Monday, January 15, 2018
Our 12th to 14th Century Higher Level Scholars in Troyes, France and Worms, Germany
Nadene Goldfoot
Moses gave us our Torah, and the Prophets gave us the rest, so that we have our Tanach (Old Testament). That wasn't the end, however. That was just the beginning for our Jewish religion.
The first century saw the creation of rabbis since the 2nd Temple was destroyed in 70 CE causing all Jerusalemites to be taken as slaves or slaughtered unless they managed somehow to escape or leave before the event happened.
How to understand and interpret and carry out our laws was another thing involving much study. Rabbis in Palestine and rabbis in Babylon worked on such a project, each finally coming up with the Palestinian Talmud and a Babylonian Talmud about sometime between 200 and 400 CE. Talmud means Teaching. They were the records of academic discussions of Jewish Law by generations of well known scholars and jurists in the many academies and in more than one country during those several centuries.
Each one consists of the Mishnah with a gemara, which is both a commentary on and a supplement to the Mishnah. The Mishnah has the core of our Oral Law, compiled by Rabbi Judah Ha-Nasi from previous collections and arranged in a logical order. These dealt mainly with religious laws about agriculture, another dealing with the laws of the Sabbath and festivals. Another topic was Women which dealt with the laws of marriage, divorce and vows people take. Damages was a topic dealing with the treatment of civil and criminal laws. Holy things was another which covered slaughtering animals for food (kosher laws). All this was carefully organized to make it easier to find and deal with.
The Oral Law, handed down by Moses, to each generation orally. It was given by Moses along with his written law. He had been an Egyptian prince and was an educated man, skilled in writing. During the days of the 2nd Temple, the Pharisees and general population upheld this Oral Law. The Sadducees and Essenes didn't and had their own traditions regarding the interpretation of the Written Law. These sects disappeared after the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE and the Oral Law was studied in the many academies, for the people were hungry to learn. Each place had their own way of teaching. Their discussions remained orally only without being written down.
When the Torah is written, it is done by a trained scribe (Sopher) according to careful regulations. If one mistake is made, the whole scroll is discarded, usually buried.
That wasn't enough for these scholars. The Tosaphot came into being. These were important explanations on the Talmud by French and German scholars from the 12 through the 14th centuries. In the beginning, they were supplements to the French Rabbi, Rashi and his Talmud Commentary. These rabbis would frequently criticize and modify Rashi's decisions.
Supposedly, Rashi is my ancestor and that of others as well. He was a French rabbinical scholar who studied in the Rhineland and then returned to Troyes, France where he had a school. While he earned his living from his vineyard, he taught his students and gained a wide reputation for his brilliance. He was famous for his rational commentary on the Tanakh and the Babylonian Talmud. He was known for presenting the direct rational meaning of the text. He brought in the Midrash to his students as well.
The Midrash was a book with emphasis on finding new meanings besides the literal meanings. There was the tradition dealing with the scriptures that certain rules were followed to deduce such hidden and new meanings. Sometimes the Midrash established the law. In others, it found needed support for laws already accepted. The whole book is full of midrashic verses. Midrash is now used mainly with the legend and ethics of the Bible. "It goes beyond simple distillation of religious, legal, or moral teachings. It fills in gaps left in the biblical narrative regarding events and personalities that are only hinted at. It contains both halakah and haggadah, revealing the divine presence of the eternal Torah in the text."
These were scholars of higher learning. They dedicated their lives to understanding our laws which were given to benefit us in our lives.
Resource: The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
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| RASHI Rabbi Solomon Yitzhak born in France 1040, died 1105. Most well known commentator on the Bible Later rabbis used his comments such s Nahmanides (1194-1270) and Abraham Ben Ezra in their interpretation of the Torah (Pentateuch). Prayer books in synagoges still contain his name with commentary
At the time of the Dark Ages, Abraham ibn Ezra (1089-1164) was a scholar and poet who came from Spain, a Sephardi rabbi. By 1140 he started journeying and visited Italy, France, England, and perhaps even got to Palestine. He wrote in Hebrew and wrote secular and sacred poems, riddles and epigrams that were collected and published. He was another Bible commentarian. He happened to also be a Hebrew grammarian of importance and translated works from the Arabic and wrote several original grammatical compositions. As if this wasn't enough, he was a scientist and author of several studies on astrology in which he firmly believed. His son Isaac also followed his father's lead and was a poet who lived in the Middle East for a period, he even professed Islam. Records say "for a period," so I take it that he returned to Judaism. In those days it was a new religion, having started in about 632 with the death of Mohammad. Muslims were concentrating on gaining believers.
