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97-525: The name Knesset Yisrael is a Talmudic expression referring to the Jewish people as a whole. The three neighborhoods of Knesset Yisrael – Knesset Aleph, Knesset Bet, and Knesset Gimmel – lie north of Betzalel Street and straddle both sides of HaNetziv Street. In response to the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in the Old City of Jerusalem, and the influx of new immigrants to Jerusalem in

194-477: A chametz oven (for baking bread products), and five water cisterns. In 1908, the Central Committee bought another plot of land southeast of Knesset Bet for the construction of Knesset Gimmel. The cornerstone was not laid until April 1925, in a ceremony conducted by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook . Construction was completed in 1926. This complex was also designed with two-story row houses on three sides of

291-478: A 13-year repayment plan. The other half were allocated to poor families who could live in them rent-free for three years. Tenants agreed "to pray and study the Torah regularly, and to pray for the souls of the donors after their deaths". Although the community bylaws called for the planting of trees and plants in the central courtyard, this directive was largely ignored. Residents drew water from two cisterns located in

388-520: A compilation by Zechariah Aghmati called Sefer ha-Ner . The Tosafot are collected commentaries by various medieval Ashkenazic rabbis on the Talmud (known as Tosafists or Ba'alei Tosafot ). One of the main goals of the Tosafot is to explain and interpret contradictory statements in the Talmud. Unlike Rashi, the Tosafot is not a running commentary, but rather comments on selected matters. Often

485-577: A consensus view. The rabbis recorded in the Mishnah are known as the Tannaim (literally, "repeaters", or "teachers"). These tannaim—rabbis of the second century CE--"who produced the Mishnah and other tannaic works, must be distinguished from the rabbis of the third to fifth centuries, known as amoraim (literally, "speakers"), who produced the two Talmudim and other amoraic works". Since it sequences its laws by subject matter instead of by biblical context,

582-463: A few minutes in efficient modern matzah bakeries. After baking, matzah may be ground into fine crumbs, known as matzah meal . Matzah meal can be used like flour during the week of Passover when flour can otherwise be used only to make matzah. There are two major forms of matzah. Prior to the late 18th century, all matzah was soft and relatively thick, but thinner, crisper matzah later became popular in parts of Europe due to its longer shelf life. With

679-439: A fork or a similar tool to keep the finished product from puffing up, and the resulting flat piece of dough is cooked at high temperature until it develops dark spots, then set aside to cool and, if sufficiently thin, to harden to crispness. Dough is considered to begin the leavening process 18 minutes from the time it gets wet; sooner if eggs, fruit juice, or milk is added to the dough. The entire process of making matzah takes only

776-587: A leavening reaction within flour if they themselves have had water added to them and otherwise the dough they produce is completely permissible for consumption during Passover, whether or not made according to the laws applying to matzot. As a result, Joseph ben Ephraim Karo , author of the Shulchan Aruch or "Code of Jewish Law" ( Orach Chayim 462:4 ) granted blanket permission for the use of any matzah made from non-water-based dough, including egg matzah, on Passover. Many egg matzah boxes no longer include

873-604: A lower boundary on the dating of the Babylonian Talmud, it must post-date the early 5th century given its reliance on the Jerusalem Talmud . From the time of its completion, the Talmud became integral to Jewish scholarship. A maxim in Pirkei Avot advocates its study from the age of 15. This section outlines some of the major areas of Talmudic study. One area of Talmudic scholarship developed out of

970-745: A near flour-like consistency, useful in baking, while the standard matzah meal is somewhat coarser and used in cooking. Matzah meal is used to make matzah balls (kneidles/kneidlach), the principal ingredient of matzah ball soup (kneidlach soup). Sephardic Jews typically cook with matzah itself rather than matzah meal. Matzah that is kosher for Passover is limited in Ashkenazi tradition to plain matzah made from flour and water. The flour may be whole grain or refined grain , but must be made from one of five grains : wheat , spelt , barley , rye , or oat . Some Sephardic communities allow matzah to be made with eggs and/or fruit juice to be used throughout

1067-500: A parcel of land south of Jaffa Road and adjacent to the newly built Jewish neighborhoods of Mishkenot Yisrael and Mazkeret Moshe – turned out to be the site for the planned terminus of the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway . Land prices skyrocketed as Christian groups from Germany , Greece , and Armenia sought to establish neighborhoods adjacent to the train station. Hopelessly outbid, the Central Committee members tried to stall

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1164-474: A rectangular courtyard. Marble dedication plaques commemorating donors from the United States, Australia, South Africa, Poland, and Jerusalem were affixed over the doorways of apartments in both Knesset Bet and Knesset Gimmel. The three sections of Knesset Yisrael numbered 160 houses in 1935 and 176 houses by the 1950s. The population increased from 125 families in 1929 to over 200 families in 2010, which

