Independent scholar | Research interests include the Talmudic era, medieval Kabbalah, linguistics, and digital humanities. I blog at www.ezrabrand.com ; email me at ezrabrand@gmail.com
Please email me regarding any resources I may have missed: ezrabrand@gmail.com
v5.1 - 17-Sep-202... more Please email me regarding any resources I may have missed: ezrabrand@gmail.com v5.1 - 17-Sep-2023
Outline, with major examples for each category:
Existing Guides
Scope of this Guide
Primary texts
Books - text format - popular editions: Sefaria; Wikisource
Books - text format - scholarly editions: Hebrew Academy - Historical Dictionary Project ; Talmud Yerushalmi - Katz ; Midrash Project - Schechter Institute ; Al-Hatorah
Books - PDF format: HebrewBooks; National Library of Israel
Manuscripts - text and PDF formats: Ktiv; Friedberg projects
Search and other tools: Dicta
Indexes: Halacha Brura
Secondary literature
Books: Kotar; Kindle
Journals: JSTOR; Sci-Hub
Articles: Academia.edu
Tertiary sources
Bibliographic info and indexes: Merhav ; RAMBI
Encyclopedias: Wikipedia - Hebrew; Encyclopedia Judaica
Dictionaries: Wiktionary - Hebrew
Popular media and social platforms
Articles for popular audience
General: Academy of Hebrew Language
Newspapers and magazines: Haaretz; Makor Rishon
Blogs: The Seforim Blog; The Talmud Blog
Videos, Podcasts, Twitter, Facebook
Forums: Otzar HaHochma
חלק א - מקורות ראשוניים (ספרים וכתבי יד) ; חיפוש וכלים קשורים אחרים ; מידע ביבליוגרפי ; מפתחות
תו... more חלק א - מקורות ראשוניים (ספרים וכתבי יד) ; חיפוש וכלים קשורים אחרים ; מידע ביבליוגרפי ; מפתחות תוכן עניינים, עם דוגמאות עיקריות לכל קטגוריה: מדריכים קיימים מדריך לכלים דיגיטליים ללימוד טקסטים יהודיים היקף המדריך הזה משאבים ספרים - מוקלדים: ספריא; על-התורה; ויקיטקסט ספרים - סרוקים: היברובוקס; הספרייה הלאומית של ישראל כתבי יד - מוקלדים וסרוקים: כתיב; פרויקטים של פרידברג חיפוש וכלים קשורים אחרים: דיקטה מידע ביבליוגרפי: מרחב - הספרייה הלאומית של ישראל מפתחות: הלכה ברורה
v2 Index, by century discussed, of interviews of historians on Seforim Chatter podcast.
Up to... more v2 Index, by century discussed, of interviews of historians on Seforim Chatter podcast.
Up to and including episode # 240 (October 22, 2023).
Halacha Brura's index of Jewish books is broken down by topic, such as works of Hazal, commentari... more Halacha Brura's index of Jewish books is broken down by topic, such as works of Hazal, commentaries on Mishnah, commentaries on Talmud, etc., with links to other websites where PDF scans can be found.
As of 15-Feb-22, Halacha Brura has 36 webpages of indexes, and based on my rough estimate over 40,000 open-access scanned books have been categorized.
Halacha Brura’s own meta-index of its own indexes leaves much to be desired: There’s no full sitemap available on the website, and the organization of the webpages could be improved.
To help with this issue, I created my own meta-index of Halacha Brura's indexes
Beyond Bavel and Eretz Yisrael: Classification and Annotated Lists of Toponymic Surnames in the T... more Beyond Bavel and Eretz Yisrael: Classification and Annotated Lists of Toponymic Surnames in the Talmudic Literature
As far as I’m aware, these are the most comprehensive lists to date of named non-rabbis in the Ta... more As far as I’m aware, these are the most comprehensive lists to date of named non-rabbis in the Talmudic literature.
v18.1 - 11-May-2024
An extensive overview of names and naming in early Jewish literature, with a... more v18.1 - 11-May-2024
An extensive overview of names and naming in early Jewish literature, with a focus on the names of rabbis and other individuals in the community. The study covers a wide range of topics, including given names, diminutives, nicknames, and surnames, as well as titles and honorifics that precede or follow a name. The paper also examines the use of demonyms and gentilics, as well as epithets based on occupation, personal traits, or physical characteristics. Also examined is the relationship between a person's name and their statements or actions. The paper presents charts of personal names and father's names, organized by frequency, providing valuable insights into naming conventions and family relationships in the community. Overall, the paper offers a comprehensive overview of the use of names in early Jewish literature, shedding light on the cultural and social significance of names in this context.
Outline
Abstract 1
Keywords 1
Outline 1
Bibliography 4
Traditional 4
Academic 4
Introduction 6
Background and Context 6
Previous Scholarship 6
Purpose and Scope of the Study 6
Given Names and Their Variations 6
Diminutives and Variants 7
Contraction of Honorific with Given Name 8
Mononyms 9
No surname 10
Pseudonyms and Epithets 12
Different people with same name 13
Aptronyms 13
Naming Conventions for Anonymous and Multiple Individuals 15
Descriptors for Anonymous Individuals 15
Individuals 15
Multiple 15
Placeholder name 16
Demonym 16
Prefix - Honorific 17
Abba 17
Abba + given name 17
Abba + other honorific 18
Abba + toponym 18
Abba + occupation 18
Abba + physical trait 18
As a given name 18
Imma 19
Pappa 19
Mar 19
Others 20
No honorific 20
Surnames and Their Origins 22
Intro - explanation of epithets and surnames provided by the Talmud 22
Patronymic and other familial relations 23
Patronymic 23
Patronymic, not father’s name 23
Patronymic alone, no given name 23
Matronymic 24
Papponymic 25
Teknonymy 25
Other familial relationships 25
Toponymic Surnames 26
X 26
ha-X-i 27
X-i 28
Ish X 28
mi-X 30
d’-X 32
d’min-X 33
X-ah 34
X-iyah 36
Bar / Ben X 37
Abba X 37
Occupational Surnames 37
Pattern - katal 38
Pattern - katlan 39
Pattern - kotel 39
Pattern - katol 39
Other 39
non-Semitic loanword 39
Other surnames 40
Title 40
“Elder”, “Younger”, “Great”, “Small” 41
Surnames Related to Personal Status, Personality, and Physical Traits 42
Personal status 42
Personality 42
Physical trait 43
Surnames with Unclear Etymology 44
House names 46
House names of Kohanim 46
Analysis of Given Names 48
Given Names and Fathers' Names 49
Given names, by frequency 49
Fathers’ names, by frequency 52
Greek and Latin names - Jews 55
Jews who are not Rabbis 56
Non-Jews 56
Common names for Kohanim? 56
v5 An extended, annotated list of 160+ surnames that are in the format of patronymic ("ben/bar X"... more v5 An extended, annotated list of 160+ surnames that are in the format of patronymic ("ben/bar X"), but are most likely not father’s names, but rather nicknames, family names, or the name of a distant ancestor.
