User:Camocon/Sandbox2

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mikra Kodesh[edit]

  • Mikra (that which is read; bible - מקרא)
  • Kodesh (sacred, holy - קודש)
  • Mikra Kodesh "holy assembly" (same as: Mikra'ei Kodesh "holy convocations")
  • Mikra Kodesh = "Holy Bible" in Hebrew מקרא קודש

The Kedushah (Hebrew: קדושה‎) is traditionally the third section of all Amidah recitations. In the silent Amidah it is a short prayer, but in the repetition, which requires a minyan, it is considerably lengthier. The liturgy varies among different communities and during different services, but they all hold in common three lines from the Bible (though translations vary): Kadosh Kadosh Kadosh Adonai Tz'vaot M'lo Khol Ha'aretz K'vodo ("Holy, Holy, Holy, The Lord of Hosts, The entire world is filled with His Glory"), Baruch K'vod Adonai Mim'komo ("Blessed is the Glory of the Lord in Its Place"), and Yimloch Adonai L'Olam, Elohayich Tziyon L'dor Vador Hall'luyah ("The Lord shall reign forever, Your G-d, O Zion, from generation to generation, Hallelujah").

The Biblical and historical background of Jewish customs and ceremonies By Abraham P. Bloch -Page 112 [More info]

Commemorating The Desert Experience an Analysis of Parashat Hamo'adot (the term Mikra'ei Kodesh) [More info]

The Ramban (Vayikra 23:2) interprets "mikra kodesh" as referring public gatherings for matters of kedusha; public tefillah and Hallel on yom tov are elevated to the status of mitzvos min haTorah as practical fulfillments of "mikra kodesh."

The definition of a mikra kodesh is established by the beit din, which creates the sanctity and gives it a time-frame. Once the beit din has done so, these days turn into festivals of God, "mikra'ei kodesh."

Mitzvos Min HaTorah[edit]

The Mogen Avrohom says from the Arizal that they are Mitzvos Min HaTorah and we should have four of them in mind when we say the Bracha (Berakhah) of Ahava rabbah. [More info]

Mo'adei HaShem[edit]

While other names of God in Judaism are generally restricted to use in a liturgical context, HaShem is used in more casual circumstances. HaShem is used by Orthodox Jews so as to avoid saying Adonai outside of a ritual context. For example, when some Orthodox Jews make audio recordings of prayer services, they generally substitute HaShem for Adonai; a few others have used Amonai. On some occasions, similar sounds are used for authenticity, as in the movie Ushpizin, where Abonai Elokenu [sic] is used throughout.

Sepher Mo'adei Hashem Ukeri'ei Mo'ed "prayers for Three Festivals with Hagadah (Haggadah of Pesach) for Passover"

Kodashim[edit]

Kodashim or Qodhashim (Hebrew קדשים, Holy Things) is the fifth Order in the Mishna (also the Tosefta and Talmud). Of the six Orders of the Mishna, it is the third longest. Kodoshim deals largely with the religious service within the Temple in Jerusalem, the Korbanot ("sacrificial offerings"), and other subjects considered or related to these "Holy Things".

Kodoshim consists of 11 tractates:

  1. Zevahim: (זבחים, "Sacrifices"); Deals with the procedure of animal and bird offerings. 14 chapters.
  2. Menahot: (מנחות, "Meal Offerings"); Deals with the various grain-based offerings in the Temple. 13 chapters.
  3. Chullin or Hullin: (חולין, "Ordinary Things"); Deals with the laws of slaughter and meat consumption (i.e. animals used for every-day as opposed to sacred reasons). 12 chapters.
  4. Bekhorot: (בכורות, "Firstborn"); Deals with the sanctification and redemption of animal and human firstborns. 9 chapters.
  5. Arakhin: (ערכין, "Dedications"); Deals mainly with a person dedicating their value to the Temple or dedicating a field. 9 chapters.
  6. Temurah: (תמורה, "Substitution"); Outlines the laws of what happens if an animal is substituted for an animal dedicated for a sacrifice. 7 chapters.
  7. Keritot: (כריתות, "Excisions"); Deals with the commandments for which the penalty is karet (spiritual excision) as well as the sacrifices associated with their (mostly unwitting) transgression. 6 chapters.
  8. Me'ilah: (מעילה, "Sacrilege"); Deals with the laws of restitution for the misappropriation of Temple property. 6 chapters.
  9. Tamid: (תמיד, "Always"); Outlines the procedure of the Tamid (daily sacrifice). 6 chapters.
  10. Middot: (מידות, "Measurements"); Describes the measurements of the second Temple. 4 chapters.
  11. Kinnim: (קנים, "Nests"); Deals with the complex laws for situations where the mixing of bird-offerings occurred. 3 chapters.