1261-634: A rectangular courtyard; the eastern side was left open. The buildings were placed close together to maximize available land. Each apartment consisted of two rooms and a kitchen. Construction funds were provided by donations from Jews in America and Australia, and donors' names were inscribed on marble plaques over the doorways of the apartments. On the north side of the courtyard stands the Beis Rachel Synagogue, donated by Kalonimus Davis of Melbourne in memory of his wife, Rachel. The synagogue

1358-496: A self-contained, edited passage known as a sugya . Much of the Gemara is legal in nature. Each analysis begins with a Mishnaic legal statement. With each sugya, the statement may be analyzed and compared with other statements. This process can be framed as an exchange between two (often anonymous, possibly metaphorical) disputants, termed the makshan (questioner) and tartzan (answerer). Gemara also commonly tries to find

1455-664: A sole for one's foot. Despite its incomplete state, the Jerusalem Talmud remains an indispensable source of knowledge of the development of the Jewish Law in the Holy Land. It was also an important primary source for the study of the Babylonian Talmud by the Kairouan school of Chananel ben Chushiel and Nissim ben Jacob , with the result that opinions ultimately based on the Jerusalem Talmud found their way into both

1552-425: Is Mezonot ). Matzah may be used whole, broken, chopped ("matzah farfel "), or finely ground ("matzah meal"); to make numerous matzah-based cooked dishes. These include matzah balls , which are traditionally served in chicken soup; matzah brei , a dish of Ashkenazi origin made from matzah soaked in water, mixed with beaten egg, and fried; helzel , poultry neck skin stuffed with matzah meal; matzah pizza , in which

1649-471: Is about 0.5 metres (1 ft 8 in) higher than the rest of the row houses. Due to the small number of residents, no school was built; children were sent to the school in the nearby neighborhood of Mazkeret Moshe . First preference for apartments was given to new immigrants, then to residents of the Old City , and then to residents of the New City. Half of the apartments were sold to kolel members with

1746-568: Is during this period that rabbinic discourse began to be recorded in writing. In antiquity, the two major centres of Jewish scholarship were located in Galilee and Babylonia . A Talmud was compiled in each of these regional centres. The earlier of the two compilations took place in Galilee, either in the late fourth or early fifth century, and it came to be known as the Jerusalem Talmud (or Talmud Yerushalmi ). Later on, and likely some time in

1843-542: Is generally suitable for those who cannot eat gluten. Whole wheat, bran and organic matzah are also available. Chocolate -covered matzah is a favorite among children, although some consider it "enriched matzah" and will not eat it during the Passover holiday. A quite different flat confection of chocolate and nuts that resembles matzah is sometimes called "chocolate matzah". Mass-produced matzah contains typically 111 calories per 1-ounce/28g (USDA Nutrient Database), about

1940-583: Is known as gebrochts . However, Jews who avoid eating gebrochts will eat cooked matzah dishes on the eighth day of Passover outside the Land of Israel, as the eighth day is of rabbinic and not Torah origin . Sephardim use matzah soaked in water or stock to make pies or lasagne , known as mina , méguena , mayena or Italian : scacchi . Communion wafers used by the Roman Catholic Church as well as in some Protestant traditions for

2037-852: Is largely in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic , although quotations in the Gemara of the Mishnah, the Baraitas and Tanakh appear in Mishnaic or Biblical Hebrew. Some other dialects of Aramaic occur in quotations of other older works, like the Megillat Taanit . The reason why earlier texts occur in Hebrew, and later texts in Aramaic, is because of the adoption of the latter (which was the spoken vernacular) by rabbinic circles during

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2134-638: Is not acceptable for use at any time during the Passover festival except by the elderly or unwell. Non-Passover matzah may be made with onion, garlic, poppy seed, etc. It can even be made from rice , maize , buckwheat and other non-traditional flours that can never be used for Passover matzah. Some manufacturers produce gluten-free matzah-lookalike made from potato starch , tapioca , and other non-traditional flour to market to those who cannot safely eat gluten , such as those with coeliac disease . The Orthodox Union states that these gluten-free products may be eaten on Passover, but that they do not fulfill

2231-461: Is often criticized as being a modern-day version of pilpul . Nevertheless, the influence of the Brisker method is great. Most modern-day Yeshivot study the Talmud using the Brisker method in some form. One feature of this method is the use of Maimonides ' Mishneh Torah as a guide to Talmudic interpretation, as distinct from its use as a source of practical halakha . Rival methods were those of

2328-418: Is only used for machine-made matzah. It is possible to hand-bake matzah in shĕmura style from non-shmurah flour—this is a matter of style, it is not actually in any way shĕmura —but such matzah has rarely been produced since the introduction of machine-made matzah.) Haredi Judaism is scrupulous about the supervision of matzah and have the custom of baking their own or at least participating in some stage of