Hyperlinked Index of Entries in Hebrew Wikipedia and Toldot Tanaim VeAmoraim on Sages and other P... more Hyperlinked Index of Entries in Hebrew Wikipedia and Toldot Tanaim VeAmoraim on Sages and other Personalities in the Mishnah, Talmud, Late Antique Midrash, and Josephus.
~700 distinct names.
The order of the index is roughly chronological, by category. The date range is from post-biblical (~300 BCE) to the end of the Talmudic era (~500 CE)
As part of my research for "From Abba to Zebedee: A Comprehensive Survey of Naming Conventions in... more As part of my research for "From Abba to Zebedee: A Comprehensive Survey of Naming Conventions in Hebrew and Jewish Aramaic in Late Antiquity"
Based on Albeck's "Mevo LeTalmudim", index of Amoraim (pp. 669-81). Albeck's index is in alphabet... more Based on Albeck's "Mevo LeTalmudim", index of Amoraim (pp. 669-81). Albeck's index is in alphabetical order; I sorted into chronological order, based on generation number.
~800 distinct names.
The table was mostly built programatically (using OCR, scraping, regex, and xlookup), so there are a certain percentage of errors. I have fixed many of the errors manually, but there is much that can be improved.
An index of Sages mentioned in Mishnah, Talmud, and Late Antique Midrash, with automated analysis... more An index of Sages mentioned in Mishnah, Talmud, and Late Antique Midrash, with automated analysis in Google Sheets using regex.
v1.1 - Extracted programmatically from Jastrow's Dictionary, as transcribed in Hebrew Wikisource... more v1.1 - Extracted programmatically from Jastrow's Dictionary, as transcribed in Hebrew Wikisource:
Marcus Jastrow, “A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature”, Wikisource.
The list is not complete, due to technical limitations in the script that I used.
The list of names were filtered based on searching for "pr. n. m." OR "pr. n. f." - meaning - personal name male or female.
I excluded Biblical names (based on the note in Jastrow: "b. h." = Biblical Hebrew).
It should be pointed out that Wikisource has a significant number of typos in transcriptions. One recurring error is transcribing Greek letters as follows: ‘(~~~~~)’.
A proposal to use a Large Language Model (LLM) to transform Talmudic research on names and rabbin... more A proposal to use a Large Language Model (LLM) to transform Talmudic research on names and rabbinic biography
Please email me regarding any resources I may have missed: ezrabrand@gmail.com
v5.1 - 17-Sep-202... more Please email me regarding any resources I may have missed: ezrabrand@gmail.com v5.1 - 17-Sep-2023
Outline, with major examples for each category:
Existing Guides
Scope of this Guide
Primary texts
Books - text format - popular editions: Sefaria; Wikisource
Books - text format - scholarly editions: Hebrew Academy - Historical Dictionary Project ; Talmud Yerushalmi - Katz ; Midrash Project - Schechter Institute ; Al-Hatorah
Books - PDF format: HebrewBooks; National Library of Israel
Manuscripts - text and PDF formats: Ktiv; Friedberg projects
Search and other tools: Dicta
Indexes: Halacha Brura
Secondary literature
Books: Kotar; Kindle
Journals: JSTOR; Sci-Hub
Articles: Academia.edu
Tertiary sources
Bibliographic info and indexes: Merhav ; RAMBI
Encyclopedias: Wikipedia - Hebrew; Encyclopedia Judaica
Dictionaries: Wiktionary - Hebrew
Popular media and social platforms
Articles for popular audience
General: Academy of Hebrew Language
Newspapers and magazines: Haaretz; Makor Rishon
Blogs: The Seforim Blog; The Talmud Blog
Videos, Podcasts, Twitter, Facebook
Forums: Otzar HaHochma
חלק א - מקורות ראשוניים (ספרים וכתבי יד) ; חיפוש וכלים קשורים אחרים ; מידע ביבליוגרפי ; מפתחות
תו... more חלק א - מקורות ראשוניים (ספרים וכתבי יד) ; חיפוש וכלים קשורים אחרים ; מידע ביבליוגרפי ; מפתחות תוכן עניינים, עם דוגמאות עיקריות לכל קטגוריה: מדריכים קיימים מדריך לכלים דיגיטליים ללימוד טקסטים יהודיים היקף המדריך הזה משאבים ספרים - מוקלדים: ספריא; על-התורה; ויקיטקסט ספרים - סרוקים: היברובוקס; הספרייה הלאומית של ישראל כתבי יד - מוקלדים וסרוקים: כתיב; פרויקטים של פרידברג חיפוש וכלים קשורים אחרים: דיקטה מידע ביבליוגרפי: מרחב - הספרייה הלאומית של ישראל מפתחות: הלכה ברורה
v2 Index, by century discussed, of interviews of historians on Seforim Chatter podcast.
Up to... more v2 Index, by century discussed, of interviews of historians on Seforim Chatter podcast.
Up to and including episode # 240 (October 22, 2023).
Halacha Brura's index of Jewish books is broken down by topic, such as works of Hazal, commentari... more Halacha Brura's index of Jewish books is broken down by topic, such as works of Hazal, commentaries on Mishnah, commentaries on Talmud, etc., with links to other websites where PDF scans can be found.
As of 15-Feb-22, Halacha Brura has 36 webpages of indexes, and based on my rough estimate over 40,000 open-access scanned books have been categorized.
Halacha Brura’s own meta-index of its own indexes leaves much to be desired: There’s no full sitemap available on the website, and the organization of the webpages could be improved.
To help with this issue, I created my own meta-index of Halacha Brura's indexes
Beyond Bavel and Eretz Yisrael: Classification and Annotated Lists of Toponymic Surnames in the T... more Beyond Bavel and Eretz Yisrael: Classification and Annotated Lists of Toponymic Surnames in the Talmudic Literature
As far as I’m aware, these are the most comprehensive lists to date of named non-rabbis in the Ta... more As far as I’m aware, these are the most comprehensive lists to date of named non-rabbis in the Talmudic literature.
v18.1 - 11-May-2024
An extensive overview of names and naming in early Jewish literature, with a... more v18.1 - 11-May-2024
An extensive overview of names and naming in early Jewish literature, with a focus on the names of rabbis and other individuals in the community. The study covers a wide range of topics, including given names, diminutives, nicknames, and surnames, as well as titles and honorifics that precede or follow a name. The paper also examines the use of demonyms and gentilics, as well as epithets based on occupation, personal traits, or physical characteristics. Also examined is the relationship between a person's name and their statements or actions. The paper presents charts of personal names and father's names, organized by frequency, providing valuable insights into naming conventions and family relationships in the community. Overall, the paper offers a comprehensive overview of the use of names in early Jewish literature, shedding light on the cultural and social significance of names in this context.