The traditional reasoning for the order of the tractates (according to Maimonides) is as follows:

  • Zevahim is first as it deals with the main physical "purpose" of the Temple - animal sacrifices.
  • Menahot continuing the subject of offerings is placed after according to the scriptural order and the status of meal-offerings as supplementary.
  • After dealing with offerings to the Temple, Hullin follows, dealing with "secular offerings".
  • Bekhorot, Arakhin and Temurah all discuss auxiliary laws of sanctity and follow the Scriptural order.
  • Keritot follows the prior elaboration of commandments as it largely discusses the offering for the transgression of certain commandments.
  • Me'ilah follows as it also deals with transgressions of sanctity, although of a lighter nature.
  • After dealing with laws, two description tractates were added, Tamid discussing the daily sacrifice and Middot which overviews the whole Temple in Jerusalem.
  • Finally, Kinnim was placed last as its laws all deal with accidents and situations which very rarely occur.

Kedoshim[edit]

Kedoshim, K’doshim, or Qedoshim (קְדֹשִׁים — Hebrew for "holy ones,” the 14th word, and the first distinctive word, in the parshah) is the 30th weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the seventh in the book of Leviticus. It constitutes Leviticus 19:1–20:27. Jews in the Diaspora generally read it in late April or May.

Kodashim is also the name of the fifth order in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Babylonian Talmud. The term “kedoshim” is sometimes also used to refer to the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, whom some call “kedoshim” because they fulfilled the mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem.

Qetesh (goddess)[edit]

Qetesh is a Sumerian goddess adopted into Egyptian mythology from the Canaanite religion, popular during the New Kingdom. She was a fertility goddess of sacred ecstasy and sexual pleasure.

From the Semitic root Q-D-Š, meaning "Holy." Her other names are Quadshu, Qudshu, Qodesh, Qadesh, Qadashu, Qadesha, Qedeshet, Kedesh and Kodesh.

Kadisha Valley[edit]

The Kadisha Valley (also known as Qadisha Valley, Wadi Qadisha, Ouadi Qadisha, or وادي قاديشا in Arabic) is a valley that lies within the Becharre and Zgharta Districts of the North Governorate of Lebanon.

Holy Quran[edit]

Quran (or Koran) literally meaning "the recitation".

Among the names of God in Quran is القدوس (Al-Qoddous) [Al=god, Qoddous=holy] : 59:23 and 62:1, the closest English translation for which is 'sacred'. As God alone is considered to be the ultimate source of all true purification and guidance in Islam, all holiness is his alone too.

  • Qoddous Quran = "Holy Quran" القدوس القرآن
  • Qoddous = "holy", or "holy god" القدوس
  • Quran = "the recitation" القرآن

Ugaritic words found in the Canaanite religion[edit]

