Holidays
On this holiday, Jews celebrate the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century BCE.
What is Hanukkah?
This Hammer-like family revolted against the Seleucid Greeks in the 2nd century BCE.
Who are the Maccabees?
This value means "Peace of the Home"
What is Shalom Bayit?
These are sections from which the Tanakh gets its name
What are Torah, Neviim (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings)?
What is the Mishnah?
This is the number of stages of Teshuvah
What is 4?
This is the (approximate) amount of time between Avraham and King David, and also the (approximate) amount of time between King David and the destruction of the 2nd Temple.
What is 1000 years?
Avraham is around 2000 BCE (a little later)
King David united Israel and Judah around 1000 BCE
The 2nd Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 CE.
This is the Hebrew word for "nature"
What is Teva (טֶבַע)?
This figure in Writings was a Judean respected for his wisdom and valued by King Nebuchadnezzar and King Belshazzar.
Who is Daniel?
This huge work has 63 tractates, and includes both the Oral Torah (including the Mishnah and other Baraitot) and the Gemara (rabbinic expouding/clarifying of this Oral Torah).
What is the Talmud?
On this holiday, Ushpizin are welcomed
What is Sukkot?
This land "between the rivers" is sometimes referred to as a "cradle of civilization" because it is one of the places where civilizations (cities, settled life, monumental buildings, etc) began.
What is Mesopotamia?
This is the principle that the value of human life overrides almost every other religious rule in Judaism.
What is Pikuach Nefesh (פיקוח נפש)?
This is the name of the book of the Torah in which the story of Avraham is found.
What is Bereshit (or Genesis).
These are the names of the two Talmuds
What are Talmud Bavli and Talmud Yerushalmi (or the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud)?
Foods such as fried plantains, cheese, and fried cheese or potatoes are associated with this holiday
What is Hanukkah?
When was the Babylonian Exile?
The 6th century BCE (a.k.a. the 500s BCE).
598 BCE - Judean king killed and his successor (Jeconiah) exiled
587 BCE - 1st Temple Destroyed and many exiled, including Zedekiah (Jeconiah's successor)
582 BCE - Gedaliah (the governer of Yehud, appointed by Nebuchadnezzar) killed
538 BCE - Cyrus the Great of Persia ends the Exile (described in the book of Ezra)
This phrase, meaning "in the image of God," refers to the idea that humans are created in the likeness of Hashem, so every person is of equal, infinate, value.
What is B'tzelem Elohim (בְּצֶ֥לֶם אֱ-לֹהִ֖ים)?
In Parshat Lech L'cha, this woman wept for her son, and God heard her and promised her that a great nation would come from her son.
Who is Hagar?
This Sephardic Jewish Philosopher was born in Spain, lived much of his life in Morocco and Egypt, and composed Mishne Torah, the broadest and deepest code of Jewish law
Who was Rambam (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, a.k.a Maimonides)?
This "Eighth Day of Assembly" is a holiday that includes the start of Tefillat Geshem, the prayer for rain.
What is Shemini Atzeret?
This empire defeated the Medes, as well as the Neo-Babylonian Empire, and ended the Babylonian Exile.
What is the First Persian Empire (a.k.a. the Achaemenid Empire)?
This word appears in Shemot 3:4. It is the prophet's response to the call, "Moshe, Moshe!"
What is Hineini (הִנֵּֽנִי)?
This is the Hebrew title of the episode the "Binding" of Yitzhak/Isaac in Parshat Vayera
This medieval French rabbi was the author of comprehensive commentaries of the Torah and the Talmud
Who is Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki)?