The Golden Gate, is the only eastern gate of the Temple Mount and one of only two that used to offer access into the city from that side. It has…
The Western Wall, Wailing Wall or Kotel (Hebrew: הַכֹּתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, translit.: HaKotel HaMa’aravi; Ashkenazic pronunciation: HaKosel HaMa’arovi; Arabic: حائط البراق, translit.: Ḥā’iṭ al-Burāq, translat.: the Buraq Wall, or Arabic: المبكى…
Jerusalem (Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yerushalayim; Arabic: القُدس al-Quds [“The Holy”]) is a city in the Middle East, located on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead…
Introduction Gilgul or also Gilgul neshamot or Gilgulai Ha Neshamot (in Hebrew גלגול הנשמות, Plural: Gilgulim; “cycle” in Hebrew נשמות, nesahmot, “souls”, “cycle of souls”) is the concept of reincarnation,…
Shema Yisrael (Shema Israel or Sh’ma Yisrael; Hebrew: שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל; “Hear, O Israel”) is a Jewish prayer (known simply as the Shema) considered the essence of Judaism. The first verse,…
The Guide for the Perplexed (Hebrew: מורה נבוכים, Moreh Nevukhim; Arabic: دلالة الحائرين, dalālat al-ḥā’irīn, דלאל̈ה אלחאירין) is one of the three major works of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, primarily…
The Talmud (Hebrew: תַּלְמוּד talmūd “instruction, learning”, from a root LMD “teach, study”) is a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. It is also traditionally referred to as Shas (ש״ס), a…
The Temple Mount (Hebrew: הַר הַבַּיִת, Har HaBáyit, “Mount of the House “), known to Muslims as the Haram esh-Sharif (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, al-Ḥaram al-Šarīf, “the Noble Sanctuary”, or الحرم…
The Aliyah or Law of Return (Hebrew: חֹוק הַשְׁבוּת, ḥok ha-shvūt) is Israeli legislation, passed on 5 July 1950, which gives Jews the right to live in Israel and to…
Kabbalah (in Hebrew קַבָּלָה literally “parallel/corresponding,” or “received tradition”) is an esoteric method, discipline, and school of thought that originated in Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist in Judaism is called a…
The Wandering Jew is a legendary immortal man whose story began to spread in Europe during the early Middle Ages. The original legend concerns a Jew who taunted Jesus on…
Shavuot (Hebrew: שבועות, lit. “Weeks”), known as the Feast of Weeks in English and as Pentecost (Πεντηκοστή) in Ancient Greek, is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day…
Zion (Hebrew: צִיּוֹן Tsiyyon), also transliterated Sion, or Sayon, Syon, Tzion and Tsion, is a place name often used as a synonym for Jerusalem. The word is first found in…
Misanthropy is the general hatred, distrust or contempt of the human species or human nature. A misanthrope or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings. The word’s origin…
Passover, Easter or Pesach (from Hebrew פֶּסַח Pesah), is an important, biblically derived holiday. The Jewish people celebrate Passover as a commemoration of their liberation by GOD from slavery in…
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