149-536: Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Wisser (March 7, 1809 – September 18, 1879), better known as the Malbim ( Hebrew : מלבי"ם ), was a rabbi , master of Hebrew grammar , and Bible commentator . The name Malbim was derived from the Hebrew initials of his name. He used this acronym as his surname in all his published works and became known by it in common usage. His writings do not include works about Kohelet or Eicha . Malbim
298-674: A Hebrew form. Medieval Hebrew added 6421 words to (Modern) Hebrew. The approximate number of new lexical items in Israeli is 17,000 (cf. 14,762 in Even-Shoshan 1970 [...]). With the inclusion of foreign and technical terms [...], the total number of Israeli words, including words of biblical, rabbinic and medieval descent, is more than 60,000. In Israel, Modern Hebrew is currently taught in institutions called Ulpanim (singular: Ulpan). There are government-owned, as well as private, Ulpanim offering online courses and face-to-face programs. Modern Hebrew
447-583: A century ago, was fluent enough in this idiom to be able to follow the Mishna Berurah without any trouble." Hebrew has been revived several times as a literary language, most significantly by the Haskalah (Enlightenment) movement of early and mid-19th-century Germany. In the early 19th century, a form of spoken Hebrew had emerged in the markets of Jerusalem between Jews of different linguistic backgrounds to communicate for commercial purposes. This Hebrew dialect
596-649: A corollary Hebrew ceased to function as a spoken language around the same time. Moshe Zvi Segal , Joseph Klausner and Ben Yehuda are notable exceptions to this view. During the latter half of the 20th century, accumulating archaeological evidence and especially linguistic analysis of the Dead Sea Scrolls has disproven that view. The Dead Sea Scrolls, uncovered in 1946–1948 near Qumran revealed ancient Jewish texts overwhelmingly in Hebrew, not Aramaic. The Qumran scrolls indicate that Hebrew texts were readily understandable to
745-551: A crown of stars, was built there in 2004. Vilnius is 312 km (194 mi) from the Baltic Sea and Klaipėda , the main Lithuanian seaport . It is connected by road to other major Lithuanian cities, such as Kaunas (102 km or 63 mi away), Šiauliai (214 km or 133 mi away) and Panevėžys (135 km or 84 mi away). Vilnius has an area of 402 km (155 sq mi). Buildings cover 29.1 percent of
894-457: A cultural and scientific center, attracting migrants from east and west. It had diverse communities, with Jewish, Orthodox, and German populations. The city experienced a number of invasions and occupations, including by the Teutonic Knights , Russia and, later, Germany. Under imperial Russian rule, Vilnius became the capital of Vilna Governorate and had a number of cultural revivals during
1043-428: A detailed, realistic style – also spread at this time. Baroque sculptures dominated sacred architecture : tombstones with sculpted portraits and decorative sculptures in wood, marble, and stucco . Italian sculptors such as G. P. Perti, G. M. Galli, and A. S. Capone, key figures in the development of sculpture in the 17th-century grand duchy, were commissioned by Lithuanian nobility . Their works exemplify
1192-562: A distinct style of philosophical Hebrew. This is used in the translations made by the Ibn Tibbon family. (Original Jewish philosophical works were usually written in Arabic. ) Another important influence was Maimonides , who developed a simple style based on Mishnaic Hebrew for use in his law code, the Mishneh Torah . Subsequent rabbinic literature is written in a blend between this style and
1341-503: A general knowledge curriculum. In this period, Romanian officials encouraged such efforts to integrate the Jews into mainstream Romanian life. Malbim's insistence on adhering to the halakha , such as daily inspection of butcher's knives, resulted in portions of the religious personnel (e.g., shochtim and dayanim ) becoming hostile toward him. Through their frequent complaints, his opponents almost succeeded in having him sent to prison. Malbim
1490-579: A gradually accepted movement. It was not, however, until the 1904–1914 Second Aliyah that Hebrew had caught real momentum in Ottoman Palestine with the more highly organized enterprises set forth by the new group of immigrants. When the British Mandate of Palestine recognized Hebrew as one of the country's three official languages (English, Arabic, and Hebrew, in 1922), its new formal status contributed to its diffusion. A constructed modern language with
1639-463: A literary language down through the Byzantine period from the 4th century CE. The exact roles of Aramaic and Hebrew remain hotly debated. A trilingual scenario has been proposed for the land of Israel. Hebrew functioned as the local mother tongue with powerful ties to Israel's history, origins and golden age and as the language of Israel's religion; Aramaic functioned as the international language with
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#17328439626791788-532: A literary language, especially in Spain, as the language of commerce between Jews of different native languages, and as the liturgical language of Judaism, evolving various dialects of literary Medieval Hebrew , until its revival as a spoken language in the late 19th century. In May 2023, Scott Stripling published the finding of what he claims to be the oldest known Hebrew inscription, a curse tablet found at Mount Ebal , dated from around 3200 years ago. The presence of
1937-525: A number of art galleries and workshops. In its main square, a statue of an angel blowing a trumpet symbolises artistic freedom. The world's first bronze memorial to Frank Zappa was installed in the Naujamiestis district in 1995. In 2015, the Vilnius Talking Statues project was introduced. Eighteen statues around the city interact by smartphone with visitors in several languages. Vilnius has
2086-535: A set of dialects evolving out of Late Biblical Hebrew and into Mishnaic Hebrew, thus including elements from both but remaining distinct from either. By the start of the Byzantine Period in the 4th century CE, Classical Hebrew ceased as a regularly spoken language, roughly a century after the publication of the Mishnah, apparently declining since the aftermath of the catastrophic Bar Kokhba revolt around 135 CE. In
2235-415: A short part of the "interpretation of the words" and a long part of a systematic interpretation of the biblical text in question. Its commentaries have a different name for each book. Hebrew language Hebrew ( Hebrew alphabet : עִבְרִית , ʿĪvrīt , pronounced [ ʔivˈʁit ] or [ ʕivˈrit ] ; Samaritan script : ࠏࠨࠁࠬࠓࠪࠉࠕ ʿÎbrit )
2384-652: A spoken language, it continued to be used as a lingua franca among scholars and Jews traveling in foreign countries. After the 2nd century CE when the Roman Empire exiled most of the Jewish population of Jerusalem following the Bar Kokhba revolt , they adapted to the societies in which they found themselves, yet letters, contracts, commerce, science, philosophy, medicine, poetry and laws continued to be written mostly in Hebrew, which adapted by borrowing and inventing terms. After
2533-468: A truly Semitic vocabulary and written appearance, although often European in phonology , was to take its place among the current languages of the nations. While many saw his work as fanciful or even blasphemous (because Hebrew was the holy language of the Torah and therefore some thought that it should not be used to discuss everyday matters), many soon understood the need for a common language amongst Jews of
2682-603: A variety of museums. The National Museum of Lithuania , in the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, Gediminas' Tower and the arsenals of the Vilnius Castle Complex, has exhibits about the history of Lithuania and Lithuanian culture. The Museum of Applied Arts and Design displays Lithuanian folk and religious art, objects from the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, and 18th- to 20th-century clothing. Other museums are
2831-549: A vernacular in Judea until it was displaced by Aramaic, probably in the 3rd century CE. Certain Sadducee , Pharisee , Scribe , Hermit, Zealot and Priest classes maintained an insistence on Hebrew, and all Jews maintained their identity with Hebrew songs and simple quotations from Hebrew texts. While there is no doubt that at a certain point, Hebrew was displaced as the everyday spoken language of most Jews, and that its chief successor in