2425-594: Is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which chametz ( leaven and five grains that, per Jewish law , are self-leavening) is forbidden. As the Torah recounts, God commanded the Israelites (modernly, Jews and Samaritans ) to eat only unleavened bread during the seven-day Passover festival. Matzah can be either soft like a pita or crispy. The crispy variety

2522-574: Is primarily because the prestige of the Jewish community of Israel steadily declined in contrast with the Babylonian community in the years after the redaction of the Talmud and continuing until the Gaonic era. Maimonides claims that all Jewish communities in the Gaonic period formally accepted the Babylonian Talmud as binding, and that in any areas where the two Talmuds conflict, deference is given to

2619-558: Is properly listed among the five grains, or whether it resulted from a historical mistranslation. Therefore, some have suggested baking matzah from a mixture of 90% rice flour and 10% wheat flour, for those who can handle eating the small amount of wheat in this mixture. For those who can eat no wheat, eating oat matzah at the Seder is still considered the best option. Matzah dough is quickly mixed and rolled out without an autolyse step as used for leavened breads. Most forms are pricked with

2716-443: Is regarded as more comprehensive. The structure of the Talmud follows that of the Mishnah, in which six orders ( sedarim ; singular: seder ) of general subject matter are divided into 60 or 63 tractates ( masekhtot ; singular: masekhet ) of more focused subject compilations, though not all tractates have Gemara. Each tractate is divided into chapters ( perakim ; singular: perek ), 517 in total, that are both numbered according to

2813-457: Is whether fruit juice, eggs, honey, oil or milk are also deemed to do so within the strict definitions of Jewish laws regarding chametz. The Talmud , Pesachim 35a , states that liquid food extracts do not cause flour to leaven the way that water does. According to this view, flour mixed with other liquids would not need to be treated with the same care as flour mixed with water. The Tosafot (commentaries) explain that such liquids only produce

2910-400: Is widely produced commercially because of its long shelf life. The soft matzah needs to be frozen if it is to last more than a day or so, and very limited commercial production is available, and only in the period leading up to Passover. Some versions of the crisper type are available all year. Matzah meal and matzah cake meal is crispy matzah that has been ground very finely. The cake meal has

3007-570: Is written largely in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic , a Western Aramaic language that differs from its Babylonian counterpart . The eye and the heart are two abettors to the crime. The final redaction of the text was in the late fourth or early fifth century, once Christianity had become the state religion of the Roman Empire and Jerusalem. Just as wisdom has made a crown for one's head, so, too, humility has made

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3104-641: The Talmuda de-Eretz Yisrael ("Talmud of the Land of Israel"). Prior to being written down, it was transmitted orally for centuries and represents a compilation of scholastic teachings and analyses on the Mishnah (especially those concerning agricultural laws) found across regional centres of the Land of Israel now known as the Academies in Galilee (principally those of Tiberias , Sepphoris , and Caesarea ). It

3201-458: The Aggadic material from the Talmud. It was intended to familiarize the public with the ethical parts of the Talmud and to dispute many of the accusations surrounding its contents. Geonic -era (6th-11th centuries) commentaries have largely been lost, but are known to exist from partial quotations in later medieval and early modern texts. Because of this, it is known that now-lost commentaries on

3298-713: The Eucharist are flat, unleavened bread. The main reason for the use of this bread is the belief that, because the Last Supper was described in the Synoptic Gospels as a Passover meal, the unleavened matzah bread was used by Jesus when he held it up and said "this is my body". All Byzantine Rite churches use leavened bread for the Eucharist as this symbolizes the risen Christ. Some Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Christians use leavened bread, as in

3395-572: The Gemara ( גמרא , c. 500 CE), a commentary of the Mishnah and related Tannaitic writings whose greater goal is to systematically understand the Hebrew Bible . Sometimes, the term "Talmud" is only used for the Gemara. As a whole, the traditions of the Talmud emerged in a literary tradition that occurred between the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE and the Arab conquest in

3492-401: The Hebrew Bible , the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ( halakha ) and Jewish theology . Until the advent of modernity , in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewish cultural life and was foundational to "all Jewish thought and aspirations", serving also as "the guide for the daily life" of Jews. Above all,

3589-498: The Hebrew alphabet and given names, usually using the first one or two words in the first Mishnah. A perek may continue over several (up to tens of) pages . Each perek will contain several mishnayot . The Mishnah is a compilation of legal opinions and debates. Statements in the Mishnah are typically terse, recording brief opinions of the rabbis debating a subject; or recording only an unattributed ruling, apparently representing