Outline
Abstract 1
Keywords 1
Outline 1
Bibliography 4
Traditional 4
Academic 4
Introduction 6
Background and Context 6
Previous Scholarship 6
Purpose and Scope of the Study 6
Given Names and Their Variations 6
Diminutives and Variants 7
Contraction of Honorific with Given Name 8
Mononyms 9
No surname 10
Pseudonyms and Epithets 12
Different people with same name 13
Aptronyms 13
Naming Conventions for Anonymous and Multiple Individuals 15
Descriptors for Anonymous Individuals 15
Individuals 15
Multiple 15
Placeholder name 16
Demonym 16
Prefix - Honorific 17
Abba 17
Abba + given name 17
Abba + other honorific 18
Abba + toponym 18
Abba + occupation 18
Abba + physical trait 18
As a given name 18
Imma 19
Pappa 19
Mar 19
Others 20
No honorific 20
Surnames and Their Origins 22
Intro - explanation of epithets and surnames provided by the Talmud 22
Patronymic and other familial relations 23
Patronymic 23
Patronymic, not father’s name 23
Patronymic alone, no given name 23
Matronymic 24
Papponymic 25
Teknonymy 25
Other familial relationships 25
Toponymic Surnames 26
X 26
ha-X-i 27
X-i 28
Ish X 28
mi-X 30
d’-X 32
d’min-X 33
X-ah 34
X-iyah 36
Bar / Ben X 37
Abba X 37
Occupational Surnames 37
Pattern - katal 38
Pattern - katlan 39
Pattern - kotel 39
Pattern - katol 39
Other 39
non-Semitic loanword 39
Other surnames 40
Title 40
“Elder”, “Younger”, “Great”, “Small” 41
Surnames Related to Personal Status, Personality, and Physical Traits 42
Personal status 42
Personality 42
Physical trait 43
Surnames with Unclear Etymology 44
House names 46
House names of Kohanim 46
Analysis of Given Names 48
Given Names and Fathers' Names 49
Given names, by frequency 49
Fathers’ names, by frequency 52
Greek and Latin names - Jews 55
Jews who are not Rabbis 56
Non-Jews 56
Common names for Kohanim? 56
v5 An extended, annotated list of 160+ surnames that are in the format of patronymic ("ben/bar X"... more v5 An extended, annotated list of 160+ surnames that are in the format of patronymic ("ben/bar X"), but are most likely not father’s names, but rather nicknames, family names, or the name of a distant ancestor.
Hyperlinked Index of Entries in Hebrew Wikipedia and Toldot Tanaim VeAmoraim on Sages and other P... more Hyperlinked Index of Entries in Hebrew Wikipedia and Toldot Tanaim VeAmoraim on Sages and other Personalities in the Mishnah, Talmud, Late Antique Midrash, and Josephus.
~700 distinct names.
The order of the index is roughly chronological, by category. The date range is from post-biblical (~300 BCE) to the end of the Talmudic era (~500 CE)
As part of my research for "From Abba to Zebedee: A Comprehensive Survey of Naming Conventions in... more As part of my research for "From Abba to Zebedee: A Comprehensive Survey of Naming Conventions in Hebrew and Jewish Aramaic in Late Antiquity"
Based on Albeck's "Mevo LeTalmudim", index of Amoraim (pp. 669-81). Albeck's index is in alphabet... more Based on Albeck's "Mevo LeTalmudim", index of Amoraim (pp. 669-81). Albeck's index is in alphabetical order; I sorted into chronological order, based on generation number.
~800 distinct names.
The table was mostly built programatically (using OCR, scraping, regex, and xlookup), so there are a certain percentage of errors. I have fixed many of the errors manually, but there is much that can be improved.
An index of Sages mentioned in Mishnah, Talmud, and Late Antique Midrash, with automated analysis... more An index of Sages mentioned in Mishnah, Talmud, and Late Antique Midrash, with automated analysis in Google Sheets using regex.
v1.1 - Extracted programmatically from Jastrow's Dictionary, as transcribed in Hebrew Wikisource... more v1.1 - Extracted programmatically from Jastrow's Dictionary, as transcribed in Hebrew Wikisource:
Marcus Jastrow, “A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature”, Wikisource.
The list is not complete, due to technical limitations in the script that I used.
The list of names were filtered based on searching for "pr. n. m." OR "pr. n. f." - meaning - personal name male or female.
I excluded Biblical names (based on the note in Jastrow: "b. h." = Biblical Hebrew).
It should be pointed out that Wikisource has a significant number of typos in transcriptions. One recurring error is transcribing Greek letters as follows: ‘(~~~~~)’.
A proposal to use a Large Language Model (LLM) to transform Talmudic research on names and rabbin... more A proposal to use a Large Language Model (LLM) to transform Talmudic research on names and rabbinic biography
v1.0 The table contains a total of 1158 loanwords.
Extracted from Jastrow's Dictionary.
As transc... more v1.0 The table contains a total of 1158 loanwords. Extracted from Jastrow's Dictionary. As transcribed at Sefaria’s Github: dictionaries/Jastrow/data/01-Merged XML/Jastrow-full.xml Compare my previous pieces on this topic: “Some Non-Semitic Loanwords in the Talmud: Greek; Latin; and Persian” “The Principles of Transliteration of Greek Loanwords in Classical Rabbinic Literature - Consonants - b,g,c,d,g,z,θ (=theta),k,l,m,n,ξ (=xi)” “List of some Greek loan-words in Hazalic writings” About the Table Key to Table Headers Hebrew = original Hebrew, Jastrow’s head word Transliterated = automated transliteration of Jastrow’s Greek word Greek = Jastrow’s Greek word, automatically extracted from Jastrow’s entry Definition = first 20 words of Jastrow’s defintion, automatically extracted from Jastrow’s entry
v2.2 A preliminary translation of Samuel Krauss' rules of transliteration of Classical Greek in R... more v2.2 A preliminary translation of Samuel Krauss' rules of transliteration of Classical Greek in Rabbinic Hebrew in his classic book “Griechische und lateinische Lehnwörter im Talmud, Midrasch und Targum", published in 1898, and not yet superseded.