2980-604: A wooden castle on a hill. Vilnius became a city in 1387, after the Christianization of Lithuania, and was settled by craftsmen and merchants of a variety of nationalities. It was the capital of the Grand Duchy (until 1795), and of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . Vilnius flourished under the commonwealth, especially after the 1579 establishment of Vilnius University by King Stephen Báthory . The city became
3129-511: Is 8198, of which some 2000 are hapax legomena (the number of Biblical Hebrew roots, on which many of these words are based, is 2099). The number of attested Rabbinic Hebrew words is less than 20,000, of which (i) 7879 are Rabbinic par excellence, i.e. they did not appear in the Old Testament (the number of new Rabbinic Hebrew roots is 805); (ii) around 6000 are a subset of Biblical Hebrew; and (iii) several thousand are Aramaic words which can have
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#17328439626793278-522: Is Europe's first codification of secular law . Albertas Goštautas supported the use of Lithuanian in literature and protected Lithuanian authors (including Abraomas Kulvietis and Michael the Lithuanian ) who criticised the use of Old Church Slavonic , and called refugees Old Believers in De moribus tartarorum, lituanorum et moscorum . Since the 16th century, the Lithuanian Metrica has been kept at
3427-620: Is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family . A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages , it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until after 200 CE and as the liturgical language of Judaism (since the Second Temple period ) and Samaritanism . The language was revived as a spoken language in the 19th century, and
3576-886: Is active in Vilnius; in 1970–71, the Ganelin/Tarasov/Chekasin trio founded the Vilnius Jazz School. The Vilnius Jazz Festival is held annually. The annual Gatvės muzikos diena (Street Music Day) gathers musicians on the city's streets. Vilnius is the birthplace of singers Mariana Korvelytė – Moravskienė , Paulina Rivoli , Danielius Dolskis , Vytautas Kernagis , Algirdas Kaušpėdas , Andrius Mamontovas , Nomeda Kazlaus , and Asmik Grigorian ); composers César Cui , Felix Yaniewicz , Maximilian Steinberg , Vytautas Miškinis , and Onutė Narbutaitė ); conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla ), and musicians Antoni Radziwiłł , Jascha Heifetz , Clara Rockmore , and Romas Lileikis ). It
3725-544: Is also located at the Slushko Palace in Antakalnis . Singers who have lectured at the academy include tenors Kipras Petrauskas and Virgilijus Noreika . The Lithuanian Grand Dukes' entertainment at the castle, rulers' visits abroad and guests' meetings had theatrical elements. During Sigismund III Vasa 's residence in Vilnius in the early 17th century, English actors performed at the palace. Władysław IV Vasa established
3874-665: Is considered a global financial centre, ranked 76th globally and 29th in Europe on the Global Financial Centres Index . It hosted the 2023 NATO Summit . Vilnius is a member of Eurocities and the Union of Capitals of the European Union (UCEU). Vilnius' name originates from the river Vilnia , the Lithuanian word for ripple . Its name has had a number of derivative spellings in various languages throughout its history; Vilna
4023-563: Is fighting to stop businesses from using only English signs to market their services. In 2012, a Knesset bill for the preservation of the Hebrew language was proposed, which includes the stipulation that all signage in Israel must first and foremost be in Hebrew, as with all speeches by Israeli officials abroad. The bill's author, MK Akram Hasson , stated that the bill was proposed as a response to Hebrew "losing its prestige" and children incorporating more English words into their vocabulary. Hebrew
4172-451: Is no repetition or duplication in the verses, and no expression comes to the "glory of reading" (as claimed, for example, by Ibn Ezra). Its interpretation of the Torah consists of two parts intertwined with each other: In the parts on which there are halachic midrash , the commentary is actually on the halachic midrash. He discusses them in comparison to simplifying the verses while being precise in biblical grammar. The first midrash on which
4321-627: Is one of several languages for which the constitution of South Africa calls to be respected in their use for religious purposes. Also, Hebrew is an official national minority language in Poland , since 6 January 2005. Hamas has made Hebrew a compulsory language taught in schools in the Gaza Strip. Vilna Vilnius ( / ˈ v ɪ l n i ə s / VIL -nee-əs , Lithuanian: [ˈvʲɪlʲnʲʊs] ), previously known in English as Vilna ,
4470-560: Is the capital of and largest city in Lithuania and the second-most-populous city in the Baltic states . The city's estimated July 2024 population was 605,270, and the Vilnius urban area (which extends beyond the city limits) has an estimated population of 708,627. Vilnius is notable for the architecture of its Old Town , considered one of Europe 's largest and best-preserved old towns. The city
4619-560: Is the only successful large-scale example of linguistic revival . It is the only Canaanite language, as well as one of only two Northwest Semitic languages, with the other being Aramaic , still spoken today. The earliest examples of written Paleo-Hebrew date back to the 10th century BCE. Nearly all of the Hebrew Bible is written in Biblical Hebrew , with much of its present form in the dialect that scholars believe flourished around
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4768-453: Is the primary official language of the State of Israel. As of 2013 , there are about 9 million Hebrew speakers worldwide, of whom 7 million speak it fluently. Currently, 90% of Israeli Jews are proficient in Hebrew, and 70% are highly proficient. Some 60% of Israeli Arabs are also proficient in Hebrew, and 30% report having a higher proficiency in Hebrew than in Arabic. In total, about 53% of
4917-624: Is thus: the Iron Wolf represents a castle and a city which will be established by you on this site. This city will be the capital of the Lithuanian lands and the dwelling of their rulers , and the glory of their deeds shall echo throughout the world. Gediminas, obeying the gods , built two castles: the Lower Castle in the valley, and the Crooked Castle on Bald Hill . He moved his court there, declared it his permanent seat and capital, and developed
5066-536: Is used to pronounce the Hebrew Bible; however, properly it should be distinguished from the historical Biblical Hebrew of the 6th century BCE, whose original pronunciation must be reconstructed. Tiberian Hebrew incorporates the scholarship of the Masoretes (from masoret meaning "tradition"), who added vowel points and grammar points to the Hebrew letters to preserve much earlier features of Hebrew, for use in chanting
5215-630: The Chayei Adam in Hebrew, as opposed to Yiddish , as a guide to Halacha for the " average 17-year-old" (Ibid. Introduction 1). Similarly, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan 's purpose in writing the Mishnah Berurah was to "produce a work that could be studied daily so that Jews might know the proper procedures to follow minute by minute". The work was nevertheless written in Talmudic Hebrew and Aramaic, since, "the ordinary Jew [of Eastern Europe] of
5364-705: The Ancient Greek Ἑβραῖος ( hebraîos ) and Aramaic 'ibrāy , all ultimately derived from Biblical Hebrew Ivri ( עברי ), one of several names for the Israelite ( Jewish and Samaritan ) people ( Hebrews ). It is traditionally understood to be an adjective based on the name of Abraham 's ancestor, Eber , mentioned in Genesis 10:21 . The name is believed to be based on the Semitic root ʕ-b-r ( ע־ב־ר ), meaning "beyond", "other side", "across"; interpretations of
5513-534: The Canaanite group of languages . Canaanite languages are a branch of the Northwest Semitic family of languages. Hebrew was the spoken language in the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel and Judah during the period from about 1200 to 586 BCE. Epigraphic evidence from this period confirms the widely accepted view that the earlier layers of biblical literature reflect the language used in these kingdoms. Furthermore,
5662-569: The Eastern Partnership summit at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania . Many European presidents, prime ministers, and high-ranking officials participated. In 2015, Remigijus Šimašius became the city's first directly elected mayor. The 2023 NATO summit was held in Vilnius. Vilnius is at the confluence of the Vilnia and Neris rivers in southeastern Lithuania. Several countries say that
