Angst is the
German word for 'anxiety' or 'dread', used by the philosophers of
existentialism—notably the Danish theologian S0ren Kierkegaard in Begrebet
Angst (The Concept of Dread, 1844)—to denote a state of anguish that we feel as
we are confronted by the burden of our freedom and the accompanying
responsibility to impose values and meanings on an absurd universe.
01599--Angry Young Men
Angry Young
Men is a term applied by journalists in the 1950s to the authors and protagonists
of some contemporary novels and plays that seemed to sound a note of protest or
resentment against the values of the British middle class. The most striking
example of the angry young man was Jimmy Porter, the ranting protagonist of
John Osborne's play Look Back in Anger (1956).
01598--anatomy
Anatomy is a
written analysis of some subject, which purports to be thorough and
comprehensive. The famous model for this literary form is Robert Burton's
Anatomy of Melancholy (1621). The Canadian critic Northrop Frye, in Anatomy of
Criticism (1957), discusses the anatomy as an important category of fiction
similar to the Menippean satire.
01597--anaphora
Anaphora
remork a rhetorical figure of repetition in which the same word or
phrase is repeated in (and usually at the beginning of) successive lines,
clauses, or sentences. Found very often in both verse and prose, it was a
device favoured by Dickens and used frequently in the free verse of Walt
Whitman. These lines by Emily Dickinson illustrate the device:
Mine—by the
Right of the White Election! Mine—by the Royal Seal! Mine—by the Sign in the
Scarlet prison Bars—cannot conceal
01596--anapaest
Anapaest (US
anapest) is a metrical foot made up of two unstressed syllables
followed by a stressed syllable, as in the word 'interrupt' (or, in quantitative
verse, two short syllables followed by a long one). Originally a Greek marching
beat, adopted by some Greek and Roman dramatists, the rising rhythm of
anapaestic (or anapestic) verse has sometimes been used by poets in English to
echo energetic movement, notably in Robert Browning's 'How they Brought the
Good News from Ghent to Aix' (1845):
Not a word
to each other; we kept the great pace Neck by neck, stride by stride, never
changing our place.
01595--analogy
Analogy is the illustration of an idea by means of a more familiar idea that is similar or
parallel to it in some significant features, and thus said to be analogous to
it. Analogies are often presented in the form of an extended similie, as in
Blake's aphorism: 'As the caterpillar chooses the fairest
leaves to lay her eggs on, so the priest lays his curse on the fairest joys.'
In literary history, an analogue is another story or plot which is parallel or
similar in some way to the story under discussion. Verb: analogize.
01594--Wise, Isaac Mayer
Wise, Isaac Mayer (1819–1900). The father of American Reform
Judaism. He arrived from Germany in 1846 and went on to found the Union of
American Hebrew Congregations (renamed Union of Reform Judaism in 2003), Hebrew
Union College, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis. He was the editor
of the Jewish newspaper The Israelite (later named The American Israelite) and
the German-Jewish newspaper Die Deborah. Wise was not a radical reformer,
though he did introduce mixed seating and rejected the use of traditional head
coverings and prayer shawls for men in the Temple. Yochanan ben Zakkai was one
of the leading sages at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple (70
C.E.). According to Rabbinic lore, he was spirited out of Jerusalem in the
final stages of the Roman siege. He secured permission from Rome to establish
what became the seed of Rabbinic Judaism at Yavneh.
Courtesy: Professor Shai Cherry
01593--Tzvi, Shabbatai
Tzvi, Shabbatai (1626–1676). A charismatic leader who proclaimed
himself messiah in 1665. Although there were other false messiahs in Jewish
history, Shabbatai Tzvi was the most popular. Some of his followers remained
convinced of his messianic status even after he converted to Islam, under the
threat of death by the Turkish sultan, in 1666. Shabbatai Tzvi’s teachings
combined elements of Jewish mysticism, the call to penance, and violations of
halachah. The dashed messianic hopes placed on Shabbatai Tzvi precipitated
skepticism toward messianism as well as Kabbalah.
Courtesy: Professor Shai Cherry
01592--Soloveitchik, Joseph Dov
Soloveitchik, Joseph Dov (1903–1993). Born in Lithuania into the
Brisk Rabbinic dynasty. A child prodigy, Soloveitchik went to Germany to
receive a Ph.D. in religious philosophy. On immigrating to the United States,
he taught Talmud for decades at Yeshiva University in New York City and founded
the Orthodox day school Maimonides, outside of Boston. He was arguably the
leading Torah figure in the United States in the second half of the 20th
century. Rav Soloveitchik combined profound Torah knowledge and secular
erudition. Thousands of his students refer to him simply as “the Rav” or “the
Teacher.” Halachic Man is a prime example of his dialectical thought.
