhouses of manufacturing, especially in the automobile and machinery industry. Furthermore, it is home to some of the countrys most prestigious universities, the specific features of the landscape are rolling hills, Mittelgebirge. Southern Germany also has a part of the Alps, in the southeast of the region, in the culinary field, both beer and wine are produced in lots of varieties almost everywhere in the region. The regional cuisine consists of stews, sausages, cabbage, noodles, and other dishes as well as a variety of holiday cookies, cakes. The Austrian and Bavarian Alps, and the Danube from Ulm to the Black Sea, Murrays foreign handbooks,1871
25.
Prague
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Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. It is the 14th largest city in the European Union and it is also the historical capital of Bohemia. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city has a temperate climate, with warm summers and chilly winters. Prague has been a political, cultural, and economic centre of central Europe with waxing and waning fortunes during its history and it was an important city to the Habsburg Monarchy and its Austro-Hungarian Empire. Prague is home to a number of cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence. Main attractions include the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with the Prague astronomical clock, since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The city has more than ten major museums, along with theatres, galleries, cinemas. An extensive modern public transportation system connects the city, also, it is home to a wide range of public and private schools, including Charles University in Prague, the oldest university in Central Europe. Prague is classified as an Alpha- global city according to GaWC studies, Prague ranked sixth in the Tripadvisor world list of best destinations in 2016. Its rich history makes it a popular tourist destination, and the city more than 6.4 million international visitors annually. Prague is the fifth most visited European city after London, Paris, Istanbul, the region was settled as early as the Paleolithic age. In the last century BC, the Celts were slowly driven away by Germanic tribes, around the area where present-day Prague stands, the 2nd century map of Ptolemaios mentioned a Germanic city called Casurgis. In the following century, the Czech tribes built several fortified settlements in the area, most notably in Levý Hradec, Butovice and in the Šárka valley. The construction of what came to be known as the Prague Castle began near the end of the 9th century, the first masonry under Prague Castle dates from the year 885 at the latest. The other prominent Prague fort, the Přemyslid fort Vyšehrad, was founded in the 10th century, Prague Castle is dominated by the cathedral, which was founded in 1344, but completed in the 20th century. The legendary origins of Prague attribute its foundation to the 8th century Czech duchess and prophetess Libuše and her husband, Přemysl, legend says that Libuše came out on a rocky cliff high above the Vltava and prophesied, I see a great city whose glory will touch the stars. She ordered a castle and a town called Praha to be built on the site, a 17th century Jewish chronicler David Solomon Ganz, citing Cyriacus Spangenberg, claimed that the city was founded as Boihaem in c.1306 BC by an ancient king, Boyya. The region became the seat of the dukes, and later kings of Bohemia, under Roman Emperor Otto II the area became a bishopric in 973
26.
Zionism
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Zionism is the national movement of the Jewish people that supports the re-establishment of a Jewish homeland in the territory defined as the historic Land of Israel. Zionism emerged in the late 19th century in Central and Eastern Europe as a revival movement, in reaction to anti-Semitic. Soon after this, most leaders of the movement associated the main goal with creating the state in Palestine. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Zionism continues primarily to advocate on behalf of Israel and to threats to its continued existence. A variety of Zionism, called cultural Zionism, founded and represented most prominently by Ahad Haam, unlike Herzl, the founder of political Zionism, Ahad Haam strived for Israel to be a Jewish state and not merely a state of Jews. Advocates of Zionism view it as a liberation movement for the repatriation of a persecuted people residing as minorities in a variety of nations to their ancestral homeland. The term Zionism is derived from the word Zion, referring to Jerusalem and these groups were collectively called the Lovers of Zion and were seen to encounter a growing Jewish movement toward assimilation. The first use of the term is attributed to the Austrian Nathan Birnbaum, founder of a nationalist Jewish students movement Kadimah, the common denominator among all Zionists is the claim to Eretz Israel as the national homeland of the Jews and as the legitimate focus for Jewish national self-determination. It is based on ties and religious traditions linking the Jewish people to the Land of Israel. Zionism does not have an ideology, but has evolved in a dialogue among a plethora of ideologies, General Zionism, Religious Zionism, Labor Zionism, Revisionist Zionism, Green Zionism. The political movement was established by the Austro-Hungarian journalist Theodor Herzl in 1897 following the publication of his book Der Judenstaat. At that time, the movement sought to encourage Jewish migration to Ottoman Palestine, although initially one of several Jewish political movements offering alternative responses to assimilation and antisemitism, Zionism expanded rapidly. In its early stages, supporters considered setting up a Jewish state in the territory of Palestine. After World War II and the destruction of Jewish life in Central and Eastern Europe where these alternative movements were rooted, the alliance with Britain was strained as the latter realized the implications of the Jewish movement for Arabs in Palestine but the Zionists persisted. The movement was successful in establishing Israel on May 14,1948. The proportion of the worlds Jews living in Israel has steadily grown since the movement emerged, by the early 21st century, more than 40% of the worlds Jews live in Israel, more than in any other country. These two outcomes represent the success of Zionism, and are unmatched by any other Jewish political movement in the past 2,000 years. In some academic studies, Zionism has been analyzed both within the context of diaspora politics and as an example of modern national liberation movements
27.