5811-557: The Gospel of Matthew . (See the Hebrew Gospel hypothesis or Language of Jesus for more details on Hebrew and Aramaic in the gospels.) The term "Mishnaic Hebrew" generally refers to the Hebrew dialects found in the Talmud , excepting quotations from the Hebrew Bible. The dialects organize into Mishnaic Hebrew (also called Tannaitic Hebrew, Early Rabbinic Hebrew, or Mishnaic Hebrew I), which
5960-559: The Jesuits . It published its first book, Piotr Skarga 's Pro Sacratissima Eucharistia contra haeresim Zwinglianam , in May 1576. The press was funded by the Lithuanian nobility and the church. In 1805, Józef Zawadzki bought the press and founded the Józef Zawadzki printing shop . Operating continuously until 1939, it published books in a number of languages; Adam Mickiewicz 's first poetry book
6109-491: The Latin alphabet of ancient Rome . The Gezer calendar is written without any vowels , and it does not use consonants to imply vowels even in the places in which later Hebrew spelling requires them. Numerous older tablets have been found in the region with similar scripts written in other Semitic languages, for example, Proto-Sinaitic . It is believed that the original shapes of the script go back to Egyptian hieroglyphs , though
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6258-644: The Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre and by the Vilnius City Opera . The Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society, the country's largest and oldest state-owned concert organization, produces live concerts and tours in Lithuania and abroad. The Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra , founded by Gintaras Rinkevičius , performs in Vilnius. Choral music is popular in Lithuania, and Vilnius has three choir laureates (Brevis, Jauna Muzika, and
6407-722: The Little Traveller's Book (Ruthenian: Малая подорожная книжка ), the first printed book of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, in 1522. Three years later, he printed the Acts and Epistles of the Apostles (the Apostle ). The Vilnius Academy Press was established in 1575 by Lithuanian nobleman Mikołaj Krzysztof "the Orphan" Radziwiłł as the Vilnius Academy printing house, delegating its management to
6556-624: The Lower Castle and safeguarded by the State Chancellor . Due to the deterioration of the books, Grand Chancellor Lew Sapieha ordered the Metrica recopied in 1594; the recopying continued until 1607. The recopied books were inventoried, rechecked, and transferred to a separate building in Vilnius; the older books remained in the Castle of Vilnius. According to 1983 data, 665 books remain on microfilm at
6705-655: The Maccabean Revolt (167–160 BCE) and the emergence of the Hasmonean kingdom , the Great Jewish Revolt (66–73 CE), and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135 CE). The nationalist significance of Hebrew manifested in various ways throughout this period. Michael Owen Wise notes that "Beginning with the time of the Hasmonean revolt [...] Hebrew came to the fore in an expression akin to modern nationalism. A form of classical Hebrew
6854-422: The Second Aliyah , it replaced a score of languages spoken by Jews at that time. Those languages were Jewish dialects of local languages, including Judaeo-Spanish (also called "Judezmo" and "Ladino"), Yiddish , Judeo-Arabic and Bukhori (Tajiki), or local languages spoken in the Jewish diaspora such as Russian , Persian and Arabic . The major result of the literary work of the Hebrew intellectuals along
7003-418: The geographical midpoint of Europe is within their territory. The midpoint depends on the definition of European extent, and the Guinness Book of World Records recognises a point near Vilnius as the continental centre. After a 1989 re-estimation of European boundaries, Jean-George Affholder of the Institut Géographique National (French National Geographic Institute) determined that its geographic centre
7152-399: The literary and liturgical language into everyday spoken language . However, his brand of Hebrew followed norms that had been replaced in Eastern Europe by different grammar and style, in the writings of people like Ahad Ha'am and others. His organizational efforts and involvement with the establishment of schools and the writing of textbooks pushed the vernacularization activity into
7301-507: The official language of the State of Israel . Estimates of worldwide usage include five million speakers in 1998, and over nine million people in 2013. After Israel, the United States has the largest Hebrew-speaking population, with approximately 220,000 fluent speakers (see Israeli Americans and Jewish Americans ). Modern Hebrew is the official language of the State of Israel, while pre-revival forms of Hebrew are used for prayer or study in Jewish and Samaritan communities around
7450-484: The ostraca found near Lachish , which describe events preceding the final capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian captivity of 586 BCE. In its widest sense, Biblical Hebrew refers to the spoken language of ancient Israel flourishing between c. 1000 BCE and c. 400 CE . It comprises several evolving and overlapping dialects. The phases of Classical Hebrew are often named after important literary works associated with them. Sometimes
7599-441: The 10th century BCE at the beginning of the Monarchic period , the traditional time of the reign of David and Solomon . Classified as Archaic Biblical Hebrew , the calendar presents a list of seasons and related agricultural activities. The Gezer calendar (named after the city in whose proximity it was found) is written in an old Semitic script, akin to the Phoenician one that, through the Greeks and Etruscans , later became
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#17328439626797748-582: The 1832 closure of Vilnius University, the Vilnius Art School continued to influence Lithuanian art. The Lithuanian Art Society was established in 1907 by Petras Rimša , Antanas Žmuidzinavičius and Antanas Jaroševičius , and the Vilnius Art Society was founded the following year. Artists included Jonas Šileika, Justinas Vienožinskis [ lt ] , Jonas Mackevičius (1872) [ lt ] , Vytautas Kairiūkštis , and Vytautas Pranas Bičiūnas , who employed Western European symbolism , realism , Art Nouveau and modernism . Socialist realism
7897-454: The 1980s in the USSR , Hebrew studies reappeared due to people struggling for permission to go to Israel ( refuseniks ). Several of the teachers were imprisoned, e.g. Yosef Begun , Ephraim Kholmyansky , Yevgeny Korostyshevsky and others responsible for a Hebrew learning network connecting many cities of the USSR. Standard Hebrew, as developed by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, was based on Mishnaic spelling and Sephardi Hebrew pronunciation. However,
8046-445: The 19th and early 20th centuries by Jews, Poles, Lithuanians, and Belarusians. After World War I , the city experienced conflict between Poland and Lithuania which led to its occupation by Poland before its annexation by the Soviet Union during World War II. After that war, Vilnius became the capital of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic . On 11 March 1990, the Supreme Council of the Lithuanian SSR announced its secession from
8195-535: The 19th century was a lexical modernization of Hebrew. New words and expressions were adapted as neologisms from the large corpus of Hebrew writings since the Hebrew Bible, or borrowed from Arabic (mainly by Ben-Yehuda) and older Aramaic and Latin. Many new words were either borrowed from or coined after European languages, especially English, Russian, German, and French. Modern Hebrew became an official language in British-ruled Palestine in 1921 (along with English and Arabic), and then in 1948 became an official language of
8344-495: The 6th century BCE, during the time of the Babylonian captivity . For this reason, Hebrew has been referred to by Jews as Lashon Hakodesh ( לְשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶש , lit. ' the holy tongue ' or ' the tongue [of] holiness ' ) since ancient times. The language was not referred to by the name Hebrew in the Bible , but as Yehudit ( transl. ' Judean ' ) or Səpaṯ Kəna'an ( transl. "the language of Canaan " ). Mishnah Gittin 9:8 refers to
8493-579: The Aramaized Rabbinic Hebrew of the Talmud. Hebrew persevered through the ages as the main language for written purposes by all Jewish communities around the world for a large range of uses—not only liturgy, but also poetry, philosophy, science and medicine, commerce, daily correspondence and contracts. There have been many deviations from this generalization such as Bar Kokhba 's letters to his lieutenants, which were mostly in Aramaic, and Maimonides' writings, which were mostly in Arabic; but overall, Hebrew did not cease to be used for such purposes. For example,