3686-542: The Malabar coast of Kerala , India have the customary celebration of Pesaha in their homes. On the evening before Good Friday, Pesaha bread is made at home. It is made with unleavened flour and they consume a sweet drink made up of coconut milk and jaggery along with this bread. On the Pesaha night, the bread is baked (steamed) immediately after rice flour is mixed with water and they pierce it many times with handle of

3783-506: The Mir and Telz yeshivas . See Chaim Rabinowitz § Telshe and Yeshiva Ohel Torah-Baranovich § Style of learning . The text of the Talmud has been subject to some level of critical scrutiny throughout its history. Rabbinic tradition holds that the people cited in both Talmuds did not have a hand in its writings; rather, their teachings were edited into a rough form around 450 CE (Talmud Yerushalmi) and 550 CE (Talmud Bavli.) The text of

3880-619: The Mishnah and the Babylonian Gemara, the latter representing the culmination of more than 300 years of analysis of the Mishnah in the Talmudic Academies in Babylonia. The foundations of this process of analysis were laid by Abba Arika (175–247), a disciple of Judah ha-Nasi . Tradition ascribes the compilation of the Babylonian Talmud in its present form to two Babylonian sages, Rav Ashi and Ravina II . Rav Ashi

3977-465: The Tosafot and the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides . Ethical maxims contained in the Jerusalem Talmud are scattered and interspersed in the legal discussions throughout the several treatises, many of which differ from those in the Babylonian Talmud. The Babylonian Talmud ( Talmud Bavli ) consists of documents compiled over the period of late antiquity (3rd to 6th centuries). During this time,

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4074-472: The 15th and 16th centuries, a new intensive form of Talmud study arose. Complicated logical arguments were used to explain minor points of contradiction within the Talmud. The term pilpul was applied to this type of study. Usage of pilpul in this sense (that of "sharp analysis") harks back to the Talmudic era and refers to the intellectual sharpness this method demanded. Pilpul practitioners posited that

4171-498: The 15th century on, some authorities sought to apply the methods of Aristotelian logic , as reformulated by Averroes . This method was first recorded, though without explicit reference to Aristotle, by Isaac Campanton (d. Spain, 1463) in his Darkhei ha-Talmud ("The Ways of the Talmud"), and is also found in the works of Moses Chaim Luzzatto . According to the present-day Sephardi scholar José Faur , traditional Sephardic Talmud study could take place on any of three levels. In

4268-473: The 18th century, pilpul study waned. Other styles of learning such as that of the school of Elijah b. Solomon, the Vilna Gaon , became popular. The term "pilpul" was increasingly applied derogatorily to novellae deemed casuistic and hairsplitting. Authors referred to their own commentaries as "al derekh ha-peshat" (by the simple method) to contrast them with pilpul. Among Sephardi and Italian Jews from

4365-462: The 5th century by Rav Ashi and Ravina II . There is also an earlier collection known as the Jerusalem Talmud ( Talmud Yerushalmi ). It may also traditionally be called Shas ( ש״ס ), a Hebrew abbreviation of shisha sedarim , or the "six orders" of the Mishnah . The Talmud has two components: the Mishnah ( משנה , c. 200 CE), a written compendium of the Oral Torah ; and

4462-596: The Babylonian Talmud may draw upon the Mishnah, the Jerusalem Talmud, midrash, and other sources. The traditions that the Gemara comments on are not limited to what is found in the Mishnah, but the Baraita as well (a term that broadly designates Oral Torah traditions that did not end up in the Mishnah). The baraitot cited in the Gemara are often quotations from the Tosefta (a tannaitic compendium of halakha parallel to

4559-592: The Babylonian opinion. Neither covers the entire Mishnah. For example, the Babylonian commentary only covers 37 of 63 Mishnaic tractates. In particular: The Babylonian Talmud records the opinions of the rabbis of the Ma'arava (the West, meaning Israel) as well as of those of Babylonia, while the Jerusalem Talmud seldom cites the Babylonian rabbis. The Babylonian version also contains the opinions of more generations because of its later date of completion. For both these reasons, it

4656-462: The Bavli especially was not firmly fixed at that time. Gaonic responsa literature addresses this issue. Teshuvot Geonim Kadmonim, section 78, deals with mistaken biblical readings in the Talmud. This Gaonic responsum states: Matzah Matzah , matzo , or maẓẓah ( Hebrew : מַצָּה , romanized :  maṣṣā , pl. : matzot or Ashk. matzos ) is an unleavened flatbread that

4753-541: The Mishnah discusses individual subjects more thoroughly than the Midrash , and it includes a much broader selection of halakhic subjects than the Midrash. The Mishnah's topical organization thus became the framework of the Talmud as a whole. But not every tractate in the Mishnah has a corresponding Gemara. Also, the order of the tractates in the Talmud differs in some cases from that in the Mishnah . The Gemara constitutes

