Introduction to The Hebraic biography of Y'shua

Hebrew
/Aramaic

Greek

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Rabbi Akiba
ben Joseph

Approximately A.D. 15-135. A poor, semi-literate shepherd, he became one of Judaism's

greatest scholars. He developed the exegetical method of the Mishnah, linking each

traditional practice to a basis in the biblical text, and systematised the material that later

became the Mishnah. Rabbi Akiba was active in the Bar Kokhba rebellion against Rome.

He believed that Bar Kokhba was the Moshiach (messiah), though some other rabbis

openly ridiculed him for that belief (the Talmud records another rabbi as saying, "Akiba,

grass will grow in your cheeks and still the son of David will not have come‖.) When the

Bar Kokhba rebellion failed, Rabbi Akiba was taken by the Roman authorities and

tortured to death.

Rabbi Judah
Ha-Nasi

Approximately A.D. 135-219. The Patriarch of the Jewish community, Rabbi Judah Ha-

Nasi was well-educated in Greek thought as well as Jewish thought. He organised and

compiled the Mishnah, building upon Rabbi Akiba's work.

Rabbi
Nachman of
Breslov

A.D. 1772-1810. The great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov Rabbi Nachman of Breslov

(sometimes called Bratzlav, Breslau or Bratislava) was the founder of the Breslover

Chasidic sect. Breslov is a town in the Ukraine where Rabbi Nachman spent the end of

his life, but some say the name Breslov comes from the Hebrew bris lev, meaning

"covenant of the heart‖. He emphasised living life with joy and happiness. One of his

best-known sayings is, "It is a great mitzvah to be happy‖. Collections of his Chasidic

tales (or tales attributed to him) are widely available in print. Do not confuse Rabbi

Nachman with Ramban.

Rabbi
Yochanan
ben Zakkai

He was the youngest and most distinguished disciple of Rabbi Hillel (see above). He has

been called the "father of wisdom and the father of generations (of scholars)" because

he ensured the continuation of Jewish scholarship after Jerusalem fell to Rome in A.D.

70. According to tradition, ben Zakkai was a pacifist in Jerusalem in A.D. 68, when the
    city was under siege by General Vespasian. Jerusalem was controlled by the Zealots,
    people who would rather die than surrender to Rome (these are the same people who
    controlled Masada). Ben Zakkai urged surrender, but the Zealots would not hear of it; so
    ben Zakkai faked his own death and had his disciples smuggle him out of Jerusalem in a
    coffin. They carried the coffin to Vespasian's tent, where ben Zakkai emerged from the
    coffin. He told Vespasian that he had had a vision (some would say a shrewd political
    insight) that Vespasian would soon be emperor, and he asked Vespasian to set aside a
    place in Yavneh (near modern Rehovot) where he could move his yeshivah (school) and
    study Torah in peace. Vespasian promised that if the prophesy came true, he would
    grant ben Zakkai's request. Vespasian became Emperor and kept his word, allowing the
    school to be established after the war was over. The yeshiva survived and was a center
    of Jewish learning for centuries.

Raca The expression is probably of Aramaic origin and one which reflects on the intelligence
of the one so called. It could mean something like ̳blockhead‘ or ̳empty-head‘. In our
idiom, it might be expressed as ̳idiot‘, ̳stupid‘, ̳lame brain‘, or some similar expression.

Rachatzah The hand washing ceremony.

Rambam Maimonides; Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon. A.D. 1135-1204. A physician born in Moorish
Cordoba, Rambam lived in a variety of places throughout the Moorish lands of Spain, the
Middle East and North Africa, often fleeing persecution. He was a leader of the Jewish
community in Cairo. He was heavily influenced by Greek thought, particularly that of
Aristotle. Rambam was the author of the Mishneh Torah, one of the greatest codes of
Jewish law, compiling every conceivable topic of Jewish law in subject matter order and
providing a simple statement of the prevailing view in plain language. In his own time, he
was widely condemned because he claimed that the Mishneh Torah was a substitute for
studying the Talmud.
Rambam is also responsible for several important theological works. He developed the
13 Principles of Faith, the most widely accepted list of Jewish beliefs. He also wrote the
Guide for the Perplexed, a discussion of difficult theological concepts written from the
perspective of an Aristotelian philosopher.