  • il = god (El)
  • ilimilku = god is king
  • danil = god judges
  • ilsdq = god is just
  • yakunilu = god establishes
  • yabniilu = god builds
  • hnnil = god is gracious
  • baal = lord
  • il hd = the god Hadad
  • il mlk = god the king
  • ilhm = gods (plural)
  • mlk = king
  • malikum = kings
  • rb khum = chief of priests (translation: "rab kohenim")
  • khum = priest (translation: "kohen", plural "kohenim")
  • rb = chief (translation: "rab", feminine "rabbat")
  • dbh = sacrificial rite of the queen
  • awilu baru = omen priest, or oracular seer
  • rpim = healers
  • rpi qdmyn = ancient healers
  • rpiars = healers of the netherworld
  • ilm ars = gods of the netherworld
  • ilima naimima = gracious gods
  • qbs ddn = assembly of ditan (the eponymous patron of the deified dead)
  • ilnym = divine spirits
  • malak = messenger (angel)
  • qds = sacred (holy)
  • qdshm = devotees, or "holy ones" (translation: "qedoshim", or "kedoshim")
  • kotharat = group of divine female singers
  • abdi = servant
  • marzih = funerary feast
  • th = gift offering
  • shlmm = peace offering (gift, or tribute; Heb. shalom?)
  • shrp = peace offering wholly consumed by fire
  • puhr ilim = assembly of the gods
  • rapium = patron of the deified dead kings
  • aliyan = most powerful one
  • aliy = high one
  • ab = father
  • abh = his father
  • bn = son
  • btlt = virgin (note: females in Canaan were called virgins until they gave birth to a child)
  • btlt nt = the virgin, Anat
  • ttrt = Astarte
  • sr qds = holy place
  • atrt = Athirat
  • atrt wbnh = Athirat and her sons
  • bn atrt = son of Athirat
  • qnyt ilm = mother of the gods
  • ym = sea (Yam)
  • krt = to cut
  • srp = to burn
  • rb nqdm = chief of herdsmen
  • aribuma = some kind of priests (unknown)
  • thananuma = members of the king's guard (unknown)


The roots of verbs and most nouns in the Semitic languages are characterized as a sequence of consonants or "radicals" (hence also the term consonantal root). Such abstract consonantal roots are used in the formation of actual words by adding the vowels and non-root consonants (or "transfixes") which go with a particular morphological category around the root consonants, in an appropriate way, generally following specific patterns.

The Ugaritic alphabet is a cuneiform abjad (alphabet without vowels), used from around 15th century BCE. Although it appears similar to Mesopotamian cuneiform, it was unrelated (see Ugaritic alphabet). It is the oldest example of the family of West Semitic scripts that were used for Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic. See: Ugaritic language

According to one hypothesis, Ugaritic texts might solve the biblical puzzle of the anachronism of Ezekiel mentioning Daniel at Ezekiel 14:13–16; it is because in both Ugaritic and the Ancient Hebrew texts, it is correctly Danel.

Sacred prostitution mentioned in the Hebrew Bible[edit]

The Hebrew Bible uses two different words for prostitute, zonah (זנה)‎ and kedeshah (קדשה) [Also transliterated qĕdeshah, qedeshah, qědēšā ,qedashah, kadeshah, kadesha, qedesha, kdesha. A modern liturgical pronunciation would be k'deysha]‎. The word zonah simply meant an ordinary prostitute or loose woman. But the word kedeshah literally means "consecrated (feminine form)", from the Semitic root q-d-sh (קדש)‎ meaning "holy" or "set apart".

Whatever the cultic significance of a kedeshah to a follower of the Canaanite religion, the Hebrew Bible makes it clear that cultic prostitution had no place in Judaism [?]. Thus Deuteronomy 23:18-19 tells followers:

None of the daughters of Israel shall be a kedeshah, nor shall any of the sons of Israel be a kadesh. [Is god telling the people of Israel that they'll never be holy?]

You shall not bring the hire of a prostitute (zonah) or the wages of a dog (keleb) into the house of the Lord your God to pay a vow, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God. [Is god accusing the priests of sacrilege by comparing them to prostitutes?]