Flag of Israel
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The flag of Israel was adopted on October 28,1948, five months after the establishment of the State of Israel. It depicts a blue hexagram on a background, between two horizontal blue stripes. The flag was designed for the Zionist Movement in 1891, the basic design recalls the Tallit, the Jewish prayer shawl, which is white with black or blue stripes. The symbol in the center represents the Star of David, a Jewish symbol dating from late medieval Prague, which was adopted by the First Zionist Congress in 1897. In 2007, an Israeli flag measuring 660 m ×100 m and weighing 5.2 tonnes was unfurled near the ancient Jewish fortress of Masada, the blue stripes are intended to symbolize the stripes on a tallit, the traditional Jewish prayer shawl. The portrayal of a Star of David on the flag of the State of Israel is a widely acknowledged symbol of the Jewish people, the Israelites used a blue colored dye called tekhelet, this dye may have been made from the marine snail Murex trunculus. This dye was very important in both Jewish and non-Jewish cultures of this time, and was used by royalty and the class in dyeing their clothing, sheets, curtains. In the Bible, the Israelites are commanded to have one of the threads of their tassels dyed with tekhelet, so that they may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, tekhelet corresponds to the colour of the divine revelation. Sometime near the end of the Talmudic era the industry that produced this dye collapsed and it became more rare, over time, the Jewish community lost the tradition of which species of shellfish produced this dye. Since Jews were then unable to fulfil this commandment, they have left their tzitzit white. However, in remembrance of the commandment to use the tekhelet dye, the idea that the blue and white colours were the national colour of the Jewish people was voiced early on by Ludwig August Frankl, an Austrian Jewish poet. In his poem, Judahs Colours, he writes, When sublime feelings his heart fill and he stands in prayer, wrapped in a sparkling robe of white. The hems of the robe are crowned with broad stripes of blue, Like the robe of the High Priest. These are the colours of the country, blue and white are the colours of Judah, White is the radiance of the priesthood, and blue. In 1885, the village of Rishon LeZion used a blue and white flag designed by Israel Belkind. In 1891, Michael Halperin, one of the founders of the agricultural village Nachalat Reuven flew a similar blue and white flag with a blue hexagram and the text נס ציונה. A blue and white flag, with a Star of David, in Herzls 1896 Der Judenstaat, he stated, Wir haben keine Fahne. Wenn man viele Menschen führen will, muss man ein Symbol über ihre Häupter erheben, ich denke mir eine weisse Fahne, mit sieben goldenen Sternen
28.
First Zionist Congress
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The First Zionist Congress was the inaugural congress of the Zionist Organization held in Basel, Switzerland, from August 29 to August 31,1897. It was convened and chaired by Theodor Herzl, the founder of the modern Zionism movement, the Congress formulated a Zionist platform, known as the Basel program, and founded the Zionist Organization. It also adopted the Hatikvah as its anthem, the first Zionist Congress was convened by Theodor Herzl as a symbolic parliament for the small minority of Jewry in agreement with the implementation of Zionist goals. As a result of the opposition by both the Orthodox and Reform community leadership, the Congress, which was originally planned in Munich. The Congress took place in the hall of the Municipal Casino on August 29,1897. Ten non-Jews were also in attendance and were expected to abstain from voting, seventeen women attended the Congress, some of them in their own capacity, others accompanying representatives. While women participated in the First Zionist Congress, they did not have voting rights, they were accorded full rights at the Second Zionist Congress. Following a festive opening in which the representatives arrived in formal dress, tails and white tie, the principal items on the agenda were the presentation of Herzls plans, the establishment of the Zionist Organization and the declaration of Zionisms goals-the Basel program. At the Congress, Herzl was elected President of the Zionist Organization, with Max Nordau, also, an Inner Actions Committee and a Greater Actions Committee were elected to run the affairs of the movement between Congresses. This gave clear expression to Herzls political Zionist vision, in contrast with the settlement orientated activities of the loosely organized Hovevei Zion. The program, which came to be known as the Basel program and its establishment was suggested at the First Zionist Congress in 1897, the first definite steps toward its institution were taken at the Second Zionist Congress in Cologne, Germany in May,1898. The Zionist Commission was a group established by Chaim Weizmann. It carried out surveys of Palestine and aided the repatriation of Jews sent into exile by the Ottoman Turks during World War I. It expanded the ZOs Palestine office, which was established in 1907, into small departments for agriculture, settlement, education, land, finance, immigration, the Zionist Congress met every year between 1897 and 1901, then except for war years, every second year. In 1942, an Extraordinary Zionist Conference was held and announced a fundamental departure from traditional Zionist policy with its demand that Palestine be established as a Jewish Commonwealth and it became the official Zionist stand on the ultimate aim of the movement. Since the Second World War, meetings have been held every four years and since the creation of the State of Israel. Types of Zionism World Zionist Congress Zionist Organization, renamed World Zionist Organization in 1960 Zionism The Jewish Encyclopedia, Basel Program
29.
Siddur
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A siddur is a Jewish prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. The word siddur comes from the Hebrew root Hebrew, סד״ר meaning order, the earliest parts of Jewish prayer book are the Shema Yisrael, and the Priestly Blessing, which are in the Torah. A set of eighteen blessings called the Shemoneh Esreh or the Amidah, is ascribed to the Great Assembly in the time of Ezra. The name Shemoneh Esreh, literally eighteen, is a historical anachronism and it was only near the end of the Second Temple period that the eighteen prayers of the weekday Amidah became standardized. Even at that time their precise wording and order was not yet fixed, many modern scholars believe that parts of the Amidah came from the Hebrew apocryphal work Ben Sira. However, the wording was still left open. The order, general ideas, opening and closing lines were fixed, most of the wording was left to the individual reader. It was not until centuries later that the prayers began to be formally fixed. By the Middle Ages the texts of the prayers were nearly fixed, the siddur was printed by Soncino in Italy as early as 1486, though a siddur was first mass-distributed only in 1865. The siddur began appearing in the vernacular as early as 1538, the first English translation was published in London in 1738 by an author writing under the pseudonym Gamaliel ben Pedahzur, a different translation was released in the United States in 1837. Readings from the Torah and the Neviim form part of the prayer services, to this framework various Jewish sages added, from time to time, various prayers, and, for festivals especially, numerous hymns. The earliest existing codification of the prayerbook was drawn up by Rav Amram Gaon of Sura, Babylon, half a century later Rav Saadia Gaon, also of Sura, composed a siddur, in which the rubrical matter is in Arabic. These were the basis of Simcha ben Samuels Machzor Vitry, which was based on the ideas of his teacher, Rashi. Another formulation of the prayers was that appended by Maimonides to the laws of prayer in his Mishneh Torah, this forms the basis of the Yemenite liturgy, from this point forward all Jewish prayerbooks had the same basic order and contents. Some forms of the Sephardi rite are considered to be very overtly kabbalistic and this is partly because the Tetragrammaton frequently appears with varying vowel points beneath the letters and different Names of God appear in small print within the final hei of the Tetragrammaton. In some editions, there is a Psalm in the preparations for the Amidah that is printed in the outline of a menorah, the Ashkenazi rite is more common than the Sephardi rite in America. While Nusach Ashkenaz does contain some elements, such as acrostics and allusions to the sefirot. The ark is opened for the duration of the song, although the Ari himself was born Ashkenazi, he borrowed many elements from Sephardi and other traditions, since he felt that they followed Kabbalah and Halacha more faithfully
30.