Courtesy: Professor Shai Cherry
01591--Sofer, Moses
Sofer, Moses (1762–1839). Also known as the Hatam Sofer. He served
a community in Hungary and was the most important traditional Jewish scholar in
central Europe for the first four decades of the 19th century. Although more
flexible in practice, Sofer expressed scorn for the Reform movement and its
adherents. He promoted the notion that any innovation was forbidden and that
Jews should be particularly careful to retain cultural aspects of their
identity, including traditional names, the use of Yiddish, and distinctive
garb. Sofer became the figurehead for later generations of Jews who became
known as Ultra-Orthodox and are particularly incensed by the acculturation of
the Modern Orthodox.
Courtesy: Professor Shai Cherry
01590--Schneersohn, Menachem Mendel
Schneersohn, Menachem Mendel (1904–1994).
The latest messianic figure in Judaism. Rebbe Schneersohn
lead the Lubavitch movement (HaBaD) in America for decades following World War
II and oversaw its impressive growth in ranks and Jewish outreach activity. In
the early 1990s, there was intense speculation in the Lubavitch community about
the messianic status of the Rebbe, which Schneersohn himself did nothing to
quiet. When he died, the Lubavitch movement was split between those who
maintain that he was/is the messiah and those who do not. Schneersohn, having
no sons, left the Lubavitch community without an heir apparent. Shimon son of
Yochai, Rabbi (c. 2nd century C.E.) was one of the leading students of Rabbi
Akiva. After Akiva’s death, he fled to Babylonia. He is the reputed author of
the Zohar, the major text of medieval Kabbalah. His yahrtzeit (“anniversary of
death”) is celebrated on LaG b’Omer by thousands making pilgrimage to his
reputed gravesite on Mount Meron in northern Israel.
Courtesy: Professor Shai Cherry
01589--Schachter-Shalomi, Zalman
Schachter-Shalomi, Zalman (b. 1924). Born in Poland, educated in
Vienna, and escaped the Nazis in 1941 by immigrating to the United States.
Although ordained as a rabbi with the Chassidic sect HaBaD, Schachter-Shalomi
fell away from the movement and received his Ph.D. from the Reform seminary
Hebrew Union College. SchachterShalomi, since the 1960s, has been a leader in
the Jewish Renewal movement. He combines a thoroughly traditional education
with a modern outlook on religion. He emphasizes the importance of ecology, as
well as promoting a personal relationship with God through joyous prayer, song,
and dance.
Courtesy: Professor Shai Cherry
01588--RaSHI, Rabbi Shlomo son of Isaac
RaSHI, Rabbi Shlomo son of Isaac (1040–1105).
Born in Troyes, France, and is most well known for his
running commentary on the Talmud and TaNaKH. In his commentary on the TaNaKH,
he usually selected and condensed earlier Rabbinic understandings of the text.
His commentary was the first published Jewish work, even before the TaNaKH
itself. His commentary is studied along with the TaNaKH in traditional
communities down to today.
Courtesy: Professor Shai Cherry
01587--Nachmanides, Moses
Nachmanides, Moses (1194–1270). Also known as RaMBaN (Rabbi Moses
ben Nachman); lived in Gerona, Spain, north of Barcelona, and died in the Land
of Israel. RaMBaN is the earliest biblical commentator to include Kabbalistic
hints. Like RaMBaM, with whom he frequently disagreed, RaMBaN was a doctor. He
was also a Talmudist and leader of the Jewish community. He represented the
Jews in disputations with the Christian community in 1263, his account of which
has been dramatized in The Disputation, a BBC production. Shortly after his
participation in the disputation, he left for the Land of Israel.
Courtesy: Professor Shai Cherry
01586--Maimonides, Moses
Maimonides, Moses (1138–1204). Also known as RaMBaM (Rabbi Moses
ben Maimon); born in Spain and lived in Egypt. Maimonides was a doctor to the
sultan and for the Jewish community of Fostat, Old Cairo. His two greatest
works are the Mishneh Torah (1180), a comprehensive summation of Rabbinic law,
and the Guide of the Perplexed (1190), a text that brings together Rabbinic
Judaism and Aristotelian philosophy. Maimonides was a controversial writer, and
the true meaning of his Guide is still hotly debated. Maimonides’s influence on
both the development of halachah and Jewish philosophy cannot be overestimated.
Although it is possible to disagree with the RaMBaM, one cannot ignore him.
Courtesy: Professor Shai Cherry