A translation and reformatting of Krauss' Mapping Table of Classical Greek to Rabbinic Hebrew, in... more A translation and reformatting of Krauss' Mapping Table of Classical Greek to Rabbinic Hebrew, in Krauss, in Lehnwörter, vol. 1, p. 64.
With some basic rules of pronunciation and transliteration; corresponding Greek (transliterated);... more With some basic rules of pronunciation and transliteration; corresponding Greek (transliterated); possible pronunciation of Hebrew; modern English cognate; link to Wiktionary (Hebrew) entry; link to Balashon entry.
With Intro; discussion of Prosthetic Aleph; Original Pronunciations; transliteration of “X” sound (=Greek letter xi - ξ) - כס; Transliteration of “th” - ת; Hard/soft ב, פ; Greek loan-words as verbs
An analysis of the story of Avishai Saving David From Yishbi-benov (II Samuel 21:15-17; Sanhedrin... more An analysis of the story of Avishai Saving David From Yishbi-benov (II Samuel 21:15-17; Sanhedrin 95a)
R' Meir's Suspicious Brushes with Sexual Indiscretions, and His Encounters with Roman Troops, as ... more R' Meir's Suspicious Brushes with Sexual Indiscretions, and His Encounters with Roman Troops, as Depicted in the Talmud (Avodah Zarah 18a-b; Sanhedrin 11a; Kiddushin 81a)
“The Man with the Nose is Wanted”: The Talmudic Story of Tineius Rufus and Rabban Gamliel (Taanit... more “The Man with the Nose is Wanted”: The Talmudic Story of Tineius Rufus and Rabban Gamliel (Taanit 29a)
Fourteen samples of modern parodies of the Talmud, collected from various locations on the web, l... more Fourteen samples of modern parodies of the Talmud, collected from various locations on the web, listed in chronological order of date first published. This work is a revised and expanded version of a blogpost published on the Seforim Blog on 6-Mar-2023.
Discussion of a few aspects of humor in rabbinic writings, especially in the Talmud. Published on... more Discussion of a few aspects of humor in rabbinic writings, especially in the Talmud. Published on the Seforim Blog in 2013: https://seforimblog.com/2013/02/talmudic-humor-and-its-discontents/ Added a small bibliographic update in Sep-2021.
The Talmud explores the sexual element of a number of Biblical stories about women. This openness... more The Talmud explores the sexual element of a number of Biblical stories about women. This openness to frank and explicit discussions is somewhat surprising, in the context of later rabbinic literature, which is typically more prudish and circumspect. Sometimes the sexualization in the Talmud occurs when there's no sex explicit in the Biblical text at all. This is the case, for example, with Yael and Sisera. (However, some critical Bible scholars do in fact agree with the Talmudic interpretation and see hints of it there.) This is the case for Esther as well, where the sexual element is never explicitly mentioned in the text. I only discuss aggadic passages in this piece.
v1.3. Based on the transcriptions in Hebrew Wikisource:
קטגוריה:פרק בתלמוד הבבלי – ויקיטקסט
Usi... more v1.3. Based on the transcriptions in Hebrew Wikisource:
קטגוריה:פרק בתלמוד הבבלי – ויקיטקסט
Using a Python script
In today's digitized world, automation of repetitive tasks can lead to significant improvements i... more In today's digitized world, automation of repetitive tasks can lead to significant improvements in efficiency and productivity. One such task is the extraction and formatting of text from online resources. In this post, we will discuss the successful automation of such a task, specifically focused on the extraction of Hebrew text from an online Judaic resource, Sefaria.org, and its subsequent formatting, all using Google Apps Script
v1.0 Extracted programmatically from Jastrow's Dictionary, as transcribed in Hebrew Wikisource:
... more v1.0 Extracted programmatically from Jastrow's Dictionary, as transcribed in Hebrew Wikisource: Marcus Jastrow, “A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature”, Wikisource. See also my previous “A Lexicon of Personal Names in the Talmud and Midrash”
HeYeriah HaGedolah (from here on: YG) is a fascinating, but extremely difficult to understand, ex... more HeYeriah HaGedolah (from here on: YG) is a fascinating, but extremely difficult to understand, explanation of the theory of the Sefirot. It was written in early- to mid-fourteenth-century Italy and provides an insight into the first flourishing of Italian Kabbalah.
The existence of YG was first pointed out by Scholem in his famous Kiryat Sefer article indexing all the known manuscripts of commentaries on the Ten Sefirot known to him. The alternate name of the work in manuscripts is Iggeret Sippurim – “The Letter of Stories” or “The Letter of Tales,” Scholem in another place in that article points out the existence of a commentary on YG, that of R’ Reuven Tzarfati.
YG, from fourteenth century Italy, provides further evidence of a flourishing Kabbalah in Italy in the fourteenth century. It is quite a fascinating work, providing a formidable riddle for the reader. It may be that it was never meant to be grasped on its own. But it is possible to map out the basic skeleton of the work, and to identify a number of themes. The majority of “Tales” begin with items relating to the Temple; each item is clearly given a sefirotic equivalent. Linguistic associations play a strong role in the hermeneutic of YG, as well as a close, but creative, reading of Biblical verses. YG has a strong focus on Evil. There still remains much to be investigated, first and foremost the true relationship between YG and Reuven Tzarfati, as well as YG’s relationship with other works of its time. In addition, it remains to be clarified why YG is written in such an obscure and difficult-to-understand way.
In this paper, I will discuss the way the mitzvot of tefillin and tzitzit are treated in the Zoha... more In this paper, I will discuss the way the mitzvot of tefillin and tzitzit are treated in the Zohar. I will study the halachic aspects of their treatment in the Zohar, then their social and cultural aspects, and then go on to analyze some select passages. I will posit that these commandments can be clearly placed in the social context of thirteenth century Spain.
Joseph Gikatilla is one of the major medieval Kabbalists, who wrote enduring, popular Kabbalistic... more Joseph Gikatilla is one of the major medieval Kabbalists, who wrote enduring, popular Kabbalistic works. This paper describes one of his lesser-known works, “Hasagot on Moreh Nevuchim”, and analyzes some of the major themes. Hasagot, little-known and only known from the first printed edition, is a very interesting work. It is almost certainly written by Joseph Gikatilla, and is able to shed light on this very important Kabbalist’s early thought, when he wrote in the style of linguistic Kabbalah. It is set up in an interesting way, and allows one to easily contrast Rambam’s rationalism with Gikatilla’s Kabbalah. It appears clear that Gikatilla was aware of the Kabbalah of the sefirot when he wrote Hasagot, but chose not to use it either because he was not yet comfortable with it or for more technical reasons. The work as we have it is not complete, and one can only speculate whether it ever was, and hope for its—however unlikely—discovery.