God in Judaism
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God in Judaism is understood to be the absolute one, indivisible, and incomparable being who is the ultimate cause of all existence. Traditional interpretations of Judaism generally emphasize that God is personal, while some interpretations of Judaism emphasize that God is a force or ideal. God has a name, written YHWH in the Hebrew Bible. In Jewish tradition another name of God is Elohim, the name of God used most often in the Hebrew Bible is the Tetragrammaton. Jews traditionally do not pronounce it, and instead refer to God as HaShem, in prayer this name is substituted with Adonai, meaning Master or Lord. The worship of gods and the concept of God having multiple persons are equally unimaginable in Judaism. The idea of God as a duality or trinity is heretical in Judaism – it is considered akin to polytheism, God, the Cause of all, is one. This does not mean one as in one of series, nor one like a species, nor one as in an object that is made up of many elements, rather, God is a unity unlike any other possible unity. In this way Judaism can be regarded as being similar to panentheism, Kabbalistic tradition holds that the divine consists of ten sefirot. Any belief that an intermediary between humanity and God could be used, whether necessary or even optional, has traditionally been considered heretical, all our prayers should be directed towards God, nothing else should even be considered. Some rabbinic authorities disagreed with this view, notably, Nachmanides was of the opinion that it is permitted to ask the angels to beseech God on our behalf. This argument manifests notably in the Selichot prayer called Machnisay Rachamim, modern printed editions of the Selichot include this prayer. Godhead refers to the aspect or substratum of God that lies behind Gods actions or properties, there is, in truth, no relation in any respect between God and any of Gods creatures. In Kabbalistic thought the term Godhead usually refers to the concept of Ein Sof, the knowability of the Godhead in Kabbalistic thought is no better that what is conceived by rationalist thinkers. As Jacobs puts it, Of God as God is in Godself—Ein Sof—nothing can be said at all, Ein Sof is a place to which forgetting and oblivion pertain. Because concerning all the sefirot, one can search out their reality from the depth of supernal wisdom, from there it is possible to understand one thing from another. However, concerning Ein Sof, there is no aspect anywhere to search or probe, nothing can be known of it, for it is hidden and concealed in the mystery of absolute nothingness. In traditional Judaism, God is conceived of as the eternal, omnipotent and omniscient creator of the universe, God has the power to intervene in the world
31.
Masoretic Text
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The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the Tanakh for Rabbinic Judaism. However, contemporary scholars seeking to understand the history of the Hebrew Bible’s text use a range of other sources and these include Greek and Syriac translations, quotations from rabbinic manuscripts, the Samaritan Pentateuch and others such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Many of these are older than the Masoretic text and often contradict it, while the Masoretic Text defines the books of the Jewish canon, it also defines the precise letter-text of these biblical books, with their vocalization and accentuation known as the Masorah. The Masoretic Text is widely used as the basis for translations of the Old Testament in Protestant Bibles, in modern times the Dead Sea Scrolls have shown the Masoretic Text to be nearly identical to some texts of the Tanakh dating from 200 BCE but different from others. The Masoretic Text was primarily copied, edited and distributed by a group of Jews known as the Masoretes between the 7th and 10th centuries CE, the Hebrew word mesorah refers to the transmission of a tradition. In a very broad sense it can refer to the chain of Jewish tradition. This Jewish tradition is claimed to be unchanged and infallible, the oldest extant manuscripts of the Masoretic Text date from approximately the 9th century CE. The Aleppo Codex dates from the 10th century and this copy is mentioned in the Letter of Aristeas, in the statements of Philo, and in Josephus. A Talmudic story, perhaps referring to an time, relates that three Torah scrolls were found in the Temple court but were at variance with each other. The differences were resolved by majority decision among the three. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, dating from c.150 BCE-75 CE, the scrolls show numerous small variations in orthography, both as against the later Masoretic text, and between each other. It is also evident from the notings of corrections and of variant alternatives that scribes felt free to choose according to their personal taste and discretion between different readings. However, despite these variations, most of the Qumran fragments can be classified as being closer to the Masoretic text than to any other group that has survived. On the other hand, some of the fragments conforming most accurately to the Masoretic text were found in Cave 4, an emphasis on minute details of words and spellings, already used among the Pharisees as bases for argumentation, reached its height with the example of Rabbi Akiva. Very few manuscripts are said to have survived the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE and this both drastically reduced the number of variants in circulation, and gave a new urgency that the text must be preserved. New Greek translations were also made, unlike the Septuagint, large-scale deviations in sense between the Greek of Aquila of Sinope and Theodotion and what we now know as the Masoretic text are minimal. According to Menachem Cohen these schools developed such prestige for the accuracy, differences remained, sometimes bolstered by systematic local differences in pronunciation and cantillation. Every locality, following the tradition of its school, had a standard codex embodying its readings, in the first half of the 10th century Aaron ben Moses ben Asher and Ben Naphtali were the leading Masoretes in Tiberias
32.