"It is widely assumed that some form of "sacred" or "cultic prostitution" characterized Canaanite religion; however, the language of prostitution is never used to describe cultic offices or activities in ancient Near Eastern texts outside the Bible’s polemical usage. The Hebrew term sometimes rendered sacred prostitution qědēšâ (f.)/qādēš (m.), simply means "consecrated (person)" (cf. qādôš, "holy"). Association with prostitution, or sexual activity of any sort, is inferred from biblical context and has no parallel in extra-biblical texts." -Phylis Byrd

Kadesh (Israel)[edit]

Kadesh or Qadhesh in Classical (Hebrew: קָדֵשׁ‎), also known as Qadesh-Barneʿa (קָדֵשׁ בַּרְנֵעַ), was a place in the south of Ancient Israel. The name "Kodesh" means holy. The name "Barnea" may mean desert of wandering. There are two Kadeshes: one in the north Negev, visited by Abraham and by Moses and the children of Israel two years after leaving Egypt; and the other, on the eastern border by Petra in Transjordan.

Ancient Kadesh[edit]

Kadesh (also Qadesh or Qadesh-on-the-Orontes; Hittite: Kadeš) was an ancient city of the Levant, located on or near the headwaters or ford of the Orontes River.

The site of Kadesh was first occupied during the Chalcolithic period. Kadesh is first noted as one of two Canaanite cities (the other being Megiddo) that led a coalition of city-states opposing the conquest of the Levant by Thutmose III.

Bechorot (Bekhorot)[edit]

Bekhorot (Hebrew בכורות, “First-born”) refers to the first-born human, or animal according to the Hebrew Bible in which God commanded Moses in the Book of Exodus to “consecrate to Me every first-born; man and beast, the first issue of every womb among the Israelites is Mine.” It is from this commandment that Judaism forms the foundation of its many traditions and rituals concerning the redemption of the first-born son and ritual slaughter.

In addition to several references found in the Hebrew bible, Bekhorot is considered a Seder Kodashim (Hebrew קדשים), or “Holy Thing” hence it is found under the fifth order of the Mishnah titled Kodashim, tractate four, Bekhorot. The primary focus of the tractate relates to the ritual sacrifice, or slaughter, of the first-born of both human and animal.

Ta'anit Bechorot[edit]

Fast of the Firstborn (Hebrew: תענית בכורות, Ta'anit B'khorot or תענית בכורים, Ta'anit B'khorim); is a unique fast day in Judaism which usually falls on the day before Passover (i.e. the fourteenth day of Nisan, a month in the Jewish calendar).

Pidyon Ha’ben (Bechorot 46)[edit]

The Pidyon haben, (Hebrew: פדיון הבן‎) or redemption of the first born son (a son who is not himself a kohen or a Levi, firstborn to a Jewish mother who is not the daughter of a kohen or a Levi), is a mitzvah in Judaism whereby a Jewish firstborn son is redeemed by use of silver coins from his birth-state of sanctity.

Korban (Korbanot)[edit]

The term Korban ("sacrificial offerings") as found in the Hebrew Bible in relation to the worship of Ancient Israel is mainly represented by the Hebrew noun korban (קָרְבָּן) whether for an animal or other offering. Other terms include animal sacrifice (zevah זֶבַח), traditionally peace offering and olah, traditionally "burnt offering." In Hebrew the noun korban is used for a variety of sacrificial offerings described and commanded in the Hebrew Bible.

Such sacrifices were offered in a variety of settings by the ancient Israelites, and later by the Jewish priesthood, the priests, at the Temple in Jerusalem. A korban was often an animal sacrifice, such as a sheep or a bull that underwent Jewish ritual slaughter, and was often cooked and eaten by the offerer, with parts given to the priests and parts burned on the Temple mizbe'ah (Altar). Sacrifices could also consist of doves, grain or meal, wine, or incense.

Mishnah[edit]

The Mishnah or Mishna (Hebrew: משנה, "repetition", from the verb shanah שנה, or "to study and review", also "secondary" (derived from the adj. שני)) is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah".

The Mishnah orders its content by subject matter, instead of by biblical context. Likewise it discusses individual subjects more thoroughly than the Midrash. It includes a much broader selection of halakhic subjects than the Midrash.