8642-431: The Bible. His first published commentary was on Megillat Esther (1845), followed by his commentary on most of the Hebrew Tanakh from then until 1876. His commentary on the Bible is based most notably upon his principle that there are no true synonyms in the Tanakh; apparent stylistic repetitions are not that, but rather each introduces a distinct idea. His approach is described as follows: According to his method, there
8791-503: The British Mandate who at the turn of the 20th century were arriving in large numbers from diverse countries and speaking different languages. A Committee of the Hebrew Language was established. After the establishment of Israel, it became the Academy of the Hebrew Language . The results of Ben-Yehuda's lexicographical work were published in a dictionary ( The Complete Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Hebrew , Ben-Yehuda Dictionary ). The seeds of Ben-Yehuda's work fell on fertile ground, and by
8940-430: The Chamber Choir of the Conservatoire) at the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing . The Lithuanian Song and Dance Festival in Vilnius has been presented every four years since 1990 for about 30,000 singers and folk dancers in Vingis Park . In 2008, the festival and its Latvian and Estonian counterparts were designated as a UNESCO Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity . The jazz scene
9089-416: The Great conquered Babylon, he allowed the Jewish people to return from captivity. In time, a local version of Aramaic came to be spoken in Israel alongside Hebrew. By the beginning of the Common Era , Aramaic was the primary colloquial language of Samarian , Babylonian and Galileean Jews, and western and intellectual Jews spoke Greek , but a form of so-called Rabbinic Hebrew continued to be used as
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#17328439626799238-432: The Hebrew name of god , Yahweh, as three letters, Yod-Heh-Vav (YHV), according to the author and his team meant that the tablet is Hebrew and not Canaanite. However, practically all professional archeologists and epigraphers apart from Stripling's team claim that there is no text on this object. In July 2008, Israeli archaeologist Yossi Garfinkel discovered a ceramic shard at Khirbet Qeiyafa that he claimed may be
9387-437: The Hebrew Bible. The Masoretes inherited a biblical text whose letters were considered too sacred to be altered, so their markings were in the form of pointing in and around the letters. The Syriac alphabet , precursor to the Arabic alphabet , also developed vowel pointing systems around this time. The Aleppo Codex , a Hebrew Bible with the Masoretic pointing, was written in the 10th century, likely in Tiberias, and survives into
9536-400: The Holocaust , Vilnius was one of Europe's most important Jewish centers. Its Jewish influence has led to its being called "the Jerusalem of Lithuania", and Napoleon called it "the Jerusalem of the North" when he passed through in 1812. Vilnius was a 2009 European Capital of Culture with Linz in Austria. In 2021, the city was named one of fDi 's 25 Global Cities of the Future. Vilnius
9685-454: The Israeli population speaks Hebrew as a native language, while most of the rest speak it fluently. In 2013 Hebrew was the native language of 49% of Israelis over the age of 20, with Russian , Arabic , French , English , Yiddish and Ladino being the native tongues of most of the rest. Some 26% of immigrants from the former Soviet Union and 12% of Arabs reported speaking Hebrew poorly or not at all. Steps have been taken to keep Hebrew
9834-420: The Lithuanian State Historical Archives in Vilnius. Over 200 tiles and plaques commemorating writers who lived and worked in Vilnius and foreign authors connected to Vilnius and Lithuania adorn walls on Literatų Street (Lithuanian: Literatų gatvė ) in the Old Town, outlining the history of Lithuanian literature. The Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore and the Lithuanian Writers' Union are in
9983-417: The Middle East was the closely related Aramaic language, then Greek , scholarly opinions on the exact dating of that shift have changed very much. In the first half of the 20th century, most scholars followed Abraham Geiger and Gustaf Dalman in thinking that Aramaic became a spoken language in the land of Israel as early as the beginning of Israel's Hellenistic period in the 4th century BCE, and that as
10132-511: The Moon , was first shown at the Lukiškės Square movie theater in 1902; it was the first feature film shown in Vilnius. The first movie theater in Vilnius, Iliuzija (Illusion), opened in 1905 at 60 Didžioji Street . The first movie theaters, similar to theatres, had boxes with more-expensive seats. Because early films were silent, showings were accompanied by orchestral performances. Cinema screenings were sometimes combined with theatrical performances and illusion shows. On 4 June 1924,
10281-452: The Paneriai Memorial visitor information centre. Vilnius has a number of art galleries. Lithuania's largest art collection is housed in the Lithuanian National Museum of Art . The Vilnius Picture Gallery, in the city's Old Town, houses a collection of Lithuanian art from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. Across the Neris, the National Art Gallery has a number of exhibitions of 20th-century Lithuanian art. The Contemporary Art Centre ,
10430-438: The People's Commissariat of Education, which established the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society, the following year. In 1965, Lithuania's most modern movie theater ( Lietuva ) opened in Vilnius; it had over 1.84 million visitors per year, and an annual profit of over 1 million roubles . After reconstruction, it had one of Europe's largest screens: 200 square metres (2,200 sq ft). Closed in 2002, it
10579-423: The Soviet Union and intention to restore an independent Lithuania. On 9 January 1991, the Soviet Union sent in troops; this culminated in the 13 January attack on the State Radio and Television Building and Vilnius TV Tower which killed 14 civilians. The Soviet Union recognised Lithuanian independence in September 1991. According to the Constitution of Lithuania , "the capital of the State of Lithuania shall be
10728-654: The Talmud, the Gemara , generally comments on the Mishnah and Baraitot in two forms of Aramaic. Nevertheless, Hebrew survived as a liturgical and literary language in the form of later Amoraic Hebrew, which occasionally appears in the text of the Gemara, particularly in the Jerusalem Talmud and the classical aggadah midrashes . Hebrew was always regarded as the language of Israel's religion, history and national pride, and after it faded as
10877-455: The Talmud, various regional literary dialects of Medieval Hebrew evolved. The most important is Tiberian Hebrew or Masoretic Hebrew, a local dialect of Tiberias in Galilee that became the standard for vocalizing the Hebrew Bible and thus still influences all other regional dialects of Hebrew. This Tiberian Hebrew from the 7th to 10th century CE is sometimes called "Biblical Hebrew" because it
11026-505: The Vilnia flows into the river Neris . The successful wisent hunt lasted longer than expected, and Gediminas decided to spend the night in the valley. He fell asleep and dreamed of a huge Iron Wolf at the top of a hill, howling loudly. Upon awakening, the Duke asked the krivis Lizdeika to interpret the dream. The chief priest told him: What is destined for the ruler and the State of Lithuania,
11175-402: The Vilnius magistrate established a 1,200-seat movie theater in the city hall ( Polish : Miejski kinematograf , City Movie Theater) to provide cultural education for students and adults. In 1926, 502,261 tickets were sold; 24,242 tickets were given to boarding children, 778 to tourists, and 8,385 to soldiers. In 1939, Lithuanian authorities renamed it Milda. The last city government gave it to
11324-660: The Vilnius Museum, the House of Histories, Church Heritage Museum, Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights , Fight for Freedom Museum in the Vilnius TV Tower , M. K. Čiurlionis House, Samuel Bak Museum, Centre for Civil Education, Toy Museum, Vilnil (Museum of Illusions), Energy and Technology Museum, House of Signatories, Tolerance Center, Railway Museum, Money Museum, Kazys Varnelis House-Museum, Liubavas Manor Watermill-Museum, Museum of Vladislovas Sirokomlė, Amber Museum-Gallery, and