Leningrad Codex
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The Leningrad Codex is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the masoretic text and Tiberian vocalization. It is dated 1008 CE according to its colophon, in modern times, the Leningrad Codex is significant as the Hebrew text reproduced in Biblia Hebraica and Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. It also serves scholars as a source for the recovery of details in the missing parts of the Aleppo Codex. The biblical text as found in the codex contains the Hebrew letter-text along with Tiberian vowels, in addition, there are masoretic notes in the margins. There are also various technical supplements dealing with textual and linguistic details, the codex is written on parchment and bound in leather. The Leningrad Codex, in pristine condition after a millennium. Sixteen of the pages contain decorative geometric patterns that illuminate passages from the text, the carpet page shows a star with the names of the scribes on the edges and a blessing written in the middle. The order of the books in the Leningrad Codex follows the Tiberian textual tradition and this order for the books differs markedly from that of most printed Hebrew bibles for the books of the Ketuvim. In the Leningrad Codex, the order of the Ketuvim is, Chronicles, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Esther, Daniel, the full order of the books is given below. According to its colophon, the codex was copied in Cairo from manuscripts written by Aaron ben Moses ben Asher and it has been claimed to be a product of the Asher scriptorium itself, however, there is no evidence that Asher ever saw it. Unusual for a masoretic codex, the same man wrote the consonants, the vowels, in its vocalization system it is considered by scholars to be the most faithful representative of ben Ashers tradition apart from the Aleppo Codex. Its letter-text is not superb, however, and contradicts its own masoretic apparatus in many hundreds of places, the codex is now preserved in the National Library of Russia, accessioned as Firkovich B19 A. The Leningrad Codex is so named because it has housed at the National Library of Russia in Saint Petersburg since 1863. Nonetheless, the Codex is occasionally referred to as the Codex Petersburgensis or Petropolitanus and this is ambiguous as, since 1876, these appellations refer to a different biblical codex which is even older, but contains only the later Prophets. The codex was used for Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia in 1977. The Westminster Leningrad Codex is a digital version of the Leningrad Codex maintained by the J. Alan Groves Center for Advanced Biblical Research at the Westminster Theological Seminary. The online version includes transcription notes and tools for analyzing syntax, the JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh and the various volumes of the JPS Torah Commentary and JPS Bible Commentary. For minute masoretic details, however, Israeli and Jewish scholars have shown a preference for modern Hebrew editions based upon the Aleppo Codex
33.
Brandenburg
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Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federated states of Germany. It lies in the northeast of the country covering an area of 29,478 square kilometers and has 2.48 million inhabitants, the capital and largest city is Potsdam. Brandenburg surrounds but does not include the capital and city-state Berlin forming a metropolitan area. Brandenburg is one of the states that was re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former East Germany. Governed by the Hohenzollern dynasty from 1415, it contained the future German capital Berlin, after 1618 the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia were combined to form Brandenburg-Prussia, which was ruled by the same branch of the House of Hohenzollern. In 1701 the state was elevated as the Kingdom of Prussia, Brandenburg is situated in territory known in antiquity as Magna Germania, which reached to the Vistula river. By the 7th century, Slavic peoples are believed to have settled in the Brandenburg area, the Slavs expanded from the east, possibly driven from their homelands in present-day Ukraine and perhaps Belarus by the invasions of the Huns and Avars. They relied heavily on river transport, the two principal Slavic groups in the present-day area of Brandenburg were the Hevelli in the west and the Sprevane in the east. Beginning in the early 10th century, Henry the Fowler and his successors conquered territory up to the Oder River, Slavic settlements such as Brenna, Budusin, and Chośebuz came under imperial control through the installation of margraves. Their main function was to defend and protect the eastern marches, in 948 Emperor Otto I established margraves to exert imperial control over the pagan Slavs west of the Oder River. Otto founded the Bishoprics of Brandenburg and Havelberg, the Northern March was founded as a northeastern border territory of the Holy Roman Empire. However, an uprising of Wends drove imperial forces from the territory of present-day Brandenburg in 983. The region returned to the control of Slavic leaders, the Roman Catholic Church brought bishoprics which, with their walled towns, afforded protection from attacks for the townspeople. With the monks and bishops, the history of the town of Brandenburg an der Havel, in 1134, in the wake of a German crusade against the Wends, the German magnate, Albert the Bear, was granted the Northern March by the Emperor Lothar III. He formally inherited the town of Brandenburg and the lands of the Hevelli from their last Wendish ruler, Pribislav, after crushing a force of Sprevane who occupied the town of Brandenburg in the 1150s, Albert proclaimed himself ruler of the new Margraviate of Brandenburg. Albert, and his descendants the Ascanians, then made progress in conquering, colonizing, Christianizing. Within this region, Slavic and German residents intermarried, during the 13th century, the Ascanians began acquiring territory east of the Oder, later known as the Neumark. In 1320, the Brandenburg Ascanian line came to an end, under the Luxembourgs, the Margrave of Brandenburg gained the status of a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire
34.