The six orders are:

  • Zeraim ("Seeds"), dealing with prayer and blessings, tithes and agricultural laws (11 tractates)
  • Moed ("Festival"), pertaining to the laws of the Sabbath and the Festivals (12 tractates)
  • Nashim ("Women"), concerning marriage and divorce, some forms of oaths and the laws of the nazirite (7 tractates)
  • Nezikin ("Damages"), dealing with civil and criminal law, the functioning of the courts and oaths (10 tractates)
  • Kodashim ("Holy things"), regarding sacrificial rites, the Temple, and the dietary laws (11 tractates) and
  • Tohorot ("Purities"), pertaining to the laws of purity and impurity, including the impurity of the dead, the laws of food purity and bodily purity (12 tractates).

Lashon Ha-Kodesh[edit]

Lashon Hakodesh (Hebrew: לשון הקודש; lit. "the Sacred Language" or "the Holy Language" or "the Holy Tongue") is a Jewish term and appellation attributed to the Hebrew language, in which its Religious text was written, and served, during the Medieval Hebrew era, for religious purposes, liturgy and Halakha - in contrary to the secular tongue, which served for the routine daily needs, such as the Yiddish language.

Paleo-Hebrew alphabet[edit]

The Paleo-Hebrew alphabet (Hebrew: הכתב העברי הקדום‎) (Yiddish: כתב עברי), is an abjad offshoot of the ancient Semitic alphabet, identical to the Phoenician alphabet.

Tiberian Hebrew[edit]

Tiberian Hebrew is the extinct canonical pronunciation of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh and related documents in the Roman Empire.

Beth Ha-Midrash[edit]

Beth Midrash (Hebrew: בית מדרש; also Beis Medrash, Beit Midrash, pl. batei midrash or botei medrash, lit. "House [of] Interpretation" or "House [of] Learning") refers to a study hall, whether in a synagogue, yeshiva, kollel, or other building. It is distinct from a synagogue, although many synagogues are also used as batei midrash and vice versa.

Beth Tefillah[edit]

Beth Tefillah is Hebrew for house of prayer.

Beth Ha-Knesseth[edit]

Beth Haknesset is Hebrew for house of assembly.

Beth Ha'am[edit]

Beth Ha'am is Hebrew for the house of the people.

Beth-EL[edit]

Bethel (Ugaritic: bt il, meaning "House of El" or "House of God", Hebrew: בֵּית אֵל, also transliterated Beth El, Beth-El, or Beit El.

Mo'adei El[edit]

Psalms 74:8 to the burning of "all the meeting places of God [mo'adei El] in the land."

In the early second century bible translation by Aquila of Pontus, it reads "mo'adei El" as synagogues (Spanish "sinagogas"). Mo'adei El (לא ידעומ, Ps. 74:8)

Kodesh Ha-Kodashim[edit]

The Kodesh Hakodashim "Holy of Holies" (Tiberian Hebrew: קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים Qṓḏeš HaqQŏḏāšîm) is a term in the Hebrew Bible which refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle and later the Temple in Jerusalem where the Ark of the Covenant was kept during the First Temple, which could be entered only by the High Priest on Yom Kippur.

In Rabbinical Judaism, the exact location of the Kodesh Hakodashim is a subject of dispute.

Traditional Judaism regards the Holy of Holies as the place where the presence of God dwells. The Talmud gives detailed descriptions of Temple architecture and layout. According Babylonian Talmud Tractate Yoma, the Kodesh Hakodashim is located in the center North-South but significantly to the West from an East-West perspective, with all the major courtyards and functional areas lying to its east.

Bethlehem[edit]

Bethlehem (Arabic: بيت لحم Bayt Laḥm or Bēt Laḥm, lit "House of Flesh"; Hebrew: בֵּית לֶחֶם Bēṯ Leḥem, Modern: Bet Leḥem, IPA: [bet ˈleχem], lit "House of Bread".