11473-480: The ability to speak the language and attempted to promote its use. According to the Jerusalem Talmud , Megillah 1:9: "Rebbi Jonathan from Bet Guvrrin said, four languages are appropriate that the world should use them, and they are these: The Foreign Language (Greek) for song, Latin for war, Syriac for elegies, Hebrew for speech. Some are saying, also Assyrian (Hebrew script) for writing." The later section of
11622-470: The above phases of spoken Classical Hebrew are simplified into "Biblical Hebrew" (including several dialects from the 10th century BCE to 2nd century BCE and extant in certain Dead Sea Scrolls) and "Mishnaic Hebrew" (including several dialects from the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE and extant in certain other Dead Sea Scrolls). However, today most Hebrew linguists classify Dead Sea Scroll Hebrew as
11771-552: The average Jew, and that the language had evolved since Biblical times as spoken languages do. Recent scholarship recognizes that reports of Jews speaking in Aramaic indicate a multilingual society, not necessarily the primary language spoken. Alongside Aramaic, Hebrew co-existed within Israel as a spoken language. Most scholars now date the demise of Hebrew as a spoken language to the end of the Roman period , or about 200 CE. It continued on as
11920-535: The beginning of the 20th century, Hebrew was well on its way to becoming the main language of the Jewish population of both Ottoman and British Palestine. At the time, members of the Old Yishuv and a very few Hasidic sects, most notably those under the auspices of Satmar , refused to speak Hebrew and spoke only Yiddish. In the Soviet Union, the use of Hebrew, along with other Jewish cultural and religious activities,
12069-601: The book express it, and indeed all the laws of the book are mapped to rules. Also in his commentaries on the Mechilta and the Sifre written after that, there are references to the rules in the Ayelet Hashahar from which they were derived, and in his introduction to "Ayelet Hashahar" he invites the Torah sages to analyze all of the halachic midrash in the Talmud in this way. In the parts that do not have halachic midrash, he interprets
12218-443: The city a Baltic construction leader. Vilnius was selected as a 2009 European Capital of Culture with Linz , the capital of Upper Austria . The 2007–2008 financial crisis led to a drop in tourism, which prevented many projects from completion; allegations of corruption and incompetence were made; tax increases for cultural activity led to protests, and economic conditions sparked riots. On 28–29 November 2013, Vilnius hosted
12367-750: The city have increased significantly during the last 30 years, a change which the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service attributes to human-induced global warming . Summer days are warm to hot, especially in July and August, with daytime temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F) during periodic heat waves. Outdoor bars, restaurants and cafés are frequented during the day. Winters can be very cold, although temperatures above 0 °C (32 °F); still occasionally occur. Temperatures below −25 °C (−13 °F) are recorded every other year. Vilnius's rivers freeze in particularly cold winters, and
12516-471: The city of Vilnius, the long-standing historical capital of Lithuania". Vilnius has become a modern European city. Its territory has been expanded with three acts since 1990, incorporating urban areas, villages, hamlets, and the city of Grigiškės . Most historic buildings have been renovated and a business and commercial area became the New City Centre , the main administrative and business district on
12665-604: The city was a capital of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and an important city in the Second Polish Republic . The name Vilna is still used in Finnish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Hebrew : וילנה . Wilna is still used in German with Vilnius . According to a legend recorded during the c. 1530s , Grand Duke Gediminas ( c. 1275 –1341) was hunting in the sacred forest near Šventaragis' Valley , (where
12814-849: The city. The Vilnius book fair is held annually at LITEXPO , the Baltics' largest exhibition centre. The first public film session in Vilnius was held in the Botanical Garden (now the Bernardinai Garden ) in July 1896. It was held after 1895 film sessions by Auguste and Louis Lumière in Paris. The session in Vilnius showed the Lumière brothers' documentary films. The first films shown were educational, filmed outside Vilnius (in India and Africa), and introduced other cultures. Georges Méliès ' film, A Trip to
12963-461: The city; green space covers 68.8 percent, and water covers 2.1 percent. The city has eight nature reserves : Vokės Senslėnio Slopes Geomorphological Reserve, Aukštagiris Geomorphological Reserve, Valakupių Klonio Geomorphological Reserve, Veržuva Hydrographic Reserve, Vokė Hydrographic Reserve, Cedronas Upstream Landscape Reserve, Tapeliai Landscape Reserve, and Šeškinė Slopes Geomorphological Reserve. Several lakes, including Balžis , are located on
13112-452: The commentary was written is the Sifrah , and as a background for his commentary he wrote a treatise called "Ayelet HaShahar" in which he formulates 613 (Taryag) rules from which all the halachic laws are derived: 248 (Ramah) rules deal with the syntax of the law and 365 rules deal with semantic grammars and the differences between words. At the end of each rule there is a reference to which laws in
13261-668: The community would have appointed him as rabbi, but the governor of Vilna opposed the election. He did not want to sanction the appointment of a rabbi who had been expelled from Moghilev as a political criminal. Malbim also declined an offer to be chief rabbi of the Orthodox in New York City. In September 1879, Malbim was traveling to Kremenchuk , where he had been called as rabbi, when he fell sick. He died on Rosh HaShanah 5640 in Kiyv . Malbim's fame and popularity rest upon his novel commentary on
13410-596: The composition of 1 Maccabees in archaizing Hebrew, Hasmonean coinage under John Hyrcanus (134-104 BCE), and coins from both the Great Revolt and Bar Kokhba Revolt featuring exclusively Hebrew and Palaeo-Hebrew script inscriptions. This deliberate use of Hebrew and Paleo-Hebrew script in official contexts, despite limited literacy, served as a symbol of Jewish nationalism and political independence. The Christian New Testament contains some Semitic place names and quotes. The language of such Semitic glosses (and in general
13559-719: The construction of the Choral Temple which would be equipped with a choir and organ similar to the Great Synagogue of Leopoldstadt in Vienna . He thought this was too Christian in style. In 1864, the Choral Temple became the main neo-orthodox synagogue in Romania. He also condemned the founding (before he arrived) of the first two elementary schools in Bucharest for Jewish children to offer
13708-462: The content of Hebrew inscriptions suggests that the written texts closely mirror the spoken language of that time. Scholars debate the degree to which Hebrew was a spoken vernacular in ancient times following the Babylonian exile when the predominant international language in the region was Old Aramaic . Hebrew was extinct as a colloquial language by late antiquity , but it continued to be used as
13857-534: The crypts of Vilnius Cathedral and decorated hymnbooks . Sixteenth-century wall paintings are in the city's Church of St. Francis and St. Bernard and the Church of Saint Nicholas . Gothic wooden polychrome sculptures decorate church altars. Some Gothic seals from the 14th and 15th centuries still exist, including those of Kęstutis , Vytautas the Great and Sigismund II Augustus . Renaissance sculpture appeared during
14006-563: The dialects of Classical Hebrew that functioned as a living language in the land of Israel. A transitional form of the language occurs in the other works of Tannaitic literature dating from the century beginning with the completion of the Mishnah. These include the halachic Midrashim ( Sifra , Sifre , Mekhilta etc.) and the expanded collection of Mishnah-related material known as the Tosefta . The Talmud contains excerpts from these works, as well as further Tannaitic material not attested elsewhere;