A revised and updated version of a piece that was published on the Seforim Blog on November 11, ... more A revised and updated version of a piece that was published on the Seforim Blog on November 11, 2022
A review of R’ Mordechai Tzion's 2012 book "Alo Na'aleh: A Response to sefer Va’Yoel Moshe / Resp... more A review of R’ Mordechai Tzion's 2012 book "Alo Na'aleh: A Response to sefer Va’Yoel Moshe / Responsa from R’ Shlomo Aviner", which responds to the Satmar Rebbe's (=R' Yoel Teitelbaum's) critique of Zionism based on the Talmudic Three Oaths.
A selected bibliography of sources relating to 21st-century heresy, doubt, and criticism by disaf... more A selected bibliography of sources relating to 21st-century heresy, doubt, and criticism by disaffiliates of ultra-Orthodox Judaism in the US.
Broken down into secondary literature (academic and popular); blogs; TV (shows and movies); and books (memoirs and novels).
The sources chosed are somewhat eclectic, and not meant to necessarily be comprehensive, but to provide a list of what might be considered to be especially important and representative.
Some sources of the Yeshivish dialect of English possibly used as datasets for training ChatGPT-4... more Some sources of the Yeshivish dialect of English possibly used as datasets for training ChatGPT-4, with a short discussion of each: Wikipedia's entry on Yeshivish and related entries; popular books about conversational Yiddish; Yeshivish magazines, websites, and blogs; Yeshivish lectures and videos.
My passion for history and genealogy led me on a transformative journey of uncovering my family's... more My passion for history and genealogy led me on a transformative journey of uncovering my family's past. Attending meetings of the Genealogy Club at Yeshiva University opened my eyes to new research techniques. Ancestry.com became my go-to resource, providing invaluable scanned documents like naturalization papers that revealed our Romanian lineage. Through interviews, cemetery visits, and online tools like MyHeritage.com and Facebook, I compiled a comprehensive family tree with over 275 relatives.
Ephraimites in Books of Judges 1
Indications in Isaiah ; Jeremiah ; Ecclesiastes ; Mishnah and Mi... more Ephraimites in Books of Judges 1 Indications in Isaiah ; Jeremiah ; Ecclesiastes ; Mishnah and Midrash 2 Early medieval France and Germany 3 List of proper nouns from medieval period and on, that have S-sound transliterated with a ‘ש’ 4 Place names 4 Personal given names / nicknames 5 Personal surnames / family names
Updated 30-Aug-2023
Digital Resources and Technology in Jewish Study 1
Talmudic Studies 2
Po... more Updated 30-Aug-2023
Digital Resources and Technology in Jewish Study 1
Talmudic Studies 2
Post-Talmudic Studies 2
Kabbalah and Mysticism 3
Modern Jewish History 3
Linguistics 3
Humor 3
For an index of blogposts on my blog, see “Cataloging My Blogposts: An Organized Breakdown by Theme” (July 28, 2023)
Origin, and Usage Over the Generations 3
Classification of the Seforim Chitzonim 4
The attitude... more Origin, and Usage Over the Generations 3
Classification of the Seforim Chitzonim 4
The attitude towards Seforim Chitzonim in Chazal 4
Reasons for the Exclusion of the Seforim Chitzonim from Tanakh 7
Ben Sira 8
Enoch (חנוך) in the Midrash 8
The attitude of the rabbis to Seforim Chitzonim after the Talmudic period 11
List of the Seforim Chitzonim that We Have 12
Seforim Chitzonim related to the Pentateuch 13
Seforim Chitzonim related to Nevi’im 14
Seforim Chitzonim related to Ketuvim 14
Other Seforim Chitzonim 15
Dead Sea Scrolls 15
Focuses on literary forgeries; also discusses other literary sins, such as plagiarism and sloppy ... more Focuses on literary forgeries; also discusses other literary sins, such as plagiarism and sloppy editing. This piece assumes, based on Bart Ehrman's convincing arguments, that the readers of these works a) did not recognize that these works were not written by, or contemporary to, the events they describe, and b) if they would have known that these works were not written by, or contemporary to, the events they describe, they would not have taken them seriously. Therefore, the euphemistic term "pseudepigrapha" is misleading, I prefer to use the term "forgery".
A work-in-progress paper. All comments appreciated: ezrabrand@gmail.com. In this study, I review ... more A work-in-progress paper. All comments appreciated: ezrabrand@gmail.com. In this study, I review a few dozen narratives related to deception present in the Talmud. These narratives are systematically categorized based on the motivations behind the deceptive behavior. Almost all of the relevant sources, where Talmudic Sages partake in a wide variety of deceptions, are not stated as explicit permissions, but since there is no explicit critique by the redactor, there is implied acceptability. Some of the more blatant cases of untruths can be shown to likely be conjectures of the Stammaim, who, for their own programmatic reasons, retrojected untruths onto past sages.
The current study adopts a multi-disciplinary approach that draws on recent advancements in the fields of Talmud studies and philosophical analysis of deception. The aim is to create an initial taxonomy of these deceptive narratives based on contemporary philosophy of deception and to conduct an initial analysis of the narratives using contemporary methods of source criticism.
It is worth noting that I did not conduct a comprehensive review of previous scholarship for each narrative, or perform a thorough textual analysis of each source. Therefore, the results should be considered as initial findings that may be revised with further research. However, a significant number of texts have been analyzed, which provides a strong basis for the conclusions.
A very rough collection of sources regarding the relationship between Chareidim and academic Jewi... more A very rough collection of sources regarding the relationship between Chareidim and academic Jewish scholarship, with a special focus on Chareidi plagiarism and usage without notice of academic Jewish scholarship.
The AI is ChatGPT (Wikipedia: "a prototype artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI th... more The AI is ChatGPT (Wikipedia: "a prototype artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI that specializes in dialogue".) Published on my profile on Facebook on 9-Dec-22.
