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NAHUM ELIEZER BEN JACOB – Rabbi of the second half of the seventeenth and the first half of the eighteenth century; born about 1660; diedabout 1746; pupil of R. Jacob Striemer. He was one of the leading rabbis of his time, and held the rabbinate of...
NAHUM OF GIMZO – Tanna of the second generation (first century). In the Talmud (Ta'an. 21a; Yer. Sheḳ. v. 15) he is called "ish gam zu" (the man of "gam zu"); and this name is explained as referring to Nahum's motto. It is said that on every...
NAHUM THE MEDE – Tanna of the first generation (first century); lived in Jerusalem. According to R. Nathan, he was one of the three most renowned "dayyane gezelot" (criminal judges) in Jerusalem (Ket. 105a; Yer. Ket. xiii. 1; Frankel, "Darke...
NAHUM, MENAHEM, OF CHERNOBYL – asidic leader in the last part of the eighteenth century. He was a pupil of Baer of Meseritz, by whom he was sent to Galicia to disseminate the teachings of Ḥasidism. In 1772, when Ḥasidism was endangered by the death of Baer of...
NAHUM BEN SIMAI – Palestinian amora of the third century; a son of the tanna Simai. He is cited as "Menahem" in Pes. 104a and in M. Ḳ. 25b. Nahum was called "the most holy man" (Yer. Meg. i. 72b; Yer. 'Ab. Zarah iii. 42c) and "the son of the...
NAHUM B. UZZIEL KAPLAN (Reb Nahum Grodner) – Preacher and philanthropist; born 1811; died at Grodno Oct. 25, 1879. Though he was a great Talmudist, he preferred to hold the humble position of "shammash" (sexton) in the synagogue Ḥebrah Shas and to pass his life in poverty....
NAIL – 1. The finger nail. In Hebrew the corresponding word occurs only in the plural, (Deut. xxi. 12), the singular of which denotes the point of a stylus (Jer. xvii. 1). In the passage in question occurs in connection with the verb...
NAIOTH – Place in which David and Samuel took refuge when the former was pursued by Saul (I Sam. xix. 18 et seq., xx. 1). The meaning of the name as well as the nature of the place is doubtful: the "ketib" is , of disputed vocalization;...
NAJARA (NAJAR, NIJAR, NAGAR, NAGARA) – Oriental Jewish family, originally from Najera, a Spanish city of Navarre, on the River Najerilla. In the history of rabbinical literature Najaras are found at Algiers, Tunis, Damascus, Gaza, etc.David Najar: Rabbinical writer...
NAJERA, NAGERA – City in Spain, situated between Logroño and Burgos. In the tenth century it had a prosperous Jewish community. In the fuero, or municipal privileges, conferred upon the city by Don Sancho el Mayor, and confirmed by Alfonso VI....
NAḲDANIM – Punctuators or Masoretic annotators; the successors of the Masorites proper. Their activity consisted in collecting and conserving Masoretic material, revising the consonantal text produced by professional scribes, and...
NAMES (PERSONAL) – The conferring of a name upon a person was in early Biblical times generally connected with some circumstance of birth; several of Jacob's sons are recorded as having received their names in this manner (Gen. xxx.). Generally,...
NAMES OF GOD – Biblical Data: Like other Hebrew proper names, the name of God is more than a mere distinguishing title. It represents the Hebrew conception of the divine nature or character and of the relation of God to His people. It...
NANCY – Chief town of the department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, France, and the ancient capital of Lorraine; seat of a consistory whose district comprises 4,500 souls. When Jews first settled there is unknown; but they were expelled toward...
NANTES – Chief town of the department of the Loire-Inférieure, France. According to Camille Mellinet ("La Commune et la Milice de Nantes," i. 37), there were Jews in Nantes in the tenth century. Other historians, however, date the first...
NAOMI – Wife of Elimelech and mother-in-law of Ruth. Naomi accompanied her husband and two sons into the land of Moab; but after the death of her husband and sons she returned to Bethlehem with her daughter-in-law Ruth, whom she vainly...
NAPHTALI – Second son of Jacob and Bilhah, and younger full brother of Dan. According to Gen. xxx. 8, the name means "my wrestling," and has reference to the jealous rivalry of the sisters Rachel and Leah. According to Gen. xlvi. 24, he...
NAPHTALI, TRIBE OF – According to the two enumerations of the Israelites given in the Book of Numbers (i.-iii., xxvi.), the adult males of Naphtali, when at Sinai, numbered 53,400. In the march from Sinai the place of Naphtali was with Dan and Asher...
NAPHTALI BEN DAVID – Hebrew author; born at Witzenhausen, Germany; lived in Amsterdam at the beginning of the eighteenth century. He belonged to the family of R. Moses Isserles. Naphtali was a distinguished Talmudical scholar and enjoyed great fame...
NAPHTALI HIRZ BEN ISSACHAR – See Wessely.
NAPHTALI HERZ BEN JACOB ELHANAN – German cabalist; born at Frankfort-on-the-Main in the second half of the sixteenth century. He lived in Palestine and was a disciple of Isaac Luria. He was the author of: "'Emeḳ ha-Melek," an introduction to the Cabala and a...
NAPHTALI HERZ BEN ẒEBI HIRSCH HALBERSTADT – Rabbi at Dubno, Russia, in the eighteenth century. Responsa of his in regard to the Cleve divorce case are found in Israel Lipschütz's collection "Or Israel" (1770). In the same collection are some responsa by his brother...
NAPHTALI HIRSCH BEN MENAHEM – President of the community of Lemberg in the sixteenth century. He was the author of "Perush ha-Millot," explanations of difficult words in the Midrash Rabbah (Cracow, 1569).Bibliography: Benjacob, Oẓar ha-Sefarim, p. 468, Nos....
NAPHTALI HIRZ BEN JACOB GOSLAR – German rabbi and philosopher of the eighteenth century. After acting as dayyan at Halberstadt for some time, he settled at Amsterdam, where he began the study of philosophy. He wrote "Merome Sadeh," novellæ on the Talmud...
NAPHTALI HIRZ TREVES – See Treves.