Stendal
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Hansestadt Stendal is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of Stendal District and unofficial capital of the Altmark region, situated west of the Elbe valley, the Stendal town centre is located some 125 km west of Berlin, around 170 km east of Hanover, and 55 km north of the state capital Magdeburg. Stendal is the seat of a University of Applied Sciences and preserves an old town including a historic market. The nearby village Uchtspringe is home to a rehabilitation clinic. Stendal station is the most important interchange and rail hub in the north of Saxony-Anhalt, located on the Berlin–Lehrte railway and the parallel Hanover–Berlin high-speed railway line, it is regularly served by Intercity and Intercity-Express trains. A direct connection to the German Autobahn network is planned with the extension of the BAB14 from Magdeburg to Schwerin. A settlement named Steinedal in the Eastphalian Balsamgau of Saxony, then a possession of Saint Michael’s Abbey in Hildesheim, was mentioned in a deed issued by Emperor Henry II in 1022. However, the entry has proven to be a 12th-century forgery, the fortified town near the Elbe crossing at Tangermünde was actually founded and granted Magdeburg rights by the first Brandenburg margrave Albert the Bear about 1160. The parish church of St Marys was first mentioned in 1283, a Latin school is documented from 1338. In 1456 the Hohenzollern elector Frederick II Irontooth founded a convent of Augustinian nuns, in 1502 his descendant Elector Joachim I Nestor married Princess Elizabeth of Denmark at Stendal. Magnificent churches, the hall and the two remaining city gates are still proof of Stendals former wealth. The Stendal citizens turned Protestant in 1539, with the reformator Konrad Cordatus serving as superintendent, for centuries part of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, Stendal with the Altmark region passed to the Prussian Province of Saxony after the Napoleonic Wars. A Prussian garrison town since the 17th century, it hosted the 10th Hussars regiment from 1884, the town suffered from strategic bombing. In April 1945, the served as starting place of the Sonderkommando Elbe unit. On May 4, the commander of the Wehrmacht 12th Army, from 1949 until German reunification in 1990, the town belonged to East Germany, part of Bezirk Magdeburg from 1952. Until 1994, the Stendal barracks served as base for a riflemen division of the Soviet 2nd Guards Tank Army. In 1983 the construction of the Stendal Nuclear Power Plant was begun north of the town, in 2009 the Stendal citizens voted for the prefix Hansestadt. The area has a theatre named Theater der Altmark, Stendal and it was founded in 1946 and has always had a particular involvement in youth and childrens theatre
35.
Marktkirche, Hanover
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The Marktkirche St. Georgii et Jacobi, commonly known as Marktkirche, is the main Lutheran church in Hanover, Germany. It was built in the 14th century and, together with the nearby Old Town Hall, is considered the southernmost example of the North German brick gothic architectural style, the roof and the vaults of the naves were destroyed in an air raid in 1943 and restored in 1952. Above the nave and two aisles rises a monumental saddleback roof, the high western tower was a symbol for the power and the wealth of the citizens of the town. It is still one of the highest towers in Lower-Saxony and a landmark of the city, the main altar was carved of linden wood, around 1480. The front depicts the Passion of Christ in 21 scenes, following models of Martin Schongauer, the back shows scenes from the lives of the two patron saints, Saint George and Saint James. The altar was moved to the Aegidienkirche in 1663 to make room for a Baroque altar, in 1856 it was taken to the Welfenmuseum and thus was not destroyed during World War II. It was returned to the Marktkirche in 1952, an organ was installed in the turmraum of the Marktkirche in 1893, which included parts of an instrument of the 17th century. This organ was destroyed in World War II, todays main organ is at the back wall of the southern aisle. The first instrument in that location was built in 1953 and 1954 by the organ builders Emil Hammer Orgelbau and it had 61 stops, four manuals and pedal. The prospekt was designed by Dieter Oesterlen and is a protected monument, from 2007 to 2009, the instrument was rebuilt by Goll Orgelbau. The casing and about 50% of the pipes were kept, the new organ has 64 stops,39 of them mostly using the older material. The Christus- und Friedensglocke is the biggest of Lower-Saxony and is used on special occasions. Media related to Marktkirche at Wikimedia Commons Marktkirche MyTravelGuide Kurze Kirchengeschichte der Altstadt Short history of the churches in the Old Town, kirche-hannover. de
36.
Hanover
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At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Electorate was enlarged to become a Kingdom with Hanover as its capital. From 1868 to 1946 Hanover was the capital of the Prussian Province of Hanover and it is now the capital of the Land of Lower Saxony. Since 2001 it has been part of the Hanover district, which is a body made up from the former district. With a population of 518,000, Hanover is a centre of Northern Germany. Hanover also hosts annual commercial trade fairs such as the Hanover Fair, every year Hanover hosts the Schützenfest Hannover, the worlds largest marksmens festival, and the Oktoberfest Hannover, the second largest such festival in Germany. In 2000, Hanover hosted the world fair Expo 2000, the Hanover fairground, due to numerous extensions, especially for the Expo 2000, is the largest in the world. Hanover is of importance because of its universities and medical school, its international airport. The city is also a crossing point of railway lines and highways. Hanover is the traditional English spelling, the German spelling is becoming more popular in English, recent editions of encyclopaedias prefer the German spelling, and the local government uses the German spelling on English websites. The traditional English spelling is used in historical contexts, especially when referring to the British House of Hanover. Hanover was founded in times on the east bank of the River Leine. Its original name Honovere may mean high bank, though this is debated, Hanover was a small village of ferrymen and fishermen that became a comparatively large town in the 13th century due to its position at a natural crossroads. As overland travel was difficult, its position on the upper navigable reaches of the river helped it to grow by increasing trade. In the 14th century the churches of Hanover were built. The beginning of industrialization in Germany led to trade in iron and silver from the northern Harz Mountains, in 1636 George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, ruler of the Brunswick-Lüneburg principality of Calenberg, moved his residence to Hanover. The Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg were elevated by the Holy Roman Emperor to the rank of Prince-Elector in 1692, thus the principality was upgraded to the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, colloquially known as the Electorate of Hanover after Calenbergs capital. Its electors would later become monarchs of Great Britain, the first of these was George I Louis, who acceded to the British throne in 1714. The last British monarch who ruled in Hanover was William IV, semi-Salic law, which required succession by the male line if possible, forbade the accession of Queen Victoria in Hanover
37.