14155-423: The earliest Hebrew writing yet discovered, dating from around 3,000 years ago. Hebrew University archaeologist Amihai Mazar said that the inscription was "proto-Canaanite" but cautioned that "[t]he differentiation between the scripts, and between the languages themselves in that period, remains unclear", and suggested that calling the text Hebrew might be going too far. The Gezer calendar also dates back to
14304-513: The earliest speakers of Modern Hebrew had Yiddish as their native language and often introduced calques from Yiddish and phono-semantic matchings of international words. Despite using Sephardic Hebrew pronunciation as its primary basis, modern Israeli Hebrew has adapted to Ashkenazi Hebrew phonology in some respects, mainly the following: The vocabulary of Israeli Hebrew is much larger than that of earlier periods. According to Ghil'ad Zuckermann : The number of attested Biblical Hebrew words
14453-630: The early 16th century, primarily by the Italian sculptors Bernardinus Zanobi da Gianotti, Giovani Cini, and Giovanni Maria Padovano. During the Renaissance, portrait tombstones and medals were valued; examples are the marble tombs of Albertas Goštautas (1548) and Paweł Holszański (1555) by Bernardino de Gianotis in Vilnius Cathedral. Italian sculpture is characterized by its naturalistic treatment of forms and precise proportions. Local sculptors adopted
14602-457: The early 19th century was singer Maria de Neri . In the early 20th century, Vilnius was the hometown of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis , Mikas Petrauskas , and Juozas Tallat-Kelpša . Late-20th- and early 21st-century musicians include Vyacheslav Ganelin , Petras Vyšniauskas , Petras Geniušas , Mūza Rubackytė , Alanas Chošnau , and Marijonas Mikutavičius . The Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre , headquartered on Gediminas Avenue ,
14751-566: The early 6th century BCE, the Neo-Babylonian Empire conquered the ancient Kingdom of Judah , destroying much of Jerusalem and exiling its population far to the east in Babylon . During the Babylonian captivity , many Israelites learned Aramaic, the closely related Semitic language of their captors. Thus, for a significant period, the Jewish elite became influenced by Aramaic. After Cyrus
14900-703: The first Middle East printing press, in Safed (modern Israel), produced a small number of books in Hebrew in 1577, which were then sold to the nearby Jewish world. This meant not only that well-educated Jews in all parts of the world could correspond in a mutually intelligible language, and that books and legal documents published or written in any part of the world could be read by Jews in all other parts, but that an educated Jew could travel and converse with Jews in distant places, just as priests and other educated Christians could converse in Latin. For example, Rabbi Avraham Danzig wrote
15049-440: The first local musicians in written sources was Steponas Vilnietis (Stephanus de Vylna). The first textbook of Lithuanian music, The Art and Practice of Music ( Latin : Ars et praxis musica ), was published in Vilnius by Žygimantas Liauksminas in 1667. Italian artists produced Lithuania's first opera on 4 September 1636 at the Palace of the Grand Dukes, commissioned by Grand Duke Władysław IV Vasa . Operas are produced at
15198-406: The generic term for these passages is Baraitot . The dialect of all these works is very similar to Mishnaic Hebrew. About a century after the publication of the Mishnah, Mishnaic Hebrew fell into disuse as a spoken language. By the third century CE, sages could no longer identify the Hebrew names of many plants mentioned in the Mishnah. Only a few sages, primarily in the southern regions, retained
15347-699: The iconographic scheme of Renaissance tombs; their works, such the tomb of Lew Sapieha ( c. 1633 ) in the Church of St. Michael , are stylized. During this period, local and Western European painters created religious and mythological compositions and portraits with late Gothic and Baroque features; illustrated prayerbooks, illustrations, and miniatures have survived. During the late-16th-century Baroque , wall painting developed. Most palaces and churches were decorated in frescoes with bright colors, sophisticated angles, and drama. Secular painting – representational, imaginative, epitaph portraits, scenes of battles and politically important events in
15496-539: The internationally acclaimed contemporary writers such as Jurga Ivanauskaitė , Undinė Radzevičiūtė and Kristina Sabaliauskaitė . The first consideration of the First Statute of Lithuania took place in 1522 at the Seimas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . The code was drafted under the guidance of Grand Chancellor of Lithuania Albertas Goštautas in accordance with customary law , legislation, and canon and Roman law . It
15645-456: The lakes surrounding the city are almost always frozen from December to March, and even April, in the most extreme years. The Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service, headquartered in Vilnius, monitors the country's climate. Vilnius was an artistic centre of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, attracting artists across Europe. The oldest surviving early Gothic artworks (14th century) are paintings dedicated to churches and liturgy , such as frescoes in
15794-456: The language as Ivrit , meaning Hebrew; however, Mishnah Megillah refers to the language as Ashurit , meaning Assyrian , which is derived from the name of the alphabet used , in contrast to Ivrit , meaning the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet . Hebrew ceased to be a regular spoken language sometime between 200 and 400 CE, as it declined in the aftermath of the unsuccessful Bar Kokhba revolt , which
15943-458: The language spoken by Jews in scenes from the New Testament) is often referred to as "Hebrew" in the text, although this term is often re-interpreted as referring to Aramaic instead and is rendered accordingly in recent translations. Nonetheless, these glosses can be interpreted as Hebrew as well. It has been argued that Hebrew, rather than Aramaic or Koine Greek, lay behind the composition of
16092-464: The language. The revival of the Hebrew language as a mother tongue was initiated in the late 19th century by the efforts of Ben-Yehuda. He joined the Jewish national movement and in 1881 immigrated to Palestine , then a part of the Ottoman Empire . Motivated by the surrounding ideals of renovation and rejection of the diaspora " shtetl " lifestyle, Ben-Yehuda set out to develop tools for making
16241-583: The largest contemporary-art venue in the Baltic States, has an exhibition space of 2,400 square metres (26,000 sq ft). The centre develops international and Lithuanian exhibitions and presents a range of public programs which include lectures, seminars, performances, film and video screenings, and live music. On 10 November 2007, the Jonas Mekas Visual Arts Center was opened by avant-garde filmmaker Jonas Mekas ; its premiere exhibition
16390-495: The latter year, he was called to the rabbinate of Kempen , where he remained until 1859. He was thereafter also known as der Kempener Magid . His first major work, published at age 25, was Artzas HaChaim— a commentary on Orach Chaim . In 1859, Malbim became chief rabbi of Bucharest , Romania . He had disagreements with the upper class and educated Jews there; some of them Austrian citizens (called in Romanian sudiţi ) led by
16539-914: The mature Baroque, with expressive forms and sensuality. Local sculptors emphasized Baroque decorative features, with less expression and emotion. Lithuanian painting was influenced by the Vilnius Art School during the late 18th and 19th centuries, which introduced classical and romantic art. Painters had internships abroad, mainly in Italy. Allegorical, mythological compositions, landscapes, and portraits of representatives of various circles of society began, and historical themes prevailed. The era's best-known classical painters are Franciszek Smaglewicz , Jan Rustem , Józef Oleszkiew , Daniel Kondratowicz [ pl ] , Józef Peszka , and Wincenty Smokowski . Romantic artists were Jan Rustem, Jan Krzysztof Damel , Wincenty Dmochowski and Kanuty Rusiecki . After
16688-720: The newly declared State of Israel . Hebrew is the most widely spoken language in Israel today. In the Modern Period, from the 19th century onward, the literary Hebrew tradition revived as the spoken language of modern Israel, called variously Israeli Hebrew , Modern Israeli Hebrew , Modern Hebrew , New Hebrew , Israeli Standard Hebrew , Standard Hebrew and so on. Israeli Hebrew exhibits some features of Sephardic Hebrew from its local Jerusalemite tradition but adapts it with numerous neologisms, borrowed terms (often technical) from European languages and adopted terms (often colloquial) from Arabic. The literary and narrative use of Hebrew
