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Yom Kippur

(Encyclopedia)Yom Kippur [Heb.,=day of atonement], in Judaism, the most sacred holy day, falling on the 10th day of the Jewish month of Tishri (usually late September or early October). It is a day of fasting and p...

Zunz, Leopold

(Encyclopedia)Zunz, Leopold lāˈōpôlt tso͝ontsˈ [key], 1794–1886, German Jewish scholar. His critical research on Judaism became one of the cornerstones of the “science of Judaism,” the modern approach o...

Chufut-Kale

(Encyclopedia)Chufut-Kale cho͞ofo͞otˈ-kəlyĕˈ [key] [Turk.,=Jews' city], ruined fortress and town, S Crimea (Ukraine, occupied and annexed by Russia in 2014). While under Turkish rule (1475–1783), it was the...

Lilith

(Encyclopedia)Lilith lĭlˈĭth [key], female demon of Jewish mythology, originally probably the Assyrian storm demon Lilitu. In Talmudic tradition many evil attributes were given to this supposedly nocturnal creat...

Rothenstein, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Rothenstein, Sir William rōˈthənstīn [key], 1872–1945, English painter and writer. He was well known for his portraits of famous people and for his pictures of Jewish subjects, including Jews Mo...

Oświęcim

(Encyclopedia)Oświęcim ôshvyĕNˈchēm [key], Ger. Auschwitz, town (1992 est. pop. 45,100), Małopolskie prov., SE Poland. It is a railway junction and industrial center producing chemicals, leather, and agricul...

Judaism

(Encyclopedia)Judaism jo͞oˈdəĭzˌəm, jo͞oˈdē– [key], the religious beliefs and practices and the way of life of the Jews. The term itself was first used by Hellenized Jews to describe their religious prac...

Hillel, Jewish scholar

(Encyclopedia)Hillel, fl. c.30 b.c.–a.d. 10, Jewish scholar, regarded as the forebear of the later patriarchs who led the Jews of Palestine until c.a.d. 400. The Jerusalem Talmud calls him the president of the Sa...

Benjamin of Tudela

(Encyclopedia)Benjamin of Tudela to͞odāˈlä [key], d.1173, rabbi considered the first European to approach the borders of China, b. Tudela, Spain. He traveled (1159–73) through Italy, Greece, Palestine, Persia...

Białystok

(Encyclopedia)Białystok byälĭsˈtôk [key], city, capital of Podlaskie prov., NE Poland. It is a leading ...