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Hirsch, Samson Raphael

(Encyclopedia)Hirsch, Samson Raphael, 1808–88, German rabbi and chief exponent of Neo-Orthodoxy. As rabbi in Frankfurt-am-Main, he advocated the organization of autonomous Orthodox congregations outside the state...

Rashi

(Encyclopedia)Rashi räˈshē [key], 1040–1105, Jewish exegete, grammarian, and legal authority, b. Troyes, France. The name he is known by is an acronym of Rabbi Solomon bar Isaac. He studied in Worms and Mainz,...

Cahan, Abraham

(Encyclopedia)Cahan, Abraham kän [key], 1860–1951, Russian-American journalist, Socialist leader, and author, b. Vilnius, Lithuania. He emigrated to New York City in 1882, entered journalism, and helped found th...

Adam, the first man, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Adam ădˈəm [key], [Heb.,=man], in the Bible, the first man. In the Book of Genesis, God creates humankind in his image as a species of male and female, giving them dominion over other life. Elsewhe...

Muhammad, prophet of Islam

(Encyclopedia)Muhammad məhămˈəd [key] [Arab.,=praised], 570?–632, the name of the Prophet of Islam, one of the great figures of history, b. Mecca. The traditions concerning Muhammad's life, deeds, and sa...

Joseph and Asenath

(Encyclopedia)Joseph and Asenath, an early Jewish work, highly regarded in Eastern and Western Christian traditions, most likely emanating from Alexandrian Egypt between 200 b.c. and a.d. 200, probably composed in ...

Ashi, Rab

(Encyclopedia)Ashi or Asser, Rab äˈshē, äsˈər [key], c.352–c.424, Jewish scholar of Babylon. He was a judge, community administrator, and teacher of considerable influence both on contemporary Jewish societ...

Sheshbazzar

(Encyclopedia)Sheshbazzar shĕshˌbăzˈär [key], in the Bible, exiled Jewish prince, later governor of a reestablished Jewish state centered in Jerusalem, commissioned (538 b.c.) by Cyrus to take back to Jerusale...

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