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Each one consists of the Mishnah with a gemara, which is both a commentary on and a supplement to the Mishnah. The Mishnah has the core of our Oral Law, compiled by Rabbi Judah Ha-Nasi from previous collections and arranged in a logical order. These dealt mainly with religious laws about agriculture, another dealing with the laws of the Sabbath and festivals. Another topic was Women which dealt with the laws of marriage, divorce and vows people take. Damages was a topic dealing with the treatment of civil and criminal laws. Holy things was another which covered slaughtering animals for food (kosher laws). All this was carefully organized to make it easier to find and deal with.
When the Torah is written, it is done by a trained scribe (Sopher) according to careful regulations. If one mistake is made, the whole scroll is discarded, usually buried.
Supposedly, Rashi is my ancestor and that of others as well. He was a French rabbinical scholar who studied in the Rhineland and then returned to Troyes, France where he had a school. While he earned his living from his vineyard, he taught his students and gained a wide reputation for his brilliance. He was famous for his rational commentary on the Tanakh and the Babylonian Talmud. He was known for presenting the direct rational meaning of the text. He brought in the Midrash to his students as well.
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| Lilith and Eve |
These were scholars of higher learning. They dedicated their lives to understanding our laws which were given to benefit us in our lives.
Resource: The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
Labels: Abraham ibn Ezra, academies, gemara, Mishnah, oral law, Pharisees, Rashi, Sadducees, sopher, Talmud, Tanach, Torah
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Goldfoot-Goldfus Possible Connections: Rashi? Gaon of Vilna?
Nadene Goldfoot
Rashi: Jewish commentator on Bible
My 3rd cousin, Stanley Goldfoot of South Africa made aliyah to Jerusalem and became the Chief of Intelligence for the Stern Group. He told me when I finally met him in Jerusalem that he was told we were connected to the Vilna Gaon. This is possible because the Goldfoot family, originally Goldfus, were from Telsiai, Kaunas, Lithuania and this was not too far from Vilna.
Chaim Freedman is the author of Eliyahu's Branches. This is a book listing the descendants of the Vilna Gaon and his family and is usually found in the reference section of a Jewish library. In the Index is listed: Gold, Goldberg, Goldfaden, Goldfarb, Goldfeder, Goldfield, Goldin, Golding, Goldman, Goldner, Goldring, Goldschmidt, Goldsmidt, Goldsmith, Goldsmitt, Goldstandt, Goldstin, Goldsteinas, Goldzweig, but NO GOLDFOOT!
However, the connection could be the surrname of Halpern. We have one match with a Halpern at familytreedna and the name of Khaya Halpern, married to Akivah Pines is in the book for the Vilna Gaon. Halpern people are also connected to Rashi.
The Vilna Gaon's name was Elijah Ben Solomon Zalman. He was born on April 23, 1720 and died on October 9, 1797. In England or the USA, this would not be a hard job to trace back and have a family tree. People in England have trees and the necessary information to go back to the 1500's. For us Jews, this is a much harder job as so many places had been burned down from the wars that would have had papers showing census and tax information.
The Vilna Gaon was a Talmudist born in Lithuania and was famous at an early age for his scholarship. From 1740 to 1745 he traveled among the Jewish communities of Poland and Germany, settling in Vilna where he taught and later founded his own academy.
His reputation was that of a saint as well as a scholar. He refused rabbinic office and lived in seclusion. He led the opposition to the Hasidim in Lithuania and he was able to check the spread of Hasidism in Lithuania. He was well known for his skill in the field of halakhah. He sought to establish critical texts of the authoritative rabbinic writings, resorting also to emendations. He avoided pilpul and based his views and rulings upon the plain meaning of the text. He regarded the early kabbalistic works highly and was very critical of philosophy. He was interested in secular studies insofar as they threw light on the Torah, but opposed the Haskalah. He wrote commentaries on the Bible, and annotations on the Talmud, Midrash and Zohar. He even wrote about works on mathematics, the geography of Palestine, and Hebrew grammar.
When he was about 60 years old, he set out alone for Palestine but returned before reaching there. Elijah influenced his own generations and those that followed. This leader of the Mitnaggedim regarded him as their spiritual leader.
There is also the possibility that we are connected to Rashi, which is the anacronym for R. Solomon Yitzhaki or ben Isaac who was born in 1040 and died in 1105 in France. He was a rabbinical scholar who studied first in the Rhineland. He then returned to his native Troyes, France and his school achieved a wide reputation. This scholar earned a livelihood from his vineyard.
This possibility is addressed after taking an autosomal DNA test through 23&Me and FamilyTreeDNA's familyfinder test which matched up with the Halpern family who have found that they are descendants of Rashi.
