The historical-figures tag has no wiki summary.
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R' Yehoshua Ben Levi — A Tanna or an Amorah?
I had always assumed that R' Yehoshua Ben Levi was an Amorah. However, we know he is quoted in the mishnah in Avos (Perek 6 Mishnah 2. Which is really a braisa, not a mishnah, but still a Tannaic ...
7
votes
2answers
123 views
Who was Yehoshua Bin Nun's father?
Who was Yehoshua Bin Nun's father? Obviously his name was "Nun". Who was he exactly? What do we know about him (and from what sources)?
1
vote
1answer
31 views
Teacher and tradition of R' Judah ben Meir HaKohen
Who was the teacher of R' Judah ben Meir HaKohen, and from which chain of tradition does he derive? I ask because I cannot find much information about him online, other than many references to his ...
1
vote
1answer
98 views
Rabbeinu Asher ben Yeḥiel's nickname(s)
Rabbi Asher ben Yeḥiel, is usually called "Rabbeinu Asher" or "The רא"ש" (pronounced by most Israelis as "Rosh"; often in North America it is pronounced like the English word "rush"*). However, today ...
4
votes
0answers
175 views
Naming after the Patriarchs/Matriarchs and Biblical heroes
Nowadays it is very common for Jews to name their children after the Patriarchs, Matriarchs, and Biblical heroes.
But it doesn't seem (to me) as though this was very common until well into the period ...
5
votes
1answer
58 views
Was Ruth beautiful?
The Tanach seems to make a big deal out of the beauty of certain women, including Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Esther, but no mention of is made regarding Ruth's appearance. This seems particularly odd ...
11
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1answer
161 views
Understanding “The Bruriah Incident”
Masecheth 'Avodah Zarah (18b) cryptically mentions "מעשה דברוריה" - "The Beruriah Incident" - as a reason R' Meir fled to Bavel. Rashi (ad loc) explains that R' Meir was teasing his wife (the noted ...
0
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2answers
87 views
Who was the first person to be referred to by acronym? [duplicate]
Rashi, Rambam, the Maharal, the Rosh, the Rema, etc. are all usually referred to by their acronyms. This custom makes sense in a culture that is mostly transmitted through the written word where ink ...
9
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2answers
120 views
Looking for information on the Savoraim
I am looking for more information on the Savoraim such as a list of who they were, what they wrote outside of comments/amendments in the talmud, meaning do they have responsa, ethical or halachik ...
6
votes
1answer
40 views
Do Chazal discuss Mishael and Eltzaphan
Do chazal provide any information on מִישָׁאֵל and אֶלְצָפָן the levite cousins of Aron and Moshe who removed Nadav and Avihu from the mishkan (Vayikra 10:4)? I'm looking for any sources that discuss ...
5
votes
1answer
132 views
What attitudes toward Jesus are acceptable for a Jew?
What attitudes toward Jesus are acceptable for a Jew? I understand that idolatry, or embracing the mainstream Christian perception of Jesus as divine, is absolutely out of the question. Furthermore, ...
2
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0answers
41 views
What happened to Balak?
What ever happened to Balak after the Bil'am affair? Bil'am is referred to often as Bil'am HaRasha' (the wicked), and he is blamed for the entire encounter as well as the Ba'al Pe'or incident. But ...
1
vote
3answers
147 views
Did Mordechai have children?
Megillas Esther ends by saying: וְדֹבֵר שָׁלוֹם לְכָל־זַרְעוֹ - and speaking peace to all his seed.
I realize Rashi applies this to the previous clause, of all the nation, but perhaps there are ...
5
votes
5answers
424 views
Mordechai - Religious Leader or Political figure?
I'm looking to gather some more background, context, sources and opinions, regarding Mordechai's religiousness, or lack thereof.
This was the topic of a recent comment thread on Was Darius ...
4
votes
3answers
158 views
Is Absalom considered a “ben sorrer umoreh”?
Is Absalom considered a ben sorrer umoreh (devarim 21:18, bal haturim) for his rebellion? I thought there where never any cases of ben sorrer umoreh.