16837-422: The north side of the river Neris. The area includes modern residential and retail space, with the municipal building and the 148.3 m (487 ft) Europa Tower its most prominent buildings. The construction of Swedbank 's headquarters indicates the importance of Scandinavian banks in Vilnius. The Vilnius Business Harbour complex was built and expanded. Over 75,000 flats were built from 1995 to 2018, making
16986-415: The north-eastern outskirts of Vilnius. Vilnius has a humid continental climate ( Köppen climate classification Dfb ), with temperature records since 1777. The average annual temperature is 7.3 °C (45 °F); the average January temperature is −3.9 °C (25 °F), and the July average is 18.7 °C (66 °F). Average annual precipitation is 691 mm (27.20 in). Temperatures in
17135-522: The noted Dr. Iuliu Barasch . They wanted to introduce changes in the spirit of modern European life into the life of the local Jewry as was done in some Reform congregations. Malbim defended the traditional style of Orthodox Judaism , which demanded strict adherence to Jewish law and tradition . He rejected almost all suggestions to edit the Siddur , give up beards or other distinctions of exterior appearance, or make other changes in observance. Malbim opposed
17284-492: The parashat Mishpatim, for example. Malbim had a broad education which he used in his commentaries, and thus we find several times in his commentary mentions of Philo of Alexandria, Kant and other philosophers, as well as the words of the learned who preceded him.[5] "Mikra'ei Kodesh", a commentary to the Prophets and Hagiographa, is also about the depth of simplicity and relative length compared to other commentaries. It consists of
17433-525: The phonetic values are instead inspired by the acrophonic principle. The common ancestor of Hebrew and Phoenician is called Canaanite , and was the first to use a Semitic alphabet distinct from that of Egyptian. One ancient document is the famous Moabite Stone , written in the Moabite dialect; the Siloam inscription , found near Jerusalem , is an early example of Hebrew. Less ancient samples of Archaic Hebrew include
17582-582: The present day. It is perhaps the most important Hebrew manuscript in existence. During the Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain , important work was done by grammarians in explaining the grammar and vocabulary of Biblical Hebrew; much of this was based on the work of the grammarians of Classical Arabic . Important Hebrew grammarians were Judah ben David Hayyuj , Jonah ibn Janah , Abraham ibn Ezra and later (in Provence ), David Kimhi . A great deal of poetry
17731-620: The primary language of use, and to prevent large-scale incorporation of English words into the Hebrew vocabulary. The Academy of the Hebrew Language of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem currently invents about 2,000 new Hebrew words each year for modern words by finding an original Hebrew word that captures the meaning, as an alternative to incorporating more English words into Hebrew vocabulary. The Haifa municipality has banned officials from using English words in official documents, and
17880-711: The rest of the Middle East; and eventually Greek functioned as another international language with the eastern areas of the Roman Empire. William Schniedewind argues that after waning in the Persian period, the religious importance of Hebrew grew in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, and cites epigraphical evidence that Hebrew survived as a vernacular language – though both its grammar and its writing system had been substantially influenced by Aramaic. According to another summary, Greek
18029-485: The southern villages of Judea." In other words, "in terms of dialect geography, at the time of the tannaim Palestine could be divided into the Aramaic-speaking regions of Galilee and Samaria and a smaller area, Judaea, in which Rabbinic Hebrew was used among the descendants of returning exiles." In addition, it has been surmised that Koine Greek was the primary vehicle of communication in coastal cities and among
18178-468: The spoken language of the Russian Jews, should be treated as their only national language, while Hebrew was to be treated as a foreign language. Hebrew books and periodicals ceased to be published and were seized from the libraries, although liturgical texts were still published until the 1930s. Despite numerous protests, a policy of suppression of the teaching of Hebrew operated from the 1930s on. Later in
18327-490: The story according to the depth of the simplicity, when at the beginning of each story he presents questions to which he answers, similar to the interpretation of Rabbi Izaac Abarbanel . Even in these commentaries of his, especially on the Book of Genesis, there is a lot of halachic innovation, compared to other commentaries in which the main halachic discussion stems from precisions only in the verses that deal with halachic, such as in
18476-556: The surrounding area into a city he named Vilnius. Vilnius' history dates to the Stone Age . The city has been ruled by imperial and Soviet Russia , Napoleonic France , imperial and Nazi Germany , interwar Poland , and Lithuania. Initially a Baltic settlement, Vilnius became significant in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . The city was first mentioned in letters by Grand Duke Gediminas, who invited Jews and Germans to settle and built
18625-465: The term "Hebrew" generally render its meaning as roughly "from the other side [of the river/desert]"—i.e., an exonym for the inhabitants of the land of Israel and Judah , perhaps from the perspective of Mesopotamia , Phoenicia or Transjordan (with the river referred to being perhaps the Euphrates , Jordan or Litani ; or maybe the northern Arabian Desert between Babylonia and Canaan ). Compare
18774-580: The upper class of Jerusalem , while Aramaic was prevalent in the lower class of Jerusalem, but not in the surrounding countryside. After the suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt in the 2nd century CE, Judaeans were forced to disperse. Many relocated to Galilee, so most remaining native speakers of Hebrew at that last stage would have been found in the north. Many scholars have pointed out that Hebrew continued to be used alongside Aramaic during Second Temple times, not only for religious purposes but also for nationalistic reasons, especially during revolts such as
18923-501: The word Habiru or cognate Assyrian ebru , of identical meaning. One of the earliest references to the language's name as " Ivrit " is found in the prologue to the Book of Sirach , from the 2nd century BCE. The Hebrew Bible does not use the term "Hebrew" in reference to the language of the Hebrew people; its later historiography, in the Book of Kings , refers to it as יְהוּדִית Yehudit " Judahite (language)". Hebrew belongs to
19072-579: The world today; the latter group utilizes the Samaritan dialect as their liturgical tongue. As a non- first language , it is studied mostly by non-Israeli Jews and students in Israel, by archaeologists and linguists specializing in the Middle East and its civilizations , and by theologians in Christian seminaries . The modern English word "Hebrew" is derived from Old French Ebrau , via Latin from
19221-503: Was The Avant-Garde: From Futurism to Fluxus . In 2018, the MO Museum opened as an initiative of Lithuanian scientists and philanthropists Danguolė and Viktoras Butkus. Its collection of 5,000 modern pieces includes major Lithuanian artworks from the 1950s to the present. Around 1520, Francysk Skaryna (author of the first Ruthenian Bible ) established eastern Europe 's first printing house in Vilnius. Skaryna prepared and published
19370-421: Was a spoken language , and Amoraic Hebrew (also called Late Rabbinic Hebrew or Mishnaic Hebrew II), which was a literary language . The earlier section of the Talmud is the Mishnah that was published around 200 CE, although many of the stories take place much earlier, and were written in the earlier Mishnaic dialect. The dialect is also found in certain Dead Sea Scrolls. Mishnaic Hebrew is considered to be one of
19519-458: Was at 54°54′N 25°19′E / 54.900°N 25.317°E / 54.900; 25.317 ( Purnuškės (centre of gravity) ) . The method used to calculate the point was the centre of gravity of the European geometrical figure , and is near the village of Girija (26 kilometres from Vilnius). A monument by sculptor Gediminas Jokūbonis, a column of white granite surmounted by