4850-409: The Mishnah) and the Midrash halakha (specifically Mekhilta, Sifra and Sifre ). Some baraitot , however, are known only through traditions cited in the Gemara, and are not part of any other collection. In addition to the six Orders, the Talmud contains a series of short treatises of a later date, usually printed at the end of Seder Nezikin. These are not divided into Mishnah and Gemara. The work

4947-508: The Roman destruction of the Jewish commonwealth and the Second Temple in the year 70 and the consequent upheaval of Jewish social and legal norms. As the rabbis were required to face a new reality—mainly Judaism without a Temple (to serve as the center of teaching and study) and total Roman control over Judaea , without at least partial autonomy—there was a flurry of legal discourse and the old system of oral scholarship could not be maintained. It

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5044-770: The Talmud after the end of the Amoraic period, known as the Savoraim or Rabbanan Savora'e (meaning "reasoners" or "considerers"). Unlike the Western Aramaic dialect of the Jerusalm Talmud, the Babylonian Talmud has a Babylonian Aramaic dialect. The Jerusalem is also more fragmentary (and difficult to read) due to a less complete redactional process . Legally, the two differ minimally. The Babylonian Talmud has received significantly more interest and coverage from commentators. This significantly greater influence

5141-451: The Talmud could contain no redundancy or contradiction whatsoever. New categories and distinctions ( hillukim ) were therefore created, resolving seeming contradictions within the Talmud by novel logical means. In the Ashkenazi world the founders of pilpul are generally considered to be Jacob Pollak (1460–1541) and Shalom Shachna . This kind of study reached its height in the 16th and 17th centuries when expertise in pilpulistic analysis

5238-506: The Talmud is a commentary on the Mishnah , primarily written in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic . It contains the teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis on a variety of subjects, including halakha , Jewish ethics , philosophy , customs , history , and folklore , and many other topics. The term Talmud normally refers to the collection of writings named specifically the Babylonian Talmud ( Talmud Bavli ), compiled in

5335-614: The Talmud was compiled appears to have been forgotten at least by the second half of the Middle Ages, when estimates between the 3rd century BCE to the 9th century CE are suggested in the Wikkuah , a text that records the debates that took place in the Disputation of Paris (also known as the "Trial of the Talmud") which took place in 1240. A wide range of dates have been proposed for the Babylonian Talmud by historians. The text

5432-402: The Talmud were written by Paltoi Gaon, Sherira , Hai Gaon , and Saadya (though in this case, Saadiya is not likely to be the true author). Of these, the commentary of Paltoi ben Abaye ( c. 840) is the earliest. His son, Zemah ben Paltoi paraphrased and explained the passages which he quoted; and he composed, as an aid to the study of the Talmud, a lexicon which Abraham Zacuto consulted in

5529-460: The Talmud, has become a classic. Sections in the commentary covering a few tractates (Pes, BB and Mak) were completed by his students, especially Judah ben Nathan , and a sections dealing with specific tractates (Ned, Naz, Hor and MQ) of the commentary that appear in some print editions of Rashi's commentary today were not composed by him. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, a genre of rabbinic literature emerged surrounding Rashi's commentary, with

5626-479: The adjoining neighborhood of Batei Broide . For this second Knesset neighborhood, completed in 1908, two-story row houses were constructed on three sides of a rectangular courtyard. Like Knesset Aleph, the front entrances of the row houses faced each other. The courtyard, too, contained a water cistern. By 1906, the two developments, Knesset Aleph and Knesset Bet, had a total of 101 houses, including two synagogues, four buildings housing matzo ovens, one building with

5723-425: The baking process. Rabbi Haim Halberstam of Sanz ruled in the 19th century that machine-made matzah were chametz . According to that opinion, handmade non- shmurah matzah may be used on the eighth day of Passover outside of the Holy Land. However the non-Hasidic Haredi community of Jerusalem follows the custom that machine-made matzah may be used, with preference to the use of shĕmurah flour, in accordance with

5820-529: The commandment ( mitzvah ) of eating matzah at the Seder, because matzah must be made from one of the five grains (wheat, barley, oat, spelt, and rye). The only one of the five grains that does not contain gluten is oat, but the resulting matzah would be gluten-free only if there were no cross-contamination with gluten-containing grains. In recent years, matzah manufacturers have begun producing gluten-free oat matzah certified kosher for Passover. Additionally, some authorities have expressed doubt about whether oat

5917-513: The commentary portion of the Talmud. The Mishnah, and its commentary (the Gemara), together constitute the Talmud. This commentary arises from a longstanding tradition of rabbis analyzing, debating, and discussing the Mishnah ever since it had been published. The rabbis who participated in the process that produced this commentarial tradition are known as the Amoraim . Each discussion is presented in