Uploads
v5.1 - 17-Sep-2023
Outline, with major examples for each category:
Existing Guides
Scope of this Guide
Primary texts
Books - text format - popular editions: Sefaria; Wikisource
Books - text format - scholarly editions: Hebrew Academy - Historical Dictionary Project ; Talmud Yerushalmi - Katz ; Midrash Project - Schechter Institute ; Al-Hatorah
Books - PDF format: HebrewBooks; National Library of Israel
Manuscripts - text and PDF formats: Ktiv; Friedberg projects
Search and other tools: Dicta
Indexes: Halacha Brura
Secondary literature
Books: Kotar; Kindle
Journals: JSTOR; Sci-Hub
Articles: Academia.edu
Tertiary sources
Bibliographic info and indexes: Merhav ; RAMBI
Encyclopedias: Wikipedia - Hebrew; Encyclopedia Judaica
Dictionaries: Wiktionary - Hebrew
Popular media and social platforms
Articles for popular audience
General: Academy of Hebrew Language
Newspapers and magazines: Haaretz; Makor Rishon
Blogs: The Seforim Blog; The Talmud Blog
Videos, Podcasts, Twitter, Facebook
Forums: Otzar HaHochma
תוכן עניינים, עם דוגמאות עיקריות לכל קטגוריה:
מדריכים קיימים מדריך לכלים דיגיטליים ללימוד טקסטים יהודיים
היקף המדריך הזה
משאבים
ספרים - מוקלדים: ספריא; על-התורה; ויקיטקסט
ספרים - סרוקים: היברובוקס; הספרייה הלאומית של ישראל
כתבי יד - מוקלדים וסרוקים: כתיב; פרויקטים של פרידברג
חיפוש וכלים קשורים אחרים: דיקטה
מידע ביבליוגרפי: מרחב - הספרייה הלאומית של ישראל
מפתחות: הלכה ברורה
Up to and including episode # 240 (October 22, 2023).
Based on:
https://seforimchatter.com/podcasts/
https://seforimchatter.buzzsprout.com/
On this podcast, see:
Yosef Herz, "One For the Books", Mishpacha Magazine (April 3, 2023), at https://mishpacha.com/one-for-the-books-3/; and
Moshe Krakowski, "The Intellectual Fireworks of Talmud Study Move Outside the Yeshiva", Mosaic Magazine (November 15, 2021), at
https://mosaicmagazine.com/observation/religion-holidays/2021/11/the-intellectual-fireworks-of-talmud-study-move-outside-the-yeshiva/
As of 15-Feb-22, Halacha Brura has 36 webpages of indexes, and based on my rough estimate over 40,000 open-access scanned books have been categorized.
Halacha Brura’s own meta-index of its own indexes leaves much to be desired: There’s no full sitemap available on the website, and the organization of the webpages could be improved.
To help with this issue, I created my own meta-index of Halacha Brura's indexes
Name: Steinzaltz transliteration
English Wikipedia entry title - hyperlinked
Count (this number should be taken with a grain of salt; it's more of a heuristic)
v5
See here for details: https://www.ezrabrand.com/p/automated-extraction-of-over-1000
An extensive overview of names and naming in early Jewish literature, with a focus on the names of rabbis and other individuals in the community. The study covers a wide range of topics, including given names, diminutives, nicknames, and surnames, as well as titles and honorifics that precede or follow a name. The paper also examines the use of demonyms and gentilics, as well as epithets based on occupation, personal traits, or physical characteristics. Also examined is the relationship between a person's name and their statements or actions. The paper presents charts of personal names and father's names, organized by frequency, providing valuable insights into naming conventions and family relationships in the community. Overall, the paper offers a comprehensive overview of the use of names in early Jewish literature, shedding light on the cultural and social significance of names in this context.
Outline
Abstract 1
Keywords 1
Outline 1
Bibliography 4
Traditional 4
Academic 4
Introduction 6
Background and Context 6
Previous Scholarship 6
Purpose and Scope of the Study 6
Given Names and Their Variations 6
Diminutives and Variants 7
Contraction of Honorific with Given Name 8
Mononyms 9
No surname 10
Pseudonyms and Epithets 12
Different people with same name 13
Aptronyms 13
Naming Conventions for Anonymous and Multiple Individuals 15
Descriptors for Anonymous Individuals 15
Individuals 15
Multiple 15
Placeholder name 16
Demonym 16
Prefix - Honorific 17
Abba 17
Abba + given name 17
Abba + other honorific 18
Abba + toponym 18
Abba + occupation 18
Abba + physical trait 18
As a given name 18
Imma 19
Pappa 19
Mar 19
Others 20
No honorific 20
Surnames and Their Origins 22
Intro - explanation of epithets and surnames provided by the Talmud 22
Patronymic and other familial relations 23
Patronymic 23
Patronymic, not father’s name 23
Patronymic alone, no given name 23
Matronymic 24
Papponymic 25
Teknonymy 25
Other familial relationships 25
Toponymic Surnames 26
X 26
ha-X-i 27
X-i 28
Ish X 28
mi-X 30
d’-X 32
d’min-X 33
X-ah 34
X-iyah 36
Bar / Ben X 37
Abba X 37
Occupational Surnames 37
Pattern - katal 38
Pattern - katlan 39
Pattern - kotel 39
Pattern - katol 39
Other 39
non-Semitic loanword 39
Other surnames 40
Title 40
“Elder”, “Younger”, “Great”, “Small” 41
Surnames Related to Personal Status, Personality, and Physical Traits 42
Personal status 42
Personality 42
Physical trait 43
Surnames with Unclear Etymology 44
House names 46
House names of Kohanim 46
Analysis of Given Names 48
Given Names and Fathers' Names 49
Given names, by frequency 49
Fathers’ names, by frequency 52
Greek and Latin names - Jews 55
Jews who are not Rabbis 56
Non-Jews 56
Common names for Kohanim? 56
~700 distinct names.
The order of the index is roughly chronological, by category. The date range is from post-biblical (~300 BCE) to the end of the Talmudic era (~500 CE)
~800 distinct names.
The table was mostly built programatically (using OCR, scraping, regex, and xlookup), so there are a certain percentage of errors. I have fixed many of the errors manually, but there is much that can be improved.
Email me for the original spreadsheet: ezrabrand@gmail.com
Source of names: Toldot Tana'im VeAmoraim
Transcription from Wikisource:
קטגוריה:תולדות תנאים ואמוראים
https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%92%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%94:%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%93%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%AA%D7%A0%D7%90%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%95%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%99%D7%9D
Marcus Jastrow, “A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature”, Wikisource.
The list is not complete, due to technical limitations in the script that I used.
The list of names were filtered based on searching for "pr. n. m." OR "pr. n. f." - meaning - personal name male or female.
I excluded Biblical names (based on the note in Jastrow: "b. h." = Biblical Hebrew).