Mezuzah
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A mezuzah comprises a piece of parchment called a klaft inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah. These verses consist of the Jewish prayer Shema Yisrael, beginning with the phrase, Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is One. In mainstream Rabbinic Judaism, a mezuzah is affixed to the doorpost of Jewish homes to fulfill the mitzvah to write the words of God on the gates and doorposts of your house. Some interpret Jewish law to require a mezuzah in every doorway in the home except bathrooms laundry rooms and closets, if they are too small to qualify as rooms. The klaft parchment is prepared by a scribe who has undergone many years of meticulous training. The parchment is then rolled up and placed inside the case and this article deals mainly with the mezuzah as it is used in Rabbinic Judaism. Karaite Judaism and Samaritanism have their own distinct traditions, in Karaite Judaism the deuteronomic verse And you shall write them on the doorposts of your houses and your gates is interpreted to be a metaphor and not as referring to the Rabbanite mezuzah. Thus Karaites do not traditionally use mezuzot, but put up a plaque in the shape of the two Tables of the Law with the Ten Commandments. In Israel, where they try not to make other Jews feel uncomfortable, many Karaites make an exception. The Karaite version of the mezuzah is fixed to the doorways of public buildings and sometimes to private buildings, the Samaritans interpret the deuteronomic commandment to mean displaying any select text from the Samaritan version of the five Books of Moses. This can contain a blessing or a holy or uplifting message. Nowadays a Samaritan mezuzah is usually made of marble, a wooden plate, or a sheet of parchment or high quality paper. This they place either above the door, or inside the house. These mezuzot are found in every Samaritan household as well as in the synagogue, today some Samaritans would also use a Jewish-style mezuzah case and place inside it a small written Samaritan scroll, i. e. a text from the Samaritan Torah, written in the Samaritan alphabet. The more such mezuzot there are in the house, the better it is considered to be. According to halakha, the mezuzah should be placed on the side of the door or doorpost, in the upper third of the doorpost. Care should be taken to not tear or damage the parchment or the wording on it, as this will invalidate the mezuzah, generally, halakha requires that mezuzot be affixed within 30 days of moving into a rented house or apartment. This applies to Jews living in the Diaspora, for a purchased home or apartment in the Diaspora, or a residence in Israel, the mezuzah is affixed immediately upon moving in
38.
Carpet page
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Carpet pages are a characteristic feature of Insular illuminated manuscripts. They are pages of mainly geometrical ornamentation, which may include repeated animal forms and they are distinct from pages devoted to highly decorated historiated initials, though the style of decoration may be very similar. Carpet pages are devoted to ornamentation with brilliant colors, active lines. They are normally symmetrical, or very nearly so, about both a horizontal and vertical axis, though for example the page at right is only symmetrical about a vertical axis. Some art historians find their origin in similar Coptic decorative book pages, oriental carpets, or other textiles, may themselves have been influences. Roman floor mosaics seen in post-Roman Britain, are cited as a possible source. The Hebrew Codex Cairensis, from 9th century Galilee, also contains a type of page. The earliest surviving example is from the early 7th century Bobbio Orosius, there are notable carpet pages in the Book of Kells, Lindisfarne Gospels, Book of Durrow, and other manuscripts. Carpet pages are found in some medieval Hebrew manuscripts, typically opening the major sections of the book. Islamic manuscripts, especially Qurans, often have pages entirely devoted to complex geometrical decoration, calkins, Robert G. Illuminated Books of the Middle Ages. Ithaca, New York, Cornell University Press,1983, Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Painting, Book Illumination in the British Isles. Book Illumination in the Middle Ages, a Survey of Manuscripts Illuminated in the British Isles, Volume One, Insular Manuscripts from the 6th to the 9th Century. Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts, A Guide to Technical Terms, malibu, California, The J. Paul Getty Museum. Art of the Celts, From 700 BC to the Celtic Revival, Celtic Art, From its Beginnings to the Book of Kells. Treasures of early Irish art,1500 B. C. to 1500 A. D
39.
Grimoire
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In this manner, while all books on magic could be thought of as grimoires, not all magical books should be thought of as grimoires. He also noted that the first grimoires could be found in Europe and it is most commonly believed that the term grimoire originated from the Old French word grammaire, which had initially been used to refer to all books written in Latin. By the 18th century, the term had gained its now common usage in France, Owen Davies presumed this was because many of them continued to circulate in Latin manuscripts. However, the term later developed into a figure of speech amongst the French indicating something that was hard to understand. The ancient Egyptians also employed magical incantations, which have been inscribed on amulets. The Egyptian magical system, known as heka, was altered and enhanced after the Macedonians, led by Alexander the Great. Under the next three centuries of Hellenistic Egypt, the Coptic writing system evolved, and the Library of Alexandria was opened, the ancient Greeks and Romans believed that books on magic were invented by the Persians. His claims are not, however, supported by modern historians, the ancient Jewish people were often viewed as being knowledgeable in magic, which, according to legend, they had learned from Moses, who had learned it in Egypt. Among many ancient writers, Moses was seen as an Egyptian rather than a Jew. Two manuscripts likely dating to the 4th century, both of which purport to be the legendary eighth Book of Moses, present him as a polytheist who explained how to conjure gods and subdue demons. Meanwhile, there is evidence of grimoires being used by certain, particularly Gnostic. In the Book of Enoch found within the Dead Sea Scrolls, for instance, there is information on astrology, israelite King Solomon was a Biblical figure associated with magic and sorcery in the ancient world. The book may have been the Testament of Solomon but was probably a different work. The pseudepigraphic Testament of Solomon is one of the oldest magical texts and it is a Greek manuscript attributed to Solomon and likely written in either Babylonia or Egypt sometime in the first five centuries AD, over 1,000 years after Solomons death. The work tells of the building of The Temple and relates that construction was hampered by demons until the angel Michael gave the king a magical ring, the ring, engraved with the Seal of Solomon, had the power to bind demons from doing harm. Subsequently, after losing favour with God, King Solomon wrote the work as a warning, when Christianity became the dominant faith of the Roman Empire, the early Church frowned upon the propagation of books on magic, connecting it with paganism, and burned books of magic. The New Testament records that St. Paul called for the burning of magic and pagan books in the city of Ephesus, in the Medieval period, the production of grimoires continued in Christendom, as well as amongst Jews and the followers of the newly founded Islamic faith. The use of books on magic continued
40.