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6014-409: The correct biblical basis for a given law in the Mishnah as well as the logical process that connects the biblical to the Mishnaic tradition. This process was known as talmud , long before the "Talmud" itself became a text. In addition, the Gemara contains a wide range of narratives, homiletical or exegetical passages, sayings, and other non-legal content, termed aggadah . A story told in a sugya of

6111-472: The courtyard. By the end of the 19th century, years of drought led the Central Committee to purchase a water tanker from the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway company. Water was drawn from outlying wells, delivered by train to the railroad station, and then delivered by donkey to the neighborhood. In 1902, the Central Committee purchased another parcel of land near Knesset Aleph for the construction of Knesset Bet and

6208-520: The early seventh century. In all, the Talmud is divided into 63 tractates , with each tractate systematically discussing one general subject or theme. In the standard print of the Talmud (the Vilna Shas ), the Talmud runs to a length of 2,711 double-sided folios . Talmud translates as "instruction, learning", from the Semitic root lmd , meaning "teach, study". Originally, Jewish scholarship

6305-742: The east there is the tradition, based upon the gospel of John , that leavened bread was on the table of the Last Supper. In the Armenian Apostolic Church , the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church , unleavened bread called qǝddus qurban in Ge'ez , the liturgical language of the Eritreans and Ethiopians, is used for communion. Saint Thomas Christians living on

6402-411: The elderly, infirm, or children, who cannot digest plain matzah; these matzot are considered to be kosher for Passover if prepared otherwise properly. The issue of whether egg matzah is allowed for Passover comes down to whether there is a difference between the various liquids that can be used. Water facilitates a fermentation of grain flour specifically into what is defined as chametz, but the question

6499-494: The evening of the twenty-first day, you are to eat matzo . You are not to eat any chametz with it; for seven days you are to eat with it matzo , the bread of affliction; for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste. Thus you will remember the day you left the land of Egypt as long as you live. For six days you are to eat matzo ; on the seventh day there is to be a festive assembly for Hashem your God; do not do any kind of work. There are numerous explanations behind

6596-466: The explanations of Tosafot differ from those of Rashi. Among the founders of the Tosafist school were Rabbeinu Tam , who was a grandson of Rashi, and, Rabbenu Tam's nephew, Isaac ben Samuel . The Tosafot commentaries were collected in different editions in the various schools. The benchmark collection of Tosafot for Northern France was that of Eliezer of Touques . The standard collection for Spain

6693-426: The fifteenth century. Saadia Gaon is said to have composed commentaries on the Talmud, aside from his Arabic commentaries on the Mishnah. The first surviving commentary on the entire Talmud is that of Chananel ben Chushiel . Many medieval authors also composed commentaries focusing on the content of specific tractates, including Nissim ben Jacob and Gershom ben Judah . The commentary of Rashi , covering most of

6790-407: The holiday, while Ashkenazi Jews do not use such matzah on Passover, except in special circumstances (generally, the sick and elderly). Matzah is mentioned in the Torah several times in relation to The Exodus from Egypt : That night, they are to eat the meat, roasted in the fire; they are to eat it with matzo and maror . From the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until

6887-704: The invention of the first matzah-making machine in France in 1839, cracker-like mass-produced matzah became the most common form in Europe and North America and is now ubiquitous in all Ashkenazic and most Sephardic communities. Yemenite and Iraqi Jews continue to use a form of soft matzah which looks like Greek pita or like a tortilla . Soft matzah is made only by hand, and generally with shmurah flour. Flavored varieties of matzah are produced commercially, such as poppy seed - or onion -flavored. Oat and spelt matzah with kosher certification are produced. Oat matzah

6984-460: The late 19th century another trend in Talmud study arose. Hayyim Soloveitchik (1853–1918) of Brisk (Brest-Litovsk) developed and refined this style of study. Brisker method involves a reductionistic analysis of rabbinic arguments within the Talmud or among the Rishonim , explaining the differing opinions by placing them within a categorical structure. The Brisker method is highly analytical and

7081-535: The late 19th century, 40 new neighborhoods were built outside the Old City walls between 1880 and 1900. Knesset Yisrael was one of the "kolel neighborhoods" built on behalf of European Ashkenazi immigrants who were being supported by charity funds collected from their countrymen. In 1888 the Central Committee, which oversaw the distribution of charity funds to Ashkenazi families, decided to purchase land and construct housing for its members. Their chosen location –

7178-573: The legal proceedings in the Turkish municipality, and called on the Jewish community to engage in fasting and prayers in synagogues and by the graves of tzadikim in Jerusalem, Hebron , Safed , and Tiberias . Several months later, the French company building the railway announced that it had decided to move the Jerusalem station to a point further south. The Christian groups rushed to buy land at