It should be pointed out that Wikisource has a significant number of typos in transcriptions. One recurring error is transcribing Greek letters as follows: ‘(~~~~~)’.
v5.1 - 17-Sep-2023
Outline, with major examples for each category:
Existing Guides
Scope of this Guide
Primary texts
Books - text format - popular editions: Sefaria; Wikisource
Books - text format - scholarly editions: Hebrew Academy - Historical Dictionary Project ; Talmud Yerushalmi - Katz ; Midrash Project - Schechter Institute ; Al-Hatorah
Books - PDF format: HebrewBooks; National Library of Israel
Manuscripts - text and PDF formats: Ktiv; Friedberg projects
Search and other tools: Dicta
Indexes: Halacha Brura
Secondary literature
Books: Kotar; Kindle
Journals: JSTOR; Sci-Hub
Articles: Academia.edu
Tertiary sources
Bibliographic info and indexes: Merhav ; RAMBI
Encyclopedias: Wikipedia - Hebrew; Encyclopedia Judaica
Dictionaries: Wiktionary - Hebrew
Popular media and social platforms
Articles for popular audience
General: Academy of Hebrew Language
Newspapers and magazines: Haaretz; Makor Rishon
Blogs: The Seforim Blog; The Talmud Blog
Videos, Podcasts, Twitter, Facebook
Forums: Otzar HaHochma
תוכן עניינים, עם דוגמאות עיקריות לכל קטגוריה:
מדריכים קיימים מדריך לכלים דיגיטליים ללימוד טקסטים יהודיים
היקף המדריך הזה
משאבים
ספרים - מוקלדים: ספריא; על-התורה; ויקיטקסט
ספרים - סרוקים: היברובוקס; הספרייה הלאומית של ישראל
כתבי יד - מוקלדים וסרוקים: כתיב; פרויקטים של פרידברג
חיפוש וכלים קשורים אחרים: דיקטה
מידע ביבליוגרפי: מרחב - הספרייה הלאומית של ישראל
מפתחות: הלכה ברורה
Up to and including episode # 240 (October 22, 2023).
Based on:
https://seforimchatter.com/podcasts/
https://seforimchatter.buzzsprout.com/
On this podcast, see:
Yosef Herz, "One For the Books", Mishpacha Magazine (April 3, 2023), at https://mishpacha.com/one-for-the-books-3/; and
Moshe Krakowski, "The Intellectual Fireworks of Talmud Study Move Outside the Yeshiva", Mosaic Magazine (November 15, 2021), at
https://mosaicmagazine.com/observation/religion-holidays/2021/11/the-intellectual-fireworks-of-talmud-study-move-outside-the-yeshiva/
As of 15-Feb-22, Halacha Brura has 36 webpages of indexes, and based on my rough estimate over 40,000 open-access scanned books have been categorized.
Halacha Brura’s own meta-index of its own indexes leaves much to be desired: There’s no full sitemap available on the website, and the organization of the webpages could be improved.
To help with this issue, I created my own meta-index of Halacha Brura's indexes
Name: Steinzaltz transliteration
English Wikipedia entry title - hyperlinked
Count (this number should be taken with a grain of salt; it's more of a heuristic)
v5
See here for details: https://www.ezrabrand.com/p/automated-extraction-of-over-1000
An extensive overview of names and naming in early Jewish literature, with a focus on the names of rabbis and other individuals in the community. The study covers a wide range of topics, including given names, diminutives, nicknames, and surnames, as well as titles and honorifics that precede or follow a name. The paper also examines the use of demonyms and gentilics, as well as epithets based on occupation, personal traits, or physical characteristics. Also examined is the relationship between a person's name and their statements or actions. The paper presents charts of personal names and father's names, organized by frequency, providing valuable insights into naming conventions and family relationships in the community. Overall, the paper offers a comprehensive overview of the use of names in early Jewish literature, shedding light on the cultural and social significance of names in this context.
Outline
Abstract 1
Keywords 1
Outline 1
Bibliography 4
Traditional 4
Academic 4
Introduction 6
Background and Context 6
Previous Scholarship 6
Purpose and Scope of the Study 6
Given Names and Their Variations 6
Diminutives and Variants 7
Contraction of Honorific with Given Name 8
Mononyms 9
No surname 10
Pseudonyms and Epithets 12
Different people with same name 13
Aptronyms 13
Naming Conventions for Anonymous and Multiple Individuals 15
Descriptors for Anonymous Individuals 15
Individuals 15
Multiple 15
Placeholder name 16
Demonym 16
Prefix - Honorific 17
Abba 17
Abba + given name 17
Abba + other honorific 18
Abba + toponym 18
Abba + occupation 18
Abba + physical trait 18
As a given name 18
Imma 19
Pappa 19
Mar 19
Others 20
No honorific 20
Surnames and Their Origins 22
Intro - explanation of epithets and surnames provided by the Talmud 22
Patronymic and other familial relations 23
Patronymic 23
Patronymic, not father’s name 23
Patronymic alone, no given name 23
Matronymic 24
Papponymic 25
Teknonymy 25
Other familial relationships 25
Toponymic Surnames 26
X 26
ha-X-i 27
X-i 28
Ish X 28
mi-X 30
d’-X 32
d’min-X 33
X-ah 34
X-iyah 36
Bar / Ben X 37
Abba X 37
Occupational Surnames 37
Pattern - katal 38
Pattern - katlan 39
Pattern - kotel 39
Pattern - katol 39
Other 39
non-Semitic loanword 39
Other surnames 40
Title 40
“Elder”, “Younger”, “Great”, “Small” 41
Surnames Related to Personal Status, Personality, and Physical Traits 42
Personal status 42
Personality 42
Physical trait 43
Surnames with Unclear Etymology 44
House names 46
House names of Kohanim 46
Analysis of Given Names 48
Given Names and Fathers' Names 49
Given names, by frequency 49
Fathers’ names, by frequency 52
Greek and Latin names - Jews 55
Jews who are not Rabbis 56
Non-Jews 56
Common names for Kohanim? 56
~700 distinct names.
The order of the index is roughly chronological, by category. The date range is from post-biblical (~300 BCE) to the end of the Talmudic era (~500 CE)
~800 distinct names.
The table was mostly built programatically (using OCR, scraping, regex, and xlookup), so there are a certain percentage of errors. I have fixed many of the errors manually, but there is much that can be improved.
Email me for the original spreadsheet: ezrabrand@gmail.com
Source of names: Toldot Tana'im VeAmoraim
Transcription from Wikisource:
קטגוריה:תולדות תנאים ואמוראים
https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%92%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%94:%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%93%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%AA%D7%A0%D7%90%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%95%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%99%D7%9D
Marcus Jastrow, “A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature”, Wikisource.