Sefer Raziel HaMalakh
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The book cannot be shown to predate the 13th century, but may in parts date back to Late Antiquity. Like other obscure ancient texts such as the Bahir and Sefer Yetzirah, the tradition around the book attributes it to have been revealed to Adam by the angel Raziel. The title itself is mentioned in another work of late antiquity. Critical historians regard it as a work, most probably originating among the Chassidei Ashkenaz. Sections of it are no doubt older and it draws heavily on Sepher Yetzirah and Sepher Ha-Razim. There are multiple versions, containing up to seven tractates. The printed version of Sefer Raziel is divided into five books and it features an elaborate angelology, magical uses of the zodiac, gematria, names of God, protective spells, and a method of writing magical healing amulets. Book six of the Liber Razielis is based on the Sefer ha-Razim Book of Secrets, the book becomes notorious in German Renaissance magic, named together with Picatrix as among the most abominable works of Nigromantia by Johannes Hartlieb. The prayer of Adam is paraphrased by Nicholas of Cues in two sermons and further use of by Reuchlin in his De Arte Cabbalistica. Konrad Bollstatter in the 15th century also shows awareness of the Latin version of the Prayer of Adam an interpolation in Cgm 252, although he replaces Raziel with Raphael and Seth with Sem. The Angel Raziel teaches the power of speech, the contained within the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, their combinations. Raziel was sent to earth with specific purpose to teach Adam and Abraham the ways of Nature. The eternal divine creative life energy of this earth is love, the book explains the laws of birth, death, reincarnation of the soul. The Heptameron, ascribed to Petrus de Apono, is based on the Book of Raziel, full-text PDF version, in Hebrew, from HebrewBooks. org Steve Savedow, Sepher Rezial Hemelach, The Book of the Angel Rezial, Red Wheel/Weiser, ISBN 978-1-57863-193-3. Giovanni Grippo, Sepher Raziel, Das Buch des Erzengels Raziel, G. G. Verlag, giovanni Grippo, Sepher Raziel ha Malakh, Book of Raziel, G. G. Publisher, ISBN 978-3-9810622-7-4
41.
Tomb stone
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A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. They are traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish and Muslim religions, in many parts of Europe insetting a photograph of the deceased in a frame is very common. The stele, as it is called in a context, is one of the oldest forms of funerary art. Originally, a tombstone was the lid of a stone coffin, or the coffin itself. Now all three terms are used for markers placed at the head of the grave. Some graves in the 18th century also contained footstones to demarcate the end of the grave. This sometimes developed into full kerb sets that marked the perimeter of the grave. Footstones were rarely annotated with more than the initials and year of death. Many cemeteries and churchyards have removed those extra stones to ease grass cutting by machine mower, note that in some UK cemeteries the principal, and indeed only, marker is placed at the foot of the grave. Owing to soil movement and Downhill creep on gentle slopes, older headstones and footstones can often be tilted at an angle. Over time, this movement can result in the stones being sited several metres away from their original location, graves, and any related memorials are a focus for mourning and remembrance. The names of relatives are often added to a gravestone over the years, since gravestones and a plot in a cemetery or churchyard cost money, they are also a symbol of wealth or prominence in a community. Some gravestones were even commissioned and erected to their own memory by people who were living, as a testament to their wealth. In a Christian context, the wealthy often erected elaborate memorials within churches rather than having simply external gravestones. Crematoria frequently offer similar alternatives to families who do not have a grave to mark, carved or cast commemorative plaques inside the crematorium for example may serve this purpose. A cemetery may follow national codes of practice or independently prescribe the size and use of certain materials, some may limit the placing of a wooden memorial to six months after burial, after which a more permanent memorial must be placed. Others may require stones of a shape or position to facilitate grass-cutting. Headstones of granite, marble and other kinds of stone are usually created, installed, restoration is a specialized job for a monumental mason
42.
Taranto
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Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base and it is the third-largest continental city of Southern Italy, according to 2011 population census, it has a population of 200,154. Taranto is an important commercial and military port and it has well-developed steel and iron foundries, oil refineries, chemical works, some shipyards for building warships, and food-processing factories. In ancient times around 500 BC the city was one of the largest in the world with population estimates up to 300,000 people, Tarantos pre-history dates back to 706 BC when it was founded as a Greek colony, established by the Spartans. The islets of S. Pietro and S. Paolo, collectively known as Cheradi Islands, protect the bay, called Mar Grande, another bay, called Mar Piccolo, is formed by the peninsula of the old city, and has flourishing fishing. Mar Piccolo is a port with strategic importance. At the end of the 19th century, a channel was excavated to allow ships to enter the Mar Piccolo harbour. In addition, the islets and the coast are strongly fortified, because of the presence of these two bays, Taranto is also called the city of the two seas. The Greek colonists from Sparta called the city Taras, after the mythical hero Taras, while the Romans, the natural harbor at Taranto made it a logical home port for the Italian naval fleet before and during the First World War. During World War II, Taranto became famous as a consequence of the November 1940 British air attack on the Regia Marina naval base stationed here, which today is called the Battle of Taranto. Taranto is also the origin of the name of the Tarantula spider family, Theraphosidae. In ancient times, residents of the town of Taranto, upon being bitten by the large local Wolf Spider, Lycosa tarentula and this was done in order to sweat the venom out of their pores, even though the spiders venom was not fatal to humans. The frenetic dance became known as the Tarantella, in geology, Taranto gives its name to the Tarantian Age of the Pleistocene Epoch. It is 14.5 metres above sea level and it was built on a plain running north/north-west–southeast, and surrounded by the Murgia plateau from the north-west to the east. Its territory extends for 209.64 square kilometres and is mostly underwater and it is characterised by three natural peninsulas and a man-made island, formed by digging a ditch during the construction of Aragon Castle. The Big Sea is frequently known as the Big Sea bay as that is where ships harbour and it is separated from the Little Sea by a cape which closes the gulf, leading to the artificial island. This island formed the heart of the city and it is connected to the mainland by the Ponte di Porta Napoli. The latter form an archipelago which closes off the arc creating the natural Big Sea bay
43.