8
votes
1answer
186 views
Eldad HaDani's Lasting Influence - Is there any?
Eldad HaDani is (apparently) considered today to have been a fraud. According to this Wikipedia article, he was a traveler who told stories of his place of origin, which he claimed was a sovereign ...
5
votes
2answers
127 views
Was Rav Hai Gaon a kabbalist?
In a recent conversation a friend indicated that Rav Hai Gaon was a well known kabbalist, while another friend pointed to his teshuva [teshuvas ha'geonim 115] to indicate that he was not [and ...
4
votes
1answer
76 views
What became of Moshe's sons and their descendants?
After Yisro brings Tzipora and Moshe's sons back to him at Exodus 18:2-5, they are not mentioned by name again in the Torah. Divrei Hayamim (Chronicles I 23:14 et seq.) lists their male descendants ...
1
vote
1answer
47 views
Was Pinchas born in Egypt?
I'm a little confused about the chronology of the Biblical giants Caleb and Pinchas. Caleb appears to have been part of the Exodus generation, and with Joshua, their defense of the Land of Israel ...
4
votes
6answers
219 views
Which Biblical and Talmudic personalities visited Heaven and returned to earth?
In the Haftorah to Parashas Yisro, Isaiah 6:1 - 7:6, we read of Isaiah's prophetic vision where he visited Heaven. What Biblical and Talmudic personalities are said to have visited heaven and ...
5
votes
2answers
113 views
Did Shlomo Molcho actually declare himself a messiah?
I know this is widely claimed, but is there a historical source that can confirm that Shlomo Molcho considered himself a messiah (as opposed to merely predicting a keitz and generating a messianic ...
2
votes
1answer
87 views
Who was the strongest person in Tanach?
I found, lying in a local synagogue's bes midrash room, a card that looks as though it came from a children's Judaism-trivia game. It had four questions on it, and, on the reverse side, their answers. ...
1
vote
1answer
147 views
What is the biography of Rav Yitzchak Meir Morgenstern?
Rav Yitzchak Meir Morgenstern is the Rosh Yeshiva of Toras Chochom in Israel. What is his background and biography? Meaning, where did he grow up, which yeshivot did he learn at and under whom (I know ...
11
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2answers
170 views
Is there a chief Rabbi of the United States?
Is there currently or has there ever been historically a chief Rabbi of the United States? If not, why not?
3
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3answers
261 views
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1answer
162 views
How many prophets were there and who were they?
How many prophets are recognized by Judaism, and what were their names?
I found a website that claims the number of prophets is 124000. Is this true?
Are all of their speeches or writings ...
13
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4answers
404 views
Was Darius Jewish?
Darius the Second (the son of Queen Ester and Achashveirosh) was at first glance Jewish, as he was the son of a Jew. On the other hand,the Gemara Rosh Hashana implies that he wasn't Jewish.
What was ...
10
votes
3answers
346 views
Does anyone in Tanach ever get divorced?
Does anyone in Tanach ever get divorced? Not merely separated but fully divorced.
4
votes
1answer
161 views
Was Pharoh's daughter named Basya or Bisya?
Was Pharoh's daughter named Basya or Bisya? Sources please!
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0answers
70 views
Where can I find family history of Shalom Shachna Altshuler? [closed]
I'm looking for history about Shalom Shachna Altshuler, the father of the tzemach tzedek (Menachem Mendel Schneerson), and his family afterwards till now.
Your help would be greatly appreciated in ...
5
votes
3answers
123 views
List of people in Tanach
Can I find anywhere a comprehensive list of every single person that is mentioned in Tanach. Including somewhat "biographical" information, who they were, family, what they did, how they fit into ...
8
votes
1answer
59 views
What is the genealogy of Judah ben Bava?
Is Judah ben Bava, noted for continuing the tradition of ordination, the son of Bava ben Buta, the Rabbi who was spared by Herod?
2
votes
1answer
153 views
Who was R' Avin Nagara
The Gemara (Bab. Shab. 23b) relates a story about one R' Avin Nagara ("The Carpenter").
Was he a Rabbi? Or was this merely an honorary title given to him because of his great children (as related in ...