7275-410: The message, "Ashkenazi custom is that egg matzah is only allowed for children, elderly and the infirm during Passover." Even amongst those who consider that enriched matzot may not be eaten during Passover, it is permissible to retain it in the home. Chocolate-covered matzah was sold in boxes as a standard product, alongside boxes of egg matzah. The matzah itself is not Hamotzi (meaning that it

7372-584: The most important of the Jewish centres in Mesopotamia , a region called " Babylonia " in Jewish sources (see Talmudic academies in Babylonia ) and later known as Iraq , were Nehardea , Nisibis (modern Nusaybin ), Mahoza ( al-Mada'in , just to the south of what is now Baghdad ), Pumbedita (near present-day al Anbar Governorate ), and the Sura Academy , probably located about 60 km (37 mi) south of Baghdad. The Babylonian Talmud comprises

7469-483: The need to ascertain the Halakha (Jewish rabbinical law). Early commentators such as Isaac Alfasi (North Africa, 1013–1103) attempted to extract and determine the binding legal opinions from the vast corpus of the Talmud. Alfasi's work was highly influential, attracted several commentaries in its own right and later served as a basis for the creation of halakhic codes. Another influential medieval Halakhic work following

7566-578: The new site (later known as the German Colony ), and the Central Committee was able to purchase the property it wanted for the neighborhood of Knesset Yisrael. The cornerstone for the first development, Knesset Aleph, was laid in September 1892, with construction extending over the next 10 years. By 1897, only 15 apartments were completed and occupied. The complex was completed in 1902 with 31 apartments built in one-story row houses on three sides of

7663-607: The order of the Babylonian Talmud, and to some extent modelled on Alfasi, was "the Mordechai ", a compilation by Mordechai ben Hillel ( c. 1250–1298). A third such work was that of Asher ben Yechiel (d. 1327). All these works and their commentaries are printed in the Vilna and many subsequent editions of the Talmud. A 15th-century Spanish rabbi, Jacob ibn Habib (d. 1516), compiled the Ein Yaakov , which extracts nearly all

7760-603: The period of the Amoraim (rabbis cited in the Gemara) beginning around the year 200. A second Aramaic dialect is used in Nedarim , Nazir , Temurah , Keritot , and Me'ilah ; the second is closer in style to the Targum . The oldest full manuscript of the Talmud, known as the Munich Talmud (Codex Hebraicus 95), dates from 1342 and is available online. Manuscripts of the Talmud are as follows: The exact date at which

7857-400: The piece of matzah takes the place of pizza crust and is topped with melted cheese and sauce; and kosher for Passover cakes and cookies, which are made with matzah meal or a finer variety called "cake meal" that gives them a denser texture than ordinary baked foods made with flour. Hasidic Jews do not cook with matzah, believing that mixing it with water may allow leavening; this stringency

7954-691: The purpose of supplementing it and addressing internal contradictions via the technique of pilpul . This genre of commentary is known as the Tosafot and focuses on specific passages instead of a running continuous commentary across the entire Talmud. Many Talmudic passages are difficult to understand, sometimes owing to the use of Greek or Persian loanwords whose meaning had become obscure. A major area of Talmudic scholarship developed to explain these passages and words. Some early commentators such as Rabbenu Gershom of Mainz (10th century) and Rabbenu Ḥananel (early 11th century) produced running commentaries to various tractates. These commentaries could be read with

8051-516: The requirement for eating Matzah at the Seder cannot be fulfilled "with [egg] matza." Egg matzah at the seder is not a problem in Sephardic tradition, if it is customary in the community. "Egg (sometimes enriched ) matzah" are matzot usually made with fruit juice , often grape juice or apple juice, instead of water, but not necessarily with eggs themselves. There is a custom among some Ashkenazi Jews not to eat them during Passover, except for

8148-459: The ruling of Rabbi Yosef Haim Sonnenfeld , who ruled that machine-made matzah may be preferable to hand made in some cases. The commentators to the Shulhan `Aruch record that it is the custom of some of Diaspora Jewry to be scrupulous in giving Hallah from the dough used for baking "Matzat Mitzvah" (the shĕmurah matzah eaten during Passover ) to a Kohen child to eat. In Ashkenazi tradition,

8245-413: The same as rye crispbread. Shĕmura ("guarded") matzah ( Hebrew : מַצָּה שְׁמוּרָה matsa shĕmura ) is made from grain that has been under special supervision from the time it was harvested to ensure that no fermentation has occurred, and that it is suitable for eating on the first night of Passover. ( Shĕmura wheat may be formed into either handmade or machine-made matzah, while non- shĕmura wheat

8342-479: The sixth century, the Babylonian Talmud was compiled. This later Talmud is usually what is being referred to when the word "Talmud" is used without qualification. The two Talmuds were likely written independently of one another. The Jerusalem Talmud ( Talmud Yerushalmi ) is known by several other names, including the Palestinian Talmud (which is more accurate, as it was not compiled in Jerusalem ), or