The list is not complete, due to technical limitations in the script that I used.
The list of names were filtered based on searching for "pr. n. m." OR "pr. n. f." - meaning - personal name male or female.
I excluded Biblical names (based on the note in Jastrow: "b. h." = Biblical Hebrew).
It should be pointed out that Wikisource has a significant number of typos in transcriptions. One recurring error is transcribing Greek letters as follows: ‘(~~~~~)’.
Extracted from Jastrow's Dictionary.
As transcribed at Sefaria’s Github:
dictionaries/Jastrow/data/01-Merged XML/Jastrow-full.xml
Compare my previous pieces on this topic:
“Some Non-Semitic Loanwords in the Talmud: Greek; Latin; and Persian”
“The Principles of Transliteration of Greek Loanwords in Classical Rabbinic Literature - Consonants - b,g,c,d,g,z,θ (=theta),k,l,m,n,ξ (=xi)”
“List of some Greek loan-words in Hazalic writings”
About the Table
Key to Table Headers
Hebrew = original Hebrew, Jastrow’s head word
Transliterated = automated transliteration of Jastrow’s Greek word
Greek = Jastrow’s Greek word, automatically extracted from Jastrow’s entry
Definition = first 20 words of Jastrow’s defintion, automatically extracted from Jastrow’s entry
From Samuel Krauss' book “Griechische und lateinische Lehnwörter im Talmud, Midrasch und Targum", published in 1898:
https://ia800602.us.archive.org/32/items/GriechischeUndLateinischeLehnwrterInTalmudMidraschUndTargum/Griechische_und_lateinische_Lehnwrter1.pdf
With Intro; discussion of Prosthetic Aleph; Original Pronunciations; transliteration of “X” sound (=Greek letter xi - ξ) - כס; Transliteration of “th” - ת; Hard/soft ב, פ; Greek loan-words as verbs
חנוך אלבק, מבוא למשנה - פרק ח', עמ' 203 ואילך
Guggenheimer (ed.), Yerushalmi translation, indices
Hebrew Wiktionary
Jastrow's Dictionary
Various works by Daniel Sperber
שי היימנס, המילים השאולות מיוונית ומלטינית במשנה. חיבור לשם קבלת תואר דוקטור, אוניברסיטת תל אביב, 2013
נורית שובל־דודאי, גלוסר המילים השאולות מן היוונית ומן הרומית במקורות היהודיים הבתר־מקראיים. האקדמיה ללשון העברית, תשע"ט.
Added a small bibliographic update in Sep-2021.
Sometimes the sexualization in the Talmud occurs when there's no sex explicit in the Biblical text at all. This is the case, for example, with Yael and Sisera. (However, some critical Bible scholars do in fact agree with the Talmudic interpretation and see hints of it there.) This is the case for Esther as well, where the sexual element is never explicitly mentioned in the text.
I only discuss aggadic passages in this piece.
קטגוריה:פרק בתלמוד הבבלי – ויקיטקסט
Using a Python script
Marcus Jastrow, “A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature”, Wikisource.
See also my previous “A Lexicon of Personal Names in the Talmud and Midrash”
The existence of YG was first pointed out by Scholem in his famous Kiryat Sefer article indexing all the known manuscripts of commentaries on the Ten Sefirot known to him. The alternate name of the work in manuscripts is Iggeret Sippurim – “The Letter of Stories” or “The Letter of Tales,” Scholem in another place in that article points out the existence of a commentary on YG, that of R’ Reuven Tzarfati.
YG, from fourteenth century Italy, provides further evidence of a flourishing Kabbalah in Italy in the fourteenth century. It is quite a fascinating work, providing a formidable riddle for the reader. It may be that it was never meant to be grasped on its own. But it is possible to map out the basic skeleton of the work, and to identify a number of themes. The majority of “Tales” begin with items relating to the Temple; each item is clearly given a sefirotic equivalent. Linguistic associations play a strong role in the hermeneutic of YG, as well as a close, but creative, reading of Biblical verses. YG has a strong focus on Evil. There still remains much to be investigated, first and foremost the true relationship between YG and Reuven Tzarfati, as well as YG’s relationship with other works of its time. In addition, it remains to be clarified why YG is written in such an obscure and difficult-to-understand way.
כותרת עברית: לקראת לקסיקון כינויים / סמלים (=בחינות) בספרות הזהר
קיצורים:
מ"ה = משנת הזהר חלק א'
ת"ז = תיקוני זהר
מ"מ = מתוק מדבש
ראו גם:
פרץ, מעלות הזהר
Broken down into secondary literature (academic and popular); blogs; TV (shows and movies); and books (memoirs and novels).
The sources chosed are somewhat eclectic, and not meant to necessarily be comprehensive, but to provide a list of what might be considered to be especially important and representative.
Indications in Isaiah ; Jeremiah ; Ecclesiastes ; Mishnah and Midrash 2
Early medieval France and Germany 3
List of proper nouns from medieval period and on, that have S-sound transliterated with a ‘ש’ 4
Place names 4
Personal given names / nicknames 5
Personal surnames / family names
Digital Resources and Technology in Jewish Study 1
Talmudic Studies 2
Post-Talmudic Studies 2
Kabbalah and Mysticism 3
Modern Jewish History 3
Linguistics 3
Humor 3
For an index of blogposts on my blog, see “Cataloging My Blogposts: An Organized Breakdown by Theme” (July 28, 2023)
Classification of the Seforim Chitzonim 4
The attitude towards Seforim Chitzonim in Chazal 4
Reasons for the Exclusion of the Seforim Chitzonim from Tanakh 7
Ben Sira 8
Enoch (חנוך) in the Midrash 8
The attitude of the rabbis to Seforim Chitzonim after the Talmudic period 11
List of the Seforim Chitzonim that We Have 12
Seforim Chitzonim related to the Pentateuch 13
Seforim Chitzonim related to Nevi’im 14
Seforim Chitzonim related to Ketuvim 14
Other Seforim Chitzonim 15
Dead Sea Scrolls 15
The current study adopts a multi-disciplinary approach that draws on recent advancements in the fields of Talmud studies and philosophical analysis of deception. The aim is to create an initial taxonomy of these deceptive narratives based on contemporary philosophy of deception and to conduct an initial analysis of the narratives using contemporary methods of source criticism.
It is worth noting that I did not conduct a comprehensive review of previous scholarship for each narrative, or perform a thorough textual analysis of each source. Therefore, the results should be considered as initial findings that may be revised with further research. However, a significant number of texts have been analyzed, which provides a strong basis for the conclusions.