Many halakhic queries were addressed to Rashi and his decision have been preserved in the works of his pupils. He also composed penitential hymns. His chief contribution was his lucid commentary on the Bible and the Babylonian Talmud. His thoughts on the Pentateuch in the Bible became universally popular and his notes on the Babylonian Talmud were responsible for making that work an open book. His style was simple but concise. His commentary on the entire Talmud made some outstanding contributions. Students today who study the Jewish religion in a Yeshiva will be studying Rashi's comments.
From Rashi we also have the "Rashi Script" which was a semi cursive form of writing Hebrew letters that was used for writing and printing rabbinical commentaries.
Rashi's commentries served as the basis for later scholars such as Nahmanides and Ibn Ezra in their interpretation of the Pentateuch.
Rashi: Jewish commentator on Bible
My 3rd cousin, Stanley Goldfoot of South Africa made aliyah to Jerusalem and became the Chief of Intelligence for the Stern Group. He told me when I finally met him in Jerusalem that he was told we were connected to the Vilna Gaon. This is possible because the Goldfoot family, originally Goldfus, were from Telsiai, Kaunas, Lithuania and this was not too far from Vilna.
Chaim Freedman is the author of Eliyahu's Branches. This is a book listing the descendants of the Vilna Gaon and his family and is usually found in the reference section of a Jewish library. In the Index is listed: Gold, Goldberg, Goldfaden, Goldfarb, Goldfeder, Goldfield, Goldin, Golding, Goldman, Goldner, Goldring, Goldschmidt, Goldsmidt, Goldsmith, Goldsmitt, Goldstandt, Goldstin, Goldsteinas, Goldzweig, but NO GOLDFOOT!
However, the connection could be the surrname of Halpern. We have one match with a Halpern at familytreedna and the name of Khaya Halpern, married to Akivah Pines is in the book for the Vilna Gaon. Halpern people are also connected to Rashi.
The Vilna Gaon's name was Elijah Ben Solomon Zalman. He was born on April 23, 1720 and died on October 9, 1797. In England or the USA, this would not be a hard job to trace back and have a family tree. People in England have trees and the necessary information to go back to the 1500's. For us Jews, this is a much harder job as so many places had been burned down from the wars that would have had papers showing census and tax information.
The Vilna Gaon was a Talmudist born in Lithuania and was famous at an early age for his scholarship. From 1740 to 1745 he traveled among the Jewish communities of Poland and Germany, settling in Vilna where he taught and later founded his own academy.
His reputation was that of a saint as well as a scholar. He refused rabbinic office and lived in seclusion. He led the opposition to the Hasidim in Lithuania and he was able to check the spread of Hasidism in Lithuania. He was well known for his skill in the field of halakhah. He sought to establish critical texts of the authoritative rabbinic writings, resorting also to emendations. He avoided pilpul and based his views and rulings upon the plain meaning of the text. He regarded the early kabbalistic works highly and was very critical of philosophy. He was interested in secular studies insofar as they threw light on the Torah, but opposed the Haskalah. He wrote commentaries on the Bible, and annotations on the Talmud, Midrash and Zohar. He even wrote about works on mathematics, the geography of Palestine, and Hebrew grammar.
When he was about 60 years old, he set out alone for Palestine but returned before reaching there. Elijah influenced his own generations and those that followed. This leader of the Mitnaggedim regarded him as their spiritual leader.
There is also the possibility that we are connected to Rashi, which is the anacronym for R. Solomon Yitzhaki or ben Isaac who was born in 1040 and died in 1105 in France. He was a rabbinical scholar who studied first in the Rhineland. He then returned to his native Troyes, France and his school achieved a wide reputation. This scholar earned a livelihood from his vineyard.
This possibility is addressed after taking an autosomal DNA test through 23&Me and FamilyTreeDNA's familyfinder test which matched up with the Halpern family who have found that they are descendants of Rashi.
Many halakhic queries were addressed to Rashi and his decision have been preserved in the works of his pupils. He also composed penitential hymns. His chief contribution was his lucid commentary on the Bible and the Babylonian Talmud. His thoughts on the Pentateuch in the Bible became universally popular and his notes on the Babylonian Talmud were responsible for making that work an open book. His style was simple but concise. His commentary on the entire Talmud made some outstanding contributions. Students today who study the Jewish religion in a Yeshiva will be studying Rashi's comments.
From Rashi we also have the "Rashi Script" which was a semi cursive form of writing Hebrew letters that was used for writing and printing rabbinical commentaries.
Rashi's commentries served as the basis for later scholars such as Nahmanides and Ibn Ezra in their interpretation of the Pentateuch.
Labels: Bible, France, genealogy, Goldfoot, Goldfus, Lithuania, Rashi, Talmud, Torah, Vilna Gaon
