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personal digital assistant

(Encyclopedia)personal digital assistant (PDA), lightweight, hand-held computer designed for use as a personal organizer with communications capabilities; also called a handheld. A typical PDA has no keyboard, rely...

hallel

(Encyclopedia)hallel həlālˈ, hălˈĕl [key] [Heb.,=praise], in Judaism, Psalms 113 to 118, sung every morning of Hanukkah, at the Passover service, and at the morning service of most major Jewish holidays as an...

Kiddush

(Encyclopedia)Kiddush kĭdˈəsh [key] [Heb.,=sanctification], Jewish ceremonial blessing indicating the beginning of the Sabbath or any other Hebrew festival. Kiddush is also said at mealtime and consists of a pra...

Michael, archangel

(Encyclopedia)Michael mīˈkəl [key] [Heb.,=who is like God?], archangel prominent in Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions. In the Bible and early Jewish literature, Michael is one of the angels of God's prese...

Malamud, Bernard

(Encyclopedia)Malamud, Bernard mălˈəməd [key], 1914–86, American author, b. New York City, grad. College of the City of New York (B.A., 1936), Columbia (M.A., 1942). His works frequently reflect a concern wit...

klezmer

(Encyclopedia)klezmer klĕzˈmər [key], form of instrumental folk music developed in the Eastern European Jewish community. The style had its beginnings in the Middle Ages; its name is a Yiddishized version of the...

Schechter, Solomon

(Encyclopedia)Schechter, Solomon shĕkhˈtər [key], 1847–1915, Jewish scholar. Born in Romania, he was educated in Vienna and at the Univ. of Berlin. He went to England in 1882 and in 1890 he was made lecturer i...

Fackenheim, Emil Ludwig

(Encyclopedia)Fackenheim, Emil Ludwig āmēl lo͞otˈvĭkh făkˈənhīm [key], 1916–2003, Canadian-Israeli rabbi and philosopher, b. Halle, Germany, grad. Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums, 1939; Ph...

Eshkol, Levi

(Encyclopedia)Eshkol, Levi lāˈvē ĕshˈkôl [key], 1895–1969, Israeli statesman, third prime minister of Israel, b. Ukraine; originally named Levi Shkolnik. In World War I he served in the Jewish Legion, which...

Herrera, Abraham Cohen de

(Encyclopedia)Herrera, Abraham Cohen de ār-rāˈrä [key], c.1570–1635, Jewish philosopher and kabbalist, also called Alonso Nunez de Herrera and Abraham Irira. Born possibly in Portugal of a Marrano family, his...