NAHUM ELIEZER BEN JACOB – Rabbi of the second half of the seventeenth and the first half of the eighteenth century; born about 1660; diedabout 1746; pupil of R. Jacob Striemer. He was one of the leading rabbis of his time, and held the rabbinate of...

NAHUM OF GIMZO – Tanna of the second generation (first century). In the Talmud (Ta'an. 21a; Yer. Sheḳ. v. 15) he is called "ish gam zu" (the man of "gam zu"); and this name is explained as referring to Nahum's motto. It is said that on every...

NAHUM THE MEDE – Tanna of the first generation (first century); lived in Jerusalem. According to R. Nathan, he was one of the three most renowned "dayyane gezelot" (criminal judges) in Jerusalem (Ket. 105a; Yer. Ket. xiii. 1; Frankel, "Darke...

NAHUM, MENAHEM, OF CHERNOBYL – asidic leader in the last part of the eighteenth century. He was a pupil of Baer of Meseritz, by whom he was sent to Galicia to disseminate the teachings of Ḥasidism. In 1772, when Ḥasidism was endangered by the death of Baer of...

NAHUM BEN SIMAI – Palestinian amora of the third century; a son of the tanna Simai. He is cited as "Menahem" in Pes. 104a and in M. Ḳ. 25b. Nahum was called "the most holy man" (Yer. Meg. i. 72b; Yer. 'Ab. Zarah iii. 42c) and "the son of the...

NAHUM B. UZZIEL KAPLAN (Reb Nahum Grodner) – Preacher and philanthropist; born 1811; died at Grodno Oct. 25, 1879. Though he was a great Talmudist, he preferred to hold the humble position of "shammash" (sexton) in the synagogue Ḥebrah Shas and to pass his life in poverty....

NAIL – 1. The finger nail. In Hebrew the corresponding word occurs only in the plural, (Deut. xxi. 12), the singular of which denotes the point of a stylus (Jer. xvii. 1). In the passage in question occurs in connection with the verb...