19668-732: Was born in Volochysk , Volhynia , to Yehiel Michel Wisser. His father educated him in Hebrew and the Talmud . After being orphaned as a child, Meïr was cared for and educated by his stepfather, Rabbi Leib of Volochysk. At the age of 13, he went to study in Warsaw where he became known as "the Illui from Volhynia." At age fourteen, he married but shortly thereafter divorced. The Malbim showed talent from his early childhood, and his works indicate that he had considerable knowledge of secular sciences and history. From 1838 to 1845, he served as rabbi of Wreschen . In
19817-509: Was called to the rabbinate of Mogilev on the Dnieper (1870). There, too, he was a staunch supporter of Judaism and was resented by the richer Jews; they denounced him as a political criminal, and the governor of Moghilev forced him to leave the town. Malbim went to Königsberg as chief rabbi of the Polish community, but his conflicts with Reform Jews continued. Malbim visited Vilna in 1879, where
19966-406: Was carried out against the Roman Empire by the Jews of Judaea . Aramaic and, to a lesser extent, Greek were already in use as international languages, especially among societal elites and immigrants. Hebrew survived into the medieval period as the language of Jewish liturgy , rabbinic literature , intra-Jewish commerce, and Jewish poetic literature . The first dated book printed in Hebrew
20115-460: Was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The architectural style known as Vilnian Baroque is named after the city, which is farthest to the east among Baroque cities and the largest such city north of the Alps . The city was noted for its multicultural population during the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , with contemporary sources comparing it to Babylon . Before World War II and
20264-436: Was demolished in 2017 and replaced by MO Museum. Kino Pavasaris is the city's largest film festival. The Lithuanian Film Centre ( Lithuanian : Lietuvos kino centras ), tasked with promoting the development and competitiveness of the Lithuanian film industry, is in Vilnius. Musicians performed at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania as early as the 14th century, since Grand Duke Gediminas' daughter Aldona of Lithuania
20413-520: Was freed through the intervention of Sir Moses Montefiore upon the condition that he leave Romania. Malbim went to Constantinople and complained to the Turkish government but obtained no satisfaction. After staying six months in Paris, he went to Lunshitz , in Russian Poland , as successor to his deceased father-in-law, Hayyim Auerbach (1866). Shortly afterward, he became rabbi at Kherson and thence
20562-539: Was introduced after World War II , with propaganda paintings, historical and household works, still lives , landscapes, portraits, and sculptures. Late 20th- and 21st-century painters are Žygimantas Augustinas, Eglė Ridikaitė, Eglė Gineitytė, Patricija Jurkšaitytė, Jurga Barilaitė, and Solomonas Teitelbaumas. The Užupis district near the Old Town, a run-down district during the Soviet era, hosts bohemian artists who operate
20711-413: Was known to be enthusiastic about music. Aldona brought court musicians and singers to Kraków after marrying King Casimir III the Great . During the 16th century, composers such as Wacław of Szamotuły , Jan Brant , Heinrich Finck , Cyprian Bazylik , Alessandro Pesenti , Luca Marenzio , and Michelagnolo Galilei lived in Vilnius; the city was also home to virtuoso lutist Bálint Bakfark . One of
20860-487: Was now a more significant written language than Aramaic within Judaea." This nationalist aspect was further emphasized during periods of conflict, as Hannah Cotton observing in her analysis of legal documents during the Jewish revolts against Rome that "Hebrew became the symbol of Jewish nationalism, of the independent Jewish State." The nationalist use of Hebrew is evidenced in several historical documents and artefacts, including
21009-501: Was once common in English. The most notable non-Lithuanian names for the city include Latin : Vilna , Polish : Wilno , Belarusian : Вiльня ( Vilnia ), German : Wilna , Latvian : Viļņa , Ukrainian : Вільно ( Vilno ), Yiddish : ווילנע ( Vilne ). A Russian name dating to the Russian Empire was Вильна ( Vilna ), although Вильнюс ( Vilnyus ) is now used. The names Wilno , Wilna , and Vilna were used in English-, German-, French-, and Italian-language publications when
21158-406: Was published by Abraham Garton in Reggio ( Calabria , Italy) in 1475. With the rise of Zionism in the 19th century, the Hebrew language experienced a full-scale revival as a spoken and literary language. The creation of a modern version of the ancient language was led by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda . Modern Hebrew ( Ivrit ) became the main language of the Yishuv in Palestine , and subsequently
21307-807: Was published in 1822. Mikalojus Daukša translated and published a catechism by Spanish Jesuit theologian Jacobo Ledesma in 1595, the first printed Lithuanian-language book in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He also translated and published Jakub Wujek 's Postilla Catholica in 1599. Many writers were born in Vilnius, lived there, or are alumni of Vilnius University; they include Konstantinas Sirvydas , Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski , Antoni Gorecki , Józef Ignacy Kraszewski , Antoni Edward Odyniec , Michał Józef Römer , Adam Mickiewicz, Władysław Syrokomla , Józef Mackiewicz , Romain Gary , Juliusz Słowacki , Simonas Daukantas , Mykolas Biržiška , Petras Cvirka , Kazys Bradūnas , Nobel laureate Czesław Miłosz ). Vilnius Academy of Arts alumnae have also added to
21456-470: Was revived beginning with the Haskalah movement. The first secular periodical in Hebrew, Ha-Me'assef (The Gatherer), was published by maskilim in Königsberg (today's Kaliningrad ) from 1783 onwards. In the mid-19th century, publications of several Eastern European Hebrew-language newspapers (e.g. Hamagid , founded in Ełk in 1856) multiplied. Prominent poets were Hayim Nahman Bialik and Shaul Tchernichovsky ; there were also novels written in
21605-479: Was suppressed. Soviet authorities considered the use of Hebrew "reactionary" since it was associated with Zionism, and the teaching of Hebrew at primary and secondary schools was officially banned by the People's Commissariat for Education as early as 1919, as part of an overall agenda aiming to secularize education (the language itself did not cease to be studied at universities for historical and linguistic purposes ). The official ordinance stated that Yiddish, being
21754-474: Was the hometown of 18th-century composers Michał Kazimierz Ogiński , Johann David Holland (colleague of C. Bach ), Maciej Radziwiłł , and Michał Kleofas Ogiński . Nineteenth-century Vilnius was known for singer Kristina Gerhardi Frank , a close friend of Mozart and Haydn (who starred in the premiere of Haydn's Creation ), mid-19th century guitar virtuoso Marek Konrad Sokołowski and composer Stanisław Moniuszko . The wealthiest woman in Vilnius during
21903-437: Was the language of government, Hebrew the language of prayer, study and religious texts, and Aramaic was the language of legal contracts and trade. There was also a geographic pattern: according to Bernard Spolsky , by the beginning of the Common Era, " Judeo-Aramaic was mainly used in Galilee in the north, Greek was concentrated in the former colonies and around governmental centers, and Hebrew monolingualism continued mainly in
22052-408: Was to a certain extent a pidgin . Near the end of that century the Jewish activist Eliezer Ben-Yehuda , owing to the ideology of the national revival ( שיבת ציון , Shivat Tziyon , later Zionism ), began reviving Hebrew as a modern spoken language. Eventually, as a result of the local movement he created, but more significantly as a result of the new groups of immigrants known under the name of
22201-570: Was written, by poets such as Dunash ben Labrat , Solomon ibn Gabirol , Judah ha-Levi , Moses ibn Ezra and Abraham ibn Ezra , in a "purified" Hebrew based on the work of these grammarians, and in Arabic quantitative or strophic meters. This literary Hebrew was later used by Italian Jewish poets. The need to express scientific and philosophical concepts from Classical Greek and Medieval Arabic motivated Medieval Hebrew to borrow terminology and grammar from these other languages, or to coin equivalent terms from existing Hebrew roots, giving rise to
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