8439-654: The spoon to let out steam so that the bread will not rise (this custom is called "juthante kannu kuthal" in the Malayalam language meaning "piercing the bread according to the custom of Jews"). This bread is cut by the head of the family and shared among the family members. At the end of World War II , the National Jewish Welfare Board had a matzah factory (according to the American Jewish Historical Society , it

8536-405: The symbolism of matzah: At the Passover seder , simple matzah made of flour and water is mandatory. Sephardic tradition additionally permits the inclusion of eggs in the recipe. The flour must be ground from one of the five grains specified in Jewish law for Passover matzah: wheat, barley, spelt, rye or oat. Per Ashkenazic tradition, matzah made with wine , fruit juice , onion , garlic , etc.,

8633-480: The text likely trace to this time regardless of the date of the final redaction/compilation. Additional external evidence for a latest possible date for the composition of the Babylonian Talmud are the uses of it by external sources, including the Letter of Baboi (mid-8th century), Seder Tannaim veAmoraim (9th century) and a 10th-century letter by Sherira Gaon addressing the formation of the Babylonian Talmud. As for

8730-618: The text of the Talmud and would help explain the meaning of the text. Another important work is the Sefer ha-Mafteaḥ (Book of the Key) by Nissim Gaon , which contains a preface explaining the different forms of Talmudic argumentation and then explains abbreviated passages in the Talmud by cross-referring to parallel passages where the same thought is expressed in full. Commentaries ( ḥiddushim ) by Joseph ibn Migash on two tractates, Bava Batra and Shevuot, based on Ḥananel and Alfasi, also survive, as does

8827-430: Was Rabbenu Asher 's Tosefot haRosh. The Tosafot that are printed in the standard Vilna edition of the Talmud are an edited version compiled from the various medieval collections, predominantly that of Touques. A recent project, Halacha Brura , founded by Abraham Isaac Kook , presents the Talmud and a summary of the halachic codes side by side, so as to enable the "collation" of Talmud with resultant Halacha. During

8924-568: Was oral and transferred from one generation to the next. Rabbis expounded and debated the Torah (the written Torah expressed in the Hebrew Bible) and discussed the Tanakh without the benefit of written works (other than the Biblical books themselves), though some may have made private notes ( megillot setarim ), for example, of court decisions. This situation changed drastically due to

9021-730: Was considered "very cramped living conditions". Since its founding, the population of Knesset Yisrael has been Haredi . Until the 1990s, the majority of the population was elderly, with an estimated 70% of residents classified as seniors in 1996. After that time, demographics shifted, with young couples and families moving in. A citywide survey in 2009 reported that Knesset Yisrael had a median age of 31. 31°46′54″N 35°12′49″E  /  31.7816°N 35.2136°E  / 31.7816; 35.2136 Talmud The Talmud ( / ˈ t ɑː l m ʊ d , - m ə d , ˈ t æ l -/ ; Hebrew : תַּלְמוּד ‎ , romanized :  Talmūḏ , lit.   'teaching') is, after

9118-679: Was considered an art form and became a goal in and of itself within the yeshivot of Poland and Lithuania. But the popular new method of Talmud study was not without critics; already in the 15th century, the ethical tract Orhot Zaddikim ("Paths of the Righteous" in Hebrew) criticized pilpul for an overemphasis on intellectual acuity. Many 16th- and 17th-century rabbis were also critical of pilpul. Among them are Judah Loew ben Bezalel (the Maharal of Prague), Isaiah Horowitz , and Yair Bacharach . By

9215-435: Was most likely completed, however, in the 6th century, or prior to the early Muslim conquests in 643–636 CE at the latest, on the basis that the Talmud lacks loanwords or syntax deriving from Arabic . Recently, it has been extensively argued that Talmud is an expression and product of Sasanian culture, as well as other Greek - Roman , Middle Persian , and Syriac sources up to the same period of time. The contents of

9312-486: Was president of the Sura Academy from 375 to 427. The work begun by Rav Ashi was completed by Ravina, who is traditionally regarded as the final Amoraic expounder. Accordingly, traditionalists argue that Ravina's death in 475 is the latest possible date for the completion of the redaction of the Talmud. However, even on the most traditional view, a few passages are regarded as the work of a group of rabbis who edited

9409-578: Was probably the Manischewitz matzah factory in New Jersey ) produce matzah in the form of a giant "V" for "Victory" , for shipment to military bases overseas and in the U.S., for Passover seders for Jewish military personnel. Passover in 1945 began on 1 April, when the collapse of the Axis in Europe was clearly imminent; Nazi Germany surrendered five weeks later . Streit's is the story of

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