5
votes
1answer
120 views
Ben Drosai - what was his Zechus?
Gemara Shabbos 20a and in other locations mentions
כמאכל
בן דרוסאי
Rashi explains that Ben Drosai was a thief who ate his food when it was only cooked 1/3. Did Ben Drosai have some sort of Zechus ...
1
vote
3answers
134 views
Has a gadol be'Torah ever drastically changed his type of avodas Hashem?
I know that my question is a bit broad and maybe abstract but I'm not sure how to phrase it better. I'm looking for any change in avodah. It can be a change in which group of Jews he associated with ...
13
votes
3answers
298 views
Why doesn't Tefilat Geshem have a verse referring to Miriam?
The "Tefilat Geshem" ("Prayer for Rain") recited on Shemini 'Atzeret contains six verses. Each verse refers to a different person (except the last, which refers to a nation) and makes various ...
3
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2answers
51 views
Are there any ma'amrei chazal on תּוֹלָע בֶּן-פּוּאָה?
תּוֹלָע בֶּן-פּוּאָה was the shofet from Yissachar (Shoftim 10:1-2). I have not been able to find any information on him anywhere. Do chazal or any later commentators mention anything about him?
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0answers
45 views
Identity of the Reish Gelutha
There seems to be an accepted list of who served as Reish Gelutha. Is it possible to deduce who was Reish Gelutha in any or all references in stories involving the office holder in the Gemara?
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0answers
68 views
Landau at Rabbi Kluger Yeshiva [closed]
Am trying to determine any involvement the "Landau" family may have had with the Rabbi Kluger Yeshiva in the early 20's. Any information would be appreciated.
2
votes
0answers
47 views
Who were the pre-Lekh Likha righteous men?
BS"D
In Hilkhoth Avodhah Zarah RaMBaM lists the central figures in the transmission of ethical monotheism, and I was wondering if there were any other figures in our mesora not mentioned. Since the ...
7
votes
2answers
161 views
What historical figures have been identified as 'Amalek?
Adolf Hitler is often said to have been 'Amalek. I've heard it said not only figuratively but literally (how one could know that is a mystery to me).
What other historical figures are associated with ...
5
votes
0answers
88 views
What is the lineage of Yona ben Amitai?
The gemarah (Yerushalmi succa 5:1) and midrash (yalkut shimoni Yona, remez 550) indicate that the prophet Yona ben Amitai descended from Zevulun (father) and Asher (mother). However other sources ...
10
votes
3answers
155 views
Jarchi = Rashi?
Is Rabbi Solomon Jarchi the same as Rashi? I saw Jarchi on the Internet on a Google search awhile ago, that it was Salomo son of Isaac, a French Biblical commentator and was wondering if it was the ...
4
votes
1answer
92 views
6
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2answers
121 views
Changing someone else's name
In parshas Shlach Moshe changes Yehoshua's name.
Does this mean his name really changed? IE was he called up to the torah as Yehoshua? Were his kids "ben Yehoshua"?
Are there any other examples in ...
4
votes
1answer
64 views
Is Pinchas of Balak/Pinchas same Pinchas as Shoftim?
Is the Pinchas from the generation that left Egypt the same as the Pinchas mentioned in Shoftim 20?
Pinchas's zealotry earns him an eternal priesthood because of going above the letter of the law ...
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votes
3answers
185 views
Bimei Matisyahu ben Yochanan Kohen Godol
In "Al Hanisim" we say "Bimei Matisyahu ben Yochanan Kohen Godol", "in the days of Matisyahu the son of Yochanan the Kohen Gadol (=high priest)".
Who was the Kohen Godol: Matisyahu or Yochnan?
3
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1answer
109 views
6
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1answer
8k views
How many children did King Solomon have?
King Solomon [1 Kings 11 (4)] “had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines;”
How many children did he have? Three. The question is referred to at ...
10
votes
2answers
185 views
Could someone who has committed a heinous crime convert to Judaism?
Is there any reason that someone who has committed horrible sins in the past (for example, mass murder) could not become a Jew? Assume, of course, that the sinner/criminal is willing to do teshuvah ...