History of the Jews in Apulia
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The history of the Jews in Apulia can be traced back over two thousand years. Apulia in Hebrew, פוליה) is a region in the heel of the boot of the peninsula of Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea, the Jews have had a presence in Apulia for at least 2000 years. The Jews of Apulia had a rich Rabbinic tradition and also had a sizeable Jewish population in the central Mediterranean prior to their expulsion. Apulia was once part of the ancient Roman province of Bruttium, in the 1st century, Roman records tell of the Jewish communities of Bari, Oria, Otranto, and Taranto. Other legends tell of Jewish captives deported from Judea by the Roman Emperor Titus after the fall of Jerusalem in the year 70, official documents from the Western Roman emperor Honorius in the year 398, confirm there were several Jewish communities in Apulia. Inscriptions found in the town of Venosa mention the communal organization of Jewish life in southern Italy, after the fall of the Roman Empire, the region of Apulia fell under the rule of the Byzantine Empire and during the 9th century. This opened a time of zealous Christian missionary effort for the regions Jews. In 875 and 925, Arab armies invaded and occupied parts of Apulia, resulting in much misery for the Jews, the Jewish court physician Shabbethai Donnolo lived Calabria/Apulia area in the tenth century and wrote of these times. During the early period of the Middle Ages, Calabria, Basilicata, by the 11th century, the region was again a peaceful haven for the Jews. During this time many Apulian Torah scholars had regular contact with the Rabbinic academies of the east, the Chronicle of Ahimaaz in 1054 contains many details on Apulian Jewry. Apulian poets of the time include Shephatiah of Oria who wrote the poem Yisrael Nosha which is included in the Neilah service on the Day of Atonement in the Ashkenazi liturgy, amittai in Oria, and Silano in Venosa were also well-known poets. Torah scholars are mentioned from the middle of the century in Bari, Oria. The Josippon chronicle, composed sometime in the century, is a product of the southern Italian Jewish/Hebrew culture. The south Italian Jewry contributed to the early Ashkenazi culture in central Europe, the Jews of France and Germany recognized the scholarship of the Apulian center as late as the 12th century. The lives of the Jews in Apulia continued to be tolerable until the end of the 13th century, Jews in Apulia owned land, were employed in crafts, such as the dyeing industry. Toleration of the Jews in Apulia came to end when Apulia, as well as parts of southern Italy. King Charles II of Anjou ordered the baptism of all Jews in his realm. Many Apulian Jews fled to neighboring central Italy and northern Italy, many also moved to the Germanic areas of central Europe
44.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
45.
Common Era
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Common Era or Current Era is a year-numbering system for the Julian and Gregorian calendars that refers to the years since the start of this era, i. e. since AD1. The preceding era is referred to as before the Common or Current Era, the Current Era notation system can be used as a secular alternative to the Dionysian era system, which distinguishes eras as AD and BC. The two notation systems are equivalent, thus 2017 CE corresponds to AD2017 and 400 BCE corresponds to 400 BC. The year-numbering system for the Gregorian calendar is the most widespread civil calendar used in the world today. For decades, it has been the standard, recognized by international institutions such as the United Nations. The expression has been traced back to Latin usage to 1615, as vulgaris aerae, the term Common Era can be found in English as early as 1708, and became more widely used in the mid-19th century by Jewish academics. He attempted to number years from a reference date, an event he referred to as the Incarnation of Jesus. Dionysius labeled the column of the table in which he introduced the new era as Anni Domini Nostri Jesu Christi, numbering years in this manner became more widespread in Europe with its usage by Bede in England in 731. Bede also introduced the practice of dating years before what he supposed was the year of birth of Jesus, in 1422, Portugal became the last Western European country to switch to the system begun by Dionysius. The first use of the Latin term vulgaris aerae discovered so far was in a 1615 book by Johannes Kepler, Kepler uses it again in a 1616 table of ephemerides, and again in 1617. A1635 English edition of that book has the title page in English – so far, a 1701 book edited by John LeClerc includes Before Christ according to the Vulgar Æra,6. A1716 book in English by Dean Humphrey Prideaux says, before the beginning of the vulgar æra, a 1796 book uses the term vulgar era of the nativity. The first so-far-discovered usage of Christian Era is as the Latin phrase aerae christianae on the page of a 1584 theology book. In 1649, the Latin phrase æræ Christianæ appeared in the title of an English almanac, a 1652 ephemeris is the first instance so-far-found for English usage of Christian Era. The English phrase common Era appears at least as early as 1708, a 1759 history book uses common æra in a generic sense, to refer to the common era of the Jews. The first-so-far found usage of the phrase before the era is in a 1770 work that also uses common era and vulgar era as synonyms. The 1797 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica uses the terms vulgar era, the Catholic Encyclopedia in at least one article reports all three terms being commonly understood by the early 20th century. Thus, the era of the Jews, the common era of the Mahometans, common era of the world
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