NAIOTH – Place in which David and Samuel took refuge when the former was pursued by Saul (I Sam. xix. 18 et seq., xx. 1). The meaning of the name as well as the nature of the place is doubtful: the "ketib" is , of disputed vocalization;...

NAJARA (NAJAR, NIJAR, NAGAR, NAGARA) – Oriental Jewish family, originally from Najera, a Spanish city of Navarre, on the River Najerilla. In the history of rabbinical literature Najaras are found at Algiers, Tunis, Damascus, Gaza, etc.David Najar: Rabbinical writer...

NAJERA, NAGERA – City in Spain, situated between Logroño and Burgos. In the tenth century it had a prosperous Jewish community. In the fuero, or municipal privileges, conferred upon the city by Don Sancho el Mayor, and confirmed by Alfonso VI....

NAḲDANIM – Punctuators or Masoretic annotators; the successors of the Masorites proper. Their activity consisted in collecting and conserving Masoretic material, revising the consonantal text produced by professional scribes, and...

NAMES (PERSONAL) – The conferring of a name upon a person was in early Biblical times generally connected with some circumstance of birth; several of Jacob's sons are recorded as having received their names in this manner (Gen. xxx.). Generally,...

NAMES OF GOD – Biblical Data: Like other Hebrew proper names, the name of God is more than a mere distinguishing title. It represents the Hebrew conception of the divine nature or character and of the relation of God to His people. It...

NANCY – Chief town of the department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, France, and the ancient capital of Lorraine; seat of a consistory whose district comprises 4,500 souls. When Jews first settled there is unknown; but they were expelled toward...

NANTES – Chief town of the department of the Loire-Inférieure, France. According to Camille Mellinet ("La Commune et la Milice de Nantes," i. 37), there were Jews in Nantes in the tenth century. Other historians, however, date the first...

NAOMI – Wife of Elimelech and mother-in-law of Ruth. Naomi accompanied her husband and two sons into the land of Moab; but after the death of her husband and sons she returned to Bethlehem with her daughter-in-law Ruth, whom she vainly...

NAPHTALI – Second son of Jacob and Bilhah, and younger full brother of Dan. According to Gen. xxx. 8, the name means "my wrestling," and has reference to the jealous rivalry of the sisters Rachel and Leah. According to Gen. xlvi. 24, he...

NAPHTALI, TRIBE OF – According to the two enumerations of the Israelites given in the Book of Numbers (i.-iii., xxvi.), the adult males of Naphtali, when at Sinai, numbered 53,400. In the march from Sinai the place of Naphtali was with Dan and Asher...

NAPHTALI BEN DAVID – Hebrew author; born at Witzenhausen, Germany; lived in Amsterdam at the beginning of the eighteenth century. He belonged to the family of R. Moses Isserles. Naphtali was a distinguished Talmudical scholar and enjoyed great fame...

NAPHTALI HIRZ BEN ISSACHAR – See Wessely.

NAPHTALI HERZ BEN JACOB ELHANAN – German cabalist; born at Frankfort-on-the-Main in the second half of the sixteenth century. He lived in Palestine and was a disciple of Isaac Luria. He was the author of: "'Emeḳ ha-Melek," an introduction to the Cabala and a...

NAPHTALI HERZ BEN ẒEBI HIRSCH HALBERSTADT – Rabbi at Dubno, Russia, in the eighteenth century. Responsa of his in regard to the Cleve divorce case are found in Israel Lipschütz's collection "Or Israel" (1770). In the same collection are some responsa by his brother...

NAPHTALI HIRSCH BEN MENAHEM – President of the community of Lemberg in the sixteenth century. He was the author of "Perush ha-Millot," explanations of difficult words in the Midrash Rabbah (Cracow, 1569).Bibliography: Benjacob, Oẓar ha-Sefarim, p. 468, Nos....

NAPHTALI HIRZ BEN JACOB GOSLAR – German rabbi and philosopher of the eighteenth century. After acting as dayyan at Halberstadt for some time, he settled at Amsterdam, where he began the study of philosophy. He wrote "Merome Sadeh," novellæ on the Talmud...

NAPHTALI HIRZ TREVES – See Treves.